MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY
- @& LL) ôâ -
HOANG THI KIM DUNG
SUGGESTED TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY
TO CHILDREN AT GLOBAL ENGLISH CENTRE
(GOI Y MOT SO HOAT DONG PHAN UNG TOAN THAN DE DAY TU VUNG TIENG ANH CHO TRE EM TAI TRUNG TAM ANH NGU GLOBAL)
MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION
Trang 2MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY
-—- đèo LẸ s@ -
HOANG THI KIM DUNG
SUGGESTED TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY
TO CHILDREN AT GLOBAL ENGLISH CENTRE
FIELD: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
CODE: 601410
MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION
SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI VAN LAM (M.A.)
Trang 3ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For the completion of the study, I have received valuable contributions from many people
First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thi Van Lam (M.A.), whose useful instructions and advice, as well as detailed critical comments and encouragements help me a great deal from the beginning to the end of the thesis writing process Without her help, the study would have never finished
I also would like to thank all the teachers who have taught me during the course and have given me useful advice and favorable conditions for the completion of the thesis
Additionally, I am grateful to all teachers and students in Global English centre who have helped me much to carry out the survey for my thesis
I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my lovely family for all pray, love, support, and encouragement in finishing my study
Finally, my thanks go to all my classmates in Vinh university who have given countless beneficial experiences and admirable memories
Trang 4ABSTRACT
Total Physical Response is a method of teaching English that involves kinesthetic motion in response to direct commands Prior to discussing such a method in detail, this paper deals with the ways to use this method in a specific English centre in which English is taught only for children at Global English centre In order to gain the aims of improving learning English vocabulary ability of children, this research helps teachers see the positive effects of TPR activities as well as encourage them to use these activities as supplementary activities to teach vocabulary to their students The investigation was carried out with the support of 10 teachers and 100 students from the many classes at Global English centre in Vinh city This research mainly finds out the answers for the three main issues: the attitudes of teachers and students towards the teaching and learning vocabulary, the real situation of using TPR activities in teaching vocabulary to children, and the effects of using TPR activities in teaching this language element Data was collected through one questionnaire in English for the teachers and one Vietnamese questionnaire for the students, and some follow-up interviews The results reveal that first, although there are many difficulties in teaching vocabulary to
children, most of the teachers are interested in working with them Secondly,
Trang 5STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Trang 6TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURE LIST OF TABLE LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2c Share 7
1 Rationale for choosing the fOpIC - - 22 52 22 S223 3222 2+zsxsszzxs2 7 2 Aims and ObJectives of the Study - - ¿+ 2223 S222 1222512 srxerse 8 3 Scopes of the StUdy - - 2 22211201 11221112211 115111211111 51 158 5E xe 8
4 Methods of the Study 8
5 Organization of the Study 9
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW cà ae 11
Trang 72.3.2 Roles of Teachers and Students in Total Physical Response .23 2.3.3 Main Principles of Total Physical Response - -:- 25 2.3.4 Total Physical Response ActIVItI€S + 2 2 22 232222 sc+szcs 26 PB an eằẮa AĂẮẰẼẰẼ 27 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .- - 5c 1S S2*2 site 28 ENIVYo oi 28 3.2 Research ques(IOnS ¿c1 1122211212211 12211 1221111811112 51 1118111 xen 28 E9 29
3.3.1 The Setting of the SurVey . 2 2c 2222212112212 Ecsxs 29 3.3.2 Population and sampling: Participanfs - ¿55-522 5252s+5s++ 29 E7 9 29 E2 na DDẦDẦẦ 30 3.3.3 Data Collection Ínstrumens - c5 5c 2-2 +S sexy 30 3.3.3.1 QuestIionniaIr€ c1 2 2112121121221 112211125111 81 1118811188111 nvrg 30 3.3.3.2 ÏD(€TVIEW cà Sàn TH HH Hàn Hà HH HH Họ 32 KP i0 32
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 34
