Luận văn grammar teaching techniques used by native english speaking teachers for 5th graders at vietnam australia school hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI Ï txivERsrrY oF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION ron LO wos GRADUATION PAPER GRAMMAR TEACHING TECH

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

Ï txivERsrrY oF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

ron LO wos

GRADUATION PAPER

GRAMMAR TEACHING TECHNIQUES USED BY

NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKING TEACHERS FOR gt GRADERS AT VIETNAM-AUSTRALIA SCHOOL, HANOI

Supervisor: Tran Thi Quynh Lé, MA

Student: Nguyén Nguyét Minh

Course: QH2012.F1.E1

HA NOI - 2016

DAI HOC QUOC GIA HA NOI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

KHOA SU PHAM TIENG ANH

ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

KHÓA LUẬN TÓT NGHIỆP

NHỮNG KĨ THUẬT DẠY NGỮ PHÁP ĐƯỢC SỬ

DỤNG BỞI GIÁO VIÊN BẢN NGỮ CHO HỌC SINH

KHÓI 5, TRƯỜNG VIỆT - ÚC HÀ NỘI

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: ThS Trần Thị Quỳnh Lê Sinh viên: Nguyễn Nguyệt Minh

Khóa: QH2012.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI 2016

DECLERATION

1 hereby state that I: Nenyén Nguét Minh, being a candidate for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts (TEFT) accept the requirements of the College relating to the

retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, T agree thal the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Supervisor's signature:

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, 1 wish to express our sincere gratitude to Ms ‘Iran ‘Thi Quynh Le, my

supervisor Tor this graduation thesis As a teacher, imstruetor and advisor, she is

constantly considerate, enthusiastic and helpful to my concerns It is her precious

guidance and continuous support that lead me through difficulties and discouraging

moments to finish the whole project

In addition, 1 would like to send my great thanks to all research participants including two Australian teachers and all 5!" grade pupils in Vietnam-Australia School, Ilanoi They have been always willing to let me observe their classes and spend time

sharing them opinions in the imlerviews and questionnaires Without their valuable

contribution, the research would have never been accomplished

T also want to thank my family members and 12E1 classmates for creating such a

favorable condition for me to carry out my thesis During the last seven months, they

have acted as great supporters whe always sland by, sympathize with and encourage me

to finish the project

ABSTRACT

With an investigation into the techniques that native Hnglish speaking, teachers

use to teach grammar to grade 5" students at Vietnam-Australia School, [anci, the

research aims at: (1) identifying grammar teaching techniques these teachers employ; (2) exploring (cachers’ belicfs and (3) sludents’ opinions towards the used lechniques in

grammar lessons

To achieve the given targets, the research adopts case study research design with various data collection instruments, including classroom observation, questionnaires and

semi-structured interviews

The result reveals thal various grammar leaching techniques are employed in three

stages of a grammar lesson: presentation, practice and production While teachers and

siuderls share the same views about some lechniques, there are still some exceptions,

from which pedagogical implications can be drawn to help teachers better prepare for

grammar lessons of young leamers

iti

1 Rationale of the research

2 Aims of the research

3 Research questions

4 Significance

5 Scope of the research

6 Organization of the paper

7 Method of the research

Chaptrl LITERATURE REVIEW

11 Anoverview of approaches in English language teaching and the place of

grammar in (hese approaches

1.1.1 Grammar translation method (GTM)

11.2 Direct method

1.1.3 Communicative language teaching (CLT)

1.2, Anoverview of grammar and techniques in teaching grammar

1.2.1 Definition of grammar

1.22 Components of grammar

1.23 Stages in teaching grammar

1.2.4, Techniques in teaching grammar

1.3 Teaching grammar ta SY graders

1.3.1 Characteristics of students at 5" grade

1.32 Ways children leam language

13.3 The place of grammar in language teaching to young leamers

2.5, Data collection procedure

2.6, Data analysis method

Chapter 3 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF MAJOR FINDINGS

3.1, Presentation stage

3.1.1 Ways teachers exploit stories (o present grammar

3.1.2 Teachers’ beliefs

3.1.3 Students’ attitudes

Appendix 1: Observation notes

Appendix 2: Trlerview questions to the leachers

Appendix 3; Interview transcripts

Appendix 4: Questionnaires to the students (English version) Appendix 5: Questionnaire to the students (Vietnamese version) Appendix 6; incredible Linglish, class book, p.46

Appendix 7: Incredible English, class book, p.17

Appendix 8: Incredible English, class book, p.51

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

VAS Hanoi: Vietnam-Australia School, Hanoi

GTM: grammar-translation method

DM direct method

CLY: communicative language teaching

L2: second or foreign language

T: teacher Ss: students %: percent

vil

LIST OF TABL

Table 2 | Šieps gƒ sfory exploiiaiion in hvo cases 2

Table 3 | Students” opinions of learning grammar through stories 30

Table 4 | Students” opinions of techniques used in grammar practice stage 37

Table § | Students’ opinions of techniques used in grammar production stage | 43

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure |_| Programs used for primary pupils al VAS Hanoi T8

Figure 2 | Students’ response to the statement “T like learning grammar 30

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales for the research

‘Teaching English as a foreign language for young learners has recently recerved

much more attention from educators as the result of globalization and the increasing use

of English as the international language Many European and Asian counties have

started to introduce English instructions to learners at earlier age ([lamedar & Uysal,

