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

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1.

Rationale
English has been used as a tool of communication among native speakers as well as

non-native ones. No one can deny the important role of English in every field of life.
Therefore, the demand for learning English is increasing in Vietnam where English is one
of the main subjects at school, and among the compulsory subjects of the entrance exams
to a number of universities.
However, both teaching and learning English in Vietnam are said to be not effective
because, as a matter of fact, the traditional method is still commonly applied in many high
schools, colleges as well as universities, which fails to get students involved in the lessons,
especially in grammar lessons.
The question of how to make the grammar lessons more interesting and how to make
students interested in them have become a big concern of every English teacher.
Teaching grammar in the light of Communicative Language Teaching Approach
(CLT) is becoming a new approach and designing suitable communicative activities to
teach grammar is necessary.
From my experience, the majority of students are more interested in the grammar
lessons when teachers use games, songs, pictures, and other communicative activities to
present the new items. For these above reasons, I have decided to conduct this paper.
2.

Aims

With the aforementioned rationale, the aims of the study are:
- To give an overview of CLT in teaching grammar.
- To suggest some communicative activities to improve students’ motivation in a grammar
lesson.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
1. Language teaching methods in teaching grammar
The Grammar- Translation method (GTM) in teaching grammar
Traditional method was rooted in the formal language of Latin and Greek and
become popular in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It was considered to be the
key to the thought and literature of a great and ancient civilization. As the name suggests,
the Grammar – Translation method requires students to translate whole texts word by word
and memorize numerous grammatical rules and exceptions as well as enormous vocabulary
lists. The goal of this method is to enable learners to read and translate literary
masterpieces and classics.
Under the Grammar- Translation method (Richard and Rodgers, 1986: 3) grammar
is taught deductively through detailed analysis of grammar rules and translations of
sentences and texts into the target language or vice versus. The Grammar – Translation
method lays the focus on teaching the form rather than the use of the target language.
According to Prator and Celce- Murcia (1979: 3), the key features of the GrammarTranslation method are as follows:
(1). Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.
(2). Much of vocabulary is taught in form of lists of isolated words.
(3). Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.
(4). Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses
on the form and inflection of words.
(5). Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.
(6). Little attention is paid to the context of texts, which are treated as exercises in
grammatical analysis.
(7). Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target
language into the mother tongue.
(8). Little or no attention is paid to pronunciation.
In this method, the learners are the passive recipients of the explicit grammar rules
and engaged in practice activities and translation exercises which require the application of

4


those rules. Listening activities take in form of dictation and speaking practice is
accomplished by having students read a passage aloud in front of the class. In other words,
communication skills are ignored. Consequently, students learn rules of grammar without
much feeling of progress in the mastery of the target language which will lead to the lack
of motivation in learning it because they have few opportunities to express themselves in
it. They just passively learn what they are taught. And after several years of studying,
students may have a fairly good knowledge of grammar and translating skills, but can
hardly communicate. Besides, in the Grammar- Translation method, the teacher holds an
authoritative role, or he is seen an ideal language model and commander of the classroom
activities.
It is worth noticing that mistakes and errors are seen as a failure and they must be
avoided at any cost. Whenever the learners make mistakes or errors, the teachers correct
immediately to make them produce grammatically correct sentences, which makes learners
reluctant to speak English.
As the name suggests, grammar is the key component, and is taught deductively
from rules to example which cause boredom to many learners.
The Grammar – Translation method dominated from the late 19 th to the early 20th
century and although it has been generally acknowledged as the least effective teaching
methodology, the method is still widely used in many countries including Vietnam.
Obviously, the best point of this method is that it helps learners become good translators
and use English accurately. In addition, it requires few resources and it is also easy to
apply and cheap to administer. That is why this method is till used in many classrooms
where there is a great shortage of teachers and learning facilities and equipment aids,
where the class is large of about 30 students, and where the teachers’ inadequate speaking
skills are accustomed to teaching procedures and where the exams still emphasize the
knowledge of grammar. Nevertheless, the biggest disadvantage of this method is the

learners find it difficult to communicate in real-life situations, or their utterances are
correct but inappropriate. This is the result of the process of learning form and usage, but
not use, and learning about the language, not using the language to learn through authentic

