Vietnam National university, ha noi
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
Post graduate department
NGUYEN THI THANH LOAN
TEACHERS ATTITUDES TOWARDS GRAMMAR
TEACHING IN THE LIGHT OF COMMUNICATIVE
APPROACH TO FIRST YEAR NON-MAJOR ENGLISH
STUDENTS AT HAIDUONG MEDICAL TECHNICAL
UNIVERSITY
(Nghiên cứu thái độ của giáo viên đối với việc dạy ngữ pháp theo
đ-ờng h-ớng giao tiếp cho sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ nhất
tại Tr-ờng ĐHKT Y Tế Hải D-ơng)

M.A minor thesis Field: english teaching methodology
Code: 601410 Hanoi, 2009

Hanoi, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Abbreviations

Pages
i
ii
iii
iv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
2. Aims of the study
3. Significance of the study
4. Scope of the study
5. Research questions
6. Methods of the study
7. Design of the study
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Definitions of attitudes
2.2. Definitions of teachers’ attitudes
2.3. Factors affecting teachers’ attitudes
2.4. The interplay between teachers’ attitudes and their teaching
2.5. Previous studies on teachers’ attitudes to grammar.
2.6. The interplay between teachers’ attitudes and their grammar

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3.4. The procedures
3.4.1. The interviews
3.4.2. Classroom observations
CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Data analysis and Discussion
4.2.1. Interviews.
4.2.1.1. Teachers’ attitudes towards grammar and grammar
teaching
4.2.1.2. Teachers’ attitudes towards teaching grammar
communicatively
4.2.1.3. Factors affecting teachers’ attitudes towards grammar
and grammar teaching.
4.2.2. Classroom observations
4.2.2.1. Communicative grammar teaching
4.2.2.2. Non-communicative grammar teaching
4.2.3. Conclusion
4.3. Conclusion
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION
5.1. Summary of major findings
5.2. Implications
5.3. Limitations of the study
5.4. Suggestions for further study
5.5. Conclusion
References
Appendix

17
17

English language plays many roles in the modern era of globalization. In Vietnam,
English is taught as a compulsory subject in many schools and universities. For many
teachers of English, teaching English means teaching grammar. Linguists have pointed out
a lot of methods to teach English. At present, there are many different views on grammar
teaching. One of the most effective ways to teaching English grammar is through an
approach called Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). In my workplace, Haiduong
Medical Technical University, English teachers have used many teaching methods. CLT is
not a new approach for them to teach their students English grammar. However, different
teachers have different attitudes. Some teachers view grammar teaching as unnecessary
while some other teachers are obsessed by it. Some teachers have positive attitudes, but
some have negative attitudes towards grammar teaching through CLT. In order to
understand the reason why the teachers in my university have various attitudes, I would
like to study the teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar and grammar teaching in general and
their attitudes towards grammar teaching through CLT approach with their textbook, New
Headway Pre Intermediate in particular.
2. Aims of the study:
The aims of the study are as follows:
- To investigate into teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar and grammar teaching.
- To find out factors affecting teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar and grammar
teaching communicatively.
- To find out the interplay between teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar and their
grammar teaching communicatively with reference to the New Headway Pre-
Intermediate.
3. Significance of the study:
It is hoped that this study will be of some use in understanding teachers‟ attitudes
towards grammar teaching to first-year non English major students through CLT in
Haiduong Medical Technical University. The findings of the study will also contribute to
my understanding of how grammar should be treated communicatively in the context of
my university.


analysis and a discussion of the findings of the study.
Chapter V is the conclusion of the thesis, which concludes some major findings, gives
some implications, limitations of the study and suggestions for further study.
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

