Luận văn the use of language games to motivate 10th form students to learn writing at ki nh high school

viewpoint The difficulties facing teachers when using language games to motivate students io learn wriling ‘Teachers’ suggestions on how to use language games to motivate students to l

THE USE OF LANGUAGE GAMES TO MOTIVATE 10?"

FORM STUDENTS TO LEARN WRITING AT KIM ANH

HIGH SCHOOL

VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI NGÔN NGỮ NHẰM TẠO ĐỘNG

LUC THUC BAY HOC SINH LGP 10 HOC VIET TAI TRUONG

‘TRUNG HOC PHO THONG KIM ANH

M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Methodulugy

Code: 60.140.111

TIANOI - 2013

THE USE OF LANGUAGE GAMES TO MOTIVATE 10™

FORM STUDENTS TO LEARN WRITING AT KIM ANIT

HIGH SCHOOL

VIỆC SỬ DỰNG TRÒ CHƠI NGON NGU NHAM TAO DONG

LUC TITUC DAY HỌC SINII LỚP 10 TỌC VIÉT TẠI TRƯỜNG

TRUNG HỌC PHỎ THÔNG KIM ANH)

MLA Minor Thesis

Field: English Methodology Code: 60.140.111

Supervisor: Hoang Thị Xuân Hoa, Dr

HANOI - 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Tn the first place, T would like to send my sincere thanks (o my supervisor — Dr

Lloang ‘I'hi Xuan Loa, Vice - Director of Institute for iducation Quality Assurance,

Vietnam National University, Hanoi, for all her valuable guidance, helpful advices,

recommendation, and encouragement during the time T tried to complete this minor

thesis Without her, 1 would not have followed the right direction for the accomplishment of this research

Second, my deepest thanks go to ten teachers of English and 89 tenth form students

al Kim Anh High school who were so generous and willing lo Help me with the questionnaires and interviews

‘Third, [ would like to thank all the teachers of the Faculty of Post-Graduate studies for their valuable lectures on which my minor thesis was laid the foundation

Last but not least I would like to express my biggest love and thankfulness to my

family for thetr unconditional contributions during my thesis

Ilta Thi Thanh Ia

ABSTRACT

In ELT, language games have long been proved to be a valuable source of amotivation, one of the keys to success of language acquisition Aiming at investigating the use of language games as a motivator to students’ learning writing, this study was conducted with two scts of survey questionnaires and interviews as

the main instruments ‘he study looked at the current situation and difficulties when

teachers applied language games to stimulate students to learn writing Ten teachers

and 89 tenth form students af Kira Anh High school took part in the study The

result reveals positive attitudes from the participants toward the use of language

games to motivate students to leam writing Language games are applied frequently

to molivate sLudents, moslly in warm up slage within 6 to 10 minutes Students

often play games in two teams or groups with the common ones such as crossword,

hangman and matching Most of the teach

s are pleased with their use of bmguage games and most of the students take part in the activitics enthusiastically However, there remain some difficulties facing the teachers and students while language

games are used as a taotivalor in writing lessons Rasod on the findings, sore

pedagogical implications are provided for the improvement of writing teaching by motivating students via language games.

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

The benefits of using language games to motivale students lo learn

writing

Teachers' preparation for the use of language games in writing lessons Students! perlormance in the games according to the teachers!

viewpoint

The difficulties facing teachers when using language games to

motivate students io learn wriling

‘Teachers’ suggestions on how to use language games to motivate

students to leam writing

The benefits of using language games as a motivator in writing lessons

according to students! viewpoint

‘The difficulties students meet when playing language games in writing

lessons Students' suggestions for teachers’ using language games to motivate

students to leam writing Teachers’ kecunoss on using language games fo motivate students to

leam writing

The usefulness of using language games to motivate students 10 learn

writing in teachers' viewpoint

The frequency of using language games to motivate students to learn

wriling

Stages at which language games are used in writing lessons Time for using language games to motivate students to leam writing Kinds of language games lo stimulate students to learn writing

Class organization when language games are used to motivate

students to leam writing

Teachers’ activities before conducting the games

Teachers’ activitics while students are playing the games

‘Teachers’ activities in the post playing stage Tee

hors’ fecling pleased with their use of language games ta

motivate students to learn writing

Students interest in teachers’ using language games in writing lessons Students’ alliludes towards the usclulnoss of language games in

motivating students to learn writing,

Teachers! frequency of using language games to motivate students to

learn wriling according 1o the sluslents

Students! participation in language games in writing lessons Stages at which language games are used in writing lessons according

to the students

Time for using language games to motivate students to leam writing

according to the students

Class organization when language games are used to motivate

students to learn writing according to the students

The leachers' using other teaching aids when they apply language

games in writing lessons

Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Language and International Studies

vi

1 Rationale for the study

2 Aims of the study

3 Research question of the study:

4 Scope of the study

5 Methorls of the sludy

6 Design of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMES

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Writing and writing teaching

1.1.1 Definitions TH HH HA HH HH HH ghe

1.1.2 Approaches to writing teaching

1.1.3 Processes in teaching writing jscsscsseesestseeeieee

L.1.4 Factors affecting students’ performance in writing lessons

tà tà

1.1.4.3 External factors

1.2.1 Definitions "` " wee ld

1.213 Typos oÏ language games - - 13

CHAPTER 2: METIIODOLOGY

2.3.1 Survey questionnaires for teachers and students - - 19

3.3.2 Itervlcws with tcachers and studerts 19

2.4, Data collection procedure .cccccsssssssussssseessasssesessssasesseee MT

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1, Survey questionnaires 00.0cccccccusssssseseesssssessssevesesccsvessneeeevens 21

