Luận văn a study on teaching english grammar to sixth grade students at ngo quyen secondary school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES MAI ANH A STUDY ON TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO SIXTH GRADE STUDENT

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

MAI ANH

A STUDY ON TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGO QUYEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC DAY NGU PHAP TIENG ANH

CHO HOC SINH LOP SAU TAI TRUGNG

PIO THONG TRUNG IIQC NGO QUYEN

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: English language teaching methadology

Code: 60.14.10

HANOL-— 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

MAI ANH

A STUDY ON TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGO QUYEN SECONDARY SCITIOOL

NGHIEN CUU VIEC DAY NGU PHAP TIENG ANH

CHO HỌC SINH LỚP SÁU TẠI TRƯỜNG PHO THONG TRUNG HOC NGO QUYEN

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: English language teaching methodology

Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: LÂM TIIỊ PHÚC HÂN, M.A

HANOI— 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLILDGLEMLNLS ¬ TH> HH he seed

LIST OF TABLES AND CHIARTS à cà cà cài cà cà VD

PART A: INTRODUCTION

5 Significance of the stuẩy Š3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of grammar veces bob cee tie see seasesevaeesesee 5 1.2 Role of grammar in foreign language ieaching and learning 6

2.1, Research setting 18

3.1.1 An overview of Ngo Quyen Secondary School 18 2.1.2 The teachers’ background and their teaching conditions 18 24.3 The students of English "¬ - .19 2.2, Meihodology - + .30

2.3.1 Research questl908 uc vàn cà non non HH secssees ees ees eee nee 2O) 2.2.2 Subjects of the stuấy 20 2.23 Dala collection instruments x

2.2.3.1 the questionnaire 2 2.2.3.2 The classroom observation 22 2.3.4 Data collection procedM68 chen cóc co, 22 2.2.5 Data analysis " "—— ees ssvateenn cerned 2.3 Summary 23 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

3.4 Results from the questionnaire for students 24

3.1.1 Tho students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in teaming

3.1.2

3.13

Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning Unglish grammar 24

‘The students’ frequency in learning English grammar after the lessons at

3.1.4 Time for learning Hnglish compared with other subjects 26

3.1.5 Stuslerts’ evaluations of the grammar teaching in the Language Focus

Lessons ¬ ee cae teens cee ene eee seventeen ces 26

3.1.7 The studerita’ agscastnent of the grammar exercises ti the textbook 28

3.1.8 The students’ difficulties and the causes for those difficulties in learning

3.19 Students’ preference for the teachers’ grammar presentation

3.1.10 Students’ favourite practice activities - 32

3.1.11 Student’s expectation for a better and more effective grammar

3.2 Results from the questionnaire for teachers BA

3.2.1 the teachers’ awareness of the performance of grammar in teaching

3.2.2 The teachers" methoxls oŸ teacEimu grannnar 34

3.2.2.1 Teachers’ methods of presenting grammar 34

3.2.2.2 Teachers’ ways of giving grammar instructions 35 3.2.1.3 Teachers’ grammar practice activities - ¬- 3.2.1.4 Teachers’ techniques of dealing with the students’ errors 36

3.2.1.5 Factors affecting the way teachers ieach granunar 37

3.2.2 Difficultics in teaching grammar as perceived by the teachers .38

3.3 Results from elass observatiơn HH Hà triệt 39

CHAPTER 4: MA.IOR FINDINGS, ANT} RECOMMENDATIONS

vi

4.1 Major indings — sis saseesiesisasenssessseess ass seesnnn®

4.1.1 Teacher's and students’ attitude towards the teaching of grammar 42

4.1.2 Teacher’s performance iti Language Focus lessons 42 4.1.3 Difficulties the teacher face when teaching grammar +

4.2.1 For tcachors ¬

42.1.1 Adapting and improving grammar materials 43

4.3.1.3 Helping students to be eonBdent 44

4.2.1.5 Ruildmg a rapport with the class 45 4.2.2 For students

42.21, Being aware of grammar cn AS 42.22 Cooperating wilh toacher and studenis 45 4/2243 Practising and revising <<

422.4 Teaming from mistakes - 46

`“ ằ.e.a 46

PART C: CONCLUSION

2, Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for the teachers

Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for the students ¬ VI

Apppondix 3: Class observation checklist 1-4 c cà se se N

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Table 1: Students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in Jearning English

‘Table 2: Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning the 6" grade nglish grammar

Table 3: the students’ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

Table 4: Ways of learning English grammar

Table 5: Students’ level of difficulties in learning Dnglish prammar

Table 6 Reasons (or difficulties in learning Fryglish grammar

Table 7: Students’ preference for the teachers’ grammar presentation approaches

Table 8: Students’ favourite grammar practice activities

Table 9: Suggestions (or learning grammar beticr and more effective

‘Table 10 ‘The teachers’ awareness of the importance of grammar in teaching English Table 11: Teachers’ methods of presenting grammar

Table 12 Teachers’ ways of giving grammar instructions

Table 13: Teachers’ grammar practice activities — Frequency of use

Table 14° Teachers’ techniques of dealing with students’ errars

‘Table 15: Factors influencing the way the teachers teach grammar

Table 16 Teachers” difficulties in teaching grammar

Chart 1: The students’ frequency in learning grammar after the lessons at school

Chart 2: Time for learning English compared with other

Chart 3: Students’ level of understanding of grammar structures presented in the LF lessons

