Improving learning English vocabulary through games: an action research= nâng cao việc học từ vựng tiếng Anh thông qua các trò chơi ngôn ngữ: nghiên cứu hành động. M.A. Thesis Linguistics: 60 14 10

-1- VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ PHƯƠNG THẢO IMPROVING LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY THROUGH GAMES: AN ACTION RESEARCH NÂNG CAO VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH THƠNG QUA CÁC TRỊ CHƠI NGÔN NGỮ: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG M.A THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 HANOI – 2011 -2- VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ PHƯƠNG THẢO IMPROVING LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY THROUGH GAMES: AN ACTION RESEARCH NÂNG CAO VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH THƠNG QUA CÁC TRỊ CHƠI NGƠN NGỮ: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG M.A THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 SUPERVISOR: PHẠM MINH TÂM, M.Ed HANOI – 2011 -6- TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE‟S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS……………………………… vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the Study and Research Problem Statement …………………… 1.2 Research Aims and Research Questions………………………………………………… 1.3 Scope of the Study 1.4 Methodology of the Study 1.5 Design of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW………… 2.1 Overview of Vocabulary Teaching …………… 2.1.1 The Definitions of Vocabulary 2.1.2 Principles in Vocabulary Teaching 2.1.3 Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary 2.1.3.1 Techniques for Presenting New Vocabulary ……………………………… 2.1.3.1.1 Visual Techniques……………… … … ……………….………… 2.1.3.1.2 Verbal Techniques ……………………………………………………… 2.1.3.1.3 Student-centred …………… …………………… ……… ……… 2.1.3.2 Techniques for Consolidating and Checking Vocabulary……………………… 2.2 Overview of Language Games 2.2.1 The Definitions of Language Games -7- 2.2.2 Types of Language Games 10 2.2.3 Perspectives on Exploiting Games in ELT…… ………… 11 2.2.4 Reasons to Use Games in EFL Classroom …………………… ………… … 12 2.3 Relationship between Games and Language Teaching ………………………… … 13 2.4 Common Games in Teaching Vocabulary…………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19 3.1 Research Context …… ………………………………………… … 19 3.2 Research Questions …… …………………………………………………… … 21 3.3 Research Approach …………………………… …………………………….… 21 3.4 Participants ………………………… ……………………………………… … 23 3.5 Research Instruments …………………………… ……………………………… 23 3.5.1 Pre-test and Post test…………………….……… ……………………… … 24 3.5.2 Vocabulary Games …………………………………………………………… 24 3.5.2.1 Vocabulary Games for Checking ………………………………………… 25 3.5.2.2 Vocabulary Games for Practice …………………………………………… 26 3.5.2.3 Vocabulary Games for Revision or Warm-up …………….……………… 26 3.5.3 Questionnaire ……………… …………………………………………… … 26 3.6 Data Collection Procedure …………… …………………………………… … 27 3.6.1 Pre-test ………………… ………………………… …………… 27 3.6.2 Post-test………………… …………………………… ………… 27 3.6.3 Questionnaire………………………………… ………………………… … 28 3.7 Data Analysis Procedure ……………………… ……………………………… 28 3.7.1 Data from pre-test and post test …………………….…………………… … 28 3.7.2 Data from questionnaire …………………………………………………… 28 3.8 Conclusive Remarks …………… …………………………………………… 28 -8- CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.………………….…………… ……… … 30 4.1 Findings …… …………………………………………………………………… … 30 4.1.1 Research question 1…………… …………………………………… …… 30 4.1.1.1 Results …… ……………………… …………………………………… 30 4.1.1.2 Discussion ………………………… ………………………………… 34 4.1.2 Research question …………………………… …………………………… 36 4.1.3 Research question ………………………………… ……………………… 39 4.2 Implications ………………………………… ……………………………………… 40 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 42 5.1 Summary of the study………………………………………………………………… 42 5.2 Limitations…………………………………………………………………………… 43 5.3 Suggestions for further studies ……………………………………………… ……… 43 REFERENCES 44 APPENDICES Appendix 1: Games exploited for teaching vocabulary ……… ………………………… I Appendix 2: Pre-tests and post-tests………………………………………………………… IV Appendix 3: Questionnaires………………………………………………………………… VII -9- LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Major Aspects of Vocabulary Table 2: Common games in teaching vocabulary Table 3: The vocabulary teaching plan Table 4: The test schedule Table 5: Improvement in Hai‟s vocabulary Table 6: Improvement in Quynh‟s vocabulary Table 7: Improvement in Chi‟s learning vocabulary Table 8: Improvement in Trang‟s vocabulary Table 9: Improvement in Huy‟s vocabulary Table 10: Improvement in Trung‟s vocabulary Table 11: Improvement in Long‟s vocabulary Table 12: Improvement in Hoang Anh‟s vocabulary Table 13: Improvement in Thai‟s vocabulary Table 14: Improvement