Using games to motivate students in learning vocabulary at tien giang highschool for gifted students

the pressure of examinations, traditionally designed textbooks, limitation of time, in teaching vocabulary, most teachers tend to give a long list of isolated words and their meanings an

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature

HUỲNH HỮU HẠNH NGUYÊN, BA

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

(TESOL)

Supervisor: Le Thi Thanh Thu, Ed.D

Tiengiang – 2007

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

-WX -

1.1 Rationale for the thesis

Vocabulary is one of the key factors in learning a foreign language It is considered a foundation to develop other language skills However, due to a lot of subjective and objective reasons, teaching and learning vocabulary in highschools become a burden to both teachers and students

At Tiengiang Highschool for Gifted Students (TGHGT), learning vocabulary is indeed a problem Due to difficulties for both teachers and students (i.e the pressure of examinations, traditionally designed textbooks, limitation of time), in teaching vocabulary, most teachers tend to give a long list of isolated words and their meanings and students are required to learn all the new words by heart or learning passively through the teacher’s explanation This method can save time for both teachers and students It might get learners a short distance into the language quickly however, it would not take them far The most serious problem is that such a way of teaching vocabulary might kill students’ interests and motivation in learning English

To many researchers (Kleinginna, 1981; Covington, 1998; Deci, 2000) learners’ motivation is a key factor in successful learning Language learning

is hard work which can be frustrating Without sufficient motivation, effort required at every moment of learning cannot be maintained over a long period

of time Creating, sustaining and developing students’ motivation, particularly

in circumstances where students are not inherently interested in learning is essential And among sources of motivation, a language game is an effective tool

to help teachers to achieve that goal (Andrew, 1984).

On the market, there are a lot of materials available about vocabulary games such as “Word Games with English” by Howard (1986), “Games and Activities for the Language Learners” by Nelson (1986) However, most of the materials focus on introducing a variety of ready-made games in order to serve the purpose of teaching one specific language item without mentioning

to the principles of using vocabulary games, their limitation and unanticipated problems Moreover, most games in such materials are designed without basing on any current course books and without associating closely with a typical type and age of learners Teachers, therefore, feel it difficult to apply them in reality Meanwhile, most previous studies about games such as those

in “Games for Language Learning” by Betteridge (1984), “The Use of Games for Vocabulary Presentation and Revision” by Barman (1998), “Using Games

in an EFL Class for Children” by Mei and Jing (2000), and the latest study about games in “Learning Vocabulary through Games” by Huyen & Nga (2003) initially discovered the effectiveness of learning vocabulary through games However, due to the lack of analyzing the syllabus and the psychology

of learners’ age group, most of the findings are abstract and theoretic Aspects that games can motivate highschool students in learning vocabulary have been unknown

Different from previous studies, this thesis mainly focuses on using games to teach students vocabulary in highschools, especially in TGHGT, on the foundation of the current textbooks The thesis aims at investigating the aspects vocabulary games can motivate highschool students in learning vocabulary This thesis may be considered the first step towards using games

to motivate highschool students in learning vocabulary

1.2 Research questions

On the basis of the literature and research, the author wants to discover

the aspects that make games a powerful teaching tool in motivating students

during the time of learning vocabulary In the light of this primary purpose,

the two research questions are “In what aspects can games motivate students

in learning vocabulary at TGHGT?” and “ Can games with its motivational

promotion have an impact on learners’ academic achievements?”

1.3 Delimitation of the study

First, the thesis was carried out on the foundation of the old

traditionally designed textbooks (edited by the three authors: Tu Anh, Phan

Ha and Mai Vi Phuong, published by Educational Publisher in 2005), which

was the official textbook for highschool students before the academic year of

2006-2007 Then, only Grade 10 was surveyed because this is the grade the

author of the thesis has many years of experience to work with At the same

times, to many teachers in TGHGT, language items especially vocabulary in

Book 10 was mostly passive The other kinds of textbooks and other levels

were not considered

Second, since the thesis is for the scope of TGHGT where most

students, far or less, have good study motivation and industriousness The

study did not survey other types of highschool students And even in TGHGT,

students who are majored in English were not taken in consideration The

main subjects for this research were students majored in natural sciences

1.4 Significance of the study

First, in Vietnamese highschool education systems, English is a

compulsory subject for graduation However, vocabulary in a foreign

language is like a range of huge, arid and chaotic mountain of bricks, so vocabulary learning often makes learners frustrating The author of the thesis hopes to offer a new insight into games as a practical and effective teaching device so that teachers of English can prepare students a good stock of vocabulary to be ready to take any high-stake examinations in highschools

Second, with the new approach of teaching vocabulary, the writer hopes to reinforce and strengthen students’ motivation and brings students the joyfulness of learning a foreign language Passion may lead to new discovery Such a kind of motivation becomes really significant for students to continue their further study in the future

Finally, the thesis is, above all, the effort to overcome the author’s challenge and helplessness in many years of teaching, trying to find a newer and better escape in teaching vocabulary The study is also to share understanding and experience about an effective approach of teaching vocabulary with colleagues who want to bequeath the next generations the joy

of discovering and enjoying the beauty and richness of language

1.5 General background of the study

1.5.1 The influence of the current highschool English textbooks on the methodology of teaching vocabulary

The English syllabus for highschools in the academic year of

2005-2006 includes three textbooks published by the Educational Publisher in 2005 and the book English 10 (edited by the three authors: Tu Anh, Phan Ha and Mai Vi Phuong) was chosen to survey in the experiment English 10 contains

16 units Each unit is based around a theme and the skill to be focused is reading Each unit includes four main parts

The first part is “Presentation” The presentations in the textbook are nearly the same for all units There is always a passage to introduce new words There are no dialogues or conversations and the texts are not very authentic Vocabulary focuses on topics and it is put in list (from 10 to 15 words) placed next to reading

The second part is “Comprehension practice” Practice is designed to develop the learners’ reading skill especially scanning and skimming However, the designed practice is quite simple so students can do the practice without thinking much about the meaning and the use of the words To some extent, this kind of practice only focuses on the form but not the meaning and the use of the word Different from the second part, the next part - “Intensive controlled practice”- mainly focuses on structures In this part, learners are required to notice the patterns and combine two given sentences by using a given linker based on a certain kind of structure It is difficult for teachers to indulge the students to use the words learned in any communicative situations

