Những khó khăn của giáo viên trong việc dạy ngữ pháp theo đường hướng giao tiếp cho sinh viên chuyên ngành công tác xã hội học tại Học viện thanh thiếu niên Việt

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI Table 2: Students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures Table 3: Students’ ways of

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Declaration……… i

Acknowledgements……… ii

Abstract……… iii

Table of contents……… iv

List of abbreviations……… vii

List of tables and charts……… viii

PART I: INTRODUCTION……… 1

I.1 Rationale of the study……… 1

I.2 Aims of the study……… 2

I.3 Significance of the study……… 2

I.4 Research questions……… 3

I.5 Scope of the study………3

I.6 Method of the research……… 3

I.7 Design of the study……… 3

PART II: DEVELOPMENT……… 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW……… 5

1.1 Definitions of grammar……… 5

1.2 The role of grammar in foreign language teaching……… 6

1.3 An overview on methods in teaching grammar ……… 6

1.3.1 The grammar-translation method……… 6

1.3.2 The direct method……… 7

1.3.3 The audio-lingual method……… 8

1.4 Application of CLT in grammar teaching ……… 9

1.4.1 Communicative competence……… 9

1.4.2 Definition of communicative language teaching……… 9

1.4.3 Characteristics of communicative language teaching……… 10

1.4.4 Stages in teaching grammar communicatively……… 11

1.5 Factors to be considered of CLT application……… 12

1.5.1 Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes……… 12

1.5.2 Teachers’ qualities and personalities……… 12

1.5.3 Learners’ motivation……… 13

1.5.4 Learners’ beliefs and attitudes……… 13

1.5.5 Learners’ learning styles……… 13

1.5.6 Learners’ anxiety and confidence……… 14

1.5.7 Classroom conditions……… 14

1.5.8 Language environment……….14

1.5.9 Syllabuses and textbooks……… 15

1.5.10 Testing and evaluation……… 15

Summary……… 15

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY……… 16

2.1 An overview of the situation of teaching and learning English grammar at Vietnam Youth Institute (VYI)……… 16

2.1.1 Objectives of the English course at VYI……… 16

2.1.2 Teachers’ factors……… 16

2.1.3 Learners’ factors……… 16

2.1.4 Materials’ factors……… 17

2.2 Research methodology……… …… 17

2.2.1 The subjects of the study……… 17

2.2.1.1 The teacher ……… 17

2.2.1.2 The student ……… 17

2.2.2 The instruments for collecting data……… 18

2.2.2.1 Survey questionnaire……… 18

2.2.2.2 Interviews……… 19

2.2.3 Data analysis process……… 19

2.3 Data analysis and discussions……… 20

2.3.1 Survey questionnaires……… 20

2.3.1.1 Questionnaire for the students……… 20

2.3.1.2 Questionnaire for the teachers……… 27

2.3.2 Interviews……… 33

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36

3.1 The difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning grammar and their expectations……… 36

3.2 The difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar communicatively and their own solutions……… 36 3.3 Recommendations for overcoming the difficulties in teaching grammar communicatively……… 39

PART III: CONCLUSION 43 REFERENCES……… I

APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaire for students……… IV APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaire for teachers……… VIII APPENDIX 3: Questions for interviewing teachers……… XII APPENDIX 4: Information gap……… XIII APPENDIX 5: Spot the differences……… XIV APPENDIX 6: Game……… XV

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AM: Audio-Lingual method CLT: Communicative Language Teaching DM: Direct method

ELT: English Language Teaching GTM: Grammar-Translation method VYI: Vietnam Youth Institute

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI

Table 2: Students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures

Table 3: Students’ ways of learning grammar structures

Table 4: Students’ difficulties in learning grammar

Table 5: Students’ recommendations for improving English learning in general and

grammar learning in particular

Table 6: The teachers’ ways of teaching grammar

Table 7: Teachers’ opinions on CLT

Table 8: The teachers’ problems when applying CLT in teaching grammar to the social

work students at VYI

Table 9: The teachers’ recommendations for the difficult situations they met

Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards learning English at the school

Chart 2: Students’ reasons for learning English

Chart 3: Students’ motivations to learning English in general and grammar in particular Chart 4: Teachers’ age and their teaching experience

Chart 5: The teachers’ aim at teaching grammar

PART I: INTRODUCTION I.1 Rationale of the study

English has already played a special important role in the increasing development of science, technology and international relations, which has resulted in the growing needs for English learning and teaching in many parts of the world Many people are expected to be competent to communicate verbally with the outside world and to access technology In correspondence to this trend, English has become a compulsory subject in national education in Vietnam Vietnam Youth Institute, where I have been working, is not an exception

All students not only aim at passing their exams and getting some further studies for their future life, but also have a desire to be integrated into the culture, the civilization, and the people of English speaking countries They expect to have a good knowledge of English to read books and magazines, to see films or to sing English songs, etc As a result, learning English now is an interest as well as a practical need for many people

