An action research project on using pictures to encourage 4th graders to participate in speaking activities at a primary school in bac ninh province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

ĐÀO THỊ MẾN

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON USING PICTURES TO
ENCOURAGE 4TH GRADERS TO PARTICIPATE
IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL
IN BAC NINH PROVINCE
(Nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng tranh ảnh nhằm khuyến khích cho học sinh
lớp 4 tại một trường tiểu học ở Bắc Ninh tham gia vào các hoạt động nói)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2020


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

ĐÀO THỊ MẾN

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON USING PICTURES TO
ENCOURAGE 4TH GRADERS TO PARTICIPATE
IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL

IN BAC NINH PROVINCE
(Nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng tranh ảnh nhằm khuyến khích cho học sinh
lớp 4 tại một trường tiểu học ở Bắc Ninh tham gia vào các hoạt động nói)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 8140231.01
Supervisor: Nguyễn Thu Hạnh, PhD.

Hanoi - 2020


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF PROJECT REPORT
I certify my authority of the Study Project Report submitted entitled “An
Action Research Project on Using Pictures to Encourage 4th Graders to
participate in speaking activities at a Primary School in Bac Ninh Province” in
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts.

Hanoi, July 2019
Đào Thị Mến

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to register my profound gratitude to Mrs.
Nguyen Thu Hanh, my respected supervisor, for her invaluable instruction,
contribution and great care to my research.

I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to the teachers
of Department of Post-Graduate Studies who have supplied me with the good
conditions to conduct this thesis and finish this M.A course.
My thanks go to my managers at my school, my colleagues for their
assistance, encouragement during the time I participated in M.A course.
Also, I owe my debt to my colleagues and students who are the subjects of
my thesis for their willingness to answer my talks, questionnaires, and interviews.
Lastly, I am also grateful to my families for their kindly encouragement
during the research‟s finalization.

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ABSTRACT

Teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) encourage students to take a
more active role in the oral activities in the classroom through different strategies.
This study was conducted with the purpose to identify the effectiveness of using
pictures to encourage the student‟s participation in speaking activities. The study
showed that most students at this primary school experienced many difficulties in
speaking English and they were not confident when they spoke or talked to their
friends. To make situation better, an action plan was made, focusing on using
pictures to motivate them actively to participate in speaking English. The subjects
of the study were 32 fourth graders of a primary school in Bac Ninh province. To
that end, action research (AR) was attempted with the use of quantitative and
qualitative methods to determine whether the use of pictures can improve the
students‟ participation in speaking activities in class as well as their attitudes
towards the use of pictures during speaking lessons. The data were collected
through the talks with colleagues, students‟ pre and post-questionnaires, and
interviews. The research was conducted during the first semester of the school year

2016 – 2017.
The findings of the study suggested that through using pictures the fourth graders‟
participation in speaking activities increased because this technique made the lessons
more interesting and attractive.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF PROJECT REPORT .................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... iv
LISTS OF TABLES ................................................................................................. vii
LISTS OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. viii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................1
1. Rationale for the study ............................................................................................1
2. Aims and objectives of the study ............................................................................2
3. Research questions ..................................................................................................2
4. Scope of the study ...................................................................................................2
5. Significance of the study .........................................................................................3
6. Organization of the thesis........................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................5
2.1. Overview of speaking skills .................................................................................5
2.1.1. Definitions of speaking skills ............................................................................5
2.1.2. Types of speaking skills ....................................................................................6
2.1.3. Difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking skills ...........................7
2.1.4. The practice of teaching and learning speaking skills to primary students ......9
2.2. Overview of pictures and their use in speaking lessons ....................................10

2.2.1. Definitions of pictures .....................................................................................10
2.2.2. Types of pictures .............................................................................................11
2.2.3. Benefits of using pictures in teaching language..............................................11
2.2.4. Activities used with pictures to teach speaking skills for children .................13
2.3. Previous studies ..................................................................................................14
Chapter summary ......................................................................................................17
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................................18

