(SKKN 2022) stimulating online learning motivation for students through warm up activities at trieu son 1 high school

Thanh Hoa Department of Education and Training Trieu Son High School STIMULATING ONLINE LEARNING MOTIVATION FOR STUDENTS THROUGH WARM UP ACTIVITIES AT TRIEU SON HIGH SCHOOL Author: Trần Thị Mai Subject: English Qualification: M.A Position: Teacher School: Trieu Son High school Thanh Hoa, 18th May 2022 CONTENTS PART I: STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM .1 PART II: SOLUTIONS OF THE PROBLEM The real situation and the reason to choose this research 2 Solutions to improve online teaching equality .3 2.1 Solution 1:……………………………………………………………………… …………3 2.2 Solution 2:………………………………………………………………………… ………5 Practical application 10 3.1 Describing how the solutions are applied at my school ……………………… ……….10 3.2 The results achieved……………………………………………………………… ……11 3.3 Adjustment, supplement applying the solutions…………………………………… … 11 PART III: CONCLUSION Conclusion 12 Proposals and suggestions 13 REFERENCES APPENDIX COMMITMENT ABBREVIATION STT Abbreviation CLT Full form Communicative Language Teaching PART I: STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM It is undeniable that English language plays a crucial role in our lives as it helps in communication It is supposed to be the main language for studying any subject all over the world English is essential for students as it broadens their minds, develops emotional skills, improve the quality of life by providing job opportunities Moreover, the use of English as an International language is growing with time because it is the only medium for communication in many countries English is also used widely in the literature and media section to publish books, most of the writers write in the English language due to most readers know only the English language and they can describe their ideas best in the English language Therefore, learning and teaching English as a second language is paid more and more attention It is believed that it will not be a successful class if the students not feel interested at the very beginning of a class Hence, a teacher should try to start a lesson in a way which keeps his or her students engaged An interesting way of starting a lesson could be using activities called warm-up activities or ice breakers Accordingly, different types of warm-up activities such as songs, games and discussion questions can be used to get students’ attention in class Many researchers state that to improve students’ learning and to get the best from them, it is a must to start a class with a good warm-up session Many school children complain that they feel bored doing same thing again and again from the beginning to end of a class As they not feel interested in class, they cannot progress much in learning a language Unluckily, many teachers not pay attention whether students feel interested and motivated to work with the activities they provide in classes It is needed to find out how to keep students’ interest in learning Using warm up activities can be one way to bring variation in class activity and to make the students curious, focus their attention, provide them purpose and motivation This helps to create positivity around the lesson, motivate students with their participation and creating a positive attitude towards learning Games can also create a positive memory and experience of learning for students in the classroom Moreover, due to the outbreak of Covid -19, most of schools in Vietnam must organize online teaching Therefore, it is crucial to enhance students’ learning motivation by holding some warm up activities at the beginning of the lessons Because of all the reasons above, I have decided to conduct research on “Stimulating online learning motivation for students through warm up activities at Trieu son high school” Hopefully, the research may result in some benefits for English learners as well as English teachers This study has been carried out with an aim to raise both teachers and students’ awareness of the importance of warm up activities It is hoped that the findings from this study could arouse learners’ interest and enable them to select and use games for warmups which are suitable for them The researcher is interested to know whether and how often warm up activity is used in high schools Also, the study attempts to find out how effectively warm up is used in the online classes The study is conducted on 12th grade students at Trieu Son high school in the school year 2021 - 2022 PART II: SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM The real situation and the reason to choose this research 1.1 The situation of teaching English at Trieu Son High School  Advantages An outstanding advantage of online education is that it allows students to attend classes from any location of their choice It also allows schools to reach out to a more extensive network of students, instead of being restricted by geographical boundaries Additionally, online lectures can be recorded, archived, and shared for future reference This allows students to access the learning material at a time of their comfort Thus, online learning offers students the accessibility of time and place in education  Disadvantages In general, the Vietnamese students’ ability to use English is still weak; most students can study English at university, but the ability to speak it with foreigners seems impossible for most students if they are not majoring in the English language The English level of graduates has not met the needs of the job Most students can read and understand some documents, but