Luận văn thạc sĩ VNU ULIS using group work in english grammar lessons for first year students in the college of technologies and economics in trade

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ====== HOÀNG THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG USING GROUP WORK IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR LESSONS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGIES AND ECONOMICS IN TRADE NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC NHÓM TRONG VIỆC DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KINH TẾ -KỸ THUẬT THƯƠNG MẠI M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 601410 HANOI – 2010 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ====== HOÀNG THỊ MINH PHƯƠNG USING GROUP WORK IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR LESSONS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGIES AND ECONOMICS IN TRADE NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC NHÓM TRONG VIỆC DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KINH TẾ -KỸ THUẬT THƯƠNG MẠI M.A MINOR THESIS Field Code : English Teaching Methodology : 601410 Supervisor : Lê Văn Canh, M.A HANOI – 2010 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I: Introduction 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Design of the study Chapter II: Literature review 2.1 The role of grammar in ELT 2.2 Definition of group work 2.3 Group work in CLT: advantages and limitations of using group work 2.3.1 Advantages of using group work 2.3.1.1 Group work increases students’ talking time 2.3.1.2 Group work creates a more secure and positive classroom atmosphere 2.3.1.3 Group work gives chance for students learning from each other 2.3.1.4 Group work motivates learners 2.3.1.5 Group work has positive effect on the teachers 2.3.2 Limitations of using group work 2.3.2.1 Students often speak in their native language 2.3.2.2 Students not take the same equal responsibilities in the group 2.3.2.3 Using group work can make noise and indiscipline 2.3.2.4 Teacher may lack of time 2.4 Studies on the use of group work in foreign language teaching and learning 2.5 Reasons of using group work in grammar teaching 10 2.5.1 Challenges in teaching grammar 10 2.5.2 Reasons of using group work in grammar teaching 11 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2.6 Design group work activities for grammar lessons 12 2.6.1 The co-operating arrangement 12 2.6.2 The superior inferior arrangement 12 2.6.3 The combining arrangement 12 2.6.4 The individual arrangement 13 2.6.5 The grammar activities for group work 14 2.6.5.1 Doing grammar exercises 14 2.6.5.2 Reading dialogues 14 2.6.5.3 Practicing using language according to situations 14 2.6.5.4 Playing games 14 2.6.5.5 Discussion 14 2.7 Summary 15 Chapter III: Development of the research 16 3.1 The context of the study 16 3.1.1 The students and the text book 16 3.1.2 Problems and issues in English language teaching at CTET 16 3.2 Methodology 17 3.2.1 The subjects 17 3.2.2 The instruments and procedures 17 3.2.2.1 The questionnaires 17 3.2.2.2 The classroom observation 18 3.3 Data analysis and discussions 18 3.3.1 Questionnaire 18 3.3.1.1 Pre-treatment questionnaire 18 3.3.1.1.1 Students’ awareness of the importance of learning English grammar 18 3.3.1.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards learning English grammar 19 3.3.1.1.3 The students’ evaluation of English grammar teaching they have learnt in the class 20 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 3.3.1.1.4 The students’ attitude towards using group work for English grammar lesson 23 3.3.1.2 Post-treatment questionnaire 24 3.3.1.2.1 The personality of students in learning generally 25 3.3.1.2.2 The students’ preference of learning styles 25 3.3.1.2.3 The students’ general attitude towards using group work to learn English grammar 26 3.3.1.2.4 The students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of using group work in grammar lessons 29 3.3.1.2.5 The students’ justification of benefits and limitations of using group work to learn grammar 3.3.2 Classroom observation 32 34 3.4 Summary of the findings 36 Chapter 4: Suggestions and conclusion 37 4.1 Suggestions for grammar teaching for the first-year-student in CTET 37 4.2 Limitations of the study 38 4.3 Recommendations for further research 39 4.4 Conclusion 39 References 40 Appendices I Appendix 1: Pre-treatment questionnaire I Appendix 2: Post-treatment questionnaire III vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Factors involved in group work 13 Table 2: The student’s justification of the learning atmosphere in grammar lessons 21 Table 3: The reasons lead to boring learning atmosphere in grammar lessons 21 Table 4: Students’ attitude towards using group work for grammar lessons 23 Table 5: The personality of students in learning generally 25 Table 6: The changes in students’ attitudes towards using group work 27 Table 7: Students’ evaluation of using group work to learn grammar 30 Figure 1: Students’ participation in grammar lesson before and after using group work 30 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale In the past few years, the