Empowering english majored freshmen with the ability to employ english subject verb inversion in academic writing a case study at marketing university

University of Social Sciences & Humanities _____________________ EMPOWERING ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN WITH THE ABILITY TO EMPLOY ENGLISH SUBJECT-VERB INVERSION IN ACADEMIC WRITING: A

University of Social Sciences & Humanities

_

EMPOWERING ENGLISH-MAJORED FRESHMEN

WITH THE ABILITY TO EMPLOY

ENGLISH SUBJECT-VERB INVERSION

IN ACADEMIC WRITING:

A Case Study at Marketing University

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by

Chu Quang Phê

Under the supervision of

TÔ MINH THANH, Ph.D

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2010

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “EMPOWERING ENGLISH-MAJORED

FRESHMEN WITH THE ABILITY TO EMPLOY ENGLISH

SUBJECT-VERB INVERSION IN ACADEMIC WRITING: A case study at Marketing

University” is my own work

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution

Ho Chi Minh City, October 15th, 2010

Chu Quang Phê

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Chu Quang Phê, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the university relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library

I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and reproduction for theses

Ho Chi Minh City, October 15th, 2010

Chu Quang Phê

My thanks also go to all my teachers in the TESOL program and the authors whose ideas are included in the thesis Also, I am grateful to 12 teachers of English and 102 English-majored freshmen in the academic year of 2009-2010 at the University of Marketing who seriously took part in the study so that the thesis could be completed Further, I would like to send my special thanks to Nguyễn Hoàng Quế, Ph.D., Dean

of the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Marketing for permitting me to conduct the study at this institution

Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my entire family for their care and support

Ho Chi Minh City, October 15th, 2010

ABSTRACT

English subject and verb inversion appears here and there in business documents; the English-majored students at the University of Marketing whose English is business-oriented definitely miss being exposed to the very structure What this means is that they fail to deal with English subject and verb inversion during their school time and even more seriously in their work later Therefore, the study done for this M.A thesis aims at empowering English-majored freshmen at the University of Marketing with the ability to employ English subject and verb inversion in academic writing

To accomplish this, the researcher is carrying the study with recourse to a combination of three different research designs called descriptive research, experimental research and comparative research with the involvement of 102 English-majored freshmen and 12 teachers of English at the University of Marketing

in the academic year of 2009-2010

The study’s major findings then reveal that the student subjects are beneficial from their repeated exposure to English subject and verb inversion in Writing and more interestingly they can use and are getting aware of the structure in their writing pieces

SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Vmono- Mono-transitive Verb

Vcomplex- Complex-transitive Verb

Vdi- Di-transitive Verb

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of authorship .i

Retention and use of the thesis i

Acknowledgements iii

Abstract iv

Symbols and abbreviations v

Table of contents vi

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1

1.2 Descriptions of the five consecutive courses on “Writing” at UM 2

1.2.1 Writing 1: English Sentence Structures 2

1.2.2 Writing 2: Paragraph Writing 4

1.2.3 Writing 3: Essay Writing 5

1.2.4 Writing 4 and 5: Business Writing 5

1.3 Rationale for teaching SVI in Writing 1 5

1.4 Statement of the purpose 6

1.5 Limitation and delimitation 7

1.5.1 Limitation 7

1.5.2 Delimitation 7

1.6 Significance of the research 7

1.6.1 Pedagogical significance 7

1.6.2 Practical significance 8

1.7 Organization 8

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Linguistic notions on English clauses 9

