THE USE OF ACTION SONG IN TEACHING PREPOSITION OF PLACE

By:
Nur Hidayah binti Che Alias @ Faizah binti Jaafar
Jabatan Bahasa-Bahasa, IPG Kampus Dato' Razali Ismail
dayahcomel91@gmail.com , faizah@ipgmkdri.edu.com.my
ABSTRACT
Reflection on teaching and learning sessions during practicum has found out that pupils in Year 4 Cerdas
are weak in English especially in Grammar. Some of the pupils were having difficulties in understanding
proposition of place; in, on, under, behind, and in front of. Based on the observation and document
analysis done on exercise books and worksheets, these pupils were not able to understand and identify
preposition of place correctly. Hence, this action research was implemented for the purpose of improving
pupils' understanding of preposition of place by using an action song entitled 'One Little Worm'. Based
on the preliminary test that had been conducted, two boys and two girls were selected as research
participants. Observation, document analysis as well as interview were used as the methods to collect and
gather data from research participants. Qualitative data was analyzed descriptively according to each
research participant. The finding of this action research reveals that the intervention managed to improve
pupils' understanding of preposition of place. One of the advantages of this action song is that, the
actions in the action song help to strengthen the meaning of the proposition of place thus provide better
understanding for pupils. This action song can also be used to teach other subjects. It can be modified
and altered to suit any topic or subjects.
Key words : Grammar, preposition of place, action song

TEACHING AND LEARNING REFLECTION

An effective teaching and learning processes can be obtained if teachers know how to create an
interesting lesson for the pupils. The lesson prepared should not only interesting but also capable of
attracting pupils' attentions and interests to learn. During second practicum in Sekolah Kebangsaan
Chendering, the researcher found out that some of the pupils from Year 3 Ibnu Sina were having
difficulties in understanding preposition of place in, on, under, behind and in front of.
The same problem was encountered by the researcher on the third practicum in Sekolah Kebangsaan
Kompleks Mengabang Telipot whereby some of pupils from Year 4 Cerdas were having difficulty in
understanding preposition of place. Pupils in Year 4 by right should be able to understand preposition of
place since they had been exposed to it in Year 3. In order to improve pupils' understanding regarding
prepositions of place, the researcher had conducted an action research by using an action song entitled '
One Little Worm'.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Lusi Nurhayati (2012), preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun or
pronoun to show place, position, time or method. Preposition is a function word used to relate a noun
phrase which it precedes with another part of the sentence, the whole forming a prepositional phrase. It
expresses meaning of space, time, positions. Prepositions are usually placed before nouns and pronouns to
show position, direction and time.
Thesis entitled "Teaching Preposition by using Song " by Miftahuddin (2010) shows and supports the
assumption that songs can also be used to teach preposition. The research done by him focused on the use
of song in enhancing the mastery of preposition. The objectives of his studies were mainly to investigate
how the students of junior secondary school use song in enhancing the mastery of preposition as well as
to find out whether song is significantly more effective to students senior high school in enhancing the
mastery of preposition. He found out that the technique of using song to give better understanding of
preposition among pupils is effective.
Some of the songs accompanied by actions is called an action song. This type of songs usually requires
body movement of the whole parts of the body or only some parts of it. According to Nurhayati (2012),
she stated that in relation to English Language learning for children, actions songs are considered as
powerful resources which help their language development. By nature, young learners enjoy playing and
singing songs and they will get a lot of benefits and advantages when they are exposed to particular
English songs in the English classroom. Making pupils memorize and remember the words, structures,
grammar pattern is one of the problems in English Language teaching. Introducing new song, particularly
action songs is one way to help them remember these (Lusi Nurhayati, 2012). In grammar lesson,
especially in teaching preposition of place, actions are required as it demonstrates the meaning of the
prepositions and how to use it. As Brewster et.al (2002) asserts, "using action songs is considered
beneficial as the accompanying actions or gestures help to strengthen meaning and at the same time
channel high levels of energy positively" (as cited in Lusi Nurhayati, 2012).

