Innovating primary English teaching methods to help students learn on their own and be creative

 I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Reasons for choosing a measure 
 In the context of today's educational innovation, the development of self-
learning capacity and creativity for primary school students is an urgent 
requirement, especially in English – a subject that is both a language and a skill. 
However, the reality shows that many English lessons at the primary level are 
still heavy, creating few opportunities for students to promote initiative, leading 
to passive, uninteresting and ineffective learning. 
 In addition, primary school students have specific psychophysiological 
characteristics: hyperactivity, curiosity, love of vivid visual activities, learning 
through play and practical experience. If teachers only use traditional methods 
without flexible innovation, it is very difficult to arouse passion and creative 
thinking ability in children. 
 Therefore, it is very necessary to research and apply innovative measures to 
teach English in primary schools in the direction of promoting the positivity and 
initiative of students. In particular, methods that encourage students to self-
explore, collaborate, use technology and associate with practical learning 
activities will create an ideal learning environment, helping students not only 
absorb knowledge effectively but also form self-learning and creative skills – 
the core qualities of citizens in the new era. 
 Stemming from the reality of teaching and the desire to improve the quality 
of English teaching, I boldly chose the measure: "Innovating primary English 
teaching methods to help students learn on their own and be creative" in order 
to share practical experiences and measures, contributing to improving teaching 
efficiency, fostering a love of learning English for primary school students. 
2. Purpose of the study 
 - The solution is to create interest in learning English for students, helping 
them to be active and proactive in learning and developing communication skills 
and personality education. 
 - Improve the quality of English and teaching methods, encourage 
creativity and participation of students in learning activities. 3. Research tasks 
 - Teachers should have a thorough understanding of the curriculum, 
characteristics of students, their interests, and perceptions. 
 - Teachers should be proactive and creative in using active teaching 
methods, forms, and techniques to make lessons more dynamic and effective. 
 - Investing time in researching materials, designing learning activities, 
games, and preparing teaching aids is necessary. 
4. Subjects and Scope of Research 
 - Research subject: Studying the topic "Innovating English Teaching 
Methods in Primary Schools to Help Students Learn and Be Creative." 
 - Scope of research: Conducting studies on students' learning attitudes and 
the effectiveness of English learning. 
5. Research Methods 
 - Observation method: Observing and identifying student behavior when 
participating in English classes. 
 - Survey method: Creating a data table to survey attitudes and training 
effectiveness. 
 - Experimental method: Implementing measures to help students practice 
English sentence structures effectively. 
 - Analysis and synthesis method: Based on the survey results, analyzing 
and synthesizing the information to draw accurate conclusions. 
 II. RESEARCH CONTENT 
 1. Theoretical basis 
 According to the new general education program, the development of self-
learning capacity and creative thinking for students is a central goal, especially 
at the primary level – the foundation stage for forming long-term learning 
habits. In English, students not only learn the language but also practice their 
thinking, communication and situational skills. 
 However, the reality shows that many primary school students are still 
passive, learn machines, easily forget vocabulary, and are afraid to communicate 
in English. The main reason is that the teaching method is still inflexible, 
creating few opportunities for students to experience, create or learn through 
activities. 
 Meanwhile, primary school students have a psychology of being active, 
curious, loving games, vivid images and learning through experience. 
Innovation in teaching methods – such as the use of language games, mini-
projects, learning through technology and group activities – will help students 
acquire knowledge more naturally, form self-study skills and develop creative 
thinking from an early age. 
 2. Practical basis 
 In the 2024–2025 school year, I am responsible for teaching English to the 
third grade. Through the teaching process, I have noticed that many students are 
not truly interested in the lessons; some students still engage in unrelated 
activities, participate in a superficial manner, and lack initiative and enthusiasm. 
 When practicing communication, the majority of students still struggle with 
using the vocabulary and sentence structures they have learned, lacking 
confidence and being hesitant to express themselves. This indicates that they do 
not have effective self-study skills and are still heavily reliant on the teacher. 
 From this reality, I conducted a survey on students' attitudes and learning 
outcomes during class as well as when doing homework. The results show that 
they are still limited in actively participating, retaining knowledge, and applying 
it in real-life situations. Number Self-study and Not self-taught and 
 Class of creativity creative 
 students Numbers Ratio Numbers Ratio 
 3A 29 12 41,4% 17 58,6% 
 3B 32 13 40,6% 19 59,4% 
 3C 29 14 48,3% 15 51,7% 
 From the process of observing, surveying and evaluating teaching 
practices, I found that some of the main reasons for students' lack of initiative, 
lack of interest and limited effectiveness in learning English are as follows: 
 • Teaching methods are not really flexible: Some lessons are still 
 traditional, lack interactive activities, and have not created a lively and 
 attractive learning environment for primary school students. 
