Employing kahoot game to improve first year students’ english grammar accuracy an experimental research at an engineering university in the north vietnam

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOIUNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** EMPLOYING KAHOOT GAME TO IMPROVE FIRST YEAR Format

Trang 1

1.VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF

LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST –

GRADUATE STUDIES *****************

NGUYỄN THỊ THƠM

EMPLOYING KAHOOT GAME TO IMPROVE FIRST YEAR

STUDENTS’ ENGLISH GRAMMAR ACCURACY:

AN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AT AN ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY IN THE NORTH VIETNAM

SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI KAHOOT ĐỂ TĂNG CƯỜNG ĐỘ CHÍNH XÁC

NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT:

MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC NGHIỆM TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC

KỸ THUẬT TẠI MIỀN BẮC VIỆT NAM

M.A Minor Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2018

Style Definition: thom2:

Font:

Italic, Space After: 0,5 line

Style Definition: thom3:

16,07 cm

Formatted: Font: 14 pt Formatted: Font:

Formatted: Font: 14 pt

Formatted: Font:

Trang 2

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

*****************

EMPLOYING KAHOOT GAME TO IMPROVE FIRST YEAR Formatted: Font: 14 pt

STUDENTS’ ENGLISH GRAMMAR ACCURACY:

AN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH AT AN ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY IN THE NORTH VIETNAM

SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI KAHOOT ĐỂ TĂNG CƯỜNG ĐỘ CHÍNH XÁC

NGỮ PHÁP TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT:

MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC NGHIỆM TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC

KỸ THUẬT TẠI MIỀN BẮC VIỆT NAM

Field: English Teaching Methodology Formatted: Font: 14 pt

Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Trần Thị Duyên, Ph.D

Hanoi - 2018

Centered

Trang 3

I certify that this thesis is the result of my own research and the substance

of this thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for a degree to any

other universities or institutions

Formatted: Font: Not

Trang 4

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my

supervisor, Dr Tran Thi Duyen for her invaluable assistance, constructive

criticism, and encouragement without which my thesis would not have

been accomplished

Secondly, I am thankful to all the lecturers and staff of the Post-Graduate

Department of University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam

National University for their scientific knowledge, guidance and

enthusiasm during my course

My sincere thanks also go to my friend - Mrs Nguyen Thi Thu Ha and her

students for their substantial support for the data collection for this study

In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to my friend – Mrs Bui

Hong Van who helped me to proofread and edit my writing

Last but not least, I owe my deep thanks to my family and friends who

have helped and encouraged me while I was conducting the research

NGUYEN THI THOM

Trang 5

Formatted: thom1,

Centered

Grammar learning plays an important role in second language acquisition

Games have been considered an effective tool for enhancing English

teaching and learning process The paper aims to study the use of Kahoot

game for enhancing the effectiveness of English teaching and learning

process at one University in Hanoi and investigate students’ attitude of

1st-year students toward Kahoot game at this University In order to conduct

the study, three data collection tools were employed: (1) tests, (2)

questionnaires and (3) interviews The research results show that the

employment of Kahoot game help improve the students’ grammar

accuracy In addition, most of the students indicated positive attitudes

towards the use of Kahoot game in English lessons and it seems that the

integration of Kahoot game could help increase the students’ learning

motivation It is hoped that the study can be a useful source of reference

for teachers and practitioners who are looking for ways to improve their

teaching of English language, especially English grammar, to support

Trang 6

OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

PART I: INTRODUCTION

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Grammar

1.1.1 Definition of grammar

1.1.2 The roles of grammar in ELT

1.1.2.1 For-grammar perspectives

1.1.2.2 Against-grammar perspectives

1.1.3 The methods of teaching grammar

1.1.3.1 Grammar-Translation Method

1.1.3.2 Direct method

1.1.3.3 Audio-lingual

1.1.3.4 Communicative Language Teaching

1.2 Games

1.2.1 Definition of games

1.2.2 Advantages of games

1.2.3 When to use games

1.2.4.Review of previous related studies

1.5 Summary of the chapter

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 The English teaching at Engineering University

iv

Formatted: Right: -0,5 cm Formatted: Font: 14 pt Formatted: Font: (Default)

