Tài liệu Teaching grammar in context for grade 10 students at viet tri technical high school

HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LE THI MINH HIEU TEACHING GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT FOR GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT VIET TRI TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL (Dạy ngữ pháp thông qua ngữ cảnh cho học sinh lớp 10 trường trung học phổ thông Kỹ thuật Việt Trì) B.A. GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Methodology Supervisor: HOANG THI VAN YEN, Ph. D PHU THO, 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the process of completing my graduation paper, I have received a great deal of helps, guidance and encouragements from teachers, friends and students. First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Mrs. Hoang Thi Van Yen, Ph. D who was always willing to support, guide and give me valuable critical feedback. Her generous help and stimulating suggestion helped me a lot in the process of carrying out this study. Second, I would like to express my gratitude to all lecturers and the staff of the Faculty of Foreign Language at Hung Vuong University for their useful materials, guidance and enthusiasm during my course of study. Next, my special thanks also go to all teachers and students at Viet Tri Technical high school who helped me a lot and showed great willingness to take part in my survey. Without their support, the study would not have been accomplished. Last but not least, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my beloved family and my friends for the love, care, tolerance and encouragements. Viet Tri, May 12th 2021 Le Thi Minh Hieu i ABSTRACT In Vietnam and many countries in the world, parents are willing to invest in foreign language learning for their children from primary schools, even kindergarten, however, not all of their children can succeed as expected by their parents. Up to now, many students have tried to cram lots of English structures. As a result, when they concentrate too much on studying grammatical structures and lack opportunities for applying these structures in follow-up activities, hence they have had trouble using. Both students and their teachers are trained to be experts in teaching grammatical structures and vocabulary, but not to utilize their language knowledge in communication. With the innovation of textbook for learners in light of CLT in the recent years, learning four skills have received more attention. However, many teachers have still used the traditional Grammar Translation Approach (GTA) in teaching grammar with the rules, examples out of context; making language use for real communication more difficult. In that cases, teaching grammar in context is a way that can help students know how to use language appropriately. The study has been conducted for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of using context in teaching grammar for grade 10 students at Viet Tri Technical high school, Phu Tho Province. There were 37 participants from class 10A4 with the researchers as teacher. The data were collected from survey questionnaires, classroom observation and tests. The results showed the real situation of teaching and learning grammar at the school, benefits and some difficulties when using context not only to teach and learn grammar but also to improve communicative skills. Basing on the results, the researcher recommends to teachers to use context in teaching grammar for students. The study is composed of three main parts: introduction, contents and conclusion. Part 1 deals with the rationale, the aims, the scope, significance of the study, the methods as well as the design of the study. Part 2 consists of 3 chapters. Chapter 1 reviews the theoretical background of grammar, teaching grammar in Vietnam and context. Chapter 2 presents the methodology which gives detail descriptions about the setting, the subject, the collection and analysis data. Chapter 3 focuses on analysis the results of questionnaires, classroom observations and tests. Part 3 summarizes the major findings of the study. It is hoped that the thesis will make a small contribution to the improvement of learning and teaching grammar and communicative competence for students. ii TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ii TABLE OF CONTENT .............................................................................................. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................vi LIST OF CHARTS ..................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... viii PART A: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 1. Rationale...............................................................................................................1 2. Previous study ......................................................................................................3 2.1. In the world .................................................................................................3 2.2. In Viet Nam .................................................................................................5 3. Research purposes ...............................................................................................7 4. Research questions ..............................................................................................7 5. Research method .................................................................................................7 5.1. Theoretical research method .......................................................................7 5.2. Investigating methods .................................................................................7 5.3. Classroom observations ..............................................................................7 5.4. Mathematical statistical method ..................................................................7 6. Significance of the research ................................................................................8 6.1. Scientific significance .................................................................................8 6.2. Practical significance ..................................................................................8 7. Research scope .....................................................................................................8 8. Research design ...................................................................................................8 PART B: CONTENT ....................................