Amirazizi Action Research-3

8/17/2019 Amirazizi Action Research-3

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USING JUNC-FUNC SONG TO IMPROVE THE USE OF COORDINATING

CONJUNCTIONS AMONG YEAR 5 PUPILS

ACTION RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TSL 3133

ACTION RESEARCH 1 (METHODOLOGY)

AMIR AZIZI BIN MOHD SANUDIN

91010-0!-105

"11

PISMP TESL JANUARY !01! INTA"E

IPG "AMPUS IPOH# PERA"

1$0 BAC"GROUND OF THE STUDY

1.1 Introduction

Nowadays, English plays a great role in human life as it is recognised as aninternational language in the world, and in Malaysia it is considered as a second


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language. As English is one of the core subjects that the pupils need to learn is

school, teachers have to constantly try to implement teaching methods that will mae

the teaching and learning process more valuable and meaningful for the pupils.

!upils in primary schools may e"perience difficulties in taing the learning process

seriously considering that they are young and at their young age, they are more

interested in playing games and doing fun activities. #herefore, teachers should

adhere to the needs of the pupils by selecting interesting activities and provide a

great variety resources and materials for them. In teaching, there are plenty of

resources and materials that can be manipulated for use in the English classroom to

mae the pupils in the class more interested in learning the language.

$ne of the ways that can be interesting for the pupils is by using songs in theclassroom. %ongs have always been a part of human life and it can greatly affect a

person&s mood and behaviour. #his can be applied in the classroom as according to

%choepp, '())1*, song is an integral part of our language e"perience, and it is used

in coordination with a language class. +hen using songs, teachers can deviate from

the usual rigid classroom routine that pupils tend to dislie because they feel

burdened with all the wor that they have to do. #his is the case of the pupils in my

ear - class in %eolah ebangsaan Methodist Malim Nawar where I can observethat, sometimes they will show disinterest in the worsheets and lessons where they

just have to sit and listen to my e"planation, and do the wor that I prepared for

them. Even though it is not possible to say that using songs will entirely change the

perspectives of the pupils when it comes to learning English, it will certainly generate

more enthusiasm among the pupil as according to Millington '()11*, perhaps the

greatest benefit of using songs in the classroom is that they can be fun. #he fun

factor is an important factor that needs to be attended to when it comes to learning

English so that the pupils will not feel stressed in learning a foreign language.

#eachers can manipulate the use of songs to teach the four language sills in

English which are listening and speaing, reading and writing. /rom these language

sills, teachers can branch out to other aspects of language such as grammar. #he

teaching of grammar has always been an important concern in the teaching of

English as a foreign and second language generally 'Muundan 0 oslim, ())2*.


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3rammar is often seen as a tedious and boring language aspect as it focuses more

on the rules of the language. 3rammar is the nowledge speaers have about the

units and rules of their language 4 rules for combining sounds into words, rules of

word formation, rules for combining words into phrases and phrases into sentences,

as well as the rules of assigning meaning '/romin et. al, ()11*. #his is why it is

important to use more than the traditional approach of teaching grammar and for the

purpose of this research, using songs seem to be the best approach to be taen.

5sing songs as the means of teaching grammar in the English language classroom

is said to bring many advantages, one of which is, 6they entertain and rela" the

learners while they are learning or practicing a structure, they often eliminate the

students& negative attitude towards learning and through providing authenticity and

conte"t they mae the grammar points more understandable and easy7 '%aricoban 0

Metin, ())1*.

#he selection of the songs that can be used to teach grammar has to fulfil the

variety of age, needs and interests of the learners in a particular classroom.

/urthermore, the songs should be selected in accordance to the grammar aspect

that the teacher wishes to teach so that the pupils will benefit from the lesson. $ne

aspect of grammar that should be given focus on is conjunctions, as conjunctionsare the basic form of grammar that should be mastered by pupils in order for them to

connect two parts of a sentence together. It is important to teach the use of

conjunctions to primary school pupils as they need to now how to join sentences

together so that they can e"press their ideas through their written wor more

systematically. #o help in the process of maing the teaching and learning process

more effective, the use of songs can be motivating and more memorable for the

pupils. 8ased on a research done by 8rand, '())9*, he concluded that there is

theoretical and physiological support for the inclusion of music in the teaching of

spoen English.

