A study on activities to learn english grammar for the second year non english major students of the faculty of economics at hung yen university of technology and education

Trang 1 --- GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON ACTIVITIES TO LEARN ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF ECONOMICS AT HUNG

- GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON ACTIVITIES TO LEARN ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH

MAJOR STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF

ECONOMICS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF

TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐỂ HỌC NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM HAI

KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGỮ TẠI KHOA KINH TẾ

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT

HƯNG YÊN)

Supervisor: Nguyen Dinh Sinh Student: Luu Thi Trang Student number: 11317072

Hung Yen – 2021

- GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON ACTIVITIES TO LEARN ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR THE SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH

MAJOR STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF

ECONOMICS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF

TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐỂ HỌC NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM HAI

KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGỮ TẠI KHOA KINH TẾ

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT

HƯNG YÊN)

Student: Luu Thi Trang Student number: 11317072 Supervisor: Nguyen Dinh Sinh

Hung Yen – 2021

DECLARATION

I certify my authorship of the study report entitled “A study on activities to learn

English grammar for the second-year non-English major students of the Faculty of

Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education”

This graduation paper is the result of my research and the substance of this

graduation paper has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution

and that if this declaration is found to be false, disciplinary measures and penalties can be

taken and imposed following university policies and rules

Hung Yen, Jun 2021

Luu Thi Trang

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

During the process of doing this graduation paper, I have received much necessary

assistance, precious ideas, and timely encouragement from my teachers, family, and

friends This paper could not have been completed without the help, encouragement, and

support from several people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation

First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor – Mr Nguyen

Dinh Sinh, the English teacher of the Faculty of Foreign Language, who has always been

willing to give me valuable advice and suggestions so that I can complete successfully this

study

I also would like to take this opportunity to show my sincere thanks to all my

teachers at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hung Yen University of Technology and

Education, who have handed me basic knowledge to complete this study

I am so thankful to students of QTK17.1 at the Faculty of Economics for their

whole-heart participation in the study

I would like to acknowledge my thanks to all the authors of the books, magazines,

and the other materials listed in the reference part for their ideas that have been reflected

and developed in the study

I am equally indebted to my classmates for their suggestions and encouragement in

the process of my study

Last but not least, my particular thanks are given to my parents for their

encouragement and support which played an important role in my graduation paper

Hung Yen, Jun 2021

Luu Thi Trang

ABSTRACT

Learning English grammar is very important to help students develop four skills: listening, reading, speaking, and writing However, many non-English major students have difficulty with English grammar The study aims at finding English grammar activities for second-year non-English students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY Qualitative and quantitative method was used to analyze and to find the solution to the problems The data for the study were collected through a survey questionnaire for 38 second-year non-English major students, and an interview with 05 students voluntarily chosen from the respondents

of the questionnaire The study has given out the perceptions, the reality of using activities

to learn English grammar, and some suggestions for second-year non-English students These findings were the basis for the research to give some activities to learn English grammar for the second-year non-English major students in the Faculty of Economics at

UTEHY to improve their English grammar

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF CHARTS vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale for the study 1

1.2 Aim of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 2

1.5 The method of the study 3

1.6 Design of the study 3

CHAPTER 2: LITTERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 An overview of the English grammar 5

2.1.1 Definitions of the grammar 5

2.1.2 The importance of English grammar 5

2.2 English grammar activities 6

2.2.1 Definitions of English grammar activities 6

2.2.2 Classification of English grammar activities 6

2.2.3 Benefits of English grammar activities 8

2.2.4 Principles of designing activities to learn English grammar 8

2.2.5 How to design activities to learn English grammar 9

2.3 Motivational Factors in learning English grammar 17

2.3.1 Learners’ motivation 17

2.3.2 Learners’ attitudes 17

2.3.3 Learning strategies 18

2.4 Summary 18

CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY 19

3.1 Methods of the study 19

3.1.1 Participants 19

3.1.2 Instruments 19

3.1.3 Procedures of data collection 20

3.2 Results and discussions 21

3.2.1 Students' attitudes towards learning English grammar 21

3.2.2 The reality of using activities to learn English grammar for non-English students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY 23

3.3 Interviews 26

3.4 Some suggested activities to improve students' English grammar 28

3.4.1 Some suggested English grammar activities to overcome difficulties learning English grammar 28

3.4.2 Some suggested English grammar activities to improve English grammar learning quality 29

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 31

4.1 The summary of the study 31

4.2 Limitations of the study 31

4.3 Suggestions for further study 32 REFERENCES I APPENDICES III APPENDIX 1 III APPENDIX 2 VII APPENDIX 3 VIII APPENDIX 4 XVIII APPENDIX 5 XXII APPENDIX 6 XXVIII APPENDIX 7 XXXIII APPENDIX 8 XXXIII APPENDIX 9 XXXIII APPENDIX 10 XXXIII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 UTEHY: Hung Yen university of technology and education

LIST OF CHARTS

Table 1: The importance of English grammar……… 21

Table 2: Students’ reasons for learning English grammar……… 22

Table 3: Students’ perception towards difficulties in learning English grammar…… 22

