A study on teaching English grammar to sixth grade students at Ngo Quyen secondary school = Nghiên cứu việc dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp sáu tại trườ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES MAI ANH A STUDY ON TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO SIXTH GRADE STUDENT

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

MAI ANH

A STUDY ON TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGO QUYEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH

CHO HỌC SINH LỚP SÁU TẠI TRƯỜNG PHỔ THÔNG TRUNG HỌC NGÔ QUYỀN

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: English language teaching methodology Code: 60.14.10

HANOI – 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

MAI ANH

A STUDY ON TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NGO QUYEN SECONDARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH

CHO HỌC SINH LỚP SÁU TẠI TRƯỜNG PHỔ THÔNG TRUNG HỌC NGÔ QUYỀN

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: English language teaching methodology Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: LÂM THỊ PHÚC HÂN, M.A

HANOI – 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION………i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……….………… ii

ABSTRACT ……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……….… iv

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS ……… ……….…… viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……… ,,,,ix

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study ……… 1

2 Aims of the study ……… 2

3 Research questions ……… .2

4 Scope of the study ……… .2

5 Significance of the study ……… 3

6 Method of the study ……… 3

7 Design of he study ……… 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definitions of grammar ……… .5

1.2 Role of grammar in foreign language teaching and learning ……… 6

1.3 Explicit and implicit knowledge ……… 8

1.3.1 Explicit knowledge ……… ……… 8

1.3.2 Implicit knowledge ……… ……… 9

1.4 Three approaches in grammar presentation ……… 10

1.4.1 Deductive approach ……… .10

1.4.2 Inductive approach ……… ……….… 11

1.4.3 Communicative approach ……… ……… 12

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1.5 Factors affecting language acquisition ……… ….13

1.5.1 Internal factors ……… ……… 13

1.5.1.1 Students‘ anxiety …… ……… 13

1.5.1.2 Motivation ……….…….… 14

1.5.2 External factors ……… ……… 14

1.5.2.1 Learning context ……… 14

1.5.2.2 Teacher‘s methodology ……… 15

1.5.2.3 Classroom atmosphere ……… 15

1.5.2.4 Materials ………….……….……… 16

1.6 Summary ……….….… ……… 17

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 Research setting ……….……… 18

2.1.1 An overview of Ngo Quyen Secondary School ……… 18

2.1.2 The teachers‘ background and their teaching conditions ………… 18

2.1.3 The students of English ……… ……… .19

2.2 Methodology ……… ……… 20

2.2.1 Research questions ……… ……….……… 20

2.2.2 Subjects of the study ……….……….…… 20

2.2.3 Data collection instruments ……… ……… 21

2.2.3.1 The questionnaire ……… ……… 21

2.2.3.2 The classroom observation ……….……….….22

2.2.4 Data collection procedures ……… 22

2.2.5 Data analysis ……….……… 23

2.3 Summary ……….……… 23

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Results from the questionnaire for students … ……… 24

3.1.1 The students‘ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English………24

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3.1.2 Students‘ evaluation on difficulties in learning English grammar … 24

3.1.3 The students‘ frequency in learning English grammar after the lessons at school ……… … 25

3.1.4 Time for learning English compared with other subjects ……… 26

3.1.5 Students‘ evaluations of the grammar teaching in the Language Focus

Lessons ……….……… 26

3.1.6 The students‘ learning styles ……… 27

3.1.7 The students‘ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook 28

3.1.8 The students‘ difficulties and the causes for those difficulties in learning English gramma……… ……….…… 29

3.1.9 Students‘ preference for the teachers‘ grammar presentation approaches……… 31

3.1.10 Students‘ favourite practice activities ……… ………… 32

3.1.11 Student‘s expectation for a better and more effective grammar lesson……… 33

3.2 Results from the questionnaire for teachers ……… ……… 34

3.2.1 The teachers‘ awareness of the performance of grammar in teaching

English ……… ……… 34

3.2.2 The teachers‘ methods of teaching grammar ……… .34

3.2.2.1 Teachers‘ methods of presenting grammar ……… ………… 34

3.2.2.2 Teachers‘ ways of giving grammar instructions ……… 35

3.2.1.3 Teachers‘ grammar practice activities ……… ……… 35

3.2.1.4 Teachers‘ techniques of dealing with the students‘ errors … …… 36

3.2.1.5 Factors affecting the way teachers teach grammar …… ……… 37

3.2.2 Difficulties in teaching grammar as perceived by the teachers … 38

3.3 Results from class observation ……… …… ……… 39

3.4 Summary ……… ……… 40

CHAPTER 4: MAJOR FINDINGS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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4.1 Major findings ……… ……… 42

