The use of games in teaching vocabulary to young learners a case study at nguyen binh khiem primary school

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER THE USE OF GAMES IN TEACHING VOC

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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE USE OF GAMES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY

TO YOUNG LEARNERS: A CASE STUDY AT

NGUYEN BINH KHIEM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Supervisor: Ms Cấn Thị Chang Duyên (M.A) Student: Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên

Course: QH2012.F1.E2

Hanoi, 2016

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ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI TRONG DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHO TRẺ EM: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP TẠI TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC NGUYỄN BỈNH KHIÊM

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Thạc sĩ Cấn Thị Chang Duyên Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên

Khóa: QH2014.F1.E2

Hà Nội, 2016

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ACCEPTANCE PAGE

I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên (QH2012.F1.E2), being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating

to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Date

May 5, 2016

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards Ms Cấn Thị Chang Duyên, my supervisor, for her continued support and encouragement throughout this study Without her careful supervision and guidance, the study could not be completed

My special thanks are also extended to two teachers of English at Nguyen Binh Khiem primary school for their invaluable help in allowing me to conduct the observations, attending the interviews and giving useful advice on my test preparation Besides, I would like to express my sincere thanks to 54 pupils of two classes 1A1 and 2A3 for their enthusiastic participation in doing the achievement tests, served as empirical data for the research

In addition, my thanks go to my dear friends in class 12E2 as well as my old friends for their previous assistance, suggestions and encouragement during the time I carried out the study

Last but not least, I am eternally grateful to my parents who have been giving

me unconditional love and support to complete the research

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ABSTRACT

No matter what language a child learns, it is words that serve as a stepping stone to the acquisition of language elements and skills Among a handful of techniques in teaching and learning words, games are considered one of the best ones The present study, therefore, aimed at investigating the current situation of applying games in teaching vocabulary to young learners by teachers of English at Nguyen Binh Khiem primary school Specifically, it explored ways of using games, their effectiveness, practical issues and recommendations during the employment Both qualitative and quantitative approaches, along with three research instruments namely observation, interview and testing, were adopted with the hope of giving in-depth answer to the four reseach questions In addition to six observed lessons in two classes, two teachers of English were involved in the interview and 54 pupils were invited to

do achievement tests The results indicated that various games were exploited in all of three stages of vocabulary lessons, especially in practice and revision Besides, with positive attitudes from teachers and pupils as well as pupils‟ high scores in the tests, games were proved effective in helping children learn vocabulary, especially in terms

of denotation and pronunciation Challenges from pupils such as disruptive behaviors, unenthusiastic involvement and intense competition and issues from teachers like unclear instruction and neglect of scoring made it sometimes difficult for teachers to manage classes during games However, these issues were addressed with solutions suggested by both teachers Despite the researcher‟s efforts, there were certain limitations such as the lack of pupils‟ opinions and oral test and limited number of participants, which are hoped to be overcomed in future studies

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1

2 Aims and objectives 2

3 Significance of the research 3

4 Scope of the study 3

5 Organization 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1 Young learners 5

1.1 Definition of young learners 5

1.2 Characteristics of young learners 5

2 An overview of vocabulary learning 7

3 An overview of vocabulary teaching 7

3.1 Principles of vocabulary teaching 7

3.2 Stages and activities in teaching vocabulary 9

4 Teaching vocabulary to young learners through games 12

4.1 Definition and characteristics of games 12

4.2 Advantages of using games 13

4.3 Selection of games 14

4.4 Practical considerations of implementing games 15

5 Related studies 17

5.1 In the world 17

5.2 In Vietnam 18

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 20

1 Quantitative and qualitative approach 20

1.1 Quantitative approach 20

1.2 Qualitative approach: Case study 20

2 Research setting 21

3 Participants 21

4 Research instruments 22

4.1 Observation 22

4.2 Interview 23

4.3 Testing 24

5 Data collection procedure 25

6 Data analysis method and procedure 26

6.1 Content analysis method 26

6.2 Statistical analysis method 26

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 27

1 RQ1: In what ways are games exploited in teaching vocabulary to YLs? 27

1.1 Phases of teaching vocabulary in which games are used 27

1.2 Selection of games 29

2 RQ2: To what extent can the use of games help YLs learn vocabulary? 32

2.1 YLs‟ response 32

2.2 Teachers‟ perceptions 33

2.3 Test results 35

3 RQ3: What are practical challenges faced by teachers when they implement games? 38

3.1 Pupil-related factors 38

3.2 Teacher-related factors 39

4 RQ4: What are solutions to the challenges suggested by the teachers? 40

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4.1 Pupil-related problems 40

