Tenses for

Scientific Paper
Meeting 6
Some driving question

What tenses needed in a paper?

Does a research paper need all
tenses?
 Items
0 Proposal
1 Abstract
2 Introduction
3 Review of the literature
4 Method
5 Result
6 Discussion
7 Concussion
 Background of the study
The fundamental goal of CLT is to develop learners
communicative competence in L2 through communication and
interaction with others (Brown, 2002; Canale & Swain, 1980;
Mochida, 2002). An important aspect of communicative
competence is related to effectiveness and appropriateness of
speech during the process of communication, as described by
Rickheit and Strohner (2008). They state that whereas
effectiveness describes the outcome of communicative
competence, appropriateness connects it with the situational
conditions of the actual social interaction (Rickheit &
Strohner, 2008, p. 16).
To be continued
Continued
The term communicative competence was first used by Hymes
(1972, 1974) to refer to a speakers capability to speak a
language with linguistic proficiency and to use language
appropriately in different social contexts. Savignon (1972)
describes communicative competence as the ability to
function in a truly communicative setting that allows learners
to communicate with other speakers effectively and
spontaneously. Savignon (1976) further explains that
communicative competence is dependent on the negotiation of
meaning between speakers, because communication is
spontaneous. Speakers need to negotiate meaning based on
what is unclear to them.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to examine college level L2
teachers perceptions of grammar instruction and if they
include grammar teaching in their CLT classrooms. In
particular, the following research questions guided this
study:
1. What are college level L2 teachers perceptions of
grammar instruction in communicative language teaching?
2. Do these teachers implement grammar instruction in their
CLT classrooms? If so, how?
Methodology
In order to address the research questions for this study, the
qualitative paradigm was chosen to investigate a phenomenon
with details about how the teachers conducted their teaching
through classroom observations (Preissle, 2006). A qualitative
approach also allowed us to hear the teachers voices
regarding how they viewed grammar instruction in CLT through
individual interviews. Additionally, a case study design was
chosen, because we were interested in the experiences,
insights, and voices of a particular group of second language
teachers.
Participants
In the study, there were six participants who were graduate students and
part-time instructors at the Spanish department in a major university in the
Southern United States. The Spanish department required the instructors to
use a CLT approach in their teaching. The participants names are: Carla,
Hugo, Lela, Marco, Patricia, and Raul (all pseudonyms). The participating
teachers consisted of both native and non-native speakers of Spanish with
various levels of teaching experiences, and of both males and females.
Hugo, Lela, Marco, and Raul are native speakers of Spanish, whereas Carla
and Patricia are non-native speakers of Spanish but have native-like
proficiency. Hugo, Marco, and Patricia had several years of experience
teaching language to both children and adults. Raul had one year of
language teaching experience, while Carla and Lela had just begun teaching
at the time of the study. We used purposeful maximum variation sampling in
order to choose participants who would maximize the diversity of potential
participants (Patton, 1990).
Data collection
Data collection took place over a period of three months. We triangulated the
data by conducting non-participant observations and interviews, and collecting a
variety of documents and records. Six classroom observations were conducted for
each participant in order to capture in detail how and if any of the participants
carried out grammar instruction in their CLT classrooms. We also took field notes
with thick descriptions which offer details and rich data of these observations
(Rossman & Rallis, 2003). The field notes included what was happening in the
class, the teachers behaviors, the students responses, as well as questions and
thoughts that came up during the observations.
The three-step interviews, as suggested by Seidman (1998), were conducted.
with each participant The purpose of the first interview (see Appendix A) was to
focus on the participants past experiences regarding L2 teaching and learning.
The second interview (see Appendix B) focused on the participants current
teaching experience in detail, and the third interview (see Appendix C) was for
the researcher to understand why they did what was observed in their
classrooms. All the interviews were tape-recorded for transcribing.
For the purpose of this study, syllabi, copies of textbooks used
during the observations, and handouts from each participant
were collected because documents and records often contain
information that requires accountability (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
All of the participants used the textbook Sabas que?
written by VanPatten, Lee, Ballman, and Farley (2008). The
syllabi listed class goals and objectives which reflected the
values of the instructors or the department about L2 teaching.
This source of information was analyzed and compared with the
participants actual teaching from the observations and
responses from the interviews.
 Data analysis

