VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
 NGUYỄN THỊ THOAN A STUDY ON USING CHANTS, SONGS AND GAMES TO
DEVELOP LANGUAGE IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO
STUDENTS AT DOAN XA PRIMARY SCHOOL

NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ PHÁT TRIỂN NGÔN NGỮ CHO HỌC SINH
TRƢỜNG TIỂU HỌC ĐOÀN XÁ THÔNG QUA
ĐIỆU CA, BÀI HÁT VÀ TRÒ CHƠI M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology
Code : 60 14 0111 Hanoi – 2014
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master
of Arts, is the result of my study. It has not been presented anywhere.

Hanoi 2014

Nguyen Thi Thoan

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

effective or not. The researcher also tries to find out the ways of using chants, songs
and games to teach language for the third-grade students at Doan Xa Primary school.
In order to reach the aims of the thesis, the author used the following data
collection instruments: interview for teachers, survey questionnaire for students and
tests for students.
The results and findings show that students’ vocabulary improves
considerably after learning English through chants, songs and games. Furthermore,
the findings also point out that in the lessons using chants, songs and games,
teachers should design a variety of tasks such as gap-filling, multiple choice, ticking
true or false to enhance students’ vocabulary. Teachers should also choose chants,
songs and games from various sources such as internet, CD, VCD or television to
attract students’ concentration. iv
LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES
Chart 1: Students’ attitude towards learning vocabulary with the use of chants, songs
and games 22

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i
DECLARATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
PART I: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale of 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 2
6. Methodology 2
7. Design of the study 3
PART II: DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
1.1. Definition of language 4
1.2. The role of teachers and students in teaching and learning language 4
1.2.1. Teachers’ role 4
1.2.2. Students’ role 6
1.3. Review of methods and approaches for teaching language 7
1.3.1. Methods of teaching language 7
1.3.2. Approaches for teaching language 8
1.4. Chants, songs and games as motivations for students to improve language 9
1.5. Aspects of language that can be improved through chants, songs and games 11
1.5.1. Pronunciation 11
1.5.2. Vocabulary 11
1.5.3. Listening 12
1.5.4. Speaking 13
1.6. Choosing chants, songs and games 13


3.2.1. Aims 26

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3.2.2. Participants 26
3.2.3. Data analysis 26
3.2.3.1. Teachers’ frequency of using chants, songs and games 26
3.2.3.2. Teachers’ attitudes towards the effectiveness of chants, songs and games.27
3.2.3.3. The difficulties the teachers had while designing a lesson with the use of
chants, songs and games. 27
3.2.3.4. The sources of chants, songs and games. 28
3.2.3.5. The tasks teachers design to teach students with the use of chants, songs
and games. 29
3.3. Tests 29
3.3.1. Aims 29
3.3.2. Participants 29
3.3.3. Test description 30
3.3.4. Data analysis and findings 30
3.3.4.1. Pre-test (at the beginning of the term) 30
3.3.4.1.1. Frequency distribution 30
3.3.4.1.2. Correlation 31
3.3.4.2. Post- test (at the end of the term) 32
3.3.4.2.1. Frequency distribution 32
3.3.4.2.2. Correlation 33
3.4. Summary 34
CHAPTER 4: PEDAGOGICAL SUGGESTIONS 35
4.1. The use of chants, songs and games in the lesson 35
4.1.1. The use of chants 35
4.1.2. The use of songs 35
4.1.3. The use of games 36
4.2. Suggestions for task designing 36

fields. It is chosen to be taught in many schools in many countries as the second
language. Therefore, governments pay more attention to teaching and learning
English.
One of the most crucial goals of teaching and learning English is to
communicate. Communication helps people exchange knowledge, love, experiences,
etc but if people do not have enough knowledge of that language, they will have
many difficulties in exchanging information. They can not understand the things
people want to talk to them or they do not know how to express their thoughts or it
maybe lead to misunderstanding or the communication breakdown. Recognizing
the significance of language in our life, howerver, most of the classrooms in
Vietnam in general and at Doan Xa primary school in particular, people do not
appreciate highly English - the language which is taught as the second language.
Students learn Vietnamese and Maths more than six periods per week. They
even learn more these subjects at school or in the teachers’ house, while, they have
two periods a week to learn many skills such as listening, speaking, reading and
writing. As a result, many students complained that they had spent plenty of time
studying English but they can not remember lessons they had learned and some
days later even some hours later they forgot them completely. This is the reason
why teaching and learning English requires a new method to make learning English
language interesting and effective.

