Tài liệu A study on students’ difficulties in learning english grammar communicatively in class 10a9 at cam khe high school and some suggested solutions

HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY FACULITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI BICH HONG A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH GRAMMAR COMMUNICATIVELY IN CLASS 10A9 AT CAM KHE HIGH SCHOOL AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Teaching Methodology Phu Tho, 2018 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÙNG VƯƠNG KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ NGUYEN THI BICH HONG A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH GRAMMAR COMMUNICATIVELY IN CLASS 10A9 AT CAM KHE HIGH SCHOOL AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS Nghiên cứu về những khó khăn của việc học ngữ pháp qua đường hướng giao tiếp của học sinh lớp 10A4 Trường THPT Cẩm Khê và đề xuất một số giải pháp B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Teaching Methodology Supervisor: Nguyen Thanh Long, M.A Phu Tho, 2018 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am greatly indebted to so many people for the fulfillment of this study. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards my supervisor, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long for his enthusiastic guidance, valuable comments and suggestions on my doing thesis. Without these, my thesis would not have been successfully completed I am grateful to all the lecturers who have been teaching the K12 English pedagogy course ± Hung Vuong University. I would also like to thank teachers at Cam Khe High school for having given me the chance to work with their students and all the students participating in my study for their enthusiastic participation in the classroom observation and completing the survey questionnaire. Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my family, my relatives and my friends for their support and encouragements during the research process. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy ii ABSTRACT The target of the study is to investigate the difficulties in learning English grammar of the grade 10 students at Cam Khe high school. The results show that students have the following difficulties: communicative grammar obstacles related to VWXGHQWV¶ORZOHYHORI(QJOLVKSURILFLHQF\VWXGHQWV¶OHDUQLQJVW\OHDQG XVLQJ PRWKHU WRQJXH SUREOHP WHDFKHU¶V LQVXIILFLHQW FRPPXQLFDWLYH FRPSHWHQFH WHDFKHU¶V PLVFRQFHSWLRQ DERXW &/7 DQG LQDSSURSULDWH PHWKRG multi-level classes, current testing system and lack of class time. On the basis of the findings, some appropriate suggested solutions that can be employed to encounter this problem including: Training and retraining teachers in CLT; teachers' self-improvement of speaking competence; organizing extracurricuODU DFWLYLWLHV WR HQKDQFH VWXGHQWV¶ FRQILGHQFH DQG ZLOOLQJQHVV WR FRPPXQLFDWHLQ(QJOLVKHQFRXUDJLQJVWXGHQWV¶SDUWLFLSDWLRQLQFODVVDFWLYLWLHV LPSURYLQJVWXGHQWV¶(QJOLVKSURILFLHQF\ Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy iii LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS CLT Communicative language teaching AM Audio-lingual method Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy iv CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ii LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS ............................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS .................................................................... vii PART A: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 1. Rationale............................................................................................................ 1 2. Research purpose............................................................................................... 2 3. Research questions ............................................................................................ 3 4. Previous studies ................................................................................................. 3 4.1. In the world .................................................................................................... 3 4.2 In Viet Nam...................................................................................................... 3 5. Research procedure ........................................................................................... 5 6. Research methods .............................................................................................. 5 7. Significance of the study ................................................................................... 6 8. Scope of the study ............................................................................................. 6 9. Design of the study ............................................................................................ 6 PART B: DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................. 8 1.1. Overview of grammar .................................................................................... 8 1.1.1. Definition of grammar................................................................................. 8 1.1.2. The importance of grammar...................................................................... 