VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRẦN THỊ HUYỀN

High school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards
applying Communicative Language Teaching in teaching
grammar

NHẬN THỨC VÀ THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN CẤP BA ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC
ÁP DỤNG ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP TRONG DẠY HỌC NGỮ PHÁP M.a MINOR thesis

Field: English Methodology
Code: 60.14.10

Ha Noi - 2010

iii
Table of contents

Acknowledgements
i
Abstract
ii
Table of contents
iii
List of abbreviations 1
vi
List of figures and tables
vii
Part one: Introduction
1
1. Rationale
1
2. Aims of the study
2
3. Research questions
2
4. Method of the study
2
5. Scope of the study
3
6. Definition of terminology
3

Chapter two: Research methodology
19
2.1. Methodology
19
2.1.1. Research questions
19
2.1.2. Method orientation
19
2.1.3. The participants
19
2.1.4. The instruments
20
2.2. Data analysis
21
2.3. Conclusion
21
Chapter three: Findings and discussion
22
3.1. The findings from the questionnaire and discussion
22
3.1.1. Teachers’ perception of the role of grammar in English
Language Teaching
22
3.1.2. Teachers’ attitudes to teaching grammar
22
3.1.3. Teachers’ perception of students’ attitudes towards learning
grammar
23
3.1.4. Teachers’ perceptions of CLT
23

33
3.1.16. Teachers’ recommendations for effective application of CLT in
teaching grammar
34
3.2. The findings from the interview and discussion
34
Part three: Conclusion
39
1. Conclusions
39
2. Recommendations
41
3. Limitations of the study
42
4. Suggestions for further studies
42
References
43
Appendixes
i
vi

vii
List of figures and tables

Name
Page
Figure 1: Teachers’ perception of the role of grammar in English Language
Teaching
22
Figure 2: Teachers’ attitudes towards teaching grammar
22
Figure 3: Students’ attitudes towards learning grammar
23
Table 1: Teachers’ perceptions of CLT
24
Table 2: Teachers’ evaluation of the benefits of CLT in teaching grammar
26
Table 3: Teachers’ evaluation of the constraints of applying CLT in
teaching grammar
27
Figure 4: Teachers’ perception of the teachers’ role in CLT
28
Table 4: Teachers’ perception of the students’ responsibilities in CLT
29
Figure 5: Teachers’ care for CLT at high schools
30
Figure 6: The frequency teachers teach grammar in the light of CLT
30
Figure 7: Teachers’ perception of the benefits that CLT brings to grammar
teaching
31

Recently, some methods have attempted to supplement or replace the traditional ones
with models of correct usage and exercises, which provide a greater degree of
contextualization. Therefore, to meet the new demands for different competencies and
increased quality for Vietnam’s development, higher educational curricula and methods
are required to be further reformed in a practical and updated way to produce skilled
manpower well-prepared for immediate employment in the future, to boost the training of
post-graduates within the country and overseas, to strengthen scientific research, and to
facilitate the application of advanced education experience (Pham, 1998).
During this period, in the field of Vietnamese ELT, more and more teachers are offered
chances to upgrade their degrees abroad; more seminars by Western organizations on
teaching methods are held for Vietnamese teachers, and more Western teachers are
employed in Vietnamese universities. In this context, Communicative Language
Teaching Approach (CLT) has been introduced and considered by a large number of
Vietnamese teachers and educators as the more appropriate approach for ELT at
Vietnamese upper secondary schools compared to the traditional teacher-centered
education. The question is whether a Western approach can and should be applied in an
Asian context like Vietnam, and whether there are challenges in this application, what
teachers perceive of it, what their attitudes towards it are. 2
Though a number of research studies have been conducted focusing on CLT and
teachers’ attitudes towards CLT, little research has been done on teachers’ perceptions
and attitudes towards teaching grammar in the light of CLT, especially in Hai Phong, a
city in the North of Viet Nam. With the view to investigating high school teachers’
perceptions and attitudes towards applying CLT in teaching grammar, the researcher
decided to choose the topic: High school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards
applying Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in teaching grammar” for her
M.A minor thesis. The thesis mainly focuses on what teachers perceive of CLT and
teaching grammar in the light of CLT, then their attitudes towards it, from which the

