The impact of using languae game - based instruction on young learners' vocabulary retention - A Quasi-experimental study

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “The Impact of Using Language Game-Based

Instruction on Young Learners’ Vocabulary Retention: A Quasi-Experimental

Study” is my own work.

Except where reference is made in the text of thesis, this thesis contains no

material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by

which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the

main text of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in

any other tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2016

NGUYEN THI THU HIEN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis paper was my maser thesis, and it was the most noticeable

achievement for my master study. It was the outcome based on my personal efforts;

my supervisor’s timing support, and my colleagues’ assistance.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Pham Vu

Phi Ho, whose insights and thoughtful comments have guided me to do this work,

and who has seriously directed me with his competence, generosity, and patience. I

thank him for his understanding, encouragements, and precious advice. Without him,

my thesis completion would not be corrected and submitted on time.

I am thankful to the teaching staff and students in Vietnamese American

Private School. I am grateful to Ms. Thuy, the school headmaster for her acceptance

to carry out the experiment. I also thank Mr. Thanh and Ms. Mai, the vice principals,

for their encouragements by elaborative advice and technical supports.

Finally, my thesis paper would not have been successful without the

participation from the students in Class 5A3 and Class 5A4. I thank them for

cooperating with me throughout the training program, filling the questionnaire and

help in the accomplishment of this work.

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ABSTRACT

Vocabulary learning is an important and indispensable part of any language

learning process. It is considered as a difficult task so that teachers try as much as

possible to facilitate it for their learners. One of the techniques that can be used is

integrating language games. However, few studies have been conducted to explore

the influence of using language games in vocabulary teaching in the real context,

especially in Vietnamese American Private School. To address this gap, this study

especially focuses on examining the impact of using language game-based

instruction on the fifth graders’ vocabulary retention at Vietnamese American

Private School (VAPS).

The study was conducted in VAPS during the summer course (June to July)

of the academic school year 2015-2016, in district 8, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.

The primary aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using language

game-based instruction on young learners’ vocabulary retention in primary schools.

The study involved 39 fifth grade pupils in two classes at VAPS. One class

consisted of 21 children and was considered as the experimental group; and the

second one involved 18 pupils and was considered as the control group. The

experimental group was exposed to language games in learning vocabulary,

whereas the control group involved in lessons without the use of language games.

The study lasted 6 weeks and involved a pre-test and post-test, interview and

questionnaire to participants. It was hypothesized that language games would

improve pupils’ vocabulary retention and their attitudes towards learning

vocabulary were positive.

The results of the study highlighted the positive effects of game-based

strategy in improving children’s vocabulary retention as well as positive attitudes

from the participants. These lead to two conclusions that adopting game activities

indeed helped the pupils improve their ability to memorize the new words

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effectively and their attitudes towards the game-based instruction were positive. The

study also mentioned several difficulties in applying game activities as well as

recommendations for better game treatment. Finally, it addressed some implications

and called for further research to investigate game-based instruction in a wider

context.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ......................................................................... i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..................................................................................... ii

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ viii

LIST OF FIRUGES ................................................................................................ ix

ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS.....................................................................x

CHAPTER I...............................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1

1.1. Background of the study....................................................................................1

1.2. Problems of teaching and learning vocabulary in Vietnam...........................4

1.3. Statement of the purpose ...................................................................................8

1.4. Research questions.............................................................................................8

1.5. Significance of the study ....................................................................................9

1.7. Overview of the thesis chapters ........................................................................9

CHAPTER II...........................................................................................................11

LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................11

2.1. Vocabulary........................................................................................................11

2.1.1. What is Vocabulary?....................................................................................11

2.1.2. Kinds of Vocabulary....................................................................................12

2.1.3. The teaching of vocabulary .........................................................................15

2.2. Young learners .................................................................................................19

2.2.1. Definition of young learners........................................................................19

2.2.2. Characteristics of young learners.................................................................20

2.3. Language games...............................................................................................24

2.3.1. What are language games? ..........................................................................24

2.3.2. Types of language games.............................................................................27

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2.3.3. The advantages and disadvantages of using language games .....................31

