1

CONTENTS

Coursework feedback form.....................................................................i

Collaboration form..................................................................................ii

Original work declaration form...............................................................iii

TITLE.................................................................................................................1

1.0 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1

1.1 Background..............................................................................1-3

1.2 Reflection of past teaching.......................................................4-5

2.0 FOCUS OF INVESTIGATION................................................................6

2.1 Research Issue........................................................................6-7

2.2 Research Focus.......................................................................8-9

3.0 OBJECTIVES RESEARCH OBJECTIVES............................................10

3.1 Research Objective.....................................................................10

3.2 Reseach question........................................................................10

4.0 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS...............................................................11

5.0 RECOMMENDED ACTION.............................................................12-16

6.0 DATA GATHERING METHOD.........................................................17-18

7.0 DATA ANALYSIS.............................................................................19-22

8.0 IMPLEMENTING PLAN OF ACTION...............................................23-24

9.0 CONCLUSION......................................................................................25

REFERENCES............................................................................................... 26

APPENDICES

2

TITLE

USING PUPPETS TO ENCOURAGE YEAR 3 PUPILS TO RESPOND IN ENGLISH

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

English is one of the important subject in the school which the pupils need to

pass the paper in the examination.Learning English language, will enable the

pupils to communicate or interact with others in the world. The English Language

Curriculum for Primary Schools 2011 aims to equip pupils with basic language

skills to enable them to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts that’s

appropriate to the pupils’ level of development. That is why the one of the KSSR

objectives stated in The Primary School Standard Curriculum 2011 is :by the end

of the Year 6,pupils should be able to communicate with peers and adults

confidently and appropriately in formal and informal situations. It is to show that

how important the pupils need to learn communicating skill in English. Based on

this objective, a well-planned lesson and activity should be carried out to

encourage the pupils to respond in English especially during the lesson. Going

towards the aims and objective, most of the teachers used the Listening and

Speaking Skills to expose the pupils to the language. This is actually to arrouse

pupils’ interest in learning the English Language.

There are many techniques and approaches to help the teacher to teach the

pupils to learn communication skill. The teacher needs to apply all the skills that

related to communication skill. In this context, to encourage the pupils to respond

in English, the teacher can use puppets as an aid. Puppet is one of suitable

media can be used in the classroom especially for the level one pupils.

3

Lev Vygotsky (1962), a Russian teacher and psychologist, first stated that

we learn through our interactions and communications with others. Vygotsky

(1962) examined how our social environments influence the learning

process. He suggested that learning takes place through the interactions

students have with their peers, teachers, and other experts.

As an English teacher, to teach a communication skill is a must. So, if the

pupils are not able to communicate in English, it means the objective is not

achieved. To ensure the skill can be mastered by the pupils and pupils enjoy

learning English, the teacher must have good planning to teach the skill. The

activities to be carried out must be suitable to the pupils’ level and the school

environment especially in the rural area.

My school is located in a semi rural area which is surrounded by rubber

estate and paddy fields.It is a small school consisting of 46 teachers and about

592 pupils.The majority of pupils in my school are Malays.My school has only one

session.Most of the pupils cannot converse and write in English well due to their

background and average achievement. Most of them come from low social

economic background because most of their parents work in industrial

sectors.Some of their parents work as farmers and gardeners. Due to lack of

encouragement and motivation from family members and community, the pupils

never use or speak English at home. They only use the target language during

English period in the school. Sometimes teachers have to force them to use or

communicate in the target language during English activities in the school

because they totally depend on the teachers. Due to their low achievement and

environment, I need to be creative to attract their interest to learn and understand

English well. According to Chomsky all humans are born with a native ability to

4

acquire a language and that language develops automatically within us when we

are exposed to our surroundings (Ericsson 1993:106).

Even though they do not really understand the language, they have the

passion to learn.That makes me feel interested to find the techniques and

approaches to make them love English. I need to do some research on how to

enable my pupils to use and communicate in English well.