For each research, it is necessary to limit its boundary to the manageable areas. This
study attempts to investigate high school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes towards
applying CLT in teaching grammar. It is exploratory by nature. It is focused on high
school teachers in different schools in Hai Phong, a city in the North of Vietnam. These
schools are both in the city and the country.
6. Definition of terminology
6.1. Communicative Language Teaching
Up to now, there have been a number of definitions about CLT. According to Lightbown
& Spada (1999:172, in Fernando Ruby, 2001), “CLT is based on the premise that
successful language learning involves not only a knowledge of the structures and forms
of the language, but also the functions and purposes that a language serves in different
communicative settings. This approach to teaching emphasizes the communication of
meaning over the practice and manipulation of grammatical forms (emphasis added).”
I really like this definition as it can reflect the nature as well as the target of CLT. CLT
focuses not only on forms but also on meaning. When CLT is successfully applied,
students feel very confident in different communicative contexts.
As viewed by Nunan (1989:194) “Communicative language teaching views language as
the system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve oral communication,
carrying out meaning tasks and using language which is meaningful to learners.
Objectives reflect the need of learners; they include functional skills as well as linguistic
objectives. The learner’s role is as a negotiator and integrator. The teacher’s role is as a
facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote communicative language
use; they are task-based and authentic”.
Nunan’s definition takes into consideration the most distinctive feature of CLT that is the
system for the expression of meaning. In this approach, students can obtain both
functional and objective skills. The teachers do not force their students to learn but only
act as the guider thus students can feel free to study. This definition is so adequate and
meaningful that it is widely cited by many scholars.
translated into organized experience.
6.4. Attitudes
Teachers’ attitudes received much attention in the literature during the early1950’s and
early 1970’s and, more recently, they have resurfaced as key to understanding what 5
motivates teachers’ actions (Borg, 2006). That is why there are so many definitions of
attitude. I take three of them which I think are rather easy to understand.
Bem (1970) simply defines that “attitudes are likes and dislikes”. Bogardus (1931)
defines in detail “An attitude is a tendency to act toward or against something in the
environment, which becomes thereby a positive or negative value”. According to Eagly
& Chaiken (1993) “Attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a
particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.”
These three above definitions are quoted because they are simple but comprehensive.
6.5. Exploratory survey
This study aims at exploring teachers’ perceptions and attitudes so it is an exploratory
survey by nature. Therefore, it is necessary to give the definition of exploratory survey. I
take the following definition as it is rather sufficient about the nature and function of an
exploratory survey.
An exploratory study is undertaken when not much is known about the situation
at hand or no information is available on how similar problem or research issues
have been solved in the past. In such cases, extensive preliminary work needs to
be done to gain familiarity with the phenomenon in the situation and understand
what is occurring before we develop a model and set up a rigorous design for
comprehensive investigation. (Wikipedia encyclopedia)
Therefore, exploratory research provides insights into and comprehension of an issue or
situation. It should draw definitive conclusions only with extreme caution. Exploratory
research is a type of research conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined.
Exploratory research helps determine the best research design, data collection method

The Appendixes are also included in the last part, following the References.

7
Part two: development
Chapter one: Literature review
This study is an attempt to explore high school teachers’ perceptions and attitudes
towards applying CLT in teaching grammar. Therefore CLT is the umbrella term that
affects the whole research. The researcher starts the literature review with the review of
CLT - Communicative Language Teaching.
1.1. Communicative Language Teaching
Since the mid-sixties, the focus in linguistic theory has shifted from the study of
language in isolation to the study of language in a social context (Savignon, 1991).
Richards and Rogers (1986) define that CLT encompasses a theory of language and a
theory of language learning and see it as an approach rather than a method. Briefly, they
define an approach as a set of theories about the nature of language and of language
learning. It takes a number of assumptions about views, beliefs and ideas about the
language. A method, on the other hand, is the level at which theory is put into practice
and at which choices are made about the particular skills to be taught, the content to be

1994). In the intervening years, the communicative approach has been adapted to the
elementary, junior and senior high schools as well as tertiary levels. In other words, CLT
is developing fast and among the most effective approaches in English Language
Teaching.
1.1.2. Characteristics of CLT
As collected by Mulat (2003), although there are different versions and various ways in
which CLT is interoperated and applied, educators in this area, Littlewood (1981);
Finocchiano and Brumfit (1983); Widdowson (1978, 1979), Richards and Rogers (1986),
Larsen-Freeman (1986) put some major characteristics of CLT as follows:
1. CLT gives its primary importance to the use or function of the language and
secondary importance to its structure or form (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). This does
not mean that knowledge of grammar is not essential for effective communication.
Added to this, Littlewood says “one of the most characteristic features of
communicative language teaching is that it pays attention to functional as well as
structural aspects of language”(1981:1)
2. “Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlying
communicative techniques. (Brown, 1994:245). However, at times, fluency may
have to take on more importance than accuracy because “fluency and acceptable
language is the primary goal” (Finocchiano and Brumfit, 1983:93). Fluency is
emphasized over accuracy in order to keep learners meaningfully engaged in
language use. 9
3. Language learning techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic,
authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes. Classrooms should
provide opportunities for rehearsal of real-life situations and for real
communication. In order to achieve these aims, plays, simulations, dramas, games,
projects, etc… are the major activities which can help the learner provide
spontaneity and improvisation, not just repetition and dills. Authentic materials are