Times

New Roman, 14 pt, Font color: Auto

Trang 7

2.2 The current textbook Topnotch 2 (version 3) in use at Engineering

University and its grammar 19

2.3 Employing Kahoot games in teaching grammar 20

2.3.1 The background of Kahoot 20

2.3.2 Creation of quizzes in Kahoot 21

2.3.3 How to play Kahoot in the classroom 22

2.3.4 Effects of using Kahoot games to teach English Grammar 24

2.4 The setting of the study 27

2.5 The participants 28

2.6 Data collection instruments 28

2.6.1 Pre-test and post-test 28

2.6.1.1 Pre-test 28

2.6.1.2 Post-test 29

2.6.2 Survey questionnaire 30

2.6.3 Interview 30

2.7 Data collection procedure 31

2.8 Data analysis 31

2.9.Summary of the chapter 32

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 33

3.1 Test results 33

3.2 Questionnaire results 37

3.3 Interview Results 42

3.4 Discussion 45

PART 3: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 48

1 Major findings 48

2 Limitations 49

3 Implications 49

4 Suggestion for further research 50

v

Trang 8

REFERENCES 51

APPENDIX 54

2 Aim of the study 2

3 Research questions 2

4 Method of the study 2

5 Significance of the study 2

6 Structure of the thesis 3

1.1 Grammar 4

1.1.1 Definition of grammar 4

1.1.2 The roles of grammar in ELT 6

1.1.2.1 For-grammar perspectives 6

1.1.2.2 Against-grammar perspectives 7

1.1.3 The methods of teaching grammar 8

1.1.3.1 Grammar-Translation Method 9

1.1.3.2 Direct method 9

1.1.3.3 Audio-lingual 10

1.1.3.4 Communicative Language Teaching 11

1.2 Games 12

1.2.1 Definition of games 12

1.2.2 Advantages of games 13

1.2.3 When to use games 14

1.2.4.Review of previous related studies. 15

1.5 Summary of the chapter 16

2.1 The English teaching at Engineering University 18

2.2 The current textbook Topnotch 2 (version 3) in use at Engineering University and its grammar 19

2.3 Employing Kahoot games in teaching grammar 20

2.3.1 The background of Kahoot 20

2.3.2 Creation of quizzes in Kahoot 20

vi

Trang 9

2.3.3 How to play Kahoot in the classroom 21

2.3.4 Effects of using Kahoot games to teach English Grammar 22

2.6 Data collection instruments 24

2.6.1.1 Pre-test 24

2.6.1.2 Post-test 25

2.6.2 Survey questionnaire 26

2.6.3 Interview 26

2.7 Data collection procedure 27

2.8 Data analysis 27

3.1 Test results 29

3.4 Discussion 40

1 Major findings 43

2 Limitations 44

3 Implications 44

4 Suggestion for further research 45

REFERENCES 46

APPENDIX 49

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP i Formatted: Font: 14 pt, Font color:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii Text 1

vii

Trang 10

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES x

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Grammar 4

1.1.1 Definition of grammar 4

1.1.2 The roles of grammar in ELT 6

1.1.3 The methods of teaching grammar 8

1.2 Games 12

1.2.1 Definition of games 12

1.2.2 Advantages of games 13

1.2.3 When to use games 14

1.3 Employing Kahoot game in teaching grammarError! Bookmark not defined. 1.3.1 The background of Kahoot Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.3.2 Creation of quizzes in Kahoot Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.3.3 How to play Kahoot in the classroom Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.3.4 Effects of using Kahoot game to teach English Grammar Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.4.Summary of the chapter 15

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 18

2.1 The English teaching at Engineering University 18

2.2 The current textbook Topnotch 2 (version 3) in use at Engineering University and its grammar 19

viii Formatted: TOC 1, Tab stops: Not at 15,3 cm 2.5 Data collection instruments 28

2.5.2 Survey questionnaire

2.5.3 Interview

2.6 Data collection procedure

2.7 Data analysis

Trang 11

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 33

3.1 Test results 33

3.4 Discussion 45

PART 3: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 48

1.Major findings 46

2.Limitations 47

3.Implications 47

4 Suggestion for further research 48

REFERENCES 51

APPENDICES 54

APPENDIX I 54

APPENDIXII 60

APPENDIX III 64

APPENDIX IV: 66

ix

Formatted: TOC 1, Line

spacing:

1,5 lines, Tab stops: Not at 15,3 cm

Formatted: TOC 1, Left, Tab

stops:

Not at 15,3 cm

Formatted: TOC 1, Line

spacing:

1,5 lines, Tab stops: Not at 15,3 cm

Formatted: Line spacing: 1,5

lines, No widow/orphan control

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Formatted: thom1, Centered

Formatted: Font: Bold

Trang 12

Formatted: Font: Not Bold

Table 3.1: The pre-test results of the control and experimental group 34

Table 3.2: The post-test results of the control and experimental group 36

Table 3.3: Descriptive statistics for the pretest and post-test of the experimental and control groups (Max score = 100) 37

Table 3.4: Participants’ attitudes towards Kahoot (percentage) 38

Table 3.5: Means of five dimensions 41

Figure 2.1: Research procedure 32

Figure 3.1: Student’s attitudes towards the Kahoot game by mean 42

Field Code Changed Formatted: Hyperlink, Font:

12 pt, Not Bold, Check

spelling and grammar

Formatted: Font: 14 pt Formatted: Hyperlink, Font:

12 pt, Not Bold, Check

spelling and grammar

Formatted: Font: 14 pt Formatted: Font:

x

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Centered

Formatted: thom1

English has become an

Trang 13

important mean of international communication and an essential tool for

international integration Therefore, the demand for learning English is increasing,

especially in Vietnam where English is one of

the main subjects at school, and among the compulsory subjects of the entrance

exams to a number of universities At Engineering University, the teaching and

learning of English play an important part in the educational program In

particular, students will not be allowed to learn their major subjects if they do not

meet the requirement in terms of English proficiency To facilitate English

learning, students and teachers are equipped with good learning condition and

various technological devices such as fast and reliable internet access in the

classroom, laptops for individual students and teachers, projectors, speakers, etc

Given the importance of English to their study, most of the students are trying

their best to learn English However, many students claim that they feel bored

with grammar lessons and do not spend time on learning them because the

structures, tenses are difficult for them to remember In the search for an effective

method to help students learn English grammar, the researcher found that Kahoot

game has the potential to help students learn English grammar well; especially

the game can help students consolidate and memorize the structures and their

usage Taken into consideration the good teaching and learning facilities at

Engineering University as well as the students’ learning needs, the researcher

believes that employing Kahoot game could be a workable solution for the

teaching of English grammar there Thus, the researcher decided to conduct a

research on the issue The research is entitled “Employing Kahoot game to

improve

first-Formatted: Font: Not Bold

1

year students’ grammar accuracy: An experimental research at an Engineering

University in North Vietnam”

2 Aim of the study

The study aimed to investigate:

 the effects of Kahoot game on first year students’ English grammar

accuracy

 students’

attitudes toward the use

of Kahoot game in the English grammar class

3 Research questions

The research is carriedout with an attempt tofind out the answer tothe following researchquestions:

Trang 14

3.1 What are the effects of Kahoot game on first year students’ English grammar

accuracy?

