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Blass, L., Reppen, R., Iannuzzi, S., & Savage, A. (2012). Grammar and Beyond Level 3
Grammar and Beyond is a research-based and content-rich grammar series for beginning-
level to advanced-level students of North American English. This review will focus on Level 3
of the series. The Level 3 book is intended for a high-intermediate learner. In each unit, students
study the grammar in an authentic text, followed by charts and notes which are informed by a
billion-word corpus of North American English. Although this is a grammar textbook, the
exercises provide practice in reading, writing, listening, and speaking, making this an integrative
study of grammar topics. The context for learning English from this textbook is focused on
academic English for students wishing to apply English to academic study. Students learn to
avoid common mistakes, based on an extensive corpus of learner language. Each unit concludes
with a Grammar for Writing section, in which students apply the grammar in an extended writing
task.
Of the 28 units in this textbook, I will focus on unit 14 as it deals with the grammatical
concept of tag questions, a topic on which I am conducting focused research. The key criteria
from which I will review the text, and the respective units, are summarized as:
Grammar and Beyond 3 uses a chart to clarify the targeted level of students as high-
standardization level, such as TOEFL IBT (55-57), the Common European Framework of
Reference for Languages (CEFR) Levels (B1-B2). There are four skills emphasized in this text
which are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The intended context for this grammar
textbook would be in academic English, English for Specific Purposes or North American
English. This book clearly defines the expected level and goals between learning environments
that can help teachers to consider whether this textbook would be ideal to teach grammar.
This textbook is divided into 12 parts and each part contains 2 to 4 thematic units for a
total of 28 units. Each of the 12 parts is focused on a grammatical topic while each unit serves as
a content-rich sub-topic of the broader focus. For example, part 7 is focused on Questions and
Noun Clauses and is comprised of the following units: Unit 14-Negative Questions and Tag
Questions; Unit 15- That Clauses; and Unit 16-Noun Clauses with Wh- Words and If / Whether.
Each unit is supported by a theme and content-based authentic text. Before the author starts Part
1: The Present and Past, the book begins with the Introduction to Grammar and Beyond, About
the Author, Acknowledgements, and Tour of a Unit from page ix to xvi. Also, the text ends with
appendices which are from page A1 to page I9, including a glossary of grammar terms, an index,
art credits, etc. For each unit, the first section is Grammar in the Real World which uses
authentic and corpus-derived text to present the unit's grammar in a realistic context. After the
students have finished reading this text, there are two activities listed below. One is a
comprehension check that is to have students answer questions, and another activity called
GRAMMAR TEXTBOOK REVIEW 4
Notice which draws students’ attention to form. However, since the Notice activities attract
students’ attention to the form in context, this section also guides their analysis of meaning and
use.
Next, the Grammar Presentation starts with a brief overview that introduces the grammar
in an easy to understand summary and chart. The charts provide clear guidance for the form,
meaning, and use of the target grammar. In addition, there is a Data from the Real Word section
which teaches students how to use the unit's grammar in real situations, including the differences
For sections three and four, exercises are provided that relate to the topic which allow
students to apply grammar to a variety of real life situations. Additionally, various exercises
The last two essential sections are Avoid Common Mistakes and Grammar for Writing.
Students learn to avoid common mistakes based on research in student writing. After studying
the “avoidance of common mistakes”, students apply the information in editing tasks. Further,
the writing grammar task associates the unit’s grammar with a specific written application. It
brings all the content together because students apply their knowledge of the unit’s grammar in a
In this textbook, learners can get help in understanding the meaning, form, and use
through doing related exercises and self-editing. In order for this textbook to be beneficial,
learners need to use this grammar correctly in real life contexts and know the differences
commonly used in North American English and the application of these grammar structures to
academic writing. Realistic grammar presentations, data from the real world, advice on avoiding
common mistakes, and academic vocabulary are four unique features of the Grammar and
Beyond 3. First, the grammar is presented in a clear and simple diagram. The grammar points in
these charts have been derived from actual data from the Cambridge International Corpus to
ensure that they are accurate representations of North American English. Second, in the
Grammar and Beyond 3, a feature called Data from the Real World demonstrates concrete and
useful points that are found through analysis of corpus data. These points are practiced in the
following exercises. Moreover, a section focused on Avoiding Common Mistakes can foster
students' understanding of the most common mistakes made by English learners, and give them
the opportunity to practice detecting and correcting them in the text. It can help students avoid
these mistakes in their own work. Finally, each unit in the Grammar and Beyond 3 contains
words from the Academic Word List (AWL), which is a list of research-based words and
vocabulary that appear at both high and low frequency in English academic texts. These words
are introduced in the opening text of the unit and are used through the diagrams and exercises to
support the theme of the entire unit. The primary goal, then, of Grammar and Beyond 3, is to
help students understand grammar topics and concepts through authentic language using
In order to more closely investigate the appropriateness and completeness of how this
textbook deals with specific grammatical topics, this section will focus on Unit 14 titled:
GRAMMAR TEXTBOOK REVIEW 6
“Negative questions and tag questions”. It begins with section one Grammar in the Real World
which has the theme of geographic mobility across cultures. It presents and highlights negative
questions and tag questions in a realistic content. For example, Professor, you have been
interested in geographic mobility for a long time, haven’t you? It is easy for students to find
negative questions and tag questions in the article by highlighting it. Also, the comprehension
Next, the meanings, forms, and uses of asking and answering negative questions are
introduced in section two by using charts. These charts are divided into two columns. The left
column is the explanation, and the right column is an example. The content is very clear and
students can easily deduce the form of the negative question, when to use the negative question,
and how to answer the negative question. Besides the grammar presentation, it has a grammar
application. There are some additional exercises related to the negative questions so students can
practice the grammar knowledge they have learned. Again, all of the exercises include content
related to negative questions and tag questions which gives students the opportunity to engage in
learners to implicitly learn language by giving them authentic input and examples.
