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7 - Informing Teaching Practice through Corpus Research

The Growth in Grammar Project

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 December 2025

Gavin Brookes
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
Niall Curry
Affiliation:
Manchester Metropolitan University
Robbie Love
Affiliation:
Aston University
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Summary

This chapter will analyse and reflect upon the generation of impact from a learner corpus study of children’s writing. The study investigated how school students’ use of grammar and vocabulary develops through the course of their academic careers, from age five to sixteen. Findings had evident impact for the teaching writing across all age groups and disciplines. Specifically, they provided evidence which we used to (a) increase professional understanding of the characteristics of syntactic and vocabulary development in writing; and (b) develop professional practice in the teaching of writing. In the chapter, we first summarise previous relevant research on writing development before describing our own study, its key findings, and their implications for teaching practice. We then discuss how we reached a variety of education professionals in the UK and beyond. We emphasise in particular the key concrete steps in generating impact through workshops, online media, and professional publications, and we discuss the importance of partnerships with diverse stakeholders. Finally, we reflect on some of the challenges associated with developing impact from education research, particularly with regard to the ethics of working with government bodies and the difficulties of evaluating impact on educational practice.

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