3.2 What are students’ attitudes toward the use of Kahoot game in the English

grammar lessons?

4 Method of the study

This study will be an experimental research The researcher will use three types of

data collection tools: Pre-test and post-test to measure the effects of Kahoot game

on students’ grammar accuracy and survey questionnaires and interviews to

investigate the attitude of the student toward the Kahoot game To protect the

confidentiality of the university and participants, a speudoname is used this study

instead of the real name of the university and participants are numbered from S#1

to S#25 for both control and experimental groups

5 Significance of the study

The study is significant in terms of the research results and the research design

employed Since improving the effectiveness of English language teaching and

learning has become one of the major concerns for English

Trang 15

language teachers, researchers and policy makers, the findings of the study

will contribute significantly to the field of English language teaching.The

study can be used as a reference for teachers and practitioners who are

searching for an effective way to teach English grammar In addition, the

experimental research design employed in the study could also be used as a

reference for teacher researchers who would like to carry out research in their

own educational contexts

The thesis is organized as follows:

PART I: INTRODUCTION - introduces the rationale; aims of the study;

research questions; methods of the study; significance of the study; and the thesis

structure

PART II: DEVELOPMENT – the main part of the study, consists of three

chapters: Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW– reviews and presents relevant

theories and studies to the study Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY – describes

the setting of the study, the participants, the research questions, methods, and

instruments Chapter 3: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION –

presents an analysis of the data and discusses the findings of the study PART

III: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Trang 16

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

Concerning the terms “grammar”, several researchers have attempted to

define it Apparently, depending on one’s theoretical orientation, different people

define grammar differently

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English (as cited in Harmer, 1987,

p.1) defines grammar as “the study and practice of the rules by which

words change their forms and are combined into sentences.” There are two basic

elements in this definition: the rules of grammar; and the study and practice of

the rule Here grammar constitutes a subset of rules relating to word

formation (morphology) and sentence formation (syntax) While

Huddleston (1984) shares a similar view when seeing grammar as

consisting of morphology and syntax According to him, morphology deals

with forms of words while syntax deals with the ordering of the words to

form sentences As can be inferred from two definitions above, grammar is

conventionally seen as the study of morphology and syntax of sentences

Cobbett (1984) regards grammar as “constituting rules and principles that

help a person to make use of words or manipulate and combine words to give

meaning in a proper manner It concerns with form and structure of words and

their relationships in sentences” In addition, Fromkin and Rodman (1998)

defined “ The sounds and sound patterns, the basic units of meaning such as

words and the rules to combine them to form new sentences constitute the

grammar of a language”(p.14) There are several similarities between the two

above-cited definitions The first thing is that according to these authors,

Bold, Not Italic

4

Trang 17

grammar is assumed to be a guide through which words are put together to

make correct sentences Secondly, grammar is composed of rules not only

relating to word formation (morphology) and sentence formation (syntax)

but also concerned with the meaning of the sentence (semantics) and the

sound system (phonology) within a language However, one drawback that

all four definitions above (in both the first and categories) have in common

is that grammar has been concerned almost exclusively with the analysis at

the level of the sentence I am in favor of Widdowson (1990) with the

claim that “grammar is not just a collection of sentence patterns signifying

nonsense” (p.81)

Besides, for Thornbury (1999), grammar does not just rule on how to combine

words at the sentence 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

only trying to make sense of the words and the grammar, we are also trying to

infer the speaker’s (or writer’s) intention” (p 6) Moreover, Hughes and

McCarthy (1998) view grammar as discourse, not as the sentence and coined

the term discourse grammar They argued that “grammatical statements

that do not take account of such contextual features are inadequate and

unable to support grammar teaching effectively.” (p.265)

For the purpose of the study, I use the definition of Richards, Platt, and Platt

(1992) in their Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching & Applied

Linguistics:

Grammar is a description of the structure of a language and the way in which

linguistic units such as words and phrases are combined to produce

sentences

in the language It usually takes into account the meanings and functions

these sentences have in the overall system of the language It may or may

not include the description of the sound of a language (p.161)

5

Trang 18

In this definition, grammar is viewed as descriptive, which refers to the Formatted: Font: Not Bold, Not

structure of a language as it is actually used by speakers and writers Italic

Moreover, this definition shows both linguistic and social features of

grammar as it refers to not only rules to make correct sentences but also

meanings and functions of such sentences in the language, which is necessary

for the teaching and learning of foreign language

single

Along the history of second language teaching, the role of grammar has been Formatted: Font: Not Bold,

Not

an issue of controversy According to Richards (2002), it is “perhaps the most Italic

controversial issue in language teaching” (p.145) Thornbury (1999) asserts

that “in fact, no other issue has so preoccupied theorists and practitioners as

the grammar debate, and the history of language teaching is essentially the

history of the claims and counterclaims for and against the teaching of

grammar” (p.14) The debate has brought about an extreme split of

attitudes, namely, those who hold that grammar should receive a central

attention in language teaching and those who hold that grammar should not

be taught at all

1.1.2.1 For-grammar perspectives

Many scholars in the field of language teaching and learning emphasize the

role grammar plays in language learning For instance, Savignon (1991), one

of the leading advocates of communicative language teaching, emphasizes

that “communication cannot take place in the absence of structure, or

grammar” (p 268) In agreement with Savignon, in their communicative

competence model, Canale and Swain (1980) clearly view grammar as one

component of communicative competence and without grammar, learners can

communicate effectively only in a limited number of situations

6

Trang 19

After reviewing ideas on the role of grammar teaching, Nunan (1991) came to

a conclusion that "grammar exists to enable us to 'mean', and without grammar it is

impossible to communicate beyond a very rudimentary level.” Furthermore, Wilkins

(as cited in Nunan, 1991, p 152), one of the architects

of communicative approach to language teaching, also points out that

“acquiring the grammatical system of the target language is of central

importance, because an inadequate knowledge of grammar would severely

constrain linguistic creativity and limit the capacity for communication”

