an investigation into the use of games in efl speaking classes at tan phuc secondary school in binh thuan province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY DUONG TRAN THUY TRINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF GAMES IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES AT TAN PHUC SECONDARY SCHOOL IN

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

DUONG TRAN THUY TRINH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF GAMES IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES AT TAN PHUC SECONDARY SCHOOL

IN BINH THUAN PROVINCE

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

DUONG TRAN THUY TRINH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF GAMES IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES AT TAN PHUC SECONDARY

SCHOOL IN BINH THUAN PROVINCE

Major: Teaching English to speakers of other language

STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP

I certify that the thesis entitled “An Investigation into the Use of Games in ÈFL Speaking Classes at Tan Phuc Secondary School in Binh Thuan Province.” is my original work; it is based on my own research All sources used by me have been documented No other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement This work has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject or course at this University or elsewhere

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

Duong Tran Thuy Trinh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to give thanks to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Dinh Thu for the aid and tolerance during my process of conducting this thesis He gave me very useful guidelines, feedback, and support when I carried out this study

Secondly, I also would like to show my gratitude to all teachers and students at Tan Phuc secondary school who spent their valuable time to take part in the interviews and respond my questionnaires Also, thanks to the consent of headmaster and English teachers, the researcher could observe how an English speaking class was run there

Thirdly, I would like to extend my appreciation to some of my colleagues who gave

me some helpful advice and support me at work so that I had more time to complete

The findings of the study revealed that current situations of learning oral skills through games are quite effective, and most students show their positive attitudes towards games in learning speaking skills However, there are still some challenges

of using this tool in a speaking lesson, including the hesitation to participate in the speaking activities, the imbalance of student-talking time, or the overuse of the mother tongue of a small group of students in practicing speaking In order to deal with this problem, teachers should play a key role in managing the classroom‟s activities

Hopefully, the study will shed light on using games to effectively encourage learners‟ English communication skills

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF FIGURES vii

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF CHARTS viii

CHAPTER 1 1

INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationales of the study 1

1.2 Purposes of the study 4

1.3 Research questions 4

1.4 Scope of the study 4

1.5 Significance of the study 4

1.6 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2 6

LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Theoretical background 6

2.1.1 Speaking 6

2.1.2 Games 16

2.1.3 How to employ games in speaking classes 22

2.2 Empirical studies 23

2.3 Chapter summary 26

CHAPTER 3 27

METHODOLOGY 27

3.1 Research Design and Instruments 27

3.1.1 Research design 27

3.1.2 Research instruments 28

3.2 Research site 34

3.3 Participants 34

3.4 Data collection technique 35

3.5 Data analysis technique 36

3.5.1 Descriptive data analysis 36

3.5.2 Content analysis 36

3.6 Methodological issues 37

3.6.1 Reliability and validity of the questionnaire 37

3.6.2 Reliability and validity of the observation and interview 38

3.6.3 Triangulation 38

3.7 Chapter summary 38

CHAPTER 4 39

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 39

4.1 Research findings 39

4.1.1 Results from the questionnaires 39

4.1.2 Results from the class observations 62

4.1.3 Results from the interviews 72

4.2 Discussion of findings 78

4.2.1 The situations of learning speaking skills through games 79

4.2.2 Students‟ attitudes towards the use of games in speaking lessons 80

4.3 Chapter summary 81

CHAPTER 5 82

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 82

5.1 Summary of major findings 82

5.2 Recommendations 83

5.2.1 For students 83

5.2.2 For teachers 84

5.3 Strength and limitations of the methodology 84

5.3.1 Strengths 84

5.3.2 Limitations 85

5.4 Recommendations for further research 85

5.5 Chapter summary 85

REFERENCE 86

APPENDIX 1 93

QUESTIONNAIRE DATA COLLECTION 93

APPENDIX 2 98

QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) 98

APPENDIX 3 101

QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 101

APPENDIX 4 104

CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET 104

APPENDIX 5 107

QUESTIONS FOR SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW WITH TEACHERS 107

APPENDIX 6 108

LESSON PLANS 108

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3 1: Questionnaire process 31

Figure 3 2: Observation process 32

Figure 3 3: Interview process 34

LIST OF TABLES Table 4 1: Gender 39

Table 4 2: Reliability statistics 40

Table 4 3: Reliability Statistics (Section 2) 41

Table 4 5: Reliability Statistics (Section 3) 50

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4 1: Does your teacher use games in speaking lessons? 42

Chart 4 2: Do you participate in games in speaking activity? 43

Chart 4 3: Does you teacher encourage or give you the opportunity to speak English when playing games? 44

Chart 4 4: Do you take advantage of every chance given to speak English when playing games? 45

Chart 4 5: Do you have as much time to speak English as your classmates? 46

Chart 4 6: Do you focus on your speaking topics when playing games? 47

Chart 4 7: Does your teacher give feedback or correct your mistake after you practice speaking through games? 48

Chart 4 8: I feel confident when speaking English in games 51

Chart 4 9: I feel bored when learning speaking skill in games 52

Chart 4 10: I am not interested in learning speaking English through 53

Chart 4 11: I feel tired when studying speaking skill through games 54

Chart 4 12: I think studying speaking skill through games is enjoyable 55

Chart 4 13: I think it is easier to practice speaking skill though games 56

Chart 4 14: I have motivation to practice speaking skill through games 57

Chart 4 15: I feel relaxed when studying speaking skill through games 58

Chart 4 16: I want to play games in speaking class because I feel I can speak English better 59

Chart 4 17: I think my speaking class through games is really a waste of time 60

Chart 4 18: I want to learn speaking skill through games as much as possible 61

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationales of the study

Nowadays, English has become one of the popular means of communication for people all around the world, and the most powerful force that has shaped their language policies is globalization In some Asian countries such as India, Singapore, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, English has been taught and learnt as one of their official languages, and it works as their dominant language On the other hand, some countries like Korea, Japan, and China, where people used to show their opposing attitude towards the foreign influence, are gradually taking into account the importance of English and giving more attention to enhance English language teaching and learning (Tsui, 2004)

