Using communicative grammar tasks to teach english to 10th graders a study at a high school in quảng bình province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

HOANG VAN PHUC

USING COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR TASKS TO
TEACH ENGLISH TO 10th GRADERS: A STUDY AT A
HIGH SCHOOL IN QUẢNG BÌNH PROVINCE

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Nghe An, 2019


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY

HOANG VAN PHUC

USING COMMUNICATIVE GRAMMAR TASKS TO
TEACH ENGLISH TO 10th GRADERS: A STUDY AT A
HIGH SCHOOL IN QUẢNG BÌNH PROVINCE
Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching
Code: 8.14.01.11

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION
Supervisor: Tran Ba Tien, Ph.D.

Nghe An, 2019

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis and that I have not used
any other sources more than those listed in the bibliography and identified as
references. I further declare that I have not submitted this thesis at any other
institution in order to obtain a degree.
Nghe An, July, 2019
Author

Hoang Van Phuc


ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis could not have been accomplished without the assistance, support,
and encouragement of many people in my life.
Firstly, I would like to express the deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Ph.D.
Tran Ba Tien who patiently revised each chapter of this thesis and provided
invaluable direction and support throughout my thesis writing process. I have been
blessed to have such a brilliant supervisor to help me. Without his guidance and
persistent help, this thesis would not have been successful.
Secondly, I would like to thank all teachers at Le Quy Don high school where
the investigation was carried out for their endless enthusiasm, valuable advice and
great cooperation. I would not have been able to conduct this study without the active
participation of students.
Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my colleagues, friends and especially

my beloved family who have been my sources of strength and their love gave me
forces to make this work. Thanks to them for providing me with their care, attention
and never-ending support.


iii

ABSTRACT

This study is concerned with communicative tasks in teaching grammar as an
effective method to create students’ motivation, facilitate students’ grammar
acquisition and improve students’ speaking skill. The benefits of using
communicative tasks are affirmed again in this thesis through the former
grammarians’ studies and the research carried out at Le Quy Don High School,
Quang Binh Province. The instruments of collecting the data were questionnaires,
class observation and interview. The data from the analysis questionnaires were
analyzed quantitatively by calculating the percentage of each answer on the
questionnaires. To measure the participants’ grammar acquisition and speaking
accuracy, a pretest and a posttest of English were used to have necessary findings and
analysis. The study shows that this approach can be applied to the high school’s
students. The experimental group students outperformed the control group students to
use language in context. In other words, the communicative grammar tasks are
valuable assets for language classroom. Besides being a valuable way to
combine meaningful communication and focus on form, they seem to be considered
as fun and interesting activities. Research shows that all the above factors can
improve students’ short and long-term motivation and have a positive impact on
students’ language acquisition.


iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ................................................................................ i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. iv
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
1.1. Rationale ......................................................................................................... 1
1.2. The aims of study ........................................................................................... 2
1.3. The research questions ................................................................................... 2
1.4. The scope of study .......................................................................................... 3
1.5. The method of study ....................................................................................... 3
1.6. The organization of study ............................................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................... 5
2.1. The Previous Studies Related to the Thesis ................................................... 5
2.2. Grammar Teaching ......................................................................................... 8
2.3. Communicative Grammar Teaching (CGT) ................................................ 14
2.4. Communicative Grammar Tasks .................................................................. 25
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY.............................................................................. 36
3.1. Overview ...................................................................................................... 36
3.2. Participants ................................................................................................... 36
3.3. Data collection instruments .......................................................................... 36
3.4. Procedure ...................................................................................................... 38


v

CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ...................................................... 40
4.1. Students' attitudes toward the use of communicative grammar tasks .......... 40
4.2. Students’grammar acquisition and effects on students’ speaking accuracy. 50
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 59
5.1. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 59
5.2. Some suggestions for teaching English with Communicative Grammar
Tasks .................................................................................................................... 60
5.3. Limitations.................................................................................................... 62
5.4. Further research ............................................................................................ 62
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 64
APPENDIX 1. QUESTIONNAIRES FOR STUDENTS .......................................... 71
APPENDIX 2. QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS ...................................................... 72
APPENDIX 3. PRE - TEST ....................................................................................... 73
APPENDIX 4. POST - TEST..................................................................................... 78


vi

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1. The standard deviation score of English test by the control group and the
experimental group ...................................................................................................... 53
Table 4.2. The comparison of the score between the control group and the
experimental group before and after the test ............................................................... 56

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1.The importance of using communicative tasks to learn grammar ............. 41
Figure 4.2. The communicative tasks encouraging students to use the target language
................................................................................................... comes

17. A. being

B. be

C. been

18. A. has

B. have

C. had

19. A. were

B. is

C. are

20. A. or

B. if

C. but

21. A. them

B. him

C. us

22. A. from

B. by

C. to

23. A. the

B. a

C. any

24. A. are

B. is

C. has been

25. A. on

B. at

C. with


77

PART 5
QUESTIONS 26-35

Complete the letter. Write ONE word for each space.

