Meaningful and contextualised grammar instruction: What can foreign language textbooks offer?

Abstract

This article explores the methodological approaches offered in grammar exercises in a selection of French as a foreign language textbooks produced for the Scandinavian market. It investigates the extent to which developments within the research fields of second language acquisition and language pedagogy are reflected in current textbooks and thus to what extent these books can help teachers provide students with meaningful and varied grammar exercises. By using established typologies as the analytical framework, the range of different exercise types is examined. Findings reveal that the developments within the research fields concerning meaningful and contextualised grammar instruction are finally beginning to find their way into some of the teaching material. This trend is more prominent for lower secondary than for upper secondary textbooks. The study concludes that in most cases teachers must still add supplementary material in order to teach in accordance with research-based principles for grammar instruction. The final version of this research has been published in the Language Learning Journal. © 2017 Taylor & Francis