(SKKN 2022) applying some communicative approaches to motivate students in grammar lessons, from unit 1 to unit 5, english textbook 8

THANH HOA CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGEXPERIENCE INITIATIVE APPLYING SOME COMMUNICATIVE APPROACHES TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS IN GRAMMAR LESSONS, FROM UNIT 1 TO UNIT 5,... Applyi

THANH HOA CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE

APPLYING SOME COMMUNICATIVE

APPROACHES TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS IN GRAMMAR LESSONS, FROM UNIT 1 TO UNIT 5,

THANH HOA, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aims of the study 1

1.3 Objects of the study 1

1.4 Methods of the study 2

1.5 New ideas of the study 2

2 CONTENTS OF THE STUDY 2

2.1.1 What is a communicative approach? 2

2.1.2 Some popular communicative approaches in teaching English grammar 3

2.2 Practical background 6

2.3 Applying some communicative approaches to motivate students in learning grammar lessons, from Unit 1 to Unit 5, English textbook 8 7

2.3.1 Application 1 7

2.3.2 Application 2 8

2.3.3 Application 3 10

2.3.4 Application 4 11

2.3.5 Application 5 12

2.4 Results of applying communicative approaches to motivate students in grammar lessons, from Unit 1 to Unit 5, English textbook 8 14

3 CONCLUSION 15

3.1 Conclusion 15

3.2 Suggestion 16

REFERENCE BOOKS 17

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale.

Up to now, English which is used popularly in Vietnam is an indispensableinternational language English is one of the compulsory subjects at schools Ithas been used for Final Examinations to evaluate students’ level of knowledge.Therefore, whether students are proficient at English or not Being proficient atEnglish means students are good at both received skills – reading and listening,and productive skills – speaking and writing These four skills are integraded in

a lesson to improve all these skills for the students because one certain skill can

be used to improve the others But it is very hard for students to learning

grammar of English Therefore, it is necessary to have good English teaching

and learning methods and techniques

To make students interested in a grammar lesson is very important forteachers, especially English teachers How must teachers do that? This is theresponsibility of all teachers! Making some techniques are the ways in whichteachers can take interest, encourage the students and prepare them to learn bystimulating their minds and their bodies But how do English teachers in highschools apply these approaches?

Base on the innovation of teaching methods that help students towardsactive learning, against passive learning habits To have the most effective,successful grammar lessons, teachers need to create a joyful atmosphere andcreate attractive techniques to stimulate creative thinking

Moreover, with the social background of opening up ASEAN integration,English language plays an important role in communication and enculturation ofViet Nam country In general, learning English becomes more and morenecessary and it also gets the attention of everyone, especially the students Theyare gradually becoming fond of this subject and more confident in all fields ofEnglish to master the knowledge, study about material and see the dialecticalunity of listening - speaking - reading - writing skills

Basing on these facts, I present the theme “Applying some communicative

approaches to motivate students in grammar lessons, from Unit 1 to Unit 5, English textbook 8” that I have applied in teaching English for many years with

the aim of helping students focus on English Grammar at school.

1.2 Aims of the study

My theme focuses on making clear about some issues below:

- What is a communicative approach?

- How many popular communicative approaches are there in teachingEnglish grammar?

- How are communicative approaches applied in teaching grammar lessonsfrom Unit 1 to Unit 5, English textbook 8

1.3 Objects of the study

8th grade students in classes 8A2 and 8A4 in Minh Khai Secondary school,Thanh Hoa city are the objects chosen for my study The students are in the thirdyear of secondary school, being cognitively immature adolescents and English is

not really their interest; therefore, they complete the tasks in their English textbook in a passive way.

