The effectiveness of games on teaching speaking to vietnamese young learners

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG NHUNG THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GAMES ON TEACHING SPEAKING TO VIETNAMESE YOUNG LEARNERS M.A THESIS IN TESOL SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF TESOL Supervisor : NGUYỄN HOÀNG LINH, M.A HoChiMinh City - 2005 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled : THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GAMES ON TEACHING SPEAKING TO VIETNAMESE YOUNG LEARNERS In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programmes issued by the Higher Degree Committee HoChiMinh City August 2005 NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG NHUNG RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG NHUNG, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses HoChiMinh City July 2005 NGUYỄN THỊ HOÀNG NHUNG ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to : - Mr Nguyễn Hoàng Linh, M.A., my thesis supervisor, lecturer of the Falculty of English Linguistics and Literature, HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Mr Lê Huy Lâm, M.A., lecturer of the Falculty of English Linguistics and Literature, HCMC University of Pedagogy - Mr Traàn Quang Nam, M.A., Instructor of English at SEAMEO RETRAC - Mr Huỳnh Công Hảo, B.Sc., Lecturer of the Falculty of Electronics, HCMC University of Industry - All my colleagues and students of kiddy programs at SEAMEO RETRAC - and my family, especially my Mum and Dad for their invaluable suggestions, encouragement, support, help and assistance iii ABSTRACT In this thesis, we examined the importance of games used as a tool to teach speaking to young learners at SEAMEO RETRAC The thesis aimed to investigate the influence of games on improving the learners’ communicative competence On one hand, the study focused on analyzing the students’ attitudes and behaviour after participating in language games in class On the other hand, the young learners’ speaking and listening ability was examined to to see whether the games had any effects in teaching and practising speaking The study was carried out as follow:1) a questionnaire asking students about their feelings and attitudes in playing language games in class 2) a series of class observations at SEAMEO RETRAC to see the students’ behaviour and whether their communicative competence get improved 3) an achievement test to measure their progress in speaking and learning skills after joining games in class The investigation reveals that games affect young learners’ communicative competence a lot Games not only create exciting atmosphere to encourage, motivate students to speak English naturally but also build learners’ confidence in speaking to others Also, they tend to be more friendly, cooperative and active in finding solutions in their own group before asking their teachers for help This affects their behaviour in and outside class They not always rely on others In addition, their listening and speaking ability is much improved as they have a chance to practice pronunciation The study suggested some pedagogical implications in teaching English to young learners Teachers may, therefore, take games as a tool to build up young learners’ enthusiasm and confidence in practicing languages by choosing the appropriate games and organizing them effectively in class so that learners have good environment and are able to be skilful at performing activities Besides, it is not enough if teachers just use games to have Vietnamese young iv learners practice English speaking skill Some simple and easy games in which they can play with sounds and words can help them improve their pronunciation, especially in recognizing the difference between the target language and their mother tongue With games, young learners feel more confident in pronouncing words They will then improve their listening and develop fluency With an aim to help young learners improve their communication competence, the research is an attempt to examine the extent to which games can contribute to the endeavors v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic 1.2 Aims of study 1.3 Scope of study 1.4 Research design 1.5 Research questions CHAPTER TWO : LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 What is a game and why teachers use games in class ? 2.2 The use of games in teaching languages 2.3 Theories about games 2.4 Overview of Communicative approach 12 2.5 Teaching speaking 14 2.5.1 Who to teach ? 15 2.5.2 What and how to teach? 15 2.5.3 How to encourage students to speak? 