Learning vocabulary through language games of 7thNghiên cứu về việc học từ vựng thông qua các trò chơi ngôn ngữ của học sinh lớp 7 trường THCSDL Phương Nam.PDF

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 3: Students’ main difficulties in learning vocabulary Table 4: Students’ common ways of learning vocabulary Table 5: Students’ opinions about language g

4 Scope of the study

5 Methods of the study

6 Design of the study

1.1.3 Aspects involved in learning a new word

1.1.4 The status of vocabulary in current language learning

1.1.5 Some reasons for undervaluation and neglect of vocabulary in

teaching and learning in the past

1.2 Language games in foreign language learning

1.2.1 Definitions of language games

1.2.2 Classification of language games

1.2.3 The status of language games in language learning

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 Subjects of the study

2.2 Data collection instruments and procedures

2.2.1 Data collection instruments

CHAPTER 3: DARA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS 17

3.1 Results and discussion from the questionnaires

3.1.1 Results and discussion form pre-task questionnaire

3.1.2 Results and discussion from post-task questionnaire

3.2 Results and discussion from the interviews

3.3 Summary of the findings

CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS FOR USING LANGUAGE GAMES IN

TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY

33

4.1 Choosing appropriate games

4.2 When to use language games

4.3 Organization of the class

1 Summary of the study

2 Limitations of the study

3 Suggestions for further study

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 3: Students’ main difficulties in learning vocabulary

Table 4: Students’ common ways of learning vocabulary

Table 5: Students’ opinions about language games used in vocabulary

Figure 1: Students’ perspective of learning vocabulary in English lessons

Figure 2: Student’s preferences of the way of teaching vocabulary

Figure 3: Students’ exposure to language games

Figure 4: Students’ opinions about the purpose of language games in

teaching and learning vocabulary

Figure 5: Students’ feelings about the language games given by the teacher

Figure 6: Students’ feeling after taking part in language games

Figure 7: Students’ assessment of their vocabulary gained through

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Learning a foreign language is hard work and for most people takes a commitment of time and effort We all know that learning a foreign language mainly involves learning the sound system, grammar and vocabulary of that language It is apparent that vocabulary learning plays a crucial role in language learning as it helps learners to develop the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing Currently, the long neglected issue of vocabulary acquisition is receiving attention in second language pedagogy A number of research studies recently conducted have dealt with lexical problems of language learners

Recognizing the importance of vocabulary in language learning, however, most of English classrooms in Vietnam today in general and at Phuong Nam private lower secondary school where I am teaching English in particular, vocabulary teaching and learning has not been paid enough attention to as it deserves Vocabulary has not been taught separately but mixed with lessons of reading, speaking, writing or listening This causes many difficulties for teachers of English to apply suitable teaching methods

Another problem is that even though my students realize the importance of vocabulary in language learning, most of them find it boring and learn vocabulary passively They think that it is simply an activity that teachers introduce new vocabulary and their task is just to copy down the new word and remember its meaning They think they know the word already, but in fact, in many cases, students are not able to use the word they learnt appropriately in different contexts as well as its pronunciation

As a teacher of English, in the teaching process, I also realize that when doing tasks in the textbook or doing tests such as fifteen-minute tests, forty-five-minute tests etc, the most common question my students often ask is "Can you tell me what this word means?" Moreover, many of my students often make complains that they learnt a lot of new words, but only a few days later, most of the words seem to fade away in their minds and ask the teacher how they can learn vocabulary effectively and find it an interesting activity

In recent years, communicative language teaching (CLT) has been applied in Vietnam and this led to the adaptation of textbooks used in secondary schools which are designed in the light of CLT In CLT classrooms, one of the activities that requires students to communicate actively with their classmates and motivates students is playing language games Regarding these issues, it is important for English teachers to create an effective language-learning environment, in which, the levels of anxiety are low and the levels of comfort are high and which helps to motivate students to participate in learning vocabulary

in the language classroom

For the above reasons, the researcher decided to conduct the study “Learning vocabulary through language games of 7th-form students at Phuong Nam private lower secondary school”

