Luận văn students' attitudes towards english grammar learning the case of do son continuing education centre hai phong city

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY —HANOE COLLEGE OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST — GRADLA’ KHUC HAI YEN STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH GRAMMAR LEARNING: THE CAS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY —HANOE COLLEGE OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST — GRADLA’

KHUC HAI YEN

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH GRAMMAR

LEARNING: THE CASE OF DO SON CONTLNULNG

EDUCATION CENTRE, HAI PHONG CITY

NGHIÊN CỨU THÁI ĐỘ HỌC MÔN NGỮ PHAP TIENG ANH

CỦA HỌC SINH TRUNG TÂM GIÁO DỤC THƯỜNG XUYÊN

QUẬN ĐỎ SƠN, THẢNH PHÓ HẢI PHÒNG

Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60 1410

Supervisor: Khoa Anh Viet, M.A

5 The setting and backgrannd 3

6 Organization of the stuẩy 3

1.2.2 The role of grammar in language learning

CHAPTERTWO; RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER THREE: DATA ANAL,YSIS AND DISCUSSION 20 3.1 Data analysis and discussion ccceoeeoeereesoreeeoeoee TU,

3.1.2 Data analysis of students’ interviews cece iene esse SD

3.2 Discussion 34 3.3 Conclusion 35 PART C: RECOMMENDATION ANĐ CONCLUSIO

1 Summary of the findings " 36

2 Suggestions 37 2.1 Forstudents

22 Eorteachers

3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 39 3.1 Limitations of the study ccsesssssisssesissintenieistieetestneenees 39 3.2 Suggestions for further studies 39

4 Conclusion 40 REFERENCES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2 Good gramumar for purposz of being proficient in English n Figure 3, Necessary of English grammar in language leatitg ca 22 Figure 4, The reasons why English grammar is important in language learning 23 Figure 5 The frequency of expressing ldea in dơrreel grarnmar structure in communication

wld Figure 6, Students’ favourite lesson of English in the class 25 Figure 7, Stunts? fecling about lessons of English grammar in the class 36 Figure 8, Students’ attention to English araunrnar learning lesson ca 27 Figure 9, Students’ level of understanding of teacher's grammatical explanation 27 Figure 10 Sludents’ opinion about the difficulty of English graramar 28 Figure 11 Teaching techniques to explain new English gramunar siruetus 29 Figure 12, Students’ opinion about teaching techniques to explain new English grammar

Figure 13 Students’ opinion about factors may influence their altitudes towards grammar

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

It is said that nowadays foreign languages and informatics are wings to fly in to the now canlwy Loarnitys forcign Tanguage do not only foous on four skills of langhagg — roatling, writing, spoaking, and Tistening but grammar as Iaguage rules are also concentrated, During the time I studied in secondary school and studied teaching of English in university, Unglish as school subject that | bave had to across different theories aboul grammar, Sone of the theorclicians suggest thal grammar teaching and learning can

be put aside in favour of lexical approach (Lewis 1993: 148), others, however, point out that grammar needs to be taught and concentrate on various ways of approaching grammar teaching, I remember that an Australian Philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein 1889-1952 stated “Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in grammar of language” ‘The nature of grammar determines that grammar teaching

is necessary Without a firm knowledge of grammar in the target language, learners carmoL produce meaningful sentences They tisk being misunderstood and making crucial mistakes in commmnication both oral and written ‘This is especially trus when the mother tongue and the largzt language are significantly different in grammar and struchures, Since itis, in effect, the plue that holds the language together With the use of incorrect grammar structures, sentences can become meaningless and their message is unclear ‘This means thal you are nol able to communicals effectively and the person who is reatking your work may well be quite confused as to your meaning In effect, grammar is the way in which sentences are structured and the language 1s formatted, so whilst it may be considered a tit boring to sindy correct grarorear, il really is worth the time and efforl If you do nal know the rules of grammar, then you will never be able to conununicate clearly and effectively in

a language Many researches show that with students, grammar has always been playing a

role: il is very immportant in that nol only does iL help improve learners wriling, but also it holps leaners do better in reading comprehension and listening alike Students, with good grammar mastery, not only produce sentences grammatically bat also

acquire the ability to apply grammatical knowledge in certain contexts to express their thoughts and feclings as well as to recive feedback

