Difficulites and some suggested solutions in teaching english to grade one students in hadong district hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST –GRADUATE ****************** ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY DIFFICULTIES AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO GRADE ONE STUDENTS IN HADONG DISTRICT, HANOI Những khó khăn số giải pháp việc dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp một, quận Hà Đông, Hà Nội M.A Minor Thesis Field: Code: English Teaching Methodology 60-14-10 Hanoi – 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST –GRADUATE ****************** ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY DIFFICULTIES AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO GRADE ONE STUDENTS IN HADONG DISTRICT, HANOI Những khó khăn số giải pháp việc dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp một, quận Hà Đông, Hà Nội M.A Minor Thesis Field: Code: Supervisor: English Teaching Methodology 60-14-10 Vu Thuy Quynh, M A Hanoi - 2012 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements …………………………………………………… ……………… i Abstract………………………………………………………………….……………… ii Table of contents……………………………………………………… ……………… iv List of abbreviations………………………………………………… ………………… vii List of charts…………………………………………………….……………………… viii List of tables …………………………………………………….…………………… ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………… 1.1 Rationale ………………………………………………………………….……… 1.2 The aims of the study ………………………………………… ………………… 1.3 The scope of the study ……………………………………… …….…………… 1.4 The methods of the study ………………………………………………………… 1.5 The design of the thesis …………………………………….…… ……………… CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………… … 2.1 Children’s characteristics ………………………………………………………… 2.2 Children’s stages of development ……….……………………… ……………… 2.2.1 Socio-emotional Development ………….………………………… ……… 2.2.2 Physical Development ……………………………… ….… ….………… 2.2.3 Intellectual Development ……………………….…….… ………….…… 2.2.4 Individual Differences …………………………… …… … …………… 2.3 Children’s learning styles ……………………………… ….…… … ………… 2.3.1 Spatial visual style ………………………………… … … .……… 2.3.2 Kinetic style ……………………………………….…… … …….……… 2.3.3 Language- oriented style …………………… …….…… … …………… 2.3.4 Logical style …………………………………………… … ….……….… 2.4 An overview of English teaching methods for young learners … … …………… 2.4.1 Listening skill ………………………………………… … ……… …… 2.4.2 Speaking skill ………………………… … ……….…….……….……… 2.4.3 Reading skill ………………………… … ………………….…………… v 2.4.4 Writing skill………… … ………………………………….………… … 2.4.5 Teaching pronunciation ………………… … …………… …………… 2.4.6 Teaching vocabulary……… ……… … ……………….……………… 2.5 Classroom management…………………… … ……… ………………………… 10 2.5.1 Organizing the classroom and planning the lesson ………… … ….……… 10 2.5.2 Preventive approaches to classroom behavior problems …… … …… … 10 2.5.3 Keeping proper and flexible moving space of lessons……… … …….…… 11 2.5.4 Solutions to inappropriate behaviors in classroom …….…… … ………… 11 2.5.5 Teacher- learner reference ………………….………… … ……………… 12 2.5.6 Proper punishment …………………… ……… … … ………………… 12 2.5.7 The factors outside the classroom, which influence the classroom 12 management …………………………………………………………….………… 2.6 Summary ……………………………… … …………………………………… 14 CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………………………… 15 3.1 The setting of the study ………………… … ………………… ……………… 3.1.1 Teaching materials …………………… … ……………… …………… 15 3.1.2 Teaching facilities ………………… … ………………………….……… 15 3.2 Subjects ………………………… …… … ………………………….………… 16 3.2.1 Teachers ………………………… … ………………………….……… 16 3.2.2 The school students …………………… … ……………….….….……… 16 3.3 Instruments for collecting data ….… ……… … ……………………………… 16 3.4 Data collecting procedure ………… ……… … ………… ………… ……… 17 3.5 The methods of analyzing data …………… … ………………………………… 17 3.5 Summary …………………………………… … …………………………….… 17 CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ………… 18 4.1 Presentation and analysis of data ……………………………… … …………… 18 4.1.1 Teachers’ opinions towards English teaching to 1st grade - students … … 18 4.1.2 Children’s attitudes on learning English ………… … ………………… 19 4.1.3 Teachers' English teaching methods to 1st grade students……… … … … 20 4.1.4 Professional training courses for teachers….……… … ………………… 24 vi 4.1.5 Classroom management ……….……………… …… … ……………… 26 4.1.6 Teaching curriculum ………….………………… … …………………… 28 4.1.7 Teaching materials and teaching aids……………………………………… 30 4.1.8 Teaching conditions ……….……………………… … ….……………… 32 4.2 Findings ………………………………………………… … ……………… … 33 4.3 Summary ……………………………………………… … ………………….… 36 CHAPER FIVE: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS ………………………….………… 37 5.1 For teachers ……………………………………………… … ………………… 37 5.1.1 Improving teachers' English proficiency…………… … ………………… 37 5.1.2 Strengthening teachers' teaching methodology for young learners ………… 38 5.1.3 Equipping classroom management methods to teachers……… … …… 41 5.2 For stake-holders………………………………………………… … …………… 43 5.3 Summary……………………………………………………… … ……………… 44 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS………………………………………….