Exploring teachers’ lived experiences in grammar instruction for intermediate learners: Challenges, strategies, and pedagogical implications

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences of intermediate teachers in teaching grammar, focusing on the challenges they encountered and the strategies they employed to support learners. Using a phenomenological research design, data were collected from fifteen (15) teacher-respondents through open-ended survey questions and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that teachers face challenges such as students’ difficulty in applying grammar rules in communication, differences in learners’ proficiency levels, limited engagement during lessons, and instructional constraints. Despite these challenges, teachers used various strategies including sentence construction activities, short writing tasks, visual aids, contextualized instruction through reading passages, pair and group activities, drills, worksheets, and error correction exercises. These strategies helped improve students’ understanding and application of grammar. The study concludes that effective grammar instruction requires flexible, learner-centered, and interactive teaching approaches to address diverse learner needs and enhance language learning.