Using language games to motivate the 8th form students in speaking lessons at nam trieu secondary school an action research

2 Do the language games help to increase students’ motivation in speaking lessons?. It is hoped that this study would help increase the students’ motivation at Nam Trieu Secondary School

M IN IS T R Y O F ED U C A T IO N A N D TR A IN IN G

H A N O I U N IV E R SIT Y

*

DO THI QUYEN

USING LANGUAGE GAMES TO MOTIVATE

AT NAM TRIEU SECONDARY SCHOOL

AN ACTION RESEARCH

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL.

SUPERVISOR: LE QUOC HANH, M.A

TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S I

S T A T E M E N T O F A U T H O R S H IP I l l

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S IV

A B S T R A C T V

L IS T O F A B B R E V IA T IO N S VI

C H A P T E R 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N 1

1.1 B a c k g r o u n d to the s t u d y 1

1.2 A im s o f t h e s t u d y 3

1.3 R e se a r c h q u e s t io n s 4

1.4 S ig n ific a n c e of th e s t u d y 4

1.5 S co pe of th e s t u d y 4

1.6 O u tl in e of th e t h e s i s 4

C H A P T E R 2: L IT E R A T U R E R E V I E W 6

2.1 M o t iv a t io n 6

2.1.1 What is motivation? 6

2.1.2 The importance of motivation in foreign language learning. 7

2.1.3 Strategies for motivating students in speaking lessons 8

2.2 L a n g u a g e g a m e s 11

2.2.1 What are language games? 11

2.2.2 Types o f language gaines 12

2.2.3 Advantages o f language games in teaching and learning speaking 14

2.2.4 Principles in organizing language games in a language class 16

2.2.5 When to use a language game in a speaking lesson 20

2.3 P r e v io u s s t u d i e s 20

C H A P T E R 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y 22

3.1 R esea r c h m e t h o d o l o g y : A n actio n r e s e a r c h 22

3.1.1 Definition o f action research 22

3.1.2 Process o f action research 23

3.2 R e se a r c h q u e s t io n s 23

3.3 D esc riptio n o f the su b je c t s 24

3.3.1 The researcher/teacher 24

3.3.2 The teacher - observers 24

3.3.3 The students o f the study 24

3.3.4 Training observers 24

3.4 A c tio n r e se a r c h p r o c e d u r e 25

3.5 D e sc riptio n o f the d a t a collectio n in s t r u m e n t s 27

3.5.1 Classroom observation 27

3.5.2 Questionnaire 29

C H A P T E R 4: D A T A A N A L Y S IS A N D D IS C U S S IO N 33

4.1 T he initial d a t a 33

4.1.1 Data collected from observation sheets 33

4.1.2 Data collected from the questionnaire 1 35

4.2 P lan o f a c t i o n 37

4.2.1 The aim o f the action plan 37

4.2.2 The action plan procedures 37

4.3 T he POST DATA 37

TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S I

S T A T E M E N T O F A U T H O R S H IP III

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S IV

A B S T R A C T V

L IS T O F A B B R E V IA T IO N S VI

C H A P T E R 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N 1

1.1 B a c k g r o u n d to the s t u d y 1

1.2 A im s of the s t u d y 3

1.3 R esearch q u e s t io n s 4

1.4 S ig n ific a n ce of the s t u d y 4

l 5 S c o pe of the s t u d y 4

1.6 O utline of the t h e s i s 4

C H A P T E R 2: L IT E R A T U R E R E V I E W 6

2.1 M o t iv a t io n 6

2.1.1 What is motivation? 6

2.1.2 The importance o f motivation in foreign language learning. 7

2.1.3 Strategies for motivating students in speaking lessons 8

2.2 L a n g u a g e g a m e s 11

2.2.1 What are language games? 11

2.2.2 Types o f language games 12

2.2.3 Advantages o f language games in teaching and learning speaking 14

2.2.4 Principles in organizing language games in a language class 16

2.2.5 When to use a language game in a speaking lesson 20

2.3 P r e v io u s s t u d i e s 20

C H A P T E R 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y 22

3.1 R e sea r c h m e t h o d o l o g y : A n action r e s e a r c h 22

3.1.1 Definition o f action research 22

3.1.2 Process o f action research 23

3.2 R esearch q u e s t io n s 23

3.3 D escriptio n of the s u b je c t s 24

3.3.1 The researcher/teacher 24

3.3.2 The teacher - observers 24

3.3.3 The students o f the study 24

3.3.4 Training observers 24

3.4 ACTION RESEARCH PROCEDURE 25

3.5 D escriptio n of the d a t a collection in s t r u m e n t s 27

3.5.1 Classroom observation 27

3.5.2 Questionnaire 29

C H A P T E R 4: D A T A A N A L Y S IS A N D D IS C U S S IO N 33

4.1 T he initial d a t a 33

4.1.1 Data collected from observation sheets 33

4.1.2 Data collected from the questionnaire 1 35

4.2 P lan of a c t io n 37

4.2.1 The aim o f the action plan 37

4.2.2 The action plan procedures 37

4.3.1 Data collected fro m Observation sheet 1 37

4.3.2 Data collected from Observation sheet 2 38

4.3.3 Data collected fro m Questionnaire 2 39

4.4 ACTION research evaluation 43

4.4.1 C om parison 44

4.4.2 Sum m ary 46

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 49

5.1 S ummary of the main findings 49

5.2 L imitations and suggestions for further research 51

REFFERENCES 52

APPENDIX 1A: OBSERVATION SHEET 1: ON - TASK BEH AVIO R 56

APPENDIX IB: THE DATA ON THE STUDENTS’ ON-TASK BEHAVIOR 59

APPENDIX 2A: OBSERVATION SHEET 2 60

APPENDIX 2B: THE DATA ON STUDENTS’ OVER ALL M OTIVATION 61

APPENDIX 3A: ENGLISH VERSIONS OF QUESTIONNAIRE 1 62

APPENDIX 3B: PHIÉU KHẢO SÁT 1 63

APPENDIX 3C: DATA COLLECTED FROM QUESTIONNAIRE 1 64

APPENDIX 4A: ENGLISH VERSIONS OF QUESTIONNAIRE 2 65

APPENDIX 4B: PHIÉU KHẢO SÁT 2 66

APPENDIX 4C: FREQUENCY TABLE OF STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LANGUAGE GAMES (QUESTIONNAIRE 2) 68

APPENDIX 4D: DATA COLLECTED FROM QUESTIONNAIRE 2 70

APPENDIX 5A: DAO THITIIANII MAI’S ORIGINAL QUESTIONNAIRE 71

APPENDIX 5B: PHIÉU ĐIÈU TRA ( ĐÀO THI THANH MAI, 2004, TR 67 - 7 4 ) 74

APPENDIX 6A:UNIT 11, TEXTBOO K 76

APPENDIX 6B 76

APPENDIX 7A: UNIT 12 TEXTBOO K 84

APPENDIX 7B: THE LESSON PL A N 84

APPENDIX 7B: THE LESSON PL A N 85

APPENDIX 8A: UNIT 13, TEXTBOO K 91

91

APPENDIX 8B: THE LESSON PL A N 92

The research reported in this thesis was approved by the Ha Noi University.

