The Effect of Grammar in Context on Learners' Competence

Most learners of English as a foreign language encounter many problems in grammar, specifically when dealing with tenses. They find it difficult to choose the appropriate tense to be used in its right context to express the intended idea about time. This research work aims to investigate the effect of grammar in context on second year learners of English grammatical competence in the use of tenses at Biskra University. A quasi-experimental design was used with two existing groups: the experimental group ( n = 30 ) and the control Group ( n = 30 ). The former was taught according to grammar in context, while the latter according to the traditional method. After the completion of the treatment which lasted five weeks, the pre-test and post-test were quantified statistically, and supplemented by the results obtained from a post questionnaire. The results reveal the significance of grammar in context instruction effect on the participants use of tenses based on the value of the t-test ( 2.06 ) when compared to the critical value ( 1.67 ).