a study on using games to check vocabulary of the sixth pupils form at son thuy secondary school

Mục lục MỤC LỤC STT Nội dung Trang 1 I INTRODUCTION 1 2 1 1 Rationale for the study 1 3 1 2 Aims of the study 1 4 1 4 Methods of the study 2 5 II CONTEND 2 6 2 1 Literature review 2 7 2 2 The descriptions of participants 2 8 2 3 Finding and some suggestions for using games to check vocabulary for sixth form grade at Son Thuy Secondary school 3 9 2 4 Effectives of the study to English teaching process, English teachers and school 7 10 2 5 Some typical games to check vocabulary 9 11 III CONCLUSION.

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HỐ PHỊNG GD&ĐT HUYỆN QUAN SƠN SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM TÊN ĐỀ TÀI A STUDY ON USING GAMES TO CHECK VOCABULARY OF THE SIXTH PUPILS FORM AT SON THUY SECONDARY SCHOOL Người thực hiện: Bùi Thị Chừu Chức vụ: Giáo viên Đơn vị công tác: Trường PTDTBT THCS Sơn Thủy SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực (mơn): Tiếng Anh THANH HỐ Mục lụcNĂM 2019 MỤC LỤC STT Nội dung I INTRODUCTION Trang 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2.Aims of the study 1.4 Methods of the study II CONTEND 2 10 11 2.1 Literature review 2.2 The descriptions of participants 2.3 Finding and some suggestions for using games to check vocabulary for sixth form grade at Son Thuy Secondary school 2.4 Effectives of the study to English teaching process, English teachers and school 2.5 Some typical games to check vocabulary III CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 12 13 REFERENCES PHIẾU CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA 14 15 9 13 I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study To defeat a country, we not have to use nuclear weapon or long-range missiles We only need decreasing its’s educational quality Especially in The Fouth Industrial Revolunation, Vietnam- a developing country have to cope with a lot of chances and challenges In addition, Vietnam has already participated in the biggest trade organization in the world – WTO Therefore, being proficient in English has become an important key of success English is graduatly becoming a main part on compulsory education, an important subject in secondary school According to Mrs Pham Thi Hang- The Director of Thanh Hoa Department of Education and Training pointed out: “Although Thanh Hoa is famous for traditional self- studying and learning, Thanh Hoa’s English point average in the National High School Graduation Examination ranks at 56, 57 in 63 provinces and cities in recent years” To be good at English means that students get necessary knowledge about grammars, pronunciation, structures Vocabulary is one aspects of learning English Without vocabulary, it is hard to study many foreign materials, understand teacher’s guiding or express their own ideas In fact, at a secondary school, to improve vocabulary, students have to learn and remember a lot of new words which is almost impossible for them all To help students stay interestingly and use the new words far more effectively, English teacher should make vocabulary review as fun as possible One of the most effective method is using games to check vocabulary Based on the above reasons, I decide to carry out the study on “A study on using games for checking vocabulary for the sixth grade students at Son Thuy secondary school” to help English teachers check vocabulary effectively and motivate students learn new words quickly 1.2 Aims of the study The aims of the study are: - To point out the advanced effectiveness of using games to check vocabulary than other methods and the positive significance of using games for checking vocabulary - To provide some useful games for checking vocabulary - To introduce some principles when using games to check vocabulary 1.3 Objectives of the study - The reality of checking vocabulary at Son Thuy secondary school - Using games to check vocabulary at Son Thuy secondary school 1.4 Methods of the study In order to achieve the aims of the study, I carry some class observations and a survey questionnaire have been answered by 64 students to get the result of study I observed students’s attitude on English lessons which I use games to check vocabulary Moreover, I check students’s vocabulary by using games in classes of sixth form grade : 6A, 6B I ask 64 students in grade 6A, 6B to a survey questionnaire to evaluate the effect of checking vocabulary by using games II CONTEND 2.1 Literature review English, a main part on compulsory education, is an important subject in secondary schools.Vocabulary is one aspects of learning English Without sufficient vocabulary, study many foreign materials and understand others or express their own ideas Thus, unless students are good at English, they get bad result In order to be more proficient at English, learning vocabulary is a mightily vital part of language learning process Wilkins (1972) defines that “… without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (p.111-112) or Lewis (1993) writes that “… lexis is the core or heart of language” With the idea that the more words you know, the more you will be able to understand what you hear and read in an English lesson, the better you will be able to say what you want to when speaking or writing Especially as students develop greater fluency and expression in English, it is significant for them to acquire more productive vocabulary and to develop their own personal range of vocabulary Michael West also agreed that " The primary things in learning a language is the acquisition of a