AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE OF USING TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) METHOD TO TEACH ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGHUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ---VO THI THU HUONG AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE OF USING TOTAL PHYSICAL R

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-VO THI THU HUONG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL TEACHERS’

PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE

OF USING TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) METHOD

TO TEACH ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS

AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS

IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

HUE, 2014

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-VO THI THU HUONG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL TEACHERS’

PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE

OF USING TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) METHOD

TO TEACH ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS

AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS

IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 60.14.01.11

SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr Ed PHAN VAN HOA

HUE, 2014

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

-VÕ THỊ THU HƯỜNG

ĐIỀU TRA VỀ NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN

VÀ THỰC TẾ GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH

SỬ DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP PHẢN ỨNG CƠ HỌC (TPR) TẠI MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở QUẢNG BÌNH

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SỸ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP

DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH

MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC:

PGS.TS PHAN VĂN HÒA

HUẾ, 2014

This study investigates issues relating to teaching English using Total PhysicalResponse (TPR) method at some primary schools in Quang Binh It aims to exploreprimary teachers’ perceptions of using TPR to young learners, how teachers use it

in classroom at present, and whether they faced any challenges in teaching process.The data were collected through the questionnaires, the interviews and theclassroom observations Twenty primary teachers and fifty pupils in Quang Binhprovince participated in the study The collected data identified the teachers’perceptions and practice of using TPR to young learners The findings of the studyrevealed that most of the teachers had positive perceptions toward using TPR toyoung learners In spite of the fact that many of the teachers agreed upon theeffectiveness of the TPR method, a few of them still did not feel satisfied because ofsome constraints that impeded the successful implementation of TPR Hence, somesuggestions were forwarded based on the major findings so as to minimizeproblems encountered and maximize the implementation of TPR to young learners

at primary schools

I would never have been able to finish my thesis without the guidance of mysupervisor, committee members; help from friends; and support from my belovedfamily

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor

Mr Hoa, for his assistance, encouragement, enthusiasm, patience, and immenseknowledge

My sincere thanks also go to the teachers of the Department of English for theuseful knowledge that they taught me during the time I attended the M.A course.Additionally, I wish to thank all librarians at Hue College of Foreign Languageswho have created favorable conditions for me to seek and borrow useful documents Thirdly, I wish to send my great appreciation to the primary teachers whoparticipated in this study for their willingness to share valuable ideas andexperiences of teaching English to primary children through the questionnaires andinterviews

Additionally, I would like to send my sincere thanks to all friends of EnglishM.A class (2012-2014), especially Hien and Hoa who were always cheering up andstood by me during the thesis

My greatest thanks are also sent to my beloved family: parents, elder sister andtwo younger brothers I dedicate this thesis to my family because of their constantsupport and their unconditional love Their love helps me to pursue this degree Finally, I offer my regards and blessing to all of those who supported me in thecompletion of the thesis.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Pages

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF CHARTS viii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Rationale for the study 2

1.3 Objectives of the study 3

1.4 Research questions 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Scope of the study 3

1.7 Structure of the thesis 4

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Overview of young learners 5

2.1.1 Definitions of “young learners" 5

2.1.2 Characteristics of young learners 6

2.1.3 How young learners learn a language 9

2.2 Teaching English to young learners in the elementary school 12

2.2.1 Teaching English to young learners: advantages and disadvantages 12

2.2.2 Teachers of young learners 14

2.3 Why TPR method should be used in teaching English to young learners? 16

2.3.1 Introduction to TPR 16

2.3.1.1 Definition 16

2.3.1.2 Principles of TPR 17

2.3.1.3 Roles of teacher, learner in TPR 18

2.3.1.4 Implementation of TPR in classroom 19

2.3.2 TPR activities 21

2.3.3 Benefits of using TPR in teaching English to young learners 22

2.4 The relationship between TPR and young learners’ characteristics 23

2.5 Major factors affecting the implementation of TPR 24

2.5.1 Factors affecting teaching language 24

2.5.2 Factors affecting the implementation of TPR 25

2.5.2.1 Teachers’ perceptions 25

2.5.2.2 Factors from learners 26

2.5.2.3 Classroom condition 26

2.5.2.3 Class size 27

2.5.2.4 Physical environment 27

2.5.2.5 Material design 27

2.6 Previous studies on the use of TPR in teaching English to young learners 27

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD 29

3.1 Research approach 29

3.2 Participants 29

3.3 Research Site 30

3.4 Instruments of data collection 30

3.4.1 Questionnaires 31

3.4.2 Interview 31

3.4.3 Classroom observation 31

3.5 Data analysis 32

3.6 Summary 33

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 34

4.1 Findings from the questionnaire 34

4.1.1 Teachers’ perceptions of the importance and necessity of TPR method 34

4.1.2 Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of TPR 35

4.1.3 Teacher’s perceptions of the disadvantages of TPR 37

4.2 Implementation of TPR 38

4.2.1 Frequency of the use of TPR in classroom 38

4.2.2 TPR activities 38

4.2.3 Challenges that teacher may face when using TPR method 40

4.2.4 Factors affecting the implementation of TPR 41

4.2.4.1 Factors from teachers’ perceptions of attitude, knowledge and teaching skill 42 4.2.4.2 Factors from learners 43

4.2.4.3 Other factors 44

4.3 Findings from the interview 44

4.4 Findings from the classroom observation 49

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 53

5.1 Summary 53

5.2 Major Findings 53

5.2.1 Perceptions of teachers 53

5.2.2 Practice of using TPR method 53

5.2.3 Factors affecting the implementation of TPR 54

5.3 Conclusion 54

5.4 Implications 55

5.4.1 Implications for educators 55

5.4.2 Implications for EFL teachers 56

5.4.3 Implications for material designers 57

5.4.4 Implications for pedagogical contribution 57

5.5 Limitations of the study 57

5.6 Suggestions for further research 58

REFERENCES 60

APPENDICES 64

APPENDIX A 65

APPENDIX B 71

APPENDIX C 76

APPENDIX D 77

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Teachers’ perceptions on the importance of TPR 34

