VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES VÕ THỊ MỸ HẠNH

TEACHERS’ DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING GRAMMAR
COMMUNICATIVELY TO SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS AT
VIETNAM YOUTH INSTITUTE

NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRONG VIỆC DẠY
NGỮ PHÁP THEO ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP CHO SINH VIÊN
CHUYÊN NGÀNH CÔNG TÁC XÃ HỘI TẠI HỌC VIỆN
THANH THIẾU NIÊN VIỆT NAM
M.A. MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

THANH THIẾU NIÊN VIỆT NAM M.A. MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE: 60 14 10
SUPERVISOR: Dr. DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ HÀ NỘI - 2011
iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Declaration…………………………………………………………………………. i
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………… ii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… iii
Table of contents…………………………………………………………………… iv
List of abbreviations……………………………………………………………… vii
List of tables and charts……………………………………………………………. viii
PART I: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………… 1

1.5.8. Language environment……………………………………………….14
1.5.9. Syllabuses and textbooks……………………………………………. 15
1.5.10. Testing and evaluation…………………………………………… 15
Summary………………………………………………………………………… 15
CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY……………………………………………………… 16
2.1. An overview of the situation of teaching and learning English grammar at Vietnam
Youth Institute (VYI)………………………………………………………. 16
2.1.1. Objectives of the English course at VYI…………………………… 16
2.1.2. Teachers’ factors…………………………………………………… 16
2.1.3. Learners’ factors…………………………………………………… 16
2.1.4. Materials’ factors……………………………………………………. 17
2.2. Research methodology………………………………………………… ……. 17
2.2.1. The subjects of the study…………………………………………… 17
2.2.1.1. The teacher ……………………………………………… 17
2.2.1.2. The student ……………………………………………… 17
2.2.2. The instruments for collecting data………………………………… 18
2.2.2.1. Survey questionnaire………………………………………. 18
2.2.2.2. Interviews………………………………………………… 19
2.2.3. Data analysis process……………………………………………… 19
2.3. Data analysis and discussions…………………………………………………. 20
2.3.1. Survey questionnaires……………………………………………… 20
2.3.1.1. Questionnaire for the students…………………………… 20
2.3.1.2. Questionnaire for the teachers…………………………… 27
2.3.2. Interviews……………………………………………………………. 33
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 36
3.1. The difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning grammar and
their expectations………………………………………………………………… 36
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3.2. The difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar communicatively


PART I: INTRODUCTION
I.1. Rationale of the study
All students not only aim at passing their exams and getting some further studies for their future
life, but also have a desire to be integrated into the culture, the civilization, and the people of
English speaking countries. Many students are too shy to speak in class whereas most of the
grammar lessons are carried out in traditional methods. That is, the teacher presents new
grammar verbally, and then students do, turn by turn, exercises in workbooks. As a consequence,
the students find it hard to speak out as well as to communicate in the real life naturally.
I.2. Aims of the study
- To investigate the difficulties of teaching and learning grammar communicatively faced by the
teachers and students.
- To make some suggestions on reducing the teachers’ difficulties in the application of CLT in
teaching grammar and make grammar lessons more successful.
I.3. Research questions
(1) What are the difficulties faced by the social work students at VYI in learning grammar
and their expectations?
(2) What are the difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar


PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Definitions of grammar
Richards, Platt and Platt (1992: 161, Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied
Linguistics) defines grammar as “a description of the structure of a language and the way in
which linguistic units as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language.
It usually takes into account the meanings and functions these sentences have in the overall of
the language. It may or may not include the description of the sounds of a language”.
1.2. The role of grammar in foreign language teaching
In fact, grammar is one of the key elements of a language. Therefore, one person cannot master
a language without the knowledge of its grammar. Thanks to grammar, language can partly
function as means of communication, especially in written language. One cannot write well if he
lacks the knowledge of grammar. In speaking, though grammatical mistakes are sometimes
acceptable, grammar makes one’s speech better and more attractive, especially in formal
situations. Learners cannot use words if they do not know how to put these words together.
Grammar exists to enable us to “mean” and without grammar, it is impossible to communicate
beyond a vary rudimentary level because “speech is no more than sounds, writing is no more
than hieroglyphics” (Peck, 1988: 127).
1.3. An overview on methods in teaching grammar
1.3.1. The Grammar-Translation method (GTM)
The strength of GTM is that it requires few resources so it is easy to apply and cheap to
administer. Thus, the method is still used in many places where the class is large (more than 30
students).

competence. Grammatical competence includes a comprehension of linguistic code, the ability
to recognize the lexical, morphological, syntactic and phonological features of a language and to
manipulate these features to form words and sentences. Sociolinguistic competence is the best
described through appropriateness, the degree to which one person understands the social
context in which language is used: the roles of participants, the information they share, the
functions of interaction. Discourse competence indicates the ability to interpret series of
sentences or utterances to form a meaningful whole and to achieve a coherent text that is
relevant to a given context. Strategic competence includes the strategies a person uses to
compensate for imperfect knowledge of rules or limiting factors in their application such as
fatigue, distraction, inattention, etc. These strategies include paraphrasing, circumlocution,
repletion, hesitation, avoidance, guessing and shifts in register and style.

