Difficulties of the 10th form students at canh tan high school in learning grammar and some possible solutions

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LƯU THANH HUYỀN Difficulties of the 10th form Students at Canh Tan high school in Learning Grammar an

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*****************************

LƯU THANH HUYỀN

Difficulties of the 10th form Students at Canh Tan high school in

Learning Grammar and Some Possible Solutions ( Những khó khăn của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Canh Tân trong việc học ngữ pháp và một số giải pháp khả thi )

M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLODY

CODE: 601410

HANOI - 2011

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LƯU THANH HUYỀN

Difficulties of the 10th form Students at Canh Tan high school in

Learning Grammar and Some POSSIBLE Solutions ( Những khó khăn của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Canh Tân

trong việc học ngữ pháp và một số giải pháp)

M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLODY

CODE: 601410

SUPERVISOR: D.R DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ

HANOI - 2011

ABSTRACT

The important role of English grammar is apparent for any students in general and for high school students in particular because grammar is the basic of their English learning For students at Canh Tan High School, grammar has been more paid attentions to as in the national examinations to get the Certificate of High School Graduation, grammar is the main part However, they have encountered a lot of difficulties in learning grammar

This study aimed to investigate the difficulties in grammar learning perceived by the 10th form students at Canh Tan High School The results of this study show that the students have specific problems in learning grammar, such as lack of fundamental knowledge, ineffective learning strategies, lack of intrinsic motivation and unsuitable materials This study also find out the factors affecting language acquisition and suggests some solutions to reduce their grammar difficulties and help students to obtain desirable results in learning grammar

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION……… … …….i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS….……… ………….ii

ABSTRACT……… ……… ………….iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……….… ….….iv

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS……… … …viii

PART A : INTRODUCTION……… ………1

1 Rationale of the study……… …….…… …….1

2 Aims of the study………….……… ……… ……….…….……2

3 Research questions…….……… ………….….….2

4 Significance of the study … ……… …….….….….2

5 Method of the study ………… ….……… ……….2

6 Scope of the study ……….……… ……….… …3

7 Design of the study………….……… …….……….3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT ……….……… …….4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ……….………….4

1.1 Definitions of grammar……… ……….………….…… ….4

1.2 Role of grammar in foreign language teaching and learning…… ……… ….….…5

1.3 Explicit or implicit knowledge……… ……… …….… ……….…6

1.3.1 Explicit knowledge…… ……….……… 6

1.3.2 Implicit knowledge…… ……….… …7

1.4 Two core approaches in grammar presentation……… ….………….… 7

1.4.1 Deductive approach ……… ……8

1.4.2 Inductive approach ……… … 8

1.5 Factors affecting language acquisition……… ……….… …….……9

1.5.1 Internal factors……… ……10

1.5.1.1 Students’ anxiety……… …….10

1.5.1.2 Learning styles……… ….10

1.5.1.3 Motivation……….… 11

1.5.2 External factors……….… 11

1.5.2.1 Learning context……… 11

1.5.2.2 Teacher’s methodology………11

1.5.2.3 Classroom atmosphere……… 12

1.5.2.4 Materials……… ……13

1.6 Summary……… 13

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……….….…14

2.1 Research setting……… ……….… ……… ….14

2.1.1 An overview of Canh Tan High School……… 14

2.1.2.The teachers’ background and their teaching conditions………… ……… 14

2.1.3 The students’ background……….……… 14

2.1.3.1 The students’ living and learning condition ……… 14

2.1.3.2 The students’ language competence……… … 15

2.2 Methodology……… ……… … …15

2.2.1 Research questions……… ……… …… …15

2.2.2 Subjects of the study ……… … ……16

2.2.3 Data collection methods……… ……… … 16

2.2.3.1 The questionnaire……… ……… … …16

2.2.3.2 Classroom observation ……… …….………… …… ….17

2.2.4 Data collection procedures……… …… ….17

2.2.5 Data analysis ……… … … 17

2.3 Summary ……… ……17

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS ……… ……18

3.1 Results from the questionnaire……….……….… … 18

3.1.1 The students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English ……… … 18

3.1.2 Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning English grammar …18

