Luận văn language games as means to motivate students in vocabulary learning at a vocational college in hung yen province an action research project

NGUYEN THI HAI YEN LANGUAGE GAMES AS A MEANS TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS IN VOCABULARY LEARNING AT A VOCATIONAL COLLEGE IN ITUNG YEN PROVINCE: AN ACTION RESEARCTI PROJECT Trò chơi ngôn ngĩữ..

NGUYEN THI HAI YEN

LANGUAGE GAMES AS A MEANS TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS

IN VOCABULARY LEARNING AT A VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

IN ITUNG YEN PROVINCE: AN ACTION RESEARCTI PROJECT

(Trò chơi ngôn ngĩữ như một phương tiện đỗ thúc đẩy sinh viên học từ vựng

tại trường Cuo đẳng Neha ở Tình Hưng Yên: Miột nghiên cửa hành động }

MLA MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi-2020

NGUYEN THI HAI YEN

LANGUAGE GAMES AS A MEANS TO MOTIVATE STUDENTS

IN VOCABULARY LEARNING AT A VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

IN IIUNG YEN PROVINCE: AN ACTION RESEARCII PROJECT

(Trò chơi ngôn ngĩữ như một phương tiện đỗ thúc đẩy sinh viên học từ vựng

tại trường Cao dẳng Nghề ở Tình Hưng Yên: Một nghiên cứu hành động }

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Supervisor : Assoc Prof Dr Vo Dai Quang

DECLARATION

Thereby state that I Nguyen Thi Hai Yen , being an M.A candidate

of the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, ULIS, VNU, corlily my authority of

the study entitled “Language games as a means to motivate students in vocabulary learning at a vovational college in Hung Yen province : An action

rescarch” This thesis is the study of my own research and the substance of

the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for a degree to any other

(signature and full name)

Assoc Prof Dr Vo Dai Quang

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my

supervisor, Associate Professor Vo Dai Quang, PhD for his procious

instructions and valuable advice throughout the research Without his careful guidance feedback, and palicnce, my thesis could net have been completed

T am thankful to statf members of The Post — Graduate Studics Faculty

as well as my lecturers at VNU University of languages and foreign Studies -

National Universily during my M.A course for their help and useful lectures

Also, great thanks are given to the students at Mecha Hlectric and

Water Resources Vocational College, who have actively participated in my

study

Last but not least, | would like to thank my family members for their

love, assistance, and encouragement spared for me throughout the research

ABSTRACT

Vocabulary is one of the linguistic features which influence communicative

competones However, when toachmg and leaming vouabulary, most Loachors

and students are confronted with a wide range of obstacles ‘his study aims at investigaling the problems cnvountored by students in vocabulary learning

and the cffcetive methads to help them improve their vocabulary in the

learning process at a Vocational College in Hung Yen Questionnaires, tests,

and inlervicws wero employed as the dala collection insuumenls The collected information revealed that the use of language games can help to

improve the students’ motivation and positive attitudes On the other hand,

motivation by language games m students comes from the fecling of pleasure, relaxation, tension-releasing, anxiety-reducing, and curiosity Students”

perspectives towards language games in vocabulary lessons are positively

proved by raising the level of activeness, concentration when taking part in

language games ‘hey can also get higher scores after taking part in a vocabulary lesson easily Based on the major findings, a couple of

suggestions and recommendations are proposed to improve the quality of

learning vocabulary at the vocational college

iii

1.2 Aims and objectives of the thesis 1

1.2.1 Aims of the thesis

1.3 Research questions

15 Significance of the research

1.6 Organization of the thesis

CILAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Vocabulary learning

2.1.1 Defnition of Vocabulary

2.1.2 Classification of vecabulary

2.1.3 ‘The importance of learnmg vocabulary

2.14 Difficulties in Vocabulary learning

2.15, Learning vocabulary in Vocational college context

2.2.1 Definition of language games

2.2.2 Classification of language games

2.2.3 The importance of language games in learning vocabulary

2.3 Previous studies

2.3.1 Studies im an intemational context

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.4 Data analysis techniques

3.4.1 Lata analysis from questionnaires

3.4.2 Data analysis from interview

4.1 Kindings and discussion from the students’ questionnaires

4.1.1 Finding and discussion from the pre-task questionnaire

4.12 Finding and discussion from the post-task questionnaire

4.2 Findings and discussion from an interview

4.2.1 Findings and discussion from question 1

4.2.2 Findings and discussion trom question 2

4.2.3 Findings and discussion from question 3

4.2.4 Tindings and discussion {rom question 4

43, Finding and discussion from participants’ tests

4.3 1.Data collected from pre-test results

4.3.2, Data collect from post — test results - 49 4.3.3, Comparision between pre-test and post-test results - 40

43.5 Summary from result of pre -lask and post — task questiomnaires and

$§.2 Concluding remarks on the research objectives 52

5.4 Recommendations for further study 53

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: The students’ view on the role of vocabulary in 33

Table 4.8: Students’ involment in language games (Question 7) 4

'Table 40: Students expectation from the tencher when conducting language

games ( Question 10) 45

LIST OF FIGURES AND CIIARTS

Figure 4.1: The students’ attitudes toward learning vocabulary in English

Figure 4.2: ‘Ihe students’ expression about this way ( Question 5) 36

Figure 4.3: This question shows the [ecling of students when playing gamos

Figure 4.4: Students’ understanding and experience about the purpose of

language games and thor view of point on them ( Question 9,10) 38 Figure 4.5: ‘The students’ feeling and attitudes about language games the

teacher uses in every vocabuary lessoon (Question 2) 40

Figure 4 6: The students’ fecling after taking part in language games

(Question 3) - 4)

