Univerzita Hradec Králové
Pedagogická fakulta
Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury
Different Approaches to Teaching Grammar
at Lower-Secondary School Level
Diplomová práce
Autor: Michala Kruţicová
Studijní program: N7503 Učitelství pro základní školy
Studijní obor: Učitelství pro 2. stupeň ZŠ – anglický jazyk a literatura
Učitelství pro 2. stupeň ZŠ – německý jazyk a literatura
Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Olga Vraštilová, M.A., Ph. D.
Hradec Králové 2015
UNIVERZITA HRADEC KRÁLOVÉ
Pedagogická fakulta
ZADÁNÍ DIPLOMOVÉ PRÁCE
Jméno a příjmení: Bc. Michala Kružicová
Osobní číslo: P111964
Studijní program: N7503 Učitelství pro základní školy (2. stupeň)
Studijní obory: Učitelství pro 2. stupeň ZŠ – anglický jazyk a literatura
Učitelství pro 2. stupeň ZŠ – německý jazyk a literatura
Název tématu: Různé přístupy k výuce mluvnice na 2. stupni ZŠ
Zadávající katedra: Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury
Zásady pro vypracování:
Práce se zaměří na zkoumání různých metod a přístupů k výuce mluvnice na
2. stupni ZŠ, zvláštní pozornost bude věnována zábavnějším aktivitám v této
oblasti, v praktické části bude realizován výzkum na základních školách ve
zvoleném regionu.
Vedoucí práce: Mgr. Olga Vraštilová, M. A., Ph. D.
Katedra anglického jazyka a literatury
Oponent: Mgr. Michal Pištora
Datum zadání diplomové práce: 23. listopadu 2011
Termín odevzdání diplomové práce: 23. února 2015
Prohlášení
Prohlašuji, ţe jsem tuto diplomovou práci vypracovala (pod vedením vedoucí
diplomové práce) samostatně a uvedla jsem všechny pouţité prameny a
literaturu.
V Hradci Králové dne
Poděkování
Ráda bych poděkovala vedoucí práce, Mgr. Olze Vraštilové M.A., Ph. D., za
cenné připomínky, ochotu a trpělivost při vedení mé diplomové práce.
Anotace
KRUŢICOVÁ, Michala. Různé přístupy k výuce gramatiky na 2. stupni ZŠ.
Hradec Králové: Pedagogická fakulta Univerzity Hradce Králové, 2015. 78 s.
Diplomová práce.
Diplomová práce se zabývá výukou gramatiky anglického jazyka na druhém
stupni základních škol. První kapitola je zaměřená na definici pojmu gramatika
a její úlohu ve výuce cizích jazyků. Dále se teoretická část zabývá ţáky a jejich
specifiky stejně jako učitelem a jeho rolemi a úkoly při výuce gramatiky.
Speciální kapitola je věnována různým metodám výuky anglického jazyka a roli,
jakou v nich gramatika zaujímá. Praktická část se skládá ze dvou kapitol.
V první z nich ţáci všech ročníků druhého stupně hodnotí důleţitost gramatiky a
její výuku na své základní škole. Druhá kapitola je věnována učitelům
anglického jazyka a jejich přístupu k výuce a hodnocení gramatiky. Tato
kapitola obsahuje i hodnocení učebnic, které dotazované školy pouţívají.
Klíčová slova: anglický jazyk, gramatika, výuka, 2. stupeň ZŠ
Annotation
KRUŢICOVÁ, Michala. Different Approaches to Teaching Grammar at Lower-
Secondary School Level. Hradec Králové: Faculty of Education, University of
Hradec Králové, 2015. 78 p. Diploma Thesis
The Diploma Thesis deals with the teaching of grammar at lower-secondary
school level. The first chapter is focused on the definition of the term grammar
and its position in the foreign language teaching. It describes also learners and
their specifics as well as teachers and their roles and task by the English
teaching. The special chapter is devoted to the different methods and
approaches of English teaching and the position of grammar in them. The
practical part consists of two chapters. In the first one pupils of lower-secondary
level evaluate the importance of grammar and its presentation and practising at
their school. The second chapter is focused on teachers and their attitudes to
teaching and evaluating grammar. This chapter also contains an evaluation of
textbooks that are used at the questioned schools.
Keywords: English language, grammar, teaching, lower-secondary level
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 9
2 Theoretical part .......................................................................................................... 10
2. 1 Grammar and its role ........................................................................................... 10
2. 1. 1 Grammar ....................................................................................................... 10
2. 1. 2 Types of grammar ......................................................................................... 10
2. 1. 3 Role of grammar ........................................................................................... 11
2. 1. 3. 1 Role of grammar in foreign language teaching .................................... 11
2. 1. 4 Difficulties with grammar ............................................................................. 12
2. 2 Learners and their specifics .................................................................................. 14
2. 2. 1 Age of learners .............................................................................................. 14
2. 2. 1. 1 Young children ..................................................................................... 14
2. 2. 1. 2 Adolescents .......................................................................................... 15
2. 2. 1. 3 Adult learners ....................................................................................... 15
2. 2. 2 Learning styles .............................................................................................. 16
2. 2. 2. 1 According to Keith Willing .................................................................... 16
2. 2. 2. 2 According to Tony Wright .................................................................... 17
2. 2. 2. 3 According to Neil D. Fleming ................................................................ 17
2. 2. 3. 4 Individual differences ........................................................................... 17
2. 2. 4 Motivation .................................................................................................... 18
2. 2. 4. 1 Affective filter....................................................................................... 18
2. 2. 4. 2 Types of motivation ............................................................................. 19
2. 2. 4. 3 Motivation influenced by teacher ....................................................... 20
2. 3 Teachers and their tasks ...................................................................................... 22
2. 3.1. Teacher's Role ............................................................................................... 22
2. 3. 2 Language in the classroom ........................................................................... 23
2. 3. 3 Teaching grammar ........................................................................................ 26
2. 3. 3. 1 Presentation of grammar ..................................................................... 26
2. 3. 3. 2 Practice of grammar ............................................................................. 28
2. 3. 3. 3 Production of grammar ........................................................................ 30
2. 3. 3. 4 Testing grammar .................................................................................. 30
2. 4 Approaches and Methods .................................................................................... 32
2. 4. 1 The Grammar-Translation Method ............................................................. 32
2. 4. 2 The Direct Method ....................................................................................... 33
2. 4. 3 The Audio-lingual Method ........................................................................... 33
2. 4. 3. 1 Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) ...................................... 33
2. 4. 4 Total Physical response Method (TPR) ........................................................ 34
2. 4. 5 The Communicative Language Teaching ..................................................... 34
2. 4. 6 The Eclectic Approach................................................................................... 35
2. 5 Framework Education Programme for Elementary Education ............................ 36
2. 5. 1 Receptive language skills .............................................................................. 36
2. 5. 2 Productive language skills ............................................................................. 36
2. 5. 3 Interactive language skills ............................................................................. 37
2. 5. 4 Subject matters ............................................................................................. 37
3 Practical part .............................................................................................................. 39
3. 1 Aims and methods ................................................................................................ 39
3. 1. 1 Characteristics of schools ............................................................................. 40
3. 2 Questionnaire for pupils ...................................................................................... 42
3. 2. 1 In your opinion what is "grammar"? How would you describe it? .............. 42
3. 2. 2 Do you think the grammar is an important aspect of English lessons? ....... 44
3. 2. 3 How do you evaluate the presentation and exercising of grammar? .......... 46
3. 2. 4 Which aspect of English grammar is for you the most difficult? ................. 47
3. 2. 5 What do you like about learning grammar? ................................................. 49
3. 2. 6 What do you like about your English lessons? ............................................. 50
3. 2. 7 What do not you like about your English lessons? ....................................... 52
3. 2. 8 Summary of pupils' questionnaire ................................................................ 54
3. 3 Questionnaire for teachers .................................................................................. 55
3. 3. 1 In your opinion is it important to present grammar by funny way? ............ 55
3. 3. 2 Which method do you use the most often? ................................................. 56
3. 3. 3 Which teaching aids do you usually use for the teaching grammar? .......... 57
3. 3. 4 What is for your students the most problematic aspect of grammar? ........ 58
3. 3. 5 How important is for you grammar by the evaluation of pupils? ................ 60
3. 3. 6 Which textbook do you use? ........................................................................ 61
3. 3. 6 Are you satisfied with the interpretation of grammar in your text book? .. 63
3. 3. 8 Summary of teachers' questionnaire ........................................................... 64
4 Summary .................................................................................................................... 65
Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 67
Attachments .................................................................................................................... 70
9
1 Introduction
When I was choosing the topic of my master thesis, I was looking for something
what would help me in my future teaching career. As a beginning teacher I had
the biggest respect for the teaching grammar. I consider grammar a very
difficult aspect of English language. It is not easy to learn it and it is even more
difficult to explain it in an understandable and interesting way. As a pupil I met
with teachers who were not able to present grammar topics in a suitable way
and therefore their pupils lost the motivation for learning. I do not want to be this
type of teacher. Therefore I decided to look into the problem of teaching
grammar in detail.
The aim of the theoretical part of the thesis is to define the term grammar and
its role in the foreign language teaching as well as to describe various methods
of its presentation and practicing. The thesis also deals with the role of teachers
and their tasks by teaching grammar and with learners and their characteristics.
A special chapter is also devoted to the Framework Education Programme and
its role in English teaching.
The aim of the practical part is to examine current situation of teaching grammar
at the lower-secondary level. The research is divided into two parts. The first
part is focused on pupils and their attitude to learning grammar. The data will be
collected from a short questionnaire. I would like to gain responses of two
hundred and fifty pupils at three schools in Mělník Region. The second part
deals with teachers and their attitude to teaching grammar. A short part of this
chapter will be devoted to textbooks and their evaluation. The teachers'
questionnaire will be completed at least by ten teachers from the same three
schools. Pupils' and teachers' answers will be analysed and continuously
compared to each other. I expect that on the basis of all the answers I will be
able to describe which methods and tools are used by English grammar
teaching at schools near my residence.
10
2 Theoretical part
2. 1 Grammar and its role
Grammar is a significant part of language curriculum at all levels of our
educational system. Pupils always have a struggle with grammar and their
teachers have grown frustrated over mistakes in their writing and speaking. But
what is actually grammar and what is its role in foreign language learning?
2. 1. 1 Grammar
The term "grammar" comes from the Greek expression grammatike tekhne
meaning "art of letters". The modern meaning is a narrowing of the original but
it is still closely associated with writing.1 Today there are many definitions of
grammar. According to Oxford Advanced Learner's dictionary, grammar means
"The rules in a language for changing the form of words and joining them
into sentences"2 . The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines
grammar as "The study and practice of the rules by which words change their
forms and are combined into sentences. There are two basic elements in this
definition: the rules of grammar; and the study and practice of the rules"3. But
teaching and learning grammar, which is known from elementary school, focus
on the practice rather than the study of grammar.