Charl 4: The students’ assessment of the grammar exercises m the textbook

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

LJ: Language Focus

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Tt canmol be denied that English has nowadays become a common means ol”

communication of human being all over the world Integrating into that trend of the

global integration, Vielnam bas been more and more active to train achive and dynamic

Victnamese, who can usc English fluently for communicative purposes That is the

reason why in 2002, the Ministry of Uducation and ‘Lraining (MOLL) has set out new

aims for English language teaching for secondary education as well as introduced new series of English textbooks from grade 6 to arade 12

The new English textbooks for high school students are divided into two sets: the advanced and the standard They are claimed to adopt the latest tcaching and learning approaches: communicative approach and learner-centered approach and aim

at developing both language skills and language knowledge for students Each unit in

the new Enghsh textbooks consists of five parts: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus, among which the Language Foous sections are to consolidate

students’ pronunciation and grammar

Since their nation-wide implementation in the school year 2006-2007, a great

deal of research has been carried out to evaluate these new textbooks as well as to find oul how these textbooks are aciually implemented or the difficulties hat teachers and students at high schools have to face when teaching and learning by the new textbooks However, most of these studies have dealt with the teaching and learning of the four language skills which are believed to be new for both teachers and students ‘there is still a lack of research on the teaching and learning of language elements in the

Language Focus part More importantly, the question whether teachers actually teach

grammar communicatively or in the traditional methods has not been answered yet Therefore, it is necessary to carry out more research on how teachers and students

teach and learn grammar in the actual classrootn,

Moreover, after ten years of teaching Lnglish by the new Lnglish textbooks at Ngo Quyen Secondary School, the researcher observed that the teachers and leamers there faced a number of difficulties nol only in teaching and learning the four language skills but also in teaching and learning grammar during the Language Focus lessons

Stimulated by the above reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct this study It is hoped that this study will discover the reality of teaching and learning

grammar in Language Hocus lessons at Ngo Quyen Secondary School in order to

contribule some immediate solutions:

2 Aims of the study

The aim of this study is to examine the current teaching and learning of

grammar in Language Focus lessons using the new slandard textbook English 6 al Ngo

Quyen Secondary School

In order to achieve the aim, the study seeks to find out:

(1) The toachers’ und students’ perceptions on the importance of grammar leaching and leaming

(@) The teachers’ performance in he Language Focus lessons

(3) The teachers’ difficulties in teaching grammar in the Language Focus lessons

(4) Solution to overcome the difficulties in teaching grammar

2 What are the difficulties the teachers encounter in teaching English grammar in

the language Focus lessons im “Tieng Anh 6” as pervcived by the teavhors and

students?

4 Scope of the study

As mentioned earlier, there are two sets of the new linglish textbooks for grade 6: the advanced and the standard sets This study is only aimed at investigating the reality of leaching and loarring granwnar in Language Foous lessons in the slandard

set

This study is limited to the teaching aud learning reality with regard lo teaching

and learning grammar in Language Foous lessons The investigation of teaching and learning language skills and pronunciation will be beyond the scope of this study

This study is a detailed survey at Ngo Quyen Secondary School in Hai Phong

‘Therefore, the findings of the stady are not intended to be generalized to other school contexts Indeed the findings may not apply beyond the actual participants in this

particular study

5 Significance of the study

This study helps ta identify the problems of teaching grammar in the Language

Focus of the new Fnglish 6 and suggests ways of improving them, therefore, if is hoped that this study will be beneficial in many ways Tirst, participants in the study

(the teachers and the learners al Ngo Quyen Secondary School) will benefit

immediately from the experience of reflection Secondly, the findings of the study will contribute information to textbook writers and educators to determine curricula and program direction

6 Method of the study

The study was designed to use both quantitative and qualitative methods Then, various instruments were used to collect the data for the study, which are:

- survey questionnaires to investigate the teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards

grammar, teacher's teaching habits and their difficulties in teaching grammar in

Language Focus lessons

- class observations to get information about both the teachers’ methods of teaching

grammar in the classrooms and sindents’ altitude and response lo grammar Leaching

7, Design of the study

The study is divided into three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

The Tnfreduetion presenls an overview of the study inchiding the rationale, aims, scope, significance, methodology and design of the study

The major part of the study, Ie Development, is divided into three chapters

Chapter one provides theoretical background for the study Chapter two presents the methodology of the study and the last chapter is devoted to analyzing and discussing the findings of the sludy

The Conclusion part provides a brief summary of the findings in correspondence with the four proposed research questions as well as offering some

Teconnnendatlons for better grammar teaching and learming The liuitations of and

suggestions for further study are also discussed in this chapter

Besides, the survey questionnaire for the teachers and students, the classroom observation transcripts and (he survey franscripis arc included in the Appendices

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definition of Grammar

Alihough the term “grammar? is very familiar to many people, it is defined

differently by different people

The Longman Dictionary of Comemporary English (cited in Harmer: 1987:1)

defines grammar as “the study and practice of the rules by which words change their forms and are combined into sentences” From this definition, readers can see that there

are two baste cleinents 10 which atlention should be paid: the rules of grammar, and the

study and practice of the rules

According to Nunan (2003:154) “Grammar is a set of rules specifying the correct

words al (he sentence level” This definition represents a typical prescriptive grammar view It lays down the law, saying what is right and what is wrong

