Luận văn an investigation into using situational contexts in teaching grammar for non english major freshmen in a university in nam dinh city

The aims of carrying out this research were to find out students’ interest in gramunar lessons which apply situational contexts and measure whelher students can complete grammar exercis

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LAI THI HIEN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING SITUATIONAL CONTEXTS IN TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR FRESHMEN IN A UNIVERSITY

IN NAM DINII CITY

(Nghién citu việc sử dụng ngữ cảnh tình buông vào giảng lạy ngữ

pháp cho sinh viên không chuyên Tiắng “Inh năm thứ nhất tại một

trường dại học ở thành phố Nưa Định)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

'VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSTTY, HANOT

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

LẠI THỊ HIỄN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING SITUATIONAL CONTEXTS IN TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR FRESHMEN IN A UNIVERSITY

IN NAM DINH CITY

(Nghiên cứu việc xử dung ngit ciink tinh huéng vào giững day ngit pháp cho sinh viên không chuyên Tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất tại một

trường đại học Ø thành phố Nam Dink)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111

Supervisor: Dr Ha Cam Tam

TIANOI - 2014

DECLARATION

Thereby certify that the thesis entitled

AN INVESTIGATION INITIO USING SITUATIONAL CONTEXTS IN TEACIIING GRAMMAR FOR

Hanoi, August 20", 2008

Lai Thi Mien

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis could not have been completed without the help, cncouragement aud suppor!

of a number of people who all deserve my sincere gratitude and appreciation

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Ha Cam

‘Yam for her enthusiastic help and guidance

1 am also very grateful to all of my students of the class CDDI22A2 at University of Economics and Technical Industry (UNETD), who participated in my action research This

contribution played a very important role in my research’s result

I would like to send my special thanks to my Jecturers, my friends and my classmates for

their sincere comments and criticism

Finally, a special word of thanks goes lo my readers for their interest and comments on this study,

ABSTRACT

In order to be fluency in English, grammar is considered to be the basis to develop other

four skills However, when teaching grammar to first-year students at University of

Economics and Technical Industry, the author of Unis research found out thal studenis

were not interested in learning grammar Hence, they did not focus on the lesson and

ignored doing exercises resulting in bad marks in the testa and exams Thanks lo the yeasons above, the researcher decided to use situational contexts to teach grammar for

students The aims of carrying out this research were to find out students’ interest in gramunar lessons which apply situational contexts and measure whelher students can

complete grammar exercises better after practicing with situational contexts In order to

do this research, the researcher first makes plans for the study by preparing situational contexts and decidiryg how they are applicd in the classroom Then, the aclion sage takes place All the situational contexts are put into practice The teacher gives them to students

and they have to make preseration aboul those situational contexts Durng this stage, all

things happened in the class are observed and taken notes At the same time, after each

try-out lesson, there is a test given at the end of the lesson in order to measure students’

progress Last bul nol least, the action is evaluated by analyzing and comparing the results

of the test and summarizing and discussing the observation notes In the end, the

researcher gives comments and conclusions about the study

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Ratlonale oÊthe study ee

6 Methods of the gt0dy, cài n0 Họ HH HH HH1 1 re 3

1.1.1.2 The importance of grammar in second language teaching 6

1.1.2.1 The deductive approach — rale-driven learning - - 7 1.1.2.2 The inductive approach — the mule-discovery path - 8 1.1.2.3 Functional-Notional Approach con oneerirreiersroouÐ

1.1.3.1, Teaching grammar in situational contexts - 10 1.1.8.2 'Teaching gramrnar thưough teXks sàn nerirrserrore TÔ 1.1.3.3 Teaching prammar through stories - - " 1.1.3.4 Teaching grammmar thưough songs and thyme e eo e.T1 1.1.4 Context and situadional context in granamar teaching L2

1.1.4.2 Bituational context in teacbing graRMĐ8T, son non nai 13

1.1.4.2.2 The advantages and disadvantages of teaching grammar in

1.1.4.2.3 Application of tational contexts in leaching grammar 14

1.1.5 Review ofprevious siudies khung

ZL The sefing of the siuổy, à nọ sua

2 Implieations for more effeotive grammar lessons 42

3 Limitations and suggestions for further research

LIST OF GRAPHS

vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

In times of globalization, English language is becoming more and more important

worldwide Many people hold a belie! that English can help them lo be casily accessed lo job opportunities and connect people from all over the world together ‘his contributes to

a significant change im school education system im Vietnam From kindsygarton to

university, English has become a compulsory subject in teaching and leaming’s curriculum Although the four skills including writing, listening, speaking and reading stil plays a very important role in teaching and earning English, it is underiable that English grammar also hold an inevitable position Without grammar competence, people cannot generate ideas into grammatical sentences to write an essay or paragraph as well as

