Some suggestions to teach grammar lesons in english 11 at pham hong thai high school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHAN THỊ THANH HƯƠNG SOME SUGGESTIONS TO TEACH GRAMMAR LESSONS IN ENGLISH 11 AT PHAM HONG THAI HIGH SCHOOL MASTER'S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghệ An, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHAN THỊ THANH HƯƠNG SOME SUGGESTIONS TO TEACH GRAMMAR LESSONS IN ENGLISH 11 AT PHAM HONG THAI HIGH SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60 14 01 11 MASTERTHESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: TRẦN BÁ TIẾN, Ph.D Nghệ An, 2014 DECLARATION I certify that this study is entirely my own work I have provided fully documented references to the work of others The material in this study has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course of study Author Phan Thị Thanh Hương i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am, first of all, particularly indebted to my supervisor, Dr.Tran Ba Tien, for his invaluable advice, instructions and correction, excellent suggestions and constant encouragement during the research period Without his guidance and help, this work would not have been accomplished Secondly, my sincere thanks also go to all the lecturers who have been teaching K20 MA course in Vinh University and the post-graduate staff for their administrative assistance to the success of the course Besides, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all the teachers and the students at Pham Hong Thai High School in Hung Nguyen, who willingly participated in the study I thank them for their time, patience and willingness in completing the questionnaires, answering the questions and sharing their classrooms with me Last but not least, I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to my parents, my husband and my son, and for their constant support and thorough understanding Their great encouragement and love have helped me to overcome the difficulties during my study ii ABSTRACT Grammar always plays an important part in teaching and learning English However, how to create students‟ motivation in learning grammar lesson is not simple This study is concerned with the communicative activities in teaching grammar as an effective method to create students‟ motivation and improve students‟ understanding of the lesson The benefits of using communicative activities are affirmed again in this thesis through the former grammarians‟ studies and the researcher‟s carried out at Pham Hong Thai High School, Hung Nguyen district These benefits bring considerable effectiveness to teachers and students in teaching and learning grammar In order to achieve this aim, the researcher carries out observing classes, interviewing, questionnaires closely both teachers and students, giving questionnaires to them, etc to have necessary findings and analysis The researcher also suggests the suitable measures to overcome difficulties in using communicative activities in class successfully, and the examples of communicative activities to teach grammar points in Tieng Anh 11 iii using TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii Chaper 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the Study 1.2 Purposes of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Method of the Study 1.7 Design of the Study Chapter 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1.Enghlish grammar 2.1.1 Definition of grammar 2.1.2 Grammatical Structure 2.1.3 The role of grammar in teaching and learning English 2.2 Grammar teaching in the major teaching methods 10 2.2.1 The Grammar- Translation method (GTM) 10 2.2.2 The Direct method (DM) 11 2.2.3 The Audio-Lingual method (AM) 12 2.3 Definition of CLT 14 2.3.1 Teaching Grammar in CLT 15 2.4 Some General Principles of Grammar Teaching 17 2.5 Stages in teaching grammar communicatively 19 2.6 Common Procedure in Teaching a New Structure 20 2.6.1 Presentation 20 iv 2.6.2 Practice 21 2.6.3 Production 21 2.6.4 Feedback and Correction 21 2.7 Conclusion 22 Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Real Situation of Learning and Teaching English at Pham Hong Thai High School 23 3.1.1 Pham Hong Thai High School 23 3.1.2 The 11th-form students and observation classes 23 3.1.3 English teachers at Pham Hong Thai high school 24 3.1.4 The textbook English 11 and its Language Focus section 24 3.2 Research methodology 27 3.2.1 Method of the Study 27 3.3 Conclusion 30 Chapter : DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 31 4.1 Questionnaire for the students 31 4.1.1 Students‟ attitudes about the importance of language skill and other elements 31 4.1.2 Students‟ ideas about degrees of difficulty of English grammar 32 4.1.3 Students‟ interest in learning English grammar 33 4.1.4 Students‟ frequent errors 34 4.1.5 Students‟ interest in the stages of grammar lesson 35 4.1.6 The ways teachers introduce and show the form of a grammatical structure 36 4.1.7 Students‟ opinions about exercises in textbooks 38 4.1.8 Students‟ opinions about extra grammatical activities 38 4.1.9 Motivating factors 40 v 4.2 Questionnaire for the teachers 41 4.2.1 Teachers‟ attitude toward English Grammar 41 4.2.2 Teachers' difficulties