Listening skill practice through english songs for grade 5

However, listening skill is one of the most difficult language skills for students learning English.. Furthermore, listening is a passive activity that listeners have received informatio

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 The reason for choosing the subject:

With the general growth of society, English is becoming popular for all

of people in over the world Teaching and learning English is a problem that the Vietnam educations care about

Learning to communicate a foreign language is a very complex process which involves the development of the four skills: listening, speaking,

writing and reading The aim of this article is to focus on teaching of two

skills: listening and speaking to young learners of Viet Nam Of the four

skills, listening is naturally the first skill young learners need to develop

before they feel ready to speak, read and write

However, listening skill is one of the most difficult language skills for students learning English In a recent survey of individuals, I noticed that:

"More than 60% of my students think that listening skill is one of the biggest obstacles in learning English." In particular, many of them practiced listening

in many different ways, but all failed When being asked, "How do you practice listening?", most of them answered that: listen every day, listen whenever they have free time, watch movies, listen to music, listen to the news, listen to the audio clip in English books And the overall result received, "I practice

listening too much but can’t improve it”

Causes include both objective and subjective ones The objective reason is that: Listening skills is relatively difficult in comparison with the three

remaining skills, requiring high accuracy in pronunciation (Pronunciation) and intonation (intonation) Furthermore, listening is a passive activity that listeners have received information from other people, who may have different pronunciation, intonation, and expression, which also leads to state mentality

to the listener (passive character)

Besides the objective reasons, we cannot fail to mention the subjective reasons such as: listening activities are much less accessible and less diverse, the pronunciation or vocabulary practice, structures should not be mastered during listening comprehension and the ways children use vocabulary are inaccurate This leads to low self-esteem, lack of interest in participating in the listening activities of underdeveloped students So, as a teacher, what we need to do to help students pronounce correctly - listen vocabulary, sentences, structures exactly in the listening activities, practice listening skills well, apply

to real life in a funny and entertaining way This is the reason why I have

studied, applied and written the initiative: "Listening skill practice through English songs for grade 5"

In this paper, I choose some English special, effective English songs,

which I have applied in some lessons with the desirousness of practicing and developing students' listening skills better

2 Research purposes :

By successfully researching the subject, the initiative will help

teachers get the following experience:

1 How to design listening exercises through English songs

2 The steps to teach listening effectively through English songs

3 Instruct students to train themselves to have the skills and techniques

of listening through English songs

3 Research objects :

Elementary students in general and students in grade 5 in particular

4 Research methods:

4.1 Observation Method: self-researching, conducting class attendance

of colleagues

4.2 Method of exchange and discussion: After attending the writer and other colleagues’ teaching lessons, the colleagues and the writer will carry out the subject, discuss to get the experience for the lessons

4.3 Experimental Methods: Teachers conduct experiential instruction

that requires specific lessons of instruction

4.4 Method of investigation: Teacher interviews students

5 The new points of experience initiative.

In this experience initiative, in addition to continuing to apply some songs to classroom lessons as I did in the previous experience initiative, I have incorporated a number of songs for the new 5th grade program and for some of the outdoor activities of the school English club

PART II: THE CONTENT OF EXPERIENCE

INITIATIVE 1 The theoretical basis

Listening skill is foundation for other skills Students should develop their listening skill when learn foreign language By listening, students are preparing to imitate the sounds when they speak In addition, listening skills can lay foundation for reading instruction by developing good listening skill, students match the sounds with corresponding symbols The teaching of

listening plays an important role in every English teachers

The important question that should be answered is : how do I teach listening? Actually the activity of teaching listening must not rely on tape recorder A teacher`s speech will be a teaching material, somehow the

teacher must have good pronunciation In addition, teacher must set the

teaching and learning well (pre listening-while listening - post listening) The creative teacher should be able to have motivational and stimulation

technique that found to be effective in classroom

Listening is the language modality that is used most frequently It

has been estimated that adults spend almost half their communication time listening, and students may receive as much as 90% of their in-school

information through listening to instructors and to one another Often, however, language learners do not recognize the level of effort that goes into developing listening ability

