Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Learners
Third International TEYL Research
Seminar 2005-6 Papers
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This Material is Copyright Dept. of Educational Studies 2010
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This Material is Copyright Dept. of Educational Studies 2010
Contents
Annie Hughes
Foreword
Barbara Brezigar
Mary Carney
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Carolina Garrido
Reflective Learning:
Can reflection increase the amount of L2 used in the
classroom?
27
Kate Gregson
34
Genji Hatta
42
Sara Khoury
50
Falko Lechel
58
Michelle Martin
68
Liliane Pessanha
75
Rosemary Smeets
85
Carola Von
Wippern-Dochart
101
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This Material is Copyright Dept. of Educational Studies 2010
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This Material is Copyright Dept. of Educational Studies 2010
Foreword
I am really thrilled to be able to write a forward to this fascinating collection of
papers following the 2005 and 2006 International TEYL Research Seminar held at
York.
The papers from the International TEYL Research Seminar held at York in
previous years have been really valuable for both MA in TEYL students and others
of us involved in TEYL in many ways, according to feedback we have had from
our readers. I am sure that this present set of papers will be just as valuable and
important to us all, too.
There are eleven papers included in this collection. The topics within them range
from the influence of puppets in group speaking activities through to the effect on
long-term recall of different types of vocabulary presentation. There are stops
along the way into the effective use of interactive white boards, the effect of
reflective learning on L2 production, a comparison of computerised and paper
based media in YLs writing, a look at story telling in Japan, a study of the effects
of the use of coloured paper on the amount that young learners write, a look at the
use of song and its effect on comprehension of nouns, a comparison of speech
bubbles and text boxes in story writing, an investigation into motivation and sense
of achievement in a Brazilian context and a study of whether using a preferred
learning style can make vocabulary learning easier. Each of these papers deals
with fascinating and exciting areas within TEYL, I am sure you will agree.
It is easy to forget that all these papers, from well-established specialists and new
specialists in the field of TEYL, alike, are often the result of months, and
sometimes many years, of research. The papers dont always clarify how
frustrating the bad times were or how exhilarating the good times of the research
were for these individuals, but we know all the writers will have experienced both!
We are so glad they did so as otherwise we would not have such a wealth of data
to refer to or such interesting reflections and results to read about. Each of these
papers will inform TEYL practice for all of us.
Given this, I would like to thank all of the writers of the papers as I know their work
will inform, illustrate and instruct those of us reading about their experiences. We
are very grateful to read about and reflect on this research in order to inform our
own TEYL practice. All of the papers in this publication are inspiring and thoughtprovoking and will make lots of us want to rush out and continue in these areas of
research.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Nicole Taylor for all her work in
the editing and preparation of these papers for publication.
Annie Hughes
Senior Teaching Fellow
Department of Educational Studies
Langwith College
University of York
York, YO10 5EX
avh4@york.ac.uk
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This Material is Copyright Dept. of Educational Studies 2010
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This Material is Copyright Barbara Brezigar 2010
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
THE PUPPET AND THE CHILD
In the childs fantasy each object has its own life and soul. Objects and toys
take over the function of the imaginative world in which the child dictates
the rules and searches for possible solutions to (her) unsolved problems.
According to Vygotsky, these kinds of games improve all steps in childs
development. Surprisingly, puppetry integrates nearly all disciplines
important for this development: perception, comprehension, movement, coordination, and interaction with the environment, speech, and narration
(Majaron 2002a:62).
Considering Majarons statement might be enough to persuade a teacher to
introduce the puppet and by using it offer children the possibility to learn more
easily and spontaneously. By using a puppet in the lessons children might be
more relaxed and motivated and so the affective filter, which can, according to
Krashen, block learning (Lightbown and Spada 1999:40), might be reduced.
Similarly Majaron points out that
the puppet provides the child a kind of cover, behind which she can hide
Hence, the puppet helps the child to communicate much more
spontaneously, avoiding stressful relations, especially with adults. (Majaron
2002a:61).
Besides motivating children for work and reducing the affective filter the puppet
offers much more.
Children who are accustomed to using puppets in their everyday
conversations, have richer vocabulary, they are able to understand the
semiotic-symbolic value of visual signs and the language of non-verbal
communication (Majaron 2002a:61).
It seems that visual signs and non-verbal communication might be very important
in communication. According to Slaven this maybe even more important when the
speaker does not have a wide vocabulary (Slaven 1991:52).
Majaron also states that the child will, by accepting non-verbal communication as
an important part of everyday relations supported by narration, enrich her
vocabulary (Majaron 2002a:64).
Considering all these it could be summarised that regular use of a puppet might
stimulate learning and offer the teacher the possibility to reach not only linguistic
goals but also to offer the child a better possibility to become more self-confident
and to learn many communicative skills that seem to be very important in
everyday communication.
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This Material is Copyright Barbara Brezigar 2010
COLLECTION OF DATA
The data were collected through video recordings, questionnaires and the fishbowl
technique where a group of children observe another group and take notes or
work with a check list. Since children were not used to fishbowl technique, this
way of observation was introduced before the collection of data. As all the groups
had to be recorded, different ways of collecting data offered the possibility to get
data although another group was recorded.
THE THIRD CYCLE
The second change was introduced at the end of May 2004. Finger puppets were
animated by children.
COLLECTION OF DATA
The data were collected through video recordings, interviews and questionnaires.
For ethical reasons all groups were recorded, interviewed and given
questionnaires.
ANALYSIS OF THE DATA
The video recordings of the observed group were transcribed and analysed. From
the transcription the number of switches between Slovene and English was
counted. The Slovene language was analysed in order to find out whether it was
used with words that children had not learned yet or it was used to say things
children had already learned in English. The English language was analysed to
find out whether children used single words, chunks or sentences. In this case a
chunk was defined as a collocation of two or more nouns used as a subject
without a verb or object (example: a big and yellow robot). A sentence was
considered when children used at least a subject and the object; the verb might
have been left out. All the questions were also considered as sentences if they
had an object although the syntax or grammar were incorrect.
The questionnaires and check-lists designed for fishbowl technique helped to
collect the data about how often students spoke English and Slovene, if the words
spoken in Slovene had been learned in English, if the observed students used
mostly sentences, chunks or words when speaking English, and how group
members understood each other.
More qualitative data were collected with questionnaires about the puppet Linda,
the reports on puppets Linda and Koala and with interviews that were carried out
at the end of the third cycle.
FINDINGS
GROUP SPEAKING ACTIVITIES WITHOUT PUPPETS
The findings show that students from the observed group used English relatively
often during the activities. In the activities that had been done before the first
puppet entered the class, the use of English was around 77 per cent.
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This Material is Copyright Barbara Brezigar 2010
Students never used Slovene in order to finish the activity. Slovene was mostly
used in order to clear some organisational problems in the group. Students usually
used Slovene to discuss turn-taking. From time to time students spoke during
different activities in Slovene.
Analysing the transcription dated 2.3.2004 it could be clearly noticed that after the
first two activities (Point to the Named Object and Find Out the Correct Picture)
students became more relaxed and enjoyed the third activity (Put Pictures in the
Correct Order) and they switched to Slovene more often since they seemed to be
eager to guess the correct answers. Especially in the second part of the third
activity the use of Slovene increased to almost 28 per cent but most of the words
spoken in Slovene had not been learned yet.
When using English, students formed sentences most often, but it could be noted
that questions were mostly formed with mistakes although the students had been
given an example of the dialogue.
In the transcription dated 23.4.2004 the observed group was also video recorded
while working without the puppet. The results show that the percentage of Slovene
speech dropped to around 3%. One reason for this might be the knowledge
students had acquired during the lessons, but the other possibility might be that
the puppet influenced their work, since they had already been working with the
puppet Linda before this lesson.
GROUP ACTIVITIES WITH HAND PUPPETS
The analysis of both transcriptions, the one with the puppet Linda and the one with
the puppet Koala, show that students used less Slovene when working with them.
In the activity where the observed group worked with the puppet Linda the use of
Slovene dropped to less than 16%, which means that students used 7% less
Slovene than in the activities without a puppet.
Students used Slovene to say that they had finished. Further analysis shows that
students used Slovene when they did not know English. Sometimes students used
Slovene to translate Lindas question to another student in the group.
When speaking English students still used many single words during the activity,
but it should be noted that the aim students saw in the activity was to fill in all the
gaps as quickly as possible and such an aim might have influenced their way of
speaking.
The analysis of the questionnaires that were given to students of the observed
group on other occasions show that all the students tried to use English as much
as possible but they still used Slovene for discussing the organisation of the
activity. But it should be noted that when comparing the two questionnaires of
6.4.2004 and 20.4.2004 the difference in using Slovene as little as possible is
noticeable.
The check-lists of the fishbowl technique show slightly different results, but it
should be remembered that the group was observed by different students each
time. Nevertheless it can be seen that the use of Slovene dropped from one
observation to another.
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This Material is Copyright Barbara Brezigar 2010
When working with the puppet Koala, the percentage of Slovene utterance
dropped by another 6% compared with the activity with Linda and so was just
above 10%. It might be argued that the improvement of results is not due only to
the puppet since more than one month passed between the observed activity with
Linda and this one. It could then be said that the results might have been also
influenced by the knowledge students acquired during this month.
When students used Slovene they still used it to discuss whose turn it was
although they had heard the phrase many times.The analysis of the use of English
also gave good results since all the students used sentences at least 50% more
often than single words.
Considering the questionnaires about Linda, the writings about Koala and Linda
and the interviews it might be concluded that students liked to work with both of
them. It also seems that they really tried to speak more English and that they
believed both of them helped them to learn English.
GROUP ACTIVITIES WITH FINGER PUPPETS
The analysis of the questionnaires and the interviews about finger puppets show
that students seemed to like them and they felt they spoke more English when
using them. In the questionnaires students stated that they always used English
and never Slovene, which is the best result presented up to now.
The analysis of the transcribed lesson with finger puppets, on the other hand,
shows completely different results. From the transcription it can well be seen that
at the beginning of the activity students had the puppets on their fingers but they
did the activity without really speaking through the puppet. This did not last long
and students started to use puppets for the activity. But the results are not as
good as those shown in the questionnaires. Students used Slovene 21% of the
time, which is just 2% less than in the first transcription. Students used Slovene
not only when they did not know English but also with phrases and words they had
already learned. Further analysis of the English speech also shows that students
did not perform as well as they did with hand puppets. The use of sentences
lowered and the use of chunks and single words increased.
An important fact that can be noticed from the transcription is that students moved
the puppet away when they spoke Slovene.It also seems that students sometimes
removed the puppets when they were not sure about what they should say.
According to the theoretical presentation of puppets in childrens development,
finger puppets should also offer better results.The reason for such results might be
in the fact that the activity students were doing with finger puppets was designed
to practice new vocabulary.
Students seemed to know that finger puppets could speak only English and this
might be the reason why they moved them away when they wanted to speak
Slovene or when they were not sure about their English utterance.
The use of a puppet who was able to speak English but who could also make
mistakes when speaking might offer better results, since it would offer the child the
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This Material is Copyright Barbara Brezigar 2010
possibility to hide behind the puppet and the mistake would not be made by the
child but by the puppet.
The findings clearly show that hand English speaking puppets that teachers bring
and animate in the classroom positively influence the use of English. Children
seem to like them and believe they are alive and can help them speak English.
According to interviews, children were not afraid of the puppets and they liked
them even more if they were playful and lively. Judging from the results it might
really be said that puppets are magic.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
The action research that was carried out is a case study. For ethical reasons and
with the aim not to influence the results, the learners did not know which group
was being observed. This made collecting data more difficult since all the groups
had to be video recorded at equal intervals. Consequently the time needed to get
data from video recordings was long. Maybe a better method would have been to
bring more than one video camera into the classroom but such a solution would
have caused other problems, especially from the economic point of view.
Furthermore another problem encountered in connection with the video recording
was the influence of the video camera on learners. Although this generation is
used to being video recorded it still seems that they behaved differently when they
were recorded and so they spoke loudly enough only when they were convinced
that their speech was correct, but when they spoke between themselves in
Slovene or when they were not sure about the correctness of their speech they
spoke in a low voice, which made the transcribing very difficult and timeconsuming.
Another problem that seems important was the problem with the fishbowl
technique. The learners were not used to such work and it took a long time to
prepare them for such an observation. It might be said that not all learners were
equally skilled at such an observation. The data collected by fishbowl
observations, which included learners who had problems with learning English,
seem less objective. The teacher should have selected the students that were
more objective but from this new ethical problems might have arisen.
Finally the problem with designing appropriate activities for the collection of data
should also be mentioned. It should be noted that the action research was carried
out in the class where English lessons were compulsory with the prescribed
curriculum to be followed. This fact narrowed the possibilities for designing
appropriate activities for data collection. And after all, when the suitable activities
were designed, it sometimes happened that a learner from the observed group
was absent.
It could be said that all the mentioned problems might have slightly influenced the
results of the action research. It could be argued that a long-term action research
would offer more objective results.
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CONCLUSION
The action research presented dealt with the influence that an English speaking
puppet might have on the use of English in group speaking activities.
The findings of the research show that the introduction of an English speaking
puppet which is animated by the teacher positively influences the use of English
and makes the children more relaxed and spontaneous.
The use of the puppets which were animated by children did not increase the use
of English, and by this the results do not coincide with the theory about the
puppets. Maybe the reason for such results was in a relatively short period during
which the action research was carried out, and because of this it might be
interesting to further investigate the influence of the puppet in the childs hands.
REFERENCES
Hamre, I. (2002) The Learning Process in the Theatre of Paradox. In Majaron, E., Kroflin,L. (eds.)
The Puppet What a Miracle! (pp. 61-68) Zagreb: The UNIMA, Puppets in Education Commission.
Koroec, H. (2002) Non-verbal Communication and Puppets. In Majaron, E., Kroflin,L. (eds.) The
Puppet What a Miracle! (pp. 15-32) Zagreb: The UNIMA, Puppets in Education Commission.
Lightbown, P. M., Spada, N. (1999). How Languages are Learned. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Majaron, E. (2002a) Puppets in the Child's Development. In Majaron, E., Kroflin,L. (eds.) The
Puppet What a Miracle! (pp. 61-68) Zagreb: The UNIMA, Puppets in Education Commission.
Majaron, E. (2002b) The Puppet in the Formation of a Young Person. In Koroec, H., Majaron, E.
(eds.) Lutka iz vrtca v olo (pp. 5-8) Ljubljana: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education.
Rixon, S. (1991) The Role of Fun and Games Activities in Teaching Young Learners. In Brumfit, C.
Moon, J. and Tongue, R. (eds.) Teaching English to Children: From Practice to Principle. (pp 3347). London: Longman.
Slaven, G. and A. (1991) 'Ali are you a boy or a monster?'. In Brumfit, C. Moon, J. and Tongue, R.
(eds.) Teaching English to Children: From Practice to Principle. (pp 33-47). London: Longman.
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INTRODUCTION
Children seem less able to give selective and prolonged attention to
features of learning tasks than adults, and are more easily diverted and
distracted by other pupils (Cameron 2001:15).
