Tài liệu A survey on students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to teaching english grammar for grade 11th at bac kan gifted high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES TRỊNH THANH HUYỀN A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL Nghiên cứu điều tra thái độ của học sinh đối với phương pháp diễn dịch và quy nạp trong giảng dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại lớp 11 trường trung học phổ thông chuyên Bắc Kạn M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES TRỊNH THANH HUYỀN A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL Nghiên cứu điều tra thái độ của học sinh đối với phương pháp diễn dịch và quy nạp trong giảng dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại lớp 11 trường trung học phổ thông chuyên Bắc Kạn M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Đỗ Tuấn Minh HANOI - 2016 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language Teaching. Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis. Hanoi, 2016 Trinh Thanh Huyen Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all most sincerely. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Do Tuan Minh, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher. A special word of thanks goes to teachers and students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me to have this thesis accomplished. Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family and friends for the sacrifice they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work. Their love will always be my sunshine in my road to success. ii ABSTRACT The present survey study seeks to investigate students’ attitudes to English grammar teaching approaches. Specifically, it has explored the attitudes towards deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching held by thirty eleven – form students in English – specialized class coded as A at Bac Kan Gifted High School. The instruments for data collection to serve the aim of the research are survey questionnaire, semi – structured interview and classroom observation. After a careful long time of collecting and analyzing valuable data, it is revealed in the study that students showed favorable attitudes to inductive approach rather than deductive approach. The reasons for their favor were uncovered that the rule – driven path or the deductive approach is monotonous, uninteresting and demotivating for them, while the inductive path is considered more helpful as it makes students become more active rather than passive as recipient only. When they were asked to show their opinions on the most appropriate way of teaching to enhance students’ grammar learning quality, they preferred their teacher to appropriately combine both approaches for the sake of effective grammar teaching and learning. The researcher has offered some pedagogical suggestions emerged from the research findings to the context under investigation with the hope to bring about some changes and progresses in English grammar teaching for the sake of effective grammar learning on the part of students. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language e.g. for example etc. and so on i.e. that is I1 Interview 1 I2 Interview 2 I3 Interview 3 S1 Student 1 S2 Student 2 S3 Student 3 11A Eleven – form English – specialized class iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1 Questionnaire Structure and Question Purposes Table 2 Semi – structured Interview Structure and Question Purposes Figure 1 Current Grammar Teaching Aids Figure 2 Importance of Grammar Figure 3 Importance of Attitude in Grammar Study Figure 4 Attitudes to Deductive Approach Figure 5 Antonyms and Synonyms Teaching Figure 6 Attitudes to Inductive Approach Figure 7 The Simple Present Tense Teaching Figure 8 Comparative Adjectives Teaching Figure 9 Attitudes to the Combination of both Approaches v TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ........................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................ii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ........................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... vi PART A: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 I. Rationale for the Research ................................................................................... 1 II. Aim and Objectives of the Research ................................................................... 3 III. Research Questions ............................................................................................ 3 IV. Scope of the Research ....................................................................................... 4 V. Methods of the Study .......................................................................................... 4 VI. Significance of the Research ............................................................................. 5 VII. Structural Organization of the Thesis .............................................................. 5 PART B: DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................. 6 1.1. Overview of English Grammar ..................................................................... 6 1.1.1. The Concept of Grammar ................................................................... 6 1.1.2. The Role of Grammar in Teaching English as a Foreign Language .. 7 1.2. Approaches to Grammar Instruction ............................................................. 9 1.2.1. Experiential Teaching Approach ........................................................ 9 1.2.2. Analytic Teaching Approach ........................................................... 10 1.2.3. Implicit and Explicit Approach ........................................................ 11 1.2.4. Intralingual and Crosslingual Dimension ......................................... 