5


tasks. Furthermore, this method makes the learners really passive in the process of getting
knowledge. They just listen to the teacher’s explanation and do not participate in the
exploration of new knowledge.
The Audio- Lingual method
The Audio- Lingual Method was derived from “Army Method” during the World
War II where there was a need for people to learn foreign languages quickly for military
purposes. It later developed into the so called Audio- Lingual method, which then has had
considerable influence on English language teaching all over the world. This method puts
listening and speaking in the first place. It uses sentence patterns as the base of teaching
and tries to avoid mother tongue in class. Attention is paid to the need for mechanical
practice rather than explanation about the language because the ability to use the language
as a means of communication is the mastery of the linguistic system of the target language.
For a number of reasons the ALM enjoyed decades of popularity. The first strong
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 on the very early day of their study. In addition, the knowledge
learned is reinforced by repetition, so students have good memory of what they learn and
this is suitable for learners of different abilities. Another point is that, this method provides
a good systematic material.
However, the popularity finally faded away due to the shortcomings of this method.
Firstly, the success or failure of this method depends largely on the qualities of the teachers
and the availability of resources. It can be clearly noticed that if the teacher does not
diversify his techniques to make the lessons more interesting and meaningful, his students

will get bored with mechanical repetition or become “well- trained parrots” as commented
by Rivers (1981: 47). Furthermore, the teacher must be a fluent speaker as most of his
work is done orally in the target language. And more importantly, ALM failed to teach
long-term communicative proficiency because the language it taught was decontextualized and carried little communicative function.
2. Communicative language teaching (CLT) in teaching grammar

6


An overview of communicative language teaching (CLT)
Towards the end of the 1960s there was a growing dissatisfaction among applied
linguists and foreign language teachers with the language theories and teaching methods.
American Linguist Noam Chomsky demonstrated that the current standard structural
theories of language were incapable of accounting for the fundamental characteristics of
language- the creativity and uniqueness of individual sentences. Then, British applied
linguists emphasized another fundamental dimension of language that was inadequately
addressed in current approaches to language teaching at that time- the functional and
communicative potential of language. Consequently, the teaching produced structurally
competent students who were often communicatively incompetent. CLT emerged as a
response to that judgment. The term CLT covers a variety of approaches that all focuses on
helping learners to communicate meaningfully in target language. Brindley (1986: 11)
pointed out that: “the 1970s and 1980s could be regarded as the era of communicative
teaching. ” And it is probably the approach most used by trained teacher today (Paul
Davies, 200: 193).
Yalden (1987: 61) summarized the essence of CLT this: “It is based on the notion of
the learners as communicators, naturally endowed with the ability to learn language. It
seeks to provide learners with the target- language system. It is assumed that learners will
have to prepare to use the target language orally and in written form in many predictable
and unpredictable acts of communication which arise both in classroom interaction and in
real world situations, whether concurrent with language training or subsequent to it”.

According to Richard and Rogers (1986: 64), CLT focuses on “communicative proficiency
rather than mere master of structures”.
Clearly, Communicative Language Teaching emphasizes on communicative
competence which, according to Canale and Swain (1980), consists of four dimensions:
grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence and strategic
competence. Grammar competence is the knowledge of the language code, including
lexical items, rules of morphology and syntax, sentence- grammar semantics and
phonology. Sociolinguistic competence refers to an understanding of the social context in

7


which communication takes place: 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 refers to the copying strategies that
communications

employ

to

initiate,

terminate,

maintain,

repair

and

redirect

communication.
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
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 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 exchange the information he has (facts, opinions,
ideas…) with the one who does not have. In other words, as Scrivener (1994: 62) further
explains, the aims of an information gap activity is to “get learners to use the language they
are learning to interact in realistic and meaningful ways, usually involving exchanges of
information”. While doing this they will draw available vocabulary, grammar, and
communication strategies to complete a task. In communication, the speaker has a choice
of what to say and how to say. If this activity is tightly controlled and there is one way to
say something, the speaker has no choice and, therefore, is not communicative. In addition,
true communication is purposeful. A speaker can thus evaluate whether or not his purpose
has been achieved based on the information he receives from the listener.
Another characteristic of CLT is the introduction of authentic material. In CLT, it is
considered desirable to give learners the opportunity to genuine communicative needs in
realistic second language situation so that they develop strategies for understanding
language as actually used by native speakers (Canale and Swain, 1980).

