Using games in warm up activity to develop speaking skill for 10th form students = (sử dụng trò chơi trong hoạt động khởi động lớp để phát triển kỹ năng nói cho học sinh lớp 10)

With the result, speaking is an important skill and using games in warm –up activity make teaching and leaning more effective and interesting... For these reasons, the writer is interest

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USING GAMES IN WARM - UP ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP

(SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG KHỞI ĐỘNG LỚP ĐỂ

PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10)

GRADUATION THESIS FIELD: TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Supervisor : Nguyễn Thị Tường, M.A Student : Dương Thị Tài Linh Class : K49A - Anh

Vinh, May 2012

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DƯƠNG THỊ TÀI LINH

USING GAMES IN WARM-UP ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP

(SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG KHỞI ĐỘNG LỚP ĐỂ

PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10)

GRADUATION THESIS FIELD: TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Vinh, May 2012

invaluable contributions from many people for whom I am grateful including my teachers and my friends

First, I especially should like to express my deepest gratitude to my lecture, Mrs Nguyễn Thị Tường, M.A who helps me with her precious knowledge, assistance and gave me valuable advice, guidance, suggestions and support so that I can finish this thesis

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to all teachers in foreign languages department of Vinh University for their lectures and advice which are very useful for me to finish the study

Finally, My warmest thanks are due to my loving family and my friends for their encouragement, love and support to my process of writing the thesis

Although the study has been done with all my attempts, my limitations of ability and knowledge may cause of mistakes in the study Therefore, I would like to receive any remarks and comment from anyone of my study

Duong Thi Tai Linh

ABSTRACT

This study is conducted in an attempt to investigate "using games in warm –up activity to develop speaking skill for 10th form student" at Dan Toc Noi Tru Tinh high school in Thanh hoa city, Thanh Hoa In order to achieve the desired aims, the author has conducted a survey research using questionnaire and class observation With the result, speaking is an important skill and using games in warm –up activity make teaching and leaning more effective and interesting

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF TABLE v

LIST OF FIGURES vi

PART: I INTRODUCTION 1

1 Justification of the Study 1

2 Aims and Objectives of the Study 2

3 Methods of the Study 3

4 Scope of the Study 3

5 Format of the Study 3

PART II: INVESTIGATION 5

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 5

1.1 Speaking 5

1.1.1 Natural Speaking 5

1.1.2 The Roles of the Teacher in Developing Speaking Activities 5

1.2 Games 6

1.2.1 Definition of Game 6

1.2.2 The Roles of Games in Language teaching or learning process 7

1.2.3 Significance of Games in Teaching Speaking 8

1.2.4 Procedures and Categories of Games 9

1.3 Warm-up Activity 13

1.3.1 Definition 13

1.3.2 The Purposes of Warm-up Activities 13

1.3.3 Principles of Using Warm - up Activities to Develop Speaking Skill 16

CHAPTER 2: THE SURVEY 18

2.1 Research Setting 18

2.2 Textbook 18

2.3 Participants and their Background 19

2.3.1 The Teachers 19

2.3.2 The Students 20

2.4 Description of the Survey 20

2.4.1 Questionnaires from the Teachers 20

2.4.2 Questionnaires from the Students 21

2.4.3 Classroom Observation 22

2.5 Preliminary Results and Data Analysis 22

2.5.1 Results of Questionnaires from Teachers 23

2.5.2 Results of Questionnaires from Students 29

2.5.3 Results of Classroom Observation 34

CHAPTER 3: SOME SUGGESTED GAMES USED IN WARM - UP ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP SPEAKING SKILL 35

3.1 Suggestions of Using Games in Warm - up Activity to Develop Speaking Skill 35

3.2 Some Suggested Games Used in Warm - up Activity to develop Speaking Skill 36

3.3 Some Samples Applied in "Tieng Anh 10" (The New Textbook) 40

PART III : CONCLUSION 52

1 Recapitulation 52

2 Suggestions for Further Study 53 REFERENCES

APPENDIX

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Data collected from survey questionnaires for Teachers 23 Table 2: Data collected from survey questionnaires for Students 29

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Self-evaluation of teachers’ English speaking proficiency 24