trend of globalization has become faster than ever before, the students’ awareness of learning English has been raised dramatically However, the question of how to teach and to learn English well is still in controversy; especially, teaching grammar is the most controversial one In Vietnam, English language teaching often follows grammar-focused method, and for many English language teachers, teaching English means teaching grammar In this process, students are supposed to learn whatever teachers give; therefore, not only knowledge but also learning styles are imposed on students by their teacher As a result of this traditional language teaching method, not only the atmosphere of leaning is affected, the students’ ability of communication is also not good As each student has their own interest and habit of learning, the old way of teaching grammar enhances their creative ability and leads to their neglect of learning Because of this reason, I choose the topic “Using group work in English-grammar lessons for first year students in CTET” for my thesis I want to make out whether using group work to teach grammar will make the above situations different I choose the topic also because of my own interest as a teacher of English I am myself always interested in teaching grammar and I have never stopped finding new ways of teaching each grammar items I have observed teachers in my college and in other places teaching grammar, each of them have different ways of teaching; however, it is so difficult to make grammar teaching satisfactory to all students It is not easy to find that if only follow some unchanged ways to teach grammar, students and teachers themselves will feel monotonous That’s why it is always haunted in my mind how to make teaching and learning English grammar easier and more interesting for myself and my students Applying group work in teaching grammar lessons is new ideas and maybe it is the best answer to my question By using group work, students are supposed to participate more in the learning process, so they would be more motivated and successful Of course, there is no single method that satisfies all teaching and learning situations but at least, I know that I am on the way of improving my teaching method LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1.2 Aims of the study The specific aims of the study are:  To find out the students’ attitudinal changes about grammar and grammar learning  To find out the students’ evaluation about the effectiveness of applying group work in teaching English grammar Research questions The aim of the research is to find out students’ attitude and the effectiveness of using group work to teach English grammar lessons in CTET In order to achieve this aim, the researcher intends to find out the information needed to answer the following questions: 1) What are the first-year-students’ attitudes towards grammar? 2) How does grammar practice in groups affect the students’ attitudes towards grammar? 3) What students perceive of the benefits and limitations of using group work in learning grammar? 1.4 Methods of the study The main methods used in this action research are questionnaires survey and classroom observation A survey on the use of group work in teaching English grammar was conducted for two classes with about 85-first-year non-English major students in CTET College Besides using questionnaires, classroom observation is also used to observe the classroom behavior and students’ performance on the grammar lessons 1.5 Scope of the study Using group work in English teaching methodologies is one of the most popular methods of communicative language teaching and it can be applied widely for all of the language teaching skills However, due to the time and length constraint of the study, this thesis only focuses on the use of group work in English grammar lessons for first year students in CTET College LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1.6 Design of the study This thesis consists of four main chapters: Chapter one, the introduction, provide an overview of the study with brief information about the reasons of choosing the topic, the aims, the scope of the study, the methods as well as the design of the study Chapter two, the literature review, is aimed at giving the theoretical background for the thesis In this chapter, an overview on the role of grammar in ELT is first mentioned After that, the key factors about group work are presented I will mention some definitions about group work activities, the advantages as well as the limitations of using group work in English grammar lessons The reasons why I choose using group work in English grammar lessons and some main group work activities are also highlighted in this part Chapter three, the development of the research, is the backbone of the thesis It contains the background of teaching and learning grammar in CTET College, the detail description of data collections, data analysis and the discussions of the findings Chapter four proposes some suggestions for using group work effectively when learning English grammar at CTET College and presents the summary and the suggestions