Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH CODE 03 GRADUATION THESIS B A DEGREE IN ENGLISH STUDY Fundamental elements of teachin[.]
HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH CODE: 03 GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH STUDY Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam Supervisor: Nguyen Van Quang, Ph.D Name of student: Mai Duc Son Date of birth: 10/02/1997 Course: 2015-2019 Ha Noi – 2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam DECLARATION Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfill for B.A degree in English studies) I certify that no part of the research has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgement and that the research is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor Hanoi, April, 2019 Student Mai Duc Son Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Supervisor Dr Nguyen Van Quang Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I am using this opportunity to express my gratitude to everyone who supported me throughout the study This work would never have been possible without the encouragement and support from my supervisor, Nguyen Van Quang, Ph.D I have been extremely lucky to have him as my mentor and guide in writing this thesis I am also indebted to all my lecturers at University for their precious knowledge, useful lectures in linguistics, which lay the foundation for this study Lastly, I would like to thank the most important people in my life, my family and friends I am forever grateful for my parents, who have given me their unconditional support and provided me with the feeling that I am free and capable to pursue any goal in life that I set in my mind Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale .1 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Research questions .2 1.5 Design of the study .2 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Definitions 2.1.1 Definition of second language 2.1.2 Definition of language acquisition 2.2 Social development in preschool children 2.3 Second language acquisition in preschool children .7 2.3.1 Overview 2.3.2 Benefits of becoming bilingual 2.3.3 The way preschool children learn a second language 2.3.4 Simultaneous vs Sequential Second Language Acquisition .9 2.3.5 Code Switching/Language Mixing 10 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 12 3.1 Data collection method .12 3.2 Data Analysis .14 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 15 4.1 Age .15 4.2 Materials .17 4.3 Technology 20 4.4 Games 28 Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 34 5.1 Summary of the results .34 5.2 Limitations 34 5.3 Suggestion for further studies……………………………………… 35 REFERENCES 36 Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale It is fundamentally essential for children to learn English from a young age in this rapidly globalizing world English knowledge will help to open many opportunities for them in the future and it will be invaluable in their future careers However, teaching English to children is not an easy job But it is also not difficult, if we already know how to it Many teaching positions involve teaching children - a unique experience that is both challenging and fun Compared to adults, children are more energetic, have shorter attention spans, and learn language according to specific stages of development; these present planning challenges for the teacher The key to teaching English to children is to understand the principles of language acquisition and apply it in ways that keep children motivated to learn Children’s world is playing and imitating The present paper deals with the following subjects: How to effectively use technology and games in teaching English, qualities that materials used for teaching English to preschool children should have, the best age for children to start learning English, and finally some practical tips and teaching techniques for teachers of English language 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study With this study, English teachers will be provided with guidelines and knowledge on teaching English to children and these knowledge will affect everything they in the classroom In addition, the result withdrawn from the study could help teachers to develop their own appropriate methods and techniques for teaching English to preschool children Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam The study is intended to: - Introduce the factors that affect teaching English to preschool children - Introduce effective methods for teaching English to preschool children 1.3 Scope of the study The principles and methods for teaching English to children can be extremely diverse Therefore, this thesis will only focus on the fundamental elements that every teacher of English language needs to know to begin their journey of teaching preschool children 1.4 Research questions What is the best age for children to start learning English? Which qualities should materials that are used for teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam have? What is the role of technology in teaching English for preschool children? What is the role of games in teaching English for preschool children? 1.5 Design of the study The study will be divided into chapters, each chapter will be provided with specific ideas that are supporting this research - Chapter one: ‘’ Introduction’’ Chapter one will indicate the reason, aims and methods of the study Provide a general look of the thesis - Chapter two: ‘’ Theoretical background ‘’ Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam This chapter will show the ‘’theoretical background‘’ which indicates the definition of second language, definition of language acquisition, social development and second language acquisition in preschool children - Chapter three: ‘’ Methodology’’ In chapter three, Methods and how to research will be presented The information and data collected from the subjects of the study will be described in detail - Chapter four: ‘’ Findings, discussion and recommendations’’ Data and information will be collected and compared with the theoretical background The final result will be given for discussion and recommendations - Chapter five: ‘’Conclusion’’ In this chapter, summary and limitations of the research will be presented There will also be some suggestions for further study Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Definitions 2.1.1 Definition of second language According to Wikipedia, a person’s second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later (usually as a foreign language, but it can be another language used in the speaker's home country) For example, there are two official languages of Canada (English and French) and some people use both A speaker's dominant language, which is the language a speaker uses most or is most comfortable with, is not necessarily the speaker's first language The second language can also be the dominant one For example, the Canadian census defines first language for its purposes as "the first language learned in childhood and still spoken", recognizing that for some, the earliest language may be lost, a process known as language attrition This can happen when young children move to a new language environment 2.1.2 Definition of language acquisition According to Wikipedia, language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate Language acquisition involves structures, rules and representation The capacity to successfully use language requires one to acquire a range of tools including phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and an extensive vocabulary Language can be vocalized as in speech, or manual Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019 Fundamental elements of teaching English to preschool children in Vietnam as in sign Human language capacity is represented in the brain Even though human language capacity is finite, one can say and understand an infinite number of sentences, which is based on a syntactic principle called recursion Evidence suggests that every individual has three recursive mechanisms that allow sentences to go indeterminately These three mechanisms are: relativization, complementation and coordination 2.2 Social development in preschool children According to Michelle Anthony, Ph.D (Social Development in 3-5 Year Olds), the preschool years are a magic time in development Children move from being almost entirely dependent on their parents, to being somewhat independent beings in the world In virtually every aspect of development, their knowledge base and competencies are exploding, not the least of which are their social and emotional skills The preschool years (ages to about age 6) begin with the tail end of Erik Erikson’s second stage of psychosocial development: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt In this stage, children are learning to be self-sufficient in ways such as self-regulation, toileting, feeding, and dressing Around the age of four, they enter the third stage of psychosocial development: Initiative vs Guilt Over the course of this period, children learn to imagine, to become more independent, to broaden their skills through play, fantasy, and exploration, and to engage, participate, and cooperate with others, including peers According to Erikson, if these goals are not accomplished, the child will become fearful, socially excluded, limited in his ability to play, and negatively dependent on adults While seeming lofty, these goals are achieved by most children through natural interactions with family and other caretakers While preschoolers are also learning how to relate to peers and interact with them, most of the Mai Duc Son – K22A – 2015-2019