Motivating english learners to learn grammar an action research at national university of civil engineering

m MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY NGUYEN QUYNH GIANG MOTIVATING ENGLISH LEARNERS TO LEARN GRAMMAR: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Submitted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements of the degree o f master in TESOL S U P E R V IS O R : N G U Y E N T H A I H A , M E D fp = = = = ~ = TRUNG TAM < £ £ ) THONG TIN THƯVIỆN jễ t NN-VH NƯỚC IJGOAl ^ mv Hanoi October, 2009 m STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled "M otivating English learners to learn grammar: An Action Research at National University o f Civil Engineering” and submitted in partial fulfillment o f the requirements for the degree o f M aster o f Arts in TESOL is the result o f my work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this thesis or any part o f the same has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution The research reported in this thesis was approved by Hanoi University Signed: Dated: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First o f all, I would like to express my deepest thank to all my lecturers at Hanoi University during my M.A course, to the organizers o f this master course, and Dr Vu Van Dai, Head o f Department o f Postgraduate Studies, Hanoi University for all their help, encouragement and priceless support, w ithout which I would have never been able to complete this thesis My great gratitude is sent to my thesis supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thai Ha, for her valuable comments and instructions, her considerate assistance, criticism, her kind encouragement and correction, without which I would find it difficult to complete my dissertation I would like to express my appreciation to the administrators and m y colleagues o f English Division at National University o f Civil Engineering for their constant support, encouragement and concern while the work was in progress My special thanks are also for my students, class 53TL1, National U niversity o f Civil Engineering, who have helped me to collect data for this study Last but not least, I wish to say thank you to my family for their love, care and tolerance that encourage me a lot in completing this study ABSTRACT In an attempt to change students’ attitudes in the grammar lessons at National University o f Civil Engineering (NUCE), the research aims to find out: (1) W hy aren’t students interested in gram m ar lessons? (2) W hat should be done to motivate students? (3) Do the suggested solutions (oral gram m ar practice activitites) work? To find out the answers to these questions, an action research was carried out The subjects o f the study were 44 students from class 53TL1 o f NUCE They were invited to complete survey questionnaires It was revealed that m ost o f the students did not like the grammar lessons The initial data also showed that the causes o f this problem were that students w eren’t interested in written practice activities These lead to the assumption that the practice activities were not appropriate Based on the findings, the hypothesis o f the study was formed: “Providing students with oral practice activities will increase students' motivation in gram m ar lessons.” An action plan which applied the know ledge gained from the literature review was implemented Oral practice activities including drills, inform ation-gap tasks and games were used in the trial lessons After the trial lessons o f the action plan, an answer to the hypothesis was found Findings indicate that students have positive attitudes towards the use o f oral gram m ar practice Especially, they rem ark this new way o f teaching helps students acquire the gram m ar m ore efficiently The use o f com municative activities in teaching gram m ar may be feasible solution for students at NUCE Based on the findings o f this study, some practical recom m endations are derived for the application o f communicative activities to help teachers with their gram m ar teaching better It is also hoped that the result o f this study will provide a suggested way o f teaching, thanks to it, students at N U CE will be more interested in learning grammar to gain the best results LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching ESP: English for Specific purposes GE: General English NUCE: National University o f Civil Engineering T: Teacher Ss: Students iv LIST OF GRAPHS AND TABLES Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards English gram m ar learning Chart 2: Students’ purpose in learning gram m ar Chart 3.1; chart 3.2 and chart 3.3: Students’ attitudes towards gramm ar lessons and the reasons for students’ attitudes Chart 4: Students’ preference to ways o f gram m ar teaching Chart 5.1; 5.2; 5.3; 5.4 and 5.5: Students’ attitudes towards some gram m ar written practice activities Chart 6.1; 6.2 and 6.3: The reasons for students’ attitudes towards gram m ar written practice activities Chart 7.1; 7.2 and 7.3: Students’ attitudes towards gram m ar lessons and the reasons for students’ attitudes after the application o f oral gram m ar practice activities Chart 8: Students’ preference to gram m ar practice activities in general Chart 9.1; 9.2; 9.3; 9.4 and 9.5: Students’ attitudes towards some gram m ar oral practice activities Chart 10.1; 10.2 and 10.3: The reasons for students’ attitudes towards gram m ar oral practice activities v TABLE OF CONTENTS S T A T E M E N T O F A U T H O R S H I P I A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S II A B S T R A C T III L I S T O F A B B R E V I A T I O N S IV L I S T O F G R A P H S A N D T A B L E S V T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S V I C H A P T E R 1: I N T R O D U C T I O N 1.1 B a c k g r o u n d 1.2 A to the s t u d y im s o f t h e s t u d y a n d r e s e a r c h q u e s t i o n s 1.3 S c o p e a n d s ig n i f i c a n c e o f t h e s t u d y 1.4 O r g a n i z a t io n o f t h e t h e s i s .3 C H A P T E R : L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W 2.1 M o t i v a t i o n 2.1.1 Definitions o f motivation 2.1.2 Role o f motivation in language learning 2 G e n e r a l v ie w o n g r a m m a r a n d g r a m m a r t e a c h i n g 2.2.1 An overview o f Communicative Language Teaching (C LT) 2.2.2 Phases in teaching grammar 10 O r a l g r a m m a r p r a c t i c e 11 2.3.1 Definition o f oral grammar practice .11 2.3.2 Classification o f oral practice activities in learning grammar 12 P r e v i o u s s t u d i e s C H A P T E R : M E T H O D O L O G Y 3 A c t io n r e s e a r c h 3 P r o c e d u r e s o f t h e a c t i o n r e s e a r c h .31 3.2.1 Planning 31 3.2.2 Action 32 3.2.3 Observation 32 3.2.4 Reflection 33 3 D e s c r ip t io n o f t h e s u b j e c t s 33 The students 33 D e s c r ip t io n o f d a t a c o l l e c t io n i n s t r u m e n t 33 Questionnaire 33 VI CHAPTER DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIO N 36 D a t a c o l l e c t e d b e f o r e a c t i o n p l a n 4.1.1 Students ’ attitudes towards English grammar learning 36 4.1.2 Students ’purpose in learning grammar 37 4.1.3 Students ' attitudes towards grammar lessons 38 4.1.4 Students 'preference to ways o f grammar teaching 41 4.1.5 Students ’ attitudes towards some written grammar practice activities 42 4.1.6 The reasons fo r students ’ attitudes towards written grammar practice activities 46 F i n d i n g s f r o m t h e i n i t i a l r e s u l t s P l a n o f a c t i o n 4.3.1 The aim o f the action plan 49 4.3.2 The action plan procedures 49 4 R e s u l t s f r o m p o s t - t r e a t m e n t q u e s t i o n n a i r e 4.4.1 Students’ attitudes towards grammar lessons 50 4.4.2 Students ’preference to grammar practice activities in general 53 4.4.3 Students ’ attitudes towards some oral grammar practice activities 54 4.4.4 The reasons fo r students’ attitudes towards oral grammar practice activities 58 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 61 M a j o r f i n d i n g s a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s 61 C o n c l u s i o n REFERENCES .65 APPENDIX 1: A SAMPLE LESSON P L A N 68 APPENDIX 2: GRAMMAR ACTIVITIES USED IN THE SAMPLE LESSO N 71 APPENDIX 3: LEARNER QUESTIONNAIRE 74 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter contains sections The first section will be the background of the study Aims of the study and research questions are in the second section The third section is scope and significance of the study Organization of the thesis is presented in the last section 1.1 Background to the study The place o f grammar in the teaching of English is considered bone o f a body because of the fact that grammar is sometimes defined as the way words are put together to make correct sentences (Harmer, 1991) According to Ur ( l 988, p.4) “There is no doubt that a knowledge of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery o f a language You cannot use words unless you know how they should be put together” So