vocabulary, and practice in using it." In short, vocabulary is the key part in learning a foreign language, vocabulary allows students to express their emotions in communication However, learning vocabulary is really a challenge for students To build students' vocabulary, English teacher uses some ways, which include checking vocabulary by using games Games are very popular in varieties aspects of the life because of their benefits to people Games are fun and relaxing; games also improve eye- hand co- ordination for playing uninterrupted actions and games encourage movement, competition According to Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman "A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome." In the "Your dictionary" , it defined that: "A game is something you play for fun, sport or as a competitive activity" It is written that: " an activity that you for fun that has rules, and that you can win or lose " in the "Macmillan Dictionary" in the "Effective Ways to Build Your Vocabulary", Johnson O'Connor defined that: "Building vocabulary is a powerful way to enhance your life and career " It is vital process to improve vocabulary by using some games to enrich the vocabulary treasure 2.2 The descriptions of participants In school years 2018-2019, Son Thuy secondary school has been trying to upgrade facilities and teaching quality to be recognized as national standard schools.The school is provided with good conditions for both teaching and learning: classrooms, a projector and a library.There are 213 students from grade to grade My participants are 64 pupils of the sixth form grades which is devided into classes: 6A and 6B In general, pupils in class 6A are better than class 6B about both awareness and the education result in the primary school In specific, they are not students in gifted classes, so they are not good at some subjects In addition, most of them not have habit of learning English independently and tend to depend on the textbooks and the teachers for knowledge In addition, not only are all of the students ethnic minorities, they are used to communicating in Vietnamese and their ethnic groups’s languages but this also is the first time they have learnt English Some pupils are shy, some pupils are pasive in learning Moreover, using games to check vocabulary is seldom on English lessons 2.3 Finding and some suggestions for using games to check vocabulary for sixth form grade at Son Thuy Secondary school 2.3.1 Data analysis results * Comments of classrom observation According to the procedure of teaching and checking vocabulary I use a classroom's observation sheet to survey some general knowledge about checking vocabulary for sixth grades at Son Thuy Secondary school My classroom's observation sheet includes some factors of teaching and checking vocabulary such as: - The level of student's attention to the learning and checking process - The level of student's understanding and memorizing vocabulary after using games to checking vocabulary -The student's attitudes when they are checked vocabulary Based on my classroom's observation when teaching some lessons, I realised that when checking vocabulary by using traditional methods, (write down on the board, talk loud in front of the class ), only some students work The others not pay much attention to English teacher and their classmates In addition, the atmosphere of the class is not in high spirit When teachers use games to check vocabulary, students often pay more attention to their teacher and checking vocabulary stages They also have many opportunities to remember and use their vocabulary, most students have to work The classroom's atmosphere rises up In conclusion, using games to check vocabulary are more effective than using some traditional methods 2.3.2 Analysis and interpretation of the questionnaires for students In order to survey students' opinion and appropriate the effects of using games for checking vocabulary at class: 6A, 6B at Son Thuy secondary school, 64 pupils at classes are asked to answer a survey questionnaire The survey questionnaire includes questions By totalizing, I found out that: Tables 1: The important role of vocabulary in English learning Theo bạn, từ vựng có đóng vai trị quan trọng Tiếng Anh không? Answer Đồng ý Không chắn Không đồng ý Number of students 0 64 Percentages 0 100 In the first question, 100 % of students have been asked think that vocabulary is very necessary with English learning process According to JenYih Tim Hsu, he had written " second language reading has powerful influences in the role of second vocabulary in English teaching in the past, present and challenges ahead" Therefore, vocabulary also helps students in both productive skills ( speaking, writing) and perceptive skills ( listening, reading) However, students learn vocabulary by different ways It makes the different results about process of learning vocabulary Table 2: Student's attitudes when taking part in some games Bạn cảm thấy tham gia vào trò chơi để kiểm tra từ vựng học Tiếng Anh? Answers Number of students Percentages Thú vị thoải mái 60 93,75 Áp lực 0 Buồn chán 0 Thu nhiều từ vựng qua trò 6.25 chơi Nobody thinks that joining in games is boring and stressful In contrast, 64 students agree that playing games helps them memorize a lot of vocabulary 60 students( account for 93,75%) feel relaxed and interested In addition, to participate in games encourages students more competitive Therefore, using games on checking vocabulary is really an useful method The third question is about the students’ interest when using