Techniques for teaching english grammar in four selected high schools in bien hoa city m a

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN FOUR SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS IN BIEN HOA CITY A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL by ĐINH THỊ PHƯƠNG THOA Supervised by Dr LÊ HOÀNG DŨNG HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2010 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN FOUR SELECTED HIGH SCHOOLS IN BIEN HOA CITY in terms of the Statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee Ho Chi Minh City, September 2010 ĐINH THỊ PHƯƠNG THOA RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Đinh Thị Phương Thoa, being the candidate for the degree of Master of 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 the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan, or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, September 2010 ĐINH THỊ PHƯƠNG THOA ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to many people who helped me both directly and indirectly I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Lê Hoàng Dũng, without whose guidance and support, I could not have finished this thesis I would like to record my thanks for the dedication and helpful instructions of all my teachers during the course I would like to acknowledge my debt to Dr Lê Thị Thanh for helping me with the scope of the study before I had the proposal I owe special thanks to all those who helped me in the study, particularly, Ms Lê Thị Tươi, Mr Đinh Tất Thắng, Mr Nguyễn Văn Đức, Ms Châu Hồng Lam, for their help with the data collection for the study; all of the teachers and students participating in the study for their cooperation; and all my colleagues and friends for their encouragement, friendship and enjoyable company Finally, my thanks go to my family, especially to my parents, who always gives me unfailing support, both in the collection of data and in everyday problems; to my husband for his love, understanding and support; to my little daughter for her enjoyable company; to my parents-in-law for their care and help with the baby; and to my brother for his encouragement iii ABSTRACT Teaching English grammar to high school students using the new textbook series in the light of CLT is a big problem to many teachers Exploring the actual practices, collecting opinions about the actual practices of teaching English grammar in the four selected high schools, and finding out the ways to improve the teaching of English grammar in these high schools are what the thesis aims at The study is an explanatory and exploratory one, using qualitative data with the assistance of quantitative figures It employs questionnaires, interviewing, and observation with the participation of 345 students and 21 teachers from high schools in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai Province The results reveal that the teachers and students are just at the first step in applying communicative approach in grammar lessons with a lot of difficulties, among which are the lack of time for students’ practice and differences in students’ levels High school context and the need of communication in the target language require a combination of both traditional methods and CLT Based on the findings coming from the real need of both teachers and students at the schools surveyed, suggestions are made to provide some kind of references to contribute to the improvement of teaching English grammar in the selected high schools in particular, and other high schools in general iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x ABBRIVIATIONS xi DEFINITION OF TERMS xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 High school context 1.1.1 Tests and exams 1.1.2 The students 1.1.3 The curriculum and syllabus 1.2 The problem 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Conceptual framework of the study 1.6 Overview of the study CHAPTER 2: A REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 What is grammar 2.2 The place of grammar in learning and teaching 2.3 Roles of grammar in different teaching methods 10 2.3.1 Grammar – Translation 10 2.3.2 The Direct Method 10 2.3.3 The Audio-lingual Method 11 2.3.4 Communicative approach 11 2.4 Deductive and inductive approaches to grammar teaching 13 2.4.1 Deductive approach 13 2.4.2 Inductive approach 13 2.5 Models for integrating grammar 14 v 2.5.1 Task-based Learning 14 2.5.2 I-I-I model 15 2.5.3 PACE model 16 2.5.4 PPP model 16 2.5.5 Criticisms of PPP 17 2.5.6 Reasons for the continuing dominance of PPP 18 2.6 Main techniques for teaching grammar 18 2.6.1 Presentation techniques 19 2.6.1.1 Using a rule explanation 19 2.6.1.2 Using translation 20 2.6.1.3 Using grammar worksheets 20 2.6.1.4 Using a self-study grammar 21 2.6.1.5 Using flashcards 21 2.6.1.6 Teaching through actions 22 2.6.1.7 Using realia 22 2.6.1.8 Using a generative situation 23 2.6.1.9 Using minimal sentence pairs 23 2.6.1.10 Using concordance data 24 2.6.1.11 Matching techniques 24 2.6.1.12 Text study 25 2.6.1.13 Problem-solving 25 2.6.1.14 Story telling 25 2.6.2 Practice techniques 26 2.6.2.1 Using oral drills 27 2.6.2.2 Written exercises 28 2.6.2.3 Listening and responding 28 2.6.2.4 Drama techniques 31 2.6.2.5 Songs and verse 31 2.6.3 Production techniques 32 2.6.3.1 Games 32 2.6.3.2 Problem-solving activities 33 vi 2.7 Teaching adolescents 35 2.8 Prior local researches on teaching and learning grammar 35 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 38 3.1 Research design 38 3.2 Research instruments 38 3.2.1 Questionnaire for teachers 39 3.2.2 Questionnaire for students 40 3.2.3 Interview with