1.

0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Context of the Research
During my third phase of practicum, I was placed in Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman
Pelangi (pseudonym). It was situated in a rural area. The school compound was quite big
and it had 5 blocks of old buildings which composed of classrooms, schools office,
staffroom, library, a small hall, computer room and a preschool class. The school also
had a J-Qaf room near the field but it was used as the teachers workplace because the
staffroom could not accommodate all the teachers. Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Pelangi
was categorized as a Grade B school because of the inadequate facilities. There were
about 360 pupils that went to the school and all most of them were Malays.
In this school, I was assigned to teach English language to the Year 3 Nilam
class and I taught them for three months. There were 29 pupils in the class, aged
between 8 and 9 years old. There were eight boys and twenty one girls in the class. For
your information, the Year 3 batch in this school only contained of two classes which
were Nilam and Delima. Although 3 Nilams was the first class in the batch, their level
of proficiency in English did not fulfill my expectation.
The pupils were of mixed-abilities which ranging from average to below average
level of proficiency. Most of them came from villages near the palm and rubber
plantations. Generally, the pupils parents worked as farmers, plumbers, rubber tappers,
grocers and teachers. They worked from early morning and they had no time to look at
their childrens development in school. They were not concern about their children
which could be a possible reason that drove the encouragement of the pupils learning.

I also noticed that the pupils had a very high absentees and sometimes they were
absent for almost a week. This shows that some of their parents did not really stress on
their childrens school attendance. I could also see that some of the pupils had low
motivation towards learning especially in English subject as the English teacher told me
that the pupils barely did their homework. The teachers of the school also told me that
most pupils come to school just to play with their friends.
1.2 Reflection on Past Teaching Experiences
After I had gone through two phases of practicum before, I found that most of
the pupils were not proficient in speaking English. They used to respond in Malay
language whenever I am trying to speak with them by using English. To make it worst,
some of them just kept quiet and did not want to involve in the lessons. They looked
scared to open their mouth and struggling to answer when I asked questions in English.
They seemed to be more comfortable to reply me in Malay language. Based on my
observation, whenever I initiated to talk in English with them, their voices would
suddenly become softer than usual. The class teacher told me that the pupils were not
practicing English whether inside or outside of the school compound and they only
learned English during English lessons. However, I think this issue was common
because I had encountered this problem in every school that I had my practicums.
Apart from that, I also had problems with my pupils reading. Each time I asked
them to read, most of them mumbled the words when they were reading the sentences.
The pupils also tend to pronoun the words according to its spelling whenever they
encountered new and unfamiliar words. Normally, when doing reading aloud activity, I
2

could only hear voices from the good pupils. Sometimes, I had to model the reading few
times as according to Banduras modeling theory, most of children are learning through
observation or imitating others (Santrock 2011, pg 27). But, because of the modeling
process, my lessons were disrupted and the next activities were delayed. Reading was
very important for the pupils as it will be one of needs to be good in English. So I
believe, as a teacher, it was crucial for me to help them in their reading problems so that
I could ensure smooth lessons in future.
Next, I was concerned with my pupils difficulties in memorizing the meaning of
words (vocabulary). Although I had presented and drilled them the meaning of the
words, they still had problems in recognizing the meaning. Some of them were unable to
tell me the words correctly, although I had showed pictures as clues for them to guess
the words later. They even told me that they had forgotten about the words. But, when I
asked in Malay language, they could tell me the words in Malay language. So, it made
me wonder why they could not remember the words in English when they actually knew
the meaning. This indicated that their vocabulary was not well-developed. I also
assumed that it was because they were quite slow in memorizing the English words. It
made me realized that I should help them in remembering the meaning of the words so
that they would be able to identify the meaning of the words properly.

2.0 FOCUS OF INVESTIGATION / ISSUE OF CONCERN

3

2.1 Statement of Problem

During my teaching period in practicum, the first problem I observed that most of
my pupils had low levels of proficiency in English language. How well English
language learners can write and read is directly related to their levels of English
language proficiency in writing and reading. Obviously, pupils language proficiency is
closely related to their fluency in any particular language skill. The ability to express the
message smoothly and clearly is very important for the language learners to convey their
intended meaning. It is observed that the language learners low proficiency resulted
from the mistakes they made in vocabulary and grammar throughout the learning
process. It is important to realize that this is a normal part of the language development
process. As they take risks and experiment, their accuracy levels were negatively
affected. If too much attention is placed on accuracy, pupils will not progress. Thus, I
needed to find a way to provide a less threatening atmosphere that may help pupils learn
to develop their fluency and proficiency in language but at the same time not
compromise the necessity to improve their level of accuracy.
The second problem identified was that most of the pupils in my class had
difficulties in their reading. They only read certain words that were familiar to them and
they stopped at some points when they did not understand the words. The pupils were
unable to read and pronouncing words that unfamiliar to them while they read. This
problem occurred because the pupils were not aware with the phoneme of letters in
English words. As a result, they cannot pronounce the words correctly or the pupils
started to pronounce the words according to their mother tongue language which was
Malay language. For example, most of my pupils read the word refer as /refer/ instead
4

