An analysis on grammar approach in the textbook new headway pre-Intermediate and implications for teaching and learning. A cacse study in the department of chemistry and environment of Hung Yen universityof technology and education

personalization activities. 40% of teachers usually use problem - solving and 70% of teachers 
usually use personalization activities. Teachers only use something simple such as asking 
students to talk about their free time, daily work, hobbies, childhood, etc. All teachers never 
use such activities as information gaps, interviews, simulations, find someone who, spot the 
differences between two pictures and picture cues. This stage is very important because it 
helps teachers check the students’ understanding. Teachers only follow the parts in the 
textbook so it is easy to explain why most of the teachers do not spend much time on this 
stage because this stage is not presented in the textbook. 
2.4. Data analysis from interviews 
In order to obtain more reliable data, 30 students and 6 teachers were selected randomly 
among the respondents for a structured interview. These students were asked and answered 
the interview questions in Vietnamese to make sure the reliability of the information. Each 
student answers three questions. 
For question 1, twenty five respondents said that they were not interested in the 
grammar teaching approach of the teachers because of some reasons. Firstly, the teachers did 
not give them much time to express their opinion. They only did the parts in the textbook. 
Secondly, they felt stressed because they had to follow the teachers’ requirement. Lastly, the 
teachers did not use extra activities and techniques in the lessons that made the lesson boring. 
For question 2, Twenty one of respondents stated that they only sat, listened to the 
teachers, wrote some important information and did what the teachers asked. In general, they 
learnt grammar very passively. Some of them kept silent during the lessons. 
For question 3, they all expected teachers to use games, situations, role-plays, visual 
aids, realia... in grammar lessons. The teachers should let them more time express their 
opinions as well as pay more attention to what they need to make the lesson more comfortable 
and effective. It means they would like their teachers to spend more time on the production 
stage. They think that this stage is time for them to check their outcome to know what they 
have gotten from the lessons. They have chance to use language in the practical situation. 
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All the teachers also were asked three questions and the results showed as followings: 
For question 1, five out of six teachers answered that they did not often use extra 
activities or techniques in grammar lessons because they did not have enough time to do such 
activities and the class was too crowded for them to use these activities or techniques. They 
often followed the parts which were presented in the textbook. 
For question 2, all teachers stated that there were only two stages presented in the New 
Headway Pre-intermediate which are presentation and practice. That means the production 
stage is not presented here. 
For question 3, all teachers agreed that they should use more techniques and activities in 
each lesson to create a comfortable learning environment for the students. The teachers should 
share the teaching experience with each other as well as attend the teaching approach courses 
to update the new teaching approaches. 
2.5. Data analysis from class observation 
During three weeks, the author observed five grammar lessons taught by five different 
teachers for first-year students at the Department of Chemistry and Environment at UTEHY. 
The author only took notes of the classroom procedures as detailed as possible due to 
technical constraints. Through five lessons, it is seen that all teachers used PPP approach to 
grammar teaching, two of them presented the grammar points by writing down the examples 
on the blackboard and analysed these examples to help the students discover the form, use and 
time expressions of the grammar points while the rest used the text to get students perceive 
the structure - its form and meaning, and then asked some of students give some more 
examples. The last activity the students did in the grammar lesson was doing the exercises in 
the practice part in the textbook or some extra exercises which were prepared by the teachers. 
One of the teachers used the games in the lesson that made the lesson more exciting. Only two 
stages were paid attention, the students did not have time for the production stage. The 
teachers talked much more than the students, the students were not much interested in the 
lessons, some of them still talked to each other and did nothing in the lesson. The students 
were passive in the lesson because they only did what the teachers asked them. They 
seemed so tired after the lesson. There was no chance for the teachers to check students’ 
ability to use English. 
3. Research findings 
Firstly, the analysis of the data shows that both teachers and student at UTEHY have 
positive attitudes towards grammar and they are aware of the importance of grammar to their 
teaching and learning of English. Grammar is necessary for students to communicate better. 
Both teachers and students are interested in grammar learning and teaching. However, they 
meet some difficulties in grammar teaching and learning because of grammar points which 
are presented in each lessons. 
Secondly, both teachers and students agree that the approach to grammar in the New 
Headway Pre-intermediate is PPP approach that also explains why most of teachers at 
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UTEHY use this approach in grammar teaching. Most of teachers and students believe that 
PPP approach to grammar teaching is effective. However, there is a difference between 
teachers and students’ thinking. Teachers pay attention to practice stage while students think 
that production stage is the most important. 
Thirdly, the authors suggested some techniques for each stage, namely for the 
production stage to improve the English grammar teaching and learning at UTEHY such as 
interview, find someone who, information gap, board games, role-play, etc. 
Lastly, each grammar teaching approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. 
Through the analysis of the data reveals that the approach to grammar in the New Headway 
Pre-intermediate is PPP approach. This approach is used by 70% of teachers at UTEHY. It is 
a common communicative language teaching and is good for grammar teaching. Students are 
easy to follow the stages of this approach that makes the grammar lesson clear so students can 
remember the grammar points easily. Otherwise, we find some inappropriateness in grammar 
teaching at UTEHY. According to most of the teachers at UTEHY, the purpose of teaching 
grammar is to help students communicate better, however, they do not let students much time 
to use the language. They do not use many techniques for each stage. 
