Using grammar and vocabulary CHANT to help students improve the speaking skill

TABLE OF CONTENT
A. INTRODUCTION

Page

I. Reason for choosing topic................................................................................................................ 2
II. Purpose of the study........................................................................................................................... 3
III. Objectives of the study.................................................................................................................... 3
IV. Research Methodology.................................................................................................................... 3
B. CONTENT
I. The theoretical basic…………………………………………………………….3
II. The real situation ………………………………………………….. …………..4
III. Solutions ……………………………………………………………………….7
IV. Effectiveness of the initiative for educational activities, individuals, colleagues
and schools……………………………………………………………………….13

C. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5. Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................. 14
6. Recommendation............................................................................................. …......................15
D. REFERENCES........................................................................ ….......................................15

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A. INTRODUCTION
I. THE REASONS FOR CHOOSING TOPIC.
English was originally the language of England, but through the historical
efforts of the British Empire it has become the primary or secondary language of
many former British colonies such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and India.
Currently, English is the primary language of not only countries actively touched by
British imperialism, but also many business and cultural spheres dominated by those

countries. It is the language of Hollywood and the language of international banking
and business. As such, it is a useful and even necessary language to know.
Besides that English is also essential to the field of education. In many
countries, children are taught and encouraged to learn English as a second language.
Even in countries where it is not an official language, such as the Netherlands or
Sweden, we will find many syllabi in science and engineering are written in English.
Because it is the dominant language in the sciences, most of the research and studies
you find in any given scientific field will be written in it as well. At the university
level, students in many countries study almost all their subjects in English in order to
make the material more accessible to international students.
In Vietnam nowadays, English has become a compulsory subject at schools,
universities as well as technical schools. However, it seems that teaching and learning
English at many secondary schools in Vietnam is not very effective. One of the most
important reasons is unsuitable methods in teaching and learning. The teachers of
English often meet difficulties in approaching new methods of teaching foreign
languages communicatively. Especially, How to teach Speaking Skill effectively is
also the problem which they often meet. Recognizing the importance of doing this,
I’ve chosen this topic in the hope of finding out some useful measures in organising
suitable activities in the class.
Therefore, in the limitation of a small study I am really great at the thought of
giving my opinion about “using grammar and vocabulary CHANTS to help
students improve the speaking skill”.
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II. PURPOSES OF THE STUDY
Objective of implement the innovation in teaching methods in English for
junior high school is to train skills, form the capacity and quality of students.
III. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
I undertake this project to introduce innovative teaching methods that are oriented

towards the development of English proficiency skills for students in secondary
schools.
IV. RESEARCH METHODS
1. Research methods to build theoretical basis
Find, read and study the theory of competency, how to form the capacity and
the competencies that need to be created for students.
Collect and study materials on active teaching methods that are oriented
towards the development of student competencies.
2. Method of investigation, field survey, information collection
Carry out going to the class for teaching to compare the effectiveness of
methods; create test forms before, during and after implementation of methods;
exchange and collect peer feedback, student opinions.
3. Statistical methods, data processing
Make a statistical table about the number of students scoring average, weak,
good and fairly before and after implementing innovative teaching methods, calculate
the percentage of each type.

