An investigation into teachers perceptions and using games to facilitate students learning english vocabulary at tien giang high school for gifted students

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION  1.1 Rationale In the introduction part of their article 'Learning Vocabulary through Games' in the Asian EFL Journal in 2003, Nguyen & Khuat (2003, p.2) pointed out the importance of vocabulary: In learning a foreign language, vocabulary plays an important role It is one element that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing all together In order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately Uberman (1998) states that vocabulary acquisition is increasingly viewed as crucial to language acquisition Wilkins (1972) emphasizes that while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed However, Uberman (1998) also points out that learning vocabulary is often perceived as a tedious and laborious process In the introduction about vocabulary, Hadfield (1999, p.4) said: Remembering new words is hard Words are slippery things: before you know it, they’ve wriggled away and are gone It takes a lot of effort to keep them where you want them To lighten the burden of teaching and learning vocabulary of both teachers and students, numerous methods are introduced to teach vocabulary and using games to teach vocabulary has been proved effective for years Games have been believed to add fun to classroom, lower anxiety, give students more opportunity to develop their language skills, problem-solving skills, cooperative and social skills and so on Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) After all, Page learning a language involves long-term efforts Games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily Games can also lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely (Richard-Amato, 1988, p.147) In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better (Wierus & Wierus 1994, p.218) Moreover, games are highly motivating since they are amusing and at the same time challenging (Aydan Ersoz, 2000) They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994, p.118) They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson Furthermore, games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing and a number of skills are often involved in the same game (Lee, 1995) The learners want to take part and in order to so must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) In addition, games provide a context for meaningful communication Even if the game involves discrete language items, such as a spelling game, meaningful communication takes place as students seek to understand how to play the game and as they communicate about the game: before, during, and after the game (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) Games also encourage and increase cooperation (Aydan Ersoz, 2000) Many games can be played in small groups, thereby providing a venue for students to develop their skills in working with others, such as the skill of disagreeing politely and the skill of asking for help (Jacobs & Kline Liu, 1996) On the market, there are several teaching materials available about vocabulary games such as “Communication Games” & “Vocabulary Games” by Jill Hadfield (1984,1990, 1997, 1999), “Top Class Activities: 50 Fun Games and Activities by Top ELT Writers” by Series Editor: Peter Watcyn-Jones (1997) However, most of the Page materials focus on introducing a variety of ready-made games in order to serve the purpose of teaching one specific language item without mentioning to the principles of using vocabulary games, their limitation and unanticipated problems Moreover, most games in such materials are designed without basing on any current course books and without associating closely with a typical type and age of learners Teachers, therefore, find it difficult to apply them in reality At Tien Giang High School for Gifted Students (TGHSGS), students, especially grade 12 students have seemed to be so absorbed in the subjects required in the university entrance exam that they ignore English while most of the teachers have used more and more games in their teaching vocabulary to students to facilitate the students’ English vocabulary learning Nevertheless, up to now, there has been no research into it This reason, together with the need of finding out whether using games to teach vocabulary really helps the students at TGHSGS in their English vocabulary learning and whether it is necessary to use games to teach vocabulary at TGHSGS, has urged me to conduct the research “An Investigation into Teachers’ Perceptions and Using Games to Facilitate Students’ Learning English Vocabulary at Tien Giang High School for Gifted Students.” 1.2 Research aims This thesis focuses on the following main objectives: - To find out the teachers’ perceptions of games in teaching English vocabulary - To explore the teachers’ using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary - To look at the difficulties that teachers meet while using games to teach English vocabulary Page 1.3 Scope of the study This study was carried out at TGHSGS Eight teachers of English and ninety grade-12 students were asked to complete the questionnaires and answer the interview questions related to using games to teach English vocabulary in the textbooks of Basic English 10, 11 & 12 1.4 Significance of the study The thesis hopes to offer a new insight into games as a practical and effective teaching device so that teachers of English can prepare students a good stock of vocabulary to be ready to take any examinations