An action research on using music and animated cartoons to teach english to primary students at dong hoa primary school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---  --- VŨ THỊ XUÂN AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING MUSIC AND AN

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-  -

VŨ THỊ XUÂN

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING MUSIC AND ANIMATED CARTOONS TO TEACH ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS

AT DONG HOA PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHIM HOẠT HÌNH

CÓ NHẠC ĐỂ DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC

TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC ĐỒNG HÒA

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Code : 60 14 0111

HANOI – 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-  -

VŨ THỊ XUÂN

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING MUSIC AND ANIMATED CARTOONS TO TEACH ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS

AT DONG HOA PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHIM HOẠT HÌNH

CÓ NHẠC ĐỂ DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC

TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC ĐỒNG HÒA

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Code : 60 14 0111

Supervisor: Prof Dr HOÀNG VĂN VÂN

HANOI – 2014

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT -***** -

I hereby declare that the thesis entitled: “AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING MUSIC AND ANIMATED CARTOONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH

TO PRIMARY STUDENTS AT DONG HOA PRIMARY SCHOOL” represents

my own work for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that it has not been previously submitted to this university or any other institutions in application for admission to a degree, diploma or other qualifications

Hanoi, 2014

Vu Thi Xuan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my supervisor, Prof Dr Hoang Van Van, for his thoughtful advice and assistance in completing this study He devoted a lot of his time to guide and assist me throughout this study But for his advice and guidance, this thesis would not have been completed

My thanks are also extended to all the lecturers in the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU for their useful lectures from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of this study

I am greatly indebted to my students, class 3B, my school principal and

my colleagues at Dong Hoa Primary School for their participation and assistance

I would like to thank my mother and members of my family and my friends who motivated me to go ahead for this study

ABSTRACT

This study aims to examine the application of animated cartoons to teach English to the third graders at Dong Hoa Primary School This study is an action research which consists of four stages: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting The subjects of this study are 39 students from class 3B of the Academic Year 2013 – 2014 The data is collected using the following instruments: document analysis and questionnaire The study employs both qualitative and quantitative method for analyzing the data and obtaining the results The results of the research show that the employment of animated cartoons in teaching can help primary students improve the quality of their English learning The students also show their positive reponses toward the implimentation of animated cartoons in teaching English

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

EFL English as a Foreign Language

FLT Foreign Language Teaching

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CANDIDATE‟S STATEMENT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS vi

LIST OF APPENDICES vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale 1

2 The aim of the study and research questions 2

3 The significance of the study 2

4 Scope of the study 3

5 Method of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Introduction 5

1.2 Teaching English to young learners 5

1.2.1 Definition of young learners 5

1.2.2 Characteristics of young learners 5

1.2.3 Teaching English as foreign language to young learners 7

1.3 Instructional media 9

1.3.1 Definition of instructional media 9

1.3.2 Types of instructional media 9

1.4 Animated cartoons 10

1.4.1 Definition of animated cartoons 10

1.4.2 Advantages of using animated cartoons in ELT 11

1.4.3 Criteria for selecting animated cartoons for teaching 13

1.4.4 Techniques for utilizing animated cartoons in classroom 14

1.4.5 Lesson plan using animated cartoons 16

1.5 Previous studies related to TEFL to young learners 16

1.6 Conclusion 17

CHAPTER II: THE STUDY 2.1 Introduction 18

2.2 The context of teaching English at Dong Hoa Primary School 18

2.3 Identifying the problem 19

2.4 Planning 21

2.5 Acting 21

2.6 Conclusion 22

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 3.1 Introduction 23

3.2 Analysis of questionnaire 1 23

3.3 Analysis of questionnaire 2 25

3.4 Analysis of questionnaire 3 27

3.5 Findings 28

PART C: CONCLUSION 1 Recapitulation 30

2 Recommendations 30

3 Limitations and suggestion for further study 31

4 Conclusion 31

References 32

Appendices 35

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

English plays an important role nowadays since it is used as a mean of international communication Now, in the globalization era all nations need to communicate with other and English will be their medium of communication English has been taught in many countries as a foreign language including Vietnam where it has officially been taught from secondary school to university However, for over ten years now, it has been introduced to primary schools Especially, since the 2020 National Foreign Language Project was implemented, it has formally been taught from the third grade at all primary schools A lot of efforts have been made

by both primary teachers and curriculum developers to improve the quality of teaching and learning But, it seems that the quality of instruction at primary schools is not improved much This is due to the following problems

