An Analysis of Spoken Grammar: the Case for Production

Abstract

Corpus-based grammars, notably Cambridge Grammar of English, give explicit information on the forms and use of native-speaker grammar, including spoken grammar. Native-speaker norms as a necessary goal in language teaching are contested by supporters of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF); however, this article argues for the inclusion of selected forms for teaching for production based on an analysis of the usefulness of individual forms. The forms are analysed in two sections, relating to fluency and appropriacy, since, while every student can benefit from improved fluency, native-speaker appropriacy may not be a need for all. The conclusion is that such an analysis strengthens the arguments for teaching many of these forms for production, while acknowledging the case for fluency features is stronger than more context-dependent appropriacy forms. It briefly looks at some possibilities for teaching the forms.