SING LANGUAGE GAMES TO MOTIVATE THE 11TH GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIPI certify that the minor thesis entitled “Using language games to motivate the 11 th graders in English speaking classes ” is the result of my own work, and that

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN VAN THANH

GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES

(Sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ nhằm gây hứng thú cho

học sinh lớp 11 trong các giờ học nói)

MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION

VINH - 2011

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN VAN THANH

GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES

(Sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ nhằm gây hứng thú cho

học sinh lớp 11 trong các giờ học nói)

FIELD: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 60.14.10

MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION

VINH - 2011

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that the minor thesis entitled “Using language games to motivate the

11 th graders in English speaking classes ” is the result of my own work, and that the

minor thesis or any part of the same has not been submitted to any university or institution

Vinh, September 2011

Author’s signature

Nguyễn Văn Thành

I would like to acknowlede with all my greatest attitude the support, guidance and invaluable critical feedback which I have received from my supervisorMr Ngo Dinh Phuong

`My sincere thanks are due to the teachers and students at Ha Huy Tap high school where I have been teaching in and gather information for my study Without their help, this study could not have been successful

I am also indebt of my lectures, my friends, my classmates, as well as my colleagues for their invaluable comments, criticism and encouragement

Last but not at least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved people , my parents, my wife, and my daughter for their love , care, tolerance, and encouragement

in mastering speaking skill.

The study consists of five chapters Chapter I presents the factors as the plan

of the study such as: aims, scope, methods as well as the design of the study Chaper II named Literature Review is the display of theoretical background The next chapter , Research Methodology is the presentation of the hypothesis, subject

of the study, the textbook and data collection Chapter IV is one of the most important chapters in the study deals with the collected data, and to infer some suggestions on using language games, which are presented in the last chapter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 6

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 8

1.1 Rationale 8

1.2.Aims of study 9

1.3 Scope of the study 9

1.4 Research questions 9

1.5 Methods 9

1.6 Organization of the study 10

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 Communicative language teaching 11

2.1.1 Definitions of CLT 12

2.1.2 Characteristics of CLT 12

2.1.3 Principles of CLT 13

2.2 Speaking 17

2.2.1.Definitions of speaking 17

2.2.2 The importance of speaking 17

2.2.3 Phrases to teach speaking 17

2.2.4 Common speaking activities 19

2.3 Motivation 21

2.3.1 Definitions of motivation 21

2.3.2 Types of motivation 22

2.3.2.1 Integrative and instrumental motivation 23

2.3.2.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation 25

2.3.2.3 Resultative motivation 26

2.3.3 The role of motivation in foreign language learning 26

2.4 Overview of language games 27

2.4.1 What are language games? 27

2.4.2 Types of language games 28

2.4.3 Produres of games 30

2.4.4 Opinions on using games in teaching and learning process 31

2.4.5 Why use games in language teaching 33

2.4.6 When to use games 34

2.4.7.Language games as a motivator for students to speak 35

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 37

3.1 Background to the study 37

3.1.1 Hypothesis 37

3.1.2 Subject of the study 37

3.1.3 The textbook 37

3.2 Research questions 38

3.3 The instruments 38

3.4 Data collection 39

3.4.1 The data collection instrument 39

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 40

4.1 Presentation and analysis of data 40

4.1.1 Pre-task questionnaire 40

4.1.1.1 Presentation of the data 40

4.1.2 Post-task questionnaire 51

4.1.2.1 Presentation of the data collected from post- task questionnaire 51

4.1.2.2 Data analysis 51

4.2 Descriptions of types of games used the class 58

4.2.1 Finding from the questionaires 58

4.2.2 Positive factors 59

4.2.3 Challenges 60

4.2.4 Sub - conclusion 61

4.3 Some suggestions for using games to motivate students in speaking classes 61

4.3.1 How games are used? 61

4.3.2 When games are used? 61

4.3.3 How to organize a game? 62

4.4 Sample games used in teaching speaking 64

4.4.1 Warm-ups 64

4.4 2 Pre-speaking stage 66

4.4.3 While- speaking stage 69

4.4.4 Post- speaking stage .72

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 74

5.1 Summary of the study 74

5.2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 74

REFERENCES 76

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

Nowadays, English assumes as a more and more important part as a means

of international communication than ever Therefore, in some recent years, the focus of teaching has been promoting oral skills in order to respond to the Students’ needs for effective communication

However, due to some objective and subjective reasons, teaching and learning English in general and teaching and learning speaking in particular does not come

up to the study aims In spite of teachers’ efforts to provide students with opportunities to develop their communicative skills, how to teach and learn speaking effectively is still a challenging question to both teachers and students at many high schools in Vietnam

At Ha Huy Tap high school, for most students they find speaking especially important yet most challenging one It has been proved that some students got into

a habit of learning “mute English” which obviously harmful to a language learner It also seems to the writer that the techniques exploited during a speaking activity such as: role plays, simulations, discussions… are not really effective Therefore, it

is a necessity to find a supplementary technique used in teaching speaking

Games can help teachers to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful It can be realized that the common tendency of these methodology writers is that teachers should be more active in using classroom activities to help students recycle lexical items One of the most recommended activities is games According to them, games are highly motivating, competitive and fun They also bring a relaxed atmosphere and create more opportunities for students to practise With games, students will enjoy themselves, be stimulated and get involved in speaking As a result, they can learn new lexical items faster and remember better With so many advantages, games seem to be an effective way in teaching and

