Luận văn a survey on students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to teaching english grammar for grade 11th at bac kan gifted high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL ULVERSITY O¥ LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES TRINH THANH HUYEN A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE A

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL ULVERSITY O¥ LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

TRINH THANH HUYEN

A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR

GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED DIGI SCHOOL

Nghiên cứu điều tra thai độ cúa học sinh dỗi với phương pháp diễn dịch và quy

nạp trong giảng dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại lớp 11 trường trung học phổ thông

chuyên Bắc Kụn

M.A MLNOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

TIANOT - 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL ULVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDLES:

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

TRINH THANH HUYEN

A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR

GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

Nghiên cứu diễu tra thái độ của học sinh dấi với phương pháp diễn dịch và quy nạp trong giảng dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại lớp 11 trường trung học phế thông

chuyên Bắc Kạn

LA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Dr Dễ Tuân Minh

THANOH - 2016

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

J, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A

SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE

APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR GRADE 11 AT

BAC KAN GIFTED IIGI SCIIOOL submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Teaching Except where

the reference is indicated, no other person’s work tas been used without duc

acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people T would like to (ake this opportunily to (hank then all most

sinoerely,

First and foremost, | would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr Do ‘fuan

Minh, my supervisor, who has paliently and conslantly supporled me through the

stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have

inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher

‘A special word of thanks goes to teachers and students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted Iligh School and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have thts thesis accomplished,

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family and friends for the sacrifice

they have devoted 1o dhe fuliilment of this academic work Their tove will always

be my sunshine in my road to success

ABSTRACT

The present survey study seeks to investigate students’ attitudes to English grammar

icaching approaches Specifically, it has explored the aililudes towards deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching held by thirty eleven — form

suadenis in English — specialived class coded as A al Rac Kan Gilied High School

The instruments for data collection to serve the aun of the rescarch are survey questionnaire, semi — structured interview and classroom cbservation After a

careful long time of collecting and analyzing valuable dala, il is revealed in the study that students showed favorable attitudes to inductive approach rather than deductive approach The reasons for their favor were uncovered that the rule — driven path or the deductive approach is monotonous, uninteresting and demotivating for them, while the inductive path is considered more helpful as it makes students become more active rather than passive as recipient only When they were asked to show their opinions on the most appropriate way of teaching to enhance students’ grammar leaming quality, they preferred their teacher to appropriately combine both approaches for the sake of effective grammar teaching and learning The tesearcher bas offered some pedagogical suggestions emerged

from the research findings to the context under investigation with the hope to bring

about some changes and progresses in English grammar teaching for the sake of

effective graramuar learning on the part of students

ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EEL English as a Foreign Language

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Questionnaire Structure and Question Purposes Semi structured Interview Structure and Question Purposes

Current Grammar Teaching Aids

Twportance of Grammar Importance of Attitude in Grammar Study

Attitudes to Deductive Approach

Antonyms and Synonyms ‘Teaching

Attitudes to Inductive Approach

The Simple Present Tense Teaching Comparative Adjectives Teaching

Altitudes 10 the Combination of both Approaches

PART A: INTRODUCTION ocecccceesscnesieerissesssseesseanesienssaneeriies

I Rationale for the Research

LL Aim and Objectives of the esearch, con reee

TIL Research Questions

TV Scope of the Research

V Methods of the Study

VI Significance of the Research

VII Structural Organization of the Thesis

PARTB: DEVELOPMENT ằe reo

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Overview of English Grammar

1.1.1 The Concept of Grammar

1.2 The Role of Grammar in Teaching English as a Foreign Tanguage 7

1.2 Approaches lo Ôrantunar Instructon se

1.3.1 Experientia] 'Teaching Approach

1.22 Analytic Teaching Approach

1.2.3 Implicit and Explicit Approach se

1.2.4 Intralingual and Crosslingual Dimension

1.2.5 Deductive and Inductive Approach

1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive and Deductive Approaches to Unglish Grammar ‘Teaching

1.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages al Tnduclive Approach

1.3.2 Advantages aud Disadvantages of Deductive Approach

1.4, Students’ Attitudes towards English Grammar Instruction

1.41 Defining Students’ Attitudes

1.4.2 Components o£ Atfifude

1.4.3 Some Studies on Students’ Attitudes to Grammar Instruction,

2.6, Data Collection Procedure teers

2.7 Methods of Data Analysis

CHAPTER II: FINDLNGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Findings

3.1.1 Quantitative Data Fimdings

3.1.L.1 Overview of the Current Grammar Teaching Aids at Bac Kan

Gifled High School

3.1.1.2 Attitudes to Grammar 'Teaching Approaches

3.1.1.2.3 Aititudos to Dcductive Approadh seni dE

3.1.1.2.4 Attitudes to Inductive Approach A

3.1.1.2.5 AIHdes to the Combination of both Induelive and Deducive

3.1.2, Qualitative Data Findings co Ms

3.1.2.2 Attitudes to Inductive Approach Si 47) 3.1.2.3 Attitudes to the Combination of both Inductive and Deductive

3.2 Discussion of the Findings cccc cover - 44

1 Peđagogical Implications 22222 2t 222222 server 46

RREERENCBS TH HH 1011.0111111 0.1101 ¬— aú.)