Richards, Platt, and Platt (1992) in their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applicd Linguistics define grammar as: “Grammar is a description of the structure of a language and the way in which linguistic mits such as words and phrases

are combined lo produce sentences in the language TL usually takes into account the

micanings and functions these sentences have in overall system of the language It may

or may not include the description of the sound of a language” (p.161)

All the ideas mentioned above agree on a point [hal grammar is a set of rules which form words and make sentences from words However, Widdowson (1990-81) claims that “Grammar is not just a collection of sentence patterns signifying nonsense, something for the Ieamers’ brain to puzzle over”, For Widdowson, grammar means the relationship between three things: grammar, words, and context In other words,

grammar should be viewed as linguistic rules functioning in alliance with words and

context for the achievement of meaning

‘Thomburry (1999) viewed grammar as the relationship between three things: grammar, words and contexts He claims that “when we process language we are not only trying to make sense of the words and the grammar, we arc also irying to infer the speaker's (or writer’s} intention” (p 6)

How grammar is defined is very important since it will influence the way grammar

is to be taught For purpose of this study, I use the definition stated by Richards, Platt,

and Platt (1992) in their Longman Dictionary of Language ‘leaching & Applied

Linguistics

1.2 The role of grammar in foreipn language teaching and learning

Grammar is the sound, structure, and meaning system of language All languages have

grammar, and each language has ils own grammar People who speak the same

language are able to communicate because they intuitively know the grammar system

of that language that is, the rules of making meaning, Students who are native speakers

of Frglish already know English grammar They reeognive the sounds of Fnglish words, the meanings of those words, and the different ways of putting words together

to make meantugful sentences

However, while students may be effective speakers of English, they need guidance to become effective writers They need to leam how to transfer their knowledge of grammatical concupts from oral language to writicn language

Research strongly suggests that the most beneficial way of helping students improve their command of grammar in writing is to use students’ writing as the basis for discussing grammatical concepts Researchers agree that it is more effective to teach punctuation, sentence variety, and usage in the context of writing than to approach the

topic by teaching isolated skills (Calkins, 1980; DiStefano and Killion, 1984; Harris,

grammar is viewed as one component of communicative competence Without grammar, learners can communicate effectively only ina limited number of situations

Dus to the fact thal many Tanguage earners know the granmnar rules of a

language well, but they cannot communicate effectively in that language (Hinkel &

2002), several scholars do not believe thal grammar leaching will have any impact on communicative purposes and therefore neglect it, Prabhu (1987), for example, believes that development of competence requires the creation of conditions

in which leaner engage in an effort lo cope with communication, nol a systemalization

of planed grammatical input

The strongest advocate of this view is Krashen (1983, 1987), who is famous for

lis learning and acquisition hypothesis and his Monitor theory Based on his learning

and acquisition hypothesis, Krashen argues that from learning the leamers obtain

conscious knowledge of grammar which is not responsible for actual L2 performance

On the other hand, acquisition is the underlying process which is responsible for the actual performance and this can only happen unconsciously through natural exposure

to comprehensible inpuls Whal’s more, according to his Monitor theory, consciously-

leamed grammar can only function as monitoring and monitoring overuse will only disturb the flow of production Consequently, this prow-up holds that formal and conscious sludy of grammar should be strongly rejected il’ (he objective of learning the language is productive competence However, Krashen has received many strong criticisms from other researchers as his acquisition theory seems to be merely based on his own observation without supporting evidence

According to Smith (2001:15), if teachers neither pay alfention to grammar nor

create opportunities for leamers fo improve grammar, learners are likely to stand the

risk of Cossilization or reach a point where they can cope with level of communication that is demanded of them by making use of their existing grammatical resources and

communtigalion strategies and probably with sulli ent (lueney TL is sure thal, they do net see the importance of developing their linguistic abilities any further

In conclusion, grammar plays a very important role in language teaching, even though there was a time when grammar was severely rejected, but as Richards (2002) says, in recent years grammar teaching has regained ils righLful place in the language teaching and “grammar is too important to be ignored” (p 145) The debate is now not

on whether grammar compelence is tmporlant but rather on how to Leach grammar

Therefore, the rest of this chapter is devoted to presenting two core approaches to grammar teaching and critically looking into the teaching of grammar using some major tea hing methods

1.3 Explicit or implicit knowledge

The statement “grammar teaching should be implicit, not explicit" could be argued

both for and againsl Whether to teach grammar as an extracted focus of English

Language Teaching or more passively as an inductive, integral topic has been the

theme of countless debates on the part of institutions, professors, grammarians and

language rescarchers lor decades Grarmar is the branch of Tinguishes dealing with the form and structure of wards or morphology, and their interrelation in sentences, called

synlax The study of grammar reveals how language works, an imporlanl aspect int both

English acquisition and leaming In order to have a deep understanding of language acquisition, it is necessary to master the perception of explicit and implicit knowledge 1.3.1 Explicit knowledge