The last part is “Extended practice” It supplies additional exercises for smart students However, the practice is rather monotonous It concludes some conversations and students just perform the role-play by replacing a few details in the conversations No expressions of personal thoughts or ideas from students are required This kind of exercise, therefore, cannot encourage the students in using their own words in communication

Although the material designers do not explicitly state in the preface, the main aim of the highschool syllabus is to acquire a certain number of English vocabularies and structures so that students can be successful in all their highschool exams In addition, all of these exams are written ones So, for the most part, the implicit purpose of teaching English by most teachers in

TGHGT is to help students master as many words as possible together with structures so that they can pass their exams successfully Using words learned

in real communication is often ignored With the limit time stipulated in the syllabus, the time in class for most teachers is the time for providing new vocabulary and patterns through the reading texts Knowing a word to most students is knowing the meaning of the word and nothing else Teaching vocabulary, therefore, is not fulfilled

1.5.2 The current teaching and learning vocabulary in TGHGT

In class, teaching vocabulary has often been seen as a preparatory activity within the reading lesson During the lesson, the teacher reads the text and has the students read paragraphs of the text separately Vocabulary is taught in the form of bilingual list of isolated words (about 15 words) together with their transcriptions, synonyms, and antonyms When the teacher is explaining the meaning of the words, students take notes, look up words in the dictionary and try to remember Many of them may mark or underline words they do not know in their textbooks and note the meaning in Vietnamese After that, they put them in the reading and thus can understand their meanings Translation is sometimes necessary as it is considered a compensation for the loss of understanding For communication, students are asked to translate some Vietnamese sentences into English equivalents, using the words they have learnt The result is that students do not know how to use vocabulary with different shades of meaning in real life communication

At home, because the habit of learning vocabulary that way, many students in TGHGT think of learning vocabulary as learning a list of new words with meanings in their native language without any real context practice The most popular way for students to learn vocabulary at home is to

write down lines of new words and to read them aloud Working this way, after a short period of time, many learners may find out that learning vocabulary in lists does not satisfy themselves, and they think the cause for it

is just their bad memorization Research (Nation, 2000) has shown that learning new words is a cumulative process, with words enriched and established as they are met again The "look and remember" way of vocabulary learning seems to be not very effective for learners of the English language Words should not be learnt separately or by memorization without understanding However, most teachers apply this method because it requires less energy and saves time

subjects but also in the others

Although students in this study are good at their majors, all of them think English are so important and they try to have a good command of English They all want to be able to use English as a means for their higher study in universities (in Vietnam and abroad), for their future careers and for their better communication in modern world Another aim is to succeed in the highschool graduation exam However, the latter aim is minor in comparison

to other aims, for they believe it is not so difficult to achieve it Therefore,

what students in TGHGT need is acquiring enough vocabulary and structures

to pass exams in the short term and good communicative competence in the long term

Subjects chosen in the study came from the two classes 10 Physics and

10 Chemistry of the year 2006, who majored in natural sciences and who shared the same characteristics with all TGHGT students mentioned above

The thesis consists of five chapters Chapter 1 (Introduction) describes

the general area to be studied in the thesis This includes the rationale for the thesis, research question, limitation and significance of the study and general

background of the study

In Chapter 2 (Literature review), there will be a coverage of the concepts about the process of vocabulary acquisition, the affective filter operating the process of learning vocabulary The theory of motivation and its types and the theory of games will also be reviewed

Chapter 3 (Methodology) will discuss the experiment and justify why it suits the purpose of this study The chapter will also thoroughly describe the details of the research method: sampling methods, sample size, the experiment and data collecting: the formats, content and administration of the questionnaires, the observations and tests

In Chapter 4 (Data presentation and analysis), the data collected from questionnaires, observation and tests will be presented and analyzed thematically Interpretations and comments will also be offered

The last chapter (Implication and recommendation) will summarize the findings of this study, discuss its limitations This chapter also suggests guideline for teaching vocabulary, and implications for teaching vocabulary

through games and unanticipated problems that may occur for both teachers and students during a vocabulary class This chapter will also recommend some directions for further research into using games in teaching highschool students

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW -WX -

Chapter 2 is a review of theoretical basis and previous research related to vocabulary, the theory of motivation, and the theory of games All are the theoretical foundation to answer the question “In what aspects, can games motivate students in learning vocabulary at TGHGT?”

2.1 Vocabulary and its concerning issues

This part reviews basic knowledge of word, including vocabulary description, the important of vocabulary in learning a foreign language, the process of vocabulary acquisition and the affective filter in learning vocabulary Through this part, the writer wants to show that learning vocabulary, a very important task of learning a foreign language, is a big challenge for highschool students and the task of finding an effective way of learning vocabulary becomes urgent and essential

2.1.1 Vocabulary description

To Webster (1913), vocabulary can be defined roughly as the words

people reach in the foreign language That is a set of words known to a person or other entity To Lang (1995), vocabulary is the stock or repertoire of words from which to name or describe phenomena within a language or knowledge base To Macaulay (1995), vocabulary is the author’s choice of individual words which may be drawn from various registers such as colloquial, literary, technical, slang, words in that language Words and vocabulary are used interchangeably in this study

The knowledge of words, according to Harmer (1991), exists on various levels, which seem to be language universals, including the knowing their forms, meanings, uses, formation and grammatical functions (see Figure 2.1.1) First,

knowing a word means knowing the form of the word The language user has to know what a word sound like (its pronunciation) and what it looks like (its spelling) These characteristics will be perceived, stored, and retrieved from the mind of the language users when they encounter the language item for the first time and later

Second, knowing a word means mastering the meaning of the word Semantic knowledge involves firstly what the word means or denotes However,

a vocabulary item frequently has more than one meaning Knowing a word involves knowing secondly what the word connotes A more subtle aspect of meaning is the meaning in context and their sense relations (antonyms, synonyms)

Next, knowing a word means knowing the use of the word Word meaning

is frequently stretched through the use of metaphor and idiom It is also governed

by collocation, the syntactic behavior associated with the words in the language Then what people say is also governed by the style and register people are in Knowing the register of the word means knowing the limitation imposed on the use of the word according to variations of function and situation In brief, knowing the use of the word means knowing metaphorical language use, knowing how words collocate and what stylistic and topical contexts words and expressions occur in

Then, knowing a word means knowing the grammar of the words A language item may have unpredictable changes of form in certain grammatical contexts or may have some idiosyncratic way of connecting with other words in sentences Language users, therefore, can use the language items to make a variety of sentences

