VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE USING COOPERATIVE GAMES TO IMPROVE YOUNG EFL LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION AT SEAMEO RETRAC A minor thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By PHAN THUY LINH Supervised by LE THI THANH, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, AUGUST 2022 ACKNOWLEDMENT This thesis would have not been completed without the encouragement, suggestion and assistance from many members. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Le Thi Thanh for her guidance and support.
Her encouragement and care helped me overcome the obstacles during the process of completing my thesis. Next, I would like to extent my appreciation to SEAMEO RETRAC Kiddy Programs for authorizing me to conduct my experiment at the center. In addition, I am also thankful to my beloved colleagues at SEAMEO RETRAC for their valuable suggestions and feedback for the questionnaire. I would like to send my thanks to all of my students for their enthusiastic participation during the thesis.
Last but not least, I would like to send my thanks to my family who always supported and motivated me to finish this research. i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis entitled “USING COOPERATIVE GAMES TO IMPROVE YOUNG EFL LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION AT SEAMEO RETRAC” I declare that this thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institutions. Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 PHAN THUY LINH ii RETENTION AND USE OF MY THESIS I hereby state that I, Phan Thuy Linh, being the candidate of the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities regarding the retention and use of my thesis deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis should be made accessible to individuals for the purpose of research and study in accordance with the conditions established by the University’s library for the care, loan or reproduction of the thesis.
Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDMENT. i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY. ii RETENTION AND USE OF MY THESIS .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
ix LIST OF FIGURES. x LIST OF TABLES. xi 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Background to the study .2 Aims of the study.4 Significance of the study .5 Scope of the study .6 Organization of the study. 4 2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Definition of vocabulary .2 Types of vocabulary .3 Aspects of knowing a word .4 The importance of vocabulary in learning a foreign language .1 Principles of teaching vocabulary.2 Techniques in teaching vocabulary .3 The use of games in teaching English .1 Definition of games .2 Types of games in teaching language .3 Benefits of language teaching games .4 Cooperative games in language teaching .1 The nature Cooperative learning classroom .2 Definition of cooperative games .3 Types of cooperative games .1 Definition of vocabulary retention .2 Vocabulary retention span .1 Definition of young learners .2 Characteristics of young learners .6 Data collection procedure .7 Data analysis procedure.8 Validity and Reliability of the data .1 Validity and Reliability in Questionnaire .2 Validity and Reliability in Tests .9 The experimental teaching.
43 4 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS.1 Results of Vocabulary Tests .1 Comparison of the pretest scores of between two groups .2 Comparison between the pretest and posttest scores of each group and posttest scores of the two groups .1 The result of the pre-test and post-test within EG .2 The result of the pre-test and post-test within CG .3 Comparison between the post-test scores of the two groups .3 Comparison between the post-test and delayed test scores of each group and delayed test scores of the two groups .1 The result of the post-test and delayed test within EG .2 The result of the post-test and delayed test within CG .3 Comparison between the delayed test scores of the two groups .4 Comparison of component scores between two groups .1 Comparison of pre-test component scores between two groups .2 Comparison of post-test component scores between two groups .3 Comparison of delayed-test component scores between two groups .5 Comparison of component scores within groups .1 Comparison of test component scores of EG.2 Comparison of test component scores of CG .6 Summary of the test results .2 Results of the questionnaire .1 Students’ attitudes towards using cooperative games in vocabulary lessons .2 Students’ attitudes towards students’ preference for cooperative games and the frequency of applying cooperative games in vocabulary lessons.3 Summary of the questionnaires .1 Implications for young EFL learners .2 Implications for teachers. 103 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language EG Experimental group CG Control group ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 What is involved in knowing a word (Nation, 2001: 27) .1 The effect of cooperative games on class’s cheerful atmosphere .2 The effect of cooperative games on learners’ cooperation .3 The effect of cooperative games on learners’ active participation .4 The effect of cooperative games on vocabulary practice .5 The effect of cooperative games on learners’ spelling memorization .6 The effect of cooperative games on learners’ pronunciation .7 The effect of cooperative games on learners’ .8 Students’ preference for cooperative games.9 Frequency of students’ wish to play cooperative games. 64 x LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Summary of recent studies related to Games and Vocabulary Retention .1 Methodology of the study .2 A brief summary of questionnaire .3 Reliability of the questionnaire .1 Comparsion of pre-test score between two groups .2 Paired Samples Statistics .3 Comparison of pre-test and post-test of EG .4 Paired Samples Statistics .5 Comparison of the pre-test and post-test of CG .6 Comparison of post-test between two groups .7 Paired Samples Statistics .8 Comparison of pre-test and delayed-test scores of EG .9 Paired Samples Statistics .10 Comparison of the pre-test and delayed-test scores of CG.11 Comparison of delayed test scores between two groups .12 Result of Pre-test scores regarding form .13 Result of Pre-test scores regarding meaning .14 Result of Post-test scores regarding form .15 Result of Post-test scores regarding meaning .16 Result of Delayed-test scores regarding form .17 Result of Delayed-test scores regarding meaning .18 Paired Samples Statistics .19 Comparison of the post-test and delayed-test form cores of EG .20 Paired Samples Statistics .21 Comparison of the post-test and delayed-test meaning cores of EG .22 Paired Samples Statistics .23 Comparison of the post-test and delayed-test form cores of CG .24 Paired Samples Statistics .25 Comparison of the post-test and delayed-test meaning cores of CG .26 Students’ attitudes about the use of cooperative games .27 Students’ attitudes about the benefits of cooperative games. 58 xii ABSTRACT Increasing one's vocabulary remains one of the most crucial steps in the process of learning English, particularly for students of a younger age group.
