The application of total physical response (TPR) in teaching vocabulary for children aged 3 to 5 at a kindergarten in hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ MINH THU THE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) IN TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR CHILDREN AGED TO AT A KINDERGATEN IN HANOI Ứng dụng phương pháp phản xạ toàn thân (TPR) việc dạy từ vựng cho trẻ từ đến tuổi trường mầm non Hà Nội MA MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI, 2018 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ MINH THU THE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) IN TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR CHILDREN AGED TO AT A KINDERGATEN IN HANOI Ứng dụng phương pháp phản xạ toàn thân (TPR) việc dạy từ vựng cho trẻ từ đến tuổi trường mầm non Hà Nội MA MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Dr Tran Thanh Nhan HANOI, 2018 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis submitted for the Master of Art degree at the University of Languages and International Studies is a presentation of my own research and has not been previously submitted by any other person at any other universities for any degrees Wherever contributions of other researchers are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussion The work was done under the supervision of Dr Tran Thanh Nhan, at the University of Languages and International Studies Hanoi, June 2018 Do Thi Minh Thu i Formatted: English (U.S.) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS At the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my lecturer and my supervisor, Dr Tran Thanh Nhan for her valuable suggestions and instructions without which it would have been really challenging for me to accomplish this study I would like to acknowledge my great appreciation to my colleagues for their effective cooperation in collecting data for completing this study Their enthusiastic participation was indispensable to my research Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for all the support I received to finish this thesis ii ABSTRACT Early childhood is a precious period when children get their most rapid performance in terms of emotional, physical, cognitive and language development (Crain, 2005) It is deemed to be the most valuable time to start teaching one or more languages to young children There are various methods and techniques in teaching foreign languages; Total Physical Response (TPR) is one of the effective methods of teaching children TPR is a method which is built around the coordination of speech and action, in other words it is to teach language through activity (Richards and Rodgers, 2001) There would be no texts involved in the teaching environment but songs, games, and stories accompanied with actions, which attract the attention of young active learners The purpose of this research project was to observe the impact that the application of TPR method reveals in teaching English vocabulary to children aged 35 at a kindergarten in Hanoi The findings and discussion are based on the analysis of the data collected from 30 children The results also highlight that the use of TPR can be an effective way to help young learners improve their vocabulary especially in understanding the meaning of words, pronouncing the words correctly and using them in daily life On the other hand, a stress-free environment allows children to be more receptive and motivated to the target language (TL) learning iii LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS TPR: Total Physical Response ELT: English Language Teaching EFL: English as a Foreign Language GMT: Grammar Translation Method TL: Target Language L1: First Language L2: Second language iv LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Table 2.1: Information of the observed classes 13 Table 2.2: Information of the Test Plan .14 Table 2.3: Test Criteria .14 Table 3.1: Information of the Pre-Test .17 Table 3.2: Result of the Pre-Test 18 Table 3.3: Information of the First Cycle Test 20 Table 3.4: Result of the First Cycle Test 21 Table 3.5: Information of the Second Cycle Test 23 Table 3.6: Result of the Second Cycle Test .24 Table 3.7: Information of the Post Test .25 Table 3.8: Result of the Post Test 26 Table 3.9: The result of the test during the Action Research 27 Chart 3.1: The result of the tests during Action ResearchError! Bookmark not defined Figure 2.1 Cycle of Action Research 17 v TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.Rationale 2.Aims and objectives of the study 2.1 Aims of the study 2.2 Objectives of the study 3.Research questions 4.Scope of the study 5.Methods of the study 6.Significance of the study 7.Organization of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The principles of teaching vocabulary to children 1.1.1.D 1.1.2.C 1.1.3.T 1.2 A brief history of Total Physical Response 1.2.1 The conception of TPR 1.2.2 The objectives of TPR 1.2.3 The teacher and learners role in TPR 1.2.4 The principles of TPR 1.3 Related studies vi CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Setting and participants 2.1.1 2.1.1.1 General information about the kind 2.1.1.2 Students and English classes at the 2.1.2 2.2 Data collection instruments 