Yükseköğretim düzeyinde yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğretmenlerinin dilbilgisi öğretiminde bilişleri

This convergent parallel design, mixed-methods study investigates tertiary-level EFL teachers' cognitions regarding grammar instruction within the context of a Turkish state university. A total of 128 instructors participated in the quantitative phase through the 27-item Likert-scale Teachers' Cognitions About Grammar Teaching Questionnaire (Zhang & Sun, 2022), and 38 of them volunteered for in-depth semi-structured interviews in the qualitative phase. The quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 30 for descriptive and inferential statistics. The qualitative data were analyzed using Dedoose 10 through thematic analysis. Quantitative results indicated strong support for contextualized and focus-on-form grammar instruction. Teachers reported favoring inductive, meaningful grammar teaching, while expressing less support for deductive and focus-on-forms paradigms. The qualitative findings, categorized under eleven themes, revealed tensions between teachers' stated cognitions and their enacted practices. While participants frequently endorsed communicative, inductive approaches, they often employed more traditional and eclectic methods shaped by learner proficiency, exam washback, curricular pressures, and personal teaching histories. Teachers selectively used L1 for clarification and motivation, applied grammatical terminology pragmatically, and demonstrated growing but uneven engagement with digital and AI-supported tools in grammar instruction. The findings reveal that EFL teacher cognition is complex, adaptive, and deeply embedded in contextual realities. Despite favoring progressive methodologies in theory, many teachers resorted to more controlled practices to align with institutional assessment expectations. The study highlights the need for reflective practice and context-sensitive professional development to bridge the gap between teachers' pedagogical ideals and classroom realities.