All the aboved- metioned reasons and factors have inspired the writer to

conduct a research titled " Using language games to motivate the 11 th graders in English speaking classes ”

1.2.Aims of study

The study is aimed at:

- Investigating the situation of teaching and learning speaking to the 11th

graders in classroom

- Investigating the effectiveness of using games in teaching speaking to the

11th graders at Ha Huy Tap high school

- Providing some suggestions and implications for the improvement of speaking teaching at Ha huy Tap high school by using games in addition to other techniques

1.3 Scope of the study

The study focuses specifically on using games in teaching speaking to the

11th graders at Ha Huy Tap high school in Nghe An So the study limits itself to the teaching and learning speaking only, and the subjects of the study are students from two classes studying “Tieng Anh 11” text book at Ha Huy Tap high school

1.4 Research questions

With the above objectives, the research questions are:

- How to motivate the students in English speaking lessons?

- How often are games used in teaching English speaking lessons at 11th

graders in Ha huy Tap high school?

1.5 Methods

In the process of carrying out this study, the survey questionnaire is used to collect data for the study The survey questionnaire including pre-task survey questionnaire and post- task survey questionnaire is for 80 eleventh form students from two classes of Ha Huy Tap high school

1.6 Organization of the study

The thesis consists of five chapters Chapter I, Introduction, includes rationale for the study, the aims, methods, scope, and design of the study Chapter II comes the second, in which a theoretical background was presented Chapter III on research methodology comes next with the responsibility for specifying the factors for the researcher to collect and process the study data Following is Chapter IV namely ‘Findings and Discussion’, in which the data is described and discussed Chapter V comes last with the responsibility for the solutions to the weaknesses A summary of the findings, the limitations of the study, are also mentioned in the last chapter

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

Theoretical background relative to the topic and surveys of articles, books and other resources relevant to a particular study topic will be presented This part will also provide description , summary, and critical evaluation of each work quoted

2.1 Communicative language teaching

The history of language teaching has shown a lot of changes in approaches and methods, which reflects the recognition of changes in the sort of proficiency learners need Teaching a second language used to be aimed at enabling learners to read and appreciate class of literature Therefore, any teacher who was able to reach this aim was thought to be a good teacher (Le, 2004)

Most learners of English nowadays desire to be able to communicate with others in the language they learn Parallel with this change in the aims of learning English, methods of teaching has to be changed For a long time, many language teaching methodologists have constantly looked for the most appropriate way to teach English efficiently As a result, many language teaching methods and approaches have come into being such as:

- Grammar-translation method

- The Direct method

- The Audio-lingual method

- The Audio-visual method

- Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

Mackey (1965) remarks that most of the methods which have ever been developed still continue to exist in one form or another as each method has its advantages and disadvantages For example, grammar-translation method is easy to

implement and cheap to administer, which makes it still be used in many classroom situations.

In my thesis, I only focus on Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT) as it is considered the current methodology and one of the most effective approaches to teach learners to speak in a second language

Margie S Berns (1984: 5), an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in explaining Firth”s view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why

they have come together to speak)" (Ann Galloway “Communicative Language

Teaching: An Introduction and Sample Activities” cal.org ).

2.1.2 Characteristics of CLT

The communicative approach can be said to be the product of language educators and linguists who became dissatisfied with the Audio-lingual and Grammar-translation, which could not enable learners to communicate in the culture

of the target language David Nunan (1991) points out five features of CLT:

- An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.

- The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

- The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself

- An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning

- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom

These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that they are very interested in the needs and desires of their learners as well as the connection between the language as it is taught in their class and as it is used outside the classroom Under this broad umbrella definition, any teaching practice that helps students develop their communicative competence in an authentic context is deemed an acceptable and beneficial form of instruction Thus, in the classroom CLT often takes the form of pair and group work requiring negotiation and cooperation between learners, fluency-based activities that encourage learners to develop their confidence, role-plays in which students practice and develop language functions, as well as judicious use of grammar and pronunciation focused activities

2.1.3 Principles of CLT

Johnson and Morrow (1981) propose a set of five principles of CLT as criteria to be taken into consideration in developing teaching procedures

Firstly: Know what you are doing

In real life, people talk to each other because they really want to talk, otherwise they would be quiet But people do not talk just for the sake of talking, they have something to communicate Therefore, needs and purposes constitute the nature of communication Thus, “when organizing communicative activities, we

will try to ensure that these activities share the characteristics of communication” (Harmer, 1986: 43).

In class, what is taught should be closely related to what the learner is most likely to perform in real life communication The activities should give students a chance to use language and to learn more about the language through using it Johnson and Morrow (1981:61) suggest that : “every lesson should end with the learner being able to see clearly that he can do something that he could not do at the beginning, and the “something” is communicatively useful”

Secondly: The whole is more than the sum of the parts

In discussing “whole task practice”, Littlewood (1981: 17) cites an example

of learning to swim which “involves not only separate practices of individual movement - part skills, but also actual attempts to swim short distances - whole task practice” Similarly, in language teaching, communicative activities should provide students with practice in total skills rather than only in part-skills If they are only involved in drill or repetition, their objective will be the accuracy of utterance rather than its content in a meaningful context For example, they could be able to manipulate the past tense forms of verbs but could not tell other people what they did last weekend properly So the classroom teacher needs to institute a progression form artificial exercises to real language use, from discrete linguistic objectives to communicative objectives” (Schutz and Bartz in Savignon 1983)

Students should have opportunities to deal with a variety of language rather than just a number of grammatical structures, since there is no corresponding one-to-one equivalence between language forms and communicative functions For example, the affirmative sentence “He is a good student” could be a statement conveying the speaker’s preposition, but it could also be a question expressing doubt

Thus, “a crucial feature of communicative method will be that it relates with stretches of language above the sentence level, and operates with real language n real situations” (Johnson and Morrow 1981: 61)

Thirdly: The processes are as important as the form.

