PART A: INTRODUCTION1. Rationale

In the globalization age today, English assumes as a more and more important part as a

means of international communication than ever. Therefore, in some recent years, the

focus of teaching has been promoting oral skills in order to respond to the students’ needs

for effective communication.

However, due to some objective and subjective reasons, teaching and learning English in

general and teaching and learning speaking in particular does not come up to the study

aims. Despite teachers’ efforts to provide students with opportunities to develop their

communicative skills, how to teach and learn speaking effectively is still a challenging

question to both teachers and students at many high schools in Vietnam.

At Phan Boi Chau specializing high school, the situation is the same to the non- English

majors who specialize in natural subjects such as: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and

Biology... or social subjects such as: Literature, History and Geography. For most students,

they find speaking especially important yet most challenging one. It has been proved that

some students got into a habit of leaning ‘mute English” which is obviously harmful to a

language learner. It also seems to the writer that the techniques exploited during a speaking

activity such as: role plays, simulations, discussions…are not really effective. Therefore, it

is a necessity to find a supplementary technique used in teaching speaking.

In language teaching, language games have proved themselves not merely as “time filler

activities” but as an important factor which can create more chances and interest to

motivate students to speak. Nevertheless, language games have not successfully applied to

speaking classes at Phan Boi Chau specializing high school.

All the above-mentioned reasons and factors have inspired the writer to conduct a research

titled “Using language games to motivate the 10th form non- English majors in speaking

lessons at Phan Boi Chau specializing high school”

2. Aims of the study

The study is aimed at:

Investigating the situation of teaching and learning speaking to the 10th form non-

English majors at Phan Boi Chau high school

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Investigating the effectiveness of using games in teaching speaking to the 10 th form

non- English majors at Phan Boi Chau high school

Providing some suggestions and implications for the improvement of speaking

teaching at Phan Boi Chau specializing high school by using language games in

addition to other techniques

3. Scope of the study:

The study focuses specifically on using language games in teaching speaking to the 10 th

form non- English majors at Phan Boi Chau specializing high school. So the study limits

itself to the teaching and learning speaking only, and the subjects of the study are 70 non-

English majors from two classes studying new “Tieng Anh 10” textbook at Phan Boi Chau

specializing high school.

4. Significance of the study

Theoretical significance of the study: The study supplies the English language

teachers with the understanding of speaking skill in and language games in terms of

types, advantages when employing them. The study also suggests some ways to

exploit language games successfully during all stages in teaching speaking.

Practical significance of the study: The research provides the language teachers and

learners a variety of language games used in all stages in speaking classes based on

new “Tieng Anh” 10 textbook.

5. Methods of the study

In the process of carrying out this study, the survey questionnaire is used to collect data for

the study. The survey questionnaire including pre-task survey questionnaire and post task

survey questionnaire is for 70 tenth form non- English majors from two classes of Phan

Boi Chau specializing high school: one specializes in Mathematics and the other

specializes in Chemistry.

6. Design of the study

This paper is divided into three main parts:

Part A is the INTRODUCTION. In this part, the rational, the aims, research questions, the

scope of the study, methods of the study and also its design are presented.

Part B is the DEVELOPMENT which includes 4 chapters. Chapter I deals with some

theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the study: speaking skill and

language games. Chapter II can be seen as case study in real situation. It investigates the

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situation of teaching and learning speaking and the feasibility of using language games in

teaching speaking to the 10th form non- English majors at Pham Boi Chau specializing high

school through the analysis of collected data. Chapter III are some findings concluded

from the data analysis. Chapter IV is by far the most dominant one in which some

suggestions on using language games are made and some sample language games

exploited during all stages of the lessons are provided.

Part C is the CONCLUSION which includes the summary of the study, limitations of the

study and suggestions for further study.

REFERENCES and APPENDICES are presented in the last pages of the study.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENTCHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

I.1. Overview of speaking activities

I.1.1. What is meant by speaking skill?

Speaking is crucially important for the whole learning process. “Speaking makes you a

more fluent language user, speaking is a chance to notice the gaps between what you want to say

and what you can say, it is a chance to test hypotheses about language.” The terms ‘speaking”

catches much attention of linguistics. Therefore, many definitions have been offered to this term so

far.

Based on Nguyen and Nguyen (2001), speaking is meant under two aspects: accuracy and

fluency. “Accuracy involves the correct use of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.” Whereas

fluency can be thought of as “the ability to keep going when speaking spontaneously”. When

speaking fluently, language learners should be able to get message across whatever resources and

abilities what they’ve got, regardless of grammatical and other mistakes. Meanwhile, many

educators believe that in a communicative class “it is not necessary to teach conversational features

or push students to communicate accurately” and that “fluency can be developed by simply

providing students with lots of conversational practice”. Therefore, the requirements of language

fluency and accuracy may differ variably due to each stage of language learning.

Nguyen and Nguyen (2001) also introduces some favorably- used strategies in speaking.

They are:

The use of natural-sounding “incomplete” sentences.

The use of common expressions like “Never mind” “You’re welcome”…

The use of “fillers” and hesitation devices: Well, let me think...

The use of communication strategies such as asking for clarifications: “Pardon?” “I don’t

understand. What do you mean?”…

The ability to paraphrase-“put it another way” or explain /describe what they want to say if

they haven’t got the right language.

Bygate (1987) suggested a more comprehensive discussion of the nature of speaking. It is

shown that in order to be able to speak a foreign language, it is obviously necessary to have micro-

linguistics skills, that is, to understand some grammar, vocabulary and the rules governing how

words are put together to form sentences. Bygate (1987) also discusses further at great length the

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two sub-skills of interaction skills that the speakers use when they speak: the routine skills and

negotiation skills. Routines are the conventional ways of presenting information such as

descriptions, comparisons, story telling. They can be either expository, concerning presenting

factual information, or evaluative where the speakers explain, reason, justify, predict and draw

conclusions. They can also be interaction routines that can be found in interactions in different

specific situations like interviews or discussions, etc…

Different all these ideas may be, the main components of speaking are unchanged. It means

that to improve speaking skill, both accuracy and fluency should be focused on.

I.1.2. Characteristics of a successful speaking activity

There are many characteristics of a successful speaking activity which are introduced by Ur (1996)

as follows:

Learners talk a lot: As much as possible of the period time allotted to the activity is in fact

occupied by learner talk. This may seem obvious, but often most time is taken up with the

teacher and talk and pauses.

Participation is even: Classroom discussion is not dominated by a minority of talkative

participants: all get a chance to speak and contributions are fairly evenly distributed.

Motivation is high: Learners are eager to speak because they are interested in the topic and

have something new to say about it, or because they want to contribute to achieving a task

objective.

Language is of an acceptable level: Learners express themselves in utterances that are

relevant, easily comprehensible to each other and of an acceptable level of language

accuracy.

In practice, however, few classroom activities succeed in satisfying all the criteria mentioned

above. Therefore, language teachers should make great efforts to employ a variety of effective

techniques to create some of the mentioned-above criteria.

I.1.3. Problems with speaking activities

According to Ur (1996), there still exist some problems with speaking activities as follows:

Inhibition: Unlike reading, writing and listening activities, speaking requires some degree

of real-time exposure to an audience. Learners are often inhibited about trying to say things

in a foreign language in the classroom: worried about making mistakes, fearful of criticism

or losing face, or simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts.

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Nothing to say: Even if they are not inhibited, you often hear learners complain that they

cannot think of anything to say: they have no motive to express themselves beyond the

guilty feeling that they should be speaking.

Low or uneven participation: Only one participant can talk at a time if he or she is to be

heard, and in a large group this means that each one will have only very little time talking.

This problem is compounded by the tendency of some learners to dominate, while others

speak very little or not at all.

Mother-tongue use: In classes where all, or a number of, the learners share the same mother

tongue, they may tend to use it: because it is easier, because it feels unnatural to speak to

one another in a foreign language, and because they feel less “exposed” if they are speaking

their mother tongue. If they are talking in small groups it can be quite difficult to get some

classes-particularly the less disciplined or motivated ones- to keep to the target language.

In order for the learners to develop their communicative skills, it is advised that the language

teachers should help the learners to overcome these problems with speaking activities

I.1.4. Principles in teaching speaking in CLT

The single most important reason for teaching speaking is to develop oral fluency, that is, the

ability to express oneself intelligibly, reasonably, accurately and without undue hesitation.

