Improving grammatical knowledge of the eleventh grade students at a high school in hung yen using concept maps

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
--------------------------------

DOÃN THỊ NHỤ

IMPROVING GRAMMATICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE ELEVENTH
GRADE STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN
USING CONCEPT MAPS
(Nâng cao kiến thức ngữ pháp của học sinh lớp 11 tại một trường
trung học phổ thông ở Hưng Yên thông qua việc áp dụng bản đồ khái niệm)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi- 2021


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
--------------------------------

DOÃN THỊ NHỤ

IMPROVING GRAMMATICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE ELEVENTH
GRADE STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HUNG YEN
USING CONCEPT MAPS

(Nâng cao kiến thức ngữ pháp của học sinh lớp 11 tại một trường
trung học phổ thông ở Hưng Yên thông qua việc áp dụng bản đồ khái niệm)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01
Supervisor: Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, Ph. D

Hanoi- 2021


DECLARATION
I certify that this minor thesis entitled “Improving grammatical knowledge
of the eleventh grade students at a high school in Hung Yen using concept maps”
is the study of my own research and the substance of this research has not been
submitted for a degree to any other university or institution.
Hanoi, 2020
Student’s signature

Doãn Thị Nhụ

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In my exploring of knowledge and in the course of completing this thesis,
many individuals have assisted me. I would like to acknowledge wholeheartedly
their assistance, cooperation and encouragement which all contributed to making

this study completed. This thesis would not have been feasible without their
guidance and help.
Firstly, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan,
my supervisor, for his precious guidance and constructive criticism from the start of
my work. He has constantly provided me with assistance and encouragement. I
would not have made steady progress without his kind support. It is an honor for me
to have his guidance as a supervisor to complete my thesis.
Secondly, I would like to express my special thanks to all lectures of the Post
Graduate Faculty of University of Language and International Studies, Vietnam
National University, Hanoi for their scholarly knowledge that helped to enhance my
interest for English Methodology and my teaching career.
Moreover, I owe special thanks to the administrators of the high school
where I have been working, my colleagues, and, especially, my 45 grade eleventh
students for their support and enthusiastic participation throughout my research.
Without their patience, cooperation and attention, this study could have never been
completed.
Finally, I am deeply indebted to all the love, support, great care and
encouragement that my family has always provided me in my professional
endeavor.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................vii
LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. viii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1
1.1. Rationale of the study ........................................................................................ 1
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study ...................................................................... 3
1.3. Research questions ........................................................................................... 3
1.4. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 3
1.5. Methods of the study ......................................................................................... 4
1.6. Significance of the study .................................................................................... 4
1.7. The structure of the study .................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 6
2.1. Grammar ............................................................................................................ 6
2.1.1. Definition of grammar............................................................................... 6
2.1.2. Uses of grammar ....................................................................................... 7
2.1.3. Teaching grammar .................................................................................... 7
2.1.4. Methods of teaching grammar .................................................................. 9
2.1.4.1. The grammar translation method ...................................................... 9
2.1.4.2. The direct method ........................................................................... 10
2.1.4.3. The Audio-lingual method .............................................................. 11
2.1.4.4. The communicative approach ......................................................... 12
2.2. Concept maps .................................................................................................. 13
2.2.1. Definitions of concept maps .................................................................. 13
2.2.2. Basic principles of concept maps ........................................................... 15
2.2.3. Features of concept maps ....................................................................... 15

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2.2.4. Concept maps and teaching .................................................................... 17
2.2.5. Types of concept maps ........................................................................... 18
2.2.5.1. Spider map- Central concept ........................................................... 18
2.2.5.2. Hierarchical/ Chronological map .................................................... 19