Finally, knowing a word also involves mastering the word formation That

is to know the part of speech of the word and the underlying form of a word and the derivations that can be made from it Knowledge of morphological patterns

always facilitates the process of learning vocabulary

We can summarize “Knowing a word” in the following way:

Figure 2.1.1: Knowing a word - (Harmer, 1991:148)

Sense relations Metaphor and idiom Collocation

Style and register

Meaning in context

Parts of speech Prefixes / suffixes

Spelling Pronunciation

MEANING FORM

WORD

WORD USE

WORD GRAMMAR

WORD FORMATION Verb complementation, phrasal verbs

Nouns: count / uncountable…

Adjectives/adverbs: position, etc

The study, as mentioned above, aims at finding out ways that games can

do to motivate students’ learning vocabulary, that is learning all the words required in the textbook However, all the aspects of a word cannot be surveyed Among the five elements of the word knowledge, the knowledge of word meaning is considered one of the prerequisites of knowing a word Language learners often, before mastering all the knowledge about the word, begin firstly with the knowledge of word meaning and take this knowledge as a foundation to dig deeper into other parts of the whole block of knowledge Because this study was only the initial step towards the trial of using games to motivate vocabulary learning, in this thesis, the writer only attached special importance to the aspects

of knowing a word: word meaning Other aspects of word knowledge might be mentioned in other research later

2.1.2 The importance of vocabulary in learning a foreign language

In leaning a foreign language, vocabulary, the knowledge of words in a language, plays a very important role First, vocabulary acquisition is viewed as crucial to language acquisition If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh Second, vocabulary is viewed as a primordial factor in successful communication (Levelt, 1989) Grammatical knowledge allows us to generate sentences At the same time, we must have something to say No matter how well the students learn grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wider range of meanings, communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way (McCarthy, 1990) The more exact word we use, the more we reflect the complexity of our feeling Even advanced learners can generally communicate well, having learnt all the basic structures of the language; they also need to broaden their vocabulary to express themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range of situation Next, vocabulary actually contributes to the acquisition of syntax In real life, it is even possible that where vocabulary is used correctly, it can cancel out structural inaccuracy Then, it is also the element that links the four language skills all together (Huyen

& Nga, 2003)

In short, vocabulary is assumed to be a prerequisite to the performance of language skills In any case, vocabulary is important for all L2 learners and as Ryan (1989) shows, for certain learners, it can be one of the greatest stumbling blocks to successful language acquisition

2.1.3 The way memory works when learning vocabulary

Understanding how human’s memory works might help the writer of the thesis appreciate the effective ways of teaching and learning vocabulary

Learning new words involves storing them first in people short-term memory

(STM), and afterwards in long-term memory (LTM) To Gairns (1986), retention

in short-term memory is not effective if the number of chunks of information exceeds ten This suggests that in a given class teachers should not aim at teaching more than ten chunks of information Then, word frequency is another factor that affects storage McLaughlin (1996), Schmitt (1992) and Ellis (1996) proposed that short-term representation and rehearsal allows the eventual establishment of long-term sequence information for the language Therefore, the most frequently used items are easier to retrieve The better the long-term storage

of frequent language sequences, the more easily they can serve as labels for meaning reference The more automatic their access, the more fluent is the resultant language use

The way students store the words learned, therefore, can also contribute to their success or failure in retrieving them when needed Moreover, forgetting seems to be an inevitable process, unless learners regularly use items they have learned Effective learning strategies should be made use to facilitate the process of learning and recycling vocabulary They involve fostering learners’ motivation towards learning - lowering the affective filter that may occur during learning it

2.1.4 The affective filter in learning vocabulary

The theory of second language acquisition by Krashen (1982) researched

on affective variables in foreign language learning In his theory, Krashen employed Dulay and Burt (1977)’s metaphor of an affective filter to explain the role of motivation and emotion in language acquisition

To Krashen (1982), filter is an imaginary wall between learner and the language input and there exists a “filter” or “mental block” that impedes L2 (including L2 vocabulary) from “getting in” This filter includes three elements: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety (Krashen, 1987) Motivation determines

the preparedness of learners to study a language Self-confidence encourages students to take risk so that they can acquire with full efficiency Anxiety inhibits students a lot in absorbing the input If the filter is on, the learner will be blocked out the input A low filter is associated with relaxation, confidence to take risks, high motivation and a pleasant learning environment

In learning vocabulary, the complicated characteristics of vocabulary and anxiety are the two most important factors to produce a good filter that inhibits students to get the vocabulary in To Smith & Tajino (2003), first, the complicated characteristics of vocabulary cause a lot of troubles to learners such

as learning problems (difficulties due to multiple meanings of a word, its pronunciation, its derivation, abstractness, the knowledge of similar words which could cause confusion, the absence of the word in students’ lives, the availability

of an easier word and the low frequency of the word in English), difficulties due

to students’ first language (difficulties related to Vietnamese equivalence, its low frequency in Vietnam, unfamiliarity of the word concept in the first language) All these factors give more burdens to learners that make vocabulary learning demotivating and frustrating

Besides, anxiety is also a good filter that hurdles the input To McIntyre and Gardner (1985), anxiety is the worry and negative emotional reaction aroused when learning or using the language In Vietnamese traditional classroom setting, anxiety occurring in learning vocabulary is so high (Huyen & Nga, 2003) Students learn vocabulary passively They merely listen to teacher’s explanation for meaning, pronunciation spelling then copy and try to remember all what they have listened In this case, learners have nothing to do in a vocabulary learning section but to listen to the teacher When the teacher asks them to express themselves, using English, they feel:

You are putting them in a very vulnerable situation, you are asking them to reveal themselves in a way which is very threatening because when they do not know the language very well and they don’t have the means to

express themselves, they are unsure of what kind of expression they are giving and they feel threatened They feel they are making fool of themselves and they probably are They feel, people, peers might laugh at them It is just a night–mare… (Young & Kimball, 1995, 205)