Table 4.2 Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of TPR 36

Table 4.3 Challenges that teachers may face when using TPR method 40

Table 4.4 Classroom conditions 49

Table 4.5 Teachers’ activities 50

Table 4.6 Students’ activities 51

Table 4.7 Utilization of teaching aids (visuals, technology) and reference materials 51

Table 4.8 Class Evaluation 52

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1 Teachers and pupils’ perceptions of the disadvantages of TPR 37

Chart 4.2 A comparison between activities used frequently by teacher and preferred activities of pupils 38

Chart 4 3 Factors affecting implementation of TPR 41

Chart 4.4 Teachers’ perceptions of knowledge, attitude and teaching skill 42

Chart 4 5 Factors from learners 43

Chart 4.6 Other factors affecting the implementation of TPR 44

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 Teachers’ perception of the necessity of TPR method 35Figure 4.2 Frequency of the use of TPR in the classroom 38

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the background of the study will be presented Then, therationale for the study, the research questions of the study, and the objectives of thestudy will be stated This is followed with the significance and the scope of thestudy Finally, the structure of the study is outlined

1.1 Background of the study

English, as global language, plays an important role in the internationalinteraction (Crystal, 1997) The introduction of English language to young learners

is thus more and more popular in many countries over the world in recent years InVietnam, English language teaching has formally extended to the primary schoolssince 2003, as a result of changes in the national English education policy - ForeignLanguage Project 2020 of the government (FLP) The major aim of this project is tomotivate the primary school students and help them to be ready and have self -confidence in learning English at higher levels

Nonetheless, teaching English to young learners is quite a hard task for foreignlanguage teachers unless they are equipped with the appropriate knowledge.Teaching English to young learners requires a lot of creativity As Harmer (2001)stated, young learners especially those up to the ages of primary students, learndifferently from older learners, adolescents and adults They are easily gettingbored, losing interest after ten minutes or so If English is taught in an interestingway, it will motivate students to learn it better Additionally, children languageability is developed through practical application Therefore, the acquisition oflanguage should be natural and direct Primary school teachers should realize thatthere is no best teaching method, thus they need to apply many different methods toteach English to young learners But the applied methods need to be not onlyinteresting but also effective Also, Harmer (2007) claimed that some pupils forgetthe lesson easily because they are not active during the learning process or notinvolved in the learning process directly; there is no good atmosphere of learning

process in the class if there is no interaction between teacher and students

Hence, the teaching methods chosen for young learners should be supported bysuitable techniques and activities which will attract their attention One of the mainmethods is used for teaching language to young learners is Total Physical Response(TPR) which is just like the way children acquire their native language (Asher,1977) In fact, the Total Physical Response (TPR) method developed by JamesAsher (2000) provides ideas to design the activities for the success of Englishlanguage learning and teaching

1.2 Rationale for the study

This study is carried out for the following reasons:

Firstly, I graduated from Hue University - College of foreign languages Mymajor is teaching English for high school students and I have ever used TPRmethod in English classes However, when I have a chance to teach in a realenvironment in primary school, everything becomes different I myself found thatthere is a gap between my perceptions and teaching practice As a result, myteaching has not effective yet

Secondly, although much work has been done to explore issues relating to theuse of TPR method to young learners in recent years (for examples, Widodo, 2005;Nugrahaningsih, 2007; Wolfe & Jones, 2008; Elliott & Yountchi, 2009; to namejust a few), little attention has been paid to teachers’ perceptions as well as practice

of using TPR, particularly in EFL context

Finally, the ultimate reason for this study derives from my interest in younglearners, a great concern about TPR method and its importance in teaching andlearning language to young learners Hence, I hold a firm belief that my study iswell worth

For those reasons, it is crucial to conduct research on the English languageteachers’ perceptions and practice of using TPR method

1.3 Objectives of the study

The study proposes the objectives as follows:

a To identify EFL teachers’ perceptions of using Total Physical Responsemethod to teach young learners in English classes

b To describe the implementation of Total Physical Response method to younglearners in English classes as well as find out factors that affect theimplementation of TPR

c To provide some suggestions for teaching English to young learners moreeffectively

1.4 Research questions

The study aims to answer the following research questions:

1 What are EFL teachers’ perceptions of using TPR method to teach English toyoung learners in English classes?

2 How is TPR method used by the primary teachers in English classes? Whatare the factors that affect the implementation of TPR method?

3 What are the suggestions for the teachers to use TPR method to younglearners in English classes effectively?

1.5 Significance of the study

Concerning the objective of this study mentioned above, this study hopefullycan give some contributions as follows:

 In theory: the result of this research may contribute in modifying theoriesthat focus on the perceptions and practice of TPR method

 In practice: It may develop language teachers’ perceptions and practice onthe use of TPR and this research is very useful for learning-teaching process

on pupils and teachers of primary schools

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of the study was limited within 5 primary schools in Quang Binhprovince where an investigation into the use of the TPR method in teachingEnglish to young learners aged from 8 to 10 is implemented The main participantswere the teachers of English and pupils at some primary schools in Quang Binhprovince

1.7 Structure of the thesis

This thesis is organized into five chapters The first chapter gives a briefintroduction about the background of the research, research questions, theobjectives, scope as well as structure of the study In the next chapter, afundamental overview of theoretical concepts relating to the research provided Thethird chapter presents methods used to collect data and information of participants.Questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations are described in more detail

