Using Grammar Dimensions to Transform Multilingual Teachers From Rule Repeaters to Reason Givers

ABSTRACT

This study examines a reconceptualized approach to grammar addressing fundamental gaps in multilingual teacher preparation. Traditional rule‐based training has historically prepared teachers to give prescriptive responses that shut down student inquiry rather than to reason about grammatical patterns in context. Drawing on functionalist conceptions of language, in particular, Larsen‐Freeman and Celce‐Murcia's Grammar Dimensions framework of form, meaning, and use (henceforth FMU) (2016), we designed a 13‐week MTESOL subject repositioning FMU as potential transformative knowledge for specialist grammar teachers. The subject integrated theoretical development with practical application through authentic text analysis and systematic engagement with professional grammar resources. Focus group data from seven multilingual participants reveal three patterns of transformation: epistemic shifts from rule‐based to pattern‐focused understanding, professional repositioning toward confident reason‐giving, and emerging approaches to AI as an investigative tool rather than an authoritative replacement. Contrary to Meyer and Land's Threshold Concept theory predictions, participants embraced FMU readily rather than finding it challenging, suggesting it represents essential foundational knowledge and processes absent from traditional programs. The study illustrates how sustained FMU instruction can support multilingual teachers in developing a shared analytical vocabulary for grammatical reasoning, a form of pedagogical expertise that neither native‐speaker intuition nor AI currently supplies.