Teaching and learning grammar through games in the tenth grade at hung vuong high school m a 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTIC AND LITERATURE TEACHING AND LEARNING GRAMMAR THROUGH GAMES IN THE TENTH GRADE AT HUNG VUONG HIGH SCHOOL A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (TESOL) Submitted by NGUYỄN THỊ BẠCH YẾN Supervisor PETER LEONARD, M.A HO CHI MINH CITY, FEBRUARY 2010 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “TEACHING AND LEARNING GRAMMAR THROUGH GAMES IN THE TENTH GRADE AT HUNG VUONG HIGH SCHOOL” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, February, 2010 NGUYỄN THỊ BẠCH YẾN ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYỄN THỊ BẠCH YẾN, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating 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 purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, February, 2010 NGUYỄN THỊ BẠCH YẾN iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Mr Peter Leonard, M.A for his enthusiastic guidance, valuable comments and support in the preparation and completion of this thesis I am greatly indebted to all the lecturers of the TESOL graduate program at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for their dedication and helpful instruction during the course from the year 2005 to 2008 My special thanks go to Dr Nguyễn Thị Kiều Thu, Mr Trương Hớn Huy, M.A and Mr Nguyễn Hoàng Linh, M.A in TESOL who have given me useful advice on my thesis proposal I am also thankful to the teaching staff of Hung Vuong High School for their help, support and encouragement I also owe sincere thanks to the tenth graders at Hung Vuong High School for their cooperation in the study Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my beloved family for their love, and support iv ABSTRACT High school students usually feel bored in grammar lessons To help students find language classes, especially grammar lessons more interesting, and to achieve more of teaching as well as learning effectiveness from games, the author of this thesis conducted a research into the effectiveness of using language games in the teaching and learning of grammar The research method used in the surveys is mainly quantitative which is combined with qualitative method so as to investigate the difficulties arising in the teaching and learning of grammar in the tenth grade Such tools as questionnaires, class observations, and experimental project were used in the study In the application part, the research is conducted by an experiment with the application of language games to find out how effective it is in teaching and learning grammar in the tenth grade The findings obtained from the study reveal the benefits of the use of games in grammar classes which stimulate tenth-grade students’ interest and retention as well With this, students actively participated in the class activities so finally their four language skills were improved especially their listening and speaking skills In a word, the application of games to grammar teaching and learning is in agreement with the essence of the reform With great efforts made in the research, the author of the study hopes that the study will actively contribute to the better development of teaching and learning EFL with games in the division of English at HVHS v TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of authorship………………………………………………………… i Retention and use of the thesis ………………………………………………… ii Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… iii Abstract ………………………………………………………………………… iv Table of contents ……………………………………………………………… v List of tables …………………………………………………………………… x List of charts …………………………………………………………………… xi List of abbreviations …………………………………………………………… xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Background to the study 1.2.1 The implementation of innovation 1.2.2 Aims of the education reform 1.2.3 Statement of purpose 1.2.4 Description of the text book Tieng Anh 10 and its contructions 1.2.4.1 Aims and objectives of the text book Tieng Anh 10 1.2.4.2 Time distribution for the implement of the textbook Tieng Anh 10 1.2.4.3 Constructions of each unit in Tieng Anh 10 1.2.4.4 Grammar points in the text book Tieng Anh 10 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Assumptions 1.6 Methodology 1.7 Limitations and Delimitations vi 1.8 Overview of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Grammar 10 2.1.1 Definitions of grammar 10 2.1.2 The role of grammar in language teaching and learning 11 2.1.3 Grammar learning 12 2.1.4 The organization of grammar teaching 13 2.1.5 Grammar Practice 14 2.1.5.1 Pre- learning 15 2.1.5.2 Volume and repetition 15 2.1.5.3 Success- orientation 16 2.1.5.4 Heterogeneity 16 2.1.5.5 Teacher assistance 17 2.1.5.6 Interest 17 2.1.6 Basic criteria for designing and selecting grammar activities 18 2.2 An overview on deductive and inductive approaches 18 2.3 A traditional approach versus a more communicative approach 20 2.4 Games 21 2.4.1What is game? 21 2.4.2 The significance