ABSTRACT
This book examine the historical evolution of grammar, starting with the very distant past. There have always been various distinct understandings of what grammar is, and different schools and models have vied for dominance over many centuries. In the English-language teaching and learning world, grammar has had a chequered history. Grammar has, however, enjoyed something of a privileged position in the study of second-language acquisition, where a great many studies have looked at how items of grammar are acquired and whether their acquisition follows some universal, innate principle, or whether a multitude of other factors bear upon it. Innovation extends to the understanding of and approaches to the grammar that learners know and use at different proficiency levels. Innovation in language often results directly from technological innovation. Equally, social media present both a challenge and an opportunity for the investigation of grammar.