2.1.1 Approaches to grammar 9

2.1.1.1 Descriptive approach to grammar 9

2.1.1.1.1 Clause structures in the light of descriptive grammar 9

2.1.1.1.2 Seven basic clause patterns 14

2.1.1.2 Functional approach to grammar 14

2.1.1.2.1 Clause structures in the light of functional grammar 15

2.1.1.2.2 Combination of the three structures 18

2.1.2 SVI in English 18

2.1.2.1 SVI in the light of functional and descriptive grammar 18

2.1.2.1.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar 18

2.1.2.1.2 From the perspective of functional grammar 19

2.1.2.2 Internal structures of SVI 20

2.1.2.2.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar 20

2.1.2.2.2 From the perspective of functional grammar 20

2.1.2.3 Functions of SVI 22

2.1.2.3.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar 22

2.1.2.3.2 From the perspective of functional grammar 22

2.2 Methodological notions 23

2.2.1 Case study 23

2.2.2 Language learning 25

2.2.3 Language acquisition 26

2.2.4 The question of internalization 26

2.2.5 Language teaching methods 27

2.3 Methods of teaching English Sentence Structures at UM 29

2.4 Related studies 30

2.5 Summary 30

Chapter 3: POTENTIAL USES OF SVI IN ENGLISH 3.1 Partial inversion 32

3.1.1 Questions 32

3.1.1.1 Wh-questions 32

3.1.1.2 Yes/ No questions 33

3.1.1.3 Tag questions 34

3.1.1.4 Echo tag questions 36

3.1.2 Wish sentences beginning with the subjunctive may 37

3.1.3 Conditional sentences without if 37

3.1.4 Declaratives beginning with a negative adverbial 39

3.1.5 Declaratives beginning with the intensifying so or such 41

3.1.6 Declaratives containing the pro-form so, neither or nor 42

3.1.7 Comparative sentences 44

3.2 Full inversion 45

3.2.1 Subjunctive sentences 45

3.2.2 Quoted sentences 46

3.2.3 Declaratives beginning with an adverbial 47

3.2.4 Declaratives beginning with a participle 49

3.2.5 Existential sentences with there 50

3.2.6 Declarative sentences with the anticipatory it 51

3.2.7 Exclamations 52

3.2.8 Declaratives beginning with a predicative adjective 53

3.3 Summary 54

Chapter 4: METHODOLOGY 4.1 Research methods 55

4.1.1 Descriptive research 55

4.1.1.1 Qualitative methods 55

4.1.1.1.1 Content analysis for secondary data 55

4.1.1.1.2 Class observation 55

4.1.1.1 Quantitative methods 56

4.1.2 Experimental research 56

4.1.3 Comparative research 57

4.2 Responsive community 57

4.2.1 Student subjects 57

4.2.2 Teacher subjects 58

4.3 Instruments 59

4.4 Research procedure 61

4.4.1 Searching documents 61

4.4.2 Getting to know about the student subjects 61

4.4.3 Approaching the teacher subjects 62

4.4.4 Conducting the experimental teaching 62

4.4.5 Evaluating the students’ achievements 62

4.4.6 Implementing the questionnaire surveys 63

4.4.7 Identifying SVI in the students’ pieces of writing 63

4.4.8 Data processing 63

4.4.8.1 Quantitative data 63

4.4.8.2 Qualitative data 63

4.4.8.3 Data analyses 64

4.5 Summary 64

Chapter 5: ANALYSES AND FINDINGS

5.1 Analyses 65

5.1.1 Report on the student subjects’ diagnostic test results 65

5.1.2 Report on the student subjects’ achievement test results 72

5.1.3 Report on the student subjects’ responses to the questionnaire 79

5.1.4 Report on the teacher subjects’ responses to the questionnaire 82

5.1.5 Report on the class observations 86

5.2 Findings 89

5.2.1 Some advantages of instructing SVI to the student subjects 89

5.2.2 Some major problems facing the student subjects 90

5.2.3 Recommendations 91

5.2.3.1 Recommendations for the teacher 91

5.2.3.2 Recommendations for students 94

5.3 Summary 95

Chapter 6: CONCLUSION 6.1 Answers to the research questions 96

6.2 An evaluation on the methodology 97

6.3 Conclusion on the complete research 98

BIBLIOGRAPHY x

Appendix A: Lesson Plan (No1) xiv

Appendix B: Lesson Plan (No2) xviii

Appendix C: The diagnostic test with the suggested answers .xxiii

Appendix D: The achievement test with the suggested answers xxvii

Appendix E: The survey questionnaire to the teacher subjects xxxi

Appendix F: The survey questionnaire to the student subjects xxxv

Appendix G: The handouts to the student subjects xxxix Appendix H: The students’ sentences on the pictures in the diagnostic test xliv Appendix I: The students’ sentences on the pictures in the achievement test.xlvi Appendix J: The students’ sentences identified in Writing 2 li Appendix K: The restructured syllabus suggested on Writing 1 lvi

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Most often used in English linguistics is the term word order which refers to the

order of the elements in the clause or the sentence, elements which are often each fulfilled by phrases or clauses rather than just one word each such as the subject, the object, the verb, the complement and the adverbial Biber et al [1999] point out that

the English word order has been described as fixed by many grammarians; the

placement of the core elements of the clause is strictly regulated in the way that the subject of a statement comes before the verb which may precede the adverbial, the object or the complement However, variation can occur in the order of the elements,

as in:

(1)a Dogs I love, but cats I can’t stand [18:56] 1

b It was beautiful gray stone mellowed by the years There was an arch way in

the centre and at the end of the west wing WAS a tower with battlements and

long narrow slits of windows which looked rather definitely out of place with

the rest of the house which was clearly of a later period [5:899]Halliday [1994:38] adds that when a clause element in the sentence is fronted, the information structuring of that sentence is changed as well, as in:

b My aunt has been given that teapot by the duke [32:38]

c That teapot the duke has given to my aunt [32:38] What’s more, “in statements, it is usual for the verb to follow the subject; nonetheless, this word order is, sometimes, reversed We can refer to this as INVERSION” [Hewings, 1999:238] Such inversion occurs both in formal English and in everyday speech, as in:

(3)a Further south FLOWS the life-blood of the region [20:12]

1

The convention refers to the author and his/her work in the bibliography For example,

[18:56] refers to Eastwood, J (who is numbered 18 in the list) and the quoted sentence is from Page 56 in his book

Biber et al [1999] continue that “in order to study the discourse functions of word order and its variations, we need to understand the nature of the normal or unmarked order which may be altered to meet particular requirements of information flow or weight distribution, or to convey a special effect of emphasis” [Biber et al, 1999:899] In this study, the researcher is intentionally concerned with the marked word order, where the two core clause elements, namely the subject and the verb, are placed in an unusual position to arrive at a desired effect This disordered language

phenomenon is normally named subject and verb inversion (abbreviated to SVI)

As being observed, SVI appears here and there in TOEIC2, TOEFL3 and IELT4 tests,

especially in the structure and reading comprehension parts; nonetheless,

Vietnamese students are with some difficulty in coping with it Like many other Vietnamese learners of English, SVI is really challenging for English-majored students at the University of Marketing (abbreviated to UM) to acquire SVI perplex uses without any time, limited though it is, allocated for the uses in this institution’s official curriculum Although it was introduced previously in various scattered points

in high school, the English-majored students fail to study SVI systematically in a lesson unit and thus can hardly work well with SVI uses in academic writing, which are rather difficult but quite interesting for their intermediate level Therefore, efforts

have been made to carry out this M.A thesis entitled “Empowering English-majored freshmen with the ability to employ English SVI in academic writing: A case study at UM.”

1.2 Descriptions of the five consecutive courses on “Writing” at UM

1.2.1 Writing 1: English Sentence Structures

English Sentence Structures is usually instructed as the first writing course; it is

important as the starting point for the English majors at UM to study writing skills Completing this course, the students are expected to know how different parts of speech are grouped together to make grammatically-perfect sentences And below is the extract from the syllabus named Writing 1:

Table 1.1: The detailed description of what to be instructed in Writing 1 at UM

The contents in the above table are planned upon the course book Writing Academic English by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue [2003] and are instructed in 12 class

meetings in 12 weeks, each of which takes place in 5 forty-five-minute periods To pass the course, the freshmen have to take a test, in which they deal with the internal

Week 1 Clauses and Clause elements: Subject, Verb, Object, Complement,

Adverbial

Types of Clauses: Independent Clauses vs Dependent Clauses, Clause

Connectors

Week 2 Types of Sentences: Simple Sentences, Compound Sentences, Complex

Sentences, Compound-Complex Sentences, Coordination vs

Subordination

Week 3 Parallelism: Conjunctions, Correlative Conjunctions

Sentence Problems: Sentence Fragments, Choppy Sentences, Run-on

Sentences and Comma Splices, Stringy Sentences

Week 4 Noun Clauses: Types of Noun Clauses, Sequence of Tenses,

That-clauses

Week 5 Noun Clauses: Subjunctive Clauses, Wh-question Clauses, Yes/No-

Question Clauses

Week 6 Adverbial Clauses: Time Clauses, Place Clauses, Manner, Distance and

Frequency Clauses, Reason Clauses, Result Clauses

Week 7 Adverbial Clauses: Purpose Clauses, Concession Clauses, Strong

Contrast Adverbial Clauses

Week 8 Relative Clauses: Relative Pronouns and Adverbs, Position of Relative

Clauses, Punctuations of Relative Clauses, Relative Pronouns as

Subjects

Week 9 Relative Clauses: Relative Pronouns as Objects, Relative Pronouns as

Objects of Prepositions, Relative Pronouns in Phrases of Quantity,

Relative Pronouns as in Phrases of Quality

Week 10 Relative Clauses: Relative Adverbial Clauses, Review of Relative

Clause Patterns

Test 1

Week 11 Participles and Gerunds: Participles, Participial Phrases, Participial

Phrases from Adverbial Clauses, Participial Phrases from Simple

Sentences, Gerunds

Punctuation: Commas, Semicolons, Colons, Quotation Marks

Week 12 Reviews

Test 2

structures of English clauses and sentences; however, they do miss a chance of being exposed to the various uses of SVI Since SVI is not formally instructed in this course, it is not included in the test; consequently, the students here seem not to be able enough to use SVI in their pieces of writing For the students’ sake, the researcher decided to carry out an experimental teaching in this writing course, aiming at empowering the English-majored students to use SVI in their academic writing pieces

