The whispering game and its effects on 2nd graders vocabulary retention

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHẠM THỊ PHƯỢNG THE WHISPERING GAME AND ITS EFFECTS ON 2ND GRADERS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghệ An, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY PHẠM THỊ PHƯỢNG THE WHISPERING GAME AND ITS EFFECTS ON 2ND GRADERS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG HAI, Ph.D Nghệ An, 2019 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP The thesis entitled “The Whispering game and its effects on 2nd graders’ vocabulary retention” is truly my original work To the best of my knowledge and belief, all the data and findings discussed in the thesis have not been previously published or written elsewhere Author Pham Thi Phuong ii ABSTRACT Vocabulary is an important component in learning a foreign language that students have to master It affects the four English skills and it is used to convey information when communicating Therefore, it is necessary for teachers to teach vocabulary for learners effectively This thesis research was carried out in order to identify whether the application of the Whispering game in teaching vocabulary affects students’ motivation to learn vocabulary and to demonstrate the effects of the Whispering game on their vocabulary’s retention The results of the research were hoped to help teachers find a suitable strategy in teaching vocabulary for students Questionnaire survey, pre-test, post-test and interview were employed to collect data on the issue involved with the support of 80 second graders at Dong Son No1 Primary School in Quang Binh province The experiment was implemented for eight weeks The students in the experiment were divided into two groups namely the experimental and control groups The experimental group was taught using Whispering game, whereas the control group was taught using lecturing method The researcher used both qualitative and quantitative research methodology in this study The findings of the research shows that implementation of the Whispering game in the process of teaching and learning English motivates students to learn, because they can study vocabulary comfortable in a non-stressful way Moreover, the use of Whispering game gave significant effects in enhancing students’ vocabulary retention On the basic of the findings in the study, some suggestions were offered for teachers and students in teaching and learning vocabulary so that they could determine some effective ways in improving students’ vocabulary retention iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to send my faithful thanks to all people who supported me directly and indirectly in finishing my study First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Tran Quang Hai, Ph.D for his valuable advice, enthusiastic guidance and encouragement he gave me during the period of writing my research paper I acknowledge that without his helpful support, I would have hardly completed my thesis on time I also would like to send my appreciation to my colleagues and my friends who gave me useful comment and criticism on my writing process My gratefulness is also offered for the 2nd grade students at Dong Son No1 Primary School who supported and helped me collect useful data for accomplishing my thesis Last but not least, I would like to show my endless thanks to my beloved family who have been always beside me with their love and encouragement, supported me both spiritually and materially to fulfill this thesis iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Teaching and learning English as a foreign language in primary school 2.1.1 Foreign language teaching and learning 2.1.2 Characteristics of young learners in learning a foreign language 2.2 Theoretical basis of vocabulary learning 2.2.1 Definition of vocabulary 2.2.2 The importance of vocabulary in learning and teaching a foreign language 2.2.3 Some techniques in teaching vocabulary 10 2.2.4 Some factors