A Study on the Perceptions of Secondary School Students regarding the Form-focused and Communication-focused English Instruction

Abstract

Form-focused instruction (FFI) and communication-focused instruction (CFI) are two different L2 or foreign language teaching approaches. In actual teaching practice, almost every EFL teacher has a preference for them so that these two instructional approaches dominate EFL classrooms to a great extent. This study, by using a self-designed questionnaire, attempts to examine student perceptions toward FFI and CFI. The subjects in this quantitative study were 300 ninth graders and 300 twelfth graders from two public urban schools. Findings from two-way MANOVA analysis revealed that: 1) Both ninth-grade and twelfth-grade students held highly positive perceptions toward CFI, but they were not very positive toward FFI. In contrast, ninth graders showed more positive perceptions toward FFI than twelfth graders. 2) Gender differences existed in student perceptions toward FFI. Male students were more positive toward FFI than female students. 3) Results showed that the two predictors FFI and CFI had certain correlations with the academic achievement of ninth-grade and twelfth-grade students. Based on the findings of this study, a few constructive conclusions are as follows: 1) EFL teachers are encouraged to apply the communicative approach in class to foster and develop secondary school students' communication skills. 2) Teaching grammar to junior high and male students is likely to achieve effective results. 3) EFL teachers need to take gender differences into account when they design English curriculum. 4) Both FFI and CFI can help students achieve academic success at school.

EFL Learners` Beliefs about Isolated and Integrated Grammar Teaching and Performance on a Grammar Recognition Test

“…The students and teachers' individual goals for language learning and the exposure to theoretical issues play an important role and the students present perceptions about educational institutions determine whether we emphasize, de-emphasize, or ignore grammar instruction in the classrooms (Pazavar &Wang, 2009). Although it's not possible to make strong generalization about the findings of the present study, as it was pointed out by (Feng, 2013) it is necessary for EFL teachers to consider students attitude and perception. The gaps between EFL teachers' performances and students attitude needs to become as close as possible for making the instruction more influential and constructive.…”

“…In literature on L2 grammar instruction, there are some studies which indicate a combination of isolated and integrated FFI can be better than applying one approach and neglecting another one (Azar, 2007, Fotos, 2005Spada & Lightbown, 2009). Therefore, EFL teachers must manage to keep a balance between form-focused and communication-focused instruction (Feng, 2013). In addition, it shouldn't be neglected that students have various perceptions regarding that grammatical instruction in the classroom.…”

Communicative Competence Fostered in a Nested EFL Learning Ecology: Technology-Enhanced Learning in the Chinese Context

“…The second survey was designed to elicit students' perceptions of the effectiveness of the nested EFL learning ecology on their vocabulary development and speaking skills development. There were 11 five-point Likert scale questions, which were divided into three categories: vocabulary development (item 1-2), the development of 4 types of oral skills (item 3-6), and speaking sub-skills development (item [7][8][9][10][11]. Quantitative data were analyzed with IBM SPSS 26.0.…”

Learning to Speak in the Real-Life Situations First and Written Forms Afterwards: A Proposal Based on Communicative Language Teaching for English Learning & Teaching Reform in China

“…"Communicative competence" refers to one's ability to encode and decode messages and to negotiate meanings interpersonally within particular contexts (Feng, 2013). Savignon (2002) further argues that communicative competence would depend on the cooperation of all the participants involved.…”