Learners of English will want to use speech principally for two reasons. The first reason is that

they want to give and receive information, that is, for transactional or message-oriented purposes.

The other is that they want to maintain good social relationships, that is, for interactional purposes

focused on sharing personal experiences and opinions. Language educators and teachers have made

great efforts to find out the main principles of teaching speaking so far. Here the author wishes to

suggest some main principles which are introduced by Ur (1996) as follows:

Take account of the student as a person: It means that the teachers should be sensitive,

sympathetic and encouraging. They should select material that is motivating and within the

students’ ability.

Reduce anxiety by moving from easy to less easy: It means that the teachers should provide

a familiar, private environment and help students take short turns.

Maintain a careful balance between accuracy and fluency: It requires that the teachers

should provide practice in pronunciation, word stress, sentence stress and intonation.

Moreover, the teachers should also provide students with opportunities for fluent use of

speech.

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Provide a good model for students to imitate: The teachers should consciously teach correct

pronunciation and repeatedly use target speech patterns.

Provide appropriate stimuli for eliciting speech: The teachers can use a wide variety of

sources such as: books, radios, audio and video cassettes, etc and well as pictures, stories,

songs.

Vary classroom interaction modes: The teachers can arrange the class activities in different

ways: individual to whole class, in pair work or group work.

Give clear instructions: The teachers should speak loudly, slowly and clearly and it is a

good idea that the teachers demonstrate the proposed task themselves.

Monitor student activity continuously: The teachers should encourage those who find the

activity difficult and praise students who perform well or try hard to fulfill the task.

Prepare well for class: The teachers should make a checklist of things to obtain and a

checklist of things to do.

Handle errors sensitively and effectively: The teachers should ignore performances errors

and ignores that are repeated. However, it is necessary that the teachers correct errors in

language that they recently taught or errors that might shock the listeners (e.g. childrens). In

addition, errors in structures that need to be used frequently by students should also be

corrected. (E.g. “What means that?” instead of “What does it mean?”). And the teachers

should remember that corrections should be made in accuracy phase, not fluency phase.

I.2. Overview of language games

I.2.1. What are language games?

Language games can be used in language classes. So what are games and what are language

games?

First of all, what are games? Games are forms of entertainment derived from a set of artificial

rules, typically with a known goal to be reached. Games can be in the form of physical activities,

mental, or a mixture of the two. Also, games can be classified as cooperative, solitaire or

competitive. Hadfield (1987) defines “a game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of

fun.” Similarly, according to Rixon (1981), “a game consists of play governed by rules.” This is

summed up very well in Gibb’s definition (1978) of a game as “an activity carried out by

cooperating or competing decision markers, seeking to achieve, within a set of rules, their

objectives.”

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Different the definitions are, they share the same opinion that a game has three main

characteristics. They are: a goal or objective, a set of rules which govern a game and games involve

a contest either between players or between players and the goal.

So, what are the language games? Language games mean games related to language. If games help

to improve different aspects such as intellectual ability, patience, then language games help to

develop language skills. When playing these language games, students not only have fun but can

also practise English enjoyably, which helps to motivate students. Greenal (1984) defines as one

kind of “activity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired and occurs

during the free stage of lesson or during occasions such as English club meeting…”

I.2.2. Types of language games

Classifying language games into categories can be very difficult because categories often overlap.

Therefore, different linguists use different ways to classify language games. According to Hadfiled

(1987), “language games can be divided into two further categories: Linguistic games and

communicative games. Linguistic games focus on accuracy, such as applying the correct antonym.

On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information and ideas,

such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one

another but not exactly alike. Hadfield (1987) also classifies language games into many more

categories as follows:

Sorting, ordering or arranging games. For example, students have a set of cards with

different products of them, and they sort the cards into products found at a grocery store

and products found at a department store.

Information gap game: In such games, one student has access to the information which is

not held by the other student, and this student must acquire the information to complete the

task successfully. Information gap games can involve a one-way information gap or a two

way information gap.

Guessing games: In these games, someone knows something and the others must find out

what it is

Matching games: As a name applies, participants need to find a match for a word, picture or

card.

Labeling games: These are form of matching, in that participants match labels and pictures

Puzzle-solving games: The participants in the game share or pool information in order to

solve a problem or a mystery.

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Role play games: The terms role play, drama and simulation are sometimes used

interchangeably but can be differentiated. Role play can involve students playing roles that

they do not play in real life, such as dentists, while simulations can involve students

performing roles that they already play in real life or might be likely to play, such as a

customer at a restaurant. Dramas are normally scripted performances, whereas in role plays

and simulations, students come up with their own words, although preparation is often

useful.

I.2.3. Opinions on using games in teaching and learning process

Effective teaching in classroom environment requires different types of methods and techniques.

Games are one of the activities that these techniques use. There has been quite a lot of research

done on the use of educational games in particular. However, the effectiveness of using language

games in English language teaching is still controversial among educators and teachers.

There is a common perception that all learning should be serious and solemn in nature and that if

one is having fun and there is hilarity and laughter, then it is not really learning. Ur (1996) reports

that once we call a language leaning activity a “game” we convey the

message that it is just fun, not something to be taken serious. Therefore many teachers are reluctant

to use games in their lessons because they are doubtful about the effectiveness of games. That is,

the teachers often perceive games as mere time-fillers, "a break from the monotony of drilling" or

frivolous activities rather than an effective teaching technique.

Contrary to the opinions mentioned above, many experienced textbook and methodology

handbooks writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities, but they have a great

educational value. Lee (1979) holds that most language games make learners use the language

instead of thinking about learning the correct forms. He also says that games should be treated as

central, not peripheral to the foreign language teaching programme. A similar opinion is expressed

by Richard-Amato, who believes game to be fun, but warns against overlooking their pedagogical

value, particularly in foreign language teaching. Hadfield (1987) claimed the effectiveness of using

language games in English language teaching: Games should be regarded as an integral part of the

language syllabus, not as an amusing activity for Friday afternoon or for the end of the term”.

According to Rixon (1981), games can be integrated with teaching so that they can become a

positive part of it rather than a time-filler or, worse, a time-waster.

There are many advantages of using games. "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition

of input more likely" (Richard-Amato 1988:147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and

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they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings. They also

enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always

possible during a typical lesson. Furthermore, to quote Richard-Amato, they, "add diversion to the

regular classroom activities," break the ice, "[but also] they are used to introduce new ideas"

(1988:147). In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember

things faster and better. Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to be a good

way of practicing language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in

real life in the future.

With the demand of changing the teaching methods nowadays, most of the teachers have made

efforts to exploit a variety of techniques, one of these is games. A good game can enhance

students’ motivation in language classes and partly contributes to increase the quality of language

classes.

I.2.4. Language games as a motivator for students to speak

The importance of motivation is second language teaching and learning has been discussed for

many years. Motivation is a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to

communicate. Motivation refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of

learning the language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language. That is, motivation to

learn a second language is seen as referring to the extent to which the individual works or strives to

learn the language because of a desire to do so and the satisfaction experienced in this activity.

Therefore, those who are motivated participate actively in class and usually get good study results.

Since motivation is something very personal, it is not easy to develop. However, according to

Lightbrown and Spada (1999): “If we can make our classrooms places where students enjoy

coming because the atmosphere is supportive and non-threatening, we can make a positive

contribution to students’ motivation to learn.” With a view to creating such a learning atmosphere,

using language games, which have long been advocated for assisting language learning, in

speaking classes seems to be a good choice for the following reasons:

Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting. Language learning is

hard work…Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period

of time. Games help and encourage many students to sustain their interest and work.

Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort. After all, learning language involves long

tem effort.

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The variety and intensity that games offer may lower anxiety and encourage shyer students

to take part in speaking classes positively, especially when games are played in small

groups.

Games also help the teachers to create contexts in which the language is meaningful and

useful. The students want to take part and in order to do so they must understand what

others are saying and they must speak in order to express their own point of view or give

information.

Games are student-centered in that students are active in playing the games and games can

often be organized such that students have the leading roles, with teachers as facilitators.

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CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY

II.1. Background to the study

II.1.1. Hypothesis:

As mentioned in the first part of the study, this study was aimed of testing the following

hypothesis: Language games can be used as a teaching technique to enhance students’ motivation

in speaking classes effectively.

