Abstract:

Grammatical competence is one of the key linguistic competences according to Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR), which is part of communicative competence. Being proficient in grammar contributes to overall language proficiency and consequently, teaching and learning grammar in an interesting and effective way is of paramount importance. There is an urgency to offer students different ways of teaching and learning grammar that is interesting, engaging and contributes to knowledge retention. The aim of the paper is to show the Georgian undergraduate students’ post-experimental study attitudes toward Data-Driven Learning (DDL) of grammar. A survey in Likert scale format was held with research participants (49 students) via google forms. With the aid of the SPSS v.22.0 statistics program, the mean, median, mode, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis were calculated. The obtained data revealed that the students of the experimental groups had positive attitudes toward different elements of the Data-Driven Grammar Learning method. It was named as an interesting, motivational, and enjoyable method of learning grammar. Furthermore, it was recognized as a skills-based grammar learning process and was perceived to be essential along with knowledge-based learning. The DDL method was also regarded to be an effective method in terms of knowledge retention. A substantial majority of the students desired to experience Data-Driven Learning of grammar in the future being the approach of a student-centered, constructivist, authentic language-based, skills-oriented, autonomous grammar learning method that serves the development of English as a Foreign Language students’ grammar skills.

Keywords:

Data-Driven learning, EFL context, corpora, teaching grammar, learning grammar.