To Price (1991) and MacIntyre & Garner (1994), anxiety has a strong negative effect on the process of vocabulary learning At the input stage, anxiety acts like a filter preventing vocabulary getting into the cognitive processing system An anxious student may not be able to encode and remember words, comprehend the meaning of phrases and plan what he is about to say next Naturally, if words or phrases do not enter the system, they cannot be processed

or used later During the processing stage, anxiety can influence both the speed and accuracy of learning Because anxiety acts as a distraction, students may not able to learn words or phrases and they are worried This worry may take the form of pre-occupation with failure communication or more simply the fear of misunderstanding something Students who process vocabulary deeper, who integrate new words with existing knowledge of words create better use of language (Cohen, 1990a) At the output stage, anxiety can influence the quality

of foreign language communication When producing the language, using their own words, students may know the correct answer but it will not come to mind The correct word may be “on the tip of the tongue” but no amount of effort will bring it forward because anxiety acts as a disruption to the retrieval of information If student becomes embarrassed by this gaffe, anxiety may increase, making further communication even more difficult

To lower the anxiety, as Rebecca (1989) said, creating positive emotions among learners are an important strategy “We cannot teach another person directly, we can only facilitate his (or her) learning by giving them positive emotions” (1989, 438) Among positive emotions suggested by this author, six types of feeling: fun, creativity, psychological security, confidence, freedom &

ease and cooperation are worth consideration Exploration of affective filter and strategies to lower the filter may provide insights that could help to create sustain and promote students’ motivation during the time of learning a foreign language, especially learning vocabulary

The affective filter in learning vocabulary is unavoidable However, in classroom environment, if the teachers can organize activities that foster a pleasant learning environment and create high motivation to the students; such activities will force learners devote their energy to the tasks, absorb a maximal amount of the target language, find the enjoyment of their learning, sustain their interests in their work Hence, high learning motivation is the permanent goal for any teachers of language who want to enhance students’ life-long learning

2.2.1 The concept of motivation

The purpose of this review is to revisit definitions of motivation and to summarize the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations

In general, to be motivated means to be moved to do something The derivation of the word tells us that motivation refers to getting someone moving

Motivation refers to things that direct and energize human behavior Motivation

is some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action If we perceive a goal, that is something we wish to achieve and if that goal is sufficiently attractive, we will strongly motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal (Harmer, 1991)

In psychology, “motivation is an internal state or condition described as a need, desire or want that serves to activate, energizes and directs goal-oriented

behaviors” (Kleinginna, 1981, 98) Motivation is concerned with the factors that

stimulate or inhibit the desire to engage in a behavior (Bruner, 1966)

In education, motivation deals with the problem of setting up conditions so

that learners will perform to the best of their abilities in academic settings Bomia

(1997, 203) also added “Student motivation refers to a student’s willingness,

need, desire and compulsion to participate in and be successful in the learning

process.”

Motivation in L2 acquisition may be thought of as the incentive, the need

or the desire that the learner feels to learn the second language Motivation is a

key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to study

Motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of

learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language

(Gardner, 1985)

To sum up, different as the definitions of motivation are, all the definitions

are alike in one important way: it is the internal drive that encourages somebody

to pursue a course of action A person who feels no impetus or inspiration to act

is thus characterized as unmotivated whereas someone who is energized or

activated toward an end is considered motivated (Ryan & Deci, 2000)

There can be no doubt that motivations play a vital part in most students However, motivation has a lot of types and not all the types in motivation have

the same effect on students’ success as language learners The next part 2.2.2 will

discuss different types of motivation and the type of motivation chosen to survey

in this study

2.2.2 Types of motivations – Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations

Over the last 30 years, language learning motivation has been viewed in

terms of many orientations The first distinction has been made by Gardner and

Lambert (1972) between “integrative” and “instrumental” motivation: the desire

to identify with and integrate into the target-language culture, contrasted with the wish to learn the language for purposes of study or career promotion Integrative motivation “reflects a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented by the other group”, on the other hand, instrumental motivation

“reflects the practical value and advantages of learning a new language”

(Gardner and Lambert, 1972, 178)

The most important distinction is the traditional distinction between

“intrinsic” and “extrinsic” motivation Both of these have important parts in classroom motivation; however, their effects on students’ motivation may differ

In motivation, intrinsic motivation is a pervasive and important one To

Reeve (1994), intrinsic motivation is the innate propensity to engage one’s interests and exercise one’s capacities, and in doing so, to seek out and master optimal challenges Intrinsic motivation involves an interest in the learning task itself and also satisfaction being gained from task Intrinsic motivation is what people will do without external inducement

If intrinsic motivation comes from within, extrinsic motivation comes from without To Ryan & Deci (2000), extrinsic motivation is a construct that pertains whenever an activity is done to attain some separable outcome Students can be described as extrinsically motivated when they engage in learning “purely for the sake of attaining a reward or for avoiding some punishment”, such as grades, stickers or teacher approval (Dev, 1997, 45)

In this thesis, the writer had no intention to survey both kinds of motivation; only intrinsic motivation was aimed at It is far better to use intrinsic rather than extrinsic reinforcement and punishment Many research have showed that intrinsic motivation should be the goal of teaching and extrinsic motivation should not be always the way to motivate students (Covington, 1998; McKeachie, 1999 and Deci, 2000) The reason is that, first, when compared with intrinsic motivation; extrinsic motivation has typically been characterized as a

pale and impoverished form of motivation that contrasts with intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2000) When intrinsic motivation nurtures and encourages the habit of life-long learning regardless of what rewards come our way, extrinsic rewards do not produce changes that are permanent The biggest fear of using extrinsic motivation is that once the reward is taken away, students will not perform up to task

Second, intrinsically engaged students are more likely than extrinsically driven students to employ deep-level, sophisticated study strategies in their work (Covington, 1998) When being confronted with complex intellectual tasks, compared with intrinsically motivated students, who tend to employ strategies that demand more effort and that enable them to process information more deeply, extrinsically oriented students are inclined to put forth the minimal amount of effort necessary to get the maximal reward then they gravitate toward tasks that are low in degree of difficulty (Lumsden, 1994) They are often passive and do not try hard and give up easily in the face of challenges (Skinner, 1991) Third, to Deci (1971), extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation Students may work for the rewards but not the purpose of learning Moreover, to those who already have intrinsic motivation, the presence of rewards may detract from their intrinsic drive

To sum up, as Bruner (1966) said, motivation is strongest when the urge to engage in a behavior arises from within the learner rather than from outside pressures In research, motivation can be perceived and measured through motivational behaviors that are mentioned in the next part

2.2.3 Intrinsically motivational behavior

To Tremblay & Gardner (1995, 506), “Motivational behavior refers to the characteristics of an individual that can be perceived by an observer.”

