VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ XUÂN AN ACTION RESEARCH ON USING MUSIC AND ANIMATED
CARTOONS TO TEACH ENGLISH TO PRIMARY STUDENTS
AT DONG HOA PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHIM HOẠT HÌNH
CÓ NHẠC ĐỂ DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC
TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC ĐỒNG HÒA
M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology
Code : 60 14 0111 HANOI – 2014

HANOI – 2014

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CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT
*****
I hereby declare that the thesis entitled: “AN ACTION RESEARCH ON
USING MUSIC AND ANIMATED CARTOONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH
TO PRIMARY STUDENTS AT DONG HOA PRIMARY SCHOOL” represents
my own work for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and
International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that it has not
been previously submitted to this university or any other institutions in
application for admission to a degree, diploma or other qualifications.

Hanoi, 2014
Vu Thi Xuan iii
ABSTRACT

This study aims to examine the application of animated cartoons to teach
English to the third graders at Dong Hoa Primary School. This study is an action
research which consists of four stages: planning, acting, observing, and
reflecting. The subjects of this study are 39 students from class 3B of the
Academic Year 2013 – 2014. The data is collected using the following
instruments: document analysis and questionnaire. The study employs both
qualitative and quantitative method for analyzing the data and obtaining the
results. The results of the research show that the employment of animated
cartoons in teaching can help primary students improve the quality of their
English learning. The students also show their positive reponses toward the
implimentation of animated cartoons in teaching English.

or
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CANDIDATE‟S STATEMENT i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS vi
LIST OF APPENDICES vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale 1
2. The aim of the study and research questions 2
3. The significance of the study 2
4. Scope of the study 3

3.1. Introduction 23
3.2. Analysis of questionnaire 1 23
3.3. Analysis of questionnaire 2 25
3.4. Analysis of questionnaire 3 27
3.5. Findings 28
PART C: CONCLUSION
1. Recapitulation 30
2. Recommendations 30
3. Limitations and suggestion for further study 31
4. Conclusion 31
References 32
Appendices 35

1
PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
English plays an important role nowadays since it is used as a mean of
international communication. Now, in the globalization era all nations need to
communicate with other and English will be their medium of communication.
English has been taught in many countries as a foreign language including Vietnam
where it has officially been taught from secondary school to university. However,
for over ten years now, it has been introduced to primary schools. Especially, since
the 2020 National Foreign Language Project was implemented, it has formally been

improve the quality of teaching, I decide to choose animated cartoons to teach
English to my primary students. The rationale behind choosing animated cartoons
to teach my students rather than other techniques is that animated cartoons contain
humorous characters and colorful and catchy visual presentations accompanied by
enjoyable sound and music. Moreover, young learners are much interested in
watching animated cartoons.
2. The aim of the study and research questions
The main aim of this research is to investigate the employment of animated
cartoons as a medium to teach English at Dong Hoa Primary School and to find out
the attitudes of third-grade students towards learning English by using animated
cartoons.
To fulfill the aim of the study, the following questions are raised:
1. Is the employment of animated cartoons to teach English to the third grader
students at Dong Hoa Primary School effective?
2. What are the attitudes of Dong Hoa third-grade students towards studying
English by using animated cartoons?
3. The significance of the study
It is hoped that this study will benefit both teachers and students. For
teachers, this study will introduce to them a cartoon-based lesson and how to use
cartoons to teach English to young learners. It will bring them a new medium and a
new way of teaching English at primary schools and provide them with some
techniques of using animated cartoons to teach English to their students effectively.

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For students, this study will offer an effective lesson and a fun learning model
which can involve them in the learning process. It will also help them to improve
their proficiency of English.
4. Scope of the study
Given the aim of the study as stated in Section 2, this study will confine itself
to the application of animated cartoons to teach English to the third graders at Dong

Literature Review which offers the theoretical background to the study.
Chapter 2 is the focus of the study which reports the context of teaching
English at Dong Hoa Primary School, identifies the problems and conducts the
action.
Chapter 3 is concerned with data analysis and findings. It provides an
analysis of the data and the interpretation of the results.
Part C is the Conclusion which summarizes what has been studied, makes
some recommendations for textbook writers and primary English teachers, points
out the limitations of the research and makes the suggestion for further study.
The References is the last `part of the thesis, followed by the Appendices. 5
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

