Prospective methods of teaching speaking skills to young learners of english

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: PROSPECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL TO YOUNG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH In terms of the s

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG PHÚC

PROSPECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING

SPEAKING SKILLS TO YOUNG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF TESOL

SUPERVISOR

ĐOÀN HUỆ DUNG, Ph.D

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

PROSPECTIVE METHODS OF TEACHING

SPEAKING SKILL TO YOUNG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses and Field Study in Master’s Programmes issued by the Higher Degree Committee

HCM City 13th March, 2006

Nguyeãn Thò Hoàng Phuùc

RETENTION AND USE OF THESIS

I hereby state that I, NGUYEÃN THÒ HOÀNG PHUÙC, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating the retention

In terms of the conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purpose of study and research, in accordance, with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

HCM City 13th , 2006

Nguyeãn Thò Hoàng Phuùc

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish first of all to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Ms

Đoàn Huệ Dung, Ph.D., Dean of Foreign Language Faculty of UAF, for her precious

guidance during the writing of this report

My sincere thanks go to Mr Nguyễn Thế Bảo, Ph.D., the vice principal of

VATC, for his permission to carry out the study at his school

I am indebted to my colleagues at VATC who helped me collect data and information

I would like to thank Mr Đặng Ngọc Dũng Tiến for his useful advice and

suggestions

Last but not least, my warmest thanks to my husband, Mr Vương Khánh Quân

who always shared my work and encouraged me to fulfil this study

ABSTRACT

Nowadays English, an international language, no doubt, has been in common use throughout Vietnam English has been taught as a required subject in most high schools, colleges or universities in Vietnam It is also required in many companies and considered as a prerequisite to get a good job That is the reason why people, both young and adult learners, learn English for their intended purposes

This study aims to analyze factors affecting the Starter 4 students’ process of learning oral English and tries to find out their characteristics interests, motivations and difficulties At the same time, teaching needs, teachers’ problems, their methods are also investigated

The results show the important role of games and songs in motivating young learners Students are eager to answer the teacher’s questions, to play roles or describe pictures They enjoy getting compliments, high marks or stickers for their good performance For teachers, they face the lack of teaching aids, students’ short concentration span and their hyperactivity

The thesis suggests that teachers should prepare a relevant language input for children before an oral activity Repetition activities should be enhanced because of its necessity for developing a feel for the language The mother tongue language use should be limited to the minimum It is the teacher that helps students develop helpful characteristics and a love for learning English Most of all, the teacher has to recognize and cater for individual differences

2.3 Characteristics of young learners of seconds language 10

2.4 Factors influencing the learning of spoken English of

2.7 The role of games and songs in learning and teaching

speaking skill of English to young learners 17

CHAPTER III: OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT TEACHING

3.2 The characteristics of the young learners at VATC 21

4.3.2 Interviews with students 61

5.1 Findings and discussion from questionnaires to students 65

CHAPTER VI: SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING

SPEAKING SKILL TO YOUNG LEARNERS

APPENDIX

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2 The courses Starter 4 students took 33

Figure 4 The languages students use to speak to their local teachers

Figure 5 The students’ personal contacts with foreign teachers outside 35

classroom Figure 6 How often students use English to speak to their friends in class 36

Figure 7 Learning strategies students use in learning to speak English 37

Figure 10 Students’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivations 40

Figure 18 The teacher’s use of the mother tongue language in classroom 49

Figure 19 The teacher’ s use of English and Vietnamese in classroom 50

Figure 20 The present teaching methods of English speaking skill to

Figure 22 Students’ difficulties in learning oral English 52

Figure 24 The teacher’ skills to increase students’ motivations 54 Figure 25 The teacher’s ways to attract students’ attention 54 Figure 26 The teacher’s ways of helping under average students 55 Figure 27 The teacher’s strategies in managing the class 56 Figure 28 The teacher’s strategies in teaching oral English 57

Figure 31 Learning facilities students enjoy learning with 59

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The teaching of English to young learners has become important in recent years

in Vietnam One of the reasons for this is to provide students with the maximum

learning time for this important language – the earlier they start, the more effective

learners they will become However, relatively few studies have been done in this

field Personally, through my experience in teaching English to children, I have found

that working with children continually brings me surprises and fun and offers new

perspectives as well as challenges Thus, this topic is selected for these reasons

