Teaching vocabulary for year 3 students through experiencing games and activities

1 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic 1.2 The purpose of studying 1.3 Research Subject 1.4 Research Methods 1.5 New points of the Experience Initiative CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical perspectives of the Research 2.2 Current problem before applying experience initiatives 2.2.1.General situation 2.2.2 Situation of teaching and learning English at Dong Hai Primary School 2.3 Solutions used for solving the problem 2.3.1 Learning by experiencing the environment inside the classroom a Falling clouds b Big Describer c Magic bag d.Fruit basket upset e Concentration f Numbers g Wave h Word of mouth i Unmusical chairs 2.3.2 Learning by experiencing the environment outside the classroom 2.4 The Initiative’s effectiveness in educational activities for teachers seilf and for school 3.CONCLUSION page 1 2 3 6 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 19 19 20 3.1 Experience lessons 3.2 Suggestions INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reasons for choosing the topic Nowadays, English has been considered as a compulsory subject for students at all levels of educational systems at most schools Students must learn English from grade to grade 12 Not only children but also adults have to learn English, which is one of the valuable tools for them to work effectively Most of the parents believe that learning English is a good investment for the childrens’ future as most jobs now require the applicants to gain English language at certain levels Educators have tried to find the most effective method in teaching English because this is a difficult subject both in teaching and learning It is quite different from all other subjects and requires both teachers and students to find the best effective method of teaching and learning English is a new language which is different from the mother tongue, students find it difficult and can be put off learning Especially students who live in remote and mountainous areas don’t get a lot of exsposure to English So for students to better understand the basic knowlege of the English program I would like to use some games to attract students’ interest and help them to understand and remember quicker Therefore, hopefuly the English teacher choosing this method, is able to improve the quality of teaching and learning English in Dong Hai primary school specifically and in all primary schools generally When the students first learn English, they must learn vocabulary, one of the important parts of a foreign language The Students are faced with, what seems to them, to be difficult obstacles and so they not feel the importantce of learning English Students have strong points - they can memorize the words well and easily imitate their teachers The problem is because they have little exsposure to English outside of school they don’t retain what has been learnt However How to make students pay attention to learning is not an easy problem Enthusiastic, creative teachers always concern to find out the best methods for their students to improve educational quality and effect In fact, many teachers in Vietnam apply the old and traditional teaching methods in which the teacher is the primary speaker and the learner is the primary listener This method creates boredom in learners and encourages a passive study habit On the other hand, teachers are also under high pressure to strictly follow the curricula governed by the Ministry of Education and Training ,which are dense and out of date Such a curriculum limits the creativity of teachers and constricts teaching capabilities and effectiveness From given reasons above, I decided to write topic " Teaching vocabulary for year students through experiencing games and activities " to contribute to improving quality of teaching and learning English in Dong Hai Primary School in particular and in educational career in general 1.2 The purpose of studying Encouraging students to use English in English lessons through some simple games and applying for other grades next school years 1.3 Research Subject Students are in class in Dong Hai primary school 1.4 Research Methods To perform this topic I have used the following methods: 1.4.1 Study the material: - View educational materials, books, newspapers related to the topic - Read student’s books, teacher’s book, reference books 1.4.2 Study practical: - Discuss with my colleagues about the content of the games for using English lessons in primary school - Review experience in teaching process - Organize and conduct experimental teaching: prepare lesson plans to test the feasibility of the topic through the lessons 1.5 New points of the Experience Initiative The main method in teaching foreign language is intergrated teaching which means that new words need to be taught in context, context can be a real thing, picture or a conversation However, How to teach and learn foreign languages is still teaching new words, how to teach new sentence structures so that students know how to use new words and new structures in foreign language communication The first, teachers need to consider different tricks to teach vocabulary in new contexts: suggesting, teaching words, checking and reinforcing vocabulary - Should or shoudn’t teach all new words in one lesson? How many words you teach in one lesson? - Use model sentences have just learnt to introduce new words - Use pictures and visual tools to introduce new words - Make sure students understand the structure, apply the vocabulary to the structure to improve the communication function Establish the relationship between the new structure and the old vocabulary - Embedded words in students' memory through model sentences and practical exercises * Learning by experiencing the environment inside and