teachers 40 3.2.4 Class observation 41 3.3 Subjects 42 3.4 Collection of data 43 3.4.1 Pilot study 43 3.4.2 Actual collection of data 44 3.5 Treatment of the collected data 44 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 46 4.1 Application of CLT in teaching English grammar in the selected high schools 46 4.1.1 General information about teaching and learning English grammar 46 4.1.1.1 Attitude towards grammar teaching and learning 46 4.1.1.2 Difficulties in learning English grammar 48 4.1.1.3 Elements deciding a satisfactory grammar lesson 49 4.1.1.4 Things that help the students most and least in learning English grammar 50 4.1.2 Application of CLT in grammar lessons 51 4.1.2.1 The teachers’ awareness of CLT and the traditional methods 51 4.1.2.2 Benefits of CLT in teaching English grammar using the new textbook series 51 4.1.2.3 Difficulties of CLT in teaching English grammar using the new textbook series 52 4.1.2.4 Limited use of authentic materials 54 4.1.2.5 Popular use of language in context 55 vii 4.2 Techniques for teaching English grammar at the selected high schools 55 4.2.1 Presentation 56 4.2.2 Practice 58 4.2.2.1 Highly rated traditional techniques 58 4.2.2.2 Activities with communication and an element of fun in students’ preferences 61 4.2.2.3 Ways to help students remember grammar rules 61 4.2.2.5 The use of teaching aids 63 4.2.2.6 Correction of students’ grammar mistakes 64 4.2.3 Production 66 CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS 67 5.1 Findings 67 5.1.1 The use of CLT in grammar teaching at the selected high schools has just started 67 5.1.2 Examinations still direct the teaching of English grammar at the selected schools 68 5.1.3 Students lack time for practice using structures in class 68 5.1.4 The learning environment in these grammar lessons is not attractive enough to pull the students’ attention 69 5.1.5 Time-saving and traditional techniques are highly rated and popularly used in teaching English grammar in the selected high schools 69 5.2 Suggestions 71 5.2.1 To the administrators 72 5.2.2 To the teachers 73 5.3 Conclusion 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY 77 APPENDIX 83 APPENDIX 88 APPENDIX 93 APPENDIX 96 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Text study 25 Table 2: Substitution table for Is/Are there 27 Table 3: Techniques for teaching English grammar 34 Table 4: Questionnaire for teachers 39 Table 5: Questionnaire for students 40 Table 6: Contents of grammar to be completed at the time of observation 42 Table 7: Students' profiles 42 Table 8: Teachers' profiles 43 Table 9: The students’ purposes of studying English 47 Table 10: The students' feelings about learning English grammar 47 Table 11: The students’ difficulties in learning English grammar 48 Table 12: The students’ satisfaction of a grammar lesson 49 Table 13: Things that help the students most and least in learning English grammar 50 Table 14: Methods the teachers use in grammar lessons 51 Table 15: Difficulties in teaching grammar in the selected high schools 53 Table 16: Where to find additional materials for grammar lessons 54 Table 17: Kind of contexts the teachers usually use to illustrate the structure 55 Table 18: How to present a new structure 56 Table 19: The students’ preferences of presenting a new structure 57 Table 20: Techniques in the practice stage 58 Table 21: The students’ preferences of practising a new grammar item 61 Table 22: How to help students remember grammar rules 61 Table 23: Teaching aids to use in class 63 Table 24: Ways to correct students’ mistakes 64 Table 25: How students want their mistakes to be corrected 65 ix ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… How you want your teacher to present a new structure? a Give examples and then the rules with terminology b Give rules and then examples to clarify c Let me discover the rules myself through context d Tell stories e Others (please specify): ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Which of the following you want to practice a new grammar item? a Pair work b Group work c Formal written exercises individually d Drills e Listening and responding f Story-telling g Role play h Games i Songs j Puzzle-solving activities k Quizzes l Discussion m Others (please specify): ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 90 How you want your mistakes to be corrected? a The teacher corrects them at once b The teacher waits until I finish and asks others to correct them c The teacher points out the mistakes and let me correct them d The teacher takes notes of the mistakes and gives feedback at the end of the lesson without mentioning who make them e The teacher ignores the mistakes e Others (please specify): ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… You feel satisfied with a grammar lesson if: a Your teacher explains everything to you, and you can take notes from the teacher’s explanations and understand the rules b Your teacher gives you ways to remember the rules using mnemonics, catchword, catchphrase c Your teacher shows the differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese d Your teacher shows the common mistakes or errors made by students in advance e You can the exercises in the textbook f You have a chance to put the grammar into practice g Your teacher makes you feel relaxed h Your teacher gives you high marks for your correct answers i There is a game/song you like j Others (please specify): ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 91 What are the things that help you most in learning English grammar? a.