Experiences in teaching songs and chants for primary students of grade 4

THANH HOA EDUCATION & TRAINING DEPARMENT THANH HOA CITY EDUCATION & TRAINING OFFICE INITIATIVE EXPERIENCE Topic: EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING SONGS AND CHANTS FOR PRIMARY STUDENTS OF GRADE

THANH HOA EDUCATION & TRAINING DEPARMENT

THANH HOA CITY EDUCATION & TRAINING OFFICE

INITIATIVE EXPERIENCE

Topic:

EXPERIENCES IN TEACHING SONGS AND CHANTS

FOR PRIMARY STUDENTS OF GRADE 4

The implementer: Dam Thuy Dung Position: Teacher

School: Quang Phu Primary School Subject: English

THANH HOA, 2019

PAGE

2.2 Situation issues before applying experience initiative 52.3 The solutions of implementation 72.3.1 How to teach songs and chants 72.3.2 Types of songs and chants 92.3.3 Exploiting songs and chants 14

1.1 The reasons for choosing the topic.

Since English has become an international language, more and morepeople learn English The importance of English as a world language has madepeople to learn English as early as possible Teaching English as a foreignlanguage to young learners need special approach since young learners havespecial characteristics, they have their own way of learning The forms of funactivities for children are songs, chants and rhymes The main objective of this

experience initiative is to emphasize the importance of using songs and chants inteaching of English as a foreign language to young learners.

Their functions, criteria for election and the way of presenting them to theclass will also be analised Song, chants and rhymes are amazing tool forteaching language, especially to children Young learners pick up pronunciation,vocabulary, grammartical structures and rhymes of language

English has become the main language of communication all over theworld and early learning of English in the school context is becoming morecommon Teaching of English from primary education is very common manycountries, icluding Viet Nam Learning English starts at the age of 5 and 6

Teaching children can be immensely rewarding, teachers who hasexperienced that can tell about it But it’s not fun and games all the time, andsometimes it’s just not that easy English teachers who wish to teach childrenmust be aware of the challengesand difficulties they may encounter, and prepareaccordingly But still the young age is different, children learna language fasterthan adults, they do not learn through traditional language teaching methods.Through fun activities children can learn a language better as learning becomesnatural for them since these activities do not make them conscious that they arelearning a language

Children can learn better through interresting activities and for this reasonsongs, rhymes and chants are very useful tools for teaching them a foreignlanguage Actually these are the tools that help children learn in an enjoyableenvironment without making them feel the pressure of learning a foreignlanguage

Songs, chants and rhymes are full of lexicon, they are authentic languageand students can take advantage of their repetition and musicality, contributing

to the learning of expressions When students listen to them again and again theyacquire and receive a great language input unconsciously They also help tocreate a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere, motivating students in the learningand introducing fun and happiness in the foreign language classroom

Songs, chants and rhymes work wonderfully as a part of an ESL programfor children, for a non-native speaker at the beginning stage it is clearly easier tosing or recite a rhyme in English than it is to communicte personal information,wants or needs The rhythm and rhymes naturally appealing to a child, the child

is a eager to be a part of the rhythm and to participating in reciting the rhyme

A class in which every child feels welcomed as a participating member is

a vital factor in effective teaching Sharing part of the rhythm and to participate

in reciting the rhyme A class in which every child feels welcomed as aparticipating member is a vital factor in effective teaching Sharing songs andchants are easy to memorize, the children derive visible satisfaction andconfidence from this newly acquired fluency that comes so quickly

Most primary school teachers generally use songs as a teaching techniqueand Carmeron (2001) claims that the use of songs and chants is also important

for young learners in foreign language classrooms Likewise, Johnstone (2002)claims that teachers of young learners may make an important contribution tochildren’s early language education by introducing their classes to recordedsongs, and Demirel(2004) claims that the most effective way to teach listeningcomprehension, pronunciation,and dictation to young leaners is through teachingsongs

After exploring and accumulating the experiences from colleagues, I havesome experiences in teaching songs and chants and achieved quite effectiveresults The students are more active and interested in learning English and moreconfident in speaking before the class This improves that my methods are right.With the passion and the love for teaching English, I have studied and developed

the research: "Experiences in teaching songs and chants for primary students

of grade 4 "

1.2 The purpose of research.

- The research applies the methods of teaching songs and chants toinvolve students in learning English well

- Creating the language circumstance to communicate in English andpromote students to actively participate in communicative activities; offeringsome solutions and methods for teaching songs and chants

- Exchanging and sharing some experiences in teaching songs and chantsfor young learners

1.3 The objects of research.

Research Time : School Year 2018-2019

Research Location: Quang Phu Primary School

Research Object: "Experiences in teaching songs and chants for primary students of grade 4 "

The respondents of the research: With this research I focused on theprimary students, especially the students of class 4

Systematizing some theoretical issues about the procedures and activities

in teaching songs and chants in for young learners according to thecommunicative approach

Exploring the present situation of teaching songs and chants at PrimarySchool and suggesting some techniques in teaching songs and chants to developspeaking and listening skill for elementary students, helping them be moreconfident to communicate in English

1.4 The methods of research.

- Method of literature review.