1.4.2. Definition of CLT
CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning. Activities involve oral
communication, carrying out meaning task and using language, which is meaningful to the
learners. Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as well as
linguistic objectives. The learners’ role is as a negotiator and integrator. The teacher’s role is as
facilitator of the communication process. Materials promote communicative language use; they
are task-based and authentic.
1.4.3. Characteristics of CLT
Li (1998:679) reviews CLT characteristics based on the work of other researchers such as
Laren-Freeman (1986), Richards and Rogers (1986) and Thomson (1986) as follows:
1. A focus on communicative functions.
2. A focus on meaningful task rather than on language form.
3. Efforts to make tasks and language relevant to a target group of learners through an
analysis of genuine, realistic situations.
4. The use of authentic, from life materials.
5. The use of group activities.
6. The attempt to create a secure, non-threatening atmosphere.
1.4.4. Stages in teaching grammar communicatively


CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY
2.2. Research methodology
2.2.1. The subjects of the study
2.2.1.1. The teacher
The four teacher subjects of this research were all trained in Universities in Vietnam. They are
teaching to non-English major students at the Institute. They are from 28 to 50 with at least 5
years of teaching experience. All teachers of English are female. One has acquired Master’s
degree of English; two of them are attending the post-graduate courses at University of
Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
2.2.1.2. The student
120 social work students were selected at random from 2 classes KI and KII at VYI to
participate in the research. Their age varied from 18 to 25. Among them, 62% are female and
38% are male. Their English level is not equal. Some of them have learnt English for 7 years;
some others have learnt English for 3 years and the rest have never learnt English before.
2.2.2. The instruments for collecting data
To obtain data for the study, two instruments were employed: survey questionnaire and
interviews.
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
3.1. The difficulties faced by the teachers at VYI in teaching grammar communicatively
and their own solutions
+ Deficiency in strategic and sociolinguistic competence in English
+ Students’ low English proficiency
+ Students’ passive learning style
+ Large class size
+ Multilevel classes
+ The grammar-based exams
+ Lack of authentic teaching materials
+ Students’ not participating in class activities
+ Students’ lack of motivation to communicate
+ Students’ use of Vietnamese
+ Other difficulties
To overcome the difficulties, the teachers give a variety of suggestions such as attending
workshops or seminars on CLT, being trained and retrained on sociolinguistic competence,
motivating students more to learn English. What is more, having self-improvement in their
English level and teaching methods, giving encouragements and positive correction and
feedback on their students’ mistakes, and using the language which is suitable with the students’
level in the classroom.
3.2. Recommendations for overcoming the difficulties in teaching grammar
communicatively
PART III: CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the study has found out what are the students and teachers’ difficulties in learning
and teaching grammar communicatively. The study also reveals the recommendations for
overcoming these difficulties as well as having effective grammar lessons. Obviously, when
applying CLT to teach grammar, there is no ready-made recipe for which techniques and
activities can work best for which structure, but the primary principle is the use of a variety of
techniques and activities to suit different students’ levels and learning styles. This not only help
teachers and students teach and learn grammar more effectively but also change the students’
learning styles and motivation. The implementation of CLT at VYI will be successful if there is
contribution and cooperation of the administrators, teachers and students. Among these factors,
the teachers are central and affect the success or failure of the innovation.
Nonetheless, the limitations of the study are unavoidable. Firstly, from the scope of the study,
the results of the study are only applied for the social work students, not for all students at VYI.
Moreover, the data were only taken from self-reported questionnaires and teachers’ interviews.
However, there is a potential limitation of self-report data because some students might not be
willing to express themselves frankly.
Basing on the results and the limitations of the study, the researcher would like to make some
recommendations for further study. The subjects of the study were 120 social work students and
4 English teachers at VYI. As a result, the results cannot apply for all students at VYI. It would
be interesting to conduct a similar study on the students from other departments. Furthermore, it
is necessary to conduct other researches on the difficulties confronted by teachers in terms of
CLT application in teaching reading, listening, vocabulary, speaking and writing.

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