understand and be understood m vommumeating with others However, i University of

Eoonomic and Technical Industry (UNITI), grammar teaching encounters lots of

difficulties More specifically, Iscturers there still prefer the traditional method of

teaching grammar Therefore, some of them often explains new words and grammar

structures, ask students to learn by heart and make sentences, which makes them passive

and bored One more problem tics in students’ participation im grammar lesson The boring atmosphere and lots of written exercises makes students lose their interest in leaming grammar at all Liqually important, it is clear that teachers in UNETI do not emphasize the role of communication in teaching grammar, so very few communicative activities explored in grammar teaching result in students’ little chances to approach, be

exposed to and practice grammatical items in real-life situations The reason is that they

are afraid of the noise students make, and it is difficult for them to control the class Last

but not least, in the course book used for first-year non-major students (New Ileadway

teachers do not take the most advantages of them.

As Harmer (2007:57) stated, “students need to get an idea of how the new language is used by native speakers and the best way of doing this is to present language in context”

Therefore, the role of silualicnal coulext in English teaching and learning in general and

in English grammar teaching in particular are proved to be very essential All of the

factors mentioned above urge me to conduct a study on situational comext in teaching

gramunar with an aim to find out students’ and teachers’ difficultics when applying this method in their teaching and learning It is entitled “An investigation into using

situational contexts in (caching grammar for non-English major freshmen im a university

in Nam Dinh city”

2 Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are as follows:

® To find out if students are more interested in practicing grammar through

situational conlexls

© To measure whether students can complete grammar exercises better after

practicing with situational contexts

3 The research questions

This study is imtended to address the following two research questions:

Ql; Are students more interested in practicing granunar through situational contexts?

Q2: Can students do grammar exercises better after their practices with situational

context?

4 ‘The scope of the study

As could be seen from the title of the study, this paper strongly focuses on finding out the effectiveness of using situational contexts in increasing students’ interest in practicing

grammar and the ability whether siudents can complete grammar exercises better afler

2

practicing with situational contexts At the same từne, the study also only conoerttrates oi

non-Tinglish majcr freshmen in UNETI Therefore, its results are not reliable for other

kinds of context, other siudents in LNETT aš well as other uriversilics

5, The significance of the study

‘This study is hoped to bring some benefits to both teachers and students at UNE as

follows:

Itmay change teachers’ views on ways of teaching grammar into a communicative approach

» Ti may stimulate teachers to employ situational contexts in their grammar leaching

to make it more appropriate and effective

ø Tk may stimulate students, help them to be mere mvolved and interested in grammar lessons

6 Methads of the study

Tn order lo answer Ihe rescarch question raised above, the rescarcher intends to use biel

notes to record students’ interest into the activity, and students’ level of remembering At

the same time tests given after the presentation of the situational contexts are also applied

in this study Its purpose is to find out in-depth data about students’ progress, proficiency, and ability to apply theory into practice

In this study, both quantitative and qualitative method are uscd All comments, recommendations and conclusions provided in this study based on the analysis and

discusston of the stalislics {rom Lests’ resulls At the same time, the qualitative dala cones

from the author’s observation in some grammar lessons

7 Organization of the study

‘The study is divided into three part which are described as follows:

Part A, Introduction, is an overview of the study in which the rationale, the aims, the

scope, the significarics, the research questions, the methods of the study are presented

Part B, Development, consists of three chapters:

Chapter 1 (Literature Review) is the theoretical hackground of the thesis including a

review of grammar, grammar leaching and context in grammar Leaching

Chapter 2 (Methodology) presents the data collection instruments and the description of

participants The nex section covers the process of the action research The results and

discussion of the study are also presented in this chapter

Part C, Conclusion, presents the major findings of the study followed by the conclusion of the study.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

different definitions related to grammar

From the Longivan Dictionary of Contemporary English (2009), grammar is defined as

“the study and practice of the rules by which words change their fonns and are combined into sentences” Sharing the same idea, Ur (1988:/) states that “grammar may be roughly defined as the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bit of words) in order

to form longer units of meaning” \3oth definitions above refer to the morphology (word formation) and syntax (sentence formation) of a language Clearly, grammar is the element which make up all words and structures im a sentence Tt is a set of rules which

construct meaning and form of a sentence

Another definition given by Larsen-Freeman (2003:142) is that “Gramnunar(ing) is one

of the dynamic linguistic processes of pattern formation in language, which can be used

by humans for making meaning in conlext-appropriate ways” Different, from other definitions above, not only does this one refer to form and meaning but it also mentions the context in which they are used In other words, grammar is the pattern formation which must be applied in appropriate contexts