AFPENDXB

PART A: INTRODUCTION

This part inchiding the rationale for the research, the aim and objectives, the scope

and methods of the sludy, the research queslions, the sigmficance and structural

organization of the thesis will hopefully provide readers with an overview of the

whole paper

T Ralionale for the Research

The role of foreign language grammar has always been a controversial subject of research for decades, Krashen (1982) considers grammar useful for “language appreciation”, ie appropriate language use, but it should not be the main subject of instruction Tn other words, leamers acquiring a foreign language through a process

of vouumunication and granunar is just a lool to polish their production when they have already acquired grammar knowledge In this case, we can assume that grammar is necessary, bul nol an essential background in language learning, and thus, it should not be the object of instruction in language teaching With another point of view, Batstone (1994) affirms the importance of grammar to understand

language beeause il provides a framework for learners to structure iheir foreign

language learning in addition, Dr Pradeep (2013) admits the importance of grammar by confirming that when learning a foreign dialect, leamers should leam

its grammar since il is

tremely important, (hal il cannot be ignored

From the researcher's point of view, the role of grammar is a never-ending question and it is not so important as the matter of how grammar should be taught in foreign language teaching In recent times, grammar instruction has been regarded as essential and indispensable in the context of language leaching Sharing a similar idea with the writer, Purpura (2004) points out that grammar plays a central role in language teaching as it influences the success of foreign language learning, In this view, grammar plays an extremely important and unavoidable role in developing the language outcomes of learners Recently, a number of merited research have

‘been conducted to discover the approaches concerning grammar teaching There arc

two approaches that come into question, ie deductive and inductive instructions

Seeing thal there is no approach oulweighing another, in olher words, both deductive and inductive approaches possess the same merit, so teachers should take advantages of and be flexible in applying the aforementioned approaches in order to

produce effective grammer teaching

In this paper, the writer puts the main focus on English as a foreign language taught

in Vietnam Being considered as a developing country with many polontials, Vietnam is a rich land in the context of globalization That tendency has brought

about a change in Vietnamese people's attitudes about foreign language learning,

especially English With ils position as a global language, English is regarded as a vital language that can bring people great opportunities to make their lives better,

ie good jabs, good living standards, gond studying conditions, etc Therefore,

English teaching has become a buming concern for many Vietnamese educators

In the writer’s viewpoint, although English grammar is extremely essential in the view of most Vietnamese teachers in general and high school teachers in particular, most of them do not possess suitable methods to teach grammar Thus, many students know English without being able to use it properly, even in expressing their own intentions Additionally, there is a fact that students’ attitudes to teachers’ grammar teaching approach can influence their leaming outcomes However, there has beer little investigation of the altitudes ol bigh school sludenls concerning Lnglish grammar instruction, and there is no research conducted to discover the issue in Bac Kan province Becanse of the aforementioned reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct a rescarch tithed “A survey on students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to teaching English grammar for grade 11 at Bac Kan Gifted High School”, This research will make contribulions to develap a sharp understanding of students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to

English grammar teaching by their teachers, and to point out a more appropriate path in order to enhance Linglish grammar learning quality in this context

TI Aim and Tasks of the Research

The overall aim of the study is to shed light on the attitudes to deductive and

induclive approaches Lo English grammar Leaching held by studerts in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted [igh School With that aim achieved, the researcher will suggest

appropriate approach that meets students’ needs with the hope to enhance English

grammar learning quality

To achieve the above aim, the following objectives are scl for exploration

- Investigating key features of deductive and inductive approaches for deeper understanding

- Designing students survey questionnaires and questions for semi — struclured

interviews

- Observing teachers leaching the two different approaches

= Asking students to do the survey questionnaires

- Inviting some students to take part in semi - structured interviews

- Collecting and analyzing the data collected

TI Research Questions

The research is conducted to answer two following questions:

1 What are the attitudes of students in class }1A at Bac Kan Gifted Iligh School ta

deductive and inductive approaches to English gramunar teaching?

2 Which approach suits students in class 11 at Bac Kan Gifted High School most

and enluances (heir English grammar learning quality?