Chart 1: Co-operative activities……… 23

Chart 2: Competitive activities……… 24

Chart 3: The English grammar activities preference……… 25

Chart 4: The useful English grammar activities……… 26

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study

English is overtly the most common language all over the world Science, technology, industry, travel, sport, medicine, and so on are spoken in English More than that, it is a language of opportunity and success More than 400 million people speak English as their native language and another 700 million use it as their second language, as

a matter of fact

In the context of Hung Yen University of Technology and Education (UTEHY), many students especially non-English major students in the Faculty of Economics, find it difficult to learn English

Many students particularly non-English major students, find it hard to learn English grammar Students face a lot of challenges when they practice speaking English or writing English, such as using wrong grammar, not remember a variety of grammar, and so on Thus, we never stop seeking the most acceptable and reliable ways to teach English grammar and help students develop their knowledge of English grammar

In Fact, many students have few opportunities to practice English grammar In the meantime, English grammar is one of the most significant considerations in the learning of

a foreign language It is therefore important to establish an opportunity for students to develop English grammar

To support non-English major students at the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education (UTEHY) to produce and use English in the correct way The practices in English grammar are known to be an important tool for them English grammar exercises offer learners useful chances to assess what they have learned

in real-world environments Besides, it can be very beneficial to motivate students to use it

as an aspect of fun Finally, English grammar activities could be useful for students at various stages It may also be said that the leveraging of events is a successful means of developing English grammar for second-year non-English major students at the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY These factors have given the author the concept of carrying out a

study title: The study on activities to learn English grammar in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education

1.2 Aim of the study

This study is aimed at:

- Finding out the perceptions of second-year non–English students in the Faculty of Economics towards English grammar

- Finding out the reality of using English grammar activities for second-year English students in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education

non Giving some suggestions for activities to improve English grammar for secondnon year non- English students the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education

second-1.3 Research questions

To accomplish the previous aims, the study has three following research questions:

1 What are the perceptions of second-year non–English students in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education towards English grammar?

2 What is the reality of using English grammar activities for second-year English students in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education?

non-3 What are some suggestions for activities to improve English grammar for second-year non-English students in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education?

1.4 Scope of the study

The study is about activities to learn English grammar for the second-year English students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY However, because of the

non-only confined to the second-year non-English major of Business Administration students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY

1.5 The method of the study

The study uses a quantitative method and a qualitative method This involves the following instruments:

1.Questionnaires

2.Interview

To collect data for the study, the questionnaires were designed to survey directly for

38 students at the Business Administration in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education They were designed to find out members' attitudes in the process of learning English grammar at the class

Besides, the interviews were carried out with 05 members of the Business Administration at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education These interviews helped effectively the author to check the validity and reliability of the questionnaire

In short, all results of the survey, and interview are in order to give some suggestions for activities to learn English grammar to improve English grammar learning quality for the second-year non-English major students in the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education

1.6 Design of the study

The study organized has 4 main parts: introduction, review of literature, research methodology, and expected results

The introduction consists of the rationale for the study, aim, and objectives of the study, research questions, subjects of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study, and structure of the study

The review of literature gives an overview of the literature review including some theories related to English grammar, English grammar activities, motivational factors in learning English grammar

The research methodology shows the methods used to find out the necessary data for the study

The expected results will indicate some results and discussion of the finding of the study are given in this part Furthermore, the recommendations are also provided

CHAPTER 2: LITTERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An overview of the English grammar

2.1.1 Definitions of the grammar

Grammar has been defined by many researchers As cited in Harmmer, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English [10] defines grammar as "The study and practice of the rules by which words change their forms and are combined into sentences" Therefore, two fundamental elements of this definition are the rules of grammar and of rules for study and practice, and the rules of grammar deal with how words are changed and how they are put together in sentences

Richards, Platt, and Platt [15] write in their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics: "Grammar is a description of the structure of a language and how linguistic units such as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language It usually takes into account the meanings and functions these sentences have

an overall system of the language It may or may not include the description of the sound

of a language"

I prefer the concept of grammar by Richards, Platt, and Platt [15] Since in this definition, grammar is seen as descriptive and refers to the form of a language as it is actually used by speakers and authors In addition, deification refers to both linguistic and social features of grammar, since it refers not only to the rules for valid phrases but also to the meanings and purposes of certain phrases in a language that is important for the teaching and learning of foreign languages

2.1.2 The importance of English grammar

As an analysis of the need to learn grammar by Azar [1], there has been a lot of studies in the world regarding the importance of English grammar In the area of English teaching and learning, the importance of English grammar has been checked as being very important The foundation of the English language is English grammar Naturally, people are not apprehended but must partake in planning, research, and understanding

Thus in teaching and studying a foreign language in general and English in particular, English grammar still occupies a significant role English grammar functions at the stage of the sentence and guides the synthesis

In short, English grammar is important for teaching and studying the English language

2.2 English grammar activities

2.2.1 Definitions of English grammar activities

According to Collins English Dictionary [4], activity is:

