An analysis on grammar approach in the textbook new headway pre-Intermediate and implications for teaching and learning. a cacse study in the department of chemistry and environment of hung yen universityof technology and education
Abstract: This paper presents a study which aims at analyzing the approach to grammar in the textbook
New Headway Pre-intermediate and giving implications for English grammar teaching and learning at the
Department of Chemistry and Environment of Hung Yen University of Technology and Education (UTEHY). Then,
it reports the findings of the study which indicated that both teachers and students at UTEHY have positive attitudes
towards grammar and the approach to grammar in the New Headway Pre-intermediate is Presentation-Practiceproduction (PPP) approach. From these findings, practical implications are proposed to improve the English
grammar teaching and learning at the Department of Chemistry and Environment of UTEHY
des towards grammar and they are aware of the importance of grammar to their teaching and learning of English. Grammar is necessary for students to communicate better. Both teachers and students are interested in grammar learning and teaching. However, they meet some difficulties in grammar teaching and learning because of grammar points which are presented in each lessons. Secondly, both teachers and students agree that the approach to grammar in the New Headway Pre-intermediate is PPP approach that also explains why most of teachers at 32 UTEHY use this approach in grammar teaching. Most of teachers and students believe that PPP approach to grammar teaching is effective. However, there is a difference between teachers and students’ thinking. Teachers pay attention to practice stage while students think that production stage is the most important. Thirdly, the authors suggested some techniques for each stage, namely for the production stage to improve the English grammar teaching and learning at UTEHY such as interview, find someone who, information gap, board games, role-play, etc. Lastly, each grammar teaching approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. Through the analysis of the data reveals that the approach to grammar in the New Headway Pre-intermediate is PPP approach. This approach is used by 70% of teachers at UTEHY. It is a common communicative language teaching and is good for grammar teaching. Students are easy to follow the stages of this approach that makes the grammar lesson clear so students can remember the grammar points easily. Otherwise, we find some inappropriateness in grammar teaching at UTEHY. According to most of the teachers at UTEHY, the purpose of teaching grammar is to help students communicate better, however, they do not let students much time to use the language. They do not use many techniques for each stage. They seem to ignore the production stage that explains why not many techniques are used here. The written practice stage is paid attention most so students are good at doing grammar exercises but not good at speaking. They are reluctant to speak English. Although they think that grammar is very necessary and interesting, most of students are not interested in the grammar teaching approaches so they feel bored with the grammar lessons. In fact, most of students when they graduate from the university cannot speak English. It means they cannot meet the demands of the course objectives completely. 4. Implications for teaching and learning Based on the findings stated above, some suggestions for improving grammar teaching and learning at UTEHY are given. There are three stages in PPP approach, however, the teachers at UTEHY and the textbook only focus on two stages: Presentation and Practice. Although the production stage is necessary for both students and teachers, it was not paid much attention so the writer would like to give some techniques for this stage. Information gaps: Information exchange is useful and crossing these gaps, students become more involved into the lessons that helps themselves become the content of the lesson. That brings English into the students' real contexts and the students know how to get information from others. Role-play technique: Role-play is used to refer to all sorts of activities where students imagine themselves in a situation outside the classroom, sometimes playing the role of someone other than themselves, and using language appropriate to this new context. For example: ask and answer questions, one student can play the teacher and the other plays the student, etc. Find someone who: Students have a list of questions, they stand and circulate, asking the questions to a partner. When a partner says yes, they write that person's name and move 33 on another partner. It is actually a series of pair interactions and creates a comfortable learning environment for students. Picture cues: Students have to guess what happens basing on the pictures. Teachers can provide some new words for students to make