The role of grammar courses in students’ writing products: a case study in Düzce University

Abstract

In Turkey, English is taught in all state schools
 beginning in the second grade of the primary schools and continuing in the
 higher education. This huge amount of time period spent on language teaching is
 expected to be seen in students’ proficiency levels and in the way they can use
 English. The products in which they can reflect their levels of English
 perceptibly are their compositions, which can also be used as learning tools
 for learners (Raimes, 1983). While writing, learners do not only transfer the
 ideas in their minds, they also try to gain accuracy by using their vocabulary
 and grammar knowledge. While teaching English, following a skill-based approach
 in language programs has been a common practice for a long time. Those programs
 may sometimes include the teaching of vocabulary and grammar as separate
 courses. In the university where this research study was conducted, English
 preparatory year is optional, and there are ten-hour-a-week reading-writing,
 ten-hour-a-week listening-speaking and four-hour-a-week grammar courses in an
 academic year. In this skill-based program, grammar is thought to be an
 essential element to help students improve their productive skills in a more
 accurate manner. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to reveal what
 kind of a role grammar courses have on the students’ writings. As this study
 was designed as a case study, one class was chosen to be studied on, and their
 writing portfolios were gathered and each assignment from the beginning until
 the end of the 2017/2018 academic year was analyzed. The data were collected by
 analyzing the grammar components of students’ writings and a comparison was
 made in order to see whether there was a match between the order of grammar
 topics covered and the use of them in the writing products.