Những khó khăn của giáo viên trong việc dạy ngữ pháp theo đường hướng giao tiếp cho sinh viên chuyên ngành công tác xã hội học tại Học viện thanh thiếu niên Việt

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Declaration…………………………………………………………………………. i
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………… ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… iii
Table of contents…………………………………………………………………… iv
List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………… vii
List of tables and charts……………………………………………………………. viii
PART I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………… 1
I.1. Rationale of the study………………………………………………………… 1
I.2. Aims of the study……………………………………………………………… 2
I.3. Significance of the study………………………………………………………. 2
I.4. Research questions…………………………………………………………… 3
I.5. Scope of the study………………………………………………………………3
I.6. Method of the research………………………………………………………… 3
I.7. Design of the study…………………………………………………………… 3
PART II: DEVELOPMENT…………………………………………………… 5
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………… 5
1.1. Definitions of grammar……………………………………………………… 5
1.2. The role of grammar in foreign language teaching……………………………. 6
1.3. An overview on methods in teaching grammar …………………………… 6
1.3.1. The grammar-translation method…………………………………… 6
1.3.2. The direct method…………………………………………………… 7
1.3.3. The audio-lingual method…………………………………………… 8
1.4. Application of CLT in grammar teaching …………………………………… 9
1.4.1. Communicative competence………………………………………… 9
1.4.2. Definition of communicative language teaching……………………. 9
1.4.3. Characteristics of communicative language teaching……………… 10

1.4.4. Stages in teaching grammar communicatively……………………… 11
1.5. Factors to be considered of CLT application…………………………… 12
1.5.1. Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes………………………………………. 12
1.5.2. Teachers’ qualities and personalities……………………………… 12
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1.5.3. Learners’ motivation………………………………………………… 13
1.5.4. Learners’ beliefs and attitudes………………………………………. 13
1.5.5. Learners’ learning styles…………………………………………… 13
1.5.6. Learners’ anxiety and confidence…………………………………… 14
1.5.7. Classroom conditions……………………………………………… 14
1.5.8. Language environment……………………………………………….14
1.5.9. Syllabuses and textbooks……………………………………………. 15
1.5.10. Testing and evaluation…………………………………………… 15
Summary………………………………………………………………………… 15
CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY……………………………………………………… 16
2.1. An overview of the situation of teaching and learning English grammar at Vietnam
Youth Institute (VYI)………………………………………………………. 16
2.1.1. Objectives of the English course at VYI…………………………… 16
2.1.2. Teachers’ factors…………………………………………………… 16
2.1.3. Learners’ factors…………………………………………………… 16
2.1.4. Materials’ factors……………………………………………………. 17
2.2. Research methodology………………………………………………… ……. 17
2.2.1. The subjects of the study…………………………………………… 17
2.2.1.1. The teacher ……………………………………………… 17
2.2.1.2. The student ……………………………………………… 17
2.2.2. The instruments for collecting data………………………………… 18
2.2.2.1. Survey questionnaire………………………………………. 18
2.2.2.2. Interviews………………………………………………… 19
2.2.3. Data analysis process……………………………………………… 19

2.3. Data analysis and discussions…………………………………………………. 20
2.3.1. Survey questionnaires……………………………………………… 20
2.3.1.1. Questionnaire for the students…………………………… 20
2.3.1.2. Questionnaire for the teachers…………………………… 27
2.3.2. Interviews……………………………………………………………. 33
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36
3.1. The difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning grammar and
their expectations………………………………………………………………… 36
vi

3.2. The difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar communicatively
and their own solutions…………………………………………………………… 36
3.3. Recommendations for overcoming the difficulties in teaching grammar
communicatively…………………………………………………………………… 39
PART III: CONCLUSION 43
REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………. I
APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaire for students………………………………… IV
APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaire for teachers………………………………… VIII
APPENDIX 3: Questions for interviewing teachers………………………………. XII
APPENDIX 4: Information gap………………………………………………… XIII
APPENDIX 5: Spot the differences………………………………………………. XIV
APPENDIX 6: Game……………………………………………………………… XV

vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AM: Audio-Lingual method
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
DM: Direct method
ELT: English Language Teaching
GTM: Grammar-Translation method
VYI: Vietnam Youth Institute

viii

LIST OF TABLES




Table 1: Students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI
Table 2: Students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures
Table 3: Students’ ways of learning grammar structures
Table 4: Students’ difficulties in learning grammar
Table 5: Students’ recommendations for improving English learning in general and
grammar learning in particular.
Table 6: The teachers’ ways of teaching grammar
Table 7: Teachers’ opinions on CLT
Table 8: The teachers’ problems when applying CLT in teaching grammar to the social

work students at VYI
Table 9: The teachers’ recommendations for the difficult situations they met
Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards learning English at the school
Chart 2: Students’ reasons for learning English
Chart 3: Students’ motivations to learning English in general and grammar in particular
Chart 4: Teachers’ age and their teaching experience
Chart 5: The teachers’ aim at teaching grammar











