Using guessing games to improve the 5th graders vocabulary retention

TRAN THI THANH BINH USING GUESSING GAMES TO IMPROVE THE 5TH GRADERS VOCABULARY RETENTION Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS I

VINH UNIVERSITY

TRAN THI THANH BINH

USING GUESSING GAMES TO IMPROVE THE 5TH

GRADERS VOCABULARY RETENTION

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

NGHE AN, 2019

TRAN THI THANH BINH

USING GUESSING GAMES TO IMPROVE THE 5TH

GRADERS VOCABULARY RETENTION

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching

Code: 8.14.01.11

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Supervisor: Assoc Prof., Dr NGO DINH PHUONG

NGHE AN, 2019

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby acknowledge that this research is my own work The data and findings collected and analyzed in this thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published elsewhere

Nghe An, August 4th, 2019 Author

Tran Thi Thanh Binh

ABSTRACT

This study has been conducted to examine the benefits of using guessing game to improve the 5th graders’ vocabulary retention, and investigate the students as well as teachers’ attitudes toward using guessing game in teaching and learning English The study has been conducted on 30 students at grade 5 and 5 teachers of English at Kien Giang primary school number 1 In order to obtain these students’ opinions concerning the guessing game and their effectiveness toward the vocabulary, a questionnaire was designed as one of data collection tools Some open questions were implemented to interview students and seven experienced colleagues of the researcher about their attitudes and the results after they learn vocabulary after using guessing game into English lesson In addition, the researcher has done two experimental tests (one pre-test and one post -tests) with 30 students so as to measure how progress they are compared to the tests with other common texts The findings from data analysis has shown that most of the students not only have positive attitudes toward guessing game but realize their feasible effects on creating a relaxed learning environment and on improving students’ vocabulary retention as well Basing on findings of the study, the researcher also supplies some suggestions about how to use guessing game with the aim at improving the grade 5 students’ vocabulary retention

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Ngo Dinh Phuong for his valuable time, suggestions, guidance, and assistance

in this study Without his help, the study would not have been completed

I would like to thank at Kien Giang primary school number 1, teachers, the students of two classes I taught in order to collect information for my research, who allowed me kindly to do my investigation with their students Without their help, this study could not have been successful and completed

Finally, my thanks go to my colleagues, friends and especially my family I feel greatly indebted to them for their essential help and encouragement

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 The aims of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Scope of study 3

1.5.Significance of study 3

1.6 Method of study 4

1.7 The organization of the study 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Vocabulary 6

2.1.1 Definition 6

2.1.2 Kinds of vocabulary 7

2.1.3 The importance of vocabulary 7

2.1.4 Concept of Teaching Vocabulary 8

2.1.5 Concept of Learning Vocabulary 9

2.1.6 Students Problem in Learning Vocabulary 10

2.2 Games in English as a Foreign Language 12

2.2.1 Definition of Game 12

2.2.2 The Advantages of Game 15

2.2.3 Purposes of Using Game 16

2.2.4 Principles of Game Selection 17

2.3 Guessing game 19

2.3.1 Concept of Guessing Game 19

2.3.2 Benefit of Guessing Game 19

2.3.3 Learning Vocabulary by using guessing Game 20

2.3.4 Teaching Vocabulary by using guessing Game 21

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 research questions 24

3.2 Participants 24

3.3 Materials 25

3.3.1 The curriculum and the textbook Tieng Anh 5 25

3.4 Procedure 27

3.4.1 Data collecting technique 27

3 4.2 Procedures of data collection 29

3 4.3 Procedures of data analysis 32

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33

4.1 Data analysis and discussion from Phase 1 33

4.1.1 Data analysis from Phase 1 33

4.1.2 Discussion from Phase 1 39

4.2 Data analysis and discussion from Phase 2 39

4.2.1 Data analysis from students’ survey questionnaires 39

4.2.2 Data analysis from teachers’ questionnaires 45

4.2.3 Data analysis from students’ test results 51

4.2.4 Discussion from phase 2 54

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 55

5.1 Recapitulation 55

5.2 Pedagogical implications 56

5.3 Suggestions 56

5.4 Limitations 58

REFERENCES 59

APPENDIXES 63

APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS 63

APPENDIX B: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR TEACHERS 64

APPENDIX C: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS 66

APPENDIX D: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR TEACHERS 68

APPENDIX E: QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW 70

APPENDIX F: WRITING ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 71

APPENDIX G: TEST ITEMS 73

APPENDIX H: TESTS RESULTS 75

APPENDIX I: TEST ITEMS 77

APPENDIX K: TESTS RESULTS 80

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 CAR: Classroom Action Research

2 EFL: English as Foreign Language

3 IRF: Initiation-Response-Feedback

4 TEFL: Teaching as an English Foreign Language

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 The vocabulary topics in textbook Tieng Anh 5 26

