Using ball games to increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a primary school in vietnam

Trang 1 --- ∞0∞--- LE HOANG NGAN USING BALL GAMES TO INCREASE SECOND GRADERS’ MOTIVATION AND VOCABULARY LEARNING IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN VIETNAM MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Trang 2 MINISTRY

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Learning English has become an essential part of education in Vietnam due to the increasing demand for international cooperation and negotiation In recent decades, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has spent much effort and put more resources into improving teaching and learning English in public schools in Vietnam Many researchers (such as Lewis et al., 2000; Alqahtani, 2015; and Wulanjani, 2016) emphasized and promoted the importance of vocabulary learning According to Wilkins

(1972), obtaining sufficient vocabulary is crucial for learners because “without grammar, little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” (as cited in Lewis et al., 2000, p 8) By the same token, students could struggle to express ideas, thoughts without sufficient vocabulary and find it difficult to comprehend their interlocutor’s intended meaning (Lessard-Clouston, 2013) Besides, when learning vocabulary, motivation is an influential element that contributes to the achievement of vocabulary learning To strengthen young learners’ motivation and help them obtain and retain vocabulary, teachers and educators develop many creative activities with dedication worldwide One of these is using games for vocabulary learning in the English classroom Teachers use games intentionally, but most young students could learn words unintentionally through games Most young learners join games, and they do not think it is a vocabulary lesson directed by their teachers In reality, the use of games in teaching and learning vocabulary has become popular, where English is considered an important language Particularly with a large number of students within a class in public primary schools, students can get distracted easily compared to teenagers in high schools Hence, using games is helpful to get their attention Students like joining exciting games rather than traditional ways Indeed, students could lose their motivation if their teachers always apply common games and invariable activities throughout a school year As for further consideration beyond the context of Vietnam, many areas in the world still do not have enough infrastructure to apply games in TELL (Technology-enhanced language learning) Thus, the number of research in the world investigates the use of ball games on students at the age of primary is not abundant For these reasons, “Using ball games to increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a primary school in Vietnam” is chosen to study in this research.

Statement of the problem

As regards learning new words, Wulanjani (2016) mentioned that students learn words by copying them many times in some contexts This way was conventional that could demotivate students and create boredom To overcome this problem, many strategies were used One of these was using games in English classroom to motivate students to learn vocabulary However, in the context of teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City, the second graders’ textbook content only has a few words for the teacher to teach within two semesters For this reason, if the teacher keeps using popular games, second graders will lose their opportunities to generate and strengthen motivation, even if some students’ motivation is wearing off shortly Moreover, from the teaching experiences, the teacher-researcher has found three main problems in a large second- grade class in public primary schools to form the rationale of the study as follows:

First, second graders in the teacher-researcher’ large class feel bored as time goes by when they learn new words with popular techniques and common games such as learning words with pictures, songs, videos, copying words in their notebook, playing popular games like paper games, guessing games, role-play games, discussion games, words games, and sitting passively to participate in the games on slides showed by common presentation software of the computers Moreover, Seven (2020) stated that “if a teacher adopts the same method for all students, then some students will not be able to learn anything” (p 62) Lacking motivation creates obstacles for students to obtain new words Motivation is the key factor contributing to the teaching and students’ learning process and achievement (Yulistianti, 2016) As a consequence, the teacher-researcher tries to explore a type of game that can help improve students' motivation and vocabulary learning

Second, the number of students in the teacher-researcher’s large class is nearly fifty students Consequently, there are differences in students’ speed of joining the activities Although students are in the same class grade, their English vocabulary acquisition significantly differs; not many students have a good vocabulary learning in classes in public primary schools Most students struggle to obtain and retain vocabulary during English lessons Therefore, the teacher needs to find out activities that most of the students in the large classes can easily join to motivate students and enhance the vocabulary learning of those with weak performances According to Puspita and Losari

(2016), using games is one of the effective ways to make the process of learning vocabulary fruitful

Third, students in the teacher – researcher’ class are movement-based, which means they love moving, even for no particular reasons However, most games in the classroom do not take advantanges of this characteristic To choose an appropriate type of game for the intervention, the teacher – researcher recognizes that most second graders like touching real things and involving physical movements when playing games Due to this issue, the teacher-researcher investigated the use of ball games to figure out whether this type of game could be implemented effectively in large classes to encourage students to participate in the lesson, even for those who have been primarily passive before

In the Vietnam context, teaching is facing many challenges and difficulties due to the effects of credit-driven practice in education The teachers are often obsessed with their teaching achievement, which intends to compromise the quality of the testing results instead of precisely reflecting students’ abilities Not many empirical studies have been conducted for second graders in primary school to enhance the quality of teaching and learning vocabulary Only a few studies have attempted to research ball games on second graders’ vocabulary uptake in public primary schools Most related studies focus on the use of games in general and game-based learning in TELL with the support of computers and technologies However, even in the biggest city, public schools in Vietnam usually do not have sufficient infrastructure and computers to focus on TELL Another reason that could make ball games unpopular in teacher–researcher’s school is that games could create a big problem with noise Similar to the recognition from Aqsa et al (2017), games could bring “unending noise” because “all students want to take part in the games, calling the teacher to take a chance” (p 22)

In a nutshell, it is necessary to investigate the use of ball games in large classes in a public primary school In case of using ball games effectively, the teacher-researcher can promote students’ motivation and vocabulary learning and reduce the burden of depending on paper games and games in computer software.

Purpose statements

This study aims to investigate how ball games can enhance second-grade students’ learning motivation and vocabulary learning in large classes in public primary schools Additionally, the study can help the teacher-researcher determine solutions to overcome the local problems in a current class and improve the teaching Data collected provided empirical evidence for teachers, education reformers, and other researchers related to the use of ball games on primary EFL students.

Research questions

Given the information related to students’ learning motivation and vocabulary learning, this research attempts to address a question as follow:

How do ball games impove second – grade students’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a public primary school in Vietnam?

Significance of the study

Many studies worldwide have pointed out the benefits of games, yet they might not be suitable in the context of public primary schools in Vietnam, particularly for second graders Thus, the outcome of this classroom action research (CAR) can have a couple of contributions First, this action research helped the teacher-researcher of the ongoing classes determine the effectiveness of ball games on second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning Second, it can provide positive evidence for using ball games for all those interested in teaching vocabulary to primary students in public schools in Vietnam In short, the research can support the students, teachers, and researchers to overcome the difficulties of teaching and learning English.

Delimitation of the study

This classroom action research was conducted on second graders at a primary public school in a suburban area in Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Organization of the thesis

This research proposal includes six main chapters, namely [1] Introduction, [2] Literature review, [3] Methodology, [4] Data analysis and discussion of findings, [5] Conclusion, [6] References, and [7] Appendices

Chapter 1 is Introduction that presents general information about the study, including [1] Background of the study, [2] Statement of problems, [3] Purpose statement,

[4] Research questions, [5] Significance of the study, [6] Delimitation of the study, and

Chapter 2 is Literature Review that provides a theoretical framework for the action research, including [1] Vocabulary and vocabulary learning, [2] Motivation, [3] Games and the use of games in English classrooms, [4] Ball games, [5] Previous studies, and [6] Theoretical framework

Chapter 3 is Methodology, which illustrates the detailed methods used for this action research It consists of [1] Research design, [2] Research site and participants, [3] Instrument, [4] Data collection procedures, [5] Data analysis techniques, [6] Reliability and validity, [7] Triangulation, [8] Ethical considerations, and [9] Chapter summary

Chapter 4 is Data analysis and Discussion of findings, including [1] Findings of Cycle 1, [2] Findings of Cycle 2, [3] Discussion, and [4] Chapter summary

Chapter 5 is Conclusion of the proposal, including [1] Recapitulation of the study,

[2] Limitations of the study, [3] Implications, [4] Recommendations for further research, and [5] Chapter summary.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Vocabulary and vocabulary learning

Vocabulary is one of the crucial areas in English language, but it is defined a bit differently in some ways According to Hiebert and Kamil (2015), “vocabulary is the knowledge of meanings of words” in oral and print forms (p 03) Knowledge of words consists of receptive and productive forms Likewise, in a simple definition, Alqahtani

(2015) expressed that “Vocabulary is the total number of words that are needed to communicate ideas and express the speakers’ meaning” (p 25) Second language learners at any level use vocabulary to specify their thoughts, pretention, will, and even contention Briefly, Bai (2018) stated that “vocabulary is one of the three elements of language, the building material and the basic of language” (p 849) Accordingly, vocabulary is the heart of the four language skills, making the language stream run smoothly and lively

2.1.2 Vocabulary learning and its importance

Vocabulary learning in second language is the process in which learners learn words in another language after the acquisition of their mother language (Wu, 2012) and is an indispensable part of foreign language learning (Alqahtani, 2015) Vocabulary’s function for comprehending language is likened to the heart’s way of supplying blood to the body, and “no language can be taught effectively without its vocabulary” (Miraj et al., 2015, p.05) Equivalently, Cameron (2011) emphasized that vocabulary is a significant resource for language use in second language learning Vocabulary had a major contribution to the achievement of four language abilities, including reading, writing (Staehr, 2008), listening (Staehr, 2009; Farvardin & Valipouri, 2017), and speaking (Uzer, 2017) First of all, regarding speaking and listening abilities, obtaining a sufficient number of words is very important to present and convey the meaning of a speaker’s speech when communicating in a foreign language (Cook, 2013; Hadi, 2017) because words are basic knowledge for communication (Susanto et al., 2019) For ages, it has been recognized that learners should increase their vocabulary size even though not all the words need to be learned by language users (Nation, 2001) The second benefit is related to reading ability, Fadi (2019) implied that educational stakeholders should put emphasis on teaching vocabulary because vocabulary size has a positive correlation with reading comprehension Both vocabulary knowledge (breadth and depth) can be used as