1 The state or quality of being active

2 Lively action or movement

3 Tiny specific deed, action, pursuit, recreational activities

4 The number of disintegrations of a radioactive substance in a given unit of time usually expressed in curies or disintegrations per second

5 a The capacity of a substance to undergo a chemical change

b The effective concentration of a substance in a chemical system The

absolute activity of a substance B, λB, is defined as exp (μBRT) where μB

is the chemical potential

Based on the definition of the Collins English Dictionary, we can draw that English grammar activities are activities or movements related to English grammar Through these activities, the person will achieve a certain purpose

2.2.2 Classification of English grammar activities

There have been many ways to classify language activities based on the characteristics and spirit of them

However, the most popular classification is mentioned by some scholars, one of whom is Hadfield [8] According to him, there are two kinds of activities: cooperative

activities and competitive activities The former is one kind of activity in which teams work together toward a common goal The latter is one in which players or teams race to

be the first to reach the goal To make it clearer, we should consider Rixon's classification 16] He also shares the opinion with Hadfield and some others The following figure distinguishes the two types of language activities:

Cooperative activities Competitive activities

- One person against the rest

- With a team against the rest

- Each person individually

• Aim

- Completing something

- Reproducing an unseen drawing, etc

- Putting things in order

- Opinion gap between players to be bridged by justifying moves

- Challenge to get something right

2.2.3 Benefits of English grammar activities

The activities to learn English grammar bring a lot of benefits to English teachers and learners

Kim, Lee Su [13] holds that most language activities make learners use the language instantly without thinking about the correct form of the language itself So at this phase, the English grammar activities can lower students' anxiety in using the target language, they are also highly motivating and entertaining so that the shy students will get more opportunities to express their opinion and feeling

Moreover, many people believe that activities can be a good way in practicing the target language that is learned by the children since they are able to provide a model of language on what the learners will use in the real life Related to that statement, Kim [13] presents five advantages of using English activities in the classroom, which are:

1 Activities are motivating and challenging

2 Activities are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class

3 Activities help the students to make and sustain the effort of learning

4 Activities provide language practice in various and integrated language skills especially English grammar

5 Activities create a meaningful context for language that is being learned by the students

In conclusion, activities are able to help the students use and practice English grammar being learned in a relaxed way activities are also highly motivating since they are amusing and interesting activities also can be used in giving practice in all language skills and the use to practice many types of English grammar

2.2.4 Principles of designing activities to learn English grammar

The design activities to learn English grammar is a method that trains English grammar most effectively in English today special is in the education system at school This design focuses on improving, developing English grammar for students in the Faculty

of Economics In essence, the design English grammar activities to develop simultaneously all four skill that through repeating a word, phrase, a sentence with high frequency

Principles of learning language and special are learn English grammar:

How do we learn Vietnamese grammar? Perhaps that is the mother tongue, so of course, we can use it However, we have learned and continued to learn Vietnamese When

we observe a baby learning to speak, learning to write until he masters the language used When a baby learns to speak; there are mother, father, and different people in the society around him who always talk and teach each word, such as, mom, dad, grandmother, relationship, and so on When going to school, he was taught alphabet, spelling, write each word, each sentence, paragraph The analysis process of learning the mother tongue of anyone unnecessary Thus, learning English grammar also must undergo several stages that take time and effort, and English grammar is one of these Designing activities to learn English grammar the second-year non-English major students in the Faculty of Economics

at UTEHY is very important This is very difficult for them to learned a second language and when they matured the learn English is extremely difficult So, the activities design of the teacher is necessary for the class, especially with the second-year non-English major students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY

2.2.5 How to design activities to learn English grammar

In order to design highly successful activities to learn English grammar, we have adapted activities in such a way that the content of conventional information is entirely based on activities relating to the transfer inaccuracy to the organizational process of continuous contact between students and teachers Here are some of the student engagement events that we planned

Definitions of games

Games are a form of play governed by rules - Byrne [3] Players participating in the games are all happy and excited, the games are not only entertaining, showing fun and satisfaction after a tiring working day, but it is also used in teaching activities, especially for learning English, students can use the English language during gameplay Agree with Byrne [3] and Hadfield [9] defines games as rules, goals, and fun elements Therefore, the use of games refers to related aspects, such as: rules, competition, relaxation, And the main goal of using games in teaching helps students just learned and have fun However, it

is important to use games in the English language classes because teachers must understand the rules and law of the games to implement the study guide Students participate in these games

According to Oxford Dictionaries, game (noun) is:

• A form of competitive activity or sport played according to rules

• An activity that one engages in for amusement: a computer game

• A complete episode or period of play, ending in the final result: a baseball game

• Informal a type of activity or business regarded as a game: he was in the restaurant game for the glamour

• [MASS NOUN] Wild mammals or birds hunted for sport or food: they hunted game in Alaska

Using game in English grammar activities

Advantages of games

We have known for a long time that incorporating games into learning helps students become more interested in learning, thereby improving the quality of learning for students at every lesson Here are some of the effects of the game:

