Difficulites and some suggested solutions in teaching English to grade one students in Hadong district, Hanoi = Những khó khăn và một số giải pháp cho việc dạy

LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: The most difficult skills to teach Chart 2: Feasibility of teaching English to 1st grade students Chart 3: Children's favorite skills Chart 4: The most difficult

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ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY

DIFFICULTIES AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH

TO GRADE ONE STUDENTS IN HADONG DISTRICT, HANOI

Những khó khăn và một số giải pháp trong việc dạy tiếng Anh

cho học sinh lớp một, quận Hà Đông, Hà Nội

M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60-14-10

Hanoi – 2012

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ĐỖ THỊ PHƯƠNG THÚY

DIFFICULTIES AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH

TO GRADE ONE STUDENTS IN HADONG DISTRICT, HANOI

Những khó khăn và một số giải pháp trong việc dạy tiếng Anh

cho học sinh lớp một, quận Hà Đông, Hà Nội

M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60-14-10 Supervisor: Vu Thuy Quynh, M A

Hanoi - 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ……… ……… i

Abstract……….……… ii

Table of contents……… ……… iv

List of abbreviations……… ……… vii

List of charts……….……… viii

List of tables ……….……… ix

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION……… 1

1.1 Rationale ……….……… 1

1.2 The aims of the study ……… ……… 1

1.3 The scope of the study ……… …….……… 1

1.4 The methods of the study ……… 2

1.5 The design of the thesis ……….…… ……… 3

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ……… … 3

2.1 Children’s characteristics ……… 3

2.2 Children’s stages of development ……….……… ……… 4

2.2.1 Socio-emotional Development ………….……… ……… 4

2.2.2 Physical Development ……… ….… ….………… 4

2.2.3 Intellectual Development ……….…….… ………….…… 5

2.2.4 Individual Differences ……… …… … ……… 5

2.3 Children’s learning styles ……… ….…… … …………

2.3.1 Spatial visual style ……… … … ………

5 5 2.3.2 Kinetic style ……….…… … …….……… 6

2.3.3 Language- oriented style ……… …….…… … ……… 6

2.3.4 Logical style ……… … ….……….… 6

2.4 An overview of English teaching methods for young learners … … ……… 6

2.4.1 Listening skill ……… … ……… …… 6

2.4.2 Speaking skill ……… … ……….…….……….……… 7

2.4.3 Reading skill ……… … ……….……… 8

2.4.4 Writing skill………… … ……….………… … 8

2.4.5 Teaching pronunciation ……… … ……… ……… 9

2.4.6 Teaching vocabulary……… ……… … ……….……… 9

2.5 Classroom management……… … ……… ……… 10

2.5.1 Organizing the classroom and planning the lesson ………… … ….……… 10

2.5.2 Preventive approaches to classroom behavior problems …… … …… … 10

2.5.3 Keeping proper and flexible moving space of lessons……… … …….…… 11

2.5.4 Solutions to inappropriate behaviors in classroom …….…… … ………… 11

2.5.5 Teacher- learner reference ……….………… … ……… 12

2.5.6 Proper punishment ……… ……… … … ……… 12

2.5.7 The factors outside the classroom, which influence the classroom management ……….…………

12 2.6 Summary ……… … ……… 14

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ………

3.1 The setting of the study ……… … ……… ………

15 3.1.1 Teaching materials ……… … ……… ……… 15

3.1.2 Teaching facilities ……… … ……….……… 15

3.2 Subjects ……… …… … ……….………… 16

3.2.1 Teachers ……… … ……….……… 16

3.2.2 The school students ……… … ……….….….……… 16

3.3 Instruments for collecting data ….… ……… … ……… 16

3.4 Data collecting procedure ………… ……… … ………… ………… ……… 17

3.5 The methods of analyzing data ……… … ……… 17

3.5 Summary ……… … ……….… 17

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA ………… 18

4.1 Presentation and analysis of data ……… … ……… 18

4.1.1 Teachers’ opinions towards English teaching to 1st grade - students … … 18

4.1.2 Children’s attitudes on learning English ………… … ……… 19

4.1.3 Teachers' English teaching methods to 1st grade students……… … … … 20

4.1.4 Professional training courses for teachers….……… … ……… 24

4.1.5 Classroom management ……….……… …… … ……… 26

4.1.6 Teaching curriculum ………….……… … ……… 28

4.1.7 Teaching materials and teaching aids……… 30

4.1.8 Teaching conditions ……….……… … ….……… 32

4.2 Findings ……… … ……… … 33

4.3 Summary ……… … ……….… 36

CHAPER FIVE: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS ……….………… 37

5.1 For teachers ……… … ……… 37

5.1.1 Improving teachers' English proficiency……… … ……… 37

5.1.2 Strengthening teachers' teaching methodology for young learners ………… 38

5.1.3 Equipping classroom management methods to teachers……… … …… 41

5.2 For stake-holders……… … ……… 43

5.3 Summary……… … ……… 44

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSIONS……….……… 45

6.1 Conclusions……… … ……… … 45

6.2 Limitations and suggestions for further studies……… … ……… 46

References……… … ……… 47 Appendix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL English as a Foreign Language

YL Young Learners

EYL English for Young Learners

TPR Total physical Response

ESL English as a Second Language

TEFL Teaching English as a Foreign Language

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: The most difficult skills to teach

Chart 2: Feasibility of teaching English to 1st grade students Chart 3: Children's favorite skills

Chart 4: The most difficult skills to learn