“predictors of reading comprehension proficiency” (Harkio & Pietilọ, 2016, p 1087) Regarding writing ability, Viera (2017) asserted that vocabulary knowledge directly affects learners’ performance in producing well-structured written texts In short, vocabulary learning plays a pivotal role in language courses (Torki, 2011; Tamimi & Rajabi, 2018)

2.1.3 Vocabulary learning strategies for young learners

Pertaining to teaching English to young learners, teachers need different strategies since young learners have special characteristics compared to adults (Juhana, 2014) Some strategies as imitating the pronunciation of words through songs (Pavia et al.,

2019), total physical response (Katemba, 2020) and some techniques sush as dictionary use, contextual guessing (Ebrahimi et al., 2015) can be used for vocabulary learning In other contexts, students’ ability to recall the words increased significantly after watching movies (Ashcroft et al., 2018) However, young learners with a short average concentration span need a variety of enjoyable activities to get their attention in learning vocabulary (Lelawati et al., 2019) Hence, Ahmed (2017) recognized that vocabulary is crucial to English language acquisition but “learning vocabulary is not an easy job”, and it is better to use different strategies to learn vocabulary to achieve good results (p 41) Concerning suitable strategies for vocabulary learning, Al-Shawi (2014) pointed out that learning vocabulary through games can provide a logical contribution, which helps students clarify the meanings of the words In some cases, games can support students in contextualizing words with a stress-free condition and motivate them to engage positively in the classroom (Bakhsh, 2016; Derakhshan & Khatir, 2015) Equivalently,

Ma (2019) also supported the idea of implementing educational games in the English classroom because games can stimulate the student’s curiosity Briefly, various researchers have promoted many strategies for vocabulary learning.

Motivation

The definitions of motivation are various among the understanding of scholars It is a broad concept and difficult to define (Li & Lynch, 2016) According to Snowman et al (2012), “in practical terms, motivation is simply the willingness of a person to expend a certain amount of effort to achieve a particular goal under a particular set of circumstances” (p 367) The understanding of motivation may differ among people, but its existence is very important in the world of education As Wardani et al (2020) stated that motivation is a drive or impulse that can cause, direct and organize people's behaviors to do certain activities “Motivation is an inner force that activates and provides direction to our thoughts, feelings, and actions”(Mubeen & Norman, 2014, p

129) Related to motivation in learning, Borah (2021) stated that motivation directs learners in achieving learning goals

Generally, motivation plays a noteworthy role in the language learning’s process (Rahman & Sahayu, 2020), and it is a key factor in language teaching (Yulistianti, 2016)

According to Goyal (2015), motivation can enhance students’ performance, direct students’ behaviors, improve cognitive processing, and ameliorate students’ persistence, effort, and energy In education, it could be hard to achieve learning goals without motivation because “without student motivation, there is no pulse; there is no life in the class” (Anjomshoa & Sadighi, 2015, p.126), and unmotivated students could not study effectively (Melnic & Botez, 2014) For the most part, motivation can impact the development of language skills (Alizade, 2016) and influence the target of learning (Purnama et al., 2019) Nevertheless, motivation is one of the challenges confronted by English teachers in battling to meet learners’ diverse abilities (Al-Subaiei, 2017) Students are not always motivated; their motivation needs to be encouraged by the teachers (Goyal, 2015) For this reason, the study emphasized that teachers should motivate students in the classroom to help students have the desire to learn and prevent failure by considering some factors such as emotional and physical motives

2.2.3 Strategies for strengthening students’ motivation

Motivational strategies were undoubtedly important for English teachers, but the ways to motivate students might differ from place to place depending on every English classroom condition (Riyanti, 2019) In school practice, several strategies were applied by teachers in developing students’ interests with the support of computers, such as ICT, music, media (Amjah, 2014), giving praise, giving suggestions, and playing motivational videos (Herlinda et al., 2020), and the combination of verbal and visual methods (Rahman & Sahayu, 2020) Another strategy is using games to motivate students, build up a cooperated and competing environment to support them in learning vocabulary (Aqsa et al., 2017) because educational games create free, harmonious with entertainment features that can stimulate students’ interest (Ma, 2019) Games could be one of the good factors for improving students’ motivation in vocabulary learning (Tran,

2.2.4 Techniques for exploring and assessing students’ motivation

Motivation cannot be directly observed (Fernỏndez & Caủado, 2001)

"Motivation is not the behavior" (Tohidi & Jabbari, 2012, p.823), but motivation “has a positive relation with student behavior”(Zulfiqar & Muhammad, 2011, p 32) In the classroom, emotions such as enjoyment, anger, boredom, anxiety, pride, hope, and hopelessness are significantly related to students’ motivation (Pekrun et al., 2002) Interest and liking is also one of behavioral indicator of motivation (Meece & McColskey, 1997) Similarly, Azim (2020) recommended that teachers use observable signals to assess motivation, such as “eyes contact”, “loving and respecting teachers”,

“coming on time”, “completing classroom tasks quickly, “enjoying group activities”,

“suggesting topics to teachers” (p 42) Berhenke et al (2011) stated that “children’s emotion expression and task engagement were assessed based on their observed facial and verbal expressions and behavioral cues” (p 430) Briefly the emotions and behaviors observed can be valuable indicators of young students’ motivation.

Games and the use of games in English classroom

Regarding the definition of games, Hadefield (1998) stated, “A game is an activity with rules, a goal, and an element of fun” (p 04) In the English teaching and learning context, Luu (2012) defined that “Games, in fact, are not games only, but a good means of education.” (p 263) Research from Rizki, Wirhayati, and Pd (2013) showed that games not only can make students relaxed but also create a good situation in students’ learning process Students do not feel bored when memorizing words because they learn words with the impression of interesting games Beyond the comfortable atmosphere, games encourage students’ motivation (Safura & Helmanda, 2022; Silsüpür, 2017) and enhance students’ vocabulary learning (Ramadhaniarti, 2016) In a word, games have been recognized as an essential part of learning a second language due to their positive impact on students’ learning (O’Riordan & Kirkland, 2008; Mora & Gómez, 2001; Jensen, 2017)

2.3.2 Types of games in English classroom

Choosing appropriate types of games for vocabulary learning in the English classroom was crucial (Wulanjani, 2016) According to Siek-Piskozub (1994; as cited in Uberman, 1998), unsuitable tasks and incompatible topics beyond students’ experiences in games can turn games into obstruction Not all sorts of games have a positive impact for all learners Choosing appropriate games depends on the number of students, proficiency level, time limitation, covered content, cultural aspects, and classroom conditions (Nguyen & Khuat, 2003) Gruss (2016) made a pedagogical implication in which choosing a game is salient because every group of students is unique The teachers should ensure that many children in that group can play the chosen games

Categorizing types of games was varied among researchers For elementary, Hadefield (1998) suggested two kinds of games: linguistic games and competitive games Likewise, H Nguyen (2021) categorized popular games as matching, ordering, completing, competitions, card games, and memory games

Corresponding to vocabulary learning, Stavy et al (2019) suggested some games, encompassing Describe It, Matching Pairs, Jigsaw Puzzle, Board Rush, Ball games, and True or False These games can enhance students’ vocabulary retention Nevertheless, they might not be suitable for all students at any level Teachers have to consider many factors when deciding which games can be used in a specific class to give students fun and education, otherwise they will be fruitless activities (Zhang, 2018)

2.3.3 Benefits of using games in English classroom

Despite shortcomings and difficulties, various researchers emphasized significantly the role of games in English classes because of their various benefits The first benefit is that implementing games is one of the successful ways to manage issues of mixed-ability classes (Ansari, 2013) Regardless of students’ differences, “they are motivated to use the target language while they are playing a game” (p.116) The second benefit of using games is that the implementation can improve students’ four language skills, covering listening (Syafii et al., 2020), speaking (Zhu, 2012; Pham et al., 2020), writing (Utama et al., 2021) and reading (Hutabarat & Zaidi, 2021) Beyond the benefit of promoting students’ interaction (Kaur & Aziz, 2020), games can reduce difficulties in learning grammar and developing students’ grammar competence (Lilić & Bratoz, 2019; Al-Jarrah et al., 2019) and enhance students’ pronunciation (Nguyen, 2015), supporting students to retain unfamiliar vocabulary (Shabaneh &Farrah, 2019), impacting the vocabulary mastery of students (Jannah et al., 2020) In Vietnam practice, T Nguyen

(2021) implied that using games in Vietnam is more effective than rote memorization of word lists in traditional teaching methods Still, the study had a delimitation among university students and might not generate the findings to primary students in public schools in Vietnam

2.3.4 The effects of games on motivation and vocabulary learning

Various research proved that games could promote students’ motivation (Wang, Shang & Briody, 2011; Mahmoud & Tanni, 2014) Besides, motivation affects students’ vocabulary learning because “ the higher the student’s level of motivation, the higher their vocabulary knowledge” (Sadeghi, 2013, p 212) Equally, Sari et al (2020) concluded that there is a significant correlation between students’ motivation and their vocabulary learning Students who have high motivation can gain good vocabulary mastery Simply put, using games in vocabulary instruction could stimulate them to engage cognitively with attention in acquiring vocabulary (Wells & Narkon, 2011) For primary students, games help them feel relaxed and motivated to learn vocabulary (Masri

& Najar, 2014; Al-Shawi, 2014) Lotnick (2014) made these relations clear by concluding that games were fun and a great way of motivating students to join the language classroom When students participate, they pay attention, and their working memory capacity is active and processed Summarily, “language teachers depend upon successfully motivating their students” (p 18).