3
2.1. Definitions of “attitudes”
There are various definitions of “attitudes”. The Oxford Advance Learners‟ Dictionary
of Current English(1995:66) defines attitudes as “…the way that you think and feel about
somebody or something; the way that you behave towards somebody or something that
shows how you think and feel”. This definition centers mainly on how a person believes,
feels and then behaves in a certain way that reflects his established belief and feeling.
Richardson (1996) provides comprehensive definition, which is adopted in this study,
attitudes and beliefs can be used interchangeably, "Attitudes and beliefs are a subset of a
group of constructs that name, define, and describe the structure and content of mental
states that are thought to drive a person‟s actions" (p. 102). From this definition, attitudes
are defined within the framework of social psychology as a subjective or mental
preparation for action. Attitudes are outward and visible postures. Attitudes determine
what each person will see, hear, think and do. Attitudes can be positive and negative.
According to Good (1973), attitudes are “The predisposition or tendency to react
specifically towards an object, situation, or value, usually accompanied by feelings and
emotions; attitudes cannot be directly observed but must be inferred from overt behavior,
both verbal and nonverbal”.
Lastly, Petty and Cacioppo (1986) describe attitude and behavior comprehensively as
“individuals‟ general evaluations about himself/herself, others, other objects, events and
problems”.
2.2. Definitions of teachers’ attitudes.
It is known that attitudes have a profound impact on teacher practices and behaviors.
Teachers‟ attitudes mean teachers‟ view and behaviors in school. There is now agreement
in general education studies that teaching is a cognitive activity and that teachers' beliefs

conceptualize their work" (p.42.)
Finally, Ng & Farrell, ( 2003) and Yim (1993) investigate on teachers‟ attitudes and
suggest that what teachers say and do in the classroom is governed by their attitudes.
In conclusion, teachers‟ attitudes are teachers‟ view and behaviors in school. These
attitudes are implicit and unconscious, teachers‟ personal pedagogical knowledge. These
attitudes also include cognitive and affective components; create links between practice,
experience and decisions which have to be made. These attitudes greatly impact their
teaching in class.
2.3. Factors affecting teachers’ attitudes
As I have mentioned above, teachers‟ attitudes determine their actions in the
classroom. Different teachers can have positive and negative attitudes to their teaching
because there are different factors their attitudes to teaching. In this part, I only mention

5
factors affecting teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar communicative language teaching to
prove that there have been many factors affecting the teachers‟ attitudes. As Karavas-
Doukas (1996) stated, “one of the first factors affecting many teachers‟ attitudes is culture
values”. EFL teachers' attitudes and practices are related to cultural values and their
practices. According to Gamal and Debra, teachers are seen as knowledge holders and they
might consider that if they play games with students or ask students to role-play in class,
they might not be seen as doing their job. This finding corresponds with Burnaby and Sun's
(1989) findings that Chinese teachers felt they were not teaching when they use CLT
activities and anticipated that the students would complain against them. Ellis (1994)
investigated the appropriateness of the communicative approach in Vietnam. It was found
that one of the basic problems in implementing a communicative approach in Vietnam was
the teachers' holding on to the deep-rooted tradition. This problem, according to Ellis, was
compounded by two traditional practices: the cultural reluctance of the Vietnamese to
challenge written words, and the focus on grammar translation in the examination system.
The study also reported that Vietnamese teachers believed that they did not have necessary
knowledge of the target language culture. Therefore, they felt CLT does not culturally fit.

experienced as effective in helping them to acquire grammar knowledge and tend to ignore
approaches that they could not benefit from during their grammar learning stage.
Johnson (1994) also found that pre-service ESL teachers' beliefs were based largely on
their images of their own formal and informal language learning experiences, and such
images represented their dominant model of action during their teaching practices.
Experiences in teachers own grammar learning play a central role in formulating teachers'
images and thus affect their beliefs about and practices of grammar pedagogy.
The argument that a teacher's experience in learning and teaching grammar plays a
major part in formulating his own grammar pedagogic practices is supported by Borg
(1998) who found that his subject's experience of her own language education played a
powerful role in defining her position and her belief about grammar teaching. She learnt
her own LI at a time when England adopted the anti-grammar system. Thus, her LI
education did not involve her into detailed and formal analysis and description of the
language. At the same time, her foreign language learning experience also affected her
greatly. Her experience of learning French was meta-linguistically-rich and grammar
played a central role in her French lessons. It was frustrating for the subject and did not
enable her to develop any communicative competence in French. Such negative feelings
about studying grammar limited her teaching practices to dealing with grammar only
superficially and promoting the use of meta-language was not a priority in her lessons.

