teachers and students’ attitude towards using games in teaching and learning vocabulary = quan điểm của giáo viên và học sinh với việc sử dụng trò chơi trong dạy - học từ mới

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ---o0o--- VŨ NGỌC LONG TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING GAMES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ HỌC SINH

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

-o0o -

VŨ NGỌC LONG

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS

USING GAMES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY

QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ HỌC SINH VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG

TRÒ CHƠI TRONG DẠY-HỌC TỪ MỚI

M.A THESIS (MINOR)

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 01 11

HANOI – 2014

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

-o0o -

VŨ NGỌC LONG

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS

USING GAMES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY

QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ HỌC SINH VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG

TRÒ CHƠI TRONG DẠY-HỌC TỪ MỚI M.A THESIS (MINOR)

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 01 11

Supervisor: Kiều Thị Thu Hương

HANOI – 2014

DECLARATION

I hereby, certify the thesis entitled “Teachers and Students’ Attitude towards Using

Games in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary” is the result of my own research for

the Minor Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The thesis has not been submitted

for any degree at any other universities or institutions I agree that the origin of

my paper deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research

January, 2014

Vũ Ngọc Long

I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr Kiều Thị Thu Hương, Vice-Dean of the English Faculty – Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, whose encouragement, guidance and support enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject and to accomplish the final version of the thesis as expected

This thesis would not be possible were it not for my lecturers in the M.A course, namely Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân, Assoc Prof Dr Lê Hùng Tiến, Assoc Prof Dr

Võ Đại Quang, Dr Hà Cẩm Tâm, Dr Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng, Dr Lê Văn Canh and Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn I would like to thank them for their interesting lectures, devotion, assistance and valuable hints

Especially, I owe my deepest gratitude to my parents, whose endless love and encouragement helped me finish this work

Lastly, I offer my regards and blessings to all of those who supported me in any respect during the completion of the study

Based on the findings, the researcher proposes some recommendations for teachers and students to teach and learn new words by using language games

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

ABBRIVIATIONS vi

PART A – INTRODUCTION 1

1 Statement of the problem 1

2 Research questions 2

3 Objectives of the study 2

4 Significance of the study 2

5 Scope of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART B – DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 An Overview of Vocabulary Teaching 4

1.2 An Overview of Language Games 9

1.2 Classification of language games 10

1.3 Reasons for using games in vocabulary teaching 11

1.4 The previous studies 11

CHAPTER II: THE STUDY 13

2.1.1 Subjects 13

2.1.2 Data gathering instruments 13

2.1.3 Procedures 14

2.2 Findings and discussion 15

2.2.1 Findings 15

2.2.2 Discussion 27

2.2.3 Implications 28

PART C – CONCLUSION 29

3.1 Summary of the study 29

3.2 Limitations of the study 29

3.3 Suggestions for further studies 30REFERENCES 31APPENDIXES IAPPENDIX 1 IAPPENDIX 2 IIIAPPENDIX 3 V

ABBRIVIATIONS

LLs: language learners

PART A – INTRODUCTION

1 Statement of the problem

Learning vocabulary is an essential activities for people who wish to study a foreign language Vocabulary enables language learners to produce what they want to say With a rich source of words, it is easier for LLs to communicate exactly what they want to convey without much explanations This is why teaching new words to student is a crucial part of language lessons

However, not all teachers put emphasis on teaching These teachers believe that grammar should be focused on more than vocabulary They fear that students may make mistakes in sentence building if they learn too many words before getting familiar with basic grammar rules Some teachers even think that words would be best learned through experience, because there are not many suitable contexts for teaching words in the language classroom The beliefs mentioned above are true to

a certain extent Without grammar rules, very little is communicated, but without words nothing is communicated, as Wilkins (1972, p 111-112) said The most important thing for language teachers to do is to find suitable vocabulary teaching techniques

In Chi Linh District, the translation method is officially applied to word teaching in high schools New words are normally delivered to students with their meanings explained by teachers, which is very time-consuming For most of the students, learning new words is a boring task What they do is to listen to the words they need

to learn, looking up for their meanings in the dictionary, and then write those words again and again The process is repeated until language learners remember the words, yet they find it difficult to keep these words in their long term memory It can be considered the result of a less impressive new-word learning way

