INDUCTIVE VS. DEDUCTIVE GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO MEDICAL STUDENTS

Abstract

The article presents a comparative study of the effectiveness of inductive and deductive grammar instruction in teaching English to students within the framework of English for medical students. The theoretical background of both approaches is outlined, with emphasis on their methodological principles, advantages, and limitations in professional language education. The research also describes an experimental study conducted at a medical university with second-year students of the Faculty of Medicine. The participants were divided into groups: two groups studied grammar deductively (rule explanation followed by practice), and the other two groups – inductively (rule discovery based on authentic medical texts). Data were collected through pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests, a student questionnaire, and teachers’ observations. The results revealed that the deductive groups achieved slightly higher scores in the immediate post-test, while the inductive groups showed significantly better retention after three weeks. Questionnaire data indicated that inductively taught students demonstrated higher motivation, engagement, and perceived relevance of grammar instruction to their future professional communication. The study concludes that a blended model combining both inductive and deductive approaches is the most effective for ESP courses in medical education. In medical English, combining both methods – inductive for contextual discovery in clinical cases and deductive for explaining rules in technical terminology – promotes the development of communicative competence. The article proposes hybrid strategies, lesson examples, and best practices tailored to the needs of medical students, with an emphasis on cultural aspects and language proficiency. In addition, a balanced approach promotes independence, accuracy, and confidence. The article proposes hybrid strategies and examples of classes that consider the needs of medical students.