Teaching grammar through games to the tenth graders at hung vuong high school, binh phuoc province

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using games on developing English grammar for the tenth graders at Hung Vuong High School, Binh Phuoc province.. The grammar

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

eke ek ke ve te ke ke kk ke kk

TEACHING GRAMMAR THROUGH GAMES

TO THE TENTH GRADERS

AT HUNG VUONG HIGH SCHOOL,

[BINH PHUOC PROVINCE

TAUONG DAI HOC MO TP.HCM

THU VIEN

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by PHAM THI THANH TAM

Supervisor: LE THI THANH, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2013

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of using games on developing English grammar for the tenth graders at Hung Vuong High School, Binh Phuoc province Besides, this study attempted to make some recommendations to help improve the current situation of teaching and learning English at this school The samples of the study were ninty students of grade ten and ten English teachers The research instruments used in this study were questionnaires, class observation and two grammar tests The grammar tests were designed and validated to be used as a pre-test, and a post-test, and class observations to measure any possible differences between the mean scores of the students in the pre and the post test-The research findings revealed that the most efficient factor affecting on students’ attitude toward English grammar is using games The collected data were analyzed on excel program to measure the effectiveness of using games on developing aspects of grammar for the tenth graders Based on the research findings some recommendations were made The study was expected to help students improve their performance in grammar classes

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHOR.SHIIP G5 G G9 9 2 0 000 5600 6 0ø i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESS <5 << G5 S5 29558 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS G0004 06 0600000600096 Hi ABSTIRRACCTT co 5 G5 << H9 900005 0000 0004.000 00094000 4.10004 0600049 008960 iv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 04 1

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Chapter 2: LITERA TURE REVIEẨW G0000 c0 00009 668806606906 5

2.1 Grammar 5 2.1.1 Definitions of grammar hố 5 2.1.2 The role of grammar in language teaching and learning . -s«-s «+ 6 2.1.3 Approaches used to teach ØTATTTHALT - - <5 s93 91 91 1v nhu gi 9 2.1.3.1 The Grammar- Translation Method (G TM) .- - Ăn sseceesee 9 2.1.3.2 The Direct 12000), 10 2.1.3.3 The Audio-Lingual Method (ATM) nen ve, 10 2.1.3.4 Community Language Learning (CL) « 5+2 «<< *<++vxessseses 11

2.1.3.5 Total Physical Response ((TTPIR)) - ok TH ng g 11

2.1.3.6 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) . 5-5 «+<<<+s<+++s 12

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"PC uc nh nen 14 2.2.3 What kinds of games Work €SẨ Ác nh ng l6 2.2.4 How and when to employ games in language cÌassroom - -.«« -«-<s+2 17 2.2.5 Benefits ofteaching prammar with ØaIm§ -.- 5-5 kh ng 20 PIN? á)0n v18 nh 21

2.4 Chapf€r SUImATY 5 sọ TH TH Hi ni HH TH TT Hư n 24 Chapter 3: METHODOLUO ŸY <5 00505 0060068886689 6 25 3.1 Research ÏDesignn - sọ HH HH TH HT HH 25

3.2 Setting of the researCH - HH” TH Tu Chư 26 3.3 The English textbook “Iieng Anh ÍÍŨ”” sọ ng tr 28 3.5 SubJeCts Of the S{UỦY - Gọi ke 31 3.5.1 Teacher SU]J©CS - Ghế 31 3.5.2 Student SubJ€CS sọ nọ ng 32 3.6 ÍnSTUITTIẨS:: Án Họ TH Họ Họ TH ng 34 3.6.1 Tests ha 34

3.6.1.1 Pre-test oo 35

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EN VN» on 37

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ERŠÁ0 Y0 ai 38

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3.7.1 Procedure for conducting the †€SS G <9 ng ng ng rưy 40 3.7.2 Procedure for conducting the questionnalre eXperimẹIf . -<«<++ 41 3.7.3 Procedure for conducting the class Observation .:.ccccssccesesssseesseseeeseesesessees 41 °R.P 6 0/009 1n 41

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Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS OE FINDINGS 43

