(SKKN 2022) Using songs to involve grade 4 pupils in learning English

THANH HOA EDUCATION & TRAINING DEPARTMENT THANH HOA CITY EDUCATION & TRAINING OFFICE EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE EXPERIENCES IN USING SONGS TO INVOVLE GRADE PUPILS IN LEARNING ENGLISH The implementer: Lê Thị Thu Hằng Position: Teacher School: Quang Thanh Primary School Subject: English THANH HOA, 2022 INDEX INTRODUCTION 1.1 The reasons for choosing the topic PAGE 1 1.2 The purpose of research 1.3 The objects of research 1.4 The methods of research CONTENT 2.1 The behaviorist theory 2.2 Situation issues before applying experience initiative 2.3 The solutions of implementation 5 2.3.1 How to teach songs 2.3.2 Types of songs 2.3.3 Exploiting songs 12 2.3.4 Song contest 12 2.3.5 Problems 12 2.3.6 Six steps for making a song the focus of your class 2.4 The efficiency of the experience initiative CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 3.1 Conclusion 3.2 Suggestion 13 15 16 16 17 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The reasons for choosing the topic Since English has become an international language, more and more people learn English The importance of English as a world language has made people to learn English as early as possible Teaching English as a foreign language to young learners need special approach since young learners have special characteristics, they have their own way of learning English has become the main language of communication all over the world and early learning of English in the school context is becoming more common Teaching of English from primary education is very common in many countries, including Viet Nam Learning English starts at the age of and Teaching children can be immensely rewarding, teachers who has experienced that can tell about it But it’s not fun and games all the time, and sometimes it’s just not that easy English teachers who wish to teach children must be aware of the challenges and difficulties they may encounter, and prepare accordingly But still the young age is different, children learn a language faster than adults, they not learn through traditional language teaching methods Through fun activities children can learn a language better as learning becomes natural for them since these activities not make them conscious that they are learning a language Like any other children, Vietnamese children accept new foreign languages easily, but they get bored very fast if the teacher is teaching them using the old conventional methods and techniques Teachers are responsible for finding out interesting and attractive ways to teach and motivate their pupils Children love to have fun and exciting things, so teachers should choose suitable teaching methods that cater to children’s nature Songs play an important role in the development of young children learning a second language A testament to this is the frequency with which songs are used in English Language Teaching classrooms all over the world This paper begins by looking at why songs can be considered valuable pedagogical tools In particular, it will discuss how songs can help learners improve their listening skills and pronunciation, and how they can be useful in the teaching of vocabulary and sentence structures The author will also discuss how songs can reflect culture and increase students’ overall enjoyment of learning a second language The author will then attempt to show, through practical examples, how songs can be used as language tasks Finally, the paper aims to explore how classic songs for children can be adapted to suit a particular theme or part of the curriculum a teacher might wish to teach Teaching English to young learners cannot be seen only as teaching the language This challenging process needs to consider the social and cognitive development of learners In order to this, it is necessary to create an atmosphere that resembles the one which is natural to children One of the best ways to create such a natural, anxiety-free environment is through interesting activities Songs certainly belong to the group of fun activities which serve as useful tools for learning the language and which not put pressure on students to immediately produce the language but to start doing it only when they are ready Songs are one type of listening activity that have a broad potential Music and songs are essential parts of growing and learning Children love to sing and teachers naturally use songs to teach them concepts and language in a fun way Some of the significant characteristics of songs are that they are fun and can keep the students excited However, the most important feature of songs is repetition They contain language patterns, but also develop listening skills, pronunciation and rhythm, and provide a fun atmosphere Even if the teachers play songs multiple times a day, the majority of students probably would not get bored In addition, songs are very beneficial types of activities There are so many aspects of a language that can be delivered and recycled through the use of songs They can be used at any stage of a lesson and there are many ways to incorporate them into a lesson Sometimes, they are used just as gap fillers and warm-ups, sometimes as the main part of a lesson, but sometimes they are there to provide a fun atmosphere.Considering all these benefits of songs in language learning, this paper further discovers to what extent songs improve vocabulary retention It also covers whether audio-visual and textual representation of language material provide better grounds for language acquisition than audio alone Moreover, it shows that songs have a