MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------ MANOMAY SAYSOPHA AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES-BASED ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS AT PAKSE TEACHER TRAINING COLLEGE, CHAMPASAK, LAOS MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60. TRUONG BACH LE HUE, 2014 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- MANOMAY SAYSOPHA KHẢO SÁT VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG ĐA TRÍ TUỆ ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƢỜNG CAO ĐẲNG SƢ PHẠM PAKSE, CHAMPASAK, LÀO LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: Tiếnsĩ. Trƣơng Bạch Lê HUẾ, 2014 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere.
MANOMAY SAYSOPHA iii ABSTRACT This paper reports on An Investigation into Using Multiple Intelligences- Based Activities to Promote English Language Skills at Pakse Teacher Training College, Champasak, Laos. The purposes of this research were compare the English language skills before and after engaging them in multiple intelligences- based activities, and explore the development of the students in using multiple intelligences-based activities in using multiple intelligence-based activities. The target group of this study was composed of 40 students in the primary education section students in year 1 in the first semester of academic year 2013 – 2014 at Pakse Teacher Training College, Champasak, Laos. The experimental instrument consisted of 4 lesson plans which were based on the multiple intelligences activities.
The data collecting instruments were speaking, listening, reading and writing tests, a survey questionnaire, and interviewed to explore the development of student. The data obtained were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and percentage. The outcome of this study showed that after engaging students in multiple intelligences-based activities, students‟ reading improved the most followed by speaking skill, then listening and writing skills. And after explored the development, students have developed in using multiple intelligences.
iv ACKNOWLEDGMENS This thesis represents my concerted efforts in completing this research as well as the end of my journey to the degree of Master of Education. This book had not been possible without the assistance of the persons to whom I am deeply grateful. First and foremost, I would like to express my profound thanks to Dr. TRUONG BACH LE, for his invaluable advice, constructive criticisms and suggestions.
I also give my sincere thanks to Mr. KHAMPHIANE MEKCHONE, the director of Pakse TTC, for his comments and supports. I am also thankful to those who shared their time and assistance during the experimentation, the students in the target group; friends and colleagues at Pakse TTC. Finally, I owe my deepest thanks to my family, for their unconditional love, inspirations, support and care.
v LIST OF TABLE List of table Page Table1: Teaching/ learning strategies for multiple intelligences. 29 Table 2:Students‟ speaking skill results. 41 Table 3: Students‟ listening skill results. 42 Table 4: Students‟ reading skill results.
42 Table 5: Students writing skill results. 43 Table 6: Summary of the results of students‟ English language skills:. 43 Table 7: Students‟ perceptions of the multiple intelligence results. 44 vi LIST IF FIGURE List of figure Page Figure 1: Multiple intelligences.
14 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATION Abbreviation Full version TTC Teacher Training College ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations MoE Ministry of Education DTT Department of Teacher Training MI Multiple Intelligence ADD Attention Deficit Disorder LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Survey Questionnaire Appendix B Multiple Intelligences Interview Appendix C Lesson Planning Appendix D Pretest and Posttest Appendix E Photographs Appendix F Summary of the Lesson plans viii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. v LIST OF TABLE. vi LIST IF FIGURE. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
ix CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. English primary education in Laos. The aims of the study. The expected outcomes.
6 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW. Definition of terms. Multiple intelligences theory. Multiple intelligences explained.
Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence. Logical -Mathematical Intelligence. Visual-Spatial Intelligence. Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence.
Theoretical basis for multiple intelligences theory. Key points in multiple intelligences theory. Ways to teach multiple intelligences. Multiple intelligences theory to other intelligence theories.
The application of multiple intelligences theory to english language teaching. Multiple intelligences syllabus. Multiple intelligences in the classroom. Multiple intelligences assessment in the classroom.
33 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Research sites and target group. The presentation stage. The practice stage.
The production stage. Data collecting instrument. 40 CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION. English language skills pretest and posttest.
Students‟ speaking test scores and percentage of passers obtained before and after engaging students in multiple intelligences-based activities. Students‟ Listening test scores and passing rate before and after engaging students in multiple intelligences-based activities. Students‟ reading test scores and passing rate before and after engaging students in multiple intelligences-based activities. Students‟ writing test scores and passing rate before and after engaging students in multiple intelligences-based activities.
Multiple intelligences survey. Multiple intelligences interview. The types of mi activities used in the class. Summary of the results.
50 CHAPTER V: IMPLICATION AND CONCLUSION. Summary of research findings. Limitation of the study. Suggestions for further research.
54 REFERENCES APPENDICES xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION To begin with, I would like to write a few words about my background which is connected with English teaching and learning processes. I graduated from the faculty of education, National University of Laos in 2007. I majored in English Language Education. Now I work as an English teacher in the Primary Education Section of Pakse Teacher Training College.