Signed:

Dated:

ACKNOW LEDGEM ENTS

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support, guidance and invaluable critical feedback, which I have received from my supervisor, Mr Le Quoc Hanh, MA in completing this thesis

My special thanks are sent to Mrs Nguyen Thai Ha, M.Ed from the department of Post Graduate Studies o f Hanoi University for her valuable guidance and advice

1 also wish to acknowledge the support and encouragement o f Dr Vu van Dai and other staff members o f the Post Graduate Department, Hanoi University

I would also acknowledge my great gratitude to all my lecturers at Hanoi University during my M.A course, and to the organizers for this Master course

My sincere thanks to my colleagues and all my students o f Nam Trieu for their work in this research project

My acknowledgement would be incomplete without special thanks to my husband for the encouragement, patience and support through the endless revisions o f this paper

A B ST R A C T

The focus o f this thesis is to improve students’ motivation at Nam Trieu Secondary School in speaking lessons by using language games An action research was carried

motivation in speaking lesson? (2) Do the language games help to increase students’ motivation in speaking lessons? Thirty two students participated in

completing the questionnaire and they were observed in speaking lessons by two observers who were teachers o f English at Nam Trieu Secondary School The initial stage revealed that the causes o f students' low motivation in speaking lessons were the unsuitable speaking activities Based on these findings the hypothesis of the study was formed: “the students’ motivation levels would be increased if language games were implemented'’ An action plan which applied language games was implemented The

research showed that the students’ motivation significantly improved when the action plan was carried out From these findings, recommendations and implications which are

o f significance are provided

A R Action Research

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

C H A PT ER 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N

This chapter presents the background to the study, the aims, the scope o f the study, the significance and the outline of the thesis

1.1 B ackground to the study

Nowadays, it is generally approved that English has become an international language

In Vietnam, it is taught as a compulsory subject in most secondary schools throughout the country However, not all English learners have succeeded in learning it Some people have succeeded while others have failed because learning a second or foreign language is not similar to the study o f other subjects It is a complex process, which is often affected by many factors such as attitude, age, intelligence, learning environment, learning strategies, etc Among these, motivation has long been believed to have a great impact on success and failure o f a language learner It is one of the key issues in language learning, thus, skills and techniques to motivate students to practice the four basic skills, especially speaking skill, are essential for language teachers Many researchers in the world namely, Gardner (1985), Littlewood (1998), Domyei (2001) and so on, have investigated what motivation is, what effects motivation on L.2 learning and how language teachers should employ techniques o f motivation to improve their class performance (Brophy, 1986, Domyei, 1994) These leading figures have brought about great insight into how to motivate learners for better achievement and their findings have generated more research into different aspects of language teaching e.g how to arouse students’ interest in their struggle to master the four skills In Vietnam, there have been a few studies on motivation o f learners in English learning both in general and particular skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing Yet no research has been conducted to investigate into the development o f motivation in speaking skill for secondary school students This study is an attempt to narrow thatgap-

O f the four language skills, speaking is generally considered the most difficult to learn

It is one of the most crucial o f all language skills So one o f the main tasks assigned to foreign language teaching at school is that of training students to be communicatively competent And in an effective conversation class, students should try to speak, learn

from their errors, gain confidence and in this particular type of lesson the role o f motivation is perceived to be of paramount importance.

With the aim to equip students with communicative ability, the Ministry o f Education

of Training (MOET) has replaced the old English 8 textbook which was used for decades by new English 8 textbook The new English 8 textbook consists o f sixteen units for two terms Each unit consists of four 45-minute periods, focuses not only on four different language skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing but also on language elements such as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary

Speaking lesson is the second one in each unit introduced just after the reading lesson which lasts 45 minutes These speaking lessons are designed on the basis of theme- based and task-based approaches In general, the textbook provides students with a variety of topics and speaking activities with the aim of helping students improve their speaking skills To be more specific, most o f the topics are of the students’ interest and suitable for students’ level because students got familiar with them when they learned

in 6th and 7th grade

In short, it can be noticed that most o f the activities in English 8 textbook satisfy four criteria to assess the characteristics o f a successful speaking activity proposed by Ur (1991; pl20): “learners talk a lot; participation is even; motivation is high and language

is o f an acceptable level” However, as observed in many classes at Nam Trieu Secondary School, the discussion is so boring and difficult for students Despite the interesting activities and the benefits o f discussion activities, which have been reported

by a number o f studies in increasing students’ motivation, what is experienced at Nam Trieu Secondary School is that the students do not participate fully in discussion activities According to my observation, when teachers gives the students statements and divide the class in halves and give time limit for the task: one half should brainstorm reasons for agreeing with the statements and the other half think o f the reasons for disagreeing with the statements When the time is over, teachers ask students from each half work in pairs or in groups and exchange their opinions, many students still work individually and when they are asked to work in pairs or in groups, they work ineffectively Moreover, students often speak and chat in Vietnamese when they work in groups, some o f them even take the chance to relax In addition, many

teachers often complain that their students do not want to participate and work ineffectively in pair and group activities; it also means that students are low motivated.

Obviously, if students show little or no interest in participating in these activities, it will influence the rate and the success o f foreign language learning If this situation still goes on, it will be difficult for both teachers and students to work effectively as well as

to meet the demands and objectives of the textbook

In brief, the problem o f students’ low level o f motivation is seriously perceived as by both teaching staff and students The given question is which communicative activities are suitable for students at Nam Trieu Secondary School in speaking lessons Documents o f many sources have shown that the answer can be found in language games

In language teaching, language games have proved themselves not merely as time filler activities but a source o f motivation, interest and a game is often considered as the first step to draw pupils’ attention to an ELT environment It is often overlooked as a means

of class control “Motivation and interest in play have key role in maintaining a natural manually respected cod enjoyment o f discipline o f control” (Vale, 1995: 223) Discussing this, David & Hallowell (1989: 3) also claim: “Because games demand and promote a high degree o f student participation, they motivate to a greater extent than conventional textbooks or worksheets”

In summary, games are useful and effective tools that should be applied in speaking lessons The use o f games is a way to make the lessons more interesting, enjoyable and effective It is hoped that this study would help increase the students’ motivation at Nam Trieu Secondary School in learning speaking through language games

1.2 A im s o f the study

The study aims at improving students’ motivation at Nam Trieu Secondary School in speaking lessons by using language games In order to achieve this aim, the specific objective o f the study is to:

- Use language games to motivate students to participate more actively in the

1.3 R esearch questions

The study aims at answering the following questions

1 What are the causes o f the students’ low motivation?

2 Do the language games help to increase students’ motivation in speaking lessons?

1.4 Significance o f the study

It is hoped that the study will identify the main cause o f students’ low motivation in speaking lessons at Nam Trieu Secondary School By doing this action research, the researcher can evaluate the use of language games in her classes And this would provide the teachers with guidance and assistance to boost students’ motivation in learning to speak English Students will find it more interesting in their learning and spend more time on this specific skill The study will give us convincing information about the great value of language games in increasing learners’ motivation