4.2 Teacher-related problems 41

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 43

5.1 Summary of findings 43

5.2 Limitations 44

5.3 Suggestion for further research 44

LIST OF REFERENCES 46

APPENDICES 50

APPENDIX 1: OBSERVATION CHECKLIST 50

APPENDIX 2: ACHIEVEMENT TEST (FOR GRADE 1) 52

APPENDIX 3: ACHIVEMENT TEST (FOR GRADE 2) 54

APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION - TEACHER A 56

APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION - TEACHER B 62

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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Games used in class 1 and 2 30

Table 2: Statistics of grades of class 1 35

Table 3: Frequency of grades of class 1 35

Table 4: Statistics of grades of class 2 36

Table 5: Frequency of grades of class 2 37

LIST OF FIGURE Figure 1: Stages of a vocabulary lesson……… 29

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

YL Young Learner

NBK Nguyen Binh Khiem

RQ Research question

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

This initial chapter presents the problem and the rationale of the study Research questions to achieve the research’s aims, significance of the research, scope

of the study and the organization are also clearly presented

1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

Despite some predictions that English will be dethroned, the number of learners of English is still increasing dramatically all over the world This trend may

be due to the growing need to work and communicate with people from other parts of the world However, how successfully people can achieve that goal lies in their language competence in terms of both language skills and language elements

“Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (Wilkins, 1972, p.111-112) Thus, vocabulary plays a fundamental role as it enables people to express their own ideas and exchange information with others Additionally, vocabulary acquisition can support learning process of other

skills (Nguyen & Khuat, 2008) Regardless of proficiency levels, vocabulary learning

is of great importance; therefore, appropriate and effective teaching methodology and activities to help learners sharpen their vocabulary should be taken into consideration

It is commonly known that game is one of the most useful techniques in vocabulary teaching Games provide learners with a wide range of learning situations, maintain learners‟ motivation, and enhance interaction among learners (Carrier, 1980)

As for YLs, the fact that they want to play makes them “naturally and universally

engage” in games (Brumfit & Tongue, 1991)

The idea of using games in primary classrooms is not novel Nevertheless, it is not always as advantageous as mentioned above since it depends greatly on many factors such as the objectives of learning activities, the types of games chosen and the

For all the reasons above, the researcher wants to address the issue of the exploitation of games in teaching vocabulary to YLs in a particular context, NBK primary school, in an attempt to identify the current situation of game employment in that context, the impacts on learning of primary pupils, difficulties facing teachers and solutions in implementation Therefore, the researcher is driven to conduct a study

entitled “The use of games in teaching vocabulary to young learners: A case study at Nguyen Binh Khiem primary school”

2 Aims and objectives

First of all, the study aims at investigating the current situation of the employment of games in NBK primary school Secondly, it is to evaluate the effectiveness of games in teaching vocabulary to YLs Thirdly, the study is expected to identify problems, if any, when games are used by teachers to teach vocabulary Last but not least, suggested solutions by the teachers are to be proposed promptly

In brief, these aims could be summarized into the four following questions:

 In what ways are games exploited in teaching vocabulary to YLs?

 To what extent can the use of games help YLs learn vocabulary?

 What are practical challenges faced by teachers when they implement games?

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 What are solutions to the challenges suggested by the teachers?

3 Significance of the research

The study is considered to be significant for some reasons Firstly, the research hopefully helps to raise primary school teachers‟ awareness of advantages of games, ways of utilizing this technique and practical problems and solutions when applying to take full advantage of it Secondly, the paper is expected to be used as a source of reference for other researchers and those who have same interest in investigating the related field

4 Scope of the study

Although games can be used to teach various language skills as well as various groups of learners, this study concentrates only on games used to teach vocabulary to YLs In addition, as a case study, the research paper only focuses on the issue at NBK primary school More specifically, two teachers of English and two classes are participants of the research

Chapter 2: Literature review

It provides the background of the study, including definitions of key concepts

as well as the review on related studies in the world in general and Vietnam in particular

Chapter 3: Methodology

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The research setting, participants, data collection method and data analysis method are discussed in details throughout this chapter

Chapter 4: Results and discussion

In this chapter, data collected are presented and analysed to answer the four research questions

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter sheds light on the literature of the study More specifically, key terms such as YL, vocabulary teaching and games are discussed extensively to set the theoretical background for the whole research Then, a brief review of previous studies on related issues is presented to reveal the gap for this research to fill in

1 Young learners

1.1 Definition of young learners

YLs, as often perceived to be kindergarten and primary school children, are

officially described in the book Young learners as “…children from the first year of

formal schooling (five or six years old) to eleven or twelve years of age.” (Phillips,