According to Ellis (2004), in a practical definition, explicit knowledge deals with language and the uses to which language can be put This knowledge facilitates the intake and development of implicit language, and it is useful to monitor language output Explicit knowledge is generally accessible through controlled processing In

short, it is conscious knowledge of grammatical rules learned through formal

classroom instruction In this respect, a person with explicit knowledge knows about language and the ability to articulate those facts in some way (Brown, 2007) For instance, Achmad knows every rule about present tense, bul he [requerlly makes

mistakes in speaking and writing However, such knowledge is easy for him while

having time to think of the rule and apply it (that is, in the context of a grammar exercise or a writing assignment) Thus, on the basis of Achmad’s case, explicit Knowledge is learnable, for example, when grammatical ilems are given lo learners, they learn the items first in a controlled learning, process Explicit knowledge is also

oblained through the praclice of error correction, which is thought to help leamers come to the correct mental representation of a rule (Krashen, 1987),

language tasks, wrilien or spoken (Brown, 2007) Implicit knowledge is gained im the

natural language learning process It means that a person applies a certain gramamaticat

rule in the same way as a child who acquires her/his first language (for example,

mother longue) Accarding to Brown (2007), the child implicilly loarns aspects of” language (for example, phonological, syntactical, semantic, pragmatic rules for

language), bul does nol have access to an explanation of those rules explicilly As an

example, Jack speaks and writes English with good use of present tense, although he has no idea about the grammatical rule behind it To sum up, implicit knowledge is gained through a sub-conscious learning process This is Hustraled by the fact thal native speakers of a certain language do not always “know” (consciously) the rules of their language (Krashen, 1987)

1⁄4 Three approaches in grammar presentation

In presenting grammar, teachers should be aware that they teach grammar but not

teach about grammar or as Lewis (1986) states "language learning is more important

than language tcaching" Besides, (he main goal im gramunar leaching is 10 enable learners to achieve linguistic competence and to be able to use prammar as a tool or

Tesource in the comprehension and erealion of oral aud written discourse eliieienlly,

effectively, and appropriately according to the situation Celce-Mureia and Hilles

(1988) are in agreement with Larsen-l‘reeman (1991) that grammar should never be taught as an end in itself but always with reference to meaning, social fimetion, or

discourse or a combination of these factors Tn other words, teachers arc required Lo

have knowledge of linguistics, because teaching grammar as meaning and discourse

entails a knowledge of synlax As Fromkin et al.(1990:159) explain "synlactic

knowledge plays a role in determining when two non-identical sontonces have the same meaning and when they do not" Besides, a teacher's knowledge of pragmatics will help learners to undersland many aspects of language use such as social [unetion Futthermore, teachers should teach learners to understand how language is used in context and encourage them to use it in appropriate contexts as well Broadly speaking,

in teaching grammar, there are three approaches thal ca be applied: deductive,

inductive and communicative approach

1.4.1 Deductive approach

A deductive approach is derived from the notion thal deductive reasoning works from the general to the specific In this case, rules, principles, concepts, or

theories are presented firs, and then their applications are treated Tn conclusion,

when we use deduction, we reason from general to specific principles

Dealing with the teaching of grammar, the deductive approach can also be called tule-driven learning In such au approach, a grammar rule is explicitly presented Lo students and followed by practice applying the rule I'his approach has been the bread and butter of language teaching around the world and still enjoys a monopoly in many course books and self-study grammar books (Fortune, 1992) ‘the deductive approach maintains that a teacher teaches grammar by presenting grammatical rules, and then

examples of sentences are presented Once leamers understand rules, they are told to

apply (he rules given (o various cxamples of sentences Giving Ihe grammatical rules means no more than directing Jeamers’ attention to the problem discussed Eisenstein (1987) suggests thal with the deductive approach, learners be in control during practice

and have Jess fear of drawing an incorrect conclusion related to how the target

language is functioning ‘fo sum up, the deductive approach commences with the presentation of a mule taught and then is followed by examples in which the rule is applied In this regard, learners are expecled to cngage with iL through the study and manipulation of examples

1.4.2 Inductive approach

An inductive approach comes from inductive reasoning stating that a reasoning progression proceeds from particulars (that is, observations, measurements, or data) to

generalilies (for oxample, rules, laws, convepis or theories) (Felder & Honviques,

1995) In short, when we use induction, we observe a number of specific instances and from them infer a general principle or concept

Tu the case of pedagogical graminar, most experls argue thal the inductive

approach can also be called rule-discovery learning It suggests that a teacher teach

grammar starting with presenting some examples of sentences In this sense, learners

understand grammatical rules from the examples The presentation of grammatical

rules can be spoken or written Eisenstein (cited in Long & Richards, 1987) maintains

that the induclive approach nes to utilize ihe very strong reward value of bringing

order, clarity and meaning to experiences This approach involves learners` participating actively in their own instruction In addition, the approach encourages a learner to develop her/his own mental set of strategies Cor dealing with tasks Tn other words, this approach attempts to highligh grammatical rules implicitly in which the leamers are encouraged to conclude the rules given by the teacher