Chart 5: Teaching methods

Chart 6 : Teachers' using English in classroom

Chart 7: Needed - to - be - trained skills

Chart 8: Number of students in one class

Chart 9: Students' work in classroom

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Students' attitudes on learning English Table 2: Professional training courses for teachers Table 3: Teaching curriculum

Table 4: Teaching materials and teaching aids Table 5: Teaching conditions

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

Nowadays, English is an international language and it has been widely used in many countries in the world It is also an international language in diplomacy, business, science, technology, banking, computing, medicine, aviation, armed forces, engineering, tourism, and

so on Most countries in the world teach English as compulsory subject in their schools In Vietnam, English is also considered the most important foreign language and taught as a compulsory subject in many schools through out the country Especially, Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training has issued the Decision No 1400- QD- TTg dated on September 30th

2008 which targets to totally changing English teaching and learning in the national education system, carrying out teaching and learning English in all levels from elementary schools to colleges To aim these objectives, it is very necessary for our educational system to teach English from elementary school, especially right from 1st grade In Hadong where I live, English is chosen as an optional subject to teach for 1st grade students in the whole district As

a result, this emerges a big challenge because most of the teachers in our country in general and in Hadong in particular are not trained to teach English for young learners as such

For all these reasons, it is necessary to find out difficulties in teaching English for grade one children in Hadong district and suggest some possible solutions to this problems This urges the author to carry on a study named ―Difficulties in teaching English for 1st grade primary school students in Hadong district, Hanoi city.‖ Once difficulties are identified, some solutions to cope with them will be suggested

1.2 The aims of the study

This study aims at:

- Investigating the areas of difficulty that the teachers in Hadong primary schools are coping with in their daily teaching to grade one students

- Suggesting some solutions to help teachers overcome these difficulties

It is hoped that the findings from the study will bring some benefits to teachers of 1st grade at Hadong primary schools

1.3 The scope of the study

This study limits to:

- The 1st grade children in Hadong district

- The teachers of English of grade one in primary schools in Hadong district

- English for grade one children

1.4 The methods of the study

With the aims of finding out the difficulties in teaching English for grade one at primary schools in Hadong district, this study adopts quantitative and qualitative methods To achieve the above aims, the study has been carried out with the data collected from questionnaires for teachers of grade one and observations to investigate their current difficulties that they meet in everyday teaching classes for 1st grade students

1.5 The design of the thesis

The study is organized into six chapters:

Chapter one: Introduction This chapter includes rationale, aims, methods, scope of the study, and design of the thesis

Chapter two: Literaturer review This chapter consists of theoretical background which

is relevant to the purpose of the study

Chapter three: Reseach methodology This chapter presents an introduction on the context of the primary schools in Hadong district, the subjects of the study, the instruments, the procedure for collecting data and also the methods of data analysis

Chapter four: Presentation and analysis of data This chapter presents and analyze the data which have been collected and concluded the findings of the study

Chapter five: Suggested solutions This chapter deals with some suggested solutions to the problems in the findings

Chapter six: Conclusions Summary, limitations as well as suggestions for further

studies and reference of the study are included in this chapter

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides relevant literature which is needed to form the theoretical and

conceptual framework for the study First, an overview on children’s characteristics, stages of development and learning styles is mentioned because it is very important for teachers and the educators to make better teaching and learning if they have a comprehensive look on children Second, English teaching methods on listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and pronunciation review are revealed Next, a variety of elements related to the classroom management is identified such as, organizing the classroom and planning the lesson, preventive approaches to classroom behaviors problems, keeping proper and flexible moving space of lessons, other basic recommendations, solutions to inappropriate behaviors in classroom, teacher- learner references, proper punishment, and the factors outside the classrooms which influence the classroom management

