MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI LAN ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ACTIVITIES USED TO TEACH ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO CHILDREN AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN QUANG TRACH DISTRICT, QUANG BINH PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI LAN ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ACTIVITIES USED TO TEACH ENGLISH GRAMMAR TO CHILDREN AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN QUANG TRACH DISTRICT, QUANG BINH PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG NGOC THUY, Dr. HUE, 2016 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGUYỄN THỊ LAN ANH NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐƯỢC SỬ DỤNG ĐỂ DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH BẬC TIỂU HỌC TẠI HUYỆN QUẢNG TRẠCH, TỈNH QUẢNG BÌNH LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN QUANG NGỌC THÚY HUẾ, 2016 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Nguyen Thi Lan Anh Date: December 19, 2016 i ABSTRACT This study aims to explore the classroom activities used to teachEnglish grammar to primary school pupils in Quang Trach District of Quang Binh Province. The study particularly seeks to identify the teachers‟ choice of classroom activities andcriteria for choosing classroom activities and to describe the difficulties that the teachers encounter in applying classroom activities in teaching English grammar for primary school pupils. The data were collected by means of questionnaires, class observations and interviews. The results show the most preferred classroom activities by the teachers wereTalking with children activities for noticing stage; Language games for structuring stage; Role playing and simulations for proceduralizing stage and Explicit teacher talk for introducing metalanguage to young learners.
In the connection, the results from class observations and interviews show the majority of the teachers were able to conduct classroom activities effectively and the most common problems met by the teachers when applying activities in classrooms was students‟ shyness; dominated students; losing control of class and managing students‟ understanding of the knowledge conveyed in the lesson. Based on the practical values of classroom activities for Grammar teaching, suggestions for promoting classroom activities in an English class at primary level are offered. ii First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my respected supervisor, who offered me a great deal of valuable suggestions, guidance as well as precious references at every stage of the study. Secondly, I would like to thank all of the primary school teachers in Quang Trach district of Quang Binh province for providing me with data necessary for my research.
Last but not least, I would like to extend my gratefulness to my family, my friends and many others who continuously offer spiritual support and encouragement during the process of doing this study. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES.
viii CHAPTER ONE .1 Rationale of the study .2 Aims and objectives .4 Scope of the study .5 Significance of the study .6 Structure of the thesis .1 Definition of young learners .3 Characteristic of young learners. How to teach English to young learners .1 Definition of grammar .2 Grammar teaching approaches .3 Procedure of grammar teaching .4 Factors affecting grammar teaching and learning.5 The role of grammar in teaching English to young learners at primary school.4 Activities in Teaching English Grammar to Young Learners in Primary School.2 Types of classroom activities .4 The activities for presenting meta-language .3 The criteria of a good classroom activity.5 Previous related studies .4 Data Collection Instruments .34 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Findings from the Questionnaires .2 Teacher‟s experience in teaching English grammar at primary school .a Teachers‟ perception about teaching English grammar to young learners.b Teachers‟ commonly-used of classroom activities in teaching English grammar.c Teachers‟ criteria of choosing activities for grammar teaching .d Teachers‟ implementation of classroom activities in teaching English grammar.e Teachers‟ sources of classroom activities .f Teachers‟ difficulties when teaching English grammar to young learners. Findings from class observation. Findings from interviews .1 Discussion about the respondents‟ profile .2 The discussion about the research questions.
According to what criteria are the activities chosen to teach English grammar by the primary school teachers?. What difficulties do the teachers encounter in using teaching activities in teaching English grammar? .62 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary and Implications on Teaching. Summary of major findings.
Implications on teaching English grammar through the use of classroom activities .3 Implications for administrator.3 Limitations of the study.4 Suggestions for Further Studies .68 vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3.1 Participants‟ demographic information.2 Teachers‟ perception about English grammar .3 Teachers‟ implementation of classroom activities in teachingEnglish grammar .4 Teachers‟ feedbacks on the Lesson without Classroom activities .5 Teachers‟ use of classroom activities in English grammar lesson Grade 4. Teachers‟ use of classroom activities in English grammar lessonGrade 5 .1 Frequency of noticing activities .2 Frequency of structuring activities .3 Frequency of proceduralizing activities .4 Frequency of introducing metalanguage activities .5 Teachers‟ criteria for choosing classroom activities for grammar lesson .6 Teachers‟ assessment toward grammar activities in textbook .7 Sources of classroom activities .8 Teachers‟ difficulties when teaching English grammar to young learners .44 viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study It is generally acknowledged that English grammar plays an important role in language learning. English grammar is considered as the core thread of the language syllabus by many teachers and many course books are designed according to grammatical criteria. The importance of grammar to English learners was asserted by Larsen-Freeman (1991) who defines grammar instruction as enabling language students to use linguistic forms accurately, meaningfully and appropriately because “by understanding grammar we can make words effective and become master of our own communicative environment” (Rutherford, 1987, p.
