Implementing kinesthetic activities among young learners of English in Bangladesh

Abstract

This study explores both traditional and kinesthetic activity-based English classrooms of young learners in Bangladesh. It adopted a qualitative multiple case study approach and selected a cohort of six students of grade one and two as the participants of the study through the purposive sampling techniques. The researcher designed the conceptual framework of the study with the combination of traditional activities (Madani, 2021) and kinesthetic activities (Jill, 2022). For the data collection, the researcher conducted four classes; two traditional and two kinesthetic activity-based classes where he observed the students in the classes. After the analying the observation, field-notes and video recordings of the classes, the researcher took semi-structured individual interviews of the students and their parents. The qualitative thematic analysis of interview transcripts revealed that in most of the cases, the implementation of kinesthetic activities brought a more positive outcome in all of the students except for one participant. Some of the positive outcomes included students‟ higher interest, interaction, attention and participation in the kinesthetic classes. This study is significant in filling the gap of knowledge about the influences of kinesthetic activities in young learners‟ classrooms and, has pedagogical and theoretical implications as well which is recommended for teachers of English who teach young learners in an ESOL context such as Bangladesh.