In Viet Nam, English has grown and expanded rapidly as an important language since the Open Door policy in 1986 In the context of economic renovation, English became the foreign language taught in Viet Nam (Hoang, 2007) With the focus of using English as a key tool to keep abreast with other countries, English is necessary in various fields such as business, education, technology, science, and so on It has also been chosen as one of the compulsory subjects not only in universities, high schools, and secondary schools, but also in primary schools Besides, there are some policies as well as strategies which help to promote the status of English in education For instance, according to Decree No 3321/ QĐ-BGDĐT of the Ministry of Education and Training in August, 2010,

“English has become the medium of instruction for other subjects like mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biology” Besides, as indicated in the Project 2020 in Viet Nam:

…by 2020, most Vietnamese students will be able to use a foreign

language confidently in their daily communication, their study and

work in an integrated, multi-cultural and multi-lingual environment,

making foreign languages a comparative advantage of development

for Vietnamese people in the cause of industrialization and

modernization for the country (Decision No.1400)

To most people, being competent in speaking is the most important aspect of learning a second or foreign language and the success in oral communication is measured through the ability to carry out conversations in the target language (Nunan, 1991) In the same fashion, Ur (2002) suggests that “…of all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), speaking seems intuitively the most important: people who know a language are referred to as „speakers‟ of that language” (p 117) Although speaking emerges as the most crucial skill which leads to the success of communication, it has also been widely noticed as the most challenging skill in English language teaching and learning In Ur‟s (2002) view, there are some factors that make speaking skill difficult to EFL learners The first problem encountered by students is inhibition It is the condition when students feel afraid of losing face, making mistakes, or scared of criticism Inhibition is believed

to negatively affect students‟ performance like the increase of mistakes or the tendency of keeping silent (Humaera, 2015) Another factor which causes the inefficiency in learners‟ speaking acquisition is simply having nothing to say or having no motivation to express their ideas and feelings in another language They cannot think of anything to say or have no motivation to express their ideas despite the guilty feeling that they should be speaking (Heriansyah, 2012) Having few chances to participate in speaking activities is also one of the factors leading to the poor speaking performance among learners In large classes, there are some learners who tend to take every chance to speak as much as possible, whereas the others are usually reluctant to speak (Ur, 2002) Last but not least, many learners cannot help using the mother-tongue in English classrooms Students use it because it is very easy for them (Tuan & Mai, 2015), and it also comes as very natural when they need to explain something to their classmate (Harmer, 2001)

In Viet Nam, students have studied English for years, but many of them still find it difficult to communicate fluently and confidently The first possible reason is that the importance of speaking skill is not highly appreciated in school, especially for secondary and high school students when the current testing system focuses primarily on written tests only The emphasis of a lesson is usually on the improvement of reading comprehension, vocabulary and structural patterns in order

to deal with the exams rather than improving communicative ability (Hoang, 2007) Additionally, the way we teach speaking skill is no longer appropriate for learners when most teachers follow the traditional way of teaching speaking which is rather boring and stressful According to Hoang (2007), most Vietnamese teachers show their great interest in new methodologies during the training course, but after the course, they tend to continue teaching in the old methods Specifically, students are asked to learn by heart some fixed expressions and repeat like a parrot Eventually, students lose their interest in improving their speaking skill Both of these reasons can obviously demotivate Vietnamese students to learn speaking English and hence, speaking is always a difficult skill for learners to obtain successfully

Appreciating the importance of speaking skill, teachers are trying to change

or adapt new techniques in order to improve teaching and learning quality Teaching speaking must be more creative, interesting, and less stressful to help students actively engage in speaking lessons One of the common techniques to motivate students is using games It is believed that games are able to attract students‟ interest and promote active participation This has been found in various studies conducted by Fajariyah (2009), Soto and Guardiola (2013), and Souheir (2013) Martin (1995, as cited in Brewster & Ellis, 2002) says that game is a fun activity which provides students opportunities to learn and use language in a relaxing and enjoyable way The application of games may be useful to foster students‟ interest, confidence and ability in speaking skill

Nowadays, although the usefulness of games has been identified in a number

of studies in the world, the existing situation of teaching and learning speaking

skills through games and students‟ attitudes towards the use of games in speaking classes at Tan Phuc secondary school is still unknown It leads to the researcher‟s purposes of investigating the use of games in EFL speaking classes at Tan Phuc secondary school in Binh Thuan Province

1.2 Purposes of the study

Being aware of the effectiveness of games in teaching and learning speaking skills, this thesis aims at investigating the use of games in EFL speaking classes at Tan Phuc secondary school in Binh Thuan province To be specific, the purposes of this study are (1) to understand the current situation of learning speaking skills through games at Tan Phuc secondary school; and (2) to find out students‟ attitudes toward learning speaking skills through games From the results of these research questions, the researcher gain better understanding about the possibility, applicability, and feasibility of games at this school This helps the researcher have appropriate actions to improve the situation in the future

2 What are students’ attitudes toward learning speaking skills through games?

1.4 Scope of the study

The research is conducted on both teachers and secondary students (from grade 6th to grade 9th) at Tan Phuc secondary school in Binh Thuan province

1.5 Significance of the study

The thesis is carried out with the purpose that its possible success can suggest new technique for both teachers and students to improve students‟ speaking

skills as well as raising their awareness and interest in practicing speaking In regard

to English teachers, they can help improve their teaching process by applying games appropriately as a useful technique in English classes Moreover, the result of the study might have a significant contribution to the improvement of students in speaking skills as they are expected to produce correct grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and to be more willing to answer questions orally In addition, the students are expected to have more opportunities to practice speaking skill and learn

it with enjoyment For the researcher, the study provides invaluable experience for the speaking development of the students at secondary school Last but not least, this research may lead to further research about the effects of games not only in speaking but also in different skills and language areas

