USING GAMES IN PRE READING ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS COMPREHENSION

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY ĐÀO KIÊN TRUNG USING GAMES IN PRE-READING ACTIVITIES TO ENHANCE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS' COMPREHENSION Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Ngơ Đình Phương, Assoc Prof., Ph.D Nghệ An, 2017 i DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted anywhere for any award Where other sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I feel very lucky when I am a student at Vinh University getting opportunity to this M.A thesis today I would like to acknowledge the supports I received from a number of people in the course of carrying out the research paper First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my lecture Prof Dr Ngo Dinh Phuong With his patient guidance, useful comments as well as sincere encouragements, he helped me my graduation paper easier and more interesting Without his help, the thesis would not have been possible Secondly, I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all Post -Graduate lecturers, who taught and recommended thoughtfully as well as gave me advice during various stages of learning and writing my master thesis Thirdly, I want to convey my special thanks to the students from class 10.4 in Bac Son secondary school for their help and cooperation during my research at their class In closing, I also thank my family and friends for their enthusiastic encouragement and support me not only finance but also spirit during the time I my thesis One more time, thank all these for helping me complete this thesis iii ABSTRACT This thesis focused on the use of game activities to enhance students’ comprehension in reading lesson at Bac Son Secondary School The study was conducted in class 10.4 at Bac Son Secondary School in the second semester of the school year 2016 – 2017 The study was implemented on 40 students by using games The writer used questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews to get students’ answers Through the study, we can see that the students can enhance their reading comprehension in learning reading Game activities made students relax and motivated to read and their comprehension is improved Based on the findings, the writer can realize how students felt about activities used in the class as well as their effectiveness for students Most of students said that they thought that games helped student develop their comprehension in reading lesson iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND ABBREVIATIONS .vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of study 1.5 Methods .4 1.6 Thesis design CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Reading comprehension 2.1.1 Definition .6 2.1.2 Reading skills 2.1.3 Reading comprehension difficulties 10 2.2 Pre-reading stage 11 2.2.1 What is Pre-reading? 11 2.2.2 Purpose of Pre-reading .13 2.2.3 Importance of Pre-reading activities 16 2.3 A review of the literature of Games .18 2.3.1 Definition of games .18 2.3.2 Games as a teaching method .20 2.3.3 Roles of games .22 v 2.3.4 How to use games 24 2.3.5 Choosing the Game .26 2.3.6 Factors affecting the choice of games 26 2.3.7 Adapting the Game 29 2.3.8 When to Use Language Games 30 2.3.9 Types of Language Games 31 2.3.10 Benefits of games in learning language 32 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 36 3.1 Research questions 36 3.2 Participants .36 3.3 Materials 37 3.4 Research instruments 39 3.4.1 Classroom observation 39 3.4.2 Questionnaire 39 3.4.3 Interview 39 3.5 Data collection procedures .39 3.5.1 Game activities 40 3.5.2 Classroom observations through teaching process .40 3.5.3 Post-survey questionnaire for students .40 3.5.4 Post-observation interviews 41 3.5.5 Technique for analyzing data 41 3.5.6 Summary 42 CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION .43 4.1 Data analysis 43 4.1.1 Analyzing result of post-survey questionnaire .43 4.1.2 Analyzing results of classroom observations .47 4.1.3 Results of interviews 50 vi 4.2 Discussion 57 4.2.1 The use of game technique to stimulate students’ comprehension skill in reading activities 57 4.2.2 The effectiveness of games used in class .57 4.2.3 The students’ attitude and response on the use of game activities 59 4.3 Suggestions of using language games in pre-reading activities in reading lessons 60 4.4 Summary 60 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 62 5.1 Summary 62 5.2 Implications 63 5.2.1 Implications for the student 63 5.2.2 Implications for the teacher 64 5.2.3 Implications for administrator 65 5.3 Suggestions .66 REFERENCES 67 APPENDICES .73 vii LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND ABBREVIATIONS TABLES Table 1: Question 1: How you feel about reading skill? Table 2: Question 2: How often you play language games in pre-reading? Table 3: Question 3: How the game activities help you in reading comprehension class? Table 4: Question 4: What benefits you can get from game activities in prereading activities? Table 5: Question 5: Do the games help you to enhance your comprehension skill when learning English? Table 6: Question 6: Do games in pre-reading activities help you comprehend a text better? Table 7- Question 7: How the games in pre-reading activities help you in read a text in reading lesson? CHARTS Chart 1- Question 8: Are games in pre-reading activities effective on helping you to read faster? Chart – Question 9: Do you think using games or not using games in prereading activities help you read faster? Chart – Question 10: Do games in pre-reading activities make you read a text easier? Chart - Question 11: Do games in pre-reading activities help to solve difficulties when you comprehend a text? viii ABBREVIATIONS R: Researcher Ss: Students St: Student EFL: English Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language L2: Second language CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English is