affecting students' vocabulary learning 12 2.3 Aspects of vocabulary should be taught 14 2.3.1 Word form 14 2.3.2 Grammar 15 2.3.3 Collocation 15 v 2.3.4 Aspects of meaning 16 2.3.5 Word-formation 17 2.4 An overview of using games in vocabulary learning and teaching 17 2.4.1 Definition of games 18 2.4.2 Types of games in vocabulary learning and teaching 18 2.4.3 The advantages of using language games in learning vocabulary 20 2.4.4 Factors affect the choice of games 22 2.4.5 Principles in using games 23 2.5 The Whispering game 24 2.5.1 Definition of the Whispering game 24 2.5.2 The rules to play the Whispering game 24 2.6 The previous studies related to the thesis 25 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 The research context 27 3.1.1 The setting of the survey 27 3.1.2 Overview of the textbook Tiếng Anh 27 3.2 Research methodology 28 3.2.1 Research approach 28 3.2.2 Participants 28 3.2.3 Research instruments 29 3.2.4 Procedures of the research 31 3.2.5 Data analysis 33 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 34 4.1 Results of the pre-experiment 34 4.1.1 Results from the survey questionnaire A for students 34 4.1.2 Results from the pre-test 40 4.2 Results of the post-experiment 41 4.2.1 Results from the survey questionnaire B for students 42 vi 4.2.2 Results from the post-test 47 4.2.3 Findings from the interview 48 4.3 Discussion 50 4.3.1 Effects of the Whispering game on students’ motivation 50 4.3.2 Effects of the Whispering game on students’ vocabulary retention 50 4.3.3 Some suggestions for using the Whispering game to teach vocabulary 55 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 57 5.1 Conclusion of the study 57 5.2 Implications 59 5.2.1 Implications for teachers 59 5.2.2 Implications for students 60 5.3 Limitations of the study 60 5.4 Suggestions for the further research 61 REFERENCES 62 APPENDICES 67 APPENDIX 67 APPENDIX 73 APPENDIX 79 APPENDIX 80 APPENDIX 83 APPENDIX 87 APPENDIX 88 APPENDIX 90 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L1: First Language L2: Second Language SD: Standard Deviation viii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Students’ suggestions to learn vocabulary effectively 38 Table 4.2: Students’ choices about the game they like best 39 Table 4.3: The mean scores, standard deviations and ranges of the pre-test in the control group and experimental group 41 Table 4.4: Students’ evaluation of the effects of the Whispering game on vocabulary learning 45 Table 4.5: The mean scores, standard deviations and ranges of the post-test in the control and experimental group 48 Table 4.6: The control and experimental groups’ pre-test and post-test results 51 Table 4.7: Pre-test and post-test results by the experimental group 55 77 c Trung lập d Không đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Sự thú vị trị chơi nói thầm khuyến khích em tham gia vào trị chơi a Hồn tồn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Trung lập d Không đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Em cảm thấy sau chơi trị chơi nói thầm? a Thư giãn b Khơng thoải mái c Có hiệu d Bình thường Việc học từ vựng thơng qua trị chơi nói thầm giúp em luyện tập việc phát âm từ nhiều a Hoàn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Trung lập d Khơng đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Việc tham gia vào trị chơi nói thầm hội để em lưu nhớ từ vựng lâu a Hoàn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Trung lập d Khơng đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý 78 Trị chơi nói thầm giúp em cảm thấy tự tin học từ vựng a Hoàn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Trung lập d Khơng đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Em có hội để giao tiếp với bạn thơng qua trị chơi nói thầm a Hoàn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Trung lập d Khơng đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý 10 Em có muốn chơi trị nói thầm tiết học từ vựng khơng? a Hồn toàn đồng ý b Đồng ý c Trung lập d Khơng đồng ý e Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý 79 APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS How important you think about learning vocabulary? What are the factors that affect your post-test result? Do you like learning vocabulary with playing the Whispering game? Do you want to use the Whispering game in vocabulary lessons? What are the effects of the Whispering game on your vocabulary learning? 