The list of supporters of grammar is still going on Long and Richards (1987)

assert that grammar plays a central role in the four language skills and vocabulary to

establish communicative tasks Brown (2007) points out that “grammatical

competence occupies a prominent position as a major component of communicative

competence” (p 348)

For Palmer (1984), the central part of a language is its grammar, and this

should be of “vital interest to many scholars in the field of language teaching and

learning emphasize the role grammar plays in language learning For instance,

Savignon (1991), one of the leading advocates of communicative language teaching,

emphasizes that “communication cannot take place in the absence of structure, or

grammar” (p 268) In agreement with Sauvignon, in their communicative intelligent

educated person If it has not been of such interest, then the fault must be in the

failure to recognize its importance within this essentially human activity”(p 9)

1.1.2.2 Against-grammar perspectives

Due to the fact that many language learners know the grammar rules of a

language well, but they cannot communicate effectively in that language (Hinkel &

Fotos, 2002), several scholars do not believe that grammar teaching will have any

impact on communicative purposes and therefore

7

neglect it.Prabhu

Trang 20

(1987), for example, believes that the development of competence requires the

creation of conditions in which learner engage in an effort to cope with

communication, not a systematization of planned grammatical input

The strongest advocate of this view is Krashen (1983, 1987), who is famous

for his learning and acquisition hypothesis and his Monitor theory Based on

his learning and acquisition hypothesis, Krashen argues that from learning the

learners obtain conscious knowledge of grammar which is not responsible for

actual L2 performance On the other hand, the acquisition is the underlying

process which is responsible for the actual performance and this can only

happen unconsciously through natural exposure to comprehensible inputs

What’s more, according to his Monitor theory, consciously-learned grammar

can only function as monitoring and monitoring overuse will only disturb the

flow of production Consequently, this grow-up holds that formal and

conscious study of grammar should be strongly rejected if the objective of

learning the language is productive competence However, Krashen has

received many strong criticisms from other researchers as his acquisition

theory seems to be merely based on his own observation without supporting

evidence

In conclusion, grammar plays a very important role in language teaching, even

though there was a time when grammar was severely rejected, but as Richards

(2002) says, in recent years grammar teaching has regained its rightful place in the

language teaching and “grammar is too important to be ignored” (p 145) Therefore,

the debate is now not on whether grammar competence is important but rather on

how to teach grammar

Along the history of language teaching methodology, different teaching

methods have perceived grammar differently, especially its role and its

8

Trang 21

teaching methods In this study, the researcher intends to present the teaching

of grammar in four major teaching methods, namely the Grammar-

Translation method, Direct Method, Audio-lingual Method, and Communicative

Language Teaching approach 1.1 34 1 Grammar-Translation Method

The Grammar-Translation Method derived from traditional approaches to the

teaching of Latin and Greek in the nineteenth century This method used grammar

as the starting point for instruction The class under this method began with explicit

grammar rules presentation, followed by practices involving translation into and out

of the student’s mother tongue (grammar is taught deductively) Students’ native

language is the language of instructions and mistakes and errors must be avoided at

any cost The syllabus used was

the structural syllabus Richards and Rogers (2002) Briefly, in this method

grammar is considered essential in foreign language teaching and there is an

attempt to teach it in an organized and systematic way The best point of this

method is that it helps learners produce grammatically correct sentences and is

easily used in large-sized classes; however, learners taught with this method

find it difficult to communicate in real life and tend to be passive recipients of

knowledge

1.1 34 2 Direct method

The Direct method emerged to challenge the way the Grammar-Translation

Method focused exclusively on written language The basic premise of the Direct

Method was that one should attempt to learn a second language in much the same

way children learn their first language The method emphasized oral interaction,

spontaneous use of language, no translation between first and second languages, and

therefore rejected explicit grammar

9

teaching

Grammar is

Trang 22

taught inductively in the target language by asking and answering questions

between teachers and students in small and intensive classes Richards and

Rogers(2002) An advantage of the Direct method is that learning in the target

language enables students to think in the target language Besides, it may be

advantageous for a teacher using this method not to know his students’ native

language However, the complete avoidance of students’ native language may

lead to the misunderstanding of rules and frustration from students

1.1 34 3 Audio-lingual

Evolving from the work of structural linguists and behavioral psychologists,

the Audio-lingual approach proposes that language performance consists of a

set of habits in the use of language structures and patterns Grammar is taught

inductively with little or no grammatical explanations Dialogues and drills

form the basis of audio-lingual classroom practice After a dialogue has been

presented and memorized, specific grammatical patterns in the dialogue are

selected and become the focus of various kinds of drills and pattern-practice

exercises The focus of instruction rarely moves beyond the sentence level

Celce-Murcia(1991) It is important to prevent the learner from making errors

because errors lead to the formation of bad habits When errors occur, they

should be corrected immediately by the teacher The strong point of this

method is that students can develop listening and speaking proficiency at the

same time they learn new structures; however, the explicit use of the target

language often leads to time-consuming and students might get bored with

mechanical repetition or become well-trained parrots

10

1.1 34 4 Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which views language as an

instrument of communication, has been the dominant language teaching

methodology since the mid-1970s There exist two versions of CLT: weak version and the strong version The weak version ofCLT argues that an