……… 45 6.1 Conclusions………………………………………………… … …………… … 45 6.2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies…………… … ………………… 46 References…………………………………………………… … …………………… 47 Appendix vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language YL Young Learners EYL English for Young Learners TPR Total physical Response ESL English as a Second Language TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language L1 First language L2 Second language No Number of teachers CLT Communicative Language Teaching viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: The most difficult skills to teach Chart 2: Feasibility of teaching English to 1st grade students Chart 3: Children's favorite skills Chart 4: The most difficult skills to learn Chart 5: Teaching methods Chart : Teachers' using English in classroom Chart 7: Needed - to - be - trained skills Chart 8: Number of students in one class Chart 9: Students' work in classroom ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students' attitudes on learning English Table 2: Professional training courses for teachers Table 3: Teaching curriculum Table 4: Teaching materials and teaching aids Table 5: Teaching conditions CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English is an international language and it has been widely used in many countries in the world It is also an international language in diplomacy, business, science, technology, banking, computing, medicine, aviation, armed forces, engineering, tourism, and so on Most countries in the world teach English as compulsory subject in their schools In Vietnam, English is also considered the most important foreign language and taught as a compulsory subject in many schools through out the country Especially, Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training has issued the Decision No 1400- QD- TTg dated on September 30th 2008 which targets to totally changing English teaching and learning in the national education system, carrying out teaching and learning English in all levels from elementary schools to colleges To aim these objectives, it is very necessary for our educational system to teach English from elementary school, especially right from 1st grade In Hadong where I live, English is chosen as an optional subject to teach for 1st grade students in the whole district As a result, this emerges a big challenge because most of the teachers in our country in general and in Hadong in particular are not trained to teach English for young learners as such For all these reasons, it is necessary to find out difficulties in teaching English for grade one children in Hadong district and suggest some possible solutions to this problems This urges the author to carry on a study named ―Difficulties in teaching English for 1st grade primary school students in Hadong district, Hanoi city.‖ Once difficulties are identified, some solutions to cope with them will be suggested 1.2 The aims of the study This study aims at: - Investigating the areas of difficulty that the teachers in Hadong primary schools are coping with in their daily teaching to grade one students - Suggesting some solutions to help teachers overcome these difficulties It is hoped that the findings from the study will bring some benefits to teachers of 1st grade at Hadong primary schools 1.3 The scope of the study This study limits to: - The 1st grade children in Hadong district - The teachers of English of grade one in primary schools in Hadong district - English for grade one children 1.4 The methods of the study With the aims of finding out the difficulties in teaching English for grade one at primary schools in Hadong district, this study adopts quantitative and qualitative methods To achieve the above aims, the study has been carried out with the data collected from questionnaires for teachers of grade one and observations to investigate their current difficulties that they meet in everyday teaching classes for 1st grade students 1.5 The design of the thesis The study is organized into six chapters: Chapter one: Introduction This chapter includes rationale, aims, methods, scope of the study, and design of the thesis Chapter two: Literaturer review This chapter consists of theoretical background which is relevant to the purpose of the study Chapter three: Reseach methodology This chapter presents an introduction on the context of the primary schools in Hadong district, the subjects of the study, the instruments, the procedure for collecting data and also the methods of data analysis Chapter four: Presentation and analysis of data This chapter presents and analyze the data which have been collected and concluded the findings of the study Chapter five: Suggested solutions This chapter deals with some suggested solutions to the problems in the findings Chapter six: Conclusions Summary, limitations as well as suggestions for further studies and reference of the study are included in this chapter 36 Besides, teachers’ English proficiency is one of the difficulties for the teachers in Hadong According to Mr Trinh Quoc Hach, specialist of English in Hanoi Department of Education, for the time being, Hanoi has 30 percent of primary school teachers get common European frame B2 And most of them are in the central part of Hanoi This means that in Hadong the number of teachers who reach the standard is still limited Finally yet importantly, teaching condition is also a difficulty for teachers because most of them have to teach many different classes with a large number of teaching periods because beside grade one, they have to teach other grades Also, there are not many teachers of English at school, that is why they feel teaching is a big burden, it is not a passion any more, according to some teachers 4.3 Summary In brief, this chapter deals with the analysis on the figures found in the questionnaires and class observations through which the findings are emerged Once conducting the analysis, the main difficulties of teachers in Hadong are diagnosed In short, teachers in Hadong have difficulties in English teaching method for children, lack of teacher’s professional training course, classroom management skills