80 APPENDIX PRE-TEST I Nối tranh với từ tiếng Anh chúng (2.5 điểm) tree mother breakfast sweaters honey baby II Sắp xếp chữ sau thành từ có nghĩa (2.5 điểm) ons ……… son ……… lobues ………………… epseh …………………… 81 aebdr deracn oahcc ……………………… …………………….… ………………………….… III Khoanh vào câu trả lời a, b c (2.5 điểm) 0.There’s a … by the river She’s riding a … a house a coach b garden c coast b scooter Look at the …… I can draw a …… a blouse a bee b trousers c coat b sheep c.bike c mouse 82 It is a … a dog Five … are riding bikes b monkey c mouse a boys b girls c women IV Nhìn viết (2.5 điểm) 1……… …………… ………… THE END! ………… 5…… 83 APPENDIX POST-TEST I Nối tranh với từ tiếng Anh chúng (2.5 điểm) clock plane skating truck T-shirt chicken II Sắp xếp chữ sau thành từ có nghĩa (2.5 điểm) otrssh ……… shorts ……… antlp …………………… oehss ……………………… 84 anirt umpl esehce …………………….… … ……………………… …………………………… III Khoanh vào câu trả lời a, b c (2.5 điểm) Can you see a ? What we need? Yes, I can a house b garden What is he doing ? We need some c coast a blackberries b apple c cherries What are these? 85 He’s a skating They are b skiing c dancing a shirts b shorts c skirts Where is the bird? What you want to buy? It’s in the I want to buy some a sky b shop c kitchen a bowls b trays c spoons IV Nhìn viết (2.5 điểm) 86 THE END! 87 APPENDIX UNITS FOR THE EXPERIMENT Unit 13: In the village square Clothes, cloud, clown and clock Unit 14: At the supermarket Cherries, chocolate, chicken and cheese Unit 15: In the clothes shop Shop, shoes, T-shirt and shorts Unit 16: In the playground Plum, plane, plant and plate Unit 17: In the mountains Sky, skating, skiing and skirt Unit 18: On the train Train, trolley, truck and tray 88 APPENDIX THE CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUP’S PRE-TEST RESULTS Control group Experimental group Sign Pre-test score Sign Pre-test score C1 E1 C2 E2 7.5 C3 E3 C4 E4 C5 5.5 E5 C6 6.5 E6 C7 E7 C8 E8 C9 5.5 E9 C10 E10 C11 7.5 E11 7.5 C12 6.5 E12 C13 E13 C14 E14 6.5 C15 E15 C16 E16 C17 E17 7.5 C18 7.5 E18 6.5 C19 E19 6.5 C20 5.5 E20 C21 E21 C22 E22 C23 6.5 E23 7.5 89 C24 E24 C25 E25 C26 E26 6.5 C27 E27 6.5 C28 5.5 E28 5.5 C29 E29 7.5 C30 7.5 E30 C31 E31 C32 E32 5.5 C33 E33 C34 E34 C35 5.5 E35 6.5 C36 E36 C37 E37 C38 6.5 E38 C39 E39 7.5 C40 E40 TOTAL 260 TOTAL 268 90 APPENDIX THE CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUP’S POST-TEST RESULTS Control group Experimental group Sign Post-test score Sign Post-test score C1 7.5 E1 7.5 C2 E2 8.5 C3 5.5 E3 C4 E4 C5 5.5 E5 6.5 C6 6.5 E6 C7 7.5 E7 6.5 C8 E8 8.5 C9 5.5 E9 6.5 C10 E10 7.5 C11 E11 C12 6.5 E12 C13 E13 C14 E14 6.5 C15 E15 C16 6.5 E16 10 C17 E17 8.5 C18 7.5 E18 7.5 C19 E19 6.5 C20 E20 C21 E21 6.5 C22 7.5 E22 8.5 C23 6.5 E23 7.5 91 C24 E24 10 C25 7.5 E25 C26 E26 C27 E27 8.5 C28 5.5 E28 6.5 C29 8.5 E29 7.5 C30 7.5 E30 7.5 C31 E31 C32 E32 6.5 C33 E33 8.5 C34 E34 7.5 C35 E35 C36 E36 C37 E37 C38 E38 6.5 C39 5.5 E39 8.5 C40 E40 6.5 TOTAL 270 TOTAL 310 ... Whispering game affects on second graders? ?? vocabulary retention and motivation This is the reason why I have tried to conduct a research entitled ? ?The Whispering game and its effects on 2nd graders? ??... above The findings are presented with the researcher’s explanation and evaluation with a view to confirming the effects of the Whispering game on the second graders? ?? motivation and vocabulary retention. .. how the Whispering game affects students’ motivation to learn vocabulary The study also focuses on the effects of the Whispering game on their vocabulary? ??s retention in order to find solutions