Firstly, many primary English teachers are not adequately trained to teach English to such special learners with special characteristics Most English teachers still follow traditional teaching methods that usually make students bored and the lessons un-enjoyable A lot of teachers still follow test-oriented teaching approach that often concentrates on teaching English vocabulary and grammar, which does not develop students‟ language skills Not only the teachers‟ low language proficiency but also their inflexibility and uncreativeness in searching and applying various teaching techniques and methods into their real teaching make a big quality gap in current English teaching and learning

Secondly, although the 2020 National Foreign Language Project was introduced in 2008, English is still one of the optional subjects in primary schools, which often demotivates students As English is not a compulsory school subject, both students and their parents especially in rural and semi-rural areas underestimate it They do not consider it important to devote time to learning English Even, there are a lot of students going to school without any books or notebooks during a semester

Thirdly, the textbook Let‟s Learn English appears to be inappropriate and

unattractive to young learners

When teaching young learners, we must find methods, which create fun environment making them feel comfortable to learn English We can use chants, songs, games, poems, or storytelling to make the environment more alive and entertaining to deliver the lessons, but using these materials is already ordinary and common to use These techniques also seem to be very familiar to my students so

no longer catch much of their attention In order to keep students‟ motivation and to improve the quality of teaching, I decide to choose animated cartoons to teach English to my primary students The rationale behind choosing animated cartoons

to teach my students rather than other techniques is that animated cartoons contain humorous characters and colorful and catchy visual presentations accompanied by enjoyable sound and music Moreover, young learners are much interested in watching animated cartoons

2 The aim of the study and research questions

The main aim of this research is to investigate the employment of animated cartoons as a medium to teach English at Dong Hoa Primary School and to find out the attitudes of third-grade students towards learning English by using animated

cartoons

To fulfill the aim of the study, the following questions are raised:

1 Is the employment of animated cartoons to teach English to the third grader students at Dong Hoa Primary School effective?

2 What are the attitudes of Dong Hoa third-grade students towards studying English by using animated cartoons?

3 The significance of the study

It is hoped that this study will benefit both teachers and students For teachers, this study will introduce to them a cartoon-based lesson and how to use cartoons to teach English to young learners It will bring them a new medium and a new way of teaching English at primary schools and provide them with some techniques of using animated cartoons to teach English to their students effectively

For students, this study will offer an effective lesson and a fun learning model which can involve them in the learning process It will also help them to improve their proficiency of English

4 Scope of the study

Given the aim of the study as stated in Section 2, this study will confine itself

to the application of animated cartoons to teach English to the third graders at Dong Hoa Primary School to see whether it is an effective technique of teaching English

to children In this study, music is mentioned in the title, but it does not mean using songs in teaching English Rather, it is used as the background music accompanying animated cartoons activities

5 Method of the study

This study is an action research After providing the theoretical background, the writer follows the action research procedures There are different views on procedures of an action research In this study, the author implements the procedures suggested by McNiff (1992:7) There are four stages The first stage is planning which is done to give the solution to the identified problems The solution

is employing animated cartoons to teach English to the third grade students In order

to apply animated cartoons in teaching, first the researcher plans to search animated cartoons on the internet, then redesigns animated cartoons so that they are appropriate to the content of textbook; next makes lesson plan using these cartoons, and finally designs questionnaires to collect students‟ responses after every lesson

to see whether the lesson is effective or not The second stage is acting in which the writer carries out the treatment referring to the plan has been made The author presents three lessons using the animated cartoons The third stage is observing in which the writer identifies and analyzes the data collected during the treatment The fourth stage is reflecting in which the writer presents some findings In the process

of researching, the author employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze the data

6 Design of the study

The thesis will be organized in three parts as follows:

Part A is the Introduction which presents the rationale, the aim and the

research questions, the significance, the scope, the method and the design of the study

