An investigation into teachers perceptions and using games to facilitate students learning english vocabulary at tien giang high school for gifted students

To lighten the burden of teaching and learning vocabulary of both teachers and students, numerous methods are introduced to teach vocabulary and using games to teach vocabulary has been

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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1.1 Rationale

In the introduction part of their article 'Learning Vocabulary through Games' in

the Asian EFL Journal in 2003, Nguyen & Khuat (2003, p.2) pointed out the

importance of vocabulary:

In learning a foreign language, vocabulary plays an important role It is one element that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing all together In order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately

Uberman (1998) states that vocabulary acquisition is increasingly viewed as crucial to language acquisition Wilkins (1972) emphasizes that while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed However, Uberman (1998) also points out that learning vocabulary is often perceived as a tedious and laborious process In the introduction about vocabulary, Hadfield (1999, p.4) said:

Remembering new words is hard Words are slippery things: before you know it, they’ve wriggled away and are gone It takes a lot of effort to keep them where you want them

To lighten the burden of teaching and learning vocabulary of both teachers and students, numerous methods are introduced to teach vocabulary and using games to teach vocabulary has been proved effective for years Games have been believed to add fun to classroom, lower anxiety, give students more opportunity to develop their language skills, problem-solving skills, cooperative and social skills and so on

Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) After all,

learning a language involves long-term efforts Games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily Games can also lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely (Richard-Amato, 1988, p.147) In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better (Wierus & Wierus 1994, p.218) Moreover, games are highly motivating since they are amusing and at the same time challenging (Aydan Ersoz, 2000) They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994, p.118) They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson Furthermore, games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing and a number of skills are often involved in the same game (Lee, 1995) The learners want to take part and in order to do so must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) In addition, games provide a context for meaningful communication Even if the game involves discrete language items, such as

a spelling game, meaningful communication takes place as students seek to understand how to play the game and as they communicate about the game: before, during, and after the game (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005) Games also encourage and increase cooperation (Aydan Ersoz, 2000) Many games can be played in small groups, thereby providing a venue for students to develop their skills in working with others, such as the skill of disagreeing politely and the skill of asking for help (Jacobs & Kline Liu, 1996)

On the market, there are several teaching materials available about vocabulary games such as “Communication Games” & “Vocabulary Games” by Jill Hadfield (1984,1990, 1997, 1999), “Top Class Activities: 50 Fun Games and Activities by Top ELT Writers” by Series Editor: Peter Watcyn-Jones (1997) However, most of the

materials focus on introducing a variety of ready-made games in order to serve the purpose of teaching one specific language item without mentioning to the principles of using vocabulary games, their limitation and unanticipated problems Moreover, most games in such materials are designed without basing on any current course books and without associating closely with a typical type and age of learners Teachers, therefore, find it difficult to apply them in reality

At Tien Giang High School for Gifted Students (TGHSGS), students, especially grade 12 students have seemed to be so absorbed in the subjects required in the university entrance exam that they ignore English while most of the teachers have used more and more games in their teaching vocabulary to students to facilitate the students’ English vocabulary learning Nevertheless, up to now, there has been no research into

it This reason, together with the need of finding out whether using games to teach vocabulary really helps the students at TGHSGS in their English vocabulary learning and whether it is necessary to use games to teach vocabulary at TGHSGS, has urged

me to conduct the research “An Investigation into Teachers’ Perceptions and Using Games to Facilitate Students’ Learning English Vocabulary at Tien Giang High School for Gifted Students.”

1.2 Research aims

This thesis focuses on the 3 following main objectives:

- To find out the teachers’ perceptions of games in teaching English vocabulary

- To explore the teachers’ using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary

- To look at the difficulties that teachers meet while using games to teach English vocabulary

1.3 Scope of the study

This study was carried out at TGHSGS Eight teachers of English and ninety grade-12 students were asked to complete the questionnaires and answer the interview questions related to using games to teach English vocabulary in the textbooks of Basic English 10, 11 & 12

1.4 Significance of the study

The thesis hopes to offer a new insight into games as a practical and effective teaching device so that teachers of English can prepare students a good stock of vocabulary to be ready to take any examinations in high schools It also contributes to the literature of using games in teaching vocabulary

1.5 Research question

The research questions are:

1 What are teachers’ perceptions of using games in teaching vocabulary?

2 How are games used to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary?

3 What difficulties do teachers face in using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary?

1.6 An overview of the thesis

The thesis consists of five chapters

Chapter 1 (Introduction) describes the general area to be studied in the thesis This includes the rationale for the thesis, research aims, scope and significance of the

study and research questions

In Chapter 2 (Literature review), there will be a coverage of the concepts about the process of vocabulary acquisition, the affective filter operating the process of learning vocabulary The theory of motivation and its types and the theory of games will also be reviewed This chapter also presents the previous studies related to

Chapter 3 (Methodology) will describe the details of the research method, including the techniques, the participants and the instruments