II.1.2. Subject of the study

The research was carried out at Phan Boi Chau specializing high school with the participation of

seventy 10th form students whose majors are Mathematics and Chemistry. To those students,

English was not their majors but a compulsory subject in the courses. All of the surveyed students

have learned English for at least four years at secondary schools, especially some of them have

learned English for nine years. Most of them can do grammar very well but they have difficulties

in mastering four language sills. Of the four skills, as many of them revealed, they find speaking

especially important yet challenging one. That was the reason why most of students feel bored and

unmotivated in speaking classes.

II.1.3. The textbook

“Tieng Anh 10” textbook consists of sixteen units for two terms. Each unit focuses not only on

four different language skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing but also such language

elements as pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.

Speaking lesson is the second one in each unit introduced just after reading lesson. These speaking

lessons are under the tendency theme-based and task-based approaches. In general, the textbook

provides students with a variety of topics and speaking activities with the aim of helping students

improve their speaking skill. To be more specific, some of the topics are of the students’ interest

such as talking about one’s daily activities (unit 1) or talking about an excursion (unit 11), etc...

However there are some speaking topics that are unfamiliar and far from the students’ background

knowledge such as talking about different types of media and their uses (unit 7), talking about the

new kinds of zoos (unit 10). Consequently, the students will lose their interest during the lesson.

Therefore, an effective technique should be exploited to motivate students in these speaking

lessons.

II.2. Data collection

II.2.1. The data collection instrument:

The main instrument for data collection in this study was survey questionnaires. Survey

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questionnaires were chosen because they allowed collecting a large amount data in a relatively

short time.

The survey questionnaires include pre-task survey questionnaire and post-task questionnaire with

close and open-ended questions used for seventy 10th form non –English majored students. The

data of the survey questionnaires will be analyzed based on this target population.

II. 2.2. Procedures and methods of data collection

The study was done through the following steps

The researcher taught 2 classes of seventy 10th form students whose majors are

Mathematics and Chemistry for a month and then asked them to complete the pre-task

survey questionnaire.

The researcher adapted speaking activities given in the textbook by supplementing them

with a variety of language games for three months. Then the post-task survey questionnaire

was distributed to these seventy students to find out the effectiveness of the use of language

games in speaking classes.

Both survey questionnaires were administered during the class time. Before the questionnaire

was given to the informants, the researcher took time to explain the purpose of the

questionnaires, the requirements of the informants. The informants were also encouraged to

raise any questions if there was anything unclear in the survey questionnaires. Then they were

instructed to complete the questionnaires.

II.3. Presentation and analysis of data

II.3.1. Pre-task questionnaire

II.3.1.1. Presentation of the data

The pre-task survey questionnaire included two main parts:

Part one aimed to collect information about the students’ background: Their majors and English

learning experience.

Part two aimed to collect information about the students’ attitudes towards English learning

(question 1, 2), their attitudes and perspectives towards speaking lessons (question 3, 4, 5, 6, 7),

students’ preferences and expectations of the teachers’ methodology in English speaking lessons

(question 8, 9, 10).

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Table 1: Data collected from pre-task survey questionnaire.

A B C D E

N % N % N % N % N %

1,2. Students’ attitudes towards English learning

Q1 36 51.4 30 42.9 4 5.7 0 0

Q2 8 11.4 30 42.9 30 42.9 2 2.8

3. Perceptions of four language skills 40 57.1 27 38.6 0 0 3 4.3

4. Students’ attitudes towards speaking skill 35 50 27 38.6 6 8.6 2 2.85. Perspectives of the speaking topics & speaking activities

5.1 How interesting 2 2.8 18 25.7 39 55.7 11 15.8

5.2 How difficult 3 4.3 35 50 29 41.4 3 4.36. Students’ participation in speaking lessons 8 11.4 35 50 27 38.6

7. Reasons for unwillingness to speak.

8. Different techniques exploited by teacher 37 52.9 70 100 48 68.6 12 17.1 5 7.1

9. Purposes of using language games in teaching speaking. 4 5.7 0 0 66 94.3 0 0

10. Willingness towards using language games 70 100 0 0

(Question 7 is an open-ended question. Question 8 is a multiple choice one so the total percentages are more than 100%)

Variables

ScalesQuestion focus

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II.3.1.2. Data analysis

With the aim of finding out the real situation of learning speaking skill as well as students’

preferences and expectations in speaking lessons, seventy copies of the survey

questionnaires were distributed to students from two classes majored in Mathematics and

Chemistry. The data of the pre task survey questionnaire will be analyzed based on this

target population.

Students’ attitudes towards English learning (Question 1, 2)

As can be seen clearly from the table 1, most of the surveyed students find it important to

learn English. More specifically, 51.4 % admit that it is very important to learn English

meanwhile 42.9 % appreciate the importance of English in study courses. However, it is

unexpected that only 54.3 % like learning English.

Students’ attitudes and perspectives towards speaking lessons

(Question 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

The descriptive static in figure 1 indicates that the majority of the participants (57.1%) find

listening most troublesome language skill. There exist 38.6 % students who have

difficulties in speaking. Only 3 informants reveal that writing is the most challenging

language skill and unsurprisingly, none of the students claim reading as the most

problematic.

A. Listening

B. Speaking

C. Reading

D. Writing

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As mentioned above, speaking skill is the second difficult and challenging language skill to

students. However, the importance of speaking skill can not be denied. Most of the

students raise their great awareness of the importance of this skill, which accounts for 88.6

%. Only 2 students voice that it is unimportant to master this language skill. Thus, the

students’ good attitudes towards English speaking classes will be very beneficial to the

teaching and learning process.

Figure 3: Perspectives of the speaking topics and speaking activities introduced in the

textbook

Looking at figure 3.1 and 3.2, it is clear that students have different perspectives of the

speaking topics and speaking activities introduced in their textbook. More than half of the

surveyed students (55.7%) find those topics and activities neither interesting nor boring

while 15.8% complain that they are really boring. Only 28.5% think that these activities

are interesting enough to motivate them to get involved in speaking lessons.

A. Very interesting C. Normal

B. Interesting D. Boring

A. Very difficult C. Normal

B. Difficult D. Easy

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In addition, the majority of the informants (about 55%) perceive speaking classes as

uneasy experience because they find the speaking topics difficult and unfamiliar to them.

They reveal that sometimes they want to take part in speaking yet they find no way to

express their ideas in English.

The students’ level of participation is measured with question 6. The number of the

participants, who are willing to join speaking classes, only accounts for 11.4 %.

Meanwhile half of students voice that sometimes they find it interesting and motivating to

participate in these speaking classes. 27 respondents (38.6 %) say that they are

unmotivated and reluctant to speak.

When being asked “So what are your reasons for unwillingness to speak?” those who

chose B or C in question 6 raised their voices. Being affected by their learning experiences

at secondary school, many participants answered that they are not accustomed to speaking

in front of the crowd. During the speaking classes, they just keep silent and listen to others

speaking as they are too shy to express their ideas. A number of informants confess that

they are afraid of being laughed at by their classmates because they may pronounce words

incorrectly or they may not speak fluently. Some of the students complain that the

speaking activities are either boring or difficult. In addition, the teaching way is not

interesting enough. These factors discourage them to be reluctant to join the speaking

classes despite their awareness of its great importance.

Students’ preferences and expectations towards teacher’s teaching techniques in

speaking classes. (Question 8, 9, 10)

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All of the students who are involved in the survey admit that they would like the teacher to

use language games in speaking lessons. This is very beneficial to the study as the

researcher intend to apply this technique to motivate students to speak. Songs and visual

aids are the next choices, taking up 68.6% and 52.9% respectively.

When being asked “What are the purposes of using language games in teaching

speaking?”, most of the respondents (94.3 %) think that language games are used for both

teaching and relaxing meanwhile a small number of students (5.7 %) suppose that language

games are suitable for relaxing only.

Question 10 is designed lastly to aim at investigating students’ willingness towards using

language games in speaking classes. It really comes up to the expectations when all of the

informants show their willingness to join in language games. This is very advantageous to

apply this technique to speaking classes due to the students’ interest.

II.3.2. Post-task questionnaire

II.3.2.1. Presentation of the data collected from post-task questionnaire

The post-task questionnaire consists of ten questions varying in three main categories.

The first category dealt with the students’ feelings and attitudes towards language games

exploited by the teacher (question1, 2, 3).The second investigated the students’ evaluation

of the effectiveness of language games used in speaking lessons in “Tieng Anh 10”

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textbook (question 4, 5, 6, 7). The last category aimed to find out the students’ preferences

as well as expectations of using language games in speaking classes (question 8, 9, 10).