Table 3.4 Time proportion for vocabulary lessons 31

Table 4.1: Teachers’ and Students’ attitude importance of teaching and learning vocabulary 33

Table 4.2: Students’ important to using guessing game 34

Table 4 3: Students’ attitude in learning vocabulary 35

Table 4.4: Students’ frequency in practice vocabulary 36

Table 4.5: Students’ self-evaluation about ability to remember vocabulary 38

Table 4.6: Students’ degree of preference about using guessing game 40

Table 4.7: Students’ feelings when playing guessing game 41

Table 4.8: Students’ opinions about the benificial of using guessing game to improve vocabulary retention 42

Table 4.9: Students’ opinions about the using guessing game can help your improving vocabulary retention 43

Table 4.10: Students’ opinions about the using guessing game can help your improving vocabulary retention after using guessing game 44

Table 4.11: Teachers’ opinions towards the importance of using guessing game in teaching vocabulary lessons 46

Table 4.12: Ways of motivating students to keep guessing game 47

Table 4.13: Teachers’ preparation for students some guessing games 48

Table 4.14: How does the number vocabulary of students will improve? 49

Table 4.15: Teachers’ expectation towards keeping guessing game 50 Table 4.16: Means and standard deviations of the test results 51

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1:Teachers’ and Students’ attitude towards the importance of vocabulary

throught guessing games 33

Figure 4.2: Teachers’ and Students’ sympathy to using guessing game 34

Figure 4.3: Students’attitude in learning vocabulary 36

Figure 4.4: Students’ frequency in practice vocabulary 37

Figure 4.5: Students’ self-evaluation about ability to remember vocabulary 38

Figure 4.6: Students’ feelings when playing guessing game………41

Figure 4.7: Students’ opinions about using guessing game can help improve your vocabulary retention……… 44

Figure 4.8: Students’ opinions about using guessing game can help your improvement vocabulary retention after using guessing game 45

Figure 4.9: Teachers’ opinion towards the importance of using guessing game in vocabulary lessons 46

Figure 4.10: Teachers’ evaluation of students’ improvement in teaching vocabulary after using guessing game 49

Figure 4.11: Teachers’ expectation towards keeping reflective guessing game 50

Figure 4.12: Students’ score progress in comparison between the pre-test and post-tests 52

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

English plays an important role for communication in Viet Nam It is becoming more and more important with the involvement of the government in the teaching English Language is very important in human life The function of language is as a communication tool by people to conduct their activities We are able to exchange knowledge, beliefs, opinions, wishes, threats, commands, thanks, promises, declarations, feelings–only our imagination sets limits We need language to communicate and send our expression Without language it is impossible for us to interact each other in daily life or learning something

Vocabulary is one of linguistic features which influences the communicate competence Based on Nurbaeti in his research paper explained that vocabulary is a central to language and it is significant to language learners Therefore, to develop the students’ ability in mastering English, it cannot be separated from the mastery of vocabulary, because it can be a measurement of the students understand in English and

to build their confidence in speaking English up In the other hands, by mastering the vocabulary, it can be a bridge for the students to extract any information then can enlarge their knowledge It means that by enriching student’s vocabulary, automatically they will be easy to communicate with other people from other countries

so that it can enlarge their knowledge

Being aware of the above facts, most of the teachers at primary schools have paid attention to develop the students’ vocabulary However, some students admit that they find difficulties in learning English vocabulary They have difficulty in ability to remember vocabulary

At primary school, students study English vocabulary in fifteen or twenty minutes for

a period In spite of the fact that the goals of the English language curriculum aim at developing language skills, most teachers’ main concerns are to teach students how to pass final exams with high scores To meet exam requirements, most class time is devoted to teaching vocabulary along with grammar rules through rehearsal and repetition

The phenomenon above has challenged the teacher to find effective teaching techniques and media which can enhance and motivate the students in the vocabulary lesson as well as can improve their vocabulary retention Therefore, English teacher needs to find out good techniques that can make the students interested in learning English, such as using guessing games in teaching vocabulary lessons It may also encourage the students to become involved and interested in learning vocabulary However, many teachers have difficulty in handling this technique in the English classrooms at the primary school Therefore, some aspects of the current use of this activity should be taken into consideration Furthermore, there still seems to be an assumption that skills required to use guessing games somehow emerge without training, and there still is little evidence that those who are using guessing games are making fun and correct use of it

In addition, as a teacher of English who has devoted most of the time and energy to the English teaching vocabulary process, especially teaching English vocabulary to students at my school, I find it necessary to have more insights into using guessing games in teaching vocabulary, to help students to improve students’ vocabulary retention

From the previous elaboration, the present researcher is interested in conducting the research paper titled “Using guessing games to improve 5th graders vocabulary

retention” It is expected to contribute to the improvement of using guessing games in teaching English vocabulary at Kien Giang primary school number 1 as well as other primary schools in Vietnam in general

1.2 The aims of the study

This study aims to find out the effectiveness of using guessing games teaching vocabulary lessons It is expected to contribute to enrich the literature in using guessing games in teaching vocabulary and to improve the students’ vocabulary retention at the fifth grader students

1.3 Research questions

The study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1 Are students interested in guessing games to learn English vocabulary?