4.1.1 Teacher‘s and students‘ attitude towards the teaching of grammar… 42

4.1.2 Teacher‘s performance in Language Focus lessons ………… …… 42

4.1.3 Difficulties the teacher face when teaching grammar ……… 42

4.2 Recommendations ……… ……… 43

4.2.1 For teachers………….……… 43

4.2.1.1 Adapting and improving grammar materials ……… …43

4.2.1.2 Improving teachers‘ methods ……… …… 43

4.2.1.3 Helping students to be confident ……… 44

4.2.1.4 Guiding students‘ home revision ……… 45

4.2.1.5 Building a rapport with the class ……… 45

4.2.2 For students ……… ……… 45

4.2.2.1 Being aware of grammar …… ……… …45

4.2.2.2 Cooperating with teacher and students ……… ……… 45

4.2.2.3 Practising and revising…… ……… 46

4.2.2.4 Learning from mistakes ……… ……… 46

4.3 Summary ……… ……… 46

PART C: CONCLUSION 1 Summary of the study ……….……… 48

2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study ……….……… 48

REFERENCES ……… … ……… 50 APPENDICES……… ……… I

Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for the teachers ……… ………….…… I Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for the students ……… ….… … VI Appendix 3: Class observation checklist 1-4 ……….……… …X

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LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Table 1: Students‘ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English

Table 2: Students‘ evaluation on difficulties in learning the 6th

grade English grammar Table 3: the students‘ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

Table 4: Ways of learning English grammar

Table 5: Students‘ level of difficulties in learning English grammar

Table 6: Reasons for difficulties in learning English grammar

Table 7: Students‘ preference for the teachers‘ grammar presentation approaches

Table 8: Students‘ favourite grammar practice activities

Table 9: Suggestions for learning grammar better and more effective

Table 10: The teachers‘ awareness of the importance of grammar in teaching English Table 11: Teachers‘ methods of presenting grammar

Table 12: Teachers‘ ways of giving grammar instructions

Table 13: Teachers‘ grammar practice activities – Frequency of use

Table 14: Teachers‘ techniques of dealing with students‘ errors

Table 15: Factors influencing the way the teachers teach grammar

Table 16: Teachers‘ difficulties in teaching grammar

Chart 1: The students‘ frequency in learning grammar after the lessons at school

Chart 2: Time for learning English compared with other

Chart 3: Students‘ level of understanding of grammar structures presented in the L.F lessons

Chart 4: The students‘ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

L.F: Language Focus

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PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

It cannot be denied that English has nowadays become a common means of communication of human being all over the world Integrating into that trend of the global integration, Vietnam has been more and more active to train active and dynamic Vietnamese, who can use English fluently for communicative purposes That is the reason why in 2002, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has set out new aims for English language teaching for secondary education as well as introduced new series of English textbooks from grade 6 to grade 12

The new English textbooks for high school students are divided into two sets: the advanced and the standard They are claimed to adopt the latest teaching and learning approaches: communicative approach and learner-centered approach and aim

at developing both language skills and language knowledge for students Each unit in the new English textbooks consists of five parts: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus, among which the Language Focus sections are to consolidate students‘ pronunciation and grammar

Since their nation-wide implementation in the school year 2006-2007, a great deal of research has been carried out to evaluate these new textbooks as well as to find out how these textbooks are actually implemented or the difficulties that teachers and students at high schools have to face when teaching and learning by the new textbooks However, most of these studies have dealt with the teaching and learning of the four language skills which are believed to be new for both teachers and students There is still a lack of research on the teaching and learning of language elements in the Language Focus part More importantly, the question whether teachers actually teach grammar communicatively or in the traditional methods has not been answered yet Therefore, it is necessary to carry out more research on how teachers and students teach and learn grammar in the actual classroom

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Moreover, after ten years of teaching English by the new English textbooks at Ngo Quyen Secondary School, the researcher observed that the teachers and learners there faced a number of difficulties not only in teaching and learning the four language skills but also in teaching and learning grammar during the Language Focus lessons

Stimulated by the above reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct this study It is hoped that this study will discover the reality of teaching and learning grammar in Language Focus lessons at Ngo Quyen Secondary School in order to contribute some immediate solutions

2 Aims of the study

The aim of this study is to examine the current teaching and learning of grammar in Language Focus lessons using the new standard textbook English 6 at Ngo Quyen Secondary School

In order to achieve the aim, the study seeks to find out:

(1) The teachers‘ and students‘ perceptions on the importance of grammar teaching and learning

(2) The teachers‘ performance in the Language Focus lessons

(3) The teachers‘ difficulties in teaching grammar in the Language Focus lessons (4) Solution to overcome the difficulties in teaching grammar

4 Scope of the study

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As mentioned earlier, there are two sets of the new English textbooks for grade 6: the advanced and the standard sets This study is only aimed at investigating the reality of teaching and learning grammar in Language Focus lessons in the standard set

This study is limited to the teaching and learning reality with regard to teaching and learning grammar in Language Focus lessons The investigation of teaching and learning language skills and pronunciation will be beyond the scope of this study

This study is a detailed survey at Ngo Quyen Secondary School in Hai Phong Therefore, the findings of the study are not intended to be generalized to other school contexts Indeed the findings may not apply beyond the actual participants in this particular study

5 Significance of the study

This study helps to identify the problems of teaching grammar in the Language Focus of the new English 6 and suggests ways of improving them; therefore, it is hoped that this study will be beneficial in many ways First, participants in the study (the teachers and the learners at Ngo Quyen Secondary School) will benefit immediately from the experience of reflection Secondly, the findings of the study will contribute information to textbook writers and educators to determine curricula and program direction

6 Method of the study

The study was designed to use both quantitative and qualitative methods Then, various instruments were used to collect the data for the study, which are:

- survey questionnaires to investigate the teachers‘ and students‘ attitudes towards grammar, teacher‘s teaching habits and their difficulties in teaching grammar in

Language Focus lessons

- class observations to get information about both the teachers‘ methods of teaching grammar in the classroom and students‘ attitude and response to grammar teaching

7 Design of the study

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The study is divided into three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

The Introduction presents an overview of the study including the rationale,

aims, scope, significance, methodology and design of the study

The major part of the study, the Development, is divided into three chapters

Chapter one provides theoretical background for the study Chapter two presents the methodology of the study and the last chapter is devoted to analyzing and discussing the findings of the study

The Conclusion part provides a brief summary of the findings in

correspondence with the four proposed research questions as well as offering some recommendations for better grammar teaching and learning The limitations of and suggestions for further study are also discussed in this chapter

Besides, the survey questionnaire for the teachers and students, the classroom observation transcripts and the survey transcripts are included in the Appendices

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Nunan (2003:154) ―Grammar is a set of rules specifying the correct words at the sentence level‖ This definition represents a typical prescriptive grammar view It lays down the law, saying what is right and what is wrong

Richards, Platt, and Platt (1992) in their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics define grammar as: ―Grammar is a description of the structure of a language and the way in which linguistic units such as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language It usually takes into account the meanings and functions these sentences have in overall system of the language It may

or may not include the description of the sound of a language‖ (p.161)

All the ideas mentioned above agree on a point that grammar is a set of rules which form words and make sentences from words However, Widdowson (1990:81) claims that ―Grammar is not just a collection of sentence patterns signifying nonsense, something for the learners‘ brain to puzzle over‖ For Widdowson, grammar means the relationship between three things: grammar, words, and context In other words, grammar should be viewed as linguistic rules functioning in alliance with words and context for the achievement of meaning

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Thornburry (1999) viewed grammar as the relationship between three things: grammar, words and contexts He claims that ―when we process language we are not only trying to make sense of the words and the grammar, we are also trying to infer the speaker‘s (or writer‘s) intention‖ (p 6)

How grammar is defined is very important since it will influence the way grammar

is to be taught For purpose of this study, I use the definition stated by Richards, Platt, and Platt (1992) in their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied Linguistics

1.2 The role of grammar in foreign language teaching and learning

Grammar is the sound, structure, and meaning system of language All languages have grammar, and each language has its own grammar People who speak the same language are able to communicate because they intuitively know the grammar system

of that language that is, the rules of making meaning Students who are native speakers

of English already know English grammar They recognize the sounds of English words, the meanings of those words, and the different ways of putting words together

to make meaningful sentences

However, while students may be effective speakers of English, they need guidance to become effective writers They need to learn how to transfer their knowledge of grammatical concepts from oral language to written language

Research strongly suggests that the most beneficial way of helping students improve their command of grammar in writing is to use students' writing as the basis for discussing grammatical concepts Researchers agree that it is more effective to teach punctuation, sentence variety, and usage in the context of writing than to approach the topic by teaching isolated skills (Calkins, 1980; DiStefano and Killion, 1984; Harris, 1962)

Many linguists and researchers have given support to grammar instruction in ESL teaching and learning For example, the communicative competence model of Canale and Swain (1980) clearly illustrates the significance of grammar In this model,

in which learner engage in an effort to cope with communication, not a systematization

of planned grammatical input

The strongest advocate of this view is Krashen (1983, 1987), who is famous for his learning and acquisition hypothesis and his Monitor theory Based on his learning and acquisition hypothesis, Krashen argues that from learning the learners obtain conscious knowledge of grammar which is not responsible for actual L2 performance

On the other hand, acquisition is the underlying process which is responsible for the actual performance and this can only happen unconsciously through natural exposure

to comprehensible inputs What‘s more, according to his Monitor theory, learned grammar can only function as monitoring and monitoring overuse will only disturb the flow of production Consequently, this grow-up holds that formal and conscious study of grammar should be strongly rejected if the objective of learning the language is productive competence However, Krashen has received many strong criticisms from other researchers as his acquisition theory seems to be merely based on his own observation without supporting evidence

consciously-According to Smith (2001:15), if teachers neither pay attention to grammar nor create opportunities for learners to improve grammar, learners are likely to stand the risk of fossilization or reach a point where they can cope with level of communication that is demanded of them by making use of their existing grammatical resources and communication strategies and probably with sufficient fluency It is sure that, they do

not see the importance of developing their linguistic abilities any further

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In conclusion, grammar plays a very important role in language teaching, even though there was a time when grammar was severely rejected, but as Richards (2002) says, in recent years grammar teaching has regained its rightful place in the language teaching and ―grammar is too important to be ignored‖ (p 145) The debate is now not

on whether grammar competence is important but rather on how to teach grammar Therefore, the rest of this chapter is devoted to presenting two core approaches to grammar teaching and critically looking into the teaching of grammar using some major teaching methods

1.3 Explicit or implicit knowledge

The statement "grammar teaching should be implicit, not explicit" could be argued both for and against Whether to teach grammar as an extracted focus of English Language Teaching or more passively as an inductive, integral topic has been the theme of countless debates on the part of institutions, professors, grammarians and language researchers for decades Grammar is the branch of linguistics dealing with the form and structure of words or morphology, and their interrelation in sentences, called syntax The study of grammar reveals how language works, an important aspect in both English acquisition and learning In order to have a deep understanding of language acquisition, it is necessary to master the perception of explicit and implicit knowledge