20 Project which

2010) In Vietam context, under the National Foreign Languages 2

has come into effect since 2008, it became compulsory for primary students to start leaming English at third grade instead of beginning from secondary education Moreover, alter [inishing primary schooling, sludems are expected to reach level 1 of the Common Duropean Framework of References for languages (CERI) Under the influence of that project, curriculum and methods in teaching English for primary learners have undergone changes; additionally, teachers" training has also been taken into consideration with national workshops held especially for English language teachers at primary schools

Despite (he growing interest in English teaching for young learners, much more research in the field is required, as well as both pedagogy and methodology need to be

developed for effective teaching (Cameron, 2001) In Vietnam, there have been not so

many studies conducted on young leamers, which offers numerous unexplored areas for the researchers to dig into Among, those is grammar teaching techniques In recent years, with the development of communicative language teaching (CLI), the importance of grammar is somehow downgrading Nevertheless, it remains an essential aspect in English teaching and learning, as granunar acls as a ving resource Lat facilitalos

communication with others, rather than just a list of labels and rules (Scrivener, 1994)

Important as it is, teaching grammar to primary leamers is not at all simple Not all

teachers are equipped with appropriate methods and resources to teach grammar to

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primary children, Moreover, the teacbors" beliefs and young students" opinions about the lechniques used to teach grammar may be dissimilar Therefore, the research hopes to suggest some useful techniques that can he used to teach grammar to young learners and

teachers" as well as lcarners" attitude towards these techniques

1 Aims of the research

The research aims al invesligating alive teachers and primary English learners‘

attitude towards grammar teaching techniques used at an Linglish education center in

Hanoi This goal can be realized by:

(1) identifying the techniques these teachers use to teach English grammar

(2) exploring these teachers" beliofs towards the grammar teaching techniques

Question 1: What are the techniques native teachers use to teach grammar to

grade 5" ting lish learners as observed by the researcher’?

Question 2: Liow do these teachers view the used techniques, in terms of their

advantages and students" preference towards them?

Question 3: What are 5" graders” attitudes towards the techniques used in grammar lessons?

4 Significance

First ofall, the study contributes fo the volimne of rescarch on grammar teaching techniques and teaching English language for young learners and serves as a referential material for those who arc interested in the topics

Moreover, it may help native English speaking teachers practicing in Vietnam context understand Vietnamese primary leamers preferences towards the grammar teaching techniques so that they can adapt their teaching, for more effective lessons

Last but not leasl, the research"s [ndings way inform non-alive English speaking teachers of some useful techniques to teach grammar and the leamers" attitude towards them

5 Scope af the research

‘The study is confined to grammar teaching techniques employed by native Inglish speaking teachers in Vietnam-Australia Hanoi School The population of this research is manageable wilh two Australian Ieachers aud 41 pupils from two groups in Grade 5 of VAS Hanoi''s primary block

6 Organization of the paper

‘The research consists of three main parts which are Introduction (Part A),

Development (Part B) and Conclusion (Part ©) While the Introduction part gives a bef

overview about the research, the conclusion summarizes major findings and presents

somé inplications and suggestions for further studies The most important part,

Development, comprises three chapters:

Chapter 1 provides Literature Review ‘'o be specific, it offers an overview of grammar and grammar teaching as well as teaching English to young learners

Chapter 2 presents Methodology In this chapter, the type of research and sampling methods are discussed in details

Chapter 3 shows Data analysis and discussion of major findings ‘Ihe three

research questions are addressed in this section

7 Method of the research

The research follows case sturly design, whose participants are two teachers and

4] students in Grade 5 from VAS Hanoi Considering the amount of time available, the

number of parlictpanis and other characteristics of the study, the researcher choose to use

three following data collection instruments: questionnaire, semi-interview and

observation, whose details will be further discussed in chapter 2 Data analyzing methods

include qualitative content analysis, which is employed to analyze data collected from the observation and interviews and descriptive statistical analysis, which is used to analyze

the questionnaires" results

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

‘This chapter reviews the most basic knowledge of grammar and grammar teaching,

as well as teaching English to young children The results of related research in the world

and Vietnam are also discussed

Li An overview of approaches in English language teaching and the place

of grammar in these approaches

During the last half century, different approaches in English language teaching have appeared and contributed to the development of this field (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) Among the approaches in English teaching in general and grammar teaching in particular, the three most outstanding ones are grammar-translation method (GTM), direct method (DM) and communicative language teaching (CLT)

1.1.1 Grammar-transiation methad (GTM)

This method is characterized as following structural view, which considers

language a struclured system of grammatical elements (Pralor & Celce-Murcia, 1979):

hence, leaming a second language is the process of memorizing and applying

grammatical rules to L2 texts comprehension According to Larsen-Freeman (7000), in a

GTM class, students learn vocabulary and grammar respectively and practice by doing rammar exercises and translating aotivities The use of grammar in new context and for communicative purposes is totally neglected in the tcachmg and learning process The

approach used is deductive grammar

GTM is a traditional method in English teaching, which proves to be unsuccessful

in comprehensively improving learners" language competence, since such aspects as

uo

listening, speaking and communicating skills are ignored (Brown, 1994) Llowever, it holds such merits as helping sludents focus on aecuravy and enbancing (heir roasting

skills

4.1.2 Direct method

‘This method originated as an alternative to the traditional GMT, focusing on

spontaneous use of the language without translation and explanation about lmgunstic rules