Vocabulary games have been proved beneficial to word teaching Language games can motivate students in the English vocabulary learning process By using vocabulary games in language classrooms, teachers can help students make use of

their words to interact with other classmates, and get to know more words through oral communication Besides adding elements of fun, games can help store a long lasting word source in students’ long-term memory However, language games are quite new activities to language teachers and learners of some high schools in Chi Linh District They are not often properly exploited Some students say they seldom play language games in leaning words in classes Some teachers hardly ever design any lessons including vocabulary games Their students therefore seldom have a chance to learn new words through vocabulary games

Thus, the present study has been carried out to investigate the attitudes of teachers and learners towards games for teaching and learning vocabulary

2 Research questions

The research focuses on finding the answers to the following question:

What are the attitudes of teachers and learners towards using games in

teaching and learning vocabulary?

3 Objectives of the study

This study has been carried out in order to discover:

 the attitudes of teachers towards language games in teaching vocabulary

 how teachers apply games for vocabulary teaching

 the attitudes of students towards learning vocabulary by language games

 how students get involved in using language games for word learning

4 Significance of the study

The aim of the study is to reveal the attitudes of both language teachers and learners towards language games for vocabulary teaching and learning on the one hand On the other hand, it provides facts for teachers to compare vocabulary games with other word-teaching activities Vocabulary games in this sense can be viewed as a positive factor contributing to making word teaching more effective Games help increase language learners’ word-retention naturally

5 Scope of the study

The study has been conducted in Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province There are four high schools in this area The research aims at the attitudes of the teachers and students in these schools towards language games The researcher would like to explore how vocabulary games are applied to teaching and learning words in English language classes A survey research has been done with the participation of thirty English language teachers and twelfth- grade students of different high schools in Chi Linh District, Hai Duong Province

6 Design of the study

The study includes three parts:

PART I is the Introduction of the study which states the problem, the research

question, objectives, scope, significance and design of the whole paper

PART II is the Development which is composed of two chapters Chapter one

presents the Literature Review of the study Chapter two demonstrates the research’s methodology including the subjects of the study, data gathering instruments, procedures, findings and discussion

Part THREE is the Conclusion which summarizes significant findings of the

investigation, elaborates contributions of the research, puts forward practical suggestions for future research, and addresses notable limitations as well

PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 An Overview of Vocabulary Teaching

1.1.1 Definitions of vocabulary

There are different definitions of vocabulary Linguistic scholars describe

vocabulary with their own sets of criteria, depending on the areas they base on to develop the term Vocabulary is commonly defined as “a list of words with their meanings, especially in a book for learning a foreign language.” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s E-Dictionary, 2010)

McCarthy (2004, p 5) states that “vocabulary items are not often single orthographic units, but rather multi-word units.” This means speakers tend to use words which can be put together to make sense rather than using an equivalent number of individual words

Vocabulary “may be individual words, or full sentences – institutionalized utterances – that convey social or pragmatic meaning within a given community.” (Lewis, 1993, p 89) Besides, Grave (2000) considers vocabulary as the whole stock of words of a branch of language possessed by every learner

Although the definitions are not the same, scholars tend to describe vocabulary items more than single words Vocabulary therefore covers a bigger aspect of language and it is the medium for language learners to express their ideas

We can consider vocabulary as the backbone of a language From what have been stated and suggested by scholars and linguists, vocabulary can be seen as all of the words in a language which are used in a particular context or the words an individual person knows

1.1.2 Role of teaching and learning vocabulary

Teaching and learning vocabulary have been recognized as being necessary in any learning language stages It bridges over the gaps between language skills Students may be very good at learning language grammar, they still cannot communicate

successfully in a second or foreign language without words The ability to express a wide range of meanings depends much on the number of words they have accumulated, as presented by McCarthy (1990, p viii) Vermeer (1992, p 147) considers knowing words as the key to understand others and being understood by others And as what Selinker (1994, p 270) asserted, words are probably the most important component for learners when learning a language Lewis (1993, p 89) agrees that “lexis is the core or heart of language.”