Figure 2: The importance of speaking skill between other skills 24

Figure 3: Teachers’ opinion on the difficulties of teaching speaking skill 25

Figure 4: Teacher’ opinion about students’ interest in speaking activities 25

Figure 5: Teachers’ opinion on using games in warm- up activity to develop speaking skill 26

Figure 6: Teachers’ opinion on students’ participation games in warm - up activity 26

Figure 7: Teachers’ opinion on necessity of games in warm - up activity 27

Figure 8: Reasons of games’ necessity 27

Figure 9: Teachers attitudes towards difficulties on using games 28

Figure 10: Students’ opinion on English learning 29

Figure 11: Students’ evaluation on the importance of speaking skill between others 30

Figure 12: Students’ interest in speaking skill 30

Figure 13: Students’ opinion on the difficult level of speaking skill 31

Figure 14: Students’ confidence when speaking in front of class 31

Figure 15: Students’ evaluation on the teachers’ using game in warm - up 32 Figure 16: Students’ participation in games 33

Figure 17: Students’ felling when taking part in games in warm - up activity 33

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Justification of the Study

Nowadays, English is considered as one of the most popular language for everyone in the world For national aspect, English is the bridge

to cement ties between the countries It helps to overcome management of language and culture to narrow the gaps and helping them understand each other better In Viet Nam, English is an advantage when considering the recruitment industry Therefore, learning and proficiency English are becoming more and more necessary and popular for everyone, especially students who are the future owners of the country

As the demand to learn English grows, English has been made a compulsory subject in Vietnam secondary school Moreover, it has been made one of the six national examinations that students have to pass in order

to get the Secondary School Education certificate

In spite of the great significance of English in the new social context, English teaching, in many ways, failed to help learners communicate effectively The old textbook used in schools put much concentration on grammar and vocabulary while neglecting the role of communicating English Fortunately, the situation has changed since the new English textbook for secondary school was recomposed in 2006 The new English textbook has brought about new teaching approach - the communicative approach to secondary school The new one covers all four English skills:

listening, speaking, reading, and writing

In learning speaking skill, the students often find some problems The problem frequently found is that their native language causes them difficult

to use the foreign language Other reason is because of motivation lack to practice the second language in daily conversation They are also too shy

and afraid to take part in the conversation Many factors can cause the problem of the students' speaking skills namely the students' interest, the material, and the media among others including the technique in teaching English Many techniques can be applied including games because many research findings say that this technique is effective to use in teaching speaking

Warm- up activity is a short, fun game which a teacher can use with students Warm - up activities are essential techniques for good teachers and trainers Using games in warm - up activity can create more chances and interest to motivate students to speak and give them an opportunity to practice as well as prepare them new lesson

For these reasons, the writer is interested in analyzing "using games

in warm - up activity to develop speaking skill for 10 form students" at Dan

Toc Noi Tru Tinh high school, Thanh hoa city with the hope of helping teachers create the interests of their students and motivate them to undertake tasks to get the certain competence in using English

2 Aims and Objectives of the Study

In the frame of research papers, the writer would like to focus on:

 Provide an overview on Communicative Language teaching Approach and the nature of speaking skill

 Give a more detailed framework of using games in warm - up activity

to develop speaking skill

 Help teachers and students be aware of the role of using games in warm - up in speaking classes

 Give some features of the situation of teaching and learning speaking skill and using games in warm - up activity at high school

 Give some suggested games can be used in warm-up activity to develop students’ speaking skill

3 Methods of the Study

For the aim to develop speaking skill through games in warm -up, in the course of writing this paper, the author has used both qualitative and quantitative The data were collected and gathered by surveys questionnaire with the following procedure:

 Collecting information associated with speaking skills and games in warm - up activities from different sources: references, books, and Internets

 Conducting a survey on the real situation at high school by using questionnaire for both teachers and students

 Investigating and analyzing the results gained from the survey about the current situation of teaching and learning speaking skills and using games in warm - up to develop speaking skill at high school

 Synthesizing the survey results to suggest suitable games for teaching classes

4 Scope of the Study

Content of the thesis focuses mainly on using games in warm –up activity to develop speaking skill for 10th form students Only the most necessary knowledge about speaking skill and some games used to practice and develop speaking skill are mentioned in this thesis It focuses on students of the 10th form at Dan Toc Noi Tru Tinh high school Moreover, special attention is paid to the new textbook which is more difficult for teaching and learning process