3.1.1 Survey questionnaire for the teachers - - 21 3.1.1.1 The altitudes of the leachers towards using language games to

3.11.2 The current siluahion of teachers’ using ]anguagegarnes lo molivale

students to learn writing at Kim Anh High school ¬— 3.1.1.3 Teachers’ difficulties when using language games to motivate students

vũi

3.1.1.4 Teachers’ suggestions on using language games to motivate students

to learn writing SE HH HH 20 1g are, _—

3.1.2 Survey questionnaire for the students 30 3.1.2.1 ‘The attitudes of the students towards their teachers’ use of language

games to motivate them to learn writing 30

3.1.2.2 Sludens' viewpoint on the cient siluation of using language games

to motivate students to learn writing at Kim Anh High schol 33 3.1.2.3 The difficulties students meet when teachers use language games to

3.1.2.4 Students! suggestions for teachers’ using language games to motivate

3.2.1 Interview with the teachers coi ¬—.-

Appendix 5: Interview with the students seo TUAK Appendix 6: Data collected from the survey questionnaire for the teachers .XXI

Appendix 7: Dala collecled from (he survey questionaire for the students XXVT

PART A: INTRODUCTION

i Rationale for the study

In second language leaming, language games have long been proved to be

not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value "Games can lower

anxiety, thas making the acquisition of impul more likely.” (Richard-Amato, 1988, p.147) ‘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 cnable learners to acquire new oxperiences within a forcign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better (Wierus and Wierus, 1994, p.218) Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to provide a model of what leamers will use the language for in

real life in the future (1994, p.6) In short, games are used not only for mere fun, but

amore importantly, for Ue useful practice and review of language lessons, thus leading toward the goal of improving learners’ communicative competence.’ Games

ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages

In Victnam, there have boon mamy sludies on using language games in teaching and leaming Bnglish Iowever, few researchers investigated the

application of language games lo molivate students to lear writing Wriling, by its

ature, may not make it attractive to students or teachers as a classroom activity In

reality, most teachers follow what the tasks in the textbook require, and do nothing amore aboul it They just ask students to do the writlen exercises after giving simple

suggestions or encourage them to mimic model texts Kor students, most of them find no reason to learn writing as it is not included in the national examination

format and they may have rare opporlunilics lo write in English in zeal life Because

of limited background knowledge, they often feel bored when doing written work, especially when lacking support and motivation from teachers

The situation is ever worse al Kin Auh High school where sludents have

low English proticiency Excopt for some good students, the rest are not interested

in learning English in general and writing in particular They find writing difficult and boring so they do not try to learn this important language skill lor the teachers, leaching writing appears to be a challenge Sometimes {his imporlant skill is neglected as teachers find writing quite a daunting prospect in their classes

It is obvious that stimulating students to lea writing is absolutely vital as amotivalion is one of the keys to success of scvond language actpisition Language games have not successfully applied to writing lessons at Kim Anh High school yet

All the abave- mention reasons have inspired the author to conduct the study

” The use of language games to motivate 10" form students to learn writing at

Kim Anh Ligh School”

2 Aims of the study

The study is aimed al investigaling (he situation of using language games to

motivate 10" form students to learn writing at Kim Anh Iligh School Following are

the specific objectives

« The attitudes of the teachers and students towards using language games to

motivate students to learn writing

* The use of language games to motivate students’ learning writing

« The difficulties that the teachers and students meet when language games are used to motivate students to learn writing

Based on the findings, some suggestions and implications are provided for the improvement of writing teaching by using language pames as a motivator

3 Research question pf the study

‘To achieve the aim, the study plans to answer the following question:

What is the situation of using language games to motivate 10° form students

to learn writing at Kim Anh High School?

‘Yo answer this question, the answers to the minor questions were sought for:

© What are the attitudes of the teachers and students towards using language games to motivate students to leam writing?

œ What games are used to motivate students to leam writing at Kim Anh Iigh

school? And how are they used?

« What are the difficulties the teachers and students cope with during stimulating

student to learn writing via language gamos?

4 Scope of the study

The study focuses specifieally on using language games to teach writing to 10" students at Kim Anh High school So the study limits itself to the teaching and learning writing only, and the subjects of the study are non- Lnglish majors

studying English 10 at Kim Anh High school,

5 Methods of the siudy

The major methods employed in this study inchide:

« survey questionnaires were answered by teachers and students to find out the

situation of using language games as a molivalor in writing lessons

* interviews were conducted to get better insights into their ideas towards the use

of language games

6 Design of the study

This paper is divided into three main parts

PART A is the INTRODUCTION which presents the ralonale, the anna, Ihe

xesearch question, the scope, the methods and the design of the study

PART B is the DEVELOPMENT which includes three chapters Chapter 1, LITERATURE REVIEW, deals with some theorclical background thal is relevant

to the purposes of the study: teaching writing and language games Chapter 2,

METHODOLOGY, invesligales the situation of using language games al Kin Anh

High school through the analysis of collected data Chapter 3 is the FINDINGS

AND DISCUSSIONS which are concluded from the data analysis

PART C is the CONCLUSION which includes the summary of findings,

pedagogical implications as well as limitations of the study and recommendations

for further research

REFERENCES and APPENDICES are provided in the last pages of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Writing and writing teaching

1.1.1 Definitions

In language teaching, writing is one of the four language skills (reading, speaking, listening and writing) thal a learners is expected to master Many linguists have tried to give definitions of writing,

Byres (1991, p.1) sees writing from the lowest level - letters to the higher and higher levels of performance - words, sentences and discourses and as slralegies

to obtain a final product of " making marks on the flat surface of some kinds.”