2 Aims of the study

This study is aimed at:

 Investigating the current attitudes and main difficulties in learning vocabulary of

7th-form students at Phuong Nam private lower secondary school

 Investigating the effectiveness of using language games in their vocabulary learning

 Providing some implications for using language games in vocabulary learning, based on the students' feedback to the vocabulary lessons using language games,

3 Research questions

To reach the aims of the study, the following research questions were proposed

 What are students‟ attitudes towards vocabulary learning?

 What are their main difficulties in learning vocabulary?

 Is learning vocabulary through language games effective?

 What are some implications for using language games in vocabulary learning?

4 Scope of the study

The study focuses on investigating the common attitudes and difficulties in learning vocabulary and accessing the effectiveness of using language games in learning vocabulary

of 7th-form students at Phuong Nam private lower secondary school

5 Methods of the study

In the process of conducting this study, data is collected from survey questionnaires and interviews with students The survey questionnaires consist of two types: pre- task survey questionnaire and post- task survey questionnaire The pre- task survey questionnaire was delivered to the students to find out their attitudes towards vocabulary learning as well as their main difficulties in learning vocabulary The post- task survey questionnaire was administered after six lessons applying language games This questionnaire aims to investigate students‟ reaction to language games and the effectiveness of their learning

vocabulary through language games

Interviews were conducted with 5 students to cross- check the questionnaire data and collect detailed explanation for the student respondents‟ attitudes related to the topic of the present study

6 Design of the study

The study consists of three parts:

Part A is the introduction in which the rationale, aims, research questions, scope, methods

of the study are presented

Part B is the development- the main part of the study There are four chapters in this part Chapter 1 deals with some theoretical background relevant to the study It includes a brief look into vocabulary i.e definitions, classification of vocabulary, aspects involved in learning a new word, the status of vocabulary in current language learning, some reasons for undervaluation of vocabulary in teaching and learning in the past and an overview of language games in language learning

Chapter 2 presents the research methodology and deal with the investigation of learning vocabulary through language games This chapter covers the information of subjects of the study, data collection and procedures

Chapter 3 goes on with detailed levels of the data analysis, results, discussion and findings

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, some theoretical background of English vocabulary will be briefly presented such as definitions, classification, the status of vocabulary in language learning, aspects involved in learning a word and some possible reasons for undervaluation and neglect of vocabulary in the past In addition, an overview of language games including their definitions, types and roles in language learning will be stated clearly

1.1 A brief look into English vocabulary

1.1.1 Definitions of vocabulary

Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, learners often achieve less than their potential and may be discouraged from making use of language learning opportunities around them such as listening to the radio, listening to the native speakers, using language in different contexts, reading or watching television (Jack

C Richard and Willy A Renandya, 2002) It is true that learning vocabulary is of the utmost importance However, the definition of the word has been, for a long time - a major problem for linguistic theory Up to present, there are various definitions of vocabulary based on different points of view about vocabulary

Commonly, we consider vocabulary as all the words of a language or the collection of words one knows and uses According to Fran, L & Jean, O., in education, the word vocabulary is used with varying meanings For example, for beginning reading teachers, the word might be synonymous with “sight vocabulary,” by which they mean a set of the most common words in English that young students need to be able to recognize quickly as they see them in print However, for teachers of upper elementary and secondary school students, vocabulary usually means the “hard” words that students encounter in content area textbook and literature selections For their own, Fran, L & Jean, O define vocabulary as knowledge of words and word meanings in both oral and printed language and in productive and receptive forms Oral vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in listening and speaking Printed vocabulary includes those words that

we recognize and use in reading and writing Receptive vocabulary includes words that we recognize when we hear or see them Productive vocabulary includes words that we use when we speak or write From Ur‟s view point, vocabulary as the words we teach in the foreign language (1996:60)

