Some solutions to inspire grade 3 students at quang minh primary school in their learning english

SAM SON CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUANG MINH PRIMARY SCHOOL

EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE

SOME SOLUTIONS TO INSPIRE GRADE 3 STUDENTS
AT QUANG MINH PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THEIR
LEARNING ENGLISH

Writer: Nguyễn Quỳnh Lê
Position: Teacher
Place of work: Quang Minh primary school
Initiative field: English

SAM SON, 2020


1. Introduction
1.1. Rationale for the research
1.2. Objectives of the research
1.3. Research object
1.4. Research Methodology
2. Main content
2.1. The theorotical background knowledge
2.2. Current situation before applying the initiative
2.2.1. Advantages
2.2.2. Disadvantages
2.3. The solutions applied to solve the problems
2.3.1. The solution of using music in English lessons
2.3.2. The solution of using games in English lessons

2.3.3. The solution of using role-play in English lessons
2.3.4 The solution of using porfolio in English lessons
2.4. The effects of the thesis to teaching activities, individual,
colleagues and schools
3. Conclusion and recommendations
3.1. Conclusion
3.2. Recommendations
Reference
TABLE OF CONTENT

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1.Introduction
1.1. Rationale for the research
Language is one of the most basic aspects of human communiations. This
is the main measure in which people convey what they are thinking about.
Thanks to this specific characteristic, language allows human innovation to
become drammatically developed in many knowledge fields. Therefore, it is
necessary for human generally and children specifically to master one language
as soon as possible, especially English. No one can deny the importance of
English in our daily lives. This is one of the most popular foreign languages and
is spreaded in many schools all over the world. English is considered as the
bridge which can help us to achieve a lot of success as well as opportunities in
studying and working worldwide.
Unlike learning Vietnamese, learning English with variaty of themes
together with speaking requirements will help children become more confident.
The combination of playing and studying gives children the good chance to be
active and alternative students. Moreovere, children can explore more about the
world and connect themselves with others; hence, their language will be
gradually enriched. Therefore, children’s ability in communication will be
developed and they no longer feel embrassed. A child who is fluent in English
can have greater career opportunities in the future, improve their self-esteem and
be enriched with all kinds of personal experiences to be able to communicate
with people from different cultures and countries.


In education system, English is a compulsory subject applied to school
circulicum from Grade 3 to 12. This subject helps to build up and develop
students’ communicative ability through the practice of four skills (listening,

speaking, reading and writing). However, the application of teaching and
studying English in our education system generally and in primary level
specifically still have a lot of challenges. In Quang Minh primary school,
students in Grade 3 are those who experience many dificulties because they are
on the process of getting acquainted to a new language. Children are not able to
systematically grasp language and analyze language in a conscious way.
Moreover, they do not have long-term focus and easily get bored. Therefore, the
teaching method of teachers is the decisive factor, hich is the top priority. In
order to have a good quality English lesson and give students an inspiration
when receiving lessons, the teacher must really have unique, attractive and
innovative teaching methods. To promote the activeness and creativity of
learners, students must be considerd as the subjects of the teaching process with
the help of teacher’s guidance.
With aim to help students in Grade 3 – Quang Minh primary school in the
process of learning English, I have chosen the topic " Some solutions to inspire
Grade 3 students at Quang Minh primary school in their learning English " to
provide some solutions that I myself have and will continue to help change the
learning atmosphere. Therefore, it makes lessons less stressful and easier to
understand and learners can remember and absorb knowledge deeply.
1.2.Objectivesof the res


The thesis focuses on studying the use of techniques and methods of teaching
vocabulary and model sentences for Grade 3 studetns at Quang Minh primary
school through games, music, role-play, portfolios. Accordingly, suggest some
recommendations to improve the use of vocabulary in real situations. Proper and
scientific application of techniques in organizing games during English lessons
in primary school aims to:
- Create students interest in learning as well as arouse their desire to
participate in exploration, discovery and experimentation activities.