#aing into account of these researches, I have decided to focus my research

on employing the use of songs in teaching conjunctions to my ear - pupils of

%eolah ebangsaan Methodist Malim Nawar. #his decision was made based on the

observations that have been done in the class during my months of practicum in this

school. +ith this research, it is hoped that the use of songs to teach conjunctions willbe able to help the pupils to improve in their learning.


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1.( eflection of !ast #eaching E"perience

:uring my first practicum, I was sent to % Methodist A;%, Ipoh, where I was

assigned to teach a ear < class that consists of => male pupils. As for my second

practicum, it was done at % ?alan !anglima 8uit 3antang where I taught a ear =

class of => pupils as well. /or my third practicum, I was assigned to teach at %eolah

ebangsaan Methodist Malim Nawar. In all the three classes that I have taught, I can

identify that the pupils e"perienced more or less similar problems when it comes to

learning English.

+hen it comes to learning English, the main problem faced by pupils is the

lac of motivation among them. English is commonly regarded as a difficult subject

especially for pupils who are of wea proficiency levels as it difficult for them to

understand the rules and patterns that e"ist in English. :uring my first practicum in

% Methodist A;%, Ipoh, I have identified that most of the pupils in my ear < were

unable to give me their full attention in learning and most of them lac interest when

it comes to doing the written wor assigned to them. As the pupils were all boys, they

were very active during class but not in a positive way because they tend to disturb

each other during the lesson and there were some that refused to complete the wor

that I have given. I understand that at their age, they lie to e"perience fun things

and my teaching methods might not be interesting enough to mae them want to

learn English, especially since they find English to be a difficult subject for them.

8ased on this, I tried to vary my teaching strategies whereby I used materials

that suit the interest of the pupils such as songs and games. #he games that I

conducted in my lesson were language games such as ;harades, %imon %ays, and

iddles and I employed the use of songs that were related to the topic of my lesson.

I observed positive feedbac from the pupils when I used these materials, compared

to when I used the traditional teaching methods of taling and writing on the

whiteboard, and giving them worsheets. 8y using a different approach in teaching, I

was able to give the pupils motivation in learning, especially when it comes to

playing games because they were intrinsically motivated to do the best that they can

to achieve the best scores in the games. #his shows how important it is to ensure


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that the methods teachers employ will motivate and inculcate a positive attitude

towards language learning.

As for my second practicum which was done in % ?alan !anglima 8uit

3antang, most of the pupils were of wea proficiency level and were not confident to

use English in the classroom. +henever I as them to spea in English individually,

they will hesitate to do it as they feel shy and this has caused them to be spea in a

very slow voice. #he reason for this was maybe because they have a limited

vocabulary and they feel unsure of their pronunciation when they stumble upon

unfamiliar words. I can tae into consideration of the fact that they were still in ear

=, however it is @uite frustrating for me especially when they could not even utter

simple sentences such as asing permission to go to the toilet, even though it issomething that is very simple and they should have already mastered. #hanfully I

managed to teach them how to properly as for permission to do certain things, one

of which was asing permission to go to the toilet. Instead of just saying 6teacher,

toilet7, whenever they want to as for permission, they managed to remember and

utter the correct sentence which is, 6#eacher, may I go to the toilet7. #his was an

accomplishment for me because I can clearly see the pupils& improvement compared

to when I first entered this class.

Another problem that I faced with this class was when they could not

understand my instructions and this has hindered the teaching and learning process

in the classroom. I had to resort to the use of Malay when giving instructions to the

pupils as they really found it difficult to understand what I was saying when I used

English. :ue to the fact that the pupils hardly use English outside of the classroom, I

had to wor hard to ensure that the time that I have to teach them English will be

beneficial for them. At their age, they mostly thin about having fun with their friendsand they might not be able to see learning in school as a fun e"perience for them.

Bence, I have decided to use resources and materials that suit their age, interest

and needs during my English lesson. /rom this, I can see positive feedbacs from

my pupils as I did not constrict them to a stressful learning environment. /rom the

e"periences that I have gained in this second practicum phase, I can conclude that

the selection of the right teaching approach and teaching aids will create an effective

teaching and learning process.


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!$0 FOCUS OF STUDY

(.1 esearch Issue

:uring my third practicum, I was assigned to teach a ear - class throughoutthe = months practicum in %eolah ebangsaan Methodist Malim Nawar. I was given


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> times a wee with them in the timetable to conduct the teaching and learning

process. 8esides, I also need to conduct my research on the problem that the pupils

faced in English subject during the time given for the teaching and learning process.

