Developing english communication skills for primary school students

INDEX Content Introduction 1.1.Reasons to choose subjects 1.2 Research purposes 1.3 Research subjects Content 2.1 Basis for argument 2.2 Status 2.2.1 Students 2.2.2 Teachers 2.2.3 Students' parents 2.2.4 Equipments and facilities 2.2.5 Survey result at the beginning of the year 2.3.Solotions 2.3.1 Teachers change teaching styles and methods to suit primary school students 2.3.2 Using a number, songs, chants regulary during lessons 2.3.2.1 Using game “Slap the board” 2.3.2.2.Using game “Matching” 2.3.2.3 Using songs 2.3.2.4 Using game “Find someone who” 2.3.2.5.Using game “Given answer” 2.3.2.6.Using quizzes 2.3.2.7 Training students pronounce vocabulary and sentence intonation correctly 2.3.2.8 Instructing students to use gestures in English conversation 2.3.2.9 Teacher changes the attitude in class 2.3.2.10 Encouraging students make their own personal dictionaries 2.3.2.11 Some other measures 2.4 Results after applying the measures Conclusion 3.1 Recommendations 3.2 Offer Page 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 6 8 10 11 11 13 14 15 15 15 1.INTRODUCTION: 1.1.Reasons to choose subjects: Nowadays, following the continuous development of international exchanges, the popularization of English has become an indispensable thing Not only adults want to be able to speak fluently with foreigners, but even children also want to be able to communicate in English with international friends Therefore, the Education and Training sector has generator innovated the curriculum and teaching methods to improve the quality of teaching and learning Previously, when Vietnam did not integrate with other countries in the world, the investment in students to improve English subjects was still limited But today with the general development of mankind, learning a foreign language is essential Realizing this importance, the Education and Training sector has brought English teaching and learning right at the Primary school and Teaching English according to the communicative approach Is the main language of 53 countries and regions Currently, all primary schools across the country have taught English programs starting from grade and some schools have taught English programs right from grade Among them, there are schools that have taught English programs in periods / week Most of them reach level according to the International language proficiency standard Quang Thai Primary School has also been applying the English program according to the books of the Ministry of Education and Training published right from grade under the program of periods / week 1.2 Research purposes: Over the years of teaching English in elementary school, I find that students' English communication skills are still limited Somes students still afraid of speaking English with other students and teacher.To overcome the above situation, I have explored and researched a number of measures to improve speaking skills for elementary school students This is the reason why I choose the topic of initiative: "Developing English communication skills for primary school students" 1.3 Research subjects: Students in class 3A, 4A, 5A Quang Thai Primary School, school year 20192020 2.CONTENT: 2.1 Basis for argument: English is a global language A language spoken by 400 million people worldwide as a native language More than billion people speak a second language International events, global organizations also consider English as the language of communication.Therefore, from the school year 1996 - 1997: The Ministry of Education and Training introduced English subjects right into primary schools By the school year 2015 - 2016: The Ministry has conducted a comprehensive renovation of the curriculum as well as teaching methods for English subject Presently, primary schools across the country have been teaching English programs starting in grade And some schools have taught English programs right from grade 1, in which most schools teach a program of periods / week 2.2 STATUS : 2.2.1 Students : The Quang Thai Primary School that I am working for now, the English program has been taught for many years I myself have been taught grades 3, 4, 5, so I clearly see the strengths and limitations of my students For students in grades and 5, they are very confident and actively speak during class But 3rd grade students, on the other hand, are less likely to participate in building lessons, although the questions asked by teachers are easy to understand Besides, I see that there is still a part of students who lack confidence and shyness in communication On the other hand, since they are just starting to learn English, they still have a lot of confusion, although they also love to learn Learning a foreign language to be good at, learners must boldly use the language they learn to practice, if there is a mistake when corrected, we will remember longer and next time if we meet the sentence again, it will not be wrong During my years of teaching I have seen a downside of students in speaking is that passivity only follows what the instructor suggests, so that