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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Integrating grammar for communicative language
I.

Introduction
In the context of globalization, great demand for an intermediary means of

communication has made English to become, by far, the most prominent
language of all. Therefore, it can rightfully be called the lingua franca of the
modern world and is systematically used in practically every aspect of life
(Muysken, 2008). Over the centuries, second language educators have
alternated between two types of approaches to language learning: those that
focus on analyzing the language and those that focus on using the language. The
former have students learn the elements of language (e.g., sounds, structure,
vocabulary), building toward students’ being able to use the elements to
communicate. The latter encourage students to use the language from the start,
however falteringly, in order to acquire it. Early in the previous centuries, this
distinctive pattern was observable in the shift from the more form-oriented
grammar-translation approach to the use-oriented direct method (Celce-Murcia,
1988). In other words, English as a Second Language (ESL) education has
changed greatly over the past few decades, which aims at teaching
“communicative competence” including not only grammatical competence but
also sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence (Canale & Swain, 1980, cited
in Lyu, p.5). According to Weaver (1996), “The primary function of language is
communication and interaction”. Grammatical competence no longer dominates
current approaches; therefore, improving students’ communicative competence
has emerged as the new focus in language education. Although grammatical
competence no longer dominates the modern language learning and teaching, it
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stills plays an important role because grammar is “the mental system of rules
and categories that allows humans to form and interpret the words and sentences
of their language” (Richards et al, 1985). Without the fundamental knowledge
of grammar, learners cannot fully develop all aspects of language learning,
which may lead to the inaccuracy in other skills. Therefore, these two
approaches cannot be separated in second language classroom.
In many high schools in Vietnam, it is commonly seen that due to the
pressure of examinations which often focus on reading, writing, grammar and
vocabulary, or in other words, the language learning and teaching process is
somehow “exam-oriented” or “exam-prepared”, the language teaching methods
are undeniably affected. Generally, teachers spend most of the time in class
helping the students understand and remember rules and then apply them to do
grammar exercises. As a result, it is likely that students who get very good
marks in reading are not able to communicate confidently in social situations or
even produce an accurate piece of conversation. Some teachers are aware of this
problem; however, theoretically, they have difficulty keeping balance between
the two approaches. Thornburry (2001) generalized the case in the following
figure:

The figure describes the paradigm of the teaching of grammar from the
totally implicit to explicit teaching (zero grammar) to conscious grammar
teaching that exists in Grammar Translation Method (GTM). GTM used
grammar as the starting point for instruction. The class under this method began

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with explicit grammar rules presentation, followed by practices involving

translation into and out of the students’ mother tongue.
Being the “partners” who are trained to help students develop all of their
potential, teachers must encourage students to communicate their needs, ideas
and opinions (Hedge, 2000). As the goal of English Language Teaching (ELT)
became more concerned with enabling learners to interact successfully with
members of other societies, the explorations of applied linguistics assumed
increasing relevance and usefulness to the work of classroom teachers and
material designers. Since grammatical competence and communicative
competence are both important in language learning, integrating them in
classroom context is a crucial trend of modern teaching methods. This report
will mention a number of techniques to integrate grammar for communicative
language in high schools in Vietnam.
II.

Literature review
1. Grammar
1.1. The concept of grammar

The grammar of a language is the description of the way in which words change
their forms and are combined into sentences in that language. If those rules are
violated, communication suffers (Richard et al cited in Nunan, 2003).
Let’s take an example. The present tense of the verb “be” has two distinctive
forms: “is” is used with people or things in singular and “are” goes with those in
plural. When “is” is combined with plural, we have what is called an
ungrammatical sentence. When we say a learner masters the grammar, we refer
to the fact that he/she has mastered the many sets of rules that govern the use of
that language and is able to apply them to express himself/herself correctly.
1.2.

