Monkey stories app and implication in teaching English for non- English majors

MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS Pham Thi Thanh Thuy! Abstract: This writing aims at analyzing of the app Monkey Stories in learning app in teaching English for non-English that, the writer designs in order to develop researcher tends appropriate students’ advantages English, then and disadvantages making use of this majors in classes at HNUE After activities or tasks to apply this app English skills Within this short study, the to use both qualitative and quantitative methods including questionnaires and case study so that the data will be carefully analyzed and then the results are discussed for positive conclusions in teaching and learning English Hopefully, the results withdrawn from this research is useful for lecturers, students and anyone who Cares Keywords: design activities, HNUE, Monkey Stories, teach English, develop students’ English skills INTRODUCTION Recently, the movement of teaching methods renovation has been deeply and wholeheartedly launched in nearly all schools and institutions all over the world and in Vietnam, as well One of the latest technological achievements applied in teaching is using smartphones Students are able to learn English efficiently only by using a smartphone connected with the Internet Monkeystories is a brand new app which helps students to learn English well, especially listening, pronunciation, vocabulary and reading As a result, the author thinks that it is necessary for her to teach English in class with the assistance of smartphone and the Internet Nearly all the students own smartphones and they use them for different purposes daily, including listening to different kinds of music and surfing the Internet One point to bear Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 279 in mind is that their skills and vocabulary in English are limited When they set up the app of Monkeystories in their cell phones, it is relatively convenient and easy for them to take away and learn wherever and whenever they feel like or they have free time The writer has spent time experiencing Monkeystories app in her smartphone She found out that it is of great use and naturally learners make progress if they are diligent and have strong motivation to practice English frequently day by day In her research, she aims at answering the two questions below: How confident are the non-English majors with their current levels of English? In what ways are the app Monkeystories improve their skills in English? useful for the students to In order to tackle these issues in her writing, she is going to organize her main contents logically and critically, as followed: Introduction Theoretical background 2.1 Literature review 2.2 Methodology 2.3 Overview about the app Monkeystories for smartphones, Ipads and Laptops/PCs The study 3.1 Participants 3.2 Data collection 3.3 Data discussion and analysis 3.4 Implications in teaching English for non-English majors at HNUE Conclusion Reference THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Literature review Learning, especially learning English with the support of the Internet resources seem to be fairly common and favored among language learners KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ: NHỮNG XU THẾ MỚI TRONG GIÁO DỤC 280 PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION including students In language education, materials are essential part of the learning and teaching process (Ahmet Basal, 2011) Online resources or web materials are significant resources for distance learners to achieve effective learning (Mutiara, Zuhairi & Kurniati, 2007) These resources assist learners to study more effectively They not need to spend too much time searching for materials in libraries; instead, they are able to sit at home comfortably and learn with the Internet Moreover, using online resources is considered as having the function to improve the quality of learning, increase the chance of assessing to education and training, reduce the expenditure which is consumed on education and facilitate the effectiveness and efficiency of education (Alexander, 2001) Learners, therefore, benefit quite a lot from online information they are capable of collecting provided that they have laptops connected to the Internet As well, they are advised to master essential skills of searching materials online, then acquire knowledge with their smartphones, laptops, Ipads or PCs Mobile apps are designed for mobile phones or Ipads On mobile phones, two main app stores are used, that is, Google Play for Android and Apple App Store for iOS Google Play is an international online software store developed by Google for Android devices (Chu, 2009) This app is currently available in nearly all smartphones and comparatively useful for every type of users Apple App Store for iOS is the first app market for app distribution services In Vietnam, most apps can be downloaded easily and freely, while some others must be purchased by mobile users These apps are varied, which interest mobile users a lot as they are able to play games or a variety of things such as learning foreign languages using Apple App Store or Google Play Learning English means learning listening, speaking, reading and writing Many apps create a multimedia instructional material, which is very useful for Vietnamese students who not only learn English from text but also suck in English through audio and video (Almet, 2011) In summary, learning English with the assistance of mobile apps has a positive effect on learners (Conroy, 2010) Learners are eager and curious to discover English while listening, writing, reading, learning grammar and vocabulary on these apps of smartphones In addition, they feel relaxed and amused during their self-study with the apps of studying English 2.2 Methodology This brief study followed: is done with qualitative