EN
G
L
IS
H
DẠY
TỐT
HỌC
TỐT
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
DEPARTMENT OF DONG NAI PROVINCE
VINH CUU HIGH SCHOOL
CODE: ………………
HOW TO HELP STUDENTS
LEARN GRAMMAR
EFFECTIVELY
Written by: BUI THI XUAN HUONG
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Research area: English teaching method

SCHOOL YEAR: 2014-2015
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CURRICULUM VITAE
I. PERSONAL INFORMATION
1. Full name: Bui Thi Xuan Huong
2. Date of birth: April 7
th
1986
3. Male/female: female
4. Address: Tan Trieu village, Vinh Cuu district, Dong Nai province
5. Phone number: 0918.539253

opportunities to study with foreign teachers, especially Filipino teachers.
Despite the fact that teaching English has some improvement recently in the
light of learner-centered approach which is adaptable to help students better their
English, teaching and learning English in Vietnam has not developed students
grammatical competence, motivation, and activeness. The students are expected to
be proficient at English after graduating from high school, although there is a
considerable studying time, many Vietnamese students are still not able to use
English grammar correctly and confidently.
As a matter of fact, grammar is very helpful for students. Pradeep (2013)
states that grammar is a very important part that cannot be neglected in teaching
and studying English. It can be taught through different methods either explicit or
implicit. However, Denham (1992) highlights the fact that teachers instruct most of
their lessons through Grammar Translation Method approach (GTM) which is
known as teacher-centered and makes students bored. This suggests that it’s high
time for teachers to teach grammar in a variety of ways to allow students to better
their grammar competence as well as enhance four main skills including reading,
listening, speaking and writing. Thus, in my opinion, it is necessary to carry out
this study to make practical benefits for students by applying workable methods.
II. THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND REALITY
1. Theoretical perspectives
The role of grammar in teaching and learning English
According to Harmer’s viewpoint (1987, pp.12) “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
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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

skills are difficult to achieve without some knowledge of grammar. Teacher should
help students to acquire grammar knowledge through meaningful contexts which
improve students’ motivation.
The important of students’ motivation
Since motivation is not only a vital but also a highly complex factor
determining more or less successful language learning, it is necessary to examine
approaches to motivate in learning in order to bring about better insights into it.
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Over the years there have been in numberable studies on motivation in foreign and
second language learning. In these studies, researchers have attempted to explain
what is meant by motivation.
However, most studies on motivation in foreign and second language
learning have been influenced by the work of Gardner (1985) (quoted in Spolsky,
1998), who defines motivation as consisting of effort, plus desire to achieve the
goal of learning, plus favorable attitude towards learning the language
Another theory on motivation can be seen from Littlewood’s perspective
(1998:53) that “in second language learning as in every other field of human
learning, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner
embarks on a task at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he
perseveres. It is a complex phenomenon and includes many components: the
individual’s drive, need for achievement and success, curiosity, desire for
stimulation and new experience, and so on”.
Apparently, Littlewood, not only highlighting the important role of
motivation in second language learning but also emphasizing the ‘highly complex
construct’ of motivation claimed that if a learner is motivated she will probably
decide to undertake a particular task with certain amount of energy and time
needed for it.
Furthermore, McKay and Tom (1992:2) point out that the need and drive to
communicate with others in a new language provide strong motivation for most
learners.

difficult to remember the patterns”, “I made mistakes when I did grammar
exercises although I learnt carefully”, “I don’t know how use all the English tenses
correctly” and so on. What can we do to solve these problems? As a Vietnamese
high school English teacher, I realize that it is time to change the ways we teach
English grammar.
One of the most common ways of teaching English grammar in my school is
to instruct students by Grammar Translation Method (GTM) which focuses on
forms. First of all, teachers provide students the form of the new grammar point
and givin examples so that students can understand. After that teachers explain the
usage ot the grammar point if necessary and ask students to apply the new
grammar structure to complete exercises. At the end of the lesson, they ask the
students to learn the grammar point by heart and finish all the exercises in
workbook at home.
The way of teaching grammar mentioned above are very common in most
public as well as private school in Vietnam. In my point of view, it clearly shows
some problems. Firstly, students feel bored and frustrated with the tiring rules and
execises . They have no interest in learning English grammar and they learn the
grammar rules just because they are forced to do so. As a result, students lose their
motivation. Secondly, students don’t know how to use the new grammar structures.
Trying to remember the forms and rules is not enough. More importantly, students
should know how to apply the grammar points appropriately and correctly in
whatever cases. Finally, students lack of revision. It's easy to forget previous
grammar points if they just learn by heart. So, teachers should provide students
exciting repetition activities.
Many works have been carried out to find out the effective ways to improve
students’ grammar acquisition as well as other basic skills. From my own
experience and many reference books, I have used some solutions to deal with the
arising question
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“How can teachers help students to learn grammar effectively?