sentences. This technique is so interesting because students can express their own ideas. From that, they know what they have gotten from the lesson. Interview: It is very useful for students when they interview each other. Especially, it is necessary for them at the first lesson when they have to get to know each other. It also helps students know how to ask and answer in the interview. It is good for their future job interview. Spot the differences between two pictures: Students ask and answer questions to try to find out what is different. It is the chance for them to use the grammar points that they have just learnt and develop their speaking skill. Using this technique makes the grammar lessons more interesting because students feel comfortable to spot the differences between two pictures. These are some of the techniques that the authors would like to introduce with the hope that they will make the grammar lessons more interesting and effective. How to use these techniques effectively depends so much on the teachers. Each teacher should decide which technique, how, when and where to use to get their purpose. Teachers should use them flexibly. Teachers can create the new ones basing on the learning and teaching context. In conclusion, the analysis of the approach to grammar in the New Headway Pre- intermediate is very useful for both teachers and students at UTEHY. Especially, the study helps the teachers find the appropriateness and inappropriateness in their grammar teaching approaches. From that, they find the best way to teach grammar effectively. That also explains why the students are interested in learning grammar but they are bored with grammar lessons. They are not satisfied with the grammar teaching approach being taught at the university. PPP approach is a good approach to teach grammar but how to use it effectively is not easy. In fact, the teachers do not explore all the advantages of this approach. One of the reasons that makes the grammar lessons boring is not many techniques are used in the lessons. The study highlights the importance of using varied techniques in each stage of grammar teaching, especially, in the production stage such as using information gaps, role-plays, interviews, picture cues, etc. The teachers can see the students’ needs that make the gap between teaching and learning styles narrowed so the students will be more motivated in learning grammar. However, the students have different learning styles for grammar learning so the teachers cannot use only one approach to grammar teaching. The teachers have to know how to combine the teaching approaches to make the grammar teaching more effective. In general, the study provided insightful information about the approach to grammar in the New Headway Pre-intermediate that is necessary for the teachers at UTEHY. REFERENCES [1] Canale M. and Swain M. (1980). “Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing”. Applied linguistics, 1: 1 - 47. 34 [2] Ellis R. (1992). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press. [3] Ellis R. (1988). The Role of Practice in Classroom Learning: AILA review, 5: 20 - 39. [4] Ellis R. (2002). Grammar Teaching - Practice of Concious-raising. In J.C. Richards & W.A. Renandya (Eds).Methodology in Language Teaching.An anthology of Current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [5] Fromkin V. Et al. (1990). An Introduction to Language (2nded). Sydney: Holt, Rinerhart & Winston, [6] Garner M. (1989). Grammar: Warts and All. 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[16] Rutherford, W.E., Sharwood Smith, M. (1988).Grammar and Second Language Teaching: A Book of Readings. New York: Newbury House Publisher. PHÂN TÍCH PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TRONG GIÁO TRÌNH NEW HEADWAY PRE-INTERMEDIATE VÀ GỢI Ý CHO VIỆC DẠY VÀ HỌC. MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU ĐIỂN HÌNH TẠI KHOA HOÁ VÀ MÔI TRƢỜNG TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƢ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƢNG YÊN Nguyễn Thị Thu Thuỷ1, Đặng Thị Hƣơng Thảo2, Đỗ Thị Oanh2 1Trường Đại học Tây Bắc 2Trường Đại học Sư phạm Kĩ thuật Hưng Yên Tóm tắt: Bài báo trình bày nghiên cứu với mục đích phân tích phương pháp dạy ngữ pháp trong giáo New Headway Pre-intermediate và đưa ra các gợi ý cho việc dạy và học ngữ pháp tiếng Anh cho sinh viên khoa Hóa và Môi trường của Trường Đại học Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Hưng Yên. Bài báo trình bày kết quả nghiên cứu trong đó cho thấy giáo viên và sinh viên có thái độ tích cực về việc dạy và học ngữ pháp và phương pháp được giáo viên sử dụng chủ yếu là phương pháp thuyết trình - luyện tập và sản sinh. Từ kết quả trên, một số gợi ý được đưa ra nhằm nâng cao hiệu quả của việc dạy và học ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại Khoa Hóa và Môi trường của Trường Đại học Sư phạm kỹ thuật Hưng Yên. Từ khóa: Ngữ pháp, PPP, phương pháp.
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