Rationale
English has undoubtedly become an international means of communication in the global integration today As the spread of English to almost corners of the world, people are getting more and more aware of the importance of the language For many people in Vietnam, English is considered as a very necessary means in order to get a good job, especially a job in a foreign company Thus, there is a growing demand to learn the language for communication
The English language program at the VCC is aimed at enabling the Vietnamese seamen to use basic English successfully in their job However, these seamen, who often work in the international environment, find it is very difficult to communicate in other countries because of different culture and religion In such situations, English is a unique mean which can help them to express their ideas In order to meet the need of many international shipping agencies, they need to have good speaking skills for their work purposes These oral skills are quite basic, but they contain many different genres After years of conversation practice and experiences, many Vietnamese seamen are still unable to engage in genuine conversations in target language Many of them satisfied themselves with “Yes / No answers” or use body language to express their ideas during the conversation In fact, if they had taken the initiative to say a bit more, they would have fulfilled their task better than they did
For all the reasons I have mentioned above, speaking English fluently and accurately is an urgent task for both English teachers and seamen in VCC How to teach and learn speaking skills in most effective methods is our big question Understanding students‟ need and goal help teachers to classify and lead students gain their purpose In the real state of some Vietnamese Ocean Shipping companies, at the moment, using English clause patterns to improve conversational skills is one of the most effective ways to make seamen get progression in English And finding out the advanced methods
To investigate the syntactic and semantic features of English clause patterns
To suggest advanced methods of improving seamen‟s speaking skills via English clause patterns
The study focuses on the advanced methods of improving seamen‟s speaking skills in Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint- Stock Company via English clause patterns
In order to complete the minor thesis, the quantitative research was used to achieve the aims mentioned above:
- A survey questionnaire was given to one hundred seamen The data was collected from the seamen‟s answers and their self- evaluation and feelings, which are quite difficult for teachers
- The informants were asked to give feed back to each question mostly by sticking and choice With the seamen‟s serious working attitude, the questionnaire was successfully done without any discussion or cribbing The survey was carried out in the classroom context to ensure the truthfulness of the feedback
- The fingers and charts were used to analyze the data
- Through the analysis and discussion of the finding, some possible applications would be made towards the improvement speaking skills of the Seamen of VCC at Vosco
The objectives of the research can be elaborated via the following research questions:
What are the syntactic and semantic features of English clause patterns?
What are the viable ways of improving seamen‟s speaking skills via English clause patterns?
The minor thesis is composed of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion
Part one introduces the rationale, aims and objectives, the research questions, scope of the study, methodology, and design of the study as well as the significance of the study
Part two contains four chapters:
- Chapter one reviews the literature related to the English Clause Patterns This chapter includes: (1) Theoretical background; (2) Review of previous works
- Chapter two describes syntactic and semantic features of English clause elements
- Chapter three is an investigation into the current situation of teaching and learning speaking at VCC It also shows the survey questionnaire administered to one hundred seamen The settings, the participants, the results and analysis of the findings are also mentioned in this chapter
- Chapter four shows some viable implications for teaching English clause patterns to Vietnamese seamen in VCC In this chapter, the common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen and possible solutions are mentioned
Part three includes the conclusions on the objectives, implications and suggestions for further research
This study plays a crucial role for enhancing teaching method of speaking to Vietnamese seamen at Vosco Its implemented recommendations will make the application of CLT at VCC successful and effective
PART B : DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
The main aim in this chapter is to present some theories related to English clause patterns The first section overviews the theoretical background of English clause patterns, then comes clause elements Next step is the analysis of simple sentences vs complex sentences Then, the sentence types are mentioned The chapter ends with the review of previous works which related to clause patterns in English language
According to David Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p 221) there are only seven basic types of English clause patterns
(i) S-V-O (ii) S-V-C (iii) S-V-A (iv) S-V-O-O (v) S-V-O-C (vi) S-V-O-A (vii) S-V
S: Subject V: Verb Oi: Indirect Object
Od: Direct Object Co: Object Compliment Ca: Adverbial Compliment
Some Examples of the Seven Clause Patterns in English
S V Oi Od Cs Co Ca
SVC The weather is cold
SVA The kids were here
SVO Emily is playing cards
SVOO My father will send my sister his money
SVOC We consider her the best
SVOA I will put the book away
These are well worth learning about, as we will certainly want to use them to explain the syntax of language data, we are studying in exams or investigations If we are not able to describe or identify clause types, it is usually acceptable and always helpful to consider how these elements work together We may use them to explain how sentences work, also
From our discussion of the phrase rank, we also know that we can categorize the constituents of that clause into the appropriate phrase type
Furthermore, we also know that each phrase can be subcategorized into its constituent parts.
The diagram above, however, looks at the constituents of the clause only from the perspective of the constituents' forms We should remember that those forms also serve functions, just as the forms at the phrase rank can also be described according to the functions they served within their phrases Essentially the clause can be divided into eight functional constituents, grouped into five categories:
Functional Categories Nine Clause Functions
A subject in English typically matches two types of pattern: agreement and word order It both agrees with the verb group of its clause and is positioned in certain particular ways The agreement is one of two different forms of the verb (three in the case of the verb be) depending on the number and person of its subject For instance, if a subject is singular and is a third person, i e it is neither the speaker nor the listeners, one chooses the form has of the verb have; otherwise one chooses have
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, the subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle The other constituent is the predicate In English, subjects govern agreement on the verb or auxiliary verb that carries the main tense of the sentence, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat
Form Cultural Dictionary, the subject is a part of every sentence The subject tells what the sentence is about; it contains the main noun or noun phrase: “The car crashed into the railing”; “Judy and two of her friends were elected to the National Honor Society.”
