THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING LANGUAGE GAMES ON VOCABULARY LEARNING ABILITY FOR THE 5TH GRADERS AT TRAN HUNG DAO PRIMARY SCHOOL

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI LIEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING LANGUAGE GAMES ON VOCABULARY LEARNING ABILITY FOR THE 5TH GRADERS AT TRAN HUNG DAO PRIMARY SCHOOL (Hiệu việc sử dụng trò chơi ngơn ngữ đến khả học từ vựng học sinh lớp trường tiểu học Trần Hưng Đạo) M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN – 2019 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI LIEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING LANGUAGE GAMES ON VOCABULARY LEARNING ABILITY FOR THE 5TH GRADERS AT TRAN HUNG DAO PRIMARY SCHOOL (Hiệu việc sử dụng trò chơi ngơn ngữ đến khả học từ vựng học sinh lớp trường tiểu học Trần Hưng Đạo) M.A THESIS APPLICATION ORIENTATION Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Dr Nguyen Thi Huong THAI NGUYEN – 2019 DECLARATION I certify my authorship of the study report entitled “The effectiveness of using language games on vocabulary learning ability for the 5th graders at Tran Hung Dao primary school” In fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Quang Ninh, September 23rd 2019 Trainee Tran Thi Lien This study was approved by: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to a number of people for helping me to make this M.A thesis possible First and foremost, my deepest gratitude goes to Dr Nguyen Thi Huong, my supervisor, who supported and encouraged me generously throughout this study Without her excellent academic guidance and support, my thesis would not have been completed I would like to sincerely thank the anonymous participants who contributed data to this study Without their outstanding cooperation, this thesis would not have been completed My appreciation is also extended to a number of staff members of Department of Foreign Languages at Tran Hung Dao Primary school for their assistance in statistical issues and for their assistance in editing work I would like to thank my family, especially my parents and my husband for their constant source of love, support and encouragement in times of difficulty and frustration Finally, I would like to thank my readers for their interests and comments on this thesis While I am deeply indebted to all these people for their help to the completion of this thesis, I myself remain responsible for any inadequacies that are found in this work Tran Thi Lien ii ABSTRACT This study is set out to investigatethe effectiveness of language games used in classroom to enhance vocabulary learning among young learners The study adopts experimental research design, which involves both the use of qualitative and quantitative methods 70 fifth- grade students were divided into two groups, controlled and experimental groups, whose average mean test scores were similar The experimental group received treatment with the use of games to enhance their vocabulary learning while the controlled group was taught with the traditional method The findings show that the experimental group on average scored higher than the controlled group in the post-test The survey questionnaire and observation also indicate that the students who were involved in vocabulary games expressed a higher level of interest and engagement in the lesssons and reported improvement in different aspects of vocabulary, including spelling, pronunciation, meaning and use The study puts forward suggestions and implications for language teaching using vocabulary games for young learners iii Contents CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1.Rationale 1.2.Research context 1.3.Aims of the study 1.4.Research questions 1.5.Scope of the study 1.6.Limitation of the study 1.7.Thesis design CHAPTER 2: LITURATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vocabulary 2.1.1 Concepts of vocabulary learning .9 2.1.2 Aspects of Vocabulary learning .10 2.2 An overview of Language Games .15 2.2.1 Definitions .15 2.2.2 Games categories .15 2.2.3 Impacts of using games in vocabulary learning ability 16 2.3 Previous studies 18 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 21 3.1 Method of the study 21 3.2 Research Design 21 3.3 Participants 23 3.4 Data collection instrument 23 3.4.1 Pre-test and Post-test 24 3.4.2 Survey Questionnaires .24 3.4.3 Classroom Observation 25 3.4.4 Lesson Plan for group B 26 3.5 Data analysis .27 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 Findings 28 4.1 Pretest and posttest result 28 4.1.2 Questionnaire and observation result .29 4.2 Discussion 31 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 36 5.1 Recommendation 36 5.1.1.Tips for teachers in using language games for