19 2.5.4 Principles of teaching speaking activities 21 2.6 Teaching English to children 22 2.6.1 Characteristics of young learners 22 2.6.2 Principles of teaching children 25 2.6.3 Using games in teaching speaking to young learners 26 CHAPTER THREE : OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT TEACHING AND LEARNING AT SEMEO REGIONAL TRAINING CENTER 29 Introduction 29 3.1 Description of the teaching staff 30 3.2 An introduction to kiddy programs 30 3.3 Description of the students in my own classes 31 3.4 Description of Let’s Go series 33 vi 3.5 Teaching speaking in Let’s Go series through communicative and student-centered approach using games as the tool to help practise language 36 3.6 Learners’problems 46 3.7 Some proposed games in speaking class 47 CHAPTER FOUR : DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE 55 4.1 Methodology of data collection 55 4.2 Questionaire 55 4.3 Observation 58 4.4 Oral achievement tests 59 CHAPTER FIVE :RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 63 5.1 Results of questionnaire 63 5.2 Results of observation 69 5.3 Results of oral test 76 5.4 Main findings 80 CHAPTER SIX : CONCLUSION 84 6.1 Conclusion and suggestion for further research 84 6.2 Limitation 86 6.3 Pedagogical implications 86 BIBLIOGRAPHY 89 APPENDICES Appendix Appendix vii CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic Having been a teacher of English as a foreign language for several years, and from my own experience of foreign language teaching with adults and young school learners, I am quite interested in teaching English to young learners who are true beginners in learning a foreign language Unlike adults, young learners are not easy to concentrate on a long lesson with grammar points As a result, I sometimes get complaints from them that English is rather boring and difficult They feel shy and not “safe” at all to speak to teachers, especially to native teachers The problems they face are how to speak English naturally without worrying about mistakes As a teacher for kiddy programs, I am not only a teacher but also a mother, a friend who listens to their problems in their studies and shares their feelings So it is very important to know how to help them overcome difficulties and feel like learning There may have been a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in nature If one is having fun with hilarity and laughters, then it is not really learning This could be a misconception From my teaching experience I have noticed how enthusiastic students are about practising language by means of games I believe games are not only fun but help students learn without a conscious analysis or understanding of the learning process while they acquire communicative competence as second language users With the love for my young learners, along with the mission that a teacher has to accomplish, I spend time studying games in teaching speaking English in the hope that they can improve learners’ communicative competence, and as a teacher, I can find out some more pedagogical implications in my teaching of young learners 1.2 Aims of the study In learning a foreign language, Vietnamese young learners have difficulty in speaking skills, especially when they have to speak in front of the class with many classmates and their teachers For example, when they read aloud or model a conversation, then they role play it or when they talk to their friends and teachers about their daily activities, they feel too shy to speak As it was mentioned above, they are really beginners in studying English Therefore, they have to learn the language in the form of classroom activities, phonics work and songs rather than grammatical structures Classroom interaction is encouraged from the beginning through a focus on question and answer forms, dialogues, pairwork, and communicative games Of all textbooks, the Let’s Go series can meet these requirements However, teaching young learners with Let’s Go needs a lot of teachers’ efforts This thesis takes Let’s Go as the main curriculum in studying how to teach speaking with games to young learners The purpose of my thesis is to investigate how games motivate young learners in speaking through the current approach in language teaching - the communicative language teaching In this study, the role of games is analyzed to see how the students’ attitudes and behavior are affected in English speaking games In learning English, my learners find it difficult to speak what they really want to; they have to think carefully before speaking Ironically, the more careful they are, the less they speak and when they mean something, it is not spoken naturally My research also examines whether the students’ speaking and listening is improved after playing games This enables the writer to figure out the kinds of games that afffect the students’ communicative competence, use these games in appropriate speaking CHAPTER SIX : CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Conclusion and suggestion for further research Games, as Andrew Wright affirms, help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work and they also help the teacher to create the contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful In other words, games are used as the tool to give practice in all the skills ( reading, writing, listening and speaking ), in all stages of the teaching and learning and for many types of communication in this study With the scope of this study, games therefore, were used as a kind of teaching aids to teach speaking skill to young learners and to analyze how they affect their communicative competence The findings in the study show that games help the young learners a lot in improving their speaking Firstly, some games can probably build learners’s confidence in speaking in front of others with a relaxed, pleasant learning atmosphere and environment to practise language freely They become more confident, eager and enthusiastic to join other