Organizing games in teaching speaking lessons of english 10

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HOÁ TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN ĐỊNH SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ORGANIZING GAMES IN TEACHING SPEAKING LESSONS OF ENGLISH 10 Người thực : Mai Thị Thu Phương Chức vụ : Giáo viên SKKN thuộc môn : Tiếng Anh THANH HOÁ NĂM 2016 CONTENTS CONTENTS A PREFACE I Reasons for choosing the theme Basis of theory Basis of practice II Aims of the research III Objects of the research IV Methods of the research B CONTENTS I Definition of Game II Effectiveness of games in speaking lessons III Games and the ways to organize them in speaking lessons of English 10 Game “ Nought and Cross ” Game “ Lucky numbers / stars ” Game “ Shark attack ” Game “ Magical Wheel / Hat ” Role play game C APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING D RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH E RELEVANT LESSONS F CONCLUSION PAGE 2 5 5 6 11 12 13 14 16 16 A - PREFACE I REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE THEME : Basis of theory : It is undeniable that the more the world’s economy develops, the wider the cultural, political and social exchanges become So as to integrate into the world as well as extend international relationship with other countries in various fields, especially to access to the latest scientific achievements, mastering English has been of great vitality It has been considered the core subject in the syllabus of our country’s education system At present, there has been considerable reform in English curriculum at secondary level Not only is it renovated in content and appearance but also in teaching method Teaching foreign languages in general and English in particular no longer focuses students on studying the language system but helps them know how to use it as a means of communication That means to improve students’ communicative ability which is expressed by two productive skills : speaking and writing Of the two skills mentioned above, speaking is considered a more difficult task for a large number of learners Not only does it require vast knowledge about the topics they would like to talk but also a great deal of vocabulary and grammatical structures to express what they mean In addition, to acquire a perfect communicative competence, it is essential that learners should have a thorough grasp of suitable structures applied flexibly in diversified contexts The fact is that the prior interest of both teachers and students is how to effectively teach and study English so as to improve their ability of communication in English Experiencing a rather long period of teaching English at Upper – secondary level, I have realized that students possibly grammatical exercises quite well, however, hardly they speak a sentence with correct grammatical rules, regardless say it in appropriate situations or not It is open to question that how teacher manage to guide students to practise and apply their speaking skill efficiently In recent years, teaching and studying English with communicative approach has become widespread Its objective is to develop students’ activeness, creativeness and initiative to enable them to accomplish their communicative skill As a result, students have been getting more and more flexible and active in the lectures and so have appeared the learner centered classes In order to achieve great success in teaching speaking skill, it is vital that learners should be motivated It is Games that are regarded as efficient motivation and environment of communication Undoubtedly, teachers probably avoid dull lessons as well as making students more excited and interested by applying games in practising speaking skill It is the reasons mentioned above that have been encouraging me to choose the theme : “ Organizing Games in teaching speaking lessons of English 10 ” Basis of practice : As can be seen, English is a rather difficult subject to students particularly the rural ones Among four language skills, speaking is considered the most challenging task for both teachers and learners From the matter of fact, during most of speaking lessons, if teachers apply the out of date teaching method – teachers only read or give illustrations and students’ work is either copying or imitating, there will be only a small number of students branstorming and working actively, the rests will passively listen regardless understand the meaning, purposes and usages of structures and communicative situations given Hence, this results in low teaching quality and few students with flying colours To make it worse, students increasingly lose their interest in practising speaking skill and fail to upgrade their communicative abilities To get a better view of the fact of teaching and learning English speaking skill, I have carried out a survey on Grade 10 students of three classes ( 10A5, 10A6, 10A7 ) of my school by questions relating to learning speaking skill and using games in teaching it The questionnaire is as follow : QUESTIONNAIRE Put a tick (  ) in your option Question : Do you enjoy learning English ?    