2. 1. 2 Types of grammar
According to Richard Nordquist, a professor at Armstrong Atlantic State
University and author of grammar and composition textbooks, the linguists
distinguish between descriptive and prescriptive grammar. Both types are
concerned with grammatical rules but in different ways. Descriptive grammar
refers to the structure of language that is used by speakers and writers in
common communication. Perspective grammar lays down the rules for English
1 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar
2 HORNBY: 2000, p. 516
3 HARMER: 1991, p. 1
11
language usage. It determines which use of grammar is correct or incorrect
regardless of the fact they can be usually used by native speakers.4
Closely related to the descriptive and prescriptive grammar is a classification to
written and spoken grammar. Jeremy Harmer, a popular author of books
about English language teaching, explains that people usually use the written
and spoken language in a different way because grammar of speech has its
own constructional principles and therefore it is organised differently from
writing, e.g. use of interjections (ah, oh, wow) or hesitators (er, umm, erm) is
usual and acceptable in spoken language but in written discourse are these
word unsuitable.5
2. 1. 3 Role of grammar
The article The Importance of grammar explains that grammar forms the basic
structure of any language. Languages make no sense without using grammar
rules. If everyone uses language without any grammar, the language would
have too many variations and would be ambiguous and full of contradiction, e.g.
using of wrong tense or punctuation can change the meaning of whole
sentence, which causes problems in mutual communication. It can have the
effect that the speaker is not understood. In that case the whole point of
communication is lost.6
2. 1. 3. 1 Role of grammar in foreign language teaching
Grammar was originally at the forefront in foreign language teaching. In the
past, teachers usually used the grammar-translation method. This method puts
emphasis on the correct use of grammar in translation exercises. According to
Jack C. Richards, a specialist in foreign language teaching, it refers to
knowledge of building blocks of sentence (e.g. tenses, phrases clauses) and
how sentences are formed. Students learned grammatical rules and then
applied their knowledge of language in translation between the target and native
4 NORDQUIST: 2006, http://grammar.about.com/od/basicsentencegrammar/f/descpresgrammar.htm
5 HARMER: 2001, pp. 14-16
6 http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/importance-of-grammar-10946.html
12
language. As a result, people often knew the theoretical aspects of language
very well but they were not able to use it effectively in everyday communication.
Current foreign language teaching has the opposite tendency.
In recent years the emphasis has shifted away from the teaching of grammar.
Many teachers follow a new way of looking at teaching called the
communicative approach. The communicative approach is based on the
communicative competence including the following aspects of language
knowledge:
how to use language for different purposes and functions
how to produce and understand different types of texts
how to vary our use of language according to the setting and the participants
Main emphasis is not put on grammar but on its function in specific
communicative situations. This approach uses various communicative activities.
They are enjoyable, they give students a chance to use their language and the
teacher can hear the student language abilities. Grammar is no longer the goal
of teaching but has become the tool to achieve this goal.7
2. 1. 4 Difficulties with grammar
Grammar of Czech and English differ in many ways. Therefore students of
English should expect difficulties of various kinds. According to J. Harmer the
most common difficulties for students learning English grammar are:
Mismatch between form and function – Many grammatical forms are used to
perform several different functions. (E.g. present continuous describes
actions taking place now but it can also refer to a future.) On the contrary it
is possible to find that several different forms are available in English to
express what seems to be a single function. (E.g. The variety of verb forms
which can be used to refer to future time)
7 RICHARDS: 2006, pp. 2-3
13
Contrast between English and mother tongue – When the English grammar
system works different from the learner’s native language difficulties arise
very easily. (E.g. Structure of tenses in English and other languages).
English is full of exceptions of grammar rules – Probably in every language
exist exceptions to the normal grammar rules and so it is also in English.
(E.g. past tense is usually created by adding –ed to the base form of the
verb but there is see → saw, drink → drank...). 8
Also teachers have difficulties with grammar. Teachers unlike the students do
not have problems with using of grammar rules but especially with their
explanation. G. Henrici and C. Riemer summarize 3 most common problems in
the following points:
Explanation of grammar in the interesting and motivating way
Understandable explanation of the grammar
Formulation of grammatical rules without unnecessary exceptions 9
From my own experience I can say that I have the biggest problem especially
with the interesting and motivating way of grammar presentation. However I
think it is not an invincible problem. The contemporary school equipment
enables to use computers, interactive smart boards and other tools popular
among pupils and so increases their motivation for grammar learning. This topic
will be described in detail in the practical part of my thesis.
8 HARMER: 1987, pp. 9-16
9 HENRICI; RIEMER: 1994, pp. 163-165
14
2. 2 Learners and their specifics
There are two main participants of the grammar learning process, teacher and
pupil. Pupil and teacher are in a close relationship and influence each other
every day. Pupils go to school to learn, cultivate and gain new knowledge and
experience but the cooperation with them is not usually easy. They are a big
challenge for teachers because they have a tendency to resist to learning
grammar from various reasons. In the following chapter some of their
characteristics are mentioned:
2. 2. 1 Age of learners
The main factor in the teacher's decision about how and what to teach is the
age of pupils. Students of different ages have different needs, competences and
cognitive skills. I use for the following short description of each age group of
learners the characteristic of Jeremy Harmer.
2. 2. 1. 1 Young children
Young children learn indirectly rather than directly. It means they learn from
everything around them, from games and various different types of activities.
They are curious and enthusiastic for learning, have a limited attention span
and need for individual attention. They are keen to talk about themselves and
appreciate if their personal lives are used as main topic in the classroom.
Therefore the teacher should use variety of sources, individual approach to
each pupil and use variety of activities for a given time period. The lessons
should be in bright and colourful classes and there should be various materials
and equipment to keep children interested by English learning.10
I have my own experience with teaching of young learners. My youngest pupils
are six years old. When I start to teach them they usually cannot even write and
read. Therefore the work with them is very specific. These children are very
often excellent at learning vocabulary when they have the right motivation, but it
is difficult to teach them using English in whole sentences. They are not yet able
10
HARMER: 2001, p. 38
15
to understand the rules in language therefore they cannot learn about language
as the oldest students. I teach them straight the whole phrases without their
deeper understanding. But these pupils have a huge brain capacity and they
are able to remember whole sentences or even the songs without explanation
of grammar.
2. 2. 1. 2 Adolescents
According to Harmer the second age group of learners are adolescents. They
are the most important group for this thesis. Teenage students are usually less
motivated and humorous than adults, often with discipline problems. Typical
adolescent property is searching for individual identity and resistance to the
authorities. They struggle for the classmates' not teacher's attention. That is one
of the reasons why the adolescents may be so disruptive in class. Other
important factors can be also boredom or personal problems. Adolescents often
push teachers to their limits, but they appreciate if the teacher is able to
manage the situation and control the class. On the other hand teenagers have
great capacity to learn, creativity and a commitment to the things which interest
them. Teachers should work with relevant and involving materials and support
self-esteem and identity of their students.11
Considering the teaching grammar adolescents differ from young learners a lot.
They already understand the rules in their mother tongue and know the basic
linguistics principles and terminology. Therefore their English teacher uses it
and applies their knowledge about mother tongue to foreign language.
Therefore pupils do not learn the grammar in foreign language straight but they
learn more about language rules and principles. The measure of the
explanation depends on the method of teaching.
2. 2. 1. 3 Adult learners
The last group of learners are adults. They are able to work with abstract
thoughts, they are disciplined and mainly they have a clear understanding of
why they are learning and what they want to achieve. Therefore they are often
11
HARMER: 2001, pp. 38-39
16
prepared to struggle on despite boredom or other difficulties in learning process.
Also they usually have their own set patterns of learning. But on the grounds of
their previous experience they can be critical to teacher's methods. Teachers do
not have to apply so many fun activities to their lessons. They can use
conscious learning more than by young children or adolescences but the
indirect learning is still very important.12
Adults learn grammar in the same way as adolescents, they learn about
language. I have taught also this age group of learners and from my point of
view this is the easiest group for grammar teaching. As mentioned above adults
usually have specific goals and a very strong motivation for learning. They are
concentrated and therefore they are able to learn grammar quite quickly.
2. 2. 2 Learning styles
Even if pupils are the same age, they are not able to learn in the same way.
Everybody has his/her own concept of learning called a learner style. It involves
natural and habitual patterns of acquiring and processing information in a
learning situation.13 There are a lot of theories of dividing students, some of
them follow:
2. 2. 2. 1 According to Keith Willing
The most logical typology seems to me the one based on personalities of
students. This kind of typology was created e. g. by Keith Willing. He divided
learners into four groups. The convengers are solitary, prefer to avoid groups
and rely on their own abilities. They are usually analytic and pragmatic. The
conformists prefer learning about the language. They are happy to work in non-
communicative classes. These learners do all the required exercises but they
have no need to really use the language. The concrete learners are interested
in language use and language as communication. The communicative learners
prefer the social interaction with other speakers. They enjoy the using of
language instead of analysis of how the language works and are able to use
12
HARMER: 2001, p. 40
13 JAMES; GARDNER: 1995, p. 67
17
language without the guidance of a teacher. This typology was used in the book
written by Jeremy Harmer.14
2. 2. 2. 2 According to Tony Wright
As a contrast to Keith Willing I chose a completely different typology created by
Tony Wright. He distinguishes learner styles according to students' learning
goals. The enthusiasts understand teacher as the centre of reference and are
orientated to the goals of learning group. The oraculars are also orientated to
the teacher but they try to achieve especially their own personal goals. The
participators tend to concentrate on group solidarity and goals. And the rebels
tend to satisfy just her or his own goals regardless of the teacher or the rest of
class.15
2. 2. 2. 3 According to Neil D. Fleming
As the third typology I decided to use probably the most common and widely
used categorization created by Neil D. Fleming. He divided learners according
to their preferred way of receiving information. Visual learners have a
preference for seeing. They need for successful learning pictures, charts or
symbols. Auditory learners learn especially through listening, they appreciate
tapes, songs or just teacher's oral explanation. Tactile/kinesthetic learners
prefer to learn via experience, e. g. by moving, touching, and doing.16
2. 2. 3. 4 Individual differences
According of Jeremy Harmer teacher must deal not only with different learners'
styles but also with individual differences of each student. All the English
students are different therefore the teaching is a very complex activity. The
teacher should start with recognition of students as individuals as well as being
members of a group. He should find out their language level and organize them
into groups to satisfy their social needs. The teacher must provide different
stimuli for the different learning styles. It is good for the teacher to keep the
14
WILLING in HARMER: 2001, p. 43 15
WRIGHT: 1987, pp. 117-118
16 HAWK, SHAH: 2007, pp. 6-7
18
records of what works and what does not work during the professional
experience. The teacher can use his own experience or the feedback from the
students. Teachers should try to find a compromise between the interests of
their students and curriculum they have to teach. It is not easy and lot of them
fail.17
2. 2. 4 Motivation
Pupils need for learning grammar also certain motivation. I consider motivation
one of the most important aspects of learning English grammar because
grammar itself is difficult and boring schoolwork therefore pupils need to find
some reason to learn it, they must be motivated. Bilanová, Lorencvičová and
Netolička write that motivation is necessary to reach given goals and it is a
relevant assumption for successful learning. Therefore it is important for
students to want to learn. If students do not want to learn, their learning is
inefficient and they do not learn much or even they learn nothing. According to
above mentioned authors motivation for pupils can be e. g.:
the feeling of success and good grades
Facebook or other type of social net on the Internet, where pupils want to
find friends from other countries
listening to English speaking singers and desire to understand them
computer games played online and the need to speak with other players
family travelling a lot and the need to communicate abroad
pressure from the parents to a pupil 18
2. 2. 4. 1 Affective filter
The influence of positive motivation to the effectiveness of learning was also
studied by an American linguist and author Stephen D. Krashen. He described
a phenomenon called affective fitter. Krashen defines the affective filter as "a
mental block, caused by affective factors e. g. high anxiety, low self-esteem,
low-motivation … that prevents input from reaching the language acquisition
17
HARMER: 2001, p. 48
18 BILANOVÁ; LORENCOVIČOVÁ; NETOLIČKA: 2010, pp. 17-18
19
device."19 The article published on eldstrategies.com explains that the affective
filter is an invisible psychological filter that can either facilitate or slow down
language production in a second language. Affective filters can be raised or
lowered as a result of the environment that learners are in and it is individual for
everyone. The example is a situation when somebody has to stay in front of
class to present a paper. Many people might naturally have a low affective filter
in this type of situation because of their personal disposition. However, many
people might have the affective filter extremely high. These people will sweat
and become nervous and it will be extremely difficult for them to give a good
performance. In other words nervous students may not learn as well as relaxed
students. 20
2. 2. 4. 2 Types of motivation
Motivation can be classified by several ways. The most famous classification
was described e. g. by American psychologists Rod Plotnik and Haig
Kouyoumdjian. They distinguish between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation occurs when we are motivated to perform behaviour or
engage in an activity in order to earn a reward or avoid a punishment.
