An Evaluation of A School Based English Language Curriculum

An evaluation of a school based English Language Curriculum
Title initiativeon the teaching of songs: a primary schoolcase study
Author(s) Lam, Choi-ling.; .
Citation
Issued Date 2009
URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/128720
The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights)

Rights and the right to use in future works.
An evaluation of a school based English Language
Curriculum initiative on the teaching of songs:
a primary school case study
By
Lam Choi Ling
August, 2009
A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
MEd in English Language Education, the University of Hong Kong
1
Abstract
Curriculum innovation involves planning, implementation and evaluation. In a
cyclical rather than linear process, the three stages have all played an important role
in allowing the English language teaching and learning to evolve. In Hong Kong,
learning English from language arts is encouraged in the Curriculum Reform not
only at secondary but also primary levels. Through the evaluation of the planning
and implementation of the I can program at my school, using songs in the primary
English language curriculum was studied. The viewpoints of teachers towards the
program were investigated. As teaching and learning were intertwined, the findings
were triangulated by the perspectives of students in learning English from songs
through classroom observations and interviews. In this case study, an instance in
action (Adelman et al., 1980), time constraint was regarded as a major problem in
the implementation. After the evaluation of every aspect of the I can program,
better integration of using songs in the school-based English language curriculum
was important to facilitate the curriculum initiative on the teaching of songs. In other
words, with reference to Fullan (1991:49), the I can program had been
implemented as an event rather than a process. With the feedback from this case
study, an example of how to integrate songs in primary English language curriculum
was suggested. Due to the limitations of the study, further action research was
proposed to have an in-depth investigation on the effectiveness of using songs at the
primary levels for the second language learners.
2
Declaration
I hereby declare that this dissertation represents my own work and that it has not
been previously submitted to this University or any other institution in application
for admission to a degree, diploma or other qualification.
________________________
August 2009
3
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my respectable supervisor, Mr
Gary Harfitt, who has given me lots of guidance, encouragement, support and
valuable comments throughout the process of this study. I wish to extend my
gratitude to the teachers and students who had taken part in the study. Their
involvement and inspiration were really helpful to me in completing this project.
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Table of Contents
Title Page 1
Abstract 2
Declaration 3
Acknowledgements 4
Table of Contents 5-7
List of Abbreviations 8
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Background of the study 9-11
1.2 Aims of the study 11-13
1.3 Organization of the study 13-14
Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Curriculum innovation 15-17
2.2 Teachers attitude and practice 17-19
2.3 Teaching and learning second language 19-21
2.4 Learning language through literature 21-23
2.5 English Language Education in Hong Kong 23-25
Chapter Three Methodology
3.1 Rationale for qualitative research 26-29
3.2 Research questions 29
3.3 Research design 29-32
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3.4 Questions for interview 32-34
3.5 Participants 34-37
3.6 Methods of analysis 37-39
3.7 Limitations of the research 39-40
Chapter Four Findings and Discussions
4.1 Teachers attitude and practice 41-47
4.1.1 attitude
4.1.2 practice
4.1.3 knowledge
4.2 Difficulties perceived in implementation 47-51
4.2.1 time
4.2.2 resources
4.3 Students attitude and practice 51-59
4.3.1 motivation
4.3.2 performance
4.4 Teaching and learning English through songs 59-62
4.4.1 practice
4.4.2 implications
4.5 School-based curriculum 62-67
4.5.1 planning
4.5.2 implications
6
Chapter Five Conclusion
5.1 Major findings 68-70
5.2 Pedagogical implications 70-71
5.3 Limitations of the study 71-73
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research 73-74
Bibliography 75-81
Appendices
Appendix 1 Extracts from the Song books 82-84
Appendix 2 School Placement in Melbourne 85-89
Appendix 3 Teachers interview - transcriptions 90-142
Appendix 4 Students questionnaire 143
Appendix 5 Students viewpoints 144-149
Appendix 6 The unit plan 150-173
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List of Abbreviations
CDC Curriculum Development Council
CECES The Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education

and Services
CMI Chinese as the medium of instruction
EFL English as a foreign language
ELT English Language Teaching
IELP Integrated English Language Program
MI Multiple intelligence
NSS New Senior Secondary Curriculum
TOC Target Oriented Curriculum
TSA Territory-wide System Assessment
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Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Background of the study
In 2005, my school launched a program called I can in using poems and songs
to arouse the interest of students in learning English. The Joint-school English Panel
initiated the program and asked each school in our organization to adopt it with
materials provided. A song book tailor-made for key stage 1 (Primary 1 to 3) and key
stage 2 (Primary 4 to 6) was compiled (appendix 1) and given to each student. The
preliminary objective was to arouse students interest and build up their confidence in
using English. Through providing opportunities for students to enjoy and appreciate
literary or creative works in English by writers from different cultures, it intended to
develop students awareness and an enjoyment of the basic sound patterns of English
by imaginative texts through singing and reading rhymes or poems and improve
students proficiency in English.
Our school is located near a public housing estate in the New Territories. It is a
Chinese Medium Instruction (hereafter termed CMI) Primary School. All subjects are
taught in Chinese except English Language. Most students are native-speaking
Cantonese learners and come from working class families. Their exposure to English
at home is very low and motivation to learn the language is usually low as well. In
order to arouse their interest in learning English and have more exposure to the target
language, the English Panel at our school launched the program and enriched the
9
school-based English Language curriculum with this small-scale and enjoyable
innovation.
At the beginning of each term, the teacher who was responsible for the schedule
of work chose some poems and songs and integrated them in the school-based
English Language curriculum. Teachers were asked to teach a certain number of
poems and songs in an academic year. However, it was not the main learning targets in
their lessons. Usually, teachers would say that the schedule was tight and it was
difficult for them to teach the poems or songs in detail. The time spent on teaching
English through poems and songs was limited in the classroom.
Out of the classroom, the I can program was implemented in various ways.
Amusic station which was set up in the corner of the English Room with the tape
recorders and compact discs allowed students to enjoy the poems and songs
independently. However, the involvement of students in the music station was not
satisfactory. Not only in the classroom but also outside the classroom, songs were
sometimes shared with all teachers and students at school on the English Radio Show
during lunch time. A mini-concert organized by the English and Music Department
provided an opportunity for students to perform their favourite English songs. Once a
year, a singing contest organized by the organization invited kindergartens in the
district to hold a competition on performing English songs. Parents and students were
invited to be the audience. The competition of the singing contest was keen and the
atmosphere was cordial.
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After the first year implementation of the I can program, I had a chance to try
out a lesson about teaching English through songs in Australia which gave me some
inspiration for implementing the program at school. In the school placement of the
Overseas Immersion Program for Primary English Language Teachers in 2006, in
an-hour lesson, students in Australia were motivated by a song named SING. Then
they had to write a creative text in groups. The lesson plan, worksheet and products of
the students can be found in the appendices attached (appendix 2). Though English is
the first language to most students in Melbourne and the learning culture and context
in Hong Kong is different, after reflection from this experience, the students in Hong
Kong can also learn and create their own text in this enjoyable way provided that more
time is allocated to scaffold our students in learning English through poems and songs.
1.2 Aim of the study
According to Curriculum Development Council, Language arts activities seek to
exploit the potential that English offers for pleasurable experiences and the
development of language awareness. Activities that give expression to real and
imaginative experiences, not only help learners work towards the Learning Targets in
the Experience Strand, but also provide opportunities for language practice and use. In
the implementation of the English Language Curriculum, the use of a wide range of
language arts materials such as songs, rhymes, poems, stories, tongue twisters and
plays is advocated. (CDC, 2004:52) The authorities agree that learning English with
11
pleasure and enjoyment can arouse the motivation of learners, especially at primary
level. Singing songs, participating in the action rhymes and choral speaking are
examples of the activities to develop an awareness and an enjoyment of the basic
sound patterns of English in imaginative texts. (CDC, 2001:29-35) This explains
why songs and poems are recommended by the authorities as one of the tools for
teaching English language in basic education in Hong Kong. Likewise, the I can
program had the same objective to develop an awareness and an enjoyment of the
basic sound patterns of English in imaginative texts.
Primary education is assumed to lay a good foundation for learners to equip well
for their further studies. Learning to learn and learning through language arts are
both emphasized in the Curriculum Reform for decade. (CDC, 2001; 2004; 2007) With
reference to English Language Curriculum and Assessment Guide: Secondary 4-6
(CDC, 2007:51), the time allocation for the Compulsory and Elective Parts of the
English Language Curriculum is suggested to divide into 75% and 25% respectively.
Elective Parts are categorized into language arts and non-language arts. Language arts
include learning English through drama, short stories, poems and songs and popular
culture. Teaching English through poems and songs is recommended to allocate 50
periods with each in 40-minute. In CDC (2007:35-37), the rationale, learning targets,
learning objectives, content and assessment in this module are clearly printed.
Learning English through language arts is becoming more popular in Hong Kong. In
order to develop literacy through literature, it is wise to start teaching English through
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poems and songs in Primary English Language Education. (Sloan, 2003a; 2003b)
Learning language through literature in Hong Kong Primary Schools was
recommended by Kennedy and Falvey (1998:1-11) to use poems and songs to
stimulate pupils imaginations that is one of the learning target for the Experiential
Dimension to use English to respond and give expression to real and imaginative
experience. (CDC, 2001; 2004)
With reference to the Input Hypothesis (Krashen & Terrell, 1983), it claims that
listening comprehension and reading are of primary importance in the language
program, and that the ability to speak (or write) fluently in a second language will
come on its own with time. Critical Period Hypothesis on the impact of second
language acquisition has been discussed and studied (Birdsong, 1999). Though there
are still arguments about the role of age in second language acquisition, the study
done by Singleton (1995:45) does not deny the biological advantages to an early start
in second language acquisition. Hence, the younger the children immerse in the
English environment, the better they acquire the second language. With the same
belief, in this study, learning English through songs by the second language learners
at primary level is the focus.
1.3 Organization of the study
In this research study, firstly, the context and purpose will be mentioned.
Secondly, the literature about curriculum innovation and using songs in English
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language teaching will be reviewed. Thirdly, the methodology part will be included
the rationale, research design, methods of analysis and limitation of the study.
Fourthly, the findings and discussion will be investigated the data collected with
perspectives of teachers and students attitude and practice in English language
teaching and learning through songs, the difficulties perceived in implementation.
Also, the suggestions for teaching and learning English through songs and
school-based curriculum will be stated. Finally, in the conclusion, the major findings,
pedagogical implication, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research
will be written.
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Chapter Two Literature Review
In this chapter, the literature relating to curriculum innovation, teachers
attitude and practice, second language teaching and learning, learning language
through literature and English Language Education in Hong Kong will be reviewed
respectively. Hence, how this research study is related to other studies conducted
previously will be discussed.
2.1 Curriculum innovation
According to Markee (1997:46), Curricular innovation is a managed process of
development whose principal products are teaching (and/or testing) materials,
methodological skills, and pedagogical values that are perceived as new by potential
adopters. The language arts materials, in particular, poems and songs, used in the I
can program were regarded as an innovation to the English Language Curriculum at
our school. Likewise, the methodological skills and pedagogical values of using this
kind of language arts materials in English Language teaching were important in the
implementation of the innovation. Both objective reality and subjective meaning
mentioned by Markee (1997:54) were significant. Teachers were recommended to
have some adaptations in the process of the innovation. In other words, in the I can
program, teachers should choose the poems and songs according to the need of their
students.
15
In Fullan (1991:47-64), the innovation process includes three broad phases:
Phase I - Initiative, mobilization, or adoption-consists of the process that leads up to
and includes a decision to adopt or proceed with a change; Phase II - implementation
or initial use (usually the first two or three years of use) - involves the first experiences
of attempting to put an idea or reform into practice; Phase III Continuation,
in-corporation, routinization, or institutionalization-refers to whether the change gets
built in as an ongoing part of the system or disappears by way of a decision to discard
or through attrition.
Up till now, the I can program has passed Phase I in the innovation process and
gone to Phase II for three years. However, in September 2008, after the evaluation by
the administrators of the organization, the I can program was suspended. In other
words, the innovation cannot go into Phase III and get built in as an ongoing part of the
English Language Curriculum. As a result, the evaluation of the innovation is focus on
Phase I and II, namely, initiative and implementation.
Fullan states that change is a process, not an event. (Fullan, 1991:49) He
claimed, First, there are numerous factors operating at each phase. Second, as the
two-way arrows imply, it is not a linear process but rather one in which events at one
phase can feed back to alter decisions made at previous stages, which then proceed to
work their way through in a continuous interactive way. (Fullan, 1991:48-49) In the
I can program, many teachers claimed that they had to teach the songs because they
were asked to do so. They tried to implement what the organization has assigned.
16
Rather, they proceed to work their way through a continuous interactive way. Hence,
they may regard the program as an event rather than a process of the school-based
curriculum innovation.
2.2 Teachers attitude and practice
With reference to Hargreaves and Fullan (1992b:6), our overarching conclusion
is that teacher development must be conceptualized much more thoroughly than it has
been. Its relationship to educational change is not just a matter of better
implementation of selected innovations but more basically a change in the profession
of teaching, and in the institutions in which teachers are trained and in which they
work. In other words, better implementation of the innovation needs more
professionalism of teachers both conceptually and practically. With reference to
Stimpson (2003:99), in-service training is an essential preparation for a new
curriculum. In the I can program, the judgment of choosing the right language arts
materials for the school-based curriculum and the effective implementation of the
program were crucial.
According to Kennedy (2005:113), In the case of curriculum reform, the key
constituents are teachers the frontline professionals responsible for turning education
policy into practice. Teachers are active and thinking professionals with beliefs and
values that drive their practice on a daily basis. Teachers are the implementers of the
program. Their attitude to the innovation is crucial. Kennedy (1988) states that
17
ownership, the degree to which an innovation belongs to the implementers, has a
considerable influence on the likelihood of any innovation establishing itself. Carless
(1997) claimed in the analysis of Hong Kongs Target-Oriented Curriculum initiative
that teachers are at the sharp end of most educational innovations, so it is axiomatic
that their attitudes will play a significant role in the adoption, reinvention or rejection
of a new curriculum. In my study, teachers attitude about I can program are
generally positive. Most teachers agree that songs provide lots of vocabulary and
sentences patterns. Students can easily remember the lyrics and sing with enjoyment
even though some of them dont know the meaning of the lyrics. Songs are usually
used for building up the word bank of students.
The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is a model of change (Hall &
Hord, 1987) which focuses on individuals perceptions, feelings and motivations as
they progress through different stages of implementation. It looks at how individuals
respond to innovation over time and identifies the personal nature of change. Two of
the main elements of CBAM are Stages of Concern and Levels of Use (LoU). With
reference to the implementation of I can program, no teachers at our school were in
NON-USE, ORIENTATION or PREPARATION stage. In other words, teachers had
the knowledge and had implemented the program. It seemed that most teachers were
in MECHANICAL and ROUTINE USE stage. Teachers in these stages were
struggling to make the innovation more manageable and try to make adaptations. Up
till now, it seemed that no teachers were beyond ROUTINE USE stage and entered
18
the REFINEMENT, INTEGRATION or RENEWAL stage. That means, it still had
room for improvement concerning the implementation of the innovation.
2.3 Teaching and learning second language
In my childhood, I was immersed with the songs sung by the Carpenters, Bee
Gees, Beatles and so on. I had no choice because my elder sister often played the
songs at home. I was forced to listen. Without any sense of awareness, based on the
acquisition-learning distinction, I picked up a language subconsciously. (Krashen
& Terrell, 1983:27) To a child aged less than five like me, at that time, English
implies A for apple. B for boy and so on Thats all. However, amazingly, I could
sing a lot of songs in English. Of course, I just imitated the singers and murmured all
the lyrics intuitively and didnt have a clue to the meaning and the spelling at that
moment. With this kind of listening activity, my sensitivity to the language had been
raised. Likewise, similar examples had been mentioned in Marsh & Millard
(2000:163-181) with evidence of a girl aged four and a boy aged three able to sing
and imitate after listening to songs.
According to second language acquisition, the input from listening to English
songs resembled the silent period of language learning. In Krashen & Terrell
(1983:154), the key to success in all listening activities is to concentrate on
understanding the main points without trying to identify every word. Though I was
not able to focus on meaning and also focus on form, listening to English songs
19
undoubtedly let me have more exposure in this second language. I only listened to
the language through songs but was not able to use it in my daily life. As I remember,
there was comprehensive input from listening English songs when I was in my
primary education, my sister had brought a song book named Lets sing. I tried to
listen to the English songs with the song book. No sooner had I read the lyrics than I
started to transfer the codes into words. Then, not only my listening skill but also
my reading skill had been enhanced. Consequently, as mentioned in Krashen &
Terrell (1983:154), the goal of listening English songs was for me to learn how to
listen well even with limited information and knowledge, hence, this understanding
encouraged further listening and more input.
With reference to Richards & Rodgers (2001:179), In the Natural Approach
there is an emphasis on exposure, or input, rather than practice; optimizing emotional
preparedness for learning; a prolonged period of attention to what the language
learners hear before they try to produce language; and a willingness to use written
and other materials as a source of comprehensible input. The emphasis on the central
role of comprehension in the Natural Approach links it to other comprehension-based
approaches in language teaching. It showed the significance for literacy exposure in
context.
According to Naiman et al. (1996:30-33), there are five major strategies to be a
good language learner. First, good language learners should be active. They turn
experience into learning opportunities. Second, good language learners should make
20
guesses and inferences about language. They are good at negotiation of meaning.
Third, good language learners concentrate on fluency rather than accuracy. They are
able to look for sociocultural meanings. Fourth, good language learners know that
there are emotional responses and affective demands in language learning. Fifth,
good language learners will review their second language and made adjustments. To
ensure effective teaching and learning of English, all strategies should be considered
in the process and students should be equipped to be good language learners.
In Shen (2009:88-94), the value of English songs in ELT had been discussed in
detail. Songs should be used in ELT for their own merits were one of the arguments
in the paper. Shen also illustrated how English songs can facilitate English language
learning and how to utilize English songs in EFL classrooms.
In the I can program, with the same rationales, students were learned English
through songs in the school-based English language curriculum and how to utilize
English songs in the learning process for the second language learners will be
discussed in this case study.
2.4 Learning language through literature
Hong Kong Curriculum Reform has placed emphasis on developing students
creativity and teaching English language through language arts is being encouraged.
(CDC, 2001; 2004; 2007) This has long been promoted by experts in the field.
Literature may have a wider educational function in the classroom in that it can help
21
to stimulate the imagination of our students, to develop their critical abilities and to
increase their emotional awareness. (Lazar, 1993)
With reference to Carter (2007:5-6), who made a review on literature and
language teaching for past two decades and the educational values of literatures in
English, popular song lyrics are one of the examples of a much greater variety of texts
and text-types which had been introduced into language curricula. Hence, teaching
English through songs is suggested as a way of learning and acquiring the second
language.
Shen suggested that one feasible pedagogical application to have enjoyable and
effective English language teaching was to integrate English songs into ELT. In the
paper, being a combination of music and language, songs have innumberable virtues
that deserve our attention. Their richness in culture and themes, their idiomatic and
poetic expressions, their therapeutic functions and so on makes them an impeccable
tool for language teaching. (Shen, 2009:88) The matter of psychological implications,
stimulation of affective learning by songs, songs can promote language awareness had
been mentioned and the values of using songs in English language teaching were
clearly stated. (Shen, 2009:89-91)
Sloan (2003b:24-26) mentioned the characteristics of classrooms practicing
holistic literacy development techniques. It concluded that the curriculum and
methodology must be designed with the needs and abilities of a particular group of
children in mind. In other words, the teaching materials should have students
22
engagement and involvement. Sloan (2003a:11) cited Frye that the rhymes and jingles,
the familiar verse children already known, would make the best reading material for
beginners. Also, oral lore, full of chanting and singing, was regarded as the perfect first
reading material for young children.
Brumfit and Carter (1987:173) assumed that literature was identifiable as an area
of study in its own right and the children would have experienced a wide variety of
stimuli which aimed to induce some sort of aesthetic response, in music and art as well
as in writing. Hence, literature-based teaching could enhance students aesthetic
response which might engage and involve students more.
In the I can program, the song lyrics provided a greater variety of texts and
text-types into the school-based English language curriculum as a way of learning
English. However, the teaching materials had not related to the other parts of the
school-based curriculum. It had not designed with the abilities of the students,
especially those in Key Stage 2. The methodology in the program was not
tailor-made for the students to experience literature-based teaching. It still had room
for improvements in these aspects.
2.5 English Language Education in Hong Kong
In the past two decades, Hong Kong Primary English Curriculum has been
changed in order to cope with the need of society. With reference to Cheng
(2000:201-225, 295-310) and CDC (2001; 2004), the intended curriculum has
23
changed from the emphasis on oral proficiency, minimum literacy into developing an
ever-improving capability to use in the knowledge, interpersonal, and experience
dimensions. Teacher-directed teaching has been replaced by learner-centered
learning. Students are provided more opportunities to get the exposure of the second
language. In the I can program, students had more chances to experience the
English through songs and used the language with confidence. Also, teachers are
recommended to be a facilitator and student should be an active learner instead.
Adamson (2000:15) regarded Hong Kongs classrooms as the three Ts:
teacher-centred, textbook-centred and test centred. However, TOC constituted an
attempt to achieve a radical change in the nature of all key aspects of the curriculum.
At my school, the I can program would be a small-scale innovation in the
school-based curriculum.
Not only the Primary English Curriculum but also the Secondary Curriculum
has been changed. In 2009, the New Senior Secondary Curriculum is implemented.
(CDC, 2007) Language arts are one of the electives in the English Curriculum. Songs
are recommended to be one of the creative texts to teach English in the elective
teaching English through poems and songs. Learning English through language arts
are also recommended in the Primary English Curriculum in order to offer
pleasurable experiences and initiate the development of language awareness for
students. (CDC, 2004:52) Through the I can program, students at my school
learned the second language through songs. The objectives of the program was
24
providing opportunities for students to enjoy and appreciate literary or creative works
in English. It intended to develop studentsawareness and an enjoyment of the basic
sound patterns of English by imaginative texts through singing.
25
Chapter Three Methodology
In this chapter, the methodology of the research study will be stated. The
research is mainly in qualitative research method, in particular, using a case study
approach. The rationale of the method, the research questions, design, participants
and method of analysis will be mentioned in detail. The limitations of the research
will also be examined.
3.1 Rationale for qualitative research
The evaluation of a curriculum initiative on the teaching of songs in a local
primary school has been my focus. According to Merriam (1998:3), Research is
producing knowledge about the world. In this study, the innovative program in a
primary school was the world in which the significant factors of the phenomenon
were investigated. The study has been mainly considered as qualitative research and
case study has been used as a research strategy. Merriam (1988:16) defined a
qualitative case study as an intensive, holistic description and a single instance,
phenomenon or social unit. Also, Merriam (1998:6) identified qualitative researchers
as being interested in understanding the meaning people had constructed, that was,
how they made sense of their world and the experiences they had in the world. In my
study, I used the qualitative research to understand the viewpoints of the teachers in
the I can program and investigated their experiences in dealing with it.
26
Merriam (1998:29-30) stated that case studies have three main characteristics:
particularistic, descriptive and heuristic, respectively. Particularistic means that case
studies focus on a particular situation, event, program, or phenomenon. Descriptive
means that the end product of a case study is a rich, thick description of a
phenomenon under study. Thick description is a term from anthropology and means
the complete, literal description of the incident or entity being investigated. Heuristic
means that case studies illuminate the readers understanding of the phenomenon
under study. In my study, it includes the characteristics of particularistic and
descriptive. First, as the I can program was regarded as an event by teachers, it is
particularistic. Second, the investigation of the implementation provides thick
descriptive of the phenomenon of the program.
Yin (1994:1) stated that a case study is the preferred strategy when how or
why questions are being posed, when the investigator has little control over events,
and when the focus is on a real-life context. Hence, how do teachers implement the
I can program and why do they like or dislike using songs in English language
teaching in our school context are the questions being posed in this study.
Merriam (1998:5-7) claimed that qualitative research helps us understand and
explain the meaning of social phenomena with as little disruption of the natural
setting as possible. It has five characteristics. First, the phenomenon is understood
from the perspectives of participants, not the researcher. Likewise, it is referred to as
the emic, or insiders perspective, versus the etic, or outsiders view. Second, the
27
research is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis. The researcher is
responsive to the context. Third, it usually involves fieldwork. The researcher must
go to the institution in order to observe behaviour in its natural setting. Fourth, it
primarily employs an inductive research strategy. Qualitative researchers build
toward theory from observations and intuitive understandings gained in the field.
Fifth, it focuses on process, meaning, and understanding. The product of a qualitative
study is richly descriptive. As I had the unpaid leave this year, it was a golden chance
for me to be a researcher, an outsider, to evaluate the program and understand the
phenomenon from the eyes of the participants.
The data collected were solely from the teachers involved in the program and
not from the experience or understanding of the researcher. Students invited in the
interviews for triangulation were not taught by the researcher. As the lessons
observed or students interviewed were not familiar with the researcher, the danger of
respondents giving socially desirable responses could be avoided. The lessons
observed and the students behaviour should be in its natural setting. Thus, after the
classroom observation, the teachers taught in the lesson were asked to ensure the
students behave as usual.
Merriam (1998:41) also mentioned that case study has proven particularly
useful for studying educational innovation, for evaluating programs. Also, case
studies can be defined in terms of the process of conducting the inquiry, the bounded
system or unit of analysis selected for study.
28
A school is one of the examples in a bounded system and it
provides a unique example of real people in real situations,
enabling readers to understand ideas more clearly than simply by
presenting them with abstract theories or principles. Case studies
can establish cause and effect, indeed one of their strengths is that
they observe effects in real contexts, recognizing that context is a
powerful determinant of both causes and effects. (Cohen et al,
2000:181)
In my study, the case study is descriptive, providing a rich, thick description
which permits interpretation and re-interpretation of the I can program at my
school. The potential of case study data would provide insight which could be
directly applied by teachers.
3.2 Research questions
The study was conducted with the following research questions:-
1. What are the viewpoints of teachers in I can program?
2. What are the difficulties in implementing I can program?
3. What are the implications for the school-based English Language Curriculum?
4. Through this case study, are there any implications for using songs as a tool in
English Language Education in Hong Kong Primary Schools?
3.3 Research design
Based on qualitative case study approach, in my study, semi-structured
interviews with teachers who had been involved in the I can program were
29
conducted. All the interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed from oral speech
to written text as the main source of data in this case study for analysis. The data of
all interviews were categorized according to the research questions, for example,
attitude of teachers in the program, the practice in implementation, the difficulties
perceived, etc. With reference to Silverman (1993:92-93), interviews in qualitative
research were useful for gathering facts, assessing beliefs about facts, identifying
feelings and motives, commenting on the standards of actions, present or previous
behaviour, eliciting reasons and explanations. In my study, through the interviews,
the participants were asked to express the facts of their beliefs, feelings, behaviour in
the I can program.
Before interviewing the teachers at my school, a pilot interview with a teacher
involved in the I can program from the other school in our organization was
conducted in order to evaluate the questions asked and the interview techniques
needed. Then some modifications were made in the questions and interview
techniques.
The interview was conducted in semi-structured way which was easier for the
interviewer to probe into in-depth follow up questions according to unique
experience of different respondent. The questions asked in the interview were set
according to the research questions. The questions were divided into three categories,
namely, background of the participants, the attitude to the program and the practice
of the program respectively.
30
According to Cohen et al (2000:271), for interview guide approach, topics and
issues to be covered are specified in advance, in outline form, interviewer decides
sequence and working of questions in the course of the interview. The strength of
this interview guide approach is that the outline increases the comprehensiveness of
the data and makes data collection somewhat systematic for each respondent. Logical
gaps in data can be anticipated and closed. Interviews remain fairly conversational
and situational. However, important and salient topics may be inadvertently omitted.
Interviewer flexibility in sequencing and wording questions can result in
substantially different responses, thus reducing the comparability of responses.
After doing the semi-structured interviews with teachers, questionnaires
(appendix 4) were given to students to have a broad view about the I can program
from the eyes of learners. Then, classroom observation and semi-structured group
interviews with students were taken for triangulation. Triangulation refers to the
attempt to understand some aspect of human behavior by studying it from more than
one standpoint, often making use of both quantitative and qualitative data in doing
so. (Brown & Rogers, 2003) Some quantitative data from the questionnaires were
treated as one of the descriptive data to increase the objectivity of the findings and as
a tool for sampling in triangulation.
As the I can program was ceased in this academic year at our school,
students from Primary 1 were not asked about the I can program. Instead, in Key
Stage 1, in this academic year, students learned English through a program called
31
Integrated English Language Program (hereafter termed IELP) in which songs were
used as a tool in learning English. Thus, the semi-structured group interviews with
students in Primary One were directly related to learning English through songs
rather than the I can program.
Lynch (1997) showed an example of using interviews, open-ended
questionnaire items and observations in an evaluation study. Qualitative data are
defined here as information gathered using techniques that do not necessarily lend
themselves to being turned into numbers and statistics. In the Lynch study, interview
transcripts and observation notes are the qualitative data used. In my study, interview
transcripts from teachers, students questionnaires and group interview descriptive
notes, classroom observation notes were the qualitative data used.
Ross (1992:169) proposed that both qualitative and quantitative types of
evaluation can be utilized with a view to defining a program. In my study, the
evaluation of the school-based curriculum initiatives on the teaching of songs at
primary school context could be utilized with mainly qualitative data and
triangulated by both quantitative and qualitative descriptive data.
3.4 Questions for interviews