Together with the growing demand for learning English, there has been an innovation in English teaching and learning methods everywhere in Vietnam For a long time, language teaching in Vietnam was strongly influenced by the structuralist tradition Emphasis was placed on mastery of language structures Students have been taught how to form correct utterances and to understand the structures of the language without any consideration of language use Students have been asked to learn every single word by heart, and translate

or analyze grammatically every sentence in the text The teacher has often taken up almost all the time in class explaining the form of language to students who were passive recipients As a result, this kind of teaching and learning, of course, has been the

“production” of students who were structurally competent but communicatively incompetent

However, as the result of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic research, language teaching has moved from the traditional to a more communicative approach In this current approach, language is considered as a form of social behavior The objective of language teaching is teaching learners to communicate fluently, appropriately and spontaneously in the cultural context of the target language Communicative competence, according to Canale and Swain (1980), is made up of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence

With 3 years of experience in teaching English at Vietnam Youth Institute, I find that students have to learn English in two semesters in the curriculum and English is often taught in the first school-year At the end of each semester, the students have to take a written test, not an oral one Therefore, most of the time is spent on grammar points because many of the students have never learnt English before and the teachers have to try

to stick to the syllabus, that is, to finish the course-book entitled “Lifelines Elementary” In addition, many students are too shy to speak in class whereas most of the grammar lessons are carried out in traditional methods That is, the teacher presents new grammar verbally, and then students do, turn by turn, exercises in workbooks As a consequence, the students find it hard to speak out as well as to communicate in the real life naturally

The question how to equip students with grammatical competence so that they can use the language to communicate in any situation has become a worry of teachers of English in general and teachers of English at Vietnam Youth Institute in particular

For the above reasons, in this thesis, the author intends to figure out what difficulties are experienced by teachers in teaching grammar communicatively and then to give some suggestions to reduce the difficulties

I.2 Aims of the study

The aims of the study are as follows:

 To investigate the difficulties of teaching and learning grammar communicatively faced by the teachers and students

 To make some suggestions on reducing the teachers‟ difficulties in the application of CLT in teaching grammar and make grammar lessons more successful

I.3 Significance of the study

This study plays an important role in improving grammar teaching method to social work students at Vietnam Youth Institute Its implemented suggestions will make the application

of CLT at my institute successful and effective

I.4 Research questions

(1) What are the difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning

grammar and their expectations?

(2) What are the difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar

communicatively and their own solutions?

I.5 Scope of the study

The study is concerned with finding the teachers‟ difficulties in teaching grammar communicatively for the first year students of social work at VYI The study of others would be beyond the scope

I.6 Method of the research

In order to do the research, a lot of references have been selected, read and filtered for information Furthermore, a survey has been done by providing a questionnaire for 4 teachers of English and another for 120 social work students at VYI Questionnaires are delivered to the teachers to investigate difficulties in teaching grammar communicatively that they face and solutions that should be implemented Questionnaires are delivered to the students to find out the students‟ attitudes to learning English grammar, their difficulties and solutions suggested by them

All the collected information and data have been analyzed and discussed

I.7 Design of the study

This thesis consists of three parts:

PART I (INTRODUCTION): presents the rationale, the aims, the significance, the

research questions, the scope, the method and the design of the study

PART II (DEVELOPMENT): consists of three chapters described as follows:

- Chapter 1 (LITERATURE REVIEW) deals with literature review It starts with

definitions of grammar and its role in language teaching, then an overview of some language teaching approaches The next is about the CLT which includes the definition, characteristics, and stages in teaching grammar communicatively The final is some factors

to be considered of CLT application

- Chapter 2 (THE STUDY): presents the study Firstly, there is an overview on

situation of teaching and learning English grammar at Vietnam Youth Institute Secondly, the methodology is performed in the study It provides subjects, the instruments and data analysis process Finally, the data collected from the survey questionnaire and interviews is analyzed and discussed

- Chapter 3 (FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS): reveals the major

findings of the study and presents the recommendations

PART III (CONCLUSION): summarizes the study, gives conclusions and some

limitations during the process of doing the research as well as some suggestions for further study

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definitions of grammar

Jeremy Harmer (1988:1) defines grammar as “the way in which words change themselves and group together to make sentences The grammar of a language is what happens to words when they become plural or negative, or what word order is used when we make

questions or join two clauses to make one sentences.” Jeremy Harmer shares the same

point of view with the authors of the Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary As for Celce

– Murcia, M (1988: 16), grammar is “a subset of those rules which govern the configurations that the morphology and syntax of a language assume.”

