Investigating Problems Facing Sudanese Secondary School Students in Learning English Grammar

Abstract

Abstract Some English grammatical areas are problematic for Sudanese secondary school students, e.g. tenses, helping verbs, word order, composing and answering English questions, etc. Thus, this study aims at finding suitable solutions to these problems and explaining the most beneficial methods and techniques of teaching English grammar and correcting students‘ errors. SPSS scale was utilized to analyze data collected from a sample of third grade students and teachers at governmental and private secondary schools in Bahri province. Data collecting tools were: students‘ sample test to investigate grammatical problems facing secondary school students in learning English grammar and test students‘ comprehension. Teachers‘ questionnaire to test the relation between teachers‘ qualifications, awareness of problems confronting their students in learning English grammar, etc. and their role in coping with them. And a classroom observations check list to test the effect of teachers‘ competence and students‘ involvement on students‘ standard and interest in language learning. This study consists of five chapters: Chapter one explains the problem, importance, objectives, limitations, terms and methods of the research. Chapter two is a literature review of TG. It presents the grammatical problems and the role of effective teaching in reducing them. Chapter three explains samples, methodology, and procedures of the research. Chapter four discusses data analysis, discussions and results. Chapter five concentrates on conclusions and recommendations. The findings attributed weakness of students‘ standard to various factors such as lack of teachers‘ and students‘ motivation, learning strategies, comprehension of L2, MT interference, previous teaching, teaching methodology, etc. Recommendations of the study include teaching techniques to promote teaching and learning process, e.g. utilizing modem instructional media such as broadcast, Internet, CDs and videos, establishing an experimental centre for educational research in teaching and leaming English, TG in context and in English, teaching English literature, etc. They also include suggestions for future researches, which should cover all the Sudan, on the effectiveness and improvement of teacher training programmes, Learning strategies, and problems of learning English at the basic level.