10 1.2 An overview on language teaching methods in teaching grammar. ............. 12 1.2.1 Deductive Approach ................................................................................... 13 1.2.2 Inductive Approach .................................................................................... 15 1.3. CLT on teaching grammar ........................................................................... 18 1.3.1. Communicative competence ...................................................................... 18 Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy v 1.3.2. Definition of CLT ...................................................................................... 18 1.3.3. Characteristics of CLT .............................................................................. 19 1.3.4. Stages in teaching grammar communicatively ......................................... 21 1.3.5 CLT techniques ........................................................................................... 23 1.4. Difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively ........................ 27 1.4.1. Difficulties in learning grammar .............................................................. 27 1.4.1.1 Internal Problems.................................................................................... 27 1.4.1.2 External Problems ................................................................................... 27 1.4.2 Difficulties in learning in CLT ................................................................... 28 1.4.2.1 Difficulties from teachers ........................................................................ 28 1.4.2.2 Difficulties from students ........................................................................ 29 1.4.3 Difficulties from objective factors .............................................................. 32 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ...................................................................... 34 2.1. Participants ................................................................................................... 34 2.2. Overview of the English textbook................................................................ 35 2.3. The data collection instruments ................................................................... 36 2.3.1. Questionnaire for the students .................................................................. 36 2.3.1.1. Cause of choosing questionnaire ........................................................... 36 2.3.1.2. Questionnaire description ...................................................................... 36 2.3.2. The classroom observation ....................................................................... 37 2.3.2.1. Cause of choosing class observation ..................................................... 37 2.3.2.2. Observation description ......................................................................... 37 2.4. Data analysis method ................................................................................... 38 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................. 39 3.1 The results ..................................................................................................... 39 3.1.1. The result from questionnaire ................................................................... 39 3.1.2 The result from the observation ................................................................. 48 3.2. Discussion .................................................................................................... 49 Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy vi 3.2.1. Difficulties faced by the students in learning grammar and their expectations ......................................................................................................... 49 7HDFKHU¶VUHODWHGIDFWRUVWKDWFDXVHGLIILFXOWLHVLQVWXGHQWV¶JUDPPDUOHDUQLQJ ............................................................................................................................. 50 3.3. Suggested solutions to enhance the efficiency of learning English grammar for grade 10 students at Cam Khe High school. ................................................. 52 3.3.1. Training and retraining teachers in CLT .................................................. 52 3.3.2. Teachers' self-improvement of speaking competence ............................... 53 3.3.3. Organizing extra- FXUULFXODUDFWLYLWLHVWRHQKDQFHVWXGHQWV¶FRQILGHQFH and willingness to communicate in English ........................................................ 53 (QFRXUDJLQJVWXGHQWV¶SDUWLFLSDWLRQLQFODVVDFWLYLWLHV ............................ 54 ,PSURYLQJVWXGHQWV¶(QJOLVKproficiency .................................................. 54 3.3.6. Practising and revising ............................................................................. 55 PART C: CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 56 1. Main finding ................................................................................................ 56 2. Implication .................................................................................................. 56 3. Limitations and suggestions for further study............................................. 