of /rf/. Another example of word that my pupils had problem to deal with was the
word eleven. The pupils pronounced the words as /eleven/ instead of /l v()n/. These
examples clearly showed that my pupils were having difficulties in pronouncing English
words that were unfamiliar to their ears. To overcome this problem, in each lesson, I
need to model the reading to the pupils so that the pupils were aware on how to
pronounce the words correctly.
The third problem that caught my attention was that most of my pupils could not
understand grammar especially demonstrative pronouns although drilling process had
been done with them. During my lessons, I had used pictures and flashcards to help them
but the problem was not solved. The pupils cannot differentiate between this, these, that
and those. For example, the pupils usually used these for singular object and those for
plural objects but the objects were close to the speaker. Perhaps, they made mistakes
because of their understanding was not so deep enough in grammar. The pupils started to
learn grammar only in Year 3. So, they need more time to digest and get more
understanding about grammar or demonstrative pronouns specifically. The pupils need
to know on how to use the demonstrative pronouns correctly in order to form a correct
sentence. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to help them to get more understanding
and be able to use the demonstrative pronouns correctly.

2.2 The Initial Survey

Taking into considerations of the pupils background and their surroundings, I

chose to work on the third problem which was the pupils grammar problem or to be
more specific; I chose to help pupils in using demonstrative pronouns correctly. This
problem was given priority that the other two problems because of several significant
reasons.
Firstly, I believe that to be good in English language, ones must have deep
understanding of grammar and they need to use it correctly. This is because most of
English lessons will involve grammar whether the pupils notice it or not. The teaching
of grammar nowadays usually do not stand on its own in a lesson but they are integrated
in their reading, writing or speaking skills. It always bothered me that when the pupils
did simple grammar mistakes in their speaking or writing, I had to spend more time
explaining on how to use grammar correctly. Thus, my lessons were disturbed because it
was crucial to ensure that they could use simple grammar correctly before I continued to
the next steps.
Furthermore, from the diagnostic test (Appendix A) that I had carried out on the
pupils, I felt that the gap between the pupils who were categorized as the intelligent
pupils and the weak pupils were too wide. During the test, the intelligent pupils did not
have problem in answering the test while the weak pupils started to felt uneasy and
restless. This happened because the pupils did not know the answers and they had no
knowledge about Demonstrative Pronouns. So, the pupils started to choose any answers
given as long as they completed the test.

From the test also, I could identify the pupils who faced problems in grammar or
demonstrative pronouns especially. The pupils who were unable to answers the test were
usually the pupils whom I observed having problems in engaging in any task or activity
during the English lessons. In fact, these pupils should be able to use grammar that had
been taught for their level. Based on the criteria of significance, as they could not use
grammar correctly in English, they would face many problems in other lessons to
because most of the English lessons are integrated with grammar whether they are aware
or not. Their learning gaps with other pupils would also become wider if this problem
was avoided. In other words, it is a need to propose a solution for this matter.
Apart from that, based on the interview that I carried out with the English class
teacher, Mrs. Kathy (pseudonym), I noticed that she kept telling me that the pupils had
big issues regarding the grammar problems. During her lesson, she faced problems when
she wanted the pupils to complete the grammar activities and worksheets. They could
not understand the requirements of the tasks. She added that the cause of the problem
was because they were not given enough exposure and practice. The pupils were
struggling in understanding grammar rules because they have received poor and
inadequate knowledge outside of the schools compound.
For me, these pupils were slow learner pupils and they needed more exposure
and practice to enhance their proficiency in English. I believe that these pupils came to
school without adequate knowledge about grammar in English. Thus, I thought that it
was essential for me to help them so that when they are learning English, they would be
able to engage in meaningfully.

2.3 Literature Review

Grammar teaching has always been one of the most controversial and least
understood aspects of language teaching. Few teachers remain indifferent to grammar
and many teachers become obsessed by it. So, what is grammar actually? Based on
Oxford Dictionaries (2014), grammar is the whole system and structure of a language or
of languages in general, usually taken as consisting of syntax and morphology (including
inflections) and sometimes also phonology and semantics. On the other hand, according
to Thornbury (1999), grammar is partly the study of what forms (or structures) are
possible in a language. Thus, a grammar is a description of the rules that govern how
languages sentences are formed. Good grammar knowledge is vital for children to
become successful in learning. To develop a childs grammar knowledge, they should
have a strong foundation and exposure to English subject in the early age.
As stated by B. Bradshaw (n.d) in his article Why Grammar is Important, he said
that grammar, regardless of the country or the language, is the foundation for
communication the better the grammar, the clearer the message, the more likelihood of
understanding the messages intent and meaning. From this statement, we can
understand that without adequate knowledge in grammar, the message that ones trying
to deliver will not be so clear, as it is the foundation for communication. With good
grammar knowledge, the children can communicate with other people fluently and
express their opinions or ideas conveniently.
So, to improve my pupils knowledge on how to use demonstrative pronouns
correctly, I use song as my main tool in this research. For your information, song is one
8

