TEACHING GRAMMAR TO YOUNG LEARNERS USING INTERACTIVE WHITEBOARD final

MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE TEACHING GRAMMAR TO YOUNG LEARNERS USING INTERACTIVE... This section is also dedicated to

MASARYK UNIVERSITY IN BRNO

FACULTY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

TEACHING GRAMMAR TO YOUNG

LEARNERS USING INTERACTIVE

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Acknowledgement

I would like to express my thanks to Mrs Mgr Ivana Hrozková for her helpful comments and encouragement

In Brno

Alexandra Povjakalová

The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part The theoretical part deals with the theory of motivation and its role in education, the use of modern technology in today’s school This section is also dedicated to the characteristics of young learners, learning styles, key competencies and expected outcomes in teaching English grammar at primary school, aspects that are important theoretical basics for the practical part of my thesis In the practical part I conducted a market research on the availability of materials for teaching English using Interactive Whiteboard On its basis I did a questionnaire survey at schools The main part

I dedicated to teaching objects that I designed and then applied in lessons Finally I stated the criteria for designing teaching objects which I reached when designing the objects and in their actual use in lessons

Keywords

motivation, interactive whiteboard, young learners, grammar, grammar teaching, learning styles, market research, school survey, teaching object, designed material, key competencies

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Resume

Hlavním cílem mé diplomové práce “Teaching Grammar to Young Learners using

Interactive Whiteboard” je vytvoření výukových objektů pro práci s interaktivní tabulí

k výuce anglické gramatiky v 5 ročníku základní školy a na základě praktického ověřování

ve výuce zjistit, jak tato technická pomůcka pomáhá žákům v komplexním procesu

vzdělávání

Práce je rozdělena na teoretickou a praktickou část V teoretické části se zabývám

teorií motivace a její roli v procesu vzdělávání, využití moderní technologie v dnešní škole

V této části se dále věnuji charakteristice mladších žáků, učebním stylům, klíčovým

kompetencím a očekávaným výstupům v oblasti výuky anglické gramatiky na prvním stupni

základní školy, tedy aspektům, které jsou důležitými teoretickými východisky pro praktickou

část mé práce V praktické části jsem provedla průzkum trhu týkající se dostupnosti

výukových materialů pro výuku anglického jazyka a následný dotazníkový průzkum

na školách Hlavní součástí praktické části práce jsou výukové objekty, které jsem vytvořila

a následně aplikovala v hodinách V závěru jsem uvedla kritéria pro tvorbu výukových

objektů, ke kterým jsem dospěla při vlastní tvorbě materiálů a jejich použití v hodinách

Klíčová slova

motivace, interaktivní tabule, mladší žáci, gramatika, výuka gramatiky, učební styly, průzkum

trhu, školní průzkum, výukový objekt, vytvořený materiál, klíčové kompetence

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Content

Introduction 8

I Theoretical part 10

1 Motivating learners to learn 10

1.1 Role of motivation in terms of educational psychology 11

1.2 Factors influencing motivation 12

2 Interactive teaching 14

2.1 What interactive teaching means 14

2.2 What supports interactive teaching 15

2.3 Using technology in a classroom – Interactive Whiteboards 15

2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of Interactive Whiteboards 17

3 Learning styles 19

3.1 How can Interactive Whiteboard help? 20

4 Teaching grammar to young learners 21

4.1 Young learners 21

4.2 What is grammar 23

4.3 The role of grammar in teaching young learners 23

4.4 Ways of teaching grammar 24

4.5 Stages in teaching grammar 24

5 Grammar structures in primary teaching 26

5.1 Framework Educational Programme 26

5.2 Expected outcomes according to the Framework Educational Programme 28

II Practical part 29

6 Market research 29

7 School survey on using IWBs 32

7.1 Questionnaire 32

7.2 Questionnaire summary 43

8 Grammar in 5th grade of primary school 44

8.1 Designing teaching objects 44

8.2 Designed materials in use 46

8.3 Evaluation of the lessons 64

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8.4 Criteria for designing interactive teaching materials 66

Conclusion 71

Bibliography 72

Appendix 74

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Introduction

Teaching, its methods and forms got through many innovative changes during a period

of several years Mass development of information and communication technologies, new education programmes, multimedia technology and especially Interactive Whiteboards allow teachers to improve English language teaching Teachers have amazing tool to make their teaching more motivational, funnier and effective

I worked out my thesis by drawing on the teaching methods and forms that lead pupils

to achieve learning outcomes and to the creation of key competencies in accordance with the Framework Educational Programme The methods that I have chosen correspond with the style of my work and level of teaching experience and knowledge that I have reached in my experience From pupils’ perspective I put emphasis on the methods to be interesting, fun and motivating I tried to choose methods so that pupils’ skills and knowledge are related to their practical life

If we design teaching materials for the age group of young learners, we have to take into account the many factors that I mentioned in the theoretical part of my thesis The Interactive Whiteboard is undouptedly excellent technical tool, but it cannot work alone without teacher and quality preparation If we want to design educational material that works and pupils get the most out of it in terms of skills and knowledge, we must take into account these aspects One of them is motivation which I gave a lot of attention in my thesis, because

it is one of the most important driving forces in the lerning process I outlined the factors that increase motivation and I followed by technical tools which are for pupils, in today’s world technology, very motivating and natural to use The Interactive Whiteboard is one of the most modern teachers’ tools in education Its use has both advantages and disadvantages to which I pointed out Another unforgettable factor is a learning style that pupil prefers Learning styles play a big role in the learning process in view of the fact that pupils are different and prefer different approaches Based on these finding, I also tried to design my teaching objects to suit pupils with different learning styles Further I devote to the characteristics of young learners, the issue of grammar and its role in teaching young learners In today’s school the

