STATE BANK OF VIETNAM BANKING ACADEMY Foreign Language Faculty GRADUATION THESIS Topic THE PRACTICALITY AND POSSIBILITY OF APPLYING TPR METHOD IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR PRESCHOOLERS AND PRIMARY PUPILS Student Nguyen Hoai Thuong Class K19ATCD Course 2016 - 2020 Student ID 19A7510208 Lecturer Ngo Tung Anh (M.A, MBA) Hanoi, June 2020 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the graduation thesis entitled “The Practicality and Possibility of Applying TPR method in teaching English for Preschoolers and Primary pupils”, submitted to the Faculty of Foreign Language, Banking Academy, is a record of independent research work done by me, under the supervision of Mr. Ngo Tung Anh – Lecturer of Foreign Language Faculty, Banking Academy. This thesis is my original work, which has not been submitted to any other university for the award of any degree or diploma. Author of Graduation Thesis (Signature and Full name) Nguyen Hoai Thuong i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the joy of completing my graduation thesis, I would like to say my sincere thanks to all the people who helped me throughout this process.
First of all, I would like to thank the Faculty of Foreign Language, Banking Academy, for giving me the opportunity to write my thesis. This is my honor as well as my pride in the remaining time I have spent with the academy. Next, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Ngo Tung Anh, my instructor, for always following me and instructing me, helping me to complete the thesis in the best way.
Besides, I could not help but feel deeply grateful to Mrs. Ngoc Anh, Mrs. Can Thuy Lien, who always promptly answered all questions about the thesis work, helping us complete the thesis as smoothly as possible. And the most sincere thanks are sent to MELON team – my best friends during 4 years of college, who are always with me, helping me in difficult times.
I feel so lucky to have them all by my side! The last thanks I would like to give to my family and my loved ones who have always been with me, giving me advices and motivation so that I can persistently complete my thesis without giving up. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.vi LIST OF TABLES .vi LIST OF FIGURES .vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. Background of the study. Objectives of the study.
Significance of the study. Scope and Delimitation of the study. Definition of Terms. 3 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.
Overview of English Learning Environment for Preschoolers and Primary students in Asia and in Vietnam particularly. The Knowledge Background contributing to the TPR Teaching Method Foundation. Main Hypotheses represented in the TPR Method about Foreign Language Learning. The Related Theories to the TPR Teaching Method.
Overview of TPR Teaching Method. Characteristics and Principles of TPR Teaching Method. Advantages and Disadvantages of TPR Teaching Method. Steps of a TPR Lesson:.
Some Related Researches. Tingtingshi, 2018, A Study of the TPR Method in the Teaching of English to Primary School students. Aswandi, 2012, The effectiveness of using Total Physical Response Method in Learning Imperative sentences at Second year students of SMA Negeri 8 Makassar. Ye Zhen, 2011, Using TPR Method in Teaching English adjectives.
Fauzan, 2011, Study about Using Total Physical Response in Teaching English to Young Learner’s at SDN Bangunrejo. Trương Thanh Hiền, 2016, Improving the Quality of Primary English Teaching by TPR Method. 18 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Locale of the study.
Data gathering procedure. Population, Sample and Sampling technique. 23 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Results of Amslink students’ scores before and after learning English with TPR method.
Results of the first questionnaires. The results of the second questionnaire. Analysis of the score data. Analysis of the first questionnaire.
Analysis of the second questionnaire. 40 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.vii v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TPR Total Physical Response AEC Amslink English Center LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 4.1: The results of Amslink students' scores 25 Table 4.2: The result of the first questionnaire 28 Table 4.3: The result of the first questionnaire in percentage 28 Table 4.4: The result of the second questionnaire 31 Table 4.5: The result of the second questionnaire in percentage 31 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 4.1: Percentage of pupils in the survey 26 Figure 4.2: Pupils' English study time at AEC 27 Figure 4.3: Teachers’ teaching time with TPR method at AEC 29 Figure 4.4: The percentage of grades in the survey 30 vi ABSTRACT In this study, the researcher is going to discuss about the practicality and possibility of applying TPR (Total Physical Response) method in teaching English for preschoolers and primary students. The objective of the study is to assess the efficiency of this teaching method. The research has been designed as follows: The researcher has collected both primary and secondary data.
The primary data is a survey in the form of questionnaires with questions related the participants’ perspective about the effect of TPR method. The population was the pupils aged 3 – 11. Its participants are parents and teachers, whose children and students are learning English with the TPR method at Amslink English Center. The secondary data is the table of 105 Amslink preschoolers and primary pupils’ scores before and after 3 months learning English with TPR method.