Candlin and Hyland ( 1999, p.107) define writing as " an engagement in a sovial process, where (he production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and thetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and persuade them of the claims that are made." In the opinions of Murray (1978,p.29) and Perl (1979, p.43),

writing is " a crealive discovery provedure charavierized by the dynamic interplay

of content and language: the use of language to explore beyond the known content"

However, cognitive view considers writing as decision-making process

(Flower and Hayes,1981) When writing something, the writer has te decide what to begin with, whether to include or leave out an idea, what information to place, eto

Writing is essential for language learners to acquire a lmguage Tt is used as

assessment; as an aid to critical thinking, understanding and memory, to extend students’ leaming beyond lectures and other formal meetings; to improve students’ communication skills, and to train students as future professionals in particular disciplines Raimes (1983) states three ways in which sbudents can leam better through writing First, writing reinforces their grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary Second wriling gives them a chance to try the language learnt Last bul not least, writing can help motivating learners to leam new languages

Nevertheless, writing is not a simple skill to master from the language icachors' point of view Tribble (1996, p.11) stresses ial writing "normally rexpuires

some forms of instruction” and that "it is not a skill that is readily picked up by

exposure.’ Lr (1996, p 161) said that most people acquire spoken language

intuitively whercas wrilien form is in most cases deliberalcly tanght and learned

Writing is "a process that occurs over a period of time, particularly if we take into account the sometimes extended period of thinking that precedes creating an initial

draft" (Ferris, 1993, p.10)

Jn brief, writing is a difficult but important productive skill for language learners to acquire Writing teaching, thus, needs to be taken into consideration

1.1.2 Approaches to wriling teaching

Raimes (1983 presented various approaches to teaching writing as follows

a) The Contrelicd to Free Approach:

Tn 19508 and carly 1960, the audio- hngual method domimated second

language learning which emphasized on speech and writing through mastering

grammatical and syntactic forms

Hore, the students are given sentence exercises, and then paragraphs to copy

or manipulate grammatically ‘These controlled compositions then followed by

correction of errors, so thal it can lead lo the free composiuion Overall, this

approach focuses on accuracy rather than fhiency

b) The Free Writing Approach:

This approach stresses wriling quantity rather than quality This focuses on

fluency rather than accuracy It is based on the principle that if once ideas are there, the organization follows

c) The Paragraph Pattern Approach:

‘This approach focuses on organization by copying the paragraphs or model passages It is based on the principle that in different culture or situations, people construct and organize communication with each other in different ways

d) The Grainmar-Syntax Organization Approach:

This approach stresses on simultaneous work on more than one composition foalurc WW is inclusive here (hat writing carmol be scon as composed of separate

skills which are learned sequentially So, students must be trained to pay attention to organization while they also work on the necessary grammar and syntax

e) The Communicative Approach:

This approach focuses ‘on the purpose of writing and the audience for it They are given some tasks where they have to behave as writers so that they can

learn by doing it, Why am J writing this? Who will read it?

‘Ybus, this approach is quite functional in nature, which can provide the achial experience to the learners

1) The Pracess Approach:

his approach shows the shift from product to process which shows: Llow do

I write this? How do I get started?

Hore, the students are trained lo genorale ideas for wriling, io think of Uhe

purpose, audience, and ways of communication and so on

In fact, it is a developmental process from generating ideas to expressing

them, drafing, redraflimg, organizing and so on This process of writing ean have

three stages like: Prewriting, Writing and Post-writing (Revising or Redrafting)

As ‘there is no one way 10 teach wriling, bul many ways” (Raimes, 1983, p G1), teachers should find an appropriate method or integrated ones to teach writing for specific students

1.1.3 Processes in teaching writing

During the seventies of the 20% century, while the product approach received

a lot of cnticism, many teachers at the forefront of the development of the process

approach have proposed methodologies emphasizing the creatively and

unpredictability of waiting (Iribble, 1996, p.37) In the process approach, the teaching of writing has begun ta move away from a concentration on the written

product to ant emphasis on the process of writing All writers make decisions on

how to begin and how to organize the task Therefore, they do not write on a given

topic in a restricted time and hand in the composition for the teacher to correct The

role of teachers, therefore, is as education lacilitators

As described in Zamel (1983, p.147) and Raimes (1985, p.231), in the process approach, the process of writing is seen as a recursive and complex process

Tn other words, allhough there are identiliahte stages im the process of writing,

‘writers can still revisit any of these stages many times before a text is completed

According to Graham Stanley (2007, p.16), although there are many ways of approaching process writing, it van be broken down into three stages

© Pre -writing

The teacher tieeds to stimulate stulents’ creativily, to gel them thinking how 1o

approach a writing topic in this stage, the most important thing is the flow of ideas,

and it is not alw

ys necessary thal sludenls actually produce much (if any) wrillen

work If they do, then the teacher can contribute with advice on how to improve

their initial ideas

«Focusing ideas

During this stage, students write without much attention to the accuracy of their

work or the organization The most important feature is meaning Ilere, the teacher

(or other students) should concentrate on the content of the writing He or she can

saise the questions “Is it coherent? Is there anything missing? Anything extra?”

+ Evaluating, structuring and editing

Now the writing is adapled lo a readership Students should focus more on form

and on producing a finished piece of work ‘The teacher can help with error correction and give organizational advice

Obviously, the process approach has made great inprovernont in practical Leaching

in comparison with the product approach A teacher who adopts the approach will

try to respect the learners’ cultural background and avoid the imposition of ideas or

language behavior The teaching and learning materials which make use of these

approaches typically attempt to encourage creativity in very practical ways

TL is necessary Lo provide a supportive environment for the students and be

patient In the long term, teachers and students will start to recognize the value of a

process writing approach as their written work improves (Stanley, 2007: 9).