and quantitative methods, as MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 281 The writer consulted such materials as books, journals and webpages related to the topic of the research She designed questionnaires to collect data, then analyzed, discussed, withdrew conclusions and implemented in genuine teaching English at HNUE 2.3 Overview about the app Monkeystories Laptops/PCs for smartphones, Ilpads and Image of the app Monkeystories Front page of the app Monkeystories Source: Monkeystories.vn As mentioned officially on the webpage of Monkeystories apps, this app was studied and developed by top language experts in the USA and famous writers who frequently write stories for children in order to assist them understand and use English fluently The app Monkeystories gives children chances to experience learning English with interesting, updated, interactive and inspiring method Firstly, the content of the stories was thoroughly assessed and built, basing on the best criteria so as to help young learners develop knowledge of English by reading English stories The topics of stories are close to the children’s lives Such topics as family, living environment and learning are preferences There are repeated phrases in the stories, using popular expressions and possible estimation This helps children to remember the stories more easily, predict the process of the stories and promote their imagination Characters in stories are familiar to the children Conversations between them are based on the most commonly-heard dialogues in their lives, helping them to develop speaking skill and using languages in every day topics KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ: NHỮNG XU THẾ MỚI TRONG GIÁO DỤC 282 PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION Picturesque images in stories help children to feel interested while reading the stories, understand exactly the content of the stories, which improve their skill of reading comprehension and develop their languages Secondly, the app Monkeystories helps readers to use it easily and develop their languages most efficiently ¢ Different native speakers read the stories emotionally, which helps children to reinforce their listening, pronunciation and intonation ¢ Subtitles are printed below together with native speakers’ loud reading, which helps readers to follow easily and understand the relationship between languages for reading and words which are written ¢ Children can both read stories and touch the images of characters, which motivates them to learn ¢ After the stories are read loudly, follow-up games or exercises are designed to help readers increase their capability of memorizing, improve their critical thinking and skill of reading comprehension ¢ Both children and their parents are able to learn English through reading stories with the app Monkeystories In conclusion, Monkeystories is a ready-to-use and convenient app for children to learn English in order to develop their knowledge of English naturally and standardizedly THE STUDY The author designed questionnaire for students to answer, then collected data for analysis and discussion The questionnaire is written with 16 questions, focusing on the students’ attitude, understanding and implications in learning English The study is a case study 3.1 Participants 28 students from different faculties in HNUE were asked to answer the questions in the questionnaires They are C67 students, who are studying English for AO level They are from 19-20 years old Some of them are better at English than others Although they are of AO level, some students can speak and write a little in English The lecturer tested them through two speaking tests and another listening-reading-writing midterm test MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 283 3.2 Data collection The questionnaires were given to students to answer after they had experienced studying English with the app Monkeystories All of them answered all the questions printed After that, the researcher analyzed the data collected, making it ready for discussion and analysis 3.3 Data discussion and analysis From the data collected from the survey, it can be said that, as mentioned below 61% of the students totally agreed that listening and speaking are the most important skills when they learn English However, 50% of them said they are quite afraid of learning these two skills while studying foreign languages It is true that nearly all Vietnamese students feel scared when they practice listening and speaking English Some are too afraid that they not want to speak in English as they can make mistakes Although 79% agreed that being able to pronounce correctly is vital for their learning English, 71% of those non-English majors stated that their pronunciation is not completely exact Language learners are aware of this problem when they learn English, but not all of them try hard to improve it They said that it is quite troublesome for them, as they did not learn English from early age 25% of them totally agreed that reading stories through Monkeystories is interesting Maybe it is because they have not had enough time to use the app for their English learning They did not hear about this app before the lecturer introduced in class and asked them to try learning with the app Monkeystories 47% students completely agreed that the native speakers’ loud reading is clear, emotional and understandable, however, 64% students partially agreed that they can learn English effectively through reading stories using Monkeystories app The author think that the students are likely to be interested in reading English stories after they have learnt with this app for certain time Importantly, they felt that the images and the native speakers’ voice of reading are attractive Only 25% students totally agreed that this app should be used in English classes at HNUE in the coming time, whereas 57% of