Bruners scaffolding studies suggest that teachers can help support learners by
focusing their attention (Bruner in Cameron 2001:8:9) which Vygotsky (1978:3136) considered to be a "dynamic system of behaviour affected by speech and
action". Whether or not pre-adolescent young learners (YLs) attention, their
distraction by other pupils when reading aloud and silently, and their subsequent
recall of what was read, varies according to lighted medium and classroom
environment, formed the idea for this study.
With this in mind, the action research set out to consider differences in 11-12
year old Hong Kong Chinese learners' attention levels when written language is
read illuminated by the projected light of an interactive whiteboard (IWB) in a
darkened classroom, and when it is not, using a normal whiteboard (NWB) in a
well lit classroom.
An Interactive whiteboard (IWB) is a large, electronic screen the size of a normal
whiteboard, providing an illuminated image for collective viewing, and can be
utilised in classrooms as a computer, whiteboard or video screen.
TEACHING CONTEXT AND LEARNER PROFILE
The research was carried out in a large, semi-private Hong Kong language centre
with over 11,000 students, of whom approximately 7,000 are young learners, and
where IWBs became a compulsory teaching aid for its 130 teachers from
September 2003.
Over a series of 80-minute lessons between May and mid-July 2004, two groups
of learners were studied in order to increase data reliability. All subjects had
attended the language centre for 9 months. Spoken/written English levels
reflected a mix of Chinese-medium school-goers (receiving one hour of English
per day), and English medium school-goers (learning subjects through English),
although different starting points in English learning was evident, from 9 years to
one year.
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RESEARCH BACKGROUND
The role of lighting in classroom performance is documented in US studies from
the mid-1930's to 1997 (Cash 1993; Phillips 1997; Jago and Tanner 1999), many
claiming that appropriate classroom lighting reduces off-task behaviour, improves
test scores and overall achievement.
The effects of light 'therapy'
(strengths/colours) on child dyslexia, learning difficulties, poor concentration, and
performance in US mainstream teaching contexts are also documented, many
studies pertaining to the idea of "good" lighting equating with "good" learning
(Ferenczi 1997).
Other sources provide insight into the positive effects of light therapy on affective
disorders, e.g. binge eating, depression and SAD - seasonal affective disorder
when winter light affects mood and behaviour negatively and other disorders
(albeit adult related) such as Alzeimers disease, jet-lag, and shift-work insomnia
(Kasof 2002; Phillips 1997; Hathaway 1994; Ferenczi 1997; Van Someron 2004;
Downing 2004).
Indoor dim lighting has been found to curb inhibitions, encouraging binge eating in
older teenagers (Kasof 2002) and studies using artificial dawn simulation (Terman
1996; Brainard 1997) were effective in waking teenagers from their sleep
(Brainard 1997). What may explain some of these studies' outcomes is the brain's
pineal
gland,
which
is
affected
by
light
(Macpherson
1995;
www.crystalinks.com/thirdeyepineal.html).
The hypothalamus nerve centre for primitive physical and emotional behaviour
receives and sends light/dark information via the retina and nerve impulses, to the
pineal gland. When light does not stimulate the hypothalamus, melatonin a
hormone derived from serotonin (a mood-enhancing substance) which controls the
sleep/wake (circadian) cycle - is released (Macpherson 1995). Although, as
reported, light may strengthen the circadian cycle, lower inhibitions and affect
mood, no satisfactory physiological or biochemical mechanism explains its effect.
The pineal gland's function, and the mechanism by which light works on the brain,
therefore remain unclear (Ferenczi 1997).
Although differences in YLs' attention levels when focused on the IWB (with
classroom lights switched off), or NWB (with lights on), was the focus of this
study, skepticism was adopted from the outset, given the dearth of physiological
evidence regarding the role lighting plays in child attention-focusing. However,
although previous classroom IWB studies appear not to have focused on its
illuminating effect on learning, distraction levels have been studied in IWB-using
classroom contexts where children have multiple learning difficulties (O'Sullivan
2004). The distractibility of over-emphasis on the IWB presentation process in UK
mainstream Primary classrooms, has also been noted (Cogill 2003).
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METHOD
Baseline data was collected in early June 2004, using daylight only. A lesson
comprising in-house material focused on the topic of The Body. Learners were
asked to brainstorm and then memorise 7 collocational phrases read from a wall,
and recall them and the order in which they had been read, in writing. Scripts were
collected and checked for order recall accuracy.
BASELINE COLLOCATIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
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BEHAVIOURAL CHECKLIST
READING ALOUD
Behaviour observed while
learners focused on IWB with
classroom lights OFF and all
learners are reading aloud
chorally, for 1 minute
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
Fidgets
Disrupts task
SILENT READING
Behaviour observed while
learners are focused on IWB
with classroom lights OFF learners look at language on
board in silence for 1 minute
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
Fidgets
Disrupts task
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was disliked the most. Expense and illegibility were isolated. An interview (for
contrast) with teenagers revealed applause for efficiency, but overall cynicism.
TRIANGULATION & DISCUSSION
Comparative evidence, cross-analysed, produced some significant patterns.
Accurate language order recall averaged 62% overall, perhaps suggesting a
practised routine in Hong Kong Chinese mainstream Primary School learning,
medium-regardless. It may also reflect learners' questionnaire ambivalence
towards 'always' remembering better through one whiteboard medium or the other.
Collocation order accuracy averages produced generally higher cycle averages
than baseline averages. Increasing familiarity with language (verbally/visually) and
task routine over a short time period might explain this, although some lexical
knowledge had been evident at the outset.
However, IWB with lights off produced generally more accurate recall, correlating
with video evidence (showing learners better behaved and more on-task), and with
learner questionnaire opinion, where over half considered the IWB more
memorable, perhaps reflecting Vygotsky's belief that external stimuli raises the
effectiveness of children's short-term recall (Vygotsky 1978:45).
If language order recall was equated with attending better in this study, then cycle
averages, video evidence, and learner views on the IWB's attention-gaining
potential might initially suggest unquestioning IWB-success at enhancing attention
on and recall of, written language highlighted by projected light on a large screen,
in dim surroundings.
However, sub-analysis by group and gender showed that such a conclusion might
be over-simplistic.
Despite a lower baseline average than GA, GB proved strongest in all recall tests,
and in confidence, with questionnaire data revealing general unconcern about
medium, non-rejection of the NWB, some neutral and less extreme opinions than
GA, although overwhelming defence of the IWB.
Conversely, GA appeared weaker at recalling language order and many opinions
lacked confidence and conviction. For example the NWB was considered strongly
unmemorable by some. Although low (45%) GA's actual NWB recall average was
above their baseline, and recall was evident.
Gender recall result analysis revealed a consistent but mediocre female GA, and a
powerful GB female group, scoring highly in all tests, highest on the NWB, and
opening, perhaps, a triangulatory Pandora's box. Unfortunately, questionnaire
anonymity excluded gender opinion correlation, and just one interview with a GB
girl (revealing an IWB at her school, her bemusement with it, and association with
'good' lessons) and video observation of three girls (showing attentive behaviour),
provided scant cross referencing. Knowledge of the learners provided few
additional clues although more Chinese medium school (CMI) than English
Medium School (EMI) goers were evident.
The claim that girls rely on the verbal channel more then boys, who attend better
to visual information (McGuinness 1997) was not evident in recall tests (invalid) or
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video tests (valid). On video, both sexes strayed off-task more when reading the
sets of collocations silently using both mediums - the boys the most, although less
when reading from the IWB.
However, significant recall was apparent in both boy groups using the IWB (the
GB boys' accuracy jumping considerably) compared with the NWB, possibly
suggesting a better male response to visuals illuminated by projected light.
Technical breakdown, and learner unfriendliness correlated in both groups
opinion. The concern about teacher-centredness, perhaps reflects McCormick &
Scrimshaw's (2001) belief that where IWBs are used merely as whiteboards, they
do little to develop the interactivity fundamental to enhanced learning. The
question this perhaps poses might be whether 'enhanced learning' is immediately
recognisable from such an expository approach? And although scaffolding in
intention, could this be criticised as encouraging a behaviourist style of learning?
In language acquisition terms, behaviourism (responding to stimuli) is thought to
support the acquisition of vocabulary and grammatical morphemes (Lightbown &
Spada 1999:26). Secondly, repetition, focusing on form, noticing errors, storing
and retrieving information are considered to be important learning strategies for
EFL pre-adolescents (Cameron 2001; Williams & Burden 1997:150). Additionally,
as mastery of Chinese ideographs through academic emphasis on memory and
attention to detail is thought to strengthen Chinese childrens' perception of stimuli
as whole, fostering high spatial intelligence (Harris Bond 1991), the procedure for
measuring attention was considered appropriate.
Research has shown that pre-adolescent memory is more logicalised, and to
recall is to think (Vygotsky 1978:50-51). Batstone (in Cameron 2001) recommends
isolating form, and 'zooming in' on details, before leading to activities more
manipulative of language. Evidence from the learners' subsequent production of
the language in role play demonstrated meaningful and constructive use.
Both Vygotsky and Feuerstein (in Williams & Burden 1997:42), believed the
teacher's 'mediator' role was a key factor in effective learning, in selecting and
shaping learning experiences and children's responses to them, ensuring the
learner interacts with the materials in various ways until they become selfdirective. The learning experience was considered by the teacher-researcher to be
shaped through alternating classroom lighting environments. The learners' selfdirectiveness was perhaps apparent towards the end of the study, when the
effects of scaffolded memorisation appeared to support use of the language in
meaningful contexts.
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This Material is Copyright Mary Carney 2010
Group A correct
order
60% IWB
45% NWB
Group B correct
order
71% NWB
75% IWB
Totals
65%
60%
Girls A
44%
Girls B
81%
Boys A
24%
Boys B
23%
Girls A
60%
50%
55%
Girls B
66%
85%
75%
Boys A
60%
40%
50%
Boys B
84%
58%
71%
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All Girls
61%
All Girls
63%
67%
65%
All
Boys
23%
All
Boys
72%
49%
60%
Both
groups
30%
Both
groups
67%
58%
62%
REFLECTION
The principle post action research concern was the breadth of data collected and
its near unmanageability, learner questionnaire anonymity resulting in incomplete
gender analysis (although perhaps increasing validity), superfluous data created
by teacher questionnaires, and overall data reduction prior to triangulation.
Another concern was behaviour measurement with video, which although using
low-inference descriptors (O'Sullivan 2004), might have increased in validity if
rated by more observers - fidgeting possibly signifying distraction for one, and
concentration for another.
Results, it was felt, cannot be read in black and white, e.g. concentration, recall
and dim lighting is 'good', fluorescent brightness, distraction and poor recall, 'bad'.
The variables associated with 'attention', and the un-firmness of evidence of the
effects of lighting on it, encourage a degree of detachment from the findings.
REFERENCES
Brown, H. Douglas (2000) Principles of Language teaching and learning New York: Addison &
Wesley Longman
Bearne, E., (ed) 1995) Greater Expectations Children Reading Writing Cassell
Brumfit, C (ed) (1983) Video Applications in English Language Teaching English language
teaching documents:114 Pergamon Press in association with the British Council
Buzan, T., (1974) Use your head Ariel Books BBC Books
Cameron, L (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
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Cartwright C & Cartwright P (1984) Developing observation skills New York McGraw Hill
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Reflective Learning:
Can reflection increase the amount of L2 used in the classroom?
Carolina Garrido
INTRODUCTION
This paper will focus on the description of the action research project (AR) carried
out by the writer in her own classroom context. The AR arose as an extension of
a previous Classroom Investigation Task (CI), which had focused on the contrast
between the amounts of L1 and L2 spoken by the learners and the learners
perceptions of these amounts.
The AR was carried out in Argentina, where the mother tongue or L 1 is Spanish.
English, L2, is a foreign language, and the learners have no direct exposure to it
outside the classroom. For the purpose of this paper, the terms learners and
teachers will refer to the learners and the teachers involved in the AR.
BACKGROUND TO THE AR
Teachers working in a culturally homogenous classroom where they share their
mother tongue with all the learners appear to be constantly re-defining the right
amounts of L1 and L2 in their classrooms. They may know that the use of L1
needs to be limited if they want the learners to profit from the learning situation
and that L1 used as a means for communicating in speaking activities or an easy
way out of trouble could become a negative element in the learning process (Cole:
1998: 3). However, they may also believe that the struggle to avoid L 1 at all costs
can lead to bizarre behaviour (Atkinson in Cole: 1998: 2) and it might be positive
to integrate communicative methodology with selective and limited use of L 1.
Regardless of their positions on this subject, most teachers seem to share the
feeling that even though the majority of learners use L2 to carry out activities in
class, only a small number of them resort to it for spontaneous interaction.
Some conclusions drawn from the CI generated the general idea for this AR.
First, the amount of L2 spoken by the learners was significantly lower than the
amount of L2 these learners believed they had produced. Second, the teachers
and the learners perceptions of the situation varied considerably. For example, in
answer to the question Why do you think you dont speak more English in class?
all the learners responded they lacked the necessary language. The teachers
reply was that although the learners were able to communicate in L 2, they found it
easier and more natural to resort to their mother tongue for spontaneous
interaction.
FOCUS OF THE AR
The focus of this AR was to find out whether the systematic implementation of
reflection as part of the class could lead to the improvement of this situation in two
aspects: reducing the amount of L1 spoken in the classroom and bridging the gap
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between the way the learners and the teacher perceive what goes on within the
classroom.
REFLECTION
Reflection results from being confronted with a problem (Morgan, King, Weisz and
Schopler in Al-Arishi: 2), involving processes such as defining, comparing,
abstracting, generalizing, and making evaluative and judgemental decisions.
Within the classroom, reflection entails continually nurturing self-awareness and
self-development in the learners. Richards (in Farrell: 1998: 10) states that
reflection refers to an activity or process in which experience is
recalled, considered, and evaluated, usually in relation to a
broader purpose. It is a response to a past experience and
involves conscious recall and examination of the experience as a
basis for evaluation and decision-making and as a source for
planning and action.
However, reflection does not seem to be a completely spontaneous process but a
learned activity. It seems to be the result of a set of carefully planned experiences
that foster new ways of looking at and talking about learning (Hoover in Farrell:
2001; 2). Thus, teachers may not expect most learners to reflect upon their
learning process in general or any aspect of it in particular, unless they are
provided with the right activities to develop their reflective skills.
It seemed plausible to this writer that the learners could have been resorting to L 1
within the classroom context because no systematic attempts had been made to
raise their awareness in this respect. Their lack of awareness may have caused
them to dismiss the importance of using L2 for spontaneous interaction.
CONTEXT
The AR was carried out in two groups formed by six to ten learners between
thirteen and sixteen years of age. Their level was pre-intermediate and the
learners had attended two ninety-minute classes a week for four years (34 weeks
a year).
The learners beliefs were examined by means of short informal interviews held by
their teacher, usually in L1. All the interviews showed the learners believed they
used enough L2 in the classroom and some even claimed to use L2 for almost
every utterance they produced. However, the subsequent analysis of the learners
performance showed they used L1 in more than 50% of their utterances, especially
for spontaneous interaction.
The teachers opinions were gathered by means of open interviews. The teachers
who had taught these learners previously agreed on their perceptions of this
situation. They claimed the learners were able to communicate their ideas in L2
and this was shown in the communicative activities carried out in class as well as
in their performance in speaking tests. However, the teachers felt the learners
resorted to L1 whenever they needed to communicate with the teachers or their
classmates for any purpose other than taking part in an activity. Since the
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This Material is Copyright Kate Gregson 2010
during the planning and implementation of the AR or whenever an idea took shape
that the teacher considered worth recording.