The outcome collected shows that since using TPR method, children’s performance has improved significantly. The students’ scores have increased by 13% in average. From the teachers and parents’ perspective, students can get on better with class, they feel more relaxed when learning English, and the number of vocabularies they memorized has increased faster than before. This result proved that TPR method is really effective in teaching English for preschoolers and primary pupils.
Key words: Total Physical Response, vocabularies, preschoolers and primary pupils, questionnaire vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the study. In the modern life, mastering the second language is considered an important criterion to assess a person’s ability. English is not an exception.
It is one of the most popular language that people always want to be fluent in. That is the reason why nowadays parents always try to provide the best English-learning environment and the most suitable learning method for their children from the early age. However, choosing an effective teaching and learning method is not simple. In the recent years, there are so many teaching and learning methods for various ages, which may make parents confused and lead to the wrong decision on the applied method for their children.
Some typical examples are task-based language learning method, the communicative approach, and some other traditional ones. These methods all have the same characteristics – They are teaching-centered, students still learn vocabularies mechanically, which can lead to losing the interest for English learning. In this situation, how to choose the right method? The most important thing is that parents and teachers have to understand the characteristics of the language as well as how a child approaches the second language at the early age effectively. Many previous researches pointed out that the key of English acquisition is an interaction.
“Comprehending the meaning of words is the foundation of communication” (Perry, 2002). It means that people have to have the vocabulary background first then they can communicate and interact with the others. Therefore, vocabulary plays an important role in mastering English in particular and all languages in general. Choosing the teaching and learning method has to guarantee that children can get as much as vocabularies as possible.
Besides, when it comes to the learning environment for preschoolers and primary pupils, which element is the most important? It is said that a comfortable and funny atmosphere can excite and inspire students to be active in the class. However, almost traditional learning methods organize classes following the model: Students stay quietly on the seats and only answer if 1 allowed; teachers will be the one talking constantly during the lesson. This type of class can make students sleepy and lose the focus on what teachers say. From that fact, which learning method can meet all the elements that parents and students are finding? The Total Physical Response (TPR) is a teaching method that uses actions, pictures and objects to describe words.
It is conducted based on the combination between speaking and body movements. This method is different from other ones because it is student- centered and has a lot of activities during the class. It is a useful way to help children not only remember the meaning of words, but also get rid of the boredom of lesson and find out the joy of learning English. Therefore, TPR is effective and should be applied in teaching and learning English for children nowadays.
Objectives of the study. When conducting this study, the researcher aims to verify the effectiveness of TPR in comparison with traditional teaching methods: Is TPR more effective in learning English than the traditional ones? From that, the bigger objective of this study is to examine the practicality and possibility of applying TPR in teaching English for preschoolers and primary pupils. Significance of the study. This study will be the important basis for selecting the appropriate English learning and teaching method for children.
Specifically, nowadays, there are so many methods applied making people confused about its effectiveness. Carrying out this study will provide people with knowledge and understanding of TPR. From that, parents may make the right decision about choosing the right learning method for their children. Besides, teachers also know which method is suitable to apply, which makes it easier and more convenient for them in teaching English.
Scope and Delimitation of the study. Scope of the study: The research has been conducted at Amslink English Center (Hanoi, Vietnam). There were 105 parents and 21 teachers whose children and pupils aged from 3 – 11 taking part in the questionnaires, giving their opinions about the improvement of their children after learning English with TPR method. Delimitation of the study: There are some delimitation from the scope of the study that is mentioned as follows: - The choice of the topic: The reason why the writer decided to investigate one learning and teaching method but not any other problem, because this is an issue attracting a lot of attention these days.
When it comes to foreign language learning, an appropriate method is the most important element. It decides whether learners can study effectively or not. - The population and sample of the study: The study is delimited to a group of preschoolers and primary pupils, and the sample was 100 parents and 21 teachers teaching at AEC with TPR method. In fact, the sample is quite small in comparison with the population due to the time limit.
Definition of Terms. Mastering is that you are really good at something and can use it fluently as a master. Task-based language learning method is a type of learning method that students learn foreign languages by completing assigned tasks. Communicative approach is a method in which students approach languages through communication.
Teaching-centered is an approach in which teachers are considered the center of the class, giving all the activities and information. In this model of class, students are quite 3 passive. They cannot do anything without their teacher. English acquisition is the state one person can use English as his mother language.
Body movement is the way our bodies move physically. 4 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In this chapter, the writer mainly introduces the learning English overview of preschoolers and primary students, as well as discusses the related theories and some detailed information about the TPR teaching method, along with which is some relevant researches. Overview of English Learning Environment for Preschoolers and Primary students in Asia and in Vietnam particularly. English has become the global language in the recent years.
Therefore, parents are increasingly interested in fostering English for their children.