An Investigation of Grammar Problems Facing English Language Learners

Eman Elturki, United States

Eman Elturki is a doctoral candidate in the Language, Literacy and Technology program at
Washington State University. She is an ESL teacher at the Intensive American Language Center
of Washington State University. Elturki is interested in corpus-based research, SLA, and ELT. Email: eman.elturki@email.wsu.edu

Menu
Introduction
Literature review
Methodology
Findings
Discussion and implications
References
Appendix A
Appendix B
Introduction
Grammar is one of the most difficult aspects of a foreign language to master. It is defined as the
rules that govern how a languages sentences are formed (Thornbury, 2000, p. 1). English
grammar has been traditionally viewed as a system of syntax that decides the order and patterns
in which words are arranged in sentences (Close, 1982, p. 13). It is argued that mastering
grammar is a complex process that requires making a series of decisions about when and why to
use one form rather than the other (Celce-Murcia, 2002, p. 121).Making the right decisions
when speaking or writing in the second language (L2) requires grammatical proficiency.
Shanklin (1994) suggested that grammatical proficiency is both an important pedagogical skill
and an important part of target language proficiency (p. 147). What Shanklin means by
grammatical proficiency is the ability to make judgments about the acceptability and
appropriateness of an utterance with specific reference to grammatical notions (p. 148).
Shanklin distinguished between the grammatical proficiency that native speakers (NSs) have
versus the one that nonnative speakers (NNSs) acquire. NSs knowledge of grammar is implicit;
they are competent in grammar but they do not necessarily know the different rules behind the
use of grammar. NNSs, on the other hand, build an explicit awareness of how the different
grammar rules are formed. Generating this awareness of grammar knowledge is not an easy
process. The variety in forms and usages confuses English as second/foreign language
(ESL/EFL) learners. They learn new grammar rules every day, but they have difficulties applying
them when they speak or write in English. Shatz and Wilkinson (2010) argue that second
language (L2) learners often cannot express complex thoughts because of their inability to
construct complex sentences showing complicated relationships (p. 165). Shatz and Wilkinson
also highlight some of the common grammar problems that face English language learners
(ELLs) such as the misuse of prepositions, articles, past tense, and the third-person singular.
Nonetheless, it is necessary for ELLs to master grammar in order to be competent in the four

language skills because incorrect use or lack of understanding of grammar might hinder
communication either in speaking, writing, listening, or reading (Savage, Bitterlin, & Price,
2010). Therefore, teachers should be able to identify the most common grammar problems and
try to adapt their teaching. Employing the correct grammar helps ELLs create clear, wellstructured, unambiguous sentences (Derewianka, 1999, p.3 as cited in Shatz& Wilkinson, 2010,
p. 164).
Accordingly, this paper aims at mainly determining the most common grammar problems that
upper intermediate ELLs have. A secondary goal is to provide some applications to ESL teachers
that might help students overcome these issues. These recommendations are based on studies,
methodologies, and theories in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and English Language
Teaching (ELT).
Literature review
Different studies have been conducted to determine and analyze students grammatical errors.
For instance, in order to investigate the type of corrective feedback that results in the
improvement of students writing, Bitchener, Young, and Cameron (2005) had to locate the most
frequent grammatical errors in the first writing drafts of 53 adult post-intermediate ELLs to be
focused on in the study. The researchers found that the three most recurrent grammatical errors,
among 27 grammar topics, were prepositions which occurred 29.23% of all errors, the past
simple tense (11.96%) , and the definite article which (11.45%). In another study that examined
the effect of teacher error feedback on students' self-correction ability, the researchers used
writing compositions, a grammar test, and a questionnaire with a total of 102 participants
enrolled at a Jordanian university.36.3% of the 102 participants expressed that they have serious
problems with grammar which negatively affected their writing (Alghazo, Bani Abdelrahman, &
Abu Qbeitah, 2009).
Moreover, propositions are one of the most difficult aspects of English grammar to master by
NNSs and they account for a substantial proportion of all grammatical errors by ESL learners
(Chodorow, Tetreault& Han, 2007, p. 5).In the study of Bitchener and colleagues (2005), errors
related to prepositions were accounted by 29% of all the errors that were detected in the writing
of 53 post-intermediate ESL learners. Additionally, Dalgish (1985) analyzed sentences taken
from the Writing Skills Assessment Test and in-class essays of 350 ESL students enrolled in a
writing course at an American university. The analysis was undertaken to determine the most
frequent errors in the writings of students from diverse L1ssuch as Chinese, Russian,
Vietnamese, Greek, and Polish through applying computer-assisted analysis. A substantial
number of the errors were related to the misuse of prepositions followed by subject-verb
agreement. In a more recent study (Abushihab, El-Omari&Tobat, 2011) that investigated the
most frequent grammatical errors in the writing of 62 Arab EFL learners enrolled in a paragraph
writing course at a private Jordanian university, the researchers stated that the largest number of
errors were related to prepositions comprising 26% of the total errors followed by morphological
errors 24%, articles 21%, verbs 11%, active and passive8 %, and tenses7%.Moreover, Hinkel
(2004) claims that even after many years of L2 learning and use, advanced NNS students may
have difficulty with the conventionalized uses of tenses, aspects and the passive voice in written
academic discourse (p.5).