In some cases the subject is implied: you is the implied subject in “Get me some orange juice.” (Compare predicate.)
Form Computing Dictionary, in subject-oriented programming, a subject is a collection of classes or class fragments whose class hierarchy models its domain in its own, subjective way A subject may be a complete application in itself, or it may be an incomplete fragment that must be composed with other subjects to produce a complete application Subject composition combines class hierarchies to produce new subjects that incorporate functionality from existing subjects
The object of a sentence is usually a noun phrase (which can be just a pronoun) It is usually the element that is 'on the receiving end' of whatever action is being described by the verb, and usually appears after the subject and verb in a sentence
We drank lots of beer last night
Anything which directly receives the action of the verb is a direct object (Od): 'lots of beer' above is a direct object - It is the 'thing' that was drunk
My Mum gave my sister an apple
Scope of the study
The study focuses on the advanced methods of improving seamen‟s speaking skills in Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint- Stock Company via English clause patterns.
Methodology
In order to complete the minor thesis, the quantitative research was used to achieve the aims mentioned above:
- A survey questionnaire was given to one hundred seamen The data was collected from the seamen‟s answers and their self- evaluation and feelings, which are quite difficult for teachers
- The informants were asked to give feed back to each question mostly by sticking and choice With the seamen‟s serious working attitude, the questionnaire was successfully done without any discussion or cribbing The survey was carried out in the classroom context to ensure the truthfulness of the feedback
- The fingers and charts were used to analyze the data
- Through the analysis and discussion of the finding, some possible applications would be made towards the improvement speaking skills of the Seamen of VCC at Vosco
The objectives of the research can be elaborated via the following research questions:
What are the syntactic and semantic features of English clause patterns?
What are the viable ways of improving seamen‟s speaking skills via English clause patterns?
Design of the study
The minor thesis is composed of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion
Part one introduces the rationale, aims and objectives, the research questions, scope of the study, methodology, and design of the study as well as the significance of the study
Part two contains four chapters:
- Chapter one reviews the literature related to the English Clause Patterns This chapter includes: (1) Theoretical background; (2) Review of previous works
- Chapter two describes syntactic and semantic features of English clause elements
- Chapter three is an investigation into the current situation of teaching and learning speaking at VCC It also shows the survey questionnaire administered to one hundred seamen The settings, the participants, the results and analysis of the findings are also mentioned in this chapter
- Chapter four shows some viable implications for teaching English clause patterns to Vietnamese seamen in VCC In this chapter, the common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen and possible solutions are mentioned
Part three includes the conclusions on the objectives, implications and suggestions for further research.
Significance of the study
This study plays a crucial role for enhancing teaching method of speaking to Vietnamese seamen at Vosco Its implemented recommendations will make the application of CLT at VCC successful and effective.
LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background
Clause patterns
According to David Crystal (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, p 221) there are only seven basic types of English clause patterns
(i) S-V-O (ii) S-V-C (iii) S-V-A (iv) S-V-O-O (v) S-V-O-C (vi) S-V-O-A (vii) S-V
S: Subject V: Verb Oi: Indirect Object
Od: Direct Object Co: Object Compliment Ca: Adverbial Compliment
Some Examples of the Seven Clause Patterns in English
S V Oi Od Cs Co Ca
SVC The weather is cold
SVA The kids were here
SVO Emily is playing cards
SVOO My father will send my sister his money
SVOC We consider her the best
SVOA I will put the book away
Clause elements
These are well worth learning about, as we will certainly want to use them to explain the syntax of language data, we are studying in exams or investigations If we are not able to describe or identify clause types, it is usually acceptable and always helpful to consider how these elements work together We may use them to explain how sentences work, also
From our discussion of the phrase rank, we also know that we can categorize the constituents of that clause into the appropriate phrase type
Furthermore, we also know that each phrase can be subcategorized into its constituent parts.
The diagram above, however, looks at the constituents of the clause only from the perspective of the constituents' forms We should remember that those forms also serve functions, just as the forms at the phrase rank can also be described according to the functions they served within their phrases Essentially the clause can be divided into eight functional constituents, grouped into five categories:
Functional Categories Nine Clause Functions
A subject in English typically matches two types of pattern: agreement and word order It both agrees with the verb group of its clause and is positioned in certain particular ways The agreement is one of two different forms of the verb (three in the case of the verb be) depending on the number and person of its subject For instance, if a subject is singular and is a third person, i e it is neither the speaker nor the listeners, one chooses the form has of the verb have; otherwise one chooses have
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, the subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle The other constituent is the predicate In English, subjects govern agreement on the verb or auxiliary verb that carries the main tense of the sentence, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat
Form Cultural Dictionary, the subject is a part of every sentence The subject tells what the sentence is about; it contains the main noun or noun phrase: “The car crashed into the railing”; “Judy and two of her friends were elected to the National Honor Society.”
In some cases the subject is implied: you is the implied subject in “Get me some orange juice.” (Compare predicate.)