outside the classroom Enjoy learning through inside and outside activities I organize language games in accordance to the lesson’s content to create an interesting environment to atract students interest in receiving new knowlegde CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical perspectives of the Research In recent years language researchers and practitioners have shifted their focus from developing individual linguistic skills to the use of language to achieve the speaker's objectives This new area of focus, known as communicative competence, leads language teachers to seek task-oriented activities that engage their students in creative language use Games, which are task-based and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, serve as excellent communicative activities (Saricoban & Metin 2000) On the surface, the aim of all language games is for students to "use the language"; however, during game play learners also use the target language to persuade and negotiate their way to desired results This process involves the productive and receptive skills simultaneously Games offer students a fun-filled and relaxing learning atmosphere After learning and practicing new vocabulary, students have the opportunity to use language in a non-stressful way (Uberman 1998) While playing games, the learners' attention is on the message, not on the language Rather than pay attention to the correctness of linguistic forms, most participants will all they can to win This eases the fear of negative evaluation, the concern of being negatively judged in public, and which is one of the main factors inhibiting language learners from using the target language in front of other people (Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope 1986) In a game-oriented context, anxiety is reduced and speech fluency is generated thus communicative competence is achieved Games are also motivating Games introduce an element of competition into language-building activities This provides valuable impetus to a purposeful use of language (Prasad 2003) In other words, these activities create a meaningful context for language use The competitive ambulance also makes learners concentrate and think intensively during the learning process, which enhances unconscious acquisition of inputs Most students who have experienced game-oriented activities hold positive attitudes towards them (Uberman 1998) The benefits of using games in language-learning can be summed up in nine points Games  are learner centered  promote communicative competence  create a meaningful context for language use  increase learning motivation  reduce learning anxiety  integrate various linguistic skills  encourage creative and spontaneous use of language  construct a cooperative learning environment  foster participatory attitudes of the students Among numerous sources of students’ interest in the language learning process, games seem to be very important Obviously, there are a lot of other sources, such as pictures and stories Pictures serve as a visual stimulus, while games use both visual and oral channels and activate language production and, sometimes, physical movement Young learners love to play, and they participate in a game with more enthusiasm and willingness than in any other classroom task Yet, games are sometimes perceived as entertaining activities, playing which students are not really learning There are teachers who fail to realize the importance of games, considering them not a wealth of various techniques and an opportunity for real communication but an uncontrolled and noisy waste of time However, students in general learn better when they are active Thus, when learning is channeled into an enjoyable game, they are very often willing to invest considerable time and effort in playing it Moreover, in view of diverse learning styles and preferences the students display, benefits from games seem to care for everyone as children find playing activities much richer language studying work than doing other kinds of practice If games are properly designed, they may become an excellent and essential part of a students’ learning program The more variety we can introduce into teaching, the more likely we are to meet the needs of all the different learners For games are activities with rules, a goal to achieve, and an element of fun; they seem to be challenging and interesting enough to keep the young students occupied and eager to complete the task Furthermore, as they use English for real purposes, they make the children play and learn at the same time Moreover, games help to create a context in which children’s attention is focused on the completion of a task without realizing that language items are being practiced As a result, language learning takes place in a context that children can directly relate to However, it is always necessary to keep in mind the interests and needs of the learners Games can provide a valuable learning experience in which the children practice and revise language only if they are carefully chosen, according to students’ styles of learning 2.2 Current problem before applying experience initiatives 2.2.1.General Situation Many students not pay much attention to learning English, prepare the lessons sketchy Since then, they ignore studying English In class, most students sit passively, are lack of flexibility, afraid to read, speak English and less raise their hands to give their ideas Vietnam has a serious shortage in teaching staff in quality Many teachers not meet the requirements of teaching Teachers often not have time to any further research improve their skills or broaden their knowledge to improve their teaching skills Most schools in Vietnam not have qualified labs, libraries for students With the cooperation of various industry sectors and the investment from society as a