According to Krause (1916), it follows the view that grammar can be naturally absorbed and students can generate grammatical rules (hemmselves through gelting exposed Lo and

using the language Inductive granunar approach is adopted in this method

Direct method absolutely has some values like creating for learners communicative situations to use the language or improving students flucney, nevertheless, it neglects writing and reading activities and may not be feasible in large

classes (Brown, 1994)

113 Communicative language teaching (CLT)

CLT approach views language as the most important communicative lool (Brown,

2002; Canale & Swan, 1980) and many researchers recognized that grammar is one of the

linguistic means in achieving those communicative goals (Lightbown & Spada, 1990:

Nassaji, 2000; Spada & Lightbown, 1993) Therefore, teaching and learning grammar is

necessary but not the ultimate goal of learning a language Grammar just equips students with the basic and systematic knowledge of language so that they can base on and

develop communicative competence

As pointed out by Nguyen et al (2007), in current CLT classrooms, grammar is neither over-emphasized nor neglected, but it is regarded as an indispensable tool to develop leamers“ commumicative competence.

Lach method has its own merits and demerits; nevertheless, nowadays CL is

favored by most, language teac! and learners [or its comprehensive knowledge and skills offering students

1.2, Am averview of grammar and techniques in teaching grammar

1.2.1 Definition of grammar

Along with vocabulary, grammar has long been considered one of the main

aspeels of a languages knowledge to be studied Familiar as il is, there have beer:

numerous definitions of grammar given by different scholars Oxford Tamers" Dictionaries and Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English share the same way of characterizing grammar as the rules for changing words form and combining them into

sentences.! ‘This definition is a simplified version of the one provided by Thombury

(2006) He also asserted that two main aspects constructing grammar are morphology (rules for word formation) and syntax (rules for words order in a sentence) lowever, describing grammar as the structure or system of a language like this overlooks its

communicative function

Rutherford (1987, p.viti) pointed oul thal through grammar, “the learner can make

words effective and become master of his own communicative environment” Scrivener

(1994) also supported this idea by stating that rather than just a list of labels and rules,

grammar acts as a living resource that facilitates communication with others According,

to them, grammar can be regarded as a social device thal approprialely conveys our

words with their correct functions in particular contexts It gives us the ability to

communicate our ideas and feelings as well as to understand what other people say and write to us, Brus plays a fundamental rale in communication

1 http: //www.oxfordleamersdictionaries com /definition/english/grammar?q=grammar

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‘Yo define grammar in the most comprehensive way, both its structure and function should be mentioned Therefore, this research adopis the definition synthesized by Nguyen et al, (2007, p.132):

“Grammar describes a language”s structure and the way words are combined to form a sentence It is often understood as a particular system of rules in turning

linguistic units into communicative units Grammatical miles decide the order of words ina sentence and therefore, determine the communicative content.”

1.2.2, Components of grammar

Many scholars like Celec-Murcia and Hilles (1988), Larsen-Freeman (1991) and Thornbury (2006) have reached a consensus that the teaching of grammar needs to

address three dimensions, which are: form, meaning and use

Fonm is the way a parlionlar structure is formed Mastering form means knowing the formation of words and the order of words in that structure, This is undeniably important as it is essential for language learners to both recognize and produce sentences

that are grammatically well-formed (Thombury, 2006)

Mosning is what is expressed through a structure According to Thornbury (2006, p.4), “grammar is a process for making a speaker's or a writers meaning clear when

conlextual information is lacking” He suggested thal since grammar is definilely a tool

for making meaning, leamers should pay attention not only to the form but also the

meanings those forms convey

Use, or (unchon is the reason why a particular form is selecled im particular

context Qne function can be expressed by several different forms and one form can

express a variely of funclions Tn order to be successful in commicalion, learners

should match form and function well ‘therefore, teaching grammar out of context is not revommended.

1.2.3 Stages in teaching grammar

‘There are different opinions on what stages teaching grammar should include Celce-Muria (1988) suggested that a grammar lesson should follow four steps: presentation, focused practice, communicative practice and teacher feedback as well as correction Uk (1988) also came up with four stages that share the same two with Celoe- Muria, which are presentation and practice He added explanation step right after presentation and test as the last stage Both two scholars suggestions have their own values; however, this rescarch adopts a more familiar model of teaching grammar: presentation — practice — production, which is also the model that teachers from VAS Lanoi follow when teaching grammar to 5“ graders

Presentation is the stage where grammar structures are introduced, either deductively or inductively A good presentation, according to Leech, Deuchar and Tloogenraad (1983, p.81), “should include both oral and written forms, and both form and moaning, It is important for learners to have plenty of contextualized examples of the

structure and to understand them” In other words, presentation stage creates a context to

help learners comprehend the meaning and use, explains the form to help ther remeber and finally, checks students understanding,

Practice offers the chance for students to engage in different activities to consolidate the previously learned form This slage can be conducted by using a wide range of written or oral exercises to help them master the patterns, structures for later use

