Investigating Problems Facedby Teachers in Teaching English Grammar in Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the problems of teaching grammar in Sudanese secondary schools. The study adopted the descriptive methodology which combined both qualitative and quantitative analyses. Two instruments were used for data collection; a questionnaire for the teachers and a test for the students. The samples were drawn exclusively from the teachers of Umbada Locality (100 teachers) and the students of the secondary schools (200 students). The schools included governmental and model schools. The data obtained from the sample of teachers provided answer to the research questions concerning the problems that face teachers of English in teaching grammar and the problems related to method and techniques. The data from the test provided data for students who need to be trained vague. They can rewrite the verbs in their correct forms; they can complete sentences that have similar meanings. They can fill in the space with the suitable prepositions; they can generate words by using derivations in terms of prefixes and suffixes. The data were analyzed using the SPSS programmed. It provided percentile results for the questionnaire and the test. The researcher has come out with the following findings: The teachers faced problems which are intrinsic to them like their motivation, treacheries and some that are extrinsic such as insufficient training and working load. As for the methods and techniques, teachers expressed their opinions that most of the techniques are outdated and they don’t match the new trends in teaching grammar. The researcher has come out with the following recommendations: Designers of the curriculum should facilitate the syllabus by adding more grammatical items and practice. Teachers should be well trained, highly qualified and specialized to handle the material. Moreover the study gave some suggestions for further research.