Luận văn thạc sĩ VNU ULIS an action research on using stories and drama in teaching english to primary students at quan tru primary school

Thus, the study, reported in this thesis, on using stories and drama in teaching English to primary students, especially to improve their English speaking and listening skills, was condu

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ THANH TÂM

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING STORIES AND DRAMA IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS AT QUAN

TRU PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC QUA

TRUYỆN VÀ KỊCH TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC QUÁN TRỮ

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

HANOI - 2012

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ THANH TÂM

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING STORIES AND DRAMA IN

TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS AT

QUAN TRU PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC QUA

TRUYỆN VÀ KỊCH TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC QUÁN TRỮ

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: Methodology of English Teaching Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: TÔ THỊ THU HƯƠNG, Ph.D

HANOI - 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements………

Abstract………

Table of contents………

List of charts, figures and tables………

List of abbreviations and symbols………

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………

1.1 Rationale of the research………

1.2 Aims of the research ………

1.3 Scope of the research………

1.4 Research questions………

1.5 Methodology ………

1.5.1 Action research design………

1.5.2 Participants………

1.5.3 Procedures………

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ………

2.1 Teaching English to primary school children ………

2.1.1 Typical characteristics of young learners ………

2.1.2 Models of teaching English to primary-school students………

2.2 Child development through the use of stories and drama ………

2.2.1 Cognitive development………

2.2.1.1 Reading………

2.2.1.2 Writing………

2.2.1.3 Speaking and listening………

2.2.1.4 Teaching nonverbal communication………

2.2.2 Physical development………

2.2.3 Social development………

2.2.4 Emotional development………

2.3 Typical activities in English lessons using stories and drama…………

2.3.1 Finger puppet show………

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2.3.2 Character Description ………

2.3.3 Picture Book Drawing………

2.3.4 Group Acting – Role play………

2.3.5 Letter writing………

2.3.6 Miming………

2.3.7 Teacher in role………

2.3.8 Hot seating………

2.3.9 Thought – tracking………

CHAPTER III: THE STUDY- USING STORIES AND DRAMA IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS………

3.1 Action research questions and design………

3.2 Planning stage………

3.2.1 The problem………

3.2.2 Observing a lesson that illustrated the problem………

3.2.3 Conducting a survey to get information from the students………

3.2.4 Consulting with colleagues ………

3.2.5 Drawing up a plan of action to solve the problem………

3.3 Acting stage………

3.3.1 Lesson using the story and drama "Little Red Riding Hood"…………

3.3.2 Lesson using the story and drama "Goldilocks and Three Bears"……

3.4 Observing stage………

3.5 Evaluation stage………

3.6 Summary of the main findings………

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION………

4.1 Summary of the main findings ………

4.2 Implications for teaching speaking and listening through stories and drama………

4.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research………

4.4 Conclusion………

REFERENCES APPENDICES

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LIST OF FIGURES, CHARTS AND TABLES

Figure 1: Writing through drama………

Chart 1: The lessons using stories and drama have made English easier for

you to learn………

Table 1: Evaluating students‟ speaking abilities………

Table 2 : Evaluating students‟ listening abilities………

Table 3: The reasons why the teachers do not usually use stories and drama

in their English lessons………

Table 4: The English lessons using story and drama………

Table 5: The successful changes made by the teacher………

Table 6: The Ss‟ changes after taking part in the lessons using stories and

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

% EFL LRRH

Ss

T

Percent English as a Foreign Language Little Red Riding Hood

Students Teacher

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the research

English has become a world language and is used as the medium of international communication and is the language of professional advancement It has become the number one foreign language to be taught both inside and outside the formal educational systems of many countries Nowadays, English teaching and learning in Vietnam has been developing at an unprecedented speed As a primary English teacher, the author has witnessed how English has become one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum and how Vietnamese education system appreciates the importance of English learning nowadays, especially at primary schools The National Foreign Language 2020 Project demands better English teaching and learning quality by expecting teachers to improve their language competence to train primary students However, the fact that many primary English teachers, including the author, are not trained comprehensively to teach English to such special learners with special characteristics, primary students Not only the teachers‟

low language competency but also their non-flexibility and uncreativeness in applying various teaching techniques and methods into their real teaching make a big quality gap in the current English teaching and learning Most language teachers, following a traditional, test-oriented teaching approach, often concentrate

on teaching English vocabulary, grammar, and sometimes on pronunciation, all the language elements covered in the textbooks, although there are more pleasant, practical and useful ways to introduce and practice all these textbook requirements