Very much Not much Not at all Question : Which skill you consider the most important ? Question : How you enjoy speaking skill ?  Reading  Speaking  Listening  Writing  Very much  Not much  Not at all Question : Do you enjoy playing games in speaking lessons?  Very much  Not much  Not at all Question : How you feel when playing games in speaking lessons ?   Very excited No special feeling ANSWERS Percentage (%) Enjoy learning English 62 Consider speaking skill the most important 83 Enjoy speaking skill 22 Enjoy playing games in speaking lessons 90 Get excited when playing games in speaking lessons 95 The result of the survey indicates that over 60% of students are interested in learning English Although over 80% of students appreciate the importance of speaking skill, only 22% are fond of it On the other hand, most of them (90%) enjoy playing games in speaking lessons and the number of students that get excited and stimulated by games organized in speaking lessons is up to 95% It can be concluded that organizing games in speaking lessons is certainly effective in teaching speaking skill It is known that applying games in teaching brings about a great number of benefits Not only they creat excitement and relaxation after stressful hours of studying but they also change the atmosphere of the class and make the lessons more attractive II AIMS OF THE RESEARCH : As an English teacher with over ten years’ experience, I have continuously been wondering and researching for the techniques to better the quality of teaching English Knowing that the students’ psychophysiology is doing what they fancy, enjoying new things, putting their noses on pleasures rather than studying, I have been trying my best to offer them lectures in which they can work for both study and relaxation This method brings them the sense of joy and easiness when they learn English lessons in general and speaking lessons in particular through several games In order to creat motivation and situations in which students are encouraged to speak, I have been getting the best out of the popular games not only to draw students’ attention but also enable them to actively take part in speaking activities Through my years’ time of teaching English as well as exchanging, referring to related materials and drawing experiences after each lecture, I myself have found a suitable technique of teaching speaking skill for students in Grade 10 ( the first year of secondary level as well as the background for developing speaking skill in the next grades ) This technique has not only enabled me to lull most of students to take part in speaking lessons actively, enthusiatically and creatively but also creat an exciting atmosphere, raise students’s love for speaking English and help them increasingly upgrade their speaking skill by “ Organizing games in English speaking lessons of English 10 ” This technique has been applied in quite a long time of my teaching English 10 and I have got considerably hopeful result Therefore, I decisively exchange my initiative experience with my collagues III OBJECTS OF THE RESEARCH : This subject is concerned with ways of organizing games in speaking lessons of Grade 10 English IV METHODS OF THE RESEARCH : - Using the text - book English 10 to apply to each speaking lesson - Reading reference books to improve - Using the soft ware POWERPOINT, pictures and other materials - Discussing with other teachers - Applying in teaching - Observing and drawing out experiences B - CONTENTS I Definition of Game : A Game is structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, stimulational, or psychological role In teaching a language, the focus of the games is on successful communication rather than on accuracy of target language II Effectiveness of Games in speaking lessons : Learning speaking skill is a difficult task which can sometimes be irritating It is necessary that learners should make constant effort to understand, produce and manipulate the target language Games are highly stimulating thanks to their both amusement and challenges In addition, they employ meaningful and useful language in real contexts They also encourage and increase cooperation - Games are full of fun and children are excited about playing them - Not only Games offer students good chances to learn and practise speaking but they are also great stimulus of speaking by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language Therefore, they encourage students to interact and communicate in the target language - Games create a meaningful situations for language use The Game contexts make the foreign language immediately useful to the students It brings the target language to life - By playing Games can students speak English as naturally as they learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying even to the hesitant and shy students III Games and the