The importance of grammar

According to Ur (1988), grammar adds meanings that are not easily inferable
from the immediate context. The kinds of meaning realized by grammar are
principally representational, that is grammar enables us to use the language to
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describe the world in terms of how, when and where things happens.
Additionally, they are also principally interpersonal, which means grammar
facilities the ways we interact with other people when, for example, we need to
get thing done using language. For example, there is a difference between:
- Tickets!
- Tickets, please!
- Can you show me your tickets?
- Would you mind if I had a look at your ticket?
1.3. How to teach grammar?
1.3.1. Deductive approach - rule-driven learning
A deductive approach starts with a presentation of a rule and is followed by
examples in which the rule is applied. The grammatical rule is presented and the
learners engage with it through the study and malnipulation of examples.
1.3.2. Inductive approach - rule -discovery path
In this method, students will work out the examples and generalize them to
discover the rules by themselves. It helps to make the rules more meaningful,
memorable and serviceable.
1.3.3. The functional-notional approach
According to Krashen (1981), this method of language teaching is categorized
along with others under the rubric of a communicative approach. The method
stresses a means of organizing a language syllabus. The emphasis is on breaking
down the global concept of language into units of analysis in terms of
communicative situations in which they are used.

2. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
2.1. The concept of CLT
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach that is specifically
focuses on the ability to communicate naturally and realistically as a response to
the recognition of the current need to emphasize communication skills in
instruction (Kemp, 2003, p. 7). The goal of CLT is for learners to achieve
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“communicative

competence”,

which

includes

not

only

grammatical

competence but also sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic competence
(Canale & Swain, 1980; Savignon, 1997, cited in Chan, 1999, pp. 1112). CLT
emphasizes the learning and using of a target language in a meaningful context
(Savignon, 1993, cited in Chan, 1999, p. 11), meaning its focus is on
communication. There is no doubt that the ultimate goal of learning a language
is to be able to communicate in the target language. CLT concerns the
meaningful use of language in a context, and it has moved the focus from

explicit grammar and the language to expression and comprehension of
meaning.
However, in doing so CLT only changes the subjects and contents of the
lessons, staying still within the domain of language. Even though CLT claims
that the focus is on communication, it still starts from the point of teaching
language rather than teaching how to communicate. There is no language or
grammar in the real world. In fact, they exist only in our subjective experience
and are not real world entities (Coleman, 2002; Yngve, 1996; Saussure, 1959).
As Yngve (2004, p. 17) says, people should be the objects of study from the
point of view of how they communicate. Therefore, the focus should be on
learning how people communicate in a target speech community.
Since language itself has always been the focus in language learning, it
seems that it is hard to get out of the box called “grammar”, the forms of a
language. Explanations of “objects of language”, in Saussure’s terms, like
words, sentences, grammar, etc. have always been considered important, as key
parts of learning/teaching to communicate.
2.2.

The components of communicative language ability

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Hedge (2000) assumes that there are five components of communicative
language ability, which are:
• Linguistic competence: is concerned with knowledge of the language
itself, its form and meaning. The linguistic competence involves the
knowledge of spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, word formation,
grammatical structure, sentence structure, and linguistic semantics.
Acquisition of grammar will probably involve explicit knowledge of

grammatical concepts, categories, and rules, and teachers will need to
decide which description of these to choose from those available.
• Pragmatic competence: is generally considered to involve two kinds of
ability. In part it means knowing how to use language in order to achieve
certain communicative goals or intentions. This has also been called
illocutionary competence. An example would be “It’s so hot today”. This
statement could have a number of illocutionary forces. It might be a
statement about the physical atmosphere, a request to open the window,
or an attempt to elicit the offer of a cold drink.
• Discourse competence: Second language learners will need to acquire
useful language for strategies such as initiating, entering, interrupting,
checking and confirming in conversation. These various abilities needed
to create coherent written texts or conversation, and to understand them,
have together been termed discourse competence (Canale and Swain,
1980) or textual competence (Bachman, 1990).
• Strategic competence: Canale and Swain define strategic competence as
‘how to cope in an authentic communicative situation and how to keep
the communicative channel open’. These strategies come into play when
learners are unable to express what they want to say because they lack
resources to do so successfully. They compensate for this either by
changing their original intention or by searching for other means of
expression.
• Fluency: The term ‘fluency’ related to language production and it is
normally reserved for speech. It is the ability to link units of speech
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together with facility without strain or inappropriate slowness, or undue
hesitation.
III.