5 Format of the Study

The study consists of three main parts: introduction, investigation, conclusion Excepting introduction and conclusion:

The main body (part 2: investigation) of the thesis is divided into three chapters:

 Chapter 1: theoretical background

In this chapter, the researcher provides a theories and review on key concepts relating to the research topic such as speaking, speaking activities, definition of games, its significance and types as well as purposes of warm-

up in developing speaking skill

 Chapter 2: The survey

This chapter covers the research design, the participants of the research, the data collection instruments and data collection procedures; and the data analysis method and results of investigation through interviews and questionnaires

 Chapter 3: Some suggested games used in warm –up activity to develop speaking skill as well as samples of games applied in

“Tieng Anh 10” (the new textbook) The conclusion, references and appendix come at the end of the

research paper

PART II: INVESTICATION CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Speaking 1.1.1 Natural speaking

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment and the purposes for speaking

Speaking skill is an oral productive skill Of all the four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), it seems intrusively the most important The people who know a language are referred to as speaker of that language, as if speaking included all other skills of knowing most foreign language learners are primary interested in learning to speak

1.1.2 The Roles of the Teacher in Developing Speaking Activities

Byrne in "Teach Oral English" suggests that the first task of a teacher

is "to create the best conditions for learning" The teacher is a means to end, and instrument to see that learning takes place as human being, he is of course a subtle and sensitive instrument who can not be sastisfactorily replaced by a mechanical" In addition to this general function, the teacher has specific roles to play at different stages of the learning process

1.1.2.1 The Presentation Stage: The Teacher as Informant

At this stage, the teachers' main work is to serve as a kind of informant or to provide learners with information To teach a new language point, teachers need both to estabish the mechanics of a lesson efficently and

to choose context and activities that will increase students' motivation and the perception of their need to learn

1.1.2.2 The Practice Stage: The Teacher as Conductor and Monitor

At the practice stage, the teacher has to consider not only how to make the tasks both sufficiently controlled and purposeful for students, but also in what order to carry them out The most important classroom activity of the teacher is to initiate and manage activities that provide students with opportunities for effective practice

1.1.2.3 The Production Stage: The Teacher as Guide, Monitor, Adviser, Encourager

This stage is the best time for students to develop strategies for communication that an over concentration on presentation and practice would almost certainly inhibit The teacher initiates a situation, task, topic,

or activity but will not intervene or manage it He does not correct errors and task at all

1.2 Games 1.2.1 Definition of Game

There are many definitions of games In the Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics (1985), game is defined as an organized activity that usually has the four properties: a particular task or objective, a set of rules, competition between player and communication between players by spoken

Hadfield (1984: 3) states that a game is an activity with rules, a goal, and an element of fun Greenal (1984) has defined games as one kind of activity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired, and which occurs during the free stage of a lesson or during occasion such as English club meetings

In the long run, each of them has developed their own concepts of game, all the above - mentioned definitions refer to the features of a games

It is an activity governed by rules It is of fun and it has a goal or an objective

1.2.2 The Roles of Games in Language Teaching and Learning Process

According to Hadfield (1990: 10) game is considered to be an integral part of any language syllabus for some reasons Games provide an opportunity for intensive language practice, offer a context in which language is used meaningfully and as a means to an end, and act as a diagnostic tool for the teacher, highlighting areas of difficulty Last but certainly not least, although the above discussion has tended to focus on methodological considerations, one of the most important reasons for using games is simply that they are immensely enjoyable for both the teacher and students

Using games in the language classroom brings a great deal of benefits

in the teaching and learning process Some of them are the sheer enjoyment

of a movement of relaxation after some arduous drilling, or as a short respite after prolonged deskwork

As mentioned above, the goal of Communicative Language Teaching

is communicative competence Therefore, the need for spontaneous and creative use of language is also very important One recognizes the significant role of games in achieving these objectives Students in the informal atmosphere of game play are less self-conscious and therefore more

apt to experiment and freely participate in using the foreign language In addition, games automatically stimulate students’ interest Properly introduced games can be one of the highest motivating techniques

McCallum (1980) refers to eight points of using games in the language class

1 They focus student attention on specific structures, grammatical patterns and vocabulary items

2 They can function as reinforcement, review and enrichment

3 They involve equal participation from both slow and fast learners

4 They can function as reinforcement, review and enrichment

5 They contribute to an atmosphere of healthy competition, providing an outlet for the creative use of natural language in a non-stressful situation