Teachers Interview questions
Background information:
1. Which level(s) do you usually teach, KS1, KS2 or both?
32
2. How many years have you been teaching?
3. Do you like listening English songs? If yes, How often?
4. What are your viewpoints on using songs in English Language Teaching?
Teachers attitudes towards using songs in English Language Teaching:
1. What do you understand by language arts?
2. Do you like teaching English through songs? Why/Why not?
3. What is the best way to use songs in your teaching?
4. What are your viewpoints on I can program on using songs in English language
teaching and learning?
Teachers practice towards using songs in English Language Teaching:
1. How did you teach English through songs before I can program?
2. How is the implementation of I can program in your teaching?
3. What are the difficulties, if any, in implementing I can program?
4. How did you overcome the difficulties?
5. What is the response of your students when you teach English through songs?
6. Did you get satisfaction / have discouragement in using songs to teach English?
7. What is your overview on I can program?
Students Interview questions
Background information:
1. Do you like listening English songs? Why? or Why not?
33
2. If yes, where do you usually listen to English songs?
Students attitudes towards using songs in English language learning:
1. Do you like learning English through songs? Why/Why not?
2. Do you like the I can program on using songs in English language learning?
Students practice towards using songs in English language learning:
1. What did you learn in the I can program?
2. How did you learn in the I can program?
3. What are the difficulties, if any, in learning English through I can program?
4. Could teacher help you to overcome the difficulties?
5. What is your overview on I can program?
3.5 Participants
The participants were all the English teachers and students from each level at
my school.
The teachers were chosen according to the following criteria:-
1. Teachers who had been involved in the I can program for the past three years.
2. Teachers who were now teaching English at Key Stage 1 or/and Key Stage 2.
In this academic year 2008-2009, 8 teachers were fit to the above criteria.
There were 5 new teachers who were not involved in the I can program before.
Thus, eight semi-structured interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed into
written text for further analysis.
34
Background details of the participants - teachers
Gender Teaching Teaching Attitude Attitude Knowledge

experience level about towards about
(years) (Key listening teaching language arts
stage) to English English
songs through
songs
Teacher 1 Female Over 10 1&2 Dislike Positive Yes
Teacher 2 Female Over 15 1 Like Positive No
Teacher 3 Female Over 20 1&2 Like Positive Little
Teacher 4 Female Over 15 1&2 Like Positive No
Teacher 5 Female 19 1&2 Like Positive Yes
Teacher 6 Female 4 1&2 Like Positive Yes
Teacher 7 Female 10 1&2 Like Positve No
Teacher 8 Female 10 1&2 Like Positive No
The students were chosen according to the following criteria:-
1. Questionnaires (appendix 4) were given to one class from each level to choose
the sampling for interview conducted later. The classes chosen involved six
different English teachers who had the semi-structured interview.
2. Students were chosen for semi-structured group interview according to the
descriptive data of the questionnaires. Students who had written down the
reasons why they liked or disliked learning English through songs would be the
35
targets. Due to the time resources and accessibility, four students were selected
from each level. Basically, two students who liked learning English through
songs and two students who disliked learning English through songs were chosen.
Thus, total twenty-four students were invited to have the interview to triangulate
the data gathered from the teachers.
Background details of the participants - students
Level Gender Age Attitude Attitude Attitude

about about towards
listening singing learning
to English English
English songs through
songs songs
Student 1-4 Primary 1 3 Male 6-7 4 like 3 like 4 like
1 Female 1 dislike
2 Female 2 dislike 2 dislike 2 dislike
36
The lessons for triangulation were observed according to the following reasons:-
1. All teachers involved in the interview were invited to have classroom observation
on using songs in teaching English. The lessons which were observed would depend
on the planning of using songs in the class by each teacher.
2. As the I can program was ceased in this academic year, the lessons in Key Stage
1 were easier to be observed because the Integrated English Language Program also
involved using songs in English language teaching and learning. Two lessons at
Primary one, one lesson in Primary two and Primary three were observed
respectively. Thus, only four lessons were observed eventually and no lessons were
observed in Key Stage 2 because teachers did not use songs in their teaching.
3.6 Methods of analysis
All the interviews with teachers were transcribed from oral speech to written
text as the main source of data in this case study for analysis. All transcriptions
(appendix 3) were categorized according to the research questions, for example,
attitude of teachers in the program, the practice in implementation, the difficulties
perceived, etc. Some in-depth follow up questions inspired by the respondents were
asked and the data collected were categorized accordingly. The data were analyzed
against the research questions. All data were used to achieve as full an understanding
of the phenomenon as possible.
37
With reference to Cohen et al (2000:282-286), the interview data are
interpreted in a coding system. Coding has been defined by Kerlinger (1970) as the
translation of questions responses and respondent information to specific categories
for the purpose of analysis. The data obtained from the probing questions in the
semi-structured interviews will also be coded in different categories. The data in the
same coding will be summed up for analysis. In this case study, for example,
teachers attitude, teachers practice, perceived difficulties were the categories and
were summed up for analysis.
LeCompte and Preissle (1993:237-253) stated that researchers should set out
the main outlines of the phenomena that are under investigation. They should then
assemble blocks or groups of data, putting them together to make a coherent whole.
In my study, the I can program was regarded as an event rather than a process.
Hence, during the investigation, teachers attitude and practice will be reflected the
phenomenon of this case study. Through triangulation, the case study will also be
investigated to justify the phenomenon set.
Cohen et al (2000:282-283) suggested the stages in analysis: First is generating
natural units of meaning. Then, classifying, categorizing and ordering these units of
meaning are the next steps. After that, structuring narratives to describe the interview
contents is necessary. Finally, interpreting the interview data is the last step.
Basically, the analysis of the data from the interviews will follow the previous
procedures.
38
The questionnaires done by the students in each level were analyzed by
computer. The percentage of students preferences in listening to English songs,
singing English songs, the most popular place to listen to or sing English songs,
learning English through songs were shown in a graph. All the data became an
indicator for finding the sample for the interview with students for triangulation.
Also, the graphs shown in the next chapter were described to show a broad view
from the perspectives of students.
In the interview with students, questions about learning English through songs
at school, inside or outside the classroom were asked to investigate and triangulate
the data got from the teachers.
In the classroom observation, the motivation and response of students in
learning through songs and other tools, like big book sharing were investigated in
order to triangulate the viewpoints of teachers to the observation of their students in
learning English through songs.
3.7 Limitations of the research
Merriam (1998:41) claimed that case study has been proven as useful for
studying educational innovations, for evaluating programs. It offers a means of
investigating complex social units consisting of multiple variables of potential
importance in understanding the phenomenon. However, qualitative case studies are
limited by the sensitivity and integrity of the investigator. The researcher is the
39
primary instrument of data collection and analysis. The subjectivity which may
threaten internal validity cannot be totally avoided. Further, not only validity and
reliability, but also generalizability is justified in case studies. Generalizability
becomes an issue to be concerned because the case is limited to the context in which
it is studied.
In my study, regardless of the above limitations caused by using the qualitative
case study approach, time limit was another limitation of the research. In this year, as
the I can sing program had been suspended, the classroom observation in Key
Stage 2 became a problem. Students in primary 1 were not taught English through
songs in the program. Rather, they were taught under the Integrated English
Language Program though songs were used in the English lessons. It affected the
evaluation the I can program. A larger cohort of teachers and students would be
more desirable but that was not possible in this case. Also, a longitudinal study might
result in more interesting data but the focus of my study is on an instance in action
rather than a long study of the program.
40
Chapter Four Findings and Discussions
In this chapter, the findings from the semi-structured interviews of teachers,
questionnaires and semi-structured group interviews of students, classroom
observations were analyzed and discussed with respect to the research questions in
the following aspects. They were the viewpoints of teachers in I can program such
as teachers attitude and practice about learning English through songs, the
difficulties perceived in implementation the program, the attitude and practice of
students in learning English through songs, the practice and suggestions about
teaching and learning English through songs and the school-based curriculum
respectively.
4.1 Teachers attitude and practice
4.1.1 attitude
The findings from the semi-structured interviews conducted among eight
teachers showed that all teachers were positive in teaching English through songs.
Teachers attitudes affect the innovations. (Hargreaves, 1989) It is important to
have teachers positive attitudes for the curriculum initiative on I can program.
Teacher 1 said that using songs in the lessons could draw the attention and motivate
students. It was easier for students to remember further sentence pattern if the lyric
was similar to what they needed to learn. She said, If the lyric is related to the
sentence pattern they need to learn in that chapter, it is easier for them to remember
41
and they are interested in singing that song. It implied that Teacher 1 agreed that
songs could help students in learning the second language if the songs were related to
what students were going to learn. The same opinion was also stated by Teacher 2
who liked using songs if it was fit for the aims. Teacher 2 mentioned in the interview,
some of the songs, that are fit for my teaching, its good and the students like it.
Similar opinions were found in the semi-structured interviews with the other
six teachers. Though they had not said that songs were not related to the curriculum,
they had mentioned it would be better if the songs in the I can program had the
same theme of the scheme of work. For instance, Teacher 8 suggested that it would
be better if the songs chosen in Key Stage 2 were related to the content like the
Integrated English Language Program organized by CECES. She claimed, they can
learn something, but not too much if the song, the lyric is not related to what they
need to learn in the textbook. Teacher 3, Teacher 4, Teacher 5 and Teacher 6
pointed out that the songs in Key Stage 2 were difficult for students. The songs in
Key Stage 1 were easier for students and some of them were related to the scheme of
work. With reference to Stimpson (2003:99), a major element of practicality of an
innovation is the extent to which the innovation is compatible with existing
classroom practices.
As the I can program were initiated by the Joint-school Panel, it was a
top-down approach curriculum innovation. Schools in the organization were asked to
implement the program. Each week one song was taught regardless of whether it was
42
related to the curriculum or not. Teacher 1 had repeated in the interview, I just
found that I need to use the song because I need to use that song. The scheme is that I
need to use that song book, then I use the song book, not related to what I need to
teach. I need to use because I need to use. Teaching songs from the I can program
was an order from the Joint-English Panel of the organization and principal of
school. Though Teacher 1 did not like the top-down approach on teaching songs, she
had positive attitude on using songs on English Language Teaching. She had found
some other songs not from the I can program which were related to the scheme of
work and helped students in Key Stage 2 to learn the second language through songs,
for example, MACARONI. Teacher 5 said that the songs in Key Stage 2 were too
long and difficult. She said, the songs are a bit more difficult, even for me. Beside
the rhyming pairs, she did not think students learned a lot from the songs. According
to Markee (1997), curricular innovation is a managed process of development
whose principal products are teaching materials, methodological skills, and
pedagogical values that are perceived as new by potential adopters. If the songs
could be related to the curriculum, it was likely to facilitate the process of the
curriculum innovation implemented by teachers.
4.1.2 practice
There were different examples of using songs in English Language Teaching.
Most of the songs were used at the beginning of a lesson as the motivation. Some of
43
them were examples in helping students in learning the language. All teachers said
that they usually used the songs as a motivation in a lesson to get the students
attention. Teacher 4 shared her experience, I will use the song to make them to have
concentration. When they sing the song, they know oh! I have to learn now. I have
to sit down. The songs were treated as a kind of instruction to start a lesson. She
also used songs as a tool to give students an English rich environment. Likewise,
Teacher 2 would use songs as a routine to ask her students to sing while coming out
to the BASE for Activity Approach Learning. They can listen to the songs and they
sing together and come out. They feel happy. It is also a kind of warm up activity.
Teacher 2 shared in the interview.
Using songs to help students in learning English and let them learn in a
stress-free environment. An important condition for successful language learning is
the absence of stress. (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) Many teachers had experienced
joyful and fruitful teaching practices through songs. Teacher 6 had taught new words
through the song named the Hungry Giant in Primary three. She found that the
students could pick up reading sounds easily. Teacher 2 and Teacher 3 had used the
song to help students in learning days of the week. They said that it was effective in
learning through the song. Teacher 4 shared that one of her students from the
remedial class liked to sing one song. The student could follow the whole song
because the melody was familiar to him and he could handle all the words in the
song. Teacher 3 had used songs to help students in remembering new words. She
44
said, I will sing the song B E C A U S E , like the melody in the alphabet song,
ABCDEFG to BECAUSE. After singing the whole song, then they can remember it.
Its easy. She claimed that students could remember the word after using the song.
The melody helped to recall the students memories and it was enjoyable. She found
singing songs was a useful tool for teaching students.
Teachers would improvise some actions for the lyrics that helped students to
remember the language. Also, Teacher 8 mentioned that students could learn the
words through actions. She improvised the gesture by herself. She shared, all these
actions can help them understand the lyrics. Both Teacher 6 and Teacher 7 had the
experiences of helping students to recite the dictation content by songs. Teacher 6
said, they can recite something fast, accurately because I think the rhythm and lyrics
can help them to understand and remember the words. Teacher 7 had an experience,
for the recited dictation part, I found that its very useful because they can
remember the sentence quickly. It showed that songs had a role on English language
teaching and learning as Falvey & Kennedy (1997) have said, songs are short and
catchy, there are a number of advantages in using songs.
The language in the songs could not be taught in detail. Usually, teachers
would play the songs and taught some new words in the lyrics. As the songs were not
related to the curriculum, sometimes, teachers would just play the songs in the I can
program during lunch time or break. This kind of practice was common in Key
Stage 2 because the songs were difficult, not related to the theme in lessons and the
45
schedule of work were tight. Time was normally spent on teaching the knowledge in
the textbook or preparing the TSA examination. As the implementation of the I can
program was not happened in Key Stage 2 at classroom level, this highlights
Hargreaves point that there are no changes in the culture and work of teaching,
there could be no practical curriculum change at classroom level. (Hargreaves,
1989)
4.1.3 knowledge
The knowledge about language arts did not hinder teachers from using songs in
their English language teaching. In the semi-structured interviews, teachers were
asked what the language arts were. Four out of eight teachers had no idea about
language arts. Still, without any knowledge about language arts, songs were treated
as one of the tools in their English language teaching. Though in this study, we could
not find out the relationship between theory and practice in literature-based teaching,
Teacher 2 had mentioned that the workshop organized by CECES helped her in
implementing the IELP in primary one because she knew more about the CECES
program. She mentioned, I like CECES more because I know more. If the
joint-school panel could have some workshops or more guidance about how to use
the songs in the I can program, it might help the implementation of the program.
With reference to Stimpson (2003:99), in-service training is an essential preparation
for a new curriculum. Teachers need to be retrained with new skills and knowledge.
46
Though it was reported that the guidance from school about how to use the
songs in the I can program was not enough and the songs were not related to the
curriculum, Teacher 2 with her colleagues had found the resources on the internet.
She played the songs which were related to her teaching. For example, they found
some useful websites that taught phonics in Primary one. According to Curriculum
Development Council (2001), Singing songs is one of the activities to develop an
awareness and an enjoyment of the basic sound patterns of English in imaginative
texts. It showed that teachers had some professional justification to use songs
although they had less knowledge about language arts.
4.2 Difficulties perceived in implementation
4.2.1 time
From the data collected from teachers, time factor had been emphasized by all
teachers. It was one of the difficulties they had to overcome in implementing the I
can program. They all claimed that the schedule of work was tight. In other words,
the I can program was not seen as important compared to other work. It was hard
for them to find the time to teach songs in the I can program in detail. Teacher 7
said that she had not taught the songs because there was not enough time. She spent
much time on practicing TSA past papers. Teacher 6 had the same problem and said,
I dont have a chance to do I now in P6 and P5 as well because of public exam,
TSA, there is no time actually.
47
The songs in Key Stage 2 were difficult. It took more time to teach. Teacher 5
said that she had to spend longer time to teach the songs at the upper levels. Even she
thought that the songs were beautiful, she could not afford the time to play songs
over and over again. When she was teaching Primary 5 and Primary 6, she could not
find the time to go through the song with students. She could only play the songs
while they were having lunch. To Teacher 5, I can only play songs once or twice
only. Thats a pity. I think some of the songs are quite good even they are just
oldies.
Though time was always not enough and the schedule was always tight in
teaching, some teachers had integrated the songs in the teaching to save time.
Teacher 2 had asked students to sing the song as a warm up activity and treated as
the motivation in her lessons. She thought that her students needed to come out to the
BASE for the lessons. So, she played the song and the students sang when came out.
That saved the time. Also, Teacher 4 had the similar practice to save time in her
lesson. She thought that singing a song to start her lesson became a routine. Students
were used to keep quiet and concentrate themselves in the lesson once the teacher
sang the song. It was important to make full use of the time in the lesson in an
effective way. The song could not only treat as an instruction but also provide an
English environment for the second language learners to learn the language which
might have different medium of instruction in the previous lessons.
48
Adaptation was needed in implementing the I can program. If the songs were
not related to the scheme of the work, teachers would play them once, learn some
important new words and sing with the students once or twice. The whole process
might only spend about five minutes. Teacher 1 stated that she did not spend a lot of
time to explain the lyrics. When she taught the song QUE SARA SARA, she asked
students to stand up when they listen to the lyric will be, will be. She used the
songs to arouse students interest in learning rather than to learn the grammar or
English through songs in Key Stage 2.
If the songs were only for enjoyment but not for achieving the objectives of the
I can program, it could be taught outside the class, for example, broadcasting on
the weekly Radio Show. Students could enjoy the songs while having lunch. If
teachers would like the students to learn the lyrics, some games could be played
during the Radio Show or at the English Room. A music station set up at the English
Room and let those want to learn the songs in depth to have more language input
through the songs.
Teacher 7 who had taught in the other school at the same organization
suggested that the songs could be taught in the morning assembly. All students
would sing the songs together during the assembly. Even the songs taught for Key
Stage 2, the students at Key Stage 1 could listen to the song for enjoyment. She
found that after a week or two weeks, her students could remember the song and they
49
could sing it easily. She was happy about that. It really saved time in the English
lesson.
4.2.2 resources
The songs provided in the I can program were adequate (appendix 1).
However, the findings showed that it became a burden to teachers. Many teachers
thought that the songs were not really related to the curriculum. Teachers had to
teach the songs because they were asked to do so. The songs in Key Stage 2 were too
difficult and not suitable for the proficiency level of the students. Students at upper
levels could hardly understand and learn the language from the songs. Teacher 8 said
that learning English through songs was effective and it was a powerful way to teach
them English. But, one thing to bear in mind is that the song should be, the lyrics
should be related to what they need to learn. She added. Teacher 1 had the problem
to find the related English songs at Key Stage 2. It was better in Key Stage 1. As
mentioned by Teacher 1, if the lyric was related to the sentence pattern the students
needed to learn in that chapter, it was easier for them to remember and they were
interested in singing that song.
The technical problems had been mentioned by Teacher 2 and Teacher 7.
Teacher 2 found that the technical problems sometimes put her into trouble. She
complained, the CD player is sometimes cannot work and the computer sometimes
cannot work, the speaker cannot work, it is very troublesome. It happened when
50
Teacher 7 would like to play the song. To Teacher 7, students could not listen to the
songs at home. It was a problem too. She suggested if the students had the CD to
listen to the songs at home, it would be better because the students only had the song
book with lyrics. Teacher 7 also claimed that she did not know where she could find
the suitable songs for her students. As the resources on the internet are so powerful,
the resources like U-tube should be recommended to teachers to search suitable
songs for students in learning English through songs.
4.3 Students attitude and practice
4.3.1 motivation
When teachers were asked about the students response in learning English
through songs, they said that students liked singing and felt it enjoyable. However,
from the students questionnaires, it reflected that not all students liked listening to
English songs and learning English through songs. Especially in Key Stage 2, there
were many students did not like singing English songs at all. Some teachers had
mentioned in the semi-structured interviews that students at the upper levels were
shy to sing in the class or in front of the classmates. It might be one of the reasons
that students did not like learning English through songs.
51
Q1: Do you like lis tening to English songs?
Ans : 1 Yes 2 No
KS 1: N= 64 KS 2: N= 90
Ans : 1=56 Ans : 1=61
2=7 2=29
m iss ing=1
From the result of the questionnaires, it showed that more students liked
listening to English songs in Key Stage 1 than in Key Stage 2. For students who
enjoyed listening to English songs, they said that it was good to listen to English
songs. Students at different level had mentioned, its good to listen and it teaches
me a lot of English. To them, it was enjoyable, interesting and the melody was good
to listen. For students who were not interested in listening to English songs, they said
that it was boring and they did not understand what they were singing. Students,
especially those in Key Stage 2, said, I dont know what they are singing.
52
Q2: Do you like singing English songs?
Ans : 1 Yes 2 No
KS 1: N= 64 KS 2: N= 90
Ans: 1=45 Ans : 1=27
2=19 2=62
missing=1
From the above graph, it showed that more students liked singing than did not
liked this activity in Key Stage 1. From the semi-structured group interviews in Key
Stage 1, students said that they liked singing and listening to songs because they
could learn lots of words through singing and find lots of words related to what they
learned. However, the case was different in Key Stage 2, more students disliked
singing. From the semi-structured group interviews, some students claimed that they
did not understand the songs and they were too difficult. The viewpoints from the
teachers that the songs chosen in Key Stage 2 were difficult for students were
triangulated by the same opinion from students. Teacher 5 and Teacher 7 had
mentioned that students at the upper level were shy to sing and do the actions in front
53
of the teachers or classmates. Teacher 5 said, I think they are a bit shy and
conscious of themselves to sing the English songs in front of the whole class.
Q3: Where do you usually listen/ sing English songs?