Form Computing Dictionary, in subject-oriented programming, a subject is a collection of classes or class fragments whose class hierarchy models its domain in its own, subjective way A subject may be a complete application in itself, or it may be an incomplete fragment that must be composed with other subjects to produce a complete application Subject composition combines class hierarchies to produce new subjects that incorporate functionality from existing subjects
The object of a sentence is usually a noun phrase (which can be just a pronoun) It is usually the element that is 'on the receiving end' of whatever action is being described by the verb, and usually appears after the subject and verb in a sentence
We drank lots of beer last night
Anything which directly receives the action of the verb is a direct object (Od): 'lots of beer' above is a direct object - It is the 'thing' that was drunk
My Mum gave my sister an apple
Anything that does not directly receive the action of the verb but is still somehow 'on the receiving end' is an indirect object (Oi) In the example, 'my sister' is an indirect object, since she was not the thing that was given, but is, in a way, on the receiving end of the action of giving
1.1.2.4 Verb and its classification in English
(1) Verbs classified according to the functions performed by the elements in the verb phrase:
Modal: will, would, shall, should, may, might, ought to, must, can, could
Send- sent Show(ed)- shown Leave- left Eat-ate- eaten Cut- cut - cut Find - found Begin-began- begun
(2) Verbs classified in accordance with the types of complementation
(3) Verbs classified according to the number of constituents
Eg: we learn English every day
Eg: she turned on the radio
Eg: she looked at the radio
Phrase- prepositional verb: verb+ particle + preposition
Eg : They put up with the noise
Current: be, seem, remain, keep,…
Resulting: become, turn, go, get…
Eg: Her face went red
Since this study is about the completers of thoughts, it is appropriate to include a brief description of complements A complement (notice the spelling of the word) is any word or phrase that completes the sense of a subject, an object, or a verb As you will see, the terminology describing predicates and complements can overlap and be a bit confusing Students are probably wise to learn one set of terms, not both
A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an adjective or a noun that renames or defines in some way the subject
Eg: She is a doctor That smells heavenly The students are feeling dazed and confused
Adjective complements are also called predicate adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate nouns or predicate nominatives
An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct object It can be a noun or adjective or any word acting as a noun or adjective
The convention named „Dogbreath‟ to keep him happy
(The adjective "happy" complements the object "him.")
The clown got the children too excited
(The participle "excited" complements the object "children.")
A verb complement is a direct or indirect object of a verb
Granny left Tom all her money (Both "money" [the direct object] and "Tom" [the indirect object] are said to be the verb complements of this sentence.)
A sentence can have one, or many, adverbial elements Adverbials can be used in several different positions within the sentence, and express a range of meanings (time, place, manner, degree - like adverbs) Adverbials can be adverb phrases, prepositional phrases or even nouns and noun phrases They can add information to a sentence, make a link between two parts of a sentence, or add a comment about what is being expressed.
These clause elements add to or complete the meaning of the verb element
They may be single adverbs But they also include nouns, noun or verb phrases and subordinate clauses:
Eg: They ran quickly He went home twice nightly We walked on the playground
My friend phoned me this morning I was happy when I saw her again
Adverbials may appear in several positions in the clause, but are most common at the end:
Eg: Often I dream I often dream I dream often
Adverbials may perform different functions:
- Linking clauses: The bus was full However, Fred found a seat
- Adding a comment on what is expressed: Quite frankly we disapprove of violence
Some verbs ( like put) must have an adverbial to complete their meaning:
Please put the gun down The path runs around the field
These are optional elements used to show the person to whom a sentence is addressed
They may occur in various positions in the clause They include names, titles, evaluative labels, the pronoun you and certain kinds of clause: o John, it's me o It's me, darling o Hello, Susan, how are you? o You silly person, what do you mean? o Honey, I shrank the kids
The function of words and phrases tells us what 'job' they are doing in any particular context There are five different functions words and phrases can fulfil - linguistically speaking, we say they can appear as one of the five clause elements:
Simple sentences
Grammarians use clause to refer to both simple sentences and to subordinate clauses A simple sentence is called an independent clause Some of the definitions of clause used in the Longman Grammar are quoted here: The term simple sentence can be confusing because of definitions that many of us have learned that focused on the meaning or content of a sentence Those misleading definitions said something like "a simple sentence has only 1 main idea." But that definition is just impossible to apply because it's impossible to be sure what "one idea" is A simple sentence can be short and with uncomplicated ideas, but a simple sentence can be long and with complicated ideas
Examples of simple sentences with complex content: No aspect of life goes untouched by social class ; Perhaps this decline has already begun; We have lost millions of manufacturing jobs to Mexico, South America, ad Asia
Thus, we need to use a definition like the one given in the Longman Grammar A simple sentence is a unit that has only a single subject and a single predicate The subject can be compound, but the simple sentence is a single unit as in the following examples
Examples of Simple Sentences with Compound Subjects Jack and Jill went up a hill
Sociology and anthropology are both social sciences
1.1.3.2 Intransitive Verbs in Simple Sentences
Intransitive verbs cannot have objects or complements They are complete with just a subject and a verb Adverbials can be added but are not required for the SV to be syntactically completed
It's raining It's raining "cats and dogs." The wind is blowing The wind is blowing hard
1.1.3.3 Transitive Verbs in Simple sentences
Transitive Verbs must have objects Maybe it is more accurate to say that a transitive verb must have an object, because some transitive verbs need two objects or an object and an adverbial Be careful about these sub-types The idea is that the verb must have the additional units That requirement is especially tricky with the SVOA type The adverbial is required not optional for this category Now, SVOA is a very small category with only 1 or 2 verbs in it Few verbs require that we specify adverbial information
Notice that put does require that we say where We can't say just: Her mother put the book We have to add the location Focus on these examples: S+V+Od: Maria bought a book
S+V+Oi+Od: Maria gave her mother a book
S+V+O+A: Her mother put the book on the shelf
1.1.3.4 Linking Verbs in Simple Sentences
I've taught so many ESL students over the years and sometimes-less-than-mature graduated students, too, that I've just learned not to try to talk about copular verbs It's just not worth the giggles That's probably why classroom teachers still use the term linking verbs Moreover, linking does have the right meaning for this category The verb links descriptive information back to the subject Here's the list of common linking verbs from
Linking Verbs be She is a teacher She is happy appear She appears tired become She became a teacher She became ill feel I feel tired grow He grew sleepy look They look pleased prove The plan proved a disaster The plan proved tiring remain They remain tired seem He seems young smell The soup smells great sound The students sound happy taste The coffee tasted bitter
Linking verbs can connect adjectives or noun phrases to give more information about the subject of the sentence To distinguish this purpose and structure from that of the object in the SVO types, some linguists and grammarians use the term complement for the third element in a sentence with a linking verb Others use the term subject predicative
Two types of sentences with linking verbs are given in the Longman Student Grammar:
S+V+SP has an adjective or a noun as the subject predicative Notice that most linking verbs can take only adjectives for their complements but that be can have either an adjective or a noun phrase The second type is the S+V+A where the A is required and is often a prepositional phrase used for location or time
Linking Verbs in Simple Sentences S+V+SP: The soup tasted salty The cook is not a very good cook
S+V+A: The soup is on the table The cook is in the kitchen.