and their aptitude. They also prevail to the children‟s ways of learning language,
which, of course, influences the ways of teaching. There should be known and
understood by the teachers to give contribution to improve their quality of teaching
and learning process. In relation to this, Scott and Ytreberg (1999:1) provide some
basic characteristics of the young language learners as follows: (a) Children
sometimes have problems to distinguish the real world from the imaginary world.
(b) When working or playing they like to be accompanied with others. Most of them
do not like to work alone. (c) They use language skills long before they are aware of
them. (d) They love to play and the learning itself can be effective only in case they
are enjoying themselves. (e) They learn by mimics, using gestures and body
movements. The physical world is very important and dominant at all times. (f)
They have a very short attention and concentration span. (g) They do not always
understand the world of adults. (h) Young children are motivated when they are
praised.
According to Harmer (2001:38), young learners have a number of
characteristics: (a) they respond to meaning even if they do not understand the
words; (b) they often learn indirectly then directly; (c) their understanding comes
not just from the explanation, but also from what they see, hear and crucially have a
chance to touch and interact with; (d) they generally display an enthusiasm for
learning and curiosity about the world around them; (e) they have a need for
individual attention and approval from their teacher; (f) they are taken on talking
about themselves and responding well to learning that use themselves and their own
lives as main topic in the classroom; (g) they have limited attention span, unless
activities are extremely engaging making them easily getting bored and losing
interaction after 10 minutes or so.
Based on different views on the nature of children stated above, the main
characteristics of young learners can be summarized as follows:
1. They understand situations more quickly than they understand the language used.
2. They use language skills long before they are aware of them.
3. Their own understanding comes through hands, eyes and ears.

how children think and learn; skills and knowledge in spoken English to conduct

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whole lessons orally; an ability to identify children‟s interests and use them for
language teaching; to be equipped to teach initial literacy in English.
Cameron (2001:1) also maintains that teaching young learners is considerably
different from teaching adults because children are more enthusiastic and lively as
learners. They want to please the teacher rather than their peer group. They will do
the activity even if they do not quite understand why and how. They lose interest
more quickly and are less able to keep themselves. To help the learners in learning
English, Cameron (2001) suggests some useful techniques of teaching such as (a)
making learning English enjoyable and fun; (b) not worrying about mistakes;
encouraging and making sure children feel comfortable and not afraid to take part;
(c) using a lot of gestures, action, pictures to demonstrate what you mean; (d)
talking a lot to them use English especially about things they can see; (e) playing
games, sing songs, saying rhymes and chanting together; (f) telling simple stories in
English, using pictures and acting with different voices; (g) not worrying when they
use their mother tongue; (h) planning lesson with varied activities, some quite, some
noisy, some sitting, some standing and moving.
Phillips (1993:3), on the other hand, provides the following suggestions for
teachers to keep in mind when teaching young learners:
1. The activities should be simple enough for the children so that they understand
what to do and what is expected of them.
2. The tasks should be amusing and within children‟s abilities, so that the learners
can easily reach their goals.
3. The task should be stimulating and motivating for learners to feel satisfied with
their work.
4. Written activities should be used only in a small amount. In the sixth or seventh
year of age the children are not yet so good at writing in their native language.
5. Mostly the speaking activities should prevail – indeed, with very young children

senses of sight and hearing are named as audio-visual media (Kasbolah, 1993:57).
Finocchiaro (1973:155-185) mention some examples of the media for each type.
The visual media may include blackboard, textbook, real object, picture file, chart,

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pocket chart, flash card, word card, number card, flannel or felt board, magnetic
board, opaque projector, overhead projector and transparency, filmstrip, and
miscellaneous materials. The audio aids include record player, tape recorder, and
language laboratory. The last, audio-visual media cover film, television, and
programmed instruction. According to Romiszowski (1988), media which refer to
devices and materials employed in teaching and learning include hardware like
blackboards, radio, television, tape recorders, video tapes and recorders and
projectors; and, software like transparencies, films, slides, teacher-made diagrams,
real objects, cartoons, models, maps and photographs. Similarly, Nuhung Ruis et al.
(2009:2) cite Scanlan‟s statement that “instructional media encompasses all the
materials and physical means an instructor might use to implement instruction and
facilitate students' achievement of instructional objectives. This may include
traditional materials such as chalkboards, handouts, charts, slides, overheads, real
objects, and videotape or film, as well newer materials and methods such as
computers, DVDs, CD-ROMs, the Internet, and interactive video conferencing.”
From the classification, it is clear that animated cartoons fall under audio-
visual aids and belong to traditional software instructional media.
1.4. Animated cartoons
1.4.1. Definition of animated cartoons
According to Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary (2005), “animated
cartoon” is a film produced by photographing a series of gradually changing
drawings which give the illusion of movement when the series is projected rapidly.
From the definition, it is obvious that to some extent the terms “animated cartoon”,
“cartoon” and “animation” are synonyms referring to a kind of film or movie made
by creating moving effect for a series of pictures or drawings.