- Help students to carry out learning activities in an active way. Give
students the good condition to play and study at the same time; hence, they can
re-create, systematize knowledge in the easiest way.
- Apply appropriately modern teaching methods to the subject to promote
students’ activeness.
1.3. Research object
- Some solutions to inspire Grade 3 students at Quang Minh primary
school in their learning English.
- Study documents and summarize practical experience on using
interactive activities such as games, songs, role-play, porfolio to inspire Grade 3
students at Quang Minh primary school in their learning English
1.4. Research Methodology
The thesis has used several methods as follows:
- Methods of investigation.
- Experimental method.
- Methods of studying language teaching theory.
- Researching methods of teaching words through documents, networks,
on television.
2. Main content
2.1. The theorotical background knowledge
Primary level plays an vital role in the foundation of forming and
developing students’ personality. N.X.Leytex has demonstrated that “Primary
age is the period when children start their knowledge absorption in a natural
way.”Primary students nowadsays has proved to be the main subjective through
their own activities under the organization and guidance of adults through
modern mothods. Therefore, when teaching primary students, teachers have to
concentrate on the way to help them in their learning process. Wrong methods
and techniques will dramatically affect.
English now has been applied to be taught as a basic language in primary
school. It is an isolated language which take students a lot of time to study.

Functioning as other languages, English aims at providing students with
beginning knowledge of a foreign language and helping them to communiate the
second language through English communicative practice of four skills
(listening, speaking, reading and writing). Also, learning English help students
to improve their ability of expressing their individual ideas in a condifent and
creative way.English is of great importance in the current renovation period of


the country, with a great ability to educate and maintain perseverance and
memorization from the thinking processes necessary for access and forming a
new language. Primary English is considered to be the bridge of teaching
English to middle and high school levels, ensuring the integration with relevant
content of other subjects in the elementary program.
In order to help primary students study English well, teacher is not only
the one who teaches knowledge in a mechanic way but they have to inspire
students on studying by engaging them to studying activities. Accordingly, if
organizing interactive activities are applied through warm – up part, they will
help to focus students’ attention on the main points of the lesson. Moreover,
students will have chance to consolidate and memorize knowledge deeply if
teachers apply some interactive activities in practice part. In addition, we can
integrate the use of activities in the introduction and practice of new language to
avoid being boring for students to repeat the sentence patterns to master.
Research and rational use of interactive activities in each lesson will contribute
positively to the success of the lesson. Some of the activities such as games,
music, role-play, portfolios have been widely applied and has given a lot of
benefits.
Obviously, learning is a serious business. Yet that doesn’t mean
students shouldn’t have fun while doing it. In fact, playing games increases
motivation by helping students relax, open up, and get out of their heads
while learning. Games are perfect for practicing vocabulary and targeting

grammar; thus increasing camaraderie through light competition, boosting
energy levels, reducing stress, promoting problem-solving, and buying
more focused lesson time later in the hour. While it’s clear that children
and beginners shine brighter when playing, it’s also true that adults and
advanced learners enjoy competition and lighter moments in class.
Also, using music when teaching English can be beneficial for non-native
English speaking students as well as fluent speakers. In his book "Music and
Learning," Chris Boyd Brewer explains, "The intentional use of music in the
classroom will set the scene and learning atmosphere to enhance our teaching
and learning activities." Implementing the use of familiar or easy-to-learn songs
is a great way to introduce principles of speaking, hearing and understanding the
English language. he function of using songs while teaching English classes is to
engage students in speaking and understanding the English language, while
reinforcing the fundamentals of language and communication. According to an
April 2005 edition of the Translation Journal, "Behaviorists emphasize repetition
of material so that it becomes a natural reaction for the student." As students
repeat lyrics, they begin to understand the meaning of the words until it becomes
a natural act. With this, students can understand the way English is used without
even realizing they are learning.
Moreover, role-play is any speaking activity when you either put yourself
into somebody else's shoes, or when you stay in your own shoes but put yourself
into an imaginary situation! Incorporating role-play into the classroom adds


variety, a change of pace and opportunities for a lot of language production and
also a lot of fun! It can be an integral part of the class and not a 'one-off' event. If
the teacher believes that the activity will work and the necessary support is
provided, it can be very successful. However, if the teacher isn't convinced about
the validity of using role-play the activity "will fall flat on its face just as you
expected it to" (Gillian Porter Ladousse 1987).

