Teaching grammar through games to the tenth graders at hung vuong high school, binh phuoc province

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

eke ek ke ve te ke ke kk ke kk

TEACHING GRAMMAR THROUGH GAMES TO THE TENTH GRADERS

AT HUNG VUONG HIGH SCHOOL,

[BINH PHUOC PROVINCE

TAUONG DAI HOC MO TP.HCM THU VIEN A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by PHAM THI THANH TAM

Supervisor: LE THI THANH, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2013

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ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using games on developing English grammar for the tenth graders at Hung Vuong High School, Binh Phuoc province Besides, this study attempted to make some recommendations to help improve the current situation of teaching and learning English at this school The samples of the study were ninty students of grade ten and ten English teachers The research instruments used in this study were questionnaires, class observation and two grammar tests The grammar tests were designed and validated to be used as a pre-test, and a post-test, and class observations to measure any possible differences between the mean scores of the students in the pre and the post test-The research findings revealed that the most efficient factor affecting on students’ attitude toward English grammar is using games The collected data were analyzed on excel program to measure the effectiveness of using games on developing aspects of grammar for the tenth graders Based on the research findings some recommendations were made The study was expected to help students improve their performance in grammar classes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHOR.SHIIP G5 G G9 9 2 0 000 5600 6 0ø i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESS <5 << G5 S5 29558 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS G0004 06 0600000600096 Hi ABSTIRRACCTT co 5 G5 << H9 900005 0000 0004.000 00094000 4.10004 0600049 008960 iv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 04 1 1.1 Background to the study 0.0.0 cc cesesssessseseeesseeeseesecesseceneesscecssessecessesseeesseceeseneeesnesseens 1 1.2 ư go Soạn 2 IS vn nh 2 1.4 Significance of the sfudy cư ĐỊNH T3 1010191 1901k 9 ng ng ng ng 3 1.5 Overview of tfĐesis chapf€TS - + tt t2 1E HH E1 11 11111111 111111111 11 11.1 crk, 3

Chapter 2: LITERA TURE REVIEẨW G0000 c0 00009 668806606906 5

2.1 Grammar 5 2.1.1 Definitions of grammar hố 5 2.1.2 The role of grammar in language teaching and learning . -s«-s «+ 6 2.1.3 Approaches used to teach ØTATTTHALT - - <5 s93 91 91 1v nhu gi 9 2.1.3.1 The Grammar- Translation Method (G TM) .- - Ăn sseceesee 9 2.1.3.2 The Direct 12000), 10 2.1.3.3 The Audio-Lingual Method (ATM) nen ve, 10 2.1.3.4 Community Language Learning (CL) « 5+2 «<< *<++vxessseses 11

2.1.3.5 Total Physical Response ((TTPIR)) - ok TH ng g 11

2.1.3.6 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) . 5-5 «+<<<+s<+++s 12 “ch 13 "An 13 "PC uc nh nen 14 2.2.3 What kinds of games Work €SẨ Ác nh ng l6 2.2.4 How and when to employ games in language cÌassroom - -.«« -«-<s+2 17 2.2.5 Benefits ofteaching prammar with ØaIm§ -.- 5-5 kh ng 20 PIN? á)0n v18 nh 21

2.4 Chapf€r SUImATY 5 sọ TH TH Hi ni HH TH TT Hư n 24 Chapter 3: METHODOLUO ŸY <5 00505 0060068886689 6 25 3.1 Research ÏDesignn - sọ HH HH TH HT HH 25

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3.6.1.1 Pre-test oo 35 EU cổ 35 E9) i0 36 EN VN» on 37 Ea oi nnố ố 38 ERŠÁ0 Y0 ai 38 EWAsvovcoì co nvi vn 40

3.7.1 Procedure for conducting the †€SS G <9 ng ng ng rưy 40 3.7.2 Procedure for conducting the questionnalre eXperimẹIf . -<«<++ 41 3.7.3 Procedure for conducting the class Observation .:.ccccssccesesssseesseseeeseesesessees 41 °R.P 6 0/009 1n 41 ° 59320 an 42 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS OE FINDINGS 43 an 43 ALD Tests e 43 Ýannh na 43 4.1.4.2 Posf-f€sf r€SỤS - HH ng nọ ng ng xà 44 4.1.1.3 A comparison of pre- and posf-test results for each øroup - - 45

4.1.2 Teachers” queSfiOTIA]TC 5 <5 + xxx 9 011 831 010 ng ng ng ng giện 47 4.1.2.1 Teachers` demographic 1nÍOrImaf1OTI - -o- ĩ5 s2 1s v3 x2 ve re 47 4.1.2.2 Factors affecting students’ learning grarmmar . - «s5 s++sx+ssss+ 48 4.1.3 Students’ questionnaire results (before experimen} - -+ ss+<sxss+2 52 4.1.3.1 Students° demographic inÍOrmfiOn - «+ + sx + SESSeekvesseesrersvee 52 4.1.3.2 Students’ responses to the Pre-queSfiO'IAIT€ - 5 <5 S x33 sex 53 I0) ae nh hố 58