Games that create fun and help students relax during stressful language classes It helps students learn in a dynamic and exciting environment when working in groups

These activities will help students increase their vocabulary as well as the ability to work

in groups When doing English grammar activities, organizing games will help English be applied effectively, applying the knowledge learned to complete the game, thereby helping learners to understand what they have learned in class According to Urberman [18], students can use the language more naturally after learning and practicing vocabulary Frost [5] says that when using pictures, interesting stories can help students memorize new words more easily and understand when they are used When students read and analyze the information in the game, it will help students better understand the language and better practice their skills When playing a game, students have many opportunities to learn, look

up the definitions of words, and try to understand them, so new words will be memorized faster and easier Hadfield [9] states that word games focus on strengthening a player's vocabulary

Incorporation of vocabulary-learning exercises in the game to help students practice the knowledge they have learned effectively "Word games are useful for practicing and revising vocabulary after it has been introduced"- Haycraft [7] Frost [5] suggests that students can practice vocabulary more effectively when participating in activities or games using English cards He emphasized that teachers need to test students for vocabulary learned in the next lesson to help students avoid forgetting what was learned in the previous session Teachers should take as many examinations as possible

Games are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunities to express their opinions and feelings Maybe a shy student would be more comfortable with groups or pair discussions in games The desire to win motivates student’s answer the teacher’s question or respond to other teams This makes students speak English more in the class, and provide higher efficiency in learning English grammar Eventually, they will get used to English grammar while playing games as well

as during the class Even they are less shy, embarrassed to use English

Therefore, the use of games in the classroom as well as in the English class brings great benefits to students, it is an important factor to create an interesting and engaging lesson Students feel excited, helping to promote the development of English grammar for

students effectively

When to use games

Games can be for language practice or skills or more communicative language activities Traditionally, games were used in language classes at the beginning of the class, filling in when there was more time near the end of the class Games should be considered

an essential part of a curriculum, and their use should be well planned and prepared Rixon [16] also shows that games can be used for stages of lessons Therefore, the game may be used at any time that the teacher feels approved It is important that they are actively used,

to provide students with fun and useful practice, as well as to be used as a reliever in situations where Interested or motivated students are flagged Although games should be used often, this should not become a pointless habit Factors of surprise and diversity need

to be maintained carefully

As you know, too much use of the game in English grammar activities is only fun and stress-free but does not bring new knowledge, surprise, or more important is improving grammar for students, which makes the students who join the activities find it attractive

However, the game becomes one of the means to achieve the teaching goals, and in the class, it is necessary to maintain that factor to improve the students' communication ability and help the students achieve be your goals The difficult task for the organizers is how to choose the right game type, coughing time for it and the opportunity to use it effectively

Types of games

The game classification is really difficult when the game types have the same characteristics Hadfield [9] divided games into two categories: communication games and language games Communication game is a type of game for you to convey information and intent of the person (maybe a group) to another person in a successful way Language games are one of the many teaching methods used in teaching, they focus on high accuracy, for example, for students to guess antonyms through suggestions or pictures

As mentioned above, the classification of games is extremely difficult because they carry the same characteristics, difficult to distinguish So used elements of the category to classify the games

Grammar game [12] : A “grammar game” is essentially any technique for

memorizing or practicing a particular aspect of grammar – be it verb conjugations, sentence structure, spelling, and punctuation, or any other intimidating feature of your target language – that's at least slightly more fun than rote memorization or “look, cover, write, check” The category could include group games that you play in a classroom or with a language partner, grammar review games played online or on your phone, or even grammar practice games that you play in your head in spare moments

Hangman game [21]: Hangman is a paper and pencil guessing game for two or

more players One player thinks of a word, phrase or sentence and the other(s) tries to guess it by suggesting letters within a certain number of guesses The word to guess is represented by a row of dashes, representing each letter of the word In most variants, proper nouns, such as names, places, and brands, are not allowed Slang words, sometimes referred to as informal or shortened words, are also not allowed If the guessing player suggests a letter that occurs in the word, the other player writes it in all its correct positions If the suggested letter does not occur in the word, the other player draws one element of a hanged man stick figure as a tally mark The player guessing the word may, at any time, attempt to guess the whole word If the word is correct, the game is over and the guesser wins Otherwise, the other player may choose to penalize the guesser by adding an element to the diagram On the other hand, if the other player makes enough incorrect guesses to allow his opponent to complete the diagram, the game is also over, this time with the guesser losing However, the guesser can also win by guessing all the letters that appear in the word, thereby completing the word, before the diagram is completed

Board game: Board Games – Rizka [17] are board games that use multimedia

system teaching techniques This is often one of the traditional games that may be played

by group activity and paired with a blackboard to focus on visual media activity

2.2.5.2 Crossword

Definition of crossword

Crossword [21] is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares The game's goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues, which lead to the answers

In languages that are written left-to-right, the answer words and phrases are placed in the grid from left to right ("Across") and from top to bottom ("Down") The shaded squares are used to separate the words or phrases