1.5 Scope o f the study

The study focuses specifically on using language games in teaching speaking to the 8th form students at Nam Trieu Secondary School So the study limits itself to the teaching and learning speaking only, and the subjects o f the study are 32 students from class 8A studying new English 8 textbook at Nam Trieu Secondary School

1.6 O utline o f the thesis

The thesis consists o f five chapters organized as follows:

Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION, provides the background to the study In this chapter, the aims, the research questions, the scope, the significance, and the outline o f the thesis are also presented

Chapter 2, LITERATURE REVIEW, consists o f three sections Section 1 presents different definitions o f motivation, roles o f motivation and strategies for motivating students in speaking lessons Section 2 mentions the definitions and benefits of

language games It also aims to discuss the principles in organizing language games in a language class Section 3 presents the roles o f the teacher in a language game.

Chapter 3, METHODOLOGY, provides the readers with the definitions and process of the action research, the data collection instruments Detailed information about the research procedure and the participants o f the study is also presented

Chapter 4, RESULTS, analyzes the initial data collected to form the hypothesis o f the study An action plan is worked out and implemented The data to monitor change is collected and analyzed to make an evaluation of effectiveness o f the action plan

Chapter 5, CONCLUSION, summarizes the action research, which is hoped to be of some help to increase students’ motivation in speaking lessons for Grade 8 at Nam Trieu Secondary School Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are also given in this chapter

C H A PT E R 2: L IT E R A T U R E R E V IE W

In this chapter, the researcher will present three main sections In the first section different authors' definitions o f motivation will be mentioned Next, the importance of motivation in foreign language learning and the strategies for motivating students in speaking lessons will be discussed In the second section, the definitions and advantages

of language games as well as the principles in organizing language games in a language class will be described Section 3 aims to present the previous studies

2.1 M otivation

2.1.1 What is motivation?

Many pieces o f researchers have shown that motivation is strongly related to success in second language learning So, what is motivation? According to Linghtbrown & Spada (2002), motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon which can be defined in term o f two factors: learner’s communicative needs and their attitudes towards the second language community The authors explain slightly more detail “if learners need to speak the second language in a wide range o f social situations or to

language and will therefore be motivated to acquire proficiency in it” (Gardner 1996: 10) refers motivation to “the combination o f effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language, plus favorable attitudes towards learning the language” He also believes motivation to learn a foreign language is determined by basic predispositions and personality characteristics such as the learner’s attitudes towards target language in general and motives for learners in particular (Gardner, 1972) Domyei (1994) states

“motivation explains why people decide to do something, how hard they are going to pursue it and how long they are willing to sustain the activities”

Another theory on motivation can be seen from Littlewood’s perspective (1998) that “in second language learning as in every other field of human learning, motivation is the crucial force which determines whether a learner embarks on tasks at all, how much energy he devotes to it, and how long he preserves It is a complex phenomenon and includes many components: the individual’s drive, need for achievement and success, curiosity, desire for stimulation and new experience, and so on”

According to Crookes & Schmidt, (1991) motivation is interest in and enthusiasm for the materials used in class; persistence with the learning task, as indicated by levels of attention or action for an extended duration; and levels of concentration and enjoyment.

It is clear that motivation is an extremely difficult concept to define so there have been many different definitions of motivation Among these, definitions Crookes & Schmidt's definition of motivation is made use of due to its appropriateness for this

attention or action for an extended duration: and levels o f concentration and

enjoyment” Therefore, interest, enthusiasm, attention, action, concentration and

enjoymentare thought over and presented as the key features in the study

2.1.2 The importance o f motivation in foreign language learning

While there has been a great deal o f research on the role o f motivation in second language learning, the overall findings reveal that positive attitude and motivation are closely related to success in second language learning (Gardner, 1985) Motivation is also considered as “a key consideration in determining the preparedness o f learners to communicate” (Gardner, 1985: 10)

Oxford & Shearin (1994) state: “Many researchers considered motivation as one o f the main elements that determine success in a second or foreign language, it determines the extent o f active, personal involvement in L2 learning”

Caroll (1962) further suggested the following critical factors in second language learning: attitude, opportunity or method and motivation among which motivation predicted the amount o f time a learner would spend on the task o f language learning She pointed out: “the more motivation a learner has, the more time he or she will spend learning an aspect o f a second language”

Labonde (1982), based on the findings made by Gamer and Lambert (1972), concluded:

* Motivation and attitudes are important factors, which help determine the level of proficiency achieved by different learners

* The effects of motivation appear to be separated from the effects o f aptitude The most successful learners will be those who have both talent and a high level o f motivation for learning.

Domyei (2001) describes a process model of language learning motivation He believes that motivation needs to be generated, maintained actively and protected and retrospectively evaluated

Another role o f motivation in foreign language learning is to promote the choice of strategies among students learning a second or foreign language Research has shown that the use o f specific learning strategies and techniques while studying a second or foreign language leads to success “The conscious, tailored use of such strategies is related to language achievement and proficiency” (Oxford, 1994) Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement needed for developing L2 communicative ability She also emphasizes “more motivated students tend to use more strategies than less motivated students, hence, they tend to be more successful”

In summary, motivation plays an important role in the success of L2 because when learners set the goal o f learning a foreign language, motivation helps them produce

effort and have a positive attitude to obtain the goal Therefore, in order to be

successful, language learners really need motivation to continue their learning

2.1.3 Strategies fo r motivating students in speaking lessons

To answer the question o f how to motivate learners in English lessons, especially in speaking lessons, researchers have mentioned many interesting and applicable ideas

The followings are some motivational strategies adapted from the Motivational

Strategies in the Language Classroom by Donyei, (2001).

2.1.3.1 C reating a com fortable atm osphere

In order to get learners more involved in class, a favourable classroom atmosphere is considered indispensable As Domyei (2001) argues, students often feel embarrassed in language classes because teachers force them to speak well in front o f the other classmates with their limited vocabulary To help change this situation and facilitate activities, teachers need to help students understand that mistakes are all right Therefore, he argues that teachers should correct errors in indirect way instead For

instance, if a student says “ I go to the cinema yesterday” instead of pointing out the mistake, a teacher can say the correct sentence, “you went to the cinema yesterday”, in

a non-threatening way

Domyei (2001) goes on argues that in a safe and supportive classroom students feel comfortable taking risk because they know that they will not be embarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake

2.1.3.2 Increasing students ’ self- confidence

Learners can perform well when they feel self-confident enough However, the question

is how to maintain and increase the students' confidence and self-esteem in a context - the language classroom-which is inherently face - threatening for the learner (Domyei, 2001: 130) He also suggested that language teachers should increase the learners’ self- confidence by promoting their self-conceptions o f language competence, by providing regular experience o f success and emphasizing what learners can do rather than can not

do, giving them the feeling o f making a useful contribution and creating classroom situations where they can demonstrate positive features and come forward to offer help (Domyei, 2001: 130)