8

In addition, “activities in the Communicative Approach are often carried out by
students in small group” (Larsen- Freeman, 1986: 132). Students are expected to interact
with one another, either through pairs and group works or in their writing (Finicchiaro &
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 encourage 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 experience- based view of
second language teaching” (Richard & Rogers, 1986: 69). According to CLT theory,
individual learner posses 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 Larsen- 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.

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 create a secure, non-threatening atmosphere

Status of Grammar in CLT
Many linguists and researchers have advocated grammar instruction in language
teaching and learning. The communicative competence model of Canale and Swain
(1980) clearly illustrates the significance of grammar. In this model grammar is seen as

9


one component of communicative competence. One person cannot master a language
without the knowledge of its grammar. Thanks to grammar language partly can function
as a means of communication, especially in written language. In speaking, though
grammatical mistakes are sometimes acceptable, good grammar makes one’s speech
better and more attractive, especially in formal situations. Referring to the importance of
grammar teaching, Smith (2001) worries that if we do not pay attention to grammar or
create opportunities for learner to improve their grammar, they are likely to stand the risk

of fossilization or “reach a point where they can cope with level of communication that is
demanded of them by making use of their existing grammatical resources and
communication strategies and probably with sufficient fluency not to see the need to
develop their linguistic abilities any further”
Rutherford and Smith (1988) report that grammar teaching can be beneficial to
learners in the sense that it raises learners’ consciousness concerning the differences and
the similarities of L1 and L2. Therefore, grammar teaching can be used as “a linguistic
map” with roads and signs to help students as they explore the “photograph” of the new
language.
The list of supporters of grammar is till going on. Hannan (1989) argues that
grammar is highly valuable as an important part of the study of language. Also, he points
out that grammar reflects the power and order of the human mind and, besides, it helps
us to understand the diversity of human culture. Like Hannan, Lewis (1986), Garner
(1989) gives strong support to grammar teaching. Garner believes that grammar gives us
a means to analyze and describe our language.
To sum up, the rationale for teaching grammar is multifaceted and grammar is
acknowledged to be of importance in language study in general and in language teaching
and learning in particular.
3. Teaching grammar in the light of CLT
For a few decades, there have been so many disputes on different approaches to
teaching grammar. To date, teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) are still
confronted with the crucial issue of choosing the best approach to improve their students’

10


grammatical accuracy. It cannot be denied that there has been a lot of progress in English
language teaching since the introduction of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).
Many teachers embrace CLT because CLT represents a modern and progressive way of
language teaching and their belief is to teach students to be able to use the language. And

since then many textbooks have been written to incorporate communicative activities,
authentic materials and personalized contexts, but where the teaching and learning of
grammar is concerned, most textbooks do not reflect CLT principles (Siaw- Fong Chung,
2005). Obviously, applying CLT to grammar teaching is necessary in order to deal with the
disadvantages of Grammar Translation method when being used to teach grammar such as
the learners’ inappropriate utterances and passive learning style. Nunan (1991) in the
section “Focus on form: the role of grammar” discusses the place of grammar in the recent
language teaching. According to him, there has been a shift in the role of grammar as the
view of language learning changed at different times. While grammar played a dominant
role in traditional classroom, it was just of marginal importance in earlier communicative
classrooms, which drew merely on meaning rather than form. Recent years have seen the
returning of grammar in the second language classrooms as an indispensable tool to
achieve communicative goals. Unlike in traditional approaches, where grammatical
mastery was ultimate learning objective, grammar now is important but just as a means to
the end and hence, is always put into context and learned for the sakes of social functions.
Communicative language classrooms, which focus on both form and meaning, truly
reflect the view of learning grammar as both processes and products.
The deep basic of this application is that CLT aims at developing communicative
competence and grammatical competence is one of four of its component competences.
Thus in theory, CLT may be used to teach grammar so that understanding the rules of
grammar is not an end in itself and learners are helped to recognize the communicative
value of grammar structures.
It is worth mentioning here some researchers into teaching grammar in the light of
CLT. Celce- Murcia and Hilles (1988) propose that “grammar should never be taught as an
end in itself, but always with reference to meaning, social factors, or discourse or a

