Experiences in using art to revise vocabulary for grade 4 pupils at quang phu primary school

THANH HOA EDUCATION & TRAINING DEPARTMENT THANH HOA CITY EDUCATION & TRAINING OFFICE INITIATIVE EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCES IN USING ART TO TEACH VOCABULARY FOR PRIMARY PUPILS OF GRADE 4 The implementer: Dam Thuy Dung Position: Teacher School: Quang Phu Primary School Subject: English THANH HOA, 2021 INDEX 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The reasons for choosing the topic PAGE 1 1 1.2 The purpose of research 2 1.3 The objects of research 2 1.4 The methods of research 3 2 CONTENT 2.1 The behaviorist theory 2.2 Situation issues before applying experience initiative 2.3 The solutions of implementation 3 3 4 6 2.3.1 Teaching colors 7 2.3.2 Teaching shapes and tools 7 2.3.3 Vocabulary building 7 2.3.4 Speaking practice 7 2.3.5 Writing practice 7 2.3.6 Making cards 8 2.3.7 Drawing pictures 9 2.3.8 Showing Various Example of Finished Projects 2.4 The efficiency of the experience initiative 3 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 3.1 Conclusion 3.2 Suggestion 9 10 10 10 12 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The reasons for choosing the topic Since English has become an international language, more and more people learn English The importance of English as a world language has made people to learn English as early as possible Teaching English as a foreign language to young learners need special approach since young learners have special characteristics, they have their own way of learning English has become the main language of communication all over the world and early learning of English in the school context is becoming more common Teaching of English from primary education is very common many countries, including Viet Nam Learning English starts at the age of 5 and 6 Teaching children can be immensely rewarding, teachers who has experienced that can tell about it But it’s not fun and games all the time, and sometimes it’s just not that easy English teachers who wish to teach children must be aware of the challenges and difficulties they may encounter, and prepare accordingly But still the young age is different, children learn a language faster than adults, they do not learn through traditional language teaching methods Through fun activities children can learn a language better as learning becomes natural for them since these activities do not make them conscious that they are learning a language Like any other children, Vietnamese children accept new foreign languages easily, but they get bored very fast if the teacher is teaching them using the old conventional methods and techniques Teachers are responsible for finding out interesting and attractive ways to teach and motivate their pupils Teaching young learners is very difficult compared with teaching teenagers or adults because young learners get distracted very fast Children love to have fun and do exciting things, so teachers should choose suitable teaching methods that cater to children’s nature Painting art is one of the methods that could be used in order to avoid boredom in the classroom They have a special role in any foreign language teaching Both pupils and teachers will benefit from including painting during class time Furthermore, teachers may achieve all the educational outcomes through applying the use of art especially when teaching vocabulary Children can learn better through interesting activities and for this reason painting art is very useful tools for teaching them a foreign language Actually these are the tools that help children learn in an enjoyable environment without making them feel the pressure of learning a foreign language The learning process is important part to make children motivated with the things The teacher will be happy when the children look enjoyed, selfconfidence and low anxiety The objectives of the study are to know the advantages of painting activity in teaching vocabulary for young learners and to know the pupils respond of painting activity in teaching vocabulary This research uses the qualitative method The data were collected from the 1 observation and documents To analyze the data, this research did the direct observation during the class and taken the documents The subject of this research is children or young learners who they are 6 till 10 years old The data is taken form English course for primary The results show that the advantages of painting activity in teaching English vocabulary are useful There advantages are appropriate strategy, introducing the art project, practicing psychomotor, giving motivation, building their confidents and independent The respond are positive because this activity can make the children addictive, enthusiasm and interested A class in which every child feels welcomed as a participating member is a vital factor in effective teaching Sharing painting is easy to memorize, the children derive visible satisfaction and confidence from this newly acquired fluency that comes so quickly After exploring and accumulating the experiences from colleagues, I have some experiences in using painting art to teach young learners and achieved quite effective results The pupils are more active and interested in learning English, especially in learning vocabulary 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 using art to teach vocabulary for primary pupils of grade 4 " 1.2 The purpose of research - The research applies the methods of using