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Apart from the cultural values and the teaching experience of teachers affecting
teachers‟ attitudes, there are many other factors as follows, different English proficiency
and communication skills of the students, lack of resources and large-sized unequipped
classrooms. Many researchers find that teachers‟ attitudes have been affected by large–
sized classrooms in applying CLT to teach grammar. Gamal and Debra (2001) have found
that the limited resources made Egyptian EFL teachers difficult prepare and present the
teaching according to the CLT approach. They also find that EFL teachers' lack of English
proficiency and limited knowledge of CLT pedagogy as constraints.
In conclusion, there are various factors affecting teachers‟ attitudes, namely, traditional

found that the pre-service teachers' images of teachers and teaching formed a model for
their instructional practices and even though these pre-service teachers wanted to alter their
instructional practices, their lack of alternative images in their mind limited them to make
changes in a practicum environment. Tudor (1996) suggested that teachers have subjective
needs and perceptions of the classroom and these influence their attitudes and behaviour in
the classroom. Thus, teachers have their own private agendas and sets of beliefs about
language teaching which they bring with them to the language classroom.
It can be obvious that different factors affect either positive or negative attitudes of the
teachers. Baily (1992) and Golombek (1998) affirm the notion that changes in teacher‟
attitudes precede changes in their teaching practices. Similarly, Hampton (1994) notes that
teachers‟ beliefs or “personal construct” determine how they approach their teaching.
These beliefs may be general or very specific. Harste, Woodword, and Burke (1984)
identified that teachers‟ beliefs strongly affect the materials and activities they choose for
the classroom. As a result, teachers‟ attitudes have relationship with their teaching in class.
Teachers‟ attitudes determine their teaching, the methodology they choose for their
students in class.
2.5. Previous studies on teachers’ attitudes to grammar and grammar teaching.
As I have mentioned above, teachers‟ attitudes affect their teaching styles. English
language teachers have different attitudes towards grammar and grammar teaching. Some
have positive attitudes, others have negative attitudes to grammar and grammar teaching.
Some applied linguists have argued strongly that grammar is not important and grammar
teaching should be minimized.
Even applied linguists have different stances to grammar and grammar teaching. Some
have argued that the teaching of grammar is either impossible (e.g. Prabhu, 1987) or
unnecessary (e.g. Krashen, 1988 and Nassaji & Fotos, 2004). Others think teaching
grammar is necessary (e.g. Rutheford, 1987).

9
Prabhu (1987) has argued that grammar teaching is impossible for the knowledge used
in a language by a speaker is too complex.


10
and Swain (1980), the significance of grammar is clearly illustrated. In this model,
grammar is an essential component. Without grammar, learners can communicate
effectively only in a limited number of situations. They may be able speak sentences with
simple structures, mostly about daily life conversational sentences. However, if they have
to present in formal situations, such as a graduation seminars, they will not be able to
create complete sentences which they would only be able to produce until they have
accumulated a certain amount of grammar knowledge. In “The Place of Grammar
Instruction in the Second/ Foreign Language Curriculum”, Rod Ellis points to much recent
research on ESL/ EFL learning and acquisition and notes that without grammar instruction,
learners frequently fail to achieve advanced level of grammatical competence. He further
finds that it is possible to include a grammar component in the language teaching
curriculum together with the instruction centered around communicative tasks. He
emphasizes that research has shown that grammar instruction can improve the quality of
second and foreign language learning.
Some linguists take a middle point view. They argue that grammar can still be taught,
but less systematically, in traditional ways alongside more innovative approaches.
Savignon (2002:7) says " for the development of communicative ability [communication
depends on grammar], research findings overwhelmingly support the integration of form-
focused exercises with meaning-focused experience". Grammar is important; and learners
seem to focus best on grammar when it relates to their communicative needs and
experiences. Disregard of grammar will virtually guarantee breakdown in communication
(Savignon 1991, 2001; Thompson 1996). Savignon (2002:7) remarks that, "communicative
language teaching does not necessarily mean the rejection of familiar materials [grammar]"
Rivers in her famous statement strengthened Savignon's remark in that "Saying that we do
not need to teach grammar is like saying that we can have a chicken walking around
without bones" cited in Arnold (1994:122). Nowadays, it seems that educators accept that
an appropriate amount of class time should be devoted to grammar, but this does not mean
a simple return to a traditional treatment of rules. Rather "the focus has now moved away

attitudes to students‟ levels, classroom sizes, equipped materials and other things. Ellis
expresses that beginning students whose language base is comparatively small may not be
ready for explicit grammar instruction and that exposure to structural work can begin once
learners have had an opportunity to increase their lexical repertoire and language base.
Ellis‟ model for grammar teaching at subsequent levels can be designed to address learner
problems with grammar directly by focusing on the areas that have been identified as
particularly difficult to acquire. He emphasizes that the primary goal of explicit and
focused grammar instruction is to heighten learners‟ awareness of grammatical features