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ALD Tests e 43

Ýannh na 43

4.1.4.2 Posf-f€sf r€SỤS - HH ng nọ ng ng xà 44 4.1.1.3 A comparison of pre- and posf-test results for each øroup - - 45

4.1.2 Teachers” queSfiOTIA]TC 5 <5 + xxx 9 011 831 010 ng ng ng ng giện 47 4.1.2.1 Teachers` demographic 1nÍOrImaf1OTI - -o- ĩ5 s2 1s v3 x2 ve re 47 4.1.2.2 Factors affecting students’ learning grarmmar . - «s5 s++sx+ssss+ 48 4.1.3 Students’ questionnaire results (before experimen} - -+ ss+<sxss+2 52 4.1.3.1 Students° demographic inÍOrmfiOn - «+ + sx + SESSeekvesseesrersvee 52 4.1.3.2 Students’ responses to the Pre-queSfiO'IAIT€ - 5 <5 S x33 sex 53 I0) ae nh hố 58

4.1.4.1 Observation class with grammar Øạm©S - - s9 1n re 58 4.1.4.2 Observation of class without grammar Øạmes << = «+55 s << ss 59 4.1.5 Results om students” questionnalre (after experimen{) -‹s-<s++ 60 4.2 vo uốn 64

CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68

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5.2.2 Recommendations fo sfUd€TIfS - - - S099 9001108011 1 g8 1 na, 70 5.2.3 Recommendations to adminisfrafïOT\ .- - G5 c1 1 91 81 ng ngư 71 5.3 Limitations and recommendations for further sfUdies . - <5 555 << ss++ss 71 h0 90 an 72

REFERENCES 0G G0 0 9 000000006 06.00000090 000 000866000000 066688009096 06 73 APENDIX 1: LESSON PLAN co G G0095 0.906 000 00 00006 0600868909060 06 80 APENDIX 1.1: LESSON PLAN FOR UNTT 2: SCHOOL TALKS 80

APENDIX 1.2: LESSON PLAN FOR UNIT 3: PEOPLE’S BACKGROUND.84 APENDIX 1.3: LESSON PLAN FOR UNIT 4: SPECIAL EDUCATION 88

APENDIX 1.4: LESSON PLAN FOR UNIT 5TECHNOLOGY AND YOU 92

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APPENDIX 2: GRAMMAR TESTS sssscsssscsssresscescsssscsssessscessnsssessscssssesees 96

APPENDIX 2.1 (A): PRE-TEST ccsscsssssssssssssssssssessesseessssssessessssesseseesssenssessvssees 96

APPENDIX 2.1 (B): KEY ANSWERS TO PRE-TEST . . - 98

APPENDIX 2.2 (A): POST-TE/ST ©++++°°©CEEEEEEEEEE2S22222222°eerree 100 APPENDIX 2.2 (B): KEY ANSWERS TO POST-TEST .5 5- 102 APPENDIX 3 — QUESTIONA IRE, -2- < 5° s2 Ss2£ss seseessEseseessesszse 104 APPENDIX 3.1 - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHE.RS 104

APPENDIX 3.2 (A) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 106

APPENDIX 3.2 (B) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 108

APPENDIX 3.3 (A) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 110

APPENDIX 3.3 (B) - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 111

APPENDIX 4 — CLASS OBSERVA TION SHEE-T 5 5 5-° s2 112 APPENDIX 4.1 - CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET 1 (CLASS WITHOUT e7 0/1707 112

APPENDIX 4.2 - CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET 2 (CLASS WITH GAMES)

¬ ôÔỎ 115 APPENDIX 4.3 — CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET 3 (CLASS WITHOUT e7.0,10)72 277 .,ÔỎ 118 APPENDIX 4.4 - CLASS OBSERVATION SHEET 4 (CLASS WITH GAMES) sessusceuscussucsussessecssossscessessssessessecseesesusuesnsaseasessescscoucsasessesnsesesosssssuseuseusaucsussecsesaneeusass 122

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: University of Pedagogy : Communicative Language Teaching : Second Language

