Abstract:
This study examined both teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions, and beliefs, as well as their
attitude and motivation towards the teaching and learning of English grammar in Junior High
Schools in the Walewale Municipality. To achieve the objectives, the mixed method approach
and the convergent parallel design was applied. Questionnaire, interview, observation and focus
group discussions were employed to collect data from the participants. Gardner‟s socioeducational
model was used as the theoretical framework and data analyzed using descriptive
statistics (SPSS) and thematic analysis. The results revealed that the students value the study of
English grammar and also hold the belief that it is important for them to study and master
grammar in order to use English language to communicate effectively. However, the students
were also seen to perceive grammar to have many rules, full of exceptions, making the learning
of grammar cumbersome. This has made the students to develop a negative perception towards
the study of grammar in particular and English language in general. And this has in no small
means contributed to the poor performance of students in the English language. It was observed
that the negative perception of the students towards English grammar is also closely attributed to
the fact that majority of the English language teachers rely heavily on the traditional approach to
teaching grammar. Based on the results, it is suggested that English language teachers should try
as much as possible to adopt appropriate strategies to teach English grammar and also motivate
their students in the language classroom.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Foreign Language
Education and Communication, submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, in partial
fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Teaching English as a Second Language)
in the University of Education, Winneba
