APPLYING GAMES IN TEACHING LANGUAGE FOCUS GRADE 10

Using games in teachingEnglish grammar is one recommended tool because games provide an enjoyableand relaxed learning environment for students and help them to be more creativeand commun

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HOÁ

TRƯỜNG THPT THIỆU HÓA

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Reason for choosing the topic 2

1.2 Aims of the study 2

1.3 Scope of the study 3

1.4 Methodology of the study 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

2 CONTENTS 3

2.1 Theoretical background of the study 3

2.2 Practical background of the study 6

2.3 Applying games in teaching Language focus Grade 10 7

2.4 Results 17

3 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 18

3.1 Conclusion 18

3.2 Suggestions……… 19

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Reason for choosing the study

In recent years, English language has been paid more and more attention

in Vietnam because its significance has been recognized in many aspects of life.The study of English is now obligatory in most schools, usually starting fromsixth grade However, Vietnamese parents, who want to equip their childrenwith adequate knowledge of English as it may contribute to their success in thefuture, often have their children exposed to English language since their earlyages Among all necessary aspects of English language, grammar is oftenregarded as one of the most crucial part for the proper use of English In order tocommunicate efficiently in English, learners should have sufficient grammarknowledge base (McKay, 1987) Nevertheless, it is stated in Nedomová’s thesis(2007) that many teachers find it difficult to explain theoretical concepts ofgrammar to their young students As a result, students are passively taught in atraditional way That is the reason why students usually forget what they havelearnt in a short time Therefore, the teachers should find an appropriate andeffective method to teach grammar for young learners Using games in teachingEnglish grammar is one recommended tool because games provide an enjoyableand relaxed learning environment for students and help them to be more creativeand communicative (Yolageldili & Arikan, 2011) Hence, this research wasinitiated with the concern of whether games should be used in teaching Englishgrammar to learners The purpose of this research is to investigate the benefits ofusing games in English grammar teaching for children and how to use games inlanguage classroom The research will take a look at (1) the reasons of usinggames as a teaching method for young learners; (2) advantages of using games

in language teaching and (3) the application of games in teaching Englishgrammar

Grammar always plays a significant role in teaching and learningEnglish However, it is not easy to motivate students, especially young students

in learning grammar Therefore, teachers should find a more appropriateteaching method to help young learners help young learners know more aboutthe language rules and are able to use them correctly It is a matter of fact thatfinding the most suitable and closest materials is not easy and many teachersfinds it rather difficult to apply games effectively in this problem Therefore,instead of using , they choose traditionally designed exercises in the text book tosave their time and effort

Basing on these facts, I forcefully integrated games in teaching grammarfor students with the aim of helping many teachers and students in teaching andlearning reading comprehension those mentioned reading texts That why I

choose the theme “Applying games effectively for teaching grammar for

students Grade 10 ”

Using games is one of the proper teaching methods which may be applied

to teach grammar for young learners In order to apply it effectively, teachershould understand the benefits of using games in English grammar teaching forchildren and how to use games inlanguage classroom Some issues regarding theuse of games to be investigated inthis research are the reasons of using games as

a teaching method for younglearners; advantages of using games in languageteaching and the application of games in teaching English grammar

1.2 Aims of the study

The purposes of this research is to simplify the tasks and use strategies inteaching grammar for students Grade 10 to have effective lectures and improvestudent's learning result

1.3 Scope of the study

This study is conducted among students in class 10D at Thieu Hoa highschool during the school year 2018 - 2019

a Advantageous conditions:

- Parents and students are aware of the importance of acquiring a foreignlanguage

- Some students show a special interest in learning English.

- English is one of core subjects, which are compulsory in final examinations atcertain stages of the school education system This will encourage students toinvest more time in studying it

b Difficulties:

- Some students are not really interested in learning English

- Teachers do not have enough time to apply educational games in teaching inorder to motivate the students

1.4 Methodology of the study

Reading reference books, discussing with other teachers, applying inteaching, observing and drawingout experiences

1.5 Significance of the study

This study may provide insights into the process of learning grammar forthe students It motivates the students’ desire for learning English, and makethem more confident and active in skills' activities It also gives somesuggestions for other teachers for teaching grammar

2 CONTENTS 2.1 Theoretical background of the study

There have been various ways of defining grammar - a very common andfamiliar term in language teaching and learning

