Vocabulary retention through games for pupils at grade 8 at marie curie school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI UNIVERSITY

PHUNGTHI BICH NGOC

VOCABULARY RETENTION THROUGH GAMES
FOR PUPILS AT GRADE 8
AT MARIE-CURIE SCHOOL

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS
OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN TESOL

SUPERVISOR: PHAM HONG THUY, M.A.

Hanoi
January, 2009


T A B L E O F C O N T E N T .........................................................................................................................................I
A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S ...................................................................................................................... I l l
A B S T R A C T ...............................................................................................................................................................I V
L I S T O F F I G U R E ..................................................................................................................................................V
C H A P T E R I: I N T R O D U C T I O N .................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 B a c k g r o u n d
1.2 T h e

q u e s t i o n s .............................................................................................................................. 4

scope of the s t u d y

1.5 S i g n i f i c a n c e
1.6 T h e

.................................................................................................................. 1

a i m o f t h e s t u d y .............................................................................................................................. 4

1 .3 R esearch
1.4 T h e

to the s t u d y

.........................................................................................................................4

o f t h e s t u d y ...................................................................................................................5

o u t l i n e o f t h e t h e s i s ....................................................................................................................5

C H A P T E R II: L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W ................................................................................................6
2.1 V o c a b u l a r y

t e a c h i n g a n d l e a r n i n g .......................................................................................... 6

2.1.1 What is involved in learning a w ord?...................................................................... 6
2.1.2 Stages in word learning..............................................................................................7
2.1.3 Factors affect vocabulary acquisition..................................................................... 8
2.1.4 Some implications fo r vocabulary teaching.......................................................... 14
2 .2 O a m l s

f o r v o c a b u l a r y t e a c h i n g ............................................................................................. 15

.

2.2.1 Games fo r language teaching..................................................................................15
2.2.2 Word g a m es............................................................................................................... 20
2 .3 Re l a t e d

s t u d i e s t o t h e r e s e a r c h ................................................................................................. 2 2

C H A P T E R III: M E T H O D O L O G Y ...........................................................................................................2 4
3.1 M e t h o d ............................................................................................................................................................2 4

3.1.1 What this study is about?......................................................................................... 24
3.1.2 Subjects....................................................................................................................... 24
3.1.3 Variables:.................................................................................................................... 25
3 .2 D ata

c o l l e c t i o n i n s t r u m e n t s ........................................................................................................2 7

3.2.1 Questionnaires........................................................................................................... 27
3.2.2 Weekly records........................................................................................................... 29
3.2.3 Tests............................................................................................................................. 29
3 .3 T he

p r o c e d u r e s .........................................................................................................................................3 0

3.3.1 The pre-test procedure.............................................................................................. 31
3.3.2

The experiment procedure.......................................................................................31

3.3.3 The weekly record procedure................................................................................ 32
3.3.4 The post test procedure............................................................................................33
3.3.5 The students questionnaire procedure.................................................................. 33
3 .4 D e s i g n

o f d a t a a n a l y s i s ................................................................................................................... 33

3.4.1 T-test for test results analysis.................................................................................33
3.4.2 Analysis fo r questionnaire results..........................................................................34
C H A P T E R I V : R E S U L T S A N D D I S C U S S I O N .............................................................................3 5
4.1 R e s u l t s

f r o m t h e t e s t s ......................................................................................................................35

4.1.1 Analysis o f results o f the pre-test and post-test...................................................35
4 .2 R e s u l t s

f r o m w e e k l y r e c o r d s .................................................................................................... 3 6

4 .3 . R e s u l t s

from learner

Q u e s t i o n n a i r e s ................................................................................3 8

4.3.1 Questionnaire 1.........................................................................................................38
4.3.2. Questionnaire II....................................................................................................... 43
4 .4 S u m m a r y

o f f i n d i n g s a n d d i s c u s s i o n s ...................................................................................

