a study on students’ difficulties in learning english grammar communicatively in class 10a9 at cam khe high school and some suggested solutions

HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY
FACULITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

NGUYEN THI BICH HONG

A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING
ENGLISH GRAMMAR COMMUNICATIVELY IN CLASS
10A9 AT CAM KHE HIGH SCHOOL AND SOME
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

B.A GRADUATION PAPER
Field: English Teaching Methodology

Phu Tho, 2018


TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÙNG VƯƠNG
KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ

NGUYEN THI BICH HONG

A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING
ENGLISH GRAMMAR COMMUNICATIVELY IN CLASS
10A9 AT CAM KHE HIGH SCHOOL AND SOME
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS
Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn của việc học ngữ pháp qua đường hướng
giao tiếp của học sinh lớp 10A4 Trường THPT Cẩm Khê và đề xuất một số
giải pháp
B.A GRADUATION PAPER
Field: English Teaching Methodology

Supervisor: Nguyen Thanh Long, M.A

Phu Tho, 2018


i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am greatly indebted to so many people for the fulfillment of this study.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards
my supervisor, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long for his enthusiastic guidance, valuable
comments and suggestions on my doing thesis. Without these, my thesis would
not have been successfully completed
I am grateful to all the lecturers who have been teaching the K12 English
pedagogy course ± Hung Vuong University.
I would also like to thank teachers at Cam Khe High school for having
given me the chance to work with their students and all the students
participating in my study for their enthusiastic participation in the classroom
observation and completing the survey questionnaire.
Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my family, my
relatives and my friends for their support and encouragements during the
research process.

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


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ABSTRACT
The target of the study is to investigate the difficulties in learning English
grammar of the grade 10 students at Cam Khe high school. The results show that

students have the following difficulties: communicative grammar obstacles
related to VWXGHQWV¶ORZOHYHORI(QJOLVKSURILFLHQF\VWXGHQWV¶OHDUQLQJVW\OHDQG
XVLQJ PRWKHU WRQJXH SUREOHP WHDFKHU¶V LQVXIILFLHQW FRPPXQLFDWLYH
FRPSHWHQFH WHDFKHU¶V PLVFRQFHSWLRQ DERXW &/7 DQG LQDSSURSULDWH PHWKRG
multi-level classes, current testing system and lack of class time.
On the basis of the findings, some appropriate suggested solutions that can be
employed to encounter this problem including: Training and retraining teachers
in CLT; teachers' self-improvement of speaking competence; organizing extracurricuODU DFWLYLWLHV WR HQKDQFH VWXGHQWV¶ FRQILGHQFH DQG ZLOOLQJQHVV WR
FRPPXQLFDWHLQ(QJOLVKHQFRXUDJLQJVWXGHQWV¶SDUWLFLSDWLRQLQFODVVDFWLYLWLHV
LPSURYLQJVWXGHQWV¶(QJOLVKSURILFLHQF\

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


iii
LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS
CLT

Communicative language teaching

AM

Audio-lingual method

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ii
LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS ............................................................................... iii
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS .................................................................... vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1
1. Rationale............................................................................................................ 1
2. Research purpose............................................................................................... 2
3. Research questions ............................................................................................ 3
4. Previous studies ................................................................................................. 3
4.1. In the world .................................................................................................... 3
4.2 In Viet Nam...................................................................................................... 3
5. Research procedure ........................................................................................... 5
6. Research methods .............................................................................................. 5
7. Significance of the study ................................................................................... 6
8. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 6
9. Design of the study ............................................................................................ 6
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................. 8
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 8
1.1. Overview of grammar .................................................................................... 8
1.1.1. Definition of grammar................................................................................. 8
1.1.2. The importance of grammar...................................................................... 10
1.2 An overview on language teaching methods in teaching grammar. ............. 12
1.2.1 Deductive Approach ................................................................................... 13
1.2.2 Inductive Approach .................................................................................... 15
1.3. CLT on teaching grammar ........................................................................... 18
1.3.1. Communicative competence ...................................................................... 18
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