11


combination of these factors” (cited in Celce- Murcia, 1991). Fuyuko Kato (1998) also

refers to the application of CLT to grammar teaching when she states that teachers are
required to create a chance of real communication in the classroom so that learners can
actually use the target grammar form in a meaningful way. Furthermore, when referring to
the limitations of Grammar Translation method (form-based) and Communicative
Approach (meaning-based), Pavel V. Sysoyev (1999) argued for a combination of formbased and meaning-based focus, and thus proposed a method that he called “integrative
grammar teaching” (or EEE method) which consists of three major stages : exploration,
explanation and expression. Recently, Siaw- Fong Chung (2005) in an attempt to find out
whether CLT principles are incorporated into grammar exercises in textbooks has
suggested five methods so that grammar activities can be made more communicative. The
five methods relate to games, natural contexts, balancing skills, personalization and
adjustment of teacher role.
Obviously, grammar has played a central role in language teaching, and the question
“how to teach grammar” is far from being satisfactorily answered. Nevertheless, the
tendency of applying CLT to grammar teaching s indispensable in order to improve the
drawbacks of the traditional ways of teaching grammar.
There are two main approaches to teach grammar. These are deductive and inductive
approach. In deductive approach, the teachers give the rules and then students give
examples. In contrast, an inductive approach is when the rule is inferred through some
forms of guided discovery. The teacher gives examples and asks the students to find out
the rule form themselves. A deductive approach often fits into a lesson structure known as
PPP (Presentation- Practice- Production). And PPP approach is a common one to
communicative language teaching that works through progression of three sequential
stages. The teacher presents the target language and then gives students the opportunity to
practice it through controlled activities. The final stage of the lesson gives the students
opportunity to practice the target language in freer activities.
Presentation stage:

12

Presentation is where the teacher presents the new language, and necessarily requires
the creation of realistic “situation” in which the target language is learned. This can be
achieved through using pictures, charts, songs, story telling, visuals, or actual “classroom
situation”
In the presentation stage the teacher does the work.
Practice
Practice is where the students are made to practice the new language with the
teacher and their peers. The teacher gives student different sorts of exercises to practice:
drilling followed by pair work is the most common way of organizing practice. One of the
useful techniques for this stage is games. They provide a relaxing environment for the
students to practice the new grammatical items effectively. At this stage practice is
controlled and the teacher emphasizes on accuracy.
In the practice stage the teacher and the students do the work.
Production
Production is where the teacher makes the students “produce” the new language
they have learned on their own (without the teacher’s help). This is usually done with a
speaking activity, a game, a discussion, a role-play, “find someone who”. In this activity
the students must add the new grammar or vocabulary they have just learned to the English
they have already known. At this stage practice is not controlled by the teacher. The
students learn to speak by themselves to get fluency.
In the production stage, the students do the work.
4. Students’ interest
4.1. Concept of students’ interest
Ellis (1994) states that interest is one of the main elements of motivation and a
positive response to stimulate based on existing cognitive structures in such a way that
learners’ curiosity is aroused and sustained. In other words, interest shows learners’ desire
to learn the target language. It can be seen that students who are given opportunities for
communication will be interested in the lesson.

13

Ellis (cited in Dickinson, 1987) also points out that “interest is endangered if
learners become self- centered”. This means they are able to determine their learning
objectives, choose their own way of achieving these, and evaluate their own progress.
4.2. Factors affecting students’ interest in the class
- Students’ learning style
Students’ learning style is one of the factors we should take into consideration to
see the particular approach by which students try to learn. According to Keefe (1979: 4),
learning style can be seen as cognitive, affective and physiological features that are
relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond to the
learning environment. Major factors conditioning the ways learners think and study are the
educational system, the socio- cultural background and personality variables.
Undoubtedly, it is very necessary to understand the learners’ learning styles
because this will help teachers design suitable activities for all of them so that they can
learn effectively. There are students who prefer to do grammar exercises after learning
grammatical structures and their rules. But others like to exploit grammatical rules through
games, pictures and puzzles. They approach the target language items differently.
Moreover, their ability is to grasp is also different, so the teachers should know their
learners’ learning style to bring about their learning effectively
- Students’ motivation
Motivation is popularly considered to play a very important role in 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 learner’s wish to
become a member of the target language community or to obtain a better job and shortterm 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 activities; for stimulation; for knowledge
and for ego enhancement.