2.2.5.3. Flowchart map .................................................................................. 19
2.2.5.4. System maps .................................................................................... 20
2.2.6. Reasons for using concept maps ............................................................ 21
2.2.7. Ways to construct a good concept map .................................................. 23
2.3. Cognitive approach to teach grammar ........................................................... 24
2.4. Using concept maps in teaching English grammar ........................................ 27
2.5. Summary of previous researches on concept maps ....................................... 28
2.6. Chapter summary ........................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................... 33
3.1. Research questions ......................................................................................... 33
3.2. Research approach ......................................................................................... 35
3.3. Research settings ............................................................................................ 38
3.4. Data collection instruments ............................................................................ 36
3.4.1. Tests ....................................................................................................... 36
3.4.1.1. Pre-test ............................................................................................. 36
3.4.1.2. Post-test ........................................................................................... 36
3.4.1.3. Matrix of the tests............................................................................. 37
3.4.2. Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 39
3.4.3. Diary ........................................................................................................ 40
3.5. Data collection procedures ............................................................................. 41
3.6. Data analysis procedures ................................................................................ 41
3.6.1. Quantitative data analysis ...................................................................... 41
3.6.2. Qualitative data analysis ....................................................................... 42
3.7. Chapter summary .......................................................................................... 43

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CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ............................................. 44
4.1. The students’ improvement in grammatical knowledge after the treatment... 44

4.2. The teacher’s difficulties in applying concept maps in teaching grammar
to students ......................................................................................................... 46
4.3. The students’ attitudes towards the employment of concept maps in grammar
lessons............................................................................................................... 54
4.4. Discussions of major findings ........................................................................ 59
4.5. Chapter summary ........................................................................................... 62
CHAPTER V: IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION ..................................... 64
5.1. Recapitulation ................................................................................................. 64
5.2. Implications ..................................................................................................... 65
5.3. Limitations of the study ................................................................................. 66
5.4. Recommendations for further research .......................................................... 67
5.5. Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 67
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 69
APPENDICES ........................................................................................................... I
Appendix 1: Pre-test ................................................................................................. I
Appendix 2: Post-test ........................................................................................... VII
Appendix 3: Post-treatment questionnaire .......................................................... XIII
Appendix 4: The teacher’s diary .........................................................................XVI
Appendix 5: The syllabus.................................................................................. XXII
Appendix 6: A sample lesson plan using concept maps .................................. XXV
Appendix 7: Samples of concept maps used in grammar lessons .................. XXXI
Appendix 8: The students’ detailed scores of the pre-test and post-test .... XXXIVII

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ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of concept maps on
improving the eleventh graders’ English grammatical knowledge. The researcher

employed an Action Research project with 45 eleventh grade students at a high
school in Hung Yen with both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Before the
research was carried out, a pre-test was given to check the students’ grammatical
knowledge. After eight grammar lessons using concept maps, a post-test was
administered to measure the students’ achievement and to examine the effects of
using concept maps on improving their grammatical knowledge. During the study, a
diary was kept by the researcher to identify the teacher’s difficulties while adopting
the method. Also, a questionnaire was carried out at the end of the research to
investigate the students’ attitudes towards the use of concept maps in grammar
lessons. The results obtained from the tests indicated that although there were few
students who did not make much progress after the treatment, the use of concept
maps significantly improved the students’ grammatical knowledge. Besides, the
data collected from the teacher’s diary showed that there were some difficulties that
the researcher encountered and dealt with during her grammar lessons. The findings
from the students’ answers to the questionnaire and the teacher’s diary revealed that
the application of concept maps strongly stimulated their grammar learning and
group work. Based on the findings of the research, some pedagogical implications
for both the teacher and the learners as well as recommendations for further studies
on using concept maps for teaching and learning English have been drawn.
Key words: improving grammatical knowledge, concept maps, teacher’s
difficulties, attitude

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LIST OF TABLES

Page
Table 1. Rank of test score

37

Table 2. The matrix of the grammar tests

37

Table 3. The structure of the post-treatment questionnaire

40

Table 4. An example of a code in qualitative analysis in the diary

42

Table 5. The Pre-test and post-test results of the class

42

Table 6. The students’ pre-test and post-test results analyzed by using Pair

45

Sample T-Test
Table 7. Comparison between the students’ performance before and after

