A minor study on some major methods of teaching English grammar to the 10th - form students currently applied by teachers at Yen Vien High school

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Students‟ attitudes towards learning English at Yen Vien High School 29 Table 2: Students‟ purposes of learning English 31 Table 3: Reasons why respon

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THI ̣ THU

A MINOR STUDY ON SOME MAJOR METHODS OF TEACHING

APPLIED BY TEACHERS AT YEN VIEN HIGH SCHOOL

(MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU NHỎ VỀ CÁC PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHÍNH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 ĐANG ĐƯỢC ÁP

DỤNG TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN VIÊN)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English teaching methodology

Code: 60 14 10

Hanoi, September 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THI ̣ THU

A MINOR STUDY ON SOME MAJOR METHODS OF TEACHING

CURRENTLY APPLIED BY TEACHERS AT YEN VIEN HIGH

SCHOOL

(MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU NHỎ VỀ CÁC PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHÍNH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 ĐANG ĐƯỢC ÁP

DỤNG TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN VIÊN)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English teaching methodology Code: 60 14 10

Supervisor: Phạm Thị Thanh Thủy, M A

Hanoi, September 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Candidate‟s statement i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iii

List of abbreviations iv

List of tables and figures v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1

1.2 The aims of the study 2

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Methods of the study 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Scope of the study 4

1.7 Design of the study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 What is grammar? 5

2.2 Different views on teaching grammar 6

2.2.1 Whether or not to teach grammar? 6

2.2.2 How to teach grammar? 7

2.2.3 What to teach in a grammar lesson? 8

2.3 Methods of teaching grammar 9

2.3.1 Grammar Translation Method (GTM) 9

2.3.2 The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 10

2.3.3 The Task-based Approach (TBA) 12

2.3.4 There is no best method for all? 14

2.4 Issues about how to teach grammar 14

2.4.1 Should we use grammatical explanations and technical terminology in a CLT

classroom? 15

2.4.2 Should teachers correct grammatical errors? 15

2.5 Criteria to choose an appropriate method 16

2.6 Criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods 16

2.7 Summary 17

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18

3.1 Research questions and method orientation 18

3.2 Selections of subjects 18

3.3 Research instruments 19

3.3.1 Class observations 19

3.3.2 Questionnaires 20

3.3.2.1 Student questionnaire 20

3.3.2.2 Teacher questionnaire 21

3.3.3 Follow-up interviews 21

3.4 Procedures of data analysis 23

3.5 Summary 23

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS 24

4.1 Class observations 24

4.2 Questionnaires 26

4.2.1 Student questionnaire 26

4.2.1.1 Students‟ attitudes toward learning English 26

4.2.1.2 Students‟ purposes of learning English 28

4.2.1.3 Students‟ awareness of the role of grammar in reaching their purposes 29

4.2.1.4 Students‟ expectations for a grammar lesson in class 31

4.2.1.5 Students‟ evaluation of grammar lessons in class 32

4.2.2 Teacher questionnaire 36

4.2.2.1 Teachers‟ awareness of the purposes of teaching English at high school and the role of grammar in reaching those purposes 36

4.2.2.2 Teachers‟ focuses when teaching a new grammatical point 37

4.2.2.3 Teachers‟ reasons for choosing their current teaching methods 39

4.2.2.4 Teachers‟ evaluation of their teaching methods 40

4.3 Follow-up interviews 42

4.3.1 Follow-up interviews for students 42

4.3.2 Follow-up interviews for teachers 44

4.4 Summary 46

PART C: CONCLUSION 48

5.1 Summary of the findings 48

5.2 Pedagogical implications 49

5.3 Limitations of the research 50

5.4 Recommendations for further research 51

5.5 Conclusion 51

REFERENCES 53 APPENDIXES I

Transcription of class observation 2 I

Transcription of class observation 3 III

Student questionnaire VI Teacher questionnaire X

Follow-up interview for students XIV

Follow-up interview for teachers XVII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching DM: Direct Method

ELT: English language teaching

GTM: Grammar Translation Method MOET: Ministry of Education and Training NA: Natural Approach

TBA: Task-based Approach

YV HS: Yen Vien High School

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Students‟ attitudes towards learning English at Yen Vien High School 29

Table 2: Students‟ purposes of learning English 31

Table 3: Reasons why respondents think of the role of English grammar 33

Table 4: Students‟ expectations for a grammar lesson in class 35

Table 5: Students‟ evaluation of the time for communicative activities 39

Table 6: Teachers‟ aims in teaching English to students 41

Table 7: Teachers‟ focuses when teaching grammar to students 42

Table 8: Teachers‟ reasons for choosing the current teaching method 43

Table 9: Factors teachers base on to choose a teaching method 44

Table 10: Teachers‟ evaluation of their teaching methods 45

Table 11: Teachers‟ evaluation of their teaching methods in detailed factors 45

Figures Figure 1: Students‟ evaluation of grammar lessons in class 36

Figure 2: Students‟ evaluation of the presentation of grammar points 37

Figure 3: Students‟ evaluation of pronunciation teaching 38

Figure 4: Students‟ evaluations of the effectiveness of communicative activities 39

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

English language has been the most popular international language for ages In the new era of high technology and communication, English is playing a more and more important role and having a strong impact on many fields of the society Under this impact, the demand for communicative competence in English is increasing in every corner of the world

In terms of teching English as a foreign or secondary language, recent research turns to realize that the best method never existed and will never exist because teaching situations are different in all places As a result, a tailored method rather than a mass-produced one is required to correspond with them

To speak about learners, it is notable that the views of learners have changed a lot Learners are now recognized as individuals with their own identities, i.e they are different in expectations, interests, styles, personalities as well as learning experience Instead of sitting passively in classrooms and trying to absorb whatever teachers give them, they have now become the center of the classroom activities under the widely accepted principle: learner-centeredness Accordingly, all these differences among learners have to be carefully considered before preparing and conducting the classroom activities

Also, research figures out teachers‟ roles should be changed as well Instead of being the controller and informant in class, the teacher now has to play a wide range of roles depending

on the specific situations With students‟ activeness in class, the teacher now works as a facilitator, an encourager, an organizer and a guide In class, student-student interactions, then student-teacher ones should become the dominant activities in classrooms

