An evaluation of the grammatical objectives in the textbooks revealed a strong focus on formal aspects of grammar, and the objectives are mostly stated in formal terms in headings and exercise texts. In a substantial majority of exercises in all of the textbooks learning aims focus on the learner as learner of language rather than as a user of language. Additionally, a qualitative analysis of which cognitive learning stages the exercises in each book facilitate revealed little focus on the performance stage, some focus on the proceduralization stage in
Crossroads 10B and New Flight 3, though hardly any focus on this stage in Searching 10.
These findings suggest that the textbooks, and especially Searching 10, do not focus much on facilitating the learner’s development of communicative skills with regard to grammar. Moreover, the high number of summative exercises in all textbooks suggests that the methodological choices, i.e. exercise types, of many exercises do not facilitate their learning aims well.
5.1.1 Crossroads 10B
The findings in section 4.4 suggest that the grammar exercises in Crossroads 10B meet neither cognitive nor communicative principles of language learning to any great extent. Concerning the cognitive principles, the exercises do not facilitate well deep processing at any learning stage nor do they engage the learner’s commitment to learning grammar. There are many summative exercises and few opportunities for peer learning. The cognitive principles seem to be facilitated the least at the awareness-raising and conceptualization stages of learning.
Similarly, the findings suggest little focus on communicative principles at the
proceduralization and performance stages of learning, and hardly any at the lower stages. The
criteria authenticity of process, complex encoding, and personalization are only qualified for by the many composition exercises in Crossroads 10B. The principle of contextualization is
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hardly taken account for at all, and the learner is not given any opportunity to use the language in interaction with a real respondent or given any realistic task, external to the langage learning, for producing language.
5.1.2 New Flight 3
The analysis of grammar exercises in New Flight 3 revealed that the textbook meets principles of cognitive learning theory and communicative language teaching to some extent, but that there is much room for improvement. The textbook includes many composition exercises and a few awareness-raising/ discovery exercises which may appeal to the learner’s commitment filter and provide deep processing. However, the many gap filling, translation, and transforming exercises result in a very high number of summative exercises, and limited coverage of the learner’s commitment filter, especially in terms of cognitive needs. There are few exercises which qualify for peer learning, and with one exception these facilitate the highest learning stages, and not the earlier stages where peer support might be most needed.
A positive aspect, from a communcative perspective on language learning, is that New
Flight 3 includes a variety of composition exercises, which qualify for authenticity of process, contextualization, and personalization. On the other hand, these criteria were found only to a
very small degree in other exercise types. New Flight 3 includes some awareness-raising/ discovery exercises which provide a context and require elaborate processing. A few exercises involve interaction and no exercises are task-based. In order to facilitate the performance stage of learning better, the textbook should have included task-based exercises and exercises which require interaction with real respondents.
5.1.3 Searching 10
The grammar exercises in Searching 10 meet principles of cognitive learning theory and communicative language teaching to various degrees. There are quite a large number of exercises of types such as gap filling and translation exercises, which were evaluated as summative and qualify neither for commitment filter nor depth of processing. Searching 10 also includes many composition exercises, as well as a few awareness-raising/ discovery exercises which require elaborate processing of the grammatical objective and appeal to the learner’s commitment to accomplishing the exercise. The awareness-raising/ discovery exercises in Searching 10 thus apply principles of cognitive learning theory to facilitate learning at the lower learning stages. The few exercises which provide for peer learning are composition and awareness-raising/ discovery exercises.
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It is mainly composition exercises which contribute to fulfilling principles of communicative language teaching, such as authenticity of process and contextualization, though not all qualify for the latter. In addition to composition exercises, which all require very complex encoding through the construction of full sentences, there are also some translation exercises which to a small extent provide complex encoding. Both composition exercises and awareness-raising/ discovery exercises provide the opportunity for the learner to communicate her personal thoughts and ideas, but there are also many exercise types, including prompted gap filling exercises, which limit the opportunities for personalization. The small number of exercises which qualify for interaction and task-based suggest that there is little focus on the performance stage of learning in Searching 10.
5.1.4 Answers to research questions and hypotheses
The analysis presented in chapter 4 was made on the basis of the following research questions:
What views of and approaches to grammar lies behind the design of grammar
exercises in Norwegian textbooks?
To what extent do the exercises meet principles of communicative and cognitive learning theory?
In relation to the first research question, I formulated the hypothesis “Traditional approaches, methods and views of grammar are still strong within grammar exercise design in Norwegian textbooks.” The findings in chapter 4 suggest that my hypothesis is correct: the evaluation of grammatical objectives revealed a strong focus on formal aspects of grammar, and all three textbooks include high numbers of traditional exercise types, such as gap filling, transformation, and translation exercises, not to mention the PPP methodology used in
Crossroads 10B. In other words, grammar is mainly perceived and presented as forms and
structures, and the focus of grammar teaching seems to be on grammatical competence rather than performance.
The textbooks revealed more variation with regard to my second research question. My hypothesis for this question was “There is little evidence of communicative and cognitive theory in the design of grammar exercises.” Crossroads 10B confirmed the hypothesis, as the textbook showed little evidence of communicative and cognitive theory in its design of grammar exercises. All the three textbooks include many exercise types which comply with neither cognitive nor communicative principles; however Searching 10 and New Flight 3
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include a number of exercises which reveal traits of both cognitive and communicative principles of language learning.
Some modifications which may improve the grammar instruction in the textbooks would be
1) to focus more on notions and functions when formulating grammatical objectives, 2) to apply other exercise types which correspond with principles of cognitive and
communicative theory to a greater degree, such as reformulation exercises, awareness- raising/ discovery exercises, problem-solving exercises, expansion exercises, and selection exercises (see 3.2.3 Exercise types),
3) to provide the opportunity for more pair or group work, especially in exercises which facilitate the lower cognitive learning stages,
4) to require interaction in more exercises,
5) to provide clearer contexts to support the learner’s language processing of grammar, and
6) to include realistic tasks external to the language learning in exercises.
Adopting a cognitive and communicative view on language and language learning, requires the teacher and textbook author to reconsider the grammatical categories and the exercises we use for learning and teaching. The changes I have suggested above may assist this process. My hope and ambition is that grammar teaching and learning eventually will get past the “mighty weight of tradition”, both in terms of which grammatical categories we use to define and teach grammar and in terms of the methodology applied in our teaching materials.