students not extend or question asking for answers It can be said that their speaking skills are still weak Only two lessons per week are not enough time for students to develop good English communication skills Because it is an elective subject, some students not pay much attention to English Their vocabulary is not much because they not belong to the vocabulary or they refuse to study because they think this is a minor subject so it does not matter 2.2.2 Teachers: Some teachers are still confused in teaching English for Children according ro the communicative approach 2.2.3 Students' parents : Parents of some students not have good understanding of this subject due to the concept of "Vietnamese is not finished yet but learn English" Therefore, there is a lack of close attention to their children in learning English 2.2.4 Equipments and facilities : Currently, a number of books compiled for primary school students have quite long content Teachers transmit knowledge in only 35 minutes, which is not enough Therefore, the time to develop speaking skills for students is not much Teachers have to pay for themselves to make teaching aids Students are very excited to learn electronic lessons, but because the school does not have enough conditions for labs or projectors (the school has only one projector), the lesson with electronic lesson plans has not been fully utilized The lack of supporting equipment such as pictures and puppets makes the teacher's lessons not vivid, so it has not attracted the children Some students due to difficult circumstances, they have to spend time at home to support their families, and they are not equipped with enough textbooks and learning tools, so they are not in good condition to self-study at home 2.2.5 Survey result at the beginning of the year: According to the survey results at the beginning of the school year , I see that the number of students with communication skills is not high Besides, there still exist a number of students who are not bold in communication and have not completed the subject well speak well speak fluently Speak unfluently Class Student SL TL% SL TL% SL TL% 3A 34 17,6 18 53 10 29,4 4A 35 20 19 54,3 25,7 5A 36 22,2 21 58,3 19,5 2.3 Solotions: 2.3.1 Teachers change teaching styles and methods to suit primary school students During the teaching process, I myself always have a gentle, cheerful manner, integrating with students Creates a friendly, close, help for students confident and bolder in speaking English anywhere, both inside and outside the classroom During the lessons, I often use a number of games, songs, chants to make the classroom atmosphere more vibrant, to create a comfortable mentality for students, to help students be ready to absorb the knowledge of the lesson proactive and active Not only teacher-student interaction in the classroom, but also studentstudent interaction through pairworks or groupwork of to These methods will help students are more active and agile in their English communication process For students of middle school and high school, it is obvious to use English in foreign language hours, because then their vocabulary is quite enough to understand what the teacher imparts But for Primary students, their vocabulary is not much to understand teachers' requirements well That makes the majority of English teachers not speak English regulary in lesson I think this is one of the reasons why students are not confident when talking in English If teachers often speak English in specific communicative situations everyday students will improve their speaking English skill day by day At the beginning of each class, I often have conversations with students with simple English sentences to "heat up" the classroom atmosphere, create excitement in learning, and act quickly in communication T: Good morning, everybody! How are you today? Ss: Good morning, Miss Minh ! We're fine, thank you How are you? T: I'm fine Thanks During class I often give simple commands such as: Look listen and repeat / Listen and write / Poit and say / Read and answer / Look at the picture on page …… / Stand up, please / Sit down, please / Go to the board / Come back to your sit… When students answer correctly or well, I usually use some compliments such as: very good, welldone, excellent 2.3.2 Using a number, songs, chants regulary during lessons : The use of games, songs, chants helps the classroom atmosphere become vibrant, creates a comfortable psychology for students, helps students be ready to absorb the knowledge of the lesson actively and positively In the class, I often use a number of games, songs, chants help the classroom atmosphere becomes vibrant, creating psychological comfort to students, help students willing to acquire knowledge of all they can proactive and positive way In the traditional way of teaching at the beginning of a class, teachers often call students to check old lessons, but for me, they don't Before I became a teacher, I was a student like them are now children, so I understand their feelings at the moment For me, the use of game activities before the start of the lesson not only helps the