1.1.4, Factors affecting students! perfarmunce in wriling lessons

Students ‘performance in writing lesson can be affected by a variety of factors originaling from students, teachers and olher external factors In the following sections, some of the major factors will be discussed

LAL, Student factors

The main factors originating from sladenis’ side that may affeet students”

participation in classroom activities include students’ leaming styles, students’

motivation and students’ language levels

Students’ learning styles

Different individuals may have different leaming styles, prefer different kinds of work, and expect different degrees of care and attention from the teacher It

is obvious that if teacher realizes the difference:

among the individuals in the class,

he can plan appropriate activities and the students will join in the lesson actively

Students’ motivation

Regarding the issuc, Lightbrowr and Spada (1999) consider molivalion a

complex phenomenon and define it in terms of two factors: leamers’ communicative needs and their altitudes towards the second language conmounity

According to Harmer, the sourecs of motivation are diversified They may derive from the society we live in, significant others like parents or old siblings, the

teacher and the method Arnong these sources, the leacher and the method may be

of the most importance For the teacher, his or her attitudes and enthusiasm help create a positive classroom atmosphere For the method, it means involving both

teacher and students’ confidence shown in the way of teaching and learning If

either loses this confident motivation, the chance of success in learning a language will be very small

Towns (2000) also poms oul some conditions that help merease students’ motivation Lle says that motivation increases when students feel acknowledged and understood, when students are confident they can succeed, when language has a communivative purpose, and whan students take responsibility for their learning,

Clearly, motivation plays an important role in the success of language leaning, It can be concluded with certainty that the degree of motivation is directly proportional to the level of involvement in common and parGcularly in students? performance in writing lesson To be more concrete, the more motivated students are, the more actively they will participate in the lesson

Students’ language levels

Harmer (2001) claims that in a class where students’ language levels are different, teacher may have some difficulties choosing a suitable teaching method,

language and aclivities used in class Some techniques and exercises are suitable for

some students but less appropriate for others ‘he limitation in the students’ language levels can directly affect their participation however much they like the

activilies Teachers, therelore, should take some issues inlo consideration such as

choosing interesting topics, creating interest in the topic, activating schemata,

varying topics and genre and providing necessary information

11.4.2 Teacher factors

Students’ writing performance can be affected by teachers’ factors including

teaching methods, teachers’ knowledge and teachers’ instructions

Teachers’ teaching methods

There have been many teaching methods in teaching writing through out the

history of FLT Tr writing lessons, teachers’ leaching methods are [focused on the

ways teachers design appropriate activities to motivate students to write as well as the ways that the teachers elicit writing tasks In order to have a suitable method, the

teacher should bear in mind the factors such as learners’ learning styles, teaching

purposes and other available classroom conditions Choosing an inappropriate or not being flexible in applying methods to a certain class may have negative effects

on students’ participation

Teachers’ inowledge

In the study What makes a good teacher, Breach (2005) points out that most

students beheve thal the teacher is a lountam of knowledge and the main

respousibility is to pass on that knowledge to students Knowledgeable teachers are those with high language ability and general knowledge of the field expertise Not

only should teachers be Muent,

curalc Briglish speakers but they should also be

certain of the topic they are going to conduct According to Underwood (1987), the more knowledge a teacher can apply to his lesson, the more interested his students

will feel im the learning activilics

Teachers’ instructions

Complicated instructions are another majar problem that often makes giving instructions very time — constaning Tn the class, if the students do nol understand the teachers’ instructions, they do not react anything Ur(1996) provides several very useful recommendations: The first step is to prepare what you are going to say,

and if possible, even to write il down Then the teacher needs io cusure the class’s

attention Next, he should give the information more than once Make sure that the

language is brief and clear, and then follow it up with demonstrations Giving

allective instructions is nol casy as if is a skill thal can only be gained wilh proper

leaming and frequent practice

1.1.43 External factors

Time limitations

Clearly, time limitation is an extemal factor affecting students’ performance

in writing Tl teachers, for some reasons, do not prepare the materials well enough,

they will realize the failure of not having appropriate time for writing, activities In some lange classes with a number of students whose English knowledge are limited,

it often takes much more time to conduct these activities This leads to the confirmation of the teachers’ role in planning the lessons and assume suitable time procedure for writing tasks

Classroom and muterials restrainix

According to Williams and Burden (1997), we can not underestimate the importance of appropriate environmental conditions for learning to take place as an

understanding of the ways in which aspects of the enviroument affect learning is vitally important for language teachers and leamers

Underwood (1987) claims that both the leacher and students are responsible

for creating a good learning atmosphere which consists of some characteristics such

as giving a sense of purpose or the teachers should ensure that English is spoken

Balancing Mueney and accuracy tr using appropriate language are lhe lwo necessary

elements in creating a good classroom atmosphere Underwood also mentions the effects of encouragement as well as students’ invalvement on the improvement of students’ English learning Finally, lesis and extracurricular activilies are also considered as important parts of inereasing learning atmosphere in the classroom

1.2 Language games

1.2.1, Definitions

The term 'game’ is defined briefly by Iadfield (1984) as “an activity with

rules, a goal and an element of ftw.” And according to Gibbs (1978), "a game is an

activily carried oul by cooperating or compeling decision markers, scoking to

achieve, within a set of rules, their objectives." ‘This means games are forms of enterlaimment derived [rom a set of rules, typically with a known goal to be reached Games can be in the fonn of physical actuvitics, mental or a mixbure of the two Games can be classified as cooperative, solitaire or competitive

A language game also sharos the similar characteristics with the ordinary

game However, language games means games related to language If ordinary games help to improve different aspects such as intellectual ability and patience,

language games help to develop language skills When playing language games,

leamers not only have fun but can also practice English enjoyably, which helps to motivate students Greenal(}98/) gives his opinion of language game as " one kind

of achivity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired and occurs during the free stage of a lesson or during occasions such as Linglish club meetings He states that a language game “is used whenever there is an element of

competition between individual sludents or (ears ina language aclivily.”