2.4. Previous research in using language games in teaching English vocabulary

............................................................................................................................38

CHAPTER III..........................................................................................................47

METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................47

3.1. Research site .....................................................................................................47

3.2. Participants.......................................................................................................47

3.3. Research design ................................................................................................48

3.4. Procedures of the study ...................................................................................51

3.4.1. Pre-Training Phase.......................................................................................52

3.4.2. While- and Post-Training Phase ..................................................................52

3.4.3. Training procedures.....................................................................................53

3.4.4. Teaching material ........................................................................................61

3.5. Research instruments.......................................................................................63

3.5.1. Pre-test and post-test....................................................................................63

3.5.2. Questionnaire ...............................................................................................64

3.5.3. Interviews.....................................................................................................68

3.6. Data collection ..................................................................................................70

3.7. Analytical Framework.....................................................................................71

3.7.1. The statistical tests.......................................................................................71

3.7.2. Descriptive data analysis .............................................................................72

3.8. Summary of the chapter ..................................................................................72

CHAPTER IV..........................................................................................................73

RESULTS / FINDINGS & DISCUSSION............................................................73

4.1. Performance of both groups on pretest...........................................................73

4.2. Research question 1: Does language game-based instruction have any

effect on pupils’ vocabulary retention? .........................................................74

4.2.1. Control group’s performance on the pretest and posttest............................74

4.2.2. Experimental group’s performance on the pretest and posttest...................76

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4.2.3. Experimental group’s and control group’s performance on the posttest.....78

4.3. Research Question 2: To what extent language games facilitate learners’

vocabulary learning? .......................................................................................82

4.4. Summary of the chapter ..................................................................................94

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................95

5.1. Summary of the results/ findings....................................................................95

5.2. Limitations of the study...................................................................................97

5.3 Suggestions for further research .....................................................................98

5.4. Summary of the chapter ..................................................................................98

REFERENCES........................................................................................................99

APPENDICES .......................................................................................................106

APPENDIX A: TEST............................................................................................106

APPENDIX B: SCORES OF PRE- AND POST-TEST OF BOTH GROUPS118

APPENDIX C: POST QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................119

APPENDIX D: DATA ANALYSIS OF POST QUESTIONNAIRE................125

APPENDIX E: INTERVIEWTRANSCRIPTS..................................................128

APPENDIX G: LESSON PLAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP ..................143

APPENDIX H: LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP......153

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Types of vocabulary......................................................................................151

Table 2. Schedule for the main stages of the research..................................................51

Table 3. Types of language games included ...............................................................551

Table 4. Structure of a traditional lesson ......................................................................51

Table 5.Structure of a language games-based lesson....................................................57

Table 6. Selected learning unit......................................................................................51

Table 7. Themes represented in questionnaire items....................................................67

Table 8.T-test value of vocabulary pretest of experimental and control groups ..........74

Table 9.Mean scores of vocabulary pre-post-tests for control group ...........................75

Table 10.Comparison between the pre-post-tests of the control group ........................75

Table 11.Mean scores of vocabulary pre-post-tests of experimental group .................77

Table 12.Comparison between the pre-post-tests of the experimental group...............77

Table 13.Mean scores of vocabulary posttests of experimental and control groups....79

Table 14. T-test value of vocabulary posttests of experimental and control groups....79

Table 15.Pupils’ general stance on the effect of language games on learning

vocabulary ....................................................................................................83

Table 16.Games in practicing and remembering vocabulary .......................................85

Table 17. Games and motivation ..................................................................................88

Table 18. Games and anxiety........................................................................................89

Table19. Pupils’ preference for the use of games.........................................................92

Table 20.Pupils’ desire for the use of language games.................................................92

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LIST OF FIRUGES

Figure 1. Pre-test and Post-test Design .........................................................................51

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ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

CG Control group

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

EFL English foreign language

EG Experimental group

e.g. for example

ELT English language teaching

F Frequency

HCMC Ho Chi Minh City

L1 First language

L2 Second language

Min. Minute(s)