In short, it is not simple work to give an exact definition of vocabulary For the purpose of this study, the researcher herself most agrees with last one

1.1.2 Classification of vocabulary

Basing on different features, vocabulary can be classified in many ways

1.1.2.1 Classification by origin

According to the origin of words, we have 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 inherited

from an earlier stage of the language like hand, chair

1.1.2.2 Classification by level of usage

According to the level of usage, vocabulary can be divided into common, literary, colloquial, slang, technical words

Common words or popular words often connect with the ordinary things or activities and make up the biggest part of the vocabulary with its core as basic word stock Stylistically, they are neutral and hence appropriate in both formal and informal writing and speech Literary words are chiefly used in writing, formal and elevated in style like the word

purchase/ buy

Colloquial words are used mainly in speaking to colleagues or friends and in informal writing Consider the following examples that illustrate the difference between the use of common and colloquial words:

John was fired for petty thieving (Colloquial)

John was dismissed for petty thieving (Common)

Slang words are words of a vigorous, colorful, fictitious or taboo nature, invented for specific occasions or uses or derived from the unconventional use of the standard

vocabulary For instance, buzz, knockout

Technical words are used in various special fields 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

Content words are used to name objects, qualities, actions or states They have independent lexical meanings and belong to the open system

1.1.2.4 Classification by the usage of the word

In language teaching, vocabulary can be divided into 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 word can be used correctly or accurately reflects the intended message of the utterance, but it does reflect a minimal amount of productive knowledge

1.1.2.5 Classification by the frequency of use

In terms of frequency studies of vocabulary, there are two types of vocabulary: high frequency and low frequency vocabulary High frequency vocabulary consists of words that are used very often in normal language in all four skills and across the full range of situations of use It consists of most function words of English and the most common content words The high frequency words are used so often that they make up about 87%

of running words in formal written texts and more than 95% of the words in informal spoken texts whereas the low frequency words cover only a small proportion of the running words of a continuous text

It is thus very important that teachers are aware of the words that make up the high frequency words of English and that give classroom time to high frequency words

1.1.2.6 Classification by the concept of morpheme

Basing on this criterion, there are simple words (i.e words consisting of one root morpheme),

derived words (i.e words consisting of one root and one or more derivational morphemes) and compound words (i.e words consist of at least two roots with or without derivational morphemes)

1.1.2.7 Classification by the part of speech

Vocabulary can be classified into nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, articles and conjunctions

1.1.3 Aspects involved in learning a new word

According to Laufer, B., in most linguistic analyses a word is described as a set of properties or features It is generally agreed that knowledge of the following is necessary in order to know a word:

a) Form- spoken and written, that is pronunciation and spelling

b) Word structure- the basic free morpheme (or bound root morpheme) and the common derivation of the word and its inflections

c) Syntactic pattern of the word in a phrase and sentence

d) Meaning: referential (including multiplicity of meaning ) affective (the connotation

of the word) and pragmatic (the suitability of the word in a particular situation) e) Lexical relations of the word with other words, such as synonymy, antonymy, hyponymy

f) Common collocations

Thus knowing a word would ideally imply familiarity with all its features, as is often the

case with an educated native speaker However, in the case of language learning, knowing

may be partial, i.e the learner may have mastered some of the word’s properties but not the others In fact multiplicity of features to be learned at the same time increases the

probability of words being problematic and therefore only partial learned, since the problem can arise from one or more of the areas

1.1.4 The status of vocabulary in current language learning

A long time ago, to the Anglo- Saxons, vocabulary was a “ word-hoard”, to be owned and treasured; to the Chinese, a sea of words to be fished This shows the importance of

learning vocabulary However, in the past, vocabulary was a victim of discrimination in second language learning and language teaching Compared to work in grammar, phonology and discourse studies, much less is known about the nature of second language learners‟ lexicon (Coady, J and Huckin, T., 1997) Fortunately, after decades of neglect, since the mid- 1980s, there has been a renewed interest in the role of vocabulary Lexis is now recognized as central to any language acquisition process, native or non- native What many language teachers might have intuitively known for a long time, that a solid vocabulary is necessary in every stage of language teaching, is now openly stated by second language acquisition researchers (Laufer, B cited in Coady, J and Huckin, T 1997)