1
PART I: INTRODUCTION
I.1. Rationale of the study
English has already played a special important role in the increasing development of
science, technology and international relations, which has resulted in the growing needs for
English learning and teaching in many parts of the world. Many people are expected to be
competent to communicate verbally with the outside world and to access technology. In
correspondence to this trend, English has become a compulsory subject in national
education in Vietnam. Vietnam Youth Institute, where I have been working, is not an
exception.
All students not only aim at passing their exams and getting some further studies for their
future life, but also 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 an interest as well as a practical need for many people.
Together with the growing demand for learning English, there has been an innovation in
English teaching and learning methods everywhere in Vietnam. For a long time, language
teaching in Vietnam was strongly influenced by the structuralist tradition. Emphasis was
placed on mastery of language structures. Students have been taught how to form correct
utterances and to understand the structures of the language without any consideration of
language use. Students have been asked to learn every single word by heart, and translate
or analyze grammatically every sentence in the text. The teacher has often taken up almost
all the time in class explaining the form of language to students who were passive
recipients. As a result, this kind of teaching and learning, of course, has been the
“production” of students who were structurally competent but communicatively
incompetent.
However, as the result of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic research, language teaching
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
teaching is teaching learners to communicate fluently, appropriately and spontaneously in
the cultural context of the target language. Communicative competence, according to
Canale and Swain (1980), is made up of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic
competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence.

2
With 3 years of experience in teaching English at Vietnam Youth Institute, I find that
students have to learn English in two semesters in the curriculum and English is often
taught in the first school-year. At the end of each semester, the students have to take a
written test, not an oral one. Therefore, most of the time is spent on grammar points
because many of the students have never learnt English before and the teachers have to try
to stick to the syllabus, that is, to finish the course-book entitled “Lifelines Elementary”. In
addition, many students are too shy to speak in class whereas most of the grammar lessons

are carried out in traditional methods. That is, the teacher presents new grammar verbally,
and then students do, turn by turn, exercises in workbooks. As a consequence, the students
find it hard to speak out as well as to communicate in the real life naturally.
The question how to equip students with grammatical competence so that they can use the
language to communicate in any situation has become a worry of teachers of English in
general and teachers of English at Vietnam Youth Institute in particular.
For the above reasons, in this thesis, the author intends to figure out what difficulties are
experienced by teachers in teaching grammar communicatively and then to give some
suggestions to reduce the difficulties.
I.2. Aims of the study
The aims of the study are as follows:
 To investigate the difficulties of teaching and learning grammar
communicatively faced by the teachers and students.
 To make some suggestions on reducing the teachers‟ difficulties in the
application of CLT in teaching grammar and make grammar lessons more
successful.
I.3. Significance of the study
This study plays an important role in improving grammar teaching method to social work
students at Vietnam Youth Institute. Its implemented suggestions will make the application
of CLT at my institute successful and effective.
I.4. Research questions
(1) What are the difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning
grammar and their expectations?

3
(2) What are the difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar
communicatively and their own solutions?
I.5. Scope of the study
The study is concerned with finding the teachers‟ difficulties in teaching grammar
communicatively for the first year students of social work at VYI. The study of others

would be beyond the scope.
I.6. Method of the research
In order to do the research, a lot of references have been selected, read and filtered for
information. Furthermore, a survey has been done by providing a questionnaire for 4
teachers of English and another for 120 social work students at VYI. Questionnaires are
delivered to the teachers to investigate difficulties in teaching grammar communicatively
that they face and solutions that should be implemented. Questionnaires are delivered to
the students to find out the students‟ attitudes to learning English grammar, their
difficulties and solutions suggested by them.
All the collected information and data have been analyzed and discussed.
I.7. Design of the study
This thesis consists of three parts:
PART I (INTRODUCTION): presents the rationale, the aims, the significance, the
research questions, the scope, the method and the design of the study.
PART II (DEVELOPMENT): consists of three chapters described as follows:
- Chapter 1 (LITERATURE REVIEW) deals with literature review. It starts with
definitions of grammar and its role in language teaching, then an overview of some
language teaching approaches. The next is about the CLT which includes the definition,
characteristics, and stages in teaching grammar communicatively. The final is some factors
to be considered of CLT application.
- Chapter 2 (THE STUDY): presents the study. Firstly, there is an overview on
situation of teaching and learning English grammar at Vietnam Youth Institute. Secondly,
the methodology is performed in the study. It provides subjects, the instruments and data
analysis process. Finally, the data collected from the survey questionnaire and interviews is
analyzed and discussed.

