Students’ perspectives on teaching and learning English grammar through dictogloss

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Teaching grammar in the foreign language classes is a topic for which there has not been a complete agreement among researchers or teachers. The theoretical argument on which type of instruction is more efficient, inductive or deductive, has not come to an end.

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Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2020. ISBN: 978-604-82-3869-8 STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH GRAMMAR THROUGH DICTOGLOSS Ta Minh Phuong Thuyloi University, email: phuongtm@tlu.edu.vn 1. INTRODUCTION an effective learning activity to non-English major students at less proficient level in Teaching grammar in the foreign language Thuyloi university. Although there has been a classes is a topic for which there has not been great amount of research conducted into the a complete agreement among researchers or effects of the DG on learners’ grammar, there teachers. The theoretical argument on which are still few qualitative investigations of how type of instruction is more efficient, inductive learners respond to this teaching practice. or deductive, has not come to an end. This study aims to investigate students’ The Dictogloss, in particular, is proposed as attitudes towards the use of dictogloss in a technique that facilitates learners’ inductive teaching and learning English grammar in learning of specific grammatical points Thuyloi university. through fulfilling a task which is put in a meaningful context. Basically, the dictogloss 2. METHOD is a type of dictation which does not provide learners with sufficient time to write complete Shak (2006) states that “One way to sentences of the text while the teacher is determine what works in a task is to obtain dictating it. Instead, the text as a whole is learner perceptions of the task” (p. 48). read out more than once (three or more times) Table 1. Descriptions of Participants and this offers learners multiple chances to memorize and take notes. Then, the learners, Level Elementary to Pre-intermediate individually or in pairs/groups, use those notes Class size 30 students. Aged 18-20 and their memory to reconstruct the whole General English II - 6 hours/ week text. Though the procedure of memorizing, Subject note-taking, text reconstruction and the output 7 weeks and a half in total generated, the language learners are expected Focused 5 Grammar lessons- 1lesson/ week to take notice of the target grammar (TG) lessons Extra materials given by the teacher form. Qin (2008) suggests that one of the Time First semester of 2019-2020 major benefits of the DG is offering “multiple opportunities to draw L2 learners’ attention to The current study obtained students’ target linguistic forms” (p.63). Using the DG perspectives of teaching and learning has shown good potential to facilitate the grammar via the DG through qualitative possibility that learners focus and be reflective approach. Attitude questionnaires after each on their own language use (Leeser, 2004). lesson and 6 group interviews at the end of the Much of research literature has examined research were utilized as instruments for the DG in the context of students majoring in collecting data. Through closed and open English at university level. These studies lead survey questions, students are provided me to the question whether the DG could be multiple chances to express their reflections 484
Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2020. ISBN: 978-604-82-3869-8 on what they actually experienced in terms of preference for this activity. However, the their enjoyment, performance, motivation and students are probably modest about their ease of the task. Students were also performance with the lower means of 2.2 - encouraged to reflect on factors of the practice 2.6 in Q3. Some of them may be aware that that they specifically liked and disliked, and to their performances need to be improved. tell if they thought they had learnt anything Additionally, it was reported that the DG was from the activity. Key questions during semi- a new approach for these students and they structured interviews also involved their did not get used to the procedures of the suggestions on how the technique could be method. In spite of this, motivation was improved to meet their needs. highly affirmed by the vast majority of students for all lessons (Q4, 2.7 - 2.9) and 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION this is the same to the responses to the ease of the task (Q2, 2.5 - 2.7). It can be noticed that 3 the increase in task familiarity showed a significant rise in students’ perceived Mean attitude scores 2.5 2 enjoyment, performance and motivation. 