Grarmmar is very important in language learning and leaching In Vietnara, foreign languages teaching, in general and Enplish teaching in particular is said grammar-focused, and for many teachers of English, teaching English means teaching grammar Or grammar

is central 10 the bing and learning of language

Ilowever, the fact that makes me and many others surprised is the ability of speaking English of children to forciguers around these famous resorts where attract a lot

of foreign tourist as Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi capital, Do Son beach, Sam Son beach, etc They speak Pnglish very fas! bul withoul any grammar roles They call foreigners for

buying things, speak to them, take them to somewhary, sic fo gat money, They speak in slang, word-by-word, incomplete sentences, even use body language And, surprisingly, forcigners understand almost what thoy moan Students in Do Son Continuity Education Contre are the same They tive near Do Son beach, they have 1o carn maaney out of schoot time to help their family everyday, and they have many chances to commmnicate with foreigners

This fact lets me think that if they study Tinglish grammar in the schoo! well, they will surely speak Tinglish both smoothly and sensitively with full sentunces If so, they might not be only sellers around these tourist areas, they will get more success in thair job and in their future

‘That is the reason why 1 decide to investigate students’ attitudes towards English grammar learning, the case of Do Son Contiming Education Centre, Iai Phong City

1⁄2 Aims of study

With the above-presemted rationale, the stury aims al

* Investigating into students" attitudes towards English grammar learning in Do Son Continuing Education Centre

* Finding out, some suggestions thal good for both teachers and shudents in English grammar teaching and leaming, particularly in Do Son Continuing Education

Centre.

13 Research questions

1 What are attitudes of students in Do Son Continuing Education Centre towards

Fngtish gramcmr learning?

2 Why do they have those attitudes towards English grammar leaning?

1.4 Scupe of study

‘As it has been stated above, the study is designed to explore students’ attitudes

towards Fg

ish grarmnar learning Duc to the time limit, il is restricted to the sturdonis im

Do Son Continuing Education Centre

1.5 The setting and background

Do Son Continuing Education Centre is localed in Do Son district of Hai Phong City, a major sea port of Vietnam, It is near Do Son beach, a famous resort of Hai Phong

City and Vietnam Do Son Continuing Education Centre is not a big one, far from the city

centre, so, there ave three grades with only three classes: 10A, [IR L2C Tt has low-

income- quality Students failed the examination into upper secondary schools, than, they

came here to study English now is taught as an option subject in every Continuing

Fducation Coniors because they do nol have to pass this subject in the national examination administered by the end of grade 12" to be qualified for the secondary school diploma as smdents in secondary schools, Both textbook and the syllabus for Lnglish are prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training, and students have three farly-five- minute lesson of English a week, However, most students im Do Son Continuing Education Centre come from poor-labour fimilies, many of them have to both go to school and go fo work at the beach to help their families Every year, Do Son beach attracts a lot of foroignt tourists, so students hore want to cam English to communicate with them to eam money,

1.6 Organization of the study

The thesis contains four chapters:

© Chapter one: Introduction

* Chapter two: Litcrature review

* Chapter three: The study

© Chapter four: Recommendation and conchision Chapter one provides all formation about the rationale, the aims, the research questions, the scope of sludy, the selting and background, and the organization of the minor thasis

Chapter two is aimed at exploring the theoretical background for the thesis It will focus on two main points: attitudes and grammar

Chapter three presents the methodology with the research questions, the participants the data collection instruments, the detailed description of data analysis and discussion on the ñnđings of the sudy

The last chapter, chapter four, presents a summary of the findings and draws out some pedagogical suggestions that good for both teachers and students in teaching and learning English grammar The limitations of the study and some recommendations for the

further tesearches are also discussed in (his chapter.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

This focuses on sors theoretical grounds of altitude and grammar teaching and learning It is concerned with aujor issues regarding attitudes, the roles of attitudes in language learning and grammar, the role of grammar in language learning

2.1 Attitudes

2.1.1 Definition of attitude

According to Matloral (1967), allitude represenls an individual's like or dislike for ant item, Aititudes are positive, negative or neutral views of an “attitude object” Le, a teaching style, person, situation or event, People can also be “ambivalent” towards a target, meaning that they simultanzously possess a positive and a negative bias towards the attitude in question