Ans: 1 Home 2 School 3 TV/Radio 4 Others
KS 1: N= 64 KS 2: N= 90
Ans: 1=9 1+2=4 Ans: 1=35 1+3=2
2=43 1+2+3=2 2=31 1+2+3=1
3=3 2+3=1 3=14
4= 1 (computer) 4= 4 (computer / MP3)
missing=1 missing=3
According to the findings from the questionnaires, students at Key Stage 1
listened to English songs mainly at school and students at Key Stage 2 could reach
English songs not only at school but also at home. For students at Key Stage 2, they
also had the source from the computer or MP3. It seemed that they could still have
various means to listen to English songs if they loved this kind of activity.
From the data collected, it showed that students were likely lacking an English
environment at home at Key Stage 1. According to Richards & Rodgers (2001), the
language skills are taught in order of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
54
Listening is viewed largely as training in aural discrimination of basic sound
patterns. It is important for the school to provide more chances for students to be
trained through listening to English songs.
Q4: Do you like learning Englis h through s ongs ? Why?

Ans : 1 Yes 2 No
KS 1: N= 64 KS 2: N= 90
Ans : 1=55 Ans : 1=54
2=9 2=34
m iss ing=1
The above graphs reflected the students viewpoints on learning English
through songs. In Key Stage 1, the majority liked learning English through songs.
However, in Key Stage 2, though the number of students for using songs to learn
English was more than those who were against the tool, about one-third of the
sampling disliked learning English through songs.
From the questionnaires and semi-structured group interviews, students liked
learning English through songs because it was enjoyable to listen to and sing English
songs. One of the students in Primary 6 had mentioned, I learn the pronunciation of
vocabulary through singing English songs and the melody and rhythm help me to
55
remember the words. Students regarded it as a good and fast way to learn the
pronunciation of new words. The rhythm and melody could also help them to
remember English words easily. Overall, they could learn more English through
songs that led to better results in the examination. One student mentioned in the
interview that he would like to learn English through songs because he could learn
more and could communicate with foreigners. Some students would like learning
English through songs because they could sing the songs to their parents at home.
They felt happy to do that. Teacher 4 had mentioned, I know some of them will sing
to the parents because the parents will tell me during the picnic with the parents or
the sports day.
The reasons for those who disliked learning English through songs were mainly
because of the songs. From the questionnaires, most students explained that they
could not understand the lyrics. They thought that the songs taught were difficult to
understand and sing. Some of them were too fast. Students could not follow the
lyrics. It seemed that they did not like learning English through songs because they
could not find the enjoyment. The songs could not help them in learning the second
language. Some students in Key Stage 2 had the same feedback, the songs are too
fast and difficult and I dont understand and cant follow.
Kinsella (1995:171) regarded learning styles as an individuals natural,
habitual, and preferred way of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information
and skills. Different students had different language learning styles. Some of them
56
might be communicative and concrete learners while others might be analytical and
authority-oriented learners. For communicative language learners who like to learn
by listening to native speakers, learning new words by hearing them, learning
English through songs may be an effective tool for them to learn the second language.
However, for the analytical and authority-oriented language learners who like
studying English books, writing everything in a notebook and learning new wording
by seeing them, they may prefer reading books rather than listening to songs. In the
semi-structured group interview conducted in Primary one, a girl said that she
preferred reading books and writing down the words instead of listening to English
songs to learn English. But, she still admitted that learning English through songs
could learn new words in an enjoyable way. She was probably an authority-oriented
language learner.
4.3.2 performance
Learning English through songs could not only arouse students interest in
learning this second language but also increase their motivation to learn in the lesson.
Though the findings in this study could not prove there was any relationship between
the motivation and examination result of learning English through songs, Teacher 4
said that the students examination result had been improved. From the classroom
observation in Key Stage 1, once teachers asked students to sing, most students
easily got involved and sang happily in the class. Teacher 2 mentioned that 95% of
57
her students liked songs very much. They sang, acted and mimed together. When
Teacher 2 instructed students to sing the song, within fifteen seconds, every student
sang together and some of them had actions when sang. Through the classroom
observation, they looked cheerful when singing the song.
In the other classroom observation at the same level, students also sang with the
teachers. Though it took longer to get every student involved in the activity, every
student sang in action with the teacher eventually. They also were enjoyable. One of
the students even stood up to sing with actions. After singing, the student seemed not
as attentive as he sang the song.
In the other classroom observations, students were able to sing the songs
together. The song was treated as a motivation in the lesson before having the shared
reading. Teacher 4 had mentioned that she would like to use the song to arouse the
interest of students to learn the language and provide them with an English
environment. It seemed that the objectives were achieved in the classroom
observation. Also, in the semi-structured group interviews, students in this class had
sung the song happily together. But, when they were asked about the actions, none of
them could recall how to act.
The song was not only used as a motivation, in Primary 3, the teacher had used
the song in the game for revision of past tense. Instead of playing the music, students
had to sing the song and played in a game like musical chair and took turn to answer
the questions. In the semi-structured interview with the teacher, she liked using songs
58
in her English language teaching because she found that students enjoyed in singing.
In the classroom observation, students were happy to sing the song together while
having the game.
Though the classroom observations at Key Stage 2 were not accessible, from
the semi-structured group interviews, some students who liked learning English
through songs claimed that when they forgot the words, they would sing the songs by
heart during dictation or examination, then it recalled their memories and they could
spell the words. One of the students in Key Stage 2, he said that he liked learning
English through songs very much. He loved music and it was enjoyable. When he
came across the difficult words in the songs, he would ask teachers or check the
dictionary for the meaning. It showed that learning English through songs could be a
good tool for some students to learn English.
4.4 Teaching and learning English through songs
4.4.1 practice
In this case study, the songs in the I can program were taught extensively and
most of them were used in the motivation stage of the lesson. Rather, the language in
the songs were taught or investigated in depth. The main reasons claimed by teachers
were about time limit and songs were not related to the curriculum. These two
reasons are inter-related. Because the songs were not related to the learning
objectives of the lesson, teachers thought that they could not afford more time for
59
teaching the songs in the I can program. They always said that the scheme of work
were too tight to teach the lyrics in depth.
Teachers had to teach the songs in the I can program because it was a
top-down curriculum innovation and felt that they had no choice. As the songs were
not related to what they were going to teach, they would only spend little time to
teach the songs or simply broadcast the songs during lunch or recess to have the task
done. Both the semi-structured interviews with teachers and students had the
evidence that the songs in the I can program were not taught in depth. Teachers
admitted that teaching English through songs were good but they must be related to
the curriculum and not only for enjoyment. Most students liked learning English
through songs but it would be better if the songs were related to what they were
going to learn in the lesson. In sum, they did not see the link or the benefit.
The songs chosen in Key Stage 2 were seen as too difficult and might be an
obstacle for students to learn English through songs. From the questionnaires and
semi-structured interviews, it showed that most students liked learning English
through songs. They mentioned the advantages of using the tool to learn English.
However, most students said that the songs were too difficult and they did not
understand and could hardly learn from them. Hence, if the songs were chosen with
an appropriate English proficiency level of the students, the implementation of the I
can program at Key Stage 2 would be different.
60
The objective of introducing I can program in 2005 was to arouse the interest
of students in learning English. The data collected from teachers showed that
teaching English through songs was an enjoyable way for teachers and students. The
data collected from students showed that some students regarded learning English
through songs as an enjoyable activity. However, some students regarded that it was
not good to listen to English songs in the lesson.
4.4.2 implications
Fullan (1991:40), states that many innovations entail changes in some aspects
of educational beliefs, teaching behavior, use of materials, and more. With reference
to the findings, if the songs were taught extensively, they might be taught outside the
classroom. Teacher 7 had mentioned in the interview the other school in the same
organization taught the songs in the I can program in the morning assembly instead
of teaching in the class. It was a good way to solve the main problem complained the
teachers.
Time factor was mentioned by every teacher who was interviewed. If the songs
could be taught in the assembly, the problem of songs taught were not related to the
learning objectives could be solved and used to facilitate the learning process. For
example, some songs in Key Stage 1 were related to the curriculum and they were
chosen in the lesson. Students in Key Stage 1 said that the songs helped them to
61
remember the words learned in the lesson because the song was related to what they
learned.
Though the curriculum innovation was a top-down approach, teachers might
have some bottom-up suggestions or adaptations to choose the songs according to
their needs. Rather, teachers had to teach a song a week. It would hinder the learning
process instead of helping students to learn effectively. Morris (1996:107) criticized
the centralized control of curriculum decision-making that it was often found to be
not very successful at changing the implemented curriculum and it seemed to treat
teachers as technicians who were expected to carry out instructions, rather than as
professionals who could be trusted to make decisions about the curriculum. From the
interviews, Teacher 1 and Teacher 2 had their professional consideration. They
would teach the songs which were fit their teaching and integrated in the lesson. For
those were not really related to the learning objectives, they just played the songs for
enjoyment.
Using songs in English language teaching was the intended curriculum
initiative in the I can program. The songs taught in the program were crucial.
However, the songs chosen were not appropriate to Key Stage 2. Both teachers and
students regarded the songs as too difficult. It showed that the teaching materials
were not suitable for students. Markee (1997) regarded curricular innovation is a
managed process of development whose principal products are teaching materials,
methodological skills, and pedagogical values that are perceived as new by potential
62
adopters. It showed that the teaching materials as well as teaching behaviour were
important for curriculum innovation.
4.5 School-based curriculum
4.5.1 planning
With reference to the minutes of the Joint-school English Panel, the I can
program was initiated to arouse students interest in learning English. The songs
were selected by the English panel chairperson from the schools in the organization.
From the viewpoints of teachers and students, the teaching materials at Key Stage 1
were better than those at Key Stage 2. It seemed that different schools had different
implemented curriculum though the intended curriculum was the same. In this case
study, only one school was investigated. But, in the pilot interview conducted, the
teacher from other school in the same organization said that the implementation in
her school had been different. The number of songs taught was less than our school
but each class had a singing performance of the song from the program in the
assembly. Also, Teacher 7 who had taught in other school in the same organization
mentioned that the implementation in the other school was different. The songs in the
I can program were taught in the morning assembly and would be consolidated in
the classroom. Hence, it spent less time in the English lessons and it had less
interruptions to the English language curriculum. It showed that the implemented
63
curriculum could be varied among schools. Each school could adapt the intended
curriculum according to their school-based curriculum.
4.5.2 implications
Change is a process, not an event. Fullan (1991:48-49) claimed that there are
numerous factors operating at each phase. As the two-way arrows imply, it is not a
linear process but rather one in which events at one phase can feed back to alter
decisions made at previous stages, which then proceed to work their way through in a
continuous interactive way. The I can program had been implemented for three
years, with reference to the minutes of the Joint-school English Panel meetings, there
were discussions in the meetings about the songs chosen in the I can program. Still,
the songs chosen were too difficult for the students language proficiency. It showed
that the curriculum innovation was likely an event for the school rather than a
process to have any changes after evaluation.
The evaluation model from Morris (1996:92-94) suggested that we should
compare the intentions and reality of a curriculum with regard to its antecedents,
transactions and outcomes. It implies that in curriculum innovation, we not only need
to consider the objectives of the planned curriculum, but also take careful
consideration in having the observed curriculum. The outcomes from the
implementation can provide feedback for the curriculum innovation to continue as a
process.
64
According to Fullan, there are many factors associated with initiation. For
example, advocacy from central administrators, teacher advocacy and problem-solving
and bureaucratic orientations are mentioned. Ideally, the best beginnings combine the
three Rs of relevance, readiness, and resources. Relevance includes the interaction of
need, clarity of the innovation. Readiness involves the schools practical and
conceptual capacity to initiate. Resources concern the accumulation of and provision
of support as a part of the change process. (Fullan, 1991:50)
In the I can program, Relevance could be interpreted as the need of the
English Language curriculum and also the requirement of the Hong Kong Curriculum
Reform. (CDC, 2001) Learning English through poems and songs could develop the
language awareness in an enjoyable way. Besides, students were encouraged to use
these imaginative texts for enhancing their critical thinking and creativity. (CDC, 2004)
In Morris (2001:149), The school curriculum should help students to learn how to
learn through cultivating positive values, attitudes, and a commitment to life-long
learning, develop generic skills to acquire and construct knowledge, which are
essential for whole-person development to cope with challenges of the 21st century.
Related to the I can program, listening to songs could develop learners interest and
acquire knowledge in learning English. Likewise, the performance in the mini-concert
or singing contest could develop students confidence.
Readiness in the I can program was commented as two-sided. On one hand,
teachers conceptually knew that it was good for students in English language learning.
65
On the other hand, practically, time constraint and the effective way in teaching
English through songs were the factors to hinder the implementation of the innovation.
Resources in the I can program were adequate. Lots of songs were chosen.
However, the criteria for choosing suitable songs had not yet clearly stated.
Consequently, songs could not be effectively integrated into the General English
program and taught implicitly. Rather, teachers had to allocate extra time to teach the
materials explicitly. To conclude, if songs had been chosen as the tools to motivate
students or consolidate the target language in relevant module taught, teachers would
have less complained about the time constraint.
In the I can program, at the Initiative phase, the top-down innovation by the
Joint-school English Panel initiated teachers at the school to implement using songs in
their English Language teaching. During the implementation phase, some teachers had
small-scale bottom-up innovations. For example, the materials were used as the
instruction. In other words, when students went to the Base of the classroom for the
shared reading, they sang a designated song or recited a poem. It became the class
routine.
With regard to the management of educational innovation, the I can program
was a top-down one. Because of the initiation by the Joint-school English Panel, the
school had to adopt the program. In the implementation, teachers still faced a lot of
problems to teach English through songs. For example, in order to catch up with the
tight schedule of General English Program, sometimes, teaching the song book would
66
be neglected. Fullan (1993:38) recommends that simultaneous top-down and
bottom-up strategies are necessary in order to form a different two-way relationship of
pressure, support and continuous negotiation. After reflection, even the innovation was
a top-down one, teachers could make some adaptations to have a small-scale
bottom-up suggestions. If the songs selected could be related to the module taught in
the daily General English program, time constraint might be solved. In the Curriculum
and Assessment Guide (CDC, 2007:124) Apart from textbooks, teachers can make
use of other resource materials to enhance learning.
To conclude, learning English through songs were regarded as an enjoyable way
to enhance students English proficiency. However, the isolation of the I can
program created the authentic problem was the time allocation of the curriculum.
Simply, it reflected that the school-based English Language Curriculum needed to be
tailor-made for integration all contents in an efficient and effective way.
67
Chapter Five Conclusion
Through this case study, after stating the major findings, some implications of
using songs in the Hong Kong Primary English Language Curriculum will be
proposed. Also, the limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further
research will be outlined.
5.1 Major findings
Honig (2006:14) regarded past implementation research revealed that policy,
people, and places affected implementation and contemporary implementation
research aims to uncover their various dimensions and how and why interactions
among these dimensions shape implementation in particular ways. Both past and
contemporary implementation research involved policy, people, and places.
In the I can program, policy was of a top-down approach. It involved the
teachers and students who had to implement the policy from the joint-school English
panel in the organization. The places were mainly at the classrooms though it might
better extend to other places at school, for example, hall. The involvement is only in
term of implementation but teachers were not involved with the design of the
program. So, there was no ownership. Kennedy (1988) suggests that ownership, the
degree to which an innovation belongs to the implementers, has a considerable
influence on the likelihood of any innovation establishing itself.
68
After this case study, how and why interactions among these dimensions
shaped implementation had been investigated. It seemed that there were gaps
between policy and people as well as people and places. Even there was a
discrepancy among people. In other words, after data collected and analyzed, first,
teachers regarded the curriculum initiative as a top-down policy, they had no
intentions to have bottom-up suggestions. The interactions between policy and
people were weak and could not facilitate the implementation of the program.
Second, the bonding between people and places was not strong enough to
enhance the interaction in order to help students in learning English through songs.
In other words, students were taught the songs extensively in the classroom which
might not be the best and one and only place for the policy implemented. People
teachers could teach the songs in the I can program in the hall or English room and
consolidate in the classroom like singing the songs while playing language games in
the lesson.
Third, the discrepancy among people implied that teachers could not find out
the songs which were suitable for the students in their learning process. Rather, in
order to implement the I can program, time needed to allocate for teaching the
songs even the schedule of work was tight. Because of the policy I can program,
people teachers could not plan their teaching according to their professionalism. It
implied that it lacked coordination and negotiation.
69
Honig (2006:19) claimed that these three dimensions of implementation
policy, people, and places come together to form a conception of implementation
as a highly contingent and situated process. After the evaluation of the I can
program, the interactions among policy, people and places must be tailor-made for
the situation and need of the school-based curriculum. How and why the program
was implemented in particular ways was crucial. Morris (1996) claimed that the
evaluation model suggests that we should compare the intentions and reality of a
curriculum with regard to its antecedents, transactions and outcomes.
5.2 Pedagogical implications
Our conceptualization of policy implementation as learning within and
between communities of practice has a number of implications for policy makers and
policy researchers. (Honig, 2006:42) Through this study, time was always the
problem for the implementation. The time for the lesson was fixed. For pedagogical
implication, teachers had to make adaptations for using songs in English language
teaching and learning instead of let the program became a burden. The songs used in
the lesson should be related to the learning objectives. In other words, Song was a
tool for teaching the second language to enhance the English proficiency of students.
Rather, teachers had to teach the songs because they were asked to.
There are a number of advantages in using songs as texts for