4
- Chapter 3 (FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS): reveals the major
findings of the study and presents the recommendations.
PART III (CONCLUSION): summarizes the study, gives conclusions and some

limitations during the process of doing the research as well as some suggestions for further
study.
















PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Definitions of grammar
Jeremy Harmer (1988:1) defines grammar as “the way in which words change themselves
and group together to make sentences. The grammar of a language is what happens to
words when they become plural or negative, or what word order is used when we make

5
questions or join two clauses to make one sentences.” Jeremy Harmer shares the same
point of view with the authors of the Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary. As for Celce
– Murcia, M (1988: 16), grammar is “a subset of those rules which govern the
configurations that the morphology and syntax of a language assume.”

Furthermore, Fromkin et al (1990:12) defined grammar as “the sounds and sound patterns,
the basic units of meaning such as words and rules to combine them to form new sentences
constitute the grammar of a language. These rules are internalized and subconsciously
learned by native speakers”. Grammar here refers to the knowledge of how words are
arranged to form sentences. Nunan (2003: 154) defined “grammar is a set of rules
specifying the correct ordering words at the sentence level”. According to Jacob (1993)
grammar has three components: syntax, lexicon and semantics.
- Syntax: the grammatical principles, units, and relations involved in sentence structure.
- Lexicon: the set of individual words, suffixes, and prefixes.
- Semantics: the meaning associated with the lexicon of a language and with units and
relations in the sentence structures.
Richards, Platt and Platt (1992: 161, Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching &
Applied Linguistics) defines grammar as “a description of the structure of a language and
the way in which linguistic units as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences
in the language. It usually takes into account the meanings and functions these sentences
have in the overall of the language. It may or may not include the description of the sounds
of a language”. It means that grammar implied both meaning and functions and showed
both linguistic and social nature of grammar.

1.2. The role of grammar in foreign language teaching
The role of grammar teaching in ELT is still controversial. Some people refute the place of
grammar teaching for the reason that the study of grammar is neither necessary nor
sufficient for learning to use a language.
Meanwhile, the others affirm the importance of grammar for effective language learning.
“The evidence seems to show beyond doubt that though it is by communicative use in real
“speech acts” that the new language “sticks” in the learner‟s mind, insight into pattern is an
equal partner with communicative use in what language teachers now see as dual process

6
of acquisition/learning. Grammar, approached as a voyage of discovery into the patterns of

language rather than the learning of prescriptive rules, is no longer a bogey word.”
(Hawkins, 1984: 150-1).
In fact, grammar is one of the key elements of a language. Therefore, one person cannot
master a language without the knowledge of its grammar. Thanks to grammar, language
can partly function as means of communication, especially in written language. One cannot
write well if he lacks the knowledge of grammar. In speaking, though grammatical
mistakes are sometimes acceptable, grammar makes one‟s speech better and more
attractive, especially in formal situations. Learners cannot use words if they do not know
how to put these words together. Grammar exists to enable us to “mean” and without
grammar, it is impossible to communicate beyond a vary rudimentary level because
“speech is no more than sounds, writing is no more than hieroglyphics” (Peck, 1988: 127).
For these reasons, the teaching of grammar is very important in ELT.
1.3. An overview on methods in teaching grammar
There are many methods widely used by language teachers in the world in general and in
Vietnam in particular. The methods are now discussed in this paper as follows: GTM, DM
and AM.
1.3.1. The Grammar-Translation method (GTM)
Traditional method or GTM was rooted in the formal teaching of Latin and Greek and
become popular in the late 19
th
century. According to Larsen-Freeman (1986: 4), the GTM
was used for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign language
literature. Through studying the grammar of the target language, students would become
more familiar with the grammar of their native language and this helps them use their
language more grammatically.
The strength of GTM is that it requires few resources so it is easy to apply and cheap to
administer. Thus, the method is still used in many places where the class is large (more
than 30 students).
This method, however, has certain disadvantages. According to Richards and Rodgers
(1986:3), GTM obviously focuses on the form rather than the use of the target language.

