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

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGVINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN VAN THANH GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES học sinh lớp 11 trong các giờ học nói FIELD: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANG

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN VAN THANH

GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES

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

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 orinstitution

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 mysupervisorMr Ngo Dinh Phuong

`My sincere thanks are due to the teachers and students at Ha Huy Tap highschool where I have been teaching in and gather information for my study Withouttheir help, this study could not have been successful

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

Last but not at least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to mybeloved 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 nextchapter , Research Methodology is the presentation of the hypothesis, subject of thestudy, the textbook and data collection Chapter IV is one of the most importantchapters in the study deals with the collected data, and to infer some suggestions onusing language games, which are presented in the last chapter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 Rationale 3

1.2.Aims of study 4

1.3 Scope of the study 4

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Methods 4

1.6 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Communicative language teaching 6

2.1.1 Definitions of CLT 7

2.1.2 Characteristics of CLT 7

2.1.3 Principles of CLT 8

2.2 Speaking 12

2.2.1.Definitions of speaking 12

2.2.2 The importance of speaking 12

2.2.3 Phrases to teach speaking 12

2.2.4 Common speaking activities 14

2.3 Motivation 16

2.3.1 Definitions of motivation 16

2.3.2 Types of motivation 17

2.3.2.1 Integrative and instrumental motivation 18

2.3.2.2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation 20

2.3.2.3 Resultative motivation 21

2.3.3 The role of motivation in foreign language learning 21

2.4 Overview of language games 22

2.4.1 What are language games? 22

2.4.2 Types of language games 23

2.4.3 Produres of games 25

2.4.4 Opinions on using games in teaching and learning process 26

2.4.5 Why use games in language teaching 28

2.4.6 When to use games 29

2.4.7.Language games as a motivator for students to speak 30

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 32

3.1 Background to the study 32

3.1.1 Hypothesis 32

3.1.2 Subject of the study 32

3.1.3 The textbook 32

3.2 Research questions 33

3.3 The instruments 33

3.4 Data collection 34

3.4.1 The data collection instrument 34

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 35

4.1 Presentation and analysis of data 35

4.1.1 Pre-task questionnaire 35

4.1.1.1 Presentation of the data 35

4.1.2 Post-task questionnaire 46

4.1.2.1 Presentation of the data collected from post- task questionnaire 46

4.1.2.2 Data analysis 47

4.2 Descriptions of types of games used the class 54

4.2.1 Finding from the questionaires 54

4.2.2 Positive factors 54

4.2.3 Challenges 55

4.2.4 Sub - conclusion 56

4.3 Some suggestions for using games to motivate students in speaking classes 56

4.3.1 How games are used? 56

4.3.2 When games are used? 57

4.3.3 How to organize a game? 58

4.4 Sample games used in teaching speaking 59

4.4.1 Warm-ups 59

4.4 2 Pre-speaking stage 62

4.4.3 While- speaking stage 64

4.4.4 Post- speaking stage 68

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 70

5.1 Summary of the study 70

5.2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 70

REFERENCES 71

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’ needsfor effective communication

However, due to some objective and subjective reasons, teaching and learningEnglish 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 withopportunities to develop their communicative skills, how to teach and learnspeaking effectively is still a challenging question to both teachers and students atmany high schools in Vietnam

At Ha Huy Tap high school, for most students they find speaking especiallyimportant 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 Italso seems to the writer that the techniques exploited during a speaking activitysuch 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 usefuland meaningful It can be realized that the common tendency of these methodologywriters is that teachers should be more active in using classroom activities to helpstudents recycle lexical items One of the most recommended activities is games.According to them, games are highly motivating, competitive and fun They alsobring a relaxed atmosphere and create more opportunities for students to practise With games, students will enjoy themselves, be stimulated and get involved inspeaking 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 ofspeaking teaching at Ha huy Tap high school by using games in addition to othertechniques

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 theteaching and learning speaking only, and the subjects of the study are students fromtwo 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 tocollect data for the study The survey questionnaire including pre-task surveyquestionnaire and post- task survey questionnaire is for 80 eleventh form studentsfrom two classes of Ha Huy Tap high school

1.6 Organization of the study

The thesis consists of five chapters Chapter I, Introduction, includes rationalefor the study, the aims, methods, scope, and design of the study Chapter II comesthe second, in which a theoretical background was presented Chapter III onresearch methodology comes next with the responsibility for specifying the factorsfor the researcher to collect and process the study data Following is Chapter IVnamely ‘Findings and Discussion’, in which the data is described and discussed.Chapter V comes last with the responsibility for the solutions to the weaknesses Asummary of the findings, the limitations of the study, are also mentioned in the lastchapter