for further study The last part of the study is the appendix and the references LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reviews the literature on general aspects of group work in the light of ELT and the use of group work in grammar practice First, a review of the role of grammar in foreign language teaching is presented This is followed by a discussion of using group work in teaching grammar 2.1 The role of grammar in ELT Over the past few years, whether or not grammar should be taught explicitly or implicitly has been a controversial issue Until now two main opposing opinions exist among many linguistics and researchers The first view is against teaching grammar Extensive grammar research has shown that grammar should be neglected in teaching English ever since communicative methodology appeared in 1970s It was claimed that language should be acquired through natural exposure, not through formal instruction (Krashen as cited in Nassaji & Fotos) In Natural Approach ( Krashen and Terrell: 1983), Krashen distinguishes leaning ( explicit knowledge) and acquisition ( implicit knowledge) He points out that these are cases where leaning has taken place, but some learners are still unable to use what have learnt in the conversation, because he has not yet acquired them So, according to him, teachers should give a lot of communication activities in class so students can acquire language Opposing with the views above, recent studies have demonstrated that grammar instruction enables learners to attain high level of proficiency, both in accuracy and fluency Without grammar, learners can communicate effectively only in limited number of situation (Florez, 1999) Giving strong support to grammar teaching, Smith (2001) claimed that if we not pay attention to grammar nor create opportunities for learners to improve their grammar, they are likely to stand the risk of fossilization As for me, through my experience and observation, poor English grammar hinders the pace and quality of learning English Students can obtain English much more easily if they pay enough attention to grammar right from the beginning Further more, grammar teaching can be beneficial to learners in the sense that it raises learner’s consciousness concerning the differences and similarities of the fist language and the second language This will help students to avoid making mistakes when learning English LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com As we san see, the overwhelming students, with nearly 86 %, agreed that using group work to learn English grammar was effective or very effective This fact meant that students had high regard for the new method to learn grammar Only 8.2% of all students thought that using group work was not very effective; and 5.9% had no idea at all In question 7, students were asked to mention in more detail the effectiveness of using group work to learn grammar There were four potions but the students can choose more than one option as follow: A – Using group work in grammar lessons makes it easier to understand the lessons B – Using group work in grammar lessons helps to memorize the grammar items better C – Using group work in grammar lessons makes the atmosphere in the lessons comfortable Students no longer felt strained D – Using group work in grammar lessons makes students prefer to learn grammar The result is that: Among 85 students were asked, 54 % chose A; 43.5 % chose B; 84.7 % chose C and 36.5 % chose D Especially, there were 18 students chose all of the four portions This result is a persuasive proof for the effectiveness of using group work in grammar lessons Unlike before that students often felt the grammar lesson boring and monotonous, now most of them showed their support for new way of leaning grammar 84.7% of students said they felt comfortable and relaxing when took part in activities in grammar lessons in group, 54% said using group work helped them to understand the lessons easier; 43.5% said group work helped them to memorize the grammar items better and 36.5% said group work made them felt like to learn English grammar It seems to me that there is a strong relative consistence between students’ attitudes and students’ justification to using group work in grammar lessons When their attitudes using group work to learn grammar are good, their justifications about grammar lessons are better Beside the above advantages of using group work in grammar lessons, most of students also agreed that learning in group helped dull students to learn English better In question 8, they all shared one common reason for it that; by learning in group, dull 31 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com students received a lot of help from others members of the group which can help them to learn grammar better Further more, dull and shy students felt more self-confident to talk their ideas, and therefore, they would learn better Only 14 students, which account for 16.5 % of students, had opposite idea that dull students couldn’t learn better with group work activities According to these students, dull students often kept quiet and depended too much on better