in teaching English Grammar 42 4.2.3.The teachers‟ opinions of teaching grammar 43 4.2.4 The teacher guides the student to practise the structure 44 4.2.5 Teachers‟ adapting grammar exercises 45 4.2.6 Forms of interaction teachers employ to conduct activities 46 4.2.7 Teachers‟ assessment on students‟ results 47 4.2.8.The teachers‟ activities for grammar lessons 47 4.3 Data from the class observation 48 4.3.1 Introduction 48 4.3.2 Data analysis of the class observation 49 4.4 Findings from interviews 53 4.4.1 Findings from interviews with the teachers 53 4.4.2 Findings from interviews with the students 54 4.5 Post class survey and discussion 55 4.5.1 Students‟ reactions and progress 55 4.6 Proposed activities for teaching English grammar 56 4.6.1 Introduction 56 4.6.2 Criteria for activities used in grammar teaching 57 4.6.3 Some proposed activities 57 4.7 Conclusion 66 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 67 5.1 Recapitulation 67 5.2 Suggestions for Further Study 68 REFERENCES 70 APPENDIX 72 vi ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching ELT: English language teaching GTM: Grammar- Translation method DM: Direct method AM: Audio-Lingual method Audio vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Table 3.1: Distribution of time , units and contents in semesters 26 Table 4.2: Students‟ attitudes about the importance of language skill and other elements 31 Chart 4.1: Students‟ ideas about degrees of difficulty of English grammar 32 Chart 4.2: Students‟ interest in learning English grammar 33 Chart 4.3: Students‟ frequent errors 34 Chart 4.4: Students‟ interest in the stages of grammar lesson 35 Table 4.3: The ways teachers introduce and show the form of a grammatical structure 36 Chart 4.5: Students‟ opinions about exercises in textbooks 38 Table 4.4: Students‟ opinions about extra grammatical activities 39 Chart 4.6: Motivating factors 40 Chart 4.7: Teachers‟ attitude toward English Grammar 41 Chart 4.8: Teachers‟ difficulties in teaching English grammar 42 Table 4.5: The teachers‟ ways of teaching grammar 43 Table 4.6: The teacher guides the student to practise the structure 44 Chart 4.9: Teachers‟ adapting exercises 45 Chart 4.10: Form of interaction 46 Table 4.7: Teachers‟ assessment on students‟ results 47 Table 4.8: Teachers‟ activities in classes 48 Chart 4.11: Students‟ reaction 55 Chart 4.12: Students‟ progress 56 viii S2: ……… Who… S1: A burgar is someone…break into house S2:……………………who…… S1: My mother … works very hard is a nurse S2:………… who… - Ask the learners to compare their papers with each other Variation: Handouts used for this activity can be maps, pictures, or charts, not only readings 4.6.3.7 Telling Story This activity is a useful way to teach grammar The teacher can create and varies this activity for introducing the new language item By telling a story, students almost attend to the detail and meaning It is motivating and can be used to generate any specific grammar point The activity creates a meaningful context for language use By telling a story to present new grammatical structure, students have the opportunities to review the others that are connected In addition, they are given the chance to practice listening and responding to questions at the earliest stage of the lesson The teacher may need some imagine or drawing board Procedure - Setting the context: The teacher tells the story and she may use some pictures or drawing board to illustrate what she tells Teacher tries to involve the grammatical structure the students were taught - Raising some questions to check their understandings - Basing on the story situation, the teacher will introduce the new grammatical item For example: Unit 11: Sources of energy Grammatical point: Relative clauses replaced by participles The teacher provides the context and tells the story The students are asked to listen to carefully 63 “This is Phong He was unhappy Well, he was going to meet his girl friend He didn’t wake up until o’clock Because he woke up, he missed the bus He tried to phone Lan but his mobile phone didn’t work He forgot to charge it Lan waited for a bit and she left She decided to go to a club In the club, Lan met another man and she fell in love with him immediately They got married yesterday.” Note: To enable the students to catch up with the whole story, the teacher can combine with some images while telling such as picture of a man, a clock, a woman, a mobile phone, a club, etc After telling story, teacher asks students: Teacher: Did Phong meet Lan? Student: No, he didn’t Teacher: Why? Students: Because he missed the bus Teacher: The boy who missed the bus didn’t meet Lan The boy missing the bus didn't meet Lan Teacher: Did Phong try to phone Lan? Student: Yes, he did Teacher: Did Lan go to the club? Students: Yes, she did Teacher: Why ? Students: Lan waited for a bit and she left Teacher: What did she next? Student : another man was met by her Teacher: The man who was met by Lan was her new boyfriend The man met by Lan was her new boy friend … Similarly, the teacher elicits other questions to create sentences like: 4.6.3.7 Responding game Procedure 64 The teacher divides the whole class in two groups and