Sử dụng bài hát để dạy từ vựng cho học sinh tiểu học, một nghiên cứu hành động tại trường tiểu học Điện Biên, Thanh Hóa

Larsen-Freeman 2000 state that in teaching English to young learner context, children will learn a foreign language more effectively under certain conditions.. Therefore, we can say that

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

HÀ THỊ THU HƯƠNG

USING SONGS TO TEACH VOCABULARY TO PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: AN ACTION RESEARCH

AT DIENBIEN PRIMARY SCHOOL, THANH HOA PROVINCE

SỬ DỤNG BÀI HÁT ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC, MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC ĐIỆN BIÊN, THANH HÓA

M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.10

HANOI, 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

HÀ THỊ THU HƯƠNG

USING SONGS TO TEACH VOCABULARY TO PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN: AN ACTION RESEARCH

AT DIENBIEN PRIMARY SCHOOL, THANH HOA PROVINCE

SỬ DỤNG BÀI HÁT ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC, MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC ĐIỆN BIÊN, THANH HÓA

M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 601410

Supervisor: Phùng Thị Kim Dung, M.A

HANOI, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the Problem 1

1.2 Aims of the Study 4

1.3 Objectives of the Study 4

1.4 Scope of the Study 4

1.5 The Significance of the Study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Characteristics of Young Learners 6

2.2 Teaching English to Young Learners 8

2.3 Vocabulary 10

2.4 Teaching Vocabulary 11

2.5 Vocabulary Teaching Techniques 14

2.5.1 Using Flashcards or Pictures 14

2.5.2 Translation 14

2.5.3 Using Games 15

2.5.4 Using Songs 15

2.6 Using Songs in teaching Vocabulary 16

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 A Brief Introduction to Context of Teaching and Learning English at Dien Bien Primary School 19

3.2 Research Design 19

3.3 Subjects 20

3.4 Research Instruments 20

3.4.1 Observation 20

3.4.2 Questionnaires 21

3.5 Data Collection Procedures 22

3.6 Data Analysis 22

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS 4.1 Analysis of Data from Observation 24

4.1.1 The Situation of the class 24

4.2.2 The Participation of the students 25

4.2.3 The Pronunciation of the Students 25

4.2 Analysis of Data from Questionnaire 26

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusion 29

5.2 Suggestions 29

REFERENCES I APPENDICES

Classroom Observation 1-8 IV Questionnaire XII Collection of songs XIV

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher will discuss about the statement of the problem, aims and objectives of the study, scope of the study and the significance of the study All of these items will be explained below

1.1 Statement of the Problem

English is one of international languages, which is used throughout the world and in many fields of life such as in Politics, Economics, Social and Education Therefore, English as a language in international communication

is clearly needed by many learners to deliver thought and interact in a variety

of situations Because of the importance of English, English has been taught

to students since they are in the Elementary school

According to Yuliana (2003), teaching young learners is not like teaching adults because children have their own way of learning Since children like to play and have fun, the learning and teaching process should be suited with the nature the children themselves Larsen-Freeman (2000) state that in teaching English to young learner context, children will learn a foreign language more effectively under certain conditions

As the basic components of the four language skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking) vocabulary has to be mastered by learners Vocabulary

is the main point to learn English Without having adequate vocabulary we will get difficulty to learn English In Elementary School, vocabulary is the first step to learn English, because without knowing a lot of vocabulary in English the children will get difficulties in mastering English Thus,

vocabulary should be the first priority in English language teaching and learning

To teach vocabulary in Elementary school, especially for children, is not an easy way Teaching children is different from teaching adults We must have extra power to teach them, because the children have certain characteristics and need certain treatment Therefore, in teaching vocabulary

to young learners, it needs appropriate technique According to Brown (2001) technique is any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or tasks used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objective In addition, in any kinds of language learning activities, techniques may certainly constitute an indispensable factor that facilitates every successful effort in vocabulary mastery Therefore, we can say that techniques of teaching vocabulary to young learners are important because it can help the students learn easier and enjoy the material presented Furthermore, some sources explain techniques

in teaching vocabulary in elementary school can be applied such as games, songs, memorization, dictation, etc Among these techniques, song is one useful technique to young learners because most children enjoy listening to songs