teachers, after their grammar presentation, usually ask learners to practice so that they can understand grammar structures The aim o f grammar practice is to get learners to learn the structures so thoroughly that they will be able to produce them correctly on their own At National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE), English is taught as a compulsory subject for all students o f all faculties Because o f job characteristics o f an engineer, students of NUCE are equipped English as a tool so that they can read and understand specific documents about constructions For this reason, the English program in NUCE focuses on teaching English grammar in order to help students understand English documents used at their jobs Lifelines Pre-Intermediate (Hutchinson, 1998) and English for architecture and building construction (Cumming, 1997) are English textbooks used at NUCE Our students have to learn English for semesters (equals 210 periods) including semesters of general English (GE), teaching in 150 periods- learning Lifelines Pre-Intermediate, and semester with 60 periods for teaching English for specific purpose (ESP) - English for architecture and building construction textbook So the two first semesters are spent on providing students English grammar rules and grammar structures The third semester provides students vocabulary of construction and buildings Grammar is a necessary and G arder, R (1985) Language A ttitudes R ow ley, MA: N ew bury House H a Thi Lan (2003) Im proving English m ajor students’ oral com m unication skills through pair and group com m unicative activities U npublished M A Thesis Hanoi U niversity H arm er, J (1987) Teaching and Learning G rammar N ew York: Longm an Publishing H arm er, J (1991) The practice o f English language teaching Longm an Publishing N ew York: H utchinson, T (1998) Lifelines P re-Interm ediate O xford U niversity Press K em m is, S and M e Taggart, R (1988) The Action Research Planner (3rd edition) G eelong, Victoria: D eakin U niversity Press K riege, D ( 2005) Teaching ESL V ersus EFL: Principles and Practices English Teaching Forum , Vol 4312 R etrieved in D ecem ber, 2007 from the W orld W ide W eb: http://exchanges.state.gov/forum /vols/vol43/no2/p8.htm La Thi Thanh Hai (2007) Students’ attitudes tow ards gram m ar learning: an experim ent to the first- year students at M ilitary Science Academ y U npublished M A Thesis H anoi U niversity L arsen-Freem an, D (2005) Teaching Language: From G ram m ar to G ram m aring Beijing: Foreign L anguage Teaching and R esearch Press L ightbrow n, P.M & Spada, N (1999) H ow Languages are Learned Oxford: O xford U niversity Press M unby, J (1979) C om m unicative Syllabus D esign C am bridge: CUP N eu, H and R eeser, T.W (1997) P arle-m oi un peu!: Inform ation Gap Activities fo r B eginning French Classes Boston: H einle& H einle N guyen Q uynh Giao (2002) A pplying com m unicative m ethods to teaching gram m ar: an experim ent at V ietnam N ational U niversity- College o f Foreign Languages U npublished M A Thesis, V N U -C FL N unan, D (1992) Research M ethods in Language Learning Cam bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press N unan, D (1999) Second H einle& H einle Language 66 Teaching a nd Learning Boston: N unan, D (2007) P ractical English Language Teaching: Grammar H igher Education Press Peacock, M (1997) The Effect o f A uthentic M aterials on the M otivation o f EFL L earners E L T Journal, Volume 51/2 Pintrich, P R, & Schunk, D H (1996) M otivation in Education: Theory, Research and Applications Englew ood Cliffs: NJ: Prentice-Hall R aptou, V (2002) U sing inform ation-gap activities in the Second language classroom Canada: C anadian A ssociation o f Second Language Teachers R etrieved in N ovem ber, 2007 from the W orld W ide W eb: http://w w w caslt org Richards, J.C & R odgers, T.S (2001) Approaches and M ethods in Language Teaching C am bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press Richards, J.C (1985) The Context C am bridge U niversity Press o f Language Teaching Cam bridge: Richards, J.C et al (1993) Longm an D ictionary o f Language Teaching a nd A pplied Linguistics Singapore: Longm an Singapore Publisher R ivers, V.M & Tem perley, M.S (1991) A P ractical Guide to The Teaching o f E nglish as a Second or Foreign Language Oxford: O xford U niversity Press U r, P (1988) G ram m ar Practice Activities G reat Britain: C am bridge U niversity Press U r, P (1996) A C ourse in Language U niversity