According to Mc Carthy (1990), no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of the second language are mastered, without words to express a wider range of meanings, communication in a second language just cannot happen in any meaningful way Sharing the same point of view, Vermeer (1992) stated that knowing words is the key to understand and being understood The bulk of learning a new language consists of learning new words Grammatical knowledge does not make for great

proficiency in a language And John Flower in his book Build Your Vocabulary 1(1997)

also said that learning vocabulary is a very important part of learning English If you make

a grammar mistake, it may be wrong but very often people will understand you anyway But if you don‟t know the exact word that you need, it is very frustrating for you, and the person you are talking to Thus knowing good English means mastering big vocabulary!

The statements cited above are not aimed to make a comparison between grammar and vocabulary but to emphasize the place of vocabulary in language learning It is generally accepted that foreign language learners who possess good word power or knowledge of words are usually more successful language learners It is the fact that there is usually a positive correlation between one‟s knowledge of vocabulary and his level of language proficiency Therefore, it is no doubt that learning vocabulary is extremely important that English students should focus on in order to achieve success in learning English

1.1.5 Some reasons for undervaluation and neglect of vocabulary in teaching and learning language in the past

The teaching and learning of vocabulary was undervalued in the field of second language acquisition in the past There are several possible causes for this neglect Firstly,

vocabulary is less amenable to generalization than closed system like grammar or phonology, psycholinguists have reacted against vocabulary since it has been connected with associative learning rather than a learning process of hypothesis formation and testing and an emphasis on the beginning of stage of learning led to a focus on grammar (Laufer, 1986) Secondly, this may be originated from the effects of trends in linguistic theory which at that time - Structuralism and Chomskyan school of linguistics - was grammar and sound- oriented Another factor contributing to the neglect of vocabulary can be seen in the observation by Sinclair and Renouf (1998, cited in Coady, J.) that “it is exceptionally difficult to teach an organized syllabus of both grammar and lexis at the same time” In other words, it is very difficult to do two things at once If one‟s syllabus is organized around grammar, then it will be unlikely that lexis can be focused on at the same time Besides, James Coady explained for this neglect as follow: an often- cited aphorism in teaching is that we tend to teach others in the same manner as we ourselves were taught Most second language learners have traditionally been taught by methods that gave minimal attention to vocabulary Consequently, it seems reasonable to expect that most teachers will also continue to neglect vocabulary, whether it is because of the methods by which they have learnt or the methods by which they are teaching In fact, a given teacher‟s attitude toward the role of vocabulary in language acquisition is the product of a number of factors First, what was the teacher‟s personal experience of learning foreign languages? Second, what is the teacher‟s metacognitive attitude toward vocabulary learning? Is it most effectively achieved through reading, spoken communication, memorizing words, and so on? Third, what is the teacher‟s knowledge of the research done

on this issue? Fourth, what impact has the experience gained through teaching had on the teacher?

Coady, J suggested some of the typical metacognitive attitudes that both teachers and students can hold toward the teaching/ learning of vocabulary in a second or foreign language:

- In general, students feel that words are very important and they are eager to learn them

- In contrast, teachers tend to feel that words are easy to learn while grammar is the challenge

- Many teachers and scholars feel that teaching vocabulary is a low level intellectual activity unworthy of their full attention

- Both teachers and students feel that the productive areas of language use (speaking and writing) are much harder to achieve than the receptive areas of listening and reading Almost all methodological approaches encourage both teachers and learners to assume that the skill of reading is transferred automatically from L1 Consequently, many teachers seem to conclude that words are going to be learned naturally from reading and do not need to be taught

- Therefore, it becomes much clearer why teachers do not see the need for vocabulary teaching in spite of the students‟ requests for it Or, if the teachers do see the need for some vocabulary instruction, it is of a temporary, bridging nature until the students can do it on their own

1.2 Language games in language learning

1.2.1 Definitions of language games

Vocabulary learning is always a hard task for language learners It 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, to make it 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?