Trang 23

explicit focus on forms has an important –but not primary- role to play in second

language learning and aims at using grammar and vocabulary to achieve

communicative goals Whereas, the strong version of CLT rejects grammar teaching

when they argue that attention to forms is not necessary; learner can acquire an

implicit understanding of grammar by using the language in a system of meaningful

tasks Concerning the teaching of grammar, Celce-Murcia (1988, p.27) introduces

four stages of a grammar lesson in the light of CLT: Presentation, Focused practice,

Communicative practice, and Teacher feedback and correction In the presentation

stage, a grammar structure is introduced inductively or deductively In the focused

practice, the learners manipulate the structure in question so as to gain control

of the form for communication The next stage is communicative practice in

which learners practice the target structure by engaging in communicative

activities such as information gap, role-play, discussion… Although teacher

feedback and correction is the final stage, it must take place throughout the

lesson as Celce-Murcia (1988, p.28) states that “during the second part of the

lesson, correction should be predominantly straightforward and immediate

During the third part, however, communication should not be interrupted

Instead, teachers should take not of errors and deal with them after the

communicative exercises.”

Despite the wide-ranging discussion on different modifications, until now CLT

is considered as the most popular and favored approach to English

11

language teaching

In CLT, Kahootgame should beemployed in thethree last of the four

Trang 24

stages in the introduction of CLT After the presentation of the grammar

lesson, students can play Kahoot game to practice the rules of grammar

immediately follow the teacher’s instruction, they also can communicate with

each other to discuss in each team mode However, the teacher does not need

to give feedback to students or correct their errors thanks to the automatic

According to Byrne (1995) gives the definition of games as a form of play

governed by rules They should be enjoyed 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, Hadfield (1990) defines

games as "an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun." Another

definition comes from Saricoban & Metin (2000) saying that games are

organized according to rules and they are enjoyable

The main focus of using a game in class is to help students learn and have fun

However, to use games in classrooms, it is equally important that before playing the

rules of the games are clearly explained and well understood by the students There

should be only a few, well-explained rules

Demonstrations also can be very helpful because it can help students

understand the game and help them follow the rules In contrast, they will

misunderstand the purpose of the game and they may not get the benefits they

should from the game

When playing games, competition is very important because it can stimulate

and encourage students to take part in the activity naturally, they desire to beat the

other teams Therefore, games motivate learners to acquire knowledge

12

Trang 25

1.2.2 Advantages of games

Though games are often associated with fun, we should not lose sight of their

pedagogical values, particularly in second language teaching Richard-Amato (1996)

said Games are effective because they provide motivation, lower students' stress,

and give them the opportunity for real communication

When playing games, students are trying to win or to beat other teams for

themselves or on the behalf of their team in a natural way Therefore,they are

so competitive while playing because they want to have a turn to play, to score

points and to win.The students will definitely participate in the activities in the

class,then the teacher is able to introduce students to new ideas, grammar, and

knowledge and so on For instance, students are so competitive that they want

to finish first and win in the dictation game It can be clearly seen that games

can attract students' attention and participation, so they can motivate students

to want to learn more Therefore, it is conclusion that they can transform a

boring class into a challenging one

There is a high level of stress in the classroom because students have to face

unfamiliar or unknown grammatical structures, words, texts and so forth Therefore,

students often feel uncomfortable and insecure in class, which inevitably affects

their ability to learn As a result, games can help lower their anxiety, make them feel

comfortable, and want to learn more

Since students play games, they relax and have fun, thus they are playing

games and want to communicate efficiently They even do not worry about making

mistakes and do not try to correct themselves in every single sentence.Therefore,

students are free from worry and stress, they can improve their fluency and natural

speaking styles

Lee (1995) states several advantages when games are used in the classroom,

including “a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class”,

“motivating and challenging”, “effort of learning”, and “language practice in

13

Trang 26

various skills”.Lee (1995) states several advantages when games are used in

the classroom, including “a welcome break from the usual routine of the

language class”, “motivating and challenging”, “effort of learning”, and

“language practice in various skills”

While Kahoot game are also proved its effectiveness through two studies like

Jemima and el (2017) concluded that “Kahoot game in English language classroom

helps to cultivate positive attitudes, increase motivation level of participants,

stimulate better perceptions and expectation of learners towards future English

classrooms, healthy competition, fun, and enjoyable learning environment”, and

Wang (2015) claimed that: “Kahoot game enhanced the interaction between the

teacher and students, as well as boost the students motivation, engagement, and

learning”

In short, with so many advantages games are of course an effective tool in

language classrooms, as well as, Kahoot game has positive impacts on teaching and

learning English in two above study

It is necessary for those who want to use games as a learning aid to be

concerned about how to use them Hadfield (1990) suggests that "games should be

regarded as an integral part of the language syllabus, not an amusing activity for

Friday afternoon for the end of the term." Games can contribute to students' skills if

they are incorporated into the classroom, particularly if they are used to reinforce or

introduce a grammatical rule or structure

Carrier (1980) says that games can be used to open or close a lesson in a

stimulating way, to punctuate a lesson, to relieve tension after a test or at any time

that teachers feel appropriate Byrne (1980) advises not to play a game at the

beginning of the conversation period and save the game for the use in the

14

Trang 27

middle or toward the end of the session when the students would welcome a

change of pace He also reminds that teachers should stop playing a game

before students are ready to quit In other words, teachers never have a game

played for so long that it begins to bore the participants Similarly, games

shouldn’t be played too often since this will cause it to lose its novelty

Undoubtedly, games are very effective in language teaching and learning with

a lot of advantages such as giving the fun, reinforcing motivation, improving

proficiency and corporation, etc The difficult task for teachers is how to choose

the suitable type of game, the appropriate time to play it as well as the opportunity

1.2.4.Review of previous related studies.