13 1.2.5. Deductive and Inductive Approach .................................................. 14 vi 1.3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive and Deductive Approaches to English Grammar Teaching................................................................................ 15 1.3.1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive Approach ................... 16 1.3.2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Deductive Approach ................. 16 1.4. Students’ Attitudes towards English Grammar Instruction ........................ 17 1.4.1. Defining Students’ Attitudes ............................................................ 17 1.4.2. Components of Attitude ................................................................... 19 1.4.3. Some Studies on Students’ Attitudes to Grammar Instruction ........ 20 1.5. Summary ..................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................ 22 2.1. Restatement of Research Questions ............................................................ 22 2.2. Research Setting .......................................................................................... 22 2.3. Participants .................................................................................................. 23 2.4. The Appropriateness of the Research Approach ......................................... 23 2.5. Research Instruments .................................................................................. 25 2.5.1. Survey questionnaire ............................................................................ 25 2.5.2. Semi – structured interview ................................................................. 27 2.5.3. Observation .......................................................................................... 28 2.6. Data Collection Procedure........................................................................... 29 2.7. Methods of Data Analysis ........................................................................... 31 2.8. Summary ..................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ................................................. 34 3.1. Findings ....................................................................................................... 34 3.1.1. Quantitative Data Findings .................................................................. 34 3.1.1.1. Overview of the Current Grammar Teaching Aids at Bac Kan Gifted High School ..................................................................................... 34 3.1.1.2. Attitudes to Grammar Teaching Approaches ................................ 35 3.1.1.2.1. Importance of Grammar ......................................................... 35 3.1.1.2.2. Importance of Attitude in Grammar Study ............................. 36 vii 3.1.1.2.3. Attitudes to Deductive Approach ........................................... 37 3.1.1.2.4. Attitudes to Inductive Approach............................................. 38 3.1.1.2.5. Attitudes to the Combination of both Inductive and Deductive Approaches ............................................................................................. 40 3.1.2. Qualitative Data Findings .................................................................... 41 3.1.2.1. Attitudes to Deductive Approach .................................................. 41 3.1.2.2. Attitudes to Inductive Approach ................................................... 42 3.1.2.3. Attitudes to the Combination of both Inductive and Deductive Approaches ................................................................................................. 43 3.2. Discussion of the Findings .......................................................................... 44 PART C: CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 46 I. Summary of Key Findings ................................................................................. 46 II. Pedagogical Implications .................................................................................. 46 III. Limitations of the Study .................................................................................. 47 IV. Suggestions for Further Studies....................................................................... 47 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 48 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................. I APPENDIX B ......................................................................................................... VII viii PART A: INTRODUCTION This part including the rationale for the research, the aim and objectives, the scope and methods of the study, the research questions, the significance and structural organization of the thesis will hopefully provide readers with an overview of the whole paper. I. Rationale for the Research The role of foreign language grammar has always been a controversial subject of research for decades. Krashen (1982) considers grammar useful for “language appreciation”, i.e. appropriate language use, but it should not be the main subject of instruction. In other words, learners acquiring a foreign language through a process of communication and grammar is just a tool to polish their production when they have already acquired grammar knowledge. In this case, we can assume that grammar is necessary, but not an essential background in language learning, and thus, it should not be the object of instruction in language teaching. With another point of view, Batstone (1994) affirms the importance of grammar to understand language because it provides a framework for learners to structure their foreign language learning. In addition, Dr. Pradeep (2013) admits the importance of grammar by confirming that when learning a foreign dialect, learners should learn its grammar since