Article Pedagogy: Encouraging Links between Linguistic Theory and Teaching Practice

Abstract

It is two decades since Master (1997) published a framework for second language (L2) article pedagogy, based on several years of research into the acquisition of the English article system. Among his recommendations were a focus on intermediate level learners and a simplification of the rules presented to language learners. Since then, substantial work has been conducted to better understand the underlying reasons why English articles are difficult to acquire by learners with diverse language backgrounds (Ionin et al., 2004; Ionin et al., 2008; Ionin et al., 2009; Ionin et al., 2011; Trenkic, 2008; García Mayo, 2009; amongst others). The results of such research indicate a systematic pattern of errors amongst learners whose first language does not have an article system, with varying theoretical explanations for this systematicity. Despite some intervention studies which have explored the pedagogical implications of this work (Snape and Yusa, 2013; Sabir, 2015; Lopez, forthcoming; Umeda et al., 2017), on the whole theoretical linguistic research in this area has not influenced pedagogy. The aim of this article is to build on the work of Master (1997) by exploring whether the cumulative insights from the last 20 years of research into L2 article acquisition and instruction can help us to better understand the most effective method for teaching the complex uses of the English article system to L2 learners.