Using visual aids to teach english grammar at tan phu high school in ho chi minh city m a

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ENGLISH GRAMMAR AT TAM PHU HIGH SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY A thesis proposal submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master‘s Degree in TESOL By NGUYEN THAI BAO Supervised by Tran Thi Minh Phuong, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, JULY 2019 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: USING VISUAL AIDS TO TEACH ENGLISH GRAMMAR AT TAM PHU HIGH SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY in terms of the statement of Requirements for the Thesis in Master‘s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other situation Ho Chi Minh City, July 2019 Nguyễn Thái Bảo i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyễn Thái Bảo, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University 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 purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan of reproduction of the thesis Ho Chi Minh City, July 2019 Nguyễn Thái Bảo ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my thesis advisor Dr Tran Thi Minh Phuong of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City She was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or writing She consistently allowed this paper to be my own work, but steered me in the right direction whenever she thought I needed it I would also like to thank my friend, Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, who was involved in the survey for this research project Without her passionate participation and input, the survey could not have been successfully conducted Last but not least, I would also like to thank my parents and my close friends for their strong support and assistance whenever I am stuck in my research process iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background information 1.2 Rationale of the study 1.3 Research purposes 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Teaching grammar 2.1.1 Definition of Grammar 2.1.2 Grammar in language teaching 2.1.3 Grammar in some language teaching approaches and methods 2.1.3.1 Grammar Translation Method 2.1.3.2 Direct Method 2.1.3.3 Audio-lingual Method 10 2.1.3.4 Communicative Language Teaching 10 2.1.3.5 Input-based approach 11 2.1.3.6 Output-based approach 12 2.1.4 Main approaches in grammar presentation 12 2.1.4.1 Deductive approach 12 2.1.4.2 Inductive approach 13 2.2 Visual Aids 14 2.2.1 Definition of visual aids 14 2.2.2 Reason for using visual aids 14 2.2.2.1 Visual approach 15 2.2.2.2 History background 17 iv 2.2.2.3 Visuals in the teaching of Grammar 19 2.2.3 Limitations in using Visual Approach 20 2.2.4 Types of visual aids 21 2.2.4.1 Realia 21 2.2.4.2 Pictures /Drawings 21 2.2.4.3 Charts/ Diagrams 22 2.2.4.4 Videos 22 2.2.4.5 Interactive white board 23 2.3 Conceptual Framework 24 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Methods 30 3.2 Research Design 30 3.3 Research Questions 31 3.4 Participants 31 3.5 Instruments 32 3.5.1 Questionnaire 32 3.5.1.1 Questionnaires for students 33 3.5.1.2 Questionnaires for teachers 34 3.5.2 Interview 34 3.5.3 Grammar tests 35 3.6 Procedure 35 3.7 Data analysis procedures 36 CHAPTER DATA ANALYSES AND FINDINGS 38 4.1 Validity and Reliability of the Quantitative and Qualitative Data 38 4.1.1 Validity 38 4.1.2 Reliability 39 4.2 Responses from the questionnaires 40 4.2.1 Teacher‘s questionnaire 40 4.2.1.1 Teacher‘s characteristics 40 4.2.1.2 Teacher‘s difficulties 41 4.2.1.3 Teachers‘ attitudes towards using visual aids in teaching grammar 43 4.2.2 Students‘ Questionnaire 49 v 4.2.2.1 Students‘ background 49 4.2.2.2 Students‘ attitudes to learning English 51 4.2.2.3 Students‘ evaluation on their level 54 4.2.2.4 Students‘ reasons for learning English grammar 55 4.2.2.5 Students‘ English lesson time 55 4.2.2.6 Students‘ methods of learning English grammar 56 4.2.2.7 Students‘ difficulties in learning grammar 57 4.2.2.8 Students‘ attitudes towards visual aids in grammar lessons 58 4.2.2.9 Attitudes towards visual aids in grammar learning 61 4.3 Results from the interview with teachers 65 4.4 The effectiveness of visual aids 69 4.4.1 The Test Score for Participants 69 4.4.2 Independent t-test results 70 4.4.2.1 Results of the pre-test 70 4.4.2.2 Results of post-test 72 4.4.3 4.5 Paired sample T-test 73 Findings and discussion 75 4.5.1 Grammar learning and teaching 75 4.5.2 Visual approach 78 4.5.2.1 Teachers‘ View and Use of visuals 79 4.5.2.2 Types of Visuals 81 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1 Conclusion 84 5.2 Implications 87 5.2.1 For language teachers 89 5.2.2 For language learners 92 5.2.3 For curriculum designers 92 5.2.4 For administrators 92 5.3 Recommendation 94 5.4 Limitations 95 REFERENCES 97 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENT’S ATTITUDES 104 vi APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHER’S ATTITUDES 110 APPENDIX – PRE -TEST 114 APPENDIX 4: POST - TEST 118 APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS 121 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Teachers‘ characteristics 40 Table Teachers‘ difficulties in teaching English 41 Table Teachers‘ ways to overcome the difficulties in teaching English 42 Table 4 Reasons for using visual aids 45 Table Teachers‘ attitudes towards using visual aids 49 Table Time for learning English according to gender 50 Table Students‘ attitudes towards learning English 54 Table Students‘ evaluation 54 Table Reasons for learning English 55 Table 10.Ways of learning English 57 Table 11 Students‘ difficulties in learning English grammar 58 Table 12 Students‘ attitudes towards visual aids 65 Table 13 Descriptive Statistics 69 Table 14 Pre-test Group statistics 70 Table 15 Levene‘s Test for pre-test Groups 71 Table 16 Summary of the main independent t-test results 71 Table 17 Post-test Group statistics 72 Table 18 Levene‘s Test for post-test Groups 72 Table 19 Summary of the main independent sample t-test 73 Table 20 Descriptive statistics of paired sample t-test 74 Table 21 Paired sample test differences 74 Table 22 Summary of the main paired sample test results 75 viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart Teachers‘ use of pictures and charts 44 Chart Teachers‘ use models and computer 44 Chart Students learning with or without visual aids 59 Chart 4.Pictures and Tables 60 Chart Models or Computer 60 Chart Interactive whiteboard 61 LIST OF GRAPHS Graph Students‘ English degrees 50 Graph Students‘ lesson times per week 56 Graph Students' frequency use per week of visual aids 59 ix ☐I don‘t know how to apply the previous structures when speaking or writing English ☐The exercises are boring and tedious ☐There is no clear explanation about grammar points in the coursebook ☐There are a few examples so that I cannot understand the structures ☐Teachers not present the grammar points in the classroom ☐Teachers‘ explanation is hard to understand so I can‘t follow the grammar lessons ☐Others (Please specify): ……………………………………………… Section three: Attitudes towards visual aids in learning grammar Do you learn grammar with visual aids? ☐ Yes (answer No 10) ☐ No (stop here) 10 How often you learn grammar with visual aids? ☐ once a week ☐ twice a week ☐ three times a week 11 How often does your teacher use these aids? Extent of use Type of aids Used often Drawings/Pictures Graphs/Charts/Tables Models 107 Sometimes Never used Films/ Video Interactive whiteboard 12 Please tick ONE of the five blocks given for each statement that reflects your opinion Try to answer every question, even if you are not absolutely sure To what extent you agree with the following statements? Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agre e The activities with lively images make learning rules or concepts understandable The visual aids make learning more permanent The visual aids help me focus on grammar lessons I can discover the link between meaning and structures with the help of these aids I feel self-motivated in learning grammar with the help of visual tools I participate more in grammar lessons when my teacher uses visual tools I can revise my grammar knowledge at home through the visual aids teachers have used 108 Strongly Agree The grammar class becomes more interesting and active with audiovisual aids The atmosphere class is varied with different kinds of visual aids used 10 Teachers design many interesting activities with the help of visual tools 11 Teachers can integrate other skills into teaching grammars with visual aids 12 The instruction of teachers before using visual aids is conscientious 109 APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHER’S ATTITUDES Dear Respondents, We would like to express our greatest gratitude and appreciation for your willingness to spend some of your valuable time answering this survey The purpose of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of using different kinds of visual learning aids in language learning classrooms The questionnaire focuses on collecting information on the respondents‘ prior knowledge, experience and perceptions about the use of visual learning aids for language learning By getting the required information, we hope to investigate the possible uses of visual aids for language learning purposes Please read each question carefully and answer it to the best of your ability We are merely interested in your personal point of view Thank you A Personal Information Answer the following questions: Age: Gender: ☐ Male ☐Female How many years have you taught English for students? ☐< years ☐5 - 10 years ☐> 10 years English language teaching qualification ☐Bachelor‘s Degree (BA) ☐Master‘s Degree (MA) ☐Postgraduate Diploma in TESOL ☐Ph.D Degree B Difficulties in teaching grammar at high school What are the difficulties you have met when teaching grammar at Tam Phu High School? 110 ☐Multilevel classes ☐Students‘ learning styles ☐Students‘ low motivation in learning English ☐Inappropriate curriculum ☐Lack of facilities ☐Lack of time for teaching grammar points and giving feedbacks ☐Lack of time for students‘ practice ☐Lack of teaching experience ☐Others (Please specify): ………………… How you overcome these difficulties? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………… C Attitudes towards using visual aids in teaching grammar at high school Which one or set of the following visual aids you often use when teaching grammar? (You can choose more than one option) A Drawings/Pictures ☐ B Models/Real objects ☐ C Computers/ Televisions ☐ D Interactive whiteboard ☐ E Other (specify please)… ☐ Frequency of visual aids Please indicate by placing an X in the proper places below Extent of use Type of aids Used often Drawings/Pictures Graphs/Charts/Tables Models Films/ Video 111 Sometimes Never used 10 Interactive whiteboard Why you use visual aids? ☐To make the lesson interesting and understandable ☐To explain the difficult rules ☐To encourage students to apply the grammar points they are learning ☐To enhance the learners‘ language ☐To develop my teaching skills ☐The administrator asks me to so ☐ Others (Please specify): …………………………………………………………… Your attitude about applying visual tools in grammar lessons To what extent you agree Strongly with the following statements? Disagree 1 Visual aids can help my students memorize the structures easily The use of visuals in the language classroom helps students to focus on the lesson Using visual aids can help my students understand different cultural backgrounds The use of visuals in the language classroom increases students‘ motivation and participation in the class 112 Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 5 Audio-visual aids can encourage students to communicate in English Visual aids are effective for lesson planning and lesson timing Visual aids can enhance the teaching of language learning I think that preparing extra visual aids for the lesson is a part of the teacher‘s job I have all the necessary equipment to use in the language classroom 10 I have to adapt the coursebook to teach grammar by using visual aids 13 It takes time preparing the materials and designing lesson plans 14 It is hard to find authentic materials to teach grammar 113 APPENDIX – PRE -TEST SỞ GD&ĐT TP.HCM ĐỀ KIỂM TRA GIỮA HỌC KÌ II TRƯỜNG THPT TAM PHÚ Năm học : 2016- 2017  MÔN: ANH VĂN - KHỐI: 10 (Thời gian làm : 45 phút ) *** -Choose the word that the underlined part pronounced differently from the rest A dear B clear C idea D search A town B how C window D cow Choose the word whose main stress pattern is not the same as that of the other A defence B shortage C damage D cancer A better B create C threaten D widen Give the correct form of a word in bracket He said that he would never sell the _ collections of stamps that his father gave him (value) The _ of the recent storm cannot be estimated (destroy) The escaped leopard will _ the lives of the villagers (danger) After a while, we started talking about the children ( natural) Fill in each blank with the appropriate preposition Retired people who no longer work have to depend _ welfare to live Giant pandas are _ danger due to illegal hunting and lack of the habitats Occupation physicians search _ the causes of injury and sickness at the workplace The rate of travelling contributes _ the budget of government is increasing enormously 114 Choose the best option A, B, C or D to complete the sentences: Once a fire starts, it _ very quickly, especially in the dry season runs B extends C transmits D spreads The new laws to _ wildlife in the area will come into force next month conserve Strong B destroy C eliminate D pollute are dangerous for swimmers seas B rivers C currents D climates The police are _ to find out the cause of the crash dividing B investigating C indicting D supplying The existence of different kinds of animals and plants which make a balanced environment is called biodiversity B challenge C rubbish D maintain SPEAKING: H: We are discussing plans to improve our life in the village So what should we first? I: I think (6) J: That‘s a good idea If the roads are wide, cars and lorries can get to the village easily H: How about (7) _? I: Great If we get sick, we won‘t have to go to district and provincial hospitals for treatments J: And we should build a football ground, too H: I completely agree with you If a football ground is built, (8) A we should widen the roads B we should raise the roads C we should resurface the roads D we should rebuild the roads 115 A building a new school B building a medical center C building a bridge D building a stadium A young people have chances to chat with each other B young people‘s health is looked after C young people can play sports and improve their health D young people have better learning conditions Give the correct tenses or form of verbs The students (still/eat) _ when the bell rang Unless she (have) someone else, I‘ll take this responsibility The student _ (look) up that new word right now You will see him when he (come) here tomorrow He (teach) for 25 years before he retired last year We (not, see) _ Dorothy since last Saturday Rewrite the following sentences, beginning with words provided If Gary doesn‘t call me back, I will never talk to him Unless New Journey To The West attracted a large audience because it was funny and unique If _ Danny was drawing beautiful paintings in the studio Beautiful paintings _ My boss didn‘t transfer anyone to the branch office last month No one "My mother doesn't let me go to the zoo with you " - Ariel said to me Ariel told me 116 "We went to that resort with our kids last year " - They said They said Make complete sentences, using the suggested words If / I / have / free time now / I / be able / come /see him _ Some laws / must / passed / help / protect / environment _ Read the passage carefully and then decide whether the statements are true (T)/ false (F) Green Turtle, common name for a large sea turtle, is named for the colour of its fat, although the animal is brownish overall It is the fastest swimming turtle, reaching speeds up to 32 km The green turtle is common in all warm seas and may sometimes be found, in the summertime, along the North Atlantic coasts of the United States and Europe Adults may reach a shell length of more than 1m and body weight of more than 180kg Like other sea turtles, the green turtle has flipper like