Advantages of crossword

You improve your vocabulary

Crossword puzzle clues and answers often include uncommon words to make the puzzle more difficult If you aren’t familiar with a word, look it up using the internet or a dictionary Over time, you’ll develop an arsenal of interesting new words

You increase your knowledge base

You will not just learn new words when you complete crossword puzzles regularly; you’ll also learn new things in general, especially if you work with other people to solve difficult puzzles Most crossword puzzles contain a wide variety of trivia You could learn new things about history, entertainment, science, technology, politics, and much more

2.2.5.3 Kahoot

Definition of Kahoot [14]

It is a game-based learning platform Creators create and display questions on the screen, and the students answer them with the help of a smartphone, tablet, or computer Teachers can even create surveys and polls through this platform Kids can play it in real-time with an ease zone

Kahoot also lays stress on the analysis of student’s performance through evaluation and assessments It is not a typical traditional kind of assessment process Through it, a Kahoot teacher can evaluate a fun-loving process through quizzes, games, polls, and surveys

Advantages of Kahoot

Kahoot is a very beneficial and outstanding tool in today’s virtual world of learning Coming to the advantages, it is very helpful for learners Given below are the in-depth advantages of Kahoot

• The first and foremost advantage of Kahoot is that it offers a great engagement from the students’ side They enjoy it as it is a visualized and unique type of quiz

• As the students’ interest level is high, the teachers can easily assess the

understanding level through quizzes and polls

• Kahoot has become very successful in reducing monotony and boredom

• It is an energetic and lively platform

• It can be used as a tool of assessment for the teachers

• Kahoot has been successful in creating a positive environment among the students by creating motivation

• It has increased the students’ performance due to an increase in the

Advantages of playing catchword:

• Spelling and vocabulary improvement

One of the most significant benefits of catchwords is the impact they can have on improving your vocabulary They offer the possibility to discover new words and at the same time learn their meaning and spelling Playing them also encourages you to form new words on your own People who play in multiplayer mode and groups can witness significant improvement in their pronunciation skills

• Focus and concentration improvement

In addition to stimulating your cognitive abilities, catchword can also help your brain focus better This is because time-based word games require you to stay focused on the game being played within the time limit, which improves your attention span The studies reveal that people who spend time playing online catch games demonstrate improved visual selective attention and a massive brain activity change catchword is excellent for enabling you to engage your short-term memory as your mind has to concentrate on sorting out the different letters that form a word

• Strategic thinking and problem-solving skills improvement

Catchword can help to train the brain to become more agile and improve strategic thinking Playing catchwords can amplify your problem-solving skill Making a new word out of the plethora of letters takes mental muscle and prowess, and this requires you to put your mind to actions that require you to excel as a problem solver And this is how word games can grind your mind and encourage you to solve problems on your own

• Competitiveness and cooperation development

Despite adding to your personality development skills, watchword can do wonders for your real-life corporate skills as well They develop the spirit of competition amongst the players However, multiplayer games help develop cooperation skills and supporting

2.3 Motivational Factors in learning English grammar

The success or inability of students to learn depends on several different aspects Holt [11] said that three of the most significant variables are motivational learning, learning habits and learning methods

2.3.1 Learners’ motivation

Motivation is not an term concept to describe as Gardner [6] notes, "Motivation is a very complex phenomenon with many facets" Yet he also establishes an equation of inspiration that he summarizes as motivational commitment + ability to gain gold + attitudes Motivation is the most significant aspect that affects student achievement in school; indeed, it has many determinants that may impact learner progress or learning loss These determinants can be described as follows:

A) Interest: Teachers should find their lessons engaging and inspire their students

to learn more, hear or read more about them with the use of various innovative methods and approaches Any inspired student has a curiosity and an ability to learn

B) Classroom environment: a classroom is a standardized space for students to study Teachers should be mindful of how to handle the classroom and see it as the perfect place to learn to make students feel able to act and use their language skills

2.3.2 Learners’ attitudes

Attitudes are important factors that affect the success of language in a target language not only on the academic ability of learners, but also on the attitudes of learners towards language learning Learners of foreign languages have different attitudes towards these languages; such attitudes can affect language learners' actions towards the language itself In particular, attitudes towards the use of English as a second language and the language of learning and teaching in schools are traced It is usually a positive or negative opinion of a person against a location, case, or language Attitudes to foreign languages are social decisions Attitude can be constructive or negative: all of them have an effect on academic success and development

2.3.3 Learning strategies

Learning strategies may be described in a number of ways in the field of learning strategy analysis According to Rubin [19], it is described as "Strategies that contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly" Learning techniques not only facilitate language acquisition, but also lead to an improvement in learner-driven learning English language learners face the concurrent task

of mastering the academic material as well as the language in which it is delivered Teachers have historically viewed language learning as a method of teaching students vocabulary and structures or rules However, learning English is also important to students Building a learning strategy is not easy, since each person has a different way of learning

We should pick the approach that is best for us Building learning plans is also a significant element in making students understand English better

2.4 Summary

In this chapter, The research offers an analysis of the literature review, covering all theories applicable to the study such as English grammar, English grammar activities, motivational factors in learning English grammar

CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY 3.1 Methods of the study

The description of the methodology applied in the study is presented in this part More specifically, the participants took part in the survey, the procedures of data collection and data analysis are discussed to shed light on the issues related to the progress

of doing the research methodology

3.1.2 Instruments

The researcher used survey questionnaires, and interviews to complete the study The results of the questionnaire were the major source of data analysis The questions focus on the students' perceptions about English grammar, the reality of using activities on learning English grammar for non-English students in the class at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, and some suggested activities to improve students' English grammar in the class at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education The survey questionnaire sheet including six questions was designed As a result, the data collected was summarized and analyzed more easily

Besides, interview questions are used to exploit more information that the survey cannot reach and check the accuracy of the survey

3.1.3 Procedures of data collection

The questions were based on solid data and a detailed analysis of current situations The author considered all the questions to ensure that they served the purposes of the study Most questions ended up tightly because the answers to this type of question were easy to collate and analyze

As far as I know, every week students of the Economics Faculty of QTK17.1 will study 1 lesson (4 periods) of English On average, each session will spend one-period studying English grammar, the remaining 3 periods will learn other English skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing

First, before surveying 38 students in class QTK17.1, Faculty of Economics, Hung Yen University of Technology and Education The researcher designed 8 English grammar lessons Each lesson lasts 45 minutes After designing 8 lesson scripts, I designed six questions in which six questions were also inserted to reduce the superficiality of the data when collected Next, after designing the questionnaire, we distributed it to 38 non-language major students in class QTK17.1, Faculty of Economics To ensure the best results, the questionnaire was surveyed for 20 minutes And, I also guided and explained the activities that appeared in the survey for the students to bring the highest efficiency As such, we initially collected information based on a sample table

After the data collected was analyzed, 5 students of the class were contacted for interviews The interviews were all notated to free the interview to naturally participate in the discussion and allowed content to be carefully reviewed At the beginning of each interview, the interviews were explained clearly about the nature of the study During the interview, the researcher modified questions and procedures according to the subjects' responses

When the data collection was completed, the data analysis was initiated Data would be illustrated and presented in charts and tables During this period, all the necessary information was summarized according to the difficulties to contribute to the data analysis

of the study

3.2 Results and discussions

3.2.1 Students' attitudes towards learning English grammar

Level of importance Response

Very important 27 (71.1%) Important 10 (26.3%) Less important 1 (2.6%) Not important 0

Table 1: The importance of English grammar

It can be seen clearly from table 1 that there is a high level of agreement about the significance of grammar in students’ English learning An interesting fact is drawn from the chart that the figures show the students agreeing that English grammar is very important is at 27 students (71.1%), 10 students (26.3%)of the state this skill important, while only 1 student (2.6%) of them find English grammar less important Thus, despite any different objectives, grammar is still what students expect to be taught Possibly, common exams aiming to test grammar together with the habit formed by the grammar-translation method have influenced students’ views on the importance of grammar For many students, only with good grammar, they can pass the exams Additionally, grammar

is also a part of communication skills Understandably, no students saw grammar to be unimportant In brief, from chart 1, it is proved that all participants emphasize the importance of grammar

The data from table 2 indicate that nearly half of students (47.3%) learned English grammar since it is one of the compulsory subjects, they have to take in order to pass the test and examination Nearly one-fourth of them (23.7%) learned English grammar for the purpose of having a good job for they recognize the importance of English to their employment opportunities in the future 21.1% of students learn English grammar because

it complements other skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing Besides, widening knowledge through reading books or watching programmers in English was the reason for 2 out of 38 students (5.3%) to learn English grammar

Purpose of learning English grammar Response

To pass the test and examination 18 (47.3%)

To find a good job 9 (23.7%)

To widen knowledge 2 (5.3%)

It is a part of English skills 8 (21.1%) Other (pleases specify) 1 (2.6%)

Table 2: Students’ reasons for learning English grammar

For other purposes were shown in table 2, interestingly, one student (2.6%) said that she learned English grammar so that she could be of some help to his younger brother

"I learn English to teach my younger brother to learn it" Clearly, learning English grammar is beneficial to not only the learners themselves but also others In short, the students' purpose for learning English grammar were varied and contributed to their intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in learning the language

Cause of difficulty in learning grammar Response

Lack of grammar knowledge 15 (39.5%) Lack of vocabulary 6 (15.8%) Lack of time 10 (26.3%) Lack of motivation 6 (15.8%) Other 1 (2.6%)