Also, they are teaching with heavy teaching curriculum, lack of teaching materials, teaching aids, and teaching conditions with so many classes in a week From all of these difficulties, possible solutions are emerged to those problems in the next chapter 37 CHAPER FIVE: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS This part deals with teachers’ difficulties in teaching English for grade one in Hadong and giving suggestions or possible solutions to the problems in the findings There are seven suggestions to be generated: improving teachers’ English proviciency, strengthening teachers' English methodology, equipping enough teaching facilities, making a good choice on materials, adjusting the numbers of children in a class, increasing time for the training program, and adjusting teachers’ teaching hours 5.1 For teachers 5.1.1 Improving teachers' English proficiency As mentioned above, the number of teachers reach the common European framework at B2 level in Hadong is quite limited; as a result, this emerges a need to improve teachers’ English proficiency This includes: - Improving pronunciation practice: It is very clear that pronunciation is extremely important to English learners in general and to children in particular In reality, teachers are not master in pronunciation When observing the class, I can see that most of them (90 %) get pronunciation mistakes Thus, it is very urgent for the teachers to improve their pronunciation This can be done by looking it up in the dictionary all the transcriptions, listening to the CD before going to school to get the correct pronunciation - Improving teachers’ language skills: Teachers themselves have to improve their language to achieve common European framework at B2 level According to the Ministry of Education, all of the teachers teaching in primary must get this standard Eventually they must get this standard or they cannot be teachers Teachers can take some English courses that train for this level and then take examination to get B2 certificate - Strengthening lexicon – grammar knowledge: It is apparent that English teachers should be the masters of English In terms of language skills and language elemenets, if listening, speaking, reading, writing and pronunciation are stems and branches of a tree, grammar is the root Thus, teachers must study hard to master it They can widen their knowledge by reading grammar books, learning from internet, or taking some grammar courses to consolidate grammar rules and update the latest ones 38 5.1.2 Strengthening teachers' teaching methodology for young learners Teachers of English in primary schools in Hadong need to be trained in methods of teaching English for children due to the role of teachers in teaching and learning process has already altered They are no longer expected to dominate all work in the classroom explaining new words by translating into Vietnamese, ect., which can create a passive habit of children’s learning However, the teachers’ tasks are to create learning environment in the classroom in which children can learn by engaging in activities or working on tasks Nowadays, students are the centre of teaching and learning process Not only the teachers achieve common European framework B2 level which is regulated by the Ministry of education but they also must be artists, singers, dancers, good story tellers and so on These are very useful for teachers at any primary schools for children learn through imagination not explanation For instance, when teacher presents a word ―banana‖, instead of describing how a banana looks like and tastes, she does an action of peeling a banana and then children will know what word the teacher is presenting right away Teachers have to use gestures most of the time in the class, especially when presenting vocabulary To improve teaching methodology, there are ways that many schools are conducting effectively such as:  Have teachers take part in teaching training programs in a sufficient amount of time (at least three times a year) When having a training program, the holder should follow these steps: - Pre - training stage: Make a survey to investigate what teaching skills need to be trained for teachers most - While training stage: to get the desired effects, the training should be organized by this way: Have teachers work in groups of six or ten Give a model teaching on each skill one by one Get teachers work in groups and draw all steps for teaching that skill while they are observing the teaching demo Teachers are asked to present the skill orally Trainer summarizes the steps for teaching that skill - Post - training stage 39 Teachers work in groups and choose a certain teaching skill to give a microteaching Trainer and teachers give feedbacks to the teacher’s micro- teaching (Richards & Rodgers, 2005)  Have teachers learn from others through making class observations in their colleagues’ classes Look at the teaching schedule and find out the spare time of each teacher Then have them to take part in another English class to observe After each observation, teacher has to write a report which reveals all teachings steps and all comments about that teaching period; which stages or activities are good and which ones need to improved , and give some suggestions to the problems  Hold some teacher conferences in which teachers will have chances to share teaching experiences Through these conferences, teachers can get a lot of benefits from theirs colleagues  Have some practice teaching on certain topics:  Choose a teaching skill that is a difficult for teachers to teach  Select a strong teacher who teaches this skill well  Invite