Using short activities to warm up and increase the 10th form students’ interest in the pre - Listening stage

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
NGHI SON LOWER AND UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL
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INNOVATION
USING SHORT ACTIVITIES TO WARM UP AND INCREASE THE 10TH FORM STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN THE PRE-LISTENING STAGE
 	 Written by: Mai Thi Thuy
 	 Function: Teacher
 	 Subject: English 
THANH HOA YEAR 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Content 
Page
1. INTRODUCTION
1
1.1. Reasons for choosing the study
1
1.2.Aims of the Study
2
1.3. Scope of the Study
2
1.4. Methods of the study
2
2.CONTENT
3
2.1. Theoretical background
3
2.1.1. The nature of listening skill. 
3
2.1.2.Teaching speaking in Communicate language teaching (CLT)
3
2.1.3. Stages of a speaking lesson
3
2.1.3.1. Pre- listening stage
3
2.1.3.2. While- listening stage
3
2.1.3.3.Post- listening stage
3
2.1.4. Motivation
3
2.1.4.1. Definition
3
2.1.4.2. Motivation in classroom setting
3
2.1.5. Short activities
4
2.1.5.1. What is an activity?
4
2.1.5.2. The role of short activities in language teaching and learning process
4
2.1.5.3. Principles of using Short activities in listening class
4
2.1.5.4. Common types of short activities used for the pre-listening stage
4
2.2. Reality
4
2.2.1. To the teachers
4
2.2.1. To the students
5
2.3. Solution to the problems.
6
2.3.1. Some recommendations for using short activities in the pre-listening stage.
6
2.3.1.1. Deciding which activity to use
6
2.3.1.2. Time
6
2.3.1.3. Preparation
6
2.3.1.4. Physical arrangement
6
2.3.1.5. Management
6
2.3.1.6.	Giving instructions of short activities / rules of games
6
2.3.1.7. Correction
7
2.3.1.8. Some notes for some short activities.
7
2.3.2. Some suggested short activities to warm up and increase the 10th form students’ interest in the pre-listening stage
7
2.3.2.1. Using pictures
7
2.3.2.2. Asking and answering.
9
2.3.2.3. Jumbled words.
9
2.3.2.4.Guess the missing letters
10
2.3.2.5. Open prediction or Brainstorming
11
2.3.2.6. True – False statement prediction
13
2.3.2.7. Matching
13
2.3.2.8. Eliciting
15
2.4. Effect of innovation:
16
3.CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
17
3.1.Conclusion:
17
3.2. Recommendation:
18
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Reasons for choosing the study
In the field of education nowadays, English has become one of the most important and compulsory subjects at all levels of learning and teaching in Vietnam. From elementary to university or even at higher level, all students find English an important subject. In addition, in language learning, learners have to master four skills, among which listening is an essential skill for the aim of communication. However, in many years of learning and teaching English, the author has realized the fact that, in high school, the teachers and the students seem to pay more attention to the grammar and reading skill than to listening skill. Moreover, in listening lessons, the teacher often focuses more on the while- listening, and post- listening stage than on the pre- listening stage. As a result, the students start the listening class with less interest. The author herself is really fond of finding the attitude of the teachers and the students in high school towards listening lessons in general and in the pre-listening stage in particular.
Additionally, motivation is perhaps the key that leads to consecutive success in the learning process, especially in second language acquisition. So, maintaining the students’ interest during the lesson is very important. If the students do not have motivation, they cannot get the best result from learning. As a foreign language teacher, the greatest desire is to help students absorb the content’s lesson through the appealing and effective communication. In order to do this well, besides coordinating teaching methods, we must also know how to motivate students by warm–up activities before beginning a lesson with motto “Learning in playing, playing in learning”. This will make a good impression on students and attract students during the lesson. When we create warm–up activities, students will promote their creativity and self-learning. 