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

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

2.1 Communicative language teaching

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

Most learners of English nowadays desire to be able to communicate withothers in the language they learn Parallel with this change in the aims of learningEnglish, methods of teaching has to be changed For a long time, many languageteaching methodologists have constantly looked for the most appropriate way toteach English efficiently As a result, many language teaching methods andapproaches 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 beendeveloped still continue to exist in one form or another as each method has itsadvantages and disadvantages For example, grammar-translation method is easy to

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

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

Margie S Berns (1984: 5), an expert in the field of communicative languageteaching, writes in explaining Firth”s view that "language is interaction; it isinterpersonal 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 itslinguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) andits 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 languageeducators and linguists who became dissatisfied with the Audio-lingual andGrammar-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 targetlanguage.

- The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

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

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

- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activitiesoutside the classroom

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

2.1.3 Principles of CLT

Johnson and Morrow (1981) propose a set of five principles of CLT ascriteria 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 thenature 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 mostlikely to perform in real life communication The activities should give students achance 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 thelearner being able to see clearly that he can do something that he could not do at thebeginning, 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 individualmovement - part skills, but also actual attempts to swim short distances - whole taskpractice” Similarly, in language teaching, communicative activities should providestudents with practice in total skills rather than only in part-skills If they are onlyinvolved in drill or repetition, their objective will be the accuracy of utterance ratherthan its content in a meaningful context For example, they could be able tomanipulate the past tense forms of verbs but could not tell other people what theydid last weekend properly So the classroom teacher needs to institute a progressionform artificial exercises to real language use, from discrete linguistic objectives tocommunicative objectives” (Schutz and Bartz in Savignon 1983)

Students should have opportunities to deal with a variety of language ratherthan just a number of grammatical structures, since there is no corresponding one-to-one equivalence between language forms and communicative functions Forexample, the affirmative sentence “He is a good student” could be a statementconveying the speaker’s preposition, but it could also be a question expressingdoubt

Thus, “a crucial feature of communicative method will be that it relates withstretches of language above the sentence level, and operates with real language nreal 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 onthe processes required from the student while doing it Fulfilling a communicativeexercise involves the student in filling the information gap between the speaker andthe 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 whatideas he wants to express and how to express them appropriately in a certainsituation under the pressure of time during the conversation Exercises such asdrills, repetition, substitution or guided exercises, in which students are controlled inthe use of language do not practice this aspect of communication

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

“Did you went shopping yesterday?” he may get the feedback “Did you goshopping 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 dictatesthe 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 hislearners receive, from himself or from others, so that it supports the methodologicalpurpose of the activity” Therefore, all the above processes are essential in anyprocedure for teaching the communicative use of language

Fourthly: To learn it, do it

In language learning, the connotation is obvious The teacher may try toprovide students with a lot of language items which will then be stored in theirbrain If there is no demand for using the language, those items will be the end inthem 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, theirknowledge 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 thetechniques of reading by writing and techniques of writing by reading”

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

Lastly: Mistakes are not always a mistake

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

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

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

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

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

2.2 Speaking

2.2.1.Definitions of speaking

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

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

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

“First, spoken language is affected by the time limitations, and the associatedproblems of planning, memory, and production under pressure Second, it isreciprocal 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 andknow how to speak, but not by those who do not have this skill In languagelearning, speaking plays an utmost important role among the four languageskills(listening, reading, speaking and writing) since it helps to identify who knows

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

2.2.3 Phrases to teach speaking

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

In presentation phrase, teachers are the center of learning and teachingactivities They work as an information provider What students usually do in thisphrase 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 totalk about what they have to learn from a prose based on the previous answers at theend of this phrase.