1.6 Organization of the study

This thesis is composed of 5 chapters:

Chapter 1 provides the introduction of the study, which includes the background, aims, rationale, research questions, significance, and the organization

of the thesis

Chapter 2 reviews the relevant literature for the study in which the theoretical background and empirical studies are presented After the discussion, the researcher concludes some research gaps

Chapter 3 presents the research design and methodology of the study by describing its research site, participants, and materials, teaching methods, data collection instruments and procedures, and analytical framework

Chapter 4 describes the data analysis and its discussion about the results of the questionnaires, observation and interview

Chapter 5 concludes the research and presents its implication in teaching and learning speaking skill through games

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

The aim of this chapter is to present the review of literature used to underpin this study The chapter is divided into three main parts including theoretical framework, empirical studies and chapter summary The first part (2.1) provides the general background of speaking skill and games in language teaching and learning

On the other hand, the second part (2.2) discusses empirical studies which examined the use of games in teaching and learning speaking skill, following which the researcher came up with some research gaps In the third part (2.3), all the crucial factors are summarised to provide succinct and brief ideas of this chapter

The theoretical framework incorporates important components, including background knowledge of speaking skill and games in language teaching and learning

2.1.1 Speaking

In this section, definition, basic types, and components of speaking skill are briefly described Besides, the researcher also discusses some characteristics of a successful speaking lesson as well as certain problems faced by the majority of learners Then, with a substantial part, different principles required in speaking skill are made clear to give teachers some suggestions on how to teach speaking skill more effectively

2.1.1.1 Definition of speaking skill

Burns and Joyce (1997) indicate that speaking is an interactive process which comprises generating, perceiving, and processing information Moreover, the form and meaning are related to its context, participants, and the purpose of speaking On the other hand, Chaney and Burk (1998) conclude that speaking is the

process of establishing and sharing the meaning with the use of both verbal and non-verbal symbols Hybel (2001, p 45) also states that “speaking is any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings It involves all of body language mannerism and style-anything that adds meaning to a message” From these points

of view, we can see that speaking provides a means of communication by which people can share their thoughts, opinions, and feelings to each other

In learning English, speaking skill is defined as productive skill It is like the other skills, but speaking is more sophisticated than it seems and involves more than just pronouncing words (Bashir et al., 2011) Speaking seems to be the most demanding skill which requires a lot of patience and effort to teach and learn Students learn English effectively when they are able to express their emotions, communicate intentions and reactions, explore the language and make fun of it like the way they do it in their own language (Scott & Ytreberg, 2004) Therefore, teaching speaking skill is not simply the act of providing grammar and vocabulary for students and then helping them to make sentences with proper pronunciation It also requires teachers to enhance students‟ ability to interact and cooperate in their speaking (Thornbury, 2005)

2.1.1.2 Basic types of speaking

According to Brown (2004, p 141), speaking skill can be divided into five main categories:

1 Imitative

At this level, speaking performance does not aim at conducting meaningful interaction; it is simply the act of practice an intonation contour or imitating a specific element of language form like a word, phrase, or a sentence Moreover, the focus is on pronunciation as an attempt to help the learners to be comprehensible The technique for this type of speaking is „drilling‟ which offers the practice of speaking skill through repetition and the learners acquire elements of language in a controlled way

2 Intensive

In this type of speaking skill, the learners are able to produce short stretches

of oral language to demonstrate the competence in a narrow band of grammatical or phonological aspects of language but the interaction is minimal It can be self-initiated or part of pair work activity

4 Interactive

With this type of speaking, interaction is longer and more complex than the responsive speaking The main purpose of this is to convey or exchange specific information interpersonally which includes the nature of more negotiation than the responsive level Moreover, the speech may be more pragmatically complex because of casual register and colloquial language, ellipsis, slang, and other sociolinguistic conventions, which distinguish it from responsive level

5 Extensive (monologue)

This involves the tasks of speeches, oral presentations, and story-telling In this type of speaking, the speakers can talk for the whole time as there is no interaction Besides, the listeners will listen and respond through their non-verbal signals The language style is more deliberative and formal, but we cannot rule out certain informal monologues such as delivered speech

2.1.1.3 Factors impacting speaking competence

According to Harmer (2001, p 269-271) there are two elements of speaking including language features and mental/ social processing In terms of language

features, there are a total of four items The first one is connected speech which is a continuous sequence of sounds forming conversations in spoken language Harmer (2001) supposes that an effective speaker is able to produce not only the individual phonemes but also use the connected speech fluently The second feature of language is expressive devices by which people can change the pitch and stress, the volume and speed, and show by other paralinguistic means The third suggested item of language features is lexis and grammar Speech is considered spontaneous if

a number of common lexical phrases are used, and together with the use of certain language functions Negotiation language is the final items of language features The language we use in order to gain the clarification and structure of what we say may result in the effectiveness of speaking skill The second factor suggested by Harmer (2001) is mental/social processing which includes language processing, interaction, and information processing In other words, it is a two-way process where there is collaboration between two or more people in one context to exchange opinions, information and emotions In general, these two elements of speaking play decisive role in whether a language learner can speak well or not

On the other hand, Brown (2004) suggests four elements (aspects) of speaking comprising of fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, and vocabulary According to Oxford Advanced learner‟s dictionary, fluency is “the quality of being able to speak and write a language, especially a foreign language, easily and well.”