1.3.1 Explicit knowledge

According to Ellis (2004), in a practical definition, explicit knowledge deals with language and the uses to which language can be put This knowledge facilitates the intake and development of implicit language, and it is useful to monitor language output Explicit knowledge is generally accessible through controlled processing In short, it is conscious knowledge of grammatical rules learned through formal classroom instruction In this respect, a person with explicit knowledge knows about language and the ability to articulate those facts in some way (Brown, 2007) For instance, Achmad knows every rule about present tense, but he frequently makes mistakes in speaking and writing However, such knowledge is easy for him while

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having time to think of the rule and apply it (that is, in the context of a grammar exercise or a writing assignment) Thus, on the basis of Achmad‘s case, explicit knowledge is learnable; for example, when grammatical items are given to learners, they learn the items first in a controlled learning process Explicit knowledge is also obtained through the practice of error correction, which is thought to help learners come to the correct mental representation of a rule (Krashen, 1987)

1.3.2 Implicit knowledge

Implicit knowledge is automatic and easily accessed and provides a great contribution to building communicative skills Implicit knowledge is unconscious, internalized knowledge of language that is easily accessed during spontaneous language tasks, written or spoken (Brown, 2007) Implicit knowledge is gained in the natural language learning process It means that a person applies a certain grammatical rule in the same way as a child who acquires her/ his first language (for example, mother tongue) According to Brown (2007), the child implicitly learns aspects of language (for example, phonological, syntactical, semantic, pragmatic rules for language), but does not have access to an explanation of those rules explicitly As an example, Jack speaks and writes English with good use of present tense, although he has no idea about the grammatical rule behind it To sum up, implicit knowledge is gained through a sub-conscious learning process This is illustrated by the fact that native speakers of a certain language do not always ―know‖ (consciously) the rules of their language (Krashen, 1987)

1.4 Three approaches in grammar presentation

In presenting grammar, teachers should be aware that they teach grammar but not teach about grammar or as Lewis (1986) states "language learning is more important than language teaching" Besides, the main goal in grammar teaching is to enable learners to achieve linguistic competence and to be able to use grammar as a tool or resource in the comprehension and creation of oral and written discourse efficiently, effectively, and appropriately according to the situation Celce-Murcia and Hilles

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(1988) are in agreement with Larsen-Freeman (1991) that grammar should never be taught as an end in itself but always with reference to meaning, social function, or discourse or a combination of these factors In other words, teachers are required to have knowledge of linguistics, because teaching grammar as meaning and discourse entails a knowledge of syntax As Fromkin et al.(1990:159) explain "syntactic knowledge plays a role in determining when two non-identical sentences have the same meaning and when they do not" Besides, a teacher's knowledge of pragmatics will help learners to understand many aspects of language use such as social function Furthermore, teachers should teach learners to understand how language is used in context and encourage them to use it in appropriate contexts as well Broadly speaking,

in teaching grammar, there are three approaches that can be applied: deductive, inductive and communicative approach

1.4.1 Deductive approach

A deductive approach is derived from the notion that deductive reasoning works from the general to the specific In this case, rules, principles, concepts, or theories are presented first, and then their applications are treated In conclusion,

when we use deduction, we reason from general to specific principles

Dealing with the teaching of grammar, the deductive approach can also be called rule-driven learning In such an approach, a grammar rule is explicitly presented to students and followed by practice applying the rule This approach has been the bread and butter of language teaching around the world and still enjoys a monopoly in many course books and self-study grammar books (Fortune, 1992) The deductive approach maintains that a teacher teaches grammar by presenting grammatical rules, and then examples of sentences are presented Once learners understand rules, they are told to apply the rules given to various examples of sentences Giving the grammatical rules means no more than directing learners‘ attention to the problem discussed Eisenstein (1987) suggests that with the deductive approach, learners be in control during practice and have less fear of drawing an incorrect conclusion related to how the target

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language is functioning To sum up, the deductive approach commences with the presentation of a rule taught and then is followed by examples in which the rule is applied In this regard, learners are expected to engage with it through the study and manipulation of examples

1.4.2 Inductive approach

An inductive approach comes from inductive reasoning stating that a reasoning progression proceeds from particulars (that is, observations, measurements, or data) to generalities (for example, rules, laws, concepts or theories) (Felder & Henriques, 1995) In short, when we use induction, we observe a number of specific instances and from them infer a general principle or concept

In the case of pedagogical grammar, most experts argue that the inductive approach can also be called rule-discovery learning It suggests that a teacher teach grammar starting with presenting some examples of sentences In this sense, learners understand grammatical rules from the examples The presentation of grammatical rules can be spoken or written Eisenstein (cited in Long & Richards, 1987) maintains that the inductive approach tries to utilize the very strong reward value of bringing order, clarity and meaning to experiences This approach involves learners‘ participating actively in their own instruction In addition, the approach encourages a learner to develop her/his own mental set of strategies for dealing with tasks In other words, this approach attempts to highlight grammatical rules implicitly in which the learners are encouraged to conclude the rules given by the teacher

