Cultural Differences in Student and Teacher Perceptions Concerning the Role of Grammar Instruction and Corrective Feedback: USA‐Colombia

Abstract

A questionnaire administered to 607 Colombian foreign language (FL) students and 122 of their teachers, as well as to 824 U.S. FL students and 92 teachers, elicited student and teacher perceptions concerning the role of explicit grammar instruction and corrective feedback in FL learning. Data comparisons indicated relatively high agreement between students as a group and teachers as a group across cultures on the majority of questions. A number of discrepancies were, however, evident between student and teacher beliefs within each culture, as well as in comparisons of the two groups across cultures, particularly regarding the role of formal grammar instruction in language learning. Given that discrepancies in student and teacher belief systems can be detrimental to learning, it is important that teachers explore their students' perceptions regarding those factors believed to enhance the learning of a new language and make efforts to deal with potential conflicts between student beliefs and instructional practices.