Promotion of enjoyable communicative activities to revise some grammar points in grade 10 at ha trung high school

Grammar teaching communicatively and practically in a second language classrooms in my school, located in the countryside with a large number of students in one class, has always been a

EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT OF THANH HOA

HA TRUNG HIGH SCHOOL

Full name: Trinh Thi Lien

Position: Teacher of English

Subject: English

INDEX

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1 Introduction

1.1 The reason for choosing the topic

1.2 The purpose of research

2 Contents of the experience initiative

2.1 Rationale of the experience initiative

2.2 Situation of the problem before applying the

experience initiative

2.3 The solutions were used to solve the problem

2.4 Results after applying the initiative

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1 Introduction 1.1 The reason for choosing the topic

Roger Bacon once said: “Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom.” This statement is far more exact in the globalisation period with the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations English as

an international language plays an integral part in the promotion of international integration process of our country.Therefore, promoting the quality of teaching and learning English in schools is at the forefront of the Party, the State and the entire Education sector English has been included in the mainstream curriculum

by the Ministry of Education right from the primary level

For many years of teaching English, I always manage to find and combine appropriate ways of teaching the language efficiently Grammar teaching communicatively and practically in a second language classrooms in my school, located in the countryside with a large number of students in one class, has always been a problem which I have managed to find solution to One useful strategy to encourage language acquisition is using language games When using games in the classroom, it is beneficial for teachers to have a complete understanding of the definitions of games, which usually are defined as a form

of play concerning rules, competition, and an element of fun Teachers should also consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students' attention; lower students' stress; and give students the chance for real communication Lastly teachers need to assess how to use games appropriately in the classroom

It is important to choose an appropriate time and integrate them into the regular syllabus and curriculum However, because of the limitations of the syllabus, games often cannot be used, as much as they should be Therefore, it may be challenging for teachers to try to add some games in class in order to develop students' English proficiency of the target language

By studying this topic, I hope it will partly help to teach more effectively, students learn more actively And above all, they can communicate accurately and confidently and use English for their entertainment, exam or future jobs

This is also the reason I chose the topic: “Promotion of enjoyable communicative activities to revise some grammar points in grade 10 at Ha Trung high school.”

1.2 The purpose of research

Helping students at Ha Trung High school learn English better through some enjoyable communicative activities in learning some grammar points

- Observation method: Reading documents, attending classes of colleagues

- Methods of exchanging and discussing: After reading the documents, attending colleagues' classes and inviting colleagues to attend my own classes, I exchanged discussions and learned from experiences for the lesson

- Experimental method: I conduct experiments in different classes with different contents and topics

- Survey methodology: After applying the new method in a number of different classes, I conduct surveys among students by distributing the questionnaire to the students to understand, catch students' ability to comprehend lesson content

as well as students' attitude towards my new method

2 Contents of the experience initiative 2.1 Rationale of the experience initiative

2.1.1 Purpose of teaching grammar

David Batstone, an ethics professor at the University of San Fransisco, once said: “Language without grammar would leave us seriously handicapped” But teaching and learning grammar as a set of rules and structures have been found inadequate in meeting the communicative needs of second language learners and give learners monotony during lesson That is why the combination of different ways of teaching grammar is needed including communicative language teaching

Communicative grammar is based on the communicative approach to the teaching of a second language Language structures must not be taught in isolation but integrated to the four skills of language In this way, a structure is practiced orally and in written form Grammar patterns must not only be learned

at the utterance level but at the discourse level, the main objective focuses on the development of communicative grammatical competence, which is understood

as the ability to use and understand a structure in a variety of situations spontaneously

2.1.2 Basic factors directly impacting the effectiveness of a grammar lesson

The Students:

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In the correlation between teaching and learning method: Teachers are the organizers, who control students to dominate knowledge and manage to facilitate learning by the kinds of classrooms activities, intellectual actions under the guide of teachers Thus, students must play a positive role in the lesson, must

be the one who actively participates effectively in the lesson In order that the lesson is effective, students must be ready, prepared and proactive in studying the topic In addition, it is necessary for the students to be an active involvement

in the leaning process

The teachers

With a new and positive teaching method, the teachers play a leading and guiding role for students to be active in the lessons Although students are the subject, the teacher's guiding role is very important The person who directs and leads a lesson must know how to choose the appropriate teaching method, organize and control the lesson scientifically, use the teaching equipment and tools proficiently, be able to engage students in their teaching activities

