A study on difficulties and solutions to improve english grammar for the second year students of the department of information technology at hung yen university of technology and education

i

DECLARATION
I certify my authorship of the study report entitled “A study on difficulties and
solutions to improve English grammar for the second-year students of the
Department of Information Technology at Hung Yen University of Technology and
Education.”.
This graduation paper is the result of my own research and the substance of this
dissertation has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution and
that if this declaration is found to be false, disciplinary measures and penalties can be taken
and imposed in accordance with university policies ad rules.

Hung Yen, June 2021

Trinh Hai Dang


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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,
Mrs. Hoang Thi Ngoc Lan 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 K15 Faculty of
Foreign Languages – UTEHY
I would also like to thank students at Faculty of Information Technology for having
given me the chance to work with 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.


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ABSTRACT
The research aims at investigating a study on difficulties and solutions to improve
English grammar for the second-year students of the Department of Information
Technology at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, the situation of
learning English grammar, the difficulties as well as techniques for improving English
grammar for the second-year students of the Department of Information Technology at
Hung Yen University of Technology and Education.
The study gives a systematic presentation the key theories related to English
grammar. The aspects of English grammar and some difficulties in learning English
grammar are also thoroughly discussed.
In order to achieve the objectives, the researcher carried out survey questionnaires
among 40 the second-year students of the Department of Information Technology at Hung
Yen University of Technology and Education for their perspectives. Based on the analysis
from above sources of data, the researcher drew some significant conclusions. The results
of such research showed the difficulties and ways to overcome the English grammar for
the second-year students of the Department of Information Technology at Hung Yen
University of Technology and Education.
Finally, the findings were discussed, and some suggestions and implications for
learning English grammar for tthe second-year students of the Department of Information
Technology at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education were proposed for
students.


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CONTENTS

DECLARATION .........................................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS ..........................................................................................vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1
1. Rationale .................................................................................................................................1
2. Research purpose ....................................................................................................................2
3. Research questions ..................................................................................................................2
4. Research procedure .................................................................................................................2
5. Research methods ...................................................................................................................2
6. Significance of the study.........................................................................................................3
7. Scope of the study ...................................................................................................................3
8. Design of the study .................................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................5
2.1. An overview of English grammar ........................................................................................5
2.1.1. Definitions ........................................................................................................................5
2.1.2. The importance of English grammar ................................................................................6
2.1.3. Learning English grammar. ..............................................................................................8
2.2. Difficulties in learning English grammar .............................................................................9
2.2.1. Class size...........................................................................................................................9
2.2.2. Lack of understanding of grammatical pattern .................................................................9
2.2.3. Lack of vocabulary ...........................................................................................................9
2.2.4. Teaching methods ...........................................................................................................10
2.3. Suggested solutions of learning English grammar ............................................................10
2.3.1. Learn English grammar websites online .........................................................................10
2.3.2. Learn grammar through mistakes ...................................................................................11
2.3.3. Self- studying and to do homework ................................................................................11
2.4 Summary .............................................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY .....................................................................................................13
3.1. Participants.........................................................................................................................13


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3.2. The data collection instruments .........................................................................................14
3.3. Questionnaire. ....................................................................................................................14
3.4. Data analysis method .........................................................................................................14
3.5 The results ...........................................................................................................................14
3.5.1. The result from questionnaire .........................................................................................14
3.5.1.1. Students' attitudes towards English grammar for the second-year students of the
Department of Information Technology. ..................................................................................14
3.5.1.2. Students' difficulties in learning English grammar for the second-year students of
the Department of Information Technology. ............................................................................17
3.5.1.3. Students’ suggested solutions of learning English grammar for the second-year
students of the Department of Information Technology ...........................................................19
3.5.2 The interview ...................................................................................................................20
3.6. Findings .............................................................................................................................22
3.6.1. Difficulties faced by the students in learning grammar and their expectations ..............22
3.6.2. Suggested solutions to enhance the efficiency of learning English grammar ................22
3.7. Recommendations ..............................................................................................................23
3.8. Summary ............................................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................24
4.1. The summary of the study .................................................................................................24
4.2 Implication of the study ......................................................................................................24
4.3 Suggestions for the further study ........................................................................................25
REFERENCES .........................................................................................................................26
APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS ............................................ I
APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENT ............................................... IV

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LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS
• List of tables
Table 1: Students’ perspective of spend time learning English grammar
Table 2: The students’ perspective of difficulties factors in their English grammar
Table 3: The students’ solutions English grammar
Table 4: Students’ opinions on the best way to improve English grammar
• List of charts
Chart 1: Students’ evaluation about English grammar
Chart 2: Students’ perspective of difficulties in learning English grammar
Chart 3: The learning patterns
Chart 4: The most influential element in students
.