: Hung Vuong High School : Foreign Language Teacher : students

: teacher

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

This study is conducted to investigate how games affect teaching and learning English grammar at Hung Vuong High School in Binh Phuoc province In the first chapter, the researcher mentions five parts, including the background to the

study, the statement of purposes, the research questions, and the significance of the

study and the design of the study

1.1 Background to the study

English has been undoubtedly becoming increasingly important nowadays It

is also an important part of the curriculum of Vietnamese.school from the third grade of primary school To be good at English, students have to master a number

of language skills; including listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as grammar McKay (1987) emphasizes that students need to have a good foundation

of grammatical knowledge if they want to communicate effectively Ur (1988) states that a person who knows grammar is one who can express himself or herself

in what would be considered as acceptable language forms Hence, grammar should

be taught appropriately because the study of grammar was not just considered as an essential feature of language learning, but a sufficient element for learners to actually acquire another language (Rutherford, 1988 cited in Purpura, J.E., 2004)

Traditionally, grammar lessons are taught by Grammar-Translation method with little or no activities to encourage students actively in their lessons Students mostly listened to their teachers’ explanations and then do the exercises one by one They may find learning grammar boring Moreover, students, at that time, can master grammar rules but are not able to use appropriate structures in real situations Thus, grammar needs to be taught communicatively in a more pleasant way There should be communicative activities when students have a need to exchange information or to interact Games are good communicative activities which are enjoyable, interesting and motivating (Huyen, 2008)

As an English teacher of Hung Vuong high school, Binh Phuoc province, the researcher herself recognizes that the tenth graders encounter many problems in grammar learning They may find it difficult to remember some grammatical points even those they have already learned since their lower secondary school Sometimes, they do not know how to use grammatical points in appropriate contexts or find grammar lessons rather boring and monotonous The researcher should think a game in this pace will make the lessons more interesting and motivating With games, students can practice the grammar points and relax at the

same time

For the mentioned reasons, the researcher would like to conduct a research

titled “Teaching grammar through games to the tenth graders at Hung Vuong high school, Binh Phuoc province” The study is to use language games as teaching and learning activities to make grammar lessons more meaningful and enjoyable and with a hope that this study will help the teacher of English at HVHS find appropriate strategies to improve English grammar teaching and learning

1.2 Purposes of the study

In general, this study aimed at finding the factors that affect teaching English grammar among the grade 10" students at Hung Vuong High School, Binh Phuoc province In particular, the experiment aimed at achieving the following objectives:

1 Examine the effect of using games on the students’ achievement of

grammar knowledge, and

2 Help the tenth grade students motivate in grammar lessons by using games

in teaching grammar

1.3 Research questions

This study aimed at answering the following research questions:

1 How does teaching grammar with games affect learners’ achievement test?

2 How does teaching grammar with games help create other positive elements? 1.4 Significance of the study

The information and data gathered in this experiment could prove useful in giving insights to teachers of how to use grammar games in the teaching of grammar items It is hoped that through the use of grammar games, a more conductive environment will be created to enable both teachers and students to enjoy the lesson in a more meaningful and more interesting manner Therefore, this research benefits both the teachers and the students at Hung Vuong High School

As for English teachers at HVHS, after this study they can know more about the students’ problems in learning English grammar and the factors that affect their performance Therefore, the teacher can find ways to help their students overcome the problems as well as to apply useful teaching methods in their English classes

As for the students, thanks to the teachers’ understanding about their problems, they can be more active in learning English grammar in their class to improve their knowledge In addition, this thesis offers some suggestions which contribute to the improvement of students’ communicative competence as well as grammatical competence

1.5 Overview of thesis chapters

This thesis consists of five chapters including (1) Introduction, (2) Literature Review, (3) Methodology, (4) Data analysis and Discussions of findings and (5)

Conclusion and Recommendations

Chapter 1 (Introduction) introduces the background to the study, the statement of purposes, the research questions, the significance of the study and the organization

of the study

Chapter 2 (Literature Review) covers the studies related to this study which consists of three main parts The first part deals with the concepts of grammar The second part gives the definition of games and how to apply them to teaching grammar The last part focuses on some prior studies related to using games in teaching grammar