TY Scope of the Research

Concerning academic scope, the researcher will focus on students’ attitudes In other words, the only thing that will be done by the researcher is students’ attitudes

to deductive and inductive Linglish grammar teaching

With regard to social scope, the researcher employs a portion of the population to represent the entire population Specifically, the sample will consist of thirty

students within class 11 A ai Bac Kan Gified High Schoct

V Methods of the Study

The study is carried out with quantitative and qualitative methods as follows

Firsl, the survey questionmaire for sludents is employed lo find out heir altitudes

towards deductive and inductive approaches to Linglish grammar teaching, affecting

factors on such attitudes and their expectations during grammar lessons

Second, class observation is implemented to study teacher’s teaching approaches

and students’ porformanes in grammar lessons

After that, personal interviews with three students are conducted in order to:

+ Survey their perception on the magnitude of grammar in leamming Tnglish

+ Study their attitudes towards inductive and deductive approaches to grammar teaching

| Find ont the most appropriate way of teaching grammar for students to enhance their learning onteomes

Then, the data are collected, sorted and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to obtain realistic results

To end with, pedagogical implications for enhancing students’ positive attitudes in learning grammar and the most appropriate grammar teaching approach will be

proposed based on the results found [rom all data collection instruments

YL Significance of the Research

The findings of the present paper will help get deeper insights inlo students’

attitudes towards the aforementioned approaches, which in turn stimulate the

adjustment on the part of teachers to accord with students’ needs and wants The

suggestion of an appropriate approach rade by the wriler of this paper will significantly contribute to English grammar teaching and leaning outcomes In short, valuable information from the practical classroom will help shorlen the gap between theory and practice at Icast in this context

VL Structural Organization of the Thesis

‘The present graduation thesis is designed with three parts, starting with Introduction and ending with Conclusion, With the purpose of providing readers with background for the present research, part A (Introduclion) prosonis the rationale, thơ

aim and objectives, the scope, the research questions, significance and the structural organization of the thesis Part B (Development) includes three chapters

Specifically, chapter T, named Tileralure Review, gives a critical review of the previous studies relating to the vesearch problem under investigation and presents

the theoretical background employed as (ools for conducting the whole research

The Methodology chapter (chapter IE) describes the methods and materials used in doing the research, including data collection instruments and data analysis techniques The third chapter (Findings and Discussion) is the part describing what can be leamed during the research and interpreting the results The last part of the thesis is part C (Conclusion) which offers some pedagogical implications for better

teaching and learning outcomes, restates the aim and suggests some paths for

further studies related to the field under investigation.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

This part is designed for the development of the whole thesis Specifically, it

imeludes three chaplers named T (Literature Review), IT (Methodology), TT

(Findings and Discussion) Each chapter serves different purposes which

importantly contribute fo the success of the present thesis

CHAPTER E LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is written to provide an overview of sources related to the present topic

of the thesis and to reveal the gap in the literature Moreover, it establishes a framework for the thesis by providing a standard for comparison to other studies

and il places Ihe rescarchor’s work within ihe existing body of Hterature

1.1 Overview of English Grammar

LLL The Concept of Grammar

For many years, grammar has been placed in a central position in the context of language teaching and the concept of grammar has been variously defined from the

traditional views to recent perspectives

Generally, concerning the traditional understanding of gramma, according to Samuel Kirkham (1829), is “the science of language”, Samuel points out two aspects of grammar called universal grammar and particular grammar While the former refers to common principles, structures, rules being in all languages, the latter emphasizes some modifications applied to suit particular features and practices of people using particular languages Conceming English grammar, he defines iL as “the art of speaking and writing the English language with propricly”

In this view, traditional English grammar is seen as the art with the goal of prodncing pleasing Rnglist by way of using proper rules

In the 20" century, the understanding of grammar is more specific and complex

Bade (2008) belicves that grammar is about ihe struclure of a language and thal a

set of rules is uscd to change word forms and connect thom together to make new units Rivers (1968) seems to have the same points as Bade, and he adds more details that grammar rules re expressed with a dilTicull terminology and have many exceptions Ur (1988) defines grammar “as the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bits of words) in order to form longer units of meaning” (p.4)

Recently, grammar has been more communicatively viewed; to put it another way,

it is considered as a means to communicate and to “mediate words and context’

(Duso, 2007) In the pedagogical field, sharing the same viewpoint, Balstone (1994)

aprees that the knowledge of grammar (structures, rules) does not guarantee

learners’ successful communication and that grammar as process including many

ways to develop in communication may allow leamors 10 communicate According

to Giunchi (1990), the important aim of grammar is to enrich learners’ ability to use the foreign Tanguage In this view, we can understand that grammar should be closely related with context Only whon grammar is learned in accordance with context can language learmers thoroughly understand and master that language Therefore, grammar is scon as a lool ta correcl language use and polish learners?

language products

‘As can be understood, different grammar definitions possess different scope and strength lor the research purpose and the researcher's intention, grammar defined

by Ur (1988, p.4), which is “the way a language manipulates and combines words

(or bits of words) in order to form longer umls of meaning”, will be taken as basis