language teaching. Songs are short and catchy; they pack a lot of
meanings into few words. Because songs are not extracts or
70
simplified texts, they have greater potential to be used for
teaching interpretative procedures. (Falvey & Kennedy, 1997)
An example of using songs in English language teaching in Primary 3
(appendix 6) was suggested to illustrate how and why songs were used in the theme
about the natural world. The pedagogical implication was not only saving time but
also integrating songs in the curriculum.
Teachers professional development was important in the curriculum
innovation. Markee (1997:46) claimed that the methodological skills and pedagogical
values were important in the implementation of the innovation. In the case study, if
workshops about how to implement literature-based teaching or using songs in the
Primary English language curriculum could be organized, it would help teachers in
the curriculum innovation. Hence, students could learn English through songs
intensively during the learning process.
Resources were an authentic problem. Teachers had difficulties to find the
suitable songs related to the curriculum. Education Bureau could provide a handy
resource bank on the internet and help teachers to save time in using songs in English
language teaching. For example, the website - hkedcity.net is a good platform for
teachers and students to teach and learn English songs on the internet. Hence, the
matter of copyright could be handled by the Education Bureau.
5.3 Limitations of the study
71
Robson (2002:183) suggests that case studies opt for analytic rather than
statistical generalization. In this case study, as it is the evaluation of a particular
primary school English language curriculum initiative on the teaching of songs, it
was not possible to have a larger cohort of teachers and students. Still, in this case
study, eight teachers who had implemented the I can program for three years
became the informants. Though the time and human resources of the study was
limited, students were selected for triangulation at each level instead of at each Key
Stage.
With regards to internal validity, the subjectivity which might threaten internal
validity could not be totally avoided. In order to increase the objectivity of the
research study, a questionnaire was set up for the sampling of students
semi-structured group interviews. As the classroom observations at Key Stage 2 were
not accessible, the triangulation of the study at the upper level was affected. Only
having questionnaires and semi-structured group interviews at Key Stage 2 might
affect the reliability of the study.
A longitudinal study might result in more interesting data but the focus of my
study was on an instance in action (Adelman et al., 1980) However, it was a
ten-month research study for evaluating a curriculum initiative which had
implemented for three years at a particular primary school in Hong Kong,
generalizability became an issue to be concerned because the case was limited to the
72
context in which it was studied. For case study, it was just an instance in action,
generalizability might be difficult to consider.
5.4 Suggestions for Further Research
As using songs in English language teaching would become one of the electives
in the New Senior Secondary English Language Curriculum, using songs in Primary
English Language Curriculum has a more important role in English language
teaching. Because the research was a case study, it investigated the curriculum
innovation at school rather than the role of songs in English language teaching. An
action research of using songs in Primary English Language Curriculum are
proposed to investigate the effectiveness of using songs in Primary English Language
teaching for the second language learners at primary level.
With reference to Cohen et al. (2007:297-313), Action research can be used in
adopting an integrated approach to learning in preference to a single-subject of
teaching and learning. Hopkins (1985:32) suggests that the combination of action
and research renders that action a form of disciplined inquiry, in which a personal
attempt is made to understand, improve and reform practice. This definition can
explain the action research suggested in this study for further research.
The Action Research can focus on the using songs in English language teaching
for two groups of students in Key Stage 2. In other words, one group of students is
going to use songs in the curriculum and the other control group of students is not
73
using any songs for teaching and learning this second language. After the research
study, their examination result would be collected and analyzed the differences or
correlations between teaching and learning with or without songs. Hult and Lennung
(1980) and McKernan (1991:32-33) suggests that action research is to use feedback
from data in an ongoing cyclical process. The action research proposed is to
investigate the teaching and learning English through songs. The proposed research
would provide feedback from data to the curriculum initiative on the teaching of
songs in Primary English Language Education in Hong Kong.
74
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Veit, R. (1998). Research: The Student's Guide to Writing Research Papers. the
United States of America: Allyn & Bacon.
Watson, G. (1996). Writing a thesis: a guide to long essays and dissertations.

England: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.
Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: design and methods. London: Sage
Publications.
Yule, G. (2006). The Study of Language (3rd Ed.): Cambridge University Press.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 Extracts from the Song Books
I Can Sing!
Children like singing and reading rhymes/poems. They enjoy

the melody and the rhythm of the songs and rhymes/poems
very much. They can learn more and better English by singing
and reading aloud. They can know more about the culture of
western countries. They can develop good relationships with
others by singing along and reading aloud with others, too.
English teachers would like to arouse students interest and
build up their confidence in English, provide opportunities for
students to enjoy and appreciate literary or creative works in
English by writers from different cultures, develop students
awareness and an enjoyment of the basic sound patterns of
English by imaginative texts through singing and reading
rhymes/poems and improve students proficiency in English.
25 songs and 11 rhymes have been selected in this Sing Along
Read Aloud booklet. All primary schools students are going to
learn them, sing them and read them. They are all enjoyable!
Lets sing together! Lets read together!
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KS1
Content Page
Title
Song Row, Row, Row Your Boat 1
Song Little Peter Rabbit 2
Rhyme Early To Bed 3
Song Apple Song 4
Song In The Classroom 5
Rhyme A Sailor Went To Sea 6
Song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 7
Song Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes 8
Rhyme Foxys Hole 9
Song Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake 10
Song Beat And Rhythm 11
Rhyme Diddle, Diddle, Dumpling 12
Song Baa Baa Black Sheep 13
Song Polly Put The Kettle On 14
Rhyme Im A Little Teapot 15
Song Let Everyone Clap Hands Like Me 16
Song If Youre Happy 17
Rhyme Rain Rain Go Away 18
Song Ring Around The Rosy 19
Song Bingo 20
Rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock 21
Song Ten Little Fingers 22
Song Where is Thumbman 23
Rhyme Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat 24
Song Five Little Ducks 25
Song Apples And Bananas 26
Rhyme One, Two, Buckle My Shoes 27
Song The Happy Alphabet Song 28
Song Do-Re-Mi 29
Rhyme The Cat And The Fiddle 30
Song The More We Get Together 31
Song Its A Small World 32
Rhyme Jack And Jill 33
Song Eentsy Weentsy Spider 34
Song Mary Had A Little Lamb 35
Song Sing Your Way Home 36
My Reading Record 37-48
My Sharing 49-52
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KS2
Content Page
Title
Information about Doris Day 1
Song Whatever Will Be Will Be 2
Song Id Like To Teach The World To Sing 3
Poem In A Dark Dark Wood 4
Song Stand By Me 5
Song Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head 6
Poem Halloween 7
Song Jamaica Farewell 8
Song Rainbow Connection 9
Poem Mrs Shorter 10
Song Today 11
Information about Dana 12
Song All Kinds Of Everything 13
Song Rhythm Of The Rain 14
Song Top Of The World 15
Poem Who Has Seen The Wind 16
Information about John Denver 17
Song Perhaps Love 18
Song Take Me Home Country Road 19
Poem Childrens Prayer 20
Song Big Big World 21
Song Please Mr Postman 22
Poem My Dad Is A Rock And Roller 23
Song Blowing In The Wind 24
Information about The Everly Brothers 25
Song All I Have To Do Is Dream 26
Poem The Rainbow 27
Song One Tin Soldier 28
Song What The World Needs Now 29
Poem There Are Big Waves 30
Song Try To Remember 31
Song Where Have All The Flowers Gone 32
Poem The Star 33
Song Yellow Bird 34
Song I Am Woman 35
Song I Believe In Music 36
Song Crying In The Rain 37
Poem Magic Shoes 38
Song Bye Bye Love 39
Song YMCA 40
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Appendix 2 The school placement in Melbourne
Background
School: Clayton South Primary School
Class: Grade 5/6 C
Date: 7th September, 2006.
Time: 11:30am 12:30 pm
Home Group Teacher: Ms Rebecca Campbell
Previous Knowledge: Students have prior experience of writing rap.
Learning Objectives:
1. Students have an enjoyable experience of learning English from
appreciation.
2. Students are able to write their own lyrics or poem.
3. Students have the confidence to show their creativity.
Stages of learning Skills/ Functions Timing
Pre-task Listening, Speaking & About 15

1. Listening to the song named Reading minutes
SING sung by The Carpenter. Introducing the theme:
2. Students need to read or sing CONFIDENCE which is
the lyrics and find out the integrated in the
rhyming words. curriculum in this
3. Brainstorm other action term.
verbs, for example, dance, Learning literacy
play, read, swimetc through songs
4. Introduce other lyrics or
poems as a reference.
While-task Writing About 30
1. Writing individually or in a Interpersonal minutes
group of two which includes Development
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one Grade 5 & 6. Communication
2. Write their products on paper Information Technology
or print it out from the Design and Creativity
computer.
Post-task All 4 skills involved. About 15
1. Students have to present their Providing feedback minutes
products in class. Assessment and
evaluation by teachers
and students
Students are encouraged to have their performances during lunch break

or buddy activity.
Learning English from songs is an enjoyable experience.

When I was a child, my elder sister enjoyed listening to English songs
from the Carpenters. Every day, I was forced to listen to the English
songs at home. Without any notice, I immersed in an English
environment, enjoyed the melody and sang with the Carpenters. Now, I
would like to share this joyful and useful experience with all the lovely
children in Grade 5/6C of Clayton South Primary School. I hope that the
experience of learning literacy from songs can last your whole life long.
Remember, you are the BEST and make your dream come true. With my
blessings by Clara Lam (e-mail address: claralamcl@yahoo.com)
Your Task:
Show your confidence and creativity
Rewrite the lyrics of SING and create a new product.
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Then, you have to present your product.
Points to consider:
Step one: Choose one activity or topic you are interested.
Step two: Find out some rhyming words for one of the activities.
Others
sing dance read dream
Step three: Use the rhyming words to write your own lyric, rap or poem.
If I can have your end-products in a portfolio and bring it back to Hong
Kong, it will be my most valuable souvenir.
Welcome to Claras Musical Garden
The lesson try out in Grade 5 & 6. They have the prior knowledge to
write a rap. But, most of them still find it difficult to write a rap by
themselves.
In an hour lesson, students write their own product after listening to a
song named S ING by the Carpenters. The Powerpoint and their
products are attached .
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S oc c e r
Play, Play a soc c e r game ,
If your good you might e nd up in the hallof fame .
Play, Play as a te am,
S o you dont fe e l gre e dy and me an.
S c ore , S c ore a winning goal,

Hope , it doe snt hit the pole .
C ongratulations if you win,
Youll walk off the fie ld with a grin.
Families are there through good and bad,

Happy and sad.
They are there to tuck you in at night,
And comfort you when you are not feeling bright,
They will do anything for you,
Especially when your feeling blue.
Together we are strong,
Our love will last long.
They will always care,
When your sad they will be there.
If I lost them my heart will never mend,
My lo ve for them will never end!
By Tay lor and Joanna Mui
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C ric ke t
Play, Play a c ric ke t matc h,
Dive , Dive for a c atc h.
Try your be st at alltime ,
Your not c om mitting a c rime .
If you play c le an and fine ,

In front of your frie nds you wills hine .
Ihope you had a gre at time ,
Re ading this rhyme .
Appendix 3 Teachers interview transcriptions

