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

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN VAN THANH USING LANGUAGE GAMES TO MOTIVATE THE 11TH GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES (Sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ nhằm gây hứng thú cho học sinh lớp 11 học nói) MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION VINH - 2011 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN VAN THANH USING LANGUAGE GAMES TO MOTIVATE THE 11TH GRADERS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES (Sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ nhằm gây hứng thú cho học sinh lớp 11 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 11th 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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 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 ABSTRRACT Speaking always plays an important part in teaching and learning English However, How to motivate students to speaking English in classroom is not simple In order to improve the quality of speaking classes, the study limits itself to the study on using language games to motivate the 11th graders to speak The study has been conducted for the purpose of testing the effectiveness of using language games to motivate students at Ha Huy Tap high school in speaking classes Thus, two sets of survey questionnaire including pre-task survey questionnaire and post-task survey questionnaire are used to investigate students’ attitudes, perspectives towards speaking skill and language games adapted during speaking lessons, to find out the students’ preferences for employing this technique 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 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION .8 1.1 Rationale 1.2.Aims of study .9 1.3 Scope of the study .9 1.4 Research questions 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 3.4.2 Procedures and methods of data collection 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 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 learning a foreign language in general and speaking All the aboved- metioned reasons and factors have inspired the writer to conduct a research titled " Using language games to motivate the 11th 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 11 th 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 11 th 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 10 10 11 12 13 14 15 Thailand 1978 25 19 Korea 1986 27 25 Japan 1994 42 34 Korea 2002 44 38 4.4.4 Post- speaking stage It is the last step of a speaking lesson so it’s time for Students’ production The activities in this stage are for students to reflect upon their performnace Postspeaking stage should last ten to twelve minutes Unit 6: Competitions Type of games: Role play Class management: Group work Material: handouts Time: 10-12 minutes Procedure: The teacher asks students to work in pairs: one plays the role an MC in “Sao Mai Television Singing contest”, while the other plays the role of a singer Teacher distributes the interview from each pair and asks them to interview the singer and takes notes the aswer The students can change their roles and make another interview Then the teacher asks some students go to the blackboard to talk about the competition that they have attended from the interview 72 INTERVIEW FORM What is your name? Where are you from? Where and when did you take part in it? Who organized it? Who participated in it? Who won the contest? Did you enjoy it? 8.Why did/din’t you enjoy it? Chapter IV has provided teachers with some applicable and effective games exploited in all stages of a speaking lesson With the aim to help the teachers exploit language games fully and successfully, some suggestions when running a game are also mentioned It is hoped that it can help to enhance Students’ motivation in speaking lessons 73 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of the study This study is done with the purpose of seeking one effective teaching technique to improve students’ speaking skill And as there exist many teaching techniques exploited by teachers to teach speaking, the study limits itself to use language games to motivate students to speak The literature review has been made in the hope of demonstrating the scope of the study theoretically in terms of speaking skill and language games The findings from the data analysis show that despite students’ awareness of the importance of speaking skill, some students have low motivation towards speaking classes They find speaking activities either challenging or boring Thus they show their unwillingness to raise their voice