Students who are in this way did not have a chance to practice their speaking and listening.
Students learn rules of grammar and vocabulary without much feeling of progress in the

7
mastery of the target language can lead to the lack of motivation in learning a language for
their having little opportunity to express themselves through it. They just learn what they
have to without any creativeness. The method creates frustration for students, for whom
foreign language learning is a tedious experience of memorization of new words and
grammatical rules, while it makes few demands on teachers (Richards and Rogers,
1986:4).
1.3.2. The Direct method (DM)
In the late 19
th
century, increased opportunities among European create a demand for oral
proficiency in foreign language. The GTM was not very effective in preparing students to
use the target language communicatively and a new method, namely DM was born. DM is
characterized by the use of the target language as a means of instruction and
communication in the classroom, and by the avoidance of the use of the first language and
translation as a technique.
It brings the process of learning the target language close to that of the first language
acquisition. Students are exposed to the target language situations. Therefore, their ability
to think in the target language is developed. River (1981) claims that “at its best, DM
provides an exciting way of learning a language through activity. It has proved to be
successful in releasing students from the inhibitions all too often associated with speaking
another tongue, particularly at the early stage”.
Though there is a development in students‟ thoughts in the target language, it has two-
sided effect. Students may develop inaccuracies if they are not properly guided. This is the
result if their trying to express themselves in the target language with insufficient
knowledge about the language. Because all statements they learn are confined to be used
only in the classroom. Any connection with real life was expected to come later and was

not the business of the school. The graduation and sequences of materials is not based on
realistic spoken speech but artificial connected sentences. The weakness of the method is
also stated in River (1983:34): “In the pure form of the DM, insufficiency is made for
systematic practice and requesting-practice of structures in a coherent sequence. As a
result, students often lack a clear idea of what they are trying to do, and they make
haphazard progress”.
1.3.3. The Audio-Lingual method (AM)

8
The AM derived from America during the World War II where there was a need for people
to learn foreign language quickly for military purposes. It led to the development of the
AM which then has had a considerable influence on English language teaching all over the
world. This English teaching method puts listening and speaking in the first place. It uses
sentence pattern as the base of teaching and try to avoid mother tongue in class. Attention
is paid to the need for practice rather than explanation about the language because the
ability to use the language as a means of communication is the ultimate aim.
The first and most successful point of this method is to develop students‟ listening
comprehension and fluency in speaking in the target language. Students are encouraged by
the sense of being able to use what they have learned in the very early days of their study.
In addition, the study is reinforced by repetition, so the students have good repetition and
this is suitable for learners of different abilities. Another point is that this method provides
a good systematic progression of the materials.
However, there still remain some problems. The success or failure of this method depends
largely on the qualities of the teachers and the availability of resources. That is why
Brumfit (1983:8) comments “the objective is generally the mastery of sentence patterns
rather than creative or communicative use of language”.

1.4. Application of CLT in grammar teaching
1.4.1. Communicative competence
Communicative competence is now recognized as the primary goal of language teaching.

Canale and Swain (1980) consider that communicative competence is made up of four
factors namely grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse
competence, and strategic competence. Grammatical competence includes a
comprehension of linguistic code, the ability to recognize the lexical, morphological,
syntactic and phonological features of a language and to manipulate these features to form
words and sentences. Sociolinguistic competence is the best described through
appropriateness, the degree to which one person understands the social context in which
language is used: the roles of participants, the information they share, the functions of
interaction. Discourse competence indicates the ability to interpret series of sentences or
utterances to form a meaningful whole and to achieve a coherent text that is relevant to a
given context. Strategic competence includes the strategies a person uses to compensate for

9
imperfect knowledge of rules or limiting factors in their application such as fatigue,
distraction, inattention, etc. These strategies include paraphrasing, circumlocution,
repletion, hesitation, avoidance, guessing and shifts in register and style.
1.4.2. Definition of CLT
The last influence in teaching methodology in Vietnam, at least in English classes, is CLT.
CLT appeared in the 1960s and 1970s and was thought as a resolution against the AM. It is
pointed out by Brindley (1986:11) that “the 1970s and 1980s could be regarded as the area
of communicative language teaching”. A considerable number of books have been
published bearing on the label “communicative” in response to social pressures and
evidence from socio-linguistic and psycholinguistic research. In spite of the popularity of
CLT, it is difficult to define it in a satisfactory way. There is a variety if definitions about
CLT, Nunan (1989:194) overviews the methods, which are adapted below, contain aspects
that are common to many definitions of CLT.
CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve oral
communication, carrying out meaning task and using language, which is meaningful to the
learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as well
as linguistic objectives. The learners‟ role is as a negotiator and integrator. The teacher‟s