them partially agreed that this app should be greatly made use of by lecturers From this study, it can be seen that students started becoming fascinated by the Monkeystories app It takes time for them to use and practice English in order to improve their knowledge of English KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ: NHỮNG XU THẾ MỚI TRONG GIÁO DỤC 284 PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION To answer the first research question, it can be seen that those students seem not quite confident with their competence of English They frequently become scared when they have to speak in English or listen to English talks The app has helped them to be more open to overcome their troubles For the second research question, the app of Monkeystories assisted them to be aware of their real difficulties and got them involved in the activities using the app in an amusing way Most of the students recognized how effective the app is to help them improve their skills of English Many of them totally agreed that this app should be used in English class at HNUE 3.4, Implications in teaching English for non-English majors at HNUE Here are several activities lecturers are capable of implementing in English class with the assistance of this app of Monkeystories Activity ` © € Á Image of a child learning English with Monkeystories - Lecturer turns on Monkeystories app on the smartphone or Ipad, then gives it to each student in turns to practice listening and reading after - Each student reads one or two sentences loudly after carefully listening to the native speaker reading loudly - The student can read the sentences again until their pronunciation and intonation are clear and emotional - Lecturer should connect the smartphone or Ipad with a loudspeaker so that all the students in class are able to listen to the story * Note: ¢ The level of the story should be chosen thoroughly so that almost all the students can read and understand There may be phrases for students to MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 285 practice pronunciation or simple sentences for them to practice easily or complex long sentences in a paragraph for excellent students if they can read quickly and pronounce well enough e The content of the story chosen must be suitable for the students’ age and psychology in order that most of them feel motivated and excited when practicing reading ¢ Lecturer should choose the green button so that the readers can touch the screen when they read aloud Activity Mom put her soup over the fire Dad cooked the meat over the fire An image of a page in a story (Source: Monkeystories.vn) - Lecturer turns on the app of Monkeystories on the laptop, connected with the projector and loudspeaker, then the image appears on the screen - Lecturer chooses Autoplay button so that the story runs from the beginning to the end The whole class listens to the story through the loudspeaker - After that, all the students answer comprehension questions for the story they have listened Comprehension questions are designed as post-reading activity in the app If questions are not designed, lecturer should ask students questions After some stories, there are sometimes games for readers to play Lecturer shows the game for the class to play together - If the students not answer questions or play games, lecturer asks them to summarize the story to check their understanding This task is for good students only; others can sit and hear the good one speaks Acitvity KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ: NHỮNG XU THẾ MỚI TRONG GIÁO DỤC 286 PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION Daisy visits many places around the world kết An image of a page in a story (Source: Monkeystories.vn) - Lecturer chooses a few short interesting stories for students to read alone as a competition among all students in class - This may become an exciting activity if the students are eager to take part in the competition - There should be some surprising gifts for those who read well and clearly enough Activity An image of a child learning English with Monkeystories (Source: Monkeystories.vn) app at home - Lecturer lends students her smartphone or Ipad to practice more at breaktime Students get together to look at and practice listening and reading stories in the app - Then, they feel relaxed and can choose the stories they like to read and listen They will become familiar with the app of Monkeystories, so they can decide to purchase and set up this app in their smartphones or Ipads to practice much more at home or anytime, anywhere they feel comfortable MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 287 CONCLUSION Learning foreign languages has always been a trouble to any person including non-English majors at HNUE As the data collected within this research, most of them are scared when they have to speak in English or listen to people talking in this language The app of Monkeystories has, in some ways, been helpful for them to feel motivated and interested while they read stories in a second language They become glad to imitate the native speakers naturally and emotionally However, this is only a case study, so the positive effects are still limited The writer expects that the study will be further researched in the near future Then, more students have opportunities to get used to the app of Monkeystories and improve their knowledge of English through reading this updated store of stories References Ahmet Basal, Selahattin Yilmaz, Asli Tanriveri, & Lutfiye Sari Yildiz Technical University, Turkey (2016), “Effectiveness of mobile applications in vocabulary teaching” Contemporary Educational Technology, 2016, 7(1), 47-59 Ahmet, B (2011), ELT teachers as online material developers, retrieved from http:// www.fojdel.net/pdfv01102/v01102-02.pdf Alexander, S (2001), E-learning development Training, Vol.43, No.4-5, pp.240-248 Andersen, I (2013), Mobile Apps for Learning English A Review of Complete English Course Apps: Characteristics, Similarities and Differences Bor-Tying Wang (2017), “Designing Mobile apps for English vocabulary learning” and experiences, Education & International Journal of Information Technology, Vol 7, No.4, April 2017 Chinnery, G (2006), Going to the MALL: Mobile assisted language learning, LANGUAGE LEARNING & TECHNOLOGY, Vol.10, No.1, pp.9-16 Chu, Eric (2009), Android Market Update Support Conroy, M.A (210), “Internet tools for language learning: University students taking control of their writing” Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, vol.26, no.6, pp.861-882 Emma Segev (2014), Mobile learning: improve your English anytime, anywhere, Retrieved from webpage http://www.britishcouncil.org KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ: NHỮNG XU THẾ MỚI TRONG GIÁO DỤC PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION 288 10 Joanna Norton (2014), How students can use mobiles to learn English, Retrieved from webpage https://www.britishcouncil.org 11 Maria Joao Ferreira, Fernado Moreira, Carla Santos Pereira, Natercia Durao (2015), “The role of mobile technologies in the teaching/learning process improvement in Portugal” Proceedings of ICERI2015 Conference 16-18% November 2015, Seville, Spain ISBN: 978-84-608-2657-6 12 Mutiaria, D, Zuhairi,A & Kurniati, S (2007), “Designing, Developing, Producing and Assuring the quality of Multi-media Leaming Materials for Distance Learners: Lessons Learnt from Indonesia’s Universitas Terbuka”, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Eucation TOJDE, Vol.8, No.2 13 Phạm Thị Kim Oanh (2015) “Giới thiệu số phần mém hoc Tiếng Anh Smartphone” 74p san KH&GD tháng 11/2015 14 Trường cao đẳng Nông nghiệp Nam Bộ - số 5- Qiaochu Liu and Xuan He (2014), “Using mobile apps to facilitate English learning for college students in China’ Bachelor’s thesis in Informatics, University of Boras, School of business and IT 15 Ramya Gangalamara and Madhumathi Pasupathi (2017), “Review on use of mobile apps for language learning” International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 12, Number 21 (2017) 16 (2015), Ung dung hoc tiéng Anh chinh phi My khuyén ding, Retrieved from webpage https://congnghe.tuoitre.vn About the author 17 Pham Thi Thanh Thuy (M.A), lecturer at Hanoi National University of Education (136 Xuân Thủy street, Cầu Giấy, Hà Nội) 18 Mobile: 0975908370 19 Email: phamthanhthuy09@gmail.com MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 289 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE You write - 3, basing on the level of disagreeing (0) to agreeing (3) Thank you quite a lot! - Disgree Agree Questions 0123 | like learning English in class | think learning English is necessary for me | think learning English assists me to have better job opportunities after graduation | think learning English helps me to have many more chances in my life | think the skills of listening and speaking are the most important while learning English | am scared of listening and speaking while learning English | think correct learning English pronunciation is essential when | think my pronunciation is not good | am interested in reading English stories 10 My vocabulary is not large enough 11 Reading fun stories with the app of Monkeystories 12 The voices of the people reading stories Monkeystories are clear and understandable 13 Images in the stories on Monkeystories vivid and colourful is on app are 14 | can practise my English effectively during listening and reading stories on Monkeystories app 15 | am satisfied with the fact that lecturers have used Monkeystories app in English lessons 16 | propose this app to be used widespread in English classes KỶ YẾU HỘI THẢO QUỐC TẾ: NHỮNG XU THẾ MỚI TRONG GIÁO DỤC 290 PROCEEDINGS OF INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: NEW TRENDS IN EDUCATION Statistical Summary table Questions (21%) (71%) (8%) (14%) (86%) (14%) (82%) (25%) (75%) (39%) (61%) (21%) (50%) (21%) (79%) (8%) (21%) (71%) (54%) (21%) (14%) 10 (18%) (28%) (14%) 11 (25%) (50%) (25%) 12 (53%) (47%) 13 (43%) (57%) (4%) (29%) (11%) 14 (15%) (64%) (21%) 15 (11%) (46%) (43%) 16 (18%) (57%) (25%) MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON-ENGLISH MAJORS 291 UNG DUNG MONKEY STORIES VA VIEC AP DUNG VAO GIANG DAY TIENG ANH CHO SINH VIEN KHONG CHUYEN NGU Phạm Thị Thanh Thúy! Tóm tắt: Đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học phân tích mặt tích cực mặt chưa đạt ứng dụng Monkey Stories việc học tiếng Anh, sau sử dụng ứng dụng vào giảng dạy tiếng Anh cho sinh viên không chuyên ngữ lớp trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội Sau đó, tác giả thiết kế số hoạt động tập phù hợp để sử dụng phần mềm cho mục đích phát triển kỹ tiếng Anh sinh viên Trong khuôn khổ viết ngắn gọn này, nhà nghiên cứu dùng phương pháp định lượng định tính, bao gồm câu hỏi điều tra nghiên cứu điển cứu Số liệu phân tích kỹ lưỡng, kết thảo luận nhằm đạt đến nhiều kết luận khả quan cho việc dạy học tiếng Anh Tác giả hi vọng kết rút từ nghiên cứu hữu ích cho giảng viên, sinh viên quan tâm Từ khóa: ĐHSP HN, giảng dạy tiếng Anh, Monkey Stories, thiét ké hoạt động, phát triển kỹ tiếng Anh sinh viên ! Khoa Tiếng Anh, Trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội .. .MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON -ENGLISH MAJORS 279 in mind is that their skills and vocabulary in English are limited When they set up the app of Monkeystories... tested them through two speaking tests and another listening-reading-writing midterm test MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON -ENGLISH MAJORS 283 3.2 Data collection... can read and understand There may be phrases for students to MONKEY STORIES APP AND IMPLICATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR NON -ENGLISH MAJORS 285 practice pronunciation or simple sentences for them