From reviewing the literature, it can be seen that most of the work done to determine students
problems with grammar was through error analysis (Abushihab et al., 2011; Alghazo et al., 2009;
Chodorow et al., 2007; Bitcheneret al., 2005) which can be considered significant in helping
researchers, teachers, and curriculum designers have a better understanding of the linguistic areas
where ELLs have the most difficulty. However, through reviewing the literature, there has not
been much done on students attitudes toward different grammar topics, except for some studies
that looked at students attitudes toward explicit grammar teaching (Ikpia, 2007).Consequently,
this paper attempts to acquire some understanding about the grammar topics that students find
challenging. Knowing about these challenges would help in making principled decisions in the
classroom concerning the types of skills we wish to impart and the method of imparting them
(Shanklin, 1994, p. 147).Hence, this study aims to answer the following questions: (a) what are
the most common grammar problems facing upper-intermediate ELLs? and (b) how can teachers
help students overcome those problems?
Methodology
Participants
The participants of this study consisted of 61 EFL students who were enrolled in a language
center for teaching English to international students in the West Coast of the United States. This
language center is specialized in teaching English for students age 18 and above who plan to
study towards their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in the United States. The center can
be characterized as heavily academic and intensive. The 61 students who participated in this
study were upper-intermediate EFL learners.38 of them were from the Middle East; Saudi
Arabia, Oman, Libya, Kuwait, United Arab of Emirates, and Egypt, 21 from Asian countries;
China, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, and 2 participants were from Colombia. All the participants
were enrolled in a level 4 grammar class in the aforementioned language center. There were four
sections of grammar 4 taught by different teachers. 75% of the participants were males and 25%
were females. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 39 years old. Additionally, about
57% of the participants have been learning English between 1 to 5 years while about 43% of
them between 5 to 10 years.
Instrument
A questionnaire was the main research instrument. Using questionnaires is assumed to be one of
the most common methods of data collection in second language research (Drnyei, 2003, p.
xiii).The questionnaire (Appendix A) was designed by the researcher who was also one of the
teachers of the four grammar class sections. The reasons for self-designing the questionnaire
were (1) there were no questionnaires available in the literature that meet the objectives of this
study, and (2) it allowed the researcher (or the teacher) to adapt the questionnaire according to
the grammar topics covered in level 4 that all the participants had been exposed to. The
questionnaire asked the respondents to, first, provide background information about their gender,
nationality, and age. Second, they were asked to identify the most challenging grammar points by
rating each one on a 1 to 5 Likert-Scale (1 indicates being Very easy and 5 Very difficult).17
grammar topics were listed with examples in case the respondents were not familiar with the
technical names. Lastly, they were asked to check one choice that describes their use of grammar
in writing and speaking such as Always, Usually, Somewhat, Little, or Never.

