Coordinator:
Mehdi B. Mehrani
Guidelines for
Publishing in Action Research
We have
recently specified a special column in Roshd FLT Journal for publishing
small-scale research studies that teachers conduct in their own classes. We
intend to publish at least one action research report in each issue of Roshd
FLT Journal. Thus, we encourage you to submit the reports of your classroom
research to be published in our “Action Research Column”.
We accept
papers on the basis of their relevancy to our readers, simplicity, readability,
and freshness of viewpoint. Your papers do not have to follow the standards of
scholarly, academic research papers. We do not use complicated statistical
analyses, technical terms or footnotes. Thus, write in a simple, plain and easy
to understand manner. Please cite all of your sources within the text, and
provide a list of references at the end of your article. When writing your
paper, please include the following information in your report:
• Your research
questions and your plan for answering the research questions
• The actions
that you did over a period of time in order to answer the questions
• Your
evaluation of the effects of the actions and any evidence that support your
evaluation
• Your
conclusion and suggestions for other teachers
To be accepted
for publication, your articles need to:
• Be maximum
2500 words, including references
• Be on a topic
of relevance or interest to Iranian language teachers
• Include an
abstract of no more than 200 words, and a list of references
We are looking
forward to your action research reports. Should you have any inquiries about
how to prepare a report of your action research, you can send an email to Dr.
Mehrani at the following address: meh.mehrani@gmail.com
Reza Zabihi, Mohammad Soltani
Abstract
It is widely
acknowledged that optimal learning in children takes place when they are
motivated to discover and learn in a playful and relaxed atmosphere. The
purpose of this action research was to investigate the role of teaching
accompanied by motor activities in the English achievement of Iranian learners.
A sample including 44 young language learners were placed into a control group
and an experimental group. The learners in the control group were taught in the
traditional way, but those in the experimental group were taught English
accompanied by physical activities in a gym-like class and through playing
roles and acting out. At the end, a written exam was administered to both
groups and the results were analyzed. Results from this study showed that the
treatment had a significant effect on learners’ achievement. This finding is
discussed and some pedagogical implications are provided.
Key Words: optimal
learning, English language, physical activities, Iranian English learners
1. Planning
Recent reviews
have paid well-deserved attention to explaining the relationship between
physical activity and school learning and behavior. For example, Tomporowski,
Lambourne, and Okumura (2011) report that data from large samples of children
suggest strong positive relationships between the amount of students’
participation in physical education and school behavior and their academic
success. In other words, optimal learning in children takes place when they are
motivated to discover and learn in a playful and relaxed atmosphere.
When it comes
to language learning, it has been proved that young children can learn
languages as naturally as they learn to run, jump and play (Baker, 2000, as
cited in Griva, Semoglou, & Geladari, 2010). According to Vygotsky’s
sociocultural theory of mind, language is not equal to thinking, but it shapes
thinking together with other artifacts, such as, for instance, gesture. Moreover,
some Neo-Whorfian scholars have tried to associate speaking and gesture as two
essential tools that regulate our thinking (McNeil, 1992; Slobin, 2003).
Children tend to learn language more implicitly rather than explicitly
(Slatterly & Willis, 2001). Given that it is not easy for them to analyze
the language as a system, language needs to be presented to them authentically
within meaningful contexts (Cameron, 2001).
In view of this
point, teachers should appeal to learners’ abilities, aptitudes and modalities
and create a promising classroom environment where learners learn the language
through amusement and enjoyment (Cakir, 2004). In this connection, Total
Physical Response (TPR) is a method of language teaching which enhances
learners' engagement through involving them in physical activity. One of the
assumptions of this method is that both hemispheres of the brain need to become
engaged when a learner learns a language (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). In
other words, similar to a child learning its mother tongue, the L2 learner
should first experience motor movements, which are controlled by the right
hemisphere of the brain (Asher, 1979). Subsequently, the left hemisphere
processes this information and goes on to "produce language and to
initiate other, more abstract language processes" (Richards & Rodgers,
2001, p. 75). Therefore, the learners’ acting out following the teachers’
commands is supposed to prepare them for processing the language. Moreover,
according to Larsen-Freeman (2000), role plays are quite essential in the
communicative approach because “they give students an opportunity to practice
communicating in different social contexts and in different social roles.” (p.
137). In view of the above Ü mentioned points, in this study we planned to examine
whether teaching English accompanied by physical activities have a significant
effect on learning English of Iranian young learners.
