CHUYÊN đề hội THẢO các TRƯỜNG CHUYÊN VÙNG DHĐBBB lần THỨ VIII năm 2015 môn TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG CHUYÊN hà NAM

PART I: INTRODUCTION
The current situation of globalization now has urged people to learn English as a
common tool of communication, which resulted in an increasing demand for English
teaching and learning.
It can be seen that English is now being taught to kids since they are at their very early
age. Course books of English are also trying to update the most modern approaches of
teaching to meet the demand. Being a high school teacher of English, I realize that the
change in course methodology is the most important factor to lead to the success of the
innovation. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been the dominant approach
in teaching English recently. It has been reflected in the teaching of the four skills, which
has moved from the presentation, practice and production (PPP) to pre-, while- and poststages. Grammar, as a sub-system in a network of other linguistic sub-systems and subskills (Newby, 2003), has been attached different roles in the language classroom,
reaching little consensus, not only about the particular items to be taught, but about when,
or how, or even where to teach or learn. Although grammar instruction has also been a
part of a unit in the text book, we need to go beyond this to bring grammar instruction
fully to life and to make it purposeful and communicative.
This essay is going to provide a theoretical background of teaching grammar, some
problems associated with grammar teaching and some suggestions for implementing the
integration of grammar into communicative teaching.
Hopefully, this essay will help other teachers of English as a foreign language to have a
proper understanding of the issue.

1


PART II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1. Teaching grammar: Linguistic approaches.
1.1. Traditional grammar teaching
The traditional approach to language teaching is PPP: Presentation, Practice and
Production. This approach was at one time virtually the only acceptable second language
task sequence. In the PPP cycle, a focused presentation stage in which grammar
presentation comes first is followed by practice activities. These practice activities are

designed to enable learners to produce rapidly and easily the material which has been
presented. In the production stage, opportunities are provided to use language freely and
flexibility in the expectation that this will consolidate what is being learned and extend its
range of applicability.
For a long time, this approach seems to be very powerful and proves to have a lot of
advantages. It is easy for the teacher to perform; it lends itself to accountability because
of clear and tangible goals, which can be evaluated; there is the possibility of clear
connection with underlying theory.
The belief that a focus on a particular form leads to learning and automatization no longer
carries much credibility in linguistics. Instead, the contemporary view of language
development is that learning is constrained by internal processes. Learners do not simply
acquire the language to which they are exposed. In other words, such a teacher-focused
approach needs to be replaced by another one that can help avoid problems of PPP and
can promote learning process more rapidly and effectively.
1.2. Communicative language teaching
Communicative language teaching was initially influenced by linguists with a notionalfunctional view of language. With Hymes, Austin and especially Halliday’s theories,
grammar was considered as both semantic and functional (Bloor, 2004:2), or as the study
of linguistic forms realizing meanings, the so-called Systemic-Functional Grammar
According to this new concept of grammar, which appeared in Halliday’s writings in the
2


70s and which was consolidated in the 80s with his Introduction to Functional Grammar,
the dichotomies: form vs. function, form vs. meaning, fluency vs. accuracy, meaningbased instruction vs. form-based instruction would be irrelevant, since the concepts of
function, meaning and communication would be included within the study of grammar
and linguists should focus on the use of language rather than on its form itself. Thus,
grammatical knowledge was performance, rather than competence, and grammar was
considered as a sub-skill to be learned as procedural knowledge (doing rather than just
knowing).
2. The role of grammar in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

According to Thornbury, 1999, there are two main types of CLT: the shallow-end
approach and the deep-end approach to CLT.
In the shallow-end approach to Communicative Language Teaching, the learner is
believed to learn the grammatical rules first and then apply them in the communicative
situation. On the other hand, the deep-end approach to CLT is based on the belief that
grammar is acquired unconsciously during the performance on those communicative
situations, so it would be useless to teach grammar previously and explicitly (Thornbury,
1999:18-19)
This indicates that grammar does play a role in communicative teaching, at least in its
shallow-end approach. First, it just dresses up the grammatical structures into
communicative functions; although they are not presented explicitly, they are still there.
Second, if we have a functional, Hallidayan concept of grammar, the explicit teaching of
functions would still be grammar teaching: according to Halliday, grammar is the study
of linguistic forms (wordings) realizing functions or meanings; both wordings and
functions are studied by grammar (Halliday,1997).
In the shallow-end to CLT, grammar is taught in a way that we can define as inductive:
learners are not presented with a list of grammatical rules that they have to learn by heart
(presentation-practice-production cycle) but rather, the teacher provides them with
3