of the alternative ways to increase the pupils proficiency level in English especially on
vocabulary. This is like what John Wrenshall said; there is also plenty of evidence that
song help memorization, and the rhythm and rhyme of the lyrics can certainly help
vocabulary as well. Actually, song also gives pupils the opportunity to enrich their
vocabulary by vocalizing the language. As we are dealing with the characteristics of the
young learners, as Nambiyar states that songs have a great tendency to attract the
attention of students. It also introduces an atmosphere of gaiety, fun and informality in
the classroom. In accordance with improving vocabulary, it can be a great help in this
case where the use of the song will help the students to build their vocabulary
effectively. Besides, the songs are easy to be found in the television, cassette, radio, and
mp3 player. The songs are also more fun and familiar to the pupils ears.
Most children enjoy listening to songs and this is one of the main reasons why it
has become my choice in enhancing my pupils vocabularies in the English lesson. Apart
from these affective reasons for using songs, though, a number of cognitive and
linguistic benefits have also been identified in support of their use (Schoepp, 2001). The
particular focus of this study is on the use of songs to promote vocabulary learning.
The song also plays a significant role in motivating students to learn English.
They can support the development of learners abilities in reading, writing, listening and
speaking, as well as provide opportunities for learning pronunciation, rhythm and
vocabulary (Lo & Li, 1998). In addition, songs often offer a change from routine
classroom activities. Orlova (1997) identifies some additional benefits of songs in
language learning. First, they can encourage learners to use English. In a non-English
environment, the main problem for teachers is how to stimulate learners to speak in the
9

English class; songs may be the starting point for that. Secondly, listening to songs,
especially when these are supported with pictures and actions helps students to
recognize words and meaning more easily. Finally, songs can stimulate a positive
emotional attitude to the language learning.
Through songs also, vocabulary will be learned explicitly through direct
instruction and attention. However, we also know that learners need opportunities to
learn vocabulary incidentally. For example, when they are not paying direct attention to
it, but to some other task they are performing (Schmitt, 2000). Songs, by exposing the
learners to many examples of words used in meaningful contexts, create such
opportunities for indirect vocabulary learning. Besides, songs also allow the pupils to
repeat and to memorize chunks of language. This will contribute to vocabulary learning
to where repetition is needed to help learners remember words (Nation, 1990) and many
lexical items that learners need to know are multi-word items rather than single words.
Songs can thus be an effective method of helping children to learn lexical
patterns that will be stored in their minds and can be naturally recalled during oral
communication (Murphey, 1992). In other words, songs can help the development of
automaticity which means the ability to use language naturally and without conscious
effort. According to Schoepp (2001), is the main cognitive reason for using songs in
second language learning. Through songs children can also repeat words and phrases
spontaneously even if they do not initially understand them.
All in all, by taking considerations the technique that has been discussed, I hope
to help the pupils to improve the pupils on how to use demonstrative pronouns correctly.
10

3.0 THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this action research is to:

11

i)

improve the use of demonstrative pronouns among year 3 pupils by using song.

4.0 RESEARCH QUESTION

The research question is:
i)

how can I use song to improve the use of demonstrative pronouns among year 3 pupils?

5.0 TARGET GROUP / PARTICIPANTS

For my action research, I made my decision to choose pupils of 3 Nilam in
Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Pelangi as my respondents. This class consists of 29
pupils and there are 8 boys and 21 girls. But for my action research, my focus was on
the 5 pupils that were chosen as my respondents. My respondents were the weakest
pupils in this entire group. Although there are only 29 pupils in this class, most of
them are very active and uncontrollable. I need to be firm when giving instruction to
control the class before I could start the teaching and learning session. For your
information, there are 8 pupils that have just been promoted to this class as they have
improved from the past years. Although they have been promoted to the first class,
the pupils are still the weakest among the other pupils who already come from the
class of 2 Nilam since last year. But the most problematic pupils among them were
my respondents.
For their abilities, most of them could read and understand basic instructions
given in English. There were only 3 pupils who cannot read an English text. The
pupils had problems in their vocabulary which they did not know on how to
pronounce the words and they also did not know its meaning. This happened because
the pupils had lack numbers of vocabularies in their mind and their knowledge.
Apart from that, the pupils learning habits were quite same with the pupils in other
school. We need to keep them busy with tons of works because the pupils can easily
12

been distracted by the environment around them and they also had a short attention
span. For example, when the pupils completed their work, they tend to disturb the
others by poking them or did anything that could distract them.
Last but not least, my pupils in 3 Nilam were very motivated in learning
English when I started teaching them. This thing happened because they were very
happy because they have a new teacher to teach them English. They also enjoyed
themselves once I prepared a lesson by using the pupils-centered style. They felt like
they were involved in the lesson and did not act as passive learners. Based on my
observation, the lesson that my pupils enjoyed the most was the language arts class
because the pupils got the chances to sing with actions in the classroom. As a
conclusion, teaching this class was actually quite challenging, as there were lots of
characters that I need to face and caters to their needs.

6.0 IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION PLAN

6.1 The Action Plan
Based on my observation for a few weeks in this school, I found that the pupils
were having difficulty in understanding about the demonstrative pronouns (This, These,
That, Those). So, through my reading and some research, I have made my decision to
improve their understanding about demonstrative pronouns by using song as the
13

stimulus. I have chosen song because it is one of the best alternative ways to increase
pupils proficiency level in English. According to Wrenshall, she said that there is also
plenty of evidence that song help memorization, and the rhythm and rhyme of the lyrics
can certainly help vocabulary as well. Besides, most of the children also enjoy listening
to songs as it can easily be found on television, cassette, and radio nowadays.
The intervention was implemented to the whole class of 3 Nilam because I did
not want my respondent felt that they were the worst among their friends. But I have put
my focus on them and always observed on their responses throughout the lesson.
Although my focused were on my respondent, I did not want the other pupils to be left
out doing nothing in the lesson. So to overcome this problem, they also were asked to
participate in the lesson as the respondents did. In this action research, there were steps
that have been done through the intervention in order to achieve the goal. All the
information has been summarized as follows:

Table 1
Step 1 Test 1 and Introduction of Demonstrative Pronouns (This, These, That, Those).
Teacher Action

Pupil Action

Rationale of Activity Steps

14

Teacher conducted test

Pupils answered test 1

The

test

was

1 to check upon pupils

by using their prior

conducted to identify

understanding

knowledge

the pupils who had the

the

about

Demonstrative

Pronouns.

about

Demonstrative

difficulties

Pronouns

understanding
using

in
and

demonstrative

pronouns correctly.