Furthermore, Fromkin et al (1990:12) defined grammar as “the sounds and sound patterns, the basic units of meaning such as words and rules to combine them to form new sentences constitute the grammar of a language These rules are internalized and subconsciously learned by native speakers” Grammar here refers to the knowledge of how words are arranged to form sentences Nunan (2003: 154) defined “grammar is a set of rules specifying the correct ordering words at the sentence level” According to Jacob (1993)

grammar has three components: syntax, lexicon and semantics

- Syntax: the grammatical principles, units, and relations involved in sentence structure

- Lexicon: the set of individual words, suffixes, and prefixes

- Semantics: the meaning associated with the lexicon of a language and with units and relations in the sentence structures

Richards, Platt and Platt (1992: 161, Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching &

Applied Linguistics) defines grammar as “a description of the structure of a language and the way in which linguistic units 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 the overall of the language It may or may not include the description of the sounds

of a language” It means that grammar implied both meaning and functions and showed

both linguistic and social nature of grammar

1.2 The role of grammar in foreign language teaching

The role of grammar teaching in ELT is still controversial Some people refute the place of grammar teaching for the reason that the study of grammar is neither necessary nor sufficient for learning to use a language

Meanwhile, the others affirm the importance of grammar for effective language learning

“The evidence seems to show beyond doubt that though it is by communicative use in real

“speech acts” that the new language “sticks” in the learner‟s mind, insight into pattern is an equal partner with communicative use in what language teachers now see as dual process

of acquisition/learning Grammar, approached as a voyage of discovery into the patterns of language rather than the learning of prescriptive rules, is no longer a bogey word.” (Hawkins, 1984: 150-1)

In fact, grammar is one of the key elements of a language Therefore, one person cannot master a language without the knowledge of its grammar Thanks to grammar, language can partly function as means of communication, especially in written language One cannot write well if he lacks the knowledge of grammar In speaking, though grammatical mistakes are sometimes acceptable, grammar makes one‟s speech better and more attractive, especially in formal situations Learners cannot use words if they do not know how to put these words together Grammar exists to enable us to “mean” and without grammar, it is impossible to communicate beyond a vary rudimentary level because

“speech is no more than sounds, writing is no more than hieroglyphics” (Peck, 1988: 127) For these reasons, the teaching of grammar is very important in ELT

1.3 An overview on methods in teaching grammar

There are many methods widely used by language teachers in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular The methods are now discussed in this paper as follows: GTM, DM and AM

1.3.1 The Grammar-Translation method (GTM)

Traditional method or GTM was rooted in the formal teaching of Latin and Greek and become popular in the late 19th century According to Larsen-Freeman (1986: 4), the GTM was used for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign language literature Through studying the grammar of the target language, students would become more familiar with the grammar of their native language and this helps them use their language more grammatically

The strength of GTM is that it requires few resources so it is easy to apply and cheap to administer Thus, the method is still used in many places where the class is large (more than 30 students)

This method, however, has certain disadvantages According to Richards and Rodgers (1986:3), GTM obviously focuses on the form rather than the use of the target language Students who are in this way did not have a chance to practice their speaking and listening Students learn rules of grammar and vocabulary without much feeling of progress in the

mastery of the target language can lead to the lack of motivation in learning a language for their having little opportunity to express themselves through it They just learn what they have to without any creativeness The method creates frustration for students, for whom foreign language learning is a tedious experience of memorization of new words and grammatical rules, while it makes few demands on teachers (Richards and Rogers, 1986:4)

1.3.2 The Direct method (DM)

In the late 19th century, increased opportunities among European create a demand for oral proficiency in foreign language The GTM was not very effective in preparing students to use the target language communicatively and a new method, namely DM was born DM is characterized by the use of the target language as a means of instruction and communication in the classroom, and by the avoidance of the use of the first language and translation as a technique

It brings the process of learning the target language close to that of the first language acquisition Students are exposed to the target language situations Therefore, their ability

to think in the target language is developed River (1981) claims that “at its best, DM provides an exciting way of learning a language through activity It has proved to be successful in releasing students from the inhibitions all too often associated with speaking another tongue, particularly at the early stage”

Though there is a development in students‟ thoughts in the target language, it has sided effect Students may develop inaccuracies if they are not properly guided This is the result if their trying to express themselves in the target language with insufficient knowledge about the language Because all statements they learn are confined to be used only in the classroom Any connection with real life was expected to come later and was not the business of the school The graduation and sequences of materials is not based on realistic spoken speech but artificial connected sentences The weakness of the method is also stated in River (1983:34): “In the pure form of the DM, insufficiency is made for systematic practice and requesting-practice of structures in a coherent sequence As a result, students often lack a clear idea of what they are trying to do, and they make haphazard progress”

two-1.3.3 The Audio-Lingual method (AM)

The AM derived from America during the World War II where there was a need for people

to learn foreign language quickly for military purposes It led to the development of the

AM which then has had a considerable influence on English language teaching all over the world This English teaching method puts listening and speaking in the first place It uses sentence pattern as the base of teaching and try to avoid mother tongue in class Attention

is paid to the need for practice rather than explanation about the language because the ability to use the language as a means of communication is the ultimate aim

The first and most successful point of this method is to develop students‟ listening comprehension and fluency in speaking in the target language Students are encouraged by the sense of being able to use what they have learned in the very early days of their study

In addition, the study is reinforced by repetition, so the students have good repetition and this is suitable for learners of different abilities Another point is that this method provides

a good systematic progression of the materials

However, there still remain some problems The success or failure of this method depends largely on the qualities of the teachers and the availability of resources That is why Brumfit (1983:8) comments “the objective is generally the mastery of sentence patterns rather than creative or communicative use of language”