2.1.3.3 P rom oting cooperative learning

Cooperative learning improves communication, lower students’ anxiety, raises their self- esteem, and improves classroom climate Learning English through cooperative group work allows students to learn from one another, and the teacher in a supportive environment They become more proficient in language as a result o f group work because they have more comprehensible input peer interactions, have better listening skill as a result o f responding to what has been said, have longer conversational turns than in whole-class teaching situation, and focus on meaning rather than on accuracy (Kessler, 1992)

2.1.3.4 M aking the curriculum relevant f o r the learners

Students are not motivated to learn unless they regard the material they are taught are worth learning Therefore, the task of the curriculum designers is to find out their students’ goals and the topics they want to learn and build these into their curriculum as

much as possible to make their curriculum desirable and valuable On the significance

of “relevance’’ in L2 teaching Chambers believed “If the teacher is to motivate pupils to learn, then relevance can be the red thread permeating activities If pupils fail to see the relationship between the activities and the world on which they live, then point of the activity likely to be lost on them If pupils do not see the relevance of a subject, the teacher has formed the outset a major challenge” (Chambers, 1999)

Richards & Rodgers (1986) said that practitioners o f communicative language teaching view materials as a way o f influencing the quality o f classroom interaction and language use They add that materials thus have the primary role o f promoting communicative language use

2.1.3.5 H aving students participate

One o f the major keys to motivation is the active involvement o f students in their own learning Standing in front o f them and lecturing to them is thus a relatively poor method o f teaching It is better to get students involved in activities, group problem solving exercises, helping to decide what to do and the best way to do it, working with each other, or in some other ways getting physically involved in the lesson A lesson

pictures By choosing several students to help the teacher (grade objective exams, research bibliographies or biographies o f important person, etc.), students’ self-esteem

is boosted and as a result, their motivation is increased Use every opportunity to have students help you Assign them homework that involve helping the teacher such as finding learning materials from newspapers, drawing pictures, or preparing real objects for the next lesson

In short, in this section some theoretical background knowledge of motivation are reviewed, and various motivational strategies as well as great deal contribution of motivation in language learning have been well-documented in the literature The following part will discuss the theoretical background of language games

2.2 L anguage gam es

2.2.1 What are language games?

Language games can be used in language classes So what are games and what are language games?

First o f all, what are games? Games are form o f entertainment derived from a set of artificial rules, typically with a known goal to be reached Games can be in the form of physical activities, mental or a mixture o f the two Also games can be classified as cooperative, solitaire or competitive Hadfield (1987) defines “a game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element o f fun” Similarly, according to Rixon (1981), “a game consists o f play governed by rules” This is summed up very well in Gibb’s definition (1987) o f a game as “an activity carried out by cooperating or competing decision makers, seeking to achieve, within a set o f rules, their objectives”

Different the definitions are, they share the same opinion that a game has three main characteristics They are: a goal o f objective, a set o f rules which governed a game and games involve a contest either between players or between players and the goal

So, what are the language games? Language games mean games related to language If

games help to improve different aspects such as intellectual ability, patience then language games help to develop language skills When playing these language games, students not only have fun but can also practice English enjoyably, which have to motivate students Greenal (1984) defines as one kind of “activity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired and occurs during the free stage of lesson or during occasions such as English club m eeting ”

Lewis & Bedson (1999) make the answer to this question clearer “Certainly, language games are fun what differentiates language games from other activities in the EFT classroom is the presence of a visible set o f rules which guide the learner’s action, and

an element o f strategy Learners must successfully apply their language (and other) skills Games are competitive Learners can also employ their language skills strategically in cooperative games, where a group work together to achieve certain goals” (Lewis & Bedson, 1999: 5)

For language teaching purposes, games are chosen must be guaranteed to improve language skills Chess is therefore, useless from the language teaching point of view, although it is an excellent game Chess only requires intellectual and tactical skills, not linguistic ones (Rixon,1988) Another thing that needs to be considered is that language games should not depend too much on luck because it will reduce the challenge, which encourages learners to react by using language in language classrooms.

In conclusion, from the definitions above about language games, we can put it that language games are activities with the rules, goals, and element of fun carried out by the players, pupils’ cooperation or competition for the language practice

2.2.2 Types o f language games

Classifying language games into categories can be very difficult because categories often overlap Therefore, different linguists use different way to classify language games According to Hadfield (1987), “language games can be divided into two further categories: Linguistic games and communicative games Linguistic games focus on accuracy, such as applying the correct antonym On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange o f information and ideas, such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one another but not exactly alike Language games are also classified into many more categories as follows:

Information - Gap games

Among language games, information gap is the simplest and most popular in communicative approach Therefore, the games o f this type are mostly used in teaching speaking skill The simplest activities are based on the information gap principle In these activities student A has an access to some information, which is not held by student B Student B must acquire this information to complete a task successfully This type o f games may be one-side as in above example, reciprocal where both players have information, which they must pool to solve a common problem The game may be played in parson in small groups, where all the members o f the group have some information

Guessing games

According to Hadfield (1990: 5) guessing games are familiar variant on information gap games: “the players with the information deliberately withhold it, while others guess what it might be'’ (Hadfield, 1990: 5) In this game someone knows something and the others must find out what it is by guessing

Matching games

In his book, Hadfield states: “Matching games are based on a different principle, but also involve a transfer o f information These games involve matching corresponding pairs of cards or pictures, and may be played as a whole class activity, where every one must circulate until they find a partner with a corresponding card or picture; or as a pair work or small group activity, where players must choose pictures cards from a selection

to match those chosen by their partners from the same selection; or as a card game on the snap, principle” (Hadfield, 1990: 6) “The Seven Families Game” (Hadfield, 1987: 5) is an example

Role-Play Game

element o f role-play Players are given the name and some characteristics o f a fictitious character Role-play can be seen as simple, guided drama activities, Landouse, (1997: 5) states that “When students assume a (role), they play a part (either their own or some body else’s) in a specific situation (play) mean that the role is taken on in a safe environment in which students are inventive and playful as possible” The language used can be quite rigidly prescribed or very open depending on the language level, curiosity and confidence o f the class “Role-play games stimulate a student's imagination and they are tests o f true communication” (Lewis & Bedson, 1999: 17)

In conclusion, language games are highly useful for students, especially for the secondary students who have poor knowledge of English They help correct and develop linguistic elements such as pronunciation, spelling etc, which are important for students before they practice communicative skills Language games can also give students a chance to use language in a realistic situation They help develop learners’ all communicative skills, especially speaking skill So in my speaking lessons the writer

chooses the language games, which are suitable with my students’ level and learning aims.