Behaviours that are the result of extrinsic motivation are e. g.:
studying because a learner want to get a good grade
competing in a contest in order to win a scholarship
participating in a sport in order to win award
Intrinsic motivation involves engaging in a behaviour because it is personally
rewarding; essentially, performing an activity for its own sake rather than the
desire for some external reward. Behaviours that are the result of intrinsic
motivation include e. g.:
participating in a sport because a child finds the activity enjoyable
solving a word puzzle because it is challenging and interesting
19
KRASHEN: 1985, p. 100
20 http://eldstrategies.com/affectivefilter.html
20
playing a game because a child finds it exciting 21
Psychologists also distinguish between long-term and short-term motivation.
Long-term motivation lasts for several weeks, months or even years. Short-term
motivation is more intensive and powerful but it works only for a short while.
2. 2. 4. 3 Motivation influenced by teacher
I can say from my personal experience that motivation is not determined only by
goals but also by a type of teaching. Every teacher has his/her own way of
teaching. Also pupils are different and therefore every student prefers other type
of learning. Some students may learn one way but have difficulties learning
from another way of teaching. Therefore teacher should use various techniques
and methods to gain the interest of as many students as possible. Teacher
should create a connection between the English and interests of his/her
students. Everybody likes something else, but all learners should know that they
will need the English in their future.
Success and good grades are the main motivational aspect for the majority of
young students. It fills all learners with the feeling they have reached something.
Therefore successful students have bigger motivation for learning grammar.
There are several ways how teachers can support their pupils and increase
their motivation. The following list is borrowed from Bilanová, Lorencvičová and
Netolička:
Teacher should use the praise and other kinds of appreciation a lot. Each
pupil wants to feel the success and the success increases the interest.
Pupils should exactly know what their task is und how much time they need
to finish it. However everybody should have enough time. It is not good to
appreciate only the fastest students.
Teacher is in the class for students. He should be willing to help them if they
need it, in the class or in the after-school consultation.
21
PLOTNIK; KOUYOUMDJIAN: 2011 in CHERRY [online]
21
Teacher must not make fun of students because of their bad performance or
making a mistake. He can never use sarcasm or irony.
Teacher should use sentences and examples close to students, e.g. typical
sentence for practising present perfect is: ―Have you ever been in England?‖
Most of pupils have not been there, so it is better to ask e. g. ―Have you ever
had something broken?‖
Teacher may connect English with personal interest of pupils. Pupils must
be in touch with English out of the school to be persuaded about the
meaningfulness of English. It is good to use their favourite music, serials or
photos from holiday.
Teacher should use different types of activities. It is possible to prepare the
lesson aimed to grammar, but it is not effective for learners to work in the
grammar exercises all the time.
Teacher should use illustrative nature during the explanation. Pupils like
pictures and other aids used in the lesson.
Especially, teacher must be enthusiastic! A bored teacher moves his bad
mood to his students.22
With this chapter we moved to the other participant of educational process, to
the teacher.
22
BILANOVÁ; LORENCOVIČOVÁ; NETOLIČKA: 2010, pp. 21-25
22
2. 3 Teachers and their tasks
Teacher is the necessary participant of educational process. He/she is the
person deciding about structure of lessons and so about the way of grammar
presentation and practicing. The good grammar teacher must choose
appropriate methods and tools to the age and other specifics of his/her pupils
but teacher has a lot of other tasks and roles.
2. 3.1. Teacher's Role
According to Jeremy Harmer teacher of each subject changes a lot of roles
every day. Every teacher is e. g. an organiser of activities in the classroom,
controller of learners and their work, assessor and observer of pupils'
knowledge, resource of information, prompter, motivator etc.23 But which role is
typical for an English grammar teacher?
I think that the role of English grammar teacher is closely connected with the
role of grammar in English lessons. It has been already said that English
teachers used especially grammar-translation method in the past. Teacher
explained the grammatical rules and learners received them passively. The
teacher was an authority and controller with knowledge-giving role.
But the role of the teacher has changed in last few decades. In recent years
great emphasis has been put on "learner-centred" teaching. Pupils do not
receive information passively anymore. Their needs and experiences are the
centre of modern teaching. The measure of a good lesson is the student
activity, not the performance of the teacher. The new teachers' role can be
described as a facilitator. He is a guide and helper.
Chyi-ching Kao, a professor of Applied English at Yuanpei University, compares
in his work different approaches of English teachers to grammar teaching. He
says that not all methodologist agree with the learner-centred teaching,
because the old-fashioned teacher's "knowledge-giving role" has worked for
23
HARMER: 2001, p. 57
23
many centuries very effectively. A lot of students are even convenient with this
attitude, but the learner-centred classes with communicative approach are
required from the teachers of these days.
According to Kao the syllabus of an English lesson is not organized around
grammar any more, but around subject matter, tasks, projects or semantic
notion. The teacher's role is primarily to facilitate language use and
communication. There is a little or no place in a communicative classroom to
teach grammar. This approach supposes that pupils absorb all the grammar
they need from communicative activities. But researchers point to the fact that a
lot of learners are not able to use the language correctly without some focus on
form. Grammar teachers are confronted with a paradox. On the one hand they
should use the communicative approach of which nature is not teaching
grammar separately; on the other hand pupils are often not able to understand
grammar principles without separate explanation. The role of English teacher
varies with changes of English teaching approaches.24
According to my opinion language teachers can be divided into two groups. The
first group believes in grammarless communicative approach, the second group
in grammar integrated communicative approach. In both approaches is the role
almost identical. The most accurate description is probably a facilitator. As an
English language teacher, I agree that grammar should be integrated in the
communicative approach.
2. 3. 2 Language in the classroom
The basic question for many teachers is the language in the English lesson.
Radka Břenková mentions in her thesis that the classes in the Czech Republic
are usually taught by a non-native English teacher but some schools employ
also native speakers especially to practise conversation with pupils. Czech
teachers have to decide between monolingual principle and using the mother
tongue and translation in classrooms.25
24
CHYI-CHING KAO: 2009, pp. 256-258
25 BŘENKOVÁ: 2007, p. 19
24
During their studies teachers are usually led to use only foreign languages
during their classes. There are several reasons for this principle described by
Jayne Moon, an author of books about learning and teaching English:
It increases the amount of situations when pupils are in touch with English.
It provides real reasons for using English to speak, e.g. in giving instructions.
It can motivate pupils to want to learn.
Much classroom language has a repetitive pattern and pupils can adopt it
without knowing they are learning.
Pupils are encouraged to think in English from the early stages.26
A lot of linguists support this concept. In connection with this topic I would like to
mention the statement of David Atkinson, a lecturer at University of Limerick,
who said: “Every second spent using the mother tongue is a second not spent
using English! – And every second counts” 27 But this monolingual principle has
also a lot of disadvantages, the following ones are mentioned by Jayne Moon
again:
It can take a long time to explain something and pupils can lose interest or
concentration.
Teachers may have limited English and they may give pupils incorrect
models.
It can take longer time to cover the syllabus.
Some activities can be too difficult for pupils because they have limited
English.
For pupils who are not highly motivated, it may involve too much effort to try
to understand.28
26
MOON: 2000, p. 63
27 ATKINSON: 1993, p. 12
28 MOON: 2000, p. 63
25
Most of the English teachers fail in their effort to speak only English sooner or
later, especially because of the above mentioned reasons. Some of them feel
ashamed of using mother tongue in their lessons and they understand it as their
personal failure. On the other hand a lot of linguists and teachers disagree. One
of them is e. g. Wolfgang Butzkamm, a professor of English as a foreign
language in Aachen. He argues that having the ability to speak the first
language of learners is a gift to be valued. He says: „Using the mother tongue,
we have learned to think, learned to communicate and acquired an intuitive
understanding of grammar. The mother tongue opens the door not only to its
own grammar, but to all grammar, in as much as it awakens the potential for
universal grammar that lies within all of us. For this reason, the mother tongue
is the master key to foreign languages, the tool which gives us the fastest, most
sure, most precise, and most complete means of accessing a foreign
language.“ 29
I agree also with a statement of Peter McKenzie-Brown who writes: "This
practice is essentially a product of the twentieth century. In no other age have
language teachers been forbidden as a matter of principle to communicate with
their students in their native tongue." 30
Both principles have their supporters and opponents. I cannot unequivocally
decide for just one of them but I can say that English should be the main
language in the classroom. To finish this topic I would like to mention the
opinion of Radka Břenková that I agree with. She wrote that maybe the question
of language is not so important, because the aim of teachers is not to prepare
lessons where pupils speak only English, but such lessons where an adequate
usage of both languages leads to the greatest effect on children’s ability to use
English.31
29
BUTZKAMM: 2003, pp. 30-33
30 http://languageinstinct.blogspot.cz/2006/11/using-mother-tongue-to-teach-another.html
31 BŘENKOVÁ: 2007, p. 23
26
2. 3. 3 Teaching grammar
Teachers usually divide grammar lessons into three phases: Presentation,
Practice and Production. One of the best ways of helping students to reach the
objectives of the lesson is to introduce the new language well in the first phase
of the lesson: the presentation phase. Then, students need to have plenty of
activities to help them to practice the new language. This is the practice phase.
Lastly, the students need time to use the new language they have learned in
order to communicate with each other. This is the production phase.
2. 3. 3. 1 Presentation of grammar
Jeremy Harmer says about the first phase that presentation is the stage at
which students are introduced to the form, meaning and issue of a new piece of
language. Students learning a new grammar should apply this new rule to
themselves. This experience is known as personalization. Presentation should
be clear, efficient, lively, interesting, appropriate and productive. To achieve all
these characteristics the teacher can use various teaching aids e.g. charts,
dialogues, mini-situations, text for contrast or for grammar explanation etc.32
According to Claudia Riemer and Gert Henrici, the German linguists and
authors of books about teaching of foreign languages, teachers can choose
3 different ways of grammar presentation.
The inductive method = Students must first meet with a specific example
from which they derive a new grammatical rule. The benefit of this method is
the fact that students must think actively about the language, it is motivating
and this way of presentation leads to independence and self-activity of
learners. But on the other hand, it takes a long time and sometimes it is
difficult for students to derive the new rule without any help.
The deductive method = The teacher formulates at first a grammatical rule
that students practice then on examples. This approach is faster than
inductive method. It is more systematic and therefore easier to implement.
32
HARMER: 2001, pp. 17-19
27
But the students are passive, they have only a little motivation and therefore
it is not an effective way of teaching.