Interview Transcript: Teacher 1
Interviewer (I): Good afternoon, thanks for participating in my study and having this
interview. The first question I would like to ask is Do you like
listening to English songs?
Respondent (R):Hm
I: Just personally.
R: Not really.
I: OK. Any special reason?
R: No.
I: OK. Which level do you usually teach, KS1, KS2 or both?
R: Both.
I: How many years have you been teaching? Around
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R: Ten. Ten years.
I: Over ten years.
R: Over ten years.
I: OK. So what do you understand about Language Arts? Anything about Language
Arts?
R: AhLanguage Arts may be about literatures, the songs, poemsahwell
I; Its OK. Do you ever try using Language Arts in your English Language
Teaching?
R: Yes.
I: Can you share something about your experience?
R: I try to use songs in my lessons mainly in Key Stage 1 because I think it can draw
the attention, motivate them and easier for them to remember maybe further
sentence pattern if the lyric is similar to what they need to learn in that chapter.
So, I mainly use in Key Stage 1. For Key Stage 2, just for leisure.
I: Why dont you use the same method in Key Stage 2 like what you have tried out in
Key Stage 1?
R: Its difficult to find the related English songs.
I: So the resources to you are a problem because you dont have that kind of?
R: HmIf I find that related sources, then I would try it in Key Stage 1. Its open.
I: You mean you will try it in Key Stage 2?
R: Yes, in Key Stage 2.
I: OK, like Key Stage 1. So, in Key Stage 1 teaching experience, any difficulties do
you come across?
R: (Silence)
I: Do you enjoy using songs in your lessons?
R: Sure. Yes, sure.
I: What is the response of your students?
R: If the lyric is related to the sentence pattern they need to learn in that chapter, it is
easier for them to remember and they are interested in singing that song. If for
those just the same, maybe the same context, similar context, maybe just they
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listen and then just remember the two words because its not exactly what they
need to learn in that chapter. I wont require them to sing along, just listen.
I: If the song is not directly related to your GE program, then you choose the song for
enjoyment.
R: Yes.
I: And just listening or
R: motivation
I: For motivation. Can you tell me something more about motivation? How do you
use songs for motivation?
R: Lets say, for example, in P4 this year. I found that there is a song, but with the
video, not only listen
I: Not only audio but visual
R: Yes, but visual. Its about the MACARONI because I found this word is quite
difficult for this stage. Its quite long and its difficult for them to remember how
to pronounce this word and I found that the DVD, there is a song about macaroni.
So, I just play that song to them and after that song, they know how to pronounce
this word and they will sing MACARONI, MACARONI, MAC and CHEESE,
THREE TIMES DAILY PLENTY PLEASE I think its quite useful that its
just for that word only because its difficult to find I think its difficult to find
the related songs to fit the context.
I: Of course, because the MACARONI is shown visually...
R: Yes, yes.
I: So, they exactly know this is macaroni. Oh! Its very good. Because we have the I
can program, so can you find the songyou just mentioned that its very hard to
find the designated song related to the content, have you ever tried to find the
song from the I can program that is related to your teaching or you use the
outside other than I can program resources to find the songs for your teaching?
R: For I can program, you mention is I can sing or I can write?
I: I can sing because its about songs.
R: I can write, there are some songs and theyre very fit
I: Can you compare two? Because I can sing is not fit, just a list of songs
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R: Yes, yes.
I: And then I can write, songs are also included but they
R: They adapted the lyric. They just used the melody.
I: Then, in your opinion, is that in I can write, the songs are really related to the
content, its useful?
R: Yes, yes.
I: Can we say its very effective to use songs in the I can write program that is
really related to the content?
R: Yes, yes. Its really related directly to what they need to learn. The whole
sentence is the same to the lyric. Thats really useful because you need to play
the songs for two or three times, that maybe each lesson you play once and ask
them to sing along. Its easy, I think its easy for students to remember the
sentence along with the melody.
I: So, you mean that I can program is not so useful because the songs are not
related to what you are going to teach?
R: Just for motivation or just for leisure.
I: Motivation? What do you mean by motivation?
R: For example, for Key Stage 2, I am going to teach the future tense, then I will
choose QUE SARA SARA but the sentence is not exactly the same. Just to link
them to what we are going to learn
I: In the future, what will I be ask her mother
R: But, I dont spend a lot of time to explain the lyrics. Oh, if you find will be, will
be, then you stand up. Its just, thats all.
I: To arouse their interest in learning rather than to learn the grammar or English
through songs in Key Stage 2.
R: Yes, yes. Or just pay attention to verb, when you heard the word will be will be,
just stand up.
I: That means in Key Stage 1, in this I can program, if the songs are really related
to the content, then you will use the song every lesson, to let them sing, learn the
structure. For Key Stage 2, because the songs are not so related to the content,
you try to use them for motivation or for enjoyment. Thats all.
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R: Hm. Hm. (Consent)
I: OK. Any other difficulties when you implement I can program when you use the
songs in your teaching?
R: You mean I can sing.
I: Hm. (Consent) because Key Stage 2, we dont have I can write.
R: For I can sing, the songs that chosen by all schools (in the same organization)
but we use different textbooks, I think its difficult to fit, even the content. We
got several song books, different years, weve got different song books but no
repeat, repetition. And I found that maybe the first year is the best because we
chose all the common song, the easier songs. Then year by year, its more
complicated and its not common. Some of the songs, I... I
I: You need to learn before you teach.
R: Yes. And I didnt hear it before.
I: So, how about the time factor? Do you think it is very time consuming? You use
that song, before you need to learn. It takes you a lot of time to learn and then
you need to use that song in your lesson, its very time consuming?
R: I just found that I need to use the song because I need to use that song. The
scheme is that I need to use that song book, then I use the song book. Not related
to what I need to teach. I need to use because I need to use.
I: Because you have to, you are asked to teach the songs.
R: Yes. Yes.
I: But not directly related to your teaching.
R: First week, you need to teach song 1. Second week, song 2,
I: Any suggestions you think you can use the songs better? Not just because you are
asked to do that?
R: Before the I can program, that I got several CDs that I usually use in the
lessons.
I: This is your own collection?
R: Yes, my own CDs. I think that quite related to what I teach, at mainly Key Stage 1.
So, I found that the song they I dont know, maybe, they rewrite the lyrics just
like IN THE CLASSROOM, IN THE CLASSROOM, just like that I think its
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not the original one, I think its useful for I can choose the song to play and
related to what I need to teach. I think its much better than you need to finish
that CD, the whole CD designed by the all panels (in the organization). And you
need to follow.
I: If we use the Key Stage 1 songs, because its simple, not so long, do you think Key
Stage 2 students will think its very nave, not so good or?
R: Use the same song.
I: I mean the Key Stage 1 songs, they are simple, they are short and we use the same
songs to teach in Key Stage 2, what do you think about the students response?
R: Oh, for my class P4, I still play very simple song to them and its OK. I think its
OK. For Key Stage 2, I dont want to play the love songs to them.
I: Very sensitive topic?!
R: Yes! Yes! But I know its a kind of language arts. In the love songs, we still can
learn something in it. But, I wont choose that kind of songs, soso
I: Its related to civic education, moral thing
R: Yes.
I: Actually, they love to listen to English songs
R: For P6, I am going to play to a song... because in chapter 3, they are going to learn
the children in other countries and Ive got a CD, a visual CD and I would like to
play the video, that video to them.
I: What they have learned in that DVD or VCD?
R: For the whole, you mean the whole CD, they got different songs.
I: The song you chose for that chapter 3, what have they learned?
R: They learned the Japanese, the students in Japan, the Japanese sushi, sashimi and
the Italian like spaghetti and pizza, something like that.
I: So, in that lesson, they learned a lot of vocab through the song, is it?
R: I didnt. I I still not teach that chapter.
I: OK. It is your planning.
R: Yes, its my planning.
I: Can I have this honour to observe that lesson?
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R: Sure. Sure. But its just planning. I need to spend more time to design whether its
in motivation or after they learn the vocab.
I: Thank you. I have mentioned about the I can program. So, overall speaking, do
you like this I can program? Or have you got any suggestions to improve the
program? That means to use songs to learn English.
R: The aim is good because they want to use songs to facilitate the students learning
in English. English is not a boring subject. That, resources, the songs are not
really related. So, it doesnt help.
I: OK. If one day the song is chosen deliberately for the curriculum, for special
module, just like CECES program, one song is designated for one Big Book, do
you think it will help to improve
R: Yes. Yes.
I: Any difficulties when you find the resources? You mentioned that you have a lot
of CD collections, when you find the right song, is it difficult or you think oh I
can easily get that kind of resources from the Record Company?
R: Ive got the CD thats not from the Record Company. Its from the educational
organization
I: The EDB?
R: Yes, Not mainly from my daughters collection.
I: Its from the foreign resources, not in Hong Kong?
R: I can find it in Hong Kong but when you go to the CD shops, you cant find that.
I: So you buy it on the internet?
R: No, maybe in the book exhibition or I dont know the name , that kind
of
I: The trade fair.
R: Yes. Yes.
I: The songs youve bought are mainly for Key Stage 1 or for Key Stage 2 or for
secondary schools?
R: No, not for secondary school. Just for I think the target is for the children. So if
the content is related to Key Stage 2, then I play to Key Stage 2.
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I: Have you ever tried to use your daughters songs in Key Stage 2 other than
MACARONI? Any other experiences?
R: Yes, Ive got one more. Its how to make the sentence longer.
I: Can you share the experience with me?
R: The song. I dont know the name.
I: It doesnt matter. What is the process or the implementation when you teach the
song?
R: Its all in my planning. I want to playmaybe it can be in P4 and P6 mostly
feasible because the song is the one asking, what do you do? like that The
other one, I play, I play basketball. And then, the other question is, Who do
you play with? Then, I play, I play basketball with my friends. Something
likes that
I: This is to prolong the sentence from the question.
R: Yes. Yes.
I: after using different question words to let them answer.
R: I think its useful for P4 and P6.
I: Especially to ask them to answer in complete sentence.
R: And in writing. Yes, how to prolong the sentence when you need to write 80
words, etc. Dont just stop here. I play basketball.
I: Youre great. You said, at the very beginning, you didnt like English songs very
much. But, in your teaching, you implement a lot of learning English through
songs.
R: Yes, because in my daily life, English song is just the love song. I dont like just
the love songs. Then, for my students, so, I dont play love songs to my students
because I dont like the love song. And I found that some songs they got the
educational purpose, then I use it. If useful, but its not but not love song
I: Other than love song,
R: Yes, other than love song.
I: Once they can learn
R: Because you listen to the radio, its always love song.
I: the language Yes.
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R: So, I dont want to listen to it.
I: The resource is not so handy we can get and the love songs are the most popular
songs. They may divert the attention to something about romantic rather than the
language.
R: Yes. We really need to mind is not just handy or resources.
I: OK. Thank you very much. Hope we can find the handy English songs very soon.
interview.
Respondent (R): Youre welcome.
I: The first question I would like to ask is Do you like listening to English songs?
R: Yes, of course.
I: How often do you listen to English songs?
R: You mean at home?
I: Yes, anytime. At your leisure time.
R: Yes. I always listen to the English songs because I have two kids. They also very
very interested in listening to English songs.
I: Do you like using songs in your English language teaching?
R: If the song is fit for the for the aims, I will use it. I will use the song to put into
the lesson.
I: How many years have you been teaching? Around?
R: Around over fifteen years.
I: Wow! Very experienced. Which level do you usually teach? Key Stage 1 or Key
Stage 2 or both?
R: One.
I: Key stage one.
R: Yeah!
I: Can you tell me more about how do you use songs in English language teaching?
97
R: Before, because in my school, there is a program about the I can sing program.
It is very good for the students to listen to songs to learn English and they are very
interested in listening to English. And sometimes, I will pick some songs from the I
can write program because the songs can fit to my teaching aims. And the students
are always and I will always play and I will always put the songs in the lessons and
they will listen to the songs and listen to the lyrics. The lyrics always have the main
key words. The key words they listen more, and then they learn more.
I: Do you think the songs help you to teach English more effectively?
R: Yes, of course.
I: So, other than the songs from the big books, have you ever used other songs in
your English language teaching?
R: Yes, especially this year because I teach in P1 this year. We find some, I with my
colleagues, find some websites that is about the kids songs. That is very useful
for our teaching. We play the songs and we found some songs because this
year, we have school-based curriculum, so the P1 teachers found some websites
that teach phonics. Thats very good because, for example, A sound, we found
some songs that is A A A (sound ac ac ac) and then B sound, we found some
songs that is ba ba ba. So they learn more and they sing, always sing during the
class.
I: That means you with the colleagues found some songs on the internet that is fit to
your curriculum and let the students learn English through songs?
R: Yes, yes. Exactly
I: What are the criteria for choosing the song?
R: Mainly, for the purpose, the aim fits our curriculum. The song is easy to sing and
the word is fit for the level and if there is some picture, its also very good.
I: You mentioned that this is a school-based curriculum, is it different from the I can
program we implemented before?
R: Because we have, this year, P1 has a service from the CECES and I think CECES
and the I can write program is a little bit similar. So, I think its similar.
I: Compared with CECES, is it different from I can program? Which one would
you like?
98
R: The I can write program isbut because the CECES, I go to, I have some
lessons to have, the workshops that is about the CECES program so I know
much more about this, more than the I can write program. I think, at this
moment, I think the CECES, that program is fit for my students.
I: When you implement the I can program in the past, what kind of difficulties do
you come across?
R: I am not exactly.Hm.
I: No problem at all?
R: Hm
I: Do you like the program? I mean I can program with the song book?
R: I dont know
I: Can I put in this way, before we have I can program, now you have CECES
program, recall your memory, do you like the I can program more or the
CECES program more?
R: I like CECES more because I know more.
I: OK. That means because the workshops help you
R: Yes.
I: so, the I can program, no workshops at all. You didnt know what to do?
R: Yes.
I: I remember in the I can program, we have the songs. Do you think that the songs
are related to what you are going to teach?
R: There are, in one book, over fourteen songs. I can pick some songs that are fit for
my teaching. Some of the songs, that are fit for my teaching. Its good and the
students like it.
I: How about the songs that are not fit to what you are going to teach? How you
handle it?
R: I just go through very fast.
I: When will you use the songs in your lesson, for example, you use at the motivation
part or consolidation part or the whole lesson?
R: Mainly the motivation and sometimes the consolidation.
I: Any special reason you use in the motivation part or consolidation part?
99
R: Thats base on the if the words, the key words, fit for my teaching, I use it.
I: OK. Ive heard that some students when they sing the songs, they behave
differently. Is that the behaviour of your students?
R: HowBehave differently? Ah! They are very happy. Over 95% like songs very
much. They sing, they act, they mime together.
I: Good. Can the songs help you to get their attention or to provide English rich
environment in your lesson?
R: Yes, yes.
I: So, overall speaking, do you like I can program?
R: Its also very good.
I: Can you tell me more what do you mean by GOOD? Any experiences that you
feel
R: Let me have an example. When I have, when I teach about the week, a week,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I play the song and they sing the song together
and then they are very easy to remember Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
I: So, the song helps them in learning English?
R: Yes, yes.
I: I would like to know more about your teaching practice. In using songs, any
difficulties do you come across?
R: Sometimes, the technical problem, the CD player is sometimes cannot work and
the computer sometimes cannot work, the speaker cannot work, it is very
troublesome. It puts me into trouble. Maybe only this.
I: The other is Ok?
R: The other is Ok.
I: Do you think the time is limited? Is it hard to use the songs in your lesson?
R: Yes, sometimes. But, sometimes, because my students need to come out to the
BASE, so they need time to come out, and then I play the song and they sing and
then come out, that save the time. They can listen to the songs and they sing
together and come out. They feel happy. It is also a kind of warm up activity.
I: Do you treat that song as a class routine? When they listen to that song, they know
what they are going to do? Its just like a kind of instruction?
100
R: Before, many years ago, I teach them as a routine. But, this year, I have no time,
so Sometimes, I play the song and they listen, they come out and they know to
come out. And, sometimes, I ask them to read a poem or some rhymes, they come
out. I think its the same.
I: Thank you. The last question is do you know anything about language arts?
R: What is language arts?
I: Its Ok. Actually, language arts are something about poems, songs, drama and
literature.
R: Yeah! Yeah!
I: Let me see. I think the last question. Sorry! One more last question is do you think
the students are satisfied to sing the songs?
R: They are very happy. They like it.
I: OK. Thank you very much.
Interviewer (I): Good morning, thanks for participating in my interview. The first
question I would like to ask is Do you like listening to English songs?
Respondent (R): Yeah.
R: But, I dont have enough time to do because too busy for doing a lot of things now.
In the past, I like to listen to the songs. They are not so pop. I dont like pop
music. I like some soft songs.
I: OK. Do you like using songs in your English language teaching?
R: Yes, I like. I found its useful to use songs in teaching. Just like, sometimes I
want I like my students to spell some of the words. I found its really difficult
for them to spell. But, if I use some letters to do with the songs and then they can
101
sing it out. And then they can easy to remember how to spell the words. I think
its useful.
I: Yes. Can you share some of your teaching experiences when you use song as a tool
to the second language - English?
R: Just like, I remember thats one word they usually use it. Just like if you ask the
why question and they cant spell it. Just like because. Then I will sing the song
B E C A U S E B E C A U S E (like the melody in the alphabet song i.e.
ABCDEFG to BECAUSE) after singing the whole song, then they can remember
it. Its easy. And then, just like, last time I teach them the vowel sound and then I
want them to remember a e i o u and then use something like that. And then,
they can remember it after using the song. And then, I found its a useful tool for
teaching students.
I: So, from your experience, repetition is good, especially when you use a song.
R: Yeah!
I: Have you tried not using songs but just repetition? Whats the difference between
using songs or no melody involved, just repeat the words?
R: Thats a great difference. Just the repetition, they dont have the motivation. I
found especially the little kids, they like the melody, they like the song. And then,
they can do some gestures, and then with the melody, they enjoy. I think
motivation is an important way to teach the students. Most the little kids, they
like singing songs with the melody and enjoy it. Its not the same with just
repetition.
I: Yeah! You mean the little kids, which level are they?
R: I teach Primary two this year and then just I remember theres a song, they teach
the Big Book. The Big Book teaching, they need to sing some songs before we
teach them about the story and then they always miss some of ... you know goes
to school, and then they sing the song. Oh, I ask them to sing again. And then,
yes, theres s.
I: Oh! The third person singular.
R: Yes, the third person singular and then they are easy to handle it
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I: That means the song helps them to remember the structure or some sentences
pattern.
R: Yeah.
I: Do you come across any difficulties when you use songs in teaching English?
R: I dont think any Maybe sometimes I dont have a good voice and maybe not a
good sample for them. Ha Ha.
I: No. So, they can easily follow you
R: Yeah.
I: Can you tell me which parts of your lesson do you usually use songs, the
motivation part or the consolidation part or the whole process?
R: Usually, I use it at the motivation part. And then, sometimes, if I have they have
some difficulties with something, and then, I will think about which song can it
help them to deal with it. And then, its a useful tool, I think.
I: Thank you. Youve just mentioned is about the Key Stage 1, the little kids. How
about Key Stage 2, have you taught in Key Stage2?
R: Yes. I taught in Key Stage 2. But, I seldom use this.
I: Why not?
R: Why not? ... Maybe theres a lot of things to teach. I dont know
I: You mean the schedule of work is very tight.
R: Yes, its tight. I dont know whether the kids like it or not because they are
primary six, I dont know whether they like songs or not. I dont know. I have
tried but usually, I find the little kids like.
I: OK. Because the Key Stage 1 the Big Book Sharing, they need the songs to teach
them as a motivation about the story book. But for the Key Stage 2, the
curriculum is not involved any songs?
R: Even you remember last time we use some songs, some song book for teaching,
its too long and its hard for them to remember, even they cant read the words,
and then its difficult for them to sing the song. I think the short song will be
better for the little kids to remember, to learn. But if the song is very long and
they dont know the words, its hard for them to handle.
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I: Can you remember when we have the I can program, we use the song book.
How did you teach them? the song book?
R: I remember I teach you say something about Key Stage 2, and then in primary
four, I need to teach them some of the words, otherwise, they cant handle. They
find it difficult to sing. They dont know whats going on, so, difficult song I
think!
I: So, the songs chosen are very difficult for the kids?
R: Yeah. Yeah.
I: Is it related to what you are going to teach? I mean the Key Stage 2 song book?
R: Not so related. Its better for the Key Stage 1. You can choose some songs. It can
fit the curriculum. But, in Key Stage 2, I found its difficult.
I: If we use the shorter songs, like the one in Key Stage 1, to teach the Key Stage 2
students, do you think it will be better?
R: I havent tried it. Maybe if some of the songs fit them, maybe we can use it. I
remember, but long long time ago, thats a student called ABC, and then in
primary four, I teach them they cannot remember about how to read the week
of days. And then, I just read a song SUNDAY, MONDAY, TUESDAY (Sing
them), and then they, and then I ask them to do some actions, and then very fast
they can remember all the days of the week. But, this simple songs for primary 4,
maybe they like, I dont know whether primary five or six, they can do
I: the actions.
R: (laughing)
I: Even before the I can program, have you ever tried to use songs in your
teaching?
R: Just like long time ago, but not I can program. I use some songs because I find
oh they cant read the days, they cant remember. But, after singing, they can.
I: It helps them a lot.
R: It helps them a lot.
I: So, this year, which level do you teach?
R: I teach primary two and six.
I: So, both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
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R: Ya.
I: Which level do you usually teach? I mean you usually teach Key Stage 1 or Key
Stage 2 or both?
R: Hm..both. Actually, both. One from Primary 5, 6 and then one form 1, 2, 3.
I: So, usually, you involved in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.
R: and Key Stage 2.
I: How many years have you been teaching?
R: Wow, a long long time.
I: You can give me a range.
R: Maybe almost twenty years.
I: Oh, very experienced.
R: ai ya. I dont think so a. Ha Ha
I: Very experienced. What do understand about language arts?
R: I think the students enjoy the language if they are beautiful, just like the poem,
just like the song. I think these are just like language of arts. I dont have too
much knowledge about it. Something about literature? Poem, something like that.
I: Do you think language arts can help students to learn English?
R: Yes. They enjoy, appreciate. Yeah! For appreciation.
I: Very good. So far, when you use the song, no matter in Key Stage 1, you said that
this year you teach P6, so you never use songs. How about in Key Stage 1? You
use songs in every lesson or sometimes?
R: Sometimes. We cant use it in every lesson. But, usually, I will sing the song
before I teach. But, some of the lessons you cant use, just like you use the whole
lesson for writing and then you dont have time to sing the song with them.
I: Can you tell me more about the students response when you sing with them?
R: They enjoyed it. They like to move and then its good for them to learn English
with the English songs.
I: In the coming lessons, will you use songs again?
R: Yes.
I: You use at the start of a big book or which way?
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R: Usually before we start the big book, we sing the song with them and its easier
for them to learn I think.
I: Have I got this honour to observe your lesson when you use the songs?
R: OK. Maybe later. Ha Ha
I: OK. Thank you. Because I would like to observe the students response when you
teach them songs
R: Ah, maybe you can give some suggestions for teaching because I havent learnt
how to do but I try to do.
I: OK. Lets share. Yes, I remember when we have I can write. Its very effective
to use songs to teach the students.
R: Yeah!
I: Do you try to use songs other than motivation?
R: Just I tell you sometimes for consolidation and they dont know how to use some
of the how to spell some words. These are for consolidation.
I: Do you notice that after the lesson the students still sing the song?
R: I dont know.
I: OK. I will find it out and ask the students.
R: You ask the students. Yeah.
I: Overall, can you tell me whats your impression or any suggestions for I can
program?
R: I think if we teach the small children, use song is a good way to teach them and
they enjoy it. But, I havent tried the experiment whether we can use in the upper
form. Maybe we can try it later.
I: If we try to use the song in the upper level, any suggestions you can give to make
the program more effective?
R: I think we need to teach the curriculum, not just sing a song and then without any
correlated to the program, ah.. the curriculum.
I: Thank you very much. Thanks a lot for your time.
R: Thank you. Ha Ha
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Interviewer (I): Good afternoon, thanks for participating in my study.

Respondent (R): Its my pleasure.
I: Thank you. The first question I would like to ask is Do you like listening to
English songs?
R: Yes, of course.
R: Wherever I have free time, I would listen.
I: Wow! Very good.
R: Especially for the children one. They are lovely.
I: They are lovely. They like listening to songs.
R: Children like.
I: Can you tell me do you like using songs in your English language teaching?
R: Sometimes I will use the songs in my teaching, especially when the songs are
interesting and funny. And with some pictures guiding, the children will involve
in singing it and they will learn something from the songs.
I: Can you tell me more about what have they learnt from the song?
R: For example, when they follow the melody, they will pronounce the words
correctly. Perhaps, they havent faced the words before. But, when they follow to
sing the song, they will gradually learn all the words in the song. They can sing
smoothly and involve and sometimes, they will have expressions and gestures
involvedEr add to the songs to express their thinking or express their feeling
in the song. I think its very great and very good for the children in their
development.
I: Oh! Very good. Do you remember our school has a program called I can
program?
R: Yes.
I: Can you share some experiences with me how do you implement the I can
program in your English language teaching?
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R: Well, Ive just faced it this year and I also make use of the I can write program
to teach English in P2. For the I can write program, we have to follow the story
book, to teach about the idea in the story book and to share the feeling in the
story book with the children. First of all, I will use the song to have the
motivation and to let the pupils to have some general ideas about what they have
to learn. And then, after that, when the students sing the song smoothly, then I
will tell the story. I will read the story actually, read the story together with the
children. We have the shared reading and then I will ask some people to help me
to read out some sentences so that they can focus on the main point of the story.
After that, I will ask questions about the story. And then, perhaps, if time is
enough, I will play some games after they listen to the story, the whole story and
then they will have a matching game or guessing game, something like that.
I: OK. Will you sing the song at the very beginning only or all through the lesson?
R: Well, actually, we will sing the song in every lesson before they havewhat?
I: shared reading?
R: Shared reading, yes. I will use the song to make them to have concentration.
When they sing the song, they know - Oh! I have to learn now. I have to sit down.
I have to keep quiet and now I have to concentrate myself to the lesson. So, they
know it is a signal for them to pay attention to the story. Oh! I start.
I: Can I say in this way that you use a song as a tool to give them an English rich
environment and ask them to concentrate on your lesson?
R: Yes, thats right. They have to change their channel.
I: OK. Will you use the song at the consolidation part that means at the end of your
lessons?
R: Oh, seldom. I seldom use the song as consolidation. I only use the song in
introduction or presentation or just I asked the students when they want to share
with the others, share with their friends, they can use the song, to sing the song to
the parents, to friends, something like that. For consolidation, actually, we
usually we use the writing. Writing as the consolidation of the teaching.
I: So, do they often sing the songs to friends, classmates and parents?
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R: I know some of them will sing to the parents because the parents will tell me
during the picnic time with the parents. You know or the sports day. The parents
will tell me, oh, my child sings this song to me but I dont know whether they
sing correctly. I will tell them it doesnt matter. If they can sing, they learn.
I: OK. Do you think they can learn the songs outside the classroom in this way?
R: HmWell, let me see, is it the songs that they hear from the radio, from the TV
or what else?
I: I mean outside your lesson do they listen to English songs?
R: Well, I think they seldom listen to English songs outside the lesson.
I: Because the parents said that they like singing at home, the parents worried
whether they are correct or not, I agree that it doesnt matter, just they can sing.
Can you say that they enjoyed very much?
R: You mean the children
I: Singing. I mean singing.
R: Yeah! They enjoyed. Everybody will sing during the lesson. Ya!
I: I would like to go back to the I can program, when you use the songs in your
lesson, do you think that the songs are really related to what you are going to
teach?
R: Up to now, I agree with your sentence that the song, the theme and the content is
just the same as the story.
I: Which level do you teach this year?
R: P2.
I: Only P2?
R: Only P2. Yeah!
I: How many years have you been teaching? Around? 5-10
R: More than that. More than that But, the I can write program for the I can
write program, Ive just started this year.
I: In your past experience, can you tell me how do you use the songs, or have you
ever used the songs in your English language teaching?
R: Actually, in the past, we use songs as the leisure and just to arouse the interest in
learning English. For example, in P5 & P6, we have some songs, the folk songs
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for them to arouse their interest, let them to have chance to hear more about
English. But, however, the scheme is too tight. You know, we have no time, so
its only for leisure during the lunch break or the morning assembly. Or when
they are doing class work, I will give them some songs to listen so that they hear
some more about English and not for teaching English.
I: For Key Stage 2, you think the songs are not related to what you are going to teach.
But, for Key Stage 1, it is because the songs are delegated to the Big Books. Can
I say in this way?
R: Well, I better say in this way, ifif, according to our school, we have to teach
Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. We have two sets of songs. For the Key Stage 1,
the songs are more simple and easy and easy to handle and the melody, they can
follow easily. But, for the Key Stage 2, for that one, its very complicated and
actually I sing that songs during my secondary level not in the primary. I think if
the songs we selected not so complicated, then it will be easier for the children to
follow. And their interest may be more aroused. And then, they can learn more. I
forgot what is the name of that song? Even a very remedial one, he likes to sing
one song, I forget the name.
I: Its OK.
R: He can follow all the song, the melody because the melody is familiar to them,
familiar to him, so that, they can handle all the words inside the song. If the
difficult one, even the brighter one, they cannot handle because the words are
difficult and the melody they didnt hear it before.
I: For Key Stage 2, the songs are very difficult. If one day, we can find the simpler
songs for Key Stage 2, do you think its effective to use songs in English
language teaching?
R: I think song is a good tool, a good tool. However, we have to choose the song to
fit our material for teaching, for example, if we can find a song for teaching about
Transport, and we are teaching Transport. Its great! Ya!
I: Thank you. I would like to know do you have any other difficulties you come
across when you implement the I can program? You have mentioned time, the
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songs are very difficult. Any other factors affect you in implementing the
program?
R: Well, for the program, I think, perhaps, for the pupils, they lack of vocabulary, so,
since their vocabulary pool is very thin and dry actually. They cannot write what
they think. I think if we can teach more about how to write, how to write then the
pupils can implement more. Then they can enjoy more in the I can write
program.
I: Thank you and the last question is do you know anything about language arts?
R: Language Arts? Whats that can you tell me?
I: OK. Actually, language arts is something we can learn as a tool in English
language teaching, for example, songs, poems, films, drama. There are lots of
these we called literature or literary texts we can use in our English language
teaching.
R: Hmm I think they are helpful but for Hong Kong environment, perhaps, it is
difficult.
I: Why?
R: Well, when they go home, they will speak Cantonese or Mandarin. When they go
out to the society, they will also speak Cantonese. They cannot have a chance to
speak in English. For example, in Singapore, it is different. In Singapore, they
can speak in English all day round so that poems or songs or even drama, they
can go to enjoy and not to learn, to enjoy. But, for Hong Kong, if they go out to
talk to a foreigner, they ask the way, they havent the experience how to reply. So,
I think it is a barrier. The society is a barrier.
I: Can I say in this way that Hong Kong has a lack of English environment for the
students?
R: Yeah! Yeah!
I: OK. Overall, what is the viewpoint of I can program? Do you get any
satisfaction from it? From the program?
R: It is a systemic one. I can teach smoothly. Up to now, when I teach the I can
program, the students can learn what they have to learn from the exercises that
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we designed. Actually, they can haveErI think the good result that responds
what they have learnt.
I: Thank you very much. Thanks for your time in my interview. Can I have this
honour if one day you teach the story book, then I can observe your class?
R: Of course! You are welcome all the time.
I: Thank you.
Interviewer (I): Good afternoon, thanks for participating in my study.