Table 3: Students’ perception towards difficulties in learning English grammar

Bearing the importance of grammar in mind motivates students to try their best to master grammar However, they deal with a number of difficulties in learning grammar as shown in the table 3 It can be easily realized from table that students' limitation of

agreed with that Lack of appropriate learning English vocabulary strategies brought difficulties to 15.8% of the students in learning grammar Whereas 15.8% of other students considered they feel bored with the traditional way of learning grammar, with this method students feel a lack of motivation to learn Besides, the table indicates that lack of class time for doing grammar exercises caused difficulties for nearly one-fourth (26.3%) of the students In fact, the teachers and the students have to deal with grammar lessons within a period of 45 minutes Obviously, it is not easy for students to grasp the knowledge in such

a little time Maybe, these students thought there were more chances available for them to ask their teacher for help when doing grammar exercises at school As a result, they could understand grammar better and more quickly Unsurprisingly, the smallest proportion (2.6%) of the students viewed it difficult to find a partner to study English within the class and at home

3.2.2 The reality of using activities to learn English grammar for non-English

students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY

Chart 1: Co-operative activities

It can be seen from the data in chart 1 about co-operative activities, 42.1% of the students believed that they should practice English grammar with the grammar game, 15.8% spend to correction However, 18.4% of the have opinions that students keen on

hangman game, and 13.2% for crossword, 10.5% for pair editing activities In summary, the majority of students in the QTK17.1 class surveyed think that participating in the grammar game is a suitable cooperative activity for them

After surveying the researcher found that for the competitive game most of the students are attracted by the Boardgame activity (42.1%) The second-ranked activity with the number of students choosing 21.1%, accounting for 1/5 of the number of students in class QTK17.1 is the Answer game Coming in at 3rd place with 15.8% student favorite, Kahoot activity doesn't seem to be the student's favorite activity Next, Question time and Catchword, respectively, 10.5% of students chose as their preferred competitive activity In short, nearly half of the students surveyed said that the board game is an attractive competitive activity for them

Chart 3: The English grammar activities preference

The researcher questioned the usefulness of these types of activities, the results of which are shown in chart 3: The English grammar activities preference According to the data in the survey, the group word activity is the most favorite and useful for students with more than two-thirds of students (78.9%) saying it is very useful The whole class also has

a lot of students who think this activity is very useful, up to 60% Next, more than half of the students surveyed thought that the activity with a partner was very helpful, 42.1% of the students said that the activity with a partner was not very helpful Individual activities also have the same number of students as with a partner, however, 42.1% of these students think that individual activities are very useful and should be done more However, up to 47.4% of students said that individual activities are not really useful for them In addition, 10.5% and 13.2% of students think that individual activities and activities with the whole class are not useful In summary, almost all 4 types of activities given are considered useful by students, especially group work activities

Chart 4: The useful English grammar activities

After evaluating the usefulness of the type of game, the researcher wanted to know about the usefulness of each activity So the question 7 was designed and the data collected from question 7 was shown in chart 4: the useful English grammar activities Looking at the chart, it is easy to see that all 4 types of activities are rated as extremely useful With the highest number of reviews, the Board game activity was rated very useful with 78.9%

of students choosing it Next, the Grammar game activity was chosen by 71.1% of the students as a very useful activity, and 21.1% of the students chose it as a useful activity More than half of the students think that the Answer game activity is a very useful activity (65.8%) Correction activity has many students rate as unhelpful, but it only accounts for 18.4% However, this activity has 52.6% of students think it is very useful and 28.9% of students think it is useful In conclusion, all 4 activities mentioned are highly appreciated

by students in terms of usefulness, especially Board game activities

In the first question, “In your opinion, is English grammar important? Why?”, all

the students said that English grammar was very important They gave many reasons For

examples, 3 in 5 students when told that “English grammar is compulsory at my

university”, and “it can help them to pass the exam” There are two students believe that

“grammar is necessary for my future job” In summary, there were different points of view

about English grammar’s importance, although all of the students thought it was really important

The next question, "What kind of activities would you like in the class?" A lot of students say they like group activities They explain "I like group work activities the most

because it is fun Everyone can share with each other" and "I like the board game the most Every time we join this activity, we are very happy." Besides, other students said they like

both "I like both group and individual activities Group activities are fun and individual

activities make me confident because I hope I can present in front of the class" Overall,

through this interview question, we can see that almost all student interested in group work activities

In the last interview question “How do these activities improve your English

grammar?” The question finds the students' evaluation of the effectiveness of using

activities in learning English grammar In this question, the students also had more

opinions All of the students said that these activities will help them understand more in

grammar and someone thought it gave them more opportunities for exchanging ideas A

student said participated in these activities to help them develop their English grammar a

lot Another student said " I really like joining these activities I believe that my grammar

is much better if I can use these activities" Besides, there is a student who participated in

the interview said that " I really want to learn English but studying by conventional

methods is very boring and unmotivated If I can participate in these activities, I believe that my skills will improve a lot.” As can be seen from this interview question, almost all

students believe that their English grammar will be improved In general, these activities are of great help to students, such as improving these motivation and knowledge

3.4 Some suggested activities to improve students' English grammar

3.4.1 Some suggested English grammar activities to overcome difficulties learning

English grammar

According to the survey results I collected, the lack of grammar knowledge is the most difficult reason for students They do not have enough knowledge to be able to communicate or take tests That's why I have prepared 8 lesson scripts base on the book

"Life"

