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On Friday 11 July, Gijs Leenders will defend his PhD dissertation 'Bewuste taalvaardigheid ontleed: Onderzoek naar contextrijk, taalcontrastief en procesgericht grammaticaonderwijs in de vakken Nederlands, Engels en Duits'. In this dissertation, Leenders presents a a cross-linguistic, context-rich and process-oriented approach to improving grammar instruction.

A new approach to grammar instruction

Many students question the usefulness of grammar and struggle to apply language rules effectively across different contexts. One possible reason for this is the current structure of traditional grammar instruction, which focuses mostly on teaching superficial rules and rules of thumb.

Leenders proposes a a cross-linguistic, context-rich and process-oriented approach aimed at promoting motivation and language awareness. He identifies the challenges faced by both teachers and students and investigates which metaconcepts teachers consider to be most important for a cross-linguistic approach to grammar.

CLAP

Drawing on these insights and a contrastive language analysis, Leenders formulates design principles that serve as the foundation for the innovative lesson series CLAP (Cross-Linguistic Awareness Program). After developing corresponding assessment materials, he evaluates the effectiveness of this lesson series, and the results are promising.

Leenders offers teachers, researchers and curriculum developers valuable insights and practical tools for making grammar instruction more meaningful and effective. His research demonstrates that, when properly integrated, grammar education can be a powerful tool for promoting both language proficiency and language awareness, in the mother tongue as well as in other languages. Time for action — Let’s CLAP!

Before his defence, Leenders will give a layman’s talk starting at 14:00.