In addidtion, teachers can take advantage of portfolios in their teaching
process. Paulson, Paulson, Meyer (1991) defined a portfolio as a purposeful
collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress and
achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student
participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for
judging merit and evidence of student self-reflection." In details, a student
portfolio is a compilation of academic work and other forms of educational
evidence assembled for the purpose of (1) evaluating coursework quality,
learning progress, and academic achievement; (2) determining whether students
have met learning standards or other academic requirements for courses, gradelevel promotion, and graduation; (3) helping students reflect on their academic
goals and progress as learners; and (4) creating a lasting archive of academic
work products, accomplishments, and other documentation. Student portfolios
are most effective when they are used to evaluate student learning progress and
achievement. Portfolios can help teachers monitor and evaluate learning
progress over time. Portfolios help teachers determine whether students can
apply what they have learned to new problems and different subject
areas.Portfolios can encourage students to take more ownership and
responsibility over the learning process.
2.2. Current situation before applying the initiative
2.2.1. Advantages:
+ About the School Managing Board:
The School Managing Board has pay a lot of attention on training
methods, innovating the ways of teaching activities and giving the best
conditions for me to teach English for Grade 3 at Quang Minh primary school.
+ About the teachers:
Personally, I am passinate to my teaching career as a teacher of English.
Although I myself still do not have long time teaching primary students, I am
highly aware of working hard to improve. Also, I often search for related-toEnglish resources from books, magazines and the Internet in order to apply
properly in my teaching career.
Moreover, my colleages at schools always are those who are very

enthusiatic in helping me teaching English. They have good cooperation with
me in my teaching and organizing learning activities. I have good opportunities
to understand my students more and more thanks to their help.
+ About the students:
At Quang Minh primary school, there are only 76 students in Grade 3
which are devided into 3 classes, namely 3A-3B-3C. The number of students in


each class is quite ideal for me to teach English. It brings me a good chance to
observe all students’ activities and assist them if necessary. Although English is
not a familiar subject, most of students show their interest and attention on the
lessons. Many of them have had good chance to get aquaitance to English from
the early age when their parents have sent them to some local English centers.
In order to understand their learning situation, at the beginning of the
school year, I conducted a survey to assess the learning ability of English for
Grade 3 students.
The results are as follows:
Survey results
Good

Total students

76

Average

Poor

Number

Percentage

Number

Percentage

Number

Percentage

5

6,5%

35

46%

36

47,5%

+ About the parents:
Most of the parents show their consideration on their children’s studying
process. They usually spend time discussing with the teacher in order to find the
best direction to help their children in studying.
2.2.2. Disadvantages
+ About the teachers:
My short experience as an English teacher in primary schools prevents me
a lot from reaching the best teaching results.

+ About the students:
Many students do not have chance to get aquainted to English until they
are in Grade 3; consequently, they encounter many challenges in learning the
subject. Many have bad ability of mastering knowledge which affects their
learning process. Some students do not receive enough care from their parents,
from which somehow distracts their studying.
+ About the parents:
Most of the parents are workers who do not have a lot of time taking care
of their children in the learning process. The children usually spend most of the
time with their grandparents which create a lot of difficulties in educating.
Moreover, English is not an easy lesson to be taught by parents who do not good
at it.
2.3. The solutions applied to solve the problems
2.3.1. The solution of using music in English lessons
Using music when teaching English, especially as a second language to
non-native speakers, is a great way to create a friendly, comfortable atmosphere
for students to learn. When students feel at ease and in a safe environment, they
have the potential to better retain information. The nature of the music changes
the act of learning English to the act of experiencing English, which may allow


students to focus on the core principles of the language in a manner unlike
traditional grammar lessons or drills.
2.3.1.1.Warming up
Although all parts of a lesson are important, the engage phase (or warm
up) may be the most important. The engage phase is the departing point of the
lesson, where you need to draw the attention of the students away from other
occurrences of the day and make them focus on learning the English language.
Choosing an activity to grab the students' attention can be a challenge, as it
needs to work within just a few minutes. Through various studies, music has