In Gibb’s opinion (1988) attitude is generally defined as a state of mind, which is influenced by feelings, experiences of the world and belief

Fario (1986) states that altitude comprises of three components: “an affective component involving feelings about and evaluation of the object, a cognitive component involving belief about the object and a behavioral intentions component”

The ahove definition show people’s altituds towards cerlain referent object a behavioral intentions component and a cognitive component involving, belief about the object In language learning, we can see students’ attitudes in their feelings and belief

aboul the way of acting lowards the lessons, Isarning style, teachers and the course books

Briefly, attitudes have three main components: affective, behavioral and cognitive

‘The afffsctive components are easily assessed by monitoring physiological signs such as

Thoarl rale whe

sas (he behavioral aspcols of sIilude are generally msasured by inlcrvicws, survey and other reporting methods This study concentrates on affective and cognitive components, It relates to students’ feeling and belief about communicative teaching as well

as evaluation of grammar learning

2.4.2 The role of attitudes in language learning

Attitudes and learning go hand in hand Garder and Lamber (1972) all agree that

“success in mmastcring a forcign language would depend not only on intellsetual capacily and language aptitude, but on one’s attitudes towards represcntatives of that language as

well” In fact, attitudes play an important role student ‘learning If they maintain a positive

attilude, they will carry oul their learning to (he best of their abilily and vice versa Students’ attitudes have an effect on their classroom behavior, learning style and learning

results

Lightbrowen and Spada (1999) state that attitude is fundamental to the success or failrwe that we experience in leaming Depending on the learners’ attimades, learning language can be @ source of enrichment or a source of resentment Agrccing with the role

of attitudes, Brown (1994) say that language leamers’ benefit ttom positive attitudes while negative attittdes may tead to unsuccessfil attainment of proficiency Moreover, Garder (1985:41) cmphasized that favorable attitudes would be expected to result in better performance than negative attitudes If the students hold positive altitudes to leaming,

Marzano et all (1994) mentioned the importance of positive attitudes in learning that

“veithonl posilive altitudes and perceptions or holding negative altitudes towards [he

learning, students have little chance of leaning proficiently, if at al”

In brief, it is clear that attitudes play an important role in learning so students will see themselves achieving greater and greater result in language learning in general and in grammar learning in particular whereas negalive altilndes will hinder their learning

* A structwial Linguist might sce grammar as the sum total of scntence pattems

in which the words of a particular language are arranged

= Philosophical/cognitive linguist might seo gammmi ss our inmaic knowledge of the structure of language

‘A functional linguist might see grammar as a resource use to accomplish

communicative purpose in specific contexts

Defining grammar, then, is not a straightforward matter and it is important to clarify how the term is being used in any particular context For my purpose in this study, T will look at five definitions that | think might be more relevant to this study,

The Long dictionary of contemporary English (as cited im Harmer, 1987:1) defines

grammar as “the study and praclice of he rules by which words change their forms andl are combined inte sentences”

It is obvious that there are two basic elements to which attention should be paid to: the rules of grammar, and the study and practice of the rule

According ta Fromkin (1990 12); “The sounds and sound pattems, the basic umils of meaning such as words and the rules to combine them to them to fom new sentences constitute the grammar of a language ‘hese rules are internalized and subconsciously learned by native spzakers.”

From this definition, grammar is the name given to the knowledge of how words are arranged to fiom sentences The definition also clarifies that grammatical tiles is learned in a nalural way by native speakers, bul how normalive speakers lea the grammar of their language other than their mother tongue? In addition, if grammar

constitutes nues to combine words to make sentences, what are the sentences used for?

