Grammar in the Language Classroom: A Case Study of Teachers’ Attitudes and their Actual Behaviour in the Class

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mozhgan Azimi
Keyword(s):  
Action Theory ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs And Practice ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Teaching Grammar

The purpose of this paper was to explore the language teachers’ attitudes towards teaching English grammar. In addition, this study compared the teachers’ beliefs and their actual behaviors in the class. The “Action Theory” was chosen regarding this issue. It was investigated if there was any compatibility between their beliefs and practice or not and in case of incompatibility, the subjects were aware of it or not. This paper also tried to explore the reasons of this incompatibility as well as to find out the factors that influenced the teachers’ actual behaviors in the class. The present study is a case study done in a semi-government language center in Mashhad, Iran. Three female language teachers were selected as subjects for this research. To identify the language teachers’ attitudes towards teaching English grammar, a series of observations was done. And also, some interviews with three English teachers were planned to make known their attitudes towards teaching grammar. The Constant Comparative Method (CCM) was used to analyze the data obtained from observations and interviews. The findings of this study revealed that sometimes there was no compatibility between beliefs and actual behaviors. Most of the time, teachers were not aware of this incompatibility.   Keywords - Attitudes, Grammar, Belief, Behavior, Action Theory and Compatibility

scholarly journals Teachers’ Assumptions on Teaching English Grammar for Lower-secondary Level Students (A Case Study of Nepal)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Ramesh Prasad Adhikary
Keyword(s):  
Language Teaching ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
The Past ◽  
Teaching Grammar

Teaching grammar is one of the aspects of language teaching. From the past, different methods, like teaching from rules, teaching from examples, teaching through texts have been used to teach grammar in Nepal. So, this research was prepared to study the teachers’ assumption for teaching English grammar at lower secondary level in Nepal. The issue of teaching prepositions, articles, tense, tags, causative verbs and subject verb agreement are raised in this research. In this research, both the primary and secondary sources of data were used. Questionnaires were used to collect the data for the research. The result shows that most of the teachers use inductive ways to teach grammar lessons or they used student-centered techniques. It also concludes that the level of the learners, context and nature of the text also make the teachers to select the method for teaching.

scholarly journals The Relationship between TESOL Teachers’ Attitudes towards Grammar Teaching and their Grammatical Knowledge

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Khadija Al Balushi
Keyword(s):  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Grammar Teaching ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Teaching Grammar ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Grammar teaching continues to be a controversy matter in the field of teaching and teacher Education. It is generally agreed that attention to grammatical form is necessary and useful, but many issues related to teaching grammar still needs further research (Barnard & Scampton, 2008:59). This study investigated the relationship between Omani TESOL (teaching English to speakers’ of other languages) teachers’ attitudes towards grammar teaching and their grammatical knowledge. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 40 respondents teaching English in Omani schools. The findings showed that there was a positive correlation between teachers’ attitudes towards grammar teaching and their grammatical knowledge. However, there were no effect of gender on teachers’ grammatical knowledge and no effect of teaching experiences on attitude towards grammar teaching. The findings indicated that the final model of standard multiple regression showed that teachers attitudes towards grammar, gender, experience, age and the educational phase they teach in did not make a statistically significant unique contribution to the prediction of their grammatical knowledge. Such findings suggest directions for further studies in investigating the influence of language teachers’ attitudes/knowledge on their classroom practices.INTRODUCTIONIn recent years, grammar teaching has regained its rightful place in language curricula. Language teaching professionals are now of the belief that grammar cannot be ignored, and that without a good grammatical knowledge, learners’ language development can be severely constrained (Baleghizadeh & Farshchi, 2009). Grammar teaching and learning has attracted significant research attention. For example, many studies examined teachers’ explicit or declarative knowledge about grammar (e.g. Shuib, 2009; Andrews, 1994; Bloor, 1986). These studies showed that learners and teachers had encountered inadequate levels of grammatical knowledge. Other studies focussed on L2 and FL teachers’ beliefs about teaching grammar (Baleghizadeh & Farshchi, 2009; Borg& Burns, 2008). Borg and Burn’s (2008) study indicated that teachers expressed very strong beliefs in the need to avoid teaching grammar in isolation and reported high levels of integrating grammar in their practices. Baleghizadeh and Farshchi’s (2009) study revealed that teachers’ beliefs could be traced back to their long experience of teaching textbooks that heavily draw on deductive approaches to teaching grammar. Yet, we have to fully understand whether teachers’ attitudes towards grammar teaching have an influence on their grammatical knowledge. This is important because teachers’ attitudes/beliefs play a major role in influencing what they do in the classroom (Borg, 2006; Borg, 2003). Moreover, Shulman (1987) stressed that in order to teach grammar appropriately teachers need both grammatical knowledge and the skills “pedagogical content knowledge”. Thus, the current study focused on in-service TESOL teachers’ attitudes towards grammar teaching, and their grammatical knowledge to see if there is a correlation between the two and whether other background differences affect their knowledge of and attitudes towards grammar. This might help teacher educators to see the relationship as well as the impact of

scholarly journals TEACHING ENGLISH TENSES THROUGH POPULAR MOVIES – A CASE STUDY

2019 ◽  
pp. 137-160
Author(s):  
Srđan M. Gajdoš ◽  
Olivera Lj. Korpaš
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Present Perfect ◽  
Testing Technique ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Teaching Grammar ◽  
Experimental Group

