A study of students and teachers’ perception towards English grammar teaching and learning the case of three junior high schools in Walewale municipality

Abstract

This study examined both teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions, and beliefs, as well as their attitude and motivation towards the teaching and learning of English grammar in Junior High Schools in the Walewale Municipality. To achieve the objectives, the mixed method approach and the convergent parallel design was applied. Questionnaire, interview, observation and focus group discussions were employed to collect data from the participants. Gardner‟s socioeducational model was used as the theoretical framework and data analyzed using descriptive statistics (SPSS) and thematic analysis. The results revealed that the students value the study of English grammar and also hold the belief that it is important for them to study and master grammar in order to use English language to communicate effectively. However, the students were also seen to perceive grammar to have many rules, full of exceptions, making the learning of grammar cumbersome. This has made the students to develop a negative perception towards the study of grammar in particular and English language in general. And this has in no small means contributed to the poor performance of students in the English language. It was observed that the negative perception of the students towards English grammar is also closely attributed to the fact that majority of the English language teachers rely heavily on the traditional approach to teaching grammar. Based on the results, it is suggested that English language teachers should try as much as possible to adopt appropriate strategies to teach English grammar and also motivate their students in the language classroom.