1.2 Statement of purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze factors affecting the way young learners

of Starter 4 level learn to speak English From the findings, the thesis may suggest

some prospective methods for the teaching of English speaking skills to Starter 4

students

1.3 Significance of the study

Enhancement in English speaking proficiency for Starter 4 learners is what this

research is all about because of the importance of speaking skill at this level At

VATC, very young learners ( about between 5 to 7) familiarize themselves with

English through Kitty or Micky programs At this level, they experience English rather

than learn it Therefore, Starter level is considered the formal beginning level at

VATC Among the four courses (Starter 1, 2, 3, 4) students are supposed to finish to get Starter certificate, Starter 4 level is the most important The course objectives are

to help students reinforce what they have learned in the first three courses and to prepare them for the Cambridge Test of Starter level Speaking skill is one of the four skills students are supposed to develop to be qualified Moreover, children who get a good command of spoken English at their early age have more opportunities to get off

to a good start for life long learning process

In addition, the process of global integration will work out well via English language, an indispensable medium in this case Thus, to come up with new ideas of English teaching methods for young learners is the teacher’s never – ending duty in hopes of helping them acquire the language

1.4 Scope of the study

This study will confine itself to doing a survey, interviewing and observing the young learners of Starter 4 level and teachers who are teaching the students of this level at Vietnamese American Training College (VATC)

1.5 Research design

The research design will be a mix – methodology design which means the use

of a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches through the study

The quantitative approaches are carried out through the questionnaires to teachers and students and statistical analysis The questionnaire to students aims to

find out affecting factors, the interests and motivations of Starter 4 students The purpose of the questionnaire to teachers is to investigate present teaching methods, teachers’ difficulties, and their skills and strategies in teaching speaking skills to Starter 4 students

The qualitative research used in this report is in the forms of interviews and observation to consolidate the data from quantitative research

1.6 Research questions

a What are the Starter 4 students’ motivations and interests in the process

of learning to speak English at VATC?

b What are the main teaching methods for the development of speaking skill to Starter 4 students used at VATC?

c What should be improved?

1.7 Definition of terms

• Young learner : the learners in this report are those between seven and

twelve year of age, who are undertaking Starter 4 level

• Target language: the language which a person is learning, in contrast to a first

language or mother tongue (Richard, Platt, J., Platt, H.,

1993:337)

• Motivation: in language learning, the psychological factors determining

the amount of effort a learner is prepared to put into

language learning (Nunan, 1999:311)

• Extrinsic motivation: motivation which derives from the influence of some kind

of external incentive (Ur, 1996:277)

• Intrinsic motivation: the generalized desire to invest effort in the learning for

its own shake (Ur, 1996:280)

• Language input: language which a learner hears or receives and from which

he or she can learn (Richard, Platt, J., Platt, H.,

1993:182)

• Unstructured interview: interview involves direct interaction between the

researcher and a respondent or group The interviewer is freer to move the conversation in any direction of interest

that may come up (Trochim, 2001:161)

• Direct observation: the researcher is observing certain sampled situation or

people rather than trying to become immersed in the entire

context (Trochim, 2001:161)

1.8 The organization of the thesis

This thesis consists of 6 chapters:

• Chapter one, the introduction, offers a brief look at background, statement of purpose, significance of the study, scope of the study Research questions, research design and definition of terms are also in this part

• Chapter two provides an overview of the relevant literature review involving

in language acquisition, nature of speaking, young learners’ characteristics, affecting factors, common problems with speaking activities in children class

This chapter also discusses the role of the teacher, games and songs in teaching English speaking skill to young learners

• Chapter three presents an overview of the present teaching methodologies at VATC It focuses on teaching staff, Starter 4 students’ characteristics, course description, unit outline and present teaching methods

• Chapter four is about the methodology performed in the study involving data collection from students and teachers and data analysis

• Chapter five deals with the findings and discussions

• Chapter six consists of suggestions based on the findings and the final conclusion

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Language acquisition

2.1.1 First language acquisition

“Language acquisition is a subconscious process; language acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication The result of language acquisition, acquired competence, is also subconscious”