B. CONTENT
I. THEORETICAL BASIC
The Education Development Strategy for 2011-2020, issued in conjunction
with Decision No. 711 / QD-TTg dated 13 June 2012 of the Prime Minister, also
states: "Continuing to renovate teaching methods and evaluate learning results,
training in the direction of promoting positive, self-conscious, active, creative and
self-learning ability of learners.
The above-mentioned viewpoints and orientations create the premise, basis and
legal environment which are conducive to the renewal of general education in general
and synchronous renovation of teaching methods in the orientation of developing the
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pupils' English speaking skill in secondary school in particular. And grammar and
vocabulary CHANT is a useful solution to help students improve speaking skill.
- Chants use natural spoken English: Students don’t force in grammar even
though they are learning grammar.
- Chants can be used in classes of any size: We can have difficulties in
teaching and learning language in a big-size class. However, with chants we can
consolve this problem.
- Chants don’t require any special materials: People can think that this method
is old or not; however, every people can learn English or other languages effectively
with chants without modern items such as: computers, projectors, E-Pens, cordless
headsets, so on.
- Chants can be used with all age groups: Using chants to learn English like
reading idioms or poems, so it is suitable for people of all age.
- Chants do not require musical ability: Chant means put words or sentences in
music; however, it is only in rhythm. Once someone who is better at Chants, they can
practise with Jazz Chants, the better level of chants.
II. THE REAL SITUATION BEFORE APPLYING THE EXPERIENCE
INITIATIVE
1. Problems with speaking.
Brown (1994: 256) points out the characteristics of spoken language that make
speaking skills difficult as follows:
- Clusterings: In order to speak fluently, speakers have to select from their store of
language clusterings, that is groups of words, not word by word.
- Reduced forms: Contructions, elisions, reduced vowels, ect. Create difficulties in
teaching and learning spoken English. If learners do not learn colloquial contractions,
they can develop the kind of speaking that is stilted, bookish.
- Colloquial language: Colloquialism appears both in monologues and dialogues. If
learners are only exposed to standard English and/or “textbook” language, they
sometimes find it hard to understand and produce words, idioms and phrases of
colloquial language.

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- Stress, rthym and intonation: Learners of English often find it difficult to produce
English words, to stress the right syllables, to follow the stress-times rthym and
intonation patterns of spoken English.
- Affective factors: Learners learning to speak often encounter the risk of saying out
things that may be wrong, stupid and incomprehensible. At those times, they tend to
be anxious because they do not want to be jugded by other learners.
- Interaction: The greatest difficulty that learners face in learning to speak originates
from the interactive natural of most communication. Engages in process of
negatiation of meaning with many discourse constraints, learners have to do the
complex task of choosing what to say, how to say, when to speak, ect. Learners are
affected by their interlocutors’ performance.
2. Problems with speaking activities.
Classroom activities that develop learners’ ability to express themselves
through speech is an important component of a language course where CLT is
applied. However, it is more difficult to design and administer such activities than to
do so for listening, reading or writing. Teachers, in fact, often come across the
problems that Ur (1996: 121) lists out:
- Worries: Unlike reading, writing or listening activities speaking requires some
degree od real-time exposure to an audience. The student speaker has to face the
teacher and other students in class. Learners are often worried about trying to says
something in a foreign language in the classroom because they are worried about
making mistakes, afraid of criticism or losing face, or simply shy of the attention that
their speech attracts.
- Nothing to say: Teachers often hear learners, even if they are not worried or
nervous, complain that they can not have anything to say. They may have no motivate
to express themselves beyond the guilty feeling that they should speak. When they
say something in class, they feel that they are forced to say.

- Uneven or low participation: Unusually, there are many students in one class
(between 25 and 35 students). Only one student can talk at a time in a large group.
This means that each one has only very little time for talking. This problem is
compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate the group, while others
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speak very little or not at all. In some cases some students haven’t got any chance,
intentionally and unintentionally, to speak for a long time.
- Mother-tongue use: When all, or a number of the learners share the same mother
tongue, they may tend to use it frequently. This happens because the native language
is easier to use and because they feel unnatural to speak to one another in a foreign
language and become learners feel less “exposed” if they are speaking in a small
group, it can be quite difficult to get some classes, particularly the less disciplined or
motivated ones, to keep to the target language.
- Teacher domination: Teaching a crowded class, many teachers tend to spend much
time explaining words, phrases and grammar structures in details for fear that
otherwise the students can not understand and fail in their tests. During explanation,
teacher find it easier and less time consuming to use the mother tongue. Another
important thing is that the teachers seem more interested in individual work (between
teacher and one student or the whole group, or one student and another student or the
whole group). They fear that other kinds of student grouping (pair work and group
work) may cause noise or discipline problems.
Through these facts that students have difficulties in speaking English inside
and outside classrooms.
Survey results for students in class 6A, 7A in capacity in Thach Thanh
Boarding school:
Class
6A
7A

