Let’s Do It Differently: Exploring the Effectiveness of 5E-Supported EFL Grammar Instruction

Abstract

The teaching of and research on grammar have long been central to language education, with an ongoing quest for more effective models for fostering student understanding and application. The 5E (viz., Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation) instructional model, recognized for its effectiveness in promoting engagement and active learning, may not only constitute an innovative approach to grammar instruction but also leverage an interactive inquiry-based environment which improves student comprehension and retention of grammatical concepts. This study examines the potential effectiveness of the 5E Model in EFL grammar instruction. The participants, 70 students in two intact tenth-grade sections from a public school in Irbid, Jordan, were randomly assigned into an experimental group (n=35), taught using the 5E Model, and a control group (n=35), taught per the guidelines of the prescribed teacher’s book. A pre-/post- test targeting five grammatical structures (viz., state and dynamic verbs, second conditional, making suggestions, defining relative clauses, and non-defining relative clauses) was used. The findings showed statistically significant differences (at α= 0.05) between the experimental and control group students’ performance in both overall grammar and each of the five structures in favor of the former. The study concludes with several pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research.