46

the treatment
Table 8. The teacher’s first difficulty during the grammar lessons

47

Table 9. The teacher’s second difficulty during the grammar lessons

49

Table 10. The teacher’s third difficulty during the grammar lessons

51

Table 11. The teacher’s other difficulties during the grammar lessons

53

Table 12. The students’ attitudes to English grammar learning

55

Table 13. The students’ attitudes to concept maps

56

Table 14. The students’ attitudes to the positive effects of concept maps

56

Table 15. The students’ attitudes to different types and the employment of

58

concept maps

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page
Figure 1. Model of a Concept Map

14

Figure 2. A sample of a concept map

16

Figure 3. A sample of a spider map

18

Figure 4. A sample of a hierarchical map

19

Figure 5. A sample of a flowchart map

20

Figure 6. A sample of a system map

21

Figure 7. The Action Research Cycles

34

Figure 8. A sample of hierarchical map used for the Present Simple tense XXXI
in lesson 1
Figure 9. A sample of spider map used for the Present Perfect tense in

XXXII

lesson 2
Figure 10. A sample of flowchart map used to distinguish between the

XXXIII

Past Simple and Past Continuous tenses in lesson 3
Figure 11. A sample of concept map for Relative Pronouns in lesson 4

XXXIV

Figure 12. A sample of concept map for Kinds of Relative Clauses in

XXXIV

lesson 5
Figure 13. A sample of concept map for Conditional Sentences in lesson

XXXV

6
Figure 14. A sample of concept map for Cleft Sentences in lesson 7

XXXVI

Figure 15. A sample of concept map for Conjunctions in lesson 8

XXXVI

viii


CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale of the study
A language is a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols that permit all people in a
given culture or other people who have learned the system of that culture, to
communicate or to interact. In the age of globalization where the world has become
a small village, people tend to learn each others’ languages. The demand for
learning English language increased more and more because of its international uses
for communication, economy, education, technology, and so on. No one can count
number of people who use English as a foreign language. Teaching English has
been an important issue in countries where English is not their first language, so
learning second language is difficult for L2 learners because they cannot use
English in real life situations, because they should learn sentences in textbooks not
in a real environment. Therefore, teachers should always look for useful strategies
to reduce the difficulties of teaching English language (Long, 1969; Chen, 2007;
Nunn, 2011), and they have to deal with many challenges and often have questions
about the best ways to teach.
In Vietnam, we are facing a lot of problems relating to teaching-learning

English grammar. There have been many policies applied in order to change the
way which students study English in schools for ten years. Summer lessons for
English teachers are held so that they can improve their pedagogical skills and
language skills. Besides, textbooks have been updated and changed to suit students’
level and social needs. A number of English tests, examinations have been held to
increase improvement and interest in learning English. Nevertheless, English is still
one of the subjects that Vietnamese students in almost schools get the lowest marks.
They always complain about the boredom and difficulty of English grammar
lessons although they all know that it is a necessary subject.
As a teacher of English with more than ten years of teaching at a high school
in Hung Yen, I myself find that there are about ten to fifteen students in one class of
forty five students who like studying English, and three or four of them can study

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this subject quite well. Many people admit that many Vietnamese students leaving
schools can neither use English grammar correctly nor communicate with simple
English words or phrases. It is such a serious problem. What are the results for this?
From my point of view, there are some reasons relating to difficult curriculum or
unsuitable distribution of the grammar points in English 11 textbooks. The
discontinuity of grammatical phenomena in “Language Focus” of this book makes it
difficult for students to memorize grammar knowledge consistently and
systematically. They cannot see the connection or the relationship among the
grammatical concepts. Teaching method seems to be one of the other main reasons.
Teachers are criticized because of the ways, techniques or methods that they use in
teaching grammar.

