Students' Attitudes Regarding the Acquisition of English and Croatian Grammars

master's thesis

• Author: Anja Radočaj
• Mentor: Lovorka Zergollern Miletić (mentor)
• Committee member: Kristina Cergol Kovačević (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Jelena Parizoska (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Lovorka Zergollern Miletić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Teacher Education; Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2019-09-27, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Croatian Studies

Abstract

Learning and acquiring a second language (L2), as well as the first language (L1), does not only imply the four most important skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. An important role in acquiring any language belongs to the knowledge and understanding of “the language rules” - grammar. Many people see grammar as a problem, and for some personal reason, they do not like to learn it. It seems that grammar inspires fear and is the most difficult part of language learning, and that is why the primary goal in this research was to find out about students' attitudes concerning the acquisition of English grammar (English as a second language) and Croatian grammar (Croatian as a first language), regardless of their love of grammar. The research was conducted using a qualitative method with a questionnaire consisting of two open-ended questions, and it involved 80 future elementary school generalist teachers, who are also studying to be teachers of English. The participants were first-year and third-year university students. The main reason for choosing these two groups is that they have the same major, but at the same time, they have a different level of language acquisition, and different experience with teaching practice in classrooms. The analysis showed that students considered grammar important, with a smaller emphasis on the first language grammar. They see the second language grammar important for teaching others, but also for enabling easier communication and better fluency. As for the grammar of the first language, the students think there should not be much stress on it since the first language surrounds us on a daily basis and we adopt the grammar naturally. However, they still consider grammar important in order to understand the language better and to acquire new (foreign) languages easier. As far as students' attitudes based on their year of study are concerned, no significant differences were noticed.

Abstract (croatian)

Učenje i usvajanje drugog (L2), ali i prvog jezika (L1), ne uključuje samo četiri najvažnije vještine: čitanje, pisanje, govorenje i slušanje. Važnu ulogu u usvajanju jezika također zauzima poznavanje i razumijevanje svih “jezičnih pravila” - gramatike. Velik broj ljudi smatra gramatiku problemom i iz nekog osobnog razloga ne voli ju učiti. Čini se kako gramatika stvara strah i kako je ljudi smatraju najtežim dijelom prilikom učenja jezika, stoga je glavni cilj ovog istraživanja bio otkriti stavove studenata vezane uz usvajanje gramatike engleskog (kao drugog jezika) i gramatike hrvatskog (kao prvog jezika), bez obzira na to vole li studenti gramatiku ili ne. Istraživanje je provedeno kvalitativnom metodom uz pomoć upitnika s dva pitanja otvorenog tipa, a u njemu je sudjelovalo 80 budućih učitelja engleskog jezika. Ispitanici su bili studenti prve i treće godine. Glavni razlog zbog kojeg su odabrane ove dvije grupe jest taj što ispitanici studiraju na istome smjeru, ali istovremeno imaju različitu razinu poznavanja jezika i praktičnog iskustva poučavanja u razredu. Analiza je pokazala kako studenti smatraju poznavanje gramatike važnim, s manjim naglaskom na veću važnost ako se radi o prvom jeziku. Najveću važnost kod gramatike drugog jezika pridodaju upravo zbog podučavanja drugih, ali i lakše komunikacije te poboljšanju tečnosti govora. Što se tiče gramatike prvog jezika studenti misle kako ne treba postojati toliki naglasak na učenje gramatike budući da smo prvim jezikom svakodnevno okruženi te gramatiku usvajamo prirodnim putem. Bez obzira na to, studenti i dalje gramatiku smatraju važnom zbog boljeg razumijevanja jezika, ali i lakšeg usvajanja novih (stranih) jezika. Što se tiče stavova među studentima ovisno o godini studiranja, nisu uočene nikakve značajne razlike.

• Keywords: grammar; teaching and learning; the first language; the second language; future teachers
• Keywords (croatian): gramatika; učenje i poučavanje; prvi jezik; drugi jezik; budući učitelji
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:147:395224
• Study programme: Title: Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Programme of Study of Primary Teacher Education and Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Programme of Study for Primary Teacher Education with English and German Language; Study programme type: university; Study level: integrated undergraduate and graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja (magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2019-01-23 10:38:24