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importance is placed on the Framework Educational Programme Therefore I proceeded from the key competencies and expected outcomes that are enshrined in this document

In i crucial part of my thesis, the practical part, I conducted market research I focused

on interactive educational materials for teaching English in primary school available Based

on the results of the survey I conducted a questionnaire survey in schools on Interactive Whiteboards and interactive educational materials, where I also determined what of the materials available on the market are actually used at schools Then I designed teaching objects for teaching English grammar to young learners, which I verified in practice and made reflection of the lessons Finally I outlined the criteria that should be accomplished in designing teaching materials, so as to be most effective

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I Theoretical part

1 Motivating learners to learn

“You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser

You are what you make yourself be.”

Lou Holtz

From a pedagogical point of view, according to Hanuš and Chytilová, motivating learners in education is considered to be one of the most important fields Pupil´s success in the educational process is not determined only by his innate abilities but also by other stimuli The task of the teacher is to support and develop these impulses Motivation is one of these stimuli Motivation helps to develop pupils positively Suitable motivational activities of teachers can raise and maintain pupil´s interest in learning, particular subject or other learning activities (Hanuš, R., Chytilová, L ,2009)

The word motivation can be explained in this way: “The word motivation comes from the Latin word ‘moveers’ which to move Motivation is the energizing force that directs and controls our behaviour towards the achievement of our goals It refers to those factors, which increase the vigour of an individuals’ activity It energizes the person, prompts and compels him to act and behave in particular way so as to satisfy his needs In education, motivation is arousal of interest in learning and is required for effective management of the learning process.” (Available on World Wide Web: < http://59.163.61.3:8080/GRATEST/

SHOWTEXFILE do?page_id=user_image&user_image_id=827>)

In pedagogical activities motivation has an irreplaceable and indispensable role Motivated child explores the world, asks the questions, disarrange what he can only to discover how it is

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1.1 Role of motivation in terms of educational psychology

Skalková in her book Obecná didaktika deals with the theories of motivation I agree with her theories that teachers use motivation to lead pupils to the chosen target If teacher motivates pupils inappropriately, their relation to school and also to particular subjects has a negative effect on their positive relation to learning It often causes pupils´ lack of interest in given subject Pupils in the beginning of their education look forward to school Pupils who are getting ready for school are motivated by the vision of school, where they will learn how

to write, read, count, paint, find out many interesting things in particular subjects But it may happen that due to the inappropriate motivating activities of some teachers the opposite can occur, a pupil is afraid of school

Skalková states that in teaching terms it is very important to divide the primary and secondary motivation Primary motivation is based on the natural pupils´ needs All children are naturally inquiring and try to learn everything new If we set pupil a task or if he tries to learn something new, we get to know that energy inherent in every human inspires effort to perform the tasks and discover them (Skalková, J 2008)

Secondary motivation encourages a pupil up to achieve something Motivational factor in this respect is a good mark or teacher praise Punishment or prohibition can also be good secondary motivational factors Teachers can very well affect secondary motivation either positively or negatively (Skalková, J 2008)

In the learning process, both primary and secondary motivation motives shade into each other Primary motivation works in close conjunction with secondary motivation in view

of the fact that pupils in learning process have to learn also what does not arouse their natural interest In these cases it depends on the teacher and motivational activities that he choose, the way that he choose to achieve the goals so that the curriculum is meaningful for children I also agree with the opinion of Starý, who says that it is important for teacher to be aware of the real function of motivation If he teaches young children he has to use immediate motivation, can take advantage of an interesting game, use an interesting pictures, praise or change activity This kind of motivation enables teacher to achieve the goals better and increase children´s interest in learning (Starý, K A kol., 2008)

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Document Interactive Whiteboards and Learning states that “another types of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Motivation in the context of the classroom is measured by a student´s drive to participate in the learning process Although students may

be equally motivated to perform a task, the sources of their motivation may differ Some students are intrinsically motivated do learn because they are driven to understand through reflection and enjoy participating in learning activities Others are extrinsically motivated by enticements, rewards or teacher-defined objectives.”(Available on World Wide Web:

<http://www.its-networks.com/pdfs/White_Papers/smart/Int_Whiteboard_Research_White

paper.pdf>)

1.2 Factors influencing motivation

The teachers’ task is to increase the motivation of learners that they already bring into the learning process Motivational factors, which should always be in the spotlight when teachers prepare their lessons, Petty1 states in his book Teaching Today

These are the factors:

 Fantasy

Lessons should be variable and enjoyable and teachers should:

- give sufficient space for pupils´ activities, that should be funny

- direct learning so that it is related to pupils´ real life

- use personal dimension

- give pupils opportunities for expressing themselves and their creativity

- give pupils opportunities to become enthusiastic about the subject

- be mindful of having a good relationship with pupils

Petty, G.: Moderní vyučování, Portál, 2006 According to Hanuš, R., Chytilová, L.: Zážitkově pedagogické

učení, Praha: Grada, 2009

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 Goals

Teachers should:

- place demands on pupils so that they can achieve the goals

- set goals so that pupils do not lose the desire to reach the goals

- motivate pupils by unpleasant consequences if they do not learn

- assign individual targets and praise pupils when they accomplish them

- encourage pupils to take responsibility for their own learning

- Pupils should understand the personal benefits that learning brings

- Pupils should be aware of the importance of learning for their success in life

- Teachers should sell what they teach

Pupils’ creativity, development of key competencies and motivation are in the educationa process positively affected by the factors mentioned above (Hanuš, R., Chytilová, L., 2009)