Figure 4.7: Students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of learning vocabulary

Figure 4.8: Students’ preferences of ways organizing language game Question 8 44 Figure 4.9: Students’ hope in taking parl im language game in every vocabulaary

vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of the study and the statement of

the problem, the objectives of the study, the research questions, the scope of

the study, the significance of the study, the method of the study, and the structure of the study

1.1 Rationale of the thesis

It is common knowledge that vocabulary leaming is an important aspect

of forcign language learning During the time working as a lcacher of English

at Hung Yen Mechanical-Electric and Water Resources Vocational ‘lraining

College, I can observe the fact that the students at this training institution

encounter a lot of problems in English vocabulary learning They tend to like learning Hnglish via different types of games ‘This status quo is one of the

motives that induced me to go further into this area of research

1.2 Aims and objectives of the thesis

1.2.1, Aims of the thesis

The sludy is aimed at

- Exploring weaknesses of students in learning the language

- Finding suitable methods to help the students at Mecha — Electric and

‘Walor resources Voeational College in Hung Yon raising motivation

- Helping students at this training institution to improve their vocabulary learning

1.2.2 Objectives of the thesis

The objectives of the research are as follows:

a) To find out the problems encountered by studenis of Mecha —

Electric and Water resources Vocational College in Hung Yen

@) To work out the effectiveness ways to solve these problems

1.3 Research questions

1 What are the problems encountered hy students in vocabulary learning

at Hung Yen Mechanical-Electric and Water resources Vocational College?

2 How have the language games solved these problems?

1.4 The scope of the thesis

The thesis is focused on:

(i) Games employable for vocabulary teaching and learning

Gi) Non-English major studenis at Hung Yen Mechanical-Electric

Vocational Training College

1.5 Significance of the rescarch

As can be inferred from the aims and objectives mentioned above, the results of this thesis, to the cxtcnt possible, would facilitate Icarners im

vocabulary learning No doubt, the thesis is of practical value in the sense that

it is beneficial to non-English major students at IIung Yen Mechanical-

Hlectric Vocational ‘Training College in improving their vocabulary learning

1.6 Organization of the thesis

The thesis consists of five main parts: the introduction, the literature

review, the methodology, findings and discussions, and the conclusion

The introduction presents the rationale of the thesis, the aims, and the

objectives of the thesis, the rescarch questions, the scope of the thesis, the

significance of the thesis

Chapter 1 The mlroduction presents the rationale of the thesis, the aims,

and the objectives of the thesis, the rescarch questions, the scape of the thesis,

the significance of the thesis

Chapler 2 The literature review provides the delinions of vocabulary, the importance of learning vocabulary, and the definitions of

language games

Chapler 3 refers to rosearch methodology ineluding research context,

research design, and data analysis techniques

Chapter 4 demonstrates findings and discussions about pre and post-task

questionnaires, pre, and pust-losts then the interview [rom the students about

language games

Chapter § The conclusion summarizes what has been addressed in the

thesis, points out the limitations and suggestions for further thesis.

CHIAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter has introduced the definitions of vocabulary and its

importance Bosides that, tho classification of vocabulary and some

difficulties in vocabulary learning were Listed to help teachers im finding out a suilable method to motivate students in voeabulary learning, Significantly,

with an overview of the language games and the benefits when language

games are used in teaching and leaming vocabulary Some previous studies

are relerred to the students’ atliludes in other places The [acts and the study vocabulary in the international and Vietnamese contexts were also mentioned 2.1 Vocabulary learning

2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary

Vocabulary is broadly known as knowledge of words and word

meanings It is a fundamental part of the language that must be the mastery of

English skills However, the definition of the word has been, for a long time -

a major problem for linguistic theory Up to the present, there are various definitions of vocabulary based on different points of view about vocabulary

According to Homby (1995), vocabulary is all words a person

understands and uses It is all the phrases in a specific language or the phrases

that poople usc when they are talking about a parlicular subject, Salch (1997

60) stressed the division of vocabulary into two main categories: concrete words and abstract words Ur (1996: 60) claimed that “ vocabulary can be

defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language” Learners

often achieve less than their potential and may be discouraged from making

usc of language learning opportunilics around them such as listening to the radio, listening to the native speakers, using language in different contexts,

reading, or watching television without an extensive vocabulary and

stralegies for acquiring new vocabulary, (Jack C Richard and Willy A

Renandya, 2002)

Additionally, Harmer (1991) provided a discussion on “ active and passive”

vocabulary: Active vocabulary contains words that students are “able to use

in speech and which they remember” while passive vocabulary mentions vocabulary itoms which students van recognize in a text and understand, but

are not able to usc them actively

In conclusion, giving an exact definition of vocabulary is not simple work

For this study, the rescarcher herscl most agrees with the last one

2.1.2 Classification of vocabulary

Vocabulary can be classified in many others ways

Classification by origin

According to the origin of words, there are two types called native

words and loan words Loan words are words taken from one language and

used in another like abdomen, cookie Native words are words that are not

borrowed from another language but are imherited from an earlier stage of the language like the hand, chair

Classification by level of usage

Vocabulary can be divided into common, literary, colloquial, slang,

tochnical words according to the level of usage

Common words or popular words often connect with ordinary things or aotivilies and make up the biggest parl of the vocabulary with ils core as basic

word stock Stylistically, they are neutral and henec appropriate in both

formal and informal writing and speech

Literary words are chiefly uscd in writing, formal, and clevaicd in slyle like the word purchase/ buy

Colloquial words are used mainly in speaking to colleagues or friends

and in informal wriling Consider the following examples that illustrate the

difference between the use of common and colloquial words:

Hey Tom! what's up? (Colloguial)

Hey Tom! what are you doing? (Common)

Slang words are words of a vigorous, colorful, fictitious, or taboo

nature, invented [or specific oceasions or uses or derived from the

unconventional use of the standard vocabulary For instance, all-nighters,

buck, busted

Technical words are uscd in various special ficlds with functions partly

to denote things or processes which have no names in ordinary English, and

most remain essentially foreign to outsiders, even to educated native speakers

For example psychoanalysis

Classification by notion

According to the notion, vocabulary consists of two types, function or

structural words and content words

Function words include categories of words like determiners, conjunctions, or auxiliaries which serve as grammatical signals or functional

markers ‘hey do not have lexical meaning and belmg to a closed system

Content words are used to name objects, qualities, actions, or states

They have independent lexical meanings and belong to the open system

Classification by the usage of the word

In language leaching, vocabulary can be divided into the productive

and receptive vocabulary Productive vocabulary generally refers to words

which can be produced within an appropriate context and match the intended

meaning of the speaker or signer As with receptive vocabulary, however, there are many degrees at which a particular word may be considered part of

an active vocabulary Knowing how to pronounce, sign, or write a word does

not necessarily mean that the ward can be used correctly or accurately reflects

the intended message of the utterance, but it does reflect a minimal amount of

productive knowledge

Classification by the concept uf morpheme

‘Basing on this criterion, there are simple words (.e words consisting of one rool morpheme), derived words (i.¢ word

2.1.3 The importance of learning vocahulary

Because a limited vocabulary impedes effective communication in a

socond language, mastery off vocabulary is also vicwed as a crilical tool Lor second language leamers

Schmitt (2000) stresses that “lexical knowledge is central to

communicative competence and the acquisition of a second language” p 55) Nation (2001) further describes the relationship between vocabulary knowledge

and language use as complementary: knowledge of vocabulary enables

language use and, conversely, language use leads to an increase in vocabulary

knowledge In and out of class, the value of vocabulary is illustrated every day Achieving leamers have the most adequate vocabulary in the classroom

Researchers such as Laufer and Nation (1999), Maximo (2000), Read (2000),

Gu (2003), and Nation (2011) and others have realized that the acquisition of

vocabulary is essential Jor the eflctive use of the second language and plays an

important role in the development of complete spoken and written texts Leaming vocabulary products play a crucial role in all language skills (Le

listening, spcaking, reading, and writing) in Fnglish as a sccond language

(ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) Richards (1980) and Krashen

(1989), as cited in Maximo (2000) state many reasons for devoting attention to vocabulary “First, a large vocabulary is of course essential for mastery of a

language Second language acquirers know this; they carry dictionaries with

them, not grammar books, and regularly report that the lack of vacabulary is a

major problem’? Oxford (1990) also claims that vocabulary is “by far the mast

sizeable and unmanageable component in the leaming of any language,

whether a foreign or one’s mother longue, because of tens of thousands of

different meanings” Despite these difficulties that language learners face in L2 vocabulary, they still have to deal with il in their examinations as “‘vovabulary

has traditionally becn onc of the language components measured in language

tests’* (Schmitt, 1999, 189)

2.1.4 Difficulties in Vocabulary learning

The first steps in successful teaching vocabulary are to identify the difficulties faced by students Thorbury (2004:27) proposes some factors that make some words more difficult as follows: Pronunciation, Spelling, Length

and complexity, Grammar, Meaning, range, connotation, and idiomaticity

Words that can be used in a wide range of contoxis will generally be perceived as casicr than their synonyms with a narrower range Thus, put in a

very wide-ranging verb, compared to impose, place, position, etc Likewise,

thin is a safer bet than skinny, slim, slender Uncertainty as to connotations of

some words may cause problems too ‘hus, propaganda has negative

comnatations in English, but its equrvalent may simply mean publicity On the other hand, eccentric docs not have negative connotations in English, but its

nearest equivalent in other languages may be deviant Finally, words or expressions that are idiomatic( like make up your mind, keep an eye on ) will generally be more difficult than words whose meaning is transparent (

decide, watch) Gower, Philips, and Walter(1995: 143) explain what makes a vocabulary item is easy or difficult How easy or difficult a vocabulary item is can depend on sevoral laclors: a The similarity to L1, Similarily to

English words are already known, Connotation, Spelling and

pronunciation, Multi-word items, Collocation, Appropriate use.

2.1.5 Learning vocabulary in Vocational college context

First of all, in the vocabulary learning process the students in this

college consider the teachers’ explanation for the meaning of definition,

pronunciation, spelling, and grammatical functions bering In this case,

language learners have nothing to do in the vocabulary learning section but to listen to their teacher Sccond, students only think of vocabulary learning as

knowing the primary meaning of new words Therefore, they ignore all other

functions of the words Third, the students usually only acquire new

vocabulary through new words m Lheir textbooks or when given by Leachers during classroom lessons Kor example, leamers find many new words in a

text and then ask the teacher to explain the meanings and usage Forth, many

Icarners de not want to take risks in applying what they already “know the word”, but they may not be able to use that word properly in different

contexts or pronounce it correctly

2.2 Language Games

2.2.1, Definition of language games

Vocabulary learning is always a hard task for language learners Il is

now very generally accepted that language teaching and learning not merely

can be but should be enjoyable This means that there is no need, by

excluding enjoyment, lo make il more difficult Many linguists agree that

playing language games is a good way of learning vocabulary So what is the concept of games and language games?

