The effects of a practicum on pre-service english teachers’ L2 grammar teaching

Abstract

This study explores the beliefs and preferences of pre-service English teachers about the place and function of grammar in learning and teaching English in a communicative foreign language (EFL) environment. One of the most frequently discussed aspects of communicative language teaching is when and how grammar rules should be presented to learners. Spada and Lightbown (2008) focus on two types of grammar teaching: isolated (focusing on form separately from meaning) and integrated (focusing on form during meaning-based instruction). This study focuses on pre-service teachers’ perspectives on these two types of grammar teaching. Data was collected through a questionnaire and one on one interviews. The study investigates the effects of the practicum program (where student teachers observe their mentor teachers and have teaching experience in a real classroom) on the student teachers’ preferences of grammar instruction. Findings reveal that pre-service teachers favor integrated focus on form over isolated focus on form especially before the practicum. They express their concern about the effectiveness of an isolated approach to grammar. However, after the practicum, they accept that there may be certain uses of isolated focus on form when used in combination with integrated focus on form in a communicative curriculum. The results indicate that the perceptions of the pre-service teachers as shaped by their own language learning experiences and theoretical courses they have taken undergo changes in the practicum period. Practice in a real language teaching context seems to have helped pre-service teachers appreciate the benefits of complementary use of different approaches to focus on form.