Significantly di ent, (rom the previous stage, the teacher im practice slage acls as a facilitator who organizes and instructs the students to do the activities (he practice stage

can also be divided into two sub-stages with different types of classroom activities:

controlled practice and guided practice

Production stage requires leamers to produce the language using structures in the new context, including oral and written forms

(adapted from Nguyan ot al., 2007) 1.24, Techniques in teaching grammar

As defined in the dictionaries, technique can be understood as “a special way of doing semething” (Longman Dictionary of Comemporary English) or “a particular way

of doing something, especially in which you have lo learn special skills” (Oxford

T.camers”" Dictionary)” In Buglish language teaching, technique can be stated as the way

of teaching using a wide variety of exercises, activities and devices that are consistent with the method as well as approach used in order to realize the lesson''s objectives (Jatmiko, 2011)

a [1 presentation stage:

There is a wide varicty of techniques that can be employed to prescnt new

grammatical items to learners, below are some common lechniques

Using stories

As suggested by Shin & Candrall (2014), stories are most beneficial for young leamers as they introduce new cultures, offer an entertaining way of leaming and help students develup critical thinking skills

Using dialogues

Thornbury (2006) commented that introducing grammar in meaningful contexts

will facilitate students" understanding since they gasp the meaning and function more

easily Situahons can be authentic or created by teachers, as long as they are mearongful

and can serve the purpose of presenting new grammar well

Using audio / visual aids:

* http://www oxfordleamnersdictionaries.com /definition /english/technique?q-technique

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Pictures, photographs, flashcards, realia, recordings, videos and song are absolutely helpful in presenting grammar, They also help engage sluclents, boos! class

atmosphere while maintaining the lesson''s effectiveness

minimum, This traditionally takes the form of some kinds of drilling such as repetition,

substitution, question-answer, as suggested in the blog entry named “Drilling” on

“Teaching English for foreign language” Grammar exercises are also one of the most

common tools for practicing grammar in a controlled manner, which help student focus

om accuracy rather than fluency Such familiar exercises as nrultiple choice, fill in the

blank and matching are used to consolidate grammatical knowledge

For guided praclive, Cameron (2001) suggested using language practice activilies

that offer structuring opportunities to help students “internalize the grammatical pattem

so that il becomes part of their internal grammar” (p.118) Various practice aclivities may

include games, making dialogues in pairs using the leamed structures

c In production stage

After students notice grammatical patterns through presenting stage and structure

thom by practicing, they should be well-prepared lo produce the language using learned grammatical items According to Cameron (2001), this is the stage when leamers

“automatize their use of grammatical form so that it is available quickly and effectively

for use in communication”

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In this stage, students may be asked to take part in some interactive activities which require them Lo use the Jearned grammatical structures Lo communicate in real-life

situations (eg Role play), give an oral presentation as well as write a piece of paragraph

13 ‘Teaching grammar to 5" graders

1.3.1 Characteristics of students at 5" grade

According lo Scoll and Yireberg (1990), children can be grouped into five to

seven and eight to ten years old While children of the former group are considered “little

children”, the latter group is commented to be “relatively mature children with an adult

side and a childish side” (p 3) As the research''s subject is grade 5 students, whose age is

around rine to ten years old: the researcher will focus only on the latter group

Characteristics of sight-lo-len-year-olds will be presented in four aspects:

cognitive, physical, psychological and language development

@ Cognitive development:

Scott and Ytreberg (1990) pointed out that students at eight to ten years old have the ability to: form basie concepts and views of the world, distinguish facts and fiction, make questions all the time about things that they are curious about, base on speech (spoken word) and non-verbal words (physical word) lo convey and understand meaning, make some decisions about their own learning, have particular ideas of what they like and do wot like doing, sense and give feedback about whal happens in the classroom, question teacher"s decisions and work with peers and learn from friends

leaming where they can be active and bum off energy; as well as where classroom atmosphere is encouraging, and their emotional needs are taken good care of

¢ Psychological development

Ston and Crandall (2014) drew such conclusions aboul young learners”

psychological development as: Children are spontaneous and willing to speak out and

jom in activities They are both curious and receptive Lo new ideas, easily distracted and

have short attention span, egocentric and usually relate new ideas to themselves, social and like to talk 4o cach other Additionally, they have a great ability in imagination and

enjoy doing make-believe, role plays

d Language development

In terms of general language development, students of cight to ten years old are claimed to be able to “understand abstracts, understand symbols, generalize and systanize” (Scot & Yireberg, 1990, p.4) They are already “competent users of their mother tongue” When it comes to a foreign language, Dunn (1984, as cited in Bui, 2011, p12) said thal the childrens approach is the same with when he learns his own native language Scott & Ytreberg also supported this idea by pointing out although there exists disparity in age and time available, leaming anes mother tongue and learning a foreign

language bears much resemblance

‘hese characteristics entail some implications for teaching, and the teacher should

be well-informed in order to appropriately sclect and adapt his or her teaching

13.2 Ways children learn language

Shin and Crandalt (2014) offered a specific look at how children deal with

leaming a foreign language

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First, young leamers need a learning environment similar to first language, as children are engaged and highly molivaled lo learn when they can see the connection between the language and the immediate needs in the real world As a result, purposeful activitics that “mirror first language acquisition” (p.40) are recommended