Sentences classified in accordance with purposes of communication
Simple sentences may be divided into four major syntactic classes, whose use correlates with different communicative functions:
1.1.4.1 Statements: Statements are sentences in which the subject I always present and generally precedes the verb:
John will speak to the boss today
On exceptional statement not containing a subject
(I am) Sorry I couldn‟t be there
(It‟s) Good to see you
1.1.4.2 Questions: Questions can be divided into three major classes according to the type of answer they expect:
(1) those that expect only information or rejection (as in Do you have breakfast?) are YES-
(2) those that expect a reply supplying an item of information (as in what is your name?
How old are you?) are WH- questions;
(3) those that expect as the reply one of two or more options presented in the question are ALTERNATIVE questions; for example: Would you like to go for a walk or stay at home?
1.1.4.3 Commands: Commands are sentences which normally have no overt grammatical subject, and whose verb is in the imperative
(1) Commands with a subject: is the type of command in which the subject you is retained:
You be quiet! or You mind your own business, and leave this to me!
(2) Commands without a subject: the imperative verb, however, is severely restricted as to tense, aspect, voice, and modality There is no tense distinction or perfect aspect:
(3) Commands with Let: first person imperatives can be formed by proposing the verb let, followed by a subject in the objective case:
Let us all work hard (more usually: Let‟s…) Let me have a look
(4) Negative commands: to negate 2 nd and 3 rd person imperatives, one simply adds an initial Don‟t, replacing assertive by non- assertive forms where necessary
Open some windows Don‟t open any windows
(5) Persuasive commands: A persuasive or insistent imperative is created by the addition of do (with a nuclear tone) before the main verb:
Do let‟s go to the theatre
1.1.4.4 Exclamations: Exclamations are sentences which have an initial phrase introduced by what or how, without inversion of subject and operator:
What the noise they are making!
Review of previous works
Over the past several decades, whether or not grammar should be taught explicitly has been a controversial issue Extensive grammar research has shown that grammar should be neglected in teaching English ever since communication methodology appeared in the last 1970s It was claimed that language should be acquired through natural exposure, not through former instruction (Krashen, as a cited in Nassaji & Potos)
However, recent research studies have demonstrated that grammar instructions enable learners to attain high level of proficiency, both in accuracy and fluency It was claimed that the teacher should provide learners with authentic discourse samples to illustrate all the contextually dependent grammar rules (Ellis & Cele Murcia, 2002) Florez (1999) in an article emphasized speaking skills using grammar accurately
Speaking and listening is the most used language skills both in and outside the classroom Speaking is an interaction process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information (Florenz, 1999; Brown, 1994)
Kumaravadivelu (1999) demonstrated that discourse relates to the relationship between language structure and the immediate social context in which it is used The social context helps classroom discourse look at the class room activity as a social event and the classroom as a “minisociety” with its own rule
Pennington (2002) suggested “action grammar” in which grammars of language should meet the real use: “it must be interactive in nature and relative to specific discourse communicative and their communicative practices”
Celce-Murcia illustrated grammatical sentences that combine the formal and functional perspectives to show how the sentences relate to form and meaning that relate communicative purpose Fotos (in Larsen-Freemen, 2002) argued that structure- based tasks designed to promote awareness of target grammar forms and useful pedagogy for providing communicative grammar instruction She also claimed that recent empirical evidence has shown that explicit instruction not only activates the previous knowledge of the target structures and but also draws their attention to the forms
However, none of these studies provides any descriptive methods based on data that demonstrates actual application to the EFL classroom where communicative input is extremely limited and where grammar-based syllabi are the norm In addition to the limited communication input, EFL learners do not have the real-world needs for communicative functions in the target language as much as EFL learners do Another limitation that previous research has not covered is that many non-active English speaking teachers who teach EFL have a lack of communicative proficiency to teach grammar at the discourse level
The present work will report on the reforms of English Grammar Teaching for communicative purposes, and present an applicable curriculum for communicative grammar in EFL classroom setting, which challenges and changes the role of EFL teachers.
SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF ENGLISH
Syntactic features
2.1.1.1 Realization: A subject can be realized as a noun phrase (basic and complex sentences), expletive, a cataphora It , a finite clause, a nonfinite clause
(i) A noun / noun phrase: in the basic and complex sentences and can be realized by the following forms:
A determinerless noun phrase (also called a bare noun phrase): In English, this is mostly limited to plural noun phrases and noun phrases headed by a mass noun
A noun phrase introduced by a determiner: This complex (determiner + noun phrase) is usually called a determiner phrase:
The large car stopped outside our house
(ii) An expletive : These are words like it or there when they don't refer to any thing or place For example in the following sentence "it" doesn't refer to anything It rains (iii) A cataphora It : This is the use of it when it is co-referent with a subordinate clause that comes after it
It was known by everyone (that) he had traveled the world
A finite clause which introduced by that, itself containing a subject and a predicate
That he had traveled the world was known by everyone
A direct quotation: I love you is often heard these days
Eating is a pleasure (Gerund) His constant hammering was very annoying (Determinerless phrase)
To read is easier than to write (Infinitive) Whom to hire is a difficult question (Embedded clause)
The subject can also be implied In the following command, the subject is the implied "you" that is the recipient of the imperative mood Take out the trash!
Occurs before the verb phrase in declarative clauses:
The children go to school every morning
Tom‟s father often drinks beer with friends after job
Immediately after the operator in questions:
But : Subject is a Q-element: who opened the letter?
2.1.1.3 Possible transformation: passivization with Subject becoming “ by-phrase ”
Mary beat Tom hard → Tom was beaten hard by Mary
The teacher gave the students a lot of books → The students were given a lot of books by the teacher.
Semantic roles
Instrumental and Empty it subject
(i) Agentive subject : The most typical semantic role of the Subject is agentive; that is, the animate being instigating or causing the happening denoted by verb:
John opened the letter; Tom put the book on the table
(ii) Recipient subject : the subject may also have a recipient role with verbs such as have, own, possess, benefit (from), as is indicated by the following relation:
Mr Bean has bought / given / sold his son a book → so now his son has / possesses / owns the book
The perceptual verbs see , hear , taste , smell and feel also require a recipient subject , in contrast to look at and listen to, which are agentive
Verbs indicating a mental state may also require a recipient subject:
I liked the play ( the play give me pleasure ) (iii) Locative, temporal and eventive subjects
Sunday is a day-off (temporal); Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam (Place)
Temporal subjects can usually be replaced by the empty it, the temporal expression becoming adjunct:
Tomorrow is my birthday (= it is my birthday tomorrow)
Eventive subjects ( with abstract noun heads designating arrangements and activities ) differ from others in permitting intensive complementation with a time adverbial:
The meeting is usually on Monday morning; The concert is on Thursday
(iv) Instrumental subject : A part from its agentive function, the subject frequently has an instrumental role; that is, it expresses the unwitting ( generally inanimate ) material cause of an event:
The storm completely destroyed the city
With intransitive verbs, the subject also frequently has the affected role that elsewhere typical of the subject:
The pencil was on the table
Finally, a subject may lack semantic content altogether, and consist only of the meaningless word it, used especially with climatic predications:
It‟s nice talking to him; It‟s getting dark.
Direct object
A noun phrase in basic and complex sentences:
Mary beat Tom; The big man hit the small boy
A finite and non-finite clause
I think that she is right; She wants to go home now
Tom ate a cake this morning; Mary opened the door
I gave Mary a book; The policeman gave him a fine of $ 200
2.2.1.3 Possible transformation: by the passive transformation, assumes the status of subject:
The policeman gave him a fine of $ 200 ((= A fine of $ 200 was given (to him) by the policeman)
However, a small of transitive verbs, the most common of which is have, normally do not allow a passive transformation of the sentence
I have a nice house; He lacks confidence
2.2.2 Semantic roles: Affected participant, Locative direct object, and Effected direct object
(i) Affected participant : The most typical function of the direct object is that of the affected participant who does not cause the happening denoted by the verb, but is directly involved in some other way:
Many people criticized the Prime Minister
(ii) Locative direct object : A part from the affected object, semantic type of direct object is the locative object:
The horse jumped the fence
There are similar uses of such verbs as turn, leave, reach, surround, penetrate , mount, cross , climb…
(iii) Effected direct object : An effected direct object in one that refers to something which exists only by virtue of the activity indicated by the verb
Mary wrote two letters; Baird invented television.
Indirect object
A noun phrase in basic and complex sentences:
I gave Mary a book (noun); Tom gave the old man an orange (noun phrase)
I gave whoever came to my party a bunch of flowers
The rich man gave whoever stood in the bus station a note of $10
2.3.1.2 Position: A direct object, where both objects are presented, precedes the direct
The teacher gave the student a computer
2.3.1.3 Possible transformation: By the passive transformation, assumes the status of subject:
Tom gave Mary a beautiful rose (= Mary was given a beautiful rose)
2.3.2 Semantic roles: Recipient indirect object, affected indirect object
(i) Recipient indirect object : The most typical function of the indirect object is that of recipient; an animate participant being passively implicated by the happening or the state:
I‟ve found you a right place; Bean gave Peter some books
(ii) Affected indirect object : There is only exception to the rule that the indirect object has the role of „recipient‟: this is when give (or sometimes related verbs like pay, owe) has an effected object as direct object, and an „affected‟ object as indirect object
I paid her a visit (= I visited her)
I gave my son a couple of kisses (= I kissed my son a couple of times.)
Complement
A noun phrase in basic and complex sentences:
Mary is a student; Tom is an excellent student
Mary is very clever; The weather is so bad
Finite and non-finite clause
Money is what she wants (Finite clause) His hobby is drinking beer (Non-finite clause)
Tom is a footballer; I am an English teacher
My father painted the front door green; The students selected him President
A complement does not become subject through the passive transformation
A noun phrase, an adjective phrase, or a clause with nominal function, having a co-referential with the subject (or object)
The role of subject complement is that of attribute of the subject, whether a current or existing attribute ( with stative verbs) or one resulting form the even described by the verbs ( with dynamic verbs) Current attribute: He‟s my brother; the girl seems unhappy
Resulting attribute: He became restless; He turned businessman
The role of object complement is that of attribute of the object, again either a current or resulting attribute:
Current attribute: I ate the meat cold; I prefer coffee black
Resulting attribute: They selected the book main document
The boy called the girl Princess.