Many empirical works were done to prove the theoretical consideration above Purwoharto (2002) study about the vocabulary teaching techniques of the fourth class students at MIN I Malang, Indonesia The study was conducted to know what the techniques used by the teacher and what the most appropriate technique to be employed by the teacher The research design used was descriptive qualitative design The result of the study showed that the teacher used two techniques in teaching vocabulary The techniques were guessing pictures and singing a song Between those two techniques above,

students were interested in singing a song They were very enthusiastic because they were free to express their styles and they felt happy

In Vietnam, teaching English at primary school to children at grade 3 has been applied since 2010 Two years after the implementation of English at primary level, there are many problems of language teaching that can be identified as research subjects We could discuss about methods, material selection, and others Some study had been done to explore the use of modern equipments and techniques to find out the effective ways of teaching English

to primary school children Vu Thi Luong (2002 cited in Do Thi Mai Chi, 2007) conducted a study on using games in teaching English to primary school children The research pointed out that game is a useful teaching technique in primary English language teaching; however, the teachers had many different opinions about them as well as difficulties in using them 90%

of teacher in the study sample agreed that games are effective to language teaching but almost all of them complained that they did not have any book about using games in teaching so they used only some games repeatedly

In this research it is identified that teaching technique for primary level is challenging Moreover, we know that technique in teaching vocabulary is important to help students to increase their achievement in

English Therefore, the researcher intends to do a research: “Using songs to teach English vocabulary to Primary school children: an action research at Dien Bien Primary school, Thanh Hoa province” The reason of choosing

this research is the researcher believes that song is a useful technique in teaching vocabulary that supports the successful of learning and teaching process, especially to young learners who are learning English

1.2 Aims of the Study

This research is carried out with the hope that it could raise teachers‟ awareness of using song in teaching vocabulary and provide them a useful teaching technique Through using song in teaching, it could attract students‟ interest in language learning Based on that, it is hoped to increase effectiveness of English teaching and learning process in Dien Bien primary school

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main purposes of the study are to find out the effectiveness of using songs to teach vocabulary to elementary students and the learners‟ responses toward this technique The statement of the problem can be formulated into the general research questions:

1 How effective is the use of songs in teaching vocabulary to elementary students?

2 How are the learners‟ responses toward the technique?

1.4 Scope of the Study

The research was carried out with no ambition to cover all problems over all Vietnamese learners of English Scope of the research is limited as it

is only conducted on the students in the third grade at Dien Bien Elementary school

1.5 The Significance of the Study

The writer hopes that this study will be useful for teachers of elementary level Practically, it is hoped that this research will give the guideline how to teach and learn language better, especially in vocabulary

subject So, the teachers themselves are expected to improve their performance in teaching Beside that, they are able to use songs as an appropriate technique in teaching vocabulary

Theoretically, this study is also expected to increase and enlarge the researcher‟s understanding in using teaching vocabulary techniques and help the other researchers to provide information in mastering language components especially vocabulary

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the review of related literature It concerns with the theoretical understanding as the references of this study The references that will be discussed are (1) characteristics of young learners, (2) teaching English to young learners, (3) Vocabulary, (4) teaching vocabulary, (5) vocabulary teaching techniques, (6) song and vocabulary

2.1 Characteristics of Young Learners

Young learners will learn best if the people involved in the teaching learning process facilitate the learning and take into account the way they learn into the teaching practices Piaget (1967 cited in McCloskeey, 2002), suggested that children developed through specific stages, they are:

1 Sensor-Motor Stage (from 0 – 2 years) in which children seemed to learn through physical interaction with the world around them

2 Pre-operational stage (from 2 - 7 years) when children need concrete situations to process ideas

3 Concrete Operational Stage (from 7 - 11 years) in which children begin to conceptualize and do some abstract problem solving, though they still learn best by doing

