Abstract:

The problem of motivating university students to learn English grammar is under consideration nowadays despite much research done in this area. Modern students get used to being entertained at the lessons, consequently, they are unwilling to do necessary, but monotonous, grammar practice on their own. The authors view online tools as the key to successful organization of students’ self-studies and grammar learning motivation. The paper is aimed at describing online tools for self-studies that contribute to a better development of students’ grammar skills. The context discussed is the university grammar course that has to be offered in the format of blended learning then. The combination of face-to-face grammar teaching with students’ working online is proved to be effective using the data collected through needs’ analysis, statistics interpretation and surveys. The following conditions are found necessary for blended grammar teaching: accessibility of online tasks, technical support, availability of grammar reference materials, a quick teacher’s feedback online, stimulating formative assessment to allow students to score more for online tasks. Thus, turning modern students’ habit of using online products into a useful means of grammar practice brings benefits – it develops their language skills and increases motivation on the whole.

Keywords:

English as a foreign language teaching, university grammar course, students’ self-studies, motivation, blended learning, online tools.