To cover all these changes in language teaching within this thesis is an impossible mission In this thesis, the author would like to narrow herself by focusing on grammar teaching only in a high school to find out how the above changes are impacting the teaching and learning process, what methods are being used to teach grammar and how effective these methods are She chose grammar teaching as her focus in this thesis because of some reasons

First, English grammar has always played the most important role in the Vietnamese context through the grammar-based university entrance examinations as well as other grammar tests at school of all levels Therefore, learners‟ aim of learning English used to be to pass these important exams Secondly, many high schools in Vietnam have been criticized for the teaching methods in which grammar is taught explicitly and then practiced in a huge number

of written grammar exercises without any interaction among students and little between students and their teacher/s Teachers have been unique controllers in class Learners‟ needs, interests, learning styles, etc are often neglected Thirdly, with this thesis, the author hopes to answer her question on how grammar teaching in Vietnam should be changed to adapt to the changes of ELT in the world and learners‟ demands The last reason is related to her personal profession As a teacher of English, she has realized that it is really a challenging task to make grammar teaching satisfactory to students She has constantly wondered how to deal with grammar more effectively in classrooms The answers to this question and the above would be

of great help to the writer as well as to other colleagues

1.2 The aims of the study

With the presented rationale, the specific aims of the study, accordingly, are:

 To investigate how English grammar is currently being taught at Yen Vien High School and what methods are being used to teach it

 To evaluate the effectiveness of those methods as perceived by teachers and learners at the school

 To suggest some changes to make grammar teaching much more effective

Among these aims, the second one is the author‟s priority in this research To achieve this aim, two other specific objectives were established The first sub-objective is to find out the learners‟ English learning expectations and their learning style preferences These factors are crucial to affect the effectiveness of grammar learning and teaching and learners‟ evaluation of the effectiveness The second is to understand the students‟ and teachers‟ views on the current grammar teaching methods with the aim of narrowing the gap between grammar teaching and learning

1.3 Research questions

To achieve the aims and objectives of the thesis, the following research questions were proposed: (1) How is grammar being taught at YV High School? Specifically, what methods are being used to teach grammar? (2) How effective are these methods in the opinion of teachers and students at YV HS? (3) What can be done to make grammar teaching at YV HS more effective?

1.4 Methods of the study

To reach the above aims, the study has been carried out with data collected from three different sources: (1) class observation (2) questionnaires and (3) follow-up interviews All these instruments will be described in detail in Chapter 3

1.5 Significance of the study

It is hoped that the findings from this study will be of some benefits to the teachers in Vietnamese high schools in general, at YV HS in particular, especially those who are engaged

in grammar teaching The study contributes to our understanding of the effectiveness of the current grammar teaching methods based on teachers‟ and learners‟ evaluation and offers some suggestions of needed changes to minimize the gap between the learners‟ expectations, interests and the actual practice of teaching and learning

1.6 Scope of the study

As stated above, the study is conducted to find out the evaluations of learners and teachers towards the effectiveness of the grammar teaching methodologies currently applied in order to make some methodological recommendations of grammar teaching The study is, therefore, explorative by nature Besides, with the aims of the study, the researcher limited herself to concentrate on a group of grade 10 students at Yen Vien High School in Hanoi

1.7 Design of the study

This thesis contains five chapters

- Chapter One presents the state of the problem and rationale, the aims, the research questions, the significance as well as the scope of the study

- Chapter Two prepares the theoretical background for the thesis concerning grammar teaching methods and criteria to evaluate the efficiency of teaching methods

- Chapter Three describes in details the methodology underlying the research

- Chapter Four provides specific description of data analysis, a thorough discussion of the findings of the study and some recommendations as well

- Chapter Five is the conclusions

- The Appendixes are the last part of the study, following the References

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

This chapter will present the theoretical background needed for the research by discussing the definition of grammar, different views of teaching grammar, grammar teaching methods, main issues in grammar teaching, criteria to choose an appropriate teaching method as well as criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of a teaching method

2.1 What is grammar?

It is the fact that there are quite a few different definitions of grammar given by varied academic schools However, this study just quotes and discusses two definitions which are relevant to the research aims

The first definition is made by Leech G., Deuchar M & Hoogenraad R (2005) These authors consider grammar as a set of rules which allow users of a language to create speech and writing by combining words together in a meaningful way Whereas users apply grammar all the time, they fail to perceive them consciously Besides, grammar has a very close, interactive relationship with semantics (meaning), phonology (sounds or speaking) and writing systems With this definition, the authors have succeeded in giving a quite complete overview of grammar as well as highlighting its relationship with other fields of language like semantics, phonology as well as writing systems Clearly, people do not use grammar for its own sake, but use it as an effective tool to express accurately and automatically what they want to communicate Nevertheless, whereas this definition is a good one, it limits grammar within the level of a sentence only It can be questioned about grammar among the larger units like sentences, or more

Brown (1994) approaches grammar in a quite different way He defines grammar in a larger unit, not within a sentence but a discourse In fact, he tries to make clear their distinction According to him, grammar is a set of rules controlling the order and the connection of words

in the level of a sentence only The system of discourse rules shares this function, but in the broader level – among sentences Brown also emphasizes that grammatical competence is very important in communicative competence In fact, the close intercombination between grammar, semantics and pragmatics form the necessary and sufficient conditions for all creation and digestion in language The lack of one of them can make communication fail Specifically, grammar helps us construct a sentence, semantics makes that sentence meaningful and pragmatics enables us to understand the meaning more correctly in a certain context The master of this intercombination is crucial in successful language communication

To sum up, it can be said that the definition of Brown (1994) has covered all the main points

of grammar the other authors discuss First, grammar is a set of rules or patterns controlling the sequence and the mutual interaction of words in the level of a sentence only Secondly, discourse is grammar but active in the larger units Thirdly, grammar exists in the close and interactive relationship with the other factors of a language including semantics, phonology and the writing systems Finally, grammar competence is one of the needed conditions for communicative competence