classroom atmosphere not be heavy, but also makes the class lively, giving students psychological comfort 2.3.2.1 Using game “Slap the board” [1] to revise vocabulary about daily routine in lesson unit English Textbook Procedure: Teacher puts the vocabulary items on the board in any order – jumbled and sometimes a little bit higher than the tallest child can rich, so that they will have to jump Form group:When starting a game I often ask students : Teacher : Would you like to play game? Students: Yes Teacher: Play game SLAP THE BOARD - Ok! Students: Ok! Teacher: FOUR boys and FOUR girls, please! Now, any volunteers? Raise your hand! Naming for each team After choosing two teams I used some simple commands: Teacher: Are you ready? Students: Yes Teacher: Now, let's begin “one, two, three” …………… Students run to the board and slap the correct word The first person in each group to slap right word gets a poit Alternatively,the representative changes, ready for the next word This is a little calmer than ì everyone is running to the board Teacher can it with pictures so we can put the pictures on the board and call out the English words and the kids can slap the picture Sometimes the teacher does not to call out the English word, we can get other kids to call out, so they can practice speaking too When finish, teacher call out winning team of the game 2.3.2.2.Using game “Matching” [7] to revise the vocabulary about the places in lesson unit English book One of my students’ favorite learning activities is playing matching games in small groups Matching games are great for providing repetition of new vocabulary, reviewing concepts, definition and grammar I used matching game to revise the vocabulary about the places in lesson unit English book Students work in group Teacher asks students to look at the picture and read the vocabulary.Then match the letter in each picture with the number correctly A On the beach B C In the mountains in the countryside on the islands D 2.3.2.3 Using songs: Songs will help students to bremember the newwords easier and happier To warm up for the lesson unit English book 3, I used the song "numbers song" [9] to help students to review the numbers from to 10 ” 2.3.2.4.Using game “Find someone who”: In English to communicate well, along with memorizing vocabulary, students also need to master sentence patterns, conversations by topics and topics To practice sentence patterns: Can you ………… ? - Yes, I can - No, I can't In lesson 2, Unit 5, English 4, I organized for students to play the game "Find someone who" in groups of people: person asked, people answered Activities Name 0.Ly swim sing dance   x cook  2.3.2.5.Using game “Given answer” [6] To practice dialogue on the zoo animals topic in lesson unit English I instruct the students to play the game “Given answer” A: When ? B: I went to the zoo last Sunday A: What ? B: I saw the peacocks A: What .? B: They moved beautifully Students complete the sentence and play game in pairs, then tacher call some pairs practice before the class Answer: 1.did you go to the zoo 2.did you see 3.did they 2.3.2.6.Using quizzes [2]: In order for students to easily memorize the letters of the English alphabet and their vocabulary, I use quizzes and brain games to stimulate their thinking when they find the answers they will memorize more deeply After students give their answers, I will tell them their answers and explain more to help them understand better I gave quizzes about English letters in English with simple and straightforward words like "What letter is a body of water?" ("C" because it is read almost like the word "sea "); "What letter is a drink?" ("T" because it is read almost like the word "tea ") I created quizzes based on a word game "chase pictures" to help children memorize vocabulary The game is as follows: Let's play English Word Pursuitgame Answer 2.3.2.7 Training students pronounce vocabulary and sentence intonation correctly [3]: By having students listen to tapes regularly with the standard voice of native speakers and have them repeat many times, while allowing students to practice correct language sentence tone and word stress After the listening and repeating steps, I ask students to read in unison, in pairs, individually Praise the students who read well and correct them if they not read correctly Currently, there is a perception that elementary school students are young , they not need to pronounce as native speakers but for me it is the opposite Students should practice speaking correctly and correctly from the very beginning of learning English Because the ancient people used to say "malleable young bamboo" and partly due to personal experience from many years teaching elementary school students, I clearly see the drawbacks of students If the teacher neglects to correct the pronunciation errors, does not instruct to pay attention to word stress, intonation in the sentence, when listening to the correct pronunciation, they will not recognize and understand what the other person is saying On the other hand, they will be confused about whether their teacher is right or if this person