6 They can be used in any language teaching situation with any skill area whether reading, writing, speaking or listening

7 They provide immediate feedback for the teacher

8 They ensure maximum student participation for a minimum of teacher preparation

Language teaching and learning are hard work Therefore, having justified the result as well as enjoying the term, the teacher should take advantages of using games appropriately

1.2.3 Significance of Games in Teaching Speaking

There are hundreds of games that can be used in some connections with language teaching, especially in speaking class We shall be looking at ways in which games can be integrated with teaching so that they become a positive part of it rather than a time - filler or, even a time waster

In speaking class, they seem to be more important because it is not easy for students to start talking in the target language in front of class without any interesting things

Here are three main teaching aims of carrying out games in speaking class

1 Students will participate in lively, active lessons where they do most of the talking but not the teacher Among four basis language skills, speaking requires a lot of skills To be good at speaking means that learners are good at many other language fields such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, phonetic and so on Thus, it is difficult for students to speak naturally Certainly, with high motivation by using games, we can do everything better The necessity of using games is obvious

2 Students will use their English more naturally, less - consciously Their concentration will be on solving the problem posed by games and not on the language they use to solve the problem Playing games with English can help students to speak Games bring motivation and inspiration to student study Students are usually afraid of speaking in the full class because of the fear of correcting mistakes or because they have nothing to say However, in games atmosphere they are eager to compete with other classmates, which impulses them to talk

to solve the problem

3 Students will get used to working together in small groups and teams Playing with language games will help to create a friendly working atmosphere Admittedly, students have to join speaking activities in class but it will not successful if they learn to speak reluctantly However, games used in language class are fun, rather simple and in

favor of students, so they can easily get learners engaged in and make students want to express to share their ideas with others

In conclusion, the teacher should be aware of teaching aims of using games in developing speaking skill and try to use varied kinds of games frequently in class time to change the atmosphere, bring some innovative things to language class to motivate students and make them active and dynamic in studying

1.2.4 Procedures and Categories of Games 1.2.4.1 How to use Games?

When using games, the first question will come to the mind is “How

to use games ?” this is very important and useful This is something you should know when thinking about using games:

Even though games are usually started with the aim of having fun, they can sometimes end badly, for example if someone gets carried away with all the fun and says or does something that hurts someone else or his feelings When games are used in the classroom the teacher must keep this

in mind and control the game in the right way Also he or she must make sure that every participant has a positive experience because the classroom must not become a place where students feel vulnerable or picked on in Another thing that is important to acknowledge is the fact that not all games fit the classroom environment, or all groups of students, and that it can be hard finding the right game In fact, it is good to keep in mind when selecting a game that a recipe for a good educational game is one that balances both fun and challenge (Steve Sugar.1998.p xvi)

Another point that teachers need to keep in mind is to choose wisely when it comes to selecting a game to use in the classroom because; although one game might be perfect for one teacher or a particular group of students it can be terrible for another teacher or group of students (Ingvar

Sigurgeirsson.1995.p.3) First of all, the teacher has to look at the group that will be participating in the game and he or she then has to set out a goal for the group which the game should aim towards (Alanna Jones 1998.p 14) Selecting an appropriate game for a specific group of students who are working towards a specific goal can be tricky because, for example, they need to make sure that the game is relevant to the subject, that it fits their students’ age and, teachers must remember not to select a game that is too complicated because that might result in a loss of interest amongst the students, or even defeat Also teachers must make sure they explain the rules

of the game in detail and that all instructions are clear before starting the game During the game it is important for the teachers to observe and be ready to help, but without unnecessarily interrupting the flow of the game because that might affect the fluency, which could result in discouraging students from participating It is important for teachers to know that augmenting a game is allowed and can certainly be necessary in some cases More difficult games can be made easier so they become a challenge instead

of to hard for less skilled or younger students and vice versa (Hadfield.1990.p v)