strong influence on young learners and their motivation to learn English Most children enjoy singing songs, and they can often be a welcome change from the routine of learning a foreign language For the teacher, using songs in the classroom can also be a nice break from following a set curriculum Songs can be taught to any number of students and even those teachers with the most limited resources can use them effectively Songs can play an important role in the development of language in young children learning a second language Yet songs may be used relatively ineffectively and the potential for language learning is not maximized Songs are appreciated for their linguistic, pedagogical, cultural and entertaining features and they are precious language learning materials They can be used to teach and develop every aspect of a language This paper aims to verify these claims and confirm the effectiveness of using songs as a means to improve young learners’ English language vocabulary and to determine whether songs influence young learners’ motivation to learn English The paper deals with theoretical explanations of young learners, listening skills, and different aspects of using and teaching songs It also discusses how songs influence motivation and the connection of songs with some language learning theories The analytical part of the paper explains the procedure and the results obtained from the pre-tests, posttests and delayed tests for three different children’s songs as well as from the questionnaire that was done in order to collect information about motivation provided by songs The results showed that songs have a positive influence on vocabulary retention of young learners Whatever setting is used, aural or aural/visual, the results prove that songs are suitable for different learning styles, they encourage positive learning experience, and enhance their knowledge Songs aid motivation and help learners develop a love for language learning Students motivated in this way are imaginative, creative, and eager to learn and succeed This paper starts by analyzing why songs should be considered as useful pedagogical tools The author then proposes using songs as language learning tasks to maximize the benefits of using songs and attempts to show how this might be done using practical examples Finally, the paper explores how classic children’s songs could be modified to help teachers use them more frequently to teach a wider variety of topics After exploring and accumulating the experiences from colleagues, I have some experiences in using painting art to teach young learners and achieved quite effective results The pupils are more active and interested in learning English, especially in learning vocabulary This improves that my methods are right With the passion and the love for teaching English, I have studied and developed the research: "Experiences in using songs to involve grade pupils in learning English " 1.2 The purpose of research The aim of the study is to explore to what extent the selected audio and/or video of the selected songs supported with written lyrics influence the acquisition of vocabulary items and the level of motivation that the use of songs creates For the purpose of this study, two second grade classes (three lessons each), consisting of students between the ages of and 9, were taught under different conditions One class was exposed to audio recordings of the songs, whereas the second class was taught with the video of the songs which included lyrics In order to examine the level of motivation provided by the songs, the students completed a questionnaire Based on the theoretical part of the research and the advantages of the songs in the EFL classes, especially when they are supported with different visual and other aids, the present study seeks to answer the following questions: Does the combination of audio, video and textual form of the songs have a higher influence on vocabulary acquisition than the audio format of the songs alone? Does the use of songs in English language classes influence the level of motivation and interest for learning English? The research applies the methods of using songs to involve pupils in learning English Creating the language circumstance to communicate in English and promote pupils to actively participate in communicative activities; offering some solutions and methods for using songs in teaching English Exchanging and sharing some experiences in using songs in teaching English for young learners 1.3 The objects of research Research Time : School Year 2021 - 2022 Research Location: Quang Thanh Primary School Research Object: "Experiences in using songs to involve grade pupils in learning English " The respondents of the research: With this research I focused on the primary pupils, especially the pupils of class Systematizing some theoretical issues about the procedures and activities in using songs to teach English for young learners according to the communicative approach Exploring the present situation of using songs to teach English at Primary School and suggesting some techniques in using songs to invovle pupils in learning English to develop speaking and listening skill for elementary pupils, helping them be more confident to communicate in English 1.4 The methods of research Method of literature review Method of survey (Questionnaire) Method of secondary data Method of statistical analysis CONTENT 2.1 The behaviorist theory It is proven that children love playing, singing songs, and experiencing English with their senses Therefore, Bourke (2006: 281) asserts that a syllabus for young second language learners should