that pair/group work is applicable and successful in all contexts. Pair/group work
should not be considered an essential feature used all the time, and may be
inappropriate in some contexts. Thompson (1996) and Savignon (2002) claim that
group/ pair work are flexible and useful techniques as they are active modes of
learning which can help the learners to negotiate meaning and engage in problem-
solving activities.
7. Errors are seen as natural outcome of the development of the communication skills
and are therefore tolerated. Learners trying their best to use the language creatively
and spontaneously are bound to make errors. Constant correction is unnecessary
and even counter-productive. Students should be allowed to talk and express
themselves and the form of the language becomes secondary. If errors of form are
tolerated and are seen as natural outcome of the development of communication
skills, students can have limited linguistic knowledge and still be successful
communicators (Larsen-Freeman, 1986).
8. Evaluation is carried out in terms of fluency and accuracy. A teacher may use both
formal evaluation and informal evaluation of his students’ performances in his role
as an advisor or co-communicator (Larsen-Freeman, 1986).
9. The students’ native language has no role to play (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). The
target language is used both during communicative activities and for the purpose of
classroom management. The students learn from these classroom management
exchanges, too, and realize that the target language is a vehicle for communication.
Therefore “the teachers should be able to use the target language fluently and
accurately” (Celce-Mucia, 1991:8). However, for others, judicious use of native
language is accepted where feasible.
10. The teacher is the facilitator of students’ learning, manager of classroom activities,
advisor during activities and a “co-communicator” engaged in the communicative
activity along with the students. (Littlewood, 1981). Other roles assumed for the
teacher are needs analyst, counselor, researcher and learner. Students, on the other
hand, are more responsible managers of their own learning. They are expected to
interact with other people in face-to-face situations, through pair work and group

should be paid attention to: the rules of grammar; and the study and practice of the rule.
However, Widdowson (1990:81) claims that “Grammar is not just a collection of
sentence patterns signifying nonsense, something for the learners’ brain to puzzle over”.
For Widdowson, grammar means the relationship between three things: grammar, words,
and context. In other words, grammar should be viewed as linguistic rules functioning in
alliance with words and context for the achievement of meaning.
In Thornbury (1999), grammar is a process for making a speaker’s or writer’s meaning
clear when there is a lack of textual information. Moreover, grammar means the 12
relationship between three things: grammar, words and contexts. It means it is necessary
for students to learn basic and fixed form of particular forms so that they can express
particular meanings.
How grammar is defined is very important since it will influence the way grammar is to
be taught.
1.2.2. Approaches to grammar teaching
In general, there are two major approaches to grammar teaching, explicitly and implicitly.
Which approach is better to teach grammar structures? There are both pros and cons for
both explicit and implicit grammar teaching.
When we talk about explicit approach to grammar, we are talking about stating directly,
usually right at the beginning of a particular activity, what the grammar is. Meanwhile,
implicit approach is the one where students are “led” to the grammar through a series of
steps- this is what is meant by the “discovery technique”, which aims to lead students
towards a generalized grammar rule of patterns.
1.2.2.1. Explicit grammar teaching
Larsen-Freeman (1986:150) points out that “Explicit teaching can speed up the learning
of these features/patterns by making them more salient, encouraging students to allocate
attention to them by narrowing learners’ hypothesis space concerning their behavior”.
Explicit knowledge helps students be able to be more accurate in expressing their ideas