Chapter 3 (Methodology) presents the research methodology employed to collect data with information about the setting of the research, the population, the instruments and the procedure of collecting data

Chapter 4 (Data Analysis and Discussion of findings) analyses the collected data, reports the results and interprets the results presented then discusses them in relation

to the two research questions and to the results of previous research in the field

Chapter 5 (Conclusion and Recommendations) Conclusion — summarizes and makes a conclusion to the main points which have been explored in the study, gives out recommendations to develop the effectiveness of teaching and learning English grammar, some suggestions for future research and the limitation of the study

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

To provide a theoretical background to the research, this chapter is devoted

to a critical review and analysis of the literature relevant to the study in three sections The first section (2.1) discusses the role of grammar in teaching and learning English The second section (2.2) gives definition of games and their application in teaching grammar The last section (2.3) discusses some previous studies that other researchers conducted in concern with using games in teaching English grammar

2.1 Grammar

2.1.1 Definitions of grammar

Through the history of teaching methodologies, there have been multiple definitions and conceptualizations of grammar proposed by scholars Radford (1997:1) initially believed that, traditionally, grammar not only shows interest in forming words, phrases, and sentences together but also concerns with the interpretation This belief was reasserted in 2004 by both Thornbury’s work (where

he defined a language’s grammar as the study of possibilities of forms or structures

in that language) and Abu Jeld’s work where he clarified grammar as:

The sounds and sound patterns, the basic units of meaning such as words and the rules to combine them to form new sentences constitute the grammar of a language These rules are internalized and subconsciously learned by native speakers

In 2001, Harmer showed his agreement with Radford’s belief by affirming that grammar describes how words can be combined into sentences However, he challenged Thornbury’s and Abu Jeld’s views by stating that grammar is a description of the ways in which words can change their forms in a language

Subsequently, there were a number of studies which tried to prove if explicit grammar teaching can lead to implicit knowledge of grammar For instance, Yu (2005:10) believed that, "grammar is not only a set of grammatical forms, but also it includes grammatical meaning and use as a whole" That is, grammar deals with three dimensions: form, meaning, and use This viewpoint was then reaffirmed by

Yu (2005:11)’s figure of the three dimensions of grammar:

lexical patterns grammatical meaning Context linguistic

patterns presuppositions about

context

To sum up, grammar deals not only with rules but also with meaning and the usage of the grammatical structures This was also in accordance with Swan (2009)’s statement that, "grammar is the rules that show how words are combined, arranged or changed to show certain kinds of meaning”

2.1.2 The role of grammar in language teaching and learning

The study of grammar has had a long and important role in foreign language teaching If students learn English with clear and right structures when they are young, they will be good communicators in the future Without grammar, students are able to communicate effectively only in limited situations Besides, grammar is

regarded as a very essential part of the study of language and ideas In fact, grammar helps humans to analyze and describe their language

In 1984, Rinvolucri initially pointed out the central role that grammar plays in learning a second language: “all ways should be searched for which will focus student energy on the task of mastering and internalizing it.” Four years later, Ur (1988) stated that, “a knowledge — implicit or explicit — of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery of a language” because one cannot use words unless one knows how they should be put together To her point of view, grammar may furnish the basis for a set of classroom activities during which it becomes temporarily the main learning objective Therefore, “the learning of grammar should be seen in the long term as one of the means of acquiring a thorough mastery of the language as

the whole, not as an end in itself.”

Ur’s statement and viewpoint, as mentioned above, was in line with Abu Jeld (2004:6)’s observation that, many EFL students seek the opportunities to continue their study in foreign countries and they need to pass exams such as TOEFL and IELTS That is why students must be excellent at grammar to succeed in the exams

As a matter of fact, students need rules, structure and accuracy practice which lead them to fluency The teacher should encourage fluency by offering climate of trust and support in the classroom through allowing pair-checking of answers before open-class checking as well as giving the class the chance to discuss a topic in small groups (Belchamber, 2007:2-3)

It is quite reasonable to see the importance of grammar, according to Harmer’s viewpoint (1987: 12):

Without some understanding of Grammar, students would not be able to do

anything more than utter separate items of language for separate functions

The expression of functional language is only possible through the use of the

Grammar of the language.