The first characteristics can be seen as motivational behaviors are effort and attention, whose manifestations are message- oriented communication and learner-centeredness (Crookes, 1991) With high effort and attention, students who are highly intrinsically motivated are often willing to take risk to use the target language as means of communication (Black & Butzkamm, 1997) They also tend to invest all their mind and participate fully and responsibly in the learning process (Brandes & Ginnis, 1986) They tend to prefer tasks that are moderately challenging and during the learning process, they tend to employ strategies that demand more effort and that enable them to process information more deeply They also have the tendency of using more logical information- gathering and decision-making strategies when confronted with complex intellectual tasks (Dev, 1997)

Second, a student who is intrinsically motivated often shows positive emotions that help them lower anxiety when learning and encourage them to take part during on-going action Six types of feeling as the manifestation of positive emotions which were pointed out by Operant theory (Skinner, 1953) are fun, creativity, psychological security, confidence, freedom & ease and cooperation Lepper (1998, 26) also added, “A student who is intrinsically motivated has the feelings of accomplishment, enjoyment, creativity, self-confidence and satisfaction the learning process evokes.”

Effort & attention (message-oriented communication and student-centered learning) and positive emotions (fun, creativity, psychological security, confidence, freedom & ease and cooperation) are characteristics of motivational behaviors and they can be seen by an outside observer and can be used as

measures of motivation (Tremblay & Gardner 1995) That is why in the next

chapter, the methodology, by the means of observation and questionnaires, the writer of the thesis used those characteristics to measure students’ motivation when teaching vocabulary through games

2.2.4 The effects of intrinsic motivations on students’ academic achievement

Achievement outcomes have been regarded as a function of two characteristics “skill” and “will” (McCombs & Marzano, 1990) This part only focuses on will or the motivation to achieve the outcome and it will be considered separately from skill In will, achievement measures such as scores

or grades on tests or examinations are used as criteria of motivation to achieve This also why in the methodology of this thesis, the writer carried out and report

on using achievement test scores as measure of the outcomes of the motivation students had

Numerous studies (e.g Schunk, 1991b; Andrew, 1998; and Pajares, 2002) reveal that students’ intrinsic motivations are found to be positively correlated to students’ performance (marks) Intrinsic motivation can usually be attributed to a desired outcome Students with high motivation performed better than those who have low motivation

To explain for the effects of intrinsic motivation on students’ academic achievement, Anderman & Midgley (1989), on the foundation of the relationship between motivation and achievement, expounded that intrinsic motivation is involved in the performance of all learned responses A learned behavior will not occur unless it is energized The level of academic achievement (such as marks) that happens in the classroom is determined by the level of motivation students bring to the classroom Without sufficient motivation, effort required at every moment of learning cannot be maintained over a long period of time

Pintrich and Schunk (1996) based on the function of intrinsic motivation

to interpret the effects of intrinsic motivation on students’ academic achievement Intrinsic motivation can drive human behaviors Intrinsic motivation is an inner drive that directs a students’ behavior toward the fulfillment of a goal (i.e academic success such as high marks) It is a goal-directed behavior and indicates the willingness of the students to exert high

levels of effort toward achieving goals It promotes students’ feelings of

competence and self-worth as they achieve their goals It provides them with

means to compete with others in order to better ourselves and seek out new

information to learn and absorb

In addition, Bandura (1986) and Garcia (1995) added that intrinsically

motivated students use different motivational strategies in different learning

situation To achieve the outcome they desire, students engage themselves in

learning actively and attentively When a student is not motivated, he loses a

common outcome to attend the class This results in frequent absences and

plummeting grades (Brewer and Burgess, 2005) Students with the same level of

intellectual capacity differ in their performance as a function of their level of

motivation (Schunk, 1989)

2.2.5 Factors that promotes students’ intrinsic motivation

Malone and Lepper (1987) summarized seven factors that enhance

students’ intrinsic motivation They are challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy,

competition, cooperation and recognition

The first factors influencing intrinsic motivation is challenge People

pursue tasks that are challenging In learning, challenge brings learners a

permanent interest, motivation and makes them feel that their eventual success

will enhance their self-esteem In the element of challenge, goal and level of

difficulty are the most important factors in determining to which challenge will

actually motivate learners Goals can be term or long-term While

short-term goals may be more immediately compelling, long-range goals are often

more important The most important characteristic of goals is that they must be

personally meaningful, that is, the attainment of the goals is uncertain - when

neither success nor failure is guaranteed Then immediate degree of certainty is

usually best So, when setting or any activities to create students’ motivations, teachers should take these two factors in consideration

2.2.5.2 Curiosity

The second factor influencing motivation is curiosity To Beswick (1971), curiosity is a state in which there is an optimal level of discrepancy between present knowledge or skills and what these could be if the learners engaged in some activities According to the cognitive process theory, there are two contrasting facets of curiosity: openness to novel stimuli and a concern for orderliness Although the two qualities of orderliness and openness tend to be opposed, it turns out that highly curious people tend to have both these contrasting characteristics, they both seek novelty and value orderliness The highly curious person will typically seek additional information to build a suitable new integration of the incoming information with what was known before So questions will be asked, things will be turned over, there may well be much wondering and doubting; but after some time, the conceptual conflict is resolved The result is that a new order is developed The more people tried to be open to novelty, the more they are aroused by inconsistencies and incompleteness, the more conflicts they may experience, and the more they are absorbed in the learning process

Curiosity, particularly associated sense of wonder, is the purest instance of intrinsic motivation In the learning process, teaching activities should be renewed and varied regularly to create curiosity, novelty, interest and passion to students and thanks to that the love for language learning will be sustained and developed permanently

2.2.5.3 Control

The third factor influencing motivation is control, which refers to the basic human tendency to seek to control one's environment People have a basic tendency

to want to control what happens to them The three elements that influence the contribution of control to intrinsic motivation are cause-and-effect relationships, powerful effects and free choice (Kohn, 1993) Learners will be best motivated when: 1) they perceive clear cause-and-effect relationship between their own actions and obtaining desired benefits; 2) they realize the outcome of what they are studying to be truly worthwhile rather than something trivial; 3) they perceive themselves as doing something because they want to instead of because they are being forced to do it against their will (Glasser, 1985; Kohn,1993)