1993, p.5) Thornbury (2006) also proposes the same definition as he states that YLs

are “children of pre-primary and primary school age, although it is sometimes used to include adolescents as well” (p.250) As the main interest of the research is primary Vietnamese children, YLs here will include those from six to ten years old only

1.2 Characteristics of young learners

According to Halliwell (1992) in her book Teaching English in the primary classroom, there are six points that make this age group distinct from adult learners

Firstly, YLs can understand what is said even if they do not know each individual word They make full use of this skill in language development as well as other school work This view is supported by Thornbury (2006) as he calls it one of the “cognitive factors” when children are still developing concepts, language and memory simultaneously (p.250) Hence, they prioritize understanding messages over making sense of every word

Secondly, it is the capacity to use language creatively from limited resources When they want to communicate but with little knowledge of language, they tend to produce meaningful messages from all the words they know or invent new words It is

to the help of conscious direct learning, since they are actually learning languages through continuous exposure and use (p.5)

Halliwell (1992) further mentions children‟s instinct for play and fun “They bring a spark of individuality and of drama” into things they do unexpectedly and somehow interestingly (p.5) By doing so, they are internalising language In other words, they themselves make great contributions to their own learning process

The next characteristic, imagination and fantasy, seems to have a close link with their sense of fun and play As they are making sense of the world around them, they vividly imagine about new things, test them in the real world and visualize how they might be different That is the nature of children as they take great pleasure in imagination and fantasy

The author lastly affirms that instinct for interaction and talk is the most obvious feature and also the most important one when it comes to teaching languages

to YLs The ultimate goal of learning a language is to use it and to communicate with others YLs have a natural desire to talk to others; thus, it is advantageous for their learning a second language as they will get motivated when working with other friends

or being given opportunity to speak

Thornbury (2006) adds one more point that is children‟s short attention spans

On one hand, energetic as they may seem, they are likely to get tired and bored, especially with something they are not interested in On the other hand, they are impressionable when they are easily distracted by their peers as well as other things

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Since characteristics of YLs are of great importance with respect to teaching them languages, these characteristics and instincts will lay a strong base for the discussion of how to teach vocabulary in later parts

2 An overview of vocabulary learning

Before exploring the issue of teaching vocabulary to children, how vocabulary

is learned is worth mentioning Hatch and Brown (1995, as cited in Cameron, 2001) suggest that there are five key steps in the process of vocabulary acquisition, which is also called “the dynamic nature of learning vocabulary” (p.64):

(1) Having sources for encountering new words

(2) Getting a clear image, visual or auditory or both, for the forms of new words (3) Learning the meaning

(4) Making a strong memory connection between the forms and the meanings (5) Using the words

Cameron (2001) then notes that learning vocabulary does not just start at (1) and end at (5); nevertheless, it is a cyclical process of meeting learnt words again and again as well as creating a link between learnt and new words

3 An overview of vocabulary teaching

3.1 Principles of vocabulary teaching

After two books entitled Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners by Linse and Nunan (2005) and Teaching languages to young learners by Cameron (2001) are

investigated in detail, a number of principles of vocabulary teaching to YLs can be explained as follows:

It is problematic when course books for YLs often put an emphasis on nouns due to the easiness of presentation as well as children‟s lack of literacy skills However, according to Ur (1996),

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Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single

word: for example, post office and mother-in-law, which are made up of

two or three words but express a single idea There are also multi-word idioms such as call it a day, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis of the component words A useful convention is

to cover all such cases by talking „items‟ rather than „words‟ (p.60)

It follows that vocabulary is not all about nouns but a vast of aspects such as verbs, phrases, idioms can also be called vocabulary as well Hence, all aspects of vocabulary should be treated equally in the teaching process

Variety is essential; however, an emphasis on “useful words”, high frequency

words, should be put (Linse & Nunan, 2005, p.120) According to Cameron (2001), words normally have three levels: superordinate, basic level and subordinate, among

which basic level concepts are common ones For example, animal is superordinate word; dog and spaniel are basic level and subordinate respectively YLs cannot and

does not have to acquire all the words taught because they are still developing; hence, children are more likely to learn basic level items rather than the other two With a focused way of teaching, teachers can help them gain vocabulary that they will encounter on a daily basis

As the “dynamic nature” of learning vocabulary is to repeatedly meet, learn new words and build network of related words, teaching vocabulary in primary classes should also offer various activities, various situations where YLs can get exposed to vocabulary items in rich contexts again and again (Linse & Nunan, 2005) That is when children build up knowledge of words in terms of meaning, form and usage Vocabulary learning, therefore, is a recurrent process (Cameron, 2001)