N Total number

No. Number

p. Page

Pp Pages

Q(s) Question(s)

r Correlation

S(s) Student(s)

SD Standard deviation

SE Standard error

SEM Standard error of the mean

T Teacher

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study

English has become a global language and this is why our society is more

concerned about teaching and learning English at early ages. However, it is believed

that teaching English to school children is not an easy job; it requires a lot of work

and preparations. Especially, vocabulary plays an important role in learning a

foreign language. According to Nguyen & Khuat (2003), vocabulary is one element

that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together. In

order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an

adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately. Similarly,

vocabulary is at the heart of oral language comprehension and sets the foundation

for domain-specific knowledge and later reading comprehension (McKeown &

Beck, 2007; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). However, a lot of educators face

difficulties to teach and to help learners memorize new words; most students have

shown no motive to learn and to memorize vocabulary. Indeed, many educators

have found that students learning a foreign language tend to forget or misuse new

words most of the time (Rohani & Pourgharib, 2013). For that reason, it is clear that

vocabulary learning is one of the most common problems in L2 learning. As Holden

(1999) claims that one of the most important issues in second language teaching and

learning is vocabulary learning and perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of

learning a second language is the retention of learned vocabulary.

What is the best way to teach vocabulary has always been one of the

controversial issues in language teaching (Coady & Huckin, 1997). For many years,

teachers have disagreed about how to include vocabulary teaching in their

instructional programs. According to Hatch & Brown (1995), there are numerous

types of approaches, techniques, exercises and practice that can be used to teach

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vocabulary, but teachers should decide what types would be best for their students

and their circumstances. Some researchers such as Nguyen & Khuat (2003) and

Uberman (1998) have shown that students are tired of learning vocabulary in

traditional methods such as rehearsing, writing words on papers or learning

passively through teachers’ explanations, and this has created severe problems with

learning skills. Throughout the researchers’ long experience as teachers of English

for youngsters, they faced a lot of problems looking for the best way to teach

English to children; how to draw their attention and keep it for the whole class

period; how to motivate children and encourage them to learn. Thus, it is useful to

remmeber that teachers should have a good and interesting technique to introduce

vocabulary to learners; so that they will be interested and motivated to learn them.

It is believed that language games are proposed to solve the problem.

According to Yolageldili & Arikan (2011), although some teachers of English see

language games as time consumer or classroom techniques for fun, games have a

special role in any foreign language teaching programme because they facilitate

foreign language learning especially for young learners. Indeed, Nguyen & Khuat

(2003) believe students prefer to learn language in a relaxed environment such as

taking part in vocabulary games. They believe that in an interesting and

communicative class learners can learn 80 percent of what they were exposed to.

Similarly, Freeman (1986) also emphasizes that learners enjoy language games they

enjoys communicative involvement in the classroom. He believes that games can

provide a healthy and constructive competition. Games can encourage learners

discovering and voluntary involvement to the learning process, it can also establish

a better bonding between teachers and learners.

Furthermore, Yolageldili & Arikan (2011) also claim that with the

introduction of communicative language teaching; English language teaching and

learning has become much more demanding for teachers and learners just like any

other innovation poses challenges for its users. They believe that games have

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become crucially important for English language learners and teachers not only

because they provide enjoyment and relaxation, but also as they encourage students

to use their language in a creative and communicative manner. Besides, because the

definition of the term “young learners” encapsulates those children between the

ages of about 5 years old and 12 years old (Rixon, 1999), it can be suggested that

games are a natural part of young learners’ lives.

Similarly, people usually enjoy a task if they play an essential part in it

(Dornyei, 2001). According to the author, the best way to illustrate this situation is

through activities done in the class, and which need a discussion among learners.

These activities make learners who contribute in them feel interested while those,

who do not, feel uninspiring. Learners need to practice regularly; otherwise, they

will forget. For that reason, teachers can resort to interactive techniques for

vocabulary revision and consolidation. Games, for instance, can be included in

revising learned items. They also help teachers to create a good atmosphere for

optimal teaching learning process. Many teachers believe that since learners prefer

to learn in an enjoyable environment; they will respond to and interact with these

games (Aslanabadi & Rasouli, 2013). Moreover, using such complementary tools

help learners learn many aspects of the language at the same time. Most of the time,

games can be considered as simple activities, but they are not always an easy task.