Results and discussion

In modern classroom context, there are some techniques to integrate
grammar and communicative language. These techniques will be briefly
illustrated in the following part.
1. Grammar dictation
1.1. What is grammar dictation?
Grammar dictation, also called Dictogloss by its creator Ruth Wajnryb,
involves collaborating in small groups, actively using their language, and
reflecting on the way grammar works in context. It also encourages students
to reflect on their own output.
The technique is a relatively simple one. The teacher dictates a passage
containing target language form at normal speed. Students take notes and
then work in small groups to reconstruct the original passage.
1.2.

An example of grammar dictation
Activity: Garlic, the great healer

Topic: Health and medicine
Language points:
- Time expression
- Present perfect simple tense
- Past simple tense
- Causal connections
Preparation: Bring to class a clove of garlic
Warm-up:
- In class, ask for a volunteer for a guessing game
- Blindfold the volunteer and ask him or her to try and identify the clove of

garlic by touch alone. (Volunteer’s back to class)
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- If the student is unable to guess, invite others to try, until the garlic has
been identified
- Then point out to the students that people often have strong attitude
towards garlic. Ask your class how they feel about it and why.
Pre-text vocabulary
to heal (v): to make well again
antibiotic (n): the medicine that kill bacteria
juice (n): the liquid part of a plant
infection (n): the spread of germs
Text:
1.
2.
3.
4.

All through history people have used garlic for healing.
People used it in India and China over 500o years ago.
Because it is a natural medicine, it is a very safe antibiotic.
During World War I, for example, doctors used garlic juice because it
helped stop infection.
Adapted from Ruth Wajnryb (1990)

2. Garden path
2.1. What is garden path?
The technique could be considered rather cruel. In order to encourage
students to process the target structure somewhat more deeply than they

might otherwise do, the task is set up to get students to overgeneralize. It
thus leads them into error. This is a technique based on inductive learning.
Students study examples of the language and come to a hypothesis or
generalization. If the generalization is too broad, they are given
disconfirming evidence and then have to modify their hypothesis.
2.2.

An example of garden path

Teacher: Look at these examples for forming superlative adjectives. (Write
on the board: cute  the cutest, grand  the grandest) Now make

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superlatives out of “beautiful”, “outrageous”, “expensive”, Now what do we
have?
Student: beautifulest, outrageousest, expensivest
Teacher: No, the superlatives of these words are: the most beautiful, the
most outrageous, the most expensive. Now I want you to get into groups and
figure out the rule … Who’ve got the answer?
Student: It’s about how big the word is. It is’ a big word, use “most”
Teacher: Big. How do we measure the size of the word?
Student: The number of syllables
Teacher: Right. And how many syllables do “beautiful”, “outrageous”,
“expensive” have?
Student: Three.
Teacher: Three. Ok. So who can state the rule?
Student: Adjectives with three syllables form the superlative with “most”
(This is an invented example based on White, 1998. It is not an authentic

classroom extract)

3. Find someone who
Language point: The present perfect passive voice
Procedure
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
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- 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".
- 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.
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.
4. Role play
Language point: I’d like …, How much/how many?
Procedure:
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- You are going to the market to buy some food. Think for a moment about
the thing you will buy. Tell me one of the things you will buy. (e.g.
sugar). How much do you want? (a kilo). What else? Teacher writes
things on the board

Shopping list:
+ 1 kg sugar
+ 500g beef
+ 6 apples
…
- Students write their own shopping list.
- Teacher gives instruction: Imagine you are in a shop now. Students stand

in two rows: one is the shopkeeper and one is the customer. Teacher may
give out the role card to both sides.

Shopkeeper

Customer

Can I help you?
How much? How many?
Anything else?
That’s … dong, please.
Thank you.

I need/want …
I’d like …
Do you have any …?
…, please. Thank you.