It is the ability to talk without stopping to think of what to say next (Fillmore, 1979,

as cited in Nation, 1989) On the other hand, accuracy is another factor of speaking, which deals with the use of grammatical structures, including tense, phrase, sentence, part of speech, and so on Put another way, accuracy refers to the degree

of performance deviating from a norm Usually, fluency and accuracy are seen as dichotomy because it is difficult for someone to speak fluently and accurately at the same time What makes them seem to be opposite is the dominance of the teacher and the learner To be specific, accuracy is teacher-dominated because it is

connected with the form of language, whereas fluency is student-dominated due to its relation in meaning (Nunan, 1991)

As also cited in Oxford Advanced learner‟s dictionary, “pronunciation is the way in which a language or a particular word or sound is pronounced.” It includes stress, intonation, and rhythm, which are important to produce clear message when

we speak (Nirmawati, 2015) Vocabulary is all the words in a particular language (Oxford Advanced learner‟s dictionary) The better knowledge of vocabulary, the easier and more smoothly we can speak Pronunciation and vocabulary are the other two factors of speaking, which play important roles in making a successful speech These two factors also connect with the previous ones which always supplement and support each other

Wang (2014) claims that there are three major factors influencing learners‟ speaking competence: cognitive, linguistic, and affective factors Cognitive factors are related to the ability to conceptualize, formulate, and articulate information to express the meaning On the other hand, linguistic factors are about the correct use

of language forms There are three components of linguistic factors: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary The last one is affective factors which are about self-restriction and anxiety The less anxious we are when speaking, the more effectively

we can talk

From all of these views, I come to an understanding that there are different factors which affect the learners‟ speaking ability They may be related to (1) language features such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, stress, intonation, fluency, accuracy; (2) interaction; and (3) processing information

2.1.1.4 Characteristics of successful speaking lessons/ activity

There are some factors required in a successful speaking activity suggested

by Ur (2002, p 120) as follows

First of all, a speaking class is considered to be successful when the talking time seizes most of the time in the classroom The more students speak English, the better they can improve English communication

student-Second, the students‟ participation is even Every student has equal chances and is willing to take part in all speaking activities In other words, speaking activities are not dominated by a minority of participants who are more talkative

Another important feature of successful speaking classroom is high motivation When students are motivated, they feel interested in the topic and want

to contribute to the lesson

Last but not least, learners‟ use of language should be appropriate What students discuss or speak should be relevant, comprehensible, and at an acceptable level of accuracy

2.1.1.5 Problems with speaking activities

Ur (2002) writes that learners of speaking skills may face with certain problems and one of the popular difficulties is the inhibition which usually includes the fear of making mistakes, being humiliated, being criticized, or shyness

“Students are often reluctant to speak because they are shy and are not predisposed

to expressing themselves in front of the others, especially when they are being asked to give personal information or opinions” (Harmer, 2007, p 345) Besides, most students are afraid of making mistakes and losing face, so they hesitate to practice speaking in class Without confidence, learners are not willing to talk and their speaking skill can hardly be improved

Another problem usually encountered by students in speaking class is having nothing to say (Ur, 2002) It may derive from the fact that students lack motivation

to express their opinions when the speaking topic or activities are not attractive Additionally, “teacher may have chosen a topic which is uncongenial to him (the learner) or about which he knows very little, and as a result, he has nothing to express, whether in the native language or the foreign language” (Rivers, 1981, p

192) To recap, students may refuse to speak in the classroom when the topic is boring or irrelevant to what they have known Therefore, in teaching speaking, the topics should be interesting and familiar so that they can attract students to speaking lessons

Additionally, Ur (2002) asserts that uneven participation is also an issue of speaking classes Some students are dominant and speak most of the time while the others keep silent or speak very little Besides, some students prefer to speak only if they are certain about what they are going to say, and some others just keep silent and show no interest in participating (Khadidja, 2010) Therefore, students do not usually have equal chances to speak out their ideas The less they talk, the worse their speaking skill is In order to solve this problem, teachers should play the role

of a „referee‟ and reorganize speaking activity to make sure that all students have opportunities to take part in speaking activities

Last but not least, a common phenomenon in speaking class is the overuse of mother tongue The use of mother tongue may contribute to the language teaching process For instance, Larsen-Freeman (2000) claims that the use of students‟ native language may help to enhance the sense of security and make the meaning of target language words clear for learners However, when the use of mother tongue is exaggerated, it may lead to some drawbacks such as the translation of most language items (Atkinson, 1987), and reduction in the amount of input and opportunities to practice (Nation, 2003)

2.1.1.6 Principles of teaching speaking skill

Based on the aforementioned characteristics of a successful speaking lesson and some causes of an ineffective speaking class, several key principles are taken into account Brown (2001, p 275) suggests 7 principles for designing speaking activities

First of all, the techniques should cover from language-based focus on accuracy to message-based focus on interaction, meaning, and fluency Nowadays,

the trouble most teachers encounter throughout their speaking activities is when they focus solely on the production, but not accuracy of grammar or pronunciation, and vice versa Lacking one of these may lead to the failure in fulfilling the success

of speaking performance Therefore, when designing speaking activities, teachers should ensure to include its objectives and give students chances to acquire and apply the blocks of language

Second, motivation is one of the key factors which help students study effectively Learning atmosphere will be more relaxing and less anxious when students are motivated (Nguyen, 2015) Moreover, the act of raising students‟ interest and their eagerness for learning new things helps students become more competent and autonomous (Brown, 2001) However, teachers should bear in mind the use of motivating techniques which help students know how they can take advantage of those activities rather than drive them to the sense of ecstasy

Third, it is encouraged to use authentic language in meaningful contexts As Peacock (1997) remarks that authentic materials “may increase learners‟ levels of on-task behaviour, concentration, and involvement in the target activity more than artificial materials” (p 152) However, according to Brown (2001), it requires energy, creativity and teacher‟s resource material to provide authentic contexts and meaningful interaction This helps students to be exposed to that language and obviously improve their reactions to every real life situation

