MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ DOAN NGOC AI PHUONG THE POTENTIALS FOR USING PUPPETS AS LANGUAGE ASSISTANTS IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Assoc.TRUONG VIEN HUE, 2012 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ ĐOÀN NGỌC ÁI PHƯƠNG TIỀM NĂNG SỬ DỤNG CON RỐI NHƯ TRỢ LÝ NGÔN NGỮ TRONG VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TẠI MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở HUẾ CHUYÊN NGÀNH: LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.10 LUẬN VĂN THẠC SỸ GIÁO DỤC NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS.TRƯƠNG VIÊN HUẾ, 2012 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Author Doan Ngoc Ai Phuong J would like to express my deepest gratitude to A/Prof,Dr. Truong Vien, my supervisor, for his patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques at every stage of the development of this study.
J would also like to express my sincere thanks to all the college librarians for their enthusiasms. Also, I am indebted to all the teachers and students in Vinh Ninh, Thuan Hoa, Tran Quoc Toan, Truong An and Phuoc Vinh Primary schools for providing me with the most favorable conditions to collect the needed data. My grateful thanks are also extended to Ms. Hoang Thi Khanh Tam for her precious advice, and Ms.
Nguyen Thi Hai Yen for her assistance in keeping my progress on schedule. Finally and always, my heartfelt thanks go to my family and my beloved friends whose support is indispensable for the fulfillment of my thesis. TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages SUB COVER PAGE 1 SUB COVER PAGE 2 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .1 LIST OF TABLES .4 LIST OF CHARTS. Research topic, aims and questions.
Significance of the study. Organization of the research .10 Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW. Who are „Young Learners‟ (YLs)?. Characteristics of YLs.
How YLs learn a language. Why use puppets in teaching English to YLs? .What is a „puppet‟?. Types of puppets often used in the classrooms. Benefits of using puppets in teaching English to YLs.
Activities we can conduct with puppets. Previous studies on the use of puppetry in teaching English to young learners. Overall description of Primary teachers of English as participants. Overall description of Primary pupils as participants.
Methods of study .34 Chapter 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Teachers‟ perceptions of using puppets as language assistants. Based on questionnaires. Teachers‟ attitudes towards the benefits of using puppets as language assistants in teaching English to Primary pupils.
Teachers‟ views on the application of this technique. Teachers‟ preferences to possible areas of the application of this technique as language assistants. Teachers‟ reflection on the reality and some drawbacks of using puppets as language assistants. Teachers‟ perception according to Age Group.
Teachers‟ perceptions according to Work Experience Group. Based on interviews. Frequency of using puppets in teaching English and the most commonly used type of puppets. Further opinions about possible areas of the application of puppetry, disadvantages of using puppets and suggestions.
Pupils‟ perceptions of the uses of puppets as language assistants. Pupils‟ attitudes towards the benefits of puppets in learning English. Pupils‟ views on the application of this technique. Pupils‟ preferences to possible areas of the application of this technique.
Pupils‟ reflection on the reality of using puppets as language assistants. Pupils‟ preferences to certain types of puppets. Pupils‟ perceptions according to Gender .58 Chapter 5 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary of the study.
Limitations of the study .65 APPENDICES 3 LIST OF TABLES Table 3. Age Group of teachers Table 3. Work Experience Group of teachers Table 3. Gender of pupils Table 3.
Description of questionnaire for teachers Table 3. Description of questionnaire for pupils Table 4. Results of Cluster 1 – Teachers‟ attitudes towards the benefits of using puppets Table 4. Results of Cluster 2- Teachers‟ views on the application of this technique Table 4.
Results of Cluster 3 - Teachers‟ preferences to possible areas of the application of this technique Table 4. Results of Cluster 4- Reality & some drawbacks of using puppets Table 4. Results of Cluster 5-Teachers‟ suggestions Table 4. Means of all Clusters Table 4.
Teachers‟ perceptions according to Age Group Table 4. Teachers‟ perceptions according to Work Experience Group Table 4. Pupils‟ attitudes towards the benefits of puppets in learning English Table 4. Pupils‟ view on the application of this technique Table 4.
Pupils‟ preferences to possible areas of the application of this technique Table 4. Pupils‟ reflection on the reality of using puppets as language assistants Table 4. Means of all Clusters Table 4. Pupils‟ preferences to certain types of puppets Table 4.
Pupils‟ perceptions according to Gender 4 LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3. Age Group of teachers Chart 3. Work Experience Group of teachers Chart 3. Gender of pupils Chart 4.
Using puppets sounds interesting Chart 4. Using puppets to teach English is possible to carry out in my classroom Chart 4. I have been trained & successful in using puppets Chart 4. Means of all Clusters Chart 4.