It raises a question for the teacher: “how to motivate students or how to increase the students’ interest in the pre-listening stage?” Short activities are one of good choices for this problem. For high school teachers, especially for the less experienced teachers, if they know how to make use of 3-5 minutes to warm up a new lesson, their teaching result will be more beneficial. But in fact, many teachers still do not highly appreciate the importance of short activities and games in the pre-listening. In addition, they lack one effective way to motivate the language learners. This study, however, does not aim at measuring students’ motivation of learning listening but helps increase their interests in listening lessons through short activities in the pre-listening stage.
Last but not least, teaching not only requires the teacher to know how to “teach” but also how to “educate” nurture the learners’ soul. Hence, she is keen on finding out the way to increase students’ interest in the pre-listening stage. Through a full, if not profound, knowledge about short warm-up activities, she would like to know how to make the pre-listening stage more interesting for the students, and be a good and understanding teacher to make her dream come true.
All of the above reasons and factors have inspired the author to choose the study entitled: “Using short activities to warm up and increase the 10th form students’ interest in the pre-listening stage.”With the hope of providing teachers of English in general and teachers at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school in particular a better understanding about using short activities and games in the pre-listening stage. In addition, the study was implemented with the hope to make a little contribution to the quality of teaching and learning listening at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school.
1.2. Aims of the Study
For the reasons mentioned above, the study has been done with the aims to: 	
Provide an overview on the Communicative Language Teaching Approach and stages of a listening lesson.
Present some general knowledge about motivation, listening activities and short activities.
Help teachers and students be aware of some advantages of using short activities in the pre-listening stage.
Investigate the reality of teaching listening at secondary schools, especially the reality of using short activities in the pre-listening stage.
Indicate the effects of using short activities in the pre-listening stage.
Giving some suggestions and implications for the improvement of listening teaching at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school by using short activities in the pre-listening stage.
1.3. Scope of the Study
This paper deals with a small part in using short activities to warm up and increase the students’ interest in the pre-listening stage. Additionally, it is too broad to carry out the thesis discussing all levels of students. Thus, the study only focuses on students of the 10th form at high school. All provided activities and techniques are based on the target listening contents in the 10th form text book.
1.4. Methods of the study
To carry out the study, the following methods and procedures were employed:
Investigating methods
Analytic and synthetic methods
Descriptive methods
Comparative and contrastive methods
Firstly, the author reviewed the theories related to the matter in concern in order to shade up a framework for the analysis and then collected information associated with the pre-listening stage and short activities from different sources: references, books, and internet. Secondly, a survey was conducted on the real situation at high school by using questionnaires for students there. Thirdly, the selected information and data were analyzed, and then the results were arranged into categories for comparison. Finally, the information and data obtained were dealt with and analyzed so as to come to conclusion, and accordingly, to provide some recommendations to improve the situation.
CONTENT
2.1. Theoretical background
2.1.1. The nature of listening skill.
According to Byrne (1976), listening is the ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process. Listening is key to all effective communication. Without the ability to listening effectively, messages are easily misunderstood. As a result, communication breaks down and the sender of the message can easily 
2.1.2. Teaching speaking in Communicate language teaching (CLT)
CLT is an approach that aims at making communicative competence the goal of language teaching and developing procedures for the teaching of the four language skills. CLT emphasizes on the process of communication rather than master of language forms.
2.1.3. Stages of a speaking lesson
2.1.3.1. Pre- listening stage
This stage is aimed at preparing students with everything necessary for listening. At this stage, the teacher will use warm-up activities to warm-up and increase the student’s interest.
2.1.3.2. While- listening stage
	At this stage, the students will practice the new language in a controlled way base on structures given in pre- listening stage.
2.1.3.3. Post- listening stage
The aim of this stage is to help students summarize what they have learned or remember new vocabularies, or simple as making animated atmosphere in class after the whole listening lesson. 
2.1.4. Motivation
2.1.4.1. Definition
According to Pintrich and Schunk (2002), a general definition of the term motivation refers to “the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained”.
2.1.4.2. Motivation in classroom setting
Motivation is very important factor affecting the success in second language learning. So it is important to make interesting, non- threatening classrooms where relevant to students’ age and level of ability. 