Thos: questions nocd to bs clabarnted

Another scholar, Bastone (1994) divides grammar into product: the component parts or rulss that make up the language, and process: the ways in which grammar is deployed from moment im communication, Bastone (ibdi) purporls thal whit: of no doubt the rules are important to the leaner, simply knowing them is by no means a guarantee of being able to formulate or inferpret complicated utterances in the rush real-time communication, Obviously, Ratone takes a more sociolinguistic view of grammar, which

For Richards and his colleagues, grammar is descriptive, rather than prescriptive

and it implies both msanings and functions ‘Their view of grammar reflects, firstly, the dynami

of language, and secondly, the social and porsomnl nature of language Grarnmar

is the way people of a particular language community use to get meanings across, not the way people are prescribed to use the language

All the three definitions view grammar as meaning, but they share a common drawback, which confine grammar lo just sonlorices Widdowson (1990:81) claimed that

“Grammar is not just a collection of sentence pattems signifying nonsense, something for the leamer’s brain to puzzle over.” Mor Widdowson, Grammar means the relationship between Mee 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

Hughes and McCarthy (2998) view grammar as discourse not as sentence and

coined the term discourse grammar They argued (hat “grammatical statements that do nal

take account of such contextual features arc inadequate and unable to support grammar teaching effectively” (p.265)

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

is to be tanght For the purpose of the study T use the definition af grammar proposed above by Richards, Platt and Platt (1992:161) in their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics

2.2.1.1 Grammar as rules

According to Langman Active stedy’s Dictionary, “Tale” is defined as

- a principle or order which guides behaviour, says how things are to be done, etc, or

- the usual way that something happens

With regard to grammar, the first type of rule is often called a prescriptive rule and the second a descriptive rule For mmy people, grammar teaching is traditionally associated with the teaching of the first type of rules that is, prescriptions as to what should be said or written, On the other hand, there are language teachers who are primarily

of the

conccmed with descriptive rules thal are with genorativalions about what, speak

language actually do say rather than with what they should do,

Thombury (1999:11) observes that “Until recently most so-called descriptive mules were based on hunches and intuitions, There is much greater authority in descriptions of language since the advent of large computer databases of naturally occurring language, known as corpora” (Original emphasis)

With regard to rules, Thontlnry (ibid) coins Ui third category of mute: pedagogic rules rules that make sense to Jearners while at the same time providing them with the means and confidence to generate language with a reasonable chance os success Within pedagogic rules, Thormbury makes a distinction between rules os form and rales 05 use The former are generally easier to formulate and are Jess controversial while the latter are heavily dependent on contextual factors, and therefore ars seldom captured in terms that

are black and white

Thos, from the teaching point of view, Thornbury (ibid: 13) advised that we should look at “ways that grammar rules can be formulated, according to whether they are prescriptive, descriptive or pedagogic, and whether they focus on form or on use”

2.2.1.2 Grammar ax meaning

Bolinger (as cited in Medge 2000:1 53) claimns thal

Linguistic meaning covers a great deal more than reports of events in the

facts and comments

Examples of grammar ax moarring are

1 [must get in touch with my mother this week

2 Lhave to complete this report by tomorrow

3 1 oughf to phone John today

4, [’'dbetter complete this report by Friday,

(Hedge 2000:153) These examples illustrate how speakers situate themselves in the events they report,

‘The meanings of these sentences will be changed if the first person is replaced by the third person Also, intonation, when combincd with grammar, will play a role of expressing the speaker’s attitudes or intentions According to the grammar-as-meaning view, grammar is

a “process for making a speaker’s or writer’s meaning clear when contextual information is lacking” (Thorntary, 1999-4) Learners, therefore, nocd to loarn nal orily what forms arc

2.2.1.3 Grammar as social function

Tn tho mid-severtics the relation belwoon grammar and function bscame an important issue for teachers Writers of language teaching malcrials allermpied lo move the emphasis away fiom the learning of grammatical structures independent of their use, and

on to learning how to fimction in a language, how to communicate, An example of grammar used in the service of socially appropriate m ages (1991:67) “is the use of certain modal auxiliaries to express politeness when one is requesting a favour” For example would is more polite than will and could is more polite

than can in the following cxamples:

Will/Would you opsn the door?

Can’ Could Halk to you for 3 minate?

