Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University College of Languages and Translation Department of English

Transcription

1 i Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University College of Languages and Translation Department of English Teaching Grammar via the Inductive Approach: A Quantitative-Qualitative Study Conducted in an EFL Setting By: Lubna Al-Naeem Submitted to the Department of English of the College of Languages and Translation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Dr. Sami Alshwairkh, Advisor Jumada I 1428 June 2007

2 iii ABSTRACT Grammar is an integral part of language. It provides L2 learners with knowledge of the structure of the target language which helps them use it appropriately and convey meanings clearly. One of the controversial issues surrounding grammar is the question of whether to teach it through the inductive approach in which learners are given the opportunity to induce grammatical structures from examples or the deductive approach where grammar rules are directly presented to the students followed by examples to practice. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of using the inductive approach on the grammatical knowledge of Saudi female EFL students and to explore the attitudes of Saudi female EFL teachers towards teaching grammar in general, and the inductive and deductive approaches to teaching grammar in particular. To achieve these goals, 40 Saudi female students majoring in English in their second semester at Al-Imam University in Riyadh were chosen to participate in this study. The students had been taught various English grammatical structures inductively for 5 weeks, 3 hours per week, and they were given a pretest and a posttest to compare their scores. Additionally, 6 Saudi female EFL teachers at the same university were asked to answer a 15-item-open-ended questionnaire to explore their attitudes. The research findings showed a noticeable increase in the students' scores in the posttest which reflected a significant improvement in their knowledge of the grammatical structures presented to them inductively during the 5-week period. Most teachers also expressed their positive attitudes towards teaching grammar and the inductive approach to teaching it.

3 iv الملخص ۥتعد مادة القواعد من المواد الا ساسیة في تدریس اللغة الثانیة حیث یتم من خلالھا تزوید الطالب أو الطالبة بمعلومات حول تركیب اللغة الثانیة تساعدھم في استخدامھا بطریقة صحیحة. وفي ھذا الا طار كثیرا ما یدور النقاش حول تحدید أي المنھجین أفضل عند تدریس قواعد اللغة الثانیة: المنھج الاستقراي ي الذي یتم من خلالھ إعطاء الطلاب أو الطالبات الفرصة لاستنباط أو استخراج القاعدة من خلال بعض الا مثلة أم المنھج الاستدلالي أو المباشر الذي یعتمد على شرح القاعدة بشكل مباشر ثم إعطاء الطلاب أو الطالبات بعض الا مثلة لتطبیق ما ۥشرح. والدراسة الحالیة تھدف إلى اختبار الا ثر الناتج عن تدریس قواعد اللغة الا نجلیزیة لبعض الطالبات السعودیات في المرحلة الجامعیة عن طریق المنھج الاستقراي ي. بالا ضافة إلى اھتمامھا بتقصي آراء بعض معلمات اللغة الا نجلیزیة حول مادة القواعد بشكل عام و المنھج الاستقراي ي و الاستدلالي بشكل خاص. للوصول إلى ھذا الھدف تم اختیار 40 طالبة سعودیة من طالبات المستوى الثاني قسم اللغة الانجلیزیة بكلیة اللغات والترجمة في جامعة الا مام محمد بن سعود بالریاض للمشاركة في الدراسة. دۥرست الطالبات بعض قواعد اللغة الا نجلیزیة لمدة خمسة أسابیع باستخدام المنھج الاستقراي ي و أجري لھن اختبار قبل وبعد الدراسة لمقارنة النتاي ج وذلك لتحدید مدى تطور معلومات الطالبات حول القواعد المشروحة باستخدام الطریقة المعنیة. أیضا تم اختیار ست من معلمات اللغة الا نجلیزیة في نفس الجامعة للمشاركة في البحث. وقدۥطلب من المعلمات الا جابة على استبیان یتكون من خمسة عشر سو الا تكشف عن آراي ھن حول مادة القواعد والمنھجین الاستقراي ي والاستدلالي. ۥحللت نتاي ج الطالبات إحصاي یا لمعرفة المتوسط و الانحراف المعیاري في كلا الاختبارین بالا ضافة إلى ذلك تم استخدام التحلیل الكیفي لتحلیل إجابات المعلمات. أظھرت نتاي ج الدراسة تحسنا ملحوظا في درجات الطالبات في الامتحان الثاني مما یعكس تطورا في مستوى الطالبات بعد الدراسة. أیضا أظھرت النتاي ج أن معظم المعلمات المشاركات في الدراسة لدیھن اتجاھا إیجابیا نحو تدریس مادة القواعد كعنصر أساسي في تدریس اللغة الثانیة و نحو المنھج الاستقراي ي الذي ینمي قدرة الطالبات على التحلیل و التفكیر.