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................9 1.1. Grammar and teaching grammar .....................................................................9 1.1.1. Definition of grammar and teaching grammar ............................................9 1.1.2. The importance of grammar and teaching grammar ...................................9 1.1.3. Different perspectives on teaching grammar ............................................11 1.2. Teaching grammar in Vietnam ........................................................................12 1.3. Context and using context to teach grammar .................................................13 iii 1.3.1. Definitions of context ................................................................................13 1.3.2. Categories of context.................................................................................13 1.3.3. Using context in teaching language and teaching grammar .....................14 1.3.4. Using context to teach grammar ...............................................................15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................21 2.1. Research setting .................................................................................................21 2.2. Subjects of the study..........................................................................................22 2.3. Participants of the study ...................................................................................22 2.4. Data collection instruments ..............................................................................22 2.4.1. Survey questioniare ...................................................................................22 2.4.2. Tests ..........................................................................................................23 2.4.3. Class observation ......................................................................................24 2.5. Data Collection Procedure ................................................................................24 2.6. Data analysis. .....................................................................................................25 2.7. Research procedure ...........................................................................................26 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .......................................................27 3.1. The current situation of teaching and learning English grammar in Viet Tri Technical high school...............................................................................................27 3.1.1. The result from the survey questionnaire ..................................................27 3.1.1.1. The opinion about the importance of learning English grammar ......27 3.1.1.2. The purpose of learning grammar and the elements of grammar students focused on ............................................................................................28 3.1.1.3. Students‟ ways to learn grammatical structures ................................ 28 3.1.1.4. Students‟ rating difficulty level of learning grammar ........................29 3.1.1.5. Learning grammar and communication .............................................30 3.1.2. The result of classroom observation in the first week ..............................31 3.1.3. The result from the pre test .......................................................................32 3.2. Using context in teaching grammar at Viet Tri Technical high school ........34 3.2.1. The result from the survey questionnaire ..................................................34 3.2.1.1. Benefits gained from context-based grammar lessons .......................34 3.2.1.2. The difficulties in learning grammar in context .................................35 iv 3.2.1.3. The opinion of students toward experimental grammar lessons and toward using context in teaching and learning grammar ..................................35 3.2.2. The results from classroom observation during the experiment ...............37 3.2.3. The result of two revision tests .................................................................38 3.2.4. The results from the post-test ....................................................................39 CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN USING CONTEXT TO TEACH AND LEARN GRAMMAR .............................................41 4.1. Suggestions for teachers in teaching grammar in context .............................41 4.2. Suggestions for students in learning grammar in context .............................42 PART C: CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................43 1. Summary of major findings .............................................................................43 2. Limitations of the Study....................................................................................43 3. Implications for Further Research ..................................................................45 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................46 APPENDICES ..............................................................................................................48 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS GLT Grammar Translation Approach CLT Communicative Learning Teaching MoET Ministry of Education and Training T Teacher sts students % percent vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3.1: The opinion about the importance of learning English grammar .................27 Chart 3.2: The elements of grammar grade 10a4 students focused on .........................28 Chart 3.3: The feeling of