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

‘Ihus, the study, reported in this thesis, on using stories and drama in Icachmg English to primary students, especially to improve their English speaking and listening skills, was cond

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, ILANOL UNLVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

VŨ THỊ THANH TÂM

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

TRU PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGIITEN CUU HANIEDONG VE DAY THENG ANID CHO TOC SINELTHEL HOC QUA

TRUYEN VA KICH TAT TRUONG TIKU HOC QUAN TRIY

M.A MINOR TIIESIS

Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, ILANOL UNLVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

VO THT THANT TAM

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING STORIES AND DRAMA IN

TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS AT

QUAN TRU PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CU'U DANI DONG VE DAY THENG ANII CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC QUA

TRUYỆN VÀ KỊCH TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC QUAN TRỮ

M.A MINOR THESIS

Major: Methodology of English Teaching Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: TO THE THU HUONG, Ph.D

HANOI - 2012

Lisl of charls, figures and tables

List of abbreviations and symbols

CHAPTER L INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the research

1.2 Ains of the researcÌ

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

2.2.3, Social development cesses eee

2.3 Typical activities in English lessons usmg stories and drama

2.3.1 Finger puppet show

2.3.2, Character Description

3.3.3 Picture Book Drawing

2.3.4, Group Acting Role pla

CHAPTER III: THE STUDY- USING STORIES AND DRAMA IN

TEACHING ENGLISH IO PRIMARY STUDENTS

3.1 Action rescarch quastions and design

3.2 Planning stage

3.2.1 The problern

3.2.2, Observing a lesson that dlustrated the problem

3.3.3, Conducting a survey to get information from the students

3.3.4 Consulting with colleagues

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

4.3 Acting stage

3.3.1 Lesson using the story and drama “Little Red Riding Mood"

3.3.2, Losson using the story and drama "Goldilocks and Three Bears*

3.4 Observing 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

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” istening abilities

Table 3: The reasons why the teachers do nol usually use stories and drama

in their English lassOils ào no ve

Table 4: ‘The English lessons using story and drama

Table 5: The successful changes made by the leacher

Table 6: The 8s` changzs after taking part in the lessons using stories and

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS:

Percent

English as a Koreign Language

Lille Red Riding Hood

Students

‘Teacher

CHAPTER TI: INTRODUCTION 1.1, Rationale of the research

English has became a world language and is used as the medium of international commutication and is the language of professional advancement TLhas become the number one foreign language to be taught both inside and outside the formal educational systems of many counlvies Nowadays, English teaching and learning in Victnam has been developing at an unprecedented specd As a primary English teacher, the author has witnessed how English has become one of the compulsory subjecls in the curriculum and how Vicinamese 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 expevling leachers to improve their language compelenee 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 (caching and learnmg, Most language teachers, following a traditional, test-oriented teaching approach, often concentrate

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

Slori

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 ‘Ihus, the study, reported in this thesis, on using stories and drama

in Icachmg 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 Rnglish to primary students

1.2 Aims of the research

- Kinding 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 Lo third - grade students al Quan Tru

Primary School in the second term of the school-year of 2011-2012

1.4, Research questions

1 What arc the aflitudes of Quan Tru third-grade teachers and studenis towards

the use of stories and drama in English lessons?

2, How can the use of storics and drama in teaching English cnbanec Quan Tra third- grade students’ English speaking and listening skills?

1.5 Methodology

The methodological approach was action research using various melhiods 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 abilitics was made The criteria for evaluating each student’s speaking and listening abilities in Lnglish 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 slorics and dramas in English teaching lo motivate Quan Tru third-grade students to learn English and to improve their English speaking and listening skills Stage 2: Acting

- Trying out the techniques of using stories and drama in English lessons and making records of what happened in class

Stage 3: Observing

- Three volunteer teachers were asked to observe a lesson 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 ware used to evaluate the success of the action on using stories and dramas to teach Iinglish to third-graders at Quan Tru Primary school

Stage 4: Evaluation

- A questionnaire survey was carried aut to get information from students on the extenL lo which the use of stories and drama has helped improve ther English speaking and listening skills The 1 questions in the questionnaire were designed in Vietnamese for thorough understanding and translated into English by an

1.5.3 Procedures

- At the beginning of second term of the academic year 2011-2012, three third- 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, fueney, communication and interaction and listening skills There are standard tasks ta evaluate student’s speaking and listening abilities in 3 English classes for third-graders,

- A consultation with 10 teachers and a student pre-bying-out questionnaire survey were conducted to find out the causes of students low English speaking and listerring skills as well as their altitudes towards the use of stories amd dramas in teaching English

- The researcher planned lessons to try out the use of stories and dramas in English (cashing to motivate Quan Tru third-grade sludenis to learn English and to improve their Hnelish speaking, and listening skills