14


5. The impact of CLT to grammar teaching on students’ interest
CLT appearing between the 1960s and 1970s marks the beginning of major
innovation within language teaching and it has been widely accepted nowadays because of
it superior principles. Obviously, grammar plays an important role in ELT because learners
cannot communicate effectively without grammar. Furthermore, the understanding of
grammar helps us build up confidence in using the target language and encourages us to
use the language accurately and appropriately. Grammar is an integral part of language, so
the more we can find out about how grammar is learned and used, the more effectively we
will teach it. In fact, there have been many researchers on grammar as well as grammar
teaching. The problem here is that how to teach grammar and which approach to grammar
is appropriate. Nowadays, CLT, with its foundation and on recent achievements in the field
of linguistic and psychology, has been considered to be the most effective approach of
grammar teaching. In fact, teaching grammar in the light of CLT makes the grammar
lessons more exciting and more communicative. Students are equipped with vocabulary,
structures and functions as well as strategies, which enable them to interact successfully.
Consequently, students are much more interested in the lessons.
6. Practical application
In order to apply CLT to teaching grammar effectively, a variety of techniques and
activities should be used at different stages of a grammar lesson. In this paper, I am going
to suggest some popular techniques and classroom activities for the communicative
practice.
6.1. Using games and problem-solving activities
The latest concern of the foreign language teachers is to make the students use the
target language communicatively. Among the activities or techniques, games and problem
solving activities are the most preferable communicative activities.
Both games and problem- solving activities have a goal. Games are organized

according to rules, and they are enjoyable. Most games require group works, whereas
problem- solving activities (though they are structured) require individual response and

15


creative solutions. Games and problem- solving activities are generally used after at the
practice stage and more frequently at the production stage, because such communicative
tasks can only be handled after mastering sufficient grammar and lexical points.
Students are more motivated when learning through the games because of the
competition in games. Besides, games also reduce the stress in the classroom. Games and
problem- solving problems can be used at all levels.
When using games, of course, the teacher must be sure that students are familiar
with the words and structures needed to carry out the task. Quick drill should usually be
done before students play games. Furthermore, it is important to design clear and easy
instructions for the games or the activities. These are the common games and activities
used in grammar teaching.
Sample 1 (see Appendix 1)
Guessing games and chain games to practice present simple tense with daily routine are
suitably applied for production stage.
6. 2. Using songs
Songs and music always create relaxing and non-threatening atmosphere for
students, who are usually tense when speaking English in a formal classroom setting. In
any case, students find the lesson challenging and interesting as evident from songs. And
that is in itself, a major success to breaking the traditional view of grammar classes as dull
and boring. In grammar lesson, songs may be used both used for the presentation and
practice phase.
Sample 2: (See Appendix 2)- using the song “Lemon tree” to present the present
continuous tense.
Type of activity: individual work, pair work, whole class

Aims: to present the present continuous tense
Preparation: make the copy of the handouts for each student and action verbs.
Procedure:
• Deliver the handouts to the students

16


• Ask students to read the verbs listed in the handout and explain that 7 of these verbs are
in the song
• Let students read these verbs in choral and check the meaning if necessary
• For the first listening, students listen and choose the verbs that appear in the song
• Students work in pairs and share their ideas
• For the second listening, students have to fill in these verbs in the correct blank
• Show the video clip of the song on the screen and ask students to pay attention to the
action in the song
• Give students the eliciting questions and let them withdraw the form, use and meaning of
the tense
• For an active and strong class, the teacher can ask the students to sing the song
individually or the whole class
6. 3. Role play
Role play is used to refer all sorts of activities where students imagine themselves in a
situation outside the classroom, sometimes playing the role of someone rather than
themselves, and using language appropriate to this new context. For example, ask and
answer questions, one student acts the teacher and the other plays the student.
This activity is often used at the production stage.
Sample: (See Appendix 3)
6.4. Interview
Interview is also a learning activity that can be used to teach grammar. Students interview
each other and they can say true sentences about themselves. In that way, students learn

and practice the structures and they also get to know about their partners. This activity
makes the learning atmosphere more friendly and relaxing because they may find
something in common and they can share with each other. Interview is usually suitable for
the production stage.
Sample: (See Appendix 4)
6.5. Telling stories

