DECLARATION OF THESIS / UNDERGRADUATE PROJECT REPORT AND COPYRIGHT

Author’s full name : ELIZABETH RACHEL ANAK TIWI

Date of Birth : 17 JULY 1988

Title : TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE TO PRE-SCHOOL

LEARNERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER, KUCHING, SARAWAK

Academic Session : 2010/2011

I declare that this thesis is classified as:

CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act

1972)*

RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organization where research was done)*

OPEN ACCESS I agree that my project report to be published as online open

access (full text)

I acknowledged that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia reserves the right as follows:

1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

2. The Library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has the right to make copies for the

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Certified by:

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR

880717-52-5110 PM DR. SALBIAH SELIMAN

(NEW IC NO/PASSPORT) NAME OF SUPERVISOR

Date: Date:

PSZ 19:16 (Pind. 1/07)

NOTES: * If the thesis is CONFIDENTAL or RESTRICTED, please attach with the letter from

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UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my

opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the

award of the degree of Bachelor of Science with Education (TESL)”

Signature : ………………………….........

Name of Supervisor : PM Dr. Salbiah Seliman

Date : 9 May 2011

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE TO PRE-SCHOOL

LEARNERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER, KUCHING, SARAWAK

ELIZABETH RACHEL ANAK TIWI

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Science with Education (TESL).

Faculty of Education

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

MAY 2011

ii

I declare that this thesis entitled “TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND

LANGUAGE TO PRE-SCHOOL LEARNERS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

CENTER, KUCHING, SARAWAK” is the result of my own research except as cited

in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not

concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature : ....................................................

Name : ELIZABETH RACHEL ANAK TIWI

Date : 9 May 2011

iii

DEDICATION

Dedicated,

in thankful appreciation and support, encouragement and understanding,

to my beloved parents,

my loving brothers,

my supervisor,

Datin Valerie Mashman,

and

my dear friends.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to thank God for answering my prayers and

giving me the determination to make this project a success.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to

my supervisor, PM Dr. Salbiah Seliman, whose encouragement, guidance and

support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of

the subject.

Special thanks to Datin Valerie Mashman of English Language Centre,

Kuching for giving me the permission to conduct this study in the tuition centre, and

to the teachers who were willing to participate in this study, thank you for being so

helpful.

Not forgetting, my parents: Petrus Tiwi and Fimel Nuting, thank you for

being so tolerant all these years and guiding me in every single way. I would not be

who I am today without them. To my brothers: Frankie Romero Tiwi, James Oslen

Tiwi and Marcus Tyron Tiwi, I would like to take this chance to thank the three of

you for being so supportive throughout the years.

Last but not least, my appreciation goes to Christine Jamie Vincent,

Christopher Sim and all my friends for their words of encouragement especially

when I faced tough times while completing this report. I offer my regards and

blessings to all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of

this project. Thank you so much and may God bless all of you.

v

ABSTRACT

English is a subject offered in most Malaysian pre-schools. Some children enter pre-

schools with zero English knowledge. With this is mind, a study on how English is being taught

to pre-schoolers in an English tuition centre in Kuching was conducted. More specifically, this

study aims to identify the Second Language Theory and teaching methodologies used by the ESL

teachers, and also to investigate the learning style used by the learners. A set of interview

questions and observation sheet were used to collect the data for this study. The study findings

indicated that teachers gave a lot of drillings to the students. Besides, immediate corrections with

positive reinforcements were done if the students made mistakes. Activities involving physical

movements were also conducted in the lessons. It was found that the students loved to move

around and liked to look at and describe pictures. It was also found that the students loved to

touch the materials that were used in the lessons. Based on the findings of the research, it can be

concluded that the teachers’ beliefs were based on the Behaviourism Theory, since they were

seen to have used the Audio-Lingual Methods during the lessons. Total Physical Response

(although it does not belong to the Behaviourism Theory) was also used as most of the children

are kinaesthetic learners and they loved to move around. It was also discovered that the learners

were of visual and tactical learners. One of the recommendations made based on the research

findings was to suggest that teachers should produce more activities which suit the learners’

preferred learning styles.

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ABSTRAK

Bahasa Inggeris merupakan salah satu subjek yang ditawarkan di setiap pra-sekolah di

Malaysia. Segelintir kanak-kanak yang memasuki pra-sekolah langsung tidak mempunyai

pengetahuan tentang Bahasa Inggeris. Oleh sebab itu, satu kajian telah dibuat mengenai cara

pengajaran Bahasa Inggeris kepada kanak-kanak pra-sekolah di salah satu pusat tiusyen Bahasa

Inggeris di Kuching. Secara khususnya, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti Teori Bahasa