whole, the school infrastructure has been upgraded day by day, but it is still not enough to significantly change enrollment and the learns' needs, especially in the remote mountainous and isolated areas of the country 2.2.2 Situation of teaching and learning English at Dong Hai Primary School Students not concern much about the subject They as well as their parents consider English as an optional subject However, many students are interested in learning English They find out happiness and excitement in studying By myself's effort, I tried to look for games on the internet or in books I used some simple games to warm-up, check vocabulary, grammar Surprisingly, students enjoy playing and play excitingly They also participate in more activities Although results are not really high but what I gained is not little Examination results at the beginning of the school year School year 2020 Grade Total 63 excellent 23 % 20.6 good % 10 31.7 fair 26 % 41.3 fall % 6.4 2021 I realized that this result was not high, so during the lessons I applied some methods in which some simple games have been used to improve education's quality and efficiency 2.3 Solutions used for solving the problem Using some simple games in English lessons by environment inside and outside the classroom 2.3.1 Learning by experiencing the environment inside the classroom After looking for games on the internet, TV or books, I renewed them to match with my students Then I organized and guide them to play Below ,I am going to present some games I always use in the lessons and the efficiency is outstanding a Falling clouds This is a game for learning English focusing on vocabulary items You listen to the sound or read the word and then point to the matching pictures It’s really easy, fun and hopefully a great way to learn and review words Example: Unit 16-The weather- Lesson I use this game to check new vocabulary + Time allowed: minutes + Preparation pictures describing different kinds of weather and stick them on the board words about the weather: rainy, cloudy, snowy, windy, sunny + Practice Choose 10 students then divide into teams Let them stand at the equal place After teacher reads a word- sunny , Student have to run as fast as possible to reach the right picture Continue to the end + Result The team which is faster and has more correct words is winner Games are fun and children like to play them Through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment (Lewis, 1999) b Big Describer In this game you practice English reading You have to read the brief description and then point to the image that is described First you choose a set of images and the quickly read the text and point to the matching picture This game practices reading for understanding and hopefully can be used to learn some new vocabulary too Example: Unit 15- At home- Lesson I use this game to check new structure + Preparation pictures with different activities and sentences presenting those after that stick them on the board sentences about activities 1.He is writing 4.She is cooking 2.He is drawing 5.They are reading 3.They are flying kites 6.They are running +Implementation Divide class into teams Let them select sentences at random- She is singing After that point to the correct picture which are described in those picture as fast as possible Continue to the end +Result The team which is faster and has more correct words is winner 10 Through playing games, students can learn English the way children learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot - C : “Magic bag” 3rd grade students play game Unit 8: This is my pen - Leson 1: part A (1, 2, 3) Vocabulary: notebook, pencil, ruler, rubber……… Teacher: “ Children, last night I went to the supermarket I bought many things which we learnt yesterday Now, What are there in the bag? Huy: a book Teacher: Yes, but not only a book “ How many books are there in the bag?” Long: two books Teacher: Yes There are two books in the bag (Teacher takes out two books to put on the table: “ What is there in the bag?” Lan: five pencils Teacher: No, less “ How many pencils are there in the bag?” Long: One pencil Teacher: Yes, you’re welldone There is one pencil in the bag ( Teacher takes out a pencil ) and T asks: “ What is there in the bag?” Nga: …………………………………………………… So on school things in the bags are took out and put them on the table d : “Fruit basket upset” The teacher starts the game with a coversation: Teacher: Autumn is my favourite season Children, I like autumn because I like fruit Do you like fruit? Students: Yes Teacher: Which fruit you like? Student 1: I like an orange Teacher: Oh, you do, here is a good orange for you.( Teacher gives one student a picture of an orange) 11 Student 2: I like an apple Teacher: Take an apple for student B Student 3:……………… Teacher: Do you want to make a fruit basket? Ok Come here and let’s play After each student had a picture of their favourite fruit, the teacher asks to students sit in a circle The manager said “Apple changes place with orange” While apples and oranges swapped places, the game manager quickly took one of the two places The person who loses his seat becomes the game administrator It is possible to offer multiple fruits or all of them at once using the command “Fruit basket, upset!” 