The effects of implicit grammar intruction as operationalized by input enhancement on enghlish non majored students acquisition of the future tenses submitted to the faculty of english linguistics

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE    THE EFFECTS OF IMPLICIT GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION AS OPERATIONALIZED BY INPUT ENHANCEMENT ON ENGLISH NON-MAJORED STUDENTS ‘ACQUISITION OF THE FUTURE TENSES Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature In partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL BY LE THI MONG TUYEN Supervised by NGUYEN THU HUONG, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, FEBRUARY 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the kind help of many people to whom I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude First of all, I wish to send my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thu Huong for his whole-hearted guidance, valuable supports, helpful comments, and great encouragement I am indebted to him for his step-by-step guidance throughout the research although his health has not been always in good condition He spent much time proofreading my thesis draft as well as instructed me to analyze statistical data In addition, he also provided me with useful sources of materials of my topic Secondly, I would like to thank all of my lectures of the graduate program in MA courses, who have inspired me with new ways to teach English and laid foundation for this thesis I am also grateful to the students from Ton Duc Thang University, who participated in this research, for their enthusiastic cooperation in the process of my experimental doing I would like to send special thanks to my colleagues and my friends for their comments, suggestions, and advice My deep gratitude goes to Mr Le Hung Vu, Ms Le Nhu Thao and Ms Cu Nhat Suong for their careful proofreading the thesis My heartfelt thanks and love will send to my Uncle Bi for his warm encouragement, unending help, and support I am greatly indebted to my husband, Ty, who made too many sacrifices for me to finish this thesis and was always by my side for great encouragement and motivation Last but wholeheartedly, this thesis was dedicated in memory of my late father who had soon left my family and I while I was on the last stage of the thesis i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that the thesis entitled: THE EFFECTS OF IMPLICIT GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION AS OPERATIONALIZED BY INPUT ENHANCEMENT ON ENGLISH NONMAJORED STUDENTS ‘ACQUISITION OF THE FUTURE TENSES is my own study except the references included in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institutions Ho Chi Minh City, February 2014 LE THI MONG TUYEN ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, LE THI MONG TUYEN, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan, or reproduction of the thesis Ho Chi Minh City, February 2014 LE THI MONG TUYEN ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .i Certificate of originality ii Retention and use of the thesis iii Table of contents iv List of abbreviations ix List of tables x List of charts xi Abstract xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Research aims 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research hypothesis 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Organization of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical Concepts 2.1.1 Overview of Grammar Instruction 2.1.2 Explicit and Implicit Grammar Instruction 2.1.2.1 Explicit Grammar Instruction 10 2.1.2.2 Implicit Grammar Instruction 11 iv 2.2 Studies on Implicit Grammar Instruction 14 2.3 Conceptual Framework 21 2.4 Chapter Summary 24 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 25 3.1 Study Setting 25 3.2 Participants 25 3.3 Design of the study 27 3.4 Instruments 28 3.4.1 Proficiency test .28 3.4.2 Grammaticality judgment test (GJT) 29 3.4.2.1 Designing the GJT 29 3.4.2.2 Scoring the GJT .30 3.4.3.3 Piloting the GJT 31 3.4.3 Grammar test (GT) 32 3.4.3.1 Designing the GT 32 3.4.2.2 Scoring the GT 33 3.4.3.3 Piloting the GT 33 3.4.4 Questionnaire 34 3.4.4.1 Designing the questionnaire 34 3.4.4.2 Piloting the questionnaire 35 