The impact of motivation on vocabulary learning m a 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON VOCABULARY LEARNING A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by TUAN QUOC TRAN Supervisor Dr TUNG THANH NGUYEN Ho Chi Minh City, May 11th, 2011 i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify that the thesis entitled THE IMPACT OF MOTIVATION ON VOCABULARY LEARNING is my own work It has not previously been submitted for any degree or diploma at Universities and Institutions In terms of the Requirements for Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee, I once again confirm my authorship for this study Ho Chi Minh City, May 11th, 2011 Tuan Quoc Tran ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby claim that I, Tuan Quoc Tran, being the candidate for the M.A in TESOL Degree, accept the requirements of the University related to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for references and research purposes, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan, or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, May 11th, 2011 Tuan Quoc Tran iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Tung Thanh Nguyen, who spent much time reading my thesis manuscript I am very proud of being his student and admire his wisdom and intellect He always gave me precious guidance Without him, I could not have finished my writing Next, I wish to thank Dr Kieuthu Thi Nguyen, Dean of the Department of English Linguistics and Literature at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, and all the lecturers, who have assisted me during the M.A in TESOL course Then, my gratitude sends to the present Principal of Con Van Nguyen High School, Mr Quang Minh Tran, for his encouragement and enthusiastic help in letting me conduct my research there My sincere thanks also go to my colleagues, who gave useful comments on my paper, and all the students, who participated in the experiment Last but not least, I am indebted to my parents and my wife for their mental and physical support during my study iv ABSTRACT This thesis investigated the impact of motivation, enhanced by games, on students’ vocabulary learning examined via their performance and attitude The basic theoretical framework of the study was motivation stimulated externally by six kinds of cooperative game introduced into three stages of the lesson Thus games were treated as an integral part of the lesson, and their effectiveness on students’ lexical learning was clarified in empirical studies To have data, the researcher used two instruments: two tests and a questionnaire A pretest was conducted on 80 11th graders of two classes, assigned conveniently by the Principal of Nguyen Van Con High School in Tien Giang Province before the experiment began After eight-week teaching from October 1st to December 1st, 2009, a posttest was delivered to identify students’ progress in lexical learning In addition, a questionnaire was group-administered right after the posttest to measure their attitudes Data collected from both the tests and the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively Specifically, the score means of the two groups in the former were compared via a t-test and the responses to the latter were converted into raw count and percentage The findings of the study indicated a statistically significant difference in the students’ performance in both groups and a change in their attitudes towards the use of games to enhance students’ motivation in vocabulary learning This revealed the feasibility and educational value of games in this process Therefore, to study lexis efficiently, students should have their motivation enhanced by games and treat them as an essential part of the lesson v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of originality i Retention and use of the thesis ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Table of contents v List of abbreviations x List of pictures, tables, and figures xi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of purpose 1.3 Significance of the study 1.4 Organization of the thesis Chapter 2: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF MOTIVATION AND GAMES 2.1 Motivation in language teaching and learning 2.1.1 Concept of motivation 2.1.2 Different kinds of motivation 2.1.2.1 Intrinsic motivation 2.1.2.2 Extrinsic motivation 2.2 Games 2.2.1 Defining games 2.2.2 Types of game used in lexical teaching and learning 10 vi 2.2.2.1 Arranging game 10 2.2.2.2 Matching game 11 2.2.2.3 Information gap game 12 2.2.2.4 Opinion gap game 13 2.2.2.5 Guessing game 14 2.2.2.6 Searching game 15 2.2.3 Games used as an integral part of the lesson 16 2.2.4 Implications for stages to use games 18 2.2.5 How to organize games in class 20 2.2.6 Empirical studies on games 21 2.2.6.1 For students’ performance 22 2.2.6.2 For students’ attitude 23 2.2.6.2.1 Student motivation enhancement 23 2.2.6.2.2 Language practice chances 25 2.2.6.2.3 Cooperative learning 26 2.3 Summary 27 Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 28 3.1 Research site 28 3.2 Participants 28 3.3 Experimental design 30 3.3.1 Experimental group and controlled group 30 3.3.2 Experimental teaching 30 3.4 Kinds of instrument 33 3.4.1 Tests 33 vii 3.4.1.1 Pretest 33 3.4.1.2 Posttest 34 3.4.2 Questionnaire 34 3.5 Analytical framework 35 3.5.1 Pretest and Posttest 35 3.5.2 Questionnaire 37 3.6 Summary 37 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 38 4.1 Results of two tests 38 4.1.1 Pretest results 38 4.1.1.1 Experimental group 38 4.1.1.2 Controlled group 39 4.1.1.3 Pretest resemblances 39 4.1.2 Posttest results 41 4.1.2.1 Experimental group 41 4.1.2.2 Controlled group 42 4.1.2.3 Posttest differences 43 4.1.3 Comparison of pre- and post-test results of the two groups 45 4.1.4 Summary 46 4.2 Results of the questionnaire 46 4.2.1 Role of vocabulary in English learning 46 4.2.2 Use of games to enhance students’ motivation in lexical learning 48 4.2.2.1 Students’ preference of games for the stages of lexical learning 49 4.2.2.2 Methods the previous teachers used and approaches students like 50 viii 4.2.2.3 Characteristics of games and their influence on lexical learning 52 4.2.2.3.1 Characteristics of games 52 4.2.2.3.2 Influence of games on lexical learning 52 4.2.2.3.2.1 Student motivation enhancement 52 4.2.2.3.2.2 Language practice chances 54 4.2.2.3.2.3 Cooperative learning 55 4.2.3 Possible difficulties of game introduction 56 4.2.4 Frequency of the use of games 58 4.2.5 Summary 58 4.3 Discussion of findings 59 4.3.1 Students’ performance before and after the treatment of games 59 4.3.2 Students’ attitude towards the use of games in lexical learning 60 4.3.2.1 Positive aspects 60 4.3.2.2 Negative aspects 61 4.3.2.3 Summary 62 4.4 Summary 62 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 63 5.1 Conclusion 63 5.2 Recommendations for lexical teaching and learning 65 5.2.1 For teachers 65 5.2.1.1 How to choose and adapt games for teaching and learning lexis 65 5.2.1.2 Guidelines for setting up and using games in stages of the lesson 68 5.2.2 For students 70 5.3 Limitations of the study 71 ix 5.4 Suggestions for further research orientation 72 5.5 Summary 72 References 73 Appendices 79 Appendix Pretest 79 Appendix Posttest 83 Appendix Classes 114 and 118 88 Appendix Questionnaire for students (in English) 89 Appendix Questionnaire for students (in Vietnamese) 93 Appendix Critical values of t 97 Appendix Sample lesson plan 11 98 87 34 ……… Students cannot give anything to charity because they not have their income 35 ……… Each one should save a small amount of their money III Choose a suitable word from the box below to fill in each blank Community, portion, sustenance, in