examples from which the learners will have to infer the rules by themselves. By this way,
the teacher makes the learners relate the new grammatical concepts to other grammatical
information that they already have. By provoking a consciousness-raising in the learners
they take into account their general framework of knowledge which is already acquired,
so the new grammar is as familiar to the learner as possible and it is not presented as
something strange or unattached to previous knowledge.
Contrarily from the shallow-end approach, the deep-end methodology claimed that
grammar should be acquired unconsciously, in line with Krashen’s theories (1985)
reflected on his Natural Approach, which became widely popular as an acquisitionoriented model. This has made people believe that the teaching of grammar is harmful for

communicative competence, as it claims that conscious reflection about grammar affects
negatively input processing and performance. According to Lock, this excluding view of
grammar in deep-end approaches was also strongly influenced by a rejection of
traditional methodologies in which grammatical competence was acquired with the
approach of the rule plus drilling methodology typical of Audiolingual or traditional
grammar methods (Lock, 1997:267), because learners knew a lot about grammar but
were unable to put that grammatical knowledge into practice. The reaction, in deep-end
approaches, was not to teach grammar, as learners would be unable to integrate it within
communication processes.
However, even when the contradiction about teaching grammar still exists, in the
classroom the deep-end approach is not currently used, as most authors and teachers
attach a role to grammar, without diminishing the main target of communication.

4


PART 3: SITUATION ANALYSIS
1. The textbook and teaching grammar
As can be seen from the change of course methodology in course-books, especially for
high school students, communicative approach is mainly used to design the textbook for
students. In each unit, the four skills are taught separately in each lesson. The final
lesson, the Language Focus section in each Unit in the course-book, takes grammar and
pronunciation as the main point. Since 2013, The Ministry of Education and Training,
Vietnam Publishing House in cooperation with Pearson Education has published a series
of textbooks designed in a new form. Although Pronunciation and Grammar are still
isolated from the four skills, grammar is supposed to teach inductively rather than
deductively. In other words, the traditional method of teaching grammar (PPP) is almost
no longer used in current teaching situations. Students are led to discover the grammar
rules by themselves from reading samples or from their own practice.
2. Problems of integrating grammar into CLT

Of course, the question of how learners are to learn the necessary grammar without
affecting the language outcome still remains.
Although, it is now fully accepted that an appropriate amount of class time should be
devoted to grammar, this has not meant a simple return to a traditional treatment of
grammar rules. There are some problems when integrating grammar into communicative
language teaching as follows:
•

Direct grammar instruction or explicit grammar teaching is still very common.

•

Contextual instructional techniques are not readily accessible to practitioners.

•

In most cases, grammar instruction is not integrated into the four skills but given
in isolation.

5


•

Mostly it is teachers that formulate the grammar rules. Grammar rules will be
clearer and be remembered better when students formulate them themselves
(inductive learning) than when teachers formulate them (deductive learning).

•

Learners need repeated input of a grammar item. Just one grammar presentation is
not enough.

•

Grammar should be taught in digestible segments bearing the cognitive process in
mind.

Traditional grammar teaching, for instance, tends to cover the following points in the
same lesson:
•

the passive voice with all the tenses,

•

all the uses of indirect speech (i.e. reporting statements, negative statements,
question forms, imperatives, requests, time expressions, etc.)

•

all the forms of a structure (i.e. statements, negative statements, questions,
exceptions, etc).

6


PART 4: SUGGESTIONS
Following the review of some problems of teaching grammar in communicative
approach, this part is going to suggest some solutions to those problems.

1. Inductive way of teaching grammar
The view that grammar is too complex to be taught in that over-simplifying way has had
an influence, and the focus has now moved away from the teacher covering grammar to
the learners discovering grammar.
Wherever possible, learners are first exposed to new language in a comprehensible
context, so that they are able to understand its function and meaning. Only then is their
attention turned to examining the grammatical forms that have been used to convey that
meaning. The discussion of grammar is explicit, but it is the learners who are doing most
of the discussing, working out - with guidance from the teacher – as much of their new
knowledge of the language as can easily and usefully be expressed. Behind this strategy
lies the recognition that the learners may well have ‘understood’ more about the language
than they - or the teacher - can put into words. If the new language were introduced in the
form of an apparently all-embracing (but actually pitifully incomplete) rule from the
teacher, this would convey the unspoken message that the learners had nothing further to
understand about the language point and simply needed to practice it. If, on the other
hand, talking about grammar is postponed until the learners themselves can contribute by
bringing to light what they already in some sense ‘know’, the unspoken message is that
the process of acquiring the new knowledge is one which takes place inside them and
over which they have some control. Indeed, with the recent emphasis on training learners
to learn efficiently, this message is likely to be explicitly discussed.
This ‘retrospective’ approach to grammar is a natural development from the original CLT
emphasis on viewing language as a system for communication; it also takes into account
the fact that learning is likely to be more efficient if the learners have an opportunity to
talk about what they are learning. While looking explicitly at grammar may not lead
7