Of the two approaches above, which is best? This question relates to a standing debate among language teachers in the context of English foreign language, since the two have their own significance for particular learner progress For example,

long-a study of vlong-arious llong-angulong-age lelong-arners shows thlong-at some lelong-arners long-achieve better in deductive language classes; on the other hand, others perform better in more inductive classes This difference in cognitive styles may be associated with different neurological mechanisms in learners (Eisenstein, 1987) Whether grammatical rules are

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taught inductively or deductively relies upon certain structures, since some are more amenable to a deductive approach, while others can be learned very well by an inductive approach To sum up, both deductive and inductive presentations can successfully be applied depending on the cognitive style of the learner and the language structure presented (Eisenstein, 1987; Brown, 2007)

1.4.3 Communicative approach

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses The real-life simulations change from day to day Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics

Margie S Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes

in explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p 5) Teachers in communicative classrooms will find themselves talking less and listening more—becoming active facilitators of their students' learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986) Therefore, in teaching grammar, the teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students' performance is the goal, the teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting as referee or monitor A classroom during a communicative activity

is far from quiet, however The students do most of the speaking, so in a grammar lesson working in pairs of groups to discuss the grammar rules is likely to happen

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Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using the target language in general Students are more responsible managers of their own learning (Larsen- Freeman, 1986) which facilitates students' memory of grammar rules that they learn and practice in class

1.5 Factors affecting language acquisition

Some students learn a new language more quickly and easily than others This simple fact is known by all who have themselves learned a second language or taught those who are using their second language in school Clearly, some language learners are successful by virtue of their sheer determination, hard work and persistence However there are other crucial factors influencing success that are largely beyond the control of the learner These factors can be broadly categorized as internal and external

It is their complex interplay that determines the speed and facility with which the new language is learned

1.5.1 Internal factors

Internal factors are those that the individual language learner brings with him or

her to the particular learning situation These consist of students‘ anxiety and their motivation

1.5.1.1 Students’ anxiety

Anxiety, simply speaking, is a kind of troubled feeling in the mind Spielberger (1983:1) defines anxiety as ―the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the automatic nervous system‖ (as cited in Brown (2007:161) More simply, it is associated with feelings of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension or worry (Scovel, 1978:134) If the students are afraid of losing face as making mistakes or being laughed at by other students, they are certain to keep quiet and wait until they are required to speak in English lessons

In short, anxiety is obviously an important factor in the second language acquisition Therefore, language educators should strive to promote a non – threatening

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environment and have techniques to reduce students‘ anxiety like: creating a relaxed and safe atmosphere for students, avoiding negative evaluation of students in classrooms and comment on students‘ behaviors with more encouragement and taking some measures to relax students‘ attention to exams or evaluation

1.5.2 External factors

External factors are those that characterize the particular language learning situation They are learning context, teacher‘s methodology, classroom atmosphere and materials

1.5.2.1 Learning context

Davies and Pearse (2000: 63) state that ―an appropriate context helps learners begin

to understand the use of the item as well as its basic meaning The item is associated

with a certain type of context or situation‖

―If learners have to perform certain activities on unfamiliar structures in texts, there

is a good chance of retaining the structures The activities comprise guessing meaning, and the use from context and analysis of the forms to recognize relationships between the new structure and the already known‖ (Hedge, 2000: 120)

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It is agreed that a new structure is better acquired not in an isolated form but in a context or situation Although a learner has grasped the form, use and meaning, a text with the appearance of that structure will help deepen the structure in the learner‘s mind

1.5.2.2 Teacher’s methodology

The teacher‘s methodology refers to the approach or method and the teaching techniques he uses in the classroom Through the history we have experienced the existence and development of many teaching methods that can be divided into two types: teacher – centered and learner – centered methods Traditional methods such as the Grammar Translation Method, the Direct Method are teacher – centered ones which mostly focus on grammatical and phonological accuracy These techniques are choral repetition, drilling substitution, content explanation and narrative presentation seem so mechanical and simple that they will result in learners‘ passiveness and limit their participation in learning In the recent time, in the light of Communicative Language Teaching, teacher‘s technique turn from teacher – centered method into learner – centered method The teaching techniques consist of games, pair work, group work, etc However, no teaching method is the best one as each one has its own advantages and disadvantages In order to apply a suitable teaching method, the teacher should take some of the following factors into consideration including learners‘ level, interests and purposes Applying the appropriate method can have positive effects on students‘ learning and participation in classroom‘s activities

1.5.2.3 Classroom atmosphere

Classroom atmosphere plays an important role in students‘ in language learning According to Underwood (1987:34-44), both students and teachers take the responsibility for creating a good teaching and learning environment with the following points:

- Balancing fluency and accuracy: The teacher should balance the encouragement

of fluency with the need for accuracy If she focuses too much on accuracy, weaker

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students will be shy and reticent to practice Then, they will lose the confidence in showing their answers, and the gap between the weak students and other fellow students become bigger

- Using appropriate language: Classroom expressions are highly appreciated to be used regularly in the class However, the language should be clear, understandable and

it matches students‘ level

- Giving encouragement: When students are trying their best to reach the goals, the teacher should give an appropriate comment to encourage them A comment like

