A study on the implementation of activities to practise english grammar at a high school in hue city nghiên cứu về việc sử dụng các hoạt động để thực hành ngữ pháp tiếng anh ở một trường trung học phổ t

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY NGUYEN HUU GIA HAN A STUDY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIVITIES TO PRACTISE ENGLISH GRAMMAR AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY NGUYEN HUU GIA HAN A STUDY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIVITIES TO PRACTISE ENGLISH GRAMMAR AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr LE PHAM HOAI HUONG HUE, 2019 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ NGUYỄN HỮU GIA HÂN NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐỂ THỰC HÀNH NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG TẠI THÀNH PHỐ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ : 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS.TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƯƠNG HUẾ, 2019 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed Date: December 7st 2019 i ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of students towards classroom activities in English grammar classes and the strategies in managing these grammar classes It employed both the quantitative and qualitative research approaches The analysis of data from questionnaire, class observations and interviews indicates the highest agreement from participants for the fact that teachers should organize different activities in grammar classes to make grammar lessons more interesting Also, the findings from interviews and questionnaires reflect that most of teachers and students are aware of the necessity and importance of adding further practice activities in Grammar lessons following Presentation-Practice-Production method (PPP) For grammar activities, it was found from the questionnaire that classroom arrangement techniques preferred by most students were full class interaction, and group work or pair work Besides, classroom observations confirmed that effective English grammar lessons usually had three stages with frequent use of group work and pair work in different activities Based on the findings of the study, suggestions were put forward to a systematized list of grammar learning and teaching strategies as well as what teachers and learners should when encountering ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my very affectionate and deeply-felt thanks to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong, for giving effective instructions and invaluable advice during the preparation and completion of this graduation paper She encouraged critical and independent thinking, and shared valuable research and professional insights that enabled me to develop as an independent individual Her wide knowledge and logical way of thinking have been of great value for me I would like to say thank her for guiding me not only in research but also in other facets of my life despite her so busy schedule In addition, I am thankful to her for being available whenever needed and helping me out from various crises I cannot imagine how hard it would have been for me to successfully complete my work without her leadership I owe her a dept of gratitude that cannot be measured I also wish to acknowledge my debt to all the teachers of the Foreign Languages Department at Hue University whose lectures and ideas have inspired my thesis and whom it is impossible to thank individually My appreciation also goes to the teachers and students at a high school in Hue city for their valuable assistance in completing my survey questionnaire and providing me with a lot of useful information Finally, I would like to send my great thanks to my family, my friends who have directly or indirectly helped me with their encouragement and advice On the whole, without all these helps my graduation paper would not have possibly been completed iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF FIGURES viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Organisation of the study 1.7 Summary CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Grammar 2.1.1 Definition of grammar 2.1.2 The role of grammar teaching and learning 2.1.3 Overview of grammar teaching approaches 2.2 Procedures of grammar teaching 10 2.2.1 The presentation stage 10 2.2.2 The practice stage 10 2.2.3 The production stage 11 2.3 Communicative activities (CAs) 11 2.3.1 Definition of CAs 11 2.3.2 Characteristics of CAs 12 2.3.3 Some types of CAs 12 2.4 Previous study 16 2.4.1 In Vietnam 16 iv 2.4.2 In other countries 16 2.5 Summary 17 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 The research approach 18 3.1 Research setting and participants 20 3.1.1 Setting 20 3.1.2 Participants 20 3.2 Material: TIENG ANH 10 NEW VERSION 20 3.3 Data collection 21 3.3.1 Instrument: 21 3.3.2 Research Procedure 22 3.4 Data analysis 23 3.5 Summary 23 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 24 4.1 The perceptions of grammar activities in English classes 24 4.1.1 The presentation stage of grammar lessons 24 4.1.2 The classroom arrangements in grammar lessons 25 4.1.3 The activities in grammar lessons 27 4.1.4 Kind of techniques students get involved in class to practise new grammar structures in Tieng Anh 10 new version 28 4.1.5 Students’ activities in practice of new grammar structures 29 4.2 Reality of teaching and learning grammar at a high school in Hue city 30 4.2.1 Activities and their frequency used in the production stage of grammar lessons 30 4.2.2 Teachers’ feedback or corrections on students’ answers 32 4.3 Students’ opinions about the activities in grammar lessons 33 4.4 Difficulties of students in grammar lessons 36 4.5 Summary 38 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 