Leech and Svartvik (1975:11) maintain that

“Where English gives us a choise of grammatical structures for a partocular purpose, the different grarmmatical slructures available are oflen not equivalent, since they belong to difitrent ‘styles’ or ‘varieties’ We believe that the appropriate choice is as

important as it is difficult”

They gave the following examples to demonstrate that the same message can be conveyed in different manners:

I suppose he’s quite a nice lille boy, isn’l he? (lentalive, polile)

Nice kid (informal, spoken)

Inall, he was a pleasant child, (formal, written)

A cheerful child of pleasant disposition (literary)

One of the ways in which an understanding of the structure and use of the language syslem can help teachers, according to Tedge (2000:158) “is in providing insighls for contextualizing grammar when it is offzred to students in spoken or written texts”, Thus, teaching grammar out of context is likely to lead to misunderstandings For example, whelhor Do you drink? Moans Would you like a drink? Or somelhing clse van be understood only in the context

2.2.1.4 Grammar as discourse

In thew book A Communicative Grammar of English, Leech and Svartvik (1975) devote one section to “Meanings in connected discourse’ and look at how meanings can be

put together in spoken or writtzn discourse:

the consideration of use requires us lo go beyond the senicnos and to look at larger stretches of languag2 Normal linguistic behaviour does not consist in the production of separate sentences but in the use of sentences for the creation of discourse."(original cmphasis) (Widdowson 1978:22)

Rules, therefore, might he seen lo operale across the boundaries of senlences as well as within them Learners should learn how sentences can be combined in written texts and how utterances link in speech Halliday and Hasan (as cited in Celee- Murcia, 1991)

refer to these features of text structure as cohesion According to them, cohesion involves

the principled uss of (#) relerenlial formns (e.g pronouns, demonstratives, the definite article); (b) substitute expressions such as one(s), do, and so, (c) ellipsis; (d) conjunction, and (e) lexical chaining to create texture in discourse Leech and Svartvik (1975) present six ways of organizing connections: (I) linking signals; (2) Tinkityy constructions; (3) general purpose links, (4) substitution and omission, (5) presenting and focusing information, and (6) order and emphasis

2.2.2 The role of grammar in language learning

In the 1970s, tho necessity of formal grammar Icarning met almost no disagreement, It was a common place that a major portion of curriculum was devoted to learning grammatical terminology, memorizing rules doing exercises, practicing drills or

so on Hawever, many differont and even contradiclory views omerged daring the taller half of the twentieth century, These different attitudes toward the role of grammar in ELT stem mainly from different views about language and language leaning process Helow, L will cxarnine several arguments for and against grannnar

2.2.2.1 Pro-grammar perspectives

Many linguists and researchers have advocated grammar instruction in ESL and

EBL language teaching and learning Kor instance, the communicative competence model

of Canale amd Swain (1980) clearly illustrates the significance of grarumar Tn this model

grammar is seen as one component of communicative competence Without grammar,

learners can communicate effectively only in limited number of situations Referring to the importance of grammar ieaching, Smith 2001) worries at if we de not pay atlention to grammar nor create opportunities tor learners to improve their grammar, they are likely to stand the tisk of fossilization “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 communication strategies and probably with sufficienl fluzney uot to see the need to develop their linguistic abilities any further.”

What is more, Rutherford and Smith (1988) report that grammar teaching can be beneficial to learners consciousness concerning the difference and similarities of L1 and

L2 Therefore, grammar teaching can be used as a “linguistic map” with road signs to help sludterts as they explore the “lapography” of the new language

The list of supporters of grammar is still ongoing Tarman (1989) argues that grammar is highly valuable as an important part of the study of language, of ideas and of writing Also, he points out that grammar reflects the power and order of the luman mind

and, besides, it helps us ( understand the diversily of human culture, Like Hamman, Lewis (1986), Garner (1989) gives strong support to grammar teaching Gamer believes that grammar gives us a means to analyze and describe our language ‘Io sum up, the rationale for leaching graintar is tmullifaected and grammar is acknowledged Lo be af importance it

language study in gencral and in language teaching and lcarning in particular

Monilor Hypothzsis) (Krashen and Tarrct: 1983)

Fanatics of the Natural Approach argue thal reliance on grammatical syllabus, no matter how contextualized it is, cannot be sufficient, that a grammatical focus may

interfere with any attempt to communicate It thus appears to he the case that “we not only

don't have 1o use a grammatical syllabus in encouraging acquisilion, il is Letter nol to oven tiy” Gbid: 72), Put another way, grammar can be acquired naturally, fom meaning fl input and opportunities to interact in the classroom and grammatical competence can develop in

a fluency-oriented environment without conscious focus on language forms,

Admittedly, some learners acquire second language grammar naturally without being taught Immigrants to the United States (especially young ones) who attain proficiency in English on their own can be a good example of nahuralistic acquisition