Teacher introduced and

recalled

about

demonstrative
pronouns

with

the

pupils.

Teacher

pasted

flashcards that contain

Pupils listened to the

Based on the Q&A

teacher.

session, teacher picked

Pupils gave feedback

pupils

and response through

difficulty

the Q&A session.

demonstrative

who

in

pronouns

as

respondents.

the words This, These,

That, and Those on the
whiteboard.

had

Teacher conducted the

question and answering
session and observed
the pupils.

15

his

For the first step, the teacher conducted the test to the pupils. The aim of the test
was to identify the problematic students who really need help in demonstrative
pronouns. From the Test 1 (Appendix B), 5 respondents were chosen based on their
results gained from the test. Next, the teacher recalled and introduced again
demonstrative pronouns (this, these, that, those) to the pupils. Actually, the pupils have
learned about demonstrative pronouns early of this year but some of them did not really
understand about them and did not know on how to use them correctly. That is why the
action research needs to take place.

Table 2
Step 2 Introduction of the lyrics and rhythm of Demonstrative Pronouns Song.
Teacher Action

Pupil Action

Rationale

of

Activity

Steps

16

Teacher distributed

Pupils

followed

The pupils had the

the lyrics of the

after the teachers

chance

song to the pupils.

reading

understand

Teacher reads the

lyrics.

about the meaning

Pupils practiced by

of the lyrics.

lyrics while pupils

of

the

followed after him.

reading the lyrics a

Teacher

few

explained

times

to
more

and

understand them.

the meaning of the

lyrics to the pupils.

Teacher drilled the

pupils a few times in
reading the lyrics.

Teacher played the

Pupils listened to

Helped the pupils

demonstrative

the song carefully

to have some idea

pronouns song and

with interest.

on how to sing the

introduced

the

song.

rhythm of the song

to the pupils.

The second step was introducing the lyrics and the rhythm of the song that was
used in the intervention process (Appendix G). This step was implemented because of its
own reasons. The first rationale of this step was to let the pupils know and understand
the lyrics and used to it. They have to know on how to pronounce the words correctly
17

and the meaning of the lyrics itself. The pupils were asked to know the song by their
heart. The second reason of conducting this step was to help the pupils to have general
idea about the song so that they will not left behind in the lesson. They were introduced
to each line of the lyrics and every single beat of the rhythm.

Table 3
Step 3 The Intervention Process.
Teacher Action
Teacher

Pupil Action
Rationale of Activity Steps
pasted
Pupils sang the song
Helped the pupils and

flashcards and pictures

together

of

teacher while doing

understand more about

actions.

the

Pupils listened to the

pronouns.

demonstrative

pronouns
whiteboard.

on

the

with

the

respondents

to

demonstrative

18

Teacher

played

Helped the teacher to

Pupils gave feedback

observe

pupils to follow after

and responses to the

respondents progress.

him.

teacher.

song and asked the

teachers explanations.

the

the

Teacher explained to
the pupils on how to
use the demonstrative
pronouns correctly in
sentences.

Teacher

played

the

song once again and

sang the song together
with the pupils.

Teacher

asked

questions

to

gain

feedback

from

the

respondents.

This step was the most vital process in the research. The intervention was
implemented in the one hour lesson. The teacher pasted the words in flashcard form and
pictures to describe the demonstrative pronouns on the whiteboard. The pictures helped
the pupils to do the actions while singing the song after that. Then, the teacher explained
briefly on how to use the demonstrative pronouns correctly in their writing. This
19

happened to add and clarified more about the knowledge and understanding that the
pupils already have in their mind. Next, the questioned and answering session took place
in order to measure the pupils understanding about the lesson. From the feedback given
by the pupils, the teacher could make his decision whether his intervention was a success
or vice versa and be prepared for the second cycle.

Table 4
Step 4 Final Observation and Test 2
Teacher Action
Pupil Action
Rationale of Activity Steps
Teacher recalled about
Pupils showed their
To
show
the
the previous lesson and

progress

asked

questions

to

understanding

check

upon

pupils

demonstrative

showing the progress

understanding

and

pronouns.

of the respondents.

progress.

Teacher conducted the

in

effectiveness

the

intervention

Pupils answered the

test for 30 minutes.

test 2 with the pupils.

