Innovation

ABSTRACT

Innovation is not always successful everywhere unless it meets the requirements of the objectives of learning and teaching at a particular place. Each environment is different from the other. It is not always successful to apply a good innovation from one place to another.

In the requirements of all kinds of tests in Viet Nam nowadays which are so much focused on grammar, the needs and interests of learners in learning grammar are very high. Also, there are so many different kinds of learners coming to language centers in Viet Nam to study English for their own purposes. Many of them could take their time to study English intensively while many others take it extensively. They only come to the English classes two or three evenings a week. However, their needs of learning grammar to pass the tests of National Certificates are great. Also, most of learners from high school and secondary schools need grammar background to do well their schoolwork. Therefore, the researcher would like to make an innovation of Grammar Textbooks to meet the requirements of learners' needs and interests at the 4th Division of Nong Lam University - Center for Foreign Studies in Bien Hoa city. The researcher applied the problem-solving model to do this action research.

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to see if the grammar innovation worked well with students at Nong Lam University - Center for Foreign Studies, at the division 4, at Bien Hoa city, and to see if the traditional methods in teaching grammar were still effective in such a place with particular students in this area in Viet Nam.

All the grammar courses were designed for the intensive students at Nong Lam University - Center for Foreign Studies. Most students here are university students. They study English for their graduation and for their job interviews. These students take 20 periods each week for their English studies. They spend 12 weeks each course with 240 periods on learning intensive English. Most of the materials are designed for communicative approach. These students have to take 2 courses in order to complete their elementary level of English in order to have enough background to learn TOEFL. During each course, they have 36 periods to work with grammar. In other words, they have totally 72 periods to finish their Basic English Grammar (two courses). The Center has been using the grammar book "Fundamentals of English Grammar" of Betty Schrampfer Azar. This material is rather effective with those intensive students at the head division. But we had some difficulties when we applied it to the division 4 at Bien Hoa city.

Many students at division 4 (Bien Hoa) come from secondary schools and high schools. Their purposes of study are to do well at schools and to pass their school tests. In addition, they want to pass the tests of National Certificates for their future use. However, each course at Bien Hoa Division lasts only 8 weeks with 72 periods. But there are only 16 periods for Grammar. Students have to take at least 3 courses to complete their elementary level. There are only 48 periods to work with grammar. After three courses, students will take the test to get the National certificate of level A. Yet, in order to do the test well, students have to master all the basic grammatical points required. But students at Bien Hoa division never finished the books they were required with those grammatical points because teachers never had enough time to help them. As a result, students at this division often got low marks at the final tests, and poorly few of them passed the tests of the National Certificates.

The methods of teaching grammar in the "Fundamentals of English Grammar" (Azar, 1992) are followed the communicative approach. The writer slit each grammar point into smaller ones with a lot of exercises for students to practice. This is really a good book of grammar for students who learn grammar intensively. But it also takes a lot of time to complete each grammatical point. This could not be applied for students at Bien Hoa division who are learning English extensively. They come to learn English at this division only three evenings a week. Particularly, most learners at the Division 4 come from secondary schools and high schools. They had to encounter a lot of big English tests at their schools, and all kinds of the tests in the Educational systems in Viet Nam nowadays are much focused on testing students' grammar skills. Therefore, grammar is quite essential for them.

Because of the time limited, because of the secondary school and the high school students, and because of the improvement of the division, the researcher, holding the position of the division manager, met with several members of the head division to talk about the problems and to find out the most suitable textbooks for his own division. Unfortunately, no book was found to be the best for his division. Finally, the researcher decided to compile three materials for his own division for the sake of students' needs. "Illustrates the importance of identifying the primary customer, and using the customer's needs as the foundation for a curriculum" (Ferrin, Landeros, Reck, 2001). The researcher used several books to compile the materials to meet students' requirements at the division. These books were shown in the procedures of designing new textbooks. The central focus of this top-down innovation was to examine how the material innovation worked when we have implemented the new textbooks at the division 4. Here are some questions to prove the purposes of this study:

1. Does the number of students increase at the division 4 after the innovation?

2. Does Knowledge of students about grammar improve through the final tests of each course?

3. What are the attitudes of students towards the grammar materials?

LITERATURE REVIEW

Before thinking of the innovation, people should think of the needs and interests of learners, and the board management should first concern about this matter. "The concept of satisfying the needs of customers is a cornerstone of total quality management" (Ferrin, Landeros &Reck, 2001). And the innovation should meet the requirements of the context and the environment it serves in order to be on the right way. White (1998) stated that "innovations do not occur in isolation; they take place in context".