The Effect of Explicit Contrastive Instruction in Learning Difficult L2 Grammatical Forms”: A Cross Linguistic Approach

Abstract

Teaching grammar to ESL learners has long been considered a major concern in the whole process of language learning. It ha5, in effect, been the object of numerous studies, each of which has its own contribution to the field. Many research projects have been carried out in order to probe into the validity of different methodologies as to an effective grammar teaching. Most of the scholars in the fields Of language learning and teaching assert that learners of English as a second language often resort L1 and L2 comparison when confronted with difficult grammatical forms of L2 and since thi5 Comparison is implicit, it may result in the formation of wrong rules due to an incomplete L2 knowledge of the learners. The purpose of the study was to examine whether the explicit contrastive instruction is an effective approach in learning and teaching difficult L2 grammatical forms. An experimental research design was conducted among the ESL learners at University of Jaffna and this research was intended to evaluate one specific approach pertaining to the findings of contrastive analysis referred to as contrastive instruction. It provides a kind of inter-lingual comparison on the basis of contrastive analysis database. Such an approach may facilitate the learning process especially if the structures are difficult with re5pect to the learners ’L1. The study involved qualitative methods of data collection. General English Proficiency Test was administered among the subjects randomly, the data collected from the subjects’ responses were analyzed, and the findings were derived. The findings will be beneficial for material development, ESL teaching and learning process in future. A better understanding of the contrastive instruction in the process of teaching grammar will help teachers know students’ difficulties in learning English grammar. It will also aid in the adoption of appropriate teaching strategies to help beginning ESL students learn English