Data were analyzed through ongoing and recursive analysis methods

(Merriam, 1998). In addition, categorical analysis was employed in order
to sort and code data into an assigned category (Rossman & Rallis, 2003).
To look for evidence for categories and themes, the coding method was
used. The data were coded using the open coding strategy (circling
chunks, writing a word that indicated a category in the margin, and
using various colors of highlighters for different themes), as described by
Rossman and Rallis (2003), and Strauss and Corbin (1990). This process
was employed continuously until the final concrete categories emerge
and themes with appropriate codes were established.
 4.4 Findings
From the preliminary data analysis, three major themes were found. They are: how they
learned second languages, perceptions of grammar instruction in CLT, and teaching practices.
The data were re-visited repeatedly in order to determine sub-themes for each major theme.
Table 1 provides the definitions of each sub-theme.
 Discussion
The findings in this study provide important information that can be applied to all levels of
language students and teachers. There is a mixture of feelings and perceptions regarding grammar
instruction in a CLT classroom. Some teachers believe that despite the advantages of teaching
communicatively, having a variety of teaching methods is necessary. However, half of the teachers
do not agree with the idea of including grammar explanations in a CLT classroom. On the other
hand, two teachers believe explicit grammar instruction will only help them receive good grades
on tests; it will not facilitate their communication with others. They also feel that focusing on
communicative activities without explaining grammar is a viable way for students to learn a L2.
Three participants have different perceptions and feelings about CLT. They believe that grammar
teaching is necessary for students, and believe that CLT should include both speaking and writing.
They support the notion of engaging students in communication, but feel that teaching grammar is
necessary, because students need grammar to communicate. Even though all of the participants
agree that there is a place for grammar instruction in a L2 classroom, their beliefs in the degree
of effectiveness of grammar teaching vary. Some insist on explaining grammar to students, while
others insist on not teaching grammar explicitly.
 6 Conclusion
This qualitative case study examined perceptions of grammar instruction of six college
level teachers who taught Spanish as a L2, particularly in a CLT context. The study also
looked into how, if at all, they incorporated grammar teaching in their CLT classrooms. The
findings indicate that teachers perceptions of grammar instruction are greatly impacted by
their L2 learning experiences. The findings also demonstrate the link between
implementations and teacher beliefs, perceptions, and prior experiences. These teachers
prior experiences included direct observations and interactions with students. Their
instructional decisions were also influenced by their perceptions of their students needs and
interests. As such, examining L2 teachers beliefs and preferences cannot be disregarded in
any teacher education program, since these are the foundation of L2 teachers and teacher
candidates acquisition methodology. Even though the question is posed in methods classes
and texts (Hall, 2001), it is a much more influential factor in future methodology choice on
the part of teacher candidates, especially for CLT, than methods instructors may believe, as
proven by the findings of this study. By following through with the question of their own L2
acquisition in the context of observation, discussion, and collaboration throughout the entire
course, teacher candidates can truly develop their role as communicative language teachers.
 Repeat
ed
Action
All the
Proof
time

Any
Lemma
time
Present
Simple
Establis
Definiti hed
on scientif
ic fact

Theore
Finding
ms
 Trend and Situation that are
evolving now
Present
Continuous

Programed Future Event

Present Perfect
Function Example
1. Action that begun in the past and The sea level has changed
still current today. throughout the Earths history and
will continue to do so.
2. By referring a present situation, to We have used this system for many
state how long this situation has been years.
operative.
3. To state that this is the first We have been here since last
(second, third, ) time that Monday.
something has been done
4. In the Conclusion, to summarize We have presented a new
what you have done in the paper. methodology for teaching English.
 Past Simple
Function Yes No
1. To refer a clear time In 2012, Carter In 2012, Carter has
suggested that suggested that
complex sentences .. complex sentences
2. To state a clearly past action Smith first used this Smith has first used
procedure more than this procedure more
than