Deep processing is another important component of teaching vocabulary to YLs It means “working with the information at a high cognitive and personal level” (Linse & Nunan, 2005, p.22) Rather than asking them to remember a long list

of words with their meanings, it is better to personalize the vocabulary lesson

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YLs learn another language with a continuously developing first language Hence, first language plays a central role in their learning Accordingly, first language background should be taken into consideration for teachers to know what will work and what may be too difficult for children (Cameron, 2001)

Meaning seems to be the most relevant part to YLs as they always try to understand the meaning rather than the form The more learners think about a word and its meaning, the more likely they are to remember it (Cameron, 2001) Thus, it is really imperative when teachers give children a certain amount of time to work out the meaning on their own It will be beneficial for their long-term memory

With regard to teaching word forms, how a word is pronounced and written, Cameron (2001) advises teachers of primary classes to let them hear a new word in isolation for several times to grasp the sounds, the stress pattern and the syllables that makes up the word Then listening to the word in a discourse context can be offered so that they get more and more familiar with pronunciation of the word Although YLs are developing their literacy skills, written form of a word should also be paid attention to in terms of its shape, initial and final letters, letter clusters and to its spelling

As can be seen, children‟s characteristics as well as the nature of vocabulary learning which are both carefully addressed in previous parts can be reflected in fundamental principles of teaching vocabulary to YLs above In the later part, how a vocabulary lesson is designed and taught will be revealed

3.2 Stages and activities in teaching vocabulary

In the book How to teach vocabulary, Thornbury (2002) presents three stages in

teaching vocabulary, namely presentation, practice and production What each stage is about and what techniques can specifically be exploited is going to be demonstrated

3.2.1 Presentation

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At this stage, new vocabulary items are introduced in terms of meaning and form And there are various techniques can be of great help for teachers to facilitate the very first stage

a For written form

 Concrete objects (realia), pictures or mimes :

Pictures can take many forms: ready-made, home-made ones or board drawings Concrete words are easily illustrated by this mean of presentation

Realia can also be anything appropriate for the word teachers tend to introduce: objects in the classroom, items prepared beforehand such as clothing, toys, food

Mime is the way of using actions, gestures, facial expressions to show the meaning of words

 Translation:

It is preferred by teachers due to the quickness and directness It is especially suitable for words which “crop up in the lesson”; yet, if this mean is overused, learners will find it difficult to develop “an independent L2 lexicon” as well as remember it for

a long term (Thornbury, 2002, p.77) Thus, it is often more helpful if there is a combination of various techniques

 Definitions:

Basically it involves the use of words to explain vocabulary items Verbal means include giving example situation; example sentences; synonyms, antonyms or superordinate terms; full definitions Although it may take longer than other techniques, one good point is that learners can get “extra „free‟ listening practice, and

… may be more cognitively engaged” (Thornbury, 2002, p.81) Also, it should be used only when used words are known to learners

b For spoken form

 Selecting: this task requires the recognition and selection of words among given choices A widely used one is Odd one out

 Matching: this kind of activity involve first identifying words and then pairing them with demonstrations or words (definition, antonym, synonym, collocation…)

 Sorting: this task asks learners to classify words into different groups which are given in advance or guessed by learners, for example, putting adjectives into two groups – positive and negative

 Ranking and sequencing: this requires learners to put words in order It can involve sequencing expressions about daily activities or raking things according to preference

3.2.3 Production

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The last stage is when learners become owners of their knowledge by producing language on the basis of what have been learnt and relating it to their personal knowledge Activities can be categorized into two main types:

 Completion (fills): it is often a writing task in the form of either closed fills (filling in with given words) or open ones (drawing on learners‟ mental lexicon) Multiple choice tasks also belong to this group

gap- Creation: learners are asked to create contexts for given words; hence, tasks of this type are normally speaking tasks and they involve many processes such as rehearsal, repetition and explanation which are helpful for long-term memory

4 Teaching vocabulary to young learners through games

4.1 Definition and characteristics of games

There has been much effort made to give an adequate explanation about games, especially games in language teaching and learning One of these is by Hadfield (1998), as game is defined as an activity with specific rules, a goal, and an element of fun Khan (as cited in Brumfit, Moon & Tongue, 1991) also makes attempts in this field as he states that games involve one or more players to compete or cooperate and are rule-governed, goal-defined and fun Khan (1991)‟s definition is different from the former one with factors of participants and competition among players which are significant features of games However, the word “compete” does not necessarily mean taking action to win over someone, especially in primary classrooms, it is the engagement of all players in one activity to achieve something or simply have fun In addition, for games used in language classrooms, “[g]ames is an agreeable way of getting class to use its initiative in English (Haycraft, 1978, p.94)