I have prepared some activities to help students improve their grammar skills such as grammar games, pair editing, crossword, hangman game, answer game, question time, etc Each of these activities only lasts from 10 to 15 minutes, so they can be used to stir up the atmosphere at the beginning of class and improve students' learning spirit In particular, the types of exercises and activities are designed alternately and do not overlap, making students always feel new, which will help students learn English grammar more easily In particular, the grammar that I give is based on the book that students learn in school, so they can rely on it to review to pass the exam easily

The second reason why students find it difficult to learn English grammar is that they feel a lack of study time These students thought there were more chances available for them to ask their teacher for help when doing grammar exercises at school However, if the new method of learning English grammar is applied through grammar activities in class Students will have more opportunities to participate in activities, learning grammar is not only about taking notes but also applying them in practice If learning grammar without applying it in practice will make students feel bored and distant The contexts that are given very familiarly to each student will help students learn grammar easier to spend and remember much longer

According to the survey results I collected, the lack of vocabulary is the thirds difficult reason for students They do not have enough vocabulary to do exercise or take tests I have prepared activities that combine vocabulary and grammar learning such as grammar games, board games, true or false, reorder, filling the blank, etc Students should revise vocabulary 30 minutes a day, then students make an example with each word So

In particular, lacking motivation is the seemingly simple factor, but many students have difficulty with it Whether students have good English grammar, after a long time of not practicing because of a lack of motivation, their English ability will get weaker Or, if they have low motivation when communicating and practicing with group members, it will not work as well Therefore, I designed these activities to raise the atmosphere, to avoid students being discouraged by lessons The activities I designed often involve group works like board games, crossword, hangman game, Kahoot, corrections, etc I also encourage students by giving them presents to the winning team and cute punishments such as singing and dancing for the losing team Thereby, gradually students will no longer feel the lack of motivation to learn English or fear of the crowd

Besides, as analyzed in Table 3, a student shared that they find it difficult to find a teammate This may from students' lack of confidence That is why the activities that I offer are divided into random groups and encourage members to exchange and discuss with each other I strongly believe that after only 1 or 2 lessons, not only grammar knowledge but also students' confidence and teamwork skills will be greatly improved

There are some suggestions to help students can overcome difficulties in learning English skills Students and teachers can rely on it to find the best plan for themselves or design more useful activities

3.4.2 Some suggested English grammar activities to improve English grammar

learning quality

According to the survey results I have collected, students like games as grammar games and a board game at both co-operative and competitive activities From there, we can design more activities for students to unleash their creativity and learning Besides the above two activities, there are also hangman games and correction activities which are also popular with many students With this kind of competitive activity, teachers can offer some fun rewards for outstanding students and groups or small punishments for the losing team like singing a song or dancing

According to students' evaluation of useful activities board games and grammar, games are most appreciated The level of useful assessment of students for answer game and correction activities is nearly equivalent These activities are very helpful in improving

motivation, confidence, and knowledge Some types of activities can be consulted to design more games such as writing a paragraph and talking in front of the whole class, brainstorming, etc

Students also showed that they enjoyed activities related to the whole class, group work, and work in pairs Working with the whole class is adored by almost all students, we should use activities such as true or false for them Students also keen on group work activities, it will be more interesting if we design competitive activities between groups

We will give an activity such as a hangman game After the group completes, the best group will win, the losing team will be punished like jumping a cute song These activities will help students increase their motivation and the atmosphere of the whole class Moreover, students also like work-in-pairs activities, so pair editing, answer games, reorder should be focused on development Individual activities are also loved by many students Some activities such as filling the blank are very suitable for this type of activity These individual and work-in-pair activities often focus on improving students' knowledge and skills To achieve the best results, we should integrate and design four types of activities in one lesson

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 4.1 The summary of the study

The discussion in the previous chapter has made it possible to draw the following conclusions

Firstly, the study shows that the second-year non- English major students at the Faculty of Economics, UTEHY had a positive perception of the importance of grammar in English learning since mastery of English contributes to the success in written tests and exams, learning language skills, widen knowledge and find a good job

Secondly, the study shows the activities and types of activities that students enjoy the most From there, it can be improved and expanded to become closer and more effective to students

Finally, the study shows that using activities to learn English grammar can develop students' skills especially English grammar has proved effective in both theory and practice The students themselves can benefit much from the application of language games and activities in the process of learning English The study has shown that using activities on learning English grammar creates an interesting atmosphere in which the learners can use contextual grammar, reduce the pressure and boredom of studying a foreign language, and provides meaningful practice of English grammar for the learners

Activities are an effective means to encourage students to use what they have learned and improved their grammar Therefore, the use of activities to learn English grammar for the second-year non-English major students of the Faculty of Economics at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education should be more regular

4.2 Limitations of the study

Due to the limitation of knowledge and ability, this paper cannot avoid mistakes The numbers of second-year non-English major students in the Business Administration who took part in the studying (38) are still not enough compared with the number of 1st years non-English major students in the Faculty of Economics at UTEHY Besides, 5 second-year non-major English students who join in interview accounted low rate compared with the enormous number of second-year non-English major Therefore, the answers of these