the students in learning grammar ..........................................29 Chart 3.4: Communicative ability and grammatical knowledge ...................................30 Chart 3.5: The result of the pre-test ...............................................................................32 Chart 3.6: Benefits gained from context-based grammar lessons .................................34 Chart 3.7: Students‟ improvement in learning grammar, language knowledge and communication ..............................................................................................................35 Chart 3.8: The students' opinion to the experimental grammar lessons ........................36 Chart 3.9: Students‟ opinion about the effectiveness of using context in learning and teaching grammar ..........................................................................................................36 Chart 3.10: The results of pre-test and post-test ............................................................40 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: The result of English subject on average in the first semester .....................22 Table 2.2: The content of the experiment ......................................................................24 Table 3.1. The reason of learning grammar ..................................................................28 Table 3.2: Students‟ ways of learning grammatical structures .....................................29 Table 3.3: The difficulties of the students in learning grammar ...................................30 Table 3.4: Students‟ frequency of practicing grammar in communication ...................31 Table 3.5: Students‟ difficulties in using grammatical structure in communication ....31 Table 3.6: The results of the pre-test .............................................................................32 Table 3.7: Student‟s opinion toward using context in teaching ....................................37 and learning grammar ....................................................................................................37 Table 3.8: The results of the revision test 1 ..................................................................38 Table 3.9: The result of revision test 2 ..........................................................................39 Table 3.10: The results of the post-test .........................................................................39 viii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, English has been one of the most popular international languages in the world and have been used in many aspects of life. Not only is it the language of communications of people from different countries, it is also a language of trading, diplomacy and international business in general. A great number of books that are meant for international market are translated into English first or are written in English from the very beginning to make them available for the majority of people. Many students who want to study abroad need English proficiency assessment certificates such as IELTS, TOFEL, … to meet the university admission language requirement. Apart from multinational companies, many domestic firms also make some changes in recruiting candidates. They look for those who have both good professional knowledge and proficiency in language to cooperate. These are the reasons why English has received much concern from a great number of people in the last decades. In Vietnam and many countries in the world, parents are willing to invest in foreign language learning for their children from primary schools, even kindergarten, however, not all of their children can succeed as expected by their parents. So far almost teachers and students have taught and learned English, as well as any language, with vocabulary and grammar first. Although there are different ideas about teaching grammar in term of its importance, the method and the principles, it cannot be denied that learning grammar has played a very essential role in meaning communication. In Vietnam, up to now, many students have tried to cram lots of English structures. That resulted from lack of adequate materials such as textbook, audio tapes, video tapes, together with a lack of qualified teachers, large size classes in both rural and urban areas as well as the testing and assessment standard for a long time with mostly focusing on reading comprehension, writing and grammar, hence speaking and listening are often ignored. To some students who do not have aptitude, remembering grammatical structures are also so challenging, therefore, they are demotivated and not interested in learning English. According to online Oxford Learner‟s Dictionaries, context is “the situation in which something happens and that helps you to understand” or “the words that come just before and after a word, phrase or statement and help you to understand its meaning”. It is similar to the definition in Cambridge Dictionary: “Context is the situation within which something exists or happens, and that can help explain it” or “the text or speech that comes immediately before and after a particular phrase or piece of text and helps to explain its meaning”. Overall, context is surrounding 1 situation, words or structures coming just before and after a particular item that help us understand the meaning of the item, structure and use. Moreover, the aim of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is to help student produce meaningful communication. Also, when the discourse and content of the context selected for language instruction are accurate and authentic with respect to the target language and culture, criticisms of artificiality can be avoided and language learning has the potential to become a genuine exercise in communication. Of course, the social contexts that are simulated in learning activities must also be realistic, and the learning activities should include authentic tasks. Therefore, it is clear that using context teaching language is essential. However, in English textbooks used in Vietnamese high schools, grammar was