To sum up, a language game is not just for fim but the skills necded arc heavily weighed on the language side So, language games must be carefully

selected by teachers Lo serve (he purpose

1.2.2 Roles of language games

According to many researchers and educators, motivation is one of the keys

to success of language learning Motivation, as pointed oul by Gardner (1985),

involves desire to leam a language, ustensity of effort to achieve this, and attitudes toward learning the language It is obvious that motivation to leam a second language refers to the extent lo which the individual tries to learn ihe language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced in this activity ‘Thus, those motivated to participate actively in class usually get good study results

Developmy motivation is not casy because il is something very personal

Tlowever, Lightbrown and Spada( 1999) state that: " If we can make our classrooms

places where studems enjoy coming because the atmosphere is supportive and non -

threalening, we can make a positive contribution Lo sluderis! motivation to learn."

And language game is an important source of motivation and it is often

considered as the firs step Lo draw learmers' altention lo an EFT environment, (Vale,

1995), In most of the games, cn clement of competition between individuals or

teams is a strongly motivating factor It is the most important reason why all

learners are immensely happy or absorbed in playing games Greanal(1984) says

that language games provide free and spontaneous practice of the language in conditions lying halfway between the controlled content of the formal lesson and

the real life situations outside classroom

With a view to creating an enjoyable leaming environment, language games

should be used to motivate students in writing classes for the following reasons:

« Games provide interest to what students may not find interesting

« Games may lower anxiety and stimulate students to join im the games positively

© Games can be used to change the pace of a lesson and so maintain motivation

* Games add variety to the range of learning situations.

* Games help teachers to create contexts in which the language is meaningful and useful so that students have chances Lo communicate lo each other freely

© Games can give ‘hidden! practice of specific language poinis witlioul students

being aware of this

* Games provide active leamer-cenlered learning so thal sLudents are active in the games, While students have the leading roles, teachers work as facilitators

1.2.3 Types of language games

Fach linguist has his own way to classily language gamos Hadficld(1 987)

divides language games into linguistic games and communicative games While

linguistic games focus on accuracy, communicative games focus on successful

exchange of information and ideas He also classifies them inguage games into

sany more categories as follows:

« Sorting, ordering or arranging games For instance, the students have a set of pictures and they number the pictures to make a complete story

« Infomation gap game: In such games, one student has access to the information which is not held by the olfer slidem, and this sludent musi acquire the information to complete the task successfully Information gap games can involve a one-way information gap or a two-way information gap

« Guessing games: In these games, someone knows something and the others have

to find out what it is

« Matching games: Participants need to find a match for a word, picture or card

* Puzzic- solving games: The participants in the game share or pool information in order to solve a problem or a mystery

« Role play games: Role play can involve students playing roles that they already

play in real life ar roles that they do not play in real life

In short, there are many types of language games for teachers to apply in teaching language but choosing the most useful in certain lessons in order to

stimulate students and develop their skills depends on the wise use of the teachers

1.2.4 Methods of using language games

To students, language games may be used purely for fun However, teachers have to consider when to play a game, which game to play and how to run a game in order

to make the best nse of the game and cormect them with the largel language

1.241 When to use a game?

According to Wright, Betteridge & Buckly (2005), " games can be found to

give sluderits practice in all the skills: reading, wriling, listening or speaking in all

stages of the teaching’ learning sequence and for many types of communication.” Tladfield (1987) also stated that "games can be used at any stage of the lesson once

the target language has beer introduced and explained They serve both as a

memory aid and repetition drill and as a chance to use language freely."

In short, "a game should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd

Tnomecrds wher the teacher and class have nothing better to do” as Lee (1979)

observed Games should be "an integral part of the language system" (Iladfield,

1990) and they can be used “at any stages of the lesson, provided that they are

suilable and carefully chesen" (Rixon, 1981.)

As in writing lessons, the post stage is usually for giving feedback, language games are likely 1a be used as warm up activilies when not only sindents lave a relaxed atmosphere to refresh themselves but they are also provided with necessary expressions and structures as well as ideas for the writing lessons

1.2.4.2 Which games to use?

Not all kinds of games can be applied in writing lessons Therefore, the first thing teachers need to decide is the main aim of having a game, Which language

items will be taught? Which game is the most appropriate for delivering these

items? Language games should be chosen when they can give students both fun and

educational meaning The adapted should be relevant to the content of the lesson

Level of the games is another factor thal the teachers should take into consideration Part of the appeal of games lies in the challenge, but if the challenge

is too great, some students may become discouraged Teachers also need to make sure (he games should allow chances (or both bright and not-very-bright students

Tuning should be assumed in advance Lewis and Bedson (1999) suggest that games should last from 5 to 20 minutes including preparation, presentation,

game playing and post playing Playing a game too long may lose sludenls’ interest

One more thing teachers should bear in mind is to ensure that the aids and

materials for the games are available so that the learners can encounter the game's

roquiremenls Teachers may supply enough [facility [or the class or they may ask

students to prepare at home

Last but not least, teachers are advised to exploit a wide variety of language games as even interesting games taay bore sludents if they are played repeatedly

1.2 43 How to run a game?

Introducing games is an important step to the success of the game To start a

game, the ules of the game should be giver Fach game will nocd a proper

introduction, which means an explanation - not just a reading - of the rules The

instruction must be clear, simple, precise and explicit enough for students, who in

any case have language difficulties, to understand When giving instructions, a few

words in mother tongue may be help as it would be the quickest way to make everything clear In addition, the scoring syslem and the tine limit for the game should also be provided in order to avoid students’ confusion and trouble later

Organizing class must be decided beforehand in order to make "the setting

up of the game be carried oul as quickly and smoothly as possible” (Carrier, 1985.)