role is as facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote communicative
language use; they are task-based and authentic.
According to Brindley (1986:12), “Language is not a static system. It is created through
interaction; language learning does not consist merely of internalizing a list of structural
items. It is a process of learning how to negotiate meaning in a particular socio-cultural
context. Consideration of meaning rather than form will therefore determine program
content; language learning will be more effective if they are centered around the needs and
interests of the learners; language learning materials should, similarly, be related to
learners‟ needs and interests and present learners with the opportunity for genuine
communication; effective communication is more than structures accuracy, particularly at
the beginning stages of language learning. Errors are a manifestation of the tact that
learning is taking place.”
1.4.3. Characteristics of CLT
In CLT, meaning is paramount. Wilkins (1972) classifies meaning into notional and
functional categories and views learning a second language as acquiring the linguistic

10
means to perform different kinds of functions. According to Larsen-Freeman (1986:132),
the most obvious characteristic of CLT is that “Almost everything that is done with
communicative intent”. Students use the language through communicative activities (e.g.
games, role-plays and problem-solving tasks).
From Morrow‟s point of view (in Johnson and Morrow, 1981), activities that are truly
communicative have three features: information gap, choice, and feedback. An information
gap occurs when one person exchanges the information he has with the one who does not.
Another characteristic of CLT is the introduction of authentic materials. In CLT, it is
considered desirable to give learners the opportunity to genuine communicative needs in
realistic second language situations so that they develop strategies for understanding
language as actually used by native speakers (Canale and Swain, 1980).
In addition, “activities in the Communicative Approach are often carried out by students in
small group” (Laren-Freeman, 1986:132). Students are expected to interact with one

another, either through pair and group work or in their writing (Finicchiaro and Brumfit,
1983). CLT favors interaction among small numbers of students in order to maximize the
time each student has to learn to negotiate meaning. Teachers therefore select learning
activities according to how well they engage the students in meaningful and authentic
language use rather than in the merely mechanic practice of language patterns.
Another dimension of CLT is “its learner-centered and experienced-based view of second
language teaching” (Richards &Rogers, 1986:69). According to CLT theory, individual
learners possess unique interests, styles, needs, and goals that should be reflected in the
design of instructional methods (Savignon, 1983). Teachers are to develop materials based
on the demonstrated needs of a particular class. Students must be made to feel secure,
unthreatened and non-defensive in a CLT classroom, so teachers using CLT should avoid
adopting a teacher-centered authoritarian posture (Taylor, 1983).
Thus, Li (1998:679) reviews CLT characteristics based on the work of other researchers
such as Laren-Freeman (1986), Richards and Rogers (1986) and Thomson (1986) as
follows:
1. A focus on communicative functions.
2. A focus on meaningful task rather than on language form.

11
3. Efforts to make tasks and language relevant to a target group of learners through
an analysis of genuine, realistic situations.
4. The use of authentic, from life materials.
5. The use of group activities.
6. The attempt to create a secure, non-threatening atmosphere.
1.4.4. Stages in teaching grammar communicatively
In a CLT classroom, the teacher pays more attention to enable students to work with the
target language during the lesson and communicate in it by the end of it. The following is
the typical procedures of a grammar lesson according to a CLT author – Adrian Doff
(1981).
1. The teacher uses visual aids to present the grammar structure to be taught.

2. Students deduce the meaning, the form and the use of it.
3. The teacher gets students understanding by asking yes/no questions focusing on
form, meaning and use.
4. The teacher gets students to practice the structure through Repetition and
Substitution Drills, Word Prompts, and Picture Prompts. The teacher tries to
provide maximum practice within controlled, but realistic and contextualized
frameworks and to build students’ confidence in using the new language.
5. The teacher provides students with opportunities to use new language in a freer,
more creative way. The teacher creates activities in which students can integrate
new language with the previous learnt language and apply what they have learnt to
talk about their real life activities.
What makes this kind of lesson different from the traditional is that the teacher tries to
make the language used in the lesson real and true. The teacher creates real or like-real
situations in which the language can be used. This will enable students to communicate in
English outside the classroom. During the CLT lesson, the teacher often plays the
important role of facilitator who facilitates activities to work with the target language.
1.5. Factors to be considered of CLT application
1.5.1. Teachers’ beliefs and attitudes