Trang 84.4.2 The disadvantages of using Total Physical Response activities in teaching English vocabulary to children 5-2 2522 * 22+ s++xsxs+xsx+ 55 4.5 Suggested some TPR activities in teaching English vocabulary to Children a4 58 4.5.1 Total Physical Response StorytelÏing -:- 55:55 52552 58 4.5.1.1 Storytelling Familiar NĐame 522 2222222222322 ssx+ 59 4.5.1.2 Storytelling Personal HIstOry ¿5-52 S222 2xx +svxssx+ 59 4.5.1.3 Storytelling about the Childhood 22 222222 +2z‡+zzs+sx+ 60 4.5.1.4 Open- ended Storytelling - 5 2222223222 sex 60 c 60 4.5.2.1 TPR Warm-up Game - L2 22221222233 1221 E253 esxy 60
2) 515 A43ä.ậ 61
ooỪỪaaađiđi 61 4.5.2.4 Do as you are tỌ c2 2c 21222121213 1351 115511155111 151 11151111 63 4.5.2.5 Slap the board -. - S21 1221111211121 112111122111 181 111811 key 64
¬—ắẮ adađiđiiiiiiẳiiiiiiiiaiiẳầẳdV 65 4.5.3.1 Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes - 22222 c>s+ss+ 65
Trang 9LIST OF FIGURE
Figure 4.1: Teachers’ attitudes towards teaching vocabulary to children 37 Eigure 4.2: Students' attitudes towards English learning - 38 Figure 4.3: Students’ attitudes towards the importance of English vocabulary learming «0.2 ccc cecccce cee ceceeee cece ceeeeteeeeceeeeeteeeenteeenereeeneeeens 39 Figure 4.4: Students’ attitudes towards the difficulty of English vocabularV [€arTITB - -. - - 2c 2232221112218 121 11521112511 15211 1181111111 40 Figure 4.5: Students’ ability of remembering new words after each Figure 4.6: Teachers’ attitudes towards the importance of vocabulary in comparison with ørammar for communication purpose . - 42 Figure 4.7: Teachers’ priority focus on aspects of vocabulary 43 Figure 4.8: The importance the TPR activities in teaching English M1001 0225 5 Ả 45 Figure 4.9: The frequency of using TPR activities in learning 47 Figure 4.10: The moments of using TPR activities of the teachers 48 Figure 4.11: The students’ interest in applying TPR activities in teaching
VOCADUALy eee 51
Trang 10LIST OF TABLE
Trang 11LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TPR: Total Physical Response
Trang 12CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1 Rationale for choosing the topic
Teaching kids, particularly young ones, a foreign language is too difficult How do you keep them interested? How can you make it fun? What is the best way to ensure they are learning? One way to create a fast- paced, active and fun classroom environment is to incorporate some strategies using Total Physical Response (TPR) These strategies work best with beginners and with children in the three to twelve year old group Total Physical Response method tries to introduce some language skills or components in an
action in which a teacher serves three roles: an order taker, a model provider,
and an action monitor in which learners serve as models and action performers until they feel ready to speak out
As English teaching achieves its prominence at elementary schools, English is taught from the first grade For this reason, English teachers who are concerned with teaching children should be aware of the nature of their psychology in addition to mastering all crucial components in teaching them So far, English teachers have been experiencing difficulty in teaching children since they are less sufficient especially in implementing appropriate teaching materials and methods To teach English at elementary schools successfully,
teaching materials and methods are well suited For this reason, Total
Trang 13children, and can be utilized in a variety of settings Prior to discussing such a method in detail, this paper deals with the ways to use this method in a specific English centre in which English is taught only for children in Vinh, that is Global English centre
For all these reasons, the author has decided to choose the topic:
“Suggested Total Physical Response Activities to teach English vocabulary to Children at Global English centre” for this research
2 Aims and Objectives of the Study The aims of the study are:
+ To investigate real situation of teaching and learning English vocabulary by applying TPR method at the Global English centre
+ To suggest some TPR activities for teaching English vocabulary to children at the Global English centre
To fully achieve these aims, the study is to answer the following questions:
+ What is the real situation in applying TPR in teaching and learning English Vocabulary to children at the Global English centre?
+ What are Total Physical Response activities, which can be applied in teaching English vocabulary to children?
