Developing English listening and speaking skills by using puppetry in elementary schools

초등영어에서 인형극을 활용한 듣기.말하기 능력 향상방안

This paper is to help the students in elementary schools develop and improve their English listening and speaking skills by presenting effective teaching and learning techniques using puppetry. It is absolutely obvious that listening and speaking are very important skills for most EFL students. Using puppets in the classroom is a creative English teaching technique which can involve authentic, communicative language situations. Moreover, puppets appeal to children and can aid in lowering affective filters thereby creating a more comfortable learning environment. The study clearly showed that using puppets is feasible and enjoyable in elementary English classes. However, caution must be exercised in drawing and generalizing conclusions from this experience. The results of the experiment are as follows: First, using puppetry in the English class was found to have positive influence on students' affective domains (interst, attitude). Second, using puppets in the English classes was found to be efficient for improving students' English listening and speaking skills. Third, appropriate materials should be selected and well thought-out plans should be made to be successful English class using puppetry. Perhaps the most interesting line of future research is to use qualitative research to examine the effect of this technique on the teacher variable. Further research is recommended, especially on using puppetry for speaking proficiency and creating affectively comfortable learning atmospheres.