Press Teaching Cam bridge: C am bridge W allace, M J (1998) Action Research f o r Language Teachers Cam bridge: C am bridge U niversity Press W illiam s, M B (1997) Psychology f o r Language constructivist view: C am bridge U niversity Press 67 Teachers: a social APPENDIX 1: A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN Teacher’s name: Lesson: Unit 5: Comparison Level: Pre- Intermediate Class: 53TL1 Time allowance: periods- 135 minutes • Aim of teaching: To practice comparative adjectives • Objectives of teaching: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to: + Reinforce comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs + Know how to make logical and grammatical sentences + Improve students’ speaking skill through discussing the related topic • Teaching reference: + Lifelines Pre- Intermediate, Unit • Teaching aids: + Chalk, board + Textbook + Handouts + Visual aids • Stage Teaching procedures: Introduction, Presentation, Practice and Time Closure (Teacher and Student’s Activities) (Minute) A T h e fir s t p e r io d Introduction (W arm ing-up) + Teacher (T) and Students (Ss) greet each other + T shows Ss a photo of a family to elicit Ss to make comparison o f members in this family + T introduces the lesson and writes the title “Unit 5: Comparisons” on the board 10 Presentation and Practice Presentation + T writes down one of Ss’ sentences they have just produced on the board + T ask Ss to review the form o f comparative 68 Aids Textbook, chalk, board and visual aid (Photo) Textbook, chalk, board adjective and writes on the board + T points out to Ss that comparative are derived from adjectives or adverbs Single syllable comparatives (e.g., short) end in -e r (shorter), while words o f two or more syllables (e.g., beautiful) remain the same and may be preceded by the words more (more beautiful) + After a brief explanation, T gives the Ss activities to practice P ractice 15 Activity 1: Comparing pictures + T asks Sts to compare two pictures, which have some theme in common such as people, houses, animals (see sample o f pictures in appendix 2) + T asks Ss to work in pairs to exchange their ideas + T gets the answers from individuals around the class + T elicits Ss’ answer and gives feedback, then moves to next activity Activitv 2: Circle comparison 15 + T links activity to activity + T asks Ss to work in pairs and gives each pair a copy o f a worksheet + T asks Ss to make comparison sentences with the words on the worksheet to compare some activities, entertainment, animals and transport vehicles + T encourages Ss and finishes the activity + T checks the Ss’ understanding by asking them to answer the questions 10 B T h e sec o n d p e r io d After the short break, Ss continue with the lessons + T gives more time for Ss to finish activity Activitv 3: Group work 25 + T links activity to activity + T divides the class into small groups Each group consists o f members + T gives Ss more chance to give the comparison with the topic (comparison of the city and country) + T goes around the class to monitor and provides help if necessary + Ss discuss in groups in about 10 minutes + The group in turn stands up and presents some 10 69 Textbook, chalk, board and visual aid (Pictures) Textbook, chalk, board and visual aid Board, chalk sentences in their discussion to the whole class + T listens to Ss, gives feedback as well as encouragement and finishes the activity C T h e th ird p erio d After the short break, Ss continue with the lessons + T ask Ss to exercises in the textbook then check the answer with the whole class C losure + T revises the lesson + T gives Ss homework + T closes the lesson by thanking and saying goodbye 70 40 Board, chalk APPENDIX 2: GRAMMAR ACTIVITIES USED IN THE SAMPLE LESSON 71 f 72 Activity 2: Circle com parisons macaroni ice c r e a m apples yoghurt salt water curry fish lion boots coat spider dress shirt hat w atch um brella snake cat mouse fly fish jeans man reading hairdresser s w im m in g sleeping w atch in g T V eating driving dancing b u s-driver h ou sew ife secretary pilot teacher m ech an ic stu dying doctor field car wood city river village sea train spaceship ship lake m o u n tain plane bicycle skis su b m arin e 73 APPENDIX 3: LEARNER QUESTIONNAIRE I Pre- treatment questionnaire The purpose of this questionnaire is to investigate students’ attitudes towards English grammar in general and grammar practice activities in particular All information will be confidential You not have to provide your