Part B is the Development which consists of three chapters Chapter 1 is the

Literature Review which offers the theoretical background to the study

Chapter 2 is the focus of the study which reports the context of teaching English at Dong Hoa Primary School, identifies the problems and conducts the action

Chapter 3 is concerned with data analysis and findings It provides an analysis of the data and the interpretation of the results

Part C is the Conclusion which summarizes what has been studied, makes some recommendations for textbook writers and primary English teachers, points out the limitations of the research and makes the suggestion for further study

The References is the last `part of the thesis, followed by the Appendices

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Introduction

This chapter attempts to look at the literature related to the study It consists

of three sections The first section provides an overview of young language learners consisting of the definition, the nature of young learners and the principles of teaching English to young learners The second section introduces a brief background to teaching media: its definition and its types The third section presents some views referring to animated cartoons as a medium to teach English

1.2 Teaching English to young learners

This section explores the possible views on definition and characteristics of young learners in addition to a literature review relating teaching English to young learners

1.2.1 Definition of young learners

There are many viewpoints on definition of young learners by many authors, some of which will be stated here According to McKay (2006:1), he categorized elementary school students as young language learners who are learning a foreign

or second language and doing so during the first six or seven years of formal schooling In terms of age, young learners are between the ages of approximately five and twelve Phillips (1993:5) identifies the term young learners as children from the first year of formal schooling (5 or 6 years old) to 11 or 12 years of age Cameron (2001) means by young children, those between 5 and 12 years of age

Based on those statements, we can know that young learners as students of primary school ages ranging from 5 to 12 years old They are studying English as a foreign language for about one up to four years In Vietnam, young learners are those who attend at primary schools and are usually at the ages of 6 to around 10

1.2.2 Characteristics of young learners

Young learners have their own special characteristics that differentiate them from adult learners The characteristics cover their ways of thinking, their attitude

and their aptitude They also prevail to the children‟s ways of learning language, which, of course, influences the ways of teaching There should be known and understood by the teachers to give contribution to improve their quality of teaching and learning process In relation to this, Scott and Ytreberg (1999:1) provide some

basic characteristics of the young language learners as follows: (a) Children

sometimes have problems to distinguish the real world from the imaginary world

(b) When working or playing they like to be accompanied with others Most of them

do not like to work alone (c) They use language skills long before they are aware of them (d) They love to play and the learning itself can be effective only in case they

are enjoying themselves (e) They learn by mimics, using gestures and body

movements The physical world is very important and dominant at all times (f) They have a very short attention and concentration span (g) They do not always understand the world of adults (h) Young children are motivated when they are

praised

According to Harmer (2001:38), young learners have a number of

characteristics: (a) they respond to meaning even if they do not understand the words; (b) they often learn indirectly then directly; (c) their understanding comes

not just from the explanation, but also from what they see, hear and crucially have a

chance to touch and interact with; (d) they generally display an enthusiasm for learning and curiosity about the world around them; (e) they have a need for individual attention and approval from their teacher; (f) they are taken on talking

about themselves and responding well to learning that use themselves and their own

lives as main topic in the classroom; (g) they have limited attention span, unless

activities are extremely engaging making them easily getting bored and losing interaction after 10 minutes or so

Based on different views on the nature of children stated above, the main characteristics of young learners can be summarized as follows:

1 They understand situations more quickly than they understand the language used

2 They use language skills long before they are aware of them

3 Their own understanding comes through hands, eyes and ears

4 They can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way adults speak

5 They have a very short attention and concentration span

6 They are often happy playing and working alone but in company of others

7 Children love to play and learn best when they are enjoying themselves

8 Children are enthusiastic and positive about learning

9 They are comfortable with routines and enjoy repetition

10 They are very active and curious

11 They respond well to praise and rewards

Knowing the characteristics of young learners is essential for the successful teaching of English in primary schools Understanding the young learners' characteristics, instincts, and interests helps the teacher to decide how to build a lesson to make sure that the young learners are fully involved in the learning process It is believed that acknowledging these characteristics lead to an effective teaching process

