A construction grammar for the classroom

Construction grammars (Lakoff 1987; Langacker 1987; Croft 2001; Goldberg 2006) are changing our perception of Second Language Acquisition but their impact our instruction has been muted. This article derives an applied model from the controversies surrounding such grammars. It argues for the usage based model of constructions (Stemberger and MacWhinney 1988; Croft 2001; Tomasello 2005; Goldberg 2006) already found in emergentist SLA theory (Ellis and Larsen-Freeman 2006) and recounts an intervention where the teacher found ways to help students identify and learn such forms. It shows how exploring constructions’ productivity and ensuring usage not only results in enhanced uptake but also impacts favourably upon the accuracy of written work. Copyright © Walter de Gruyter.