12
Feeman (1998) claims that “teachers‟ beliefs are the strongest guiding influence on
teachers‟ instruction”. Teachers‟ beliefs are founded on the goals, values teachers hold in
relation to the content, process of teaching and their understanding of the system in which
they work and their roles within it. Richards and Lockhart (1996) consider that teachers
may believe in the effectiveness of a particular approach or method of teaching and
consistently try to implement it in the classroom. It is also commonly known that if
teachers do not believe that the approach can be implemented in their teaching context or
of they do not have positive attitudes towards the approach, this approach will not be
carried out to its full potential.
1.5.2. Teachers’ qualities and personalities

Teachers are considered as a significant source of intrinsic motivation. Teachers‟ skills,
knowledge, personality and proficiency in the target language play an important role in the
class. A teacher‟s personality matters a lot because if it matches learners, it will help build
the learning environment with good relationship between teachers and learners, which may
increase learning motivation.
One generalization about a good teacher is teaching method and ability. If learners find
teachers‟ method boring, they will probably become de-motivated, whereas if they have
confidence in the method, they will find it motivating (Harmer, 1991:15).
1.5.3. Learners’ motivation
Motivation is popularly considered to play a very important role on learning. In Jeremy
Harmer‟s view (1991), “Motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages
somebody to pursue a course of action”.
Language learners‟ motivation is basically originated from goals of various kinds and
needs. Goals include long-term ones which might be related to a learners‟ wish to become
a member of the target language community or to obtain a better job and short-term ones
which might come from a learner‟s urge to pass an end-of-semester exam or complete a
lesson with success. Ausubel (1968) pointed out six types of needs including the need for
exploration; for manipulation; for activity; for stimulation; for knowledge and for ego
enhancement.
1.5.4. Learners’ beliefs and attitudes

13
Learners bring to learning their own beliefs, attitudes which might influence how they
approach their learning. Learners‟ beliefs are affected by the social context of learning and
can influence both their attitude towards the language itself as well as towards language
learners in general (Tumposky, 1991). Learners‟ beliefs cover beliefs about the nature of
English, about the four language skills, about teaching, about language learning, about self.
Therefore, investigating learners‟ beliefs is one of the important duties of teachers.
1.5.5. Learners’ learning style
Learning style indicates the particular approach by which a student tries to learn.

According to Keefe (1979:4), learning style can be seen as cognitive, affective and
physiological features that are relatively indicators of how learners perceive, interact with
and respond to the learning environment. Major factors conditioning the ways learners
think and study are the education system, the socio-cultural background and personality
variables.
1.5.6. Learners’ anxiety and confidence
Many studies have suggested that language anxiety has a negative relationship with
learning success and vice versa, self-confidence has a positive relationship. One of the
factors that cause anxiety or bring back in-confidence is learners‟ learning experience.
Experience of failure may cause them to become anxious quickly in classroom situations.
On the contrary, experience of success may facilitate their desire to learn, to participate in
class activities as well as to take risks communicating with other classmates. Harmer
(1991) claims that “success… plays a vital part in the motivational drive of a learner”. The
source of anxiety and lack of confidence may have a relationship with learners‟
background.
1.5.7. Classroom conditions
Classroom conditions can affect motivation. Harmer (1991) states that physical conditions
have a great effect on learning and can alter a learners‟ motivation either positively or
negatively. In the light of large classes or over-crowded classes, Woodward (2001:218)
conveys the implication that whether a class is large or not depends on the ways teachers
feel and on the locality values. However, teachers should bear in mind problems associated
with “large” classes. They include noise, too many people and fixed objects in a restricted
space, not enough materials for everyone, not being able to respond to different needs the
difficulty of maintaining the class, etc.

14
1.5.8. Language environment
In EFL environment, English is rarely heard outside school, thus practicing English outside
is very rare. Without the reinforcement of an English-speaking environment, motivation
becomes a product of the teachers‟ initiative on the one hand and the learners‟ will to

succeed or fear of failure-on the other (Ellis, 1996). EFL is often a part of the school
training program and therefore subject to not only contextual factors such as support from
local community, government policies, etc but also to teachers‟ language proficiency,
resources, materials and the ability to evaluate learners as well.

