A study on using communicative activities in teaching english grammar for freshman students at ladec college ho chi minh city

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere Author: Phan Thi Thanh Thuy ABSTRACT This study investigates “Using Communicative Activities in Teaching English Grammar to Freshman Students at Ladec College, Ho Chi Minh City” The study aims at identifying the teachers’ and students’ perception of using CAs in teaching English grammar, exploring the reality of using CAs in teaching grammar at Ladec College, Binh Thanh Campus, Ho Chi Minh City Moverover, it aims at presenting some suggestions to make using CAs in teaching English grammar more effective The data of this study were mainly collected by means of questionaires from 92 freshman students and teachers with an additional freshman students interviewed at Ladec College The author uses qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the reality of teaching and learning grammar through CAs, the teachers’ and students’ attitude and assessement to CAs as well The findings of this study show that most of the students and teachers have positive attitude toward using CAs in teaching and learning grammar Most of students find it difficult to learn grammar and they are not interested in teachers’ teaching grammar much To motivate learners, it has been proposed by the teachers that communicative activities should be used in teaching English grammar It can be seen clearly from the findings that both teachers and students at Ladec College have good understanding of communicative activities In addition, the study finds that most teachers and students used communicative activities in teaching and learning English and they were interested in CAs Using songs, using movie, act it out or board and card are among communicative activities students participated in mostly From the findings, the study suggests some pedagogical implications for the teaching and learning of English Grammar and recommends some communicative activities from Unit One to Unit Four in Very Easy TOIEC to Freshman students at Ladec College in particular ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc.Prof Dr TRAN VAN PHUOC, who provided detailed instructions, valuable comments, criticism and great support during my research process My special thanks also go to my teachers and staff of Post–graduate Department at Hue University College of Foreign Languages for the useful lectures and advice during my course to make my study possible I would also wish to thank all my colleagues and the students of Ladec College, Ho Chi Minh City who have helpfully participated as the informants of the study, without whose cooperation this thesis would hardly be conducted Finally, I would particularly like to express my sincere thanks to my family, especially my parents whose great sacrifice and enormous love encouraged me a great deal in completing the study Hue, March 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE 1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.2.1 Definition of Grammar Teaching 2.2.2 Approaches to Teach Grammar 2.2.2.1 Deductive Approach 2.2.2.2 Inductive Approach 2.2.3 Overview of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 10 2.2.4 Definition of CLT 11 2.2.5 Description of CLT 11 2.2.6 The Role of Grammar in CLT 12 2.2.7 Communicative Activities (CAs) 13 2.3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE CURRENT TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH GRAMMAR AT LADEC COLLEGE 14 2.3.1 The Real Situation at Ladec College, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City 14 2.3.2 The Reality of Teaching and Learning of English at Ladec College, Binh Thanh Campus 15 2.3.3 Teaching Material at Ladec College 16 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE STUDY 18 3.2 RESEARCH METHOD 18 3.2.1 Instruments 18 3.2.1.1 Questionnaires 18 3.2.1.2 Interview 18 3.2.2 Procedure of Data Collection 20 3.2.3 Data analysis Method 20 3.3 SUMMARY 21 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 22 4.1 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 22 4.1.1 Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Teaching English Grammar Using CAs 22 4.1.1.1 The Role of English Grammar in Teaching and Learning 22 4.1.1.2 Difficulty Degree on Teaching and Learning English Grammar 23 4.1.1.3.Methods to Teach English Grammar at Ladec College 24 4.1.1.4 Feeling about Teachers’ and Students' Grammar Performance 26 4.1.1.5.Teachers’ and Students’ Understanding about CAs 27 4.1.2.The Reality of Using CAs in Teaching English Grammar at Ladec College, Ho Chi Minh City 27 4.1.2.1.The Frequency of Using CAs in Teaching and Learning Grammar 27 4.1.2.2.Type of CAs Teachers Used and Students Participated in Grammar Classes 28 4.1.2.3 Teachers’ and Students' Interest in Teaching and Learning Grammar by Using CAs 31 4.1.2.4.What CAs Help Students in Learning English Grammar 31 4.1.2.5 Students’ Improvement of English Ability Through Using CAs 33 4.1.2.6 Teachers and Students’ Agreement on the Factor Preventing Students from Participating into CAs in Grammar Classes 34 4.1.3 Suggestions to Improve Using CAs in Teaching English Grammar at Ladec College 36 4.1.3.1.Teachers’ Preparation of Using Communicative Activities in Teaching Grammar 36 4.1.3.2 Students’ Preparation of Using Communicative Activities in Learning Grammar 37 4.1.3.3 Facility to Teach Grammar Using Communicative Activities 38 4.1.3.4 Administrator’ Support 39 4.2 SUMMARY 39 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 42 5.1 CONCLUSION 42 5.2 IMPLICATIONS 42 5.2.1 To the Freshman Students at Ladec College 43 5.2.2 To English Teachers at Ladec College 43 5.2.3 To Administrators 43 5.