The way in which games are organized varies a great deal basing on specific purposes, particular games and characteristics of students Some games may be

conducted individually, in pairs, in groups, in teams and some with the whole class

playing against the teacher However, the division of class should not be changed and redone on every occasion as leamers will fell safe and confident when they are silting in pair or group work, according lo W.R Lee

As language games are used not only for fun but also for language teaching purposes, the teacher must control the class to make sure that after performing games, students can get the language points The lcacher's role in game, especially

in the playing stage, should be an informant, a consultant, a monitor ( Rixon,1988) whereas the students become the masters of the game ‘The teacher should go

quickly from group to group, listen and observe students! performance Tt would be

better for the teacher not to jump in the game but to wait until he is asked for help Therefore, he had better try to elicit from students themselves rather than simply

providing whal they need, which makes students more sell confident

Jn the post playing stage, it is of central vital to give remarks and summarize the language points Whatever a game is, students like to hear how well they are dog Lo receive encouragement commented on as well as having etrors correcled (Rixon, 1998.) It is preferable for the teacher to give good remarks so as to motivate students to join game activities According ta Wright ( 1983, p.6), the following

praise should be used such as good, very good, fine, excellent, well done, ole The

negative ones should be kept more general, for example: xot quife right, not very

good, I don’t think this one is as good as that one It is necessary for teachers to

sunmarize whal language poinls or skills the language games focus on The main

point of this is to show the students that what they do with language is interesting

To do this, the teacher can ask some students (o repeal the maint language points in the games This helps them to conneet the game with the content of the lesson,

Yo sum up, in this chapter, the author discussed issues and aspects

ooneeming to the topics of the sludy, which include the concepts and ideas relating

to writing skill and an overview of language games Different definitions and types

of language games have been mentioned along with their roles in language learning

as a beneficial tool to develop students’ motivation Though language games are

various, they should be carefully chosen to suit certain groups of students They should not only make writing lessons more interesting and enjoyable but also carry wilh them the language items of the lessons The success hes on teachers! proper preparation and activities in the pre, while and post playing stages when using

language games as a motivator to students’ learning writing.

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 The context of the study

‘This study was conducted at Kim Anh Ligh school in the suburb of Lanoi It

is a public school with thirty-three classes of three grades 10", 11 and 12 Each

grade has 4 gifted classes for the students of different majors ‘The textbook used for teaching is the new Tieng Anh 10, 11, 12 at basic level promulgated by MOET of Vietnam Students are having four forty-five-minute periods of English study a

week with a writing lesson per unit

There are 11 teachers of English at Kim Anh High school with 8 females and

2 males ranging from 27 to 38 years od The youngest ane has been teaching

Fnglish for 3 years while nine olhers have over five-year experience Most of them

have University Bachelor's Degree, one Master's Degree and they often take

retraining courses to improve their teaching methods They are enthusiastic in

icaching and cager lo orthance (he leaching skills and their students’ performance

About the students at Kim Anh High school, most of them have been

learning Inglish since grade 3 Despite having a long time learning English, their language proficiency sill remain low and Low of them are good al language skills in general and writing in particular However, the majority of the students are aware of the importance of learning writing skill and would like to improve the situation

2.2 Participants of the study

“the participants of this study include both teachers and students at Kim Anh

High school

There are ten leachers faking part in the research All of them have been in

charge of teaching English in grade 10 classes

The 89 participant students of this study are from 5 regular grade 10 classes,

including 22 male and 67 female aged 16 to 17 These studerils were chosen as they were non - gifted students of English, they were better representatives of the

students population Thus the findings of the sludy can be of great help lo studsnis

of English in general,

2.3, Data collection instruments

2.3.1, Survey questionnaires for teachers and students

The instruments for gathermg dala in this study arc questionnaires and interviews Of which the questionnaire is the main one with two sets of questions one for the teachers and the other for the learners

‘The teachers were asked to put a lick or wrile down the answors for 17 questions

which are divided into four sections ‘fhe following table details the content of those

questions:

T The altitudes of the teachers towards using language games| Q.24

to motivate students ta leam writing

TT The current situalion of teachers’ using language games Lo Q5-14

motivate students to learn writing at Kim Anh Iligh school

TT | Teachers’ difficulties when using language games motivate students to learn writing loi Q15-16

IV | Teachers’ suggestions on using language games to motivate| Q.17

students lo learn writing

or the students, all of the questions are written in Vietnamese to make sure

that the participants can fully understand the questions The questionnaire is divided

into four sections as Lollows:

1 |'the attitudes of the students towards using language| Q.2-4

games lo motivate 10" grade students to learn writing

i Students’ viewpoint on the current situation of Q.5-10

using language gamcs to motivale students to leam

writing at Kim Anh High school

Tl | The difficulties the students meet when playing language Qir

games in writing lessons

TV | The students’ recommendation on using language games Q12

as motivators in writing lessons

2.3.2 Interviews with teachers and students

After having done the survey questionnaire, there remain some parts that the

researcher is not clear Therefore, the follow-up interviews are conducted with four

teachers and cight students, which is to scarch for further explanation of thew answers

The teachers were asked to give more information aboul the dilficullies they

encounter and their solutions ¥or the students, their evaluations on the effectiveness

of teachers’ motivating students to lea writing via language games were elicited

They also bad chance to express more clearly their preferences to contribute to the

success of using language games as motivators in writing lessons ‘Ihe face - to -

face interviews were carried cut informally so that the teachers and students could

give oul the answers ina freely and relaxed way

2 4 Data collection procedure

In the first place, a questionnaire was handed out to ten teachers with short and

clear explanations about its aims and requiremonts are provided beforehand Then,

the author delivered another questionnaire to the 89 students To help them understand and be able to decide what and how to respond in a relevant way to a cerlain question, dhe researcher spent time to give a clear instruction ai the

beginning of the survey session After that, they were instructed to complete the questionnaire The researcher was williyg to answer any more queslions from ihe informants

In the next step, the researcher interviewed four teachers and eight students for

danfication The chosen were those wilh different answers from the rest or who

enthusiastically contributed to the study by adding more personal ideas in the survey questionnaires

2.5 Data analysis methods

When data collection was accomplished, the data analysis was conducted ‘The results of the survey questionnaire and interview were analyzed by means of descriptive stalistics All these slalistics were processed in Excel application and

then presented in the forms of tables and charts.