Total

Student
30
29
59

Good
No
%
4
13.3
3
10.3
7
11.9

Fair
No
%
10 33.3
8
27.6
18 30.5

Poor
No
%
14 46.7
15 51.7

29 49.1

Fail
No
%
3
7.1
6
12.5
9
15.2

Unsatis
No
%
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

With the request of real life, our country's education is moving from contentbased education to learner-centered approach, which means that we focus on what
students do through learning process more than what they get.
Jazz chants , according to Carolyn Graham, are snappy, unbeat chants and
poems that use jazz rhythms to illustrate the natural stress and intonation patterns of
conversational American English (from Oxford University Press). We can understand 6


more that Jazz chants are based on a combination of repetition and learned response.

Jazz chants set everyday situational English to strong rhythms that give the user
practice with pronunciation, stress and the patterns of English. The rhythm is the
glue that holds the chant together and you find that the language “sticks” in your
head and so aids learning.
A (jazz) chant has a three (four)-beat rhythm: 1, 2, 3 (, 4). Each beat will be
either a tressed word (or syllable) or clap (tap or pause). The first beat is the first
stress word, which may not be the first word.
Example 1: Do you mind if I bo rrow your ru ler ?
1
2
Example 2: Hi, my name is Ba.
1

2

3 (clap = 4)

3 (clap = 4)

Example 3: Do you like this? (clap) Yes, I do.
1

2

3

4

(Audio 1)
For native English speakers, stress is key to meaning. It’s what we listen for to

know what’s important and what to focus on. Therefore, jazz chants are a fun,
practical way to help students begin to notice and produce natural rhythm.
III. SOLUTIONS
1. Chants in practising vocabulary.
- To consolve the problems in daily spoken English, we can use chants in teaching
how to pronounce vocabulary correctly, fluently and naturally, and in every lesson we
can do this. And obviously, we have to focus on word stress.
Example 1: English 6. Unit 1: Lesson 2 (page 8)
English physics
1
2
homework judo

history
3
school lunch
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1
2
3
exercise vocabulary football
1
2
3
lessons music
science
1
2

3
(Audio 2)
Example 2: English 7. Unit 2: Lesson 2 (page 18)
headache
sore throat
cough
1
2
3
headache
sore throat
headache
sore throat
cough
1
2
1
2
3
temperature
stomachache
flu
1
2
3
temperature
stomachache
temperature
stomachache
flu

1
2
1
2
3
earache
tired
sick
1
2
3
earache
tired
earache
tired
weak
1
2
1
2
3
(Audio 3)
Example 3: English 8. Unit 3: Lesson 2 (page 28 )
major
opposite
minor
1
2
3
simple

opposite
complicated
1
2
3
traditional
opposite
modern
1
2
3
spoken
opposite
written
1
2
3
(Audio 4)
- In addition to these, we can use chant technique to teach the past form of the
irregular verbs. For example:
I do, last night I did

I sell, last night I sold

I hide, last week I hid

I tell, last week I told

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I get, last month I got.

I think, last month I thought

I forget, but I forgot

I write, but I wrote

I buy, last night I bought

I choose, last night I chose

I bring, last week I brought

I freeze, last week I froze

I ring, last month I rang

I keep, last month I kept
I sleep, but I slept

I sing, but I sang
(Audio 5)

- We can make our own chants; however, the language should be real, useful and
appropriate for the level. First of all, have students make a list of vocabulary words
from a lesson we’ve done. Then, ask them to arrange them according to the number
of syllables per word: It should be in order: a two syllable, a three syllable and a one
syllable word.

