skkn HOW TO RAISE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND INTEREST IN LEARNING GRAMMAR

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI
Đơn vị: Trƣờng THPT Chuyên Lƣơng Thế Vinh

Mã số: ................................

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM

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HOW TO RAISE STUDENTS’
MOTIVATION AND INTEREST IN
LEARNING GRAMMAR

Ngƣời thực hiện: TRƢƠNG MỸ LINH
Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu:

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- Quản lý giáo dục



- Phƣơng pháp dạy học bộ môn: Tiếng Anh

- Lĩnh vực khác: 

Năm học: 2015-2016

SƠ LƢỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC

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I. THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ CÁ NHÂN
1. Họ và tên: TRƢƠNG MỸ LINH
2. Ngày tháng năm sinh:04/10/1968
3. Nam, nữ: Nữ
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4. Địa chỉ: 82 Đặng Đức Thuật, P. Tam Hiệp, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai
5. Điện thoại: 3813378 (NR);
6. Fax:

ĐTDĐ: 0918405412
E-mail:

7. Chức vụ:
8. Nhiệm vụ đƣợc giao: Giảng dạy và chủ nhiệm lớp chuyên Anh
9. Đơn vị công tác: Trƣờng THPT Chuyên Lƣơng Thế Vinh
II. TRÌNH ĐỘ ĐÀO TẠO
 Học vị cao nhất: Thạc sỹ
 Năm nhận bằng: 2007
 Chuyên ngành đào tạo: Phƣơng pháp giảng dạy
III. KINH NGHIỆM KHOA HỌC
 Lĩnh vực chuyên môn có kinh nghiệm: giảng dạy Tiếng Anh
Số năm có kinh nghiệm: 25 năm
 Các sáng kiến kinh nghiệm đã có trong 5 năm gần đây:
 Vocabulary teaching

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 Theme-based vocabulary building
 The Effects of group work on teaching and learning reading
comprehension
 How to help gifted students do project work
 How to teach vocabulary effectively

HOW TO RAISE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND
INTEREST IN LEARNING GRAMMAR

I.

INTRODUCTION

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Grammar has always been a vital part in the course of linguistic
education. It is the first step to get to know not only the language but
also the cultures of the country of origin. However, learning grammar
in general, in this case is learning English grammar has been draining
the interests out of students due to the traditional approach of teaching
in schools. In spite of the fact that teaching English grammar is
essential, the teaching methods and techniques employed in a
classroom can have either negative orpositive effect on the
development of communicative competence of the learner. More
specifically, if the method becomes effective and enjoyable, the form
andmeaning can be understood easily. On the other hand, if the
methods are not effective and enjoyable, students may fail to
understand and use the structure. In short, the types of grammar

teaching methods and techniques used by language teachers can affect
not only grammar skill but also the development of other language
skills

and

the

overall

language

(Cunningsworth, 1984).

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performance

of

learners


Therefore, it is essential that a new teaching technique that can be able
to bring grammar nearer to students, to instil interest and excitement in
every lesson so that grammar will be easier for them to absorb and
digest.
My aim is to inject the grammar learning points into different types of
activities in order to trigger the thirst for learning in students. Songs,
stories or even games can be used as a tool to introduce new grammar

concepts. These methods can also help to liven up the class atmosphere
which can replace the seriousness as well as the one-way teaching and
learning experience in the traditional way of learning grammar.
II.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY
Although there are different definitions of grammar by different
scholars, the general content is similar.
Ur (1988:4) relates grammar with the arrangement of words in a
language and defines it as “The way a language manipulates and
combines words or bits of words in order to form longer meaning.”