It is obvious that vocabulary is very important It is normally not surprising if

a language learner with a large number of words can often communicate better than others who just know some Language students will be able to convey their ideas more precisely and better with a good source of vocabulary They are also capable

of comprehending reading materials, giving responses, understand others’ speech, speaking more fluently, and writing about specific issues concretely if they can use appropriate words Vocabulary is the essential component of a language, teaching and learning vocabulary should be seriously taken into account when teaching English Language teachers, therefore, need to take vocabulary teaching activities as integrated parts of teaching language skills, and as the basis to develop learners’ language skills

1.1.3 Principles of Teaching Vocabulary

Some language teachers claim that they are teaching new words without principles However, principles are understood as “strong beliefs that influence your actions, reasons for acting or thinking in particular ways” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s E-Dictionary, 2010) Thus, any teachers who even are practising teaching English regardless of following any courses namely “teaching principles,” they are actually teaching their language learners what they believe the best to teach Those teachers tend to take the advantages of language aspects they are interacting with students Their own rules may be traditional or the same to current principles being applied at present time And again, knowledge of word teaching principles basically enables

language teachers to concretely name and plan what about words they are teaching

to their learners

Thornbury (2002, p 15, 16) recommended that we teach nine aspects of a word to language learners The word knowledge includes the spoken form, the written form, the meaning(s), the grammatical behavior (verb or noun, whether it can be used passively, etc.), the collocations of the word, the word’s derivations, the register of the word (spoken and written), the word’s frequency, and the connotations

Hubbard et al (1989) and Nation (2003), cited by Huong et al (2011), suggeste eight principles of teaching vocabulary as following:

- The spoken word form should be taught and learned first in order to help students avoid pronouncing the words the way they are written

- Present new words in a memorable way to help language learners remember better

- Make sure that language learners have understood new words, even when the words have been well presented

- Give students opportunities to practise the words having learned in context

- Revision is needed for language learners

- Choose the higher frequency words for teaching and spend more time practising them than the lower ones This should contribute to building language learners’ active source of words

- Teaching words as units for language beginners to develop their fluency quickly

- Word learning strategies, such as word cards, should be suggested to language learners for their effective self-study

Norbert Schmitt (2004, p 6-19) has suggested that language teachers consider several principles when teaching vocabulary to students These principles are:

- choosing the number of words and the kind of words to teach

- learning the spelling and pronunciation of a word is important

- making use of the first language

- teaching words as phrases

- combining explicit teaching and incidental learning

There are, of course, different principles of teaching vocabulary to language learners The researcher himself often considers six things when he practises teaching words to my language learners: (1) choosing the key words of the lesson to

be taught, (2) asking learners to list the words of the lesson they have not known, (3) trying to teach different aspects of a word, (4) giving meaningful contexts and learning opportunities to learners, (5) using tests and checking vocabulary techniques to provide students with a chance to use learned words, and (6) getting to know more and be patient with learners

These principles of vocabulary teaching will be realized with good teaching techniques

1.1.4 Techniques in teaching vocabulary

In general, English language teachers know the importance of teaching vocabulary Thus, there are popular techniques applied to effective word teaching These techniques include visual techniques, verbal techniques and translation

1.1.4.1 Using visual techniques

Doff (1998, p 13-16) shows three ways of presenting the meaning of new words They are (1) showing the meaning of the words visually, (2) using examples, and (3) taking the advantages of different techniques For visual techniques, he recommends that language teachers write the words on the board It is a good way for teachers to bring or use real objects available in the classroom to show students the meaning of the words Besides, using pictures by either drawing or preparing before the lesson can help learners guess the meaning of new words There are words whose meanings can be revealed by using mime Teachers use their body gestures, actions or facial expressions to show the word meanings Using visual techniques to show the word meanings makes teaching vocabulary direct,

interesting and impressive As Doff (1998, p 14) states: visual technique “is a very effective method” for teaching words to students Giving examples to show the meanings of words in contexts is also a good way to present words However, language teachers should show word meanings by simple sentences Examples should be easy-to-understand, especially for learners who do not have strong vocabulary Doff also suggests that teachers combine “different techniques” when teaching new words to learners This is a practical idea because language teachers often take advantages different methods and techniques to help their students learns vocabulary betters To show the meaning of a word, a teacher can employ pictures, use his facial expressions, give examples, and translate the word into students’ native language This combination is often very useful and effective