 • Lack of opportunities to apply knowledge: Students are less likely to 
 practice English through games, communication or real-life situations, 
 leading to mechanical memorization, easy to forget, and difficult to apply. 
 • Fear and lack of confidence: Many children are afraid of being wrong 
 when speaking English, especially in pre-class activities, leading to a 
 passive mentality and not daring to show it. 
 • Self-study skills have not yet been formed: Students still depend on 
 teachers, do not know how to learn vocabulary, revise or practice at home 
 actively and effectively. 
 • Lack of interest and motivation to learn: If the lesson does not create 
 interest through images, games, group activities... students are easily 
 bored and learn coping. 
 3. Implementation measures 
 From the current situation and survey results, I am even more determined 
to research and find measures to help students be more active and creative in 
learning. 
 3.1. Exploiting software and websites for teaching English. 
 - Use Chat GPT and Canva software in researching and designing 
lessons. 
 - Apply Plickers software in class to test and assess the ability to remember 
lessons in class. 
 - Quizz, Yourhomework, Liveworksheet, Wordwall.... assign tasks after the 
lesson. 
 (assign Quizz assignments, Wordwalls on the class group) 
 - In lessons, I actively use applications, software, and websites to help 
students interact more through games, practice pronunciation, practice sentence 
patterns, besides practicing for students to do revision and tests. 
 Purpose: 
 Create novelty and excitement in lessons, helping students be more 
excited, absorb knowledge more easily and not be bored when practicing. It is easy to see that the application of software and IT applications in the 
lesson brings positive signals in students' learning. It not only satisfies the needs 
of students "learning while playing, playing but learning", but also helps them 
develop their psychology and form creativity and initiative in learning. Exposure 
to applications and software helps students grasp knowledge in a scientific, 
natural, and unfettered way. Thereby, students are engraved with a lot of 
knowledge. Therefore, the application of IT platforms is an important means in 
the teaching process, especially for primary school students. 
 3.2. Use mind maps for students to memorize vocabulary, sentence 
patterns, and speak according to the topic. 
 A mind map is a visual tool that helps students remember and organize 
knowledge scientifically. Students start with a central theme, then draw branches 
containing related vocabulary, sentence patterns, or images. This learning 
method combines colors and images, helping students think logically, remember 
better, and review more effectively. 
 - Use it to help students learn independently and memorize vocabulary and 
sentence patterns. Apply creative abilities to make their maps easy to understand 
and use effectively. Because they design it themselves, each mind map becomes 
a 'work of art' that students cherish and value. 
 - Guide students on how to draw a mind map in 5 steps: 
 + Step 1: Choose a main topic and place it at the center of the map. 
 + Step 2: Choose 3-5 main vocabulary words from the lesson and arrange 
them in a circle around the topic. 
 + Step 3: Draw branches connecting from the central topic to each 
vocabulary word. 
 + Step 4: Think of and add supporting information (such as sentence 
patterns, examples...) for each main vocabulary word. 
 + Step 5: Draw sub-branches from each main vocabulary word to 
supporting ideas to complete the map. Step 5: Draw the lines of each key idea 
with its small supporting parts. 
 - I instruct and practice drawing mind maps on the board so that students 
understand the content and steps to take. After the students know the steps to draw a mind map, I let the students draw it at home and submit it to the next 
lesson. Students use that diagram to say a talk about the product they just 
created. 
 (Products and students present on the topic using "mind maps") 
 3.3. Building a classroom without borders – An open space for connection 
and creativity. 
 The Borderless Classroom has opened up valuable opportunities for 
students to exchange, learn and experience exciting learning activities. This is 
not only a foreign language lesson, but also a multi-dimensional cultural space, 
helping students expand their horizons, connect with international friends, 
access rich learning resources from many countries and go beyond the 
framework of the traditional classroom. 
 Thanks to these exchange activities, students become more confident in 
communication, actively use English in real-life situations, thereby improving 
their language skills and developing creative thinking. I have organized flexible 
forms of exchanges such as: exchanges between classes in the school, between 
schools in clusters/districts, or more specifically, online exchanges with native 
teachers. 