shown to be an activity which utilizes many parts of the brain at once, and
therefore is a great activity to “jump start” the brain, and get students to focus
more quickly.
There are a variety of different ways to use music in warm-up activity.
The simplest way is just letting students listen to the song that relates to the
theme they are studying. It would be better if teachers provide students with the
lyrics for students to sing as a group.
Example 1:In Unit 1: Hello, teacher can use the song “Hello, how do you
do?” to get students be familiar with the right pronunciation of “Hello” because
this is one of the words being mispronounced the most. Moreover, it is an easy
and simple song that students can remember and sing along easily.
Example 2:In Unit 4: How old are you, in order to supply students with
numbers in an exciting way, teacher can play the song “Ten little Indians”. It
would bring a happy atmostphere before leading to the main lessons. This
activity would become extremely effective if there is a help of projector and
speakers for students to watch the video and sing along.
Example 3: In Unit 6: Stand up, before leading the main lessons of
actions, teacher can show the video of “Stand up, sit down” song. It’s a good
way for students to be familiar with the actions before learning or writing them
down in their notebooks.
Together with listening and singing along, music can be used as the best
way of dancing which is considered as an efficient way of warming the lessons
up. There are a lot of songs that can really help in this situations. Songs with
some simple actions that students can easily dance will really give the lessons
the efficient beginning. Some of suggested songs for dancing can be “Baby
shark; Ram Sam Sam; Walking walking; Apples and Bananas; Walking
Walking,” ….
2.3.1.2. Introducing new lesson
The teacher can use music before they introduce students with new words
or model sentences. There are two steps that need to be considered as follows:

+ Preparation: Teachers choose English songs related to the topic that
students will learn.
+ Procedure: Have students listen to the songs depending on the theme of
each lesson, ask students to discuss and guess the content of the song. After the


students speak, the teacher will lead the new lesson. In addition, teachers can use
the song to teach vocabulary and sentence patterns if they appear in the lyrics.
For example:
Name of the
song
Hello, hello, how
are you?

Unit

Theme

Unit 1

Greeting

How old are you?

Unit 4

Numbers

This is my friend

Unit 5

Friends

What’s
this?
What’s that?

Unit 8

School things

I can sing
rainbow

Unit 9

Colours

a

Vocabulary/
Model sentence
How are you? –
I’m fine, thank
you.
One, two, three,
four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine,
ten

How old are you?
This is my friend
Sarah.
Rubber, pencil,
school
bag,
notebook, pencil
case, …
Red, purple, pink,
green,
blue,
yellow,
brown,
black, white.

2.3.1.3. Consolidating knowledge:
+ Preparation: English songs together with papers, crayons and pencils.
+ Procedure: Give each student a piece of paper, pencil and crayons.
When listening to a song, students will write words that are heard in the song on
paper or draw pictures according to the theme they hear. After 40 to 60 seconds
the teacher stops the music, students will stop writing or drawing to check. The
teacher can show the song to students to correct the words or give students a
description of the picture they paint.
Example: Tell the students to listen to the song "What’s in your bag?".
Give students time to listen to the song and draw school things that they have
heard from it. Teacher can introduce some new words from the song after
checking up students’ drawing papers.


What’s in your bag? – It’s my pencil.

What’s in your bag? – It’s my notebook.
What’s in your bag? – It’s my pet snake.
What’s in your bag? – It’s my ruler.
What’s in your bag? – It’s my earser.
What’s in your bag? – It’s my pet spider.
What’s in your bag? – It’s my pencil case.
What’s in your bag? – It’s my pet dinosaur.
2.3.1.4.Considersations
For best results in using music in English lessons, teachers may want to
consider using songs that are easy to learn and follow. "Silly" songs that contain
easy to remember lyrics are often easy for students to process and understand. If
using songs to teach English to non-native speakers, it may be beneficial to
translate songs that may be familiar to students into English and perform as a
class if possible. The subject matter of the songs should generally be relatable to
the student, and if possible, address real-life situations.
2.3.2. The solution of using games in English lessons
Games help students to make and sustain the effort of learning. Games
provide language practice in the various skills- speaking, writing, listening and
reading. They encourage students to interact and communicate. They create a
meaningful context for language use. The use of game is definitely benificial in
introducing new lesson or consolidating knowledge.
2.3.2.1.Solution to use games to expand and reinforce vocabulary
There are numerous techniques concerned with vocabulary presentation.
However, there are a few things that have to be remembered irrespective of the
way new lexical items are presented. If teachers want students to remember new
vocabulary better, it needs to be learnt in context, practiced, and then revised to
prevent students from forgetting. Teachers must make sure students have
understood the new words, which will be remembered better if introduced in a
‘memorable way’. Accordingly, using games is one of the effective ways of
vocabulary presentation.