ways to organize them in speaking lessons of English 10: It is unquestionable that games play an important role in teaching foreign languages in general and English in particular, especially in practising speaking skill There is a wide range of games which teachers probably take full advantages of to stimulate students in speaking lessons The games that I my self have been effectively applying in my speaking lessons of English 10 are : Nought (O) and Cross (X), Lucky numbers / stars , Shark attack, Magical Wheel / Hat and Role play game Game “ Nought (O) and Cross (X) ” : This game is drammatically useful in practising saying sentences or short dialogues To organize it, it is necessary to prepare a table of squares numbered from to as the following one ( teacher can replace squares by pictures or images relating to the content of the practice to make the game more vivid ) The requirements of practice are hiden behind the numbers / pictures * Note : Teacher can design this game by using the software POWER POINT Teacher divides the class into teams / groups namely Nought (O) and Cross (X) Each team / group takes turns to choose the number or picture they would like to practise Each correct answer ( good presentation ) will bring the team a mark of a nought (O) or a cross (X) Which team earns a line of marks arranged vertically ( horizontally or diagorally ) will become the winner * For example : When teaching part B Speaking of Unit : Technology and You, teacher can organize the game “ Nought (O) and Cross (X) ” in Task – Ask and answer about the uses of modern inventions * Steps : - Before playing the game, teacher has to make sure that students have mastered the vocabulary relating to the uses of the modern devices, then teacher presents the structures used to talk about them - Teacher gives an example : A : Can / Could you tell me what a cell phone is used for ? B : It is used to + talk to people when you are away from home - Teacher conducts a dialogue as the model : A : Can / Could you tell me what a / an ……… is used for ? B : It is used to + V ( infinitive ) + …………… - Teacher asks students to practise speaking about the uses of the modern devices by playing the game “ Nought (O) and Cross (X) ” as follow : - Teacher shows a table of pictures of modern devives - Teacher divides the class into teams named Nought (O) and Cross (X) each team takes turn to choose the devices they would like to talk about Each completed and good presentation will bring them a mark of (O) or (X) responding to the name of the team At the end of the game, which team gets 3X or 3O in vertical ( horizontal or diagoral ) line will become the winner Not only does this game stimulate students to try their best to present a perfect dialogue with correct vocabulary and structures but it also requires students’ strategy to win the game * Note : We can the same in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit : A day in the life of … ( talk about Quan’s activities ) Game “ Lucky numbers / stars ” : This game is possibly used in practising short structures or small talks To conduct it, teacher has to divide the information or linguistic data into items hiden behind the numbers / stars Each number / star refers to a requirement of practice ( Note : the quantity of the numbers / stars must be even to make the game equal to the teams ) Teacher probably creats this game with the help of the soft ware POWER POINT as the following illustrations * Lucky stars : * Lucky numbers : Lucky stars 5 - To carry out this game, teacher divides the class into teams / groups The representative of each team/ group takes turns to choose the numbers or the stars they would like to practise The team / group with good presentation will get point If a team/ group chooses a lucky number/ star, their point will be doubled At the end of the game, the winner will be the one with higher score * For example : When teaching part B Speaking of Unit : An excursion, teacher can organize the game “ lucky numbers / stars ” in Task ( talk about the best seats for each person on a boat trip ) * Steps : - Before the game, teacher must make sure that students have understood the information relating to each person’s hobby and requirements - Teacher presents the model used to suggest the best seats for the passengers on the boat trip : I think …………… should sit in section ……… in seat………because ……………( reason 1) and ……………( reason 2) - Teacher shows stars, of them hide the names of passengers ( Mary/ Mrs Andrew/ Susan/ Tim/ John/ Sam ) and the rests are lucky stars Lucky stars - Teacher divides the class into teams Each team takes turns to choose one star If they choose the star with the name of a passenger, they will have to say about the best seat for him/ her and get point provided that their presentation meets the requirement If they luckily choose the lucky star, they will get points for their good practice When the game finishes, the team with the higher score will become the winner * Note : We can the