in Linh‟s vocabulary Table 15: Percentage of improvement Table 16: Data collected from questions and of the questionnaire Table 17: Data collected from questions 1, 2, and of the questionnaire Figure 1: The students‟ attitudes towards language games Figure 2: Students‟ participation in language games Figure 3: The essential features of using language games 20 28 30 33 34 34 34 35 35 36 36 36 37 37 38 39 40 41 42 - 10 - ABBREVIATIONS ELT: English Language Teaching EFL: English Foreign Language Ts: Teachers Ss: Students bb: blackboard T: Test WB: workbook - 11 - CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the Study and Research Problem Statement In learning a foreign language, vocabulary plays an important role It is one element that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together In order to communicate well in foreign language, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately Vocabulary is, obviously, vital for successful communication As a teacher of English, I recognize that, although the issue of vocabulary teaching and learning is currently receiving attention of teachers and learners at our school, it is still far from how vocabulary items can best be taught and learnt A vast amount of teaching time in a vocabulary lesson is used by explanation, definition, students compile page upon page of word lists that they rarely have opportunity to practice Obviously, vocabulary arises in the classroom regardless of the chosen activity, and in spite of any conscious design on the teacher‟s part As the result, students only think of vocabulary learning as knowing the primary meaning of new words In addition, the students‟ ability to use English for communication is still limited, especially for secondary students They can have a fairly good knowledge of grammar but hardly express themselves properly because of shortage of vocabulary and communicative competence That is why, for most students, learning vocabulary in language lesson is a time of failure and disappointment in which they gradually feel boring and gradual rejection of the work that the teacher is doing for them Motivated by the idea of finding stimulating activities to help students to learn vocabulary, with the goal to create a context for vocabulary acquisition in the - 12 - classroom, the writer has chosen that games may be of some help for learning and teaching English vocabulary All the above-mentioned reasons have inspired the writer to conduct an action research titled “Improving learning English vocabulary through games” 1.2 Research Aims and Research Questions The study is aimed to reach the specific data on the improvement in participants‟ vocabulary, to find out students‟ attitude towards language games and provide some criteria to choose relevant games for this purpose So as to achieve these, the research seeks answers to the following questions: To what extent does the use of games in teaching vocabulary improve the students‟ learning vocabulary? What are the students‟ attitudes towards the language games? What are the essential features of using language games that can help improve the students‟ vocabulary as perceived by the students? 1.3 Scope of the Study The research will only focus on limited target population and a certain aspect of vocabulary In terms of vocabulary, the study focuses on student‟s knowledge of the meanings, forms and usage of the words In terms of target population, the subjects are 10 non-English majors studying the book Pacesetter at level Elementary, published by Oxford University Press (2000) at Sunrise school 1.4 Methodology of the Study - 13 - To answer these above questions, action research was conducted with a number of pre-tests and post-tests to solve the first main question Each test was taken by the participants for four or five days before the beginning of the unit and after finishing the unit to see the differences Furthermore, a questionnaire was also used to get the participants‟ attitudes towards the language games and the answer of the last question - the essential features of using language games that can help improve the students‟ vocabulary as perceived by the students 1.5 Design of the Study The thesis is divided into five main chapters: Chapter introduces the rationale, the aims, the scope, the methodology and the design of the study Chapter provides the background of the study, including the definitions and features of some terms such as vocabulary, principles of teaching vocabulary and types of language games Chapter demonstrates the research methods applied in the study with details on how and why these methods were implemented in the research Besides, this chapter presents the data collected from pretests and post tests as well