Fourth, teachers need to provide appropriate feedback and correction for students in speaking class In Harmer‟s (2001) opinion, correction helps students to understand the meaning and construction of the language While ESL learners get feedback from their daily life situations which are beyond the classroom, EFL learners‟ improvement depends a lot on their teachers‟ comment and correction Besides, the way of giving feedback should be taken into consideration to avoid demotivating students

Fifth, it is vital to emphasize the natural connection between speaking and listening skills Listening and speaking have a close-knit relationship, and they reinforce each other Doff (1988) verifies that one cannot develop speaking skills if she does not develop her listening skills, so in order to have a successful conversation, students must understand what is said to them In other words, as we focus on developing speaking skill, listening skill can come out to be better

Sixth, teachers should give students opportunities to initiate oral communication The era of teacher‟s initiation and students speaking when they are asked has passed and students are now expected to start and control the conversation, decide the topics and ask questions when necessary The importance

of learner initiation has been recognized in both theory and practice For instance, Doughty et al (1987) reveal that learners‟ initiatives lead to more interactions and thus increase the comprehension of input

Seventh, the development of speaking strategies needs to be encouraged Usually, beginners are not aware of the importance of having their own personal methods in order to accomplish speaking purposes Therefore, teachers should guide students to some strategies which are considered as the core factors for the success of basic communication For examples, students should have chances to practice following strategies: (1) asking for clarification, (2) asking someone to repeat something, (3) using fillers in order to gain time to process, (4) using conversation maintenance cues, (5) getting someone‟s attention, (6) using paraphrases for structures one cannot produce, (7) appealing for assistance from the interlocutor, (8) using formulaic expressions, (9) and using mime and nonverbal expressions to convey meaning

2.1.1.7 The procedure of a speaking lesson

According to Ngan (2013, p 8-10), a speaking lesson has three main stages including pre-speaking, while-speaking, and post-speaking activities Of all the

three stages, most of the time should be spent on while-stage, which provide students sufficient time for practicing speaking skill

a) Pre-speaking stage (Presentation stage)

At this stage, students are prepared to think about the topic that they are going to talk about Some common tasks for this stage can be: discussion or brainstorming, which helps students to collect all important ideas on the topic; vocabulary preparation, which aids the comprehension; and prediction, which helps students to guess what they may learn about The pre-speaking is considered to be good when it integrates with other skills such as listening and reading This stage usually takes place for 10 minutes and warm-up activities may be included this this stage

b) While-speaking stage (Practice stage)

During this stage, students are supposed to practice speaking skills Students have chances to work individually, in pairs, or in groups When students encounter some difficulties related to the lack of language variety, the teacher may monitor or assist students to complete the tasks Besides, teachers‟ feedback and evaluation on students‟ performance are also very important to check whether students are ready

to move on to the next stage or not In this stage, some frequently applied activities for helping students practice speaking skills are the communicative ones such as role-play, game, or discussion Depending on the aims of the lessons and classroom discussion, the teacher can choose and set up the appropriate activities for their students

c) Post-speaking stage (Personalization stage)

This is the extension activity which takes place after students have practiced speaking skill in the while-stage This stage helps students to obtain the information

or enhance their production in the previous stage The common task for this speaking stage is “an information transfer”- a type of exercise where students respond to what they have just learnt For instance, when students are asked to talk

post-about the world famous football player in the while stage, they may talk or write about their favourite one in the follow-up stage

2.1.2 Games

Hadfield (2004) considers games as “an activity with rules, goal and an element of fun” (p 4) This definition generalizes for all games but does not show a closer look into its characteristic in education Richards et al (1992) add that game

in classroom is an organized activity which involves a particular task of objective, set of rules, competition, and the communication between players in both spoken and written language On the other hand, Talak-Kiryk (2010, p 4) gives a more specific definition of games used in the classroom as follows:

Games are fun activities that promote interaction, thinking,

learning, and problem solving strategies Often, games have an

aspect that permits the players to produce information in a short

time period Some games require the players to engage in a

physical activity and/or complete a mental challenge

In short, game in the classroom is an activity which includes different factors such

as rules, competition, relaxation, and educational purpose Players are required to work individually or collaboratively to accomplish the task

2.1.2.1 Advantages of using games

Mora and Lopera (2001, as cited in León & Cely, 2010) stress that game is always a favourite thing to do in class thanks to its contribution to the development

of skills and competencies “Games promote socialization, group work, and the creation of values; it implies mutual respect and cooperation.” (León & Cely, 2010,

p 18) Teachers apply games in the language classroom because of its various benefits towards students

First of all, games can create a fun environment to attract students‟ participation in the lesson Harmer (1991, as cited in Savitri, 2013) claims that

games are essential techniques which help to provide an amusing and competitive environment Students obviously prefer to study with fun rather than tension, so they are more engaged in speaking lesson with the application of games

Second, games are very motivating and stimulating activities (Souheir, 2013) They are considered as tools which can foster students‟ motivation in practicing what they have learnt through the pleasant interaction with the language (Yahoui, 2012) According to Wright et al (2006), games motivate and make the learners more interested in what they do in the classroom In other words, because games stimulate students‟ interest in classroom activities, students become more willing to learn

Third, students‟ anxiety towards language learning can be decreased when games are employed In traditional language class, students usually feel under pressure of mastering the target language Some students even become very anxious about being criticised and punished by their teachers if they make mistakes (Yolageldili & Arikan, 2011) By contrast, games are advantageous as they help to enhance the positive feelings and self-confidence They provide an environment where students can freely practice the language without being afraid of punishment

or criticism (Crookal, 1990)

Fourth, Martinson and Chu (2008, as cited in Talak-Kiryk, 2010) suppose that games are an effective tool in learning because they create a hypothetical environment where students can investigate alternative decisions without being afraid of the failure Games help to eliminate the gap between the classroom and the real world because they offer more opportunities for students to get used to real life conversations Eventually, students will become more confident when applying what they have learnt into real life situations