painting art to involve pupils in learning vocabulary - Creating the language circumstance to communicate in English and promote pupils to actively participate in communicative activities; offering some solutions and methods for using painting art in teaching vocabulary - Exchanging and sharing some experiences in using painting art in teaching vocabulary for young learners 1.3 The objects of research Research Time : School Year 2020 - 2021 Research Location: Quang Phu Primary School Research Object: "Experiences in using art to teach vocabulary for primary pupils of grade 4 " The respondents of the research: With this research I focused on the primary pupils, especially the pupils of class 4 Systematizing some theoretical issues about the procedures and activities in using painting art to teach vocabulary for young learners according to the communicative approach Exploring the present situation of using painting art to teach vocabulary at Primary School and suggesting some techniques in using painting art to teach vocabulary to develop speaking and listening skill for elementary pupils, helping them be more confident to communicate in English 2 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 Teaching young learners or children, the teachers should determine many factors that it can be found in the class Gordon [18] argues that the teachers can teach the learners to express with exploring their confidence In early learners, the teachers can introduce to increase grammar awareness that it is started from young learners Blanckensee [19] states that the children will be exited about their activity that they have done in the class and share their projects or works to their parents at home Thus, the parents must be aware and appreciate their children works in the school They should make a good impression that it can help the children to be confident Teaching Young Learners Phillips [5] states that children will be aware the activities given in the class especially spoken skills and encourage the language in English Children like to express their feelings and attitudes when they meet the people therefore they have limited knowledge about English Cameron and McKay [6] says that most of the young learners has like to use their imaginations like a hero, adult, old children, and so on so the children will use their imagination to build their development language in English Lewis and Mol [7] states young learners like the challenges and fun activity that those activity can make them satisfaction in order that the leaner process will be successful The material will be interesting when they learn around their environment Teaching Vocabulary Bakhsh [8] assumed that the children like to use visual context in teaching vocabulary especially real objects The method can be used in teaching vocabulary Demircioğlu [9] states the children is easy to receive the new vocabulary with the natural learning from the environment They should build their motivation that they will be aware to use the language so they should make the learning process creatively Dolean and Dolghi [10] argues that there are many methods can be used in teaching and he compares between keyword method and Total Physical response The result shows that the traditional method can be stimulus to do the correct pronunciation for new words while presenting a picture with the meaning Bavi [20] states that to teach vocabulary for children, the teachers must use fun activity because he found that fun activity is better than traditional way Fun activity can make the learners to feel easy to achieve the learning goals especially vocabulary Painting Activity According to Oxford dictionary [11] "Painting is related with colored liquid that is pun on a surface" Sakr & Kucirkova [12] states that the parents must consider the art activities for children that it does not use 3 technology like paint and drawing pictures Thus, painting activity is one of the kind of art that the children is interesting by using the uncommon method so one of the activity can be used is water painting activity and must be creative Lou, et [13] states that the individual must think the new concepts because it would explore the creativity in the learning process Fabian [14] argues that the skills and experiences must be built earlier to help the children confidence and creativity They can express their ability from their own feeling through paint and color This is a good medium to teach children As this research was conducted specifically to support English Language Learners through arts-based practices, it will benefit art educators, any educator who works with English Language Learners, the pupils of educators who read and apply this research to their own teaching practice, anyone interested in language development in English Language Learners, anyone interested in how arts-based instruction can support language development, pupils, my school community and myself This research will support language and communication skill development in elementary school learners, because it has resulted in best practices that I have tested and determined outcomes for 2.2 Situation issues before applying experience initiative My claim, that there are art-teaching techniques that are effective in supporting language acquisition and communication skill development in English Language Learners, is a practical one and I have tested my claim through action research in the classroom Due to the supportive and comfortable nature of the elementary