ABSTRACT
Grammar is central to many linguistic theories and theories of second language acquisition (L2A). Despite its centrality, there is little agreement on what grammar is or how it is learned or whether/how it should be taught. Two other contentious issues have to do with the interface between implicit and explicit grammar and the role of feedback in the learning of grammar. Ten recent research studies have been summarized and categorized into practices associated with one of these contemporary theories and issues and with research methodology. This review is followed by a discussion of what a complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) perspective affords. The chapter concludes by pointing to the contingent nature of teaching, acknowledging that research can only tell us “what has worked, not what works.”