4 Formal Operational Stage (from 11-15) in which children are able to use abstract thinking

Based on the cognitive development above, the third grade students of Elementary School, who are involved in this research, are in the concrete operational stage It means that they are in the stage of learning language and thinking more concrete to actions, objects, and properties Teachers require

plenty of object and pictures to work with, and to make full use of the school and their surroundings By seeing and doing what the teacher has said, they will understand the lesson unconsciously Thus, they learn naturally

Harmer (2007, p.82) summarizes young learners‟ characteristics into several points as follow:

First, children have their own culture and learning preference It means that the instruction should be child friendly Therefore, they will find the instructions easy

Second, children learn by way of physical activities such as learning through hand-on activities, learning by doing It is believed that physical can help students to internalize the language they are learning

Third, children have relatively attention and short concentration span; unless the activities are extremely engaging, they can easily get bored, losing interest after ten minutes or so

Forth, children learn naturally As part of their development, children are always active in exploring their environment and accumulating knowledge and experiences From this exploration, children construct their understanding

of how things work, including the language they use as both a system and tools for communication

Fifth, children learn best when learning is meaningful, interesting, and functional Children will find things meaningful, interesting, and functional when they are relate these things with their needs and personal experiences

Sixth, non- verbal language is important because children will indeed attend very sensitively to the teachers‟ facial features, gestures, and touches

The last one is children often learn indirectly rather than directly They take in information from all sides, learning for everything around them rather than only focusing on the precise topic, they are being taught

The strategies for teaching children should maintain characteristics of children in order that students can learn the target language optimally One of the common principles that may be considered to teach English for young learner is fun and natural

2.2 Teaching English to Young Learners

In general, childhood is said to be golden period in acquiring language They are easy to accept language It is time to learn about something new in the world including the language Teaching foreign language, in this case teaching English is complex because the way of teaching them differences from other Different levels of students certainly will need different treatment Teaching English to young learners requires more attention than adult learners Larsen-Freeman (2000) states that in teaching English to young learner context, it is believed that children will learn a foreign language more effectively under certain conditions

Teaching English to young learner needs all teachers‟ skill in managing children and keeping them on task, plus the knowledge of the language, language teaching and language learning Piaget (cited in Cameron, 2001) states that children are active learners Children learn best when they are actually doing the work themselves and creating their own understanding of what is going on (Mooney, 2000) He believes that in the learning process, children are not simply passively assimilating knowledge given by the teacher In addition, they will actively operate on it

Cameron (2001) proposed that children are often more enthusiastic and lively as learners than adults They always have an activity to be done even when they do not quite understand why or how In learning English as foreign language, children need to play with the language Try it out, test it, receive

feedback, and try again Thus, teaching materials should be appropriate with children‟s need in mastering English

First, learning should be fun and natural for young learners It is commonly believed that the environment of foreign language learning often causes stress and anxiety Therefore, there must be the absence of stress for them to be successful in learning the target language Young learners are believed not to learn language forms directly; commands are believed to be helpful for children to interpret meanings This activity is believed to liberate self conscious and stressful situations

Second, the language should be first presented through sounds, not written symbols Listening and speaking are worked on as the learners produce meaningful utterances concerning physical object and their own experience After young learners can produce sounds in the target language and connect the sounds in the truth, they may begin to read symbols in the target language This process can begin after the children are able to understand what other people speak (listening) and able to produce the language (speaking)

Third, young learners are more sensitive to anything that can be touched and sensed; they react easily to physical objects, language is taught

by having the students use their senses, touch, listen, smell, and even taste necessary This will help them relate the linguistic signed to the truth that they perceive with their senses

Fourth, meaning should be made perceptible through concrete objects

or by the presentation of experience When language learners make mistakes

or misconception of something, teachers are not correct it through translation but they need show to something to make the meaning are better

Fifth, the idea that teaching should start from what the students already know in order to encourage association processes seem to favor children By teaching through this way, children are expected to know what they are doing They are not only saying something without being aware of what they are saying In order for them aware, the new materials have to have relationship with previous one so that they can easily make associations since association process is necessary part of learning Thus, language teacher should build upon the learning process by adding new segment of language to the previous one; he/she starts from what the language learners already know in order to encourage association process