In a nutshell, basic characteristics of games that can be concluded from these definitions are as follows:

 It is a particular language task or activity

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 It has objectives, rules, players

 It is fun and rewarding

4.2 Advantages of using games

The impact of games in the field of teaching English has been exhaustively examined in numerous studies over the years More specifically, it is obvious that games have a profound impact on both teaching and learning English

Games create “an enjoyable and stimulating experience for children” (Phillips,

1993, p.7) This viewpoint is largely agreed by Uberman (1998) as he contends that games reduce anxiety, maintain motivation and build up self-confidence because there

is no punishment or criticism if they are wrong It is the chance for them to experiment and freely practice the language

Games make language learning meaningful by providing learners meaningful contexts (Wright et al., 1984) It enables unconscious learning since students are not aware of language-orientedness of the games Moreover, in Hadfield (1998)‟s view, games actually “bridge between the classroom and the real world” since real communication is enhanced and useful language is promoted (p.127)

To be short, Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985, p.6) summarize the advantages of using games as follows:

 Games add variety to range of learning situations

 Games can maintain motivation

 Games can refresh learners during formal learning

 Games can give hidden practice of specific language points

 Games can encourage an interest of those who feel intimidated by formal classroom situations

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 Games give an opportunity for student-student communication

 Games can act as a testing mechanism, in the sense that they will expose areas

of weakness

4.3 Selection of games

According to Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985), games are not restricted to be used in any specific lesson or any phase of the lesson It means that games can be used at any time as long as teachers feel appropriate However, in order

to make full use of games, certain factors should be taken into consideration before teachers choose any game in any lesson

Khan (as cited in Brumfit et al., 1991) develops an analytical framework for

teachers to base on to choose the most appropriate games for primary classes To begin with, it is the pedagogical focus of games In language classes, games are designed on the basis of specific language items such as words or language structures; therefore, it

is advisable for teachers to depend on the language focus of the task to justify games whether they are for presenting, consolidating or practicing

The next factor is patterns of organization How to group learners to play should be given some thoughts in advance as it will affect classroom management For example, physical line-up, where each pupil having a card with one word from the whole sentence to stand in a line, seems infeasible in a small class with four rows of tables and over fifty pupils

Another factor determining teachers‟ choice of games is materials and equipment Each game has to go with a certain number of supplementary materials so

as to create a great game Thus, availability and expense should be considered beforehand to ensure the effective and efficient use of games

Last but not least, “„ludic‟ principles” are important elements of exploiting games (Khan, as cited in Brumfit et al., 1991, p.148) The first principle is chance and

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skill YLs are immersed in games with luck, which means they have a high chance of winning not totally by being knowledgeable but by guessing Such games will be much more fun and enjoyed by almost all pupils, not only the able ones The second principle relates to cooperation and competition Teachers have to make decisions on whether or not children will work together to gain something or they will play in teams

to be the winner By doing so, fierce competition or overexcitement is avoided The third one deals with uncertainty which means the involvement of memory in games

As children sometimes may fail to remember prior knowledge, they get motivated by recalling the information or simply guessing the answer

4.4 Practical considerations of implementing games

Even though games are chosen carefully and appropriately, they may fail to be effective if timing, language use and the like are ignored Wright et al (1984) regard these problems as “five practical points” in using games (p.6), some of which have been referred to in the previous part

First of all, games should be used slowly from simple to more complicated games so that children can understand the rules and fully enjoy the games Some

certain patterns of games should also be repeated for YLs to get familiarized

Secondly, language use in games is vital as it should be clear, simple and brief enough for the very young to get the rules of the games When to use English or the mother tongue is crucial as well Hence, Wright et al (1984) suggests that if teachers cannot give clear instructions in English, they should use mother tongue instead Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985) share the same view as it is stated that clear instructions will prevent students with language difficulties from confusion Additionally, demonstration or modelling is more preferable than lengthy explanations for students to have a clear image in their mind what they are expected to do (Carrier

& Centre for British Teachers, 1985; Hadfield, 1998)

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Thirdly, students should be grouped with mixed abilities Games are fun and exciting only when students cooperate to reach the goals Hence, if they are grouped in accordance with their levels, the results may be repeatedly the same regardless of what

types of games are exploited It is against the nature of games as games offer

“challenge” not competition (Carrier & Centre for British Teachers, 1985, p.8) Although Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985) agree with Wright et al (1984)‟s idea of grouping on a mixed ability basis, they contend that group composition can also be based on students‟ ability as it will not make able students feel “overshadowed” or “held back” by others (p 8) They are reasonable as there are many cases that able children get demotivated when they have to play with weak students; consequently, games are not fun to them at all Besides, they say that pair work and individual work can also be forms of grouping They conclude that decision

on types of group formation relies on aims of activities and specific situations of each class

