MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES __________________ DANG KHANH LINH FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: ASSOC. TRAN VAN PHUOC, HUE, 2013 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Tien Giang, May 25th, 2013 Author Dang Khanh Linh i Acknowledgements T h i s di s s er t a t i o n w o u l d n o t h a v e b e e n p o s s i b l e wi t h o u t t h e g u i d a n c e a n d t h e h e l p o f s e v er a l i n d i v i d u a l s w h o i n o n e w a y o r a n o t h e r c o nt r i bu t ed a n d e x t e n d ed t h e i r va l u a b l e a s s i s t a n c e i n t h e p r e pa r a t i o n a n d c o m p le t i o n o f t h i s st u dy.
The writing of an MA thesis is not an easy task. During the time of writing, I received support and help from many people. In particular, I am profoundly indebted to my supervisor, Assoc. Tran Van Phuoc, who was very generous with his time and knowledge and assisted me in each step to complete the thesis.
I am grateful to The College of Foreign languages of Hue University whose research material made the fieldwork possible. The librarians seemed enthusiastic about helping us look for related books. I would like to say that I truly appreciate many of my colleagues who have supported my work over the past several months. And finally, but not least, thanks to my whole family who have been an important and indispensable source of spiritual support.
Without their encouragement and understanding, it would have been impossible for me to finish this work. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS SUB COVER PAGE STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iii LIST OF FIGURE.6 Outline of the thesis. 3 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Review of previous studies .1 Definitions of games .2 The relationship between games and education. When and How to use Games.1 Choosing appropriate games .2 When to use Games.3 The reasons of using games in teachisng reading skill .4 The relationship between games and reading skill .5 Types of language games to teach reading skill. Review of previous studies. 16 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY.
19 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS .1 Teachers’ perceptions of using games to teach reading skill .2 The reality of using reading games at Tran Hung Dao High School .3 Some suggestions to use games in teaching reading skill more effectively. 48 APENDICES iv LIST OF FIGURE Page Figure 1: The importance of reading skill in teaching English .21 Figure 2: The way teachers often use in teaching reading skill .22 Figure 3: The need to use games in teaching reading .23 Figure 4: Preparation for reading games .24 Figure 5: Perception of teachers and students when working reading through games .25 Figure 6: The kinds of games used in reading skill .27 Figure 7: The source from which teachers take games .28 Figure 8: The frequency of using games in reading period .29 Figure 9: The stage the teachers use games .30 Figure 10: The approach teachers use to teach reading through games in Pre-stage31 Figure 11: The approach teachers use to teach reading skill through games in While-stage. 32 Figure 12: The approach teachers use to teach reading skill through games in Post-stage .33 Figure 13: The possibilities of students after studying reading through games .34 Figure 14: Knowledge the students obtained after studying reading skill through games .35 Figure 15: The participation of students in reading period through games .36 Figure 16: The problem students encounter after reading period though games .37 Figure 17: The cause of the problems .38 Figure 18: The way to teach reading skill better .42 Figure 19: The way to teach reading skill more effectively .43 v ABSTRACT This study aims at exploring teachers’ perceptions of the use of reading games for Intermediate-level Students at Tran Hung Dao High School in Tien Giang Province. The study mainly focuses on (a) teachers’ perception about the use of games in teaching reading skill in English, (b) the reality of using reading games at Tran Hung Dao High School, and (c) difficulties in using reading games faced by teachers and some possible solutions for that problems The participants were 10 English teachers and 79 students.
Both of the quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in this study. The collected data from the questionnaires were presented in tables and charts quantitatively. The results of the study provided encouraging evidence to indicate that English teachers at Tran Hung Dao High school highly appreciated the necessity and benefits of reading games in teaching and learning English. The findings suggested that when organizing language games for students, teachers should be aware to take their interests, proficiency level and the content of lessons into account.
However, the survey teachers encountered a number of difficulties when they incorporated games into their lesson. They are limitation of time, class size and lack of facilities. And from the above things, there are some suggestions to help teachers overcome the problems. vi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background English has become much more important in Vietnamese educational background in the recent years since Vietnam integrated into World Trade Organization (WTO).
