VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

TRỊNH THANH HUYỀN

A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND
INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR
GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL
Nghiên cứu điều tra thái độ của học sinh đối với phương pháp diễn dịch và quy
nạp trong giảng dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại lớp 11 trường trung học phổ thông
chuyên Bắc Kạn

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

TRỊNH THANH HUYỀN

A SURVEY ON STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO DEDUCTIVE AND
INDUCTIVE APPROACHES TO TEACHING ENGLISH GRAMMAR FOR
GRADE 11 AT BAC KAN GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL
Nghiên cứu điều tra thái độ của học sinh đối với phương pháp diễn dịch và quy

nạp trong giảng dạy ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại lớp 11 trường trung học phổ thông
chuyên Bắc Kạn

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Dr. Đỗ Tuấn Minh

HANOI - 2016


TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. i
PART A: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... I
I. Rationale for the Research ................................................................................... I
II. Aim and Objectives of the Research ................................................................. III
III. Research Questions .......................................................................................... III
IV. Scope of the Research .....................................................................................IV
V. Methods of the Study ........................................................................................IV
VI. Significance of the Research ............................................................................ V
VII. Structural Organization of the Thesis ............................................................. V
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ............... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1. Overview of English Grammar ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.1. The Concept of Grammar ................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.1.2. The Role of Grammar in Teaching English as a Foreign LanguageError! Bookm
1.2. Approaches to Grammar Instruction ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.1. Experiential Teaching Approach ...... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.2. Analytic Teaching Approach ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.3. Implicit and Explicit Approach ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.4. Intralingual and Crosslingual DimensionError! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.5. Deductive and Inductive Approach .. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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1.3. Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive and Deductive Approaches to
English Grammar Teaching................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Inductive ApproachError! Bookmark not de

1.3.2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Deductive ApproachError! Bookmark not d

1.4. Students’ Attitudes towards English Grammar InstructionError! Bookmark not defin
1.4.1. Defining Students’ Attitudes ............ Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4.2. Components of Attitude ................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.4.3. Some Studies on Students’ Attitudes to Grammar InstructionError! Bookmark
1.5. Summary ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1. Restatement of Research Questions ............ Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2. Research Setting .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3. Participants .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4. The Appropriateness of the Research ApproachError! Bookmark not defined.
2.5. Research Instruments .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5.1. Survey questionnaire ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5.2. Semi – structured interview ................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5.3. Observation .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.6. Data Collection Procedure........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.7. Methods of Data Analysis ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.8. Summary ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION . Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1. Findings ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1. Quantitative Data Findings .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1.1. Overview of the Current Grammar Teaching Aids at Bac Kan
Gifted High School ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1.2. Attitudes to Grammar Teaching ApproachesError! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1.2.1. Importance of Grammar ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.1.1.2.2. Importance of Attitude in Grammar StudyError! Bookmark not defined

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3.1.1.2.3. Attitudes to Deductive ApproachError! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1.2.4. Attitudes to Inductive ApproachError! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.1.2.5. Attitudes to the Combination of both Inductive and Deductive
Approaches ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.2. Qualitative Data Findings .................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.2.1. Attitudes to Deductive Approach .. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.2.2. Attitudes to Inductive Approach ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.2.3. Attitudes to the Combination of both Inductive and Deductive

Approaches ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2. Discussion of the Findings .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
PART C: CONCLUSION ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
I. Summary of Key Findings ................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
II. Pedagogical Implications .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
III. Limitations of the Study .................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
IV. Suggestions for Further Studies....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................VI
APPENDIX A ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
APPENDIX B ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
This part including the rationale for the research, the aim and objectives, the scope
and methods of the study, the research questions, the significance and structural
organization of the thesis will hopefully provide readers with an overview of the
whole paper.
I. Rationale for the Research
The role of foreign language grammar has always been a controversial subject of
research for decades. Krashen (1982) considers grammar useful for “language
appreciation”, i.e. appropriate language use, but it should not be the main subject of
instruction. In other words, learners acquiring a foreign language through a process
of communication and grammar is just a tool to polish their production when they
have already acquired grammar knowledge. In this case, we can assume that
grammar is necessary, but not an essential background in language learning, and
thus, it should not be the object of instruction in language teaching. With another
point of view, Batstone (1994) affirms the importance of grammar to understand
language because it provides a framework for learners to structure their foreign

language learning. In addition, Dr. Pradeep (2013) admits the importance of
grammar by confirming that when learning a foreign dialect, learners should learn
its grammar since it is extremely important that it cannot be ignored.
From the researcher’s point of view, the role of grammar is a never-ending question
and it is not so important as the matter of how grammar should be taught in foreign
language teaching. In recent times, grammar instruction has been regarded as
essential and indispensable in the context of language teaching. Sharing a similar
idea with the writer, Purpura (2004) points out that grammar plays a central role in
language teaching as it influences the success of foreign language learning. In this
view, grammar plays an extremely important and unavoidable role in developing
the language outcomes of learners. Recently, a number of merited research have