gives the construction of playing the game The members of the two groups will take turn to give a situation for the members of the other group to respond, by using the structure they have just learnt The teacher can give the students one minute to think of their own situations (usually one sentence only) Members of each group will have 20 seconds to respond to the other If the response is appropriate for the situation, the second group can take the floor and give another situation If not, the first group still holds the floor Each time group holds the floor, it gets a point At the end of the game, the teacher will count how many points each group has gained The group with more points will be the winner This game can be used to teach many grammatical items For example: Unit 14: Space conquest Grammatical point: The use of “can, could,be able to” to make an offer Group A: I can play football Group B: I am able to see you Group A: This suitcase is too heavy Group B: I can’t carry it for you Group A: she is afraid of wate Group B: He can swim 4.6.3.9 Matching game This activity can help students to improve speaking or writing skill in an interesting way It is quite simple, so the whole class can take part in the activity without spending too much time Procedure The teacher divides the whole class in two big groups: A and B The teacher asks the students in group A to write the first halves of sentences, containing the target structure for the members of group B to write the other Then the teacher collects and matches them at random This activity is interesting and can be applied 65 to teach many grammatical items It will be a very funny experience that can motivate the students strongly For example: Unit 16: The wonder of the world Grammatical item: It is sai that… People say that… Group A: People say that he is 108 years old Group B: It is said that he is 108 years old Group A: It is said that many people are homeless after floods Group B: Many people are said to be homeless after floods 4.7 Conclusion This chapter describes concretely activities and their procedures These suggested activities are relevant solutions to the real situation of teaching and learning grammar in Pham Hong Thai High School with the aim to make grammar lessons become more and more communicative and effective Moreover, they are enough interesting to increase students' motivation in to learning All of them can be used for students at different levels Of course, it depends on teachers‟ creation to make small changes to design an effective lesson, which is suitable for students‟ knowledge 66 Chapter CONCLUSION 5.1 Recapitulation In fact, although grammar seems to have been focused at high school, teaching and learning grammar communicatively are still a big problem It requires much effort and creativity from the teachers as well as the participation of the students during the lesson Doing this thesis, firstly, the author gives some general points about grammar that are fundamental These consist of definitions from some authors for items such as grammar, grammatical structure The importance of grammar in learning a foreign language cannot be ignored In addition, since the CLT is a useful tool for any teacher, noting something about teaching and learning in CLT is very necessary To teach language effectively and communicatively, we need to find out CLT‟s characteristics and main roles of teacher and students in a lesson Based on some general features, teaching grammar in CLT is also presented At this time, we look at some points about the place of grammar in CLT, and the common procedure to teach grammatical structure in the class Since the main purposes of the CLT are to enable students to complete communicative tasks, communicative activities have been discussed In addition, the study investigates the current state of teaching and learning grammar in a high school by doing a survey delivered to all students The survey questionnaire consists of several questions is given to 116 students from three 11th form classes of the school to search for necessary information serving for doing the thesis The author has tried to find down the real situation of creating activities to learn communicatively and if the teacher‟s way of teaching new structure is really 67 to attain communicative goals What she can collect from the survey reflects some current problems and that is the basis for her to come to a conclusion for many matters of teaching and learning grammar that need solving Therefore, in the thesis, the author has suggested some solutions for reaching a communicative way of teaching grammar The study also recommends some activities to teach grammar communicatively These activities can be used in introducing a grammatical structure or in practicing it Each activity is followed by a sample that teacher can apply into a particular lesson for 11th form Of course, there are many kinds of activities and this depends on teacher‟s creativity to create suitable types for each part of the whole process In this thesis, she tries to introduce some common and simple activities that can be used for most grammatical items Based on the procedure, teachers in high school can create many