3rd grade students play game “Fruit basket upset” in the playgroud Unit 7-Places in my school - Lesson I use this game to warm-up + Preparation words students have learnt in the previous lesson (Library ,classroom, computer room , music room) Call some pairs to play game + Practice One student reads a word -library , the other listens and spell l-i-b-r-a-r-y If it is right , they get two points, if it is wrong, they will be replaced by another pair Continue to the end +Result Person who is faster and has more correct words is winner 12 e.Concentration This game is a version of the classic game concentration Intended here to help students learn vocabulary items by matching images and words You can also listen to the teacher when you look at the images The game is simple and hopefully fun You select the words and the pictures If you reveal a matching pair of picture – word then you get points You have to match all the images and words as quickly as possible The concentration part comes in remembering where the images or words are The time you have to match all the pictures and the words runs down quickly and so you have to be faster.and faster in each round Example: Unit 8-School things - Lesson I use this game to check vocabulary + Preparation words about school things Books , pencil sharpeners , pencils , school bags pictures about school things 13 Stick them on the board (Remember to turn over in order not to reveal words and pictures) + Practice Divide class into teams Students from teams turn over pictures and words in turn If picture matches with word , that team gets two points pencils Continue to the end +Result The team which is faster and has more correct words and pictures is winner f Numbers In this game you can practice English numbers You have to listen to or read English language for numbers and then race to the matching numbered corner Learning the numbers in English is a basic but quite important area In particular learning to differentiate teen numbers with multiples of ten such as seventeen and seventy is quite important and is something that even learners at higher levels sometimes have trouble with With this game I hope that learners of English as a second language can practice and review number language in a fun way Example Unit 12- How old are you? -Lesson I use this game to help student remember numbers from 1- 20 + Preparation 20 flashcards with numbers from one to twenty on them Stick then on the wall around the classroom 14 +Practice Choose students and let them stand at an equal place Teacher read number : seven ,students listen and race to the matching corner If it is right, he/she will get two points Continue to the end +Result Person who is faster and has more correct words is winner g Wave I use this game to warm up the lesson It helps students develop the observing ability, review alphabet and have quick reactions Example: Unit – My name is - Lesson + Preparation Alphabet cards Give alphabet cards out to students +Practice Let students listen to the radio the alphabet song and then stop at any alphabet For example: Letter H Students having the card with correct letter hold it up and read that letter loudly + Result Three students reading more correctly and faster are winners Through this game , I encourage students to discover and help them overcome psychological and shyness, beside that I can check how students remember alphabet However, this activity often makes noise, teacher should control the class in order not to affect the other classes Students may not be able to say a whole lot, after all their vocabulary and grammar are rather limited But in order to start speaking, they have to start listening 15 You may think there isn’t a whole lot students can comprehend, but you’ll be surprised Try playing these simple listening games They may be easy, but for students who are just starting out in their English learning journey, they can be highly effective ways to train in the basic skills they will use on a daily basis in the near future! h Word of mouth Here’s another game you can play with the same easily confused words from above Divide students into two teams Whisper a word to a student, who must then whisper it to the student next to him/her, and so it goes until the last student in line hast to say the word out loud If he/she pronounces it correctly, the team gets a point A variation of this would be not to whisper to the first student but show him/her the word written down on a piece of paper Example: Unit 6-My school-Lesson I use this game to check new vocabulary + Preparation Some learnt words Kim Dong Primary School , Queen Primary School +Practice Divide students into two teams Whisper the word-Kim Dong Primary School to a student, who must then whisper it to the student next to him/her, and so it goes until the last student in line hast to say the word out loud If he/she pronounces it correctly, the team gets a point Continue to the end +Result The team which is faster and has more correct words is winner i Unmusical chairs This easy listening game works great with young learners Arrange chairs as if to play musical chairs Students will walk around them, they will 16 be a conversation Students walk around the chairs as you play the audio and the student/s who hear the answer to the question sit/s down Stop the audio Those who are seated answer the question, and if it’s correct they will remain seated If several students sit down at the same time, that’s fine, but ask them to whisper the answer in your ear to make sure they all heard the answer from the audio Example: Unit 12- How old are you? –Lesson I’lI use this game to consolidate all the lesson + Preparation A short conversation about personal information +Practice Choose students Have them stand at an equal place First, Teacher read the question: How old is Hoa? Next, Teacher read the conversation Students run round the chairs as the teacher read the student/s who hear the answer to the question sit/s down Pause Those who are seated answer the question, and if it’s correct they will remain seated Continue to the end +Result Person who is faster and more correct is winner My experience creating a competition for our students taught us that games stimulate communicative skills Competitors revealed that they felt less afraid of using their English during game play I also observed that they were more willing to ask questions and think