2.1 Children’s characteristics

In a very well known book named ―Teaching English to Children‖, the authors highlight some of the splendid characteristics of children such as they are always willing to express their feelings about what they are doing, what they have done or heard, they can argue for something and tell you why they think what they think Moreover, they can use logical reasoning and vivid imaginations Especially, they can use the wide range of intonation patterns not only in their mother tongue but also in second language They have very short attention and concentrations span, their own understanding comes through hands, eyes and ears (Scott and Ytreberg, 1991)

Young children sometimes have difficulty in working out what is fact and what is fiction The dividing line between the real world and the imaginary world is not clear to them The young children love to play and learn best when they are enjoying themselves But they also take themselves seriously and like to think that what they are doing is ―real‖ work (Sharon & Woolley, 2004) It is often said that children are very self- centered up to the age

of six or seven and they can not see things from someone else’s point of view This may well

be true, but sometimes pupils do not want to work together because they do not see the point They do not always understand what others want them to do But they will seldom admit that they do not know something either

Young children are enthusiastic and positive about learning We all thrive on doing well and being praised for what we do and this is especial true for young children It is important to praise them if they are to keep their enthusiasm and feel successful from the beginning ―If we label children failures, then they believe us‖ (Pyles and Algae, 1970:56)

2.2 Children’s stages of development

According to Pinter (1997), children move through stages of development as they mature The rate of development varies from one child to another Development is influenced

by the experiences children have, as well as by hereditary factors Children may grow rapidly

in one area and more slowly in another The direction of development is from general to specific, from dependence toward independence and interdependence, and from gross motor control (the ability to make large, general movements such as waving an arm or lifting a leg, it requires proper coordination and function of muscle, bones, and nerves) toward fine motor control (the coordination of muscles, bones, and nerves to produce small, precise movements

An example of fine motor control is picking up a small item with the index finger and thumb)

2.2.1 Socio-emotional Development

Nunan (1988) noticed that children develop socially and emotionally during the child years At the beginning of the year, some children may be shy and appear to lack initiative However, as they come to know the situation, the teachers and peers, they usually gain confidence and begin to establish friendships and become an active part of the class Other children may be too assertive prior to learning from experience more appropriate ways of relating to peers It is a time of testing and exploring social relationships

2.2.2 Physical Development

Physical activity is one common characteristic of children, although children vary a great deal in the development of physical skills and abilities Some children are slow and cautious about trying new things; others seem to accept any challenge that is presented

Most young children are full of energy, ready to run, swing, climb and jump, and are eager to try their strength by moving big blocks or boxes They are developing a sense of rhythm, and enjoy such activities as marching, jumping or clapping to music These group activities need to be short and allow for more participation than standing Required stillness is

more exhausting and stressful for most children than movement

Sensory development is uneven The coordination of the eyes and other senses are still developing Physical growth has slowed down It is a time of consolidating gains and developing fine motor control However, over-emphasis on fine motor activities such as writing, cutting and making discrete visual discriminations may result in tension and frustration (Pinter, 1997)

2.2.3 Intellectual Development

Wood (1981) stated that children love to talk Their intellectual development is reflected

in the rapid growth of vocabulary and the power to express ideas They are developing visual and auditory memory and the ability to listen to others Their ears are keen but they still need help in distinguishing sounds, although they can pick up another language and accurately imitate other people's intonations and inflections They are especially keen to acquiring new words (the names of dinosaurs, for example) and to use such words as "infinity" (the idea of something that has no end) and "trillion" They welcome opportunities to be inventive with

language, to play with rhyming, to joke, to explain things to each other and even to argue

2.2.4 Individual Differences

Descriptions of general characteristics are helpful in understanding children However, such normative statements do not provide the information teachers need about particular children because each one differs from one another As a result, the teacher's systematic observations of children provide the information needed for appropriate planning (Pinter, 1997)

2.3 Children’s learning styles

Armstrong (2000) shows that learning styles are simply different approaches or ways

of learning Psychologists, academics, and other theoreticians have developed any numbers of ideas and theories about the ways children learn They groups learning styles into four, major

categories - spatial visual, kinetic or movement, language-oriented, and logical/analytical