Adverbial
A noun phrase in basic and complex sentences:
Yesterday I bought Mary an umbrella; They went there last month
The children are very happy; The nightclubs in Sydney are too exciting
The boys are playing football unfairly; He ran as fast as possible
They are playing in the corner; The girl is standing by the window
Finite, non-finite and verbless clauses
If he comes, we will discuss the news (Finite clause) Having finished the work, they went home (Non-finite clause) Too tired, they stopped working (Verbless)
2.5.1.2 Position: An adverbial can be realized in the following positions:
Initial: Tomorrow is my birthday
Medial: I will do it, if necessary, for you
Final: The president Ho Chi Minh visited Haiphong in 1946
An adverbial is generally mobile; it is capable of occurring in more than one position in the clause
An adverbial is generally optional, it may be added or removed from a sentence without an affecting its acceptability, but the obligatory adverbial of the SVA and SVOA patterns
No passivization possible with A becoming S
2.5.2 Semantic features: Temporal, locative, conditional, concession, resultative, manner…
He may come tomorrow; Next month, I am going to marry
Please, say where you are; wherever you are, I will find you
If he comes, I will give him some money;
I will build a new house if I have enough money
Though Tom was tired, he went on working
Mary continued smiling though she was so angry
It was so hot that no one wanted to go out
The children were so excited that they didn‟t want to go to bed
I did it the way you told me; I hated the way he behaved.
ADVANCED METHODS OF IMPROVING SEAMEN’S
Vosco Crewing Centre (VCC)
Vietnam Ocean Shipping Company belongs to International Marine Organization (IMO) Since its founding in 1970, Vosco has made great efforts to continuously develop and improve its fleet Vosco currently has a diverse fleet of modern ships comprising general cargo, bulk carriers, product tankers and container vessels trading worldwide
VCC is a branch of Vosco which located in Lach Tray street, Hai Phong city Its duty is to supply domestic and foreign ship-owners with competent and experienced seafarers working on all kinds of ships with the best service It is mandated to train maritime engineers specializing in four different departments: Navigation, Marine Engineering, Electricity, and Waterway Construction
For VCC, English is a compulsory subject of training course Although all crewmembers passed the entrance interview, they must have an intensive training in order to meet the need of work requirement The duration of training course is limited It has been sharply reduced to three months The material for them is “Welcome On Board” which was written for Conversation on Merchant Vessel Being aware of the importance of English, The Vosco‟s management pay much attention on it Crewmembers of Vosco have chances to study in good conditions: they have better classroom environment As an illustration, they can study with modern equipments as computers with wall-sized scene
Moreover, they can receive salary and all other favors from company during the course
Training requirement
VCC‟s crewmembers have been praised and highly appreciated for their speaking day Moreover, all the administrative formalities, as well as all the equipments and regulations on board are written and explained by English It will very difficult for seafarers if they have bad competence in speaking English To meet the need of learning requirement, VCC petitions all crewmembers to fulfill their English by the following commands:
Each seafarer who assigned to any ship holds appreciated Certificates of English language in accordance with the rank on board
Documentation and data relevant to all seafarers are maintained and readily assessable including their English experiences and training in assigned duties
Seafarers, on being assigned to any ship, are able to use English with specific duties and with all the ship arrangements, installations, equipment, procedures and ships characteristics that are relevant to their routine duties
3.1.2.1 Seamen 3.1.2.1.1 Seamen’s background of English before entering VOSCO
The 100 pieces of paper of the questionnaire given to seamen were truly answered
The data are collected and analyzed in this part of the study in the following charts which shows the seamen‟s background
Question1 : How long have you learnt English before entering Vosco?
Chart 1 : Seamen’s English experiences before entering Vosco (Question 1)
Question 2 : How often do you speak English to foreigners?
Chart 2 : The frequency of interaction with foreigners (Question 2)
Chart 1 and 2 indicate the Seamen‟s English background before entering Vosco The chart
1 shows about 67 % have learnt English within 4 to 7 years while 23 % of them have learnt the language over 7 years, and the percentage of seamen who have learnt English nearly 4 years contains only 10 % Most Vietnamese seamen find it is very difficult to express their ideas while communicating with foreigners in English As an illustration, the result from the chart 2 indicates that only 9 % of seamen usually speak to foreigners while
19 % sometimes do, and 72 % never do
3.1.2.1.2 Seamen’s attitude forwards to the studying English
In order to find appropriate methods to improve seamen‟s speaking abilities, it is essential to learn about seamen‟s needs and goals as well as the reasons that they study English Hence the investigation of reasons that attracted seamen‟s interests in English is discussed The 100 copies of questionnaire designed to collect the date were responded honestly by seamen The result is reported in chart 3 below:
Question 3 : For you, is English important for your job?