FOCUS OF INVESTIGATION

My focus of this investigation is based on grammar which is very important in English Language
Learning. I will focus more on the preposition of place under part of speech component in grammar
teaching and the problem face by pupils in order to understand this grammar component.
3.1 Objectives :
The aim of this research is :
I.

to investigate whether the action song can help to improve pupils' understanding of preposition of
place in Sekolah Kebangsaan Kompleks Mengabang Telipot.

Research Questions :
" How does action song help to improve pupil's understanding of preposition of place in Sekolah
Kebangsaan Kompleks Mengabang Telipot? "

RESEARCH METHODOLODY

This action research involved four pupils from Year 4 Cerdas with low proficiency level in English. There
were two boys as well as two girls. All of these research participants were selected based on their
achievement in the preliminary test. An observation, documents analysis as well as interview were used
as the methods to gather the data from all research participants. Qualitative data was analyzed
descriptively according to each research participant.
Observation in qualitative research can be conducted in three different ways; non-participating
observation, participating partial observation, and participating observation. For this action research, the
researcher used non participating and participating observation. The researcher used non participating
observation whereby the researcher did not involve in the observation. A help from a friend was needed to
do the observation. Apart from that, the researcher also used participating partial observation whereby
researcher observed as well as ticked in the checklist at the same time. The research participants pointing
pictures in the answer sheet based on the instructions given by the teacher . When they managed to point
out the correct picture that matched the instruction, teacher ticked in the checklist as prove that pupil
managed to get it correctly. Next, the researcher also used participating observation. It was done using the
field notes.
As for the interview, there are three types of interview that can be used to collect data using qualitative
method which are structured interview, semi- structured interview and unstructured interview. For this
research, the researcher used structured and semi -structured interview to collect data from research
participants. The interviews were conducted twice throughout the implementation of the intervention.
The first interview was done before the first session occurred whereby the same questions were asked to
the pupils regarding their interests towards action songs in learning. As they answered, researcher ticked
on the column that they picked. The second interview was done on the fourth which happened to be on
the last session. Researcher decided to use semi-structured interview at this point. Researcher asked one
questioned to each one of the pupils and by listening to their responds , it determined the next questioned
to be asked. This was carried out to attain the feedback of the intervention on pupils' understanding of the
preposition of place after the intervention was carried out. In order to keep these interview sessions as
valid proves, researcher recorded each session to be reviewed later. The interview sessions were done
separately to each pupil.
Document analysis was one of the qualitative methods to get data from related documents. Document
analysis can be used to support the data collected from other instruments for examples pupils' preliminary
test, portfolio, grammar worksheets, record books as well as exercise book. Through this, I managed to
collect the information about pupils' background such as academic performances, interest as well as
economic status.

SPECIFICATION OF THE INTERVENTION

As for this action research, the intervention that was designed by the researcher was an Action Song. The
action song entitled "One Little Worm". The action song consists of five stanzas of lyrics. The first stanza
was the introduction of the action song about a missing little worm. The second stanza was the
introduction to the content of the song which mainly focused on preposition of place
on/in/under/behind/in front of. The third stanza was the repetition of the content to identify the position of
the missing little worm. The same stanza was repeated for five times with different preposition of place.
The fourth and the last stanza emphasized on the discovery of the little worm.
Researcher used Power Point Slide to present this action song to the research participants. It is easier to
prepare as well as easier to edit afterwards. The animations used in the power point slides for examples
bounce, boomerang and magnify, helped to emphasized those important aspect in the presentation of the
lyrics. It also helped to maintain the interests as well as concentration of research participants. Apart from
that, the slides were also colourful with the presence of the images of worms which helped to attract
pupils' attentions.
The font that was used was the Comic Sans MS as the way "a" was written suited the way that pupils
normally did in their exercise books. As for the researcher, it is crucial to focus on that aspect as the
researcher wanted to make sure that misunderstanding did not occurred. The size of font that researcher
used was 18 as it was bigger and clear enough for all research participants to see. Besides, researcher also
used bold font to emphasize each words and the vocabulary of on/in/under/behind/in front of were
colourful written as the researcher wanted them to realize that each one of the preposition is different.
The lyric of this action song was presented by using a laptop in the first and second session of the
implementation of the intervention. It should be presented by using LCD projector however due to
insufficient amount of them present in school, the researcher just presented it normally to the research
participants using laptop only. The researcher also distributed a worksheet of the same lyric for them to
practice at home.