12
and systems, and most importantly, to promote learners “noticing” of grammar regularities.
He points out that traditional ways of teaching grammar, in which rules are presented and
drilled, have not been successful, but grammar instruction to enhance noticing by means of
discovery tasks can lead to acquisition and automatization.
Similar to Ellis‟ attitude to teaching grammar effectively through communicative tasks,
Jack Richards holds a positive attitude to the effectiveness of grammar learning when
students are engaged in communicative tasks. He points out that in task work, noticing
linguistic forms and the environments in which they occur often leads to learners‟
increases abilities to identify the grammatical systems of the second and foreign language.
In addition, task work can allow students to experiment and restructure their hypothesis
about the target language and stresses that the grammar gap in task work needs to be
proactively addressed. In his view, language instruction needs to include focused tasks to
facilitate learners‟ noticing grammatical forms and to promote accuracy in communicative
teaching.
New Perspectives (2002:240) experts also agree that grammar should be taught
communicatively, meaningfully, and in the context of use and that it should not be treated
or taught separately from discourse. Most instructors realize this to varying degrees,
though they also see how tough it is to carry out the creed. While both teachers and
students may experience inadequate language facts to bolster all the established
grammatical principles, they can also argue that a great many of language details contrive

the teachers' academic ability. By economic factors, Hui means that the unavailability of
resources such as: photocopying, over-head projectors and computers, absence of enough
English books, etc. The influence of administrators is observed, especially when teaching
performances are evaluated, the focus is on the teachers (how well they speak English, how
well they use the blackboard, etc.) rather than students and their learning processes. "As a
result, teachers are more active than students, who simply follow their teachers rigidly and
mechanically (1997:38). Anderson (1993) says the most obvious obstacle to teaching
communicatively is the great demands it places upon the teacher. Similarly, Maley (1993)
argues that CLT is demanding to teachers in many ways, including the students‟
unfamiliarity to the approach. He goes on to state that this [communicative] approach
perhaps the greatest [difficulty] of all.
The effect could be recognized by teachers through practices in teaching. CLT does
never refuse grammar teaching. Some linguists and teachers always stresses grammar is
necessary for communication. But at the same time, others put stress on pair work.
However, it is an issue about how to learn grammar. Perhaps the view is too simplistic that
grammar is impossible to teach for it is too complex. Students will learn more effectively if

14
they participate in communicative activities actively about what they are learning. It means
that the students will discover grammar not their teachers. They talk at most of time under
the teachers‟ guidance about the language knowledge.
Richards, Gallo, and Renandya (2001) using a self – report questionnaire with
participants in an in-service have found that although many stated they followed a
communicative approach to teaching, "many of the respondents still hold firmly to the
belief that grammar is central to language learning and direct grammar teaching is needed
by their EFL/ESL students" (p. 54).
2.7. Conclusion
Teachers differ in their attitudes towards grammar and grammar teaching because they
are influenced by a variety of different factors. First, the lack of consensus among applied
linguists on the role of grammar confuses teachers about the role of grammar. Second,

big. There are more than 50 or even 65 students in each class. As a result, it is too difficult
for the teachers to control the class. The students do not have enough time to practice
English in the class. Furthermore, the students in my university have various English
qualifications. Some of them come from the mountainous areas, in which they have never
been taught any foreign languages before. Some of the others studied other foreign
languages like French, Russian or Chinese. In addition, the students‟ communicative
competence is not good. They hardly have opportunities to communicate with foreigners,
especially with native speakers.
The final goal of English teaching program at MTU is that the students are able to
communicate with foreigners both in spoken and written English at intermediate level. In
order to do this, the students need general knowledge of English grammar. They are taught
New Headway Pre Intermediate in three terms. At the end of each term, the students are
required to take written tests only. That is why some of the teachers focus on teaching
grammar in the way so that the students can pass the exams.
3.2. Participants
This study was carried out with six teachers of English, aged from 25 to 50, who are
working at English – Informatics Department, MTC. Their experience of teaching English
varies from 3 years to 27 years. Of the six teachers, two are master holders; one is doing a
master course at Vietnam National University. The rest have graduated from universities of
Foreign Languages.

