Challenges in Applying Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to Grammar Instruction for Non-English Major Students at the Tertiary Level in Vietnam

This study examines the challenges faced by English lecturers at Hanoi Metropolitan University (HNMU) when applying Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to grammar instruction for non-English major students. It also brings out the practical responses that lecturers themselves take to be feasible in this setting. The study rested on a mixed-methods design. Questionnaire data came from 28 English lecturers, and these were followed up with interview data from 10 of them, all gathered over the first semester of the 2024–2025 academic year. The questionnaire carried both closed and open-ended items, putting questions to lecturers about how they understood CLT, how they went about teaching grammar, what constraints they perceived, and what solutions they would suggest. As for the findings, they indicate that CLT-based grammar instruction comes up against several constraints: training that is too thin on the practical side, classes that are large and mixed in level, assessment that leans toward grammar, students whose English proficiency remains limited, and a frequent falling back on Vietnamese during pair or group work. The interview findings further suggest that lecturers do not reject CLT in principle. Rather, they tend to adapt it cautiously because institutional conditions and student readiness make full implementation difficult. The study contributes a context-specific account of CLT implementation in grammar teaching for non-English major students in Vietnamese higher education. It argues for gradual, locally responsive integration of communicative activities, supported by teacher development, assessment adjustment, and student orientation.