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Table 2: Data collected from post- task survey questionnaire

Variables

A B C D E

N % N % N % N % N %

1. Students’ attitudes towards language games 43 61.4 20 28.6 5 7.1 2 2.9

2. Students’ participation in language games 32 45.7 17 24.3 19 27.1 2 2.9

3. Students’ feelings after playing games 42 60 23 32.9 5 7.1

4. Students’ participation in speaking lessons 36 51.4 23 32.9 11 15.75. Students’ evaluation of the use of language games 55 78.6 15 21.4

6. The effectiveness of the use of language games 55 100 26 47.2 34 61.8 48 87.3

7. Reasons for ineffectiveness

8. Students’ preferences to make the use of language games more effective 67 95.7 52 74.3 54 77.1 63 90

9. Stage(s) at which language games are used 29 41.4 25 35.7 32 45.7 19 27.1 27 38.610. The frequency of exploiting language games 42 60 20 28.6 8 11.4 0 0

(Question 7 is an open-ended question. Question 6, 8, 9 are multiple choice ones so the total percentages are more than 100%. The target population in question 6 is 55)

ScalesQuestion focus

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II.3.2.2. Data analysis

Students’ feelings and attitudes towards language games exploited by the teacher

(Question 1, 2, 3)

The pie chart above illustrates vividly the students’ attitudes towards language games.

From the chart, it can be seen that most of the students hold their interest in language

games. To be more detailed, 90% of the informants show their keenness on language

games. There exists 2.9 % having no concern about the games and even 7.1 % frankly

show their dislike to language games.

In order to find out students’ feelings and attitudes when playing games, question 2 and 3

are designed.

Question 2 deals with students’ participation when playing games. The number of the

participants who are ready to join the games actively builds up 45.7 %; meanwhile 51.4 %

A. Actively take part in

B. Join only when being

asked

C. Join only when feeling

interested

D. Do not play

21

rate their participation as inactive. They claim that they join the games only when being

asked by the teacher or only when feeling interested, which accounts for 24.3 % and 27.1

% respectively. Only 2 respondents (2.9 %) voice that they refuse to play such games

given by the teacher.

The results collected from question 3 show that a quite high number of students (60 %) feel

comfortable and relaxed meanwhile a significant number, accounting for 32.9 %, feel OK.

Especially, 7.1 % confirm that they feel uncomfortable. Although the number of these

students is small, it should also be taken into consideration. Because if the teachers expect

to get the highest teaching and learning results when using language games in speaking

classes, the reasons for this fact must be found.

Students’ evaluation of the effectiveness of language games used in speaking

classes (Question 4, 5, 6, 7)

Language games have been exploited and implemented in speaking lessons for the past

three months. Therefore, it enables the students to evaluate its effectiveness in motivating

students to speak.

The pie chart above shows that over half of the students (51.4 %) affirm that they really

feel more motivated to speak during and after playing games. 32.9% of the informants

admit that if the games are of their interests, they will actively take part in speaking

lessons. Unexpectedly, there exist 15.7 % of the students who show their low motivation

and reluctance to speak despite the teacher’s efforts to employ language games.

22

When asking students to self-evaluate the effectiveness of using language games in

speaking classes, most of the informants found these games effective, taking up 78.6 %

whereas 21.4 % do not consider these games an effective teaching technique.

Question 6 dealing with the benefits of language games to speaking classes is specially

designed for those who admit the effectiveness of using language games in speaking

classes.

Therefore, only 55 students get involved in this question.

As mentioned above, the target population in this question is 55 students. Firstly, it can be

seen obviously that all of the students agree that language games make speaking lessons

more enjoyable and more fun. 47.2 % raise their voice that these games make speaking

lessons less challenging and less difficult. These numbers are really meaningful as based

on the data collected from pre-task survey questionnaire, there remain a large number of

students who find speaking topics and speaking activities rather boring and challenging.

Especially, most of the informants (61.8 %) approve that they feel much more confident in

speaking English because the speaking classes are no longer covered with the feeling of

anxiety and they no longer feel shy when speaking in front of the crowd. This positive

result reassures that language games do a great help in raising students’ motivation is

learning speaking skill.

A. Make speaking lessons

more enjoyable

B. Make speaking lessons

less challenging

C. Lower anxiety and

develop confidence

D. Create more chances to

speak

23

In addition to that, the thing that should be noted here is language games can help to create

more chances, more talking time for students. This point is supported by 87.3% of

respondents.

Like question 6, question 7 aiming at investigating the reasons for the ineffectiveness of

using language games is especially for those who think that language games have nothing

to do with increasing students’ motivation. Question 7 is an open-ended question and there

are only 15 students answering this question. Based on the feedback from the students,

there are some main reasons for this. First of all, the majority reveals that some of the

games rules that teachers give are unclear and somewhat confusing. Besides, some of the

respondents consider the high required level of the target language an obstacle preventing

them from envying the games. A small number of students think that noise is really a great

challenge. These reasons partly contribute to reduce the effectiveness of using language

games in teaching speaking skill.

Students’ expectations and preferences for the use of language games in speaking

classes. (Question 8, 9, 10)

To ensure the effectiveness of exploiting language games in speaking classes, it is of great

necessity to find out students’ preferences and expectations.

The data illustrated in figure 11 shows that the majority of the respondents (95.7 %) think

that in order to make best use of language games, the teacher should choose and exploit

A. Suitable language games

B. Clear & easy-to-understand

instructions

C. A variety of language games

D. Good & brief demonstration

24

games that suit students’ language level, which means that if language games exploited

should not be either too easy or too difficult. It is of great importance because if the games

are too easy, they will lose their interest and if the games are too difficult, they will be

discouraged to speak.

Clear and easy-to-understand instructions are preferred by 74.3 % of the students. That

there exists this high number of students is understandable because once instructions are

confusing, students will lose their way to the success of a speaking lesson. In addition to

this, the teacher should demonstrate the games briefly and clearly so that the students will

find it easier to join games successfully.

Last but by no means least; it is a necessity for the teacher to collect a variety of language

games. The students will be easily fed up with playing the same games again and again.

The more diversified the language games are, the more boredom we can avoid when

usually employing these games. This idea is supported by a very high number of students

building up 90 %.

Question 9 focuses on the stage at which students like to play games. Answering this

question 41.4 % of students involved in the survey assume that games should be conducted

to warm up the class. 35.7 of participants prefer the teacher to employ them at pre-

speaking stage. The highest percentage of informants (45.7 %) shows their preferences to

use language games at while-speaking stage whereas 27.1 % say that language games

should be exploited at post-speaking stage. It should be worth mentioning that more than

one third of respondents (38.6 %) think that the teacher can use games in any stage of a

speaking lesson. However, some students also admit that if language games are used in all

stages, they may feel bored and tired from these games. This means it is of utmost

importance for teachers to seek when to use these games most suitably to make the best use

of them.

25

The last question deals with students’ preferences for the frequency of exploiting language

games in speaking classes. More specifically, 60 % of respondents prefer language games

are often exploited. A smaller percentage (28.6 %) reveal that the teacher should

sometimes use them, which means it is not effective to employ games in every lesson, but

it should depend on the content of each lesson. 11.4 % support their preference for rarely-

used language games, which is expected to avoid the boredom and ineffectiveness of

overusing them.

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CHAPTER III: FINDINGS

III.1. Findings from the questionnaire

With the aim of studying how language games are used to motivate students to speak, the

major aim of giving the two survey questionnaires: the pre-task survey questionnaire and

the post-task survey questionnaire is to elicit the feedback from the target population:

seventy 10th form non-English majors. Through the findings from both sides: positive

factor and challenges, it is hoped that language games can be exploited to motivate

students to speak successfully and effectively.

III.1.1. Positive factors

Through the above results taken from the questionnaires, it is effective to use language

games as a motivator for students to speak. There are some reasons for this affirmation as

follows:

Firstly, a large number of students in speaking classes like to join language games. Once

the games are given by the teacher, they are willing and eager to play. This positive

attitude towards language games reassures the feasibility of using language games as a

motivator in speaking classes.

Secondly, when making a small comparison between the data collected from pre-task

survey questionnaire and post-task survey questionnaire, it is clear that the number of

students who are willing to join the speaking classes adapted with language games increase

considerably. It has approved that the speaking classes are surely more interesting and

enjoyable with the use of language games. In this case, language games play a role as an

inspirer to appeal students to speak.