1.5.9. Syllabuses and textbooks
In the designing of a language course or syllabus, one of the factors that should be taken
into account is time. In a communicative class, learners need to have enough time to
update knowledge and to practice what they learnt. Thus time plays an important role in
teaching and learning a language.
Textbooks are of great importance in any language program because in most cases,
textbooks include goals and objectives. Administrators and teachers then should
collaborate to answer the question of whether the textbook being used is appropriate to
learners‟ needs, to the social and institutional setting.
1.5.10. Testing and evaluation
Teaching and testing are interwoven an interdependent; therefore it is difficult to separate
them. Test scores can bring out positive or negative effect and even give learners a lot of
anxiety. For this reason, it is certain that teachers need make tests positive experiences for
learners by creating tests with care and effort. Tests should be related to the course content
and objectives. Moreover, the evaluation of learners should be both based on test results
and derived from classroom observation and teachers/ learner feedback. In brief, testing is
a vital component of curriculum development and evaluation and can not be separated
from teaching and learning.
1.6. Summary
In this chapter, some brief information about grammar and its role in language teaching are
reviewed. Different grammar teaching methods such as GTM, DM, AM have also been
revised to find out advantages and disadvantages of each method. Furthermore, the writer

15
has a brief overview on CLT, its characteristics, and stages of a CLT grammar lesson.

Finally, factors affected CLT applications are mentioned. In the next chapter, the situation
of English learning and teaching at VYI will be analyzed, and the survey with a
questionnaire for 4 teachers and another for 120 students as well as classroom observations
will be done. After that, the findings of the survey will be analyzed and discussed.


CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY
2.1. An overview of the situation of teaching and learning English grammar at
Vietnam Youth Institute (VYI)
2.1.1. Objectives of the English course at VYI
The English course for social work students at VYI aims at that the students are able to
communicate in English in daily life. Therefore, English is considered as an important and
compulsory subject in the training program. The social work students learn English in 2
terms (120 periods of 45 minutes). The main material for the teachers and students is
Lifelines Elementary which consists of 14 units.
2.1.2. Teachers’ factors
One of the most important factors in the process of teaching is teachers. In order to carry
out this process properly, teachers need to have good experience of teaching and
understanding of the syllabus.
At VYI, there are four teachers of English. They are energetic and are willing to devote
time and energy to teaching. One of them has acquired Master‟s degree. The rest are
following a M.A course. However, none of the teachers have attended a training course in
English speaking countries. The teachers rarely have opportunities to participate in any
conferences on teaching English so they cannot update the new approach to English
teaching. Some of them are vague about approaches to English teaching. However, all of
them want to make the quality of English teaching and learning better.
2.1.3. Learners’ factors

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Students are important elements in the process of teaching and learning. It is essential to

collect as much information as possible before the syllabus is designed, lessons are planned
and method of teaching is chosen.
On average, the age of students at VYI is from 18 to 25. Most of the students come from
rural and remote areas so their English level is very low and some of them did not learn
English at the secondary school. Before entering VYI, some of the students have learned
English for 7 years; some have 3 years of learning English at high school. Therefore, they
can hardly communicate in English. They are often afraid of speaking English and
reluctant to participate in class activities. Their goal in learning English is to pass the
exams. Furthermore, the majority of the students does not have appropriate learning
strategies and have passive learning styles. They rarely prepare the lesson at home and
review the lesson regularly.
2.1.4. Materials’ factors
The teaching material currently used for the non-English major learners is the Elementary
Life Lines (1999) by Tom Hutchinson. This textbook includes 14 units, and each unit
consists of parts of grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing, listening and speaking and
pronunciation. The textbook is programmed to be taught in 2 semesters and 120 periods for
each semester. After each semester, students are to participate in a test that concentrates on
grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing. During a period of one semester, students are
required to do one test as a condition for doing the final test.
2.2. Research methodology
2.2.1. The subjects of the study
2.2.1.1. The teacher
The four teacher subjects of this research were all trained in Universities in Vietnam. They
are teaching to non-English major students at the Institute. They are from 28 to 50 with at
least 5 years of teaching experience. All teachers of English are female. One has acquired
Master‟s degree of English; two of them are attending the post-graduate courses at
University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
They are required to follow the textbook Elementary Life Lines by Tom Hutchinson in 120
periods in the training program.
2.2.1.2. The student

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120 social work students were selected at random from 2 classes KI and KII at VYI to
participate in the research. Their age varied from 18 to 25. Among them, 62% are female
and 38% are male. Their English level is not equal. Some of them have learnt English for 7
years; some others have learnt English for 3 years and the rest have never learnt English
before.