very often presented out of context. It means that learners were given isolated sentences, which they were expected to internalize through exercises involving repetition, manipulation and grammatical transformation. As a result, they concentrate too much on studying grammatical structures and lack opportunities for applying these structures in follow-up activities, hence they have had trouble using English for anything practical. With the innovation of textbook for learners in light of CLT in the recent years, learning four skills have received more attention. However, many teachers have still used the traditional Grammar Translation Approach (GTA) in teaching grammar with the rules, examples out of context; making language use for real communication more difficult, because learners are not given the opportunity to see the systematic relationships among form, meaning, and use. In that cases, teaching grammar in context is a way that can help students know how to use language appropriately. Founded in 2003, Viet Tri Technical high school was one of the five first schools that applied the model of technical high schools with many goals. The school aimed to provide students with not only knowledge to complete the curriculum of secondary education but also provide them with occupational skills that they could use in the future. In spite of some achievements, the model is not suitable for the current situation in Viet Nam, so Viet Tri Technical high school has changed the orientation in teaching and learning from optional subjects related to occupations into basic ones like other high schools. From the information above, it can be realized that the school has much experience in teaching technical skills and subjects. However, it cannot be also denied that they have no good things in teaching foreign languages like English. Viet Tri Technical high school also equip lot of facilities, infrastructures, like computers, projector, speaker, ….in each classroom, which facilitate English learning and teaching process. Many teachers are well-qualified with much experience in teaching. 2 Nevertheless, the proficiency level of English of students is not high, and they also have the same difficulties such as forgetting the form, the use or the meaning of a particular grammatical point in short time; knowing structures but not being able to apply them into real life; or using them in appropriately. Learning and teaching grammar without context may be one of reasons. Basing on the above theoretical and realistic reasons, I have decided to choose the topic “Teaching grammar in context for grade 10 students at Viet Tri Technical high school” for my graduation paper. 2. Previous study In the last decades, we have recognized substantial researches on application of additional activities in teaching and learning grammar in both Viet Nam and others countries in the world. 2.1. In the world The role of grammar in language teaching has always caused a bitter controversy around teachers, researchers or educators. Traditionally, grammar was considered as prescriptive, that is by telling people what rules they should know and how they should speak and write and this includes many aspects of linguistic knowledge. But the teaching of grammar for the past decades has undergone a substantial change in people‟s attitudes and approaches. Some teacher only taught grammar but other insists that knowing grammar is completely unimportant. However, most researchers and educators support the importance of teaching grammar. The history of language teaching has seen controversial debates on grammar instruction and the efficiency of grammar instruction on second language learners‟ success in terms of proficiency. Hinkel (2002) explained that since the early people conceived the best learning method was to memorize the rules and regulations, they underestimated the importance of proper communication in the second language. As a result, he pointed out that the grammar translation method, which is known as one of the earliest grammar instructions, lacked of communicative activities and interactions between learners and learners, and learners and teachers as well. Within the last quarter century, CLT has been put forth around the world as the “new or innovative approach” to teach English as a second or foreign language. Teaching materials, course descriptions, syllabus guidelines proclaim a goal of communicative competence. It is also considered as approach to language teaching for the 21st century (Sandra. J. Savignon, 2001). In order for learners to achieve communicative competence, language should be taught in context, provided with communicative 3 situations. Therefore, learners will be able to employ the target language appropriately in various contexts (Hymes 1972 & Halliday, 1985). According to Lang and Doughty (2009), students in the old approached are unable to use the grammar rules when speaking. They do not understand how grammar rules work in a sentence. To the opinion of Thornbury (1999), learning grammar in context will allow learners to see how rules can be used in sentences. “Language is context-sensitive. This means that, in the absence of context, it is very difficult to recover the intended meaning of a single word or phrase” (p.69). Teaching grammar in context provides a meaningful framework that connects to reality in the targeted language. (Anderson, 2005). David Nunan (1998) also stressed the advantage of teaching grammar in context, he wrote: An approach through which learners can learn how to form structures correctly, and also how to use them to communicate meaning. Teaching grammar in context will give learners an opportunity to understand how language works and this will improve their communication skills. "Students need to get an idea of how the new language is used by native speakers and the best way of doing this is to present language in context" (Harmer, 1991, p.57). Accuracy in language acquisition plays an important role to understand both speaking and writing performances. Context gives a more precise understanding of how to use the grammar, and provides