Last but not least, games encourage interaction in the classroom Prabhu (1987) states that spontaneous interaction can be generated amongst the children by the use of games In the same fashion, Savignon and Bern (1987) also suggest that

the task orientation of games requires students to use rather than merely practice language for real, and immediate communicative goals require constant and meaningful interaction among the players Besides, when playing games, the players not only interact with material on a variety of levels, but also with other players (Talak-Kiryk, 2010)

To sum up, games bring a lot of advantages for educational purposes They are activities which are obviously suitable for young learners Games encourage learners to be more active, motivated, confident, and interactive within meaningful contexts

2.1.2.2 Disadvantages of using games

Despite many benefits of using games in the classroom, there are still several challenges that games may cause First of all, games can create a hostile learning environment (Talak-Kiryk, 2010) When coming to competitive games, most students want to be the winners and they try to win at all cost by cheating, violating the rules of games or even committing further potentially harmful acts Moreover, when students or their team lose in games too often, they can be gradually demotivated to play and study more

Additionally, competitiveness in games is one of the primary reasons which lead to language anxiety (Wu, 2002) When it comes to games, students are obliged

to score for themselves or for their peers Therefore, they usually feel anxious about losing in games or being blamed by their peers for poor performance

Last but not least, the employment of games can cause inevitable noise due

to students‟ moving around, shouting and laughing It may be a little bit distracting

to other classrooms nearby, where students need the quiet environment to pay attention to the lesson or the test Moreover, there are some teachers who do not apply games efficiently They do not focus on the purpose of the language and the role of games in completing that purpose

2 Picture games

Teachers and students of language classroom can apply pictures to various interesting activities For instance, students can compare and contrast the pictures with each other to find out the differences or similarities Besides, students can make stories based on the pictures and so on Picture games enhance students‟ ability of language use and give them opportunities to practice speaking and listening at the same time

3 Sound games

This kind of games stimulates students‟ imagination Students learn to guess the object described by the sound It offers students chances to practice both listening and speaking skills

4 Mime

Mime is a kind of game which can be done in pairs, groups or the whole class To complete this task, one side has to use gestures or facial expressions and the other side needs to make guesses by asking questions Miming helps students to improve their skill of observation and improvisation Moreover, it encourages

learners to pay more attention to the use of gestures and facial expressions in real life communication

7 Jigsaw games

In jigsaw task, a participant holds one part of a solution which can be a story,

a text or a picture When playing this game, they have to cooperate with each other

to match the pieces of solution This game motivates students to talk in order to figure out the correct pieces More than that, students need to take notice of their pronunciation and intonation to make sure that it is understandable to everyone

8 Role plays

Role play is an activity which the participants will act in short scenes about everyday situations as well as the topical problems Usually, students are asked to role play from the reading conversation text Teachers can also choose topics and let students set up their own conversations In general, role play can help students to apply what they have learnt to make conversations Moreover, it is useful for generating free expressions in a language classroom

Depending on different target learners and the aims of the lesson, teachers can apply appropriate types of game into their oral language class

2.1.2.4 Principles of Using Games

In order to ensure the effective use of games in the classroom, teachers should take into consideration some important principles First of all, it is important

to select the appropriate games because not all games can be used in the classroom The games chosen should be consistent with the lesson‟s aims and suitable for the target learners The usage of games is to engage students in teaching and learning process, which helps students to get important knowledge of specific lessons Besides, different types of learners and learners‟ age groups have different ways to study and interest in games Therefore, teachers need to know the goals of specific groups of learners to set out appropriate games for them (Jones, 1998)

Second, the preparation for gaming activity should be carried out properly and effectively Zhu (2012) considers that games may be good fun, but they need to

be carefully prepared and organised To be specific, before using a game in the classroom, teachers need to work out the process of that game and get students clear about its rules To that end, the instruction should be succinct and comprehensible Besides, all the important facilities should be ensured to be available and the class arrangement should be appropriate for the number of participants and types of language skills

Third, classroom management is also an important factor which helps to guarantee the quality of students‟ performance That is the reason why Zhu (2012) recommends some practices that teachers should take into account as follows First

of all, when students participate in games, teachers play the role of observer and maintain the flow of the games Besides, the process of practicing speaking skills should be monitored carefully by teachers to make sure that all students have equal chances in playing games Additionally, no mother tongue is allowed in speaking English through games Teachers should keep students speaking English and ensure that students do not go off track When finishing the games, there should be something as a reward for students like candies or praise

Finally, teachers should never forget to give comment on students‟ performance and correct it when necessary Fajariyah (2009) suggests that giving feedback is one of the most crucial responsibilities of the teacher and it helps students evaluate their success and progress When giving feedback, teachers need

to look at both positive and negative sides, which not only clarifies weaknesses for students to improve but also motivate them to speak better the next time

2.1.3 How to employ games in speaking classes

Based on the kinds of games used in the classroom, there are different forms

of classroom organization Of all the types of class arrangement, pair work and group work are the popular and significant ones which provide the learners sufficient oral practice in the use of language According to Wright et al (1997, p 5), the use of pair work and group work is demonstrated as follows:

Pair work

This kind of classroom arrangement is fast and easy to organize It provides students the opportunities to practice speaking skills intensively In terms of discipline problems, pair work is seen as better than group work Besides, pair work can create “a safe environment for communication, more like one-on-one conversation, two-way communication – chance both to ask and answer questions” (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2010, p 98)

Group work

However, there are some games that require more than two players at a time, and in these cases, group work is a better choice While playing games in group, the membership should always be constant for the sake of good will and efficiency Group work provides a context in which individuals help each other as well as helping themselves By this use of classroom arrangement, individuals and groups can influence and change personal, organizational and community problems (Brown, 1994)