1.2.2 Writing 2: Paragraph Writing

In this course, the students have to study how to write an English paragraph in 60 forty-five-minute periods in twelve weeks Indeed, there are ten various types of paragraphs included in the teaching material prepared by the Department of Foreign Languages and below is the extract from the syllabus on Writing 2:

Week 1 Paragraph Structure

Developing Ideas for Writing a Paragraph Week 2 Topic Sentence, Supporting Sentences and Concluding Sentence

Week 3 Coherence and Cohesion

Unity and Outlining Week 4 Kinds of Logical Order

Paragraph Review Week 5 Definition Paragraph

Example Paragraph Week 6 Descriptive Paragraph

Week 7 Narrative Paragraph

Test 1

Week 8 Comparison Paragraph

Contrast Paragraph Week 9 Process Analysis Paragraph

Week 10 Opinion Paragraph

Week 11 Cause Paragraph

Effect Paragraph Week 12 Review

Test 2

Table 1.2: The detailed description of what to be instructed in Writing 2 at UM

Because the students are supposed to be experimentally exposed to SVI towards the end of Writing 1, which is more concerned with the structure than the idea, it is hard for the researcher to measure and report their progress in using SVI As a result, the researcher will continue to make some observations in Writing 2 to identify and

record the students’ uses of SVI in their weekly assignments All the data collected during the time will be reported and discussed to support the study’s findings

1.2.3 Writing 3: Essay Writing

The students are expected to understand the internal structure of an essay, know how

to write different parts of an essay and finally write a complete essay in 60 five-minute periods Specifically, the students are required to study four major types

forty-of essays named narrative, comparison, cause-effect, and argumentative Even

though the above-mentioned essay types are potential for various SVI uses, the researcher will have no chance to observe and report the students’ SVI uses in their pieces of writing because there is a time limit spent on this study

1.2.4 Writing 4 and 5: Business Writing

The English taught at UM is undoubtedly business-oriented In their last courses in

writing both being named Business Writing, the English-majored students at UM are expected to understand and write business documents such as correspondences, contracts, memorandums, agreements, reports, advertisements, notices, news and announcements in 60 forty-five-minute periods each The writing styles instructed in

the two courses are quite potential for various SVI uses; nevertheless, the researcher will also miss the chance to observe and report the students’ SVI uses in their pieces

of writing since the time spent on this study is limited

1.3 Rationale for teaching SVI in Writing 1

Formal English is important and used in business-related documents; accordingly, English-majored students at UM should know how to use SVI This means that they are expected to deal with SVI, not only in receptive skills but in productive skills as well Below are some apparent reasons that account for the teaching of SVI to English-majored freshmen at UM:

- Since SVI is much related to the written language, it should be included Writing for the English-majored students at UM to deal with; teaching it in a complete unit can serve as a pilot to confirm a need for such a way to teach the structure at this university

- Teaching of SVI in Writing 1 is a necessary preparation for English-majored students at UM to move up to the following writing courses during which the English SVI structure is of potential use in paragraph writing, essay writing as well as business writing while there is no time to deal formally with the English sentence structures in general and SVI uses in particular

- While English-majored students whose English is business-oriented at UM are expected to apply SVI properly in communication, either in producing or receiving correspondences and other business-related documents, they are normally not good at it probably because of their lack of exposure to the very structure

- The students can have an opportunity to study and practice using SVI systematically and randomly review it in other sections in the following courses on Writing By that way will the students be exposed to SVI repeatedly and be able to use it in writing

In brief, there should be an experimental need at Foreign Languages Department of

UM to find out appropriate ways of providing English-majored freshmen with SVI uses for their meaningful and beautiful applications at tertiary level If so, SVI should be instructed in Writing 1 rather than in Grammar since they will be able to

deal with the structure in writing papers later

1.4 Statement of the purpose

With the completion of this M.A thesis, the researcher efforts to (1) give a description of how SVI is used and interpreted systematically in the English language, (2) find out how well the English-majored freshmen at UM work with SVI after being exposed to the SVI structure in Writing 1, (3) state a need for teaching SVI, and (4) finally put forward some recommendations on how to teach SVI within the existing amount of time spent on Writing 1 at UM

To achieve the above-mentioned purposes, the study will focus itself on the following research questions:

(1) How well do English-majored freshmen at UM understand and use SVI? (2) What are their attitudes towards teaching and learning SVI?

(3) What are some advantages and disadvantages of teaching SVI explicitly within the existing amount of time spent on Writing 1 at UM?

It is expected that the results of this study will serve as satisfying answers to all the above-mentioned questions

1.5 Limitation and delimitation

1.5.1 Limitation

The study done for this M.A thesis focuses on teaching SVI to English-majored freshmen at UM; therefore, the researcher confines it to the various uses of SVI in English and some recommendations on teaching and learning the very structure at this university It is thus believed that teaching and learning SVI will be beneficial for the students in improving their writing skills, especially in association with business-related writing styles

1.5.2 Delimitation

The study is going to be done at UM with the involvement of more than 100 majored freshmen in the academic year of 2009-2010 and 12 teachers of English at the Department of Foreign Languages at UM; accordingly, its findings and recommendations principally apply to English-majored students at this university However, it is also hopeful that the study’s results can also be adapted to English-majored students at other universities or colleges, those who face similar problems with SVI in their struggle to improve their writing skills and teachers of English who wish to empower their students with the ability to use the very structure in their writing papers

English-1.6 Significance of the research

1.6.1 Pedagogical significance

The study aims at gathering different types of SVI and describing how they work systematically in a whole It also strives to arrive at some pedagogical effects, considering whether or not SVI should be taught explicitly to English-majored students as a unit of four forty-five minutes Besides, the employment of functional grammar aspects in the explanation of SVI aims at laying bare “the myth” of the issue in question and raising attention to bring a new way of teaching and learning

SVI at UM In other words, the study will methodologically provide teachers of English with some suggestions for bettering their SVI teaching

1.6.2 Practical significance

The study will give a broad collection of different SVI types that the student subjects can get easily Detailed descriptions of SVI will underlie their knowledge with language confidence when they effort to work with SVI to express themselves or understand others properly in communication Also, this will definitely better English-majored students’ business writing styles at present and in the future

Some teaching implications and suggestions are believed to provide teachers of English with some more linguistic data concerning SVI and raise their awareness of how to teach SVI successfully to better their students’ writing skills

1.7 Organization

The M.A thesis is composed of five main chapters:

Introduction states the background, rationale, limitation, delimitation, purpose,

significance and overview of the study

Literature Review discusses the viewpoints that the two grammar schools hold about

SVI and the ways to teach it

Potential Uses of SVI in English describes the structure with the emphasis on its

uses

Research Methodology introduces the methods employed to gather information on

SVI in English from different sources Especially, more than 100 English-majored freshmen and 12 teachers of English at UM are also involved in the progress to provide significant information for the study