3 Scopes of the study
Our study deals with some Total Physical Response activities using in teaching English vocabulary in the classroom to children from 6 to 10 years old at the Global English centre in Vinh city
4 Methods of the Study
Trang 14quantitative and qualitative approaches with the following procedure:
- Reviewing theories associated with teaching and learning vocabulary as well as collecting information related to Total Physical Response method
from different sources: references, books, and Internet
- Conducting a survey on the real situation at the Global English centre by using questionnaires and making interviews for both the teachers and students
- Investigating and analyzing the results gained from the survey about the current situation of teaching and learning vocabulary and applying Total Physical Response activities in teaching this element at Global English centre - Synthesizing the survey results to suggest suitable activities for vocabulary teaching and learning
5 Organization of the Study
This study will consist of the following chapters:
The first chapter is Introduction In this chapter, the author will introduce the problems leading to the study, purpose, scope, and organization of the study
The second chapter is Literature Review Here, the theoretical
background related to the topic and surveys of articles, books and other resources relevant to a particular the study topic will be presented This chapter will also provide description, summary, and critical evaluation of each work quoted
Next, methodology of the study is presented in chapter three This chapter presents the detailed procedure of the study: the methodology, population selection, data collection and analysis
Trang 15based on applying total physical response to teach English vocabulary for kids This chapter is also investigate the situation of using TPR in VietNam in general In addition, the author suggests some typical TPR activities in teaching English vocabulary to children
The last chapter is Conclusion Main points and contents of the study are summarized based on the results of the study The implication of the study and the recommendation for further research are also presented in this chapter
Trang 16CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in the
Elementary School
2.1.1 Foreign Language Learning and Teaching
Nowadays, English becomes a concerned topic to everyone all around the world Teaching English language for young learners is especially of interest to many teachers and experts because of the cognitive windows open to children at this time in their life
Learning a foreign language is not as easy as learning the native language In learning a foreign language, the learners may meet all kinds of learning problems dealing with vocabulary, sound system, and how to arrange words into sentences that are quite different from those native languages Like any other learners of English as a foreign language, Vietnamese learners also meet difficulties in learning English since their native language is quite different from English Learning a foreign language is very difficult for Vietnamese learners Consequently, the learners should have a great motivation They should be serious in learning English because learning language actually needs a total physical, intellectual, and emotional response In teaching a foreign language, a teacher should have an objective The common objective of teaching a foreign language is to make learners to be able to communicate by using the target language orally and written form According to Brown (1988: 8), teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling, and setting the condition for learning
Trang 172.1.2.1 Characteristics of Children
As we mentioned above that teaching English, especially for children, should be enjoyable, interesting, repetitive, and understandable They are special objectives to learn at the beginning level In order to have the best results in teaching English to children, we have to know clearly about some main characteristics of them The range age of children, the author would like to mention in this thesis are from five to twelve They have different characteristics and motivations from the students at junior high school, senior high school, and university That makes teaching elementary school students is not the same as teaching adults Because the students of the elementary school may have low motivation in learning In this case, teacher has a challenge to motivate the students in learning something new
According to Scott and Ytreberg (1990: 2-4), the general characteristics of students are as follows:
1 They are competence users of mother tongue
2 They can tell the difference between the fact and fiction
3 They love to play and learn best when they enjoy themselves, but they also take themselves seriously and like to think, what they are doing is really work
4 They are enthusiastic and positive about learning
5 They rely on the spoken word as well as the physical world to convey and understand meaning
6 They are able to work with others and learn from others 7 Their own understanding comes through eyes, hands, and ears 8 They have very short attention and concentration span
Trang 181 Children are learning to read and write in their language 2 Children are developing as thinkers
3 Children can plan and organize how best to carry out an activity 4 Children can work with others and learn from others
5 Children can understand the difference between real and imaginary 6 Children can be reliable and take the responsibility for class activities and routines
Besides, most of young learners who follow some English courses in the English centre are students of elementary school Therefore, here are some main characteristics of elementary school students:
1 The elementary school students are the children between 7 and 12 2 They are in the smart age They often show what they know and are proud of it
3 There is strong correlation between physical condition and school achievement
4 They intend to praise themselves