need, sacrifice 36 A large ……………… of the company’s profit goes straight back into new projects 37 There is a large Asian ……………… living in this area 38 When her husband died, she drew ……………… from her own parents 39 The people offered a lamb on the altar as a ……………… from their sins 40 A friend ……………… is a friend in deed -The end 87 88 Classes 114 and 118 Appendix No 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Class 114 Pretest 5.0 4.5 5.0 4.0 4.5 4.0 5.5 5.0 7.0 4.0 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 5.0 5.5 7.0 5.0 4.0 6.0 4.0 4.0 5.5 5.0 6.0 4.5 4.5 6.5 6.0 4.5 5.0 6.5 5.0 4.0 4.0 5.0 4.5 6.0 4.5 5.0 Class 118 Posttest 6.5 5.5 6.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 6.5 6.5 8.0 4.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.5 7.5 6.0 5.0 7.0 4.5 5.0 7.0 6.0 7.0 5.0 5.5 7.5 6.5 6.0 6.0 7.5 7.0 4.5 5.0 6.5 5.5 7.0 5.5 6.5 Pretest 4.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5 4.5 4.5 5.0 5.5 4.0 5.0 4.5 5.0 4.5 5.5 4.5 5.5 4.0 4.5 7.0 4.5 4.5 4.5 5.0 5.0 5.0 4.0 6.5 5.5 4.5 5.0 5.5 4.5 4.0 4.5 6.5 7.0 6.0 6.0 4.5 Posttest 5.0 4.0 5.5 5.0 5.5 4.0 5.5 5.5 5.0 4.5 5.0 4.0 5.5 4.5 5.0 5.0 5.5 4.5 4.0 6.5 5.0 4.0 5.5 5.0 5.5 4.5 4.0 7.0 6.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 4.5 5.0 5.0 7.5 7.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 88 89 Appendix Questionnaire for students (in English) This Questionnaire aims at collecting essential information for the TESOL M.A thesis entitled “The Impact of Motivation on Vocabulary Learning” Please give responses to the following questions by ticking () in the boxes you choose Your responses will greatly contribute to the success of this thesis We promise the information collected will be used for the research purposes only and will not be related to your study results All your responses will be highly appreciated and kept secret Personal information 1.1 Gender:  male 1.2 Age:  16  female  17  18 1.3 Where are you living?  a town  a countryside 1.4 You come from a family that your parents are:  farmers, workers …  state officials (doctors, teachers, engineers …) The role of vocabulary in English learning 2.1 Do you think vocabulary is important in learning English? 2.1.1 In your opinion, how is the role of vocabulary in facilitating the learning of English successfully?  very important  important  rather important  not important at all 2.1.2 Specifically, you find that vocabulary can help you be advantageous in:  the communication  the practice of the language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing)  the access of the reference documents to enrich knowledge  all the things mentioned above 89 90 2.2 How you evaluate your lexical knowledge before games are applied in class?  fairly good  relatively good  average  bad 2.3 Do you like improving your vocabulary knowledge more?  like it very much  like it  have no ideas  don’t like it Using games to enhance students’ motivation in learning vocabulary 3.1 What you think about using games in teaching and learning vocabulary in class? 3.1.1 At which stage(s) of a lesson you prefer games to be introduced into?  before  during  after  before, during, and after 3.1.2 For you, using games to enhance students’ motivation in learning vocabulary is  new  not new 3.1.3 Your opinion on the application of games to motivate students in learning lexis:  like it very much  like it  don’t like it  don’t like it very much 3.2 What you think about the methods that your previous teachers used in class? 3.2.1 Before this research was conducted, your previous teachers used to teach vocabulary according to  Traditional methods like supplying new words and their Vietnamese meanings in a list to students  New methods like teaching vocabulary through forms of games: puzzles, matching, searching, gap filling, guessing, exchanging information, or role play… 3.2.2 Which approaches you prefer?  