it is extremely important that it cannot be ignored. From the researcher’s point of view, the role of grammar is a never-ending question and it is not so important as the matter of how grammar should be taught in foreign language teaching. In recent times, grammar instruction has been regarded as essential and indispensable in the context of language teaching. Sharing a similar idea with the writer, Purpura (2004) points out that grammar plays a central role in language teaching as it influences the success of foreign language learning. In this view, grammar plays an extremely important and unavoidable role in developing the language outcomes of learners. Recently, a number of merited research have 1 been conducted to discover the approaches concerning grammar teaching. There are two approaches that come into question, i.e. deductive and inductive instructions. Seeing that there is no approach outweighing another; in other words, both deductive and inductive approaches possess the same merit, so teachers should take advantages of and be flexible in applying the aforementioned approaches in order to produce effective grammar teaching. In this paper, the writer puts the main focus on English as a foreign language taught in Vietnam. Being considered as a developing country with many potentials, Vietnam is a rich land in the context of globalization. That tendency has brought about a change in Vietnamese people’s attitudes about foreign language learning, especially English. With its position as a global language, English is regarded as a vital language that can bring people great opportunities to make their lives better, i.e. good jobs, good living standards, good studying conditions, etc. Therefore, English teaching has become a burning concern for many Vietnamese educators. In the writer’s viewpoint, although English grammar is extremely essential in the view of most Vietnamese teachers in general and high school teachers in particular, most of them do not possess suitable methods to teach grammar. Thus, many students know English without being able to use it properly, even in expressing their own intentions. Additionally, there is a fact that students’ attitudes to teachers’ grammar teaching approach can influence their learning outcomes. However, there has been little investigation of the attitudes of high school students concerning English grammar instruction, and there is no research conducted to discover the issue in Bac Kan province. Because of the aforementioned reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct a research titled “A survey on students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to teaching English grammar for grade 11 at Bac Kan Gifted High School”. This research will make contributions to develop a sharp understanding of students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to 2 English grammar teaching by their teachers, and to point out a more appropriate path in order to enhance English grammar learning quality in this context. II. Aim and Tasks of the Research The overall aim of the study is to shed light on the attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching held by students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School. With that aim achieved, the researcher will suggest appropriate approach that meets students’ needs with the hope to enhance English grammar learning quality. To achieve the above aim, the following objectives are set for exploration: - Investigating key features of deductive and inductive approaches for deeper understanding - Designing students survey questionnaires and questions for semi – structured interviews - Observing teachers teaching the two different approaches - Asking students to do the survey questionnaires - Inviting some students to take part in semi – structured interviews - Collecting and analyzing the data collected III. Research Questions The research is conducted to answer two following questions: 1. What are the attitudes of students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School to deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching? 2. Which approach suits students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School most and enhances their English grammar learning quality? 3 IV. Scope of the Research Concerning academic scope, the researcher will focus on students’ attitudes. In other words, the only thing that will be done by the researcher is students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive English grammar teaching. With regard to social scope, the researcher employs a portion of the population to represent the entire population. Specifically, the sample will consist of thirty students within class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School. V. Methods of the Study The study is carried out with quantitative and qualitative methods as follows: First, the survey questionnaire for students is employed to find out their attitudes towards deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching, affecting factors on such attitudes and their expectations during grammar lessons Second, class observation is implemented to study teacher’s teaching approaches and students’ performance in grammar lessons After that, personal interviews with three students are conducted in order to: + Survey their perception on the magnitude of grammar in learning English + Study their attitudes towards inductive and deductive approaches to grammar teaching + Find out the most appropriate way of teaching grammar for students to enhance their learning outcomes Then, the data are collected, sorted and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to obtain realistic results. 