As it is mentioned above, using games in class is very effective especially for

beginners in improving their language. As Uberman (1998) stated, games can be

considered as an unconscious way of learning. In the similar vein, Azarmi (2011)

shares the same view that teaching languages by games is one of the best methods

for learning foreign languages; as play is the basic means processing information

for youngsters, learning new skills and practising old ones should be done by

adapting childhood games into the learning situation for getting better results.

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1.2. Problems of teaching and learning vocabulary in Vietnam

For years, many researchers have confirmed the important role of vocabulay

knowledge in learning a foreign language. Language ability of learners will be

improved overall by vocabulary improvement (Linse, 2006). Nevertheless,

vocabulary learning is not always an easy task since learners have to deal with

unfamiliar vocabulary during their language acquisition. According to Luu (2012),

for young learners, perhaps it is less difficult to learn vocabulary items for the first

time than to consolidate and to remember them. He also claims that young learners

often complain that they keep learning and forgeting. Most Vietnamese pupils; thus,

have faced a lot of difficulties in learning vocabulary and almost learn vocabulary

passively even though they realize the importance of vocabulary in learning foreign

language.

Firstly, according to ‘Tuoitrenews’ (electronic newspaper, July,16th, 2014), in

reality most of English classrooms in Viet Nam today, vocabulary lessons were not

paid enough attention in order to help students learn new words more interestedly

and effectively. For example, some teachers of English think highly of the ability of

speaking English and ignore the importance of vocabulary. They always focus on

the four skills in their teaching procedures, this causes many difficulties for learners

to acquire vocabulary. Those teachers also admited that they sometimes found it

hard to apply appropriate teaching methods. As a result, most students have formed

a habit of only learning new words found in their text books or through teacher’s

giving or explanation.

Secondly, according to To Thu Thuy (personal communication, April, 8th,

2015), the head of English Group who has been teaching English for over 20 years,

revealed that most learners find learning vocabulary boring and learn it passively.

She said that most teachers in the school use conventional methods to teach their

students. For instance, teaching and doing exercises by textbook, and there is not

much interaction between teacher and students. It makes students get bored and do

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not pay attention at their teacher. Moreover, according to an article “Students,

parents confused about English study requirements at HCM schools.”,

(http://english.vietnamnet.vn/, online newspaper, September, 13th, 2012) claimed

that most Vietnamese learners normally learn vocabulary by such traditional

methods as listing new words on a notebook and learning them by heart, writing

new words repeatedly down on papers, reading new words out loud several times,

and so forth. As a result, the students are bored with the traditional method

which is done by their teacher in language teaching. Likewise, teachers often

think highly of how to keep words in mind rather than teach them how to learn

through games in the relaxed and interesting environment. This phenomenon is so

common among the primary school that affects the quality of pupils and their

interests. In addition, the standard method of presenting up to 20 or more new

vocabulary words that students are expected to learn at a given time is not an

effective way to help the learners develop vocabulary (Gersten & Baker, 2000).

These methods seem not to be very effective and interesting ways for acquisition.

Due to this, students do not reason out the information and do not assimilate what is

being taught since they only reproduce what is done and what they learn just lasts a

short time.

Thirdly, for further clarifying of students’ information, Nguyen Thi Xuan Bich

and Tran Sung (personal communication, 5th April 2015), teachers of English who

have been teaching English for over 21 years, also shared the same point of view

that the problem was also caused by the teaching methods. Some of teachers were

not creative when teaching the foreign language to children. Teachers sometimes

made the students get bored and they also felt that the teaching method did not give

more chances to them to internalize the words in their memory. Moreover, they also

claimed that the other problem was classroom situation. The classroom situation in

learning vocabulary showed that the atmosphere was not alive, with the teachers