Therefore , the aim of this research is to let the Year 3 pupils to

communicate in English especially to respond to the teacher’s questions in the

classroom using English language rather than their mother tongue.

5

1.2 REFLECTION

During the teaching and learning process,I realized that some of my pupils were

not able to communicate and respond in English. When I asked them something that

was related to the topic, they would answer me in their mother tongue,the Malay

Language. They ever use their mother tongue to give a one word answer,when I

repeated their answer in English then only they would answer it in English. So, I am

not happy with this situation because it may affect my lessons. In the Year 3

Document Standard it is indicated in the content standards of Listening and Speaking

Skills, 1.1.1 Able to speak with correct word stress and 1.2.1 Able to participate in

daily conversations which need the pupils to speak or talk in English. If my pupils

could answer me in English even a single word response, it will enable me to help

pupils pronounce or speak English correctly and my objectives can be achieved.

Even though there were a few pupils giving good responses to me, I felt dissatisfied

because not all of them could answer in English. This situation made me frustrated

and I need to do some research to find the reasons and ways that may help me solve

the problem. Sometimes I felt like I am teaching the Malay Language instead of

English.

I am teaching a Year 3 average class. They are supposed to be able to

respond or answer the questions using simple English rather than answer it in their

mother tongue. Actually, they knew the answer but they felt ashamed or afraid of

doing mistakes. I told them not to worry of trying to answer in English if they want to

improve their language. I did try many techniques and approaches to overcome their

anxiousness and shyness such as asked them to role play the dialogue or doing

group work in the classroom,yet they still face the problem of anxiousness and

shyness. In 1997 Tornberg points out that pupils studying a foreign language usually

6

think that it is important to be able to speak the target language but in order for the

pupils to be able to communicate orally in the target language a certain amount of

self-esteem among the pupils is required. To build pupils self-esteem, I tried to ask

them something close to them that can help them to get the idea to respond in

English. I just asked them for simple words and give them rewards or compliment if

they responding in English.

7

2.0 FOCUS OF INVESTIGATION

2.1 Research Issue

As a fifteen- year experienced teacher, I notice that during my teaching and

learning process, some of my pupils like to respond or communicate in L1 when I

asked them questions or asked about their opinions.They seemed ashamed or afraid

to use target language because perhaps they fear of being laughed at for making

mistakes or giving the wrong answer. I observed that about nearly half of the class

were not able to answer in English. Most of them are used to speak in L1. When I

asked them to discuss in group,they would surely discuss in L1. I can accept this

because they were talking among themselves but the issue is they respond to me in

Malay language. For example, when I asked them to talk about their hobbies in front

of the class.They will tell the class their names in English.When it comes to telling

about other things or answering questions,some of them did not know how to speak

and it was found out that pupils had difficulty to speak especially when they were

asked to talk in front of the class.They will only be able to speak or talk when they

were guided by the teacher. I need to give them a few examples then only they will

try to talk in English. Through my observation,I noticed that they also not confident to

answer or respond in English because when they tried to answer the question they

looked nervous and tremble.Some of them were already get used to answer in their

mother tongue that make them not answering in English. This situation happened

since the first day I entered the class. When I asked them to introduce about

themselves,some of them introduced themselves in English and a few of them used

their mother tongue because I gave them choice to answer in English or Malay

Language. Actually, I just want to test and identify their readiness and abilities to

respond in English. The good pupils had tried to answer in English but nearly half of

8

the class answered or responded in Malay Language. In a few months teaching

them, I noticed that, during Listening and Speaking sessions, some of them were

really not able to answer or refuse to respond in English. They will only respond in

English if the topic is familiar or close to them. If I let this problem to continue like this

, they might not be able to improve using the target language. To make them respond

in English,sometimes I asked them to refer to the textbook or activity book that they

could find the answer. I think this problem is quite serious because if they do not want

to respond in English it might affect their speaking or reading skills because I will not

know their abilities to speak in English and their pronounciation might be wrong and

no one can correct them.Thus I need to find a way to apply the techniques or

approaches that can help them to respond or communicate in English.