Second, as children lear language through Jets of meaningful exposure and

practice, the teacher had Deller provide plenty of meaningful and comprehensible mpul,

as well as chances to practice using English in class

Last but not least, young leamers do not leam language through explicit grammatical explanations Tnstead, they “gain understanding of the grammar implicilly through repetition and recycling of the language in different contexts” (p41) Therefore, children should be exposed to language in authentic and meaningful contexts Repetition

and recycling are also encouraged to use to improve leamers" language competence

13.3 The place of grammar in language teaching to young learners

It is widely agreed by scholars that grammar actually has a place in childrens language learning and children have the ability to acquire grammatical items The nativist view in language acquisition (revived by Chomsky, as cited in Brewster & Ellis, 2010) suggested that children have their pre-installed program to lear the language ‘They can

speak and use grammatical structures very well despite being unable to explain why

(Pinter, 2006) Cameron (2002) also shared the same viewpoint about the important role

of grammar, She asserted thal gramuvar indeed has a place in children’s foreign language Jeaming as it is “closely tied into meaning and use of the language, and is inter-connected with vocabulary” (p 96) It requires “skillful teaching” from the teacher since grammar is not suggested to teach directly but through “opportunities for grammar learning, that arise

in the classroom” (p 122)

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1.4 Related studies

‘There has been a huge vohume of research on teaching grammar by scholars all over the world and Vietnam in particular Yor example, researchers in Vietnam National University (VNU) like Plum and Tran (2007) or Nguyên and Le (2010) have explored communicative approach in teaching grammar in their research; however, the subject is high school students, Techniques in teaching grammar have already teen studied ina thesis by Lam and ‘Tran (2008) about the application of games in teaching grammar, also

aiming at grade 10 students Hence, teaching grammar to primary learners is yet

investigated,

Likewise, in the ficld of teaching English to young Jeamers, there are some VNU undergraduate students having contributed by investigating inlo voeabulary teaching: and

group work exploitation Bu (2008) found out grade 4!" and 5! students" preference to

common activities used to teach vocabulary at an English teaching center and drew some

implications for teachers when planning vocabulary lessons With the same subjects

chosen, the re: earch of Bui (2011) studied how group work motivated students 10 learn

English in classroom Nevertheless, the aspect of teaching grammar to young, learners Totiains a gap to research on

Tu the world, there have becn some research on techniques lo teach grammar for primary learners such as “An approach for teaching Hnglish language grammar to Arab

young learners” by BaSaeed (2013), or “Teaching grammar lo youry learners: technique

and implementation” by Jatmiko (2011) Llowever, these studies only present techniques

and suggest the way of using them but not investigate teacher and student's attitudes

towards the used techniques ‘therefore, through this study, the researcher hopes to suggest some useful techniques that can be used to teach grammar to young learners in

Vietnam, as well as teachers“ and the learners" attitude towards these techniques.

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY

Chapter 2 offers a brief description of the research methods including type of the research and data collection instruments

2.1 Case study approach

Yin (1984, p.23) defines the case study approach as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a conlemporary phenomenon wilh ifs real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident, and in which muttiple sources of evidence are used” Likewise, Gall, Borg and Gall (1996) clarified that case study helps investigators to produce an in-depth research of examples of a pheriomencn in ils natural circumstances and (rom the views of Ihe participants mvolved

in the phenomenon In the case of second language research, case study aims to provide a comprehensive description of language learning or use within a specific population and settings (Mackey & Gass, 2005) As Johnson (1993) claimed, it is highly appreciated for

“providing insights into the complexities of particular cases in their particular contexts” (cited in Mackey & Gass, 2005, p 172) In other words, case study can offer the researchers an intensive analysis of an individual unit ina specific real-life context

Since the research socks lo invesligale grammar teaching techniques uscd by native English speaking teachers at a particular educational setting: hence, case study is the most suitable research design to adopt It is believed that thanks to data collected from various instruments case study offers, the findings of the research cauld be significant to

laler rexearelt

2.2, Settings

Vietnam-Australia School, Hanoi (VAS Ilanoi) is a semi-interational school offering a dual program to all students that includes the Vietnamese curriculum together with an English-based program Having been in operation for 8 years, it is now

“characterized by the fine quality of ils graduates, inlornalional partnerships and the

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strong English language skills achieved by students of all ages As a 12 year-integrated

school, VAS Hanoi aims 1o prepare students for entry 1 any prestigious secondary, high schools or universities in Vietnam and overseas English language is put a great emphasis

in the school curriculhm, since it seeks to raise students" ability in the four English

language skills through continuous lessons with native English language teachers

For 5" praders, six out of eight English periods per week are instructed by native English language teachers In the past, Australian teachers take charge of helping the students to develop key skills needed to communicate successfully in linglish, namely spenking, listening, reading and writing; while Vietuamese English teachers support them and specialize int teaching English grammar and vocabulary However, this distribution is

no longer implemented, since il is bes to mtegrate both skills and knowledge into

English lessons To put it another way, native English language teachers are currently

delivering grammar lessons as well

In terms of materials, Incredible English (second edition) is the program used, which “integrates content and language from a variety of core subjects including Art,