art classroom, my claim is that collaborative art making processes promote language acquisition and communication skill development for English Language Learners Although there are many articles and journals that recommend best practices in working with English Language Learners, there are not many that delve into art specific teaching practices While there are many ways to improve on communication skills, I find myself communicating more effectively with pupils who are Limited English Proficient (hereafter known as LAP) with the assistance of visuals, hands on experience and demonstrations Often I conference with Laps by demonstrating instructions with a dry erase board and non-verbally prompting them to respond with a drawing of their own I picked up this practice from an art teacher I used to work with in Quang Phu Primary School At my school, most pupils were English Language Learners who spoke English as a foreign language As a result, this research will reach a larger audience and because of this, support a large number of pupils There are many different ways of supporting language acquisition in English Language Learners and this research explores five common art-based teaching strategies Those strategies are small group collaboration, large group collaboration, and choice based art making I recognize other strategies; however, due to time constraints within the scope of the research, I was only able to explore five strategies My goal was to find an arts-based solution that 4 works for different groups of English Language Learners I tested out several solutions in hopes of finding at least one solution that worked for my pupils Through teaching, I work with hundreds of pupils each year with a wide range of different needs Differentiating often comes naturally to me, but sometimes, when pupil needs are so varied, differentiating becomes a challenge Teacher of young learners use art work, ubiquitously in the English classroom Though art commonly used, teacher may not fully aware of the benefits of art in the young learner classroom The Vietnamese educational system believes in a well-balanced education for all, cooperative behavior, group discipline, and conformity to standards General Education for Children Education is widespread in Vietnam The Vietnam Ministry of Education is instrumental in developing and maintaining national curriculum guidelines as well as supporting materials It is common for Vietnamese children to participate in additional activities not provided by the public schools Vietnamese children also participate in many arts or sports activities such as art lessons, commonly, dance, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming and painting These activities create greater motivation for pupils and a broader school experience Art is part of the educational system from kindergarten through high school 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 support and patronage of the arts Though music books boast a variety of musical genres, the ministry favors traditional arts and crafts and "high culture" Art education in Vietnam begins with its youngest children Vietnamese culture and the educational system are unique in many ways By understanding of the educational system, the power of groups, the challenge of developing independence, individuality, and creativity, the influence of perfectionism, the perception of Vietnamese uniqueness and its influence on language and the importance of music, both Native English speaking teachers and Native Vietnamese speaking teachers might be able to teach English language to children more effectively The analysis of my school’s result in teaching and learning English in recent years showed that our average score in vocabulary has been consistently 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 the teaching of speaking and listening Our school is a public primary school in a rural area in Thanh Hoa province It is a large school with around 905 pupils, ranging from 6 to 10 years old There are three to six classes in each year levels, meaning that collaboration among teachers is extremely important to ensure consistency in learning programs After several years of teaching the book Tieng Anh 4, I found that many pupils can not learn vocabulary well However, they like painting art 5 during the lesson When the children draw the picture, it helps them to remember the items and terms better With this kind of activity you can teach almost all kinds of vocabulary (parts of the body, days in a week, directions as well as verbs and so on) From those factors, I find that using art to teach vocabulary to arouse children's interest and attention They set up a situation where children learn and remember the target language unconsciously So if we use art in teaching English for young learners, the pupils will understand and remember the lesson easily and effectively We have to take advantages of love to enrich the language – teaching environment There are numerous variations of activities and teachers are advised to choose what best suits their learners The quality survey and pupils’ classification: Based on the present situation of pupils in class 4, the level of all pupils is acquired after a few weeks of the school year with the methods of using art to teach vocabulary to develop speaking and listening skill I had 40 minutes to test pupils in class 4A and 4B to survey and classify the pupils The following will show the result in the pupils’ speaking and listening skills : Class 4A 4C The numbers of pupils 44 45 Excellent (A) 0 0 Good (B) 10= 22,7% 11= 24,4% Fair (C) 16= 36,4% 14= 31% Poor Fail (D) (F) 10=22,7% 8=18,2% 12=26,6% 8 = 18% After doing the survey, I have classified the pupils and immediately applied the methods and experiences which I accumulated over the years to improve the teaching and learning quality 2.3 The solutions of implementation In this part of the research I will suggest some techniques in using art to teach vocabulary for young learners This research is by no means comprehensive; rather it is an opportunity for sharing what I know about new perspectives in using art to teach vocabulary for young learners The art classroom is one of the few places an English Language Learner can feel safe and understood It is no wonder when an English Language Learner walks into art their steps are a bit lighter and their faces brighter They don’t have to face those overwhelming worries Of course, communication and language are essential and should be practiced in the art room, but what is most important is what you make Rather than what you say or how you say it, if you completely understood the directions, or even are “at grade level” in anything, art is about creating! Even better, the art room is an oasis where English Language Learners can work at the same pace as, if not surpass, their peers Does art have a place in language learning? I believe it does Children are naturally creative They respond to visual images and have most active imaginations Isn’t creating images what art is all about? Art can assist a teacher with many aspects of teaching English 6 Teacher doesn’t have to be an artist If the teacher has artistic talents, then he or she likely already know the value art can have in the language classroom If not, here are some ideas for the teacher to teach in a language class 2.3.1 Teaching colors Use art when you are teaching the names of colors: White, Black, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink, Orange, Brown, Purple, Gray What about sky blue, teal, magenta, lilac, scarlet, azure, chartreuse, burgundy, crimson, apple green, lemon or canary yellow, burnt orange, dusty pink, forest green, battleship gray, chocolate brown, mahogany, tan, ivory, offwhite, etc A color wheel can help you to demonstrate these Pick up some car brochures from local dealers and see how they describe the colors of their vehicles These can augment a lesson on using more descriptive adjectives In one lesson, I first show my class a black and white illustration of a typical office situation with several people engaged in various routines The pupils describe what people are doing Then, I show the pupils a color version and have them elaborate on their description Color makes a big difference 2.3.2 Teaching shapes and tools You can use art to teach shapes and simple tools artists use (including tools pupils use every day such as pencils, pens, erasers, rulers, etc.) 2.3.3 Vocabulary building This activity demands teacher’s preparation before the teacher starts an activity The teacher needs to go to the nature or the place he or she will carry out the activity and hide the pictures and definitions at different places Then bring children to the place and let them find all the cards They can be divided into small groups or work in pairs Each group or pair finds different pictures with different definitions Now tell the children to find the correct definition for each picture The group who will collect the most card-pairs is the winner Learners are supposed to practice common phrases, e.g What’s in your picture? What word do you have? (The pupils' painting is in the appendix one and two) 2.3.4 Speaking practice In speaking lesson, pupils can be invited to bring in a piece of art and ‘show and tell’ This is a wonderful speaking opportunity Think of possible related research and writing assignments you could apply as well Local artists? Local museums or art galleries? Exhibitions? Art schools? Painting clubs? Any of these may have someone who would be willing to come in to talk to your class about what they do – maybe even put on a short demonstration (The pupils' painting is in the appendix 4) 2.3.5 Writing practice Pupils can use their artistic talents to illustrate their writing efforts – essays, short stories, descriptions of homes, friends, family, vacation, and other such typical ESL topics I have had pupils make Japanese scroll stories where 7 they have six or so panels on which to write and illustrate a short story They then tape the panels together to form a scroll, tying the finished product with a ribbon In the next class, pupils untie their scrolls and read their stories to the class Art can add another dimension to teaching English and is another way you can take advantage of local resources to support your efforts Through the Internet, you have the whole artistic world at your beck and call Here are some kinds of art activities that I usually use to not only encourage pupils and their creativity but also help pupils understand and remember vocabulary effectively (The pupils' writing are in the appendix three and four) 2.3.6 Making cards Example 1: Teacher tells the class that they are going to do a project Teacher also explains the task and check understanding Teacher gives each pupil a small card and some crayons Ask them to colour the flags and copy the text from the pupils' book onto the cards Teacher asks pupils to write information about themselves Encourage them to decorate the