4.1.4.1 Observation class with grammar Øạm©S - - s9 1n re 58 4.1.4.2 Observation of class without grammar Øạmes << = «+55 s << ss 59 4.1.5 Results om students” questionnalre (after experimen{) -‹s-<s++ 60 4.2 vo uốn 64 CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68 hi 006 5 68 ) voi 2o 0n 70 bVN (vui 2ï 9 ca 70

5.2.2 Recommendations fo sfUd€TIfS - - - S099 9001108011 1 g8 1 na, 70 5.2.3 Recommendations to adminisfrafïOT\ .- - G5 c1 1 91 81 ng ngư 71 5.3 Limitations and recommendations for further sfUdies . - <5 555 << ss++ss 71 h0 90 an 72

REFERENCES 0G G0 0 9 000000006 06.00000090 000 000866000000 066688009096 06 73 APENDIX 1: LESSON PLAN co G G0095 0.906 000 00 00006 0600868909060 06 80 APENDIX 1.1: LESSON PLAN FOR UNTT 2: SCHOOL TALKS 80

APENDIX 1.2: LESSON PLAN FOR UNIT 3: PEOPLE’S BACKGROUND.84 APENDIX 1.3: LESSON PLAN FOR UNIT 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION 88

APENDIX 1.4: LESSON PLAN FOR UNIT 5TECHNOLOGY AND YOU 92

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APPENDIX 2: GRAMMAR TESTS sssscsssscsssresscescsssscsssessscessnsssessscssssesees 96

APPENDIX 2.1 (A): PRE-TEST ccsscsssssssssssssssssssessesseessssssessessssesseseesssenssessvssees 96

APPENDIX 2.1 (B): KEY ANSWERS TO PRE-TEST . . - 98

APPENDIX 2.2 (A): POST-TE/ST ©++++°°©CEEEEEEEEEE2S22222222°eerree 100 APPENDIX 2.2 (B): KEY ANSWERS TO POST-TEST .5 5- 102 APPENDIX 3 — QUESTIONA IRE, -2- < 5° s2 Ss2£ss seseessEseseessesszse 104 APPENDIX 3.1 - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHE.RS 104

APPENDIX 3.2 (A) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 106

APPENDIX 3.2 (B) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 108

APPENDIX 3.3 (A) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 110

APPENDIX 3.3 (B) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 111

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CUP HCMC HCMCOU MOET OUP UP CLT SL HVHS FLT Ss T ABBREVIATIONS : Cambridge University Press

: Ho Chi Minh City

: Ho Chi Minh City Open University : The Ministry of Education and Training : Oxford University Express

: University of Pedagogy

: Communicative Language Teaching : Second Language

: Hung Vuong High School : Foreign Language Teacher : students

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

This study is conducted to investigate how games affect teaching and learning English grammar at Hung Vuong High School in Binh Phuoc province In the first chapter, the researcher mentions five parts, including the background to the

study, the statement of purposes, the research questions, and the significance of the

study and the design of the study 1.1 Background to the study

English has been undoubtedly becoming increasingly important nowadays It is also an important part of the curriculum of Vietnamese.school from the third grade of primary school To be good at English, students have to master a number of language skills; including listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as grammar McKay (1987) emphasizes that students need to have a good foundation of grammatical knowledge if they want to communicate effectively Ur (1988) states that a person who knows grammar is one who can express himself or herself in what would be considered as acceptable language forms Hence, grammar should be taught appropriately because the study of grammar was not just considered as an essential feature of language learning, but a sufficient element for learners to actually acquire another language (Rutherford, 1988 cited in Purpura, J.E., 2004)

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As an English teacher of Hung Vuong high school, Binh Phuoc province, the researcher herself recognizes that the tenth graders encounter many problems in grammar learning They may find it difficult to remember some grammatical points even those they have already learned since their lower secondary school Sometimes, they do not know how to use grammatical points in appropriate contexts or find grammar lessons rather boring and monotonous The researcher should think a game in this pace will make the lessons more interesting and motivating With games, students can practice the grammar points and relax at the

same time

For the mentioned reasons, the researcher would like to conduct a research

titled “Teaching grammar through games to the tenth graders at Hung Vuong high school, Binh Phuoc province” The study is to use language games as teaching and learning activities to make grammar lessons more meaningful and enjoyable and with a hope that this study will help the teacher of English at HVHS find appropriate strategies to improve English grammar teaching and learning 1.2 Purposes of the study

In general, this study aimed at finding the factors that affect teaching English grammar among the grade 10" students at Hung Vuong High School, Binh Phuoc province In particular, the experiment aimed at achieving the following objectives:

1 Examine the effect of using games on the students’ achievement of

grammar knowledge, and

2 Help the tenth grade students motivate in grammar lessons by using games in teaching grammar

1.3 Research questions

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1 How does teaching grammar with games affect learners’ achievement test? 2 How does teaching grammar with games help create other positive elements? 1.4 Significance of the study