39 5.1 Summary of the key findings 39 5.2 Implications 40 v 5.2.1 Implications for teachers 40 5.2.2 Implications for students 41 5.3 Limitations 41 5.4 Further research 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDICES 46 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: The activities in grammar lessons 27 Table 4.2: Activities to practise new grammar structures 29 Table 4.3: Teachers’ feedback or corrections on students’ answers 32 vii it is recomended that teachers be creative to design various interesting activities to avoid boredom and monotony Additionally, the content of each topic is also very important; only if they are attractive and relevant to students’ life, will they be able to draw students’ attention If the time is limited, teachers can adapt activities in textbooks to be more communicative in grammar lessons While managing work arrangement for activity, teachers should enhance the frequency of pair work and group work to increase students’ talking time, strengthen their cooperation and interaction also in grammar lessons Finally, during the process of activity, teachers should let students feel free with the language they are using without any direct interruption They also should be tolerant towards mistakes of students and feedback should be given after the activity to inform students what they have or have not achieved 5.2.2 Implications for students It cannot be denied that students’ motivation contributes to the success of a grammar activity For this reason, students should be aware of their responsibility to better the quality of further practice activities in grammar lessons Initially, students must be conscious of the role of grammar in communicative competence development Besides, they should eliminate their fear of making mistakes to be more confident and dynamic in activities, try to apply grammar structure into real life situations Furthermore, creating a comfortable learning atmosphere, being active and cooperative with classmates is also very necessary to improve students’ communication ability It is necessary for students to prepare the lesson carefully at home so as to be aware of what the teachers ask them to 5.3 Limitations Shortcomings cannot be avoided in the research Firstly, the data of the research analyzed was mainly based on quantitative (100 students) and qualitative approach that leads to some inadequate results Secondly, the 41 research took place in only one high school in Hue city, thus, the result of research may be not generalized Finally, because of the limit of the time, the researcher cannot attend all of grammar periods but only of them; therefore, the information provided in the research may not be applicable to other contextes 5.4 Further research Further researches can focus on the following matters: the implementation of activities to practise English grammar at a secondary school in Hue city, comparing the use of activities in grammar lessons in Tieng Anh 10 old version textbooks and Tieng Anh 10 new version textbooks, or adapting activities in Tieng Anh 10 new version textbooks in teaching grammar 42 REFERENCES Ahmad, A.M (2014) Kumaravadivelu’s framework as a basis for improving English language teaching in Saudi Arabia: Opportunities and challenges English Language Teaching, 7, 96-110 Aliaga, M., & Gunderson, B (2002) Interactive statistics New Jersey: Prentice Hall Arda, A (2001) Effectiveness of Using Games in Teaching Grammar to Young Learners Azar, B (2007) Grammar-based teaching: A practitioner’s perspective TESL-EJ, 11(2) Retrieved October 1, 2007, from http://tesl-ej.org/ej42/a1.html Baleghizadeh, S (2010) The effect of pair work on a word-buidling task ELT Journal, 64, 405-413 Berg, B.L (2001) Qualitative Research, Message for the Social Sciences 4th Edition, Allin and Bacon, Boston, 15-35 Byrne, B.M (1986) Self-Concept/Academic Achievement Relations: An Investigation of Dimensionality, Stability, and Causality Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 18, 173-186 https://doi.org/10.1037/h0079982 Cam Khuong (2015) Teaching English Grammar Communicatively: Theories, Principles and Implications in English Teaching in Vietnam Cam Lien, & Minh Thu (2017) An Evaluation of using Games in Teaching English Grammar for First Year English-Majored Students at Dong Nai Technology University Celce-Murica, M (2001) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language Third Edition London: Heinle Heinle – Thomson Learning, 2001 Chalker, S., & Weiner, E (1994) Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar New York: Oxford University Press Constance, W (1996) Teaching Grammar in Context Portsmouth, NH Boynton/Cook Creswell, J.W (1998) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design, Choosing Among Five Traditions California: Sage Publication Hal 65 Creswell, J.W (2009) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (3rd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications 43 Gerot, L., & Wignell, P (1994) Making Sense of Functional Grammar Australia: Gerd Stabler Griva, E., Semoglou, K., & Geladari, A (2010) Early foreign language learning: Implementation of a project in a game-based context Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 3700-3705 Harmer, J (2001) The practice of English language London: Pearson Education Howatt, A.P.R (1984) A History of English Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press Johnson, K., & Morrow, K (1981) Communication in the Classroom Essex: Longman José, L.R., & Gloria, L.A (2012) The role of grammar teaching: from Communicative approaches to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Universidad de Jaén Keith, M (1981) Communication in the classroom : applications and methods for a communicative approach