Lewis (1986: 18) sees that teachers of foreign languages

“usually commit a mistake when they think that the most important part of their job
is to explain the rules of grammar.”
Therefore, Leou and Liu (2004) suggest that learning can be enhanced if the
learning involves interaction, student-centered and engaging activities when
learners construct their understanding rather than more traditional methods of
teacher-centered direct instruction in order to make learning organized and
meaningful. Based on the constructive learning theory whose main principle is that
“new knowledge should be integrated into existing structures in order to be
remembered and receive meaning, concept maps stimulate this process by making it
explicit and requiring the learner to pay attention to the relationship between
concepts” (Fitzgeraled, 1999: 153). Therefore, concept maps have become more
prevalent in educational program.
For a long time, the researcher as well as her colleagues has tried some
different methods of teaching grammar, such as translation method, audio-lingual
method, communicative one, etc, but the result is not very good. After studying
concept map and its uses in teaching of many researchers and teachers all over the
world, the researcher found that concept map may be a good technique in solving
the problems mentioned above. This is the reason why an action research on

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Improving grammatical knowledge of the eleventh grade students at a high
school in Hung Yen using concept maps is going to be conducted to facilitate and
help students visualize the grammatical concepts as well as to achieve English
grammatical knowledge more easily and effectively.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study aims at investigating the effects of using concept maps on
improving the eleventh grade students’ grammatical knowledge. In order to achieve
the overall aim, following objectives are generated:

1- To identify the effect of using concept maps on improving English
grammatical knowledge among eleventh graders at a high school;
2- To explore the teacher’s difficulties in applying the new method to teach
grammar to students;
3- To explore the students’ attitudes towards using concept map as a learning
tool.
Moreover, by doing this research, the researcher aims to familiarize English
language teachers with the basic principles of designing and using concept maps in
teaching English grammar.
1.3. Research questions
To achieve the aims and objectives which are mentioned above, the
following research questions were raised for the study:
1. To what extent does the use of concept maps improve the students’
English grammatical knowledge?
2. What difficulties does the teacher encounter while adopting concept
maps in teaching grammar lessons to students?
3. What are the students’ attitudes towards using concept maps in learning
English grammar?
1.4. Scope of the Study
Among the four main types of concept maps (mentioned in Literature
review), the researcher focused on using and training students to apply three kinds

3


including spider map- central concept, hierarchical/ chronological map, and flowchart map- linear fashion. System map was not involved in the treatment process
because it is quite complicated for the students to follow and adopt. In addition, the
researcher also took into consideration five grammar points belonging to the
second-term curriculum of the 11th grade English textbook.

They are tenses of

verbs, relative clauses, cleft sentences, conditional sentences, and conjunctions. The
factors such as students’ motivation, learning styles or the effect of this method on
learning other language skills will not be counted in this research.
1.5. Methods of the study
The research was designed under the paradigm of action research. A total
sample of 45 students from a class of grade 11 was chosen for the study. The data
was collected by using the instruments of pre-test, post-test, diary and
questionnaire. The data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The
quantitative data was obtained from the tests in the form of students’ scores and
from the questionnaire. Meanwhile, the qualitative data was collected from the
researcher’s diary.
1.6. Significance of the study
This research identifies the problems that students face when learning
grammar and investigates the effects of concept maps on the eleventh graders’
acquiring grammar knowledge and their attitude towards concept maps. The study
is conducted with the expectation that its findings will be useful for the researcher
herself in her career and for the other teachers at the target school in applying a new
teaching method in delivering English grammar knowledge to students in particular
and in improving teaching and learning English situation at the high school in
general. It can also be the references for those who want to find the good ways to
improve their English teaching. Moreover, the study will stimulate specialists’ and
supervisors’ interests in conducting training courses for their teachers to enhance
the use of concept maps in teaching grammar. Moreover, syllabus designers may

4


benefit from this study to modify, organize and enrich English language curricula

with activities based on concept maps.
1.7. The structure of the thesis
This paper comprises five chapters as follows:
Chapter I, Introduction, contains the rationale of the study; aims and
objectives of the study; research questions; scope of the study; methods;
significance, and the structure of the study.
Chapter II, Literature Review, includes concepts and previous studies
relating to this topic. This session is to establish a theoretical background for the
whole study.
Chapter III, Research Methodology, presents research questions, research
approach, research settings, data collection instruments, data collection procedures,
and data analysis procedures.
Chapter IV, Findings and Discussion, can be viewed as the most important
part of the study since it presents all the findings gathered from the pre-test, posttest, diary and questionnaires after analyzing data.
Chapter V, Implications and Conclusion, summarizes all the main points of
the study. Limitations of the study are also indicated and suggestions for further
studies are included.
References and appendices are presented in the last pages of the study.