students for their opinions Moreover, even thought learning well, better students couldn’t give persuasive and understandable explanations as teacher did, so dull students may found it was more difficult to understand grammar items than learning directly with their teachers This fact is a little bit against with what has been said in the literature review that group work gives chance for students learning from each other (Yasemin Godek, 2004) 3.3.1.2.5 The students’ justification of benefits and limitations of using group work to learn grammar Question and 10 asked students in more detail to justify the benefits and limitations of using group work to learn grammar With regards to question 9, each student had to find out one main benefit of using group work Their ideas for this question are, in fact, alike to what has been asked in question number 4, so their answers are somewhat the same to what have been mentioned about the reasons they felt comfortably in grammar lessons Below are their answers - Using group work in grammar lessons helps students feel comfortable and relaxing The learning atmosphere is very exciting (See more in the analysis of question number 4) - Using group work helps students to learn English grammar better, such as easier to understand the grammar items; memorize them also deeper and with longer time (Also see more in the analysis of question number 4) - Most of students agree that learning with a group force them to think harder They have to prepare lessons more carefully at home so that they can give come up with their friend when they discuss something together In the class, they also have to work harder than usual Before using the group work, their teachers talked most of the time; now students have mush more time to talk in English in the class 32 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Using group work provides students with real like situation to practice speaking English, using learnt grammar items, so students can speak English in everyday communication In question number 10, students were also asked to give one limitation of using group work in grammar lessons Like question number 9, the answers to this question are somewhat the same to students’ comments about why they had neutral ideas about this method (see question number 4) Below are their answers: - Beside active students, there are still some students not participate in the group discussion These students either so depend on others for their ideas or discuss something different - There are often so many ideas for one discussion items, which leads to confusion - Sometimes group work activities cause noisy and discipline This idea is consistent with what has mentioned in the limitation of using group work in the literature review that using group work can make noise and indiscipline (Yasemin Godek, 2004) - In a group, if one member is better than others and he/ she have to spend too much time to help other member, he/ she may feel bored and couldn’t improve her English - To catch up with the other member in the group, students have to spend too much time on learning English and less time for other activities Because of the same reasons in question number and about the effectiveness of using group work in grammar lessons, the overwhelming students when answering to question 11 said using group work made them felt like to learn English grammar much than before The number of students who said using group work is not effective, with 8.2%, were also the ones who said their attitudes towards learning English grammar did not change after using group work These students, instead of participated in group activities, preferred to learn directly with their teachers as it helped them understand the lessons better They said they did not see much improvement in learning grammar after using group work activities The students’ answers above help us to have the answers to the second in the research questions that is “How does group work affect the students’ attitudes towards grammar?”; and the third question in the research questions “What students perceive of the benefits and limitations of using group work in learning grammar?” It is obvious that using group 33 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com work has positive effect on the students’ attitude towards grammar and it also helps students to learn grammar better 3.3.2 Observations During the treatment time, I took notes of the classroom procedures and performance, and below are the findings Students’ attitude towards learning grammar changed: they became more attentive and enthusiastic to grammar lessons Through my class observation, I could see the differences in my students’ classroom behavior and performance when they were in the group work treatment time compared to that of before the treatment time During the class hours, nobody dozed off or did something different, such as chatting to their friends, learning other subjects in English period In stead, most of the students were active in taking notes, discussing with their partners, and checking their understanding To my surprise, some groups were so eager with their discussion