In the fourth chapter, collected data are calculated and analyzed to draw someconclusions about perceptions and practice failure to help EFL teachers use TPRmethod effectively in their own English classes Finally, the study summarizes theresearch findings, offers implications as well as limitations of the study and makessuggestions for classroom practice and further research

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, literature related to TPR will be reviewed In particular, thechapter discusses perceptions/views about TPR and the way it is implemented aswell as factors that may hinder the implementation of TPR

2.1 Overview of young learners

2.1.1 Definitions of “young learners"

There are many definitions of young learners, each with slightly different

perspectives On standard assumptions, “young learners”, known as second

language (L2) learners, refer to children whose first exposure to another languageoccurs after their first language has been established for at least three to five years(Schwartz, 2003; Meisel, 2008) Young learners may start learning English beforethey start primary school

A large number of authors and researchers try to segment learners strictly based

on age: three to five years old, six to eight years old, and so on (Nunan, 2011).According to Linse (2005), young learners are defined as children between the age

of five and twelve Meanwhile, Harmer (2001) stated that “young learners, especially those up to the age of nine or ten, learn differently from older children, adolescents, and adults” (p.38) In contrary to this view, as Scott and Ytreberg

(1990) defined, young learners are between five and ten or eleven years old Thispoint of view is also included in Phillip’s (2003) discussion In Young Learners,Phillip identified that young learners are children from the first year of formalschooling (five or six year old) to eleven or twelve years old Keep all this in mind,

it needs to be addressed that young learners are unique and different from adultlearners

Additionally, Scott and Ytreberg (1990) also divide the children into two groups:the five to seven years old and the eight to ten years old They assume that the five

to seven years old are all at level one, the beginner stage; the eight to ten years oldare also at the beginning stage but they may have been learning the foreignlanguage for some times

In a nut shell, “young learners” are children who attend the primary schools from the first to the fifth grade (six to eleven years old) However, the term “young learners” in this thesis refers to the children the third and the fifth grade (the age

from eight to ten)

2.1.2 Characteristics of young learners

There have been a number of opinions about this aspect However, this researchmainly focuses on some important points from different authors in order to presentthe young learners’ characteristics

According to Scott & Ytreberg (1990, p.2-4), the general characteristics ofstudents in primary schools are:

“They are competence user of mother language; they can tell the difference between the fact and fiction; they love to play and learn best when they enjoy themselves, but they also take themselves seriously and like to think what they are doing is really work; they are enthusiastic and positive about learning; they rely on the spoken world as well as the physical world to convey and understand meaning; they are able to work with others and learn from others; their own understanding comes through eyes, hands and ears; they have very short attention and concentration span”.

In line with this, Philips (2001) states that “younger learners respond to language according to what it does or what they can do with it, rather than treating it

as an intellectual game or abstract system […], and are often unselfconscious and are usually prepared to enjoy the activities the teacher has prepared for them” (p.5).

Under the another viewpoint, Piaget (1970) suggested that teaching English tochildren can mean working with very different age groups with different interest andneeds The range age of the primary schools is from six to eleven years old Hence,they have different characteristics and motivations from the students from junior highschool, senior high school or university That makes teaching primary school studentsnot the same as teaching adults since the primary school students may have lowermotivation in learning In this case, in order to successfully teach English to younglearners, language teachers should have specific skills and intuition

Based on “English for Primary Teachers” written by Slattery and Willis (2001),

the characteristics of primary school students are presented as below:

a Children are learning to read and write in their language

b Children are developing as thinkers

c Children can plan and organize how best to carry out an activity

d Children can work with others and learn from others

e Children can understand the difference between real and imaginary

f Children can be reliable and take the responsibility for class activities androutines

In learning a foreign language, children and adults have different perceptionsbecause they have different characteristics Children are more enthusiastic thanadults Moreover, they like to please their teacher but they can lose their interesteasily in the materials given (Cameron, 2001; Harmer, 2002)

According to Slattrey and Willis (2001), children between 7 and 12 years areyoung learners while those below 7 years old are categorized as very younglearners Similar to this view, Pinter (2006, p 2) divides children into youngerlearners (before school until grade 2 of elementary school) and older learners (grade

3 until grade 6) The table below explains the differences of them

Children are at pre-school or in the first

couple of years of schooling

These children are well established at schooland comfortable with school routine

Generally they have a holistic approach

to language, which means that they

understand meaningful messages but

cannot analyze language yet

They show a growing interest inanalytical approaches, which means thatthey begin to take an interest inlanguage as an abstract system

They have lower levels of awareness

about themselves as language learners

as well as about process of learning

They show a growing level ofawareness about themselves aslanguage learners and their learningThey have limited reading and writing

skills even in their first language

They have well developed skills asreaders and writers

They have more concerned about They have a growing awareness of

themselves than others and have a

limited knowledge about the world

others and their viewpoints, and agrowing awareness about the worldaround us

They enjoy fantasy, imagination, and

In theory, there are many descriptions of characteristics of young learners.Thus, it is indeed to highlight the list of common characteristics which is considered

as the most appropriate characteristics for this study Basically, young learners refer

to the students of primary school They like to play and learn through their hands,eyes, and ears Young learners will choose the activities they like to do according totheir own characteristics Concerning those characteristics, using the body

movement in the process of learning is suitable to young learners because “young children are physically active” (Broughton, 1980, p 169) They like to do physical

movement They don’t like to keep staying in one place which forces them not to dosomething Therefore, activities for young learners should include movement.Teachers will need to have plenty of objects and pictures to work with, and to makefull use of the school and the teachers’ surroundings Demonstrating what theteachers want them to do is very important because the perceptive cognition of theyoung learners at this age is as far concrete as possible Furthermore, young learnerscan respond without understanding They tend to learn directly rather than indirectlythrough what they see, hear, as well as touch and interaction rather thanexplanation However, young learners also understand what is said before theyunderstand the individual words Intonation, gesture, facial expressions, actions, andcircumstances all help to tell them what the unknown words and phrases probably

mean Also, according to Broughton (1980), young learners “love to imitate and mime: they are uninhibited in acting out roles, and they enjoy repetition because it

gives them a sense of assurance and achievement” (p 169) It means that they give

attention to other people and try to imitate merely like other people do and say.This is also the way young learners learn and develop their knowledge