…………………………………………………………………………………… b…………………………………………………………………………………… c…………………………………………………………………………………… 10 What are the things that help you least in learning English grammar? a.…………………………………………………………………………………… b…………………………………………………………………………………… c…………………………………………………………………………………… 92 APPENDIX LESSON OBSERVATION SHEET Name of the observed: Class: School: Lesson: Observer’s name: Techniques used in the lesson: CATEGORIES LEVEL Very evident (5) Evident Satisfactory (4) (3) ♦ Presentation Examples are given in context Meaning of the structure is clearly shown or can be easily induced by students Form of the structure is clearly shown or can be easily induced by students The teacher has ways to help students remember the rules 93 Could be Not improved evident (2) (1) Material is presented at the students’ level of comprehension ♦ Practice Drills are used and presented effectively The teacher explores genuine situations in class Instructions are clear and concise, and students are able to follow The teacher builds on the students’ personal experiences 10 The teacher monitors the class 11 Pair work, group work are organized effectively 12 The teacher maintains a continuous contact with the class, listening to requests and responding to suggestions/questions 13 Errors are treated appropriately 14 There is a good balance between teacher talking time and student 94 talking time 15 Additional materials are added ♦ Production 16 There is authentic communication 17 Students remain engaged and make progress 18 Students are able to complete the tasks given 19 Mistakes/ misconceptions are used constructively to facilitate learning 20 Wrapping up of the lesson is provided Overall Standards: excellent good in line below How effective was the lesson – score according to above evidence: = excellent = good = satisfactory = improvement required = not satisfactory 95 APPENDIX SUGGESTED HANDOUTS These handouts are to illustrate the points mentioned in the suggestion part This is for lesson “Conditional sentence type 3” (Tieng Anh 10, Unit 11), one of the rare grammar lessons with only one item to be learnt The lesson lasts for about 35 minutes (except about 10 minutes for pronunciation) The target structure is used in a context that may appeal to many students Activities are designed in a way that combines both written exercises and communication A game is included to promote students’ motivation and encourage interaction In the handout, the warm-up activity is to check students’ understanding of the conditional sentence type The context is given in a manner of a game to give them a stimulating reason to make interesting sentences Activity is a gap filling exercise in which the context of a man in love may be of interest to many students By filling the blanks with the given words and answering teacher’s questions, students can discover for themselves the use and form of the target structure with teacher’s guidance Activity is the controlled practice using picture cues to help familiarise them with the conditional sentence type Activity is a written exercise responding to given situations, which encourages the use of the structure in context Activity is a language game that gives students a chance to produce the language The homework includes the written exercises in the textbook and some extra exercises to help cope with examinations These exercises are to be corrected in the next class as a way to check the previous lesson 96 TEACHER’S HANDOUT Warm-up: (Revision of conditional sentence type 2) (5’) Tell the students to imagine that a million dollars is to be won by the person who can think of the most original (or worthwhile, or exciting) thing to with the money Listen to their ideas and decide who has “won” Activity (Presentation) (Pair work) (10’) A man is in love with a woman One day, he decided to show his love to her, but finally he didn’t have enough courage to so He is imagining what happened Fill in the gaps with the words from the box beneath kissed – blushed – embraced – told – bought – blushed – asked – written – embraced – kissed – nodded – painted a picture – blushed – composed – wanted If she had looked at me If I had her roses I would have she would have me If she had at me and if she had me I would have for her I would have her cheek If she had me to and if I had her cheek I would have a song she would have If she had smiled and if she had I would have a poem I would have her and if she had me that her cheeks were I would have said ‘Yes’ the colour of roses Questions: - Did she look at him? – Did she nod at him? – Did he buy her roses? Can he change the situation? Notes: Conditional sentence type 3: to express unreal conditions in the past E.g Loan failed the exam because she was too lazy If she had studied hard, she would have passed the exam 97 Form If clause Past perfect Main clause Would/ could/should/ might + have + past participle If clause can come first or later If it hadn’t rained, I would have gone fishing I would have gone swimming if I had had time Activity 2: (8’) Make conditional type from the following situations Tram stayed up late to watch TV last night, so she got up late and was late for class this morning Mr Trong’s head was badly injured in the accident because he didn’t wear a helmet Lan went out yesterday without an umbrella It suddenly rained, and she got wet I was punished because I went out late last night I didn’t meet my old friend at the party yesterday because I left so early I didn’t know that you arrived in Ho Chi Minh City last Saturday, so I didn’t pick you at the station I didn’t recognize Hang among the crowd, so I didn’t call her Tam was fined because he rode the motorbike without a license Activity 3: (Picture cues) (5’) Make sentences with