‘Focus on form’ and ‘focus on forms’

One of the current concerns of applied linguists is centred on the most e¤ective form of grammar instruction in the communicative classroom (Doughty and Williams 1998; Lightbown 2000; Norris and Ortega 2000). The debate revolves around the degree to which teachers need to direct learners’ attention to understanding grammar whilst retaining a focus on the need to communicate. Thus, on the one hand, there are those who advocate minimal to no interruption in communication, limiting attention to grammar by means of corrective feedback (Doughty and Varela 1998); on the other, there are those who advocate separate attention to grammar and subsequent integration of the knowledge provided in increasingly communicative activity (DeKeyser 1998).