Абай атындағы ҚазҰПУ-нің Хабаршысы, «Филология ғылымдары» сериясы №4(62) 2017 ж.
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many possibilities for constant repetition and revising as important mechanisms of the language acquisition.
Poems, rhymes, chants and songs could be used to give a feeling for the rhythm of the spoken language. Ma-
ny well-known rhymes make use of the iambic pentameter, the natural rhythm of the English language [9, 9].
Practicing intonation through reciting rhymes and poems is mostly funny and very effective. Clapping songs
– some nursery rhymes are actually songs, meant to be accompanied by hand-clapping between parent and
child that marks out the rhythm of the poem. The original of these is, of course, “Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, and
Baker’s Man”. Finger and toe games – some nursery rhymes are accompanied by a tactile sequence of
motions, making a game with the baby’s toes as in “This Little Piggy” (1760) or teaching finger dexterity to
a toddler as in “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” (1910). Counting songs – these nursery rhymes teach children how to
count by using rhymes as the mnemonics for the names of the numbers – like “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe”
and the song “This Old Man”. Riddles – many traditional nursery rhymes come from old riddles, describing
their answer in puns and metaphors – as, for instance, “Humpty Dumpty” (1810),
whose subject is, of
course, an egg.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Could not put Humpty together again
[10, p. 213].
Fables – like riddles, fables deal in puns and metaphors, but instead of describing a subject meant to be
guessed by the hearer, fables are narratives, telling stories that often teach a moral (like Aesop’s original
fables) or use animals to represent people. Even a rhyme as brief as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” (1910) might be
considered a fable teaching the virtue of perseverance. There are many different types of rhymes and songs,
which can be usedfor Primary Education [11, 23].
It is necessary toestablish criteria for choosing rhymes to be used in teaching English, taking into account
their content, the accompanying illustrations and the language used. Within these three categories, the
rhymes should be scrutinized from a moral, linguistic and psycho-pedagogical point of view. Apart from
carefully inspecting the representation of power relations and the characters in the storyline of the rhymes to
be used in a language classroom, the content of the rhymes needs also to be examined from the point of view
of its relevance to the children’s world; in terms of how well it corresponds to children’s interests. Is it age
appropriate, whether it provides material for encouragement of discussion and exploration of values, as well
as the means for overcoming a variety of problems children may encounter in their daily lives.
Relevance is the case that ‘children’s literature features themes and content that are relevant to young
learners and addresses their concerns, fears and aspirations and thus can provide a motivating and engaging
medium for instruction [12, 52]. However, while doing research on poetry preferences of children in the
fourth, fifth and
sixth grades of primary school, Terry (1974) found that teachers’ selection of poetry was
often in discrepancy with the pupils’ preferences [13, 53]. Because of this, it is important not to limit
children’s repertoire of texts to only the teacher’s choice andto build upon the out-of-school interests of the
children themselves [14, 28]. Mc.Clure (2003) makes a recommendation to teachers to begin expanding their
poetry selections, moving beyond what they think children
should
like; to choosing poetry they think
children
would
like [15, 78].
Age is a significant factor that needs to be taken into account when deciding on children’s interests, as
well. Fisher and Natarella examined poetry preferences of first, second and third graders, and found that they
preferred traditional over modern poetry [16, P.106-109]. However, nuances in their development should be
paid attention to as well, and one should not use the rhymes that are either above or below the developmental
stage of the children. On the other hand, very young learners, being in the pre-operational stage characterized
by egocentrism
in Piagetian sense of the word, the inability to distinguish one’s own view from the
viewpoints of others [17, 317], would have a hard time understanding the main point of the following rhyme:
A wise old owl lived in an oak;
The more he saw the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird
[10, 403].
When choosing rhymes to use in a young learner classroom, teachers should pay attention to how well
they lend themselves to the exploration of different values through their content. Power relations, for
example, are a frequent issue in all of literature, and they play their role within the realm of nurseryrhymes as
well. Thus, for example,if a society has racist tendencies, its nursery rhymes might also contain them, in an
effort to produce new, well-conformed members of that society [18, 431].