 In order to organize an effective borderless lesson, teachers need to actively 
contact and connect in advance with the participants, and at the same time 
develop appropriate topics. Students will be instructed to prepare questions, 
illustrations, or learning products to introduce and exchange with friends during the exchange. It is this proactive preparation that not only helps students practice 
their skills but also creates a strong and inspiring motivation to learn. 
 3.4. Closely combine school and family. 
 The innovation of English teaching methods in primary schools is 
inseparable from the close coordination between schools and families. Teachers 
need to regularly communicate with parents about the learning situation of 
students, guide parents on how to support their children to practice English at 
home through simple activities such as: reading stories, watching English 
learning videos, playing language games. The companionship of parents helps 
students form self-study habits, increase their interest and take the initiative in 
approaching the language. The close connection between teachers and families 
creates a positive learning environment, contributing to promoting students' 
creativity right from elementary school. 
 (Parents guide their children to study) 
 => In all the measures I have presented above, I always try to convey easy-
to-understand knowledge so that students have a sense of self-learning, giving 
students a sense of confidence and comfort in communicating in all learning 
situations. Do not impose them on a specific rule, or turn students into passive 
people, but on the contrary, promote positivity in each individual. 
 III. RESULTS AND APPLICATION 
 1. Results 
 It can be seen that teaching English to primary school students cannot be 
rushed, especially for third graders. Doing a good job of teaching third graders will 
contribute significantly to their language, thinking, and intellect development. From 
there, they will have a solid foundation to continue performing well in higher 
grades. 
 Through my teaching experience, I have noticed that applying the 
"Innovative methods of teaching English in primary schools to help students self-
study and be creative" brings high effectiveness. Students are more enthusiastic 
about learning, and as a result, the quality of teaching and learning has improved 
significantly. The number of students who are proactive and creative in their 
studies has increased compared to the beginning of the school year, leading to 
promising academic results at the end of the first semester of the 2024-2025 school 
year. 
 * The results of the survey before applying the measures are as follows: 
 Number Self-study and Not self-taught and 
 Class of creativity creative 
 students Numbers Ratio Numbers Ratio 
 3A 29 12 41,4% 17 58,6% 
 3B 32 13 40,6% 19 59,4% 
 3C 29 14 48,3% 15 51,7% 
 *The results of the survey after implementing the measures are as 
follows: 
 Number 
 Self-study and creativity Not self-taught and creative 
 Class of 
 students Numbers Ratio Numbers Ratio 
 3A 29 22 75,8% 7 24,2% 
 3B 32 24 75% 8 25% 
 3C 29 21 72,4% 8 27,6% 
 Thus, looking at the questionnaire before and after the application of the 
measures, the spirit of initiative and creativity in learning as well as the learning 
results of English has been improved. This confirms the feasibility of the 
measure. Specifically, students have a positive change in learning attitude as well as learning spirit in class. They are proactive in learning, actively use 
English in and out of class and confidently show their abilities in front of the 
crowd. 
 During the time of applying the initiative, the School Board and 
professional teams always accompanied and helped me a lot, always giving 
useful advice for me to boldly apply in teaching. 
 Through the activity "District-level English Exchange", the School Board 
and professional teams highly appreciated the positive teaching method that I 
flexibly applied the measures I mentioned above. Specifically, the school's 
English Club has been very active in practicing to participate in the exchange, 
the students are confident and bold in performing greeting performances, the 
hero contest and especially they have excelled when they won the prize in the 
knowledge contest. 
(Image of students participating in the English Festival for Primary Students) 
2. Application: 
 From the results of my application of the above measures, the School 
Board and the professional teams believe that I can apply this measure toteach 
students in grades 4 and 5 in the following school years. 
 IV: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
 The measure "Innovating primary English teaching methods to help 
students learn on their own and be creative" is my continuous effort, with the 
sole goal of helping students build a sense of learning, helping them to be more 
excited about learning, promote positivity, be proactive, creative, form and 
practice skills to apply knowledge in the process of learning and 
communication. 
 The measure I propose can be widely applied in almost all lessons and 
grade levels in elementary education. Depending on the specific content of each 
lesson, teachers need to flexibly choose and organize the implementation to 
ensure suitability and achieve the highest effectiveness. I sincerely hope to 
receive valuable feedback from esteemed teachers so that I can continuously 
improve and enhance the quality of my teaching. 
 Thank you very much! 
 REFERENCES 
- English 3,4,5 textbooks (English Discovery - Tran Thi Lan Anh). 
- Teaching Methods of English at Primary Level (Education Press) 
- Other online references. 
- Software, websites: Chat GPT, Canva, Quizz, plicker, wordwall, liveworksheet, 
yourhomework, ......