Grammatics

Grammar and Praxis: investigating a grammatics for twenty-first century school English (2011–2014)

Discovery Grant: DP110104309

Chief Investigators Mary Macken-Horarik (UNE), Len Unsworth (ACU) and Kristina Love (ACU)
Senior Research Associate Dr Carmel Sandiford (ACU) 
Administering Organisation The University of New England

Project Summary

In a complex communicational environment and at the dawn of an Australian curriculum, English teachers and students need new kinds of knowledge about language (KAL). Our project will investigate new demands on KAL through 'grammatics' – a metalanguage informed by grammar but taken in new directions. In a series of classroom trials at four year levels and in diverse classrooms, we will examine the effect of grammatics on teachers' and students' knowledge and know-how. In particular, we will explore the effect of grammatics on students' written and multimodal compositions. The project will provide crucial evidence about what kinds of praxis yield what kinds of KAL and how this can transform the knowledge base of school English.

Contact details
Len Unsworth and Kristina Love (03 9953 3507)
Carmel Sandiford (03 9953 3573)