2.2 Different views on teaching grammar

Grammar has played a very important role in language teaching for decades In some places, teaching grammar is teaching the language However, with the remarkable change in the needs

of learners and requirements of the new era, a huge amount of research has focused on grammar teaching to discuss all issues related to it Different ideas are proposed on teaching grammar; however, they share in some points

2.2.1 Whether or not to teach grammar?

Quite a few authors question whether or not to teach grammar This idea has been actively discussed for long Krashen (1983) is the typical author who supports no formal grammar teaching in class He claims that language should be acquired through natural exposure and comprehensible input Even though Krashen‟s Natural Approach has great contributions to the

teaching and learning process, it has been criticized for fossilized non-standard variants of the target language However, all in all, with the legitimate arguments and the experience of a teacher, Brown (1994) confidently states that judicious attention to grammatical form in the language learning classroom is not only helpful if appropriate techniques are used, but also essential to a speedy learning process

2.2.2 How to teach grammar?

The next issue which is widely discussed by numerous authors is how to teach grammar Specifically, ideas focus on whether to teach grammar explicitly (or deductive or overt grammar teaching) or implicitly (or inductive or covert teaching) and whether to follow learner-centered or teacher-centered approach

According to implicit approach, the students are presented with examples first and then they are guided to figure out the rule or generalization from the examples A clear grammar explanation may never be given from their teacher Explicit one is different because in this approach, a rule or generalization is first given by the teacher or textbook and then students are allowed to practice various instances of language to which the rule applies (Brown, 1994)

Many authors (Brown, 1994; Hartnett, 1985; Gardner, 2008, etc.) discuss this issue and agree

in some points First, generally, an implicit approach is more in favor because it allows students to discover some aspects of language before getting to know grammatical explanations so that it builds more intrinsic motivation among them However, in some cases,

an explicit approach or a blend between the two is more appropriate In fact, the distinction between these approaches in a lesson is not always apparent All in all, the choice should depend on specific teaching contexts

The learner-centered approach‟s principle is that the emphasis in the teaching and learning process at all times should be on the learner, not the teacher (Stevick, 1982) Stevick also notes that learner-centeredness does not imply that teachers should abandon the classroom to

the learners, and that there should be a number of legitimate teacher functions in learner- as well as teacher-centered classrooms

After a large amount of research, authors come to a conclusion that whereas students prefer moving from teacher-centered to more learner-centered class, they still think both of these approaches are useful All in all, it is a good idea for teachers to make use of all these approaches to satisfy students

2.2.3 What to teach in a grammar lesson?

Another hot issue related to grammar teaching is what to teach in a grammar lesson, i.e we should focus on forms or functions or any others

According to Harmer (1987), language is used actually to do things, to perform certain

functions, like inviting, apologizing, introducing and so on Therefore, instead of teaching grammar, teachers should teach functions to students even though their grammatical base should be insured as well Clear evidence is that modern courses often teach a grammatical structure and then get students to use it as part of a functional conversation

Freeman (2003) shares Harmer‟s ideas to some extent However, she asserts that teaching grammar includes teaching form, meaning and use as well She clarifies that teaching those three dimensions is really important because it will make students have enough knowledge to reach the primary goal of learning a language which, after all, is to enable to communicate in the target language However, she also notes that language functions might be emphasized over forms (Freeman, 2000)

In short, authors confirm the necessity of teaching grammar to student, because if appropriate techniques are used, grammar can effectively assist students in the learning process To help learners communicate well and appropriately in the target language, it is necessary that teachers teach them the form, meaning and use of any grammar The exclusion of any

dimension can badly affect students As a teacher, we can choose any method or a combination of some to serve best our students‟ interests, needs, personalities and experience

2.3 Methods of teaching grammar

First, what is method? Generally, method is “a way of doing something” (Cambridge Advanced Learners‟ Dictionary, 2003) Pedagogically, method is overall means of achieving the general objectives of a course via conducting a set of procedures, techniques or activities (Johnson & Morrow, 1981) Method is often mistaken with the other terms – approach and methodology However, their distinction is quite ambiguous and vague Therefore, it should be unnecessary to try to distinguish them (Canh, 2004) The writer would use these terms interchangeably in this thesis as a result

A large number of different teaching methods fell in and fell out of fashion in the process of searching for the best method for all In this thesis, the author presents only relevant methods

to get the firm background for the research With each method, the characteristics, the

strengths as well as the limits relating to grammar teaching will be discussed (the author‟s

emphasis)

2.3.1 Grammar Translation Method (GTM)

According to Brown (1994), the first dominant teaching method is grammar translation one It

is based on the principles that languages are not being taught primarily to learn oral/ aural communication but to learn for the sake of being scholarly

Its main features are indicated very clearly by Prator and Celce-Muricia (1979) as classes are taught in the mother tongue with little use of the target language; long elaborate explanations

of the intricacies of grammar are given; and instructions often focus on the form; little or no attention is given to pronunciation Besides, in GTM, the teacher is the authority in classrooms and it is very important that students get the correct answer Most of the interaction in the

classroom is activated by the teacher to the students and there is little student initiation and little student-student interaction (Freeman, 2000)

Two main drawbacks of GTM are no help to students‟ communicative ability in the target language and the sluggishness in updating language skills and other knowledge among teachers (Brown, 1994) Moreover, GTM seems to badly affect learners‟ motivation due to compulsory memorization of endless lists of unusable grammar rules (Richards & Rodgers, 1986) However, the fact is that this method is now still used widely because it allows teachers

to be lazy to work hard It is also much easier to design and more objective to mark a test on grammar and translation than on other language skills

2.3.2 The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

CLT can be said to be the current dominant methodology (Brown, 1994: 77) It starts with a theory of language as communication, and its goal is to develop learners‟ communicative competence Communicative competence means knowing when and how to say what to whom (Canale & Swain, 1980) It includes four dimensions existing in the close inter-relationship: grammatical, linguistic, discourse, and strategic competences This relationship asserts the necessity of grammar to become proficient in communication

Based on the research of Li (2001), Nunan (1991a: 279) and Freeman (1986), CLT is characterized by: its focus on communicative functions, on meaningful tasks rather than on language (e.g., grammar or vocabulary study) even though learners still have chances to learn about the language; tasks and language relevant to a target group of learners; a lot of interactions in the target language via the use of group activities and pair works; a secure, non-threatening learning atmosphere; learner-centeredness and material choices based on students‟ needs