important parts of English grammar. They can be used to encourage students to
identify and understand various parts of a sentence; grammatical concepts like
synonyms, tenses and conjugations; or incorrectly used grammar. Word puzzles
such as crosswords are easily modified to suit all age and skill levels and
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introduce an element of fun competition into the learning process, so they can be
invaluable in forging a full and lasting understanding of English grammar.
1.2.1.2 Bingo
The game of Bingo is based on people marking off spaces on their card
until they fill in a row or column fully. In normal Bingo these are numbers,
drawn at random from a pool. In grammar lesson Bingo, they could be pronouns,
verbs, nouns, sentence structure, antonyms, and so on – students could use the
daily newspaper and attempt to find correct examples of these grammatical
concepts faster than each other, thereby “winning” the game – and learning in the
process! Short and fun grammar exercises like this can be included on a regular
basis during your lessons to keep correct grammar usage fresh your students’
minds and improve their recall of the topics at hand.
1.2.1.3 Jumbled Sentences
Choose a number of sentences from the last few chapters (pages) that you
have been working on in class. Make sure to choose a nice mixture including
adverbs of frequency, time signifiers, adjectives and adverbs, as well as multiple
clauses for more advanced classes. Type (or write on the board) jumbled versions
of the sentences and ask the students to reassemble them. If you are focusing on
specific grammar points, have the students explain why certain words are placed in
certain places in a sentence. For example, If you are working on adverbs of
frequency, ask students why 'often' is placed as it is in the following negative
sentence: 'He doesn't often go to the cinema.'
1.2.1.4 Whisper Circles
With the aim to teach the grammar structure (it takes to do ) I used a game
named whisper circles

WHAT DID HE SAY?
WHAT DID SHE SAY?
WHAT DID THEY DO?
+ Divide the class into groups of 6. Give each group one sheet of paper.
Ask the first student to write under the first part and fold the paper so as to
cover what he has written. Tell the student to pass the paper onto the next
person. As each person writes, he should only look at his fold. When all
students finish, one student from each group will be asked to read their
story in the following format. You can write the format on the blackboard.
met in/at
He said
She said
And so they
1.2.1.7 Find the differences
It is helpful for teachers when teaching the following structures there
is/are , s/he has , s/he is ing, s/he is + adjective)
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+ Find or draw two pictures which are the same except for seven features.
Photocopy them on separate sheets of paper.
+ Ask students to work in pairs. Give one copy of each picture to the pairs.
The pairs are not supposed to show their copies to each other. Partner A
will describe their copy and Partner B will listen carefully and examine
their own copy to find the differences. They can ask questions if they
require more detailed information or need any clarification. The pair that
finishes first wins the game.
3.1.2. Eliciting
Instead of simply giving the grammatical structures, teachers ought to
engage students more by drawing those patterns from the students. We should
invite student to give their ideas as well as make suggestions. Students are also
encouraged to contribute what they know already and make guesses at the new

through this way will fill students with enthusiasm.
EX: To elicit how to add –ing after Verbs, I write on the board:
love à living
drive à ?
In addition, a teacher can also have students guess a new structure based on
their background knowledge.
EX: To elicit the usages of simple present tense, I will write down a
sentence on the board “ The Earth goes around the Sun”. Students know that this is
a truth, a fact. So that they can draw out one of the usages of this tense is to talk
about the truth.
3.1.3. Showing the forms
Teachers are recommended to show the forms of a new structure in case
students don’t know it. In fact, we can write a formation on the board. It is a
traditional method using PPP Technique (Present- Practice- Produce). However,
some students get bored when they are taught by this way and some are easy to
forget the given structure as they are forced to learn by heart. To make them
remember longer, it is necessary to link the structure with a certain context for
further practicing. In fact, we can all grammar point through this way. The mot
important thing is helping students become engaged more into the lessons
EX: in order to instruct the grammar point reported speech in unit 5 English
11, I will some examples for my student to draw out he forms.
• Direct speech: “I like ice cream”.
• Reported speech: She says she likes ice cream.
3.1.4. Give students practice in using the grammatical patterns
This step often takes place after we have presented the structure of the
lesson. We can do this by asking student to role play using the new structure,
asking students to fill in the blanks, asking multiple-choice questions, asking
students to make sentences with the new structures and so on.
1.2.1.10 Asking students to role play
After presenting a new structure, teachers can ask students to role play using