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3.1. An overview of action research..........................................................................18
3.2. Research setting .................................................................................................20
3.2.1. The school .......................................................................................................20
3.2.2. Participants ......................................................................................................20
3.2.3. Data collection instruments .............................................................................21
3.2.4. Data analysis ...................................................................................................25
3.2.5. Research procedure .........................................................................................26
Chapter summary ......................................................................................................30
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ......................................................31
4.1. Analysis of the talks with colleagues .................................................................31
4.2. Analysis of personal class observation ..............................................................32
4.3. Analysis of students‟ pre-questionnaire .............................................................33
4.4. Analysis of students‟ post-questionnaire evaluation ..........................................39
4.5. Analysis of the interviews ..................................................................................42
4.6. Discussion ..........................................................................................................44
Chapter summary ......................................................................................................47
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................48
5.1. Conclusion..........................................................................................................48
5.1.1. Effectiveness of using pictures to motivate students to speak ........................48

5.1.2. Students‟ attitudes towards the use of pictures in speaking activities ............49
5.2. Limitations of the research .................................................................................49
5.3. Educational recommendations ...........................................................................50
5.3.1. For the teachers ...............................................................................................50
5.3.2. For the students ...............................................................................................51
5.4. Recommendations for further research ..............................................................51
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................53
APPENDICES............................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX 1: TALKS TO THE COLLEAGUE ....................................................... I
APPENDIX 2: TALKS TO THE COLLEAGUE ...................................................... II

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APPENDIX 3: TALKS TO THE COLLEAGUE .....................................................III
APPENDIX 4: PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS .................................. IV
APPENDIX 5: POST-QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS ............................. VIII
APPENDIX 6: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS ............................... X
APPENDIX 7: LESSON PLAN .............................................................................. XI

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LISTS OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Procedure and duration of conducting questionnaires .............................24
Table 3.2: Procedure of conducting interviews ........................................................25
Table 4.1: Factors causing students‟ low participation .............................................35
Table 4.2: Students‟ frequency of attending speaking activities ..............................37
Table 4.3: Students‟ opinions about speaking activities in the class ........................38

Table 4.4: Students‟ opinions about English speaking activities using pictures ......39
Table 4.5: Students‟ opinions of the benefits of using pictures in English speaking
activities ....................................................................................................................40
Table 4.6: Students‟ own changes after using pictures in speaking activities ..........41

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LISTS OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: Steps in the action research cycle (Kemmis & Mc Taggart, 1998) ........19
Figure 4.1: Students‟ evaluation of the English speaking activities in the classroom......33
Figure 4.2: Students‟ evaluation on their anxiety in English speaking lessons ........34
Figure 4.3: Students‟ interest in learning English speaking skills ............................37

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the research problem and rationale for the study. It then
draws the aims and the objectives of this thesis, along with the research questions.
This is followed by the reason why the research is significant. The scope of this
research is then discussed. The last section indicates the organization of the paper.
1. Rationale for the study
These days, English has been considered as an international language which
facilitates communication between people all over the world. To understand each
other better, it is necessary for each individual to master and use English fluently.
According to Hoàng Văn Vân (2010), the English language, widely known as the
global language, has become popular in Vietnam for some decades. It mostly

becomes a compulsory subject and has been taught almost everywhere in Vietnam
from schools, colleges to universities. The Vietnamese government and the
Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training have been taking a lot of actions in
an ambitious education reform so that by the year 2020 all students will reach B1
level adopting CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
standard after leaving high schools. They are taking a phased approach in which
primary English language teaching plays a very important role.
As a primary English teacher, the researcher finds that in order to study
English as a foreign language and to be successful with it, students must be helped
by the teachers to acquire language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and
writing but most language teachers still follow a traditional and test-oriented
teaching approach. They often concentrate on teaching English vocabulary,
sentence patterns, or sometimes pronunciation so the students do not spend much
time speaking and as a result their participation in speaking activities is low. They
do not feel confident or even afraid of making mistakes when speaking before the
class. Of these four skills, speaking skills need a great support. In her teaching
experience, the researcher has found that one of the aspects that the students really