be experientially appropriate and certainly contain songs, rhymes, and chants Similarly, Martin (2000: 69) points out that songs and rhymes represent powerful features of primary language programs Having this in mind, teachers have to anything to make their learners happy, cheerful, and satisfied Consequently, they need to make sure to choose songs and activities which are fun but also fit the curriculum and the theme of their lessons Children learn best when they are exposed to real-life contexts (Paul, 1996: 6) This statement is explained by an assertion that children prefer doing things they like doing outside the classroom Teachers need to have in mind that some children love active participation and physical movement while others not like to be physically involved What also needs to be taken into consideration is whether or not songs are motivational and provide an emotional experience This is clarified by the fact that children need to be emotionally involved in the learning process which abounds in play-like activities which are likeable and fun, but promote learning Researchers agree (Jolly, 1975: 14; Shin, J.K., 2006) that songs are useful teaching aids which raise and maintain students’ motivation, especially in cases when they are catchy and supported with colorful visuals, realia (objects from real life used in classroom instruction), and movement These supplements add additional sensory and visual input which in turn enhance learning Songs, chants, poems, and rhymes play an important role in early language development They represent a flexible resource which allows teachers to use and adapt them in a variety of ways so as to suit the needs of their learners Children easily absorb and reproduce the language of songs They serve as an excellent memory tool The repetition of words, language structures, and rhythm enhance learning and they stick easily in learners’ minds In order to make this a memorable experience, it is important to choose songs that children find enjoyable and not boring and not give children the feeling of being forced to listen to songs that are not appealing to them To recap, songs and rhymes are essential in young learners’ classroom for a number of reasons First of all, they are children’s favorite language activities which contain repetitive language and set phrases Furthermore, they develop listening comprehension, they teach pronunciation, intonation and stress in a natural way, and teach vocabulary and language structures of the song In addition, songs help children build their confidence by allowing them to join in no matter how good their English is They also build group dynamics And finally, if a song appeals to children they usually sing it on their own, outside the classroom (Roth, 1998: 53) According to Green (in Nelson and Son, 1986) the rhythm that verses of a song contain aids the development of children’s language fluency, while rhyming words of a song help children focus on pronouncing them correctly She also believes that the children who were continually exposed to songs at their early age increase their vocabulary and build their confidence in using the target language Everything that has been said so far can be extended with Sevik’s (2011: 1029-1030) list of the most remarkable characteristics of using songs with young learners He concluded that: Listening comprehension is best taught through songs Songs represent the strong feature of modern primary language programmes Songs may extend young learners’ attention span Songs are great tool for language learning at an early age Songs are regarded as an excellent memory tool Songs provide a variety of comprehensible input Songs create a safe and natural classroom ethos Songs are extremely repetitive and result in language fluency Songs abound in cultural content In addition, songs are beneficial for various reasons in English classes; Griffee (1988) identified the following reasons: Songs and music lower anxiety If they are introduced in the early years of language learning, songs and music tend to create enjoyable, anxiety-free environment Songs are useful for teaching vocabulary Songs serve as an excellent listening material Songs can be used as supplemental texts in the end of the lesson, on special occasions or as an additional component for vocabulary development Songs and music can be used to support grammar presentation, practice and revision Songs and music bring various cultures into the classroom Similarly, Murphy (1992) discusses the benefits of songs, and asserts that songs aid the development of language in young children and influence shortand long-term memory He adds that songs are short, selfcontained texts and recordings which contain simple, repetitive, conversational language Due to their joyful nature they provide variety and fun and aid relaxation and group dynamics Therefore, it can be concluded that by listening to songs in English lessons children may benefit in many areas Being repetitive does not mean that songs are dull, but instead they offer children opportunity to drill and acquire the language in a fun way Furthermore, songs assist learners in developing their vocabulary and provide meaningful contexts for teaching vocabulary because they deal with relevant topics and include forms and functions In addition, songs are a great opportunity to teach a foreign language culture This cultural element can be found in, for example, children’s songs, Christmas carols, and counting songs 2.2 Situation issues before applying experience initiative The influence of different visual and audio sources has not been a subject of many studies In fact, these types