- Method of survey (Questionnaire).

- Method of secondary data.

- Method of statistical analysis.

2 CONTENT

2.1.The behaviorist theory

Behavorist is a theory of learning that was influential in the 1940sand1950s, especially in the United States.With regard to language learning, thebest-known proponent of this psychological theory was B.F.Skinner (1957).Traditional behaviorists hypothesized that when children imitated the languageproduced by those around them, their attempts to produce what they heardreceived “positive reinforcement” This could take the form of praise or justsuccessful communication Thus encouraged by their environment, childrenwould continue to imitate and practice these sounds an patterns and quantity ofthe language the child hears, as well as the consistency of the reinforcementoffered by others in the environment, would shape the child’s language behavoir.This theory gives great importance to the environment as the source ofeverything the child needs to learn

First of all we will want the classroom to be bright and colourful,withwindows the children can see out of, and with enough room for differentactivities to be taking place We might expect them to be working in groups indifferent parts of the classroom, changing their activity every ten minutes or so

“We are obviously”, Susan Halliwell writes : “not talking about classrooms where children spend all their time sitting still in rows or talking only to the teacher” (1992) Because children love discovering things, and because they

respond well to being asked to use their imagination, they may well be involved

in puzzle-like activities,in making things, in drawing things, in games, inphysical moverment or in songs

There are many reasons for using songs and chants in teaching English as

a foreign language in primary schools Naturally, “children really enjoy learningand singing songs” (Phillips 1993: 100) and have fun doing rhythmic activitieswhile reciting rhymes But there are deeper psychological, cultural and linguisticaspects

A familiar way of language acquisition.

Children grow up with songs and chants and develop their first language

by them Apart from being the most important spoken language, songs andchants are the first experienced parts of communication in the children’s mothertongue They listen and react to nursery rhymes and finger games spoken andoften acted by their parents They go to sleep with lullabies sung by their closestcare-givers or try to imitate little songs by babbling So songs and chants givethem an intimate feeling, a special connection with their human environmentand influence the acquisition of their first language in an important way

Analogous to the development of the mother tongue, the following points also support foreign language acquisition :

- Music, rhythm and rhymes produce a positive live feeling.

- They motivate to learn and to be active.

- Children do not understand all words but do not feel inhibited.

- Rhythm supports vocabulary and structure learning.

The holistic approach.

Songs and chants are both means and content of foreign languageacquisition There is no gap between the language used in lessons and that used

in real-life situations Each understanding and each reacting are progresses inlanguage learning

Songs and chants stimulate the hemispherical interaction Busy with songsand chants the left hemisphere (vocabulary, structure of the language) and theright hemisphere (rhythm, feelings, mimic, gesture, senso-motoric etc.) worktogether and make learning more effective So it is small wonder how quickstudents are at learning songs and chants

The holistic approach also means that songs and chants are connectedwith other learning and living areas like sport, literature, music and art

Motivation by songs and chants.

Pupils’ motivation to learn “largely depends on the teaching methods andthe teacher’s personality” (seminar script from 24/04/01: 2) If the teacherskillfully uses songs and chants the pupils usually are highly motivated Songsand chants are relaxing, they vary the lesson’s progress, they provide fun andaction “and encourage harmony within oneself and within a group” (Murphey1992: 8) So the pupils are learning with fun and more effectively than withoutthese forms Even shy or slow learning children are given encouragment bysinging or speaking in choir and so they feel able to speak in a foreign language

Provision of meaningful vocabulary.

Songs and chants present a lot of linguistic material in a natural linguisticcontext So they support the monolingual and contextual approach in teaching aforeign language Words in songs and chants are meaningful to the learner,which influences the acquisition in a positive way “In general they use simpleconversational language with a lot of repetition” (Murphey 1992: 7) Thereforesongs and chants stick in the learner’s mind and the words and expressions usedare memorized more easily Besides, songs and chants provide manypossibilities for constant repetition and revising as important mechanisms of thelanguage acquisition

Support for phonetic development

“Poems, rhymes, chants and songs could be used to give a feeling for therhythm of the spoken language Many well-known rhymes make use of theiambic pentameter, the natural rhythm of the English language” (Straeter-Lietz1999: 9) Practising intonation through reciting rhymes and poems is mostlyfunny and very effective To vary the sometimes boring pronunciation teaching

it is a proven remedy using rhymes and rhythmic chants, e.g with minimalpairs

The cultural aspect.