(Krashen, 1987: 4)

This point of view seems right in the case that children acquire their first language When children can babble, they have no knowledge of language at all What they say is just the imitation of the language provided by the people around them That

is the reason why B F Skinner (Littlewood, 1984: 5) claims that language is not a

mental phenomenon: it is behavior According to him, language is learnt by a process

of habit – formation in which the main components are imitation, reinforcement,

repetition and being conditioned However, Noam Chomsky (Littlewood, 1984: 5)

shows some inadequacies of the behaviorist approach and holds that “ language is not merely “verbal behavior” Underlying the actual behaviors that we observe, there is a complex system of rules that enable speakers to create and understand an infinite number of sentences, most of which they have never encountered before The knowledge of these rules is our “linguistic competence”

Although habit – formation process is proved to be insufficient to explain first

language acquisition, Liitlewood (1984: 15) insists that this does mean that it do not

play any role at all

2.1.2 Second language acquisition

Is the first language acquisition similar to the second language acquisition? How does the first language acquisition influence and help the second language acquisition? These questions have always been the great concerns of linguistic researchers

Littlewood’s idea (1984:17) is that from the behaviorist perspective, when first

language habits are helpful to acquiring second language habits, this is positive

transfer and when the first language habits hinder the learner in learning the new one:

this is a case of negative transfer, or in other words, interference The difference

between the two languages leads to interference, which is the cause of learning difficulties and errors He also recommends using intensive techniques such as repetition or drills in order to overcome the interference and establish the necessary new habits

Krashen (1987: 10) shows his idea about two independent ways of developing

competence in a second language The first way is language acquisition, a process similar to the way children develop ability in their first language The second way is language learning referring to conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, being aware of them and being able to talk about them

Among many hypothesis, Krashen (1984) considers the Input Hypothesis as

“the single most important concept in second language acquisition today It is important because it attempts to answer the crucial theoretical question of how we

acquire language” From this perspective, the best way and perhaps the only way, to teach speaking is simply to provide comprehensive input

The silent period and L1 influence serve as an evidence in support of input hypothesis: “The explanation of the silent period in term of the input hypothesis is straight- forward – the child is building up competence in the second language via listening, by understanding the language around him In accordance with the input hypothesis, speaking ability emerges on its own after enough competence has been

developed by listening and understanding” (Krashen, 1984: 27)

In the relation to Input Hypothesis, Newmark (1966, cited in Krashen 1984:

27) noticed that performers who are asked to produce before they are “ready” will fall back on first language rules, that is, they will use synthetic rules of their first language

while speaking the second language Sharing the same point of view, Reilly and Ward

(1997:7) think that young children need a long time absorbing language before they actually produce something, so it is not a good idea to try to force them to speak in the target language as this can create a lot of emotional stress

In shorts, Krashen (1984: 29) emphasizes the view that the real language

acquisition can happen only when the acquirer obtains comprehensible input

2.2 Nature of speaking

The problem that many learners of English face is their lack of self- confidence

in expressing their feelings and thinking although they put much time in it Educators, researchers and teachers all admit that it has become a current problem Vietnamese learners of all levels get into hot water for A person who is almost powerless in speaking the language he has been learning, no doubt, is a let-down

Speaking skill is difficult for most learners because “ we do not merely know to assemble sentences in the abstract: we have to produce them and adapt them to the circumstances This means making decisions rapidly, implementing them smoothly,

adjusting our conversation as unexpected problems appear in our paths” (Bygate,

1987: 3)

From this point of view, it is understood that when speaking another language, the mind of speaker has to work a lot It has to process a lot of things at the same time Just one of things in this process gets stuck such as the lack of vocabulary or being not able to find right structures or ideas, the speaking activity will not go smoothly

Moreover, Nunan (1999: 226) insists that linguistic competence such as

knowing how to articulate sounds in a comprehensive manner, adequate vocabulary, master of syntax is necessary but not sufficient for someone who wants to communicate competently in another language What a good speaker needs is the

communicative competence including linguistic competence and a range of their

sociolinguistic and conversational skills that enable the speaker to know how to say

what to whom, when (Nunan, 1999: 226)