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need is to encourage them to participate in classroom speaking activities. That is
why in this thesis she wants to find out the factors that affect her students‟ participation
in speaking activities, and help them overcome it through using pictures in teaching
speaking English to motivate them to more participate in speaking activities. And then
she realized the effectiveness of the use of pictures in teaching and learning English as
well as the students‟ attitudes towards of the use of pictures in learning English.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The aim of the study mainly focuses on the application of different types of
pictures in teaching English-speaking skills to 4th graders in classroom speaking

activities. Particularly, the primary purpose of the current study is to explore the
benefits of using pictures in speaking lessons to the researcher‟s students. Besides,
the study investigates these students‟ attitudes towards the use of pictures in
classroom speaking activities.
3. Research questions
For the purpose of the research, the current study had the following questions:
1) To what extent does the use of pictures motivate the 4th grade students to take
part in classroom speaking activities in a Bac Ninh primary school?
2) What are these students’ attitudes towards the use of pictures in English
speaking activities?
4. Scope of the study
Due to time constraint, the length of the thesis and the researcher‟s
knowledge, this study cannot generalize to all kinds of learners and situations. It is
better to generalize to a small size of classroom and for students aged of 10. In
addition, the study is limited to only one class at one primary school in Bac Ninh
province. Therefore, how the other groups of ages respond to the use of pictures in
speaking activities, and how the use of pictures can help them improve speaking
skills are not investigated in this study. Finally, the study focuses on the use of
pictures to motivate students with their speaking skills only, other skills are not the
subjects of the study.

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5. Significance of the study
Theoretically, this study contributes to the knowledge of communicative
teaching, specially teach and learn speaking skills to young learners, the
employment of pictures in promoting students‟ active participation in English
lessons. Practically, the success of the study will help teachers understand more
about students‟ interest and difficulties in classroom speaking activities with the use

of pictures. From that, the teachers can find out the appropriate and stimulating
activities to help students improve their speaking skills.
6. Organization of the thesis
The study is divided into five chapters as follows: the introduction, the
literature review, the research methodology, the findings and discussion, and the
conclusion.
Chapter 1 Introduction reveals the rationale, the aims and objectives of the
study, the scope of the study, the significance and the structure of the study. It
expresses the reasons why the researcher decided to carry out this research. Some
main points related to the research such as research questions, significance of the
research will also be mentioned.
Chapter 2 Literature Review provides the overview of speaking skills and
their types; the practice of teaching and learning English speaking skills to primary
students as well as the general knowledge of pictures such as their definitions, their
types and benefits of using pictures in teaching language. Furthermore, the previous
studies related to the research are included.
Chapter 3 Research Methodology discusses the research-governing
principles and research methods. This section covers the setting and participants of
the research, and the methods of collecting data, the data collection techniques, and
data analysis techniques.
Chapter 4 Finding and Discussion provide a report on the data of the
research.
Chapter 5 Conclusion summarizes what has been studied with suggestions

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for further research. This part also includes limitations of the study.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

The aim of this chapter is to review the literature relevant to the issues under
the study.
2.1. Overview of speaking skills
2.1.1. Definitions of speaking skills
Definition of what speaking is attracted a lot of attention and concern from
researchers. There are several definitions on speaking presented in language
learning methodology. Burns and Joyce (1997) for example, define speaking as an
interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving
and processing information. Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in
which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences,
the physical environment and the purpose for speaking.
Another definition of speaking which comes from Richard (2008, p.19)
states that “speaking” is the delivery of language through the mouth. To speak, we
create sounds using many parts of our body, including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal
chords, tongue, teeth and lips. Speaking includes two forms: formal and informal.
Informal speaking is typically used with family and friends, or people we know
well. Formal speaking occurs in business or academic situations, or when meeting
people for the first time.
Besides, Carter and Nunan (2001) develop the idea that speaking in a second
language involves the developments of a particular type of communication skill. It
has occupied a special position in the history of language teaching, and only in the
last two decades it has begun to emerge as a branch of teaching, learning and testing
in its own right, rarely focusing on the production of spoken discourse.
In Oxford Dictionary of Current English (2009, p.414), speaking is “the
action of conveying information or expressing one‟s thoughts and feelings in
spoken languages”. In terms of language teaching and learning, speaking is

considered as one of the four important language skills including listening, reading,