4 To end with, pedagogical implications for enhancing students’ positive attitudes in learning grammar and the most appropriate grammar teaching approach will be proposed based on the results found from all data collection instruments. VI. Significance of the Research The findings of the present paper will help get deeper insights into students’ attitudes towards the aforementioned approaches, which in turn stimulate the adjustment on the part of teachers to accord with students’ needs and wants. The suggestion of an appropriate approach made by the writer of this paper will significantly contribute to English grammar teaching and learning outcomes. In short, valuable information from the practical classroom will help shorten the gap between theory and practice at least in this context. VII. Structural Organization of the Thesis The present graduation thesis is designed with three parts, starting with Introduction and ending with Conclusion. With the purpose of providing readers with background for the present research, part A (Introduction) presents the rationale, the aim and objectives, the scope, the research questions, significance and the structural organization of the thesis. Part B (Development) includes three chapters. Specifically, chapter I, named Literature Review, gives a critical review of the previous studies relating to the research problem under investigation and presents the theoretical background employed as tools for conducting the whole research. The Methodology chapter (chapter II) describes the methods and materials used in doing the research, including data collection instruments and data analysis techniques. The third chapter (Findings and Discussion) is the part describing what can be learned during the research and interpreting the results. The last part of the thesis is part C (Conclusion) which offers some pedagogical implications for better teaching and learning outcomes, restates the aim and suggests some paths for further studies related to the field under investigation. 5 PART B: DEVELOPMENT This part is designed for the development of the whole thesis. Specifically, it includes three chapters named I (Literature Review), II (Methodology), III (Findings and Discussion). Each chapter serves different purposes which importantly contribute to the success of the present thesis. CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter is written to provide an overview of sources related to the present topic of the thesis and to reveal the gap in the literature. Moreover, it establishes a framework for the thesis by providing a standard for comparison to other studies and it places the researcher’s work within the existing body of literature. 1.1. Overview of English Grammar 1.1.1. The Concept of Grammar For many years, grammar has been placed in a central position in the context of language teaching and the concept of grammar has been variously defined from the traditional views to recent perspectives. Generally, concerning the traditional understanding of grammar, according to Samuel Kirkham (1829), is “the science of language”. Samuel points out two aspects of grammar called universal grammar and particular grammar. While the former refers to common principles, structures, rules being in all languages, the latter emphasizes some modifications applied to suit particular features and practices of people using particular languages. Concerning English grammar, he defines it as “the art of speaking and writing the English language with propriety”. In this view, traditional English grammar is seen as the art with the goal of producing pleasing English by way of using proper rules. In the 20th century, the understanding of grammar is more specific and complex. Bade (2008) believes that grammar is about the structure of a language and that a 6 set of rules is used to change word forms and connect them together to make new units. Rivers (1968) seems to have the same points as Bade, and he adds more details that grammar rules are expressed with a difficult terminology and have many exceptions. Ur (1988) defines grammar “as the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bits of words) in order to form longer units of meaning” (p.4). Recently, grammar has been more communicatively viewed; to put it another way, it is considered as a means to communicate and to “mediate words and context’ (Duso, 2007). In the pedagogical field, sharing the same viewpoint, Batstone (1994) agrees that the knowledge of grammar (structures, rules) does not guarantee learners’ successful communication and that grammar as process including many ways to develop in communication may allow learners to communicate. According to Giunchi (1990), the important aim of grammar is to enrich learners’ ability to use the foreign language. In this view, we can understand that grammar should be closely related with context. Only when grammar is learned in accordance with context can language learners thoroughly understand and master that language. Therefore, grammar is seen as a tool to correct language use and polish learners’ language products. As can be understood, different grammar definitions possess different scope and strength. For the research purpose and the researcher’s intention, grammar defined by Ur (1988, p.4), which is “the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bits of words) in order to form longer units of meaning”, will be taken as basis. 1.1.2. The Role of Grammar in Teaching English as a Foreign Language The role of grammar in foreign language teaching in general and in English language teaching in particular has been the continual subject for long-standing debates during many years. These debates have led to different theories about language acquisition because of some appropriate arguments in these extremes. Put another way, there is no completely false or true argument, thus such issue centered in never-ending debates will result in various theories about language learning. 