2.2.3 Advantages o f language games in teaching and learning speaking

Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning in various ways According to Saricoban & Metin (2000), through well-planed games, learners can practice and internalize vocabulary, grammar and structure extensively While Carrier (1990) said that games add variety to the range of learning situation Therefore, they can be used to give practice in all kinds o f language skills, especially speaking skill

Language games have a great educational value

Many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that communicative activities (CA), especially communicative games (CG) have a great educational value Lee (1979, p.2) held that most language games make learners use the language instead o f thinking about learning the correct forms He also argued that games should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching program A similar opinion is expressed by Richard (1986), who believed games to be fun, lower anxiety, “thus making the acquisition o f input more likely” (Richard, 1986,

p 147)

Games create an enjoyable environment

Because games are amusing and interesting they have to reduce the stress in the classroom There is a high level stress in the classroom as students have to face unfamiliar or unknown grammatical structures, words, texts and so forth Therefore, they often feel uncomfortable and insecure in the class As a result, games will bring students fun and relaxation When students are free from worry and stress they will study more effectively Uberman (1998) shows that in the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better

To illustrate this advantage o f the games, Lee (1979) reports: “ Language games could banish boredom, make for willing learners who look forward to language lessons

At the same time, language games create an enjoyable atmosphere”

Games promote cooperation and participation

‘‘Cooperation and participation are essential motivation in learning English ’' (Byrne, 1980: 76) That is true because games encourage students’ participation and cooperation and can remove the inhibitions of those who feel intimidated by formal classroom situations (Carrier, 1990) Playing games encourages students to interact and communicate When using games with classmates in teams or groups students do not worry much about mistakes or they will be corrected by others In addition, to each game more proficient students or less proficient, ones have their strong points so they can cooperate to one another to get their team’s goal Therefore, games help students improve their team-working and group-working spirit.

Games provide active learner - centered learning

Games are learner - centered and personal, which is important because learners learn in individual ways To reach the objective o f the game, there is a communication between individuals This means that learners have to discuss together before their group has a final result Hadfield's (1987, p.5) opinion is extremely similar to that o f Rixon (1981, p.30) The writers suggest that players have to use language to bridge the gap, to get information they need to complete the game

"Learners will manage and discuss until they achieve their objectives By this way, learners have to speak or write in order to express their own point o f view or give information It is to say that games bring learners chances to communicate to each other freely, even inhibited learners are drawn into this kind o f class activities In addition, teachers no longer control what learners have to say He drops his role as director of games and becomes more o f a monitor and language informant Rixon (1981) explains that teachers should be there as "a source o f information" perhaps on vocabulary or on new structure or with a suggestion about what they could rephrase something to make it clearer to other players In other words, games are part o f a general movement away from a teacher dominated classroom and promote active leaner - centered learning

Games are highly motivating

The most important advantage o f games is that they help increase students’ motivation because a game is a source o f motivation, interest and a game is often considered as the first step to draw students’ attention to ELT environment It is often overlooked as a

means o f class control “Motivation and interest in play have a key role in maintaining a natural manually respected code enjoyment o f discipline o f control.'’ (Vale, 1995: 223) Discussing this, David & Hallowell (1989) also claim: “Because games demand and promote high degree o f students’ participation, they motivate to a greater extent than conventional textbooks or worksheets.

In addition, motivation is an indispensable element in the process of students’ acquisition It is a major factor in deciding students’ failure or success Success and motivation are correlated: When the student is successful, he is more motivated to learn Byrne (1980: 76) states “ motivation makes learning more meaningful and effective ”

Moreover, according to Lightbrown & Spada (1999): “If we can make our classrooms places where students enjoy coming because the atmosphere is supportive and non­threatening, we can make a positive contribution to students’ motivation to learn with a view to creating such a learning atmosphere, using language games, which have long been advocated for assisting language learning, in speaking classes seem to be a good choice

As discussed in section 2.1.1, the working definition in this research is interest in and

enthusiasm for the activities used in classroom; persistence with the learning task, which is measured by students’ participation frequencies in the activity (Crookes & Schmidt, 1991) As Keller (1984, cited in Ellis, 1997) and Me Namara (1973, cited in Ellis, 1997) suggest, “increasing learners’ participation is a good way to raise their interest in learning which is turn increase motivation”

From the literature review and discussion above, it may be concluded that language games are reasonable choice to increase students’ motivation in speaking lessons if it is well run but a question here is when to use and how to organize language games in a language class That is the discussion presented in the following section

2.2.4 Principles in organizing language games in a language class

Whatever the type of game, the session has to be organized This means that the teacher has to set up the required groups o f student, seeing that they have all the materials they

need, and above all make sure that they all understand what to do The teacher needs to prepare the language games not only for himself but also for his students.

2 2 4 1 Preparation

After the teacher selects and decides which games to use and when to use them, the games must be prepared thoroughly Some issues should be taken into account such as:Timing: the teacher needs to assume the time o f game The question: “What is the minimum amount of time available in the lesson?” should be raised before the games because this depends not only on the game type but also on the class size Lewis & Bedson (1999) suggest that games should last from five to twenty minutes including preparation, presentation game-playing and post-playing Consequently, good preparation means more time for playing games

Choice o f language level: “Determining a learner's language level is at best an inexact science” (Lewis & Bedson, 1999: 11) This is proved by the fact that students’ language level in English in the same class something is not equal Therefore, Lewis & Bedson (1999) reach the conclusion that “any attempt to classify the games in this way would

be artificial Language level does not reflect the real challenge o f games, which you will find in the nature of activity itself rather than in the language component” (Lewis & Bedson, 1999: 11) Hence the teacher needs to prepare the language games not only for him but also for his students

Materials preparation: the last but not least o f organizing game is a good preparation of materials the game requires Materials use in games must attract students’ interest and have effectiveness For example, they should be different from what illustrated in the textbooks Pictures can be taken out from colored and update magazines or book flash cars can be used secret inside, words or pictures drawn on cards must be clear etc

These important factors will stimulate students’ curiosity and encourage them to take part in the game

Classroom management: the way in which games are organized varies a great deal Some games are played in pairs or in groups, some in teams and some with the whole class playing against the teacher Therefore, the teacher must decide in advance how to

organize students and the class so that the setting up o f the game can be carried out asquickly and smoothly as possible” (Carrier, 1990: 7).