Chart 3: Seamen’s attitudes towards learning English (Question 3)
It is not amazing to find out the result of the chart 3 that the item 1 “English is very important” gets the highest score: 85 % This reality explains that almost seamen aware the importance of English since they must work in international environment The percentage of participants who consider “English is important” is: 10% Nevertheless, the percentage of seamen who consider “English is not important” is about 4% and “English is
10% of English They need to be heightened their knowledge and awareness of the necessity of English in their job
3.1.2.1.3 Current speaking activities done by seamen in class
The 100 pieces of paper of the questionnaire given to seamen were truly answered The data are collected and analyzed in this part of the study in the following table shows the seamen‟s speaking activities in class
Question 4 : Circle the speaking activities used in your speaking class (you can choose more than one)
Chart 4 : Current speaking activities done by seamen in VOSCO (Question 4)
Chart 4 indicates the current speaking activities done by seamen in VOSCO It is not surprising when free talks and interview discussion are done by 100 % of seafarers since the working requirement All of seamen try the best to improve free talks and interview skills because these ones are very helpful for them to enhance their conversational abilities when communicating with others by English .The second usual activity that 85% of seamen chose to practise in class is discussion in fairs or groups The data also shows 75 % for answers- questions and 70 % for problem solving activities
These activities are quite easy for both teachers and seafarers in teaching and learning
5% speaking skills in class Structure - based activities contain 60%, role play and round table ones approved by 50 % and 40 % while picture description and games / songs by only 25
% and 20 % In contrast to the most usual activities mentioned above, completing dialogues and rearrangement are seldom practised in class by teacher and seamen It is the reason why only 15 % and 10 % of participants chose these ways to do Mime stories activities are used about 5 %in English class
3.1.2.2 Teachers 3.1.2.2.1 The role of teachers in speaking activities
Ramelan (1991) says „The failure of English instruction can be explained by many factors including little knowledge of principles of foreign language teaching and the ways of teaching‟.The teacher should utilize a teaching method that is attracting to teach speaking for the students which includes materials, comfortable environment, self- confidence teachers, etc
According to Breen and Cardlin (1980), there are three main roles of teachers:
Facilitating the communication process among participants in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts
Acting as an independent participant The teacher may be involved in the activity as a participant and will also be watching very carefully in order to conduct feedback
Acting as an observer, contributing appropriate knowledge
Sharing ideas with Breen and Cardlin, Littlewood (1981) also adds that: If learners find themselves unable to cope with the demands of a situation, the teacher can offer advice or provide necessary language items If students can not agree on any point, he can resolve their disagreement In other words, he is available as a source of guidance and help His presence in this capacity may be an important psychological support for many learners, especially for those who are slow to develop independence
For Harmer (1991), the roles of teacher conclude: Controller, organizer, assessor, prompter, participant, resource, tutor, and observer
- When the teacher act as controller, they are in charge of the class and tell students things, organize drills, read aloud, and in various ways exemplify the qualities of teacher- fronted classroom
- As assessor: the teacher gives students feedback while they are doing activity or after they finish
- As an organizer: the teacher tells the students what and how they are going to do the activity, grouping them
- As prompter: the teacher suggests words or phrases, or how to say in communicative when they get stuck
- As resource: the teacher can give students the meaning of words, phrases or where to look for something, for example, a book or website
- As tutor: when students are working on longer projects, such as preparation for a talk or debate, the teacher can act as a tutor, working with individual or small group and individual feedback
- As observer: the teacher should obverse what students to do in oral communicative activities so that he / she can give them useful group and individual feedback
Every year, there are about nearly one hundred graduated seamen who will work on all kinds of ships in many foreign countries There are about 16 teachers of English who are from different universities or colleges They teach English for seamen according to the invitation of VCC, with agreement on Labor Contract Most of them studied in Vietnam, none of them have had special training in teaching grammar, phonology, phonetics, literature of translation, but some are interested in one particular subject, some in others They built up their knowledge of the subjects by self- study and now specialize in teaching
Chart 5 focuses on teachers‟ experiences of teaching Question 1 indicates the gender; question 2 shows their ages and the question 3 and 4 show their experiences and qualifications
It can be easily recognized that the sexual balance in VCC is not equal As the result of survey, there are only 37 % of teachers are men while the number of teachers are women comes up 63 % And half of them: 50 % are from 28 to 40 years old The age from 41 to
50 contains 31 % while only 19 % of them are over 50 years old It is logical analyzed that the number of English teachers who have from 4 to 10 years of teaching experiences comes up 63 % because half of them are under 40 years old There are 25 % of participants have from 11 to 15 years of teaching experiences while only 12 % of them have had a strong attachment to teach English over 16 years Majority of English teacher of VCC: 69 % graduated from universities and get B.A qualifications; only 31 % of them possess M.A while none of them can attain profession diplomas