Fourthly, as aforementioned in the part Characteristics of YLs, children easily tire; therefore, teachers should pay attention to timing to stop before they are exhausted This point is also similar to what Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985) state in their book that there are three points teachers should bear in mind in terms of timing, namely minimum amount of time needed to play the game, available time for re-playing, maximum amount of available time

In another aspect, teachers should not interrupt to correct mistakes It will dampen children‟s enthusiasm in playing games as well as make them afraid of making mistakes in the future It is advisable for teachers to jot down common mistakes and mention them in next lessons (Carrier & Centre for British Teachers, 1985)

Preparation is fundamental when it comes to the implementation of games in classroom settings Hence, Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1995) assert that

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no matter how simple the game may be, a number of facilities are necessary to make

the game smooth and joyful For instance, the game “slap the board” is generally

known to be very easy to both prepare and play Nevertheless, if there were no chalk

or no flashcard to stick on the board, how could children play? Thus, a careful check

on necessary materials is needed The quality of materials should also be checked, especially for YLs, as they are attracted to colorful and vivid presentations

Another thing worth noting is that of scoring as it catches lots of attentions from YLs during the game A list of questions must be answered in advance: how many points are given for each correct answer or for mistakes and who records scores

5 Related studies

5.1 In the world

As using games in teaching English has had a long history, studies on this issue have been much a great deal, especially on teaching English to YLs via games Research in Turkey by Yolageldili and Arikan (2011) reveals that there is a mismatch between teachers‟ perception of effectiveness of games and their limited use However, investigation into beliefs and habits of teachers only seem insufficient to draw any conclusion about the effectiveness of games Furthermore, their main concern is in teaching grammar, which leaves effects of games in teaching other skills and language elements questionable

As aforementioned, games can be used whenever it is suitable; hence, a number

of researches have been conducted regarding the use of games in particular stages of teaching vocabulary Firstly, a careful investigation into the role of games for vocabulary presentation and revision is made by Uberman (1998) He compares effects

of games with traditional ways in these two phases and reaches a conclusion that it makes a big difference when teachers use games Nevertheless, many would wonder if games were effective for the practice stage That question is answered in a research by Jindrová (2014) that it is an effective tool and helpful for five graders in Czech

To sum up, the researcher has not been able to find any studies that thoroughly examine the same issue to have a comprehensive understanding

5.2 In Vietnam

Many Vietnamese researchers have also investigated the use of games in English in general and in vocabulary teaching and learning in particular An action research on learning vocabulary through games by Nguyen and Khuat (2008) is taken with a positive result in terms of students‟ attitudes and their academic results Some unanticipated problems have been figured out; however, the participants are adult learners Other groups of learners have been addressed by Nguyen (2001) focusing on

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secondary school students or by Phung (2011) studying on high school students They both long to clarify the situation of applying games in teaching vocabulary and assert the positive effects that games might bring out; nevertheless, constraints of time and not carefully designed research instruments are some reasons leading into the doubt upon validity of the research‟s results Other researchers such as Vu (2001), Vu (2002) and Do (2007) do focus on the group of YLs; nevertheless, they address the use of games in teaching English generally and skills in particular With regard to the specific stages of a lesson, Luu (2012) discovers that games have a great influence on vocabulary recollection phase of YLs in a school in Ho Chi Minh City

More recent studies on the same population are conducted by Nguyen (2010) and Du (2012) They try to explore the techniques, including games, in teaching vocabulary to YLs in language centers in Hanoi The results are that games have a fundamental role in teaching vocabulary to YLs; therefore, they are exploited widely and effectively Nevertheless, it is known that learning environment and conditions in language centers and that in private or public schools are quite different, which undoubtedly influences the effectiveness of games

As far as the researcher is concerned, there has been little or no recent research

on the usage of games in teaching vocabulary in a specific primary school context As

a result, it has led the researcher to dig deeper and hopefully make contributions to the overall picture of the issue

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter is written in order to present the methodology that the research employed The approach, the research setting and participants are thoroughly discussed They are followed by detailed descriptions of methods and procedures of data collection as well as data analysis

1 Quantitative and qualitative approach

1.1 Quantitative approach

Although the researcher is aware of the fact that testing, an instrument of quantitative study, cannot fully measure the effectiveness of the implementation of games, testing is still employed so that the interest in the issue, to some extent, is fulfilled As qualitative approach serves as primary in this research, sampling and testing will be discussed further in later parts