There are a wide variety of definitions of games m language teaching

As defined in “ Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied

Linguistics” ( Richard & Schmidt, 2010), games are * an organized aclivily”

‘which usually has the following features “ a particular task or objective”: a set

of rules”, competition between players”, and “ communication between

players by spoken or written language” (p.239) Thus, games are usefUl im

communicative language teaching “CII”, an approach that has recently

increased in popularity Hadfield (2005) defined games as “ an activity with

rules, a goal, and an element of fun” (p.5) Through these iwe definitions, it is

reasonable to conclude that games are used im the classroom, students are

given an exciting opportunity to loam English in a more relaxed atmosphere

Lec, W R (1979) defined games in the strict sensc, which have a

definite beginning and are governed by rules, shade off into game-like

acliviaes which have a less formal design

Byme (1995) gave the definition to games as a form of play govemed

by rules They should be enjoyable and fun They are not just a diversion, a

break from routine activities, but a way of getting the Icamer to use the language in the course of the game ‘Therefore, games involve many factors

rules, competition, relaxation, and learning, in particular The main focus of

using games in class is to help students learn and have fun

therefore, Games include many factors: Rules, relaxation, competition, and learning It means that Il helps students learn and have fun

2.2.2 Classification of language games

According to Iladfield (1984), language games can be divided into two

types: linguistic gamos and communicative games Linguislic games focus on

accuracy, such as supplying the correct antonym In contrast, communicative games focus on the successful exchange of information and ideas Games can

be competitive (playcrs or teams racc to be the first to reach the goal) or co-

operative (players or teams work together towards a common goal)

Besides, Hadfield suggested another way of classilying language games which are based on categories Following this, there are other types of

language games such as sorting, ordering, or arranging games, information

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gap games, guessing games, search games, matching games, labeling games,

exchanging and collecting games, board games, role play games

Basing on language knowledge and skills that learners need to master,

Lee, W R (1979) divided games into structure games (games provide the

experience of the use of particular pattem of syntax m the communication), vocabulary games (games in which the lamers’ attention is focused mainly on

words, spelling gamcs (games to practice spelling), pronunciation games

(games for practicing pronunciation), number games (games help leamers to

gol accustomed to the spoken forms of numbers so thal they arc nol a stumbling block to communication), listen-and- do- games (games in which students have

to listen and understand, then carry out some action), read-and-do games

(games to practice reading), writing games (games to encourage meaningful

‘writing practice), discussion games (games involve discussion}

2.2.3 The importance of language games in learning vocabulary

Games help teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful

and meaningful {t can be said that Language games have a fully respected place in foreign language leaming Games play an essential role because they,

the learners like to play and have fun so by giving the games as a teaching

method, the students can be more excited and motivated to study Inglish

“Games help and cncourage many learners to sustain their interest and work”

( Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby, 2009, P.2) games are not only for fun but also for encouraging children to seize control of English faster So Language

games arc important for all the reasons below

Games improve vocabulary retention

According lo Richards and Schmidt (2010), retention is defined as

“The ability to recall or remember things after an interval of time ” (p.498) In

language teaching, there are three contributing factors to retention in general

11

and vocabulary retention im particular, namely teaching quality, leamers’

interest, and the meaningfulness of the materials Certainly, games, which

belong to the materials, affect vocabulary retention

Games increase motivation

Obviously, games enhance students’ motivation, which means “ the

driving forve in any situation that leads lo action” in general and in the field

of language Icaming refers to “a combination of the Icamers’ attitudes, desires

and willingness to expend effort in order to leam the second language” (

Richards & Schmuidt,2010, p 377) Itis undeniable that fun and challenge are

the core components of language games ‘hanks to the former, students can

Jean in a more relaxed atmosphere and they can show a deeper interest in the

lesson because of the diversity in classroom activitics added by games With the help of the latter, students can communicate and cooperate with their

peers in pairs or groups and simultaneously compete with others to become

the first to win Moreover thanks to games, motivation among young leamers

can be improved by the internal element, for example, interest and external element, for motivating leamers by providing fun and challenge

Games sharpen teamwork skills

Teamwork refers to “a cooperative process that allows ordinary people

lo achive extraordinary results” and skill is defined as “an aequired ability to

perform an activity well, usually one that is made up of the number of

cuordinales processes and actions” (Richard & Schmidt, 2010, p 532) As can

be scen from the aforementioned definitions, teamwork skills are thought to

be skills aimed at facilitating the activity of working together in which

lcammates are required to vooperale in order lo achieve common goals

Among essential teamwork skills are communication, conflict solution,

listening, dependability, and respectfulness Games support communication

12

among pupils by requiring the players to express their own opinion and

discussing them with their teammates However, in the process of games,

conflict may arise in the context of the selection of the most satisfactory

answer from different ones offered by œvcry (oammale ConscqucnUy,

negotiation must start in the process of exercising the most viable option, through which conflict can be setUed Conflict management is equal to a

willingness to take notice of every member's answer, which moans the

existence of listening In order to reach complete agreement, teammates need

lo put their trust in one another aller asking questions for clarification, Any member who has contributed their idea deserves to be appreciated In short,

games can enhance teamwork skills, namely communication, conflict

solution, listening, dependability, and respectfulness

Games provide active Icarncr-centered learning and meaningful

practice

In addition, games “ provide opportunities for real communication” and

“ constitute a bridge between the classroom and the real world” ( Hadfield,

2005, p5) With the use of the games, teachers are able to creale a wide

variety of contexts in which students are required to use the language to

communicate, exchange information, and express their ideas and opinions

Games enhance confidence

‘Thanks to the fun imherent in games, students can learn in a more

relaxed atmosphere and they can show a deeper interest in the lesson because

of the diversity in classroom activities added by games Moreover, in the

process of games, the focus is on the communication in the target language,

no on error correclion, which is thought to lead to inereased confidence in

lessons It is clear that games provide a meaningful context in which pupils

are required to respond to challenge Therefore, their level of confidence is

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undeniably enhanced by expressing and discussing opinions with each other

and simultaneously practicing the language without fear of continuos

correction in order to deal with the challenge set up by games on the way to camming a win