4 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 4 Topic Selection 5 Purpose of the Study 5 Significance of the Study 6 Research Questions 6 Research Methodology 6 Limitation of the Study 7 Chapter Overview 7 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 8 History of Grammar in Language Teaching 8 The Deductive Approach to Teaching Grammar 10 The Inductive Approach to Teaching Grammar 12 The Relation of the Inductive and the Deductive Approaches to Theories in SLA 13 The Inductive-Deductive Controversy 14 Studies on the Inductive versus the Deductive Teaching of Grammar 16 Teachers' Attitudes 20 Chapter Summary 22 III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 23 Participants 23

5 ix Students 23 Teachers 24 Teaching Procedure 24 The Grammar Points Covered in the Study 25 Data Collection 25 Pretest and Posttest 25 Teachers' Questionnaire 26 Data Analysis 27 Pretest and Posttest 27 Teachers' Questionnaire 27 Reliability and Validity 28 Chapter Summary 28 IV. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 29 Data Analysis 29 Pretest and Posttest 29 Teachers' Questionnaire 39 Teachers' Attitudes towards Teaching Grammar 39 Teachers' Attitudes towards the Inductive Approach 40 Teachers' Attitudes towards the Deductive Approach 42 Discussion 43 V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 47 Conclusions 47

6 x Pedagogical Implications and Recommendations 48 Summary 50 REFERRENCES 51 APPENDIX A. INFORMED CONSENT FORM (STUDENTS) 53 B. INFORMED CONSENT FORM (TEACHERS) 54 C. PRETEST AND POSTTEST 55 D. TEACHERS' QUESTIONNARIE 58

7 1Teaching Grammar via the Inductive Approach CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Grammar is a central aspect and an integral part of language. It is a core component that governs how words are arranged in a sentence. Thornbury (1999) defines grammar as "The study both of the way words are chained together in a particular order, and also of what kinds of words can slot into any one link in the chain" (p.2). In second language (L2) teaching, the history of grammar is a history of arguments and debates. One of the controversial issues surrounding grammar is the question of whether to teach it or not. Joseph Webbe, a schoolmaster and a textbook writer, claims that through communication L2 learners can pick up grammatical aspects spontaneously and that reading, writing, and speaking provide learners with all what they need to know about L2 grammar (Thornbury,1999). On the other hand, many researchers are in favor of the teaching of grammar as an important component of L2 teaching. It has been argued that in L2 learning, there is a level beyond which it is very difficult for learners to progress or, in other words, a stage of cessation in learning known as fossilization (Ellis,1997). According to Celce-Murcia and Hilles (1988), it has been proved that L2 learners who have not received grammar instruction, or who have learned L2 grammar through a communicative approach, develop an ungrammatical and pidginized language beyond which they can never progress. In other words, such learners are said to have fossilized in language acquisition. Swan (2000) emphasizes the importance of grammar as a vital part of language. He asserts that grammar enables L2 learners to convey meaning successfully; it allows them to form comprehensible sentences and to be socially accepted. Therefore, Swan asserts that it is very important to select and identify