in high schools It also contributes to the literature of using games in teaching vocabulary 1.5 Research question The research questions are: What are teachers’ perceptions of using games in teaching vocabulary? How are games used to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary? What difficulties teachers face in using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary? 1.6 An overview of the thesis The thesis consists of five chapters Chapter (Introduction) describes the general area to be studied in the thesis This includes the rationale for the thesis, research aims, scope and significance of the study and research questions In Chapter (Literature review), there will be a coverage of the concepts about the process of vocabulary acquisition, the affective filter operating the process of learning vocabulary The theory of motivation and its types and the theory of games will also be reviewed This chapter also presents the previous studies related to Page Chapter (Methodology) will describe the details of the research method, including the techniques, the participants and the instruments In Chapter (Findings and discussion), the data collected from questionnaires, interviews and class observations will be presented and analyzed thematically Interpretations and comments will also be offered The last chapter (Conclusion, implications, limitations and suggestions for further study) will summarize the key findings of this study, and discuss the limitations of the research This chapter also gives suggestions for teaching vocabulary and implications for teaching vocabulary through games and unanticipated problems that may occur for both teachers and students during a vocabulary class This chapter will also recommend some directions for further research into using games in teaching high school students Page CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW  2.1 Introduction Chapter goes over the theoretical basis and previous research related to vocabulary, and the use of games It will then point out the gap in the literature 2.2 Vocabulary This part reviews basic knowledge of words, including vocabulary definitions, the importance of vocabulary in learning a foreign language, the process of vocabulary acquisition and the affective filter in learning vocabulary 2.2.1 Definitions According to Webster (1913), vocabulary can be defined roughly as the words people reach in the foreign language That is a set of words known to a person or other entity To Lang (1995), vocabulary is the stock or repertoire of words from which to name or describe phenomena within a language or knowledge base Words and vocabulary are used interchangeably in this study The knowledge of words, according to Harmer (1991), exists on various levels, which seem to be language universals, including knowing their forms, meanings, uses, formation and grammatical functions (see Figure 2.1.1) This study, as mentioned in chapter 1, aims at finding out teacher’s perceptions of games in teaching English vocabulary and teacher’s using games to facilitate students’ learning vocabulary, learning all the words required in the textbook However, all the aspects of a word cannot be surveyed In this thesis, the writer only attached special importance to the aspects of knowing a word: word meaning because the knowledge of word meaning is considered one of the prerequisites of knowing a word The study does not have the ambitions to investigate other aspects of vocabulary “Knowing a word” can be summarized in the following way: Page Spelling FORM Pronunciation Meaning in context MEANING WORD Sense relations Metaphor and idiom WORD USE Collocation WORD GRAMMAR Parts of speech Prefixes / suffixes Style and register WORD FORMATION Verb complementation, phrasal verbs Nouns: count / uncountable… Adjectives/adverbs: position, etc Figure 2.1.1: Knowing a word - (Harmer, 1991:148) 2.2.2 The importance of vocabulary in learning a foreign language In leaning a foreign language, vocabulary, the knowledge of words in a language, plays a very important role Vocabulary acquisition is usually viewed as crucial to language acquisition Vocabulary is also considered a primordial factor in successful communication (Levelt, 1989) Grammatical knowledge allows us to generate sentences At the same time, we must have something to say No matter how well the students learn grammar, the sounds of L2, without words to express a wider range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way (McCarthy, 1990) Furthermore, vocabulary actually contributes to the acquisition of syntax Then, it is also the element that links the four language skills all together (Nguyen & Khuat, 2003) Page 2.2.3 Memory in learning vocabulary Learning new words involves storing them first in people’s short-term memory (STM), and afterwards in people’s long-term memory (LTM) Then, word frequency is another factor that affects storage Ellis (1996) proposed that short-term representation and rehearsal allows the eventual establishment of long-term sequence information for the language Therefore, the most frequently used items are easier to retrieve The better the long-term storage of frequent language sequences, the more easily they can serve as labels for meaning reference The more automatic their access, the more fluent is the resultant language use Moreover, forgetting seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items they have learned Effective learning strategies should be made use of to facilitate the process of learning and recycling vocabulary They involve fostering learners’ motivation towards learning - lowering the affective filter that may occur during learning it 2.2.4 Affective filter in learning vocabulary In his theory of second language acquisition researching on affective variables in foreign language learning, Krashen (1982) employed Dulay and Burt (1977)’s metaphor of an affective filter to explain the role of motivation and emotion in language acquisition To Krashen (1982), filter is an imaginary wall between learner and the language input This filter includes three elements: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety (Krashen, 1987) Motivation determines the preparedness of learners to study a language Self-confidence encourages students to take risk so that they can acquire with full efficiency Anxiety inhibits students a lot in absorbing the input In learning vocabulary, the complicated characteristics of vocabulary and anxiety are the two most important factors to produce a good filter that inhibits students to get the vocabulary in To Tajino and Smith (2005), first, the complicated characteristics of vocabulary cause a lot of troubles to learners such as learning Page problems and difficulties due to students’ first language All these factors give more burdens to learners that make vocabulary learning demotivating and frustrating Second, anxiety is also a good filter that hurdles the input To McIntyre and Gardner (1985), anxiety is the worry and negative emotional reaction aroused when learning or using the language MacIntyre and Garner (1993) point out that anxiety has a strong negative effect on the process of vocabulary learning At the input stage, anxiety acts like a filter preventing vocabulary getting into the cognitive processing system During the processing stage, anxiety can influence both the speed and accuracy of learning Because anxiety acts as a distraction, students may not be able to learn words or phrases and they are worried At the output stage, anxiety can influence the quality of foreign language communication When producing the language, using their own words, students may know the correct answer but it will not come to mind To lower the anxiety, as Rebecca (1989) said, creating positive emotions among learners is an important strategy Among positive emotions suggested by this author, six types of feeling: fun, creativity, psychological security, confidence, freedom and ease and cooperation are worth consideration Exploration of affective filter and strategies to lower the filter may provide insights that could help to create, sustain and promote students’ motivation during the time of learning a foreign language, especially learning vocabulary A key factor in successful learning is a learner’s motivation A key factor in effective teaching is an instructor’s ability to facilitate student motivation, particularly in circumstance where students are not interested in learning 2.2.5 How to teach vocabulary 2.2.5.1 PPP procedure PPP stands for presentation, practice and production In this procedure, the teacher introduces a situation which contextualises the language to be taught The language is then presented The students now practice the language using accurate Page reproduction techniques such as choral repetition, individual repetition, and cueresponse drills Later, the students, using the new language, make sentences of their own, and this referred to as production (Harmer, 2007) 2.2.5.2 Vocabulary teaching techniques To help students understand and remember new vocabulary, it should be introduced in a memorable way, learned in context, practiced and then revised to prevent students from forgetting Teachers should use a variety of techniques for new vocabulary presentation and revision Gairns and Redman (1986) suggest the following types of vocabulary teaching techniques, including visual techniques, verbal explanation and use of dictionaries 2.2.5.2.1 Visual techniques Learners remember better the material that has been presented by means of visual aids (Zebrowska 1975, p.452) Visual techniques help present concrete items of vocabulary – nouns and are also useful for conveying meanings of verbs and adjectives Some common visual techniques are realia, pictures, photos, drawings, flashcards, slides, wallcharts, transparencies, mime, gestures, actions, facial expressions, etc 2.2.5.2.2 Verbal explanations In addition, to present new vocabulary, teachers can use illustrative situations, synonymy, opposites, scales (Gairns and Redman 1986, p.74), definition (Nation 1990, p.58) and categories (Allen and Valette 1972, p.116) This technique gives students a chance of exposure to the target language, which helps them fall back on some type of alternative communication strategy when they forget the target items (Wallace, 1988) 2.2.5.2.3 Use of dictionaries Page 10 all students involved and interested Third, games should be diverse, new, interesting and challenging Fourth, games should create cooperation and friendly competition among students The four criteria taking the fifth, sixth, seventh and the last positions are that games should be of suitably allotted time, that games should be of clear objectives and clear directions, easily understood and easily played, that games should be suitable for the intended lessons and that games should be suitable for students’ competence, age, and interest It is interesting to notice from Table 4.1 and Table 4.2 that there are many similarities in ranking the criteria for choosing games between teachers and students For example, both groups strongly agreed that games giving students a chance to learn, practice, or review a specific language material is the