Kedua dan kaedah pengajaran yang digunakan oleh para guru Bahasa Inggeris, dan juga untuk

mengkaji cara pembelajaran yang digunakan oleh kanak-kanak. Satu set soalan temubual dan

kertas pemerhatian telah digunakan untuk mengumpul data untuk kajian tersebut. Hasil kajian ini

telah mendapati yang para guru lebih suka mengajar dengan memberi latihtubi kepada kanak-

kanak. Selain itu, pembetulan menerus berserta pengukuhan positif turut dilakukan jika pelajar

melakukan sebarang kesilapan. Aktiviti yang melibatkan pergerakan fizikal juga diadakan waktu

pengajaran. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa kanak-kanak suka bergerak, dan melihat dan

menguraikan sesuatu gambar. Di samping itu, kajian ini juga mendapati bahawa kanak-kanak

suka menyentuh bahan-bahan yang digunakan semasa sesi pengajaran. Secara kesimpulannya,

berdasarkan hasil kajian yang telah diperolehi, kepercayaan para guru adalah berdasarkan Teori

Behaviourisme kerana mereka telah dilihat menggunakan kaedah oudiolingual semasa

pengajaran. Total Physical Response turut digunakan kerana kebanyakkan kanak-kanak

merupakan pelajar kinestetik yang suka bergerak semasa proses pembelajaran. Hasil kajian juga

menemukan yang kanak-kanak merupakan pelajar visual dan pelajar tactile. Salah satu cadangan

berdasarkan hasil kajian ialah untuk menyarankan para guru untuk menghasilkan lebih banyak

aktiviti yang bersesuaian dengan cara pembelajaran yang disukai oleh kanak-kanak.

vii

CONTENT

CHAPTER PARTICULAR PAGE

TITLE i

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES xiv

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.2 Statement of Problem 3

1.3 Purpose of the Research 4

1.4 Research Objectives 5

1.5 Research Questions 5

viii

1.6 Scope of the Study 5

1.7 Significance of the Research 6

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Teaching a Foreign Language to Young Learners 7

2.2 Second Language Teaching and Learning Theories 11

2.3 Second Language Teaching Methodologies 12

2.4 Second Language Teaching Methodologies to

Young Learners 18

2.5 Children Learning Styles 20

3 METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 Respondents 25

3.2 Instruments 26

3.2.1 Interview Questions 26

3.3.2 Observation List 27

3.3 Research Procedure 27

3.4 Data Collection 28

3.4.1 Conducting the Interview 28

3.4.2 Conducting the Observation 29

3.5 Data Analysis 30

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 32

4.1 Second Language Theory Used by the Teachers 32

ix

4.1.1 Teachers’ Beliefs When Teaching English to

Pre-primary Students 33

4.2 Teaching Methodologies Used by the Teachers 35

4.2.1 Teaching Techniques in Class 36

4.2.2 Teacher’s Role in Class 37

4.2.3 Teacher’s Way of Dealing with Students Who Have

Difficulties to Understand 39

4.2.4 Promoting Parts of Speech in Lesson 41

4.2.5 Strategies to Attract Children’s Attention in the Classroom 43

4.2.5.1 Models, Project Work, Storybooks and Games 44

4.2.5.2 Authentic Items, Stories and Flash Cards 46

4.3 Learning Styles Used by the Learners 48

4.3.1 Activities that the Learners Enjoy Doing Most 48

4.3.1.1 Learning Experience Which Involves

Exploring and Experimenting 48

4.3.1.2 Playing Games and Responding to Authentic

Materials 49

4.3.1.3 Observation on the Children’s Learning Styles 50

5 CONCLUSIONS 52

5.1 Conclusions 52

5.1.1 Teachers’ Beliefs on Behaviourism Theory 53

5.1.2 Teachers’ Preference of Using the ALM and

TPR Teaching Methods 54

5.1.3 Children as Kinaesthetic, Visual and Tactile Learners 55

5.2 Recommendations 56

5.2.1 Recommendations Based on Research Findings 56

5.2.2 Recommendations for Future Research 57

5.3 Limitations 57

x

REFERENCES 59

BIBLIOGRAPHY 65

APPENDICES 67

xi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

2.1 Piaget’s Hypothesized Stages of Cognitive Development 8

2.2 Methods and Teacher and Learners Roles 13

3.1 Summary of the Data Set 31

xii

LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

2.1 Language Teaching Methodology 13

2.2 Building blocks of understanding in teaching English to

young learners 18

2.3 Optimal conditions suggested by Read (2003) 22

4.1 Teacher A’s Response on Question 1(Appendix A) 33

4.2 Teacher B’s Response on Question 1(Appendix A) 34

4.3 Teacher A’s Response on Question 2(Appendix A) 36

4.4 Teacher B’s Response on Question 2(Appendix A) 36

4.5 Teacher A’s Response on Question 3(Appendix A) 37

4.6 Teacher B’s Response on Question 3(Appendix A) 38

4.7 Teacher B’s Response on Question 4(Appendix A) 39

4.8 Teacher A’s Response on Question 4(Appendix A) 40

4.9 Teacher B’s Response on Question 5(Appendix A) 41

4.10 Teacher A’s Response on Question 5(Appendix A) 42

4.11 Teacher A’s Response on Question 6(Appendix A) 44

4.12 Teacher B’s Response on Question 6(Appendix A) 46

4.13 Teacher B’s Response on Question 7(Appendix A) 49

4.14 Teacher A’s Response on Question 7(Appendix A) 50

xiii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ALM Audio-Lingual Method