an important language not only in daily communication but also in gaining knowledge Due to the need for exchanges with countries around the world in all areas of life, English has become one of the most frequently used language international communication and it is an indispensable means In Vietnam, English is becoming more and more important and is the most commonly used Previously, language teaching focused on sentence structure and grammar Successful or failed English learners depend on their ability to master grammar and sentence structure rules At that time, foreign language teaching was dominated by traditional teaching methods, in which the teacher dominated all teaching and learning activities in classroom and teacher is the center of learning We live in the twenty-first century, the century of not only modern civilization but also the century of science technology information Our country is in the period of knowledge development based on development of education and training must be regarded as a top national policy and improve the teaching and learning quality in order to train human resources for industrialization and modernization of our country To survive and develop country, we have to catch up the developed world requires to grasp the most advanced achievements Vietnam aims to get our country becoming a civilized and prosperous country Language is the key to conquer human knowledge However, learning of English in secondary schools get particular difficulties, specially, students don’t have interest for this subject The most important thing that teacher always towards is bring more enjoyment for student as soon as the beginning of the lesson 95 Ss: Yes R: I give you a game This game is Shack Attack First, I divide our class in to two group: Cat and Rabbit I will give you six numbers Each number contain a figure related to reading context Therefore, you choose a number from number to number and give me the correct answers If you answer right, you’ll get a star If you have a wrong answer, the Shack will attack you Ok? Ss: Yes R: Now, the first number Group Rabbit? Rabbit: (raised their hands) Number R: Shack is able to attack your group if you have wrong answers The figure is 32 Rabbit: My answer is Today the final tournament of the World Cup has 32 teams R: Good A star for your group and the rabbit is still stand there Which number, Cat? Cat: Number R: Number is 1904 Cat: In 1904, FIFA, the governing body for football, was set up R: Correct A star for you Please choose the next number, Rabbit! Rabbit: Number R: It is 17 Can you answer the question? Rabbit: I am sorry I don’t have answer R: Ok Group Cat? Cat: By 2002, the world had witnessed 17 World Cup tournaments R: Good One more star for your group Rabbit, you must go down a stage Cat, please choose the next number! Cat: Number 96 R 13 Cat: Only 13 teams took part in the first tournament R: One more star for your group Rabbit: Number R: A year- 1930 Rabbit: In 1930, the first World Cup was held R Good And number for Cat – 2002? Cat: It is easy The 2002 World Cup final was jointly held by Japan and South Korea R That is correct Group Rabbit has right answers, group Rabbit has right answers, so congratulate Cat on winning the game (clap their hands) 97 APPENDIX LESSON PLAN Unit 13: Films and cinema Part A-Reading A Aims: - To teach reading skills - By the end of the lesson, students will be able to understand the history of the cinema and can practice reading, speaking, writing fluently B Teaching aids: projector, books, C Procedures: I Warm-up - Teacher asks students answer the questions II New lesson Pre – reading a Game activity: Matching - Teacher ask student take part in the game - Ask students to match kinds of film with its name - Give one star for each correct answer 98 b Teaching vocabulary - Teacher give vocabulary and ask students repeat them While – reading Activity 1: 99 Activity 2: Teacher give the answers: 100 Activity 3: Ask student work in pair to choose the best title Post- reading 101 - Teacher ask students work in group of eight - Ask students to match kinds of film with its name - Give one star for each correct answer - Teacher gives correct answers III Homework - List ten films you like best - Prepare for the speaking part LESSON PLAN 102 Unit 14: The World Cup Part A-Reading A Aims : - To teach reading skills - By the end of the lesson, students will be able to know more about the World Cup B Teaching aids : projector, books, … C Procedures: I Warm-up - Teacher ask students answer the question II New lesson Pre-reading a Game activity: Guessing - Teacher asks students look at pictures and give vocabulary - Give one star for each correct answer 103 104 105 b Vocabulary - Teacher give vocabulary and their meaning 106 While-reading Activity 1: - Teacher asks students to task - Teacher gives one star for each correct answer Activity 2: 107 - Teacher asks students to task Activity 3: - Teacher asks students to task 3 Post – reading - Divide the class into two groups: Cat and Rabbit 108 - Ask each group to choose a number they want (from to 6), then say the information containing the figure behind - Give one mark for each correct answer - Teacher gives the correct answer 109 III Homework: - Learn by heart new words - Rewrite the events mentioned in the passage, using the provided figures - Prepare part Speaking ... so I decide to research the importance of pre- reading in reading skill in my thesis with title: ? ?Using games in pre- reading activities to enhance tenth grade students? ?? comprehension? ?? In this article,... on helping you to read faster? Chart – Question 9: Do you think using games or not using games in prereading activities help you read faster? Chart – Question 10: Do games in pre- reading activities. .. effectiveness of using language games in pre- reading activities in reading lessons of grade 10 in Bac Son Secondary school 4 - To identify effects of applying game to develop students? ?? reading skill in learning