5 At the end of this phase, they begin to have an interest in special subject
Trang 19English vocabulary which will be presented in live presentation using the TPR method
2.1.2.2 Characteristics of Children in Learning English Language
Native language learning is natural Babies are born with the ability to learn it and that learning begins at birth All children, no matter what language their parents speak, learn language much the same way However learning a foreign language is not as simple as learning native language, especially for children In learning a foreign language, the learners may meet all kinds of learning problems dealing with vocabulary, sound system, and how to arrange words into sentences that are quite different from those native languages If someone wants to learn a foreign language, he will obviously meet with all kinds of learning problems The difficulties have to do with the learning of sounds system, the learning of new vocabulary items, and the learning of the unfamiliar ways of arranging the foreign words into sentences
According to many cognitive psychologists who have studied on the language abilities of young children for years and have the instruction, children aged two to seven are in the preoperational stage of development Children still rely on the concrete stimuli and the items the child can see and touch in language learning The children in a classroom setting where they receive teacher directed instruction will have better development in language than traditional experiential play, epically play- based This includes singing songs and acting out stories and situations to develop language skills, narrative abilities
Trang 20they also encourage them to learn it positively Teaching of English to Children has been of particular concerns
For children in general, Slattery and Willis (2001) state prominent characteristics of them as learners as follows:
- They are developing quickly as individuals; it means that they have difference in language acquisition
- They learn in a variety of ways, for example, by watching, listening, imitating and doing things It means children learn their knowledge through what they see, hear in their surrounding and then imitate it (children learn by doing)
- They are not able to understand grammatical rules and explanations about language They only imitate what they are seeing and hearing
- They try to make sense of situations by making use of non-verbal clues Children will imitate which means learning by doing
- They talk in their mother tongue about what they understand and this helps them learn It means they use their mother tongue to understand everything
- They can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults speak It means they do imitation, memorization, practice and over learn what other people speak
- They are naturally curious They have strong willingness to know what they see and hear in their surrounding
- They love to play and use their imagination It means they are learning while playing
- They are comfortable with routines and enjoy repetition It means they need to have the habit of learning
Trang 21teaching activities to make them understand what the teacher means
According to Scott and Lisbeth (1992), children aged 8-10 are mature enough They have a particular point of view They are able to describe the difference between facts and fictions They are curious of asking questions They believe in what is said and the real world to express and comprehend meaning or message They have distinct opinions about what they like and what they dislike They are open to what happens in the classroom and begin asking a teacher s decision and they can cooperate with each other and learn from others In addition, they are aware of basic linguistic rules of their mother tongue At these ages, children can grasp abstracts and symbols, generalize language, and systematize it Children are also capable of interpreting meaning without understanding words separately They are competent in using language creatively, frequently fond of doing exploration and making a certain condition enjoyable They have established imagination In addition, they are fond of communicating In the context of teaching, most people assume that children learn a foreign language in the same way that they learn their mother tongue Children are potential in acquiring and learning a foreign language, and even they learn it more quickly than those who are learning the foreign language after puberty On the contrary, children are less capable of absorbing or acquiring a foreign language optimally
2.2 Teaching English Vocabulary
2.2.1 Definition of Vocabulary
Vocabulary is one of the language components, which has to be mastered by the students in learning a new language They students will meet difficulties in using English if they do not know the meaning of vocabularies
Trang 221 A list of words, and sometimes, phrase, usually arranged an alphabetical order and defined: a dictionary, glossary, or lexicon
2 All the words of a language
3 All the words used by a particular person, class, profession, etc; ‘sometimes’, all the words recognized and understood by a particular person, although not necessarily used by him (in full, passive vocabulary)
Similarly, Hornby (1995: 1331) defines vocabulary as: 1 The total number of words in language
2 All the words know to a person or used in a particular book, subject,
etc
3 A list of words with their meanings, especially one that accompanies a textbook in a foreign language
According to the definitions above it can be concluded that vocabulary is a stock of words in a language, written or spoken, with meaning that considered as cultural meaning used by group or individual community
2.2.2 Teaching Vocabulary to Children
Language as a means of communication plays very important role in social relationship among human beings English as one of the international languages is very important since it is required as a bridge of communication In Vietnam, English is the compulsory subject, which is taught from kindergartens to university as the first foreign language