- The researcher tried out the techniques of using stories and drama in English Icssons 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 irying-oul stage that illustrated the changes i 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 lo teach English to third-graders at Quan Tru Primary school

the 80 students on the extent to which the use of storics and drama has helped improve their Linglish speaking and listening skills ‘The 5 questions in the

questionnaire were designed in Vietnamese to onsure students understanding and

‘truthful answers then translated into Linglish 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

CHAPTERITIT: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF THE

RESEARCH

2.1 Teaching English to primary-school students

2.1.1 Typical characteristics of young learners

Young leamers are physically active As Paunez (1980) points out, it is childron’s nalure to [idgel, jump, lalk, and interrupt The leacher 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 expcet their studenls to learn in nive 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 forcign language classes in almost all primary schools in Vietnam As argued by Brumfit et al (1991), young leamers

need physical movement and activity as stimulation for their thinking, and the

closer together Uhese oan 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 memary and strengthen recall Thus, it is necessary to take suggestion

for English teachers of young learners — we should [ill 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 mtcraction with pecrs and adults is

competittveness, independent work and passive Hslening, cooperative bearning is

matter of ‘sinking or swimming together.” It 1s “positive interdependence,”

according to Johnson et al.(1994:27), which links students together “in a way that makes il impossible for anyone to suecced untoss 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 canorete collaborative experiences and active experimentation can then feed into the young

Icamers’ transformation of abstract language concepts into their frame of reference Lowever, the benefits of cooperative leaming cannot be reaped without deliberate efforts made by hoth 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 lo be motivated to Team # second language with less inhibition and anxiety Terrell desoribes, “children acquire their first language and a second language in order to identify and be a member of the group that spoaks that language" and "this strong motivation for identification or assimilation forces them to attend to the input very carefully For young leamers, to enjoy means to have fim, which is an indispensable Íaetor lo enhenee chỉikkerrs 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, use!

or too difGeull will short attention came 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 concemed, 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 leaming and integrate drama games and techniques into teaching with sufficient rigour

In order to teach English effectively (o primary sturlents, the teachers have to

know and use suitable methods, techniques, materials and activities to suit their

young Isamers’ characteristics The use of stories and drama may be one of the suitable teaching methods and techniques which can develop young leamers’ characteristics and help them have better learning based on those characteristics,

2.1.2, Modets of teaching English to primary-schoal students

“4

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 madels 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 adulis and foousing on questions of language and communication On the other hand, matistream primary praclce “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 Icarnors, lughlighting the benefits which accrue in terms of the child’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development Llowever, the fact that many parents and English teachers just focus on the cognitive aspects of their child's development wher leaching thom 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, (he author is going La lake (he impact of stories and drama in consideralion

on the child’s comprehensive development

2.24 Cognitive development

This arca 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

Virstly, it is clear that events that happen in both stories and drama are playful People may meet giants, escape from hnngry lions, fall in love, get lost, angry, hurl or evert die, but everybody knows that inthe story or drama this is only

‘pretend’, and that these things don’t really happen Hven 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, Brana is concemed 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 appropnately, provide quality text content which will greatly cnhance ELT courses for leamers 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 Tao and Krashen’s (2000) study which compared the reading

avhicvemont between a group of students thai read literary texis and a second group that read non-literary texts revealed that the group who read literary texts made beller improvement in vocabulary and reading,

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

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

are “stronger at reading action, or words-cmbedded-in-action, than they are at reacing 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 imto concrete images and to construc! meaning from the text based on calleelive experience To Neclands (2004), “drama provides pupils with an immediate and physical means of getting to

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 1m drama activities, fielhermors, brings ils mio the writlen 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,

or acting

2.2.1.2 Writing

Short stories and drama can be a powerful and motivating source for writing in

forcign language classes Through stories and drama, children link together the

“there and then” in stories and the world of “here and now,” building up their

understanding upon their experience ini dramaa, which “cart bring vividness and ant authentic voice” to their writing ‘The role of drama in children’s writing

development is made clear in the following figure:

Writing development New writing demands

tackled in role Figure: Writing through drama (Baldwin & Flenting, 2003:21)

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 reflectve 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

©vers cam be tumed into the raw malerials for mecting minutes, official revords 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 cach 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, inlonation and pronunciation of language” (Bllis and Brewster, 2002:2) Oral reading, dramatization, improvisation, role-playing, reenachnerl, and discussion are some effective leaning activities which Fnglish classes can use for cnhanemg 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 leamers 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) pul it clearly that “children are required by the drama to usc language, which is appropriate to both role and situation, including different models of speech and registers” Carden (2000:136) argues that certain

11

typos of teacher talk can generate “more cxtensive and educationally productive responses from children” lle 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 clarificalion, and urging amplificalion