As regards reliability, the use of video recording and tally sheets was believed to
be reliable since, as long as the concept of utterance was clearly defined, the
results obtained would be the same under any circumstances. The use of journals
did not seem to be reliable to the same degree, as journals were thought to be
very subjective and deeply influenced by circumstances. This method was
selected, however, because it seemed to be important for this AR to capture each
participants perceptions, and journals proved to be an efficient way of doing this.
Validity was kept into consideration during the development of the AR, and the
methods were regularly analysed in order to discover whether the research was
actually focusing on the points it was supposed to concentrate on.
As regards the ethical framework, the issue of confidentiality and control of the
information was discussed with every direct or indirect participant in the AR and it
was agreed that no names or specific details would be given and each participant
would have full access to the AR presentation and a translation to Spanish if it
was necessary in order to determine whether they agreed on the release of the
information presented in it.
PROCEDURE
The learners were filmed during the first class and the awareness-raising activities
began to be carried out during the second class. The following schedule was
designed:
Second class
The learners stated the amount of L1 / L2 they believed they had
spoken the previous class, when they were recorded.
The learners watched a ten minute sequence of the video recorded
the previous class and completed a tally sheet.
The group discussed their perceptions of the amounts of L1 / L2
spoken and the results obtained by using the tally sheet. The
discussion then moved on to the importance of speaking L2 in
language learning.
In small groups the learners brainstormed possible ways of
increasing the amount of L2 spoken in class and presented their
ideas to the rest of the class. The whole group selected one of
these ideas to be put into practice.
Once a week: at the end of the last class of the week, the learners
answered the questions posed by the teacher in section B of their
observation journals.
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Last class:
The learners watched a ten minute sequence of the video recorded
the previous class and completed a tally sheet.
First, the group discussed the differences between the results
obtained in the tally sheet completed in the first class and the new
one. Second, a group evaluation of the whole process was carried
out. Third, each learner individually evaluated the process in their
journal.
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participants perception and the numbers shown by the tally sheets was marked,
new video segments were chosen at random and tallied, but this produced the
same results. Several reasons may exist for the failure of this AR to achieve the
improvement of the situation at the expected level.
First, the whole process was planned by the teacher and suggested to the
learners after planning. Like the systems used by previous teachers, the
organization of this process seemed to require no self-investment or compromise
from the learners, who were given a schedule, a journal and a set of instructions,
but made very few decisions in the process. As a result of this, the learners may
not have committed enthusiastically enough to make the necessary effort to
improve.
Second, a group of teachers interviewed after obtaining negative results argued
that using L1 in the classroom is part of a natural developmental process. They
claimed their experience had shown the learners begin to use L 2 more frequently
and spontaneously when they become more confident in the language and this
process should not be rushed. Although these claims did not seem to be built on
solid theoretical foundations, they could be related to some extent to the idea of
allowing a silent period or letting learners develop at their own rhythm. It could be
the subject of new AR to discover whether the amount of L2 spontaneously used
by the learners actually increases when the learners reach a higher level as part of
natural developmental process.
Third, the failure in the process may have been caused by the quantity and quality
of activities selected. Even after obtaining negative results the writer believers
reflection and awareness-raising could be efficient ways of increasing the amount
of L2 spoken in class. If this AR were just the first cycle in a larger project, then
the next logical step would probably be to re-design the activities planned using
the information obtained and plan a second cycle in which the hypotheses could
be tested again. The second cycle of the AR might produce more positive results.
Finally, the modification of behaviour patterns in general and spontaneous
behaviour in particular may be a slow and gradual process. It may take more than
fourteen weeks to change the ay in which a group has acted for four years. Both
the teacher and the learners recorded positive attitudinal changes in their journals,
and these changes may have lead to an improvement of the situation in a longer
period of time. It might have been interesting to video tape the same group
regularly until the end of the year so as to observe any modifications in the current
situation.
A final point to be made is that, although the expected goal was not accomplished,
the multiple reflection processes generated by this project gave its participants an
unexpected bonus, which makes it possible to say that the project obtained
positive results. The learners claimed to have profited from the reflection activities
and to have gained communication strategies in the process. The teacher
qualified the process as beneficial for the learners and enriching for herself since
it helped her gain new valuable insights on diverse areas of her teaching and her
professional development. After completing this project the writer feels action
research works as a way of improving her own practice and for making real
changes within her context: this project is only the beginning.
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DESCRIPTION
Data was collected between February and April, 2004. Research was conducted
by the writer, who was also the teacher.
quantitative. Although YLs may not have fully developed higher critical thinking
skills, learners were viewed as invaluable information sources, especially preadolescents, whose formal operational thinking might be developing in a Piagetian
sense (Williams and Burden 1997).
The questionnaire was administered during class-time and students could ask for
help if necessary. Results were recorded, analysed, then summarised for
reference. Results for selected subjects were cross-referenced with final research
data.
To expand on baseline data and provide teacher perspective, teacher opinion was
investigated through further questionnaires, conducted in March. One (internal)
was administered in-house; a second (global) sent over an internal global email
forum to 200 YL teachers in differing contexts. This aimed to increase samples,
having predicted low in-house response. Both questionnaires were piloted with
three volunteers, and slight changes made to improve clarity of some questions.
MAIN INVESTIGATION
The main investigation was conducted in two cycles, two weeks apart. Possibly
reducing intrusiveness, the space theme was expanded by adapting the predefined syllabus to include an eight-week project with activities linked by content,
in which components of a learner-devised story were created where astronauts fly
to another planet and meet aliens; planets were created in February. During cycle
1 students created and wrote about astronauts; aliens during cycle 2. Final stories
were created later.
Underwood (in Barker et al 2000) suggests same-sex pairs/groups perform better
through pre-writing discussion on content and noticing of mistakes when using
ICT. Bruce and Rubin (1993) suggest social interaction skills develop through
feedback on writing and sharing ideas; Method and Bosch (2001) also mention
joint exploration and knowledge building as important to social learning. Ethics,
then, and practicalities (24 students, eight workstations) resulted in group- rather
than individual-work. Students expressed preference for same-sex groups, which
also allowed possible analysis of gender difference.
In cycle 1, students first read about famous astronauts on-line, extracted and
noted down key information using skimming techniques. They then completed the
same information about an imaginary astronaut before writing about him/her. The
task was designed to elicit a range of verb forms (e.g. present simple for state,
present perfect for experience). Pen-and-paper was the medium for CA, wordprocessor for CB. The teacher-researcher monitored took notes and helped with
spelling etc., but not verb form. All scripts were retained, although data was not
analysed until cycle 2 was complete; consistent groupings determined sampling.
Introducing cycle 2, students were shown images of aliens and questioned orally
concerning information similar to that in cycle 1. Students then completed a similar
worksheet to cycle 1, and wrote about their alien in the same way. The medium
was reversed; CA wrote on paper, CB on word-processor. The teacher-researcher
circulated as before. The task was intended to be as similar to cycle 1 as possible
to increase reliability and validity. No writing tasks were set in interim lessons.
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Five groups (two male, three female) were selected from each class. Criteria
included attendance and, therefore, continuity, as well as equal balance of malefemale groups over the classes. Scripts were then analysed for verb forms
attempted and their accuracy. Inaccuracies were categorized according to error.
This quantitative analysis was triangulated by impressionistic, more qualitative
field notes. Data was recorded, analysed and summarised by class and group for
both cycles.
FOLLOW-UP
In the following lesson, learners were asked to complete a brief reaction
questionnaire, which aimed to uncover any preference for writing on paper or
word-processor, also perceived writing and intra-group performance. This might
also have increased reliability and data triangulation. The questionnaire was
designed to elicit largely subjective reactions, with more open-ended questions
than closed. Some subjects were also interviewed informally.
All questionnaire results and data from baseline, cycles 1 and 2 were then crossreferenced and summarised by group with the aim of revealing any information
hidden due to data-analysis techniques employed.
RESULTS
The results were analysed, and are discussed here separately and crossreferenced.
LEARNER QUESTIONNAIRE
The following was found from learner questionnaires:
All respondents had, and used regularly, home computers, most for over 2
years, mostly for games, internet, email or for homework. Many
respondents used them in English, more in CA (80.95%) than CB (65.22%).
Three respondents never used computers at school, others mostly often or
sometimes, the majority for over three years. Two respondents in CA used
them in English, thirteen in CB. Use of word-processors varied, but most
had used them.
Perceived skills varied, although generally high keyboard skill confidence
was expressed.
Mostly, positive feelings towards using computers were expressed. A few
indicated mixed or slightly negative reactions.
TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE
The following was found from teacher questionnaires:
CYCLES 1 AND 2
Analysis of data revealed:
CROSS-REFERENCED DATA
Aiming to triangulate data and investigate other potentially influential factors, data
was cross-referenced by group.
Interestingly, all baseline averages were lower than cycle pieces. It is unclear
whether task or increasing ability over time affects this, although the investigation
occurred over a relatively short period. In the main investigation, a slight
correlation between confidence in word-processing and keyboard skills to degree
of increased word-processed accuracy seemed evident. Members of two groups
attaining 100% word-processed accuracy differed in confidence and preference,
however, although field notes showed different group members took the lead in
each cycle. Groups exhibiting higher or similar accuracy on paper seem to have
less home use experience and/or lower confidence.
Little correlation was revealed between actual and perceived better work,
although CA expressed slight preference for cycle 1 (word-processed) overall.
There was little agreement in CB, despite higher accuracy overall. This may be
due to under-developed critical analysis skills or misunderstanding of questions.
Analysis between genders showed male groups produced shorter texts, with low
range, yet, mostly, a strong preference for using computers. Difference in range
was particularly minimal for boys. Only females expressed dislike of using
computers, yet only female groups achieved 100% accuracy word-processed.
Boys used word-processors at home less. Males may be less intimidated by
computers (Jurich 2000); also Fontaine (2000) mentions perception of technology
as a male domain causing psychological barriers and technophobia, possibly
reflected here.
Teachers, in the global questionnaire, believed accuracy to improve on wordprocessor, range being unaffected. This may be reflected in the results, which
suggest considerable increased accuracy on word-processor.
DISCUSSION
Results of the investigation suggested improved accuracy of verb form when
word-processed, effect of medium on range was somewhat inconclusive. Little
difference in range was evident between cycles, although some evidence that
topic affects production seemed apparent from learner questionnaires; motivation
and experience seemed influential.
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This Material is Copyright Kate Gregson 2010
In repeating the research, more care would be taken to link elicited verb forms in
baseline investigation to those in the main investigation, which seemed not to
require as broad a range. Furthermore, some prompts did not elicit expected
responses. This was noted after cycle 1, but as cycle 2 should closely reflect 1,
the task was unchanged. In analysing cycle 1 and 2 inaccuracies, several
ambiguities were noted, for example, she hasnt married yet, which, linguistically,
may be accurate. Native speakers might be, however, disinclined to use this,
preferring she isnt married (yet). The phrase could not be found in various online corpora, and it was decided this was an inaccurate attempt at present perfect
form. Such subjective interpretations, along with others where professional
judgment seemed necessary in defining accuracy, were unexpected, and may
reduce quantitativity.
Although learners seemed motivated and able to complete initial questionnaires,
more open-ended question types in the second may have produced vague,
unconsidered answers. Difficulty seemed apparent as cognitive load was perhaps
too high in understanding questions, resulting in some confusion and incoherent,
possibly invalid responses. If repeated, the questionnaire would be redesigned,
asking more explicit, closed questions.
Overall, the process of conducting the action research, researching the topic,
examining the results and drawing the conclusions was beneficial not only in terms
of the potential effect on practice, but was also a highly valuable experience on
both a personal and professional level. In the workplace, it has been possible to
share findings on a local and global level through INSET sessions, discussion
forums and articles. Furthermore, it has allowed a shift in attitude towards the use
of both ICT in general and word processors in the YL classroom, and allowed me
to think about learners and learning on a deeper level. In addition, this opportunity
has shown, in practical terms, how reflective practice may be both personally and
professionally stimulating and rewarding and has inspired me to conduct further
small-scale classrooms research in other areas with the aim of improving practice
or investigate problems, as well as encourage others to do likewise.
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INTRODUCTION
The aim of the action research is to explore how non-linguistic support and the
limited use of the mother tongue could facilitate comprehension of a story by 10year-old EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners in Japan.
This paper will firstly attempt to investigate how such non-linguistic elements in
storytelling as illustrations, gestures, and so on could possibly help the pupils to
understand the story. It will also attempt to examine the merit of using the mother
tongue in facilitating pupils comprehension of the story they listen to.
Thirdly, it will discuss the result of the action research, including the analysis of the
data collected.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Ellis and Brewster maintain that the mother tongue of the pupils could be used as
a tool to help children learn the foreign language (Ellis and Brewster 2002: 14) and
that by showing them the pictures in a storybook and also by giving them time to
read the images, they will be able to make a pretty accurate account of what the
story is all about (Ellis and Brewster 2002:8).
In addition, storytelling is most likely to have the following merits to young learners
of English.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
Fun elements:
Good stories could be motivating, challenging, and full of fun
(Ellis and Brewster 2002: 1-2). They also have interesting
characters, clear plots, and element of surprise (Cameron 2001:
169).
Meaningfulness and authenticity:
Good stories can engage childrens imagination by their rich,
authentic, meaningful uses of the foreign language (Garvie
1990:159).
Cross-curricular links:
Good stories could provide opportunities for developing continuity
in childrens learning since they can link English with other
subject areas across the curriculum (Ellis and Brewster 2002: 2).
Chances to develop learning strategies:
Good stories could develop childrens learning skills through
support from various sorts: visual aids, prior knowledge, gestures,
mime, etc.
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This Material is Copyright Genji Hatta 2010
THE CONTEXT
The action research extended from early May in 2003 through mid-July in the
same year, using the big book of Poppet by Dick King-Smith (Appendix 1), which
is an adapted edition from its original. This research involved the 4 th graders (10
year olds) at a private primary school in Japan. The subjects were 54 pupils in
two classes (4-A and 4-B). Both classes were homogeneous in terms of the class
size (27 in each class) and also in terms of their ability levels (in this school, the
pupils are distributed equally into two classes based on the school records in the
previous year). They had learned English for three years and two months when
this research was conducted (English is taught at this school from the first grade
for six years).
This action research was carried out in collaboration between the researcher (the
present writer) and the instructor who actually taught the classes.
This was done in the two classes with 54 pupils, and 36 pupils (approximately
67%) said that they were not very sure but they could only vaguely guess what
was happening, thanks to the pictures and the instructors way of reading, while
16 pupils (approximately 30 %) said that they were almost certain that they
followed the story. Only two pupils (approximately 3 %) answered that they could
not follow the story. Except these two, almost all of the pupils in the fourth grade
may possibly have managed to follow the general storyline.
After the informal evaluation by the show of hands, each pupil was given a piece
of blank paper on which to write what they could or could not understand. Some
of the pupils responses in the written feedback were as follows:
They understood:
a) that Poppet finally became friends with Momo. (23/54=42.6%)
b) that elephants were scared of mice. (10/54=18.5%)
c) that Poppets mother was not very happy to find Poppet behave
so friendly towards Momo. (8/54=14.8%)
d) that Poppet found Momo wasnt a very harmful animal after all.