In conclusion, grammar can be defined in different ways Most of them consider grammar

as a set of rules to form sentences Generally speaking, the researcher thinks that the

definition which commocts grammar wilh conlexL by Larsen-Freeman is the most comprehensive

1.1.1.2 The importance of grammar in second language waching

The issue of the role of grammar in second language leaching has been remaining as one

of the most concerns over the last decades Although some linguists are against the place

of grammar teaching because it is unnecessary and not related to use a language in real- life situations, it is still acknowledged by many researchers in this field, According lw Batstone (1994:35), he asserts that “language without grammar would be chaotic,

countless words without the indispensable guidelines for how they can be ordered and

modified” This shows that grammar is a contributor to language’s modilicalion In addition, Zhang (1999-106) also states that peaple should “have a criterion which is used

io measure true and false and guide whal lo do and what nol to do and this criterion is just

gramma:” Thus, it is clcar that grammar is considered as an clement to measure the truc value of a language

Furthermore, as Wang (2010) mentioned, after the appearance of communicative approach, teachers often put much emphasis on “communicative competence” and neglect

“Linguistic competence” This Icads in the fact that students make lots of errors in oral as well as written performance because of their lack of basic knowledge of language With this tendency Hymes (1972, quoted in Wang (2010)) indicates that “communicative competence” should include “linguistic competence” and ‘linguistic performance”,

Tlence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, strategic competence and

grammatical compelence are four basic aspecis of this approach From all of the reason mentioned above, it can be concluded that although grammar has experienced ups and downs in the history of second language teaching, the necessity of grammar teaching in

second language acquisition is irrefutable.

1.1.2 Approachcs in grammar tcaching

In fact, there are different approaches in teaching grammar for different levels of students

at different periods In the article “How to teach grammar” by Prof Franz Ludescher

MAS, he proposes seven ways to teach grammar including the deductive approach, the inductive approach, ñmetionalnotional approach, teaching grammar in situational

contexts, leaching grammar through texls, teaching grammar through stories and teaching

grammar through songs and rhymes

L121 The deductive approach —rule-driven learning

According lo Rivers and Temperley (110), the deductive approach “is a more traditional style of teaching whore the grammatical structures or rules arc dictated to the students first” Then, after the rules are outlined, exercises are given to students in order for them

to practice using the structure in a number of ways (Goner, Phillips and Walters, 1995:135) ‘Therefore, in this approach, teacher is the center of the class, not students

Everything has lwo sides, and the deductive approach is not an exeeplion There are some

advantages and disadvantages of this approach given by Widodo (2006) as follows:

Advantages “4, The deductive approach respects the intelligence and maturity of

many adult learners in particular and acknowledge the role of

cngnilive processes in language acquisition

1 Beginning the lesson with a grammar presentation may be off-

pulting [or some learners, especially younger ones,

3 Younger learners may nol able lo understand the concepts

or encounter granuuar terminology given

3 Grammar explanation encourages a teacher-fronted, transmission-

style classroorn, so it will hinder learner involvement, and interaction

immediately

4 The explanation is seldom as memorable as other forms

of presentation (for example, demonstration)

S The deductive approach encourages the belief that learning

a language is simply a ease of knowing the rule

1.1.2.2, The inductive approach — the rule-discovery path

Whereas the deductive approach begins with the rule first, the inductive approach starts with specific examples from which a rule is referred As Goner, Phillips and Walters (1995:135) said, “the inductive approach represouts a more modern style of teaching where the new grammatical structures or rules are presented to the students in a real

language context” Hence, the teacher's role is also different from that of the deductive

approach Rivers and ‘Temperley (1978:110) indicates that “with this approach, the teacher’s role is to provide meaningful contexts to encourage demonstration of the rule,

while the students evolve the rules from the examples of ils use and conlinued practice”

‘The following table clearly shows the advantages and disadvantages of the inductive

approach

1 Learners are trained to be familiar with the rule discovery, this

could cuhance leaming autonomy and sell-reliance

§ Tf the problem-solving activity is done collaboratively, learners gel

an opportunity for extra language practice

leamers to have the appropriate concept of the rule, I The approach is time and cnergy-consuming as it leads

2 The concepts given implicitly may lead the leamers to have the

wrong corieepts of the rule taught

leamers to use grammatical knowledge in real-life situations One more benefit of

functional-notional approach is that it is very suitable and appropriate to beginners ‘hus, due to the reasons above, this approach is also very popular in second language teaching