2.3.1 Spatial visual style

Children with this learning style needs and likes to visualize things, learn through images, enjoys arts and drawing, read charts, maps and diagrams as well They are fascinated with machines and inventions, playing with legos; also they like mazes and puzzles Especially, they are often accused of being daydreamers in class So the motivating tips are:

Using board games and memory devices to create visual patterns In reading, suggest visual clues, offer picture book of all types When they read chapter books together, encourage visualization of story and scenes at intervals, promote writing via colored pens, computers or drawing

2.3.2 Kinetic style

The learners with kinetic learning style processes knowledge through physical sensations, are highly active and not able to sit too long They usually communicate with body language and gestures They prefer showing to telling They need to touch and feel the world and are good at mimicking others Children with this style like scary amusement rides, naturally athletic and enjoy sports As the result, physical action is the key ingredient to simulate this child While reading, let the child chew gum, walk around, rock or ride stationary bicycle Use numerous hands- on activities and experiments, art projects, natural walk or act out stories

2.3.3 Language- oriented style

Children think in words, verbalize concepts, spin tales and jokes; especially they spell words accurately and easily They can be good readers or prefer the spoken word more These kinds of children have excellent memory for names, dates and trivia They like word games, enjoy using tape recorders and often musically talented There for the motivating tips are encouraging own word problems, having child dictate a story to others, reading aloud together and tape session for later playback

2.3.4 Logical style

Children think conceptually, like to explore patterns and relationships They enjoy puzzles and seeing how things work; constantly question and wonder They are capable of highly abstract forms of logical thinking at early age; math problems are computed quickly in their head Strategy games, computers and experiments with purposes, creating own designs to build with blocks/logos are all of these kinds of children’s favors

2.4 An overview of English teaching methods for young learners

2.4.1 Listening skill

Listening is the language skill which learners usually find the most difficult This often

is because they feel under unnecessary pressure to understand every word To achieve the aims related to this skill, the teacher plays an important role that is defined in the following

steps by Vale and Feunteun (1995):

 ―It is important to help pupils prepare for the listening task well before they hear the text itself First of all the teacher must ensure that the pupils understand the language they need to complete the task and are fully aware of exactly what is expected of them Reassure

the pupils that they do not need to understand every word they hear

 The next important step is to encourage pupils to anticipate what they are going to hear

In everyday life, the situation, the speaker, and visual clues all help us to decode oral messages

A way to make things a bit easier to the pupils is to present the listening activity within the context of the topic of a teaching unit This in itself will help pupils to predict what the answers might be The teacher can help them further by asking questions and using the

illustrations to encourage pupils to guess the answers even before they hear the text

 During the listening, the pupils should be able to concentrate on understanding the message so make sure they are not trying to read, draw, and write at the same time Always give a second chance to listen to the text to provide a new opportunity to those who were not

able to do the task

 Finally, when pupils have completed the activity, invite answers from the whole class Try not to put individual pupils under undue pressure Rather than confirming whether an answer is correct or not, play the cassette again and allow pupils to listen again for confirmation You may be given a variety of answers, in which case list them all on the board and play the text again, so that the class can listen and choose the correct one Even if the pupils all appear to have completed the task successfully, always encourage them to listen to

the text once more and check their answers for themselves.‖ (Monica & Roger, 1983: 45)

2.4.2 Speaking skill

In the book ―Beginning English with young children‖ the authors express that we must take into account that the level of language input (listening) must be higher than the level of language production expected of the pupils So we have many speaking activities used in the first levels that enable pupils to participate with a minimal verbal response However, in the

last levels, pupils are encouraged to begin to manipulate language and express themselves in a

much more personal way (Monica and Roger, 1983)

In primary schools, two main types of speaking activities are used The first type encourages pupils to mimic the model such as, songs, chants, and poems, they hear on the cassette This helps pupils to master the sounds, rhythms, and intonation of the English language through simple reproduction The games and pair work activities on the other hand, although always based on a given model, encourage the pupils to begin to manipulate the language by presenting them with a certain amount of choice, albeit within a fairly controlled situation

Once the activity begins, the teacher tries to help the children speak as much English as possible without interfering to correct the mistakes that they will probably make Try to treat errors casually by praising the utterance and simply repeating it correctly without necessarily highlighting the errors And finally, always offer praise for effort regardless of the accuracy of

the English produced (Vale and Feunteun, 1995)