Firstly, teaching grammar helps students understand how the language works Apart from vocabulary, students need to know grammar to understand how

it is written or how words are combined together to understand the proper meaning Without grammar or with a poor knowledge of grammar, they may get confused with complicated expression In other words, to teach grammar is to provide students with opportunities to use English in a variety of realistic situations in order

to learn to communicate effectively Appropriate grammar techniques are embedded

in meaningful, communicative contexts and then contributed positively to communicative goals They also promote accuracy within fluent and communicative language use

Secondly, according to Smith (2001:15), if neither do teachers pay attention

to grammar nor they create opportunities for learners to improve grammar, learners are likely to stand the risk of fossilization or reach a point where they can cope with level of communication It is demanded of them by making use of their existing grammatical resources and communication strategies and probably with sufficient fluency Surely, they do not see the need to develop their linguistic abilities any further

In favour of the importance of grammar, Larsen — Freeman (1986:13) also affirmed that grammar is regarded as a skill rather than an area of knowledge Learners do not simply store knowledge about the language and its use They also need to develop an ability to do something They must have a chance of learning situations to overcome the knowledge problem It is true to say that, grammar is the

fifth skill besides four skills reading, writing, speaking, and listening Skill

development as well as learning grammar takes practice Grammar might not be taught only when the students already possessed the knowledge and the ability to use the grammar item in speech, writing and listening comprehension In fact,

grammar is the basis for mastering four language skills When learners have concrete foundation of grammar, they feel easy to advance

In general, grammar is acknowledged to be important to language study in general and to language teaching and learning in particular Grammar is acquired naturally from meaningful input and opportunities to interact in the classroom More especially, learners can improve their grammar competence in a suitable environment without conscious focus on language forms However, this partly depends on the learning circumstances As a result, grammar teaching gains its significant role in English Language Teaching because highly developed language skills are difficult to be achieved without some knowledge of-grammar

2.1.3 Approaches used to teach grammar

There are some milestones in the development of English teaching methodologies in which grammar is taught through a variety of approaches Each of which has its own pros and cons as mentioned below

2.1.3.1 The Grammar-Translation Method (GTM)

Many researchers believed that the GIM was one of the most traditional methods that appeared between the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century It offered little beyond an insight into the grammatical rules attending the process of translating from the second to the native language It is the rule rather than the exception that ideas about language teaching and learning do not replace each other over night, but have a tendency to coexist for some time and often the future method takes up elements of interest from the previous method

According to Richards and Rodgers (1986:5), the GIM is “ a method for which there is no theory.” Nonetheless, there are some typical characteristics of the

GTM that have survived to this day First and foremost, abstract grammar rules are

taught deductively, i.e the rules are presented before practical examples of the rules are given

This method is also referred to as explicit grammar teaching Lists of words and grammar rules are typically used in the classroom The point of departure in grammar is the sentence, whereas before the appearance of GTM the focus could be

on the smaller parts of a sentence The GTM claims that, by focusing on the sentence, the procegs of language learning will be easier

In fact, what can be concluded from this method is that, grammar stays an important position However, its contribution to language learning is limited since it has shifted the focus from the real language to a "dissected body" of nouns, adjectives, and prepositions Thus, it fails to generate the communicativeness in grammar lessons

2.1.3.2 The Direct Method (DM)

At first, the DM (sometimes called the Natural Method) was considered as an answer to the teachers’ and learners’ dissatisfaction with the older GTM In light of this method, grammar and vocabulary are taught through direct translations, and thus written language is paid much attention Contrary to the GTM, instruction in the DM

is supposed to be exclusive in the second language

Larsen-Freeman (2000:23) made a remarkable note that, the DM became popular as a result of the GTM’s ineffectiveness in preparing learners to use the languages communicatively That is why the principles of this method have been applied by language teachers for years

2.1.3.3 The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM)

The ALM was developed in the 1940s and dominated foreign language teaching in the 1950s and 1960s in an attempt to address some of the perceived

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