Formatted: Line spacing:

1,5 lines

The roles of games and its effectiveness in English language teaching have Formatted: Font: 14

pt been the subject of many studies First, Gülin & Arda (2011) conducted a

survey research on the application of games in teaching grammar Using data

collected from EFL learners at the age of six, this study pointed out that

games can direct young learners into language learning It is because they are

imaginative and creative, learn subconsciously and like to be physically

active Instead of exploring general games like the above study, Tengku &

Rahmah (2012) examined the effectiveness of board games in teaching and

learning grammar Analyzing data from 115 students in the UiTM Pahang,

this research project asserted that board games can be a useful teaching tool

to be used in grammar lessons because there are many positive outcomes

such as it motivated students to study grammar, helped to improve grammar

and helped students to remember grammar rules The result of this study is

confirmed by the experimental research caried out by Hoang & Pham (2017)

on the relationship between board games and the retention of EFL students in

15

Trang 28

learning English grammar It proved that board games is beneficial to learners’

grammar retention

The development of technology so far has led to the application in teaching and

learning English Hamid, Fateme & Maryam (2014) studied the relationship

between online games and vocabulary learning of Iranian EFL students Using

experimental research, this study proved that online games help students learn

English vocabulary more effectively like remembering words quicker and longer

Regarding the use of Kahoot game, Jemima and el(2017) investigated students’

perceptions of Kahoot in learning English Employing action research design to

collect data from nine participants of a primary school in a rural area in Southern

Malaysia, this study showed that Kahoot game in English language classroom

helps to cultivate positive attitudes, increase motivation level of participants,

stimulate better perceptions and expectation of learners towards future English

classrooms, healthy competition, fun, and enjoyable learning environment and

actively communicating learners by mastering the required targeted language

In short, the studies above show that games seem to be an effective tool in

teaching English to learners of different age However, few research has been

carried out to investigate the impact of using Kahoot on students’ grammar

retention in the context of Higher Education in Vietnam Thus, the present study

was conducted with the aim to see whether Kahoot game has positive effects on

first year students’ grammar accuracy at Engineering University

1.5 Summary of the chapter

In this chapter, the researcher has presented a number of issues related to the

research questions These include the definitions of grammar, the roles of

grammar in language teaching, two approaches to grammar teaching, four

approaches to grammar instruction as well as the teaching of grammar in

Bold

Trang 29

some teaching methods In addition, Games theoretical (definition ofgames,advantages of games, time to use games in class) is also introducedcarefully above This literature review serves as the theoretical framework forthe researcher to build up two sets of tests, questionnaires, and interview, then

to analyze the data collected as well as to answer two research questions foremploying Kahoot game to teach grammar at Engineering University Thenext chapter will provide the readers with the information about the contextand methodology of the study

17

Trang 30

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

Centered

This study will be an experimental research The researcher will use three Formatted: Font: NotBold

types of tool collections: Pre- and post-tests to measure the effects of Kahoot

games on students' grammar accuracy, survey questionnaire and interview to

investigate the attitude of students toward the game Data will be collected

and analyzed statistically through students' test results, survey

questionnaires

and interview The aim of the study was carried out to answer two questions:

2.5.1 What are the effects of Kahoot game on first-year students’ English Formatted: Font: NotBold

grammar accuracy?

2.5.2 What are students’ attitudes toward the use of Kahoot game in the Formatted: Font: NotBold

English grammar lessons?

2.1 The English teaching at Engineering University Formatted: thom1

Engineering University was established on September 8th, 2006 with

Vietnamese Prime Minister's Approval The mission it pursues is to build a

model of an innovative University which meets international standards and

has modern philosophy There is a balance between training and practical

life

and national labor demand, contributing to boosting Vietnam Information

Technology to catch up with developed countries in the world

The difference of The Engineering University is to focus on training

engineers It means that training is embedded in IT enterprises, practices,

research, implementations and innovative technology.In accordance with

modern methodology, the teaching programs have always been

updated and upheld technological and international standards,

especially with an emphasis on foreign languages, manufacturing

process, and group dynamics and other personal skills Needless to

say, English plays an important role among a variety of/ various

subjects at Engineering University

Trang 31

18

Trang 32

After passing the University entrance exam, it is compulsory for students at Formatted: Font: Not Bold

Engineering University to participate in an English placement test The test

helps categorize students’ level of English at the time they enter the university

and divide them into suitable English classes Five levels of students are

divided equally with the textbooks Topnotch 1, 2, 3 (Elementary,

Pre-intermediate, Intermediate) and Summit 1, 2 (Upper-Pre-intermediate, Advance)

by Joan M Saslow and Allen Ascher that have been used to teach English

skills at Engineering University.The lowest-English-level students using the

textbook Topnotch 1, and the highest levels are taught with Summit 2 Each

course includes 70 English lessons (equivalent to 140 class hours) and lasts 8

weeks After each course, students sit for an English test and if their

accumulated grades meet the requirements, they can move to study the next

English course

2.2 The current textbook Topnotch 2 (version 3) in use at Engineering Formatted: thom1 University and its grammar

In 2006, the six-level textbooks Top Notch by Saslow and Ascher (2006) Formatted: Font: Not Bold

published by Longman Publisher.The books Topnotch 1, 2, 3 are chosen to be

the most authentic and updated material that the Faculty of English has

bought to meet the demand of teaching and learning English at

EngineeringUniversity to some extent These textbooks help students

communicate in English with a diverse array of speakers around the world

who have a wide range of native and non-native accents An emphasis on

cultural fluency enables students to navigate the social, travel, and business

situations that they will encounter in their lives

In these textbooks, besides 4 skills listening, speaking, reading and writing, Formatted: Font: Not Bold

they also supplemented vocabulary and grammar which is chosen to be

studied in this thesis The chosen textbook in the present study is level of

19

Trang 33

English Top Notch 2 (Pre-intermediate) and the grammar content is taught in this

book because the level of students is not too low or too high Therefore, the level

