An action research project on the employment of language games to enrich English vocabulary for the 3rd graders at a primary school in Thai Nguyen province

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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MA THI LINH

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE

EMPLOYMENT OF LANGUAGE GAMES TO ENRICH

ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR THE 3RD GRADERS AT A

PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE

M.A THESIS

Field: English Linguistics

Code: 8220201

THÁI NGUYÊN - 2020

ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN

TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ

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MA THỊ LINH

NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ VIỆC ÁP DỤNG CÁC

TRÒ CHƠI NGÔN NGỮ TRONG MỞ RỘNG TỪ VỰNG

TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 3 TẠI MỘT

TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở THÁI NGUYÊN

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ

Ngành: Ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh

Mã số: 8220201

THÁI NGUYÊN - 2020

i

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “An action research project on the

employment of language games to enrich English vocabulary for the 3rd

graders at a primary school in Thai Nguyen Province” is the study of my own

research and the substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree to

any other university or institution.

Approved by Supervisor

Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh

Thai Nguyen, November 2020

Signature

Ma Thi Linh

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study cannot be completed without the help of many people. Therefore,

I would like to show my great thanks to those for their great support and

encouragement throughout the realization of this thesis.

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved

supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Thu Hanh for her valuable assistance, considerable

encouragement and awesome inspiration she transferred me during the time this

research conducted.

Besides, I would like to express my gratitude to all my lecturers and staffs at

School of Foreign Languages-Thai Nguyen University whose support and

consideration have enabled me to pursue the course.

Furthermore, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to teachers and

all students at Trung Hoi Primary School for their cooperation to participate in the

research.

Last but not least, I owe a big thank to my parents who have always

encouraged me to complete this study.

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ABSTRACT

Learning English is a challenging task for students in Vietnam. It is much

more difficult for students in mountainous areas in general and in Trung Hoi in

particular because most of them are from ethnic minorities, they do not have good

oppotunities to study as the ones in the big cities. The basic level in teaching

English is how students can retain English vocabulary and use them to

communicate in English environment. Therefore, teachers need to design the

lessons to be intersting and suitable for students here. Among effective English

teaching methods, using games is studied that it can help students enhance their

vocabulary attention. This research is going to conducted on techniques of using

games in teaching English vocabulary for primary school students. Through finding

the answers of the research questions, the researcher can find out effectiveness of

using game techniques in teaching English vocabulary for primary school students.

Its results are hoped to be helpful reference for futher researches, as well as for

teachers who desire to help students in studying English.

Keywords: Language Games, Vocabulary, Teaching, Action Research

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TABLES CONTENTS

DECLARATION .........................................................................................................i

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. iii

TABLES CONTENTS...............................................................................................iv

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES ..................................................................................vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................1

1.1. Rationale of the research ..................................................................................1

1.2. Aims and objectives of the research .................................................................2

1.3. Research questions............................................................................................3

1.4. Scope of the research ........................................................................................3

1.5. Method of the research .....................................................................................3

1.6. Significance of the research..............................................................................4

1.7. Thesis organization...........................................................................................4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................5

2.1. Overview of vocabulary and vocabulary teaching and learning ......................5

2.1.1 Definition of vocabulary .............................................................................5

2.1.2. Aspect of vocabulary..................................................................................6

2.1.3. Types of vocabulary ...................................................................................7

2.1.4. Vocabulary knowledge...............................................................................7

2.1.5. Teaching and learning vocabulary .............................................................8

2.2. Games in vocabulary teaching and learning.....................................................8

2.2.1. Games in teaching and learning English ....................................................8

2.2.2. Games in teaching English vocabulary ....................................................10

2.2.3. Steps of teaching English vocabulary through games..............................12

2.3. Previous studies ..............................................................................................14

Summary................................................................................................................18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY.........................................................................19

3.1. Design of the study .........................................................................................19

3.2. Setting of the study .........................................................................................21

3.3. Suggested games applied in the current study................................................21