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

3.1 Survey questionnaires

3.1.1 Survey questionnaire for the teachers

The first question was polled to investigate teachers’ experience in using language games to motivate students to learn writing and the result revealed that all ten teachers have applied language games in their writing teaching They also

showed their interest in this topic by giving many other ideas to the author

3.1.1.1 The attitudes of the teachers towards using language games to motivate

students to learn writing

Question 2: Teachers’ keenness on using language games to motivate students to

learn writing

100% of the teachers at Kim Anh High quite much

school were fond of using language Ene Yaty mile not at all games to motivate students to leam

writing Specifically, 10% said they

liked using language games very much,

30% ticked the box of “much”, 40% liked it quite much and 20% chose “not very

much”, Although no one disliked using language games as a motivator to students”

learning writing, this did not seem to be teachers’ most favorite technique

Question 3: The usefulness of using language games to motivate students to learn

writing in teachers' viewpoint

The Figure 2 indicates that using

writing gets the surveyed teachers’ positive Ta

attitude towards its usefulness That is, one out Mgulte-ueetut

of ten teachers found language games very meen useful

useful to stimulate students, 20% thought it Figure 2 Museless

was useful, 60% voted for “quite useful”, and 10% was for “not very useful”

20

Giving no choive for usclessness of language games in motivating students! leaming, but the teachers haven't highly appreciated the usefulness of language

gam

s a motivalor Lo students! learning wriling yet

Question 4: The benefits of using language games to motivate student's learning

writing

The dala in Table 7 revealed that the most benefit of using language games 1o motivate students was “get the students involved easily” with 90% of the teachers 50% indicated that language games could not only help the students learn while

playing but also introduce and consolidate the content of the writing lesson Making

the students feel comfortable ranked the second by 70% of the respondents 30%

thought this technique would build up students’ self-confidence and only 20% found language games beneficial to students as they would be encouraged to use English

to communicate during the games Another benefit was presented that playing

games can narrow the gap between the teachers and students and among students themselves so they can freely “show off” and achieved their besL performance

Benefits of using language games teachers age

d._introduce and consolidate the content of the writing lesson 5 50

£_ encourage students to use linglish to communicate 2 20

Table 1 34.1.2 The current situation of teachers’ using language games to motivate students to learn writing at Kim Anh High school

from language games to motivate

students to learn writing and used them

m only a few lessons No one has ever

tried to conduct language games as a

stimulant to students in every lesson

Question 6: Stages at which language

games are used in writing lessons

When being polled about the stages at which they use language games in

writing lessons, all of the teachers said that they often started a lesson with a game

as a warm up activity This is because games play an important role in making a

students ready for the 100%

100%

lesson 30% of the teachers sọ,

conducted language games nguage gi 0% Pes

in pre writing stage and 20%

20% had their students play

games while writing and

after finishing their writing

tasks Only 10% used language games to wrap up the lesson

Question 7: Time for using language games to motivate students to learn writing

The result collected form Figure 5

conveys that most of the teachers (60%)

spend 6 to 10 minutes on stimulating

students’ learning writing through

language games It took 20% of the

teachers to conduct language games

within 5 minutes 10% of them ticked

215 minutes (86-10 minutes 011-15 minutes 216-20 minutes more than 20 minutes

“11-15 minutes” and time consumption for another 10% even reached 16 to 20

22

minutes To avoid students’ feeling bored and not concentrating on the lesson, no

teacher spent more than 20 minutes on language games

Question 8, Kinds of language games to stimulate students to learn writing

In terms of kinds of

@ crossword

jumbled words! sentences

motivate students to leam | 460%

vette wot | EN

favorite one by 70% of ordering pictures

4%

the he teachers teachers Jumbled Jumble 20%

‘matching

50% Matching was also used quite often by 40% as this kind of game can easily be conducted and suitable to many students’ levels 30% had their students order

pictures, and hangman games were carried out by the same percentage Only one

out of ten teachers let the students try role play, which was not surprising as this

technique requires both teachers’ and students” high language proficiency as well as

careful preparation in advance Two teachers provided some more games they have

applied such as making networks, information gap and general knowledge quiz

Question 9: Class organization when language games are used to motivate

students to learn writing

teachers’ preference in guy, |

organizing class into 2 teams to 40% 30!

of them are favor of arranging 0% Ss

the class in groups Sometimes

the games might be conducted s 5

in pairs by 30% of the teachers

and the same were for individual participation in the games They did not often have

the whole class play against the teachers (only 10%) as this may cause much challenge and harm the friendly atmosphere

Question 10: Teachers’ preparation for using language games in writing lessons

The statistics of Table 2 proved that not many teachers spent time on preparing for

using language games in writing lessons Although 40% said they decided the

language items to be used in the game and 50% designed the suitable language

game to practice the items, only 2 teachers assumed anticipated problems while

playing the game and 3 prepared the aids and materials for the game One of the

teachers admitted that there was no preparation at all This is an alarming fact as

language games are not just a time-filler and a mere fun activity Therefore, teachers

who do not put language games into the centre of their teaching cannot attain the highest educational effectiveness