Although games can usually be modified to suit students of various ages, there are certain characteristics in games that appeal to children within specific age groups For children age 6-8 repetition is common in games, rules are often few, and the games usually do not take a very long time When it comes to children age 9-11 they have patience for longer games, which often include much more suspense Also when children reach this age they start to be able to augment the games themselves, for example to bend the rules to make the game more suited for their group For children older than 12 games are often much more planned and they often emphasize teams and teamwork (Þórey Guðmundsdóttir.1987.p 6)

1.2.4.2 Games Categories

Games that are used in teaching can be divided into categories in many different ways One way of dividing educational games is by categorizing them into groups depending on their models Ingvar Sigurgeirsson (1995) has divided games into the following categories:

1 Games for dividing larger groups into smaller groups: Within the

group: games for dividing larger group into smaller groups, there are games that can be used prior to some group activity in order to divide the whole

group into smaller groups

2 Introduction games: This category might include games like:

“Searching for people” where students have to walk around the classroom and find students that have for example lived on a farm, been to Spain or eaten Mexican food and of course they would have to use the target

language in order to get the necessary information

3 Group games: An example of a group game is the game “Fruit

basket” which emphasizes listening, memory and reflexes, all of which are good and necessary skills to possess This game could easily be augmented

to suit different situations or to train some other vocabulary just by using other categories of words, for example clothes, names of relatives, or

different types of food instead of fruits

4 Physical games: An example of a physical game is “Walking the

line” where participants have to walk a line and perform various types of tasks at the same time, for example walking backwards, or balancing a book

on their heads

5 Scavenger hunt games: Savage hunt games are especially fitting in

the language classroom because the clues can be written in the target language, which forces the participants to read and fellow team members to

listen and test their understanding

6 Educational games: The “mail game” where participants have to

deliver “mail” and make sure it gets to the right places works as an excellent example of an educational game For languages a good idea would be to

work around a theme of a certain place, such as the home

7 Theoretical expression games: The game “who am I?” fits perfectly

into the theoretical expression category In this game the class is usually divided into two teams and then one by one students stand in front of the whole class and act out a specific profession, which the teacher has given

them

8 Drawing - and coloring games: An example of a game from the

category: drawing - and coloring games can be a game called “drawing in a

foreign language”

9 Educational card games: One educational card game is Bingo

(Ingvar Sigurgeirsson.1995.p 138), which is an excellent activity to use in

language teaching because the teacher can draw words and the students only

have pictures on their bingo cards or vice versa That way the students have

to understand the words to be able to match it to the right picture

10 Word games: Word games can be especially good for language

teaching Included here are crossword puzzles and word searches where students get the words in their native tongue but they are hidden in the word

search and only match the crossword puzzle in the target language

11 Story games: An excellent example of a game from the category:

story games, is the game “to tell a story” The participants sit in a circle and

one of them gets the role of the story teller The teacher whispers one word into the ear of each student and asks him or her to remember it

12 Question games: A good game in the category: question games, is

the game “riddles about European countries” The students get divided into

pairs and each pair gets assigned a specific country and the task of preparing

a small riddle about it

1.3 Warm - up Activities 1.3.1 Definition

Warm - up activities is a kind of short activities which is used to break the “ice” in classroom and make it “hot” from the beginning of each period

of language class They are short, simple, and interesting enough to motivate

students to learn a foreign language better

1.3.2 The Purposes of Teaching Warm - up Activities

Warm - up activity is a short, fun game which a teacher or trainer can use with students The purpose of a warm up is to:

 Encourage the students: Structured warm - up activities, such as a question - and - answer session or a simple student - led activity, gets everyone involved in the lesson In any classroom, there are always students who are more reticent and are willing to let others do all the participating By engaging students to take part in a low-risk, warm-

up activity, a teacher will reach every student and will help their students achieve their language goals

 Wake them up - first thing in the morning and after lunch people are often a little sleepy

 Prepare them to learn by stimulating their minds and /or their bodies

as well as introduce the topic of the new lesson: Learning a new language involves training mind, mouth and ear Whether it is at work

or at home, most students will spend the majority of their day listening and speaking in their own language Whether it is asking and answering simple questions, listening to music or watching a cartoon, warm-up activities tune the student's ear to English nuances Getting

the student used to the English language is the first step in language acquisition

 Get students’ attention - when students step into the classroom, they are coming from a wide range of busy lives Warm - up activities will help them to turn off the outside world and focus on the task at hand

By the end of your warm - up activity, every student will be ready to learn Being able to focus on their language lesson instead of their shopping list will have your students ready to learn