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta) in its ICT Research refers to the fact, that the right choice of teaching method significantly contributes

to increase pupils´ motivation, development of key competencies and pupils´ creativity Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) is one of the means and teachers’ tools that can motivate pupils

in learning Increasing motivation is one of the most important benefits that using IWBs brings Reasons for this are:

- things that pupils love like videos and websites can be easily integrated into lessons

- the high level of pupils involvement in lesson – pupils love being physically in touch with the board , manipulating texts and images

What do we imagine when somebody says interactive teaching? The free

encyclopedia Wikipedia explains as one of the possibilities of the word interaction “a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another.” (Available on

World Wide Web: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interaction>)

2.1 What interactive teaching means

From the previous definition of the word interaction is possible to derive concept of interactive teaching as two-way influence of two factors In the school environment it is the interaction between teacher and pupil, pupil and technical equipment (interactive whiteboard

or computer) or between pupils themselves Years ago teachers used in lessons just books for explaining new curriculum Teachers mostly presented new curriculum through explanation

or lecture Pupils were forced to listen and make notes in their exercise books Currently the method of teaching through interactive activities is very desirable Teachers try to assist students in obtaining knowledge and support pupils´ effort to achieve knowledge Pupils do it not only through listening but mainly through active approach in lessons

Teacher´s work is currently much more demanding than it was once If the teacher wants to use interactive approach and interactive forms of teaching, if he wants to involve pupils into the educational process, he has to prepare for this activity He has to prepare activities which support pupils´ interactive approach It is necessary to find and classify information that are usable in lessons and are connected with the practical life The benefit of present time is that teachers can illustratively and actively work with materials designed in digital environment and save them for later use

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Nowadays modern technologies are used in school educational process Interactive teaching is mediated through the “interactive learning object” Interactive learning object is an integrated whole and didactical complex of teaching elements (sounds, charts, texts, pictures, images, videos, graphs), assembled into one unit, that enables interaction between the teacher and pupils

2.2 What supports interactive teaching

On the basis of the previous facts we can say that interactive teaching supports pupils’ active approach to their education and learning Teachers work with materials which pupils can apply in their real lives and that is why they are close to them This form of learning supports pupils´ independence, cooperation, creativity and helps pupils to express their own opinions and ideas It creates a sense of responsibility for collective task Modern technologies used in interactive teaching help teachers to mediate the relations between subjects more illustratively It helps to improve cross-curricular links Various types of interactive teaching help pupils to remember and understand new things

2.3 Using technology in a classroom – Interactive Whiteboards

According to Dudeney and Hockly using technology in teaching language is not new Technology has been used in teaching many years ago Tape recorders, later CD players, videos, overhead projector and video have been used and they are still used in classrooms around the world (Dudeney, G., Hockly, N., 2007)

Computer –based materials for language teaching called as CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) started to appear in the 80’s These programmes usually required learners

to respond to stimuli on the computer screen and perform tasks such as filling in gap texts, matching halves of sentences and doing multiply choice activities When Information and Communication Technology (ICT) spread more, computer-based materials for language teaching started to use the Internet and web-based tools The term TELL (Technology Enhanced Language Learning) appeared in the 1990s, in response to the growing possibilities

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offered by the Internet and communications technology Although teachers still do not use technology so much, the use of technology in the classroom is growing so fast, that soon it will be an usual part of English Language Teaching (ELT) One of the significant reasons is that young learners are growing up with technology and it is a normal and natural part of their lives I teacher uses technology with these learners, he brings the outside world into the classroom Other reasons for this are:

 Internet accessibility – nowadays you can connect to the Internet almost everywhere –

at home, in school, in cafés, in a bus, in a shopping centre

 English as an international language is being used in technologically mediated contexts

 Technology, especially the Internet offers many opportunities for real tasks and materials and almost infinite number of ready-made teaching materials

 The Internet enables great opportunities for making contact with learners around the world

 Technology is usually connected with published materials such as course books and teacher´s books

 Learners come to school with expectation of using technology in learning

 Technology opens new ways of language practice and success evaluation

 Using a variety of ICT tools enables learners to practice all the four main language skills – speaking, listening, writing and reading (Dudeney, G., Hockly, N., 2007)

Dudeney and Hockly say: ”As there is not enough ICT training for teachers, they avoid using technology in language teaching although the use of technology nowadays is so natural as the use of books or pencils or paper”.( Dudeney, G., Hockly, N., 2007)

One of the ICT tools is the interactive whiteboard (IWB) It is an irreplaceable technological tool that has its place in teaching According to the document Interacctive Whiteboards and learning published by SMART Technologies, Inc.2 the interactive

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Smart Technologies, Inc., a full service computer and networking center

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whiteboard is “ a touch-sensitive screen that works in conjunction with a computer and a projector The first interactive whiteboard was manufactured by SMART Technologies Inc In 1991” (Available on World Wide Web:<http://www.itsnetworks.com/pdfs/White_Papers/ smart/Int_Whiteboard_Research_White paper.pdf>)

IWB is a modern teachers’ tool that influence learning process in many ways It helps

in the field of pupils’ engagement in a classroom, it increases pupils’ motivation and enthusiasm IWB’s can be used with learners with various learning styles so that they can support pupils with different learning needs

“The effective use of interactive whiteboard technology can radically transform the interaction between teachers and learners and allows for discussing and analysing in a visual, auditory and kinaesthetic medium” (Available on World Wide Web:< ”(Available on