7 From Krashen (1982)’s standpoint, he views that grammar is not essential in foreign language teaching. Specifically, grammar is seen as a tool to polish learner’s language production and it is useful only when the learner has acquired the knowledge of the rules or structures in the production. In other words, grammar allows high level learners to achieve what he calls “language appreciation”. Therefore, grammar should not be taught as a subject itself (theoretical study of grammar), but as the input provided leading to language acquisition. On the other hand, the idea that grammar ought to be put in the foreground in foreign language teaching is affirmed by Batstone (1994). He proves his point by stating that grammar helps learners to make a framework or structure their learning during the process of acquisition and that it helps them to organize the information and shorten the distance between learners and the target language. Sharing the same viewpoint with Batstone (1994) about the importance of grammar, Ellis (1997) admits the vital role of grammar teaching for it enhances the development of accuracy and accelerates learners’ progress in the process of language acquisition for a long period of time. Other advocate of the importance of grammar is Purpura (2004), who asserts that the success of foreign language learners is strongly affected by grammar teaching as grammar plays a central role in foreign language teaching. In addition, Duso (2007) believes that the metalinguistic analysis is essential in the process of language acquisition and that grammar teaching should be paid much attention to in that process to acquire a foreign language as it helps to analyze metalinguistic knowledge. From a practitioner’s perspective, Azar (2007) points out the relationship between linguistic competence and linguistic performance. That is to say, grammar teaching helps learners understand language patterns or structures and then they can use those patterns in speaking, reading, listening and writing. In other words, when learners achieve a good knowledge of grammar, they can be able to express their 8 intention in a more polished way or to read between the lines. In this case, we can infer that a good knowledge of grammar is like a gold key to unlock the door of foreign language success. Agreeing with Azar’s views as well as basing on the research results conducted in Japan, Takahashi (2005) states that: … without a sound knowledge of the grammatical basis of a second or a foreign language, the learner is in possession of nothing more than a selection of everyday phrases which are adequate for basic greetings and making orders at a restaurant, but which will be deficient when the learner is required to perform any kind of sophisticated linguistic task. (p. 231) He then concludes that: “… it is of vital importance for EFL students to learn its grammar of the target language, and that there is a positive correlation between grammar learning and language competence.” (p. 232) In the researcher’s mind, grammar is an indispensable factor contributing to foreign language development. Although there are long-standing debates in the issue, the researcher affirms that grammar ought to be put in the foreground in foreign language teaching as well as English language teaching. Put another way, grammar teaching is essential in the language learning process as grammatical competence is one of communicative competence. 1.2. Approaches to Grammar Instruction 1.2.1. Experiential Teaching Approach In essence, experiential teaching approach focuses on meaning and gives learners exposure to authentic language use. According to Stern (1990, 1992), experiential teaching strategies include authentic themes and topics as content, aim to engage students in “purposeful activity”, and emphasize the conveyance of meaning, fluency over accuracy, and language use as “real talk”. Experiential teaching includes phases or stages of reflection designed which foster learners’ relation between past and future experience compared with current experience. Through 9 initiative – taking and active involvement, students themselves contribute to their own language learning and take responsibility of their learning in order to enhance their autonomy. According to Woolfe (1992), experiential approach consists of four components: 1. The student is aware of the processes which are taking place, and which are enabling learning to occur. 2. The student is involved in a reflective experience which enables him/ her to relate current learning to past, present and future, even if these relationships are felt rather than thought. 3. The experience and content are personally significant: what is being learned and how it is being learned have a special importance for the person. 4. There is an involvement of the whole self: body, thoughts, feelings and actions, not just of the mind; in other words, the student is engaged as a whole person. (p.1) Being considered as a type of task – oriented approach, experiential teaching is extremely effective in promoting the incidental learning which is characterized by variability and uncertainty. The researcher believes that experiential approach to grammar instruction helps learners gain grammar knowledge in an exciting way, promotes understanding the nature of language accordingly. 1.2.2. Analytic Teaching Approach By investing time and efforts to research on analytic approach, the researcher strongly proves that this approach is useful and essential in developing knowledge and skills, especially for students who possess procedural learning styles. Generally, analytical approach refers to the use of appropriate process to make a problem easier to be solved by breaking the problem down into smaller pieces. By analyzing those smaller pieces, a solution is then made to deal with such problem. 10