Future teachers’ epistemological beliefs about skill-oriented grammar instruction

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. Teaching grammar is traditionally the core subject in pre-university Spanish language teaching. However, the way grammar is taught has been questioned because of the dubious impact that the study of language structure can have on the development of students’ communicative competence. With the new law (LOMLOE) and the orientation of education towards skills development, procedural changes aimed at communicative effectiveness should be implemented. METHOD. In order to corroborate the need for these changes, a metacognitive study was carried out with 355 students of the degree in Primary Education using the ExCOGE questionnaire, validated through the Delphi method. A qualitative analysis was carried out to find out the students’ epistemic beliefs about their grammar learning experience, their motivation, and their future teaching intentions. RESULTS. The results reflect an attitude in line with the most widespread criticism, which considers that teachers are not up to date, that grammatical content is repetitive and lacks a practical perspective, and that the methodology is mechanical, unreflective, and demotivating. DISCUSSION. Future teachers want to teach grammar by reorienting content towards competence learning. Thus, it does seem that the changes demanded in grammar teaching for decades are perceived as a present need and a future reality.