all teachers in that district to take part in the teaching demo in real class While teachers are observing the teaching demo, they have to take notes all teaching steps After finishing the teaching, all teachers will give feedbacks and comments to the teaching demo This activity should be held monthly due to it is very useful for teachers Also, teachers should consider the ways to exploit, use and develop materials in harmony with students’ levels and learning styles In deed, most of the materials need to be adapted when used because they are designed for mass of the students in a large scale, not only for particular ones Thus, sometimes they may not be suitable with the students’ levels Teachers must know about this and adapt materials accordingly This will help to create an effective teaching and learning Besides, teachers also need to be trained technology for primary English classroom It is very common nowadays that many schools apply technology in teaching such as using projectors, screens, liquid crystal projectors (LCP), active boards, and so on These technologies are still not familiar with the teachers in Vietnam in general and teachers in 40 Hadong in particular As a result, they need to be trained to use and apply these things in their teaching In addition, teachers need to be equipped with classroom observation skills Most of the teachers can go to class to make classroom observation, but not many of them grasp the process of this They need to be provided classroom observation sheets to record teaching procedure and give comments for the teaching period Also some principles when observing the class should be given to the teachers in order to help them focus on the needed issues Richard & Lockhart (2005) suggested principles for classroom observation as follow: - Pre – observation stage: the goal of the pre-observation discussion is to identify the instructor’s learning goals for the students, the materials used in the lesson, her or his strategies for meeting these goals - During the class observation: during the class visit, the observer takes notes both on what he or she observes (describing what the instructor and students are doing at each moment) and his/ her responses to the behaviors (e.g., comments on the observer’s level of understanding or reactions to the material and what aspects of class help or hinder that understanding, questions that come up in observer’s mind, the observer’ emotional reactions drawn from students’ behaviors, etc.) An effective way to take notes is to use a split – page format : A line is drawn down the middle of the paper On the left, the observer makes notes on the content and instructor’s actions On the right, the observer makes notes his or her response to the material or situation, questions that come up for him or her, or other commentary - Post – observation stage: the instructor and observer should discuss the class as soon after the class as possible Ideally, the discussion occurs immediately after the observed class session when it is still fresh in both their minds An early meeting also helps to relieve any anxiety related to the visit that is felt by the instructor Finally, it is ideal if the teachers keep teaching journals, portfolio and lesson plans: ―Keeping a teaching journal gives teachers a space to generate teaching ideas, work out pedagogical problems, reflect on your successes and struggles in the classroom, and put your past insights to work in planning future courses‖ (Scott & Ytreberg, 1991) Teaching journal as a place to record all of the course marginalia that does not make its way into formal 41 teaching documents (such as assignment sheets) Teachers can typically write in journal as soon as possible after each class session, keeping what happened during that class fresh in mind Teachers compose a short summary of the class, and then reflect on and evaluate how lesson went Of course, this isn’t the only time—or the only material—that teachers write in teaching journal They can keep it with them all the time so that at the spur of the moment they can jot down ideas They also use journal during class sessions–for example, to write down smart things their students say 5.1.3 Equipping classroom management methods to teachers ESL and TEFL teachers often not have class management training that their primary school colleagues benefit from Without preparation, it can be somewhat of a shock to take on a classroom of energetic children Here are some tips and ideas to help teachers contain the pupils' enthusiasm to a manageable level, which is shared by Shelly Ann Vernon, a game writer for ESL English teachers + The Basics - Have pupils define the rules in the first lesson, and post them on the wall for reference Knowing why a rule is in place makes it easier to keep You must establish the rules on day one and stick to them! - Be consistent in applying your rules If teachers are arbitrary about how to dish out rewards or 'consequences', or punishments teachers will undermine the rules themselves - Praise good behavior to generate love and self-esteem Whatever the teachers do, avoid being like so many parents who spend their whole time telling their children, "don't this", and "don't that" + Handy Tips - There is nothing so sweet as the sound of one's own name So use an individual's name for praise and avoid using it when ticking someone off - Prevention is better than cure, so try giving boisterous students an important task before they start to play up They may respond well to the responsibility 42 - Do not break teachers’ rules by raising your voice to be heard Instead, talk quietly or stop and wait