Far from passively receiving and recording aural input, listeners actively

involve themselves in the interpretation of what they hear, bringing their

own background knowledge and linguistic knowledge to bear on the

information contained in the aural text Not all listening is the same; casual greetings, for example, require a different sort of listening capability than do academic lectures Language learning requires intentional listening that

employs strategies for identifying sounds and making meaning from them Listening involves a sender (a person, radio, television), a message, and a receiver (the listener) Listeners often must process messages as they come, even if they are still processing what they have just heard, without

backtracking or looking ahead In addition, listeners must cope with the

sender's choice of vocabulary, structure, and rate of delivery The complexity

of the listening process is magnified in second language contexts, where the receiver also has incomplete control of the language

English in elementary school is an important step for the secondary

school So they play an important role during the children’s learning process Given the importance of listening in language learning and teaching, it is

essential for language teachers to help their students become effective

listeners In the communicative approach to language teaching, this means modeling listening strategies and providing listening practice in authentic situations: those that learners are likely to encounter when they use the

language outside the classroom

2 The situation of problem

Achieving the best results for the quality of students’ courses is not an easy thing In the process of learning English, students often encounter difficulties

in the skill lessons , especially for students in grades 3, 4 and 5 because these are the first years for students to get acquainted with the subject, with

vocabulary and structures, so their knowledge of the subject is meager

Moreover, students are new to the lessons of skills, including listening I noticed that during the listening lessons, apart from students who understand the requirements and perform activities well, there are many students with basic mistakes For example, in the listening activities to connect the concepts, the equivalent sentences (Matching) sometimes they match by their emotion

or airiness (without base), so the results of the exercise are not correct

Or in listening activities to fill in the blanks with the appropriate

words, their common mistakes are misspelling words or being confused with other words such as: “one” and “want”; “five” and “fine”

In a small number of cases, although teachers explained clearly about the requirements of the listening activities, the results still do not satisfy all requirements for activities that teachers have given Thus the effectiveness

of listening lessons are not high and uneven among pupils

Listening is one of the four key skills, not outside communication

purposes, it goes through all the parts of the lessons from grade 3 to 5, is

coordinated smoothly, inseparably with other skills In communication we

speak to convey our opinions, but we also need to listen and understand the

others’ opinion to see what they say or what is new It is offered to ensure the meaning and achieve the purpose of communication This is very

important and is also the destination of learning listening skills in particular and of the subject in general

Besides the above reasons, there are some other reasons that students are

not interested in listening lessons They are:

1 Some topics in the textbook are not really close to the students

because the students’ knowledge of nature - society is limited

2 Besides, the material base as well as support for the subject is poor The school does not have a standard room for English, some students also find

it difficult to purchase books, especially the children who do not have a

dictionary, do not equip themselves with listening books or tapes, discs, radio

3 Especially, the students’ efforts are too little Their efforts to improve refresher vocabulary, pronunciation, intonation… are not regular, continuous So their listening ability is limited

Having seen many objective and subjective causes of listening teaching

in primary schools, I tried to collect and write some songs with short and

funny rhythm which integrate into a number of questions, some words students have learned to teach them sing and listen Surprisedly, the children enjoyed singing and sing very boldly They are more open-hearted, not shy anymore, they also participate actively in listening activities Recently, students have been improved in English subject Although the results are not really high but the first step makes me excited about my work After class, one interesting thing is that I have encountered my students singing the songs that I have taught them in listening lessons Indeed, it was a success

At the beginning time of the first semester in the school year 2016 –

2017, I decided to examine the quality of English subjects for both grades 5: 5A, 5E by a listening test to make foundation and goal setting for my

initiatives

Table 1: Quality survey

RESULTS

STUDENT quantit % quantit % quantit % quantit %

3 The implemented solutions

Here are some of the songs for students of grade 5 that I collect or

self-designed and applied in my teaching process

3.1 The song: This is the time we do everything

*Used for Unit 2 – I always get up early (English 5) This

is the time I get up, six thirty, six thirty This is the

time I get up, six thirty in the morning This is the

time I have breakfast, at seven, at seven

This is the time I have breakfast, at seven in the morning

This is the time I go to school, seven thirty, seven thirty

This is the time I go to school, seven thirty in the morning

This is the time I have lunch, eleven, eleven

This is the time I have lunch, eleven in the morning

This is the time I do my homework, three o’clock, three o’clock

This is the time I do my homework, three o’clock in the afternoon

This is the time I have dinner, seven o’clock, seven o’clock

This is the time I do have dinner, seven o’clock in the evening

This is the time I watch TV, watch TV, eight o’clock

This is the time I watch TV, eight o’clock in the evening

This is the time I go to bed, go to bed, ten o’clock

This is the time I go to bed, ten o’clock in the evening

Activity 1: Listen and tick.