Music is a powerful stimulus for student engagement precisely because itspeaks directly to our emotions while still allowing us to use our brains toanalyse it and its effects if we so wish According to Lo and Li(1998), songs areable to change the monotonous mood in the class and with the smoothing effect

of music; they provide a comfortable class environment so that students candevolop their lingual skills more easily Besides, utilizing songs in classenvironment amuses students, helps them feel relaxed and get rid of theirnegative attitudes towards a foreign language while learning a lingual structurethrough a song (Saricoban, 2002).

A piece of music can change the atmosphere in a classroom, it can amuseand entertain Children have a natural taste for music and because of thatEnglish language teachers around the world use such enjoyable and supportivemeans for children to improve language learning and acquisition.(Cakir,http://iteslj.org, 1999) Music and poetry are also an essential part of foreignlanguage learning for young learners (Philips 1993:100)

Murphey believes that music has the power to engrave itself into ur

brains, stating that “song work on our short or long term memory” and are

therefore adequatetools for using in the language classroom(1992.p.3)

2.2 Situation issues before applying experience initiative.

Teacher of young learners use music, namely songs and chants,ubiquitously in the English classroom Though songs and chants are commonlyused, teacher may not fully aware of the benefits of music in the young learnerclassroom

The Vietnamese educational system believes in a well-balanced educationfor all, cooperative behavior, group discipline, and conformity to standards.General Education for Children Education is widespread in Vietnam TheVietnam Ministry of Education is instrumental in developing and maintainingnational curriculum guidelines as well as supporting materials It is common forVietnamese children to participate in additional activities not provided by thepublic school Vietnamese children also participate in many arts or sportsactivities such as music lessons, commonly, dance, rhythmic gymnastics,swimming and painting These activities create greater motivation forstudentsand a broader school experience

Music is part of the educational system from kindergarten through highschool level, with several private and public schools focusing on arts training.The Ministry of Education provides arts education in the schools, museums,libraries, and other institutions, providing the most official supportand patronage

of the arts Though music books boast a variety of musical genres, theministryfavors traditional arts and crafts and "high culture ."Music education in Vietnambegins with its youngest children Before children enter school, many areexposed to music through TV programs.Vietnamese Broadcasting Corporationprovides publically funded programming They have many educational TVprograms for children One of their most popular programs, The VietnameseVoice Kids has been running for many years Hosted by many children, theprogram invites many young learners to particpate in singing songs and dancing

Vietnamese culture and the educational system are unique in many ways

By understanding of the educational system, the power of groups, the challenge

ofdeveloping independence, individuality, and creativity, the influence ofperfectionism, the perception of Vietnamese uniqueness and its influence onlanguage and the importance of music, both Native English speaking teachersand Native Vietnamese speaking teachers might be able to teach Englishlanguage to children more effectively.

Analysis of my school’s result in teaching and learning English in recentyears showed that our average score in speaking and listening has beenconsistently lower than those schools in urban areas It was a situation that was

of concern and motivated the examination of the school’s approach to theteaching of speaking and listening

Our school is a public primary school in a rural area in Thanh Hoaprovince It is a large school with around 799 students, ranging from 6 to 10years old There are three to four classes in each year levels, meaning thatcollaboration among teachers is extremely important to ensure consistency inlearning programs Songs and chants are taught in Lesson 1, Lesson 2 andLesson 3 in English 3,4,5 After several years of teaching the book Tieng Anh 4,

I found that many students can not speak or listen well However, they likesinging and dancing during the lesson Songs and chants use melody, strongrhythm and simple vocabulary to arouse children's interest and attention Theyset up a situation where children learn and remember the target languageunconsciously

From those factors, I find that songs and chants use melody, strongrhythm and simple vocabulary to arouse children's interest and attention Theyset up a situation where children learn and remember the target languageunconsciously So if we use songs and chants in teaching English for younglearners, the pupils will understand and remember the lesson easily andeffectively Although, it might be difficult to get the class used to the new songsand chants, we wiil find that all children like them very much We have to takeadvantages of love to enrich the lanuage – teaching environment There arenumerous variations of activities and teachers are advised to choose what bestsuits their learners