World Wide Web:<http://www.dit.ie/lttc/media/ditlttc/documents/gettingthemost.pdf>)

2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of Interactive Whiteboards

IWB is undouptedly excellent tool and if the teacher knows how to use it, he can transform his teaching style and support his pupils to learn more effectively The use of IWB

in teaching has certainly its advantages as disadvantages Both teachers and pupils can benefit from using IWB in classroom In the document Getting the most from your interactive whiteboard – A guide for primary schools, published by Becta3, some benefits of whiteboards are mentioned

IWB as a teaching tool:

- is well adapted to whole class teaching (Glover, D., Miller, D., 2001)

- encourages an interactive approach in that setting (Ball, 2003)

- enables to use a variety of multimedia resources (Levy, P., 2002)

- enables faster pace through the use of prepared materials

- encourages sharing materials among other teachers (Kennewell, S., 2001)

- teacher can control and lead all activities on the touch board

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Becta, British Educational Communications and Technology Agency

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- gives teachers possibility to use a wide range of resources in preparating the materials

- through the new technology encourages teachers in trying out new ways of teaching, using more ICT (Smith, H., 2001)

- supports demonstrating and modelling

- gives great opportunity to integrate ICT in lessons while teaching from the front of the class (Smith, H., 2001)

- enables to increase spontaneity and flexibility if teachers can draw on a variety of internet resources (Kennewell, S., 2001)

- enables teachers to save and print whatever on the board, notes written in the lesson (Walker, D., 2002)

IWB as a learning tool:

- support pupils of a variety learning styles

- increases pupils’ motivation and engagement in learning

- increases pupils’ interest with visual stimuli

- keeps pupils focused on the board for a longer time

- makes pupil’s attention and concentration better

- develops pupils’ personal and social skills (Levy, P., 2002)

- pupils do not have to use a keyboard to engage with the technology, increasing access for younger children and pupils with disabilities (Goodison, T., 2002)

Like everything, the IWB has also its disadvantages in addition to its benefits Some deficiencies in using IWB that I have found during my teaching experience and using IWB are:

- getting IWB to school is usually a question of money, they are more expensive than other teaching tools

- if IWB is used too often, it is no longer so attractive for pupils

- excessive use of IWB can suppress abstract thinking of pupils

- IWB is usually installed permanently and its height may not be suitable for different pupils and teachers

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3 Learning styles

Pupils are different, have different values, needs and to acquire new knowledge they use a variety of methods These methods are called learning styles Due to the fact that the emphasis is put on individual approach to pupils nowadays, teachers should be aware, that pupils prefer different learning styles According to Seifert and Vedralová4, the new approaches and habits regarding drawing new information appear Today’s pupils are from birth in contact with the computer and the Internet, the world of information technologies affects them from all sides The value of new information declines proportionally to increasing availability and quantity of information (Seifert, M., Vedralová, A., 2010)

The best ways of learning differ Pupils prefer variety of learning styles, but there is not usually just one style that pupils prefer, it is mix of styles that pupils use in learning process One learning style may be dominant, but it is accompanied by less dominant styles Dominance of individual learning style is not a constant thing, it may change during life (Seifert, M., Vedralová, A., 2010)

When transferring information to pupils, teachers should find appropriate ways of doing that, they should try to diagnose pupils’ learning styles They can use standardized tests

or their own pedagogical diagnostics Study of pupils’ learning styles can help to make teaching more efficient and supports the idea of diversity in teaching (Seifert, M., Vedralová, A., 2010)

Pupils can prefer following learning styles:

 Verbal (linguistic) – ability to learn through words and language – reading, speaking, writing

 Logical (mathematical) – ability to learn through data – collecting, organizing, analyzing and interpreting

 Visual (spatial) – ability to learn through movies, pictures, images, videos and demonstration

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Seifert, M., Vedralová A Učební styly žáků - výzva pro české učitele? Rodina a škola, 2010, vol.57, no 7,

p 22-23

 Musical (aural) – ability to learn through music, sounds, rhythm and tones

 Interpersonal – ability to learn with others, in group

 Intrapersonal – ability to learn through own emotions and motivation, self-studying (Available on World Wide Web:< http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php? title=Multiple_Intelligences_and_Learning_Styles>)

3.1 How can Interactive Whiteboard help?

Smart Technologies, Inc in its document deals with the question of how to help in educational process with using IWB Educators constantly try to develop approaches and tools for pupils with different and various learning needs As mentioned above, IWB is a teaching tool that can support different pupils learning styles IWB can help pupils that require visual, hearing-impaired and other special needs Pupils with different learning styles and needs can be:

“Visual learners - benefit from notes taken on the interactive whiteboard in addition to

diagramming and manipulating objects or symbols As the IWB is easy to use, it enables pupils of all ages to see their own writing ond objects of their own creation

Kinesthetic or tactile learners – are typically difficult to engage in traditional classroom

activities that are usually more visual or auditory in nature They are able to reinforce learning through exercises involving touch, movement and space on IWB

Deaf and hearing-impaired learners – rely primarily on visual learning, and the IWB

facilitates the presentation of visual material with the use of sign language simultaneously in front of students

Visually impaired learners – with some vision ability can manipulate objects and use large

text on an IWB’s big surface and participate in computer-based learning in ways that would not be possible on a smaller computer screen

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Other special needs learners with learning challenges, such as physical ability needs and

behavioural issues, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), also find the large interactive surface helpful Its large size and touch sensitivity facilitates ICT learning beyond the standard keyboard and mouse type of computer interaction, and its appeal can be used to promote good behaviour.”(Available on World Wide Web:< http://downloads01.smarttech.com/