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-belicve world Drama also draws the class together “in listening thinking, and building the event with speculation and anticipation as Uhey lock for clues to the cmerging 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 engnges thơm 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 arc able to make the best use of the language skills they already possess (Somers, 1994:139) ‘he 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 leamers use less body

language in more tradilicnal classroom aclivilies such as answoring (cacher-led questions or drill-like exercises With only two 40-minute classes each week, they

oflen have to work under the pressure of catching up with the teaching schedule As

a result, non-verbal activitics which do net scem to generate too much language tend to be excluded from the teaching plans Stories and drama can be one of the

mest suilable ways lo help children to speak with morc confidence, with beiter

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

to convey different emotions (inflexion, tone/pitch and intonation), Almond (2005:64) suggests that leamers 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 TL includes many aspects of health and well-being Hand-eye

coordination, sensory development, control of physical actions, motor skills, dictary habits, and hygiene all figure into healthy physical development The activities of slories and drama facililale 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 leamers 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 develupment

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 leam about appropriate behaviors within certain conlexis Learning to interact with peers and authority figures is critical to successful

development as well as enabling children to fimotion well in society

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

= Developing interaction with peers and other peaple

» Expanding interactive environment

«Family unity, awareness and bonding

* Communication/language enhanced

The use of storics 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 ta each other, and value each other's suggestions They have to cooperate to achieve their aims, find ways of setting theix 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,

iL is toara-work compelence thal makes people succeed, therclore, the usc of slories and drama in English lessons is considered a suitable and intelligent way to enhance

the child's sovial 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 scl’ and acnsitivily to athers

Emotional development can be observed in several areas such as

» Self cstccm/confidence/sclf motivation

+ Positive attitude

+» Temperament control

» Independence

In The Storytelling Handbook (lis and Brewster, 1991) state that stories are

molivaling and fur, they creale a deep terest and a desire lo continue learning,

Besides, listening to stories is a shared social experience; it provokes a shared response of laughter, sadness, excitement and anticipation Using stories and drama

in the young learner classroom gives children who are shy when speaking # foreign language a character to “hide behind” and express their thoughts, feelings through

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

2.3 Typical activities in English fessons using storics 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 feclings Researches have shown that pupeis 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 leaching aids in the young carers’ classroom “Children usc language while making thom, often respond to puppets more readily than to the teachers, and are usually enthusiastic about manipulating thera, The process of making a puppel is a rewarding cralt activity itself and the end product, the puppet, plays a key role in a subsequent activity” (Philips: 1999)

‘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 ‘I'his activity can be conducted as pre-storytelling activity

2.3.3 Picture book drawing

Picture books always altract young learners arid have made good molivation

to their language learning, Picture book drawing activity helps young learners

represent ideas and develop their creative expressions For children with lower

lovels of English proficienvy, drawing made it possible [or them to go beyond their limited vocabulary and they can express themselves in visual ways Drawing can bring visual quality to leaning and facililate their comprehension cogrmive 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 co- 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 leamers develop their team-work skills and linguistic skills effectively because they have to observe, listen and respond logically to conform to other learners’ performance

23.5 Letter writing

Leller wriling is a popular activity in the Tanguage classroom as it allows children to produce short, meaningful written work (Scott & Ytreberg, 1990) The studenis are given opportunities fo write felters in different roles This activity can stimulate children’s ability to imagine and use the target language to cxpross what’s

in their minds This activity can alsa 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 Teprescnt ideas or feclings, 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 childron will focl comfortable about communicating through mime ‘The value of incorporating non- verbal episades such as mimes in the second language classroom has also been

underscored by Kao and O° Neill (1998) “working in mmme releases stnders from

the constraints of language In other words, mime is an altemative for leamers at

low competence levels to express their thoughts with their body and not in the

language thal they are yel comfortable with”

2.3.7 Role play — Teacher in role

Role-play is any speaking activity when you either put yourself inlo somebody else's shoos, or when you stay in your own shoos but put yourself into an imaginary situation ‘he 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 elsc '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-performancs Even done without proparation,

it is an excellent way of fleshing out a character Characters may be hot-seated individually, in pairs or amall groups The lechniqus 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 dhe group (arranged in a semi-circle), although characlers may be hol- 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-scating children in pairs or in groups

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 Alicrnaltively, thought tracking (also called thought tapping) can involve other members of the class speaking one character's thoughts aloud for them

In conclusion, the Wlerature reviewed in this chapter on the typical characteristics of young learners, on the benefits of and typical activitics for using stories and drama in teaching lnglish has based the theoretical framework for the

current study detailed in the next chaplor

CHAPTER III - THE STUDY

3.1 Rescarch questions and design

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

1 What are the altitudes af Quan Tru third-grade students and (eachers towards the use of storics and drama in English lessons?