For the final step, a test was conducted in order to gain the validity of the action
research. Data was collected from the test and being tabulated in the data. The Test 2
(Appendix C) results will show the progress of the respondents and the marks will be

20

of

the
and

compared with the Test 1. From the results tabulated in the data, the teacher can
conclude whether he needs a second cycle or not.
7.0 METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
7.1 Data Gathering Methods
To collect data for my research, I used observations as one of the methods
(Appendix H). Observations includes the opportunity to record information as it occurs
in a setting, to study actual behaviour, and to study individuals who have difficulty in
verbalizing their ideas like small children (Cresswell, 2014). It aided to collect
information to show in what ways my intervention strategy had helped the participants
to use the demonstrative pronouns correctly while singing the song during the process of
the intervention. By observing them, I could study their behaviours and performance
during lessons as the participants could not tell me their feelings and thoughts.
Classroom observation can be made based on a checklist (Goh, 2012). The checklist was
used during the observations to record the respondents behaviour along the
interventions process. From that, I could see their progress or struggles. The checklist
has three aspects which are pupils facial expressions, pupils participation and pupils
response during the process of interventions.
Next, I used Test 1 (pre-intervention test) and Test 2 (post-intervention test) to
collect information to see the improvements made by my respondents after all the
interventions has been carried out. I intend to utilize this method as to measure the
degree of change occurring as a result of intervention (Shuttleworth, 2014). The preintervention test was done prior to starting the intervention which means before the
intervention was carried out. After the interventions have been implemented, the same
21

test was administered on the respondents which called as post-intervention test. Based
on the results from both tests, I can measure the change resulting from the intervention
by comparing the measure of scores from both tests. If the marks for the postintervention increase, this will indicate that the intervention has worked in helping the
pupils to use the demonstrative pronouns correctly or vice versa. Thus, with
measurements being collected at the beginning and end of the intervention, the impacts
are often revealed by calculating the differences between two measures.
On top of that, another type of instruments used in this research was the students
work. Based on Goh (2012), she stated that evidence of student learning can take many
forms, and the most useful are those in which you can demonstrate quite clearly the
developments in the students understanding. From this type of collecting data method, it
helps me in having a valid and reliable data. The pupils progress can clearly been seen
in the data collected during all the interventions done by me.
7.2 Data Analysis Method
Previously, as I have collected the required data, the next process is the process
of analysing the data whether they are of quantitative or qualitative data. I intend to
analyse the scores from the pre-intervention test and post-intervention test and present
the data in the form of percentages in table. According to Goh (2012), descriptive
statistics presented quantitative data in measures like percentages. The data are arranged
in this way to facilitate me in data interpretation to answer the research question. This is
because I intend to interpret the changes of scores from both tests as an indicator that the
intervention has succeeded to help the pupils in improving the use of demonstrative
22

pronouns correctly. Hence, the different scores would provide information to show how
each respondents performance has improved based on the test scores (Cresswell, 2014).
For instance, when comparing both scores, if the scores in post-intervention test are
higher than the scores in pre-intervention test, this proves that the intervention has
worked in helping the pupils to solve their problem in Demonstrative Pronouns. On the
other hand, if there are no changes of scores or if the scores from the post-intervention
test decreased, this illustrated that the intervention did not went well and work on the
pupils.
Besides, to analyse the data collected from the observations (checklist) made by
the teacher during the interventions, the data from the checklist will be tabulated in one
table where all the checklists from the first intervention to the last intervention are
combined into a single table. The observations were based on the pupils participation in
the intervention, their facial expression and also their response during the interventions.
All of these aspects help the pupils to express what they feel or their emotions in a nonverbal way. To add, the mass of information collected from the observations will also
assist me in better exploring the respondents answer by looking into responses that
helped in answering the research question.
According to Cresswell (2014), triangulation is the process of corroborating
evidence from different types of data or methods of data collection in descriptions and
themes in qualitative research. In order to answer my research question, the third data
analysis method which was the students works are tabulated in the table to see their
progress from the starting point until the research interventions are done. Test 1 and Test
2, observations and students works are triangulated to increase the validity and to reduce
23

the like hood of errors in the findings when similar results are analysed from many
sources. By doing this, it will provide an accurate measurement of the scale in the
performances of the respondents and help me to illustrate on ways the intervention
helped them to improved their use of demonstrative pronouns. As mentioned by Goh
(2012), triangulation of data that involves combination of methods will reduce biasness
and increase confidence in reporting research, clearer and more understanding on the
issue.

8.0 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

8.1 Pupils Test
24

This instrument was used to test upon the respondents understanding after the
interventions were done with them. Test 1 was given to the respondents before the
interventions took place in the classroom. Based on the test 1 given, the researcher
found that there were lots of mistakes done by the respondents and most of the
respondents gained low marks in their test. Therefore, he have introduced the using of
song in order to help the respondents improved the using of demonstrative pronouns in
their writing skills. After the interventions were done with the respondents, the
researcher gave the same type of test paper with the same questions from the Test 1 to
them. From the result gained from test 2, there were big differences in the respondents
marks. The result in Test 2 was a lot better compared to the test 1.

Table 6
25

Marks gained by respondents in Test 1 and Test 2

Test Marks ( % )
Respondent names
(pseudonym)

One
Two
Three
Four
Five

Test 1

Test 2

40

70

10

70

10

100

20

90

30

100

26

Respondents' Progress
120

100

80

Respondents'
Marks

Test 1

60

Test 2

40

20

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Respondent Names

Figure 1 : Comparison graph between respondents marks from Test 1 and Test 2.