Lee, W R (1979) defined games in the strict sense, which have a definite beginning and are governed by rules, shade off into game- like activities which have a less formal design

Byrne (1995) gave the definition to games as a form of play governed 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 learner to use the language in the course of the game Similarly, Jill Hadfield (1990) defined games as an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun

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

According to Oxford dictionary, a language game is a philosophical concept developed by Ludwig Wittgenstein, referring to simple examples of language use and the actions into

which the language is woven In the website Wikipedia- the free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_game), word games are generally engaged as a source

of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well In brief, a language game is an activity where students use language to achieve a goal (usually by exchanging some kind of information), according to clear rules, in an enjoyably competitive environment

1.2.2 Classification of language games

According to Hadfield (1984), language games can be divided into two types: linguistic games and communicative games Linguistic games focus on accuracy, such as supplying the correct antonym On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information and ideas Games can be competitive (players or teams race 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 classifying language games which is based on categories Following this, there are other types of language games such as sorting, ordering, or arranging games, information 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 experience of the use of particular pattern of syntax in communication), vocabulary games (games in which the learners‟ attention is focused mainly on words, spelling games (games to practice spelling), pronunciation games (games for practicing pronunciation), number games ( games help learners to get accustomed to the spoken forms of numbers so that they are not 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)

1.2.3 The status of language games in language learning

Teachers sometimes have doubts about using games in lessons and they think that language games are a waste of time and prefer not to use them in classroom since games often have been considered only for its one element, which is fun In fact, games prove that they can provide language students more than that

According to Granger, C (1980), by using games with English, students will get the following benefits: students will be participate in lively, active lessons where they do most

of the talking, and not the teacher, students will use their English more naturally, less consciously- their concentration will be on solving the problem posed by the games and not on the language they use to solve the problem; students will get used to working in small groups or teams- playing language games will help to create a friendly working atmosphere

self-Another reason why language games are often used in language classes is that they lower students' stress and anxiety in the classroom Littlewood, W (1998) said that in the classroom, anxiety can hinder learning and make learners reluctant to express themselves through the second language… In an environment where learners feel anxious or insecure, there is likely to be psychological barriers to communication and an obstacle to learning process We should try to create space for each learner‟s individuality to express himself and work to produce a relaxed classroom atmosphere with co-operative relationships Hence, using language games is a way to solve this problem as they can banish anxiety and students will feel “a pleasant, informal and often relaxed atmosphere, favourable to language learning” (Lee, W R:1979) and in the easy, relaxed atmosphere created by language games, students remember things faster and better

Furthermore, to Wright, A., Betteridge, D and Buckby, M (1984), language learning is hard work Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period

of time Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful

Therefore, it can be said that language games have a fully respected place in foreign language learning As Hadfiled, J., (1984) asserted, games should be regarded as an integral part of the language syllabus, not as an amusing activity for Friday afternoon or for

the end of term or to Lee, W R (1979)“ not as a marginal activity, filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do”

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology of the study The information about the subjects, description of instruments of the research and procedures for data collection will be stated

in detail

2.1 Subjects of the study

The study was conducted at Phuong Nam Private Lower Secondary School The subjects

of the study consist of forty-eight 7th form students from class 7A and 7B Their age ranges from 11 to 12 and they have been learning English for at least 2 years (Phuong Nam School is a private school, so there are many students not only living in Hanoi, but also coming from other provinces Some of them said that English was not taught at their Primary schools) Their knowledge and vocabulary of English are at elementary level At Phuong Nam private lower secondary School, students have four periods of English per week In the teaching process, it is realized that most of students are not fond of learning vocabulary Most of them find it a boring and difficult activity and do not want to spend time on it This fact gives the researcher an impetus to carry out this action research with the hope to change the present situation