cards with flag Teacher calls some of the pupils to the front of the class and read aloud what they have written in the cards and say the name of the country in the cards according to the flags (The pupils' cards are in the appendix three) (Unit 1: Nice to see you again - P 11- English 4 - Vietnamese Educational Publisher) Example 2: Teacher tells the class that they are going to make greeting cards for their friends Teacher also explains the task and check understanding Teacher gives each pupil a small card and some crayons Ask them to draw a card for Tet After decorating the cards, the pupils should copy the text from the pupils's book and fill in the information Teacher may give pupils time to do the task during the lesson or ask them to do it as homework Teacher calls some of the pupils to the front of the class and read aloud what they have written in the cards (The pupils' cards are in the appendix four) (Unit 15: When's Children's Day? - P 35 - English 4 - Vietnamese Educational Publisher) 2.3.7 Drawing pictures Example 1: Teacher asks pupils to draw a picture of their favourite drink Teacher asks pupils to think about what drink they like best Teacher calls some pupils to the front of the class to show their pictures of their family and say about their favourite drink to the class (The pupils' painting is in the appendix five) 8 activities for primary pupils has been worth the time and effort My pupils are capable and ready to understand and remember the words effectively when learning English Just as we take great care in decorating our classrooms to make them warm and conducive to learning, we should think about how we are decorating our classrooms with paintings Learning a foreign language can be stressful for anyone, especially young learners Fun, simple English art activities playing as pupils enter the classroom help create a welcoming environment The following photographs are linked with the class’s atmosphere of which the photographs are to be found in the appendix eight and nine 3 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 3.1 Conclusion Art has been a medium of visual expression used to convey a wide range of tangible and intangible ideas Art can take the viewer to different times and to different worlds It can also be used to introduce different levels of vocabulary for students of a second language Learning a second language, for most teenagers, for example, is a challenging experience They are not only trying to adapt to a new language, but they are also trying to adjust to themselves and a new environment They are aware of almost everything, but they are highly aware of their performance in the classroom By changing the student’s focus to something creative where everyone participates, a certain degree of self-judgment is thus eliminated The art experience in the classroom has to be a pleasant one for both the student and the teacher I do not propose an in-depth study of art, but the use of it as a language development tool The student becomes familiar with the works of art, but he does not really need to understand them in depth, it is the first impression that the student receives as a new observer that will provide the starting point for the introduction of vocabulary Art has always been an effective tool for teaching and learning among various classes of people When combined with reading, writing, speaking and listening, art can open doors to high levels of analysis and also challenge students to explore their surroundings and thus find ways for sophisticated understanding and communication Familiarizing students with the arts is an enjoyable part of authentic learning “The heart and soul that complement the mind and body, a powerful integrative force that teaches every social, creative, emotional, intellectual and physical child” — (Le Francois, Psychology for Teaching, p 499) When teaching young learners vocabulary using art, teachers must be patient in finding new and interesting ways so that pupils enjoy learning Art can help young learners to learn their vocabulary effectively As explained above, there are five five art activities among many to be used to teach vocabulary e.g making cards, drawing pictures, using picture books Teacher should consider time and materials when using art to teach vocabulary Although art has advantages and disadvantages when used to teach vocabulary, using them will 10 enable young learners to acquire the lesson with fun and creation where they can remember all the vocabulary easily Though art which is very popular among young learners, they should not be overused They should be chosen appropriately to pupils’ level, interest, and context Furthermore, it must be concerned with the presented topic and vocabularies Any art activities can be effective when it is used suitably to the topic and is controlled by wise and skilled teacher The English teacher can choose from among a lot of types of art activities We know from our experience that children love art activities All teachers should see this big advantage and use art activities as an permanent part of their English lessons not only in primary school In conclusion, art activities make large vocabulary background, like expressions and useful sentences They help to develop listening and speaking skill Art activities will help pupils become familiar with vocabulary, and the pictures with which words are in shapes and colour Affectively, it is good to stimulate children’s interest in the new language, to bring fun and