Example:
pencil eraser chair
1
2
pencil eraser
1

3 (clap = 4)
chair

2

3

pencil eraser pencil eraser
1

2

3

4

pencil eraser chair
1

2

3

(Audio 6)
- We can make it more complex by adding adjectives to the chants.
Example:
purple pencil pink eraser
1234
purple pencil pink eraser
1

2

3

4

purple pencil pink eraser
1

2

3

4
9


yellow chair yellow chair
1

2

3

4

(Audio 7)
By doing this regularly, English learners will not have difficulty in producing
English words, to stress the right syllables, to follow the stress-times rthym and
intonation patterns of spoken English. Moreover, through doing this activity, learning
new words or practising vocabulary of students will be able to be easier without
pressure. Besides, students can practise new words anytime, anywhere.
2. Chants in learning grammar.
Traditionally, when we learn structures or tenses, we often have to try to write as
much as possible to learn by heart these and this work often makes us feel passive.
Therefore, instead of writing the structures of the tenses or structures we can chant
the sentences and of course we have to focus on the stress of sentences:
- Content words are usually stressed: nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
demonstratives (this, these, those) and negatives (can’t, won’t, never, no, etc.).
- Function words are usually unstressed and reduced: a, an, the, pronouns,
auxiliary verbs, most prepositions, etc.
- In unstressed words and in unstressed syllables, the vowel sounds are reduced
and often move to “schwa”:
“Do you like it?” do and you are reduced.
- Typically the last content word in each thought group receives the most stress:
I put the groceries/ in the bag / on the counter.
Here are some examples:
a)

I play bad minton everyday.
1
2

3
(clap = 4)
I don’t play soccer.
1
2
3
(clap = 4)
Do you play so ccer? Yes, I do.
1
2
3
4
Do you play bad minton? No, I
1
2
3

don’t.
4
10


(Audio 8)
b)

What do you wear on your head? A hat.
1
2
3
4

What do you wear on your hands? Gloves.
1
2
3
4
What do you wear on your feet? Socks.
1
2
3
4

(Audio 9)
c)
Kids play ball.
1
23 (clap = 4)
The kids play ball.
123
The kids are play ing ball.
1
2
3
The kids are play ing with the ball.
1
2
3
The kids have been play ing with the ball.
1
2
3

(Audio 10)
d) To learn and practise the structure:
S + be + good at + V-ing / N
We can say:
I am good at swim ming
12
He is good at swim ming
3
4
Are you good at swim ming? Yes, I’m good.
1
2
3
4
Is she good at swim ming? No, she isn’t.
1
2
3
4
(Audio 11)
e) To learn and practise the structure:
S + spend + time + V-ing + N
We can say:
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I spend half an hour doing the house work everyday.
1
2
3

4
I spend three hours doing my home work everynight.
1
2
3
4
My little brother spends the whole day play ing.
1
2
3
4
He spends no time doing the house work everyday.
1
2
3
4
(Audio 12)
3. Chants in practising speaking in communication situations.
- Jazz chants can provide students with useful “chunks” of language expressions
they learn as a whole rather than word-by-word. How do you spell “dog”? gives
student a “template” for asking how to spell a word.
- Try beating out the rhythm by marching. You can have students march in a circle
as they chant. It gets the rhythm of English into their bodies. (It’s specially great for
kinesthetic learners.)
Example 1:
How do you spell dog? ( clap, tap , or snap)
1
2
3
4

d-o-g ( clap / tap)
1 23 4
How do you spell cat? (clap/tap)
1
2
3
4
c-a-t (clap/tap)
123
4
How do you spell octopus? (clap/tap)
1
2
3
4
Don’t ask me! (clap/tap)
1
2 3
4
(Audio 13)
Example 2:
Do you mind if I bo rrow your book?
1

2

3

(clap = 4)

Be cause I left mine at home.
1
2
3
12


Yes, I do mind. Yes, I do mind.
1
2 3
4
Clap clap clap clap
1
2
3
4
Now, I don’t have to go home.
1
2
3
(Audio 14)
Example 3:
Where’s Jack? He’s not here.
1

2

3

4

Where did he go? I don’t know.
1
2
3
4
Where’s Mary? She’s not here.
1

2

3

4

Where did she go? I don’t know.
1

2

3

4

Where are Sue and Bobby? They’re not here.
1
2
Where did they go? I don’t know.
1