 Review - a warm - up activity is the perfect time to review language skills presented in the previous English lesson Some students will have mastered these skills since the last session and will be proud to show them off, and others will be happy to have the chance to review material they are not completely comfortable with yet Reviewing the material in a warm - up activity that is different from the one you used

to practice the English language skill in the last lesson will also give your students the opportunity to hear and use the material in a new way before moving on to the next lesson

 Scaffolding - starting a new lesson with English the students are already comfortable with will help ESL instructors present new language skills with little student confusion By scaffolding new knowledge on previously acquired English, students will be eager to add to their growing language base Starting from a solid foundation will allow teachers and students to move smoothly through the curriculum

Moreover, warm- up activities are particularly useful:

 To help new students or trainees to get to know each other

 To mark the shift when students have finished learning about one topic before starting on a new topic

 To set the tone of the lesson For example, an activity that students find too difficult or confusing can prove discouraging In comparison, a fun activity which raises energy levels

 To get students to begin thinking and focusing on English It may have been a few days, a week, or even longer since they last used English A little time here will improve receptivity later

 To provide a transition into the topic An activity at the start of the lesson activates pre-existing knowledge on a subject, and may even get students to use (or consider) some of the ideas, vocabulary, or even grammar important to the lesson

 To allow the teacher important opportunities to assess character and ability After all, some students work well together, and others

do not Some students have good days, and others bad During the initial activity, the teacher can determine who will form the best groups for subsequent activities

In short, warm - up activities are essential teaching techniques for teachers and trainers

1.3.3 Principles of Using Warm - up Activities to Develop Speaking Skill

As mentioned above, we can not deny the necessity of using warm -

up activity in speaking class in particular, in language class in general However, it may cause bad effects on lessons if teachers do not understand the principles of using warm - up activities in speaking class in high school The first and the most important principle is good preparation Teachers can not bring into play the role of warm - up 2 if they are not well prepared before class All things relating to the activity used in class should

be ready and in good condition in advance If not, it will waste class time and make students bored

To have a good preparation, teachers should know for sure the purpose of using this activity (to get students talk, to start class or to introduce the content of the coming lesson), how to carry out it and how it is carried the most effectively and what are necessary for the activity This helps teachers be clear and correct in choosing an activity

The second principle is that activities must be short and simple That

is these activities take only about five minutes at maximum, and these are easy for the comprehension of the students They help students to relax and loose pressure - a good preparation before beginning a new lesson If they are too difficult, they will ask students to work a lot, make them tired and they can not be motivate to study well in the coming class time If the warm

- up activity is too long to finish, teacher may not complete the compulsory lesson as planned, because warm - up activities only play the role of bringing inspiration to students before they start new lesson

Another principle is that chosen activities or games should be as interesting as possible As already mentioned, warm - up activity acts as icebreaker in few first minutes of the class and give students motivation It is this feature that is the force of warm - up activities, without it, warm - up activities become useless That is why it must be exciting enough to simulate the students, help them be in good mood during the class time Therefore, teachers should be able to know what the students like, what they are interested in and what are suitable for the psychological characteristics of the students

One more principle is that warm - up activity’s language must be at the suitable level to students As we know, only little time spent on it and it

is simple, so the language level that activity requires must be simple as well Students will find eager to join the activity if the language used is easy and

popular with what they are taught They may loose their keen if they have to work hard to find vocabulary to use in this activity

Moreover, warm - up activities must be varied Do not carry out the same type of activity for all class time Teacher should think of different types

of games use in warm - up activity alternatively and flexibly Taking this principle in a special consideration will take the boring and monotony atmosphere of the class away and make students excited about warm - up activities

Last but not least, for speaking class, warm - up activity must be mainly oral That is, it requires much of learners’ talking time, so that they will not find hard to get involved in the new speaking period Teachers had better be careful in selecting the types of warm - up activity in order to take advantages of them the most

To sum up, to bring into play the effectiveness of warm - up activities

in developing speaking skill as well as in language class, teacher should take these above principles into consideration before making decision on which activity is the best Surely, it is impossible for teacher to cover all principles

at the same time, this task can be well done if the teacher is very skillful in planning lessons