Ball games

2.4.1 What are ball games and their benefits?

A few empirical research have clearly defined ball games Some research used balls as educational material in English classrooms, including the use of a rubber ball (Zuhriyah & Aziza, 2022) and a soft ball (Saleh & Althaqafi, 2022) to support students in learning English Simply put, ball games that are “any game that is played with a ball” (Cambridge University Press, n.d.)

As for ball games’ benefits, the ball toss games in which students use a ball to pass or toss to review, discuss, and share information could improve students’ vocabulary mastery (Sudarmiati, 2022) Using a soft ball for students to catch and say the picture chosen by the teacher is one of the educational games that can increase student’s engagement, improve knowledge absorption and retention (Saleh & Althaqafi,

2.4.2 Strategies for implementing ball games

The article from Case (n.d) mentioned the strategy of using balls in which students use a ball and throw it to meet the places on the whiteboard Students throw and catch or bounce balls when drilling the target language based on some topics like irregular verbs, past participles, and uncountable nouns With the same ideas of using ball games in the classroom, The TEFL Academy (2018) suggested that teachers could apply some ball games in the EFL classroom For instance, in brainstorming games, the teacher and students throw and catch the ball to say the intended words related to a certain topic Another type is short-answer questions in which the student who catches the ball must answer the question within their group Related to the vocabulary revision, The TEFL Academy (2018) also introduced a quick and effective way of throwing balls in which the student who gets the ball has to name a word; if not, that student must be out of a round Besides, students can throw a ball at a flashcard stuck to the board The first student hit the right place can get points for the team Shortly, only a few articles or research investigate the ball games in which students can move and throw a ball into a basket and say a word, particularly in a large class with more than fifty students as they are in a public primary school Moreover, the ball game that requires students to throw the ball onto the board to hunt a target should be mentioned more in recent empirical research.

Previous studies

Many studies worldwide concluded the benefits of using games, even in classes with a large number of students However, Aqsa et al (2017) found out that games could bring much noise to the class Inadequate class discipline and monitoring are some problems in large classes (Roshan et al., 2022) Notwithstanding, “large classes are not firmly a pedagogical dilemma” in case the teacher can apply various suitable techniques methods (Bahanshal, 2013, p.57), use confident gestures and expressions (Scrivener,

2012), and good classroom management (Hue & Li, 2008) with rules and routines, relationships, motivating instruction, discipline, and physical design of the classroom (Garrett, 2014) Besides classroom management, some studies suggested using games to get students’ attention (Hadi & Arante, 2015) and attract students’ interest in large classes (Dian Erlina et al., 2020)

To choose the type of games, various researchers chose the use of ball games Rahayu and Sari (2012) implemented the Good Morning Ball game to encourage primary students to speak English The teacher provided three different balls in color or size Each ball has its sentence or words Students who got the balls have to say the sentence that comes with the ball Good Morning Ball made the class become lively and made students enjoyable in learning English Sudarmiati (2022) suggested that using the ball toss strategy enhances students’ vocabulary mastery The research from Sudarmiati only focused on one type of ball game instead of investigating plenty of ball games Rahmadhani (2015) mentioned that teachers could use a ball for students to hold, pass around, and ask questions Teachers could facilitate and recycle words for the whole class However, the use of the ball in this research was only a small technique, and it was not examined as a main intervention of the study Zuhriyah and Aziza (2022) suggested that teachers should use a rubber ball as one of the games to improve students’ vocabulary mastery With their mention, it was better to use a rubber ball with a diameter of 20 cm for students to throw and catch with a certain topic given initially by the teacher The aforementioned benefits indicated the role of ball games in learning English However, the physical characteristics of ball games were not highligted in these previous studies Moreover, as specified in the statement of problems, students in the teacher- researchers class love moving, but the ball games in the mentioned studies do not require movement to encourage students to involve in physical motives

Some researchers suggested incorporating physical games (Prihhartini, 2018), and implementing movement into classroom lessons to enhance the physical activities minutes to foster creativity, cognitive development, and motivation for students learning (Koch, 2013) The integration of physical or movement-based activities into lessons could impact students’ learning (Braniff, 2011) and help students improve their concentration levels (Nalder & Northcote, 2015) In line with physical characteristics in games, Tomlinson and Masuhara (2009) encouraged teachers to use a variety of different types of physical games on a language-learning course because of many benefits, for instance, promoting positive self-esteem and attitudes toward the course However, the learners sometimes ignore the learning because they want to focus only on the entertainment value of the game Therefore, teachers should use various types of physical games Some type of games that have physical characteristics are ball games According to Cambridge University Press (n.d), ball games that are “any game that is played with a ball” Therefore the physical educated entertaining of ball games make them different from common games in previous studies

In the Vietnam context, using games could improve students’ learning process in the class with a large number of students (Tran, 2013) and create a comfortable learning environment for students to join the classroom activities more effectively in the pedagogical contexts of public schools (Nguyen et al., 2021; Nong, 2021) Some studies have been conducted to find out the roles of games in English classes However, a few officially concentrate on the motivation of using ball games in English classes, particularly for second graders in the context of public primary schools in Vietnam Over and above that, a small number of studies have the combination of physical characteristics and the use of balls in large classes In fact, every strategy works in every context Even the most popular and reliable one might not work for a particular group or situation As a result, this action research was carried out to figure out the use of ball games in large classes in a public primary school.

Theoretical Framework

In general, games can generate and strengthen students’ motivation (Wang, Shang

& Briody, 2011; Mahmoud & Tanni, 2014) As for ball games in the English classroom, they helped encourage students to speak English and make them enjoyable in learning English (Rahayu & Sari, 2012) Thus, ball games involve movement, education, and entertainment The implementation of physical movement activities into classroom lessons can promote creativity, cognitive development, and motivation for learners (Koch, 2013) Motivation was indicated through emotions (Pekrun et al., 2002; Berhenke et al., 2011) and behaviors (Zulfiqar & Muhammad, 2011; Berhenke et al., 2011) Motivation could encourage and stimulate students to learn vocabulary (Wells & Narkon, 2011; Masri & Najar, 2014; Al-Shawi, 2014; Lotnick, 2014) Based on these reasons, the teacher–researcher chose the ball games intervention to explore the use of ball games on second graders in large classes

The below theoretical framework is a foundational theory that serves as a map for this action research

Figure 2.1 Theoretical Framework of the study

- Behavioral cues of interest and liking

- Observed facial expressions of enjoyment

METHODOLOGY

Research design

This study is action research with two cycles, aiming to investigate the use of ball games to increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning In general, action research helps teacher-researcher solve certain local issues (Creswell, 2012)

In this section, the teacher - researcher describes the framework of methods and techniques of the research The teacher-researcher employed mixed methods to explore the current situation of second-grade students’ vocabulary learning and motivation through ball games In mixed methods, both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered While quantitative data were collected from test 1, test 2, test 3, and quizzes, qualitative data were provided from semi-structured interviews and observations The tool SPSS version 26 was used to collect and analyze the data obtained from test 1, test

2, test 3, and quizzes The tool MAXQDA 2020 was used to transcribe and code the results of interviews and observations The findings drawn from different sources of information and processes were expected to have solid validity and reliability with this methodological triangulation

This study was conducted with classroom action research (CAR) Khasinah (2013) asserted that CAR is a “scientific method,” and it goes beyond personal reflection to improve teachers’ teaching (p.113) Tran (2009) concluded that action research aims to help teachers solve their teaching problems in action In reality, action research might differ in some way (Ary et al., 2010), but they were often processed with common elements such as planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (Carr & Kemmis, 2003) This CAR employed steps adapted from the Action Research Cycles by Kemmis, McTaggart and Nixon (2014), ordered with four steps (1) plan, (2) act, (3) observe, (4) reflect This action research was conducted in two cycles Each cycle lasted for five weeks

Figure 3.1 Classroom Action Research with two cycles

Research site and participants

The research site of this study was Bui Van Ngu Primary School, located in Hoc Mon District, one of the suburban areas in Ho Chi Minh City The school was established in 1994 in the same building with another secondary school and then rebuilt separately in 2004 In the academic school year of 2022-2023, there were 61 classes with ten first- grade classes, 12 second-grade classes, 12 third-grade classes, 11 fourth-grade classes, and 16 fifth-grade classes The total number of students of this school year was nearly

3050, with around 45-50 students per class As for the teachers of English, there are 11 teachers of English in the school

The participants were in one class that the teacher–researcher was assigned to teach in the academic school year 2022 – 2023, namely class 2.11 The number of participants in the class was 49 students The class was selected through a convenient sampling method Participants in this nonprobability sampling were chosen based on availability and convenience (Creswell, 2012) The participants have common characteristics such as grades, years of learning, and English learning time per week

