SKKN Method to train listening skill for students in grade 5 to be effective

1. INTRODUCATION

1.1. The reason for selecting the topic.

Nowadays the trend of international integration in many areas including the field of education has brought English up a very important position. English as a means of communication is the key to the treasure of humanity. On the other hand, the wide application of information technology has made learning English become urgent and indispensable. So learning English of Elementary School students is particularly concerned by students, parents, all the teachers of education in our country. English has become one of the main subjects in the curriculum of students.

Learning and use of English require a diligent process of creative practice of both learners and teachers. Especially in the situation of education reform as currently, teaching English in view of communication methods is widely supported. According to this method, students have many opportunities to communicate, to practise language and to participate in practical situations: Learning coupled with practising.

1.2. The studying purpose of this topic.

Primary level English program has been implemented in all regions across the country. Innovation prominent feature of the content of this program is to provide maximum opportunities for students to practise four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing on the topics and situations, communication content related to environment living at home and abroad . The change in facilitating the teaching and learning of English in secondary schools becomes teaching living language instead of teaching words as many years ago. However, in practical English skills forged for students, teachers confronted with many difficulties, especially listening skill forged. Through my school in the rural areas, when students started to learn foreign languages, ​​most of them were very interested in English, but eventually they fell tired of it. Most of them are very bad at listening  skill. It’s difficult for them to understand the content of an essay or dialogue they hear. After each listening lesson, the teacher meets difficulty checking information that students had heard and checking old lesson often not easy.

Facing with that situation as a direct teachers to teach English for students in grade 5, who were exposed to the English language through grade 3,4, I myself  always think of how to help students master, listen comprehension and maturely manipulate information. During both teaching and observing the students, I found the discipline and listening skill of the students having a lot of problems. Most students do not know how to learn listening, ear training students often find most difficult. In the classroom, students often say that although there are many words in the test they know but they can not hear out. How to help students to use vocabularies and grammatical structures itself to effective listening? Therefore, in the teaching process, I find a number of methods for positive, simple, easy to understand practical ensure science to develop thinking ability, speculation and creativity of students. With my little experience I boldly go into a problem “Method to train English listening skill for students in grade 5 to be effective in Loc Tan primary School”.

1.3. The studying subjects.

Method to train English listening skill for students in grade 5 to be effective in Loc Tan primary School 

1.4. The studying menthods.

– Read related material to the topic.

– Study content of the 5th grade English program.

– Learn from teaching experience.

– Exchange with colleagues about the methods of educating students.

– Comparision  the development about the knowledge at the same age among the students in classes.

2. THE CONTENT OF THIS EXPERIENCE

2.1. The theoretical basis.

English, one of the foreign languages, ​​has been being learned by many Vietnamese people for communicating, learning and research. Currently, because of new method in learning and teaching, students have more favorable exposure to the English language. Students have the opportunity to communicate with people in English and easy to apply in life. Prominent feature of the innovation agenda for new textbooks is maximum opportunity for students to practice 4 skills. In that, listening skill is one of the focused skills development in the new methods of teaching foreign languages. Listening is important because students can not communicate with words without understanding what is heard.

2.2.The real situation of the studying issue.

2.2.1. Current status of the school.

           Loc Tan Primary School is located near the central of Hau Loc district. The school has a teaching staff who are young, fit, enthusiastic, capable of teaching and always love their job. Qualifications and standards are on 100 %. In the field of education, my school are always interested, focused on teaching and learning, always enabling teachers and students to fulfill the duties and assigned targets. And the school has always received the active support of the local government so many years, the school was rewarded as the advanced school in the district. But beside that the school has faced many difficulties in education. The total number of classes and students are overcrowded, but narrow campus, not enough playing and learning space for students, infrastructure is poor. Visual media, pictures, furniture for teaching and learning English are lacking.

2.2.2. About students and parents.

        Due to a commune in the rural areas, people live mainly on planting rice  but because of  over population, their living standard are low and strenuous. The majority of parents work far from their houses so their sons and daughters, who live with their grandparents, are lack of their parents’ attention. Adding to that, learning self-discipline of students is poor. Everyday communication skills of maritime students compared with students in urban areas is limited. Therefore, learning and communication in English, a second language of the children are more difficult. Pronunciation of their native language also lead to more errors in listening, teaching English and make English more difficult. Most of them are very timid, shy, yet bold communication, language delay thinking leads to low self-esteem, inferiority.

2.2.3. For teacher 

Being a teacher for many years teaching English in primary schools by the method of innovation, I myself noticed one thing: Most students in Loc Tan primary school, grade 5 in particular and our elementary students generally can not determine approach language learning (foreign language). The use of English is limited in their lives, they do not dare to speak, communicate with friends in English. Moreover, in the learning process, students are weak at listening skill, it is difficult to hear. To listen effectively, students must be trained and practised listening more to get used to the syllables, intonation of language, understand the meaning of information reflected in the pronunciation, word stress and sentence intonation.

The innovation of teaching methods pay much attention to thoughtful, proactive practices of students in English. But most of the children here do not have good conditions to learn English listening skill, time for learning is limited, the reference document depends on the family economy, from which the investment for learning listening skill is limited, too.

In addition, English is a difficult subject, the knowledge is difficult but less study time, and in the listening process they do not control what they will be listened. Words in tape are too fast, not familiar. A lot of new words, word stress, sentence stress,  intonation are very different and difficult for students to understand the content. On the other hand because they are in the coastal area, English communication environment is limited. So they have little chance to practise listening.

The question is how we overcome these weaknesses in order to contribute to improve the learning quality of listening skill, help students communicate more confident in using English as a second language, proficient in words, sentences, especially for students in  rural area as grade 5 students in LocTan  Primary School.