Abstract
Learner beliefs about how they learn a language best play a vital role in the instructional process and the role of grammar instruction has been a much-debated topic in the research and practice of EFL instruction. This study explores learner beliefs about how they best learn grammar focusing on four construct pairs: meaning-focused versus form-focused instruction, focus on form versus focus on forms, explicit versus implicit instruction, and inductive versus deductive grammar instruction. Data were collected through a survey from 927 preparatory year and undergraduate students at an English-medium university in an English as a foreign language (EFL) setting. Results showed that regardless of year of study, students showed a preference for having grammar included as part of their lessons and course books, and although focus on form was reported to be the least preferred method of instruction, when given a choice between implicit versus explicit grammar instruction, all groups preferred explicit instruction.
Highlights
Beliefs can be defined as evaluative propositions that individuals regard to be true and that have a strong affective component (Borg, 2001)
In exploring learner beliefs about how they best learn grammar, this study focuses on four construct pairs: 1 Meaning-focused (MFI) versus form-focused (FFI) instruction; 2 Focus on form (FonF) versus focus on forms (FonFs); 3 Explicit (ExpI) versus implicit (ImpI) instruction; 4 Inductive (II) versus deductive (DI) grammar instruction
The results for Item 1 (“Grammar should be a part of English lessons” (MFI)) and Item 2 (“Grammar should be a part of English course books.” (FFI)) show that all students showed a preference for having grammar as a part of their lessons and course books
Summary
Beliefs can be defined as evaluative propositions that individuals regard to be true and that have a strong affective component (Borg, 2001). Learner beliefs have been identified as important individual-level variables in language learning (Dornyei, 2005; Kalaja & Barcelos, 2003) that both underlie and to a great extent guide learner behavior (Horwitz, 1988, 1999). Considering that beliefs are “highly individual, relatively stable, and relatively enduring” (Grotjahn, 1991:189), studying learner beliefs can help in exploring, understanding, and predicting learner behavior. Since learner beliefs about how they learn best plays a significant role in shaping their learning process, studying their beliefs about how they learn grammar is of importance in grammar instruction. This study aims to explore university students’ beliefs about how they believe they learn grammar with the aim of aligning the instructional process with these beliefs
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