2.3 Vocabulary

Vocabulary is the basic element in the language It is used as a tool to access the background knowledge, express idea and learn new concept Without sufficient vocabulary, people cannot communicate effectively or express their ideas in both oral and written form

River in Nunan (1983, p.125) proposes that the acquisition of adequate vocabulary is essential for successful foreign language use, because without

an extensive vocabulary, we will be unable use structural and function words that we have learned for comprehensible communication

Hocket (in Celce-Murcia and Mc Intosh, 1978, p.129) states that vocabulary is the easiest aspect at a second language to learn and it hardly requires formal attention in the classroom Hornby (1995, p.1331) defines

“vocabulary as a list of words used in book, etc usually with definition and translation” While Hatch and Brown (1995) define vocabulary as a list or set

of words for a particular language or a list or set of word that individual speakers of language might use

However, vocabulary itself is more complex than these definitions above Lehr, Osborn, and Hiebert as cited in Mardiana (2008) explain two kinds of vocabulary description as follow:

First, words come in two forms: oral and print

1 Oral vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in listening and speaking

2 Print vocabulary includes the words that we recognize and use in reading and writing

Second, word knowledge also comes from in two forms, receptive and productive

3 Receptive vocabulary includes words that we recognize when we hear or see them It is the ability to comprehend passive vocabulary that is used in reading and listening contexts

4 Productive vocabulary includes words that we recognize when we speak or write

Further, Cameron (2001) states that knowing and understanding words means knowing its „form‟ and its “meaning” Knowing its “form” means how

it sounds, how it is spelt, grammatical changes that could be made to it Knowing its „meaning‟ is its conceptual content and how it relates to other words, and in particular types of language use According to how they are used to construct sentences, Cameron (2001) divided the words of language into two groups, which are content words and function words „Content words‟ are those that carry lexical meaning, even out of context, whereas

„function words‟ act as complementary that carry grammatical meaning

2.4 Teaching Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of important aspects in teaching language, as stated

by Edward in his book:

“Vocabulary is one of the important factors in all language teaching, student must continually be learning words as they learn structure and as they practice sound system”

Vocabulary was necessary to give students something to hang on when learning structures, but not a focus for learning itself It means that teaching and learning vocabulary is as important as teaching and learning grammar or structure Teaching vocabulary is an activity to give an instruction to develop students‟ ability in recognizing and understanding new words that are unknown before

Teaching vocabulary is clearly more than just presenting new words Therefore, the teachers should know all kinds of techniques and they must select the technique that will be most effective, so that they can use one of them based on the condition needed It is done in order to facilitate the students in comprehending the material

Wallace (1982, p.207) explains that teaching vocabulary should consider these following factors:

by the learners

3) Need

In teaching vocabulary, the teacher has to choose the words really needed by the students in communication

4) Frequent exposure and repetition

The teacher should give much practice on repetition so that the students master the target words well They also give opportunity to the students to use words in writing or speaking

5) Meaningful presentation

In teaching vocabulary, the teacher should present target words in such

a way that the meaning of the target words are perfectly clear and unambiguous

6) Situation and presentation

The teachers tell the students that they have to use the words appropriately The use of words depends on the situation in which they are used and depends on the person to whom they are speaking

To help the learners in learning foreign language Mary Slaterry and Jane Wilis (2003, p.4) suggest some ways to teach them There are (a) make learning English enjoyable and fun, (b) don‟t worry about mistake, be encouraging; make sure children feel comfortable and not afraid to take part, (c) use a lot of gestures, action, pictures to demonstrate what you mean, (d) talk a lot to them use English, especially about things they can see, (e) play game, sing a song, and say rhymes and chants together, (f) tell simple stories

in English, using pictures and acting with different voices, (g) don‟t worry when they use their mother tongue You can answer a mother tongue question

in English and sometimes recast in English what they say in their mother tongue, (h) Consistently recycle new language but don‟t be afraid to add new things or to use words they won‟t to know, (j) plan lesson with varied activities, some quite, some noisy, some sitting, some standing and moving