into two groups. The students raise their hands to get the right to answer. Each
correct answer will be awarded one point. The winner will be the group with more
points at the end.
1.2.1.12 Asking multiple-choice questions
I ask students to do the following task.
Choose the best answer A, B, C, or D:
1. I need _______ some new clothes.
A. buys B. buy C. to buy D. buying
2. I can_________very well.
A. sing B. singing C. sings D. to sing
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3. My sister often ____________ school by bike
A. go to B. gos to C. goes to D. goinging to
4. I sometimes _________ yoga at home with my mom.
A. do B. play C. go D. make
5. They _______________ from Bien Hoa city.
A. come B. comes C. are coming D. have come
This kind of exercise is very common in examination but it is so boring.
Therefore, teachers can make it more interesting by designing it as a competition
game in which the questions are shown in turn.
1.2.1.13 Asking students to make sentences with the new structures
This task will be easier and more interesting if students work in groups and
compete with each other. This activity will encourage the student to use the
structures in real communication. Therefore they can enhance their speaking
ability.
 When I finish the first semester (the school year 2014-
2015), I conveyed a survey on my students towards the following question.
Did my ways of teaching grammar make you feel like learning English
grammar and memorize them longer?
Class Total Not at all A little A lot

students (more than two thirds) found that my ways of teaching grammar made
them more active and really enjoyed learning English grammar points so that they
can memorize them for a long time. At a matter of fact, this will enhance students’
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motivation in learning English grammar in specific and other aspects of English in
general. When I apply the traditional Grammar Translation methods in teaching
grammar, my students also get good results in written tests which focus on
checking grammatical competence. However, they cannot using the grammar
points they’ve learnt before in their speaking. In comparison with the new
methods I realize that my students not only get better results in the exam but also
they can improve their speaking skill.
 All of my lessons are conducted using communicative activities with the
purpose to improve students’ communicative ability. Hence, I also made a survey
in which I can identify how often the students communicate with their classmates
through the activities in class by examining the following question.
Did you have more opportunities to interact with your classmates by
when I applied communicative activities?
Class Total Not at all A little A lot
quanti
ty
% quanti
ty
% quanti
ty
%
10A1 45 5 11.1
%
10 22.2
%
30 66.7

necessary. Thus, teachers need to help students consolidate the structures as often
as possible. In fact, there are a lot of activities to help students review what they’ve
learnt. In this part, I’ll suggest some reviewing activities that are designed as
games so that students have more interest in studying. Teachers can organize these
activities whenever necessary.
1.3. Using games
4.1.1. Shoot for Points
We often need to review things that are not fun, things like the past
simple or pmjast participle of irregular verbs. Instead of the classic Q & A
activity, we can use a large container or trash can as your “basket”, give your
students a ball and have them shoot for points. But here’s the catch: you’ll ask
them a question in past simple, and they’ll have to remember the past correctly in
order to earn the chance to shoot. They can get 10 points for scoring or five if they
miss (because at least they answered the question correctly). You can try any
variety of this type of game, whether you use large balls or small ones, or even a
wadded up piece of paper.
4.1.2. Board Game
Everyone loves a board game, and students will particularly appreciate one
if it’s not only loads of fun, but also a helpful way to review essential
grammar. You can design your own to include the tenses and structures your
students have learned.
4.1.3. Tic Tac Toe
Tic Tac Toe is another versatile game, one that can be adapted to suit a
wide variety of needs. What you need to decide first is which grammar your
students need to review for the test. Then, write the topics on nine index cards or
large enough pieces of paper. Arrange the cards face down on a table or stick them
on the board, in the classic Tic Tac Toe 3 x 3 grid.
Next, teams take turns choosing a square (you can add letters across and
numbers down to make it easier to call out the squares). You turn over the card
and reveal to your students the tense/structure/grammar point written on it.