forelimbs It can be distinguished from other sea turtles in that it has a single pair of large plates lying on the top of the head between the eyes, a relatively smooth shell lacking any ridges, and only four large, non-overlapping plates on each side of the shell The male never leaves the sea; the female leaves it only to lay her eggs As many as 200 eggs are laid at night in sand above the reach of the sea Green turtles can swim more quickly than any turtles _ Green turtles live in all seas _ The green turtle is different from other turtles in that it has flipper like forelimbs _ Only the female turtle leaves the sea to lay eggs 117 APPENDIX 4: POST - TEST SỞ GD&ĐT TP.HCM ĐỀ KIỂM TRA CUỐI HỌC KÌ II TRƯỜNG THPT TAM PHÚ Năm học : 2016- 2017  MÔN: ANH VĂN - KHỐI: 10 (Thời gian làm : 45 phút ) PHẦN TRẮC NGHIỆM I PHONETICS (1mark) Circle the word whose the underlined part is pronounced differently from the rest a kitchen b history c time d finish a sound b would c round d bound a fire b fish c rubish d middle a fun b sun c move d study II.GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY (2marks) a Choose the best answer among A , B , C or D that best completes each sentence: My aunt has just bought an…………………………………cooker A electric B electrical C electricity D electrician A………………………is used to copy the information from a computer on to paper A photocopier B printer C speaker D mouse The Internet helps us to interact……………………… other people around the world A to B from C of D with Do you remember Mrs Lan , ……………………taught us English ? A Who B Whom C that D Which I‘ve been in this city for a long time I ……………………here sixteen years ago A have come B was coming 118 C came D had come 6.She sings very A.good B.better C.best D.well b Identify the mistakes in the following sentences 7.Tet is a festival who occurs in late January or early February A B C D 8.They are twenty teachers in our school A B C D III LISTENING(1mark) It is difficult to know how many 1………… once lived in the continent, but there may have been at least 3-5 million elephants in Africa in the early part of the twentieth century People have always hunted elephants for meat, hides, and ivory Since 2…… human population grows and weapons 3…………more advanced, elephants are under greater threat In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a huge decline in the number of elephants due to the increase .poaching It is estimated that there are now about 500,000 elephants and they are restricted to only some particular countries 1: A.elephant B.elephants C tiger D.tigers : A.the B.a C.an D.one : A.become B.became C.get D.got :A.into B.on C.at D.in PHẦN TỰ LUẬN: I Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it means as the same as the sentence printed before it.(2marks) They will catch all the prisoners again by tonight All the prisoners…………………………………………………………………… I would like you to help me to put the chair away Do you mind……………………………………………………………………… The mechanic serviced my car last week My car……………………………………………………………………………… 119 I won‘t swim in the sea because it‘s too cold The sea is not………………………………………………………………………… II Give the correct part of speech for each sentence (2marks) Information technology is very to our lives.(use) A computer is a typewriter which allows you to type and print any kind of documents.(magic) Hue is famous for its spots.(beauty) The most _thing about listening to music is that you can relax your mind.(enjoy) III Read the following passage and choose the best answers by circling a, b, c or d (2marks) Suzanne was very nervous about her interview She had prepared for it for at last three weeks before She really wanted the job but she knew that a lot of other people wanted to get it, too She had been told when she phoned the number in the advert that there were so many applicants for it, so she prepares herself She made notes of what might be asked and what she wanted to ask When the day came, she arrived half an hour early There were six other people waiting to be interviewed They all looked much more confident than she did, She began to feel even more nervous One by one was called Each of them came out and looked satisfied Suzanne was the last one to be called into the interview room She had decided by that time that she had no chance of getting the job, so she felt relaxed as she walked in; she felt that she had nothing to lose The three interviewers were all very serious and they didn‘t seem to be interested in her She forgot all the answers she had prepared and said the first thing that came into her head Two days later, she got a letter telling her she had been chosen because she had been the only one who had acted naturally Was Suzanne very nervous about her interview? ………………………………………………………………………………………… Before the interview, what did she do? 120 ………………………………………………………………………………………… Did she remember all the answers she had prepared? ………………………………………………………………………………………… Why was Suzanne chosen for the job? ………………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS How you present English grammar in high school? What kinds of visual aids you like to use best? Why? What difficulties you often encounter when using visual aids in teaching grammar? What are your solutions to difficulties when using visual aids? How you engage your students in activities through visual aids? What sources you often refer to design lessons with visual materials? What you recommend for a better application of visual aids in grammar lessons? 121