accuracy in the studied language both in oral and written skills (Wajnryb, 1990). “A single sentence can seldom be fully analyzed without considering its context. We use language in stretches of discourse. We string many sentences together in cohesive units so that sentences bear interrelationships… Both the production and comprehension of language are a factor in our ability to perceive and process stretches of discourse, to formulate representations of meaning from not just a single sentence, but referents in both previous sentences and following sentences” (Brown, 1980, p.189). Presenting grammar in isolated sentences will not allow learners to see how grammatical structures function in sentences. Also, “if learners are not given opportunities to explore grammar in context, it will be difficult for them to see how and why alternative forms exist to express different communicative meanings” (David Nunan, 1998, p.102-103). For example, getting learners to read a set of sentences in the active voice to introduce the passive voice, it is necessary to design tasks that give learners opportunities to explore when it is communicatively appropriate to use the passive rather than the active voice. Unless learners know how to apply grammatical concepts in language skills, knowledge of grammar will not be useful. 4 Studying about the way to use context in teaching grammar, David Nunan (1998, p.102) supposed that “In genuine communication beyond the classroom, grammar and context are often so closely related that appropriate grammatical choices can only be made with reference to the context and purpose of the communication”. Dialogues is one of the most popular types of context in teaching grammar. “The use of dialogues in grammar teaching is useful because the use of dialogues generally matches learners‟ expectations of how language is used in the real world: people use language primarily to talk to each other” (Thornbury, 1999, p.76). Beginning the course with “ice-breaker” tasks through conversation is the way that David Nunan often used. Through them, learners come to not only “fashion their own understanding of the functional distinctions between contrasting forms” but also “appreciate the fact that in many instances it is only the speaker or writer who can decide which of the contrasting forms is the appropriate one” (David Nunan, 1998, p104). Paragraph is another way adopted by David Riddell (2003) in teaching past progressive and the past simple is an example. The teacher starts the lesson by asking students some questions or show pictures to check their understanding about what he is talking about. Then he asks students to read the text and answer the questions. After that, he highlights the sentence from the text and asks them to find other examples of them. … An advantage of learning grammar in context is learners will see how structures function in sentences and how sentences are related to each other. This text will help learners to identify the differences between these two tenses and learners will have ideas what these tenses mean and how they are used. Recently, ESL games is also another way to provide context in teaching grammar for children. Playing is the natural state of children, as games are the way kids connect with their friends and family in a meaningful way. Hence, English as Second Language games or ESL games permit meaningful utilization of the language in context and children are more inspired to learn grammar with games. (Andrew, 2016). As we can see, there are a lot of research on application of CLT, the importance of using context in teaching English grammar for children and some popular types of context. However, most of them are carried out for young children, using context is quiet new to Vietnam when many schools or teacher are using the traditional approaches (such as GTA). 2.2. In Viet Nam For a long time, teaching and learning English grammar have received attention of many teachers and researchers in Viet Nam. Although there are changes in teaching English, including teaching grammar in some big cities, there are still some problems 5 of teaching English in many schools. For years Vietnamese schools have focused on teaching English grammar and reading comprehension, so exams have had to be set this way. It is no wonder, then, that pedagogical colleges would train their future teachers in these areas so that they can teach their students to pass the exams. As a result, both students and their teachers are trained to be experts in teaching grammatical structures and vocabulary, but not to utilize their above knowledge in communication (Viet Toan, 2013). In an interview with journalists of the Police newspapers, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, the formal Vice President of Ha Noi University with 25-year experience in teaching English, consultor for MoET‟s National Foreign Language 2020 Project, (or Project 2020 for short created in 2010) also have the same opinion. He said that for many years testing and assessment system had been inappropriate for many years with most questions aim to test grammar and vocabulary (Thu Phuong & Thu Uyen, 2014) When using this teaching method, many researches state that most teachers apply the traditional method namely GTM in training grammar, in which grammar rules are taught deductively (Nguyen Giao & Nguyen Hoa, 2004) or students keep learning grammar reluctantly in order to deal with conventional paper-tests (Cam Khuong, 2010). Realizing the outdated features, integrating with creative innovations in the world, Vietnamese education adopted CLT, as we can see in the English textbooks. More focus is put on communicative skills to help students be able to use the language in real life. Also, teaching English basing on CLT is an effective way to enable students to achieve grammatical knowledge and oral production (Pham Ho & Nguyen Binh, 2014). However, the problem most teachers face is that they do not know how to teach grammar using the Communicative Approach. In an attempt to resolve and overcome the difficulties, Cam Khuong (2015) recently suggested that grammar lessons with PPP (Presentation - Practice - Production) method still need to be maintained but they should be further improved “in the way that the grammar items can be taught concurrently with context through communicative tasks”. Teaching Grammar in context, is a key principle of the Communicative Approach, nevertheless, it has not been described detailed. As we can see, there have no research that has examined the use of context in teaching grammar for students in grade 10th in Viet Tri Technical high school. Therefore, this research is conducted with the hope that this method can help students learn grammar more effectively and be capable of using them in communication. 