1.5 Students’ responses to open-ended 1 questions in the survey questionnaires and in 0.5 the group interviews provided insights into 0 their experience of the DG. It was apparent, from the feedback, that the concept of learning language via inductive approach with the DG was quite novel to the participants. The Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson 4 Lesson 5 significant differences in the respondents’ previous normal classroom activities and the Figure 1. Means of students’ ratings DG in this study were recognised and Note: The students responded to all 4 commented by more than half of the students. questions (Q1-4) after all 5 lessons. They found this shift in grammar teaching Enjoyment accords with Q1: I enjoyed doing method favourable, reporting that they this activity. Ease matches Q2: I think this enjoyed the DG since it was “a change from activity was easy. Performance corresponds that we normally did before that” (Attitude with Q3: I think I did well in this activity. Questionnaire code 8a (A.Q.c.8a). Another Motivation refers to Q4: I want to do more student said, “I’m not used to learning like activities like this. that but I think DG is alright and kind of fun” Answers to attitude questions were (Interview 3). A couple of participants assigned on a three-point Likert scale, provided the following significant comments: through the selections of 1 - Disagree, 2 - “rather than having the teacher giving new Neutral and 3 - Agree. The meaning of the grammar rules and having us practice them, responses were grasped from the calculations we found our grammar problems and the of the means and standard deviations of each teacher appeared to help” (Interview 5); “it lesson. Figure 1 illustrates the means of was something new, but quite hard and students’ ratings on the 5 sessions of the DG. challenging to us” (A.Q.c.17d). It is generally shown form the measurements This particular student population enjoyed (with all means above 2.0) that the learners the collaborative work in the reconstruction have positive attitudes to the use of the phase of the DG. The preference and technique. The high means of 2.7 - 2.9 in Q1 enjoyment to join in with friends can be seen for all 5 lessons reveal students’ obvious through the views of the majority. Evidence 485
Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2020. ISBN: 978-604-82-3869-8 for this is apparent both in the interviews and opportunities to integrate listening, writing, in the written comments. One student wrote: speaking and reading through social “I like getting to work with others rather than interaction. Text reconstruction phase completing it all by myself. It was really more promotes both the negotiation of meaning fun that way” (A.Q.c.23c). Other participants and the negotiation of form, then forces had specific reasons like these: “we got in learners to stay actively engaged in the pairs so it made it easier” (Interview 1); learning process. Moreover, ‘correction’ step, “working with others helped me understand with the immediate feedback from teachers better” (Interview 4). However, some and peers, gives students a more precise participants reported that they were not really understanding of the grammar points. satisfied with collaborating among their peers. “The groups were unnecessary” 4. CONCLUSION (A.Q.c.12b). Another respondent added: This study of 30 non-English major “some friends didn’t seem to want to talk” students at Thuyloi University has shown that (A.Q.c.22d). This issue indicates that the DG can be embedded in this collaborative skills and equal participation communicative language teaching context, need to be discussed and practiced to ensure and that my adoption of the DG task as a effective implementation of cooperative regular classroom activity is perceived as learning in this class. effective by the learners. Most of them On the survey questionnaires, the students reported that they found the lessons enjoyable. were asked to report what they learned and They were able to perform well and were to include information on new grammar they motivated to do this task more. The change had noticed. High numbers of responses from deductive to inductive learning was reporting the TG (80-87%) do reveal that the generally accepted by the students. The four DG activities caused most of the participants learning categories including the TG forms, to notice and learn the TG. Additionally, the lexical items, general language skills, personal survey data showed that 65% of the and social interaction were mentioned the responses also focused in part on meaning most in the students’ reports on what they and reported learning new lexical concepts learned through the DG activity. This after overall 5 lessons. There is also a approach kept them focused, active and tendency among students to focus on lexical reflective during the learning process. meaning as well as linguistic form. It can be indicated that the DG facilitates the noticing 5. REFERENCES of form through meaning making. In addition to noticing the target form and [1] Leeser, M. (2004). Learner proficiency and focus on form during collaborative lexical items, the positive responses of what dialogue. Language Teaching Research, the students had learned were broader with 8(1), 55-81. other learning skills such as listening skill [2] Qin, J. (2008). The effect of processing (70% of the responses), note-taking skill instruction and dictogloss tasks on (68% of the responses) and acquisition of English passive voice. reconstruction/writing skills (72% of the Language Teaching Research, 12(1), 61-82. responses). The diversity of these answers [3] Shak, J. (2006). Children using dictogloss shows how the DG is much richer than just a to focus on form. Reflections on English simple grammar exercise. It is important to Language Teaching, 5(2), 47-62. point out that the DG procedure illustrates a learning approach where learners have 486