Games foster student-students and student-teacher relationship

Games can be used as pair work, small group work, or whole class

activities In the process of games students within a group are encouraged to

express and exchange their opinions with each other It is cooperation that

helps students to beller undersland cach other Furthermore, when compeling with other teams, all differences are put aside and the only thing to exist

among students is cooperation promoted by sharing experience and

knowledge, which indisputably leads to a closer bond between classmates

When students perceive the teacher is playing language games with them, the

learmer-teacher bond must be strengthened

The game provides 1 meaningful context

According to Wright, Betteridge & Buckby (2009), games also help the teacher to creale contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful

Children are provided good reasons to revise what they have leamed by

language games With the regular revising method, the children do their

exercise, liston to the teacher’s summary, and rewrite il down They have no

chance to show themselves in from of class, which will make them confident

to use whal they have learned Ilowever, with language games, the learners

stand up and come out of their scats to revise language items differently The

go-to the board, give answers, do the action in a competitive but friendly

atmosphere, sometimes with smiles and fun

‘This way of revising helps leamers to remember easily without any

reluctance or difficulties IIe does repetition all the time but they do not

14

xealize 11 beuause cach Lime they repeal, the so ¡Lm điTerenL ways As m “

guessing game” with action while speaking out of the phrases every turn, and

the whole class is divided into teams will check and give an evaluation

Whenever thoy do action, they speak, check, and cvaluate, that is when they

repeat language items without boredom With the regular revising method, the interaction in the classroom is oficn taught to the whole class, which makes

Icarners passive in the process of receiving input To some certam extend,

learners are familiar with their teacher, but they still feel less confident and

reluctant when expressing what they have learned or when being required to

stand up and fulfill the task

Games can be a very good way to practice real-life skills According to

Lewis (1999), the context of the game makes the forcign language immediately useful to children It brings the target language to life ‘The

reason most people want to lea a language is to be able to use it in real-life

situations, for example, they go traveling to other countries, they have to

communicate with local people and what will happen if they cannot connect with others Games can be a very good method lo praclice these skills because

they can easily be used to reenact various situations from real life and provide

students with practice in their fluency Also, by using games in the classroom

the

ther is giving his or her learners a bigger role, and they are stepping oul

of the frontline which is a positive thing because it allows students to do more

on their own, and they can have a very well result in an increase in their

confidence level

Games provide a logical contribution while learners interact in the

group, allowing siudents to clarify the meaning of the words This strategy enhances learners’ enthusiasm to learn new Knglish vocabulary According to

Tlansen (1994,p.118 cited in Nguyen Thi [Tue Linh,2009)} games are not time-

15

filling activites but have a great educalional value They are highly

motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy learners more

opportunities to express their opinions and feeling

2.3 Previous studies

2.3.1 Studies in an international context

So far, the usc of language gamos im English lessons have been

interested in many foreign rescarchers Additionally, they also did a past-class

interview to get students' feelings and personal experiences in learning

vocabulary Questionnaires were designed to help students understand clearly the purpose of the study After collecting the data they concluded that most of

the learners (20 out of 23) were interested in joining the game in the group and

they tried their work, even the shy students Students showed that the games

‘were very useful for them to enrich their vocabulary knowledge because they

played and interacted with each other Besides, interviewed teachers reported

that their students seemed to learn new words more quickly and retain it better

when it was applied in a relaxed and comfortable environment such as while playing games Therefore, the effectiveness of games in teaching and learning

is revealed

Games can lead to pupils’ more positive attitudes towards English

vocabulary loaning, They taught vocabulary through alphabels, numbers, and

calendar, and pronoun through whispering games, giving clues and fishing respectively In the research, the author implemented four-way of teaching

vocabulary namely reciting vocabulary consulting dictionary, vocabulary

dictation, and playing the game The findings imdicated that all games

employed in the sludy were groatly salislicd by students and the young learner's preferred games to other vocabulary teaching activities ‘They tend to

have positive attitudes towards vocabulary learning because using games is a

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construcUve alLernative which creales a more active leaming atmosphere and

develops students’ interest in leaming vocabulary

In order to investigate the impact of playing games on young Iranian EFL

Icarners’ vocabulary retention, Ghalvon and Kabm (2014) conducted a study

at Irandoostan Language Academy with the involvement of 50 young female EFL leamers randomly divided inte two groups, an experimental and a control

group While the latter reccived traditional tcacher-contered vocabulary

instruction, the former was exposed to three-word games, namely Hangman,

Charades, and Crossword Puzzles After the treatment, the rescarch

applied the test-retest method within a two-week interval ‘The results from

the two tests indicated that the experimental group surpasses the control

one in memorizing vacabulary during the immediate recall stage and the delayed recall stage It is logical to assume that using games develops

students’ ability to memorize vocabulary as the activities offer the leamers

favorable opportunities to compare, combine, match, sort, and visualize the

words ‘Therefore, when exposed to games which challenge their thinking and promole their decision making, the students will recollect vucabulary

in a productive manner

In their book, Richards and Schmidt (2010) mentioned two kinds of

vocabulary relention: Jimmediaie recall, which is defined as “ thể

remembermg of something shortly after studying it” and delayed recall, which is known as the “ability lo remember something sometimes afler