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Harmer (1987:1) defines it as “The study and practice of the rules by
which words change their forms and are combined in to sentences.”
How to teach a grammar lesson effectively and to make it more
interestingly have always been difficult tasks for teachers. How to draw
students‟ interest may be a more important question. This will lead to
the success of teachers‟ teaching.
Effective teaching and learning in the classroom involves negotiating
among classroom factors. However, a factor essential to successful
learning is the motivation of students. That is why teachers need to pay
attention to the interest and needs of the students.
How do teachers get students more involved in their own learning
process? Some classroom techniques and tasks have been chosen in
terms of pre-, while-, and post-task.
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-, whileand post-stages.

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The coming of communicative approach to language teaching brought a
negative reaction against explicit grammar teaching in schools. As a
result, in the first half of the 20th century teaching grammar knowledge
as a focus and translation as a means was overlooked by those scholars
who began to see grammar teaching as the transmission of the
grammatical system in context. (Martin, 1994).
In this approach, grammar is viewed as a means by which messages are
organized in any communicative activity. The focus of this approach is
not mainly on form but on meaning in context (Atkins, Hailom and
Nuru, 1995).
Scholars such as Cunningsworth (1995), Fortune (1992), Freeman
(1986) and Nuttal (1989) claim that effective grammar teaching in a
communicative approach to language teaching / learning need to have
natural features such as integration of language skills, authenticity and
variety of contexts and creative use of language.

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Integration of grammar with other skills, however, does not mean that
one should not have area of grammar focus on a particular task to the
exclusion of other skills (Nunan, 1989).
The modern grammar teaching approach says that students learn better
when they are provided with tasks that resemble real-life. Hence,
Communicative lessons for teaching grammar according to Sysoyeve

(1999) and Harmer (1991) should integrate the form and the meaning
consisting of four equally important stages namely introduction,
presentation, practice and production.
But, it does not mean that the teacher must follow these steps all the
time. It depends on the nature of the lesson and tasks. All the stages
may not be conducted in one class period (Celce Murcia, 1991).
III.

IMPLEMENTATION
The study focuses on grammar teaching. It was conducted on 54 Grade
10 students (two classes) who are majoring in English at Luong The
Vinh Gifted High school.

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According to the curriculum for high school gifted students, each class
has 2 periods per week for grammar learning.
It is necessary for the teacher to design suitable tasks or activities for
the students. The types of tasks designed are based on the features and
the nature of the grammar lesson as well.
Grammar teaching, like teaching the four skills, should involve pre-,
while- and post-stages in an attempt to provide integrated learning
environments. Every grammar lesson has been designed in such a way.
1. Pre-grammar stage:
In this stage, , the teacher should bring grammar instruction to life,
stimulate interest in the topic, and raise awareness by providing a
reason for learning. There are many different ways of making
grammar a little more interesting.
 Using songs:

Music is a great way of getting students to learn. The lesson becomes
embedded into the mind much faster and more easily.

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For example, when teaching Verb Tenses, songs such as “Papa” by
Paul Anka will be appropriate.
 Suggested steps:
- The teacher releases worksheets in which some words related to the
grammar points have been removed.
- The song should be played twice before the teacher checks the
answers.
- The teacher has students try to fill in the blanks with the appropriate
words.
- Then the students are asked to make up a list of verb tenses used in
the song.
 Make it into a game
Playing games will make learning easier. Making it into a
competition will take much more effect. This will often get the
students motivated to get the answers right and therefore allow them
to learn a lot faster. By turning it into a competition, every student
will become more active. A variety of different games can be

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designed to help with this.
Sample task:
This is an activity for students to match each if – clause with its

suitable main clause.
 Grammar points: Conditionals
 Steps:
- Give each student a copy of the handout
- Each student, working alone, does the task
- Set a time limit and stop the students at the end of it whether they
have finished or not
- They now get together with 2-3 other students in the class and
compare their answers
2. While – grammar stage:
 This stage provides a context for input generation and an opportunity
to notice or practice the new grammatical structure.
The teacher makes a transition from the context/ activities created in
the pre –grammar stage to the grammatical point by getting the

