Comparison of grammar teaching via intuitive and direct lecture methods in terms of their effect on student achievement and attainment

Teaching grammar via intuitive and direct methods

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of grammar teaching by the intuitive method on student achievement and attainment through comparison with the effect of the direct lecture method on the same variables. The study used the pretest-posttest control group design, a quasi-experimental design under the experimental research method, by adopting a quantitative research approach. It was conducted with the 8th grade students attending Yakupoğlan Middle School located in the central district of Turkey’s Sivas province in the 2020-2021 academic year. The study group consists of 24 students in the experimental group, in which the intuitive method was implemented, and 21 students in the control group exposed to the direct lecture method. The achievement test prepared by the researcher was used for data collection. The achievement and attainment levels of the experimental and control groups were determined and compared through independent groups t-test, Wilcoxon test, and Mann-Whitney U test. At the end of the experiment, the mean posttest score of the students in the experimental group subjected to the intuitive method was significantly higher than their mean pretest score. Although the mean posttest score of the control group students exposed to the direct lecture method was higher than their mean pretest score, such difference was not at a significant level. In addition, the experimental group students were determined to have a significantly higher mean attainment score than the control group students. The study shows that the intuitive method, which is based on constructivist learning approach, yields more effective results in grammar teaching than the direct lecture method.