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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
It cannot be denied that in the whole world English has become more and more
important as the international means of communication in many fields of our life such as
aviation, business, service, culture, education, economy, and so on. Thus, learning English
has become a compulsory requirement of studying and working.
Vietnam is not out of this circle, learning English has been paid more and more
attention to and has begun to be used widely in education and others fields. That was
grammar is a useful means of providing learners with grammar structure, which is an
essential component of the whole language learning process.

Moreover, the English proficiency of Vietnamese students even at the university level is
often less than satisfactory. The reason is that English is taught as a separate subject rather
than being used as the medium of communication. Moreover, the formative test in most
listening programs stress understanding questions, which require background knowledge,
various new words, familiarity with the text topic and predicting ability.
At Hung Yen University of Technology and Education , for the second-year students
of the Department of Information Technology, they cannot avoid common problems
related to English grammar about the test form or some programs require grammar.
Therefore, it is essential for students to be fluent in English. However, learning English
grammar at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education still have many difficulties
due to lack of effective methods that stimulate the student’s interests. Therefore, it is very
necessary to find out the effective methods in learning English grammar for all the secondyear students of the Department of Information Technology as well.
For the above reasons, in this minor thesis, the researcher would like to figure out “A
study on difficulties and solutions to improve English grammar for the second-year
students of the Department of Information Technology at Hung Yen University of
Technology and Education.” as the title for 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.


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2. Research purpose
This study intends to find out difficulties students are facing when learning English
grammar and solutions to improve English grammar, the focus will be:
• Investigating difficulties students are facing when learning English grammar.
• Suggesting some solutions to those difficulties.
3. Research questions
The research will find the answers for the following questions:

• What are the difficulties for the students at the Department of Information
Technology when they learn English grammar?
• What are the solutions to improve English grammar for the students at the
Department of Information Technology?
4. 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 second-year students of the Department of Information
Technology.
Finally, the study will give some suggestions to help improve and enhance the
grammar for the second-year students of the Department of Information Technology.
5. 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.


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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.
6. Significance of the study
The study helps the researcher improve the knowledge about English grammar, the

difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively of the second-year students of
the Department of Information Technology, find out some solutions to improve the
efficiency of teaching and learning English grammar at university.
It will be very helpful for the teachers of English in Hung Yen University of
Technology and Education 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.
7. Scope of the study
As could be seen from the title of the study, this paper strongly focuses on a study on
difficulties and solutions to improve English grammar for the second-year students of the
Department of Information Technology at Hung Yen University of Technology and
Education.
8. Design of the study
The study consists of 4 parts, references.
Chapter l: Introduction
- Rationale
- Research purpose
- Research questions
- Research procedure
- Research methods
- Significance of the study
- Scope of the study
- Design of the study
Chapter2: Literature


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- Overview of English grammar

- Difficulties in learning English grammar
- Suggested solutions of learning English grammar
Chapter3: The study
- Participants
- The data collection instruments
- Data analysis method
- The results
Chapter 4: Conclusion
- Summary of the study
- The limitations of the study
- Suggestions for further studies


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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the knowledge of grammar, the theories, factors affecting on
students’ grammar learning, and some difficulties in learning English grammar.
2.1. An overview of English grammar
2.1.1. Definitions
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 description of “the
ways in which words change themselves and group together to make sentences”. Two
examples are also given to illustrate for this definition: the case of “walk” changes into
“walked” to indicate the past tense and the case of “not many” combines with the plural
noun “oranges” to make a full sentence like “There are not many oranges on the shelf”.
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 work out what the “rules” are.
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 English (2009),
grammar is defined as “the study and practice of the rules by which words change their
forms and are combined into sentences”. Sharing the same idea, Ur (1988:4) states that
“grammar may be roughly defined as the way a language manipulates and combines words
(or bit of words) in order to form longer units of meaning”. Both definitions above refer to
the morphology (word 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.


