How can ELT research potentially be developed? The present paper approaches this question by means of systems thinking, referring to an epistemology that is characterized by key concepts such as emergence, hierarchy, and communication. In doing so, ELT research is viewed as a human activity system which deals with a purposeful activity that can exist in the real world. In this article, English sentence structure, which is a major element of English pedagogical grammar, is taken as an example. A review of the literature on grammar instruction in ELT reveals that English sentence structure is often taught by employing five or seven patterns. For communicative purposes, this article approaches and reinterprets English sentence structure from a semantic perspective so that these five or seven patterns can be consolidated into one. In addition, this paper demonstrates how this meaning-based approach can make it possible to arrange English grammar in two dimensions and teach and/or learn it systemically.
https://ror.org/03k9f1n96 