Traditional approaches  Communicative approaches 3.3 What is your opinion about the characteristics of games and their influences on the enhancement of their motivation, the language practice chances, and the cooperative learning? 90 3.3.1 disagree strongly disagree agree Characteristics and their influences agree Items strongly 91 being enjoyable, funny and relaxing 3.3.2.1 making the classroom atmosphere vivid 3.3.2.2 maintaining students’ motivation in learning vocabulary 3.3.2.3 making students not feel bored and 3.3.2 tedious but comfortable when learning lexis 3.3.2.4 reducing students’ anxiety in language learning 3.3.2.5 reducing teacher-student distance 3.3.2.6 renewing students’ energy before they return to more formal learning 3.3.3.1 increasing student-talking time 3.3.3.2 allowing students to use the target language frequently 3.3.3.3 helping students make the retention of 3.3.3 words easier and longer 3.3.3.4 providing chances for students to practice and develop language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) 3.3.3.5 helping shy students participate in classroom activities frequently 3.3.4 promoting cooperative learning (pair work, group work or team work) 91 92 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 disagree strongly disagree agree Some difficulties of game instruction agree Items strongly In your opinion, what are some possible difficulties of game instruction in class? Games sometimes make students embarrassed due to their unclear rules or instructions Games become hard to students with limited vocabulary knowledge The mother tongue cannot be eliminated absolutely in class When playing games, students often make too much noise in class Students often take much time to play a game in class Games become ineffective when they are introduced traditionally Games become inconvenient for large classes How often you wish games to be introduced into the class?  always  frequently  sometimes  never Thank you for your cooperation! 92 93 Appendix Questionnaire for students (in Vietnamese) Các em học sinh thân mến, Đây bảng câu hỏi nhằm để lấy thông tin cần thiết cho luận văn Thạc sỹ về: ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA ĐỘNG CƠ ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG Các em trả lời cách đánh dấu () vào ô mà em chọn Những câu trả lời em góp phần đáng kể đến thành công đề tài Chúng đảm bảo câu trả lời em đánh giá cao giữ kín Nó dùng cho mục đích nghiên cứu khơng ảnh hưởng đến kết học tập em Thông tin cá nhân 1.1 Giới tính:  nam  nữ 1.2 Độ tuổi:  16  17  18 1.3 Nơi cư trú  thị xã  nông thôn 1.4 Em sống gia đình mà cha mẹ em là:  nông dân, công nhân …  công chức (bác sĩ, giáo viên, kỹ sư …) Tầm quan trọng từ vựng việc học tiếng Anh 2.1 Em có nghĩ từ vựng quan trọng việc học tiếng Anh khơng? 2.1.1 Theo em, vai trị từ vựng việc tạo điều kiện cho việc học tiếng Anh thành công nào?  quan trọng  quan trọng  quan trọng  khơng quan trọng 2.1.2 Đặc biệt, em có thấy từ vựng giúp em thuận lợi việc:  giao tiếp  học thực hành kỹ ngơn ngữ (nghe, nói, đọc, viết)  tiếp cận tài liệu tham khảo để mở rộng kiến thức  tất điều đề cập 93 94 2.2 Em đánh giá kiến thức từ vựng em trước trò chơi áp dụng lớp?  tốt  tốt  trung bình  tệ 2.3 Em có thích cải thiện kiến thức từ vựng thêm khơng?  thích  thích  khơng có ý kiến  khơng thích Sử dụng trị chơi để nâng cao động học sinh việc dạy học từ vựng 3.1 Em nghĩ sử dụng trị chơi việc dạy học từ vựng lớp? 3.1.1 Ở giai đoạn em thích trị chơi giới thiệu?  giai đoạn giới thiệu  giai đoạn thực hành  giai đoạn củng cố  ba giai đoạn 3.1.2 Theo em, dùng trò chơi để nâng cao động HS việc học từ vựng là:   không 3.1.3 Ý kiến em việc áp dụng trò chơi để tạo động cho HS việc học từ vựng nào:  thích  thích  khơng thích  khơng thích 3.2 Em nghĩ phương pháp mà giào viên trước đậy em sử dụng lớp? 3.2.1 Trước nghiên cứu thực hiện, giáo viên em thường dạy từ vựng theo:  Phương pháp truyền thống, chẳng hạn từ nghĩa tiếng Việt liệt kê theo danh sách từ cho HS  Phương pháp giao tiếp, chẳng hạn dạy từ vựng thơng qua hình thức trị chơi: định nghĩa từ, điền từ, đốn từ, trao đổi thơng tin, đóng vai … 3.2.2 Em thích phương pháp hơn?  