VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- PHẠM HỒNG TRANG USING MULTIMEDIA TO IMPROVE ENGLISH LESSONS FOR 5TH GRADERS AT AN ENGLISH ACADEMY (SỬ DỤNG CÔNG NGHỆ ĐA PHƢƠNG TIỆN ĐỂ CẢI TIẾN GIỜ HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 5 TẠI MỘT HỌC VIỆN ANH NGỮ) M. MINOR PROGRMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- PHẠM HỒNG TRANG USING MULTIMEDIA TO IMPROVE ENGLISH LESSONS FOR 5TH GRADERS AT AN ENGLISH ACADEMY (SỬ DỤNG CÔNG NGHỆ ĐA PHƢƠNG TIỆN ĐỂ CẢI TIẾN GIỜ HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 5 TẠI MỘT HỌC VIỆN ANH NGỮ) M. MINOR PROGRMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Lâm Quang Đông HANOI – 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION Title: “USING MULTIMEDIA TO IMPROVE ENGLISH LESSONS FOR 5TH GRADERS AT AN ENGLISH ACADEMY” I certify that no part of the thesis has been copied or reproduced by me from any other works without acknowledgement and that the thesis is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor.
Hanoi, 2017 Student‟s signature Phạm Hồng Trang i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to send my sincere and special gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Lâm Quang Đông, who has given valuable assistance, guidance, precious suggestions, advice, and reference materials to me so that I can complete this thesis. The success of my paper would have been almost impossible without his tireless support. My thanks and gratitude also go to all professors and lecturers at Faculty of Post- Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their valuable lectures.
I am also grateful to the manager of Smartcom center for his cooperation so that I could fulfill my thesis better. Last but not least, I would like to send my gratitude to my parents, all members in my family and my friends for their support and encouragement during the process of writing this thesis. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Multimedia plays an important role in all stages of second language acquisition. Multimedia has been considered an effective tool for enhancing English teaching and learning process.
The paper aims to study the use of multimedia for enhancing the quality of English teaching and learning process at one English center in Hanoi and investigate its effectiveness to the 5th graders at this center. In order to conduct the study, three tools were used: (1) observation, (2) recording and (3) interview. The findings show that learners in the center were very excited about the lessons when multimedia was used. It also means that multimedia can support the teachers in attracting the learners to the lesson.
In other words, using multimedia brought many benefits for not only learners but also teachers in the center. However, using multimedia caused a couple of disadvantages. For example, the interaction of some learners decreased when they used multimedia before class and it took the teacher considerable amounts of time to prepare the lessons. Hopefully, the study can be a useful source of reference for those teaching English to young learners.
iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION. iii TABLE OF CONTENT. iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES. vi PART I: INTRODUCTION.
Aims of the study. Methods of the study. Significance of the study. Structure of the thesis .2 PART II: DEVELOPMENT .4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .Learning styles of learners .Teaching English to primary graders .Definitions of terms.Why should teachers use multimedia?.
The use of multimedia in English teaching .Review of previous related studies. The setting of the study. Research question revisited .15 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Methods and instruments.
Data collection instruments. Data collection procedure .31 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .Data from observation .Data from recording on the website .Data from interviews. Findings and discussion .41 PART III: CONCLUSIONS. Limitations of the study.
Suggestions for further research. I v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1.1 Elements of multimedia 8 Figure 2.1 The lesson in the first two hours 14 Figure 2.2 Research procedure 17 Figure 2.3 The name of the grammar lesson 18 Figure 2.4 The first slide of the language input 18 Figure 2.5 The second slide of the language input 18 Figure 2.6 The third slide of the language input 19 Figure 2.7 The fouth slide of the language input 19 Figure 2.8 The fifth slide of the language input 19 Figure 2.9 The sixth slide of the language input 20 Figure 2.10 The first activity of the practice 20 Figure 2.11 The first question in the first activity 20 Figure 2.12 The answer to the first question 21 Figure 2.13 The second activity of the practice 21 Figure 2.14 The first question in the second activity 21 Figure 2.15 The answer to the second question 22 Figure 2.16 The third activity of the practice 22 Figure 2.17 The first question in the third activity 22 Figure 2.18 The answer to the third question 23 Figure 2.19 The fourth activity of the practice 23 Figure 2.20 The first question in the fourth activity 23 Figure 2.21 The answer to the fourth question 24 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.22 Table of English possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns 24 Figure 2.23 Language practice 25 Figure 2.24 Homepage of the website 26 Figure 2.25 One chapter of the story 26 Figure 2.26 The cover of the story 27 Figure 2.27 The first page of the story 27 Figure 2.28 Vocabulary practice 1 28 Figure 2.29 Grammar Practice 1 28 Figure 2.30 Listening practice 29 Figure 2.31 Speaking card 29 Figure 2.32 Submission of one learner 30 Figure 2.33 Feedback by recording 30 Figure 3.1 Performance report 1 33 Figure 3.2 Performance report 2 33 Table 3.1 Relationship between learners‟ using website at home and their 34 interaction in class Table 3.2 Content of the feedback on the website 34 Table 3.3 Speaking card of one story on the website 35 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale English is one of the most widely used languages in the world. It is the reason why many parents in Vietnam are willing to invest in their children‟s English education in order to ensure a better future for their children in this increasingly globalized world.