3.5 Reliability of the instruments 36 3.6 Pilot teaching stage 38 v 3.7 Treatment 39 3.7.1 Future tenses .39 3.7.2 Procedure 41 3.8 Data analysis 44 3.8.1 T-test 45 3.8.2 Bivariate Correlations 45 3.8.3 Frequency and Percentage 45 3.9 Chapter summary 45 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 4.1 Statistical Analysis of Tests 46 4.1.1 Research question 46 4.1.2 Research question 49 4.1.3 Research question 52 4.1.4 Research question 4: Statistical Analysis of Questionnaire 53 4.1.4.1 The participants’ attitudes towards the interests of IGI 54 4.1.4.2 The participants’ attitudes towards the usefulness of IGI 56 4.1.4.3 The participants’ attitudes towards the way to achieve rules 57 4.1.4.4 The participants’ positive performance after treatment …………… 59 4.1.4.5 The participants’ suggestion for this method better applied 60 4.2 Chapter Summary 62 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 63 5.1 Research Question 63 vi 5.2 Research Question 65 5.3 Research Question 66 5.4 Research Question 67 5.5 Chapter Summary .68 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENCATIONS 69 6.1 Summary of Key Findings 69 6.1 Implications .70 6.2 Limitations 72 6.1 Recommendations 72 6.1 Chapter Summary .73 REFERENCES 74 APPENDICES 79 APPENDIX 1: Proficiency Test .79 APPENDIX 2A: Grammaticality Judgment Test (Pretest) .85 APPENDIX 2B: Grammaticality Judgment Test (Posttest) 88 APPENDIX 3A: Grammar Test (Pretest) 92 APPENDIX 3B: Grammar Test (Posttest) 94 APPENDIX 4A: Questionnaire (English Version) 96 APPENDIX 4B: Questionnaire (Vietnamese Version) 99 APPENDIX 5A: Lesson Plan (Experimental Group) .102 APPENDIX 5B: Lesson Plan (Comparison Group) 112 vii APPENDIX 6A: Independent Sample T-Test (Proficiency Test) 122 APPENDIX 6B: Independent Sample T-Test (Grammaticality Judgment Test) 123 APPENDIX 6C: Independent Sample T-Test (Grammar Test) 124 APPENDIX 7A: Paired-Sample T-Test (Grammaticality Judgment Test) .125 APPENDIX 7B: Pair-Sample T-Test (Grammar Test) 126 APPENDIX 8: Bivariate Correlations 127 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT : Communicative Language Teaching EFL : English as Foreign Language EGI : Explicit Grammar Instruction DM : Direct Method IGI : Implicit Grammar Instruction GJT : Grammaticality Judgment Test GT : Grammar Test GTM : Grammar Translation Method L1 : Mother Tongue L2 : Second Language p : significance (two-tailed) Pre-GJT : Grammaticality Judgment Test (Pretest) Pre-GT : Grammar Test (Pretest) Post-GJT : Grammaticality Judgment Test (Posttest) Post-GT : Grammar Test (Posttest) R : Pearson Correlation Coefficient sig (2-tailed) : significance (two-tailed) SLA : Second Language Acquisition SPSS : Statistics Package for the Social Sciences X : Mean Score ix T’s activities & Content Stages/ Time Teacher’s explanation (5’) 1.Activity (10’) Providing input pictures input Ss’ activities -Introduce new language -Tell Sts about the rules of be going to -Explain be going to is used to make prediction based on present evidence -Deliver picture handouts -Ask Sts to make sentences with be going to on basis of the pictures (See appendix 5B-1) 114 -Make sentences with the pictures provided T’s activities & Content Stages/ Time Answers will vary -Correct Sts’ answers Suggested answers: That person is going to be wet 2.That person is going to have a new baby That person is going to die of thirst That person is going to be dizzy That person is going to sleep soundly That person is going to get sick That person is going to slip on the floor That person is going to fall of a bicycle 2.Activity 2: Providing explanations (5’) 3.Activity (5 ‘) Providing written input -Give explanations for each sentence For example: “That person is going to have a new baby” Because the woman is pregnant We all can see that It is evident, so she is going to have a new baby Deliver handouts and ask Sts (Appendix 5B-2) - Ask Sts to provide correct form of the verb in the brackets with be going to I …… (fail) in this examination if I not study hard I …… (faint) because I feel so dizzy I …… (vomit) because I have just eaten a terrible dish My mother ………(be) happy if I can get high score for the final test I ……….