Thirdly, it can not be denied that language games bring about a variety of great benefits to

the users. It is easy to find in the analysis that language games are not only used for

relaxing purpose but also for teaching target. Games are enjoyable and fun so they can help

students banish boredom and bring them the pleasure to speak English. Games also make

speaking activities less challenging and difficult; therefore, they can help students regain

interest in speaking. Moreover, language games can lower students’ anxiety and shyness

and make them become more confident speakers. More importantly, games give students

chances to practise their speaking sill. With these benefits, it is no doubt the games can be

used to enhance students’ motivation in speaking classes.

27

In brief, those findings reveal the fact that there exists an effective teaching technique

named language games which can be used to motivate students in speaking classes. The

positive factors achieved after carrying out the study reassures that these games can raise

students’ motivation in speaking classes.

III.1.2. Challenges

In the real context of exploiting language games in motivating non-English majors to

speak, there exist some inevitable challenges. The following are some problems facing

teachers in teaching which are concluded from the survey

First of all, based on the data analysis of survey questionnaires, it is revealed that there are

a number of students who join the games only when being asked by the teacher or when

feeling interested. Although the number of these students is small, it should also be taken

into consideration to find out the reasons to make the best use of language games.

Secondly, according to what has been gained from the data, the process of using language

games may leave many challenges from the teacher. Their class instructions are sometimes

unclear, which makes students confused to join the games. Moreover, some of the

language games exploited are not well chosen, therefore they are either too challenging

with high required level of the target language or too easy with the language unsuitable for

the content of the speaking lesson. This results in the reducing students’ interest in joining

games, leading to the low motivation in speaking classes. Besides, some students consider

noise as a main reason for the ineffectiveness of using games. However, it should be made

clear whether it is good noise or bad noise as according to Ladousse (1992), “the noise is

only a problem if the teacher next door complains.”

Thirdly, when and how often to use games to make best use of it is really a big question

that needs considering. As concluded from the questionnaires, games are most preferred to

play during while-speaking stage and more than one third of informants would like to play

games at any stage of a speaking class. Concerning with the frequency of using games, that

games are often and sometimes used in speaking classes is supported by most surveyed

students. Therefore, when exploiting the games, the teacher should pay careful attention to

students’ expectations and preferences as this is one of the decisive factors to the success

of employing this teaching technique.

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III.2. Sub-conclusion

From the findings in terms of achievements and challenges above, it can be concluded that

language games can be exploited as a motivator for students to speak because it can arouse

the interest in speaking among the majority of the students and the effectiveness of

language games is highly appreciated by most of the students. Besides, in order to increase

the effectiveness of using language games, it is necessary to pay enough attention to

students’ expectations and preferences. They seem to prefer language games which are

relevant to their interests, their level of the target language and can provide them with

many chances to speak.

With the hope to optimize the effectiveness of using language games to motivate students

to speak, some suggestions and a collection of sample games used at all stages of a

speaking lesson will be mentioned in the next chapter.

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CHAPTER IV: SUGGESTIONS ON USING LANGUAGE GAMES TO

MOTIVATE STUDENTS IN SPEAKING CLASSES

IV.1. How to run a game?

Students may wish to play games purely for fun. Teachers, however, need more convincing

reasons. Teachers need to consider which game to use, when to use them, how to link them

up with the textbook and how, more specifically, different games will benefit students in

mastering language skills. Some suggestions of exploiting language games as a motivator

for students to speak will be presented as follows

IV.1.1. When to use a game?

Games can play a range of roles in the language curriculum. Actually, there are no fixed

stages for using games in teaching and learning process. Traditionally, games have been

used in the language class as warms-up at the beginning of class, fill-ins when there is

extra time near the end of the class or as an occasional bit of spice stirred into the

curriculum to add variety. However, more importantly, games can also constitute a more

substantial part of the language courses. As for Mc Callum, (1980), “games can be used in

any language teaching situation and with any skill area whether reading, writing, listening

or speaking.” Holding the same viewpoint, Hadfield, (1987) also stated that “Games can be

used at any stage of the lesson once the target language has been introduced and explained.

They serve both as a memory aid and repetition drill and as a chance to use language

freely, as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.” But he also affirmed that “the

most useful place for these games is at the free stage of the traditional progression from

presentation through practice to free communication, to be used as a culmination of the

lesson, as a chance for students to use language they’ve learnt freely.” According to

Wright, Betteridge & Buckly (1983) put in “ Games can be found to give practice in all the

skills: reading, writing, listening or speaking in all stages of the teaching / learning

sequence and for many types of communication.”

In short, as Lee, (1979) observed, a game “should not be regarded as a marginal activity

filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do.” Games ought

to be the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon (1981) suggested that games can be

used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen.

30

IV.1.2. How to organize a game?

Timing: The teachers need to estimate the time of the game before running a game.

Lewis and Bedson (1999) suggested that games should last from five to twenty

minutes including preparation, presentation, game playing and post playing. It is

important not to play a game for too long, students will lose their interest. It is best

to stop a game at its peak.

Level of the games: Level of the games is another factor that the teachers should

take into consideration when using language games in speaking lessons. Therefore,

the teachers need to pay careful attention to the difficult level of the games. Part of

the appeal of games lies in the challenge, but if the challenge is too great, some

students may become discouraged. The teacher should also pay attention to the

heterogeneity of the games. It means that the games should allow chance for both

the bright and not-very- bright students. The chosen and adapted games should be

relevant to the content of the lesson. It should be noted that even the most

appropriate game will become meaningless if they are used repeatedly in different

speaking lessons. Therefore, it is advisable that the teachers should exploit a variety

of language games.

Classroom language: When starting a game, the teacher should tell the students the

rules of the game. It is one of the key factors that lead to the students’ success in

playing games. However, it is not simply enough to read out the rules of a new

game or to hand out a written copy of the rules. Each game will need a proper

introduction, which means an explanation-not just a reading-of the rules. When

giving instructions, a few words in mother tongue are sometimes necessary as it

would be the quickest way to make everything clear. It is a waste of time to throw

students unprepared into an activity that they have not yet fully grasped: things will

go wrong very quickly and the teachers will then have to spend more time trying to

repair the situation. The teachers also need to demonstrate a short part of the game

in which they actually make use of the language or the skill that the game is

designed to practise, and then gradually get students joining in as according to

many methodologists, games are best set up by demonstration rather than by

lengthy explanation. Moreover, it is advisable that teachers make their

31

demonstration as lively and appealing as possible so that students are motivated to

join the game.

Classroom management: Language games would be very enjoyable and rewarding

if they are handled in the right way. The way in which games are organized varies a

great deal basing on specific purposes and particular game. Some games are played

in pairs or in groups, some in teams and some with the whole class playing against

the teacher.

The formation of groups and pairs should initially be based on students’ immediate

neighbors to avoid noise and disruption. Thus, in pair work and group work,

students choose the ones next to them, behind them or in front of them as partners.

It is important that they can maintain face to face contact where sitting comfortably

as it makes activities a lot easier.

In short, the teacher must decide in advance how to organize the class so that, as

Carrier (1985) stated: “the setting up of a game can be carried out as quickly and

smoothly as possible.”

IV.2. Sample games used in teaching speaking

IV.2.1. Warm-ups

A warm up activity is often a short and fun game which the teacher can use with his

students. The purpose of warms up is to prepare them to learn by stimulating their minds.

Warm ups should last about five minutes.

Unit 5: Technology and you

Type of games: Matching games Classroom management: Group work

Material: Pictures and cards Time: 3-5 minutes

Procedure:

The teacher divides the class into groups of four or five students. The teacher gives each

group a set of pictures of modern inventions and slips of paper containing their names.

Students work in groups and quickly match each modern invention with their name. Which

group finishes first and has all the correct answers will be the winner

The teacher then can ask students what they know about the uses of these modern

inventions.

32

Pictures:

Cards:

Radio Television Air-conditioner Fridge

Fax machine Electric cooker Cell phone Washing machine

Unit 13: Films and cinema

Type of games: Sorting, arranging games Class management: Pair work

Material: film posters and handout Time: 5 minutes

Procedure:

The teacher asks students to work in pairs. Teacher sticks the following posters on the

blackboard or alternatively print these posters and distribute them to students

Teacher then gives the handout to the pairs and asks students to match the film with the

correct types

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Film posters

Handout

Type Film

Science fiction film

Cartoon

Horror film

Detective film

Thriller

Romantic comedy

War film

Action film

Unit 14: World Cup

Type of games: Puzzle-solving activity Class management: Group work

Material: A slip of charts and cards Time: 5-7 minutes

Procedure:

34

The teacher divides the class into groups of three or four students and give each group a

copy of chart and a copy of cards in which clues are given.