Harmer (2001) specifies CLT‟s features with the two terms „what to teach‟ and „how to teach‟

In terms of „what to teach‟, CLT stresses the significance of language functions rather than language study A guiding principle is to train students to use these language forms

appropriately in a variety of contexts and for a variety of purposes The „how to teach‟ aspect

of CLT is closely related to the idea that it is plentiful exposure to language in use and plenty

of opportunities to use it are vitally important for a student‟s development of knowledge and skill Activities in CLT typically involve students in real or realistic communication, where the accuracy of the language they use is less important than successful achievement of the communicative task they are performing

Concerning learners‟ and teachers‟ roles in CLT, learners are expected to be much more active

in the interaction with their own learning, their partners, teachers and materials (Nunan, 1989) The roles of teachers are also more varied than in the past Instead of being the knowledge-giver and unique controller in classes, they are now organizer, guide, facilitator of the communication process, participant within the learning-teaching group, researcher-learner (Breen and Candlin, 1980) and „need analyst‟ (Nunan 1988)

CLT has left an indelible mark on teaching and learning, resulting in the use of communicative activities in classrooms all over the world (Harmer, 2001) It is proven that this method can help develop learners‟ communicative skills in the target language, enhance their confidence

as well as their motivation in the learning process

Apart from the above strong points, CLT also has some shortcomings First, CLT demands a relatively uncontrolled range of language use on the part of the student, and expects the teacher to be able to respond to any language problem which may come up This is really a big challenge for non-native teachers whose spoken English, strategic and sociolinguistic competences are still limited Second, that CLT mainly focuses on fluency over accuracy meets the resistance from teachers and students in places where grammar-based testing system

is still popular (Harmer, 2001; Defeng Li, 2001) The last but not least hindrance comes from learners Their low English proficiency, little motivation for communicative competence and resistance to class participation into non-traditional pair work and group work activities keep

them refusing to accept CLT Some other conditions of the environment like large classes, testing system and education policy are also unfavorable to CLT

2.3.3 The Task-based Approach (TBA)

Among recent manifestations of CLT, task-based instruction has emerged as a major focal

point of language teaching practice worldwide

First, what is task? Task is simply “an activity which requires learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective” (Skehan, 2003: 3) Task-based learning is not a new method Rather, it simply puts a set of communicative tasks at the center of one‟s methodological focus

David Nunan (1991a: 279) gives us some characteristics of a task-based approach to language teaching: emphasis on learning to communicate through abundant interaction in the target language; use of authentic texts in the learning situation; attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom Teachers‟ roles are also the same as their roles in CLT above

With regards to basic stages of the Task-based methodology, Willis (1996: 52) suggests three stages: the Pre-task, the Task cycle, and Language focus In the Pre-task, the teacher explores the topic with the class and may highlight useful words and phrases, and helps students to understand the task instructions During the Task cycle, the students perform the task in pairs

or small groups while the teacher monitors from a distance The students then plan how they will tell the rest of the class what they did and how it went, and they then report on the task either orally or in writing In the Language focus stage, the students examine and discuss specific features of any listening or reading text which they have looked at for the task and/ or the teacher may conduct some form of practice of specific language features which the task has provoked

Clearly, to complete a task, students have to interact with their partners Such interaction is thought to facilitate language acquisition as learners have to work to understand each other and to express their own meaning By so doing, they have to check to see if they have comprehended correctly and, at times, they have to seek clarification Also, they get to listen

to language which may be beyond their present ability, but which may be assimilated into their knowledge of the target language for use at a later time (Candlin & Murphy, 1987:1)

At first glance, CLT and TBA may not seem so different However, while the task in CLT lessons is to get students to practice a communicative function, the task-based lesson does not focus on a particular function or even a particular form of the language but a wide variety of linguistic forms at the same time to conduct the task (Long 1989)

Prabhu identified three types of tasks in TBA: information-gap activity, opinion-gap activity and reasoning-gap activity Information-gap activity involves the exchange of information among participants in order to complete a task Opinion-gap activity requires that students give their personal preferences, feelings, or attitudes in order to complete a task A reasoning-gap activity requires students to derive some new information by inferring it from information they have been given

TBA shows its outstanding strength to develop learners‟ communicative skills through meaningful tasks With TBA, learners are believed to increase needed competence for successful communication However, critics of TBA have worried about its applicability to lower learning levels They also add that tasks should not be considered as the basis for an entire pedagogical methodology because the kind of interaction which typical tasks promote leads to the use of specific „task-solving‟ linguistic forms rather than the kind of language expected from discussion, debate, or social interaction of other kinds

2.3.4 There is no best method for all?

For much of its history, language teaching has been obsessed with a search for the „right‟ method which would work for all learners in all contexts (Richards 1987) More recently, it has been realized that that ideal method would never be the case because there are important variations in the teaching context that influence what is best

However, there still exists a relative best method for a specific situation and “it all depends,” (Prabhu, 1990:162-163) Candlin (1991) shares Prabhu‟s ideas and adds that only the teacher can decide which is the best method for his/ her own situation by choosing the best of what others have experienced with and adapt or tailor it to his/her own situation

Hilles (1988) proposes another idea for this situation Based on her research, she concludes that it is probably the case that students do best in classes in which the teacher varies the approach in order to accommodate all learning styles To prevent this lack of differentiation, she supports an approach to teaching grammar which encourages learners to use their eyes, their ears, and as many of the other senses as possible She continues that if a certain grammar instruction seems appropriate for a class, the teacher‟s next step is to integrate grammar principles into a communicative framework, since communication is the fundamental purpose

of language In other words, grammar points should be taught and practiced in realistic and effective contextualization to provide students a whole picture of English and enable them to apply what they have learned in actual situations better, even though this task is not always easy

2.4 Issues about how to teach grammar

There are many issues about how to teach grammar, but in this study, just two main ones are listed

2.4.1 Should we use grammatical explanations and technical terminology in a CLT classroom?

Brown (1994) also warns English teachers to be very cautious to explain grammar and its terms, or else they will make their students more overloaded with complicated knowledge However, he emphasizes that if they give grammatical explanation skillfully, their adult learners can find it very useful