The quality survey and students’ classification:

Based on the present situation of students in class 4, the level of allstudents is acquired after a few weeks of the school year with the methods ofteaching songs and chants to develop speaking and listening skill I had 40minutes to test students in class 4A to survey and classify the students Thefollowing will show the result in the students’ speaking and listening skills : Class The numbers

of students Excellent(A) Good(B) Fair(C) Poor(D) Fail(F)

After doing the survey, I have classified the students and immediatelyapplied the methods and experiences which I accumulated over the years toimprove the teaching and learning quality

2.3 The solutions of implementation.

In this part of the research I will suggest some techniques in using songsand chants for teaching English This research is by no means comprehensive;rather it is an opportunity for sharing what I know about new perspectives inteaching songs and chants for young learners

2.3.1 How to teach songs and chants.

The following guidelines are not meant to be dogmas According to thespecific situations they could be varied by the teacher

Guidelines for teaching chants:

For presentation songs or chants should be played from a CD or spoken

by the teacher and the actions should be demonstrated Then the teacher shouldcheck if the students understood the content It is not necessary to translate word

by word but the students should know what the rhyme or chant means This stepcan be supported by visual aids Now the students learn the text step by step Inthe literature are to be found two tried and tested methods: the snowballprinciple and the echo principle

The snowball principle means that the teacher says a sequence becominglonger and longer After each saying the students repeat that sequence in chorus.For example: (from Unit 1: Nice to see you again – Lesson 1 – Page 7 – TiếngAnh 4)

Good morning to you.

Good morning to you.

Good morning to you.

Good morning, dear Miss Hien.

Good morning to you.

Good morning to you.

Good morning to you.

Good morning, dear children.

Good morning to you.

The echo principle (see Schmid-Schönbein 2001: 120, 121) means thatthe students as a group imagine they are an echo in a mountain wood, a valley,another country etc The teacher shouts a sequence and the students repeat theteachers sequence It is expedient to build up a longer structure from its end

For example: (fromUnit 2: I’m from Japan – Lesson 1 – Page 13 – Tiếng

Anh 4)

Where are you from?

Hi I’m Mai from Vietnam.

Hello, Mai Nice to meet you.

Hello I’m Akiko from Japan.

Hello, Akiko Nice to meet you.

Hi I’m Hakim from Malaysia.

Hello, Hakim Nice to meet you.

Hello I’m Linda from England.

Hello, Linda Nice to meet you.

Both methods can also be supported by visual aids If there are anyactions they should be done by the students while learning the text because it iseasier to learn them together Longer texts can be learned verse by verse in thefollowing lessons Now the children say the whole rhyme in chorus, in groups oralone and do the actions

Guidelines for teaching songs:

The order and the way of teaching songs is similar to teaching chants Atfirst the song should be sung by the teacher or played from a CD once or twicewhile the students only listen They begin to understand and to absorb the tuneand the rhythm During the next playing or singing the students can clap therhythm or hum the tune Before learning the text step by step (see 2.3.1.) theteacher should check the understanding and explain the words the children didnot understand Then the students sing the song several times, at first supported

by the teacher’s voice, later without the teacher’s support

When and how to use songs and chants?

Song and chants can be used at the beginning, during or at the end of anylesson We may use them in many different ways in the language classroom: asshort warm-ups to start our lessons, to introduce new language, to revise andpractice language, to change the mood or to get everyone’s attention Whenusing music within our English classroom, we must select congs that are suitablefor the age group we are teaching and make clear which language aspect we aregoing to practice or reinforce (pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, spelling,etc.) We can build up the following record chart which will help us to analysethe full potential of each song and chant If we use songs and chants regularly,

we can see that all four skills (speaking, reading, listening,and writing) can bevery well and equally practiced

2.3.2 Types of songs and chants

There are a lot of different types of songs and chants with specialcharacteristics But not all are useful for primary school students The teacherhas to check the suitability according to the size of the text, the vocabulary, thestructure and his didactic intention

* Types of songs:

Finger play songs

The content of these songs can be illustrated by the children’s fingermovement They support the acquisition of gesture meaning and the use ofnonverbal expressions They also develop the children’s senso-motoric abilities

For example: “Hickory dickory dock ”(from websites on the internet)

Hickory dickory dock Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck one (in the next verses two, three …), The mouse ran down, Hickory, dickory, dock.

While singing the song the fingers of the right hand play the mouse on theleft arm When the clock struck, the children clap the number of strikes and count.