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 44 5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 44 REFERENCES 46 APPENDICES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEF: Common European Framework CLT: Communicative Language Teaching CAs: Communicative Activities %: Percent LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 The lay – out of Times and Units in Two Semesters for Freshman Students 17 Table 4.1 The Methods to Teach English Grammar 24 Table 4.2 Teachers’ and Students’ Understanding about CAs 27 Table 4.3 Types of CAs Teachers Used and Students Participated in 29 Table 4.4 What CAs help Students in Learning English Grammar 32 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: The Role of Grammar in Teaching and Learning English 22 Figure 4.2: Difficulty Degree on Teaching and Learning English 23 Figure 4.3: Feeling about Teachers' and Students' Grammar Performance 26 Figure 4.4: Frequency of Using CAs in Teaching and Learning Grammar of Teachers and Students 28 Figure 4.5: Teachers’ and Students’ Interest in Teaching and Learning English Grammar by Using CAs 31 Figure 4.6: Students’ Improvement of English Ability Through Using CAs in Learning Grammar 34 Figure 4.7: Teachers' and Students’ Agreement on the English Ability Preventing Students from Participating in CAs at English Grammar Classes 35 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale English has become one of the important subjects through all the levels of education system in Viet Nam Learning English, students learn not only listening, speaking, reading, writing but also grammar Dawson (1985, p.7) points out that grammar and structure is the heart of language No one can deny that understanding of grammar is extremely necessary for mastery of a language and helps learners to be competent at communicating Therefore, teaching grammar plays an important role in communicative language teaching However, many students feel bored, not interested in and not like to study grammar Many students are very good at memorizing structure and usage of grammatical points but they keep making mistakes when they try to use language in contexts, especially in communicating in real life What are the reasons for those issues? How can the grammar lessons attract students? How can teachers stimulate them to every English grammar lesson? How can students use grammar to communicate effectively? It is not easy for a teacher to deal with these problems Li, (1984, p.3) argued " when people ask questions, it is because they not know the answer, when they speak or write, it is because they have something to say; and when they listen or read, they it to get information or ideas This need, purpose, and substance are what given rise to communication in real life " Teachers should try to create real situations for real communication to happen Being an English teacher at Ladec College in Ho Chi Minh City, the author realizes that her students may have the same issues as above The author also finds out from her own observation and experience that there are various ways to teach grammar, and there is no “best” way to teach all grammar but using communicative activities in grammar lessons can help much and very effectively Therefore, the author decided to conduct “A Study on Using Communicative Activities in Teaching English Grammar to Freshman Students at Ladec College, Ho Chi Minh City” 10 APPENDIX 3B CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN SINH VIÊN Bạn có thấy thú vị học ngữ pháp tiếng Anh không? Giáo viên bạn thường dạy ngữ pháp trường phương pháp nào? Bạn tham gia hoạt động giao tiếp ngữ pháp tiếng Anh? Hoạt động bạn thích nhất? Sử dụng hoạt động giao tiếp dạy ngữ pháp giúp bạn nào? Bạn có đề xuất để việc sử dụng hoạt động giao tiếp học ngữ pháp hiệu hơn? 68 APPENDIX INTERVIEWS TRANSCRIPT Khi dạy ngữ pháp, cô giáo em thường dùng hoat động giao tiếp trò chơi, hát Nhưng em thấy thơng thường hay đưa ví dụ dạy cấu trúc Em thấy chán học này, học hoạt động giao tiếp em thích (Nguyễn Thị A 13KTCV1, tháng10, 2013) Cô giáo thường dạy chúng em phần ngữ pháp ví dụ mà viết bảng (Phạm Thị Thuỳ F, 13QTCV1, tháng, 2013) Giáo viên chúng em thường dùng hoạt động giao tiếp để dạy ngữ pháp Em thích ( Phạm Thanh M, 13QTCV1, tháng, 2013) Em tham gia vào hoạt động Tic Tac Toe, học qua hát, phim, đoạn đối thoại đóng vai số