The information and data gathered in this experiment could prove useful in giving insights to teachers of how to use grammar games in the teaching of grammar items It is hoped that through the use of grammar games, a more conductive environment will be created to enable both teachers and students to enjoy the lesson in a more meaningful and more interesting manner Therefore, this research benefits both the teachers and the students at Hung Vuong High School

As for English teachers at HVHS, after this study they can know more about the students’ problems in learning English grammar and the factors that affect their performance Therefore, the teacher can find ways to help their students overcome the problems as well as to apply useful teaching methods in their English classes

As for the students, thanks to the teachers’ understanding about their problems, they can be more active in learning English grammar in their class to improve their knowledge In addition, this thesis offers some suggestions which contribute to the improvement of students’ communicative competence as well as grammatical competence

1.5 Overview of thesis chapters

This thesis consists of five chapters including (1) Introduction, (2) Literature Review, (3) Methodology, (4) Data analysis and Discussions of findings and (5)

Conclusion and Recommendations

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Chapter 2 (Literature Review) covers the studies related to this study which consists of three main parts The first part deals with the concepts of grammar The second part gives the definition of games and how to apply them to teaching grammar The last part focuses on some prior studies related to using games in teaching grammar

Chapter 3 (Methodology) presents the research methodology employed to collect data with information about the setting of the research, the population, the instruments and the procedure of collecting data

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background to the research, this chapter is devoted to a critical review and analysis of the literature relevant to the study in three sections The first section (2.1) discusses the role of grammar in teaching and learning English The second section (2.2) gives definition of games and their application in teaching grammar The last section (2.3) discusses some previous studies that other researchers conducted in concern with using games in teaching English grammar

2.1 Grammar

2.1.1 Definitions of grammar

Through the history of teaching methodologies, there have been multiple definitions and conceptualizations of grammar proposed by scholars Radford (1997:1) initially believed that, traditionally, grammar not only shows interest in forming words, phrases, and sentences together but also concerns with the interpretation This belief was reasserted in 2004 by both Thornbury’s work (where he defined a language’s grammar as the study of possibilities of forms or structures in that language) and Abu Jeld’s work where he clarified grammar as:

The sounds and sound patterns, the basic units of meaning such as words and the rules to combine them to form new sentences constitute the grammar of a language These rules are internalized and subconsciously learned by native speakers

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Subsequently, there were a number of studies which tried to prove if explicit grammar teaching can lead to implicit knowledge of grammar For instance, Yu (2005:10) believed that, "grammar is not only a set of grammatical forms, but also it includes grammatical meaning and use as a whole" That is, grammar deals with three dimensions: form, meaning, and use This viewpoint was then reaffirmed by Yu (2005:11)’s figure of the three dimensions of grammar: GRAMMAR

1 Form / structure 2 Meaning / semantics 3 Use / pragmatics Morphosyntactic and Lexical meaning social

lexical patterns grammatical meaning Context linguistic

phonemic / grahpemic discourse context

patterns presuppositions about context

To sum up, grammar deals not only with rules but also with meaning and the usage of the grammatical structures This was also in accordance with Swan (2009)’s statement that, "grammar is the rules that show how words are combined, arranged or changed to show certain kinds of meaning”

2.1.2 The role of grammar in language teaching and learning

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regarded as a very essential part of the study of language and ideas In fact, grammar helps humans to analyze and describe their language

In 1984, Rinvolucri initially pointed out the central role that grammar plays in learning a second language: “all ways should be searched for which will focus student energy on the task of mastering and internalizing it.” Four years later, Ur (1988) stated that, “a knowledge — implicit or explicit — of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery of a language” because one cannot use words unless one knows how they should be put together To her point of view, grammar may furnish the basis for a set of classroom activities during which it becomes temporarily the main learning objective Therefore, “the learning of grammar should be seen in the long term as one of the means of acquiring a thorough mastery of the language as

the whole, not as an end in itself.”

Ur’s statement and viewpoint, as mentioned above, was in line with Abu Jeld (2004:6)’s observation that, many EFL students seek the opportunities to continue their study in foreign countries and they need to pass exams such as TOEFL and IELTS That is why students must be excellent at grammar to succeed in the exams As a matter of fact, students need rules, structure and accuracy practice which lead them to fluency The teacher should encourage fluency by offering climate of trust and support in the classroom through allowing pair-checking of answers before open-class checking as well as giving the class the chance to discuss a topic in small groups (Belchamber, 2007:2-3)

It is quite reasonable to see the importance of grammar, according to Harmer’s viewpoint (1987: 12):

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Firstly, teaching grammar helps students understand how the language works Apart from vocabulary, students need to know grammar to understand how it is written or how words are combined together to understand the proper meaning Without grammar or with a poor knowledge of grammar, they may get confused with complicated expression In other words, to teach grammar is to provide students with opportunities to use English in a variety of realistic situations in order to learn to communicate effectively Appropriate grammar techniques are embedded in meaningful, communicative contexts and then contributed positively to communicative goals They also promote accuracy within fluent and communicative language use