The analytic-deductive method = At first, students work with example
sentences and then formulate and analyze the grammatical rule together
with their teacher. This rule is then practiced in different exercises. The
analytic-deductive method is very creative, interesting and effective for
pupils but it requires very careful preparation of teachers and for starting
teachers it can be difficult. 33
The first and third method use so called discovery techniques. Jeremy Harmer
explain them as those where students are given examples of language and told
to find out how the language works – to discover grammar rules rather than to
be told them. Students can be asked to look at some sentences and say how
the meaning is expressed and what are the differences between the sentences.
The teacher can use preview, matching techniques, text study, problem-solving
etc. as a discovery technique. 34
Whether the teacher chooses any method, his presentation should include
following structure. The structure is inspired by a material on web pages of
Institute of American and English Studies at University of Debrecen.
building up an appropriate context in which the grammar rule can be better
understood
explaining target structure in a marker sentence
drilling target structure
focusing on form, demonstrating how structure is formed
focusing on meaning, check understanding of meaning through concept
checking question
providing written model on board 35
33
HENRICI; RIEMER: 1994, pp. 163-165 34
HARMER: 2001, p. 30
35 http://ieas.unideb.hu/admin/file_1402.pdf
28
2. 3. 3. 2 Practice of grammar
After presentation teacher needs to plan the second or the practice phase of the
lesson. The aim of this stage is to give pupils thorough practice of target items,
so that they will be able to use them correctly and fluently. The practice stage
usually starts with fully teacher-controlled activities and continues with less
controlled ones to relatively free communicative tasks. The activities can be
divided into two groups. The following types of exercises are borrowed from
Adrian Doff, an experienced teacher trainer.
Mechanical Practice – At this stage of the lesson the teacher gives students
practice in forming the structure. It should be a controlled kind of practice that
will be done very quickly. The teacher can use e. g.:
Repetition – The teacher presents different examples and the students
repeat them.
o Teacher: I am sitting.
o Pupils: I am sitting.
Substitution – Student repeat what the teacher said, but they replace some
specific element in each sentence.
o Teacher: I am sitting.
o Pupils: I am speaking. I am learning....
Single word prompt: Teacher gives a word as a prompt and the students
give examples.
o Teacher: playing
o Pupils: We are playing.
o Teacher: sitting
o Pupils: We are sitting.
Picture prompt: The teacher shows pictures and pupils create sentences
about what are they seeing, e.g. teacher shows a picture with a sitting man
and pupils make sentence “He is sitting.”
Free substitution: Pupils create their own sentences based on the model
presented by the teacher.36
36
DOFF: 1990, pp. 32-42
29
In my opinion these types of exercises are necessary for practicing of any
grammar aspect. I use it in all my classes and I think it really helps students to
make a new rule automatic. Considering the number of pupils in one class there
is not always time for oral exercising but I use especially printed materials at
this stage. It is quite surprising for me that not all textbooks use the mechanical
practice. I work with three textbooks at my current school and in this respect all
of them are different. One of them uses it minimally, the other contains quite a
lot these exercises of this type and in the last one it is an inseparable part of
every lesson. The textbooks will be mentioned in detail in the practical part of
my thesis.
Meaningful Practice – It is the second stage of practice following the
mechanical type of activities. At this stage pupils not only create the form but
they also have to work with content. Learners have to think and understand
what they are saying. At this stage teachers can use e. g. following activities
borrowed from Adrian Doff again:
True sentences – Teacher ask students to say real information about
themselves by using specific structure, e. g.:
Teacher: I like chocolate, but I don't like vegetables. What about you?
Pupil: I like music and movies, but I don't like sport....
Situation – Teacher creates specific situation in which the pupils have to use
the new grammar structure, e.g.:
Teacher: You are a stranger asking about places in the town.
Pupil: Is there a café near here?
Teacher: You want to see a film.
Pupil: Is there a cinema near here? ...
Adding something – The teacher can ask questions and let the students add
something of their own, e. g.:
Teacher: Where are you going?
Pupil: I am going to the station.
Teacher: Why? ...
Choosing the best sentence – The teacher describes a situation and gives
pupils an opportunity to choose from two or more forms the one most
30
suitable for the context. The contrast between two options may sensitize
pupils to the differences, e. g.:
Teacher: I am in the middle of teaching, what should I say? ―I am teaching
English.‖ or ―I teach English.‖
Imaginary situations: The teacher asks pupil to imagine a situation that is not
real, the pupil talks about it, e. g.:
Teacher: Imagine you are at home in the middle of doing something. Tell me
about your activity.
Talking about real life – It works as the previous activity, but the pupil talks
about real life.
Teacher: Tell me what are you doing?
Pupil: I am sitting and learning English. I am listening. I am taking note. ...37
2. 3. 3. 3 Production of grammar
It is the communicative phase with the aim to use the grammar structures pupils
have been practicing in a natural way. Communicative activities which are
possible to use are:
A reply to a letter
Report
Discussion
Role-play
Guessing game
Interview
2. 3. 3. 4 Testing grammar
Some linguists mention also the fourth part of grammar teaching, testing.
Jeremy Harmer says that the main aim of tests is to see if pupils have learnt
and acquired the new language and to provide feedback for the teacher as well
as for the learners. Teachers usually use a written test for testing grammar. The
use of oral test would be definitely more effective but no one has come up with
a solution to the problems of time and organisation with oral tests for large
numbers of learners in the class. But also a preparation of good written test is
37
DOFF: 1990, pp. 32-42
31
very difficult and demands skill and patience. Learners can fail the test, not just
because of their lack of knowledge or preparation, but also because of the test
itself. 38 Therefore teachers should keep in mind several basic rules. Scott
Thornbury writes about six important features which should be involved in every
test:
Practicality = Possibility to design, administer, mark and interpret a test very
easily.
Reliability = Degree to which an evaluation gives consistent result each time
it is used.
Validity = Degree to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
Face validity = Ability to convince learners that the test is fair.
Backwash = Ability to positively influence the teaching.
Spin-off = Possibility to use the test later on for review. 39
Teachers can use various types of exercises for testing. Jeremy Harmer
suggests e.g. multiple choice. In multiple choice tasks learners have to choose
the correct answer from a number of alternatives. Fill-ins are types of tests
where students usually fill a blank with only one word. They are not difficult to
write even though it can be complicated to assure that only one answer is
possible. Fill-in items usually ask for only one word. But students can complete
a sentence with more than one. This type of exercise enables more than one
solution and is called sentence completions. Teacher can test knowledge of
syntax by sentence reordering. Test of learners’ knowledge of syntax and
structure is sentence transformation. Transforming sentences requires a lot of
grammatical knowledge and learners should be prepared beforehand for this
type of exercise. For testing the ability to write the teacher can use sentence
writing or parallel writing. Sentence writing is usually used for describing a
picture; parallel writing requires imitating some piece of text.40
38
HARMER: 2001, p. 57 39
THORNBURY: 1999, p. 143 40
HARMER: 2001, pp. 60-67
32
2. 4 Approaches and Methods
In this chapter I would like to describe which approaches teachers can choose
for presentation and practising English and what role is played by grammar in
these approaches. At first it is important to specify the main terms. Jeremy
Harmer distinguishes in connection with this topic two terms, approach and
method.
An Approach describes how people acquire their knowledge of the
language and makes statements about the conditions which will promote
successful language learning.
A Method is the practical realisation of an approach.41
Both terms are closely connected to each other and the border between them is
very thin. During my studies and teaching experience I have met with different
classifications of approaches and methods. In the following pages I use the
classification according to Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marti Anderson because
with this conception I have met the most often.
2. 4. 1 The Grammar-Translation Method 42
The goal of this method is to prepare students for reading literature in the target
language and to give them complete knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.
The ability to communicate in the target language is not as important as reading
and writing. Therefore almost no attention is paid to speaking and listening
skills. The main activities are translation and doing grammar exercises. Teacher
controls all activities, he has the superior position. The main language in class
is the mother tongue.
Grammar: Grammar has in this method very important position because the
grammar translation method is based on it. Grammar rules are presented
and studied deductively. Pupils have to memorize grammar rules and should
be conscious of them to be able to translate correctly.
41
HARMER: 2001, p. 78
42 LARSEN-FREEMAN, ANDERSON: 2011, p. 13-24
33
2. 4. 2 The Direct Method 43
This method was developed as a response to the grammar-translation method.
The goal of this method is to communicate and think in the target language. No
translation is allowed; therefore students use only the target language. Teacher
should demonstrate new vocabulary, not explain or translate it. Language in the
classroom is primarily spoken, not. The teacher is not such an authority; he/she
is more a partner of students.
Grammar: Grammar rules are not taught or explained in any way, everything
is learned inductively. Pupils gain grammar knowledge unconsciously
through speaking and reading.
2. 4. 3 The Audio-lingual Method 44
The goal of this method is to use the target language communicatively. The
method is focused on developing listening and speaking skills. It uses the
assumption that language learning is the gaining of a set of correct language
habits. The method is based on drill exercises – pupils repeat grammatical
patterns until they are able to produce them spontaneously. Teacher controls
the lesson, he/she has the superior position. The only language in the class is
the target language.
Grammar: Grammar is learned from models. It is taught by drill to support
speaking and listening although no specific grammar rules are given.
Everything is simply memorized in form. The method supposes that after
some time the grammar will become automatic.
2. 4. 3. 1 Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) 45
Jeremy Harmer speaks in connection with the audio-lingual method with so
called PPP. It is a variation on audio-lingualism used especially in British-based
teaching. In this method the teacher introduces a situation which contextualises
the language to be taught. The students practise the language using accurate
43
LARSEN-FREEMAN, ANDERSON: 2011, pp. 25-34
44 Ibid 35-54
45 HARMER: 2001, p. 82-83
34
reproduction techniques but in contrast to Audio-lingualism all the sentences
are specified by the situation and context.
2. 4. 4 Total Physical response Method (TPR) 46
The goal of this method is to provide an enjoyable learning experience with
minimum stress. Students do not have to speak before they are ready for it.
Meanings of words are made clear through actions. Teacher gives the
commands and students follow them. Students can respond physically at first
(e. g. by gestures) or they can respond to the instructor in their native language.
If they are ready, they start with speaking. While the majority of class time is
spent on listening comprehension, the goal of the method is to develop oral
fluency.
Grammar: Lessons are organized around grammar, and in particular around
verbs. The teacher gives commands based on the verbs and vocabulary to
be learned in that lesson. Grammar is not explicitly taught, but is learned
from the imperatives of the teacher. The learning is inductive. Students are
expected to subconsciously acquire the grammar rules.
2. 4. 5 The Communicative Language Teaching 47
The goal of this approach is to prepare students for various types of
communicative situations in given social context. It is the reaction against the
grammar-translation and the audio-lingual methods. It emphasizes the learner's
ability to use language appropriately. The emphasis is put on the using of
authentic language, it is language used in a real context. Teacher is not an
authority but a facilitator creating a relaxed class atmosphere and adviser
during the activities. Typical activities are games, role-plays, and problem-
solving tasks.
Grammar: Teachers use inductive explanation of grammar. Knowledge of
grammar rules is not the goal of this approach; therefore teachers do not
correct every mistake. All the grammar and vocabulary that pupils learn
follow from the function and the situational context.
46
LARSEN-FREEMAN, ANDERSON: 2011, pp. 105-115
47 Ibid 115-130
35
2. 4. 6 The Eclectic Approach
I have also met with a specific approach that is based on all the previous ones.