LL3 Techniques in grammar teaching

1.1.8.1 Teaching gramnar in sittustional contexts

Teaching grammar in sihuational contexts is a very popular way for students to practice

grammatical items in real-life situations Because this is the main issue discussed in this

thesis, it will be presented more detail in the following part

Ld

Teaching grammar through texts

If learners want to achieve a functional command of a second language, it is necessary to

understand a whole text, not just isolated sentences ‘lext is completely different from

context Whereas text is any of the various forms in which a writing exists and would be

the words in a page, context is (he meaning that is conveyed through sclting, characlers,

theme, etc For example, the statement "Put the bulb in” It is considered as a text because

it means nothing Readers do not know what bulb is referred tom where it is However,

when we use the following context "The flower bed is ready for planting I've dug the

hole for the tulips Put the bulb in", it makes sense

‘There is a number of benefits of using texts in teaching grammar in the following table

Advnniagos |3 As well as grannnar mpuL, Iexis provide veosbulary mpul, skill

practice, and exposure to features of text organization

4, ‘Their use in the classroom is good preparation for independent study

5 If the texts come from the students themselves, they may be more

ongaging ond their language {calures therefore more memorable,

2 The alternative - to use simplified texts - may give a misleading

impression as to how the language ilem is naturally used, again Disadvantages defeating the purpose of using texts

3 Not all texts will be of equal interest to students

4 Students who want quick answers to simple questions may consider

the use of lexts to be the ‘scenic roule’ to language awareness, and

would prefer a quicker, more direct route instead,

1.1.3.3 Teaching granenar through stories

As we know, stories are a very interesting sources in teaching and leaming Linglish ‘They can be used (or boll eliciting and illustrating grammar points Not only can sluderts learn grammatical items but they also can learn about tradition or cultures of different combries through stories because they are a spiritual gift of almost every cultures At the same time,

a story also provides a realistic context for students to role-play or imporsonate charactors

in them Lispecially, storytelling is a very good way to attract students’ attention, stimulate

classroom’s atmosphere and help them to memorize the grammar issues longer

1.1.3.4 Teaching grammar through songs and rhymes

II

Song is a very important part in everyday life It is alsa a way to change classroom

activities Tl is also considered as a precious tesource to develop students’ abilities not

only in listening, reading, speaking and writing but in grammar as well Sentence patterns,

promunciation, adjectives adverbs can be taught through songs because it helps to create

a comfortable almosphere for siudenls with no tension or siress There are numerous

positive effects of using songs in the classroom according to Ludescher (2004) Firstly,

teacher can meel the challenges of studenl needs iu the classroom wilh contemporary

popular songs Secondly, as songs are highly memorable and motivating, they may constitute a powerful subculture with their own knowledge Lastly, student can broaden their cultural knowledge through using tradilional folk songs

Another way to teach grammar effectively is using poems Because poems are often spoken, repeated and acted, grammatical structures become more deeply remembered by repeating and considering them Similar to songs, poems have an enormous linguistic

value as they provide aulhenticily and cullural views “A poem's capacity lo comfort the

reader or the listener also increases its offectivencss as a teaching resource Once a poom

or song has been learned, they stay in the minds of the students for the rest of their lives,

with all the rhythms, grammatical (catures and vocabulary” (Tudescher, 2004),

Although poems is conducive to students’ oreativity and bring the rhythm into the Tanguage classroom, they also bring some difficulties, Pooms arc not coustructed in a simple way and syntactically they are at a higher level than prose, thus it might be very difficult for a foreign language leamer to comprehend them completely, especially those

at begmning level

1.1.4 Context and situational context in grammar teaching

E144 Context

Numerous definitions of context has been given by different researchers In Longman

Dictionary of language teaching and Applied Linguistics (the 4 edition), cantext is defined as “that which ovcurs before and/or afer a word, a phrase or even a konger utterance or a text; the context helps in understanding the particular meaning of the word, phrase, eto” Similarly in Oxford advance Leamer’s Dictionary context is “the words thất come just before and after a word, phrase or statement and help you lo understand its meaning” Both definitions help readers to understand more about the functions of context

and how it is identified

114.2 Situational context in teaching grammar

11.4.2.1 What ts a situational context?

Olswang (2010) states thet Stuational context or Context of situation is the immediate

context which influences communication such as setting (home, school, theatre },

aclivily (parly, lecture, discussion ), and envirormuert (emperature, number of peoÌe }