(Lightbown and Spada, 1999-60) Lowever, this is not true for all learners Among the

same immigrant, group arc learncrs wha may achieve a degree of proficioney, but whose English is far from accurate

On the other hand, Krashen’s acquisition hypothesis seems to be merely his own

personal observation without supporting evidence Gregg (1984:79-L00) criticizes

thal:”Krashen himsolf scems fo be aware of this: The idea that we first toarn anew ruts, and eventually, through practice, acquire it, is widespread and many seem to some people

to be intuitively tt was, thought, exactly the way I learned languages myself ” ‘Thus Gregg secs himself as a lypieal example of the process which consists of knowing the rules, being awarc of them and ending up with an ability to talk about thom, This is a perfect process of acquiring though leaming, opposed to Kxashen’s claim that learning need not precede acquisition Furthermore, studies of learns in immersion classroom (e.g Swain, 1985) show even after ample exposure to the targct language Icamers continuc to make a lot of grammatical errors

With regard to the value of form-focus, teaching two important questions may arise ‘The first is whether it is possible with teaching to assist learners who cannot achieve

accurney in Fnglish by themselves and the second is it possible to sp

natural learning of grammar though instruction A number of research findings (Schwabe,

1989, Larsen-Preeman, 1995 and) prove that teaching assists to improve learners’

sed up students’

accuracy, which is normally absent when there is no focus on form, As far as sccond question concerns Pienemann (1984) demonstrates that subjects who received grammar instruction progressed to the next stage after two-week period while it took untutored students several inonths 1o da thal This provides evideuce of the effieacy of aching over

leaving acquisition to run ifs natural course

In order to decide whether the focus on grammatical forms becomes more or less important, various leamer factors such as age, learning styles, proficiency level, purpose of learning, exposure Lo the target language, ele should be taken inlo consideration Celce- Murcia (as cited in Shrum and Glisan:1994) points out that students in upper secondary schools are already literate and, therefore, have established expectations concerning language instruction And, we need to remind ourselves why sindents come to school The answer lies in getting “tight knowledge” Instead of letting, they swim in the ocean of

knowledge we should provide them with a “swimming jacket”-formal instruction-to facilitate their loaring Why shauld we refiuse tcaching them grammar?

Next, it is worth mention thal Krashew’s view that the effect of grammar learning is peripheral and fiagile and that conscious knowledge of grammar is available only as a

monitor, or editor may be true to ESL context where immigrant learners are extensively

exposed to the targel language Int il is riot applical

to the EFL context Ina poor-input

setting like in Vietnamese secondary schools, where students learn English as a foreign language outside the natural linguistic environment, grammar teaching must still have an important place in the classroum We vanmot expcel our studen's who Jeam English for probably not mor2 than three lessons a week to acquire the targct grammar naturally although some students might have access to various sources of authentic English at home

T stand for Celce-Murcia’s (1992:406-407) point of view that: “Generally, only young, prepubescent learners, and then only those with good access to native-speaking peers and sufficiently rich and varied native speakers input, can in the absence of formal grammar instruction tearn a foreign or second language wilh native like proficiency and accuracy”

CHAPTER THREE: THE STUDY

3.1 Methodology

3.1.1 Research questions

3.1.1.1 What are attitudes of students in [to Son Continuing Education Centre

towards Engksh grammar learning?

3.1.1.2 Why do they have those attitudes towards English grammar learning?

On the base of rescarch questions and the purpose of the study as prosonied in the Chapter ong, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed in order to gain mare

in depth data for analysis,

3.1.2 Participants

To cover the title of the study: “Studonis” altitudes towards English grammar learning: The case of Do Son Continuing Education Centre, Hai Phong City”, this study was carried out with three classes 10A, 11B, 12C consisting of 150 people, who are all of students of three grades in this Centre Each class has 50 students, both male and female They are all taught by Victnamesc teachers of English Many of them come from comparatively poor families, so their learning condition is not good enough, Their tools are textbooks onty Most of them go lo Do Son beach — a famous tourism area Lo gel money in the daytime to help their families and go to Centre to study in the nighttime, The reason for the choice of all students in the Centre is that the mumber of students here is not big, and, 1 would Tike to have the generat view about altitudes of all of students here towards Engtish

grammar learning

3.1.3, Data collection instruments

‘To obtain data for the study, two different instruments were employed: survey questiormaire aud follow-up interview