In Chapter 4 (Findings and discussion), the data collected from questionnaires, interviews and class observations will be presented and analyzed thematically Interpretations and comments will also be offered

The last chapter (Conclusion, implications, limitations and suggestions for further study) will summarize the key findings of this study, and discuss the limitations

of the research This chapter also gives suggestions for teaching vocabulary and implications for teaching vocabulary through games and unanticipated problems that may occur for both teachers and students during a vocabulary class This chapter will also recommend some directions for further research into using games in teaching high school students

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.2.1 Definitions

According to Webster (1913), vocabulary can be defined roughly as the words

people reach in the foreign language That is a set of words known to a person or other entity To Lang (1995), vocabulary is the stock or repertoire of words from which to name or describe phenomena within a language or knowledge base Words and vocabulary are used interchangeably in this study The knowledge of words, according

to Harmer (1991), exists on various levels, which seem to be language universals, including knowing their forms, meanings, uses, formation and grammatical functions (see Figure 2.1.1)

This study, as mentioned in chapter 1, aims at finding out teacher’s perceptions

of games in teaching English vocabulary and teacher’s using games to facilitate students’ learning vocabulary, learning all the words required in the textbook However, all the aspects of a word cannot be surveyed In this thesis, the writer only attached special importance to the aspects of knowing a word: word meaning because the knowledge of word meaning is considered one of the prerequisites of knowing a

word The study does not have the ambitions to investigate other aspects of vocabulary

“Knowing a word” can be summarized in the following way:

Figure 2.1.1: Knowing a word - (Harmer, 1991:148)

2.2.2 The importance of vocabulary in learning a foreign language

In leaning a foreign language, vocabulary, the knowledge of words in a language, plays a very important role Vocabulary acquisition is usually viewed as crucial to language acquisition Vocabulary is also considered a primordial factor in successful communication (Levelt, 1989) Grammatical knowledge allows us to generate sentences At the same time, we must have something to say No matter how well the students learn grammar, the sounds of L2, without words to express a wider range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way (McCarthy, 1990) Furthermore, vocabulary actually contributes to the acquisition of syntax Then, it is also the element that links the four language skills all together

(Nguyen & Khuat, 2003)

Sense relations Metaphor and idiom

Collocation

Style and register

Meaning in context

Parts of speech Prefixes / suffixes

Nouns: count / uncountable…

Adjectives/adverbs: position, etc

Spelling Pronunciation FORM

2.2.3 Memory in learning vocabulary

Learning new words involves storing them first in people’s short-term memory (STM), and afterwards in people’s long-term memory (LTM) Then, word frequency is another factor that affects storage Ellis (1996) proposed that short-term representation and rehearsal allows the eventual establishment of long-term sequence information for the language Therefore, the most frequently used items are easier to retrieve The better the long-term storage of frequent language sequences, the more easily they can serve as labels for meaning reference The more automatic their access, the more fluent

is the resultant language use

Moreover, forgetting seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items they have learned Effective learning strategies should be made use of to facilitate the process of learning and recycling vocabulary They involve fostering learners’ motivation towards learning - lowering the affective filter that may occur during learning it

2.2.4 Affective filter in learning vocabulary

In his theory of second language acquisition researching on affective variables

in foreign language learning, Krashen (1982) employed Dulay and Burt (1977)’s metaphor of an affective filter to explain the role of motivation and emotion in language acquisition To Krashen (1982), filter is an imaginary wall between learner and the language input This filter includes three elements: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety (Krashen, 1987) Motivation determines the preparedness of learners to study a language Self-confidence encourages students to take risk so that they can acquire with full efficiency Anxiety inhibits students a lot in absorbing the input

In learning vocabulary, the complicated characteristics of vocabulary and anxiety are the two most important factors to produce a good filter that inhibits students to get the vocabulary in To Tajino and Smith (2005), first, the complicated characteristics of vocabulary cause a lot of troubles to learners such as learning

problems and difficulties due to students’ first language All these factors give more burdens to learners that make vocabulary learning demotivating and frustrating Second, anxiety is also a good filter that hurdles the input To McIntyre and Gardner (1985), anxiety is the worry and negative emotional reaction aroused when learning or using the language MacIntyre and Garner (1993) point out that anxiety has a strong negative effect on the process of vocabulary learning At the input stage, anxiety acts like a filter preventing vocabulary getting into the cognitive processing system During the processing stage, anxiety can influence both the speed and accuracy of learning Because anxiety acts as a distraction, students may not be able to learn words or phrases and they are worried At the output stage, anxiety can influence the quality of foreign language communication When producing the language, using their own

words, students may know the correct answer but it will not come to mind

To lower the anxiety, as Rebecca (1989) said, creating positive emotions among learners is an important strategy Among positive emotions suggested by this author, six types of feeling: fun, creativity, psychological security, confidence, freedom and ease and cooperation are worth consideration Exploration of affective filter and strategies to lower the filter may provide insights that could help to create, sustain and promote students’ motivation during the time of learning a foreign language, especially learning vocabulary