of games in language teaching and learning 21 2.4.3 How to choose games 25 2.4.4 The role of the teacher during games 26 vii 2.4.5 How and when to employ games in language classroom 26 2.4.6 What types of games can be employed in grammar classes 28 2.4.7 Games and teenagers 31 2.5 Studies related to game using in grammar learning and teaching 31 2.6 Summary 32 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 33 3.1 Research question 33 3.2 Research design 33 3.2.1 Participants 34 3.2.2 The survey questionnaires 35 3.2.3 The experimental project 36 3.2.4 Class observations 38 3.2.5 Data collection procedures 39 3.2.6 Data analysis procedures 40 3.3 Summary 41 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 42 4.1 Data collected from the two sets of survey questionnaires 42 4.1.1 The characteristics of the subjects 42 4.1.1.1 The characteristics of the teachers 42 4.1.1.2 The characteristics of the students 44 4.1.2 The subjects’ viewpoints on grammar 45 4.1.2.1 The necessity of grammar teaching and learning 45 4.1.2.2 Teachers’ and Students’ point of view on grammar teaching and learning 46 viii 4.1.2.3 Students’ interest in grammar classes 47 4.1.2.4 Teachers’ assessment of grammar tasks in the textbook 49 4.1.3 Ways of teaching and learning grammar in class 50 4.1.3.1 The way of presenting new grammatical rules in class 50 4.1.3.2 Teachers’ and students’ favorite ways in dealing with grammar classes 51 4.1.3.3 Students’ opinion about duration of grammar practice in class 52 4.1.4 Difficulties in teaching and learning grammar 53 4.1.5 Students’ suggestions on improving the teaching and learning of grammar in class 56 4.2 Data collected from the experimental project 57 4.2.1 The pretest test and post test of the two groups 57 4.2.1.1 The Pretest scores 57 4.2.1.2 The Posttest scores 58 4.2.1.3 Difference in the pretest and post- test scores of the two groups 59 4.3 Analysis of class observations 62 4.4 Summary 69 CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 71 5.1 Recommendations 71 5.2 Conclusion 72 REFERENCES 74 APPENDICES 79 Appendix 1: Questionnaire for teachers of English 79 Appendix 2: Questionnaire for students 83 Appendix 3: Student’ opinions: Difficulties and suggestions 87 Appendix 4: Grammar Pre-test …………… 94 ix Appendix 5: Grammar Post-test 99 Appendix 6: Pre-test and post-test scores of class 10H 104 Appendix 7: Pre-test and post-test scores of class 10L 105 Appendix 8: Observation checklist………………………………………………106 Appendix 9: Games applied in Experimental Grammar classes 109 110 Procedure: Divide the class in half (team A – team B), and each team groups in pairs The team leader gives each pair in his or her group a card The teacher asks the students in team A to write any “If clause”, and the students in team B to write any “main clause”, using conditional type and The first time: each pair of students in team A read “If clause” in their card, and the teacher asks any pair of students in team B give suitable “main clause” in response Team B has one point for each correct reponse The second time: Team A and team B exchange the role The teacher checks their work The team having more correct responses is the winner Unit 10 Conservation - The passive voice Aims of the lesson: The students can use the passive voice Materials: Worksheet Dynamic: Pairs/ Small groups Time: 20 minutes Procedure: Arrange students in pairs or groups of three or four, and give a copy of the worksheet to each group The students are to choose two related words on the worksheet and make a passive sentence They will have to supply their own verbs and other words Words chosen: Children, Aladdin Possible sentence: Aladdin is loved by children Words chosen: dog, bone Possible sentence: Bones are eaten by dogs 111 Worksheet Choose two words from the lists on the top or bottom of the page Make a logical sentence using these two words in the passive voice You have more words than you need to make more than 10 sentences new bank bone The President scholarship ESL/EFL my construction company mouse speech ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 8………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9………………………………………………………………………………………………… 10………………………………………………………………………………………………… children foreingn students test cat Aladdin athletes dog teachers As a follow up, students are given a set of inappropriate passive sentences They would correct the sentences and explain what was wrong: The sentences are illogical, silly, not have correct tenses, or not use the passive Unit 11 National Parks - Conditional sentence type Aims of the lesson: The students can use the conditional sentence type Materials: None Dynamic: large groups Time: 15 minutes 112 Procedure: Break class into groups of five to seven Have one student begin with a sentence in the untrue past conditional The next one continues Example: Student 1: If I had gotten married after high school, I would not have come to the United States Student 2:If I had not come to the United States, I would not have