1.2 Qualitative approach: Case study

There has been much effort made to give a clear definition of what case study

is One of which is by Yin (2004) in his book entitled Case Study Methods as he states

that the case study is “to examine, in-depth, a “case” within its “real-life” context.” (p 1) It can be inferred that there are three significant features of case study method, namely the richness of analysis, the „case‟ and the real context These points were made clearer in Merriam-Webster‟s dictionary (2009) as follows:

Case study An intensive analysis of an individual unit (as a person or

community) stressing developmental factors in relation to environment

According to this definition, „case‟ can be a person, a group or a whole community and the focus of case studies is the evolvement in a specific period of time and place within the context

Basing on these features, the researcher finds case study approach suitable and will be the main approach for this study As when it comes to the investigation into

Classes at NBK primary school are divided into five groups of grades from one to five Due to the fact that the researcher only had the chance to investigate the use of games in teaching vocabulary to pupils of grade one, two, the discussion would focus

on these groups of grades accordingly

As for grade one pupils, they are at their early stage of learning and thus, they are expected to be able to know pronunciation and meaning of vocabulary in the first place Later on, they get access to word form like shape, initial and final letters at its basic level This point supports one of the fundamental principles of teaching vocabulary to YLs, formulated by Cameron (2001), which is the essential need to introduce word form despite the fact that YLs are developing their literacy skills For second and third graders, they are better at literacy skills, activities related to spelling, therefore, are created more so that they not only acquire meaning but also form with both pronunciation and spelling However, support from teachers in pupils‟ writing words is still much needed at this age according to a teacher‟s sharing

3 Participants

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54 pupils from two classes (24 YLs from 1A1 QT, class 1, and 30 YLs from 2A3 CLC, class 2) and two teachers of English teaching in these classes are chosen to participate in the research More specifically, as case study is the chosen research, participants are selected by purposive sampling method According to Oliver (2006),

in purposive sampling, decision to participants included is “based on a variety of criteria which may include specialist knowledge of the research issue, or capacity and willingness to participate in the research.” (p.32) Therefore, one first-grade class and one second-grade class were selected for two following reasons Firstly, two classes are the representatives of two different programs, which means that the basic features

of the case are presented and therefore sufficient information about the case is obtained Secondly, since the researcher has already obtained consent of teachers and pupils from these two classes to participate in the study, it would be much easier and

more convenient when the research is conducted in the long run

4 Research instruments

4.1 Observation

4.1.1 Reasons for choosing observation

The profound benefit of observation is that “it offers an investigator the opportunity to gather „live‟ data from naturally occurring social situations” (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007, p.396); thus, validity and authenticity of data are guaranteed With respect to language learning, Brown (2001) asserts that observation

“involve direct on-the-spot examination of language use, learning, or training.” (p 4) Therefore, observation is appropriate when it comes to the investigation into the way games are used in real classroom settings and the way pupils respond to them as well

4.1.2 Observation checklist

To obtain valuable information from observations, an observation checklist was designed with the assistance of the supervisor It was based on Khan (as cited in

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Brumfit et al., 1991)‟s analytical framework for choosing games as well as adapted from the observation checklist for mentoring program by Faculty of English and Language Teaching English, University of Languages and International Studies The designed observation comprises two main parts: general information and assessment of games In the former part, teacher‟s name, class, lesson focus, language items, date, games used were noted down to give an overview of the observed lesson In the next part, each game used during the lesson was assessed on criteria built up from the literature part, namely selection, instruction delivery, participation and class management (See Appendix 1 for the observation checklist)

4.2 Interview

4.2.1 Reasons for choosing interview

Interview is considered another great tool to gather data for case study research

In the book Second Language Research: Methodology and Design, Mackey and Gass

(2005) discuss some good points of interview as it enables researchers to study phenomena “that are not directly observable” and elicit additional data to reach the

“digress and probe for more information” (Mackay & Gass, 2005, p.173)

4.2.2 Interview format and content

As a result, the interview consisted of three main parts, namely background information, use of games and its effectiveness, problems and solutions A list of main

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concerns for each part was written down in advance; however, they only served as a guide for the interviews Questions were posed during the interview so that information collected was specific enough for the researcher to answer four research questions regarding effectiveness, problems and solutions of the exploitation of games Besides, to gain detailed information on the issue and to make the teachers

comfortable to share their opinions, Vietnamese was used during two interviews

4.3 Testing

4.3.1 Reasons for choosing testing

If there is a need to assess participants‟ performance or achievement, it is when test is designed for (Perry, 2011) He further suggests that test can be paper-based, computer-based or face-to-face It is also worth noting that researchers should take many factors into consideration to make use of data collected from tests such as purposes, forms, and sources of testing (Cohen et al., 2007)