However, teaching children to speak a foreign language is quite much different

from the adult learners Phillips (1993) thinks that it is a rewarding work as children

are less self – conscious than older learners He points out that children love to have little conversations, sing song, and learn short phrases, and it is easier for them to attain native – like pronunciation

2.3 Characteristics of young learners of second language

The learners’ variation depends on age differences What difference does age make to language learning? Looking for the answer for this question is necessary because age is a very important factor causing different characteristics among learners If the teachers know the characteristics of their learners, they can apply proper and effective methods in teaching a language Obviously, the characteristics of young learners of second language is different from those of adult learners

Admittedly, children have a shorter concentration span than adult learners while

they need to get the teacher ‘s individual attention as much as possible (Reilly and

Ward, 1997: 6) Penny Ur (1996: 288) says that teachers commonly notice that they

meet difficulty getting children to concentrate long on a certain learning activity, except activities that really interest them However, the advantage is that children are easily motivated Their motivations and enthusiasm are likely to be raised thanks to the teacher’s good choice of activities and strategies On the other hand, they also lose their interests more quickly and are less able to keep themselves motivated on task

they find difficult or boring (Cameron, 2001)

Christopher Brumfit (1991) lists some of the characteristics which young

learners share According to him, their strong point is the tendency to be keen and enthusiastic learners without the inhibitions which older children sometimes bring to their schooling Besides, their learning can be closely linked with their development

of ideas and concepts, because it is so close to their initial experience of formal

schooling Reilly and Ward (1997) also agree that children are less inhibited ,not

afraid to be imaginative, curious about everything, keen on learning and very receptive

Since children learners are too young to understand abstract concepts such as grammatical rules, at this stage they learn through direct experience via the five

senses That is the reason why Reilly and Ward (1997) stress on Total Physical

Response (TPR) This means getting the children to actually do or mime what the

teacher are talking about Hicks and Littlejohn (2005) consider TPR very important:

“Physical movement is very important for children Children need to move It’s through physical movement and contact that they develop a fuller experience of the world Physical movement is therefore an important part of the way they learn.”

Sharing the same point of view, Brumfit (1991) says that to most young learners, they

need physical movement and activity as much as stimulation for their thinking Thus,

it is necessary for the teachers to use TPR in teaching young learners Getting the children to follow instructions in a game, asking them to sit down, to go to the board, open the window… are the simple ways of using TPR The children can be asked to repeat a song, rhyme, or mime actions, or act out a role – play

2.4 Factors influencing the learning of spoken English of young

learners

The fact that some learners are more successful than others has aroused the curiosity of linguistic researchers Not only linguistic factors but also non – linguistic ones influence the language learning process The non-linguistic factors which are not able to be measured exactly are a matter of opinion

Krashen (1987: 31) emphasizes the affective factors which he believes they

relate to the second language acquisition process In the process of learning a new

language, Scott and Ytreberg (1990) think that much seems to depend on which

mother tongue the pupils speak and on social and emotional factors in the child’s background The affective factors include motivation, self confidence and anxiety He notices the performers with high motivation generally do better in second language

acquisition Littlewood (1984:53) shares the same point of view: “Motivation is the

crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks on the task at all, how much

he devotes to it how long he perseveres” He tends to divide factors into internal and

external ones Motivation results from an interplay between internal and external factors

One of the external factors is learning environment where learners feel anxious

or insecure, there are likely to be psychological barriers to communication,

(Littlewood, 1984) Krashen (1987: 31) holds the same idea that low anxiety appears

to be conductive to second language acquisition, whether measures as personal or

classroom anxiety Among six functions of the classroom setting, Weistein, and

Mignano (2000) put “security and shelter” first “Security” here means both physical

and psychological security On this point of view, Scott and Ytreberg (1990) say that

once children feel secure and content in the classroom, they are encouraged to become independent and adventurous in the learning of the language

About the second external factors, according to Littlewood (1984:58), “it seems

probable that the nature of the speech addressed to second language learners is an important factor in influencing how well they learn The input received by the children

is comprehensible, relevant to their immediate interest, and not too complex but not

strictly graded, either.” According to Littlewood (1984: 60), children are more

successful than adults in natural learning situations because their minds are simpler

and more oriented towards the here and now They are exposed to speech which is likewise simpler, more related to concrete matters, therefore more comprehensible