Analyses and Findings presents the statistic data processed through SPSS, which

help reveal the nature of the issue in question Next come recommendations for SVI teaching and learning

Conclusion consists of a few final words based on the findings of the study done for

this M.A thesis and a brief evaluation on the methods and his contributions in this study

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter principally focuses itself on (1) descriptive and functional approaches to

grammar, (2) an analysis of English clauses in the light of descriptive and functional

grammar, (3) an overview of SVI in English clauses from descriptive and functional

viewpoints Also presented in this chapter is a brief review of (4) some major grammar teaching methods, (5) a glance at the ways of teaching English Sentence Structures at UM and (6) finally some prior researches related to SVI uses

The review can also help form a theoretical background for further discussions on potential problems facing the student subjects in dealing with SVI in English in the following chapter

2.1 Linguistic notions on English clauses

2.1.1 Approaches to grammar

A language is a system for making meanings and its entire system of meanings is expressed by grammar as well as vocabulary Grammar, in addition, can be studied from several perspectives; one basic difference that helps distinguish grammars lies

in whether the primary goal is to focus on structures or functions [Halliday, 1994:XVII] And presented below are the two approaches to the English grammar

2.1.1.1 Descriptive approach to grammar

Descriptive grammar looks at the way in which a language is actually used by its speakers and attempts to analyze the structure to formulate rules about it “Indeed, there is an internalized, unconscious set of rules that constitute the language we use

to communicate In order to understand the nature of language, it is required to understand the set of rules” [Fromkin and Collins, 1999:10-11]

2.1.1.1.1 Clause structures in the light of descriptive grammar

Traditionally, a clause is the construction with one phrase constituent, typically a noun phrase that bears the subject relation, and another constituent, the verb phrase,

bearing the predicate5 relation [Jacobs, 1995:49; Oshima and Hogue, 1998:152], as

in:

In English, a certain clause structure can be seen as alternatively comprising five

elements, called subject, verb, object, complement, and adverbial These elements

will be presented in details below

The subject element (abbreviated to S)

According to Quirk and Greenbaum [1987:170] and Alexander [1992:3], the traditional definition of a subject is “what the clause is about.” The realization of a

subject can be a noun phrase, an adjectival phrase, the anticipatory it, the existential there, a prepositional phrase or a clause with nominal function (both finite6 and non-finite7), as in:

(5)a John and Mary are engaged [61:137]

b The very young and the very old need the state care [61:137]

c For everyone to escape was practically impossible [17:35] Syntactically, most subjects precede their predicates; however, in many cases of inversion, the subject element follows either an auxiliary verb or a lexical one This language phenomenon will be listed and discussed later in this study

 The verb element

 Auxiliary verbs

“Auxiliaries express meanings such as necessity or possibility We use these verbs to tell or allow people to do things, or we use them to tell how certain or uncertain we are” [Eastwood, 1994:113] The verbs of this type are important in forming negatives, questions, tags and the like; nonetheless, they can’t stand alone in a clause

5

something that is said or predicated about the subject [Chalker, 1992:16]

6

A finite clause contains a finite verb which is marked for tenses and modality and there is

person and number concord between the subject and the finite verb as in (5)a [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:38; Biber et al, 1999:193]

7

A non-finite clause, regularly a dependent clause, contains a non-finite verb which is not

marked for tenses and modality and often lacks an explicit subject The non-finite form of

a verb can be the infinitive ((to) call), the –ing participle, the gerund (calling) or the -ed participle (called) [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:38; Biber et al, 1999:93]

except when the verb phrase including an auxiliary is elliptical [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:38; Alexander, 1992:207], as in:

(6)a John is searching the room [62:25]

b They can speak French [60:128]

c Did it rain steadily all day? [62:12]

d He would have been being visited [62:39]

Auxiliaries can be sub-divided into two groups, modal auxiliaries8 and primary auxiliaries9

 Lexical verbs

Intransitive verbs (abbreviated to V i )

Intransitive verbs are those which don’t take an object or a complement; therefore, when an action, an event, a state or a process is mentioned, no one or nothing but the agent as the subject is involved [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:347; Alexander, 1992:7; Downing and Locke, 1998:73], as below:

(7)a The bells rang all day long [17:58]

b He agrees to let me go [59:24] Many verbs in English are sometimes intransitive as in (8)a, but sometimes transitive

as in (8)b below

(8)a He reached for his gun [60:749]

b Not a sound reached our ears [60:749]

Linking verbs (abbreviated to V l)

Linking verbs are those which function as a link to connect a subject complement to the subject element through which an intensive relation is expressed [Downing and Locke, 1998:99], as in:

(9)a The house became Peter’s in 1980 [36:52]

concords of number and person, and to fulfill this function, they are certainly inflected as

is in (6)a and did in (6)c

Transitive verbs are those which obligatorily take an object as its complementation; otherwise, the structure is not grammatically constructed [Downing and Locke, 1998:75-97; Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:348] Thanks to this distinct characteristic, transitive verbs differ from the intransitive ones, as in:

(10)a I heard something strange [77:128]

b Many people admired his work [17:42]

c We considered him foolish [8:128]

d They called him a fool [1:9]

Transitive verbs are divided into mono-transitive (abbreviated to Vmono-)10,

complex-transitive (abbreviated to Vcomplex-)11 and di-transitive (abbreviated to Vdi-)12

The object element

In the views of Quirk and Greenbaum [1987:358], Alexander [1992:5] and Downing and Locke [1998:4-46], an object is a vital ingredient of a clause which is affected directly or indirectly by the extension of the transitive verb, as in:

(11)a I will help you [18:103]

b They fear there may be no survivors [17:43]

c They gave me my timetable today [17:42]

d He sold my friend the book [62:158]

There are two subtypes of objects in the English language, namely, direct object

(abbreviated to O d)13 and indirect object (abbreviated to Oi)14

10A mono-transitive verb is a verb which obligatorily takes only one object, normally called

direct object, as in (10)a and (10)b [Alexander, 1992; Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987]

11

A complex-transitive verb is a verb which is followed by a direct object and an object

complement, as in (10)c and (10)d [Alexander, 1992; Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987]

12

A di-transitive verb is a verb which requires two objects in the structure as in (10)e and

(10)f [Alexander, 1992; Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987]

13

A direct object is an object which is directly affected by the action of the verb and comes

immediately after the transitive verb Direct objects can refer to both animate and inanimate things [Alexander, 1992:5], as in (11)a and (11)b

14An indirect object is an object which is indirectly affected by the action of the verb

Indirect objects in most cases refer to humans and other animate things that normally

“benefit” from the action expressed in the verb [Alexander, 1992], as in (11)c and (11)d