London; Longman Lado, R (1977) Language Testing Hongkong; Longman Liao, X (2000) Communicative language teaching innovation in China: Difficulties and solutions ERIC database, (ED443294) Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED443294.pdf Littlewood, W (1994) Communicative Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press ISBN:0-521-28154-7 Mouton, J., & Marais, H.C (1992) Basic concepts in the methodology of the social sciences Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council Nunan, D (1993) Task-based syllabus design: Selecting, grading and sequencing tasks In G Crookes and S Gass (1993b) Pavlina, M (2001) Education and the Labour Market: Three Essays on Interrelations and Multiple Effects During Lifetime Catholique de Louvain Univerisity Pekka, S (2005) Grammar is the heart of language: grammar and its role in language learning among Finnish university students Jyväskylä University Richards, J., Platt, J., & Weber, H (1985) Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics England: Longman 44 Richards, J.C., & Renandya, W.A (eds.) (2002) Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Sadia, A (2007) Teaching Grammar Creatively at Elemenentary Level BRAC University Saricoban, A., & Metin, E (2000) Songs, Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar The Internet TEST Journal Retrieved from http://itesij.org/Technique/SaricobanSong.html Seliger, H.W., & Elana, S (1989) Second language research methods Oxford University Press Sun, G., & Cheng, L (2000) From context to curriculum: A Case Study of Communicative Language Teaching in China TESL Canada Journal Vol.19, No.2 Accessed on July 20, 2014, from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ645365.pdf Tait, S (2001) Ingredients for Successful Communicative Tasks TEFL.net Retrieved from http://www.tefl.net/esl-articles/esl-communicative-tasks.htm on January 31, 2013 Thornbury, S (1999) How to Teach Grammar Essex: Pearson Education Limited Thornbury, S (2005) How to Teach Speaking Essex:Pearson Education Limited, ISBN:0-582-85359- Willis, J., & Willis, D (1996, eds.) Challenge and Change in Language Teaching Oxford: Macmillan 45 APPENDICES (APPENDIX 1) QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS This questionnaire aims to collect data for the research: “A Study on The Implementation of Activities to Practise English Grammar at A High School in Hue City” All the data collected in this questionnaire are only for purpose of the study The researcher assures that all of the information will be confidential Please read the questions and put a tick (✓) for the answers In many questions, you can choose more than one option provided Your additional ideas are highly appreciated Thanks so much for your co-operation I BACKGROUND INFORMATION  Male  Female - How long have you been learning English? ………… Years - What is your gender? II QUESTIONS Your teacher often starts a grammar lesson by: (You can choose more than one option)  asking students to apply the grammar rules given by the teacher to exercises  giving examples so that students discover the grammar rules from the examples  combining the above ways * Others (please specify): ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 46 In a grammar lesson, your teacher often asks you to: (You can choose more than one option)  Listen to the teacher and learn the grammatical rules by heart  Work individually to exercises  Interact with other students to discuss the lessons  Work in pairs or groups to the excercise  Play games  Look up new words in dictionary and prepare the lessons at home * Others (please specify): ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… When teaching grammar, how often does your teacher …… Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never use either examples, pictures, or dialogues, etc to help you discover the meaning and the use of the new grammar? ask you to different kinds of exercises in pairs or groups and correct your answers? give you opportunities you to apply what you have learnt to talk about your real life activites? What kinds of grammar activities you often when learning grammar? (You can choose more than one option)  Substitution Drill  Sentence transformation  Multiple choice  Gap-fill exercise  Ordering/Rearraning  Matching 47 What activities you get involved in class to practice new grammar structures in Tieng Anh 10 new version? (You can choose more than one option)  Do written grammar exercises in the textbook  Do written grammar exercises in the textbook and workbook  Do written grammar exercises outside the textbook and workbook  Do grammar exercises orally In the production of the grammar lessons, your teacher …  lets you whatever you want and does not interfere with this process  asks you to use the language in context by applying a variety of grammar activities for practising speaking or writing in English * Others (please specify): ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… How often does your teacher implement the following activities in the production of the grammar lessons? Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never Discussion Interview Communicative games Role play Write it up Information gap Story telling Class survey How does your teacher give feedback or correction on your answers in grammar lessons? (You can choose more than one option)  The teacher does not give any feedback or corrections on my answer 48  The teacher writes up the collected errors on the board, then gives corrections or feedback  The teacher asks other students to give correction  The teacher asks the students to work in pairs or small group to correct the answers * Others (please specify): ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… What is your opinion about English grammar in Tieng Anh 10 new version? (You can choose more than one option)  English grammar in the book “Tieng anh 10 new version” helps combine words into sentences to express ideas, feelings and so on  English grammar in the book “Tieng anh 10 new version” assists students in using the language appropriately in communication  English grammar in the book “Tieng anh 10 new version” is essential in developing various language skills to reach the aim of communication  English grammar in the book “Tieng anh 10 new version” helps develop learners’ self-confidence using language * Others (please specify): ……………….