Your pupils should know that for every minute you are kept waiting they will receive extra homework, or whatever consequence you have designated - Hand things out quickly or use a system to have things handed out, such as giving the well-behaved students the task as a reward Sing a song together or some counting to occupy the class while materials are handed out + Instant Attention Getters - Play a mystery game and say that during the activity you will be watching out for well-behaved students who will be rewarded - Create teams and use peer pressure to encourage good behavior Deduct or reward behavior points to a team's score during a game - Start a song the children know and love – they will all join in with teacher and at the end teacher will have their attention - Clap out a pattern that they must clap back, or start a rhyme they know with actions - Use quiet cues such as heads down or lights off - For children aged to 12 you could think up a fun to with actions such as clap your hands, turn around, sit down, eyes front, finger on lips" Teachers would adapt this idea depending on the space they have in their class - Not comply start counting 1, 2,… The child knows that if teacher gets to there will be some sort of consequence, such as missing out on the next game If teacher uses this and she/he reaches three, she/he must follow through with an appropriate consequence consistently Moreover, teachers should balance the use of L1 and L2 in the class because the plenty of teachers are abusing L1 in classroom instead of L2 In an English class, teachers should use English in an appropriate amount to form an English classroom environment for students Last but not least, teachers need to create communicative English environment for children Not many teachers can this because most of them teach English in a traditional way They need to employ games, songs, dramas into the class period because by this way, not only can they create an exciting and relaxing atmosphere but they also can bring chance for children to take part in conversations naturally, that is, communication 43 To summarize, establishing the rules and consequences for good and bad behavior, apply them consistently, set a good example, use peer pressure and points, and use attention grabbing cues such as favorite songs, rhymes with actions and countdowns Teachers can be firm and fun at the same time, and if they cannot manage their class, teachers should realize that, although it sounds harsh to say it, they are wasting their time 5.2 For stake-holders First, teachers must be equipped with enough teaching faculties As we know, teaching facilities decide the teaching and learning’s success Slattery (2001), a book writer emphasized, ―teaching facilities are teachers’ useful tools.‖ Thus, beside the existing teaching facilities like chalk, board, cassette player, course book, it is necessary to equip the classroom with modern facilities such as television, CD players, CD, VCD, laptop, PCs, projectors, overhead projectors, screens, cassette players, tapes, and microphone In addition, flashcards, pictures, puppets, posters, word cards, etc The modern facilities will make the lesson more attractive as the teacher can explain the subjects lively and effectively It also helps to save time and energy Furthermore, it is very important to equip a library with various reference books on ESL English teachers If teachers are equipped these facilities as above, their teaching will be carried out effectively and easily Also, it create a positive attitudes towards teaching and learning from teachers as well as students Second, the materials should be chosen very carefully When it is chosen, these factors must be taken into account: - The material serves the curriculum’s requirements/ aims - It catches children’s eyes This means that the material is designed with all colorful pages and attractive pictures - It has an appropriate skill distribution in each lesson Each lesson should contain at least two skills to be taught - The material is attached with a variety of teaching aids - The content of the material is easy and interesting for children to get access Third, to get an effective English class, the numbers of children in large – size class should be adjusted Through the statistics in the previous part, it can be seen that the number 44 of children in each English class is overloaded Thus, it is necessary to adjust the children in terms of quantity According to a teaching English for children forum in Taiwan in June 2009, each class should include from twenty to twenty five children so that all of them can get guidance and feedbacks from the teacher equally Besides, time for the training course should be increased According to many teachers, the time for teacher training program is still insufficient Thus, the need of more time for it is emerged Training program should be given to teachers from three to five times a year Finally, teachers’ teaching hour must be put into consideration As mentioned in the previous part, most of the teachers in Hadong have to teach about 25 – 30 periods per week This is a big number of teaching periods If teachers have to teach a lot, they will not have time to prepare the lesson well Moreover, they will be very tired; As a result, this affects teachers’ health as well as teaching and learning results From twenty to twenty five periods per week are enough for teachers 5.3 Summary In short, this chapter presents the useful suggestions to the difficulties found in the findings Not only the teachers but also the educational managers get benefits from those suggestions by the detailed guidelines