"Grammar lessons do not help children write proper"

Further to our favorite topic, Grammar Translation vs Communicative Language Teaching, I submit this piece of news. I realize it is not exactly on our topic but useful for our discussion:

Grammar lessons do not help children write proper
The Guardian
Joanne Lawson
Tuesday January 18, 2005

New findings suggest that teaching children grammar is of little use in improving their writing skills.

The study undertaken by researchers at the University of York found that teaching children old-fashioned grammar was not as helpful as teaching them skills such as how to combine short sentences into longer ones.

The funding for the research has come from the Department for Education and Skills, which undertakes regular reviews of the evidence to establish what are the best educational practices. The University of York English review team looked at the results of over 100 years of studies on formal grammar teaching, including previous government-backed reviews.