Teaching English to young learners, however, is not always easy. My own teaching experience shows that three following common problems make children‟s English learning in class ineffective. Firstly, the classes are not really attractive because they are basically about grammar. It can easily make children feel bored and hard to acquire the language.
Secondly, children have no motivation. Normally, adults study English to have better jobs or better lives while children are not conscious of that, so they have no inspiration to study English. Thirdly, they lack an interactive environment. An interactive environment is one of the most important things for children to practice English efficiently.
Smartcom Academy1, the English center chosen for this study, is not an exception when the class time does not really attract one hundred percent of children‟s attention. To address such problems, using multimedia in teaching English seems to be one of the best solutions to improve English lessons for children. Therefore, I want to use the multimedia to see how effective it is for children, especially 5th graders in Smartcom. Aims of the study The research aims to enhance the quality of English teaching and learning process in Smartcom Academy, particularly the 5th graders‟ English in this center by using multimedia.
1 The researcher managed to obtain the center‟s consent to use its real name, as provided in the Appendix. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Research questions In order to achieve the aim above, the study focuses on answering the research question: How effective is the use of multimedia in teaching and learning English to 5th graders in Smartcom Academy? 4. Methods of the study Action research is chosen for the study.
As its name suggests, action research has two targets: action and research. Action is to bring about change or improvement in a specific teaching situation; and research is to examine the practice and understand the situation (Dick, 1992; Hughes & William, 2001). These are appropriate to my present study which is to plan and perform an intervention using multimedia to change the traditional teaching situation. In order to find out the answer to the research question, I conducted the study in six stages: planning, acting, observing, recording, interviewing and data analyzing.
Significance of the study The study is carried out with the first hope that it can improve English learning outcomes in Smartcom Academy in particular and in other English centers in Vietnam in general. Another possible contribution of the study is that it can provide a better way of English teaching, especially English teaching for primary graders through multimedia to create an interactive environment instead of traditional grammar classes. Structure of the thesis The thesis is organized as follows: PART I: INTRODUCTION - introduces the rationale; aims of the study; research questions; methods of the study; significance of the study; and the thesis structure. PART II: DEVELOPMENT – the main part of the study, consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK – 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com reviews and presents relevant theories and studies to the study.
Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY – describes the setting of the study, the participants, research question, methods and instruments. Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION – presents an analysis of the data and discusses the findings of the study. PART III: CONCLUSIONS – summarizes the study, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK English language education has changed dramatically in recent decades all over the world.
In different countries, especially those in the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1991), a large number of parents want their children to start to learn English early. It is crucial for language educators to understand children‟s psychological development at different ages and have an accurate concept of approaches to language teaching and teaching aids in use. This chapter reviews and presents the current understanding of second language teaching to primary graders, and the use of multimedia in English teaching. The theoretical framework upon which the study relies is also presented.
Learning styles of learners According to studies of professors and Neuro-linguistic programming specialists, learners receive information through five senses including three main ways: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. These three ways form learning styles for each learner. Visual: learners prefer using pictures, images, and spatial understanding. Auditory: learners prefer using sound and music.
Kinesthetic: learners prefer using your body, hands and sense of touch. According to Dunn and Dunn (1978), only 20-30% of school age children appear to be auditory learners, 40% are visual learners, and 30-40% are tactile/kinaesthetic or visual/tactile learners. Barbe and Milone (1981) stated that for grade school children the most frequent modality strengths are visual (30%) or mixed (30%), followed by auditory (25%), and then by kinaesthetic (15%). Barbe and Milone (1981) stated that primary grade children learn better via auditory (verbal) means and are least well developed kinaesthetically, however between kindergarten and sixth grade a 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com modality shift occurs and vision becomes the dominant modality and kinaesthesia overtakes audition (Barbe & Milone, 1981).