3.1.3 The students’ frequency in learning English grammar after the lessons at school……… ……… ………19

3.1.4 Time for learning English compared with other subjects ……….… 19

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

Lessons……… 20

3.1.6 The student’ learning styles … ……… ………… … 21

3.1.7 The students’ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook…….….… 23

3.1.8 The students’ difficulties and the reasons caused difficulties in learning English grammar……… 24

3.1.9 Students’ preference for the teachers’ grammar presentation approaches .… 25

3.1.10 Students’ favourite grammar practice activities……….…….… …….26

3.1.11 Expectation for a better and more effective grammar lesson………… … …26

3.2 Results from class observations ……… ……… … ……… ……28

3.3 Summary……… ……….……….……… 29

CHAPTER 4: MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS….30 4.1 Major findings and discussions……… …… 30

4.1.1 Students’ difficulties……… ………30

4.1.1.1 Lack of grammar knowledge……… ……….30

4.1.1.2 Lack of motivation………30

4.1.1.3 Ineffective learning strategies……… 31

4.1.2 Factors affecting students’ learning……… 31

4.1.2.1 Teachers’ factors……… ………31

4.1.2.2 Students’ factors……… ……… ………31

4.1.2.3 Classroom factors……… ……….32

4.1.2.4 Materials factors……… … ………32

4.2 Recommendations……….32

4.2.1 For teachers……… ….33

4.2.1.1 Adapting and improving grammar materials……….33

4.2.1.2 Improving teachers’ methods……….33

4.2.1.3 Helping students to be confident……… ……33

4.2.1.4 Giving homework and checking the previous lesson frequently… …34

4.2.1.5 Guiding students’ home revision……… 34

4.2.2 For students……… 34

4.2.2.1 Being aware of grammar……….……… … 34

4.2.2.2 Cooperating with teacher and students ……….34

4.2.2.3 Working meticulously……….… 35

4.2.2.4 Practising and revising………35

4.2.2.5 Learning from mistakes……….………….…….… 35

4.3 Summary……… ……… ……… 36

PART C: CONCLUSION ……… ……… ………37

1 Summary of the study ……… ……….……… … …….37

2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study ……… …….….39

REFERENCES ……… ……… … 40

APPENDICES……… ……… ……… I Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for students ……….…… I Appendix 2: Classroom observation checklists ……… …VI Appendix 3: Classroom observation checklists ……… …… … VIII Appendix 4: Classroom observation checklists ……… ………….….X

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Tables:

Table 1: The use of students’ language

Table 2: Language mainly used in English lessons

Table 3: Students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English

Table 4: Ways of learning English grammar

Table 5: the students’ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

Table 6: Students’ level of difficulties in learning English grammar

Table 7: Reasons for difficulties in learning English grammar

Table 8: Students’ favourite grammar practice activities

Table 9: Suggestions for learning grammar better and more effective

Charts:

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

Chart 2: Time for learning English compared with other subjects

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

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

Chart 5: Students’ preference for the teachers’ grammar presentation approaches

PART A: INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the methodology of the study was presented The research questions, subjects of the study, procedures and data collection will be described in detail

1 Rationale of the study

[

Caobang is a mountainous province in the North –East of Vietnam The province of Caobang is home to many people belonging to Vietnam's ethnic minority groups There are 28 ethnic minority groups living there and the most notable of these are the Tay, Nung, Dao, and

are ethnic minority of Tay, Nung and Dao groups There have been many difficulties in life as well as in education development, especially in the development of teaching and learning a foreign language like English The students here considered the language of their groups their mother tongue, Vietnamese is the second language and English is a foreign language

For students at Canh Tan High School, learning grammar is an important task The students at Canh Tan High School are ethnic minority so they find learning grammar the most challenging to them in acquiring English Therefore, they often raise many questions about how to learn grammar in an effective way