27

Based on Figure 1, the researcher observed that there were improvements for each
respondents in this research. For the first respondent, there was 30% improvement from
the Test 1 with the Test 2. For the next respondents which were respondent 2 and
respondents 3, both of them got low marks for the Test 1 which were 10%, but after the
intervention were carried out in the classroom, both respondents improved by 60% and
90% respectively. The fourth respondent got 20% in the test 1 and 90% for Test2. This
result shows that respondent 4 have improved by 70%. Last but not least, the respondent
number 5 have improved as much as 70%. For Test 1, respondent 5 have gained only
30% while in Test 2 the respondent 5 got 100% in the test. This data have clearly shown
that there were improvements with my respondents after the interventions took place.
So, based on the Figure 1 above, this data can be one of the evidence that the using of
song can surely help the pupils to have a deep understanding about demonstrative
pronouns.

28

8.2 Teachers Observation ( Checklist )

Apart from Test 1 and Test 2, the researcher also had chosen teachers observation as one
of his instrument to analyse the data. To make the data more reliable and valid, the
researcher had made a checklist to jot down the data gained during the intervention.
There were 3 checklists made by the researcher as there were 3 interventions done by
him. Below is the summary of the 3 checklists done by the researcher:
Table 7
Summary of Checklists

Pupils
Observations

Pupils Participation

Elements

in Class activities

Facial
Pupils

Response

Expression During
During Intervention
Intervention

29

Number of
Intervention

Checklist
Intervention 1
Checklist
Intervention 2
Checklist
Intervention 3

Based on the data in the table 7 above, it was clearly showed that the respondents
participated well in all the class activities done by the researcher. Without the
participation from the respondents, the data could be gained thus the research could not
be completed as planned earlier. So, there was no problem at all for pupils participation
in class activities in all interventions conducted by the researcher. The next element that
was observed by the researcher during the interventions was the pupils facial expression
during the process of interventions. Based on the table 7, all of 5 respondents showed
that they were uninterested at all in the intervention process. This problem occurred
because the pupils did not want to learn about grammar or demonstrative pronouns
specifically. They automatically lost their motivation to learn English when it is come to
grammar. But we can see the improvement made by the researcher in the second
intervention as he introduced song to teach demonstrative pronouns to the respondents.
During the second intervention, they pupils were very excited and eager to sing the
demonstrative pronouns song. In the third intervention, only one respondent did not
show interest in the intervention process. This thing occurred because the respondent felt
30

that he is good enough and did not need any explanation anymore. So he stated to lose
focus and interest during the intervention process.
For the next element that had been observed by the researcher was pupils
response during the intervention process. During the first and the second interventions,
only two of the respondents could give answers to the questions asked by the researcher.
This problem happened because the other respondents felt shy to give answers as they
did not have the knowledge about demonstrative pronouns. But by the end of the
interventions which was the third interventions, all of the respondents started to give
response to the researcher. All of them already had the knowledge and they felt
confidence with their answers which also can be concluded as a positive behavior shown
by them.

31

8.3 Pupils Work

The next instrument that was used by the researcher in the research was the
pupils work. For every intervention done in the classroom, teacher gave worksheet to
the respondents for the drilling process. So, there were 3 worksheets given to the
respondents as there were 3 interventions were done by the researcher. The worksheets
results were taken and recorded in the table 8 below:
Table 8
Respondents works marks

Number of exersices
Respondent names
Respondent 1
Respondent 2
Respondent 3
Respondent 4

Exersice 1
10 marks

Exersice 2
10 marks

Exersice 3
10 marks

7
32

Respondent 5

Based on table above, we can see the improvement made by the respondents
between each intervention that they had undergone. For respondent 1, there was only
minor improvement that can be seen. For the first and the second worksheet given to
respondent 1, the respondent already have the knowledge about demonstrative pronouns
and there were no changes happened to the respondent as the respondent only got 6
marks for both worksheets. The minor improvement was only can be seen in the third
worksheet where the respondent 1 got 7 marks for the worksheet. For respondent 2, we
can see the progress made by him from one intervention to another. It can be seen from
the marks gained by the respondents which increases from 3 marks to 5 marks and then
moved to 6 marks.
Next we move to the respondent 3. For respondent 3, there were major changes
in terms of marks gained from the worksheets. The respondent got 3 marks for the first
interventions worksheet and has improved as much as 3 marks to gain 6 marks in the
next worksheet. In the third interventions worksheet, the respondent 3 maintain his
marks and there was no improvement made by the respondent 3. For respondent 4 and
respondents 5, we can see a steady improvement made by both respondents from one
worksheet to another. The respondent 4 had increased from 3 marks in the first
worksheet to 5 marks in the second worksheet and lastly the marks increase to 7 marks
in the third worksheet while for respondent 5 got 4 marks in the first worksheet, 6 marks
in the second worksheet and 8 marks in the third worksheet. We can see the pattern in
respondent 4 and respondent 5 marks where there were improvements of 2 marks after
33

each intervention had been carried out. As a conclusion, the students works instrument
was surely helps the researcher to observe and manage his respondents progress from
one intervention to another.