……………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 What is your opinion about the activities held in the the presentation stage of the grammar lesson at your school?  Very interesting  Interesting  Rather interesting  Not interesting at all 11 What is your opinion about the activities held in the the practice stage of the grammar lesson at your school?  Very useful  Useful  Rather useful  Not useful at all 49 12 What is your opinion about the activities held in the the production stage of the grammar lesson at your school?  Very motivating  Motivating  Rather motivating  Not motivating at all 13 Most of the time in the classroom should be spent on explaining grammar rules in the book “Tieng Anh 10 new version”  Strongly disagree  Disagree  Neutral  Agree  Strongly agree 14 The grammar sessions should be for practising, with grammar structures explained by the teacher only when necessary  Strongly disagree  Disagree  Neutral  Agree  Strongly agree 15 What are some difficulties in learning grammar in English 10? (You can choose more than one option)  You not have motivation in learning English grammar in the book  The grammar lessons are not interesting  The grammar teaching method is not suitable  The grammar tasks in the book are not easy  English grammar structures are very difficult for you to understand  You not opportunities to practice grammar structures and apply them in your real life 50  You are afraid of taking mistakes when practicing grammar structures in the book  You cannot remember the grammar structures in the book for a long time * Others (please specify): ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… 16 What difficulties you meet when learning grammar activities in the book “Tieng anh 10 new version”? (You can choose more than one option)  You feel shy when taking part in grammar activities  You are afraid that your classmates will laugh at you if you make mistakes  It is normal if you not participate in grammar activities The teacher never complains about that  You can not concentrate because the class is noisy  You not have enough time to fulfill grammar lessons  You are under much pressure when taking part in grammar activities * Others (please specify): ……………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation 51 (APPENDIX 2) QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW I QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS These questions are designed to collect information for the research of “A Study on The Implementation of Activities to Practise English Grammar at A High School in Hue City” Your answer will be very helpful and valuable to this research The data collected will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of the current research Thank you very much for your kind cooperation What activities that you use in teaching grammar lessons in the textbook Tieng Anh 10? Which kind of class agrrangement you usually use in grammar lessons, pair work or group work or any others? Do you adapt the activities in the textbook to teach grammar? If yes, how? 4.How would you prefer to teach grammar, through student-teacher interaction or student-student interaction? Why ? What challenges you meet when teaching English grammar in the textbook Tieng Anh 10 to your students? 52 (APPENDIX 2) QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW II QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS These questions are designed to collect information for the research of “A Study on The Implementation of Activities to Practise English Grammar at A High School in Hue City” Your answer will be very helpful and valuable to this research The data collected will be kept confidential and used only for the purpose of the current research Thank you very much for your kind cooperation What activities does your teacher use in grammar lessons? Which kind of class agrrangement does your teacher usually use in grammar lessons, pair work or group work or any others? Does your grammar teacher change the activities in the textbook to teach grammar? If yes, how? How would you prefer to learn grammar, through student-teacher interaction or student-student interaction? What challenges you face in learning grammar in the textbook “Tieng anh 10 new version”? 53 (APPENDIX 3) OBSERVATION SHEET Presenter: ………………………………… Lesson: ……………………………… Class: …………………………………… Date: ……………………………… Observer: ……………………………… GRAMMAR LESSONS Stages Activities - Clear start of the lesson - Smooth transitions Presentation - Several techniques to brainstorm - Mistake correction - Visual aid/ Blackboard - Eliciting - Clear instructions - Eliciting Practice - Timing - Variety of activities - Mistake correction - Variety of visual aid - Several techniques for practice - Clear instructions - Eliciting - Timing Production - Variety of activities - Mistake correction - Variety of visual aid - Several techniques for production Learner - Active participation participation - Students’ interaction & quality of - Interested interaction - Students’ involvement 54 Notes Classroom management - Group work - Pair work - Balance of English/Vietnamese Use of English - Good English model - Fluent use of English 55