ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD (Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics) Course: Grammar (5657) Level: TEFL Diploma Semester: Spring, 2021 Name : Roll No : Shahid Mahmood T592321 ASSIGNMENT No. 2 Conduct a research study to analyze problems faced by English language teachers in teaching grammar at primary level. You may observe grammar classes after seeking informed consent from the language teachers. Develop an observation sheet/checklist in advanced for efficient recording of problems. You may prepare an open ended questionnaire to seek opinions of 5-8 language teachers. Analyze the collected data and discuss significant problems faced by the language teachers. In the end, give recommendations to improve the situation. Answer: Abstract The English language is considered the most important language in the world. Therefore, the demands to teach and learn are increasing day by day. This study investigates problems faced by English language teachers in teaching grammar at the primary level. A qualitative approach has been adopted to conduct this study. The interview has been used as an instrument. The participants of the study were 5 EFL school teachers who teach English in primary schools in different cities of Pakistan. The findings have shown that EFL teachers ‘problems are related to five areas such as students, experience, expectations, notions associated with the English language, and facilities. Finally, it has given some recommendations to address the challenges or problems EFL school teachers face during teaching at the primary level in Pakistan. Introduction English is the international language of the world and most of the countries working on the improvement of the condition of the English language in schools and colleges. In many countries of the world, English is being taught through grammar. Therefore the role of English grammar is very important in learning the English language. Teaching language with grammar brings some challenges to EFL teachers to teach them English grammar rules. Hence, this study is going to focus on the challenges they face while teaching English grammar to Pakistani students at the primary level. Teaching English grammar to non-native speakers of English is not an easy task. There can be many reasons behind this. EFL teachers face lots of challenges while teaching grammar to English learners at all levels generally and particularly at the primary level. This research study is going to explore the problems EFL teachers face during teaching to primary level students in Pakistan. The following are the objectives of this study: 1- To identify problems EFL teachers face during teaching to primary level students in Pakistan. 2- To find out the solution to these challenges? This study has the following research questions: 1-What are the problems EFL teachers face while teaching English grammar at the primary level in Pakistan? 2- What are the ways to address these challenges? Literature Review Although there are many studies related to the challenge of teaching grammar to students at various levels there is a dearth of research on challenges and problems EFL teachers face while teaching English grammar to primary level students in Pakistan. This section of the study is going to talk about some of the studies which have been done on teaching grammar in the Pakistan and world. The first important study belongs to Aslam & et al(2010) in Pakistan. This study has identified brings out problems faced by the learners of Pakistan in the acquisition of English as a second language. Results have shown that knowledge of English grammar can be managed and made sustainable with different learning techniques. The second important study was conducted by Ahsan, Younus & Hussain (2020) on “Exploring the Difficulties in Learning English Grammar Rules in Functional English/ESP Classrooms, a Study into the Context of Southern Punjab, Pakistan”. The important objective of the study was to identify learning English grammar rules in functional English classrooms at the public sector colleges, universities. The study revealed that the learners fall into different difficulties while learning the grammar rules of L2 such as subject-verb agreement, plural markers, or rules related to tenses, confusion in using forms of the verb, difficulty in memorizing two-word verbs, confusion in using verb tense, difficulty in using phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions might be caused by the linguistic circumstances of the students. Finally, it suggested some English teachers should properly direct and motivate their l2 learners in this perspective and they must opt their lecture on grammar by making difference between English, Urdu, or other regional languages so that they could eradicate the difficulties of English grammar faced by the learners. Another important study was carried out by ELLIS(2006) on “Current Issues in the Teaching of Grammar: An SLA Perspective.” That study discusses a number of key issues related to teaching English grammar in a second language (L2) and, by drawing on theory and research in SLA, suggests ways to address these problems. Another important study was carried out by Petrak & Hill (2011). This article has shown findings from a study that investigated teachers’ attitudes to, and opinions about, grammar teaching in ESL and EFL contexts (Petraki & Hill, 2010). It has reported on teachers’ beliefs about the keys to successful grammar teaching and their understanding of the skills and knowledge needed by beginning English language teachers. The findings have implications for language teacher education and suggest that raising awareness of what is needed to be an effective grammar teacher may contribute to the development of confidence in those who are beginning or struggling with, grammar teaching. The study offered insights gleaned from self-professed confident ‘grammar teachers’ into the effective teaching of grammar in language classrooms. It