VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
*** HOÀNG THÙY LINH A CASE STUDY ON VIETNAMESE PRIMARY SCHOOL
TEACHER’S GRAMMAR TEACHING

(MỘT ĐIỂN CỨU VỀ VIỆC DẠY NGŨ PHÁP CỦA GIÁO VIÊN
TIẾNG ANH TIỂU HỌC TẠI VIỆT NAM)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
***



Hanoi, August 2014 Hoàng Thùy Linh ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr Duong Thi Nu
for her supervision and guidance during the time I carried out my study.
Second, I am also grateful to the Administration Board of Anh Dung primary
school, who gives me an opportunity and the best conditions to do this study.
Besides, I wish to show my sincere thanks to the students in class 4A, 4B,
5A, 5B and English as Foreign Language teachers at Anh Dung primary school for
their help and co-operation.

apply in their English classroom in order to improve the quality of grammar
teaching in Vietnamese primary schools.
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Declaration i
Acknowledgement ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
Part A: Introduction 1
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study 2
3. Research questions 2
4. Scope of the study 3
5. Research methods 3
6. Design of the study 3
Part B: Development 5
Chapter 1: Literature review 5
1.1. An overview of grammar and grammar teaching 5
1.1.1. Definition of grammar 5

3. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 39
References 41
Appendices I

1

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
English is spoken today on all five continents as a result of colonial expansion in
the last four centuries or so. The colonial era is now definitely over but its
consequences are only too clear to be seen in the presence of English as an official
and often native language in many of the former colonies. Even in other countries
which were not English colonies, people are using this language widely in every
aspects of life because it is considered an indispensably communicative tool in the
era of globalization. Going with the social development, learning English is
obviously not only the increasing desire but also the immense demand of people in
over the world.
To meet the demand of industrialization and modernization, Vietnam education
has made great efforts to train high quality human resources who have enough
ability to survive in international environment. That means the workers must be able
to use English well enough to work successfully with foreigners. Therefore, English
became an obligated subject taught in almost schools from primary level to higher
education in the S-shaped country.
In the past, English is taught with grammar-translation approach in which
grammatical knowledge is considered most important. Its prime position however
changed when communicative approach was approved by linguistics and educators.
English textbooks in Vietnam nowadays mainly focus on developing the four skills:
Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. It seems that students‟ learning
becomes more pleasant. Nevertheless, it is not believed that grammar is neglected.
Through interesting themes, students also learn to use practical sentence patterns

With clear aims listed above, the study is carried out in order to find out the
answers to the following questions:
- What do the teachers at Anh Dung primary school think about English grammar
teaching in primary school?
- How are the teachers at Anh Dung primary school teaching English grammar?
3

- What are suggestions to improve English grammar teaching and learning at Anh
Dung primary school?
4. Scope of the study:
Because of limitations of time and other research conditions, the study is only
carried out among 2 teachers and 40 students at one primary school. Also, the study
mainly focuses on investigating grammar teaching. Other matters of English
teaching would be beyond the scope of this thesis.
5. Research methods: Case study – Qualitative
In order to conduct a deep investigation into the situation, the thesis is conducted
with qualitative method which consists of the following tasks:
- Analyzing the context of grammar teaching of teachers at Anh Dung primary
school and then determining research questions.
- Choosing the case and research techniques
- Collecting data and information from the students and the teachers at Anh Dung
primary school.
- Assessing the real situation of learning and teaching English grammar in grade 4
and grade 5 at Anh Dung primary school.
- Evaluating the techniques that best fit the teachers and students at Anh Dung primary school.
Besides, this thesis is also carried out through a variety of instruments such as
class observation, informal interview with the teachers and questionnaire for
students at Anh Dung primary school.
6. Design of the study
The thesis is divided into three parts:


PART B: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: Literature review
1.1. An overview of grammar and grammar teaching
1.1.1 Definition of grammar
Grammar, the issue which is being discussed in this study, is a very familiar
term to language learners. Every language has its own grammatical system.
According to Longman Dictionary of contemporary English, grammar is: “The rules
by which words change their forms and are combined into sentences, or the study or
use of these rules.” (Longman Dictionary of contemporary English, 2001, p. 619).
Similarly, Jeremy Harmer (1987:1) defines grammar as “the way in which words
change themselves and group together to make sentences. The grammar of a
language is what happens to words when they become plural or negative, or what
word order is used when we make questions or join two clauses to make one
sentence.” More practically, Jim Scrivener shared that “grammar is not just a dry
list of facts and rules. It is in our heads and it is a living resource that gives us the
ability to communicate our ideas and feelings and to understand what other people
say or write to us.” (Scrivener, J., 2003)
In short, grammar can be recognized as the system of rules which are used to
construct our language so that it is meaningful and comprehensible. No matter how
it is viewed, grammar still exists as an indispensable element of language whose
values are always appreciated. There is no doubt that no one can master a language
without learning its grammar. Without grammatical knowledge, our speech and
writing will be useless in communicating to other people. Therefore, grammar
teaching cannot be neglected in any language schools, especially in EFL classroom.
1.1.2 Teaching grammar using communicative approach
There are many influential methods which are widely used by language
teachers in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. In the late of 19
th