Gairns and Redman (1986, p 73) suggest using flashcards, charts, and using objects when teaching words denoting concrete items, such as food, or furniture The techniques are also useful for teaching vocabulary of places, people description, and their activities This method will result in LLs’ quick understanding of the language Mime and body gestures are also recommended for vocabulary visual teaching techniques By giving situations to demonstrate the words and using gestures, teachers will help students consolidate their knowledge

1.1.4.2 Using verbal techniques

When language teachers have to teach words that are abstract, Gairns and Redman (1986, p 74) suggest that they use illustrative situations (oral or written) To make sure that learners get the meanings of the words, teachers can give more situations

or contexts to check if they have already understood the words And learners should be encouraged to practise in the contexts and situations given by teachers When teaching the idiom “not at all” to students, for instance, the teacher creates illustrative situations such as saying: “Thank you for helping me,” or “Do you mind…?” For language learners of low levels, using synonymy and definition,

contrasts and opposites is an effective method Teachers can use the word “very

sad” to demonstrate the meaning of “miserable,” or a definition like “a person who

receives something” to reveal what “recipient” is For some words, synonyms and definitions can be good techniques to help students get to know the meanings A

teacher can ask a question as “What is the opposite of spacious?” to show the meaning of “cramped” to his/her students

1.1.4.3 Using translation

When vocabulary teaching techniques such as using pictures, body gestures, synonymy, antonyms, or definitions are not really effective for teaching new words, the technique of translation the words into students’ mother tongue is a good way to teach those words that directly show the meaning of the vocabulary items and save time Students will get to know the words quickly However, Gairns and Redman (1986, p 75) advise language teachers not to rely on translation too much or they will make the classroom lose the language learning atmosphere Apart from using visual techniques, verbal techniques and translation to present the meanings of new words, there are techniques that can stimulate language learners to grasp words more fun without realizing them are language games This is the motivation that I find investigating the attitudes of language teachers and learners towards vocabulary games interesting

1.2 An Overview of Language Games

1.2.1 Definition of language games

Hadfield (1996, p v) defines language games as activities with rules, a goal and an element of fun According to the definition, games help teachers create language learning activities, and set the objectives Studying language is a hard job, and so is learning new words Students have to make efforts to grasp word meanings, pronounce accurately, and manipulate those words And of course, language learners have to work hard over a long period of time Language games can help students remain their interest and motivation to learn naturally Besides, games enable language teachers to create the contexts in which words are meaningful

Lewis (1999, p 5) regards language games as task based In this sense, English will

be a tool that helps learners achieve language goals To participate in a language game, students will learn a set of rules that guides their actions and strategies Games offer them chances to apply language and build up language skills They are good challenges to learners’ thoughts The games’ rules enable LLs’ decision-making to get better

Some of the language games are carried out by groups or pairs of learners, language games, therefore, are competitive They encourage learners to try to win the prizes

or to beat other groups By involving in playing language games, students can have fun, relax, exercise, and compete with their classmates This brings about impressive learning, and which help students remember the lesson better On the plus side, vocabulary games enable learners to pronounce words clearly and accurately to make others understand them

1.2 Classification of language games

1.2.1 Categories of language games

In term of categories, Hadfield (1996, p v) divides language games into linguistic games and communicative games According to what he has stated, accuracy is the goal of linguistic games In contrast, the goal of communicative games is successful completion of exchanging information tasks, pictures or chart filling, card matching, not language production

1.2.2 Types of language games

In his book Elementary Communication Games (1984, p 4-5), Hadfield classifies games into two types: “choice games” and “reinforcement games.” Choice games

are based on grammar knowledge Instead of doing grammar exercises with unrelated sentences, learners “have to choose the correct linguistic form” in game

formats Choice games include (i) matching two words or phrases, (ii) finding

missing words to complete a sentence, (iii) sorting words/phrases into categories, (iv) ordering words to make meaningful sentences, (v) competing to make as many sentences as possible, and (vi) completing full questions or sentences

Reinforcement games provide students with both intensive grammar structures

repetition and meaningful context These games cover (i) information gap games, (ii) guessing games, and (iii) search games Different kinds of language games, of

course, offer language learners various learning activities They generally enable students to learn new words actively and interestingly