2 Do guessing games help improve 5th graders’ vocabulary retention?

1.4 Scope of study

The study only focused on using guessing game to improve the students’ vocabulary retention at the grader 5 at Kien Giang primary school number1 The target that the study investigates and serves is 30 students from 1 class of grade 5 (51) In this study, the researcher explores the students’ attitudes towards the teachers’ application of the guessing game in the classroom and the effects of using guessing game on helping students’ vocabulary retention

1.5 Significance of the study

The researcher accepted that it would be useful for the English teacher and students of the fifth grader students

This study is a great effort to look into the effectiveness of using guessing games in improving 5th graders’ vocabulary ability retention at Kien Giang primary school

number 1 Once fulfilled, it is expected to be a useful source for primary school teachers

of English In addition, the research will supply English teachers at Kien Giang primary school number 1 with suggestions to encourage students to build up the habit of regular learning vocabulary successfully; therefore, the research’s results will make a great contribution to the enhancement of teaching vocabulary for students at primary school

It is hoped that the outcome of this research will help students to increase their English- competence

1.6 Method of the study

In this study, the researcher uses both quantitative and qualitative methods including survey questionnaire, interview, observation and tests were employed to meet the purposes addressing of research questions The quantitative method is used to survey and collect data which are results of the questionnaires about students’ attitude and the effectiveness of guessing game in learning vocabulary And also, the author employed interview with students who study English to find out them repines when they study vocabulary and the effectiveness of language guessing game in teaching vocabulary Survey questionnaire and personal observations in teaching vocabulary are with the aims at finding out the effects of guessing game and their attitude to language guessing game in learning vocabulary

1.7 The organization of the study

The study consists of five sections:

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the rationale, aims of the study, research questions, and scope of study, significance of study, method of study and organization

of the study

Chapter 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This chapter consists of definition of vocabulary, kinds of vocabulary, the importance

of vocabulary, concept of teaching vocabulary, concept of learning vocabulary, students problem in learning vocabulary, games in English as a foreign language, definition of game, the advantages of game, purpose of using game, principle of game selection, concept of guessing game, benefit of guessing game, learning vocabulary by using guessing game, teaching vocabulary by using guessing game

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter is the methodology of the study Research questions, the participants, materials and procedure are also described

Chapter 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter analyzes the data of the experiment and then presents the findings and discussion

Chapter 5 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

This chapter contains the recapitulation, pedagogical implications, suggestions and limitations

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter consists of definition of vocabulary, kinds of vocabulary, the importance

of vocabulary, concept of teaching vocabulary, concept of learning vocabulary, students problem in learning vocabulary, games in English as a foreign language, definition of game, the advantages of game, purpose of using game, principle of game selection, concept of guessing game, benefit of guessing game, learning vocabulary by using guessing game, teaching vocabulary by using guessing game

2.1 Vocabulary

2.1.1 Definition

In every situation, when saying something, expressing the feelings and saying what have to say, all things need the words and these words called vocabulary Many definitions can be found to know what vocabulary is Moreover, students can have their own definition about what they have understood about vocabulary Thus to communicate well, one thing which human have to have is sufficient words Word itself is the important basis of the language form Students who have limited vocabulary will face the obstacle of learning a foreign language

Vocabulary plays an important role in improving four skills in English Without having enough vocabulary, communication will end up in an unpleasant situation and make students difficult to continue their sentences or idea Richards (2002, p 255) stated, “Vocabulary is a core component of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read, and write.” Therefore, it

is highly essential for English teachers to help their students in achieving vocabulary

As the definition, the writer sums up that vocabulary is a total of words or phrase that maintains all information used by person, class or profession in communication and it is an important thing when students study the language and the using of the language

Passive Vocabulary: refers to language items that can be recognized and understood

in the context of reading and listening it is also called receptive vocabulary

Meanwhile, Hay craft also divided into two types of vocabulary, they are receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary

Receptive vocabulary: words that the learners recognize and understand when they are used in the context, but which they cannot produce It means that the learners identify vocabulary when they find it in reading a text but do not use it in speaking and writing Productive vocabulary: the words which understand, pronounce, and use by the learners in speaking and writing

Based on the explanation, in general types of vocabulary have related to English language skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and there are usually called passive vocabulary (receptive vocabulary) and active vocabulary (productive vocabulary) And all types of vocabulary are very useful to be learned by students in learning English vocabulary

2.1.3 The importance of vocabulary

People can learn whenever and wherever they are Thus, the process of learning can happen through direct and indirect exposure Therefore, it can be obtained from the information or knowledge in the television, radio, magazine, newspapers, and interaction Therefore, Heimlich stated that learning is the development of new knowledge, skills, or attitudes as an individual interacts with information and the

environment Komachali and Khodareza stated that vocabulary is needed by many people to acquire many words of English language in order to express the idea.