Procedures
On the last week of the course and before the final exam, the questionnaire was distributed in the
grammar class. This was done in order to ensure that all the topics listed on the questionnaire
were covered in class and students had enough exposure to these topics. Each level 4 grammar
teacher was given a stack of the questionnaire to be distributed to the students and filled out at
the beginning of the class. The teachers explained the purpose of the questionnaire and then left
the class to have the students complete the questionnaire and to avoid answering any questions
that may affect the participants responses. The questionnaires were then collected, coded, and
analyzed by the researcher.
Findings
Data was collected through a questionnaire offered to 61 students enrolled in a level 4 grammar
class at a language center in the U.S. The participants were asked to rate the grammar topics that
they had studied on a 1 to 5 Likert-scale. This was done to determine the most common grammar
problems faced by upper-intermediate ELLs and to provide recommendations to English
grammar teachers.
The responses to the questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics. For the purpose of
this study, the analysis focused on the grammar topics identified as Difficult and Very
difficult. The questionnaire revealed the findings displayed in Table 1 and Figure 1.
Table 1
Overall Percentages of the Grammar Topics Rated as Difficult or Very Difficult
Difficult
Topic
Very difficult
Past Perfect
Past Perfect Progressive
Past Modals
Reported Speech
Reported Speech (Commands)
Reported Speech (Yes/No Q)
Reported Speech (WH Q)
Passive
Stative Passive
Causative Passive
Present Real Conditions
Past Real Conditions
Future Real Conditions
Present/Future Unreal Conditions
Past Unreal Conditions
Infinitive
Gerund

5%
7%
13%
16%
13%
11%
18%
14%
16%
13%
11%
11%
8%
18%
21%
16%
13%

7%
8%
8%
8%
7%
10%
7%
8%
5%
7%
7%
7%
10%
26%
23%
3%
5%

Figure 1.The most difficult grammar topics identified by the respondents

It can be seen from Figure 1 that present/future unreal conditions, past unreal conditions, and
reported speech (Yes/No questions) were rated Difficult. Figures 2 and 3 summarize the
participants responses to how often they apply the grammar topics listed on the questionnaire
when they write essays and when they speak.

Figure 2. The percentages of the use of grammar in essay writing

Figure 3.The percentages of the use of grammar in speaking

Discussion and implications
It can be seen from the results that students in such pure grammar classes are overwhelmed
from the different complex grammatical features that they need to understand and apply. For
instance, as was shown in the results, of the 61 participants, 26% rated present/future unreal
conditions as difficult and23% considered past unreal conditions as difficult as well. English
conditionals have different forms and can express real and unreal conditions. Understanding and
mastering such rules is a daunting task to ELLs. English teachers need not only to explain the
rules but also to make them meaningful and applicable for the learners. In classes that are
designated for teaching grammar, grammar is taught explicitly either by presenting the rules and
then giving examples, which is referred to as deductive reasoning, or by providing examples and
then students arrive to the rule, which is referred to as inductive reasoning (Thornbury,
2000).Then, some communicative based tasks might be used to practice the rules (Andrews,
2007). In order to help benefit the most from grammar classes; understand the rule and be able to
apply it, the researcher sheds light on an approach to explicit grammar teaching the can be used
by EFL/ESL teachers of grammar.
One of the examples proposed in the literature for explicit grammar teaching is the use of
consciousness-raising(CR) grammar tasks (Ellis, 1995;Fotos, 1993).Ellis (1997) defines a CR
task as a pedagogic activity where the learners are provided with L2 data in some form and
required to perform some operation on or with it (p. 160). He added that the purpose of a CR
task is to arrive at an explicit understanding of some linguistic property or properties of the TL
(p. 160).Thornbury (2000) asserted that the pro-grammar teaching researchers claim that through
CR learning seems to be enhanced when the learners attention is directed to getting the forms
right, and when the learners attention is directed to features of the grammatical system (p.
24).For instance, in a study conducted by Fotos (1994) with EFL Japanese college students to
examine the effectiveness of CR grammar tasks, she found that having the students work

