Attitudes of GFL Teachers to Grammar in GFL Classrooms Using the Example of Slovenian Matura Examiners

Abstract

In the history of foreign language teaching methodology, grammar, as a sub-skill, has been treated in very different ways. Today, the main goal to be achieved in foreign language teaching is generally understood to be communicative competence, and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001) describes grammatical competence as one of its central components. Nevertheless, the role of grammar remains contested in modern, efficiency- and action-oriented classrooms of German as a foreign language (GFL). The present research has therefore addressed the questions of the role that grammar plays in GFL classrooms in Slovenian schools, how the grammatical structures are presented and what is the orientation in this regard. A survey has shown that the majority of the participating matura examiners as well as the majority of other participating Slovenian teachers consider grammatical knowledge to be important for achieving communicative competence in GFL, and that grammar plays an equal role in their teaching as the other sub-skills. They use both drill-based and awareness-raising techniques to foster the acquisition of grammatical structures, explanations are given in a combination of the first and second languages, the teachers mainly orientate themselves based on their own experiences and knowledge, and the textbooks they are using. Many of them already follow the four strands model, which, in contrast to the traditional model of the four skills, integrates grammar into language activities and thus combines the separate components of grammar and vocabulary with the four skills.