Family and Friends National Edition is a series of books for primary students who learn English from grade 1 The books were edited and printed in Vietnam with the approval of Oxford University Press The series develops students’ speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills through various activities The national edition is the edited version of some previous versions to make it suitable for the situation in most public primary schools Family and Friends National Edition is the leading book to teach English at Bui Van Ngu Primary School To second-grade students, they learn Family and Friends 2 National Edition The book contains six units, covering various aspects of children’s lives focused on family members, colors, feelings, clothes, transportation, various rooms, animals, toys, colors, school items, fruits, and clothes Upon the syllabus, second graders had four periods per week, lasting 35 minutes for each

Presentation – Practice –Production or PPP was used in the teaching procedures of the experimental class The PPP technique is a common way to introduce students to new words by helping them learn, understand, and practice

In the presentation stage, the teacher presented new words to second-grade students They learned both forms and meanings of words through pictures, gestures, and flashcards shown on the board In the practice stage, the teacher–researcher helped students to practice words by sticking the words to the pictures and playing ball games to read, speak, listen, and write the words given In the production stage, the teacher supported students to say the words fluently in sentences In the consolidation of teaching vocabulary, the teacher encouraged students to review all parts of the lesson to ensure students understanding

Details of the ball game procedures are described in Appendix A

There are ten ball games in total for two cycles The following table describes each ball game for the whole intervention of the action research

Table 3.1 Types of ball games with short descriptions

-Rules: Throw a small plastic ball into baskets, stick the correct word after listening and repeating words

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Throw a table tennis ball into baskets after listening and repeating words

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

3 Sticky balls -Number of teams: 2

-Rules: Throw a sticky ball into the target pictures after listening and repeating words

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

4 Passing ball -Number of teams: whole class, pairs

-Rules: Students pass the ball and say the words -Objectives: Practice new words with fun

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Stick the words on the passing ball after listening and repeating words

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

6 Table tennis balls with writing boards

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Write new words on students’ writing board after listening and repeating words, throw a table tennis ball into a basket

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Write new words on students’ writing board after listening and repeating words, then throw a small plastic ball into a basket

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

8 Sticky balls with writing boards

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Write new words on students’ writing board after listening and repeating words, then throw a sticky ball into the target pictures

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

9 Passing ball and football with writing board

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Students read the word and pass the ball, kick a ball into the goal

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

10 Golf balls with writing boards

-Number of teams: 2 -Rules: Students read the word and use a stick to hit a ball into the goal

-Objectives: Practice new words with fun

Instruments

To explore motivation, Iguchi (2017) suggested using questionnaires and interviews However, sometimes questionnaires might not be suitable for elementary students, particularly second-grade students Succinctly, teachers can use observation to reveal children’s emotional and behavioral responses and use interviews to ask questions to explore their motivation Tests and quizzes were utilized to determine whether ball games increase students’ vocabulary learning

Some different types of ball games were used in Cycle 1 Then, these ball games were modified and implemented for Cycle 2 (See the detail of the Lesson Plan in

Table 3.2 Ball games allocation in Cycle 1 and Cycle 2

Cycle Week Unit Included Vocabulary Ball games

Unit 4 – I go to school by bus bus, bike, car, truck, motorbike, boat basketballs

2 woman, wall, box, fox table tennis balls

3 yogurt, yo-yo, zebra, zoo sticky balls

4 Unit 5 – Where is the ball? seesaw, slide, goal, tree, pool, frisbee passing balls

5 nurse, orange, pen, queen sticking plastic balls

6 Unit 5 –Where is the ball? rabbit, sofa, tiger, umbrella table tennis balls with writing boards

Unit 6 – Where is Grandma? kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, dining room basketballs with writing boards

8 TV, computer, camera, phone sticky balls with writing boards

9 eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen passing balls and football with writing boards

10 rice, meat, soup, egg golf balls and writing boards

Creswell (2012) highlighted the advantages of observation for collecting data as an opportunity to record information with actual behavior that occurred in a setting and be beneficial to individuals who have difficulties in verbalizing their ideas The researcher asked for permission from parents and the school’s principal to observe the class The observation results were collected and compared with the interview results

It is difficult to observe a person’s motivation directly All things that can be observed are a person’s emotions shown by facial expressions and their behaviors For this reason, this action research used video recording to capture actions and activities in the classroom to determine students’ behaviors and emotions Motivated students present positive emotions and work efficiently with good performance

Video recordings were utilized as a data collection strategy to provide a record during an observation (Ary et al., 2010) For action research, it was recognized that direct observation could also be used as an instrument However, using video recordings, in this case, could help the teacher-researcher overcome the gap between what the researcher can see and what actually happened In other words, it could support the researcher if something is missing during direct observation These advantages make video recordings suitable for observing the improvement of students’ motivation, particularly for a class with nearly 50 students Students may behave differently with a camera in the classroom Nonetheless, children are easily getting familiar with it with no attention, and the camera’s presence becomes routine (Ary et al., 2010) This instrument captured students’ emotions and behaviors to create evidence for exploring their motivation The observation was designed with five main steps

Data from video recordings must be put into a form ready for analysis The researcher was aware of two validity issues, including observer bias and observer effects When interpreting the situation through video, the researcher consulted another observer to help detect the presence of bias This research also used the observation protocols to

Adapt observation protocol form Get experts' feedback

Imploy video observation recordingComplete observation analysisPresent results guide the researcher in recording information during the observation (Creswell, 2012) The teacher-researcher designed the research’s observation protocol before collecting data The observations were to find out two manifestations of motivation: students’ emotions and students’ behaviors

In this research, the teacher–researcher plays the role of an observer by watching a video recording with expert advice from colleagues and the supervisor An observation protocol guided the teacher to record information during an observation According to Creswell (2012), in the form of the observation protocol, the researcher records “a chronology of events, a detailed portrait of an individual or individuals, a picture or map of the setting, or verbatim quotes of individuals” (p 227)

To get such data, the teacher–researcher watched video recordings and took notes in observation protocol on students’ facial expressions and behaviors Behaviors of students in vocabulary learning and using the ball were also noted in the observation protocol to create evidence for the teacher – researcher to modify the ball games for the next cycle

Table 3.3 A form of the observation protocol

Ball games in English classroom Setting:

Description of Object Reflective Notes

(e.g., happy, enjoyable, bored ) (e.g., raise hands, talk, move, stand, ) (e.g., speak words, read, listen, write) (e.g., tool aids, …)

The purpose of using semi-structured interviews is to determine students’ emotions and intentional behaviors Based on students’ emotions about learning words with ball games, the teacher-researcher can modify the ball games for the next cycle if needed Ary et al (2010) stated that using interviews is one of the basic data-gathering techniques Koshy (2005) suggested that using interviews is a common way to provide robust evidence for action researchers The author also summarized that interview transcripts help the researcher show the data and draw conclusions In this action research, the interviewer presented the questions to students and recorded their audio responses This action research conducted a semi-structured interview The teacher- researcher recorded, transcribed and coded the interviews into themes The data types are transcriptions of the interviews because the questions are not set in order or phrasing, and some were not previously set The researcher designed the interview questions with the help of two in-service teachers working in a public primary school These teachers read and edited the interview questions to ensure their validity As Fraenkel et al (2012) asserted that semi-structured interviews help the researcher clarify any obscured questions Thus, the interviewee can easily expand their answers as well

After implementing the ball games in Cycle 1, the teacher–researcher invited 15 students from the three subsets of scores from test 2 to join an interview In Cycle 1, there was a total of six fixed questions in the semi-structured interview in which students could give their further explanation or specification:

Question 1 Did you like the ball games implemented in the class?

Question 2 Why did you like ball games?

Question 3 Which ball game did you like most?

Question 4 How did you feel when playing the ball games?

Question 5 Were the ball games intriguing?

Question 6 Do you want to join the ball games in the future?

In Cycle 2, there was a total of five fixed questions in the semi-structured interview, the teacher could ask more questions to make students comfortable when answering

Question 1 Did you like the ball games combined with a writing board? Question 2 Which ball game did you impress most?

Question 3 How did you feel when you play ball games?

Question 4 If you have a chance to play the ball games, which game will you choose to play first?

Question 5 Do you want to join the ball games in the future?

In both cycles, the formal interviews were conducted individually in a comfortable room during school time Each interview lasted about 4-5 minutes The teacher–researcher gained feedback from the supervisor to ensure the interview questions were valid and purposeful Information collected from this instrument was used to cross-check with the results from previous observations To ensure the occurrence of the interview, the teacher-researcher asked for the permission of the homeroom teacher of the class and the student’s parents in advance The interview was set up at a convenient time and place to create a comfortable interview condition During the interviews, participants were informed about the record from an audio recording of their answers The teacher–researcher asked participants for permission to record the information as a source for data analysis The information gathered from interviews was transcribed, coded, and categorized into themes by importing the interview transcripts into MAXQDA2020 software to present in the content analysis The procedure for collecting information is shown in the following figure

Along with this formal instrument, this research also used informal, conversational interviews According to Swain and King (2022), informal conversation

Design interview questionsGet experts' feedbackRecord interviewTranscribe and code interviewPresent results can be used as a complement and add to formal types of data generated through interviews In this action research, the teacher had an informal conversational interview with the whole class after each lesson This instrument could foster interactions, reduce pressure, build rapport with respondents, and allow them to speak openly The information was recorded in video recordings of each period This instrument aims to aid data generation to enhance findings Two fixed questions were asked in this informal interview for 2 cycles Some unstructured questions were displayed in Appendix G

Question 1 Do you like the ball game today?