said the learner-centered classrooms in which teachers will find themselves talking
less and listening more, and becoming active facilitators of their students' learning
(Larsen-Freeman, 1986). The teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students'
7

performance is the goal, the teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting
as a referee or monitor.
b. Grammar in CLT classroom
Communicative competence, according to Canale and Swain (1980), is made up
of grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence, and
strategic competence. This means grammar still has an important position in CLT
classroom. Besides, many scholars emphasized that form focused instruction and
communicative activities should be combined. If students learn from context by
combining grammar in CLT, they pay more attention to target forms and this
results in successful language learning.
However, grammar in CLT is viewed a little differently from it is in traditional
methods. Grammar which is taught for students is not only linguistic rules and
grammatical categories such as tenses, aspects, number, gender…but also practical
forms which serve specific functions. Grammatical phenomena are not rough and
dry to students because they are not introduced separately from the context in which they are used.
c. Teaching grammar in CLT classroom
Teaching grammar communicatively means that the teacher should present the
language in situations in which it is used, and he/she must control the activities that
follow, allowing learners to practice it in a controlled situation, then in more
communicative activities, and finally in fluency activities.
According to authors of Methodology Handbook for English teachers in
Vietnam, there are some key principles for teaching grammatical structures:
1. Most often, teach structures implicitly. In other words, present examples of the
structure and allow students to focus on the meaning without teaching grammar.
2. Present a structure orally before presenting a written form and an explanation.

1.2. Teaching English grammar to young learners
1.2.1. Characteristics of young learners
The study is carried out in a primary school whose students are from 6 to 11
years old. They are called, according to linguistics, young learners. Slattery and
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Willis say that generally we can characterize all young children by these
characteristics. They:
- are developing very quickly as individuals
- learn in variety of ways, by watching, listening, imitating, doing things
- are not able to understand grammatical rules and explanations about language
- try to make sense of situations by making use of non-verbal clues
- talk in their mother tongue about what they understand and do – this helps them learn
- can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults
speak
- are naturally curious
- love to play and use their imagination
- are comfortable with routines and enjoy repetition
- have quite a short attention span and so need variety (Slattery, Willis, 2006)
The above list includes psychological and perceptional factors which affect
students in this group when they learn any subjects. Having awareness of these
characteristics, teachers will be able to find the most suitable methods for the students.
1.2.2. Techniques to teach grammar to young learners
Unlike adults, children are not self-motivated to learn English, their world is
their daily games, events of interest to them, and teachers should capitalize their
curiosity, the desire to play and explore. Teaching must be planned in such a way
that learning becomes an interesting, at times even entertaining process. Developing
such interest will lead children to a spontaneous use of language forms. The
teacher‟s participation in games and activities helps children to overcome any
inhibitions they may have. If we want teaching to be successful we should consider

language teachers” was launched in GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies by
Munir Shuib from School of Humanities, University Sains Malaysia. In particular,
the study examined the English language teachers‟ nature and level of
grammatical awareness. He emphasized that teachers‟ low grammatical awareness
can influence students‟ grammar competency. The study had valuable findings;
however, it did not pay much attention on teachers‟ methodology in grammar teaching.
11

In 2010, Le Thi Ngoc Phuong reported a study entitled “An investigation into
teaching English grammar to children learning English as the second language at
primary level in Da Nang.” The research was conducted to explore how English
grammar was taught to children learning English as a second language at
primary level and to study factors influencing grammar teaching and to offer some
suggestions to help improve grammar instruction. The study was carried out in
larger scale involving many teachers and students at different schools in Da Nang.
Moreover, the schools are using two textbooks Let‟s learn English and Let‟s Go.
In 2011, a study named “Effectiveness of using games in teaching grammar to
young learners” was designed as a descriptive study with the aim of exploring the
beliefs and habits of Turkish EFL teachers‟ towards using games in young learners‟
English classes. The author found that while Turkish EFL teachers accepted the
effectiveness of using games in grammar teaching, they did not use games as
frequently as expected in their classrooms. However, the study only pointed out the
problem without any particular solutions or suggestions.
In 2012, Alexandra Povjakalová from Masaryk University in Brno conducted
the study named “Teaching Grammar to Young Learners using Interactive
Whiteboard”. The main aim of his work is to design teaching objects for Interactive
Whiteboard to teach English grammar in the 5th grade of primary school and to find
out how this technical tool helps learners in the complex process of education. In
this study, the author approved the use of modern technology in today‟s schools,
particularly Smart Board or Interactive Board, which can raise students‟ motivation 13

