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The declarative–procedural knowledge of grammatical functions in higher education ESL contexts: Fiction and reality
Date
2023-06-22
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
De Gruyter
Abstract
The present article purported to gain insights about English as a second language (ESL) learners’
knowledge of grammatical functions at the declarative and the procedural levels in the higher education
context, and argued that the dialogue between the types of knowledge calls for more attention. The study
utilised a Words-in-Sentences Test that was administered to 841 ESL students in seven colleges and universities
in three Arab countries: United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Oman. The test was used to measure the partici
pants’ declarative knowledge of grammatical functions. The participants’ test scores were then correlated with
their essay writing scores to find if there is a significant correlation between the two, and thus gain insight into
the relationship between the declarative knowledge and the procedural knowledge of grammatical functions.
Finally, a qualitative analysis was conducted on nine essays to gain an in-depth understanding of this relation
ship. The findings indicated that the university participants’ declarative knowledge of grammatical functions
was below the expected level and that there was a significant correlation between the learners’ test scores and
writing scores. In addition, intriguing themes emerged from the qualitative analysis. Together, the findings are
anticipated to spark more research on grammatical function knowledge among university students in ESL
contexts.
Description
Keywords
grammatical functions, declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, grammar in higher educa tion, grammar among ESL learners
Citation
Abu-Ayyash, E.A.S. and Hamam, D. (2023) “The declarative–procedural knowledge of grammatical functions in higher education ESL contexts: Fiction and reality,” Open Linguistics, 9(1).