The effects of grammar translation method and communicative language teaching grammar instruction in EFL university students in Taiwan.

摘要

The problem. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of Grammar Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching grammar instruction in EFL university students in Taiwan.;Method. Both quantitative approach and qualitative approach were used in this study. Intact groups of participants were randomly assigned into two different grammar instruction approaches. During the experimental period, the participants completed the grammar instruction treatment and a pre-test, four immediate post-tests, and a delayed post-test. In addition, the experimental group students received a survey in order to obtain their perceptions of Communicative Grammar Teaching.;Results. To summarize, the quantitative findings showed that CGT was an effective method of grammar instruction for EFL university students in Taiwan, especially on prototypical (non-productive) rules. Even though the experimental group students did not perform significantly better than the control group students did on categorical (productive) rules, their mean scores were higher. In addition, the participants' short-term and long-term gains were maintained at the end of the research period. Moreover, the qualitative findings indicate that the students had positive perceptions of CGT overall. The experimental group students believed that their communication ability was improved and realized that English was a tool for communication. In addition, they noted that English grammar learning could be communicative and functional, and not simply full of memorization. Therefore, CGT was a beneficial approach to the learning English grammar.