as from the questionnaire Chapter demonstrates the results and discussion of the study, which answer the three research questions and then suggests the implication of the results in reality Chapter summarizes the main issues covered in the paper It presents the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further studies in the research area References and Appendices are presented in the last pages of the study - 53 - CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION This section is the last part of the research It is going to give a brief summary of the research and cite the limitations of the research Besides, suggestions for future research and further implications are also included 5.1 Summary of the study The study was carried out at Sunrise school The participants were thirteen to fourteen year-old students Specifically, it was a five-week research program focusing on ten students During the process, the participants were taught vocabulary through word games, some of which they were acquainted with previously During this time, the students‟ vocabulary acquisition was accessed by the means of tests: five pre-tests were given before each new unit and five post tests were given after each unit to see amount of vocabulary they could remember about the new words The pretest and the post test for the specific unit are identical The two results of each participant in pre-test and post-test were compared to see how much his vocabulary had improved In addition, the questionnaire was exploited to find out the students‟ attitude about games and essential features of using language games that can help improve the students‟ vocabulary as perceived by the students? After the tests and questionnaire, the data was carefully analyzed to lead to the following findings Firstly, the participants‟ improvement was increased considerably Secondly, a large number of students liked to participate in language games Games made them excited and attentive about the task Lastly, games used for teenagers should be carefully chosen and organized Moreover, games must be related to the content of the lessons so that students can learn through playing Last but not least, the clearer the instructions are, the more students could understand 5.2 Limitations - 54 - To some extent, my findings proved that the study was a success overall However, it still must be asserted that there are some limitations that could not be avoided Firstly, the research was carried out over only a five week period, with thirty periods included in the five-week study During a lesson of 90 minutes, only 20 to 30 minutes was spent on vocabulary work This may have been too short time to come to a general conclusion on how to teach vocabulary effectively to thirteenyear-old students Perhaps if the research process could be lengthened, the results of the study would be more certain and comprehensive Besides, in fact, there are many factors that may have influence on the effectiveness of vocabulary learning but the research could not manage to put them under control For instance, some students are good over time; students spend time on individual learning at home, which may vary among them; the amount of extra reading which students themselves after the lessons, etc Therefore, they make some limitations of the study 5.3 Suggestions for further studies Due to the limitations of the research, there exist undiscovered sub-areas which provide a ground for further studies Firstly, the study is in form of an action research, which cannot control effects from other factors on participants‟ improvement With a view to get more valid data, another study in form of an experimental research should be of interest Secondly, there should be some research over a longer period of time in order to get a more exact result Lastly, doing research on a larger number of participants with different characteristics will help to find out more reliable and interesting data - 55 - REFERENCES Allen, V F (1983), Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary, Oxford University Press, Oxford Burns A (1999), Collaborative Action Research for English Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Case D (1991), English Puzzles 1, Heinemann International – a division of Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, Oxford Case D (1991), English Puzzles 3, Heinemann International – a division of Heinemann Educational Books Ltd, Oxford Callum G P M (1980), 101 Word Games, Oxford University Press, Oxford Gairns, R and Redman, S (1986), Working with Words, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Granger, C (1998), Play Games with English 2, Macmillan Publishers Limited, Oxford Hadfield, J (1996) Elementary Communication Games, Addison