together to analyze and discover the rules was effective in generating accurate understanding of
the grammatical structures and in using the target language. Accordingly, it can be understood
that grammar CR does not only focus on developing awareness of English grammatical features
but, also, on improving ELLs communicative competence through interacting with each other in
different tasks to discover and practice the rules. See (Appendix B) for a sample activity of CR
grammar tasks with explanations adopted from (Willis, 1996).
To conclude, this paper tried to gain some understanding of the grammar topics that upperintermediate ELLs find challenging. The findings revealed that unreal conditions, reported
speech, and passive voice were among the grammar topics that participants identified as difficult.
In order to assist ELLs in classes that require explicit grammar teaching, this paper had also
touched on CR grammar tasks as an approach to grammar teaching that focuses on generating
awareness of grammar rules and at the same time developing communicative competence. The
findings of this study might not be generalizable because of some limitations. The population
was not randomly selected. It was limited to ELLs from level 4who studied at the same language
center. Also, the grammar topics listed on the questionnaire were limited to the topics covered in
level 4 in this particular center. Other grammatical points were not on the questionnaire such as
prepositions and articles which may still pose some difficulties to even proficient EFL/ESL
students. Moreover, students responses to the questionnaire might not be enough to determine
the most challenging English grammar topics because some respondents marked all the listed
grammar topics as Very easy. Accordingly, for a future study, the researcher recommends the
following. First, a random selection for the participants should be taken into consideration to
yield more generalizable findings. Second, core grammar topics such as articles, prepositions,
and pronouns should be included as a part of the questionnaire. Finally, in addition to a
questionnaire, another research instrument such as one-to-one interviews, students writing
samples, or a grammar test can be utilized. This would allow for more reliable results in order to
compare, for example, the questionnaire responses to students writing samples or answers in the
one-to-one interview.
References
Abushihab, I., El-Omari, A. h., &Tobat, M. (2011).An analysis of written grammatical errors of
Arab learners of English as a foreign language at Alzaytoonah private university of
Jordan,European Journal of Social Sciences, 20(4), 543-552.
Alghazo, K. M.,BaniAbdelrahman, M. S., Abu Qbeitah, A. A. (2009). The effect of teachers
error feedback on Al-Hussein Bin Talal University students self correction ability,
European Journal of Social Sciences, 12(1), 145-159.
Andrews, K. L. Z. (2007). The effects of implicit and explicit instruction on simple and complex
grammatical structures for adult English language learners,TESL-EJ, 11(2). Retrieved
March 3, 2012, from http://tesl-ej.org/ej42/a5.html
Bitchener, J., Young, S., & Cameron, D. (2005).The effect of different types of corrective
feedback on ESL student writing,Journal of Second Language Writing, 3, 191-205.

Celce-Murcia, M. (2002).Why it makes sense to teach grammar in context and through

discourse. In E. Hinkel& S. Fotos (Eds.), New perspectives on grammar teaching in
second language classrooms (pp. 119134). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Chodorow M, Tetreault JR, Han NR (2007). Detection of Grammatical Errors Involving
Prepositions.In Proceedings of the 4th ACL- SIGSEM Workshop on Prepositions, 25-30.
Lowercase: Detection of grammatical errors involving prepositions.
Close, R.A. (1982). English as a foreign language, London: George Allen and Unwin.
Dalgish.G. (1985).Computer-assisted ESL research and courseware development,Computers and
Composition, 2(4), 45-62.
Derewianka, B. (1999). An editorial footnote.Australian Journal of Language and Literacy,
22(1), 22-25.
Ellis, R. (1995). Interpretation tasks for grammar teaching,TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 87-105.
Ellis, R. (1997). SLA research and language teaching,Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fotos, S. (1993). Consciousness raising and noticing through focus on form: Gram-mar task
performance versus formal instruction,Applied Linguistics, 14, 386- 407.
Fotos, S. (1994). Integrating grammar instruction and communicative language use through
grammar consciousness-raising tasks,TESOL Quarterly, 28(2), 323-351.
Hinkel, E. (2004). Tense, aspect and the passive voice in L1 and L2 academic texts,Language
Teaching Research, 8(1), 5-29.
Ikpia, V., I. (2007).TheattitudesandperceptionsofnonnativeEnglishspeakingadultstowardexplicitgrammar,Humanities Review Journal, 5, 1-13.
Savage, K. L., Bitterlin, G., & Price, D. (2010).Grammar matters: Teaching grammar in adult
ESL classes, USA: Cambridge University Press.
Shanklin, T. M. (1994). The communication of grammatical proficiency. In Varga L. (Eds.), The
Even Yearbook (pp. 147-174).Dept. of Linguistics, SEAS, ELTE.
Shatz, M., & Wilkinson, L.C. (2010).The education of English language learners: Research to
practice, New York: The Guilford Press.
Thornbury, S. (2000).How to teach grammar, London: Pearson ESL.
Willis, D. (1996). Consciousness-raising activities in the language classroom, In Willis, J. and
Willis, D.(Eds), Challenge and change in language teaching. London: Heinemann.

