ABSTRACT
As we acquire our first language, we develop considerable implicit knowledge of its grammatical (syntactic) structure, but explicit knowledge of both grammar and punctuation are necessary for children to be able to make explicit choices and a greater range of choices about how to use language for effect. The best way of teaching grammar and punctuation is in relation to real texts children are reading and writing. There is no evidence that the decontextualised teaching and learning of rules and definitions lead to improvements in children’s spoken or written language. This is because linguistic choices are influenced by social context, the purpose for which language is used, the topic under discussion, the mode of communication and the relationship between speakers (Derewianka & Jones, 2023, p. 4). In Australia, grammar teaching has been influenced by the linguist Michael Halliday and his work in functional linguistics. In turn, his work has been applied to education through the ‘genre-based approach’ by Rose and Martin (2012), Christie and Derewianka (2008) and Rothery (1994).
