ABSTRACT
Recent research in the field of explicit grammar and language instruction demonstrates the importance of developing students’ knowledge about language through embedded or contextualised grammar instruction. Developing metalanguage with students has also been found to support students’ content learning. There is a need for students to not only understand how language can be deployed to make meaning, but also the need to develop a metalanguage to discuss linguistic meaning-making systems. However, there is not a substantive body of classroom-based research to inform teachers about what constitutes an appropriate and engaging pedagogical approach to explicit grammar instruction. This chapter seeks to bridge the gap between the need for explicit grammar instruction in the classroom and the availability of effective and engaging pedagogical approaches for teachers. It presents a range of multimodal pedagogical approaches that can be used to both develop students’ knowledge about language and introduce a common grammatical metalanguage into the early years classroom. These approaches utilise a range of modes for communicating ideas and information about language and grammar, including the use of colour and movement.