Especially to young learners, who has different characteristics from adolescent and adult learners, English grammar “indeed holds an important position in children‟s foreign language learning” (Cameron, 2001, p. 96) since it is intimately related to meaning and use of the language and closely associated with vocabulary. In Vietnam, due to the overall economic reform exercising the open-door policy in 1986, English has been considered the number one foreign language to be taught at school. Before that time, Vietnamese teachers of English teaching grammar relied mostly on heavy drilling and repetition of structures which was not effective to increase learners‟ ability to use the language to communicate.
After a very long time of reforming and renovating the teaching of English by using teaching methods from other countries, grammar teaching has been changed. It has been moved from forms-focused instruction to meaning-focused instruction (Nassaji & Fotos, 2011) which asserts that knowledge of a language not only lies in knowing the grammatical forms of that language, but also of knowing how to use them appropriately in different communication contexts. Especially when Communicative Language Teaching is widely applied, there is no room for heavy drill and repetition but grammar lessons are conducted in a variety of different ways that students can engage in interactive activities. Nevertheless, some of these are more suitable for certain learners than others so the grammar learning result varies among learners.
Thus, much research is needed to identify what happens in English 1 language classroom in Vietnam so that further action can take place to improve the quality of teaching and learning English in general and English grammar in specific. Hence, the aim of the present study is to identify the activities used in teaching English grammar in Vietnamese primary schools along with the problems faced. Besides, this research also aims at investigating difficulties in teaching grammar to young learners and making some suggestions for improvement.2 Aims and objectives 1.1 Aims The goal of this research is to present the current situation of teaching and learning English grammar at some primary schools in Quang Trach district of Quang Binh province. Moreover, the research aims at facilitating teachers by providing the criteria of choosing the best suitable activities for teaching English grammar to young learners at primary schools, which are the results of an analysis of related factors.2 Objectives The study proposes the objectives as follows: - To find out the most common teaching activities used by the English language teachers to teach English grammar to primary school children; - To collect the criteria which the teachers base on to choose the suitable activities for English grammar teaching; - To describe the difficulties that the teachers encounter in teaching English grammar for primary school students and their solutions.3 Research questions The study aims to answer the following research questions: 1.
What activities are used to teach English grammar at primary school? 2. According to what criteria are the activities chosen to teach English grammar by the primary school teachers? 3. What difficulties do the teachers encounter in using teaching activities to teach English grammar? 2 1.4 Scope of the study This study is conducted with grade 4 and 5 students and EFL teachers in 20 primary schools at Quang Trach district, Quang Binh province. It mainly focuses on the activities that are used to teach grammar points in English 4 and 5 textbooks and on investigating the ways the teachers use the activities to support students‟ learning.
Besides, in this study, some solutions to the ongoing problems related to the grammar acquisition through the use of teaching activities will be put forward. The research survey takes place on a small scale and limited to 20 primary schools in Quang Trach district of Quang Binh province during the academic year 2015- 2016.5 Significance of the study With the objectives mentioned above, this study hopefully can bring some contributions as follows: In theory: The result of this research may contribute to modifying theories that focus on foreign language teachers‟ perception and practice of some grammar teaching activities. In practice: It may develop language teachers‟ perception and practice on the use of some grammar teaching activities for primary school children.6 Structure of the thesis The thesis is organized into five chapters: Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION, states the rationale for the research, and some considerations about the aims, the research questions, the scope, the significance, and the organization of the research. Chapter 2, LITERATURE REVIEW, concerns with some theoretical knowledge related to the research.
A statement of unsolved problems is also mentioned in this chapter Chapter 3, METHODOLOGY, mentions the research design, method, data collection, procedures and data analysis. Chapter 4, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION, describes and discusses: + The activities used to teach English grammar to young learners; 3 + The criteria of choosing activities to teach English grammar to primary school children; + The difficulties the teachers encounter in using teaching activities in teaching English grammar and suggestions to promote the application of teaching activities to teach English grammar to students at primary schools in Quang Trach district. Chapter 5, CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS, is the conclusion of what has been found and discussed with some implications suggested in teaching and learning English grammar. 4 CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview In this chapter, the definition and characteristics of young learners at primary school are presented.
Moreover, some notions of teaching and learning grammar will be provided. The significance of grammar teaching and learning and the factors that affect the teaching of English grammar to young learners are discussed.