Stories and drama are such effective vehicles in teaching English to primary students because of their important roles in bringing about young learners‟ interests and excitement Thus, the study, reported in this thesis, on using stories and drama

in teaching English to primary students, especially to improve their English speaking and listening skills, was conducted as an effort in filling the quality gap mentioned above by finding out suitable and effective techniques in teaching

English to primary students

1.2 Aims of the research

- Finding out the attitudes of primary teachers and students towards the use of

stories and drama in English lessons

- Exploring how the use of stories and drama in teaching English can enhance

primary students‟ English speaking and listening skills

1.3 Scope of the research

Due to the limitation of time and knowledge, this thesis only focused on

using stories and drama in teaching English to third - grade students at Quan Tru Primary School in the second term of the school-year of 2011-2012

1.4 Research questions

1 What are the attitudes of Quan Tru third-grade teachers and students towards

the use of stories and drama in English lessons?

2 How can the use of stories and drama in teaching English enhance Quan Tru grade students‟ English speaking and listening skills?

third-1.5 Methodology

The methodological approach was action research using various methods for data collection The tools for data gathering include two questionnaires, one for teachers and one for students, class observation and teacher journals

1.5.1 Action research design

The action research consisted of four main stages: Planning, Acting, Observing and Evaluation stage

Stage 1: Planning:

- Identifying problem and causes of the problem: low quality of English teaching - learning due to unsuitable methods and techniques used by teachers of English at Quan Tru Primary School The unsuitable methods and techniques coupled with the wrong focus on teaching language elements for high test scores lead to students‟

low level of motivation and their underdeveloped English speaking and listening skills A video camera was used to record three third-grade English lessons, and

then an evaluation of the students‟ speaking and listening abilities was made The criteria for evaluating each student‟s speaking and listening abilities in English lessons include pronunciation, vocabulary, accuracy, fluency, communication and interaction and mentioned listening skills There are standard tasks to evaluate student‟s speaking and listening abilities in 3 English classes for third-graders

- Designing strategies for improvement (plan for action): plan lessons to try out the use of stories and dramas in English teaching to motivate Quan Tru third-grade students to learn English and to improve their English speaking and listening skills

- The results of class observation ware used to evaluate the success of the action on using stories and dramas to teach English to third-graders at Quan Tru Primary school

Stage 4: Evaluation

- A questionnaire survey was carried out to get information from students on the extent to which the use of stories and drama has helped improve their English speaking and listening skills The 4 questions in the questionnaire were designed in Vietnamese for thorough understanding and translated into English by an experience translator

- From the surveys, conclusion and commendations were made

1.5.2 Participants

The participants of the research were 80 third - grade students and 10 teachers of Quan Tru Primary School The research was carried out during the second term of the academic year 2011-2012 at Quan Tru Primary School

1.5.3 Procedures

- At the beginning of second term of the academic year 2011-2012, three grade English lessons from 3 classes with 80 students were recorded with a video camera, then an evaluation of the students‟ speaking and listening abilities (80 students) was made The criteria for evaluating each student‟s speaking and listening abilities in English lessons include pronunciation, vocabulary, accuracy, fluency, communication and interaction and listening skills There are standard tasks to evaluate student‟s speaking and listening abilities in 3 English classes for third-graders

third A consultation with 10 teachers and a student prethird tryingthird out questionnaire survey were conducted to find out the causes of students low English speaking and listening skills as well as their attitudes towards the use of stories and dramas in teaching English

- The researcher planned lessons to try out the use of stories and dramas in English teaching to motivate Quan Tru third-grade students to learn English and to improve their English speaking and listening skills

- The researcher tried out the techniques of using stories and drama in English lessons and making records of what happened in 3 classes with 80 students in her journals

- Three volunteer teachers were asked to observe lessons in the three classes after the trying-out stage that illustrated the changes in Quan Tru third-grade students‟

English speaking and listening skills;

- The results of class observation were used to evaluate the success of the action on using stories and dramas to teach English to third-graders at Quan Tru Primary school

- A post-trying-out questionnaire survey was carried out to get information from the 80 students on the extent to which the use of stories and drama has helped improve their English speaking and listening skills The 5 questions in the

questionnaire were designed in Vietnamese to ensure students understanding and truthful answers then translated into English by an experience translator

- Data from teacher/student questionnaires, class observations, and teacher journals were analyzed quantitatively for descriptive statistics and qualitatively for tendency towards the two themes represented in the two research questions