A key factor in successful learning is a learner’s motivation A key factor in effective teaching is an instructor’s ability to facilitate student motivation, particularly

in circumstance where students are not interested in learning

2.2.5 How to teach vocabulary

2.2.5.1 PPP procedure

PPP stands for presentation, practice and production In this procedure, the teacher introduces a situation which contextualises the language to be taught The language is then presented The students now practice the language using accurate

reproduction techniques such as choral repetition, individual repetition, and response drills Later, the students, using the new language, make sentences of their own, and this referred to as production (Harmer, 2007)

cue-2.2.5.2 Vocabulary teaching techniques

To help students understand and remember new vocabulary, it should be

introduced in a memorable way, learned in context, practiced and then revised to

prevent students from forgetting Teachers should use a variety of techniques for new vocabulary presentation and revision

Gairns and Redman (1986) suggest the following types of vocabulary teaching techniques, including visual techniques, verbal explanation and use of dictionaries

2.2.5.2.1 Visual techniques

Learners remember better the material that has been presented by means of visual aids (Zebrowska 1975, p.452) Visual techniques help present concrete items of vocabulary – nouns and are also useful for conveying meanings of verbs and adjectives Some common visual techniques are realia, pictures, photos, drawings, flashcards, slides, wallcharts, transparencies, mime, gestures, actions, facial expressions, etc

2.2.5.2.2 Verbal explanations

In addition, to present new vocabulary, teachers can use illustrative situations, synonymy, opposites, scales (Gairns and Redman 1986, p.74), definition (Nation 1990, p.58) and categories (Allen and Valette 1972, p.116) This technique gives students a chance of exposure to the target language, which helps them fall back on some type of alternative communication strategy when they forget the target items (Wallace, 1988)

2.2.5.2.3 Use of dictionaries

Using a dictionary is another technique of looking up the meanings of unfamiliar words and expressions A variety of dictionaries can be used: bilingual, monolingual, pictorial, thesauri, and the like As French Allen perceives them, dictionaries are "Passports to independence," and using them is one of the student-cantered learning activities (1983, p.83)

2.2.5.2.4 Translation techniques

Used sensibly, translation can be a useful technique to convey meanings because it saves time and helps check correct comprehension

2.3 Motivation

2.3.1 The concept of motivation

In general, to be motivated means to be moved to do something Motivation refers to things that direct and energize human behavior Motivation is some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action If we perceive a goal, and if that goal is sufficiently attractive, we will be strongly motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal (Harmer, 1991)

In psychology, “motivation is an internal state or condition described as a need, desire or want that serves to activate, energizes and directs goal-oriented behaviors” (Kleinginna, 1981, p.98) Motivation is concerned with the factors that stimulate or inhibit the desire to engage in a behavior (Brunner, 1966) Bomia (1997, p.203) also added “Student motivation refers to a student’s willingness, need, desire and compulsion to participate in and be successful in the learning process.” Motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language (Gardner, 1985)

To sum up, different as the definitions of motivation are, all the definitions are alike in one important way: it is the internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue

a course of action A person who feels no impetus or inspiration to act is thus characterized as unmotivated whereas someone who is energized or activated toward

an end is considered motivated (Ryan & Deci, 2000)

2.3.2 Effects of motivations on students’ academic achievement

The study by Andrew (1998) reveals that students’ intrinsic motivations are found

to be positively correlated to students’ performance (marks) Intrinsic motivation can usually be attributed to a desired outcome Students with high motivation performed better than those who have low motivation

In addition, Bandura (1986) added that intrinsically motivated students use different motivational strategies in different learning situation To achieve the outcome they desire, students engage themselves in learning actively and attentively When a student is not motivated, he loses a common outcome to attend the class This results in frequent absences and plummeting grades (Brewer & Burgess, 2005) Students with the same level of intellectual capacity differ in their performance as a function of their level of motivation

2.4 Games

2.4.1 Definitions

To Richard (1993), games are rule-based competitive activities usually involving a time limit and or visual display feature in which the player must acquire and manipulate knowledge in order to succeed A language game usually has such properties as: (1) a particular task or objective, (2) a set of rules, (3) competition between players and (4) communication between players by spoken or written language

Hadfield (1990) proposes that the inclusion of games as an integral part of any language syllabus provides an opportunity for intensive language practice, offers a context in which language is used meaningfully, and as a means to an end, and acts as a

diagnostic tool for the teacher, highlighting areas of difficulty One of the most important reasons for using games is simply that they are immensely enjoyable for both teachers and students

To some extent, there is a great overlap between games and activities Both of them require some type of problem-solving activities and both have communicative purposes In both games and activities, students are given a real or an imaginary situation, and they are expected to find solutions for the problems However, the term

“language activity” is used to refer to any activity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired The term “game” is used whenever there is an element of competition between individual students or teams in a language activity

2.4.2 Benefits of games in language teaching and learning

Games have long been advocated for assisting language teaching and learning, which is demonstrated by a large number of authors of the studies on using games in language teaching and learning

Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby (2005) point out that games provide a context for meaningful communication Even if the game involves discrete language items, such as a spelling game, meaningful communication takes place as students seek to understand how to play the game and as they communicate about the game: before, during, and after the game

Richard Amato (1988, p.147) added another psychological value of games He said:

Games add diversion to the regular classroom activities, break the ice, and introduce new ideas Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely

Nguyen and Khuat (2003, p.14) explain the rationale behind exploiting the game format in this way:

Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in the learning activities Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a flexible, communicative way

All mentioned above proved that with time, language games have a valuable kind of learning activities in the language class Up to now, there are four most important benefits of games that deserve special attention: providing a context for meaningful communication, bringing a relaxed atmosphere, lowering anxiety and creating motivation by adding interests

2.4.3 Disadvantages of using games in teaching and learning vocabulary

2.4.3.1 Distraction from learning materials

Students are so absorbed in the game and so determined to be the winner of the game that they pay little attention to or even forget the lesson supposedly inherent in the game According to D.B Heckmott (2011) of Newman University College Birmingham, students may not learn the material that video games are used to teach because they are too focused on successfully completing the game

2.4.3.2 Matter of time and money

Ellington, Gordon and Fowlie (1998) suggest that the level of an educational game and simulation should be properly matched to the ability and the needs of the group of pupils with which it is to be used Felicia Lee (n.d.) also adds that not all games will work for all pedagogical purposes Choosing or designing the right game for the lesson you want to teach can be more time-consuming than planning a

traditional vocabulary lesson and the adaption and modification may involve extra design, printing and photocopying costs

2.4.3.3 Matter of organization

Ellington, Gordon and Fowlie (1998) point out that particularly at secondary school and college, teachers have to work to a strict, externally-imposed timetable Therefore, it is difficult to fit games into the curriculum particularly if they take a long time to run or require special facilities or accommodation Diana (2010) has said that applying games in teaching learning process is the noisy condition, which makes the teacher difficult to control the students Moreover doing games, the teacher only has a little time to explain the material and gives some new vocabularies So there is no longer time for teacher to explain more and help them to memorize all the new vocabulary

2.4.3.4 Matter of cooperation

Miranda Morley (n.d.) indicates that while some students may respond well to games because they allow students to learn by doing and to move around while learning, not all students' learning styles are the same Some may prefer to learn by observing, reading, doing art or taking field trips Many students may be so enthusiastic about their use that less enthusiastic students and their learning preferences are drowned out

2.4.3.5 Matter of competitiveness

Miranda Morley (n.d.) says that games can bring negative competitiveness to students Students who have been focused on opposing each other to win prizes or the right to say they are winners might forget how to be supportive of each other outside the lesson plans that include games This leads to create an educational environment that is not conducive to learning

2.4.4 Types of language games

Different writers have different classifications of games To Hadfield (1987), there are two kinds of games: cooperative games and non-cooperative games Cruickshank (1977) states that games can be divided into two classes: academic games (such as hangman, crossword puzzle) and non-academic games (such as table tennis or checkers) Another kind of game classification determined by Jones (1995) and Obee (1999) is games based on kinds of language skills and items such as vocabulary games, grammar games, listening games, communication games, reading games and writing games Lee (1979) classifies games based on what to do in that game to complete it such as listen-and-do game, read-and-do games

Based on the principles of organizing classroom activities, Black and Butzkamm (1997) propose that language games held in class should be geared towards “message-oriented communication” (language should be used as a mean of communication),

“learner-centered activities” (learners are the center in any classroom activity),

“cooperation between learners” and due to the practical purposes of motivating students in teaching vocabulary in a high school class, the author of the thesis suggested the so-called “Cooperative Vocabulary Games”(CVG) That is the combination of the two types of games mentioned above: cooperative games and vocabulary games

2.4.4.1 Cooperative vocabulary games

less carefully predicted by the nature of game as well as providing welcome relief for the student from more rigorous methods of traditional learning of vocabulary

2.4.4.1.2 Types of cooperative vocabulary games

According to Hadfield (1987) and Jones (1995), there are many types of CVG CVG are classified on the foundation of the techniques used in the game The five most common types of CVG are: Guessing, Searching, Matching, Problem-solving, and Grouping games

Guessing games are based on the information-gap principle The objective of the game is to guess some kind of information, such as a word, a phrase, a title, or the location of an object The players with the information deliberately withhold it, while others guess what it might be The outcome of the game tends to be uncertain until the last moment, and so it is full of suspense As the person’s guessing has a real urge to find out something, guessing games are true communicative situations and such are very important for foreign language learning

Searching games are another variant on this principle, involving the whole class

In these games, everyone in the class has one piece of information Players must obtain all or a large amount of the information available to fill a questionnaire, a table, a chart, etc Each student is thus simultaneously a giver and a collector of information