Ilistory, Geography, Science and Mathematics into each unit and uses singing, craft and story-telling to cater for the leaming styles of all students” “ This material has such resources as flashcards photocopiable masters, story frames book and fun, lively stories waillen by popular children’s story-wriler Michaela Morgan The book encourages leaming of other skills, such as working with others, leaming how to leam, and to

understand mors about their own cullure and that of other children

In relevance lo cach Ianguage level of primary pupils from Grade 1 to Grade 5,

VAS Hanoi identifies a suitable book for each, which can be explained by the figure

2.3.1 Native English speaking teachers

In VAS Primary block, there are totally three Australian teachers working together

with four Vietnamese English teachers There are only two grade 5 classes separately

instructed by two Australian teachers, whose qualifications and teaching experience can

be described in the table below,

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Information Teacher A Teacher B

‘Time of teaching English primary leamers at VAS|

Hanoi

Table 1 Basic information of nwo teachers

Their classes were observed by the researcher with the purpose is Lo find out the

techniques used to teach Linglish grammar to the students After several observations,

they participaled in semi-struclured interviews (o share their ways of deliver @ grammar

lesson and their beliefs towards the techniques used

23.2 Grade 5 students There are two 5 grade classes al VAS primary school, which were named

dillerently in the rescarch as 5A aud SB Class SA instructed by teacher A has 21 pupils and the other class has 20 pupils in total ‘They responded to a survey designed by the researcher to discover their attitudes towards techniques used to teach English grammar

It is believed that 5" graders are more mature cognitively and emotionally than the other ones, thus, they were able to understand the questions better and give reasonable as well

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as critical answers After participating in the survey, three students from each class will

be chosen to join in an informal interview

2.4 Data collection instruments

In order to increase the validity and reliability of the case study, a combination of

observation, interview and questionnaire is exploited during the research process

341 Observation

Since the researcher's aim is to identify the techniques native teachers use to teach English grammar to young learners, real experiences from the observations would help to

achieve a detailed and exacl description This instrument provides “the opportunity to

collect large amounts of rich data on the participants” behavior and action within a

particular conloxt” (Mackey & Gass, 2005, p.176)

The researcher observed four Jessons of cach class; cach lesson lasted for 70

minutes ‘lo ensure the reality and authenticity of the study, the observer makes no interference which may affect the teachers as well as the children Besides, the researcher took note (see Appendix 1) and recorded the lesson at the same time for later double- checking Moreover, a more detailed description of techniques used could be reached thanks to the recordings

2.4.2 Semi-structured interview

After observation took place, semi-structured interviews were done on the teachers

to gain a better understanding of grammar teaching techniques used and to investigate their belief in the advanlages and the studenis" preference towards these techniques Interview questions are open-ended, which were exploited to find free opinions of the

teachers on teaching lechniques they use tm grammar lessons (see Appendix 2) Each

interview lasted for about 20 minutes

‘The interviews were also conducted with students in an informal manner after the

researcher received their survey responses This instrument is believed to provide a

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deeper understanding of the issue than would be obtamed from quantitative methods like

queslionnaires (Silverman, 2000) Therefore, the interviews seck lo understand more

about their choices, since the most obvious strength of interviews is the interaction which provokes researchers to “clicit additional data in case initial answers arc unclear,

incomplete, off-topic, or not specific enough” (Mackey & Gass, 2005, p.173)

The semi-sinichued interviews were conducted im students and teachers T.]

(English for tcachors and Vietnamese for studenls) and took place in the classroom,

which might create a comfortable atmosphere for an effective interview, as suggested by

Mackey & Gass (2005) Some strategies were applied during the imerview, such as

encouraging “open-ended discussion” and naturally “mirroring” interviewees" responses

by repeating their opinions as the conversation goes on (p 174-175)

Tape recording amd note taking were two instruments chosen to record dhe interviews" information, First, recordings assisted the researcher to collect more accurate information throngh transcripts (see Appendix 3) and minimized misunderstanding, bias

as well as impositions when only note-taking was used Nevertheless, the role of note laking in inlerviews should nol be underestimated While delivering 2 conversation with

interviewees, the interviewer noted down important points and key terms that have just

heen mentioned in order to keep track, mirrored responses, asked for more explanation if unclear assertions appeared and prompted other related questions Therefore, with the assistance of twa effective instruments, an impartial result was believed to be presented

in the research

2.43 Questionnaire

Data collected from observation and interviews with the teachers helped the researcher design a questionmaire fo invesligale the learners” altitude towards the techniques that are used to teach them English grammar The questionnaire was made up

of scale-ranking questions (see Appendix 4) so that the data collected would be easily

transformed into statistics, tables and charts

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‘The questionnaire was written in Vietnamese (see Appendix 5) and they were

delivered to students of cach class during the 10 Jast minules of their English lesson, different from the sessions observed by the researcher Thanks to two teachers“ generous

help, the researcher had enough time to instruct and explain clearly to the students how to

do the questionnaire and make sure there were no misunderstandings When the students had trouble understand a queslion, the researcher could immediately give a hand so thal

they could give the best answers

Ina closer look, the questionnaire was divided into two parts with 30 questions in total ‘The first part included three questions asking the children about their personal information: name, class and years of studying English The second part asked the pupils specifically their opinions of grammar teaching and techniques used by native English speaking teachers in grammar lessons with scale-rating questions ‘Their attitudes can be understood as: to what extent they like the technique and to what extent they think the

techmque is mteresting and effective The first three questions wanted to know 5‘?