Besides this, the outbreak of Information Technology also contributes to accelerating the learning and teaching at schools and colleges all over the country. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been implemented to meet the requirements in training the learners of English to use the language in real communication. “Let my playing be my learning, and my learning be my playing.” (Miller, 2008) Games are encouraged to use in the classroom to help students “digest” the lesson easily. However, some teachers think that language games are a waste of time and prefer not to use them in classroom since games sometimes have been considered only for their one element, which is fun.
In fact, games can provide EFL and ESL students more than what we expected. Among several strategies used to improve students' proficiency such as visual aids, CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning), drama, role-play, and so on, games are another useful strategy to promote students' language proficiency (Richard - Amato, 1996). One useful strategy to encourage language acquisition is using language games because games help the learners feel excited when they attain the knowledge in the classroom. When the teachers use games in the classroom, it is beneficial for teachers to have a complete understanding of the definitions of games, which are usually defined as a form of play concerning rules, competition, and an element of fun (Angkana, 2002).
Teachers should also consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students' attention, lower students' stress, and give students the chance for real communication. Lastly, teachers need to assess how to use games 1 appropriately in the classroom. It is important to choose an appropriate time and integrate them into each period time of the day. Teachers should take a consideration into using games because the use of games in period one is quite different from that in period five, or the use of games on Monday is different from on Friday.
Rationale I select the topic for my research: A Study on the use of Games to Teach Reading skill for Intermediate-level Students at Tran Hung Dao High School in Tien Giang Province due to some main following reasons: Although reading is a basic skill in English, it is rather difficult to master it. To gain the reading skill, learners must have some essential elements. At first, they have enough vocabulary to understand the texts well. Next, they know how to analyze the information or implications in the questions.
Last but not least, they find the answers hidden in the texts. Because of the reasons above, learners often spend a relatively long time finishing the tasks. This makes most of the students feel bored and passive. And games may be the best solution to help them become more activated.
The traditional teaching way does not give the learners much chance to use the language in real life. As a result, learners cannot inscribe what the teachers have instructed them. In addition, this prevents students from getting the content of the reading text, and it is impossible for students to finish their papers in the allotted time in any tests or exams. Until about 1980s, CLT was applied to train learners to use the target language in real context in daily life.
This method uses games to help students to be able to memorize the words and to practice them outside the classroom. Therefore, learners become activated in the classroom. That they get knowledge actively leads the encouragement of self-study from the learners. In some cases, learners feel uncomfortable in a very formal classroom.
Some difficult tasks may make them a bit stressful. Therefore, using games in the 2 classrooms proved to be an effective way to break the ice in the classroom and reduce the stress among students. Playing games also creates a friendlier atmosphere at schools. Research aims I would like to investigate the attitudes of the learners as well as the educators at Tran Hung Dao High School about the use of games to teach reading skill.
The study also aims to find out how English teachers at Tran Hung Dao High School have used games to teach reading skill and their suggestions to teach reading skill through games better. The study also finds out the techniques of using games to enhance the effectiveness in both teaching and learning reading skill among teachers and students, and apply such games into Tran Hung Dao High School in Tien Giang Province 1. Research questions The research will concentrate on solving these following problems: 1) What is the teachers’ perception about the use of games in teaching reading skill in English? 2) How have games been used to teach reading skill at Tran Hung Dao High School? 3) What are some suggestions from the teachers to use games in teaching reading skill more effectively? 1. Research scope This research focuses on the use of games to teach reading skill at Tran Hung Dao High School, but it can be applied to any individual concerning with this topic.
Outline of the thesis This research contains five main chapters 3 Chapter 1: Introduction: Show the general items of the study: It tells the reasons, backgrounds, rationale, the scopes, and the structures of the research. Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical background: review of some previous studies, definition the key terms, introduction of some language games to use to teach in reading skill, the use of games at Tran Hung Dao High School, conclusion Chapter 3: Methodology: show research methodology, participants, data collection, and data analysis. Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions Chapter 5: Conclusions At the end of the research, there is the appendix of the reference source list. 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND This chapter begins with the review of previous studies.
The chapter provides a theoretical background underlying the issues, including definitions and relevant knowledge around key concepts.