Haycraft (1992) suggests one tip to help teachers work out explanation effectively The tip is that if there is a point a teacher wishes to explain to his/ her students, try to work it out for himself/ herself by deductive analysis first Specifically, he/she should base on typical contrasting examples to think of explanations and make sure the explanations are easy for them to understand Then, teachers should try to involve their students in that process of deduction as well If doing so, learners will understand the point more clearly Teachers should let students look at the examples and find out the difference The more teachers involve students, the more motivated they will be

2.4.2 Should teachers correct grammatical errors?

For this issue, Brown (1994) also discusses the two sides of the problem He concludes that teachers should pay attention to and help students overcome grammatical errors, but in a tactful way so that students‟ communicative flows are not interrupted Li (2001) agrees with Brown but warns that teachers should make grammar the end of their teaching to prevent learners‟ communicative activities from being interrupted

It should also be noted that learners will never truly attend to form unless they want to and are able to They will learn best once they have achieved basic comprehension and can accept feedback on the form of their production in meaningful discourse, either spoken or written In other words, feedback on form becomes more important after the student has acquired minimal competence and can absorb this feedback (Marianne Celce-Murcia Sharon Hilles, 1988)

2.5 Criteria to choose an appropriate method

Stevick (1982) and Candlin (1991) argue that success or failure in language teaching depends not so much on whether one adopts inductive or deductive techniques for teaching grammar,

or whether one engages in meaningful practice rather than in pattern drills, but in the extent to which one caters to the learner-related factors Therefore, if a method is chosen, it should encourage learners to adopt the right attitudes, interests and motivation in the target language and culture, as well as in the learning environment in which they find themselves, and then successful learning will occur In contrast, if these affective factors are not right, then no set of techniques is likely to succeed

The factor proposed above seems to be quite abstract whereas it is extremely difficult to conclude which approaches and methods are most appropriate for one‟s own teaching situations To make this process easier, based on common conclusions of other research, Harmer (2001) creates very clearly a list of important elements including constant exposure to language; comprehensible input and some conscious language study to help students remember language facts; application of CLT and TBA as a key part of teaching process to offer real learning benefits together with some other supplementary methods; relaxing learning environment for learning to take place; chances for students to discover the language themselves for better retention in the long run; teaching grammar and lexis semantically and pragmatically; and the harmony between methodology and learners‟ culture Harmer also reminds teachers that they should use up all these flexibly to decide what and how to teach, especially, what seems to work in their own contexts

2.6 Criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods

Effectiveness is a state when you “successfully achieve the results that you want” (Cambridge Advanced Learners‟ Dictionary) Therefore, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching methods, it is necessary to find out the results the teaching and learning process wants to achieve, then compare between these results and the actual achievements of teachers to see

how much they met In teaching, those results exist in the form of aims set by educational institutions and expectations of the learners

In this study, the author concentrates on finding out the goals of the teaching which are set by MOET (Ministry of Education and Training), the needs and interests of the learners, the teaching methods currently applied and then evaluating whether or not those goals are met

2.7 Summary

This chapter has covered theoretical background needed to support the study That background includes the clear definition of grammar, noticeable views of grammar teaching, some relevant grammar teaching methodologies, considerable issues related to this issue, criteria to choose

an appropriate teaching method as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of one method The next chapter describes the research methodology in detail

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents a detailed description of the research methodology the author chose for the achievement of the aims and objectives of the study and the data collection and analysis procedures

3.1 Research questions and method orientation

As stated in 1.3, this study was designed to seek answers to the following questions: (1) How

is English grammar being taught at YV High School? Specifically, what methods are being used to teach English grammar? (2) How effective are these methods as perceived by teachers and students at YV HS? (3) What can be done to make English grammar teaching at YV HS more effective? The answers to these questions would help us realize the current changes in

terms of grammar methodologies as well as its gap in comparison with learners‟ needs and interests

To give the best answers to these questions the author employed both qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods The combination of the two is believed to gain deeper data for analysis

3.2 Selection of subjects

This study was carried out with three 10th classes at Yen Vien High School in Hanoi Each class has 50 students, both male and female They all have studied English since grade 3 and followed the new English textbook series applied by MOET (Ministry of Education and Training) since they were in grade 6 The new textbooks were expected to incorporate the latest methodology in second language teaching – CLT with task-based approach and learner-centeredness (Hoang et al 2006) Also, these 3 classes are taught by Vietnamese teachers of English

The reason for choosing grade 10 is that these students have had up to four years‟ experience

of learning English at secondary school and one more year at high school with the new textbook series and they are, therefore, supposed to have much to say about grammar teaching and learning What is more, students in grade 10 seem to be more relaxed than ones in grade

11 or 12, who are more preoccupied with examination preparation so their response to the research question may be affected by their examination-biased perspectives

Those three classes were randomly chosen to conduct class observation for English periods After the class observation, 30 students were selected by chance to answer the student questionnaire The other questionnaire – the teacher one - was delivered to three observed teachers After the questionnaires had been analyzed, 15 student respondents (five from each observed class) were chosen randomly and all teacher ones were selected for a follow-up interview for more in-depth data The interview was consisted of questions the answers to which needed to be more clarified as well as questions to get further information which the questionnaires failed to obtain

3.3 Research instruments

As briefly stated above, to obtain data for the study, three different instruments were employed: class observations, questionnaires and follow-up informal interviews with both students and teachers

3.3.1 Class observations

Class observations were performed to have real experience of the actual practice of grammar teaching and students‟ attitudes towards those ways of teaching

The researcher intended to attend as many classes as possible, however, most teachers refused

to let her observe their classes with the reasons that their classes had finished the learning programs and turned to revision for exams and that class observations, therefore, would be of little help for her thesis Fortunately, after much effort, the writer got the permission from

three other teachers The observation, then, was conducted randomly in three English periods with these teachers at three different classes of grade 10 Each teacher was observed once with very short notice (5 minutes) before their period in the hope that their lessons would be conducted naturally and objectively