Scott and Ytreberg in their book Teaching English to children, divide young learners into two groups, because there is a difference between what children of six can do and what children of eleven can do Differences between these children are undouptedly large and the teacher has to be aware of the characteristics of particular age group of children, their needs and adapt to these aspects to his teaching style, methods and activities Children under seven, specifically, the five to seven years old, belong to the first group According to Slattery and Willis, this group is also called “very young learners” The second group – young learners – are the eight to ten year olds or children between eight and twelve (Slattery, M., Willis, J., 2006)

As said before, pupils of different ages can do different things There are some abilities that pupils can do at their own level

Very young learners:

- learn through hearing real English, the same ways as they learn their native language

- learn through actions, games, playing, they learn new words naturally

- learn through sounds, playing with words and phrases, songs

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- like having fun and need not to be aware of learning a foreign language

- usually cannot read and write, so they need to learn new words through talk and games

- are not able to understand grammatical rules, they need to hear lots of English, words and phrases so that their grammar will develop on its own (Slattery, M., Willis, J., 2006)

Children between seven and twelve:

- usually can read and write or are in process of learning it

- develop their ability to think

- are becoming aware of the real worlds and the world of fantasy

- are able to plan and do the activity in the best way

- can work with others and learn from others

- are aware of the importance of reliability and responsibility for the whole class activities

- are able to make the most of reading books in English

- can understand very simple explanation about how language works

- are able to experiment with language, working with language creatively

- can help teacher with organization of activities (Slattery, M., Willis, J., 2001)

Slattery and Willis say, that generally we can characterize all young children by these characteristics, they:

- are developing very quickly as individuals

- learn in variety of ways, by watching, listening, imitating, doing things

- are not able to understand grammatical rules and explanations about language

- try to make sense of situations by making use of non-verbal clues

- talk in their mother tongue about what they understand and do – this helps them learn

- can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults speak

- are naturally curious

- love to play and use their imagination

- are comfortable with routines and enjoy repetition

- have quite a short attention span and so need variety (Slattery, M., Willis, J., 2001)

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4.2 What is grammar

According to Longman Dictionary of contemporary English grammar is:

“The rules by which words change their forms and are combined into sentences, or the study

or use of these rules.” (Longman Dictionary of contemporary English, 2001, p 619)

The question is, if it is important to study grammar, if we need to know grammatical rules if we want to speak any language The answer for this question is “No, we do not have

to study grammar” People around the world speak their first language without studying grammatical rules Small children begin to speak without being aware of grammar But if people want to use foreign language, grammar is necessary in a way of learning the language more quickly and efficiently If people know grammatical rules and structures, they are able

to understand things themselves Grammar is essential language skill and it is important for learning foreign language

According to Jim Scrivener, “grammar is not just a dry list of facts and rules It is in our heads and it is a living resource that gives us the ability to communicate our ideas and feelings and to understand what other people say or write to us.” (Scrivener, J., 2003)

4.3 The role of grammar in teaching young learners

Young children are wonderful in absorbing new languge They can get maximum of language through games and activities that they find funny Their success in learning foreign language does not depend on their knowledge of grammar They can use grammatical structures very well, they can speak language clearly, but they are not able to say why they use particular structure Some pupils are able to deal with simple grammar at the age of ten or eleven Teachers, of course, should be aware of grammar and structures that they want their pupils to know But they should teach just a minimum of grammar and what is important, the older pupils only (Scott, W., Ytreberg, L., 1990)

If teachers teach grammar, it is very important to do it in context For children it is necessary to have lots of opportunities and chances to use the new languge in their real lives

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Pupils have to learn new structures and rules in depth, they should feel that they can use what they have learnt for everyday communication (Phillips, S., 1993)

4.4 Ways of teaching grammar

There is a question “How do pupils learn grammar?” It is not easy to answer

According to Jim Scrivener learning is “a slow, messy business It is better to acknowledge that, because then you will not come out of class angry with yourself and saying things like

I taught it well, but they did not learn it!” (Scrivener, J., 2003)

There are two different ways of teaching new grammatical structure The grammar can

be covert or overt There is a fundamental difference between teaching grammar through these two ways

 covert/inductive grammar – indirect grammar teaching, teacher does not provide grammar rules There is a text where new grammatical structure is introduced Pupils read the text and find out the new structure Pupils’ attention is not focused on the new structure, but on the text Pupils work with the text, they practise new language and the focus does not have to be on the grammar Pupils play with the words, sentences and they can take the new grammar in incidentally

 overt/deductive grammar – explanation of the new grammatical rules and structures to pupils

4.5 Stages in teaching grammar

Grammar teaching includes four stages that pupils should go through before being able

to use a new grammar item (Scrivener, J., 2003) They need to:

 notice the grammar item in presentation

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Presentation should be:

- clear – there should not be any difficulties in understanding, pupils should understand the text

- efficient – there should be a maximum of new grammar, pupils should be forced to use new language

- enjoyable and interesting – pupils should be motivated on the highest level and be interested in the activity Doing things that they find enjoyable and are interested in them is the best motivation to learn

- appropriate – it has to be proper for language that is presented

- productive – pupils should be allowed to make own sentences and questions using the grammar that they have learnt (Harmer, J., 1998)

All previous characteristics can be achieved through following activities:

- visuals for situations (Harmer, J., 1998)