Whether an activity is viewed as communicative or mechanical depends on the processes required from the student while doing it Fulfilling a communicative exercise involves the student in filling the information gap between the speaker and the hearer; making a choice from his repertoire of language of to say and how to say

it, and evaluating the feedback from what he has done

Communicative activities also require the student to decide for himself what ideas he wants to express and how to express them appropriately in a certain situation under the pressure of time during the conversation Exercises such as drills, repetition, substitution or guided exercises, in which students are controlled

in the use of language do not practice this aspect of communication

Another process involved in communication is feedback, which tells the student whether his utterance has been understood as he intended or not, and what criteria are necessary during a particular procedure For example, if the student says

“Did you went shopping yesterday?” he may get the feedback “Did you go shopping yesterday?” or “Yes, I did” The first one focuses the student”s attention

on the language form, and the second on meaning The nature of activities dictates the teacher’s selection of appropriate kinds of feedback Littlewood (1981: 91) says:

“It is, therefore, important for the teacher to monitor the kind of feedback that his learners receive, from himself or from others, so that it supports the methodological purpose of the activity” Therefore, all the above processes are essential in any procedure for teaching the communicative use of language

Fourthly: To learn it, do it

In language learning, the connotation is obvious The teacher may try to provide students with a lot of language items which will then be stored in their brain If there is no demand for using the language, those items will be the end in them If students are required to produce and use the language, they will select items of the language appropriate to the purpose of communication By doing so, their knowledge of the language is developed accordingly

Widdowson (1978: 144) says: “What the learner needs to know how to do is

to compose in the act of writing, comprehend in the act of reading, and learn the techniques of reading by writing and techniques of writing by reading”

Students can only learn to communicate by communicating and develop skills by using skills Thus, when there is a need to communicate and there is experience of communication, communicative skills are developed and consequently, language skills are also acquired In other words, the practice of communication encourages the ability to communicate

Lastly: Mistakes are not always a mistake

The traditional method concentrates on formal accuracy, whereas the communicative approach focuses on success in communication The traditional method avoids mistakes by tightly controlling Students’ language but the communicative approach encourages communication even at the expense of making mistakes

Trying to express something they are not sure of, students may make mistakes But “errors are regarded as a completely normal phenomenon in the development of communicative skills” (Littlewood, 1981: 94)

If students are corrected constantly, they may lose interest and will “find it frustrating if the teacher’s reaction to their ability to communicate ideas is focuses only on their ability to get the grammar right” (Harmer, 1986: 37)

This does not mean that accuracy is unimportant in the communicative approach, but it requires the flexibility to treat the different things as “mistakes” at different stages in the learning process” (Johnson and Morrow 981: 65)

In fact, the communicative approach does stress the importance of both the forms and the uses of language But it does not specify under what circumstances it may be more appropriate to teach the forms through the uses, or to attach the uses to the forms, or to integrate them for communicative purposes Perhaps it is the teacher’s responsibility to judge and decide which priority is relevant in his own condition

2.2 Speaking

2.2.1.Definitions of speaking

Speaking, as Bygate(1997) definites, involves not only the use of the right sounds in the patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also the choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning

Speaking, a productive skill, is known to have two main types of conversation namely dialogue and monologue, which are rather different In monologue, you give uninterupted oral presentation while in dialogue you interact with one or more other speakers for transational and interaction purposes

It is noticeable from the two productive language skills that speaking is different from writing in both processsing conditions and reciprocity conditions

“First, spoken language is affected by the time limitations, and the associated problems of planning, memory, and production under pressure Second, it is reciprocal activity, which has crucial effect on the kinds of decisions to be made” (Byagte, 1997: 11-12)

2.2.2 The importance of speaking

In social contexts, social roles are likely to be taken by those who learn and know how to speak, but not by those who do not have this skill In language learning, speaking plays an utmost important role among the four language skills(listening, reading, speaking and writing) since it helps to identify who knows

or does not know a language Pattison (1992) confirms that when people mention knowing or learning a language, they actually mean that they are able to speak the language.It can not be denied that speaking deserves as much attention than written skill In order to carry out many of the most basic transations, it is necessary for learners to speak with confidence

2.2.3 Phrases to teach speaking

Byrne (1988) distinguishes three following phrases to develop learners’ oral ability: the presentation phrase, the practice phrase and the production phrase

In presentation phrase, teachers are the center of learning and teaching activities They work as an information provider What students usually do in this phrase is to observe and listen to the teacher, i.e they passively receive information Normally, they are only asked to practice (role- play) and dramatize a dialogue or to talk about what they have to learn from a prose based on the previous answers at the end of this phrase.