9

2.2 Research Focus

Based on the objectives stated in The Primary School Standard Curriculum

2011 is :by the end of the Year 6,pupils should be able to communicate with peers

and adults confidently and appropriately in formal and informal situations, the pupils

should be taught or trained to speak, respond or communicate in English. One

question that needs to be asked,however,is whether the pupils are really can

communicate in English confidently in formal and informal situations.

Ur (2005:5-6) claims that in order to get the pupils to communicate with each

other and express themselves freely in the target language it is necessary to use

interesting topics, but more importantly the discourse must have a meaningful

purpose.

To communicate in foreign language if the pronounciation is different, the

meaning might be wrong. Tornberg (1997:17) points out how important it is that

pupils understand that what they practice and learn in the foreign language

classroom is meant to be used outside the classroom situation, in reality. To improve

the use of language,we must always use the language in all situations.

Pupils have different strategies for learning and achieving their goals. A few

pupils in a classroom will grasp and learn quickly, but at the same time there will be

those who have to be repeatedly taught using different techniques for the pupils to be

able to understand the lesson. As a teacher,I need to continuously monitor the pupil

in order for me to be aware of any difficulties the pupil is having. Understanding the

pupil’s problem, fear, or confusion will give me a better understanding the pupil’s

learning difficulties. Once I become aware of the problems, I will have more patience

10

with the pupil, thus making the pupil feel secure or less confused when learning is

taking place in the classroom.

The communication between the pupils and the teacher serves as a connection

between the two, which provides a better atmosphere for a classroom environment.

Of course a teacher is not going to understand every problem for every pupil in his or

her classroom, but will acquire enough information for those pupils who are struggling

with specific tasks. A significant body of research indicates that “academic

achievement and student behavior are influenced by the quality of the teacher and

student relationship” (Jones 95). The more the teacher connects or communicates

with his or her pupils, the more likely they will be able to help pupils learn at a high

level and accomplish quickly.

Interaction between the pupils and teacher becomes extremely important for a

successful relationship through the entire time of a school year. A close, but limited

relationship between the pupils and teacher can be helpful for those pupils who are

shy, and find speaking in front of the classroom difficult or pupils who have low self-

esteem. The tension these pupils hold in a classroom will have the confidence they

had always wanted, but never achieved due to not having a good relationship with

the teacher. Teachers can establish a positive relationship with their pupils by

communicating with them.

The focus of my study is on speaking skills. My action research attempts to

examine my pupils’ lack of ability to respond and communicate in English to enable

them to use the target language well.

11

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND RESEARCH QUESTION

3.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

a. To find out whether using puppets as an aid can help Year 3 pupils to respond

or communicate in English.

b. To examine how the use of puppets can be used to help Year 3 pupils to

respond or communicate in English.

3.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

a. Can the puppets help Year 3 pupils to respond or communicate in English

orally?

b. How can the use of puppets help the Year 3 pupils to respond or

communicate in English?

12

4.0 RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS

4.0 THE PARTICIPANTS

The total of 34 pupils of Year 3M from one of the primary school (SK) in the

area of Tasek Gelugor participated in the study. The students are 16 boys and 18

girls. One hundred percent of the class population consists of Malay pupils.

The background of the pupils is from low social economic status because most

of their parents work in industrial sectors.Some of their parents work as farmers and

gardeners.Their achievement in Midyear Examination shows that they are weak in

English.The shyness and anxiousness are the factors that the pupils do not want to

speak in English.Most of them are weak in speaking.From 34 pupils in the

class,about 7-8 pupils are inable to answer or respond in English orally. They used to

answer in their mother tongue. The rest are able to respond or try to respond in

English orally even though only a word.

13

5.0 RECOMMENDED ACTION

My Action Reseach focuses on problem in speaking. One of the problem

that faces by my pupils is their inability to respond or communicate in English orally.