Trang 23stated by Charty (1995:64), that the best way of teaching vocabulary is not teaching the students to memorize but also teaching them to pronounce, to spell, and to use it in context It is very important to master vocabulary first by children who are learning a foreign language For this reason, teacher should pay more attention to the teaching vocabulary to children Vocabulary should not rely on the spoken words only; teacher should try to give as clearly as possible the explanation of the meaning of the words being taught by showing picture, dramatizing, illustrating, paraphrasing, or giving the similarity with their native language In teaching vocabulary, teacher should be able to distinguish the students’ level He has to be able to manage the teaching vocabulary effectively in order to achieve a target He has to select the suitable words to be taught Haycraft (1983: 44) states that the choice of words should be based on the following consideration:
1 Comment words
They are words, which are commonly used for the worlds that students need
2 Students’ need
The words needed by the students are usually worth and important to be taught to the students
According to Wallace (1982: 27), there are six principles on which teaching vocabulary is to be based; they are
1 Aims
Trang 242 Quantity
Teacher may have to decide the number of vocabulary items to be learnt How many new words in the lesson can be achieved by the learners? If there are too many words, they may be confused, discouraged, and frustrated
3 Need
In teaching vocabulary, teacher has to choose the words really needed by the students The students should be put in situation where they have to communicate and get the words they need
4 Frequent Exposure and Repetitions
In teaching vocabulary of a foreign language, teachers cannot only teach new words once They have to repeat them to make sure the students have already remembered and understood them There must be a certain amount of repetition until there is evidence that the students have learnt the target words
5 Meaningful Presentation
The learners must have a clear and specific understanding of what it denotes or refers to, i.e its meaning involves many other things as well This requires that the words can be presented in such a way that its denotation or reference is perfectly clear and unambiguous
6 Situation Presentation
Trang 25students to recognize the words and their meanings perfectly and clear, to use the word appropriately well depends on vocabulary that is very useful for a foreign language English learners Since the function of the teaching English at elementary school, in this case is the fourth graders, is to introduce English as the first foreign language to the students in order to make them have ability to communicate in simple English Therefore, the teacher should consider to select vocabulary when they are teach teaching, the words should be
quantities, needs, and meaningful for the students Moreover, the teacher
should understand the aim of teaching and learning vocabulary When he presents a new vocabulary, he should primarily try to enable students to recognize the words and their meanings perfectly clear
2.3 Total Physical Response
Trang 26this period of listening Second, children's ability in listening comprehension is acquired because children need to respond physically to spoken language in
the form of parental commands In addition, the last one when a foundation in
listening comprehension has been setting, speech evolves naturally and effortlessly out of it He believes that it is crucial to base foreign language learning upon how children learn their native language
2.3.1 Characteristics of Total Physical Response
A method or technique in teaching and learning process must be developed in order to get a better purpose for a better life Total Physical Response was developed in order to improve the better result of teaching learning process of a new language Teachers who use TPR believe in the importance of having the students enjoy their experience in learning to communicate a foreign language According to Larsen- Freeman (2000: 113), TPR was developed in order to reduce the stress people feel when studying foreign languages and thereby encourage students to persist in their study beyond a beginning level of proficiency Richard and Rodgers (2001: 91) say: “The general objectives of Total Physical Response are to teach oral proficiency at a beginning level Comprehension is a mean to an end, and the ultimate aim is to give basic speaking skills TPR aims to produce learners who are capable of an uninhibited communication that is intelligible to a
native speaker” From the statement above, there are some objectives of Total
Physical Response They are: teaching oral proficiency at a beginning level, using comprehension as a means to speaking and using action-based drills in the imperative form
Total Physical Response (TPR) is an approach to immersion for the learners who are just begin their study, and is widely used all over the world
TPR use the actions, voices, images and videos to help students remember the
Trang 27the learners respond physically to the simple requests that the teacher made (Reyhner, 2003)
Imperative drills are the prominent classroom activity in TPR They are typically geared to highlight physical actions and activity on the part of the learners In this sense, learners play main roles: a listener and a performer They listen attentively and respond physically to commands by the teacher Learners need to respond both individually and collectively; they have minor influence on the content of learning inasmuch as content is determined by the teacher At the beginning of learning, learners are also expected to recognize and respond to novel combinations of previously taught items Such novel utterances are recombination of constituents the teacher has used directly in training For example, the teacher directs learners with 'Walk to the table!' and ‘Sit on the chair!' These are familiar to learners since they have practiced responding to them Furthermore, learners are also to produce novel combinations of their own Learners monitor and evaluate their own progress They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak (e.g., when a sufficient basis in the language has been internalized)