It is not easy to learn a new structure the first time pupils meet it The more times pupils are exposed to the structure, the more sense it will give them Teachers should plan activities

so that there are as many grammar items, he wants pupils to learn, as possible (Scrivener, J., 2003)

 understand the form of the structure – the way it is made up, how the words fit

together, what the endings are They should know the meaning and use of new grammar item Teacher should show the structure in context, introduce it in the typical situations

 practise new language – pupils should be allowed to try the language in safe

environment, they need to practise structures as much as possible There are some techniques that allow pupils to practise grammatical rules

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- drills

- interactive activities

- games

 use the new grammar item – pupils should be allowed to use the new language that

they have learnt It may take time before children start to use the new language, even they have practised the items a lot Teachers should encourage pupils to use the

language – “sometimes getting things wrong and sometimes getting things right”, that

is the way that people learn new things (Scrivener, J., 2003)

There is one important thing that teachers should be aware All the things that teachers do

in their lessons using the language is grammar teaching If teachers use English in their lessons as much as possible, they give pupils language examples Pupils can benefit from what teacher says in lesson, they can notice and learn new language including grammar only

by the way

5 Grammar structures in primary teaching

5.1 Framework Educational Programme

The Framework Educational Programme for basic education defines binding educational norms This document is a part of the National Education Programme which is the basic document in the new curricular education system in the Czech Republic This document defines everything what is common and necessary in the basic compulsory education The programme defines educational content, the expected outcomes and curriculum It is based on a new education approach that emphasizes key competencies and their interconnection with educational content (Available on World Wide Web: < http://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/framework-education-programme-for-basic-education>)

Key competencies are a complex of knowledge, abilities, attitudes and values They should not be developed in isolation but in connection with each other To develop these

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competencies teachers should adapt their teaching, educational content and all activities that take place at school (Available on World Wide Web: < http://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/ framework-education-programme-for-basic-education>)

The key competencies are:

Learning competency enables pupils to observe and experiment, compare results and

draw conclusions For development of this competence it is needed to present the grammar so that they use all their senses using colour demonstration, colourful pictures, moving and mystery objects, songs, stories and chants Furthermore it is necessary to enable pupils to manipulate objects, observe, classify and distinguish them It is also very important to make pupils think about problem, express their own conclusions and rediscovery of knowledge We have to point out application in common life The designed object should lead to the acquisition of knowledge from other sources than the school materials are

Problem-Solving Competency is supported by involvement of pupils in deducing the

grammatical rules Students are motivated by situations that they know from their common life Pupils are encouraged to not let discourage if they are wrong They are encouraged to continue and find the solution

Communication Competency is encouraged by effort to let speaking as many pupils

as possible Pupils are also encouraged to understand various types of texts, records, graphic materials and react to them It is also very important to talk to pupils about the ways of solving problems, advise the weaker pupils, come up with new questions and let pupils communicate with each other

Social and Personal Competency is developed by respecting agreed rules,

opportunity for expressing feelings and mood Pupils have to be able to ask for help if needed

as well as they should be able to give succour to anybody

Civic Competency is encouraged by support of collective solidarity, mutual

conversation, discussions about problems, telling own experience Pupils are also encouraged

to admit acknowledge the ideas of others

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Professional Competency is developed by using materials and tools safely and

effectively (Available on World Wide Web: < education-programme-for-basic-education>)

http://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/framework-5.2 Expected outcomes according to the Framework Educational

Programme

Framework Educational programme for basic education defines within the area of foreign language educational content and different language skills that pupils have to know at the end of each period (See appendix 2) The educational field is divided into two stages Young learners belong to stage 1 of basic education Educational content of stage 1 is divided into 2 periods (Available on World Wide Web: < http://www.msmt.cz/vzdelavani/ framework-education-programme-for-basic-education>)

Grammar is a part of educational content in period 2 Expected outcomes of this period include knowledge of basic grammatical structures and sentences types Pupil is able to make a simple sentence, question and negation and to form a sentence with correct word order Knowledge and use of basic grammatical structures go through all the skills that are included in the expected outcomes of this period, since words are placed in sentences according to grammatical rules and pupils should know these rules if they want to use words

in sentences in a meaningful way (Available on World Wide Web: < http://www.msmt.cz/ vzdelavani/framework-education-programme-for-basic-education>)

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II Practical part

6 Market research

Interactive whiteboards are becoming a popular tool used in language teaching The

most important condition of engaging IWB in teaching the interactive teaching materials are

Without appropriate educational materials can be IWBs hardly effectively used in teaching

Nowadays there is a number of educational materials for IWBs available in the market, but

for teachers it can be difficult to be knowledgeable in this offer Especially the teachers who

have no experience with interactive lessons may have difficulties in finding and selecting a

specific training program that whould that would best help to develop specific skills or

specific subject matter covered Variety of flyers and catalogues offering teaching materials

for IWBs constantly comes to schools, but teachers always do not get all that market offers

On this basis I have done the market research in which I focused on interactive

learning materials available in the market of the Czech Republic First of all, my goal was to

find educational materials for teaching grammar to young learners using IWB In

a subsequent questionnaire solution that is another part of my thesis I wanted to find out,

among other things, which of these materials primary English teachers know, which are

available for them and which they really use in their classes One of the main purposes of the

research was to determine what educational materials I should include in the survey

For collecting information for the survey I used a very widespread source of

information – the Internet I also visited the regional office of the largest publishers of

educational materials, Oxford University Press in Prague, where they provided me with

information about their educational materials for IWBs that are currently available in the

market

This way I found out 12 publishers that distribute English textbooks and teaching

materials for primary schools Those are included in the research In research of publishing

houses’ interactive materials I focused on:

 quantity and variety of interactive materials

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 content of interactive materials, language focus

Mainly I focused on which of these materials can be used especially for teaching grammar to young learners