This approach allows language teachers to absorb the best techniques of all the
well known language-teaching methods into their classroom according to the
fact what of is the most suitable for specific situation and group of pupils.
36
2. 5 Framework Education Programme for Elementary
Education
An English lesson in the Czech Republic is not determined only by the choice of
appropriate approach or method, a teacher and his/her pupils, but also by the
conception of Ministry of Education. This conception is explained in the
Framework Education Programme for Elementary Education. This programme
specifies general goals of education and key competences important for
development of pupils' personalities, defines expected results of education and
determines rules for creation of School Education Programmes including
Educational plans for specific subjects. FEP determines what specifically all the
learners should know when they leave the elementary school. The outputs for
foreign languages are based on Common European Framework of Reference
for Languages. All school-leavers should handle following skills. The list of
outcomes is borrowed from Jaroslav Jeřábek and Jan Tupý, persons
responsible for the Framework Education Programme.
2. 5. 1 Receptive language skills
Expected Outcomes
The pupil shall:
read texts of appropriate length aloud fluently and with correct pronunciation
understand the content of simple texts in textbooks; find familiar
expressions, phrases and answers to questions in texts
understand simple and clearly articulated statement and conversation
deduce a probable meaning of new words from the context
use a bilingual dictionary, find information or the meaning of a word in a
suitable explanatory monolingual dictionary
2. 5. 2 Productive language skills
Expected Outcomes
The pupil shall:
create a simple (both oral and written) expression concerned with a situation
related to family, school life and other common thematic areas
37
create simple sentences and short texts using correct grammar
retell briefly the content of a text, statement as well as conversation of
suitable difficulty
request simple information
2. 5. 3 Interactive language skills
Expected Outcomes
The pupil shall:
make himself/herself understood in a simple manner in common everyday
situations
2. 5. 4 Subject matters
simple messages – addressing someone and reacting to being addressed,
welcoming greetings, saying good-bye, introductions, apologies, reacting to
apologies, expressing thanks and reacting to being thanked, requests,
wishes, congratulations, requests for help etc.
basic relations – existential (Who?), spatial (Where?), temporal (When?),
qualitative (What? Which? How?), quantitative (How many/ much?)
thematic areas – home, family, housing, school, leisure time and hobbies,
personal letters, forms, questionnaires, sport, healthcare, eating, town,
clothing, shopping, nature, weather, man and society and other topics
related to the everyday life
vocabulary and word formation
grammatical structures and sentence types, lexical principles of
orthographyl48
It is obvious that grammar is mentioned only in the last line and this mention is
really unspecified. Every school can specify the grammar curriculum in its
School Education Programmes. It is not specified in which grade e. g. "present
continuous" must be taught or if it actually must be taught. School has great
autonomy in connection with grammar presentation, but nothing written in the
48
JEŘÁBEK; TUPÝ: 2007, pp. 23-25
38
School Education Programme can be in conflict with Framework Education
Programme.
The Ministry of Education created only a recommendation how the School
Education Programme could look like. It was supposed to serve as a support for
teachers by the creation of School Educational Programmes. According to this
material the suggested level of grammar knowledge e. g. for pupils at the end of
the 9th grade is following. Pupils can use:
the definite and indefinite article
the present simple and continuous
present perfect and using of "since" and "for"
the past simple and continuous
particles "too" and "enough"
modal verbs
punctuation49
However it depends on the decision of each school if its teachers create similar
curriculum or use a completely different one. According to my opinion it is a
good idea that the curricula are not standardized for each school and each
grade. It enables to adapt presentation and practising English to specific needs
of pupils.
49
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports: 2011, pp. 42-43
39
3 Practical part
3. 1 Aims and methods
The practical part of my master thesis is focused on teachers' and pupils'
relationship to grammar. As a tool for gaining information I chose questionnaires
intended separately for teachers and for their learners. By means of these
questionnaires I tried to find out:
how learners understand the term grammar
what is the pupils relationship to learning grammar
if learners consider grammar an important part of English learning
what is the most difficult grammar phenomenon for pupils
what they like about learning grammar and English generally
what pupils do not like about learning English
In the second part of my research I concentrated on the similar topic but from
the teachers' point of view. Teachers were supposed to provide me following
information:
how important is grammar by the evaluating of pupils
what they consider the most problematic grammar aspect for their students
which methods and tools they use for teaching English
which textbook they use and how satisfied they are with this book
I expect that on the basis of all the answers I will be able to describe how
English grammar is taught at schools near my residence and how their pupils
are satisfied with methods and tools used in English lessons. I also would like to
suggest some ideas for improvement and add commentaries based on my
teaching experience.
I gained sources for the practical part of my master thesis at three schools. All
of them are in the Central Bohemian Region and they are located near my
residence. I looked for different types of schools, therefore my schools differ in
location, size, number of pupils or concept of teaching. The important aspect by
40
choosing the schools was also willingness of the headmaster and English
teachers to cooperate with me. Finally I found following schools:
3. 1. 1 Characteristics of schools
ZŠ Pšovka - It is a smaller school in the periphery of town Mělník with the
school educational programme called "Man, think of other people!", and with no
specialization. It has only one class in each grade. The school has 244 pupils
taught by 17 teachers. Only two of them are English teachers. The current
English teachers are not qualified but they teach only temporarily. The original
qualified teachers are at the maternity leave right now. Pupils in each grade are
divided into two language groups, therefore there are on an average only 14
pupils in one English class. In the English lessons pupils use Project textbooks.
Pupils start with English already in the first grade.
The school has very good equipment used in classes. Interactive white boards
are in every class and teachers use them regularly. The school owns interactive
text books for every subject and teachers use them also on a daily basis. Pupils
can choose from a lot of after-school activities and the school organizes besides
others things tours to England regularly. In recent years, the school has gained
a good reputation among parents.
ZŠ Václava Havla – It is a medium-sized school in town Kralupy nad Vltavou.
The name of the school educational Programme is "The school of cognition"
and it is focused especially on science subjects. The school has two classes in
each grade. It has 365 pupils, especially from the near housing estate, and 26
teachers.
The school needs three English teachers but currently has only two, both of
them are qualified. However there are two outside workers who teach three
English lessons a week. Pupils are usually taught English in groups of 23, only
in the eighth grade there are less learners. Pupils use different types of
textbooks in their English lessons. In the previous years the English teachers
have changed a lot and each of them preferred a different conception of
41
education. As the result there are disunited editions of textbooks - Angličtina
written by Marie Zahálková, English Plus and Project. Children started with
English in the third grade.
The school is not equipped as well as ZŠ Pšovka. The interactive white boards
are in seven classes and they are not used by all teachers. The school has no
interactive textbooks. There are only a few after-school activities and the school
does not organise any tours.
ZŠ Veltrusy – Veltrusy is a very small town between Kralupy nad Vltavou and
Mělník. The local medium-sized school is attended especially by the children
from surrounding villages. The name of the school educational Programme is "I
learn for my future life" and it is focused on science subjects.
The school has 404 pupils and 27 teachers, four of them are English teachers -
not a single one has a teaching specialization for this subject. Pupils learn
English in groups of at least 17 and at most 23 learners. They start with English
in the third grade. Pupils use textbooks from the edition Way to Win.
The equipment is comparable with ZŠ Václava Havla but pupils have a really
big choice of after-school activities. The school organizes among others things
tours to England and cooperates with a native speaker on the daily basis.
42
3. 2 Questionnaire for pupils
The questionnaire for pupils was anonymous. It is focused on children at lower-
secondary school level. Total number of pupils answering the questionnaire is
282 in the age range 11 – 14 years. Boys and girls are represented
approximately in the same proportion.
The questionnaire contains seven questions. It attempts to find out what pupils
think about grammar and its importance and which aspect of English grammar
is the most difficult for them. Pupils were also supposed to evaluate the positive
and negative aspects of their English lessons.
On the following pages there are particular questions analyzed in detail. Each
question is accompanied with a graphical illustration.
3. 2. 1 In your opinion what is "grammar"? How would you describe it?
This question is open and it is probably one of the reasons why it was the most
difficult one from the whole questionnaire for the majority of pupils. Most of the
children tried to answer but not all of them were able to explain it or at least give
an example. 28% of pupils explained grammar as writing without mistakes or
correct writing. It is interesting that almost everybody from this group of 80
pupils connected grammar with the written language. Only three children
mentioned that it could be also "speaking" without mistakes. 15% of pupils tried
to explain grammar with an example. The most frequent answer was: Grammar
is, e. g., use of correct tenses, forms of verbs or prepositions. 11% of children
described grammar as a system of rules used in language to be
understandable. 8% of pupils used for explanation just one word – orthography.
3% of respondents explained grammar as word order or sentence structure.
20% of pupils did not answer this question at all or their answer was: I don´t
know. The rest of students wrote an answer, but it was far from the truth. They
described grammar as pronunciation, reading, writing, exercises,
communication, notes in notebook, important part of language or vocabulary.
43
In the theoretical part the grammar was defined in two ways. According to
Oxford Advanced Learner’s dictionary, grammar means "The rules in a
language for changing the form of words and joining them into sentences.50"
The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines grammar as "The
study and practice of the rules by which words change their forms and are
combined into sentences. There are two basic elements in this definition: the
rules of grammar; and the study and practice of the rules.51"
It is obvious that the best answer given by pupils is Grammar is system of rules
in a language. These students understand the meaning of word "grammar" very
well. I consider correct answers also orthography and writing without mistakes.
These learners probably understand that the language has its rules and it is
unwanted to break them by doing mistakes.
I decided to consider other answers incorrect. Students giving example as using
tenses, articles or prepositions pointed to only a small part of grammar. I had
the same problem with learners who answered that grammar is correct word
order because it is also only very specific part of whole grammar.
50
HORNBY: 2000, p. 516
51 HARMER: 1991, p. 1
44
The answers in each class were very specific. There seems to be no similarities
among the pupils of the same grade. Pupils seem to have their own ideas about
grammar regardless of the age, but I found out an interesting thing when I
compared answers divided according to schools. Pupils at schools in Mělník
and Veltrusy have almost the same ratio of correct and false answer and the
false answers have the strong superiority in numbers. Pupils at school in
Kralupy have the ratio of answers reversely. There are noticeably more correct
answers than the false ones.
It is difficult to say what could have influenced the answers so much. It could
have been the qualification of the teachers or textbooks used in lessons. The
way of grammar presentation by teachers may also influence the results. But
there is no evidence for these theories. It is also a question if the understanding
of the term grammar says something about real knowledge of learners. Maybe
pupils do not know what exactly grammar is but yet they might speak English
better than pupils who answered that grammar is system of rules in a language.
3. 2. 2 Do you think the grammar is an important aspect of English
lessons?
Learning grammar is not popular among pupils. English tenses or prepositions
are absolutely incomprehensible for some students. The goal of today's English
lessons is communication. Teachers should focus especially on speaking and
grammar should be only a marginal part of English supporting the
45
communicative competence. The results of this question are therefore quite
surprising. The question was closed and children could choose from three
answers "yes", "a little" and "no". 86 % of pupils wrote that grammar is
important. 13% of respondents think that grammar is important only a little. And
only 1% of respondents (2 pupils) chose the possibility, that grammar is not
important at all. The ratio of answers a, b and c was almost the same in all
classes at all three schools. The answers were not influenced by age or place of
living.
It is interesting that so many pupils consider grammar so important. They
probably gained this opinion from their teachers and it could mean that the
communicative approach in English classes is not as common as it should be in
these days.
