Luận Văn Thạc Sĩ A Study On Using Games To Teach Vocabulary To Third Graders At Du Hang Kenh Primary School, Hai Phong (With Reference To Tieng Anh 3) .Pdf

Output file VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THỊ THÚY NGA A STUDY ON USING GAMES TO TEACH VOCABULARY TO[.]

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THỊ THÚY NGA A STUDY ON USING GAMES TO TEACH VOCABULARY TO THIRD GRADERS AT DU HANG KENH PRIMARY SCHOOL, HAI PHONG (WITH REFERENCE TO TIENG ANH 3) (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng trò chơi để dạy từ vựng cho học sinh lớp trường Tiểu học Dư Hàng Kênh, Hải Phòng (theo sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 3) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HANOI, 2012 z VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THỊ THÚY NGA A STUDY ON USING GAMES TO TEACH VOCABULARY TO THIRD GRADERS AT DU HANG KENH PRIMARY SCHOOL, HAI PHONG (WITH REFERENCE TO TIENG ANH 3) (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng trò chơi để dạy từ vựng cho học sinh lớp trường Tiểu học Dư Hàng Kênh, Hải Phòng (theo sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 3) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Pr Dr Hoàng Văn Vân HANOI, 2012 z TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS vi Part A: Introduction Rationale Aims of the study Methods of the study Scope of the study Design of the study Part B: Development Chapter 1: Literature Review Introduction Vocabulary in language teaching and learning 2.1 Definitions of vocabulary 2.2 The role of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 2.3 What about vocabulary teachers should teach students 2.3.1 Aspects of meanings 2.3.1.1 Lexical meaning vs grammatical meaning 2.3.1.2 Denotational meaning vs connotational meaning 2.3.1.3 Meaning relationships 2.3.2 Aspects of forms 2.3.3 Aspects of usage of a word Review on some common methods associated with vocabulary teaching 3.1.The grammar translation method 3.2 The direct method 10 3.3 The reading method 11 3.4 The audio- lingual method 11 i z Principles of teaching vocabulary 11 Games and its application in teaching vocabulary 12 5.1 Definitions of games 12 5.2 Classification of games 13 5.3 Benefits of using games in teaching vocabulary 14 5.4 Requirements of a good game for teaching vocabulary 15 Teaching English to young learners vs Teaching English to adults 16 Concluding remarks 18 Chapter 2: Current situation of teaching and learning Tieng Anh at Du Hang Kenh Primary School 19 Introduction 19 Overview of the school 19 The English teachers 20 The third graders 20 Overview of the textbook Tieng Anh 21 Concluding remarks 22 Chapter 3: How to use games to teach vocabulary to third graders at Du Hang Kenh Primary School (with reference to Tieng Anh 3) 23 Procedures in teaching a game 23 Class observation 24 2.1 Class 3A1 24 2.1.1 Game “Stand up when you hear” 25 2.1.2 Game “Crossword Puzzle” 26 2.1.3 Game “Bingo” 27 2.2 Class 3A2 28 2.2.1 Game “Slap the board” 28 2.2.2 Game “Pass the word” 29 2.2.3 Game “Spelling bee” 30 2.3 General comments 31 My teaching 31 3.1 Game “Hangman” 32 ii z 3.2 Game “Word completion” 33 3.3 Game “Jumbled words” 33 Teachers‟ reactions and expectations about games given in Tieng Anh Learners‟ attitudes towards using games in Tieng Anh through interviews Suggestions 34 35 36 6.1 How to choose a game 36 6.2 When to use a game 36 6.3 Suggested games to teach vocabulary in Tieng Anh 37 Part C: Conclusion Summary of the study 39 The limitation of the study 39 Suggestions for further research 40 References 41 Appendix 1…………………………………………… Appendix 2………………………………………… iii z PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It can be seen easily that English nowadays plays an important role than ever before It has become an international language which is used widely all over the world and in all fields of social life such as economy, technology, diplomacy, foreign trade, education and tourism Therefore, teaching and learning English have become necessary for everyone In many countries in the world, in general, and in Vietnam, in particular, English has been widely taught Recently, English has been taught in the light of the communicative and learner-centered approach which gives students more chances to communicate However, both teaching and learning English has been far away from satisfaction Both teachers and students face difficulties when teaching and learning English vocabulary There is a common fact that a lot of students cannot remember words and certainly cannot use them despite teachers‟ efforts as well as their own efforts At Du Hang Kenh Primary School, the situation is that the students find it hard to learn new words and that the techniques exploited during a lesson such as roleplays, reciting chants, singing songs, telling stories …are not quite effective Hence, there is a need to find out more games and more techniques to teach vocabulary in the most effective way Games have proved themselves not as “time filler activities” but also a factor which can motivate students in the process of learning and using English From the above-mentioned reasons, the writer would like to carry out a research to find out the real situation of teaching and learning English at Du Hang Kenh Primary School, the effectiveness of using games in teaching vocabulary to kids, which techniques are used in using games to teach vocabulary by the teachers and to make some suggestions for the better use of games in helping children acquire fully English words in Tieng Anh z Aim and objectives of the study As the title of the thesis suggests, the aim of the study is to make a research on how to use games to teach vocabulary to the third graders at Du Hang Kenh Primary School (with reference to the textbook Tieng Anh 3) To achieve this aim, the following tasks are set for study:  examining the importance of using games to teach English to young children; and  carrying out a small research to find out how the teachers at Du Hang Kenh Primary School have been using games to teach their students with the current textbook Tieng Anh To make it manageable, the research raises following questions for exploration: What is the current situation of teaching and learning English vocabulary (with reference to Tieng Anh 3) at Du Hang Kenh Primary School? What are the main difficulties of students‟ learning and teachers‟ teaching English vocabulary? How have the teachers at Du Hang Kenh Primary School been using games to teach vocabulary in Tieng Anh 3? Methods of the study This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods which provide background data Da ta collections for analysis come from the teachers and students at Du Hang Kenh Primary School by : - Class observation - Survey questionnaire - Interviews Scope of the study Since the school year 2011-2012, there have been a number of schools in Hai Phong City have used in which Tieng Anh to teach English to students is taught In Le Chan District, in the school year of 2011-2012, there are only three primary schools using Tieng Anh 3, including Du Hang Kenh Primary School Although I know that z choosing all three schools for my study is a better choice, my study focuses only on Du Hang Kenh Primary School due to time limitation In my study, I focus on the use of games to teach vocabulary, more exactly to consolidate learnt words, to third graders who are learning Tieng Anh However, I can just observe three classes among six ones in which some games are applied in vocabulary lessons, interview and survey five English teachers who are teaching textbook Tieng Anh and interview thirty third graders to find out their level of satisfaction and expectation Design of the study The study is divided into three parts: Part A – Introduction – provides the rationale for the study, aim and objectives of the study, scope, methodology and design of the study Part B – Development – consists of three chapters: - Chapter focuses on four main issues relating to vocabulary in language teaching and learning, some common methods associated with vocabulary teaching, the application of games in teaching vocabulary and teaching English to young learners - Chapter is devoted to the provision of an overview of current situation of teaching and learning Tieng Anh at Du Hang Kenh Primary School Detailed information about the teachers, students and especially textbook Tieng Anh is given there - Chapter is concerned with collecting data from Du Hang Kenh Primary School and analysing these data to find out the teachers‟ attitudes towards using games to teach vocabulary to young learners, teachers‟ methods and techniques in using games to teach vocabulary and teachers‟ expectations about games given in Tieng Anh Besides, data will also be collected to find out students‟ reaction towards games in Tieng Anh and their expectations about their teachers‟ teaching methodology Part C – Conclusion – summarizes what has been studied, points out the limitation of the thesis, and makes some suggestions for further study z PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Every language consists of sounds, vocabulary and grammatical structures Each of these three components plays an equal role in language teaching and learning One cannot communicate in a language without the sounds of that language One cannot communicate in a language without learning the vocabulary – the bricks which help interactants to build the “communication building” Vocabulary is so important that British linguist David Wilkins (1972) stated “While without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” Obviously, the importance of vocabulary is undeniable It can be seen as an element that links four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing together So as to be successful at those four skills, a student should acquire a certain number of words and know how to use them accurately in different situations There is a fact that students can “know a word” in written forms quite well but they cannot use words in different contexts in real life properly In recent years, CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) has shown some of its advantages in helping students become more active Playing vocabulary games is one common activity in a CLT classroom It creates more reallife chances for students to practice their English In this chapter, I will give an overview of (1) vocabulary in language teaching and learning, (2) some common methods associated with vocabulary teaching, (3) principles of teaching vocabulary, (4) the application of games in teaching vocabulary (its definitions, classification, benefits and requirements of a good game) and (5) teaching English to young learners in comparison with teaching English to adults Vocabulary in language teaching and learning 2.1 Definition of vocabulary z The term vocabulary appears to be a simple concept but in fact, up to now, there have been no linguists whose definition meets all the characteristics of vocabulary Thus, various definitions should be given below In his book A course in language teaching, Penny Ur (1996, p.60) stated that “vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in a foreign language” He also said “a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single word, a compound of two or three words and multi-word idioms” Vocabulary seen from this view consists of all the words in a language, regardless of the number of words in a word Vocabulary is used as one means to communicate by making utterances from words This can be seen in the viewpoint of Pyles and Algeo (1970, p.96) They saw vocabulary as “the focus of language” In their opinion, words “allow us to communicate with one another” and we arrange words “to make sentences, conversations and discourse of all kinds” According to Morgan and Rinvolucri (1986), “A word is a basic unit of a language denoting concepts, things and phenomena in the society” Palmer (1981) also pointed “the semantic unit may be a sequence of several words” Word is the smallest meaningful of language In short, these statements show that vocabulary is the total number of words that exist in a language including not only single words but also two-word items or three-words ones or even multi-word idioms It serves as a means for people to communicate Without it, mutual understanding between people may be hard to be obtained 2.2 The role of vocabulary in language teaching and learning As mentioned above, vocabulary can be considered as the most important part of a language among three parts: grammar, phonetics and vocabulary It is indicated clearly in the saying of Wilkins, a famous British applied linguist, which echoes what Henry Sweet had said over one hundred years before that “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing conveyed” This saying is also similar to the advice given by Dellar and Hocking (Innovations, 2000) “If you z ... 3: How to use games to teach vocabulary to third graders at Du Hang Kenh Primary School (with reference to Tieng Anh 3) 23 Procedures in teaching a game 23 Class observation 24 2.1 Class 3A1 24... Denotational meaning vs connotational meaning In actual usage, vocabulary may differ in their stylistic aspect This leads to denotational meaning and connotational meaning Denotational meaning can... in using games to teach vocabulary and teachers‟ expectations about games given in Tieng Anh Besides, data will also be collected to find out students‟ reaction towards games in Tieng Anh and