1.4 Methods of the study

In order to collect a number of information, compare, and then, analysedata my study is conducted by qualitative methods By using the combination ofthese methods, my theme will make clear the questions in this topic, and reacheffectively the targets of the essay

1.5 New ideas of the study

Knowledge of grammar are usually taught in traditional methods whenteachers often use their interpreting, explaining the rules of grammar As theresult, students are quite passive and have fewer opportunities to practice thelanguage in class

Only with some communicative approaches used in grammar lessons makestudents pay more attention to their lessons and, as a consequence, the lessonsbecome more attractive and students can comprehend knowledge better

2 CONTENTS OF THE STUDY 2.1 Theoretical background

2.1.1 What is a communicative approach?

The Communicative Approach – or Communicative Language Teaching(CLT) – is a teaching approach that highlights the importance of realcommunication for learning to take place

In the Communicative Approach, real communication and interaction is notonly the objective in learning, but also the means through which it takes place.This approach started in the 70s and became prominent as it proposed analternative to the then ubiquitous systems-oriented approaches, such as theAudiolingual method That means that, instead of focusing on the acquisition ofgrammar and vocabulary (grammatical/linguistic competence), theCommunicative Approach aimed at developing the learner’s competence tocommunicate in the target language (communicative competence), with anenhanced focus on real-life situations

According to Jack C Richards, a learner can develop communicativecompetence by:

This change has had a huge impact on classroom materials, coursebooks, teaching techniques and the teacher’s role in the classroom, and stillinfluences English language teaching and learning up to this day.

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations thatnecessitate communication The teacher sets up a situation that students arelikely to encounter in real life Unlike the audiolingual method of languageteaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach canleave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will varyaccording to their reactions and responses The real-life simulations change fromday to day Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire tocommunicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics

Margie S Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching,writes in explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonalactivity and has a clear relationship with society In this light, language studyhas to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguisticcontext (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and itssocial, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, whythey have come together to speak)"

Learning English highly depends on students’ positive attitude toward theclass Consequently, learning must be stimulating and enjoyable throughbreaking what might cause monotony in this process and strengthening whatmakes tasks more interesting, as well as what increases students’ involvement.The use of communicative approaches promote positive ambition and creativity

of students, suitable for each class, the training courses help student have learning skill as well as the knowledge for practical situation students have goodemotion that impacts, brings joy and excitement for them

self-2.1.2 Some popular communicative approaches in teaching English grammar.

Depending on the contents of the lessons and students, teachers shoulddesign a suitable communicative approach for each lesson Below are sometechniques often used to promote students in learning grammar lessons

2.1.2.1 Describing the picture

Show a picture and have students take turns saying one descriptive thingabout it Beginners can make simple observations like “three cats” whileadvanced students can make up a story to go with the picture They aren’tallowed to repeat what someone else said, so they need to pay attention when

each person speak Variation for individual: take turns with the teacher.

2.1.2.2 Shark attack

Teacher uses the template to present a new learning topic This activity is avariation on the popular Hangman warmer Instead of building a set of gallowsand hanging the villain, a boy or a girl moves down the steps and falls into themounth of a waiting shark

2.1.2.3 Sing a song or play the music song

If you’re musically inclined, or even you’re not, song can be a lively way

to get everyone involved

2.1.2.4 Brainstorm race

A brainstorm race is a great way to review things you’ve already covered,and have some energizing fun in the process Divide the class into two teams ormore Teacher gives a topic and asks learners to think of anything related to it.They will have about 30 seconds to brainstorm and list as many items as theycan in a certain amount of time-without speaking Each student must write his orher ideas on the board or paper you’ve provided The team with the most ideasafter the prescribed time wins that round

Ask the winning team to present their ideas Ask remaining teams to add any ideasthe winning missed and to correct any mistakes the winning team may have made

2.1.2.5 Networks

Teacher draws a network on the board with the topic of the lesson in themiddle of the network Teacher asks students to work in two or four groups tofind information related to the theme

2.1.2.6 Lucky number

Teacher divides the class into two teams and lets them name their team.Teacher asks teams to choose the number If they choose the number that islucky, they will not have to answer the question but they still get mark Incontrast, if they choose the number that have a question, they will have toanswer that question At the end of the game, the team getting the highest markwill be a winner

to the board and write down all the objects or the words, word phrases they canremember The team which has the most objects or the words, word phrases isthe winner.