(2/54=3.7%)
e) that elephants didnt like a mouse to get into their nose.
(2/54=3.7%)
f) that likewise, nobody would like a mouse to get into his/her nose.
(1/54=1.9%)
Regarding what they could understand, nearly 60 percent of the pupils thought
that elephants seemed to be scared of mice (18.5%), but that somehow Poppet
and Momo became friends at all last (42.6%). These two pieces of information
might have been transferred to them through the pictures which depict the
situation so vividly. Whereas, as for the items (d), (e) and (f), it does not seem
that the information could be explicitly conveyed through visual channels, which
may have been the cause for the low figures.
They could not understand well:
a) why Poppet, who was so big, was afraid of Momo, who was so small
(36/54=66.7%)
b) why Poppet and Momo have become friends so suddenly (20/54=37%)
c) why the elephants were running across the field (5/54=9.3%)
d) why Poppet wasnt scared of Momo, when all the other elephants
were so afraid of mice (4/54=7.4%)
e) whether Poppet was happy or scared when he found Momo (1/54=1.9%)
f) why Poppet couldnt identify mice, which are so familiar to us
(1/54=1.9%)
As is shown above, regarding what they could not understand, nearly 70 percent
of them wondered why big elephants should be scared of small creatures like
mice. Also nearly 40 % thought it rather strange that Poppet and Momo became
friends so abruptly. These two facts in the story seem to go against the pupils
common sense which tells them that big animals should be stronger than small
ones and that people could hardly become friends so suddenly.
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This Material is Copyright Genji Hatta 2010
In order to resolve these feelings of doubt, it seems that they would have to read
between the lines and realize that elephants didnt like a mouse to get into their
nose and that Momo wasnt a harmful animal after all. These two facts, as is
mentioned above, were not explicitly stated in the story, and so only two pupils
were able to detect them. Its implication might be that most pupils may need to
have some additional help, i.e., the use of the mother tongue in order to really
convince themselves.
The use of the mother tongue both by the instructor and the pupils
(the underlined parts in the transcript were uttered in Japanese)
The instructor used Japanese for the purpose of eliciting the pupils opinions.
What follows are some of the examples.
Example 1
Teacher:
Pupil 1:
Teacher:
Pupil 2:
Pupil 1:
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This Material is Copyright Genji Hatta 2010
Example 2
Teacher:
Pupil 1:
Teacher:
Pupil 2:
Pupil 3:
Teacher:
Pupil 4:
Pupil 5:
Pupil 6:
their holes
Pupil 7:
As the sequence shows, the instructors very short and simple interrogative adverb
WHY? seems to have triggered the pupils imagination, thereby eliciting a variety
of responses from them. At the same time, once the instructor allowed them to
speak Japanese, their brains suddenly burst and their opinions gushed out. The
pupils, after going through the two reading sessions, may possibly have seized the
essence of the matter.
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This Material is Copyright Genji Hatta 2010
Q. 4: You listened to the same story twice, but it was told in a different
way.
What is different from the first reading and the second reading?
Nearly 70 percent of the pupils answered that they were able to understand the
story better in the second reading. In the first reading, 36 pupils (36/54= 66.7%)
said that they were not very sure but they could only vaguely guess what was
happening, while 16 pupils (16/54=29.6 %) said that they were almost certain that
they followed the story. Given these statements, it could be assumed that, owing
to the use of Japanese, though strictly limited and controlled, the second reading
seems to have been helpful for them to come to grips with the storyline.
CONCLUSION
This action research has attempted to examine how non-linguistic support and the
limited use of the mother tongue could facilitate comprehension of a story in an
EFL classroom for 10-year-old Japanese learners of English: it has become clear
through the action research that young learners could possibly make intelligent
guesses as to what the story is all about and what will happen next, if they are
supported by visual aids like illustrations, the storytellers skills of telling stories, or
by a limited and controlled use of the mother tongue.
REFERENCES
Cameron, L. (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, G. and Brewster, J. (2002) Tell it Again! The New Storytelling Handbook for Primary
Teachers. Pearson Education.
Ellis, G. and Brewster, J. (2002) The Primary English Teachers Guide New Edition. Penguin.
Pearson Education.
Garvie, E. (1990) Story as Vehicle. Multilingual Matters Ltd.
King-smith, D. (1999) Poppet. Penguin Young Learners. Pearson Education.
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This Material is Copyright Genji Hatta 2010
APPENDIX
The transcript of the story Poppet (adapted by Crook, M. from its original published in 1999)
Once upon a time in Africa, there was a baby elephant. His name was Poppet
One day his mum cried, Run!
Poppet did not understand. Why? he asked her.
Because I saw a mouse! His mum said, and all elephants are scared of mice!
Whats a mouse? Poppet asked. He went into the jungle.
Are you a mouse?
No, Im a frog!
No, Im a lizard!
No, Im a beetle!
Im a caterpillar!
Poppet looked for mice near the river.
Are you a mouse?
No, Im a snake!
Poppet found an animal in the grass.
Are you a mouse?
Yes, My names Momo.
Elephants are scared of mice, Momo said, because were small!
Mice like running into holes
and elephants have holes in their trunks!
Ugh! Poppet said.
Dont be scared! Momo said.
Mice dont like running into elephants trunks. But can I look inside yours? Momo asked.
Poppet was scared, but Momo did not go into his trunk.
Then, Poppet sneezed.
Aachooo!
Mum and the elephants came.
When they saw Momo near Poppets trunk they were unhappy.
They were angry with Poppet and scared of Momo.
Poppet said, Momos my friend. Look!
Momo slowly walked up the outside of Poppets trunk!
Hooray! everyone cried, mice are nice!
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DATA COLLECTION
Data was collected over a period of time involving 3 cycles; baseline, 1 st and 2nd.
The main quantitative data was collected in the form of YLs writing in specially
constructed booklets. The researcher aimed for reliability and validity using many
types of data during analysis including; field notes, questionnaires completed by
YLs, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. Triangulation is thus achieved
with the inclusion of both quantitative and qualitative data.
Baseline Data
The baseline data was collected during 8 sessions over a period spanning
approximately 2 months. The class teacher was provided with a task plan and
consulted to determine when sessions might take place. All the YLs taking part
were aware that this was research for an MA, but not the actual focus.
During the gathering of the baseline data, the YLs wrote in booklets containing
white paper. They were instructed to write as many words as they could in a 2
minute time period then to add up the number of words written. In an effort to
reduce the aforementioned complexity of written language, YLs were encouraged
to write exactly what came into their heads without particular attention to
punctuation. Nunan (1991:85) calls such writing 'unedited' language suggesting it
is part of a spoken and written language continuum.
After the first 3 sessions, the YLs began to ask questions and share their
thoughts. It would seem from their comments that they were considering different
strategies and how using them may affect the number of words they could write. It
was also interesting to note that all the YLs requested thinking time. Fisher
(1995:20) advocates the 'luxury' of thinking time noting that the quality of
performance can 'dramatically increase.'
After the eighth session, the YLs were asked to fill in the first questionnaire
(Appendix 1). They were encouraged to be completely truthful and assured of
anonymity.
For purposes of cross reference, the questionnaire was kept the
same for each cycle, although one question was added after the baseline cycle.
Reflecting on their work through these questionnaires would involve employing
metacognitive strategies, which could lead to greater awareness of the task
(Williams & Burden 1997:148).
The data gathered was not analysed at this point by the researcher. The decision
was made to finalise all analysis at the completion of the 3 cycles. This was to
avoid any unintentional comments that could bias the YLs efforts, aiming to keep a
genuine air of anticipation regarding the outcome.
To help provide some background to the data being gathered, a semi-structured
interview was conducted with elementary teachers from within the school aiming
to reveal their attitudes towards using coloured paper in the classroom and
present practice. Six out of eight teachers confirmed they sometimes used
coloured paper.
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The total number of words written by the YLs was less when using the white
paper. This could be due to 2 factors; it could be that they were not particularly
motivated by the white paper, or the newness of the exercise could mean they
wrote less.
The results from the 1st Cycle show an overall increase of 36 words. This might
be considered a small increase as it represents an average of about 3 words per
student. When analysing the results on a student-by-student basis it is interesting
to note that 6 of the 11 YLs actually wrote less in the 1 st Cycle than during the
Baseline Cycle. From the field notes it was clear that the colour change was
popular with the YLs who were very aware that the paper in the booklet was their
favourite. This could indicate that although the colour change may have a positive
affective influence, this may not necessarily lead to an increase in the amount
written.
Perhaps the most interesting results come from the 2 nd Cycle where an overall
average of 33 more words were written when compared with the Baseline Cycle
and 30 more than the 1st Cycle. These results could be considered the most
revealing as they are taken from the cycle where the YLs were writing on the
colour of paper they identified as their least favourite.
Questionnaires When asked if they liked doing the 2 minute speed writing the
YLs overwhelmingly answered 'yes' without a single 'no' recorded for all three
cycles. Only by the end of the 2nd Cycle did 2 students answer 'maybe.' The
answers obtained when asked if they feel like writing more when they finish could
be deemed interesting. After the Baseline Cycle, 7 of the YLs indicated they
would like to write more. This may be because they were feeling frustrated that
they had to finish in the middle of a sentence as recorded in the field notes. After
the 1st and 2nd Cycles, only 3 and 4 YLs respectively indicated they would like to
write more. Perhaps by this time the majority had become more used to finishing
without completing sentences leaving those who particularly enjoy writing still
preferring to continue after the 2 minutes.
The majority of YLs seemed to agree that the speed writing was helping them to
write more quickly. They also seemed to agree that thinking time enabled them to
write more words. When asked if they would like to be given the opportunity to do
a speed writing activity before every class writing activity, the YLs seemed split
between 'yes' and 'maybe' although 2 students responded with a definite 'no.'
After the 1st Cycle, when the YLs wrote on their favourite colour, 8 answered that
they liked writing on this coloured paper while 3 replied with a 'no.' This may
indicate that 3 of the YLs actually did not like writing on coloured paper. After the
2nd Cycle, when they used their least favourite coloured paper, 6 YLs indicated 'no'
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This Material is Copyright Sara Khoury 2010
when answering. Interestingly, 5 did answer 'yes' which may indicate that the
actual choice of colour was not as important as the fact that they were still using
coloured as opposed to white paper. Of the 6 answering negatively, it could be
assumed that 3 of them could be the same YLs who indicated after the 1 st Cycle
that they did not like writing on coloured paper, this may mean that only 3 YLs
were actually affected by the colour of the paper.
Field Notes Field notes were taken during both the Baseline and 1st Cycles.
These notes seemed to reveal a sense of excitement generated by the AR. The
YLs were obviously enjoying taking part in the 2 minute speed writes as they
would remind me to come to their class. The fact that they settled quickly into the
routine surrounding the speed writing could also suggest they were quite
contented to be taking part.
An interesting observation coming from the field notes concerns the discussions
the YLs had about strategies and techniques for writing. It was obvious they were
keen to write as much as possible and it proved intriguing to listen to their
discussions on how to go about this. These debates mostly took place during the
Baseline Cycle as by the end of those first 8 sessions they had already worked out
what they considered to be the best way to succeed. It was, however, interesting
to note that some YLs continued to test the strategies throughout the AR.
Focus Group During the focus group the YLs seemed to confirm the
observations recorded in the field notes. This forum did, however, give the YLs
the opportunity to express their opinions about writing on different coloured paper.
It was interesting to note that the shade of colour could be an important factor
when the YLs suggested that pastel colours were preferable to strong colours.
This was a factor that had not been considered by the researcher.
CONCLUSIONS OF ANALYSIS
From all the information gathered, the following could be suggested. YLs
participating in a series of 3 cycles comprising 8 speed writing drills could be
expected to gradually increase the amount they write. This increase would not
seem to depend on the colour of the paper they use during the writing; it would
appear to be more connected with the familiarity of the exercise and the
enjoyment gained from it.
Although colour would seem to have a psychological and motivational effect, on
the whole the YLs said they liked to write on coloured paper, the choice of colour
did not change the amount written. Indeed, during the AR the vast majority of the
YLs consistently wrote more in the final cycle using their least favourite colour of
paper than in the middle cycle where their favourite colour choice was used. It
may be that colour could be an important factor for the quality of writing produced
in a more conventional writing task rather than the number of words written.
Evidence from the field notes and focus group suggest that YLs enjoy such
activities but would prefer to have them linked to a specific writing task. It would
also appear that YLs would prefer having the choice of the colour of writing paper
including the possibility of choosing white paper.
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REFLECTIONS
The idea of the 'reflective practitioner,' a term coined by Schn, would demand all
researchers to take control of their teaching situations through a process of
questioning and testing. This awareness and critical examination would aim at
improving practice through the practitioner's own investigations (Hopkins 2002:667). To this end, reflection on the process and results might be seen as an integral
part of any AR.
The original AR sketch was prepared in July 2003 followed by a task plan in
September. The rational for the AR did not change although the focus was
narrowed before beginning the Baseline Cycle. The school where the AR was
taking place has a highly academic curriculum, which includes 3 languages from
the age of five. It also has a limited school year of about 180 school days in all.
This leads to little flexibility in the timetable.
The completion of the AR task plan in September turned out to be rather
premature. At the time it was completed, the researcher had not had the
opportunity of consulting with the cooperating teacher.
However, before
commencing the Baseline Cycle it was both natural and ethical to consult with her.
This did mean that the task plan changed to fit better with her timetable, but that
did not have a negative effect on the AR in any way.
Unexpected inconveniences also disrupted the task plan such as absence of
participants or unanticipated public holidays, not an unusual occurrence in
Lebanon. There were also occasional field trips and school events that added to
the need for flexibility in the task plan. Despite these problems, having a task plan
can be beneficial in keeping the AR moving and in providing focus. Building a
good working relationship with any cooperating teachers could be seen as the
most important aspect in overcoming difficulties.
The research group was rather small at only 11 YLs. The researcher might
consider trying to extend the group if another similar AR were to take place.
Making the sample group bigger could make the results seem more widereaching, although Wallace argues that in AR size is not of particular importance
(1998:127).
Due to the findings of this AR, the researcher will use speed writing as a warm up
before different writing tasks. Students will be encouraged to choose the paper
they prefer for this activity. The researcher will also suggest they keep track of the
number of words they write in order to monitor their own progress.
Although AR can be quite self-rewarding, sharing of both procedure and results
could be considered an important part of the complete process (Hopkins 2002:40).
With this in mind, the researcher aims to publish the AR within the context in which
it took place. It may also be possible to extend this reporting to the wider
community within the researcher's region of the Middle East through conferences.
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Appendix 1
Writing Questionnaire
Please colour a face to answer each question.
Yes
Maybe
No
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Appendix 2
Differences in number of words written per student in cycles 1 and 2
in relation to baseline data
Baseline
1st Cycle
2nd Cycle
S1
259
+12
+67
S2
308
+74
+15
S3
278
-12
+41
S4
385
+75
+133
S5
355
-23
+157
S6
395
-62
-39
S7
391
+1
+32
S8
338
-107
+64
S9
336
-34
-135
S10
310
-8
+31
S11
313
+120
+88
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This Material is Copyright Sara Khoury 2010
This procedure was then to be carried out again but this time a song would be
used in the other group. The results might be more objective this way because
one group could be more musical.