On the part of internal factors, Littlewood (1984: 62) think that intelligence and

language aptitude account for success in second language learning Language aptitude

is the ability to identify and remember sounds, memorize words, recognize how words function grammatically in sentences and the ability to induce grammatical rules from language example

As with intelligence and language aptitude, the personality and age of learners are also considered as factors influencing second language learning People with outgoing personality may enjoy certain advantages For example, they may become involved in more social interaction, attract more attention from their teachers, and less inhibited when asked to display their proficiency They may perform more confidently

in communication situations, whichever language they are using (Littlewood, 1984:

65)

There is also an assumption about age and language learning that younger children learn language better than older ones and children learn better than adults,

(Ur, 1996) To support this assumption, Klein and Dittmar (1979, cited from

Littlewood, 1984) provides concrete evidence to prove the younger a person is an

arrival in the new country, the more proficient he or she is likely to become in the language However, this assumption has been criticized Some researchers have studied situations where the opportunities for learning are similar for learners of different ages, older learner seem to learn more efficiently So the conclusion is that children learn better because they have better learning conditions than older learners: more time, attention, communicative need, opportunities for use and so on Efficiency

in second language learning increases with age and, and that young learners are

superior only in acquiring pronunciation skill (Littlewood, 1984: 66)

One more important factor making learning process more effective is active learning strategies That means learners themselves have to involve in learning actively “They may repeat silently to themselves the sounds they hear from the teacher or other students When the teacher puts a question to another students, they often think out their own answer and compare it with the answer accepted by the teacher When learning or producing dialogues, they make efforts to identify with their foreign language roles, and pay attention to the meaning of the language they are using They are likely to take opportunities to discuss the lesson material with other students Outside the classroom, they exploit every opportunity to use the language as

a means of communication, for example, by seeking personal contacts, listening to the

radio, or reading newspapers” (Littlewood, 1984: 67)

2.5 Common problems with speaking activities in children class

As mentioned above in 2.3, children have short concentration, they are easily demotivated with monotonous activities or difficult tasks Therefore the teachers are supposed to brainstorm to design suitable speaking activities for them The teachers’

efforts are made to find different ways to attract the students Vale and Feunteun

(1995) claim that a child needs a change of pace and a flexible variety of activities within a lesson

The other side of the problem is how to calm them down when they are over excited For the children of this age, they are very active and some are hyperactive Sometimes, some students do not want to keep the rules and distract other students In

this case, the teachers’ activities and strategies are necessary to settle them

(Halliwell,1992) This means the teacher must find ways of gaining students’ cooperation to achieve order in the classroom (Weinstein, 2000) From the views of

Doyle (1986, cited in Weinstein 2000) and Clark, 1989, cited in Weinstein, 2000),

we conclude that classroom order is like conversation: it can only be achieved if both parties agree to participate If students are resistant, classroom events turn into a series

of a hostile showdowns, and teaching becomes “a contest of wills”

Phillips (1993) shows a common problem in monolingual classes is that the

children lapse into their own language, often through frustration at not having the English to do the task The teachers are supposed to choose the tasks that are within their capabilities and make very clear when they can or cannot speak their own language

It seems to us that children learn a new language very easily and naturally In fact, they learn easily but forget quickly It’s very necessary for the teacher to review

the lessons again and again Reilly and Ward (1997) agree with this point by saying

that although children might seem to have no trouble understanding and using the language presented , this does not mean that they have learned it Only repeated exposure and recycling over many lessons will ensure that they are able to use the language independently

One more point is that if the teachers follow the course book, they save a lot of preparation time but this carries the danger of encouraging a mechanical learning

situation ( Vale and Feunteun, 1995) Design activities motivating the children takes

time to prepare and in class the teachers need a lot of time to carry out their activities

while the schedule is time limited As a result, they are at the risk of being behind the schedule It ‘s also a pressure the teachers have to face

2.6 The role of the teacher in the speaking class of young learners

With the young learners’ different characteristics and learning styles, the teachers’ duty is heavier and more challenging At the same time they have to perform many roles: organizer, controller, assessor, monitor as well as prompter and tutor

