VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ****************** NGUYỄN HỒNG NHUNG THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GAMES AS SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT WELLSPRING INTERNATIONAL BILINGUAL SCHOOL: ACTION RESEARCH TÍNH HIỆU QUẢ KHI SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI TRONG VIỆC DẠY NGỮ PHÁP CHO HỌC SINH CẤP II TRƢỜNG PHỔ THÔNG SONG NGỮ QUỐC TẾ WELLSPRING: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG M. Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 Hanoi, 2013 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ****************** NGUYỄN HỒNG NHUNG THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GAMES AS SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT WELLSPRING INTERNATIONAL BILINGUAL SCHOOL: ACTION RESEARCH TÍNH HIỆU QUẢ KHI SỬ DỤNG TRÒ CHƠI TRONG VIỆC DẠY NGỮ PHÁP CHO HỌC SINH CẤP II TRƢỜNG PHỔ THÔNG SONG NGỮ QUỐC TẾ WELLSPRING: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG M. Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60. Ngô Hữu Hoàng Hanoi, 2013 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com DECLARATION -----------------------***------------------------ I hereby certify that this minor thesis entitled THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GAMES AS SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING GRAMMAR FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS AT WELLSPRING INTERNATIONAL BILINGUAL SCHOOL: ACTION RESEARCH is completely the result of my own word for the Degree of Master at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or institution.
i TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help, encouragement and support of a great deal of people who all deserve my sincerest gratitude and appreciation. First and foremost, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Ngô Hữu Hoàng, for his training, guidance, and encouragement in the preparation and writing of this minor thesis. This thesis would not have been completed without his help from the period when this was in the commencing stage.
Secondly, I would like to send my thanks to my principal, who supported my studies a lot by granting me days off to study and complete this minor thesis, even during a busy time of the school. Many thanks are given to our friends and colleagues for introducing and providing me with materials to carry out this study. My special thanks also go to the students of class 789A3, Wellspring International Bilingual School for their willingness to take part in my training strategy scheme. Without their help, this study could not have been fulfilled.
I am also heavily indebted to my family – my parents and my brother. They were always by my side to give me continual support and encouragement for all that I did. Furthermore, other big thanks from me to all others who directly or indirectly supported me during the period I implemented this minor thesis. Finally, I would like to send my special thanks to my readers for their concern, interest and comments for this study.
Hanoi, Nguyễn Hồng Nhung ii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ABSTRACT This study was conducted as action research in which students were taught on how to process grammar deeply by applying games as supplementary activities in English grammar teaching and learning. The study first aimed at enhancing junior high school students’ motivation at Wellspring International Bilingual School to study grammar and balance grammar learning with other skills learning (Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing); and then, recognizing if using games as supplementary activities increase students’ motivation in studying grammar. For the accomplishments of these purposes, fifteen students in class 789A3 at Wellspring International Bilingual School in Long Bien District, Hanoi, Vietnam were involved in the study. The present study tends to use qualitative method with the support of quantitative method.
Then, the data instruments include pre-test, post-test and the practitioner’s diaries. By comparing the results of the pre-test and the post-test, the students’ increasing motivation in grammar studying could be revealed through the improvement of the students’ grammar retention. Also, from the teacher’s diaries, the enhancement of the students’ motivation in grammar studying could be recognized through their involvement and participation in learning activities. iii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES PAGE Figure 1: Action Research cyclye (Sagor: 1992) .21 Figure 2: Data collection procedure .24 Figure 3: The students’ results of the pre-test.
28 Figure 4: The students’ results of the post-test. 30 Figure 5: The students’ results in the pre-test and the post-test. 32 Figure 6: The students’ participant in learning activities in class. 34 TABLES PAGE Table 1: Schedule of Grammar Teaching for class 789A3 .19 iv TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration.
iii Table of contents .iv List of figures. Rationale for the study. Aims of the study. Scope of the study.
Practical significance of the study. Methods of the study. Data collection methods. Design of the study.6 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Previous studies related to language teaching and learning. Studies related to using games in language teaching and learning. Studies related to using games in teaching grammar .8 v TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. The importance of grammar.
Which games should be used?. When should games be used. The importance of students’ motivation. The background of the study.
The study setting. Implementation of the Action Research. Data collection instrument. Pre-test and Post-test.
