How is English Grammar Taught in Terms of Focus on Forms, Form, and Meaning?

Learning a second language is becoming a frequent requirement in an increasingly globalized world. However, approaches to the teaching of a second language can differ. One of the most contentious issues in second language acquisition (SLA) research is whether the emphasis should be on explicit or implicit grammar or communication. However, it is not always easy to differentiate these three teaching orientations. The paper aims to illustrate how grammar is taught in terms of focus on forms, form, and meaning for older pupils at primary schools in various cultural contexts (e.g., Vietnam and Sweden). Classroom extracts and examples from Grade 5 English lessons (Son, 2018) will be recycled to examine these three teaching orientations more closely based on the classroom observation using the communicative orientation of language teaching (COLT) observation scheme (Spada & Fröhlich, 1995). The findings will shed light on a better understanding of how these teaching orientations (focus on forms, form and meaning) were carried out. This also helps language teachers to differentiate among these three teaching orientations. Pedagogical implications will be further discussed.