To enable the pupils to speak and talk in English well, as a teacher, I should drill and

let the pupils practice communicating in English daily. This will help the pupils to

overcome their pronunciation problem and shyness to speak in English. Furthermore

it can built their self-esteem especially when using the target language.

According to (Brown 2000:144)Second language learners need to be receptive

both to those with whom they are communicating and to the language itself,

responsive to persons and to the context of communication, and willing and able to

place a certain value on the communicative act of interpersonal exchange. To apply

the communicative skill to the pupils ,as a teacher I think using puppets as a media

can help me to generate learning conversations amongst the pupils.It can help the

pupils to enhance their ability to interact or respond in English. The use of puppets in

the curriculum from preschool to college classes can offer many benefits. Sandra M.

Reidmiller (2008) states about the research published in the Journal of Child

Neurology and the Pediatric Academy Societies (2002) showed, using sophisticated

imaging technology, that the use of puppets in play dramatically boosted blood and

oxygen levels to the brain. The use of puppets prepares the brain for learning and is

a powerful motivator in learning.

Sandra M. Reidmiller (2008) states that the research conducted by Vida

Zuljevic (2005) found that teachers reported that the use of puppets in the classroom

increased student involvement, motivation, and the development of student’s

reading, oral language, and communication skills. She also states that C.L. Piazza

14

(1999) indicates that the use of puppets may encourage students to “try out ideas

and investigate on their own.”

According to Atika Sugiarti (2012) using puppet is one way to teach more

effectively in teaching speaking. It is interesting and easy to learn speaking as a

second language learner in a fun setting activity. Children can express what they

want to say to the puppet confidently with all of their attention. They can give their

responses in this activity such as giving an idea, asking a question or answering a

question. Puppets successfully as a tool to encourage children to express their

feelings, and even to change their behaviors (Lennon & Barbato, 2001). In regards of

the advantages highlighted above,I attempt to show that using puppet can help the

Year 3 pupils respond or communicate in English. The focus of my research is to

enable the Year 3 pupils to respond and communicate in English orally in order to

develop their communication skill.

15

5.1 ACTION PLAN

The first step in my action research is conducting a pre interview. The purpose

of the pre interview is to identify the ability of the pupils to respond in English and to

obtain information from the pupils who had difficulties in responding or

communicating in English. The pre interview will be conducted before the action.The

pre interview will be conducted based on the pupils’ background or details that

familiar with their daily life. The questions will be based on the topic they are learning

(Unit 1 – Things I Do). There are five questions to be answered by certain

participants to find out the ability of the pupils to respond in English. The teacher will

use a checklist to obtain the information of the pupils’ abilities in responding or

answering in English.

On the second week, the teacher will introduce the puppet to the pupils by

entering the classroom with a puppet at the hand. Then the teacher will use simple

greeting to encourage and activate the pupils to respond or answer in English. The

teacher will act as a puppeteer and try to greet the pupils using simple sentences or

familiar words to the pupils. This activity is to give the idea to the pupils on how to

use the puppet to interact with teacher or friends confidently without any pressure.

Unconsciously pupils learn on how the teacher conducts the puppet and use the

simple conversation in order to interact with others. Starting with the topic Things I

Do, the teacher slowly introduce the role of puppet in the lesson.From day 1 to day 4,

the teacher will use the same technique for induction set while entering the class to

ensure the pupils mastering the words or sentences that used by the teacher while

using the puppet based on the learning standard 1.1.1- which is able to talk with

correct word stress.On day 5, the pupils will make their own puppets for Language

Art period then using the puppet to sing a song. The pupils will be given chance to

16

explore the puppet world using their own puppets.Perhaps they will immitate what the

teacher does everyday to them using the puppet.

On the third week, the teacher will explain to the pupils about the function of

using puppet in communicating with others.Based on the learning standard 1.2.1(e)-

which is able to talk about oneself in the topic Being Healthy,the teacher will give a

short dialogue and pupils will interact with their friends using the puppets based on

the dialogue given. This activity is to develop the pupils self-esteeem and enable

them to interact in English without feeling pressure or fear. During the lesson,teacher

will observe the pupils who had difficulties in communicating in English.