―Good‖, ―Well done‖, ―That‘s right‖ can make students feel more confident and motivated, and more importantly they are eager to participate in the tasks more often

- Involving all the students: Underwood suggests some ways of endeavoring to include all the students such as using the class register list, setting rules and games to encourage all students to participate in the activities

- The place of examination and tests: Students are often nervous and anxious about the exams and tests Thus, the teacher shouldn‘t put too much weight on giving marks or tests

- Extra-curriculum activities: Extra-curriculum activities conducted outside lesson times can make a significant contribution to maintaining a good atmosphere in the classroom If students have more interesting activities, they will take a more positive attitude towards their studies

1.5.2.4 Materials

It appears as an agreement that materials affect the learning grammar in a supportive way Evans and St John (1998: 170-172) introduce some reasons for using materials Materials can be a source of language, a learning support, for motivation and stimulation and for reference As a source of language, ‗materials need to present real language, as it is used, and the full range that learners require‘ As a learning support, materials need to ‗involve learners in thinking about and using the language The activities need to stimulate cognitive not mechanism processes The learner also needs

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a sense of progression Materials also need to be challenging yet achievable; to offer new ideas and information; to encourage fun and creativity It can be concluded that materials assist the learning and teaching procedures Materials act as resources for language learning

1.6 Summary

In this chapter, the researcher has presented a number of issues related to the research questions These include the definitions of grammar, the roles of grammar in language teaching and learning, explicit or implicit teaching, three core approaches in grammar presentation as well as the factors affecting grammar acquisition This literature review serves as the theoretical framework for the researcher to build up questionnaires, then to analyze the data collected as well as to suggest some

pedagogical implications for learning of grammar at Ngo Quyen Secondary School

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CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY

This chapter is devoted to the presentation of research setting and the methodology

of the study In the first part, some information about Ngo Quyen Secondary School with reference to the teachers of English and students there will be discussed In the second part, research questions, subjects of the study, data collection and data analysis will be described in details

2.1 Research setting

2.1.1 An overview of Ngo Quyen Secondary School

Ngo Quyen Secondary School is situated at 33 Nguyen Duc Canh, An Bien Ward,

Le Chan District, Hai Phong City The school currently has 48 classes and each class has from 45 to 50 students

The teaching staff consists of 90 teachers who are in charge of teaching all the subjects in the school Those teachers often attend training or re-training courses organized in the school or in some others to brush up their professional knowledge, especially the teaching techniques and the adaptation of new textbooks Moreover, festivals are held every year to encourage students to study not only English but also other subjects The physical condition in this school is quite good, fifty percent of classrooms have speakers, projectors and there are some lecture halls with those equipments which teachers can use when necessary

2.1.2 The teachers of English and their teaching conditions

The teaching English staff composes of 8 teachers ranking from 28 to 42 years old Their experience of teaching English varies from 3 to 15 years All of them have got the University Bachelor‘s Degree in English They graduated from Vietnam National University, Hanoi – University of Languages, and Haiphong University They are

helpful, enthusiastic and willing to make some renovations in teaching methodology

They often have weekly meeting to discuss and adjust their lesson plans, to find

be more relevant and appropriate to the current context of teaching and learning

English at high school in Vietnam However, it is also challenging for both teachers

and students because of the difference of students‘ English proficiency and the teaching - learning conditions in each school

In reality, teaching English in general and teaching English grammar in particular have encountered a great deal of difficulties For example, when using ―Tieng Anh 6‖, which does not have the part ―Language Focus‖ separately, the teacher who wants to teach Grammar has to teach the whole part first, before finding out the main points of grammar to teach students In addition, because of the insufficient equipments in the classroom, the grammar lesson, sometimes makes students feel sleepy

2.1.3 The students of English

The students at Ngo Quyen School aged from twelve to fifteen and they have been learning English for four years They learn English because it is a compulsory subject

at school They have studied English since they were in grade one, which focuses much

on everyday conversations, not on grammar Therefore, their knowledge of English grammar is still poor For example, they don‘t know how to use the correct form of the verbs For instances, they often say ―I am live in Hai Phong.‖ or ― He live in Hai Phong‖ instead of ―I live in Hai Phong‖ or ―He lives in Hai Phong.‖

Furthermore, the 6th grade students are so giddy, so they are lack of concentration, which causes difficulty for the teachers Besides this, not having enough time for practice as the lessons are too long, students find it difficult to understand the lesson thoroughly

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2.2 Methodology

2.2.1 Research questions

The study was designed to find out the answers to the following questions:

1 How do the teachers and the students at Ngo Quyen Secondary School operate the process of English grammar teaching and learning?

2 What are the difficulties the teachers encounter in teaching English grammar in the language Focus lessons in ―Tieng Anh 6‖ as perceived by the teachers and students?