Language games are used to motivate students in speaking classes and are applicable a s a motivator in speaking lessons Moreover, in order to make the study more practical , some suggestions on using language games as well as a variety of language games applied in all stages of a speaking lesson have also been mentioned It is hoped that the study will prove worthwhile to those who want to motivate students in speaking classes and who are concerned about the problem 5.2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study Although the study has accomplished the objectives set at the beginning, it can not advoid some limitations Due to the time is short, limit of knowledge and the scope of the study, the study can not cover all the uses of language games in four skills and language elements Therefore, further study can forcus on the use of language games as a motivator in reading classes, writing classes, listening classes and language games as an effective technique to teach vocabulary and grammar 74 Obviously, mistakes are unadvoidable, all comments and remarks on this research will be highly appreciated 75 REFERENCES Tiếng Việt Lưu Qúy Khương (2006), A practical course for teaching English as a foreign language Nguyễn Thủy Minh - Lương Quỳnh Trang (2009), Thiết kế giảng tiếng Anh 11, Tập Tập 2, NXB Hà Nội Hoàng Văn Vân (2007), Tiếng Anh 11, NXB Giáo dục Tiếng Anh Arnold, J.(2000), Affect in Language Learning, CUP Bygate, M (1997), Speaking, Oxford University Press Carrier, M& the others (1985), Take games and activities for language learning, UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons Collin Granger (1980), Play games with english, teachers’book, East Kilbribe, Scotland Dornyei, R (2001), Teaching and Researching Mativation, Longman Ellis, R (1997), Second Language Acquisition, OUP, Oxford Garder, R.C (1982), Language Attitudes and Language learning, Edward Arnold Hadfield, J (1987), Elementary Communication Games, UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons Hadfield, J (2003), Intermediate Grammar Games, Hong Kong: Thomas Nelson and Sons 10 H.Douglas Brown (2000), Principles of language learning and teaching, San Francisco Sate University 11 H.G Widdowson (1978), Linguistics, Oxford university press 12 http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/gallow01.html 76 13 http://www.languagegames.org./ 14 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ 15 Johnson ,K and Morrow, K 1991 Communication in the classroom, Longman 16 Lee, W.R (1979), Language teaching games and contests, Oxford: Oxford University Press 17 Lewis, G and Bedson, G (1999), Games for children, Oxford University Presss 18 Littlewood, W (1981), Communicative Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Mc Callum, G.P (1980), 101 Word Games, Oxford: Oxford University Pess 20 Numan, D 1989 Design Tasks for the communicative classroom, C.U.P 21 Numan, David.1991 Communicative tasks and the language curriculum, TESOL Quarterly 25(2), 279-295 22 Richard-Amato, P.A (1998), Making it happen: Interaction in the second language classroom: From theory to practice, New York: Longman 23 Rixon, S.(1981), How to use games in language teaching, London: Macmillan Publishers 24 Ur, P.(1996), A course in Language Teaching, Cambridge: CUP 25 Woolfolk, A (2001), Educational Psychology (8th ed.), Allyn Bacon, A Pearson Education Company, United States 26 Wright, A; Betteridge, D& Buckly, M (1983), Games for language learning, Cambridge University Press 77 APPENDIXES APPENDIX 1A: PRE - TASK SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE The survey questionnaire is designed for my study “Using language games to motivate the 11th graders in speaking classes at Ha huy Tap high school” Your assistance in fulfilling the following items is greatly appreciated Please, tick (V) in the given boxes to indicate your choice Your class: Your English learning experience:……………………………………………… 1.How necessary is English in the school course? A very necessary B necessary C Normal D Unnecessary How you like learning English? A very much B Much C Not much D Not at all 3.Among the four language skills, which one is the most difficult to you? A.Listening B speaking C Reading D.Writing How is speaking skill important to you? A very important B Important C Normal D Not important at all 5.How you find speaking topics and speaking activities introduced in “Tieng Anh 11” textbook? 