THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– NGO THI PHUONG USING MIND-MAP TO DEVELOP GRAMMATICAL MEMORIZATION COMPETENCE FOR GRADE 9 STUDENTS AT TAM DA LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL, BAC NINH PROVINCE (Sử dụng sơ đồ tư duy để cải thiện khả năng ghi nhớ ngữ pháp cho học sinh lớp 9 trường THCS Tam Đa, Tỉnh Bắc Ninh) M. THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN – 2022 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– NGO THI PHUONG USING MIND-MAP TO DEVELOP GRAMMATICAL MEMORIZATION COMPETENCE FOR GRADE 9 STUDENTS AT TAM DA LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL, BAC NINH PROVINCE (Sử dụng sơ đồ tư duy để cải thiện khả năng ghi nhớ ngữ pháp cho học sinh lớp 9 trường THCS Tam Đa, Tỉnh Bắc Ninh) M. THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION) Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Dang Thi Thu Huong, PhD THAI NGUYEN – 2022 DECLARATION I certify that the minor thesis entitled Using mind – maps to develop grammatical memorization competence for grade 9 students at Tam Da Lower Secondary school, Bac Ninh province is my own study in the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Foreign Language Faculty, Thai Nguyen University. Thai Nguyen, 2022 Approved by Supervisor Student Dang Thi Thu Huong, PhD Ngo Thi Phuong i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my gratefulness to my supervisor, Dr.
Dang Thi Thu Huong for the enthusiastic guidance she gave me while I was doing this thesis. I am thankful for her ideas, suggestions, instructions, deep comments, and constant support. Without these, I could not have been completed my research. Many special thanks are sent to all the lecturers and organizers of the Master‟s course at Thai Nguyen University.
I would like to thank all my friends, my colleagues for their help, my colleagues, and my students in my school who were taking part in my research for their great cooperation. Finally, I would like to thank all the members of my family, who continuously encouraged and supported me to complete this thesis. ii ABSTRACT With the hope to investigate the difficulties when teachers teach English grammar and the effectiveness of using mind-maps in teaching and learning English grammar at Tam Da Lower Secondary School, the research aimed at finding our the challenges that the teacher faced when teaching grammar, and whether mind-maps could help students memorize English grammar better. To find the answer to the above questions, experimental research was carried out.
The methods of the research were carefully considered to combine qualitative and quantitative methods to carry out a theoretical and practical study. The subjects of the research were 70 grade 9 students at Tam Da Lower Secondary School. A combination of research instruments (grammar pre-test and post-test, questionnaire, lessons using mind- maps to teach grammar) was employed to elicit the data. The analysis of the pre- data showed that most of the students had low levels of English grammar.
A questionnaire was delivered to students for further understanding about their difficulties as well as their opinions toward learning English grammar and learning English grammar using mind-maps. Lessons using mind-maps in teaching English grammar were conducted to the experiment class afterward, followed by a post-test to both classes. The data was collected and analyzed and discussed so that implications for teachers and students were given. Recommendations for students, teachers, school managers, academic leaders, and educational institutions were mentioned for further achievements in English learning.
iii TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION. iii TABLE OF CONTENT. iv LIST OF TABLES. vi LIST OF FIGURES.
vii CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION. Aims of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the study.
Structure of the study .5 CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW. Grammar and grammar learning. Definitions of grammar. Challenges of learning and using grammar by EFL students.
Method of English grammar teaching for lower secondary graders. Definitions of mind-map. The functions of mind-map. Development and usage of mind-map.
Advantages of mind-map .14 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY. Method of research. Data collection instruments .2 Data collection procedure.1 Test result analysis .24 CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION .2 The students‟ scores in post-test .34 CHAPTER V: IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION. Implications for teachers.
Implications for students. Limitations of the study & suggestion for future studies. I v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.2: Experiment site‟s classes information .1: Students‟ scores in the pre-test .2: Students‟ scores in the post-test.3: Students‟ survey result (1) .4: Students‟ survey result (2) .30 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Basic English grammar .2: Basic English grammar examples .1: Students‟ scores in the pre-test vs post-test .27 vii CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Foreign languages, especially English, are very important today.
English not only helps us acquire advanced science and technology in the world but also helps us to acquire the cultural quintessence of humankind. In addition, it is a bridge of peace and friendship between countries around the world, helping people understand each other better and friendlier. Today, people all over the world are trying to find ways to improve their English (British Council, 2013). However, not everyone who learns English tries so hard to become successful, a lot of learners have left it halfway, even though their English level is not so low.
Learning a foreign language that is not one‟s native language can always be difficult, so learning English or any other language requires good motivation. To help students understand the importance and benefits of learning English, and to give them some additional motivation, it is necessary to give some reasons for convincing themselves. The current educational goals are to educate students to develop comprehensively, full of the knowledge of natural sciences and social sciences in which foreign language is an indispensable subject and the goal of learning. Foreign language is for communication, so students need to meet the skills to make good communication, in which grammar skills cannot be taken lightly in communication (Governmental Portal, 2007).
