Presentation outline
3RD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TEACHING
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Lisbon, Portugal, 26-27 November 2010
Exploring advanced learners' beliefs about
teaching and learning English grammar:
Insights form interview data
Mirosław Pawlak
Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz

importance of form-focused instruction (FFI)

current controversies in form-focused instruction

importance of learners' beliefs about FFI

previous research into learners' beliefs concerning FFI

aims and research questions

subjects, data collection and analysis

research findings and discussion

conclusions and implications
1
Importance of formal instruction





traditional grammar teaching (Doughty 1998)
non-interventionist approaches and zero grammar
option (Krashen 1985, Prabhu 1987)
revival of interest in grammar teaching in the last two
decades – Long's (1991) concept of focus on form
theoretical support for form-focused instruction – the
Noticing Hypothesis (Schmidt 1990), the Interaction
Hypothesis (Long 1996), the Output Hypothesis (Swain
1995) or Skill-Learning Theory (DeKeyser 1998, 2003)
the findings of numerous studies of FFI (e.g. Ellis 2008,
Larsen-Freeman 2010)
Current controversies

current areas of controversy surrounding form-focused
instruction (Ellis 2006; Nassaji and Fotos 2007):
choosing the structures to be taught
timing of pedagogic intervention
intensity of grammar teaching
the place of grammar in the curriculum
most beneficial techniques in teaching grammar for explicit
and implicit knowledge (deduction vs. induction, outputbased vs. input-oriented teaching, different types of error
corrective feedback)
learners' contributions to learning grammar or the use of
grammar learning strategies
2
Research into learner beliefs
Importance of learner beliefs

learner beliefs as an important individual difference
variable in L2 learning (Dörnyei 2005; Ellis 2008)

such beliefs are important because they underlie actual
classroom behaviors to a large extent (Grotjahn 1991)

beliefs have been related to strategy use, motivation,
proficiency, anxiety and autonomy (Mori 1999)



learner beliefs are likely to influence teacher classroom
practices (Burgess and Etherington 2002; Borg 2003)

importance of research into learner beliefs about FFI

crosscultural differences in perceptions of FFI



main focus on investigating teachers' beliefs about
various aspects FFI (Burgess and Etherington 2002; Borg
2003; Pawlak 2006; Pawlak and Droździał-Szelest 2007)
investigating crosscultural differences in beliefs about
FFI (McCargar 1993; Schulz 2001)
a study into beliefs about grammar instruction and error
correction conducted by Loewen et al. (2009)
exploring Asian students' beliefs about grammar teaching
(Pazaver and Wang 2009)
beliefs about isolated and integrated FFI investigated in a
study conducted by Spada et al. (2009)
3
Design of the study
Aims and research questions


the study sought to investigate the beliefs about grammar
learning and teaching held by Polish learners of English
more precisely, it aimed to explore their perceptions of
FFI in such areas as areas as:

overall importance of FFI, also with reference to specific skills


choice of syllabus type (structural vs. task-based)
design of lessons devoted to FFI (separation vs. integration)

introducing grammar structures (deduction vs. induction)
practicing grammar structures (controlled vs. communicative
practice, input-based vs. output-based options)
ways of dealing with grammar errors (timing, source)
the role of grammar learning strategies


the subjects were 40 students of English philology Polish
(F – 28, M – 12) – representing year 1 (12), 2 (16) and 3
(12) in a BA program
experience in learning English was about 10 years
the subjects' level of proficiency varied from B2 to C1
and they had received some training in EFL methodology
the data were collected by means of semi-structured
interviews which focused on the areas mentioned above
the participants were allowed to use English or Polish in
the course of the interviews
the interviews were recorded and analyzed qualitatively
4
Findings of the study

the majority of the participants were convinced of the
overall importance of FFI
Findings of the study

Grammar is important because thanks to it you can express your
ideas more accurately and precisely.
Grammar is very important for us because we will be teachers of
English and have to know what we teach. It also helps us write
academic papers.
When I speak to native speakers, the knowledge of grammar helps
me avoid errors.

We have to be taught and practice all the structures because only
then do we know how the system works. That's how I was taught
in high school and it helped me get where I am.
You cannot only focus on problematic areas because different
students have problems with something else.
Grammar classes have to follow a structural syllabus but perhaps
a task-based one would be useful in our conversation classes or
integrated skills classes.
only three subjects expressed doubts about the role of
grammar teaching and learning
I know from experience that grammar is not very important for
successful communication.
the participants were in favor of a structural rather than
task-based syllabus, although they saw some role for the
latter in some of their practical English classes

there were differences between levels in the program
5
Findings of the study

when it comes to the design of grammar-based lessons,
the students saw a place for the PPP as well as the
application of communicative tasks
It is important for the teacher to make it clear which point of
grammar is being studied as it allows me to practice the structure
at home in my own time.
It is best when the teacher explains the structure and only then are
we asked to do exercises.
There is always a need to use the structure we are taught during
communicative tasks because otherwise we will not be able to use
them in fast speech. We very often study difficult structures but do
not develop the ability to use them in real time and this is what
grammar should be for.
Findings of the study

as regards the introduction of grammar structures, the
learners favored deduction over induction
I don't like to discover rules on my own because I feel I can be
wrong and it certainly hampers my learning.
There is too little time to discover rules sometimes. I prefer to be
given the rule and use it right away in exercises and tasks.

when it comes to practice, there was a preference for
traditional exercises, although some learners stressed the
need for communication
It is often about doing exercises (paraphrasing, filling the gaps)
and we do not use it in real-life communication; we practice
grammar structures that are not used
6
Conclusions and implications
Findings of the study

the students favored immediate, explicit correction of
their grammar errors

√ importance of grammar instruction and error correction
√ structural syllabus and PPP favored but the role of using
grammar structures in communication emphasized
√ deduction favored and various forms of practice stressed
√ premium placed on provision of immediate corrective feedback
√ the role of the teacher emphasized
√ the ways of learning mirror the ways of teaching
It is best when the teacher corrects the errors in grammar
immediately because then I know what I did wrong.
I like to know what I do wrong even when I speak, but teachers
should only indicate errors and allow me to continue.

overall perceptions of FFI
the students reported the use of very traditional grammar
learning strategies and only a few were more creative

I use only strategies such as memorizing rules and studying
examples and doing exercises.

Making drawings representing given structures.


there is a need to lay more emphasis on the application of
grammar in communication
there is a place for the structural and task-based syllabus
the need for skilful provision of corrective feedback
appropriate GLS should be fostered
7
Thank you!!!
8