2.1.5. Short activities
2.1.5.1. What is an activity?
Jeremy Harmer (1999) said that: “Activity” is a loose term used to give a general description of what will happen in class. It is important to realize that here we are not talking about what, general and physically, the students are going to do.
Short activity is a kind of activities which is short, simple and interesting enough to motivate students to learn a foreign language better. It happens in very short time, may be from four to seven minutes.
2.1.5.2. The role of short activities in language teaching and learning process
Using short activities brings many benefits in the teaching and learning process such as: changing the atmosphere in the class, making lesson predictable, stimulating students’ interest, providing intense and meaningful practice of language.
2.1.5.3. Principles of using Short activities in listening class
There some main principles: good preparation, short and simple activity and game, presentation about the rules, variety, good organization of class.
2.1.5.4. Common types of short activities used for the pre-listening stage
- Using pictures
- Asking and answering
- Jumbled words
- Guess the missing letters
- Open prediction or Brainstorming
- True – false statement prediction
- Matching
- Eliciting
2.2. Reality:
2.2.1. To the teachers:
Through the result of survey, the author realizes that the teachers’ attitudes are different among four skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing skill.
Figure 1: The teachers’ attitudes towards four skills
As can be clearly seen from the chart, a half of the teachers (50%) think that reading skill is the most important skill among four language skills. Listening skill is considered the least important skill (37.5%). This shows the fact that the teachers in high school often pay more attention to reading and writing skill than to listening skill. Due to less consideration on the listening skill, the teachers do not really spend much time and preparation on listening lesson. As a result, the students will feel bored and uninterested in listening lesson.
2.2.1. To the students:
Similarly, the survey results from students’ questionnaire No1 show that the students also have different attitudes towards the listening skill. 
Figure 2: The students’ attitudes towards four skills 
The chart shows that a large number of the students (59%) consider reading skill the most important. Only 12% think that listening skill is the most important. This causes a lot of difficulties for the teacher in teaching listening. Obviously, the students are not well aware of the importance of listening skill. 
Due to the less awareness about the importance of listening skill, the students’ interest in listening lesson is not high. The number of the students who really like listening lesson is very low (19%). Most of them (43%) are not interested in the listening lesson. It means that they lack motivation in learning listening. As a result, they are not willing or eager to make efforts in listening activities. That is the current situation of learning listening skill at high school in general and at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school in particular.
Figure 3: The students’ attitudes towards listening lesson 
2.3. Solution to the problems.
2.3.1. Some recommendations for using short activities in the pre-listening stage.
2.3.1.1. Deciding which activity to use
The teacher should consider the level of the short activity to fit their students' language level, students' characteristics. The most important factor is that short activities and games should be used when they can give students both fun and educational meaning.
2.3.1.2. Time
The pre-listening stage often takes up from 5 to 7 minutes. So the short activities and games should be carried out only from 4 to 7 minutes. 
2.3.1.3. Preparation
The teacher has to consider how to choose the most appropriate short activity or game for their class, prepare some equipment or materials needed for the short activities and games.
2.3.1.4. Physical arrangement
Up to each kind of games, the teacher can conduct in individual, pairs, groups, teams or the whole class. Individual teacher should decide herself what arrangement will best suit her students in given situation.
2.3.1.5. Management
The teacher tries to make the class not to become chaos and make sure that students get what we want them to get. They should move around to check if the students really join the activities or just take advantage for chatting. The teacher encourages and praises the students to motivate them and makes them feel more confident and more interested in the activities as well as in the lesson.
2.3.1.6.	Giving instructions of short activities / rules of games
The teacher must give clear, simple, explicit instructions or rules of the games. The teacher must ensure that clear instructions are given before the short activities or games are done to avoid making the students confused.
2.3.1.7. Correction
Due to the aims of using short activities and games in this stage is to increase the students’ interest; sometimes the teacher can ignore unimportant errors.
2.3.1.8. Some notes for some short activities.
Each type of short activities or games has its own characteristics, so it is important for teacher to choose suitable students with the activity or game. 