immediately to learning, it will facilitate learning at a later stage when the learner is ready
(in some way that is not yet understood) to internalize the new information about the
language.

2. Integrating grammar in Task-based teaching
Task-based language teaching is one of the methods used in communicative language
teaching and is currently used in the students’ course book. The thing is how to integrate
grammar into this way of teaching.
First, the focus on form would not be presented at the beginning of each task, in a precommunicative stage (like in the Presentation and Practice stages previous to the
Production stage in the traditional, structural classroom sequence) but rather it can be
presented after providing authentic input, so that the communicative mood of the lesson
would not be interrupted.
Second, that focus on form would be complemented with enabling tasks, such as
communicative activities, which make learners manipulate the linguistic forms in a
communicative way, like in a ‘find someone who…’ activity, and which do not stop the
communicative mood of the lesson (Nunan, 2007:24).
Third,in Task Based Language Teaching some grammatical items can be repeated
throughout the syllabus instead of being presented only once, so that there is a constant
review of them and learners will not have the feeling of studying the grammatical items
in isolation.
In conclusion, in Task-Based Language Teaching, it attempts to deal with grammar
teaching in a way in which the learners’ communicative skills are not harmed but
improved. Thus, grammar is considered as a means towards communication and not as
the end itself.
3. The application of pre-, while- and post-stages into teaching grammar

8


Traditional grammar teaching starts with the teacher's statement of the grammatical point
on the board. Integrated grammar teaching is a unique and an authentic approach because
it implements the pre-, while- and post-stages.
The application of pre-, while- and post-stages into teaching grammar are shown below in
two sample grammar lessons extracted from Bayram Pekoz.

Sample Grammar Lesson 1: Used to
Pre-grammar
a) The teacher discusses the topic "changes in people over the years"
b) The teacher shows two pictures of a woman. One picture was taken 20 years ago and
the other one is new. The old picture shows her playing the guitar while the new one
displays her painting pictures. The teacher then asks them to compare the two pictures.
While-grammar
a) This stage provides a context for input generation and an opportunity to notice the
new grammatical structure. The teacher tells them they are going to learn a new structure
(for the purpose of noticing) but does not mention the name of structure (for
motivational purposes).
b) The teacher makes a transition from the context created in 1b to the grammatical point
by showing the same pictures and telling the picture differences with "used to" and
"simple present tense" (i.e. "She used to play the guitar as a hobby, but now she doesn't,
she paints pictures as a hobby now", etc).
c) The teacher creates other contexts for the teaching of grammatical point through some
other picture comparisons, discussions, stories, or reading/listening texts.
d) The teacher asks some clarification check questions to ensure that the meaning is
clear. Some examples:
Did she often play the guitar in the past?/Does she play the guitar now?
9


Did she often paint pictures in the past?/Does she paint pictures now?
Did she have long hair in the past?/Does she have long hair now?
e) The teacher asks the students to formulate the rule on the board for the given
sentence providing help if needed.
She used to

play the guitar.

S + Used to + V 1 …
(Note: The while-stage may involve production of the new structure through some
questions about the pictures. In this case, however, the purpose is to confirm whether the
meaning has been clarified.)
Post-grammar (adapted from Fatma Toköz, former student)
Brainstorming
The teacher asks students to think back to when they were a child and asks the following
questions: "What are the differences and similarities between your life then and now?
Think about where you lived, your likes/dislikes, your holidays and your family, and fill
in the following lines with appropriate sentences".
Your life as a child...
________________________________________
________________________________________
Your present life...
________________________________________
________________________________________

Role-play

10


The teacher forms pairs of students and gives a role play to each student. The role playing
students are supposed to be old friends meeting after a long time. They are supposed to
communicate and note the differences in each using either their imagination or the role
play cues.
Writing
The teacher asks students to write a story about the following topic for the school
magazine.