Appendix A
QUESTIONNAIRE: GRAMMAR PROBLEMS FACING ENGLISH LANGUAGE
LEARNERS
Level: 4

Gender: Male [

Female [

Native Language: _____________

Age: ________

Nationality: __________

How long have you been learning English?__________

INSTRUCTIONS
I. Please rate each grammar topic according to how difficult or easy it is for you on a 1 to 5 scale:
1 = Very easy
2 = Easy
3 = Neutral
4 = Difficult
5 = Very difficult
* The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out the most common grammar problems facing
intermediate English language learners. Your answers will be kept confidential and in no way
will affect your grade or performance in the class. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have
any questions regarding this questionnaire please contact Eman Elturki at
eman.elturki@email.wsu.edu

TOPIC
Past Perfect

SCALE

1
2
3
4
5
E.g. I had done my homework before I met my friends.
Past Perfect Progressive
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. I had been doing my homework when I was interrupted by a phone call.
Past Modals
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. His wallet must have been stolen.
Reported Speech
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. Rana said that she was going to walk to the store.
Reported Speech (Commands)
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. The teacher had warned his students not to cheat on the exam.
Reported Speech (Yes/No Questions)
1

E.g. She asked him if he had an extra pen.

Reported Speech (WH Questions)
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. The student asked who the teacher was.
Passive
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. The room is being cleaned by Joseph.

TOPIC
SCALE
Stative Passive
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. The windows are broken.
Causative Passive
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. I got me watch fixed.
Present Real Conditions
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. If you heat water to 100', it changes to steam.
Past Real Conditions
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. If I got high grades, my parents were proud.
Future Real Conditions
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. If I have some free time tonight, I will call my friend.
Present/Future Unreal Conditions
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. If I had enough money, I would be a new car.
Past Unreal Conditions
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. If I had been born in the 1970s, my life would have been different.
Infinitives
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. I advise you not to drop out of school.
Gerund
1
2
3
4
5
E.g. He admitted stealing the money.
II. Please check ONE choice that describes your use of grammar in writing and speaking in
English:
1) I apply most of the grammar points mentioned above when I write essays.
Always

Usually

Somewhat

Little

Never

2) I apply most of the grammar points mentioned above when I speak.

Always

Usually

Somewhat

Little

Never

Appendix B
(CR grammar task activities adopted from (Willis, 1996))
C-R activities based on a written text
Auto-pilot
The flight ran several times a week taking holidaymakers to various resorts in the Mediterranean. On
each flight, to reassure the passengers all was well, the
captain would put the jet on to auto-pilot and he and
all the crew would come aft into the cabin to greet the
passengers.
Unfortunately on this particular flight the security door
between the cabin and the flight deck jammed and left

the captain and the crew stuck in the cabin. From that
moment, in spite of efforts to open the door, the fate of
the passengers and crew was sealed.

1 List all the phrases to do with aircraft and flying. What word occurs in nearly
all these phrases? Why?
2 What does would mean in the second sentence?
3 What about ran in the first sentence? Would used to run give the same meaning? What
about jammed and left in the second paragraph? Could used to be used here? 4 Cover your
original text. Read the rewritten version of the text below. How has it been changed from
the original?
Auto-pilot
The flight ran several times a week taking holidaymakers to resorts in the Mediterranean. On every
flight, to reassure the passengers that everything was
all right, the captain used to put the jet on to autopilot and he and all the crew used to come aft into the
cabin to greet the passengers.
However on this flight the security door between
the cabin and the flight deck jammed, leaving the
captain and the crew stuck in the cabin. From that
moment, despite efforts to open the door, the fate of
the passengers and crew was sealed.
5 Would: Review
Here are some sentences with would which you have seen before. Find
sentences in which
would is used as a conditional.
would is the past tense of

i)
ii)

will.
iii)

would means `used to'.

How many sentences are left over?
a If you were designing a poster which two would you
choose?
b Yes, I would think so.

c My brother would say, `Oh your mother spoils

you.'
d Would you like to ask us anything about it?
e Yes, yes, I would agree with that
certainly.
f Not the sort of letter I would like to
receive.
g Would people in your country talk freely about these
things?
h Then we said that we would play hide and seek.
i Often there would be a village band made up of self-taught players.
j Some would write their own songs or set new words to tunes.
k What advice would you give to a young person leaving school or
University?
1 That's right, yes, and it would slow the ship down.
m I never had the light on. My parents wouldn't allow it.
n But now a new fear assailed him. Would he get caught in the propeller?
o This brief report would best be understood by a listener who had read
the earlier story.

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