Unlike the presentation phrase, at practice phrase learners have to do most oftalking as they are provided maximum amout of practice in the form of controlledand guided activities to improve vocabulary and grammar knfinowledge as well asfluency of speaking The learners, at this phrase, answer the teacher’s guidedquestions, discuss with their partners to find new ideas related to the topic At theend of the practice phrase, Ur (1996) suggested what the teacher should do is toenhance the learners’ fluency of speaking First, attention must be fully paid by thelearners 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 givenchances to speak English freely Being in a real situation, learners use English bythemselves, not depend on the teacher’s help Free activities are also in the form ofindividual 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 beapplied as expected because of the time limitation, types of learners and materials inuse, etc

2.2.4 Common speaking activities

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

* Role play

“Role-playing” is one method of getting the students to imagine they aresomeone else and play the part (Shi Zheng, 2006) Doing role-play activities is away to practice, or rehearse, situations that may happen in real life The purpose ofthis 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 thestudents can use effectively what they have learned in the real communication (GuYueguo, 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 ofdifferent 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 moreinteractive; language teachers in particular are also looking for activities thatpromote target language use Info Gap activities are excellent activities as they force

the students to ask each other questions; these activities help make the languageclassroom experience more meaningful and authentic This section will explain inmore detail what Info Gap activities are and why they are useful; it will also givesome 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 studentswill be asking each other questions to which they don’t know the answer; thesequestions 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 aspecific 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 youfrom?” or “What is your name?”

The teacher does not know the answer to these questions; the purpose ofasking 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 knowthe 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 ofasking is to promote student speaking, or to prompt students to remember certaininformation (whether it be vocabulary, grammar, etc.)

Why are Info Gap activities useful?

Info Gap activities are useful because they are very meaningful; All studentsare involved in the process equally and they are all moving towards a specificpurpose Each student has the task of finding out certain information, and thereforemust 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 hopefullyusing lots of the target language, and in the process discovering where they havegaps Knowing where these gaps are gives them a direction in which to improve

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

Motivation is an important affective variable in SLA, and it has a positivecorrelation with second language achievement and prociency, that is to say,motivation of high levels often leads to high L2 achievement and profiency Themotivated learners are usually more active in learning, while unmotivated learnersare more likely to cause classroom disturbances However, motivation is extremelydifficult to define and measure Atkinson (cited in Arnold, 2000:13) definedmotivation 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 todescrible what energizes a person and what directs his activity, energy anddirection While Dornyei and Otto regarded motivation as a function of a person’sthought and defined it as “the dynamically changing cumulative aroused in a personthat initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates and evaluates the cognitiveand the motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized,operationalizes and acted out”(cited in Dornyei, 2001:9) In his word, Ellis statedthat “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 maintainsbehavior” Similary, Brown (2000: 160) indicated that “motivation is some kind ofinternal drive which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something”.

It can be seen that different researchers approach motivation definition indifferent ways However, they all share the same point of view that motivationcombines effort and desire plus favorable and occurs as a result of a combination ofinternal and external influences This reseach, therefore, will follow the definition ofmotivation proposed by Gardner (1982: 132-147) that motivation is perceived to becomposed of three elements These include effort, desire and affect Effort refers tothe time spent studying the language and the drive of the learner Desire indicateshow much the learner wants to become proficient in the language, and affectillustrates 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 languagecommunity

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

A learner with instrumental motivation is more interested in how the secondlanguage can be a useful instrument towards futhering other goals such as gaining anecessary 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 andTremblay (1994) explored four other motivational orientations: (a) reason forlearning, (b) desire to attain the learning goal, (c) positive attitude toward thelearning 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 externalenvironmental 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 Whileintrinsic motivation comes from the learner’s internal factors because the learnerregards second language learning as a means to acquire knowledge and satisfy hiscuriosty and interest Studies show that - learning, especially long-term learning, ismostly influenced by intrinsic motivation, though extrinsic motivation is alsobeneficial to learning

2.3.2.1 Integrative and instrumental motivation

Integrative motivation

Integrative motivation occurs when the learner has “the desire to identifywith and integrate into the target language culture” (Ur,P.1996:276) Sharing thesame point of view is Falk (1978) who states that students with integrativemotivation are those who like the people that speak the target language, admire theculture 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 newcommunity that uses the target language in its social interactions, integrativemotivation 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 inthe community and become one of its members It is also theorized that “integratemotivation typically underlines successful acquisition of a wide range of registersand nativelike pronunciation” (Finegan,1999:568) and an integrative orientationinvolves an interest in learning an L2 because of “a sincere and personal interest inthe 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 “thepractical 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 languagefor purposes of study or career promotion” (Ur, 1996:276) and the desire to obtainsomething practical or concrete from the study of a second language (Hudson,2000) With instrumental motivation, the purpose of language acquisition is moreutilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation,applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, readingtechnical material, translation work or achieving higher social status Instrumentalmotivation is often characteristic of second language acquisition, where little or nosocial integration of the learner into a community using the target language takesplace, or in some instances is even desired