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speaking and writing to practice and master. In this light, Nunan (2003, p.48) puts it
that “speaking is the productive oral skill. It consists of producing systematic verbal
utterance to convey meaning.”
Brown (1994) also shares the opinions that speaking ability is integrated
closely to writing, and listening. So, in language teaching, it is a great importance to
emphasize the interrelationship of skills. From the above definitions and
explanations of speaking in second language or foreign language learning, the
definition of speaking in this study is summarized as the process of building and
sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a various
context to express ideas, opinions, or feelings to others by using words or sounds of
articulation in order to inform, to persuade, and to entertain.
It is clear that speaking has many definitions. It requires that learners not
only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar,
pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also they understand
when, why, and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic competence) to
express their ideas, thoughts, and feelings in order to exchange information in their
daily lives.
2.1.2. Types of speaking skills
According to Burns and Joyce (1997), students in speaking class must be
exposed to three key items: form-focused speaking, meaning-focused speaking, and
fluency-focused speaking.
2.1.2.1. Form-focused speaking
Form-focused instruction, that is, attention to detail of pronunciation,
grammar, vocabulary, and so on. When learners begin speaking in another
language, their speaking will need to be based on some form-focused learning. An

effective way to start is to base speaking on some useful, simple memorized phrases
and sentences. These may be greetings, simple personal description, and simple
questions and answers. As their proficiency and experience in the language develop,
most of these sentences and phrases may be re-analyzed and incorporated into the

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learner‟s system of knowledge of the language; language use based on
memorization can be the starting point for more creative use of the language.
2.1.2.2. Meaning-focused speaking
Meaning-focused instruction, that is, opportunities to produce meaningful
spoken messages with real communicative purposes. In addition to form-focused
speaking, language learners should be exposed to and given chances to practice and
use meaning-focused communication, in which they must both produce and listen to
meaningful oral communication.
2.1.2.3. Fluency-focused speaking
Fluency in speaking is the aim of many language learners. Signs of fluency
include a reasonably fast speed of speaking and only a small number of pauses and
“ums” or “ers”. These signs indicate that the speaker does not have to spend a lot of
time on searching for the language terms needed to express the message.
In short, when speaking English the students should focus on the form, the
meaning of the sentences and the fluency of utterance of speech. In addition, the
students should pay attention to pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary and use the
reasonable fast speed of speaking to express their ideas, feelings, and thoughts to
the listeners.
2.1.3. Difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking skills
It is a commonly recognized fact that achieving proficiency in foreign
language speaking in classroom conditions is not an easy task. Even advanced
learners often finish a language course with the conviction that they are not

sufficiently prepared for speaking beyond the classroom. This difficulty results
basically due to the students and inadequate frequency of speaking opportunities in
the classroom in comparison to the abundance of natural varieties and genres of oral
communication (Nation & Newton, 2009).
In fact, selecting the most appropriate types of spoken discourse for
classroom practice in a particular language course is a very hard decision which,
unfortunately, hardly ever reflects the natural occurrence and distribution of
communicative situations.

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Other problems that are commonly observed in the language classroom are
related to individual learners' personalities and attitudes to the learning process and
learning speaking in particular. They can be shown as the inhibition which is the
fear of making mistakes, losing face, criticism or shyness. The second thing is that
learners have problems with finding ideas to speak, formulating opinions or relevant
comments. The third one is the low or uneven participation and this is often caused
by the tendency of some learners to dominate in the group. The last one is about the
mother-tongue use which is particularly common in less disciplined or less
motivated classes, learners find it easier or more natural to express themselves in
their native language (Ur, 1995, p.121).
In addition, as many teachers‟ observations indicate the main challenges in
the English as a Foreign Language classroom are to be lack of motivation, students‟
reluctance to speak, and the use of the first language (Nunan, 1993). It implies that
in speaking class, it is not easy to make students speak. Students‟ reluctance to
speak, according to Burns and Joyce survey (1997) may be caused by some factors
such as cultural factors, linguistic factors and/ or psychological factors. In line with
the ideas, Thornbury (2006) explains that the main difficulties the learner-speaker
often faces are the limited skills factors, in which their knowledge is not sufficiently