Phương pháp truyền thống  Phương pháp giao tiếp 3.3 Em nghĩ đặc tính trị chơi ảnh hưởng việc nâng cao động HS, việc tạo hội cho thực hành ngôn ngữ, việc hợp tác học tập? 94 3.3.1 RKĐY KĐY Đặc tính ảnh hưởng trò chơi ĐY Câu RĐY 95 Vui thoải mái 3.3.2.1 làm cho bầu khơng khí thêm sinh động 3.3.2.2 trì động HS việc học từ vựng 3.3.2.3 làm cho HS không nhàm chán buồn 3.3.2 tẻ, mà cảm thấy thoải mái học từ vựng 3.3.2.4 giảm lo lắng HS việc học ngôn ngữ 3.3.2.5 giảm khoảng cách GV HS 3.3.2.6 lấy lại lượng cho HS trước họ trở lại học môi trường nghiêm túc 3.3.3.1 tăng cường thời gian nói cho HS 3.3.3.2 cho phép HS sử dụng ngôn ngữ cách thường xuyên 3.3.3.3 giúp HS nhớ từ vựng dễ lâu 3.3.3 3.3.3.4 cung cấp hội cho HS thực hành phát triển kĩ ngơn ngữ (nghe, nói, đọc, viết) 3.3.3.5 giúp HS nhút nhát tham gia vào hoạt động lớp học thường xuyên 3.3.4 khuyến khích học tập hợp tác (theo cặp, nhóm, đội) Lưu ý: RĐY: đồng ý, ĐY: đồng ý, KĐY: không đồng ý, RKĐY: không đồng ý 95 96 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 RKĐY KĐY Những khó khăn việc giới thiệu trò chơi ĐY Câu RĐY Theo em, đâu khó khăn việc giới thiệu trị chơi lớp? Trị chơi đơi làm cho HS bối rối hướng dẫn khơng rõ ràng Trị chơi trở nên khó HS hạn chế từ vựng Không thể loại trừ tuyệt đối tiếng mẹ đẻ lớp Khi chơi trò chơi, HS thường làm ồn lớp Học sinh thường tốn nhiều thời gian để chơi trò chơi lớp Trị chơi trở nên khơng hiệu giới thiệu phương pháp truyền thống Trò chơi trở nên bất tiện lớp có đơng HS Các em muốn trò chơi giới thiệu thường xuyên lớp?  luôn  cách thường xuyên   không Cảm ơn hợp tác em! 96 97 Appendix Critical values of t One-tailed  Two-tailed  d.f 10 0.05 0.10 0.025 0.05 0.01 0.02 0.005 0.01 6.134 2.920 2.353 2.132 2.015 1.943 1.895 1.860 1.833 1.812 12.706 4.303 3.182 2.776 2.571 2.447 2.365 2.306 2.262 2.228 31.821 6.965 4.541 3.747 3.365 3.143 2.998 2.896 2.821 2.764 63.657 9.925 5.841 4.604 4.032 3.707 3.499 3.355 3.250 3.169 11 12 13 14 15 1.796 1.782 1.771 1.761 1.753 2.201 2.179 2.160 2.145 2.131 2.718 2.681 2.650 2.624 2.602 3.106 3.055 3.012 2.977 2.927 16 17 18 19 20 1.746 1.740 1.734 1.729 1.725 2.120 2.110 2.101 2.093 2.086 2.583 2.567 2.552 2.539 2.528 2.921 2.898 2.878 2.861 2.845 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 1.721 1.717 1.714 1.711 1.708 1.706 1.703 1.701 1.699 1.697 2.080 2.047 2.069 2.064 2.060 2.056 2.052 2.048 2.045 2.042 2.518 2.508 2.500 2.492 2.485 2.479 2.473 2.467 2.462 2.457 2.831 2.819 2.807 2.797 2.787 2.779 2.771 2.763 2.756 2.750 40 60 120 1.684 1.671 1.658 1.645 2.021 2.000 1.980 1.960 2.423 2.390 2.358 2.326 2.704 2.660 2.617 2.576  Source: Adapted from Fisher and Yates, 1963 (as cited in Brown, 2001, p 153) 97 98 Appendix Sample lesson plan 11 Unit 4: Volunteer Work I Pre-stage: Round the Board crossword (Kieu, Cao & Cao, 2007, p 22) Aim: review students’ vocabulary Level: average students Organization: group work Time allotted: 15 minutes Stage application: pre-reading Preparation: worksheets for groups of student Procedure: The teacher delivers worksheets to groups of student who base on clues provided to find out essential words The group having correct answer will take a chance to answer the next question The groups not having the correct guess will lose their chance to the next question After finding out words, students have to arrange letters in dark cells to create a meaningful word related to the topic of Unit At the end, the team having more correct words in the shortest time will be the winner The teacher checks and gives comments on their answers