8ased on my e"perience in teaching this class, I have identified that the main issue

that I want to focus on in this research is that the pupils are still unable to use the

correct coordinating conjunctions to lin sentences. 8ased on the ear - 8%

;urriculum %pecifications, at the ear - level the pupils should learn how to use the

coordinating conjunctions of and, or, but, because, so. Bowever, the pupils in my

class were still unable to master the correct use of all these coordinating

conjunctions in their writing. #his may be because they are still confused about the

correct usage of the conjunctions as they may loo at the conjunctions as having the

same meaning and they thought that any conjunction can be used to connect the

sentences together.

#his is why I thin that the choice to carry out this research on teaching

coordinating conjunctions using song will be able to help them understand the

correct use of conjunctions because I am employing a fun strategy that will help

them to learn and not be bored with the grammar lesson, compared to teaching

using a traditional method. Murphey '122)* stated that, songs, with their repeatedlyrics and rhythms have been e"amined by researchers as possible tools for

enhancing learningCmemory of vocabulary development and other language

competencies such as grammatical structures and pronunciation, especially for E%D

students. 8ased on my conte"t of research, the use of songs to teach grammatical

structures which is coordinating conjunctions will be analysed to see whether it will

produce the desired outcomes of improving the ear - pupils& use of coordinating

conjunctions. Bowever, I will only focus on teaching = coordinating conjunctions

which are 6and7, 6but7 and 6or7, because of the limited time that I have in my one

month internship period.

(.( Analysis of esearch Issue

8ased on the observations that I have done, I can see that most of the ear -

pupils have the perception that learning English is boring especially when it concerns

grammar. 5sually, English language teacher will face problems in teaching grammar


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as the pupils have this negative perception that grammar is a boring aspect of the

language. ;learly '()1


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sentences to form compound and comple" words in their writing and also in

speaing. It may not be right to assume that if a pupil is unable to use coordinating

conjunctions, they will fail in their writing test. Bowever it is important to understand

that coordinating conjunctions will help the pupil to join two or more parts of a

sentence. If the pupils are unable to achieve even this, how can it be possible for

them to e"cel in their writing tests especially when it concerns wiring sentences,

which is a popular type of @uestion in tests conducted in primary schools

#his is why it is imperative for a teacher to employ the use of fun techni@ues

to liven up the grammar lesson so that the pupils will be able to learn grammar more

effectively. 5sing songs will benefit teachers and learners in all phases of teaching

and learning grammar. Bowever, it is essential to consider the age, interests of thelearners and the language being used in the song while selecting a song '%aricoban

0 Metin, ())1*. /or e"ample, approaches taen in using songs among children

would be different from those used for teenagers and adults 'Barmer, ()) pupils in my class, even though they are of wea proficiency level, they do

give their full participation whenever I employed the use of games and songs for my

lesson. #his shows that their age and interest are still at the level where they much

more prefer to learn if it is filled with fun and meaningful activities where they canhave fun and learn at the same time. #he pupils are familiar with songs as it has

become an integral part of their life where they will listen to songs almost every day.

Even in the school setting, they are e"posed to routine songs such as the national

anthem, the state anthem and the school song. I have chosen the song ?unc/unc

as the tune of the song is catchy and the lyrics contain simple use of words that will

not be that difficult for the pupils to understand if I guide them to understand the

song. #he song lyric 'efer Appendi" (* contains the coordinating conjunctions that I

wish to teach the pupils which are 6and7, 6but7, 6or7. It also provides e"amples as to

how the coordinating conjunctions can be used. #his will provide an authentic

learning to the pupils and this is in accordance with %aricoban 0 Metin, '())1*,

where they said that, 6using songs in the teaching of grammar in language

classrooms is said to have many advantages. /or instance, they entertain and rela"

the learners while they are learning or practicing a structure, they often eliminate

students& negative attitude towards learning and through providing authenticity and


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conte"t they mae the grammar points more understandable and easy. '%aricoban 0

Metin, ())1*.

#o conclude this analysis, I believe that the use of the ?unc/unc song to

improve the use of coordinating conjunctions will be able to help me achieve the

desired outcomes if it is carried out appropriately and methodically. I will elaborate

more on the steps that will be taen to carry out this intervention later on in this

proposal.