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1.3.2. Definition of CLT ...................................................................................... 18
1.3.3. Characteristics of CLT .............................................................................. 19
1.3.4. Stages in teaching grammar communicatively ......................................... 21
1.3.5 CLT techniques ........................................................................................... 23
1.4. Difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively ........................ 27
1.4.1. Difficulties in learning grammar .............................................................. 27
1.4.1.1 Internal Problems.................................................................................... 27
1.4.1.2 External Problems ................................................................................... 27
1.4.2 Difficulties in learning in CLT ................................................................... 28
1.4.2.1 Difficulties from teachers ........................................................................ 28
1.4.2.2 Difficulties from students ........................................................................ 29
1.4.3 Difficulties from objective factors .............................................................. 32
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 34
2.1. Participants ................................................................................................... 34
2.2. Overview of the English textbook................................................................ 35
2.3. The data collection instruments ................................................................... 36
2.3.1. Questionnaire for the students .................................................................. 36
2.3.1.1. Cause of choosing questionnaire ........................................................... 36
2.3.1.2. Questionnaire description ...................................................................... 36
2.3.2. The classroom observation ....................................................................... 37
2.3.2.1. Cause of choosing class observation ..................................................... 37
2.3.2.2. Observation description ......................................................................... 37
2.4. Data analysis method ................................................................................... 38
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 39
3.1 The results ..................................................................................................... 39
3.1.1. The result from questionnaire ................................................................... 39
3.1.2 The result from the observation ................................................................. 48
3.2. Discussion .................................................................................................... 49

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy

vi
3.2.1. Difficulties faced by the students in learning grammar and their
expectations ......................................................................................................... 49
7HDFKHU¶VUHODWHGIDFWRUVWKDWFDXVHGLIILFXOWLHVLQVWXGHQWV¶JUDPPDUOHDUQLQJ
............................................................................................................................. 50
3.3. Suggested solutions to enhance the efficiency of learning English grammar
for grade 10 students at Cam Khe High school. ................................................. 52
3.3.1. Training and retraining teachers in CLT .................................................. 52
3.3.2. Teachers' self-improvement of speaking competence ............................... 53
3.3.3. Organizing extra- FXUULFXODUDFWLYLWLHVWRHQKDQFHVWXGHQWV¶FRQILGHQFH
and willingness to communicate in English ........................................................ 53
(QFRXUDJLQJVWXGHQWV¶SDUWLFLSDWLRQLQFODVVDFWLYLWLHV ............................ 54
,PSURYLQJVWXGHQWV¶(QJOLVKproficiency .................................................. 54
3.3.6. Practising and revising ............................................................................. 55
PART C: CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 56
1.

Main finding ................................................................................................ 56

2.

Implication .................................................................................................. 56

3.

Limitations and suggestions for further study............................................. 57

$33(1',;678'(176¶6859(<48(67,211$,5( ............................... I

APPENDIX 2: OBSERVATION CHECKLIST FORM ..................................... V
APPENDIX 3: OBSERVATION FORM 1 ........................................................ VI
APPENDIX 4: OBSERVATION FORM 2 .................................................... VIII
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... X

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


vii
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS
x list of tables
Table 1: Advantages and disadvantages of the deductive approach to teaching
Grammar
Table 2: Advantages and disadvantages of the inductive approach to teaching
Grammar
7DEOH  6WXGHQWV¶ SHUVSHFWLYH RI WKH LPSRUWDQFH RI OHDUQLQJ (QJOLVK JUDPPDU
communicatively
Table 4 7KH VWXGHQWV¶ perspective of factors in their English communicative
grammar lessons
Table 5: 6WXGHQWV¶V YLHZSRLQW RI IDFWRUV causing obstacles in English
communicative grammar lessons
Table 6: Expectation for a better and more effective grammar lesson
x List of charts
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&KDUW  6WXGHQWV¶ YLHZSRLQWV RI OHYHO RI GLIILFXOW\ LQ FRPPXQLFDWLYH JUDPPDU
lessons
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structure in communication