2.2.2 Subject of the study

The subjects of the study were 200 students and 6 teachers of English from Ngo Quyen Secondary School

The students were selected randomly from class 6D1 to 6D4 at Ngo Quyen Secondary School Most of them studied at Minh Khai Primary School There are 120 girls and 80 boys They have been in Grade 6th for 8 months The research was conducted in the second term of the school year All the students took part in a survey questionnaire by answering all the given questions

The reason for choosing 6th form students for this study is as follows: firstly, this is the first year those students have been working with the new textbook so they may find something new in comparison with the textbook at primary level Secondly, they might have more time and enthusiasm to help the researcher get the data

Six teachers ( ranking from 28 to 42 years old), who are currently teaching English

at Ngo Quyen Secondary School, were chosen as the subjects of the study Among these teachers, four were teaching grade 6 at the time of delivering the questionnaire; two teachers taught the sixth graders the previous academic year In terms of qualification four teachers with more than ten years of teaching experience graduated from College of Pedagogy of Hai Phong and took part in a four-year course at Hai Phong University to get a inservice course The two teachers, who have taught English

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for two years, graduated from Vietnam National University, College of Foreign Languages None of them has a Master of Art degree

2.2.3 Data collection instruments

The instruments used to collect in-depth and rich data were questionnaire and classroom observation with the hope to guarantee the reliability and the objectiveness

of the study

2.2.3.1 The questionnaire

As we know, questionnaires are used commonly in doing educational researches According to Nunan (1992:143) the use of questionnaires in research has some advantages: firstly, it is easy for us to construct and it saves time and money; secondly,

it can help us to collect data in field setting and the data themselves are more amenable

to quantification than discursive data such as free-form field-notes, transcripts of oral language

The questionnaires consist of close and open – ended questions, checklist questions and scale shopping from agree to disagree There are two kinds of questionnaire: one for teacher and the other for students The questions for students were written in Vietnamese to make sure that the students understand the questions and answers clearly before giving their choices The questionnaire consists of two main parts Part I was about the students‘ personal information including class, and the time they began learning English Part II aimed to find out:

- the language they use to communicate with people around them such as parents, neighbors, friends, teachers, etc

- the reality of learning English grammar

- the difficulties in learning English grammar in language focus lessons and the causes

of the difficulties

- the factors affecting grammar acquisition

- their evaluation of grammar teaching in the Language Focus lessons

- some suggestions to over come these difficulties

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The survey questionnaire for the teachers also has two main parts written in English The first part was to get personal information including the teachers‘ gender, age and years of teaching English The second one that consisted of 8 questions was about:

- the teachers‘ perceptions on the importance of grammar teaching and learning

- their opinions about the grammar parts in the new textbook English 6

- their methods to teach grammar in the Language Focus lessons, particularly with regard to the following:

 their methods of presenting grammar structures

 their language of grammar instructions

 their ways of helping the students to practice grammar

 their techniques of correcting grammar errors

- their difficulties in teaching grammar in 6th grade

2.2.3.2 The classroom observation

Besides survey questionnaire, the researcher also used classroom observations

to confirm the reliability and validity of the information about factors affecting students‘ involvement and the effect of the applied techniques The researcher observed four English lessons before and during the treatment In each lesson, the information of teacher‘s activities, teaching techniques (giving instructions, encouragement, comment and feedback) and students‘ involvement, preferences and attitudes towards the applied techniques were focused on, which were mentioned in the checklist ( see Appendix 3 )

2.2.4 Data collection procedures

The data of the research was collected by means of questionnaire and classroom observations Firstly, the researcher delivered the questionnaires to 200 students who were selected randomly and 6 teachers who teach English to grade 6 students Secondly, after collecting the information from the questionnaire, classroom

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observations were carried out to gather information about the teacher‘s teaching methods and students‘ ways in learning English grammar

The observation was done as follows:

Step 1: Preparation The content of the lesson observation sheet was developed

in accordance with the research questions and the layout was decided The researcher also contacted the selected participant in person to ask for permissions to observe their lessons and gave them time schedule

Step 2: Conducting the class observations All four class observations were conducted within one week Each day the researcher observed one forty – five minute lesson by one teacher During the lesson, the researcher observed the whole teaching process and took note using the Checklist ( see Appendix )

2.2.5 Data analysis

The data were analyzed both descriptively and interpretively The quantitative data are presented in the form of figures and tables while qualitative data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and interpretations

2.3 Summary

This chapter presented the setting and the methodology of the study In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researcher used two different instruments: survey questionnaire and class observation By employing these instruments, the researcher hopes to achieve more reliable and valid data

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents and discusses the findings that arise from the two types of data collected, questionnaire and classroom observation The outline of the chapter is

as follows:

 Results from the questionnaire for students

 Results from the questionnaire for teachers

 Results from classroom observations

3.1 Results from the questionnaire for students

3.1.1 The students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English

Question Very important

(%)

Important (%)

Neither important nor unimportant (%)

Not important

at all (%)

Table 1: Students’ awareness of the importance of grammar in learning English

From table 1, we can see that the number of students who considered English grammar important was 154, of which 80 ( 40%) students chose the first answer ―very important‖ and 74 ( 37%) students considered English grammar ―important‖ These students expressed that without good knowledge of grammar, learners could not be good at English in general However, not all these students realized its importance Among 200 students, 38 students ( 19%) thought that grammar was neither important nor unimportant and 8 students ( 4%) considered grammar ―not important at all‖

3.1.2 Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning English grammar

Question 2 was asked to find out if students had difficulties in learning English grammar To answer the question ―Do you think learning the 6th grade English grammar is difficult?‖ students have to choose from five alternatives:

A Very difficult B Difficult C Normal D Easy E Very easy Question 2 Very difficult Difficult Normal Easy Very easy

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Table 2: Students’ evaluation on difficulties in learning the 6 th

grade English gramma r

Given five options of answers above, 42 students (21%) chose the first answer and

150 students (75%) chose the second, which means that most of the students agreed that learning English grammar was difficult Only 8 students (4%) found that learning English grammar was normal and no one thought that it was easy or very easy to learn English grammar

From the result above, we can conclude that most of the students had difficulties in learning English grammar, which is a problem at Ngo Quyen Secondary School

3.1.3 The students’ frequency in learning English grammar after the lessons at

school

Chart 1: The students’ frequency in learning grammar after the lessons at school

Chart 1 shows that a great number of students spend time learning English grammar

at home Among 200 students, 68 students (34%) chose ―often‖, 44 of them (22%) chose ―always‖, 26 of them (13%) chose ―sometimes‖, 38 of them (19%) chose

―rarely‖ and the rest chose ―never‖ 88 students said that they did not and rarely learn English at home because they did not have time and they found it very difficult so they did not know how to learn

s Rarely Never

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3.1.4 Time for learning English compared with other subjects

Chart 2: Time for learning English compared with other

As can be seen from chart 2, 62% of students stated that the time they spent on learning English was equal to that of other subjects However, 30% of them revealed that they used less time in leaning English compared with other subjects and only 8% respondents chose much time It can be concluded that most of students at Ngo Quyen Secondary School were interested in learning English as much as other subjects

3.1.5 Students’ evaluations of the grammar teaching in the Language Focus

Vague understanding

Chart 3: Students’ level of understanding of grammar structures presented in the L.F

10%

74%

16%

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From the results shown in the chart above, there appears a worrying fact that the number of the respondents having ―good understanding of grammar structures‖ presented in the Language Focus lessons is less than those ―having vague understanding‖, with the percentages of 16% and 74% respectively It is a warning for

the teachers to know that ―no understading at all‖ accounted for 10%

The table below shows the students‘ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

1- Strongly agree 2- Agree 3- Disagree 4- Strongly disagree 5-Don‘t know

B Relaxing, in addition to the exercises in the

textbooks, there are other activities such as playing

games, singing lessons, quizzes

65% 35%

D Boring, all the lessons are the same 65% 15% 20%

E Stressful (the exercises are difficult, short time) 14% 42% 32% 12%

Table 3: the students’ evaluation of the grammar lessons at school

As indicated in the table, most of the students agreed that the lessons were boring (65%) and normal (65%) 56% of them were afraid of the grammar lessons because they had to do difficult exercises in a short time which made them stressful No students feel relaxed when they study English grammar ( 65% respondents chose

―disagree‖ and 35% ―strongly disagree‖)

3.1.6 The student’ learning styles

A Learn by heart the structures by exchanging with other students 18

B Listen to the teachers‘ teaching, mark on the notebook and remember the

structures

50

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D Base on the teachers‘ examples, give other examples by oneself 32

E Base on the teachers‘ examples, give the use and make sentences by oneself 24

F Read grammar books and draw the use of the new structures 3

H Do grammar exercises that their teachers designed or adapted from the

textbook or reference books

60

I Find grammar exercises (in reference books, in the Internet) and do them by

herself/himself

3

K Other ways ( please specify)……… 0

Table 4: Ways of learning English grammar

Table 4 shows the ways of learning English grammar chosen by the students As can be seen from the table, ―learning by heart by writing many times‖ is the most preferable way which was chosen by 65% of the students The next highly rated way with 60% of the students wanted to apply is ―doing grammar exercises that their teachers designed or adapted from the textbook or reference books‖ In the third place,

―listening to the teachers‘ teaching, marking the structures on the notebook and remembering the structures‖ was loved by 50% of the total respondents The next place was ―basing on the teachers‘ examples, giving other examples by oneself‖ chosen by 32% of students ―Learning by heart the structures by exchanging with other students‖ was rated as the least favorable way, with only 18% of the students claiming to like it

It is also worth mentioning here that 14% students showed their interests in ―redoing exercises that were done at school‖ It is also indicated that only 3% of students selected ―reading grammar books and drawing the use of the new structures, and finding grammar exercises (in reference books, in the Internet) and doing them by

themselves‖ This can be concluded that students at Ngo Quyen Schools prefer having information transferred to them and doing grammar exercises designed or adapted by

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the teachers to exploring or explicating the grammatical items by themselves The reason for this may be due to their shortage of time and their numerous homework

3.1.7 The students’ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook

Chart 4: The students’ assessment of the grammar exercises in the textbook

As clearly stated from chart 4, the percentage of students (40%) who found grammar exercises difficult was equal to the number of students who thought grammar exercises normal On the contrary, only 9% of them thought the grammar exercises were very difficult and 11% respondents stated that they were easy None of them asserted that the grammar exercises in the textbook were very easy In general, students have different comments on the grammar exercises and most of them considered the exercises easy and normal This may suggest that when using the textbook, teachers should make some adaptation so as to make it suitable to their students‘ interests and levels Teachers can either design some more challenging exercises in stead of the easy ones or provide students with help or suggestions for the difficult ones

3.1.8 The students’ difficulties and the causes for those difficulties in learning