Data collection procedure .22 Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Data analysis preocedures. Results from the pre-test. Results from the post-test.
Comparison between results from the pre-test and the post-test .32 vi TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Effectiveness of grammar games. Effectiveness of grammar games in developing students’ motivation. Effectiveness of grammar games in developing the ability of students’ understanding of the lesson.
Difficulties when using grammar games in class. For the teacher .35 PART III: CONCLUSION. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study.
xii Appendix 1: Pre-test. xii Appendix 2: Post-test. xvii vii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Rationale: In studying languages in general and studying English in particular, it can be said that grammar is seemed to be difficult and boring for students.
It is thought by students that English grammar contains complex, difficult, and different rules. Besides, traditionally, many teachers approach grammar teaching very seriously, making the lesson dull and uninteresting. Therefore, students usually feel tired and boring in grammar lessons and then they are not motivated to study. However, as one of language components, grammar is very necessary and nobody can refuse the importance of learning this skill.
According to William Somerset Maugham (The Summing Up, 1938), “It is necessary to know grammar, and it is better to write grammatically than not, but it is well to remember that grammar is common speech formulated.” “Grammar is the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use language. It can help foster precision, detect ambiguity, and exploit the richness of expression available in English.” Moreover, as stated by McKay (1987), in order to communicate effectively in English, students need to have a good foundation in grammar. Once again, 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.
In brief, although grammar plays an important part in English studying, students do not have motivation in learning this skill. What are the solutions to solve with the stated matter above? Perhaps, teachers need to apply variable teaching methods to stimulate students to study so that they can understand and master grammar as well as feel motivated when studying lessons. There are many ways that help students be interested in and follow the lessons. In the writer’s position, that games through lessons is one of the most appropriate approaches.
This approach can help students find studying English grammar more easily. Thus, in the present study, the writer has an intention of 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com proving that applying games into lessons is also very effective for junior high school students. Moreover, junior high school students are still at the age of young students; therefore, they prefer do actions to sit quietly in class. As a result, the writer thinks that games are appropriate for them to motivate their studying.
She also hopes that by using games, the students will not be bored and they will study English grammar with full of motivation. Although learning grammar is not a simple work, games encourage students to maintain their interest in learning. And then, they can attain achievements in four communicative skills. In this context, the students who took part in this research are rather good at Speaking, Reading and Listening; however, they often have many difficulties in Writing.
They can communicate with native speakers very well but doing grammar exercises is an obstacle for them. In fact, most of the students think that grammar is the most boring lesson in English subject; studying grammar is just to repeat structures, usages for these structures and vocabulary, and then, practice with exercises. In other words, the students do not have motivation to study grammar. Consequently, this also causes students’ failure to improve their communicative skills.
In order to solve the obstacle, the author carried out this Action research by applying games as supplementary activities in teaching grammar in her own class. The writer hopes that the new teaching method will bring the students a new learning environment in which they can study with full of their interest, their energy, and their stimulation. In conclusion, with all of the reasons stated above, the researcher would like to devote her time and effort researching to her thesis: “The effectiveness of using games as supplementary activities in teaching grammar for junior high school students at Wellspring International Bilingual School – Action research”. From this, she expects to help her students motivate as well as make progress in studying grammar.
2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Aims of the study: The purpose of this research is to enhance junior high school students at Wellspring International Bilingual School to study grammar, and then balance grammar learning with other skills learning (Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing). The paper aims to recognize if using games as supplementary activities increase the students’ motivation in studying grammar. Research questions: This paper is designed to find out the answers to the following questions: RQ1: How much does the use of games improve junior high school students‟ motivation in grammar learning at Wellspring International Bilingual School? RQ2: If so, by what ways does this new teaching method enhance their motivation in grammar learning? 4.
Scope of the study: As being shown in these research questions above, this study was conducted at Wellspring International Bilingual School located in Hanoi. This was implemented on fifteen students of class 789A3. Before the treatment of this action research, they did not have motivation in grammar lessons and their results also were not good. With the application of games as supplementary activities in teaching grammar, the teacher – the researcher hoped to create attractive and effective learning environment for her students so that they could feel motivated and improve themselves.
Practical significance of the study: This current action research tends to be institutional because it was carried out with a small group of students in a specific context (only fifteen students in the class 789A3 at Wellspring International Bilingual School). Thus, the researcher is aware that the results cannot be easily generalized.