Integrative vs.Instrumental motivation

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

However, it has been found that generally students select instrumental reasonsmore frequently than integrative reasons for the study of language One area whereinstrumental 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, nochance to interact with members of the target group Lukmani (1972) found that aninstrumental 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 necessaryqualification 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 fromparticipation (Deci and Ryan,1985) Contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsicmotivation 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 thatthe concept of extrinsic motivation referred to the extent to which the learningenvironment (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 doingsomething and helping to set their goals People are intrinsically motivated notbecause accomplishing the activity they do to bring a reward, but because doing theactivity itself is a reward Some linguistics noted that a student with intrinsicmotivation participated in his/her learning for its own shake, for the enjoyment itprovided, the learning it permitted, or the feelings of accomplishment it evoked.The feelings of competence and self - determination are significant factors ofintrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, derives from ananticipation of rewards such as praise, awards, prizes, evaluation and fear forpunishment An extrinsically motivated student does the activity in order to obtainsome 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 issomething 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 somethingwhen rewards are no longer available and that giving external rewards to thempreviously with intrinsic motivation can harm the good effect of it However, someresearchers 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 potentialbenefits than the extrinsic Intrinsically motivated students tend to try harder andthink more deeply than extrinsically motivated ones

2.3.2.3 Resultative motivation

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

Ellis (1997) also concluded that “the relationship between motivation andachievement is an interactive one A high level of motivation does stimulatelearning, but perceived success in achieving L2 goals can help to maintain existingmotivation and even create new types Conversely, a vicious circle of lowmotivation = 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 expressionsare triggered in our minds: goal - desire - will - effort- ambition - energy -persistence - achieve - inspire - reward In fact, motivation is very much part of oureveryday 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 theimportant role of motivation in successful language learning Many researchersconsider motivation as one of the main elements that determines success indeveloping 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-workingstudents we indeed deal with motivation Therefore, motivation is crucial forsecond/foreign language learning and it is essential to understand what ourStudents’ 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 andwhat 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 inthe form of physical activities, mental, or a mixture of the two Also, games can beclassified as cooperative, solitaire or competitive Hadfield (1987) defines “a game

is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun” Similarly, according toRixon (1981), “a game consists of governed by rules” This is summed up verywell 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, theirobjectivies”.

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

So, what are the language games? Language games mean games related tolanguage If games help to improve different aspects such as intellectual ability,patience, then language games help to develop language skills When playing theselanguage games, students not only have fun but can also practise English enjoyably,which helps to motivate students Greenal (1984) defines as one kind of “activitywhich is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired and occurs duringthe 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 becausecategories often overlap Therefore, different linguists use different ways to classifylanguage games According to Hadfield (1987), “language games can be dividedinto two further categories: Linguistic games and communicative games Linguisticgames 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 aresimilar to one another but not exactly alike Hadfield (1987) also classifies languagegames 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 personmight have a drawing and their partner needs to create a similar drawing bylistening 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 justdescribed, or a two-way information gap, in which each person has uniqueinformation, such as in a Spot-the-Difference task, where each person has a slightlydifferent 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 personthinks of a famous person, place, or thing The other participants can ask 20 Yes/Noquestions 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 FindSomeone 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 tocomplete 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 alsoknown as the Pelmanism principle, after Christopher Louis Pelman, a Britishpsychologist 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 thiscategory, 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

sometimes used interchangeably but can be differentiated (Kodotchigova, 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 alreadyplay in real life or might be likely to play, such as customer at a restaurant Dramasare normally scripted performances, whereas in role plays and simulations, studentscome 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 befollowed is not to explain but to play a trial round introducing the rules at appreciatemoments

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 therest 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 studentsorganize themselves into teams, make sure that not all best students end up in thesame 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 eliminatedgradually from the game until only one player (the winner) remains It is sometimesbest to play these games by giving each player two or three “live” or chances.Whenthe last “life” is lost the player is eliminated Try to involve players who areeliminated 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 gameand turn into a grammar lesson

Follow up

The purpose of this stage is to relate the game to the more serious business oflearning a language This is especially useful for those students who think that ifthey have been enjoying themselves speaking English they can not really have beenlearning anything Mistakes made during the game can be corrected and anyimportant 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 ofmethods 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 inparticular However, the effectiveness of using language games in English languageteaching 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 notreally 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 aredoubtful about the effectiveness of games That is, the teachers often perceive