As we have a look at some common problems with speaking activities The teachers make it their business to help their students overcome their problems To

increase students talking time, Ur (1996) suggests using group work and basing the

activities on easy language so that students have more chances to speak the target language and they can speak it fluently with the minimum of hesitation Besides, he appreciates making a careful choice of topics and tasks to stimulate students’ interests The clearer the purpose of the discussion is, the more motivated participants will be Furthermore, to keep students speaking the target language most of the time, teachers

have to remind them and model the language use himself, Ur (1996, 121)

Due to the wide diversity of children characteristics mentioned above, teachers must know which activities “stir” the class and which “settle” them “Stir” here means the activities which make them up, stimulate them And if the activities over – excite them or allow them to become unconstructively restless, there are other activities to

calm the class down (Halliwell, 1992:20)

One of the very typical characteristics of young learners is that “they need

physical movement and activities as much as stimulation for their thinking” Brumfit

(1991: v), so the teacher has to know which activities engage children’s minds and

which keep them physically occupied (Halliwell,1992: 21)

Halliwell (1992) encourages teachers to vary their lessons but they should keep

the lessons simple because children are too young to understand something

complicated and concentrate long on the lesson Scott and Ytreberg (1990) also

suggest keeping your language simple but natural and keeping it at their level

The very first characteristic of children is active, sometimes, hyperactive When the teachers set the rules and the routines, it does not mean that they will follow them automatically and immediately It is important for teachers to keep in their minds

the need of gaining the students ‘s cooperation Weinstein (2000) considers four

approaches the teachers are advised to apply in their teaching These approaches are establishing a positive relationship with students, fostering students’ motivation to learn, sharing responsibilities with students, and using of rewards to encourage and reinforce appropriate behavior

2.7 The role of games and songs in learning and teaching speaking

skill of English to young learners

All children naturally love playing games, just for fun but teachers use games for their own purposes Experienced teachers know how to take advantages of the point that games can be motivating to increase students’ motivations Sharing the

same idea, Brumfit (1991: 142) says: “Children play and children want to play

Children learn through playing In playing together, children interact and in interacting they develop language skills Games provide contexts for play, reasons for playing and

routines for playing” Hicks and Littlejonhn (2005:73) state their idea :“Games are

an active and enjoyable way for children to use new language and build up confidence It is important that any games you use really do involve using language, and that the time you spend on the games benefits all the children” This means not all games are helpful Teachers are recommended to choose games that serve their

purposes and keep everybody involve Hicks and Littlejohn (2005), for example,

suggested avoiding games which gradually eliminate children from the games

Although teachers use games to motivate students and encourage them to speak English, they should not forget that “one of the most important reasons for using games is simply that they are immensely enjoyable for both teachers and students”

(Hadfield, 1999: 10)

Besides games, music motivates young learners too People listen to music for pleasure Children need happy and relaxing atmosphere in the classroom Music meets that demand More than that, music can be helpful in language learning, especially for children “Teachers have for a long time recognized that they can use songs to motivate students and provide variety in a lesson Variety is especially important for younger students, who often have little internal motivation for entering a language

classroom” (Hancock, 1998:7) “The way words are much more memorable in combination with rhythm and melody” (Hancock, 1998: 7) can help young students a lot in vocabulary, pronunciation and new structures Hicks and Littlejohn (2005:77)

agree on this point of view: “Song and chants give the children more listening practice

as well as help them practice new structures and vocabulary in a memorable and

meaningful context” Scott and Ytrebert (1990) recommend letting children play with the language by making up rhymes, singing song and telling stories Tim Murphey

(1992) thinks that songs appear to precede and aid the development of language in

young children because songs may strongly activate the repetition mechanism of the language acquisition device

“Most importantly, songs are relaxing They provide variety and fun, and

encourage harmony within oneself and within a group” (Murphey, 1992: 8) This is

very necessary in language learning

2.8 Summary

This chapter offers a look at some matters of learning oral English of young learners It is necessary for children to acquire relevant comprehensible input before they start to speak the language Due to their childish characteristics, children gain some advantages in learning a new language They speak the target language without inhibition because they are very imaginative, curious, receptive and keen on learning