many of them cannot communicate, write, and speak well The English proficiency of the majority of students does not meet the requirements The testing forms are somewhat different but reflect the general picture of ineffective teaching and learning of English in the education system in Vietnam These problems have resulted from the following reasons: First and foremost, in Vietnam, the results of teaching and studying English are evaluated in grammar and reading comprehension Therefore, the whole education system has not really invested effectively to teach this language focusing on important skills, such as listening, speaking, and writing Besides, teachers of English seem only to take the test, so they not invest in other skills, especially listening and speaking Even, many teachers in the schools cannot speak fluently with foreigners in English These causes also influence the quality of English teachers which may affect learners’ abilities Also, class sizes in Vietnam are large (often over 40 students per class), and there is no assistive technology, so it is difficult to teach language skills effectively Passive students mainly learn to get points for passing English subjects, not to use practical language skills Thus, teachers not have the motivation to improve their qualifications and teaching methods In regarding to teachers, some of them believe that warm up is useful and needed for learning to be fun They basically use it in the first class of a new course to give the students a chance to be familiar with each other They ignore the other benefits of using a warm up activity in classroom For example: it can motivate the students to participate in class activities, activate the students’ background knowledge, help the teachers introduce a new topic in interesting way or help get the students’ attention However, teachers use common techniques such as questioning, reviewing materials from the previous class, chatting with students as warm up activity whereas they can use jokes, songs, funny videos, games, stories, or pictures to make the class more interesting Specifically, most of the students at Trieu Son High School are quite bad at English They often feel bored during lesson, and they are not motivated to acquire language Consequently, the results of English tests are not highly expected As a result, teachers are supposed to give some strategies to stimulate the students’ interest, and warm up by using games is among the most effective ways Moreover, some students can’t afford to access to necessary facilities for learning online such as: computers, smart phones, Internet… This, as a result, causes a disadvantage for teachers to cover the knowledge for all their students 1.2 The reason to choose this research The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered new ways of learning All around the world, educational institutions are looking toward online learning platforms to continue with the process of educating students The new normal now is a transformed concept of education with online learning at the core of this transformation Today, digital learning has emerged as a necessary resource for students and schools all over the world For many educational institutes, this is an entirely new way of education that they have had to adopt Online learning is now applicable not just to learn academics, but it also extends to learning extracurricular activities for students as well In recent months, the demand for online learning has risen significantly, and it will continue doing so in the future As with most teaching methods, online learning also has its own set of positives and negatives Decoding and understanding these positives and negatives will help institutes in creating strategies for more efficiently delivering the lessons, ensuring an uninterrupted learning journey for students Hence, with the conduct of this research, hopefully, it can bring back some effects to most of teachers and students as well Some solutions to improve online teaching equality For the success of a language lesson, teachers need to select warm up strategies according to appropriate methodologies which should be students centered promoting interaction as Communicative Language Teaching and the Cooperative Learning Approach do; Through the CLT, the students are able to confidently express themselves in a natural way to get and give information, and thanks to the Cooperate Learning Approach, learners are capable to work in teams to negotiate topics in order to get agreements and to develop the interpersonal intelligence supporting each other Warm up activities are the key to success in the teaching learning process of the English language because through them it is possible to achieve the goals and covers students’ learning needs To establish appropriate methods, techniques and activities in a lesson could determine the success of it They create a pleasant, fun and positive environment in the classroom, and they foster students’ production Bearing in mind the importance of warm up strategies and how useful they are to engage students, it is strongly advisable to organize and plan these strategies within the lesson in order to involve and motivate high schools’ students, so the English classes become in an unforgettable experience Teachers can apply a wide range of following activities to warm up the students 2.1 Solution 1: Using videos Using videos in the digital classroom is a heavily researched topic that has demonstrated high benefits for many different types of students With the relatively recent availability of free, high-quality video online, it also makes