Matching games are based on the principle of transferring information Sentences or phrases are matched to pictures or objects and vice versa These games also involve in matching pairs of words, two parts of a sentence or an expression They may be played as a whole class activity, where everyone must circulate until they find the right partner whose information corresponds with his own information Matching games strengthen learners’ understanding Therefore, they are an excellent and fun way

to practise vocabulary

Games of problem-solving, which are task-based, are the examples of the most preferable communicative activities Such activities highlight not only the competence

but also the performance of the learner This kind of game occurs when participants in the game share or pool information in order to solve a problem or a mystery In those games, learners are given a real or an imagery situation and they are expected to find solutions for to various types of problem so they are led to a discussion of several ways

of solving the problems The vocabulary needed for problem-solving games depends

on the language aims of the games

The character of grouping games is to create links of meanings between words

so it is helpful for language learners to remember and to retrieve vocabulary learned Therefore, arranging words into groups or families is an excellent way of learning and reinforcing vocabulary In this kind of game, the players must act on certain information in order to arrange themselves in groups The challenge of the game is that students have to understand the relationship between words and make sure why this word does not belong to the others

2.4.4.2 Possibility of CVG to create learners’ motivation

Experts such as Ur (1996), Lee (1979), and Ersoz (2000) agree that CVG are highly motivating A cooperative vocabulary game is a source of creating student motivation It guarantees seven factors that meet the requirements of forming, developing motivations: challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation and recognition That is why it is completely reasonable to use CVG to create motivation in teaching vocabulary

2.4.5 When to use games

Games can play a range of roles in the language curriculum Traditionally, games have been used in the language class as warm-ups at the beginning of class, fill-ins when there is extra time near the end of class, or as an occasional bit of spice stirred

into the curriculum to add variety All these are fine, but games can also constitute a more substantial part of language courses (Lee, 1979; Rixon, 1981, Uberman, 1998) In the Presentation-Practice-Production framework (Mauer, 1997), (in which language

items are first presented for students to listen to and/or read, then practiced in a manner

in which the language used is controlled, e.g., students read out a dialogue from the

textbook in which the two characters compare study habits, and then produced by

students in a less controlled manner, e.g., two students discuss their own study habits), the games can be either for practicing specific language items or skills or for more

communicative language production Similarly,

Urberman (1998, p.12) has stated in the conclusion of his study, “Though the main objectives of the games were to acquaint students with new words or phrases and help them consolidate lexical items, they also helped develop the students' communicative competence.” His research has produced some evidence which shows that games are useful and more successful than other methods of vocabulary presentation and revision Therefore he suggests, “Games should be an integral part of a lesson, providing the possibility of intensive practise while at the same time immensely enjoyable for both students and teachers.”

2.4.6 Criteria for choosing games

Tyson (2000, p.57) writes, when choosing games, “A game must be more than just fun A game should involve "friendly" competition and should keep all of the students involved and interested Additionally, a game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the language itself and should give students

a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material as well.” In addition to the above criteria there are several characteristics of the games that need to be taken into account when deciding on which one to implement The game should have simple, easy to explain instructions and should be able to be set up and started playing in a relatively short amount of time Longer, more complex games can be employed

Additionally, remember that games serve the purpose of enhancing the learning experience of the classroom, not simply fill time Moreover, in deciding which game to use in a particular class and which games will be most appropriate and most successful with their students, teachers must take many factors into account Carrier (1990) states that teachers should first consider the level of the game to fit their students' language

level They should choose the game that fits the purposes of that class or the content

2.5 Previous studies

Nguyen and Khuat (2003) conducted an action research to find out whether and how games help students learn vocabulary effectively Their action research including applying games in their own classes, observing other teachers' classes, and interviewing both teachers and learners so as to elicit students' reactions, feelings and the effectiveness of games in vocabulary learning Their research shows that games have a lot of advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways First, games help students learn and retain new words more easily because they feel relaxed and have fun while playing games Second, games create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in the learning activities as a result of friendly competition and learners’ interest that games bring about Third, vocabulary games bring real world contexts into the classroom and encourage students

to use more English in a flexible, communicative way Therefore, games play a very important role in teaching and learning vocabulary Nevertheless, Nguyen and Khuat also suggest that in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, suitable games should be chosen and such factors as the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings should be taken into consideration whenever a game is conducted

In his research in 2008, Duong wanted to provide more evidence for the usefulness of games in vocabulary learning and teaching in Viet Nam In order to carry out his research, he prepared some vocabulary games, applied them to his class of 50

students and carefully observed the whole class during the time they were playing games as a new vocabulary learning technique After that he interviewed and delivered questionnaire to those 50 students His research produced some evidence which shows that games are useful and more interesting than other methods of vocabulary learning Games in the classroom are an indispensable tool that should be employed by all English teachers and students Games lead to better motivation of the students to learn the language, they promote better retention of the material, they help the students overcome any shyness or limitations hindering their process of study, and they help to foster a more enjoyable learning experience

