Oral Defense:Teachers' perceptions of and experiences with pedagogical approaches to teaching grammar in primary schools in T&T

This study investigated teachers’ perceptions of and experiences with pedagogical approaches to teaching grammar to students whose first language is Creole English. It was conducted in Standard Four classes of six (6) schools in a multi-site urban district of Trinidad and Tobago. This research employed a hermeneutic phenomenological case study design. Data were collected from classroom observation, semi-structured interviews and refective journals. These data were then analysed through bracketing, delineating units of meaning, clustering themes, summarising clustered themes, and interpreting data. Findings revealed that teachers’ pedagogical approaches to teaching grammar were classified as varying combinations of structural/linguistic, cognitive or affective, with different participants stressing one or more of these classes. Furthermore, all teachers had varying techniques and expressed differing perceptions on why they incorporated certain pedagogical approaches. Recommendations included ongoing-teacher development, the need to review and adapt second language learning theories to fit the language culture and extended supervision for grammar classes of trained teachers.