1.4 Application of CLT in grammar teaching

1.4.1 Communicative competence

Communicative competence is now recognized as the primary goal of language teaching Canale and Swain (1980) consider that communicative competence is made up of four factors namely grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence Grammatical competence includes a comprehension of linguistic code, the ability to recognize the lexical, morphological, syntactic and phonological features of a language and to manipulate these features to form words and sentences Sociolinguistic competence is the best described through appropriateness, the degree to which one person understands the social context in which language is used: the roles of participants, the information they share, the functions of interaction Discourse competence indicates the ability to interpret series of sentences or utterances to form a meaningful whole and to achieve a coherent text that is relevant to a given context Strategic competence includes the strategies a person uses to compensate for

imperfect knowledge of rules or limiting factors in their application such as fatigue, distraction, inattention, etc These strategies include paraphrasing, circumlocution, repletion, hesitation, avoidance, guessing and shifts in register and style

1.4.2 Definition of CLT

The last influence in teaching methodology in Vietnam, at least in English classes, is CLT CLT appeared in the 1960s and 1970s and was thought as a resolution against the AM It is pointed out by Brindley (1986:11) that “the 1970s and 1980s could be regarded as the area

of communicative language teaching” A considerable number of books have been published bearing on the label “communicative” in response to social pressures and evidence from socio-linguistic and psycholinguistic research In spite of the popularity of CLT, it is difficult to define it in a satisfactory way There is a variety if definitions about CLT, Nunan (1989:194) overviews the methods, which are adapted below, contain aspects that are common to many definitions of CLT

CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaning task and using language, which is meaningful to the learners Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as well

as linguistic objectives The learners‟ role is as a negotiator and integrator The teacher‟s role is as facilitator of the communication process Materials promote communicative language use; they are task-based and authentic

According to Brindley (1986:12), “Language is not a static system It is created through interaction; language learning does not consist merely of internalizing a list of structural items It is a process of learning how to negotiate meaning in a particular socio-cultural context Consideration of meaning rather than form will therefore determine program content; language learning will be more effective if they are centered around the needs and interests of the learners; language learning materials should, similarly, be related to learners‟ needs and interests and present learners with the opportunity for genuine communication; effective communication is more than structures accuracy, particularly at the beginning stages of language learning Errors are a manifestation of the tact that learning is taking place.”

1.4.3 Characteristics of CLT

In CLT, meaning is paramount Wilkins (1972) classifies meaning into notional and functional categories and views learning a second language as acquiring the linguistic

means to perform different kinds of functions According to Larsen-Freeman (1986:132), the most obvious characteristic of CLT is that “Almost everything that is done with communicative intent” Students use the language through communicative activities (e.g games, role-plays and problem-solving tasks)

From Morrow‟s point of view (in Johnson and Morrow, 1981), activities that are truly communicative have three features: information gap, choice, and feedback An information gap occurs when one person exchanges the information he has with the one who does not Another characteristic of CLT is the introduction of authentic materials In CLT, it is considered desirable to give learners the opportunity to genuine communicative needs in realistic second language situations so that they develop strategies for understanding language as actually used by native speakers (Canale and Swain, 1980)

In addition, “activities in the Communicative Approach are often carried out by students in small group” (Laren-Freeman, 1986:132) Students are expected to interact with one another, either through pair and group work or in their writing (Finicchiaro and Brumfit, 1983) CLT favors interaction among small numbers of students in order to maximize the time each student has to learn to negotiate meaning Teachers therefore select learning activities according to how well they engage the students in meaningful and authentic language use rather than in the merely mechanic practice of language patterns

Another dimension of CLT is “its learner-centered and experienced-based view of second language teaching” (Richards &Rogers, 1986:69) According to CLT theory, individual learners possess unique interests, styles, needs, and goals that should be reflected in the design of instructional methods (Savignon, 1983) Teachers are to develop materials based

on the demonstrated needs of a particular class Students must be made to feel secure, unthreatened and non-defensive in a CLT classroom, so teachers using CLT should avoid adopting a teacher-centered authoritarian posture (Taylor, 1983)

Thus, Li (1998:679) reviews CLT characteristics based on the work of other researchers such as Laren-Freeman (1986), Richards and Rogers (1986) and Thomson (1986) as follows:

1 A focus on communicative functions

2 A focus on meaningful task rather than on language form

3 Efforts to make tasks and language relevant to a target group of learners through

an analysis of genuine, realistic situations

4 The use of authentic, from life materials

5 The use of group activities

6 The attempt to create a secure, non-threatening atmosphere

1.4.4 Stages in teaching grammar communicatively

In a CLT classroom, the teacher pays more attention to enable students to work with the target language during the lesson and communicate in it by the end of it The following is the typical procedures of a grammar lesson according to a CLT author – Adrian Doff (1981)

