Applying Corpus-Based Approach to the Teaching of Grammar in an EFL Context: Effects on Students’ Grammatical Awareness, Writing Accuracy and Perceptions

Despite the immense interest in corpus-based instruction in English language teaching, the role of analyzing online corpus platform has not been extensively recognized, especially in Ethiopian higher education EFL contexts. Scholars believe that providing authentic contexts for language learning through a corpus-based approach is beneficial for EFL learners, particularly regarding grammatical awareness and accuracy in writing. This study examined the effect of corpus-based grammar instruction on EFL students‘ grammatical awareness and writing accuracy. It further explored the perception of students toward the instruction. A mixed-method research approach and a quasi-experimental research design were employed. A total of 86 first-year undergraduate university students in two classes were selected using a convenient sampling technique. Among them, 42 students were assigned to the experimental group, and exposed to corpus online data, and 44 to the comparison group using a random assignment. Data were gathered through tests, reflective journals, and interviews. Multivariate Analysis of Variance was used to observe the statistical differences between the control and the experimental groups in their grammatical awareness and writing accuracy, while the qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The results revealed that corpus-based grammar instruction had a significant effect on students‘ grammatical awareness (η²p = 0.422, p < .05) and writing accuracy (η²p=0.671, p <.05). Furthermore, results of the delayed post-test showed that corpus-based grammar instruction had a significant long-term effect on students‘ grammatical awareness (η²p = 0.491, p < .05) and writing accuracy (η²p = 0.378, p <.05), respectively. Overall, students in the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group (η²p = 0.739, p <.05). Finally, data obtained through reflective journals and semi-structured interviews indicated that students who received corpus-based grammar instruction felt positively about the instruction. The findings show that corpus-based approach is a valuable grammar instruction for enhancing learners‘ grammatical awareness and writing accuracy. Additionally, the positive feelings about this instructional method highlight the need for its incorporation in an EFL context. Keywords: corpus-based grammar instruction; grammatical awareness; learners‘ perceptions; writing accuracy