these pictures using the structure you have just learnt 98 99 Activity 4: Game: Alibis (Pair work) (7’) Yesterday, a thief broke into a neighbour house and stole a big diamond One of you is the inspector The other is the suspect, trying to give alibis Use conditional sentences type E.g Inspector: Where were you at 7:15 yesterday? Suspect: I was having dinner with my parents Inspector: If you had been having dinner with your parents, why did some people see you around here at that time? Suspect: If I had been here, who would have been eating with my parents? You can ask them … Homework: - Exercises in the textbook (Exercises 1, 2, on page 119 & 120) - A Match each clause in column A to its following in column B to make a complete conditional sentences Add a comma where necessary A If It hadn’t been for the storm I would have come back to work in my hometown after graduation Had Phuc had a map If Chi hadn’t missed the bus If I hadn’t been so busy Snow White couldn’t have been revived Cinderella couldn’t have met the prince If I hadn’t saved money for a long time If you hadn’t pulled the dog’s tail 10 She wouldn’t have been so exhausted a b c d e f g h i j B it wouldn’t have bitten you if the prince hadn’t kissed her I would have helped you if she hadn’t worked so much if I had been able to find a job there if it hadn’t been for her godmother’s help many people wouldn’t have been badly injured I couldn’t have afforded this motorbike she wouldn’t have gotten lost she hadn’t been late for school - B Yesterday was a busy day You had a lot of homework to You didn’t have enough time to other things What would you have done if you had had more time? Write sentences 100 STUDENT’S HANDOUT Warm-up: Complete the sentence: If I had a million dollars, … Activity (Pair work) A man is in love with a woman One day, he decided to show his love to her, but finally he didn’t have enough courage to so He is imagining what had happened Fill in the gaps with the words from the box beneath kissed – blushed – embraced – told – bought – blushed – asked – written – embraced – kissed – nodded – painted a picture – blushed – composed – wanted If she had looked at me If I had her roses I would have she would have me If she had at me and if she had me I would have for her I would have her cheek If she had me to and if I had her cheek I would have a song she would have If she had smiled and if she had I would have a poem I would have her and if she had me that her cheeks were I would have said ‘Yes’ the colour of roses Notes: Conditional sentence type 3: to express … E.g 101 Form If clause Main clause Activity 2: (8’) Make conditional type from the following situations Tram stayed up late to watch TV last night, so she got up late and was late for class this morning Mr Trong’s head was badly injured in the accident because he didn’t wear a helmet Lan went out yesterday without an umbrella It suddenly rained, and she got wet I was punished because I went out late last night I didn’t meet my old friend at the party yesterday because I left so early I didn’t know that you arrived in Ho Chi Minh City last Saturday, so I didn’t pick you at the station I didn’t recognize Hang among the crowd, so I didn’t call her Tam was fined because he rode the motorbike without a license 102 Activity 3: Make sentences with the pictures using the structure you have just learnt Activity 4: Game: Alibis (Pair work) Yesterday, a thief broke into a neighbour house and stole a big diamond One of you is the inspector The other is the suspect, trying to give alibis Use conditional sentences type E.g Inspector: Where were you at 7:15 yesterday? Suspect: I was having dinner with my parents Inspector: If you had been having dinner with your parents, why did some people see you around here at that time? Suspect: If I had been here, who would have been eating with my parents? You can ask them … Homework: - Exercises in the textbook (Exercises 1, 2, on page 119 & 120) - A Match each clause in column A to its following in column B to make a complete conditional sentences Add a comma where necessary A If It hadn’t been for the storm I would have come back to work in my hometown after graduation Had Phuc had a map If Chi hadn’t missed the bus If I hadn’t been so busy Snow White couldn’t have been revived Cinderella couldn’t have met the prince If I hadn’t saved money for a long time If you hadn’t pulled the dog’s tail 10 She wouldn’t have been so exhausted a b c d e f g h i j 103 B it wouldn’t have bitten you if the prince hadn’t kissed her I would have helped you if she hadn’t worked so much if I had been able to find a job there if it hadn’t been for her godmother’s help many people wouldn’t have been badly injured I couldn’t have afforded this motorbike she wouldn’t have gotten lost she hadn’t been late for school - B Yesterday was a busy day You had a lot of homework to You didn’t have enough time to other things What would you have done if you had had more time? Write sentences E.g If I had had more time yesterday, I would have helped my mother with the housework 104 ... grammatical knowledge Therefore, grammar still has an important place in learning and teaching a foreign language 2.3 Roles of grammar in different teaching methods There are many different methods... grammar is a kind of ‘sentence-making machine’ b the fine-tuning argument: the teaching of grammar serves as a corrective against the kind of ambiguity of such sentences as Last Monday I was... practices of teaching English grammar in the four selected high schools, and finding out the ways to improve the teaching of English grammar in these high schools are what the thesis aims at