3$0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES % &UESTIONS

esearch $bjectives


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1. #o improve the effectiveness of learning coordinating conjunctions by using

songs.(. #o improve the use of coordinating conjunctions in a sentence by using ?unc

/unc song to teach coordinating conjunctions.

esearch Fuestions

#he research @uestions are as followsG

1. :oes the use of song helps to improve the learning of coordinating

conjunctions among ear - pupils(. +hat is the effect of using ?unc/unc song to improve the use of coordinating

conjunctions among ear - pupils

'$0 TARGET GROUP

#his research will involve pupils from ear - in %eolah ebangsaan

Methodist Malim Nawar, ampar, !era. I will select - pupils out of 1> from this class


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to be my respondent in my research. All of the - pupils are of wea proficiency levels

and compared to the rest of their classmates, these - pupils do seem to e"perience

more problems in learning English compared to the others. #his is why I have

chosen them to be the research participants of this research as I want to determine

whether or not the intervention of using the ?unc/unc song will be able to help these

- pupils to achieve more in using the correct coordinating conjunctions to lin

sentences together.

As the - pupils are of wea proficiency level, I will only focus on the

coordinating conjunctions of 6and7, 6but7, 6or7 as I do not thin that they will be able to

learn effectively if I introduce the other coordinating conjunctions at the same time. It

is better if I focus on the three coordinating conjunctions first and mae sure theyunderstand how to use them correctly. #hus, I am hoping this research will be able to

help these - pupils in achieving the desired outcome which is improving their use of

coordinating conjunctions to lin sentences.

5$0 DATA COLLECTION METHOD


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In collecting the data for this research, I have decided on the use of :ata

#riangulation Method so that I can ensure that the research results will be valid. :ata

triangulation is the practice of using multiple methodologies or data sources to verify

the findings of an investigation and prove its credibility '3oh. D. B., ()1(*. I have

decided on the use of pre and posttest, observation notesCcheclist and interview as

the methods of data collection. !re and posttest falls under the category of

@uantitative data and observation notesCcheclist falls under the category of

@ualitative data.

I will conduct a pretest prior to the implementation of the intervention to test

how well the pupils can use the coordinating conjunctions of 6and7, 6but7 and 6or7. I

will then implement the use of the ?unc/unc song to teach coordinating

conjunctions, and test the effectiveness of using the intervention by giving the pupils

a posttest. #he results of the pretest and posttest will then be compared to see

whether there is significant improvement in the pupils& results after the intervention of

using the ?unc/unc song has been carried out. #his is considered as a @uantitative

data as @uantitative data is defined as a systematically approach to investigations

during which numerical data is collected '8ryman, ())H*. #he numerical data for this

instrument is the results obtained in both tests that will then be compared.

#he second data collection method will be observation notesCcheclist. #his

falls under the category of @ualitative data as according to 3oh. D. B., ()1(,

@ualitative data is a mass of words obtained from recordings of interview, fieldnotes

observation notes, and analysis of documents as well as reflective notes of the

researcher. #here are many positive aspects of the observational research

approach, namely, observations are usually fle"ible, and observations research

findings are considered to be strong in validity '3oh. D. B., ()1(*. #his can be further

validated with a reliable checlist that I have to adhere to when maing my

observation so that I now what aspects that I need to observe.

#he third instrument that I will use is interview. #he research interview is

defined as 6a two person conversation initiated by the interviewer for the specific

purpose of obtaining research-relevant information, and focused by him the content

specified by research objectives of systematic description, prediction, or explanation”

';annel 0 ahn, 12H>, @uoted in 3oh. D. B., ()1(*. I will conduct a semistructured


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interview where I will as a set of @uestions and the pupils can give their answers

based on the @uestions ased. #he interview will be conducted before, during and

after the implementation of the intervention.#he benefit of using semistructured

interview is that I can addon @uestions during the interview session to probe for

more data that will be useful for my data collection. I will record this interview with a

video device and I will then use the recorded material to help me in the process of

transcribing the interview.