- Then writing up was made to complete the research

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE

RESEARCH

2.1 Teaching English to primary-school students

2.1.1 Typical characteristics of young learners

Young learners are physically active As Pauncz (1980) points out, it is

children‟s nature to fidget, jump, talk, and interrupt The teacher should provide activities which allow the child‟s body to be in motion However, their need to move is often ignored in the primary classroom because Vietnamese teachers often consider this a discipline problem They always expect their students to learn in nice way which means their students have to keep silent every time during the lesson If someone move, talk or interrupt, they are considered not to obey the classroom‟s rules and will be punished This happens even in foreign language classes in almost all primary schools in Vietnam As argued by Brumfit et al (1991), young learners need physical movement and activity as stimulation for their thinking, and the closer together these can be, the better Children need to use language for making or doing things By doing so, they are able to fix the linguistic input and situations in the long-term memory and strengthen recall Thus, it is necessary to take suggestion for English teachers of young learners – we should fill our lessons with physical activity, such as having students act out things , play games, or do Total Physical Response activities”

Children are also social beings and interaction with peers and adults is

crucial to their learning Contrary to traditional instruction featuring competitiveness, independent work and passive listening, cooperative learning is a matter of “sinking or swimming together.” It is “positive interdependence,”

according to Johnson et al.(1994:27), which links students together “in a way that makes it impossible for anyone to succeed unless the entire group succeeds”

Therefore, each individual in the group should actively contribute their knowledge

to the assigned task and actually get down to doing something The concrete collaborative experiences and active experimentation can then feed into the young

learners‟ transformation of abstract language concepts into their frame of reference

However, the benefits of cooperative learning cannot be reaped without deliberate efforts made by both the children and teacher Teachers may encounter difficulties

in keeping young children on-task when having them carry out cooperative work It

is imperative to take into account the need for frameworks, scaffolding, and interim goals so as to keep them engaged

The child is generally considered to be motivated to learn a second language

with less inhibition and anxiety Terrell describes, “children acquire their first language and a second language in order to identify and be a member of the group that speaks that language" and "this strong motivation for identification or assimilation forces them to attend to the input very carefully For young learners, to enjoy means to have fun,, which is an indispensable factor to enhance children‟s effective learning It is often argued that children have short attention span but Brown (2001) reminds us that only when children have to deal with material that they find boring, useless, or too difficult will short attention come into play

Fun activities motivate pupils and keep them focused while it is easy to overlook the care teachers should take “about exactly what the children are absorbed in” (Rixon, 1995, p 33) Although drama is generally considered among the range of fun activities, as far as language learning is concerned, it takes more than playful activities which merely entertain the child without language pay-off and learning benefits The teacher needs to have a thorough understanding about how drama can be a means for promoting children‟s language learning and integrate drama games and techniques into teaching with sufficient rigour

In order to teach English effectively to primary students, the teachers have to know and use suitable methods, techniques, materials and activities to suit their young learners‟ characteristics The use of stories and drama may be one of the suitable teaching methods and techniques which can develop young learners‟

characteristics and help them have better learning based on those characteristics

2.1.2 Models of teaching English to primary-school students

It is a big and very important question and should be carefully considered by all teachers and methodologists Brumfit and Moon (1991:8) point out that there is not a straightforward answer to this key question There are two main models of classroom practice:

the classical EFL practice model on the one hand and the mainstream primary practice model on the other The classical EFL practice model is characterized

by a presentation and practice model, developed largely with adults and focusing on questions of language and communication On the other hand,

mainstream primary practice “embodies a less structured conception of

language, more appropriate to the educational needs of children, which focuses on questions of curriculum content and cognitive development.” (Ellis

and Brewster, 1991:8)

2.2 Child development through the use of stories and drama in English lessons

We all know that the National Foreign Language 2020 Project demands primary students‟ comprehensive development Ellis and Brewster (1991) also have given various arguments for the impacts of stories and drama in teaching English to young learners, highlighting the benefits which accrue in terms of the child‟s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development However, the fact that many parents and English teachers just focus on the cognitive aspects of their child's development when teaching them English is clear, and other aspects of the child‟s development including physical, emotional and social development which are also vitally important to your child's growth are often overlooked In this section, the author is going to take the impact of stories and drama in consideration

on the child‟s comprehensive development

2.2.1 Cognitive development

This area of development includes language skills, creativity, discovery, symbolic thought, problem-solving skills, and reasoning Cognitive development

also involves the ability to focus and control behaviour

Firstly, it is clear that events that happen in both stories and drama are playful People may meet giants, escape from hungry lions, fall in love, get lost,

angry, hurt or even die, but everybody knows that in the story or drama this is only