57 $33(1',;678'(176¶6859(<48(67,211$,5( ............................... I APPENDIX 2: OBSERVATION CHECKLIST FORM ..................................... V APPENDIX 3: OBSERVATION FORM 1 ........................................................ VI APPENDIX 4: OBSERVATION FORM 2 .................................................... VIII REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... X Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy vii LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS x list of tables Table 1: Advantages and disadvantages of the deductive approach to teaching Grammar Table 2: Advantages and disadvantages of the inductive approach to teaching Grammar 7DEOH  6WXGHQWV¶ SHUVSHFWLYH RI WKH LPSRUWDQFH RI OHDUQLQJ (QJOLVK JUDPPDU communicatively Table 4 7KH VWXGHQWV¶ perspective of factors in their English communicative grammar lessons Table 5: 6WXGHQWV¶V YLHZSRLQW RI IDFWRUV causing obstacles in English communicative grammar lessons Table 6: Expectation for a better and more effective grammar lesson x List of charts &KDUW6WXGHQWV¶HYDOXDWLRQDERXWOHDUQLQJJUDPPDWLFDOVWUXFWXUH &KDUW  6WXGHQWV¶ YLHZSRLQWV RI OHYHO RI GLIILFXOW\ LQ FRPPXQLFDWLYH JUDPPDU lessons &KDUW7KHVWXGHQWV¶IUHTXHQF\LQH[SUHVVLQJWKHLULGHDZLWKFRUUHFWJUDPPDU structure in communication Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 1 PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, English is used in a majority of countries in the world, as it is one of the most important languages for international communication. The economic open- door policy pursued by the government of Vietnam has increased a demand for studying English. Many people are expected to be competent to communicate verbally with the outside world and to access technology. In correspondence to this trend, in almost of schools, colleges, universities, English is a compulsory subject. Besides the aim of passing their exams and getting some further studies for their future life, all students have a desire to be integrated into the culture, the civilization, and the people of English speaking countries. They expect to have a good knowledge of English to read books and magazines, to see films or to sing English songs, etc. As a result, learning English now is not only an interest but also a practical need for many people. As in other countries, teachers of English in Vietnam are now using Communicative Approach to teach English grammar to learners of all levels. Language learning has moved from the traditional to a more communicative approach. In this current approach, language is considered as a form of social behavior. The objective of language learning is to communicate fluently, appropriately and spontaneously in the cultural context of the target language. Communicative competence, according to Canaled and Swain (1980), is made up of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and strategic competence. They hope to provide learners with a means of communication, namely English which is vital for them to be successful in their job and to fulfill their social demands in the time of globalization. At Cam Khe High school, where the author studies, English is a Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 2 compulsory subject in the curriculum and it is considered as a major subject for the high school examination. It is taught with the purpose that students have some basic knowledge of English in order to communicate and to use it as a key to science and technology. However, there still exist many difficulties facing English language teachers in Vietnam in general and English language teachers at Cam Khe High school in particular in teaching grammar skills to students. The teachers of English at Cam Khe High school find it difficult to teach grammar successfully. In the teaching situations, the students usually keep quiet in lessons. Certainly, there are many reasons for this. If those difficulties are not found out and no solutions can be given, the grammar classes cannot be successful and students will be fed up with learning English if they find it worthless to study the subject. For the above reasons, in this minor thesis, the researcher would like to ILJXUHRXW³a study on students¶GLIILFXOWLHVLQOHDUQLQJ(QJOLVKJUDPPDU communicatively in class 10A9 at Cam Khe High school and some suggested solutions´DVWKHWLWOHIor the thesis in the hope that the researcher can contribute a small part in helping her students and her colleagues to improve their learning and teaching English especially in learning and teaching grammar that they may need for further study, work or leisure. 2. Research purpose This study intends to find out difficulties students are facing when learning grammar. So, the focus will be: x Determining the importance of grammar in English learning. x Investigating difficulties students are facing when learning grammar communicatively. x The causes of the difficulties in learning English communicatively. x Suggesting some possible solutions to those difficulties. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy grammar 3 3. Research questions The research will find the answers for the following questions: x What are the difficulties of the grade 10A9 students when they learn English grammar communicatively? x What are the solutions to improve their English grammar skill? 