This conclusion is also supported by the research called "Europeans and their
languages" published by the company Eurobarometer for European
Commission at the end of 2012. The research explored the ability of all nations
in European Union to use English in everyday life. The results of this research
show that Czech young people are the third worst from all explored countries.
Only 19% of people at the age of 15-35 are able to use English actively.52 One
of the reasons of this sad result could be the already mentioned demand of
grammar knowledge and lack of communicative tasks during lessons.
52
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf
46
3. 2. 3 How do you evaluate the presentation and exercising of grammar in
your English lessons?
This question is closely connected with the previous one related to the
importance of grammar. It tries to find out the relationship of pupils to learning
grammar. They question is closed therefore pupils were supposed to choose of
four possibilities. 13% of children wrote that grammar is boring for them. 62% of
respondents gave an answer that they do not mind the grammar and for 21% of
respondents is grammar in their English lessons even interesting and they like
it. 4% of pupils chose the option "other answer". Most of them gave the
explanation that they do not like grammar but they think it is important, so they
do their best to learn it.
As well as in the previous two questions, the ratio of answers was almost the
same in all the classes. In each class there was the most common answer "b"
followed by the answers "c" and "a".
In my opinion this answer is very surprising. I hear from my pupils quite often
that the grammar is so difficult. Now I can see that 62% of them do not mind
English grammar and 21% of them even like it. However results of this question
are very closely connected with the results of the previous one. I suppose that
pupils who consider grammar important have high or at least average
motivation to learn it. And it has already been said in the chapter about
motivation that if learners understand importance of the schoolwork and know
47
that it is useful also in everyday life, their motivation is higher and study results
are better.
3. 2. 4 Which aspect of English grammar is for you the most difficult?
This answer was open and pupils were asked to write one or more grammatical
phenomenon. It is probably no surprise that the most difficult aspect of English
language is considered grammar tenses. Some students mentioned one
specific tense, other students answered that they fight with English tenses
generally. Other common answers were passive voice, prepositions, articles,
pronouns, formation of questions, conditional clauses and formation of negative
sentences. A lot of students also answer that they do not have a problem with
anything. Some of pupils wrote a completely different answer, they have a
problem with everything.
For 91 students the biggest problem is the structure of English tenses, this
opinion makes 28% of all answers. Some students wrote one of them, other
students answered that they have problems with English tenses generally.
According to my questionnaires the most problematic tense is the present
perfect. "Tenses" was the most common answer in all grades at all three
schools. This answer was also mentioned by teachers in the second part of my
research but it was not as common as in the pupils' questionnaires. I can
48
confirm that my students also struggle with tenses quite often. They are usually
able to distinguish between present simple and present continuous as well as
between past simple and past continuous without big problems but the
frequently mentioned present perfect is problematic in all my classes.
Considering the difference between Czech and English system of tenses is
quite understandable that pupils consider English tenses so difficult.
More surprising than the first answer is the second one. Thirty-seven children
answered that English grammar is not especially difficult for them; this answer
makes 12% of the total number. It is interesting that this reply was frequent in all
grades at school in Kralupy nad Vltavou. Some pupils from other two schools
also answered this way but not so often. It is a question if pupils in Kralupy are
really better in English than pupils at other two schools or if they just have
greater confidence in their abilities. Anyway both options are definitively
positive. I can only guess why the school in Kralupy differs from other two. It
could be influenced by the qualification of teachers or the way they present
grammar in lessons but I cannot confirm this statement by any evidence.
The third most common answer is the passive voice. It was mentioned by 27
people, it is 8% from total number of answers. The passive voice is problem
especially for students in the eighth and ninth grade. It is interesting because
the passive voice is already presented in the sixth grade but the six graders
mentioned it only three times. For me this answer is surprising because I do not
see any problem with this grammar in my lessons. My pupils use it right in tests
as well as in speaking; nevertheless they considered it a problem. The same
conclusion follows from the teachers' part of my research. Teachers did not
mention this option once. I did not expect this answer also because passive
voices in Czech and English are made identically.
Twenty-five pupils have the biggest problems with articles and the same
number of children fights with prepositions, both responses make 8% of the
total number. Articles and preposition are problematic for all groups of pupils in
my research regardless of the age or school. I can confirm that especially use of
49
articles is a never-ending fight in all my classes. My pupils do not have such a
problem to distinguish definite and indefinite articles, they completely forget to
use them. Some teachers also mentioned in their questionnaires that their
students have problems with articles. To the contrary the answer "prepositions"
was not given once.
Other positions in my research took pronouns and formation of questions. Both
answers were given by 24 pupils and constitute 7% of the total number of
respondents. Conditional clauses and formation of negative sentences were
mentioned by 19 pupils and they take in the graphical illustration 7%. Twelve
pupils also answered that everything in English grammar is especially difficult
for them; they constitute 4% of all answers.
Other answers were represented only by one, two or three people and in the
graphical illustration are depicted as "others". This group include answers like
world order, irregular verbs, answering with whole sentences, relative clauses
and comparison of adjectives. Three pupils also described their biggest problem
is use of grammar rules while they are writing or speaking.
3. 2. 5 What do you like about learning grammar?
This question was closed. Pupils could have chosen from seven options –
games, interactive smart board, cards and pictures, worksheets, songs and
videos, anything except of working with text book and other option. Pupils who
marked the "other option" should have shortly described a specific example. In
this question pupils were allowed to mark more than one answer. Most pupils
marked at least three options therefore I decided to use numbers instead of
percentage in the graphical illustration.
50
Not surprisingly 218 of 282 students like playing games, 138 pupils appreciate
lessons with use of songs and videos and 132 pupils consider an interactive
smart board the best tool for practising grammar. The possibility "worksheets"
was chosen by 74 pupils and "cards and pictures" had almost the same number
of votes, 71. Everything except working with the book is satisfying for 101 pupils
and 13 respondents also suggested other options. Among these possibilities
belong e.g. work in groups, translating, listening, movies, conversation or
learning out of classroom.
The answers to this question correspond with the theoretical part of this thesis. I
mentioned in the chapter about learners that adolescents tend to be bored and
critical. However they appreciate if their teacher is willing to use funny activities
and interesting materials. Songs, videos and information technologies are very
popular among adolescents therefore they enjoy working with them in their
classes as well. These tools are great for increasing the extrinsic motivation.
Pupils do their best while they are playing a game because everybody wants to
win. They also concentrate in listening to a modern song because they listen to
it on the radio and want to know what about it is.
3. 2. 6 What do you like about your English lessons?
In my questionnaire I also wanted to know what learners think about English
generally. In this question pupils had the biggest space for expression of their
51
opinions. They named over twenty different aspects of English lesson. I used for
my graphical illustration only answers common for five or more people.
It is pleasing that the most frequent answer was: I like everything. This answer
was given by 82 pupils and was the most common in almost all classes. The
most satisfied pupils seem to be at school in Kralupy nad Vltavou, especially in
the eighth grade. This answer was the least often at school in Veltrusy but the
difference among all three schools was minimal. I would not expect from
adolescents that they are able to appreciate work of their teacher in so large
extent.
The second position in my research took the answer with 33 votes: I like my
teacher. or I like my teacher's behaviour to pupils. This answer also appeared in
all classes. It demonstrates importance of teachers' role and their attitude to
learners. I was surprised that so many pupils can appreciate their teacher. I
would expect such popularity among young learners but obviously also
adolescents have good relationships with their teachers.
According to my expectation one of the most favourite aspect of English lessons
are games, this answer took the third position with 36 votes. The benefit of
games has been already mentioned. The fourth position is probably unexpected
52
because 21 children answered that they like learning new things. This answer
was most frequent by the younger pupils.
Other answers had less than 20 votes. Pupils appreciate use of movies and
videos, understandable teacher's explanations, songs, practicing of listening or
speaking and facts, they are good at English. 16 pupils answered that they do
not like anything about lessons and several children wrote that they like English
because it is useful for their future to. It is satisfying to see that already children
at school think about their future.
Among rarely represented answers appeared e. g. working with smart board,
use of English magazine, worksheets, training of pronunciation or writing,
atmosphere in the classroom, good workbook and exercise book (ZŠ Pšovka),
homework, tests and two pupils even answered that they like English because it
is fun.
3. 2. 7 What do not you like about your English lessons? What would you
change?
Answers to this question were even more various than to the previous one.
Pupils named over thirty different unpopular aspects of English lesson. Also in
this question I used for my graphical illustration only answers common for five
or more people.
The most frequent answer was mentioned by 123 pupils who would not change
anything or at least they do not have any suggestion for improvement. Thirty-six
children would appreciate more games and twelve pupils miss more fun during
the lessons. Other twelve respondents wrote that they do not like tests. Five or
six people wrote they would appreciate more speaking, movies and working
with smart board. Five pupils think they should not write so much. Six children
complained about behaviour of their classmates during the lessons.
53
Among less repeated answers were a lot of interesting suggestions. It is
obvious that different pupils have different preferences, because some of the
answers were contrary to each other, e. g. somebody wants more individual
work, somebody else would appreciate more group work. A pupil complained
about a chaotic explanation of his teacher but at the same time five of his
classmates wrote that they like it. Other suggestions were e. g. new English
classroom, more vocabulary tests or songs, more information about colloquial
English, use of movement activities, writing no notes or learning out of the
classroom.
One pupil from Kralupy was unsatisfied with the number of pupils in the class. I
was surprised that this answer appeared just once because this topic is very
current at our school. Pupils and their parents sometimes complain about the
number of pupils in one language class. I must agree that 23 pupils in the class
are too much for effective English lesson, especially when the lesson is focused
on speaking. For comparison there is the table with number of pupil in every
class:
6. 7. 8. 9.
Veltrusy 22/23 21/22 18/17 17/18/17
Mělník 14/15 13/13 14/15 14/15
Kralupy 23 22/24 18/17/17 23/23
54
I find interesting one more answer. One pupil from Veltrusy wrote that she
would cancel the division of pupils according to their language skills. Pupils at
Veltrusy School are in Czech, English and Math lessons divided into groups
according their skills. This practice is used there over thirty years and therefore
pupils and parents consider it normal and have no objections. In recent years
this practice has gained a lot of opponents among educationalists, they argue
that it decreases the self-confidence of the "weaker" pupils and creates a gap
among better and worse pupils.
At our school in Kralupy we tested this dividing last year in the seventh grade.
This school year pupils should have returned to the normal "classes" but pupils,
parents as well as teachers did not agree. From my teacher's point of view it
has a lot of advantages. I teach the third (=below-average) group and I think:
Every group can choose a different speed of learning. The weaker pupils
have enough time for understanding as well as practicing.
The weaker students have to work and think about everything because there
is nobody who would have done it instead of them.
Even the weaker students can be very successful and experience the feeling
of success.
3. 2. 8 Summary of pupils' questionnaire
I am surprised by the answers of pupils in a positive way. Most of pupils seem
to be satisfied with English lessons. They like lessons; appreciate their teachers
and understand the importance of learning English as well as the importance of
grammar in the learning process. The conditions at schools also seem to be
good. The only big negative aspect is the number of pupils in one language
class but this thing can be influenced neither by teachers nor by pupils.
However despite the positive result of this questionnaire Czech people, even
the younger ones, are in the international researches devoted to foreign
languages evaluated below-averaged.