Of the two approaches above, which is best? Ybis question relates to a long- standing debate among language teachers in the context of Iinglish foreign language,

since the two have their awn significance for particular leamer progress For example,

a study of various language learners shows that some learners achieve belter in deductive language classes: on the other hand, others perform better in more inductive classes This dilferonee im cognitive styles may be associated with dilTerert

neurological mechanisms in learners (Hisenstein, 1987) Whether grammatical rules are

1I

taught induotively or deductively relies upon certain structures, since some are more amenable to a deductive approach, while others can be leamed very well by an induclive approach To sum up, both deductive and inductive presentations can successfully be applied depending on the cognitive style of the leamer and the language slructure presented (Risenslein, 1987; Brown, 2007)

1.4.3 Communicative approach

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate

communication The leacher sels up a situation (hat students are likely Lo encounter in

real life Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students m suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses ‘I'he real-life simulations change from day to day Students’ motivation to

learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful

topics

Margie S Bers, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes

in explaining Firth's view that "language is ileraclion, if is interpersonal aclivily and

has a clear relationship with society In this light, language study has to look at the use (fiction) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and aller # given piece of discourse) and ils social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p 5) Teachers in communicative classrooms will find themselves talking less and listening more becoming active facilitators of their students' learning (Larsen- Treeman, 1986) Therefore, in teaching grammar, the teacher sets up the exercise, but

because the students’ performance is the goal, the teacher must step back and observe,

somtimes acting as referee or monitor A classroom during a communicalive activily

is far from quiet, however The students do most of the speaking, 30 in a grammar

lesson working int pairs of groups io discuss the grammar tutes is Tikely to happen

Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using the target language in general Students are more responsible

managers of their own learming (Larsen- Freeman, 1986) which facilitales students’

memory of grammar rules that they learn and practice in class

15 Factors affecting language acquisition

Some students learn a now language more quickly and casily than others This simple fact is known by all who have themselves learned a second language or taught those who are using their sccond language in school Clearly, some language learners are successful by virtue of their sheer determination, hard work and persistence Tlowever there are other crucial factors influencing success that are largely beyond the control of the leamer These factors can be broadly categorized as internal and external

It is their complex interplay that determines the speed and facility with which the new

language is leamed

1.5.1 Internal factors

Internal factors are those that the individual language learner brings with him or

her to the particular learning situation These consist of students’ amdely and their

motivation

1.5.1.1 Students’ anxiety

Arvdety, simply speaking, is a kind of troubled feeling in he mind Spiclberger (1983:1) defines anxiety as “the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the automatic nervous system” {as cited im Brown (2007161) More simply, it is assoviated with feelings of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension or worry (Scovel, 1978:134) If the

students are afraid of losing face as making mistakes or being laughed at by other

students, they are vorlain to keep quiet and wail until they are required to speak in English lessons

Tn shorl, anxicty is obviously an important factor in the second language

acquisition ‘Iherefore, language educators should strive to promote anon threatening,

environment and have techniques to reduce students’ anxiety like: creating a relaxed and safe atmosphere for students, avoiding negative evaluation of students in classrooms and comment on students’ behaviors with more eucouragement and taking

some measures to relax students’ attention to exams or evaluation

approaches and definitions of this construcl, so i is difficult to compare resulls

Llarmer (1999:51) divides motivation into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation,

Intrinsic motivation is possessed by people having personal interest in doing

something, On the contrary, extrinsic motivation is caused by such oulside factors, nel for their own sake, as the need to pass an exam or the hope of financial reward

Davies and Pearse (2000: 63) state that “an appropriate context helps leamers begin

to understand the use of the item as well as its basic meaning The item is associated

with a certain type of context or situation”,

“If learners have to perform certain activities on unfamiliar structures in texts, there

is a good chance of relaining the structures The activities comprise guessing moaning, and the use from context and analysis of the forms ta recognize relationships between

the new structure and the already known’ (Hedge, 2000: 120)

It is agreed that a new structure is better acquired not in an isolated form but in a context or situation Although a feamer has grasped the form, use and meaning, a text with the appearamec of thal structure will help decpen the structure in the learner's mind

1.5.2.3 Classroum atmosphere

Classroom atmosphere plays an important role in students’ in language learning According to Underwood (1987:34-44), both students and teachers take the responsibility for creating a good leaching and loaning environment with the folowing points:

+ Balancing fluency and accuracy: The teacher should balance the cncouragement

of fluency with the need for accuracy {f she focuses too much on accuracy, weaker

students will be shy and reticent to practice ‘hen, they will lose the confidence in showing their answers, and the gap between the weak students and other fellow studonls become bigger

- Using appropriate language: Classroom expressions are highly appreciated to be

used regularly in the class However, the language should be clear, understandable and

it matches students’ level

- Giving encouragement: When students are trying their best to reach the goals,

the teacher should give an appropriate comment to cncourage them A comment like

“Good”, “Well done”, “That’s right” can make students feel more confident and motivated, and more importantly they are eager to participate in the tasks more often

- Involving all the students: Underwood suggests some ways of endeavoring Lo

include all the students such as using the class register ist, setting rules and games to

encourage all students to participate in the activities

- The place of examination and tests: Students are ofien nervous and armxious

ahout the exams and tests Thus, the teacher shouldn't put too much weight on giving

marks or tests,

- Extra-curriculum activities Extra-curricukun activities conducted outside lesson times can make a significant contribution to maintaining a good atmosphere in the classroom If students have more interesting activities, they will take a more positive attitude towards their studies