4. Previous studies 4.1. In the world The study by Li Pei (2010) is a teaching experiment which aims at testing the impact of context-based approach on teaching unreal conditional sentences for freshmen majoring in English in Adult Education College of Soochow University, China. The study was carried out from November 4th, 2008 to January 7th, 2010. The data were collected via the questionnaire, the interview, the pretest and the posttest and the final conclusion was: the use of contextEDVHG DSSURDFK KHOSHG WR LPSURYH VWXGHQWV¶ DZDUHQHVV DQG DWWLWXGHV WRZDUGV JUDPPDU OHDUQLQJ DQG SURPRWHG VWXGHQWV¶ DFTXLVLWLRQ RI (QJOLVK JUDPPDU learning strategies. 4.2 In Viet Nam The teaching of grammar has always been a central aspect of foreign language teaching. It has been the focus of language teachers and learners for many years. Grammar is considered to be an indispensable factor which helps people to use its language to communicate successfully. The importance of grammar in general and grammar teaching in particular has been highly appreciated and has been the focus of many studies up to now. Now I can give some studies related to my research. 7KH ILUVW VWXG\ , ZDQW WR PHQWLRQ LV RQ WKH WKHPH ³$SSO\LQJ communicative approach to grammar teaching and learning at Tran Phu gifted KLJKVFKRRO´E\WKHDXWKRU3KDP7KL0DL$QKLQ2FWREHU7KHDWWHPSWVRI WKLV VWXG\ DUH WR ILQG RXW WKH VWXGHQWV¶ DQG WHDFKHUV¶ DWWLWXGHV DV ZHOO DV WKHLU preferences to grammar teaching and learning towards the communicative Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 4 approach. Carrying out the study, the author hopes to find out how to teach and learn grammar according to the communicative approach effectively and successfully. Another research that is about grammar named ³$GDSWLQJ PDWHULDOV IRU teaching grammar in the light of CLT to first year students in electric power FROOHJH´E\1JX\HQ7KL7KDQKLQ6HSWHPEHU7KLVVWXG\ZDVFRQGXFWHGWR seek the answers to the questions of what techniques of adapting materials should be used to teach grammar to first year students at EPC in the light of CLT. Through what the author has done, she believes the teachers should know how to combine materials of traditional approach like gap-filling, tenses etc, with those of CLT approach. In other words, they should know how to balance WKHVHPDWHULDOVWRVXLWWKHLUVWXGHQWV¶QHHGVDQGLQWHUHVWV ³$Q LQYHVWLJDWLRQ LQWR 9LHWQDPHVH XSSHU VHFRQGDU\ VFKRRO VWXGHQWV¶ DWWLWXGHV WRZDUGV JUDPPDU OHDUQLQJ DQG WHDFKLQJ´ ZDV FDUULHG RXW E\ 1JX\HQ Thi Minh Hue in June, 2004. The aim of this study is to find out what attitudes Vietnamese upper secondary school students hold towards grammar and grammar learning especially with their styles preferences in an attempt to narrow the gap between teaching styles and learning styles as a goal of learnercentreness in language education. Through this investigation, the author expects that a blend of both traditional and communicative approaches to grammar could be a good solution to the question of grammar teaching at the Vietnamese upper secondary school. In conclusion, how to teach grammar effectively and successfully is always a big question not only to her but also to many other teachers at my school, especially nowadays new textbooks used in all schools in our country focus on not only grammar but also on other skills in the light of CLT. Learning grammar, the teachers encounter some certain difficulties in comparison with learning other skills. Being aware of this, the researcher has decided to choose the topic on the learning of grammar for her thesis with the aim to find out the Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 5 difficulties many students encounter when learning grammar communicatively and some possible solutions to these problems. Furthermore, up to now there have been no studies on this topic carried out at Cam Khe High school, the school where she had the internship. All these above mentioned reasons have inspired her WR FRQGXFW WKH VWXG\ DERXW ³$ VWXG\ RQ VWXGHQWV¶ Gifficulties in learning English grammar communicatively in class 10A9 at Cam Khe high VFKRRODQGVRPHVXJJHVWHGVROXWLRQV´The researcher hopes this would be taken into consideration by the teachers at Cam Khe High school in particular and teachers of English in general to make the periods more interesting and motivating to students. 5. Research procedure Firstly, reviewing the theoretical background related to grammar to get the foundation for the study. Secondly, the study will investigate the difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively of the grade 10A9 students at Cam Khe high school. Finally, the study will give some suggestions to help improve and enhance the grammar for the grade 10A9 students. 6. Research methods In order to accomplish this thesis systematically and adequately, some research methods are used: Theoretical study method: studying the related documents to give some knowledge about grammar and some common difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively. Investigative and survey methods: Questionnaires and observation Analysis method: from data got from many different materials related to the topic, analyzing to get the final results. Systematized method: many materials related, the researcher has to systematize what she reads from materials. Moreover, the research has to categorize the materials and her ideas to make study logical. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 6 7. Significance of the study The study helps the researcher improve the knowledge about English grammar, the difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively of grade 10A9 students, find out some solutions to improve the efficiency of teaching and learning English grammar at high school. It will be very helpful for the teachers of English in Cam Khe High school as well as for English teachers to teach grammar effectively, and motivate their learners in grammar classes. These suggestions also help students who learn English improve their grammar and made language focus lessons more communicative and meaningful. 8. Scope of the study As could be seen from the title of the study, this paper strongly focuses on investigating some difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively of grade 10A9 students at Cam Khe High school and some suggested solutions. 9. Design of the study The study consists of 3 parts, references. Part A: INTRODUCTION In this part, the researcher gives an overall introduction of the study about rationale, research purpose, research questions, previous studies, research procedure, research methods, significance of the study, scope of the study, and design of the study. Part B: MAJOR CONTENT Chapter l: Literature review In this part, the study presents general information about knowledge and deals with the theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the study: grammar, different views on English grammar teaching, the factors affecting on VWXGHQWV¶ OHDUQLQJ JUDPPDU WKH GLIILFXOWLHV LQ OHDUQLQJ (QJOLVK JUDPPDU communicatively. Chapter2: Methodology Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 7 This chapter provides detailed information about the participants of the study and details the tool for data collection that have been used and procedure of conducting. Chapter3: Data analysis and discussion This chapter shows the detailed results together with a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires, observation and give the discussion. Then some suggestions will be given to help the grade 10 students improve their English grammar. Part C: CONC LUSION This part summarizes the major finding of the study, give implication of the study for teachers of English, for students, for researcher, lists limitation of the study, mentions suggestion for further research, and present conclusion. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 8 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the knowledge of grammar and CLT, the theories, factors DIIHFWLQJ RQ VWXGHQWV¶ JUDPPDU OHDUQLQJ, and some difficulties in learning English grammar communicatively will be presented. 1.1. Overview of grammar 1.1.1. Definition of grammar Grammar is a linguistic term that has become popular among those who are working in the field of language teaching in general and second/foreign language teaching in particular. However, the question of what grammar is has yielded so many different answers from linguists and grammarians. According to Harmer (1983:1), grammar of the language is the GHVFULSWLRQRI³Whe ways in which words change themselves and group together WRPDNHVHQWHQFHV´7ZRH[DPSOHVDUHDOVRJLYHQWRLOOXVWUDWHIRUWKLVGHILQLWLRQ the case of ³ZDON´ changes into ³ZDONHG´ to indicate the past tense and the case of ³QRWPDQ\´ combines with the plural noun ³RUDQJHV´ to make a full sentence like ³7KHUH DUH QRW PDQ\ RUDQJHV RQ WKH VKHOI´. Such view on grammar is agreed by Ur (1988:4), Thornbury (1999:1), Crystal (1995) and Nunan (2003:143). It can be seen that all these linguists describe grammar as a set of rules that govern a language; however, they fail to ZRUNRXWZKDWWKH³UXOHV´DUH Crystal (2002) holds a different view on grammar when he argues that grammar should be studied in two senses: in the specific sense, grammar is presented as just one branch of language structure, distinct from phonology and semantics; in the general sense, grammar subsumes phonology and semantics. Thus, if viewed from a broader sense, grammar involves both form and meaning. By way of contrast, from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary (QJOLVK  JUDPPDU LV GHILQHG DV ³WKH VWXG\ DQG SUDFWLFH RI WKH UXOHV E\ Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 9 ZKLFKZRUGVFKDQJHWKHLUIRUPVDQGDUHFRPELQHGLQWRVHQWHQFHV´6KDULQJWKH VDPHLGHD8UVWDWHVWKDW³JUDPPDUPD\EHURXJKOy defined as the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bit of words) in order to form ORQJHUXQLWVRIPHDQLQJ´%RWKGHILQLWLRQVDERYHUHIHUWRWKHPRUSKRORJ\ZRUG formation) and syntax (sentence formation) of a language. Clearly, grammar is the element which makes up all words and structures in a sentence. It is a set of rules which construct meaning and form of a sentence. An alternative and more comprehensive definition of grammar is provided by Widdowson (1988:151-2) in which grammar is viewed in terms of form, meaning and function. >*UDPPDU LV@ ³D GHYLFH IRU LQGLFDWLQJ WKH PRVW FRPPRQ DQG UHFXUUHQW DVSHFWV RI PHDQLQJ´>ZKLFK@ ³IRUPDOL]HV WKH PRVW ZLGHO\ DSSOLFDEOH FRQFHSWV the highest common factors of experience: it provides