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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter review theories related to terminological definitions of grammar
and methods of teaching grammar. Besides, concept maps and its relating
information are also mentioned. Simultaneously, the chapter summarizes some
studies on concept maps that the current thesis is trying to bridge.
2.1. Grammar
2.1.1. Definitions of grammar
Grammar is a set of patterns for how words are put together to form phrases

or clauses, whether spoken or in writing. However, speech is a separate
phenomenon from writing with its own regularities and patterns. According to
Larsen- Freeman (2006: 25), “Language is not fixed, but it is rather a dynamic
system. Language evolves and changes…[it] grows and organizes itself from the
bottom up in an organic way, as do other complex systems.” For the last few years,
English grammar teaching in schools has been a subject of criticism. Some people
believe that there is no correlation between teaching grammar and pupils’
improvement in writing of English.
The term grammar has been used in different ways. Some people see
grammar as the rules which govern the language system; for others, grammar refers
to the language that the native speakers use to convey his message correctly and
accurately. Woods (1995: 16) believes that learning grammar is the learning of rules
and learners should have an intellectual knowledge of grammar, this knowledge will
provide basis on which learners can build their knowledge, these bases will act as
the generative base.
Grammar is defined as “a set of rules which are considered how forms are
composed and used” (Woods, 1995: 16). Many teachers refer grammar to the form
of structures, how to arrange and order the words correctly to form a grammatical
structure, but the problem is how to deal with the syntactic rules. If teachers do not
concentrate on the errors of low level-syntax, that means learners will commit
mistakes and they will form ill-formed sentences, at the same time if the errors are

6


pointed out, the communicative quality will be lost and students will focus on
grammar and rules instead of communication.
Grammar is one of the resources that language includes. It helps learners to
communicate. Choosing the correct form is as important as choosing the lexical
items that will help speakers to say and expect their listeners and readers interpret to

what they are saying.
Finegan (1998:470) states that “all creatures had their own language to
communicate, some of these creatures make meaningful sounds to make links
between sounds and meaning”. According to Palmer (1972), as human beings, a lot
of time in our life is spent speaking, listening, reading and writing, at the same time
we also need a link to make meaningful communication with others. This link is
grammar.
2.1.2. Uses of grammar
The term grammar is used in different ways to mean different things, it may
come in a form of a book to mean the rules of the language or a subject that teachers
teach in the school to their learners to use the language correctly or it can be an
approach to analyze and describe the language. Kohli (1999) has the same belief for
the use of grammar. In his opinion, the term grammar for school students means the
terminological study of sentences, but to linguistics it is the structures of a language
or the set of signals by which a given language expresses meaning. Leech et. al
(1982) believes that grammar is the core of the language which relates the semantic
with phonology.
2.1.3. Teaching grammar
The value of grammar teaching is important in English language teaching
field. Without good knowledge of grammar, students’ knowledge of their second or
foreign language is likely to remain limited to the memorization and imitation of
specific phrases and structures. It is stated by Leech and et. al (1982) that having
knowledge of grammar will improve the style of writing and it will help learners to
criticize and discuss their won writing. Eyres (2006) sees that grammar is something