activities This advantage encourages language teachers to select appropriate games to give learners more opportunities to use language in classroom first, then when they get familiar with some communicative situations, they can speak naturally without knowing that apart from the relaxed moments in class , games are used as the bridge to link language in term of theory to practice Secondly, games may also affect young learners’ behaviour in and outside class They are more friendly and get on well with one another after a short time playing games Working in groups and sharing the same tasks 88 makes them try their best to win the game, but this means nothing if they not have consensus in reaching the objectives, then they become more cooperative Playing with games day by day helps them have better skills in not only speaking, communicating but also doing things and moving Moreover, being taught with student-centered teaching approach, they are the main subject in class, and with the careful guidance of both teachers, they are more and more active They not always rely on their teachers They tend to find the solutions in their own group before giving up and asking their teachers for help And lastly, teaching speaking cannot be separated from listening, and the finding of the study reflects the effectiveness that games can give to my students in integrating both listening and speaking Young learners tend to speak more fluently and their listening seems to be better than before as the games provide them with more vocabularies and chances to listen to and use language Since the games provide young learners with many opportunities to practise the target language, their pronunciation seems to be much improved than the group without games used in class In short, games are not just for fun or relaxation when both teacher and students get tired In this study, games were used effectively as the tool to teach students how to speak It is not easy, however, to apply all games in the class, the teachers have to classify their students in term of learning capacity and select the most appropriate games for the teaching The study ends with the implications with some suggestions for better teaching and learning with games and I hope that they can help Vietnamese young learners at other language schools improve their speaking skill and more and more enjoy learning English However, this study remains some limitations with small sample and data collection method as mentioned above, this leaves a room for further research to measure how games affect both young and adult 89 language learners in larger population and I believe that future experiments should employ the games and recommend that other skills of language teaching be studied 6.2 Limitation • Small sample and population It took much time and energy to carry out and finish this study However, my sample was very small with 100 participants from the age of to 12 to complete the questionnaire and two classes in Kiddy Programs at SEAMEO RETRAC It would bring more complicated results if the populations were larger with questionnaire for teachers or interviews for both It is possible that larger populations in other language schools with longer and more complex programs would show a greater difference • research design The methodological problems in the research design limit my interpretations I just used questionnaire, observation and test to collect data and finally Microsoft Excel to measure the test results It would be far more different to use other facilities to carry out the research • Limited resources of games There were not many games used and introduced in the research, so it was not sufficient to generalize about their big influence on learners’ speaking competence The students need more appropriate games that suit learning condition and culture in Vietnam 6.3 Pedagogical implications The findings of this study may have the following implications for the teaching and learning of English speaking in Ho Chi Minh City in general, and for young learners at SEAMEO RETRAC, in particular 90 Firstly, since most of the students in the sample are found to be shy and less confident to speak in front of their friends, teachers and others, they have difficulty in expressing their own ideas even using the simplest sentences, it may be necessary that whole class games be organized with the teachers’ guidance and control The games should be easy and interesting to get the students involved first, they then feel safe after joining If it is possible, the teachers should be members playing the game naturally By this I mean, the teachers may make mistakes like others and be punished by the whole class depending on the rules of the game Then games that encourage volunteers should be used so that the active students participate first, this is to stimulate the shy students’ curiosity They will find it is easy to join and they can it well Step by step, young learners gain confidence and the teachers can change the types of games used in class to make them activate Secondly, the difference between mother tongue and the target language causes a lot of trouble for them in pronunciation There are two main factors related to this difference One is the English consonants with their final particular