55
3. 3 Questionnaire for teachers
The questionnaire for teachers was also anonymous. Teachers were only
supposed to write how long they teach English. For my research I gained 10
teachers, 9 women and 1 man. Because of the strong superiority of female
respondents I decided to refer to teachers in the following pages as "she". The
less experienced teacher teaches the first year, the most experienced one has
taught for seventeen years.
The questionnaire contains seven questions. It tries to find out what the
teachers think about grammar, how they present it and how an important part of
their lesson it is. Two questions are also focused on textbooks and their
evaluation.
On the following pages there are in detail analysed particular questions and
rarities. Each question is accompanied with a graphical illustration.
3. 3. 1 In your opinion is it important to present grammar by funny way?
It was a closed question therefore teachers were supposed to chose from three
options "Yes, it is.", "No, it is not." and "It is a positive aspect, but it is not
necessary." Nobody answered that fun is not important at all. But two remaining
answers were balanced. Fun is important by the grammar presentation for five
teachers and for other five it is a positive aspect but not necessary.
56
Both answers were represented at all three monitored schools. It follows that in
this aspect the schools do not differ. It is obvious that teachers try to focus not
only on grammar itself but also on fun aspect by its presentation and practising.
They respect the fact that an effective learning must be based on materials and
methods interesting for their learners. In their questionnaires pupils mentioned
that they do not mind learning grammar or that they even like it. Therefore I can
assume that teachers are successful in their effort and obviously children can
appreciate it.
3. 3. 2 Which method do you use the most often?
In this question I tried to find out if teachers prefer inductive or deductive
method of presentation grammar. The question was closed, teachers could
choose from three options – deductive method, inductive method and other
option. The first two answers were characterized by short descriptions. Two
teachers gave an answer that at first they explain a new grammatical
phenomenon and then their pupils practice it in exercises and other activities, in
other words they prefer the deductive method. Six teachers prefer bigger
activity of children. Their pupils try to derive a new grammar rule on the basis of
working with text or other types of exercises. The teacher just guides the pupils,
in other words they prefer the inductive method. Two teachers wrote to the
questionnaire that they combine both methods in their lessons.
According to my questionnaire the preferred method is not dependent on the
number of years that the teacher spent in education system. However both
teachers using the deductive method are from the school in Mělník. I can only
57
guess why they prefer this method in contrast to other teachers. It can relate
with their missing approbation. It can be also connected with the fact that both
of them are beginning teachers. Both teachers are young and unqualified so
probably this method is easier for them. However according to pupils'
questionnaires pupils in Mělník were even more satisfied with their lesson than
pupils in Veltrusy. The difference in children answer was minimal so the chosen
method seems to have no influence to satisfaction of pupils with their lessons.
3. 3. 3 Which teaching aids do you usually use for the presentation and
practising grammar?
This question was closed. Teachers were supposed to choose from eight
answers – textbook and workbook, games, interactive smart board, cards and
pictures, worksheets, videos and songs, audio recordings and the last option
was other option. Teachers who marked the other option were asked to shortly
describe a specific aid.
Nine of ten teachers answered that they regularly use books, workbooks and
worksheets. This is not surprising because a book and workbook usually build
an outline of grammar and vocabulary for the whole school year. Almost every
teacher uses it at least sometimes to follow the thematic plan. Worksheets
usually refill the book, especially if there are not enough grammar exercises. In
my opinion the regular use of textbook in lessons is all right, especially when
pupils use an edition with current topics and modern graphical processing.
58
Pupils like working with this type of books but of course it must not be the only
material in lessons.
Seven teachers wrote that they use games on the daily basis. It is in contrast
with pupils' answers. I found out from their questionnaires that they miss more
games in English lessons. It is true that some pupils would like to play games
every lesson all the time and it is not possible. It is also question how pupils and
teachers understand the term game. I have met with situation when I consider
some activity as a game but for some student it was just practising. Therefore it
is difficult to decide if there are enough games in English lessons or not.
Five teachers use for presentation and practicing grammar cards, pictures or
listening. Only four teachers used smart board even though the research among
students showed that they would appreciate more work with smart board in their
lessons. Using smart board is an everyday practice especially at Pšovka. The
school is equipped with interactive textbooks for every subject and teachers
have to use them regularly. Using of smart boards at schools in Kralupy and
Veltrusy is just voluntary.
Three teachers wrote that they use songs and videos for practising grammar. It
is not enough especially considering the fact that pupils like it. I have very good
experience with using modern songs in English lessons. Pupils are always
attentive and lessons are very effective. Also the preparation for these lessons
is not so difficult. It is a question of several minutes to download lyrics and
prepare a worksheet.
Only one teacher added her own idea to the column other option. She
mentioned using tables and practicing on PC.
3. 3. 4 What is for your students the most problematic aspect of grammar?
This question was open and teachers were supposed to write one or more
grammar aspect. The most frequent answer was question formation. Other
59
answers were not represented by many teachers. These answers are e. g. word
order, present perfect, past simple, irregular verbs, articles or the third person.
Five of ten teachers answered that their students have problems with questions
formation. This answer gave teachers of all three schools. It is interesting that
pupils do not consider it as their biggest weakness. According to the learners'
answers it is only the seventh most frequent answer. It was the only frequent
answer among the teachers, the other answers were represented only by one
or two teachers.
Two teachers answered that the problematic aspects are word order and the
third person (-s ending in present simple), but these answers were among
pupils also very rare. There were also several answers twice, namely present
perfect, past simple, irregular verbs and articles, but these grammar aspects
were named also by pupils. Teachers answered also progressive tenses,
negative sentences, pronouns and a teacher answered everything. It is
interesting that no teacher mentioned passive voice even though it was the third
most often answer given by pupils.
There is a question why the answers of teachers and pupils differ so much. I
supposed that answers in the teachers' questionnaire will be almost identical
with the answers given by children, but obviously they are not. Pupils have a
60
different opinion about their grammar weaknesses. But who is right? I think that
many pupils cannot evaluate themselves objectively. Some of them
underestimate their knowledge, the others overestimate them. I consider
teachers more objective and believe that they can better evaluate pupils'
knowledge.
3. 3. 5 How important is for you grammar by the evaluation of pupils?
This question was closed. Teachers were supposed to choose from four options
related to the importance of grammar by evaluation of their pupils. They could
mark that the grammar makes approximately 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of final
evaluation. The answers were quite diverse. Nobody chose the last option but
the other three were represented at least by one teacher.
Five teachers answered that the grammar comprises approximately 25% of the
final grade. In the evaluation of four teachers the grammar is more important
and comprises about 50% of final grade and one teacher mentioned that in her
evaluation it is even 75%. It is interesting that all teachers in Veltrusy chose the
first option, 25%. Teachers in Mělník wrote 25% and 50%. Teachers in Kralupy
evaluate grammar the most strictly. Three of them answered that grammar
comprises 50% of final evaluation and one teacher mentioned even 75%. It is
obvious that all schools have different demands on grammar knowledge of their
students. Teachers in Kralupy are the strictest ones but at the same time their
pupils mentioned most often the answer that they do not have problem with any
aspect of English grammar. These two facts probably relate to each other but
they do not say anything about ability to use English in everyday life. Maybe
61
pupils in Kralupy are good at grammar but they are not so good at listening or
speaking but maybe they are. It could be a question for another thesis.
3. 3. 6 Which textbook do you use?
All three schools use different types of books. The School in Mělník uses
textbooks from the edition Project. The school in Veltrusy has the Czech edition
Way to Win. Pupils in Kralupy use different types of textbooks in their English
lessons. In the previous years the English teachers have changed a lot and
each of them preferred a different conception of education. As a result there are
disunited editions of textbooks - Angličtina written by Marie Zahálková, English
Plus and Project. During my teaching experience or at my current job I have
had the opportunity to teach according to all mentioned textbooks. Therefore I
have added a short characteristic of each textbook. It is my personal opinion;
other teachers could evaluate the textbooks in a different way.
ZŠ Pšovka (Mělník) – All pupils learn according to Project edition (Oxford
University Press). In lessons they can use written as well as interactive version.
Grammar in the book is presented inductively and in an adequate amount. The
explanations are very understandable and there are enough exercises in
workbook, therefore teacher does not need many other materials for the lesson.
The choice of topics for every lesson is also very good. Reading and listening
are interesting considering the age of pupils and the texts are followed by other
tasks and speaking activities. For me it is the best book I have taught according
to.
ZŠ Veltrusy (Veltrusy) – Pupils of all grades use textbooks from the Way to
win (Fraus) edition. These books are written by Czech authors. Grammar in the
book is explained in Czech and usually by deductive method. There is not
adequate amount of grammar, but the explanations are very understandable
and there are enough exercises in workbook. The choice of topics for every
lesson is also very good. Reading and listening are short and interesting
considering the age of pupils. I have only one problem with the book, it is a
62
chaotic arrangement. There are a lot of things written and drawn on every page
and for some prople it can be difficult to orientate there.
ZŠ Václava Havla (Kralupy) – It has been already said that at this school
pupils use 3 different types of textbooks:
Angličtina pro 6. ročník ZŠ (Marie Zahálková, SPN) – Pupils in the sixth
grade use the book written by Marie Zahálková. Grammar presented in the
book is a little chaotic. In some lessons there is almost nothing new, in other
lessons there are three new grammar rules. Grammar is explained in Czech
and by deductive method. Besides that exercises in workbook do not
correspondent with the curriculum in the book. Therefore teacher must use
other materials for practising. The choice of topics for every lesson does not
respect the interests of pupils every time. The book does not involve much
speaking activities. To the negatives belongs also visual arrangement, which
is not very "cool" for teenagers. On the other hand the exercises following
texts are often good.
English Plus (Oxford University Press) – Pupils in the seventh and eighth
grade use books from the edition English Plus. Grammar in this book is
mostly presented inductively. The explanations are intelligible and there are
enough exercises for practising in the book as well as in workbook. The
advantage is exercises divided into three groups according to their difficulty.
In comparison with other books this one does not contain so difficult
grammar. It depends on the teacher if it is understood as positive or
negative aspect. It is obvious that the book puts emphasis especially on
speaking and written language. It contains a lot of interesting tasks and
projects. The topics correspondent with pupils' everyday life and the visual
arrangement looks very modern. However the book seems to me a little
chaotic.
Project edition (Tom Hutchinson, Oxford University Press) – This text book
is used by the pupils in the ninth grade, see ZŠ Pšovka (Mělník)
63
3. 3. 6 Are you satisfied with the content and interpretation of grammar in
your text book?
Teachers were supposed to choose among these five answers about evaluation
of grammar in the text book:
I am satisfied and I often use the textbook for the presentation and practising
grammar.
There is too much grammar in the textbook, I choose only specific grammar
aspects.
There is too little grammar in the textbook; I must also use other materials.
Grammar is presented in adequate range but there are few exercises.
Other option
ZŠ Pšovka (Mělník) – Both teachers at Pšovka are satisfied with their textbook
Project. They chose the answer: "I am satisfied and I often use the text book for
the presentation and practising grammar."
ZŠ Veltrusy (Veltrusy) – Teachers in Veltrusy are not satisfied with their
textbooks Way to Win. It is interesting that their opinions differ a lot. One
teacher answered: "There is too much grammar in the textbook, I choose only
specific grammar aspects." Other teacher said: "There is too little grammar,
therefore I must use also other sources of information.” The third teacher
mentioned that there is enough grammar but few exercises and for the last
teacher the book is only a thematic guideline and therefore she creates other
material on her own.