Respondent (R): No problem.
I: The first question I would like to ask is Do you like listening to English songs?
R: Yes.
I: Why? Any special reason?
R: I think not particularly English songs. But I like listening to songs because its
relaxing. After a days work, and I think its relaxing for me to sit back and listen
to the songs.
I: Yes, me too. What are your overall viewpoint on using songs in English Language
Teaching?
R: I think its good to use songs to especially to help teach English because when
the students are listening to songs, theyI think that they will not think they are
learning language. They will think we are enjoying the music, we are learning to
participate and they will not think they are not learning English in a formal way.
So, I think it is a very good way for students to learning the language
unconsciously.
I: OK. Thank you. Can you share any experience on learning English through songs
or teaching English through songs?
R: Actually, I think, to my opinion, I think it is more effective to use songs to teach
English in Key Stage 1. I am not sure maybe the songs for Key Stage 2 are a little
more difficult, especially to the songs weve been using in the I can sing
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program. The songs are a bit more difficult, even for me. But the songs for Key
Stage 1 are shorter and a clear theme and the lyrics are easier. So, when I am
teaching the students to sing songs, I can use not only my voice, I can use gesture,
action or facial expression. And I can teach some words, a few words that the
students may not know. AndOf course, the words are a bit difficult for them
and then they not only a problem for them and they will remember how to say
the words and they will try their best to sing and do the action again. So, for me, I
think if we use songs to teach Key Stage 1, not only the songs, action, everything
altogether
I: OKSo
R: with movement...
I: Thank you. So youve mentioned I can program, before I can program, have
you ever used songs to teach English?
R: Yes, I remember quite a long time ago when I was teaching in the secondary
school, Ive tried to use some relatively simpler song to teach English. But just
sort of like listening comprehension. I asked my students to listen to the songs
and fill in the blanksKilling their joy.
I: You think you will kill their joy.
R: Yes, they will enjoy the music. But then, they Ah, Worksheet, Miss X They
have to listen and find out the words and it will be a bit difficult for them. They
did tell me that they like listening to the songs. Just the writing part is a bit
difficult for them.
I: The worksheet is another thing.
R: Right. Right. Thats right.
I: This is before the I can program. Have you seen any differences when you
implement I can program? You use this tool, to teach English song, is more
effective? or anything different from that program implemented.
R: I think the I can sing program I want to focus on Key Stage 1 because I used
them more frequently, the songs in Key Stage 1.
I: OK.
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R: I think the songs are good, carefully chosen and the songs are easy for the students
to learn and the students the students really enjoyed the songs and they picked
up the language bit by bit. For Key Stage 2, thats another story because the
songs, as I mentioned before, the songs are longer and it is not easy for students
to follow the songs, especially when I didnt have the time to sing a song with
them together. For me when I was teaching P5 and P6, I cant find the time to go
through the song with students. I can only play the songs while we are having
lunch. We listen together and I didnt have the time to tell them how to enjoy the
songs or let them give me feedback. I cant get the chance to do that.
I: As far as I understand, you have come across two difficult problems in
implementing the program in Key Stage 2. First, you think the song is very long.
R: Yes.
I: And time is another factor. Then you dont have time to teach students songs. So,
which one is the main problem or both?
R: I think both because if the song is longer, I have to spend longer time to teach
them. And then, you know, for the upper level, the time table is always so tight
and I dont think I can spare extra time to teach them the longer songs, even some
of the songs are very beautiful. I cant afford the time to play songs over and over
again. Even during lunch time, when we are listening to the songs, I can only
play songs once or twice only. Thats a pity. I think some of the songs are quite
good even they are just oldies.
I: OK. When you teach the songs, no matter in Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2, which
focus will you be? For example, you focus on the language? grammar? Or you
focus on the vocabulary? Or any aspects?
R: For Key Stage 1, I am not going to teach, focus on all vocabulary. I will teach
vocabulary, especially the one related to the title, the theme of the song. For the
minor one, I just let them listen to the sound and I am not going to explain. So, I
am going to spend so much time to explain the words because of the vocabulary.
For Key Stage 2, for the songs I have spent time teaching, sometimes, I will ask
my students how to locate the rhyming pairs. I think songs are very strong orI
think that are special features, songs that they have rhyming pairs. So, I will ask
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my students to locate where they can find the rhyming pairs. Besides that, I will
explain some vocabulary items to them as well. I did not explain sentence by
sentence. Its impossible.
I: OK. Yes, you have mentioned that time is very limited and you have no time to do
that. So, when you teach the songs, can you tell me what the response of your
students in Key Stage 1 and in Key Stage 2 respectively?
R: Key Stage 1, Wow, they really enjoyed the songs. The young kids, they really
enjoyed the songs. And sometimes they will ask me Miss X, can you play
Number They will say the name of the song. Can you play that song again?
When we have lunch, they ask me to play particular songs. And for Key Stage 2,
I think they also like the music. But, you know, when we are having lunch, there
are all kinds of announcement ongoing when I play the CD, sometimes I have to
pause again and again and it really stopped their enjoyment. I found my students
two years ago, they enjoyed the music. But they were not willing to follow to
sing together. I think they are a bit shy and conscious of themselves to sing the
English songs in front of the whole class or sing together with the teacher. They
thought its a little bit silly of them, maybe.
I: So, in Key Stage 1, they learn words. In Key Stage 2, they learn the rhyming words.
And other than that I can tell from your sharing that they love the songs. For
enjoyment, its no need to query. But, other than that, not just for enjoyment,
anything they learn the language through songs?
R: I think its more obvious in Key Stage 1 because I really spend some time to teach
them and they can pick up the language. For Key Stage 2, the students I am
afraid beside the rhyming pairs, they are conscious, ah there are rhyming pairs
in the songs. I dont think they learn a lot from the songs that I have introduced to
them.
I: OK. So, in the I can program, have you ever tried to choose the songs that
integrated to your GE program? For example, in Key Stage 1, whenever you
teach something about occupation, have you ever tried the songs about
occupation to relate to your normal teaching? Or you just played the songs
randomly?
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R: Usually, I will follow the schedule. So, this week it should be song No. 1
according to the schedule. Then, if I found the song that is related to the theme I
am teaching, I will replace song.
I: So, the schedule is just one, two
R: Yes, one, two, three, four, five
I: Do you think if the schedule is rearranged and then focusing on the theme of the
GE program and we found the exact songs related?
R: Oh! That will be excellent! That will be excellent! If we can really find the song
that related to the theme that weve been teaching during that period of time that
will be a very useful resources. Not only they learn from the textbook, they learn
from the teacher, they can learn from the song, enjoying while they are learning,
that will be very good.
I: Is it possible to do that?
R: I think it can be but we spend extra time to find the songs and people to spend
extra time to do that.
I: If this is possible and we choose the designated songs for the GE program, can we
solve the program in Key Stage 2? So, for the time, we can find a shorter song.
We can find the songs related to the module learnt. Then, will it is be more
effective?
R: I think, we have to find yes, shorter songs and maybe not so many songs. I
remember there are fourteen to sixteen songs assigned to each term and that is
quite a lot for the teachers and the students. So, if for each module or each unit,
we only choose one song that related to the theme. Then, it will be very good and
I think that will notthat we will not spend so we have not to spend so much
time teaching the song and the students I hope they can enjoy and learn at the
same time.
I: Overall speaking, can you tell me what the main factor hinder you to use songs as
a tool to learn the second language?
R: You mean from my perspective?
I: Yes, from your own experience.
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R: It would be easier if the students, the teacher can find time to sit down and look at
the songs, besides enjoying the songs, what is the target that we can use the songs
for, like we use this song to review the vocabulary or we use this song to
reinforce special tenses like present perfect tense? If we have time to do that
before, beforehand, then the teacher has a clear target how they can make use of
that song before playing the song and then randomly teach whatever I can think
of. I think that is one of the important factors that can help or that can hinder
what the teachers teaching.
I: As far as I know, the CECES program will use the song for motivation and the
song is specially chosen for that Big Book. Do you think or have you had any
experience about using songs in CECES program or Big Book Shared Reading?
What are the differences between I can program and CECES program in using
songs to teach English?
R: I havent tried CECES but I have tried I can write. You know the three Big
Books and the three songs.
I: So, it is a kind of Big Book Sharing.
R: Yes. I think if I could because the language is like the summary of the story book
they will read and the student can repeat the language again and again through
singing songs. The song has a very clear focus, the target vocab or the target
structure that they want students to learn. That solve the problem that I have
mentioned earlier. The teachers dont have to sing or investigate themselves what
is the target or what is the focus of that song. So thats why the song for CECES
or I can write is really effective. But for the other songs in I can program, not
only for upper level, but also for lower level, sometimes, the songs are good,
sometimes, the songs are beautiful. But, for the teachers that have no idea what is
the target of the song, then we just play the songs and let the students listen
without have a clear idea how that song can help students to learn the language. I
think that the main difference between CECES songs and I can sing songs
chosen for the program.
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I: It seems that because the song is not integrated to the normal schedule of work, it
will be time-consuming and not directly related to what you are going to teach.
Can I say in this way?
R: I think its not related to the schedule of work but our English Language program.
I: You mean the curriculum.
R: Yes. The English Language Curriculum. If the songs are directly related to the
curriculum, then I think the teachers are all willing to use the songs to help to
teach what they want to teach.
I: OK. This is from the perspective of teachers. From your experience, can you
imagine if the program I can sing can have less songs, the songs are more
focusing, related to the theme, what are the differences in the way the students
learn? Or the responses they will have?
R: I think the students can integrate what they receive in the lesson. So, in the
English lesson, they learn some vocabulary, they learn some sentence structure.
And then, when the teachers play songs, ah these are words I have learnt in my
English lesson. I dont need the teacher to say or explain again and again. And
then, I can understand the meaning of the song and then they can follow. And
they can understand the meaning of the song. I think the students they know what
they are singing about.
I: Good. OK. Thank you. The last questions are which level do you usually teach,
KS1, KS2 or both?
R: Both.
I: How many years have you been teaching? Around5-10, 11-15, you can give me
a range.
R: Exact number. No problem. Let me think At the end of this term, nineteen.
I: Thank you. You are very experienced and thanks for the interview.
R: No problem.
Follow-up questions:-
I: Do you know anything about language arts?
R: I think a little bit.
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I: Can you tell me something you know about language arts?
R: OK. If I hear the word language arts, I will think of poetry and songs and some
English plays that are related to language arts.
I: Can you put the language arts in your primary English language teaching?
R: I think if I can, I would put songs and poems in my teaching. I think that is
something that I am more familiar with. But, for the play, I am not an expert in that
area. But, I think if the students are interested in that area. Maybe the school can
introduce English plays at school, so the students will have more exposure to
different forms of language arts.
I: For the perspective of song, we have already had it in the I can program.
R: Yes. Yes.
I: Thank you.
R: Youre welcome.
Interviewer (I): Good morning, thanks for participating in my interview. Firstly, I