2. Make learning faster and save time and effort:
Hegarty and Sims (1994) state that animation may help students learn faster and
easier. Furthermore, they add that this is an excellent aid for teachers to teach
student difficult subjects. It has been argued that such systems (animation system)
can reduce time by an average of 33% and aid the quality of learning, as compared
with more traditional techniques (Stephenson, 1994:179). Lin, Chen and Dwyer
(2006:203) confirm that computers generated animation are more effective than

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static visual in assisting students' retention of the more difficult and complex
knowledge than they received from instructions.
3. Dual-channel learning:
In fact, all students, both with and without a strongly dominant modality
preference, benefit from instruction that includes video. Video is a form of
multimedia that conveys information through two simultaneous sensory channels:
aural and visual. It often uses multiple presentation modes, such as verbal and
pictorial representations in the case of on-screen print and closed-captioning
(Mayer, 2001). This multiplicity means that video communicates the same
information to students through simultaneous learning modalities and can provide
students with multiple entry points into the content (Gardner, 2006). The
combination of moving pictures and sound can present language more
comprehensively and more realistically than any other teaching medium (Susan
Stempleski and Barry Tomalin, 1990:3). Mayer (2001:4-5), additionally, suggests
that learners are able to create a deeper understanding of words when they establish
connections between words and pictures than from words or pictures alone.
4. Create motivation:
Using video materials in an English Language Teaching environment can
motivate students. Learners will get more skills, which is the main reason to make
them more motivated. Harmer (2001:282) states that one of the main advantages of
film is that students do not just hear language, they see it too. For that reason, most

exploitation in a single one-hour class period. They are, therefore, likely to be no
more than five minutes in length for most classroom activities. “How much video
should the teacher use? The short answer is under five minutes. Many teachers
suggest that as little as two minutes of video is sufficient for one hour‟s teaching.”
(Tomalin, 1986:14).
Flexibility. Most sequence should be suitable for several of activity categories
described in the book.
Appropriateness of Content. The content should be related to the textbook and
suitable for young learners. It is also useful to see if the linguistic content in the
sequence can be linked to that of the language in the course book.

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Language items to be taught. In using video to present language, an important factor
to consider is the linguistic items (particular grammatical structures, language
functions, or colloquial expressions) presented in the scene. If the aim of the lesson
is to teach language from the screen, then the presence of relevant functions and
structures will be a prime consideration in selecting a sequence. If, however, the
aim is to stimulate discussion or other skills work among students, then specific
language items are not so important.
Language level. The language level of the video should be appropriate for the level
of the class without the teacher having to explain too much.
1.4.4. Techniques for utilizing animated cartoons in classroom
To get a successful result in language teaching using animated cartoons as an
aid, there are some techniques that should be followed by both teachers and
learners. Susan Stempleski and Barry Tomalin (Ibid.) and Lonergan (1984) suggest a
selection of these basic techniques for less-experienced teachers to familiarize
themselves quickly with some of the things they can do with the clip in class.
1. Sound off/ vision on (silent viewing): this techniques can be used either to
stimulate language activity about what is seen on the screen (rather than what is
being said) or to focus on what is being said, by a variety of guessing or prediction

- Students are given a list of items after viewing a sequence and have to decide
which were in the sequence and which were not.
- Students are given comprehension questions before viewing and a sequence and
answer the questions after viewing.
- Students are told what a sequence will be about and have to say thing they
expect to hear, see, etc. After viewing, they can then compare and discuss.
- Students are given a cloze passage of the dialogue or a description of the scene
and have to complete gaps while/after viewing.
5. Jumping sequences: students view each section of a sequence, presented to them
out of sequence. They have to determine what has happened/what will happen in
each case and then fit the sections into a correct or plausible sequence. 6. Split
viewing: some students see sequence but do not hear it; others hear but do not see. A
variety of activities can then follow based on usual information-gap procedures. 16
1.4.5. Lesson plan using animated cartoons
Tomalin (1986:29) suggests three stages of a lesson using video in teaching
English. Below is general lesson plan following his procedures.
Stage 1: Comprehension
1. Set up the situation, pre-teach (if absolutely necessary) minimum language.
2. Set an active viewing task.
3. First video play: right through without stopping; one or twice.
4. Elicit answer to active viewing task.
Stage 2: Language study
1. Second video play: stop at selected points, using the pause button.
2. Consolidate language taught through the video.
3. Language exercise and drills from textbook.
4. Third video play: use this for observation behavior exercises and for cultural
background.

Unfortunately, the stories she used to teach the students are not related to the
content of the textbook.
1.6. Conclusion
This chapter presents the literature view on the definitions, characteristics
and teaching English to young learners, and this helps the current study in
guarantying and proving the effectiveness of using animations to teach English to
third graders. In addition, this chapter provides the fundamental information of the
main variables of the study, animations. As animations have a number of
advantages, this information indicates that using animated cartoons is a good quality
technique for teaching the language. Finally, the chapter presents some previous
studies on methodology of ELT at primary schools.