Mainly, vocabulary is connected with the main four skills of English, therefore, by possessing vocabulary learners will be able to learn the main four skills of English language Suborn stated, without mastering the basic of vocabulary learners would have the difficulties in mastering the main four skills of English language as speaking, reading, listening, and writing It means that learners should master the basic of vocabulary well in order to make easy in mastering the main four skills of English language On the other word, vocabulary can be said as a crucial component which is affected to the fluency of mastering the language It means that learners should practice the English skills more in order to have high potential in acquiring the language In fact, people would not able to master the speaking skill if they do not speak up Then, people would not able to master the writing skill if they do not read Next, people would not able to master the listening skill if they do not listen The key to make it happen, it can be done by mastering vocabulary first

In other words, the more vocabulary learners have mastered, the easier learners to

do with language skills It means the importance of vocabulary for English learners cannot be compared However, this is not to say that language learning is determined

by vocabulary only But it is stated that vocabulary is the fundamental role of the success of learning the English language Vocabulary is important for students understanding four language skill In learning the foreign language, it is very important for learners to learn words as many as possible By possessing vocabulary, learners will be easy to communicate with the people in written or spoken form

2.1.4 Concept of teaching vocabulary

Vocabulary is important in learning language because without vocabulary the learners cannot communicate to other people The quality of students’ language depends on to

the extent of their vocabulary knowledge According to Brown in Nurbaeti teaching is

a process hawing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know to understand Brown offers some techniques for teaching vocabulary, among other are:

To determine the goal of teaching, such as:

To improve the reading vocabulary skills of ESL students

To teach ESL students word-building skills

To teach ESL students to guess word a meaning from context clues

To get students to make word building; that is derived from suffixes, prefixes and roots

To definition clues, which comprises the parentheses and footnotes, and synonyms and antonyms

To inference clues; these clues have three types, such as example, summary, and experiences

Based on the explanation above, it can be said that the English teacher should be able

to choose and use appropriate technique that is suitable to attract student’s attention and encourage them to know the form and the meaning of the words simultaneously

2.1.5 Concept of learning vocabulary

Learning is activity to gain knowledge or skill by studying Learning is the process of gaining knowledge and expertise It means that learning is treat or action that do by the students, to get new knowledge and skill Learning as the transformative process of taking in information that when internalized and mixed with what we have experienced changes what we know and builds on what we do It’s based on input, process, and reflection It is what changes us It means that learning is an action or process from learners to get new knowledge from some information and mixed with experience from

tutor, teacher, or from another source Learning is a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result of experience and increases the potential of improved performance and future learning It means that learning is process that guided us to the next level of study, it is caused as the result of impression and increases the skill that had to learn Based on the theories above it can be concluded that learning is an activity, or a process

to get knowledge from any sources In learning English, students should be able to understand words being used because by understanding the vocabulary of the target language, it will be easier for them to get the idea of what they have learnt Based on theories above, it can be concluded that learning vocabulary is extremely large Nobody ever learns all the words in any language, but they can enlarge the number of words they have With learning vocabulary the students can help in many ways at students’ vocabulary retention, and the more words they know the better their chance will be to

do well on the vocabulary questions, in the school

2.1.6 Students problem in learning vocabulary

Vocabulary learning is central to language acquisition, whether the language is first, second, or foreign However in the practice of learning vocabulary in the classroom, there are some problems which often happen in process of learning vocabulary They consider the teacher's explanation for meaning or definition, pronunciation, spelling and grammatical functions boring In this case scenario, language learners have nothing to do in a vocabulary learning section but to listen to their teachers

Students only think of vocabulary learning as knowing the primary meaning of new words Therefore, they ignore all other functions of the words

Students usually only acquire new vocabulary through new words in their textbooks

or when given by teachers during classroom lessons For example, learners find

many new words in a text and then ask the teacher to explain the meanings and usages

Many learners do not want to take risks in applying what they have learnt Students may recognize a word in a written or spoken form and think that they already "know the word", but they may not be able to use that word properly in different contexts

or pronounce it correctly

Thornburg states that some factors that make some words more difficult than others are:

Pronunciation: research shows that difficult to pronounce are more difficult to learn

potentially difficult words will typically be those that contain sounds that are unfamiliar to some groups of students

Spelling: sound spelling mismatches are likely to be the cause of errors Either of

pronunciation of spelling, and can contributes to a word’s difficulty Words that contain silent letters are particularly problematic

Length and Complexity, long words seem to be more difficult to learn that shorts

ones Dealing with complex word also tends to be more difficult than the simple one

Grammar, also problematic is grammar associated with the word grammar of

phrasal verb is particularly troublesome Some phrasal verbs are separable, but others are not