for teachers to conduct their class such as the suggestions to classroom management and holding the teacher training course This has a significant contribution to the present education in Hadong in particular and in the whole country in general 45 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, an overall picture of the study is provided with a brief description of the study as well as the findings and conclusions In addition, there are some suggested solutions for ESL teachers of English for young learners Finally, the limitations of the study are notified and some recommendations for further studies are suggested 6.1 Conclusions This study aims at finding the difficulties of teachers of English teaching for grade one in Hadong district and then offers some suggestions to overcome those difficulties This study was carried out in terms of both theory and practice The study started with reviews children background such as, characteristics, stages of developments, learning styles, teaching methodologies in teaching English for children on four skills, and classroom management in an ESL class for children The next chapter described an over view on current situation of teaching and learning English in primary schools in Hadong district This led the readers to the teachers and students’ backgrounds, teaching materials and teaching facilities in Hadong In order to find out the problems, a survey questionnaire is employed to collect data from the twenty primary schools in Hadong with forty teachers of English for grade one The goal of this instrument is to find out difficulties at teachers in grade one are confronting The findings have shown that some difficulties that the teachers face to are lack of teaching methods for children, lack of training program, lack of teaching facilities, lack of classroom management skills, big number of children in the class, overloaded teaching hours, also the teachers' master of English needed to be improved Based on the study’s findings, some solutions are suggested to overcome those difficulties including training for the teachers in teaching methodology, master of English as well as classroom management, equipping enough teaching facilities, making a good choice of materials, adjusting number of children in the class and teachers’ teaching hours, increasing time allocation for teacher training program Of all those difficulties, according to teachers, teaching methodology and classroom management as well as teaching facilities are the big problems for them Through some suggestions of this study, they can help teachers deal with the problems they are facing Some of them can make the teachers deal with several difficulties effectively 46 6.2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies Although the paper has accomplished the objectives set at the beginning, the thesis cannot avoid some limitations Firstly, the target of the subjects of this study are limited to forty teachers in grade one at twenty primary schools in Hadong district Secondly, the suggestions in the last chapter are likely to be subjective Finally, within the limitation of a minor thesis, the study does not deal with all difficulties and their causes of teaching English for grade one in details This urges the author to make research which is more thorough and wider in terms of content and scale on teachers' difficulties in teaching English for primary school children in further studies Despite all the aforementioned limitations, it is hoped that the study will make a contribution to the better situation of researching and for primary school teachers for grade one in Hadong district 47 REFERENCES Amstrong, A (2000) Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius" and "In Their Own Way" Oxford: Oxford University Press, 14, p.203 Anderson, R S (1985) Becoming a national of readers National Institute of Education, 22, pp.27-29 Archer, H & Smith, E (1999) Approaches to teaching English for children Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Barnett, W S (2001) Preschool education for economically disadvantaged children, New York: Guilford Press Do, T.M.C (2008) Challenges in teaching English for children in primary schools in Ninh Binh Province Graduation Paper Hanoi National University Elly,W B (1989) Vocabulary acquisition from listening to stories Reading Research Quarterly, 22, pp.24-37 Farcus, G (2001) Family linguistic, cultural and social reproduction New York: Guilford Press Hill, M (1985) Basic classroom management Oxford: Oxford University Press http://www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/docs/kindergarten/kindchar.html.Children characteristics 10 Juel, C (2003) Educational Leadership New York: Guilford Press, pp.13-18 11 Kounin, M (1970) Have fun with teaching English for children Oxford: Oxford University Press, 10, pp 67- 80 12 Loannou, S.L & Pavlou, P (2000) Assessing young learners Oxford: Oxford University Press 13 Machado, K.L (1985) Windows on classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press, 5, pp.87-102 14 Monica, J & Roger, W (1983) English teaching at early stages Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 15 Nunan, H (1988) Young learners and modern languages in europe and beyond Oxford: Council of Europe 16 Pinter, A (1997) Teaching young English learners Oxford: Oxford University Press, 17 Pyles, R H & Algae, S T (1970) Play with your children New York: Guilford Press 48 18 Richard, J & Rodgers, T (1980) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Richard, J.C & Lockhart, C (2005) Reflective teaching in second language classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 