CLL Community Language Learning

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

ESL English as a Second Language

GTM Grammar Translation Method

L1 First Language

L2 Second Language

SLA Second Language Acquisition

SLL Second Language Learning

SLT Second Language Teaching

TEYL Teaching English to Young Learners

TPR Total Physical Response

xiv

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX TITLE PAGE

A Interview Questions 67

B Observation Sheet 68

C Observation Data 70

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter includes the introduction, background of study, statement of problem,

objectives, research questions and scope of the study followed by the significance of the

study.

1.1 Background of the study

In Malaysian context, “preschool” is where children are sent for early childhood

education before they enter the real school, i.e. the primary and secondary schools.

According to the Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia (Ministry of Education

Malaysia), preschools in Malaysia are to enhance children‟s potential in every

development aspect, master the basic skills and develop positive mindset as a

preparation to enter primary school. The learning environment would be more flexible

2

and informal. The teaching and learning process would be in a fun and enjoyable

environment, which is by playing. Activities that are planned emphasize on the

children‟s development as a whole, and are also integrated and balanced. Besides that, it

focuses on the activities which could stimulate children‟s instinct of curiosity, to

strengthen the children‟s motor of coordination, to use their creativity, to foster

teamwork, to respect and to be disciplined in order to prepare them for a more formal

learning environment in primary schools.

Some perceive that the benefits of early childhood education have long been

unclear. Most people might think that some children might grow up to be intelligent and

reliable young adults even if they were not sent for early childhood education. Some of

the disadvantages are that they might not get the benefits that they could have gotten

during early childhood education such as having higher self esteem, better enjoyment of

learning process and having a grasp of peer relationships.

English is one of the subjects offered in preschool. When teaching English,

teachers have to understand the whole concept of teaching and learning process of young

learners so that they are able to provide the learners a more conducive learning

environment. However, teaching English to children is not a simple task. Teaching

English to children requires the teachers to have a lot of passion as the teacher needs to

get the attention of the children. Suitable and appropriate method and approaches are

needed to reach the hearts of these children.

Many researchers have shown that young learners can learn a second language

better compared to adult learners (O‟Donnell et. al, 2007; Johnson and Newport, 1989;

and Bialystok, 2001). As children are taught a second language at a very early age, they

will find it easier to absorb the second language as their first language is still not

entrenched as how it is for adult learners. However, they will not engage themselves in

3

the learning environment if the lesson is not fun (Jensen, 1994; Dryden & Vos, 1997;

Dryden & Rose, 1995). That is one of the ways to keep the children keep wanting to

learn and explore more about the language. Examples of activities that can be done to

promote learning are by introducing them to songs, rhymes and even counting numbers.

Most kindergarten teachers are not aware of the importance of knowing the ways

of teaching English to young learners. The learning styles of young learners are different

compared to that of adults. Most children are kinaesthetic learners as they learn better if

they get to experience and discover them (Feher, 2005).

1.2 Statement of problem

Sarawak is known to have many different ethnic groups that do not share the

same mother tongue. Each ethnic has its own language which is not easily understood by

the others although they might stay in the same area. At home, children are able to

converse with their family members and relatives using their mother tongue but as they

enter pre-school or kindergarten, they might face a big challenge where they will need to

communicate with their friends using a common language, which can be Bahasa

Malaysia or English.

As children enter pre-school, they need to learn a second language in a formal

manner, which is, in class. Learning a second language in pre-school is indeed a good

exposure to them as they can easily learn and absorb what is being taught during the

language class at a very young age. At this point, teachers play a major role as models to

the children.

4

Perhaps the mother tongue of the children could have influenced their second

language learning in many aspects such as pronunciations and sentence structures.

Beardsmore (1982) suggests that many of the difficulties a second language learner has

with the phonology, vocabulary and grammar of L2 are due to the interference of habits

from L1. The formal elements of L1 are used within the context of L2, resulting in errors

in L2, as the structures of L1 and that of L2 are different. In Malaysia, this normally

happens to the Chinese learners as they have problems in differentiating the „l‟ and „r‟

sound. Besides, some learners have problems in forming sentences using the proper

structure as GTM is frequently used by these learners, where they will directly translate

the words into English with the influence of their L1.

1.3 Purpose of the Research

The purpose of this research was to determine how English was learnt by the

kindergarten learners. The aim of this research was to study the effectiveness of the

teaching theory and methods used by the kindergarten teachers to teach English to the

children.