Secondly, according to Smith (2001:15), if neither do teachers pay attention to grammar nor they create opportunities for learners to improve grammar, learners are likely to stand the risk of fossilization or reach a point where they can cope with level of communication It is demanded of them by making use of their existing grammatical resources and communication strategies and probably with sufficient fluency Surely, they do not see the need to develop their linguistic abilities any further

In favour of the importance of grammar, Larsen — Freeman (1986:13) also affirmed that grammar is regarded as a skill rather than an area of knowledge Learners do not simply store knowledge about the language and its use They also need to develop an ability to do something They must have a chance of learning situations to overcome the knowledge problem It is true to say that, grammar is the

fifth skill besides four skills reading, writing, speaking, and listening Skill

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grammar is the basis for mastering four language skills When learners have concrete foundation of grammar, they feel easy to advance

In general, grammar is acknowledged to be important to language study in general and to language teaching and learning in particular Grammar is acquired naturally from meaningful input and opportunities to interact in the classroom More especially, learners can improve their grammar competence in a suitable environment without conscious focus on language forms However, this partly depends on the learning circumstances As a result, grammar teaching gains its significant role in English Language Teaching because highly developed language skills are difficult to be achieved without some knowledge of-grammar

2.1.3 Approaches used to teach grammar

There are some milestones in the development of English teaching methodologies in which grammar is taught through a variety of approaches Each of which has its own pros and cons as mentioned below

2.1.3.1 The Grammar-Translation Method (GTM)

Many researchers believed that the GIM was one of the most traditional methods that appeared between the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century It offered little beyond an insight into the grammatical rules attending the process of translating from the second to the native language It is the rule rather than the exception that ideas about language teaching and learning do not replace each other over night, but have a tendency to coexist for some time and often the future method takes up elements of interest from the previous method

According to Richards and Rodgers (1986:5), the GIM is “ a method for which there is no theory.” Nonetheless, there are some typical characteristics of the

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taught deductively, i.e the rules are presented before practical examples of the rules are given

This method is also referred to as explicit grammar teaching Lists of words and grammar rules are typically used in the classroom The point of departure in grammar is the sentence, whereas before the appearance of GTM the focus could be on the smaller parts of a sentence The GTM claims that, by focusing on the sentence, the procegs of language learning will be easier

In fact, what can be concluded from this method is that, grammar stays an important position However, its contribution to language learning is limited since it has shifted the focus from the real language to a "dissected body" of nouns, adjectives, and prepositions Thus, it fails to generate the communicativeness in grammar lessons

2.1.3.2 The Direct Method (DM)

At first, the DM (sometimes called the Natural Method) was considered as an answer to the teachers’ and learners’ dissatisfaction with the older GTM In light of this method, grammar and vocabulary are taught through direct translations, and thus written language is paid much attention Contrary to the GTM, instruction in the DM is supposed to be exclusive in the second language

Larsen-Freeman (2000:23) made a remarkable note that, the DM became popular as a result of the GTM’s ineffectiveness in preparing learners to use the languages communicatively That is why the principles of this method have been applied by language teachers for years

2.1.3.3 The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM)

The ALM was developed in the 1940s and dominated foreign language teaching in the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to address some of the perceived

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weaknesses of the DM In light of this method, grammar is considered the most important to students While the teacher drills grammar, students must repeat grammar patterns after their instructor

Additionally, this method fell short of promoting communicative ability as it paid excessive or undue attention to memorization and drilling while downgraded the role of context and world knowledge in language learning in general and in grammar in particular

After all, it was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation and errors were not necessarily bad or pernicious Due to weaknesses in performance, and more importantly because of Noam Chomsky's theoretical attack on language learning as a set of habits, the ALM is rarely the primary method of instruction today

2.1.3.4 Community Language Learning (CLL)

CLL was one of the so-called ‘designer’ methods which arose in the flurry of methodological experimentation in the 1970s, coming along with The Silent Way, Suggestopoedia, TPR, and so on

Larsen -Freeman (1986: 99-104, as cited in Lu, 2008:23) remarkably noted

that, the CLL does not focus on grammar Instead, grammatical patterns are

perceived in the teacher’s transcription of the students’ conversations and examined — in their native language with the teacher’s help

2.1.3.5 Total Physical Response (TPR)

TPR, as developed by Dr James Asher, is a method of teaching language by using physical movements to react to verbal input in order to reduce student inhibitions and lower their affective filter It allows students to react to language

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without thinking too much, facilitates long-termed retention, and reduces students’

anxiety and stress

TPR reflects a grammar-based view of language As stated by its inventor, “ most of the grammatical structure of the target language and hundreds of vocabulary items can be learnt from the skillful use of the imperative by the instructor” (Asher,

1977: 4)

TPR makes students use grammar in their daily life and thus helps them to succeed in language learning It helps to reduce students’ stress, yet students gain successful grammar acquisition However, it is a type of method for only beginners (children) because students learn the language with the objects, pictures and kits and they are treated as if they don’t have prior knowledge This method helps students internalize grammar in a perfect way and uses psychomotor systems to teach grammatical points