Uberman (1998) wanted to examine some traditional techniques and compare them with the use of language games for vocabulary presentation and revision, in order

to determine whether language games are more successful in presenting and revising vocabulary than other methods By using some games to present and revise vocabulary, observing his class, giving his students tests and interview, Uberman pointed out that those groups of students who practised vocabulary activity with games felt more motivated and interested in what they were doing However, the time they spent working on the words was usually slightly longer than when other techniques were used with different groups This may suggest that more time devoted to activities leads

to better results The marks students received suggested that the fun and relaxed atmosphere accompanying the activities facilitated students' learning But this is not the only possible explanation of such an outcome The use of games during the lessons might have motivated students to work more on the vocabulary items on their own, so the game might have only been a good stimulus for extra work In a word, his research has produced some evidence which shows that games are useful and more successful than other methods of vocabulary presentation and revision

In 2009, Jiraporn Sukkrong conducted a quasi-experimental research to examine the English vocabulary learning achievement and retention of the students treated with

and without games and their attitude towards games teaching method Sixty freshmen

of Nakhon Si Thammarat Rajabhat University in the first semester of 2009 taking part

in the research were divided into an experimental group of 30 students treated with games, and a controlled group of other 30 students treated with conventional teaching method Both of these groups were taught by the researcher in seven weeks The data were collected by the achievement tests done by both groups in order to compare the learning retention of both groups, the attitude questionnaire completed by the students from the experimental group and interviews with the students from the experimental group about vocabulary learning through games Statistics and t-test were used to analyse the achievement and retention data, while statistics and data grouping were chosen for the analysis of the students’ attitude The result of the research reveals that the achievement and retention of the experimental group students were higher than those of the controlled group students The games-treated students also had positive attitudes towards this kind of learning

The four researches above have reaffirmed the usefulness and effectiveness of using games in teaching and learning English vocabulary The current research investigates the perceptions of games of the teachers at TGHSGS, their using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary and the difficulties they have met when using games in teaching English vocabulary The insights into teachers’ perceptions of using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary and difficulties in using games in class to teach English vocabulary encourage the researcher to offer some suggestions for teaching and learning vocabulary through games effectively, which were not presented in previous researches

2.6 Summary

This chapter presented the definitions of vocabulary, motivation and games It also pointed out the relationships between games and English vocabulary teaching and

learning Previous studies were reviewed to reveal the gaps in the literature The next chapter will describe the research methodology

3.2 Research approach

In this research, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used Condedelli and Wrigley (1999) point out that qualitative approach can help identify what works, however, it is has limited explanatory power Meanwhile, the limitation can be compensated by quantitative approach, which can provide data giving insights into how findings work and how findings can be translated into practice In short, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to supplement each other to collect the most reliable data

Eight teachers at TGHSGS were invited to be the participants of this study Four

of them have over 17 years’ experience and the others at least 5 years’ experience Five

of them have taught current official textbooks English 10, 11 &12 while the others have taught current official textbooks English 10 &11 Three of them are male whereas the others are female Four have got Masters’ degrees, two are Postgraduates and two have obtained Bachelors of Art Due to the purpose of the research “to investigate teachers’ perceptions and using games to facilitate students’ learning English

vocabulary at TGHSGS”, in order to have a reliable result for the research and to see various viewpoints of using games to facilitate students’ learning English vocabulary and the difficulties they meet while using games to teach English vocabulary, only the eight teachers at TGHSGS were chosen to take part in the research In view of limitation of time, only three teachers teaching 3 grade-12 classes were selected to be observed in their classes during the vocabulary teaching stages through games The first teacher is of over twenty years’ experience, the second is of 10 years’ experience and the third is of 5 years’ experience The two latter have been trained with Communicative Language teaching The reason for this choice is to discover various ways of using games to teach English vocabulary In addition, eight of them were interviewed to clarify some of the information in the questionnaires and observations

3.3.1.2 Students

Ninety Grade-12 students who were taught by the three teachers mentioned above were involved in this research The researcher chose Grade-12 students to be the participants because they have studied at TGHSGS for over two years They have been taught by most of the eight teachers at TGHSGS and they were familiar with the games used to teach English vocabulary

& Schumacher, 2001) Gilham (2007) pointed out that some reasons for using questionnaires are that they have been time and money saving, and a quick and easy way to get information from many people In addition, respondents can complete the

questionnaire at their pleasure and are not under pressure of giving immediate responses, so the answers will be more reliable Moreover, analysis of answers to closed questions is far from complicated For these reasons, questionnaires were used

in this research to measure teachers’ perceptions of using games to teach English vocabulary and students’ attitudes to learning English vocabulary through games All the questions in the questionnaires were translated into Vietnamese so that respondents could fully understand the questions and give reliable answers The aims of the research and the questionnaires were clearly presented Therefore the participants would be willing to give honest responses