1 The teacher uses visual aids to present the grammar structure to be taught

2 Students deduce the meaning, the form and the use of it

3 The teacher gets students understanding by asking yes/no questions focusing on form, meaning and use

4 The teacher gets students to practice the structure through Repetition and Substitution Drills, Word Prompts, and Picture Prompts The teacher tries to provide maximum practice within controlled, but realistic and contextualized frameworks and to build students’ confidence in using the new language

5 The teacher provides students with opportunities to use new language in a freer, more creative way The teacher creates activities in which students can integrate new language with the previous learnt language and apply what they have learnt to talk about their real life activities

What makes this kind of lesson different from the traditional is that the teacher tries to make the language used in the lesson real and true The teacher creates real or like-real situations in which the language can be used This will enable students to communicate in English outside the classroom During the CLT lesson, the teacher often plays the important role of facilitator who facilitates activities to work with the target language

1.5 Factors to be considered of CLT application

1.5.1 Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes

Feeman (1998) claims that “teachers‟ beliefs are the strongest guiding influence on teachers‟ instruction” Teachers‟ beliefs are founded on the goals, values teachers hold in relation to the content, process of teaching and their understanding of the system in which they work and their roles within it Richards and Lockhart (1996) consider that teachers may believe in the effectiveness of a particular approach or method of teaching and consistently try to implement it in the classroom It is also commonly known that if teachers do not believe that the approach can be implemented in their teaching context or

of they do not have positive attitudes towards the approach, this approach will not be carried out to its full potential

1.5.2 Teachers’ qualities and personalities

Teachers are considered as a significant source of intrinsic motivation Teachers‟ skills, knowledge, personality and proficiency in the target language play an important role in the class A teacher‟s personality matters a lot because if it matches learners, it will help build the learning environment with good relationship between teachers and learners, which may increase learning motivation

One generalization about a good teacher is teaching method and ability If learners find teachers‟ method boring, they will probably become de-motivated, whereas if they have confidence in the method, they will find it motivating (Harmer, 1991:15)

1.5.3 Learners’ motivation

Motivation is popularly considered to play a very important role on learning In Jeremy Harmer‟s view (1991), “Motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action”

Language learners‟ motivation is basically originated from goals of various kinds and needs Goals include long-term ones which might be related to a learners‟ wish to become

a member of the target language community or to obtain a better job and short-term ones which might come from a learner‟s urge to pass an end-of-semester exam or complete a lesson with success Ausubel (1968) pointed out six types of needs including the need for exploration; for manipulation; for activity; for stimulation; for knowledge and for ego enhancement

1.5.4 Learners’ beliefs and attitudes

Learners bring to learning their own beliefs, attitudes which might influence how they approach their learning Learners‟ beliefs are affected by the social context of learning and can influence both their attitude towards the language itself as well as towards language learners in general (Tumposky, 1991) Learners‟ beliefs cover beliefs about the nature of English, about the four language skills, about teaching, about language learning, about self Therefore, investigating learners‟ beliefs is one of the important duties of teachers

1.5.5 Learners’ learning style

Learning style indicates the particular approach by which a student tries to learn According to Keefe (1979:4), learning style can be seen as cognitive, affective and physiological features that are relatively indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment Major factors conditioning the ways learners think and study are the education system, the socio-cultural background and personality variables

1.5.6 Learners’ anxiety and confidence

Many studies have suggested that language anxiety has a negative relationship with learning success and vice versa, self-confidence has a positive relationship One of the factors that cause anxiety or bring back in-confidence is learners‟ learning experience Experience of failure may cause them to become anxious quickly in classroom situations

On the contrary, experience of success may facilitate their desire to learn, to participate in class activities as well as to take risks communicating with other classmates Harmer (1991) claims that “success… plays a vital part in the motivational drive of a learner” The source of anxiety and lack of confidence may have a relationship with learners‟ background

1.5.7 Classroom conditions

Classroom conditions can affect motivation Harmer (1991) states that physical conditions have a great effect on learning and can alter a learners‟ motivation either positively or negatively In the light of large classes or over-crowded classes, Woodward (2001:218) conveys the implication that whether a class is large or not depends on the ways teachers feel and on the locality values However, teachers should bear in mind problems associated with “large” classes They include noise, too many people and fixed objects in a restricted space, not enough materials for everyone, not being able to respond to different needs the difficulty of maintaining the class, etc

1.5.8 Language environment

In EFL environment, English is rarely heard outside school, thus practicing English outside

is very rare Without the reinforcement of an English-speaking environment, motivation becomes a product of the teachers‟ initiative on the one hand and the learners‟ will to succeed or fear of failure-on the other (Ellis, 1996) EFL is often a part of the school training program and therefore subject to not only contextual factors such as support from local community, government policies, etc but also to teachers‟ language proficiency, resources, materials and the ability to evaluate learners as well

1.5.9 Syllabuses and textbooks

In the designing of a language course or syllabus, one of the factors that should be taken into account is time In a communicative class, learners need to have enough time to update knowledge and to practice what they learnt Thus time plays an important role in teaching and learning a language