2.2 Data collection instruments and procedures

2.2.1 Data collection instruments

In order to obtain the data for this study, two main instruments were employed: survey questionnaires and interviews

* Questionnaire: The advantages of using questionnaire as data collection tools mainly come from the fact that with the help of questionnaires large amount of data can be collected quickly and economically from a large sample Also, questionnaire, as one of the most common forms of data collection tools, can easily be assessed in terms of reliability Moreover, the strengths of questionnaires generally include accuracy, generalizability, and convenience However, besides the strengths, questionnaires usually fall short in examining complex social relationship and intricate patterns of interaction Therefore, in this study, data gathered via questionnaire was further reinforced via face-to-face interviews The questionnaires of the study involve both open-ended questions and closed-ended questions

* Interviews: In addition to questionnaire, semi- structured interviews with five students were conducted as another important 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 interviewers sufficient freedom

to digress; that is the interviewers are permitted (in fact expected) to probe far beyond the answers to their repaired and standardized questions An interview is a very personal way

to gather information since it allows adaptability in questioning From this point of view, the interview data provides deeper insight regarding the difficulties of students in learning vocabulary, the effectiveness of using language games in their vocabulary learning and their expectations Furthermore, the interview data complemented and expanded on the questionnaire data as it gives follow-up information in the case of ambiguous and incomplete responses from the questionnaires

2.2.2 Procedures

In collecting the data for this study, the following steps were done:

Firstly, the pre-task survey questionnaire was given to the subjects and they were asked to complete it This questionnaire is intended to investigate students‟ current attitudes and main difficulties in learning vocabulary and their experience with language games as well Then six textbook content- based vocabulary lessons were applied with language games to teach the students After that, the post-task survey questionnaire was administered to the subjects to assess the effectiveness of their learning vocabulary through language games and their preferences and expectations Both survey questionnaires were given out in the class time and translated into Vietnamese in order to help students fully understand the contents of the questions

All the data gained through questionnaires then was processed, converted to percentages for the convenience of analysis

Next, after six lessons, interviews were conducted in Vietnamese with five students who were chosen randomly from the two classes The data collected from the interviews was transcribed for the purpose of analysis Each interview lasted about 7-10 minutes

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS

In this chapter, the data collected from the pre-task and post-task questionnaires will be displayed in tables and charts Following each table or chart is the analysis and discussion The results through the interviews are also presented in words At the end of the chapter, findings from the study will be summarized

3.1 Results and discussion from the questionnaires

3.1.1 Results and discussion from the pre-task questionnaire

The pre- task questionnaire was designed to collect the following information:

 Students‟ attitudes towards vocabulary learning (Question 1, 2, 3)

 The common ways of presenting vocabulary and students‟ preferences (Question

4, 5)

 Students‟ main difficulties in learning vocabulary (Question 6)

 Students‟ common ways of learning vocabulary (Question 7)

 Students‟ experience about language games and their attitudes to them (Question

8, 9, 10, 11)

3.1.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards vocabulary learning (Question 1, 2, 3)

Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards the role of vocabulary in learning English (Question 1)

Options Number Percentage (%)

normal and only one student (accounts for 2.1 %) chooses the option not important The

results show that most students are fully aware of the central role of vocabulary in learning English

Figure 1: Students’ perspective of learning vocabulary in English lessons (Question 2)

Figure 1 shows that surprisingly, although a vast of the respondents admit the role of vocabulary in learning English, most of them (62.5 %) find it not interesting Students who opt for learning vocabulary which is a boring activity account for 25 % Only few students think it is very interesting and interesting This result indicates that may be the ways English teachers use to teach students vocabulary are unappealingly enough to attract them