2 is considered to be suitable for this experimental research

In addition, the Top Notch 2 Student's Book version 3rd and Workbook Pack are

also used to provide students with multiple exposures to English language use,

numerous opportunities to practice, and systematic and intensive recycling

Goals and achievement-based lessons with can-do statements enable students to

confirm their progress in every class session

2.3 Employing Kahoot games in teaching grammar

2.3.1 The background of Kahoot

Kahoot is a game-based student response system being a result of the Lecture

Quiz research project initiated in 2006 at the Norwegian University of Science and

Technology

The first version of Lecture Quiz was developed on the Java platform both for the

teacher client (Java SE) and the student clients (JavaME) With the development of

smartphones, we replaced JavaME with an HTML4 web-interface for the student

clients (Wang et al., 2007)

In fall 2012, the start-up company Mobitroll developed a commercial version of

Lecture Quiz from the ground up, which was named Kahoot Kahoot was developed as

a cloud-based service HTML5 to integrate easily with social media, enabling easier

maintenance and upgrade, and offering support for most digital devices

Kahoot is a game-based student response system being a result of the Lecture

Quiz research project initiated in 2006 at the Norwegian University of Science and

Technology The initial idea for Kahoot was to create a platform where the teacher and

the students in a classroom could interact through a competitive knowledge game

using the existing infrastructure The motivation

Formatted: Font: Not Bold,

through

Trang 34

transforming the classroom into a game show, where the teacher would be the

game show host, and all the students could compete by earning points through

answering correctly on various questions related to the current subject being

taught At the end of a game session, a winner would be announced Thee

quizzes can be created by the teacher, and there is no limitation on the number of

simultaneous players

The first version of Lecture Quiz was developed on the Java platform both for the

teacher client (Java SE) and the student clients (JavaME) With the introduction of

smartphones, we replaced JavaME with an HTML4 web-interface for the student

clients (Wang et al., 2007) It was hard to get teachers

to use the Lecture Quiz prototype due to the requirement of installing Java as

well as installing of a Java graphics library and the Lecture Quiz software

Another challenge was the cumbersome interface to create and edit quizzes

Apart from these technical issues, the Lecture Quiz platform produced promising

results when being used in lectures in terms of improved student motivation,

improved student engagement, and increased perceived learning (Wang et al.,

2008; Wu et al., 2011)

In fall 2012, the start-up company Mobitroll developed a commercial version of

Lecture Quiz from the ground up, which was named Kahoot Kahoot was developed as

a cloud-based service providing HTML5 web-interfaces removing the need to install

software, making it much easier to integrate with social media, enabling easier

maintenance and upgrade, and offering support for most digital devices

Not Italic

2.3.2 Creation of quizzes in Kahoot Formatted: thom2

The Kahoot platform includes a web-based creator tool that let you create a quiz,

a discussion or a survey through a simple step-by-step guided process A

Not Italic

21

Trang 35

question has a time limit for students to answer the question (from 5 to 120

second)

The quiz creator also re-organize the sequence of the questions, make it private

or public, and add meta-information about the quiz such as language, primary

audience, description, difficulty level, and tags

Moreover,Kahoot is the ability to share quizzes with other teachers either directly

within the tool or through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, email Users

do not have to create their own quizzes to use Kahoot, as they can search and

browse through a large number of public quizzes created by others and modify

suitablely with their own quiz

The Kahoot platform includes a web-based creator tool that let you create a quiz,

a discussion or a survey through a simple step-by-step guided process A question in a

quiz can have two to four answers where one or more can be correct, it has a time limit

for students to answer the question (from 5 to 120 second), a choice whether the

students can earn points or not on the question

The creation tool also let the quiz creator re-organize the sequence of the

questions, make it private or public, and add meta-information about the quiz such as

language, primary audience, description, difficulty level, and tags

Another important feature of Kahoot is the ability to share quizzes with other

teachers either directly within the tool or through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,

Google+ or email Users do not have to create their own quizzes to

use Kahoot, as they can search and browse through a large number of public quizzes

created by others The functionality of duplicating existing quizzes makes it easy to

use a public quiz as a starting point for their own modified quiz

Firstly, in order to use Kahoot in a classroom, the teacher has to launch Kahoot in

a web-browser on her or his laptop which must be connected to a

Not Italic

22

projector.It is important that

Trang 36

all the students are able to clearly see what is being displayed on the teacher's

laptop

Secondly,the students are asked to open the kahoot it in a web browser on their

own devices.The students are not needed to have an account to play Kahoot and they

must enter a game pin followed by a nickname to join the game

While playing the quiz, the question along with the answers is shown on the large

screen, and the students click/press the same color and symbol as the answer they

believe is the correct one On the screen, a timer will count down to zero as well as the

number of students that have answered is shown

When the time to give answers is up, a distribution of the students' answers is

shown on the large screen At the same time, the students get individual feedback on

how they have answered on their devices A scoreboard of the

top 5 students with points and nicknames is shown between questions Every

student can also follow her or his own score and ranking on own device

Last but not least,the students have to answer correctly as well as fast to get a

high score.To create suspension and the atmosphere of a game show, music and sound

effects are used in Kahoot

To use Kahoot in a classroom, the teacher has to launch Kahoot in a web-

browser on her or his laptop (or another digital device) which must be connected to a

large screen It is important that all the students are able to clearly see what is being

displayed on the teacher's laptop On the launch screen, the students are asked to open

the URL kahoot it in a web browser on their own devices The students are not

required to have an account to play Kahoot To enter the game, they must enter a game

pin (a number) followed

by a nickname When playing the quiz, the question along with the answers is

shown on the large screen, and the students click/press the same color and

symbol as the answer they believe is the correct one On the screen, a timer will

count down to zero as well as the number of students that have answered is

shown

When the time to give answers is up, adistribution of the students' answers is shown on the large screen At the same time, the students get