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Facing with this situation, the researcher chooses the study on using chants,
songs and games to develop language for students at Doan Xa school.
2. Aims and objectives of the study
The study aims at finding out how chants, songs and games are used by
teachers in the classroom and how students respond to the ways chants, songs and
games are used in the classroom.
To be more specific, the objectives of this study are to:
- investigate how chants, songs and games are used to teach language for primary

The study includes three parts:
Part 1 Introduction shows rationale, aims, objectives, research questions, scope,
significance, method and design of the study.
Part 2 Development includes 4 chapters:
Chapter 1: Literature review deals with some theoretical background relevant
to the study: definition of language; the role of teachers and students in teaching
and learning language; review of traditional methods and approaches for teaching
language; chants, songs and games as motivations for students to improve language;
aspects of language that can be improved through chants, songs and games;
choosing chants, songs and games and review of related studies.
Chapter 2: Research methodology focuses on the current situation of
teaching and learning Tieng Anh 3 at Doan Xa primary school, participants of the
study, data collection instruments, and data collection and analysis procedure.
Chapter 3 shows data analysis and findings
This chapter of the study goes on with data analysis and findings.
Chapter 4 shows implication for using chants, songs and games in the lesson,
suggestions for task designing, suggestions for using the topic of chants, songs and
games, role of teacher in teaching language and a sample lesson plan using chants,
songs and games.
Part 3: Conclusion and recommendations
This chapter summarises the major findings in part 2, states out the
limitations of the study and gives suggestions for futher study.
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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Definition of language
Language is defined in many ways by many authors. Sapir (1921:3) defined

language to children as follows:
Firstly, teacher has an important role in showing students real reasons for
learning the language because most of the students love playing than learning. They
do not know the important role of learning in general and learning language in
particular, therefore teacher should highlight learners’ real reasons for learning the
language.
Furthermore, teacher often gives students challenging to help students find
learning not an easy job. To get the target of language is not an easy process which
requires great efforts. Depending on students’ ability of language, teacher gives the
suitable levels of challenge so that students feel learning not easy but not too
difficult. Of course, when facing with challenging, students sometimes feel tired
and want to give up the task. At this time, teacher helps students how to get
achievement goals.
In addition, many students are never absent from the class but they do not
recognize the real purpose of their learning. Some children go to school because
their parents want that. Some students see their all friends go to school and want to
go there to meet friends and have fun. Students try their best to get the best marks,
but they do not understand that what they do at school is for their future. Therefore,
the role of teacher is showing students the benefits of learning in general and
learning language in particular. Especially, nowadays learning language is very
significant. English is more important than an optional subject.
Moreover, the environment has a great influence on students’ learning. If the
atmosphere of the classroom is good, students will have fun and their learning is
more effective. Even shy students are not afraid of speaking, therefore, teacher
should create a safe, welcoming and non-intimidating teaching environment.
Finally, teacher also motivates students to develop high but realistic intrinsic
motivation. Teacher encourages students to develop their abilities that
are realistic to avoid wasting time and to get their purpose speedily.

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Preparing new lessons and reviewing old ones are also important for students
because learning language without self-practicing regularly makes students easy to
forget it. Therefore, the teacher should find the best way to encourage students to
learn by themselves.
1.3. Review of methods and approaches for teaching language
It is very necessary to understand the differences between a method and an
approach. According to Harmer (2001:78), an approach is a set of correlative
assumptions about the nature of language and language learning, and a method is a
plan for presenting the language material to be learned about and should be based
upon a selected approach.
1.3.1. Methods of teaching language
Rack R. and Theodore R. (1986:44-98) listed some methods of teaching
language as follows:
The Direct Method
The basic premise of the Direct Method was that students should attempt to
learn a second language in the same way as they learn their first language. The
method emphasized oral interaction, spontaneous use of language, no translation
between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of grammar rules.
Therefore, this method is rather difficult for primary students to use it because the
teaching is carried out entirely in the target language and emphasized good
pronunciation.
Grammar-translation method
The method focused on studying grammatical rules and morphology, doing
written exercices, memorizing vocabulary, translating texts from prose passages
into the language. Students have to keep in memory long lists of vocabulary by
heart. There is little or no emphasis placed on developing oral ability. Therefore,
this method is not suitable to primary students because they love action, and they
will learn better when taking part in lively activities.
Audio-lingual method

tasks using language which has been carefully prepared for.
Task-based learning
This is one of the most recent methodological approaches in English