Procedures of the implementation of action.

Stages/ Sessions/ weeks

First session
(week 1 )

Activities

- Researcher introduced the lyrics, pronunciation,

rhythm, intonation as well as tune to research
participants.
- Researcher observed the session.
- Researcher carried out a short quiz and interview
each one of the research participant at the end of
the session.

Second session
(week 2)

- Researcher introduced the actions and integrated

the actions.
- Researcher observed the session.
- Researcher carried out a short quiz and interview
each one of the research participant at the end of
the session.

Third session
(week 3)

- Research participants did the presentation of the

action song.
- Researcher asked a friend to do the peer
observation while pupil presented the action song.
- Researcher carried out a short quiz and interview
each one of the research participant at the end of
the session.

Fourth session
(week 4)

- Researcher conducted an activity related to the

action song. Research participant needed to
demonstrate the actions by listening to the
statements given.
- Researcher observed the session.
- Researcher carried out a post-test and interview
each one of the research participant at the end of
the session.

FINDINGS OF THE ACTION RESEARCH

Before the intervention
One of research participants is Daus. He was a shy boy. Based on the observation in the classroom, Daus
was also lack of confident and was passive. He refused to participate in any of the activities regarding
English Language. He was quiet and reluctant to volunteer himself to give answers. Not only that, Daus
has low proficiency level in English. This can be supported with the interview session that had been
conducted on him. He mentioned..
Daus : ..(sigh)... The class was so boring. I did not understand what the teacher said in English..I do not
want to answer question in English as I am afraid that I might answer it wrongly..
It was clear that Daus has low level of proficiency in English. The most severe problem that Daus
encountered was he was unable to understand the preposition of place. He had lack of understanding
regarding preposition of place in, on, under, behind, and in front of. This could be seen that for his pre-

test, he only managed to score four out of twenty-two questions correctly. It was the lowest score he
obtained. It showed that he really had difficulties in understanding the preposition of place clearly.

During the intervention

First session
First session was the introduction of the lyric. In this session, the researcher introduced the lyrics with
correct pronunciation, rhythm, intonation as well as tune to the research participants. At the end of this
session, a short quiz was given to all research participants to see their improvement in this session. Lastly,
a short interview was conducted to all research participants to get their responses throughout this session .
Based on the observation being made, researcher found out that Daus did not participate actively in the
session. He was reluctant to participate. He was passive and the way he acted by putting his hand and
head on the table showed that he did not interested to learn in this session. Apart from that, he was
playing around with his friend and did not pay any attentions to the explanation given by the teacher
(researcher). This led to poor result that he gained in the short quiz whereby he only managed to score
two out of ten questions correctly which was the lowest mark obtained compare to other research
participants.
During the interview, Daus admitted that he was lazy to memorize the song as it was too long. He was
also playing around with his friend in this session.
Daus : The song is long.. I feel lazy to memorize it I was playing around with my friend and I do not
listen to what the teacher says..
Second session
Second session was the introduction of the action. Researcher integrated the lyric with some actions to
help the participants to comprehend the meaning of the lyric easily and accurately. Action helps to
strengthen the meaning of the vocabulary. Thus , it helps pupils to further understand the use of
prepositions of place in, on, under, behind, and in front of even further. At the end of this session, the
same short quiz and interview were carried out for each research participant.
Based on the observation in this session, there were some changes in Daus behaviour as he began to focus
on what he did. He also started to show great interest while doing the action. He did the action
enthusiastically . His level of confident also increased as he volunteered himself to demonstrate the
actions in front of his friends. Compare to the first session, Daus was still shy but he managed to
overcome his shyness throughout this session. Apart from that, he had improve as he managed to obtained
more marks in the quiz where he got six out of ten questions correctly compared to the first session
whereby he only obtained two questions correctly.
All of these data collected were supported by the interview session that had been conducted, Daus
mentioned that he liked singing while doing the action as it was fun. He also stated that by doing the
action he managed to understand the song and he could answer the questions. That was the reason of why
he managed to get higher marks in this session as his interest was increased in this session.

