Anniversary article. Applied linguistics and evidence-based classroom practice: the case of foreign language grammar pedagogy

This paper reviews the developing commitment in UK educational policy-making to 'evidence-based practice', and its implications for applied linguistics research. Given the sceptical view which has predominated in UK applied linguistics towards 'technical' solutions to educational problems (Rampton 1995), this development poses a dilemma for applied linguists wishful to engage actively with policy for language education. The paper examines the particular history of grammar pedagogy in UK foreign language education, documenting its decline and recent revival. The international literature on form-focused instruction is then examined, to determine how far an evidence base exists to underpin any particular recommendations for grammar pedagogy. The paper concludes by posing some alternative forms for such an evidence base, and argues that the future development of pedagogically oriented applied linguistics is bound up with the choices made.