2.1.3.6 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

Developed in the 1970s and in critical reaction to the formal and boring types of exercises used under the ALM (‘drill-and-kill’ exercises), CLT (also referred to as communicative approach) is an approach that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language

According to CLT, grammar is taught as a means to help learners convey their intended meaning appropriately The teaching of grammar can be managed either deductively or inductively but focuses on meanings and functions of forms in

situational context and the roles of the interlocutors (Larsen, & Freeman, 1986: 132-

133) The overt presentation and discussion of grammatical rules are less paid attention to (Brown, 2000: 266-267, as cited in Lu, 2009: 24)

In brief, grammar can be taught inductively or deductively in CLT In fact,

some learners learn better through the context and the grammar rules afterwards

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while others need the rule in order to understand the rationale for the new

grammatical structure In addition, it depends on the kinds of grammatical points, which help teachers decide the ways of presenting grammar effectively

2.2 Games

2.2.1 What are games?

Games are regarded as a useful and important strategy to stimulate language acquisition Gamse have been defined in various ways Initially, Greenhall (1984) defined game as “an element of competition between individual student or teams in a language activity” Similarly, Richard (1992) stated that, game is an organized activity that usually has the following properties; a particular task or objective, a set of rules, competition between players, and communication between players by spoken or written language According to Hadfield (1999), game is an activity with rules, a goal, and an element of fun but should be used as an integral part of the language syllabus, not as an amusing activity for Friday afternoon or for the end of term Deesri (2002:3) argued that, games can help increase students’ proficiency It means that, playing games in the classroom can help students increase their ability in using language as they have an opportunity to use language with a purpose through provided situations

Also, game is defined as a form of play concerning competition, rules and fun Therefore, teachers should use games in teaching to attract students’ attention, reduce students' stress and give them the opportunity to communicate effectively (Deesri, 2002:1) According to Jung (2005:4), teachers use games to “encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency and communicative skills" In fact, games give students enjoyment and useful practice They should be used according to students’ reactions and responses Thus, games should not be a meaningless habit The element of surprise and variety should be noticed As a result, games are supposed to be attractive and interesting as well as that students feel happy when they participate

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in game-playing In addition, games strengthen the relationship between the teachers and the students Carrier (1985:1) and Leblanc (1998:1) suggested ten requirements for good English teaching One of them is about the style of teaching which should be entertaining

2.2.2 Game categorizations

According to Rinvolucri and Davis (1995), the teaching of English grammar is not simply a question of handling out clear and linguistic information to the

learners; but the teacher has to induce, seduce, and persuade the student into really

accepting and mentally creating weird and wonderful sentences Games that are used in teaching can be divided into categories in many different ways For instance, Hadfield (1999) explained two ways of classifying language games First, she divided language games into two types: linguistic games and communicative games Linguistic games were focused on accuracy, such as supplying the correct antonym On the other hand, communicative games were focused on successful exchange of information and ideas, such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one another but not exactly alike Correct language usage, though still important, was secondary to achieving the communicative goal

The second taxonomy that Hadfield used to classify language games had many more categories As with the classification of games as linguistic games or communicative games, some games would contain elements of more than one type

1 Sorting, ordering, or arranging games: For example, students had a set of cards with different products on them, and they sorted the cards into products found at a grocery store and products found at a department store

2 Information gap games: In such games, one or more people had information that other people needed to complete a task For instance, one person might have a drawing and their partner needed to create a similar drawing by listening to the information given by the person with the drawing

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Information gap games can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game just described, or a two-way information gap, in which each person had the unique information, such as in a Spot-the-Difference task, where each person had a slightly different picture, and the task was to identify the differences

Guessing games: These were a variation on information gap games One of the best known examples of a guessing game was 20 Questions, in which one person thought of a famous person, place, or thing The other participants could ask 20 Yes/No questions to find clues in order to guess who or what the person was thinking of

Search games: These games were yet another’-variant on two-way information gap games, with everyone giving and seeking information Find Someone Who was a well-known example Students were given a grid The task was to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name of a classmate who fit

that cell, e.g., someone who was a vegetarian Students circulated, asked and

answered questions to complete their own grid and to help classmates complete theirs

Matching games: As the name implied, participants needed to find a match

for a word, picture, or card For example, students placed 30 word cards

(composed of 15 pairs) and faced them down in random order Each person turned over two cards at a time, with the goal of turning over a matching pair, by using their memory This was also known as the Pelmanism principle which came after Christopher Louis Pelman- a British psychologist of the first half of the 20" century

Labeling games: These were a form of matching in which participants match labels and pictures

Exchanging games: In these games, students bartered cards, other objects, or ideas Similar are exchanging and collecting games

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8 Board games: Scrabble was one of the most popular board games that specifically highlighted language