variety to learning, to provide a relaxed atmosphere, to motivate to learn to be active, to give an encouragement, even children are shy or slow learning, coming out and losing their embarrassment This research investigated the methods of teaching art activities for primary pupils, lesson delivery and sequence of content and learning expectations used by teachers of English at Quang Phu Primary School This research brings broader understanding of strategies for teaching art activities to pupils whose first language is not English The rationale for the study stems from the need to gain greater international perspective of the teaching of English learners The results reflect analysis of classroom observation field notes of the pupils of class 4A and 4C To sum up, the research provides some methods to improve teaching art activities for primary pupils in order to form the habit of using English words that contributes to improve the quality of pupils' skills in particular and English for academic subjects in general This research does reveal some promising practices but more research is needed 3.2 Suggestion To the leaders: To enhance the capacity of teachers in teaching English, the leaders should organize the training courses for the English teachers regularly Through the training courses, teachers have the opportunity to exchange and learn their experiences Acknowledgments: I am grateful to the Ministry of Education and Training for publishing the book Tieng Anh 3,4,5; for valuable discussions and innovative ideas and techniques of teaching art activities during the program I would also like to thank the experts of Thanh Hoa City Education and Training Office, my 11 colleagues at Quang Phu Primary School, for providing helpful comments for the research Finally, I would like to encourage Vietnamese teachers to have more confidence in using art activities to teach vocabulary even though we are not Art teacher With full advanced preparation, including practicing English and designing effective teaching activities, we can all be experts in teaching English Sincerely thank you! Certified by the Principal Quang Phu, April 6th 2021 I declare that this is my experienced initiative I do not copy the other person's content Written by Dam Thuy Dung 12 REFERENCES [1] Vietnamese Educational Publisher - Tieng Anh 4 (2017) Ministry of Education and Training [2] L Cameron, "Teaching English to Young Learners" New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2001 [3] D Nunan, "Teaching English to Young Learners" California: Anaheim University Press 2011 [4] S Thornbury, "How to teach vocabulary" Longman Essex 2002 [5] S Phillips, "YOUNG LEARNERS" New York: Oxford University Press 1993 [6] L Cameron and P Mckay, "Bringing creative teaching into the young learner classroom." OUP Oxford 2013 [7] G Lewis and H Mol, "GRAMMAR FOR YOUNG LEARNERS" New York: Oxford University Press 2009 [8] S.A Bakhsh, "Using Games as a Tool in Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners." Canadian Center of Science and Education [9] Ş Demircioğlu, "Teaching English vocabulary to young learners via drama" Social and Behavioral Sciences, ELSEVIER, Vol 2, 2010 retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82289649.pdf on 5th July 2019 [10] D.D Dolean and A Dolghi, "Teaching Young FL Learners New Vocabulary: A Comparison between the Efficiency of Keyword Method and Total Physical Response International Journal of English Linguistics, Vol 6, 2016 retrieved fromhttps://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/TeachingYoung-FLLearners-New-Vocabulary%3A-A-the-ofDolean Dolghi/efc1fe80a860d21ea01799d7ca018ddf201cff3d on 5th July 2019 [11] V Bull, Oxford LEARNER’S POCKET Dictionary, Fourth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2008 [12] M Sakr & N Kucirkova, "Parent-Child Moments of Meeting in ArtMaking with Collage, iPad, Tuxpaint and Crayons" International Journal of Education & the Arts, Vol 18/2, 2016 [13] Shi-Jer Lou, ed "Construction of a Creative Instructional Design Model Using Blended, ProjectBased Learning for College Pupils", Scientific Research, [14] M Fabian, "Painting is Close Act" UK: Brilliant Publications 2010 [15] M Altun, "The Use of Drawing in Language Teaching And Learning", Journal of Educational and Instructional Studies in The World, Vol 5/4, 2015 retrieved from www.wjeis.org/FileUpload/ds217232/File/10a_altun.pdf on 9th July 2019 [16] I Suryani, Y Yasin, B.H Ahmad, and A Kasim, "Using Painting Activities to Promote Speaking Skills", The Symposium of International Languages and Knowledge, 2016 13 [17] M Mayesky "CREATIVE ART & ACTIVITIES" Canada: Delmar Learning 2004 [18] G Lewis & H Mol, "GRAMMAR FOR YOUNG LEARNERS", New York: Oxford, 2013 [19] L Von Blanckensee, "Technology Tools for Young Learners", New York: outledge [20] Farideh Bavi, "The Effect of Using Fun Activities on Learning Vocabulary at The Elementary Level", Journal of Language Teaching and Research,Vol 9/3, pp 629- 639, 2018 retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0903.24 on 8th August 2019 [21] sachmem.vn 14 Appendix One: Vocabulary game: Hidden pictures This activity is a kind of vocabulary game in which the learner’s attention is focused mainly on words It provides vocabulary practice and improves the memory This game can be used as an out-of-class activity, because it requires more spatial conditions The classroom may not be very suitable because of the lack of places for hiding things The activity may be linked with arts, it