2.1.3 How young learners learn a language

It is a fact that young learners learn best if they are involved in the process ofteaching and learning There are some theories regarding the language acquisitionprocess of young learners Three theories are mentioned below:

Children learn through social

interaction

(Vygotsky, 1962)

Children construct knowledge throughother people, through interaction withadults Adults/teachers work activelywith children in the Zone of ProximalDevelopment (ZPD)

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) =difference between the child's capacity

to solve problems on his own and hiscapacity to solve them with assistance

Children are active learners and

thinkers

(Piaget, 1970)

Children construct knowledge fromactively interacting with the physicalenvironment in developmental stages.They learn through their ownindividual actions and exploration

Children learn effectively through

scaffolding by adults (Bruner, 1983)

The adult’s role is very important in achild’s learning process LikeVygotsky, Bruner focused on theimportance of language in a child’scognitive development He shows howthe adult uses “scaffolding” to guide achild’s language learning throughfinely-tuned talk (Cameron, 2001)

(Woro Retnoningsih, 2012, p.3-4)

The distinction between Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s views was that whileVygotsky (1962) believed that language was central to the cognitive development of

children (that it was instruction provided by an adult that helped children learn anddevelop), Piaget (1970) claimed that children work through different developmentalstages of learning on their own The development of children, which is suggested byPiaget (1970), includes four specific stages as follows:

a Sensori-Motor Stage (from 0 – 2 years) in which children seemed to learnthrough physical interaction with the world around them

b Pre-Operational Stage (from 2 - 7 years) when children need concrete situations

to process ideas

c Concrete Operational Stage (from 7 - 11 years) in which children begin toconceptualize and do some abstract problem solving, though they still learnbest by doing

d Formal Operational Stage (from 1-15) in which children are able to useabstract thinking

Furthermore, the support given by adults was described as scaffolding byBruner (1983) With scaffolding children develop and grow because the adults givesupport to their thinking and learning process The term scaffolding is widely used

in English language teaching when teachers provide support in the learning process

to facilitate the learning either by providing the vocabulary or asking some guidingquestions

Aside from the theories presented above, there are also some theories regardingthe language acquisition process The critical period hypothesis introduced byLenneberg (1967) puts forward the idea that young children can learn a foreignlanguage effectively before puberty as brain reaches its adult values until pubertyand there will be a loss of brain plasticity and its reorganizational capacities(Canbulat & ÇayirogluIsgören, 2005; Gürsoy, 2011; Pinter, 2006) However,Donaldson (1978, cited in Hughes, 2009) believed that children were able to

cognitively develop by trying to make sense of the experiences that they had, and by asking questions and trying things out, or hypothesizing.

To be more obvious, Moon (2000) also points out that young learners learn a

foreign language “through being motivated; by listening and repeating; by

imitating the teacher; by doing and interacting with each other in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance; through a variety of interesting and fun activities for which they see the purpose; through translating sentences into their own language “(p.3).

Related to the different ways that children learn about their world, some authors(Berman, 1998; Brewster, 2002; Smeets, 2004) referred to children’s preferredlearning styles They may be characterized as visual, auditory or kinestheticlearners A visual learner learns best if they see what is happening and links to theirunderstanding On the other hand, an auditory learner will need to hear the input,while a kinesthetic learner will learn best if the learning involves physicalmovement

Considering children’s preferred learning styles are important since someresearch (Berman, 1998 in Ellis & Brewster, 2002) showed that there was acorrelation between success in language learning and preferred learning styles This

is also supported by a research conducted by Rosemary Smeets (2004) who looked

at young language learners and learning styles and she found that the students didseem to be able to learn more words when using their preferred learning style(visual, auditory or kinesthetic)

Among those theories, I strongly agree with Piaget (1970) when he suggested thatyoung learners aged 7-11 years old or within concrete operational stage learn bestfrom concrete things around them Also, I admitted that language was central to thecognitive development of children, that it was instruction provided by an adult thathelped children learn and develop (Vygotsky, 1962) In particular, children aged 8-

10 are competent mother tongue users (Scott & Lisbeth, 1992) In addition, Scott &Lisbeth also say that children particularly aged 8-10 are mature enough Therefore,

at these ages, children can grasp abstract and symbols generalize language andsystematize it

It is clear that activities for young learners should include movements andinvolve the sense From the points of explanation above, children like to beinvolved in something active It is a supporting point for teaching children using theTotal Physical Response, since the TPR is full with real situation being

To make them active, it is necessary that teachers use the activities involved insomething new (visuals, meaningful contexts, various activities, games, songs, andtechnology) This would make learning more enjoyable and faster because they allappeal to young learners Besides, the language teachers should be able to make thecircumstance of learning process which is suitable to the characteristics of thestudents It may give motivation to the students to learn effectively

To sum up, based on those above – mentioned characteristics and the wayyoung learners acquire a language, I considered children from eight to ten years old( from grade 3 to 5) as the target of my study My choice derived from a firm beliefthat children’s cognition at those ages is developmental enough to participate in thestudy’s survey

2.2 Teaching English to young learners in the elementary school

2.2.1 Teaching English to young learners: advantages and disadvantages

Based on young learners’ development and characteristics, it is indeed to explainwhy teaching English to young learners is important Pinter (2006) points out thereason why English should be taught to young learners in primary schools It is

related to term “sensitive period” which psycholinguistics explained for teaching

language to children This term comes from Lenneberg (in Pinter, 2006) whoproposed Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) He states that brain plasticity was onlyconducive to language learning until puberty Therefore, children who start earlierthan eleven to twelve years of age, given advantageous learning circumstances, such

as plenty of input and interaction in an English environment, are more likely toacquire English to native levels without an accent

Scovel (in Brewster & Ellis, 2004) supports Lenneberg’s idea and points out thatlanguage is best learned during the early years of childhood In addition, an officialreference bulletin for educators published by the French Ministry of Education,Bulletin Officiel de I’Education Nationale, (in Brewster & Ellis, 2004) argues thatthe aim of early foreign language learning was not the creation of bilingual childrenbut more reasonably, to prepare children linguistically, psychologically, and

culturally for language learning.