28 Long Road
Brighton
22nd March
Dear Pat,
I arrived (Example: …here…) three weeks ago. I’m studying at a language school
…(26)….. Brighton. The students come …(27)... Many different countries and I
……(28)….. made a lot of new friends.
There …(29)… classes for five hours every day. I like …(30)… teacher very much.
…(31)….name is John and he helps me …(32)… I make a mistake.
I want …(33)… Visit London next weekend because I …(34)… Going back to my
country on Monday. Can I see you there? Please write to …(35)… soon.
With best wishes from
Maria


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APPENDIX 4. POST - TEST
Time: 45 minutes

PART 1
QUESTIONS 1-5
Which notice (A-H) says this (1-5)?
EXAMPLE
0

ANSWER

You cannot have a cigarette

1. You can get a car at any time.

H
TOMATO
JUICE

A

10% extra-

2. You pay the same price but get more B

FREE
NO
RIGHT
TURN

3. In the evening, children may not C
come in.

$3.00

D
4. There are two prices for tickets.

5. You can buy food here on Sunday.

Admission:

$ 6.00
Schoolchildren,
Students and
RR
Over
65s:

E

F

Pat’s Pizza Place
Open 12 noon till late
Seven days a week
Beach Umbrellas
For Hire
YELLOWBIRD
TAXIS
24-hour service

G

7.30
p.m-9.30
p.m
24-hour
service
Adult Swimming
Only

H

NO

SMOKING

SECTION

SEESECTION
SECTION


79

PART 2
QUESTIONS 6-10
Read the sentences (6-10) about going to a restaurant.
Choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space.
EXAMPLE

ANSWER

0. A new restaurant has just ……….. near our house
A. come

B. began

C

C. opened

6. One day, we decided to go there for a ………………..
A. plate

B. meal

C. dish

7. First, we telephoned to ………………. a table.
A. book

B. keep

C. take

8. The ……………. was very long so it was difficult to choose what to eat.
A. advertisement

B. programme

C. menu

9. The food was very …………….. so everyone enjoyed it.
A. good

B. sweet

C. great

10. We were pleased when we got the bill because it was quite ……………..

A. little

B. cheap

PART 3
Complete the five conversations.

C. small


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11. Why don’t you ask Sandra?

A. I hope so.
B. Never mind.
C. That’s a good idea.

12. Congratulations!

A. I’m sorry.
B. Thank you.
C. What a pity!

13. How is your son?

A. Fine, thanks.
B. Four months old.
C. With his father.

14. Can I help you?

A. At two o’clock.
B. I can help you.
C. Yes, please.

15. I’d like to try these shoes on, A. What size are you?
please

B. Are they black?
C. Do you like it?


81

PART 4
QUESTIONS 16-25
Read the information about rhinos
Choose the best word (A, B or C) for each space.

THE RHINO
There …. (0)… five different types of rhino in the world today. The Black and
White Rhino live in….. (16)…. open fields of Africa. The others live in the
forest in Asia.
All rhino have big, heavy bodies. Their skin is very hard and they have very ….
(17)…. hair. The great body …. (18)…. the rhino stands …. (19)…. four short
legs. Each foot has three toes. They usually walk very …..(20)…., but they can
run at 50 kilometers….. (21)…. hours. Rhinos are usually …..(22)….. and calm
animals, and they only ……(23)….. grass and other plants.
A baby rhino weighs 40 kilos when it is born. It has been inside ….

(24)…. mother for about fifteen months. And adult rhino weighs over 200 kilos
and may ….. (25)….. to be 50 year old.

EXAMPLE
0 A. are

ANSWER
B. is

C. were

16. A. these

B. the

C. an

17. A. little

B. many

C. few

18. A. to

B. of

C. for

19. A. on

B. in

C. at

20. A. slow

B. slower

C. slowly

A


82

21. A. a

B. an

C. the

22. A. quiet

B. noisy

C. cold

23. A. eat

B. eats

C. ate

24. A. since

B. during

C. for

25. A. lives

B. living

C. live

PART 5
QUESTIONS 26-35
Complete the letter. Write ONE word for each space.

28 Green Street
Camden
London
29th August 2002
Dear John,
Thank you for helping (Example: …. me......) with my English. You are..... (26)
....very good teacher. I enjoyed my stay..... (27)....Cambridge.
Now I am staying at my brother's flat. .... (28) ...... is studying to be a doctor. I will
stay..... (29).... him for two weeks and then go home.... (30)....Greece.
I like London very.... (31)....... We...... (32)..... Regents Park by bus yesterday. It....

(33)......very sunny and we had a good time.
Tonight, I am..... (34)......to see a film with my brother and some…… (35)....his
friends.
I'll write again from Greece.
Best wishes,
Kostas