Chapter 2: Methodology
The study was carried out with case study methodology. According to Yin
(1984), a case study is an inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon
within its real-life context, when the boundaries between phenomenon and context
are not clearly evident, and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. Dobson
(1981) also described “The most common type of case study involves the detailed
description and analysis of an individual subject, from whom observations,
interviews, and histories provide the database.” Talking about characteristics of case
study, Merriam (1988) stated that “Case studies are particularistic, descriptive, and
heuristic and rely heavily on inductive reasoning in handling multiple data sources.
This case study was implemented with the aim of conducting a deep investigation
into the real situation of English grammar teaching of the two teachers at Anh Dung
primary school.
2.1. Participants and setting of the study
2.1.1. Participants
The participants are 2 teachers who are teaching English at Anh Dung
primary school. Both of them are female; one is married, one is single. The older
teacher is Ms Pham Thanh H who has 8 year experience in teaching English.
However, she has been working with primary school students for 2 years. Before
that she taught in an English center. Now she is teaching 8 classes with 16 periods
per week. The younger one who has just graduated from university, Ms Tran Thi T,
is the teacher in 7 classes. Both of them are qualified enough to teach primary
school students.
Teacher’s

The students have 2 periods of English per week most of which are arranged in one school day.
The course books used are Tieng Anh 3, 4, 5 approved by the Ministry of
Education and Training in August, 2010. The book follows a systematic, cyclical
and them-based syllabus with twenty units of familiar topics. Each unit consists of
three lessons each of which provides materials for two periods of class contact.
However, in reality, teachers only have 1 period of 35 minutes for each lesson.
Without any exception, the observed classes also happened in that period of time
with a lot of activities. Because of some school‟s activities, the two teachers did not
follow the same schedule. Teacher H taught lesson 1 of unit 20 while teacher T taught
lesson 1 of unit 16.
In every lesson 1, a new topic is introduced with chosen vocabulary and
target sentence patterns. The lesson is divided into 4 parts:
- Look, listen, and repeat: This part is colorful illustrated to set up the situation in
which English is used. The input language is presented in the form of a dialogue or conversation.
- Look and say: The second part picks out the model sentences to be learnt.
Besides, it provides words/phrases of related topic which can be used to practice
the model sentences by substitution technique. It means in this part teachers
have to teach both vocabulary and grammar, including the presentation and
practice.
- Talk: This part provides students with an opportunity to speak English freely,
using the recently practiced language in different contexts. It also helps to
reinforce students‟ understanding and memory.
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- Listen and tick/ listen and number: Last, a listening task is provided to reinforce
all the things they have learnt during the lesson.
In the next two lessons, all four skills - reading, writing, listening, speaking –
are practiced. Phonics is also paid attention to. Especially, vocabulary and structures
are continued to develop.
During a school year, students have 2 mid-term tests and two final tests. All

and answer them. The first two questions ask students about their awareness of
English learning. Question 3 explores teachers‟ use of fun activities and games in
class. The next 4 questions are the most important ones because their answers will
reflect the ways in which teachers often teach grammar in the school. The last
question asks about form of assessment of the subject.
2.2.2. Data collection procedure
a. Implementing class observation and teacher interview
After deciding to study the teachers at Anh Dung primary school, I had a
formal meeting with them to present my intention. The aims and scope of the study
were also introduced. The most important thing is how to persuade them to agree to
be observed. The study was carried out at the end of the school year when teachers
and students were out of examination pressure. Moreover, teachers were explained
that the results of class observation and interview were used for scientific purpose
only, not related to their work at school.
The class observation was implemented first in order to get an honest picture
of teachers‟ grammar teaching. Teachers would teach normal lessons in their
normal ways. I sat at the last table in class and recorded all activities of the lesson
by a digital camera without any participation or interruption.
The interview was conducted after each teacher was observed 2 classes. All
the questions were about English teaching theory and teachers‟ real experiences. At
first, I tended to ask in English; however, the teacher wanted to answer in
Vietnamese because this would be easier for them to express their ideas. Their
17

answers which was used later to compare with their teaching were recorded by a
mobile phone.
b. Conducting questionnaire for students
The questionnaire for students was the last instrument to be conducted. The
chosen students were those who belonged to observed classes. As predicted, a very
carefully and thoroughly explanation was given in order to make sure the young

Summary
The methodology in which the study was carried out has just been presented
in this chapter. This is a case study with the 2 main participants who were teachers
at Anh Dung primary school. However, to clarify the problem, three different
instruments were used involving both teachers and students of the school. The data
was collected directly in classroom in several days. The results which were
analyzed thoroughly will be given in the next chapter with further discussion.