LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 21:2 February 2021
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Celebrate India!
Unity in Diversity!!

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!

REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES

  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.

  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.

  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2020
M. S. Thirumalai

Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
11249 Oregon Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
Custom Search

English for Specific Purpose (ESP) Teachers’ and Students’ Beliefs
Regarding Grammar Instruction in ESP Classes at
Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS)

Soma Hotak, M.Ed. TESOL

Abstract

It is obvious that teachers’ and students’ views play a significant role in maximizing the quality of teaching and learning foreign language. The purpose of this study was to explore ESP teachers’ and learners’ perceptions about grammar teaching and learning in ESP classes at Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS). Studies and findings in the field have depicted that grammar is a vital aspect of language learning. This descriptive study sought the perceptions and beliefs of 7 ESP teachers and about 99 ESP learners at KUMS. Closed-ended questionnaires adapted from related literatures, which were also modified, were administrated online through google forms to teacher and student participants of this study. Descriptive statistical analysis as frequency and percentage was performed using SPSS 16.0 version. The findings show that teachers and learners shared almost positive perception towards most of aspects under investigation in the questionnaire. It has been revealed that ESP teachers and learners consider grammar teaching and learning an essential and integral part of language learning and teaching in ESP framework at KUMS. Lastly, the result of this study contributes to enhancing the quality of teaching English grammar and ESP teaching program on whole.

Keywords: Afghanistan, ESP Classes, Grammar teaching and learning, teachers’ beliefs, students’ beliefs.

Introduction

English Language Teaching such as English as foreign language (EFL) or English as second language (ESL) has two main branches. One is English for general purpose (EGP) and the second one is English for specific purposes (ESP) which means teaching English to university students or people in employment with focus on content, vocabulary and skills needed in a particular discipline. Considering the current era of development and advancement, English language has been the main mean of professional and daily communication and desirable employments are available for those who have good command of English language. For these reasons, English has been considered as a vital element of current education and an empowering language which is tough at universities to students of various disciplines.

The fundamental aim of teaching English language for general or specific purposes is to build learners’ ability in the four skills of language as reading, listening, writing, and speaking; however, developing that ability depends on grammar knowledge and learners’ ability to use grammar knowledge appropriately in regards of those skills. That is why research in this area showed grammar as a vital element not only in EGP but also in ESP teaching. However, grammar-learning and teaching has been mostly neglected by ESP learners and teachers.

Looking at the status of grammar teaching in the history of language teaching in terms of linguistics and teaching theories and approaches, grammar has always been an essential part and at the same time a disputable aspect. Language teaching theories and approaches reflected various degree of importance of grammar knowledge in teaching and learning language, but none of them totally ignored the essential role of teaching grammar in learning language.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Soma Hotak, M.Ed. TESOL
Assistant Professor, The English Department
Kabul University of Medical Sciences Abu Ali Ibn Sina
Ata Turk Avenue, Jamal Mena, 3rd district, Kabul
Afghanistan
Soma_hotak@yahoo.com
Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.