Trang 37

individual feedback on how they have answered on their devices The distribution of

the students' answers gives the teacher feedback on the students understanding of

the question and open for a good opportunity to elaborate on the question and the

answers A scoreboard of the top 5 students with points and nicknames is shown

between questions Every student can also follow her or his own score and

ranking on own device To get a high score, the students have to answer correctly

as well as fast Music and sound effects are used in Kahoot to create suspension

Not Italic

2.3.4 Effects of using Kahoot games to teach English Grammar Formatted: thom2

When applying Kahoot game on teaching grammar to students, there can be five

positive effects namely increase of motivation and engagement in the classroom,

synchronous self-assess students and feedback teacher, exciting atmosphere in the

team mode, automatical calculation points of correction and time and excellent tool of

revision

Firstly, the overall consensus was that it absolutely increases motivation and

engagement in the classroom.When the students are urged to take part in the game,

they can not sit quietly and be abstracted during the music of the game ring and other

students are excited to compete in the game to become the winner

Secondly, Students find Kahoot very interesting as it is a way for them to self-

assess their level of understanding in a Q&A session after doing a kahoot.That way,

students can immediately ask any answers and teacher will

Trang 38

it’s also a great way to give feedback to teachers If lots of students answer a

question wrong, then the teacher might not have explained it thoroughly enough

Thirdly, another reason both students and teachers love using Kahoot is that it

creates such a great atmosphere.The grammar explanations can be considered very dry

and almost abstract.It’s not everyone’s favorite topic and Kahoot makes it more

relaxed Especially, in the Kahoot team mode, the teacher divides students into

different teams and they can move around to discuss the best answer.It seems a great

way to make them feel excited

Fourthly, there is no energy of teacher to calculate the results of the players and

the results are fair with detail points of correction and fast After each question, the top

5 students with points and nicknames is shown on the teacher’s screen, other students

can also follow her or his own score and ranking on own device Thanks to Kahoot

game, the teacher is able to save their time correct the results at home and find the

earliest winner

Lastly, Kahoot is a great tool to assess students’ prior knowledge and revision At

the beginning of a new unit, the teacher tends to make a kahoot

on the topic That way, during the first lesson, the teacher will get a feeling of

how much is already known by students, as it gets all my students motivated and

excited, which pores over into the next activity At the revision module, the

students have to revise and consolidate their knowledge about previous lessons,

the mixture of complex structures are welcomed interestingly through Kahoot

game

In conclusion, five pros impacts of Kahoot game on the English grammar lessons

are shared by previous kahoot users Even Kahoot game could have more advantages

with other learners as well as other classrooms and other skills

When applying Kahoot game on teaching grammar to students, there can be five

positive effects namely increase of motivation and engagement in the classroom,

synchronous self-assess students and feedback teacher, exciting atmosphere in the

team mode, automatical calculation points of correction and time and excellent tool of revision

Firstly, the overall consensus was that it

Trang 39

absolutely increases motivation and engagement in the classroom Because the

students are urged to take part in

the game, they can not sit quietly and be abstracted during the music of the game

ring and other students are excited to compete in the game to become the winner

Secondly, Students find Kahoot very interesting as it is a way for them to self-

assess their level of understanding in a Q&A session after doing a kahoot That way,

students can immediately ask any misunderstandings and teacher will clarify wonders

or go over a specific subject again if necessary On the flipside, it’s also a great way to

give feedback to teachers If lots of students answer a question wrong, then the teacher

might not have explained it thoroughly enough

Thirdly, another reason both students and teachers love using Kahoot is that it

creates such a great atmosphere The grammar explanations can be considered very

dry and almost abstract It’s not everyone’s favorite topic and Kahoot makes it more

fun Especially, in the team mode, the teacher divides students into different teams and

asked them to use one computer per group to participate in the Kahoot The students

can move around to discuss the best answer while playing a kahoot seemed likes a

great way to make them feel excited

Fourthly, there is no energy of teacher to calculate the results of the players and

the results are fair with detail points of correction and fast After each

Trang 40

question, the top 5 students with points and nicknames is shown on the

teacher’s screen, other students can also follow her or his own score and

ranking on own device Thanks to Kahoot game, the teacher is able to save

their time correct the results at home and find the earliest winner

Lastly, Kahoot is a great tool to assess students’ prior knowledge and Formatted: Font: Not Bold, Notrevision At the beginning of a new unit, the teacher tends to make a kahoot Italic

on the topic That way, during the first lesson, the teacher will get a feeling of

how much is already known by students, as it gets all my students motivated

and excited, which pores over into the next activity At the revision module,

the students have to revise and consolidate their knowledge about previous

lessons, the mixture of complex structures are welcomed interestingly through

Kahoot game

In the scope of this study, the researcher only discovers five pros impacts of Formatted: Font: Not Bold, Not

EngineeringUniversity In short, Kahoot game could have more advantages

with other learners as well as other classrooms and other skills

As mentioned above, the teaching and learning of English play an important Formatted: Font: Not Bold

part in the educational program at Engineering University The students

realized the importance of English to their study, most of them are trying their

best to learn English However, many students claim that they feel bored with

grammar lessons and do not spend time on learning them because the

structures and tenses are difficult for them to remember In researcher’s

observation, the Engineering students are smart and quick to learn everything

through media devices, hence Kahoot game is employed to be a solution for

English grammar teaching in a class for an experimental research.Two classes

27

Định dạng
Số trang	153
Dung lượng	2,16 MB