Each group has to work to find out who won the cup. The first group to find the correct

answer will be the winner.

Chart

Fill in the names of the football teams on the chart and thus find out who won the cup

Quarter final Semi-final Final

……………………………2

……………………………0

…………………………1

……………………………1

……………………………2

……………………… …...1……………………………4

……………………………1 ……………………………3

…………………………3……………………………0

……………………………2

………………………….....2……………………………3

Clues:

1. England lost one goal in the semi-final

2. France scored 2 goals in the quarter final

3. Brazil beat the Netherlands

4. Germany scored one goal less than the team that beat them in the semi-final

5. Spain played England in the quarter-final

6. Italy beat Argentina by twice as many goals in the quarter final

7. The Netherlands lost 0-1 in the quarter final

V.2.2. Pre-speaking stage

This stage is carried out before students actually speak. The pre-speaking activities are

aimed at preparing students with everything necessary for speaking. They also involve

thought and reflection, and provide opportunities for students to plan and organize for

speaking. Normally, pre-speaking stage often lasts from five to fifteen minutes depending

on each lesson.

35

Unit 9: Undersea world (speaking task2)

Type of games: Labeling games Class management: Whole class

Material: pictures Time: 7 minutes

Procedure:

36

The teacher prepares a set of pictures of sea problems. (See the pictures above). Then the

teacher gives out one by one and asks students to tell what it is about. The students raise

their hands to describe the pictures and the teacher will write these ideas on the board.

Then the teacher states that they are some threats to the health of the oceans. They are: Oil

is spilled from tankers (picture 1); whales and sharks are still hunted for food, medicine

and other products (picture 2); explosives are used to catch fish and other sea animals

(picture 3); beaches are filled with plastic bags, pieces of glass and cigarette butts (picture

4). The teacher requires students to discuss the consequences that might occur and offer

some possible solutions to these problems.

Unit 14: World Cup (speaking task 1)

Type of games: Role-play Class management: Group work

Material: handouts Time: 7-10 minutes

Procedure:

The teacher asks students to name four national football teams in the photos on page in the

textbook. They are: The English national football team (photo1), the French national

football team (photo 2), the Italian national football team (photo 3) and the German

national football team (photo 4)

Then the teacher divides the class into 4 groups namely: The English team’s fans, the

French team’s fans, the Italian team’s fans and the German team’s fans respectively. The

teacher will take turns to read the questions to each group and the students in each group

are supposed to answer them. One point is given for each correct answer. And if all the

members in one group fail to give correct answer, the other groups can score points by

raising their hands to answer the questions. The winner is the one that gets the highest

point.

Finally, the teacher can call the representatives from four groups to talk about their favorite

teams, using the information they have gained via the quiz. They are encouraged to add

some further information that they know to the talk.

37

World Cup quiz for each national football team

Questions for the English team’s fans

1. How many World Cup tournaments has

England participated in up to 2006?

2. How many times has England won the

trophy up to 2006?

3. Who was the captain of the English team

in World Cup 2006?

4. Who was the top scorer in English team

in World Cup 2006?

5. Who was the head coach of the English

team in World Cup 2006?

Questions for the German team’s fans

1. How many World Cup tournaments has

German participated in up to 2006?

2. How many times has Germany won the

trophy up to 2006?

3. Who was the captain of the German team

in World Cup 2006?

4. Who was the top scorer in German team

in World Cup 2006?

5. Who was the head coach of the German

team in World Cup 2006?

Questions for the Italian team’s fans

1. How many World Cup tournaments has

Italy participated in up to 2006?

2. How many times has Italy won the trophy

up to 2006?

3. Who was the captain of the Italian team

in World Cup 2006?

4. Who was the top scorer in Italian team in

World Cup 2006?

5. Who was the head coach of the Italian

team in World Cup 2006?

Questions for the French team’s fans

1. How many World Cup tournaments has

France participated in up to 2006?

2. How many times has France won the

trophy up to 2006?

3. Who was the captain of the French team

in World Cup 2006?

4. Who was the top scorer in French team in

World Cup 2006?

5. Who was the head coach of the French

team in World Cup 2006?

IV.2.3. While-speaking stage

This stage is the main part of a speaking lesson in which students use language input

provided in pre-speaking stage to express personal feelings, ideas, or viewpoints, to

38

converse and discuss or to describe one event, to tell a story, etc…Time spent on this stage

is nearly twenty to thirty minutes.

Unit 3: People’s background (speaking task 2)

Type of games: Role-play Class management: Group work

Material: handouts Time: 15-17 minutes

Procedure:

The teacher asks students to work in pairs: one plays the role of Ms. Khanh Chi, an MC in

“The road to Olympia”, while the other plays the role of an Olympia contestant. Teacher

distributes the interview form to each pair and asks them to interview the contestants and

takes notes the answers. The students can change their roles and make another interview.

Then the teacher asks some students to report what they have gained from the interview.

INTERVIEW FORM

1. When were you born? ………………………………………………

2. Where were you born? …………………………………………….

3. Where do you live? ……………………………………………….

4. Can you tell me about your parents? ………………………………

5. How many brothers and sisters do you have? …………………….

6. Which school do you go to? ……………………………………..

7. How do you study/ work at school? ………………………………...

8. Do you join all school activities? ………………………………

9. What subjects do you like best? …………………………………..

10. Have you ever been a monitor? …………………………………….

Unit 16: Historical places (speaking task 2)

Type of games: Information gap activity Class management: Pair work

Material: Handouts Time: 15-20 minutes

Procedure:

The teacher sets the task: Students are going to work in pairs: ask and answer about two

historical places, namely Hue Imperial City and Thong Nhat Conference Hall

The teacher distributes each pair two sets of cards above. The teacher needs to make

sure that students have different cards A. This means if one student already has card

39

1A, the other student will have card 2 A. The teacher asks students to ask and answer

questions about the places in the cards. The student with card A will start first and

the student with the corresponding card B will answer. The teacher should make sure

that all the students close their textbooks and students do not look at each other’s

card while talking. Then the teacher can call some pairs to perform in front of the

class and provides corrective feedback

Card 1A

Ask your partner for the following

information about Hue Imperial City

-Recognized by UNESCO?

-Location?

-Construction staring and ending?

-Inside?

-Visiting hours?

-Admission?

Card 1B

Tell your partner about Hue Imperial City using

the following information

-Listed as a World Cultural Heritage by

UNESCO in 1993

-654 km from Hanoi and 1071 km from HCMC

-Construction: started 1805 & completed 1832

-Comprises 3 sections: the Royal Citadel, the

Imperial Enclosure and the Forbidden Purple City.

-Open daily

-Admission costs 55,000 VND

Card 2A

Ask your partner for the following

information about Thong Nhat

Conference Hall

-Other names?

-Location?

- Construction staring and ending?

-Any damage during the war?

Reconstruction needed?

-Inside?

-Visiting hours?

-Admission?

Card 2B

Tell your partner about Thong Nhat Conference

Hall using the following information

-Also Reunification Hall or Presidential Palace

-In District No1, HCMC, 1730 km south of HN

-Originally built in 1865 & heavily damaged by

an air bombardment in Feb 1963.

-Rebuilt & construction completed in 1963

-Has 5 floors with 100 beautifully decorated

rooms and chambers

-Open daily from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m and 1:00 to

4:00 p.m

-Admission costs: 10,000 VND

40

IV.2.4. Post-speaking stage

It is the last step of a speaking lesson so it is time for students’ production. The activities in

this stage are for students to reflect upon their performance. Post-speaking stage should last

ten to twelve minutes

Unit 11: National Parks Type of games: Story telling

Class management: Group work Time: 10 minutes

Procedure:

The teacher divides the class into groups of eight students (two rows of tables). The teacher

asks students to work in groups to tell about their imaginary excursion. The teacher can

begin the story with one clause of the third conditional sentence. Then the students in each

group one by one add more sentences using the third conditional sentences. After the last

student in each group finishes the story, all groups are asked to tell their excursion in front

of the class. The teacher will decide which the most interesting story is.

For example: The teacher can begin: If yesterday had been Sunday, …………….