creatively about how to use English to achieve the goal The competition gave students a natural opportunity to work together and communicate using English with each other Furthermore, by integrating playing and learning, students practiced the learned linguistic knowledge in a vivid and meaningful context And finally, the competition stimulated their interest in foreign culture 17 2.3.2 Learning by experiencing the environment outside the classroom Change the form of learning by experiencing the environment outside the classroom Enjoy learning through outside activities I organize language games in accordance to the lesson’s content to create an interesting environment to atract students interest in receiving new knowlegde Example: Unit 9: What colour is it? ( Lesson P 1,2,3) When teaching the topic of color, instead of talking about the color of the school things in the book I guide the students go out the school yard and ask students to observe the colors of the things around them and ask and answer the question about thing’s color with their friends Student 1: What color is it? Student 2: It’s red, blue, pink, purple… ………………………………………………… Through this activity , I encourage students to discover and help them overcome psychological and shyness, beside that I can check how to students remember and learn by heart vocabularies 18 Use real objects ( 3rd grade students look at things on the school grounds to find and talk words about color topic.) 2.4 The Initiative’s effectiveness in educational activities for teachers seilf and for school Through the application of simple games integrated into the content of the lessons in the process of teaching English at Dong Hai Primary School I noticed the obvious changes of attitude in learning English A number of new words students have are increasing remarkably Students have applied grammar structure to exercises more exactly, some of them speak English more selfconfidently English lessons are becoming excitingly and lively, Students their homework more carefully most of them enjoy learning English Most students remember and learn by heart all the new words in the classroom 19 Sharing experiences with colleagues team and recognized by colleagues and applied in the school When applying those measures, I realized that the result is getting better and better The number of excellent and good students has been increasing considerably while weak students have been decreased gradually At the of March-2020 - 2021 school year ,I gained result as following School year 2020- Grade Total 63 excellent % 18 28.6 good % 24 38.1 fair 21 % 33 fall % 2021 3.CONCLUSION 3.1 Experience lessons - Teacher must love career and children - Teacher must have various knowledge - Preparing lesson plan carefully before class - Using visual aids to enrich , strengthen the lessons - Organizing simple games to enhance vocabulary and practice structures Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language - Encouraging and gifting children who have made progress - Making plan to help weak students so that they participate in class activities without any shyness and less difficulty 3.2 Suggestions In order to improve quality and efficiency of English lessons ,I would like to give some suggestions as following: - Providing more materials for teaching and learning English - Holding more professional meetings - Sharing out excellent experience initiatives so that the other teachers consult 20 These are some experiences that I’ve applied at Dong Hai Primary School and achieved spectacular results during the last teaching Although they are not very excellent ,they, in partly, motivate students to practice English day by day I hope teachers and colleagues will contribute to my topic so that it is becoming better and better and will be applied widely Confirmation of headmistress Dong Hai, March 30 , 2021 Commitment not copy Đỗ Thị Huyền Trang 21 REFRENCE BOOKS + Student’s book – English +Teacher’s book- English + Method of teaching + Doff, A 1998 Teach English : Trainer’s Handbook Cambridge + Material guiding teachers Phonics –Learning Box UK +Materials of Institute for Research on Educational Developments –Copyright by IRED 2011 +Uberman, A.1998 The use of game: for vocabulary presentation and revision English teaching Porum 36 22 DANH MỤC CÁC ĐỀ TÀI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG ĐÁNH GIÁ XẾP LOẠI CẤP PHÒNG GD&ĐT, CẤP SỞ GD&ĐT VÀ CÁC CẤP CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN Họ tên tác giả: Đỗ Thị Huyền Trang Chức vụ đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên, Trường Tiểu học: Đông Hải – Thành phố Thanh Hóa Cấp đánh giá xếp loại (Phịng, Sở, Tỉnh ) Kết đánh giá xếp loại (A, B, C) Năm học đánh giá xếp loại TT Tên đề tài SKKN Some experiences of reinforing knowledge and causing excitement for students in grade through short English songs Phòng GD & ĐT TP Thanh Hóa A 2013 - 2014 Some Experiences in using the techniques for checking memorizing vocabulary of students Sở GD &ĐT tỉnh Thanh C 2014 - 2015 Some games encouraging primary students in practicing English sentences Phịng GD & ĐT TP Thanh Hóa B 2017 - 2018 Experience of using games to teach vocabulary in English Lessons – Grade Phòng GD & ĐT TP Thanh Hóa B 2018 - 2019 23 ... teachers and constricts teaching capabilities and effectiveness From given reasons above, I decided to write topic " Teaching vocabulary for year students through experiencing games and activities. .. to English So for students to better understand the basic knowlege of the English program I would like to use some games to attract students? ?? interest and help them to understand and remember... English lessons through some simple games and applying for other grades next school years 1 .3 Research Subject Students are in class in Dong Hai primary school 1.4 Research Methods To perform this