I focused on following publishing houses , that publish books and teaching materials for primary schools – Fraus publishing house, SPN – pedagogické nakladatelství, Fortuna, Prodos, Nová Škola, Macmillan, Terasoft, Leda, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Longman and Langmaster Present market offers following interactive materials for English teaching in primary schools Some of these materials are created directly for the course books and fully correspond with them Some of these materials are designed as supplementary materials and do not correspond with any course book available (See appendix 3)

In the research I found out that eight of twelve researched publishers offer interactive materials for teaching English in primary schools These publishers usually produce IWB software to be used in connection with course books IWB materials designed for course books are concentrated on developing of all language skills as well as most of the additional materials that I found out Only two programmes are more specific Zak´s Wordgames (Langmaster) learning material is focused mainly on vocabulary development, Tell me More Kids (Leda) courses are focused mainly on listening and speaking development The largest publisher in our market is Oxford University Press (OUP) This publishing house produces interactive materials designed for nine of its course books that can be used in primary schools The educational program that is most focused on practicing English grammar is TS Angličtina

2 pro školáky This new English course is intended namely for the 5th

grade of primary school But this educational program is not designed specifically for IWB teaching, but also for practicing language using the computer both at school and at home

Although teaching using interactive whiteboards is currently widely used, there still isn´t so many teaching materials as we would wish Publishing houses offer some materials for purposes of using interactive whiteboards but these materials are mainly designed for course books They are very good but I (maybe more teachers using IWBs) still miss more materials for extra work and practising particular language skills such as grammar

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Generally speaking, the programmes offered by different companies are due to competitive struggle very good The only major drawback can be incompatibility of designed programmes with various school educational programmes The way out of situation when there is no programme in market that would cover what we need to teach – such as grammar,

is creating own teaching material in the software supplied with most interactive whiteboards With growing demand and use of interactive whiteboards in schools the new internet websites were created On these websites we can find freely downloadable, already created interactive materials for English lessons From these well-sorted databases we do not have only to draw but we can also insert own materials to share them with others

In the research I also focused on these websites I mainly focused on these things:

 Quantity of interactive materials designed for primary teaching

 Language skills that are developed by these materials

 Quality of designed materials

 Clarity of web pages where the materials are available

I researched following eight websites that I arranged into the chart and evaluated against the criteria The main task was to determine whether they contain educational materials to use for teaching grammar to young learners A detailed content of these pages have been added to the overview (See appendix 4)

As I have mentioned before, there is a big amount of materials that teachers can find

on websites Each teacher is different, prefers a different style of teaching, pupils are individuals with different learning styles If you really want to find something special, nice, suitable, simply something created just for your lesson, for your learners, it may be quite difficult And from my experience it usually is I don´t use IWB every lesson, there are many ways of teaching grammar such as everything, but if there is something that I know can be great to teach using IWB and pupils can benefit from it, I need amazing teaching material

I mean amazing especially for my pupils For these reasons I usually design my own materials That is what I occupy with in another part of my thesis

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7 School survey on using IWBs

This part of my thesis includes questionnaire that I have sent to many schools in Central Bohemian Region

The goal was to confirm the hypothesis that the IWb is now a fixture of most schools

I also wanted to find out what possibilities to use IWBs the teachers have The main goal was

to build on the market research and find out what interactive teaching materials teachers know and which they use in their classes Based on survey results, I also wanted to know whether the teachers create their own teaching materials for teaching using the IWB

7.1 Questionnaire

In developing the questionnaire I emphasized that the questionnaire is understandable, clear, linguistically correct and easy to fill I administered the questionnaire in the Czech language I chose this option because I addressed the Czech teachers that are natural to use their native language From my experience I know that some teachers, particularly those in primary schools may feel limited by language and they could be simply discouraged by filling

in the questionnaire in English

At the beginning of the questionnaire i politely addressed the respondents and asked them to fill out a questionnaire on the topic of IWB I briefly explained the importance of the questionnaire, its content and meaning of its completion I also wrote the brief instructions on how to fill and return back I thanked for the time spent on filling out a questionnaire (See appendix 5)

I formed the questions so as to be clear, understandable, concise and valid above all This means that the answers to these questions help to achieve the research objectives The questionnaire included following types of questions:

 Open questions – the respondents could express in their own words, this type

of questions allowed me to get the answers that would not occur to me (4,6,10)

of respondents who gave me important feedback when the questionnaire was still possible to edit Group of these respondents was seven of my current and former colleagues that teach English in primary school After testing the questionnaire I inspected the results of the test survey to evaluate whether the questions lead to the aim of the survey Based on this I found out that using these questions can lead to the research objectives In the next part of the thesis

I deal with the questions in detail

I sent the questionnaire to schools via e-mail correspondence I created list of 70 schools in Central Bohemina Region This method of collecting data from the questionnaire seemed to me the simplest and in today’s world of communication technologies natural I had serious doubts about the return of completed questionnaires in this way, but I wanted to see how today’s teachers are able to react this way, if they are at least in this basic way able to compete in today’s world of information and communication technologies The response came back from 45 schools in a very short time I found this number sufficient, so I could evaluate the questionnaires and identify the research results

In following part I am analysing particular questions that were set in the questionnaire

Question 1

 Do you have Interactive Whiteboard in your school?

The use of the IWB in the classroom is conditioned by its existence in the school The target group were mainly respondents who have the opportunity to work with IWB and thus

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design interactive teaching objects Through the first question I directed to divide the respondents to two groups Those who have opportunities to work with IWB and those who

do not – so that I did not analyse their questionnaires any more

I found out that 5 schools from 45 schools surveyed still does not have IWB But almost all of these schools are going to get it in the near future

Question 2

 If you have IWB, what type of board is it?