most important criterion With regard to games keeping all students involved and interested, games of proper time allocation, games creating cooperation and friendly competition among students, games suitable for the intended lessons and games suitable for students’ competence, age, and interest, the difference in ranking the criteria for choosing games between teachers and students was not much However, in reference to games that should be of clear objectives and clear directions, easily understood and easily played, and games that should be diverse, new, interesting and challenging, there were big differences in ranking the criteria for choosing games between teachers and students A good consequence of this remarkable resemblance is that the resulting order of importance in which the way teachers choose or design a game will be very close to how students liked it to be The criteria for choosing games in this study were ranked in the order of importance, which is the only difference from other previous studies This ranking suggests the priority of criteria for choosing game that teachers should take into consideration when choosing and designing games because no games can satisfy all the above criteria Page 59 4.3.2.2 Types of games used by teachers to teach vocabulary Choosing games which meet the above criteria in teaching vocabulary is quite logical to facilitate students’ vocabulary learning Data collected from answers to question 21 in the questionnaire for teachers were presented in Chart 4.22 below Chart 4.22 The frequency of games used to teach vocabulary Chart 4.22 shows that among CVG used by TGHSGS teachers in their classes, matching games were the most favorite games used by 87.5 % of the teachers Guessing games and grouping games took the second position (62.5 %) The others Page 60 were searching games (50 %) and problem-solving games (37.5 %) In the interviews on the 8th and 13th of March, most of the teachers admitted: “We use matching games the most frequently for the following reasons First, matching games don’t take much time and cost much money to prepare and to play Second, they are easily conducted in a large class Third, they don’t cause as much noise as the others Fourth, the rules are simple and easily understood, thus involve all students in the games Last but not least, they can be used in any stage of teaching vocabulary such as presentation, practice or revision Although guessing games and grouping games have most of the above advantages, guessing games take a lot of time to play while grouping games can hardly be used in presentation stage With reference to searching games and problemsolving games, their biggest disadvantages are that they take a great deal of time both to prepare and to play and cause a lot of noise.” Using a variety of games helps to raise students’ curiosity and interest in games and to avoid boring repetition Choosing an appropriate game is difficult However, the difficulties can be overcome In spite of having no teacher’s book or instruction books about using games for high school textbooks, teachers may find a lot of books written about games in the market such as “Vocabulary games and activities for Teachers” (Jones, 1993), “Language teaching games and contests” (Lee, 2000), “Word games with English” (Howard & Herd, 1994) and “Elementary and Intermediate Vocabulary Games” (Hadfield, 1999) Those books offer a variety of games suitable for different levels from beginning to advanced learners and catering to different age groups It is the problem of time for compilation, adaptation and adjustment To save a lot of time and effort when looking for games individually, teachers can sit down and make a collection of games together based on the language item required in the textbooks Many simple games require minimum preparation, like some simple pictures on the board or copies for students It is also advantageous for teachers in high schools of Page 61 remote areas which are not well-equipped with multimedia tools to promote students’ communication 4.3.3 Frequency to use games in teaching and learning vocabulary Table 4.3 displays the expected frequency of using games in teaching and learning vocabulary by teachers and 90 students in TGHSGS Data were based on the feedbacks of question 18 in the questionnaire for teachers and of question 14 in the questionnaire for students Table 4.3 Teachers’ and students’ suggestions about the frequency of using games Teachers’ Students’ Frequency of using games suggestions ranking suggestions ranking Compromised ranking Every lesson (25%) 19 (21.1%) 3 Once a week (12.5%) 12 (13.3%) 4 Twice a month (every unit) (37.5%) 36 (40%) 1 Once a month (25%) 23 (25.6%) 2 Once a semester (0%) (0%) 5 It is interesting to notice that in Table 4.3, the teachers’ ranking and students’ ranking were almost the same A good consequence of this resemblance led to a compromised frequency, showing that games used twice a month (in every unit), once a month, every lesson, once a week, once a semester take from the first position to the fifth position of preference respectively In the interview on the 8th and 13th of March most teachers said, “Although we know that vocabulary games have a lot of beneficial effects on students’ vocabulary learning, we use games to teach vocabulary twice a month, in another word in every unit or once a month but not every lesson or every class because of time allotted in class A game usually takes from 10 to 20 minutes and we have a lot of other materials to teach in every lesson or every class.” Page 62 4.3.4 When to use games in teaching vocabulary