Perceptions of Pre-service Teachers of English towards Grammar Teaching in the Turkish Context

Öz Problem Statement: ESL/EFL grammar teaching has been a controversial issue due to the contextual differences. Therefore, there is a growing need to explore how English teachers perceive and practise grammar teaching in a variety of contexts. Research studies into this issue can provide them with context-sensitive perspectives.Purpose of Study: This study aimed to investigate the perceptions and classroom practices of Turkish pre-service teachers of English employing a quantitative research design.Methods: In this study, which employs a quantitative research design, the questionnaire adapted from a recently conducted study was distributed to 39 female and 5 male senior students at the Department of English Language Teaching at an English-medium state university in Turkey. They were all enrolled in the course Practice Teaching. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.Findings and Results: The student-teachers favored benefiting from not only form-focused instruction and but also holistic, meaning-based approaches. They assumed an active role in the teaching process as informed decision-makers sensitized to cultural and individual variables in their contexts within which their perceptions were shaped. Instructional challenges were the establishment of form-meaning mappings, informed use of authentic texts, contextualization, target language use, and skills integration.Conclusions and Recommendations: Classroom experience has helped student-teachers internalize the need for a balanced approach to grammar. Practice teaching course hours should be increased to proceduralize the skills of context-sensitive adjustments.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

perceptions towards grammar teaching, beliefs, pre-service teachers of English, context, explicit/implicit grammar instruction

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