Alternative grammar teaching vs. traditional grammar teaching in Albanian tertiary education

Abstract

Owing to the complex nature of the English Grammar, teachers of English language and linguistics face many challenges when teaching Grammar. Besides, it is difficult for students to master grammar structures though English teachers in Albania try hard to make grammar teaching as engaging as possible but through the traditional grammar teaching approach. The traditional approach and techniques have produced ineffective learning and inert knowledge problems. However, through alternative teaching approaches, especially the communicative one, students learn the language in all its three dimensions, form, meaning and use. This helps them to make use of grammatical structures meaningfully, accurately, and appropriately. With the view to investigate Albanian University lecturers’ perspectives in teaching English grammar in foreign languages departments in Albania, this research paper aimed to survey English Language lecturers’ most effective grammar teaching approaches and strongly suggest them teaching grammar communicatively. With the aid of a questionnaire, lecturers provided their opinions on the effectiveness of this alternative teaching approach and its impact on their students’ success. As an integral component part of language, as a mechanism that makes language move, grammar improves the quality as well as accuracy of English language writing and fluency, and the best approach to integrate it into English language teaching skills, should be applied by all English language lecturers. The questionnaire’s results show an integration of both approaches. Lecturers prefer teaching grammar communicatively to the traditional approach; however, they also use elements of the traditional one.