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students to be engaged in some activities designed for this stage.
The teacher creates other contexts for the teaching of grammatical
point through games, discussions, telling stories, or reading/listening
texts.
Sample task:
This is an activity for students to complete sentences using their own
words.
 Grammar points: Conditionals
 Steps:
- Give each student a copy of the handout
- Each student, working alone, completes the sentences
- Set a time limit and stop the students at the end of it whether they

have finished or not
- They now get together with 2-3 other students in the class and
compare their answers
3. Post – grammar stage

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Activities for this stage should be more complex. Brainstorming,
discussion, telling a story, writing, and role-play are often used in
designing tasks in a view to consolidating the lesson.
Sample task:
 Grammar points: Verb tenses
 Steps:
Certain songs can be used to lead into discussions. This type of
activity would be appropriate for more advanced students. The song
“Papa” by Paul Anka is used as an example.
- Initially, have students listen to the song and complete a fill in the
blank exercise.
- Listening to the song several times would be appropriate but once
the answers have been checked, have students read the lyrics trying
to understand the meaning of the song.
- The teacher can ask general questions to test comprehension. The
teacher can start off with very simple ones such as “Is this a happy

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song?”, “What makes you like the song?, which can lead into a
discussion about people‟s feelings, love , etc.

SAMPLE GRAMMAR LESSON: Reported Speech (Practice)
1. Pre –grammar stage
 Task 1:
- Students listen to the song “Monday Morning” by Peter, Paul and
Mary, and then pick out the Direct Speech used in the song
- Students change the Direct Speech into Indirect Speech
 Task 2:Habits questionnaire
- Students work with their partners and take it in turns to ask each
other questions
- Students write down three things about their partners
- Some students are called to read aloud their own sentences
2. While –grammar stage
 Task 1:the class is divided into 2 groups (Group A and Group B)

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- Each student in group A is given some words. He / She makes a
sentence ,using the given words, in the form of a direct speech and
then reads it aloud.
- One student in group B reports what the student in group A says.
- The students in each group take turn to finish the task.
 Task 2:
- Students listen to some conversations from the CD (twice)
- Some of them are called to report what they can hear.
3. Post –grammar stage: Role –play
- Students works in groups of 3 (one interviewer and 2 interviewees).
They will ask and answer about the topic “School Life”
- After each group has performed the role play, the entire class writes
the report on what they have heard.

IV.

FINDINGS
During grammar lessons, teachers should provide meaningful input
through context and provide an opportunity to put grammar to use, and
relate grammar instruction to real life situations. This is best achieved if

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grammar instruction is treated in the same way as the teaching of the four
skills which involves smooth and organized transitions of pre-, while and
post grammar stages.
After the one-year implementation process of grammar teaching, the
researcher has found the interest as well as the achievements of the
students in learning grammar. They have benefited a lot from what they
have learned. The effects on the students‟ achievements are positive
and long-lasting, regardless of level.
Having exposed to sets of tasks including using songs, telling a story,
playing games, role – play …the students realized that their language
skills were improved. The students change their attitude toward grammar
learning. This is shown through their movements. They are eager to take
part in designed activities / tasks or to answer the questions. In fact, they
are voluntarily engaged in the lesson. The more fun the students can have
with grammar lessons, the more likely they are to „get it‟.
However, there are some difficulties during the implementation of the
approach. The class size is a big problem to organize such activities as

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group work and pair work. Moreover, the teacher cannot have enough
time for the checking.
V.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Learning as well as teaching grammar is a tough task. It requires
patience, willingness and takes up time of students and teachers.
Teaching grammar effectively and interestingly needs appropriate
strategies. The above approach of grammar teaching can be ideal for not
only students majoring in English but also for every student learning
English at all levels. We all know that grammar skills are essential to
students' success on standardized tests and college entrance exams, in
their ability to communicate orally and in writing. Without good
grammar, spoken or written words lose much of their meaning and
most of their value. Grammar is a very important thing to get right,
and teachers should take extra care to impart proper grammar to all
their students. The lessons can be implemented with a view to
supporting as well as enhancing what are taught in the textbook.