 The complement element

A complement can be a noun phrase, an adjectival phrase, a pronoun or a clause which has a co-referential function with the subject or the direct object to refer to someone or something in the possible or imaginary world or an abstraction [Alexander, 1992:5; Downing and Locke, 1998:50-55], as in:

(12)a Loud music drives me crazy [1:9]

b The earth is round [59:88]

c They declared him (to be) the winner [59:302]

d We found the secretary helpful [59:54]

Complements in English are subdivided into two groups: subject complement

(abbreviated to C s)15 and object complement (abbreviated to Co)16

 The adverbial element (abbreviated to A)

Adverbials are often used to modify the verb element by characteristically describing the circumstances or manners in which an action, a state, an event or a process occurs They can modify parts of or the whole clause or sentence [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:207-250; Downing and Locke, 1998:58-64] Quirk and Greenbaum [1987] continue that the realization of an adverbial can be a single-word adverb, an adverbial phrase, a noun phrase, a prepositional phrase, a clause (both finite and non-finite), as in:

(13)a We went to a pub [8:189]

b They aren’t walking naturally [62:208]

c Very frankly, I am tired [62:229]

d To be sure, we have heard many such promises [62:216]

e Anyway, do you know the answer? [62:248]

f On the contrary, we should be going to him for a loan [62:247] Adverbials in the English language are sub-divided into three groups, namely,

Adjuncts17, Disjuncts18, and Conjuncts19

An object complement is a complement which completes the predication when the verb

chosen leads us to specify some characteristics of the direct object as in (12)a and (12)e It

is then linked to the direct object in an intensive relationship although they are not linked together by a copula [Downing and Locke, 1998:53].

17An adjunct is an adverbial which is, to some extent, integrated into the structure of clause,

as in (13)a and (13)b There are such types of adjuncts as adjuncts of time, place, concession, reason, purpose, process and the like [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987]

2.1.1.1.2 Seven basic clause patterns

The five above elements are of simple sentences as well as clauses within the sentence, for the simple sentence is purely an independent clause20 [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:166] While Alexander [1992] suggests five patterns which differ from each other according to what follows the verb, Quirk and Greenbaum [1987:166] put forwards seven which are based on the obligatory elements of which

a clause is composed And in this study, the researcher would employ Quirk and Greenbaum’s

She gave me expensive presents.[62:167]

Mentioned above are the entire seven patterns of clause in English and they are so classified because of their varied internal structures Nonetheless, this study is to focus on the two first elements in each structure: that is, the subject and the verb

2.1.1.2 Functional approach to grammar

The term “functional” indicates that the approach is concerned with meaning, as opposed to formal grammar, which focuses on word classes such as nouns and verbs, typically without reference beyond the clause To fit the purpose of this study, the

18

A disjunct is an adverbial which are peripheral to the structure of clause It conveys the

speakers’ or writers’ comments of what is said as in (13)c and (13)d [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987]

19A conjunct is an adverbial which may be peripheral to the clause structure, but they have a connective function, as in (13)e and (13)f [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987]

20

An independent clause contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought It

can stand alone as a sentence by itself [Oshima and Hogue, 1998:154].

researcher would principally employ the viewpoints by Halliday [1994] and by Downing and Locke [1995]

“Grammar is functional in the sense that it is designed to account for how the

language is used … A functional grammar interprets the wording by reference to

what it means and by reference to its functions in the total linguistic system” [Halliday, 1994:xiii, xiv, xvii]

Downing and Locke [1995:xi] continue that the functional approach to grammar analyzes structures as configurations of functions, providing “means of understanding the relation of form to meaning and meaning to situation.”

2.1.1.2.1 Clause structures in the light of functional grammar

A clause is a composite affair, a combination of three different structures deriving

from distinct functional components called the ideational (clause as representation), the interpersonal (clause as exchange) and the textual (clause as message) What this

means is that the three structures, namely the transitivity structure, the mood structure and theme structure respectively, serve to express three largely independent sets of semantic choice [Halliday, 1994: 179]

 Clause as representation: transitivity structure

“Language enables human beings to build a mental picture of reality, to make sense

of what goes on around them and inside them Here, the clause plays the central role because it embodies a general principle for modeling experience… Our most powerful impression of experience is that it consists of “goings-on” — happening, doing, sensing, meaning and being and becoming” [Halliday, 1994:106] All these goings-on are sorted out in the grammar of the clause; thus, the clause is a mode of reflection, of imposing order on the endless variation and flow of events The grammatical system by which this is achieved is transitivity

The transitivity system then construes the world of experience into a manageable set

of process types: material, mental, relational, behavioral, verbal and existential, in

which the Process (expressed by a verbal group), in principle, consists of the Process itself, the Participants in the Process (realized by nominal groups or prepositional phrases), and the Circumstances associated with the Process (denoted by adverbial

groups, prepositional phrases or nominal groups) [Halliday, 1994:107] Take the clauses below as an example:

(21) The lion caught the tourist [32:109]

Participant: Actor Process: Material Participant: Goal

Participant: Goal Process: Mental Participant: Actor

(25) The mayor dissolved the committee [32:111]

Participant :Actor Process: Material Participant: Goal

 Clause as exchange: mood structure

The clause is the major grammatical unit which the speaker or writer uses when communicating with a hearer or reader respectively to give information, to ask for information or to give a directive [Downing and Locke, 1995:167] These speech

functions are expressed through the four mood types: declarative, as in (26); interrogative, as in (27), imperative, as in (28); or exclamative, as in (29) “These

moods are realized in English by the presence or absence of the Subject element together with the Finite element21 and the order in which they occur,” and the

remainder is called Residue, [Downing and Locke, 1995:167; Halliday, 1994:72], as

in:

(26) The duke has given that teapot away [32:74]

Residue Mood element

(27) HAS the duke given that teapot away? [32:74]

Residue Mood element

(28) Come into my parlour, WILL you? [32:88]

Residue Mood tag

(29) How neatly he spreads his claws! [32:86]

Residue

Mood element

 Clause as message: thematic structure

In English, a clause is organized as a message by having a special status assigned to one part of it, which is enunciated as the Theme which combines with the remainder

so that the two parts together form a message This is known as thematic structure

[Halliday, 1994:37]

The Theme serves as the point of departure of the message the speaker selects for

“grounding” what he/she is going on to say and the Rheme is the remainder of the message, the part in which the Theme is developed As a result, a clause consists of a Theme accompanied by a Rheme and the informal structure is expressed by the order: whatever is chosen as the Theme is put first [Halliday, 1994:37; Downing and Locke, 1995], as in:

Once upon a time,

For want of a nail,

With sobs and tears,

SAID Goody Blair [32:63]

there were three bears [32:39] the shoe was lost [32:39]

he sorted out those of the largest size [32:39]

The choice of the Theme differentiates clauses of the same propositional meaning in their communicative significance [Halliday, 1994; Downing and Locke, 1995], as in:

(34) A halfpenny is the smallest English coin

(35) The smallest English coin is a halfpenny

~ I’ll tell you about the smallest English coin [32:39]