Counting songs

These songs support the learning of numbers and are often connected withusing fingers Most of them train the numbers from one to ten

For example: “Ten little Indians” (from websites on the internet)

One little, two, little, three little Indians.

For little, five little, six little Indians

Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians, Ten little Indian boys (in the second verse - girls).

While singing the song the children show the numbers with their fingers

Spelling songs

They are useful to train the sounds of the English alphabet The separateletters mostly sound different from their pronunciation in words Therefore thepupils need help for learning the individual letter sound

Example: “Farmer Brown has got a dog” (from websites on the internet) Farmer Brown has got a dog and Rover is his name, sir

Farmer Brown has got a dog and Rover is his name

R-O-V-E-R, R-O-V-E-R, R-O-V-E-R, and Rover is his name.

Instead of “dog” and “Rover” in the next verses stand: cat - Pussy - S-S-Y

For example: “If you’re happy” (from websites on the internet)

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands

If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it,

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

If you’re happy and you know it, stamp your feet…

If you’re happy and you know it, sing a song, tra-la- la…

If you’re happy and you know it, shout “HOORAY”…

If you’re happy and you know it, do it all: clap your hands, stamp your feet, sing a song, shout

Songs for special occasions

These songs are suitable for deepening the special vocabulary and forcelebrating these occasions in the school They emphasize the cultural aspect ofsongs

For example: (from Unit 15: When’s Children’s Day? – Lesson 1 – Page

31- Tiếng Anh 4 )

Happy new year !

Happy, Happy new year ! Happy, Happy new year ! Time for hope and time for cheer.

Happy, Happy new year !

Happy, Happy new year ! Happy, Happy new year !

A song to joy for all to hear.

A new year comes! We say, hooray! Happy new year !

Drop-a-word songs

These songs train the children’s concentration They are often combinedwith actions instead of the dropped words Drop-a-word songs “encourageinternalisation of language” (Murphey 1992: 130)

For example: “My hat it has three corners” (from websites on the

internet)

My hat, it has three corners, Three corners has my hat And had it not three corners,

It would not be my hat.

Actions:

my - hand on chest

hat - point to head

three - 3 fingers

corners - point to elbow

The 1st time you sing the song, do all actions and words;

The 2nd time, don't say 'my' only do the action;

The 3rd time, only action for 'hat',

The 4th time, only action for 'three',

The 5th time, only action for 'corners'.

Role-play songs

This type of song “contextualize vocabulary and make the transfer fromsinging to meaningful referents.” (Murphey 1992: 129) They use the children’slove for stories and role playing

For example: “There was a princess long ago” (from websites on the

Princess slept for a hundred years, long long ago.

A great big forest grew around, grew around, grew around, A great big forest grew around, long long ago.

A handsome Prince came riding by, riding by, riding by, A handsome Prince came riding by, long long ago.

He chopped the trees down one by one, one by one, one by one, He

chopped the trees down one by one, long long ago.

He woke the Princess with a kiss, with a kiss, with a kiss, He woke the Princess with a kiss, long long ago.

So everybody’s happy now, happy now, happy now, So everybody’s happy now long long ago

Topic songs

Many songs support the acquisition of vocabulary according to a special

topic like “The days of the week”, “ The months of the year”, “The weather” or

“The family” If they do not fit in with other categories they are called “topic

songs”

For example: Look outside (for the topic “The weather”) (from websites

on the internet)

Look outside Look outside, look outside, it’s sunny out today.

It’s sunny outside, it’s sunny outside, it’s sunny out today.

According to the real weather can be sung instead of “sunny”: cloudy windy, rainy, foggy, snowy.etc.

* Types of chants:

Chants are taught “to practise the sounds, rhythms and stress patterns ofEnglish and in some cases to practise a structure” (Phillips 1993: 108) Thedidactic background of some types of chants is similar to the types of songsdescribed Above therefore we list the types of chants without detaileddescriptions unless there is not a corresponding type of songs

Finger play rhymes

For example: Incy Wincy Spider ( from websites on the internet)

Incy Wincy Spider climbed up a water spout

Down came the rain and washed the spider out

Out came the sunshine and dried up all the rain

And Incy Wincy Spider climbed up the spout again.

While saying the rhyme the fingers play the spider, an arm is the waterspout The fingers show the rain The sun is shown by a big arm wave

Counting rhymes

Sometimes a little trick is necessary to choose one from among thechildren without causing a squabble Choosing rhymes are very useful for that.They connect random selection with rhythmic speaking and train the vocabulary

Choosing rhymes (counting-out rhymes)

For example: Apples, peaches (from websites on the internet)

Choosing rhymes: Apples, peaches