Meaning, when two words overlap in meaning, students are likely to confuse them

Words with multiple meaning can also be troublesome for students’ Range connotation, and idiomatically, words that can be used in a wide range of context will generally be perceived as easier that their synonyms with a narrower range Uncertainty as to the connotations of some words may cause problems too

Based on theories above, it can be concluded that in learning vocabulary, the students may have some problems Some of those problems are:

They confused about what the teachers explanation for meaning

Students only think of vocabulary learning as knowing the primary meaning of new words Therefore, they ignore all other functions of the words Students usually only acquire new vocabulary through new words in their textbook or when given by teacher during classroom lessons Many learners do not want to take risks in applying what they have learn

Lacks of understanding of words construction make some word are difficult

(pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and meaning)

From the explanation above its show that they did not confidence to use their vocab their motivation in learning vocabulary still low, they just learn in the classroom, and only know new words if their teacher give some text or new words

2.2 Games in English as a foreign language

2.2.1 Definition of Game

Game is effective and efficient in improving student’s communicative ability Game

is very simple way to make students interest in English classroom Students want to sit and listen to the teacher explanation and try their best to remember vocabulary Jill Hadfield says that a game is activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun It means that games should be regarded as an integral part of the language syllabus, not as an amusing activity for Friday afternoon or for the end of the term Game is a form of competitive play or sport with rules It means that game is a fun activity that has many steps Games should not be as an activity that does in the end of learning process

or to filling the void of time when the material has been completed and the time has not run out, but games must be as an alternative activity to replace the boring learning process

Games can make the student fell more comfortable in the classroom, they will become brave to elaborate and explore their knowledge about vocabulary Besides as a technique to develop student’s vocabulary, with games students will be more active, help each other, and interest to try the new things Finding an effective way to motivate learners is always the interest of teachers, researchers, and linguists By game the students will be more motivated, and more interested to know much vocabulary, moreover the students were silent will begin to dare express their curiosity

Based on theories above, it can be concluded that games are the important thing that can help students in learning English vocabulary, games should not be used as an entertaining activity, but it can also be a good learning techniques to replace the boring learning activities Games can increase the students’ knowledge about vocabulary and can develop their ability to remember words Games can make student more confidence, help each other, and students can be more sociable

Through games, children are stimulated to know more vocabulary in order to win the game If they do not understand the meaning of the words, even only a word they will lose a chance By this technique, the children will learn as many words as they can The teacher has to plan some activities that make their children enjoy learning foreign language by using games This technique makes teaching learning foreign language more creative, relaxed, and fun

The advantages of games will help the teacher to facilitate learning without putting an awareness of losing her class Games lead the students to a condition where they feel fun, comfort, enjoyable without leaving the purpose of learning

Teaching English by using game is obviously a positive solution for the teacher to improve the monotonous and boring class of English Thus, the teacher task is to select

a game that is suitable for students’ level and abilities

Hadfield (1999) stated that a game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of

fun Meanwhile Harmer (1991) said that games area vital part of a teacher’s equipment, not only for the language practice they provide, but also for the therapeutic effect they have They can be used at any stage of a class to provide an amusing and challenging respite from other classroom activity about their English class

Moreover, the teacher can use language games to introduce new topic, to practice recently learnt language topic, to introduce or practice certain themes, or to relax or energize the class Some can be used for all of these One of the best ways to get children interested in a game is to have them participate actively in its creation Producing a game gives the students a sense of achievement while integrating the game into other areas of the language class and the children’s general education Unfortunately, many teachers still feel that game is only for a short time, to give a class break from the monotony of drilling, or only warm up part, and some teacher consider games merely frivolous activity

Sauvignon (1987) has three reasons why games have to be used in learning foreign language, they are:

The very structure of games provides an opportunity for learners to practice vocabulary and grammar, specific function and other language art skills The task orientation of the games requires that the students “use rather than merely practice language for real and immediate communicative goals” on the other hands require constant, meaningful interaction among the players

They created relaxed atmosphere This lowers the anxiety level or “effective filter” that often keeps students from learning Games accomplish this in two ways First, games focus the learner’s attention on the immediate goal that is succeeding at the same itself, rather than in the responsibility of language teaching Second, whether the game is competitive or not, it requires cooperation This contributes to the development of a sense group that lend in turn to feeling of support and security among the group members As the result, the learners are less anxious and more open and able to

communicate

Games offer strategy for dealing with problems that may arise from code implication Teacher to provide communication at a level the learners can understand often uses code implication

Those factors are very important in selecting the games since there are so many kinds

of game that are sometimes overlap As stated by Hadfield (1999), classifying games into categories can be difficult, because categories often overlap

Based on the statement above, by applying language game in teaching English vocabulary the students will interest in learning, because game make students enjoyable and fun in learning process and the students get many new vocabularies