Moreover, starting foreign language lesson at young age would havephysiological advantages Young learners tend to pick up a language easily,especially as far as oral ability is concerned Research has shown thatindividuals learning a language at a young age can achieve near nativepronunciation (Huda, 1999)

Therefore, learning language in early years is important for children They cancomprehend their native language and other languages in the early years, and theyeven can acquire English to native levels without an accent before the age of eleven

to twelve because of their brain plasticity

There are some misunderstandings that many teachers still hold (Cameron,2001), as follows:

a Teaching children is easy and simple

Teaching English to young learners is not an easy thing The first reason ischildren’s world is different from adults’ They do not have the same access tocomprehend the grammar (Cameron, 2001) The second reason is children can losetheir interest quickly They may show their interest at the beginning of the learningbut in the middle of it, if the teacher gives them the same thing, they will feel bored.Therefore, teachers as the instructors and the class managers should know theirstudents and the class well

b Children just need to learn simple language

Children are like a piece of blank paper People around them can write anything

on it If they are just taught with simple thing they will just have that in their mind

In fact, they may be interested in more complicated thing, such as how to operate acomputer, what are dinosaur look like, etc Teachers should realize those things

2.2.2 Teachers of young learners

In teaching as well as learning process, language teacher plays an important role

in transferring knowledge and skill to the students; to guide them in developing

their mind; to educate them on how to absorb; to analyze; and to expand theirindividual knowledge and skill

Concerning the elementary school English teachers’ characteristics, Slattrey(2002) addressed that teachers should encourage students to read in English (stories,comics, reading games) and encourage them to work meaning out for themselves Inaddition, it is necessary to explain thing about language as well as use a wider range

of language input as their model for language use He also stated that teachers need

to encourage creative writing and help them to experiment with the language

From statements above, I completely agree with them Thus, it is crucial for theprimary school English teacher to be more creative in teaching, for example byusing some interesting media and method By these ways, the students could enjoythe lesson more

However, to the extent of teaching English to young learners, Musthafa (2010)delineated requirements that should be fulfilled by teachers of young learners, theyare as follows:

a Teachers of young learners should know who the children are

It is important for teachers to know who young learners are before they want toget involved in the teaching and teachers of young learners should know howchildren learn In order to support this point of view, Stros (1995) pointed out thatchildren learn by doing and they need to make sense of the world – they can “grasp”meaning even if they do not fully understand language Moreover, the process oflearning is as important as the product and success breeds success

b Teachers of young learners should know how children learn foreignlanguage

In the context of teaching, most people assume that children learn a foreignlanguage in the same way that they learn their mother tongue Basically, childrenare potential in acquiring and learning a foreign language, and they even learn itmore quickly than those who are learning the foreign language after puberty(McLaughlin, 1978) On the contrary, children are less capable of absorbing oracquiring a foreign language optimally (Long, 1990)

Followings are some ways teachers can apply in facilitating children learningEnglish as a foreign language:

a Giving exposure by using English for the instruction

In giving the instruction, it is strongly recommended that the teacher usedEnglish from the beginning until the end It is good to provide the target languageinput and to encourage them to speak English in the teaching and learning process

In accordance with Pinter (2006) who claims that teachers who often talk a lot in thetarget language, even in the beginning stages of learning a language, can provide thelanguage input for their students This helps them to get used to the patterns ofintonation and the sounds of the language This exposure can be a model for thestudents to communicate in English

b Giving children chances to be engaged in the teaching and learning process

After the teacher gives the model, the children engage in the learning process bypracticing Teacher also gives them some chances to practice whether it is in pairs

or in groups

c Giving supports to children

Supporting children by giving appreciation after they perform is important.Support in form of credit or reward can help children in gaining their self-confidence If in the performance time they made some mistakes, however, teachershould give the reward first and then after that correcting the mistakes

d Providing good techniques of teaching

Teacher should provide good instruction in teaching children However, in thereal life, the instructions that are used to teach the elementary school studentsemphasize more on mastering grammatical structure, so that the students fellburdened than joy in learning English (Andini: 2007) Moreover, the students areoften asked to memorize the material than to give their own opinions (Utami, 2004)

To this regard, teacher should be creative and find appropriate instructions ortechniques, which are child-friendly, so that the objectives of the teaching andlearning process can be achieved In addition, the teacher should use a variety ofinstructions since children have a limited attention span, so they can easily get

bored and lose interest (Harmer, 2002) There are some instructions or techniquesthat are appropriate to be used in the classroom of young learners, based on manyresearch studies: using stories, using games, using songs and chants, using TPR,role plays, Language Experience Activities (LEA), etc.

e Providing good media

Media is good aids for helping children to learn better By the media, children

do not have to imagine about the materials given, but they see directly There aremuch media that can be used in the classroom, for example: flashcards, audio(songs, storytelling, etc.), video, etc

f Providing good environment

Environment can be a good resource for learning Teacher should facilitate thechildren learning by providing good environment For instance, teacher can askstudents to work both inside and outside the classroom and ask them to notice thesurroundings In the classroom, teacher can provide the sight words by labeling thethings in the classroom (Pinter, 2006)

2.3 Why use TPR method in teaching English to young learners?

2.3.1 Introduction to TPR

2.3.1.1 Definition

Total Physical Response (TPR) method is a language teaching method builtaround the coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language throughphysical activity (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) TPR reflects a grammar based view

of language It was James Asher who brought the idea of TPR in 1960s Asher

(1977) states: “most of the grammatical structures of the target language and hundreds of vocabulary items can be learned from the skillful use of the imperative

by instructor” (p.4).