Facing these situations, the teachers at Canh Tan High School want to do something to change the ways of teaching and learning grammar Therefore, a research has been conducted

to find out the current situation of learning English grammar and the difficulties of students in learning English grammar at Canh Tan High School The researcher wishes to help students successfully improve their knowledge and feel more interested in grammar lessons

2 Aims of the study

With the rationale above, my study was conducted with the aims:

- To investigate the difficulties of 10th form students in learning English grammar

- To investigate factors affecting the grammar acquisition

- To recommend some solutions for students to overcome these difficulties

3 Research questions

The research was carried out with an attempt to find out the answers to the following questions:

1 What are the main difficulties in learning English grammar?

2 What are the causes of these difficulties?

3 What are the suggested solutions to overcome the difficulties?

4 Significance of the study

It is hoped that the findings and recommendations of this study will be helpful to the improvement of learning English grammar of Vietnamese students in general and of Canh Tan High School students in particular The study also gives some guidelines for teachers to help their students overcome their grammar learning problems The results of this study may also

be useful for those who are interested in this field

5 Methods of the study

The research is done by both quantitative and qualitative methods The instruments were used to collect data from the teachers and students at Canh Tan high school with the intention

of addressing the aims of the study

Questionnaire instrument was used to investigate the current situation of learning English grammar of students, their difficulties, the causes for the difficulties

Class observation was employed to get information about the teacher’s methods and the students’ ways of learning English grammar The researcher observed three lessons at different classes but with only one teacher

6 Scope of the study

The study focuses on the learning English grammar of 10th form students in Language Focus lessons in the new standard textbook 10 at Canh Tan High School

7 Design of the study

This study is divided into three parts:

The first part is “Introduction” In this part the rationale, the aims, research questions,

scope, methods, significance and design of the study are presented

The second part is “Development”, which consists of four chapters:

*Chapter one, “Literature Review”, provides concepts relevant to the study such as the

definition of grammar and its role in language teaching and learning, methods of teaching English grammar and factors affecting grammar acquisition

*Chapter two, “Methodology”, gives an insight into the research methods to find out the

answers to the research questions This chapter also gives brief information on the subjects, the instruments to collect data employed to seek for the answers to the research questions

*Chapter three, “Data presentation and Discussion”, presents the data collected from the

survey questionnaire, classroom observations and the discussion of these data

*Chapter four, “Major findings, discussion and recommendations” – proposes major findings, discussion and some solutions to help students to overcome the difficulties they face when learning English grammar The third part is “Conclusion”, which rounds up the main

results of the study, the conclusions, limitation of the study and some suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1 Major findings and discussions

From the data collection and analysis, the researcher found out that there are some difficulties in learning English grammar to ethnic students at Canh Tan High School: the students’ difficulties, and the factors that caused these difficulties

1.1 Students’ difficulties

From the data analysis, the students’ difficulties can be categorized into the three main problems which are lack of grammar knowledge, lack of motivation and ineffective learning strategies

1.1.1 Lack of grammar knowledge

Language knowledge is the foundation of learning English If students’ knowledge of grammar is insufficient, it is probable that their English will be negatively affected by lack of language knowledge We know that fundamental knowledge is one of the essential conditions

to a learner to master a new language, but for ethnic minority students, the fundamental knowledge is really a problem Many 10th form students at Canh Tan High School get in trouble with low level of grammar knowledge They often confuse the structures and their uses, such as preposition, tenses of verbs, etc Sometimes they can’t distinguish between English structures and Vietnamese structures Thus lack of fundamental knowledge can reduce English grammar level

1.1.2 Lack of motivation

Motivation is related to success in second language learning It plays an important role in any language learning However, the students at Canh Tan High School lack of motivation They have realized the importance of learning English, but they are not motivated in learning

it Also, they often feel troublesome, nervous and less concentrative on the grammar lessons

In fact, lack of success in doing grammar exercises or get bad marks can cause dispiritedness, and lead to a spiral of expecting failure Consequently, results in their self- confidence in