the impacts of language games on vocabulary learning of young learners at my viet foreign language center

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY PHẠM DUY HẠNH THE IMPACTS OF LANGUAGE GAMES ON VOCABULARY LEARNING OF YOUNG LEARNERS AT MY-VIET FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTER MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Ho Chi Minh City, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY PHẠM DUY HẠNH THE IMPACTS OF LANGUAGE GAMES ON VOCABULARY LEARNING OF YOUNG LEARNERS AT MY-VIET FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTER Major: Teaching English to speakers of other languages Major code: 60140111 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: Le Thi Thanh Thu, Ed D Ho Chi Minh City, 2019 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “The Impacts of Language Games on Vocabulary Learning of Young Learners at My-Viet Foreign Language Center” is my own work Except where reference is made in the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from the other thesis No other person’s work has been used without the acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Tien Giang Province, 2019 PHAM DUY HANH I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep thanks to the contribution of those who supported me during the time I wrote this thesis I cannot finish this study without their help First and foremost, I would like to send my great gratitude to my supervisor, Le Thi Thanh Thu, Ed D, Dean of Postgraduate Education of Ho Chi Minh City Open University, for all of her support during the time I have done this thesis Her useful advice helped me gain a lot of great knowledge to finish the thesis I am also thankful to Mr Minh Tran Thien, the manager of My-Viet FLC who created the best condition for me to conduct the experiment I also thank for the participant of all the learners for their enthusiastic in all of the activities Lastly, I would like to send my gratitude to my family who motivated me to finish this thesis II ABSTRACT The research was carried out at My-Viet Foreign Language Center (My-Viet FLC) from May 12, 2018 to July 28, 2018 Two classes which the researcher is teaching were conveniently chosen for this study as the experimental group (EG) and the control group (CG) The research covered ten sub-units of Everybody Up (Kampa & Vilina, 2012) The purpose of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of applying language games in teaching English vocabulary to young learners as compared to the current practice and the attitudes of the participants towards the language games The instruments were used to collect the data included the tests for both groups and questionnaire for the EG The results found from the tests and the questionnaire were analyzed by using the mean score, the percentage and T-Test The result from the tests showed that, at the beginning of the experiment, there was no significant difference in the English proficiency between the two groups After the experiment, the EG got higher mean scores in comparison with those of the CG Because the same material was used to teach vocabulary for the two groups and similar vocabulary teaching stages, the difference in the results could be counted on the intervention of applying the language games In addition, the findings from the questionnaire demonstrated that young learners had a positive attitude towards language games application They strongly agreed that the language games were beneficial for their vocabulary learning and even did not consider what the educators warned as the disadvantages of the language games as disadvantages at all The results of the study confirmed that language games could help My Viet FLC young learners enhancing positive attitude towards studying vocabulary with games and improve their vocabulary learning III TÓM TẮT Nghiên cứu thực Trung tâm ngoại ngữ Mỹ Việt (Mỹ-Việt FLC) từ ngày 12 tháng năm 2018 đến ngày 28 tháng năm 2018 Hai lớp mà nhà nghiên cứu giảng dạy sử dụng nhóm thực nghiệm nhóm đối chứng cho nghiên cứu Nghiên cứu trải dài qua 10 học Everybody Up (Kampa & Vilina, 2012) Mục đích nghiên cứu để kiểm chứng hiệu việc áp dụng trị chơi ngơn ngữ việc dạy từ vựng Tiếng Anh cho học viên nhỏ tuổi so với phương pháp giảng dạy sử dụng thái độ người tham gia hướng tới trị chơi ngơn