5.1 A very in teresting B Interesting C Normal D Boring 5.2 A Very difficult B Difficult C Normal D Easy 6.Are you willing to speak in speaking classes? A Yes, I like speaking very much B Yes, sometimes 78 C No, I am never willing to speak If you choose B, C , What are the reasons for your unwillingness to speak? (Please specify) ……………………………………………………………………………………… In order to encourage students to speak and get them more involved in speaking activities, you think the teachers should: ( You can choose more than one) A Use visual aids ( pictures, charts, etc… ) B Use language games C Use songs D Use group work and pair work E Others( please specify)………………………………………… What you think of using language games in speaking classes for? A for relaxing only B for teaching only C for both relaxing and teaching D time covering 10 If your teacher of English exploits language games in speaking lessons, are you willing to join? A yes B no 11 What you think about your teacher’s taking time? A Too much B A little much C All right D Too little 12 When you make mistakes in speaking, your teacher: A Is angry and interrupts to correct B Is not angry but interrupts to correct C Wait until you have presented, then point out your mistaked and corrects D Wait until you have finished your presentation, points out the mistakes, and encourage you to correct them 13 What does your teacher usually to encourage you to practice speaking? A Uses communicative games B Creates topics interesting and appropriate to your level C Supports some suggested questions 79 D Uses group work 14.What you think group work and pair work help you? A Enable you to speak more B Give you opportunities to express your own ideas C Make you speak English more naturally and creatively D Give you opportunities to chat with your classmates in Vietnamese Thank you very much for taking time to complete this questionnaire! 80 CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA 1B (Trước sử dụng trò chơi học mới) Những câu hỏi sau nhằm phục vụ cho việc nghiên cứu, việc sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ nhằm gây hứng thú học nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 11 trường THPT Hà Huy Tập việc học tiếng Anh Xin bạn vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi sau theo suy nghĩ Chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác em! Hãy đánh dấu () vào ô mà em lựa chọn Môn chuyên em:……………………………… Em học tiếng Anh:………………………… năm Theo em học tiếng Anh… A Rất cần thiết B Cần thiết C Bình thường D Không cần thiết C Bình thường D Không thích Em có thích học tiếng Anh không? A Rất thích B Thích Trong bốn kỹ năng, kỹ khó em A Nghe B Nói C Đọc D Viết C Bình thường D Không quan trọng Kỹ nói có quan trọng với em không? A Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng Em có nhận xét chủ đề nói hoạt động nói sách giáo khoa “Tiếng Anh 10”? 5.1 A Rất thú vị B Thú vị C Bình thường D Tẻ nhạt 5.2 A Rất khó B Khó C Bình thường D Dễ Em có tha gia tích cực học nói không? A Có, em thích học nói B Có, C Không, em thấy không thoải mái Nếu em chọn B C, lý cho lựa chọn em gì? (ghi rõ) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Để khuyến khích học sinh nói tiếng Anh tham gia tích cực vào học nói, em nghĩ giáo viên nên (em lựa chọn nhiều phương án): A Sử dụng giáo cụ trực quan (tranh ảnh, bảng biểu…) 81 B Sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ C Sử dụng hát D Sử dụng hoạt động cặp nhóm E Các hoạt động khác (ghi rõ)………………………………………………………… Em nghĩ việc sử dụng trò chơi việc giảng dạy kỹ nói tiếng Anh? A Chỉ để thư giãn B Để trợ giúp việc giảng dạy C Vừa để trợ giúp việc giảng dạy vừa để thư giãn D Để lấp thời gian thừa 10 Nếu giáo viên tiếng Anh em sử dụng trò chơi dạy nói, em có muốn tham gia không? A Có B Không 11 Bạn nghĩ thời gian nói giáo viên? A Quá nhiều B Hơi nhiều C Được D Quá 12 Khi bạn mắc phải lỗi nói, giáo viên… A Cáu giận làm gián đoạn để sửa lỗi B Không cáu giận làm gián đoạn để sửa lỗi C Đợi đến lúc bạn trình bày xong lỗi sai bạn sửa lỗi D Đợi đến lúc bạn trình bày xong, lỗi sai động viên bạn để sửa lỗi 13 Giáo viên bạn thường làm để động viên bạn thực hành nói? A Sử dụng trò chơi giao tiếp B Sáng tạo topic thú vị phù hợp với kiến thức bạn C Đưa số câu hỏi gợi ý D Sử dụng hoạt động nhóm 14 Hoạt động nhóm hoạt động cặp giúp bạn nào? A Có thể giúp bạn nói nhiều B Cho bạn hội để trình bày ý kiến riêng C Làm cho bạn nói tiếng Anh tự nhiên sáng tạo D Cho bạn hội để tán gẫu với bạn lớp tiếng Việt Cảm ơn giúp đỡ em! 82 APPENDIX 2A: POST - TASK SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE The survey questionnaire is designed for my study “Using language games to motivate the 11th graders in speaking classes at Ha Huy Tap high school” Your assistance in fulfilling the following items is greatly appreciated Please, tick (V) in the given boxes to indicate your choice 1.Do you like language games given by your teacher during