others These activities are considered as the guidance to expand more effective ones to teach grammatical items Overall, getting students to motivate and to feel grammar lessons interesting is not easy and simple However, doing this has become more and more important in language teaching Students not only learn grammar but also have to integrate them in writing, speaking, listening and some readings Only by this way, learning grammar will become more interesting and reach the aims of language in use 5.2 Suggestions for Further Study Activities for teaching grammar communicatively has a large scope for study because it depends on the characteristics of grammatical item and teacher‟ creativity Moreover, the study about teaching and learning grammar communicatively is a chain of many other problems that needs further investigation to improve not only activities However, because of the author‟s limitation of knowledge and experiences as well as material source, mistakes and the lack are unavoidable Activities for grammar are abundant for each stage of a lesson that can help students to learn communicatively and excitedly Therefore, the author hopes that someone who is interested in this matter will continue to develop this topic to 68 find more useful and realistic suggestions and activities for an effective grammar lesson For the further studies on this matter, the author gives some suggested topics as follows: Some Suggested Communicative Activities to Teach Grammar for 10th Form English Classes Some Suggested Communicative Activities to Teach Grammar for 12th Form English Classes Study on communicative activities to teach grammar in presentation stage, practice stage and production stage 69 REFERENCES Byrne,D (1988) Focus on the classroom, Hongkong: Modern English Publications Celce-Murcia, M & Hilles, S (1988) Techniques and resources in teaching grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Celce-Murcia, M (Ed.) (1991) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language New York: Happer Collins Publisher Inc (2nded.) Canale, M and Swain, M (1980), Approaches to Communicative Competence, Seameo Regional Language Centre Harmer, J (1987:12) Teaching and learning grammar London: Longman Group UK Limited Johnson, K & Morrow, K (1981), Communication in the Classroom, Essex: Longman Krashen, S D & Terrell, T D (1983:146) The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom (1sted) New York: Pergamon Press and San Francisco: Alemany Press Luu Quy Khuong (2006), A practical course for teaching English as a foreign language, University of Danang Larson-Freeman, D (1986) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press 10 Larsen-Freeman, D (1986:13) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press 11 Lightbown P M & Spada N (1999), how Language are learned, Oxford University Press 12 Li (1998) English Literature Teaching in China 70 13 Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong (2007).Language Teaching Methodology Vinh University 14 Markee, N (1997) Managing Curricular Innovation London: Cambridge University Press 15 Nunan, D (1989:194) Designing tasks for the Communicative Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 16 Finocchiaro & Brrumfit.(1983) The functional-notional approach Oxford: Oxford University Press 17 Penny Ur (1988) Grammar practice activities: a practical guide for teachers Cambridge University Press 18 Richards, J.C and Rodgers, T S (1986), Approaches and Methods in language Teaching, Cambridge University press 19 River, W (1981), Teaching Foreign Language Skills, University of Chicago Press 20 Richards, J C & Rodgers, T (2002) Approaches and methods in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 21 Sagvinon, S.J (1983), Communicative Competence: Theory and classroom 22 Savignon, S J (1991) Communicative Language Teaching: State of the Art TESOL Quarterly, 25(2), 261-277 23 Smith, M (2001:15) Making Content Classes More Communicative Teacher‟s Edition (p 15) 24 Taylor (1983).A Theory of Cognitive Adaptation University of Clifornia ,America 25 Tudor, I (1996) Learner-Centeredness as Language Education Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 26 Thornbury, S and Harmer,J (1999), How to teach Grammar, Longman 27 Thomson A, J (19860 A Practical English Grammar : Published by Oxford U.P., Oxford, 71 28 Wilkin, D.A (1972), Grammatical, Situational and Notional Syllabus, Oxford: Oxford University Press Appendix Students’ survey questionnaires This survey questionnaire is carried out for the thesis “Some suggestions to teach Grammar lessons in English 11” The researcher would be very glad if you support her by answering the following questions truthfully Since the purpose of this is only for study, you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you for your assistance! Which of the following skills you think the most important? a listening b speaking c reading d writing Which of the following elements you think the most important? a grammar b vocabulary c pronunciation How you find learning English grammar? a very difficult b difficult c rather difficult d not difficult at all How interested are you in learning English grammar? a a lot b not very much c a little d not at all How you find your mistakes from using form , meaning and usage ? -form -mening -usage (1 always often sometimes rarely) Which stage of a grammar lesson you usually like most? a Presentation stage b Controlled-practice stage c Free -practice stage How does your teacher usually introduce a new grammatical structure? 