9 Role-play games: The terms role play, drama, and simulation were sometimes used interchangeably but could be differentiated (Kodotchigova, 2002) Role play could involve students playing roles that they did not play in

real life, such as dentist, while simulations could involve students performing

roles that they already played in real life or might be likely to play, such as customer at a restaurant Dramas were normally scripted performances, whereas in role plays and simulations, students came up with their own words, although preparation was often useful

2.2.3 What kinds of games work best?

When the teacher is looking for games to use in class, don't just pick something to be a "time filler" that does not have any linguistic purpose These

games may entertain the students, but when the teacher doesn’t have much time, he

‘or she wants the game to do double duty to get the most out of the time he or she spends

Lin Hong (2002) - author of "Using Games in Teaching English to Young Learners"- explained that, not all games are for teaching the students language skills If the game is simply for fun and not linked to educational goals, it should not be used It is possible to have a fun game that is educationally sound, otherwise To find out if the game is educationally sound, think about these questions posed by Hong:

e Which skills do the games practice?

e What type of game is it and what is its purpose?

e Does the difficulty level of the game mesh with the students' ability level?

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e Does the game require maximum involvement by the students?

e Do the students like it? Does the teacher like it?

To add to these questions:

e What specific vocabulary or grammar is the teacher introducing or practicing with this game?

e Can the teacher keep control of class when playing this game?

e What materials does the teacher need for the game and be able to obtain these easily?

e What controls, if any are needed, will the teacher have in place to ensure the students are on track? |

e Competition is not always appropriate Is it possible to play a game for the sake of the game and in order not to define winners and losers? Here are some ways play down competition: - Do not keep score all the time, make sure the teams tie, play down any "winning", praise everyone, play until everyone has finished

e The winners are those who finish, not those who finish first, and

everyone finishes, etc

e Are the rules easy and clear?

To sum up, games are proved to be useful language teaching tool that should be employed in language classroom context Games offer students a fulfilled and relaxing learning atmosphere, a highly motivating class, and most importantly, they can give meaningful practice in language skills

2.2.4 How and when to employ games in language classroom

As for class organization when using games, Wright (1983) mentioned four

forms of them: class, individual, pair, and group work However, they found faults

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sentences in a lesson or, indeed, in a week They prove to be in favor of pair work and group work because according to them, pair work “provides opportunities for intensive listening and speaking practice” Games are mostly used when there is some time left at the end of the lesson to keep students quiet

However, Lee (1979:3) proposed that, “games should not be regarded as a marginal activity, filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do.” Needless to say, games should be put into the center of classroom teaching and they should not be treated as a merely warm-up activity

A decade later, Rinvolucri (1990:3) clarified that, a game can be used in any of these three stages while using them as a part of grammar instruction: a) before presenting a given structure, especially to find out diagnostically how much knowledge is already known by the learners; b) after a grammar presentation to see how much the group have grasped; c) as a revision of a grammar area Teachers should be well aware of their roles while using games in their classes Since it is rather difficult to find a game that meets all the needs of the learners, careful preparation of the teacher is necessary

McCallum (1980, pp x-xi) suggested that, the teacher should organize the game before the instruction The teacher may need some extra equipment or materials to play the game Specially, most of the time, these equipment and materials are not available in the classroom Before explaining the rules to the class, the teacher should first understand how the game is played Especially when working with children, the teacher should always be prepared to adapt the game to the givens of the class After choosing the game, the teacher should explain its rules to the learners in a direct and non-complicated way Especially for young learners, it may be necessary to use the mother tongue because if these learners cannot understand how to play the game, there is no educational purpose in playing it Therefore, demonstrations may be beneficial because they can help young learners

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understand the rules clearly and easily Moreover, the teacher is not recommended to interrupt a game to correct the mistakes of young learners

According to Celce-Murcia (1979:54), “interruptions should be as infrequent as possible so as not to detract from the student’s interest in the game An alternative to immediate correction is to make note of errors and discuss them when the game is

over” In other words, as sudden interruptions may distract learners’ attention, it is

better to wait until the game is over to discuss and correct the mistakes of the learners In addition, appropriate class organization

In addition, Rinvolucri (1984) used games in three ways:

1 Diagnostically before presenting a given structure area to find out how much knowledge of the area was already and disjointedly presented in the

group;

2 After a grammar presentation to see how much the group had grasped; 3 As revision of a grammar area

Many teachers considered it advisable to have a group leader However, from their experience, Wright et al., (1983) stated that, groups could operate perfectly well without a group leader The leader would normally be one of the more able learners However, there was much to be said for encouraging a reticent learner by giving the responsibility to him or her The leader’s role was to ensure that the game or activity was properly organized and to act as an intermediary between learners

and teacher

People belive that games are funny activities or a kind of entertainment which bring learners pleasure and relaxation In fact, games provide quite extensive practice opportunities for both general and specific skills as well as grammar structures They should be seen as an integral part of a teaching and learning language During my experiment, the researcher find that games can be used in some