of sources have not, to the best of our knowledge, been researched together Therefore, we decided to research their effect on the acquisition of lexical items The context in which participants are situated is Quang Thanh Primary school, in Thanh Hoa City Pupils of primary schools in Thanh Hoa City start learning English as a mandatory school subject, and continue learning it until the end of their schooling Pupils in the fourth grades of primary school have four thirty-five-minute class periods a week, or 140 classes a year The EFL (English Foreign Language) syllabi for young learners in the fourth grades of primary schools focus on the acquisition of basic vocabulary items and language structures as well as on the development of love for learning English Young learners of English in Quang Thanh Primary School have almost no contact with English native speakers Their only exposure to English comes through media (mainly cartoons and children’s TV programs) and English language classes The study was carried out among grade pupils (8-9 years of age) of Quang Thanh Primary School, in Thanh Hoa City The participating pupils had been learning English for four years, four thirty -five-minute lessons a week They had little experience in speaking English, therefore the obtained information would have high validity For the purpose of the research, classes are named Class 4A and Class 4B Our school is a public primary school in a rural area in Thanh Hoa province It is a large school with around 1208 pupils, ranging from to 10 years old There are three to six classes in each year levels, meaning that collaboration among teachers is extremely important to ensure consistency in learning programs After several years of teaching the book Tieng Anh 4, I found that many pupils can not speak or listen well However, they like singing during the lesson When the children sing songs, it helps them to remember the items and terms better With this kind of activity you can teach almost all kinds of vocabulary (parts of the body, days in a week, directions as well as verbs and so on) From those factors, I find that using songs to teach vocabulary to arouse children's interest and attention They set up a situation where children learn and remember the target language unconsciously So if we use songs in teaching English for young learners, the pupils will understand and remember the lesson easily and effectively We have to take advantages of love to enrich the language – teaching environment There are numerous variations of activities and teachers are advised to choose what best suits their learners The quality survey and pupils’ classification: Based on the present situation of pupils in class 4, the level of all pupils is acquired after a few weeks of the school year with the methods of using art to teach vocabulary to develop speaking and listening skill I had 40 minutes to test pupils in class 4D and 4E to survey and classify the pupils The following will show the result in the pupils’ speaking and listening skills : Class 4D 4E The numbers of pupils 46 42 Good Fair Average Weak N % N % N % N % 10 21,8% 19% 16 14 34,8% 33,3% 12 13 26% 31% 17,4% 16,7% After doing the survey, I have classified the pupils and immediately applied the methods and experiences which I accumulated over the years to improve the teaching and learning quality 2.3 The solutions of implementation In this part of the research I will suggest some techniques in using songs and chants for teaching English This research is by no means comprehensive; rather it is an opportunity for sharing what I know about new perspectives in teaching songs and chants for young learners 2.3.1 How to teach songs The following guidelines are not meant to be dogmas According to the specific situations they could be varied by the teacher Guidelines for teaching songs: For presentation songs should be played from a CD or spoken by the teacher and the actions should be demonstrated Then the teacher should check if the students understood the content It is not necessary to translate word by word but the students should know what the rhyme or song means This step can be supported by visual aids Now the students learn the text step by step In the literature are to be found two tried and tested methods: the snowball principle and the echo principle The snowball principle means that the teacher says a sequence becoming longer and longer After each saying the students repeat that sequence in chorus Eg: Unit 1: Nice to see you again Lesson – Page – English Good morning to you Good morning to you Good morning to you Good morning, dear Miss Hien Good morning to you Good morning to you Good morning to you Good morning, dear children Good morning to you The echo principle (see Schmid-Schönbein 2001: 120, 121) means that the students as a group imagine they are an echo in a mountain wood, a valley, another country etc The teacher shouts a sequence and the students repeat the teachers sequence It is expedient to build up a longer structure from its end Eg: Unit 2: I’m from Japan Lesson – Page 13 – English Where are you from? Hi I’m Mai from Vietnam Hello, Mai Nice to meet you Hello I’m Akiko from Japan Hello, Akiko Nice to meet you Hi I’m Hakim from Malaysia Hello, Hakim Nice to meet you Hello I’m Linda from England Hello, Linda Nice to meet you Both methods can also be supported by visual aids If there are any actions they should be done by the students while learning the text because it is easier to learn them together Longer texts can be learned verse by verse in the following lessons Now the children say the whole rhyme in chorus, in groups or alone and the actions