name in this survey Your response is greatly appreciated Thank you very much for your cooperation! In your opinion, grammar learning is: Please tick the appropriate answer a Very important b Important c Not very important d Not important at all Your purpose of learning grammar is : Number the statements 1, and with 1: The most important and 3: The least important a To get good marks in the exams b To read and translate ESP materials better c To communicate better (in both oral and written form) d Others (Please specify): Do you like grammar lessons? Choose A or B that is true about you A Yes, I Because Number the statements 1, and with 1: The most important and 3: The least important a Practice activities (such as completing the sentences, filling in the blank, sentence transformation) are similar to exam tasks 74 b Practice activities help students improve basic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) c Final English exams focus on grammar d Other ideas (specify): B No, I don V Because: a Practice activities are too difficult b Practice activities are too easy c Practice activities are too boring d Other ideas (specify): Which o f these ways o f teaching grammar you like? Number the statements 1, and with : like the most and : like the least a The teacher explains grammar rules, then lets students practice and exercises in the course book b The teacher gives examples containing grammar rules, next elicits those rules from students, and then asks students to apply those rules to doing exercises in the course book for practice phase c The teacher gives examples containing grammar rules, elicits those rules from the students, next confirms the rules, explains if necessary, then asks students to apply those rules to doing exercises in the course book for practice phase What you think of these activities? Please tick 1, 2, or to show your opinion about these activities 5.1 Students write down their own examples containing new grammar rules and structures Very boring Boring Interesting 75 Very interesting 5.2 Using the words and phrases given to build a complete sentence (e.g.: Students write the questions and answers, using new grammar rules and structures, for some information in the text) Very boring Boring Interesting Very interesting 5.3 Putting the words (Preposition, the right verb form ) in the box given to complete the paragraph Very boring Boring Interesting Very interesting 5.4 Rewriting the sentences, using the words given in such a way that the meanings remain unchanged Very boring Boring Interesting Very interesting 5.5 Choosing the words or phrases given that best completes the sentences Very boring Boring Interesting Very interesting Do you like the above activities? Choose A or B that is true about you A Yes, I Because: Number the statements 1, and with 1: the most important and 3: the least important a By participating in grammar practice activities, I feel relaxed b I better and feel confident in grammar learning c Other ideas (specify): B No, I don't Because: a Grammar practice activities put pressure on students b I don’t feel confident when taking part in grammar lessons c Other ideas (specify): 76 II Post-treatment questionnaire The purpose of this questionnaire is to investigate students’ attitudes towards English grammar in general and grammar practice activities in particular All information will be confidential You not have to provide your name in this survey Your response is greatly appreciated Thank you very much for your cooperation! In your opinion, grammar learning is: Please tick the appropriate answer a Very important b Important c Not very important d Not important at all Your purpose of learning grammar is : Number the statements 1, and with 1: The most important and 3: The least important a To get good marks in the exams b To read and translate ESP materials better c To communicate better (in both oral and written form) d Others (Please specify): Do you like grammar lessons? Choose A or B that is true about you B Yes, I Because Number the statements 1, and with 1: The most important and 3: The least important a Practice activities (such as pair-work, group-work, comparing pictures, brain storming, chains of events) are interesting b Practice activities help students improve basic skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) 77 c Practice activities make students more concentrate on the lessons, so they get the rules and new structures easily d Other ideas (specify): B No, I don't Because: a