„pretend‟, and that these things don‟t really happen Even very young children quickly learn to distinguish between the conventions and boundaries of stories and drama on the one hand, and real, everyday life on the other As well as being fascinating and pleasurable for children, exploring the differences between stories, drama and real life develops their potential for creativity and imagination in a similar way to when they are engaged in play

Secondly, short stories and drama allow teachers to teach the four skills to all levels of language proficiency, thus develop the child‟s cognitive aspects Drama offers an excellent opportunity for students to develop fluency in English Drama is concerned with both the product (the performance) and the process of language learning Murdoch (2002: 9) indicates that “short stories and drama can, if selected and exploited appropriately, provide quality text content which will greatly enhance ELT courses for learners at all levels of proficiency”

2.2.1.1 Reading

Short stories and drama are very useful to improve students‟ vocabulary and reading The results of Lao and Krashen‟s (2000) study which compared the reading achievement between a group of students that read literary texts and a second group that read non-literary texts revealed that the group who read literary texts made better improvement in vocabulary and reading

Young learners of a foreign language need more visual and aural assistance

in order to understand a text Byron (1986) observes that young learners in general

are “stronger at reading action, or words-embedded-in-action, than they are at reading words alone” Images, both still and moving, play an influential part in children‟s perception of meaning Acknowledging the importance of the visual in children‟s lives and the increasing use of multi-modal texts in today‟s technological world, drama makes the literary world more accessible for children because it permits them to turn the abstract written words into concrete images and to construct meaning from the text based on collective experience To Neelands (2004), “drama provides pupils with an immediate and physical means of getting to grips with texts and textual representation” Through drama, children enter a fictional world created by the writer‟s descriptions, taking on roles to be in the character‟s shoe This emotional engagement can motivate them to keep on reading and their participation in drama activities, furthermore, brings life into the written text, which is no longer dull and featureless print on paper The teacher can use many drama activities like hot-seating, thought tracking, interviews, interrogations,

development is made clear in the following figure:

Purposeful contexts created

Fictional roles engaged with

Fictional viewpoints established

Reasons for writing emerge within the imagined experience

Figure: Writing through drama (Baldwin & Fleming, 2003:21)

New writing demands tackled in role

Writing development

Different drama conventions can act as catalysts for varied forms of writing

In her article, Grainger (2004:96-103) suggests a list of drama activities which naturally generate different kinds of genres Freeze frames, for instance, lead to narrative writing Thought tracking supports writing in the reflective mode such as diary or letter writing Questions and answers in hot seating have the potential to prompt news articles or magazine interviews Formal meetings in court and public events can be turned into the raw materials for meeting minutes, official records or posters Research has shown that discussion method in a more traditional classroom

is less effective in improving children‟s writing skills Talk in the drama world, on the contrary, is an interplay of each pupil‟s background knowledge and social interactions, which can serve as oral rehearsal for writing

2.2.1.3 Speaking and listening

Besides, short stories and drama can also be a powerful and motivating

source for teaching both speaking and listening “Listening to stories helps children

become aware of the rhythm, intonation and pronunciation of language” (Ellis and

Brewster, 2002:2) Oral reading, dramatization, improvisation, role-playing, reenactment, and discussion are some effective learning activities which English classes can use for enhancing these two skills Asking students to read stories aloud can develop their speaking as well as listening skills

To develop listening skill using a short story, teachers can do the activities such as asking the learners to read the story out loud so students have the opportunity to listen to a native speaker of English or playing the story if a recording is available

Drama can also develop primary students‟ speaking and listening skills

Baldwin and Fleming (2003:18) put it clearly that “children are required by the drama to use language, which is appropriate to both role and situation, including different models of speech and registers” Corden (2000:136) argues that certain

types of teacher talk can generate “more extensive and educationally productive responses from children” He suggests that teachers should initiate through challenging, directing, inquiring, inviting, stating, suggesting, modelling, and listening Aside from that, they should provide feedback by praising, encouraging exploration, orienting, helping children to reflect, offering hypotheses, providing information, relating to own experience, relating to the child‟s experience, seeking clarification, and urging amplification