1.5.2.4 Materials

It appears as an agreement that materials affect the learning grammar in a

supportive way Ivans and St John (1998: 170-172) introduce some reasons for using

materials Materials can be a source of language, a learning support, for motivation and

stimulation and for reference As a source of language, ‘materials need lo present real language, as it is used, and the full range that leamers require’ As a learning support, inaterials need to ‘involve leamers int thinking about and using the language The

activities need to stimulate cognitive not mechanism processes ‘Lhe leamer also needs

a sense of progression Materials also need to be challenging yet achievable; to offer new ideas and information; to encourage fun and creativity It can be concluded that imalgrials assist the learning and teaching procedures Materials acl as resources for language learning

1.6 Summary

In this chapter, the roscarcher has presented a mumber of issues related to the research questions ‘hese include the definitions of grammar, the roles of grammar in language teaching and learning, explicit or implicil teaching, three core approaches int grammar presentation as well as the factors affecting grammar acquisition This literature review serves as the theoretical framework for the researcher to build up

questicrmaires, then to analyve the dala collected as well as to suggest some

pedagogical implications for leaming of grammar at Ngo Quyen Secondary School

17

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY

This chapter is devoted to the presentation of research setting and the methodology

of the study Tn the first part, some information aboat Ngo Quyen Secondary School with reference to the teachers of English and students there will be discussed In the

second parl, research questions, subjects of the study, data collection and data analysis

will be described in details

2.1 Research setting

2.1.1 An overview of Ngo Quyen Secondary School

Ngo Quyen Secondary School is situated at 33 Nguyen Duc Canh, An Bien Ward,

Le Chan District, Iai Phong City The school currently has 18 classes and each class has from 45 to 30 students

‘The teaching staff consists of 90 teachers who are in charge of teaching all the

subjects in the school Those teachers often attend training or re-training courses

organized in the school or in some others to brush up their professional knowledge, especially the teaching techniques and the adaptation of new textbooks Moreover,

fostivals are held cvery year Lo encourage students to sludy ol only English but also

other subjects Ihe physical condition in this school is quite good, fifty percent of

classrooms have speakers, projectors and there are some lecture halls with those

oquipments which teachers cari use when necessary

2.1.2 The teachers of English and their teaching conditions

The teaching English staff composes of 8 teachers ranking from 28 to 42 years old

‘Their experience of teaching English varies #rom 3 to 15 years All of them have got the University Bachelor's Degree in English They graduated from Vietnam National

University, Hanoi — University of Languages, and Haiphong University, They are

helpful, enthusiastic and willing to make some renovations in teaching methodology They often have weekly meeting to discuss and adjust their lesson plans, to find

solution to the difficult exercises, and to design tests ( forty five minute test,

semester tests)

The main material for leaching English at Ngo Quyen Secondary School is a new set of English textbooks approved by the Ministry of Hducation and Training, The lexthook “Tieng Anh 6”, which consists of 16 units, was designed according to communicative approach Generally speaking, the now English textbook has proved to

be more relevant and appropriate to the current context of teaching and learning

In realily, teaching English in general and teaching English grammar in particular have

encountered a great deal of difficulties or example, when using “Lieng Anh 6”,

which does not have the part “Language Focus” separately, the teacher who wants to

teach Grammar has to teach the whole part lirst, before finding oul the main paints of grammar to teach students In addition, because of the insufficient equipments in the

classroom, the grammar lesson, sometimes makes students feel sleepy

2.1.3 The students of English

The students at Ngo Quyen School aged from twelve to fifteen and they have been learning English for four years They learn English because il is a compulsory subject

at school ‘hey have studied Lnglish since they were in grade one, which focuses much

on everyday conversations, not on grammar Therefore, their knowledge of English grammar is still poor Kor example, they don’t know how to use the correct form of the verbs For instances, they often say “I am live in Hai Phong.” or “ Ile live in Ilai

Thong” instead of “I live in Hai Phong” or “He lives in Hai Phong.”

Furthermore, the 6th grade students are so giddy, sv they are lack of concentration, which causes difficulty for the teachers Besides this, not having enough time for

practice as the lessons are too long, students find il difficult to understand the lesson

thoroughly

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2.2 Methodology

2.2.1 Research questions

Tho sludy was designed to find out the answers {o Ihe folowing questions

How do the teachers and the students at Ngo Quyen Secondary School operate the

process of Rnglish grammar Leaching and learning?

2 What are the difficulties the teachers encounter in teaching English grammar in the language locus lessons in “lieng Anh 6” as perceived by the teachers and

students?