games to check vocabulary, there are 57 pupils agree that they can learn vocabulary more interesting by using games than using old methods, such as: learning by heart, reading vocabulary loud in front of the class, writing words down on the board…There are only pupilss who not agree with this sentence Table 3: The number of students who want to be the winner during playing games Bạn có muốn giành chiến thắng trị chơi khơng? Answers Number of students Percentages Có 59 92,4 Khơng 7,6 To be asked this question, only students not want or try to be the winner when they play games 59 students think that they want to be the winners This question also shows that using games for checking vocabulary encourages the motivation and competition in class Table 4: The numbers of students who feel interested with using games to check vocabulary Bạn có nghĩ trị chơi ngơn ngữ làm cho học sinh giải trí, trở nên động có nhiều hội để bày tỏ ý kiến, tình cảm học Tiếng Anh khơng? Answers Number of students Percentages Có 54 84.375 Khơng 10 15,625 The table shows the positive effects of using games to check vocabulary 54 students agree that games are highly motivating, entertaining Playing games is a chance for timid students participate in games and competitions Only 10 students (account for 15,625 % of total students) disagree that games not motivate and entertain with students Table 5: Students' level of remembering vocabulary Tham gia trò chơi giúp bạn nhớ từ vựng nhanh tốt khơng? Answers Có Khơng Number of students 56 Percentages 87,5 12.5 In this survey question, there are 56 students ( account for 87.5 %) who choose “yes” They realize that playing games helps them remember vocabulary faster and better In fact, using games in checking vocabulary helps students learn vocabulary in an active way Table 6: Learning vocabulary while playing games Theo bạn, bạn học chơi trị chơi khơng? Answers Có, hồn tồn Có, Khơng tí Number of students 54 Percentages 12.5 84.375 3.125 In this question, students think that they can completely learn English vocabulary while they play games Only students learn nothing while playing game On the contrary, 54 students (account for 84.375 %) learn a little bit of vocabulary Students can learn vocabulary from using games is a successful effect to achieve on teaching process Table 7: Students' opinions about using games to check vocabulary Theo em, có nên áp dụng trị chơi để kiểm tra từ vựng không? Háy đưa số ý kiến giúp học từ vựng qua sử dụng trò chơi để kiểm tra cách tốt Answers Đồng ý Không chắn Không đồng ý Number of students 56 Percentages 87.5 12.5 The last question includes offers: It asks students to choose levels of applying games for checking vocabulary at Son Thuy secondary school It also asks students to write some comments to make checking vocabulary become more useful and interesting stages with English learners It is easy to find that nobody disagrees with this points, only students are not sure about using games or not using games for checking vocabulary in their high school However, 54 students want to apply games into English lessons In addition to this, students are also asked to give some of their comments to make checking vocabulary become more useful and interesting Here are their answers: - Teachers should use games to check vocabulary instead of using traditional methods - Teacher should use many types of games to encourage students’ spirit - Using games on lessons for fun and reduce stress After finishing the games, and from questionnaire collected, I found out 4% of the students strongly agreed and 88% students concurred that those kinds of game should be applied in Son Thuy secondary school Almost all students think that games not only are useful for vocabulary acquisition but also create a very relaxing, motive and competitive atmosphere which can help them to learn more effectively Before getting acquaintance with games, some students considered games as a very time-consuming activity But after the game played, most of them showed their willingness and desired to have the games taught in their classes some latest days in Son Thuy secondary school It is obvious that their negative prejudice on games have been faded since then Games truly bring educational and efficient results to students to acquire vocabulary more than just for fun 2.4 Effectives of the study to English teaching process, English teachers and school After analyzing data, I found that there is great effectiveness that games bring to English students as an interesting method for vocabulary acquiring Here are the results gathered from my questionnaire and classroom observation + Creating a relaxing and interesting atmosphere From my questionnaire and observation, I noticed that most of Son Thuy students who participated in the games were very eager, willing and excited with them 93,75 % of students felt relaxed and interested in playing games 6.25 % of students believed that they could learn many new words from these games Furthermore, 57 students agreed that through games they can learn vocabulary more interestedly than they did through other methods such as learning by heart, reading new words out loud many times, and writing new words down on the paper again and again, and so forth A student of class 6A confided that to acquire new words she always writes repeatedly again and again the English words For example, she may write like this “healthy, healthy, healthy " in many pages in order to memorize the word “healthy” She realizes that this method is boring and turns out really ineffectiveness, because she only