2.4.3 Reading skill

―When choosing texts we should consider not only their difficulty level, but also

their interest or their humor so that children will want to read for the same reasons they read in

their own language: to be entertained or to find out something they do not already know‖ (Slattery and Willis, 2001: 121)

It is important to spend time preparing for the task by using the illustrations (a usual feature in reading activities for children), pupils' own knowledge about the subject matter, and key vocabulary to help the pupils to predict the general content of the text Discuss the subject and ask questions to elicit language and to stimulate the pupils' interest in the text before they begin reading Also make sure that the pupils understand the essential vocabulary they need to complete the task before they begin to read

2.4.4 Writing skill

In primary schools, EFL pupils progress from writing isolated words and phrases, to short paragraphs about themselves or about very familiar topics (family, home, hobbies, friends, food, etc.)

Since many pupils at this level are not yet capable either linguistically or intellectually

of creating a piece of written text from scratch, it is important that time is spent building up the language they will need and providing a model on which they can then base their own efforts The writing activities should therefore be based on a parallel text and guide the pupils, using simple cues These writing activities generally appear towards the end of a unit so that pupils have had plenty of exposure to the language and practice of the main structures and vocabulary they need

At this stage, the pupils' work will invariably contain mistakes The teacher should try

to be sensitive in his/her correction and not necessarily insist on every error being highlighted

A piece of written work covered in red pen is demoralizing and generally counter-productive Where possible, encourage pupils to correct their own mistakes as they work If there is time, encourage pupils to decorate their written work and where feasible display their efforts in the classroom (Monica and Roger, 1983)

2.4.5 Teaching pronunciation

Juel (2003) shows that teaching English pronunciation is an area of language teaching that many English teachers avoid While there are many textbooks and instruction manuals available, as well as books on the theories and methodologies of language teaching there is comparatively little on learning pronunciation

Certainly, we need to teach pronunciation When teaching any language as a foreign or second language, our first goal for our students is basic communication, and that cannot happen if no one can understand what they are saying

Elley (1989) stated that when teachers decide to focus on pronunciation practice many

of them make the mistake of trying to teach pronunciation along with introducing vocabulary This can work with students who have "good ears," or who perhaps speak a related language However, it can be hit and miss with students whose mother tongue has no relation to the target language

2.4.6 Teaching vocabulary

Templeton (2004) strongly shows that because vocabulary knowledge is critical to reading comprehension, it is important that those working with young readers help foster their development of a large ―word bank‖ and effective vocabulary learning strategies There are

several effective explicit (intentional, planned instruction) and implicit (spontaneous instruction as a child comes to new words in a text) strategies that adults can employ with readers of any age

2.5 Classroom management

2.5.1 Organizing the classroom and planning the lesson

Teachers have many roles in the classroom; two of the most important are planning the lesson and organizing the classroom in the way that facilitates learning The following steps are offered for teachers who are trying to get a successful classroom management

 Try and achieve a warm, friendly, relaxed atmosphere in which young learners feel comfortable, competent and most important secure

 The physical organization of the classroom is quite important In an ideal world, the classroom would have an area of easily removable desks and chairs, an open space for actions songs and games, a quiet corner for reading or self – study Such ideal conditions are rarely found in the real world, but if all possible arrange the tables and chairs so that the young learners can work in pairs or groups, and there should be a space for them to come out to the board and to move around the classroom Often the five or ten minutes spent on reorganizing tables and chairs are well worth it to help an activity work well It is a good way to display the learners’ work and relevant posters on the wall and try to keep the display up to date

 Create a stress free English learning environment for the young learners Neither teachers nor parents should push the young learners too hard The young learners’ English teachers should encourage them and their attempts to speak English words or sentences When they are hesitant, you need to be patient and show great interest Do not blame them if they make a mistake Crucially, if they perform well, give them praise or a certain reward If the teacher responds with interest, they will try again because ―reward behavior is usually repeated and become a habit‖ (Machado, 1985: 101)

2.5.2 Preventive approaches to classroom behavior problems

Setting rules to keep discipline: effective management requires teachers to define their expectations for their students at the beginning of the school year Discipline is the main preoccupation of the teacher and the young learners (1) Establish the list during the first few class meeting (2) Keep the list short and clear (3) Focus on learners behaviors needed to

achieve lesson goal (4) State the consequences for breaking the rules and rewards for following them (Kounin, 1970)