On the fourth week, based on the topic Having Fun,the teacher will give

situation to the pupils and they need to respond to the teacher questions using

puppet.This will help them to overcome their shyness and anxiousness to talk or

speak in front of the class because they will not feeling pressure or fear.They will act

as the puppet at their hand and surely they manage to overcome their shyness

because they will think they are not talking but the puppet itself. Based on the

learning standard 1.2.1 which is able to participate in daily conversation, this

activity will help the pupils to take part in the daily conversation unconsciously with

self-confidence. During the lesson,teacher will ask the questions based on the topic

that the pupils need to find the answer on their owns.This activity actually to enable

them orally can respond to the teacher in English naturally.

Table 1 and Figure 1 shows the explanation of steps and activities that will be carried

out and the justification of activities.

17

Table 1 : Explanation of steps and activities that will be carried out and justification of

activities.

WEEK

LESSON

ACTION TAKEN

RATIONALE

1

Things I Do

1.1.1

Method

Pre Interview

-To identify the ability of the

pupils to respond in English.

-To obtain information from

pupils who had difficulties in

responding or communicating

in English.

2

Being Healthy

1.2.1(e)

-Teacher will enter the class with

a puppet at the hand.

-Teacher will be a puppeteer to

greet the pupils using simple

greeting.

-Pupils will make their own puppets.-

-Pupils will sing with their own

puppets at their hands.

-To expose and introduce the

use of puppet to the pupils for

communication skills.

-To encourage and activate

pupils to respond or interact

with the teacher.

-To give chance to the pupils

to explore the puppet world.

18

Method

Observation and checklist.

3

Having Fun

1.2.1

-Teacher will explain the function of

using puppet in communicating with

others.

-Teacher will give a short dialogue

based on the topic and the pupils

will interact with their friends using

the dialogue given with the puppet

at their hands.

Method

Reflection journal

-To provide input and

information on using puppet in

communication skill.

-To guide the pupils to carry

out the activity using the

puppet.

-To encourage the pupils to

communicate in English

among themselves.

4

1

-Teacher will give the situation to

the pupils based on the topic taught

and they will interact with their

friends using the puppets.

-Teacher will ask questions based

on the topic taught and they need

-The data collected from the

checklist will be analyzed by

comparing the pre interview

and post interview.

-To identify the change of their

19

to answer or respond in English

orally using the puppet to help them.

Method

Post Interview

-Identify the change of their interest

in communicating in English after

implementing the intervention.

interest to communicate in

English after implementing the

action.

20

6.0 DATA GATHERING METHOD

The qualitative and quantitative data will be used in this research that attempt

to show the using of the puppet as a media to help the Year 3 pupils respond or

communicate in English orally.

OBSERVATION

An observation will be one of the data gathering method in this research

because to help the teacher to identify the pupils who had difficulties in responding

or communicating in English orally. It is also can help the teacher to identify the

pupils who are good in responding or communicating in English.

PRE INTERVIEW AND POST INTERVIEW

Pre and post interview will be used to obtain information on who had difficulties

in responding or communicating in English.It is to investigate whether using the

puppet will help and enable the pupils to communicate in English orally without

shyness and anxiousness. The pre and post interview will help the teacher to

complete the checklist in order to identify the pupils’ achievement and the change of

their interest after implementing the action.

Pre Interview

A pre interview will be conducted before the action.It will be conducted before

implement the action. I will choose 7 pupils who had difficulties in responding or

answering question orally in English. Five questions will be asked based on the

pupils’ background or details that familiar with their daily life to find out the ability of

21

the pupils to respond in English. The teacher will use a checklist to obtain the

information of the pupils’ abilities in responding or answering in English.

Post Interview

A post interview will be used to see the result of the actions.It will be conducted

to identify the change of their interest in responding or communicating in English

orally after implementing the actions.

