VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRIỆU THỊ GIANG TEACHING GRAMMAR TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE TASKS A quasi-experimental study (Dạy ngữ pháp cho học sinh trung học phổ thông qua hoạt động giao nhiệm vụ - Một nghiên cứu bán thực nghiệm ) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 HANOI - 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRIỆU THỊ GIANG TEACHING GRAMMAR TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE TASKS A quasi-experimental study (Dạy ngữ pháp cho học sinh trung học phổ thông qua hoạt động giao nhiệm vụ - Một nghiên cứu bán thực nghiệm ) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 SUPERVISOR: LÊ VĂN CANH, M.A HANOI - 2010 MA Thesis Table of contents Page Certificate of the study project report……………………………………………………i Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………… …ii Abstracts…………………………………………………………………… ……………iii Tables of contents……………………………………………………………………… iv List of tables and figures………………………………………………………………….vi List of abbreviation…………………………………………………………………… vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIOn ………………………………………………………1 1.1 Rationale ………………………………………………… …… 1.2 Aims of the study……………………………………………… …………………… 1.3 Research hypothesis and questions……………………………… 1.4 Research hypothesis and questions……………………………… 1.5 Significance of the study………………………………………….……………… 1.6 Scope of the study …………………………………………………………………….3 1.7 Organization of the study ………………………………………… 1.8 Summary……………………………………………………………………………….3 Chapter 2: Literature review…………… ………………… …… ……….4 2.1 The role of grammar in foreign language teaching and learning………………… 2.1.1 Arguments in favor of grammar teaching…………………………… …………… 2.1.2 Arguments against teaching grammar……………………………………………… 2.1.3 Grammar in communicative activities… 2.2 Approaches to grammar………………………………… ………………… 2.2.1 The deductive approach………………………………………………………………7 2.2.2 The inductive approach………………………………….…… ………… .8 2.2.3 Focus on form and focus on forms …………………………………………………10 2.3 Task-based language teaching……………………………… 12 2.3.1 What is TBLT?…………………………………………………………………… 12 2.3.2 Definition of task……………………………………… ………………………… 14 2.3.3 The basic characteristics of TBLT……………………………… 15 2.3.4 Studies on TBLT…………………………………………………………… 16 2.4 Task-based grammar teaching…………………………………………………… 18 2.4.1 Why task-based grammar teaching…………………………………………………18 MA Thesis 2.4.2 Steps in Task-based grammar teaching…………………………………………… 19 2.4.3 Characteristics of the Task-based Grammar Class …………… ………………… 20 2.4.4 Studies on task-based grammar teaching………………………….……………… 21 2.5 Summary…………………………………………………………………………… 22 Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………………… …… 23 3.1 The syllabus of grade 10…………………………………………………………… 23 3.2 The subjects ………………………………………………………………………….24 3.3 Rationale for using quasi- experiment …………………………………………… 24 3.4 Research design……………………………………………… 25 3.5 Procedures………………… ………………………………….……………………27 3.6 The tasks…………………………………………….……………………………… 28 3.7 Findings……………………………………………………………………………….30 3.7.1 Comparison of the pretest and posttest scores, the gain value between the two groups……… …………………………………………………………………31 3.7.2 The subjects' attitudes towards the new teaching method-teaching grammar through communicative tasks…………………………………………… 32 3.8 Discussion.…………………………………………………………… …………… 35 3.8.1 The impact of the TBLT on grammar acquisition……………… 35 3.8.2 Students' attitudes towards teaching grammar through communicative tasks………36 3.9 Summary……………………………………………………… 36 Chapter 4: Recommendations and conclusions…………………… 38 4.1 Some recommendations……………………………………… 38 4.2 Limitations of the study…………………………………………………………… 38 4.3 Summary ……………………………………………… … ……………………… 39 References…………………………………………………………………………….40 Appendix The Pretest……………………………………………………………………I Appendix The Posttest…………………………………………………………………III Appendix Post-questionnaire program for the experimental students…… …… V Appendix Tasks for teaching conditional sentence type 2………………………… VI Appendix Tasks for teaching should or should not……………………………… VIII Appendix The results of the pretest and posttest of the two groups……………… X