also revealed important principles that can underpin TESOL curricula. Methodology This study has adopted a qualitative approach where 5 EFL teachers who teach English grammar at primary school have been requested to participate in it. They have been asked to answer the questions related to the challenges of teaching English grammar at the primary level. A semi-structured interview has been used as a tool to collect data. Data has been taken in form of recordings and later on transcribed. The most common themes have been selected for the analysis and discussion. Finally, the results have been drawn on the basis of findings. Findings and Discussion The participants have been asked about the challenges they face while teaching English grammar at the primary level in Pakistan related to five areas such as students, teachers’ experience, facilities from institutions, teachers’ expectations, and notions associated with English grammar. 1-The problems EFL teachers face in terms of their students at the primary level The findings have revealed that three participants found a lack of motivation and interest in the challenge from the students’ side. One participant said that the main problem related to students is that English is not their mother tongue that is why problems while learning English grammar. The fifth and the last one said that the interference of mother tongue is the major problem from students’ side which is a big challenge. 2-The problems EFL teachers face in terms of their teaching experience According to the EFL teachers who participated in the interview, two of the participants said that the major problem in terms of their experience is that they are not provided with proper training to teach English grammar. One participant said that traditional methods of teaching English grammar are is a hurdle in teaching grammar to primary school students. The fifth participant found the teachers do not adopt the latest teaching methodologies of teaching grammar to students. 3-The problems EFL teachers face in terms of facilities from institutions The findings of this question has revealed that one of the interviewees believe that large size classes. The other participant considers that absence of audio visual ads is obstacle in teaching English grammar at primary level in Pakistan. The third one said that inadequate classroom material is the problem. Last one considers over crowded classes the big challenge for EFL school teachers to teach English Grammar. 4-The problems EFL teachers face in terms of teachers expectations The findings related to this area reveal that teachers have high expectations while teaching them English grammar. One of the interviewees believes that when they are asked to appear in test or exam on grammar they fail and could not meet to the expectations of teachers. One interviewee believes that teachers are unaware of the students’ educational background and directly starts teaching at high level. One participant said that English grammar should not be taught at primary level. It should be started at secondary level. 5-The problems EFL teachers face in terms of notions associated with English This is very important area where participants have been found to express two major things; first, they believe that English is not their language. Hence there is no need to learn it. Second finding is that most of them believe that English is the language of non-Muslims so they do not like it. Third and final finding is that they want to learn it for just examination point of view. So these are three main findings related to the notions of the students which are big problems for EFL teacher to teach English grammar to primary school students in Pakistan. Recommendations to improve these problems to teach English grammar at primary level in Pakistan The following things can be done to address the challenge or problems EFL teachers face to teach children at primary level. They are: 12- Teachers must be given proper training to teach grammar at lower level Teachers should be provided with good material that could help them in facilitating students to learn English grammar. 3- Class should not be over crowded. Their size must be reduced so that teachers can pay attention individually. 45- Teachers should teach primary level students at their level not like college students. Students should be realized that there is no harm in learning language. They should not consider it bad language or language of non-Muslim. They should be motivated to learn language and its worth in world. Conclusion This mini research has identified problems EFL teachers face during teaching of English grammar at primary level in Pakistan. It has revealed problems of EFL teachers related to five areas. It has also suggested some solutions to address these challenges. If these above-mentioned recommendations are adopted, the mentioned challenges can be reduced to a large extent. References Aslam, H. D., Nadeem, M. A., Hussain, M., & Khan, M. (2010). Comparison of Human Resources' Impact on Teaching Grammar to Second Language Learners and Developing Teachers' attitude towards Teaching of English Grammar at Secondary School Level. Journal of Educational Research (1027-9776), 13(1). Ahsan, M., Younus, N., & Hussain, Z. (2020). Exploring the Difficulties in Learning English Grammar Rules in Functional English/ESP Classrooms, a Study into the Context of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Research Journal of Social Sciences and Economics Review, 1(3), 285-293 Borg, S. (2001). Self-perception and practice in teaching grammar. ELT journal, 55(1), 21-29. Ellis, R. (2006). Current issues in the teaching of grammar: An SLA perspective. TESOL quarterly, 40(1), 83-107. . Horan, A. (2003, July). English grammar in schools. In Proceedings of the 2002 conference of the Australian Linguistics Society (p. xx). . Petraki, E., & Hill, D. (2011). Effective grammar teaching: Lessons from confident grammar teachers. TESOL in Context, 21(2), 34-51..
