An Investigation of Thai Preschooler's Vocabulary Acquisition through Songs and TPR

Abstract

Vocabulary acquisition is essential for successful language learning, yet, little is known about young learners’ vocabulary acquisition in the Thai EFL context and what teaching methods effectively facilitate vocabulary acquisition. Hence, the current investigation looked at the effects of implementing songs and TPR on pre-schoolers’ vocabulary acquisition in a Thai EFL context. The participants, 72 pre-schoolers, four to five years old, were taught 12 target words using TPR and songs in three whole classrooms for six weeks. The mixed-method research design was used to triangulate data collected from two tests and video recordings. The tests, one receptive and one productive, were administered as pre, post, and delayed post-test. Moreover, the hidden cameras captured the participants’ reactions during the intervention. The findings indicated that singing and TPR had a significant effect on the participants’ receptive and productive vocabulary acquisition, but no method was significantly better than the others. Also, the video recordings shed light on the participants’ reactions to the implementations. Indeed, songs and TPR were effective to teach the target words and facilitated dynamic interactions in the classroom. Specifically, the data suggest that merging the two methods (TPR&S) was slightly more effective. However, the short period of the intervention and the small number of participants limited the findings. Finally, singing and TPR can be recommended for teaching young learners English vocabulary in EFL contexts.

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