Practice activities are too boring b Practice activities are too easy c Practice activities are too difficult for students to get the rules and new structures, so they make students less concentrate on the lessons d Other ideas (specify): Which you prefer, a or b? a The teacher asks students to written practice activities (such as completing the sentences, filling in the blank, sentence transformation) in the textbook b The teacher gives students various activities for practicing new grammar rules and structures (e.g.: role plays, games, discussion ) What you think of these activities? Please tick 1, 2, or to show your »pinion about these activities 5.1 Brain storming- use of will to express future action (All the class except one student {the guesser) look at a picture The guesser must guess what the picture is by asking th e class a number o f questions The answers to the questions will help lim/her guess what the picture is about) I Very boring Boring Interesting Very interesting 5.2 Com paring pictures (The teacher asks students to compare or pictures of :ities, using new grammar structures) Very Iboring Boring Interesting 78 Very interesting 5.3.; Building around (Students work in group o f five One student begins with a sentitrence in the true present, each student builds on the story by taking the result of the r previous sentence and turning it into an if-clause) W tery boring Boring Interesting Very interesting 5.4 'Chains of events (Use o f conditional to describe results o f actions: The teacher diviricdes students into small group of 4.One member from each group starts with one if clauusse, similar to those suggested for the previous activity) Vv^ery boring Boring Interesting Very interesting 5.5 JPiling up events (The teacher gives each student a verb in the past tense such as “sat’f ” or “stood”, then start a simple chain o f events with the sentence: Yesterday I wennv to town The first student continues, repeating this sentence but adding a further clauusse including his or her verb: Yesterday I went to town, I sat on a park bench The secoomd continues likewise W eery boring Boring Interesting Very interesting I E)o you like the above activities? Choose A or B that is true about you A YYess, I Because: Nunmiber statements 1, and with 1: the most important and 3: the least impoo)rtant a B\Jy/ participating in grammar practice activities, I feel relaxed b I c dlo better and feel confident in grammar learning c OOtlher ideas (specify): B NWm, I don't Because: a Gnrrammar practice activities put pressure on students b I c ddon’t feel confident when taking part in grammar lessons c OOtlher ideas (specify): 79 APPENDIX 1: A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN Teacher’s name: Lesson: Unit 5: Comparison Level: Pre- Intermediate Class: 53TL1 Time allowance: periods- 135 minutes • Aim of teaching: To practice comparative adjectives • Objectives of teaching: At the end o f the lesson, students will be able to: + Reinforce comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs + Know how to make logical and grammatical sentences + Improve students’ speaking skill through discussing the related topic • Teaching reference: + Lifelines Pre- Intermediate, Unit • Teaching aids: + Chalk, board + Textbook + Handouts + Visual aids • Stage Teaching procedures: Introduction, Presentation, Practice and Time Closure (Teacher and Student’s Activities) (Minute) A T h e fir st p e r io d Introduction (W arm ing-up) + Teacher (T) and Students (Ss) greet each other + T shows Ss a photo of a family to elicit Ss to make comparison o f members in this family + T introduces the lesson and writes the title “Unit 5: Comparisons” on the board 10 Presentation and Practice Presentation + T writes down one o f Ss’ sentences they have just produced on the board + T ask Ss to review the form o f comparative 68 Aids Textbook, chalk, board and visual aid (Photo) Textbook, chalk, board ...m MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY NGUYEN QUYNH GIANG MOTIVATING ENGLISH LEARNERS TO LEARN GRAMMAR: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Submitted... 2009 m STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled "M otivating English learners to learn grammar: An Action Research at National University o f Civil Engineering? ?? and submitted in... to complete my dissertation I would like to express my appreciation to the administrators and m y colleagues o f English Division at National University o f Civil Engineering for their constant