MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI PHUONG NHUNG AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF USING TPR STORYTELLING IN TEACHING VOCABULARY AT VINH TU PRIMARY SCHOOL 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, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI PHUONG NHUNG AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF USING TPR STORYTELLING IN TEACHING VOCABULARY AT VINH TU PRIMARY SCHOOL MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG NGOC THUY, Ph. HUE, 2016 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG NHUNG NGH N C U TH C NGH V C Ạ T V NG NG PHƯƠNG PH P CHU NV PH N Ạ TOÀN TH N TẠ TRƯỜNG T U HỌC V NH TÚ LUẬN VĂN THẠC S LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PH P DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜ HƯ NG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN QUANG NGỌC THÚY HUẾ, 2016 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.
NGUYEN THI PHUONG NHUNG Date: …………………………. i ABSTRACT This research aimed at exploring the effectiveness of using TPR Storytelling in teaching vocabulary for young learners at Vinh Tu Primary School in Quang Tri province. This paper reports a qualitative action research project with an experimental design. In this two-month study, 34 participants were divided into two groups: an experimental group taught with TPR Storytelling method and a control group without TPR Storytelling in teaching vocabulary.
The study has three steps in teaching vocabulary using TPR Storytelling. To check the effect of TPR Storytelling technique on young learners’ vocabulary learning, the teacher researcher designed two tests, pre- test and post-test with 25 items in each test. The data collected were quantitatively processed and presented in tables and figures. This research also reveals some difficulties that are encountered by the young learners taught with TPR Storytelling method.
Therefore, the first and foremost important implication for teachers is that they should familiarize young learners with TPR Storytelling by using them more often in class. Furthermore, teachers should adapt and organize suitable activities for young learners after learning an English story. It helps children summarize vocabulary knowledge and develop their ability in learning speaking skill. ii Acknowledgements My initial thanks go to the young learners from Vinh Tu Primary School, who provided an important basis and stimulus for the research.
In particular, I would like to thank the headmaster who makes good conditions for the researcher to do research on Saturday and Sunday. My second round of thanks is to my dear professor. Due to limited time, she had to stay up late to correct my research. This makes me feel ashamed because of my fault.
Therefore, I would also like to express my gratitude to her for being my source of inspiration and providing precious reference materials. I am also thankful to the school librarians who are enthusiastic to make sure that the needed books are at my disposal. Most importantly, I owe a major debt to my supervisor – whose rich resource of materials and enthusiastic guidance over research methodology. She was a critical editor who contributed positively to the final result.
Besides, she created chances for me to be able to continue doing research. Another major debt is to my beloved family. My father, my mother and my younger brother are always beside me to take care of and encourage me when I feel tired and want to give up through the race. In a word, my sincere gratitude goes to all of those without whose support my study is far from being finished.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Papers SUB COVER PAGE STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi LIST OF TABLES.
vii LIST OF FIGURES. Rationale of the study. Aims and brief outline. Significance of the thesis.
Definitions of vocabulary. The importance of vocabulary knowledge for young learners. Steps of teaching vocabulary with TPR Storytelling. The role of TPR Storytelling in teaching vocabulary.
Characteristics of younger learners relating to studying vocabulary through TPR Storytelling. Previous studies on TPR and TPR Storytelling. Data collection and analysis. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Teaching vocabulary with TPR Storytelling method for young learners. Steps in teaching vocabulary with TPR Storytelling method. The effect of using TPR Storytelling to teach vocabulary for young learners. Pre-test results of experimental group and control group.
Post-test results of experimental group and control group. Results at production and recognition levels of experimental group and control group. Total compared results between experimental and control groups. Summary of the research findings.
Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further research.52 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L2 : Second language T : Teacher TPR : Total Physical Response TPR Storytelling : Total Physical Response Storytelling SPSS : Statistical Package for Social Sciences vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Procedure of an action research .2: TPR Storytelling week list .1: Young learners’ interest in vocabulary .2: Compared results of two groups .3: Differences between Experimental and Control Groups’ (N=34) in Pre- test Scores.4: Differences between Experimental and Control Groups’ (N=34) in Post- test Scores.5: Differences between Experimental and Control Group of Learners’ Production Level (N=34) in Pre-test scores.6: Differences between Experimental and Control Group of Learners’ Vocabulary Production Levels (N=34) in Post-test Scores .7: Pre-test scores of vocabulary recognition .8: Differences between Experimental and Control Group of Learners’ Vocabulary Recognition Levels (N=34) in Post-test Scores.9: Pre-test and Post-test Total Results of Experimental and the Control group.40 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: Mean scores of experimental and control group in pre-test and post-test .2: Mean Scores of Experimental and Control Group in Vocabulary Recognition Level in Pre-test and Post-test .39 viii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the rationale of the study – the teaching of Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPR Storytelling) in teaching vocabulary, research scope, aims and brief outline, the significance of the thesis and the research questions. Rationale of the study English has now acquired the position of the world's leading "global language" (Crystal, 2003, p. Nowadays, with the fast globalization of the world economy, in some countries like Vietnam, English is becoming a crucial tool for anyone who wants to have a good job and win a higher position in society.