For those teachers who have applied drama into their teaching, all these strategies for encouraging exploratory talk may sound familiar because they are commonly used skills for sustaining a make-believe world Drama also draws the class together “in listening, thinking, and building the event with speculation and anticipation as they look for clues to the emerging dramatic world in which they participate” (Liu, 2002:68) Since the fictional world is constructed through mutual participation, it gives students a sense of ownership toward the activity which engages them in making verbal contribution to keep the drama going and extend its scope and depth In a well-designed dramatic situation constituted with conflicts and roles, the learners‟ need for communication tends to overcome their fear of inadequacy of language so that they are able to make the best use of the language skills they already possess (Somers, 1994:139) The above discussion clearly shows why drama is seen as a suitable way to increase opportunities for pupils‟ oracy development

2.2.1.4 Teaching nonverbal communication

Some previous researches has shown that English learners use less body language in more traditional classroom activities such as answering teacher-led questions or drill-like exercises With only two 40-minute classes each week, they often have to work under the pressure of catching up with the teaching schedule As

a result, non-verbal activities which do not seem to generate too much language tend to be excluded from the teaching plans Stories and drama can be one of the most suitable ways to help children to speak with more confidence, with better

articulation and resonance including quality and volume and learn how to use voice

to convey different emotions (inflexion, tone/pitch and intonation) Almond (2005:64) suggests that learners are able to practice the broader aspects of communication in stories and drama, such as “gesture and gesticulation, facial expression, eye contact and eye movement, posture and movement, proxemics, and prosody”, which may assist them to become a better communicator

2.2.2 Physical development

Physical development is by far the easiest area of development to measure and track It includes many aspects of health and well-being Hand-eye coordination, sensory development, control of physical actions, motor skills, dietary habits, and hygiene all figure into healthy physical development The activities of stories and drama facilitate young learners‟ body movements – they can move, jump, jog, hop or clap hands, wave hands Contrary to some other traditional lessons in which the young learners have to silently stick in their seats and listen or write, the lessons using stories and drama help the students actively learn English through a lot physical activities As a result, all these activities can promote the students‟ physical development

2.2.3 Social development

Another aspect in the child‟s development process which we need to pay attention to is social development As children learn to play in larger and larger groups, they begin to learn about appropriate behaviors within certain contexts

Learning to interact with peers and authority figures is critical to successful development as well as enabling children to function well in society

Social development leads to growth in different areas, both in and out of the home

 Developing interaction with peers and other people

 Expanding interactive environment

 Family unity, awareness and bonding

 Communication/language enhanced

The use of stories and drama can positively affect the child‟s social development

in several ways Children often work in groups or pairs when dramatizing Children have to make decisions as a group, listen to each other, and value each other‟s suggestions They have to cooperate to achieve their aims, find ways of setting their differences, and use the strength of each member of the group These things will help the students build up their team-work competency In the twenty-first century,

it is team-work competence that makes people succeed; therefore, the use of stories and drama in English lessons is considered a suitable and intelligent way to enhance the child‟s social development

2.2.4 Emotional development

While emotional development can be difficult to measure, it provides the foundation for mental health and well-being This includes feelings of happiness, feelings of power over the environment, emotional awareness, emotional strength and stability Emotional development also includes spontaneity, humor, feeling about self and sensitivity to others

Emotional development can be observed in several areas such as

 Self esteem/confidence/self motivation

various activities such as thought-tracking, puppet, drawing and so on

2.3 Typical activities in English lessons using stories and drama

2.3.1 Finger puppet

Puppets are colorful and enjoyable way to present new language in the language classroom They have their “power to hold and sustain the attention of a class” (McCaslin: 2005) and they are safe vehicles for expressing ideas and feelings Researches have shown that pupets can foster children‟s language development and our language teachers can benefit from using puppets in the classroom They are viewed as a very versatile resourse and teaching aids in the young learners‟ classroom “Children use language while making them, often respond to puppets more readily than to the teachers, and are usually enthusiastic about manipulating them The process of making a puppet is a rewarding craft activity itself and the end product, the puppet, plays a key role in a subsequent activity” (Philips:1999)

2.3.2 Character description

This activity can bring the young learners a detailed view on all the characters in the stories and drama The teachers give them a lot questions about the characters‟ physical appearances, personality, routines to make young learners brainstorm about This activity can be conducted as pre-storytelling activity

2.3.3 Picture book drawing

Picture books always attract young learners and have made good motivation

to their language learning Picture book drawing activity helps young learners represent ideas and develop their creative expressions For children with lower levels of English proficiency, drawing made it possible for them to go beyond their limited vocabulary and they can express themselves in visual ways Drawing can bring visual quality to learning and facilitate their comprehension cognitive development Wilhelm (1997) points out “the word is a symbol that evokes an icon,

or concrete image If the word doesn‟t evoke a picture, no meaning has been made”