* The objective of the activity:

This activity helps students listen to understand, select and tick in the best picture

After introducing some new words, teachers hang the paintings, which was prepared on the extra-board Each painting has two or three options A, B

or C The teacher explains the task of the exercise, then open the tape 3 times Teachers ask students to Listen - tick

* Active Content : Listen and tick.

a

c

d

Key: 1) 11.00

2) 3.00

3) 7.00

4) 8.00

Activity 2: Listen and answer

* The objective of the activity:

This activity helps students understand the song and write the answers After introducing some new words, teachers give the questions, which are prepared in extra-board Teachers explain the task of the exercise

Teachers play the recorder 3 times then ask students to listen and answer

* Active Content: Listen and

answer a What time do you get up?

b What do you do at 7 o’clock?

c Do you go to school at 7.30? c

Do you go to bed at 10.15 p.m?

*Key:

a I get up at six thirty

b I have breakfast at o’clock

c Yes, I do

d No, I don’t I go to bed at 10 p.m

3.2 The song: What I want to be

*Used for Unit 15 – What would you like to be in the future? (English 5)

What I want to be, what I want to be When I grow up to be big me

What I want to be, what I want to be Is a doctor or a mail carrier

Each day I work, what fun it would be

I'll always do my responsibility.I'll do what I do so carefully When

I grow up to be big me What I want to be, what I want to be

When I grow up to be big me What I want to be, what I want to

be Is a farmer or a firefighter?

Each day I work, what fun it would be

I'll always do my responsibility.I'll do what I do so carefully

When I grow up to be big me.

Doctor Mail carrier Farmer Firefighter

When I grow up to be big me

* Active Content : Listen and tick the job you hear

Key:

3.3 The song: Let’s go to the zoo

*Used for Unit 9 – What did you see at the zoo? (English 5)

Let's go to the zoo And jump like the kangaroos do [Kangaroo gesture.]

Let's go to the zoo And jump like the kangaroos do.[Jump around the

room like kangaroos.]

Let's go to the zoo And swing like the monkeys do [Pretend to swing from

a tree Monkey gesture.]

Let's go to the zoo And swing like the monkeys do.[Swing around the

room like monkeys.]

Let's go to the zoo And waddle like the penguins do [Penguin gesture.]

Let's go to the zoo And waddle like the penguins do.[Waddle around

the room like penguins.]

Let's go to the zoo And slither like the snakes do [Snake gesture.]

Let's go to the zoo And slither like the snakes do.[Slither around the

room like snakes.]

Let's go to the zoo And swim like the polar bears do [Polar bear gesture.] Let's go to the zoo And swim like the polar bears do.[Swim around the

room like polar bears.]

Let's go to the zoo And dance like the animals do [Do a silly

dance!] Let's go to the zoo And dance like the animals do ♫

* Active Content: Listen and write the animals you hear Then read

aloud and do actions:

Keys: 1 elephants 4 penguins

2 kangaroos 5 snakes

3 4 The song: What’s the matter?

*Used for Unit 11– What’s the matter with you? (English 5)

(What’s the matter?)3 – I am sick

What’s the matter? Are you OK? –I am sick today

Oh, no

(What’s the matter?)3 - I am sad

What’s the matter? Are you OK? –I am sad today

Oh, no

(What’s the matter?)3 - I am tired

What’s the matter? Are you OK? –I am tired today

Oh, no

(What’s the matter?)3 - I am hot

What’s the matter? Are you OK? –I am hot today

Oh, no

(What’s the matter?)3 - I am cold

What’s the matter? Are you OK? –I am cold today

Oh, no

Activity: Listen and write

Listen and write:

* The objective of the activity:

This activity helps students listen - to understand and write in the blank

to complete the sentence and help them reinforce the pronunciation of words through listening to their sounds