2

3

3

4

4

Where’s Mr. Brown? He’s over there.
1

2

3

(clap = 4)

Where? Over there, asleep in the chair.
1

2

3

4

(Audio 15)
IV. Effectiveness of the initiative for educational activities, individuals,

colleagues and schools
1. Overall results
Based on the teaching methodology of English subjects, after applying the
theme of "Use grammar and vocabulary chants to help students improve the
speaking skill" in classes 6A, 7A I have obtained the following results:
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- During the lesson, the students are excited, enthusiastic, focused on learning
and eager to participate in the speech.
- Attract students' attention to learning activities in the highest way
- They have the ability to promote their positive and active learning
- Development of logical thinking - creativity of students.
- Students know the knowledge in a natural way, excited, deep understanding,
long remember the knowledge learned.
- Students are more brave, no longer embarrassed, anxiety when entering
school
- Students use English to communicate more, more naturally when presenting.
- The students who are quite good at the ability use the language in the
direction of comprehensively.
The topic is implemented regularly in where I teach, the results are very
positive. Throughout the teaching process, the subject teachers assessed the
experience that the subject mentioned above is very practical and effective.
* Student competencies have improved significantly, namely:
2. After implementing the topic:
Survey throughout the teaching process and special end of the year.
Class

Student

6A
7A
Tổng

30
29
59

Good
No
%
8
27.0
9
31.0
17
29.0

Fair
No
%
14 46.7
11 38.0
25 42.4

Poor
No
%
7
23.3

6
20.7
13 22.0

Fail
No
%
1
3.3
3
10.3
4
6.8

Unsatis
No
%
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0

C. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
I. CONCLUSION:
The innovation of teaching methods based on developing students' ability in
English in secondary school is very necessary to meet the objectives in the project
"Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system for the
period 2008-2020 ". The innovation of teaching methods contributes significantly to

the fundamental renewal of the education and training sector, meets the practical
requirements.
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II. RECOMMENDATIONS.
1. For Thanh Hoa Department of Education and Training
The training of teachers on the subject of the renovation of textbooks needs to
be organized more regularly and more effectively. Besides, it is necessary to provide
reference materials on innovating English teaching methods for secondary school
teachers.
2. For junior high school and teachers.
- Schools need to create the best conditions in terms of time as well as budget
for teachers to study by themselves, study and improve their knowledge in
pedagogical profession, provide a full range of quality teaching equipment such as
computers, speakers, projectors.
- For teachers: the teachers, on the basis of mastering their linguistic and
cultural knowledge, must constantly train their professional refresher skills, pay
special attention to researching and innovating teaching methods according to the set
curriculum based on student capacity development, strengthen the exchange of
experience and learn from each other about teaching methods.
Above are some of my experiences of innovating teaching methods in English
for junior high school with a focus on capacity development. Hopefully, with a little
experience of mine, this topic will be a small contribution to teaching good English;
Students are motivated, active. Although I have made many efforts, the subject is
difficult to avoid the limitations, shortcomings. So I look forward to getting sharing
and contribution ideas from other teachers.
Please respectfully report and thank you!
D. REFERENCES
[1] Graham, C. (2006). Creating Chants and Songs. Oxford: OUP.

[2] Graham, C. (1999). Holiday Jazz Chants. Oxford: OUP.
[3] Graham, C. (1979). Jazz Chants for Children. Oxford: OUP.
[4] Graham, C. (2001). Jazz Chants Old and New. Oxford: OUP.
[5] Murphey, T. (1992). Music and Songs. Oxford: OUP.
[6] O’Grady, W. (2005). How Children Learn Language. Cambridge: CUP.
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CONFIRMATION OF THE PRINCIPAL

Thach Thanh, 25 / 4 / 2018

………………………………………………

I pledge that this is my experience

………………………………………………

writing and there is no plagiarism.

………………………………………………
………………………………………………

THE AUTHOR

………………………………………………
………………………………………………
………………………………………………

Le Minh Thang

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