1.3. The role of grammar in foreign language teaching and learning
Grammarians give strong support to grammar teaching. They think grammar gives us a
means to understand a language. Besides, it reflects the order of the human thoughts and
helps us to understand the diversity of human culture. For them, the acquisition of the
grammatical system of a language remains the most important element in language
teaching.
It is quite reasonable to see the importance of grammar according to Hammer’s
viewpoint (1987):
Without some understanding of grammar, students would not be able to do
anything more than utter separate items of language for separate functions. The
expression of functional language is only possible through the use of the grammar
of the language.
Firstly, teaching grammar helps students understand how the language works. Apart from
vocabulary, students need to know grammar to understand how it is written or how
words are combined together to understand the proper meaning. Without grammar or
with a poor knowledge of grammar, they may get confused with complicated expressions.
In other words, the teaching of grammar means providing students with opportunities to 14
use language in a variety of realistic situations to learn to communicate effectively.
Appropriate grammar techniques are embedded in meaningful, communicative content
then contribute positively to communicative goals and they also promote accuracy within
fluency communicative language use.
Secondly, according to Smith (2001:15), if teachers neither pay attention to grammar nor
create opportunities for learners to improve grammar, learners are likely to stand the risk
of fossilization or reach a point where they can cope with level of communication that is
demanded of them by making use of their existing grammatical resources and
communication strategies and probably with sufficient fluency. Surely, they do not see
the need to develop their linguistic abilities any further.

for communicative purpose. In CLT, students are given opportunities to examine and
draw the new grammar rules. It is important for them to understand and use grammatical
structures naturally in a real-world context. The emphasis of CLT is on the development
of students’ communicative competence through the “negotiation of meaning”
So far, there have been a number of studies relating to grammar teaching in the light of
CLT all over the world. Chung (2000) concludes that the examination of the selected
textbooks has revealed that the implementation of CLT in both Malaysian and Taiwanese
settings has little influence on the teaching of grammar. In his study, he also suggested a
number of communicative tasks to supplement the structural activities in the textbooks.
And he emphasizes that the methods discussed will only be effective when teachers are
ready to incorporate CLT principles into their lessons.
In the context of Turkey, Ögeyik (2003) makes an evaluation to clarify the efficiency of
teaching grammar through communicative approach and audio-lingual method by observing
two different classrooms consisted of two different linguistic levels. At the end of the study,
he comes to the conclusion that teaching grammar through communicative approach and
audio-lingual method can be efficient on the proficiency levels of the students at different
levels. While communicative approach was efficient on the intermediate level students,
audio-lingual method had positive impacts on the elementary level students. The latter group
had difficulty in understanding the context and functions of language within a context. Such
an outcome may be due to the fact that they are not accustomed to using the foreign language
efficiently in contextual situations.
In order to apply CLT in grammar teaching effectively, Girne (2008) suggests that during
grammar instruction, teachers should provide meaningful input through context and
provide an opportunity to put grammar to use, and relate grammar instruction to real life
situations. This is best achieved if grammar instruction is treated in the same way as the
teaching of the four skills which involves smooth and organized transitions of pre-, while
and post grammar stages. 16

beliefs and assert that “one of the many facets that teachers bring to the teaching-learning
process is a view of what education is all about, and this belief, whether implicit or
explicit, will influence their actions in the classroom” (pp. 48-49). 17
Carless (1998) suggests that if teachers are to implement an innovation successfully, it is
essential that they understand both the theoretical principles and classroom applications
of the proposed change. Kennedy (1988) points out that the change in teachers' beliefs
and understandings is an essential part of any educational innovation.
As viewed by Mulat (2003), in curriculum innovation, teachers’ attitudes are seen to play
a crucial role in determining the implementation of an approach. And teachers’
educational attitudes and theories have an effect on their classroom behavior, influence
what students actually learn, and are potent determinant of teachers’ teaching style
(Karavas, 1996). Kennedy (1987) shares the same idea that attitude change is an essential
and inevitable part of any pedagogical innovation since a change in materials or methods
does not simply operate at surface level, but represents an increase in understanding and
knowledge.
To sum up, investigating teachers’ perceptions and attitudes is really necessary as it helps
to identify what teachers are aware of an approach, what their attitudes are, and the
difficult they face when implementing curriculum innovations in the classroom and it can
help to give the support or recommendations for better application.
The reality of applying CLT gets much attention and some ideas are really exact.
According to Greta Gorsuch (2001), there are various ways to increase teacher’s approval
on CLT. Teachers mildly approve of communicative activities. However, they meet
difficulties in conducting these activities. Or “the majority of the respondents has mildly
favorable attitudes towards communicative language teaching, but faced a number of
constraints that hamper them from effective implementation of communicative method in
the classrooms” Mulat (2003:68). These conclusions are understandable as a lot of
teachers believe in the effect of CLT but this approach is so demanding and requires a lot

attitudes towards CLT, little research has been done on teachers’ perceptions and
attitudes towards teaching grammar in the light of CLT, especially in Hai Phong,
moreover, I am much interested in this issue and how to apply CLT effectively has been
my preoccupation for a long time, I am motivated in conducting this research. Hopefully,
it will contribute to the study and application of CLT in Viet Nam.