Teaching English grammar communicatively in an Indonesian university

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Teaching English Grammar

.Communicatively in an Indonesian University

by

Bahagia Tarigan

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MA by Research Thesis

Department of Communication, Language and Cultural Studies,

Victoria University of Technology, Melbourne, AUSTRALIA

January, 2001

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ABSTRACT

The research reported on in this thesis is motivated by concern about the current level of

student outcomes in English language teaching and learning in Indonesia, specifically in

the higher education sector. The aim of the research is to investigate how effectively the

expression of English tense and aspect are acquired during the process of learning

English as a foreign language within the classroom. Specifically, the research compares

the level and usage of English tense and aspect forms by two separate groups of students

exposed to two different teaching methods. The

first

ofthese teaching method

is

that

currently used within a Diploma of English program at an Indonesian university, whereas

the second

is

one developed by the researcher that includes activities based on the

principles ofthe communicativeapproach

to

languageteaching.

Using a set of speciallydeveloped language development assessmenttasks which require

students to demonstrate their proficiency in using English in a variety of tasks with

differing levels of focus on grammatical form and differing levels of contextualisation of

meaning and practice the research investigates how the learners'tense and aspect use

changes over time and is affected by the teaching process. The research design combines

cross-sectional

and

longitudinal measures oflearner performance and involves

comparison of performance of21 students randomly assigned to one or other of two

teaching methods, the current method (control group) and the alternative communicative

grammar method (experimental group). The students undertake the tasks on four separate

occasions; pre-test, mid-test

(part

way through the six week teaching intervention),

post-test and delayed post-post-test (4 weeks after the completion ofthe teaching intervention).

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In addition to data on the performance of the two groups in the language development

assessment tasks a number of lessons within each teaching method were recorded and are

analysed using the Spada and Frohlich's 'Communicative Orientation to Language

Teaching'Scheme.

The research reveals a number of important findings, including:

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Differences in teaching methods

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Evidence ofoverall marginally superior improvement in performance over time by

the experimental group

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Evidence that the experimental group

is

advantaged in contexts which provide

opportunities for more spontaneous and extended communication. The experimental

group

is

more adventurous and less inhibited in spontaneous production and more

advanced in range oftenses and aspects used

[;I

Evidence that the control group

has

a higher level of accuracy in their second

language production in the marking of 3

n1

person

-S

in the simple present tense and in

the choice of functionally appropriate tenses

[;I

Support for general development trends in tense/aspect acquisition as found in earlier

studies

The study provides preliminary, but, nevertheless, important support for the potential

benefits of a more communicatively focussed approach to the teaching and learning of

second language grammar. Discussion concludes with consideration of future research

that could extend the findings of this study.