Example 1: In Unit 4: How old are you?, the teacher can use the game
“Slap the board”. In this game, the teacher put the vocabulary items (numbers:
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten) on the board in any order jumbled and sometimes a little bit higher than the tallest child can reach, so that
they'll have to jump. Then divide the class into groups. The teacher say a word,
the first person in each group to slap the right word gets a point. In the orther
way, the teacher doesn't have to call out the English word, get other kids to call
out so they're getting practice speaking too.
SLAP THE BOARD GAME


THREE

NINE
FOUR

EIGHT

ONE
TEN

FIVE

SIX
TWO
SEVEN

Example 2:In Unit 6: Stand up, Miming can be used as a guessing game
of actions students have learnt (stand up, sit down, open your book, close your
book, be quiet, come here, don’t talk). This wordless activity leads the students
to speak quite naturally. Someone mimes an action and the others try to guess

what it This kind of guessing game can provide further practice of a wider
variety of lexical and grammatical units.

Example 3: In Unit 7: That’s my school, “Bingo”can be used as a good
game for students to practice new words relating school (library, gym,
classroom, playground, music room, computer room, large, new, old, big, small).
In this game, student have to choose 4 words that you like the best in each turn
and write them down on a piece of paper. The teacher also writes down his/her 6
favourite words, then alternately read his/her words. Students listen and check
up if they write the same words that they have heard. Any with all 4 correct
words will say “Bingo” for being the winner. The purpose of this simple game is
giving students an opportunity to write English in a natural and spontaneous way
instead of getting tired writing dictation at home. It’s a good and easy way to
write and remember English vocabulary when students still feel comfortable and
happy.


Example 4: In Unit 10: What do you do at break time, “Choosing game”
can be used for students to recall their memory of sports and games they have
learnt. This is a simple game in which teacher show students with two pictures
of sports and games. Teacher asks students “What do you do at break time?”
and students have to choose only one picture to answer. Then, teacher shows
students with the back of the picture. The one with the sticker behind will be the
chosen. Students with the answer will be the winner.
2.3.2.2. Solution to use games to practice communication skills
For practising speaking skill, “Board game” will be the most efficient one
for student to revise model sentences they have been taught. Preparation for the
game can be various due to the real conditions, namely pictures or words/phrase.
Teacher have to prepare the dice for each group. In turn, they roll the dice that
show them the place they have to make sentences with. The game would be

more interesting if the teacher put some special items such as  for “play
again”,for “move backward”, or  for “move forward”. It would be even more
exciting with the help of the ladder (showing the shorter way to the end). In
more detail, I have prapared a model board game for Unit 10: What do you do at
break time as follows:
(?) What do you do at break time?
Table tennis
Finish

Badminton

Chess
Hide-and-seek

Skate

1



Skip

Volleyball



2
football
Blind man’s bluff

Hide-and-seek
Start

Basketball

For practising listening skill, “Listen and draw” can be an ideal game.
Accordingly, students will listen to the teacher’s sentence or from the CD, then
they draw what they heard on the board. It would be more interesting when
teacher make it a small competition among students. The one with the most
correct drawing will be the winner. For example, In Unit 4: How old are you,
teacher asks student to design a birthday cake with the number of candles that
are spoken by teacher or from the CD. When students hear “I’m seven years
old”, they have to draw seven candles on the birthday day. It requires quick and
accurate thinking of numbers instead of counting from number one.
To design game for Unit 8: This is my pen, teacher can show handouts of
empty school bags in which students have to listen to teacher’s requirements and
draw the school things. Teacher can say sentences like: This is my pencil, This is
my pencil case, These are my books, These are my rulers, etc. Students have
chance to practise plural forms of nouns to draw the right number of school
things. The model school bag given to students will be demonstrate as follows.
This is my school bag

One more game can be used to practise listening skill is “Whisper”. In
this activity, students are divided into groups and they make a line. The first one
of each line will be the only person to be listened to teacher’s sentence. They
then in turn whisper the sentence to their friends in the group. The last person of


the line will say loudly the sentence they have been whisper. The one with the

fastest and most correct answer will become the winner of that turn.