Unlike the presentation phrase, at practice phrase learners have to do most of talking as they are provided maximum amout of practice in the form of controlled and guided activities to improve vocabulary and grammar knfinowledge as well as fluency of speaking The learners, at this phrase, answer the teacher’s guided questions, discuss with their partners to find new ideas related to the topic At the end of the practice phrase, Ur (1996) suggested what the teacher should do is to enhance the learners’ fluency of speaking First, attention must be fully paid by the learners Second, the target language must be clearly heard or repeated Third, learners understand the meaning of new materials and finally, short- term memory

of the material must be created for later use in the lesson

At the last phrase of learning speaking, production phase, learners are given chances to speak English freely Being in a real situation, learners use English by themselves, not depend on the teacher’s help Free activities are also in the form of individual work, pair work or group work However, pair work and group work are

of great importance and effectiveness as all learners can have chance to participate

in talks, and they seem more confident and more motivated Moreover, this can save

a great deal of time

In the process of teaching speaking, improvement of the speaking ability will

be gained if these three phrases are followed orderly However, they might not be applied as expected because of the time limitation, types of learners and materials in use, etc

2.2.4 Common speaking activities

A variety of activities can be used to develop speaking skills Below are some common ones

* Role play

“Role-playing” is one method of getting the students to imagine they are someone else and play the part (Shi Zheng, 2006) Doing role-play activities is a way to practice, or rehearse, situations that may happen in real life The purpose of this is to prepare the students for the real-life language use (Gu Yueguo, 1998: 89)

In addition, role-play will be the most commonly used method to ensure that the students can use effectively what they have learned in the real communication (Gu Yueguo, 1998: 239)

Richards suggests that collaborative communication activities such as plays have the following characteristics:

role-They provide opportunities to practice strategies for opening, developing, and terminating conversational encounters

They require learners to develop meanings collaboratively

They necessitate the use of turn-taking rules

They practice use of conversational routines and expressions

They involve learners in different kinds of roles, necessitating use of different styles of speaking

They require negotiate completion of tasks

They involve information sharing

They focus on comprehensible and meaningful input and output

They require a high degree of learners” participation (Richards 1985: 83)

* Information gap activity

Teachers are often searching for activities to make their classroom more interactive; language teachers in particular are also looking for activities that promote target language use Info Gap activities are excellent activities as they force

the students to ask each other questions; these activities help make the language classroom experience more meaningful and authentic This section will explain in more detail what Info Gap activities are and why they are useful; it will also give some examples of Info Gap activities for any language classroom.

What is an Info Gap activity?

An Info Gap activity takes place between students, not between a student and

a teacher, though a teacher can certainly demonstrate the activity The two students will be asking each other questions to which they don’t know the answer; these questions are called referential questions The goal of the activity is for the students

to discover certain information, whether about the other person or related to a specific activity

What are referential and display questions?

A referential question is a question to which the person asking does not

know the answer For example, you might ask a new student: “Where are you from?” or “What is your name?”

The teacher does not know the answer to these questions; the purpose of asking these questions is to discover information, similar to the Info Gap activities

A display question is a question to which the person asking does n’t know the answer For example, you might ask a student: “What colour is my sweater ?”

or “Do I have long or short hair?

The teacher clearly knows the answer to these questions; The purpose of asking is to promote student speaking, or to prompt students to remember certain information (whether it be vocabulary, grammar, etc.)

Why are Info Gap activities useful?

Info Gap activities are useful because they are very meaningful; All students are involved in the process equally and they are all moving towards a specific purpose Each student has the task of finding out certain information, and therefore must find a way in which to ask for this information Motivation is usually quite high

in these activities These activities help move the students from working in a more

structured environment into a more communicative environment; They are hopefully using lots of the target language, and in the process discovering where they have gaps Knowing where these gaps are gives them a direction in which to improve

In linguistics, socialinguistics and second language acquisition, a number of language learner motivation models have been postulated

Motivation is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positive correlation with second language achievement and prociency, that is to say, motivation of high levels often leads to high L2 achievement and profiency The motivated learners are usually more active in learning, while unmotivated learners are more likely to cause classroom disturbances However, motivation is extremely difficult to define and measure Atkinson (cited in Arnold, 2000:13) defined motivation as “a cluster of factors that “energize” the behavior and give it

“direction” Thus, in Atkinson”s point of view, motivation is a term used to describle what energizes a person and what directs his activity, energy and direction While Dornyei and Otto regarded motivation as a function of a person’s thought and defined it as “the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitive and the motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operationalizes and acted out”(cited in Dornyei, 2001:9) In his word, Ellis stated that “motivation involves the attitudes and effective states that influence the degree

of effort that learners make to learn an L2”(Ellis,1997:75) Woolfolk (2001:366) also defined motivation as “an internal state that arouses, directs and maintains behavior” Similary, Brown (2000: 160) indicated that “motivation is some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something”.

It can be seen that different researchers approach motivation definition in different ways However, they all share the same point of view that motivation combines effort and desire plus favorable and occurs as a result of a combination of internal and external influences This reseach, therefore, will follow the definition

of motivation proposed by Gardner (1982: 132-147) that motivation is perceived to

be composed of three elements These include effort, desire and affect Effort refers

to the time spent studying the language and the drive of the learner Desire indicates how much the learner wants to become proficient in the language, and affect illustrates the learner”s emotional reactions with regard to language study

2.3.2 Types of motivation

Gardner and Lambert (1972) introduced the notions of instrumental and

integrative motivation Instrumental motivation refers to the learner”s desire to learn

a language for utilitarian purposes (such as employment or travel or exam purposes)

in the context of language learning On the other hand, integrative motivation refers

to the desire to learn a language to integrate successfully into the target language community

A learner with integrative motivation has a genuine interest in the second hand language community He wants to learn their language in order to communicate with them more satisfactory and to gain closer contact with them and their culture

A learner with instrumental motivation is more interested in how the second language can be a useful instrument towards futhering other goals such as gaining a necessary qualification or improving employment prospects (Gardner and Lambert

in William T Littlewood, 1984:57)

It can be seen that the two kinds of motivation do not exclude each other Most learners are motivated by a mixture of integrative and instrumental reasons.