Grammar activites incorporation

- Integration of form-focused exercises with meaning focused experience

- Incorporation of a focus on grammar into a meaningful communication

- Students should be encouraged to find other examples and work out rules for themselves

Teaching aids and devices in service of teaching listening:

The equipment needed for the subject:

- Blackboard, speaker, Micro

- Textbooks, handouts

- Pictures illustrating lesson content in textbooks (if necessary)

- Self-created pictures of teacher supplies

2.2 Situation of the problem before applying the initiative experience

2.2.1 Advantages

Although there are objective and subjective conditions that directly affect the teaching process, we have overcome the difficulties, gradually improving the quality of learning English in the communicative purpose in classes to meet the purpose of the new textbook program

For teachers:

- Initially, using tasked-completion techique

- Coordinate quite flexibly the teaching techniques

- Create some teaching aids such as handouts in accordance with the content of lessons

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For students:

- Students learn by heart structures and complete garmmar exercises

- Some students have found other examples and work out rules for themselves

- Some students reuse fluently grammar structures in communication mainly in classrooms

2.2.2 Disadvantages:

For teachers:

There are still a number of teachers who have certain difficulties in teaching grammar communicatively, in choosing techniques or classrooms activities that are suitable for each lesson period, each stage of the lesson, using or not yet proficient in teaching aids Teaching grammar only pleases to the exam target

For students:

- The motivation to learn English is limited

- Many children have few opportunities to speak, only complete some exercises

Means and teaching aids:

- Shortage of teaching aids, large classes prevent each student from have chances to practise speaking and being corrected

- Students don’t have opportunities to take part in clubs to reuse what they have learnt, which makes class knowledge bookish

2.3 The solutions were used to solve the problem

2.3.1 Plan a free practice for a grammar revision:

For teachers:

- Explain clearly what the students have to do

- Ask students to practice in pairs or small groups

- Walk around listening and encouraging but do not correct errors or interfere in the activity

- Stop the activity Finish the lesson by asking two studentsto repeat their free practice in front of the class or asking several students what they found about their partners

-There are a great number of language games So teachers have a variety of choices However, in deciding which game to use in a particular class and which games will be most appropriate and most successful with their students, teachers must take many factors into account

Teachers should first consider the level of the game to fit their students' language level They should choose the game that fits the purposes of that class

or the content Moreover, teachers should consider students' characteristics: whether they are old or young, serious-minded or light-hearted, and highly motivated to learn or not They should also consider when the game should be used because there is a big difference between using the game in the morning or

in the afternoon, on Monday or Friday

In addition to the factors mentioned, teachers should also be able to play and overact sometimes to help students feel comfortable and want to join the activity This means teachers should thoroughly understand the game and its nature and be able to lead the game

It is quite difficult to find a game that meets all of the teachers' requirements Some games must be adapted in order to fit students' language level, natures, and characteristics The most important factor is that games should be used when they can give students both fun and educational meaning otherwise they will be a waste of time

For students:

The teacher asks students to prepare well for the next class by:

- Make a system of suggestive questions about the lesson that you are about to learn so that students have time to think, study materials

or she can guide students to perform their tasks in the next stages

Presentation:

One of the best ways to present grammar is to follow this method

- Choose a text or a dialogue which uses the new grammar item

- Prepare questions based on the text which use the new grammar item or which can only be answered by using the new grammar item

- Introduce the text or dialogue in an interesting way elicit predictive answer from students

- Students read or listen to the text or dialogue

- Ask the questions we have prepared and elicit the answers

- Write the questions and the correct answers on the blackboard underlining the new grammar

- Name the new grammar and describe how it is formed

- Check that the students understand the new grammar by asking more questions using the new grammar

- If the students make mistakes using the new grammar, give some more examples

- Explain clearly what the students have to do

- Ask students to practice in pairs or small groups

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- Walk around listening and encouraging but do not correct errors or interfere in the activity