position which is not found in Vietnamese The second one is of course is the vowels As they are beginners in learning a foreign language, it is difficult for them to identify how different the English consonants and vowels are They often make mistakes when pronouncing the words with final sounds, for instance, the three kinds of pronunciation for “s” or “es “ in plural noun and the third person singular verb In practicing speaking, one of the problems with vowels they face is, for example, the long vowel / i: / and short vowel / i / The students who make mistakes tend to be afraid of communicating, they just speak softly and sometimes refuse to speak The pedagogical implication here is: students should be encouraged, as early as possible, to join some simple and easy games in which they can play with sounds such as games which aim at repetition and 91 the game “tongue twister“ is a good example for the first time In addition, some vocabulary games should be organized in order to improve the students’ pronunciation at first, then to practise both listening and speaking The third implication is concerned with the students’ motivation in learning to speak English.It is noted that the students in this sample have short span of attention They cannot concentrate too long on one activity, and they tend to get bored with the practice stage and not like the oral activities that require working in pairs or answering their teachers The students just try to complete reluctantly what they are supposed to and the class gradually loses its dynamic The situation therefore should be improved and the teachers should pay attention to their feelings in order to change the classroom atmosphere and their learning attitudes To achieve the purpose of getting them motivated, the teacher first can help them by giving the exciting atmosphere with some short but funny games, movement games , for example After that “ warm-up “ step, the students will feel amused and their mind seem to be fresher and like talking to their friends in the next activity Furthermore, team games should be used to create the competitive atmosphere in learning The students with their desires to win the game will try their best to speak However, fairness is the most important thing deciding the success of the game because the kids may have arguments if the teachers are a bit inattentive to the game Therefore, both native and Vietnamese teachers have to take turns supervise the students In conducting these games, the teachers should be aware of the problems arising so that it is best to have a plan for the game Everything must be wellprepared and time should be limited when the rules are set, otherwise the games would overwhelm other stages in a lesson It is expected that, with many kinds of games, students are more motivated and would speak more naturally and fluently 92 BIBLIOGRAPHY A.Wright ( 1983) Games for language learning Cambridge University Press Baker, D, ( 1989) Language Testing – A Critical Survey and Practical Guide Eward Arnold Barry , M ( 1987) Theories of second language learning Eward Arnold Baudains , R&M.(1990) Alternatives : Games, exercises and conversation for the classroom Longman Group UK Limited Brown, H Doughlas ( 1994) Teaching by principles : An interactive approach to language pedagogy Prentice Hall Regents Brumfit , C ( 1991 ).Teaching English to children : From practice to principle Harpercollins Publishers Carter, R & Nunan,D ( 2001) Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Cambridge University Press Byrne, D ( 1976) Teaching Oral English Longman Group UK Limited Lynne, C ( 2001) Teaching languages to young learners Cambridge University Press 10 Paulston, C.B ( 1976) Teaching English as a second language : Techniques and procedures Withrop Publishers,Inc 11 Carrier , M & The centre for British teachers.( 1980) Take : Games and activities for the language learner The Centre for British teachers Limited 12 Freeman, D.L ( 1986) Techniques and principles in language teaching Oxford University Press 93 13 David, Vale( 1995) Teaching Children English Cambridge University Press 14 Gillian B & George,Y ( 1983) Teaching the spoken language Cambridge University Press 15 Gower, R Phillips, D and Walers, S ( 1995) Teaching Practice Handbook Macmillan Heineman English Language Teaching Oxford 16 Greenhall, S ( 1984).Language game and activities Oxford University Press 17 Susan, H ( 1980) Teaching Children Modern English Publications Limited 18 Halliwell, S ( 1992).Teaching English in the primary classroom Longman 19 Harmer, J ( 1991) The practice of English Language Teaching.Longman Group UK Limited 20 Harmer, J ( 1998) How to teach English Addison Wesley Longman Limited 21 Hatch, E & Farhady, H ( 1982) Research design and Statistics for applied linguistics Newbury House Publishers.Inc 22 Gebhard, J.G.( 1996).Teaching English as a foreign language or second language University of Michigan Press 23 Klippel, F ( 1984) Keep Talking Cambridge University Press 24 Larsen-Freeman, Diane (1986) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching Oxford University Press 25 Lee W R.