They seem to ignore the production stage that explains why not many techniques are 
used here. The written practice stage is paid attention most so students are good at doing 
grammar exercises but not good at speaking. They are reluctant to speak English. Although 
they think that grammar is very necessary and interesting, most of students are not interested 
in the grammar teaching approaches so they feel bored with the grammar lessons. In fact, 
most of students when they graduate from the university cannot speak English. It means they 
cannot meet the demands of the course objectives completely. 
4. Implications for teaching and learning 
Based on the findings stated above, some suggestions for improving grammar teaching 
and learning at UTEHY are given. There are three stages in PPP approach, however, the 
teachers at UTEHY and the textbook only focus on two stages: Presentation and Practice. 
Although the production stage is necessary for both students and teachers, it was not paid 
much attention so the writer would like to give some techniques for this stage. 
Information gaps: Information exchange is useful and crossing these gaps, students 
become more involved into the lessons that helps themselves become the content of the 
lesson. That brings English into the students' real contexts and the students know how to get 
information from others. 
Role-play technique: Role-play is used to refer to all sorts of activities where students 
imagine themselves in a situation outside the classroom, sometimes playing the role of 
someone other than themselves, and using language appropriate to this new context. For 
example: ask and answer questions, one student can play the teacher and the other plays the 
student, etc. 
Find someone who: Students have a list of questions, they stand and circulate, asking 
the questions to a partner. When a partner says yes, they write that person's name and move 
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on another partner. It is actually a series of pair interactions and creates a comfortable 
learning environment for students. 
Picture cues: Students have to guess what happens basing on the pictures. Teachers can 
provide some new words for students to make sentences. This technique is so interesting 
because students can express their own ideas. From that, they know what they have gotten 
from the lesson. 
Interview: It is very useful for students when they interview each other. Especially, it is 
necessary for them at the first lesson when they have to get to know each other. It also helps 
students know how to ask and answer in the interview. It is good for their future job interview. 
Spot the differences between two pictures: Students ask and answer questions to try to 
find out what is different. It is the chance for them to use the grammar points that they have just 
learnt and develop their speaking skill. Using this technique makes the grammar lessons more 
interesting because students feel comfortable to spot the differences between two pictures. 
These are some of the techniques that the authors would like to introduce with the hope 
that they will make the grammar lessons more interesting and effective. How to use these 
techniques effectively depends so much on the teachers. Each teacher should decide which 
technique, how, when and where to use to get their purpose. Teachers should use them 
flexibly. Teachers can create the new ones basing on the learning and teaching context. 
In conclusion, the analysis of the approach to grammar in the New Headway Pre-
intermediate is very useful for both teachers and students at UTEHY. Especially, the study 
helps the teachers find the appropriateness and inappropriateness in their grammar teaching 
approaches. From that, they find the best way to teach grammar effectively. That also explains 
why the students are interested in learning grammar but they are bored with grammar lessons. 
They are not satisfied with the grammar teaching approach being taught at the university. PPP 
approach is a good approach to teach grammar but how to use it effectively is not easy. In 
fact, the teachers do not explore all the advantages of this approach. One of the reasons that 
makes the grammar lessons boring is not many techniques are used in the lessons. The study 
highlights the importance of using varied techniques in each stage of grammar teaching, 
especially, in the production stage such as using information gaps, role-plays, interviews, 
picture cues, etc. The teachers can see the students’ needs that make the gap between teaching 
and learning styles narrowed so the students will be more motivated in learning grammar. 
However, the students have different learning styles for grammar learning so the teachers 
cannot use only one approach to grammar teaching. The teachers have to know how to 
combine the teaching approaches to make the grammar teaching more effective. In general, 
the study provided insightful information about the approach to grammar in the New 
Headway Pre-intermediate that is necessary for the teachers at UTEHY. 
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PHÂN TÍCH PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY NGỮ PHÁP TRONG GIÁO TRÌNH NEW 
HEADWAY PRE-INTERMEDIATE VÀ GỢI Ý CHO VIỆC DẠY VÀ HỌC. 
MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU ĐIỂN HÌNH TẠI KHOA HOÁ VÀ MÔI TRƢỜNG 
TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƢ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƢNG YÊN 
Nguyễn Thị Thu Thuỷ1, Đặng Thị Hƣơng Thảo2, Đỗ Thị Oanh2 
1Trường Đại học Tây Bắc 
2Trường Đại học Sư phạm Kĩ thuật Hưng Yên 
Tóm tắt: Bài báo trình bày nghiên cứu với mục đích phân tích phương pháp dạy ngữ pháp trong giáo 
New Headway Pre-intermediate và đưa ra các gợi ý cho việc dạy và học ngữ pháp tiếng Anh cho sinh viên khoa 
Hóa và Môi trường của Trường Đại học Sư phạm Kỹ thuật Hưng Yên. Bài báo trình bày kết quả nghiên cứu 
trong đó cho thấy giáo viên và sinh viên có thái độ tích cực về việc dạy và học ngữ pháp và phương pháp được 
giáo viên sử dụng chủ yếu là phương pháp thuyết trình - luyện tập và sản sinh. Từ kết quả trên, một số gợi ý 
được đưa ra nhằm nâng cao hiệu quả của việc dạy và học ngữ pháp tiếng Anh tại Khoa Hóa và Môi trường của 
Trường Đại học Sư phạm kỹ thuật Hưng Yên. 
Từ khóa: Ngữ pháp, PPP, phương pháp.