In conclusion, to achieve the success o f the game, the teacher needs to have good preparation for the game and to know how to organize the game In other words, in preparing for game, the teacher’s role is decisive

2.2.4.2 Introducing gam es

This is the first and the most important stage for playing games When all necessary facilities are available, it is time for the teacher to make the game work The mostessential thing is to attract students to take part in the game In order to assure thesuccess, all the instructions in this stage must be as clear, precise, simple and brief as possible In my opinion, what the teacher should introduce in this stage are:

* Introducing the purpose o f the game

* Explaining the rules o f the game, the scoring, or the maximum amount of time

The teacher’s explanation must be understood by all

To sum up, what the teacher should do at this stage is to provide a good model of the game for his pupils to imitate and help them understand all the instructions During this presentation stage the teacher plays an important role while his students only have to pay attention to the teacher’s presentation and try to understand it well

2.2.4.3 G am es p la yin g

During the game playing process, the teacher had better interfere as little as possible since students should be making use o f this opportunity to experiment with what they have been learning They are free to produce more imagination language, less careful predicted and controlled by the nature o f the game On the other hand, they have to participate in the game intensively and actively and try their best to carry out the game successfully For that reason, in this stage, the teacher’s control should be restricted According to Rixon (1988): “Instead o f judging what students have to say, the teacher should now be on hand to help them with what they want to say” (Rixon, 1988: 63)

Thus, during the game, the teacher should go from groups to groups to check whether his students have understood the game’s instruction He can step-by-step guide his students to play the game As students get used to playing the game, the speed o f playing increases and more fun appears Then it is possible to extend the length of the play However, it is important to stop playing before the students get tired or lose interest Another problem during the game is about the teacher’s correction It is suggested that suggestions should not be made immediately as it may reduce students’ motivation Carrier (1980) states that: “The teacher should make a note of major errors

so that they can be corrected and commented on when the game is finished.” (Carrier, 1980: 59) But at a certain time, for example, when a small group o f students are working together and copying each other's mistake, a certain amount o f correction may

be accepted

2.2.4.4 T e a c h e r’s com m ents

The post-playing stage is necessary for any kinds of language games

In other words, whatever the game is, a feedback session must be made after the game

is finished Because students like to hear how well they were doing, to receive

cncouragemcnt, and to have any amusing incidents or clever m oves commented on, as

well as, having errors corrected Summarizing and commenting on game playing are things that the teacher needs to do for all games Further more, it is important not to ridicule any individual Positive comments can be made about individuals but negative ones should be shared with the rest o f the class so that all students can learn from experience The main point here is to show the students that all they do with language is interesting

In conclusion, the teacher’s role in this phase serves as a social function rather than a formal feedback The teacher can also keep a relaxing atmosphere for his students after the game-playing phase, showing them that he was interested in what they have done

In order to comment effectively, he should take notes o f any persistent errors or areas o f difficulties which students have made in the game playing process This can help the teacher to give a feedback later after the game

2.2.5 When to use a language game in a speaking lesson

It is necessary for those who want to use games as a learning aid to be concerned about when to use them Carrier (1990) suggested that games can be used to open or close a lesson in stimulating way, to punctuate a lesson, to relieve tension after a test or concentrated practiced session or at any time that the teacher feels appropriate Holding the same viewpoint, Hadfield (1987) also stated that “Games can be used at any stage of the lesson once the target language has been introduced and explained They serve both

as a memory aid and repetition drill and as a chance to use language freely, as a mean to

an end rather than an end itself According to Rixon (1981), games can be an integrated part of the teaching syllabus Teacher can use games at any stage o f language teaching

process-when teaching new language items (presentation, controlled practice and communicative practice), or when revising previously language items, providing that

they are suitable to the purpose o f each stage

It is obviously that games can be used at any stage o f language teaching process In this study, I would like to exploit language games at pre-speaking stage, while-speaking stage and post-speaking stage to motivate students to speak

2.3 Previous studies

Up to now, there have been a certain number o f studies on motivation: Peacock (1997) carried out the research “the effect o f authentic materials on the motivation o f EFL learners” The subjects o f this study were 31 South Korean beginners The study used on-task and overall class motivation observation sheets and interview questions The research findings o f the study confirmed the positive effect o f the authentic material on the motivation o f EFL learners

Ha Thi Lan (2003) carried out an action research on the effect of communicative activities o f pair work and group work on students’ motivation in speaking The subjects o f the study were 30 students at Thai Binh School In order to collect data, the researcher used a combination o f two instruments: questionnaire and classroom observation She found out that the students were passive in speaking because o f the lack o f the appropriate communicative activities in class

Another study was carried out by Hoang Thi Ngan (2006) with the purpose o f finding out how to motivate students to speak at Gia Loc Senior Secondary School Her study is carried out to meet the aims: 1/ to investigate the current English speaking teaching and learning situation at Gia Loc Senior Secondary School 2/ to identify the motivation and factors making the students reluctant to speak in class 3/ to give an insight into the speaking teaching techniques used to motivate students to take part in speaking activities 4/ to suggest some realistic and appropriate class teaching techniques to help students better their speaking skill The subjects o f the study were 186 students in Grade 11 and 8 teachers teaching English in the school The data collection instruments used in this study were questionnaire and interview The findings o f the questionnaire and interview showed that most o f the students had great interest in various teaching techniques and communicative activities used by their teachers Their preferable teaching techniques were those which gave them friendly, enjoyable and cooperative atmosphere, in which they were given much more opportunities to speak the language such as communicative games, visual aids

Two generalizations can be made about these studies First, they all examine the effects

o f motivation on teaching and learning Second, they all utilized similar data collection

questionnaire and observation to collect information for her study

In this chapter some information about motivation as well as general description of language games has been provided The next chapter will present a discussion of the methodology employed in this study

C H A PT E R 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y

This chapter consists o f four parts First, there will be the definitions and process of an action research Second, description o f the subjects who are students taking part in the action research as participants, the researchers, the teachers observing the class Third, there will be the procedure o f the study Fourth, the description o f the data collection instrument: observation, questionnaire will be provided

3.1 R esearch m ethodology: An action research

3.1.1 Definition o f action research

The different conceptions o f action research can be revealed in some typical definitions

o f action research, for example Hopkins (1985: 32) suggests that the combination of action and research renders that action a form o f disciplined inquiry, in which a personal attempt is made to understand, improve and perform practice Cohen & Manion (1994: 186) define it as “a small scale intervention in the functioning o f the real world and a close examination o f the effects o f such an intervention” The several strands o f action research are drawn together by Kemmis & Mac Taggart (1988) in their all-encompassing definition:

“Action research is a form o f collective self-reflective enquiry undertaken by

participants in social situations in order to improve the rationality and justice o f

the own social or educational practices, as w ell as their understanding o f these

practices and the situations in which these practices are carried out.

The approach is only action research when it is collaborative, thought it is

important to realize that the action research o f the group is achieved through

the critically exam ined action o f individual group members”

Kemmis and MacTarggart (1988, p5)

It was stated by Nunan (1992) that action research is “problem focused”, mainly concerned with a single case in a specific situation, and tries to find solutions to the problem in focus It not only encourages teachers to compare methods and ideas with critical eye and to adopt these ideas into their teaching environment but also engages them in their teaching in a deeper way

In short, there are many definitions o f action research that have been proposed over the last forty years The aim of the action research is to identify “problematic” situation or

issues that participants consider worth investigating and to undertake practical interventions in order to bring about informed changes in practice And action research was used as the research method for my study because it can help to identify problems, solve the problems and evaluate the solution.