1.1.2 The Role of Grammar in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

‘The role of grammar in foreign language teaching in general and in English language teaching in particular has been the continual subject for fong-standing debates during many years These debates have led to different theories about language acquisition because of some appropriate arguments in these extremes Put another way, there is no completely false or true argument, thus such issue centered

in never-ending debates will result in various theories about language learning

From Krashen (1982)'s standpoint, he views that grammar is not essential in foreign language teaching Specifically, grammar is seen as a tool to polish learner’s language production and it is uneful only when the leaner has acquired the Imowledge of the rules or structures in the production In other words, grammar allows high level leamers to achieve what he calls “language appreciation” Therefore, grammar should nol be taught as» subject ilsel (theoretical study of

grammar), but as the input provided leading to language acquisition

On the other hand, the idea thal grammar ought to be pul in the foreground in foreign language teaching is affirmed by Batstone (1994) Ie proves his point by

stating that grammar helps leamers to make a framework or structure their learning

during the process of acquisition and thal it helps them to organize the information

and shorten the distance between leamers and the target language

Sharing the same viewpoint with Batstone (1994) about the importance of grammar, Bilis (1997) admits the vital role of grammar teaching for it enhances the development of accuracy and accelerates Icamers’ progress in the process of language acquisition for a long period of time

Other advocate of the importance of grammar is Purpura (2004), who asserts that

the success of foreign language leamers is strongly affected by grammar teaching as

grammar plays a central tole in foreign language teaching In addition, Duso (2007)

believes that the metalinguistic analysis is essential in the process of language acquisition and that grammar teaching should be paid much attention to in that process lo acquire a foreign language as il helps to analyze motalinguistic

knowledge

From a practitioner’s perspective, Azar (2007) points out the relationship between linguistic competence and linguistic performance ‘hat is to say, grammar teaching helps Tearmers understand language patlerns or struchuses and then they can use those pattems in speaking, reading, listening and writing In other words, when leamers achieve a good knowledge of grammar, they can be able to express their

intention in a more polished way or to read between the lines In this case, we can infer that a good knowledge of grammar is like a gold key to unlock the door of

foragn language su

s Agreving with Avar's

ws as well as basing on Uke

research results conducted in Japan, ‘fakahashi (2005) states that

without a sound knowledge of the grammatical basis of a second or a foreign language, the learner is in possession of nothing more than a selection of everyday phrases which are adequate for basic greetings and

making orders ala restaurant, but which will be deficient wher the leamer is

required to perform any kind of sophisticated linguistic task (p 231)

He then conchides that: “ it is of vital umportance for HF students to learn its

grammar of the target language, and that there is a positive correlation between

grammar learning and language competence.” (p 232)

Tn the rescarcher’s mind, grammar is an indispensable factor contributing Lo foreign language development Although there are long-standing debates in the issue, the xesearcher affirms that grammar ought to be put in the foreground in foreign

language teaching as well as English language teaching Put another way, grammar

teaching is essential in the language leaming process as grammatical competence is

one of communicative competence

1.2 Approaches to Grammar Instruction

1.2.1 Experiential ‘Teaching Approach

Tn essence, experiential teachings approach focuses om moaning and gives learners

exposure to authentic language use According to Stern (1990, 1992), experiential

teaching strategies inchide authentic themes and topics as content, aim io engage

students in “purposclul activity”, and emphasize the conveyance of meaning, fluency over accuracy, and language use as “real talk” Hxperiential teaching inclades phases or stages of reflection designed which foster leamers’ relation

between past and future experince compared with current experience Through

initiative — taking and active involvement, students themselves contribute to thew own language learning and take responsibility of their learning in order to enhance their autonomy According lo Woolle (1992), experiential approach consisis of four

components:

1 The student is aware of the processes which are taking place, and which are enabling learning to occur

2 The student is involved in a reflective experience which cnables him/ her

to relate current learning to past, present and future, even if these

relationstiips are felt rafher than though

3 The experience and content are personally significanl: what is being

Icarned and how it is being leamed have a special importance for the porson

4, There is an involvement of the whole self: body, thoughts, [cclings and actions, not just of the mind, in other words, the student is engaged as a whole person (p.1)

Being considered as a type of task — oriented approach, experiential teaching is extremely effective in promoting the incidental leaning which is characterized by variability and uncertainty The rescarcher believes that experiential approach to grammar instruction helps leamers gain grammar knowledge in an exciting way,

promotes underslanding the nature of language accordingly

Analytic Teaching Approach

By investing time and efforls 10 research on analytic approach, the researcher strongly proves that this approach is useful and essential in developing knowledge and skills, especially [or students who possess procedural learning styles

Generally, analytical approach refers to the use of appropriate process to make a problem casier to be solved by breaking the problem down into smaller pieces By analyzing those smaller pieces, a solution is then made to deal with such problem