Imagine that you have been asleep from 2007 till 2050. You have just woken up to be
shocked about everything around you. Compare your old and new lives and write your
story using "used to".
Sample Grammar Lesson 2: The present perfect passive voice
Pre-grammar Stage
First, the teacher has a discussion on burglaries. Following this discussion, the teacher
shows a picture of a living room and says: "Today, a burglar has broken into this room.
What do you think he has taken?" (The teacher tries to elicit responses such as he has
taken the lap-top computer, he has stolen the jewellery, etc ).
While-grammar Stage
The teacher shows a different picture of the same living room and turns attention to the
missing items and says the following:
"The lap-top computer has been taken from the room.
The jewellery has been stolen.
The small TV has been taken as well.
The picture on the wall has been taken, too".

11


The teacher asks questions to elicit the passive voice structure. Following this, the teacher
asks clarification check questions such as:
What is the difference between "the burglar has stolen the jewellery", and "the jewellery
has been stolen"?; when do you think we need the second structure?, etc.
The teacher asks the students to formulate the rule on the board.
Alternatively, or additionally, the context can be created through a reading text written in
the present perfect passive voice.
Post-grammar Stage
The teacher gives the following hand-out to be filled out and asks students to walk
around and ask questions to the class members.

Find someone

Class members name

who has been blamed for something he/she hasn't done.
who has been disappointed by a close friend.
who has been told some good news today.
who has been told some bad news today.
who has been abandoned by his/her girlfriend/boyfriend.
who has been misunderstood today.
who has been forgiven by an old friend recently.
who has been given a present today.

Role-play
12


The teacher forms pairs of students and gives a role play to each student. One of the pairs
holds the names of the cities and their weather reports, the other holds information about
some football matches and the name of the cities where they are being held. They will
exchange the information and find out which football matches have been cancelled.
Writing
The teacher assigns an incomplete writing task and asks them to complete it using some
cue words and the present perfect passive tense as in the following:
Your wedding is very soon, but most of the arrangements have not been made yet. Write
a complaint letter to the wedding specialist using these clues: wedding invitations,
wedding dress, wedding party, wedding cake, wedding photographer, honeymoon,
limousine cars.
Dear wedding specialist,
I visited your office today but you were out. I have seen that most of the wedding

arrangements have not yet been made.
To begin with,
……………..
4. Correction of grammatical mistakes in CLT.
Integrating grammar in communicative language approach should be carried out by using
unobtrusive activities that do not interrupt the communicative mood of the lesson
(Doughty and Williams, 1999). In other words, teachers should take notes their students’
grammar mistakes when they are delivering their presentation instead of stopping their
students when they are speaking. For example, small group interaction tasks with
information exchanges, expansions and reformulation techniques constitute some of the
techniques implemented within this methodology, in which learners are expected to
process forms, meaning and use simultaneously. This approach is strongly influenced by
cognitive psychology, with its role for attention, processing constraints, and working
13


versus long term memory. According to the Hallidayan conception of language, grammar
is meaning potential, so grammar can be used as a means towards both presentation and
acquisition of non-linguistic contents and as a vehicle for the acquisition of
communicative skills.
4. Conclusion
To sum up, all communicative approaches have a role for grammar teaching. Grammar
can be taught within any communicative approach without interrupting the
communicative mood; in fact, grammar can even help to enhance that communicative
mood. As Harmer (1997:7) remarks, “at this stage, it is enough to say that grammar
teaching –of both the overt and covert kind- has a real and important place in the
classroom”.

14

REFERENCES
Bloor, T. (2004).The Functional Analysis of English: a Hallidayan Approach. London;
New York: Arnold.
Doughty, C. and Williams, J. (1999). “Pedagogical choices in focus of form”, in C.
Doughty and J. Williams (eds.), Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language
Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,197-262.
Harmer, J. (1997). Teaching and Learning Grammar. London; New York: Longman.
Krashen, S. (1985). The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. New York: Longman.
Lock, G. (1997). Functional English Grammar: an Introduction for Second Language
Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Newby, D.A. (2003). Cognitive+Communicative Theory of Pedagogical Grammar.
Habilitationsschrift. Karl-Francens Universität Graz.
Nga, N. T. 2009. Teacher’s conceptualization of using Task-based method in the
standard English 11 course-book at Nguyen Viet Xuan high school, Vinh Phuc.
Nunan, D. (2007). Task-Based Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Pekoz, B. Integrating Grammar for Communicative Language Teaching. The Internet
TESL Journal, Vol. XIV, No. 10, October 2008. Retrieved on 11 th August, from the
website />Thornbury, S. (1999). How to Teach Grammar. Harlow: Longman.

15