7


that speakers of language need to know, because it enables them to form sentences
grammatically, and it also allows them to differentiate between grammatical and

ungrammatical sentences. Woods (1995: 2) says that “grammar teaches how to use
words, it teaches us how to use these words correctly and appropriately”.
According to Lock (199), communicative competence is not just the ability to
produce correct sentences, but to know when, where and with whom to use them.
Grammar competence is an essential part of communicative competence and the
development of communication is the result from the relation between grammatical
competence and communication.
Kohli (1999) confirms that grammar is a very important aspect in teaching. A
person cannot learn and practice a foreign language without having grammatical
knowledge. According to him, there are some principles of practicing grammar.
Firstly, grammar will be as a reference when the linguistic habits fail the learners.
Secondly, it helps learners to arrange and consolidate forms and structures that they
have already learned. Bedsides, grammar offers a set of labor saving rules,
explanations and patterns which economize effort in language. Fourthly, it helps
learners to monitor the performance. Grammar is preventive and corrective, it gives
learners a useful feedback to the points or words-use which are especially liable to
error. It also helps learners to improve their written works, and makes them
understand how to link sentences. Moreover, teaching grammar will lead learners to
more practice over a wide range of valuable practice. Lastly, grammar helps
learners to express their thoughts correctly either in speaking or in writing.
Palmer (1971) sees grammar is central to the teaching and learning of
languages. It is also one of the most difficult aspects of language to teach well.
Many people, including language teachers, hear the word “grammar” and think of a
fixed set of word forms and rules of usage. They associate “good” grammar with the
prestige forms of the language such as those used in writing and in formal oral
presentations, and “bad” or “no” grammar with the language used in every day
conversation or used by speakers of no prestige forms. Kohli (1999) sees that

8

language teachers often focus on grammar as a set of forms and rules. Teachers
teach grammar by explaining the forms and rules and then drilling students on them.
This results in bored, disaffected students who can produce correct forms on
exercises and tests, but consistently make errors when they try to use the language
in context. Garcia (2003) believes that other language teachers, influenced by recent
theoretical work on the difference between language learning and language
acquisition, tend not to teach grammar at all. Believing that children acquire their
first language without over grammar instruction, they expect students to learn their
second language the same way. They assume that students will absorb grammar
rules as they hear, read, and use the language in communication activities. This
approach does not allow students to use one of the major tools they have as learners;
their active understanding of what grammar is and how it works in the language
they have already known.
Byrd (2004: 144) states that the goal of grammar instruction is to enable
students to carry out their communication purposes. This goal has three
implications. Firstly, students need overt instruction that connects grammar points
with larger communication contexts. Secondly, students do not need to master every
aspect of each grammar point, only those that are relevant to the immediate
communication task. Thirdly, error correction is not always the instructor’s first
responsibility.
2.1.4. Methods of teaching grammar
There are four main methods of teaching grammar as shown below:
2.1.4.1. The grammar translation method
Grammar translation is not a new method with different names. It was called
the classical method because it was used to teach the classical language, then the
method was used to help learners to use and practice the foreign languages. The
philosophy of this method is to “help learners to study the grammar of the language
by using their native language” (Freeman, 2000: 11). And Woods (1995) says that
the idea of this method is based on teaching grammar by using the native language.

9


Advantages and disadvantages of grammar translation method
According to Kohli (1999), there are some advantages when this method is
used by teachers. Firstly, translation saves efforts and time, especially when
teachers teach vocabulary and phrases of the foreign language. Secondly, teachers’
labor is saved, the method is easy to follow, and it suits average of students and
teachers. Thirdly, comprehension is not easily stated, teachers may ask their
students to tell them what they have learnt in their mother tongue. This strategy
suits the learners in the early stages.
Freeman (2000) indicates that the method has some disadvantages. The
process of learning is teacher-centered, which means that the teacher had the
authority in the classroom and he plays the main role during the process of learning
and teaching. Furthermore, the method does not take into consideration the feelings
of the learners. And the method is concentrating on vocabulary and grammar, and
there is much less attention given to speaking and listening. Besides, teachers
supply the errors of the students directly with the correct answer without giving
them chance to correct themselves or to make pair correction.
2.1.4.2. The Direct method
This is also an old method with its name derived from the fact that
“meanings can be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of
practice, demonstration and visual aids” (Freeman: 200; 23).
Advantages and disadvantages of the direct method
Kohli (1999) states that this method has some of the following strong points:
(1) The method is natural; it makes a great demonstration and practice in
learning a foreign language, the same way in which learners learn their
native language.
(2) It makes use of the audio-visual aids. It emphasizes the use of the

instruments and aids in the classroom to help learners understand and
practice the language.