visited the Grand Canyon Student 3: If I had not visited the Grand Canyon, I would not have taken so many pictures (etc) Unit 12 Music -to+ infinitive to talk about purposes - Wh- questions Game 1: Aims of the lesson: students know how to use infinitive to talk about purpose and how to use wh- questions Game Materials: cards Dynamic: Pairs Time: 15 minutes Procedure: Divide the class in half (team A – team B), and each team groups in pairs The team leader gives each pair in his or her group a card The teacher asks the students in team B to write about any action The first time: students in team A read team B’s card then give a suitable purpose for that action The second time: Team A and team B exchange the role 113 Game Materials: None Dynamic: groups Time: 15 minutes Procedure: Make a statement and explain that the learners should question you about it e.g Teacher: I saw an old friend last night Learner 1: Where did you see him? Teacher: He came to my house Learner 2: Did you have dinner? Teacher: Yes Learner 3: Who cooked the dinner? Teacher: I did Learner 4: What did you cook? A more gamelike quality will emerge if you create a fantasy, e.g Teacher: I saw the green man last night Learner 1: Where? Teacher: He was on the train Learner 2: What was he doing? Teacher: Talking Learner 3: Who was he talking to? Teacher: A small, silver dog Learner 4: Did he speak in English? Teacher: Yes 2- Other opening statements might be: My friend has just bought a new car My neighbours had a quarrel last night 114 My great-grandfather has just had a marvellous holiday I've got a wonderful parrot As a follow up, teacher might give a particular time, thing done…and the students will guess and make questions Example: 1974 Student may guess and ask: Were you born in 1974? Films and Cinema Unit 13 - Attitudinal adjectives - It is/ was not until…that… - a/an and the Aims of the lesson: students know how to use Attitudinal adjectives, It is/ was not until…that and the articles a/an and the Game Materials: cards Dynamic: Pairs Time: 10 minutes Divide the class in half (team A – team B), and each team groups in pairs The team leader gives each pair in his or her group a card The teacher asks the students in team B to write about any situation The first time: students in team A read team B’s card then give a suitable sentence, using attitudinal adjectives The second time: Team A and team B exchange the role Example: He turned off the television in the middle of the film Possible sentence: The film was boring He was bored with the film 115 Game Materials: handout Dynamic: pairs/ groups Time: minutes Procedure: Divide the class into groups of four or five Give each group a a handout Assign a time limit and have the students in each group work together to match the time in column A with the events listed in column B and then give complete sentence, using “It is/ was not until…that” Have the groups correct each other’s papers as teacher goes over them aloud Each group has a point for one correct sentence The group finds the correct answer wins this game Handout 1996 Vietnam was completely liberated 1975 Columbus discovered America 1492 Telephone was invented 1876 Hung Vuong High School was built Game Materials: pictures Dynamic: pairs/ groups Time: 10 minutes Procedure: Give each group two pictures Students look at the pictures and use the cues given to make sentence with “ It is/ was not until…that” 116 1990 become a teacher 1980 begin to learn English 2009 win the first prize 1944 2000 the Second World War was over graduate from Oxford University 117 this morning receive his letter 30 years old know how to swim his father come in begin to prepare his lessons Game Materials: handout Dynamic: Groups Time: 10 minutes Procedure: Divide the class into groups of four or five Give each group a handout Assign a time limit and have the students in each group work together to fill in the missing articles if necessary Have the groups correct each other’s papers as teacher goes over them aloud 118 Handout I have just had to ….house in Bridge Street Yesterday … beggar knocked at my door He asked me for… meal and …glass of …beer In return for this….beggar stood on his head and sang… songs I gave him …meal He ate…food and drank….beer Then he put ….piece of cheese in his pocket and went away Later ….neighbour told me about him Everybody knows him His name is Percy Buttons He calls at every house in …street once … month and always asks for ….meal and….glass of beer Unit 14 The World Cup - Will vs going to Will: making predictions - Will: making offers Game Aims of the lesson: students distinguish the use of will versus going to Materials: Boardgame Dynamic: Pair work Time: 15 minutes Procedure: Divide the class into two teams The teacher asks the students to look at the pictures to talk about their plan, using going to or use will to give offer (Some pictures can be used in both cases) 119 120 Materials: cards Dynamic: Whole class Time: 25 minutes Procedure: Have students write two predictions for