3.1.2.2.3 Teachers’ opinion on teaching speaking skills.
Common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen in Vosco and possible solutions
It appears that these errors tend to occur when the syntactical structures of Vietnamese and English are strikingly different In the scope of this paper, I will analyze the errors that Vietnamese seamen persistently make in the following areas of English, which involve the handling of seven kinds of simple sentences, such as:
3.2.1 SVC and SVA clauses types
(1) Errors from the lack of linking verb “be” in SVC and SVA
The Vietnamese equivalent of the English linking verb “be” means “thì, là, ở”
However, “be” is rarely used to link a subject with its predicative adjective in Vietnamese We may assume that Vietnamese adjectives have their own “built-in” verbs or that they function like “stative verbs.” Errors reflecting this Vietnamese syntactic feature are found in the followings:
[ My children in the garden ]
In Vietnamese → “Bọn trẻ con nhà tôi ở trong vườn”
Solution : In these cases, the verb “be” and its usage in English must be instructed thoroughly by English teachers so that the learners can use it correctly The learners should be taught that the „liking verb‟, which links descriptive information back to the subject or connects a subject to a subject complement which identifies or describes the subject, can‟t be omitted in SVC and SVA As an illustration, in sentence (a), the linking verb "is" link the subject "He" to the identifying phrase "hungry” which is called a subject complement
Therefore, in English, the sentence (a) “Nó đói” must be said:
S V C and the sentence (b) “Bọn trẻ nhà tôi ở trong vườn” must be said:
(b) → “My children are in the garden”
(2) Errors from the subject - complement concord of number (but not of person) which exists between S and C in clauses of type SVC
Solution : It is easy to realize that sentence (c) is unacceptable in English because there is no subject - complement concord of number between S and C The subjects compliment
„angels‟ is a plural noun which is not concordant with the singular subject „The child‟
This is a common mistake made of seamen in Vosco because Vietnamese grammar, compared with English grammar is really quite simple There are no verb conjugations, no plurals, and no articles It is the reason why most of seamen have troubles when speaking SVC clauses type
Therefore, example (c) must be said:
(c) → “ The child was an angel ”
(1) Errors from the concord between object and object complement in SVOC clauses:
He thinks these girls the best dancer
Solution : Example (d) shows that there is no concord between object and object complement As an illustration, the Co „dancer‟ is a singular noun which is not concordant with the O „these girls‟ which is a plural noun In this case, „the best dancers‟ must be replaced to make sentence correct We have: “He thinks these girls the best dancers”
(2) Error from the excessively use of verbs in SVOC clauses
We considered him be our friend
In Vietnamese → Chúng tôi coi anh ấy là bạn
Solution : Sometimes in English, a single English verb may be equivalent to a combination of the verb + preposition or auxiliary verbs in Vietnamese For example: call
= gọi… là; consider = coi …như; elect = bầu …làm Therefore, sentences (e) can be translated “chúng tôi coi anh ấy như là bạn vậy” We may consider “call = gọi… là” or
“consider = coi …như” or “elect = bầu …làm” are „correlative verbs‟ which include verbs and adjunct in Vietnamese This is the reason why seamen often make this kind of mistake when speaking English
“We should call him be / to be a doctor”
Or “She considered me be / like her brother”
So the sentence (c) must be said:
“ We considered him our friend ”
Errors from the unnecessarily use of the linking verb “be” in SV
In Vietnamese → “ Con chim thì hót”
Solution : The above phenomena are common mistakes made by Vietnamese seamen in
It is obviously realized that the example (f) is unacceptable in English language because the verb “is” is used unnecessarily In these cases, the learners should be taught that a simple sentence includes a single subject and a single predicate which form a single clause Therefore, sentences (f) must be said in the followings:
Errors from the excessively use of lexical verbs in SVO
[ The storm did fell the trees down ]
→ In Vietnamese “ bão làm đổ cây xuống
Solution : In this sentence, it is obviously realized that S can be considered is an instrumental one, and „fell‟ is the main verb In English active voice, the verb phrase „fall
… down‟ means that „làm …đổ xuống‟ Therefore, the simple past tense verb „did‟= „làm‟ is not necessary to add in sentence (g)
(g) → “ The storm fell the trees down ”
In SVOO clauses type, the seamen are acquainted with the form whose indirect object (normally animate) is positioned first, and then is a direct object (normally concrete):
(h) → He gave the girl a ball
(i) → He bought the girl a white hat
However, indirect object can usually be replaced by a corresponding prepositional phrase, which normally follows the direct object It is the reason why most of seamen must deal with difficulties when they don‟t know how to use some verbs which allow the indirect objects to be replaced by a corresponding prepositional phrase In other hand, they feel puzzled when choosing the prepositions which can go with these verbs
Solution : In order to solve this problem, seamen should be taught the order of objects, indirect objects, and particles in SVOO There is a free interchange between the two orderings
Oi + Od ↔ Od + prepositional phrase
(j) → The twins told mother all their secrets
(j) → The twins told all their secrets to mother
We list some common verbs which allow the indirect object to be replaced by a prepositional phrase, the prepositional concerned being indicated:
Ask (a question) of (John); bring to; do (a favor) for; do (a disservice) to; find for; give to; leave for/to; lend to; make for; offer to; owe to; pay for; pour for; promise to; read to; save for; show to; teach to; tell to; throw to…
In summary, the reasons for seamen‟s weakness were represented through the analysis of some difficulties that prevent them from speaking English well Some main problems such as psychological, cultural and linguistics difficulties are the reasons why they often make mistakes when speaking Besides, the striking differences between the syntactical structures of Vietnamese and English also cause the errors of seamen This study analyzed a number of persistent types of errors which involve the handling of seven kinds of English clause patterns This is an attempt to help Vietnamese seamen to overcome these errors and speak more confidently by analyzing of these particular errors and then makes a recommendation on how to help seamen solve their own problem when speaking
This chapter begins with the recapitulation It then raises the limitations of the study The chapter ends with some suggestions for the further research
The study aims to investigate the implications for teaching English speaking skills to Vietnamese seamen in Vosco via English clause patterns Based on the instrumentations such as the questionnaires, this research has discovered the significant findings with a help to improving teaching speaking skills at VCC
The study begins with the theoretical background related to English clause patterns and elements In this chapter, the writer briefly presents an overview on the structure and features of clause patterns Then, simple sentences vs complex sentences are mentioned
The differences between simple and complex sentences according to (Hopper 1999: 212);
(Quirk et al 1985: 991); (Justice and Ezell 2002: 217) and (O'Dwyer 2000: 200); (Jacobs 1995: 67) Next, sentences classified in accordance with purposes of communication are given Finally, it is previous work of the teaching of speaking skills via English clause patterns
In the chapter 2, the researcher briefly gives the semantic and syntactic features of English clause elements In this chapter, many simple examples are given to illustrate these features so that the learners can easily understand and use them accurately