would like to know do you like listening to the English songs?
Respondent (R): I like listening songs, to me, I can learn quite a lot because when I
was a secondary school student, I learn English from songs, especially
when I go to the tutorial centre outside, the teachers play me some
songs and teach me the countable and the uncountable nouns. I learn a
lot and I can still remember the songs, the lyrics and the melody. So, I
think its a good way to arouse students interest in learning English.
I: You had a lot of experiences in learning English through songs. And then, now,
how often do you listen to English songs at your leisure time?
R: Actually, I dont have too much time to listen to songs because the marking and
the workload is quite heavy, and I dont have too much time. Actually, every
lesson, I need to play a song to my students and they sing with me. So, at least I
can listen to songs once a day because I need to teach in my teaching schedule.
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So, I need to play a song and then I listen to a song and then I sing a song with
the students but not the popular one.
I: OK, that means in your teaching, you have many chances to listen to songs but, at
your leisure time, you seldom listen to songs because you are busy. Everyone
knows that teachers are very busy. So, how many years have you been teaching?
R: Er
I: Aroundif you dont want to tell me the exact number?
R: No, its not a secret. Let me think. The fourth year.
I: Which level do you usually teach, Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2 or both?
R: Normally, I teach Key Stage 2 but, this year, I start teaching P3, Key Stage 1.
I: You have told me a lot of your own experience at your secondary school or your
university about learning English through songs. Now, what do you understand
about language arts so far?
R: Actually, I took a course at university in a master program and I am fascinated in
literature because I found that its not boring actually and indeed its quite
enjoyable. I can read through texts and then music and drama and film and even
advertisement, they are all literature. I am really interested. Because of the course, I
like literature actually.
I: Have you learned literature before?
R: NoNo. I am a Science student and I have no way to learn literature. To me,
Shakespeare is really far away and I dont know what that is actually.
I: So, the course inspired you to learn literature and your motivation to know more
about that. Can you give me one of the examples you mentioned, film,
dramaanything about language arts you have used in your teaching?
R: Actually, at the primary level, I dont have too many chances to use literature in
class but I do shared reading in class to read the story book. If there is a cover, Ill
ask them what they learn and ask them to think what happen next because thats
the requirement in TSA, they need to guess the story ending. I think if I need to
teach literature, maybe I need to teach in secondary school because their reading
program is not the same as the one in primary school.
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I: OK. Go back to the tools about language arts, especially songs. So, would you like
to introduce more songs to the students in your teaching?
R: Ya! Absolutely! I like teaching songs. Actually, I am not a music teacher. But,
singing with them is a joyful experience and I found that they can pick up reading
sounds, especially when I just teach them the lyrics for two times and they can sing
immediately, and even sometimes I change the lyrics, for example, theres a song
called about vegetables, I just change the lyrics and they can follow me and they
can read the words. For example, the Hungry Giant, actually, its quite difficult for
the students but they can read whenever I sing the first two words: Hurry! Hurry!
And then they can sing for the rest of the song. I think its a magic. They can recite
something fast, accurately. But if I asked them to recite a short passage for
dictation, no way they can recite because I think the rhythm and lyrics can help
them to understand and remember the words.
I: To you experience, songs can help them to learn this second language very well,
more effectively? Can I say in this way?
R: Yeah! I think they can read the words, they can say some meaningful phrase.
Ahif they need to think something on their own, they cannot think about
anything in English. But if I think something about the songs, they can read the
whole thing for me about the song, about the story. I think it is very effective.
I: OK. Before this years experience, you said that this year is the first year you teach
Key Stage 1, P3, how about Key Stage 2, have you ever used songs to teach them
the second language?
R: I taught P4, P5 and P6 and there is a program called I can program, I can sing
program. I do play some songs for my students, those are popular, for example,
BIG BIG WORLD, LEMON TREE which is more popular, not the old songs. I just
think I dont have the time to explain the lyrics, to analyze the structure of the
songs because actually those songs are quite popular and there is no special pattern
in the song. They cannot learn, actually they cannot learn specific vocabulary or
sentence structure in the song, just for leisure I think.
I: Would you like to go in depth by using the song book or the songs you just
mentioned?
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R: Yes, I would. Actually, I just read the lyrics and found that there something
worth telling my students. For example, theres a song THATS WHY YOU GO
AWAY, theres a word called illusions. Theres a s after that. That means that is a
countable noun and then I would say this word illusion and then I pick this out and
write on the board and then tell them Chinese meaning and then it is a countable
noun. After that, they can use that word in their writing. For some capable students,
they always said that illusion, illusion, they know this word because only one word,
it is easy to remember. But for the whole song, they cannot, they may not know
how to pick up some key things from the song and words from the song.
I: For the I can program, have you ever integrated it into your GE program? I mean
in the schedule of work, have you included the I can sing program inside?
R: I would sing the song but actually I dont have time to teach. And actually, I dont
think the students can benefit a lot. They like singing because you are not doing a
worksheet and you are not doing anything else. You are singing. They enjoy
singing. They will follow the song. They would look at the lyrics and follow me to
sing. But they cannot learn actually too much I think from that program.
I: From the perspective in learning the language structure, grammar for Key Stage 2
students, they are not benefit a lot?
R: I think there are two separate things. I think our school schedule and our planning
do not allow us to teach a lot on literature because we have the book, we have to
balance. But, for the P3, because we are compulsory to fit it in our schedule, we
have time to drill the songs, the lyrics. So, its very effective. But, for the I can
program, I dont think it is a must to teach songs and actually its not in the exam.
The students will not test the song in the exam. So, I think its not very effective in
the Key Stage 2 teaching.
I: OK. If one day the P6 students, I mean Key Stage 2 students need to learn a song
in their normal class, in the GE program, just like P3 students, do you agree with
that?
R: Yes. Yes. Actually, because I learnt some techniques of my course about literature,
actually, the song can be a teaching material. That maybe fill in the blanks or
discussions or questions, its very useful. Actually, for the senior students, they can
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sing. They have some reflection from the song. I think it is good to have a chance
to do that. But, actually, I dont have a chance to do it now in P6 and P5 as well
because of public exam, TSA, there is no time actually.
I: If the public exam or the assessment is about songs, do you agree to have this
change to have songs as a tool to test the students?
R: You mean at school or
I: At school.
R: Yes, maybe its a listening practice or assessment (means the formative
assessment at the school). I dont think it should be in exam because the exam, it
will be in their report cards and sometimes, the parents will care about the result.
But, we dont have the chance to listen the songs properly. But, if it is a short
assessment, maybe a class activity, its worth to do that because students love
songs I believe.
I: But, how about P3, how are they assessed? You said that you taught the songs in
the class. They are included in the schedule of work. Then, how the students are
assessed in the examination?
R: Actually, we do not use the songs to assess but I found that students performance
is quite good on reciting something, on reading the vocabulary, on spelling the
things. They can understand very well. For example, I just show some pictures of
the book and point it, what is it? They said that they cannot tell what is a tomato
and then I began to sing a song and they know that when I sing the song, that
melody belong to that word and they know that is a tomato and then they will
continue the song and sing onion and then they know the word because they
recite the song, they can in their heads.
I: So, the song is a way to let them remember well in the vocabulary and give them a
lot of motivation because they are enjoyed in singing.
R: HmHm (Consent)
I: How do you test whether they knew the meaning, they can read the words after
teaching the song?
R: Because we have the story book, we will read the book once before we start
anything else in the class. So, I just, for the first few time, I just point at the words
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after they read after me. After that, I need not to read and then they can read
automatically when I point at the words because they have some practices and
some, most of the words are from the songs. The key words from the song, they
can remember and they can read the words. Its quite effective, actually.
I: So, that big book has designated songs or the songs were chosen by teachers?
R: Each story has the song and then the key words and the themes are the same. So,
we have fourteen something because we have a lot of books we can match chapters
with the songs.
I: Any difficulties in teaching English through songs so far?
R: No. I think I benefit a lot because its my first time to teach songs. I just wonder
oh I cant sing well. I dont know how to sing but actually, once you sing, they will
sing. You need not to be a music teacher.
I: It seems that you are so enjoyed.
R: Yes, because its a kind of magic, they can read the words, they can recite.
Whenever I say the word, they can read ten more words for me. It is very effective.
I: I am happy to listen to your experience because I believe songs is an effective tool
to learn the second language and I would like to go back to I can program, the
song book. Youve just mentioned in the Key Stage 2, you let them listen to the
song and, on and off, some vocab they have learned through that song. Any
difficulties do you come across to implement the program?
R: Hm
I: Or any suggestions you can think of now in comparison with the experience you
had in P3 class and the experience you taught in P6?
R: Hm
I: Any suggestions you can give to use the song more effectively in Key Stage 2?
R: I think in the past experience, we dont have a focus on the song. We just need to
sing one song per week. Actually, its too rush. We dont have time to analyze
anything inside if I sing it. So, I think if, maybe, we can just choose some target
songs, that mean five or six, and then we need to sing, just like we need to sing
every day and we choose the songs based on whether they have any target structure
or vocabulary which we would like our students to know. And then, we teach the
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song and maybe there will have some worksheets or some practices about the song.
So, to make students know that it is a part in our textbook and not something else
they just sing for leisure. Its not compulsory in our scheme and teachers will
intend to forget it, do it later, we do something else first. If it is a must, just like in
P3, they sing it everyday, they need some short assessment about this song, they
have chance to sing it, repeat it. I think they can learn something in the song.
I: In the program, so far, you mean because its flexible, it depends on the time or the
tight of the schedule of work, if it is OK, you can use the song to teach this
language. You think that we can ask the panel to find some songs that fit the target
language in the schedule of work. Can you tell me some suggestions which way is
the focus, I mean the target language, grammar? Or others?
R: I think it depends. If the song is about a past story, past tense, we can use the song
to teach past tense because its in context. You know Tom went to school yesterday.
It is meaningless to students. If we choose the song, theres a background about
past tense, we can teach it through past tense. If there is a song about the world
problem, we can teach the vocabulary. It depends on the theme of the song. And
maybe there are some songs about the rhyme, I am not sure whether the song has
the rhyme or not, it is actually the target, the focus of TSA. Actually, if we can pick
up some songs which are focus on the rhyme, oh, that is rhyme and not just poems,
sometimes poems are quite boring and because of the melody, if the song, we can
find some good songs, we can choose those songs.
I: Can you tell me how many percent can songs be devoted to the whole curriculum
in teaching English?
R: You mean in Key Stage 2?
I: In Key Stage 2 or each level?
R: You mean now for our curriculum.
I: To the benefit for the students, what percentage should songs be integrated to the
GE program?
R: Actually, if we can find the focus of the song, it can be the daily practice for the
teachers, it can be a part of our schedule. Maybe we need not to teach that sentence
structure for two lessons. We can teach the songs for two lessons for the tense or
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for some particular vocabulary. So, if we have some targets, actually, we can spare,
we can do it normally, just our schedule.
I: I understand. It depends.
R: Its our normal practice, we need not to add extra work because its a part of our
teaching material. We teach past tense through this song and students may have the
lyrics in their hands and they need to look all the words, they need to point out all
the past tense, and they can sing and read all the words.
I: OK. I get it. You agree that songs can be a tool. It depends on the focus to learn,
the grammar, the vocabulary or anyway. So, we choose the song. So far, do you
want to have some training about how to teach the songs? Or do you think its OK
I can teach the song effectively, its not a matter for me to teach English through
songs?
R: I think for the Key Stage 1, its OK because the text type is quite easy. Its quite
short. Its about the story. But for the Key Stage 2, if you need me to find the songs
which are not provided for us, then I want some training, I want to know more: do I
need sing with them? Or how much should I sing? Or what should I point out in the
song? Maybe I want to know more for our curriculum because we need some
techniques. Not just like the Key Stage 1, just sing and they sing like in
kindergarten, they totally not the same because in Key Stage 2, we want them to
learn some target structure from the song, not just for leisure, not just for the
vocabulary. They may know some important grammar points in the song. I want to
make sure that I know how to teach, I know how to deliver everything.
I: Even you are not a music teacher, you think that its not a big problem to teach
English through songs.
R: I think everyone can sing.
I: Yes, I agree. You can talk, you can sing. So, you have shared a lot of your
enjoyable, joyful experiences with the students in singing and listening to songs.
Any difficulties or discouragement do you come across when you use this tool?
R: I dont know. I just taught one song. Actually, they are all participating that. In
fact, you need to spend maybe fifteen minutes to teach them how to read and you
make sure everyone can sing. I understand they cannot sing because they cannot
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catch the rhythm of the song. But, once they have enough practice, they can sing
whenever they want, even though I dont use music. I just use my feet, my pace. I
just ask them to follow me, sometimes, very fast, sometimes, very slow. They can
follow me because they have enough practice. I think maybe we need to spend one
or two lessons on training them to sing, to catch the rhythm and then later on they
can do whatever they want.
I: Can I conclude that you think that its worthwhile to spend time on singing and
listening to songs, then the students can learn the second language effectively in
this way?
R: Yes, up to now, in my P3 class. I think yes.
I: OK. Thank you. In the coming term, will you use another song to teach?
R: Yes. There will be two or three more because every story book has a song. I need
to teach them first. I think its a good way to start the lesson. Whenever I still try to
turn on the computer, I sing and then when my finger is typing on the keyboard,
they can sing and they have nothing to do, they would not yell and they would not
shout in the classroom. Its a very good way to control the class and its a good
way to start the lesson.
I: Its a way to have good classroom management, good discipline. Actually, I have
this experience, I think its very effective.
R: Ya, I learn from you. You told me that you sing and then you do on the computer.
And then, I try to do the something like that. But once they need to know how to
sing the song first.
I: It can be a class routine and you practice it and you think it works.
R: Ya! It works. You told me and then I try.
I: I am happy that you use it. Thirty-five minutes is very limited and you can use
every second to teach and to involve them. My experience is to create English rich
environment for them. Once I take care of all the IT stuff or set up all the things for
the lesson. Do you think that it can arouse their motivation and provide the English
rich environment in your class?
R: Yes, if know how to sing, even the weakest, they can sing.
I: Can I say that you stop them to be distracted from the other things?
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R: Yes. Absolutely! Because once they heard the lyrics, they will just like a robot.
They know that they need to sing at that time. They need to read the words, even
the weakest. They will not move and yell. They will not talking (talk). Everyone is
singing. If they talk, everyone can look that they are talking. So, they will not do
that.
I: Oh! Good! I would like to see how they involve in the class. Can I have this
honour to observe your class once you teach the English songs?
R: Maybe I need to wait for a new book.
I: Of course, I dont want to disturb anything of your teaching, just you go on. But, if
you start to teach a new song when you teach a new book, can I have the honour to
observe your class?
R: Yes.
I: Thank you. Thanks for your offer.
R: Actually, I just teach song once or twice and then I move on because the aim of
teaching songs in our curriculum, in our schedule is just to have a start, sing it once
and read it once and we move on for other stuff in the class.
I: Its just for motivation? Or the initial stage?
R: No, every lesson, at the end of that chapter, we would sing that song. But, its for
motivation. Actually, they can learn from motivation because they can learn the
vocabulary. They can motivate to say something in English.
I: And repetition can help them to remember the structure.
R: And also reading the story book once in each lesson.
I: At the end of each lesson, would you consolidate the lesson by the song?
R: No. Actually, no, I just sing the song at the beginning of the lesson. And then,
they know that they need to because I will talk about the vocabulary, I will read
the vocabulary once of that chapter because they need more reading I think,
because they need to know how to pronounce.
I: So, you help them to read aloud and have more chances to read aloud.
R: Yes.
I: OK. Thank you very much. Thats all for my interview. Do you have any
questions?
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R: No, thanks.
I: Thanks a lot. You give a lot of inspirations and your experience to me. And it helps
me a lot to analyze about using song in learning and teaching.
R: Hope I can help. If you want to ask me another question, I can have another
interview.
I: Thank you. You are so kind
interview. First of all, I would like to ask something about your personal feeling.
Do you like listening to the English songs?
Respondent (R): Yes.
I: How often do you listen?
R: How oftenEm? You mean how many songs?
I: I mean always, sometimes, usually,
R: Sometimes.
I: Do you like using English songs in your teaching?
R: Actually, for the lower level, I like to teach English with songs.
I: You mean lower level is Key Stage 1 or P.1?
R: Key Stage 1, especially P1 or 2 because they love to listen to songs.
I: Have you got experiences to share with me?
R: Yes. Many years ago, actually, the school needs to teach some English songs, not
in the curriculum, but for the students to try to listen and enhance the interest in
English. I try to explain the lyrics for the students and then sing the songs with
them together.
I: You mean many, many years ago. Is it I can program
R: Yes, I can sing program.
I: As far as I know, the program was still valid last year, have you taught this song
book to your students last year?
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R: Last year, No because theres not enough time.
I: You found that the time is very limited and you couldnt find the time to teach the
songs.
R: Yes.
I: OK. Which level do you usually teach? Key Stage 1 or Key Stage 2 or both?
R: Both.
I: Both. Can you compare when you use the song to teach English, the response or
your practice in Key Stage 1 and in Key Stage 2?
R: In Key Stage 1, for P3, last year, I taught P3.
I: Thats why you didnt have time because TSA is very time consuming to practice
the past paper.
R: Yes. For the dictation, recited dictation part, theres few sentences and our teacher
designed it into a song and we try to sing the song with students together and
help them to recite the passage. And I found that its very useful because they can
remember the sentence quickly. They are interested in the song so their
performance is very good.
I: Can they spell the words because it is dictation? Can they spell the words when
they learn through songs?
R: Yes.
I: Oh, very good. So, how about Key Stage 2?
R: For Key Stage 2, because not all the topics can use the songs. So I just let the
students to listen to the songs and to relax and try to listen to the song and let
them to have more time to listen to the English songs.
I: That means, just arouse their interest, for enjoyment.
R: Ya..
I: ..and not for learning the language?
R: Yes, not for learning English.
I: So, what is the best way to use songs in your teaching regardless of the time or
other factors? What is the best way you think?
R: Using songs to teach English?
I: Hm..Hm (Consent)
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R: I think if the song is related to the topic we teach, then That means if the song
is related to the topic or some other titles we teach in the textbook, I think, it
could be more helpful for us.
I: Can you find the song that is related to your teaching, no matter in the I can
program or not in the I can program?
R: Sometimes, some children song is useful because we can teach them some actions
and then
I: You mean the Key Stage 1? They like actions.
R: They like actions. They like the actions with them together and then they can
remember not only the song but also the words, the verbs and the action, the
lyrics and maybe they can also remember the spelling too.
I: Compared to the other methods, not using songs, do you think it is effective to
teach students learning English through songs?
R: I think it is effective because students like the songs very much. Because for some
topics, it is difficult for us to design some group work for them or some activities
so if theres a song I can use it in my lessons, I think it is very useful.
I: Up to now, overall speaking, you find that the related song to what you are going
to teach, you think that song is useful? Can I say that?
R: Yes.
I: So, in Key Stage 1, you said that the students like singing and they like the actions.
It helps them to learn English, for example, dictation. For Key Stage 2, can you
use the same method to help the students in learning English?
R: I think its more difficult than the Key Stage 1 because for the upper level, the
students will be too shy to sing together and they are not willing to do the action
with the teachers and also with the classmates. They will be afraid that I do it in
the classroom, they will laugh at me. So, I think it is a bit difficult compared with
Key Stage 1.
I: Because to their age, they feel shy to sing in front of others. OK, then go back to
Key Stage 1, they use songs to learn English, any special criteria you think of
when you use the song?
R: (Puzzle)
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I: I will use this song for this lesson. I will not use this song for this lesson. Any
criteria do you think about when you choose song as a tool?
R: I think I will start at the beginning of the lessons because it can arouse their
interest and then they will be more concentrated in the lesson.
I: It helps in discipline or classroom management?
R: I think using songs in the motivation part is very useful because they will
concentrate, they like to sing the song and they will be quiet first and then they
will wait for the music. So, for the motivation part, I think its very useful to use
the songs.
I: Up till now, this year, there will not be any I can program. So, will you use
songs again?
R: No.
I: So, will you use songs again?
R: You mean in this year?
I: Yes. Which level do you teach?
R: Upper level. P5 & 6.
I: Oh! Thats why you will not use songs because you have mentioned
R: For Key Stage 2, its very difficult for me to spend time to sing songs with them.
I: Yes. Busy for TSA. Busy for the training.
R: Yeah! For P5, I think the source for me to find the song is also quite difficult. I
dont know where can I find the suitable song for my students?
I: Yeah! Resource is a main problem for you.
R: Ya.
I: If one day we can find a song related to your scheme of work, what you are going
to teach, will you willing or do you like to use songs in Key Stage 2?
R: Yes. Yes. Actually, I will try to use the song in the motivation part and let them to
sing the songs together. Also, for the conclusion part, we can sing the song. I
think if I can find the suitable song, I will use it.
I: How many years have you been teaching?
R: Hm..Ten years.
I: Around ten years.
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R: Yes.
I: These ten years, do you think the song you used has changed? I mean because of
the I can program, you use more songs. Or, I can program is one thing.
Because I dont find the time, so I play the songs to the students and thats all.
What is the difference before or after the implementation of I can program.
R: Before the I can program, I will try to find some suitable songs for Key Stage 1
students because I think it is useful. When we started I can sing program, the
principal pushed us to teach the songs with the students. So, I need to spend time
to teach but up to now, because for the limited time and also theres no CD for
us.
I: You cant find the song and just the lyrics.
R: ..I try to find the suitable song and I found it is quite difficult for me to search
some songs from the internet.
I: Its also time consuming.
R: Yes, even I found the CD, when I want to play it, it doesnt work.
I: Yes, this is another matter about technology.
R: Yes.
I: You cant find the right appliance or suitable songs for them?
R: Hm. Hm. (Consent)
I: Can you tell me what are your viewpoints on I can program in using songs in
English language teaching or learning? Youve mentioned that the principal
pushed you to do that, it means that you use songs because you are asked to? So,
what is your overall viewpoint? Do you think it is useful in your teaching or for
your students to learn English?
R: I think using songs is useful. But, for me, I am the teacher. I rather choose the
suitable one rather than spend so much time to teach the students all the songs. I
think the suitable song is useful, not all, not all the songs are useful.
I: Yes, I understand because in the I can program, there is a list of songs. You have
to teach all of them. Its time consuming and its not related to your schedule of
work, to what you are going to teach in the GE program.
R: Yeah! HmHm (Consent)
133
I: You spend some time for the song but it is not really related to your lesson.
R: Yes.
I: That means, can I say in this way, if we find a song that is really related to your
content or context to what you teach, you think song is very useful in teaching
English.
R: Yes. Yes.
I: Youve mentioned that in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, there are differences. Can
you tell me in more details? In Key Stage 1, when you implement the I can
program, or using songs in your English language teaching, what are the
differences in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2? What are their differences?
R: Actually, when I implement the I can sing program, I only teach the upper
levels. So, its quite difficult for me to compare with Key Stage 1.
I: Its all right. Youve shared with me with the experience in Key Stage 1, that is not
included in the I can program.
R: Yeah!
I: Its your own experience.
R: Yes.
I: OK, any difficulties do you come across when you implement the I can program
in Key Stage 2? You said that the students are shy. Youve mentioned the
technology problem and the songs are not related to what you are going to teach.
Other than these three, what other difficulties do you come across?
R: I think if the students have the CD for them to listen to the songs at their home. I
think it will be better because the students only have the lyrics book. Even though
they can sing, maybe some words they forgot how to pronounce these words, its
difficult for them. So, I think if students can have their own CD, it would be
better.
I: They can read aloud or sing along with the CD.
R: Yes and also they can share the songs with their families.
I: Right.
R: To produce an environment to listen to the English songs and maybe they read
English for them and so on.
134
I: So far, did you get any satisfaction or discouragement when you implement I can
program?
R: Hm, I think I have no satisfaction.
I: What is it?
R: Because after when I can remember I taught P6I taught P6 because every
morning when we have morning assembly, all the students will sing the songs
together. And I found that oh maybe after a week or two weeks, my students can
remember the song and they can sing it easily. So, I found I am happy about that.
That means they listen to the song, they listen to me and also they try to sing the
song.
I: Yes. Youve mentioned in the morning assembly, you need to sing the song. That
means you are not teaching in our school.
R: Not in our school.
I: Ah, the other school in our organization.
R: Yeah!
I: They sing the song in every morning assembly?
R: Yeah!
I: Can you suggest some way like this to us how to implement I can program?
R: We have the plan. We have the plan. For the first week, first two weeks, the upper
level that means the Key Stage 2 need to teach song No. 1 and the second week,
maybe song No. 2 and then every morning, when we have the assembly, one
English teacher will take the mic and play the CD and then all the Maybe
today is for the upper level, then all the students from Key Stage al the Key
Stage 2 students will sing song No. 1 together and then the Key Stage 1 students
listen. Maybe tomorrow, they will take turns.
I: Its a very good idea because we always think that the time is limited. So when we
teach the songs in the morning assembly, it saves times. Everyone can teach at
the same time rather than each teacher teaches at their own classroom.
R: Actually, they asked the NET teacher to teach in the morning assembly
I: And then they consolidate in their own classroom.
R: Yeah!
135
I: Oh! Good idea! Thank you very much! The last question is do you know or
understand by language arts? Can you tell me something about language arts?
R: No. I am sorry.
I: It doesnt matter. Thats all. Thank you!
R: Thank you!
Interviewer (I): Good afternoon, thanks for participating in my study. The first
question I would like to ask is Do you like listening to English songs?
Respondent (R): Yes. I very like listening to English songs.
I: Any special reason that you like listening to English songs?
R: I like singing and I like listening to music, not only English songs but also some
other pop music and some other songs.
I: How often do you listen to songs?
R: Every week.
I: Every week. What are your viewpoints on using songs in English language
teaching?
R: Oh! My viewpoints? I think students like singing. They can they can be
inspired by music, by rhythm and also they can memorize all the lyrics usually
when they listen to songs. Repeat singing can make them learn all those words
easily.
I: Do you like teaching English through songs? When you say that the song can help
them in learning English, do you like using this tool to teach English?
R: Yes. I like it very much. I think its a very effective way to teach English.
I: Can you share with me how effective is it and give me some of your teaching
experience of learning English through songs?
R: This year, our school joined the IELP program that is the Integrated English
Language Program. In this program, song teaching is included in every lesson.
We will start a lesson by singing a song and the song is related to the story book.
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All the lyrics, the words appeared, the lyrics are those words they can find in the
story. So, after singing songs, they can easily say the words. They can learn the
words through the actions. They can easily memorize all those words. In the past,
if I dont have any songs to teach them, they can hardly memorize a single word.
I: From your experience, the students, in which level they are?
R: They are in P1.
I: So, the P1 students, they learn English through songs, you think its very effective.
They can memorize the words very well. Is it only the words, the new vocab or
the sentence structures or the other things?
R: And also the sentence structure. Its a really powerful way to teach them English.
But, one thing to bear in mind is that the song should be, the lyrics should be
related to what they need to learn. Otherwise, it willI dont think its a
meaningful way to teach them English.
I: From your experience, you notice that the students are easily to remember all the
new words, new vocab, sentence structures? Can you realize their enjoyment or
any other responses when they learn English through songs?
R: Ya. Not only learning English words, not only learning English, I think while they
are singing, they have a pleasant sensation in their mind. They enjoy. They enjoy
the lesson. If I can have a song to sing with them in the lesson, they really like
singing.
I: Every lesson, you will play the song, sing the song with them, this is Key Stage 1.
Have you ever taught in other level?
R: Hm.. Last year, or the year before, I try to sing some songs in the lesson. But, I
dont have much time to find those songs that is really related to what they need
to learn in the lesson. So, I just think the purpose of singing songs is just for
leisure, for, you know, for fun.
I: Not related to your curriculum.
R: I think I need to spend quite a lot of time to choose some songs that has the lyric
that is related to what they need to learn. Then it will be a powerful and effective
way to teach English. But, if not, its just a way for learning with fun.
I: Your experience just mentioned is in Key Stage 1 or in Key Stage 2?
137
R: Key Stage 2. But, in Key Stage 1, this year, the songs are really related to what
they need to learn, so theres a very good result.
I: You see the differences. So, compared to the I can program, before I can
program, there is a list of songs you have to teach the students. You mentioned
IELP and I can program, can you see the differences when you use songs in
English language teaching between both programs?
R: Actually, I know that I can program, the aim of the I can sing is just similar to
the IELP program, more or less the same. But, for Key Stage 2, maybe, we use
textbook, we dont have story book teaching. So, you know, the results are not
quite good in Key Stage 2.
I: And the implementation in Key Stage 2 is different from Key Stage 1?
R: Yeah!
I: But, youve mentioned that in P1, we use big book, the song is related to big book.
But, how about P2 and P3, they are all in Key Stage 1, they are not using the
songs for big books?
R: Yeah. If we are not teaching the big book, those songswe can still use those
songs. But, you need to choose whether the song, the theme of the song, the
lyrics of the song is just the one you want to teach.
I: In your practice, for the I can program, because we need to teach songs though
they are not directly related to the curriculum, how do you implement that I can
program in using songs to teach the language?
R: Mmm. For this case, maybe, I would like to use songs to teach English,
butother reasons, for example, the time, limited time,
I: hinder your progress?
R: Yeah, Yeah, hinder my progress. I would not spend much time on teaching songs.
I: Other than time, any other difficulties do you come across because of I can
program?
R: Mmm
I: I can sing, you need to teach the song that is not related to the curriculum. You
said that the time is limited. You cant find the time to teach. But, other than time,
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any other difficulties you need to overcome when you implement the I can
program?
R: The songs, in Key Stage 2, are quite long. The lyrics, some of the lyrics are quite
difficult for the students. I really need to choose all those songs to teachI have
to spend quite a lot of time to teach them the words and and also the
meaning.
I: In Key Stage, do you realize that the students enjoy the songs or not?
R: For some songs, they really enjoy singing those songs, those popular ones. But,
for those songs that they are not quite familiar, they like listening to them but
they dont like singing.
I: Can they learn from just listening to songs? Or they just for enjoyment? I mean in
Key Stage 2 because youve mentioned that for Key Stage 1, they learn the songs
because of Big Book Sharing but in Key Stage 2, the songs are very long and you
think its time consuming. But, you play the song, they listen. Do you realize that
the students enjoy listening to songs? Can they learn anything from the song?
R: They can learn something, but not too much. If the song, the lyric is not related to
what they need to learn in the textbook, you know
I: Have you ever tried to find the song thats related to the GE program, I mean the
textbook content? Is it easier to do that or have you ever tried?
R: I try my best to choose those songs but it really takes time.
I: Yeah. And in reality, is it one of your problem to implement the I can program in
Key Stage 2?
R: Yeah!
I: Any suggestions if you want to use the songs in teaching English in Key Stage 2,
not only the songs in the I can program? Any other suggestions you can tell me
that you think from your experience the song can be taught in this way is better?
Or the best way to teach the song?
R: I think time is needed to plan, to plan which song should I teach and integrate
those songs in my curriculum. I need to spend quite some time to do this, to do
some organization, to make it meaningful. Otherwise, teaching songs is just for
139
leisure, just for fun. If I can spend some time in coordinating things well, then its
a very powerful way.
I: Can you tell me, how much time, comparatively speaking, in your English
language curriculum can use songs to teach the language?
R: Mmm
I: How many percent can songs be enrolled in the curriculum?
R: Maybe twenty percent. One fifth.
I: In what way for example, you think the song is good for motivation, or the song is
good for consolidation, or any other method we can use this tool to teach English
language?
R: I think you can use songs in every part of our lesson, for motivating them, or for
teaching a target structure, or some target words, its up to the teachers style.
I: Ah! (Consent)
R: I think we can put song teaching in every part of our teaching.
I: I would like to go back to your teaching experience and would like to share with
me more about your P1 teaching because you said that the songs are very
effective for students to learn this second language. Any case or teaching
experience you think is so memorable and you get the satisfaction from using
songs?
R: I have ever taught P1, P4, but, I didnt use any songs for teaching them English in
those stages. But, this year, I use those songs for teaching them some words.
They can master the pronunciation of those words effectively, very quickly. I saw
them sing the songs after the lessons. They really like to sing the songs and they
also do the actions when they sing the song. I think they really like those songs
and they can learn. They can learn.
I: Youve just mentioned gestures. You create gestures for the lyrics.
R: Yeah.
I: Is that every class has the same gesture or?
R: No. I improvised by myself. For example, hm, let me see, My name is Dan.,
catch me if you can, I am the Flying Man, all the people ran and ran. (Sing with
gestures. The melody is like Birthday song.) They can learn the action RUN, the
140
action CATCH, FLYING and CAN. All these actions can help them understand
the lyrics.
I: Wow! The lyrics are already there or you change the lyrics according to the big
book?
R: Actually, its in the program, its well-designed. I really like this program. All the
things are very
I: You mean handy?
R: Yes. Everything is prepared so that I can use it and its really related to the
story to the story. So, you know
I: If this kind of organization is in Key Stage 2, the songs chosen are really related to
the content, do you think I can program can be better?
R: Yes. It will be much more better.
I: Can I say that now in the I can program songs are not really related to what the
students learn at that moment. So the songs played are for enjoyment more than
for target language.
R: Yes, exactly.
I: Thank you very much. The last question is what do you understand about language
arts? Do you know anything about language arts?
R: Language arts?
I: If you have no idea, its OK.
R: Language arts. I dont know. Maybe just songs.
I: Ya.
R: OK. I think song is some kind of language arts. MmPoem?
I: Do you think language arts, other than song, like poem is the effective tools to
teach English?
R: Mmm It depends.
I: OK. So, what is the criteria?
R: Poem. You just need to read, just reading. But, for song, you can sing it. It has
pattern, it has you know, lyrics. The students can enjoy it rather than just read all
the words line by line.
I: Thank you. Which level do you usually teach? Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 or both?
141
R: Key Stage 1 mainly.
I: OK. How many years have you been teaching? Around?
R: Around ten, ten years.
I: Thank you very much.
R: Youre welcome.
Appendix 4 Questionnaire for student

Questionnaire about Learning English through songs
Name: Class: ( )
Please circle your choice and write the specific if applicable.
1. Do you like listening to English songs? A. Yes
? :
B. No
2. Do you like singing English songs? A. Yes
? :
B. No
3. Where do you usually listen/ sing A. Home
English songs? :
/ ? B. School
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C. TV/ Radio
:/
D. ______________ (Please specify)
: ______________ ()
4. Do you like learning English through A. Yes. Reason:______________________________
songs? Why? : ________________________________
? ?
B. No. Reason: _____________________________
: ________________________
5. Please name one song or write down the
lyrics you have learned in the English
lessons.
Thank you! !
Appendix 5 Students viewpoint

Questions \ Student in Primary 1 1 2 3 4
Do you like listening to English through songs? Yes Yes Yes Yes
Do you like singing English through songs? Yes Yes No Yes
How many marks do you give for learning English 10 10 10 10
through songs? 1= least 10= most

How many marks do you give for I can program? Not applicable. Students havent learned
1= least 10= most through I can program.
What did you learn through English songs?