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Nowadays, English is used in a majority of countries in the world, as it is
one of the most important languages for international communication. The
economic open- door policy pursued by the government of Vietnam has
increased a demand for studying English. Many people are expected to be
competent to communicate verbally with the outside world and to access
technology. In correspondence to this trend, in almost of schools, colleges,
universities, English is a compulsory subject.
Besides the aim of passing their exams and getting some further studies for their
future life, all students have a desire to be integrated into the culture, the
civilization, and the people of English speaking countries. They expect to have a
good knowledge of English to read books and magazines, to see films or to sing
English songs, etc. As a result, learning English now is not only an interest but
also a practical need for many people.
As in other countries, teachers of English in Vietnam are now using
Communicative Approach to teach English grammar to learners of all levels.
Language learning has moved from the traditional to a more communicative
approach. In this current approach, language is considered as a form of social
behavior. The objective of language learning is to communicate fluently,
appropriately and spontaneously in the cultural context of the target language.
Communicative competence, according to Canaled and Swain (1980), is made
up of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse
competence, and strategic competence. They hope to provide learners with a
means of communication, namely English which is vital for them to be
successful in their job and to fulfill their social demands in the time of

globalization. At Cam Khe High school, where the author studies, English is a
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


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compulsory subject in the curriculum and it is considered as a major subject for
the high school examination. It is taught with the purpose that students have
some basic knowledge of English in order to communicate and to use it as a key
to science and technology. However, there still exist many difficulties facing
English language teachers in Vietnam in general and English language teachers
at Cam Khe High school in particular in teaching grammar skills to students.
The teachers of English at Cam Khe High school find it difficult to teach
grammar successfully. In the teaching situations, the students usually keep quiet
in lessons. Certainly, there are many reasons for this. If those difficulties are not
found out and no solutions can be given, the grammar classes cannot be
successful and students will be fed up with learning English if they find it
worthless to study the subject.
For the above reasons, in this minor thesis, the researcher would like to
ILJXUHRXW³a study on students¶GLIILFXOWLHVLQOHDUQLQJ(QJOLVKJUDPPDU
communicatively in class 10A9 at Cam Khe High school and some
suggested solutions´DVWKHWLWOHIor the thesis in the hope that the researcher can
contribute a small part in helping her students and her colleagues to improve
their learning and teaching English especially in learning and teaching grammar
that they may need for further study, work or leisure.
2. Research purpose
This study intends to find out difficulties students are facing when learning
grammar. So, the focus will be:
x Determining the importance of grammar in English learning.
x Investigating difficulties students are facing when learning grammar

communicatively.
x The

causes

of

the

difficulties

in

learning

English

communicatively.
x Suggesting some possible solutions to those difficulties.

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy

grammar


3

3. Research questions
The research will find the answers for the following questions:
x What are the difficulties of the grade 10A9 students when they learn

English grammar communicatively?
x What are the solutions to improve their English grammar skill?
4. Previous studies
4.1. In the world
The study by Li Pei (2010) is a teaching experiment which aims at testing
the impact of context-based approach on teaching unreal conditional sentences
for freshmen majoring in English in Adult Education College of Soochow
University, China. The study was carried out from November 4th, 2008 to
January 7th, 2010. The data were collected via the questionnaire, the interview,
the pretest and the posttest and the final conclusion was: the use of contextEDVHG DSSURDFK KHOSHG WR LPSURYH VWXGHQWV¶ DZDUHQHVV DQG DWWLWXGHV WRZDUGV
JUDPPDU OHDUQLQJ DQG SURPRWHG VWXGHQWV¶ DFTXLVLWLRQ RI (QJOLVK JUDPPDU
learning strategies.
4.2 In Viet Nam
The teaching of grammar has always been a central aspect of foreign
language teaching. It has been the focus of language teachers and learners for
many years. Grammar is considered to be an indispensable factor which helps
people to use its language to communicate successfully. The importance of
grammar in general and grammar teaching in particular has been highly
appreciated and has been the focus of many studies up to now. Now I can give
some studies related to my research.
7KH ILUVW VWXG\ , ZDQW WR PHQWLRQ LV RQ WKH WKHPH ³$SSO\LQJ
communicative approach to grammar teaching and learning at Tran Phu gifted
KLJKVFKRRO´E\WKHDXWKRU3KDP7KL0DL$QKLQ2FWREHU7KHDWWHPSWVRI
WKLV VWXG\ DUH WR ILQG RXW WKH VWXGHQWV¶ DQG WHDFKHUV¶ DWWLWXGHV DV ZHOO DV WKHLU
preferences to grammar teaching and learning towards the communicative
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