2.5 Vocabulary Teaching Techniques

Brown (2001, p.16) states that technique is any of a wide variety of exercise, activities, or tasks used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objective Technique of teaching is one factor that plays an important role in determining the success of the students‟ achievement An English teacher has to know various techniques of presenting vocabulary It is carried out to make students to understand, to use and to comprehend words that the teacher has presented For young learners, technique is not only to assist the students to grasp the meaning of new words easily, but also to make the variation of teaching in order to avoid the passive class Because of that, the techniques that can be applied to young learners should be simple and interesting techniques

Thornbury (2002) gives some ways to teach vocabulary to the students who are learning foreign language The common techniques are as follows:

2.5.1 Using Flashcards or Pictures

To young learner teachers, this is a common technique Many teachers collect their own sets of flashcards from magazine, calendars, etc The young learner teacher usually uses interesting pictures like food and drink, clothing, house interiors and furniture, and so on They often lend themselves easily to practice activities involving students‟ interaction For example, a set of pictures illustrating types of food could be used as a means of presenting items such as bread, rice, fish etc This technique prefers to be implemented for young learners

2.5.2 Translation

Traditionally, translation has been the most widely used means of presenting the meaning of a word Translation has the advantage of being the

most direct route to a word‟s meaning For monolingual groups it is also a valid technique to highlight the danger of the false cognates or to give clear meaning of abstract words For example, the English word enthusiastic would

be translated as „ hăng hái, nhiệt tình‟ in Vietnamese

2.5.3 Using Games

Many experts of language teaching technique agree that a game is a good way to learn vocabulary, especially for young learners With the use of games, the teacher can create various contexts in which students have to use the language to communicate, exchange information and express their own opinion Lee (1995) gives several main advantages of using game, including a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class, motivating and challenging, effort of learning, and language practice in the various skills Therefore, games are a way to help students not only enjoy and entertain with the language they learn, but also practice it incidentally

2.5.4 Using Songs

Song is one of the best ways to brighten up the English class by providing a chance of phase in the classroom routine It can be used to reinforce language pattern that have been already learned and to introduce the new materials Orlova (1997) identifies some additional benefits of songs in language learning First, they can encourage learners to use English In a non-English environment, the main problem for teachers is how to stimulate learners to speak English in class; songs may be the starting point for that Second, listening to songs (especially when these are supported with pictures and actions) helps students to recognize words and meanings more easily Finally, songs can stimulate a positive emotional attitude to language

learning Song is a useful technique for young learners since most children like singing a song

2.6 Using Songs in Teaching Vocabulary

The role of songs in learning vocabulary has been widely discussed (e.g Orlova 1997, Murphey 1992, Phillips 1993) Much vocabulary will be learned explicitly – through direct instruction and attention; however, we also know that learners need opportunities to learn vocabulary incidentally – i.e when they are not paying direct attention to it but to some other task, they are performing (Schmitt 2000) Songs, by exposing learners to many examples of words used in meaningful contexts, create such opportunities for indirect vocabulary learning

Although there are many reasons why songs can be considered a valuable teaching tool, there are some issues to consider As mentioned above, the teacher needs to take care in selecting a suitable song for his or her class The language, vocabulary, and sentence structure of some songs can be quite different from that used in spoken English (Richards, 1969, p 163)

Some teachers analyze the errors of their students and search for songs

or rhymes that can work as a remedy for these errors This is one method of selection – basing the song choice on student needs Nevertheless, a teacher should exercise care when choosing songs The following criteria can be used for choosing a song (Curtain & Pesola, 1988):

1 The song should contain limited vocabulary

2 The song should contain language compatible with that being used in the classroom

3 The song should present a limited musical challenge

4 The rhythm should be straightforward and repetitive

5 Song topics should be within the experiences of children

6 For primary level 4 and 5 it is useful if songs are accompanied by actions

7 It is also helpful if the words of the songs are highly repetitive and if they have a refrain: a repeated stanza, between verses of the song

