Ali Mohammad Fazilatfar - Yazd University, Iran
Morteza Beedel - Yazd University, Iran

Grammar instruction and error correction are among the most hotly debated issues in second as well as foreign language education. Second language researchers and language educators have expressed different and sometimes contradictory ideas about them. Some believe error correction and grammar instruction are not only beneficial, but they are also necessary. Some others believe that only appropriate incorporation of them in the syllabus can lead to improvement in learning. And still a third group conceives of them as a waste of time and detrimental to the learning process. To gain a better understanding of teachers' and learners' perceptions regarding error correction and the role of formal grammar instruction on learning, opinions of ۵۱ teachers and ۶۲۷ adolescent and adult learners were surveyed by means of two equivalent questionnaires. The participants received two different kinds of treatment in terms of materials, grammar instruction and error correction moves. In one group, learners received more explicit grammar instruction and systematic error correction, while in the other group the focus was on meaning and no systematic correction was provided. The analysis of the obtained data from the questionnaires revealed that differences in the methods of instruction did not lead to a difference in the participants' attitudes about error correction and/or grammar instruction on learning. Also learners' and teachers' views about these two were close in many respects; however, error correction status diminished in the learners’ views as they improved their proficiency levels. On the other hand, more proficient learners considered more credence for grammar instruction in their learning.

grammar instruction, error correction, explicit/ implicit learning, form focus, meaning focus