CHAPTER II: THE SURVEY

This chapter will present the research design of the study Firstly, it begins with the overview of the survey and interviews and then description them Next techniques in data collection will be detailed Then, it is the procedure of the data collection Finally, the results of the study will be shown in table For each table, there will be an interpretation of the results and explanation of the study’s survey and interview

2.1 Research Setting

The study was conducted at Dan Toc Noi Tru Tinh - high school, Thanh Hoa city where English is taught as a foreign language and where I have two months to practice teaching Students here are supposed to have five periods per week (each period includes 45 minutes) and their procedure lasts 20 weeks a terms

Nowadays, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation are put much

concentration on because the two most important English examinations in Vietnam, the school final examination and the university entrance examination, still focus on them Despite this, with Communicative Language Teaching approach, Dan Toc Noi Tru Tinh’s students can

gradually develop all four skills including speaking, reading, listening and writing

2.2 The Textbook

“Tieng Anh 10” textbook consists of sixteen units for two terms Each unit focuses not only on four different language skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing but also such language elements as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary

Speaking lesson is the second one in each unit introduced just after reading lesson These speaking lessons are under the tendency theme-based and task-based approaches In general, the textbook provides students with a variety of topics and speaking activities with the aim of helping students improve their speaking skill To be more specific, some of the topics are of the students’ interest such as talking about one’s daily activities (unit 1) or talking about an excursion (unit 11), etc However, there are some speaking topics that are unfamiliar and far from the students’ background knowledge such as talking about different types of media and their uses (unit 7), talking about the new kinds of zoos (unit 10) Consequently, the students will lose

their interest during the lesson Therefore, an effective technique should be exploited to motivate students in these speaking lessons

2.3 Participants and their Background

The participants of this study concludes six teachers and 180 10th form students of Dan Toc Noi Tru Tinh high school and 46 the 4th year major of English students who have time of observation and practice teaching English

10 (the new textbook)

2.3.1 The Teachers

Because teachers are core subject of this research, five teachers were invited to share their experience and ideas on the investigate issue First, they did the survey questionnaire All teachers were female, which was commonly seen in high schools Their ages are at the middle between 27 and

45 years old The number of years of teaching English ranged from 5 to 23 years As a result, their valuable experience and knowledge could make major contribution to the research

Moreover, the researcher still invited 45 the 4th year major of English students of Vinh university who will become teachers in near future All of them have experience of the ways teaching English at high school in their observation period and practice teaching Therefore, their experience and knowledge could make the research have better value

2.3.2 The Students

The focus of the research is on using games in warm - up activities to develop speaking skill for 10th form students In total, 180 students from 6 classes joined in this study and did the survey questionnaire Most of students come from ethnic minorities of Thanh Hoa Most of them have learnt English for 5 to 6 years and some others for 3 to 4 years Eventhough, some students said that they have just learnt English for some months

because they are from ethnic minorities It means that they are belong to intermediate level and now they have three periods of English per week

2.4 Description of the Survey

During the practice teaching time, the author had opportunities to observe some teaching period models and to be close the students and to teach them in some periods of English, the writer partly realized that the attitudes of the teachers towards speaking skill and using warm –up activity

in the lessons as well as the attitudes of students towards English in general and spoken English in particular To make it clearer and gather all information needed for the graduation thesis, the writer prepared the survey questionnaire for both teachers and students including 21 questions There are 10 questions for teachers and 11 for students (both English and Vietnamese versions) The questions of the survey are designed short, clear and easy to understand and answer including close-ended and open - ended questions The context of the questions is related to using games in warm -

up activity to develop speaking skill for 10th form students

2.4.1 Questionnaires for the Teachers

The survey is designed with 10 questions The objectives of the survey are to find out some things as follows:

 Teachers’ evaluation about their speaking English proficiency

 The teachers' attitudes towards speaking skill

 The teachers' attitudes towards using games in warm - up activity in teaching speaking

 The students’ participation in games in warm - up activity

 The teachers’ difficulties and expectations when conducting games in warm - up activity

 The teachers' suggestions about some games can use in warm - up activity to develop speaking skill

2.4.2 Questionnaires for the Students

The survey is designed with 11 questions both English and Vietnamese versions which are intended to find out students' attitudes towards learning English, especially speaking skill and their behaviors in warm - up activity, the reality of using games in warm - up activity and their expectation and pretences for using games in warm - up to develop speaking skill as well