learns the word superficially and does not understand in depth the meaning of the words, and because it takes her much time on writing over and over again Another student of the same class told me that she usually reads English text books as a method for enhancing vocabulary However, there are so much new words that she could not remember, and that she must look them up in the dictionary This is really boring because it takes her much time and occasionally hinders her from continuing reading or even more she could not learn those vocabulary due to the tiredness of looking up these words + Stimulating motivation and competition Healthy competition that forms an elementary part of the English games encourages player’s discovery, examination and a voluntary involvement of the students in the checking vocabulary process Besides, it leads to a better bonding between the teachers and the students 92,7 % of the students expressed during game play They did their best to be winners Throughout the competition, I observed that students were more engaged in and committed to using English than they would be in the classroom They were attentive to instructions, which they are not usually in regular class In each of the games, students found their own ways to express themselves Participants tried to recall all their knowledge of English to win the game Moreover, they try harder at games than in other courses Naturally when playing games, students are trying to win or to beat other teams for themselves or on the behalf of their team They are so competitive while playing because they want to have a turn to play and to win Therefore, it is possible for a teacher to introduce students to vocabulary As in the game, students are so competitive that they want to finish first and win It can be clearly seen that games can capture students' attention and participation They can motivate students to want to learn more Moreover, they can transform a boring class into a challenging one The experience creating a competition for Son Thuy students also confirmed that games stimulate communicative skills Competitors revealed that they felt less afraid of using their English during game play The competition gave students a natural opportunity to work together and communicate in English with each other Thanks to the motivation and competition created by games, students can acquire their checking vocabulary stage better and more interestedly than other ways The main reason why games are considered effective checking aids is that they encourage motivation and students get very interesting in the competitive aspects of the games Therefore, it is possible for a teacher to introduce students to vocabulary It can be clearly seen that games can attract students' attention and participation They can motivate students to want to learn more Moreover, they can transform a boring class into a challenging one + Offering better and faster remembrance 87.5 % of students confided that they could remember new words faster and better due to the relaxed atmosphere created by playing these games In fact, it has been proved that learning through several fun English language games takes in 100% of the lesson and retains 82,07 % of it The pupils’s interests rise up spirits on learning and self- studying; getting success in this steps will graduatly encrease English educational quality at Son Thuy and Thanh Hoa’s English point average in the National High School Graduation Examination 2.5 Some typical games to check vocabulary 2.5.1 Jumble words Time allowances: minutes Place: Classroom Description: - Writing from four to six words with which letter are jumbled on the board and telling the students what the topic is - Asking students to rearrange the letters to make correct words - Students go to the board and write down the words correctly For example: Topic: Colors iknp = pink thewi = edr = wnrbo = ueppl = Aim: To get students to practice new vocabulary Materials: Black board, chalks 2.5.2 Rub out and remember Time allowances: minutes Place: Classroom Description: - The teacher writes the new words on the blackboard, the teacher asks students read in a few times to remember - Rubbing out new words one at a time - We rub out a word in English and ask students read word while we rub it out - When all the English words are rubbed out, we ask the students to go to blackboard and talk it aloud Aim: To help students retain new vocabulary Materials: Black board, and chalks 2.5.3 Bingo Time allowances: minutes Place: Classroom Description: - Getting students to brainstorm a list of eight new words and putting them on the black board - Asking the students to choose three words and write words into their books and reading out the words in any order - Students cross the word in the books that they hear from the teacher The first students crossing their entire five words will shout “Bingo” and become the winner Aim: To get students to practice listening to new words and match sounds with spelling Materials: Black board, chalks 2.5.4 Hotseat Time allowances: minutes Place: Classroom Description: - One student sits in a chair with his or her back to the board The teacher writes a word on the board, which the student sitting in the chair cannot see but the other students can The other students define the word to the student with his / her back to the board They cannot say the word When the student guesses the word or time runs out, he / she returns to his / her seat and another student sits in the hot seat The teacher writes another word on the board 2.5.5 Word square Time