2.2.2. The instruments for collecting data
To obtain data for the study, two instruments were employed: survey questionnaire and
interviews.
2.2.2.1. Survey questionnaire
The survey questionnaire is chosen as the primary instrument for collecting data because it
easy to construct and gather a large amount of information in a processible form.
2.2.2.1.1. Questionnaire for the students
The questionnaire consists of two types of questions including 10 closed and open ended
ones (see Appendix 1). To ensure the students‟ accurate misunderstandings before
answering the questions, all of them were written in Vietnamese. Their answers were also
written in Vietnamese, which enabled them to express their ideas fully and with ease. 120
copies were delivered and collected within 1 week.
The questions focus on the following categories:
- The students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI (Question 1)
- The students’ attitudes and motivations towards learning English in general and learning
grammar in particular (Question 2-5)
- The students’ evaluation of their English grammar lessons (Question 6)
- The students’ preference in the way of teaching grammar structures (Question 7)
- The students’ way of learning grammar structures (Question 8)
- The students’ difficulties in learning grammar (Question 9)
- The students’ recommendations for improving English learning in general and grammar
learning in particular (Question 10)

2.2.2.1.2. Questionnaire for the teachers

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The second questionnaire was designed for 4 teachers of English at VYI (see Appendix 2).
It contains 10 closed and open ended questions in English. The questionnaire was delivered
to the teachers and collected within 1 week.
The questionnaire emphasizes on:
- The teachers’ understandings of mastering grammar (Question 3)
- The teachers’ aim in teaching grammar (Question 4)
- The teachers’ ways of teaching grammar (Question 5)
- The teachers’ opinions about grammar mistake correction (Question 6)
- The teachers’ opinions on CLT (Question 1, 2, 7)
- The teachers’ difficulties when applying CLT in teaching grammar to social work
students at the Institute (Question 8)
- The teachers’ recommendations for the difficult situations they met (Question 9)
- The teachers’ suggestions for grammar lessons (Question 10)
2.2.2.2. Interviews
To make data obtained from the questionnaires more valid and reliable, the interviews with
the teachers was carried out. Three teachers who apply CLT in teaching grammar to the
social work students at VYI were invited to the interviews. The author interviewed and
took notes of needed information. Then the result of the interview would be compared with
the result of the questionnaire.
The interviews only concentrate on only three questions:
- How often do you apply CLT in teaching English grammar? (Question 1)
- What difficulties have you experienced when CLT is applied to English grammar lessons?
(Question 2)
- What are your suggestions to overcome difficulties applying CLT to English grammar
lessons? (Question 3)
2.2.3. Data analysis process
Data collected from two different sources were analyzed into the following aspects:

19
a) The difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning grammar
and their expectations
b) The difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar
communicatively and their own solutions
Their self-report would be basic data to answer the research questions for this study.
2.3. Data analysis and discussions
2.3.1. Survey questionnaire
2.3.1.1. Questionnaire for the students
a. The students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI
Categories
Number (N)
Percentage (%)
Students are Kinh ethnic group ones.
69
57.5
Students are ethnic minorities (H‟mong, Muong,
Nung, Tay, Thai)
51
42.5
Students coming from cities
14
11.7
Students coming from towns
28
23.3
Students coming from townlets
32
26.7

Students coming from remote and mountainous
areas.
46
38.3
Students having learned English for 7 years
61
50.8
Students having learned English for 3 years
53
44.2
Students having never learned English before
6
0.5
Table 1: Students’ background of foreign languages before entering VYI
The table above showed the students‟ background before entering VYI. The ration of Kinh
ethnic group students to ethnic minority students was 69/51 (57.5% compared to 42.5%).
The students‟ background is quite different. 38.3% of students come from remote and
mountainous areas whereas the number of students from towns and townlets is 50%. Only
11.7% of students come from cities. What is more, the students‟ English level is a problem
for the teachers. The students having learned English for 7 years account for 50.8%, 44.2%
for 3 years and 0.5% for the students who have never learned English before entering the
school. From the figure above, it is obvious that the students are multilevel and most of
them have low English proficiency due to their coming from remote areas.

20
67.2%
4.9%
27.9%
Like or like learning English very much
Don’t like learning English at all

Neither like nor dislike learning English
b. The students’ attitudes and motivations towards learning English in general and
learning grammar in particular (Question 2-5)
Question 2, 3, 4, 5 deal with the students‟ attitudes and motivations towards learning
English in general and learning grammar in particular. Students‟ responses to Question 2
can be illustrated as follows:




Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards learning English at the school
The findings showed that 67.2% of students have positive attitudes towards learning
English. 27.9% of those neither like nor dislike English subject. The number of student
finding English uninteresting at all is only 4.9%. Overall, the students have good attitudes
towards learning English, which will be a positive contributing factor in their learning.
Question 3 focuses on students‟ reasons for learning English
23.3%
90%
38.7%
36.7%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90

100
Interest in English Communicate in
English
Need for future career A compulsory subject

Chart 2: Students’ reasons for learning English
According to the statistics, 90% of students said that they learned English to communicate
in English. 36.7% learned English for their future jobs and 23.3% learned English for their