After the introduction of the new words, the teacher gives the

extra-board, which contains the content of the song with the blanks and some

pictures Teacher asks students to skim the contents to predict vocabulary Teacher opens the tape - Students listen to the song and write

* Active Content: Students listen to the song and write

1, What’s the matter? –I am ………… today

2, What’s the matter? –I am ………… today

3, What’s the matter? –I am ………… today

4, What’s the matter? –I am ………… today

5, What’s the matter? –I am ………… today

Key: 1 sick 2.sad 3 Tired 4 hot 5 cold

3.5 The song: Wake up! (Daily routines song)

*Used for Unit 2 – I always get up early How about you? (English

5) I wake up, I wake up, I wake up, I wake up,

I wash my face, I wash my face, I wash my face, I wash my

face This is what I do, when I wake up in the morning Yeah

This is what I do, when I wake up Yeah

I brush my teeth I brush my teeth I brush my teeth I brush my teeth

I comb my hair I comb my hair I comb my hair I comb my hair

This is what I do, when I wake up in the morning Yeah

This is what I do, when I wake up Yeah.

I eat breakfast I eat breakfast I eat breakfast I eat breakfast

I go to school I go to school I go to school I go to school

This is what I do, when I wake up in the morning Yeah

This is what I do, when I wake up Yeah

I wake up, I wake up I wash my face, I wash my face

I brush my teeth I brush my teeth

I comb my hair I comb my hair

I eat breakfast I eat breakfast

I go to school I go to school (Alright)10

Activity: Listen and match half of sentence in column A with suitable one in column B.

* The objective of the activity:

By activities, teachers add vocabulary for students More

importantly, teachers help them to pronounce, understand and

connect corresponding phrases (clauses) to make up right sentences.

* Active mode:

+ The teacher writes the parts of sentences in two columns on the

extra-board, explains the request.

+ Students do and perform the task.

+ Students read and sing in chorus.

* Active Content: Listen and match half of sentence in column A with column B

* Key: 1- b 3 - a

While introducing a number of new words or phrases, teachers do not need to insist on presenting form of the verb as for students in grade 4 The important thing in Listening - Matching activity is that students can listen to the pronunciation of words and phrases to match the equivalent clauses

3.6 The song: Making comparisons.

*Used for Unit 20 – Which is more exciting, life in the city or life in

the countryside? (English 5)

(Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster,

slower)2 Which one is faster? A cheetah or a snail? snail

Which one is taller? Louise or the Eiffel Tower?

Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster,

slower Which one is bigger? The USA or Thailand? Which

river is longer? The Missisippi or the Nile?

Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster,

slower Which one is hotter? Singapore or Norway? Which

one is colder? Moscow or Bombay?

(Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster,

slower)2Activity: Listen and do the gap – filling

* The objective of the activity:

This activity helps students listen - understand and fill in the blanks and helps them reinforce the pronunciation of words by listening to their sounds

to practise listening skill

After the introduction of the new words, the teacher hang the

extra-board, which contains the song with blanks, ask students to skim the contents

of the song to have initial prediction in order to complete the blanks

Teachers play the tape - Students listen and fill

*Active Content 1: Listen and fill in the gaps with words you

hear (Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster, slower)2 Which one is (1) _ _ _ _ _ _ ? A (2) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ or a snail?

Which one is taller? Louise of the (3) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _?

Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster, slower

Which one is (4) _ _ _ _ _ _? The USA or (5) _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_? Which (6) _ _ _ _ _ is longer? The Missisippi or the Nile?

Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster, slower

Which one is (7) _ _ _ _ _ _ _? Singapore or Norway? Which

one is (8) _ _ _ _ _ _? Moscow or Bombay?

(Bigger, smaller, higher, lower Shorter, taller, faster,

slower)2 * Key:

3 - Eiffel Tower 7 - shorter

* Active Content 2: Answer the questions:

1.Which one is faster? A cheetah or a snail?

2 Which one is taller? Louise or the Eiffel Tower?

3 Which one is bigger? The USA or Thailand?

4 Which river is longer? The Missisippi or the Nile?

5 Which one is hotter? Singapore or Norway?

6.Which one is colder? Moscow or

Bombay? *Key: 1 A cheetah is faster than a snail