These commands or imperatives are simple at the beginning, for example,

“come in, go out, stand up, sit down” but after sometimes they may become more complicated (I want all of you sit down and raise your hands, please!) A TPR sequence can be a chain of actions relating to a compound task (take pen and paper, sit down, begin at the top of your paper, write down: Dear ), etc.

To sum up, TPR is a method of teaching language using physical movement toreact to verbal input in order to reduce student inhibitions and lower their affectivefilter It allows students to react to language without thinking too much, facilitateslong term retention, and reduces student anxiety and stress In order to implementTPR effectively, it is necessary to plan regular sessions that progress in a logicalorder, and to keep several principles in mind (Asher, 1977).

2.3.1.2 Principles of TPR

Before applying the TPR method for teaching a foreign language, in this case isEnglish, a teacher should understand its principles well so that he will be able to use

it properly in teaching learning process

Larsen and Freeman (2000, p 111) describe several principles in teaching learningprocess by using TPR upon which the teacher’s behaviors is based The principles

of TPR are as follows:

a Meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through action.Memory is active through learners’ response The target language shouldnot be presented in chunks: not just word by word

b The students’ understanding of the target language should be developedbefore speaking

c The student can initially learn one part of the language rapidly by movingtheir bodies

d The imperative is powerful linguistic device through which the teacher candirect student behavior

e Students can learn through observing actions as well as by performing theaction themselves

f Feeling of success and low anxiety facilitate learning

g Students should not be made to memorize fixed routines

h Correction should be carried out in an unobtrusive manner

i Students must not develop flexibility in understanding a novel combination

of target language chunks They need to understand more than the exactsentences used in training

j Language learning is more effective when it is fun.

k Spoken language should be emphasized over written language

l Students will begin to speak when they are ready

Students are expected to make errors when they first begin speaking Work onthe fine details of the language should be postponed until students have becomesomewhat proficient

2.3.1.3 Roles of teacher, learner in TPR

In the teaching learning using TPR method, the teacher and the learner and theinstruction materials play different roles

Roles of teacher

Before I clarify my point, it is indeed to give definition of teacher or instructor inTPR classes Asher (1977) as quoted by Richard and Rogers (1986, p.97) stated:

“the instructor is the director of a stage play in which the students are the actors In

the line with this idea, Larsen and Freeman (2000) confirmed that teacher is thedirector of all students’ behaviors In fact, teacher is the one who decides what toteach, who models and presents the new materials, and who selects supportingmaterials for classroom use Therefore, the teacher ought to be well prepared andwell organized so that the lesson flows smoothly and predictably It is highlyrecommended to write down the exact utterances the teacher will be using,especially the novel commands because the action is so fast moving; there is usually

no time for you to create spontaneously" In this regard, classroom interaction andturn taking is teacher rather than learner directed

On the contrary, Widodo (2005) states that TPR method tries to introduce somelanguage skills or components in an action in which a teacher serves three roles: anorder taker, a model provider, and an action monitor in which learners serve asmodels and action performers until they feel ready to speak out

In summary, as an English teacher, I assume that teacher plays an active anddirect role: the director of a stage play in which the learners are the actors

Roles of Learner

TPR teaching method requires the students to be the listeners and the performers.They listen attentively and respond both individually and collectively They have

little influence over the content of learning since the content is determined by theteacher who must follow the imperative form for lesson.

According to Larsen and Freeman (2000), the students are imitators of theteacher’s nonverbal model There will be a role reversal with individual studentsdirecting the teacher and the other students

In my view, it is true that learners monitor and evaluate their own progress inTPR They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak that is when asufficient basis in the language has been internalized

Roles of instruction materials

I am concerned on this aspect because it is fit with my situation Since teachers’gestures, movement and sound are enough for young learners to study in classroom,the curriculum of TPR English teaching method usually does not contain the basicteaching materials The teachers will only use the universal things of classroom.Along with the deepening of curriculum, the teachers need manufacture or collectmaterials to support the contents of course, including drawing and word cards and

so on They can manufacture tools which are very suitable for the specific situationssuch as supermarket, cinema, home and playground The students may use thesetools to build scene, for example hold one ticket to go to the cinema or makepurchases of things in the supermarket etc (Lijun Yang, 2014)

Also, I find it difficult for teachers to make a successful TPR class withoutinstruction materials Hence, it is necessary to consider instruction materials whenapplying TPR method in teaching English to young learners

2.3.1.4 Implementation of TPR in classroom

Although TPR is a common activity in primary classes because of its manybenefits (Frost, 2007; Machova, 2009; Ye Zhen, 2011 & Sariyati, 2013), there is nofixed recipe for how frequently teachers should employ TPR in the classroom.Despite the fact that there are many points of view relating to the implementation ofTPR, according to Richard and Rodgers, (2001), procedure of TPR teaching issimilar to the principle of TPR:

Teacher says the command and he himself performs the action then the teacher

says the command and both the teacher and the students perform the action and later on, the teacher says the command but only students perform the action”.

(p.77 - 78)

Similarly, according to Muhren (2003), the basic technique of TPR is simple.