Teachers‟ perceptions according to Age Group Chart 4. Teachers‟ perceptions according to Work Experience Group Chart 4. I like this technique Chart 4. I rarely see this technique in my class Chart 4.
Mean of all Clusters Chart 4. Pupils‟ perceptions according to Gender 5 ABSTRACT This thesis aimed to study the potentials for using puppets as language assistants in teaching English to young learners at some Primary school in Hue. The research investigated into (1) the perceptions of teachers and pupils on using puppets as language assistants, (2) how feasible it is to apply the technique of using puppets in real-life classrooms. The subjects of this thesis were 20 Primary teachers of English and 220 Primary pupils.
In terms of methodology, questionnaire and interview were chosen as the main instruments. All data was analyzed thanks to SPSS. As a result, the findings indicated that although both teachers and pupils had positive attitudes towards the use of puppets, there were a certain number of disadvantages waiting for satisfactory solutions. 6 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter refers to (1) the rationale, (2) research topic, aims, and questions, (3) research scope, (4) significance of the thesis, and (5) organization of the research.
Rationale - My name‟s Tom. What‟s your name? - My name‟s Phuong This was how I made friends with a „unique companion‟ named „Tom‟ thanks to my mother – the first, also the most special teacher of mine who inspired my love for English when I was a seven-year-old girl. I regarded „Tom‟ unique because „he‟ was nothing but my mother‟s thumb painted with a cat‟s face in ink. Believe it or not, my mother let me imagine as if her thumb was my favorite cartoon character called Tom in “Tom & Jerry”.
It worked indeed. I still remember how eager I was to talk to Tom in English, although all I knew was only some simple English patterns and chunks. Coincidently many years later, when I worked as a lecturer of English, I was intrigued by the sight of a toy bear, introduced as a teaching tool in two intensive workshops on training Primary teachers in Hue (March, 2011), which brought me back to my childhood memory. It was this initial motivation that helped me come up with the idea of a study on using puppets in teaching English in my hometown.
Unarguably, puppets are believed to play an integral part in language teaching and learning as well as bear a strong relevance to the cognitive and sentimental development of the young learners. They have connected people all over the world by a distinctive language, consisting of more than words (Burn, 1989). As Peyton (1996) claimed, “puppet language is unique in its ability to help teachers and children learn from one another, grow, relate openly, to be self-confident and self-expressive” (p. The appearance of puppets inside the classrooms not only 7 catches children‟s attention easily, but also creates a non-threatening and warm atmosphere.
What is more, it meets the demands for Multiple Intelligences and different learning styles at the early age. In brief, the idea of making use of puppets for pedagogical purposes has attracted a lot of concern from researchers and educators. The ultimate reason for this research derives from my interest in young learners. Despite my teaching environment, I wish to stand greater chances of working with children as I used to do two years ago - when I volunteered for Hue Help Organization to teach English to some special children, and that turned out to be the wonderful hand-on experience I have ever had.
In fact, children are by nature innocent, lovely and most of all, their ages seems ideal to learn such a foreign language as English. As far as I am concerned, although teaching English to young learners has gained its popularity in Vietnam recently, it is a shame that fewer researches on this field than that of adolescent or adult teaching areas have been carried out in terms of quantity. In summary, my choice of this research topic originated from a deep passion for puppets, a great concern about their roles in language assistance, and a keenness on studying young learners of English. Hence, I hold a firm belief that my study is well worth a try.
Research topic, aims and questions In the light of all above, I do own a burning desire to carry out the study entitled “The potentials for using puppets as language assistants in teaching English to young learners at some Primary schools in Hue”, with a view to gaining an insight into the probability of the assistance of puppets in the process of teaching English at Primary schools. It is hereby proposed that the study would elevate this field of interest through seeking out the answers to the following questions: 1. What are the perceptions of teachers and pupils on using puppets as language assistants in teaching English at Hue Primary schools? 2. How feasible is it to apply the technique of using puppets in real-life classrooms? 8 1.
Research scope The scope of the study is limited within five Primary schools in Hue City where an investigation into the possibility of using puppets in teaching English to young learners aged 8 to 10 is implemented. Significance of the study In the phase of Vietnam‟s educational development, it would be a great loss without mentioning National Foreign Language 2020 Project by Ministry of Education and Training (2000-2020), in which English teaching to young learners has been regarded as one of the highlighting topics. On the one hand, this leads to the fact that innovative approaches and techniques in teaching English to children, one of which is the notion of using puppets, are more seriously taken into account than ever before. It is undeniable that puppetry, together with its crucial role, has been widely recommended through a large number of recent workshops and conferences.
A considerable quantity of modules specialized in this technique have been designed to assist Primary teachers. On the other hand, it is a paradox that whereas the idea of using puppets in teaching English appears to be familiar to a majority of researchers and trainers in foreign countries, the number of research on this topic found in Vietnam is rather limited.