graders" attitudes toward a technique to present grammar: using: stoties The next fifteen

questions were designed to ask their opinions of grammar practice techniques The last nine questions investigated 5!" graders" attitudes to techniques used in production stage

Although questionnaires can provide both “qualitative insights and quantifiable dala” (Mackey & Gass, 2005, p 96), its limitations should noi be overlooked As il may not be able to reflect the whole picture and clearly explain the choice of the students,

informal inlorview was employed to gain a betler understanding of the survey“s resulls

2.8 Data collection pracedure

This study involves four phases which are described as the following

The first step was observing two Grade 5 classes Due to the time limit, observation could only take place four times in each class During the observation, the

researcher tried to take note of techmiques used and cnquiries about the method thal

needed further explanation from the teacher

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After finishing observations, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two teachers to verify Ibe researchers subjective observation (if any) and understand (heir beliefs towards the grammar teaching techniques they used

The third phase involved questionnaire on leamers of two classes io identify their attitudes towards the techniques used

‘The fourth step was informal interviews to understand more about the students" answers Three students from cach class who had intoresting answers [rom ihe survey

were chosen to participate in the interview Bach interview lasted for about 7 minutes

2.6 Data analysis method

As data of the research were collected through three different instruments, a

variety of methods could be employed to analyze it

To begin with, qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze the data collected from the observation and interview The observation and interview notes could provide a great deal of information and tape recordings were transcribed to offer the most complete and profound set of information Then, the whole data was classified, synthesized and coded to interpret findings Answers expressing the same ideas would be paraphrased to be in a pattem, which helped the researcher make inference and then later

wrote up a detailed deseriplion of methods used and teacher"s aliitude towards them,

Later, descriptive statistical analysis was employed lo analyze dala collected from

the questionnaire Mean were calculated to figure out the central tendency

Both qualitative content and descriptive statistical analysis method could bring the researcher a thorough and profound analysis of the data so that valid findings can be reached

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CTIIAPTER 3

This chapter analyzes data collected from observation, semi-structured interviews

and questionnaires to find answers for the research's questions

Grammar teaching techniques used and views of teachers a3 well as students towards these techniques will be presented following the three stages in a grammar

lesson: presentation, practice and production

3.1 Presentation stage

3.1.1 The teachers exploit stories ta present grammar

The rescarchor"'s obscrvation and teachers" interview results reveal that most grammar lessons start with a story Both teachers shared quite a similar way to approach the story: after having the students listen to the story, they asked questions and explained some vocabulary to clarify the storys content before presenting the grammatical structures However, the amount of time spent on dealing with the story was different between two cases For example, with the same story Mrs, Midge''s famous pies

Uneredible Linglish 5 — Class book, p 46) (see Appendix 6), while teacher 1 needed nearly half of a lesson (30 minutes) to play Ihe story over again, leacher A only lel the students listen to it once before explaining and presenting grammar The steps of

employing the story in two classes are briefly preserited in table 2 below

books to page 46 and look at

- 8s listened to the story once

the story

7 - # asked such sixnple questions about the story as

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- T played the story once

~ T called some Ss ta read out

the and

dialogues in each picture

After cach picture was read,

‘'r explained structures and

vocabulary For example, be

asked questions:

- “What does this mean by

How much does it weigh?”

hore?” “What is recipe?”

“Do you know what does

this mean by „inpredients *?”

“Who is Mrs Midge?”, “What does she do?”,

“What does she make?" “Why do the students

come to her restaurant?” Not all questions were

fully answered by the Ss

Ss listened to the story for the second time while opening the books

‘T tried to retell the story in details He said: “So Mrs Midgel is a baker She is going to make a chicken pie Do you remember what she needs to make a pie?” Ss reply “Onions!” — “Onions, yes, anything else?”

Ss listened to the story for the third time

“Vlour!” “Yes, flour,

T asked “Any questions?” “Any words that you cant understand?” and explained the words

“recipe” and “ingredients”

T played the cartoon (story on screen) twice

Ss worked in pairs, read the story to their partners while T went around and asked questions about the story to check understanding

table 2, Steps of story exploitation in two cases

One possible explanation for this dissimilarity is the disparity in Lnglish

compelenee between two classes, as sharod by the toachars and observed by the

researcher Class 5A is known to have better English ability than class SB, thus it took

them shorter time to get the gist of the story As a matter of fact, from observation, the

researcher also realizes that only after three times listening to the story could the students

from group 513 answer most of the teacher''s questions, whereas 5A students were able to answer all the teacher's questions right after one time listening,

Ilowever, it was not guaranteed that all the students from group 5A could fully understand the story as here were only some familiar faves thal frcquonlly raised their voices in reply to teacher's questions In other words, the activity seemed not able to

involve all students, though the teacher tied lo call different students for cach question

To explain why he did not spend so much time on reading the story, teacher A shared:

“Using stories takes time, sometimes there''re additional pieces of vocabulary or concepts that J need to explain | mean you're testing different skills, the kids are listening and reading the story but the focus is nol reading, it's dhe grammar so you don''t want them to get lost too much in the story”