2.2 Empirical studies

The purpose of this part is to discuss a few previous works which are closely connected to the researcher‟s current topic It helps to determine the nature of this field of research Moreover, from the gaps evaluated in report of empirical studies, the researcher can make certain that her present research is not just a „replication study‟ and justify its necessity

There are a plenty of studies which have been conducted to examine the use

of games in teaching speaking skill Fajariyah (2009) conducted a classroom action research on the 8th grade students of SMP Negeri 2 Baki Sukoharjo in Indonesia in the academic year 2008 to 2009 There were 37 students, including 18 girls and 19 boys involved in the research The purpose of this study was to investigate whether

or not and to what extent games improve speaking proficiency Besides, the research also aimed to identify situations when games can be applied in the speaking class The data were collected through survey, observation, and interview The findings showed the students‟ improvement in speaking proficiency, including answering the teachers‟ questions, using words and grammar appropriately and correctly Moreover, students were likely to be more active and motivated when participating in speaking activities The strength of this research is the employment

of three different instruments including survey, observation, and interview, which help to collect a great deal of information and enhance the reliability of the research However, this action research was carried on students of one class only, so it is hard

to generalize the result to a larger population

Besides, Chirandon et al (2010) carried out an experimental research about the effects of teaching English through games to Thai students who studied in grade

6 at Tessaban 4 Banlamsai School There were 30 students chosen to take part in the research Two instruments which were employed to get the data were test and questionnaire The findings revealed the improvement in students‟ communicative ability and vocabulary Moreover, students who experienced learning English

through games showed greater development in speaking skills than those who studied with teacher-centered method Students were also more likely to prefer learning through games to other teaching activities This experimental research can provide researcher a high level of control, so the researcher is able to find the accurate and specific results However, this research was conducted on a small scale

of participants, which may not be representative enough

An innovative and action research project was conducted by León and Cely (2010) to investigate the effect of games in encouraging teenagers‟ improvement in speaking skills at Federico Garcia Lorca School, in Colombia There were 40 participants whose ages ranged from 14 to 18 years old The techniques employed

to collect data from both teacher and students were video recordings, teachers‟ journal, and questionnaires The findings of this study indicated that the use of games in speaking can encourage teenagers to improve their speaking skills, motivation and competition In other words, games play an important role in helping students to perform better and feel more confident in improving their speaking skill However, the limitation was that the researcher only implemented three kinds of games: caring-sharing, guessing and speculative games and a story game For that reason, it is hard to infer that other games have the same effects on students

Posada and Francis (2012) carried out a qualitative descriptive- interpretative case study to research the application of games for the development of speaking skill of 4th graders in Remigio Antonio Cañartein, a state school in Pereira, Colombia There were 4 students chosen randomly for the study The method of collecting data was observation in which the researchers included field notes, video recording, and checklist The findings showed that games encourage students to participate more in speaking activities, and hence, help students to improve speaking ability This research showed some strong points as follows: (1) the integration of different techniques helped to increase the reliability of the research; (2) the researchers were also the participant and observer at the same time, which

according to the researcher, could give them the best understanding of the phenomenon studied; (3) this was a qualitative descriptive interpretative case study which involved a rich explanation for the research questions and gives reader deep understanding about the effect of games on the target learners However, the limitation was that the small number of students participating in the research may show little inference to other learners of speaking skills

Savitri (2013) carried out a classroom action research to explore the effect of language games on students‟ speaking ability of 7th

graders of SMP Ma‟arif Terpadu Muntilan, Indonesia in the academic year of 2012-2013 There were 25 students consisting seven male and eighteen female students The data collection techniques were observations, interviews, questionnaires, and tests The implementation of this action research resulted in some improvements in speaking teaching and learning process as well as students‟ attitudes In this study, the researcher applied both time triangulations and theoretical triangulation to obtain the trustworthiness However, the result of this classroom action research was limited due to the use of a few language games only Therefore, further study need

to be conducted to explore the use of various language games in developing students‟ speaking ability

Nirmawati‟s (2015) classroom action research studied the effect of speaking skills through board games of 8th graders in SMP N 13 Yogyakarta, Indonesia in the academic year of 2013-2014 There were 28 students participating in this research and the main data were collected from classroom observation and interview The findings showed that board games were effective tools to improve speaking skills Students were more confident and active to speak English They were not only able

to speak more fluently and accurately, but their pronunciation and vocabulary also showed improvement This research showed its reliability when researcher used time triangulation in order to collect the data and inter-rater reliability in assessing the students‟ production of speaking Meanwhile, the validity of this study was fulfilled by the use of different types of validity, such as outcome validity, process

validity, catalytic validity and dialogic validity However, the focus of this study was on board games only, so the researcher suggested that further research should

be carried out on different types of games

In conclusion, though all these studies converged in showing that games are useful in teaching and learning speaking skills Numbers of participants in most studies were pretty small, and hence the data collected could not be generalized to the wider population Furthermore, some studies focused solely on one type of language games, so it is hard to conclude that the effect will remain the same with all other types of language games Therefore, a need to conduct further research with a more careful plan and a larger number of participants should be considered

2.3 Chapter summary

In this chapter, the understandings of fundamental concepts of literature and empirical study were discussed in order to provide a broad framework under which the study was generated First of all, the importance of speaking skill was revealed

to show every language learner the reason why they should be competent at it Moreover, teachers are encouraged to notice improving their students‟ speaking skill Secondly, different aspects of speaking skill were discussed so that learners realize what they need to ameliorate to be proficient in speaking skill Thirdly, definition, some elements, benefits, and basic types of games were also presented to show the effect of games in teaching oral language Last but not least, the findings from previous studies presented in this chapter helped the current study to seek the gaps to situate itself in this realm