that they even forgot the break time, the situation that had never happened before Seeing this attention and enthusiasm on my students’ part, I felt quite rewarded and thought my efforts were not in vain Students had more time to practice English in the class Usually, from my observation in my class and others classes in the College, teachers talk most of the time in English period and students not have chance to practice English, especially they hardly have chance to speak English in the class The result is that students can not use English in the real communication The situation changed since I applied group work activities in English grammar lessons Instead of talking most of the time, now I listened to what students had done in group and reconsolidated for them For example, when teaching the past simple tense, instead of teaching this grammar item, I asked students prepared it at home and discussed what they knew about it with the group Of course, the content of group’s discussion must follow the order according to my instruction My task during the class time was to move from one group to another, gave help to students when necessary With 50 minutes each English period, now I only used one third to consolidate the lessons; the rest of the time was for students doing exercises and 34 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com speaking about some given topics, using grammar items they had learnt After group discussion, I always asked students to hand out the results (if they did exercises) and talk about their topic with the class I gave marks for them for them when they finished their tasks By this way, my students had much more time practicing English in the class One of students said to me “Because of discussing in group, each of us has to speak English a lot, the thing that we rarely did in the class before Now I memorize the grammar items better because I can use them to speak English with my friends about our real life situations.” Group work activities sometimes caused frustrated to students because they did not have the same responsibilities in the group One problem that can be observed when students doing group work activities together was that, while some better students often dominated their groups, shy or weak students often sat very quietly It was not difficult to see that the dominated student in the group took chance to talk most of the time and his/ her ideas were also the ideas of that group Working with this kind of students, others member in the group may feel discouraged or less confident In contrary, shy or weak students often did not want to show their ideas because they did not know anything about it or even if they knew something, they were not confident enough to speak it out This kind of students made the atmosphere in the group boring and stuffy Both too active and too quiet students like that can cause negative effect on other members of the group Group work has positive effect on the teacher Opposite with what has been discussed in the literature review that “Teacher may lack of time” when using group work activities in grammar lessons (see the literature review), I my self find that using group work helps me to save a lot of time This is because when using group work, did not have to talk much In stead, I let students did more exercises and activities When time is saved, the quality of both teaching and learning are improved I know that this way of teaching is appreciated by students as they not have time to get bored because of the variety of activities and their own participation in the class The class atmosphere is more interesting and exciting than before Students came to class more regularly and they often said to me that they liked the way I taught them, the ways they learnt by participating in group activities They expressed their support for me by their 35 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com happy faces when learning English periods All of these things bring me the feeling of satisfaction and pleasure 3.4 Summary of the findings This chapter discusses the findings of the study, including the analysis of the pretreatment questionnaire and post-treatment questionnaire The purpose of designing pre and post-questionnaires is to highlight the differences in the attitude and evaluation of students towards English grammar learning before and after using group work activities The analysis of the data before using group work in grammar lessons reveals that, while students are aware of the importance of learning English grammar, most of them did not like leaning grammar because they find grammar lessons boring As a result, only some students who like learning English participate in the lessons, while the overwhelming of the class keep silent during the period The data analysis after using group work activities in grammar lessons shows that the new method seems to come up with students’ expectation The overwhelming students showed preference for using group work in grammar lessons because it helps them to feel much more comfortable than before Nearly all students agree that using group work is effective or very effective for