is right, making students hesitate and not confident in communication In my phonic lessons I usually asks tudents listen to the tape regularly with a standard native speaker's voice and repeat it many times, paying attention to the intonation at the end of the sentence and especially the ending of the word Direct students to focus while listening and encourage them to imitate the voice reading on tape as closely as possible After the listening and repeating steps, the teacher asks students to read in chorus, in pairs and then individually Celebrate students who read well and correct them immediately if they read incorrectly or incorrectly Encourage each student to have a cassette tape, VCD disc, memory card or usb containing audio files (can be used for VCD player, DVD player or computer or laptop) to practice at home to help them get involved and speak naturally well 2.3.2.8 Instructing students to use gestures in English conversation [3]: In communication, if we use more facial expressions, gestures, gestures to express what we want to say, the other person will easily understand and feel closer in communication For example, if you greet and ask about the health, name or age of the person you want to ask, extend your hand to that person and point to yourself when saying the answer I ask students to work together when talking and acting out This job contributes to the development of good communication skills, helping students memorize words and form sentences faster The teacher asks students to build a conversation and re-represent it Hoa: Hello, Lan How are you today? ( Hoa waved her hand and extended her hand to Lan ) Lan: Hi, Hoa I'm fine, thank you ( Lan waved her hand and pointed at herself to answer ) Hoa: How's the weather? ( Pointing his finger to the sky ) 10 Lan: It's sunny ( Raise your hand to the sky ) Hoa: Let's play badminton Lan: Ok! ( Both holding hands and running) 2.3.2.9 Teacher changes the attitude in class : Most teachers in class often have strict attitude in teaching to help students focus more but in my opinion should not create stress during English lessons Because, in the lessons in Math, Vietnamese, students have focused a lot, so in English class, teachers need to create a lively and happy classroom atmosphere This is a way to engage students in their class so that they can see that English is not as hard to learn and dry as I thought Teachers need to happily integrate into the children's world of students, the attitude of the instructor will help them confidently and boldly practice speaking English in the classroom without fear of the teacher reprimand or friends.make fun of when they have mistakes 2.3.2.10 Encouraging students make their own personal dictionaries : If we want to speak English well,we must memorize many words For elementary students, researching and consulting books, newspapers, on the internet, and television are limited Therefore, I ask students to create a dictionary according to my instructions so that they can reinforce and remember the words they have learned or collected for longer In the second week of the school year, I ask each student to prepare a pocket notebook to write down all the words learned Ask students to organize and write by topics (topics about objects, animals, colors, weather,….) I instruct students to the following: divide the notebook into several topics so that they can be more convenient to use Next, dividing the notebook page into two parts, one side writes English words, the other side writes Vietnamese meanings The topic of school things English Vietnamese a ruler a pen a desk an eraser I instruct students to draw or collect pictures to illustrate the meaning of Vietnamese to enrich the dictionary The pets topic 11 a rabbit a goldfish a cat a dog The nature topics: English Vietnamese 2.3.2.11 Some other measures: Dividing students into small groups to practice communication skills : 12 Clearly defining objects to help teachers better cover the class, understand more or less weak students of each class From there, the teacher chooses and uses suitable teaching methods to achieve high efficiency Beginning in the new school year after three weeks of study I can categorize the groups of excellent and fair students and those from average and weak I divide the class into groups (each with four to five students) to study together In a group of two to three excellent students, these students are assigned to be the leaders and vice leaders to manage the group and are responsible for helping the weak Each group is given a name such as "Blue sky", "Lion", "Green grass", "Tiger", to create new and attractive for students Group activities at the beginning of each session have English period Only work from minutes to 10 minutes to learn English together At first they could only say a few simple sentences like “Hello What's your name? How are you? I'm fine, thank you… ” Through the following lessons, the number of words and sentence patterns increase gradually, so that students can speak about many topics For example : Vy: Hello, Nam Nam: Hi, Vy What's the matter? Vy: I'm thirsty Nam: Do you