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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.
[Grammar is] “a device for indicating the most common and recurrent aspects of
meaning” [which] “formalizes the most widely applicable concepts, the highest common
factors of experience: it provides for communicative economy”.
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 of grammar that “grammar(ing) is one of the dynamic linguistic

processes of pattern formation in language, which can be used by humans for making
meaning in context-appropriate ways” (Larsen-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.
2.1.2. The importance of English 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: “The study of grammar is neither
necessary nor sufficient for learning a language” (Brumfit and Johnson, 1978). Therefore,
there has been a great controversy relating to the raised question: “Whether should we
teach grammar or not? Do we have to have grammar exercises? Isn’t it better for students
to absorb the rules intuitively through communicative activities than to be taught through


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special exercises?” (Ur,1988). Some linguists have given their answer to 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.
Ur (1988) stressed the importance of grammar in language learning and teaching. He
stated “knowledge - implicit or explicit - of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery
of a language: you cannot use words unless you know how they should be put together”.
However, he also claims “the learning of grammar should be seen in the long term as a
whole, not as an end in itself”.
Harmer (1987) also admitted that: “There is now a general feeling that 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 of a functional conversation”.
Furthermore, as Wang (2010) mentioned, after the appearance of communicative
approach, teachers often put much emphasis on “communicative competence” and neglect
“linguistic competence”. This leads in the fact that 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, quoted in Wang (2010)) indicates that “communicative
competence” should include “linguistic competence” and “linguistic performance”. Hence,
sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, strategic competence and grammatical
competence are four basic aspects of this approach


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In conclusion, there still exist controversies about the role of grammar in language

teaching and learning. However, it can be seen that the above - mentioned linguists share
the same view in valuing the crucial role of grammar in language learning and teaching.
However, they assert that the sole mastery of grammar is not the goal of language learning.
The students’ ultimate goal in learning grammar is to use it to perform communicative
functions accurately, effectively and successfully. Indeed, grammar offers students one of
the most effective means of extending students’ knowledge of language items in which
they can use to communicate in real life and to understand what is said written in English.
2.1.3. Learning English grammar.
Learning grammar is a much debated topic in language learning. Different experts
have different opinions about learning of grammar.
According to some research, the language cannot be learnt without studying of
grammar of the language. According to Sweet (cited in Patel & Praveen, 2008, p.141),
“grammar is not a code of rules.” According to Chapman (cited in Patel & Praveen,
2008,p.141) “grammar is a study of language by specialist, made in order to establish the
rules and principles which underline the correct speech and writing, rules and principles
which are followed more or less unconsciously by the native speakers”.
But some people say that utility of grammar is doubtful in learning English. They say
that the students who study grammar are very often able to solve grammar exercises but do
not make correct speech.
Learning of grammar has a very important place in the past. It is commonly believed
that to help the learners to learn English language, its grammar must be taught first. It is
also believed that without knowing and mastering grammatical rules of English, one
cannot learn to speak and write it. Slowly it is realized that correct usages go on changing
from time to time. And as a result, grammar teaching which was regarded as an end in
itself lost its importance. However, nowadays, it is believed that grammar cannot be taught
in isolation. Widodo (2006, p.122) says that “grammar is thought to furnish the basis for a
set of language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.” Doff (2000), Long and
Richards (1987) also gives opinion about the role of grammar in learning language as
follows:
By learning grammar, students can express meanings in the form of phrases, clauses

and sentences.


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It cannot be ignored that grammar plays a central role in the four language skills and
vocabulary to establish communicative tasks.
(cited in Widodo,2006,p.122)
2.2. Difficulties in learning English grammar
2.2.1. Class size
Large classes are considered as a factor that hinder students’ participation in English
grammar. As Harmer’s opinion (1991) “classrooms that are overcrowded can be
excessively demotivating”.
Large classes are likely hard challenges for teachers. In classes, teachers are difficult
to organize and control activities. Moreover, students may get fewer opportunities to
practice learning English. Many students feel so shy or bored because of noisy atmosphere.
In addition, students’ level also may clarify clearly. In general, in large classes, there are
many factors that hinder student to learn English.
2.2.2. Lack of understanding of grammatical pattern
It is argued so far that learning grammar cannot be separated from learning a foreign
language. In fact, learning foreign language becomes difficult since the target language has
different system from the native language. Nunan (2003) says that it has been assumed that
the learners’ first language would have a strong influence on the order in which
grammatical items were required.
Due to the different grammar between the mother tongue and foreign language, it is
very often the students find this as an obstacle in their learning to speak English. As it is
known, efficient communication cannot take place without correct grammar. This idea is
similar to Opole’s statement (2009). He says that grammar provides students with the
structure they need in order to organize and put their messages and ideas across. In this
sense, they will not be able to convey their ideas to their full extension without a good

command of the underlying grammar patterns and structures of the language.
2.2.3. Lack of vocabulary
Vocabulary has been increasingly recognized as necessary to language use. Lack of
vocabulary knowledge could lead to students’ difficulties in language reception and
production and becomes an obstacle for them to express their ideas in English. Vocabulary,