same in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit : The Mass Media ( talk about the main features of the different types of the mass media ) and in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit : The story of my village ( talk about the villagers’ plans and the possible results ) Game “ Shark attack ” : To organize this game, teacher should prepare several images/ pictures or using the soft ware POWER POINT to design as the following illustration Group A Group B 10 * Note : the number of the stairs must be equivalent to the number of items that students have to practise - Teacher possibly divides the class into 2, or teams / groups The icon of the team/ group will stay the same if the team/ group produces good presentation or if not it will be moved to the lower stair - The team which loses the game is the one with the lowest step of all or being attacked by the shark * For example : When teaching part B Speaking of Unit 14 : The World Cup, teacher can organize the game “ Shark attack ” in Task ( talk about the World Cup winners ) * Steps : - Before the game, teacher gives students an example about the first World Cup : The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 The final match was between Uruguay and Argentina Uruguay defeated Argentina by to - Teacher presents the model used to talk about the World Cup winners : The …… ( time ) World Cup was held in …… ( host nation ) in………( year) The final match was between …………( winner )and………….( runner up ) ………………( winner ) defeated ………………( runner up ) by ……( score ) - Teacher divides the class into teams Team B Team A Team C - Teacher asks the teams to take turns to talk about the World Cup from nd to 16th ( using the table in Task ) The icon of the team/ group will stay the same if the team/ group produces good presentation or if not it will be moved to the lower step 11 - At the end of the game, which team is attacked by the shark or stands at the lowest step will become the looser * Note : We can the same in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit 11 : National Parks ( talk about what the students in Nga’s class wish they had or hadn’t done during their excursion ) and in Task + of Part B Speaking of Unit 13 ( talk about the feelings about each kind of film and the preferences for film ) Game “ Magical Wheel/ Hat ” : This is a greatly interesting game which strongly attracts students’ attention because of the surprising scores - To carry out this game, it is advisable that teacher prepare a model of a Magical Wheel / Hat like the following illustration ( or it may be created by using the soft ware POWER POINT ) Points - This game is held by dividing the class into 2,3 or teams/ groups depending on the items of practice Each team / group takes turns to practise and the team/ group is allowed to spin the Wheel/ Hat if their practice meets the requirements or vice versa - The score of the team/ group is the total point they earn after each time they are allowed to spin the Wheel/ Hat The first prize will be given to the team/ group with the highest score of all 12 * For example : When teaching part B Speaking of Unit : Undersea World, teacher can organize the game “ Magical Wheel/ Hat ” in Task ( talk about the consequences and possible sollutions to some threats to the health of the Oceans ) * Steps : - Before the game, it is obligatory that teacher make sure that students have got thorough grasp of the vocabulary and ideas referring to protecting the oceans that are given in Task - Teacher gives students an example : A : Sea animals are being overhunted This makes the marine life unbalanced B : We should not fish for species that are limited, threatened or endangered - Teacher presents students a model : A : ………………….( raise a threat to the health of the oceans ) This makes ………………………………… ( consequence ) B : We should / had better ………………… ( suggest a solution ) - Teacher divides the class into teams ( A and B ), each team takes turns to present their dicussions about threats given : Beaches are filled with plastic bags, pieces of glass and cigarette buts Whales and sharks are still hunted for food, medicine, and other products Explosives are used to catch fish and other sea animals Oil is spilled from tankers - Each team has to present dicussions about threats The team is allowed to spin the Wheel/ Hat if their presentation fulfills the requirements of the task That means each team will maximumly has two chances to spin the Wheel / Hat - When the game finishes, which team gets the higher total score will gain the victory * Note : We can the same in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit : School talks ( make small talks on the given topics ) Role Play Game : This game is usually organized in the speaking lessons with long conversations or interviews with a large number of linguistic data The attraction of this game is the sense it brings to the students of being a star, an actor or actress playing a role in a scene of a film or an MC speaking