Section three is similar to section two, which is divided into two parts: grammar
presentation and grammar application. However, the topic of section three is tag questions. The
section introduces the meaning and forms of asking and answering the tag questions. There is no
mention of the use of the tag questions. The next section is Avoid Common Mistakes which
combines negative questions and tag questions. Before the editing task, the textbook gives
examples of how to correct mistakes and provides the definition of the correct form in detail. For
GRAMMAR TEXTBOOK REVIEW 7
example, in negative questions, students should use the auxiliary verb + not + subject + base
The last section, grammar for writing, includes a pre-writing task and a writing task, and
it explores how and where the target grammar structures function in writing and offers controlled
practice. Through these tasks, students can better understand and use negative questions and tag
questions. In particular, the second writing task mentions self-editing which provides students an
opportunity to correct their own errors. Also, it exposes them to writing models, and a guided but
The exercises in unit 14 require reading, writing, listening and speaking from students.
This unit first introduces the negative questions and tag questions separately. In the last Avoid
Common Mistakes and Grammar for Writing sections, the contents of the negative questions and
tag questions are mixed together so that the students can apply them to the writing. I think the
content of this unit is appropriate and complete because the unit integrates skills that students can
practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in relation to the grammar knowledge they
gain throughout the unit. However, I feel confused why this unit introduces intonation and
meaning in tag questions in part of the exercises instead of putting this part in the grammar
presentation part.
explicit and implicit grammar presentations based on authentic language focused on a real-world
theme. A communicative approach provides the learners with a situation where they can use their
language and understanding of grammatical rules and also where they can make and correct
GRAMMAR TEXTBOOK REVIEW 8
errors (Pacheler, 1999). This interactive way of learning results in the meaningful use of
language. In unit 14, this textbook provides some traditional practice type exercises. For
example, “use the words in parentheses with the correct verb forms”: (Mary/retire/Florida), isn’t
she? However, I feel that these exercises do not offer adequate group and pair work which may
approach should be learner-centered, and group/pair work can achieve more engagement in
learning. Group work engages and motivates students. It also helps in building a close, friendly
classroom environment and gives students opportunities to use the target grammar. Furthermore,
I feel this textbook might not be complete enough for students to grasp the form, meaning, and
use of negative questions and tag questions. The textbook could have provided some support
activities such as focused tasks (role plays) to provide opportunities for communicating some
A communicative approach has the advantage of allowing learners not only to learn and
practice communication skills, but also to learn grammar patterns. This approach helps learners
Conclusion
grammar points and essential vocabulary from the Academic Word List to helps students to
understand the content. This textbook is suitable for all students at level 3 because it provides
practice of the grammar around a unit theme. I reviewed Grammar and Beyond 3 in terms of its
role as a primary material from which high-intermediate level students could begin to understand
and practice the dimensions of form, use, and meaning. It is designed for students wishing to
GRAMMAR TEXTBOOK REVIEW 9
learn the forms, meanings, uses, and conventions of academic North American English. It could
also serve as a self-study learning tool. This textbook would be one that I would consider for use
grammar book that puts authentic language examples in the text. It offers students examples of
how the grammar is used in authentic situations. To this end, I think this textbook helps students
make the transition from understanding grammar structures to applying them in their academic
writing. Also, it identifies and explains the differences between the grammar of written and
spoken English.
References
Pachler, N., & Bond, J. (1999). Teaching and learning grammar. Pachler, Norbert (Edit).