Therefore, teaching granunar in situational contexts means that teacher usc a generative situation to generate several examples sentences of a structure (Ludescher: 2004) More specifically, when introducing a situational contex1, the teacher ust give full information about the context such as the place, time, and number of people For example, “Lan and Mai haven’t seen each other for a long time On Sunday aftemoon, they meet each other

in a shop by chance Then, they sit for a café and talk about their studying and their

lives” ‘Chis is a situational context because it contains some features Mai and Lan are the

two characters in the situation Sunday afternoon is the time they meet each other Their

talk happens in a café, the place of the situation ‘The aims of their talk is about their

studying and their lives In short, a situational context inchides all the factors which

influences commurication belween people ima specific selling,

1.1.4.2.2 The advantages and disadvantages of teaching grammar in situational contexts

‘The first advantage of this method is that a situational context can present a wide range of language items in which the situation play the role of clarifying the meaning Secondly, it

ig more memorable than other kinds of explaution Equally imporlani, the given examples provide learners with data for induction of the rules of form With this method,

student can take part in the development of the presentation and contribute their efforts to

solve the grammur problem By contrast, teachers should pay allcntion lo some negative sides of this approach when applying it in their classroom Kirst, what students need is not

only the demonslzation of rules but also the opporlumbes Lo practice thom Hawever, the

example presentation take more time than an explanation, so it may waste a lot of time

One more important thing is that in order to teach grammar in situational contexts,

toachers nod the ability to come up with new silualions that generale several structurally

identical sentences and have time to prepare necessary visual aids

1.1.4.2.3, Application of situational contexts in teucking grammar

There are many aspects in English grammar Rach tlems of grammar is suilable to a

specific teaching method Some grammalical issues get the most effective by using

deductive approach whereas some are appropriate with situational contexts The table

below is a list of situational context which should be employed wilh curtain points of

grammar given by Ludescher (2004),

Follow a recipe or insiruciious from a | Imperative verb form

boxed cake mix to bake a cake Present continuous tense

Give directions to another person to get to

Condilional tense

Describe a past vacation, weekend, etc Suuple past teose

Question formation Forms of verb to do

Word order in negation Role play a shopping tip to buy a gift for

a family member or friend

May, might Collective nouns and quantifiers (any,

sone, several, ctc.}

‘Answer information questions: Name,

address, phone number, ete

‘Yell someone how to find an object in

Fill outa medical history form Then role

play a medical interview on a visit with a

new doctor

Presetl perfecl terse

Present porfect progressive

Make a daily weather reporl Forms of verb to be

Idiomatic expressions Report daily schedules of people (in the

class, buses in the city, airline schedules,

someone to come toa party

Would like Object-Verb word order

Interrogative pronouns

Explain mules and regulations ta someone,

ie rules for the school cafeteria, doctors

instructions to a sick patient

Report a historical or actual past event and

discuss conditions under which a differout

outcome might have resulted

Modal verbs: Can, must, should, ought to Adverbs of time & frequency

Past conditional and past perfect tenses

If clauses

React to the burglay of your house or Present perfect tense

15

apartment in the presence of another | Contrasl belwcen active and passive voice

person upon discovery (active voice) and | Direct and indirect object

in making a police report (passive voice)

1.1.5 Review of previnus studies

Tn fact, situational contexts are not applied widely and popularly So, the data are just a

collection of what is related to situational contexts which someone has studies previously

There bave been numerous MA degrees in Hanoi University of Languages and International studies which are relating to applying, new methods in teaching grammar In Thuy’s thesis (2008), she applies games as a new method to leach grammar for her students whercas Huong (2010) usc communicative activities to support grammar teaching She suggests some activities such as songs, games, problem-solving, discussion,

storytelling, information gap, picture description

Besides, related to teaching grammar in context, some studies have been carried out by different researchers Typically, the effectiveness of teaching grammar in context to reduce grammatical errors in students’ writing is carried out by Nur Amin (2009) Another research by Ms Hong (2012) from Hanoi University of Languages and

Tnlornational Studies also relales lo teaching grammar in coritext

To sum up, all the studies above agree that leaching grammar in context has positive

effects on students’ learning in some ways However, they mentioned only using context

to teach grammar while the application of situational contexts has not been explored and

carried out That is the reason why [he researcher decides to choose situational cortex! as

the topic of this study

1.2 Action research

1.2.1 Definitions of action research

Action research is a very popular research method in the current fevelopment of society

However, different researchers have different ideas abotu what an action research is

Accoring to Nunam, D (1992:18), a very famous researcher in the field of education, “A descriptive case study of a parlicualr classrovom, group of learners, or even a single leamer counts as action research if it is initiated by a question, is suppoorted by data and

imterpretation, and is carricd oul by a practitioner ivestigaling aspecls of bis or hor own

context and situation” This defintion shows that in order to carry out an action research,

the teacher must be a practitioner She must identify the problem, and then carry out her plan to solve the problem

Another definition given in Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied

Tingusilies (2002:8) is thal “Action research is (cacher-initiated classroom research that

seeks to increase the teacher’s udnerstanding of classroom teaching and learning and to

bring about improvements in elassroom practices” Tn other words, action research aims Lo

help teachers to improve their teaching and students‘ learning in any aspects that they

realize in their work

‘Tsui (1993) stated that “Action research is a very effective way of helping teachers to reflect on their teaching and to come up with their own altematives to improve their practices ” This is a very simple but detailed definition about action rescarch, Through all the defintions abiove, it can be concluded that action research is carried out with the aim

of solving practical problems in a classroom It mainly focuses on the actions of both teachers and students