When and how to use songs? Song can be used at the beginning, during or at the end of any lesson We may use them in many different ways in the language classroom: as short warmups to start our lessons, to introduce new language, to revise and practice language, to change the mood or to get everyone’s attention When using music within our English classroom, we must select songs that are suitable for the age group we are teaching and make clear which language aspect we are going to practice or reinforce (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc.) We can build up the following record chart which will help us to analyse the full potential of each song and chant If we use songs and chants regularly, we can see that all four skills (speaking, reading, listening and writing) can be very well and equally practiced 2.3.2 Types of songs There are a lot of different types of songs and chants with special characteristics But not all are useful for primary school students The teacher has to check the suitability according to the size of the text, the vocabulary, the structure and his didactic intention Types of songs: Finger play songs The content of these songs can be illustrated by the children’s finger movement They support the acquisition of gesture meaning and the use of nonverbal expressions They also develop the children’s senso-motoric abilities Eg: “Hickory dickory dock ”(from websites on the internet) Hickory dickory dock Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock The clock struck one (in the next verses two, three …), The mouse ran down, Hickory, dickory, dock While singing the song the fingers of the right hand play the mouse on the left arm When the clock struck, the children clap the number of strikes and count Counting songs 10 These songs support the learning of numbers and are often connected with using fingers Most of them train the numbers from one to ten Eg: “Ten little Indians” (from websites on the internet) One little, two, little, three little Indians For little, five little, six little Indians Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, Ten little Indian boys (in the second verse - girls) While singing the song the children show the numbers with their fingers Spelling songs They are useful to train the sounds of the English alphabet The separate letters mostly sound different from their pronunciation in words Therefore the pupils need help for learning the individual letter sound Eg: “Farmer Brown has got a dog” (from websites on the internet) Farmer Brown has got a dog and Rover is his name, sir Farmer Brown has got a dog and Rover is his name R-O-V-E-R, R-O-V-E-R, R-O-V-E-R, and Rover is his name Instead of “dog” and “Rover” in the next verses stand: cat - Pussy - P-US-S-Y Action songs The biggest group of songs aims at associating words with movements of their body They also “internalize the sounds and rhythms of English, … develop a sense of rhythm [and] … give the children a chance ‘to let off steam’.” (Phillips 1993: 101) Eg: “If you’re happy” (from websites on the internet) If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it, If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands If you’re happy and you know it, stamp your feet… If you’re happy and you know it, sing a song, tra-la- la… If you’re happy and you know it, shout “HOORAY”… If you’re happy and you know it, it all: clap your hands, stamp your feet, sing a song, shout Songs for special occasions These songs are suitable for deepening the special vocabulary and for celebrating these occasions in the school They emphasize the cultural aspect of songs Eg: Unit 15: When’s Children’s Day? Lesson – Page 31- English Happy new year ! Happy, Happy new year ! Happy, Happy new year ! Time for hope and time for cheer Happy, Happy new year ! Happy, Happy new year ! 11 Happy, Happy new year ! A song to joy for all to hear A new year comes! We say, hooray! Happy new year ! Drop-a-word songs These songs train the children’s concentration They are often combined with actions instead of the dropped words Drop-a-word songs “encourage internalisation of language” (Murphey 1992: 130) Eg: “My hat it has three corners” (from websites on the internet) My hat, it has three corners, Three corners has my hat And had it not three corners, It would not be my hat Actions: my - hand on chest hat - point to head three - fingers corners - point to elbow The 1st time you sing the song, all actions and words; The 2nd time, don't say 'my' only the action; The 3rd time, only action for 'hat', The 4th time, only action for 'three', The 5th time, only action for 'corners' Role-play songs This type of song “contextualize vocabulary and make the transfer from singing to meaningful referents.” (Murphey 1992: 129) They use the children’s love for stories and role playing Eg: “There was a princess long ago” (from websites on the internet) There was a Princess long ago, long ago, long ago There was a Princess long ago, long long ago And she lived in a big high tower, a big high tower, a big high tower, And she lived in a big high tower, long long ago A wicked fairy waved her wand, waved her wand, waved her wand, A wicked fairy waved her wand, long long ago The Princess slept for a hundred years, a hundred years, a h y., The Princess slept for a hundred years, long long ago A great big forest grew around, grew around, grew around, A great big forest grew around, long long ago A handsome Prince came riding by, riding by, riding by, A handsome Prince came riding by, long long ago He chopped the trees down one by one, one by one, one by one, He chopped the trees down one by one, long long ago He