I


been conducted to discover the approaches concerning grammar teaching. There are
two approaches that come into question, i.e. deductive and inductive instructions.
Seeing that there is no approach outweighing another; in other words, both
deductive and inductive approaches possess the same merit, so teachers should take
advantages of and be flexible in applying the aforementioned approaches in order to
produce effective grammar teaching.
In this paper, the writer puts the main focus on English as a foreign language taught
in Vietnam. Being considered as a developing country with many potentials,
Vietnam is a rich land in the context of globalization. That tendency has brought
about a change in Vietnamese people’s attitudes about foreign language learning,
especially English. With its position as a global language, English is regarded as a
vital language that can bring people great opportunities to make their lives better,
i.e. good jobs, good living standards, good studying conditions, etc. Therefore,
English teaching has become a burning concern for many Vietnamese educators.
In the writer’s viewpoint, although English grammar is extremely essential in the

view of most Vietnamese teachers in general and high school teachers in particular,
most of them do not possess suitable methods to teach grammar. Thus, many
students know English without being able to use it properly, even in expressing
their own intentions. Additionally, there is a fact that students’ attitudes to teachers’
grammar teaching approach can influence their learning outcomes. However, there
has been little investigation of the attitudes of high school students concerning
English grammar instruction, and there is no research conducted to discover the
issue in Bac Kan province. Because of the aforementioned reasons, the researcher
has decided to conduct a research titled “A survey on students’ attitudes to
deductive and inductive approaches to teaching English grammar for grade 11 at
Bac Kan Gifted High School”. This research will make contributions to develop a
sharp understanding of students’ attitudes to deductive and inductive approaches to

II


English grammar teaching by their teachers, and to point out a more appropriate
path in order to enhance English grammar learning quality in this context.
II. Aim and Tasks of the Research
The overall aim of the study is to shed light on the attitudes to deductive and
inductive approaches to English grammar teaching held by students in class 11A at
Bac Kan Gifted High School. With that aim achieved, the researcher will suggest
appropriate approach that meets students’ needs with the hope to enhance English
grammar learning quality.
To achieve the above aim, the following objectives are set for exploration:
-

Investigating key features of deductive and inductive approaches for deeper
understanding


-

Designing students survey questionnaires and questions for semi – structured
interviews

-

Observing teachers teaching the two different approaches

-

Asking students to do the survey questionnaires

-

Inviting some students to take part in semi – structured interviews

-

Collecting and analyzing the data collected

III. Research Questions
The research is conducted to answer two following questions:
1. What are the attitudes of students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School to
deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching?
2. Which approach suits students in class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School most
and enhances their English grammar learning quality?

III



IV. Scope of the Research
Concerning academic scope, the researcher will focus on students’ attitudes. In
other words, the only thing that will be done by the researcher is students’ attitudes
to deductive and inductive English grammar teaching.
With regard to social scope, the researcher employs a portion of the population to
represent the entire population. Specifically, the sample will consist of thirty
students within class 11A at Bac Kan Gifted High School.
V. Methods of the Study
The study is carried out with quantitative and qualitative methods as follows:
First, the survey questionnaire for students is employed to find out their attitudes
towards deductive and inductive approaches to English grammar teaching, affecting
factors on such attitudes and their expectations during grammar lessons
Second, class observation is implemented to study teacher’s teaching approaches
and students’ performance in grammar lessons
After that, personal interviews with three students are conducted in order to:
+ Survey their perception on the magnitude of grammar in learning English
+ Study their attitudes towards inductive and deductive approaches to grammar
teaching
+ Find out the most appropriate way of teaching grammar for students to enhance
their learning outcomes
Then, the data are collected, sorted and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to
obtain realistic results.

IV


To end with, pedagogical implications for enhancing students’ positive attitudes in
learning grammar and the most appropriate grammar teaching approach will be
proposed based on the results found from all data collection instruments.

VI. Significance of the Research
The findings of the present paper will help get deeper insights into students’
attitudes towards the aforementioned approaches, which in turn stimulate the
adjustment on the part of teachers to accord with students’ needs and wants. The
suggestion of an appropriate approach made by the writer of this paper will
significantly contribute to English grammar teaching and learning outcomes. In
short, valuable information from the practical classroom will help shorten the gap
between theory and practice at least in this context.
VII. Structural Organization of the Thesis
The present graduation thesis is designed with three parts, starting with Introduction
and ending with Conclusion. With the purpose of providing readers with
background for the present research, part A (Introduction) presents the rationale, the
aim and objectives, the scope, the research questions, significance and the structural
organization of the thesis. Part B (Development) includes three chapters.
Specifically, chapter I, named Literature Review, gives a critical review of the
previous studies relating to the research problem under investigation and presents
the theoretical background employed as tools for conducting the whole research.
The Methodology chapter (chapter II) describes the methods and materials used in
doing the research, including data collection instruments and data analysis
techniques. The third chapter (Findings and Discussion) is the part describing what
can be learned during the research and interpreting the results. The last part of the
thesis is part C (Conclusion) which offers some pedagogical implications for better
teaching and learning outcomes, restates the aim and suggests some paths for
further studies related to the field under investigation.

V


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