Learners act out commands given by the teacher or their fellow pupils (at a laterstage) Most importantly, a teacher helps learners to be totally involved in TPRactivities so that they can act out what they have heard There is no pressure onthem to speak the foreign language Before any learner can commence to speak out

a foreign language spontaneously as well as creatively, she must feel the innerreadiness to do so When learners are ready, they feel that the words of thelanguage-sound and meaning integrated and combined into larger utterances -springfrom within themselves This inner readiness will develop gradually but inevitablywith prolonged exposure to the sound of understood language and an activeinvolvement in its meaning

On the other hand, Frost (2007) states that the teacher plays the role of parent

in the classroom She can start by saying a word ('jump') or a phrase ('look at the board') and demonstrating an action The teacher then says the command and the

students all do the action; after repeating a few times it is possible to extend this

by asking the students to repeat the word as they do the action; when they feelconfident with the word or phrase teacher can then ask the students to direct eachother or the whole class Furthermore, TPR can be used to teach and practice

many things such as: vocabulary connected with actions (smile, chop, headache, wriggle); grammatical items, including tenses past/present/future and continuous; aspects (Every morning I clean my teeth, I make my bed, I eat breakfast) ; classroom language (Open your books); imperatives/Instructions (Stand up, close your eyes).

Under the view of Richard & Rodgers (2001), I agree that this course consists

of four steps First step is review This is a warming-up step The purpose is tocheck students understanding about the previous lesson and to warm-up thestudents’ readiness in new material before they really enter the new material Next

is new command Here, the teacher introduces some new vocabularies related to the

theme and based on the school curriculum, such as: Take a cup Pour the hot water

on a cup Wash your hands Hold the phone holder Give me a glass of water Do not walk on the floor! Then, the teacher asks simple question which the students can

answer with a gesture, such as pointing to something or someone Second is rolereversal Students readily volunteer to utter commands that manipulate the behavior

of the instructor and other students Third is reading and writing The teacher writes

on the whiteboard each new vocabulary item and a sentence to illustrate the item.Then, she reads each item and acts out the sentence The students listen as she readsthe material Some copy the information in their notebook

2.3.2 TPR activities

It is confirmed that there is a variety of TPR activities that can not only beused to teach vocabulary and grammatical items, but also to teach classroomlanguage as well as instructions These activities include: commands, games, story-telling and songs.

It can be said that “commands” are the combination of known words into a

sentence that is imperative Therefore, in my view, teacher should use a group ofcommands and students are said to act them out These commands can be like:

Stand up, raise your hands, take your pen, put it back on the table, sit down, etc.

To make these commands clear, teachers can use body language and facialexpressions

On the other hand, commands can also be given in form of many “games” and

one of them is Simon says The latter is a game in which the teacher can take the

role of “Simons” and give instructions to hic/her students who are supposed to

perform commands In this game, when a student does not perform a command inthe correct way, she/ he is out of the game This is just one example of games thatrequire physical response, other include back to the board, jigsaw reading, etc

In fact, commands and games are two of common and effective TPRactivities used in primary classes Moreover, it is necessary to consider another

activity beside two activities mentioned above That is “TPR Story-telling” which

is based on telling short stories by teachers and their students are meant to act them

out It is a tool that enables students to fix events of a story in their memories.

Furthermore, it can help students acquire new vocabulary, improve

pronunciation, and above all it is a powerful way to learn language and not to

forget it It can be more useful especially if the teacher plays meaningful “songs”

that transmit moral messages and valuable pieces of advice

In short, there are lots of different ways and techniques of using TPR inclassroom However, the procedures teaching with TPR are very common: Theteacher says the command and he himself performs the action then teacher says thecommand and both the teacher and the students then perform the action After thatteacher says the command but only students perform the action And finally theteacher tells one student at a time to do commands

2.3.3 Benefits of using TPR in teaching English to young learners

In general, TPR is very useful in teaching English to young learners In order to

raise some benefits of this method, Frost (2007) also point out that TPR is fun,applying it enable teachers to break the affective barriers and it can be memorizedeasily What is more, TPR accommodates kinesthetic learners as well as it is rathersuitable for large or small classes and TPR can be implemented in mixed – abilityclasses Certainly, TPR involves both left – right brained learning, thus caterslearns’ learning styles and to be easy to prepare

Furthermore, TPR increases students’ motivation a lot Asher (1979) definesTPR method as one that combines information and skills through the use of thekinesthetic sensory system This combination of skills allows the student toassimilate information and skills at a rapid rate As a result, this success leads to ahigh degree of motivation

In conclusion, it is obvious that TPR should be implemented in the classroomsince TPR is an effective teaching method Besides, TPR is rather suitable forchildren since children do not learn by thinking but by doing (Linse, 2005)

However, TPR method still includes some disadvantages They are:

a Children who are not familiar to this method might find it embarrassing

This can be the case initially that if the teacher is prepared to perform the actions,the students feel happier about copying Furthermore, the children are in a groupand do not have to perform for the whole class This pleasure is reserved for theteachers.

b TPR is only really suitable for beginner levels Whilst, it is clear that it isfar more useful at lower levels since the target language lends itself to muchactivities even though it can successfully be applied at intermediate and advancedlevels In this respect, it is essential to adapt the language, accordingly For

example, when teaching “ways of walking” (stumble, stagger, and tiptoe) to an advanced class and cooking verbs to intermediate students (whisk, stir, and grate),

d Although the use of TPR in the classroom has often been effective, it doeshave flaws One of the flaws is that when a teacher uses TPR in their lesson, theywill have trouble teaching abstract vocabulary or expressions As a remedy, theteacher can write the word on cards with a picture if applicable Another flaw isthat TPR can be ineffective if the teacher uses it for a long period of time withoutswitching it with other activities that help teach the target language Since TPR ismade up of mainly of commands, it tends to neglect narrative, descriptions, andconversation forms of language