2.5.3 Keeping proper and flexible moving space of lessons

Kounin (1970) also found that the best classroom managers were careful to keep the lesson moving at a brisk pace Inappropriate learner behaviors increase when the lesson becomes boring, so try to use topics and activities that you think will be interesting and enjoyable

He also suggests some other basic suggestions to have better classroom management as follow:

 Keep and eyes on different groups at the same time

 Be able to be aware of events’ occurring based on observation

 Use both verbal and nonverbal skills such as voice control and eye contact

 Plan lesson and include varied activities and interactions that keep the learners busy

 Motivate the learners by focusing on what they do satisfactorily or well more than what they do badly

 Try to create a sense of community in the group

 Be fair to all learners, never favoring some over others (Kounin, 1970)

2.5.4 Solutions to student's inappropriate behaviors in classroom

 Using silence

Most teachers talk too much because of the responsibility for maintaining and guiding class interaction But silence can be effective to discipline the learners Think of a lesson in which the teachers are always talking, learners’ attentions decrease and they begin to talk with each other; when the teachers are suddenly stop speaking to start to speak softly with a low voice, learners’ attention will be raised to the teachers and the lesson because they want to know what is happening (Archer & Smith, 1999)

 Proximity control

During the lesson, if the teacher moves closer to a certain learner, it will have different meaning First, it means, ―I am standing close to you‖, second ―I don’t like your company‖, and the last, ―we have something in common‖ With this approach, the teacher can control the

learners with inappropriate behaviors because the distance between the teacher and the learners is very short (Scott (1970)

2.5.5 Teacher- learner reference

The learner who does not change his or her inappropriate behaviors in class may have reasons In order to solve the problem, a teacher- learner reference after class is a good way (Smith, 1995) The success of the reference depends on the manner in which it is conducted The teacher should be positive and calm instead of showing authority so that good communication with the learner can be made, which helps the learner make behavioral progress

2.5.6 Proper punishment

According to Loannou and Pavlou (2000), sometimes teacher may need to use some kind of punishment for a trouble maker in the classroom But never give a punishment that is humiliating or unreasonable and always reintegrate learners into the group after they have received a reprimand or punishment This is important not just for the learner involved, but also for the teacher’s standing with the group The following two kinds of punishment may be effective

Temporary isolation: It means that the misbehaving learner is removed for a short time from the class activities The place used for the isolation should be dull and simple But the time should not be long, often five or ten minutes will be enough Moreover, it must not be forgotten that the isolation should not be used to frighten the learner

Response cost: It means the removal of the quantity of reinforces related to a response For example, a teacher can take a learner’s water paints away from his desk because he was painting his desk mate’s hands Within the classroom environment, typical response cost may

be loss of tokens or privileges as part of a classroom management system Many young learners’ teachers agree that the response cost is a very effective way to reduce inappropriate behaviors

―It is also useful to develop your sense of humor, which is usually appreciated by others and can help you face small and sometimes large problems.‖ (Hill, 1985:332)

2.5.7 The factors outside the classroom, which influence the classroom management

The graduation paper by Do, Thi Mai Chi (2008) mentioning factors outside the

classroom which influence the classroom management as follow:

 Peer relations: Peers play an important role in a young learner’s schooling Peers serve

as reinforce be giving or drawing attention and approval They also serve as models and basis for social comparisons Peer relations contribute to the young learner’s perception of their success Positive peer relations can reduce social isolation and improve social academic abilities Poor peer relations can result in isolation and even psychological problems The young learners who are accepted by their peers are willing to take part in classroom activities Those who are rejected by their peers often feel anxious and have less confidence In addition, peer prejudice is often a catalyst for misbehavior Teachers should help them build positive relationships by enhancing classroom interaction, cooperation and conversation

 Teacher’s attention: Educationists emphasize the relationship between teachers and students because the relation socializes attitudes, values, and abilities of the students Teacher’s positive comments on and attention to the young learners can promote their performance in the classroom

 Parents’ care and encouragement: Parents’ attitudes towards young learners’ performance play a quite important role in their classroom management So regular teacher- parents conference often take place in most primary schools to serve the purpose

2.6 Summary

Having a look at related literature urges the author to investigate the difficulties in teaching English for children in Hadong district since there has never been any investigation into this topic Also, it is very important for teachers and educators to make better teaching and learning if they have a comprehensive look on children It is considered the collation for the next chapters

