A comparative study of Grades 7 and 8 students’ attitudes toward grammar-translation method and communicative language teaching in learning English as a foreign language at a private Catholic school In Bangkok

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate and determine whether there was a significant difference between Grades 7 and 8 students’ attitudes toward grammar-translation method (GTM) and communicative language teaching (CLT) in learning English as a foreign language at a private Catholic school in Bangkok. The study utilized a quantitative comparative research design. The Attitudes Toward Grammar-Translation Method and Communicative Language Teaching Questionnaire was adapted and used to collect the data from Grades 7 and 8 students in January, 2020. There were 152 Grade 7 and 173 Grade 8 students who responded to the questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed first through descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and then through inferential statistics (dependent and independent samples t-test). The findings of the current study revealed that overall, Grades 7 and 8 students had slightly positive attitudes toward GTM and positive attitudes toward CLT in learning EFL. The findings also indicated that there was a significant difference between Grades 7 and 8 students’ attitudes toward GTM and CLT. Furthermore, the findings showed that there was a significant difference between Grades 7 and 8 students’ attitudes toward GTM while there was no significant difference between their attitudes toward CLT in learning EFL. Recommendations for students’ support, teaching strategies, and future research are provided.