automated to ensure fluency. As a result of these limitations, there may be also
affective factors such as lack of confidence of self-consciousness, which might
inhibit fluency. When the students do not feel confident to speak, teachers are
supposed to help them build their self-confidence, as Brown (2001, p.63) suggests
that teachers should call on to sustain self-confidence where it already exists and to
build it where it does not. In sum, as teachers, they need to be aware of any
problems that students might face in speaking class.
The fact is that English is used for communication among people in the
world. As an international language, it is necessary for us to learn it. But studying
English as a foreign language is not easy. Therefore, the students should be taught
English from elementary school up to university (Remelan, 1992, p.2). English is

8


divided into four skills which are follows: Listening, Speaking, Reading and
Writing; therefore, speaking is the second skill and has an important role in
communication. Speaking is a part of daily life that everyone should develop in
subtle and detailed language. (Celce-Murica, 2001)
In brief, there are many factors that cause difficulties in teaching and
learning speaking English among English foreign language learners. Some of these
factors are related to the learners themselves and the environment.
2.1.4. The practice of teaching and learning speaking skills to primary students
In real contexts, when enrolling in an oral conversation, speakers of a
language deal with many different things at the same time. For example, they have
to listen to and understand what the other people say, express what they want to say,
wait for their turns, deal with unexpected changes of the topics, and think of
something to say when there appears a long pause in their conversations. Davies
and Pearse (2000) also agree that speakers do not usually have much time to
construct their utterances carefully. In fact, conversations are so complicated for

many learners because they take place in real time and involve various skills. While
learning to speak a foreign language, making mistakes is not avoidable. Therefore,
in the practice of teaching and learning speaking skills to primary students in
classroom, Davies and Pearse (2000) have suggested some implications such as: (1)
Teachers need to create a relaxed atmosphere in classroom context; therefore,
learners are not afraid of speaking in front of the whole class; (2) pair-work and
group-work should be employed in speaking activities as many as possible so that
learners do not have to face with the whole class listening; (3) teachers should
expose learners to naturally pronounced speech as much as possible and to
integrated pronunciation work so that they can learn to pronounce the language
intelligibly and can develop speaking skills; (4) improvement on English fluency
can be developed without any specific language focus in speaking activities. In
addition, it is a crucial thing to avoid any obsession with accuracy during the time
of fluency practice; finally, (5) teachers need to create chances for learners to use

9


previously introduced language; and to accustom learners to combining listening
and speaking in real time and in natural interaction. Davies and Pearse (2000)
emphasize that the best chance for them to do so is to get learners in the general use
of English in the classroom.
In addition, Dunkel (1991), Richards (1983), and Ur (1984) recognize that in
order to speak fluently and accurately foreign language, learners have to face with
many characteristics of spoken language. Such characteristics might be clustering,
redundancy, reduced forms or reductions, performance variables, colloquial
language, rate of delivery, stress, rhythm, intonation, and interaction. However,
Pinter (2006) argues that those characteristics of spoken language make it hard for
learners to become a proficient speaker in a foreign language, especially for
children because they do not have to master all these kinds of things, even in their

mother tongue, when engaging in speaking. In consequence, she suggests that it
would be better if teachers could help their learners with some forms of language
functions.
In short, teachers should employ some implications when teaching English to
younger learners in the classroom for example; they should create a relaxed
atmosphere in classroom in order to make their students not feel afraid of speaking
in front of the class, especially making mistakes. In addition, they should encourage
their students to positively join in their lessons.
2.2. Overview of pictures and their use in speaking lessons
2.2.1. Definitions of pictures
One type of visual instructional media that is going to be used in this
research is pictures. There are several definitions of pictures. The basic one is by
Hornby (2005) in which he defines picture as a painting or drawing or even a
photograph that shows a scene, a person or a thing that has been represented on
paper using a pencil, a pen or paint. In different words, Stevick (1986) identifies
pictures as non-verbal materials that can be useful in teaching English verbal skills.
In addition, Ur (2012) adds picture drawings are commonly used in the textbooks or