depends on the teacher, if he/she wants to spend one whole lesson only with drawing pictures or he/she ask the art teacher to have an extra lesson, where children will draw pictures for the English game Lesson plan: Level: class 4 Length of the lesson: 35 minutes New lexis: vocabulary: House Materials: pictures that were made by children Skills to be practiced: - Writing – children write definition of the pictures on other cards - Reading – proves the knowledge of vocabulary - Speaking – children need to ask their partners for the proper picture or definition Aims: - Vocabulary practice - Developing communicative skills The main activity: Some days in a year teacher can diversify an educational process with some kind of out-of-class activity Children enjoy surprise and change and they will not expect it The only thing you need are the pictures that children drew in their arts class This activity demands teacher’s preparation before the teacher starts an activity The teacher needs to go to the nature or the place he or she will carry out the activity and hide the pictures and definitions at different places Then bring children to the place and let them find all the cards They can be divided into small groups or work in pairs Each group or pair finds different pictures with different definitions Now tell the children to find the correct definition for each picture The group who will collect the most card-pairs is the winner Learners are supposed to practice common phrases, e.g What’s in your picture? What word do you have? Variation: 15 Teacher can extend the activity by letting children describe pictures to their classmates so that they can guess the correct answer Appendix Two: Vocabulary game: The washing line This kind of listen-and-find activity requires a lot of physical movement and enough space in the classroom It is designed to provide physically active listening practice, which can be used as a pre-activity before some other following speaking activity Or it can be used as an end-of-class activity for revising new vocabulary Lesson plan Level: class 4 Length of the lesson: 35 minutes New lexis: clothes colours Materials: Rope - Two boxes or bags - Different items of clothes - Clothes pegs - Numbered pictures – on each of them there is an item of clothes Skills to be practiced: - Vocabulary - Pronunciation - Listening Aims: to provide vocabulary practice and exciting body-movement activity Pre-activity: It is essential to pre-check the children’s knowledge of new vocabulary even if they had learned it previous lesson Teacher can do it as following: Take the cards of clothes and show them to pupils one after another and always pronounce the clothes term For example there is a skirt in the picture and teacher says: Blue skirt! And show the picture to children Teacher can repeat it two times After revising all vocabulary, stick the pictures on the board and number them Now teacher can either say the numbers and children should guess the word or you can say the term again and children writer the appropriate letter Do it in any order you like but do not forget to write the correct order on a piece of paper so that teacher remembers it and teacher can check it after the activity Variations: Teacher can use pictures made by children When the children draw the picture, it helps them to remember the items and terms better With this kind of activity you can revise almost all kinds of vocabulary (parts of the body, days in a week, directions as well as verbs and so on) Main activity: 16 Get two children at the front of the class who will hold the rope Divide the class into two teams and each team should choose a representative Now ask for an item: Could you bring me a yellow sock? The two representatives search in the bags or boxes for the clothes item and the one who chooses the right thing should hang it on the line The first who hangs all the clothes items is the winner Then another two children are going to compete The game is over, when one team has their line full of clothes Variants: With more skilled children you can do the activity to practice the writing skills Try to make it similar to bingo: each child draws his/her own washing line with four or five things hanging on it So that drawing does not take a long time, they can just draw four squares and write e.g ‘blue skirt’ in it Teacher reads out a list of items (I have a pink T-shirt and green sock here I also have blue trousers and brown jumper…) If somebody crosses off all his/her items on the line, he/she is the winner of the game Evaluation: This activity is more suitable for practicing separate vocabulary rather than the whole phrases If you do not have the possibility to use real objects you can just compensate it with two sets of pictures or word cards 17 (Appendix three) (Appendix four) (Appendix five) (Appendix six) (Appendix seven) (Appendix eight) (Appendix nine) ... according to the communicative approach Exploring the present situation of using painting art to teach vocabulary at Primary School and suggesting some techniques in using painting art to teach vocabulary. .. "Experiences in using art to teach vocabulary for primary pupils of grade " 1.2 The purpose of research - The research applies the methods of using painting art to involve pupils in learning vocabulary. .. Creating the language circumstance to communicate in English and promote pupils to actively participate in communicative activities; offering some solutions and methods for using painting art in