In later research studies, Crook’s and Schmidt (1991), and Gardner and Tremblay (1994) explored four other motivational orientations: (a) reason for learning, (b) desire to attain the learning goal, (c) positive attitude toward the learning situation , and (d) effortful behavior Motivation can also be devided into

“intrinsic” and “extrinsic” ones in general learning theory.( Arnold, 2000:14)

Intrinsic motivation is what learners bring to the learning environment that

is their internal attributes: attitudes, values, needs, and personality factors

Extrinsic motivation involves performing a behavior as a means to an end ,

that is, it originates outside the individual and is concerned with external environmental factors that help shape Students’ behavior (Dornyei, 2001:27)

Extrinsic motivation comes from the learner’s desire to get external reward

or the cognition of the peers and parents, or the avoidance of punishment While intrinsic motivation comes from the learner’s internal factors because the learner regards second language learning as a means to acquire knowledge and satisfy his curiosty and interest Studies show that - learning, especially long-term learning, is mostly influenced by intrinsic motivation, though extrinsic motivation is also beneficial to learning

2.3.2.1 Integrative and instrumental motivation

Integrative motivation

Integrative motivation occurs when the learner has “the desire to identify with and integrate into the target language culture” (Ur,P.1996:276) Sharing the same point of view is Falk (1978) who states that students with integrative motivation are those who like the people that speak the target language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with or even integrate into the society

in which the target language is used When someone becomes a resident in a new community that uses the target language in its social interactions, integrative motivation is a key component in assisting the learner to develop some levels of

proficiency in the language It becomes a necessity in order to operate socially in the community and become one of its members It is also theorized that “integrate motivation typically underlines successful acquisition of a wide range of registers and nativelike pronunciation” (Finegan,1999:568) and an integrative orientation involves an interest in learning an L2 because of “a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented by the other language group” (Lambert 1974:98 - cited in Ellis,1997).

Instrumental motivation

Instrumental motivation, on the contrary, is something which concerns “the practical value and advantages of learning a new language” (Lambert 1974: 98 - cited in Ellis, 1997) and which is characterized by “the wish to learn the language for purposes of study or career promotion” (Ur, 1996:276) and the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from the study of a second language (Hudson, 2000) With instrumental motivation, the purpose of language acquisition is more utilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, reading technical material, translation work or achieving higher social status Instrumental motivation is often characteristic of second language acquisition, where little or no social integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place, or in some instances is even desired

Integrative vs.Instrumental motivation

While both integrative and instrumental motivation are essential elements of success, it is integrative motivation which has been found to sustain long-term success when learning a second language (Ellis 1997) Those who do support an integrative approach to language study are usually more highly motivated and overall more successful in language learning

However, it has been found that generally students select instrumental reasons more frequently than integrative reasons for the study of language One area where instrumental motivation can prove to be successful is in the situation where the

learner is provided with no opportunity to use the target language and therefore, no chance to interact with members of the target group Lukmani (1972) found that an instrumental orientation was more important than an integrative orientation in non- weternized female learners of L2 English in Bombay (cited in Ellis, 1997) Therefore,

“a learner with instrumental motivation is more interested in how the language can be

a useful instrument towards furthering other goals, such as gaining a necessary qualification or improving employment prospects” (Littlewood, W.1998:57)

2.3.2.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation

Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic Intrinsic motivation,generally, refer

to fact of doing an activity for itself, pleasure and satisfaction dervired from participation (Deci and Ryan,1985) Contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation pertains to a wide variety of behaviors that are engaged in as a means to

an end and not for their own sake (Deci and Ryan,1985) Schulz (1991:18) said that the concept of extrinsic motivation referred to the extent to which the learning environment (i.e the teacher, materials, curriculum, learning tasks etc) contributed

to or detracted from intrinsic motivation of the learner to acquire a language

Intrinsic motivation is prossessed by people having personal interest in doing something and helping to set their goals People are intrinsically motivated not because accomplishing the activity they do to bring a reward, but because doing the activity itself is a reward Some linguistics noted that a student with intrinsic motivation participated in his/her learning for its own shake, for the enjoyment it provided, the learning it permitted, or the feelings of accomplishment it evoked The feelings of competence and self - determination are significant factors of intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, derives from an anticipation of rewards such as praise, awards, prizes, evaluation and fear for punishment An extrinsically motivated student does the activity in order to obtain some reward or advoid some punishment external to the activity itself, and this kind

of motivation refers to learning situations where the reason for doing a task is something other than an interest in the task itself In addition, undertaking the task

may be something the person feels pressured to do rather than genuinely wants to

do Deci and Ryan state that learners will lose motivation and reson to do something when rewards are no longer available and that giving external rewards to them previously with intrinsic motivation can harm the good effect of it However, some researchers show that extrinsic motivation is effective for those with no motivation, and when it is a positive feedback