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language teaching. This approach has three phases: pre-task preparation
(introduction of new language and procedures to be used), task cycle (the macro
task in pairs with a final public summary of their results) and language focus.
Using this approach, teachers encourage children to use the language they
have recently learned by providing a framework and supporting for the macro-task
and then allowing students to use language for their own purposes and meanings.
Story-based
This is a teaching approach using storybooks and storytelling. Its educational
value has always been undisputed throughout the world as follows: Stories are
motivating, challenging and fun and can help develop positive attitudes.
Furthermore, children can become personally involved in a story as they identify
with the characters and try to interpret the narrative and illustrations. Stories also
link fantasy and imagination with the child’s real world. They provide a way of
enabling children to make sense of their everyday life and forge links between home
and school.
Cross-curricular
This approach is linked to the activity-based approach and tasked-based
learning. The development of the students is linked to other areas of the curriculum,
such as Art, Physical Education, Mathematics or Nature Study.
Those are teaching language approaches and according to the researcher,
total physical response, the communicative approach, task-based learning and story-
based approach should be used to teach language to primary students. Depending on
students’ ability, teacher chooses the suitable ones.
1.4. Chants, songs and games as motivations for students to improve language
Teaching language in general and teaching English in particular through

- Accompanying actions or gestures help to reinforce meaning, while channelling
high levels of energy in a positive way.
- The variety they provide changes the pace and atmosphere of a lesson and caters
for different learning styles.
- They can be compiled into songs/ rhyme books to help children develop good
study habits.
A cultural resource

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- They are from authentic sources and can contribute to the cultural component of a
language programme. Children can be encouraged to compare with those in their
own language.
A social resource
- Singing and chanting together is a shared social experience and helps to develop a
class and group identity.
- They can be used as the basis for a performance or show.
According to Jean B. and Gail E. (2004:162), teaching and learning through
games also bring a lot of benefits:
- They add variety to the range of learning situations.
- They change the pace of a lesson and help to keep pupils’ motivation.
- They lighten more formal teaching and can help to renew pupils’ energy.
- They provide hidden practice of specific language patterns, vocabulary and
pronunciation.
- They can help to improve attention span, concentration, memory, listening skills
and reading skills.
- Pupils are encouraged to participate; shy learners can be motivated to speak.
- They increase pupil-pupil communication which provides fluency practice and
reduces the domination of the class by the teacher.
- It helps create a fun atmosphere and reduces the distance between teacher and
pupils.

Be aware of listening in English is very important because the purpose of
language teaching is to communicate. Students can interact with others in a more
extended way better when they listen well. Karen L. (2007:3) said that “Listening is
the catalyst that fosters mutual understanding and provides us with insight into
people’s needs and desires so that we can connect with them”. Poor listening is the
cause of misunderstandings. Therefore, listening must be highly appreciated in each
lesson. By focusing on listening to the chants, songs and games to do the tasks such
as gap-filling, ticking true or false, multiple choice, etc, students’ listening skill has
great progress.
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1.5.4. Speaking
Among four skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, the
importance of speaking is very prominent. Ishrat A. Q. (2010:2) emphasized that
“without speech, a language is reduced to a mere script”. When children start
learning English at primary school, there is usually an emphasis on developing
listening and speaking skills. Through listening, student’s speaking is more natural.
Through speaking, student’s listening is improved. In this point, through chants,
songs and games, students can easily remember sentence patterns of the lessons. As
a result, students are self-confident to practice to improve their English speaking
frequently.
1.6. Choosing chants, songs and games
1.6.1. Choosing chants and songs
Songs and chants can be used in many different ways, some examples of
which are warm – up, a transition from one activity to another, introducing language
target, getting students’ attention, etc. Curtain & Pesola (1988:246-265) stated that
the teachers should select chants and songs basing on the following criteria:
- The chants and songs should contain limited vocabulary.

1.7. Review of related studies
In modern society, teaching and learning language play a prominent role in
our life. Learning language opens many opportunities for learners such as getting a
good job, exchanging information, learning civilization from other countries in the
world, etc.
There have been many foreign researches investigating the teaching language
methodology with the use of chants, songs and games. Eberhard K. (2001) studied
about ways and means of teaching young learners listening and speaking skills and
realized that songs and rhymes combine important didactic claims like the holistic,
the monolingual and the contextual approach with fun, activity and motivation.
Furthermore, almost incidentally the children become familiar with parts of the
foreign culture and see them as enrichment for their own life.
Claudia S. S. (2002) carried out the study about the significance of songs and
found the effects of songs in the foreign classroom on text recall and involuntary
mental rehearse.

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Veronika R. (2007) conducted the diploma thesis about the use of music in
teaching English and recognized the importance of songs in language teaching such
as cultural significance, enjoyable drill, the help of songs when learning
pronunciation, the help of songs focused on sounds, the help of songs focused on
words, the help of songs focused on connected speech.
Shaheen A. (2009) investigated the use of chants, songs and games in
teaching English to young learners in Bangladesh and found that chants, songs and
games can be used in children’s classes to utilize their natural ability to learn a
language and the high motivation results from enjoyable lessons in the primary
schools where learning takes place through chants, songs and games.
Jin Z. (2011) studied the benefits of chants in language teaching and found
that listening and speaking are probably the most important skills a person needs to
be able to communicate. Music, rhyming and chanting can combine these two