34

9.0 DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

Based on the findings that have been gathered, I can conclude that my research
was a success. This research helped the respondents to improve the use of demonstrative
pronouns among them by using song. The results from the Test 1 and Test 2 were clearly
showed that there were improvements done by all of the respondents. Before the
researcher started to conduct the intervention, most of the respondents did not have the
knowledge on how to use demonstrative pronouns correctly. They confused on how to
differentiate between this, these, that and those. Before the intervention, the respondents
tend to choose randomly the answers and did not think critically before answering those
questions.
However after the intervention had been done, the respondents showed positive
response by getting higher marks in their Test 2. Based on my observation, the usage of
song as the element in helping the respondents to improve the use of demonstrative
pronouns was a brilliant idea. All of my respondents felt excited and motivated to learn
once the researcher introduce the demonstrative pronouns song. As stated by Nambiyar
(1985), songs have a great tendency to attract the attention of the students. It also
introduces an atmosphere of gaiety, fun and informality in classroom. From her
statement, it was well explained why the researchers respondents responded well during
the intervention process. They enjoyed the lesson and as a result, all the respondents
marks increased and there were improvements made by them.
Apart from that, there was another reason why this research was a success. In the
intervention process, the researcher used pictures that were pasted on the whiteboard to
35

help the pupils in their understanding besides singing the demonstrative song. While
singing the song, the respondents need to point to the pictures based on the lyrics they
sang. Orlova (1997) stated that listening to songs, especially when these are supported
with pictures and actions helps students to recognize words and meaning more easily.
This statement was proven when the respondents marks increased from one exercise to
another in the students work instrument data. With the help of those pictures during the
intervention process, it was easier for the pupils to remember and build deeper
understanding as pupils have different types of learning styles. Some of them were
visual learners, audio-visual learners and others. So at least, the researcher had fulfilled
all the pupils need in their learning style and that was why the research succeeds.
On the other hand, the researcher also had built confidence in his respondents to
use demonstrative pronouns correctly by using song. Read (2007) once said that by
building on childrens pleasure in rhythm and sounds, they engage children in
responding to and producing language in ways which develop their confidence and selfesteem and lead to a sense of achievement and success. This can be seen in the checklist
form provided by the researcher in the appendix section. In the third intervention, all
respondents were very eager to join the questions and answering session held by the
researcher. The respondents were very confident with their answers and they wanted to
share their answers with others pupils in the classroom. If we compared to the first
intervention, most of the respondents sat quietly at their own places and they refused to
take part in the questions and answering session. Now, the pupils are able to use
demonstrative pronouns correctly with confident.

36

Besides, the researcher also had triangulated the data to gain more reliable and
valid results in his research. Triangulation involves the conscious combination of
quantitative and qualitative methodologies as a powerful solution to strengthen a
research design where the logic is based on the fact that a single method can never
adequately solve the problem of rival causal factors (Patton, 1990).
Below is the data triangulation made by the researcher:

Before Intervention
& After Intervention
Test.

Students Work

Teachers
Observation

Figure 2 : Triangulation of Data

The figure above showed on how the data complement each other in order to
gain a valid and reliable data. In this research, teachers observation was very important
to see changes made by the respondents. The respondents may answers the test correctly
37

and got high marks in the test but there will be possibility that some of them cheats
during the test. So with the observations done from the teacher, it will shows how the
pupils progress and improve from time to time. In this research, the researcher made an
observation for each intervention. So, he could see his respondents progress and that
made his data contain high validity and reliability. For the test that was held before and
after the intervention, it must be tally with the students work and teachers observations.
As a conclusion, this research was considered as successful because it had
achieved the objective stated earlier before the intervention was held with those
respondents. It had helped the respondents to improve the use of demonstrative pronouns
by using song as the stimulus. The data also tally with each other which mean that the
data contained high validity and reliability which also contributed to the research
succeeds.

10.0 CONCLUSION AND REFLECTION

38

From this action research, several conclusions can be drawn about the
effectiveness of using song to help the pupils in using the demonstrative pronouns
correctly. It was discovered that using song as the stimulus in this research had enhanced
the respondents ability to use the demonstrative pronouns correctly.
From the data collected during all the interventions done by the researcher, all
respondents had showed improvement and some of them even showed great
improvements. The respondents managed to score higher marks in the Test 2 that had
been conducted after all the interventions were carried out by the researcher. From the
findings also, it appeared that the pupils had managed to memorize the use of each
demonstrative pronouns correctly by singing the song and do actions as they learned
during the interventions.
Generally, this research can be reflected in three stages which are before
research, while research and after research. There were many insights that the researcher
gained before conducting this research. First of all, the researcher realized that he needs
to consider about the pupils background and their level of proficiency in English before
selecting his respondents for the research. These elements were very crucial in the
process of planning the action research. Besides, the researcher also did lots of
observation and interview sessions with the class and English subject teacher for Year 3
Nilams in order to find problems that faced by the pupils. From this point onwards, the
researcher started to plan the research paper and conducted the interventions based on
the objective and research question stated earlier.

39

In addition, during the research, there were also few elements that gave insightful
experiences to the researcher. One of the major issues is the respondents participation
during the singing process. From the observation, some of the pupils seemed restless.
They liked to disturb other pupils by talking or poking the others. At the same time, they
disturbed the respondents concentration in the class. In a way, they made the teaching
and learning process to become disturbed. So, one of the ways that could help to prevent
this thing from happening again is by giving detention to the pupils every time they
disturbed others. For example, the researcher should give them a time out from
participating the in the singing session. This is to ensure the other pupils are not being
disturbed and stay focus. The research gives experience to the researcher on handling the
other non-participants of the research.
Last but not least, the skills in conducting the research is one of the experiences
gained after completing the research. This is because, as a trainee teacher, the researcher
has to gain knowledge from all aspects in order to deliver a quality and meaningful
lesson. Thus, the experience gained could be used so that the researcher can develop the
professionalism of a teacher in them. Through action research also, it helps the
researcher to create awareness that every problems regarding the pupils learning can be
overcome by doing this systematic acts.

