From tedious to alluring:

Six teachers' perceptions of grammar in the Norwegian subject in upper secondary education

Abstract

In this article, we ask how six Norwegian teachers view their own grammar teaching in light of the core element language as system and opportunity in LK20. We examine the way these teachers legitimize grammar teaching and what kind of views they have on grammar in schools. It is particularly relevant to map teachers' views on grammar at this time since LK20 is currently being phased in as the new curriculum.

The data material consists of six semi-structured qualitative research interviews. We deliberately avoided using the term ‘grammar’ in the preparations for the interviews, so as not to influence the teachers' perceptions of the content of the core element in focus. In the coding itself, the empirical data became more explicitly linked to grammar.

In other research, it is pointed out that grammar teaching in schools is often about learning norms, especially related to writing. This distinguishes school grammar from grammar as a descriptive scientific subject at colleges and universities. Although we find a wide range in the teachers' views on grammar in the Norwegian subject in our material, the teachers' practices are still closely linked to the tool perspective, and most express a view of grammar as systematized (writing) rules. Several of them also emphasize the possibilities that lie in the comparative perspective associated with linguistic diversity. At the same time, the teachers also talk about creative and playful aspects of grammar work, related to language as an opportunity. This is a finding that indicates a different perspective on grammar teaching than previously observed and which merits further investigation.