In learning situation, when students feel their teachers are using controlling techniques (rather than those that promote autonomous choice), they are likely to show reduced intrinsic motivation and this has been shown to result

in lower academic performance Therefore, in class, controlling techniques should be reduced At the very least, in teaching activities, teachers can choose tasks in which students can actually be productively engaged in the learning topic then; they should let the students decide their own way to do it The reason is that learners will be more strongly motivated when they freely choose what they want

to learn and the manner they will study

2.2.5.4 Fantasy

The fourth one influencing motivation is fantasy Learners use mental images of things and situations that are not actually present to stimulate their behaviors By engaging in activities related to learning, learners may use their imaginations to meet challenges, satisfy curiosity, exercise control, or experience other factors of motivation In fantasy, the two most important factors are

emotional elements and cognitive elements Emotional elements can make

learners more willing to engage in an activity by making it fun or exciting to participate This usually involves building a game around the learning activity The social activities of fun in the classroom, which foster various positive

emotional responses, can enhance pleasure, free emotional blocks, stimulate

mental activity, promote intrinsic motivation Then, cognitive elements can make

learners more willing to engage in an activity by enabling learners to imagine

themselves actually using the specified skills in real life Both elements are of

great importance to draw learners into a learning activity

2.2.5.5 Competition

Competition is the fifth factor that influences motivation Human beings

do not act in isolation; their behaviors are often strongly influenced by their

associations with other people Competition motivates behavior because people

can enhance their own-self esteem and they feel satisfaction when they are able

to make comparisons of their own performance favorably to that of others

However, competition is a double-edged sword Competition plays a role in

education: many students thrive on favorable comparisons to other students

Students benefit tremendously from the motivation and recognition that

accompany the competition However, students may think wrongly that winning

is the end in stead of the means Then, they only pay attention to win instead of

learning Moreover, when people are forced to compete, they who have to suffer

from constant failure may feel helpless Therefore, it is important to be selective

in the use of competition The best way to use competition is to combine

competitive environments with cooperative environments in order to derive the

benefits of both

2.2.5.6 Cooperation

The next factor influencing intrinsic motivation is cooperation

Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals It is also the use of

small groups so that individuals work together to maximize their own and each

other's productivity and achievement First, cooperation highly promotes

face-to-face interaction and equal opportunities for success Students in cooperative

learning groups were more likely to attribute success to hard work and ability than to luck (Slain, 1980) “Achievement will go up, attitudes will become more positive and missing skills will be mastered” (Lombardi, 2002, 145) Second, cooperation can create positive emotions In cooperative work, goal attainments are positively correlated; consequently individuals discuss their work, help each other and encourage each other to work hard (Johnson & Johnson, 1992) The students who master the objectives most quickly often benefit from explaining the information to students who have not yet mastered it In such a kind of work, each member wants the others to succeed, and no one feels that his own success

or failure will hurt the others in the group Third, students who learn cooperatively tend to be more highly motivated to learn because of increased self-esteem, the attitudes of group mates, appropriate attributions for success and failure, and greater on-task behavior They also score higher on tests of achievement and tend to get along better with classmates of different backgrounds

2.2.5.7 Recognition

The last factor is recognition Most people enjoy having their efforts and accomplishments recognized and appreciated by others To Ormrod (1992), recognition is something that most, if not all, students like, and can be a great motivating factor for student to try hard on any academic endeavor Learners feel satisfaction when others recognize, appreciate their accomplishments The respect among peers can go miles towards motivating students to do well on high-stakes tests In order to obtain recognition, the activity of the learner must

be visible to others There are three ways to achieve visibility (1) the process of performing an activity may be visible; (2) the product of the activity may be visible and (3) some other results of the activity may be visible

For a conclusion, seven factors mentioned above are the key elements to

start, sustain, develop and foster intrinsic motivation They become “active agents capable of stimulating student motivation to learn” (Brophy, 1997, 270) The mutual influence and impact of those factors can start, sustain, intensify or discourage students’ motivation In classroom setting, it is obvious that the more interesting a learning activity is, the more likely students are motivated So far, there have been many reports on games which help to make the tasks more interesting and the potential power of games is reviewed in the following

2.3 Game theory

2.3.1 Definition

To Richard (1993), games are rule-based competitive activities usually involving a time limit and or visual display feature in which the player must acquire and manipulate knowledge in order to succeed A language game usually has such properties as: (1) a particular task or objective, (2) a set of rules, (3) competition between players and (4) communication between players by spoken or written language

The term “game” is also defined by McDonough (1993, 564):

Game-based activities can involve practice or oral strategies such as describing, predicting, simplifying, asking for feedback, through activities such as filling in questionnaires and guessing unknown information Even though these activities are called games, there by implying fun, they are also communications based and require the learners to use the information they find out in a collaborative way for successful completion of a particular task

Lindsay (2000) considers language games a significant kind of organized language activity or exercise In language games, a link is established between the classroom and the learner’s own environment Games provide a valuable impetus to a purposeful use of the language

To some extent, there is a great overlap between games and activities Both of them require some type of problem-solving activities and both have

communicative purposes In both games and activities, students are given a real

or an imagery situation, and they are expected to find solutions for the problems However, the term “language activity” is used to refer any activity which is used

to consolidate language already taught or acquired The term “game” is used whenever there is an element of competition between individual students or teams in a language activity

2.3.2 Types of language games

Different writers have different classifications of games To most authors (Fluegelman, 1981; Hadfield, 1987; Romp, 1997) there are two kinds of games: cooperative games, in which players or teams work together towards a common goal and non-cooperative games in which players or teams race to be the first to reach the goal To Cruickshank (1977), games can be divided into two classes: academic games (such as hangman, crossword puzzle), which are games primarily for or based on learning and non-academic games (such as table tennis

or checkers), which are primarily for fun Another kind of game classification determined by Jones (1993) and Obee (1999) are games based on kinds of language skills and items such as vocabulary games, grammar games, listening games, communication games, reading games and writing games Successful competition of the game will involve the carrying out of a task that emphasizes

on successful using of a language skill and language item Lee (1979)’s classification system of games, is the game based on what to do in that game to complete it such as listen-and-do game, read-and-do games

