MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN KHOA NGOC ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE OF USING CHANTS TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2018 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN KHOA NGOC ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICE OF USING CHANTS TO TEACH PRONUNCIATION AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TRUONG BACH LE , DEd HUE, 2018 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGUYỄN KHOA NGỌC ÁNH ĐIỀU TRA NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ THỰC TIỄN SỬ DỤNG GIAI ĐIỆU BÀI HÁT ĐỂ DẠY PHÁT ÂM TẠI CÁC TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở THÀNH PHỐ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRƯƠNG BẠCH LÊ HUẾ, 2018 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Signature Nguyen Khoa Ngoc Anh iii ABSTRACT Teaching English to young learners has received much attention, especially teaching pronunciation.
One of the effective ways to teach pronunciation for young learners is using chants. Applying chants in classroom is one of the most interesting ways to help primary school learners practice pronunciation as well as motivate primary students to learn English. The aim of this research is to investigate teachers‟ perceptions of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners and the reality of using chants to teach pronunciation at some primary schools in Hue city. The data of the research was collected by means of questionnaire, interview and classroom observation.
Thirty primary school English teachers were selected to provided responses in the questionnaire survey. Then 6 out of 30 English primary teachers were chosen to carry out the face - to face interview. Furthermore, classroom observation was conducted in order to test the reliability of the questionnaire and interview as well as showed the reality of using chants to teach pronunciation in classroom. The researcher observed English lessons in five different primary schools.
The findings of this study showed primary teachers had positive attitude toward using chants to teach pronunciation. The results of the research provided some methods to teach pronunciation by using chants in classroom. The findings also showed the effectiveness of applying chants to teach pronunciation. After using chants, primary school learners have improvement on some aspects of English pronunciation such as stress, rhythm, stress pattern and intonation.
The results of the research showed that a large number of primary students are interested and actively involved in learning pronunciation through chants. This research has valuable implications for teaching English pronunciation to young language learners through using chants in classroom. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help, support and encouragement from many people to whom I would like to express my deepest appreciation during my MA course. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude and sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr.
Truong Bach Le for his dedicated supervision , valuable guidance and enthusiastic support. His guidance helped me in all the time of conducting the research and writing this thesis. Secondly, I would like to send my sincere thanks to the primary school English teachers and staffs at Tran Quoc Toan, Le Loi , Vinh Ninh, Ly Thuong Kiet , Quang Trung , An Cuu , Thuan Thanh primary schools, who were willing to help me carry out the research. Without their support, I could not have enough valuable data to complete my thesis.
I would like to express my special thanks to my best friends who always stand by me and encourage me to conduct the research. Last but not least, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my parents and my younger sister for their endless love, encouragement and support during the stressful time of writing this thesis. v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP. v LIST OF TABLES.
xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Background of the study. Rationale of the study .3 The aims and research questions of the study .4 Significance of the study .5 Scope of the study .6 Structure of the study. 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.1 Young language learners .1 Definition of young language learners .2 Characteristics of young language learners: .2 An overview of pronunciation .1 Definition of pronunciation.2 The features of pronunciation: .3 Reasons to teach pronunciation to children .3 Definition of chants.
The use of chants to teach young learners in primary schools. Using chants to teach listening skills. Using chants to teach speaking skills. Using chants to teach grammar.
Using chants to teach vocabulary. Using chants to teach pronunciation. Using chants to teach individual sounds. Using chants to teach word stress.
Using chants to teach sentence patterns stress. Methods to teach pronunciation by using chants for young learners. The advantages and disadvantages of using chants to teach pronunciation for young learners19 2. Some benefits of using chants to teach pronunciation for young learners.
Some limitations of using chants to teach pronunciation for young language learners. Some previous studies related to the research. The classroom observation. Data collection and data analysis.
30 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 Teacher‟s perceptions of using chants to teach pronunciation .1 The definitions of chants in teaching English for young learners .2 The frequency of using chants to teach English for primary school learners.3 The benefits of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners. Some aspects of language which teachers can apply chants to teach primary school learners .5 The aspects of pronunciation which teachers can use to teach primary school learners. The aspects of pronunciation which teachers can use to teach primary school learners. Teachers‟ perceptions of the use of chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners.