10

In the pedagogical context, analytical approach or analytic teaching approach is related to consciousness process in language learning Seeing that every language

possesses various Cealures, Schmidl, (1990) cmphas

a first prionty which is a consciousness or awareness of language features before learning a language In other words, to leam any feature in a second or foreign language, it is necessary first for learners lo noliee or io be aware of il (both incidentally and intentionally) Schmidt (1990, 1994) claims that leaning a language is largely a conscious process and noticing is important in leaming process Therefore, analytic teaching has a function of making language features clearer for learners to notice and understand (Sharwood Smith, 1981), Similarly, Stern (1990, 1992) highly recommends this approach in foreign language teaching Stern posits that analytic teaching strategies ciuphasize accuracy and language aspects or features including phonology, grammar, functions, discourse, and sociolinguistics and that those strategies require such study and practice of language items on the part of leamers to rehearse

language skills

As far as the researcher is concerned, combined with many ofber theories im second

ox foreign language acquisition, Noticing Hypothesis (as hypothesized by Schmidt) can be used in all aspects of language for better understanding such as lexicon, phonology, grammatical form and pragmaties Additionally, the researcher belicves that input is importam in leaming any language, but the question of how to make that input be intake (knowledge that is deeply grasped by leamers) is a buming

concem, Forlunalely, Noticing Hypothesis has given the answer for the malter That

is to say, when leamers consciously notice what they lear, input becomes intake

and that will enhance leamers’ learning quality,

1.2.3 Lmplicit and Explicit Approach

As far as the researcher is concerned, implicit — explicit approach is related to focus

on forms approach in which the aim is to teach specific grammar structures and make students acquire grammar knowledge Put another way, facus on forms is

11

teacher-centored for structures arc presented by the teacher and the way in which they are presented depends on the choice of an explicit or implicit approach

Although explicit and implicit approach require different ways to present grammar structures, it is hard to draw the line between them, as Ilulstijn (2005) affirms that the definition of cxplicit and implicit causes more controversy on implicit and explicit learning Lillis (1997) posits that explicit teaching or instruction emphasizes the study of grammar rules and aims at teaching the rules for learners to foster consciousness of grammar knowledge In other words, explicit instruction raises

learners’ conscious awareness of what they know Ilowever, there exists one weak

point for grammar structures are taught explicitly in a de-contextualized manner In

contrast, implivil caching refers to meaningful contexls im which grammar rules are

presented in order for leamers to use and acquire prammar structures naturally

From the researcher’s perspective, there is no good or bad approach to grammar teaching, and what matters most is the question of how to employ the approach flexibly for tho sake of Icamers’ mastery The rescarcher agrees with many researchers who affirm that there is a complex relationship between implicit and explicit grammar instruction Although many scholars and researchers object to the use of explicit approach in grammar teaching, Scheffler and Cinciata (2011) recommend that teachers of foreign or second language “should invest some classroom time in explicit grammar instruction” as “at least some grammatical phenomena can be successfully taughl as simple rules” (p.22) In essence, both explicit and implicit instructions exist in one unity, and the use of explicitness can

be a premise to the successful use of implicimess or vice versa Specifically, simple rules make Icamers improve their comprehension as they have conscious awarcness

of what they lea, and Schmidt (1990) posits that such awareness is necessary for implicit language development Therefore, teachers should bear im mind thal a certain degree of grammar instruction is necessary to develop learners’ language

proficiency and that they should be flexible in applying both explicit and implicit instructions to seek the best teaching results

1.2.4, Intralingual and Crosslingual Dimension

Generally, the intralingual — crosslingual dimension concerns the use or non — use

of first language in sccond or foreign language leaming Crosslingual approach refers to the use of first language in classroom instruction As far as the researcher

is concerned, the fact thal bumman’s first laygnage ean allect their second er foreign

language learning and that all languages have shared features could make it possible for first language to be the reference in second or foreign language learning, In other words, first language and the features in common of all languages can provide positive transference in language leaning ‘Therefore, it should be noted that teachers should use first language sometimes, especially when particular foreign language problems occur for il develops accuracy and clarity in the learning and teaching context and that crosslingual approach can effectively help promote foreign language learning and teaching

On the other hand, intralingual approach concerns the non use of first language in classroom instruction, Pal another way, first language is invited or prohibited in second or foreign language learning, and students are forced to use the target language to achieve language proficiency and communicative competence through

various techniques applied hy teachers Techniques used undor the intralingual

approach iust help create a second or foreign language environment However, teachers should bear in mind the difference in leamners level for intralingual strategy

is not suitable for low level leamers or beginners

From the researcher’s perspective, language teachers’ qualifications include not only language knowledge and skills bul also pedagogical skills which require teachers to use the suitable strategies or approach in their teaching The writer of this paper asserts that there is no good or bad approach, but suitable or not suitable

approach in leaching students Only when teachers undersland thei learners and

13,

apply suitable approach to push thom forward in their study can real acquisition on the part of students occur In short, foreign Janguage teachers should use both intvalingual and crosslingual slralagies, bul sometimes intralingual strategy should

be dominant and crosslingual strategy should be supplemental and vice versa

1.2.5 Deductive and Inductive Approach

Deductive Inductive Dimension refers to different ways of presenting grammar

rules, Pul another way, grammar rules can be presonled deductively or inductively Conceming deductive approach to grammar teaching, it is also known as “top

down” approach which draws learners’ attention Lo lmguistic form and structure

Specifically, teachers explain grammar rules as well as examples to students and provide them with metalinguistic information, students then practice the rules by doing exercises and tasks in order 1o gain achievement Thombury (1999) posils that “A deductive approach (rule-driven) starts with the presentation of a rule and is followed by examples in which the rule is applied” According to Terrell (1991),

deductive approach can a[Tccl the language acquisition in threc ways:

1 as an “advanced organizer” lo aid in comprehending and segmenting Uhe input;

2 as a meaning-torm focuser that aids the leamer in establishing a meaning-

form relationship for morphologically complex forms; and

3 as a means for monitoring, which in turn, will be available for acquisition

14

rogularitics and then generalize the results, in order to induec grammar rules (Ellis, 1997; Krashen, 1982) Inductive approach seems to receive more supports from scholars ax iL encourages Ieamers compared with an exclusive reliance on the presentation practice production approach of many traditional grammar books

(Carter, Hughes and McCarthy, 2000)

‘Yo sum up, deductive approach is a movement from generalization to specification, and inductive instruction goes from specification to generalization It should be noted thal great responsibility is lef 1o leachers who have to decide which grammar structures to be taught in accordance with leamers’ level and which approach: deductive or inductive approach to apply for the sake of learners’ success in the acquisition of a forvign language in general wd English language in particular

1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Inituctive and Deductive Approaches to English Grammar Teaching

As previously mentioned, there are two ways employed by teacher in which a leamer can understand a grammar rule; the rule driven or deductive approach and the rule — discovery or inductive approach As the name suggests, the rule — driven path requires teachers lw leach the grammar rules directly, und students arc free from working out the rules; the rule discovery path requires teacher to guide students to figure out the grammar rules Seeing that each approach has its own features, many teachers, rescarchers and scholars have different views on whether the inductive or deductive approach is most effective As far as the researcher is

concemed, Hammerly (1975) posits that some niles or structures “are most

amenable to a deductive approach while others can be learned very well by an inductive approach” (p 17) Brown (2007) states that “both inductively and deductively oriented teaching methods can be effective, depending on the goals and contexts of a particular language teaching situation” (p 108) In shart, it is believed that both approaches possess bath advantages and disadvantages and that there is no

single effective approach compared with another onc The issue of advantages and disadvantages of such approaches will be presented in the following subsections

1.3.1 Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive Approach

Concerning the advantages of induction, since the typical purpose of this rule — discovery path is for Icarners to figure cut grammar rules for themselves, it is obvious that inductive approach helps leamers be more likely to remember the vules, event for a long Lime This transparent advantage is understandable as students generally remember approximately 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see, 70% of what they say, and 90% of what they do by themselves (Brudnik et al 2000) Thus the researcher adheres to the view that rule discovery path strongly increases leamers’ motivation in their study of grammar and that students are more actively involved in the learning process which is beneficial for their future

However advantages such approach brings to pedagogical field, the induction has

iis own disadvantages which hamper the study progress if nel implomented

properly Since figuring out the rules cost students much time and energy, students may misunderstand that rules are the objective of language learning rather than imeanings In addition, since students’ task is to work out the rules for themselves and a teacher is just like a facilitator who elicits learners, students may hypothesize

the wrong rule or the rule which is Loo broad or too narrow in ils application,

1.3.2 Advantages and Disadvantages of Deductive Approach

Deductive reasoning or rule — driven path is dhe approach to grammar presentation where the rule is directly given and then applied to examples ‘That inherent feature

of deduction brings itself some major advantages which are acknowledged by many scholars and teachers Specifically, one transparent advantage of such approach is that it saves time for both teachers and learners as it gets straight to the grammar points Teacher does not have to spend much time guiding or eliciting leamers until

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they acquire the rules, and students arc free from working out the rules Additionally, Scott ‘Thornbury (1999) believes that deductive grammar presentation allows leachers to deal wilh grammar points as they come up rather than preparing for them in advance ‘The rule driven approach appreciates students’ intelligence and maturity and admits the cognitive processes in language acquisition

Besides the aforementioned advantages, there are some disadvantages that concern the writer AHthough it is time — saving, such approach seems rather monotonous and demotivating Tt is clear that learners become passive as recipient only rather than active in finding out the rules Gradually, the deduction may lead students ta the belief that learning a language is simply a case of knowing the rules

From the researcher’s perspectives, the preference for an approach varies across individuals Therelore, there is no single approach that is better than another The wise choice lies in the ways that combine both approaches together properly to achieve the goals wanted, as [laight, Ileron, & Cole (2007) states “Some agreement exists that the most cffcctive grammar teaching includes some deductive and inductive characteristics”

1.4 Students’ Attitudes towards English Grammar Instruction

1.4.1 Defining Students’ Attitudes

Attitude or affective domain has received much attention from many second and foreign language researchers as well as social psychologists The writer of this paper posits that student’s attitude is an integral part of leaming and that it strongly

affects students’ foreign language achievement

As far as the writer of this thesis is concerned, there has been a myriad of

defimtions of the term “attitude” and cach of them differs in scope Triandis (1971)

believes that attitude is a manner of consistency toward an object Sharing the same

idea with Triandis, Eveyik (1999) agrees thal allitude is an inchnation to behave consistently toward an object, That is to say, attitude is a fam tendenoy to respond