Grammar can be seen as "the study and practise of the rules by whichwords change teir forms and are combined into sentences" from The LongmanDictionary of Contemporary English (quoted in Harmer: 1987, p 1) There aretwo concentrated basis elements: the rules of grammar and the stydy andpractice of the rules Similarly, Harmer (1988) defines grammar as "the way inwhich words change themselves and group together to make sentences Thegrammar of a language is what happens to words when they become plural ornegative, or what word order is used when we make questions or join two

clauses to make one sentence" (p 1) As for Murcia (1988), grammar is "asubset of those rules which govern the configurations that the morphology andsyntax of a languge assume"verySince motivation is not only a vital but also ahighly complex factor determi (p 16)

Acoording to Fromkin and Rodman (1998), "The sounds and sound patterns,the basic units of meaning such as words and the rules to comnine them to formnew sentences constitute the grammar of a language " (p 14)

I am in favour of Widdowson (1990) with the claim that "grammar is not just

a collection of sentence patterns sinifying nonsense" (p 81)

For Thornbury (1999), grammar is not just the rules on how to combine words

at the sentence of level, but it also takes into account the role of context in which

a sentence is made He says that "when we process language we are not onlytrying to infer the speaker's (writer's ) intention" (p 6)

Huges and McCarthy (1998) view grammar as discourse not as sentenceand coined the sterm discourse grammar There is an interesting movementtowards teaching English grammar with games It creates students’ motivation

in learning English Just imagine when coming in class, the teacher announcesthat it's time for a grammar lesson with games and instead of moans andwhining, the teacher and the students get smiles and excitement

Students may wish to play games purely for fun Teachers, however, need moreconvincing reasons “Teachers need to consider which games to use, when touse them, how to link them up with the syllabus, textbook or programme andhow, more specifically, different games will benefit students in different ways(Khan, J.1996)” The key to a successful language game is that the rules areclear, the ultimate goal is well defined and the game must be fun

Most classes should start with a “warm-up” activity to help the studentsrelax and settle into the class The warm-up is often a game, just to start things

on a “fun” level The basic idea is to let the class play, have a couple laughs andsome fun right at the very beginning – work them very hard in the middle – and

finish up the class with some fun Following this process, where the classbegins and ends with anxiety-reducing activities or games, we should find thestudents more motivated for their next class

Why Use Games in Class Time?

* Games are fun and students like to play them Through games studentsexperiment, discover, and interact with their environment (Lewis, 1999)

* Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing aplausible incentive to use the target language For many students, languagelearning will not be the key motivational factor Games can provide thisstimulus (Lewis, 1999)

* The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to thechildren It brings the target language to life (Lewis, 1999)

* The game makes the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant students.(Lewis, 1999)

* Through playing games, students can learn English the way students learntheir mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress,they can learn a lot

* Even shy students can participate positively

* How to Choose Games (Tyson, 2000)

* A game must be more than just fun

* A game should involve "friendly" competition

* A game should keep all of the students involved and interested

* A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than

on the language itself

* A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specificlanguage material

From 'Creative Games for the Language Class' by Lee Su Kim

'Forum' Vol 33 No 1, January - March 1995, Page 35

"There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn innature, and that if one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it isnot really learning This is a misconception It is possible to learn a language aswell as enjoy oneself at the same time One of the best ways of doing this isthrough games."

There are many advantages of using games in the classroom:

1 Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class

2 They are motivating and challenging

3 Learning a language requires a great deal of effort Games help students tomake and sustain the effort of learning

4 Games provide language practice in the various skills- speaking, writing,listening and reading

5 They encourage students to interact and communicate

6 They create a meaningful context for language use.'

When to Use Games

'Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some timeleft at the end of a lesson Yet, as Lee observes, a game "should not be regarded

as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class havenothing better to do" (1979/3) Games ought to be at the heart of teachingforeign languages Rixon suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson,provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen.'

'Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learnersrecall material in a pleasant, entertaining way All authors referred to in thisarticle agree that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students,they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom sincethey motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generatefluency."