speaking lessons? A I like them very much B Yes, they are ok C I don’t like them at all D I have no idea What you while playing games? A Actively take part in the games B Join the games only when being asked by teacher C Join the games only when feeling interested D Do not play games How you feel after playing games? A relaxed and motivated B normal C uncomfortable Are you willing to speak during speaking lessons? A yes, I feel more motivated to speak B It depends on the speaking activities and lanuage games given C No, I feel unmotivated and reluctant to speak In your opinion, is the use of language games to motivate students to speak effective? A yes B No If you choose yes, please answer question and keeping answering question to question 10 If you choose No, please answer question and keeping answering question to question 10 83 What are the benefits of language games to your speaking skill? (You can choose more than one opinion) A Language games make speaking lessons more enjoyable and more fun B Language games make speaking lessons less challenging and difficult C Language games lower my anxiety and shyness, and then develop my confidence in speaking D Language games create more chance for students to speak The use of language games in speaking classes is ineffective , what you think are reasons? (Please specify) …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… To make the use of language games in speaking classes more effective, what you think the teacher should do? (You can choose more than one option) A Teacher should exploit the language games that suit students’ level B Teacher should explain students what to in a clear and an easy-tounderstand language C.Teacher should exploit a variety of language games in different speaking classes D Teacher should demonstrate what to to students E Others ( please specify) What stage(s) you think the teacher should exploit the language games? A Warm ups B Pre- speaking C While- speaking stage D Post- speaking stage E At any stage of the lesson 10 How often you want to play language games? A Often B Occasionally C Rarely D.Never Thank you very much for taking time to complete this questionnaire! 84 CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA 2B (Sau sử dụng trò chơi học nói) Những câu hỏi sau nhằm phục vụ cho việc nghiên cứu, việc sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ nhằm gây hứng thú học nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 11 trường THPT Hà Huy Tập việc học tiếng Anh Xin bạn vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi sau theo suy nghĩ Chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác em! Hãy đánh dấu () vào ô mà em lựa chọn Em có thích trò chơi ngôn ngữ mà giáo viên sử dụng dạy nói không? A Rất thích B Thích C Không tích D Không có ý kiến Trong chơi trò chơi, em… A Tham gia cách tích cực B Có, C Tham gia cảm thấy hứng thú D Ý kiến khác……………………… Em cảm thấy sau tham gia trò chơi A Thoải mái hứng thú B Bình thường D Không thoải mái Em có tham gia tích cực học nói hay không? A Có, em cảm thấy hứng thú B Tùy thuộc vào hoạt động nói trò chơi mà giáo viên đưa C Em cảm thấy không hứng thú ngại nói Theo em, việc sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ học nói có hiệu không? A Có B Không Nếu em chọn có, trả lời câu hỏi tiếp tục trả lời từ câu hỏi đến câu 10 Nếu em chọn không, trả lời câu hỏi tiếp tục trả lời từ câu hỏi đến câu 10 Đâu lợi ích mà trò chơi ngôn ngữ giúp em học nói (em lựa chọn nhiều phương án A Trò chơi ngôn ngữ làm cho học nói thêm thú vị B Trò chơi ngôn ngữ làm cho học nói đơn giản hơn, dễ dàng C Trò chơi ngôn ngữ giúp học sinh giảm căng thẳng, bớt rụt rè, từ học sinh thêm tự tin nói D Trò chơi ngôn ngữ tạo cho học sinh nhiều thời gian hội thực hành nói 85 Nếu việc sử dụng trò chơi học nói không hiệu quả, theo em, đâu nguyên nhân (ghi rõ): ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Để phát huy tính hiệu việc sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ học nói, theo em giáo viên cần (em lựa chọn nhiều phương án): A Giáo viên nên sử dụng trò chơi phù hợp với trình độ học sinh B Giáo viên nên giải thích luật chơi cách rõ ràng dễ hiểu C Giáo viên nên sử dụng trò chơi đa dạng học nói khác D Giáo viên nên làm mẫu cho học sinh xem E Lựa chọn khác (ghi rõ)……………………………………………………………… Giai đoạn nói nào, theo em, nên sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ A Giai đoạn khởi động (warm - up) B Giai đoạn chuẩn bị (pre - speaking) C Giai đoạn thực hành nói (while - speaking) D Giai đoạn mở rộng (post - speaking) E Bất kỳ giai đoạn 10 Em nghĩ trò chơi ngôn ngữ nên tổ chức: A Thường xuyên B Thỉnh thoảng C Hiếm D Không Cảm ơn giúp đỡ em! 86