in a television programme To organize this game, teacher divides the class in to pairs/ groups ( depending on the content of the conversation ) Then teacher requires the pairs/ groups to play the roles to practise * For example : When teaching part B Speaking of Unit 12 : Music, teacher can organize the “ Role Play Game” in Task ( talk about music ) 13 * Steps : - Before the game, teacher guides students an interview model about music : MC : What kind of music you like ? Guest : I like …………………… MC : Why you like it ? Guest : Because ………………… MC : What is your favourite band ? Guest : It is ……………………… MC : Who is your favourite musician / singer ? Guest : ………………………… MC : What is your favourite song / piece of music ? Guest : It is ……………………… MC : When you listen to music ? Guest : ……………………………… - Teacher sets the scene : you are taking part in a talk show named “ My Favourite Musician ” on television - Teacher divides the class into pairs playing roles of a guest and an MC of a talk show on television - Teacher asks the pairs to practise the interview - Teacher calls some pairs to display in front of the class * Note : We can the same in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit : People’s background ( interview a classmate about his / her background ), Task of Part B Speaking of Unit : Special Education ( interview your partner about his/ her lower secondary school ), and in Task of Part B Speaking of Unit 16 : Historical places ( give a short introduction about a historical place ) C - APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING UNIT : TECHNOLOGY AND YOU Lesson - Speaking I Objectives : Educational aims : Students should appreciate the modern devices that help make our life comfortable and should know how to use them properly and economically Knowledge : - General knowledge: Students learn about how present and future divices and equipment may change our life styles - Language : Asking for and giving information about the uses of modern inventions - New words : Words related to modern devices and equipment Skill : Talking about the uses of modern technology II Method : Integrated, mainly communicative III Teaching aids : Real objects and pictures showing various modern devices : an air conditioner, a computer, a fax machine, an electric cooker etc 14 IV Procedures : Teacher’s activities Students’ activities * Warm - up : (4 minutes) - Show the pictures of some modern - Listen to the teacher devices - Look at the pictures and say the names of the devices : a camera a computer a fax machine 4 an air conditioner a radio a television a washing machine an electric cooker - Ask students to name the modern a fridge devices in the pictures * Pre - speaking : (5 minutes) - Ask students some questions : - Listen to the teacher and answer : What is used to listen to music and a radio news? a washing machine What is used to wash the clothes? - Give an example about asking and answering about the uses of modern - Listen to the teacher devices : A: Can/ could you tell me what a cell phone is used for ? B: It is used to talk to people when you are away from home - Present the model : A: Can/ could you tell me what a/ an … - Listen to the teacher is used for ? B : It is used to + V…… * While - speaking : (24 minutes) Task (10 minutes) : Organizing game “ Nought (O) and Cross (X)” - Ask students to ask and answer questions about the uses of modern - Listen to the teacher inventions by organizing game (O) & (X) - The teams takes turns to choose - Divide the class into teams the devices in the table then make a - Give instructions and rules : dialogue about it so that they can Each team takes turns to choose the get a line of (O) or (X) vertically device you would like to practise Each ( horizontally or diagorally) 15 Teacher’s activities correct answer ( good presentation ) will bring the team a mark of a nought (O) or a cross (X) Which team earns a line of marks arranged vertically ( horizontally or diagorally ) will become the winner - Control their playing game - Note down the result Task (7 minutes) : - Ask students to task - Introduce students how to task - Let them work in pairs - Walk round and help students if necessary Task (7 minutes) : - Ask students to look at the ideas in task 2, then rank them in order of importance and explain why - Let them work in pairs - Walk round, listen, check and help students if they can’t * Post - speaking : (9 minutes) Task 4: - Ask students to talk about the uses of information teachnology, use the information above - Let them work in groups - Check and help students - Call some students to talk to each other then mark them * Homework : (3 minutes) - Ask students to part Speaking: exercise 1, in workbook and prepare part Listening at home Students’ activities A: Can you tell me what a radio is used for? B: It is used to listen to music and news A: Can you tell me what a T.V is used for? B: It is used to watch news, films and football matches ……………………………… - Look at task 2, listen to the