1.2.2 Steps to conduct an action research

Acoording to Nunan (1992:19), there are seven steps to conduct and action research

including initiation, preliminary investigation, hypolhesis, intervention, evaluation,

17

dissemination and follow-up However, in this research, the researcher follows the action

research model of Kemmis and Mc Tagpart (1988), which is composed of four phases:

1

na

Plarming: a problem or issue is identified anda plan of action is developed in order

to bring about improvements in specific areas of the research context

Action: the plan is to put into action over an agree period of time

Observation: ihe effects of the action are observed and data are collected

Reflection: the effects of the action are evaluated become the basis for further

cycles of research

In short, action research can be carried out in collaboration with other teachers or

educators and 11 needs the supports Lrom both students and education adiwinistrators Its results should be popularized and shared with anybody who is interested in

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 The setting of the study

2.1.1 The research context

University of Hconomics and ‘Technical Industry is founded over fifty vears ago It has officially been become a university for only sever years T now has lwo branches: one it Hanoi and another in Nam Dinh city There are many different departments in UNHTI such as mechanics, engineering, accountancy and so on Although there are many chullonges the universily has to fuce up wilh in the new cra, English has also beon put much emphasis on because of its popularity and necessary Thus, it 1s a compulsory subject in the teaching and learning curriculum Its aims are to help students acquire general English knowledge and the four English skills Students have four periods a week and each period lasts forty-five minutes

In terms of physical sctting English teaching and learning at UNETI arc carried out inside the classroom with basic equipment such as blackboard, tables and desks In some rooms, they also have cassetle players, projectors and speakers As for class size, the

number of students in each class is often about 50 ‘This leads in lots of difficulties in teaching and leaming

2.1.2, The course book

New Headway Pre-intermediate by Liz and John Soars is chosen as the textbook for first year non-major students at UNETE It is a well-known course book and widely used in many different universities as well as over the world The book is divided into 12 modules/ each contains seven language input including grammar, vocabulary, everyday English, listening, reading, writing and speaking, Not only does it present basic grammatical items bul il also aims al developing students’ vocabulary and

19

comumunication Therefore, it is considered as the most appropriate textbook to non-

English major freshmen at UNETI Because of the structure of the book like this, each

unit is covered im sever lessons Among them, Uwe periods are spent on grammar, the

rest is for reading, speaking, listening and writing respectively

2.2 Participants

Tn total, the participants of the study were SO first-year students from one class al, UNETI

‘They are all non-Knglish major freshmen aged from 18 to 20 ‘They all come from urban areas and they have leamt English for ten years They share many common things such as

Ioaning in the same department in the sae university, similar age and sinilar English

leaming experiences

2.3 Instruments

The main dala collection iustrumerts of this study ticlude situational contexls,

observation form and tests Fustly, teacher gives students a different situational context

every week for them to practice grammar items The situational contexts are set up with

the aim lo develop students’ interest in practicing grammar Sevordly, teacher uses the observation form to observe what happens in the classroom and take notes all the

necessary information for data collection and analysis

‘Thirdly, tests given after the presentation of the situational contexts are also applied in this study Its purpose is to find out in-depth data about students’ progress, proficiency, and ability to apply theory into practice I'herefore, in order to be easy for analyzing data, the marks of the test is prouped into four categories including good (mark 9, 10), fair (mark 7, 8), average (mark 5, 6) and bad (below mark 5) Because the research is carried

out in six weeks, there are six thirty-minute tests in total The test is given at the end of

the lesson every week The format of the tests is described as follows.

1.4

Test 1 includes two parts to test students about the usage of must, should and have

tw by filling in the blanks excreise

Test 2 has only one part Fill im the blanks with gaing to or will to test sludents’

recognition to the usage of going to and will

Test 3 includes two parts: using given words to fill in the blanks and multiple choice question to test students about ways to ask and give road directions

‘Test 4 includes multiple choice questions and mistakes recognition in sentences to

test students about ways to make suggestions

Test 5 includes putting the verbs into the correct form of present perfect

continuous and choosing the correct answer to (esl studenls about Whe form and

usage of present perfect continuous

Test 6 aus to tests students about the usage of quantity expression such as a, a, some, any, much, many, and a lot of by filling the quantity expressions into the

sentences

Dats collection and analysis

The data collection and data analysis below follows the steps to conduct an action

research Acording to Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1988), the action reseach consists of four

phases:

