Teachers’ and students’ beliefs, practices and preferences towards learner-centred grammar teaching approaches in english as a foreign language classes: grade 9 in focus
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Date
2026-04-30
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study attempted to investigate secondary school teachers‘ and students‘ beliefs, practices and preferences concerning learner-centred grammar teaching approaches in English as a foreign language situation. The study was grounded in a social constructivist perspective and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as its theoretical framework. A descriptive survey design was employed to deal with the research objectives. A total of 314 students were selected through simple random sampling, while 26 English teachers were included using a census approach. Classroom observations were undertaken using availability sampling, and teachers were selected purposively for interviews; students were also randomly chosen for interview participation. Data were collected through questionnaires provided to teachers as well as students, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observation checklists. Quantitative data from questionnaires were analysed using mean, standard deviation and paired samples t-test whereas qualitative data from interviews and observations were examined qualitatively focusing on themes. The findings corroborated that teachers in general possess positive beliefs about the instructional importance of learner-centred approaches for grammar teaching. However, these beliefs are not consistent with instructional practices. Both observation and interview data demonstrated that a persistent dependence on traditional, teacher-centred teaching methodologies. This difference emphasized that there is an explicit mismatch between teachers‘ reported beliefs and their actual classroom practices. The findings also indicated that several limiting factors contributed to the unsuccessful implementation of learner-centred methods such as large class sizes, time constraints to cover the contents and students‘ constrained willingness to actively engage in classroom interaction. From the students‘ points of view, although they understood that learner-centred approaches are advantageous, they generally showed preferences on the teacher-centred approaches, perceiving grammar as a particularly challenging aspect of language learning that requires direct explanation. Depending on the findings of the study, it is recommended that teachers should engage themselves in continuing professional development program in order to foster their capabilities of practicing modern, learner-centred grammar instructional approaches. The study also emphasized the importance of adjusting oneself to contextually-responsive instructional approaches to tackle the current problem. Moreover, it is recommended that concerned bodies like Ministry of Education and Regional Education Bureaus give focused training for both teachers and students to enhance familiarity with learner-centred approaches to grammar instruction.
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Keywords
Beliefs, Practices, Preferences, Learner-centred Grammar Teaching Approaches