later Complete the ‘round the board’ crossword by basing on the clues below The words go from outside towards the center, starting at number which is done as a sample The last letter of each word is the first letter of the next one When you have finished them, use the letters in the shaded square to make a new word concerning with the topic of Unit 98 99 Start V A C A T I O N End Clues: (n.) ……………… : fixed holiday period (a.) ……………… : existing in or caused by nature (n.) ……………… : piece of closely mown grass in a garden (n.) ……………… : requirement (n.) ……………… : unfavorable circumstance or condition (v.) ……………… : give intellectual, moral, and social instruction to (pron.) ………everyone of two or more persons or things, regarded separately (n.) ……………… : feeling of pleasure or contentment (v.) ……………… : experience or be subjected to pain, loss, grief, defeat, change, … The new word is ……………… Answer key vacation educate natural each lawn happiness need suffered disadvantage The new word: VOLUNTEER 99 100 II While-stage: Exchanging information game (Doff, 1988, p 215) Aim: enhance students’ communicative ability through language use Level: average/good students Organization: pair work Time allotted: 10 minutes Stage application: while-reading Preparation: worksheets and blackboard Procedure: Students sit in pairs In each pair, student A has an empty grid and student B has a text that he or she does not show to his/her partner A completes the grid by asking questions For example: A: What is Kim going to tomorrow afternoon? B: He has classes Complete the grid below by asking information from the text of their partner Student A Student B This Tonight Kim is going to stay at evening home, because he wants to writes Tomorrow a letter to a friend Tomorrow morning morning he has classes as usual at college; but he Tomorrow has the afternoon free, so he is going to afternoon help his father repair the roof on Tomorrow their house In the evening, he evening has been invited out to a party Answer key staying at home having classes as usual at college being free having been invited out to a party 100 101 III Post-stage: Word brick (Kieu, Cao & Cao, 2007, p 35) Aim: check students’ vocabulary Level: average students Organization: team work Time allotted: 15 minutes Stage application: post-reading Preparation: worksheets for students, a projector Procedure: Divide class into two teams Each team tries to take a turn to finish a word in 20 seconds If the time is longer, they will lose their chance The game continues until its end Then, the teacher gives comments on the answers The team has more correct words will be the winner Use 16 pieces of the words on the bricks to complete the words marked from to 16 below a tur d ssis g duca j suf m tici p owl s amp b fort e niza h pha k van n hap q ivi t tion c sas f ver i cap l rob o pen r lun u inn vo ………teer handi………ped di………ter 13 ………piness or………nage com……… 10 ………fer 14 a………tance p………lem o………come 11 vaca……… 15 disad………taged orga………tion par………pate 12 e………tion 16 na……… al Answer key volunteer handicapped disaster 13 happiness orphanage comfort 10 suffer 14 assistance problem overcome 11 vacation 15 disadvantaged organization participate 12 education 16 natural 101 ... iv ABSTRACT This thesis investigated the impact of motivation, enhanced by games, on students’ vocabulary learning examined via their performance and attitude The basic theoretical framework of. .. makes a conclusion, gives recommendations and limitations, and suggests further research orientation Chapter A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF MOTIVATION AND GAMES Vocabulary plays a very important role... organizations Remarkably, it became a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995 and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in 1996 In 1998, it joined in the Asia Pacific Economic