want milk? Vy: Yes, I Nam: Here you are! Vy: Thank you Nam: You're welcome At the end of each class I spend three to five minutes on the lesson extension for students to apply the content to real-life everyday communication situations The group who practices well will be rewarded, the reward is the group applause, flowers, candy or some cake to cheer them up For weak students who improve, I reward them with learning materials such as writing, ruler, notebook and the group leaders and vice-groups with weak friends also receive a gift The group activity is designed to help weak students overcome their shyness, fear, and guilt when they cannot speak English like their peers Teachers not have much time to get close to and help them, through group activities, you will be the most effective supporter Encourage students to practice singing many English songs [9,10]: If we want to learn English well, the first thing we must for children is to love it Music is the bridge that will help students get closer to this subject to find English so enjoyable and rewarding In addition to the songs in the curriculum I also collect on the internet, tapes and discs some of the songs suitable for children to teach them Primary school students are very active and love to sing, and songs with funny rhythms make them even more excited Through this, students will study English harder 13 Teachers need to explain the meaning and content of the song so that students can understand and feel the song From then on, the children got excited and sang better Students sing together in groups and can let them choose their own song partners When teaching new songs I incorporate into the homework period in class to reduce the stress while providing more songs to the students In addition to helping the students memorize sentence structure, I often refine the structures according to the lyrics of the songs they already know like: "hey golden butterfly" Making the most out of the page - equipment is available To well in school, they must be equipped with learning tools as well as a booklet And teachers who want to learn vividly also need to have attached equipment Therefore, it is necessary to fully exploit the available equipment At the end of the school year I urge students to give old books to the school, which the school uses to give to disadvantaged students Mobilizing sponsorships from sponsors to help disadvantaged students fully equip learning tools Teachers take advantage of the available facilities and equipment and can tailor the teaching aids to the lessons and preserve them well that they can be reused over and over again 2.4 Results after applying the measures : Survey results at the end of the year Class Student Speak well Speak fluently SL TL% SL TL% 3A 34 14 41,2 20 58,8 4A 35 16 45,7 19 54,3 5A 36 17 48,6 19 51,4 Speak unfluently SL TL% Through the results achieved, I see that the number of English speaking students who are not proficient has decreased, the number of English speaking students has increased significantly That shows that the application of games, songs, chants combined with the teacher's positive method of teaching in class periods has had good results Conclusion: 3.1 Recommendations: Acchieving these results, I myself always aware of my responsibility Always looking for ways to train each target student, helping them get interested in speaking English right from the beginning 14 In teaching, teachers must have passion, determination, love of the job, love children, perseverance, patience, and encourage children to communicate in English anytime, anywhere That is the key to help teachers improve the quality of teaching English in improving communicative skill 3.2 Offer: Regularly organize primary school English topics specialized cluster on a monthly and quarterly basis so that teachers have the opportunity to exchange and learn from their colleagues' teaching experience to help English teachers work better and better Certified by the principal Quang Thai, March 30, 2021 Teacher Pham Thi Minh 15 References Books I learn English through games 2.brain games book for kids 3.Fun activiti books for ages 7-9 4.Super safari Cambridge 20205 My Little Island level 1, 2, Fun for starter Fun for mover Fun for flyer 9.ChuChu Tv Nursery Rhymes & Kids Song 10.Dream English Kids Publisher Hong Duc 2019 Speedy Publishing LLC -2014 Pulisher Indepndently- 2019 Cambridge 2020 Pearson 2019 Cambridge 2020 Cambridge 2020 Cambridge 2020 ChuChu Tv.Youtube Dream English Kids.Youtube 16 ... speaking skills for elementary school students This is the reason why I choose the topic of initiative: "Developing English communication skills for primary school students" 1.3 Research subjects: Students. .. years of teaching English in elementary school, I find that students' English communication skills are still limited Somes students still afraid of speaking English with other students and teacher.To... These methods will help students are more active and agile in their English communication process For students of middle school and high school, it is obvious to use English in foreign language hours,