In Unit 9: What colour is it, teacher can prepare handouts of school things
such as pen, pencil, pencil case, rubber, pencil sharpener, school bag,… The
purpose of this game is to help students revise colours. Students will have to
prepare their own crayons to listen to teacher’s sentece and then colour the right
colour. For example, when they hear “My pen is yellow”, students have to
colour the right yellow on the pen.
Unit 4: How old are you?

Unit 9: What colour is it?

For practise reading skill, teacher prepare some reading texts relating to
the topic or just simply use the reading text in the textbook for students to attend
a reading competition. Class will be divided into groups in which they send one
representative for each turn. The person with the fastest time of reading will be
the winner of that turn. Teacher listen, give feedback as well as correct any
pronunciation mistakes.


For practising writing skill, “Words chain” can be used to help students
write down words that they have learnt. The rule is that they have to write new
words beginning with the last letter of the former word. The requirement of this
game is the correct spelling of words. Students have to build up their own
vocabulary to win this game. Example of the typical “Words chain” game is:
hello, orange, elephant, tiger, ruler, red, dining room, music, classroom, mother,
rubber, rhino, open, nurse….
If the teacher want to check students’ ability of writing model sentences,
“Word arranging” can be effectively used. There are a list of sentences which
have been put in the wrong order. Students take turn to write the correct

sentences basing on the given words. All the sentences will be taken from the
knowlegde being given in each lesson. Therefore, this simply game would be the
good one for students to practice model sentences as well as writing skill. The
teacher can make it more interesting by setting points together with the
sentences. The winner and loser will be defined basing on the total points. This
kind of game can be used after each lesson for students to revise the model
sentences as well as after some units for student to consolidate knowledge.
Basing on the results of the game, teacher have the best observation of students’s
learning process; consequently, students would be given help if necessary.Some
of the model sentences demonstrated for the game can be:
a. Mai/ this/ friend/ is/ my/./
b. that/ my/ computer/ is/ room/./
c. that/ Mr/ is/ Loc/?/
d. is/ my/ pencil/ yellow/ case/./
e. rulers/ are/ what/ your/ colour/?/
2.3.2.3. Considersations
There are some important things to consider when using games in the
classroom. First of all, we have to choose suitable games (depending on the
number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic,
and the classroom settings). Also, clear objectives and goals must match the
difficulty level of the game and ability level of the students. Moreover, one big
problem when organising games for students is that teacher hasto control the
class atmosphere defenitely well. The reason for this challege is that kids are
easy to be distracted and noisy. The key of success is when students have
chances to play but under proper attitude. Time division would also be one thing
to be considered for that teacher have to organize proper time for teaching and
playing. If not, all the teaching schedule will be affected.
In order to achieve the best effect of game, teacher have to be wellprepared with a lot of tools. In some cases, handouts and pictures are very
useful. It would be more effective with the help of technology. Projector which
helps to show pictures or sentences under power point software will avoid time

– consumption. Teacher then have more time to teach and design further
interesting activities. The computer connecting Internet can also be very
necessary in the way teacher searches for needed materials using in the games.


2.3.3. The solution of using role-play in English lessons
Role-plays give students the opportunity to demonstrate how to use
English in real life situations and make them focus more on communication than
on grammar. Role plays are used to allow students to practice speaking in a
conversational situation, build confidence and fluency, assess progress, and put
learning into action.
Role-play is possible at elementary levels providing the students have
been thoroughly prepared. Teacher have to try to think through the language the
students will need and make sure this language has been presented. Students
may need the extra support of having the language on the board.
At the beginning level as Grade 3, role-play is simply act out the
dilougues being presented in the text-book. Normally, there will be from one to
four students in each turn. To make it more complicated, teacher ask students to
change the content of the sentences to make their own play. Students have to use
their own body language, gestures, or postures to complete their role in the new
play. From my actual teaching, it seems that students show their interest in roleplay. After some shy moments, they can act out their roles in a condifent and
natural way. This activity really helps in practising model sentences that students
have been taught about. Some of the possible teacher roles are:
Facilitator - students may need new language to be 'fed' in by the teacher.
If rehearsal time is appropriate the feeding in of new language should take place
at this stage.
Spectator - The teacher watches the role-play and offers comments and
advice at the end.
Participant - It is sometimes appropriate to get involved and take part in
the role-play yourself.