hoạt động khác Nhưng mà em thích học hát phim (Nguyễn Thị A 13KTCV1, tháng10, 2013) Tic Tac Toe, Bảng Thẻ, Bing Go, hát, tranh số hoạt động khác nhhưng em không nhớ tên, mà em thích học với hát ( Phạm Thanh M, 13QTCV1, tháng, 2013) Em tham gia vào vài hoạt động giao tiếp, gần đây, cô giáo tụi em chiếu Mr Bea tụi em học tiếp diễn Em thực thích hoạt động (Lê Minh C, 13 KTCV1, tháng, 2013) Em nghĩ giáo viên cần có chuẩn bị hoạt động trước dạy như: chọn hoạt động phù hợp với trình độ tụi em Có số hoạt động khó với tụi em nên tụi em không muốn tham gia (Phạm Thị Thuỳ F, 13QTCV1, tháng, 2013) Theo em giáo viên nên đổi hoạt động khác Em thấy chán tham gia hoạt động giống (Nguyễn Trọng K, 13CTCV1, tháng, 2013) Em nghĩ giáo viên nên chuẩn bị hoạt động mà sinh viên thích muốn tham gia ( Lê Minh C, 13KTCV1, tháng 10, 2013) 69 APPENDIX Suggesting some Communicative Activities in Teaching Grammar at Ladec College In this study, the author also presented some CAs that teachers can use while teaching English grammar for students The textbook used to teach the freshman students at Ladec College is Very Easy TOEIC The grammar focus is well and clearly organized However, almost activities are illustration grammar points and exercises there are not any extra interesting activities for students to practice Therefore, the author suggested some activities that can be applied in teaching grammar to make the lesson more interesting and effective  Unit 1: The grammar focus is about the present tense Here are some Suggested activity  Games “Are you the one” (See Appendix 6) This game is used to practice the simple present tense - Material: Worksheet1 - Dynamic: Whole class - Time: 15 minutes - Procedure: Give one copy of worksheet to each student Get through the information in worksheet to make sure that they understand all Then give example Example: On the worksheets: good at English Student 1: Are you the one good at English? Student 2: Yes I am Tell the students that when they get a Yes answer from the other, fills in 70 his/her name in the worksheet If that is a “No” answer, the questioning student continues until he/she finds someone who answers Yes Tell students to circulate and asking the questions in the worksheet Call some students and ask them to report about their working  Game Act it Out (Appendix 7) This activity is used to practice the present progressive tense - Material: small pieces of paper in worksheet 2, a small box - Dynamic: Whole class/ Team - Time: 20 minutes - Procedure: Put the small pieces of paper into the small box Instruct the rule of game that one student comes to the front of the class, select a small piece of paper in the box and act out the activity silently The class tries to guess what he/she is doing using Present Progressive Tense Ask students to play the game Let students take turn acting out the activity For a team: divide the class into the teams The preventative from each team will come in front of the class and select the paper then present the activity to his/ her team If the team guesses correctly in the allotted time (1 minute) the team score gets a point If not, the other will “steal” after the time limit is up Declare the winner  Unit 2: The Grammar Focus in this Unit is about the Past tense  Using Movie (Appendix 8) The author suggests to use the movie “ The Other man” to practice Past and Past Perfect Tense 71 - Material: a movie segment of “ The Other man”, worksheet - Dynamic: Whole class - Time: 30 - Procedure: Introduce the movie and actors Instruct what students are going to they are going to watch a segment in “ The Other man” and exercises in the worksheet Give a worksheet to each students and go through all the new words available and check if students understand or not Ask students answer the questions in exercise Play the movie the first time, then ask students to exercise Play the second time and ask students to check their answer with friends Call on some students to go to the board and exercise Play the movie again to check students’ answer Ask students to exercise Have students watch the movie again if they want  Using song ( Appendix 9) The author suggested the song “ Because You loved me” to review Regular and Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense - Material: Worksheet 4, Song - Dynamic: Individual - Time: 15 minutes 72 - Procedure Ask students if they know anything about that song and singer Give each student the worksheet and go through all the line in worksheet Play the song and ask students to the task in worksheet Play the song again for students checking their answers Ask student comparing their answer with friends Call on some students to write their answer on the board Play the song again to check the answer Ask students if anyone can sing that song and let student sing along  Picture sentence This activity aims at practicing the past continuous tense - Material: pictures with a lot of action going on in worksheet - Dynamic: small group - Time: 15 minutes - Procedure: Divide the class into groups of Give