2. Action
The study was
conducted on 44 young language learners. They consisted of both male (N=23) and
female (N=21) learners who had enrolled in Adineh Language institute in
Mashhad. Their ages ranged between 7 and 10 years old. They all were zero
beginners and did not have any prior foreign language learning experience. At
the outset of the study, we divided the students into two groups namely control
(N=22) and experimental group (N=22). The mother tongue of all participants was
Persian. The materials for treatment in both groups were the vocabulary list,
sentences and phrases prepared for lesson planning. As post-test assessment we
prepared an achievement test based on
the materials covered in the class in written form.
This study
mainly adopted an action research design, but to follow a systematic procedure
in data collection, we followed a pretest-posttest randomized experiment
throughout the study. The second researcher was the teacher and trainer in both
experimental and control groups. The students in the experimental group were
assigned some kind of role play to act out what they had learned. The
activities lasted for 17 sessions during a period of two months. The learners
in the control group attended ordinary classes. In addition to in - class
treatment, the students in the experimental class sometimes attended a gym to
have both learning English and have some physical activities. At the end of the
study, both groups were given a test in written format.
3. Observation
In order to
systematically examine whether teaching English accompanied by physical
activities has a positive effect on young language learners, we used an
independent samples T-test. The results of this analysis is presented in Table
1. As can be seen in this table, the mean score of the achievement test for the
experimental group is 3.77 scores higher than the mean of the control group.
The results of
the independent samples t-test showed that there was a significant difference
between learners’ outcomes in the experimental and control groups (P< 0.05).
Therefore, it can be said that the experimental group that was taught English
accompanied by physical activities significantly outperformed the traditional
class.
4. Reflection
In this study
we attempted to examine how accompanying language learning with physical
activities can be of great help to language learners. Results from this study
showed that our treatment, i.e. teaching English accompanied by physical
activities had a significant effect on Iranian young English learners. It seems
that English language teachers are so focused on the verbal nature of the
language learning that many seem to underestimate or ignore the potentially
useful role that non-verbal activities like physical activities can play in the
language classroom.
Through the
administration of such techniques, the researchers came up with some
conclusions. Firstly, through accompanying physical activities with learning
English, not only can learners have more opportunities to "act" and
to "interact" with their peers trying to use the English language,
but also their English speaking, listening, and comprehension improves.
Secondly, even introvert and shy learners became interested in attending
conversational interactions via role-play, which can in turn lead to improvement
in their social behaviors. Last but not least, as a worthwhile teaching
experience, the employment of this
technique requires energetic and experienced teachers.
It is also recommended that more studies be
carried out to examine the physical activities in facilitating learning,
especially in the context of teaching English to young learners. Based on the
study carried out, we suggest that teachers become more familiar with the
importance of balancing the use of functions of the left hemisphere with the
functions of the right hemisphere and its application in their teaching
methods. Action researchers are advised to expand the scope of this research to
more classes with different levels of language proficiency. Additionally, the
experiment can be replicated in different geographical areas with different
cultural backgrounds to see if cultural factors can help or hinder the
effectiveness of this approach.
References
Asher, J.
C. (1979). Learning another language
through actions. San Jose, California: AccuPrint.
Cakir, I.
(2004). Designing activities for young learners in EFL classrooms. GU, Gasi
Egitim Dergisi, 24 (3), 101-112.
Cameron, L.
(2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Griva, E.,
Semoglou, K., & Geladari, A. (2010). Early foreign language learning:
implementation of a project in a game –based context. Selected Volume: Procedia
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2, 3700-3705.
Larsen-Freeman,
D. (1986). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
McNeill, D.
(1992). Hand and mind: what gestures reveal about thought. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Richards, J.,
& Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd
ed.). NewYork: Cambridge University Press.
Slattery, M.,
& Willis, J. (2001). English for primary teachers. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Slobin, D. I.
(2003). Language and thought online: cognitive consequences of linguistic
relativity. In Language in mind: Advances in the study of language and thought,
(Ed., D. G. S. Goldin-Meadow). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Tomporowski,
P.D., Lambourne, K., Okumura, M. S. (2001). Physical activity interventions and
children’s mental function: An introduction and overview. Preventive Medicine,
52, 3-9.
Vygotsky, L. S.
(1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
It seems that
English language teachers are so focused on the verbal nature of the language
learning that many seem to underestimate or ignore the potentially useful role
that non-verbal activities like physical activities can play in the language
classroom