2.2.2 The advantages of Game

There are several advantages of the game that can be a consideration to use According

to Leila, there are several advantages of using language games in teaching languages,

as follows: Games motivate language learners and stimulate their interest and curiosity

to learn and find out the answer Such activities promote a positive learning attitude towards language learning and encourage the learners to use their acquired linguistic knowledge to communicate

Games can provide the opportunity to apply the language in a meaningful context Games such as role-play expose the learners to the target language environment and motivate them to share opinions and learn about the culture while utilizing the resources available to them

Games provide a great opportunity to practice and use the language Conventional drill exercise is monotonous and mechanical Games can provide the same density of communicative language practice in a meaningful and less mechanical way to demonstrate actual language used to achieve communication goals

Games provide a positive environment in which the learners feel emotionally secure and do not fear a public correction As a result, they can practice their problem-solving abilities in different situations while using the target language as the medium of communication

Games encourage interpersonal communications because the learners often need to work in pairs or groups Learners often feel more comfortable to interact with their peers than with the teacher Therefore, games can ease the process of learning and teaching encourages social and emotional development

For addition, according to Lee Su Kim there are also some advantages of using games

in the classroom, as follows:

Games are welcome break from the usual routine of language class They are motivating and challenging

Learning a language requires a great deal of effort Games help students to make and sustain the effort of learning

Games provide language practice in various skills such as speaking, writing, listening and reading They encourage students to interact and communicate More over, they create a meaningful context for language use

2.2.3 Purpose of using Game

The purpose of using game is looking for teaching tools that have many positive aspects, such as active student’s opportunities Using game may also help reduce tension by adding interesting activity, and also challenging students to participate As the experts say: Wallace stated that there is two main reason language game become more widely used recently First, games emphasize the importance of motivation and give a positive atmosphere in the classroom Second, games emphasize ‘real’ communication and often make students speak in the target language

Cervantes stated that when students are enjoying language games, they learn vocabulary, grammar, and other aspects of English in an unconscious way because they are focused on the message and not the language itself In addition, games give an opportunity for the teacher to let the students express their ideas.

Wright stated that games also help the teacher to create a context which is useful and meaningful On the other hand, the student who has to take apart must speak or write

in order to express their ideas or to give information

There is no doubt to use games in teaching vocabulary Besides all the advantages that have been explained, games make language teachers are responsible for creating some conditions that fit the game itself Games can help teachers become more creative and capable of motivating students to learn English and become more active in the class

2.2.4 Principles of Game Selection

In determining the suitable games in students’ vocabulary enhancement, the teacher needs to know the purpose of the game that can make learning English vocabulary effective and successful According to Andrew Wright, it is important to make sure that the games which are wanted to be played are familiar with the students to reduce the difficulties in conducting the games In using a game in English vocabulary class, the teacher not only being responsible in selecting game which has to be used in the class but also in setting conditions in the class to set students ready and the material

As Allen said that language teachers are responsible for creating conditions which encourage vocabulary expansion, and a well-chosen game can help the students acquire English words

According to Houston, there are several principles of using games:

To specify the purpose: the teacher should know what the purpose of the game that he

or she plays in the class

To explain the rules clearly before it begins: it is important to make sure the students understand how to play the games The purpose of the game cannot be reached if the students do not understand how to play the game It is fine if the teacher explains the rule in native’s language

To be prepared for the ‘extra student’: the teacher has to make sure all of the students join the games

To avoid drifting off during the game: when the games are playing, what for potential problems that can be remained If there is a student who does not understand the rules, stop the game and go for the rules again

To look for signs that students are getting tired: if the students look tired, the teacher should stop the game before the students lose their attention

To choose games carefully to save money and time: try to use a game that can be prepared easily

To find new sources: try to use a new game that never being used before

To recycle: if there is an old game that successfully applied in the class before It is okay to use it again in another class

To make a file: make a file that consists of games It can make easy if teacher wants to use games in another time

To share: if the teacher has a favorite game that used to play with the best friend

Do not to overdo it: the game is a joyful and interesting play in the class, but if teacher does it too much, it can waste the time and make another important thing do not have time to teach in the class

2.3 Guessing game

2.3.1 Concept of Guessing Game

One of type from language game is guessing game Guessing game make students challenging to guess the vocabulary in teaching learning process Learning English by guessing game makes students work together to solve the problem by guessing

A guessing game is a game in which the object is to guess some kind of information, such as a word, a phrase, a title, or the location of an object Many of the games are played co-operatively In some games some player knows the answer, but cannot tell the other, instead they must help them to guess it.