The author acted as a non-participant observer and videotaped the classroom procedures These notes were then transcribed and analyzed to find out how grammar is being taught and what methods are being used to teach grammar as well as students‟ overall reactions to them

3.3.2 Questionnaires

3.3.2.1 Student questionnaire

After the lessons, 30 students in each class were chosen by chance to answer the student questionnaires These questionnaires aimed at exploring students‟ needs, expectations, their attitudes towards the currently used grammar teaching methods and their suggestions about changes The results of these questionnaires were then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to reach the most remarkable issues

The student questionnaire included 7 questions both closed and open-ended to ensure deep data (see Appendix 3), but to make it easy for respondents to give the best answers, the closed ones outnumbered the open 5 to 2 A closed item is one in which the range of possible responses is determined by the researcher, whereas an open item is one in which the respondents can decide what to say and how to say it (Nunan 1992: 143) All questions were written in Vietnamese to ensure students‟ accurate understanding of all the questions before answering them Their answers were also written in Vietnamese which enabled them to express their ideas fully and easily

The questions focus on the following categories: students‟ general attitudes towards learning English (Q1); their purposes of studying English (Q2); their awareness of the importance of grammar in reaching those purposes (Q3); their expectations for a grammar lesson in class

(Q4); their evaluation of the effectiveness of the current grammar teaching methods, and their suggestions for necessary changes to increase the effectiveness of such method (Q5); their preference for and boredom with grammar lessons they have experienced (Q6, Q7)

3.3.2.2 Teacher questionnaire

Like the questionnaire for students, the questionnaire for teachers also included both open and close-ended questions Even though high school teachers should have good competence in English and deep professional knowledge, the questions were asked and answered in Vietnamese as well so that teachers could feel easy to fully express what they really mean

This questionnaire aimed to find out: teachers‟ awareness of the aims of teaching and learning English at high school (Q1,Q2); their perception of the role of grammar in gaining such aims (Q3); their common ways of teaching grammar in class (Q4); their focuses in a grammar lesson (Q5); the reasons why they used such methods to teach grammar (Q6); the factors they often base on to choose a method of teaching grammar (Q7); their evaluation of the effectiveness of their grammar teaching methods and their students‟ preference for such methods (Q8); their intention of changes to increase the effectiveness of the methods (Q9); and their perception of a successful grammar lecture (Q10) (See Appendix 4 for details)

There were 7 teachers in charge of teaching English for all classes of grade 10 However, just three observed teachers agreed to answer the questionnaire Like students‟ responses, their answers, then, were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively as well

To enable all the student and teacher respondents to have enough time to answer, they were allowed to bring the questionnaires home and required to return on the next day

3.3.3 Follow-up interviews

As stated above, after the questionnaires had been analyzed, 15 student respondents including

7 males and 8 females at the same age of 16 (5 in each observed class) were chosen randomly

and all teacher ones (all of them were female at the age of 48, 35 and 32 respectively) were selected for a follow-up interview The interview was consisted of questionnaire questions whose answers needed to be more clarified as well as questions to get further information which the questionnaires failed to obtain In fact, the interview was a structured one in which the „agenda is totally predetermined by the researcher, who works through a list of set questions in a predetermined order” (Nunan, 1992: 149) According to Nunan (ibid.), “the type

of interview one chooses will be determined by the nature of the research and the degree of control the interviewer wishes to exert” (p 149) In this study, the research is explorative by nature, therefore the researcher chose the structured interview in order to achieve consistence

Her purpose in conducting the student interviews was to get better insights into students‟ learning style preference, evaluation of the way grammar was currently approached by their teachers, and their recommendations for changes in the methods of teaching grammar The teacher interviews were implemented to have clearer understanding of teachers‟ awareness of learners‟ needs, the procedures they often use to teach grammar, their evaluation of the effectiveness of those methods, their intention for changes to improve that effectiveness as well as their difficulties in teaching grammar

Each of the student interviewees was asked 4 questions (some questions were the same as in the questionnaires due to the fact that they had not been answered reasonably) (see Appendix 5) To make sure more in-depth information could be gained, the writer decided to interview a small group selected randomly from the questionnaire respondents but equally among the three observed classes

There were only three teachers answering the questionnaires, so all of them were invited to have follow-up interviews with the researcher In the questionnaire, the teachers seemed to be reluctant to, even missed describing their most common ways of teaching grammar and giving

an evaluation of the effectiveness of their own teaching methods As a result, the questions

about these issues were repeated in the interview with some modifications All in all, they had

to answer 5 questions (both old and new ones) (see Appendix 6)

All these interviews were videotaped to record the information It should also be noted that all the videotapes of the research were not allowed to publicize because of the respondents‟ disagreement

3.4 Procedures of data analysis

Data collected from these three different sources were analyzed in turns with close interaction between the parts and with the focus on four main issues: (a) grammar teaching methods are currently being used, (b) teachers and students‟ evaluation of the effectiveness of those methods, (c) learners‟ English learning expectations and their learning style preference, (d) teachers and students‟ suggestions for changes to make grammar teaching more effective The data were discussed in this way for achieving answers to the research questions set for the study Table and pie charts were used to present the quantitative data while qualitative data from classroom observations, open-ended questionnaire items, and interviews were presented

by quoting relevant responses from the respondents

3.5 Summary

This chapter presented the research questions, the research methodology, instruments of data collection, and procedures of data analysis To achieve data for the research, three different instruments were used: class observations, questionnaires and follow-up interviews for both students and teachers These instruments were employed in the hope to gain triangulation and more reliable and valid data Next chapter, chapter Four will present the data analysis and discussion

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS

Chapter Three presents the chosen research methodology and instruments of data collection, which included classroom observations, the survey questionnaires and the follow-up interviews This chapter analyzes the data both descriptively and interpretively as well as discusses the findings

4.1 Class observations

As stated in Chapter 3 (Methodology), only three teachers of English permitted the researcher

to observe their classes To insure the lessons would be conducted naturally and objectively, the researcher attended their classes randomly with very short notice to the teachers (5 minutes) before their periods These class observations were carried out from the first to the seventh of March, 2010 Each teacher was observed once All the lessons were videotaped to get the fullest data The videotapes were then transcribed and two of them were attached in the appendixes The following are the interpretations and discussions of these lessons