1.2.3 Teaching English as foreign language to young learners

Teaching English to young learners is both a difficult and an enjoyable experience for teachers It is difficult because they always have to find new and interesting methods and techniques in order to stir the learners' interest, but at the same time it is enjoyable because teachers are given the chance of becoming child again, of seeing the world through a child's eyes, when working with children As far as young learners are concerned, they mostly find these lessons enjoyable, as they are active parts in the process They use the language in order to communicate their ideas They play games and tell stories to improve their English Learning a foreign language does not mean only to be able to speak, but also to speak it correctly In the process of teaching and learning, teachers should use appropriate media and techniques based on the students‟ ability According to Cameron (2001), amongst knowledge and skills, teachers of young learners need: an awareness of how children think and learn; skills and knowledge in spoken English to conduct

whole lessons orally; an ability to identify children‟s interests and use them for language teaching; to be equipped to teach initial literacy in English

Cameron (2001:1) also maintains that teaching young learners is considerably different from teaching adults because children are more enthusiastic and lively as learners They want to please the teacher rather than their peer group They will do the activity even if they do not quite understand why and how They lose interest more quickly and are less able to keep themselves To help the learners in learning English, Cameron (2001) suggests some useful techniques of teaching such as (a) making learning English enjoyable and fun; (b) not worrying about mistakes; encouraging and making sure children feel comfortable and not afraid to take part; (c) using a lot of gestures, action, pictures to demonstrate what you mean; (d) talking a lot to them use English especially about things they can see; (e) playing games, sing songs, saying rhymes and chanting together; (f) telling simple stories in English, using pictures and acting with different voices; (g) not worrying when they use their mother tongue; (h) planning lesson with varied activities, some quite, some noisy, some sitting, some standing and moving

Phillips (1993:3), on the other hand, provides the following suggestions for teachers to keep in mind when teaching young learners:

1 The activities should be simple enough for the children so that they understand what to do and what is expected of them

2 The tasks should be amusing and within children‟s abilities, so that the learners can easily reach their goals

3 The task should be stimulating and motivating for learners to feel satisfied with their work

4 Written activities should be used only in a small amount In the sixth or seventh year of age the children are not yet so good at writing in their native language

5 Mostly the speaking activities should prevail – indeed, with very young children listening activities will take up a large proportion of class time

In short, the activities that have a communicative value are considerably efficient

in teaching language to young learners Activities that involve singing, role-playing, acting, storytelling, coloring and sticking contribute to a sufficient learning process

1.3 Instructional media

1.3.1 Definition of instructional media

There is a wide diversity of standpoints about what is meant by media The term “media” is derived from the Latin word “medium” which means “between” It refers to anything that carries information between a source (teacher) and a receiver (student) When media provide messages with an instructional purpose, for example

to facilitate as communication, they are considered instructional media, Heinech et

al (1993:9) Gerlach and Ely (1980:241) define a medium as any person, material

or event that creates circumstances that put the pupils in a position to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes According to Theo Van Els et al (1984:280), media are all aids which may be used by teachers and learners to attain certain educational objectives In line with the ideas of stated previously, Arsyad (2003) states that media are graphic, photographic or electronic instrument for catching, processing, rearranging visual or verbal information In other words, he states that media are instruments that can be used to distribute some points in a material of subject

In conclusion, media are the collection of materials, aids or instruments that can be used effectively for communication These are used in the planning process

of giving instruction Instructional media with its various types affect different senses and act as an integral part of teaching and learning process, and thus helping

to bring about meaningful experiences

1.3.2 Types of instructional media

In general, there are three kinds of instructional media They are audio, visual, and audio-visual media Audio media are media that can be listened to, while visual media are media that can be seen The instructional media that involve the senses of sight and hearing are named as audio-visual media (Kasbolah, 1993:57) Finocchiaro (1973:155-185) mention some examples of the media for each type The visual media may include blackboard, textbook, real object, picture file, chart,

pocket chart, flash card, word card, number card, flannel or felt board, magnetic board, opaque projector, overhead projector and transparency, filmstrip, and miscellaneous materials The audio aids include record player, tape recorder, and language laboratory The last, audio-visual media cover film, television, and programmed instruction According to Romiszowski (1988), media which refer to devices and materials employed in teaching and learning include hardware like blackboards, radio, television, tape recorders, video tapes and recorders and projectors; and, software like transparencies, films, slides, teacher-made diagrams, real objects, cartoons, models, maps and photographs Similarly, Nuhung Ruis et al (2009:2) cite Scanlan‟s statement that “instructional media encompasses all the materials and physical means an instructor might use to implement instruction and facilitate students' achievement of instructional objectives This may include traditional materials such as chalkboards, handouts, charts, slides, overheads, real objects, and videotape or film, as well newer materials and methods such as computers, DVDs, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and interactive video conferencing.”