A guessing game is game in which the aim is to guess the answer to a certain question

or problem Hadfield (1999) states that a guessing game is a variation on an information gap games One of the best-known examples of guessing game is 10 questions, in which one person or group thinks of a famous person, ideas, place, or thing and the other participants can ask 10 questions to find clues in order to guess who or what the person or group thinking of The students are forced to think before guessing It needs

a process that will make the vocabularies stay longer in their mind

Furthermore, Wikipedia (2008) states that a guessing game is a game in which the objective is to guess some kinds of information, such as a word, a phrase, a title or the location of an object Guessing game is played cooperatively Some player(s) know the answer, but cannot tell the other(s), instead they must help them to guess it

2.3.2 Benefit of guessing game

“Guessing games can be used to develop or reinforce concept, to add diversion to regular activities, or just to break the ice However, their must important function is to give practice in communication.” (Richard-Amato, 1988, p 156 as cited in Dwiyanti,

2009, p.16) Nevertheless, the most important thing is to give the students in practicing their English

They also add that: Guessing games can be painless to develop or reinforce any number concepts “Guessing what I am,” “Guess who I am” for example, can be used to teach about animals’ profession or people in different age groups9baby, child, teenage, young adult, elderly person) (Richard-Amato, 1988, p 156 as cited in Dwiyanti, 2009, p.17)

Silver (1980–1983, p.244) says as cited in Dwiyanti (2009, p.17) “Real guessing games provide the students with much needed practice in formulating questions, an essential skill that does not always receive sufficient attention.”

Moon states that “Games are extremely effective way of motivating students in a classroom” So based on the statements above guessing game is a game that is competition game, at the same times as elements amusing and of course that can be use

in teaching learning process because guessing games is a game in which the aim is to guess the answer to a certain question or a problem

Another advantages of use guessing game in teaching speaking is guessing game make students more pleasure from regular activities in class It creates a relaxed atmosphere

in the classroom Then using guessing game can encourage the students to communicate in English because the game are combination between language and practice with fun and excitement

2.3.3 Learning Vocabulary by using guessing Game

Staginess in Al Zaidi suggests that there is no mystery to learning through play

When children play, they cannot help but learn and develop It means that learning vocabulary using game is not a taboo, and it is commonly used by teacher to teach English vocabulary Game can make the students learn to remember the words that have just heard Similarly, Moon in Al Zaidi argues that when we use games with

young learners, we appeal to their sense of fun and arouse their interest Games give them a real purpose for using language and provide opportunities for them to use language more freely It means that game can make the students dare to develop their skills, they will feel challenged when they see another friends more capable Moreover, according to Roxon in Al Zaidi says that games help students revise vocabulary and recalling something that happened in a game may help a student remember the language connected with it, and vocabulary games provide a good chance for students to learn something from one another It means that by playing game students can remember another vocabulary that associated with previous vocabulary

Based on theories above, it can be concluded that by using guessing game in learning vocabulary the students feel fun, enjoy in the game and competitive to each other It

is because most of students naturally like game in their lives By playing game students take parts and used vocabulary more naturally

2.3.4 Teaching Vocabulary by using guessing Game

The goal of learning vocabulary is to make students master the material of vocabulary and make the students to be able to use the words with find the meaning of words According to Case, guessing game is a game in which the object is to guess some kinds

of information, such as: a word, a phrase, a title, and the location object

Steps of guessing game according to Lishikawa:

Divide the whole class into group and the number of students in each group is defend the condition of the students in the class, each group has to come to in front of the class

Each student in the group receives the topic that they take randomly and the students have to hold the topic that they get, and may not show the topic to their friend

Each student has to tell to his/her partner or group about the material that they get without mentioning it So the students have to describe the topic with their own words

And others student in each group has to try to guess what their friend says

This activity continues after all students get the part to describe the material Which group that finishes this game quickly is the winner of this game?

Here are some of the procedures in apply guessing game technique in the classroom according to Herald:

Divide the class into two groups Have each of these groups sit together and tell them they must come up with a team name

Tell each team that they must select a teammate to go to the front of the classroom and face their team Explain both teams that you will be giving their selected teammate a secret word that can be anything This person can say only 2 words, YES

or NO

Each team will then rotate asking questions to their teammate who is standing at the front of the classroom They will continue to ask questions until one of the teams has correctly guessed their respective word

The winning team will get three options:

They can make the other team come to the front and sing a song in English

They can make the other team come to the front and do 10 jumping jacks

They can leave the classroom first and the losing team must wait to leave until each person from the winning team has left the classroom Based on the procedure of playing

guessing game above, it can be concluded that, there are many ways to apply the guessing game, the teacher just need to adapt the games based on the situation on the class and students

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

The previous chapter has provided a necessary theoretical background for the study This chapter describes the participants, the materials and the procedure of the study

3.1 Research questions

The study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1 Are students interested in guessing games to learn English vocabulary?