3.1.3.1 Questionnaires

One of the most common methods of data colleetion in second language research is

to use questionnaires of various kinds, ‘'he popularity of questionnaires is due to the fact thal they are casy 10 comstrucl and uniquely capable of galhoring # barge amount of information quickly in a form that is readily process able (Domyei, 2003:1), A questionaire can be composed of both closed questions and open questions Where the answer is a factual ane and fairly predictable, a closed question is preferred, but where the answers are in terms of opinions, belief or judgments, an open question is better simply because a small range of predetermined answers is less likely to be representative (Gillham, 2000:5) Open questions allow the respondents to feel that they can contribmte

spondents wank fo remain

anonymous, information from questionnaire can be confidential It is hope that people will

undoubtedly fell freer in an anonymons style of responding Secondly, a questionnaire is

casy to administer cnabling the rescarcher to survey a large number of respondents

‘Thirdly, the respondents can complete the questionnaire whenever it suits them Moreover,

this is confirmatory Tesgarch sludy

In this research, the questionnaire consists of 15 questions, both closed and open-

ended questions which were giver to 150 students of class 10A, 1fB, 12C af Do So

Continuing Education Centre and respondents were asked to explain their reason(s) for answering Yes or No ot the degree of interest to the question (Appendix 1) All questions were wrillcn in both English and Vietnamese lo ensure (hat students can fully understand the questions and in order for them to response explicitly, without having difficulties in expressing their idea

‘The questions focus on the following categories

* General attitudes towards learing English (Q1)

«® Awareness of the importance of grammar (Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5).

* Students’ attitudes towards English gramunar Icarning (Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9)

* Students’ impression on English grammar teaching at the Centre (Q10, QH,Q12)

research:

» To focus ona specific aspect of classroorn tile in detail

© Teacher-pupil discussion -> diagnostic information

© To improve the classroam climate

Nunan (1992) adds the following uses to interviews

© needs analysis

© program evaluation

* individual case studies

© mini-surveys (within institution)

In this study, fifteen students among the questionnaire respondents were chosen ranđomily for a follow-up inferview for more in-depth data The interview was a struckuve one in which the “agenda is totally predormined order (Numan, 1992:149) According to

‘Nunan (ibid) “the type of interview one chooses will be determined by the nature of the research and the degree on control the interviewer wishes to exert” ‘This study was aimed

at finding out the students" altiludes towards grammar and the teason why they have those attitudes, It is not of naturalistic inquiry by nature, therefore I choose the structured interview in order to achieve consistence Lach of the interviewees was asked five

questions (Appandix 3) Since the purpose of the intervicw was to have morc in-depth

information, I decided to interview a group selected randomly from the questionnaire

respondents (each group consists of five students of grade 10", five students of grade 11",

and five students of grade 12th)

3.2 Data analysis and discussion

3.2.1 Data analysis of students’ questionnaires

3.2.1.1 General attitudes towards learning English (Q1)

very interested neither not

interested like nor interested

= Twant to communicate wilh foreigners TL is my look lo get money every day al, the

Do Son beach by selling cake, chewing gum, hat, etc to help family So, [like it”

- “Thanks to it, { can read foreign books, newspaper and information through internet

inorder to discover the Life of people all over the world”

- “We want to watch and understand the famous foreign films in which have our

idols They are sv handsome”, a female students said truthfully with a bil

embarrassed

- “lL want to go abroad to change my lif”

- *Llove it, Itis an international or common language in the world and knowing this language is necessary for my future”

Whereas, only 9.35% of students have opposite ideas with that point of view ‘They foll that they spent too much time on learning boring unpleasant and difficult things And some students mention the overload of learning at school as a reason when they state:

- “Twill be interested in learning English only when there are not any other subjects

to study at school”

- “English lessons are boring, I always tel asleep during the lessons” or “I did not comprehend the teachers saying and explanations” or even