2.3.4 Group acting

This group-work activity can assess young learners‟ performance and operation competence The children have time to act together and they will perform their working result in the ways they like This activity help young learners develop their team-work skills and linguistic skills effectively because they have to observe, listen and respond logically to conform to other learners‟ performance

co-2.3.5 Letter writing

Letter writing is a popular activity in the language classroom as it allows children to produce short, meaningful written work (Scott & Ytreberg, 1990) The students are given opportunities to write letters in different roles This activity can stimulate children‟s ability to imagine and use the target language to express what‟s

in their minds This activity can also connect their experiences that they have gained through stories and drama to their real lives

2.3.6 Miming

Mime is “the art of conveying ideas without words” (McCaslin: 2005) To represent ideas or feelings, facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements are used silently instead It is a form of visual representantion Mime challenges students to convey meaning in unusual ways without words It helps them learn about communication and in particular body language The children will feel comfortable about communicating through mime The value of incorporating non-verbal episodes such as mimes in the second language classroom has also been underscored by Kao and O‟Neill (1998) “working in mime releases students from the constraints of language In other words, mime is an alternative for learners at low competence levels to express their thoughts with their body and not in the language that they are yet comfortable with”

2.3.7 Role play – Teacher in role

Role-play is any speaking activity when you either put yourself into somebody else's shoes, or when you stay in your own shoes but put yourself into an imaginary situation The joy of role-play is that students can 'become' anyone they like for a short time such as The President, the Queen, a millionaire, a pop star

Students can also take on the opinions of someone else 'For and Against' debates can be used and the class can be split into those who are expressing views in favor and those who are against the theme

Functional language for a multitude of scenarios can be activated and practiced through role-play 'At the restaurant', 'Checking in at the airport', 'Looking for lost property' are all possible role-plays

2.3.8 Hot seating

A character is questioned by the group about his or her background, behavior and motivation The method may be used for developing a role in the drama lesson

or rehearsals, or analyzing a play post-performance Even done without preparation,

it is an excellent way of fleshing out a character Characters may be hot-seated individually, in pairs or small groups The technique is additionally useful for developing questioning skills with the rest of the group

The traditional approach is for the pupil playing the character to sit on a chair

in front of the group (arranged in a semi-circle), although characters may be seated in pairs or groups It is helpful if the teacher takes on the role of facilitator to guide the questioning in constructive directions To help students begin you can try hot-seating children in pairs or in groups

hot-2.3.9 Thought-tracking

A group makes a still image and individuals are invited to speak their thoughts or feelings aloud - just a few words This can be done by tapping each person on the shoulder or holding a cardboard 'thought-bubble' above their head

Alternatively, thought tracking (also called thought tapping) can involve other

members of the class speaking one character's thoughts aloud for them

In conclusion, the literature reviewed in this chapter on the typical characteristics of young learners, on the benefits of and typical activities for using stories and drama in teaching English has based the theoretical framework for the current study detailed in the next chapter

CHAPTER III - THE STUDY

3.1 Research questions and design

The study set out to find answers to the two following questions:

1 What are the attitudes of Quan Tru third-grade students and teachers towards the use of stories and drama in English lessons?

2 How can the use of stories and drama in teaching English enhance Quan Tru third-grade students’ English speaking and listening skills?

The methodological approach was action research using mixed methods for data collection

The action research consisted of four main stages (Planning, Acting, Observing and Evaluation) which are detailed below

3.2 Planning stage STEP 1: IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

3.2.1 The problem

The action research was carried out to solve the following problem: the

third-grade students at Quan Tru Primary School have low level of English speaking and listening skills, an evidence of the low quality of English teaching - learning due to unsuitable methods and techniques used by teachers of English at Quan Tru Primary School

3.2.2 Observing a lesson that illustrated the problem

A video camera was used to record three third-grade English lessons, evaluation of the students‟ speaking and listening abilities was made and a survey was conducted to find out the reasons that make the students have low speaking and listening skills Through the survey, the students‟ attitudes toward using stories and drama in English lessons were found out

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE EVALUATION

1 Total number of students evaluated: 80 (3 classes)

2 Textbook: Let’s learn 1

3 Evaluating the student’s English speaking abilities

The criteria for evaluating each student‟s speaking abilities in English lessons include pronunciation, vocabulary, accuracy, fluency, communication and interaction There are standard tasks to evaluate student‟s speaking abilities in 3 English classes for third-graders

Part 1 : The students have to identify people, animals and things in different

pictures by pointing in response to questions:

Where’s the cat? Where are the pencils?