72 a saying “Today, we are going to learn the structure…” then writing the structure on the board b giving an example and explains its meaning c giving a situation through which you can understand the meaning of structure d other ways How does your teacher usually show the form of a new grammatical structure? a using S-V structure b writing an example on the board and underling the “fixed” part of the structure c using structure table d getting the students to tell the teacher what to write e other ways: How are you interested in exercises in textbook? a a lot b not very much c a little d not at all 10 How often does your teacher give you extra activities outside the textbook? a always b often c sometimes d rarely e never 11 How communicative are these activities? a a lot b not very much c a little d not at all 12 Which of the followings can motivate you most in a grammar lesson? a The structure is simple to understand b There is a variety of exercises c The way teacher introduces the structure is communicative and interesting d Teacher gives you communicative activities to practice 73 Appendix Teachers’ survey questionnaires This survey questionnaire is designed for my study entitled “Teaching English Grammar to teach graders trough speaking activities” Your assistance is fulfilling the following items is highly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation Age ………………… Sex: Male Female Years of teaching: ……………… What you think of the roles of teaching grammar in language teaching? a very important b rather important c not very important d not important at all What are the difficulties in teaching grammar? a time is limited b lesson is too difficult c Students are accustomed to learning in a grammar translation method d Students are not interested in learning English grammar How you present a grammar structure? a present the structure, analyze the structure and then give examples to illustrate b give the situation, present the new structure, give examples and then let students the practice c give examples, then let your students practice using substitution drills d Use visual aids to present the structure, let your students to figure out the form and then give examples to illustrate 74 Formatted: Centered, Level 1, Indent: First line: 0" e sometimes teach in English and sometimes teach in Vietnamese How you have students practise the structure? a ask students to make examples in turns b ask them to translate into Vietnamese and vice verse c using Repetition and Substitution Drills, Word Prompts, and Picture Prompts d other ways In production stage, you always: a provides students with opportunities to use new language in a freer, and more creative way b create activities in which students can integrate new language with the previously learnt language and apply what they have learnt to talk about their real life activities c give some exercises for them to d other ways How often you adapt grammar exercises in language focus? a always b often c sometimes d seldom Which forms of interaction you often employ to conduct communicative activities? a individually b pair work c group work d whole class interaction What you think students will get in leaning grammar when you use communicative activities? a not change 75 b get worse c make progress d make a quick progress How often you give the following activities to learn English grammar in the class? Put the numbers to your answers Often Sometimes Rarely Never Class survey Picture dictation Telling story activity Picture game Chain story activity Matching game Discussion Reconstruction activity Information gap Communicative drills Guessing game Don‟t say “yes” or “no” game Noughts and crosses Situational-role play 76 Appendix Interview questions  Interview questions for the teachers What you understand about teaching grammar in the light of Communicative Language Teaching approach? In the Language Focus lessons, you often apply the new teaching methodology underpinning the new textbook in teaching grammar? What you suggest to improve the teaching and learning of grammar in the Language Focus lessons?  Interview question for the students What you suggest to improve the teaching and learning of grammar in the Language Focus lessons? 77 ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHAN THỊ THANH HƯƠNG SOME SUGGESTIONS TO TEACH GRAMMAR LESSONS IN ENGLISH 11 AT PHAM HONG THAI HIGH SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers... and teaching English at Pham Hong Thai High School 3.1.1 Pham Hong Thai High School Pham Hong Thai High School was founded in 1979 in Hung Chau village, Hung Nguyen distrist, Nghe An province... emphasizes on: - The teachers‟ attitude toward teaching English grammar - The teachers‟ difficulties in teaching English grammar - The teachers‟ opinions of teaching English grammar - The teachers‟ guidence