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Those characteristics were usually found in children of elementary school. Brewster and friends classified children into 3 age bands: 3-6 years old, 7-9 years old,
and 10-12 years old. In addition, Brewster et al 2002 said, “… we must remember
that chronological age is not always the same as developmental age ” p.28. It meant
that the age of children did not always accurately show the development of children‟s
characteristics and needs. It was because every child had their own background and environment which could affect their personal development. That statement was the
reason why teachers should improve the teaching materials and strategies based on the situations of the class, not only follow
the teacher‟s guidance book. The researcher also quoted one statement from Piaget. As cited in Brewster et al
2002 in their book, Piaget had done a study on how children thought. After that he presented that children tended to actively construct their own thinking by acting upon
the physical and social environment p.29. It meant that children should get enough opportunities to explore their surrounding as the learning environment so that they
can understand the point of study. It became the duty of the teachers to set the teaching-learning activities as authentic as possible so that the students would feel
familiar with the teaching-learning activities.
3. The Use of Games and Songs in Education
These following theories were related to the use of games and songs in the teaching and learning English for young learners. The first theory was from Lewis
and Bedson 2003. They conducted a study about the use of games in the teaching- learning process of English for young learners. It wa
s concluded that “Games are fun
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and children like to play the m. … Playing games are vital and natural part of growing
up and learning. Through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment
” p.5. Another statement supported the researcher‟ choice to use games and songs as
the important activities in the designed materials was from Brewster et al 2004. They said that “Children love songs, rhymes, and chants and their repetitive nature
and rhythm m ake them an ideal vehicle for language learning” p.162. By using
songs, rhymes, and chants, the students were introduced to many vocabulary and sentence structures. The students became familiar with the English sentence patterns
and be able to guess the words after the other words through repetitions. The songs, rhymes, and chants were also useful to help the students to memorize the acceptable
pronunciation and the stresses of the English words. Language game is considered as one of the important tools used in this
research. Lewis and Bedson 2003 said that , “Language games are a healthy
challenge to a child‟s analytical thought. The rules of the game set clear limits within which the children‟s natural decision-making processes must function” p.6.
The next statement about games in the educational field was uttered by Martin 1995. He wrote that games were any fun activities for young learners which gave
them opportunities to practice the foreign language in a relaxed and enjoyable way p.1. The other statement related to the use of games and song was taken from
Brewster et al 2002. They said that in some countries, playing games or doing activities which let children do construction became one of many important things in
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process of learning. The language games planned to use in this designed materials were mostly related to the words construction because children would be much
helped to practice their sense and skill in composing English sentences by doing those kinds of games. As cited in Brewster et al
, “Children enjoy constructive play and games. They are not only motivating and fun but they can also provide excellent
practice for improving pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and the four skills”
p.172. It was considered not necessary to have a different game for each meeting or
opportunity because some games were considered excellent enough to be repeated in order to make the students mastered the materials faster. It was supported by Paul
1996 who wrote that there were many games that were played over and over to let the students practice more and more until they „turn into unthinking parrots‟.
4. Curriculum of Elementary School Grade 5