Daus : .. I like to do the action while singing.. it is fun.. when I do the action, I can understand the song
and I can answer the questions.. Now, I understand what is on /in and under

Third session
The third session was the presentation of the action song by each one of the research participants. An
observation protocol was used during the observation whereby a help from another teacher to observe all
research participants. The peer observation form was given while observing. At the end of this session,
the same short quiz and interview were carried out on each of the research participant to get their
responses.
In this session, Daus showed great interest during the presentation. He managed to listen and sang the
action song well. He also managed to demonstrate the actions well while singing. He was good in
memorizing and remembering the lyric as well as the actions as he managed to present it well. The most
important aspect was the actions that Daus did were parallel with the words or lyric mentioned. It is
important to make sure that the action are parallel with the words mentioned in an action song; Lusi
Nurhayati (2012) stated that the actions in an action song helped to strengthen meaning. Thus, it enables
the pupil to comprehend and understand the word easily and correctly. By presenting the action song well,
Daus developed more understanding regarding vocabulary of preposition of place in, on, under, behind
and in front of for this research.
Daus also managed to get all correct answers in the short quiz. It was a great achievement that Daus
obtained compared to the first and second stage. It was clear that Daus now getting improved and
understood the use of preposition of place better in this third session.
All of these data collected were supported by the interview session that was done on Daus. He stated that
he felt happy while singing the song. He added when singing with actions, he managed to answer the
questions. In this session, Daus finally understood about preposition of place. The action song really
helped Daus to improve.
Daus : .. I am happy singing this song.. I remember all the actions..When doing the actions I can
understand the song.. Now I understand the preposition of place

Fourth session
The last session the researcher conducted an activity that related with the action song. In this session, after
singing the action song, Daus was given a set of real objects ; shoe miniature, basket and keychain. By
listening to the statement given by the teacher (researcher), Daus demonstrated the action that matched
with the statement given. At the end of this session , a post-test was carried out to see Daus's
improvement throughout the intervention sessions. Daus's responses were recorded during the interview.
Based on the observation, Daus managed to demonstrate the actions correctly. It showed that Daus really
understood the preposition of place since he did not hesitate at all to demonstrate the actions. In the posttest, Daus managed to get all questions correct compared to the pre-test whereby he only obtained four
out of twenty-two questions correctly. He is improving day by day.

During the interview, Daus mentioned that he did the action song to answer the questions and he added
that without doing the actions also he managed to answer the questions correctly as he understood about
preposition of place now.
Daus : .I use the action song when answering the questions .. without doing the actions also I can
answer it correctly and I understand now

Conclusion
All research participants were getting improved in understanding the prepositions of place in, in, under,
behind, and in front of after the implementation of the intervention. They managed to increase their
understanding regarding the use of preposition of place through an action song entitled 'One Little Worm'.
Thus, it proved that 'One Little Worm' action song helped to improve research participants' understanding
regarding preposition of place in, on, under, behind and in front of. They managed to get full marks in the
post-test.
Besides, the negative attitudes possessed by all research participants also changed to positive. After the
intervention, they became more enthusiastic in learning and required high level of confident and willing
to participate in all activities actively.
As a teacher, it is crucial to dig out the strengths and weaknesses of teaching and learning processes in
order to improve the quality of teaching in the future. By doing the action research, a teacher can prepare
a solution in order to overcome learning problems encountered by pupils.
This particular research can be extended not only for these selected research participants but also for those
who have very low proficiency. The teaching of action song does require a lot repetitions and drillings. It
is really helpful in teaching low proficiency level of pupils as it provides times and practices for those
pupils. The accompanying actions or gestures taught are also really helpful to strengthen meaning of
vocabulary and at the same time channel high levels of energy positively thus makes the lesson effective.

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