How is English Grammar Taught in Terms of Focus on Forms, Form, and Meaning?

Approaches to teaching a second language can differ. One of the most contentious issues in second language acquisition (SLA) research is whether the emphasis should be on explicit or implicit grammar or communication in the language. It is essential to differentiate between these three teaching methods in second language classrooms. The paper aims to illustrate how grammar is taught in terms of focus on forms, form, and meaning for older pupils at primary schools in various cultural contexts (e.g., Vietnam and Sweden). Classroom extracts and examples from Grade 5 English lessons (Son, 2018) are recycled to examine these three teaching orientations more closely. The analysis is based on the classroom observation using the communicative orientation of language teaching (COLT) observation scheme. The findings will shed light on a better understanding of how these teaching orientations (focus on forms, form, and meaning) were carried out and help language teachers to differentiate these three teaching orientations. Pedagogical implications will be further discussed.