In short, it becomes clear that intrinsic motivation produces more potential benefits than the extrinsic Intrinsically motivated students tend to try harder and think more deeply than extrinsically motivated ones

2.3.2.3 Resultative motivation

In some cases, motivation is the result of learning Hermann (1980) stated that “it is success that contributes to motivation rather than vice-versal” (cited in Ellis, 1997)

Ellis (1997) also concluded that “the relationship between motivation and achievement is an interactive one A high level of motivation does stimulate learning, but perceived success in achieving L2 goals can help to maintain existing motivation and even create new types Conversely, a vicious circle of low motivation = low achievement = low motivation can develop”

2.3.3 The role of motivation in foreign language learning

When we read or hear the word “motivation”, many words and expressions are triggered in our minds: goal - desire - will - effort- ambition - energy - persistence - achieve - inspire - reward In fact, motivation is very much part of our everyday personal and professional life Learning and teaching English as a second/foreign language is no exception in this respect

Research over the last three decades has consistently underlined the important role of motivation in successful language learning Many researchers consider motivation as one of the main elements that determines success in developing a second or foreign language It determines the extent of active, personal

involvement in second/foreign language learning.(Gardner &Lambert 1972, Oxford

&Shearin 1994, Ushioda 1996, Dornyei 2001)

Oxford and Shearin (1996: 121- 122) points out: “Motivation is important

because it directly influences how often use L2 learning strategies, how much students interact with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being learnt (the target language), how well they do on curriculum-related tests, how high their general profiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain L2 skills after language study is over…”.

Besides, Kanfer (1998:12) points out that “Motivation is psychological

mechanisms governing the direction,intensity, and persistence of actions not due solely to individual differences in ability to overwhelming environmental demands that coerce of force action”.

Indeed, when we think of how to encourage slow learners to work harder, how to create an attractive learning atmostphere or how to reward the hard-working students we indeed deal with motivation Therefore, motivation is crucial for second/foreign language learning and it is essential to understand what our Students’ motivation is

2.4 Overview of language games

2.4.1 What are language games?

Language games can be used in language classes So what are games and what are language games?

First of all, what are games? Games are forms of entertainment derived from

a set of artificial rules, typically with a known goal to be reached Games can be in the form of physical activities, mental, or a mixture of the two Also, games can be classified as cooperative, solitaire or competitive Hadfield (1987) defines “a game

is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun” Similarly, according to Rixon (1981), “a game consists of governed by rules” This is summed up very well in Gibb’sdefinition (1978) of a game as “an activity carried out by cooperating

or competing decision markers, seeking to achieve, within a set of rules, their objectivies”.

Different the definitions are, they share the same opinion that a game has three main characteristics They are: a goal or objective, a set of rules which govern a game and games involve a contest either between players or between players and the goal

So, what are the language games? Language games mean games related to language If games help to improve different aspects such as intellectual ability, patience, then language games help to develop language skills When playing these language games, students not only have fun but can also practise English enjoyably, which helps to motivate students Greenal (1984) defines as one kind of “activity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired and occurs during the free stage of lesson or during occasions such as English club meeting…”

2.4.2 Types of language games

Classifying language games into categories can be very difficult because categories often overlap Therefore, different linguists use different ways to classify language games According to Hadfield (1987), “language games can be divided into two further categories: Linguistic games and communicative games Linguistic games focus on accuracy, such as applying the correct antonym On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information and ideas, such

as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one another but not exactly alike Hadfield (1987) also classifies language games into many more categories as follows:

1 Sorting, ordering, or arranging games For example, students have a set of

cards with different products on them, and they sort the cards into products found at

a grocery store and products found at a department store

2 Information gap games In such games, one or more people have

information that other people need to complete a task For instance, one person might have a drawing and their partner needs to create a similar drawing by listening to the information given by the person with the drawing Information gap

games can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game just described, or a two-way information gap, in which each person has unique information, such as in a Spot-the-Difference task, where each person has a slightly different picture, and the task is to identify the differences.

3 Guessing games These are a variation on information gap games One of

the best known examples of a guessing game is 20 Questions, in which one person thinks of a famous person, place, or thing The other participants can ask 20 Yes/No questions to find clues in order to guess who or what the person is thinking of

4 Search games These games are yet another variant on two-way

information gap games, with everyone giving and seeking information Find Someone Who is a well known example Students are given a grid The task is to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name of a classmate who fits that cell, e.g., someone who is a vegetarian Students circulate, asking and answering questions to complete their own grid and help classmates complete theirs

5 Matching games As the name implies, participants need to find a match

for a word, picture, or card For example, students place 30 word cards, composed

of 15 pairs, face down in random order Each person turns over two cards at a time, with the goal of turning over a matching pair, by using their memory This is also known as the Pelmanism principle, after Christopher Louis Pelman, a British psychologist of the first half of the 20th century

6 Labeling games These are a form of matching, in that participants match

labels and pictures

7 Exchanging games In these games, students barter cards, other objects, or

ideas Similar are exchanging and collecting games Many card games fall into this category, such as the children’s card game Go Fish: http://www.pagat.com/ quartet/gofish.html

8 Board games Scrabble is one of the most popular board games that

specifically highlights language

9 Role play games The terms role play , drama , and simulation are

2002) Role play can involve students playing roles that they do not play in real life, such as dentist, while simulations can involve students performing roles that they already play in real life or might be likely to play, such as customer at a restaurant Dramas are normally scripted performances, whereas in role plays and simulations, students come up with their own words, although preparation is often useful