20 Scott, K (1970) Tips for classroom management Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.3-13 21 Scott, W.A & Ytreberg, L.H (1991) Teaching English to children Longman: Longman Press, 8, pp 105-107 22 Scovel, T (1999) The Young The better myth and bilingual education Oxford: Oxford University Press 23 Sharon, T & Wolley, J.D (2004) The Fantasy - Reality Distinction in Children British Journal of Development Psychologly (22), pp.293-310 24 Slattery, M & Willis, J (2001) English for primary teachers Oxford: Oxford University Press 25 Templeton, S (2004) The vocabulary - spelling connection New York: Guilford Press, pp.118-138 26 Vale, D & Feunteun, A (1995) Teaching children English Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 27 Vernon, S (2008) ESL teachingenglish games E http://www.teachingenglishgames.com/indexlanding3.htm 28 Wood, G (1981) Early stages Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.51 - book I APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is designed to support my study on ―difficulties in teaching English for grade one in Hadong district‖ Your assistance in completing this survey questionnaire is highly appreciated and will help in the development of better way of teaching English for grade one You can be sure that this questionnaire is for research purpose only and that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data What are your big problems in teaching English for children? …………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………… What you think is the most difficult to teach English to 1st grade students? ……… ………………………………………………… …………… ………………………………………………………………………………… In your opinion, how feasible is teaching English for grade one? a Feasible b Not feasible State the reasons for your choice: …………………… ……………………………………………… ……… ………………………………………………………………………………………… Did the children study English in preschool? a Yes, they did b No, they didn’t How the children like the textbook? a Really b Rather c A little d Not at all State the reasons for that: …………… .………………… …………………………………… ………….……………………………………… ………………………………………… What the children like to study the most? a Speaking b Listening c Vocabulary d Phonics e Story telling To what extent the children like studying English? a Not at all b A little c Quite d Really What you think the most difficult skills for your students to learn? And why? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………… ………………………………………… .………… What teaching method you use to teach English for your children? a Grammar translation b Communicative Language Teachingc Audial - lingual d Direct 10 What is your time distribution in one period? …………………………………………………………………………………………….…… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Circle the number to indicate the time of teacher’s use of English in class a b c d e 0% 10 %- 20 % 30 %- 50 % 60 %- 80 % 90 % – 100 % 12 The teacher training program is offered frequently a Agree b Disagree 13 The time allocation for teacher training program is enough a Enough b A little c Much II 14 The training program is relevant with the requirement of the course a Very b Quite c A little d Not at all 15 The training program is well organized a Well organized b Not well organized 16 What teaching skills you need to be trained most? a teaching vocabulary b teaching speaking and listening c teaching reading and writing d teaching story telling e teaching phonic 17 How many children are there in your class? a 15-20 students b 20- 30 students c.30 – 40 students d ≥ 40 students 18 What you to solve the noise problem in the classroom? 19 How did the students work? You can tick more than one options a individually b in pairs c in groups d in the whole class 20 How are chairs and desks arranged? a in rows b ―U‖ shape arrangement c in groups d other 21 How does the teaching curriculum suit students’ level? a not at all b a little c quite d much 22 What are the focused skills in the curriculum? a Listening b Speaking c Reading d Writing e Pronunciation 23 What is the time distribution of the curriculum? a One period per lesson b Two periods per lesson c Three periods per lesson d More than three periods per lesson 24 How many skills are taught in one teaching period? a One b Two c Three d More than three For questions 25 to 28, please tick the column to indicate your best choice Questions Yes No 25 Does the coursebook meet the curriculum's requirements? 26 Is the coursebook attached enough materials? 27 Is the coursebook designed with colorful pictures? 28 Do you usually make teaching aids? 29 How many 1st grade- classes are there in your schools? a four b five c six d seven e eight 30 Beside grade one, what grade you teach? You can choose more than one options a two b threec four d five e only grade one 31 How many teachers of English are there in your school? a one b two c three d four e five f six 32 How many periods of class time you teach per week? a 10- 15 b 15- 20 c 20- 25 d 25- 30 THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATIONS! ... of grade one in primary schools in Hadong district - English for grade one children 1.4 The methods of the study With the aims of finding out the difficulties in teaching English for grade one. .. 3.1.2 Teaching facilities Teaching facilities also play an important role in teaching English and may affect the teaching process positively or negatively In Hadong in particular and Hanoi in general,... teachers in Hadong primary schools are coping with in their daily teaching to grade one students - Suggesting some solutions to help teachers overcome these difficulties It is hoped that the findings