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

Contrary to the opinions mentioned above, many experienced textbook andmethodology handbooks writers have argued that games are not just time-fillingactivities, but they have a great educational value Lee (1979) holds that mostlanguage games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learningthe correct forms He also says that games should be treated as central, notperipheral to the foreign language teaching programme A similar opinion isexpressed by Richard- Amato, who believes game to be fun, but warns againstoverlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching.Hadfield (1987) claimed the effectiveness of using language games in Englishlanguage teaching: Games should be regarded as an integral part of the languagesyllabus, 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 canbecome 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, thusmaking the acquisition of input more likely” (Richard- Amato 1988:147) They arehighly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students moreopportunity to express their opinions and feelings They also enable learners toacquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possibleduring a typical lesson Furthermore, to quote Richard- Amato, they , “adddiversion 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 iscreated by using games, students remember things faster and better Further supportcomes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to be a good way of practicinglanguage, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in reallife in the future

With the demand of changing the teaching methods nowadays, most of theteachers 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 partlycontributes 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 aresome 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-termeffort

2 Games provide a context for meaningful communication Even if the gameinvolves discrete language items, such as a spelling game, meaningfulcommunication 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 comprehensibleinput (Krashen, 1985), i.e., what students understand as they listen and read,interaction to enhance comprehensibility, e.g., asking for repetition or givingexamples (Long, 1991), and comprehensible output, speaking and writing so thatothers can understand (Swain, 1993)

4 The emotions aroused when playing games add variety to the sometimesdry, 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 thegames, 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 forstudents to develop their skills in working with others, such as the skill ofdisagreeing 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 teamspirit (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 forstudents 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 towhen 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 timeleft at the end of a lesson Yet, as Lee observes, a game "should not be regarded as amarginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothingbetter 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 aresuitable and carefully chosen”.

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

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

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

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

2.4.7.Language games as a motivator for students to speak

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

attitudes toward learning the language That is, motivation to learn a secondlanguage is seen as referring to the extent to which the individual works or strives tolearn the language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced inthis activity Therefore, those who are motivated participate actively in class andusually 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 ourclassrooms places where students enjoy coming because the atmostphere issupportive and non-threatening, we can make a positive constribution to students’motivation to learn” With a view to creating such a learning atmostphere, usinglanguage games, which have long been advocated for assisting language learning, inspeaking 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 bemaintained over a long period of time Games help and encourage many students tosustain their interest and work Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort Afterall, learning language involves long term effort

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

- Games also help the teachers to create contexts in which the language ismeaningful and useful The students want to take part and in order to do so theymust understand what others are saying and they must speak in order to expresstheir 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 testingthe following hypothesis: Language games can be used as a teaching technique toenhance 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 theparticipation of eighty 11th form students All of the surveyed students have learnedEnglish for at least four years at secondary schools, especially some of them havelearned English for 10 years Most of them can do grammar very well but they havedifficulties in mastering four language skills Of the four skills, as many of themrevealed, they find speaking especially important yet challenging one That was thereason 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 unitfocuses not only on four different language skills: speaking, listening, reading andwriting but also such language elements as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.Speaking lessons are under the tendency theme-based approaches In general, thetextbook provides students with a variety of topics and speaking activities with theaim of helping students improve their speaking skill To be more specific, some ofthe topics are of the Students’ interest such as talking about home life (unit 1) ortalking about future jobs (unit 6), etc… However, there are some speaking topicsthat are far unfamiliar with the Students’ background knowledge such asInternational organizations (unit 14), talking about the Derserts (unit 9).Consequently, the students will lose their interest during the lesson Therefore, aneffective technique should be exploited to motivate students in these speakinglessons

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 surveyquestionnaires 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 formstudents The data of the survey questionnaires will be analyzed based on this targetpopulation

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

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

- Students’ attitudes and perspectives towards speaking lessons ( question3,4,5,6,7 )

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

- Current methods and techniques applied to teach speaking skills ( question11,12 )

- Current implementations to encourage students to speak English (question13,14 )

Post- task survey questionnaires consists of 10 questions concerning twoaspects:

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

- Students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of language games used inspeaking 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 surveyquestionnaires 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 formstudents The data of the survey questionnaires will be analyzed based on this targetpopulation

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 majorsare mathematics for a month and then asking them to complete the pre-task surveyquestionnaires

- The researcher adapted speaking activities given in the textbook bysupplementing them with a variety of language games for three months Then thepost-task survey questionnaire was distributed to these eighty students to find outthe 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