RATIONALE FOR CHOICE OF TOPIC AND CHOICE OF CERTAIN SONGS
The researcher is interested in teaching English to young learners with the help of
songs and guitar. The researcher therefore made this focus in the Action
Research because it might bring clarity to whether using childrens songs really is
effective. For future teaching the researcher might develop more lessons using
songs and would like to have a better overview on how effective childrens songs
are for teaching basic nouns to children.
The songs chosen were Old Mac Donald had a farm, Peter put your scarf on
and Have you got a pet?. These songs are simple and the target vocabulary is
repeated in them. According to Cameron (2001:81) children need to meet words
again and again. Especially young children, Cameron (2001:81) points out learn
words as collocations. Therefore songs without repetition and collocations did not
seem appropriate.
LENGTH OF PROJECT
The length of the project was 24 lessons. The project was spread out over a time
of about five months. There were 16 lessons (1 lesson=45min) in group A and B.
In group C and D there were eight lessons but these were half as long as in group
A and B.
Group
A
B
C
D
Number
of
lessons
with
song
Peter
put your
scarf
on.
4
0
0
0
Number
of
lessons
without
song
Peter
put your
scarf on
0
4
0
0
Number of
lessons
with song
Old
McDonald
0
4
0
0
Number of
lessons
without
song Old
McDonald
4
0
0
0
Number
of
lessons
with
song
Have
you got
a pet?
0
0
4
0
Number
of
lessons
without
song
Have
you got
a pet?
0
0
0
4
The table shows that two songs were used in group A and B, namely one in group
A and one in group B. Data on the understanding of topic specific nouns was
collected from sessions on the same topics. Group C and D had one topic and in
group C the song Have you got a pet? was used.
OUTLINE OF THE AR PROJECT
One class was introduced to a song with the target vocabulary in it (scarf, hat,
boots, gloves, trousers, trainers). The other was introduced to the song but it was
only presented as a rhyme and the rhythm was clapped (or drums used). E.g.
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This Material is Copyright Falko Lechel 2010
Peter put for your scarf on was said rhythmically and the teacher clapped his
hands. The results of the two classes were then compared with each other. After
four lessons using a song the method was swapped in the classes. This meant
that class A in which the method was using a song now had the same methods as
in class B but with a different song. This was done to make sure that the results
were not class specific.
AR PROCEDURE
For the writer followed an AR procedure which helped to establish a baseline
and allowed the AR to run smoothly.
In outline, it consisted of the following elements :
1. Check before introducing the topic that the children know the
vocabulary.
2. Make a chart with the childs name and the six nouns. Tick or cross if
the word is correct or not. (A new chart is used for every topic.)
3. Summary with comments on understanding.
4. Compare individual results with class results.
5. Test children after fifth lesson.
Questions:
a) Did you like the lessons with the songs or the lessons without the
song ?
b) Did you like the song ?
c) Do you like singing ?
These questions are asked in German.
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This Material is Copyright Falko Lechel 2010
Timetable:
Weeks (1-n)
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Group A
Song and guitar
Song and guitar
Song and guitar
Testing
No song
No song
No song
Testing
Group C
Song and guitar
Song and guitar
Song and guitar/Testing
Testing
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week n
Group B
No song
No song
No song
Testing
Song and guitar
Song and guitar
Song and guitar
Testing
Group D
No song
No song
No song/Testing
Testing
Baseline
Before the data was collected a baseline had to be established. This was
necessary because the groups had to have the same knowledge of nouns before
the actual research could start. The baseline was made by testing the children
before actually introducing the nouns. Flashcards were used to do this. The
teacher did not say what was on the cards but simply asked the pupils to say what
was on them. The baseline was made up of those nouns the pupils did not know.
In other words if the pupils did not respond to the flashcards it could be assumed
they did not know the noun. To keep the project manageable the number of nouns
was kept to six. Firstly these were giraffe, seal, budgie, owl, hen and cock.
Secondly there were scarf, hat, boots, gloves, trousers and trainers. Finally in the
group for the gifted pupils who were new to English seven nouns were taken.
These were bird, cat, hamster, rat, guinea pig, dog and mouse.
DATA PRESENTATION
Overview of nouns known by class
Class A: Song Peter put your scarf on
First lesson with song :
Class
Flashcards
and tape
Beginning
of lesson
End of
lesson
Number of
nouns
known
0
3
scarf
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
__
__
__
__
__
__
~pron.
__
__
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Number of
nouns
known
6
6
scarf
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
scarf
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
Number of
nouns
known
6
Number of
nouns
known
6
scarf
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
Because of the results of the flashcard tests at the beginning and the end of the
lesson the figure for the number of known nouns at the start of some lessons
sometimes is different from the number of nouns known at the end of the previous
lesson.
Class B:
No song
First lesson without song :
Class
Flashcards
and tape
Beginning
of lesson
End of
lesson
Number of
nouns
known
0
3
scarf
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
---
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This Material is Copyright Falko Lechel 2010
Number of
nouns
known
3
4
scarf
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
---
---
---
---
---
hat
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
Number of
nouns
known
5
6
scarf
Boots
gloves
trousers
trainers
---
Number of
nouns
known
6
6
scarf
hat
Because of the results of the flashcard tests at the beginning and the end of the
lesson the figure for the number of known nouns at the start of some lessons
sometimes is different from the number of nouns known at the end of the previous
lesson.
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This Material is Copyright Falko Lechel 2010
7
6
5
4
song
no song
3
2
1
1e
nd
2b
eg
in
2e
nd
3b
eg
in
3e
nd
4b
eg
in
4e
nd
1b
eg
i
The graph shows the amount of nouns understood at the beginning and at the end
of each lesson with the song compared to the nouns understood which were
taught without the song Peter put your scarf on.
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This Material is Copyright Falko Lechel 2010
7
6
5
4
song
no song
3
2
1
1b
eg
in
1e
n
2b d
eg
in
2e
n
3b d
eg
in
3e
n
4b d
eg
in
4e
nd
The graph shows the amount of nouns understood at the beginning and at the end
of each lesson with the song compared to the nouns understood which were
taught without the song Old MacDonald had a farm.
DATA ANALYSIS
The results from the classes in general show that the pupils understood all the
nouns that they were supposed to after each cycle. The results of a colouring in
test confirm this. The topic clothes was the first topic in group A and B. The
number of nouns understood in group A with the song Peter put your scarf on is
higher until the end of the third lesson. At the beginning of the second lesson
group A already understands all the nouns that they were intended to understand
and group B is three nouns behind them. However group B catches up and finally
is at the same level as group A.
The second topic was animals in group A and B. Group B had the song Old
MacDonald this time. Here group A without the song is slightly ahead of group B
with the song after the first lesson. However at the beginning of the second lesson
group B with the song understands five nouns and group A without the song
understands four nouns. After the second lesson both groups understand all the
nouns they were intended to know. Group B with the song stays on this level until
they reach the end of the cycle and group A without the song does not understand
all the nouns correctly at the beginning of the third lesson. Both groups
understand all the nouns after the third lesson and a colouring in test that was
done at the end of the cycle confirms this.
INTERPRETATION
The amount of nouns understood in the first weeks of the cycle is higher in the
groups with the songs than in the groups without the songs (s.graph). The graph
shows that the pupils with the song Peter put your scarf on already understood
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six nouns after two weeks, whilst the group without the song understood four
nouns after two weeks. It seems as though the lessons with the songs may have
enabled the pupils to understand the nouns faster. This means in the first weeks
the groups with the song understand more nouns. The exception is for the song
Old MacDonald. Here the group without the song is slightly ahead after the first
week. Then at the beginning of the second week however the group with the song
Old MacDonald is ahead of the group without the song.
It seems as though the pupils may be able to remember the nouns better when a
song is used. Williams and Burden (1997:16) explain that Atkinson and Shiffrin
describe the memory process as staring with stimuli and then the information is
passed into the short-term memory. Rehearsal, they argue, is important for the
long-term memory, meaning repeating the nouns. It could be possible that the
songs add to the stimuli and make it easier for some pupils to repeat the nouns
because of the melody that repeats itself. This might be very useful for pupils who
process information musically, as Fisher (1995:5) argues. Here the melody plays
an important role as well as the rhythm. The group with the songs additionally had
the melody. Ellis (1985:65) also mentions speech processing memory which
plays a role for placing the noun in a sentence.
The individual results sometimes show slower understanding of the nouns or
faster understanding when a song is used. The same can be observed in the
groups without the songs. Some pupils show slower understanding and others
faster understanding than the others in their group. One cause may be that the
pupils have different learning styles. This means that pupils who are auditory
learners, as Vouillemin (1994:23) describes may be at an advantage when there is
a song in the lesson. Gardner (1994:42) specifies the intelligence that is
connected to auditory intelligence as musical intelligence, which is a part of
multiple intelligences. According to Gardner (1994:42) the capacity for imitation of
vocal targets is involved in musical intelligence. The lessons had materials for
visual learners because pictures were used or kinaesthetic learners because
group work was included, argues Vouillemin (1994:23). Of course motivation may
be an important factor, too. Williams and Burden (1997:125) even specify intrinsic
motivation as being interested, curious doing something independently. In others
words a group that dislikes singing might not be interested and motivated by the
topic.
SUMMARY
This assignment dealt with the effect childrens songs have on young learners
aged seven to nine years understanding of basic nouns. It turned out that the
childrens songs appeared to be useful and the group results even suggested that
using a song increased the amount of nouns that were to be learnt over a shorter
period of time. The use of songs seemed to be good for revising the nouns. It was
important to triangulate the data to have results that were reliable. Individual pupils
on the other hand did vary in the understanding of the number of the nouns. This
may be due to different learning styles. Some pupils tend to be more auditory
learners and respond very well to songs and others might be more visual learners
and tend to respond well to pictures. Multiple intelligences are to be considered as
well. If pupils like singing their motivation might be higher.
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CONCLUSION
Despite the short period of time for this small study there seems to be evidence
that songs helped these young learners to understand basic nouns. This
understanding seemed to occur more quickly when songs were used, though little
difference between understanding over a longer period of time was observed.
It seems to be important to know that pupils learn differently. Dunn in Williams and
Burden (1997:191) mention four conditions in learning styles. These are
environmental, depending on noise or lighting. Then are emotional conditions,
depending on motivation. Sociological conditions play a role. This means whether
a pupil can learn better in a group or on his or her own. Finally, the argument
continues physiological conditions play a role, depending on the time of the
day.Vouillemin (1994:22) argues that some pupils might be visual learners and
others bodily-kinaesthetic learners.Vouillemin (1994:22) also mentions auditory
learners, who will listen out for new ideas and really hear what is being said. This
means there also might again be more musical learners in a group. The mood of
the group may also play a role. This means one group could be livelier and
therefore perhaps respond better to songs.
REFERENCES
Books
Cameron, L. (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Ellis, R. (1995) Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fisher, R. (1995) Teaching Children to Learn. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
Williams, M. and Burden, B. (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Articles
Gardner, H. (1994) The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In Moon, B. and Shelton Mayes, A. (eds.)
Teaching and Learning in the Secondary School, (38-46). London: Routledge.
Vouillemin, D. (1994) VAK. In PET 14 (3), 22-23
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This Material is Copyright Falko Lechel 2010
the available help from adults or more capable peers (Vygotsky 1978:86). This
clearly seems to illustrate the problem when setting homework tasks. If the task is
set at a level whereby a child can complete it unaided, then followers of
Vygotskys view might argue that little development can take place. If the task is
set at a level whereby it can be completed with help then more development might
occur. However, if there are no adults or more capable peers available then there
must perhaps be something within the homework material itself that can support,
or scaffold the childs learning otherwise homework tasks may just serve as
simple practice exercises.
Bruner and the Active Learner
Bruner pointed out the importance of learning how to learn (Williams and Burden
1997:24) and one obvious answer might be to ensure that children are clear on
the homework task and what is expected of them before leaving the classroom.
Discussion with each other and/or the teacher before going home to complete the
task unaided might instil a sense of competence and set a clear goal. Childfriendly material incorporating visual cues could spark the imagination and guide
the child through the task by providing a familiar context that is easy to follow and
interpret.
The Importance of Speech
Vygotsky emphasised the importance of social interaction in a childs mental
development, and held that children learn through internalising interaction with a
more capable peer or adult and development occurs as a result. (Williams and
Burden 1997:40) In a social context a child could be described as actually thinking
aloud in conjunction with others and when this is internalised a child can think
inside their own head and speech becomes a mode of thought (Cameron 2001:7).
If a childs thought processes are to a large extent essentially internalised
interaction, in particular, speech, then it might be easier and more natural for a
child to visualise actual speech and people interacting than it might be to visualise
more abstract language structures and grammar used in writing English. Using
speech bubbles in writing may be a way to help students do this.
Natural Expression
If it is the case that students feel more comfortable thinking and visualising
situations through speech it might follow that the language used when writing
would show evidence of this. Krashen (Brown 2000:278) has suggested that
learners internalise language in two distinct ways. The first is through acquisition
and is more subconscious and intuitive while the second attends to the form of a
language and is a conscious process (Brown 2000:278). It might be suggested
that if acquisition of language in children is the internalisation of social interaction
then when this language is reproduced in written form the focus will be on natural
speech rather than form. If children are more adept at acquiring language than
learning the more formal properties then the pressure of focusing on form in
written text may cause anxiety and actually prompt mistakes. Brown (2000:61)
argues that it may be due to children being unaware that they are picking up
structures that make them better language learners and that concentrating on
metalinguistics may actual inhibit language learning.
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The introduction of speech bubbles might then potentially benefit writing in the
sense that if children learn by internalising social interaction and learn better when
they are less conscious of what they are doing then they may be able to visualise
speech and naturally reproduce language with a higher level of accuracy.
THE RESEARCH
The first step was to discover whether the students were interested in the idea of
speech bubbles. As comics are very popular in China the students were asked to
write and illustrate their own comic. The results were very encouraging. All of the
students (including one very weak student) completed the tasks very well and so a
plan for action research was drawn up.
It was decided that the research should focus on whether speech bubbles affected
accuracy in writing. Three cycles were decided upon and the students would write
two stories for each cycle. Each time the students would be provided with a series
of pictures. One story would provide text boxes while the other would provide
speech bubbles. This would provide a clear comparison between the language as
actual speech and the language as text and provide more measurable data. After
each cycle the data would be examined and reflected upon then the next cycle
would be planned and executed as a result of these reflections. The project would
be carried out over a period of three weeks.
Ethical Considerations
To ensure that the students concerned were comfortable with the research, certain
ethical considerations were taken into account. The students were informed that
they would be taking part in a creative writing study and were all happy to be
involved. Besides the researcher and the eight students no other members of staff
were included to remove unnecessary variables and keep the research data as
tight as possible. Although the research would be carried out during class time
minimal help would be given to set conditions that were as close to working at
home as possible. As students were very used to speaking out with problems and
asking questions it was decided that direct questions would be answered to avoid
anxiety in the lesson.
THE DATA
To ensure that the data collected would be both valid (in this case that it genuinely
measured accuracy) and reliable three modes of data collection were chosen.