Textbooks are of great importance in any language program because in most cases, textbooks include goals and objectives Administrators and teachers then should collaborate to answer the question of whether the textbook being used is appropriate to learners‟ needs, to the social and institutional setting

1.5.10 Testing and evaluation

Teaching and testing are interwoven an interdependent; therefore it is difficult to separate them Test scores can bring out positive or negative effect and even give learners a lot of anxiety For this reason, it is certain that teachers need make tests positive experiences for learners by creating tests with care and effort Tests should be related to the course content and objectives Moreover, the evaluation of learners should be both based on test results and derived from classroom observation and teachers/ learner feedback In brief, testing is

a vital component of curriculum development and evaluation and can not be separated from teaching and learning

1.6 Summary

In this chapter, some brief information about grammar and its role in language teaching are reviewed Different grammar teaching methods such as GTM, DM, AM have also been revised to find out advantages and disadvantages of each method Furthermore, the writer

has a brief overview on CLT, its characteristics, and stages of a CLT grammar lesson Finally, factors affected CLT applications are mentioned In the next chapter, the situation

of English learning and teaching at VYI will be analyzed, and the survey with a questionnaire for 4 teachers and another for 120 students as well as classroom observations will be done After that, the findings of the survey will be analyzed and discussed

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 An overview of the situation of teaching and learning English grammar at Vietnam Youth Institute (VYI)

2.1.1 Objectives of the English course at VYI

The English course for social work students at VYI aims at that the students are able to communicate in English in daily life Therefore, English is considered as an important and compulsory subject in the training program The social work students learn English in 2 terms (120 periods of 45 minutes) The main material for the teachers and students is Lifelines Elementary which consists of 14 units

2.1.2 Teachers’ factors

One of the most important factors in the process of teaching is teachers In order to carry out this process properly, teachers need to have good experience of teaching and understanding of the syllabus

At VYI, there are four teachers of English They are energetic and are willing to devote time and energy to teaching One of them has acquired Master‟s degree The rest are following a M.A course However, none of the teachers have attended a training course in English speaking countries The teachers rarely have opportunities to participate in any conferences on teaching English so they cannot update the new approach to English teaching Some of them are vague about approaches to English teaching However, all of them want to make the quality of English teaching and learning better

2.1.3 Learners’ factors

Students are important elements in the process of teaching and learning It is essential to collect as much information as possible before the syllabus is designed, lessons are planned and method of teaching is chosen

On average, the age of students at VYI is from 18 to 25 Most of the students come from rural and remote areas so their English level is very low and some of them did not learn English at the secondary school Before entering VYI, some of the students have learned English for 7 years; some have 3 years of learning English at high school Therefore, they can hardly communicate in English They are often afraid of speaking English and reluctant to participate in class activities Their goal in learning English is to pass the exams Furthermore, the majority of the students does not have appropriate learning strategies and have passive learning styles They rarely prepare the lesson at home and review the lesson regularly

2.1.4 Materials’ factors

The teaching material currently used for the non-English major learners is the Elementary Life Lines (1999) by Tom Hutchinson This textbook includes 14 units, and each unit consists of parts of grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing, listening and speaking and pronunciation The textbook is programmed to be taught in 2 semesters and 120 periods for each semester After each semester, students are to participate in a test that concentrates on grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing During a period of one semester, students are required to do one test as a condition for doing the final test

2.2.1.2 The student

120 social work students were selected at random from 2 classes KI and KII at VYI to participate in the research Their age varied from 18 to 25 Among them, 62% are female and 38% are male Their English level is not equal Some of them have learnt English for 7 years; some others have learnt English for 3 years and the rest have never learnt English before

2.2.2 The instruments for collecting data

To obtain data for the study, two instruments were employed: survey questionnaire and interviews

2.2.2.1 Survey questionnaire

The survey questionnaire is chosen as the primary instrument for collecting data because it easy to construct and gather a large amount of information in a processible form

2.2.2.1.1 Questionnaire for the students

The questionnaire consists of two types of questions including 10 closed and open ended ones (see Appendix 1) To ensure the students‟ accurate misunderstandings before answering the questions, all of them were written in Vietnamese Their answers were also written in Vietnamese, which enabled them to express their ideas fully and with ease 120 copies were delivered and collected within 1 week

The questions focus on the following categories:

- The students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI (Question 1)

- The students’ attitudes and motivations towards learning English in general and learning grammar in particular (Question 2-5)

- The students’ evaluation of their English grammar lessons (Question 6)

- The students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures (Question 7)

- The students’ way of learning grammar structures (Question 8)

- The students’ difficulties in learning grammar (Question 9)

- The students’ recommendations for improving English learning in general and grammar learning in particular (Question 10)

2.2.2.1.2 Questionnaire for the teachers

The second questionnaire was designed for 4 teachers of English at VYI (see Appendix 2)

It contains 10 closed and open ended questions in English The questionnaire was delivered

to the teachers and collected within 1 week

The questionnaire emphasizes on:

- The teachers’ understandings of mastering grammar (Question 3)

- The teachers’ aim in teaching grammar (Question 4)

- The teachers’ ways of teaching grammar (Question 5)

- The teachers’ opinions about grammar mistake correction (Question 6)

- The teachers’ opinions on CLT (Question 1, 2, 7)

- The teachers’ difficulties when applying CLT in teaching grammar to social work students at the Institute (Question 8)

- The teachers’ recommendations for the difficult situations they met (Question 9)

- The teachers’ suggestions for grammar lessons (Question 10)

2.2.2.2 Interviews

To make data obtained from the questionnaires more valid and reliable, the interviews with the teachers was carried out Three teachers who apply CLT in teaching grammar to the social work students at VYI were invited to the interviews The author interviewed and took notes of needed information Then the result of the interview would be compared with the result of the questionnaire

The interviews only concentrate on only three questions:

- How often do you apply CLT in teaching English grammar? (Question 1)

- What difficulties have you experienced when CLT is applied to English grammar lessons?

(Question 2)

- What are your suggestions to overcome difficulties applying CLT to English grammar lessons? (Question 3)

2.2.3 Data analysis process

Data collected from two different sources were analyzed into the following aspects:

a) The difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning grammar and their expectations

b) The difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar communicatively and their own solutions

Their self-report would be basic data to answer the research questions for this study

2.3 Data analysis and discussions

2.3.1 Survey questionnaire

2.3.1.1 Questionnaire for the students

a The students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI

Students are ethnic minorities (H‟mong, Muong,

Students coming from remote and mountainous

Table 1: Students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI

The table above showed the students‟ background before entering VYI The ration of Kinh ethnic group students to ethnic minority students was 69/51 (57.5% compared to 42.5%) The students‟ background is quite different 38.3% of students come from remote and mountainous areas whereas the number of students from towns and townlets is 50% Only 11.7% of students come from cities What is more, the students‟ English level is a problem for the teachers The students having learned English for 7 years account for 50.8%, 44.2% for 3 years and 0.5% for the students who have never learned English before entering the school From the figure above, it is obvious that the students are multilevel and most of

them have low English proficiency due to their coming from remote areas

b The students’ attitudes and motivations towards learning English in general and learning grammar in particular (Question 2-5)

Question 2, 3, 4, 5 deal with the students‟ attitudes and motivations towards learning English in general and learning grammar in particular Students‟ responses to Question 2

can be illustrated as follows:

Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards learning English at the school

The findings showed that 67.2% of students have positive attitudes towards learning English 27.9% of those neither like nor dislike English subject The number of student finding English uninteresting at all is only 4.9% Overall, the students have good attitudes towards learning English, which will be a positive contributing factor in their learning

Question 3 focuses on students‟ reasons for learning English

Need for future career A compulsory subject

Chart 2: Students’ reasons for learning English

According to the statistics, 90% of students said that they learned English to communicate

in English 36.7% learned English for their future jobs and 23.3% learned English for their

interest Especially, 38.7% said that it was a compulsory subject These students were not really motivated in learning English The figure reveals that communication and benefit for future job are key reasons for their learning English The students favouring these two reasons are obviously motivated

Question 4 discovers students‟ motivations to learning English in general and grammar in

Chart 3: Students’ motivations to learning English in general and grammar in

particular

From the students‟ reply, a great number of them seem to be highly motivated in communicating well in English (61.7%) Besides, 41.7% of students regard English as a condition for future job and they wish learning English helps them to read and translate the documents in English The number of students trying to get good marks for English accounts for 41.7% Although English is a non-major subject, good English marks may enable the students to gain the good over-all mark and scholarship at the end of the term

c The students’ evaluation of their grammar lessons

Question 6 aims at finding out the students‟ evaluation of their English grammar lessons

80/120 (66.7%) students find English lessons normal, sometimes understandable, sometimes not understandable It indicates that the grammar teaching is ineffective However, 26.7% claim that their grammar lessons are interesting, lively and easily understandable This means that some teacher use suitable teaching methods to satisfy their

students‟ needs Only 6.7% of the students find English lessons boring, not understandable for some reasons

d The students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures

Question 7 is about the students‟ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures

The results are illustrated as follow

Students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar

structures

Number (N) Percentage (%)