Wesley Longman Ltd, Longman Haycraft, J (1978), An introduction to English Language Teaching, Longman, Harlow Lee W R (1979), Language Teaching Games, Oxford University Press, Oxford Lee, W.R (1979), Language Teaching Games and Contests, Oxford University Press, Oxford - 56 - Larsen-Freeman, Dianne (1986), Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press, New York Mill, G E (2003), Action Research: A guide for the Teacher Researcher, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall Nunan D (1992), Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga (2003), The effectiveness of Learning Vocabulary through games, Asian EFL Journal, December 2003 http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/dec_03_ind.php Nguyen Thanh Van (2010), Improving Freshmen’s English Intonation Through English Pop Songs: An Action Research at ULIS-VNU, University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi Schmitt, N and McCarthy, M (1997), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Strange D and Hall D (2000), Pacesetter, Oxford University Press, Oxford Strange D and Hall D (2000), Pacesetter, Techer‟s Resource Book, Oxford University Press, Oxford Toth, M (1995), Children’s games, Heinemann Publishers, Oxford Thornbury, S (2002), How to Teach Vocabulary, Pearson Education Limited, England To Thu Huong et al (2009), English Language Teaching Methodology II Syllabus, College of Foreign Languages, Department of English, Hanoi Ur, Denny & Wright, A (1993), Five-minutes Activities, Bell and Bain Glasgow, Great Britain - 57 - Wallace, M J (1998), Action Research for Language Teachers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Wright, A., Betteridge, D & Buckby, M (1983), Games for Language Learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge http: //iteslj.org/Lessons/Ersoz-Games.htmlSix Games for the EFL/ESL Classroom http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.powder/games.htm#g01 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk./think/vocabulary/collocation2.html - 58 - APPENDIX GAMES EXPLOITED FOR TEACHING VOCABULARY Stepping-stone degree husband childhood prizes daughter s university birth death War journalism married Lucky Number Side 1  100 10  400 X2 300 :2 -100 500 (Numbers) Side (Bonuses) 200 A storm 200 - 59 - Crossword Word matching a tennis court a place the waiter cleans tables a swimming pool a place you can pick fruit a restaurant a house for entertaining travelers a hotel a place for playing the game of tennis a farm a place collection of books kept for use a camp a place activities organized for students a theatre a place you can buy many kinds of food a library a place everybody comes to see plays a supermarket a place you come to swim - 60 - Slap the board programme drama quiz comedy news documentary soap opera show Scrambled words tarestuarn thole suakprmrete Noughts and Crosses tnensi cutor lbiryra - 61 - APPENDIX PRE-TESTS AND POST TESTS Test 1: Complete the sentences with words in the box car park shopping centre bookshop hospital music shop cinema chemist bridge police station bus stop I want to buy a new dictionary at the _ You can buy CDs and cassettes at the There are lots of different shops in a You wait for a bus at a About 15 doctors work in our local We went to the to watch a film They arrested the suspect and took him to the The old goes across the river Paris is a beautiful 10 There‟s a big next to the supermarket – you can leave your car there Test 2: Complete the text with the words in the box disappears valuable environment wood insects rainforests oxygen shade People like trees for a lot of reasons They give us (1) in summer, fruit to eat, different colours to look at and a place for children to play They also give birds and (2) a place to live But trees are also one of the most valuable parts of the (3) Because they give us (4) – clean air The world‟s largest (5) supply about 80 per cent of the oxygen for the world‟s fresh air Rainforests also give us thousands of (6) wild plants But every year an area of rainforest as big as England and Wales (7) Large companies cut down the trees for valuable hardwood and for (8) for making paper - 62 - Test 3: Complete the sentences with the names of the places restaurant supermarket hotel farm tennis court library swimming pool court camp theatre Maria works in a She cleans the bedrooms and makes them tidy I sell hamburgers and chips in a fast food We work at the We teach children to swim I like working outside, so I pick apples on a He helps to organize activities for the young people who stay at the summer You can buy all kinds of food (and lots of other things too) at the You can get books from a and take them home to read We like watching them