2.2 Practical background of the study

At Thieu Hoa high school, it is undoubtedly that students, especially weakstudents, are afraid of speaking English They seldom practise speaking English,even some common greeting sentences There are several reasons to explain forthis fact Firstly, majority of students here come from farmer's families So thatthey can't afford to register English courses at the English center This preventsthem from using English naturally Secondly, students are afraid of pronuncingwords wrongly as well as making mistakes while building sentences They don'tmake sure about there grammar and pronuciation As a result, they will don'tlike speaking English as a habit Lastly, students don't have chance tocommunicate with native speakers I mean that they are mainly taught byVietnamese teachers In adition, students are uasually affected by thier mothertongue Therefore, it is difficult for them to learn English and use it as correctlyand naturally as native speakers According to a research on techniques ofteaching English grammar and vocabulary in Secondary school in two lastdecades, different teachers use different methods to help students understand thelessons better

To a certain extent, these methods can fulfil the aim of helping studentsunderstand and know thoroughly the contents of the lessons Nonetheless, howwill the class be if these methods are applied in all the lessons? Will the studentsfind it interesting to learn whereas they can find the exact answers for the tasks

in many reference books?

The results of the lesson will change if the teacher use games in teachinglanguage focus The lessons will be fun and exciting and students will feelrelaxed pay much attention to the lessons I have already used some games inteaching pronunciation and grammar I myself find it very useful to helpstudents learn more effectively They are: Circulation, Twenty Questions,Detective games, Noughts and Crosses, Tongue Twisters, Reported speechsoccer, Mining game, Bringing me something, The Jewel game,

2.3 Applying games in teaching Language focus Grade 10

CIRCULATION

1 Aim: Help students to practise using the words they have already learn to

make a long sentence as well as help them to memorise the lesson

2 Procedure:

Teacher divides the class into small groups Then gives each group a word andeach student in groups gives one word to make a full sentence Students have 3minutes to complete their own sentences Teachers will call the last student ofeach group to speak aloud his/her sentence The group which has longersentence will be winner

Applying this game to some lessons.

Unit 1: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF… – Pronunciation

Teacher gives the first word: THREE and asks students to give wordscontaining the sound /i:/ or /I /

Ex: Three sleepy sheep and a bee see Bill kick a big tin under the kitchen sink

Unit 3: SCHOOL TALKS - Grammar

Teacher gives the first words "The" and asks students to give words to makecomplete sentence having To infinitive or Gerund

Ex: The manager asked me to finish the report by lunchtime

Unit 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION… – Pronunciation

Teacher gives the first word: PAUL and asks students to give words containingthe sound O: và Q

Ex: Paul wants to call his daughter not to pour water on the floor and watch outthe dog

TWENTY QUESTIONS

1 Aim: Help students to make questions with words given This game is very

usueful for students in practising questions with Wh-questions

2 Procedure:

Teacher divide the class into four groups

Then the teacher gives a picture of a famous person to the whole class.

Students in each group take turns to make questions about him/her

In five minutes, the group which has more questions will win

Applying this game in teaching Unit 2: SCHOOL TALKS Grammar (WH Questions)

-The teacher gives a picture of a famous person (Michael Jackson)

Ex: What is his name?

Teacher divide the class into four groups

Teacher copies and cuts up one set of cards for each group, shuffles them andplaces them face down in the middle of the group

Students have to arrange the cards to make a story in three minutes

The group which has got the correct answers in the shortest time will be thewinner

Applying this game in teaching Unit 3: PEOPLE'S BACKGROUND Grammar (English 10)

-The teacher copies and cuts up one set of cards (a murder story)for each group,shuffles them and places them face down in the middle of the group

Students have to arrange the cards to make a full story (they practice pasttenses)

An old lady was found dead in her living room She had been hit on the headand jewellery worth five thousand pounds had been stolen from the house Themurder occurred between seven and ten o’clock in the evening One of theprincipal suspects is Annie Hudson, the district nurse, who has the key to the oldlady’s house, and who lives ten minutes walk away The cards contain details ofAnnie’s movements that evening

The groups’ task is to read them and try to work out if she could have committedthe murder or not Students should turn over one card at a time from the pile anddiscuss the probable sequence of events

After the groups have finished, let them compare their findings

TONGUE TWISTER

1 Aim: Teaching English pronunciation is an area of language teaching that

many English teachers avoid and students might initially be shy about theirpronunciation By using fun, silly activities, it creates a more relaxed, effectiveatmosphere than strict practice Students will have chance to practise soundsthey have just learned

She sells sea shells on the sea shore

A proper copper coffee pot