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approach. Carrying out the study, the author hopes to find out how to teach and
learn grammar according to the communicative approach effectively and
successfully.
Another research that is about grammar named ³$GDSWLQJ PDWHULDOV IRU
teaching grammar in the light of CLT to first year students in electric power
FROOHJH´E\1JX\HQ7KL7KDQKLQ6HSWHPEHU7KLVVWXG\ZDVFRQGXFWHGWR
seek the answers to the questions of what techniques of adapting materials
should be used to teach grammar to first year students at EPC in the light of
CLT. Through what the author has done, she believes the teachers should know
how to combine materials of traditional approach like gap-filling, tenses etc,
with those of CLT approach. In other words, they should know how to balance
WKHVHPDWHULDOVWRVXLWWKHLUVWXGHQWV¶QHHGVDQGLQWHUHVWV
³$Q LQYHVWLJDWLRQ LQWR 9LHWQDPHVH XSSHU VHFRQGDU\ VFKRRO VWXGHQWV¶
DWWLWXGHV WRZDUGV JUDPPDU OHDUQLQJ DQG WHDFKLQJ´ ZDV FDUULHG RXW E\ 1JX\HQ
Thi Minh Hue in June, 2004. The aim of this study is to find out what attitudes
Vietnamese upper secondary school students hold towards grammar and
grammar learning especially with their styles preferences in an attempt to
narrow the gap between teaching styles and learning styles as a goal of learnercentreness in language education. Through this investigation, the author expects
that a blend of both traditional and communicative approaches to grammar could
be a good solution to the question of grammar teaching at the Vietnamese upper
secondary school.
In conclusion, how to teach grammar effectively and successfully is
always a big question not only to her but also to many other teachers at my
school, especially nowadays new textbooks used in all schools in our country
focus on not only grammar but also on other skills in the light of CLT. Learning
grammar, the teachers encounter some certain difficulties in comparison with
learning other skills. Being aware of this, the researcher has decided to choose
the topic on the learning of grammar for her thesis with the aim to find out the
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy

5

difficulties many students encounter when learning grammar communicatively
and some possible solutions to these problems. Furthermore, up to now there
have been no studies on this topic carried out at Cam Khe High school, the
school where she had the internship. All these above mentioned reasons have
inspired her WR FRQGXFW WKH VWXG\ DERXW ³$ VWXG\ RQ VWXGHQWV¶ Gifficulties in
learning English grammar communicatively in class 10A9 at Cam Khe high
VFKRRODQGVRPHVXJJHVWHGVROXWLRQV´The researcher hopes this would be taken
into consideration by the teachers at Cam Khe High school in particular and
teachers of English in general to make the periods more interesting and
motivating to students.
5. Research procedure
Firstly, reviewing the theoretical background related to grammar to get
the foundation for the study.
Secondly, the study will investigate the difficulties in learning English
grammar communicatively of the grade 10A9 students at Cam Khe high school.
Finally, the study will give some suggestions to help improve and
enhance the grammar for the grade 10A9 students.
6. Research methods
In order to accomplish this thesis systematically and adequately, some
research methods are used:
Theoretical study method: studying the related documents to give some
knowledge about grammar and some common difficulties in learning English
grammar communicatively.
Investigative and survey methods: Questionnaires and observation
Analysis method: from data got from many different materials related to
the topic, analyzing to get the final results.
Systematized method: many materials related, the researcher has to

systematize what she reads from materials. Moreover, the research has to
categorize the materials and her ideas to make study logical.
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