it has been studied” (p.272) The control group received a traditional method

of teaching vocabulary and the experimental group was exposed to language

games, namely the definiuon game, half a crossword, cross thom out, and making sentences After the treatment, post-test 1 was administered to bath

groups to examine the students’ immediate vocabulary learning After two

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weeks since the treatmenl, post-tests 2 was given to both groups in order to

assess the delayed effect of learning Kour weeks after the second post-test,

post-test 3 was set to determine the students’ ability of retention in both

groups The resulls have shown that the clfect of games was more signilicant

in the delayed recall stage than in the immediate recall stage n games, the offorl made by students to arrive al correet answers means secking help and

support from their peors, and in the process of discovering the unknown

vocabulary items, students need to cooperate and negotiate with each other,

which undoubledly leads to social interaction among young learners Thanks

to the interaction, vocabulary retention is substantially enhanced

In terms of perception, Wang (2010) conducted a study with a view to

examining the usc of communicative language games for teaching and learning English in ‘Taiwanese elementary school In the study, the participants were

150 teachers teaching in Taiwanese primary schools and the instrument

employed was a survey questionnaire about their perceptions towards the use

of communicative language games in English lessons ‘lhe findings of the sludy indicaled that Taiwanese elementary school teachers generally

appreciated the benefits and values of commuicative game activities in the

teaching of the English language The results were also recommended that

teachers be aware to lake leamers’ individual varialions inte considcraiion and

be more flexible in their use of communicative language games in order to maximize educational effect when facing students with backgrounds, learning

styles, needs, and cxpectations In Kristanti (2014)'s study, the rescarch

investigated the teachers’ perceptions towards the use of language games in

teaching English for young learners The study was carried out in the first and the second grade of Bethany Klementary School Salatiga with the involvement

of two English teachers, in which observation and interview were used as data

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collection struments, in order to examine teachers’ perceptions on the use of

games in relation to experience in using games to teach language, the reason

for the deployment of games, advantages, and disadvantages in each type of

games employed im the research for the leachers and learners, and important

points to maximize the use of games ‘lhe findings showed that teachers had a positive altitude toward language games since they could contribule to

improving the students’ language skills, building their grammar understanding,

engaging them in the lessons, helping them te expand vocabulary, and

supporting the teachers m seeing the pupils’ actual ability However, the results indicated the disadvantages of language games, to be specific, they could be

time-consuming and boring to some pupils and the teachers might have

difficulty controlling the classroom management during the games In order to optimize the efficacy of games in the language teaching and learning process

2.3.2 Studies in the Vietnamese context

In Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga (2003)

had a study about the effectiveness of learning vocabulary through games They showed many advantages in learning new words by using games One of

the effective activities that they applied in teaching for students at the IDistance

Education Centre (DEC) is word games After two weeks, they conducted a

small posi-class survey to elicit students’ leclings and their cxporionees in

learnmg vocabulary A sample questionnaire was designed ‘hey collected dala by observing the class leacher and interviewing the students The result of

students showed that most of the students were willing to take part in the

games and most of them agreed that their use of the vocabulary was becoming

beller However, the use of the sludy may not be reliable duc to the limited

scope ( two weeks and two games) and the result only depended on the

interview and questionnaire, so it may not measure accurately the progress of

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students in learning vocabulary Many studies about the effectiveness of using

games in learning vocabulary have been conducted

Tran Thi Thu Huyen (2008) explored the roles of language games in

revising language items for primary school children at Hanoi Children’s Palace

center She conducted the research in the form of a quasi-experimental design with the parlicipation of 32 boy and girl students al the age of 7 The results

indicated the language games occupicd an important role in helping pupils to

remember new words and revise old lesson better

Phung Thi Nga ( 2014) undertook a research sludy im the form of the

action research project with the participation of 25 students aimed to

investigate the effect of language games on the vocabulary leaming of seventh

graders at Maric- Curric School (MCS), in which tests, questionnaires, and interviews were used to collect data to answer the two research questions

conceming to what extent the use of language games improved 7th graders’

vocabulary learning at MCS and what their attitudes toward language games in

their vocabulary learning were ‘Ihe results of the study revealed that language games helped 7th graders al MCS lo improve their vocabulary leaning and the

students had positive attitudes towards language games

Nguyen Trong Binh (2015) carried out research on using language games to

motivate lonth gradors in speaking lessons This aclion research project, in

which data collection instruments were observation sheets and survey questionnaires, was allended by 30 tenth graders at Loc Binh high school The

finding revealed that the cause of the students’ low motivation in speaking

lessons was the lack of interesting speaking activities and language games

could be deployed as teaching icchniques lo onhance students’ motivation

Nguyen ‘hi Kim ‘Trang (2015) undertook a study with the involvement of

31 fourth graders at Ba [lien B Primary School with a view to investigating the

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efTects oÏ using language games on vovabulary retention The imsrumenls [or

gathering data were two questionnaires (provided before and after the

treatment) and pretest and five posttests (four progress posttests and one final

posttest) Aller receiving an cight-weck treatment, most of the students showed

more positive attitudes towards language game applications More importantly, the findings from post — data suggested thal language games contribute to

improving students’ vocabulary retention and their attitudes toward vocabulary

learning The writer also noted down some unanticipated problems during her

treatment, First, she could realize when working in the groups better students

were dominant in the activities Second, a few students used the mother tongue

to communicate in the process of games The author also recommended good

preparation and class organization increase the success of language games in

the classroom

As a teacher of English in a vocational college, the researcher found that

students at the vocational college have many difficulties in learning

vocabulary Without a reasonable solution to motivate them to study, they will definitely not be able to have enough vocabulary knowledge to suppart

them in acquiring and developing other skills so language games are the most

reasonable and fastest way to help them improve their own vocabulary, and

to be more interested in vocabulary learning

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CITAPTER 3: RESEARCII METIIODOLOGY