teacher - Work in pairs Keys: 1.store; 2.transmit; process; 4.send; 5.hold; 6.make; 7.send; receive; 9.design - Listen to the teacher - Work in pairs A: In what way is information technology the most useful to our lives? B: I think… A: Why you think so? B: Because… - Look at Task - Work in groups - Listen to the teacher and write down 16 D - RESULTS OF THE RESEARCH After using this technique, I have had the following results of the convey from classes : 10A5, 10A6, 10A7 at the end of the school year 2015 - 2016 : Class 10A5 10A6 10A7 Before applying experience ( the beginning of the school year ) Excellent Average Weak – good (bad) 30% 45% 25% 37% 40% 23% 40% 40% 20% After applying experience ( the end of the school year ) Excellent – good 35% 40% 43% Average 58% 55% 53% Weak (bad) 7% 5% 4% It is indicated from the table of statistics above that the quality of the subject has considerably changed They are much higher and better than those at the beginning of the school year Up to now, there’s been enough evidence to affirm that organizing games in speaking lessons has resulted in much effect in teaching English particularly speaking skill E - RELEVANT LESSONS As mentioned above, Games play a vital role in practising speaking skill However, from my own experience, I have realized that to take full advantages of the games, it is advisable that teacher should grasp the following principles First of all, teacher has to prepare the games very well and carefully This is the key to control the class and endure the students’ excitement Moreover, the games should be short, simple and easy enough to understand If they are too long or complicated, they will make students tired and eazily lose their interest To sucessfully organize the games, teacher ought to well organize the class with the highest attention When dividing the class into pairs or groups, make sure that they are equal in quality During their practice, teacher has to take a role of a controller and observer to know for certain that they are actively working In addition, the games must be diversified If teacher organizes the same game in every speaking lesson, students will feel bored, which results in dull studying atmosphere, little participation and low quality F - CONCLUSION The fact is that organizing games in speaking lessons is actually creating motivation and contexts for students to enhance their excitement, activeness, positiveness and creativeness in practising speaking skill Thanks to integrating games in speaking lessons, students will not feel practising speaking skill a hard work and get embarrassed or lose their self 17 confidence On the other hand, they will excitingly take part in the competitive games Besides that, games enable students to raise the sense of initiative and try their best to drill their speaking skill better and better after each lesson to grasp the chances to win the next games In the renovation period of teaching methods, there have existed a wide range of techniques used to improve the quality of teaching and studying From my years’ time of experience, accessing to a various number of positive and advanced teaching methods and techniques, I myself have drawn a productive technique of organizing games in English speaking lessons of English 10 In this method, I realized most students worked harder, expressed more ideas, became more active and interested in the lessons and especially had more satisfactory results despite the fact that they are the students of Yen Đinh - a mountainous high school LEADER’S CONFIRMATIONS ( XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ ) Thanh Hoa, April, 16 th 2016 I strongly ensure this is my own work without copying from any other’s Writer Mai Thị Thu Phương 18 REFERENCE BOOKS Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom ( written by Tricia Hedge - 2008 - Cambridge University Press ) Practical English Usage ( written by Michael Swan) A course in language teaching - Practical and Theory ( written by Penny Ur - Cambrige University Press English Language Teaching Methodology ( edited by Hanoi university ) Practical handbook of language teaching ( written by David Cross ) How to use language games to teach English - by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby Cambridge University Press, 1984 Phương pháp dạy tiếng Anh Trung học phổ thông ( written by Nguyễn Hạnh Dung ) Trò chơi Tiếng Anh ( written by Trần Bá Sơn ) 19 ... by games organized in speaking lessons is up to 95% It can be concluded that organizing games in speaking lessons is certainly effective in teaching speaking skill It is known that applying games. .. Enjoy playing games in speaking lessons 90 Get excited when playing games in speaking lessons 95 The result of the survey indicates that over 60% of students are interested in learning English. .. applying games in practising speaking skill It is the reasons mentioned above that have been encouraging me to choose the theme : “ Organizing Games in teaching speaking lessons of English 10 ”