Question 2 Do you want to join the ball game next time/ in the future?

To determine students’ vocabulary learning after each period, the teacher– researcher used a quiz on a small and simple piece of paper (see Appendix B) In each cycle, five quizzes focused on matching the words, letters, and pictures By doing this, the teacher can also explore what kind of ball games are the most effective in students’ vocabulary learning in Cycle 1 and create evidence to modify them for Cycle 2 Overall, quizzes enhanced the findings of tests by whether ball games can increase students’ vocabulary learning Each quiz has five questions, so the scores were divided into four scales The following table is for students’ performance on quizzes

Table 3.4 The scales of quizzes’ results

Ary et al (2010) suggested that tests were considered “valuable measuring instruments for education research” (p.201) In this research, all second-graded participants took three tests in total (see Appendix C) Test 1 was used before the intervention of ball games, test 2 was used at the end of Cycle 1, and test 3 was used at the end of Cycle 2 The teacher-researcher prepared and adapted all the tests based on the format of Starters examination with the judgment of colleagues and the supervisor to ensure the face validity of the tests and focus on vocabulary aspects The tests also follow the content from second graders’ English books and word lists of Family and Friends 2 National Edition to ensure internal validity The purpose of using three tests is to compare the results of test 1 and test 2 to investigate the effectiveness of ball games on students’ vocabulary learning in Cycle 1 The results of test 2 and test 3 were used to identify the effectiveness of modified ball games on students’ vocabulary learning after Cycle 2 In general, the objectives of the tests were to determine the effects of the intervention on second graders’ vocabulary learning after each cycle In reality, action research was to help the teacher overcome the local problems in the current class Therefore, the objective of the tests had to be relevant to one of the objectives of the learning outcomes, which was the vocabulary in English learning Specifically, all the vocabulary in the three tests has to be appropriate to the content of the textbook and the learning context of public primary school After taking part in the ball games, the impact of students’ vocabulary learning could affect their learning outcomes at the end of the school year as well

Regarding the format, three tests had the same format and were carried out the same way Specifically, each test included four parts In Part 1, there are five questions; second-grade participants need to put a tick in the box with the correct answer by listening to a recording In Part 2, there are five questions; students have to put a tick or a cross in the box by reading the sentences and looking at the pictures In Part 3, there are five questions; students need to look at the pictures and reorder the letters by writing them to the blank In Part 4, there are five questions; students have to look at the pictures, point to things in the pictures, and answer the questions asked by the teacher Examples were presented in each part The total score of each test was 10 The time for students to do each test was 35 minutes in total.

Data collection procedures

The data collection procedures were processed and adapted based on the following spiral from Kemmis, McTaggart and Nixon (2014) and Carr and Kemmis

3.4.1 The specific time of the intervention

Table 3 5 The specific time of the intervention

The direction of each step followed by Syah (2016) is as follow:

1 Plan: After test 1, which was used to determine students' vocabulary learning before planning action, the teacher-researcher depended on the identified problems and planned action that used ball games to enhance students’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a specific area of the research context

2 Act: After planning ball games, the teacher put them into action over five weeks There were five ball games in Cycle 1 Basketball game was used in Week 1 Table tennis balls game was used in Week 2 Sticky balls game was used in Week 3 Passing balls game was used in Week 4 Sticking plastic balls was used in Week 5

3 Observation: The teacher observed students’ behaviors and emotions through video recording with the help of colleagues when the teacher – researcher took notes on the observation protocol, and the data was collected Along with this formal tool, the informal conversation was applied at the end of every lesson to contribute to data generation Then, the participants received test 2 at their classroom

4 Reflection: A semi-structured interview was conducted with students’ mother language before the reflection to collect students’ emotions after joining the ball games The teacher invited fifteen students and explained the procedure of interviews Besides, the teacher – research helped them feel comfortable in the interviews After the intewviews, the teacher – researcher listened to the audio recording and create the transcription of the interview Then, the results of the action were evaluated and became evidence for a further cycle

1 Re-plan: Based on the reflection in Cycle 1, the teacher modified the ball games to make them better and work well for the current class

2 Act: The modified ball games were implemented in the current class over five other weeks The table tennis balls with writing board was used in Week 1, basketball with writing board was used in Week 2, sticky balls with writing board was used in Week 3, passing balls with writing board combined with football was used in Week 4, and golf balls with writing board was used in Week 5

3 Observation: The teacher observed students’ behaviors and emotions through video recording with the help of colleagues when the teacher – researcher took notes on the observation protocol, and the data was collected Then, the teacher used semi-structured interviews to determine the students’ emotions when learning vocabulary with the current modified ball games In addition, the same with Cycle 1, information conversation was used at the end of each period to collect data to firm the results of observation and interviews Next, the participants received test

4 Reflection: A semi-structured interview was used before the reflection to collect students’ emotions after joining the modified ball games The teacher invited fifteen students and explained the procedure of interviews Besides, the teacher – research helped them feel comfortable in the interviews After the intewviews, the teacher – researcher listened to the audio recording and create the transcription of the interview The teacher reflected on using modified ball games on students’ motivation and vocabulary learning after using some of the mentioned instruments

Finally, the computer’s statistical package for social science (SPSS 26) was utilized to calculate the data collected for the tests The teacher – researcher used MAXQDA 2020 to code the data from observation and interviews.

Data analysis technique

This study obtained data from quantitative and qualitative methods, so the analytical framework consisted of content analysis from observations, interview results, and descriptive analysis from tests and quizzes

The researcher used descriptive data analysis to analyze quantitative data from tests and quizzes The results of a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was displayed in tables The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was used to compare two sets of scores that come from the same participants under two separate scenarios Fraenkel et al (2012) mentioned that one of the major advantages of descriptive statistics is that the researcher can “describe the information contained in many, many scores” (p.187)

Content analysis concentrates on the analysis and interpretation of recorded material to discover human behaviors (Ary et al., 2010) The data from observations and interviews were collected and coded to have descriptions and themes to draw a clear picture of the central phenomenon The teacher–researcher used MAXQDA2020 to code the observation protocol, interview transcription, and classify the content into themes Using content analysis, the teacher – researcher can quantify, summarize the presence and relationship of certain words and themes Text from observation protocols and interviews must be coded into manageable code categories for analysis

The process of qualitative content analysis included identifying data sources based on researchable questions, developing and refining categories, coding the data and placing them into categories, assessing reliability, summarising, and analyzing results (Center, 2013).

Reliability and Validity

In this research, tests, and quizzes were used to measure students’ vocabulary learning Related to the validity of the tests, Chuanchaisit (2013) restated and crystallized the concept of validity, which refers to “whether or not the test measures what it claims to measure” (p.7) The content of the tests and quizzes went to “a panel of judges by experts” (Creswell, 2012, p.162) and second-grade in-service teachers in primary schools to ensure validity The tests measure students’ vocabulary learning; all the questions concentrate on testing students’ vocabulary along with form, meaning, and use of words to reflect the intended construct or ability that the tests are supposed to measure

Regarding the term reliability, the research used standardized tests to adapt the format and content of the tests The researcher prepared and adapted all the tests following the format of Cambridge Young Learners English Tests Starters Series from the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (2007a, 2007b, 2007c, 2007e, 2007f, 2007g, 2007h, 2007i) The form is required to meet the same specifications with the same number of items, instructions, time limits, format, content, range, and difficulty level

Regarding the observation, Zaare (2013) concluded that classroom observations could help teachers reflect on their teaching by classifying the purpose of the observation, discussing with colleagues after observing, and reconstructing what needs to change about the class This information was recorded in the observation protocol while the researcher watched the video recording after the action was implemented Then, the researcher compared the results based on the criteria The researcher went to a child behavioral psychologist to get an expert’s opinion on students’ changing behavior based on the results to avoid subjective implications When interpreting the situation through video, the researcher consulted other observers to help detect the presence of bias Additionally, the reliability was enhanced because the teacher-researcher reviews reliable material for observers, which can help the teacher-researcher make the right decisions on what to observe and how to record the observation

Related to the validity and reliability of the interviews that intend to investigate the participants’ emotions and intentional behaviors, the validity can be assessed by consulting some colleagues and the supervisor to judge whether the questions measure what they are supposed to measure The reliability of the questions can be checked by rephrasing the question on the same topic (Ary et al., 2010).

Triangulation

According to Oliver-Hoyo and Allen (2006), triangulation in data collection can help the researcher achieve more accurate and valid qualitative results In this action research, methodological triangulation involved four techniques (tests, observation, interview, and quizzes) to help the teacher-researcher gain data for analysis in both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Ethical consideration

Concerning the ethics in this research, parents and students were informed that students’ behaviors and emotions during the lesson were recorded for their teacher’s research They do not worry about the punishment or anything affecting their scores or performance The student's personal information was definitely kept confidential

According to Fraenkel (2012), studies in which children are participants must consider the informed consent of parents or their legally designated caretakers Another important thing is that “Children may never be coerced into participating in a study” (p

67), which means they must have the right to refuse Therefore, the researcher gave the participants’ parents parental permission and asked for their consent The form followed and adapted from the form “Parental Permission for Minor to Participate in Research” presented in Fraenkel et al (2012, p.68); see the form in Appendix J

Chapter Summary

Chapter 3 has described the academic site and methodology of this action research The description of the research design, research site, participants, and data analysis techniques were depicted clearly Four instruments, including tests, observation, interviews, and quizzes, help to seek the answer to the research question Additionally, the ethical consideration was also presented with all respect to people who were related Finally, the validity and reliability of the instruments were briefly explained to enhance the vital qualities of the research.