In this chapter, the main issues relating to methodology was carefully

discussed First, an claboraon of the rescarch vontext was presented,

particularly, the English learning and teaching contexts in Mechanical Electne and Watcr resources Vocational college Sceond, some important matters of

methodology such as rescarch methods, participants, and data analysis were

also thoroughly mentioned Among these, the researcher paid close attention

lo the research methods with detailed description of the survey questionnaires, the tests, the interviews, and the data analysis process which laid foundations

for the research findings and discussion in the next chapter

3.1 Research context

3.1.1 Participants

The participants who participate in this study including 65 students who come

from secondary school, they did not pass the exam into high school and

choose a vocational school to continue their study so most of them have a very low background of English vocabulary so they are bad at alll skills That

the reasom why they need to he motivated by teachers ‘This group will take

part in answering the questions, interview, and doing tests

All of them are male students in the first year They are in class TẠI

and ‘fF 1 All of them are at the age of 15 to 18 ‘They will take part in doing questionnaires, interviews, and tests Although they studied English from the

2 grade to the 9 grade before entcring my college their knowledge and

vocabulary of English are very low level Most of them do not remember

much aboul grammar, vocabulary and they are not fond of learning vocabulary and they said that it is a boring and difficult activity and do not

want to spend time on it They are easy to forget new words after the lesson

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This fact motivates me lo do this research wilh the hope of changing this

situation

The students need to learn only 120 periods of English in the first year

English is taught for students from the clemontary level Most of thom do not

have vocabularies in their mind ‘Lhey seem to forget all words from sceondary school bul they are requested to complete basic communication in

communicating to get a good job casily after graduating because they will

also get a vocational graduate certificate

3.1.2 Textbook

‘Textbooks are used at vocational colleges are compiled by the General

Department of Vocational training

3.2 Research design

‘There has not heen any research on the use of language games before at

my Vocational college so this study was the first and only one to explore the

learners’ perception of the use of language games in vocabulary lessons

‘Therefore m the research approach for this study mixed methods were adopted

In general, mixed methods research represents research that involves

collecting, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a

single sludy or in a scrics of studics thal investigato the same underlying

phenomenon

In other words, mixed methods research design is used to: broaden

understanding by incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research” (

Creswell, 2009,p 205), Specifically, the concurrent embedded design was selected

as the Tesvarch design in the study The research design was cmployed because of

“its use of one data collection phase, during which both quantitative and qualitative

data are collected simultaneousiy”( Creswell,/2009,p 214) Moreover, as Creswell

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(2009) maintained, a major advantage of this research approach would be for the

researcher to “ gain perspectives from the different types of data or different levels

within the study” (p 2015) In this study, quantitative and qualitative data about

learners’ perceptions of usc language games in vocabulary lessons wore colleotad

‘using questionnaires, interviews, and tests

3.3 Data collection instruments

lo answer the research questions, three main mstruments were

employed to collect the data: Questionnaires, interviews, and tests

3.3.1 Questionnaires

Conducting a study on the real situation, questionnaircs were apphod for students Numan (1992,p.231) defined thal “a questionnaire is an

instrument lor collecting data usually in writen form, consisting of open or

closed questions and other probes requirmg a response from the subject” Questionnaires are a common instrument for collecting data on unobservable phenomena such as attitudes, motivation, and self-concept (Seliger & Shohamy, 1989) This instrument provides a simple and inexpensive way of collecting and analyzing a huge set of data from a large number of

Participants

‘The questionnaires for this present study are adapted from ‘Lran ‘hi

Dieu Hang’s questionnaire (2011, p67 — 74) because of some similarities

concem in the topic of the game In ‘Iran ‘Thi Dieu Hang’s study, the participants were all high school students aged 15 and the participants in this rescarch are also at the age of 15 ( all of the students have just graduated from socondary school and could not pass the oxam into high school so they come

to Vocational college for both studying in wo parallel programs: Vocational and Cultural Supplementary Program)

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3.3.1.1 Pre- task questionnaire

‘The pre-task questionnaire included 10 questions aiming to disclose the

attitudes of the students towards learning vocabulary before the intervention

Tt was assigned 1o the students in lhe lirst two weeks of the first term The

first two questions aimed to examine students’ attitudes on vocabulary loaming The third question was investigated the lime that cach student

spending on learning vocabulary Question 4 and 5 1s used to ask about the

common way of presenting vocabulary at secondary school and their feeling

aboul this way The next question is used to explore the biggest dillicultics in vocabulary leaming to answer the first research question “ What are the

problems encountered by studenis at Vocational college in vocabulary

learning?” With the sixth question, the students necd to express the common way they leam vocabulary at home In the three last questions, the researcher

can discover the students’ understanding and experiences about the purpose of

language games and the students’ view of the point on them

3.3.1.2 Post — task questionnaire

The format of the post-lasks questionnaire is similar to the pre-lask

questionnaire ‘The result from this helps the researcher answer the research

question “ How language games have salved these problems?”