10


colored posters or pictures downloaded from the internet.
Pictures which are sometimes called drawings or photographs or images are
often used in designing many books concerning with imagery needs so they are
frequently deceptive with regard to the images that students derive from the same
objective external stimulus. Moreover, pictures are the most obvious type of visual
material for pupils; pictures are useful for designing language tasks such as
describing, interpreting, dictating, and comparing.
2.2.2. Types of pictures
The above definitions about pictures seem to be apparent. It is to have a good

idea to look at different terms of pictures. One of the most interesting and useful
categories of different picture types is suggested by Gerngross and his associates
(2006). They identify pictures as photographs, personal photographs, drawings,
cartoons, visual aids, and artwork. First, photographs are pictures taken form
magazines and newspapers that show us portraits, landscapes, objects or animals.
Personal photographs are pictures of anything that are taken by the teacher or
students. Drawings are pictures of visual materials about artwork or maps. Cartoons
are a set of pictures that make a story; usually we call it picture stories. Visual aids
are all kinds of visual materials that we make for use in classroom such as
flashcards or teachers‟ cards, and artwork used in business like advertisements or
book covers.
In conclusion, there are various types of pictures to be used for language
learning, practicing and organizing. They differ regarding their size, form and
origin, which make them fit for a number of activities depending on their type. For
several reasons they help students remember the words better and understand to
practice and they help the teacher to make the lesson more interesting and
beneficial. The following part concerns the relationship between the use of pictures
and language teaching and learning as well as benefits relating to the use of pictures
in the field of language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of speaking
skills to younger learners.
2.2.3. Benefits of using pictures in teaching language

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The main advantage of a picture is its obvious visibility to learners. Using
pictures can bring benefits to teaching language as they promote learners‟ interest in
acquiring a foreign language. Byrne (1980) states pictures can stimulate the
students‟ discussions and interpretations on the topic. Moore (1982) adds students‟
imagination can be inspired. For example, it is assumed that visual aids in general,

especially pictures and colorful posters, could add attractiveness to the atmosphere
of the classroom. Wright (1989) argues that pictures can motivate students to take
part in speaking activities. On the other hand, Gill (2005) asserts that focusing on
the visual learning styles of English Foreign Language students was critical to their
language acquisition, since these students need the visual stimuli of Power Points,
whiteboards, and printed materials.
Brown (2004) states describing pictures can be an ideal activity to begin the
class because the students focus on content. They are likely to learn new topical or
content vocabulary and grammar through teacher scaffolding during this activity.
Moreover, pictures can be used to enhance student‟s participation and create a
positive attitude towards English. Wright (1989) goes on to say that the use of
pictures can stimulate and motivate students in language learning. Thus, Wright also
states that the use of pictures provides motivation and the nonverbal stimulus helps
students to understand better. Additionally, Wright also proposes that they sponsor,
stimulate, and provide information for writing and speaking activities without the
need for teacher guidance. Thus, from that point of view, pictures represent an
advantage in helping teachers with the learning process. They become important for
the teacher to prepare students for communication, making use of both verbal and
nonverbal sources.
In short, using pictures is one of the techniques in teaching language in
general and teaching speaking English to the primary students in particular. Pictures
can motivate the students to speak as it gains the students‟ interest. The
environment of teaching and learning becomes alive. The students tend to be more

12


active since pictures can provide the necessary concrete experiences and also help
the students integrate prior experiences that make them easier to express their ideas,
feelings and thoughts. By using pictures, the teacher does not need to spend too