1

Planning: a problem or issue is identified and a plan of action is developed in order

to bring aboul muprovements in specific areas of the research oomlext

Action: the plan is to put into action over an agree period of time

Observation: the effects of the action are observed and data are collected

Reflection the effects of the action arc evaluated become the basis for further cycles of research

Based on those four phases, the process of the action rescarch is presented in the

following part phase by phase

3.4.1 Planning

The action research is carried out within six weeks in total Bach week has three grammar periods Therefore, in cach wack, a situation is given in order for sludents to make role- play using a particualr grammatical item All the situation used in this step are described clearly as follows

Week 1; modal verbs of obligation and permission: must, should and have to

‘the grammatical item of this week is found in unit 4 (Doing the right thing) in students’ course book It is modal verbs of obligation and permission including should, must and have to, In this lesson, they are used lo express an obligation This point of grammar is chosen because it is very popular to students in their everyday lives At the same time, it

is also easier for the researcher to set up the situation for students to practice The objective of this week is to help suskents praclioe using “should”, “musi” and “have Lo” to give advices to friends In order to practice this, the author of the research gives a

situational conlext m which “should”, “rust” and “have lo” can be used to develop it

The situation is described as “A job interview” The roles include a boss and three job applicanis More exactly, the boss is inlorviewing three new job applicants for the position of waiter in his/her restaurant Job applicants have to ask the boss questions to get information about responsibilities, working hours, breaks, meals, and day-offs The boss is responsible for responding to their questions One more important thing is that the teacher remembers to remind students to use modal verbs of obligation and permission

with “should”, “must” and “have to” to make up their conversation

Week 2: Future forms (going to and will): Future plans

This is a grammatical point in unit 5 (On the move) in the course book It is chosen for situational context practice because it is simple and familiar to students Ilence, when the

situntional conlext is build up, sludonts {col casy lo practice with it, The objective of this

22,

lesson is to practice using “going to” and “will” to express future plan, decisions and imentions The situation “Party preparation” is formed as follows There are two

characlors in this situation including mother and daughter They are sitlimg in the living

room to talk about plans to prepare for a meal for about 20 people next week, so they

have a discussion to assign tasks to make it successful At the same time, in order to have

more ideas aboul whal lo do, teacher also gives siudents some suggestions which they can add into their conversation prepare the vegetables, lay the table, make the salad, stir the

sauce, check the meal, buy ingredients, cle Equally tportant, the teacher must remind

students to think of as many tasks as possible to assign between two characters

Week 3: Asking and giving road directions

This topic is one of the centered grammatical items in unit 5 Its purpose is to help studenls understand and know how to use larguage to give directions to other people when necessary This topic is chosen because it is very usefull for students In fact, in real

life, people encourler many silualions in which people ask each other how to gel to

somewhere If they don’t know how to express it, it is difficult to help other people

Therefore, the researcher chooses it to set up situations for students

‘The situation is called “Directions to famous places” ‘I'he place of the situation is in Trai Temple Two students play the role of volmteers whereas two students are tourists wha come from remote arcas Two tourists in this situation is a couple They are at Tran

‘Temple in Nam Dinh Lowever, after visiting ‘Iran Temple, they do not know how to get

to other famous places in Nam Dinh By chance, they met two volunteers who are

standing here to give directions to tourists in thei summer vacation Ask the volunteers

for their instructions whereas the volunteers give the tourists a map and give directions ta

famous places they want to go Teacher may also shows students some key words or

suggestions for their conversation building such as tum right, tum left, go along street/

roundabout, etc

Week 4: Making suggestions with let’s go, why don't you, what about

Tn umL 8 im students’ course book, there arc three arcas of grammar including

conditionals, time clauses and making suggestion with let’s go, why don’t you, what

about However, the researcher chooses making suggestions because it is used more

popularly in everyday life Al the same time, there are more situations for studenls lo

practice with this topic than the others ‘'herefore, in this week, in order to be different

from other lessons, toacher gives three different situations for students to choose They

can choose any situation which they are interested in or easier

Situation 1: The situation is called “Al a restaurant” The roles are Tom and his wife Tom and his wife are having dinner at a restaurant at 6 p.m Because it is quite early and they both have the evening free, they want ta go somewhere to relax Hence, they make suggestions and discuss wilh cach other to find oul the next place to go aller they Cinish

their dinner Role play the situation

Situation 2: The situation is called “At the dorminatory” There arc two characters valled Minh and Lam They have been best friends for a long time They are living together in

schooPs dormitory While Lam is studying herfher homework, Minh thinks of her

boyfriend’s birthday party next week She/he doesn’t know what to give her/his boyfriend’girlfriend as a present, so she asks Lam for suggestions Use different ways of making suggestions to make conversation for the situation