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the setting of this study, that is twenty primary schools in Hadong, the real situation of English teaching for children, the different types of text books, available aids for teaching, the teachers and the school students in Hadong It also reveals the instruments for collecting data and data collecting procedure which are the basements for the

following chapters

3.1 The setting of the study

For the time being, Hadong district has twenty primary schools with more than seventy teachers of English aged from twenty-three to forty in their teaching currency And the number of 1st grade classes is over ninety Recently Hadong has been in its primary expands

so that by the year 2020 there will have been more than ten primary schools putting into operation Hadong Education and Training Department has given favorable conditions to all primary schools to get access to English teaching from 1st grade by giving nongovernmental organizations permissions to launch English program for 1st and 2nd grades As a result, most

of the teachers have been teaching English in an unprofessional way because they were not

trained to teach English for young learners

3.1.1 Teaching materials

For the time being in Hadong, there are 4 text books being used in grade one, they are:

Let’s learn, Phonics, Next Stop, and Family and Friends They are all foreign books except Let’s Learn published by Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (2003) Thus, the

syllabus for each book is different For example, Next Stop book by Macmillan publisher (2007) has four units, each unit has ten lessons All these books are at starter levels, each book

is designed with many colorful pictures to attract young children

3.1.2 Teaching facilities

Teaching facilities also play an important role in teaching English and may affect the teaching process positively or negatively In Hadong in particular and Hanoi in general, the

issue of teaching facilities has been a hot topic for a long time and the answer is still pending

According to Mr Pham Xuan Tien (2010), Head of Primary Education Department, Ministry of Education and Training, the basic facilities needed are laboratory, CD player,

cassettes, teaching aids and so on However, many English classes at many primary schools including state and private schools are short of teaching facilities

In addition, English for 1st grade is still new for them because they have been teaching English for grade three to five, and English has been taught to grade one and two for two years

up to now However the teachers have not been trained to teach young learners as such This may be one of the reasons teachers find it very difficult to teach English for grade one

The thing is that most of the teachers in Hadong has pronunciation problems Their pronunciation is not good and standard There are about fifty out of seventy teachers have trouble with pronouncing the words in a correct way

3.2.2 The school students

All 1st grade school students in Hadong are six years old and the English is very new for them In fact, this is the first time they start study a foreign language As the result, they are very interested in studying English; this may be a favorable condition for teachers after a lot of difficulties They are from all classes of society However, no matter where the children are from, teachers always put the children’s study into a focus

3.3 Instruments for collecting data

In this study, questionnaires and classroom observation are chosen as main tools for collecting information because of some advantages Firstly, these methods give the needed data in quantitative form Secondly, all informants have chance of expressing their attitudes

As a result, the study will be more objective with accurate data

The set of questionnaires was administered to get information concerning these following aspects:

 Teachers’ attitudes towards English teaching for young learners

 Student’s attitudes towards learning English

 English teaching methods to children in Hadong

 Professional training courses for teachers

3.4 Data collecting procedure

The procedure of collecting data is as follow:

First, the teachers in Hadong are given a set of questionnaires with a clear purposes provided by the researcher in break - time Then they are all explained the benefits of this research for their teaching; this helps to encourage the teachers to complete the questionnaires Finally, the researcher collects all the questionnaires right after the teachers have finished

In order to make the result of the questionnaire more reliable, during 10 weeks, the author conducts the observations in ten primary schools with ten teachers of English To have fair comparisions, the author observes teaching vocabulary lesson in all ten schools

3.5 The method of analyzing the data

In this study, quantitative and qualitative methods are used to analyze data Particularly, charts and tables are employed to present data collected from questionnaires and

classroom observations

3.6 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter provides the current situations in primary schools in Hadong such as, teaching materials, teaching facilities, teachers, school students, as well as instruments for collecting data, data collected procedure and method of analyzing the data which helps us have a deep look on primary schools and the methods to approach to this study Also, it is the foundation for the following chapter

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

This chapter brings about the detailed analysis on questionnaires and classroom

observation Using questionnaires and classroom observations as the main tools to collect data, this chapter works on the data collected which result in the findings and possible suggestions

In this chapter, the collected data will be illustrated on tables and charts Each table or chart is followed by an analysis of the data

4.1 Presentation and analysis of data

4.1.1 Teachers’ opinions towards English teaching to 1st grade - students

Although many researchers share the same opinions about the vital role of classroom management which is "the most important factor because children's self - control ability is very poor" (Ly & Wu, 1999:223), it can be said that "the effective classroom management in young learners English teaching means successful teaching and learning" (Campbell, 1990:98), the result of the first question is rather different Twenty one out of forty teachers express that

it is teaching method, not classroom management, which is the most difficult However, the number of teachers expressing classroom management - the biggest problem - is not small Sixteen teachers which accounts for forty percent facing the problem Knowledge of major, teacher’s manner and use of English are three biggest problems of the rest three teachers Thus, the biggest problems teachers are coping with are English teaching method and classroom management