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as Smith further argues, is the basic for speaking or conversational skill. In this case, the
more words students know, the more they can say and understand things presented, both
oral and written, in English.
The importance of vocabularies for students has also been argued by some theorists
like Huyen and Nga, (2003). They say that in order to communicate well in a foreign
language like English, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should
also know how to use them accurately. This means that teaching vocabulary to the students
should also be accompanied by an explanation of each use of the vocabularies given. This
kind of opinion is also proposed by Chen (2003, in He and Chen, 2010) arguing that the
knowledge of vocabulary is founded to be a causal aspect in oral communication. All these
show that mastering more and more vocabularies is important for students in order to speak
more frequently in the English class.
2.2.4. Teaching methods
Teachers have many teaching methods. However, they sometimes find it hard to
apply communicative language teaching into their teaching. Although students (learners)
are supposed to be centered in learning, teachers still talk a lot in their lessons. Sometimes,
teachers speak the long sentences with some new words and do not explain again. Which
make students be interrupted by teachers’ words.
Many teachers think that they should provide students with all the language they
need to complete a task. In fact, teachers cannot know exactly what language the students
need to use. The other factors, if students make mistakes, many teachers criticize their

errors and teachers rarely or never give any solution. It is difficult for students to organize
their ideas clearly.
2.3. Suggested solutions of learning English grammar
2.3.1. Learn English grammar websites online
According to Swan, M. (2012) the survey deals with the key means of studying
grammar online in a foreign language learning. Appropriate grammar is well recognised to
be the foundation of effective communication and language proficiency. Notwithstanding
great attention being paid to different educational issues and various aspects of language
study, there is current need of a more detailed focus on learning language grammar online.


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Therefore, the purpose of the survey was to examine the main online resources for English
grammar learning. The key online sources for learning English grammar have been
explored and defined by the by the methods of monitoring and comparative analysis of
internet resources. Considering the survey outcomes, further research perspectives of
studying grammar online in a foreign language learning have been specified.
Learning and testing go hand in hand. The University of Bristol’s Faculty of Arts
hosts extensive grammar learning materials on their website, which include exercises to
help you practice using punctuation, discern between commonly confused words, use the
subjunctive, and plenty other things.
2.3.2. Learn grammar through mistakes
According to sought to review the literature on teaching English grammar
encompassing an overview of grammar definitions and teaching grammar approaches, as
well as definitions of games, classifications of games, the influence of using games on the
language learners’ performance. Prior researches on teaching English grammar through
games have also been examined. Key words: English grammar; grammar teaching
approach; game; technology
Sridhar (1981) points out that Error Analysis has a long tradition. Prior to the early

1970s, however, Error Analysis consisted of little more than impressionistic collections of
‘common’ errors and their linguistic classification (e.g French 1949). The goals of
traditional Error Analysis were pedagogic -- errors providing information which could be
used to sequence items for teaching or to devise remedial lessons
2.3.3. Self- studying and to do homework
According to Bembenutty, H. (2009). Self-regulation of homework completion. The
article evaluates the relationship between homework and self-regulation from the
elementary grades to college. It reveals that quality measures of homework such as
managing distractions, self-efficacy and perceived responsibility for learning, setting goals,
self-reflection, managing time, and setting a place for homework completion are more
effective than only measuring the amount of time spent on homework. During homework
completion, students engage in self-regulation by motivating themselves, inhibiting
distractions, using strategies to complete homework, managing time, setting goals, self-


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reflecting on their performance, and delaying gratification. As a result, self-regulation and
homework are related and the findings show that from elementary grades to college, skilled
learners engaged in the above self-regulatory behaviors during homework activities. Selfregulatory behaviors develop gradually over time with repeated practice. Evidence from
experimental studies shows that students can be trained to develop self-regulation skills
during homework activities. It is important to continue with training studies at all grade
levels so that students can become aware of the relationship between homework activities
and these self-regulation processes such as goals, self-efficacy, self-reflection, time
management, and delay of gratification. Evidence from correlational studies showed that
students' self-regulation skills and motivational beliefs correlate positively with homework
activities. Homework assignments that are adequately challenging and interesting help
struggling and at-risk students develop motivation and self-regulation skills and achieve
success. Teachers can help students develop these behaviors by using homework logs. Data
from the logs can help teachers show students their strengths and help them overcome their

weaknesses.
2.4 Summary
The chapter has presented the relevant literature, which has helped to form the
theoretical can conceptual framework for graduation paper. It has talked about different
aspects relating to learning English grammar. The following chapter will display the
methodology and finding of the research under the light of all above.