2.1.2.9 Matching

Teacher asks students to match words in column A with their meanings incolumn B, words in column A with pictures in column B or a half of sentence incolumn A with its rest half in column B, …

2.1.2.10 Role-play

The teacher forms pairs of students and gives a role play to each student.The role playing students are supposed to be old friends meeting after a longtime They are supposed to communicate and note the differences in each usingeither their imagination or the role play cues

2.1.2.11 Quizz

A quiz is a form of game or mind sport, attempt to answer questions

correctly It is a game to test knowledge about a certain subject In somecountries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields tomeasure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills

2.1.2.12 Describing the pictures

The teacher gives students some pictures related to the lession, asks them tolook at the pictures and describe what they can see in the pictures based on somesuggestions of his/hers

2.1.2.13 Telling stories

“Everyone loves stories, including ESL students Stories are used incontemporary ESL materials to promote communication and expression in theclassroom.” Celce- Murcia (1988: 51)

Both teachers and students can tell stories “Our students are marvelousstorytellers as well as listeners, and this ability can be used to good advance.”Celce- Murcia (1988: 55)

Telling stories is suitably applied for the production stage when studentsare free to say what they want and what they think In that way, they candevelop their imagination and self- confidence at the same time

2.1.2.14 Crossword puzzle

Teacher asks students to work in pairs or groups He/She gives them a

“crossword” and asks students to find the objects related to the lesson

2.1.2.15 Other communicative approaches.

What and where, slap the board, survey, true/false statement, picturedrill, find someone who, chain game, gap fill, hot seat, mystery object, noughtand crosses, sentence making game, …

2.2 Practical background

Minh Khai Secondary school is located in Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province

At present, school has 29 classes with over 1.400 students

Almost all students in the school live in a small city and do not have manyopportunities and conditions to practice English regularly as well as take part in extraEnglish classes Although they are studious and obedient students, they do not raise thesense of initiative in learning English They need the teacher’s help If a teacher uses acomunicative approach, which is a short, fun game, he/she can encourage the students,wake them up and make the grammar lesson less boring, more interesting and easier toremember Furthermore, a comunicative approach helps learners put aside their daily

distractions and focus on English If they haven’t used English all day, they may take alittle while to shift into it Comunicative approaches also encourage whole classparticipation which can build a sense of community within the class.

We all know that learning the lesson with a good hook activity sets us upfor a better chance of success It captivates the students and draws them into thelesson – giving us the opportunity to “do our thing”! A comunicative approach

in the lesson takes only some minutes but it brings us a variety of benefits as Ipresented above

2.3 Applying some communicative approaches to motivate students in learning grammar lessons, from Unit 1 to Unit 5, English textbook 8.

Below are some communicative approaches I have used in teaching newEnglish lessons, English textbook 8 in the last few years, many teachers can alsoapply them in their teaching

2.3.1 Application 1.

Unit 1 LEISURE ACTIVITIES

LESSON 3: A CLOSER LOOK 2 Grammar: The verbs of liking + gerunds The verbs of liking + to –infinitives 2.3.1.1.Sentence making game

The teacher devides the class into 4 teams and gives them some verbs of

liking: like, love, adore, enjoy, dislike, hate, prefer, fancy, fancy, Ask

students to make sentences using these verbs in 5 minutes, then write them

on board The team with the most correct sentences becomes the winner

Suggested answers:

- I like fishing.

- We detest playing games.

- They love making apricot jam.

- Jane enjoys go out with her friends.

- You hate to skateboard.

- I prefer to read poetry.

- Do you fancy watching TV?

-

2.3.1.2 Brainstorming

Teacher asks students to think of family members and answer the questionsrelated to their leisure activities and use the verbs of liking:

- What do your family members like?

- What do your family members hate?

- Who dislikes watching TV?

- Does your father love going shopping?

- Who prefers spending time with family?

- Does your mother adore doing DIY?

Suggested answers:

- My family members like chatting with one another.

- My family members hate collecting stamps.

- My mother dislikes watching TV.

- …

 These activities aim to help students practise using the verbs of liking +V-ing/to-V

2.3.2 Application 2.

Unit 2 LIFE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

LESSON 3 A CLOSER LOOK 2 Grammar: Comparative forms of adjectives: review Comparative forms of adverbs

Describing the pictures.

Teacher shows some pictures and asks students to make comparisons orallybased on these pictures Students will sit in groups and practice speaking