The questionnaires (Appendices 1 & 2) are to collect information to answer the research questions They are composed of twenty-three questions for teachers and sixteen questions for students concentrating on three main points:

a The teachers’ perceptions of using games to teach English vocabulary or students’ attitudes to learning English vocabulary through games

b How games are used to teach English vocabulary

c Teachers’ difficulties in using games to teach English vocabulary

3.3.2.2 Class observations

Milton (1994) pointed out that non-participant observation is one of the leading data gathering measures due to their preeminence in psychological research Therefore,

to discover students’ reactions and attitudes to using games in teaching vocabulary and

to check and clarify the information collected from the questionnaires, non-participant observations were chosen in this research The researcher only took the role of an observer, which means that the researcher just sat at the back of the class, observed the activities of the teachers and the students as well as the students’ reactions and behaviors during the stage of using game to teach English vocabulary and did not interfere in the process of teaching and learning The observation was facilitated by an observation sheet (Appendix 4)

Besides the two last main points mentioned above, the observations were aimed

to discover the students’ reactions and behaviors towards their studying English vocabulary through games

3.3.2.3 Interviews

The interviews were conducted to collect more data about the teachers’ perceptions of using games to teach English vocabulary or students’ attitude to learning English vocabulary through games The researcher chose interview as a tool for the following reasons First, interview is one of the frequently used methods in qualitative research (Roger & Bouley, 1996) Second, interview is a face-to face conversation and

is, therefore, a two-way communication and observation, in which interviewees express various ideas and feelings (Patton, 2002) As a result, the data will be rich and abundant In addition, the interviewer can use various types of questions to have reliable data (Newman, 2000) Finally, Gubrium and Holstein (2001, p.85) also presented, “qualitative interviewing is a kind of guided conversation in which the researcher carefully listens.” The purpose is to understand the participants’ experiences, perspectives, or feelings

The interview was designed with six questions (Appendix 3) to interview eight teachers at TGHSGS, who have more or less used games to teach English vocabulary

in their class All the questions were asked in Vietnamese so that the questions could

be fully understood and the interviewees could express their feelings and ideas comfortably and exactly Three of the interviews were conducted after the three class observation sessions and the others at convenient to both the researcher and the participants Each interview lasted from 7 to 10 minutes The interviews were recorded with the consent of the interviewees The six questions are about all the above main points

3.4 Data analysis

All the data collected were analyzed in descriptive statistics, i.e statistical frequency and percentage Descriptive statistics are the effective ways to analyze and present data collected from the questionnaires as well as from the interview Mc Millan and Schumacher (2001, p.207) assert, “The use of descriptive statistics is the most fundamental way to summarize data and it is indispensable in interpreting the results of quantitative research” Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively in form of tables and charts according to statistical frequency and percentage while, data from the interview were basically used for qualitative analysis Also, data collected from both the questionnaire and interview also contributed to adding qualitative insights to the results presented in tables, charts and in the forms of direct and indirect speeches

3.5 Data trustworthiness

In order to obtain trustworthy data, the researcher set up five criteria in collecting and analyzing the data First, with regard to questionnaires, all the participants’ responses were kept confidential Second, the participants were given the questionnaires and three days, long enough to complete the questionnaires They were also explained carefully what to do Third, only the completed questionnaires would be used for analysis while any uncompleted ones would be left out Fourth, the interviews were conducted in relaxing, friendly and comfortable atmosphere Moreover, interview recordings were transcribed and used for citation Finally, all the data collected were carefully synthesized, grouped, compared, and analyzed in tables and charts, except interview transcript In brief, the process of collecting and analyzing the data was carefully carried out so that the data collected could be as reliable and useful as possible and the most important thing is that all the collected data are true and not distorted

3.6 Summnary

This chapter presented research methodology, including research approach, data collection, data analysis and discussion of data trustworthiness The next chapter will present the findings and discussion

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

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4.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of the data collected to answer the three research questions as presented in chapter 1

4.2 Teachers’ perceptions of using games in teaching vocabulary

To find out teachers’ perceptions of vocabulary learning, data were collected from questionnaires

4.2.1 Teachers’ perceptions of the vocabulary learning of the students at TGHSGS

In this part, teachers’ perceptions of the amount of vocabulary and of difficulty levels of vocabulary that the students at TGHSGS have to learn are presented

4.2.1.1 Teachers’ perceptions of the amount of vocabulary to be learned by the students at TGHSGS

Data collected from teachers’ answers to question 7 in the questionnaire for teachers and students’ feedbacks of question 4 in the questionnaire for students are shown in Chart 4.1 below

Chart 4.1 Teachers’ and students’ opinions of the amount of vocabulary in each of the textbooks English 10, 11, or 12

The number of the teachers at TGHSGS thinking that the students at TGHSGS had to learn too much vocabulary in each of the textbooks English 10, 11, or 12 was the same as that of those who did not (50%) Meanwhile, only nineteen (21.1%) out of ninety students disagreed that there was a large quantity of words for the students at TGHSGS to learn and 42.2% of the students agreed and 8.9% of those strongly agreed that they were supposed to learn a great deal of vocabulary while 27.8% of the students were not sure In a word, half of the teachers and over half of the students at TGHSGS would say that there was a large amount of vocabulary in each of the textbooks English

10, 11, or 12 for the students at TGHSGS to learn

4.2.1.2 Teachers’ perceptions of difficulty levels of vocabulary

Chart 4.2 reveals the difficulty degrees of vocabulary in each of the textbooks English 10, 11, or 12 that the students at TGHSGS have to learn The data were based

on responses to question 8 in the questionnaire for teachers and to question 5 in the questionnaire for students