groups and ask students to re-order the given words to make meaningful sentences
Ex: Her/ often/ reads/ in/ she/ free/ book/time
 She often reads book in her free time.
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I show a set of jumbled sentences in turn. The students raise their hands to
get the right to answer. Each correct answer will be awarded a point. The winner
will be the group with the most points at the end.
1.5. Matching
This activity is very popular to review what students have learnt. Teachers
can design it as a competitive game so that students can review the lesson by
playing game. Teachers divide class into groups. Each group will take turn to
match two halves of sentences. Which group has more correct answers will be the
winner.
EX: When reviewing conditional sentences Type 2, we can use this activity.
1.6. Chinese whisper game
One more activity teacher can use to review the grammar structure is
Chinese whisper game. This is a game-like activity which plays in groups and it
requires all members of each group take part in the game. First, after teaching a
grammar point, teachers can create two groups. Each group will sit in line. The
first players of two groups will see a sentence given by the teachers. Then he/she
will come back and tell the next player and continue to the end. The player sit at
the back will go to the board and write down the answer. Which group has more
answers will win the game.
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1.7. Find someone who
This is also an activity which can not only review grammar pattern but also
enhance students’ speaking and listening ability. First of all, teacher will prepare a
handout which some questions such as Find someone who has two brothers? So
students can review yes/no questions of present perfect tense. “Have you ever….?
Yes, I have…./ No I have never…. Students are required to work individually to

11A2 45 2 4.4% 13 28.9
%
30 66.7
%
From the table above, we can clearly see that more than two thirds of the
students found that my revision activities helped them a lot in consolidating the
grammar. My students really enjoyed participating in my revision activities. This
created an active and lively atmosphere in class and it enhanced retention and
recall. Many students said that they preferred my revision activities to the exercises
that they had to do individually on the worksheets.
1.9. Sentence chains
This activity is used to review all structure that students have learnt before.
Basically you are allowed to add one sentence to the story at a time (no double
posts!) and we watch as a really bizarre story unfolds. You can carry out it as a
game playing by two teams so that it can be more interesting. Which team has are
able to add more sentences will be the winner.
EX: There were an old man standing in front of my house
G1: He was wearing black suit and hold a stick on his hand
G2: I haven’t seen him before.
G1:……………….
5. Guiding students how to learn grammar effectively
Teachers often force students to memorize all the grammatical rules,
patterns, tenses without teaching them how to improve their grammar knowledge
on their own or giving them some strategies to better their learning. Therefore,
many students have the tendency to do as many exercises as they can to learn by
heart the rules or structures. According to some recent study, it is easy for the
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student to forget what they have learnt. Thus this way of learning language which
is known as rote memorization is considered as an ineffective way. As a matter of
fact, many students depend too much on rote memorization in their learning so that

you to focus on these aspect with special care and attention when edting your
writing. In speaking, it is more difficult, however you can take sometimes can try
to get these aspect right. For example, when you are telling a story in simple
present tense, you should bear in mind that you need an –s in the third person
singular.
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1.12. Learn grammar with association and fun
You can improve your grammar knowledge by using the following techniques:
* Association: Association is the mental glue that helps you ‘stick’ the
information in your brain. In terms of learning, it means linking ‘what you want to
learn’ with ‘something you have already learnt’. When you receive new
information, it helps to hook this information to existing information in your brain.
The more you learn, the more hooks you will be able to make in your brain. With
more ‘hooks’, you will be able to ‘hang’ more information on your brain. Connect
new information with something you already know. Use the Internet or talk to your
friends to find out examples, stories, events, or illustrations that are associated with
what you are learning. This will help you have new associations in your brain.
* Fun: Try to search for ways and means with the help of which you can have
fun while memorising. Generally, it is difficult to do so. Most students associate
learning and memorising with stress. If you do this, you will continue to have more
stress while memorising. Think different. Try to have fun. The best way to
improve your grammar knowledge is to have fun when learning. If you are having
fun, it actually makes it easier for you to learn things, so make sure that you make
learning grammar fun.
1.13. Study regularly
Learning English grammar is not just something you do every now and then.
You should do it every single day. When you study each day, it is easier to retain
the new things that you learn. Also, you will see that you can review the structures
faster every day and you will definitely remember what you learn better as well.
However, you do not need to sit down for hours. If you want to learn

longer. The programs are free and available. Therefore, you can use them
whenever you like to learn, review, and practise.
 At the end of the first semester (the school year 2014-
2015), I made a survey on my students towards the usefulness of my
instructions to the students in learning grammar.
Class Total Not useful Useful Very Useful
quantit
y
% quantit
y
% quantit
y
%
10A1 45 0 0% 7 15.6
%
38 84.4
%
10A2 44 1 2.3% 10 22.7
%
33 75%
11A1 46 1 2.2% 15 32.6
%
30 65.2
%
11A2 45 3 6.7% 14 31.1
%
28 62.2
%
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