The paper deals with teaching the Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous by using the scripts and clips from the blockbuster saga The Avengers. The relevance of this topic lies in the fact that grammar is traditionally considered a difficult aspect of learning a language. If we start including popular culture into the classroom and try to teach the grammar this way, we might make it easier for them to identify with the content that is traditionally considered uninteresting and difficult to master. The aim is to see whether teaching grammar through popular culture, set within a top-down approach of focusing on meaning (uses) rather than form, could prove to be effective. Another aim is to ascertain how 10 students (out of 20) from the experimental group would respond to this modern approach. A two-group experimental design was used and accompanied by a descriptive and statistical analysis. The testing technique was applied. The control group better mastered the form of the tenses, while the experimental group better mastered the meaning (uses) of the tenses. The latter group found the class more motivating. Teachers could consider teaching English grammar this way. However, to achieve better results, it would be advisable to focus on the form of the tenses as well.   

scholarly journals THE AFFORDANCES OF THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM APPROACH IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (33) ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Huu Anh Vuong Nguyen ◽  
Choon Keong Tan ◽  
Kean Wah Lee
Keyword(s):  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
English Language ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Grammar Instruction ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Grammar Rules

Recently, the flipped classroom instructional approach has received much attention from teachers of different subjects around the world. This new pedagogical model has been reported to be a potential method in the area of EFL teaching. In Vietnam, teaching English grammar has mainly focused on students’ acquisition of grammar rules without much practical application in real communicative situations. This case study aims at investigating the affordances perceived by students in a flipped English grammar class in order to help language teachers to harness the approach to enhance their students’ learning. The qualitative research design was adopted in the study. Thirty-four students majoring in the English language at a university in Vietnam attended a 10-week flipped grammar class. The instruments include semi-structured interviews with ten students randomly selected from the participants. Thematic analysis was performed to address the qualitative data drawing on the Activity Theory framework. Twelve affordances of the flipped classroom approach in English grammar instruction such as being self-paced in learning, offering opportunities to voice opinions, saving time for in-class communicative activities and facilitating learning English grammar communicatively were identified. The results of the study offer valuable implications for the application of this model in teaching English as a foreign language, especially in the context of Vietnam.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study Of The Use Of Infinitive In English And Albanian Language. Teaching English Grammar To Albanian Learners Based On A Comparison.

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artemisa Dralo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Correct Usage ◽  
Second Language Teachers ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Incorrect Usage

Today, interest in developing courses that provide interdisciplinary perspectives is increasing. In this way, we could obviously illustrate and give exact comparisons for our learners of English as a second language, in order to avoid their misconception and later incorrect usage of exact grammatical patterns. Thus a detailed study particularly upon the key patterns of each language, especially the correct usage of verbs, is necessary not even for the learner, but also for the teacher and especially for a linguist. The aim of this study is the correct usage and explanation of non-finite verbs for the learner of English as a second language. Teachers of all levels of English language have usually been confronted with this problem, while explaining grammar and trying to adjust the similarities and differences of English non-finites with the Albanian forms. This article focuses as well on the morphological and syntactical aspect and the structure of non-finite verbs within sentences in English and Albanian language, the problem of whether verbs are followed by the gerund or infinitive, especially in English but in a comparison to Albanian language and their equivalence. 

scholarly journals Enabling Translanguaging in the French Language Classroom

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiko Weinmann ◽  
Noella Charbonneau
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Beliefs And Practice

Recent studies in multilingual and translanguaging pedagogies have shifted the focus from investigating how students engage their multilingual repertoires to exploring how teachers understand and implement these pedagogical directions in their practice. In this article, the authors report on a national online survey on the multilingual perspectives and practices of teachers of French in Australia. The overall goal of the survey discussed here was to comprehensively capture how teachers of French understand the teaching and learning of languages in general, and of French in particular. The study revealed several tensions between the language teachers’ beliefs and practice. While most of the survey participants expressed strong support for innovative pedagogies such as translanguaging (García & Wei, 2014), and keen motivation to engage the full multilingual repertoire of their learners, a closer reading of the data indicated that most of them felt restricted in their practice by “the normative terms and conditions of an understanding of languages education that remains rooted in parochial, monolingual and pecuniary perspectives” (Weinmann & Arber, 2017, p. 173). In particular, the findings indicate that (self-)perceptions of “non-native” language teachers as “culturally deficient” continue to frame the notion of what constitutes a “good” language teacher (Holliday, 2015). For teachers to feel more confident and better equipped to effectively implement translanguaging pedagogies in their practice, teachers’ perceptions of their own multilingual identities and how these are shaped within the systems they work in (Young, 2017) need to be better understood. Keywords: Languages teaching, languages education, translanguaging, native language teacher, non-native language teacher, linguistic repertoire, multilingualism, Australia

scholarly journals A pilot study of the flipped classroom approach in higher education

2020 ◽  
pp. 7-30
Author(s):  
Encarnación Almazán Ruiz ◽  
Raquel Fuentes Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Flipped Classroom ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Teaching Model ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
English Grammar ◽  
Class Time ◽  
English Classroom ◽  
The One ◽  
Teaching Grammar

Teaching and learning grammar have become arduous tasks in the English classroom. On the one hand, students feel they are studying the same topics repeatedly. Teachers, on the other one, think students are not able to acquire the grammatical contents of the syllabus. As a direct consequence, it can be assumed it is high time to change the traditional methodology and introduce new approaches which allow us to involve students in their learning process. This paper is aimed at demonstrating the effectiveness of using the flipped classroom approach when teaching grammar. As it is a learner-centred model, students actively expose to contents at home and the in-class time is used to do tasks related to the previously worked contents. The instrument employed for this study is a questionnaire designed to know students’ opinion about a flipped experience implemented in the English classroom. The results show that this teaching model can be a good option to avoid students’ demotivation when teaching English grammar.

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