each group the sample pictures Instruct the groups to describe the picture in as many sentences as possible in the time allowed, using past continuous tense The sentences must be grammatically correct and accurately After minutes say “pass” and give the next picture Ask students write their sentences on the board Check the answer 73 Declare the winner that has the most correct sentence  Unit 3: The Grammar Focus in this Unit is about Gerund and Infinitive  Board Game (Appendix 10) This activity is designed to review Gerund and Infinitive - Materials: worksheets 6, dices, markers - Dynamic: groups - Times: 20 minutes - Procedure Divide the class into groups Give each group a worksheet, dice, and marker Instruct students playing the game The students take turns rolling the dice and moving indicated number of space They follow the directions on the space they land on If they land on blank space, they stop and wait for their net turn Declare the winner who is the first group to reach the end  Unit 4: The Grammar Focus in this Unit is about Subject – Verb Agreement  Tic Tac Toe (Appendix 11) This activity is used for practicing Subject – Verb Agreement - Materials: board and chalk or worksheet - Dynamic: team - Time: 10 minutes - Procedure: Draw a tic tac toe grid on the board and fill in subjects and verbs 74 Divide the class into teams Instruct students playing the game Students will have to make the sentences using subjects and verbs in in the grids A player on the first steam goes to the board and write the sentence in square of his/ her choice The first player from the other team goes to the board and either write the sentence of his/ her choice or correctly what he/she thinks is someone else’s incorrect completion Check the answers if they are right or wrong Declare the winner that is the first team with three correct answer in a row, any direction 75 APPENDIX WORKSHHET1: ARE YOU THE ONE? ARE YOU THE ONE WHO… IS TALL HAS BROTHERS AND SISTERS LIKES COFFEE FEARS THE DARKNESS WALKS TO COLLEGE LIKES TO SING HAS BOYFRIEND LOVES ANIMALS IS FROM HO CHI MINH CITY 76 APPENDIX WORKSHEET 2: ACT IT OUT MAKE UP LISTEN TO MUSIC EAT SPAGETTI PLAY GAME LOCK THE DOOR TAKE A DOG FOR WALK WASH THE DISHES USE COMPUTER PROPOSE WATCH FOOTBALL MATCH ON TV ANSWER THE CALLS CLEAN THE FLOOR DRAW A PICTURE SWIM 77 APPENDIX WORKSHEET3: MOVIE “ THE OTHER MAN” A Talk to a partner: - Do you think it is correct to check your husband's (wife's) messages? Justify it - Do you have documents in your computer that only you have access to? Why (not)? - If you found out you were being cheated on, what would you do? B Watch the segment and check which activity took place first Write next to the activity that took place first and next to the activity that took place later I He listened to her voice mail He turned on his wife's laptop II He looked at some pictures of his family He tried to open a folder called love III He tried opening the love folder using some passwords with his family names He opened a folder called London 78 IV He saw the picture of a black man trying to kiss his wife at a party He read an email sent by Ralph V He remembered being introduced to Ralph He finished reading the email C Now combine both sentences using the simple past and the past perfect tenses Make sure you know what action took place first so you can choose the correct verb tense I He had listened to his wife's voice mail when he turned on her laptop II III IV 79 APPENDIX WORKSHEET 4: LISTEN TO THE SONG AND FILL IN THE BLANKS For all those times you the joy you dream you to my life For all the wrong that you come true For all the love I baby You're the one who who by me For all the truth that you me up Never me through it all You 10 me see For all right For every in you I'll be forever thankful me fall You're the one my strength when I was weak You were my voice when I couldn't speak You were my eyes when I couldn't see You 11 the best there was in me 12 me up when I couldn't reach You everything I am Because you You 15 14 13 me faith 'coz you believed I'm me You gave me wings and made me fly my hand I could touch the sky I 16 my faith, you gave it back to me You 17 no star was out of reach You stood by me and I stood tall I 19 your love I had it all I'm grateful for each day you gave me Maybe I don't know that much But I know this much is true I was 80 20 because I was loved by you APPENDIX 10 WORKSHEET 6: BOARD GAME START AVOIDS REGRET LOSE A ROLL GO BACK AGAIN SPACES FORGOT DECIDE QUIT MIND REMEMB TURN GO LOOK GO BACK FORWAR AHEAD SPACES D SPACES FINISH ROLL REFUSED ER TRY AVOID AGAIN DARED LOSE A STOP GO A TURN HEAD SPACES ADVISE WARN ROLL AGAIN NEED WANT LOSE A TURN 81 ASK YOU WIN APPENDIX 11 WORKSHEET 7: TIC TAC TOE She/ live in apartment Her brothers/ like chocolate My mum/ wear contact lens He / sometimes forget Mai/ take the bus to school Children/ eat lunch at 11 a.m brush teeth The bus 45/ go to college His name/ begin with “T” The schools/ be near here Your apology/ be too late 82 Nam/ have a cat The list/ be long