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Findings of Cycle 1

Table 4.1 presents the results of two tests (test 1 and test 2) for the first cycle

Table 4.1 Students’ test results in Cycle 1

The scores of tests ranged from 2 to 10 They were graded in four sub-groups: (1) weak and poor (scores from 1 to 4), (2) average (scores from 5 to 6), (3) good and fairly good (scores from 7 to 8), and (4) excellent (scores from 9 to 10)

Table 4.1 shows that the percentage of excellent (25%) and good grades (51%) increased significantly at the end of Cycle 1 Consequently, the percentage of weak and poor performance decreased sharply to only 4% after the intervention of ball games It means that students’ performance in vocabulary was improved after Cycle 1

After collecting the scores from Test 1 and Test 2, the teacher – researcher conducted a Shapiro-Wilk Test for normality

Table 4.2 illustrates the Sig values of Test 1 and Test 2 were 001 and 020, respectively The Sig values of two tests were found to be below the value of 0.05, evaluating that the data set were not normally distributed Consequently, a non- parametric statistical test was implemented to compare Test 1 and Test 2 to examine the effects of ball games used in the study after five weeks of Cycle 1 Table 4.3 displays the descriptive statistics of the two tests, and Table 4.4 displays the results of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test

Table 4.3 Descriptive Statistics of Test 1 and Test 2

Table 4.4 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test of Test 1 and Test 2

N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks

Tests N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum Percentiles

Table 4.4 illustrates that nine students (9 c ) had the same score from Test 1 and Test 2; forty students (40 b ) had the score of Test 2, which was much better than Test 1 There was no score (0 a ) from Test 2 less than Test 1

Table 4.5 displayed the test statistics of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test with the Sig (2-tailed) was 000 and the absolute value of Z was 5.623 Specifically, the absolute value was higher than the critical z-value which is 1.96 (95% confidence interval or 5% level of significance) Morever, Table 4.3 shows that the average score at the beginning of the treatment is 5.959, and after Cycle 1 is 7.490 There is a statistically significant difference between two tests The aforementioned results indicated that second graders who joined this study improved their vocabulary learning after five weeks of implementing ball games However, Table 4.1 displyed that two students still got low scores

There are five quizzes in total for Cycle 1 Figure 4.1 presents the mean scores of five quizzes

Figure 4.1 Quizzes’ scores in Cycle 1

Figure 4.1 presents that the average of all quizzes was above 9.0 The results show that second-grade students could remember vocabulary after each lesson with the intervention of every type of ball game

There are five class observations in Cycle 1 with five kinds of ball games The primary purposes of observation was to record students’ emotions and behaviors Besides, how students focused on vocabulary learning and how they could handle the balls was also evidence for the teacher–researcher to modify the ball games in the next cycle

Observation 1 (O1) –Using basketball (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

There were four colorful plastic baskets hung on the board with giant magnets Four invited students had to throw the ball to get scores for their team During the game, most students raised their hands enthusiastically to throw a ball Most students called the teacher’s name to get a chance to take part in the ball game Some students raised their hands, cheered, and said “yeah” when their team members threw the ball into the baskets Several students stood up by themselves to watch their friends playing Some students smiled and shook their bodies and heads Students ran quickly to the board when the teacher invited them Students were happy with their smiling faces A few students shouted because they were very excited Sometimes, their smiles appeared, along with their bodies shaking and hands cheering All students who joined the ball games could choose the correct words and stick them on the board after throwing the balls They could hold the ball, throw it into the baskets, and pick up the balls after playing

Observation 2 (O2)–Table tennis balls (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

In this ball game, all students joined the game equally Each student had a ball with a sticker on it They could look at the letter on the sticker, hold the ball, and throw it into the targeted baskets Students held the small table tennis balls and looked at them curiously They also looked at their friends’ balls because every ball had a small sticker of a letter on it After throwing the ball into the targeted basket, students picked up all the balls, even if they fell out of the baskets All students behaved well and followed the teacher’s instructions carefully Some students gave their team members a high five when they returned to their seats During the game, several students swung and shouted

“yeah” Some students smiled and shook their bodies and heads Students were happy with their smiling faces Sometimes, their smiles appeared along with their swing and shouting Almost all students looked at the board, listened to the teacher’s instructions, and read words loudly They could practice reading several times when the teacher pointed to the words

Observation 3 (O3) – Sticky balls (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

There were four sticky balls used in this ball game Four invited students had to throw the ball into the targeted pictures After throwing, the sticky balls were stuck on the pictures During the game, students could hold and throw the ball to get the score for their team Some students clapped their hands when their team members threw the ball into the correct pictures Then, they cheered their team excitingly in their mother language, “Cố lên, cố lên.” Almost all students eagerly shouted the teacher’s name to get a chance to throw the sticky balls Several students held hands and shook bodies Sometimes, a few students gave a high five Some students swung, cheered the team’s winning with two arms, and shouted “yeah” All invited students ran hurriedly to the board Some students smiled and shook their bodies and heads Students were happy with their smiling faces Sometimes, their smiles appeared when they were shaking their bodies and heads All students looked at the board, listened to the teacher’s instructions, and read words loudly They could practice reading several times when the teacher pointed to the words

Observation 4 (O4) – Passing balls (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

There was a small soft football for students to throw and catch in this game within two parts Part one was to throw and catch the ball within the whole class and part two was to throw and catch in pairs in front of the class As for part 1, most students could show their hands and catch the ball Some students could not catch it, and it went to the floor Students could pick up the ball when it dropped Students looked around, following the direction of the soft ball moving around the classroom As for part 2, several students raised their hands and called the teacher’s name to get an opportunity to throw and catch the ball in pairs in front of the class However, only a few students were happy with their smiling faces Some students were bored with their sad faces Others did not show their facial expression However, most students could read words when they caught a ball They could read words loudly several times when the teacher pointed to the words on the board

Observation 5 (O5) – Sticking plastic balls (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

There were four big plastic balls (red, yellow, blue, green) in this game Every team had a ball put on the first table of the line In this game, every student joined the game by putting their stickers on the ball Students kept sticker words carefully on their fingers During the game, all teams could touch, stick, and pass the ball as quickly as possible The students who sat at the end of each line caught the ball, ran fast to the board, and showed their team’s ball in front of the class They passed the ball excitingly They stood up, jumped, and swung when their team won Several students clapped their hands Some students smiled and shook their bodies and heads Most students were happy with their smiling faces There was curiosity on their faces when they looked at the stickers All students looked at the board and read words loudly when the teacher pointed to the words

As for the indicator of motivation through emotions, almost all students were happy with a smiling face in four types of ball games This indicator shows that students were motivated when playing four types of ball games (basketball, sticky balls, table tennis balls, and sticking plastic balls) However, some students were bored with sad faces in the passing ball game This indicator proved that several students were not motivated sufficiently to play this game This type of ball game was considered to be modify in the next cycle

Table 4.6 Indicators of motivation through emotions in Cycle 1

No Indicators Basketball Table tennis balls

Regarding the indicators of motivation through behaviors, there were eleven indicators revealed students’ motivation during five types of ball games

Table 4.7 Indicators of motivation through behaviors in Cycle 1

1 Most students raised their hands to get a chance x x x

2 Some students cheered and said, “yeah” x x x x

Most students eagerly call the teacher’s name to get the opportunity to join the game x x x

Several students shouted in their mother language,

Some students clapped their hands loudly when their team members did their best x x

6 Some students swung and jumped x x x x

Some students gave high five when their friends came back to their seats x x

A few students shouted when encouraging their friends to play x x x

10 Invited students ran quickly to the board x x x

11 Some students stood up to watch the games clearly x x

12 Several students shook their bodies and head x x x x

In fact, young students did not show the same indicators of motivation in all observation The indicators of motivation through behaviors in a certain observation could be a bit different with the indicators other observation

Findings of Cycle 2

The same as Cycle 1, there was test 3 at the end of Cycle 2 Table 4.9 presents the results of two tests (test 2 and test 3) for the second cycle

Table 4.11 Students’ test results in Cycle 2

Table 4.9 displays that the percentage of excellent (65%) increased significantly at the end of Cycle 2 Consequently, the percentage of weak and poor performance decreased sharply to 2% after the intervention of ball games in Cycle 2 It means that students’ performance in vocabulary was improved after Cycle 2

After collecting the scores from Test 2 and Test 3, the teacher – researcher conducted a Shapiro-Wilk Test for normality

Table 4.12 illustrates the Sig values of Test 2 and Test 3 were 020 and 000, respectively The Sig values of two tests were found to be below the value of 0.05, evaluating that the data set were not normally distributed Consequently, a non- parametric statistical test was implemented to compare Test 2 and Test 3 to examine the effects of the modified ball games used in the study after five weeks of Cycle 2 Table 4.13 displays the descriptive statistics of the two tests, and Table 4.14 displays the results of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test