Another question deals with the type of IWB that respondent has the possibility to use in teaching On the market there are more types of boards and interactive systems that differ from each other If teacher designes own materials to use them on the IWB, the software which is a part of the board and through which the teacher designs the materials is very important Each of these has different tools, including other types of activities, picture gallery, etc I personally had the opportunity to use the Smart Board and the Activboard – the two most popular boards that market offers If I compare these two boards from my perspective,

I can say that it is much easier to work with the software for Smart Boards and I like its activities more as well Based on this question I wanted in connection with question number 5

to determine whether this fact could also influence other teachers

Is IWB in school?

YES

NO

of teachers in schools where Smart Board is available design interactive teaching materials This fact does not confirm my hypothesis Maybe when the teacher use particular board for a long time, he is accustomed to work with it, the activities of which he knows that works great and then when he has to work with another type of board, he may feel frustrated before he gets used to this new board and software It is therefore a matter of custom rather than a type

of board

Question 3

 Is IWB in classroom where you permanently teach?

This question I wanted to find out how many teachers have the opportunity to have IWB

in the classroom where they teach permanently, language lab In connection with the following questions I also wanted to clafiry whether the teachers who are always available to the board, designe teaching materials themselves or use ready-made interactive books or teaching materials from the websites I also wanted to know how often the IWB is used in their classes if they have it permanently available

I do not know More types Other

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I found out, that 21 respondents has IWB in classroom where they teach permanently

Based on survey I also found out that if teachers have the IWB constantly in the classroom, use the following materials to work with it

 14 % or respondents – own designed materials

 19 % of respondents – own designed materials, internet sources

 19 % of respondents – own designed materials and ready-made books

 48 % of respondents – own materials, ready-made books, internet sources

Is IWB in classroom where you permanently

teach?

YES

NO

Kind of sources used

Own designed materials

Own materials and interactive course books Own materials and internet sources

Own/interactive course books/internet sources

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Question 4

 How often do you use IWB in your lessons?

As I have mentioned above, I was interested in how often the IWB is in use by the teachers who have it always at hand and by those who have not I also wanted to know if there

is a direct correlation between frequency of use of the IWB in the classroom and creating educational materials

I found out that 30 percent of respondent teachers use IWB very often – almost every lesson 12 percent of teachers use the board very often 25 percent of teachers use IWB about once a week 23 percent of teachers use it from time to time and 10 percent of respondents use it never in their lessons

In the following chart you can see how often is IWB used in classes by the teachers who have

it permanently in the classroom and who do not

IWB in use

Almost every lesson Once a week Very often

From time to time

Very often

Almost every lesson

Rarely Never

Teachers having IWB permanently Teachers who cannot have IWB permanently

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Here I have summarized the relation between frequency of using IWB and designing interactive materials

 100% teachers who use IWB almost every lesson design own materials

 100% teachers who use IWB very often design own teaching objects

 80% teachers who use IWB once a week design own teaching materials

 44% respondents who use IWB in lessons rarely design own teaching materials

From this follows that the more often teachers use IWB in lessons, the more they design their own teaching materials for its use

Question 5

 Do you design your own teaching materials for IWB?

Since the thesis deals with designing teaching objects on IWBs, it seemed natural to include this question in the questionnaire This question was directed toward the clear goal – to find out how many teachers interwieved design own teaching materials

I found out that three quarters of the respondents design own interactive materials for their lessons

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This question was only for those who answered yes to the previous question The goal was

to determine what language skills teachers usually develop through the interactive materials that they design Based on market research, which I did and my experience as well I know, that there are interactive teaching materials that focus on a comprehensive balanced development of languge skills, what is undoubtedly good There are some educational materials for practicing vocabulary, but significantly less on teaching and practicing grammar

I wanted to find out whether teachers respond to this lack of these materials by creating own teaching objects or what else they prefer

Teachers create their materials to develop the following languages skills:

 If you design your own materials, do you provide them for other teachers?

If the teacher makes his own teaching material for IWB it takes a lot of time, especially if

he wants to design a good material Then it is a shame to have such educational material only for him when he can share it with colleagues who can use the material in their lessons and more pupils can benefit from it My experience is that the sharing of educational materials in schools is far too prevalent So I wanted to see how it actually works, whether teachers share created materials among themselves If this happens, it is another step for teachers to more, better and more efficient use of IWBs in the classroom

Language skills developed

Vocabulary Grammar Facts Listening

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17 of respondents of those that design own teaching materials, provide these materials for other teachers, 13 of them do not

Question 8

 Do you know these materials? Do you use them in your lessons?

One of the main objectives of my research was to determine what ready-made interactive books that are available primary English teachers know and use them in theri classes The questionnaire consists of all the ready-made materials that are included in market research

I wanted to find out which of the 17 titles (see appendix 6) teachers actually use in practice

I found out, that the most commonly known and used materials are those that are published by Oxford University Press They are called iTools and are designed for course books There are 5 materials that are not known for any of the teachers surveyed (Tell me More Kids, The Busy Board, Way Ahead, Treetops iTools, Super Surprise iTools)

Providing materials for other teachers

Chit Chat iTools Family and Friends iTools Happy Earth New Edition iTools Happy House New Edition iTools Happy Street New Edition iTools New Chatterbox iTools Incredible English iTools Start with Click Kid´s Box Longman Children´s Picture Dictionary Angličtina pro školáky

Zak´s Wordgames