Based on the principles of organizing classroom activities, Black and Butzkamm (1997) propose that language games held in class should be geared towards “message-oriented communication” (language should be used as a mean

of communication), “learner-centered activities” (learners are the center in any classroom activity), “cooperation between learners” and due to the practical

purposes of motivating students in teaching vocabulary in a highschool class, the author of the thesis suggested the so-called “Cooperative Vocabulary Games”(CVG) That is the combination of the two types of games mentioned above: cooperative games and vocabulary games

2.3.2.1 Cooperative vocabulary games

2.3.2.1 1 Definition

Cooperative games emphasize participation, challenge and fun rather than defeating someone A cooperative game is a game where groups of players (coalitions) may enforce cooperative behavior; hence the games are a competition between coalitions of players, rather than between individual players (Fluegelman, 1981) In a cooperative game, there may be competition involved but the out-come of the competition is not losing and sitting out of the rest of the game In stead, it may involve switching teams so that every one ends up on winning the team (Fluegelman, 1981)

A cooperative vocabulary game is a cooperative activity for teaching and revising vocabulary (Jones, 1993) It provides experience of the use of words in communication In a communicative language teaching classroom, it is one of the activities “which requires students to actively communicate with their classmates, using the language learned” (Huyen & Nga, 2003, 7) Such a game aims at giving students practice, opportunities to produce more imaginative language, less carefully predicted by the nature of game as well as providing welcome relief for the student from more rigorous methods of traditional learning of vocabulary

2.3.2.1.2 Types of cooperative vocabulary games

According to Hadfield (1987) and Jones (1993), there are many types of CVG CVG are classified on the foundation of the techniques used in the game

The most five common types of CVG are: Guessing, Searching, Matching, Problem-solving, and Grouping games

Guessing games are based on the information-gap principle The objective

of the game is to guess some kind of information, such as a word, a phrase, a title, or the location of an object The players with the information deliberately withholds it, while others guess what it might be The outcome of the game tends

to be uncertain until the last moment, and so it is full of suspense As the person’s guessing has a real urge to find out something, guessing games are true communicative situations and such are very important for foreign language learning

Searching games are another variant on this principle, involving the whole class In these games, every one in the class has one piece of information Players must obtain all or a large amount of the information available to fill a questionnaire, a table, a chart, etc Each student is thus simultaneously a giver and a collector of information

Matching games are based on the principle of transferring information Sentences or phrases are matched to pictures or objects and vice versa These games also involve in matching pairs of words, two parts of a sentence or an expression They may be played as a whole class activity, where everyone must circulate until they find the right partner whose information corresponds with his own information Matching Games strengthen learners’ understanding So, they are an excellent and fun way to practise vocabulary

Games of problem-solving, which are task-based, are the examples of the

most preferable communicative activities Such activities highlight not only the competence but also the performance of the learner This kind of game occurs when participants in the game share or pool information in order to solve a problem or a mystery In those games, learners are given a real or an imagery situation and they are expected to find solutions for to various types of problem

so they are led to a discussion of several ways of solving the problems The vocabulary needed for problem-solving games depends on the language aims of the games

The character of Grouping Games is to create links of meanings between words so it is helpful for language learners to remember and to retrieve vocabulary learned Therefore, arranging words into groups or families is an excellent way of learning and reinforcing vocabulary In this kind of game, the players must act on certain information in order to arrange themselves in groups The challenge of the game is that students have to understand the relationship between words and make sure why this word does not belong to the others

2.3.2.1.3 The possibility of CVG to create learners’ motivation

Many experts like Ur (1996), Nyquist (2000), and Jacques (2000) agree that CVG are highly motivating A cooperative vocabulary game is a source of creating student motivation It guarantees seven factors that meet the requirements of forming, developing motivations: challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, competition, cooperation and recognition

First of all, CVG are highly motivating because they are challenging To

Ur (1996) and Nyquist (2000), CVG involve striving towards a clear and demanding goal through performance of a challenging task and to achieve those goals, learners are required to use available evidence to reach a conclusion and the logic problem Moreover, the pressure of time, the control of rules of the games give players more challenges and increase as plausible incentive to use words learned to cooperate with their mates actively to win the games The meaningful goals and level difficulties of those games, therefore, make the language demanding, but at the same time, make it good fun

Second, to Jacques (2000), CVG have some elements which arouse curiosity The challenging tasks given by CVG set puzzles for players establish a

mess with a lot of novelty and cause conceptual conflicts Curiosity is formed from such conflicts then it gives players stimuli to seek information which is additional to their old knowledge Games force players to involve in the process

of learning through seeking new knowledge, new information to satisfy their curiosity

Third, to Lee (1977), compared with other learning activities, CVG bring learners much more control In CVG, learners are not forced to do things against their will; teachers only take the roles of organizers, facilitators, counselors and friends, supporters whereas students are real negotiators, contributors and interdependent communicators Students are also free to think, to express their ideas and feelings The freedom for learners to have free choice of means to achieve the goals, to decide the ways and strategies to solve their own problem without being under the influence of the teachers brings learners more self-confidence to initiate positive and successful learning behavior In addition, in small groups, students have much more freedom than in more formal learning situations The freedom to move chairs and stretch limbs gives students a sense

of autonomy and well–being

The fourth reason that makes games highly motivating is fantasy Lindsay (2000) said CVG involve gentle fantasy and imagination In playing games, students may use mental images of situations that are not actually present to stimulate their behavior, to meet challenges, satisfy curiosity, and exercise control and to develop their own output material from an initial idea supplied by the teacher So, the fantasy in a game is of great importance in keeping students motivated during a long time of hard learning Different form other activities, as

defined in 2.3.1, CVG emphasize on competition and competitiveness creates fun

that makes the teaching and learning more enjoyable According to Lo and Li (1998), Ersoz (2000), with competition, CVG banish the boring routine of learning vocabulary; reduce the stress in the classroom Besides fun, competition

is a performance stimulant that leads into achievement Competition provides a valuable impetus for learners to achieve the goal which is involved in using the language learned purposefully and effectively CVG, with the nature of competition, are of much contribution to enhance students ‘motivation

Another way in which CVG, as they are called in their names, contributes to a high level of motivation is cooperation CVG emphasize on cooperation and sharing and require choral responses or group works Doing a significant amount of pair work and group work allows students to make known their attitudes, to try to persuade others, and to listen to others as they express their attitudes and share their insights and knowledge In addition, being involved

in group interpretations of given information, the capacity to suspend disbelief and the willingness to play raise, learners are able to make new patterns; they promote thinking for the future and the transferability of learning (Sadker, 1991; Soldier, 1989) Thus, CVG take an important role towards cooperation and the relationships and interactions among students are dynamics which play a critical role in determining the success of a class