learning English grammar because it help them to learn and use grammar better Even dull students can make progress with this method However, beside students have positive ideas about using group work in grammar lessons; there are still some who have problems with the new method of learning grammar The reasons for these problems may be subjectively, that is because students are shy and they not want to participate in the discussion; or objectively, that is because of the noisy and discipline class, the dominated students or shy students cause negative effect on others in the group In general, I feel that my efforts to introduce group work activities to teach grammar lessons, to large extent, effective, as shown from changes in both students’ attitude and evaluation towards learning grammar lessons and their learning behavior during grammar period However, even though applying group work to teach grammar seems to satisfy many students, it is obvious that there is no right single method The use of the combination of different methods may be is the wise choice for teacher to satisfy with all learning background 36 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER IV: SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION 4.1 Suggestions for using group work effectively to teach grammar in CTET Through the students’ opinion we can see that there is close relation between the teaching method and students’ attitude towards that subject In grammar lessons, to avoid monotonous and boring atmosphere in the class, teachers should organizes more activities for students in group By participating in group activities, students have more chance to use and memorize what they have learnt with a lot of fun The class atmosphere is no longer boring with the variety of activities and the students’ own participation in the lesson However, how to organize the group effectively still needs a lot of considerations Below are some remarkable suggestions for teachers when using group work to teach grammar in CTET Firstly, according to my observations, one factor causes difficulty to when participating group work activities is the seating arrangement Usually, the tables and chairs in the class are fixed and there is very little space between rows, and this affect badly for organizing groups because students can not turn back to others members in the group, which sitting right after them Some students even chose to sit alone because it is unable for them to join with other students in the group To avoid this problem, before the lesson begins, teacher should order students to rearrange the chairs so that members in the group can face each others It doesn’t take mush time because sometimes students only have to widen the gap between two tables Secondly, some students can cause negative affect to other members in the group if they over control the group or keep quiet during the group discussion To avoid this, teacher should point out the leader of the group The leader has a task to take the consideration of the participation in the group and the teacher must give mark for this participation seriously Meanwhile, during the discussion time, teacher should go around the class to help students with their problems, encourage the shy and timid students and calm down the compulsive talker Thirdly, teacher should give very clear and specific instructions for students before ask them to group work activities to avoid misunderstanding The effectiveness of 37 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com group work activities depend very much on the clarity of the directions provided to students Sometimes teachers should set examples so that students can follow easily Teacher should also go around the class to give explanation when necessary Finally, the feedback from the teacher plays a very important role in encouraging students continuing their group work activities With students, receiving feedback from teacher means their effort is recognized and valued Especially, when students find their work is appreciated by teacher and their friends, they are more likely to work harder In contrary, if teacher does not pay any attention to what students have done, students may feel discourage and not want to try their best All of the suggestions above originated from the problems I met when applying group work activities in my grammar lessons I think that they are helpful for teachers in our College, who use group work activities in our practical teaching context 4.2 Limitations of the study Due to the limitation of knowledge and ability, this paper can’t avoid mistakes I myself find that my research has some defects as follow: Firstly, it is my data collection methods For this research, I only collect data from doing questionnaires and my own observation, but lack of interviewing students If I had interviewed students, the data would have reflected more aspects of students’ evaluation of teaching methods before and after using group work Further more, I did not have a class observation checklist for my class observation, I only based my data on notes and memory so the findings may lack of solidity Especially, I observed