The Effect of Narrating Picture Books in Promoting English Vocabulary to Japanese Preschoolers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60072/ijeissah.2022.v1i01.001Abstract
This semi-quasi-experimental study aimed to identify the effects of narrating picture books in promoting vocabulary learning and retention in preschoolers in the English as the second language (ESL) setting. The research has conducted in an English medium preschool in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. The researcher used twenty children aged 4-6 years old, ten as the experimental group and ten as the control group. Three picture books; Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme by Nadine Bernard Westcott, The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and Just Grandma and Me by Mercer Mater, were carefully selected to narrate during the intervention. A total of 15 sessions were taken to complete the study. During the intervention, flashcards were used to highlight the five focused vocabulary of Peanut Butter and Jelly. In The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree, five repeatedly appeared words were chosen for the evaluation process. Five words of Just Grandma and Me were neither repeated nor flashcards have been used, thus regular story narration. Pre, post, and delayed post-tests were executed to collect data. The results show that narrating storybooks significantly impacts vocabulary learning and retention. Further, the use of flashcards focusing on the story's keywords helps children retain vocabulary more than repetition and just narrating.
Keywords:
Narrating, Storybooks, Vocabulary, Learning, RetentionReferences
Argellan, S., Mohammed, L. A., & Krishnansamy, N. (2019). Code Switching Phenomenon in English Language Classrooms at the Tertiary Level. International Journal on Management and Human Science (IJMHS). 3 (1): 35-42. https://ejournal.lucp.net/index.php/ijmhs/article/view/794">https://ejournal.lucp.net/index.php/ijmhs/article/view/794
Bialystok E. (2017). The bilingual adaptation: How minds accommodate experience. Psychological bulletin, 143(3), 233–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000099
Chawala, S. (2021, December 14). Education in Japan. WENR. https://wenr.wes.org/2021/02/education-in-japan Manabu, K. (2021, August 28). Teach toddlers English: Japan educator campaigns for early start. Nikkei Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s- Picks/Interview/Teach-toddlers-English-Japan-educator-campaigns-for-early-start
Cooper , C. R. (2016). Scaffolding during the initial reading of picture books in Japanese elementary school EFL classrooms: a qualitative study investigating how teachers and learners co-construct meaning during whole class picture book reading. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321050027_Scaffolding_during_the_initial_reading_of_picture_books_in_Japanese_elementary_school_EFL_classrooms_a_qualitative_study_investigating_how_teachers_and_learn ers_coconstruct_meaning_during_whole_class.
Cunningham, A. E. (2005). Vocabulary Growth Through Independent Reading and Reading Aloud to Children. In E. H. Hiebert & M. L. Kamil (Eds.), Teaching and learning vocabulary: Bringing research to practice (pp. 45–68). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
EF epi 2021 – EF English proficiency index. EF Education First - Educational Tours & Language Programs Abroad. (n.d.). September 30, 2022, from https://www.ef.com/wwen/epi/
Gabriel, J. (2019, October 23). English education in Japan: Challenges and changes. Gengo. https://gengo.com/language-and-culture/english-education-japan-challenges-changes/.
Hashemifardnia, A., Namaziandost, E. & Esfahani, F. (2AD). (PDF) the effect of teaching picture-books on Iranian elementary EFL learners' vocabulary learning.JELTL (Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics), 3(3), 247-258 ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327846520_The_Effect_of_Teaching_Picture- books_on_Iranian_Elementary_EFL_Learners'_Vocabulary_Learning.
Karuppannan, S. & Mohammed, L. A (2020). Predictive Factors Associated with Online Learning During Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: A Conceptual Framework. International Journal of Management and Human Science (IJMHS), 4(4), 19-29. https://ejournal.lucp.net/index.php/ijmhs/article/view/1236.
Krashen, S. D. & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom. New York: Pergamon Press.
MEXT : Ministry of Education, culture, sports, science and technology. MEXT. (n.d.).https://www.mext.go.jp/en/
Mohammed, L. A. & Harison M. S. (2015). EST Reading Curriculum & Instruction: An Alignment Analysis.Advances in Language and Literary Studies 6 (1):120-128. http://www.journals.aiac.org.au/index.php/alls/article/view/631/554
Mohammed, L. A. & Yap N. T. (2010). The Effect of Length of Residence on the Perception of English Consonants. In B.H. Tan, M.F. Yong & N.T. Yap (Eds.), Language learning: Challenges, Approaches and Collaboration (pp141-167). Saarbrucken, Germany: VDM Dr. Mueller.
Mohammed, L. A., Sidek, H. M. & Murad, A. S. (2016). EST approaches for reading instruction at the senior secondary school level in Yemen: A case study. International Journal of Learning andTeaching, 8(4): 224- 235. http://sproc.org/ojs/index.php/ijlt/article/view/599/pdf.
Mol, S. E., Bus, A. G. & de Jong, M. T. (2009). Interactive Book Reading in Early Education: A Tool to Stimulate Print Knowledge as Well as Oral Language. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 979–1007. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654309332561
PINEDA, A. & MENDOZA, N. (2016). Storybook reading as a strategy to promote vocabulary to EFL early childhood learners from a state kindergarten institution. . Google Scholar . https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=STORYBOOK%2BREADING
%2BAS%2BA%2BSTRATEGY%2BTO%2BPROMOTE%2BVOCABULARY%2BTO%2BE FL%2BEARLY%2BCHILDHOOD%2BLEARNERS%2BFROM%2BA%2BSTATE%2BKIN DERGARTEN%2BINSTITUTION.%2B&btnG= 'returned '403.
Quinelato, P. T. (2019). Story Reading as a Method for Cognate Vocabulary Learning in Preschool Children. eGrove. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1946/.
Sawa, T. (2020, September 11). Japan going the wrong way In English-education REFORM. The Japan Times. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2020/01/21/commentary/japan- commentary/japan-going-wrong-way-english-education-reform/
Sornasekaran, H., Mohammed, L. A. & Amidi. A., (2020). Challenges Associated with E- Learning among ESL Undergraduates in Malaysia: A Conceptual Framework. International Journal of Management and Human Science (IJMHS), 4(4), 30-38. https://ejournal.lucp.net/index.php/ijmhs/article/view/1239
Tran, T. T. T. (2018). The effects of storytelling on English vocabulary retention of Vietnamese preschool learners. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/37626015/The_Effects_of_Storytelling_on_English_Vocabulary_Re tention_of_Vietnamese_Preschool_Learners.
