CHAPTER 1
Rethinking the Role of Grammar in Postsecondary English Education
Grammar instruction presents a perennial challenge to the English education community. This chapter calls for a continuing emphasis on grammar in postsecondary English literacy education, but suggests that this grammar needs to be functionally oriented to be useful and sustainable. It contends that a functional focus on grammar in literacy instruction can help students develop deeper, more complex understanding of text and greater awareness of the varied ways language is used to fashion meaning for different purposes and in different contexts. It further argues that embedding grammar instruction in content-rich contexts can better promote language learning and advanced literacy development and support knowledge building in disciplinary teaching and learning.