much time explaining the teaching materials because the students already
understand the materials. Based on the strengths, teachers can make their lessons
more attractive and interesting to encourage their students to participate actively in
learning speaking English.
2.2.4. Activities used with pictures to teach speaking skills for children
There are many speaking activities which are designed based on the use of
pictures. Here are some useful common activities offered by several scholars.
First, the two common activities suggested by Ur (2012) are picture
description and picture differences. In picture description activities, learners in
groups or in pairs try to speak out as many sentences that describe the picture as
possible. According to Ur (2012), this activity is simple, but it is a surprising
productive activity for learners because it makes learners feel the success of the
activity, or the sense of achievement and satisfaction. In picture differences
activities, learners work in pairs and each of them has a different picture. Without
looking at the other picture, they have to find out as many differences in the two
pictures as possible. According to Ur (2012), this activity requires learners to ask
and answer many of purposeful questions to complete the task.
There are some more activities provided by Pattison (1987); for example,
find the picture, memory tests, spot the difference, split picture stories, and
strange pictures.
Find the picture: the aim of this activity is to ask learners to describe
pictures for identification. Learners can work in groups or in pairs and take turns
to describe the pictures for the others to recognize or to find out the picture they
are talking about.
Memory tests: learners are presented a picture or photograph, they then have
a few minutes to look at the picture or photograph carefully. After that, the pictures

13

are taken away; learners in groups or in pairs are asked to answer some questions
about what they have seen in the pictures.
Spot the difference: this activity asks learners to work in groups or whole
class to name things different between the two pictures or learners may work in
groups to compare and contrast the two pictures.
Split picture stories: the activities ask learners to work in groups or whole
class to put pictures into a story. In other words, they are provided with a picture
story in a wrong order; they then have to exchange ideas and discuss various
possible versions of the story.
Strange pictures: the aim of the story is to engage students in their
imagination to create a story around the picture. Learners can work in groups or
pairs and choose two or more pictures; they then discuss or exchange ideas to make
up a story around the pictures they have chosen.
According to Pattison (1987), all of the activities above are good for
providing learners with meaningful and purposeful practice because the activities
create an information gap in which learners have to interact or exchange ideas or
information to complete the task.
It is undeniable that, activities used with pictures for speaking practice can be
countless. Pictures provide serious language practice and can be invaluable in the
classroom for stimulating discussion and bringing enormous variety to lessons.
They also provide the teacher with a flexible and convenient tool to test many
different things in exams. The picture differences activity makes students more
interested in asking and answering the questions to complete the task.
2.3. Previous studies
Pictures are popular in language teaching. Their usefulness and effectiveness
have been proved in many studies. Research which involves using pictures to teach
English for children are numerous. Followings are some studies and articles on the
employment of pictures in speaking activities:
One of recent studies by Karsono (2014) investigated the employment of

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pictures in improving the speaking ability of the grade eighth – A students of SMP
Negeri 1 Anggana. Thirty-one students involved in a classroom action research
(CAR) design. After the procedures of CAR, i,e. planning, acting, observing and
reflecting, the results showed that the use of pictures had succeeded, to some extent,
to improve students‟ speaking ability and students‟ participation. The students‟
speaking ability were improved as it showed that the number of students which
were classified as good and very good increased from 6,4 % in preliminary study to
83,9% in cycle 1 and reached 100% in cycle 2. That means after the implementation
of using pictures in English speaking activities, the students could improve their
fluency, content, pronunciation and grammar. The average score rose from 66 in
preliminary study, 74 in cycle 1, and 80 in cycle 2. The students‟ participation also
became more and more regular from cycle to cycle. The results of the research
showed that the implementation of using pictures could give an improvement on
students‟ speaking ability and students‟ participation in speaking activities.
In addition, an earlier research by Pešková (2008) aimed at proving the
benefits of the use of pictures in teaching English. Working with three groups of
learners, mainly the lower secondary pupils (namely grade seventh, grade eighth,
and grade ninth of language classes in the secondary school at Blažkova Brno). The
study found that secondary school pupils are the most appropriate with the teaching
of English through pictures. The observations in the research revealed that learning
with pictures provided pupils with a great opportunity to interact with their peers
and expressed themselves to others. The pupils preferred using their mother tongue
to English and usually made noise during the activities, which could be solved by
the fact that the researcher selected appropriate activities and pre-taught some
necessary language items. As a result, the pupils could interact and exchange ideas
with each other in the target language in a more effective way.
Importantly in an article titled “Teaching vocabulary with visual aids”, Lai

(2000) revealed that students responded and expressed differently due to their
different educational and cultural background. Using visual aids (mainly pictures)

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