Opinion: How grammar is taught in England should change

Dominic Wyse - The way that grammar is currently taught in schools is not effective in improving six and seven-year old children's narrative writing, says Professor Dominic Wyse (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education & Society). The teaching of grammar - the ways that words are combined to make sentences - can be controversial. It often leads to debates about "correct English", and can result in people being judged if their use of language deviates from this "correct" form. Language is constantly changing, and this change makes it much more difficult to have straightforward ideas about what is "correct" and "incorrect". Whether a person communicates in the most appropriate way for their audience is what matters. England's current national curriculum, implemented since 2014, introduced lots more grammar teaching to primary schools. It states that "Pupils should develop the stamina and skills to write at length, with accurate spelling and punctuation.