Part 2 : The students have to practice placing smaller pictures in different positions

on a larger picture in response to instructions such as:

Put the hat next to the dog Put the cat between the chair and the ball

Part 3 : The students have to practice listening to and answering (with one-word

answers) simple questions about a picture

What’s this? (house) What color is it? (green)

How many pens are there? (five) What pets have you got? (cats)

Parts 4 and 5 : The students have to give basic information about themselves and

can understand and answer questions:

What’s your name?

How old are you?

Have you got any pets?

Is your house big or small?

4 Evaluating the student’s English listening abilities

The criteria of evaluating each student‟s listening abilities in English lessons include:

Part Main skill focus Input Expected response/item type

1 Listening for names and descriptions

Picture, names and dialogue

Draw lines to match names to people in a picture

2 Listening for names, spellings and other information

Form or page of notepad with missing words and dialogue

Write words or numbers in gaps

3 Listening for specific Pictures, pets and Draw lines from pets to correct

information dialogue pictures

4 Listening for specific information of various kinds

3-option choice pictures and dialogues

multiple-Tick boxes under correct pictures

5 Listening for words, colors and specific information

Picture and dialogue Carry out instructions to color

and draw or write

However, after evaluating, in almost all English classes the author observed and graded with a rubric, these criteria do not meet high expectations The following table below will show the results of pre-improment class observation

Table 1: Evaluating the students’ English speaking competence

Criteria

Meets expectation high

Meets expectation low

Slightly underperforms

Does not meet expectations

The table showed that in students‟ pronunciation, there were only 5 students (made

up about 6.25%) who meet the expectations high, 21.25% meet the expectations low, 18.75% slightly underperforms and 53.75% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ vocabulary ability, the result shows that there were 22 students (made up about 27.5%) who meet the expectations high, 16.25% meet the expectations low, 22.5 % slightly underperforms and 33.75 % do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ English fluency, the result shows that there were 14 students (made up about 17.5%) who meet the expectations high, 18.75 % meet the expectations low, 32.5 % slightly underperforms and 31.25% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ English accuracy, the result shows that there were 15 students (made up about 18.75%) who meet the expectations high, 35 % meet the expectations low, 16.25 % slightly underperforms and 30% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ English interaction abilities, the result shows that there were

16 students (made up about 20 %) who meet the expectations high, 15 % meet the expectations low, 25 % slightly underperforms and 40% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ English communication abilities, the result shows that there were 15 students (made up about 18.75%) who meet the expectations high, 22.5 % meet the expectations low, 30 % slightly underperforms and 28.75% do not meet expectations

Table 2: Evaluating the students’ English listening competence

Criteria

Meets expectation high

Meets expectation low

Slightly underperforms

Does not meet expectations Listening for names and

Evaluating the students‟ ability in listening for names, spellings and other information, the result shows that there were 7 students (made up about 27.5%) who meet the expectations high, 19 students (23.75%) meet the expectations low, 15 students (18.75 %) slightly underperforms and 39 students ( 48.75 %) do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ ability in listening for specific information , the result shows that there were 3 students (made up 3.75%) who meet the expectations high,

11 students (13.75%) meet the expectations low, 15 students (18.75 %) slightly underperforms and 51 students ( 63.75 %) do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ ability in listening for specific information of various kinds , the result shows that there were 5 students (made up 6.25%) who meet the expectations high, 13 students (16.25%) meet the expectations low, 13 students (16.25 %) slightly underperforms and 49 students ( 61.25%) do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students‟ ability in listening for words, colours and specific information, the result shows that there were 5 students (made up 6.25%) who meet the expectations high, 12 students (15%) meet the expectations low, 18 students (22.5 %) slightly underperforms and 45 students ( 56.25%) do not meet expectations

After observing and evaluating, it can be seen that almost these criteria does not meet high expectations Therefore, in the next step, the author conduct a survey

to find out the initial causes of the students‟ low speaking and listening abilities

STEP 2: FINDING CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM

3.2.3 Conducting a survey to get information from students

80 students were asked to give their answers to the 4 questions (in Vietnamese then translated into English by the researcher) and then handed their papers to the

research for analysis (see APPENDIX 2) These were the results of the survey:

a Are the dialogues in the textbook too difficult or too easy; boring or interesting?

45 students (≈ 56.25 %) thought that the dialogues are boring to practice speaking and listening, 12 students (≈ 15 %) liked the dialogues in their textbook and

23 students (≈28.75 %) find the dialogues too difficult or too easy to practice speaking and listening

b Are you afraid of speaking in front of the class?If not, why?