As for thematic structure of a typical declarative, the Theme is unmarked when it is conflated with the Subject, as in (34) and (35) and marked when speakers choose any other clause elements as the point of departure of the message, as in (30), (31), (32), and (33) [Halliday, 1994:42ff]

22

a symbol to signal the equivalent form to the previous one

2.1.1.2.2 Combination of the three structures

All the three types of clause mentioned above refer to the three kinds of meaning that are embodied in the structure of a clause The Theme, the Subject and the Actor do not occur in isolation; in fact, each occurs in association with other functions from the same strand of meaning [Halliday, 1994:34; Downing and Locke, 1995:6], as in: (36) Janice will give Chris the address tomorrow.[17:6]

Experiential Agent Process Recipient Affected Circumstance

Interpersonal Subject Finite +

Predicator

Indirect Object

Direct Object Adjunct

Textual Theme Rheme

(37) Chris will be given the address Janice tomorrow.[17:7]

Experiential Recipient Process Affected Agent Circumstance

Interpersonal Subject Finite +

Predicator

Direct Object Adjunct Adjunct

Textual Theme Rheme

(38) Tomorrow the address will be given to Chris by Janice

[17:7]

Experiential Circumstance Affected Process Recipient Agent

Interpersonal Adjunct Subject Finite +

Predicator

Prepositional Object

Adjunct

Textual Theme Rheme

2.1.2 SVI in English

2.1.2.1 SVI in the light of functional and descriptive grammar

2.1.2.1.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar

The word order in the English language is normally regulated in a way that the subject comes at the beginning of a statement; however, it is not always true “We sometimes put another phrase in front position before the subject We do this to emphasize the phrase or to contrast it with phrases in other sentences The phrase in front position is more prominent than in its normal position” [Eastwood, 1994:55], as in:

b Round and round FLEW the plane [80:55]

In (39) the fronted adverbials of place grammatically require the verb element to follow and the nominal phrases are placed at the end The position of the verb and

subject like above is very often considered by many grammarians as SVI [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987:413-414; Hewings, 1999:230-240; Biber et al, 1999:896-956]

Whether the whole verb group or just part of it is inverted to the front position, linguists classify SVI as two major types of inversion In this study, the researcher would rely on the discussions by Biber et al [1999:911] as below:

Full inversion acts in the structure in which the subject is preceded by the entire verb

phrase as in (40)a or only a single lexical verb as in (40)b below:

(40)a Also noted WILL HAVE BEEN the 800 metres run by under-fifteen Claire Duncan at Derby and the under-seven 100 metres hurdling of Jon Haslam [5:914]

b Inland and north from Ho Chi Minh City LIES the scenic hill town of Dalat

Partial inversion works in the structure where the subject is preceded by the

operator23 rather than the main verb or a full verb phrase, as HAD in (41)a and WERE

in (41)b below:

(41)a Hardly HAD I left before the quarreling started [62:414]

b WERE it running more slowly, all geologic activity would have proceeded

2.1.2.1.2 From the perspective of functional grammar

Depending on the whole predicator or part of it inverted to the front of the subject, the two types of inversion are discussed and introduced by Halliday [1994] and Downing and Locke [1995] as follows:

Finite operator-subject inversion refers to the case that the subject is placed after the

finite part of the predicator or after a finite auxiliary, as in:

(42)a So depressed DID he feel that nothing would cheer him up [17:229]

b HAD I known the facts, I would not have employed him [17:229]

Predicator-subject inversion refers to the case that the whole predicator is placed in front of the subject, as in:

b Across the campus RACED the students [17:228]

23It is usually the first auxiliary verb in a verb phrase of a positive sentence that enables us

to know how a corresponding interrogative or negative one is formed or how certain types

of emphases are achieved When the expression has no auxiliary verb in a positive

sentence, do, does, or did can be employed to serve as an operator in the corresponding

interrogative or negative one [Quirk and Greenbaum:1987]

c Bluer than velvet WAS the night [17:229]

2.1.2.2 Internal structures of SVI

2.1.2.2.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar

Given the right circumstance, SVI does occur to serve a certain function; in many cases in which SVI takes place, the inverted verb can occur in the same clause and then the same sentence with the trigger, as in:

b Here IS the application form you will fill out [46:119] The inverted verb, together with the trigger, can also occur in the following clause which is closely related to the previous one in the same sentence, as in:

(45)a Women do not smoke as much as men do, nor DO they drink as much alcohol.[56:155]

b Gail’s in and so IS Lisa [5:917] The inverted verb, along with the trigger, can occur in the following sentence whereas the trigger is closely related to the previous sentence, as in:

(46)a Mary had to work at evenings and weekends Only in this way WAS she able

to complete the report by the deadline [36:240]

b She bought a newspaper and some sweets at the shop on the corner

Only later DID she realize that she’s given the wrong change [36:240]

The inverted verb can occur in a different clause from the trigger, as in:

(47)a Only when the famine gets worse WILL world governments begin to act [36:240]

b Not until I visited him DID I realize how ill he was [28:170] The inverted verb can occur without any triggers, as in:

(48)a SHOULD you want to take duck, come to Cau Dua area [86:44]

b HAD Alex asked, I would have been able to help [36:238]

2.1.2.2.2 From the perspective of functional grammar

From the thematic structure, when a clause element is moved to the initial position, this is called thematic fronting Fronting or thematisation is an important process in

which it affects the structural ordering of the declarative clause although the thematised element does not change its grammatical function [Downing and Locke,

1995:227] Therefore, the finite element is usually part of the Rheme even when finite operator-subject24 inversion or subject-predicator inversion occurs, as in:

(49)a

b

There

“So will I,”

WERE three jovial Welshmen [32:44]

SAID Woody Fries [32:63]

However, the finite element can be a Theme in yes/no questions or in conditional sentences without the subordinator if [Halliday, 1994; Downing and Locke, 1995], as

find me an acre of land? [32:46]

at home? [32:46] change your plan… [62:414] From the mood structure, “the mood is normally characterized by the presence or

absence of the subject25 and by relative positions of the subject and the finite element” [Downing and Locke, 1995:5] Therefore, whether the subject goes after or before the finite element, they still combine to form the mood, as in:

Mood Residue

Finite Subject

(51) HAS the duke given that tea pot away [32:74]

Mood Residue Mood tag

Subject “past”

Finite

“have”

Predicator

(52) Mary had a little lamp DIDN’T she? [32:80] From the transitivity structure, the process is structurally in correlation with the finite

element and the predicator as being illustrated in the example below The process is sometimes interrupted by the Subject26 (Participant) which separates the finite from the predicator [Downing and Locke, 1995:326], as in:

And sometimes the entire process is placed in front of the participant (or the logical subject) when the negative adjunct (circumstance) is fronted, as in:

(54) There WAS a storm [32:143]