10


(3) Teaching through conversation, the method neglects translation,
explanation and analyzing the rules of the language.
(4) It facilitates reading and writing. It concentrates on speaking and
conversation, so naturally that it will improve writing and it will increase
love for reading.
Not having the same idea with Kohli, Freeman (2000) mentions some
disadvantages of this method. Firstly, the method is not complete. It focuses on
speech and conversation, while writing and reading do not receive due attention.
Secondly, it needs competent teachers who have the ability of pronunciation and
speaking the language correctly and perfectly. Thirdly, it is not suitable for all
learners. Moreover, it is difficult in explanation.
2.1.4.3. The Audio-lingual method
Woods (1995) states that audio-lingual method is related to the behaviorists
approach. It is an oral-based approach. The idea of this method is that the language
is divided into structures which learners practice through drilling. Teachers drill the
structure and learners learn from over drilling rather than describing the rule of the
language.
Advantages and disadvantages of the audio-lingual method
According to Freeman (2000), the teacher in audio-lingual method is a
leader-conducting, guiding and controlling the students’ behavior in the target
language. And the method has several advantages. First of all, the method
emphasizes speech, so learners will be able to learn vocabulary and structure.
Secondly, it emphasizes the good relation between learners through chain drills or
when learners take different roles in dialogue. Thirdly, teacher emphasizes the use

of the target language, so there is no use of the native language.
Nunan (1991) mentions some disadvantages of this method. They are: (1)Learners are like parrots. They imitate their teacher; (2)- Audio-lingual method
rejects mistakes that learners may commit during the process of learning, for them
these mistakes are not acceptable; (3)- It emphasizes speaking more than other

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skills; (4)- There are no considerations for the learners’ feelings; (5)- Drilling of the
language and structures will affect learners, and they may feel bored and easily
forgotten.
2.1.4.4. The communicative approach
Communication is humanistic feature where people use words to convey
their messages. Todd (1992) defines language as a set of signals by which we
communicate. Therefore, human language communication is not a vocal system
only as it can be expressed by writing. Expressing needs, feelings, opinions and
thoughts needs words and these words should be stored in good form; therefore,
grammar is important to help learners to convey their messages. Woods (1995) sees
that grammar teaches how to use words correctly and appropriately.
Advantages and disadvantages of the communicative approach
Hamdan (1991) also notices some advantages and disadvantages of the
communicative approach. Firstly, it emphasizes the use of the four competences in
the real life communication with concentration on the social competence. Secondly,
it gives the learners chances to use the language for their own purpose. Thirdly, they
are more tolerant with learners’ mistakes. They believe that these mistakes are the
outcome of communication. It also takes care of the learners’ feeling, so they will
enjoy

learning.

However,

this

approach

has

some

disadvantages:

(1)-

Communicative approach does not offer security for teachers in the textbook; (2)- It
is more difficult to evaluate; (3)- It makes a great demand on professional practice,
training and competences; (4)- It does not meet withhold learners and teachers.

As far as the author can see from the points mentioned above, grammar is a
set of rules which are considered how words are put together to form phrases or
clauses. It is a link for us to make meaningful communication with others. When it
is used in different ways, grammar means different things. In English language
teaching field, grammar teaching is important because grammar enables students to
develop their communicative competence, express their thoughts and ideas correctly