From the classification, it is clear that animated cartoons fall under visual aids and belong to traditional software instructional media

audio-1.4 Animated cartoons

1.4.1 Definition of animated cartoons

According to Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary (2005), “animated

cartoon” is a film produced by photographing a series of gradually changing drawings which give the illusion of movement when the series is projected rapidly From the definition, it is obvious that to some extent the terms “animated cartoon”,

“cartoon” and “animation” are synonyms referring to a kind of film or movie made

by creating moving effect for a series of pictures or drawings

According to writers‟ point of view, Titi (2007) explains that a cartoon movie is moving diagrams or cartoons that are made up of a sequence of images displayed one after the other In addition, Pande (2008) explains that a cartoon movie is an exaggerated amusing illustration caricaturing in moving diagram way of criticizing a person or event with some toughs A cartoon movie is a special form of

art to present amusing appearance with the help of colorful moving diagram exaggerated

Based on the definition above, the researcher defines animated cartoon as a kind of film which involves a sequence movement of colored images and texts with sounds Animation is like movies, but the duration of the moving pictures is no more than 10 minutes

1.4.2 Advantages of using animated cartoons in ELT

Videos in general and cartoons in particular have been widely used as one of the teaching media in EFL classes They have been used due to their interesting visual images, which can attract students to learn Cartoons are also considered excellent teaching tools because they not only add humor to a topic but also illustrate the idea

in a memorable way In this regard, many writers cite the some advantages of animations as follow:

1 Improve skills and ability:

Wilberschied and Berman (2004:534) state that students who received authentic pictures taken from authentic videos and students who watched cartoons increased listening comprehension Waters and John (2007:34), on the other hand, cite that using animation films helps students developing listening, speaking and reading skills This strategy provides an environment with native speakers, real texts and thousands of real-life images The teacher through using animation films introduces the new vocabulary through defining them with objects, pictures and events Thus, students acquire the new vocabulary and the language by linking them to objects and events from the real world around them

2 Make learning faster and save time and effort:

Hegarty and Sims (1994) state that animation may help students learn faster and easier Furthermore, they add that this is an excellent aid for teachers to teach student difficult subjects It has been argued that such systems (animation system) can reduce time by an average of 33% and aid the quality of learning, as compared with more traditional techniques (Stephenson, 1994:179) Lin, Chen and Dwyer (2006:203) confirm that computers generated animation are more effective than

static visual in assisting students' retention of the more difficult and complex knowledge than they received from instructions

3 Dual-channel learning:

In fact, all students, both with and without a strongly dominant modality preference, benefit from instruction that includes video Video is a form of multimedia that conveys information through two simultaneous sensory channels: aural and visual It often uses multiple presentation modes, such as verbal and pictorial representations in the case of on-screen print and closed-captioning (Mayer, 2001) This multiplicity means that video communicates the same information to students through simultaneous learning modalities and can provide students with multiple entry points into the content (Gardner, 2006) The combination of moving pictures and sound can present language more comprehensively and more realistically than any other teaching medium (Susan Stempleski and Barry Tomalin, 1990:3) Mayer (2001:4-5), additionally, suggests that learners are able to create a deeper understanding of words when they establish connections between words and pictures than from words or pictures alone

4 Create motivation:

Using video materials in an English Language Teaching environment can motivate students Learners will get more skills, which is the main reason to make them more motivated Harmer (2001:282) states that one of the main advantages of film is that students do not just hear language, they see it too For that reason, most students show an increased level of interest when they have a chance to see language in use as well as hear it, and when this is coupled with interesting task William and Fisher (2001:324) suggest that students find using animation in education more satisfying and engaging than traditional learning modalities Susan Stempleski and Barry Tomalin (1990:3) state that children feel their interest quicken

when language is experienced in a lively way through video

Briefly, animations aim to reduce learners‟ time and useless effort of learning, and to make it more practical and task-oriented The use of animations as a process of creating interactive learning environment helps students with visual

tendencies understand and maintain the learnt material Students learn more deeply from a multimedia explanation than from a verbal explanation and they learn better when animations are included Animations also increase learner's motivation and develop their language skills