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CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY
In this chapter, learning at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education are
introduced to see clearly unsolved problems so that the feasible solutions can be given. In
addition, the methods using in study are provided such as survey questionnaires and
observation to find out the current of learning English grammar, common difficulties that
students of the the second-year students of the Department of Information Technology at
Hung Yen University of Technology and Education get. Besides that, the reasons for
choosing the methods and description of each method used in this research are also given.
3.1. Participants
The participants are 40 students in the second-year students of the Department of
Information Technology at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education. the
second-year students of the Department of Information Technology is English- major who
specialize in subjects such as: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry. The participants include 5
girls and 35 boys at the age from 20-21 years old. They come from different communes in
Hung Yen district and the city.
These students have studied English for 12 years since they were at primary schools.
Up to the time the study is conducted, these students having study at the second-year
students of the Department of Information Technology. Most of them are quite good at
English and they are interested in English lessons.
Because English is a minor subject in the whole curriculum, all of the students do not

pay much attention to learn English. They learn it as they are forced to learn. Besides,
English is a subject among many subjects they have to learn at university. There forms in
education have been implemented not only for English but also for other subjects at high
school. Students have to acquire a large amount of knowledge in all subjects. They cannot
spend much time improving English regularly because they have to prepare exercises for
many different lessons every day. Consequently, they are bad at language skills especially
grammar.


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3.2. The data collection instruments
The researcher intended to collect the same information about the reality of
learning grammar in Hung Yen University of Technology and Education from sources:
questionnaire with the hope to guarantee the reliability and the objectiveness of the study.
3.3. Questionnaire.
The questionnaires were designed for students because the researcher finds them
easy to summarize and analyze the collected data. Questionnaires for students consist of 16
questions which are specified in the research questions
Part 1: General information.(3 questions)
Part 2: The survey questionnaire ( 8 questions )
Part 3: The interview questions (5 quesstions)
3.4. Data analysis method
The numbers of students in this study were 40 students participated in this survey.
They are the second-year students of the Department of Information Technology at Hung
Yen University of Technology and Education. Among them,5 students are female and 35
students are male. They are from 20 to 21 years old. They have from 12 years’ experience
in learning English.
3.5 The results
This section aims to present the statistical results and the data analyses collected

from the questionnaire and observation in order to answer the research questions addressed
in the present study respectively.
3.5.1. The result from questionnaire
As mentioned above, in order to find out the difficulties and solutions that students
face when learning English grammar, the survey questionnaire is used. In this part, the
results of students’ challenges are presented.
3.5.1.1. Students' attitudes towards English grammar for the second-year students of
the Department of Information Technology.
Question 1: How important is English grammar to you?


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Chart 1: Students’ evaluation about English grammar
When students were asked about their own perceptions of grammar taught, they
respond in a variety of ways. Chart 1 showed that most of the students (67.5% very
important and 12.5 important) were aware of the importance of grammar structure.
However, there were still a number of students (20%) who did not highly evaluate the role
of grammatical structure. This show that students have seen the importance of English
grammar.
Question 2: How often do you have difficulties in learning English grammar?

Chart 2: Students’ perspective of difficulties in learning English grammar


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Question 2 investigated students often difficulties in learning English grammar.
There appears a worrying fact that the number of students who always used correct English
grammar was only 5%, 12.5% students said that it was usually. In addition, just only 20%

students often used English grammar and there were significant numbers of students who
try to express grammar correctly in term of sometimes and never by 30% and 32.5%
respectively.
Question 3: Which partners do you learn in English grammar?