In this study, apart from the involvement of teachers, that of pupils is vital since the question of the effectiveness of used games can only be answered on the basis of their performance Testing method, therefore, is of great importance to identify how much vocabulary YLs can acquire after taking part in in-class games The result is expected to serve as a solid foundation for assessing the effectiveness of games used in these classes, which is the second question that the research seeks for the answer

4.3.2 Test format and content

As the content of lessons and level of pupils were much different in two classes, two different tests were designed as follows:

Objectives Pupils were able to remember

the meaning and form of vocabulary about actions

Pupils were able to remember the meaning, form and write vocabulary about animals, food,

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small toys and feelings

Marking criteria 1 point for each correct answer 0.5 point for each correct answer

5 Data collection procedure

Collection of data consisted of three main phases where each one involved one

of the three methods aforementioned Firstly, observation checklist was designed by the researcher and revised by the supervisor After that, the researcher observed two classes during two weeks with an equal number of three lessons During the observations, how games were used in these two classes was noted together with the researcher‟s comments Moreover, with the consent of the teachers, observed lessons were recorded for data analysis

In the second phase, two teachers of English who were in charge of teaching two classes were invited to do the interviews The date and place was decided by them

so that they could feel as comfortable as possible during the interviews Interviews lasted for about fifteen minutes and were recorded with their acceptance

After two-week observations, there came the third phase which was testing As the course books used in two classes – Incredible English 1 and 2- did not provide learners with any revision test, the test was developed by the researcher with the consultation of two teachers of English on the basis of vocabulary items YLs were taught through games during two observed weeks Then, tests were delivered to all

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pupils in two classes in exactly ten minutes under the supervision of both the researcher and the teacher in charge to avoid any cheating

6 Data analysis method and procedure

6.1 Content analysis method

Checklists and videos of observations as well as recordings of interview went through an analysis process In the first place, the content of interviews was translated into English for later analysis Then, data from two methods were categorized in subgroups, namely ways of using games, effects of games on YLs‟ learning vocabulary and problems when applying games in teaching vocabulary and their solutions In the next phase, information from each subgroup was employed to answer each corresponding research question Opinions of teachers were cited to make the judgment more reliable and persuasive

6.2 Statistical analysis method

As for testing, scores from tests taken by pupils in two classes were processed

by SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) It is a software package that facilitates statistical analysis of data by manipulating, analyzing and presenting data in various forms for different purposes of research (Landau & Everitt, 2004) Hence, by using SPSS, test results in both classes were displayed in tables with measures of central tendency (mode and mean) and frequency, which allowed the researcher to discuss, compare and contrast the results to evaluate the effectiveness of used games in each class as well as between classes

Summary: This chapter has justified the methodology employed to generate data

for the research The main approach adopted in the study was qualitative approach The setting and participants have also been described adequately Observation, interview and testing were employed as instruments for data collection Data analysis followed both content method and statistical method in order to give detailed answers

to the four research questions The results will be presented in the next chapter

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CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In this chapter, all the data collected from three chosen instruments, namely observation, interview and testing will be analyzed in detail and altogether to give comprehensive answers to four research questions

As stated at the beginning of the paper, the study aimed at, firstly, understanding the current situation of applying games into vocabulary lessons at NBK primary school Secondly, how effective the application was in boosting YLs to learn vocabulary was examined Next, significant issues were identified, followed by solutions suggested by teachers Based on these objectives, the four research questions were posed and resolved in this chapter

1 RQ1: In what ways are games exploited in teaching vocabulary to YLs? 1.1 Phases of teaching vocabulary in which games are used

From the sharing of teachers and observations of the researcher, three main stages of a typical vocabulary lesson, together with the use of games (if any) could be drawn out as follows:

In the first stage, presentation, pictures (flash cards) were made full use of to support teachers in introducing new vocabulary items on the topic of actions, animals, and feelings After that, by means of choral and individual repetition, teachers introduced spoken form It was a useful technique in presentation part since there is no better way to remember by practicing speaking With the bonus of giving points to those who said words loudly and correctly, the technique could be turned into a game

as what was observed in class 2

Right after presentation, pupils were given chances to practice newly learnt words through various games or worksheets until the end of the lesson TA took

„Sticky ball‟ she had used in a lesson for practice phase as an example Pupils listened

to what word she was saying and threw the sticky ball onto that word card It is quite