1.4.3 Criteria for selecting animated cartoons for teaching

Animated cartoons facilitate teaching and learning activities and, consequently, attain the lesson objectives However, this depends on the adequacy and appropriateness of cartoons so selected This, in effect, means that animated cartoons are not selected haphazardly Indeed, learning animated cartoons to be used should be carefully selected by the teacher This is an aspect of the teachers‟ duty Animated cartoons should be chosen for instructional purpose based on specific criteria which are suggested by Susan Stempleski and Barry Tomalin

(1990:9) in “Video in Action” as follows:

Interest Students do not think of video as teaching material They think of it as

television Therefore, if they consider that a video sequence is dull, they will not want to watch it or learn through it Any sequence chosen for use in class must be intrinsically interesting or attractive and must comprise a complete unit of meaning regardless of its context

Length With a few exceptions, the video sequences must be suitable for

exploitation in a single one-hour class period They are, therefore, likely to be no more than five minutes in length for most classroom activities “How much video should the teacher use? The short answer is under five minutes Many teachers suggest that as little as two minutes of video is sufficient for one hour‟s teaching.” (Tomalin, 1986:14)

Flexibility Most sequence should be suitable for several of activity categories

described in the book

Appropriateness of Content The content should be related to the textbook and

suitable for young learners It is also useful to see if the linguistic content in the sequence can be linked to that of the language in the course book

Language items to be taught In using video to present language, an important factor

to consider is the linguistic items (particular grammatical structures, language functions, or colloquial expressions) presented in the scene If the aim of the lesson

is to teach language from the screen, then the presence of relevant functions and structures will be a prime consideration in selecting a sequence If, however, the aim is to stimulate discussion or other skills work among students, then specific language items are not so important

Language level The language level of the video should be appropriate for the level

of the class without the teacher having to explain too much

1.4.4 Techniques for utilizing animated cartoons in classroom

To get a successful result in language teaching using animated cartoons as an aid, there are some techniques that should be followed by both teachers and learners Susan Stempleski and Barry Tomalin (Ibid.) and Lonergan (1984) suggest a selection of these basic techniques for less-experienced teachers to familiarize themselves quickly with some of the things they can do with the clip in class

1 Sound off/ vision on (silent viewing): this techniques can be used either to

stimulate language activity about what is seen on the screen (rather than what is being said) or to focus on what is being said, by a variety of guessing or prediction tasks The most common ways of using this technique are:

- Choose scenes with short exchanges of dialogue, where the action, emotion, setting, situation, etc (even lip movements), give clues to what is being said Students guess/predict the words and then compare afterwards while viewing with sound on

- Use longer exchanges for students to guess the gist or situation rather than exact words

- Play the whole sequence for students to try and write suitable screenplays, which can then be compared with the actual soundtrack

- Use the pause/freeze-frame control at the initial point of each exchange for students to predict language on a line by line basis These are then compared with the actual speeches

2 Sound on/vision off: students guess the setting, action, characters, etc., from the

soundtrack This can be done in a variety of ways as in item 1 above, that is on a line by line or scene by scene basis

3 Pause/freeze-frame control: to be utilized with sound on/off and vision on/off

controls as above

- With sound on, pausing at the initial point of each exchange, the teacher asks students to predict the words Immediate comparison with the actual words can then be made by playing each exchange

- With sound on, pausing at strategic points in the plot/action, the teacher asks students questions about the situation (what has happened/what is going to happen)

- Pause at suitable moments of characters‟ facial expressions for students to suggest thoughts, feelings, etc

4 Sound and vision on (listening and viewing comprehension):

- Students are given a list of items before viewing a sequence and have to look for them as they view

- Students are given a list of items after viewing a sequence and have to decide which were in the sequence and which were not

- Students are given comprehension questions before viewing and a sequence and answer the questions after viewing

- Students are told what a sequence will be about and have to say thing they expect to hear, see, etc After viewing, they can then compare and discuss