The students also wore asked 10 questions again allor a period of ime

they participating in language games which helped them to learn vocabulary betler The first question focused on the student's opinions about the benefits

of using language games Questions 2 and 3 were uscd to ask about the

students’ feelings and attitudes about language games the teacher use in every

vocabulary lesson Students’ assessments of the cliectuveness of learnmg

vocabulary through language games are the content of question 4,5,6 ‘The

seventh question is designed to explore the students’ involvement in language

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games And the data from question 8,9,10 would help the researcher

understanding the students’ expectations from using language games in a

vocabulary lesson

The advantages of using questiomaires as dala collection tools mainly

come from the fact that with the help of a questionnaire a large amount of dala can be collceted quickly and cconomivally from a large sample Also, a

questionnaire, as one of the most common forms of data collection tools, can

easily be assessed in terms of reliability Moreover, the strengths of the

questionnaire pencrally include accuracy, generalizability, and convenicnce However, besides the strengths, questionnaires usually fall short in examining

the complex social relationship and intricate patterns of interaction

Therefore, in this study, data gathered via a questionnaire was further reinforced via a face-to-face interview ‘Ihe questionnaire of the study

involves both open-ended questions and closed-ended questions

3.3.2 Interview

In addition to questionnaires, semi-structured interviews with five students were conducted as another impurlant mode of data collection for this

study ‘The interview is structured with a list of four questions (see appendixes)

This type of interview is conducted in systematic and consistent order but it

allows inlervicwers suflicient [recdom to digress, that is the mlerviewers arc

pemnitted (in fact expected) to probe far beyond the answers to their repaired and standardized questions An interview is a very personal way to galher

information since it allows adaptability in questioning From this point of view,

the interview data provides deeper insight regarding the difficulties of students in

Icaming vocabulary, the clfectivonoss of using language games in thoir vocabulary learning, and their expectations Furthermore, the interview data

complemented and expanded on the questionnaire data as it gives follow-up

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information in the case of ambiguous and incomplete responses [rom the

questionnaires

Nunan (1992) pointed out that the oral interview has been widely used as

a research tool in applied linguistic Structured interviews, semi-structured

interviews, in-depth interviews, and focus group interviews are some types of interviews According to Numan (1992), the semi-structured interview has found favor with many researchers because of its Mexibility It helps the rescarcher and

interviewer to gain the general ideas that he or she expected to get A semi- structured interview was conducted following the questionnaire The purpose of

a semi-structured interview was to collect a deep understanding of learners”

attitudes towards language games used in teaching vocabulary The information collected trom the interview supported the data collected from the questionnaire

total vocabulary size, to compare vocabulary knowledge before and after the

course, lo keep continuing check on progress, to encourage learning by setling

a shoriterm goal, to see the effectiveness of teaching and to investigate learning process

lwo types of tests were administered before and after the trial: a pre- test and a post-test ‘The pre-test was done at the begirming of the course belore games arc implemented ( vocabulary is laught and learned by the former way) and the post-tests were used in the middle of the [irst year with

the game implementation ( using language games in teaching and learning vocabulary) The level of difficulty and the format of these two tests are

similar,

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The result of the post-Lest was compared with the resulL oŸ the present

by counting scores that leamers made

The test papers include 5 exercises:

Exercise 1 is required students to match the words with the suitable pictures (3 points)

Exercise 2 with 10 questions that students had to circle the odd one aut (2 points)

In exercise 3 with 8 questions and the students are asked to circle the

best answer for each question ( 2points)

The students needed to find ten words for each topic in exercise 4 (2

problems?”

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3.4, Data analysis techniques

3.4.1, Data analysis from questionnaires

Pre- task questionnaire and post-task questionnaire were presented in

the form of [requencies and percentages The analysis of young learners’

perceptions of the use of language games in vocabulary lessons was made according to these slalislics and with SPSS20.0 Besides, dala were

summarized into tables and charts to facilitate data synthosis, companson, and

generalization and make the data analysis process more efficient and easier to

follow simultancously

3.4.2 Data analysis from interview

Transcriptions were read in agreement with the note taken during the

interview Having been examined minutcly, the data were classified into meaningful analytical units following several major themes about the

perception of the use of language games in vocabulary lessons emerging from

Literature review Afterward, the data were coded based on the meaningful

segments During the writing stage, the text was used to explain the basic themes In the process of wriling, review, and dala comparison, the meaning

was drawn to the finding of data analysis

3.4.3, Data analysis from tests

Pre-test and post-test wore designed in the same formal, Pro-tesls were

done before the courses and the post-test was done after applying the language games in a vocabulary lesson The analysis of the dala was based on

SPSS20.0 Then data were summarized into charts to compare the result

before and after language games was used,

3.5 Research procedure

in this study, | decided to use the action research modet of Kemmis and

Mr Targgart ( cited by Cohen 1994) which composed of four phases

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- Planning: A problem or issue is identified and the plan of action is

developed to bring improvement in specific areas of the research context

- Action: The plan is put into action

- Observation: The elfects of lhe action observed and dala are collected

- Reflection: ‘he effects of the action are evaluated and become the

basis for further cycles of research

Step 1: Planning

In this step the researcher finds oul the area of the focus, describing the problem, reviewing the literature review, and writing an action plan to guide the research After 10 years of teaching at Vocational college, I realized that most of the students at Vocational school have a big problem with learning

vocabulary They are lack of vocabulary knowledge and motivation to learn new words, They do not learn vocabulary actively, they arc casy to forget

words and they do not spend much ime learning or writing the words in two lines Therefore I focus on this problem in this study

A pretest, a posttest, pre-task survey questionnaires, post-task survey

questionnaires, and interviews were used to collect information about using, language games in learning vocabulary as well as leamers’ attitudes toward using language games

The study lasted in the time of the first term of the first year ( about 12 weeks) In the teaching process, a list of suitable games was selected and applied from week 2 to week 11 The pretest, posttest, pre-task survey, and post-task survey questionnaires and interviews were carried out from the first

to the last week

Step 2: Action

Three stages are taken place in this step:

Stage 1: The researcher presented the aims of the experiment and the

action plan Then the students were asked lo take parl in the pro-lest

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