'I had to go out and get myself a book on grammar': A study of pre-service teachers' knowledge about language

Inquiries into Australian teacher education and literacy have highlighted concerns about the preparedness of teachers to teach literacy effectively. In the international literature, 'knowledge about language' has been identified as an important factor in successful literacy teaching. This paper reports on a qualitative study which investigated pre-service teachers 'knowledge about language'. The purpose of this study was to elicit information about the gaps in students' knowledge with a view to reviewing our current teacher education program so that students will be able to work effectively with 'knowledge about language' in their future teaching careers. Generally the 'knowledge about language' of the participants in this study was fragmented and lacked depth. Their views about grammar were highly prescriptive, yet most did not feel adequately prepared to use their knowledge in their future teaching.