At the elementary level (grades 3-5), teaching English helps students to initially formulate and develop their communication skills through four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, focusing more on two oral skills. At the secondary school level, the teaching of English continues to help students form and develop their communication skills, and at the same time developing students' thinking and understanding skills about cultures and societies of different countries (Bao Moi, 2017). Thus, foreign languages generally and English particularly is an essential tool to assist students in accessing the world. English comes to support them to have comprehensive views around the world as well as a deeper understanding of the culture and society of their people.
1 The content of teaching English in general education curriculum is designed with a multi-component structure, including a system of general topics, and specific topics, communication competencies related to content; and a catalog of language knowledge (phonetics, meaning, etc. Cultural content is taught integrated and combined in the system of topics and meaning. About the point system: the content of the English language education curriculum is built on the topics suitable to each level of education (Dalton-Puffer, 2011). The topics are closely related and designed to be repeated throughout the school year in each grade, in a spiral concentric direction to strengthen and develop students' communication skills, especially grammar skills.
The names of the topics can be changed according to the grade level to meet the needs, demands, interests of students as well as the requirements of forming and developing the qualities and competencies necessary for learners. Over the years of applying the innovative method of teaching English at secondary school with the book replacement program, there have been many teachers who have experienced creative initiatives to actively serve the teaching of English subject and for each with their skills (Lie, 2007). In the process of applying teaching with a new method to meet the requirements of the new general education curriculum, the researcher has always been thinking about a suitable method that enables to evoke more active and creative learning for grade 9 students. A teaching method appropriately applied may improve the quality of English teaching as well as students‟ learning results.
It is undeniable that English grammar is an essential part of learning English because it is an effective complementary foundation to develop oral and written skills. To master English skills, learners need to prepare themselves with a basic foundation of English grammar. When answering the survey question of whether English grammar is really necessary, some learners think that English grammar is only important for teachers, for language experts, and not so much in conversation and communication. This is incorrect (Al-Tamimi, 2014).
Grammar for any language is important. Grammar is the foundation for speakers to express thoughts, which is a piece to help people express an accurate, clear, and understandable 2 message. Grammar is the rules of a language, so it is highly normative (Jackendoff, Foundations of language: Brain, meaning, grammar, evolution, 2002). If grammar is the material for communication, grammar can be considered as the backbone to help sentences work smoothly.
According to linguistics, grammar is a collection of linguistic elements such as structures of sentences, phrases, clauses, etc. arranged in rules and order to form a complete and meaningful sentence (Longacre, 1996). If one violates this, simply need a sentence without a semicolon or semicolon is misplaced, the meaning of the sentence immediately vague, unclear thus, readers will read it again and again and then have to predict to understand the meaning of the sentence. In communication, a grammatical expression will make the conversation more interesting and exciting.
No one likes to talk to a person who has to interrupt the conversation to ask what he or she wants to talk about. Therefore, in communication, poor grammar will cause discomfort, bringing bad emotions to the opposite person (Guide to Grammar, 2020). At the secondary level in Bac Ninh province, English is no longer just an extracurricular subject but has become an extremely important compulsory subject. Looking back on their 12 years of study, many students who had poor English regretted that if they had paid more attention to this subject, surely their knowledge would have been more successful in their careers.
Almost all the English exams including semester exams, transfer, and university entrance exams mainly focus on grammar. Hence, English teaching and learning activities tend to be concentrated on systematizing grammar knowledge instead of practicing listening, speaking, reading, and writing. For the reasons, the researcher decided to take a study on using mind-map to develop grammatical memorization competence for grade 9 students at Tam Da Lower Secondary School, Bac Ninh province. Aims of the study This study aims to achieve the use of the mind-map technique to retain English grammar in English lessons for Tam Da Lower Secondary School in Bac Ninh Province.
The study is aimed to introduce and provide the knowledge as well as the practical approach of mind-map technique in teaching and learning English grammar for the 9th graders at Tam Da Lower Secondary School in Bac Ninh. 3 Two main research questions are based on the aims of the study as follow: (1) What difficulties do students face before using mind-map in learning English grammar? (2) Does the mind-map help students memorize English grammar better? 1. Scope of the study The scope of the study is limited to the exploration of the impacts and influences of mind-map technique on the student‟s memory of grammar within the context of English subject of 9th graders at Tam Da Lower Secondary School in Bac Ninh Province. 70 9th graders at Tam Da Lower Secondary School were selected as respondents of the study.
They were divided into two groups: controlled and experimental groups. Due to its aim and scope, the study was conducted during the school year of 2019-2020.