Therefore, the Vietnamese government has realized the important role of teaching English for everyone. Many people study English because it is necessary for them to have good jobs with high salary. Hence, many parents want their children to study English as soon as possible because they believe that it is a smart way of teaching if children study English early. At school, children are obliged to learn English at the age of eight.
In some international schools or some private schools, children are taught English when they enter grade 1. As a result, children in Vietnam have the opportunity to be exposed to this language at a very young age and that will help them a lot in their future career. For young learners, “the more words a student knows the more precisely that student can express the exact meaning he/she wants to” (Hubbard, 1983, p. Firstly, they just remember the meaning of a word or some words.
There are easy words that they can memorize. Gradually, they can speak an English sentence, sing an English song and moreover. Therefore, the English teachers pay more attention to choosing and applying effective methods or techniques to teach vocabulary for young learners successfully. Certainly, there is an important thing that English teachers always care for in teaching vocabulary knowledge.
To be honest, vocabulary is taught in many different ways in Vietnamese education such as using flashcards, realia or storytelling with the pictures, songs, 1 etc. However, teachers just apply some acquaintance techniques that they usually teach in their English class because they do not change old techniques. Consequently, Harmer (2007) argued that some students forget the material easily because they are not active during learning process or involved in learning process directly; there are no good atmosphere and environment of learning process in the class if there is no interaction or response between students and teacher. Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to innovate their ancient methods in teaching English for learners.
They are center and active in learning English to get successful. Likely, Harmer (2007) stated that the students must be encouraged to respond to texts and situations with their own thoughts and experiences, rather than just answering questions and doing abstract learning activities. With Total Physical Response, according to James Asher (as cited in Richards & Rodgers, 2001), TPR is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity. It is a successful method in teaching vocabulary and grammar for both young learners and adult.
Hence, many English teachers apply this method in teaching English to motivate learners’ attitude. Besides TPR, Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPR Storytelling) is also an effective method in teaching vocabulary for young learners. While TPR uses command form of verbs and physical movements, TPR Storytelling applies mini stories to teaching vocabulary for young learners. Particularly, storytelling is needed in second language education because it helps students retain more words, phrases, and sentences (Tsou, Wang, & Tzeng, 2004, p.
Listening to English stories is a meaningful way for children to enlarge their vocabulary knowledge because it makes them feel curious and attractive to listen and understand. Hence, young learners can gain their vocabulary knowledge throughout stories in TPR Storytelling method. As discussed above, it is unable to deny the importance of TPR Storytelling in teaching vocabulary as well as its effects on young learners’ learning. Hence, I find it necessary to conduct a research named “An experimental study of TPR Storytelling in teaching vocabulary at Vinh Tu Primary School”.
Research scope The research was carried out at Vinh Tu primary school, in Ho Xa Town, Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province. The researcher is an English teacher at the school; therefore, Vinh Tu primary school was chosen to do this research project. It is a convenient condition for researcher to do action research. The research only focuses on examining the influence of TPR Storytelling on young learners’ vocabulary knowledge but not other knowledge because as discussed in the literature, teaching vocabulary is an essential thing for English teachers in teaching.
The research does not diagnose the difficulties encountered by the teacher in charge of this course because the primary aim of this research is for teaching young learners’ vocabulary knowledge. Aims and brief outline The research aimed to use TPR Storytelling in teaching vocabulary for young learners. There are ways to carry out teaching TPR Storytelling, collecting data and summarizing results. Besides, it explores TPR Storytelling’s influence on vocabulary knowledge of young learners, figures out some difficulties that students and teacher faced in learning and teaching.
Moreover, there is a comparison between results of TPR Storytelling based and non-TPR Storytelling based ways of teaching vocabulary for young learners. The thesis consists of five chapters, namely Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Findings and Discussion, and Conclusion. Chapter 1 Introduction provided the introduction to the research. In this chapter, the rationale to conduct this action research was mentioned.
The purposes of the research were specifically be explained and then followed by the research questions.