The reality of using chants to teach pronunciation at some primary school in Hue city.1 The stages of the lesson teachers use chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners. Teachers‟ equipment and preparation to teach chants for primary school learners .3 Methods of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary leaners. Methods of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary leaners .4 Teachers‟ demonstration of using chants to teach pronunciation.5 The classroom activities of using chants to teach pronunciation. The classroom activities of using chants to teach pronuncition .6 The classroom configuration of using chants teach pronunciation.7 The effectiveness of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners.
Students‟ attitude and students‟ involvement when teachers use chants to teach .3 Limitations and suggestions of using chants to teach pronunciation.1 Limitations of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners: .2 Factors impacting the use of chants to teach pronunciation for primary learners .2 Suggestions of using chants to teach primary school learners .2 Summary of the key findings .1 Research question 1- Teachers‟ perceptions towards using chants to teach pronunciation to primary school learners.2 Research question 2 - Teachers‟ practice of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners.3 Research question 3 - Limitations and suggestions of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners. Limitations of the research. Suggestions for further research. 71 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.The frequency of using chants to teach primary school learners.
The benefits of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary students. Aspects of language which teachers can apply chants to teach primary school learners. The aspects of pronunciation which teachers can use to teach primary school learners. The stages of the lesson teachers use chants to teach pronunciation for primary students.
Teachers‟ equipment to teach chants for primary school learners. Teachers‟ preparation to teach chants for primary school learners. Teachers‟ demonstration of using chants to teach pronunciation. The classroom activities of using chants to teach pronuncition.
Classroom configuration which teachers use to teach chants.50 x LIST OF TABLES Table 3.Background information of the participants. Summary of clusters in the questionnaire .The definitions of chants in teaching English for young learners. Teachers‟ perceptions of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners. Methods of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary leaners.
The effectiveness of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners.Limitations of using chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners.Factors affecting the use of chants to teach pronunciation for primary school learners.Suggestions of using chants to teach primary school learners .59 xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. ALM: Audio-lingual Method 2. EFL : English as a Foreign Language 3. MOET: Ministry of Education and Training 4.
TEYL : Teaching English to young learners 5. TPR: Total physical Response xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study Nowadays, in the context of globalization, English plays a significant role in our daily life. English is a tool for operating on the world stage and for communication to connect people in different countries in the world. Therefore, teaching and learning English is the most crucial issue that must be concerned, especially for young language learners.
English is consider as second language (ESL) and is taught as compulsory subject in school curriculum from primary schools to high schools in many countries around the world. Teaching English to young learners (TEYL) has received much attention. In many countries, English is a compulsory subject in the early primary grades (Nikolov, 2009; Pinter 2006). The growing demand for English, plus parents‟ belief that English skills provide their children with a better education and better employment opportunities, have led to an increase in the number of English young language programs (Enever & Moon, 2009; Gimenez, 2009).
Nikolov & Djigunovié (2011) stated that millions of primary age children learn English in response to parents‟ expectations and supported by educational policy makers. There has been an increase not only in the number of young learners and their teachers, but also in the volume of documents about and for young learners: language policy documents, teachers‟ handbooks, teaching materials, empirical studies, conference reports and proceedings and academic publications. In our country, the government has launched Viet Nam National Foreign Language 2020 Project during period 2008-2020 to improve foreign language teaching and learning system. In this project, English is introduced to primary school students at grade 3 as a compulsory subject and at grade 1 as an optional subject.
Therefore, teaching English to children is the key policy to develop national education and national economy. One of the essential aspects of teaching English for young learners is pronunciation. Pronunciation plays an important role not only 1 in real life communication but also in classroom context. As Tench (1981) stated that “Pronunciation is not an optional extra for the language learner, any more than grammar, vocabulary or any other aspect of language is.
If a learner's general aim is to talk intelligibly to others in another language, a reasonable pronunciation is important. Rationale of the study Pronunciation is one of the most important skills that learners need to master to communicate fluently. However, in classroom, teachers usually focus on grammar rules, vocabulary and 4 skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing. In many classrooms, teachers tend to give fewer opportunities for students to practice and correct pronunciation.