ZŠ Václava Havla (Kralupy) – Teachers in Kralupy have even more different
opinions to their textbooks but they work with different types of books. One
teacher teaches only in the ninth grade and therefore uses only Project. She
wrote that the grammar is presented in an adequate extent but there are few
exercises. Another teacher teaches only in the eighth grade und uses only
English Plus. She is very satisfied with the book and uses it for presentation and
practising a lot. The third teacher teaches in all grades and uses all three types
of books. She answered that she does not like any book very much and
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therefore uses different types of exercises from a lot of books, magazines and
internet sources. The last teacher teaches also in all grades and she prefers
Project and English Plus. The books from Angličtina edition she considers as
bad in all aspects.
It is obvious that every teacher has different expectation and therefore prefers
different textbooks editions. It is difficult to unequivocally decide if a textbook is
good or not but according to my questionnaire textbooks of English publishers
Project and English Plus were better evaluated than Czech textbooks Angličtina
and Way to Win.
3. 3. 8 Summary of teachers' questionnaire
The teachers' answers were different in all aspects. Teachers in my research
use different methods of grammar presentation, they attach different value to
grammar, they work with different aids and textbooks and they have also
different opinions about these books. There is only one thing that seems to
connect them. All of them realize that funny and interesting activities and
materials should be a part of grammar presentation and practising. And in my
opinion this is a very positive finding out.
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4 Summary
Grammar is an inseparable part of foreign language learning. Although its
position in the learning process has weakened in recent years and it is not the
goal of language education any more, the language makes any sense without
using grammar rules and therefore it is necessary to pay enough attention to
grammar teaching. Teacher can choose from various methods and approaches
by grammar presentation although currently the communicative language
teaching is considered to be the most effective one. Teaching grammar must be
adapted to learners, their age and way of learning. It is influenced also by the
Framework Education Programme.
The practical part showed that the learning of grammar is not among learners
as unpopular as I expected. Surprisingly most pupils understand the importance
of grammar learning and they do not mind or even like it. It follows from the
research that the most problematic grammar aspects for students are tenses,
passive voice, articles and prepositions but surprisingly a large number of pupils
mentioned that they do not have a particular problem with anything. It is
interesting that teachers have a different opinion about weaknesses of pupils'
knowledge. They mentioned as the most difficult grammar questions formation,
word order, the third person and tenses. On the contrary it is not surprising that
pupils appreciate a grammar presentation and practicing especially using
games, videos, songs and interactive smart board. Although they think that
these tools could be used more often. An unexpected result of the research is
the fact that most of pupils like English lesson the way they are and also
appreciate their teacher.
The teachers' questionnaire brought also surprising results. Teachers'
responses were very diverse. They use different textbooks and aids and they
attribute grammar different importance. However I found several common
features of their lessons. All the teachers try to present grammar by a funny and
interesting way. It seems they realize an affect of interesting and funny teaching
to the effectiveness of learning. Most of them try to use today popular inductive
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method and bring a lot of materials to their lessons. Although it seem that using
of inductive or deductive method has no influence to the satisfaction of pupils
with grammar presentation. I also find out that teachers do not use the most
popular pupils' aids – videos, songs and interactive smart board – as often as
their learners wish. As the most often used aids teachers marked workbooks,
worksheets and the third position took games. Very disunited are teachers in
the evaluating of grammar importance. Teachers usually mentioned that the
final English grade is from 25% or 50% comprised by grammar, although for
somebody it is even 75%.
At the all three observed schools pupils use different types of textbooks. They
work with English editions Project and English Plus or with Czech editions
Angličtina and Way to Win. It seems that the English editions tend to use more
the inductive method; the Czech editions prefer the deductive method. English
textbooks also strongly support the communicative approach, Way to Win use
this approach only partially and Angličtina not at all. Czech textbook follow more
grammar-translation method. The evaluation of textbooks by teachers was more
positive for British editions than for textbooks written by Czech authors.
Although the most popular approach in teaching English is the communicative
one and teachers try to put speaking into lessons on a regular basis, the
grammar-translation method has still its place in English lessons. It seems the
English lessons at Czech school are quite diverse but it is in my opinion a
positive thing. As I already mentioned in the practical part pupils are very
various with different learning styles therefore each student prefers different
methods and tools.
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Bibliography
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HORNBY, Albert Sydney: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 6th edition. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN-13 978-3-464-11541-1 HUTCHINSON, Tom: Project 3 – Student's book. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 0-19-436532-8 HUTCHINSON, Tom: Project 4 – Student's book. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN: 0-19-436541-7 JAMES, Wayne B.; GARDNER, Daniel L.: Learning styles: Implications for distance learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. Wiley Periodicals, 1995. No 67. 19-31. DOI: 10.1002/ace.36719956705. JEŘÁBEK, Jaroslav; TUPÝ, Jan: Framework Education Programme for Elementary Education. Praha: Výzkumný ústav pedagogický, 2007. ISBN 80-87000-02-1 KRASHEN, Stephen D.: The Input Hypothesis: Issues and Implications. New York: Longman,1985. ISBN 0582553814. LARSEN-FREEMAN, Diane; ANDERSON, Marti: Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching. 3rd ed. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 2011. ISBN: 978-0-19-442360-1 MOON, Jayne: Children Learning English. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers, 2000. ISBN: 9781405080026. RICHARDS, Jack C.: Communicative Language Teaching Today. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN-13 978-0-521-92512-9. THORNBURY, Scott: How to teach grammar. Edinburg: Pearson Education Limited, 1999. ISBN 0582 339324 WETZ, Ben: English Plus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN-13 978-0-19-474856-8. WETZ, Ben: English Plus. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. ISBN-13 978-0-19-474857-5. WRIGHT, Tony: Roles of Teachers and Learners. UK: Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN-13 978-0-521-44994-6. ZAHÁLKOVÁ, Marie: Angličtina pro 6. ročník základní školy.—Hello, kids! 2. vyd. Praha: SPN, 2008. ISBN-13 978-80-7235-431-3
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Internet resources CHERRY, Kendra: What Is the Difference Between Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation? [online]. 2015. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://psychology.about.com/od/motivation/f/difference-between-extrinsic-and-intrinsic-motivation.htm EUROPEAN COMMISION: Europeans and their Languages. [online]. 2012. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, YOUTH AND SPORTS: Doporučené učební osnovy předmětů ČJL, AJ a M pro ZŠ. [online]. 2011. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://www.vuppraha.cz/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Doporucene-ucebni-osnovy-predmetu-CJL-AJ-a-M-pro-zakladni-skolu.pdf NORDQUIST, Richard: What Is Grammar? [online]. 2015. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://grammar.about.com/od/basicsentencegrammar/a/grammarintro.htm McKENZIE-BROWN, Peter: Using the Mother Tongue to Teach another Tongue [online]. 2006. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://languageinstinct.blogspot.cz/2006/11/using-mother-tongue-to-teach-another.html UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN: Teaching Grammar [online]. 2015. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://ieas.unideb.hu/admin/file_1402.pdf Grammar [online]. 2015. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar What is the Affective Filter? [online]. [cit. 2015-02-17] Accessible from: http://eldstrategies.com/index.html
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Attachments
Attachment A: Questionnaire for pupils
Dotazník k diplomové práci Data získaná z tohoto dotazníku jsou anonymní a budou použita jako podklad pro zpracování diplomové práce na téma „Rozdílné přístupy k výuce gramatiky na druhém stupni základní školy“. Děkuji za tvůj čas věnovaný tomuto dotazníku. V jakém jsi právě ročníku? 6. 7. 8. 9. 1) Co je podle tebe gramatika? Jak bys jí popsal(a)? 2) Myslíš si, že je gramatika při výuce cizího jazyka důležitá? a) ano
b) jen trochu
c) ne
3) Jak hodnotíš výuku gramatiky v hodinách AJ? a) Je to nuda.
b) Gramatika mi v hodinách nevadí.
c) Gramatika je docela fajn, zajímá mě.
d) Jiná odpověď………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4) Jaký gramatický jev je pro tebe nejtěžší? (např. některý z časů, zájmena, předložky, členy, trpný rod, podmínkové věty, tvoření záporných vět, otázek …) 5) Co je podle tebe při výuce gramatiky zábavné? /Můžeš zakroužkovat více odpovědí./ a) Hry
b) Interaktivní tabule
c) Použití kartiček a obrázků
d) Pracovní listy
e) Využití písniček a videí
f) Cokoliv, hlavně když nemusím vyplňovat cvičení v učebnici.
g) Další možnosti (napiš např. konkrétní aktivity)…………………………………………………………..
5) Zamysli se nad současnými hodinami AJ.
a) Co na výuce gramatiky hodnotíš kladně? b) Co se ti naopak nelíbí? Co ti v hodinách chybí? Máš nějaké návrhy na zlepšení?
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Attachment B: Completed questionnaires for pupils
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Attachment C: Questionnaire for teachers Dotazník k diplomové práci Data získaná z tohoto dotazníku jsou anonymní a budou použita jako podklad pro zpracování diplomové práce na téma „Rozdílné přístupy k výuce gramatiky na druhém stupni základní školy“. Děkuji za Váš čas věnovaný tomuto dotazníku. Kolikátým rokem vyučujete anglický jazyk? ………………………………………. 1) Je podle Vás důležité, aby výuka gramatiky probíhala zábavným způsobem?
a) ano
b) ne
c) Je to sice plus, ale není to nezbytně nutné.
2) Jakou metodu nejčastěji využíváte při výuce gramatiky?
a) Učitel nejprve vysvětlí nový gramatický jev, žáci jej poté procvičí v příkladových cvičeních a dalších aktivitách.
b) Žáci si na základě prací s textem nebo s jinými typy cvičení pokusí sami přijít na určité gramatické pravidlo. Učitel žáky pouze navádí tím správným směrem.
c) Využívám jiný postup. Prosím, stručně popište jaký.…………………………………………….…..
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3) Jaké pomůcky obvykle využíváte k prezentaci a procvičení gramatiky? Zakroužkujte jednu nebo více hodících se odpovědí.
a) Učebnici a pracovní sešit
b) Hry
c) Interaktivní tabuli
d) Kartičky a obrázky
e) Pracovní listy
f) Písničky a videa
g) Zvukové nahrávky
h) Další možnosti ………………………………………………………………………………………….…………….
4) Jaké gramatické jevy dělají vašim žákům největší potíže? Uveďte prosím alespoň jeden.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5) Jakou důležitost přikládáte gramatice při celkovém hodnocení žáka? /Pokud Vám kvantifikace procenty připadá málo výstižná, vyjádřete prosím Váš postoj vlastními slovy./
a) Gramatika tvoří zhruba 25% z celkového hodnocení žáků.
b) Gramatika tvoří zhruba 50% z celkového hodnocení žáků.
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c) Gramatika tvoří zhruba 75% z celkového hodnocení žáků.
d) Gramatika tvoří zhruba 100% z celkového hodnocení žáků.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6) Jakou učebnici a pracovní sešit v hodinách používáte?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
7) Jak jste spokojen(a) s obsahem a interpretací gramatiky v této učebnici?
a) Jsem spokojený/á a k prezentaci a procvičení gramatiky učebnici hodně využívám.
b) Gramatiky je v učebnici až moc, vybírám pouze určité jevy.
c) Gramatiky je v učebnici málo, proto musím často využívat i jiné zdroje.
d) Gramatika je prezentována v přiměřeném rozsahu, ale obsahuje málo cvičení.
e) Jiná možnost ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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Attachment D: Completed questionnaires for teachers
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