Firstly the work of the students would be analysed. The writing in the speech
bubbles would be compared with the work in text boxes and the number of
accurate phrases and sentences would be counted to see if there was any
difference in accuracy. The focus of research was narrowed to structural accuracy
in that sentences had to be semantically and syntactically sound. Errors that did
not correspond to structure such as spelling mistakes, for example, meet (meat)
and over generalising verb endings, for example weared (wore) would be
ignored.
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Classroom notes would be taken in every lesson to assist in measuring how the
research was carried out and bring to light questions and patterns. Then the
students would be interviewed to discover how they felt about the research. This
would show an interesting contrast between the beliefs of the researcher and the
beliefs of the students and perhaps bring to light links with theory. In this way a
triangulation of data insured that any resulting analysis would be a true reflection
of the actual work and the feelings of all involved in the action research.
Cycle One
The first cycle was conducted in two parts. Firstly, in Part A, the students were
given pictures of a football match and asked to write in the text boxes under the
pictures. They were allowed time to discuss the pictures in pairs as they would
with a homework task then asked to write the stories individually. After an initial
few moments of enthusiastic questioning about the pictures the students settled
down fairly quickly. The majority of questions were either asking for spellings or to
elicit vocabulary items. Some questions did pertain to form, such as whether or not
to use the past tense or asking for the past forms of verbs.
The second part (Part B) was to write a story in speech bubbles about a girl who
was telling a friend that she had been ill. This story was also geared towards using
the past simple to correspond with Part A. There seemed to be a little confusion as
to some of the pictures and the discussion reflected this. After the students began
to write, the questions were similar to those in Part A with the noticeable exception
that no students asked any questions relating to form. It did however become
apparent that the pictures being different from those in Part A may have
influenced the language and construction of meaning from the pictures and it was
decided that in future cycles the pictures would be the same for both bubbles and
text.
Cycle Two
The pictures in the second cycle depicted a family going out for a meal. Half of the
class were given text boxes while the others were given speech bubbles. Similar
questions arose but again the only question regarding form (L7 asked which tense
to use) arose with regard to the text boxes. After reflection, it was considered that
another variable had arisen whereby which story a learner had written first may
have affected the language so it was decided that those who had had speech
bubbles first would have text boxes first in cycle three and vice versa.
Cycle Three
The topic for cycle three was set as What did you do in the holidays? The
students discussed the pictures fairly naturally and settled down quickly. Again the
questions asked mainly concerned vocabulary items, phrases and spellings. This
time there were no questions regarding form at all. When told that they would be
interviewed about their stories all the students said that they preferred writing in
speech bubbles.
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The Interviews
After completing the three cycles, seven of the eight students (Learner three was
absent) were interviewed about their feelings towards their writing. The interviews
were conducted solely in English as the students were not used to speaking in
Chinese during lessons. Also translation from Chinese to English may have
contaminated the data through interpretation. One problem that might have arisen
from the use of L2 in interviews was a risk of leading students' answers while
clarifying their English. Nevertheless, with this in mind, there appear to be several
patterns emerging from the answers given by the learners.
All of the students (except Learner one who changed his opinion during the course
of the conversation) stated that they preferred writing in speech bubbles because
they found it easier to write what people were saying and generally seemed to
agree that the speech bubbles helped them to think. Learner eight, for example,
claimed that writing in speech bubbles helped her to see who said what and
Learner four went further saying that she felt the people were telling the story
rather than herself which she found made writing easier.
The general consensus from the students seemed to be that writing in speech
bubbles helped them to visualise what people were saying as if they themselves
were speaking. Learners six and eight also said that they felt they had to write
more in text boxes even though, ironically, they had written more in the speech
bubbles!
Another pattern related to grammar. Learners two and six both seemed under the
impression that they had only considered grammar in the text boxes. Learner two,
for example criticised her work in speech bubbles as not containing the past tense
even though she had actually used it more than she had when writing in text
boxes. Similarly, Learner six claimed that writing in speech bubbles was easier
because the text boxes contained the past tense (despite having consistently used
the past tense in the stories with speech bubbles). Learner eight seemed to go
further still by suggesting that the speech bubbles already contained grammar
while the text boxes did not and learner seven actually referred to the writing in
speech bubbles as more accurate.
Analysis of Data from the Interviews
Six of the seven students interviewed suggested that writing in speech bubbles is
easier because it helps them to visualise what people are saying. This does seem
to support the idea that being able to visualise interaction helps them to think. In
addition the comments relating to grammar alongside Learner sevens direct
reference to accuracy, might support the idea that learners make more mistakes
when concentrating on form. On the other hand, the comments concerning
grammar might be interpreted as suggesting that writing in text boxes causes the
students to feel that they have to use more complicated language, and three
students felt they should write more in text boxes. It may be this that prompts
mistakes. If it were the case that students felt a little daunted by the higher
expectations from text boxes then perhaps factors such as risk taking might also
play a part in the differences in accuracy. If the students feel that the language
they use should be more complicated then they may well take more risks in their
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This Material is Copyright Michelle Martin 2010
writing. It does seem a little premature to make any large claims suggesting links
between visualising speech/not focusing on form and accuracy in writing.
SUMMARY OF ANALYSIS
The research seems to suggest that there might be a link between using speech
bubbles and accuracy in writing when compared with text boxes. The data
collected from the students work certainly seems to show a clear discrepancy in
favour of accuracy in speech bubbles. The students in turn, seem to feel more
comfortable when writing in speech bubbles and find it considerably easier to write
when they are able to visualise actual speech. Whether this apparent link with
accuracy is because students are able to visualise interaction remains a little
unclear. The evidence does seem to provide a basis for further study and perhaps
more in depth interviews with the students in their first language might bring out
additional evidence. Further research may also cast light on whether visualising
speech actually draws learners away from a focus on form and whether focusing
on form does in fact prompt mistakes in children of this age.
CONCLUSION
The original motive for the study was to develop homework tasks. In this respect it
does seem that speech bubbles may be more appropriate than text boxes. If the
students concentrate on form when writing in text boxes, then these tasks might
be better carried out with assistance during lessons. Speech bubbles on the other
hand seem to provide help with visualising language and students seem to find
the presence of speech bubbles in the stories supportive. This may be valuable
when children are asked to work unaided outside lessons. The research seems
very encouraging and might be considered a starting point for further study into
thought as internalised speech and whether visualising speech draws students
away from thinking about form. It may then be shown, perhaps, whether there is
any effect on accuracy in writing.
REFERENCES
Brown, H.D. (2000) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. USA: Addison Wesley
Longman.
Cameron, L. (2001) Teaching languages to young Learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.
Williams, M. and Burden, B. (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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This Material is Copyright Liliane Pessanha, 2010
RESEARCH TECHNIQUES
A case study
According to Wallace (1998:161) case studies concentrate on what is unique (i.e.
with individual units: an individual student; an individual event; a particular group;
a particular class; a particular school, etc). In this research, a case study
approach was chosen to generate a hypothesis: a group of seven intermediate
level Brazilian young learners might increase their sense of achievement
concerning their oral skills by the implementation of mini-speaking activities on a
regular basis.
Data collection procedure and tools
In order to establish some baseline data, semi-structured interviews were carried
out with both young learners and the teacher of the target group in an attempt to
elicit learners perceptions of their oral production and their sense of achievement,
and compare them to the teachers perception of their production and progress.
Data has been taken from these recorded interviews as well as information
gathered from a learners reflective thinking form and a questionnaire applied to
learners as a way of getting feedback.
The interviews
1. Interviews with the teacher
The teacher was interviewed twice. The first interview was held at the beginning of
the term, before contact with the students was established. This teacher had
worked with the target group in the previous term and seemed to know them fairly
well. The second interview was held at the end of the term.
As for this particular teacher, it could be said that raising students awareness
may be one of her concerns and , even though she rated their oral production as
poor, she also pointed out the fact that they were highly motivated.
It may be noted that, as Lightbown and Spada (1999:56) suggest,
we do not know whether it is the motivation that produces
successful learning or successful learning that enhances motivation
or whether both are affected by other factors.
Such a statement might raise the matter of motivation as the young learners in the
group seemed to enjoy being in class despite their poor production. In Gowers
view (2000:21) even the most highly motivated students seem incapable of
producing or unwilling to do so, very much orally beyond brief but accurate
statements about the content of the current lesson.
2. Interview with the learners
The interviews were carried out in L 1 as the researcher aimed at finding out how
young learners might see their progress and therefore, it would be easier for
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This Material is Copyright Liliane Pessanha, 2010
subjects to express themselves in their mother tongue. The interviews were then
all translated and transcribed into English.
It was explained to all learners why the interviews were to be recorded and it
seems that this was not a sensitive area at all. Although it could be said that the
data might be distorted by students becoming either too shy, over-talkative in the
presence of recording equipment or even worse, not being honest with
the
researcher when asked to rate their sense of achievement, the audio-recordings
were made by using a simple cassette-recorder with an in-built microphone and
later an analysis of the transcripts was carried out.
The majority expressed their general dissatisfaction with their oral production
although they all seemed to be aware of their improvement when comparing their
oral production at the basic levels to their oral production at the intermediate level.
The interviews led the researcher to locate possible reasons for limitations on
learners oral production and were based on the two questions below:
Question 1: How would you rate your oral production?
5
excellent
1
poor
1
not at all
5
4
3
Q1
Q2
1
0
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9
S10
A few areas emerged during the interviews which are likely to influence learners
sense of achievement. Quotations from the data collected may exemplify some of
the points at issue such as motivation to learning and shyness at adolescence as
shown by an extract from two interviews:
4. S 9: I think Ive improved a lot. Id say 5. I was too shy when I was younger. I
feel much better in class now. And the topics we discuss in class are cool. I
always participate in the discussions.
2. S 8: Id say 2 because Im very shy, you know. Its difficult for me. I dont speak
much in class.
Moreover, S4 exemplifies the need to establish a friendly and co-operative
atmosphere in class
11. R: And why do you think youve improved?
12. S 4: I think that what helped me to improve is that people wouldnt talk to me in
class before. I didnt have any friends and now, we talk, make jokes, laugh
I have a relationship with the group and the teacher.
S 1, line 4 illustrates the importance of introducing relevant and challenging topics,
as it seems that learners would be unwilling to expand on the discussion topics if
they did not appeal to them.
4 S1: Yes. Sometimes I have to talk about things that dont interest
me, or things that I dont know much about, then Id rather be quiet
than saying silly things.
The amount of L 1 in class also appears to be worth mentioning.
2. S 6: I dont know. Id say 3 because I like studying English. I love the English
language but I speak too much in Portuguese in class. Its true that if I talk to the
teacher I have to speak in English otherwise she wont talk to me but when I talk to
my classmates I use Portuguese all the time.
And also, examples of learning strategies especially concerning vocabulary
acquisition
6. S 7: I think I need more vocabulary.
7. R: How do you study the new words that are taught every lesson?
8. S 7: I use that part of the students book, where we can find all the new words
and I even write the meanings down.
Implementing change
The next stage was to introduce learners to the mini-speaking activity project, that
is, an extended speaking activity which would provide an opportunity for students
to tackle a longer piece of discourse and to develop their speaking skills, making
them aware of the aim of the activity: to develop oral fluency, involving exchanging
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This Material is Copyright Liliane Pessanha, 2010
information and opinions. In order to facilitate interaction, the group drew up a list
of fillers which could be used while preparing what to say I know what you
mean Im not saying that what I mean is with the help of the teacher.
The teacher brainstormed topics and proposed each student should choose one
topic to present to the class for five minutes. She carefully prepared a series of
tips for learners such as the need to pre-teach essential vocabulary to the other
students; helped them to outline the structure of their presentation and showed
them how to address the audience.
The teacher also made sure they would prepare at least two questions to ask the
other students after the presentation to check their understanding and gave them
sufficient preparation time so that they would think about what they were going to
say and how they were going to say it. She would be available to help them while
they made notes and checked vocabulary.
Nevertheless, the students did not feel confident enough to do it individually for
the first time. It was agreed then that they would give their presentations in groups
of three.
Measuring change
After the implementation of the mini-speaking activity project for the first time, the
students were asked to fill in a reflective thinking form.
Good points
concerning mini-speaking
activities
Suggestions to increase
progress in your oral
production
the project had helped them to overcome the fear of speaking in public although
one of the students mentioned having to speak to the whole class as a drawback
to the activity. Half of the students reported they had learned new words through
their own research or their classmates .Likewise, half of the students suggested
continuing the project as they could feel they had been able to prepare and
successfully present their speeches. A few of the students suggested having other
fluency activities that would arouse their curiosity the way the mini-presentations
did.
Having read that, it might be concluded that students thought they had benefited
from the activity as they have reported difference between how much they were
able to produce and what they had actually produced. It may be added that they
have also showed they had enjoyed the activity, and they did not seem to find any
drawbacks. That was why, after two months, a similar project was carried out.
Implementing change one more time
Two months later, when learners repeated the task, they were more confident and
gave individual presentations.
RESEARCH FINDINGS
To complement the analysis, students completed a questionnaire which was
drawn up to investigate their sense of achievement in the intermediate course at
the end of the semester in which the mini-speaking activities were implemented.
When asked whether or not the mini-speaking activities presented throughout the
semester helped improve their oral production in the intermediate course, six out
of seven students said they thought they had made some improvement.
The two basic questions, used when interviewing the learners before the project
started (figure 1), were included in the questionnaire so that it could be checked
whether their sense of achievement had changed through the use of minispeaking activities. Figures 4 and 5 show the following results:
How would you rate your oral production today?
4
3,5
3
2,5
Before the project
1,5
1
0,5
0
S2
Figure 4
project.
S3
S6
S7
S8
S9
S 10
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This Material is Copyright Liliane Pessanha, 2010
1
0
S2
S3
S6
S7
S8
S9
S 10
CONCLUSION
It seems reasonable to suggest that the project helped to raise learners
awareness of successful performance in language learning. As a learner pointed
out in the end of the project, Im more confident of how to say what I want to say
.
It may be important to ensure that language teachers see the need for awareness
raising activities and find ways of presenting evidence of progress in every class in
an attempt to avoid young learners sense of achievement from fading away.
REFERENCES
Gower, R. (2000) Elementary and Intermediate, English Teaching Professional, (17) 20-21.
Books
Fisher, R. (1995) Teaching Children to Learn. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes Publishers.
Lightbown, P. and Spada, N. (1999) How Languages are Learned. Revised ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Wallace, M. (1998) Action Research for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
Woods, D. (1996) Teacher Cognition in Language Teaching: beliefs, decision-making, and
classroom practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Booklet
FCE booklet (1999) London: UCLES.
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This Material is Copyright Liliane Pessanha, 2010
APPENDIX
Table of results for cycles 1-3
Bubbles = Speech Bubbles / Text = Text Boxes / Numbers = Number of correct sentences
Figure 1
* data is incomplete
Cycle 1
Cycle 2
Cycle 3
Total Number
Learner
Bubbles
Text
Bubbles
Text
Bubbles
Text
Bubbles
Text
_______
10
14 *
12
12
17
10
39
14
20
11
19
13
19
51
16
11
13
11
10
16
38
31
12
13
16
10
17
11
45
34
14
14
15
12
24
15
53
41
_______
11
14
13
20
19
34*
43
Total
77*
76
102
56
115
70
284*
202
Figure 2
Cycle 2
Cycle 3
Total Number
Learner
Bubbles
Text
Bubbles
Text
Bubbles
Text
10
14
17
10
27
11
13
19
32
11
10
16
27
18
16
10
17
11
33
21
15
12
24
15
39
27
14
13
20
19
34
32
Total
101
56
115
70
216
126
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and gustatory learning styles. For practical reasons this action research will
consider VAK: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, as these seem to be the ones
found predominantly in the classroom (Revel & Norman 1997).