This is a profile of the participants:

16
Name
Gender
Age
Teaching
Experience
Qualification


3.3 Instrumentation
This study, as indicated in Chapter one, was intended to find out the attitudes of the
English language teachers in MTU towards the communicative approach to English
grammar teaching. For this purpose, therefore, a descriptive research method was chosen
as it is used to describe a phenomenon. Interviews and classroom observations seemed to
be appropriate instruments to collect data for the study. The interview was a structured one
in which the “agenda is totally predetermined by the researcher, who works through a list
of set questions in a predetermined order” (Nunan 1992: 149). According to Nunan (ibid),
“the type of interview one chooses will be determined by the nature of the research and the
degree of control the interview wishes to exert” (p.149). This study was aimed at finding
out the teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar teaching through CLT. Therefore, I chose the
interview in order to have more in-depth information. Beside the interview, classroom
observation was conducted to clarify and test the validity of the obtained information about
the teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar teaching through CLT.
3.3.1. The Interviews
All six teachers of English were asked to follow the textbook New Headway Pre
Intermediate to teach the first-year non English major students. They are completely aware
of grammar points presented in the book. Thus, the interviews were carried out to
investigate the teachers‟ attitudes towards grammar teaching and their current methods of
teaching grammar.

3.3.2. Classroom observation

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Along with the interview, classroom observation was also conducted in order to
bolster the quantitative results. The observation in this study was done through real
teaching. The observation was conducted in several English periods with different classes
of first year students who were learning New Headway Pre Intermediate at MTU.
3.4. Procedures

made without intervention in any way.
correctly” (Ha)
“In my opinion, grammar is very important because it helps learners speak
or write logically and grammatical correctly. Grammar is especially
important to my students for some reasons. Firstly, all exercises are
designed to test the students‟ usage of correct structures and the final

20
examinations all are in written form to check their understanding of
grammar. If they are good at grammar, they are easy to do exercises
correctly to get good marks. Moreover, my students‟ English proficiency is
limited so grammar is considered the first favor in English learning and
teaching” (Trang)
In addition to their concern about accuracy, the teachers believed that grammar
played an important role in enabling their students to use English more effectively. They
made the point that:
“Grammar is a typical base to help my students improve their language
skills (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) and their communicative
competence.” (Thoa)
“It is important for my students to learn grammar so that they are able to
express personal thoughts in the appropriate syntax. Effective use of syntax
is important to show different attitudes and express power and identity.
Some incorrect forms of grammar may even be interpreted by the
listener/reader as being rude or impolite. The more precisely an individual
can express their thoughts and meanings, the more effective their
communication will be, and the more potential for success they will have in
their interpersonal and business communications throughout their lives"
(Tuan).
"The correct use of tense is an important skill for students to have and the
lesson plans developed to address this directly will help them communicate
effectively with co-workers and people in the community as to what they

speaking, writing, reading, and speaking. Their perceptions supported the study by Ikpia
(2001) that students valued explicit grammar instruction because it enabled them to speak
and write English properly. These attitudes are also similar to the ideas proposed by Canale
(1983) and Swain (1980). In the model of communicative competence, the significance of
grammar is clearly illustrated. It has been established that the traditional grammar teaching
method is not an effective way to develop learners' communicative competence (Krashen,
1985, 1992; Nunan, 1989). Many researchers believe that if grammar is taught in a
communicative way, mastering grammatical knowledge is important to learners' overall
development toward target language use (Ellis, 1994, 1995; Lightbown, 1991 ;Lightbown
& Spada, 1990; Littlewood, 198 1; Savignon, 1991 ; Smith, 198 1 ; Widdowson, 1996)
Therefore, teachers in MTU seem to be aware of the need of grammar for achieving
communicative competence and they are teaching grammar to students may be to facilitate