In TPR, the teachers are responsible for giving commands and monitoring actions taken by the learners On the contrary, the learners are imitators of teacher’s verbal and non-verbal models In teaching- learning process, the first phase is modeling In this case, a teacher issues commands to learners, and performs the actions with them In the second phase, learners demonstrate that they grasp the commands by performing them alone; the
teacher monitors the learners’ actions Above all, the interaction between a
Trang 282.3.2 Roles of Teachers and Students in Total Physical Response
Total Physical Response isa method for teaching language by involving students in physical activity The teacher’s role in TPR is to select the teaching material and plan the tasks the students are going to do His main role in the classroom is to give commands to the students The teacher might for example tell the students: “Stand up!”, “Sit down!”, “Take your pencil!” etc The instructor also serves as a model and gives feedback to the students The teacher is to gradually increase the amount of correction given to the learner as he progresses in his knowledge of the target language just as the parents will tolerate less mistakes as a child gets older The learner's part is to listen and to respond physically to the commands When the students have sufficient listening fluency and feel ready for it, they can begin to speak as well In this later stage, TPR uses role-plays and dialogues in which the students act out real life situations The responsibility of teachers is giving commands and monitoring actions taken by the students The interaction between the teacher and the students is the teacher speaking and the students responding nonverbally, then the students become more verbal and the teacher responds nonverbally
Trang 29giving feedback to learners, the teacher is required to follow the example of parents giving feedback to their children Similarly, the teacher needs to tolerate fewer mistakes in speech; he has to avoid too much correction in the early stages and is not required to interrupt to correct errors in that this may inhibit learners to take an action or speak out
In conclusion, with the teaching learning process using TPR method, the learners and the teacher play different roles
1 Learners Role
Learners in TPR have the primary roles of listeners and performers They listen attentively and respond both individually and collectively They have little influence over the content of learning since the content is determined by the teacher who must follow the imperative form for lesson
(Richard and Rodgers 2001: 93) According to Larsen-Freeman (2000:113),
the students are imitators of the teacher’s nonverbal model There will be a role reversal with individual students directing the teacher and the other students In TPR, learners monitor and evaluate their own progress They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak that is when a sufficient basis in the language has been internalized
2 Teacher’s Role
In the teaching learning process using TPR method, teacher plays an active and direct role According to Larsen- Freeman (2000: 113) teacher is the director of all students’ behaviors Asher (1977), (quoted in Richard and Rodgers, 2001: 93) states “The instructor is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors” It means that teacher is the one who
decides what to teach, who models and presents the new material, and who
Trang 302.3.3 Main Principles of Total Physical Response
Before applying the TPR method for teaching a foreign language, in this case is English, a teacher should understand its principles well so he will be able to use it properly in the teaching learning process The developer of TPR elaborates the principles of this method, they are:
1 Second language learning is parallel to first language learning and should reflect the same naturalistic process
2 Listening should develop before speaking
3 Children respond physically to spoken language, and adult learners learn better if they do that too
4 Once listening comprehension has been develop, speech develops naturally and effortlessly out of it
5 Delaying speech reduces stress (www.tprsource.com/asher.htm) Moreover, Larsen- Freeman (2000: 111) describes several principles in teaching learning process by using TPR upon which the teacher’s behaviors is based The principles of TPR are as follows:
1 Meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through action Memory is activated through learners’ response The target language should not be presented in chunks; not just word-by-word
2 The students’ understanding of the target language should be developed before speaking
3 Students can initially learn one part of the language rapidly by moving their bodies
4 The imperative is powerful linguistic device through which the teacher can direct
student behavior
Trang 316 Feeling of success and low anxiety facilitate learning 7 Students should not be made to memorize fixed routines 8 Correction should be carried out in an unobtrusive manner
9 Students must not develop flexibility in understanding a novel combination of target language chunks They need to understand more than the exact sentences used in training
10 Language learning is more effective when it is fun
11 Spoken language should be emphasized over written language 12 Students will begin to speak when they are ready
13 Students are expected to make errors when they first begin speaking Work on the fine details of the language should be postponed until students have become somewhat proficient