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stages of the lesson such as warm-up, pre-grammar, while-grammar and post-

grammar to relieve tension or concentrate practice session Hence, it is important

that games must be prepared thoroughly Before the games are used in class, the researcher must be sure that the necessary facilities or aids are available The researcher then work out how the game is to progress, what students need to do, and how they will be instructed in what to do It will be important here to anticipate any problems and think about the solutions that may occur to be able to deal with them effectively The researcher must ensure that very clear instructions are given so that the students do not become confused Thus, most of the games that the researcher applied in experiment class were carried out smoothly and successfully

2.2.5 Benefits of teaching grammar with games

Bob Obee (1999:6) remarked in his book that, classroom games in general and language games in particular will help learners to proceduralise their grammar knowledge in ongoing communicative situations

In addition, Arif Saricoban and Esen Metin (2000)- authors of “Songs, Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar"- explained how and why games work for teaching grammar in class They said that, "Games and problem-solving activities have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, and are examples of the most preferable communicative activities." They went on explaining that, grammar games can help students not only gain knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning Moreover, games have the advantage of allowing the students to "practice and internalize vocabulary, grammar and structures extensively."

Aydan Ersoz (2000)- author of "Six Games for the ESL/EFL Classroom"- also explained more reasons why games do work for teaching grammar Learning a language requires constant effort and that can be tiring, but Ersoz outlines two good reasons why games should be included in the classroom as the folowings:

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e Games that are amusing and challenging are highly motivating e Games allow meaningful use of the language in context

While the purpose of games is to motivate the students, probably the best reason to use games is that "the use of such activities both increases the cooperation and competition in the classroom" (Saricoban, & Metin, 2000) Indeed, games can be used to supply excitement through competition or to create bonding among

students and between the students and teachers

Perhaps, students wish to play games purely for fun Teachers, however, need more convincing reasons ‘Teachers need to consider which games to use, when to use them, how to link them up with the syllabus, textbook or programme and how, more specifically, different games will benefit students in different ways’ (Khan, 1996) To use game successfully, the rules must be clear, the ultimate goal is well defined, and the game must be fun

In short, games are good activities for grammar lessons By using games in teaching grammar, the researcher realizes that students have a thorough grasp of grammar points and apply their understandings to suitable context Thus, teaching and learning grammar can be more successful and interesting with games

2.3 Empirical research

This part deals with previous studies conducted upon the effects of games on learning and teaching grammar It is known that game-strategy comes under the umbrella of implicit method which concentrates on an indirect way of teaching English as well as using enjoyment and interesting techniques in teaching the

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language; hence, studies on using games in teaching grammar keeps on being carried

out both outside and inside Vietnam

Torlakovic (2001) aimed to explore the extent to which grammar instruction contributes to improving learners’ performance and confidence in positioning adverbs in an English sentence Over a two-week period, two groups of ESL learners were exposed to 6 hours of grammar instruction One group had teacher-fronted instruction while the other was exposed to CALL software Both groups completed

identical tasks in terms of format, instruction, task, features, content, and feedback

The groups were given a pretest, an immediate posttest, and a delayed posttest Findings showed a significant improvement on the intuition task and a significant confidence improvement on both intuition and production tasks for the computer group The in-class and the control group showed significant gains It is hypothesized that frequency of exposure and practice accounted for the difference between the in-class and the computer group

Yu (2005) explored the effects of the use of games as a teaching strategy for raising the grammatical accuracy level of secondary student of German as a second language This thesis also sought to examine the effect of game-based grammar instruction on students’ motivation and classroom atmosphere In addition, it was explored that the use of game in practicing grammatical features might improve the students’ rate of accuracy, as well as create a more positive learning experience overall The participants in this study were divided into two groups, the control and experimental groups, and received 90 periods, over 18 weeks, of grammatical instruction by the same teacher The teaching program was the same for both groups The difference existed in the use of game-based practice for the experimental group, _while the control group performed traditional grammar-based practice only Data were collected by using the following instruments: grammar tests and examinations, a questionnaire on motivation, a questionnaire on classroom atmosphere, a questionnaire on the type of grammar practice, a questionnaire on the grammar and

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grammar instruction, focus group interviews with students, and the researcher’s field notes The findings of this study showed that the class became entirely student- centered The researcher noticed several differences in student behaviour He added that for the time in the classroom, instead of hearing a lot of Japanese, he heard predominately English spoken Also, he observes students interacting with native English speakers

Simultaneously, in his research called “How to teach Grammar

communicatively” and carried out at Nong Lam university with the involvement of 100 students and 10 teachers, Nguyen (2005: 78) suggested ways to present and practice new grammatical rules communicatively for students learning and enjoying at the same time The methodology he carried out included games that played an important part in teaching grammar communicatively Also emphasized in the results, “games are as “vital part” of a teacher’s equipment because they provide not only practice but also an amusing and challenging recipe from other classroom

activities

After that, Luong (2009) studied the application of games in grammar review lessons for sixth graders The study consisted of an experiment with the involvement of 8 teachers and 225 students from three high schools The results showed a dramatic improvement of students’ ability in using grammatical knowledge in written tests and oral performance as well