71 students (= 88.75%) are afraid of speaking in front of the class, while 9 students (11.25%) are not afraid of this performance

Many reasons why they are afraid of speaking in front of the class are given by the students, including the teachers‟ behavior (41.25%), being afraid of making mistakes (63.75%), no chances to speak in English ( 31.25%) and boring dialogues to practice(83.75%)

c Do you like learning English through stories and drama ?

Most of students (72 students ≈ 90% ) like learning stories and drama in English lessons while the rest of the students (8 students ≈ 10%) do not like learning stories and drama in English lessons

d What stories do you like?

Many stories are given as the students‟ choices The most favorite stories the students like learning are Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks And Three Bears, Snow White, Cinderella, Aladin,

With the results of the survey, the author have identified the problem that almost third-grade students have is because of less opportunities to communicate in English ;besides, they are afraid of speaking and listening in English due to the fear

of making mistakes and boring content of the textbook As a result, they have a low level of speaking and listening competence

STEP 3: DESIGNING STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT

3.2.4 Consulting with colleagues

In order to get more professional advice, suggestions and ideas about the problem of “Low speaking and listening abilities of third-grade students” are consulted with ten English teachers who have had a lot of experiences in teaching English to primary students The following questions were chosen for my colleagues

to answer on a piece of paper (see APPENDIX 1)

a Do you usually use stories and drama in teaching English to primary students?

Why or Why not?

All of the teachers (100 %) do not usually use stories and drama in teaching English to their primary students The reasons they give are shown in the following table Each teacher can have more than one answer

Table 3: The reasons why the teachers do not usually use stories and drama in

their English lessons

Numbers Percentages (%)

They do not know how to use stories and drama in teaching English effectively

The rest of them (20%) have no ideas on this

c What do you think should be done to solve this problem?

8 teachers give the following solutions to solve this problem:

1 Teachers should choose interesting topics

2 Teachers should make a good atmosphere in the class

3 Teachers should not interrupt students to correct his or her pronunciation mistakes because this made them unable to continue to speak any more

4 Teachers should prepare the lessons carefully, especially the worksheets in which the students do their tasks Teachers should try to make these worksheets interesting enough to attract the students

The other two teachers wrote that they still did not find any effective ways to enhance their students‟ speaking and listening skills

3.2.5 Drawing a plan of action to solve the problem

From the comments, ideas and suggestions from my students, my colleagues, professional books or journals and my own teaching experience I designed the following strategies to improve the problem:

1 Choosing suitable and interesting stories to use in English lessons

2 Apply activities using stories and dramas to motivate the students to speak and listen

3 Changing the classroom‟s atmosphere in a positive way

4 Letting the students choose the group they want to join and asking the group leader to encourage all of his/her members to participate the performing activities in groups

5 Paying more attention to less – confident, shy or quiet students and encouraging them to speak

6 Avoiding interrupting students for correcting mistakes when they are performing

7 Preparing interesting speaking and listening worksheets to attract the students

3.3 Acting stage

STEP 4: TRYING OUT STRATEGIES AND TEACHER’S JOURNALS ON

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CLASS

The new strategies and changes were tried out in sixteen lessons All of the changes and improvements after each lesson were made notes on by the teacher in the journal

3.3.1 Lesson using the story and drama “Little Red Riding Hood”

* AIMS: By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to obtain the new words

of animals living in the forest and improve speaking skill

* MATERIALS: Flash cards with animals, animal word cards, big sheet of paper,

pictures of animals, picture dictionaries and speech bubbles

* ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS: the pupils could feel less comfortable in role play

activities

1 Warm up

- Teacher in role: T wears a red cloak and brings a basket of biscuit

T asks the Ss to guess „WHO AM I?‟

2 Pre-Speaking

* 1st step

- Divide the pupils into three groups

- Motivation: Show the children a big sheet of paper stuck on the wall and let them guess the reason why it is on the wall Each group makes their own guesses

- Piece by piece draw forest trees and let the children guess again what it is (forest)

- Then ask the pupils to show their pictures of forest animals and stick them on the paper together with the children

- Let the children find in dictionaries the names of animals which they do not know and write them on the board as they say them

Forest (n): drawing, poster

Flower (n): miming, pictures Pick up (v): miming

- After listening the story and seeing it on the PowerPoint screen, check the guesses

in pre-speaking part with children

3 Speaking

- T gives each student a mini pocket of the story (see APPENDIX 7 )

- Stick speech bubbles on the board and practice saying them with all children