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7. Significance of the study
The study helps the researcher improve the knowledge about English
grammar, the difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively of grade
10A9 students, find out some solutions to improve the efficiency of teaching and
learning English grammar at high school.
It will be very helpful for the teachers of English in Cam Khe High
school as well as for English teachers to teach grammar effectively, and
motivate their learners in grammar classes. These suggestions also help students
who learn English improve their grammar and made language focus lessons
more communicative and meaningful.
8. Scope of the study
As could be seen from the title of the study, this paper strongly focuses on
investigating some difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively of
grade 10A9 students at Cam Khe High school and some suggested solutions.
9. Design of the study
The study consists of 3 parts, references.
Part A: INTRODUCTION
In this part, the researcher gives an overall introduction of the study about
rationale, research purpose, research questions, previous studies, research
procedure, research methods, significance of the study, scope of the study, and
design of the study.
Part B: MAJOR CONTENT
Chapter l: Literature review

In this part, the study presents general information about knowledge and
deals with the theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the study:
grammar, different views on English grammar teaching, the factors affecting on
VWXGHQWV¶ OHDUQLQJ JUDPPDU WKH GLIILFXOWLHV LQ OHDUQLQJ (QJOLVK JUDPPDU
communicatively.
Chapter2: Methodology
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


7

This chapter provides detailed information about the participants of the
study and details the tool for data collection that have been used and procedure
of conducting.
Chapter3: Data analysis and discussion
This chapter shows the detailed results together with a comprehensive
analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires, observation and
give the discussion. Then some suggestions will be given to help the grade 10
students improve their English grammar.
Part C: CONC LUSION
This part summarizes the major finding of the study, give implication of the
study for teachers of English, for students, for researcher, lists limitation of the
study, mentions suggestion for further research, and present conclusion.

Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


8

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the knowledge of grammar and CLT, the theories, factors
DIIHFWLQJ RQ VWXGHQWV¶ JUDPPDU OHDUQLQJ, and some difficulties in learning
English grammar communicatively will be presented.
1.1. Overview of grammar
1.1.1. Definition of grammar
Grammar is a linguistic term that has become popular among those who
are working in the field of language teaching in general and second/foreign
language teaching in particular. However, the question of what grammar is has
yielded so many different answers from linguists and grammarians.
According to Harmer (1983:1), grammar of the language is the
GHVFULSWLRQRI³Whe ways in which words change themselves and group together
WRPDNHVHQWHQFHV´7ZRH[DPSOHVDUHDOVRJLYHQWRLOOXVWUDWHIRUWKLVGHILQLWLRQ
the case of ³ZDON´ changes into ³ZDONHG´ to indicate the past tense and the case
of ³QRWPDQ\´ combines with the plural noun ³RUDQJHV´ to make a full sentence
like ³7KHUH DUH QRW PDQ\ RUDQJHV RQ WKH VKHOI´. Such view on grammar is
agreed by Ur (1988:4), Thornbury (1999:1), Crystal (1995) and Nunan
(2003:143). It can be seen that all these linguists describe grammar as a set of
rules that govern a language; however, they fail to ZRUNRXWZKDWWKH³UXOHV´DUH
Crystal (2002) holds a different view on grammar when he argues that
grammar should be studied in two senses: in the specific sense, grammar is
presented as just one branch of language structure, distinct from phonology and
semantics; in the general sense, grammar subsumes phonology and semantics.
Thus, if viewed from a broader sense, grammar involves both form and
meaning.
By way of contrast, from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
(QJOLVK 
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Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy

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VDPHLGHD8U
VWDWHVWKDW³JUDPPDUPD\EHURXJKOy defined as the way
a language manipulates and combines words (or bit of words) in order to form
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formation) and syntax (sentence formation) of a language. Clearly, grammar is
the element which makes up all words and structures in a sentence. It is a set of
rules which construct meaning and form of a sentence.
An alternative and more comprehensive definition of grammar is provided
by Widdowson (1988:151-2) in which grammar is viewed in terms of form,
meaning and function.
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the highest common factors of experience: it provides for communicative
HFRQRP\´
This definition shows a renovation in the view of grammar: grammar can
indicate meaning and grammar can communicate. Larsen-Freeman (2003)
shares her view on three dimensions of grammar teaching in which she insists
that grammar is not simply about accuracy of form but it relates to
meaningfulness and appropriateness as well. She also proposes a new definition
RI JUDPPDU WKDW ³JUDPPDULQJ
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pattern formation in language, which can be used by humans for making
meaning in context-DSSURSULDWH ZD\V´ /DUVHQ-Freeman, 2003:142). Following
this definition, grammar is no longer a set of static rules but a dynamic process
of pattern formation which is best explored in appropriate contexts.
From all above definitions, grammar is the system of structures in a

language. Grammar specifies rules for standard use of words and how their
component parts combine to form sentences. A grammar is also a system for
classifying and analyzing the elements of language including inflections,
functions, rules and relations in the sentence.
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


10

1.1.2. The importance of grammar
No one can deny the importance of grammar in a primary medium of
learning at all stages of education as well as in foreign language learning.
Teaching grammar has been a longstanding tradition in teaching a foreign
language. In recent years, the role of grammar in language teaching and learning
has received different interpretations. Traditional method like the grammar
translation one stressed the need to master grammar as the centerpiece in
learning foreign language whereas some expressed different against the teaching
grammar: ³7KHVWXG\RIJUDPPDULVQHLWKHUQHFHVVDU\QRUVXIIicient for learning
D ODQJXDJH´ (Brumfit and Johnson, H979). Therefore, there has been a great
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RU QRW" 'R ZH KDYH WR KDYH JUDPPDU H[HUFLVHV" ,VQ¶W LW EHWWHU IRU VWXGHQWV WR
absorb the rules intuitively through communicative activities than to be taught
througKVSHFLDOH[HUFLVHV"´8U
6RPHOLQJXLVWVKDYHJLYHQWKHLUDQVZHUWR
these big questions.
According to Richards, Platt, and Weber in Nunan (2005:2) grammar is a
description of a language and the way in which units such as words and phrases
are combined to produce sentences in the language. From this definition, it
seems that grammar plays an importance role in combining units of language to
form sentences. The sentences are acceptable or grammatically if they follow the

rules of grammar. Since a communicative purpose and function of language and
reflected in grammar, it is a must the language students to acquire good
grammar. It should be admitted, good mastery in grammar will enable people
easily to express information, feeling, and ideas in their thought to others. In
other words, it can be said that communication failure will happen if people do
not master the grammar because the purpose of communication cannot be
reached. From that statement, it is clear that grammar is important to be
mastered by the students in order to be able to express their feelings, emotions,
and to be able to use English appropriately.
Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy


11

Ur (1988) stressed the importance of grammar in language learning and
WHDFKLQJ +H VWDWHG ³NQRZOHGJH - implicit or explicit - of grammatical rules is
essential for the mastery of a language: you cannot use words unless you know
KRZ WKH\ VKRXOG EH SXW WRJHWKHU´ +RZHYHU KH DOVR FODLPV ³WKH OHDUQLQJ RI
JUDPPDUVKRXOGEHVHHQLQWKHORQJWHUPDVDZKROHQRWDVDQHQGLQLWVHOI´.
Harmer (1987) DOVR DGPLWWHG WKDW ³7KHUH LV QRZ D JHQHUDO IHHOLQJ WKDW
students do need to learn how to perform the functions of language, but they
need a grammatical base as well. Modem courses often teach a grammatical
structure and then get students to use it as part RIDIXQFWLRQDOFRQYHUVDWLRQ´
Furthermore, as Wang (2010) mentioned, after the appearance of
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FRPSHWHQFH´ DQG QHJOHFW ³OLQJXLVWLF FRPSHWHQFH´ 7KLV OHDGV LQ WKH IDFW WKDW
students make lots of errors in oral as well as written performance because of
their lack of basic knowledge of language. With this tendency Hymes (1972,
TXRWHG LQ :DQJ