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$0 ACTIONS TO BE CARRIED OUT

In every research, there will be an action research model used. #here are

several action research model that can be used such as %tephen emmis model

'12>=*, ?ohn Elliot model '1221*, :ave Ebbutt model '12>-*, ?ac +hitehead model

'12>>*, ?ean McNiff model '12>>* and urt Dewin model '12


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identifying the research @uestions and objectives, choosing the target group for the

research, planning the intervention strategy and choosing the instruments to gather

the data needed for the research '!lan*. :uring the internship period, I will prepare

the pretest that will be conducted prior to the implementation of the selected

intervention and administer it to the participants. #he intervention is then conducted

to determine whether it will be able to produce the desired outcomes for the targeted

pupils. #hen, I will conduct a posttest to determine whether there is improvement in

the results of the participants after the implementation of the intervention 'Act*. #hen,

observation will be done during the implementation of the intervention to chec

whether the intervention wors in helping the pupils to learn coordinating

conjunctions effectively. #he observation will be done by referring to the observation

checlist that I will prepare before the intervention is carried out '$bserve*. After

carrying out the intervention and identifying the result obtained from the intervention,

reflection is done to decide whether the actions done shows positive feedbac. If not,

the intervention needs to be improved on 'eflect*.

#hese four stages in the Action esearch model will be carried out according

to the assigned time frame that can be seen in table 1.

S/* A/42

'(nd Month of #hird !racticum* i. Identify focus of investigation or


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issues of concern

ii. $bjectivesCesearch Fuestions

iii. ;hoose target group

iv. ecommended action

v. !lan of action

vi. :ata gathering methods

vii. :ata analysis methods

'=rd Month of #hird !racticum* i. %ubmission of action research

proposal

'Internship !eriod*

i. ;onduct pretest prior to theintervention

ii. InterventionG ?unc/unc %ong

iii. ;onduct observation during the

implementation of the intervention

iv. ;onduct posttest after the

implementation of the intervention

v. ;ompare the results of pretestand posttest

vi. Analyse the data of pretest and

posttest.

vii. eflect on the effectiveness of the

intervention based on the results

obtained by the pupils during the

posttest

T8 1

:$0 DATA ANALYSIS

In the process of collecting the data using the chosen instruments, the data will be

analysed based on the suitable procedure of data analysis. /or the pre and posttest, the


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data obtained would be the results that the pupils achieved during both tests. #he result of

the pretest will be compared to the result of the posttest after the intervention was carried

out. #his is done to compare the effectiveness of the intervention and whether there is

significant improvement in the results of the pupils after the implementation of the

intervention. #he result will also be compared in the form of a bar graph.

P+/;2/ P+-// (


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considered as @ualitative data, the information gained have to be organised, summarised,

described and interpreted. #he interview will be recorded using a video device that I will later

transcribe and include in my action research.

A;;27? 1 S42* L@+

?unc /unc ';onjunctions* by Melissa ;orbett

;horusG #o join together or show contrast,

using a conjunction is where its at.

5sing conjunctions when you write,


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will mae your writing dynamiteJ

'chorus*

Kerse 1G 6And7 combines phrases, sentences, words.

Ill wal the dog and feed the birds.

68ut7 shows differences you may now.

ou were invited, but you cant goJ

'chorus*

Kerse (G 6$r7 gives choices. +hat should I do...

go to the par or go to the Loo

6If7 adds conditions, you will see.

Ill go to the par if you come with meJ

'chorus*

Kerse =G ;onjunctions add variety to the mi",

when simple sentences need a fi".

and, yet, or, if, therefore, but

nevertheless, however, thus, because..

chorus

A;;27? ! O+=/42 C6>8/

Aspect es No emar's*

1. !upils are motivated to learn when the ?unc/unc song isused to teach coordinating conjunctions.

(. !upils are able to identify the correct coordinatingconjunctions to be used in lining sentences after theimplementation of the ?unc/unc song.

=. !upils are able to give their full attention during thelesson.


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3oh, D. B. '()1(*. A Practical %uide to &riting 'our Action !esearch. %elangorG !enerbitan

Multimedia

%aricoban, A. 0 Metin, E. '$ctober ()))*. %ongs, Kerse and 3ames for #eaching 3rammar.

#he Internet #E%D ?ournal. httpGCCiteslj.orgC#echni@uesC%aricoban%ongs.htmlH=

ead, ;. '())9*. (( Activities for the Primary #lassroom) $"fordG Macmillan !ublishers

Dimited.

8rown, B. :. '()))*. Principles of language learning and teaching '2*. /esigning +ualitative research)

Newbury !ar, ;AG %age.

Documents

Amirazizi Action Research-3