Situation 3: The situation is “In the neighbor's house” Lam and Minh are neighbor in the same ward Because Lam works in a restaurant, he usually leaves his dog home alone every night while he’s at work The dog barks all the time when nohody’s home and the noise is keeping Minh awake Thus, Minh comes lo Lam’s house in the aflemeon and talks about that matter and give suggestions for Lam with his dog, Rote play the situation

Week 5; Present perfect Continuous (1 have been Ving): a past activity that has caused a

present result

This topic is in unit [0 in the students’ course book The objective of this one is to help

students use present perfect contirmious with the meaning of expressing a past activity that

bas caused a pesenL result to practice giving advices The name of the situation is

“Appointment with doctor” ‘the situation happens between a doctor and a patient in

doctor's office One student casts the role of a pationl who is having problems with his

health He goes to see a doctor to have some advices Answer the doctor’s questions to find the causes and get suggestions By contrast, one student is the doctor A patient is coming to sce you to ask about his symploms Asks questions about his/her lifestyles tu find the causes and gives suggestions for him/her Moreover, in order to help students to set up the conversation more quickly, the teacher can include some prompts for them to practice such as caling, drinking and slceping styles, working regulations, and outdoor

activities

Week 6: Quantity expressions

This grammatical item is taken from unit 10 in the course book This is a very popular topic which everyone uses in their everyday lives We use this to talk about everything

such as fruits, drinks, food, cbject, etc Ilence, this crucial topic is chosen in this part

The situation is called “Ordoring food” There arc tive poople to take part in this situation Among them, one is father, one is mother, one is daughter, one is son and one is the

waiter They are all in a restaurant The waiter asks the guests to look at the memt and

choose their meal Four people in the family order their food and drinks in tun using quantity expressions such as much, many, a, an, some, little, etc The waiter respands to

customers’ order and gives them food Tn this situation, teacher may provide students

some vocabulary related to different kinds of food such as hamburgers, cheese, cocktail, sandwich, salad, etc

2.4.2 Action

Tn this step, the plamung is pulling inka practice The teacher usos situalioual contexts 10

teach grammar in six weeks During those six weeks, order of steps in every lesson is

nearly the same Every week follows a specific order Teacher first divides the groups,

gives the situations and lets sludonts have lime lo prepare Then, students make role- play

im front of the class When student do the work and act out, teacher goes around

observing and taking noles necossary dala such as students’ parlicipation, activoncss,

confidence and students’ language competence At the samte time, at the end of the lesson, the test is given in order to measure students’ progress about grammatical points which they have just practiced with situational contexts Then, the test is handed in al the end of the lesson in order for the teacher to mark Llowever, in the way to divide the class group and acting groups, there are differences among, different weeks Those differences are

described as [olkows

Week 1:

There are thirteen groups in this week Among them, eleven groups have four members and the rest of six students are divided into lwo groups They have chance 10 choose their own groups After receiving the situational context from the teacher, students have time to assign the roles in their groups and prepare for the role-play in ten minutes After that, toacher calls some groups to come to role play in front of the class, There are six groups who must perform their role play in class

Week 2:

The silualional context in this week has only two roles, so studenls work in pairs la make

role-play Therefore, there are twenty five groups in total in the class Steps in this week

are carried out nearly the same with the first week Teacher is the person who divides the

groups and gives the silualion to therm, so groups’ members are chlleront frem week one

26

‘Then, students have time to cast the roles and prepare their role-play Because twenty five groups are formed, eight pairs have to act out their role-play in front of the class

Week 3:

Thore are four students lo take part in lhe situational role-play, so the class is divided into thirteen groups inchiding eleven groups with four members and two groups with three membors Tn this week, leacher divides the groups based on their sealing position There are six pairs to make role-play in front of the class this week ‘hey act out their work in

turn

Week 4:

A noticeable difference is scen in week four, which is completely different [rom the

others There are twenty five groups in total because the situation has only two roles

While leacher gives only one siluation in other weeks, this week is giver: three different

situations Therefore, groups have chances to choose the situation or the topic they are

interested in or have more knowledge about Amang twenty five pairs, there are twelve

pairs 1o choose topic one Another six pairs choose the ihird topic and the rest of seven

pairs prefer the second topic Hence, when choosing pairs for acting, the teacher also chooses different pairs with different situations in order to be objective Among six pairs chosen to deliver their role-play, three of thom present the first topic, one of thom

demonstrates the second topic and two of them talk about the third topic

Week 5

There are only twa students to take parl in the situational role-play, so the class is divided

into twenty five groups Students assign the characters in their own groups In this week, students choose their groups themselves There are also eight pairs to make role-play in

fron of the class this week They aet out (he work im lam

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