Student A: If yesterday had been Sunday, I would have gone a picnic to Cua Lo beach

Student B: If I had gone to Cua Lo beach, I would have gone with some of my friends

Student C: I had gone with some of my friends, we would have gone there by motorbike.

Alternatively, it can be made more interesting and amusing by replacing the third

conditional sentences with the story using “fortunately” and “unfortunately”.

For example:

The teacher can start: Yesterday it was nice, so I decided to go for a walk

Student A: Unfortunately, it began to rain

Student B: Fortunately, I had an umbrella

Student C: Unfortunately, it was broken.

Unit 15: Cities

Type of games: Guessing games Class management: Whole class

Material: cards Time: 10 minutes

Procedure:

41

The teacher prepares a set of cards on which some famous cities in the world are written.

Students will take turn to choose one card from this set and try to use their knowledge to

describe this city so that the other students can guess which the city is. To make it more

challenging, the students are not allowed to use proper name. And the game can be played

until time is up.

For example: The student takes up a card on which “Amsterdam” is written. He can use the

typical features to talk bout it: It is the city which is famous for tulips and windmills. So

the other students may find it easy to guess correctly.

Set of cards

HONGKONG TOKYO NEW DELI ROME

SYDNEY LONDON MEXICO HANOI

BEIJING PARIS BERLIN BANGKOK

MOSCOW VIENNA CAIRO SINGAPORE

Chapter IV has provided teachers with some applicable and effective games exploited in

all stages of a speaking lesson. With the aim to help the teachers exploit language games

fully and successfully, some suggestions when running a game are also mentioned. It is

hoped that it can help to enhance students’ motivation in speaking lessons.

42

PART C: CONCLUSION

1. Summary of the study

This study is done with the purpose of seeking one effective teaching technique to

improve students’ speaking skill. And as there exist many teaching techniques

exploited by teachers to teach speaking, the study limits itself to use language games to

motivate non- English majors to speak.

The literature review has been made in the hope of demonstrating the scope of the

study theoretically in terms of speaking skill and language games. The findings from

the data analysis show that despite students’ awareness of the importance of speaking

skill, some students have low motivation towards speaking classes. They find speaking

activities either challenging or boring. Thus they show their unwillingness to raise their

voice. Therefore, a teaching technique, language games, is tested whether they can

improve students’ motivation in speaking classes. And according to students’ attitudes,

perspectives and preferences, language games are applicable as a motivator in speaking

lessons.

Thus, in order to make the study more practical, some suggestions on using language

games as well as a variety of language games applied in all stages of a speaking lesson

have also been mentioned.

It is hoped that the study will prove worthwhile to those who want to motivate students

in speaking classes and who are concerned about the problem.

2. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study

Although the study has accomplished the objectives set at the beginning, it can not

avoid some limitations

Due to the shortage of time, limit of knowledge and the scope of the study, the study

can not cover all the uses of language games in four language skills and language

elements. Therefore, further study can focus on the use of language games as a

motivator in reading classes, writing classes, listening classes and language games as

an effective technique to teach vocabulary and grammar.

Obviously, mistakes are unavoidable, all comments and remarks on this research will

be highly appreciated.

43

REFERENCES

1. Baker, J and Westrup, H. (2000). English language teacher’s handbook, Creative print

and design. Ebbw Wale, Wales.

2. Baloto, F. (1996). How to motivate learners of English. English teaching Forum,Vol I,

No1 (p 34)

3. Bygate, M (1997). Speaking, Oxford University Press.

4. Carrier, M. & the others. (1985). Take 5 games and activities for the language leaning.

UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons

5. David, K. & Hollowell, J. (1989). Inventing and playing games in the English

classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

6. Ersoz, A. (2000). Six games for EFL/ ESL classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol.

VI, No 6, retrieved from http: //iteslj.org/lessons/ Ersoz-Games.html.

7. Granger, C. (1981). Play games with English. Heineman International, Great Britain

8. Gibbs, G. (1987). Dictionary of gaming, Modelling and Stimulation. E & FN Spon

Ltd., London

9. Greenal, S. (1984). Language games and activities. Great Britain: Hulton Educational

Publication

10. Hadfield, J. (1987). Elementary Communication Games. UK: Thomas Nelson and Sons

11. Hadfield, J. (2003). Intermediate Grammar Games. Hong Kong: Thomas Nelson and

Sons

12. Hoàng Văn Vân (2006), Tiếng Anh 10, Nhà xuất bản giáo dục

13. John & Liz, S. (2000). New Headway- Pre. Intermediate. Oxford University Press

14. Karen, R. (1973). Communication games. MAcmillian Publishers, New York

15. Ladousse, G.P. (1987). Role-play. Oxford University Press

16. Lee, W.R. (1979). Language teaching games and contests. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.

17. Lewis, G. and Bedson, G. (1999). Games for children. Oxford University Press

18. Lightbrown, P.M & Spada, N. (1999). How languages are learnt. Oxford University

Press

44

19. Little Wood, W.T (1981). Communicative language teaching, Cambridge University

Press.

20. Martin, C. (1995). Games and Fun activities. Young Pathfinder Series: London: CILT

21. Mc Callum, G.P. (1980). 101 Word Games. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

22. Nguyễn Bàng & Nguyễn Bá Ngọc (2001), A course in TEFL theory and practice III.

National University Publish

23. Nguyễn Thuỷ Minh & Lương Quỳnh Trang (2007), Thiết kế bài giảng tiếng Anh 10:

Tập 2, Nhà xuất bản Hà Nội

24. Richard-Amato, P.A. (1998). Making it happen: Interaction in the second language

classroom: From theory to practice. NewYork: Longman

25. Rixon, S. (1981). How to use games in language teaching. London: Macmillan

Publishers.

26. Selinger, H.W. & Shohamy, E. (1989). Second language research methods Oxford:

OUP.

27. Ur, P. (1996). A course in Language Teaching. Cambridge:CUP

28. Watcyn-Jones, P. & Howard Williams, D. (1995). Grammar Games and Activities 1.

Longman: Pearson Education limited

29 Wright, A.; Betteridge, D. & Buckly, M. (1983) Games for language learning.

Cambridge University Press

45

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1:

PRE_TASK SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

This survey questionnaire is designed for my study “Using language games to motivate the

10th form non- English majors in speaking lessons at Phan Boi Chau specializing high

school”. Your assistance in fulfilling the following items is greatly appreciated.

Please, tick (√) in the given boxes to indicate your choice

Your major:……………………………….

Your English learning experience:………………………………………

1. How necessary is English in the school courses?

A. Very necessary B. Necessary

C. Normal D. Unnecessary

2. How do you like learning English?

A. Very much B. Much

C. Not much D. Not at all

3. Among the four language skills, which one is the most difficult to you?

A. Listening B. Speaking

C. Reading D. Writing

4. How is speaking skill important to you?

A. Very important B. Important

C. Normal D. Not important at all

5. How do you find speaking topics and speaking activities introduced in “Tieng Anh 10”

textbook?

5.1 A. Very interesting B. Interesting

C. Normal D. Boring

5.2. A. Very difficult B. Difficult

C. Normal D. Easy

6. Are you willing to speak in speaking classes?

A. Yes, I like speaking very much

B. Yes, sometimes

C. No, I am never willing to speak.

I

7. If you choose B, C, what are the reasons for your unwillingness to speak? (Please

specify)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………

8. In order to encourage students to speak and get them more involved in speaking

activities, you think the teachers should:

(You can choose more than one)

A. Use visual aids (pictures, charts, etc…….)

B. Use language games

C. Use songs

D. Use group work and pair work

E. Others (please specify)……………………………………………………….

9. What do you think of using language games in speaking classes for?

A. for relaxing only B. for teaching only

C. for both relaxing and teaching D. time covering

10. If your teacher of English exploits language games in speaking lessons, are you willing

to join?

A. Yes B. No

Thank you very much for taking time to complete this questionnaire!

II

CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA 1

(Trước khi sử dụng trò chơi trong các giờ học nói)

Những câu hỏi sau nhằm phục vụ cho việc nghiên cứu việc sử dụng các trò chơi ngôn ngữ

nhằm gây hứng thú trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 10 không chuyên tại

trường THPT chuyên Phan Bội Châu đối với việc học tiếng Anh. Xin các bạn vui lòng trả

lời các câu hỏi sau đây theo suy nghĩ của mình. Chân thành cảm ơn sự cộng tác của các

em!