(go) home late although I lost my motorbike key After the class is over, my friend and I …… (miss) the bus due to heavy rain I ………(be)in shape because I diet successfully I ………(be) late for school because the bus is late 115 Ss’ activities -Work in pair to make sentences with the pictures -Listen to T’s explanations -Take note T’s activities & Content Stages/ Time 4.Activity (5’) Ask Sts identify and correct errors in each of the sentence.(see appendix 5A3) -Do exercise -Listen to T’s explanations Eric is driving There is very little gas left in the tank The nearest gas station is far away She will run out of gas I am not going to be able to meet you for coffee It is 8:30 Jack is leaving his house He has to be at work at 8:45, but the trip takes 30 minutes He will be late I feel dizzy I think I will faint Look at those black clouds! It’s going rain Perhaps the weather is going to be nice tomorrow I don’t study anything for tomorrow exam, I will fail the chemistry exam Oh! Look! That man is drunk He can’t drive home Providing written input Answers: is going to will is going to be am going to Practice (10’) Ss’ activities is going to will be am going to fail is not going to drive -Ask Sts to look at the picture in the Appendix 5B-4 to make sentences with be going to based on the present evidences in the pictures -Correct Sts’ answers 116 Work in group to discuss and make sentences with the pictures APPENDIX 5B-1 Make sentences with be going to on the basis of the pictures 117 APPENDIX 5B-2 Provide correct forms of the verbs in the bracket with be going to I ……(fail) in this examination if I not study hard I ……(faint) because I feel so dizzy I……(vomit)because I have just eaten a terrible dish My mother ……(be) happy if I can get high score for the final test I ……(be) home late although I lost my motorbike key After the class is over, my friend and I ……(miss) the bus due to heavy rain I ……(be) in shape because I diet successfully My clothes ……(dry) soon because it stops raining 118 APPENDIX 5B-3 Each sentence has one error Identify and correct the errors Eric is driving There is very little gas left in the tank The nearest gas station is far away She will run out of gas I am not going to be able to meet you for coffee It is 8:30 Jack is leaving his house He has to be at work at 8:45, but the trip takes 30 minutes He will be late I feel dizzy I think I will faint Look at those black clouds! It’s going rain Perhaps the weather is going to be nice tomorrow I don’t study anything for tomorrow exam, I will fail the chemistry exam Oh! Look! That man is drunk He cannot drive home 119 APPENDIX 5B-4 Ask Sts to make sentences and with the form be going to on the basis of the pictures 120 121 APPENDIX 6A INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST (PROFICIENCY TEST) Group Statistics Group MPROFICIENCY N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean EG 37 5.6432 99178 16305 CG 37 5.7649 1.08249 17796 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test t-test for Equality of Means for Equality of Variances F Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Std Error Difference Difference tailed) 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Equal variances MPROFICIENCY assumed Equal variances not assumed 645 424 - 72 616 -.12162 24136 71.456 616 -.12162 24136 504 504 122 60276 60283 Upper 35952 35958 APPENDIX 6B INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST (GRAMMATICALITY JUDGMENT TEST) Group Statistics Group MPREGJT MPOSTGJT N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean EG 37 5687 18353 03017 CG 37 5597 15852 02606 EG 37 7545 15144 02490 CG 37 6160 15809 02599 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means Equality of Variances F Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Std Error Difference Difference tailed) 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Equal variances MPREGJT 1.531 220 226 72 822 00901 03987 -.07047 08849 226 70.509 822 00901 03987 -.07050 08851 72 000 13851 03599 06677 21026 3.849 71.867 000 13851 03599 06676 21026 assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances MPOSTGJT 011 915 3.849 assumed Equal variances not assumed 123 APPENDIX 6C INDEPENDENT SAMPLE T-TEST (GRAMMAR TEST) Group Statistics Group MPREGT