2.4 The relationship between TPR and young learners’ characteristics

Harmer advocates that applying a suitable teaching method for the learners’characteristics is important (Harmer, 2002) Young learners who have age rangefrom 8 to 10 have some common characteristics

The first characteristic of these young pupils is that they usually learn the thingsthrough their right-brain activities according to what they have seen and what they

have heard Therefore, when language is taught through physical movements, theright part of the brain plays a significant role The TPR method uses the right half ofthe brain (James, 2001) The second characteristic is that young learners’ motivationdecides their second language acquisition to some extent The teachers’ praises tothe pupils’ performances are part of motivational retrospection, a term coined byZoltán Dörnyei (Dörnyei, 2003) It has been demonstrated that positive motivationcan promote language learners’ willingness to learn another language (Lightbown &Spada, 1999) James has stated that the TPR method is a way that can produce highmotivation of the pupils (James, 2001) The third characteristic is that the pupils’concentration span is limited It is believed that only meaningful, funny contextsand humor enable the pupils to keep their attention to the teaching lesson (Marshall

& Thomas, 2007) Humor is one useful tool to help the pupils to keep their retention

of the words (Jensen, 2000) The TPR method brings humor and enjoyment into theclassroom and increases the concentration span of the pupils (Marshall & Thomas,2007)

2.5 Major factors affecting the implementation of TPR

2.5.1 Factors affecting teaching language

In teaching a foreign language, a teacher should have an objective Thecommon objective of teaching a foreign language is in order to make learners to beable communicate by using the target language orally and written form

Pinter (2006) mentions three contextual factors in language teaching, especially atprimary schools They are language settings, educational frameworks, and status ofEnglish and attitude to English She also points out the aims and objectives of primaryEnglish programmes They include: (1) developing children’s basic communicationabilities in English, (2) encouraging enjoyment and motivation, (3) promoting learningabout other cultures, (4) developing children’s cognitive skills, (5) developingchildren’s metalinguistic awareness, and (6) encouraging, learning to learn

Similarly, Brown (1980) states, teaching is guiding and facilitating learning,enabling, and setting the condition for learning There are some factors that should

be considered before teaching a foreign language such as English Those factors are

“age, ability, aspiration and need, native language, and previous language experience” (Finocchiaro, 1974, p 14) By that statement, it can be concluded that

the material which is going to be presented should be based on the learners’ age,ability, aspiration and need, native language, and previous language experience

2.5.2 Factors affecting the implementation of TPR

Relating to the implementation of TPR, teachers should notice that the effectiveimplementation of TPR can be influenced by a multiple of factors Some of themare identified below

some teachers feel as it is pressurized by the limited time they have to teach The

belief persists that TPR takes too much time and thus covering the portion isdifficult or impossible Even, they come to the conclusion that TPR may be nice intheory but unrealistic in practice These all show that there have been no enoughand concrete perception about how to put TPR into real practice, which may lead tonegative reactions (Capel et al, 1995) These misconceptions show that teachershave not understood as TPR enables them to spend more time with physicalactivities to give access to special needs of students and contribute to a better andquality learning

Refer to knowledge aspect, Frazee et al (1995, p.80) states that the training ofteachers is a crucial factor among other factors that affect the implementation of

TPR Because the teacher is the final decision maker as regard to the actual learningopportunities provided to the students The best designed curriculum as well as thepoorest owes the ultimate success or failure to the quality of the teachers’ planningand implementation In other words, what Frazee et.al wants to say is, if teacherslack knowledge of the teaching method which requires new roles and commitment,implementation will be hampered Hence, provision of in-service teacher training isessential to acquaint teacher trainers with new teaching-learning methodologies,which are learner oriented.

If the expectation that learners should be the agents of change is taken seriously;the capacities this work requires of them be considered carefully, current practice; pre-service and in- service teacher education be examined critically and ways to enhanceteachers’ learning across their careers should be explored more (Mukalel et al, 1999)

In general, even though, the policy advocates TPR, there is a gap between theory andpractice Thus, teacher education needs to model class room teaching skills andmethods that reflect and go in line with the Education and Training Policy

2.5.2.2 Factors from learners

In general, factors from learners mentioned in learners’ characteristics(motivation, learning styles, ability, gender, etc)

2.5.2.3 Classroom condition

Besides social environment of a given institution, the location, size, shape andconstruction of the classroom, the presence and effective management of differentinstructional facilities like: furniture, resource center, laboratory and library serviceshave direct bearing in the instructional methods

Lue (2000:17) explains that teachers who teach many students in overcrowdedclassroom often say that it is certainly not suitable to provide activities and groupworks for such classes Similarly, REB of SNNP (2003, p.19), in its survey studyhas indicated that teachers believe that they cannot do practical activities inovercrowded classrooms

2.5.2.4 Physical environment

A number of schools confirmed that the physical environment (classroomarrangement, furniture arrangement, classroom appearance and layout, etc)contribute a lot to promote physical activities A clean and well kept room withappropriate resources and well aired room help to establish a positive contribution

to implement TPR (Sguazzin & Graan, 1998)

2.6 Previous studies on the use of TPR in teaching English to young learners

In relation to the chosen topic, there have been several related studies on TPRmethod applied to teaching English to young learners Some of them are as follows:First research was conducted by Ice Sariyati (2013) In this research, the authorconcentrated upon the effectiveness of TPR method in English vocabulary mastery

of elementary school children, especially for the first grade Based on the result ofthe data analysis, the author concluded that TPR method can motivate the children

to be interested in learning English vocabulary, as it is entertaining them It wasproven by their being happy, enthusiastic and laughing much during the learningactivity

Secondly, Ye Zhen (2011) used TPR method to teach English adjectives toyoung learners The result of the study showed the pupils’ achievements were