One way to maximize the advantages and minimize some of the limitations mentioned above might be to develop songs into language learning tasks Although this alone will not help teachers develop a greater repertoire

of songs, it can help turn a song into a useful tool for language learning and teaching (Cameron, 2001, p 31)

Cameron defines an activity for young learners as “any kind of event that children participate in” (2001, p 31), but adds, not all classroom activities can be classified as tasks For an activity to be considered a task, it must have more carefully planned and structured events with learner participation as the fulcrum (Cameron, 1997, p 346) Cameron provides “a list of defining features of task for use in teaching foreign languages to children” (2001, p 31)

• Have coherence and unity for learners

(From topic, activity and outcome)

• Have meaning and purpose for learners

• Have clear language learning goals

• Have a beginning and an end

• Involve the learners actively

These defining features benefit the teacher because they provide a reference point for planning a lesson or analyzing a lesson plan In addition to these five features, Cameron (2001) reports that tasks for young learners should have three stages: preparation, core activity and follow up Cameron argues that the core activity is central to the language-learning task and

without the core, the task would collapse The preparation activities should help to prepare the students to complete the core activity successfully This might include pre-teaching of language items or activating topic vocabulary The follow-up stage then should build on the completion of the core activity (2001, p 32)

1) Preparation stage

Given the goal of the task is singing the song in the core activity stage;

it is useful to activate the vocabulary and to form basic sentence structures in the preparation stage This could be done using a number of methods, depending on the resources available to the teacher or the size of class Regardless of how the teacher chooses to activate vocabulary and form sentence structures, the aim is that, at the end of the preparation stage, the students are ready to sing the song in the core stage

2) Core stage

To involve the students and maximize interest, it would be advantageous to sing the song several times in the core, each time varying the pace or volume and having the students perform actions and sing along chorally

3) Follow-up stage

The follow-up stage should attempt to build on the successful completion of the core stage In other words, the students have sung the song and now should be encouraged to use the vocabulary or sentence structures from the song Again, this depends on the circumstances of the teacher The follow-up stage could be used to develop written production, either through writing sentences or gap-fill activities, or oral production where the vocabulary learned is used in a situational role-play

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter gives a brief view on the setting of the research then discusses the methodology of the study related to research design, subject of the study, research instruments, data collection and data analysis

3.1 A Brief Introduction to Context of Teaching and Learning English at Dien Bien Primary School

It is a fact that English education at primary level has been implementing for over a decade but mostly in big cities English language teaching at primary level has been actively implemented at almost school since 2010 according to Project "Teaching and learning of foreign languages

in the national education system in the period 2008 - 2020" Decision No 1400/QD-TTg 30/9/2008 of the Prime Minister

Dien Bien is a primary school in Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province Like other primary schools in the province, English teaching has been applying in Dien Bien primary School since 2010 It is an optional subject from grade 3 with the time allocation of two periods per week and using the textbook “Let‟s learn English book 1, 2, 3” (The Educational Publishing House & SNP Panpac Publishing House, Singapore) Because it has just been implementing for 2 years, there are some problems in teaching and learning English such as lack of equipments, teaching aids, etc Therefore, the teacher only used the textbook “Let’s learn”

3.2 Research Design

According to Ary (2002, p.426) research design is the researcher‟s plan

of how to proceed to gain and understanding of some group or some

phenomenon in its natural setting This descriptive research uses qualitative in nature because its objective means to answer some questions naturally concerning with the current status of the subject of this study The current status of the subject of this study is the teacher‟s techniques in teaching English vocabulary at the third grade of Dien Bien Primary school

3.3 Subjects

The subjects of the study are students from 3 classes in grade 3 at Dien Bien primary School There are 102 third grade learners at Dien Bien primary school in the second semester of the academic year 2011 – 2012 They are 8 years old All of them are the beginning learners of English

The writer conducted observation to answer the research question number one “How effective is the use of songs in teaching vocabulary