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.3 Data collection procedure 2.4 Data analysis procedure CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Data analysis 3.1.1 3.1.1.1 Pre-test 3.1.1.2 First Cycle Test 3.1.1.3 Second Cycle Test 3.1.1.4 Post- test 3.1.2 3.1.2.1 Students’ engagement in activities 3.1.2.2 3.1.2.3 3.1.2.4 Their reactions towards the English Language 3.2 Findings and discussion PART C: CONCLUSION Summary of major findings Concluding remarks Recommendations Limitations Suggestions for further studies vii REFERENCES 35 APPENDICES 37 viii APPENDIX 4: POST-TEST FOR POOH Date: ………………………… Name:……………………… TASK 1: POINT AND SAY TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY-COLOR 40 APPENDIX 5: PRE-TEST FOR DONALD Date: ………………………… Name:……………………… TASK 1: POINT AND SAY TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY-COLOR 41 APPENDIX 6: FIRST CYCLE-TEST FOR DONALD Date: ………………………… Name:……………………… TASK 1: POINT AND SAY TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY – CIRCLE 42 APPENDIX 7: SECOND CYCLE-TEST FOR DONALD Date: ………………………… Class: ……………………… Name:……………………… Topic: FARM ANIMALS TASK 1: POINT AND SAY Structure: What animal is it? It’s a cow TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY- COLOR 43 APPENDIX 8: POST-TEST FOR DONALD Date: ………………………… Name:……………………… TASK 1: POINT AND SAY TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY – COLOR 44 APPENDIX 9: PRE-TEST FOR MICKEY Date: ………………………… Class: ……………………… Name:……………………… Topic: VEGESTABLE TASK 1: POINT AND SAY Structure: What is it? It’s a potato Structure: Circle the onion TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY – DO What you like?/ I like tomatoes 45 APPENDIX 10: FIRST CYCLE-TEST FOR MICKEY Date: ………………………… Name:……………………… TASK 1: POINT AND SAY TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY – COLOR Structure: What you see? I see a whale Color the whale blue 46 APPENDIX 11: SECOND CYCLE-TEST FOR MICKEY Date: ………………………… Name:……………………… TASK 1: POINT AND SAY TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY – CIRCLE 47 APPENDIX 12: POST-TEST FOR MICKEY Date: ………………………… Class: ……………………… Name:……………………… Topic: JUNGLE ANIMALS TASK 1: POINT AND SAY Structure: What animal is it? It’s a bear TASK 2: LISTEN- SAY – CIRCLE 48 APPENDIX 13- CLASSROOM OBSERVATION Teacher: …………………… Date: …………………………… Age of students: ………………… Evaluation Criteria Students’ engagement in activities Students’ motivation Students’ understanding of the vocabulary Communication and reactions towards the English language Classroom atmosphere: positive and free stress Error correction and feedback was appropriate 49 APPENDIX 14- LESSON PLAN SAMPLE Topic: Vocabulary of Fruits I CLASS DESCRIPTION:  Number of students: 10-12 students (Ss)  Level: Pooh (3 years old) AI TIME: 30 minutes BI OBJECTIVES/ AIMS: After the lesson, students will be able to  Recognize types of fruit: Watermelon, pear, pineapple, strawberry, grapes  Use structure:  What fruit is it? - It is a watermelon  I‟m hungry - Give me a watermelon  Known some vocabulary items/ structures related to “Imperatives in class” V ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS:  Students sometimes may be distracted/ make too much noise, so it is hard to control or manage the class well all the time  Students may miss some information, so teacher should be ready to assist them VI TEACHING AIDS: Flashcards, realia, TV VII MATERIALS:  Flashcards and realia (fruit toys): Watermelon, pear, pineapple, strawberry, grapes  Mystery box, hoops  Song: Are you hungry?(Super Simple Songs-Kids songs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykTR0uFGwE0 50 PROCEDURES: Aims/ Name Techniques  Warm up Motivate Sts 3mins While-  Learn words teaching (7 mins) 19 mins  Play game remember new words (5 mins) 51  Place Flashcards, and hoops on the ground:  Set up the rules: - Each member from teams stand under the line - - - Listen Listen to T (T also act so Sts can Teacher link to the name and pronunciation - Play of the fruit); game to the Jump in hoops (jump and say fruit’s name) - Slap the FC which matches with T’s order - If it’s correct, that team gets star - The team get more stars will be the winner  Do sample for Ss, make sure they understand the rules  Guide and control the game GAME 2: MYSTERY BOX Strawberry, grapes  Play game a to remember new words (7 mins)  Introduce strawberry, grapes (Saydo- repeat)  Introduce mystery box (its colour/shape…)  Show realia (fruit toys) -  Say- do- repeat review their name then put them in the box (1 by 1) - Listen to Teacher 52  Postteaching mins Sing a song to practice vocabulary and structures  Wrapup mins Review all fruits 53 ... reveals in teaching English vocabulary to children aged 35 at a kindergarten in Hanoi The findings and discussion are based on the analysis of the data collected from 30 children The results also... method, in particular to the teaching of children aged 3- 5 at a kindergarten in Hanoi Methods of the study The researcher used action research to investigate the topic According to Cohen, Manion, and...VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ MINH THU THE APPLICATION OF TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) IN TEACHING VOCABULARY