2.2.2 Subject of the study

The subjects of the study were 200 students and 6 teachers of Inglish from Ngo Quyen Secondary School,

‘The students were selected randomly from class 61 to 6D4 at Ngo Quyen

Secondary School Most of them stadied at Minh Khai Primary School There are 120 girls and 80 boys They have been in Grade 6 for 8 months The research was conducted in the second term of the school year All the students took part in a survey

questiormaire by answering all the given questions

The reason for choosing 6" form students for this study is as follows: firstly, this is the first year those students have been working with the new textbook so they may find something new in comparison with lhe textbook al primary levck Sceondly, they might have more time and enthusiasm to help the researcher get the data

Six teachers ( ranking from 28 to 12 years old), who are currently teaching English

at Neo Quyen Secondary School, were chosen as the subjects of the study Among these teachers, four were teaching grade 6 at the time of delivering the questionnaire;

two teachers taught the sixth graders the previous academic year In terms of

qualification four leachers with more than ten years of teachmg experience graduated from College of Pedagogy of Hai Phong and took part in a four-year course at Hai

Phong University Lo get a inservice course The hwo teachers, who have taught Rnglish

for two years, graduated from Vietnam National University, College of Moreign Languages None of them has a Master of Art degree

2.2.3 Data collection instruments

‘The instruments used to collect in-depth and rich data were questionnaire and

classroom observation wilh the hope to guarantee the reliabilily and the objectiveness

of the study

2.2.3.1 The questionnaire

As we know, questionnaires are used commonly in doing educalional rescarckies

According to Numan (1992:143) the use of questionnaires in research has some

advantages: firstly, it is easy for us to construct and it saves time and money, secondly,

ican help us to collect dala in field setling and the dala themselves are more amenable

to quantification than discursive data such as free-form field-notes, transoripts of oral

language

Tho questionnaires consist of close and oper — ended questions, checklist questions and scale shopping from agree to disagree There are two kinds of questionnaire: one

for leacher and the other for studenls The questions for sludents were written in

Vietnamese to inake sure that the students understand the questions and answers clearly before giving their choices The questionnaire consists of two main parts Part I was about the sluderts’ personal information inchiding lass, aud (he time they began learning English Part Ll aimed to find out:

- the language they use to communicate with people around them such as parents, neighbors, friends, teachers, ete

- the reality of learning English grammar

- the difficulties in learning English grammar in language focus lessons and the causes

of the difficuluies

- the factors affecting prammar acquisition

- their evaluation of grammar teaching in lhe Language Focus lessons

- some suggestions to over come these difficulties.

‘The survey questionnaire for the teachers also has two main parts written in English The first part was to get personal information inchiding the teachers’ gender, age and years of leaching English The second one that consisted of 8 questions was about:

- the Leachers? perceptions on the importance of grammar teaching and learning

- their opinions about the grammar parts in the new textbook English 6

- their methods to teach grammar in the Language Vocus lessons, particularly with

rogard lo the folowing

their methods of presenting grammar structures

their language of grammar instructions

their ways of helping the students to practice grammar

their techniques of correcting grammar errors

- their difficulties in teaching grammar in 6" prade

2.2.3.2 The classroum observation

Lesides survey questionnaire, the researcher also used classroom observations

to confirm the reliability and validity of the information about factors affecting

students’ involvement and the offeet of the applied techniques The researcher observed four English lessons before and during the treatment In each lesson, the

information of teacher's activities, teaching teclmigues (giving instructions,

encouragement, comment and feedback) and students’ involvement, preferences and

attitudes towards the applied techniques were focused on, which were mentioned in

the checklist (sce Appendix 3)

2.2.4 Data collection procedures

The data of the research was collected by means of questionnaire and classroom observations Firstly, the researcher delivered the questionnaires to 200 students who

were selected randomly and 6 teachers who teach English to grade 6 students Secondly, after collecting the information from he questiormsire, classroom

observations were carried out to gather information about the teacher’s teaching methods and students’ ways in learning English grammar

The observation was done as follows:

Step 1: Preparation The content of the lesson observation sheet was developed

in accordance with the research questions and the layout was decided The researcher also contacted the selected participant in person to ask for permissions to observe their lessons and gave them time schedule

Step 2: Conducting the class observations All four class observations wet

condusted within one week Hach day the researcher observed one forty five minute lesson by one teacher During the lesson, the researcher observed the whole teaching process and look note using the Checklist (see Appendix )

2.2.5 Data analysis

The data were analyzed both descriptively and interpretively The quantitative data are presented in the form of figures and lables while qualitative data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and interpretations

2.3, Summary

This chapter presented the setting, and the methodology of the study In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researcher used two different instruments: survey questiormaire and class observation By employing these instruments, the researcher hopes to achieve more reliable and valid data

kỳ oS

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter prosents and discusses the findings Uhat arise from the two types of data collected, questionnaire and classroom observation The outline of the chapter is

as follows

* Results from the questionnaire for students

* Results from the questionnaire for teachers

* Results from classroom observations

3.1 Results from the questionnaire for students

3.1.1 The students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English

Question Very important | Important | Neither important Not important

(%) (%) | wor unimportant (%) atal(%)

grammar important was 154, of which 80 ( 10%) students chose the first answer “very

important” and 74 ( 37%) students considered English grammar “important” These students expressed that without good knowledge of grammar, leamers could not be good at English in general However, not all these students realized its importance

Among 200 students, 38 students (19%) thought that grammar was neither important

nor unimportant and 8 students ( 1%) considered grammar “not important at all”

3.1.2 Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning English grammar

Question 2 was asked lo find out if students had difGicultics i leaning English

grammar lo answer the question “Do you think leaming the 6” grade Jinglish

grammar is dificult?” students have lo choose (rom five aHernalives

A Very difficult 8, Difficult = C Normal, Hasy E, Very easy

Question 2 | Very difficult | Difficult | Nonnal | Hasy | Very easy

% 21 T5 4 0 0

Table 2: Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning the 6" grade English grammar