-the lyrics were related to what they were going to learn in big books
-could learn more new words faster through singing, e.g. flower, the flying man, in kindergarten, just one word a day
-learned about relationship in the family and had to love, be caring in family from songs
-helped in spelling and remembered the words from singing the songs, helped in dictation
How did you learn through English songs?

-easy to remember because songs were melodic and enjoyable
143
-write down the words on a paper to help in learning
-learned from each other, peer collaboration to correct the lyrics among classmates
-action could help to remember the songs and singing could recall the words learned
What are the difficulties, if any, in learning English through songs?

-reading was better than singing though singing English songs still could learn more English
-could not remember the songs which taught at the beginning of the term, i.e. in September
-the way of learning English words were different from that in kindergarten
-in kindergarten, the words would be written down on an exercise book and its better to student 1
Could teacher help you to overcome the difficulties?

-teacher taught with action
-taught five songs so far in English lessons
-teacher could control the pace and volume in singing
-sang songs every lesson
Others:
-Its enjoyable and melodies were good.
-Students felt happy.

Do you like listening to English through songs? Yes Yes No No
Do you like singing English through songs? Yes Yes No No

How many marks do you give for I can program? 10 10 6 10
1= least 10= most

What did you learn in the I can program?
-singing English songs and reading books could learn English as well
-singing or listening to songs could learn English faster and better
-could learn lots of words related to what they learned and sing theres a monster in the tree together
-could learn lots of words and help in spelling the recited dictation
How did you learn in the I can program?

-learned English through singing
-sang with the music and gestures
144
-teacher taught the lyrics and sang together
-could recall memories by singing by songs, translated the words into Chinese
What are the difficulties, if any, in learning English through I can program?
-after teaching by teachers, no difficulties
-disliked because didnt understand
-its boring and meaningless.
-didnt like English at all

-first played the songs and sang afterwards together
-teacher was good
-teaching gestures or action could help in remembering the words
Others:
-liked singing and listening to English songs very much
-learn English could communicate with foreigner
-could sing to the parents


1= least 10= most

-easy to remember English words
-not learn much words
-could help to read the English words
-could learn English in an enjoyable way

-sang in the lesson with classmates
-singing more could help to know more English words
145
-singing more could help in pronunciation
-singing was fun and happy that could help to remember more English
-could not remember the lyrics
-forgot how to sing
-could not help in spelling
-could not write down the words like doing worksheets

-taught the lyrics
-taught the pronunciation
-sang in the lessons
-played the songs
Others:
-singing was fun
-sometimes liked, sometimes disliked
-forgot the songs learned before


1= least 10= most

-could not learn English in I can program
-could know the pronunciation of the English words through singing and listening to the songs
-learned the lyrics and new words
-not taught in depth in lessons

-listened to the songs during lunch
-seldom taught in the lessons
146
-teacher taught the lyrics and sang the songs with music
-reading aloud was better for learning English than just listening to the songs
-the songs were not related to what we learned in the lesson
-needed more time to learn the songs, its difficult
-hope to learn the song in depth
-disliked singing, reading aloud was better to learn English

-would teach the lyrics before singing
-teacher would play the songs only
-could not recall the songs and how teachers helped
-songs were for enjoyment
Others
-no learning English through songs this year, student 1 said that had once, its about food
-could not sing the songs or give more examples about food or songs in the I can program

Do you like singing English through songs? Yes No No No

1= least 10= most

-singing songs were easy to remember the English words compared to reading
-listening to English songs could learn the pronunciation of vocabulary
-could not learn English from songs
-could correct the pronunciation through listening to English songs

-singing and listening to English songs
-played the songs and sang with the music together
147
-sang and listened to English songs, other than songs in the I can program at home
-could not understand the songs, its too difficult
-usually not related to the things we learned in the lessons
-forgot the songs and disliked singing
-could not learn English from songs

-taught the lyrics
-had gestures to help in comprehension
-seldom taught the songs
-not taught in depth, help less in learning English
Others
-English songs were good to listen and could sing songs with younger brother who studied in kindergarten at home
-didnt learn English through songs this year
-student 1 liked listening to the English songs on the internet even though she didnt understand. Its enjoyable to her.

Do you like singing English through songs? Yes No Yes No

1= least 10= most

-could learn the pronunciation and new words through songs
-could not learn much English through singing and listening to English songs
-could remember the words or spelling after singing the songs

-teacher played the songs and listen to them
-the melody and rhythm of the songs could help to remember the words
148
-teacher taught the songs and just played once
-if the songs could be learned slowly but not too slow would be better
-the songs were too fast, could not follow and learn English through songs
-could not understand the meaning of the lyrics
-could ask teacher or check the dictionary to learn new words
-taught the words and read aloud the lyrics, it would be better

-teacher taught the lyrics
-if teacher could teach more the language or grammar, it would be better
-teacher would play the songs and sang with the music
Others
-no teaching English through songs this year
-dislike singing but like listening to songs
-if we could learn more pronunciation of the lyrics would be better
Appendix 6 Unit Plan of integrating songs in ELT

Unit Plan: Say Hello to the Animals!
Theme: The natural world animals
Target Learners: Primary 3 students
Aims: 1. A try-out of literature-based English Language Learning
2. Appreciating literary texts nursery rhymes, songs, children story, poem.
3. Creating literary texts couplets
Generic skills: Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking,
Information Technology
Time: 8 lessons (35 minutes each)
Venue: Classroom and Computer Room
Teaching materials:
1. Literary texts (Appendix I): - Nursery rhyme: Old MacDonald had a farm
- Song: Farm song
149
- Story: Say Hello to the Animals
- poem: Naughty Rat
2. Word cards / picture cards / worksheets/ assessment forms
Pre-requisite knowledge:
1. Students have the knowledge about animals learnt in Primary 1 and 2.
2. Students are able to use the computer to browse the information on the internet.
3.
Learning Objectives:
1. Students are able to find out the stylistic features in literary texts, namely,
onomatopoeia and rhyme.
2. Students are able to write a couplet.
3. Students are able to appreciate poems written by others and give their
comments.
Pre-task Stage (Lesson 1-5)

Lesson Aims Activities Resources
Lesson1 - provide schema - play the nursery rhymes: -Information
Old MacDonald had a farm Technology
on the screen. Resources
- highlight the natural sound - listen to the nursery rhymes
of animals and pay attention to the
natural sound of animals
(onomatopoeia)
- sing with the clip with lyrics
- imitate the animal sound
- provide more input of the - play the song: Farm song
stylistic feature with the lyrics on the screen
(onomatopoeia) -point out the natural sound
of animals
150
- revise new words with a - play a matching game with - word cards
matching game the word cards with animals
name and their natural sound
- show pictures of Chinese - picture
Zodiac and - find out the cards
animal-dragon not exist and
- consolidate new words and improvise the sound
onomatopoeia -ask students to create the -worksheet 1
sound of animals
- present and explain the task
- worksheet 1

Lesson2 - revise the natural sound of -ask students to share their -marked
animal in worksheet 1 improvisation of animal worksheet 1
1st Reading sound - story book
Pre-reading -ask the student to guess the - visualizer
- show book cover animals and their natural
sound in the book.
While-reading - before reading the story,
- emphasis on onomatopoeia remind students to answer
and rhyming pairs two questions after 1st
reading:-
What are the animals in the
story?
How do they talk?
Post-reading -answer the questions and
-Read aloud with students highlight some stylistic
features
-teacher narrator and the
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dog and student animals
-present worksheet 2 and ask -worksheet
students to improvise the 2 and 3
natural sound of animals in
words
-present worksheet 3 and ask
students to practice the text at
home but no need to do the
rest parts

Lesson3 2nd Reading
Pre-reading
- show book cover -ask to name the animal in the -story book
story and imitate their natural -marked
sound worksheet 2
While-reading -Read the story by dividing
- invite students to students in different
participate characters
-emphasis on repetition, -Teacher demonstrate to read
rhythm and meter the lines with rhythm and
meter
-students finish worksheet 3 -worksheet
practice the text in groups 3
-choose the best group to
present
Post-reading -students are encouraged to
- consolidate stylistic not copy from the text and
features create their own dialogues
152
Lesson4 -provide more input -introduce a poem: Naughty - Computer
- Rat Room
Lesson5 -Read out the poem with -Information
(double rhythm and meter and ask technology
lessons) students to point out the resources
rhyming pairs
-provide the resources on -demonstrate the resources on
the internet the internet shown on
worksheet 4
- introduce the writing task - show the Chinese Zodiac -Appendix
which they are going to do and introduce the writing task II & IV
in the while-task stage
- browse the resources on -present and explain -worksheet4
the internet worksheet 4
-student find out the -students follow the
information needed on the instruction on worksheet 4
internet and find out the information
they need for the writing task.
-post the Chinese Zodiac -students can ask teacher for -Appendix
information on the notice Chinese Zodiac or II in A3 size
board for further references information on the internet
while browsing
While-task Stage (Lesson 6-7)

Lesson6 -revise prior knowledge -sing the songs -word card
- -show and paste the word -picture card
Lesson7 cards and picture cards on the -marked
153
(double board for students reference worksheet
lessons) Process writing -teacher ask students to 1-4
Class writing involve in writing teachers -information
-teacher demonstrate and favourite Chinese Zodiac technology
example for the writing task -brainstorm the words can use resources
about the animal and type all
on the screen
-students can refer to
appendix II
- find out the natural sound of
the animal
- write out some couplets as
templates for students
Individual writing -present and explain the -worksheet
writing task in worksheet 5 5
-students are reminded to use
back the information in
previous worksheets.
-students write about one
animal in the Chinese Zodiac
Post-task Stage (Lesson 8)

Lesson8 Self assessment
-assess self creative text -present the self assessment -visualizer
form and ask students to have -marked
self assessment worksheet 5
Presentation -students are encouraged to -self
-share the products in the show and read out their assessment
class creative texts form
-present the peer assessment -peer
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form and ask students to assessment
assess the performer and write form
down the name of the best
writer and performer on the
peer assessment form
Consolidation - students creative product
-encourage students to read will be posted on the board
and write more poems and later compiled into a
booklet
-encourage students to read
and write more literary texts
Appendix I - Literary Texts
Song
Old MacDonald
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_z6zyAe98M&feature=related
Old MacDonald
1. Old MacDonald had a farm Ee i ee i oh
and on that farm he had some cows Ee i ee i oh
with a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there
here a moo there a moo everywhere a moo-moo
2. Old MacDonald had a farm Ee i ee i oh
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and on that farm he had some chickens Ee i ee i oh
with a cluck-cluck here and a cluck-cluck there
here a cluck there a cluck everywhere a cluck-cluck
with a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there
here a moo there a moo everywhere a moo-moo
3. sheep a baa-baa
4. pigs an oink-oink
5. ducks a quack-quack
Farm Song
1. Cows are mooing, (moo, moo, moo)
Pigs are oinking, (oink, oink, oink)
Dogs are barking, (wow, wow, wow)
Oh, the farm is so much fun!
(Repeat 1)
2. Cats are meowing, (meow, meow, meow)
Ducks are quacking, (quack, quack, quack)

156
Mice are squeaking, (squeak, squeak, squeak)
Oh, the farm is so much fun!
(Repeat 2)
Story
Say Hello to the Animals! By Ian Whybrow
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Ready, steady, off we go.
Round the farm to say hello.
Whos that nibbling, half asleep?

Say hello to the dozy sheep.
Hello, Sheep!
Baaa, baaa, baaa!
157
Heres the sty not very big
Say hello to the little pink pig.
Hello, Pig!
Oink, oink, oink!
Whos on the fence beside her pen?

Say hello to the speckly hen.
Hello, Hen!
Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Look whos hiding under those sticks.

Say hello to the fluffy chicks.
Hello, Chicks!
Cheep, cheep, cheep!
Look in the barn whos in here now?

Say hello to the friendly cow.
Hello, Cow!
Moo, moo, moo!
Whos that paddling in the muck?

Say hello to the splashy duck.
Hello, Duck!
Quack, quack, quack!
Whos in the stable? Yes, of course!

Say hello to the hungry horse.
Hello, Horse!
Neigh, neigh, neigh!
What a lot of animals, my, oh my!
158
Now its time to say goodbye.
Goodbye, Sheep!
Baaa, baaa, baaa!
Goodbye, Pigs!
Oink, oink, oink!
Goodbye, Hen!
Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Goodbye, Chicks!
Cheep, cheep, cheep!
Goodbye, Cow!
Moo, moo, moo!
Goodbye, Duck!
Quack, quack, quack!
Goodbye, Horse!
Neigh, neigh, neigh!
That was fun! Ready, then?

Shall we say hello again?
(The script of the story book named SAY HELLO TO THE ANIMALS! written by
Ian Whybrow and illustrated by Tim Warnes
Whybrow, I. (2005) Say hello to the animals. London: Macmillan Publishers
Limited. )
159
Poem
Naughty Rat
Good night, said the rat
To the old fat cat
Asleep on the mat,
Where the naughty rat sat.
Appendix II
Unit: Say Hello to the Animals! Worksheet 1 (Teachers copy)
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
A. Fill in the blanks with the name of the animals.

Then draw and name your favourite animal in the box.
a cow a duck a dog
160
a duck a sheep
a pig
a cat a mouse
B. Match the sound with the animal in Part A in same colour.
meow oink cluck
squeak baa wow
161
quack moo
(The worksheet should be a 1-sided copy and cut after marking. Students can play
the matching game with their classmates in the class or during recess to revise the
vocabulary. If teachers are worried about losing the flash cards, a teachers copy
in A3 size can be posted on the notice board for later reference or revision.)
Appendix III
Unit: Say Hello to the Animals! Worksheet 2
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
Find out the name of the animals in English and write / create
the natural sound of them. Rat is an example.
.
162
Rat - squeak
Appendix IV
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
Say Hello to the Animals!
163
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Whos that paddling in the muck?
Ready, steady, off we go. Say hello to the splashy duck.
Round the farm to say hello. Hello, Duck! Quack, quack, quack!
Whos that nibbling, half asleep?
Say hello to the dozy sheep. Whos in the stable? Yes, of course!
Hello, Sheep! Baaa, baaa, baaa! Say hello to the hungry horse.
Hello, Horse! Neigh, neigh, neigh!
Heres the sty not very big
Say hello to the little pink pig. What a lot of animals, my, oh my!
Hello, Pig! Oink, oink, oink! Now its time to say goodbye.
Whos on the fence beside her pen? Goodbye, Sheep! Baaa, baaa, baaa!
Say hello to the speckly hen. Goodbye, Pigs! Oink, oink, oink!
Hello, Hen! Cluck, cluck, cluck! Goodbye, Hen! Cluck, cluck, cluck!
Goodbye, Chicks! Cheep, cheep, cheep!
Look whos hiding under those sticks. Goodbye, Cow! Moo, moo, moo!
Say hello to the fluffy chicks. Goodbye, Duck! Quack, quack, quack!
Hello, Chicks! Cheep, cheep, cheep! Goodbye, Horse! Neigh, neigh, neigh!
Look in the barn whos in here now? That was fun! Ready, then?
Say hello to the friendly cow. Shall we say hello again?
Hello, Cow! Moo, moo, moo!
Written by Ian Whybrow and illustrated by Tim Warnes
A. The dog in the story is saying hello to the animals. Read the
text and fill in the bubbles or create your own dialogue. Then
practice the dialogue in a group of 3.
1. Whos that nibbling, half asleep?

Say hello to the dozy sheep.
164
Hello, Sheep! Baaa, baaa, baaa!
2. Heres the sty not very big

Say hello to the little pink pig.
Hello, Pig!
Look whos hiding under those sticks.

3. Say hello to the fluffy chicks.
Hello, Chicks!
165
4. Look in the barn whos in here now?
Say hello to the friendly cow.
Hello, Cow!
B. Read the text and find out the rhyming pairs.
go hello asleep sticks

muck then course
pen now big
Appendix V
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
Naughty Rat
166
Good night, said the rat
To the old fat cat
Asleep on the mat,
Where the naughty rat sat.
You can find more rhyming poems on the internet.

Browse and jot down the information you need for your writing.
Useful Websites
OTHER EXAMPLES ANIMAL POEMS
Giggle Poetry CLASSROOM ZOO POEMS
http://www.gigglepoetry.com/poemcategory.aspx?CategoryID=42&CategoryName=
Classroom%20Zoo%20Poems
Click MARY HAD A LITTLE DOG/ MARY HAD A LITTLE MOUSE/ MARY
HAD A LITTLE PET
The Poetry Zone ANIMAL MAGIC
http://www.poetryzone.ndirect.co.uk/index2.htm
Click THE POETRY GALLERY Animals Poetry Zone
Nursery Rhymes For Childrens
http://www.nursery-rhymes-children.com/animal-songs.html
Step 1: Can I find any animal poems about the animal I can present myself?
Step 2: What can I learn from the poem I read? New words? Rhyming pairs?
167
Step 3: Can I find the poem to rewrite for my writing?
Step 4: If not, what can I learn from the other poems? New words? Rhyming pairs?
Ask your teacher if you cannot find any new words or rhyming pairs
about your writing.
Try the interactive activities if you have found the information.

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES:
Games about Syllables
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/spelling/soundandspell/syllables/game.shtml
BBC THE LITTLE ANIMAL ACTIVITY CENTRE
the animal rhyme
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/music/fd2.shtml
Appendix VI
168
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
Draw the animal which represents YOU on or near the sofa. Then write a poem
about yourself in the speech bubble.
Who am I?
Appendix VII
Unit: Say Hello to the Animals!
169
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
Self Assessment Form
Put a if any of the following is done. Give a about the work you did.
Checklist

Poem tells people about me.
Drawing matches poem
Use one or more words that are new to me.
Have rhyming pairs in the poem.
Share the poem with clear voice.
Others:
Key: - Wow! - On the way! - Needs improvement
Things I learnt:
I think _________________________ is the best writer in the class.

I think _________________________ is the best performer in the class.
Appendix VIII Unit: Say Hello to the Animals!
170
Name:___________ ( ) Class:3_____ Date: __________
Peer Assessment Form
Give your comment about the work of your classmates.

Key: - Wow! - On the way! - Needs improvement
Name
Checklist
Poem tells people about me.
Drawing matches poem
Use one or more words that are new to me.
Have rhyming pairs in the poem.
Share the poem with clear voice.
Others:
Things you learnt:
I think _________________________ is the best writer in the class.

I think _________________________ is the best performer in the class.
Appendix IX
171
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Little lamb little lamb
Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
Mary went Mary went
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go
It followed her to school one day

School one day school one day
It followed her to school one day
That was against the rule
It made the children laugh and play

Laugh and play laugh and play
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school
Why does the lamb love Mary so

Mary so Mary so
Why does the lamb love Mary so
The eager children cry
Why Mary loves the lamb you know

Lamb you know lamb you know
Mary loves the lamb you know
The teacher did reply
Seasons in Hong Kong

172
Hong Kong has four seasons
Four seasons four seasons
Spring Summer Winter Fall
Spring is warm and wet

Warm and wet warm and wet
Spring is warm and wet
It usually rains
Summer is hot and wet

Hot and wet hot and wet
Summer is hot and wet
It often rains
Autumn is cool and dry

Cool and dry cool and dry
Autumn is cool and dry
It seldom rains
Winter is cold and dry

Cold and dry cold and dry
Winter is cold and dry
It sometimes rains

Four seasons four seasons
Spring Summer Winter Fall By claralamcl in 1995
173

An Evaluation of A School Based English Language Curriculum

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An Evaluation of A School Based English Language Curriculum

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An evaluation of a school based English Language Curriculum

Title initiativeon the teaching of songs: a primary schoolcase study

Author(s) Lam, Choi-ling.; .

Issued Date 2009

The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights)

Lam Choi Ling

A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of

MEd in English Language Education, the University of Hong Kong

were triangulated by the perspectives of students in learning English from songs

through classroom observations and interviews. In this case study, an instance in

better integration of using songs in the school-based English language curriculum

study, an example of how to integrate songs in primary English language curriculum

proposed to have an in-depth investigation on the effectiveness of using songs at the

primary levels for the second language learners.

been previously submitted to this University or any other institution in application

for admission to a degree, diploma or other qualification.

I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my respectable supervisor, Mr

valuable comments throughout the process of this study. I wish to extend my

involvement and inspiration were really helpful to me in completing this project.

Table of Contents 5-7

Chapter One Introduction

1.1 Background of the study 9-11

1.2 Aims of the study 11-13

1.3 Organization of the study 13-14

Chapter Two Literature Review

2.1 Curriculum innovation 15-17

2.2 Teachers attitude and practice 17-19

2.3 Teaching and learning second language 19-21

2.4 Learning language through literature 21-23

2.5 English Language Education in Hong Kong 23-25

Chapter Three Methodology

3.1 Rationale for qualitative research 26-29

3.2 Research questions 29

3.3 Research design 29-32

3.5 Participants 34-37

3.6 Methods of analysis 37-39

3.7 Limitations of the research 39-40

Chapter Four Findings and Discussions

4.1 Teachers attitude and practice 41-47

4.2 Difficulties perceived in implementation 47-51

4.3 Students attitude and practice 51-59

4.4 Teaching and learning English through songs 59-62

4.5 School-based curriculum 62-67

5.1 Major findings 68-70

5.2 Pedagogical implications 70-71

5.3 Limitations of the study 71-73

5.4 Suggestions for Further Research 73-74

Appendix 1 Extracts from the Song books 82-84

Appendix 2 School Placement in Melbourne 85-89

Appendix 3 Teachers interview - transcriptions 90-142

Appendix 4 Students questionnaire 143

Appendix 5 Students viewpoints 144-149

Appendix 6 The unit plan 150-173

CDC Curriculum Development Council

CECES The Hong Kong Council of Early Childhood Education

CMI Chinese as the medium of instruction

EFL English as a foreign language

ELT English Language Teaching

IELP Integrated English Language Program

NSS New Senior Secondary Curriculum

TOC Target Oriented Curriculum

TSA Territory-wide System Assessment

1.1 Background of the study