According to the principles above, it can be concluded that students will understand the meaning of the vocabulary items easily if they use their bodies while they are learning In the learning, students should feel successful and they do not feel pessimistic A teacher should be careful in correcting the students’ mistakes Correcting the mistakes improperly will make the students fell desperate Therefore, an English teacher must be able to create flexibility in the classroom Another important thing is that the new vocabulary should be presented in a context not word by word
2.3.4 Total Physical Response Activities
Trang 32interactive storytelling, TPR Bingo, drawing and basic construction activities and Simon says
However, in the author’s opinion, we can divide TPR activities into
three main groups The first group is TPR games It concludes many kinds of
games that have the characteristics of TPR method Moreover, the second one
is TPR songs It also consists of many interesting songs and easy to practice to children TPR storytelling is the last group of TPR activities
2.4 Summary
In this chapter, the author has presented the review of related literature It consists of theories underlying the writing of the study First of all, the author introduced the theory about teaching and learning English as a foreign language in the elementary school Following this theory, characteristics of children and their English learning abilities were presented After that, the author introduced the theory of Total Physical Response method The
characteristics of TPR, roles of teachers and students in TPR, main principles
Trang 33CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
In this chapter, after presenting the aims of the research and research
questions, the author would like to give a brief review of the research context,
including the setting of the survey and the overview about the textbook applied to teach English to children at Global English Centre The next section introduced is research methodology Lastly, the findings and discussion from the data collected are presented
3.1 Aims of the research
The objectives of this study can be stated as follows: + To investigate the characteristics of TPR method
+ To investigate the attitudes of the teachers and learners towards the teaching and learning English vocabulary at Global English centre
+ To investigate real situation of teaching and learning English vocabulary by applying TPR method at Global English centre
+ To suggest some TPR activities for teaching English vocabulary to children at Global English centre 3.2 Research questions In order to meet the aim of the study, the following research questions are generated: + What are the characteristics of Total Physical Response method in use?
+ What are the attitudes of the teachers and students towards the teaching and learning of English vocabulary at Global English centre?
Trang 34+ What are the TPR activities using in teaching English vocabulary to children at Global English centre?
3.3 Research Context
3.3.1 The Setting of the Survey
The study has been conducted at an English Centre in Vinh city, namely Global English Centre It is located on number 7, Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street in Vinh city Global English centre is established in 2002 It becomes a famous centre, which only teaches English to children
The survey completed with the help of the teachers and students at Global English centre The set of textbooks Let’s Go J, 2, 3 is applied at this
centre for students, at the age of six to ten In addition, the set of textbooks
Starter 1, 2 also is applied for students at the first level in this centre
At Global English centre, English is taught with the duration of two periods per week Most classes are done either in the afternoon or in the evening Each period lasts for 2 hours Vocabulary is usually taught in 45 minutes in each lesson
3.3.2 Population and sampling: Participants 3.3.2.1 The Teachers
There are more than thirty English teachers at Global English centre
However, the author chose random ten teachers for interviewing to finish this
Trang 35students, as reflected by the students through some short talks, the teachers still often show the words on the board and give direct translation, and then have students practice reading the new words As a result, this will hinder students’ ability to use the target language and even they cannot see how the word is used in an English sentence Thus, the effectiveness of teaching vocabulary has been reduced very much
3.3.2.2 The Students
This study aims to describe how the activities in class using Total Physical Response motivate children to learn English vocabulary For that reason, the subject observed in this study was young learners The students at the age of 6 to 10 years old chosen for this research There are 100 students, consists of 50 girls and 50 boys Most of the students are six to ten years old Among the rest, some are five and some are eleven years old At Global English centre, English is taught to children at the same age and the same level Before coming one class, students must be tested and they must study with the classmates who have the same level of study abilities In general, students in the survey started learning English when they were young They, thus, have been learning English at least for two years at the time of the investigation
3.3.3 Data Collection Instruments 3.3.3.1 Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a list of questions to be answered by a group of people to get information The questionnaire collects data or information from
the students based on the needs, interest, like and dislike about teaching and
learning process
Trang 36students There are two main parts in each questionnaire The first main part is about personal information of the participants and the second main part is the content of the investigation The questionnaires consist of both closed and open - ended items The content of the questions is about teaching and learning English vocabulary and applying TPR activities in teaching vocabulary items In order to make sure that the participants have no problem in understanding the exact meaning of each item, as well as to get exact and specific answers, the questionnaires written in Vietnamese to the students, and the answers from participants were allowed in Vietnamese In addition, some more explanation given when being asked about the questions by both teachers and students