On the other hand, they have short concentration span, easily forget their lessons and lose their motivations

Some of factors influencing the ways children learn oral English are considered Along with internal factors such as intelligence and language aptitude, personality and age account for success in learning a second language Besides, external factors and affective ones also play important roles Active learning strategies make the learning process more active

Above all, the role of the teacher is the most essential in the learning and teaching process The good teacher not only knows how to stimulate the children but also helps them overcome their shortcomings and nourish a love for English

CHAPTER IIIOVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT TEACHING AND

LEARNING AT VATC

3.1 Teaching staff

The staff are composed of both local and native English teachers Most of the teachers here are devoted and selected on the basis of having good pronunciation and

at least 5 years of experience in teaching English

Children attend two classes a week, on Saturday and Sunday The students are taught in rotation by the local and foreign teachers At Starter 4 level, native English teachers manage themselves to make students understand lessons without the help of teacher assistants The native teachers are supposed to help students with the standard

of native pronunciation, and to form the habit of listening and speaking the target language without the use of their mother tongue language

Besides covering listening and speaking skills, the local teachers’ work includes checking vocabulary and familiarizing students with format tests for the Cambridge test In the speaking test, Starter 4 students are required to describe a given picture This activity is somewhat demanding for the students, therefore, enabling students with this skill is the local teachers’ duty

3.2 The characteristics of the Starter 4 students at VATC

Most children here come from well-to- do families They are very active and even hyperactive Most of them are keen on learning English and have good conditions to learn English However, they are only eager to learn if the lessons are interesting

Students’ ages of this level range from 7 to 10 years old Many of them have studied at VATC since they started learning English They are intelligent and very curious They often question the teacher about everything They are confident and like speaking English They especially enjoy playing games, singing songs, playing roles They learn quickly, but forget their lessons quickly too Their problem in speaking is vocabulary Lacking vocabulary results in their difficulty in expressing themselves

3.3 Course description

This 15 - week course is intended to help children reinforce what they learned

in Starter 3 and to familiarize children with the Cambridge Test format and prepare them for Cambridge Starter Examination In this course, children will go over the language areas they have learned at Starter 3 and further improve their skills ( speaking, reading, writing and listening) and subskills needed for the Cambridge Examination This serves to build up their confidence and thus ensures their success in the Cambridge examination, which, in turn, will motivate them for the life- long language learning process

Upon finishing this course, if learners meet all the requirements of the course and achieve most of the objectives of the lessons, learners should be able to

ƒ Say the alphabet and greet

ƒ Ask and tell names, age, introduce themselves

ƒ Make question with “be” and give short answers

ƒ Identify some common classroom items, objects in a town, some food, colors, animals, body parts, and days of the week

ƒ Ask and answer some basic question about family members, school subjects, professions, possession, time and leisure activities

ƒ Count from 1 - 20

ƒ Use some basic verbs and adjectives

ƒ Express quantity by using “ there is”, “there are”

ƒ Express ability/inability with “can” and “can’t”

ƒ Express likes and dislikes and desire for food, clothes, color or animals

ƒ Be ready for Cambridge Starters Examination

3.4 Unit outline

The required textbooks for this course include American Primary Color 2

(Student Book +Activity Book) and a Sample Test Book Beside, supplementary

material is from Teacher’s Book and of teachers’ choice

_ Identify common classroom objects: “It is a pen”

_ Recognize objects in a town: “It’s a park; it’s a car.”

2 Unit 1: Hello, Kip!

4 REVIEW

¾ HW correction (if any)

¾ Picture Dictionary 1 (AB pp 26, sticker 2)

_ Identify some basic verbs: “hop, jump, clap…”

_ Ask and answer about age: “How old is she? She’s six.”

_ Count from 10 - 15 _ Identify possessive adjectives for recognition: “It’s his birthday, she’s our teacher.”

11

Unit 4: Hello, Tom!

SB pp 36 - 37

_ Express ability: “I can climb, I can yell.”

_ Review name of animals: “a dog, a horse, a cow…” _ Identify farm animals: “a duck, a hen, a chick…”

12 Mid-term Test correction

Unit 4: Hello, Tom

15 Unit 5: Hello, Ben!

_ Identify days of the week: “Monday, Tuesday…”

_ Practice present simple for routines: “I do home by bus After school, I play soccer.”