ngữ Cơng cụ để thu thập liệu bao gồm kiểm tra cho hai nhóm bảng câu hỏi cho nhóm thực nghiệm Kết tìm thấy phân tích cách sử dụng điểm trung bình, tỉ lệ phần trăm kiểm định T-Test Kết từ kiểm tra rằng, trước thực nghiệm, khơng có khác biệt đáng kể hai nhóm mức độ thành thạo Tiếng Anh Sau thực nghiệm, nhóm thực nghiệm đạt điểm trung bình cao nhóm đối chứng Bởi tài liệu sử dụng để dạy từ vựng cho hai nhóm giai đoạn dạy từ vựng tương tự, khác biệt kết giải thích can thiệp trị chơi ngơn ngữ Thêm nữa, tìm thấy từ bảng câu hỏi chứng tỏ học viên nhỏ tuổi có thái độ tích cực trị chơi ngơn ngữ Các em đồng ý trò chơi có nhiều ích lợi cho việc học từ vựng chí khơng xem xét nhân tố cho bất lợi trò chơi bất lợi chút Những kết nghiên cứu chứng thực trị chơi ngơn ngữ giúp cải tiến việc học từ vựng Tiếng Anh học viên nhỏ tuổi MỹViệt FLC em có thái độ tích cực hướng tới việc học từ vựng với trò chơi IV TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x ABBREVIATIONS xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Background of the study 1.3.1 My-Viet FLC 1.3.2 The teachers 1.3.3 The learners 1.3.4 Materials 1.4 Objectives of the study and research questions 1.4.1 Objectives of the study 1.4.2 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 The scope of the study 10 1.7 Organization of the study 11 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 YOUNG LEARNERS 12 2.1.1 Definitions of young learners 12 2.1.2 Characteristics of young learners 12 2.2 VOCABULARY 13 2.2.1 Definitions of vocabulary 13 2.2.2 Different kinds of knowledge of a word 14 2.2.3 Types of vocabulary 16 V 2.2.4 The importance of vocabulary 17 2.2.5 Vocabulary learning strategies 19 2.2.5.1 Determination strategies 19 2.2.5.2 Social strategies 20 2.2.5.3 Memory strategies 20 2.2.5.4 Cognitive strategies 21 2.2.5.5 Metacognitive strategies 21 2.2.5.6 Note-taking strategies 22 2.2.5.7 Rote rehearsal strategies 22 2.2.5.8 Encoding strategies 23 2.2.6 How to learn vocabulary effectively 24 2.2.7 Process of teaching vocabulary 26 2.2.7.1 Presentation 26 2.2.7.2 Practice 27 2.2.7.3 Production 28 2.2.7.4 Review 28 2.3 GAMES 29 2.3.1 Definitions of games 29 2.3.2 Types of games 30 2.3.2.1 Guessing word games 31 2.3.2.2 Slap blackboard games 32 2.3.2.3 Hangman games 33 2.3.2.4 Charade games 34 2.3.3 Characteristics of language games 34 2.3.4 Benefits of using games 35 2.3.5 Disadvantages of games 37 2.3.6 When and how to use games 38 2.4 ATTITUDES OF YOUNG LEARNERS TOWARDS TO THE GAMES 39 2.5 PREVIOUS STUDIES 40 2.5.1 Studies outside Vietnam 40 2.5.2 Studies in Vietnam 43 2.5.3 Study gap 44 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 45 VI 3.1 Research site 45 3.2 Research participants 45 3.3 Research design 46 3.4 Language games applied in the experiment 49 3.5 Data collection instruments 52 3.5.1 The tests 52 3.5.1.1 Pre-test 52 3.5.1.2 Post-test 53 3.5.1.3 Post-test 53 3.5.1.4 Post-test 53 3.5.2 Questionnaire 54 3.6 Data analysis methodology 56 3.6.1 Tests 56 3.6.2 Questionnaire 57 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 58 4.1 Pretest results of the EG and the CG 58 4.2 Posttest results of the CG 59 4.3 Posttest results of the EG 61 4.4 Posttests result comparison between the CG and the EG 63 4.5 Questionnaire results 68 4.5.1 The participants’ general feelings towards language games 69 4.5.2 The respondents’ reflections on the benefits of language games 71 4.5.3 The participants’ attitudes towards the disadvantages of language games 77 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 81 5.1 Conclusions 81 5.2 Recommendations 83 5.2.1 For young learners 83 5.2.2 For the teachers 85 5.2.3 For My- Viet FLC managers 86 5.3 Limitations of the study 87 5.4 Suggestion for further research 88 REFERENCES 89 VII APPENDIX A THE SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN 96 OF THE CONTROL GROUP AND THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 96 APPENDIX B THE PRE-TEST 101 APPENDIX C THE POST-TESTS 102 APPENDIX D 107 QUESTIONNAIRE IN ENGLISH VERSION 107 APPENDIX E 109 QUESTIONNAIRE IN VIETNAMESE VERSION 109 APPENDIX F: THE PRETEST RESULTS OF TWO GROUPS 112 THE SCORES OF THE PRETEST OF THE CG .112 APPENDIX G: THE POSTTEST RESULTS OF THE CG 115 APPENDIX H: THE POSTTEST RESULTS OF THE EG 117 APPENDIX I: POSTTESTS RESULT COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO GROUPS 119 APPENDIX J: PERSONAL INFORMATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS 122 APPENDIX K: DATA OF THE ATTITUDES OF THE PARTICIPANTS TOWARDS LANGUAGE GAME APPLICATION 124 VIII THE SCORES OF THE PRETEST OF THE EG NO FULL NAME SCORES Name 16 Name 17 3 Name 18 Name 19 5 Name 20 Name 21 Name 22 Name 23 Name 24 10 Name 25 11 Name 26 12 Name 27 13 Name 28 14 Name 29 15 Name 30 113 Group Statistics Class Pretest N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean Experimental class 15 3.4000 98561 25448 Control class 15 3.4667 1.50555 38873 Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference F Pretest Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Std Error tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper Equal variances 414 525 -.143 28 887 -.06667 46462 -1.01840 88507 -.143 24.138 887 -.06667 46462 -1.02531 89197 assumed Equal variances not assumed 114 APPENDIX G: THE POSTTEST RESULTS OF THE CG THE SCORES OF POSTTESTS OF THE CG NO Scores of Scores of Post Test Post Test Scores of Post Test FULL NAME Name 5 Name Name 10 10 10 Name 6 Name 5 6 Name 7 Name 8 Name 8 Name 7 10 Name 10 5 11 Name 11 12 Name 12 13 Name 13 6 14 Name 14 5 15 Name 15 8 Std Deviation Std Error Mean Paired Samples Statistics Mean Pair N Postest1 5.4667 15 1.40746 36341 Posttest2 6.4000 15 1.40408 36253 115 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Pair Postest1 Posttest2 Std Std Error Deviation Mean -.93333 70373 Sig (2Lower 18170 Upper -1.32305 t -.54362 df -5.137 tailed) 14 000 Paired Samples Statistics Mean Pair N Std Deviation Std Error Mean Posttest2 6.4000 15 1.40408 36253 Posttest3 7.0667 15 1.22280 31573 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Std Error Mean Pair Posttest2 Posttest3 -.66667 Std Deviation 1.04654 Mean 27021 116 Sig (2Lower Upper -1.24622 -.08711 t df -2.467 14 tailed) 007 APPENDIX H: THE POSTTEST RESULTS OF THE EG THE SCORES OF THE POSTTESTS OF THE EG Scores of Scores of Scores of Post Test Post Test Post Test Name 16 8 Name 17 8 Name 18 Name 19 9 Name 20 7 Name 21 Name 22 9 Name 23 9 Name 24 10 Name 25 8 11 Name 26 10 12 Name 27 9 13 Name 28 14 Name 29 9 15 Name 30 7 NO FULL NAME 117 Paired Samples Statistics Mean Pair N Std Deviation Std Error Mean Postest1 7.2667 15 88372 22817 Posttest2 8.1333 15 74322 19190 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences 95% Confidence Interval of the Std Mean Pair Postest1 Posttest2 -.86667 Difference Std Error Deviation Mean Lower 16523 -1.22105 63994 Sig (2Upper -.51228 t df -5.245 tailed) 14 000 Paired Samples Statistics Mean Pair N Std Deviation Std Error Mean Posttest2 8.1333 15 74322 19190 Posttest3 8.6000 15 73679 19024 Paired Samples Test Paired Differences 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Mean Pair Posttest2 Posttest3 -.46667 Std Std Error Deviation Mean 51640 Sig (2Lower 13333 -.75264 118 Upper -.18070 t -3.500 df 14 tailed) 004 APPENDIX I: POSTTESTS RESULT COMPARISON BETWEEN TWO GROUPS Group Statistics of Posttest Class Postest1 N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean Experimental class 15 7.2667 88372 22817 Control class 15 5.4667 1.40746 36341 Independent Samples of Posttest Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Std Error F Postest1 Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Differenc tailed) Difference e Difference Lower Upper Equal variances 315 579 4.195 28 000 1.80000 42910 92103 2.67897 4.195 23.554 000 1.80000 42910 91349 2.68651 assumed Equal variances not assumed Group Statistics of Posttest Class Posttest2 N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean Experimental class 15 8.1333 74322 19190 Control class 15 6.4000 1.40408 36253 119 Independent Samples Test of Posttest Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference F Posttest2 Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Std Error tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper Equal variances 3.785 062 4.226 28 000 1.73333 41019 89310 2.57356 4.226 21.274 000 1.73333 41019 88097 2.58570 assumed Equal variances not assumed Group Statistics of Posttest Class Posttest3 N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean Experimental class 15 8.6000 73679 19024 Control class 15 7.0667 1.22280 31573 120 Independent Samples Test of