8 2Teaching Grammar via the Inductive Approach important grammar points and teach them carefully. Additionally, Swan indicates that people's tendency not to teach grammar leads to bad results. He argues that as a result of moving the focus of L2 teaching from grammar when the communicative approach emerged in Britain in 1970, a generation of British teachers with an inadequate knowledge of the language system they were teaching had appeared. Details in the history of grammar in language teaching can be found in chapter two. Furthermore, the importance of teaching grammar arises form the fact that grammar is considered the basis for language skills. In other words, a sufficient grammatical knowledge helps L2 learners achieve appropriate language use, so that when they listen, speak, read, and write they are capable of applying the rules of the language they are learning. Therefore, I strongly believe that teaching grammar is an essential aspect of L2 teaching that can enhance the learner's creativity in using the target language. It provides L2 learners with the knowledge of the way the target language is constructed, that is, how sentences are joined together and what components are needed to communicate a meaning in the form of a sentence. Another central debate concerning grammar is the question of how to teach it. Celce-Murcia and Hilles (1988) indicate "Although we are reluctant to abandon grammar teaching without further evidence, we hesitate to recommend a single approach or method, as students have different learning strategies or styles" (pp.4-5). There are different methods and approaches that can be used in teaching L2 grammar. For example, some teachers teach L2 grammar using the stimulusresponse approach in which students are guided through a series of pattern drills to form correct language habits.

9 3Teaching Grammar via the Inductive Approach Additionally, a variety of techniques may be manifested in L2 grammar classes. For instance, enhancing the input is one of the techniques that can be used to direct the students' attention to a certain grammatical structure by providing them with a text in which this structure is frequent. Another technique is to provide the students with partial explanations about a certain grammatical structure which is known as the garden path strategy (Larsen-Freeman, 2001). In this way, grammar rules appear to be easier, and students learn the exceptions to grammar rules from the teacher's correction when they overgeneralize the use of these rules. In recent years, there is a trend towards integrating grammar into general language courses rather than teaching it as a discrete course. Advocates of this trend argue that contextualizing grammar in meaningful language use enables L2 learners to relate grammar points to other uses of the language which improves the learners' performance in using L2 as a whole (Brown,1994). One of the controversial issues regarding how to teach grammar is the question of whether to teach it inductively or deductively. In other words, should grammar be taught using the inductive approach in which students induce or discover grammatical structures from examples? Or should it be taught using the deductive approach where grammar rules are explicitly presented to the students followed by a number of exercises to practice the rules? Fischer (1979) indicates that "Foreign language methodologists and teachers have long debated the value of a deductive or inductive approach in the teaching of grammatical structures" (p.98). Many argue that teaching grammar via the deductive approach is more logical and easier for students in that they understand grammar rules before applying them which helps in developing sufficient L2 grammatical knowledge. On the contrary, others argue that teaching

10 4Teaching Grammar via the Inductive Approach grammar inductively has a greater impact and leads to longer retention which builds the student's confidence in learning the language. Further explanations of the inductive and the deductive approaches can be found in chapter two. Statement of the Problem As a teacher assistant (TA) at the English Department at Al-Imam University, I noticed that some female students face difficulty in learning English grammar. Those students usually complain about grammar classes as being tedious and dull. In addition, many English as a foreign language (EFL) female teachers at the university assert that students in grammar classes are less active than in other classes. This may be attributed to the way grammar is taught. In most universities in Saudi Arabia, including Al-Imam University, the Grammar-Translation Method is adopted where grammar is taught deductively by presenting rules directly to the students, followed by a number of exercises to practice these rules. This approach treats the students as recipients of information and it does not encourage the students' involvement in the lesson which makes it boring and dry. Furthermore, the deductive approach is rejected by many methods such as the Direct Method and the Audiolingual Method which emphasize the inductive teaching of grammar on the basis that L2 should be picked up in a way similar to first language (L1) acquisition. Since I am interested in teaching grammar and because I strongly believe that the inductive approach plays an important role in facilitating learning L2 grammar, I have found it necessary to conduct a study for the purpose of investigating the role of the inductive approach in learning English grammar and exploring EFL teachers' attitudes towards teaching grammar, the inductive approach, and the deductive approach.