my lessons on my own without any witnesses of other people, so the results may also lack of objectivity Secondly, during the treatment time, I did not cover all activities that can be achieved from group work activities If I organized more activities for students, the class atmosphere would be more relaxing Thirdly, my research was based on a taken-for-granted assumption that the current approach to grammar was not effective, but I failed to give clear empirical evidence Finally, I think I didn’t feedback and evaluate students seriously enough, which sometimes lead to discipline and disappointment in the class If I gave more seriously rules 38 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com to the students’ participation in the group, for example, each student would participate more regularly in the group discussion 4.3 Recommendations for further research Due to the small scope and short period of time, this research only focus on using group work to teach English grammar Further researches can not only focus on using group work but also pair work or more communicative language teaching to teach English grammar or any other English skills, such as speaking, reading, listening and writing skills 4.4 Conclusion This research aims at finding the changes in students’ attitudes towards grammar learning after using group work and their justification about the effectiveness of using group work activities to teach grammar lessons To collect data, two questionnaires were designed, one before and one after using group work to teach grammar The results from the data analysis show that, to larger extend, the using of group work to teach English grammar is effective as it changes students’ attitudes towards grammar learning positively Taking part in group work activities, students no longer feel boring or frustrated In stead, they have the feeling of relaxing and comfortable Above all, it is widely agreed by participating group work activities, students are motivated and can help each other to make progress in learning through group The study was conducted in a very short time in the form of a small-scale action research so there are some drawbacks with it Moreover, only two questionnaires were used together with the researcher’s own classroom observations of her own teaching The results, are, there fore, likely to be researcher-biased For this reason, it is impossible to generalize the findings of the research 39 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com REFERENCES Bibi, A (2002): The comparative effectiveness of teaching English grammar with the help of textbook and by using group work activities Islamabad: University Grants Commissions Brown, H Douglas, 2001: Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (2nd Edition), Pearson Longman Cross, D (1995) Large Classes in Action, Newyork K: Prentice Hall Davidheiser, J.C (1996) “Grammar Groups in the Students Centred Classroom” Foreign Language Annals, 29 Dunkin, M., (1987), “The International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education”, Oxford: Pergamon Gee, J (2005) An introduction to discourse analysis: theory and method New York: Routledge Hubert Skrzyński (2005) “Advantages and Disadvantages of Pair Work and Group Work in the Class” Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.edukator.org.pl/2005a/work/work.html Joanna Baker & Heather Westrup, 2000: The English Teacher’s Handbook Krashen, SD., & Tarrel, T.D 1983 The Natural Approach London: Prentice Hall Intl 10 Larsen-Freeman, Dianne, 2000: Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (2nd Edition), New York: Oxford University Press 11 Li, D (1989) “It is always more difficult than you plan 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approaches." In Celce-Murcia, Marianne & McIntosh, Lois (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, Newbury House 18 Richards, Jack & Rodgers, Theodore, 1986: Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, New York: Cambridge University Press 19 Slavin, R E "When Does Cooperative Learning Increase Student Achievement?" Psychological Bulletin, 1983, 94(3), 429-445 20 Slavin, R F "Cooperative Learning." Review of Educational Research, 1980, 50(2), 315-342 21 Slavin, R.E “Student Team Learning: A Practical Guide to Cooperative Learning” Third edition, 1991 22 Smith, S 2001 Developing Grammar at Upper Intermediate Level Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.developingteachers.com 23 Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching Cambridge teacher training and development 24 Yasemin GÖDEK 2004 “Research on group work and collaborative work and its implications for primary school teachers.” Gazi Üniversitesi, Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi, TÜRKİYE Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.kefad.gazi.edu.tr/2004.2/27-34.pdf.pdf 41 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com APPENDIX 1: PRE-TREATMENT QUESTIONNAIRE PHIẾU CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT Phiếu câu hỏi khảo sát tiến hành nhằm cung cấp thông tin để thực đề tài luận văn thạc sỹ : “Áp dụng phương pháp học nhóm vào dạy ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh cho sinh viên năm thứ trường Cao Đẳng Kinh Tế-Kỹ Thuật Thương Mại.” Câu trả lời bạn hữu ích đề tài nghiên cứu tơi Vì mong nhận ủng hộ nhiệt tình bạn trả lờI tất câu hỏI với suy nghĩ bạn Những thông tin phiếu câu hỏi khảo sát dùng cho đề tài nghiên cứu Xin chân thành cảm ơn giúp đỡ bạn! Bạn nghĩ vai trị ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh? A Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng C Không quan trọng D, Không quan tro ̣ng cầ n thiế t E, Không có ý kiế n gì Tại sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn có thích học ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh khơng? C Bình thường A Rất thích B Khơng thích D, Rấ t chán E, Không có ý kiế n gì Theo bạn, ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh có khó học khơng? A Rất khó B Khó C Dễ D Rất dễ E, Khơng có ý kiế n gì Tại sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm giác bạn học ngữ pháp ? A, Rất sôi nổ i B, Rấ t đơn điê ̣u I C, Rấ t nhàm chán LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com D, Không sôi nổ i cũng không nhàm chán E, Khơng có ý kiế n gì Vì sao?(do cách truyền đạt giáo viên? Do thân? vv xin giải thích rõ) …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… 5, Mức độ tham gia học ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh bạn nào? A, Không tham gia B, Thỉnh thoảng tham gia C, Thường xuyên tham gia D, Luôn tham gia 6, Trong giờ h ọc ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh, dạng sau thường xuyên giáo viên áp dụng ở lớp bạn? A, Sinh viên nghe giáo viên giảng về cấ u trúc và cách sử du ̣ng của ngữ pháp , tiế p đó tự làm tập ngữ áp dụng pháp giáo viên đưa B, Sinh viên vận dụng ngữ pháp vừa ho ̣c đ ể nói về mơ ̣t chủ đề nhấ t đinh ̣ theo nhóm sau nghe giáo viên giảng về cấ u trúc ngữ pháp đó C, Giáo viên đưa d ạng tập, yêu cầu học sinh làm việc theo nhóm để hồn thành tập giao Bạn có thích phương pháp khơng, sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 7, Bạn có ý kiến hoạt động theo nhóm, theo cặp lớp? A Rất thích B Thích D Khơng thích E Khơng có ý kiến C Khơng thích Hãy cho biết lý bạn trả lời trên? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 8, Theo bạn hoạt động theo nhóm, theo cặp có giúp ích cho việc học ngữ pháp bạn khơng? A Rất hữu ích B Có hữu ích D Hồn tồn khơng hữu ích C Khơng hữu ích E Khơng có ý kiến II LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com APPENDIX 2: POST-TREATMENT QUESTIONNAIRE PHIẾU CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT Em là người: A, Thích làm việc độc lập B, Thích hợp tác với người khác C, Thích trao đởi ý kiến với người khác D, Không thić h trao đổ i ý kiế n với người khác Theo em, hình thức học Tiếng Anh có hiệu ? A, Học trực tiếp với thầy, cô giáo B, Ngồ i ho ̣c ở mô ̣t nơi yên tiñ h C, Học qua trao đổi ý kiến với người c D, Kế t hơ ̣p cả ba hiǹ h thức Em có muố n giờ ho ̣c ngữ pháp tiế ng Anh đươ ̣c tổ chức thành các nhóm ho ̣c không ? A, Rấ t thích B, Cũng thích C, Bình thường D, Khơng thích E, Khơng có ý kiế n gì 4, Cảm giác em làm các hoa ̣t đô ̣ng theo nhóm giờ ngữ pháp thế nào ? A, Dễ chiụ B, khó chịu C, chấ p nhâ ̣n đươ ̣c D, không thể chấ p nhâ ̣n đươ ̣c E, khơng có ý kiế n gì Vì sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Mức đô ̣ tham gia của em giờ ngữ pháp Tiế ng Anh áp du ̣ng ho ̣c nhóm thế nào? A, Tham gia rấ t nhiề u B, tham gia nhiề u D, rấ t ít tham gia E, không hề tham gia C, tham gia Em thấ y áp du ̣ng phương pháp ho ̣c nhóm để ho ̣c ngữ pháp Tiế ng Anh có hữu ích không ? A, Rấ t hữu ić h B, hữu ić h D, hoàn tồn khơng hữu ích E, khơng có ý kiế n gì III C, không hữu ić h lắ m LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Nế u hữu ić h , phương pháp đó hữu ić h ở phương diê ̣n nào sau ? (có thể chọn nhiều đáp án) A, Em dễ hiể u bài B, Em nhớ bài tố t C, Em không có cảm giác căng thẳ ng D, Em thấ y thích ho ̣c ngữ pháp Theo em, bạn học kém tiếng anh tiế n bô ̣ không nế u đươ ̣c ho ̣c theo nhóm ? A, tiế n bô ̣ B, khơng tiế n bơ ̣ C, kém Vì sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Theo em, học ngữ pháp theo nhóm có mơ ̣t ưu điể m nở i bâ ̣t nhấ t là gì ? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Theo em, học ngữ pháp theo nhóm có mơ ̣t nhươ ̣c điể m nổ i bâ ̣t nhấ t là gì ? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Qua cách tổ chức các hoa ̣t đô ̣ng ngữ pháp theo nhóm , em có thay đổi gì về hứng thú học ngữ pháp? Vì sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… IV LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ... highlight the differences in the attitude and evaluation of students towards English grammar learning before and after using group work activities The analysis of the data before using group work in grammar. .. work in CLT: advantages and limitations of using group work 2.3.1: Advantages of using group work 2.3.1.1 Group work increases students? ?? talking time The first and foremost benefit of group work. .. grammar in ELT 2.2 Definition of group work 2.3 Group work in CLT: advantages and limitations of using group work 2.3.1 Advantages of using group work 2.3.1.1 Group work increases students? ?? talking