Meanwhile, thanks to the pair work and teacher B's supervision, the story might

be fully understood by all students of group SB

Another factor alTeeting lhe lime allotment for stones was their level of difficulty,

as shared by teacher B Ie said “There are some stories that are more difficult, for example, Ancient Egypt, which is just too far away and two much vocabulary They take

more time for the students to understand”

Even though there was a difference in the time spent on stories, both teachers

agreed that after discussing the story and ensuring that there was no concept unfamiliar to the students, they would move to talk about grammar In this case, they moved to task 2 (Incredible English 5, class book, p.47) (see Appendix 7) where sample sentences of the

targeted grammatical structures (too many, too much, enough) are presented They asked

sluderils 10 read the samples and [ind snnilar scnicnees in the slory, for mstanee: “We

havent got enough onions” and “You've gat too much flour” By looking at the pictures

and context, students then could somehow understand the mearing of such serilences AL

that time, both teachers went on explaining those structures by giving examples and

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writing on the board Since two tcachors" ways of prosenling grammar al this poinl bore

much resemblance, the researcher will only demonstrate teacher A's talk

Teacher A: These structures help us to talk about what do we need and what have

we got, OK? Vor example, we need 6 apples (wrote number “6”) and we have 10

(wrote number “10° below number “6”) Who can make a senterice simular to the

sample sentences?

Student 1: We've got too many apples

Teacher A: (drew two cohmns: “countable” and “uncountable”) So, is “apple” countable? Can we count “apple”? Can we say “one apple”, “two apples”, “three apples”?

Students: Yes

Teacher A: Yes, “apple” is countable (wrote “apple” in the column “countable”)

So we have the sentence “We've got too many apples” (wrote “many” on the top

of the column) This time, we need 10 apples, bul we only have 6 apples How can

we say?

Student 2; We haven'‘t got enough apples!

Teacher A: Correct! What about “uncountable”? (pointed to the “uncountable” column) Is this different or the same? Who can give me some unconmable ingredicnts?

Students: Flour Sugar

Teacher A: So flour (wrete “flour” in the “uncountable” cohamn), I have 6 kiles of

flour I only need 5 kilos So ?

Students: [ve got too much flour

Teacher A: (wrote “much” on the top of “uncountable” column) How about I need

6 but I only have 5 kilos of sugar?

Students: | haven't got enough sugar!

Teacher A: That's right, so it's the same for “enough”! (pointed to two columns

respectively}

In short, although the amount of time spent on working with the stories may vary

due to the difference in students" level and the stories‘ difficulty, the usual procedure of

exploiting stories to present grammar still can be affirmed in teacher BMs sharing: “First,

we introduce the story, we talk about the story, we try to answer the questions about the

story Once the children have the understanding what the story is aboul, we move to the

grammar”

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3.1.2 Teachers' beliefX

Both teachers reached a consensus that the stories provide context for the students

to understand grammar better and keep them excited during the lesson According to

teacher 3, it is challenging if we teach grammar without context in the stories, since

“they give children an idea of how we use the language and why we use it” Similarly,

teacher A asserled tal using slorics has a buge advantage, which is helping students to

see grammar in action, in context so that they could make their own connections to the

world outside, as he believed that one of the teachers important jobs is to help the

children relate themselves to real life He added “Everything in life is better taught by

examples, and the stories help provide examples” In other words, two teachers hold the

behe thal stories offer context, where the students can understand how and why we use

the grammar or sentence structures in real-life situations; thus makes teaching and

leaming grammar less difficult

Another advantage of using stories shared by both teachers is the exciting atmosphere it can bring to the classroom Compared to the “not much fio” traditional

way of preserling grammar, stories can keep both the teacher and sludenis more exedted,

commented by teacher A He gave an example:

“The students get to look at the story and something that interests them, so I think that's a huge advantage We don"t have te just say “Well, today we are going to

learn too much, loo mary, here iL is, it"s on the board, now copy tis to your

book”, its not much fun For example the story about making a pie, Idds would

like to make a pie We can talk a lot about that, and we can do a lot of interesting,

things about making pies”

Teacher B supported this idea by pointing out that since the stories are engaging to the students, they would want to learn more and more, using them ean make bolh

teaching and Jeaming easier ‘The lessons even stand a high chance of becoming boring without the presence of stories, said teacher B, since “some students would not understand what we are irving to do”

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In conclusion, it is a shared viewpoint between two teachers that using stories helps the children understand and relate (he grammar Lo the real use belter through the context it provides Moreover, stories make both teaching and learning more interesting,

thus sludents do enjoy working with stories in grammar lessons This is similar to Shin

and Crandall (2014)"s ideas about how children learn language, which are presented in

literature review chapter: children learn through meaningful exposure with the language moreover, they are engaged when they can see the connection between the language and

real-life context

3.1.3 Students’ attitudes

‘To discover students" attitude towards the exploitation of stories to present grammar, the researcher asked all students from the two classes to express their level of agreement to Hue statements: (1) 1 like leaming grammar through stories, (2) 1 think leaming grammar through stories is interesting: (3) I think leaming grammar through

stories is effective

Students” preference for learning grammar through stories oan be expressed

through responses Lo the staloment (1), which is visualized in Figure 2 Their opinions of

whether leaming grammar through stories is interesting and effective or not are also

presented in the table 3 below

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