- Stop the activity Finish the lesson by asking two studentsto repeat their free practice in front of the class or asking several students what they found about their partners

* Applying “Promotion of enjoyable communicative activities to revise some grammar points in grade 10 at Ha Trung high school.” by designing acitvities/games in free practice with a view to revising the new grammar item

- Activities/games in free practice “Be going to” in Unit 6 and Unit 14, basic

textbook, grade 10 after teaching the new grammar item

Possible activity 1: Here is a free “be going to” speaking activity to use to

revise grammar in class In the activity students talk about future intentions by discussing ways to improve their English Divide the students into groups of four and give each student a coppy of the worksheet The students discuss and brainstorm how they could improve their English in six categories (speaking, listening, writing…) The group then chooses the best three ideas for each category and each student notes these down on the worksheet Working alone, the students then choose six things that they are going to do to improve English They choose one idea from each category and write a sentence with be going to When the students have finished, they paired up with someone from another group The pairs of students compare their ideas and give reasons for their choices Finally, there is a class feedback session to find out which were the most popular ideas for improving English

GROUP…

I’m going to improve my English A In your group, discuss and brainstorm how you could improve your English, write your best idea for each category in the space provided Categories Ideas How to improve speaking skill 1 ………

2 ………

3 ………

How to improve listening skill 1 ………

2 ………

3 ………

How to 1 ………

Possible activity 2: In the activity, students ask and answer questions about

their future plans Give each student a copy of the worksheet The students read each question in the first column on the worksheet and then write a follow-up

question using “Be going to” When everyone has finished writing their

follow-up questions, divide the students into pairs Students then take it in turns to ask their partner about their future plans using their questions on their worksheet When a partner answers “Yes, I am” to a question, the student puts a tick and asks his or her follow –up question If a partner answers “No, I’m not”; the student put a cross and moves on to the next question When the students have finished interviewing each other, they tell the rest of the class about their partner’s future plans

Read each question in the first column then write a follow-up question using “be going to” in the third column Then ask a particular about plans

and write down their answer

Are you going to…… √/x Follow-up questions Answer

1 go out for dinner this

2.4 Results after the application of the topic

Applying these enjoyable activities, I myself have achieved some very satisfactory results Language games are not activities mainly aimed to break the ice between students or to kill time Byrne (1995) gave the definition to games

as a form of play governed by rules They should be enjoyed and fun They are not just a diversion, a break from routine activities, but a way of getting the learner to use the language in the course of the game Similarly, Jill Hadfield (1990) defined games as "an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun." Therefore, games involve many factors: rules, competition, relaxation, and learning, in particular The main focus of using game in class is to help students learn and have fun However, to use games in classrooms, it is equally important that before playing the rules of the games are clearly explained and well understood by the students There should be only a few, well-explained rules Demonstrations also can be very helpful because it can help students understand the game and help them follow the rules Otherwise, they will misunderstand the purpose of the game and they may not get the benefits they should from the game For example, if students do not understand the rules of the games called

"Questions/Interview" and just write without following the instructions, then it is just an exercise in copying, and it doesn't help students with accuracy, pronunciation, or spelling at all

In playing games, competition is very important because it can stimulate and encourage students to participate in the activity since naturally they want to beat the other teams As it happens, in the “interview game” students ask as many

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questions as possible, remember as much as they can and speak or report as loudly and clearly as they can They move back and forth in the classroom, trying to memorize the content as much as possible While playing, students have fun, relax, exercise, and tease their friends Apart from having fun, students learn at the same time They acquire new vocabulary along with its spelling and pronunciation Students begin to realize that they have to speak or pronounce the words clearly if they want others to understand what they are saying

I have found that my students’ ability to speak in public has considerably improved, they have become more confident, fluent, relaxed and especially more inspired in learning English I have a feeling that they have found a good reason for learning English, they practise speaking English not only because of their coming exams but also for pleasure, which has made our English lessons more fascinating, motivating

These are some samples and photos scanned from my students’ preparations for their activities required and their presentation, their performance in my classes