3.1.2 Process o f action research

There are several ways in which the steps o f action research have been analyzed Kemmis & Me Taggart (1988) suggests that action research has four steps which progress as a spiraling and evolving process: planning; action; observation and reflection According to them, in the first step, a problem or issue is identified and a plan o f action is developed in order to bring about improvements in specific areas of the research context In the second step, the plan is put into action over an agreed period of time and in the third step, the effects o f the action are observed and data are collected The last step involves the effects o f the action evaluated and becoming the basis for further cycles o f research

Bums (1999: 35) considered the action research process as a sequence o f cycles which consists o f eleven phrases: exploring; identifying; planning; collecting data; analyzing/reflecting; hypothesizing; intervening; observing; reporting; writing and presenting

Nunan (1992: 19) divides the action research into six small steps: Initiation, preliminary investigation, hypothesis, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination And the researcher followed the six action research steps adapted from Nunan (1992) to fulfill the study because it is really clear to understand and easy to adapt in the real situation at Nam Trieu Secondary School

3.2 R esearch questions

This action research aims at answering the following questions

1 What are the causes o f students’ low motivation in speaking lessons?

2 Do the language games help to increase students’ motivation in speakinglessons?

3.3 D escription o f the subjects

3.3.1 The researcher/teacher

The researcher/teacher is a teacher o f English at Nam Trieu Secondary School She is thirty-eight years old and has been teaching English for ten years

3.3.2 The teacher - observers

Mrs Yen, the English teacher o f class 8B and Mrs Thanh, the English teacher of class 8C were invited to work as non-participant observers to observe speaking lessons during preliminary investigation and intervening action They have been teaching English for about 7 years They are willing to collaborate with the researcher to observe the class and discuss the observation results, the teaching techniques, the procedures she

is employing in her class Each teacher was in charge o f observing half o f the students

3.3.3 The students o f the study

The subjects o f the study were 32 students in class 8A and were divided into two groups Group A was observed by Mrs Yen and Mrs Thanh observed Group B Each group consists o f 16 students They were at the same age o f fourteen and had 5 years of

learning English at primary school and secondary school At the time this research was

conducted, they were in the second term o f 8th form and had learned English for 51 periods, covering the last 9 units o f textbook English 8 That is, they had three periods

o f English every week The students were very helpful and they were fully motivated to participate in the study

3.3.4 Training observers

Before the AR, the researcher carried out a pilot in which observation sheets 1 and 2, learners questionnaire as the data collection instruments were trialed over a period of two weeks The aims were to familiarize the observers with the observing process All difficulties were noted and the researcher along with the two observers discussed to find solutions to each problem before carrying out the experiment

At the end o f the pilot, the two observers summarized two main difficulties related to observation sessions and they, along with the researcher, suggested solutions to each problem as follows

First, all observers reported that they could not remember the name o f all the learners and they, therefore, could not tick accurately In order to deal with this problem, the researcher worked out seating plans including students' names and which observer eases the observation process Name cards were also made and the students were encouraged to display the cards in front of them This proved to be very helpful as the seating plan did not work when the students change seats are directed by the teacher for the purpose of each activity.

Second, the challenge for the observers was ticking “ 1” or “2” Some non-participant observers sometimes felt unsure when they ticked “ 1” or “2” for students They reported that, these students were engaged in the work but they were not sure whether things discussed were relevant to the purpose of the activity or not With an aim to minimize the confusion, before each lesson, the researcher gave each non-participant observer the lesson plan detailing activities The researcher also told the observers the aims and objectives o f each lesson

3.4 A ction research procedure

As stated above, Nunan’s AR model (1992) was applied in this study The description

Step 1: Initiation (Week 1)

Observing the first three speaking lessons, the researcher realized that the students’ learning motivation and their participation in speaking activities were not high, which was described in details in 1.1 and 4.1 Therefore, she decided to identify factors affecting the students’ learning motivation in speaking lessons and the first research

question formed was: What are the causes o f students’ low motivation in speaking

lessons?

Step 2: Preliminary investigation (From week 2 to week 4)

To confirm the problem stated in Step 1 and to establish the baseline o f students’ motivation, the following steps were implemented

The three speaking lessons o f units 8, 9, 10 were conducted in usual way,

1) to measure students' interest, enthusiasm, persistence with learning tasks and Observation sheet 2 (Appendix 2), Questionnaire 1 (see Appendix 3) was administered right after every lesson with thirty-two 8th grade students aimed at accessing learners’ self-reported motivation originated by speaking activities.Details on this data collection instrument was presented in section 3.3

Step 3: Hypothesis

The analysis and discussion of the initial data led to the following hypothesis:

Implementing language games would increase the students' motivation in speaking lessons.

Step 4: Plan Intervention (From week 5 to week 9)

Based on the analysis o f the collected data from questionnaire, observation and on the basis o f the literature review relating to principles in organizing language games in language class which were discussed in Chapter 2, an action plan o f the use o f language games was developed

Lesson plan writing and preparation for plan implementation (from week 5 to week 6): Basing on the main reasons found, the researcher read literature to get more knowledge and suggested solutions A new set of teaching method was tried out in order to solve the problem The new set o f teaching method was written in details in the three speaking lessons o f units 11, 12, and 13 in class 8A at Nam Trieu Secondary School (Appendix 6, 7, 8)

The speaking lesson plans for Units 11, 12, 13 were designed In these speaking lessons games were used to motivate students to speak Therefore, the preparation for games is one o f the most important factors that lead to the students’ success in playing games A game for each lesson was selected according to the factors which were mentioned in Chapter 2

The games for the three speaking lessons o f units 11, 12, and 13 were adapted from games designed by Hadfield (1987) and Lewis & Bedson (1999)

Plan implementation (From week 7 to week 9)

In the three speaking lessons of units 11, 12, 13 the newly designed lesson plans were taught The researcher then gave the lesson plans designed to the students implementing language games Questionnaire 2 (see Appendix 4,5) was given to the students when these lessons finished Observation sheets were filled in with the necessary information required Both the observation sheets and the questionnaires collected information about the students' motivation.

The second research question formed was how language game improved students’ motivation in speaking lessons

Step 5: Evaluation

When information had been collected, the data from the two observation sheets and the questionnaire of the last three lessons were then analyzed and compared with the data of two observation sheets and the questionnaire o f the first three lessons in order to evaluate the suggested solutions in the action plan The comparison was then used as evidence to show how useful the language game techniques used by the teacher were

Step 6: Dissemination

a thesis, which was shared with Mrs Yen, Mrs Thanh and the researchers’ colleagues, especially younger teachers

3.5 D escription o f the data collection instrum ents

In order to collect data, the researcher used a combination o f two instruments: Questionnaire and Classroom observation to guarantee the objectiveness o f the data

3.5.1 Classroom observation

Observation is often defined as procedures and techniques o f systematic inspection of events and is very often used in language study research (Seliger & Shohamy, 1989) The focus o f observation is usually teaching learning methods or process of actual lessons in language classroom

According to Wallace (1998), Classroom observation is the good method to do action research He also states that: “The focus of the observation can be ourselves as teachers:

The techniques we use, management procedures and so on The focus can be on our students: the way they work, the way they interact, their on-task and off-task behaviors and so on’’ Therefore, observation was chosen as one o f the instruments for collecting data in this study and Observation sheets 1 and 2 were used to check whether a specific behavior was present or absent, numerical scales and rating scales which help observer

to rate and quantify the observed behaviors or phenomena (Peacock, 1997) In this study, observation was carried out during the six lessons to investigate whether the implementation o f language games motivate students to participate more in speaking activities by using two observation sheets The class was observed six times during six weeks These six observed speaking lessons were organized as follows: in the first three lessons speaking activities were organized as usual and the class was observed by the teacher observers (non-participants) to get information about the students’ participation and overall class motivation; the last three lessons were carried out with the implementation o f the language games The same teachers were invited to observe class and fill in the same observation sheets during the action plan

3.5.1.1 Observation sheet 1

Observation sheet 1 (see Appendix 1) is a tally sheet for quantifying learner on task- behavior which was adapted by Peacock (1997) There are 12 columns for 12 scans and the line number was the same as the number o f the students, which were 32 in this study The sheet would be filled out by the observer while the students were working in speaking activities Number 1 would be entered if the students were on task and number

2 would be if they were not Students were identified by names and observed one another, clockwise around the class Each student was observed for five seconds for each scan That means after every 5 seconds, the observer wrote down the category best describing the observed student’s behaviors at that moment, and then passed to the next student This process would be going on until all students had been observed 12 times After each lesson a class on task-percentage was calculated

3.5.1.2 Observation sheet 2

Observation sheet 2 (see Appendix 2), adapted from Peacock (1997), was used to assess overall class motivation generated by speaking activities It consisted of 5 items regarding components o f motivation: 1st statement - the level of student’s interest; 2nd

statement - persistence with the learning task; 3rd statement - concentration; 4th statement - interaction and 5th statement - enjoyment.

There are 8 items in the observation sheet 2 and each item was scored on a scale o f 1 (low) to 4 (high) 3 is an average mark for any item In contrast to the first sheet, this sheet was for observing the class as a whole, not individual student The observer was required to score by circling one appropriate number on a scale o f 1 (low) to 5 (high) when the activity was drawing to close A daily total score for each speaking class was worked out

3.5.2 Questionnaire

It is believed that questionnaire is an effective way o f yielding data quickly in respect of affective dimension of teaching and learning as beliefs, attitudes, motivation and preferences (Richard & Lockhart, 1994) In other words, ‘researcher use questionnaires

so that they can obtain information about the thoughts, feeling, attitudes, beliefs, values, perception, personality and behavioral intention o f research participant’ (Johnson & Christensen, 2000; Robinson, 1991) Considered as an appropriate research instrument for gathering the attitudes o f the respondents, questionnaire has its own outstanding strength that satisfies the purposes o f collecting data for this study Seliger & Shohamy (1989) indicate three significant advantages o f using questionnaires in gathering data: first, self administration and economization; second, sharing information o f a sensitive nature more easily; third, the data more uniform and standard Sharing the same point,

straightforwardly, genuinely and provide less pressure for an immediate response so that respondents can answer in their own time and at their space With the mentioned reasons, therefore, this tool was used in the study

3.5.2.1 Q uestionnaire 1

At the same time o f teacher’s observation delivery, a questionnaire o f learner’s self- reported motivation (See Appendix 3) was given to every participant in the study right after every speaking lesson The purpose o f this questionnaire was to investigate the children’s motivation through speaking activities

The questionnaire was adapted from Peacock (1997, p i 56), who carried out the research “The effect o f authentic materials on the motivation o f EFL learners” It was adapted because o f its practicality, effectiveness, and similarity with the aim of this study In addition, in that research, Peacock selected the definition of motivation proposed by Crookes & Schmids (1991) which was in accordance with the one used in this study Beside the requirement, the introduction and explanation o f the purpose of the study, the original questionnaire was added by the detail instruction and translated into Vietnamese language in order that the children were able to understand the questionnaire easily and to give the right selection After the participants had received the questionnaires, the introduction was read slowly and carefully by the researcher Then, the participants were asked to fill in the sheet and to finish it for 10 minutes under the researcher’s supervision in order to avoid the imitation.

In the Peacock’s study, a rating scale was adapted to use and so was this study There are five opposite-pair items included and scales from 1-5 In the questionnaire, the participants are asked to circle one number on each five-point rating scale to show how they rate the motivational value o f activities in each speaking lesson For example:Un-enjoyable— 1 — 2— 3— 4— 5 -Enjoyable

If the participant chooses the number on left extreme o f the scale, number 1, it means that the activity is very un-enjoyable With the choice o f number 2, it means that the activity is “un-enjoyable” or “fairly enjoyable” If the participant neither agrees with the starting points nor the ending points o f the scale, a number in the middle of the scale (3)

is suitable

3.5.2.2 Q uestionnaire 2

These questionnaires (See Appendix 4&5) aim at eliciting the participant’s attitude towards language games In this study, an adapted version of Dao Thi Thanh Mai’s questionnaire (2004, p.p 67-74) was used because o f some similarities concerning game area: However, in Dao Thi Thanh M ai’s study, the participants were all university students aged 18-22, while the researcher’s participants were children aged 14 At that age, it would be difficult for them to understand and to give the appropriate answer if some iterms were used like the original questionnaire Therefore, some statements in

the original versions were not in use: Statement 4- Part I, Statement 7&8- Part III in Questionnaire 1, Statement 4 - Part I, Statement 7- Part III in Questionnaire 2 The item useful in the statement of the original one was not used up because the content was presented in the detail o f Part II o f the questionnaire In Part III, in stead o f adopting yes/ no question for Question 6 of Part III, is was changed into statement So, the adapted questionnaires are drafted into three following parts:

Part I is concerned with participant’s feeling about language games and divided into 3 subparts:

The 1st statement aims at finding the participant's feeling generally about language games through 3 items as “interesting, relaxing and fun”

In 2nd and 3rd statement, feeling o f cooperating and competing with classmates in language game are mentioned And the three adjectives used are ‘comfortable, confident and excited’

Part II investigates the participants’ opinion about the effects o f language games on the speaking lessons

Part III searches how the participants think about the use o f language games in the future.

In these questionnaires, a five-point ‘agreement’ rating scale is exploited (Johnson & Christensen, 2000) The participants are asked to make a cross in the box equivalent to

a number that best reflects the participant’s agreement The numbers are ranked from 1

to 5 o f which carry different levels o f agreement However, different from Dao Thi Thanh Mai’s questionnaires, the levels in the questionnaires are ranked from: strongly disagree-1, disagree-2, neutral-3, agree-4, and strong agree-5 to access more reliable data

The questionnaire was delivered to students right after the students finished the post­intervention to confirm the changes in the students’ motivation in speaking lessons and Vietnamese-participants’ mother-tongue was taken the use o f because o f the participant’s age and English vocabulary limitation The instruction was also read and explained carefully before completing the sheet o f questionnaire The participants were