For example: In Unit 9: What colour is it - Lesson 1, students are put into
the role of Mai and Nam to talk about their school things and the distance using
“this” and “that’. The simple play would be more exciting and real with the use
of real things in the classroom. Students then have a chance to practice the
model sentences “Is this your…?” and “Is that your…?”. Teacher can use other
school things in stead of “school bag” and “pen” to check students’
understanding of knowledge. This small game can be practice very quick and
efficient with the large contribution of different pairs of students.
In unit 10: What do you do at break time – Lesson 1, three students will
act as Mai, Linda and Phong to perform the dialouge about what they do at
break time. Teacher can instruct students to use their body language to make
their conversation naturally like when they are speaking in Vietnamese. Other
groups can change the sports and games to make their own conversations. Time
will be set for students’ dicussion of changing. This activity allows students to
apply vocabulary they have learnt in the new context apart from the textbook.
Also, it show students’ creativity and activeness in the way the act in the simple
play.
2.3.4. The solution of using porfolio in English lessons


2.3.4.1. Steps of making a portfolio
We can use portfolios as a tool to document and demonstrate student
progress over time. Each section of the portfolio should be designed to
demonstrate a child’s progress with the early learning goals or standards
identified by the program. They can be used as tools to demonstrate each child’s
individual progress from the beginning to the end of the school year. Students
can design the content of their own portfolios after each lesson or when they are
given by their teacher.
For academic aspect, portfolios contains a lot of works. However, I just
make use of them as a tool of revising vocabulary, model and sentence and

writing skill. There is a cover page that shows the basic information of the
student. The model cover page designed by the teacher has been demonstrated in
the appendix. Grade 3’s portfolios will contain a lot of units from students’
textbooks in which they design 2 main pages each unit. The first page consists of
colored drawings or printables together with vocabulary that are taught in the
unit. This page is considered as a mini picture dictionary for children can recall
their knowledge and spelling of vocabulary they have been provided with. This
page also show students’ creativiness and activeness when they can design
relating words in their own way. Thus, portfolios are unique among students.
They can freely impress others through their own papers. In the second page,
students note down model sentence they have learned with the demonstration of
some examples. They then write a small writing paper basing on the topic they
have been taught in the topic.
For example, to demonstrate how students make their portfolios for unit
4: How old are you, teacher instruct them to design their 2 pages. In the first
page, student draw things relating to numbers from 1-10. Things drawn can be
shapes, flowers, toys, school things, etc. Teacher should suggest some ideas and
let students choose the one that they like the most. The finished first page is
desired to be look like this:

Two

Three

Four

Five

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

One

Six

On the second page, the model sentence in unit 4 will be noted down
together with the typical example. Besides, students are instruct to write a short


paragraph about themselves using the knowledge they have learnt from unit 1-4.
Students with good understanding can be instruct to use more complicated
structures to make their writing paper a better one. The following demonstration
will provide more details about this.
Model sentence:
How old are you?
 I’m ……….years old.
Example:
How old are you?
 I’m eight years old.

Hello. My name is Danny. I’m
eight years old. I’m in Grade 3
at Quang Minh primary school.
My class is 3A. Nice to meet
you!

To make 2 pages of portfolio for Unit 5: Are they your friends, students
also follow the steps that have been instructed by teacher. They can distinguish
friend and friends through their own drawings. The demonstration for this unit
can be in more details as follows.

friend

Model sentence:
Mai, this is my friend Mary.

friends
Hi! My name is Mai. I am nine years
old. I have two friends. This is Linda.
And this is Tony. They are my friends.
Linda is nine years old and Tony is
ten years old.


2.3.4.2. Considersations
The overall purpose of the portfolio is to enable the student to
demonstrate to others learning and progress. The greatest value of portfolios is
that, in building them, students become active participants in the learning
process and its assessment. A portfolio is not just a collection of student work,
but a selection – the student must be involved in choosing and justifying the
pieces to be included.
A portfolio provides samples of the student’s work which show growth
over time. By reflecting on their own learning (self-assessment), students begin
to identify the strengths and weaknesses in their work. These weaknesses then
become improvement goals.