17


“Everyone loves stories, including ESL students. Stories are used in contemporary ESL
materials to promote communication and expression in the classroom.” Celce- Murcia
(1988: 51)
Both teachers and students can tell stories. “Our students are marvelous storytellers as well
as listeners, and this ability can be used to good advance.” Celce- Murcia (1988: 55)
Telling stories is suitably applied for the production stage when students are free to say
what they want and what they think. In that way, they can develop their imagination and
self- confidence at the same time.
Sample: (See Appendix 5)
PART C: CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is undeniable that teaching grammar in the light of CLT does a
lot to boost students’ interest in learning. The students are really motivated with
communicative activities such as games, songs, role play and the like. They also help
students understand the new language items more easily as well as use them in real
communicative situation. However, to manage a successful grammar lesson in a
communicative way depends on many factors including teachers, students, and
administrators. To start with, students’ attitude about learning English in general and in
grammar in particular needs to be changed. English should be considered to be as
important as other subjects and using English to communicate is their goal of their
studying. Besides the students’ efforts, the teachers play a very important role in changing

students’ attitudes. The teachers need consciously get their students familiar with
communicative approach through every lesson. In addition, teachers should stimulate
students to join class activities especially the weak and passive students. Negative
comments from the teachers which undermine the students and influence the students’
participation in the class should be avoided. The teachers should also go around the class
to observe and give students help if necessary, which partly contributes to reduce the
students’ Vietnamese speaking during group work. Apart from that, the training course in
CLT should be held regularly to help teachers update their knowledge and exchange their

18


teaching experience so that they can apply CLT to teaching grammar to make their
grammar lessons more effective.

REFERENCES
1. Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to Language
Pedagogy. Addison Wesley Longman
2. Brindley, G. (1986). Some Current Issues in Second Language Teaching. Prospect,
Vol 1 No 3 April 1986
3. Canale, M. & Swain, M. (1980). Approaches to Communicative Competence.
SEAMEO Regional Language Center
4. Celce- Murcia, M. (1988). Techniques and Resources in Teaching Grammar.
Oxford University Press.
5. Finochiaro, M. & Brumit, C. (1983). The Functional – Notional Approach: From
Theory to Practice. Oxford University Press
6. Garner, M. (1989). Grammar: Warts and All Melbourn: River Seine
7. Harmer, J. (1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman
8. Harmer, J. (1987). Teaching and Learning Grammar. Longman Group UK Limited
9. Larsen, D. & Freeman. (1986). Techniques and Resources in Teaching Grammar.

Oxford University Press.
10. Nunan, D. (1991). Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom. Sydney:
Macquarie University Press.
11. Richards, J. C & Rodgers, J.S (1986). Approaches and Methods in Language
Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
12. Pator, C.H. and Celce- Murcia, M. (1979). An outline of Language Teaching
Approaches. In Celce- Murcia, M and McIntosh, L. (Ed), Teaching English as a
Second or Foreign Language. New York: Newbury House.

19


13. Chung, Siaw- Fong. (2005). A Communicative Approach to Teaching Grammar.
Theory and Practice. Malaysian English Language Association
14. Rutherford, W. and Smith, M. (1998). Introduction. In W. Rutherford and M.
Smith (Eds). Grammar and Second Language Teaching. New York: Newbury
House
15. />APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1
USING GAMES AND PROBLEM SOLVING ACTIVITIES
PRESENT SIMPLE
Aim: to practice present simple tense with daily routine and action verbs.
Level: Elementary
Grammar points: To practice the present simple with the daily routine and action words.
This game is suitably applied for production stage
Before carrying out this game, teacher should review the daily routine vocabulary
Guessing game
Guessing game with the action verbs
Aim: to review the daily routine vocabulary
Procedure:

-

Divide Ss into 2 groups, give each group a name and then appoint a representative
of each group. The two players of two groups back to the board.

-

Teacher writes a word on the board. The rest of the class will explain the word by
body language (do not speak the words on the board or translate them into
Vietnamese). The two players guess and speak out the word. Who has the correct
answer first will get one point for his/ her team. Change the players after each turn.