6 3. Research purposes The study is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of using context in teaching grammar for grade 10 students in Viet Tri Technical high school. 4. Research questions The study has two research questions:  How have different techniques in teaching grammar been used by the teachers at Viet Tri Technical high school?  How can teaching English grammar in context improve the language use of students in real life? 5. Research method 5.1. Theoretical research method In order to have a better insight into the history of reseaching teaching grammar for students in the world and in Vietnam, the studies were collected and studied. They are books relating to teaching grammar, using context in teaching language in gereral and in teaching grammar in particular, … and also psychological characteristics of grade 10 students. 5.2. Investigating methods In order to comprehend the problems and the need of students, questionnaires, pre-test and post-test were designed to assess for grade 10 students at Viet Tri Technical high school. 5.3. Classroom observations: At first, the author watches and follows all the procedures and activities the teacher and students are performing in the class setting, which enables the researcher to elicit reliable data such as student‟s ability in using grammartical structures that they have learn to communicitae. At the end, the author will valuate the improvement and achievement of students in using grammar in speaking after the experiment. It is also a mean to check the reliability of the data collected for other sources. 5.4. Mathematical statistical method After collecting data from survey questionnaires, tests, information were reckoned into number and percentage, analyzed through tables and charts to get the final results. 7 6. Significance of the research 6.1. Scientific significance Conducting this study firstly helps the researcher obtaining a comprehensive understanding about using context in teaching grammar. 6.2. Practical significance This research is carried out with the hope that it can apply context to enhance the ability of grammar and communication for grade 10th students at Viet Tri Technical high school. With this technique, different types of context like dialogues, paragraphs, games, tasks…. Are expected to draw the students‟ attention and help. Besides, the research also helps students more interested in learning grammar, and be able to use them for communication. 7. Research scope Due to time constraints, instead of studying in a large context, this study only focuses on small context of grade 10th students at Viet Tri Technical high school 8. Research design The study consists of three main parts: introduction, content and conclusion.  Part A deals with the rationale, the aims, the scope, significance of the study as well as the structure of the study.  Part B is composed of four chapters. - Chapter 1: Reviews the theoretical background of grammar, teaching grammar in different approach, teaching grammar in context Chapter 2: Presents the methodology which gives detail description about the setting, the subject and some research method to collect and analyze data. Chapter 3: Presents results of the study Chapter 4: Give some suggestions for teachers and students when using contexts to teach and learn grammar  Part C summarizes the major findings of the study, points out limitations of the study and implications for further studies 8 PART B: CONTENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1. Grammar and teaching grammar 1.1.1. Definition of grammar and teaching grammar According to Ur Penny (1991, p. 4), grammar is defined as “the way language manipulates and combines words (or bits of words) in order to form longer units of meaning”. Crystal (2004) claimed that “grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English. Additionally, it can help everyone, not only teachers of English, but teachers of anything for all teaching grammar is ultimately a matter of getting to grips with meaning”. Azar (2007) stated that “Teaching grammar is one a fundamental element of Grammar-Base Teaching. One important aspect of grammar teaching is that it helps learners discover the nature of language, i.e., that language consists of predictable patterns that make what we say, read, hear and write intelligible” (p. 2 - 3). Meanwhile, Freeman (2001) believes that “in order to achieve a better fit between grammar and communication” (p. 252), teaching grammar focuses on dealing with structure or form, semantics or meaning, and the pragmatic conditions governing use. Therefore, teaching grammar is not only to facilitate learners to find how language works but also to guide them how to use the language correctly. 