The criteria for selecting and assessing the portfolio contents must be
clear to the teacher and the students at the outset of the process.
Teacher should pay attention to students who get troubles with making
their own portfolio. Encouragements are suggested to help them get in track
with the learning process.
Moreover, portfolios are often given as a project at home and it is
definitely time-comsuming for students have to spend a lot of time drawing,
making model sentences as well as writing. As a result, teacher have to choose
the proper units to set as an assignment at home. Accesment should also be
made continuously to evaluate students’ learning process.
2.4. The effects of the thesis to teaching activities, individual, colleagues
and schools
After using above techniques in my teaching career, I have experienced
some efficient results. Teaching then no longer gives the knowledge in a
traditional way, it becomes more active and interesting instead. As a result,
students have provided with exciting atmosphere without being scared and shy
as they were at the beginning of the term.
After semester 1 of applying English teaching teachniques, I realize that
Grade 3 students who study English that I directly teach have significant
changes and have achieved some remarkable results as shown in the following
table.
Survey results
Total
students

76

Good

Average

Poor

Number

Percentage

Number

Percentage

Number

Percentage

18

23,6%

52

68,4%

6

8%

I myself become more aware of teaching English in a different way to
explore students’ ability and to reach modern methods of teaching. The role of
teacher and student has now been changed as students can actively acquire their

learning process themselves. Teacher then plays the role of assisting and


observing. English new methods are updated day by day and I would become
out-of-date if I did not have good vision of changing.
My colleagues at school also experience some good effects as students
become more active in any activities being given. They become more confident
talking in front of others or making their own speech in a clear way. We also
have good cooperartion in helping students in their learning process.
The above teachniques definitely change students’ attitude in their
learning English. Many of them have shown their excellence of mastering
English who will be chosen to be under futher revision in future examination in
Sam Son city. Although they are only Grade 3 students, they can be trained soon
to be the representatives of our school in the going examinations.
3. Conclusions and recommendations
3.1. Conclusion
Although the English language doesn’t have the largest number of native
speakers in the world, it has the widest reach of any language spoken today.
Both native and second-language speakers of English are found on every
continent, and English has become the lingua franca in many fields, including
business, politics, science, technology, and entertainment. It is also the mostused language of the internet, accounting for more than half of all websites. For
many people, learning English is a way to get access to a broader range of
information, connections, and opportunities. In Vietnam, English has been
obligatorily applied into school circulicum from Grade 3. However, in order to
improve English teaching quality in primary level, it is a need that teachers have
to change their teaching methods to inspire students in their learning process. In
my experience, the use of games, role-play, music and portfolios in teaching
English has been very efficient. Students feel excited when they have been
taught English in an interactive and active way.
3.2. Recommendations

In order to maximize the results of teaching and learning English in
elementary school, I have some suggestions as follows:
For Sam Son city Devision of Education and Training, training teachers
basing certain topic would be suggested with the instruction of experts in
English. Moreover, teaching experience would be improved through attending
lessons from school to school.
For teachers at Quang Minh primary school, it is suggested that they
should continue to write their own initiative for improving students’ learning
process. Moreover, they should fully participate in meetings organized by the
department in order to gain experiences in teaching career.
For Quang Minh primary school, modern tools such as projector, TV,
speakers and laptops should be invested to assist learning and teaching process;
accordingly, achieve the best learning results. It would be greater if there are a
media room which is used only for learning English.


For students’ parents, they are advised to pay more attention on their
children’s learning process. Discussion to the form teacher or the English
teacher will really help to improve the cooperation between family and school.
The above-mentioned issues are only subjective opinions of myself, so
certain limitations are unavoidable. I look forward to receiving suggestions from
colleagues and comments from superiors to make this topic more and more
complete.
XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG
ĐƠN VỊ
Hiệu trưởng

Sầm Sơn, ngày12 tháng 05 năm 2020
Tôi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN của
mình viết, không sao chép nội dung của

người khác.

Nguyễn Văn Ninh

Nguyễn Quỳnh Lê


Reference
1. N.X.Leytex, Các khả năng trí tuệ và lứa tuổi, NXB Giáo dục, 1971
2. Chris Boyd Brewer, Music and Learning, published by LifeSounds
Educational Services, 2008
3. Gillian Porte Ladousse, Role Play, Oxford, 1987
4.Paulson, Paulson, Meyer , The Practice of English Language Teaching Jeremy Harmer, Longman, 1989
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