11.0 PLANS FOR FURTHER ACTION

40

This study is conducted to improve the Year 3 pupils ability in using

demonstrative pronouns correctly by using song. So, the plan for the next action must
also be using the same technique which is song. This is because the technique is proven
can help to improve the respondents ability to use demonstrative pronouns correctly.
However, the technique can only assist the respondents in a certain degree. It also means
that the technique can be improved from several aspects.
Time constraint is the first aspect of this research that can be improved in future.
The drilling session by using song should be allocated more time as the pupils were
enjoying it very well. Most of the pupils in the intervention process asked and begging
the researcher to let them sang the song again and again. If the drilling session can be
done few times, there is higher possibility that there will be deeper understanding gained
by the pupils about demonstrative pronouns. So, it is recommended that this research
should be carried out over a longer period of time.
It is also recommended that the teacher should add more questions in the
worksheets given to the pupils. As mention by Brown (2000), he states that learners
should be exposed to language slightly higher that their level but they still can
understand most of it and able to progress (p.278). Based on the researchers
observation, the pupils were having improvement from each intervention to another. So,
the pupils should be test with lots of question that are more challenging for them. For
example, in the first worksheet, the researcher could start with only 10 questions and
then move to 15 questions in the second worksheets and so on.

41

Next, another improvement that is recommended is the researcher could vary the
activities in order to assess the pupils. In this research, the researcher used only
worksheets to observe the pupils progress. The researcher may provide with a more fun
and enjoyable assessment to evaluate the pupils improvement. For example, the
researcher can use games or treasure hunt as tools to assess the pupils. At least, with
these kinds of assessment, it may enhance pupils interest towards the learning process.
Piaget explains learning is an active process and children construct meaning of reality
through active learning (Cox, 1996).
To conclude, it is hoped that these initiatives can help to improve the pupils
understanding, skills and interest of the participants in learning regarding the
demonstrative pronouns. With the several recommendations above, this research should
be more comprehensive and the result gain in future will be more precise, accurate and
reliable.

42

12.0 LIST OF REFERENCES

Bradshaw, W. B. (2013, 10 19). HUFF POST PARENTS. Retrieved 6 30, 2014, from
Why Grammar Is Important:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-b-bradshaw/why-grammar-isimportant_b_4128521.html

Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.). New York:
Pearson Education.

Cox, C. (1996). Teaching language arts: a student and response-centered classroom (2nd
ed.). United states of America: Allyn & Bacon.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting and Evaluating

Quantitative and Qualitative Research. United Kingdom: Pearson Limited
Edition

Goh, L. H. (2012). A Practical Guide to Writing Your Action Research. Selangor:

Penerbitan Multimedia

John Wrenshall, 2002 Using song to Improve Communication Competence. Bangkok:

November. AUA Language Center., p .43.

Lo, R. & Li, H.C. (1998). Songs enhance learner involvement. English Teaching
Forum, 36, 8-11.

Murphey, T. (1992) Music and Song. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

43

Nambiyar, Subramaniyam A. 1985. The use of Pop Song in Language Learning,

Guidelines, VII.No publisher.

Nation, I.S.P (1990) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

Orlova, N. (1997) Developing speech habits with the help of songs. Retrieved
15 July 2002 from www.exchanges.State,gov/forum/vols/vo135/No3/p41.htm.

Oxford Dictionaries. (2014). Retrieved 6 29, 2014, from

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/grammar

Patton, M.Q. 1990. Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park: SAGE
Publishers.

Read, C. (2007). 500 Activities for the Primary Classroom. Oxford: Macmillan
Publishers Limited.

Santrock, J. W. (2011). Child development (13th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Schmitt, N. 2000. Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Schoepp, K. (2001) Reasons for using songs in the ESL/EFL classroom. Retrieved 18
July 2002 from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Schoepp- Songs.html

Shuttleworth, M. (2014). Pretest and Post-test Designs. Retrieved from

http://explorable.com/pretest-posttest-designs
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Thornbury, S. (1999). How to teach grammar. England: Pearson Education Limited

APPENDIX A
The Initial Survey Diagnostic Test
45

APPENDIX B
Test 1 (Pre-Intervention Test)

46

APPENDIX C
Test 2 (Post-Intervention Test)
47

APPENDIX D
Exersice in Intervention 1

48

APPENDIX E
Exersice in Intervention 2
49

APPENDIX F
Exersice in Intervention 3

50

APPENDIX G
Lyric of The Song
51

What is this? (x4)

This is a rose,
This is a rose,

(x3)

This is my nose,
These are my toes.

What is that? (x4)

That is a banana tree,
That is a banana tree,

(x3)

Bananas I like to eat,

When I am hungry.

What are these? (x4)

These are orchids,
These are orchids,

(x3)

These are cannas,

These are cannas,

What are those? (x4)

Those are coconut trees,
Those are coconut trees,

(x3)

They are mango trees,

These are durian trees,
APPENDIX H
Teachers Checklist

52

Intervention 1
Pupils Facial
Pupils Participation

Expression

Pupils Response

Respondent names

(Interested in the

during Intervention

(pseudonym)

lesson)

Respondent One
Respondent 2

Respondent 3
Respondent 4
Respondent 5

53