woke the Princess with a kiss, with a kiss, with a kiss, He woke the Princess with a kiss, long long ago 12 So everybody’s happy now, happy now, happy now, So everybody’s happy now long long ago Topic songs Many songs support the acquisition of vocabulary according to a special topic like “The days of the week”, “ The months of the year”, “The weather” or “The family” If they not fit in with other categories they are called “topic songs” Eg: Look outside (for the topic “The weather”) (from websites on the internet) Look outside Look outside, look outside, it’s sunny out today It’s sunny outside, it’s sunny outside, it’s sunny out today According to the real weather can be sung instead of “sunny”: cloudy windy, rainy, foggy, snowy.etc 2.3.3 Exploiting songs Songs can be exploited by other activities after learning and often use The aim is to enjoy the increase of knowledge but also to practise listening skills and the vocabulary The following ideas are taken from Phillips (1993: 112,113) Song pictures The teacher shows the children pictures that illustrate the content of a song some with gaps or mistakes After listening, singing or reciting the children should find the mistakes or complete the pictures If a song tells a story, the illustrating pictures could be cut out and mixed The children listen to the song and put the pictures in the right order It can be done at the blackboard or on a handout Find the word Before playing or singing a song the teacher asks the children to listen for a certain word Then they write down the number of times this word occurs To train the listening skills another possibility is to sing or recite wrong words in the texts The children compare with their own knowledge and write down the number of mistakes Mixed-up lines or words To promote reading skills and knowledge about sentence structure the teacher can copy the text from textbooks or other sources, cut it out and mix the order of words or lines The children listen and put the lines or words in the correct order again 2.3.4 Song contest The English teacher organises a contest where the children recite their favourite chants or sing their favourite songs They can perform it alone or in groups A jury choose the best performer but all children involved should get an appreciation to keep up their motivation It is also possible to celebrate a “Day of the English language” where the children can show their knowledge in songs, chants and plays There are no limits for the teacher’s ideas 2.3.5 Problems Beside the many advantages there are also problems in using songs for English teaching Not all teachers are able to read notes and to work out new 13 songs Therefore songs should be an important element in further vocational teacher training Besides, the department of education should provide enough money for CDs and appropriate equipment for English lessons A good help for quite unmusical teachers is to transfer new texts into well-known melodies Some authentic rhymes or songs contain old expressions or dialectal or distorted linguistic material Therefore teachers should check their collected material for useful and suitable content 2.3.6 Six steps for making a song the focus of your class My intention here is to provide a basic outline you can use with any song Remember, these are just suggestions so make sure to keep the profile of your learners in mind Step 1: Listen to the song That’s it – start things off by just listening It’s important to remember that this is supposed to be a fun activity; don’t make it too serious or boring As an alternative, you can show a video clip if you have one – in fact, I strongly recommend it, as it will cater to more learners’ learning preferences Ask learners if they’ve heard it before, and don’t overload them with tasks at this point; simply let them enjoy the music Step 2: Ask some questions about the title Here are a couple of examples of the types of questions you can ask for teaching the chants in Unit 4: When’s your birthday? Lesson – Part Let’s sing “ What is the date today?” “ What is the first/ second… month of the year?” “ Which month you like best?” What is the date today? What's the date today? Is it the first of October What's the date today? Is it the first or is it the third? What's the date today? It isn't the firrst,it isn't the firrst Is it the second of October Such questions tend to work really well as conversation starters, so group three or four learners together and then get feedback from each group on their thoughts If you think it would help, make this your first step, i.e., before the initial listening Alternatively, prior to having listened to the song you can teach a couple of words and give a simple task for the first listening My favourite strategy is to give three or four words from the song and ask to them to listen out for the words that rhyme with them You could also brainstorm possible rhymes before listening Step 3: Listen to the song again, this time with lyrics This time, you should give learners the chance to read the lyrics to the song At this point you might one or more of the following activities: 14 Learners can just read the lyrics while they listen They can possibly highlight unknown words for later discussion You can make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; learners fill in the gaps as they listen You can make cut-out strips of selected missing words and again make a lyric worksheet as a gap fill; this time learners match the word strips to the gaps as they listen Step 4: Focus on a particular verb tense or aspect of grammar Virtually every song centres on a particular verb tense This is too good an