for communicative HFRQRP\´ This definition shows a renovation in the view of grammar: grammar can indicate meaning and grammar can communicate. Larsen-Freeman (2003) shares her view on three dimensions of grammar teaching in which she insists that grammar is not simply about accuracy of form but it relates to meaningfulness and appropriateness as well. She also proposes a new definition RI JUDPPDU WKDW ³JUDPPDULQJ LV RQH RI WKH G\QDPLF OLQJXLVWLF SURFHVVHV RI pattern formation in language, which can be used by humans for making meaning in context-DSSURSULDWH ZD\V´ /DUVHQ-Freeman, 2003:142). Following this definition, grammar is no longer a set of static rules but a dynamic process of pattern formation which is best explored in appropriate contexts. From all above definitions, grammar is the system of structures in a language. Grammar specifies rules for standard use of words and how their component parts combine to form sentences. A grammar is also a system for classifying and analyzing the elements of language including inflections, functions, rules and relations in the sentence. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 10 1.1.2. The importance of grammar No one can deny the importance of grammar in a primary medium of learning at all stages of education as well as in foreign language learning. Teaching grammar has been a longstanding tradition in teaching a foreign language. In recent years, the role of grammar in language teaching and learning has received different interpretations. Traditional method like the grammar translation one stressed the need to master grammar as the centerpiece in learning foreign language whereas some expressed different against the teaching grammar: ³7KHVWXG\RIJUDPPDULVQHLWKHUQHFHVVDU\QRUVXIIicient for learning D ODQJXDJH´ (Brumfit and Johnson, H979). Therefore, there has been a great FRQWURYHUV\UHODWLQJWRWKHUDLVHGTXHVWLRQ³:KHWKHUVKRXOGZHWHDFKJUDPPDU RU QRW" 'R ZH KDYH WR KDYH JUDPPDU H[HUFLVHV" ,VQ¶W LW EHWWHU IRU VWXGHQWV WR absorb the rules intuitively through communicative activities than to be taught througKVSHFLDOH[HUFLVHV"´8U6RPHOLQJXLVWVKDYHJLYHQWKHLUDQVZHUWR these big questions. According to Richards, Platt, and Weber in Nunan (2005:2) grammar is a description of a language and the way in which units such as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language. From this definition, it seems that grammar plays an importance role in combining units of language to form sentences. The sentences are acceptable or grammatically if they follow the rules of grammar. Since a communicative purpose and function of language and reflected in grammar, it is a must the language students to acquire good grammar. It should be admitted, good mastery in grammar will enable people easily to express information, feeling, and ideas in their thought to others. In other words, it can be said that communication failure will happen if people do not master the grammar because the purpose of communication cannot be reached. From that statement, it is clear that grammar is important to be mastered by the students in order to be able to express their feelings, emotions, and to be able to use English appropriately. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy 11 Ur (1988) stressed the importance of grammar in language learning and WHDFKLQJ +H VWDWHG ³NQRZOHGJH - implicit or explicit - of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery of a language: you cannot use words unless you know KRZ WKH\ VKRXOG EH SXW WRJHWKHU´ +RZHYHU KH DOVR FODLPV ³WKH OHDUQLQJ RI JUDPPDUVKRXOGEHVHHQLQWKHORQJWHUPDVDZKROHQRWDVDQHQGLQLWVHOI´. Harmer (1987) DOVR DGPLWWHG WKDW ³7KHUH LV QRZ D JHQHUDO IHHOLQJ WKDW students do need to learn how to perform the functions of language, but they need a grammatical base as well. Modem courses often teach a grammatical structure and then get students to use it as part RIDIXQFWLRQDOFRQYHUVDWLRQ´ Furthermore, as Wang (2010) mentioned, after the appearance of FRPPXQLFDWLYHDSSURDFKWHDFKHUVRIWHQSXWPXFKHPSKDVLVRQ³FRPPXQLFDWLYH FRPSHWHQFH´ DQG QHJOHFW ³OLQJXLVWLF FRPSHWHQFH´ 7KLV OHDGV LQ WKH IDFW WKDW students make lots of errors in oral as well as written performance because of their lack of basic knowledge of language. With this tendency Hymes (1972, TXRWHG LQ :DQJ  LQGLFDWHV WKDW ³FRPPXQLFDWLYH FRPSHWHQFH´ VKRXOG LQFOXGH ³OLQJXLVWLF FRPSHWHQFH´ DQG ³OLQJXLVWLF SHUIRUPDQFH´ +HQFH sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, strategic competence and grammatical competence are four basic aspects of this approach In conclusion, there still exist controversies about the role of grammar in language teaching and learning. However, it can be seen that the above mentioned linguists share the same view in valuing the crucial role of grammar in language learning and teaching. However, they assert that the sole mastery of grammar is not the goal of language OHDUQLQJ 7KH VWXGHQWV¶ XOWLPDWH JRDO LQ learning grammar is to use it to perform communicative functions accurately, effectively and successfully. Indeed, grammar offers students one of the most HIIHFWLYH PHDQV RI H[WHQGLQJ VWXGHQWV¶ NQRZOHGJH RI ODQJXDJe items in which they can use to communicate in real life and to understand what is said written in English. Nguy͍n Th͓ Bích H͛ng ± K12 English pedagogy