EFL Teachers’ and Learners’ Awareness, Practices and Challenges of Using Communicative Grammar: Two Selected Borecha Woreda Secondary Schools Grade Eleven in Focus.

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate teachers’ and learners’ awareness, practices and challenges of using communicative grammar. The study was a descriptive research which was analyzed in both qualitative and quantitative method of data analysis. Questionnaire, interview, and classroom observation were used to gather the necessary data. Three English teachers were selected by Comprehensive sampling method and 143 students were selected by stratified sampling to get necessary information. Both questionnaires (open-ended for teachers and close-ended for learners) and interviews containing related concepts and equal number of items were designed and delivered to teachers and students. Additionally, classroom observations were also used in gathering data. On the other hand, four grammar classes were observed to validate the data obtained through the aforementioned tools. The overall findings include: the students’ lack of opportunities to practice language items in meaningful situations, the teachers’ reluctance to employ various techniques of teaching and using different tasks as well as adapting the textbook based on the students’ background knowledge. Besides, the inadequacy of the textbook (both in content and distribution), teachers’ lack of motivations, the students’ poor exposure, shortage of time given for a period and the large class sizes in which many students found in a class are identified as the major hindrances. Finally, hoping that the study initiates others for further inquiry, some recommendations were made to settle the existing gaps. For instance, MoE, universities, and colleges, at the outset, ought to curiously work together on quality to pre-service and in-service teacher training to address issues at the grassroots level. Teachers are advised to teach grammar using a communicative approach rather than a rigorous and old-fashioned way. Additionally, teachers should use a variety of tasks/techniques in their grammar lessons such as visuals, graphs, stories, role plays, games, problem-solving activities, and so on, to make grammar teaching more interactive and communicative. Curriculum designers should also incorporate varieties of effective and sufficient CGT techniques in the text. Teachers should present grammar items either deductively or inductively based on the nature of the grammar points.