Research in the primary classroom seems to have shown that children pass
through a developmental progression in learning-style preference (Reid 1995:
129). Keefe (1979 in Reid 1995: 129) suggests that this preference evolves from
kinaesthetic in childhood to visual and later on to auditory in line with the childs
overall development (Reid 1995: 132).
RATIONALE AND SITUATION
The young learners in this Action Research refer to fourteen students aged 12 and
13 years old in their sixth and last year of primary school in the German-speaking
part of Switzerland. They have been attending one forty-five minute English lesson
per week as an optional ex-curricular activity for the past four years and have
been learning French as their first compulsory foreign language (L2) since their
fifth year class. Since schooling in Switzerland usually starts at 7 and primary
school in most cantons lasts for 6 years, the students are usually 13 when they
move up into secondary education.
As Wallace (1998) suggests, ethical issues need to be considered when carrying
out action research. All parties concerned were contacted and permission was
granted prior to starting the action research. Care was taken to ensure that neither
the experimental nor the control group were disadvantaged. Institutional and
student anonymity was taken into consideration.
PLANNING AND CYCLES OF THE ACTION RESEARCH
The Action Research began by giving the students in the experimental group a
questionnaire (figures 1 and 2) to try and ascertain their preferred learning styles
by asking them how they did certain types of activities e.g. how they learn a new
tune or remember things they have to do.
This was followed by both the experimental and the control groups (figures 6 - 9)
being given a vocabulary baseline game. The experimental group was
subsequently given three VAK games to try and assess their preferred learning
styles (figure 10). In the final cycle, the experimental group was given a game in
which they could use their preferred learning style (figure 10) and the results were
compared with those of their initial test. The control group was given a similar
activity at the beginning and at the end of the Action Research and the results
were compared (figures 8 & 9). It was hoped that some conclusive results would
be obtained from these games and activities.
COLLECTING AND MEASURING THE DATA
In January 2004 the control group of seven students, was given a vocabulary test
using a picture dictionary activity (Davis, Gerngross, Holzmann & Puchta 1995)
They were allowed one minute to look at the 17 words and pictures before writing
down as many of the words as they could remember without looking at their
books. The results were entered into a chart (figure 10) and the average number
of words remembered and correctly spelt was evaluated as a percentage. The
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experimental group, seven students in the researchers class, did the same type of
picture dictionary activity which only had 15 words. The fact that the number of
words was not identical was resolved by expressing it as a percentage (figure 6).
The results were entered into a chart (figure no. 6) and the average number of
words remembered and correctly spelt was evaluated as a percentage to make
the evaluations more reliable, valid and comparable.
The questionnaire (figures 1 and 2) was divided into part A and Part B. A
questionnaire rather than an interview was used to try to generate conclusive
findings in a quantitative way (Wallace 1998: 47).
As might have been expected in part A, questions 1 and 2 produced visual and
auditory responses since the questions were based on listening whereas
questions 3 and 4 produced predominantly kinaesthetic ones.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
A
A1
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
A2
S1
S2
V
A/V
V
A
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
A3
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
How do you remember the things your mother asks you to buy for her?
I keep repeating them to myself.
A
I write them down.
K
I write them down.
K
I write them down.
K
She writes them down.
V
On a piece of paper.
K
Not at all.
A4
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
V
V
A
A
A
K
K
K
K
V
Score
2
3
1
In part B, the combined visual and kinaesthetic learning style seemed to be the
most popular closely followed by auditory, no. 2, and visual, no. 3. Surprisingly,
the kinaesthetic learners were in the minority although they appeared to rank
highest in part A.
Vocabulary Baseline Questionnaire
B How do like to learn?
1 using lots of pictures, graphs, colours and shapes
2 listening to cassettes with different voices, songs,
music, rhythm and rhyme
3 having real objects to touch as you talk about them
4 oral drills
5 decorating the classroom with pictures & your work
6 when the teacher pauses from time to time so that
you can repeat what he/she has said (in your head
or out loud)
7 taking notes
8 using mime and activities which let you move around
9 using drama and role-play
10 when the teacher gives you an overview of what
he/she is going to teach
11 practical project work
Total no. of points
4
3
2
1
0 Total
very often often sometimes seldom never
1
1
2
3
11
2
1
1
2
1
15
2
2
1
1
1
1
3
3
3
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
1
3
Average
points per
question
Score
LS
10.3
10.7
9.3
17.0
3
2
4
1
11
11
5
K
A
V
2
3
2
19
7
10
15
V/K
K
K
V
15
125
V/K
Visual questions
3
Auditory questions
3
Kinaesthetic questions
3
Visual and Kinaesthetic question
2
Total
11
Key: V: visual, A: auditory, K: kinaesthetic. LS: learning style
31
32
28
34
125
V
A
3
1
3
No. of
Total
VAK
no. of
questions points
LS
89
This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
Students
V/K
V/K
S1
63.6
36.4
45.5
75.0
S2
63.6
54.5
45.5
75.0
S3
54.5
54.5
72.7
50.0
S4
36.4
0.0
9.1
75.0
S5
63.6
63.6
81.8
75.0
S6
0.0
45.5
0.0
25.0
S7
0.0
36.4
0.0
50.0
31
32
28
34
125
points
they could remember and filled in the Evaluation Survey (appendix 8 Visual Game
Recall).
Second cycle Auditory Game
Immediately after the Visual Recall Game, the researcher read aloud 20 different
words without showing the students the written form. This was repeated once in
the same order and the students wrote down as many words as they could
remember in any order. They were also asked to complete the Evaluation Survey
using a 1 4 Likert scale. The Likert scale (Brown 2002: 120) often seems to be
used to obtain respondents reactions and may be on a 1 to 4, 1 to 5 scale, etc.
depending on how fine-tuned the answers are required.
Third cycle First Bodily-kinaesthetic Game
One week later, the lesson started with the students recalling as many of the
auditory words from the week before without hearing them again (appendix 7)
and filling in the Evaluation Survey (appendix 9).
Immediately after the Auditory Game Recall, the researcher mimed 20 action
words and elicited the words from the students to ensure that they tried to
remember the same word. The researcher was so busy miming the actions that
she did not notice that the students were writing down the word after each action.
When she asked them to write down as many words as they could remember,
they promptly informed her that they had already done that so the game had to
be repeated the following week.
Fourth cycle Second Bodily-kinaesthetic Game
This time the researcher ensured that the students did not write down the words
while she was miming the actions.
Fifth cycle Second Mime Game Recall and Evaluation
By now the students had become used to the routine and the researchers
instructions were down to a minimum. The students recalled the second set of
words on the Second Mime Game Recall (appendix 11) and completed the
evaluation survey (appendix 11).
Sixth cycle Evaluation and Final Game using Preferred Learning Style
The following week the researcher handed out a sheet with the evaluation of the
VAK games (appendix no. 10) and asked the students how they would like to do
the final game. The students unanimously decided on the visual game so the
experimental group was shown 20 new words on flashcards and asked to write
them down afterwards.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
At the end of the six week period, the control group was given a similar game as
the initial one they had done which was identical to the experimental groups first
game i.e. picture dictionary activity with 15 words.
The game and the recall session took approx. 15 minutes of each lesson which
left sufficient time to continue with the regular lesson plan.
.
EVALUATION OF THE DATA
The data was gathered by means of methodological triangulation i.e. different
procedures were followed. These included empirical or outward-looking methods
such as the use of a questionnaire in L1 (figures 1 and 2), so-called games to
assess the students ability to recall the vocabulary using different learner styles
each including a self-assessment section, and classroom observation.
The researcher also used an introspective method by keeping a journal in which
she noted the students reactions to the different types of games, their general
behaviour and any comments from the class teacher, school authorities or
parents. Attention was given to that fact that the data needed to be reliable and
valid from both a quantitative as well as a qualitative point of view (Brown 2002:
243). The charts used to record the results of the different VAK games may be
considered to be quantitative data and is objective, and the evaluation survey on
the Recall and Evaluation Sheet may be considered to be qualitative data and is
subjective (Wallace 1998: 38).
ANALYSIS OF THE DATA AND FINDINGS
Experimental group
In the self-assessment questionnaire (figure no. 1), how do you do activities, the
students responses showed that they seemed to prefer a kinaesthetic learner
style, followed by visual and auditory (K V A).
Figure 2, how do you like to learn activities, produced mostly visual/kinaesthetic
responses, followed by auditory, visual and kinaesthetic (V/K A V) which was quite
different from Part A. This might suggest that the combination of visual and
kinaesthetic together makes both V and K stronger. Auditory was second which
suggests that the auditory way of learning is stronger in the classroom than in
activities done outside school.
Figure 4 portrays the preferred learning style per student according to their selfevaluation. Although the students considered themselves to be mainly
visual/kinaesthetic learners, the four games revealed that the best results were
obtained when they learnt visually (figure 10). The results might have been
different had the students done the actions in the bodily-kinaesthetic game
themselves rather than watching the teacher do them.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
1st
V
V
V
V
V
V+K
V
Results of games
2nd
A
A
A
K
K
A
K
3rd
K
K
K
A
A
0
A
The results of the games showed that the two girls and one of the boys seemed to
prefer a
V A K order of learning whereas all the other students (boys) V K A. The
kinaesthetic learner style seems to be more popular with boys than with girls.
However, the visual mode which was reflected in the final game, was clearly
preferred. Here surprisingly three boys achieved higher results i.e. remembered
more words (S5 + one word, S6 + 2 words and S7 + 3 words) than in the first
visual game bringing up the percentage from 86.7% in the first visual game to
91.7% in the last game when using their preferred learning style (figure 6).
The overall result of the experimental group between the first vocabulary baseline
game and the final visual game revealed that the students seemed to be able to
learn more words (+ 5%) when using their preferred learning style.
The implications of this for teaching suggest the importance of raising teachers
awareness of the different learning styles in the classroom and teaching students
how to learn a language in a way which suits them best (William & Burden 1997:
147).
Control group
When comparing activity 1, which the experimental group did at the beginning of
the project and the control group at the end, the experimental group were able to
remember significantly more words for reasons unknown. The control groups final
game produced lower results than the initial one although it had fewer words (15
as opposed to 17). On the contrary, the experimental groups final game had more
words (20) than in the initial one (15). One explanation might be that it is easier to
remember words if there are more rather than less. This aspect was not
investigated further.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
January 2004
15 words
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
No. of words remembered
15
14
11
15
13
% of words remembered
100.0 93.3 73.3 100.0 86.7
No. of words correctly spelt
11
12
8
10
9
% of words correctly spelt
73.3 80.0 53.3 66.7 60.0
Vocabulary 15 words
bar of chocolate
lid
hide
hid
freezer
shopkeeper
sweet shop
grandmother
bag of toffees
toffee
ice-cream cornet
think
thought
greedy
piggybank
Words taken from 'Magic Time 1', Unit 24, ex 1
June 2004
20 words
S1
S2
S3
S4
No. of words remembered
17
17
18
% of words remembered
85.0 85.0
90.0
No. of words correctly spelt
11
15
14
% of words correctly spelt
55.0 75.0
70.0
Vocabulary 20 words
bake
catch
read
kiss
stretch
collect
turn left
cut out
turn around
go straight ahead
wait for
fill in
break
turn right
write
build
bend
come
answer
look at
Words taken from set of ELI flashcards
S6
11
73.3
10
66.7
S7
12
80.0
10
66.7
Total Average
91
13.0
86.7%
70
10
66.7%
Experimental group
S5
19
95.0
13
65.0
S6
S7 Total Average
19
20
110
18.3
95.0 100.0
91.7%
18
20
91
15
90.0 100.0
75.8%
Figure 6: Evaluation Experimental Group Baseline Vocabulary Game, January and June 2004
94
This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
% of words
remembered
January 2004
90
80
% of words
correctly spelt
January 2004
70
60
50
% of words
remembered
June 2004
40
30
% of words
correctly spelt
June 2004
20
10
0
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
Figure 7: Evaluation Experimental Group Vocabulary Baseline Game, January and June 2004
The two girls, S1 and S2 dropped from 100% and 93.3% in the baseline
vocabulary game (figure no. 6) by 15% respectively 8.3% as did one boy, S4 by
10% when using their preferred learning style. S5, S6 and S7, whose behaviour
improved most during the games, increased their ability to remember words by
8%, 22% and 20% thus bringing the overall increase in the number of words
remembered to + 5.3%. The number of words correctly spelt increased in a similar
ratio. The number of words used increased by 25% i.e. from 15 words in the first
game to 20 words in the last one.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
January 2004
17 words
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
Total
14
15
15
16
11 16
16
103
82.4 88.2 88.2 94.1 64.7 94.1 94.1
9
10
13
14
7 15.5
14
82.5
52.9 58.8 76.5 82.4 41.2 91.2 82.4
Average
14.7
59.7%
12
44.5%
June 2004
15 words
S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
Total
8
13
9
11
8
14
11 74
53.3 86.7 60.0 73.3 53.3 93.3 73.3
4
11
8
10
5
11
8 57
26.7 73.3 53.3 66.7 33.3 73.3 53.3
Average
10.6
46.7%
8
36.2%
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
% of words
remembered
January 2004
% of words
remembered
June 2004
% of words
correctly spelt
June 2004
% of words
correctly spelt
January 2004
Figure 9: Evaluation Control Group Vocabulary Baseline Game, January and June 2004
In the final game all of the students dropped from - 2% to -29% when doing the
same type of activity to remember vocabulary using the picture dictionary. The
overall level decreased by 13% in spite of the fact that there were only 15 words
compared to 17 in the first activity. In contrast the number of words correctly spelt
only decreased by - 8,3%.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
Experimental group
Vocabulary games using 20 words in each game
Students
Recall*
First time
No. of words
Recall*
No. of words
Visual Game
Recall*
No. of words
Final
No. of words
S1 girl
17
11
15
14
S2 girl
17
12
15
14
17
S3 boy
14
abs.
13
11
absent
S4 boy
18
16
14
16
18
S5 boy
18
12
15
16
10
19
S6 boy
17
13
13
17
12
19
S7 boy
17
10
15
11
20
Points
118
74
91
30
103
54
110
Order
%
84.3
52.9
65.0
21.4
73.6
38.6
17
91.7
Visual
Auditory
Kinaesthetic
Visual
laugh
eat
jump
break
ride a horse
drink
say goodbye
bake
clap
phone
turn left
fish
fly
turn right
climb
have a headache
catch
sleep
draw
cut out
ski
wake up
paint
write
rollerblade
pull
play volleyball
read
ride a bike
count
turn around
play football
build
stand up
kiss
drive
hide
go straight ahead
swim
sit down
bend
sing
knock
smile
stretch
dance
walk
look at
speak
listen
sew
wait for
watch TV
run
fall down
go
think
cook
remember
answer
cry
like
find
fill in
dream
hate
look for
come
20 words
20 words
20 words
20 words
Selfassessment
Results of games
No. of words
First time
Recall
Stud.