the fifth graders .36 5.1.2.Criteria for choosing games in the English class of young learner 39 5.1.3 Top languages games for vocabulary learning 39 5.1.4 Techniques to teach English for young learners at primary school 43 5.2 Conclusion 46 References I Appendix VII CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, the trend of globalization with both economic and cultural integration among countries around the world makes learning foreign languages became general movement of the world population In 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community was found; it allows free movement of labor, which creates favorable conditions for professionals, skilled workers of the ASEAN countries to engage in commercial activities and cross-border investment in order to meet the shortage of human resources for other countries The integration among countries in the region and around the world also improves labors’ income and gives valuable experience for them, including Vietnam Thus, foreign languages will be the “gold ticket” of these labors, and the foreign languages proficiency is inevitable and imperative requirement if you want to work with foreign partners in the country as well as overseas Among foreign languages, English has been considered as “Lingua Franca” (Foley, 2011) and the global language in the world Therefore, learning to communicate in English is important to enter and ultimately succeed in mainstream English speaking countries Working knowledge of the English language can create many opportunities in international markets and regions In many countries, especially in Vietnam, teaching and learning English has been paid attention more than ever before In learning English, knowing adequate vocabulary and how to use them accurately plays an important role Wilkins (1972, as cited in Alqahtani, 2015) wrote that while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed Additionally, Schmitt (2000) emphasizes, “lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second language Nation (2001) further describes the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and language use as complementary: knowledge of vocabulary enables language use and, conversely, language use leads to an increase in vocabulary knowledge Indeed, people need to use words in order to express themselves in any language Most learners, too, acknowledge the importance of vocabulary acquisition In my experience as a teacher, I noticed the fact that students usually find it difficult to speak English fluently They usually consider speaking and writing activities exhausting because they keep on using the same expressions and words and very soon, their conversation is abruptly interrupted due to missing words Moreover, the main reason for such communication problems is the lack of vocabulary Other students are confronted with the problem of forgetting the words immediately after the teacher has elicited their meaning or after they have looked them in the dictionary, and this a cause of the lack of vocabulary However, there are some limitations in the effectiveness of the teaching and learning vocabulary According to Huyen and Nga (2003), in context of Viet Nam, even though students realize the importance of vocabulary when learning language, most Vietnamese students learn vocabulary passively due to several factors They consider the teacher's explanation for meaning or definition, pronunciation, spelling and grammatical functions boring In this case, scenario, language learners have nothing to in a vocabulary learning section but to listen to their teacher Vocabulary games are proposed to solve the problem Language games bring in relaxation and fun for students, and they will learn and retain new words easily Games create the motivation for learners of English because of the competition between students Vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a flexible, communicative way (Huyen and Nga, 2003) Although we are all aware of the importance of learning English, especially the vocabulary, the best way to learn vocabulary is still controversial Some recent suggestions are the use of language games to help students learn vocabulary better  According to Freeman (1986), learners enjoy language games they enjoy communicative involvement in the classroom He believes that games can provide a healthy and constructive competition Games can encourage learners discovering and voluntary involvement to the learning process, it can establish a better bonding between teacher and learners Finally, a good designed language games can create a real communication context in the classroom, which can help learners to improve their speaking ability  Some researchers such as Nguyen and Khuat (2003) and Uberman (1998) have shown that students are tired of learning vocabulary in traditional methods such as rehearsing, writing words on papers or learning passively through teacher’s explanations, and this has created severe problems with learning skills Nguyen and Khuat (2003) believe students prefer to learn language in a relaxed environment such as vocabulary games They believe that in an interesting and communicative class learners can learn 80 percent of what they exposed to  Laufer (1997) also argues that if fluency is understood as the “ability to convey a message with ease and comprehensibility”, then vocabulary adequacy and accuracy matter more than grammatical correctness  With Hansen (1994) one of the advantage of the language game is that it can provide opportunity for shy students to involve voluntarily in classroom activities  Lewis (1999) argued that games are popular among children because they like to play Through games, young learners could interact, discover, and experiment with their surroundings Using games not only enhances students’ motivation, but also provide an incentive and stimulus to use the language Weaver, G., Bollinger, E (1949) Visual aids: their construction and use Toronto, NY, London: D Van Nostrand Company, INC Wright A., Betteridge D., and Buckby M (1984) Games for language learning Cambridge: New York Cambridge University Press Yalden, J (1987) Principles of Course Design for Language Teaching London: Cambridge University Press Yilmaz, K (2013) Comparison of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Traditions: epistemological, theoretical, and methodological differences European Journal of Education, 311-325 VI Appendix 1/ Pre-test for classes before Lesson Part 1: Read and Complete: My name is Trung I’m a new pupil in Class 5B Today is (1) I have five (2) : Math, Vietnamese, Sciences, IT and PE Tomorrow is (3) I‘ll have (4) lessons: Math, Vietnamese, Music and (5) a/ four b/ Art c/ Wednesday d/ Tuesday e/ lessons Part 2: Based on completed paragraph you have finished in part 1, choose the best options for below sentences 1/ Trung is a pupil in class a/ 5A b/ 5B 2/ He has Maths, Science, IT, PE and a/ Vietnamese b/ Music 3/ Tomorrow is _ a/ Wednesday b/ Thursday 4/ He’ll have _ lessons tomorrow a/ three b/ four 5/ I has _ lessons today a/ four b/ five VII 2/ Post-test for classes after completing Lesson Part 1: Match the words with their meanings 1/ speak a thư điện tử 2/ listen b nghe 3/ email c truyện ngắn 4/ short story d luyện tập 5/ practice e nói Part 2: Complete the sentences with correct words 1/ Trung is a in Class 5B 2/ He English every day to practice speaking skill 3/ He writes _ and _them aloud to learn vocabulary 4/ His hobby is a singing English songs b speaks c reads d newcomer e new words VIII 3/ Survey questionnaires for classes after completing Lesson # Items (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Strongly Disagree No Agree Strongly Disagree I enjoy opinion playing vocabulary games in class I become involved more in the lessons that have games I understand the meaning of new words better after playing games I know how to pronounce the new words better after playing games I can spell new words after correctly playing games I can use words in sentences correctly after playing games I remember the words better after IX Agree playing games Please rate the (1) following games Terrible (2) (3) (4) (5) Boring Normal Interesting Very Interesting a Hangman b Kim Game c Find the suitable piece Vietnamese Version which were used: # Mục (1) (2) (3) Hồn Khơng Khơng có Đồng ý Hồn tồn tồn đồng ý ý kiến đồng ý khơng đồng ý Em thích chơi trò chơi ngơn ngữ học Em tham gia nhiều hoạt động tiết học có trò chơi Em hiểu rõ từ thơng qua trò chơi Em phát âm từ tốt thơng qua trò chơi X (4) (5) Em đánh vần từ cách thông qua trò chơi Em sử dụng từ câu sau chơi trò chơi Em ghi nhớ từ tốt qua trò chơi Học sinh vui lòng (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) đánh giá trò Tồi tệ Nhàm Bình Thú vị Rất chơi chán thường a Hangman b Kim Game c Find the suitable dẫn piece 4/ Classroom Observation Checklist No Items Students’ participation in games Students’ language performance (display of vocabulary knowledge) Students’ attitudes (enthusiastic, interested or not) XI hấp 5/ Lessons Plan for group B Lesson 1: Part 1, 2/P46 (Duration Time: 40 minutes) *Objectives: By the end of the lesson, Students will be able to practice speaking, listening skills and reading skill about lessons *Materials: speaker, book, pictures and games *Procedure: Content 1: Warm up (3 minutes) Teacher’s and Students’ activities: Teacher will disclose and highlight the key word of this unit through the game to enter the new unit “How