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either in speaking or writing. Grammar is the centre of teaching and learning
languages and one of the most difficult aspects to teach. There are various methods

of teaching grammar such as the grammar translation method, the direct method, the
audio-lingual method, and the communicative approach. Each method has its own
advantages that should be utilized and disadvantages that need to be minimized.
2.2. Concept Maps
Concept maps were first suggested by Joseph Donald Novak, who has
studied the education field as an aid for learners to increase understanding
(Richardson et.al, 2005). The strategy was born out of the constructivist theory of
learning which holds that the learner constructs or builds his own knowledge as
opposed to the previous one (Basso and Margarita, 2004).
The idea is based on the Ausubels’ (1978) assimilation theory of cognitive
learning who sees that the meaningful learning takes place when new knowledge is
consciously incorporated into the concepts and ideas previously acquired by the
learner. Ausubels advocates the use of the advanced organizer which is based on the
idea that the teacher is given a short description to the new material before the
lesson to prepare the students to accept the new material.
2.2.1. Definitions of concept maps
Concept map is visualized through a graphical representation. Concepts are
usually depicted by circles or boxes, forming the nods of the new work by labeled
links (Buzzetto-More, 2007). Juall and Moyet (2005: 7) maintain that “concept
maps are an educational technique that uses diagrams to demonstrate the relation of
one concept or situation, by linking a central concept to another one, to help the
learners to understand the central concept better.” Therefore, concept maps are
presented as a pyramid seen from above and they are arranged hierarchically with
the super ordinate concepts at the top of the map and subordinate at the bottom
which are less inclusive than higher ones.
Novak and Canas (2006) see that concept maps are graphical tools for
organizing and representing knowledge. They include concepts usually closed in

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circles or boxes of some types and relationships between concepts indicated by
connecting or linking two concepts or words on line, referred to as linking words or
linking phrases. The link between the concepts can be one-way or non-directional.
The concepts and the links may be categorized and the concepts may shoe temporal
or casual relationship between concepts.
The researchers in the field of education study concept maps as a means to
facilitate quick and effective learning. Concept map is defined by Novak and Gowin
(1984) as graphical representation of knowledge that are comprised of concepts and
the relationship between them. Having the same ideas with Novak and Gowin,
Rubin and Babbie (2005) also see that concept mapping is the relationship among
concepts in graphical format. Beside, Vakilifard and Armand (2006) state that
concept map is a graphic representation which not only transmits basic information,
but also presents relationship between the concepts.

Figure 1. Model of a Concept Map (Novak & Gowin, 1984)
Retrieved from />Talebinezhad (2007) maintains concept maps for Novak represent the
relation among concepts, with the visual presentation of key words. Students can

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identify main issues of text and organize these key issues of text and organize these
key issues in a meaningful way.
According to Jeresa and Jorge (2006: 13), “concept map is a graphic
organizer which used schematic representation to hierarchically organize a set of
concepts connected by means of words in order to build meaningful statements.”
Showing meaningful relationship between concepts in a shape of prepositions, the
concept map reveals students’ comprehension and knowledge structure.
From the previous definitions, the researcher sees that concept maps are an

educational strategy which has different shapes and it is arranged hierarchically
with the super ordinate concept at the top and subordinate at the bottom, and there
are some links among concepts to represent the relationships between the concepts.
2.2.2. Basic principles of concept maps
Novak (2001) indicates that concept map is a tool for organizing and
presenting knowledge. This knowledge is mostly semantic so it needs to be
organized and presented hierarchically from the most general concept to the most
specific one.
Pill and et. al (2005) mentions the main principles of concept maps: (1)-Key
ideas are presented in a hierarchy, which moves from the most general ideas to the
most specific ones; (2)- Key ideas are additionally arranged in domains or clusters,
which visually define their association and related boundaries; (3)- The nature of
the interrelationships between the key ideas is identified through the use of
relationship lines. These lines are annotated to clearly indicate the nature of these
relationships within discrete sections of the map and between the different domains;
(4)- The lowest point of hierarchical representation of ideas is illustrated by the use
of relevant examples.
2.2.3. Features of concept maps
There are three features of concept maps that are important: the hierarchical
structure that is represented in a good map, the concise accurate linking words and
long cross-links interrelating distant words.

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