S1 girl
S2 girl
S3 boy
S4 boy
S5 boy
S6 boy
V+K
Self-
S7 boy
assessment
3xV
6.5 x V
5xV
2xA
0xA
0xA
2xK
0.5 x K
2xK
LS
Recall
Final game
Figure 10: Experimental group, Evaluation of all VAK games, including self-assessment
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
REFLECTION
After using nouns and verbs for the first activity, the researcher decided to use
verbs only to facilitate the mime game and to ensure continuity throughout the
research.
The students seem to have matured considerably as a result of the action
research and have become used to the concept of thinking quietly to recall
information and were amazed at how much they could remember. The classroom
was never as quiet as when the students were writing down the vocabulary which,
as Snow and Hoefnagel-Hhle suggest, is an area in learning a language
particularly suited to students of this age (12 15 year olds) (Lightbown & Spada
2002).
By the end of the VAK games the students seemed to have become used to the
technique of learning and recalling vocabulary and this, combined with the boys
improvement in behaviour, may account for the fact that the boys were able to
remember more words by the end of the research. The researcher would like to
think that this is also due to the fact that they are now more aware of their learning
style but since this was such a small sample, it seems to be difficult to assess.
CONCLUSIONS
The results obtained using a cyclical process have shown that different learner
approaches to activities using reflecting learning styles do make vocabulary
acquisition easier.
If the students involved in this Action Research study have been made aware of
their preferred learning style and it facilitates their further study of foreign
languages, this project might be considered to have been worthwhile.
This Action Research project has shown that action research does not simply
validate theories and then apply them to practice i.e. in the classroom, but that
they are validated through practice i.e. in the classroom with the students (Elliot
1991: 69).
REFERENCES
Aitchison, J. Trickles, Spurts, Bangs or Whimpers? Second International TEYL Research Seminar
2003. York: University of York.
Brewster, J. , Ellis, G.& and Girard, D. (2002) The Primary English Teachers Guide. Harlow:
Pearson Education.
Brown, J.D. and Rodgers T.S. (2002) Doing Second Language Research. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Davis, R., Gerngross, G., Holzman C. & Puchta H. (1995) Magic Time 1. Harlow: Pearson
Education.
ELI set of flashcards, Recanati: European Language Institute.
Elliott, J. (1992) Action Research for Educational Change. Buckingham: Open University Press.
99
This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
Hitchcock, G. & Hughes, D. (1995, second edition). Research and the Teacher. A Qualitative
Introduction to School-based Research. London & New York: Routledge.
Lightbown, P & Spada, N. (2002) How languages are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Puchta, H. and Schranz, M. (1993) Teaching Teenagers. London: Longman.
Revell, J. & Norman, S. (1997) In Your Hands, NLP in ELT. London: Saffire Press.
Reid, J.M. (ed.) (1995) Learning Styles in the ESL/EFL Classroom. Boston: Heinle & Heinle
Publishers.
Wallace, M.J. (1998) Action Research for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Williams, M. and Burden, R. (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
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This Material is Copyright Rosemary Smeets, 2010
"Christmas in England" was presented as a text in German but with the key words
in English. Word Bingo, jumbled words, a Letter to Santa, comparing English and
German Christmases and two songs followed (appendix 1). Students were
interested in the cultural differences.
During December the students were excited and restless because of the festivities
and a lot of testing in other subjects; there was some season-related illness.
Tests showed 70% and 66,3% respectively of correct answers. Ranking in the
questionnaire, test results and interest all more or less corresponded.
Cycle 5: Songs
Fruit and vegetables were presented with two songs followed by games, sorting,
drawing and labelling (appendix 1).
Though they participated as usual half of the students made it known that they did
not like fruit and vegetables.
72,4% and 69,3% respectively of the test answers were correct.
Ranking in the questionnaire on how learners memorize best and the test results
did not correspond; neither did the interest noted in the lesson and the test results.
Cycle 6: Sorting
Students were asked to sort food vocabulary into categories, followed by real-life
games and role play, crosswords and jumbled words (appendix 1). The games
were very well received. Students were very interested, achieving test results of
95,8% and 93,2% respectively. Interest and overall test results corresponded, but
test results and how students thought they memorized best did not.
Ranking of sorting may have been influenced by what students enjoy: sorting is
ranked last by a big margin in the question on how students enjoyed learning
most; this may have been balanced by the real-life follow-up activities.
Cycle 7: Game
'Simon Says' was used to present parts of the body vocabulary. Follow-up
activities were writing, matching, finding 'hidden' vocabulary, a song and a
crossword (appendix 1).
The students were enthusiastic and wanted to know additional words.
The test results were 82,6% and 81% respectively. Questionnaire ranking, test
results and interest more or less corresponded.
QUESTIONNAIRE
Students were asked to fill in the questionnaire a week after the last test.
EVALUATION
When comparing questionnaire ranking with test results it must be taken into
account that three items of the question on how students thought they memorized
best - matching, game/song, game/song/book/activity - scored exactly the same
result, thus allowing direct comparison only to a certain extent.
Questionnaire ranking and test results only partly corresponded: Students ranked
presentation of cycles 2,3, 5 and 7 as the best way of memorizing. This did not
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
completely correspond to the test results. The best test results for test 1 were
cycles 2, 6 and 7; for test 2 the best results were cycles 6, 7 and 2.
Though cycle 6 did very well in both tests and students were very interested in the
topic, it was ranked fifth in the question on how learners memorize best. A look at
the first question on the questionnaire might lead to the conclusion that this was
influenced by liking since sorting is ranked last in the question on how learners
enjoyed learning most.
However, there was total agreement on translation as it was ranked last in the
overall questionnaire ranking and both tests showed by far the worst results. The
difference between the worst test result and the second worst was 28% (test 1)
and 27,8% (test 2) respectively (appendix 5).
According to Piaget (Brown 2000:28) children learn about language what they
already know about the world and their capacity to make sense by relating the
new to the previously known is limited by experience (Cameron 1993:14). In cycle
4 there were not only the words, but different concepts and cultural differences the
students had to learn. The best test results were achieved in topics most related to
their daily lives - cycles 6 and 2. Food is a daily aspect, and the children live in a
rural area with many farms. Most of the animals in cycle 3 are only known from
films and books, which may be one of the reasons that the children were slightly
less interested and test results differed from farm animals by 21% and about 8%
respectively (appendix 4).
The low score in cycle 1 might be due to the fact that learners were not actively
involved in the introduction, or input may not have been challenging enough. This
supports Williams (Brumfit,Moon&Tongue 1991:206) who suggests that children
learn by doing and being actively involved, and Krashen (Brown 2000:271) when
recommending that input should be a little beyond the current level of
competence. Students were actively involved in the presentation of vocabulary in
all cycles except the first, which consisted of speaking and copying only. Using the
mother tongue was allowed to a greater extent than in the following cycles.
Hughes (Raya,Faber,Gewehr&Peck 2001:19) suggests linking activities to
immediate and visible action. This may be another reason for the difference
between the first cycle and the other cycles as activities in cycles 2 to 7 offered
more action than in cycle 1.
The suggestion that "childrens main interest in learning a foreign language is to
learn something new" (Hughes in Raya,Faber,Gewehr&Peck 2001:17-24) seems
to be confirmed when examining cycle 5. Though the learners were least
interested in this topic, participation in the activities was as lively as in other cycles
and test results were not the worst but ranked fifth.
The success of the presentation and activities of cycle 6 seems to support the
notion of the importance of learning for real purposes with real and meaningful
activities (Garvie 1990:4; Hughes in Raya,Faber,Gewehr&Peck 2001:18).
Though on the whole students' evaluation of how they memorized best
corresponded to test results and field notes, there is disparity as far as cycle 6 is
concerned. Students ranked sorting sixth, but this cycles test results are the best
overall, and the best for the second tests. Students may have been influenced by
their dislike of sorting which ranks last in the question of how they enjoyed
learning most.
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
The difference between the first and the second test results seem fairly stable and
averages 3,4% when cycle 2 is exempted. When taking this test, circumstances
were different (as described), so exempting the test seemed justified here.
As the rate of forgetting (Nation 2001:76;Gairns&Redman 1986:89,90) in longterm memorization seems similar independent of presentation and follow-up
activities, initial short-term memorization appears important.
CONCLUSION
It has been suggested (Baker,Simmons&Kameenui www) that a single best
method of vocabulary instruction has not yet been identified.
This research project seems to support this view.
To answer the question of whether different ways of presenting and practising
vocabulary make a difference in long-term receptive memorization, research was
carried out with 25 nine-year-old children at a primary school in Germany.
Vocabulary was presented and practised in various ways in seven cycles. Longterm memorization was measured with two tests per cycle, with field notes and a
questionnaire as means of triangulation.
A clear answer to the question of whether different ways of presenting and
practising vocabulary make a difference in long-term receptive memorization could
not be found. Data seems to confirm that translation and being passive during
presentation are not particularly effective though the various factors mentioned
earlier may have influenced the result. Although test results for other ways of
presentation and practice seem to show a big difference when expressed in
percent, it should be taken into account that only 25 students took part in this
research project and that the difference is not so big when translated into figures.
Thus it might be concluded that there is a difference between translation plus
activities that do not require a wide range of skills and other presentation plus
activities that require a wider range of skills. However, the results for other ways of
presentation are not distinct enough to enable a clear statement whether these
make a difference in long-term receptive memorization.
REFERENCES
Books
Aitchinson, J. (1994) A Real Live Talking Machine, Jet, 4 (2), 6-7.
Brewster,J., Ellis, G. and Girard,D. (1991) The Primary English Teachers Guide.
London: Penguin Books Ltd.
Brown, H.D. (2000) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 4th ed.
White Plains/USA: Addison Wesley Longman.
Cameron, L. (1993) Lexis and Young Learners. English Studies 11, 14-18.
Cameron, L. (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge:Cambridge University
Press.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education.5th edition.
Routledge Falmer: London.
Donaldson, M. (1978) Childrens Minds. London: Fontana.
Ellis, R. (1985) Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford University Press: Oxford.
Faber,P. and Linares, C. (2001) Design of a Corpus-based Vocabulary for Teaching
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English in the Primary School. In M.J. Raya, P. Faber, W. Gewehr and A.J. Peck (eds) Effective
Foreign Language Teaching at the Primary Level (pp. 17-24). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Fisher, R. (1995) Teaching Children to Learn. Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
Gairns, R. and Redman, S (1986) Working with Words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Garvie, E. (1990) Story as Vehicle. Multilingual Matters Ltd: Clevedon.
Hughes, A. (2001) The Teaching of Languages to Young Learners: LinkingUnderstanding and
Principles with Practice. In M.J. Raya, P. Faber,
W. Gewehr and A.J. Peck (eds) Effective Foreign Language Teachingat the Primary Level (pp. 1724). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
Lightbown, P.M. and Spada, N. (1999) How Languages are Learned. Revised edition. Oxford
University Press: Oxford.
Low, G. (2002) Session on Questionnaires. Presented at the MA TEYL course,York, 8 - 19 July
2002.
Nation, I.S.P. (2001) Learning Vocabulary in Another Language. Cambridge:Cambridge University
Press.
Newton (2001) Options for vocabulary learning through communication tasks. ELT Journal 55/1
(30-37).
Nunan, D. (1998) Language Teaching Methodology. Edinburgh: PearsonEducation Limited.
Richards, J. and Lockhart, C. (1996) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms.
Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
Rixon, S. (1992) English and other languages for children: practice and theoryin a rapidly changing
world, Language Teaching (73-93).
Szpotowicz, M. (2000) Young Learners: How Do They Remember Vocabulary?
In J. Moon and M. Nikolov (eds) Research into Teaching English to YoungLearners (360-372).
Pcs: University Press Pcs.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society. London: Harvard University Press.
Williams, M. and Burden, R.L. (1997) Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge University
Press: Cambridge.
Williams, M. (1991) A Framework for Teaching English to Young Learners. In C. Brumfit, J. Moon
and R.Tongue (eds) Teaching English to Children From Practice to Principle (pp 202-212).
London: Longman.
Websites
Baker, S.K., Simmons, D.C. & Kameenui, E.J.: Vocabulary Acquisition: Curricular
and Instructional Implications for Diverse Learners.
http://idea.uoregon.edu/~ncite/documents/techrep/tech14.html Accessed on June 22, 2003
Elley, W. B.: In Praise of Incidental Learning: Lessons from Some Empirical
Findings on Language Acquisition.http://cela.albany.edu/inpraise/main.html
Accessed on June 27, 2003
Osborn, J.H. & Armbruster, B.B.: Vocabulary Acquisition: Direct Teaching and
Indirect Learning.
http://www.c-b-e.org/be/iss0111/a2osborn.htm
Accessed on June 22, 2003
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
Appendix 1
List of Cycles, Topics, Presentations and Activities
CYCLE/TOPIC
PRESENTATION
ACTIVITIES
CYCLE 1:
Adjectives
Translation
German
equivalent
CYCLE 2:
Farm Animals
Book:
"Busy Farm"
by Ross&Bel
a) read aloud
b) put animals
in order of
appearance
Matching
pictures - words
- Word Bingo
- Jumbled words
- Letter to Santa
- Compare differences Christmas in
have?
CYCLE 3:
Wild Animals
CYCLE 4:
Christmas
England
to Christmas in Germany
- Songs: "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer";
"Father Christmas, He Got Stuck"
CYCLE 5:
Fruit &
Vegetables
Songs:
"Old MacDonald had a
shop";
adapted version of
"Eggs and Bacon"
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
CYCLE 6:
Food
writer
- Various Crosswords (clues = pictures)
- Jumbled words
- Role play: Shopkeepers order for
their shops from abroad; persons from
abroad deliver themselves; checked by
shopkeepers
CYCLE 7:
Body
body
Game
"Simon Says"
Appendix 2
REFERENCES: COMMERCIAL MATERIALS USED IN THE CYCLES
CYCLE 2:
- Ross, M. and Bell, E. Busy Farm. Ladybird: London.
(No year stated)
- Song: "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", page 64, in:
Matterson, Elizabeth (1991) This Little Puffin. Penguin: London.
CYCLE 3:
- Martin Jr., B. and Carle, E. (1991) Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
Penguin: London.
- Rhyme: "An Elephant Goes ...", page 279, in:
Matterson, Elizabeth (1991) This Little Puffin. Penguin: London.
CYCLE 4:
- Song: "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer"
CD: Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and other Christmas favourites
Early Learning Centre 1997
- Song: "Father Christmas He Got Stuck", page 75, in:
Matterson, Elizabeth (1991) This Little Puffin. Penguin: London.
CYCLE 5:
- Song: "Eggs and Bacon", adapted, page 125, in:
Matterson, Elizabeth (1991) This Little Puffin. Penguin: London.
- Song: "Old MacDonald Had a Shop", page 131, in:
Matterson, Elizabeth (1991) This Little Puffin. Penguin: London.
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
CYCLE 7:
- Song: "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes"
Tape: Heads, Shoulders, Knees & Toes - 41 All Action Activity Based Songs
Early Learning Centre 1998
Appendix 3
QUESTIONNAIRE (translation)
1. How did you enjoy learning English most?
Write "1" for the most fun, "2" for the second most fun, and so on.
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
APPENDIX 4
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010
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This Material is Copyright Carola von Wippern-Dochat, 2010