Now the shopkeepers work with the customers. When most students have
finished, ask them to change the roles and continue role-playing.
5. Mapped dialogue
Language point: What’s the weather like …? What kind of weather do you
like?
Procedure:
- Teacher puts the Mapped Dialogue on the board
Can Tho (boy)

Ha Noi (girl)

… Hanoi?

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… cold.
… Can Tho?
… hot.
… like?
… cold…
… Hanoi.
… like?
… hot …
… Can Tho.
- Where’s he? (Can Tho) Where’s she? (Hanoi)
- He asks a question about the weather in Hanoi. What does he ask?
(What’s the weather like in Hanoi?). What does she reply? (It’s cold).
Now she asks about the weather in Can Tho. What does she ask? (What’s
the weather like in Can Tho?). And what does he reply? (It’s hot). Good.
- Practice with your partner.
- What’s next? Make her next question (What kind of weather do you
like?) And his reply? (I like cold weather). And where is it cold, in Can
Tho or Hanoi? (In Hanoi). So what does she say? Listen “Come to
Hanoi”
- Practice again with your partner. (Students work in pairs)
- Then teacher chooses 2 students to model the whole dialogue.
IV.

Conclusion

Grammar is a set of rules to preserve the written word. Without these
standards there would be no continuity of language and over time

communication of ideas would suffer. As people from different parts of the
world try to talk in English which is influenced by their mother tongue, there
are errors in grammar and sentence pattern. If one can master grammar, he or
she can unlock ideas and thoughts that were written across time and place.
Proper grammar is very important. Correct grammar keeps us from being
misunderstood and lets us effectively express our thoughts and ideas. On the
other hand, the way we communicate is extremely important in our
profession and society. Without communication, it can be said that one has
master a language, even though his/her reading or writing skill are proficient.
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That is the reason why teachers should always read materials on TESOL
Methodology, adapt or adjust to cater the needs of students as much as
possible. All of the techniques presented above need adapting to fit the
demands as well as the level of students. That is also the way teacher
inspires students on their way achieving success in the future, especially in
the modern society nowadays.

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REFERENCE LIST

Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical Bases of Communicative Approaches to
Second Language Teaching and Testing. Applied Linguistics.
Celce-Murcia, M. and Hilles, S., (1988). Techniques and Resources in Teaching
grammar. New York: Oxford University Press.
Chan, J. Y. (1999). Integrating simulations in an EFL course for adolescents in
Hong Kong: A holistic approach to language teaching. Master’s Project.

University of Toledo.
Coleman, D. W. (2002). “What in the real world might correspond with
the subjective notion of grammatical structure?” Speculative Notes
on Human Linguistics, No. 1, 2/11/2002. Retrieved August 8, 2015,
from
http://coarts_faculty.utoledo.edu/dcoleman/HumLing/HL_speculation
_01.pdf.
Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. Oxford:
OUP.
Kemp, K. S. (2003). Simulation and Communicative Language Teaching in the
Spanish II Classroom. Master’s Project. University of Toledo.
Krashen, S. (1981). Second Language Acquisition and Second Language
Learning. Oxford: Pergamon.
Lyu, Y. (2006). Master thesis: Simulations and Second/Foreign Language
Learning: Improving communication skills through simulations. University
of Toledo.
Muysken, P., (2008), "The problem of the Caucasian Sprachbund" in Muysken,
P., ed., From Linguistic Areas to Areal Linguistics. Amsterdam:
Benjamins.
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Nunan, D. (2003). Language Teaching Methodology. London: Prentice Hall
International (UK) Ltd.
Richards, J., Platt, J., and Weber, H. (1985). Longman Dictionary of Applied
Linguistics. London: Longman.
Thornburry, S. (2001). How to teach grammar? London: Pearson Education
Limited England.
Ur, P. (1988). A course in Language Teaching: Practice and theory.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Weaver, C. (1996). Teaching grammar in context. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc.
Yngve, V. H. (2004). From grammar to science: New foundations for
General Linguistics. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Publishing Company.

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