Effect of X-Word Grammar and Traditional Grammar Instruction on Grammatical Accuracy

This study first briefly describes an instructional approach to teaching grammar known as X-Word Grammar and then compares its effectiveness in assisting students in achieving grammatical accuracy with traditionally taught grammar. Two groups of L2 pre-college students were taught using curricula and practice procedures in two different grammar texts over a three-month period of time for 20% of their class time. Essays written at three different times were analyzed for the correct and incorrect use of sentence patterns and verb constructs. Results demonstrated that improvement (writing with less error) was larger in both categories for the X-Word Grammar group and significant for two verb constructs as compared to the traditional grammar group, indicating that X-Word Grammar students wrote more accurately in month three than they did in month one of the study when compared with students in the traditional grammar group. Possible reasons for these results are discussed in light of the differences in the two approaches and how these differences support the literature on ways of improving grammar instruction.