Presenting the structure, analyzing the structure and then

giving examples to illustrate

Presenting the situation, analyzing the structure, giving

examples and then let students practice using substitution

drills

Giving examples with the new structure and then let

students figure out the form

Table 2: Students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures

Obviously, the students like being taught in English first then in Vietnamese most, accounting for 45% 33.3% of students like the teachers to present the structure, analyze the structure and then give examples to illustrate Only 5% wishes structures are taught in English The students‟ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures is influenced

by their limitation on background knowledge in English Furthermore, they are affected by the traditional way of teaching in which language is considered as a system of structures, not as a means of communication

e The students’ way of learning grammar structures

Question 8 discovers the students‟ way of learning grammar structures

Students’ ways of learning English

grammar structures

Level of effectiveness Most effective Least effective Not effective

at all

C Learning grammar through making

sentences using the new structure

D Learning grammar by listening to

the teacher‟s explanation of rule and

use of a new structure then doing

exercises given in the textbook

E Learning grammar by translating

disconnected sentences using the new

structure

F Learning grammar by understanding

the function of the new structure, then

practicing it to talk to classmates about

certain topics without understanding its

grammatically rules

G Learning grammar by analyzing the

new structures and memorizing them

H Learning grammar by playing

games, doing quizzes, singing songs,

playing roles, discussing, working in

pairs or in groups

I Learning grammar by participating in

communicative activities and using the

learnt structures when having chances

Table 3: Students’ ways of learning grammar structures

The data in the table 3 showed that most of the students learning grammar through

listening to the teacher‟s explanation of rule and use of a new structure then doing exercises given in the textbook, through making sentences using the new structure, playing games, doing quizzes, singing songs, playing roles, discussing, working in pairs or in groups, translating disconnected sentences using the new structure, understanding the function of the new structure, then practicing it to talk to classmates about certain topics without understanding its grammatically rules, participating in communicative activities and using the learnt structures when having chances and analyzing the new structures and memorizing them, accounting for 95%, 76.7%, 75%, 71.7%, 70%, 68.3% and 61.7% respectively Among them, the students found learning grammar by listening to the teacher‟s explanation of rule and use of a new structure then doing exercises given in the

textbooks most favored (95%) On the contrary, learning grammar through dialogues or texts and substitution drills were regarded to be the least effective by respectively 48.3%

and 46.7% of the students According to the statistics of table 3, a great number of the

students were in favor of the teachers‟ explanation of rule and use of a new structure then doing exercises given in the textbooks There is no doubt that the students get used to the traditional model of grammar teaching namely the PPP (Presentation-Practice-Production)

f The students’ difficulties in learning grammar

Question 9 is in an attempt to find out the students‟ difficulties in learning grammar

Students’ difficulties in learning grammar Number (N) Percentage (%)

Having few chances to apply the learnt structures to

communicate

Table 4: Students’ difficulties in learning grammar

The data in the table 4 indicated that the most serious difficulty to the students is the

difference between the way of expressing ideas in English and that in Vietnamese (61.7%) 58.3% of the students asked complained that they had few chances to apply the learnt structures to communicate In fact, the students hardly had opportunities to use the target language to communicate outside the classroom because of the lack of language environment As a result, 53.3% felt afraid of making mistakes when they use English In addition, 46.7% had problem with the difference between English word changing forms and Vietnamese ones The number of the students claiming for overcrowded class accounts for 45% This is the reason why they lack of time for learning and practising grammar at

class Up to 45% of the students claim that English structures are more complex than Vietnamese ones And only 16.7% displease with the teachers‟ ineffective teaching method Finally, the unavailability of English grammar exercises as well as poor teaching aids also cause difficulties to the students accounting for 30% and 38.3% respectively

g The students’ recommendations for improving English learning in general and grammar learning in particular

Question 10 involves in the students‟ suggestions for improving English learning in

general and grammar learning in particular

Students’ recommendations Number (N) Percentage (%)

Teaching materials should be reasonable and suitable to

students‟ level

Teachers should supply more communicative opportunities to

students in the class and encourage them to take part in

Teachers should use pictures, visual teaching aids to make the

lesson more interesting and lively

Teachers should give various kinds of grammar exercises to

students

Table 5: Students’ recommendations for improving English learning in general and

grammar learning in particular

The statistics show that both teachers and students play important roles in improving and encouraging the students to learn English in general and grammar in particular 76.7% of the students recommend that the teachers should supply more communicative opportunities

to students in the class and encourage them to take part in 71.7% of the student think that they should join in communicative activities actively and positively 61.7% expect their teacher to give various kinds of grammar exercises to students Furthermore, 60% of the students believe that using pictures, visual teaching aids will make the lesson more interesting and lively 32.5% of the student also said that teaching materials should be reasonable and suitable to students‟ level, 21.7% for improving teaching facilities Only 11.7% suggest that syllabus arrangement should be more reasonable

2.3.1.2 Questionnaire for the teachers

a The teachers’ age and their teaching experience

Chart 4: Teachers’ age and their teaching experience

According to the statistics, 75% of the teachers are from 35 to 55 years old and only 25% are between 25 and 35 A great number of the teachers have over 5 years of teaching, counting for 75% The rest, accounting for 25%, have less than 5 years of teaching

b The teachers’ understandings of mastering grammar

Question 3 attempts to find out the teachers‟ understandings of mastering grammar 100%

of the teachers share the same opinion that mastery of grammar enhances students to analyze grammatical elements of utterances, sentences Surprisingly, only 25% of them think that grammar mastering enhances students‟ four language skills, assists students in translating books, margarines and other documents from English into Vietnamese perfectly and is a key to successful communication

c The teachers’ aim at teaching grammar

Question 4 focuses on the teachers‟ aim at teaching grammar