The survey questionnaires focus on:

 The general information about the students: their English experience

 The students' attitudes towards learning speaking in class

 The current situation of learning speaking skill at high schools

 The students' perception about the reality of using games in warm –up activity to develop speaking skill

 The students’ attitudes towards participation in games in warm –up activity

 The students' suggestions about some games can use in warm –up activity to develop speaking skill

 The students' expectations and preferences for using games in warm - up activity

2.4.3 Classroom Observation

The classroom observation is accomplished so that the investigator could witness the participation of the students in class activities Seliger and

Shohamy (1995: 162) indicate that “observations are most often used to collect data on how learners use language in a variety of settings, to study language learning and teaching processes in the classroom and to study teachers’ and students’ behaviors”

The information about teaching method of the teachers is collected through observation In observations, the researcher uses a tool that specified

in exact terms what the observer should focus on and specified data that can

be gathered Based on interactions between the teachers and students in classroom, the information about the participation of the students is collected

Bailey (1991: 3) confirms “to make your record more focused you may decide in advanced what you are going to look for, make an observational schedule with the categories you consider appropriate, and then record what happens under those category headings”

2.5 Preliminary Results and Data Analysis

After investigating the teachers and students by using the survey questionnaires, the answers gained some sort of interesting and truthful information concerning the matter under research The survey questions for both teachers and students will be found in the appendixes

2.5.1 Results of Questionnaires from the Teachers 2.5.1.1 Presentation of the data

Table 1: Data collected from survey questionnaires for Teachers

 Teachers’ self-evaluation on their speaking English proficiency

Figure 1: Self - evaluation of teachers’ English speaking proficiency

As the descriptive statistic in figure indicates that up to 60% of teachers appreciate that their speaking English proficiency are fairly good while the percentage of students think that they are average is 28% and at a level of good is 12% Nobody thinks that they have weak English speaking proficiency

 The importance of speaking skill (question 2)

Figure 2: The importance of speaking skill between other skills

As can be seen, the data in figure 2 shows that the biggest percentage

of students sees that speaking skill is the most important skill in the four skills: listening, writing, reading and speaking Only 10% of students think that speaking skill as important as others

Series1

 Teacher’ attitude towards teaching speaking skill (question 3 and 4)

Figure 3: Teachers’ opinion on the difficulties of teaching speaking skill

The descriptive static in figure 2 indicates that the majority of the participants (90%) find the importance of speaking skill Looking at the figure 5, it is clear that teachers have different viewpoints about the level difficulty of speaking skill There are 48% of students find that speaking skill is very difficult Only some teachers reveal teaching speaking skill easy and the percentage of teachers thinks that teaching speaking very difficultly (22%) and normally (26%) are nearly equal

Figure 4: Teacher’ opinion about students’ interest in speaking activities

We can see from figure 4 that as teachers’ opinion, the percentage of their students who are quite interested in speaking activities (44%) is the

higher than the ones who are very interested in or who are not really interested in these (20%) Even 10% teachers see that their students are bored with speaking activities

 Teachers’ attitudes and perspectives towards using games in warm

- up activity to develop speaking skill

Figure 5: Teachers’ opinion on using games in warm - up activity to develop

speaking skill

As being shown clearly from the figure, all the teachers who are involved in the survey agree that they have ever applied games in warm - up activity However, the level of using games in warm - up activity is different Teachers who always use games in warm - up activity are 30% while up to 60% of teachers sometimes use games and only 10% of them rarely use

 Teachers’ attitudes towards students’ participation

Figure 6: Teachers’ opinion on students’ participation games in warm - up

activity

For teachers’ opinions, there are 100% of students join in games in warm

- up activity The number of students sometimes takes part in games are highest (50%) and 36% of them always take part in while 14% rarely join in games

 Teachers’ opinion on necessity of games in warm - up activity

Figure 7: Teachers’ opinion on necessity of games in warm - up activity

The data in figure 7 shows that up to 52% of teachers find using games in warm - up activity is very necessary and 40% of them think this is necessary whereas only some teachers (8%) find using games in warm - up activity is not necessary

Figure 8: Reasons of games’ necessity

40%

52%

8%

very necessary necessary not necessary

Simulate motivation

get out inhibition creat great fun all