opportunity to pass up in terms of uncovering the grammar My suggestion is to start with questions such as these: - After “ Let’s” is what types of verbs: Verb-ing, Verb-bare infinitive or Verb-to infinitive ? This acts as a springboard for discussing the function of a specific tense, as well as examining its form Furthermore, it often tends to raise awareness of grammatical flexibility and ‘poetic licence’ in the construction of song lyrics Students often expect songs to obey the grammatical rules that have been drummed into them In a surprisingly large number of cases, this can lead to the enlightening discovery that rules can be broken! Step 5: Focus on vocabulary, idioms and expressions We’ve noted that many songs bend the rules of grammar It’s also useful to focus on the creative and artistic use of vocabulary we encounter in lyrics Start with questions like these (again, for Queen’s classic song ‘We are the champions’): - What does “ It’s time to start” mean? - What does “ Let’s play together” mean? - What does “ remember” mean? Go through the meanings, illustrating with other examples if necessary Songs often serve as really good contexts for phrases and idioms, but it’s good to make sure that the meaning is clear As with grammar, years of misunderstanding can come to light in this way! Step 6: Round things off with some creativity Creativity is an important part of maintaining motivation but it shouldn’t be limited to the teaching approach Depending on the factors highlighted in the first part of this post (age, language level, cultural specifics, etc.), you might want to try finishing things off with an activity that stimulates creative thought Here are a few examples of things you can to get the creative juices flowing: Write another verse of lyrics, maintaining the same mood and style as the original This can be done individually or in groups These new lyrics can be presented to the rest of the class Perhaps several groups can work on this to come up with a completely new set of lyrics for the whole song A song tends to give you the perspective of the singer Write a response (this can be a paragraph, i.e., not necessarily in lyric form) from the point of view of the person the song is being sung about, or any other protagonist 15 Have the learners plan a music video for the song In groups they decide the location, the characters, and what happens Then each group explains their idea to the rest of the class and the learners vote on the best one The results can be surprising, as they frequently come up with an interpretation that hadn’t even occurred to you 2.4 The efficiency of the experience initiative After applying successfully the methods and procedures to use art activities to teach vocabulary, the pupils’ improvement in speaking and listening skills can be seen clearly The result in the second semester of the school year 2021-2022 shows the increase in the percentage of pupils who can improve listening and speaking skills successfully What is especially pleasing is the impact of learning vocabulary in class as there are fewer pupils who can not remember the words than the beginning of the first semester The significance of the methods of using art activities to teach vocabulary can be seen when examining the percentage of pupils with a reading age above their chronological age since the program’s implementation Comparing with the result survey at the beginning, I find that the recent result is better than the old one The following chart will show the result: Class 4D 4E The numbers of pupils 46 42 Good Fair Average Weak N % N % N % N % 16 13 34,8% 30,9% 20 18 43,5% 42,9% 10 11 21,7% 26,2% 0 0 To sum up, the improvement of the pupils’ skills has been a resounding success The consistency and clarity it has afforded in teaching art activities for primary pupils has been worth the time and effort My pupils are capable and ready to understand and remember the words effectively when learning English Learning a foreign language can be stressful for anyone, especially young learners Fun, simple English, singing activities playing as pupils enter the classroom help create a welcoming environment The following photographs are linked with the class’s atmosphere of which the photographs are to be found in the appendices CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 3.1 Conclusion 16 The study examined the level to which visual and aural representation of language through songs influence acquisition in the fourth grade pupils of Quang Thanh Primary School The results showed that songs have a positive influence on vocabulary retention of young learners Whatever setting is used, aural or aural/visual, the results prove that songs are suitable for different learning styles, they encourage positive learning experience and enhance their knowledge The findings, furthermore, confirm the belief of many researchers (House, 1997; Jolly, 1975; Shin, J.K., 2006) that songs serve as an important motivator in the language learning process It becomes clear that it is crucial for language teachers to create inspiring and encouraging environments in order to increase learners’ motivation A universal appeal which songs have aids motivation and helps learners to develop love for language learning Students motivated in this way are imaginative, creative, and eager to learn and succeed The study proves these beliefs and shows that the second grade students were unquestionably motivated, enthusiastically participated and enjoyed singing activities The first purpose in presenting this paper is to state a case for developing songs from activities into language learning tasks The second