Table 4.4 reveals data obtained from responses to question 19 in the questionnaire for teachers on the stages when games should be used in teaching vocabulary Table 4.4 Stages in which games should be used to teach vocabulary Teachers’ responses Stages Presentation 100% Practice 87.5% Revision 75% The most favorite stage to apply games to teach vocabulary is the presentation stage Practice stage stands the second position and revision stage, the last position Games used in presentation stage help put vocabulary in students’ memory more easily and faster while games used in practice stage help students memorize vocabulary faster and better On the other hand, games used in revision stage help keep vocabulary in students’ memory longer In his research, Uberman (1998) has proved the usefulness and success of games in vocabulary presentation and revision stages while this study points out that games are useful and successful not only in vocabulary presentation and revision stages but also in vocabulary practice stage 4.3.5 How to teach and learn vocabulary through games effectively Data on teachers’ and students’ suggestions about ways of teaching and learning vocabulary through games effectively were collected from responses to question 23 in the questionnaire for teachers and to question 16 in the questionnaire for students and are illustrated in Table 4.5 Page 63 Table 4.5 Teachers’ and students’ suggestions for teaching and learning vocabulary through games effectively Factors Teache rs Students Averag e Ran k Games should be carefully chosen and well planned in advance (87.5%) 64 (71.1%) 79.3% Teacher should introduce the game, make the objective clear and explain the purpose and the rule clearly, thoroughly and carefully (50%) 51 (56.7%) 53.4% Teachers should let students be acquainted with the games at the beginning of the school year (25%) 23 (25.6%) 25.3% 11 Teachers should tell students the value of games in learning so that students may have proper awareness and behaviors toward learning language through games (37.5%) 19 (21.1%) 29.3% 10 Games should provide students with a lot of new vocabulary and give students chances to practice English, to express themselves (75%) 60 (66.7%) 70.9% Games should be used in a combination with realia, music, pictures or means of multimedia to enhance their effects (50%) 43 (47.8%) 48.9% 7 Games must draw upon students’ prior knowledge and lead to more newer information (62.5%) 53 (58.9%) 60.7% Do not overuse games or use the same game many times (62.5%) 46 (51.1%) 57% After games, teachers should give some explanations to make sure that all students can understand and learn new words (37.5%) 29 (32.2%) 34.9% 10 The use of mother tongue can be allowed in a limitation when necessary (25%) 38 (42.2%) 36.6% 11 Class should be divided into smaller groups and in each group, there should be a leader who can help the teacher to control and manage the group (75%) 55 (61.1%) 68.1% Page 64 It is interesting to notice from Table 4.5 that the percentage of teachers and that of students who are in favor of each of the suggested ways to teach and learn vocabulary through games effectively were almost the same Factors 1, 2, 3, and are practical suggestions, aiming at limiting difficulties that may be caused by games during the time of playing Choosing and organizing a game well in class help the teacher to direct students towards the established goal (mastering a certain stock of vocabulary) and save the wasteful time from preparing for playing the game in class Having students be acquainted with the games at the beginning of the school year tells them the value of games in learning and enhances students’ awareness of the important values of games so that they determine a proper behavior and way of learning for their study Explaining the games clearly and making the objective clear help students start the games smoothly and know exactly what they have to Factor suggested that games should supply students with a lot of new vocabulary and give them more chances to practice English in real communication This suggestion is quite sensible This is also the first criterion to consider when designing a game To win the game is not the end The ultimate goal of games is to master a good stock of vocabulary and the ability to use those words successfully in their tests and examinations as well as in a variation of contexts of everyday life Factor asked for an improvement of CVG with the help of realia, music, pictures or means of multimedia to enhance their effects It is quite logical Music, pictures and means of multimedia helps much to bring excitement and fun Then, with time, learners’ needs and tastes of games may change Simple games including matching, guessing, searching, crossword games and so on may be replaced by more such modern games as computer, digital or cartoon games Factors and have the same purpose: to create students’ motivation by making the game more exciting If the games are overused or repeated many times or if Page 65 the games are alien to students’ prior knowledge and culture, boredom may occur and lose students’ interests Factor is concerned with other language activities (i.e role-play, group-work and pair-work…) A game is a device to make the process of learning easier, so it cannot replace completely the traditional method To make the most use of games, teachers should combine games with other teaching activities like explanation, revision to enhance more their effects as well as to make sure that all students can understand and learn new words Factors 10 and 11 focus on improving interaction