The statistics gained in question 3 indicates that since the majority of the respondents find the importance of learning vocabulary, approximately 90% of students spend time learning new words But only 25 % of the subjects spend one hour a day on vocabulary learning, 64.6 % spend two or three hours a week and 10.4 % rarely spend time on vocabulary

learning No one among the students chooses the option never This may be resulted from

the fact that the students are not interested in learning vocabulary Therefore, when they have English lesson at school, they learn new words of the last lesson because of being afraid that the teacher may call them to check whether they learn new words at home or not

3.1.1.2.The common ways of presenting vocabulary and students’ preferences (Question 4, 5)

Table 2: The common ways of presenting new words taught by their teachers (Question 4)

Options Number Percentage (%)

B Use the target language to define new words 24 50

Question 4 investigates teachers‟ common ways of presenting new words From the table above, it is not surprising that the most common way the students are taught new words is translation (100%) This is an easy way to teach students by giving them a bilingual word list with one column in English and another in Vietnamese Thus, most English teachers use this technique What students need to do is just copy down on their notebooks This can be one of the main reasons that make the students feel uninterested as it is not capable

of inspiring motivation to learn vocabulary Using the target language and visual aids are other ways usually employed in teaching vocabulary They in turns account for 50 % and 47.9 % Language games are also applied in teaching vocabulary, but it is clear that they only occupy a small percentage (22.9 %) in comparison with the techniques of translation

or using visual aids or using the target language This shows that many teachers still doubt about the benefits of language games in language teaching and learning context

Figure 2: Student’s preferences of the way of teaching vocabulary

With respect to student‟s preferences of the way of teaching vocabulary, the chart visibly indicates that more than half of the respondents (52 %) reveal that they do not like the way their teachers present new words Only 29.2 % of the students show their interest and there still exist 18.8 % having no concern about the way they are taught new words Apparently, the methods of teaching vocabulary have great influence on students‟ attitudes and interest

3.1.1.3 Students’ main difficulties in learning vocabulary (Question 6)

Table 3: Students’ main difficulties in learning vocabulary

Options Number Percentage (%)

A Difficult to remember the meaning and spelling 18 37.5

Question 6 deals with the greatest difficulty the students have when learning vocabulary The fact shows that many students (41.7 %) claim that the most difficult area of learning new words is they easily forget words after a few days or weeks though they spend a lot of time learning them Meanwhile 37.5 % think that memorizing the spelling and meaning is

their biggest problem These can be explained that the students do not have their own effective ways of learning new words or their teachers do not guide them how to learn vocabulary and the ways they present new words are not attractive enough to draw students‟ attention Besides, only six students (12.5 %) think that they have difficulty with pronouncing words and four students (8.3 %) consider using words in correct context as their trouble This is understandable since mainly vocabulary introduced in the 7th grade textbook is simple and concrete words Hence many students find no difficulty in using or pronouncing words

3.1.1.4 Students’ common ways of learning vocabulary (Question 7)

Table 4: Students’ common ways of learning vocabulary

Options Number Percentage %

This question is aimed to explore how the students often learn vocabulary From the results shown in the table, it can be realized that the majority of the subjects (64 %) learn new words by writing them and their meaning down in Vietnamese many times This can be inferred from the fact that students are affected by the methods their teachers normally teach them; that is, when asking students to learn new words by heart at home, they often ask them to write two or three lines of each new word in their notebooks or sometimes, teachers consider it as a method of punishing those who do not study new words at home 18.8 % choose reading aloud many times new words as their own way of learning Occupying smaller percentage (7 %) is the respondents who learn new words by making sentences with them This is understandable since many students think learning by this ways is rather difficult and takes them a lot of time to brainstorm to make sentences Besides, only one student (2 %) uses language games and, there is no voice for other ways

of learning vocabulary in this question

3.1.1.5 Students’ experience about language games and their attitudes to them (Question 8, 9, 10, 11)

Figure 3: Students’ exposure to language games

The answer to question 8 indicates that language games are familiar with students, so 100