Posttest Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference F Posttest2 Sig t df Sig (2- Mean Std Error tailed) Difference Difference Lower Upper Equal variances 1.444 239 4.160 28 000 1.53333 36861 77827 2.28840 4.160 22.982 000 1.53333 36861 77077 2.29589 assumed Equal variances not assumed 121 APPENDIX J: PERSONAL INFORMATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS Statistics The age N Valid 15 Missing The age Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent tuổi 20.0 20.0 20.0 tuổi 26.7 26.7 46.7 10 tuổi 53.3 53.3 100.0 15 100.0 100.0 Total Statistics Gender N Valid 15 Missing Gender Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent nam 60.0 60.0 60.0 nữ 40.0 40.0 100.0 15 100.0 100.0 Total 122 Statistics The time I have learned English N Valid 15 Missing The time I have learned English Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent năm 26.7 26.7 26.7 năm 46.7 46.7 73.3 năm 6.7 6.7 80.0 năm 20.0 20.0 100.0 Total 15 100.0 100.0 123 APPENDIX K: DATA OF THE ATTITUDES OF THE PARTICIPANTS TOWARDS LANGUAGE GAME APPLICATION PART K.1 THE PARTICIPANTS’ GENERAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS GAMES Questions Strongly disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly agree Question 11- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games create a positive classroom environment in my English classes - - - 47% 53% Question 12- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games are useful for my learning English vocabulary - - - 40% 60% Descriptive Statistics N Game and positive Minimum Maximum Mean Std Deviation 15 4.53 516 Game and usefulness 15 4.60 507 Valid N (listwise) 15 environment 124 PART K.2: THE ATTITUDES OF THE PARTICIPANTS TOWARDS THE BENEFITS OF GAMES Questions Strongly Strongly Disagree Uncertain Agree disagree agree Question 8- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games motivate me to learn English vocabulary - - 13% 60% 27% Question 9- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games help me practice using the newly learned words in various ways - - 20% 40% 40% Question 7- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games can reduce my anxiety - - - 67% 33% - - - 60% 40% - - - 53% 47% - - 7% Question 4- I find language games bring fun to my English vocabulary learning Question 5- I feel comfortable in the classrooms where games were applied Question 10- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games activities help me to remember more new vocabularies 125 40% 53% Questions Strongly Strongly Disagree Uncertain Agree disagree agree Question 6- I like to study new vocabulary with games because games help me remember new words longer - - - 33% 67% Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std Deviation Game and motivation 15 4.13 640 Game and vocabulary practice 15 4.20 775 Game and anxiety decrease 15 4.33 488 Game and fun 15 4.40 507 Game and comfortable 15 4.47 516 15 4.47 640 15 4.67 488 Game and remember many words Game and remember new words Valid N (listwise) 15 126 PART K.3: THE PARTICIPANTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS DISADVANTAGES OF GAMES Questions Strongly disagree Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly agree Question 13- I not like to study new vocabulary with games because games are timeconsuming 60% 40% - - - Question 15- I not like to study new vocabulary with games because games are boring 53% 47% - - - Question 14- I not like to study new vocabulary with games because games are noisy 40% 40% - - 20% Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std Deviation Game and time consuming 15 1.40 507 Game and boring atmosphere 15 1.47 516 Game and noisy caused 15 1.80 775 Valid N (listwise) 15 127 THE ... out the impacts of language games on vocabulary learning of young learners in My- Viet FLC and investigating their attitudes toward language game application 1.4.2 Research questions Based on the. .. not consider what the educators warned as the disadvantages of the language games as disadvantages at all The results of the study confirmed that language games could help My Viet FLC young learners. .. Impacts of Language Games on Vocabulary Learning of Young Learners at My- Viet Foreign Language Center? ?? is my own work Except where reference is made in the thesis, this thesis contains no material