(positively or negatively) towards a certain thing such as an idea, object, person, or situation With different view, Brown (2001) affirms the involvement of emotion in

one’s altitude within a commumty Gardner (1985) claims thal a person’s aliztude is

an evaluate reaction to a certain thing and that a person's beliefs or ideas can affect his/her attitude Focusing on social orientation of attitude, Myers (1980) defines

altitude as “a favourable or unfavourable evaluative reaction towards something or

someone, exhibited in one’s beliefs, feelings, or intended behavior” (p 36) Put another way, attitude is closely related to one’s beliefs, feelings or intended behavior which are socially constructed From different perspectives, Monlano and Kasprzyk (2008) bases on the theory of planned behavior to define “attitude”:

Algtude is detenmimed by the individual’s belicls aboul outcomes or

attributes of performing the behavior (behavioral beliefs), weighted by

evaluations of those outcomes or alfribules Thus, a person who holds strong

belicts that positively valucd outcomes will result from performing the behavior will have a positive attitude toward the behavior Conversely, a person who holds strong belicfs thal negatively valued ouicomes will resull

from the behavior will have a negative attitude (p 71)

Considering attitude as one of many aspects in the cognitive development, Brown (1994) states that:

Attitudes, like all aspects of the development of cognition and affect in human beings, develop early in childhood and are the result of parents’ and peers? altitudes, comlact wilh people who are di(Terent in any umber of ways, and interacting affective factors in the human experience (p 168)

The rescarcher agrees with Brown’s point which emphasizes on social interaction and human experience during the development of attitude Llowever, as can be

understood, each of the definilion is different in terms of seope Therefore, we

should perceive the concept of attitude thoroughly by seeing from many sides or perspectives, In the writer’s opinion, the ways which Wenden (1991) applies to

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investigate the torm attitude is excellent as Wenden explores the concept through three components ‘hese three components together contribute fully to the

definition of athtuds and they will receive more discussions im the subsequent

section

1.4.2 Components of Attitude

From the writer of this paper's perspectives, it is extremely important to understand

the components of altitude The re

cher will explore the three dimensions in the

concept of “attitude”, Specifically, Wenden (1991) suggests that the term attitude contains three components: cognitive, affective and behavioral These three aspects are based on the three theoretical approaches: cognitivism, humanism and behaviorism respectively

Concerning the cognilive aspect of allilude, this component conlains the bebels, ideas and opinions about the object, In the process of language learning, cognitive aspect involves the beliefs that learners hold about the knowledge received As far

as the resvarcber is concerned, there are four stages of the cognitive altitude in the leaming process and they are briefly named as: connecting, creating, checking, and applying Tn more details, commecting refers to the cormection of the previous imowledge with the new knowledge In fact, most studcuts have this kind of connection when they learn new knowledge as it helps for their understanding In other words, new knowledge will be well perceived only when studenis possess enough background or previous knowledge Creating refers to the creation of new Imowledge Put another way, the creation of new knowledge is formed basing on previous knowledge through interactions between explicit and implicit knowledge

in students’ minds Checking is about the confirmation of new knowledge Applying is about the application of new knowledge in many contexts or

Fong and Chen (2009) affirm the cffcot of emotional factors in the learning process and the importance of various emotional activities which the teacher and students

engage in as the immer fechmgs and emotions can influence students” perspectives

and attitudes

Regarding the behavioral component, it deals with the way a person behaves, reacts

or responds in a certain circumstance In other words, behavioral component of attitude refers to individual's actions or behavioral intentions towards an object This comporent plays an eminent role in pushing sluderts forwards in their language leaming process for it enhances leamers to identify themselves with the native speakers and acquire many states of behaviors characterizing the members of

the largel language communily

1.4.3 Some Studies on Students’ Attitudes to Grammar Instruction

Several studies have been conducted on inductive and deductive grammar teaching

approaches, and teachers’ and students’ attitudes to such grammar instruction

Given the purpose of the present study, which concerns sladents’ allitudes Lo

inductive and deductive grammar teaching approaches, teachers” attitudes will not

‘be the focus of the current research

conducted im Taiwan by Wang (1999) revealed that studants preferred the explicit amethod of instruction, Put another way, rule driven path or deductive approach

was their preference in the learning of grammar

Al-Kalbani (2004), in a study of the perceptions of preparatory and secondary

school EFI, teachers and students from three different, geographical regions in

Oman, found that students favored deductive grammar instruction

Another research named “Students? View on Grammar Teaching” carried out by Hendrikes Male (2011) revealed that the students English Teaching Study Program

of FKIP-URT preferred explicit than implicit teaching Tn other words, studeniis

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English Teaching Study Program of FKIP-UKI favored the application of deductive path rather than inductive approach to grammar teaching

Fortune (1992) conduvted a study comparing dillerenl types of self-study grammar

practice exercises, some inductive and others more deductive He conchades that:

The experience of doing the exercises caused a significant mmmber of

learners to change their opintons about inductive and deductive practice

Many informants ended up preferring discovery activities to more traditional types of prammar exercise