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

The chapter provides the description of how the study has been conducted The information can be separated into 7 parts In the first part (3.1), the researcher discusses the research design and instruments which were applied in the study Next, the setting (3.2) and participants (3.3) of the study are described in details After that, the data collection techniques were clarified in part 3.4 and it was followed by the data analysis instruments (3.5) In consistent with the previous parts, the methodological issues will be discussed in part 3.6 All the important features of this chapter will be briefly concluded in the final part (3.7)

3.1 Research Design and Instruments

In this section, the researcher describes the framework of methods and techniques which are chosen to combine different components of the research in a logical manner so that the research problems can be efficiently handled

3.1.1 Research design

In this thesis, the researcher employed mixed-methods research in order to explore the current situation of learning speaking skills through games and students‟ attitudes towards learning speaking through games at Tan Phuc secondary school, Binh Thuan province, in the school year 2018-2019 This research design is beneficial because it helps to strengthen and cross-validate the relationships between variables found in the research (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2008) Due to the nature of mixed-methods, both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered While the quantitative data were collected from the questionnaires, qualitative data were provided from semi-structured interviews and observations By this use of methodological triangulation, the findings were expected to be more confirmed and

complete This helps to enhance the accuracy because the data draw on different sources of information and processes (Creswell, 2012)

3.1.2 Research instruments

As mentioned in the previous part, three methods used to collect data from teachers and students were questionnaires, observations, and interviews accordingly

3.1.2.1 Questionnaires to students

According to Martin (2006), the utilities of asking identical questions among

a group of participants to collect comparable data are appreciated The questionnaire was chosen in this study for its various benefits First of all, “the main attraction of questionnaires is their unprecedented efficiency in terms of (a) researcher time, (b) researcher effort, and (c) financial resources” (Dörnyei, 2003, p 9) To be specific, researcher can collect data from a large number of participants in

a short period of time and the information can be sometimes obtained easily without the presence of the researcher Other than that, the process of analyzing those responses will be easier as it is based on the same system of coding

In this research, the questionnaires were given to all the students at Tan Phuc secondary school with the aim to collect general information of students‟ attitudes toward learning speaking skills and their situation of learning speaking through games Below is a general description of the questionnaire used in the current study

(see Appendix 2) The questionnaire was structured into three sections In section 1,

some participants‟ personal information about gender and grade was obtained On the other hand, section 2 was devoted to collecting information about the current situation of learning speaking skills through the use of games in speaking lessons There were a total of 7 questions in this part and respondents answered by choosing only one option among different levels of frequency: (1) Never, (2) Rarely, (3) Sometimes, (4) Often, and (5) Always Besides, section 3 was made up of 11 questions of five-point agreement scale: (1) Totally disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) Not

sure, (4) Agree, and (5) Totally agree Similarly, participants would select one appropriate answer to provide information about their attitudes toward the use of games in speaking class

The questionnaire was designed based on two main sources First of all, questions in section 2, which aim to explore the situation of learning speaking skills through games, were relied on a questionnaire in the study investigating the role of communication games in developing students‟ speaking skill of Souheir (2013) To

be specific, the researcher took some questions that she thought they could be closely linked with the purpose of discovering the current situations of using games

The first chosen question (question 1) was how frequently teachers used games in

speaking lessons The researcher chose this question as she thought the level of frequency show the extent games can affect the students‟ speaking acquisition In

question 2, the researcher wanted to know how often students participated in games

to practice speaking English, whereas question 3 aimed to know whether teachers

encouraged or gave students sufficient opportunities to speak On the other hand, how frequently students took advantage of every chance given to practice speaking

in the classroom was explored in question 4 The researcher did not adopt all the

questions from the given materials because there were some items irrelevant to students at level of secondary school Besides, some other questions focused only

on students‟ attitudes towards games instead of exploring the current practice of games in speaking class After adopting 4 questions from the original version of a questionnaire, the researcher designed 3 more questions which she thought could discover more information about how students learn speaking through games These questions aimed to find out whether students had as much time as their classmates

to practice speaking skills (question 5), the extent of their focus on speaking topics (question 6), and how frequently students received feedback from their teachers after gaming activities (question 7)

These 7 questions were asked to check whether the current situation of learning speaking through games met the demand of the characteristics of a

successful lesson suggested by Ur (2002) and principles of teaching speaking by Brown (2001) which have been discussed in the theoretical framework Besides, instead of keeping the former format of the questionnaire source with Yes and No answers, the researcher adapted it into Likert-scale questions because she believed that the collected information would be more detailed and specific To that end, the data analysis would also be more reliable and specific

Second, regarding questions in Section 3, they were adopted and adapted carefully from Gardner‟s (2004) Attitude/ Motivation test battery The researcher selected 11 questions which were more relevant to the purpose of describing students‟ attitudes in speaking skill After that, researcher needed to adapt them in the context of using games in speaking class These questions aimed at clarifying

how confident (question 8), bored (question 9), interested (question 10), tired (question 11), enjoyable (question12), easy (question13), motivated (question 14), and relaxed (question 15) students felt when they practiced speaking skill through

games Besides, some other questions focused on discovering whether students

wanted to play games because they thought they could speak better (question 16),

whether they considered learning speaking through games is a waste of time

(question 17), and whether they desired to practice speaking English with games as much as possible (question 18) or not

Instead of keeping the original format which respondents answered by circling one appropriate option from 6-Likert-scale questions, in the revised questionnaire, there were only 5 options to choose from as the researcher wanted to make it less complicated for students to answer After the questionnaire was completed, it was sent to the supervisor to seek some advice The questionnaire copies were also given to some of researcher‟s colleagues to ask for suggestions or amendments if necessary After that, researcher piloted the questionnaires by having

a representative sample complete them These pretested questionnaires were carried out on 30 students at the same research site which accounted for approximately 10%

of actual respondents who later participated in the research After obtaining and