Table 4.13 Descriptive Statistics of Test 2 and Test 3

Table 4.14 Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test of Test 2 and Test 3

N Mean Rank Sum of Ranks

Table 4.14 illustrates that nine students (12 c ) had the same score from Test 1 and Test 2; forty students (36 b ) had the score of Test 2, whichwas much better than Test 1; only one students (1 a ) had the scorefrom Test 2 lower than Test 1

Tests N Mean Std Dev Minimum Maximum

Percentiles 25th 50th (Median) 75th

Table 4.15 displayed the test statistics of Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test with the Sig (2-tailed) was 000 and the absolute value of Z was 5.275 Specifically, the absolute value was higher than the critical z-value which is 1.96 (95% confidence interval or 5% level of significance) Moreover, Table 4.13 shows that the average score at the end of Cycle 1 is 7.490, and after Cycle 2 is 8.735 The difference is statistically significant between two tests The aforementioned results indicated that second graders who participated in this study enhanced their vocabulary learning after five weeks of implementing modified ball games

There are five quizzes in total for Cycle 2 This figure is displayed to show the overall results of five quizzes

Figure 4.2 Quizzes’ scores in Cycle 2

Figure 4.2 presents that the average of all quizzes was above 9.0 The results indicated that second – grade students could remember vocabulary after each lesson with the intervention of every modified ball game in Cycle 2

There are five class observations in Cycle 2 with five types of ball games The primary purposes of observation was to record students’ emotions and behaviors Besides, how students paid attention to vocabulary learning and how they could handle the balls was also evidence for the teacher – researcher to modify the ball games in the next cycle if possible

Observation 6 (O6) –Table tennis balls with writing boards (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

In this ball game, all students joined the games, and every student had a ball with a sticker on it During the game, most students held the small table tennis balls and looked at a small sticker with a letter on it Students could hold and throw the balls They picked up all the balls even if they were slided out of from the baskets All students behaved well and followed the teacher’s instructions carefully Several students swung and shouted, “yeah, yeah” Some students smiled, shook their bodies and heads Students were happy with their smiling faces Sometimes, their smiles appeared along with their swing and shouting Almost all students looked at the board, listened to the teacher’s instructions, and read words loudly They wrote a missing letter on the sticker All students wrote words on their writing board and raised them excitedly

Observation 7 (O7) – Using basketball with writing board (See Observation protocol in Appendix E)

There were six colorful plastic baskets hung on the board with big magnets Six invited students had to throw the ball to get scores for their team During the games, most students raised their hands enthusiastically to throw a ball Students called the teacher’s name eagerly to get a chance to take part in the ball game Some students handed up their hands, cheered and said “yeah, yeah” when their team members threw the ball into the baskets Some students smiled and shook their bodies and heads Students were happy with their smiling faces Sometimes, their smiles appeared, along with their body shaking and hands cheering All students who joined the ball games could choose the correct words and stick them on the board after throwing them All students listened to the teacher’s instruction to write words on their writing boards, raised them dynamically and read the words loudly when raising boards Generally, students knew how to play the basketball game They could hold the ball, throw it into the baskets and pick up the balls after playing

Observation 8 (O8) – Sticky balls with writing boards (See Observation protocol in

There were six sticky balls used in this game The sticky balls could be stuck on the words written on the board Students could hold and throw the ball into the targeted words During the game, almost all students eagerly shouted the teacher’s name to get a chance to throw the sticky balls Some students smiled, shook their bodies and head Students were happy with their smiling faces Sometimes, their smiles appeared when they were shaking their bodies and heads Students wrote words on their writing board and raised them They read the words loudly when raising their boards

Observation 9 (O9) – Passing balls and football with writing boards (See

There were two big plastic balls for students to pass Most students could show their hands and pass the ball Students shouted when passing the ball to every team There was a goal in front of the class Invited students kicked the ball to the goal to get scores for their team Students could score a goal in the football part Most students were very interested in joining football parts They raised their hands enthusiastically Some students shouted excitedly when their friends scored a goal Some students stood up, swung and said “yeah” Students showed their smiling faces when passing the ball Sometimes, their smiles appeared along with their swing and shouting Almost all students looked at the board, listened to the teacher’s instructions and read words loudly Students wrote words on their writing board and raised them

Observation 10 (O10) – Golf balls with writing boards (See Observation protocol in

There were very small balls with a stick Students wrote words on the boards and the teacher invited some students from two teams to hit the ball They were very curious about the ball and the stick Most students raised their hands and called the teacher’s name enthusiastically to get a chance Invited students to hit the ball skillfully Most students were happy with their smiling faces Sometimes, their smiles appeared along with their swing and shouting Almost all students looked at the board, listened to the teacher’s instructions, and read words loudly Students wrote words on their writing board and raised them

As for the indicators of motivation through emotions, students were happy with a smiling face in all types of ball games in Cycle 2 These indicators present that students were motivated when play five modified ball games

Table 4.16 Indicators of motivation through emotions in Cycle 2

Indicators Basketball with writing boards

Table tennis balls with writing board

Sticky balls with writing boards

Passing balls combined with football and writing boards

Related to the indicators of motivation through behaviors, there were seven indicators revealed students’ motivation during five modified ball games The indicators of motivation through behaviors did not happen in the same way in every lesson

Table 4.17 Indicators of motivation through behaviors in Cycle 2

No Indicators Basketball with writing boards

Table tennis balls with writing board

Sticky balls with writing boards

Passing balls and football with writing boards

Golf balls with writing board

1 Most students raised their hands to get a chance x x x

2 Some students cheered and said,

3 Most students eagerly call the teacher’s name to get the opportunity to join the game x x x

4 Some students clapped their hands loudly when their team members did their best x x

5 Some students swung and jumped x x

6 A few students shouted when encouraging their friends to play x x

8 Some students stood up, shook their bodies and head x x

There are seven behaviors indicated that students focused on the ball games and the words embedded in the games These results were not solid enough to conclude the enhancement of students’ motivation or vocabulary learning However, they were used to form a foundation for the organization of ball games There were seven behaviors presented as follow:

(1) All students read word loudly (O6, O7, O8, O9, O10)

(2) All students look at the words on the board when reading them (O6, O7, O8, O9, O10)

(3) Invited students could choose the correct words and stick them on the board (O7)

(4) Students could touch, hold, throw, hit and pass the ball during the games (O6, O7, O8, O9, O10)

(5) Students could write the missing letters (O6)

(6) Students could write words on the boards and raise them (O6, O7, O8, O9, O10)

(7) Students picked up the balls after playing with well-behaved behaviors (O6, O7, O8, O9, O10)

The data of formal interview and informal interview in Cycle 2 were collected in the same way with Cycle 1 The differences were questions for interviews modified to enquire behavioral indicators and emotional indicators of children after combining writing boards in the ball games

The interviews in Cycle 2 aimed at investigating students’ emotions when participating the modified ball games and determining their intentional behaviors for the future participation

Based on the questions asked, Table 4.11 summarized the coded themes using MAXQDA 2020 software

Table 4.18 Initial Codes of the formal interview in Cycle 2

Did you like the ball games combined with a writing board?

Like the ball games 15 15 “Yes, I did”

Which ball game did you impress most?

“I impressed on all of the ball games”

“ I impressed on the sticky balls” (S7) Passing balls with football

(S15) How did you feel when playing ball games? Happy 11 15 “I felt happy”

If you have a chance to play the games, which game will you choose to play first?

“I will choose to play the table tennis ball “( (S15)

“I will choose to play football and basketball”

“I will choose to play the passing ball with football”

Do you want to join the ball games in the future? Intention 15 15 “Yes, I do”

Table 4.14 presents codes to form themes in Cycle 2 The codes were grouped into three themes

Discussion

Test results, observations from video recordings, results from quizzes, and interviews with second graders in Bui Van Ngu Primary School indicated that using ball games can increase students’ motivation and vocabulary learning Therefore, the research question mentioned is answered, typically as follows:

The results of the study indicated that using ball games can increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning The motivation was assessed and explored through the indicators of students’ emotions and behaviors The findings from class observation were quite similar to the results in interviews Almost all students raised their hands, cheered, and shouted happily during the ball games’ implementation to show their motivation Moreover, almost all students found learning vocabulary intriguing and happy due to ball games All of the learners were willing to join the ball games if possible Some students agreed that the class was nice and well-behaved, with a dynamic and exciting atmosphere These results are in agreement with those obtained by Rahayu and Sari (2012), in which a ball game made the class lively, fun, and made students enjoyable to learn Besides, the results of this study further support the ideas of Zuhriyah and Aziza (2022) about using balls to improve students’ vocabulary A majority of students got high scores on test 2, and especially on test 3 It means that second graders’ vocabulary learning was improved after the intervention of ball games

These results confirm the association between games and students’ motivation and vocabulary learning Admittedly, games are familiar in teaching English Games could create a comfortable atmosphere, games encourage students’ motivation (Safura

& Helmanda, 2022), and enhance students’ vocabulary learning (Ramadhaniarti, 2016) However, the games that students could touch, hold, throw, kick, hit, pass, and stick with their physical movement are innovative for primary students, especially for second graders who always love moving, even with no particular reason These characteristics comforming with the implication of the study from Tomlinson and Masuhara (2009), which implicated that teachers should use physical games in the class to provide a motivated and meaningful experiences for students Although the outward manifestation of the games in this action research and the games used in the research from Tomlinson and Masuhara (2009) were dissimilar, they all have physical characteristics in essence

Modifying ball games for Cycle 2, especially with the writing board, positively affected students’ vocabulary learning First, students could write the words following the teacher’s writing Then, the whole class could speak loudly when raising their board However, the ball games in Cycle 2 took more time than in Cycle 1 because of the writing part, but it was worth doing it to balance the purpose of applying games and learning words

Classroom management was also essential in implementing ball games because, in these games, students had to move Although ball games can stimulate the passion for students’ learning, teachers should consider dividing the class into groups, the position of chairs, the number of balls, pictures, baskets, and classroom space when integrating ball games with the lesson to establish the best condition There will be a problem if the board is not magnetic because it would be much more difficult to find a way to hang on all the baskets

To conclude, after analyzing the data, ball games worked as a motivational tool to encourage and engage second graders to participate in learning, and ball games increased the vocabulary learning of the participants in the study It is a scientific and effortful problem-solving that the teacher–researcher tried to use to overcome the barrier that obstructed children’s learning in English classes.