you learn English?” Games used: Hangman  the answer key is English Games description: Hangman is a guessing game with paper and pencil for two or more players A player thinks of a word, phrase or sentence and the other person (s) tries to guess it by suggesting letters or numbers, in certain guesses Players guess the word can, at any time, try to guess the whole word If the word is correct, the game ends and the guess are won On the other hand, other players can choose to penalize the guess by adding an element to the diagram How to play a Teacher divides class into groups XII b Students of each group guess letters of the key word c Which group guesses one correct letter get 10 marks d Which group has wrong prediction a part of body is e Which group has more parts of body are hang become the loser Purposes of using games: The purpose of the game Hangman is to guess the word in the limited time Content 2: Look, listen and repeat (10 minutes) *Vocabulary: a speak: nói b listen: nghe c email: thư điện tử d short story: truyện ngắn e practice: luyện tập  Teacher’s and Students’ activities a Teacher teaches the new words b Teacher reads to model c Students repeat in chorus; individually d Teacher writes the words on the board * Completed Students read the words to model * Incomplete Students notice and repeat * Present the new structure in Conversation a,b,c,d/ P.18 in the book)  Teacher’s and Students’ activities a Teacher sets the scene b Students listen the recording c Teacher reads to model *Form: A: How you practice reading? B: I read English comic books XIII  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: Teacher elicits Students to find the new structure from the dialogue *Usage: Use to ask and answer how you learn English Content 3: Point and say (10 minutes)  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher tells Students that they are going to practice the structure b Teacher points to the picture and elicits the word to fill in the gaps Write the whole sentence on the board c Teacher asks Students to repeat a few times Repeat procedure with the second picture d Teacher and class, class and Teacher e Group A and group B, group B and group A f Open pairs (Completed Students) g Close pairs h Teacher calls some pairs to practice The rest of the class gives comments i Teacher tells Students that they are going to practice more with their friends Content 4: Extension (10 minutes) Pass the puppet S1: How you practice speaking English? S2: I speak English every day  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher gives Students the puppet and plays the song b Students listen to song and throw the puppet to others c Teacher pause the song, the S who keeps the puppet in hands They will practice the structure with their partner d Teacher asks Students to check the lesson of the day XIV Content 5: Homelink (7 minutes) a Review your newly learned words b Learn by heart the vocabulary and the structure c Write three lines for each new word d Prepare the new lesson (p.47) Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a) Teacher writes on the board and guides b) Students notice and copy down Games used: Kim Game (to review new vocabulary) Games description: This is a good game to help students quickly remember what they are looking through This game can be used to test old lessons or lead new ones How to play: The teacher will show a short clip of 30 seconds about newly learned vocabulary, and then the teacher asks the students to repeat the words that were through the pictograms shown in the clip Key words: a speak: nói b listen: nghe c email: thư điện tử d short story: truyện ngắn e practice: luyện tập Purposes of using games: Review what students have learned Lesson 1: Part 3, 4, 5/P47, 48 (Time: 40 minutes) Content 6: Warm up (10 minutes) XV  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Base on the sentence pattern Students have learnt before, Teacher asks Students to practice more with partner b Teacher guides Students to answer the questions c Students work in pairs to practice d Teacher calls some pairs to practice e Others comment and T gives feedbacks *Completed Students reads to model *Incomplete Students notice and follow Content 7: Listen and tick (10 minutes) *Pre - listening: Prediction  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher runs through the pictures b Teacher divides class into two groups to guess the answers of the listening c Students work in groups to guess d Students go to the board to write their predictions e Teacher checks the predictions after listening to the tape *While – listening: Transcript: 1/A: How you practice listening, Nam? B: I watch English cartoon on TV 2/ A: How you learn English, Mai? B: I sing English songs 3/ A: How you practice reading, Trung? B: I read English comic books 4/ A: How you learn vocabulary, Quan? B: I write new words in my notebook and read them aloud *Key: 1/ b ; 2/ c ; 3/ a ; 4/ b XVI  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher plays the recording for Students listen T elicits Students pay attention with the key words to this task b Teacher plays the recording again for Students to the task In the second time, Students try to hear the whole sentences of the listening c Teacher plays the recording for Students to check their answers d Teacher has Students trade their answers in pairs for correction *Incomplete Students hear the key words of the listening *Complete Students hear the whole sentence of the listening *Post – listening:  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Base on the pictures above, Teacher asks Students remind the sentence pattern they have learnt b Students work in pairs to practice the structure c Teacher calls some pairs to practice at the front of the class d Others comment and T gives feedbacks Contents 8: Read and complete (7 minutes) * Complete the sentences 1/ Trung is a in Class 5B 2/ He English every day to practise speaking skill XVII 3/ He writes _ and _ them aloud to learn vocabulary 4/ His hobby is * Key: 1/ newcomer; 2/ speaks; 3/ new words – reads; 4/ singing English songs  Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher tells that they are going read the passage and complete it by filling in the blank with correct words b Teacher can give the meaning of these sentences c Students base on the sentence pattern that they have learnt to the task d Students work in pairs to the task e Teacher asks Students to come to the board and write their answers f Others comment Content 9: Let’s sing (6 minutes) Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher tells Students that they are going to say How you learn English? b Teacher read the chant and Students repeat c Teacher plays the recording a few times for Students to choral and individual repetition d Teacher shows Students how to chant and the action XVIII e Teacher calls two groups of four to give a demonstration f Teacher gets groups of Students to sit face to face and practice g Teacher calls two groups to the front of the class to chant and action The rest of the class claps along to the rhythm of the chant Content 10: Homelink (7 minutes) a Review your newly learned sentences b Practice the structure again at home c Do homework in workbook on p.28 d Prepare the new lesson (p.48) Teacher’s and Students’ activities: a Teacher writes on the board and guides b Students notice and copy down Games used: Find the suitable piece (to review your newly learned sentences) Games description: This game is often used to reinforce the knowledge that students learn especially in terms of long sentences or vocabulary which is difficult to remember How to play - Teachers give about sentences (including questions and corresponding answers), separate each question and answer into puzzle pieces (use cards) Divide the first puzzle pieces for groups 1,2,3,4 of Team A, the following puzzle pieces for groups 5,6,7,8 of Team B - In turn, a student representing group of team A predicts the piece of his group in group or 6, 7, in team B If selected correctly, team of team A continues and if wrong, then Group turns of Team B Likewise until all puzzle pieces are completed Key words: 1/A: How you practice listening, Nam? B: I watch English cartoon on TV XIX 2/ A: How you learn English, Mai? B: I sing English songs 3/ A: How you practice reading, Trung? B: I read English comic books 4/ A: How you learn vocabulary, Quan? B: I write new words in my notebook and read them aloud Purposes of using games: Review your newly learned sentences To sum up, there are games used in lesson of unit “How you learn English?” The first game named “Hangman” is used to warm up the class, the second named “Kim Game” to review newly learned vocabulary and the third one name “Find the suitable piece” to review newly learned sentences XX ... NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI LIEN THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING LANGUAGE GAMES ON VOCABULARY LEARNING ABILITY FOR THE 5TH GRADERS AT TRAN HUNG DAO PRIMARY SCHOOL (Hiệu việc... entitled The effectiveness of using language games on vocabulary learning ability for the 5th graders at Tran Hung Dao primary school In fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts... effectiveness of using language games on vocabulary learning ability for the 5th graders at Tran Hung Dao primary school should be carried out 1.3 Aims of the study Learning vocabulary is a part of learning