VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ HUYỀN High school teachers’ perceptions and applying Communicative attitudes towards Language Teaching in teaching grammar NHẬN THỨC VÀ THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN CẤP BA ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC ÁP DỤNG ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP TRONG DẠY HỌC NGỮ PHÁP M.a MINOR thesis Field: English Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Ha Noi - 2010 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ HUYỀN High school teachers’ perceptions and applying Communicative attitudes towards Language Teaching in teaching grammar NHẬN THỨC VÀ THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN CẤP BA ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC ÁP DỤNG ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP TRONG DẠY HỌC NGỮ PHÁP M.a MINOR thesis Field: English Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: DR DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ Ha Noi - 2010 iii Table of contents Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of contents iii List of abbreviations vi List of figures and tables vii Part one: Introduction 1 Rationale Aims of the study Research questions Method of the study Scope of the study Definition of terminology Significance of the study Design of the study Part two: development Chapter one: Literature review 1.1 Communicative Language Teaching 1.1.1 The origins of CLT 1.1.2 Characteristics of CLT 1.2 Grammar 11 1.2.1 Definition of grammar 11 1.2.2 Approaches to grammar teaching 12 1.3 The role of grammar in foreign language teaching and learning 13 iv 1.4 Grammar teaching in the light of CLT 14 1.5 Teachers’ perceptions and attitudes to grammar teaching in the light of 16 CLT Chapter two: Research methodology 19 2.1 Methodology 19 2.1.1 Research questions 19 2.1.2 Method orientation 19 2.1.3 The participants 19 2.1.4 The instruments 20 2.2 Data analysis 21 2.3 Conclusion 21 Chapter three: Findings and discussion 22 3.1 The findings from the questionnaire and discussion 22 3.1.1 Teachers’ perception of the role of grammar in English 22 Language Teaching 3.1.2 Teachers’ attitudes to teaching grammar 22 3.1.3 Teachers’ perception of students’ attitudes towards learning 23 grammar 3.1.4 Teachers’ perceptions of CLT 23 3.1.5 Teachers’ grading of the benefits CLT brings to grammar 26 teaching 3.1.6 Teachers’ grading of the constraints they face when applying 27 CLT to teaching grammar 3.1.7 Teachers’ perception of the teacher’s role in CLT 28 3.1.8 Teachers’ perception of the students’ responsibilities in CLT 29 3.1.9 The care for CLT through discussions and comments at high 30 schools 3.1.10 The frequency teachers teach grammar in the light of CLT 30 v 3.1.11 Teachers’ perception of the benefits that CLT brings to 31 grammar teaching 3.1.12 Teachers’ evaluation of teaching grammar in the light of CLT 31 3.1.13 Teachers’ opinion about the frequency of applying CLT in 32 teaching grammar 3.1.14 Teachers’ opinion about the suitability and applicability of 33 applying CLT in teaching grammar 3.1.15 Teachers’ attitudes towards applying CLT in teaching grammar 33 3.1.16 Teachers’ recommendations for effective application of CLT in 34 teaching grammar 3.2 The findings from the interview and discussion 34 Part three: Conclusion 39 Conclusions 39 Recommendations 41 Limitations of the study 42 Suggestions for further studies 42 References 43 Appendixes i vi List of abbreviations CLT Communicative Language Teaching ELT English Language Teaching T1 Teacher T2 Teacher T3 Teacher T4 Teacher T5 Teacher T6 Teacher vii List of figures and tables Name Page Figure 1: Teachers’ perception of the role of grammar in English Language 22 Teaching Figure 2: Teachers’ attitudes towards teaching grammar 22 Figure 3: Students’ attitudes towards learning grammar 23 Table 1: Teachers’ perceptions of CLT 24 Table 2: Teachers’ evaluation of the benefits of CLT in teaching grammar 26 Table 3: Teachers’ evaluation of the constraints of applying CLT in 27 teaching grammar Figure 4: Teachers’ perception of the teachers’ role in CLT 28 Table 4: Teachers’ perception of the students’ responsibilities in CLT 29 Figure 5: Teachers’ care for CLT at high schools 30 Figure 6: The frequency teachers teach grammar in the light of CLT 30 Figure 7: Teachers’ perception of the benefits that CLT brings to grammar 31 teaching Figure 8: Teachers’ evaluation of teaching grammar in the light of CLT 32 Figure 9: Should all grammar lessons be taught in the light of CLT? 32 Table 5: Do you think CLT is suitable and applicable in teaching grammar 33 at your school? Figure 10: Teachers’ attitudes towards applying CLT in teaching grammar 33 Figure 11: Teachers’ recommendations for effective application of CLT in 34 teaching grammar Part one: Introduction Rationale There is no doubt that English has been used as a tool of communication among native speakers as well as non-native ones No one can deny the important role of English in every field of life Therefore, the demand for learning English is increasing in Vietnam where English is one of the main subjects at school, and among the compulsory subjects of the entrance exams to a number of universities Therefore, it is urgent that students be equipped with a suitable and good method as well as teachers with effective teaching method to help their students get the best results It has been claimed that English language teaching in Vietnam is grammar-based, that indicates the importance of grammar in ELT However the question of how to teach grammar effectively is a big concern of every English teacher Choosing the suitable method(s) to teach grammar is really an important step to achieve the teaching and learning purposes Recently, some methods have attempted to supplement or replace the traditional ones with models of correct usage and exercises, which provide a greater degree of contextualization Therefore, to meet the new demands for different competencies and increased quality for Vietnam’s development, higher educational curricula and methods are required to be further reformed in a practical and updated way to produce skilled manpower well-prepared