2.1.2.3 Functions of SVI

2.1.2.3.1 From the perspective of descriptive grammar

Quirk and Greenbaum [1987:413,414] and Hewings [1999:238] describe that SVI is created to serve some basic functions as follows:

- For formal or literary styles, as in fronted adverbials, fronted “so/such”, fronted predicative adjectives or fronted participles;

- For performing wishes, as in subjunctive mood, or conveying a condition, as in conditionals;

- For quoting direct speech, as in direct speech;

- For asking for information or getting people to do things, as in questions;

- For emphases, as in comparisons, exclamations, fronted predicative adjectives or fronted adverbials

All the SVI types in English and their functions will be discussed more specifically

in Chapter 4

2.1.2.3.2 From the perspective of functional grammar

Biber et al [1999] point out that the uses of SVI can be traced to the following discourse functions:

Information flow refers to the preference that the given or known information in a

clause or sentence is fronted to express or refer back to the familiar one in the preceding discourse while others presenting something new are placed towards the

Identified Process: Intensive Identifier

(55) On the mat IS the best place [32:132]

end of that clause or sentence This really contributes to the cohesion27 of the text because the known information is close to that which it connects back to, as in:

(56)a Among those expected from President Obama’s new administration IS

Lawrence Summer, the director of the National Economic Council [72:76]

b Above the fireplace WAS a portrait of the Duke [36:238]

End focus includes end focus and double focus End focus refers to the principle that

focus is normally placed on the last lexical item of the last sentence element And

double focus refers to the fact that in a sentence, there is more than one special

emphasis which needs to be conveyed; therefore, it seems accurate to identify two major potential points of prominence in a sentence: the beginning and the end, as in:

(57)a Enclosed IS the complete listing of the distinguished banks [9:168]

b Coming to Belfast this month ARE the Breeeders and Levellers [5:907]

Intensification and emphasis are concerned with what applies to special cases of

emphasis arising when elements are in focus as the initially fronted adjective phrases underlined below:

(58)a Far more serious WERE the severe head injuries; in particular, a bruising

b Even easier IS the language which ships’ captains use: it’s called Seaspeak [64:115] Weight refers to the fact that elements of a sentence are normally of different size

and complexity or weight There is a preferred distribution of those elements in the

sentence in accordance with their weight called the principle of end weight: the

tendency for long and complex elements to be placed towards the end of a clause or sentence, as in:

(59)a Gone ARE the days when you could buy a three-course meal for under £1 [60:389]

b It WAS last night that John wore his best suit to the dance [62:415]

2.2 Methodological notions

2.2.1 Case study

A case study is the study of a particular case in which the researcher explores depth a program, an activity, a process, or one or more individual The case is

linguistic means (grammar, lexical, phonological) by which sentences “stick together” or are linked into larger units of paragraph, stanzas or chapters

bounded by time and activity and the researcher collects detailed information by using a variety of data collection procedure over a sustained period of time [Creswell, 2003; Lamnek, 2005] In this view, a case study bears the two following characteristics:

- When selecting a certain case for a case study, researchers often use oriented sampling, as opposed to random sampling, because it is often more important to clarify the deeper causes behind a given problem and its consequences than to describe the symptoms of the problem and how frequently they occur Emphasizing representativeness, random samples can hardly be able

information-to produce this kind of insight; therefore, it is appropriate for more than one case

to be selected in order to prove the validity of a case study

- A case study is usually in form of a qualitative descriptive research that is used

to look at individuals, a small group of participants, or a group as a whole Researchers collect data about participants using participant and direct observations, interviews, protocols, tests, examinations of records, and collections of writing samples

In another view, a case study should be defined as a research strategy, an empirical inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context Case study research means that single and multiple case studies can include quantitative evidence, relies on multiple sources of evidence and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions Case studies should not be confused with qualitative research since they can be based on any mix of quantitative and qualitative evidence [Lamnek, 2005]

The study done for and reported for this M.A thesis then relies on Lamnek’s latter view and is well-qualified to be called a case study In fact, it is an in-depth study in the English-majored students’ ability to learn and use English SVI in academic writing at UM in the academic year 2009-2010 To begin with, the researcher searches various document sources for grounding the theory for the two equivalent tests: the diagnostic test and the achievement test After getting the result of the diagnostic test and the survey’s feedback from the teachers of English at UM, he carries out the experimental teaching in Writing 1 to the information-based sampling,

involving the entire population of English-majored freshmen at UM during the above-mentioned period of time The achievement test then helps measure the students’ progress in dealing with SVI Simultaneously, the questionnaire survey’s responses from the entire population provide the researcher with the students’ further opinions and expectations of SVI teaching and learning at the university Later in Writing 2, the researcher continues to promote the students’ uses of SVI and take good notes of how well the students can really apply SVI in academic writing In addition to the students’ performance on SVI uses in Writing 2, their attitudes towards SVI uses are supposed to be revealed in their writing pieces, which are the expected results of the whole process of teaching and learning SVI at UM The data collected from the entire population in question — quantitatively via the two tests and the questionnaire survey as well as qualitatively from his observational notes — definitely help the researcher work out the thesis’s findings

2.2.2 Language learning

Recently, a distinction has been drawn between acquiring a language and learning a

language, most notably by the American writer Krashen Language learning or explicit learning refers to the formal study of language rules It is a learning process

in which learners consciously attend to form, figure out rules, are aware of them and are able to talk about them [Krashen, 1987:10; Richards and Long, 1987:35]

Learning is thought to be aided by the practice of error correction which, according

to Richards and Long [1987:35], helps learners come to the correct mental presentation of rules Likewise, Krashen [1987:19,20,60] asserts that error correction

is an indispensable part in language learning, and learners.” Output focuses on the accuracy of forms or structures, which leads learners to speak with difficulty and no real fluency as they are constantly self-correcting in the middle of their utterances with their learned rules

Krashen [1987:15ff] continues that conscious learning plays a limited role in language performance; it functions only as a monitor or editor that checks and repairs the output of the acquired system only when learners have sufficient time to choose and apply a learned rule to correctness of forms of the output and know the rules

2.2.3 Language acquisition

While learning is a conscious process which results in knowing rules a bout a language, language acquisition is a kind of intuitive learning process of constructing the system of a language [Brown, 2000:278; Richards and Long, 1987:35] It refers

to an unconscious process that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language and through using language for meaningful communication It is defined by Richards and Long [1987:35] as “the process children use to acquire their first language.”