The first class the author observed did not have the teacher for two periods In fact, the

teacher said that she was too busy with some other work to teach in the class Instead, she gave the students some grammar exercises and asked them to work on these exercises until she came back and she would check their work However, for an unexpected cause, after two periods, the teacher did not return to the class The students seemed tired and bored, perhaps because they went to school but learnt nothing on that day This fact helped strengthen one of the results shown by the student questionnaire and student follow-up interview below that the lessons in which teachers are too preoccupied with other work rather than teaching are the ones many students hated most

In another class observed by the writer, the lesson was about revision (see Appendix 1) In

this lesson, the teacher seemed to begin the lesson in a quite strange manner: saying nothing and paying very little attention to her students for long time Even when she had written down

some exercises on the board, she did not tell them what to do next This must have made the classroom atmosphere lumbering and boring As a matter of fact, the whole class was deep in silence Some students did not know what they had to do, so they faced down on the table or kept talking with their partners Only when the teacher finished her work and came back to her task, did the class become more workable Here was a revision lesson and the procedures the teacher employed seemed to be appropriate She did not give her own feedback and explanation to students right away, but called for comments from the class She also required students to work out the rules again to help their friends recognize their mistakes and reinforce her students‟ understanding of the rules She also gave the students who did the exercises wrongly a chance to correct the mistakes before going on It can be said that her teaching method in this lesson was quite learner-centered and made the knowledge more memorable to the students

However, it was also clear that the teacher just focused on written grammar exercises only There were no other activities like games or pair work or group work to help students revise the knowledge in a more communicative way

In the last class, it was quite lucky for the researcher that she had a chance to observe a real

grammar lesson To be more exact, according to the learning curricula, it was the last grammar lesson before revision for exams (See Appendix 2)

It can be said that this teacher‟s teaching method was quite different from the second teacher

In all lesson, she kept an enthusiastic attitude and made the learning environment relaxing and involving to the students It seemed that most of the students had a chance to contribute theirs ideas in the lesson and got their friends‟ and teacher‟s feedback They were praised when giving correct answers and were helped to correct themselves when they made mistakes This procedure appeared to be very motivating to the students

In this lesson, the teacher skillfully employed the combination between the implicit and explicit teaching method to teach new grammar knowledge She played a role as a guide and

an instructor during the whole learning process and gave students more active positions in the lesson After helping students to work out the uses of new grammar structure, she also had another example to check her students‟ understanding She did not forget to guide students to distinguish the new grammar knowledge with the old one clearly It was a pity that she did not create any communicative activities to enable students to use the new knowledge into real communication situations This fact may disappoint the expectation for communicative competence of many students

4.2.1.1 Students’ attitudes toward learning English

The first question in the questionnaire asked the respondents whether they liked English or not (Q1) The results showed that slightly more than half of the students responded favorably to the learning of English at the school, over a third had the neutral attitude to it whereas just a small number disliked it straightforwardly (see Table 1)

Number of

respondents

Like or like very much learning English (student)

Don’t like learning English at all (student)

Neither like nor dislike (student)

Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards learning English at Yen Vien High School

That result suggested that most students seemed to be quite motivated to learn English Typical reasons they gave for their interest in learning English were “learning English is very

interesting” (5 students); “English will be very necessary for my life and my job in the future” (5 Ss); “English always brings great passion to me I think I have the inborn talent for it I study it to well prepare for the future” (3 Ss); “I want to become a tourist guide in the future to introduce our country to global tourists” (2 Ss); and “I like all the English lessons because they are fascinating and very easy to understand” (4 Ss)

Besides, up to 9 students said that they like English because learning English will help them

be able to communicate with foreigners and learn about other countries‟ cultures and societies Many other students emphasized the fact that English is still considered as the most popular international language all over the world as their main reason for enjoying learning English Passing and having good results at the school leaving or university entrance exams was also mentioned by 10 students as one of the reasons

This result helped us infer that different students are motivated to learn English in different ways That motivation could be intrinsic or extrinsic

Asked about why they had neutral attitude towards learning English, 32 students shared two opinions They blamed their bad learning of English and unclear understanding of the knowledge for their neutrality In fact, they emphasized they had complex feelings to learning English Specifically, when they studied it well enough to understand all the knowledge of the lessons, they really liked it, otherwise they did not Even though students did not accuse teachers‟ teaching methods straightforwardly as one main reason for their lack of understanding and their disinterest in learning English, those methods should be an important cause

With regard to the number of students without any interest in English, it seems to be lucky that that number was considerably small with 5 Ss However, the reason they gave for their dislike

of studying English should be noted: they failed to remember new words and study English well It can be understood that those reasons were not unchangeable They can be changed

thanks to the help from teachers with the teaching methods Nevertheless, their teachers‟ current teaching methods did not seem to be effective for these students

4.2.1.2 Students’ purposes of learning English

The second question in the student questionnaire was to find out students‟ purposes of learning English (Q2) Together with the result of Question 1, the answer to this question was hoped to supplement and clarify the reasons for students‟ motivation in learning English The results showed that the purposes of learning English among respondents were very varied (see Table 2)

1 Learning English for no purpose but a compulsory subject at school 4

2 To pass the school leaving examination 46

5 To well communicate with foreigners 58

6 To listen to and understand English songs and watch movies in English 59

7 To search for information on the Internet in English 61

8 To get a good job after leaving school 58

9 To get better understanding of other countries 48

Other reasons

- To be able to speak and interpret English

- To know more about English

4

1

Table 2: Students’ purposes of learning English

The results showed that the most popular purposes of learning English among the students were to search for information on the Internet in English (61 Ss), to listen to and understand English songs and watch movies in English (59 Ss), to well communicate with foreigners (58 Ss), and to get a good job after leaving school (58 Ss) The second most ones were to get better understanding of other countries (48 Ss) and to pass the school leaving examination (46

Ss) Those purposes revealed that most students were well aware of the importance and necessity of English in their life now and in the future Plainly, like discussed above, most students are intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn English Moreover, some of the students‟ learning purposes were the same as the targets of ELT (English language Teaching) set by MOET (Ministry of Education and Training) (2006: 5) for high school as follows:

1 “Use English as a means for basic communication both in spoken and written channels

2 Master basic and relatively systematic knowledge of English suited to their levels of proficiency and ages

3 Acquire some general understanding of the people and cultures of some English-speaking countries and develop a positive attitude towards the people, cultures and language of these countries; cultivate the pride in, love for and respect to the Vietnamese culture and language” (MOET, 2006: 5)

The results also made it clear that the final purpose of most students was to be able to communicate fluently and accurately in English in all four skills Besides, they also needed to master English grammar to pass all important exams at school However, the former purpose outnumbers the latter 58 to 48 students

The number of students who did not find English interesting at all and learned English as a compulsory subject at school, luckily, was only 4 This result was quite the same as the result shown in Question 1 (5) All in all, it can also be stated that these students were still extrinsically motivated to some extent They could become more cooperative with teachers in class and teachers still had a chance to make them more interested

4.2.1.3 Students’ awareness of the role of grammar in reaching their purposes

Referring to the importance of grammar (Q3), it is interesting to figure out that up to 84 per 86 students agreed that grammar plays a crucial role in achieving their purposes of learning English in Table 2 above whereas only 2 others negated that role This result showed that there was a vital need of learning English grammar among the students

The students also ticked out the reasons for their thought of the role of grammar in Table 3 below:

1 Without grammar, I am still able to communicate competently at all four skills of

English

1

2 Without grammar, I am still able to finish all the English tests well 3

3 Mastery of grammar will help me do well all grammar exercises, so I will have

good marks for all examinations

75

4 Mastery of grammar will help me communicate in English more effectively 68

Other reasons

- Grammar is an important part of English, so mastery of grammar will help me

learn this subject better

- Learning grammar will help me write better

1

1

Table 3: Reasons why respondents think of the role of English grammar

This table once again confirmed the students‟ awareness of great importance of grammar in gaining their purposes It also noted the two main reasons for their choice that mastery of grammar would help them do well all grammar exercises, so they would have good marks for all examinations and that mastery of grammar would help them communicate in English more effectively However, more students thought grammar was indispensable for their exams than for communication (75 compared with 68) This is because the fact that grammar still plays a very important part in high school examinations of English, so, in order to have high marks for these exams, naturally students have to learn grammar through a wide variety of grammar exercises For communication, research shows that grammar is also essential to achieve communicative competence in English (Canale & Swain, 1980) However, it is the fact that sometimes communication can still take well without much grammar These arguments can explain why more students valued the role of grammar for their school exams over for communication, even though both the numbers were high

In short, it can be inferred that almost all respondents found grammar essential to meet their purposes of learning English They wanted to learn English grammar to have good results for all exams in which grammar exercises still occupy a large part and to be able to use English to communicate competently at all four skills

4.2.1.4 Students’ expectations for a grammar lesson in class

Question 4 touched students‟ expectations for a grammar lesson in class The results of the responses from the students to the question “What do you expect from a grammar lesson in class?” are presented in the table below

Very desirable and desirable

Undesirable

I expect to be taught the forms of a grammar structure 74 3

To be taught meanings and uses of a grammar structure 80 2

To be taught and practice the pronunciation of a grammar structure 75 4

Grammar points are presented briefly, clearly and easy to

understand

Practice new grammar structures with A LOT of grammar exercises 57 23

Practice new grammar structures with SOME grammar exercise and

have time for other communicative activities

Have many communicative activities in pairs and groups so that I

can apply new grammar structures to express what I want

The classroom atmosphere is exciting and effective 79 0

To be instructed to express what I want to say 76 1

Table 4: Students’ expectations for a grammar lesson in class

Based on the table, it is advisable to analyze the results in two categories: Grammar structure presentation and practice activities

To start with grammar structure presentation, most students expected to learn the forms, the pronunciation, especially the meanings and uses of a new grammar structure This expectation

is reasonable because the knowledge of these fields is essential for them to apply grammar points in doing grammar exercises as well as in communication correctly and effectively Moreover, they desired forms, pronunciation, meanings and uses to be presented briefly, clearly and easy to understand This kind of presentation is crucial to make students understand the learning points and interests them to learn English as well It concurs with the reasons why some students disliked English as presented by Question 1

Practice activities are an indispensable part of a learning process As the table showed, there seemed to be two main types of practice activities: practice new grammar structures through doing grammar exercises and through communicative activities in pairs and in groups The results revealed that quite a large number of students (57 Ss) wanted to practice through doing

a lot of grammar exercises However, slightly more respondents (59 Ss) disagreed to do a lot

of grammar exercises Instead, they expected the combination of practice through grammar exercises and communicative activities in a lesson These two results were not contradictory at all as a respondent could choose more than one choices In fact, it is noticeable that most respondents (75 Ss) had a strong wish for many communicative activities in pairs and groups

so that they could use new grammar points to convey what they wanted to say To put it in another way, most participants in the questionnaire desired lessons to help them develop their communicative skills in English

The results also emphasized respondents‟ expectation for a remarkable change in the role of teachers and classroom atmosphere Most of them (76 Ss) expected teachers to work as a guide or an instructor somehow to assist them in communicative activities 79 respondents also expected classroom atmospheres to be more exciting and effective Clearly, this condition

is important for the greater motivation and better learning among students

4.2.1.5 Students’ evaluations of grammar lessons in class

Question 5 required students to evaluate the effectiveness of grammar lessons in class in general, then in a more detailed scale Generally, the results were displayed in the pie chart below

77%

little effective or ineffective

Figure 1: Students’ evaluation of grammar lessons in class (the percentages were rounded up)

We are pleasant to find that the number of students thinking that grammar teaching in their school was effective was higher than that of ones dissatisfied with its effectiveness (77% compared with 23%)

To clarify this evaluation, the students were asked to see whether or not and how effectively their expectations above were met in grammar lessons in class

Most of the students agreed that they were taught all the features of a grammar structure

including forms, meanings and uses They also evaluated the effectiveness of the presentation

as in the pie chart below

The results indicate that the percentage of respondents commenting that teachers‟ presentation

of grammar points was easy to understand was about the same as that of the Ss who reported it quite difficult to digest (44 % against 43%) Besides, the number of students complaining that