How to teach grammar communicatively

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY ~ HO cm MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ~~~050505 NGUYEN LIEN HUONG HOW TO TEACH GRAMMAR COMMUNICATIVELY A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL) SUPERVISOR Ơ ~ - ,ã • • ~ - - - " " ' - - " ",W,: " :' ' ," " I NGuYEN VrtT THU, MA '' , ,.Ii • " , " ! : I, ;, LA (' ,.iI'.';- :, I , ' J ,J I ~ - - - ' ~ - :' r ·. ~ ,I : ' r_ ~ ~ j i _ _0 - ' _~ - - HO CHI MINH CITY, 2005 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled HOW TO TEACH GRAMMAR COMMUNICATIVELY In terms of the Statement of Requirements for Theses in Master's Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee Ho Chi Minh City, August, 2005 NGUYEN LIEN HVdNG RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyen Lien Huong, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the Uni versity relating to the retention and use of Master's Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan , or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City , August, 2005 NGUYEN LIEN HVdNG ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mrs Viet Thu, my thesis supervisor, for her guidance and support given to me over the lengthy period of the researching and writing of this thesis My special thanks to all the colleagues at Nong Lam University who helped me with the data collection for the study; all the students participating in the study for their cooperation ; and all my friends for their support, friendship and enjoyable company Finally, I am happy to acknowledge the contribution of my parents , my brother, and my husband, who were an indispensable source of support and encouragement throughout the study ABSTRACT Grammar is not emphasized in Communicative Approach and applying Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to teaching grammar is surely a big challenge to Vietnamese teachers of English However, grammar is obligatory in Nong Lam University, so I felt that there is a great need to find a compromise between the Communicative Approach and the real situation of learning and teaching at Nong Lam University Data collected through two survey questionnaires from both students and teachers were then presented in tables Results revealed that (1) teachers faces a lot of difficulties applying Communicative Approach to teaching such as big classes, different backgrounds or passive students and that (2) students are not familiar with communicative activities, which is also an obstacle to CLT applying procedure However, the results from the real situation showed that communicative activities did have a good effect on students and their test scores Therefore, some CLT activities are also recommended in this thesis in the hope that they can help teachers make students' studying more enjoyable and interesting ABBREVIA nONS NLU: Nong Lam University CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EGI: explicit grammar instruction CA: Communicative Approach TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1 The problem The aims of the study 3 Overview of the thesis Method of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW General information 5 1.1 Definiti on of grammar 1.2 Wh y gramm ar ? 1.3 Ba sic principle s for grammar teaching 1.3.1 The E-factor 1.3.2 The A-factor 1.4 Language and communication 10 1.5 The relationship between grammar and communica tion 13 Grammar and communication in different teaching methods 14 2.1 Direct method 14 2.2 Grammar-translation method 15 2.3 Reading method 16 2.4 The audio -lingual method 16 2.5 Situational Approach 18 2.6 Cognitive-code 18 2.7 Affective-humanistic Approach 19 2.8 Comprehension-based Approach 19 2.9 Communicative Approach 20 Commun icative Lan guage Teaching 20 3.1 Definition and nature of CLT 21 3.2 Principles of CLT 23 3.3 The roles of the teach er and students in comm unicati ve classroom 25 3.3 The role of the teacher 25 3.3.2 The role of the students 26 3.4 Communicative classroom orga nization 27 3.5 Some communicati ve activity types in cla ssroom 30 Prior rese ar ch on the study Chapter 3: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGy Hypothese s Rese arch design 33 37 37 : 37 The sample 38 2.2 Measurement instrument s 38 2.3 Collection of data 39 Chapter 4: RESULTS Re sults of the questionn aires 41 41 1.1 Que stionna ire for students 41 1.2 Questionnaire for te achers 46 Results from the re al situa tion Chapter 5: FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIO NS 52 58 Findings 58 Sugge stions 59 How to sol ve the problems 61 2.2 How to teach grammar communicative ly 2.2 What is a go od present ati on? 63 63 2.2.1.1 Using deductive approach 63 2.2.1.2 Using inductive approach 66 2.2.1.3 Discovery technique s 70 2.2.2 Practice techniqu es 74 2.2 2.1 Oral practice 74 2.2.2.2 Written practice 80 2.2.3 Production 82 2.2.3.1 Oral production 82 2.2.3.2 Written producti on 83 2.2.3.3 Using a dictogloss 83 2.2 The way to de velop a communicative task Chapter 6: CONCLUSION 84 88 c Bang thong tin (bang gio tau/ ma y bay, biEu d6 ) d Y kien khac: Khi thuc hanh mQt di~m ngu phap mdi, ban muon dung each nao sau day? a thuc hanh thea nhorn, thea tung cap b dong vai c lam bai t?P d chci tro choi e Y kien khac: Ban muon l6i cua minh dltgc sii'a nhu the' nao? a sii'a bdi giao vien lap nrc b sii'a boi cac ban lop l?p nrc c Sii'a bdi giao vien toi da noi xong Toi muon nr sii'a loi cua rnlnh d e Ykien khac : Trong lop ban muon ng6i hoc nhu the' nao? a ngoi thea ban hoac ngiroi xep thea day b ngdi thea hinh tron c ngoi tung ban rieng biet d Y kien khac: Khi nao ban cam tha'y hili long voi lop hoc ngu phap ciia mlnh? a giao vien giai thich va girip toi hiEu diEm ngii' phap mdi b giao vien vui tinh va lam toi cam tha'y thoai rnai c toi co co hQi thuc hanh diEm ngii' phap mdi d Y kien khac: Ban co d~ nghi gi v~ each day ngii' phap khong? : 10 Xin cam an sT/ hap lac ctla cdc ban! 98 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS I'm working on an M.A thesis entitled "How to teach grammar communicatively" I'd like you to help me complete it by circling the best answer(s) for each of the following questions (please state your own opinions if you not agree with the choices given) Also write your own answer for question 12 Thank you very much for your cooperation First of all, some information about yourself, please: Your name: Your sex: Male female How long have you been teaching English? How many times have you participated in a workshop in English language teaching? Do you think teaching grammar is necessary? a.yes b.no How you present a new grammatical rule? d Present the form and meaning clearly using grammatical terminology deductively (examples first, rules later) e Present the form and meaning clearly using grammatical terminology inductively (rules first, examples later) f Let students discover the rule by themselves through contexts g Other opinions: What kind of contexts you use? a About students' world (classroom, school, students' families, friends, & experience) b About outside world (stories, situations, examples) c Formulated information (timetables, notes, chart) d Other opinions: a b c d e ~~~·~~·~·~~·i~ii~~~~~·~~;~~r preference to practice the new structure? Pair work, group work Role play Formal exercises individually Games Others: 99 a b c d How you correct your students' errors when they are speaking? immediately in front of other students when the student finishes their speech I let the students correct themsel ves Other opinions: e f g h Which of the following seating arrangements is your preference? orderly rows circles and horseshoes separate tables other opinions: a b c d e What kind of the following teaching aids you use? cassette player overhead projector video visual aids (pictures, real objects etc.) other opinions: 10 Do you speak English in class? a always b sometimes c never d Other opinions: 11 What are the difficulties you have teaching grammar to students who not major in English? a big classes b passive students c students' different English backgrounds d I have to work under pressure of time e Others: 12 ;;~ ;~~ ~~~~~ ~~ ~~.~ ;~~;; ~~~~~~~.~~~;~~ · ·~·;;~·~·~·~~····~~· ··~~~~hing grammar? Why (not)? Thanks again f or yo ur time! 100 APPENDIX Changing SUbjects The Passive Passive in present tenses Man: I know there's no-ons here, but I feel like I'm being watched 1.1 Usually we useverbs in their active form This means that the person or thing which does the action comes first in the position of the subject; then comes the action that they (the active verb) and finally the thing they it to (the object) , ': "Subject" , Ac'tive verb Object is feeding ' ': Caroline the chickens 1.2 Sometimes we use verbs in their passive form This means that the thing having something done to it comes first in the position of the subject: then comes the action being done (the passive verb) and finally the person or thing doing the action in the position of the object So, the object of an active verb becomes the subject of a passive verb: '.".1'' ; Subject The chickens ,; Passive verb , ,are being fed , (Object) (byCaroline) 101 Chap ter 1.3 Wc use the passive when we not knowthe subject of the active sentenceor when the subject is nut important We form the passive by joining the diffe rent tenses of the verb lO be and a past participle: :~'P.~~~ I Present simple: The cows are milked every day Present continuous : Your bike is being repaired at the moment ~ o Here is a recipe fDr a delicious dessert called Apple Crumble Change each sentenceinto the passive using the present simple tense Follow the example - :::::C2 Ingred'ients farge appfe.s 3/4 cup offtour 1/4 cup oJ sugar 112 !ells poon of cinnamon 1/4.cup of water 809 of6utter 112 cup6rown sugar Peel the apples The apples are peeled Cut the apples into small pieces Mix the apples sugar and water together in a large pan Cook the mixture gently for ten minutes 102 ChangingSubjects: The Passive Pur the mixture in a dish Mix the flour and cinnamon in a row I i Rub in the butter, Add rhe sugar Spread the crumble over the top ofthe apples 10 Bake it in the oven for 30 minutes o l ook at these pictltres Use the present continuous passit'e tv say what is beingdone in the house Use [he verbs to help you Follow [he example clean The windows are being cleaned wash 103 Chapter - - - - - - - _.- ~_ ; make dust tidy wash 104 Changing Subjects: The Passive sweep , water 105 APPENDIX lO-MINUTE TEST The current economic problem is A studying B being studying by the top minds in the country C being studied Today, many serious childhood diseases A prevent B can prevent D been studied by early immunization C are preventing D are prevented A shortage of water is a problem in many parts of the world In some areas, water from the ground faster than nature can refill the supply A is being taken B has been taking Vitamin C by the human body It gets into the blood stream quickly C is taking A absorbs easily B is easily absorbed C is easily absorbing D absorbs easily The Washington Monument A visit B is visited D has taken by hundreds of people e veryday C is being visited D is visiting The university _ by private funds and as well as by tuition income and grants A is supported B supports C is supporting D has supported "Has the committee made its decision yet?" "Not yet They are still the proposal." A considering B been considered C being considered D consider Shhh! Don't move! Jane that deer, and we don't want to scare it off A is being photographed B is photographing C photographs D is photographed The Clarks' living room in blue and white They want it to look nice for their daughter's wedding reception A is redecorating B redecorates C is being redecorated D is redecorated 10 Gold A is mined in many countries The ring Sarah is wearing came from Brazil B mines C is being mined D.is mining 106 APPENDIX 107 ., O J Lu,., l), f.1I '" ( " e, 'Y ~ ~ ~ :\\- ' ,- ~ , c:.l1vr ~ 108 109 110 , Ja l al I r I