I have been a teacher here for 6 years. At the same time, I am deputy head of the Assessment and Evaluation Unit of the academic office and I am responsible for academic affairs. My duty is to make diploma certificate and score report. My main job is to train students in the Primary Education Section (the 12+2 program) to become English teachers for primary schools in four provinces in the southern part of Laos; Champasak, Salavan, Attapeu, and Sekong provinces.
The major subject that I teach at the moment is general English, (including speaking, reading, writing and listening). ENGLISH PRIMARY EDUCATION IN LAOS From 1975 to 1980, after Laos gained independence from America, English was in limited use in the Laos PDR. English textbooks were thrown away and burned since the importance of foreign languages was not recognized. However, from 1980-1996, English gradually became an important language because Laos received such a large amount of official development assistance from many international organizations.
Therefore English became extremely needed for foreign communication. Since 1997, when Lao joined the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), English has become the priority foreign language, needed in both the public and the private sector. English is taught only in private primary schools but access to these is limited to major central areas, and in particular to Vientiane Municipality which has 89 private primary schools. These schools use commercial textbooks that can be bought in the market.
The next largest number of private school is in Champasak Province, which has nine. Ten provinces have no private schools. 1 English is not currently officially taught in government primary schools; however, a draft curriculum for English in the primary school exists. According to the new government policy, English was introduced into public primary schools in 2010.
Because of the teacher shortages, it is not yet taught in all primary schools. These shortages are less in Laos, especially in Champasak, Salavan, Sekong and Attapeu provinces where English language teacher training programs for primary education established. Fortunately, there are now eight Teacher Training Colleges in the country that trained teachers of English for primary schools in each year. In rural areas where there are no English teachers, English is taught in primary schools by teacher, trained for other subjects but who can speak English, and by retrained teachers, Russian, French teachers who have taken an intensive course in English.
THE PROBLEMS Pakse TTC, which is located in Champasak province, southern Laos, has become a huge college with an area of 16 hectares and over two thousand students, located in 58 classrooms. It is under the control of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Department of Teacher Training (DTT). The college plays an important role in training primary teachers (11+1) system for medium certificate, (12+2) system for higher diploma, and lower secondary school teachers (11+3) system for higher diploma, (12+4) system for bachelor degree, for the four provinces of Champasak, Attapeu, Sekong, and Salavan. Its academic area consists of normal course only or teacher training course funded by the government.
Students are mainly from four southern provinces as mentioned above; there are three ways for students to enter to Pakse TTC. These are: - About 50% of the students are nominated by their provincial education services in the quota of the MoE (with scholarship) - About 40% have to pass the entrance examinations (with scholarship) - About 10% are accepted based on political recommendations, by the TTC and DTT (no scholarship) 2 I started to be interested in how students learn English in the classroom just a few years after I started to work as a teacher in 2007. I choose this topic for my Master thesis to find out more how teachers and students in my workplace created and develop their knowledge, especially how they differentiate between how they look upon and carry out school knowledge. My aim is to find ways to help teachers and students know more about how to use multiple intelligences- based activities to promote English language skills, so that they can create and develop new knowledge.
Multiple intelligence theory attracted me because in Primary Education Section of Pakse Teacher Training College, Champasak Laos, English teachers encountered various classroom issues that need attention in their English teaching practices. Based on the observation of the classroom, most teachers have been confronted with problems to deal with such as the lack of interest, positive attitude, motivation, self-confidence, self-discipline and self-direction of some of the students in learning the English language although there may be other factors behind these problems like students‟ varying characteristics such as personality, personal background as well as teachers‟ personality and teaching styles. Therefore, there is an utmost need that these problems should be taken into account. With the nature of multiple intelligences theory, I believe that students‟ English language learning and acquisition will be improved.
These research talks about how MI based activities were brought into the language classroom. Therefore, language teachers will be equipped with a variety of approaches that cater to the individual learning abilities and talent as well as their weakness that facilitate language acquisition using all areas of intelligence. For instance, language teachers can use music to enhance students‟ listening and speaking skills by listening to songs, rhymes, chants or raps. The teacher can use a picture to aid students in writing a story or eliciting opinions.
Students can go on a field trip and work in a group, write about the trip, and even illustrate some events that happened during the trip. To enhance the speaking and reading skills, teachers can use graphs, charts, concept maps, webs, illustrations and pictures to talk or 3 write about certain topic to stimulate students‟ spatial intelligence. Role-playing involves linguistic, kinesthetic, interpersonal and intra-personal intelligences. Oral presentation would involve logical, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, spatial and other intelligences as students will be using their logical thinking in preparing and presenting their topic, create rapport with the audience and work with a group.
This activity also calls for the use of students‟ meta-cognitive abilities in preparing their presentation that assist in their planning, organizing, analyzing and evaluating their tasks.