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

‘Lhe methodological approach was action research using mixed methods for data collection

The action research consisted of four main slages (Planing, Acting, Observing and Livaluation) which are detailed below

3.2, Planning stage

STEP 1: IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

3.21 The problem

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

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

3.2.2 Observing a lesson that illustrated the problem

A video camera was uscd 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 studfent's English speaking abililies

‘The criteria for evaluating each student’s speaking abilities in Unglish 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 zesponse to questions:

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

ona larger picture in response to instructions such as:

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

answers) simple questions about a picture

What's this? (uouse)

What color is if? (green)

How muny pens are there? (live) What pets have you got? (cats)

Parts 4 and § ; The students have 1o give basic information aboul themselves and

can understand and answer questions:

What's your name?

How old are you?

4, Evaluating the student's English listening al

Have you got any pets?

Is your house big or small?

8

‘The criteria of evaluating each student's listening abilities in Linglish lessons include

Part Main skill focus Input Expected respansefitem lype

1 | Listening for names and | Picture, names and Draw lines to match names to

2 | Listening for names, Form or page of Write words or numbers in

spellings and other notepad with missing gaps information words and dialogue

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

19

4 | Listening for specific 3-option rmulliple- Tick boxes under correc!

information of various choice pictures and pichucs

5 | Listening for words, colors | Picture and dialogue and specific information and draw’ or write Carry out instructions to color

However, after evaluating, in almost all English classes the author observed and

eraded 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

high expectation low underperforms expectations

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

up ahout 6.25%) who meet the expectations high, 21.25% meet the expectations low,

18.73% slightly underporforms and 53.75% do nok mect expectations

Lvaluating 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

expectalions low, 22.5 % slightly underperforms and 33.75 % do nol meet

expectations

Evaluating the students’ English fluency, the result shows that (here were 14 students

(made up about 17.5%) who mect the expectations high, 18.75 % mect 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

sludents (made up about 18.75%) who mecl the expectations Ingh, 35 % meet the

expectations low, 16.25 % slightly underperfonns and 30% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students’ English imeraction abilities, the result shows thal there were

16 students Gnade up about 20 %) whe meet the expectations high, 15 % mect the expectations low, 25 % slightly underperforms and 40% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students’ English communication abilities, the resull shows thal 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

hịph low underperform | snectations

descriptions

and other information

information

information of various kinds

‘As we can see, the table showed the students’ ability in listening for names and descriptions, there were only 5 students (made up about 6.25%) who meet the expectalions high, 20% mol the expeclalions low, 26.25% slightly underperforms

and 47.5% do not meet expectations

Evaluating the students’ ability in listening for names, spellings and other

information, the result shows thal 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 underperfonus and 39 students ( 48.75 %) do not meet expectations

21

Evaluating the students’ ability in Listening for specific information , the result shows that there were 3 students (made up 3.75%) who mect the expeetalions high,

11 students (13.75%) meet the expectations low, 15 students (18.75 %) slightly

underperforms and 51 students ( 63.75 %) do not meel expectations:

Evaluating the students’ ability in listenme for specific information of various kinds , the result shows that there were 5 students (made up 6.25%) who meet the expectalions high, 13 students (16.25%) mei the expectations low, 13 siuderts

(16.25 %) slightly underperfonns 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 %) shghtly underperforms and 45 students ( 56.25%) do nol 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 oul the initial causes of the students’ low speaking and listerting abilitios

STEP 2: FINDING CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM

3.23 Conducting a survey to yet 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 rescarch for analysis (see APPENDIX 2) These were the results of the survey:

a Are the dialogues in the textbook toa 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?lf not, why?

71 students (= 88.75%) are afraid of speaking in front of the class, while 9 sludents (11.2594) are nol alraid of Gus performance

Many reasons why they are afraid of speaking in front of the class are given by the

students, includiryg 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%)

¢ 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 leaming

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 Rears, 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 Jess opporlurities to communivale int English ;besides, they are afraid of speaking and listening in Bnglish 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 IMPROVEME!

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 Frglish 1o their primary students, The reasons they give are shown in the following table Hach teacher can have more than one auswer

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

their English lessons

‘Numbers Parcentages (%)

‘They do not know how to use stories and 63 BTS

drarves in Leaching English cffectivety

c Phat 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 ‘Leachers should not interrupt students to correct his or her pronunciation mistakes because this mare (hern 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

3.25 Drawing a plan of action ta solve the problem

rom the comments, ideas and suggestions from my students, my colleagues,

professional books or journals and my own teaching experience I designed the Iollowing slrategies 1o improve the problem:

1 Choosing suitable and interesting stories to use in English lessons

2 Apply activities using stories and dramas {o motivate (he sludents lo speak and

listen

3 Changing the classroom’s almosphere 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

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

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

* ATMS: By the end of the lesson, the students will be able fo 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 AMI?"

2 Pre-Speaking

* Ist step