for immediate employment in the future, to boost the training of post-graduates within the country and overseas, to strengthen scientific research, and to facilitate the application of advanced education experience (Pham, 1998) During this period, in the field of Vietnamese ELT, more and more teachers are offered chances to upgrade their degrees abroad; more seminars by Western organizations on teaching methods are held for Vietnamese teachers, and more Western teachers are employed in Vietnamese universities In this context, Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT) has been introduced and considered by a large number of Vietnamese teachers and educators as the more appropriate approach for ELT at Vietnamese upper secondary schools compared to the traditional teacher-centered education The question is whether a Western approach can and should be applied in an Asian context like Vietnam, and whether there are challenges in this application, what teachers perceive of it, what their attitudes towards it are Though a number of research studies have been conducted focusing on CLT and teachers’ attitudes towards CLT, little research has been done on teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards teaching grammar in the light of CLT, especially in Hai Phong, a city in the North of Viet Nam With the view to investigating high school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards applying CLT in teaching grammar, the researcher decided to choose the topic: High school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards applying Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in teaching grammar” for her M.A minor thesis The thesis mainly focuses on what teachers perceive of CLT and teaching grammar in the light of CLT, then their attitudes towards it, from which the researcher gives suggestions for an effective application of CLT in grammar teaching It is hoped that this study will have a little contribution to improving the application of CLT in ELT in general, English grammar teaching in particular Aims of the study The study aims to: - Explore high school teachers’ perceptions of CLT - Investigate what they perceive of applying CLT in teaching grammar - Explore their attitudes towards teaching grammar in the light of CLT Research questions: The study is an attempt to answer the three following research questions: What high school teachers perceive of CLT? What they perceive of applying CLT in teaching grammar? What are their attitudes towards teaching grammar in the light of CLT? Method of the study In order to explore high school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes to applying CLT in teaching grammar, the survey research is employed Data will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively With the aim of increasing the validity and reliability of the data collected, the author uses two main instruments: * a questionnaire for teachers with two types of questions: closed and open-ended The questionnaire aims to get teachers’ opinions about teaching grammar in the light of CLT * a semi-structured interview with teachers to get better insights into teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards teaching grammar in the light of CLT, the way CLT is applied in their lessons, and whether CLT is the best method in teaching grammar currently Besides, reviewing the related documents is also a method to establish the theoretical background for the study Scope of the study For each research, it is necessary to limit its boundary to the manageable areas This study attempts to investigate high school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards applying CLT in teaching grammar It is exploratory by nature It is focused on high school teachers in different schools in Hai Phong, a city in the North of Vietnam These schools are both in the city and the country Definition of terminology 6.1 Communicative Language Teaching Up to now, there have been a number of definitions about CLT According to Lightbown & Spada (1999:172, in Fernando Ruby, 2001), “CLT is based on the premise that successful language learning involves not only a knowledge of the structures and forms of the language, but also the functions and purposes that a language serves in different communicative settings This approach to teaching emphasizes the communication of meaning over the practice and manipulation of grammatical forms (emphasis added).” I really like this definition as it can reflect the nature as well as the target of CLT CLT focuses not only on forms but also on meaning When CLT is successfully applied, students feel very confident in different communicative contexts As viewed by Nunan (1989:194) “Communicative language teaching views language as the system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaning tasks and using language which is meaningful to learners Objectives reflect the need of learners; they include functional skills as well as linguistic objectives The learner’s role is as a negotiator and integrator The teacher’s role is as a facilitator of the communication process Materials promote communicative language use; they are task-based and authentic” Nunan’s definition takes into consideration the most distinctive feature of CLT that is the system for the expression of meaning In this approach, students can obtain both functional and objective skills The teachers not force their students to learn but only act as the guider thus students can feel free to study This definition is so adequate and meaningful that it is widely cited by many scholars ... OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ HUYỀN High school teachers’ perceptions and applying Communicative attitudes towards Language Teaching in teaching. .. to investigate high school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards applying CLT in teaching grammar It is exploratory by nature It is focused on high school teachers in different schools in. .. choose the topic: High school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards applying Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in teaching grammar? ?? for her M.A minor thesis The thesis mainly focuses on what