2 Do guessing games help improve 5th graders’ vocabulary retention?

3.2 Participants

The research participants were thirty students of one class in grade 5 at Kien Giang primary school number 1 The researcher chose thirty students in of one class to be able to observe the best during the experiment Their English level was low and of mixed The participants were following an English program that consisted of reading, speaking, listening, writing and grammar lessons However, they hardly had chance to communicate in English They often felt shy and afraid of making mistakes because of their lack of social knowledge as well as their poor English knowledge Moreover, at primary school students were not motivated to interact with each other Therefore, most students supposed speaking was not confident at all because they feel not enough vocabulary for all skills language

Before taking part in the experiment, they all had passed the questionnaire This questions found no statistically significant difference between two groups

In class 51, one experimental group concluding 30 participants was While teaching the first experimental group, the teacher used the immediate feedback technique and while teaching second experimental these students and the teacher used the delayed feedback technique They were at the same level of English There was some

vocabularies session in every four sessions of each unit in the student book The participants had four English lessons every week

Five teachers who are teaching English for their experience were also invited to join in the study Their teaching experience ranges from 5 years to 10 years, and most of them are energetic and willing to devote their time and energy to teaching No names of teachers or students were identified in this research

3.3 Materials

3.3.1 The curriculum and the textbook Tieng Anh 5

In the Tieng Anh 5 textbook, the aims are obvious and precise, and a detailed overview

of the topics, functions, structures/ grammar, and skills within each unit are illustrated

in the introductory table of contents This course is divided into two terms with total 140 periods for the 5 th grade students The topics of vocabulary were taken from 4 themes

from student book Tieng Anh 5 Each theme covers five units The topics related to

Me and my friends, Me and my school, Me and family, Me and the world around Tieng Anh 5 is complied based on the basic curriculum of Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam

The general English test was taken by researcher The post-test was also taken from the teacher book with the same difficult level as those in the pre-test The vocabulary

topics were about family, friendship, daily life, hobbies, sports, jobs, music, books,

animals, countries, film and every thing…

Book Map Tieng Anh 5

Unit Title

1 What’s your address?

2 I always get up early

How about you?

3 Where did you go on holiday?

4 Did you go on holiday?

5 Where will you be this weekend?

6 How many lessons do you have today?

7 How do you learn English?

8 What are you reading?

9 What did you see at the zoo?

10 When will Sports Day be?

11 What’s the matter with you?

12 Don’t ride your bike too fast?

13 What do you do in your free time?

14 What happened in the story?

15 What would you like to be in the future?

16 Where’s the post office?

17 What would you like to eat?

18 What will the weather like tomorrow?

19 Which place would you like to visit?

20 Which one is more exciting, life in the city or life in the countryside?

Table 3.1 The vocabulary topics in textbook Tieng Anh 5

3.4 Procedure

3.4.1 Data collecting technique

The study aims at probing students’ attitudes about using guessing game in teaching vocabulary, the researcher uses the questionnaires, interview, observation and tests as useful tools for her study The researcher uses two tests, they are pre-test and post test, after that the combination of different instruments used in this research would help to gain reliable data and help the researcher have a positive result in the vocabulary retention

These were vocabulary tests that were predicted to be suitable for the 5th graders at primary school Each test had three passages that were accompanied by ten questions They can read and understand about all words they can complete the test The goal of pre-test is to measure students’ vocabulary retention in the test The post- test was to measure the students’ achievement after using guessing in teaching vocabulary help students to remember new words easier and longer and then they were given the treatment The researcher administered a different test as the post-test to ensure the reliability of the study In term of vocabulary tests, the researcher designed ten questions about the new words that the learners have learnt in each test were taken from the 20 units that the learners have learnt

Questionnaires

The questionnaire has been created to reach two goals The first, it focuses on collecting the students’ attitudes toward guessing games in teaching vocabulary And the other importance is on surveying the result of using guessing games with learning vocabulary that students can get in the classroom there fore, the teachers find out many suitable table method teaching vocabulary for students is effective

In this research, the researcher has given the questionnaire to the students According

to Bobbie in Acharya states that a questionnaire is defined as a document containing question and other types of items designed to solicit information appropriate to analysis Based on theories above the researcher concluded that questionnaire is a data collecting technique that forms like a document and obtain questions to give to the respondent that aims to get information The researcher has given questionnaire to the students in order to know the further opinion about their difficulties in learning vocabulary The researcher did the questionnaire after the process of learning vocabulary by using guessing game technique The aim was to find out problems face by the students in learning vocabulary by using guessing game technique activities

Interviews

Another importance source of data in this study was interviews Through the questionnaire, the researcher has carried out some interviews to find out the reasons for students’ choices In order to obtain students’ opinion concerning the use guessing game, students were interviewed later to express their ideas or reasons for their choices and the interview is also used to explore two teachers’ attitudes to use guessing game and to improve students’ vocabulary after learning with guessing games

Observation

Teacher will observe the students’ results which were produced after studying through guessing game Teacher who has been directly teaching with 4 periods per week, after observe the students’ attitude in the process of using guessing games during the vocabulary lessons This helps her to find an adequate amount of data about students’ vocabulary retention

Tests

Test is used to collect the data Test is a set of questions and use to measure skill,