ABSTRACT

Grammars with rules that make distinctions between correct and incorrect forms are defined as ‘prescriptive’ grammars. The rules are more like a blueprint for building well-formed structures, and they represent speakers’ unconscious knowledge, or ‘mental grammar’ of the language. Models of grammar differ greatly, depending on whether they are formal grammars or functional grammars. Formal grammar is concerned with the forms themselves and with how they operate within the overall system of grammar. Approaches influenced by formal theories such as generative grammar tend to view language learning as rule acquisition and, therefore, focus on formalized rules of grammar. Corpus studies have also led to an increased interest in analyses of ‘discourse grammar’, that is, analyses of the functional roles of grammatical structures in discourse. Second language acquisition research in both naturalistic and classroom environments has informed modern perspectives of grammar learning.