purpose is to highlight how, with a little initiative, teachers can adapt children’s songs to better suit their teaching goals Songs can be used as a valuable teaching and learning tool Using songs can help learners improve their listening skills and pronunciation; they can also be useful for teaching vocabulary and sentence structures Probably the greatest benefit to using songs in the classroom is that they are enjoyable Unfortunately, despite these advantages, simply singing songs will not teach learners how to communicate in another language Using songs as tasks might be one way of helping transfer words from songs into use, and maximize the potential of songs as teaching and learning tools Adapting existing children’s songs is one method that teachers can use to increase their repertoire of songs, thus giving them more opportunity to use songs in their teaching contexts This research investigated the methods of teaching art activities for primary pupils, lesson delivery and sequence of content and learning expectations used by teachers of English at Quang Thanh Primary School This research brings broader understanding of strategies for teaching art activities to pupils whose first language is not English The rationale for the study stems from the need to gain greater international perspective of the teaching of English learners The results reflect analysis of classroom observation field notes of the pupils of class 4A and 4B To sum up, the research explains that the class atmosphere is very important It is easily achieved with the activities natural to a child’s development level, such as songs Songs can have a great impact on learners because of their multi-modal characteristics and may connect with the language in many different ways Singing helps practice listening skills, vocalize the words and expressions and practice their pronunciation, and if students dance along with singing then it connects the language with gestures and movements 17 The readiness with which young children accept songs helps teachers include them as their classroom routine and create an enjoyable and inspiring atmosphere Therefore, no matter what type of song representation or activity teachers choose, the research has proven that songs definitely influence language acquisition and enhance motivation Thus, they should be a main component of any young learner’s language program This research does reveal some promising practices but more research is needed 3.2 Suggestion To the leaders: To enhance the capacity of teachers in teaching English, the leaders should organize the training courses for the English teachers regularly Through the training courses, teachers have the opportunity to exchange and learn their experiences Acknowledgments: I am grateful to the Ministry of Education and Training for publishing the book Tieng Anh 3,4,5; for valuable discussions and innovative ideas and techniques of teaching art activities during the program I would also like to thank the experts of Thanh Hoa City Education and Training Office, my colleagues at Quang Thanh Primary School, for providing helpful comments for the research Finally, I would like to encourage Vietnamese teachers to have more confidence in using songs to teach vocabulary even though we are not Music teacher With full advanced preparation, including practicing English and designing effective teaching activities, we can all be experts in teaching English Sincerely thank you! Certified by the Principal Quang Thanh, March 20th 2022 I declare that this is my experienced initiative I not copy the other person's content Written by Lê Thị Thu Hằng REFERENCES 18 [1] Vietnamese Educational Publisher - Tieng Anh (2017) Ministry of Education and Training [2] L Cameron, "Teaching English to Young Learners" New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001 [3] D Nunan, "Teaching English to Young Learners" California: Anaheim University Press 2011 [4] S Thornbury, "How to teach vocabulary" Longman Essex 2002 [5] S Phillips, "YOUNG LEARNERS" New York: Oxford University Press 1993 [6] L Cameron and P Mckay, "Bringing creative teaching into the young learner classroom." OUP Oxford 2013 [7] G Lewis and H Mol, "GRAMMAR FOR YOUNG LEARNERS" New York: Oxford University Press 2009 [8] L Von Blanckensee, "Technology Tools for Young Learners", New York: outledge [9] Farideh Bavi, "The Effect of Using Fun Activities on Learning Vocabulary at The Elementary Level", Journal of Language Teaching and Research,Vol 9/3, pp 629- 639, 2018 retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0903.24 on 8th August 2019 [10] Adkins, S (1997) “Connecting the Powers of Music to The Learning of Languages.” The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning IV [11] Ellis, G and Girard, D (2002) The Primary English Teacher’s Guide Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited [12] sachmem.vn 19 (The students' excitement in the class when they involve in singing activities) (Revising the vocabularies before singing) (Doing actions when singing in class) ... for learning English? The research applies the methods of using songs to involve pupils in learning English Creating the language circumstance to communicate in English and promote pupils to actively... techniques in using songs to invovle pupils in learning English to develop speaking and listening skill for elementary pupils, helping them be more confident to communicate in English 1 .4 The methods... participate in communicative activities; offering some solutions and methods for using songs in teaching English Exchanging and sharing some experiences in using songs in teaching English for