and activeness among students through organizing group-works logically and successfully Besides, with the help of a leader from students, indiscipline and noise can be limited In sum, those groups of suggestions above are interesting because they offer new useful ideas and are practical They should be taken into proper consideration when actual games are selected and developed 4.4 Summary This chapter has shown and discussed findings from teachers’ and students’ questionnaires, teachers’ interviews and class observations on their perceptions and difficulties of using games in teaching vocabulary It also presents the process of using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary Page 66 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY  -5.1 Introduction This research was conducted to find out teachers’ perceptions and using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary at TGHSGS This study is aimed to document the realities of using games to teach vocabulary at TGHSGS and make some implications for using games to teach vocabulary This chapter summarizes the key findings as well as provides some recommendations for teachers, students, policy makers and future researchers 5.2 Major research findings The findings can be summarized as follows 5.2.1 Teachers’ perceptions of using games in teaching vocabulary In respect of teachers’ perceptions of using games in teaching vocabulary, most of the teachers at TGHSGS fully realized the importance of teaching vocabulary and the usefulness of using games to teach vocabulary They pointed out the psychological, academic and social benefits related to using games to teach vocabulary Psychologically, games help students feel relaxed and interested, lower students’ anxiety and shyness and help students gain confidence and arouse their curiosity about new knowledge Academically, games help students acquire many words, learn new words faster and better, and learn new words from classmates and games also create a meaningful context for language use Socially, games encourage and increase cooperation, promote communicative competence and help students build problemsolving skills As a result, they also suggested that using games to teach vocabulary and the practice should be maintained at TGHSGS Page 67 5.2.2 Difficulties of using games to teach vocabulary With reference to the challenges of using games to teach vocabulary, the teachers reported a number of difficulties related to the design of appropriate games and the implementation of games in class First, it takes a lot of time to design a game suitable for the intended lesson and students’ language competence and characteristics Second, students sometimes miss the lesson inherent in the games because of their determination to win it Third, not all students want to participate in the games enthusiastically Forth, teachers have difficulty controlling students because of the noisy class Last but not least, because some vocabulary games sometimes take more time than expected, teachers have little time to explain the intended materials or some other vocabulary 5.2.3 Implementation of games in class With regard to the process of using games to teach vocabulary, the research presented the criteria to choose an appropriate game ranging from the most important to the least important, the types of games ranging from the most favorite to the least favorite, the stage of teaching vocabulary when games should be used, the frequency of using vocabulary games in class and the effective ways to teach and learn vocabulary 5.2.3.1 Criteria to choose an appropriate game In order to meet the goal, to facilitate students’ vocabulary learning, games used to teach vocabulary must satisfy students’ needs and tastes of learning In addition, games are expected to bring students psychological security, academic values and social benefits Games should satisfy most of the following criteria Games should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material Games should keep all students involved and interested Page 68 Games should be of clear objectives and clear directions, easily understood and easily played Games should be of suitably allotted time Games should create cooperation and friendly competition among students Games should be diverse, new, interesting and challenging Games should be suitable for the intended lessons Games should be suitable for students’ competence, age, and interest 5.2.3.2 Types of games Most of the teachers in this research used cooperative vocabulary games to teach vocabulary And the types of games are listed in the order ranging from the most favorite to the least favorite Matching games Grouping games Guessing games Searching games Problem-solving games 5.2.3.3 When to use games Traditionally, games have been used in the language class as warm-ups at the beginning of class, fill-ins when there is extra time near the end of class, or as an occasional bit of spice stirred into the curriculum to add variety On the other hand, games can also constitute a more substantial part of language courses This research suggests that games should be used in presentation, practice and revision stages of teaching vocabulary Vocabulary is not taught in its separate class but taught along with other language skills As a result, the amount of time allotted to teach vocabulary is very small In order to spare time for other language activities and material, this research Page 69 recommends that games should be used to teach vocabulary in class once or twice a month 5.2.3.4 How to apply games in class In order for using games to teach