Chart 4.2 Teachers’ and students’ opinions of difficulty level of vocabulary that the students at TGHSGS have to learn

Most of the teachers (75%) and the students (77.8%) found that the vocabulary

in each of the textbooks English 10, 11, or 12 was not very difficult to learn On the other hand, a very small number of students (6.7%) felt that the vocabulary was very difficult to learn and 25 % of the teachers and 15.5 % of the students thought that the vocabulary was difficult to learn

4.2.1.3 Teachers’ perceptions of students’ ways of learning vocabulary

Data presented in this section were taken from the answers to questions 8 and 9

in the questionnaire for teachers and to questions 6 and 7 in the questionnaire for

students They are presented in Chart 4.3 and Chart 4.4 respectively

Chart 4.3 Teachers’ perceptions of students’ ways of learning vocabulary

Chart 4.3 shows the teachers’ perceptions of the students’ ways of learning vocabulary 62.5% and 25% of the teachers thought that students liked to learn vocabulary through games much and very much respectively while only 25% of the teachers felt that students liked to learn the vocabulary by learning by heart or learning passively through the teacher’s explanations and no teachers thought that they liked it very much However, only one (12.5%) out of eight teachers thought that students did not like to learn vocabulary through games very much whereas fifty percent of the teachers thought that students did not like to learn the vocabulary by learning by heart

or learning passively through the teacher’s explanations very much and twenty-five percent thought that they did not like it at all In short, most of the teachers thought that the students liked to learn vocabulary through games more than to learn the vocabulary

by learning by heart or learning passively through the teacher’s explanations The teacher’s perceptions of the students’ ways of learning vocabulary were consistent with the students’ preference for learning vocabulary (See Chart 4.4)

Chart 4.4 Students’ perceptions of their ways of learning vocabulary

Chart 4.4 reveals that forty-six (51.1%) out of ninety students liked to learn vocabulary through games very much and thirty-eight (42.2%) liked it much while no students did not like it at all and only six (6.7%) did not like it very much With regard

to learning the vocabulary by learning by heart or learning passively through the teacher’s explanations, fifty-two (57.8%) out of ninety students and eighteen (20%) did not like very much and at all respectively while only twenty students liked much

In short, students liked to learn vocabulary through games much more than to learn vocabulary by learning by heart or learning passively through the teacher’s explanations This finding is the same as those of the previous research mentioned in chapter 2 Jiraporn Sukkrong (2009) showed that the games-treated students also had positive attitudes towards game teaching methods and Duong (2008) has proved that games are useful and more interesting than other methods of vocabulary learning

The real insight into the students’ learning vocabulary provides clear guidelines for the teachers in their teaching in general, and in their teaching vocabulary in particular The teachers’ using games to teach vocabulary to students first meets the

students’ favorite way of learning vocabulary That may be why the teachers at TGHSGS have used games to teach vocabulary

4.2.2 Teachers’ perceptions of the importance of teaching vocabulary

Data about teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the importance of teaching and learning vocabulary drawn from answers to question 6 in the questionnaire for teachers and question 3 in the questionnaire for students are presented in Chart 4.5 below

Chart 4.5 Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the importance of teaching and learning vocabulary

When mentioning the importance of teaching vocabulary, most of the teachers agreed that teaching vocabulary played an important role From the analysis, only one teacher (12.5%) considered teaching vocabulary to be not very important while five out

of eight teachers (62.5%) found teaching vocabulary important and the other two thought it very important In addition, all the students at TGHSGS shared the same point of view on teaching vocabulary with their teachers Fifty-two (57.8%) out of

ninety students felt it very important to teach vocabulary and thirty-eight (42.2%) found it important while no student thought that it was not important

Although only half of the teachers and over half of the students agreed that there was much vocabulary for the student at TGHSGS to learn and most of the teachers and students found it not very difficult to learn, they all believed it important to teacher vocabulary probably because of its role in language acquisition Vocabulary helps students understand lessons, develop language skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing skills), prepare for English examinations and gives students tools to communicate This finding is identical to what Nguyen & Khuat (2003, p.2) wrote in

the introduction part of their article 'Learning Vocabulary through Games' in the Asian

EFL Journal in 2003

In learning a foreign language, vocabulary plays an important role It is one element that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing all together In order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately

4.2.3 Teachers’ perceptions of using games in teaching vocabulary

This part is concerned with teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and usefulness

of using games in teaching vocabulary, and of the students’ consciousness of learning vocabulary through games It also presents teachers’ difficulties in using games in teaching vocabulary

4.2.3.1 Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of using games in teaching vocabulary

As mentioned in chapter 2, Richard Amato (1988), Nguyen and Khuat (2003)

and Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby (2005) point out that games bring four main benefits, including providing a context for meaningful communication, bringing a relaxed atmosphere, lowering anxiety and creating motivation by adding interests In