Hãy đánh dấu (√) vào ô mà em lựa chọn

Môn chuyên của em:………………………..

Em học tiếng Anh: ……………..năm

1. Theo em hoc tiếng Anh ………..

A. Rất cần thiết B. Cần thiết C. Bình thường D. Không cần thiết

2. Em có thích học tiếng Anh không?

A. Rất thích B. Thích C. Bình thường D. Không thích

3. Trong bốn kĩ năng, kĩ năng nào là khó nhất đối với em?

A. Nghe B. Nói C. Đọc D. Viết

4. Kĩ năng nói có quan trọng với em không?

A. Rất quan trọng B. Quan trọng C. Bình thường D. Không quan

trọng

5. Em có nhận xét gì về các chủ đề nói và các hoạt động nói trong sách giáo khoa “Tiếng

Anh 10”?

5.1. A. Rất thú vị B. Thú vị C. Bình thường D. Tẻ nhạt

5.2. A. Rất khó B. Khó C. Bình thường D. Dễ

6. Em có tham gia tích cực trong các giờ học nói không?

A. Có, em rất thích các giờ học nói B. Có, nhưng thỉnh thoảng

C. Không, em thấy không thoải mái

7. Nếu em chọn B hoặc C, lí do cho sự lựa chọn của em là gì? (ghi rõ)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………

8. Để khuyến khích học sinh nói tiếng Anh và tham gia tích cực hơn vào các giờ học nói,

em nghĩ giáo viên nên: (Em có thể lựa chọn nhiều phương án)

III

A. Sử dụng các giáo cụ trực quan (tranh ảnh, bảng biểu…………)

B. Sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ.

C. Sử dụng bài hát

D. Sử dụng các hoat động cặp và nhóm

E. Các hoạt động khác (ghi rõ) ….................

9. Em nghĩ gì về việc sử dụng trò chơi trong việc giảng dạy kĩ năng nói tiếng Anh?

A. Chỉ để thư giãn

B. Để trợ giúp việc giảng dạy

C. Vừa để trợ giúp việc giảng dạy vừa để học sinh thư giãn

D. Để lấp thời gian thừa

10. Nếu giáo viên tiếng Anh của em sử dụng các trò chơi trong dạy nói, em có muốn tham

gia không?

A. Có B. Không

Cảm ơn sự giúp đỡ của các em!

IV

APPENDIX 2::

POST_TASK SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

This survey questionnaire is designed for my study “Using language games to motivate the

10th form non- English majors in speaking lessons at Phan Boi Chau specializing high

school”. Your assistance in fulfilling the following items is greatly appreciated.

Please, tick (√) in the given boxes to indicate your choice

1. Do you like language games given by your teacher during speaking lessons?

A. I like them very much B. Yes, they are OK

C. I don’t like them at all D. I have no idea

2. What do you do while playing games?

A. Actively take part in the games

B. Join the games only when being asked by the teacher

C. Join the games only when feeling interested.

D. Do not play games

3. How do you feel after playing games?

A. relaxed and motivated B. normal C. uncomfortable

4. Are you willing to speak during speaking lessons?

A. Yes, I feel more motivated to speak

B. It depends on the speaking activities and language games given

C. No, I feel unmotivated and reluctant to speak

5. In your opinion, is the use of language games to motivate students to speak effective?

A. Yes B. No

If you choose yes, please answer question 6 and keep answering question 8 to question 10

If you choose yes, please answer question 7 and keep answering question 8 to question 10

6. What are the benefits of language games to your speaking skill? (You can choose more

than one option)

A. Language games make speaking lessons more enjoyable and more fun

B. Language games make speaking lessons less challenging and difficult.

V

C. Language games lower my anxiety and shyness, and then develop my confidence in

speaking

D. Language games create more chances for students to speak.

7. If the use of language games in speaking classes is ineffective, what do you think are

reasons? (Please specify)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………

8. To make the use of language games in speaking classes more effective, what do you

think the teacher should do? ((You can choose more than one option)

A. Teacher should exploit the language games that suit students’ level

B. Teacher should explain students what to do in a clear and an easy- to-understand

language.

C. Teacher should exploit a variety of language games in different speaking classes

D. Teacher should demonstrate what to do to students

E. Others (please specify)……………………………………………………………….

9. What stage(s) do you think the teacher should exploit the language games?

A. Warm-ups B. Pre-speaking stage

C. While-speaking stage D. Post-speaking stage

E. At any stage of the lesson

10. How often do you want to play language games?

A. Often B. Occasionally

C. Rarely D. Never

Thank you very much for taking time to complete this questionnaire!

VI

CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA 2

(Sau khi sử dụng trò chơi trong các giờ học nói)

Những câu hỏi sau nhằm phục vụ cho việc nghiên cứu việc sử dụng các trò chơi ngôn ngữ

nhằm gây hứng thú trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 10 không chuyên tại

trường THPT chuyên Phan Bội Châu đối với việc học tiếng Anh. Xin các bạn vui lòng trả

lời các câu hỏi sau đây theo suy nghĩ của mình. Chân thành cảm ơn sự cộng tác của các

em!

Hãy đánh dấu (√) vào ô mà em lựa chọn

1. Em có thích các trò chơi ngôn ngữ mà giáo viên sử dụng trong các giờ dạy nói không

A. Rất thích B. Thích C. Không thích D. Không có ý kiến

2. Trong khi chơi trò chơi, em………..

A. tham gia một cách tích cực B. tham gia trò chơi chỉ khi giáo viên yêu

cầu

C. tham gia chỉ khi cảm thấy hứng thú D. (ý kiến khác)

………………………………

3. Em cảm thấy như thế nào sau khi tham gia trò chơi

A.thoải mái và hứng thú B. bình thường C. không thoải mái

4. Em có tham gia tích cực trong các bài học nói hay không?

A. Có, em cảm thấy hứng thú

B. Tùy thuộc vào các hoạt động nói và các trò chơi mà giáo viên đưa ra

C. Em cảm thấy không hứng thú và ngại nói

5. Theo em, việc sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ trong các giờ học nói có hiệu quả không?

A. Có B. Không

Nếu em chọn có, hãy trả lời câu hỏi 6 và tiếp tục trả lời từ câu hỏi 8 đến câu 10

Nếu em chọn không, hãy trả lời câu hỏi 7 và tiếp tục trả lời từ câu hỏi 8 đến câu 10

6. Đâu là những lợi ích mà trò chơi ngôn ngữ giúp em trong các giờ học nói: (em có thể lựa

chọn nhiều phương án ):

A. Trò chơi ngôn ngữ làm cho các bài học nói thêm thú vị.

B. Trò chơi ngôn ngữ làm cho các bài học nói đơn giản hơn, dễ dàng hơn

VII

C. Trò chơi ngôn ngữ giúp học sinh giảm căng thẳng, bớt rụt rè, từ đó học sinh thêm tự

tin trong khi nói.

D. Trò chơi ngôn ngữ tạo cho học sinh nhiều thời gian và cơ hội đươc thực hành nói

7. Nếu việc sử dụng trò chơi trong học nói là không hiệu quả, theo em, đâu là nguyên

nhân:

(Ghi rõ)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………

………

8. Để phát huy được tính hiệu quả của việc sử dụng trò chơi ngôn ngữ trong các giờ học

nói, theo em giáo viên cần ( em có thể lựa chọn nhiều phương án ):

A. Giáo viên nên sử dụng các trò chơi phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh.

B. Giáo viên nên giải thích luật chơi 1 cách rõ ràng và dễ hiểu.

C. Giáo viên nên sử dụng các trò chơi đa dạng trong các bài học nói khác nhau.

D. Giáo viên nên làm mẫu cho học sinh xem.

E. Lựa chọn khác( ghi rõ ).

9. Giai đoạn nói nào, theo em, nên sử dụng các trò chơi ngôn ngữ ở:

A. Giai đoạn khởi động ( warm-up )

B. Giai đoạn chuẩn bị ( pre-speaking )

C. Giai đoạn thực hành nói ( while-speaking).

D. Giai đoạn mở rộng ( post- speaking).

E. Bất kỳ giai đoạn nào.

10. Em nghĩ các trò chơi ngôn ngữ nên được tổ chức:

A. Thường xuyên ` B. Thỉnh thoảng

C. Hiếm khi D. Không bao giờ

Cảm ơn sự giúp đỡ của các em!

VIII

IX