vocabulary to be effective, teachers should pay more attention to the following factors when applying vocabulary games in class Games should be carefully chosen and well planned in advance Games should provide students with a lot of new vocabulary and give students chances to practice English, to express themselves Class should be divided into smaller groups and in each group, there should be a leader who can help the teacher to control and manage the group Games must draw upon students’ prior knowledge and lead to more new information Do not overuse games or use the same game many times Teacher should introduce the game, make the objective clear and explain the purpose and the rule clearly, thoroughly and carefully Games should be used in a combination with realia, music, pictures or means of multimedia to enhance their effects The use of mother tongue can be allowed in a limitation when necessary After games, teachers should give some explanations to make sure that all students can understand and learn new words 10 Teachers should tell students the value of games in learning so that students may have proper awareness and behaviors toward learning language through games 11 Teachers should let students be acquainted with the games at the beginning of the school year 5.3 Implications Page 70 The following implications drawn from the findings of this research are suggested for the school board, and teachers of English at TGHSGS to overcome difficulties and enhance the effect of teaching English in general, and teaching vocabulary in particular 5.3.1 For administrators First, the school managing board, all the teachers in the teaching staff and students must realize that games are also a form of learning Game-playing is an especially effective device for mastering the real lesson Games are not only fun but help students learn without conscious analysis Second, the administrators may organize some English-related activities such as establishing the speaking-English club, singing English songs, inviting speakingEnglish volunteers to school, and so on These extracurricular activities offer students opportunities to learn more vocabulary and use vocabulary in real life As a result, they can realize the importance of vocabulary in developing communication competence and take more interest in learning English Third, teachers should be provided with favorable conditions including teaching facilities necessary to use games in class, soundproof classroom to limit noise that affects other classes, etc Fourth, the class size should be reduced to serve the purpose of applying games in class to teach vocabulary more effectively Therefore, students can have chances to practice English and receive teacher’ attention as well Finally, more workshops related to English teaching approach in general, using games to teach vocabulary in particular should be offered to teachers so that they can teach better and better 5.3.2 For teachers Page 71 - In order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that games should be well chosen, prepared and organized Teacher should base on the criteria to choose an appropriate game and the factors presented in 5.2.3.1 and 5.2.3.4 respectively - Teachers should figure out proper time management strategies Teachers should have a proper time division among vocabulary games, other materials and teaching language skills - To enlarge the collection of games, teachers should never stop looking for, collecting and designing new vocabulary games for their teaching To save time, teachers should keep these games in the categories of vocabulary or units - Teachers should tell students the purpose of games whenever games are used so that they can make the best use of games 5.3.3 For students - Students should take part in games seriously and enthusiastically - Students should take notes when games are taking place - Students should make the most of games in practicing language, learning new words from friends, correcting mistakes and enriching knowledge 5.4 Limitation of the study This research had a limitation The obvious flaw was that the number of teachers in TGHSGS was rather small As a result, the size of the teacher samples obtained was much less than satisfactory This limitation also reduced the generalizability of the teacher data collected 5.5 Suggestions for further research For the purpose of discovering teachers’ perceptions and using of games to facilitate students’ learning vocabulary, the thesis has achieved some initial insight However, there still remains much research to Page 72 - Since the thesis is for the scope of high schools for gifted students where most students, far or less, have good study motivation, good academic background and industriousness and the study was not surveyed for all types of high school students, such a topic can only be touched upon after more research than this has been conducted on game design and use - There should be research about many issues concerning using games in teaching vocabulary such as how to use games to make the most of the textbooks, or how to solve the problems that games may cause for teachers and students thoroughly - Studies on how games are used at the production stage in teaching vocabulary are another useful suggestion This will help teachers and students see the close relationship between vocabulary games and communication competence - With scientific and technological development, learners’ needs and tastes of games may change considerately Consequently, using multi-media to design or organize vocabulary games in a high school class needs more research Page 73