A study by Ranalli (2001) resulled i contradictory findings Tn this case, Ihe subjects, who were from a Korean background, were given a questionnaire to

determine their preferred approach before then working through two different

treatments of the same grammar point, one a deductive Ircatraeni from a grammar

practice book and the other an inductive treatment using instances selected from the

Bank of Bngtish corpus Afterwards, the subjects completed a second questionnaire

which asked them te rate the approaches according to them difficulty and usefulness

and reassess their own preferences lindings revealed that though a majority initially favored an induchve approach, many subsequonlly said that they would prefer a more deductive approach

1.5 Summary

This chapter has presented an overview of literature related to the issue under

investigation ‘fo be more specific, the literature review surveys scholarly articles,

books and other sources relevant to students’ attitudes to grammar instruction and

provides a description, summary and critical evaluation of these works The

xesearcher designs such literature with the hope to demonstrate to readers how the present research fits into the larger field of study, ie English Language Teaching

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CHAPTER H: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research questions, the setting and approach, the

participants and instruments, the data collection procedure and the data analysis

amethods Details about the present research methodology will be described in the subsequent subsections

2.1 Restatement of Research Questions

The researcher cmploys two descriptive rexcarch questions which give the clear idea

of the particular research aim, they are:

1 What are the attitudes of the students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School

to deductive and inductive approaches to inglish grammar teaching?

2 Which approach suits students in class 11A at ac Kan Gifted Ligh School most and enhances their English grammar learning quality?

2.2 Research Setting

Generally, the setting of the research is at Bac Kan Gifted High School which is

situated in the center area of Bac Kan City located in the North of Vietnam The

school always ranks among the best high schools since il was established in 2003 Many of the teachers there have eamed their Master’s Degree and they are extremely enthusiastic about their meaningful work of teaching students from

generations to generalions The gificd pupils are competitively selected through

entry examinations and they are placed into various specialized subjects classes according ta their choice such as mathematics — specialized, chemistry — specialized, English — spevialived, ote Therefore, they poss stronger will and

anotivation for better academic achievements

Particularly, the researcher conducted this research at Hnglish specialized class of grade 11 at Bac Kan Gifted Iligh School For the easiness of identifying the name,

the rescarcher has decided to code such class as 11A (11 of English — specialized class) In more details, such class includes 30 pupils coming from many districts and towns in Bac Kan Province Those students are good at subjects related to

social sciences and Hnglish is their main specialized focus of leamaing,

With regard to the time, the rescarcher has decided to carry out the rescarch in the second semester (from August 15“) due to the fact that the students have a three —

month summer holiday after the fimish of the first term

2.3 Participants

As previously mentioned, class 11A (English — specialized class) was chosen for the setting of this research Thus, the participants were 30 gifted pupils with 6 boys and

24 girls al the age of 17 coming from such class As can be observed, the students

‘there are extremely dynamic, competitive, enthusiastic and well behaved Most of them achieve high leaming results during their school years and their English is at inlermediate level In other words, they possess good background knowledge of English language and the readiness to seize opportunities to make progress

2.4, The Appropriateness of the Rescarch Approach

The present research approaches are quahlalive and quantilative research As far as

the researcher is concemed, the major purpose of the qualitative research is to explore things in a real context and to interpret social phenomena Snape and Spencer (2003) posits that:

Although definitions vary, the aims of qualitative research are generally directed at providing an in-depth and interpreted understandirg of the social world, by learning about people’s social and material circumstances, their experiences, perspectives and histaries (p 22)

On the other hand, the main purpose of quantitative research is to focus in counting

and classifying features and constructing stalistical models and figures to explain

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what is obscrved The prosent rescarch focusing on students’ attitudes to inductive and deductive grammar teaching approaches is suitable for qualitative and

quantitalive rescarch as the resi

analyzed both quatitalively and quantitatively

The research method used for the sake of effective results is survey method The researcher cimployed this desoriplive method to reach the rescarch aim and answer the research questions By properly constructing questions for interviews and questionnaires, the resulls gained were both reliable and valid

The present study set out to uncover a specific group of students’ attitudes from

English — specialized class (11A) towards deductive and inductive approaches to lônglish grammar teaching ‘Ihe reason for the writer's choice of grade 11 was about the time Specifically, grade 10 involves students who have just moved from secondary to high school, the researcher can observe that most of such students are

immature and strange to the new study environment and that they need time to get

accustomed to it Grade 12, on the other hand, students are mature enough

Hows

r, since grade 12 is the [inal grade al high school level, students need time

to leam and revise the knowledge in preparation for the General Education Diploma

and University Rntrance Examinations Taking all those points into consideration,

the researcher has decided to conduct the research in class 11A (English —

specialized class) for they have enough time to go together with the researcher

‘Yo sum up, the choice of qualitative and quantitative survey research method was

‘betler for the present sludy as i uncovered the issue (students’ altitudes) in the real

pedagogical context (English — specialized class of 11A) and it helped the

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