Then, in “Teaching and learning Grammar through games in the tenth grade at Hung Vuong high school”, Nguyen (2010) indicated the necessity of games to ease difficulties and to excite the atmosphere in teaching and learning Grammar The results emphasized that, teachers who just follow the tasks given in the textbook and do not create any games activities would lead a grammar lesson to a boring and hard-digesting experience to their students and surely, would not meet the need for more interesting and effective grammar lessons

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Although different in the fields studied, all the researchers above aimed at

showing difficulties and suggesting solutions for teaching and learning grammar to Vietnamese learners One of the best solutions is through games which meet the purpose of creating a relaxing and motivating atmosphere for most learners

However, the pedagogical implications suggested in the studies above were just about games carried out in traditional way in which teachers used handouts and pictures without the help of technology In addition, the researchers did not emphasize the necessity of carefully choosing games that are suitable for the content of the lesson and students’ level and ages as well

2.4 Chapter summary

This chapter has just presented the literature relevant to the study such as definitions of grammar, overview of grammar teaching methodology and types of games, as well as the application of games in teaching grammar In addition, some previous studies related to this study are also reviewed

To summarize this chapter, it can be said that grammar plays a very important part in teaching and learning English The application of grammar games is very necessary to develop students’ motivation and understanding of the lesson Those are the main points in the literature review that the chapter is concerned with to carry out the next step of the study in Chapter 3

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Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains five sections: the research design, the setting of the research, the subjects, the instruments for collecting data and the data collection procedure In other words, these sections explain when and where the study was carried out, what methods and approaches were employed, who were involved in the study, what instruments were used, and how the study was conducted

3.1 Research Design

This study was conducted in order to investigate the effectiveness of using games in teaching grammar in the tenth grade at Hung Vuong High School, Binh Phuoc province To gather necessary data, the researcher utilized descriptive methods Descriptive method is concerned with the present and attempts to determine the status of the phenomenon under investigation (Khan, 1990) Seliger & Shohamy (2000) say that descriptive research provides descriptions of phenomena that occur naturally without intervention of an experiment or treatment This descriptive research employs both quantitative and qualitative approaches to collect data According to Johnson & Christensen (2008), quantitative research relies primarily on the collection of quantitative data Qualitative research relies primarily on the collection of qualitative data Mixed research involves the mixing of quantitative and qualitative research approaches In this study, quantitative data were gathered through two questionnaires administered to the students and the teachers, as well as the results of tests and qualitative data were collected via class

observation

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Stages Steps Time Tasks Participants 90 students of d Carried out the Pre 2 classes (10 T 1 August 22°", 2012 * grammar test and 10 L) participated

Pre- Delivered 10 English

experiment 2 August 31%, 2012 Questionnaires to teachers teachers participated Delivered t 90 students of 3 | August 31°, 2012 Questionnaires to 2 classes (10 T students ; - and 10 L) September 1* - Experimental teaching 1 th participated November 5°, 2012 | from unit 1 to unit 5 Experiment TP hi November 10° — 25”, 90 students of 2 Class observation 2012 2 classes (10 T th Carried out the Post and 10L) 1 December 25", 2012 _ grammar test participated Post- Delivered ; 45 students of experiment th Questionnaires to 2 December 27", 2012 class 10 T students after ; ; participated experiment

Table 3.1: The steps of the experiment 3.2 Setting of the research

The study was conducted at Hung Vuong high school which is the first national standard high school in Binh Phuoc province The school has 39 classes with 105 teachers of different subjects Like other high schools in Vietnam, English has been a compulsory subject Currently, there are ten teachers of English and

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over 1600 students ranged from Grade 10 to grade 12 The students come from different districts in the province Most of them are good students, especially students in grade 10 who passed the entrance exam with high marks, compared to other high schools in Dong Xoai town as well as in Binh Phuoc province The school has ranked at the top of high school groups in Binh Phuoc province However, the teaching of English for Grade 10 has met many difficulties The first difficulty is that English is not paid much attention by most of students and their parents, even some teachers of other subjects Most of the students wish to pass the university entrance examination with science subjects such as Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology Not many students take university entrance exam in English, so they don’t have much interest in learning English The second reason is from teachers They often face up with many problems in monitoring work, giving feedback, setting up communicative tasks as well as paying attention to all students in a class The third belongs to the students who are at different levels in a class because the students who enter the school have a placement examination with other subjects They often feel quite afraid and pressured when learning English The last is the textbook and time allocation Both teachers and students claim that they do not have enough time to learn English with four skills at the same time but grammatical points are very important in all compulsory examinations required for

students

There are total 39 classes in Hung vuong High school, including fifteen classes of tenth grade, twelve classes of eleventh grade, and twelve classes of twelfth grade with a total of over 1600 students in this school The number of students in each class is from thirty six to forty five The average number of each class is forty three The syllabus and the English textbooks used in this school include “English 10” (Tieng Anh 10), “English 11” (Tieng Anh 11), and “English 12” (Tieng Anh 12) which are the continuation of the English textbooks at Secondary school published by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in 2006 Each textbook consists of 16 units, and each unit is divided into 5 periods