Students are supported and motivated in their pursuit of vocabulary mastery through the utilization of a wide variety of games. This study focuses solely on cooperative games that are played with the intention of improving vocabulary retention in young learners. The research investigates the effects of cooperative games on young EFL learners’ vocabulary retention. The quasi-experimental study was employed in two classes with 34 students in 12 weeks.
In order to collect data from both the experimental group and the control group, the researcher used several instruments such as tests and questionnaires which were designed with the aim of answering two research questions. The results of the tests were examined with the help of the Independent t-test as well as the Paired sample t-test. The information obtained from the questionnaire was examined by calculating the mean, the frequency, and the percentage. The results indicated that students enjoyed cooperative games during vocabulary lessons.
More Importantly, the cooperative activities had a positive impact on vocabulary retention of the experiment's participants. They grew in confidence and demonstrated an expansion of their vocabulary knowledge. As demonstrated by the findings of this study, cooperative games can be recommended as an effective technique for enhancing the vocabulary retention of young students. Due to time constraints, however, a number of recommendations for future research have been provided.
Keywords: Cooperative games, Vocabulary retention, EFL young learners. xiii 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an introduction to the study, including (1) background to the study, (2) aim of the study, (3) research questions, (4) significance of the study, and (5) scope of the study and (6) organization of the study.1 Background to the study The significance of English cannot be disputed because it is the most widely spoken language in the world. It has become a required subject in schools, colleges, and universities in Vietnam. In addition, English proficiency is a requirement for student graduation.
When English becomes the most widely used foreign language, vocabulary learning becomes the first fundamental step, as it is regarded as one of the most important aspects of second language acquisition and crucial to all levels of English education (Gardner, 2013; Thornbury, 2002). Consequently, one of the most crucial components of learning a foreign language is expanding one's vocabulary. Numerous prior research has highlighted the significance of vocabulary in the teaching and learning of English. In discussions regarding language acquisition, vocabulary holds a crucial and indispensable position (Shen, 2003).
Developing one's vocabulary is a vital aspect of second language acquisition. Acquiring new vocabulary is a crucial component of English study. Because it teaches students how language forms, operates, and how individuals communicate. Cameron suggests that when learning a new language, one area to emphasize is vocabulary development (2001).
Harmer (2001:246) also confirmed, "If language structures are the skeleton of the language, then the vocabulary is its vital organs and flesh." In other words, the expansion of language learners' vocabularies is crucial to their language acquisition (Harmon, Wood & Keser, 2009). According to Wilkin (1972), students can communicate even if they don't know grammatical structures. In contrast, they can't communicate without words (as cited 1 in Kittiya & Metas, 2016). It's well-known that learners’ English comprehension and intellectual growth depend greatly on their vocabulary.
In addition, Bualuang.K (2012) show the importance of vocabulary in English. This field of information is one of the biggest challenges for learners trying to acquire a wide vocabulary, especially young learners. According to Kleiginna (1981), Covingtion (1998), and Deci (2000), establishing drive in pupils determines their level of accomplishment (as cited in Nguyen, 2007). According to this school of thought, teachers must create a classroom environment that motivates students.
The process of learning new language will be more engaging if teachers use incentives to engage their students. Andrew (1984) suggests that teachers can utilize games to teach vocabulary effectively. According to the findings of a number of studies, the acquisition of vocabulary has been proven to have a crucial role in the process of teaching and learning English, and this holds true for students of all ages, including adults and younger students. The learners' vocabulary needs to be expanded, and this is a must for all of them.
Because learning vocabulary contributes to the development of many aspects and skills of language, it is especially important for young learners who are at the beginning level to pay more attention to mastering vocabulary. Specifically, young learners who are at the beginning level should pay more attention to mastering vocabulary. Young students can acquire words extremely quickly, but they can forget them if they do not practice them. The younger the students, the more engaging activities they require.
There are a range of approaches used in vocabulary courses to improve the vocabulary knowledge of students and enhance educational outcomes. It is claimed that games are one of the most effective methods for capturing students' attention and creating an engaging environment during sessions.