For example: get up, do exercises, get dressed, brush your teeth
-

Have the whole class read the words in choral

CHAIN GAME:
Type of activity: group work, whole class

20


Procedure:
-

Divide Ss into groups of 10 sitting in a circle and number the student from 1- 10

-

The first student in every group start the chain by repeating a sentence the teacher
has giving.

-

Then student 2 repeats what student 1 said and adds his/ her own idea to it

-

Student 3 repeats what student 1 and 2 have said and adds to it

For example:
S1: I usually get up at 6.30 o’clock
S2: I usually get up at 6.30 o’clock and then I do exercises for 15’
S3: I usually get up at 6.30 o’clock, I do exercises for 15’ and then brush my teeth.
S4: etc
- If the student gives the wrong repetition, they are out of the game. Play until there is
one student and he/ she will become the winner.
APPENDIX 2:
LEMON TREE
I.
sitting
stepping
driving
running
wasting

Listen and circle the words you hear in the song
meeting
standing

waiting
looking
going

II.

doing
hanging
turning
eating
climbing

Listen and fill in the numbered blanks
I'm (1)______ here in the boring room
It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I'm (2)______ my time
I got nothing to do
I'm (3)______ around
I'm waiting for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

21


I'm (4)______ around in my car
I'm driving too fast
I'm driving too far
I'd like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely
I'm (5)______ for you

But nothing ever happens and I wonder
I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
I'm (6)______ my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning around
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree
I'm sitting here
I miss the power
I'd like to go out taking a shower
But there's a heavy cloud inside my head
I feel so tired
Put myself into bed
Well, nothing ever happens and I wonder
Isolation is not good for me
Isolation I don't want to sit on the lemon-tree
I'm (7)______ around in the desert of joy
Baby anyhow I'll get another toy
And everything will happen and you wonder

22


I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me 'bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree
I'm turning my head up and down
I'm turning turning turning turning turning around

And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
And I wonder, wonder
APPENDIX 3- ROLE PLAY
Safe at last
Type of activity: pair work, group work
Aim: To practice the past simple tense
Level: Elementary
Preparation: one copy of the newspaper article per student; one set of role card per pair of
students.
-

Pre-teach the following items of vocabulary: to sail, a sailor, on island, sand, to
rescue, a pilot, a reporter, to interview someone.

-

Give each student a copy of the newspaper article to read and check the have
understood the main points.

-

Divide the class into pairs. Give half the pairs Reporter’s role cards and the other
half Sailor role card.

-

Students prepare questions and answer in their pairs, following the instructions on
the cards. Allow ten or fifteen minutes for this and help Ss with vocabulary if
necessary.

-

Rearrange the class so that each pair of “reporters” can interview a pair of “sailors”
(with a strong class, reporters can interview sailors individually)

-

Reporters tell the whole class the most interesting things they have found out about
their sailor.

23


-

Finally, each reporter can work with one of the sailors they interviewed and write
the newspaper article together.

(Adapted from Cutting Edge Elementary- Teacher’s Resource Book)
APPENDIX 3

24


25


APPENDIX 4
THE SUPERLATIVE SURVEY
Aim: to practice the superlative adjectives and adverbs in a fun and real situations by

carrying out the survey
Grammar point: THE SUPERLATIVE
Level: Elementary
This activity is used for production stage
THE SUPERLATIVE SURVEY
Preparation: one card for each student. (If you have more than twelve students in the
class, use duplicate cards)
Procedure:
-

Give each student one card

-

Give the instructions: students must find out the answer to the question on the card
by talking to all the other students in the class and then report back to the class

-

Allow student time to write one or two questions they need to interview the other
students. For example, a student with card A will need to ask two questions: Have
you got any brothers or sisters? How old are they? Make sure that they have
appropriate questions before they make the survey.

-

Students move around the room and ask the questions they have prepared. They
must talk to every student in class, and should make brief notes of the answers.

-

Students work out the answers to the questions on the cards and report to the class.

For example:
-

A student with card A: Lan has got the oldest sister. She is 35 years old.

-

A student with card G: Long usually wakes up earliest in our class. He wakes up at
5 a.m.

(Adapted from cutting Edge Elementary- Teacher’s Resource Book)

26