Diploma Students’ Perceptions about Their English Grammar Learnability at Umm Al-Qura University

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the diploma students’ perceptions about their experiences learning English grammar as a general requirement course at a higher education institution- namely Umm A-Qura University (UQU) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Ten students from different diploma programs are selected as respondents for the study, representing a population of 320 students on the Applied College Male Campus. Using qualitative methods, structured interviews are conducted whether face-to-face or on Webex. Data collection techniques include individual discussion for more profound responses. The study finds that the main strengths of using the deductive method are straightforwardness, comprehensibility, meeting instructor’s expectations, building up learner’s self-confidence, self-learning, enjoyableness, time-effectiveness and building grammatical skill. For the negative perceptions, participants inform that they are contributed by obstructing fluency, difficulty to achieve a dual task on rules and free practice of English at the same time, attracting attention to rules rather than use of language, and the challenges some learners face to learn the rules. These findings will hopefully enlighten the Applied College lecturers to recognize the challenges and learning techniques experienced by their students to learn grammar, and eventually develop student-oriented solutions for more effective grammar teaching for future diploma students.