their classmates on their cards , using will Tell them to make the predictions general so that they can apply to anyone in the class They can be serious or funny and should be positive Put all the cards into a hat or bag Each student pulls a card If a student draws the card he/she wrote, he/she replaces it and choose another The students read one of the predictions on the card, turn it over, and on the back write one or more questions that might come before the prediction Example: Prediction: You will win a hundred dollars Question: Will I win the lottery this weekend? Unit 15 Cities Non-defining vs defining relative clauses Although as a contrasting connector Game Aims of the lesson: Students know how to use definding and non-definding relative clauses Besides, they know the use of Although Materials: None Dynamic: Groups Time: 15 minutes 121 Procedure: Teacher holds a guessing game First, names of things, animals, places, time and reasons are written on small pieces of paper Then these pieces are placed in a small hat T divides the class into two groups Each member of the two groups take turn giving other definitions and the rest of the class guess the right word Example 1: I’m thinking of an animal that has long ears I’m thinking of an animal that likes/ eats carrot  RABBIT Example 2: It’s a device that can tell you the time It’s an important machince that wakes you up  AN ALARM CLOCK Teacher awards students one point for each correct answer Game Aims of the lesson: students know how to distinguish defining and non-defining relative clause sentences Materials: Worksheet Dynamic: Groups Time: minutes Procedure: Break the class into four groups, and the teacher gives each group some defining and non-defining relative clause sentences The groups have a set amount of time to distinguish them Besides, the students add comma where nessecsary Each group has one point for each correct sentence 122 Hawaii which consists of eight principal islands is a favourite vacation spot The professor who teaches Chemistry 101 is an excellent lecturer The man whom I met teaches English Mrs Smith who is a retired teacher does volunteeer work at the hospital Only people who know Russian should apply for the job A river which is polluted is not safe for swimming Game Aims of the lesson: students know how to use although Materials: cards Dynamic: Groups/ Pairs Time: 15 minutes Procedure: Divide the class in half (team A – team B), and each team groups in pairs The team leader gives each pair in his or her group a card The teacher asks the Students in team A to write any clause beginning with although, and the students in team B to write any “main clause” The first time: each pair of students in team A read clause with although in their card, and the teacher asks any pair of students in team B give suitable “main clause” in response Team B has one point for each correct reponse The second time: Team A and team B exchange the role The teacher checks their work The team having more correct responses wins the game 123 Unit 16 Historical Places Comparatives and superlatives Making comparison Game Aims of the lesson : students know how to make comparison Materials: Worksheet Dynamic: Groups Time: 25 minutes Procedure: Make worksheet and then cut it into cards for each group Arrange the class into group of three or four and give each group a set of cards One student in each group draws a card and makes a comparative sentence using the two nouns and adjective on the card Example: My legs (short) Your legs Student’s sentence: My legs are shorter than your legs The other students in the group judge whether the sentence used the correct comparative form and decides if it is correct The students take turns in the group choosing cards and making sentences until they finish all the cards or time is up The students can keep score in their groups to see who makes the most correct sentences 124 my legs biology (short) (interesting) your legs history the weather here comics (bad) (funny) the weather in my hometown novels grammar a skyscraper (difficult) (tall) spelling a gas station a giraffe’s neck my old shoes (fat) an elephant’s neck (comfortable) my new shoes Game 2: Materials: none Dynamic: pairs Time: 15 minutes Procedure: Ask each pair of students describe someone or something, (they may describe their classmates or school things), using superlative Give students one point for each correct answer ... reasons for using games in grammar teaching are as follows: (1) games that are amusing and challenging are highly motivating, and (2) games allow meaningful use of the language in context Rinvolucri... to game using in grammar learning and teaching Up to now, there has been some research on the application of games in grammar teaching and learning In 2005, Yu investigated the effects of the. .. deductive and inductive approaches (3) a traditional approach versus a more communicative approach (4) games, and (5) studies related to game using in grammar teaching and learning 2.1 Grammar 2.1.1