Enhancing Moral Reasoning and Ethical Decision-Making through Liberal Arts Learning in Higher Education
Keywords:
Grammar Consciousness-Raising Tasks; English tense acquisition; grammar instruction; higher education; EFL learnersAbstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of Grammar Consciousness-Raising Tasks (GCRTs) on the acquisition of English tenses at the higher education level compared to Traditional Grammar Instruction (TGI). A quasi-experimental design was employed involving two groups: an experimental group of 43 university students taught through GCRTs and a control group of 41 students instructed via traditional grammar teaching. The research instruments included a pretest and posttest, classroom observations, and a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS version 29. The findings revealed that both groups were initially homogeneous at the pretest stage. However, after the intervention, the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in grammatical accuracy and explicit grammatical knowledge. Classroom observations indicated that GCRTs enhanced learners’ negotiated interaction, motivation, and learner autonomy. Furthermore, questionnaire results showed that most participants expressed highly positive attitudes toward the implementation of GCRTs in grammar learning. In conclusion, GCRTs proved to be more effective than TGI in improving English tense acquisition and in promoting both cognitive and affective aspects of language learning in higher education contexts.
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