MPOSTGT N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean EG 37 5169 16270 02675 CG 37 5282 19887 03269 EG 37 7185 16150 02655 CG 37 5845 20018 03291 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for t-test for Equality of Means Equality of Variances F Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Std Error Difference Difference tailed) 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Lower Upper Equal variances MPREGT 3.905 052 -.267 72 791 -.01126 04224 -.09547 07295 -.267 69.281 791 -.01126 04224 -.09553 07300 72 002 13401 04228 04972 21830 3.169 68.917 002 13401 04228 04965 21837 assumed Equal variances not assumed Equal variances MPOSTGT 2.617 110 3.169 assumed Equal variances not assumed APPENDIX 7A PAIRED SAMPLE T-TEST (GRAMMATICALITY JUDGMENT TEST) Paired Samples Statistics Mean Pair Pair Pair Pair N Std Deviation Std Error Mean MPREGJTWILL 5158 74 29734 03456 MPOSTGJTWILL 6374 74 25784 02997 MPREGJTGOING 6532 74 23205 02698 MPOSTGJTGOING 7658 74 22902 02662 MPREGJTSIMPLE 5563 74 22459 02611 MPOSTGJTSIMPLE 6779 74 24571 02856 MPREGJTCONTINUOUS 5698 74 22582 02625 MPOSTGJTCONTINUOUS 6712 74 20639 02399 Paired Samples Correlations N Pair Pair Pair Pair MPREGJTWILL & MPOSTGJTWILL MPREGJTGOING & MPOSTGJTGOING MPREGJTSIMPLE & MPOSTGJTSIMPLE MPREGJTCONTINUOUS & MPOSTGJTCONTINUOUS Correlation Sig 74 205 080 74 119 314 74 -.005 968 74 099 400 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences Mean Pair MPREGJTWILL MPOSTGJTWILL Pair MPREGJTGOING 12162 - MPOSTGJTGOING 11261 Pair MPREGJTSIMPLE - - MPOSTGJTSIMPLE Pair MPREGJTCONTINUOUS 12162 - MPOSTGJTCONTINUOUS 10135 t Std Std 95% Confidence Deviation Error Interval of the Mean Difference Lower Upper 35145 04085 -.20304 -.04020 30609 03558 -.18353 -.04170 33367 03879 -.19893 -.04432 29041 03376 -.16863 -.03407 125 df Sig (2tailed) 2.977 3.165 3.135 3.002 73 004 73 002 73 002 73 004 APPENDIX 7B PAIRED SAMPLE T-TEST (GRAMMAR TEST) Paired Samples Statistics Mean Pair Pair Pair Pair N Std Deviation Std Error Mean MPREGTWILL 5586 74 21798 02534 MP0STGTWILL 6892 74 25631 02980 MPREGTGOINGTO 5518 74 22903 02662 MP0STGTGOING 7297 74 22190 02580 MPREGTSIMPLE 4414 74 23478 02729 MP0STGTSIMPLE 5788 74 23767 02763 MPREGTCONTINUOUS 5383 74 29654 03447 MP0STGTCONTINUOUS 6081 74 26949 03133 Paired Samples Correlations N Pair Pair Pair Pair MPREGTWILL & MP0STGTWILL MPREGTGOINGTO & MP0STGTGOING MPREGTSIMPLE & MP0STGTSIMPLE MPREGTCONTINUOUS & MP0STGTCONTINUOUS Correlation Sig 74 105 371 74 032 786 74 043 716 74 138 241 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences Mean t Std Std Error 95% Confidence Deviation Mean Interval of the df Sig (2tailed) Difference Pair MPREGTWILL MP0STGTWILL Pair MPREGTGOINGTO MP0STGTGOING Pair MPREGTSIMPLE Pair MP0STGTSIMPLE MPREGTCONTINUOUS MP0STGTCONTINUOUS 13063 17793 13739 06982 Lower Upper 31847 03702 -.20441 -.05685 31373 03647 -.25061 -.10524 32683 03799 -.21311 -.06167 37217 04326 -.15605 01641 126 3.529 4.879 3.616 1.614 73 001 73 000 73 001 73 111 127 APPENDIX BIVARIATE CORRELATIONS Nonparametric Correlations PROFICIENCY TEST & GJT: Correlations MPROFIEXPER POSTGJTEXPE IMENTAL Correlation Coefficient MPROFIEXPERIMENTAL RIMENTAL 1.000 300 071 37 37 Sig (2-tailed) Spearman's N rho Correlation Coefficient 300 1.000 Sig (2-tailed) 071 37 37 POSTGJTEXPERIMENTAL N PROFICIENCY TEST & GT: Correlations Correlation Coefficient MPROFIEXPERIMENTAL POSTGTEXPERIMENTAL POSTGTEXPE IMENTAL RIMENTAL 1.000 108 523 37 37 Correlation Coefficient 108 1.000 Sig (2-tailed) 523 37 37 Sig (2-tailed) N Spearman's rho MPROFIEXPER N 127 ... aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of implicit grammar instruction on English non- majored students? ?? acquisition of the future tenses The experimental study was conducted on. .. I was on the last stage of the thesis i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that the thesis entitled: THE EFFECTS OF IMPLICIT GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION AS OPERATIONALIZED BY INPUT ENHANCEMENT ON ENGLISH. .. instruction as operationalized by input enhancement by means of interpretation tasks on students? ?? acquisition of the English future tense LINGUISTIC FORMS INTERPRETATION TASKS EXTERNAL OPERATIONS INPUT