- “Teacher's performance and explanation is awful”

Some students thought that English is such a complicated subject that they believed their 1Q is not high snough lo learn English so they hate this subject

However, 24.65% of students express their neutral attitudes that they neither like nor hate English because they find nothing interesting in leaming this subject Some students say that they are aware of the benefit of leaming English but it is hard to acquire because: “There are foo many new words ina lesson and T don’t knaw how to pronounce

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and how to use them appropriately.” or “Sometimes learning English is a great favourite of mine and I am aware that knowing English is an advantage for my future, but I don’t know

how to learn it effectively”

3.2.1.2 Awareness of the importance of grammar (Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5)

Explain to this question, the reasons for the necessity of mastering English

grammar were varied but the following are common among the respondents:

~ _ “Master of English grammar is a key to successfull communication”

- “Knowing grammatical rules students can produce correct sentences If a student doesn’t know the rules, how can he make up correct sentences?”

- “Master of English structures enables one to become understood when speaking and writing”

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- “Grammar has an important role in English language”

= “Good understanding of grammar helps a lot in translating books, magazines and

other documents from English into Vietnamese”

From the students’ responds, we can see that they all recognized the importance of

grammatical knowledge not only to their learning English in the classroom but also to their

use of the language for the communication outside the classroom A focus on grammar is

obviously a necessary or a desirable part of classroom language learning ( Hedge, 2000)

Regarding to the necessary of English grammar in language learning, 87% of

students believe that idea is true A female student said: “Master of English grammar helps

students to do grammar exercises “Only by knowing grammar can a pupil do the grammar

exercises given by the teacher and get good mark in the examinations.” Only 13% of

students say that grammar is not necessary for language learning

Figure 4 illustrates that most of the students (97%) believe that English grammar

helps combine words into sentences to express ideas and feelings, 85% of the student

report that English grammar assists the learners in memorizing and using the language

appropriately in communication, 86% of the students agree that English grammar is essential in developing various language skills to reach the aim of communication, 74% of

them say English grammar helps develop the learner’s self-confidence in using language

From the students’ responds, we can see that they all recognized the importance of

grammatical knowledge not only to their learning English in the classroom but also to their

use of the language for the communication outside the classroom, A focus on grammar is

obviously a necessary or a desirable part of classroom language learning (Hedge, 2000)

Figure 5 shows that a large number of students doesn’t pay much attention to using

correct English grammar structures in communication They have no awareness of trying

to express their ideas basing on English grammar structures: 1% of students never do that,

4% of them say “rarely”, 5% of them say “usually”, none of them say “always”, and 89.5%

of them sometimes try fo do that Some explanations were given:

- “When selling food at the beach, I do not speak in correct grammar structures, all foreigners still understand what I mean They bargain strictly!” A boy of class 11B roguishly said

- “It is too difficult to express ideas in the correct grammar structures because there

are too many structures; I cannot remember all of them”

- “It is waste of time to manage to speak in correct grammar structures I have to

remember all of them to produce full sentences meanwhile short sentences are just enough

for us”.

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However, one in opposite adds more: “His idea is correct in one side If we speak in full right sentences, it’s easy for them to understand”, But, another argues: “It’s not necessary If they don’t understand, I just point to the objects have the same meaning It’s ok”

3.2.1.3 Students attitudes towards English grammar learning (Q6, Q7, Q8, Q9)

It means that although they realize the importance of English grammar as their

answering at Q2, 3, 4, they still have their own reasons for their choices in this question

Explaining for this, students say that:

- “T hate grammar I find nothing interesting in it”.

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- ‘Speaking and listening are useful and practical in the daily life because they are my

tool help me earn money”

- “Grammar and writing are just for examinations, but they are not too important

and necessary for us because we don’t have to pass this subject in the national examination

administered by the end of grade 12" to be qualified for the secondary school diploma as

students in secondary schools”

According to the data in figure 7, students’ feedbacks on learning English grammar

at school sound very dull, 91.5% of the students asked say that English grammar learning

at school is boring and 93.5% of the students consider learning English grammar at school stressful No student thinks English grammar is enjoyable, relaxing, only 1% of students feel it is interesting, and no one has other ideas Basing on figure 8, we know that students

here do not find learning English grammar interested