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However, as mentioned above, this is a long-term strategy that the
teacher has to devote much time to. The teacher should carry out the
process continually to get the effectiveness of the method. Thus, enough
time must be provided for both the students and the teacher to practice
the strategies.
Teachers need to use a variety of ways to make their grammar lessons
memorable and enjoyable for students. Students who enjoy their

lessons will pay closer attention, and you will then have an easier time
while teaching. This is why great lessons are important for everyone
involved.

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VI.

REFERENCES

- Atkins, J. Hailom Banteyirga and Nuru Muhammed (1995). Skills
Development Methodology (Part I). Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University
Press
- Celce-Murcia M. (1991) Techniques and Resources in Teaching Grammar.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
-

Cunningsworth, A. (1984). Evaluating and Selecting EFL
Teaching Materials . Oxford: Heineman Books Ltd.

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- Cunningsworth, A. (1995).Choosing Your Course Book . Oxford:
OxfordUniversity Press
- Fortune, A. (1992). "Self-Study Grammar Practice: Learners' View and
Preference” in ELT Journal Vol. 46/2: 160-171.
- Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and Principles in Language
Teaching .Oxford: Oxford University Press

- Harmer, J. (1987). Teaching and Learning Grammar . New York:
Longman Ltd.
- .Harmer, J.(1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching.
London:Longman Ltd
- Martin, B. et. al., (1994). Grammar and the Language Teacher.
London:Prentice Hall International Ltd.
- Nunan, D. (1989). Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom.
Cambridge: Cambridge University.
- Nuttal, C. (1989). Teaching Reading Skills in Foreign Language . Oxford:
Heineman Educational Bools Ltd.

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- Ur, P. (1988). Grammar Practice Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Ngƣời thực hiện

Trƣơng Mỹ Linh

SỞ GD&ĐT ĐỒNG NAI

CỘNG HOÀ XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM

Đơn vị: Trƣờng THPT Chuyên

Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc

Lƣơng Thế Vinh

––––––––––––––––––––––––

–––––––––––

Biên Hòa, ngày 18 tháng 05 năm 2016

PHIẾU ĐÁNH GIÁ, CHẤM ĐIỂM, XẾP LOẠI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM
Năm học: 2015 -2016
–––––––––––––––––
Tên sáng kiến kinh nghiệm: HOW TO RAISE STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND
INTEREST IN LEARNING GRAMMAR
Họ và tên tác giả: Trƣơng Mỹ Linh

Chức vụ: .............................................

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Đơn vị: Trƣờng THPT Chuyên Lƣơng Thế Vinh
Họ và tên giám khảo 1: ............................................................ Chức vụ: ......................................
Đơn vị: ...........................................................................................................................................
Số điện thoại của giám khảo: .........................................................................................................
* Nhận xét, đánh giá, cho điểm và xếp loại sáng kiến kinh nghiệm:
1. Tính mới
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
Điểm: …………./6,0.
2. Hiệu quả
.........................................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................
Điểm: …………./8,0.
3. Khả năng áp dụng
.........................................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................................

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.........................................................................................................................................................
Điểm: …………./6,0.
Nhận xét khác (nếu có): ..................................................................................................
Tổng số điểm ....................../20.

Xếp loại: ..................................................................
GIÁM KHẢO 1

SỞ GD&ĐT ĐỒNG NAI

CỘNG HOÀ XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM

Đơn vị: Trƣờng THPT Chuyên

Độc lập - Tự do - Hạnh phúc

Lƣơng Thế Vinh

––––––––––––––––––––––––
Biên Hòa, ngày 18 tháng 05 năm 2016

–––––––––––

PHIẾU ĐÁNH GIÁ, CHẤM ĐIỂM, XẾP LOẠI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM
Năm học: 2015 -2016
–––––––––––––––––

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