- Students are given a cloze passage of the dialogue or a description of the scene and have to complete gaps while/after viewing

5 Jumping sequences: students view each section of a sequence, presented to them

out of sequence They have to determine what has happened/what will happen in

each case and then fit the sections into a correct or plausible sequence 6 Split viewing: some students see sequence but do not hear it; others hear but do not see A

variety of activities can then follow based on usual information-gap procedures

1.4.5 Lesson plan using animated cartoons

Tomalin (1986:29) suggests three stages of a lesson using video in teaching English Below is general lesson plan following his procedures

Stage 1: Comprehension

1 Set up the situation, pre-teach (if absolutely necessary) minimum language

2 Set an active viewing task

3 First video play: right through without stopping; one or twice

4 Elicit answer to active viewing task

Stage 2: Language study

1 Second video play: stop at selected points, using the pause button

2 Consolidate language taught through the video

3 Language exercise and drills from textbook

4 Third video play: use this for observation behavior exercises and for cultural background

Stage 3: Extension and transfer

1 Transfer exercise using mini situation, role-play, acting out, etc

2 Extension into further reading and writing

1.5 Previous studies related to TEFL to young learners

There are many studies related to English language teaching methodology in Vietnam But, few of them concern the methods and techniques of teaching English

to young learners Although, in recent years, there have been some studies carried out to investigate the techniques of teaching English to students at primary schools

by drawing and using chants, songs, games, pictures, stories and VCD, but none of them have been concerned with using animated cartoons to teach English Some of the studies will be summarized below:

Nguyễn Trần Vân Trang (2008) carried out a study on using VCD as a stimulating factor to increase the young learners‟ time on task The study attempted

at identifying the advantages of VCD in increasing learners‟ time on task The result

of study revealed that using VCD in the classroom helps pupils to understand the lesson better, increases pupils‟ involvement in classroom activities, and makes the

lesson more exciting But she did not provide the techniques of applying VCD in the classroom and activities associated to VCD Phạm Thị Thu Trang (2012), on the other hand, conducted a study on using storytelling to teach vocabulary to primary children She investigated the techniques to apply story to teaching vocabulary to the fifth graders and by this way she assessed and evaluated the effectiveness of the techniques in increasing students‟ motivation at Dinh Tien Hoang Primary School

Vũ Thị Thanh Tâm (2013) conducted a research on using stories and dramas in teaching English to the third grade students at Quan Tru Primary School Her study provided primary teachers with techniques of using stories and dramas in teaching English to improve primary students‟ English speaking and listening skills Although the study proved that stories and dramas could be used to motivate students in learning English and enhance students‟ speaking and listening skill Unfortunately, the stories she used to teach the students are not related to the content of the textbook

1.6 Conclusion

This chapter presents the literature view on the definitions, characteristics and teaching English to young learners, and this helps the current study in guarantying and proving the effectiveness of using animations to teach English to third graders In addition, this chapter provides the fundamental information of the main variables of the study, animations As animations have a number of advantages, this information indicates that using animated cartoons is a good quality technique for teaching the language Finally, the chapter presents some previous studies on methodology of ELT at primary schools

CHAPTER II: THE STUDY

2.1 Introduction

This chapter introduces the procedures to be carried out throughout the study First of all, I provide the situation of teaching English at Dong Hoa Primary School Next, I formulate some main problems existing in the classroom where the research is conducted Then, I conduct the research by following the four stages of

an action research as stated on method of the study in Chapter 1 This chapter focuses on presenting two stages of the research: Planning and Acting

2.2 The context of teaching English at Dong Hoa Primary School

Dong Hoa Primary School is a public school that is located in Dong Hoa Ward, Kien An District, Hai Phong Dong Hoa Ward is a semi-rural village and is densely populated, so the number of students is rather many Dong Hoa is a school that is still evolving; it is seen from the extensive and school facilities There are 17 classrooms, 1 computer room and 1 language laboratory which is well equipped with a projector, a set of computers and a loudspeaker The facilities of the school are still quite good and well maintained When using school facilities, students and teachers consider it as their own