Chapter summary

This chapter analyzed data from class observation, tests, quizzes, and student interviews The students in the conducted class showed considerable improvement in motivation and vocabulary learning These results established a foundation for renewal in English vocabulary teaching for second-grade students in Bui Van Ngu Primary School.

CONCLUSION

Recapitulation of the study

The thesis entitled “Using ball games to increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a public primary school in Vietnam” The study was conducted to answer the research question about “How do ball games improve second-grade students’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a public primary school in Vietnam?”

From the results of the observations and interviews, it is inferred that using ball games has a positive impact on students’ motivation Specifically, the use of ball games in English classroom enhanced second graders’ motivation Almost all students were happy and liked the ball games They joined the game excitedly and learn vocabulary enthusiastically Second graders were motivated and interested in learning vocabulary with ball games The findings drawn from tests and quizzes pointed out that second graders’ vocabulary was improved significantly when the teacher integrated ball games into vocabulary lesson In short, this action research contributed to the statement that using games can enhance primary students’ motivation and vocabulary learning Further, it can set the stage for English teachers create more games with physical movement for primary students.

Limitations of the study

The teacher – researcher tried to conduct the study with the excellent participation of second graders in the class but it is inevitable that shortcomings still occurred in the process of implementation As for findings generalization, the results only provide the information to summarize and conclude in the implemented groups and NOT “draw inferences from the sample to a population” (Creswell, 2012, p.201) because this action research used a non-probability sampling method Besides, this action research lasted for ten weeks with only two cycles Some modifications still need to be modified in the next cycle In spite of the predetermined limitations, the teacher – researcher assured that this study would be beneficial to the teaching and learning English vocabulary in Bui Van Ngu Primary School, Hoc Mon District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Implications

As for practical implications, the findings of the study indicated that ball games could be considered as an educational tool in the English classroom in teacher – researcher’s context

In addition, for theoretical implications, the findings provided evidence for teachers and educators to have an objective view of using ball games in a public primary school The results are expected to contribute to the field of second language research in Vietnam.

Recommendation for further research

Based on the limitations mentioned, there are some recommendations for further research It would be better if further action resarch could be conducted with more cycles to perfect the spiral of the action research and make more modification to bring the better results Second, for the research population, further study should investigate in a quasi- experimental design with a random sampling technique to increase internal validity and generalizability.

Chapter Summary

The conclusion chapter has presented the key conclusion of the research It is made up of four parts, including the main conclusion where the research question was answered, the limitation of the study, the implication, and recommendations for further research

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APPENDICES Appendix A - Types of games

 Objectives: Students can recognize words, read, and stick words on the boards

 Cooperation: The teacher divides the class into two teams (Apple and Orange)

 Materials: 4 baskets (hung on the board with string and big magnets), six pictures, ten plastic balls, 30 flashcards (5 same flashcards equivalent to one picture)

 Rules: The teacher invites two students in each group (4 students in total for each turn) Apple group uses blue balls; the Orange group uses yellow balls When the teacher says: “car”, all the invited students will throw their ball into the “car” basket, hang on the board and stick the flashcard “car” on the board, too One ball goes into a basket; the team gets one point The teacher continues to say other words for the other four students in the next turn The winner is the team that can get the most points at the end of the game The teacher checks the board regularly during the games to detect students who decide on the wrong basket to throw If any student sticks the wrong word, the teacher corrects it and asks the class to read it loudly Every three minutes, the teacher asks the whole class to read all the words to reinforce their learning

 Consolidation: After the game, the whole class looks at the pictures and says the words

 Objectives: Students can recognize and pronounce sounds and letters

 Cooperation: The teacher divides the class into two teams (Apple and Orange)

 Materials: 4 baskets with sounds and letters stuck on the front, four pictures, and

49 table tennis balls for 49 students; every ball has a word stuck on it

 Rules: The teacher delivers a table tennis ball to every student Every student has a table tennis ball with a word stuck on it After the whole class drills all the sounds and letters, they have to learn Students go to the board and throw the ball into the target basket with the correct sound and letter One ball goes into a basket; the team gets one point The winner is the team that can get the most points at the end of the game

 Consolidation: After the game, the whole class looks at the pictures and pronounces the sounds and letters along with words

 Objectives: Students can recognize and pronounce sounds and letters

 Cooperation: The teacher divides the class into two teams (Apple and Orange)

 Materials: More than ten pictures, and four sticky balls

 Rules: The teacher invites two students in each group (4 students in total for each turn) When the teacher says: “/z/”, all the invited students will throw their ball into any pictures that begin with the letter “Z” One ball goes into the right picture, and the team gets one point The teacher continues to say other sounds and letters to the other four students in the next turn The winner is the team that can get the most points at the end of the game After three minutes, the teacher asks the whole class to pronounce sounds, letters, and words to reinforce their learning

 Consolidation: After the game, the whole class looks at the pictures and pronounces sounds and letters along with words

 Objectives: Students can recognize words and read words

 Cooperation: The whole class and pair work

 Materials: A soft ball and six pictures

 Rules: The teacher says a word and throws the soft ball to one of the students in the class Then, the students repeat the word and throw the ball to another student Students who catch the ball have to say the word and throw the ball to another student When the teacher asks to stop, students raise their hands to work in pairs in front of the class The pair throws and catches the ball, along with saying the words Students get stickers for their performance The teacher and the class continue to go through all the words in the lesson Every three minutes, the teacher asks the whole class to read all the words to reinforce their learning

 Consolidation: After the game, the whole class looks at the pictures and says the words

 Objectives: Students can recognize words and read words

 Cooperation: The teacher divides the class into two teams (Apple and Orange)

 Materials: 4 big plastic balls, stickers of words

 Rules: The teacher delivers one big plastic balls for each team One line has a ball put on the first table of the line Every student gets a sticker of the word and puts it on their fingers When the teacher says, “Let’s pass the ball”, students have to pass the ball and stick the words on the ball as fast as possible The student who gets the fastest ball runs to the board and shows the ball highly The winner is the team that can pass fast and show the ball at first The teacher continues to go through other words for the next passing turn Every passing turn, the teacher asks the whole class to read words to reinforce their learning

 Consolidation: After the game, the whole class looks at the pictures and says the words

Table tennis balls with writing boards

 Objectives: Students can recognize and pronounce sounds and letters

 Cooperation: The teacher divides the class into two teams (Apple and Orange)

 Materials: 4 baskets with sounds and letters stuck on the front, four pictures, 49 table tennis balls for 49 students, every ball has a word stuck on it, and 49 student’s writing boards

 Rules: The teacher delivers a table tennis ball to every student Every student has a table tennis ball with a word stuck on it After the whole class drills all the sounds and letters, they have to learn Students write words on their writing boards and raise their boards Then, students go to the board and throw the ball into the target basket with the correct sound and letter One ball goes into a basket; the team gets one point The winner is the team that can get the most points at the end of the game

 Consolidation: After the game, the whole class looks at the pictures and pronounces sounds and letters along with words

 Objectives: Students can recognize words, read, and stick words on the boards

 Cooperation: The teacher divides the class into two teams (Apple and Orange)

 Materials: 6 baskets (hung on the board with string and big magnets), five pictures, 10 plastic balls, flashcards, and 49 student writing boards

Quizzes score

No Students Quiz 1 Quiz 2 Quizz 3 Quizz 4 Quiz 5

No Students Quiz 6 Quiz 7 Quiz 8 Quiz 9 Quiz 10

Parental Permission for a Minor to Participate in Research

Using ball games to increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a primary school in Vietnam

My name is I am a postgraduate student at Open Ho Chi Minh City

University I am conducting a research study about Using ball games to increase second graders’ motivation and vocabulary learning in a primary school in Vietnam I am inviting your child to take part in the research

If you agree to let your child participate in this research study, the following will occur: -Your child will be asked to play ball games

-This will occur in their regular classroom as part of my scheduled curriculum

-Your child will take tests during the research

-Your child will join the interview about the ball games

-The camera will be set up to observe the class

-The researcher will keep all data in a secure location Only the researcher will have access to the data

-All the information stored on a computer will be password-protected.