_ Identify some more food and drinks: “apples, oranges, cheese….”

22 (Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing)

Note: SB: Student Book, AB: Activity Book, TB: Teacher Book, HW: Homework

3.5 The present teaching methods of English speaking skills to

Starter 4 students at VATC

At VATC, Starter 4 students learn to speak English through many activities Games and songs are used to motivate students and offer them a relaxing atmosphere

In repetition activities, students repeat after either the teacher or the tape To give students more chances to speak English, teachers ask them to answer questions, role play or describe pictures Sometimes, teachers ask students to discuss in groups

CHAPTER IV METHODOLOGY

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

In chapter II, the literature review recognizes some theories involved in the teaching of English speaking skills to young learners In the light of the literature, this chapter will aim to investigate and analyze the factors affecting the way young learners of Starter 4 level learn to speak English Investigation uses questionnaires to both students and teachers, unstructured interviews with students and their parents, direct observation and experience of the writer

4.1.2 Questionnaires

The questionnaires were designed from the synthesis of a literature review and the overview of the real situation of teaching and learning at VATC There were two

kinds of questionnaire: one for students and one for teachers Since Vietnamese and foreign teachers work independently, this survey was conducted within Vietnamese teachers only 30 teachers who had experience in teaching Starter 4 students were invited to answer the questionnaire

Both of the questionnaires to teachers and students were prepared in Vietnamese because of a variety of reasons For the students, their English is not developed sufficiently to understand and answer all the questions in English The questionnaire was designed in the form of multiple choice in Vietnamese so that they could give out their information relevantly and accurately For the teachers, to avoid using too much of their time, the quickest way was to read and answer in Vietnamese Lastly, the purpose of the questionnaires is to ensure obtaining enough relevant information So English is not the problem concerned, providing that it helps achieve the purpose

and for confirming the students’ information The questionnaires to teachers were given directly to them and the papers were collected after a few days

At the end of the course, all of the Starter 4 students have to take an exam to pass to Mover 1 This exam aims to test four skills: speaking, listening, reading and witting The speaking test results of the samples were recorded to valuate students according to 4 levels : excellent, good, average and under average The maximum score is 20 The students whose scores from 18 to 20 are excellent ones Good students’ scores are from 14 to 17 Average ones’ scores are from 10 to 13 The students whose scores are under 10 in the speaking test are considered as under average students

The teachers of these students were asked to validate the results Thus, the levels of the students’ speaking ability were based on the combination of the final scores and the teachers’ evaluation

4.2 Data analysis

The main aim of this survey is to study the factors which influence the process

of learning to speak English of Starter 4 students The result of this study will help to find out the prospective methods of teaching speaking skill to Starter 4 students The questionnaires distributed to the students and the teachers were designed to serve these purposes in the hope of finding out the affecting factors, the interests, and the motivations of the young learners of Starter 4 level At the same time, we also had a look at the methodologies, the teaching strategies, and the skills the teachers are applying as well as their difficulties in teaching the young learners of this level

4.2.1 Analyzing the questionnaire for students

The questionnaire for the students includes 18 questions covering all of the following matters:

• Question 1 refers to gender to look for the answer if gender has any influence

on the learning process of speaking English or not

• Question 2 mentions age to find out the role of age in learning to speak English

• Questions 3, 4 are about how language input affects the ability of speaking English of children students

• Questions 5, 6, 7, 8, refer to the learning strategies based on the theory that students who have good learning strategies will study better

• Questions 9, 10 insist on the importance of the frequency of practicing the target language

• Questions 11,12,13 try to seek students’ motivations and categorize them into extrinsic motivation or intrinsic motivation

• Question 14 wants to know which methods students like so that teachers can apply these methods more popularly

• Question 15 concerns about the psychological factors such as confidence, anxiety, feeling of security in class

• Question 16 wants to find out that if students get help at home, whether they study better or not

• Question 17 is about learning condition It is looking for the answer for the question that if students have good learning conditions with modern learning facilities such as computer, video, CD at home, they will learn to speak English