a perfect addition to blended learning environments Students, parents, and teachers all agree on the effectiveness of using video as a teaching tool English 12 Unit Home life To help students be familiar with the topic, I show a video for them to watch and get to know some vocabulary related to household chores and then organize Kim’s game as follow: Final movie Mr Bean doing housework https://youtu be/gMlHi_R4y2A KIM’S GAME Teachers can divide the class into groups, students will discuss about the activities in the video and present them on the board through Jamboard tool + Students will discuss in groups and write on the Jam boards integrated on google meet that the teacher has prepared and within minutes, the team that writes the most activities is the winner + Then, teachers will lead to the lesson + The meaning of the activity: students can learn more about some household chores in English, students also focus on the topic of Unit1: Home life 2.2 Solution 2: Using some games Some games I often use in the "Warm up" activity to create excitement for students at the beginning of the lesson: 2.2 Networks (brainstorming) At the beginning of the lesson, students can be asked to brainstorm and make a list of vocabulary related to the topic This is a very interesting way for teachers to warm up their classroom English 12 Unit 3: ways of socializing To help students be familiar with the topic Next, the teacher uses Jam boards, and divides the students into groups Within minute, how many words the students can write on the Jam boards platform At the end of minute, the teacher checks which team can write the most words correctly is the winning team 2.2 Matching with pictures - To review the previous lesson, teachers can show some pictures and then ask students to match them with the suitable words or phrases Unit 5: Higher education Picture Picture A high school / upper B primary school secondary school Picture C kindergadern Picture D lower secondary school Unit 6: Future jobs - To start the new lesson with topic “ future job” teachers can show a picture with different kind of job and then ask students to match them with the suitable name Cook nurse air-hostess policeman doctor fireman worker 2.2.3 Using some games created by online platforms Using Quizziz for students to play some games or quiz show before starting the lesson is a great choice for most of teachers Quizziz is an online tool that allows teachers to conduct student-paced formative assessments in a fun and engaging way for students of all ages Teachers incorporate Quizizz into instruction, review, and evaluation to support students It's super simple to learn and completely free to use! After providing students with a unique access code, a quiz can be recorded live as a timed competition or used as homework with a specific deadline After the quizzes have been completed, students can review their answers Furthermore, the resulting data is compiled into a spreadsheet to give the instructor a clear visual of the students’ performance in order to analyze trends in which areas might need the most focus in the future This immediate feedback can be used by teachers to revise future learning activities and alter the concentration of material by putting a more significant emphasis on concepts that students are struggling with To play a game on Quizizz, you can either choose from a library of millions of public quizzes, or you can decide to create your own quiz! Once you have picked a quiz, you can conduct it in the classroom with Quizizz live mode or assign it as a homework game for students to practice at their own time Students can use any device with a browser to join the game, and you get all the data both for individual students or the class as a whole! How to Use Quizizz  Go to www.quizizz.com and hit “GET STARTED”  If you want to use an existing quiz, you can use the “Search for quizzes” box and browse If you want to create your own quiz, select the “Create” panel, then the “Sign Up” panel and fill in the form  Enter a name for the quiz and an image if you like You can also select its language and make it either public or private For example, Unit 12: Water sport - When I use key word “Unit 12 Water sport” in Quizzes, I can find a lot of suitable games about this topic to use in this lesson Many of them are used not only in warm-up activity but also in revising the lesson That helps teacher stimulate students to learn English in the effective way In Unit 13: The 22nd Sea Games, teacher used Game in Quizzes for students to warm up a quiz show about knowledge of The 22nd Sea Games It allows you to create interactive games made from a series of multiple choices questions Students can use any web-enabled device to connect to the game using a unique code Students get to choose After conducting the method, I gave a test for students in both classes The questions are divided according to the level: recognition, understanding, application and high application 3.2 The results achieved Starting a class with an interesting activity helps the students set a positive mood for learning and to keep them engaged in class Hence, it is clear that using warm up activity can be an effective way The results of the survey of the attitude and quality of learning of students in classes before the experiment Class Total Experimental class 12B4 42 Very interested Comparative class 41 12B6 * Quality of studying Class 0% 14 33,3% 28 66,6% 0% 12 28,5% 29 70,7% Credit marks (7 - 8) Percent % Total Not interested Good marks (9 - 10) Total Interested Total Percent % Passing marks (5 - 6) Percent total % Unarchiving marks (