2.3.2. Some suggested short activities to warm up and increase the 10th form students’ interest in the pre-listening stage
Some of the following activities were applied in the author’s experimental lessons and they really worked.
2.3.2.1. Using pictures
Type: class work
Material: pictures
Time: 4-5 minutes
Preparation: print colorful pictures
Procedure: 
Teacher sticks the pictures on the board
Ask student some questions about these pictures
Students look at the pictures and answer the question
Teacher introduces a new lesson
Advantage of this activity:
- This activity will make the lesson more vivid and increase students’ interest at the beginning of the lesson.
* Example for Unit 4: Special education -part C (page 48)( “tienganh 10”)
- Teacher sticks some pictures on the board and ask a question:
“Who are they?”
- Students look at these pictures and answer the question: 
“They are photographers and they are handicapped people.”
- Teacher introduces a new lesson: “Yes, they are very special photographers. To understand more about their work today you are going to listen to some information about a handicapped photography club”
* Example for Unit 7: Mass media – part C(page 77)( “tienganh 10”)
- The teacher sticks some pictures on the board:
- Teacher asks some questions:
+ “what is this?”
+ “what is it used for?”
+ “How often do you listen to radio?”
+ “How many hours per week do you listen to it?”
+ “what topics do you like listening to and why?”
- After the student answer all the above questions, teacher will lead them to a new lesson:“Radio is a useful mass media, we can get much information by listening radio every day. Today, I would like you to listen to the two radio news stories.”
2.3.2.2. Asking and answering.
Type: individual work
Material: none
Time: 5 to 7 minutes
Preparation: none
Procedure:
- Teacher asks student some questions relating the topic of the lesson. 
- Students will answer the question following to their opinion.
- Teacher introduces a new lesson.
Advantage of this activity: 
This activity will help students be familiar with the lesson’s content, as the result, they will know what they are going to listen, which topic the listening lesson will mention. Furthermore, the short activity “asking and answering” will make the lesson more interesting and attracting. Besides, it will make the atmosphere between teacher and students become friendlier.
Example for Unit 5: Technology and You – part C(page 54)( “tienganh 10”)
- Teacher gives a topic: “Talking about your experience of learning how to use a computer.”
- Teacher asks some questions:
+ Can you use a computer?
+ Who teaches you how to use a computer?
+ Is this difficult to learn how to use it?
+ What will you do if you can’t understand the computer?
- After the students answer above questions, teacher introduces a new lesson: “Computer is very useful machine. Now, you are going to listen to a passage, which tells you about an old company director talking about his experience of learning how to use a computer”.
2.3.2.3. Jumbled words.
Type: pair work
Material: chalk, black board
Time: 3 to 5 minutes
Preparation: some words relating to the new listening lesson.
Advantage of this game: 
	By using this game, students will excited about the listening lesson. In addition, they not only can predict the topic of the lesson but also approaching some vocabularies which relates to the listening lesson
Procedure:
Teacher orders students to work in pairs.
Then, teacher writes “jumbled words” on the board and asks students to rearrange these words.
Teacher introduces a new lesson
Example for Unit 1: A day in the life of- part C (page 16)( “tienganh 10”)
- Teacher writes some “Jumbled words” on the board:
CCLOY
RIEDV
NSSEGERPA
DOFO SALLT
- Student rearranges these words: 
+ CYCLO
+ DRIVE
+ PASSENGERS
+ FOOD STALL
- After student finish rearranging, teacher will give situation: 
+ He has a cyclo.
+ He drives passengers every day.
+ He usually has meals at a food stall
- Then, teacher asks: “WHO IS HE?”
Student: “HE IS A CYCLO DRIVER”
- Teacher introduces a new lesson:
“Today you are going to listen a day in the life of a cyclo driver”
2.3.2.4. Guess the missing letters
Type: individual work
Material: chalk, black board
Time: 3 to 5 minutes
Preparation: some words relating to the new listening lesson.
Advantage of this game: 
	This activity will help student approach topic of the lesson and make the atmosphere in the class more comfortable and exciting.
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