3. To state the objective of your In the second

experiment were, what
equipment was used, how the
method were adapted and what
steps were followed
experiment we
proceeded as follows:
First, we gathered the
data. Second, we
sorted the data by
 Aims and Method in a paper
Simple Present
1 To describe whole paper.
This paper outlines a methodology for
establishing the amount of
2 To describe on going project.
The aim of this research is to
3 To state the objective of your experiment
were, what equipment was used, how the
method were adapted and what steps were
followed
In the second experiment we proceeded as
follows: First, we gathered the data. Second,
we sorted the data by
Simple Past
To outline what was done
To establish our verbosity, we analyzed five
languages. We classified these languages in
terms of x, y, z.
To describe a finished project.
The aim of the project was to
To describe procedure (method) established by
the author
A cloze procedure is a technique in which
words are deleted from a text according to .
The passage is presented to students, who
 Reference to the literature
Simple Past (SP) Present Prefect (PP)
1 To refer to the literature when the date To give past-to-present background
within the main sentences. information.
In 2007, Carter suggested that woman are Many author have claimed that there is a
superior to men. life on Mars.
2 To report what other author have suggested,
proposed, claimed, implied, hypothesized, put
forward
For instance in (5) the author suggested that a
new strategy could be introduced
3 Use SP if the author is the subject. Use PP when the method, technique,
procedure is the subject of the verb.

Smith first used this procedure in 1996. The procedure has been exploited by
many author
 Results and Discussion
Present Simple Present Prefect
1 Use Present Simple to report your own To give past-to-present background
finding in information.
We found that green and red produces white. Many author have claimed that there is a
This only seems to happen when the ratio . life on Mars.
2 To state what a figure or table shows,
highlights, describes, reports
The results are given in Table 4, which shows
that In addition Figure 1 highlights that X
equal Y.
3 To discuss data and result, to state the
implication of your findings.

We believe that this means that our method

outperform all previous method.
Other use of Present Perfect (Continuous)
Present Perfect Present Prefect
Continuous
1 If a situation has existed for Continuous indicates the situation
considerable number of years. may be temporary.
For thousand of the years man has For several years researchers in
tried to give a meaning to life. this field have been trying to
understand the
2 Continuous is not for completed
action.
We have been investigating this
problem for three years.
 Other use of Present Perfect (Continuous)
Tenses Usages Examples

1 Past To indicate long actions that was We encountered a problem

Continuou interrupted by other short while we were loading the
s actions. software.

2 Past To indicate two long actions that While I was studying I was also
Continuou took place in the same time. working full time.
s Past simple for a series of non- I studied at Unsika. Then I
simultaneous actions worked at a mall.

3 Past To highlight when one action took Two dogs that had died for
perfect place earlier than a later action. reasons, unrelated to this study
Past simple indicates a series of were used to characterize the
consecutive actions. approach.
Work with Will
Will Examples

1 To make prediction We predict that the students who taught by

Research manuscript
using the technique will be more creative.
2 To express a hypothesis referring Note that if the water in the container
to a specific case. reaches a temperature of 100C, it will boil

3 To outline future work. Future work will involve investigating the
reasons
To talk about future part of the We will se how relevant this in the next
manuscript. subsection. We will now explain how x=y.

Note: English has many ways to express the future, but only will and present continues are found in research
manuscript
Tenses
Items Tenses
0 Proposal 1. Future Simple 1. Chapter III

1 Abstract 1. Present Simple 1. We show

2. Past Simple 2. We showed
3. Present Perfect 3. We have found
2 Introduction 1. Present Simple 1. Persistence is an attribute valued by many.
2. Present Perfect 2. Persistence has most often been studied in term of cultural
deference.
3 Review of 1. Present Simple 1. In the literature there are several example of new strategies to
the 2. Present Perfect perform the test
literature 2. Many different approaches have been proposed to solve this issue,
4 Method 1. Past Simple 1. Use passive voice, because the focus is what is done.

5 Result 1. Past Simple 1. The care model, was seen as a credible and holistic approach to
the management of depression.
6 Discussion 1. Simple present

7 Concussion 1. Simple Past

2. Present perfect