CHECKLIST

The checklist will be used to gather the information and identify the achievement

of pupils abilities in responding and communicating in English orally.

JOURNAL REFLECTION

I will write journal reflection after the lesson to help me to recall and identify the

pupils behaviours and abilities during the lesson especially after implementing the

actions.

22

7.0 DATA ANALYSIS

The data collected will be tabulated in a checlist and graph to see the

achievement of pupils in mastering the communication skills especially in responding

to the teacher questions during the lesson.

OBSERVATION

During the observation I will use the checklist to identify the pupils’ abilities in

responding or communicating in English. The data obtained from the observation

checklist will be used to identify the amount of pupils that are good and able to

respond in English and the total of pupils that have difficulties or lack of ability in

responding or communicating in English.I will observe how they interact among

themselves.

PRE INTERVIEW AND POST INTERVIEW

The interview session will be taped or recorded then will be transcribed word by

word. The data text will be used to analyze the problem or weaknesses of the pupils.

I will elecit the exact information that will help me to overcome their problem in

communicating or responding in English orally.

23

CHECKLIST

The data collected from the checklist will be used to identify the level of pupils

abilities in responding or communicating in English. The data collected will be

tabulated in a bar graph.

JOURNAL REFLECTION

The information data gathered from the journal reflection will be used to help the

teacher to identify the problem and to find out the method or approaches that can

help the teacher to overcome the weaknesses in Learning and Teaching session and

to solve the problem that occured during the lesson.It is also can be used to help the

teacher to plan well for the next lesson to make the lesson goes smoothly and

affective.

24

Table 2 : Data Gathering Method and Method Of Analysis.

No DATA GATHERING METHOD METHOD OF ANALYSIS

1.

Observation

-will be used to identify the pupils who are

good and who had difficulties in

responding or communicating in English

orally.

- The data will be used to identify the

pupils who had difficulties and good in

responding or communicating in English

orally.

- The data obtained from the observation

checklist will be used to identify the

amount of pupils that are good and able

to respond in English and the total of

pupils that have difficulties or lack of

ability in responding or communicating

in English

2.

Pre Interview and Post Interview

Pre Interview- will be conducted before

implement the action to

obtain the information of

the pupils’ abilities in

responding or answering

in English.

Post Interview- will be carried out to

- The data will collected from the

interview by comparing the achievement

of the pupils from the pre interview and

post interview.

- The result obtained will be recorded and

tabulated in a checklist form.

- Tape and record the interview session

25

identify the change of

their interest in

responding or

communicating in English

orally after implementing

the actions.

and then transcribe the text word by

word.

- The transribe text will be becomes the

data to analyze.

3.

Checklist - will be used to gather the information and

identify the achievement of pupils abilities

in responding and communicating in

English orally.

-The data collected from the checklist will be

used to identify the level of pupils abilities in

responding or communicating in English.

-The data collected will be tabulated in a bar

graph.

4.

JOURNAL REFLECTION

- to help the teacher to recall and

identify the pupils behaviours and

abilities during the lesson especially

after implementing the actions.

- The data collected will be used by the

teacher to overcome the weaknesses in

Learning and Teaching session and to

solve the problem that occured during

the lesson.

- The data identified will be used to plan

well for the next lesson to make the

lesson goes smoothly and affectively.

26

8.0 IMPLEMENTING PLAN OF ACTION

Table 3: Gantt Chart from the start of planning till writting up of the research

report.

27

Table 4 : The budget for this research

28

9.0 CONCLUSION

In my oppinion, using puppet as a media in teaching speaking can improve

and develope pupils self-esteem in speaking in english. Children can speak

confidently using the puppet without any pressure from the teacher or environment in

formal condition learning. They will feel more comfort to say what they want to say or

what they feel in a situation or condition that make them feel comfort and interesting

for them to learn. By using the puppet, I hope it will help me to achieve the objective

of learning to enable my pupils to respond or communicate in English.