1.1.2. The importance of grammar and teaching grammar Through grammar, learners can organize words and messages and make them meaningful. Of course, in urgent cases, short form of sentences with only content words which listeners can understand and take actions punctually and appropriately is more useful. Furthermore, sometimes native speakers still do not understand although we speak correctly in term of grammar. We need to avoid overemphasizing grammar which can make students demotivated and less confident in using language for communication. Therefore, teaching grammar in order to help students use it in communication is the target of many teachers of English. Whether grammar should be focused in teaching and learning process or not has been debated for a long time. According to Scott Thornbury, the history of the claims and counterclaims for and against the teaching of grammar has occurred parallel with the history of language teaching. Moreover, he reckoned “difference in attitude to the role of grammar underpins differences between methods, between teachers, and 9 between learners.” For example, Penny Ur, a teacher trainee, and author of the book “Grammar Practice Activities” (1988) supported for the importance of teaching grammar, stating that “there is no doubt that a knowledge – implicit or explicit – of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery of a language”. Betty Azar (2007, p. 2) also shares the same view with Penny Ur, claiming that “without grammar, we would have only individual words or sounds, pictures, and body expressions to communicate meaning. Grammar is the weaving that creates the fabric”. Nevertheless, it is also believed from the publicity of a London Language school that “Grammar is not very important: the majority of languages have very complex grammar. English has little grammar and consequently it is not very important to understand it” (cited by Thorbury, 1999, p. 14) Like those who support the importance of grammar, the author of this research also thinks that learning and teaching grammar are very important basing on what benefits students can gain from learning grammar, but the problem is how to teach grammar of foreign languages effectively. Grammar teaching methods Along the history, there have been many language teaching methods, each of which influences grammar learning and teaching. In Grammar Translation, grammar is considered as “starting point for instruction” (Scott Thornbury, 1999, p. 30). This method puts its focus on grammatical parsing like the form and inflection of words. Grammar is presented with an explicit statement of the rule and practiced by controlled and out-of-context exercises such as translating sentences from the target language into the mother tongue or vice versa. In the mid-to late nineteenth century, the Direct Method appeared as a reaction of the Grammar Translation and its failure to produce students who could not communicate in foreign language they are studying. Grammar is learnt inductively, which means rules can either be stated after practice or left as implicit information for the student to process on their own. Then, the Reading Method in which reading is regarded as the most important to react to the problems in implementing the Direct Method and to meet the requirements and the reality of the contemporary society when information was mainly transferred through books and newspapers; demands on reading comprehension is more necessary than speaking or communicating. Grammar only plays an extra position in learning and teaching foreign languages where only grammar useful for reading comprehension is taught. During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Audio Lingual, which is typical for mimicry and memorization, as well as drills, and based on the assumption that languages is habit formation, appeared and became the most common in the United States. Students learn 10 grammatical structures from basic level to advanced one and rules inductively. In the meantime, Oral Situation approach which makes priority in spoken language was quite popular in Britain. Teaching grammar still receives attention, grammatical structures are graded and taught from simple to complex. After 10 years, with the work of the Council of Europe, many applied linguists, textbook writers, and even governments, Communicative Approach or Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) which aims to develop students‟ ability to communicate in the target language was developed and expanded. This approach is based on the belief that communicative competence consists of more than simply the knowledge of the rules of grammar. However, this does not mean that grammar and teaching grammar are not vital. All of these teaching approaches support the view that explicit grammar and communicative processes can go hand in hand. Harmer (1997, p.7) exemplified this by putting it this way: “at this stage, it is enough to say that grammar teaching of both the overt and covert kind- has a real and important place in the classroom”. Grammar was still the main component of CLT as learners still need to use grammar to communicate. To sum up, grammar has been considered to be an indispensable part in teaching and learning foreign languages through different periods. 1.1.3. Different perspectives on teaching grammar There are some different perspectives on how grammar should be taught. They include deductive and inductive approaches, implicit and explicit approaches. In teaching grammar deductively, rules are taught first and then practiced. Teaching grammar inductively means that rules can either be stated after practice or left as implicit information for the students to process on their own. In other words, this way does not make use of rote-learning of grammatical rules but rather encourages teachers to provide examples from which learners infer rules. Rutherford (1996) calls it consciousness-raising. An inductive approach is more suitable in most contexts because “it is more keeping with natural language acquisition. … It allows students to get a communicative “feel” for some aspects of language before possibly being overwhelmed by grammatical explanations. It builds more intrinsic motivation by allowing students to discover rules rather than being told them” (Brown, 2001, p. 365). This explains why inductive approach is popular in most teaching contexts. Teaching grammar implicitly which focuses on using carefully chosen examples to explain a structure is one of principles for teaching grammatical structures. Meanwhile, in explicit grammar teaching, teachers use grammatical terms to describe the differences between structures. This explicit approach is not suitable in CLT classes, as “students are so busy just learning the language itself that the added 11