Given five options of answers above, 42 students (21%) chose the first answer and

150 students (75%) chose the second, which means that most of the students agreed

that learning English grammar was difficult Only 8 students (4%) found that learning

English grammar was normal and no one thought that it was easy or very easy to leam English grammar

From the result above, we can conclude that most of the students had difficulties in

leaming English grammar, which is a problem at Ngo Quyen Secondary School

3.1.3 The students’ frequency in learning English grammar after the lessons at

Chart 1: The students’ frequency in learning granmar after the lessons at school

Chart 1 shows that a great number of students spend time learning English grammar

at home Among 200 students, 68 students (34%) chose “often”, 44 of them (22%) chose “always”, 26 of them (13%) chose “sometimes”, 38 of them (19%) chose

“rarely” and the rest chose “never” 88 students said that they did not and rarely learn English at home because they did not have time and they found it very difficult so they

did not know how to learn

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3.1.4, Time for learning English compared with other subjects

Chart 2: Time for learning English compared with other

As can be seen from chart 2, 62% of students stated that the time they spent on

learning English was equal to that of other subjects However, 30% of them revealed

that they used less time in leaning English compared with other subjects and only 8%

respondents chose much time It can be concluded that most of students at Ngo Quyen

Secondary School were interested in learning English as much as other subjects

3.1.5, Students’ evaluations of the grammar teaching in the Language Focus

lessons

Questions 10 investigated students’ evaluation of grammar teaching in the

Language Focus lessons The results of their responses were presented below:

rom the results shown in the chart above, there appears a worrying fact that the number of the respondents having “good understanding of grammar structures” presenled im the Language Focus lessons is less thar those “having vague understanding”, with the percentages of 16% and 74% respectively It is a warning for

the teachers to know thal “no understading al all” accounted for 10%

The table below shows the students’ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

1-Strongly agree 2- Agree 3-Disngree 4- Strongly disagree 5-Don’t know

B Reledng, im addition lo the exercises im the

textbooks, there are other activities such as playing 65% | 35%

games, singing lessons, quizzes

1D Boring, all the lessons are the same 65% 15% | 20%

E Stressful (the exercises are difficult, short time) [14% [42% 32% [12%

Table 3: the students’ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

As indicated im the table, moat of the slidents agreed that the lessous were boring

(65%) and nonnal (65%) 56% of them were afraid of the grammar lessons because

they Iud to do difficult exercises in a shor! lime which made them stressful No students feel relaxed when they study English grammar ( 65% respondents chose

“disagree” and 35% “strongly disagree”)

3.1.6 The student’ learning styles

‘A Learn by heart the structures by exchanging with other students 18

B Liston to the teachers’ teaching, mark on the notebook and remember the 50

structures

H Do grammar exercises that their teachers designed or adapted from the 60

textbook or reference books

T Find grammar exercises (in reference books, in the Intemet) and do them by 3 lierscHfimsel'

K Other ways ( please speciÑÿ) cọc chì HH hs Hee a

table 4: Ways of learning Linglish grammar

Table 4 shows the ways of leaning English grammar chosen by the students As

can be scen from the table, “learmng by heart by writing many times” is the most preferable way which was chosen by 65% of the students The next highly rated way

wilh 60% of the students wanled to apply is “doing grammar exercises hal their

teachers designed or adapted from the textbook or reference books” In the third place,

“listening to the teachers’ teaching marking the structures on the notebook and

remembering the structures” was loved by 50% of the lolal respondenis The next place was “basing on the teachers’ examples, giving other examples by oneself” chosen by 32% of students “Leaming by heart the structures by exchanging with other students” was rated as the least favorable way, with only 18% of the students claiming to like it

It is also worth mentioning here that 14% students showed their interests in “redoing exercises that were dane at school” It is also indicated that only 3% of students selected “reading grammar books and drawing the use of the new structures, and

finding grammar exercises (in reference books, in the Intemet) and doing them by

themselves” This can he concluded that students al Ngo Quyen Schools prefer having

information transferred to them and doing grammar exercises designed or adapted by

the teachers to exploring or explicating the grammatical items by themselves The reason for this may be due to their shortage of time and their numerous homework

3.1.7 The students’ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook

Chart 4: The students’ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook

As clearly stated from chart 4, the percentage of students (40%) who found

grammar exercises difficult was equal to the number of students who thought grammar

exercises normal On the contrary, only 9% of them thought the grammar exercises

were very difficult and 11% respondents stated that they were easy None of them

asserted that the grammar exercises in the textbook were very easy, In general, students

have different comments on the grammar exercises and most of them considered the

exercises easy and normal This may suggest that when using the textbook, teachers

should make some adaptation so as to make it suitable to their students’ interests and

levels Teachers can either design some more challenging exercises in stead of the easy

ones or provide students with help or suggestions for the difficult ones,

318 The students’ difficulties and the causes for those difficulties in learning

English grammar

When being asked the question “Do you have any difficulties in learning English

grammar?”, most of the students chose the answer “Yes” which meant that English

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