( 1979) Language teaching games and contests.Oxford University Press 26 Lee, S K (January - March, 1995) Creative games for the language class Forum Vol 33, No 1, 35 94 27 Lewis, G and G Bedson ( 1999) Games for children Oxford University Press 28 Lewis,M &Hill, J ( 1985).Practical Techniques for Language Teaching Language Teaching Publications 29 Littlewood, W (1981) Communicative Language Teaching - An Introduction Cambridge University Press 30 Muoi, Nguyen Van, (2001) Micro teaching - Classroom lectures, USSH M.A Course in TESOL 2000 – 2002 31 Nunan, D ( 1988) The learner-centered curriculum Cambridge University Press 32 Nunan, D ( 1989) Designing tasks for the Communicative Classroom Cambridge University Press 33 Reilly, V & M.Ward, S ( 1997) Very young learners Oxford University Press 34 Richard-Amato, P A (1988) Making it happen: Interaction in the Second Language classroom: From Theory to Practice New York: Longman 35 Richards,J.C, and T.S Rodgers (1986).Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching – A description and analysis Cambridge University Press 36 Rixon, S (1981) How to use games in language teaching London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd 37 Scott ,W.A & Ytreberg ,L.H ( 1990) Teaching English to children Longman Group UK Limited 38 Sion, C (1985) Recipes for Tired Teachers Addison- Wesley Publishing Company, INC 39 Underhill, N ( 1987 ) Testing Spoken Language – A Handbook of Oral Testing Techniques Cambridge University Press 95 40 Ur, P (1995) Grammar Practice Activities (9th printing) Cambridge University Press 41 Weir Cyril, J (1990 ) Communicative Language Testing Prentice Hall 42 WRIGHT, Andrew et al 1989 Games for Language Learning (7th printing) Cambridge University Press Online Cesar Klauer, Dip RSA – 1998 http://maxpages.com/teachenglish/Games_in_Language_Teaching The Internet TESL Journal, Vol VI, No http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Ersoz-Games.html Kiddy programs http://www.vnseameo.org Teaching method http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/goalsmethods/goal.htm Lee Su Kim, Vol 33, No 1,May 24-27, 1993 Agnieszka Uberman Vol 33, No.1 http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol33/no1/p35.htm 96 6, June 2000 APPENDIX BẢNG CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA VỀ CÁC TRÒ CHƠI TRONG MÔN NÓI TIẾNG ANH ( Dành cho học viên chương trình Kiddy Trung Tâm đào tạo khu vực SEAMEO Việt Nam ) Tuoåi : Giới tính : Nam Nữ 1.Khi chơi trò chơi bạn mong đạt ? Trả lời : YES NO Học chơi Nói tiếng Anh với nhiều ngøi khác Nghe nhiều ngøi khác Từ Thư giãn làm tập Phần thưởng cho nỗ lực Bạn cảm thấy tham gia trò chơi ? Trả lời : YES NO Rất vui, hồi hộp thắng thua Tự tin giao tiếp với bạn bè thầy cô Chán Tôi muốn làm tập Rất chán Trò chơi thật vô bổå Bạn ý nhiều đến điều tham gia trò chơi? Trả lời : YES NO YES NO Hướng dẩn giáo viên thể lệ trò chơi Cấu trúc câu dùng để nói trò chơi Phần thưởng cho người thắng Lỗi nói Bạn thích chơi trò chơi ? Trả lời : Theo đội Chúng hỗ trợ thành viên phải nỗ lực Theo đôi.Chúng phân công mà tốn thời gian Cùng thầy bạn Tôi cảm thấy tự tin có thầy tham gia Cá nhân Tôi muốn tự 5.Bạn thích trò chơi lặp lại lần khóa học ? Trả lời : YES Càng nhiều tốt Tôi mê trò chơi Có thể hai ba lần , để sau nhớ học chơi lớp Còn tùy thuộc vào thể loại trò chơi cách thức tổ chức trò chơi Một lần Thật chán lần chơi trò chơi NO Bạn nhớ sau trò chơi ? Trả lời : YES Cấu trúc ngữ pháp phải dùng chơi trò chơi Trò chơi thể lệ Giáo viên họ dạy Niềm vui Xin chân thành cảm ôn baïn NO APPENDIX CHECKLIST FOR CLASS OBSERVATION Aims of language practice a Speaking and listening b Speaking c Writing d Reading e Pronunciation f Vocabulary g Other Game type a Linguistic game b Communicative game c Movement game d Card game e Board game f Dice game g Drawing h Guessing i Role-play j Singing and chanting k Word game Age a – b _ 10 c 10 – 12 Group size a - b – c – d – 10 Types of activities a individual b pairwork c groupwork d team Time a – 10’ b 10 – 15’ c 15 – 20’ Materials a Space in class b Board c Coloured pencils and pens d Children’s scissors e Lots of dice f Small toys g Teacher’s cards Classroom language a English b Mother tongue c Both h i j k l m n Pictures Posters A whistle A buzzer A ball A sticky ball Fly-swatters Teacher’s giving instructions a Make students pay attention 10 Teacher’s correction a Correct immediately first b Walk around, take notes, later b Give brief, clear and precise give corrections instructions c Repeat instructions as necessary d Speak slowly and clearly e Write key words and examples on the board f Model g Use pictures or teaching aids to illustrate h Check if every student has understood the instructions 11 Teacher’s feedback 12 Students’ attitude a Praise students a Like the games b Encourage slow students b Get involved c Give comments about c Be enthusiastic and eager students’ performance d Be bored with the games e Refuse to join the games 13 Students’ behaviour 14 Effectiveness of the game a Speak loud a laughters b Speak soft b volunteers c Be active c cooperation d Be confident d being natural e Be happy e confidence f Cooperate f pronunciation g Help one another g taking risk h Compete with one another h interaction i gap information 15 Potential problems a students refuse to join 16 Other problems b students compete and argue c the games take much time d It’s very noisy in the class e teacher cannot control the class