Grammar in the Classroom: Students' Expectations and Reality --The Case of Arabic and Mandarin

The purpose of this article is to show the differences between the methodological expectations of the learners in contrast to the actual teaching methodology followed by their instructors. The study focuses more on the five aspects pertaining to the foreign language methodology. These include medium of instruction, grammar instruction, instructors as model, and usefulness of drilling, mimicry and memorization, and the use of educational tools. The sample of this study consisted of 40 learners of Arabic (20 students) and Chinese (20 students). A combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches was used in this study. The findings of this study have shown a serious discrepancy between students’ expectations and their classroom reality in terms of how grammar is instructed.