allowances: minutes Place: Classroom Description: - The teacher writes the word square on the board or makes a poster of it - The teacher tells the students what the topic is and how many hidden words there are - The students come to the board and circle any words they can see For example: Topic: wheather O N F C X H C N L V 10 F B H O T A H M L Y O A R L R O N R M O T L Q G G N D M K L S U R L B Q J K D M M E B W G C O O W I Aim: - Help students to recognize the spelling of new vocabulary - To revise a lexical set Materials: Black board, chalks, color chalks or a poster 2.5.6 Slap the board Time allowances: 3-5 minutes Place: Classroom Description: - The teacher writes new words or sticks the pictures on the blackboard - Calling two groups to go to board; each group has about four or five people - Requiring groups to stand far from the board the same distance - Each student of two groups comes to the board and slaps on words are English and contrast - The one who slaps the correct word first, the group will get mark - If the group gets mark more, the group will win Aim: - To get students to recognize new vocabulary through listening - To check students understand the meaning of new vocabulary 11 III CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 3.1 Conclusion In conclusion, the study ”A study on using some games to check vocabulary of the sixth pupils at Son Thuy secondary school” has not only helped me understand benefits of checking vocabulary on teaching and checking vocabulary; students' attitudes about using games to check vocabulary but also provided techniques as well as activities that teachers used in checking vocabulary Although, checking vocabulary by using games takes not too much times of each classes, they have eithet real significant about remembering new vocabulary or waste a short time.It is useful, suitable to use this study at Son Thuy secondary school 12 3.2 Suggestions Because of not waste too much time to organize a game and save money, applying this study in an English leson is feasibility, it is reasonable to use these games in Son Thuy secondary school The study opens directions for further study such as: investigate problems in vocabulary learning by looking at students’ internal factors like their intelligence, aptitude, personality, motivation and attitudes, preferences, belief, age acquisition, or external factors like students’ language enviroment or learning context I hope this study will be apply widen in other secondary school in Quan Son to improve students’s vocabulary and useful with English teachers XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Quan Sơn, ngày 16 tháng 04 năm 2019 Tôi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, khơng chép nội dung người khác (Ký ghi rõ họ tên) Bùi Thị Chừu REFERENCES Duong Ngoc Chau," Do games help students learn vocabulary effectively?" Pham Thi Thu Anh, " Một số kinh nghiệm áp dụng trò chơi vào kiểm tra từ vựng" Luu Trong Tan, " Vocabulary Recollection through Games" Bryan Cohen, " Vocabulary Games for Middle School" 5.http://www.esl-library.com/blog/2012/09/28/4-activities-for-reviewingvocabulary/ 6.http://mnwelementarydaily5andcafe.wikispaces.com/file/view/Vocabular y+Games+for+Middle+School%5B1%5D.pdf 13 7.http://www2.vobs.at/ludescher/pdf%20files/How%20to%20teach%20voc abulary.pdf www.tesol.org/docs/books/bk_ELTD_Vocabulary_974 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/game 10 http://www.yourdictionary.com/game 11 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/game 12.http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/wpcontent/uploads/lit_review_of_g aming_in_education.pdf 13.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_game 14.https://www.msu.edu/~milczyn1/artifacts/LITERATUREREVIEW_KA REN_MILCZYNSKI.pdf 15 http://www.teflgames.com/why.html PHIẾU CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA Phiếu câu hỏi điều tra thiết kế cho học sinh lớp nghiên cứu " sử dụng trò chơi để kiểm tra từ vựng cho học sinh lớp trường Trung học sở Sơn Thủy" Tất thông tin phiếu điều tra nhằm phục vụ cho mục đích nghiên cứu Chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác bạn ! Họ tên : Lớp : 14 Câu Theo bạn, từ vựng có đóng vai trị quan trọng Tiếng Anh khơng? A: Đồng ý B: Không chắn C: Không đồng ý Câu Bạn cảm thấy tham gia vào trò chơi để kiểm tra từ vựng học Tiếng Anh? A: Thú vị thoải mái B: Áp lực C: Buồn chán D: Thu nhiều từ vựng qua trò chơi Câu Bạn có muốn giành chiến thắng trị chơi khơng? A: Có B: Khơng Câu Bạn có nghĩ trị chơi ngơn ngữ làm cho học sinh giải trí, trở nên động có nhiều hội để bày tỏ ý kiến, tình cảm học Tiếng Anh khơng? A: Có B: Khơng Câu Tham gia trò chơi giúp bạn nhớ từ vựng nhanh tốt khơng? A: Có B: Khơng Câu Theo bạn, bạn học chơi trị chơi khơng? A: Có, hồn tồn B: Có, C: Khơng tí Câu Theo em, có nên áp dụng trị chơi để kiểm tra từ vựng khơng? đưa số ý kiến giúp học từ vựng qua sử dụng trò chơi để kiểm tra cách tốt A: Đồng ý B: Không chắn C: Không đồng ý 15 16 ... - Using games to check vocabulary at Son Thuy secondary school 1.4 Methods of the study In order to achieve the aims of the study, I carry some class observations and a survey questionnaire have... suggestions for using games to check vocabulary for sixth form grade at Son Thuy Secondary school 2.3.1 Data analysis results * Comments of classrom observation According to the procedure of teaching... of using games for checking vocabulary at class: 6A, 6B at Son Thuy secondary school, 64 pupils at classes are asked to answer a survey questionnaire The survey questionnaire includes questions