Chart 1: The most difficult skills to teach

15

12.5 22.5

Speaking

Listening

Story telling

Phonics learning Vocab learning

The diagram shows the answer of the question 2 the most difficult skill in teaching English for grade one The reason is that speaking, story telling and vocabulary require teachers to combine different kinds of teaching methods and students have some certain background

knowledge, but here the students are in grade one So, no matter how hard the teachers try, they hardly ever reach teaching aims The different figures in question 3 show the various opinions of the teachers on the feasibility of teaching English for grade one

Their reason mostly is that students at this age are too small They cannot write, read or even speak full sentences, so how they can learn a foreign language well In my opinion, teaching English to young learners is feasible if there is suitable program which focuses on what children are good at, for example pronunciation and speaking

4.1.2 Children’s attitudes on learning English

With very small students at the age of six, adding the number of 100 percent of the students do not learn English at preschools; in fact, it is the first time experience in acquiring a foreign language This puts a burden on primary teachers’ shoulders because they have to invest more time and energy for their students However, the figures from question number five and seven is a good signal from students’ attitudes towards the textbook because they all have positive attitude towards the textbook and studying English

5 How do the children like the textbook? 24 60 16 40

a Really b Rather c A little d Not

at all

7 To what extent do the children like

a Not at all b A little c Really d Quite

Table 1: Students' attitudes on learning English

Table 1 shows that most of the students really like the books because they are colored books with a lot of colorful pictures; Sharing the same opinion with this idea, Amstrong (2000) emphases that visual imagery plays an important role in the student's learning process The individual is processing primarily in pictures rather than words, ideas are interconnected Thus, children will like to explore whatever attracts their attentions

Because of the spatial visual style (Amstrong, 2000), children like to learn through pictures, vocabulary learning is the skill that they like to learn the most Besides vocabulary, story telling is also their favorite skill Chart 3 below shows details about the children's favorite skills:

60

15 25

Sharing the reason for the fact that no student likes to study speaking and listening, many teachers say because students do not have much vocabulary and grammar structures to build sentences or hear the words, so when they study speaking and listening, it seems to be boring

to them

Luckily, most of the students seem to have positive attitudes towards English study (80 %) This is good news for the teachers for once the students love English they will be eager to take part in any learning process and activities

Chart 4 below presents students’ most difficult learning skills, 42.5% of teachers think that story telling is the most difficult because most of the stories are a little bit long and have many new words that are confused the students As a result, this causes negative attitudes Then 40 percent of teachers agree that listening is the skill that puts students into trouble the most Their reason is that in English, words and sentences have stress and intonation, which is not flat like Vietnamese This is the first time they get familiar to English, so it is difficult to catch the words and sentences' sounds

Chart 4: The most difficult skills to

learn

7.5 0 10

On the contrary, vocabulary receives

no idea on this issue This is because when teaching vocabulary teachers use many teaching aids like flashcards, CDs, VCDs, ect Children are very eager to learn with funny clips or pictures So, vocabulary is not difficult for them to learn

Scovel (1999:213) said "children are the world's best imitators", they can learn a new language very well Thus, phonics learning and speaking are not the difficult skills

4.1.3 English teaching methods to children of primary school teachers

According to Richard and Rogers (1986), there are four main language teaching methods: direct method, grammar-translation method, audio-lingual method and communicative language teaching method Chart 5 below reveals the number of teachers in percent of using each method:

Chart 5: Teaching methods

7.5

CLT Audio-lingual Direct

Apparently, more than half of the teachers (57.5%) use CLT method to teach, 22.5 percent of them use grammar-translation method the rest 25% use the direct and audio-lingual methods Through the above figures, we can see that the

communicative approach receives most teachers’ attentions because according to them, they let students use the language a

great deal through communicative activities such as games, role- plays, songs, and problem solving tasks On the contrary, the results of the survey questionnaire, when observing classes, the result is a little bit different 7 teachers use Vietnamese in the class most of the time about 80 percent except some imperative sentences such as, stand up, sit down, be quite, come in….However, they translate it into Vietnamese right after they say it in English while they