The survey questionnaire for the teachers consists of fourteen questions Question | to question 3 show the teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of vocabulary Question 4 and 5 show the characteristics of the TPR From the sixth question to the tenth question, information about applying TPR method in teaching vocabulary is revealed Question 11 and question 12 show the advantages of applying TPR activities in teaching English vocabulary In addition, question 13 and question 14 show the disadvantages of applying TPR activities in teaching English vocabulary to children
Besides, the survey questionnaire designed for students is written in
Vietnamese version with 13 questions Question 1, 2, and 3 show the
Trang 37student about TPR application In addition, its disadvantages can be expressed in question 13
3.3.3.2 Interview
Besides the use of questionnaires as a main instrument to collect data, the author also employed follow-up interviews for the following reasons
Firstly, interview helps gain maximum relevant information in minimum time
Secondly, thanks to interview, questions can be asked to follow up responses for clarification and more details
There are five questions to interview the students and three questions for the teachers The interviews with the teachers and the students were all
carried out at the short break time or before class time Each time, the
researcher interviewed a group of 2- 3 students or 1-2 teachers 3.4 Data collection
All kinds of research need the data to support the investigation There are many techniques and methods, which can be used to gather evidence in
action research, are as follows: diaries, profiles, document analysis, tape or
Trang 38during class time, though occasionally there were some students who had difficulties in understanding some items In this way, the researcher would give further explanations to those students After that, face-to-face interviews concerned with a few subjects to follow up responses for clarification and more details In order to make the participants respond naturally and let their voice out their thoughts in mind, the interviews were conducted in an informal way at the short break time Each participant was invited on the voluntary basis to share his or her views according to the questions in the interview form Their opinions were noted down and used for data analysis
Generally speaking, the research was carried out quite smoothly with full support from the school management, students and teachers of English at the five schools Occasionally, some students who still did not understand or
misunderstood some questionnaire items, but the situation was dealt
spontaneously with least disruptions
Trang 39CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The data collection has been analyzed with the aim to answer the research questions
4.1 The main characteristics of TPR method in Children’s English
teaching in Global English centre
Nowadays, many kindergartens offer English classes What is more, elementary schools start their English teaching from grade 3 officially, according to the Education Policy In an English class, how to make students more active and provide a better understanding are important concepts to teachers Thus, it seems Total Physical Response appears at a proper time to meet the need
Besides, many parents concern English teaching to children more They have sent their children to many English centre to study They think that, apart from official English course in school, the children have to study more in a dynamic environment
sue Strong Agree Not Disagree TPR characteristics Agree (%) Sure (%) (%) (%) TPR is used more in teaching children 90 10 0 0 in VietNam It’s suitable to physical characteristics 80 20 0 0 of children
Learning while playing 90 10 0 0
Funny way to learn English 90 10 0 0 More chances for students to practice 100 0 0 0 It’s more fresh and popular 90 10 0 0 Lack of language environment 80 10 10 0 Assessment methods is problem 90 10 0 0 It is difficult to train the students to 100 0 0 0 speak fluent and standard English
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From the table, we can see know that Total Physical Response teaching method is widely used in English teaching, especially for children Because most of the teachers (nearly 100%) strong agree with that TPR seems more fresh and popular, and it is even mentioned individually in the students’ textbooks The traditional teaching method focuses on grammar teaching through analyzing the grammar structure The written language is very hard to comprehend for children, and the grammar teaching method does not teach vivid oral English TPR can allow students to learn oral English easily, and it is also suitable to the psychological and physical characteristics of children Teachers through run, jump and play games to teach English rather than sitting on chairs in silence Forcing children to repeat teacher’s words will make them feel stressed and nervous, and limit their language development TPR method can change this situation It teaches students in a relaxed atmosphere to learn the words while playing Many teachers in Vietnam addresses that children are active, good at limitation and accepting new objects, and like to prove themselves capable, so they prefer to learn what they are interested in They learn quickly but need time to enhance their memory Therefore, teachers need to use TPR to teach them TPR provides a fun way for children to learn English, and it relieves students’ anxiety and encourages interest in English learning Furthermore, in the TPR activities, children may get more chances to practice when they learn
Although the TPR method achieves good teaching results in practice, there are still some difficulties and problems They can be seen clearly from the table