At present, Swedish law requires that teaching rest upon science and proven experience. These demands, conjoined with the fact that Swedish research on L1 grammar education is scarce, renders a vitalization of the field important. This paper seeks to do so by examining international research in relation to existing Swedish research.

This paper accounts for a systematic literature review (Gough, Oliver & Thomas, 2017; EPPI-Centre, 2006) of peer-reviewed studies from English language international journals, concerning L1 grammar education published between 1999 and 2019. The aim of the review is to identify conceptualizations of grammar teaching in L1 education and, thus, offer guidance to future Swedish research on grammar education. The articles (n=33) are thematically analyzed in search for patterns within the field.

Preliminary findings reveal that the prominent theoretical perspectives on grammar teaching are the descriptive, rhetorical and contextual, where grammar is conceived as a meaning making resource that fosters metalinguistic knowledge. Also, findings indicate that verbalized metalinguistic activity and procedural activity in the writing process are closely connected. Furthermore, teachers’ conceptualizations of grammar are mainly prescriptive, hence, studies stress the importance of cooperation between teachers and linguists.

Finally, findings indicate that Swedish research tends to focus on whether or not grammar should be taught, whereas international research rather seeks to identify what poses as the key foundation of grammar education, namely metalinguistic activity. Drawing upon the results, recommendations for Swedish research include a shift in focus in order to explore other aspects of L1 grammar education.