% of the subjects have ever played them Therefore, question 9 designed to find out the reasons why the students have never played language games is ignored

Figure 4: Students’ opinions about the purpose of language games in teaching and learning vocabulary

viewpoint about the purpose of language games It is easily seen that students have different opinions The results obtained from question 10 show that 22.9 % of the informants think language games are used to serve for relaxation as the primary nature of

games (games are fun) Eight students (16.7 %) do not really appreciate the roles of language games but consider them as time- filling activities However, half of the subjects hold positive attitudes towards language games In particular, 29.2 % think that using language games is to make vocabulary learning interesting and 31.2 % choose option D, which means that the students value the status of language games not only for relaxing but also for making learning vocabulary interesting and effective

Question 11, the last question, is designed with the aim of investigating whether the students want to play language games and join willingly if the teacher applies language games in teaching vocabulary The result gained is not out of the researcher‟s expectation Since language games are commonly suitable with young students‟ psychological characteristic, most of the respondents show their interest in playing language games, accounting for the proportion of 91.7 % However, few students (8.3 %) think that they will not join language games

3.1.2 Results and discussion from the post-task questionnaire

The post- task survey questionnaire was designed to collect the following information:

 Students‟ feelings and opinions about language games used in vocabulary lessons (Question 1, 2, 3)

 Students‟ assessment of the effectiveness of learning vocabulary through language games (Question 4, 5, 6, 7)

 Students‟ involvement in language games (Question 8)

 Students‟ expectation for using language games in vocabulary lessons (Question

10, 11, 12)

3.1.2.1 Students’ feelings and opinions about language games used in vocabulary lessons (Question 1, 2, 3)

Figure 5: Students’ feelings about the language games given by the teacher

Figure 5 illustrates obviously the results of question 1 When being asked whether they liked the language games given by the teacher or not, half of the informants (50%) responded that they liked the games very much and 35.4 % said that they liked the games

It is a positive reaction from the students‟ side since most of the subjects are enthusiastic and excited in playing language games Nevertheless, four students (8.3 %) reveal that they do not like the language games Besides, three students (6.3 %) remain indifferent towards language games

In order to know more students‟ feelings and opinions about language games used by the teacher in vocabulary lessons, question 2 and 3 are proposed

Table 5: Students’ opinions about language games used in vocabulary lessons (Question 3)

Items Numbers Percentage (%)

The above table indicates that most students find the language games used in vocabulary lessons interesting and useful, in which 43.8 % of the subjects find them very interesting and useful to their learning vocabulary; 45.8 % think that they are interesting and useful

On the other hand, 10.4 % of the respondents do not share the same viewpoint They

frankly show that the language games are uninteresting and useless and serve nothing for learning vocabulary

Figure 6: Students’ feeling after taking part in language games (Question 3)

The pie chart shows that over half of the students (60.4 %) confirm that they feel relaxed and interested after joining the language games; 22.9 % feel normal Meanwhile, six students (12.5 %) consider the games boring and two feel stressful With respect to the results obtained from the analysis of data, one can conclude that to some extent, language games really attract students or at least they help to reduce stress, one of the factors intervening students‟ vocabulary acquisition and learning process

3.1.2.2 Students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of learning vocabulary through language games (Question 4, 5, 6, 7)

The results gained from question 4 indicate that language games have good impact on students‟ learning vocabulary They do not feel that learning vocabulary is a boring and sleepy activity but interesting This is proved by the fact that 72.9 % of the respondents confide that they are more interested in learning vocabulary through language games than through other ways such as reading aloud new words many times or writing down new words on papers again and again However, 27.1 % do not think that This means that these students want to keep their own habits of learning vocabulary and find them effective to themselves

Figure 7: Students’ assessment of their vocabulary gained through language games