1.3 Reasons for using games in vocabulary teaching

Toth (1995, p 6) considers games tools to create context to help students naturally focus on completion of a task without thinking too much that they are practising language items Players know that language games have final results or outcomes, they will, therefore, attempt to complete their tasks which are challenging and interesting Moreover, using games for teaching vocabulary will change the language classroom’s atmosphere Cooperative learning is encouraged in this class The activities offered by teachers are guiding, not testing Students therefore look at these learning activities as opportunities to practise and try to take advantage of their language games This results in motivation for them to focus on processing the target language structures, not being under the pressure of producing language mistakes Also, learners will participate in word games with self- and peer-correction They often feel at ease to learn when taking responsibility for teaching themselves and helping others And of course, they have plenty of practice in target language Word games often involve oral interaction When learners communicate with each other, they attend to word forms and word meanings better because they really interpret and manipulate the words Games are also sources of fun and pleasure for both teachers and learners while teaching and learning words This is the reason why using games for working with words is a good choice, which makes language lessons more creative and funny

1.4 The previous studies

There are different studies focusing on teaching and learning vocabulary Thao (2011) carried out a study on improving learning English vocabulary through games She has claimed that vocabulary games have helped students improve their

vocabulary acquisition The similar results were found by Dung (2011) when she did a research on employing checking techniques in teaching words to investigate language teachers’ attitudes towards this method To explore the effects of games

on helping learners to retain word meaning, in Mai’s study (2010), she considered games positive activities that were effective to help learners remember words better

CHAPTER II: THE STUDY

This chapter is composed of four parts The first part presents the subjects of the study The instruments and procedure will then be described in the next part The results of the study will be shown in tables and charts in the last two parts of this chapter

2.1.1 Subjects

The subjects of the study are teachers and students chosen randomly from different high schools in Chi Linh District The total population is thirty twelfth-grade students and thirty English language teachers aged from twenty-seven to fifty-four The students taking part in the study have been learning English for more than six years They have opportunities to practise English with different language teachers, and get involved in various vocabulary learning activities The teachers who are of different ages have dissimilar word teaching experiences

2.1.2 Data gathering instruments

The instruments used in the study are teacher and student questionnaires Each questionnaire comprises eight questions They are used to gather information from language teachers and students In the questionnaire designed for students, the first five questions which reflect students’ attitudes towards using word games when learning vocabulary Questions one and two show how they feel about word games Question three reveals if word games are their favourite activities in comparison with other word learning activities The fourth question makes it clear whether games help them learn new words better The next question lets us know how many students choose to learn vocabulary by playing games when they have choices The last three questions point out if students really get involved in learning words by games

Three questions are used to reveal the attitudes of language teachers towards using games for teaching words The next three questions help explore whether language teachers are willing to apply games, or use games as tools, the frequency of using

games for teaching words The last question discloses whether the teachers have intention to use games for teaching words in the future

2.1.3 Procedures

The data collection includes three stages:

Stage 1: The questionnaires are designed carefully The students’ questionnaire is

in both English and Vietnamese The teachers’ questionnaire is in English only At first, ten questionnaires were delivered to different language teachers and students

to make sure that the questionnaires are legible and relevant The researcher then has made some changes to the questionnaires to increase their validity and reliability

Stage 2: The questionnaires were delivered to thirty language teachers and thirty

twelfth-grade students The instructions were clearly explained to the respondents The researcher was with the respondents offering help to make sure that all the questionnaires had been conveniently completed

Stage 3: All the data from questionnaires were collected, encoded into tables and

charts to analyzed and contrasted to get answers to the research questions

2.2 Findings and discussion

2.2.1 Findings

2.2.1.1 The attitudes of language teachers towards vocabulary games

Question 1 Is using language games for teaching vocabulary more effective and

more interesting than other activities?

Chart 1 Teachers’ comparison of using games with other activities for teaching

words

As demonstrated in the chart above, about one-third of the teachers agree that using games for teaching new words to language learners is more effective and more interesting than other methods This implies that these teachers under investigation probably have been using games as word teaching activities These activities must have brought both them and their students positive results in mastering lexis items However, more than a half of the teachers participating in the survey have not considered games as more effective and more interesting activities in contrast to other methods The other 13.4 % of teachers do not concern about this matter To summarize, there are at least more than 30 % of teachers in this survey who have regarded language games as good activities for word teaching