The book “Let‟s Learn English” is used to teach English It consists of

twelve units covering four themes Each theme covers three units and one

self-check Theme one, „You and Me‟, has three units that are Hello, Thank You, Our Names Theme two, „My School‟, consists of units such as My Friends, My School and My Classroom Theme three, „My Family‟, includes three units: Family Members, Ages and My House Theme four, „The World Around Us‟, comprises

three units: The Weather, Our Pets, and Our Toys

The components of the units include two sections: Section A and Section B The elements of Section A mostly contains (1) Look, listen and repeat, (2) Look and say, (3) Let‟s talk, (4) Listen and number/check, (5) Say it right, (6) Let‟s write and (7) Let‟s play /read aloud The elements of Section B is mainly designed as (1) Listen and repeat, (2) Let‟s talk, (3) Listen and number, (4) Read and match, (5)

Let‟s write, (6) Let‟s play/ Let‟s sing and (7) Summary Each section is taught in

two periods The first period covers three first parts of each section and the second period covers the remaining parts in the section

„Look, listen and repeat‟ in Section A and „listen and repeat‟ in Section B

occur at the beginning of the section that aims to prepare students with vocabulary and modal sentence for the following activities and set the situation in which the target language is used This section normally includes a dialogue of two or three students The skills are presented in the following parts of the units In a single unit,

four language skills are presented in various forms The Summary part which is

written at the end of unit aims at consolidating what have presented in the unit

The book written by Nguyen Quoc Tuan et at and with the cooperation of Wong Lei Lin is published by the Vietnam Education Publishing House and it is used widely in public primary schools It is published with full package of a teacher‟s book, an audio CD, and a teaching and learning pack According to the

authors, “Let‟s Learn English 1” addresses third grade students of primary schools

The authors stated that the students‟ age, interest and knowledge had been taken into consideration in the design and planning of the book The authors also stated that it was composed basing on communicative and learner-centered approach The activities inside the textbook are of communicative in nature and they encouraged learners‟ activity and creativity

2.3 Identifying the problem

At every first semester of school year, I see all third grade students are eager

in the lessons since it is the first time they have been learnt English They felt happy and enthusiastic in doing the tasks in the textbook and taking part in the other learning activities But only after few first units, students‟ interest in English lessons tends to gradually decrease They are not as involved in the lessons as before They like to talk to their friends, do their own work, or study other subjects instead of learning English They look bored, sleepy, inattentive and unmotivated They do not enjoy practicing the activities in the textbook any more Instead of using the textbook, they often read comic books or picture books or see pictures on their

magazines in the lessons It is very difficult to get them involved in the lessons So,

as a teacher, I wondered “Why my students are not as interested in learning English

as before?”, and “What can motivate my students to learn English?”

In order to answer these questions, it is time to look for causes of the problems In the teaching process, I observe that the main cause of these problems

come from teaching material that is the textbook “Let‟s Learn English 1” “Let‟s Learn English 1” is not quite suitable to primary students because it has the

following limitations:

Firstly, its appearance and design are not beautiful and attractive It is necessary for a textbook to have a colorful, motivating and an attractive appearance Illustrations can be considered as the most important aspect of the design in EFL textbook A colorful and appealing selection of the pictures is effective in terms attracting students‟ attention in the language learning process (Sheldon, 1988) In addition, young learners‟ curiosity and attention are attracted when the material is visually attractive and well organized They tend to be caught by brightly colorful visuals They feel more enjoyable with animated pictures However, the illustrations

in “Let‟s Learn English 1” are not attractive and catchy They are in poor quality

both color and clarity They are simple in form The illustrations are not presented

in a mixture of forms such as colorful pictures, drawings, black and white photos, and the cartoons One form of illustrations, i.e colorful pictures, is repeatedly

printed in the entire book One more limitation of every book not only “Let‟s Learn English 1” is that the pictures are not animated and they cannot contextualize the

content of the dialogue Secondly, the design and organization of every unit are virtually identical to the next The tasks and activities in twelve units are the same Songs, chants and rhymes are not composed This tends to make the book seem duplicated, redundant, and even boring after a few lessons – especially in cases where a new and less experienced teacher might be relying on the textbook for most

of their teaching ideas, strategies, activities, and lesson planning Thirdly, supplemental materials such as audio CD and teaching & learning pack are poor in quality Flashcards do not look interesting and fun to children VCD is not included