Teachers’ preparation for using language games in No of | Percent

a decide the language items to be used in the game 4 40

b._ design the suitable language game to practice the items 5 50

¢._assume anticipated problems while playing the game 3 20

d._prepare the aids and materials for the game 3 30

24

Being asked about their activities before conducting the games, 80% of the

respondents gave the answers of “organize the class” and “read out the rule of the

game” Announcing the scoring system was done by 60% And only three out of ten

teachers explained the rule and made examples to clarify what the students had to

do in the games One teacher shared that she often appoints leaders and a secretary

to help conducting the games

Question 12: Teachers’ activities while students are playing the games

It can be seen from Figure 9 below that teachers play a role of a monitor and consultant in the playing stage 90% of them walked around the class to observe students’ performance and to control their activities They usually help students with new words (60%) and provide students with suggestions (50%) Only 10% of

them pay attention to students’ mistakes A respondent said that he encourages

reminds them Help students with new words

of the: ‘dime Walk around to control the class

limit

Figure 9

Question 13: Teachers’ activities in the post playing stage

The data in Figure 10 show teachers’ well-done activities when the games

have finished All teachers announced and congratulated the winner 80% gave

comments on how well the students have played and 20% of them gave marks or

presents to encourage students to try better next time A great number of 70% of the

teachers summarize the language items used in the game, which is a good thing to

do as it points out for students to know that language games are not just for pleasure

but also have educational purposes This also helps teachers to evaluate students”

comprehension of the games and to lead to or to emphasize the content of the

lesson Only 10% thought it would be wise to correct students’ mistakes, but this

technique should be carefully considered On contributing to teachers’ activities in

the post playing stage, a teacher said that she often has her students draw the

conclusion themselves to make them remember the language items better

others

Do nothing

Give marks or presents

‘Summarize the language items used inthe

game Correct students’ mistakes Give comments on how well the students have

b Students use English to communicate during the game 2 20

c Students use the language items to play the game 4 40

d Some students are not interested in the game and do private 5 50

When being asked about students’ performance in playing language games,

80% assumed that most students enjoy playing the game 40 % indicated that their

students use the language items to play the game, which one of the game’s aims

20% found the students use English to communicate during the game However,

some students are thought to be not interested in the game and do private thing by

50% of the teachers 20% revealed that the students pay attention to the score rather

than the language items One teacher commented that only a few bright students

really join the games and leam from these activities while others just play for fun;

they talk in Vietnamese and do not follow the rules of the games

26

3.14.12 Teachers’ difficulties when using language games ta motivate students to

When staring their satisfaction of using 30%

60%

writing, only one teacher (10%) was contented with what she had done This is also the one igurat1

who showed much interest in stimulating students via games and spent time for

careful preparation 6 out of 10 teachers seemed to be pleased with the result as

their students’ performances meet their expectation 30% lefi were only pleased to

some extent due to some challenges they coped with during the class time

Question 16: The difficulties facing teachers when using language games to

motivate students to learn writing

Teachers’ difficulties with using games in writing lessons teachers age

c the students get out of your control when playing the game 6 60

đ_ level of the game is inappropriate to all students 4 40

6 your mstruction is nol clear and leads lo students! confusion 1 1ô

f the content of the writing lesson is too hard to be adapted 2 20

into language games

‘Table 4 Table 4 conveyed a wide range of problems feeing teachers when using language games to motivate students to lear writing The most annoying thing 60%

of the teachers complained is that the class gets out of control when playing the

game Choosing a suitable game lo students’ levels also causes Iroubles lo 40% of”

the teachers 20% thought that their choice of game is not various enough to draw

students’ attention This may be resulted from the difficulty in adapting the content

27

of the writing lesson into language games, as pointed out by 20% of the respondents

or the games are repeated many times or Jack of competitiveness Another drawback

For further ideas, ane teacher blamed for insullficient facility to carry oul some kinds of games and the results would not be as 300d as expected

3.4.14 Teachers’ suggestions on using language games to motivate students to

learn writing

Question 17: Teachers’ suggestions on how to use language games to motivate

studenis to learn writing

a._give clear and simple Instructions and make examples 10 100 b._choose appropriate games for majonily of students 8 80

e._ ask students to prepare for the game in advance 4 40

e use teaching aids and materials to help conduct the game 5 50

{have students always play in their lcam or group lo make 5 30

them feel comfortable and self- confident

Table 5

In order to improve the situation of applying languages into writing lesson ta

stimulate students, 100% of the teachers agreed that givmg clear and simple

instruction and making examples for students to fully undsrstand was important

Beforehand, teachers should choose appropriate games for majority of students,

indicated by 80% of the teachers It is good ideas lo have students always play in

their team or group to make them feel comfortable and self- confident, in 50% of

teachers’ opinions Ilalf of the teachers also thought it would be helpful to conduct language games in combinalion wilh using other teaching aids and materials 40% believed in better result of the games if students are asked to prepare for the games

in advance On organizing the class when playing games, some teachers thought

28

that the class should be managed as a whole or big tcam so as to create an cxciting atmosphere (30%) One teacher raised her voice that language items should be put into the games so thal studenis arc unaware of their study while playing Another teacher, however, would rather the games to be a chance to refresh students by having funny activities, interesting score systems or surprising factors

3.1.2 Survey questionnaire for the students

100% students participating in this study have played language games in writing lessons, as conveyed through the result of the first question Thus, all of

them were willing to complete the questionaire and some also contributed to the

survey by giving their further ideas and suggestions

31.21 The attitudes of the students towards their teachers! use of language games to motivate them te learn writing

Question 2: Students’ interest in teachers' using language games in writing lessons Unlike their teachers, 10th form students at Kim Anh High school expressed their high interest in teachers! using language games as a motivator 1a students! learning

much”, 46% were for "iouch" and 10% liked | gaye

it quite much, Only 10% chose “not very f

motivating students to learn writing

Nearly half of the students (48%)

stated the usefulness of language games in

Be 0% very useful

Duseful quite useful

ivatine thei ssons 27% ticl

motivaling their writing lessons 27% ticked Rinet very

language games to be "quite useful” The

nutnber of students who found language games " nol very usclul" tools to stitulate

29