Chart 3: The learning patterns
Question 3 provides the information about the partners that they often practise
English grammar in the class. Almost the students sometimes leanning English, therefore
these activities are required by the teachers, but they only choose some activities that has
narrow range. 60% of the students learn English grammar individually, and 22% of them
using English to practise with their partners. Meanwhile, the percentage of small group
work and whole class are smaller, which are corresponded with 13% and 5%. It can be
certain that putting students to work in pair or group will increase the students’
participation in learn English


17

3.5.1.2. Students' difficulties in learning English grammar for the second-year
students of the Department of Information Technology.
Question 1: What the most influential element you difficult to learn grammar in
English? You can choose more than one choise.

Chart 4: The most influential element in students
Question 1 is the most influential element of students in English class. The result
shows five main elements that lead to be the interest of students. According to the collected
data, nearly 50% of students admit that students often lack of understanding of
grammatical pattern. Besides, 40% agree that students lack of vocabulary. Too dependent
on Vietnamese (35%) and class size (25%) are two other reasons in this problem. 20%
agree that teaching methods are cause of the difficulties of learning English grammar.

According to the interview results, there are many opinions affecting students' learning, but
mainly because students are lack of understanding of grammatical pattern and lack of
vocabulary in English grammar.
Question 2: How much time do you spend on learning English grammar at home
every day?
content

The number of students

Percentage (%)

More than two hours

3

7.5

An hour – two hours

10

25

Less than an hour

20

50

18

Never

7

17.5

Table 1: Students’ perspective of spend time learning English grammar
Students who spend time learning English grammar more than two hours was 3,
which 10 students (25%) choose the second answer “An hour – two hours", and in term of
“Less than an hour” was by 50%. However, not all these students saw it’s learn less than
an hour. Among 40 students, 7 students (17.5%) thought that learning English grammar
was never. In this table, students were still lazy to study English at home, the study time
was less than an hour.
Question 3: Below is a list of difficulties factors relating to English grammar .To what
extent do you agree or disagree with each factor.
Content

1

2

No %

3

No %

4

No %

5

No %

No %

1 Lack of vocabulary

3

7.5

3

7.5

3

7.5

25

62.5

6

15

2 Lack of understanding of

4

10

5

12.5

6

15

8

20

17

42.5

4

10

8

20

12

30

10

25

6

15

4 Students are lazy

9

22.5

15

37.5

10

25

4

10

2

5

5 Teaching methods

9

22.5

19

47.5

8

20

2

5

2

5

6 Class size

7

17.5

14

35

11

27.5

5

12.5

3

7.5

grammatical pattern
3 Too dependent on
Vietnamese

Table 2: The students’ perspective of difficulties factors in their English grammar
As we can see in table 2, most of students (62.5%) found that Lack of vocabulary
were agree, while just only 6 students trongly agreed with this. In term of “lack of
understanding of grammatical pattern”, the giant number of students (42.5%) shared the
strongly agree and the figure of students agree was by 20%. There were a possitive number
of students stated that "too dependent on Vietnamese" was agree and neutral by 25% and
30% respectively. However, 30% of students still disagree and even strongly disagree.

19

When students were asked to students are lazy to learn, 25% of learners could neutral and
37.5% of them stated it disagree. Similarly, the figure of “Teaching methods”, who could
not give this was sinificantly high (22.5% Strongly disagree and 47.5 disagree). Class size
in this term, there were only 3 students out of 40 considered it easy, meanwhile 35% of
them do it with disagree.
3.5.1.3. Students’ suggested solutions of learning English grammar for the secondyear students of the Department of Information Technology
Question 1: Below is a list of solutions students may have English grammar. To what
extent do you agree or disagree with each factor.
Content

1

2

No %
1

Read

a

wide

variety

3

No %

No %

4

5

No %

No %

of

3

7.5

3

7.5

25

62.5

3

7.5

6

15

grammar

through

5

12.5

17

42.5

6

15

8

20

4

10

English

grammar

4

10

8

20

12

30

10

25

6

15

4 Self- studying and to do

9

22.5

15

37.5

10

25

4

10

2

5

9

22.5

19

47.5

8

20

2

5

2

5

documents.
2

Learn

mistakes.
3

Learn

websites

homework
5 Exchanging with the teachers
and students about things you
have not understood.
Table 3: The students’ solutions English grammar
As we can see in table 3, most of students (62.5%) found that read a wide variety of
documents were neutral, while just only 3 students trongly disagreed with this. In term of
“learn grammar through mistakes.”, the giant number of students (42.5%) shared the
disagreement and the figure of students strongly agree was by 10%. There were a possitive
number of students stated that "learn English grammar websites online " was agree and