Finally, recognition is the last factor that makes CVG higly motivating CVG fulfill social motives by letting the players enjoy respect, love, or power, which the player will feel when really immersed in a game People enjoy having their efforts and accomplishments recognized and appreciated by others In playing games, when helping each other to achieve the shared goal, players may take pride on themselves Players have a sense of achievement when they see results for their efforts They feel that what they have accomplished is valuable to their group By being rewarded for positive behaviors, players increase their self-satisfaction through games What gets rewarded gets remembered And what gets remembered gets repeated

It is clear that CVG contain fully factors that promote students’ intrinsic motivation: challenge, curiosity control, fantasy, competition, cooperation and

recognition (mentioned in 2.2.3) That is why it is completely reasonable to use CVG to create motivation in teaching vocabulary

2.3.3 The history of language games and discoveries of game benefits in language teaching and learning

Since the mid-1960s, games have been designed for use in America’s classroom (Cruickshank, 1972) At this time, language games were used reservedly Still many teachers needed to be acquainted with this form of teaching and learning Games, therefore, were often used as “a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do” (Lee, 1979, 3) Until 1979, the great educational values of games were considered Lee (1979) held that games should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching program He said games provided favorable usages for extended communicative practice of language and made learners use the language instead of thinking about the correct form In 1982, a few psychological values of games were found Silvers (1982) claimed that students’ readiness to learn was also influences by physical as well as psychological factors A game was play and play was relaxing and enjoyable As

a result, students felt more relaxed and their minds might be more attentive and receptive, then in a relaxed atmosphere, real learning took place In 1993, games became an effective tool in language teaching (Jones, 1993) Agreeing with Lee (1979), Jones (1993) rightly pointed out that games had certain features in common with real communicative events and that the most suitable games in language teaching were cooperative games which focused on the exchange In

1988, Amato (1998) added another psychological value of games He said:

Games add diversion to the regular classroom activities, break the ice, and introduce new ideas Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition

of input more likely (Amato 1988:147)

The year of 1994 witnessed a great development of games in language teaching A series of studies were done on language games In this year, Hansen (1994) discovered the possibility of games in creating students’ motivation in the way that games provided a valuable impetus to a purposeful use of language In language games, the learners saw the consequences of action at the same moment of winning or losing a point Thus a link is established between the classroom and the learners’ own environment Further support comes from Zdybiewska (1994), who believed games to be a good way of practising language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in real life in the future

Since 1998, studies about games in language teaching have flowered Ersoz (2000), Bransford, Brown & Cocking (2002) said the emotions aroused when playing games added variety to the dry serious process of language instruction and this variety helped lower anxiety and encourage shy learners

to take part Thiagarajan, (1998), Wright, Betteridge & Bucky (2005) found

another aspect that games could do to motivate students They said games helped and encouraged learners to sustain their interests and work Learning a language involves long-term-effort Games could add interests to what students might not find very interesting

Also in the year of 1998, studies on games for vocabulary teaching started Uberman (1998) suggested the use of games for vocabulary presentation and revision Lewis (1999), Huyen & Nga (2003) showed advantages and effectiveness of using games in learning vocabulary in various ways The most important three benefits of vocabulary games were pointed out First, vocabulary games brought in relaxation and fun for students thus help them learn and retain new words more easily Second, games involved friendly competition and they keep learners interested Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom and enhance

students’ use of English in a flexible, communicative way

All mentioned above proved that with time, language games have had a great change and development and now they become a valuable kind of learning activities in the language class Up to now, there are four most important benefits of games that deserve special attention: providing a context for meaningful communication, bringing a relaxed atmosphere, lowering anxiety and creating motivation by adding interests

Together with anxiety, motivation is also a big part to contribute an affective filter In the second part of the literature review, the theory of motivation was mentioned The concept of motivation and its types, intrinsically motivational behavior, the effects of intrinsic motivations on students’ academic achievement and factors that promotes students’ intrinsic motivation were centered Such knowledge reveals that motivation can drive human behaviors and that of all kinds of motivation, intrinsic motivation is of great impact on changing and promoting students’ academic achievement

Reviewing the literature also allows the researcher to find out the manifestations of intrinsically motivational behaviors Those manifestations: effort and attention (message-oriented communication, student-centeredness) and positive emotions become important criteria to help the writer assess whether an activity (a game) can create students’ intrinsically behaviors Because those manifestations can be perceived though observation, this part

of the literature review allows researchers to use observation and questionnaire as methodology when doing research on motivational behaviors

The last part of the literature review is the theory of game: game’s definition, its types, and its possibility to promote intrinsic motivation This part shows that it is quite logical and possible to use games as a source of motivation in teaching vocabulary and among many types of games, CVG shows its preeminence

From what was mentioned above, the assumption for the literature review is that CVG can be quite possible to create intrinsically motivational behaviors which lower the affective filter through creating effort & attention and positive emotions and under the influence of those intrinsically motivational behaviors, students’ academic achievement will improve This assumption will be studied via observations, questionnaires (for motivational behaviors) and tests (for academic achievement) in this study

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

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3.1 The research questions

As stated in Chapter 1, this thesis is to invest the effect of games in motivating high school students in learning vocabulary The research question was:

“In what aspects, can games motivate students in learning vocabulary at TGHGT?”

3.2 The research process

3.2.1 The experiment

In order to investigate the aspects games can motivate students, the author carried out the experiment The experiment was conducted among students of the two classes 10 Chemistry (10C) and 10 Physics (10P) at the beginning of the second semester of the year 2005-2006 and lasted 5 months (from January to May, 2006) with the aim of discovering manifestations of students’ motivational behavior – effort & attention and positive emotions and investigating whether games could make any change or improvement on students’ academic achievement under the influence of such motivational behavior mentioned above during the time of doing the experiment

There were seven units for students to study in the second semester from Unit

10 to Unit 16 Unit 10 and Unit 11 were omitted according to the syllabus and Unit

12 was taught in the form of an extra activity So the experiment was carried on during the time of teaching vocabulary as the preparation for teaching reading skill and “Word Study” of the four units: Unit 13 (Money), Unit 14 (Banks and Banking), Unit 15 (International Trade) and Unit 16 (Consolidation) of English 10, published