Acquisition, not learning, is responsible for fluency [Richards and Long, 1987:37] Acquirers attend to the truth value of the message, focusing on the fluency in communication; surface structures have little or no effect on their output

In language acquisition, grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable or

natural order: Certain rules tend to be acquired earlier than others and output has an

indirect contribution to make to language acquisition; actual speaking affect the quantity and quality of the input people directed at the acquirer [Krashen, 1987:10ff; Richards and Long, 1987:38]

2.2.4 The question of internalization 28

From the discussion above, the traditional language learning can be seen as being mistaken since there is no guarantee that an item so learnt will be successfully used

in communication Krashen [1987:83ff] makes a clear distinction between acquisition and learning and claims that learnt language cannot become part of the acquired language store and learning does not directly help acquisition

However, other methodologists are not in the same vein with Krashen

Harmer [1991] and McLaughlin [1990] claim that it is empirically impossible to differentiate what is conscious from what is unconscious or know whether someone has learnt or acquired a certain piece of language

Gregg [1984:82] also comments on the absence of evidence in Krashen’s claim and asserts that if unconscious knowledge is capable of being brought to consciousness, then it’s reasonable conscious knowledge is capable of becoming unconscious

28

Internalization is a process in which learning becomes acquisition [Krashen, 1987: 81-84].

Brown adds, “… language learning is a process in which varying degrees of learning and of acquisition can both be beneficial, depending upon the learner’s own styles and strategies… Instructions in conscious rule learning and other types of form-focused instruction can indeed aid in the attainment of successful communicative competence…” [Brown, 2000:279, 280]

Fromkin et al [1999:347] believes that one can acquire the language in the learning process when they are provided with comprehensible input29 in environments where anxiety is low and defensiveness-absent

As a life-long non-native learner and teacher of English, the researcher finds it hard

to support Krashen’s viewpoint: the result of the study done for and reported in this M.A thesis shows that learning does facilitate the student subjects’ acquisition

though it cannot help the students acquire the target language as native speakers do

That is why the teaching of SVI will be expected to take place systematically in one lesson unit for the student subjects to learn and in the following lessons and even the following courses on Writing, the students will be more exposed to the very structure Only by doing this can the researcher help his/her students master SVI gradually and can they use it for communication

2.2.5 Language teaching methods

Below are some language teaching methods related to grammar teaching that might

be used to instruct SVI to the English majored freshmen at UM

 Grammar-Translation Method

In this method, grammar is emphasized and taught deductively30 in the mother

tongue It was hoped that, through the study of the grammar of the target language, students would become more familiar with the grammar of that language and that this familiarity would help them speak and write the native language better [Larsen-Freeman, 2000:11] However, it does virtually nothing to enhance a student’s

29

Comprehensible input or roughly-tuned input refers to “the language that learners are

exposed to certain structure just far enough beyond their current competence that they can understand most of it but still be challenged to make progress” [Brown, 2000:278]

30

Deductive approach is the one in which learners are given rules and then apply these rules

to exercises [Richards et al, 1985:73]

communicative ability and is remembered as “a tedious experience of memorizing endless lists of unusable grammar rules and vocabulary” [Brown, 2001:16]

 Direct Method

This method gets its name from the fact that meaning is conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstration and visual aids, with no recourse to students’ native language The goal of instruction became learning how to use a foreign language to communicate orally [Brown, 2001:23] No translation is allowed, and grammar is taught inductively31 from examples presented orally in the

target language, in which vocabulary is emphasized over grammar [Larsen-Freeman, 1987:29]

 Audio-Lingual Method

The Audio-Lingual Method is also an oral-based approach Instead of emphasizing vocabulary acquisition through exposure to its use in situations as in the Direct Method, the Audio-Lingual Method drills students in the use of grammatically correct sentence patterns It also has a strong theoretical base in linguistics and psychology, in which it was thought that the way to acquire the sentence patterns of the target language was, through conditioning, helping learners to respond correctly

to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement [Larsen-Freeman, 1987:35] What’s more, there is little or no of grammatical explanation: grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation and vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context through much use of tapes, language labs and visual aids, which is

an effort to get students to produce error-free utterances [Brown, 2001:74-75] For that reason, Brown [2001:103] sees this method as putting “the emphasis on surface forms and on rote practice of scientifically produced patterns”

 Community Language Learning

In this method, the teacher and his/her students join together to facilitate learning in

a context of valuing or prizing each individual in the group In such a surrounding, each person lowers the defenses that prevent open, interpersonal communication and the anxiety caused by the education context is lessened by the supportive

they discover or figure out generalizations Explicit grammatical rules are never given [Richards et al, 1985:87]

community The basic methodology is explicit [Brown, 2001:103] Grammatical structures are inductively perceived in the teacher’s transcription of the students’ conversations and examined in their native language with the teacher’s help [Larsen-Freeman, 1986:99]

 Communicative Language Teaching

This method aims broadly to apply the theoretical perspective of communicative approach by making communicative competence the goal of language teaching Classroom goals are focused on all the components of communicative competence and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence [Brown, 2001:266] Hence, grammar is taught as a means to help learners convey their intended meaning appropriately The teaching of grammar can be managed either deductively or inductively but focuses on meanings and functions of forms in situational context and the roles of the interlocutors [Larsen-Freeman, 1986:132-133] The overt presentation and discussion of grammatical rules are less paid attention to [Brown, 2000:266-267]

2.3 Methods of teaching English Sentence Structures at UM

According to the talks32 with 8 teachers of English who have taught English Sentence Structures at UM, the language is often presented either deductively or inductively: 2

teachers would rather provide their English-majored freshmen with the patterns followed by examples to illustrate the patterns, 1 would prefer to give their students the examples first and then request the students themselves to work out the patterns and the rest tend to combine the two above methods based on each lesson Different though the ways to present the lessons are, they often ask the students to employ the learned patterns to do some kinds of exercises such as blank-filling, sentence completing, sentence transforming and sentence-rewriting, and sometimes they give them a situation to use the learned structures to make sentences All in all, the

language that the above teachers use is, sure enough, more like descriptive than functional since they just describe the structure elements of the clause and then the

way of how the very elements are put together in sequence to make correct sentences in English

32

the talks with 8 teachers of how English sentence structures are normally taught at UM

In another M.A thesis named “English inverted declarative analysis and suggested teaching implication”, Cao Thị Phương Dung [2006] analyses and compares inverted constructions of English declaratives with those of Vietnamese equivalents in order

to point out some similarities and differences between the two languages as far as inversion is concerned Hopefully, her discovery should be applied for pedagogical purposes, especially for teaching translation to Vietnamese learners of English

In short, the two previous studies34 just focused on investigating the internal structure of the inverted sentence and the existential sentence in the English language

in comparison and contrast with their Vietnamese equivalents from the perspective

of descriptive grammar In this study, the researcher expects to concentrate on empowering the English-majored students with the ability to employ English SVI in academic writing and then he will put forwards some implications for its teaching

2.5 Summary

Chapter 2 has mainly reviewed the conception of SVI from the two perspectives:

descriptive grammar and functional grammar Also, this chapter presented some

language teaching methods that would potentially be employed to teach SVI during the experimental process carried out to collect data for this M.A thesis Regardless

of the fact that only descriptive grammar approach has been used to teach English

33University of Social Sciences and Humanities, which belongs to Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City

34available both in the English Resources Center of the Department of English Linguistics and Literature and in the Library of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City