2.4.3 Produres of games

Most games in play Game with English have four stages:

The rules of the Game

The best way of getting over how a game is played and what rules must be followed is not to explain but to play a trial round introducing the rules at appreciate moments

Team A v.Team B Here the group is divided into two teams

You v the group Here you (or individual students in turn) play against the rest of the group

Some games are best played individual v individual In other games you can

be more flexible, varying the way the different games are played If the students organize themselves into teams, make sure that not all best students end up in the same team

Some games involve team discussion Stress to your students that the

Playing the Game

In some of the games in Play Games With English players are eliminated gradually from the game until only one player (the winner) remains It is sometimes best to play these games by giving each player two or three “live” or chances.When the last “life” is lost the player is eliminated Try to involve players who are eliminated in helping you run the game so that they have something to do

Correction while the game is being played, correction of mistakes should be

as unobtrusive as possible, as otherwise the game will quickly stop being a game and turn into a grammar lesson

Follow up

The purpose of this stage is to relate the game to the more serious business of learning a language This is especially useful for those students who think that if they have been enjoying themselves speaking English they can not really have been learning anything Mistakes made during the game can be corrected and any important new vocabulary which was introduced can be written up

2.4.4 Opinions on using games in teaching and learning process

Effective teaching in classroom environment requires different types of methods and technique Games are one of the activities that these techniques use There has been quite a lot of research done on the use of educational games in particular However, the effectiveness of using language games in English language teaching is still controversial among educators and teachers

There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn

in nature and if one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not really learning Ur,P (1996) reports that once we call a language learning activity a

“game” we convey the message that it is just fun, not something to be taken serious Therefore many teachers are reluctant to use games in their lessons because they are doubtful about the effectiveness of games That is, the teachers often perceive

games as mere time- fillers, “a break from the monotony of drilling” or frivolous activities rather than an effective teaching technique.

Contrary to the opinions mentioned above, many experienced textbook and methodology handbooks writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities, but they have a great educational value Lee (1979) holds that most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the correct forms He also says that games should be treated as central, not peripheral to the foreign language teaching programme A similar opinion is expressed by Richard- Amato, who believes game to be fun, but warns against overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching Hadfield (1987) claimed the effectiveness of using language games in English language teaching: Games should be regarded as an integral part of the language syllabus, not as an amusing activity for Friday afternoon or for the end of the term” According to Rixon (1981), games can be integrated with teaching so that they can become a positive part of it rather than a time- filler or, worse, a time- waster

There are many advantages of using games “Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely” (Richard- Amato 1988:147) They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson Furthermore, to quote Richard- Amato, they , “add diversion to the regular classroom activities,” break the ice,[ but also] they are used

to introduce new ideas” (1988: 147) In the easy, relaxed atmostphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to be a good way of practicing language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in real life in the future

With the demand of changing the teaching methods nowadays, most of the teachers have made efforts to exploit a variety of techniques, one of this is games A

good game can enhance Students’ motivation in language classes and partly contributes to increase the quality of lanuage classes.

2.4.5 Why use games in language teaching

Games have long been advocated for assisting language learning Here are some of the reasons why:

1 Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort (Thiagarajan, 1999; Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) After all, learning a language involves long-term effort

2 Games provide a context for meaningful communication Even if the game involves discrete language items, such as a spelling game, meaningful communication takes place as students seek to understand how to play the game and

as they communicate about the game: before, during, and after the game (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005)

3 This meaningful communication provides the basis for comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985), i.e., what students understand as they listen and read, interaction to enhance comprehensibility, e.g., asking for repetition or giving examples (Long, 1991), and comprehensible output, speaking and writing so that others can understand (Swain, 1993)

4 The emotions aroused when playing games add variety to the sometimes dry, serious process of language instruction ((Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000) Ersoz, 2000; Lee, 1995)

5 The variety and intensity that games offer may lower anxiety Amato, 1988 ) and encourage shyer learners to take part (Uberman, 1998), especially when games are played in small groups

(Richard-6 Games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and a number of skills are often involved in the same game (Lee, 1995)

7 Games are student-centered in that students are active in playing the games, and games can often be organized such that students have the leading roles, with teachers as facilitators.

8 Many games can be played in small groups, thereby providing a venue for students to develop their skills in working with others, such as the skill of disagreeing politely and the skill of asking for help (Jacobs & Kline Liu, 1996) Other advantages of games played in groups include:

a) The team aspect of many games can encourage cooperation and build team spirit (Ersoz, 2000)

b) Although many games involve competition, this is not necessarily the case (Orlick, 2006)

c) In most games, everyone has a turn, encouraging everyone to take a turn, rather than letting others do all the talking and other actions, and discouraging one

or two people from shutting out others

9 As many games can be played outside of class, they provide a means for students to use the language outside of class time (Ellis, 2005)

10 Games can connect to a variety of intelligences (Gardner, 1999), e.g.,

11 Games played with others involve interpersonal intelligence

12 Games involving drawing connect with visual/spatial intelligence

13 Games often have a hands-on element, such as cards, spinners, or pieces, which connect with bodily/kinesthetic intelligence

To achieve the above-mentioned benefits some thought needs to be given to when and how to use games

2.4.6 When to use games

Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson Yet, as Lee observes, a game "should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do" (1979:3) Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages

Rixon suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen”.

“Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way All authors referred to in this article agree that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency”

“Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in the learning activities Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance Students’ use of English in a flexible, communicative way”

“Therefore, the role of games in teaching and learning vocabulary cannot be denied However, in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that suitable games is chosen Whenever a game is to be conducted, the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings are factors that should be taken into account”

“In conclusion, learning vocabulary through games is one effective and interesting way that can be applied in any classrooms The results of this research suggest that games are used not only for mere fun, but more importantly, for the useful practice and review of language lessons, thus leading toward the goal of improving learners” communicative competence”

2.4.7.Language games as a motivator for students to speak

The importance of motivation second language teaching and learning has been discussed for many years Motivation is a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to communicate Motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable

attitudes toward learning the language That is, motivation to learn a second language is seen as referring to the extent to which the individual works or strives to learn the language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced in this activity Therefore, those who are motivated participate actively in class and usually get good study results.

Since motivation is something very personal, it is not easy to develop However, according to Lightbrown and Spada (1999): “If we can make our classrooms places where students enjoy coming because the atmostphere is supportive and non-threatening, we can make a positive constribution to students’ motivation to learn” With a view to creating such a learning atmostphere, using language games, which have long been advocated for assisting language learning, in speaking classes seems to be a good choice for the following reasons:

- Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting Language learning is hard work Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period of time Games help and encourage many students to sustain their interest and work Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort After all, learning language involves long term effort

- The variety and intensity that games offer may lower anxiety and encourage shyer students to take part in speaking class positively, especially when games are played in small groups

- Games also help the teachers to create contexts in which the language is meaningful and useful The students want to take part and in order to do so they must understand what others are saying and they must speak in order to express their own point of view or give information

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Background to the study

3.1.1 Hypothesis

As mentioned in the first part of the study, this study was aimed of testing the following hypothesis: Language games can be used as a teaching technique to enhance Students’ motivation in speaking classes effectively

3.1.2 Subject of the study

The research was carried out at Ha Huy Tap high school with the participation of eighty 11th form students All of the surveyed students have learned English for at least four years at secondary schools, especially some of them have learned English for 10 years Most of them can do grammar very well but they have difficulties in mastering four language skills Of the four skills, as many of them revealed, they find speaking especially important yet challenging one That was the reason why most of the students feel bored and unmotivated in speaking classes

3.1.3 The textbook

“Tieng Anh 11” textbook consists of sixteen units for two terms Each unit focuses not only on four different language skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing but also such language elements as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.Speaking lessons are under the tendency theme-based approaches In general, the textbook provides students with a variety of topics and speaking activities with the aim of helping students improve their speaking skill To be more specific, some of the topics are of the Students’ interest such as talking about home life (unit 1) or talking about future jobs (unit 6), etc… However, there are some speaking topics that are far unfamiliar with the Students’ background knowledge such as International organizations (unit 14), talking about the Derserts (unit 9) Consequently, the students will lose their interest during the lesson Therefore, an effective technique should be exploited to motivate students in these speaking lessons

in attempt to seek the answers to the following questions:

1 How to motivate the students in English speaking lessons?

2 How often are games used in teaching English speaking lessons at 11th graders in

Ha Huy Tap high school?

3.3 The instruments

The main instrument for data collection in this study was survey questionnaires Survey questionnaires were chosen because they allowed collecting

a large amount of data in a relatively short time

The survey questionnaires included pre-task survey questionnaires and task questionnaires with close and open-ended questions used for eighty 11th form students The data of the survey questionnaires will be analyzed based on this target population

post-Pre-task survey questionnaires consist of fourteen questions concerning five aspects:

- Students’ attitudes towards English learning ( question 1,2)

- Students’ attitudes and perspectives towards speaking lessons ( question 3,4,5,6,7 )

- Students’ preferences of teacher’s techniques exploited in speaking (question 8,9,10 )

- Current methods and techniques applied to teach speaking skills ( question 11,12 )

- Current implementations to encourage students to speak English (question 13,14 )

Post- task survey questionnaires consists of 10 questions concerning two aspects:

- Student’s feeling and attitudes towards language games exploited by the teacher (question 1,2,3 )

- Students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of language games used in speaking classes (question 4,5,6,7 )

3.4 Data collection

3.4.1 The data collection instrument

The main instrument for data collection in this study was survey questionnaires Survey questionnaires were chosen because they allowed collecting

a large amount of data in a relatively short time

The survey questionnaires included pre-task survey questionnaires and task questionnaires with close and open-ended questions used for eighty 11th form students The data of the survey questionnaires will be analyzed based on this target population

post-3.4.2 Procedures and methods of data collection

This study was done through the following steps

- The researcher taught 2 classes of eighty 11th form students whose majors are mathematics for a month and then asking them to complete the pre-task survey questionnaires

- The researcher adapted speaking activities given in the textbook by supplementing them with a variety of language games for three months Then the post-task survey questionnaire was distributed to these eighty students to find out the effectiveness of the use of language games in speaking classes

- Both survey questionnaires were administered during the class time Before the questionnaire was given to the informants, the researcher took time to explain the purpose of the questionnaires, the requirements of the informants The informants were also encouraged to raise any questions if there was anything unclear in the survey questionnaires Then they were instructed to complete the questionnaires

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Presentation and analysis of data

4.1.1 Pre-task questionnaire

4.1.1.1 Presentation of the data

Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards English learning

Options

Questions

A(%)

B(%)

C(%)

D(%)Question 1 How necessary is English in the