to play basketball at the basketball People come to see play at the 10 My father often plays tennis at a near my house Test 4: Complete the text with the words in the box birth journalism childhood married daughters prizes death degree university War husband The year of Greta‟s (1) was 1938, a short time before the Second World (2) began She was German and she spent her (3) in Heidelberg before she and her family moved to Switzerland She went to (4) in Zurich and got her history (5) in 1959 In 1965 she started her career in (6) Three years later she got (7) , and she and her (8) then had two (9) In the three years before her tragic (10) in a train accident, Greta won four important (11) for her writing - 63 - Test 5: Complete the text with the words in the box dramas programmes shows comedies news documentaries soap operas quiz show sports I love watching TV I watch (1) every day because I think they‟re interesting, but I hate chat (2) so I never watch them I watch the (3) almost every day because I like to know about the world I occasionally watch (4) , perhaps once a month, when they‟re about animals I enjoy funny (5) so I watch (6) three or four times a week Twice a week there‟s a (7) (8) on TV and you can win some money I watch that every time it‟s on! Every Saturday afternoon I watch the (9) programmes and I watch the Saturday evening (10) twice a month - 64 - APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE The questionnaire is designed for the study “Improving learning English through games” Your assistance in fulfilling the following items is greatly appreciated Please tick () in the given boxes to indicate your choice Do you like language games given by your teacher during vocabulary lessons? A I like them very much B Yes, they are OK C I don‟t like them at all C I have no idea What you while playing games? A Take part in the games actively B Join the games only when being asked by the teacher C Join the games only when feeling interested D Do not take part in the games How you feel after playing games? A relaxed and motivated B normal C uncomfortable The games were used in teaching vocabulary Which you like most? You number the games from to 10 (from the least to the most)  Slap the board  Crossword  Lucky number  Rub out and remember  Telephone game  Word matching  What and Where  Scrambled words - 65 -  Noughts and Crosses Stepping-stone The games were used in teaching vocabulary Which you think the most effective? You number the games from to 10 (from the least to the most)  Slap the board  Crossword  Lucky number  Rub out and remember  Telephone game  Word matching  What and Where  Scrambled words  Noughts and Crosses Stepping-stone To make the use of language games in vocabulary lessons more effective, what you think the teacher can do? (You can choose more than one option.) A Teacher can exploit the language games that suit students‟ level B Teacher can explain students what to in a clear and an easy-to-understand language C Teacher can exploit a variety of language games in different lessons D Teacher can demonstrate what to to students E Others……………………………………………………………………………………… … Thank you for your cooperation! - 66 - CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA VỀ HIỆU QUẢ CỦA CÁC TRÒ CHƠI TRONG GIỜ HỌC TỪ VỰNG Những câu hỏi sau nhằm phục vụ cho việc nghiên cứu sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ giúp học sinh học từ vựng Trường Anh ngữ Sunrise Các em 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 trị chơi ngơn ngữ mà giáo viên sử dụng dạy từ vựng không? A Rất thích B Thích C Khơng thích D Khơng có ý kiến Trong chơi trị chơi, em ……… A tham gia cách tích cực B tham gia trò chơi giáo viên yêu cầu 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 C Khơng thoải mái Trong trò chơi dùng dạy từ vựng, em đánh số thứ tự trị chơi mà em thích từ đến 10 (theo mức độ tăng dần)  Slap the board  Crossword  Lucky number  Rub out and remember  Telephone game  Word matching - 67 -  What and Where  Scrambled words  Noughts and Crosses Stepping-stone Trong trò chơi dùng dạy từ vựng, em đánh số thứ tự trò chơi mà em thấy hiệu từ đến 10 (theo mức độ tăng dần)  Slap the board  Crossword  Lucky number  Rub out and remember  Telephone game  Word matching  What and Where  Scrambled words  Noughts and Crosses Stepping-stone Để phát huy tính hiệu việc sử dụng trị chơi ngôn ngữ học từ vựng, Theo em giáo viên (em lựa chọn nhiều phương án): A Giáo viên sử dụng trị chơi phù hợp với trình độ học sinh B Giáo viên sử dụng trị chơi đa dạng học khác C Giáo viên giải thích luật chơi cách rõ ràng dễ hiểu D Giáo viên làm mẫu cho học sinh xem E Lựa chọn khác (ghi rõ)……………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn em tham gia trả lời câu hỏi!