49

C H A P T E R V : R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S A N D C O N C L U S I O N .......................................... 5 3
5.1 R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
5 .2 S u g g e s t i o n s

o n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f w o r d g a m e s .............................................. 53

f o r f u r t h e r s t u d i e s ..............................................................................................55

5 .3 C o n c l u s i o n .................................................................................................................................................5 6
R E F E R E N C E S ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 8
A P P E N D I C E S ........................................................................................................................................................ 61
A p p e n d i x 1 : Q u e s t i o n n a i r e s ....................................................................................................................61
A p p e n d i x 2 .......................................................................................................................................................... 6 9
A p p e n d i x 3 ...........................................................................................................................................................7 0
A p p e n d i x 4 ........................................................................................................................................................... 71
A

ppen d ix

5 ...........................................................................................................................................................73

A p p e n d i x 6: Q u e s t i o n n a i r e
A p p e n d i x 7: T h e

r e s u l t s .............................................................................................. 75

r e su l t s from the w e e k l y r e c o r d s of

t h e ex p e r i m e n t a l a n d

CONTROL GROUP................................................................................................................................................. 7 7
A p p e n d i x 8: P r e t e s t
A p p e n d i x 9: S a m p l e
A

ppen d ix

10: L e s s o n

and

Posttest

r e s u l t .................................................................................... 7 9

w o r d g a m e s a n d t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c e ex e r c i s e s ................... 8 0
p l a n f o r r e v i s i n g v o c a b u l a r y in u n i t 1

0 ......................................83


The researcher would like to begin by acknowledging the Dean and the Staff of
Department of Postgraduate Studies, Hanoi University, for their assistance through
the fulfillment of this MA thesis, and to express her appreciation to Ms Nguyen Thai
Ha, Vice-Dean o f the post- Graduate department of Hanoi University for her critical

ideas, and invaluable advice.

The person who the researcher wants to express her gratitude to is her supervisor,
Mrs Pham Hong Thuy (MA), for the encouragement and guidance throughout the
research. Without her help during my carrying out this paper, the researcher would
not complete this MA thesis.

Many thanks are given to the students of class 8M and 8P, Marie Curie school, who
have participated in the study


ABSTRACT
As teaching and learning English has become more and more popular in Viet Nam,
communicative approach is now widely used to make the work more effective and
enjoyable. According to some language researchers, using games is one of the most
effective techniques in retaining vocabulary learnt. So this study aims to find out if
games are more effective than traditional exercises in helping students remember
vocabulary meanings at Marie-Curie School. It also intends to find out the students’
attitudes towards word games and practice exercises. To reach the study aims an
experiment was conducted with 50 students from two classes 8M and 8P at MarieCurie school. One class was chosen to be the control group-who revise new words
through practice exercises and the other class- experimental group- through word
games.

The data for the study were obtained through three instruments- English vocabulary
tests, questionnaires and weekly records. The analysis of the data showed that word
games are more effective than traditional practice exercises in helping students
retaining vocabulary meanings, and through questionnaires, the students showed their
positive attitude toward revision word games because of their fun, interest,
competitiveness, etc. Games also bring about a relaxing atmosphere to the students in
class well as the confidence for most of the students in studying. As a result, games

help the students remember word meanings for longer time. However, in the
experimental group there are a few students who do not like joining in games, they
like revising vocabulary through traditional practice exercises

Based on the findings, some recommendations are given to improve the effectiveness
of the application of games in classes for vocabulary meaning revision. It also reveals
that combination of the techniques with traditional practice exercises should go
parallelly to satisfy different learning but it is necessary to combine the techniques of
traditional practice exercises to satisfy different learning styles. Some suggestions
are also mentioned for further studies in the field.


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

LIST OF FIGURE
Table 2. 1: The importance of retention in study

Table 4.1: Paired Samples statistics

Table 4.2: Paired Samples Tests

Table 4.4: Number of words that students can remember during 6 weeks

Table 4.5: View on the use of word games for vocabulary revision

Chart 4.1 : Feelings about traditional exercises

Chart 4.2: Feelings about participation in traditional exercises

Chart 4.3: Feelings about the tasks in traditional exercises

Chart 4.4: Belief about the effects of traditional exercises
Chart 4.5: The experimental group’s general feelings about revision word games

Chart 4.6: General students’ opinions about the effect of word games

Chart 4.7: Feelings about interaction in revision word games

Chart 4.8: The experimental group’s feeling about the tasks in word games

Chart 4.9: Belief about the effect of word games

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

In learning a foreign language, vocabulary/ plays an important role. Large knowledge
of lexis paves the way for language learming success. Vocabulary provides learners
with materials in order to produce complete utterances. It is one element that links
he four language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together. In
)ther words, a well- developed lexical competence promotes the language skills
Jevelopment. That means a fluent listener, speaker, reader, and writer can hardly do
veil without knowing as many words as possible

in order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an
adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately. New words
themselves create good background for pupils to express their ideas, therefore

vocabulary is considered crucial to language acquisition.

Despite the important role of the vocabulary, nowadays many pupils in the general
and pupils at Marie-Curie school in particular are lazy to learn new words. Many
learners think that learning new words is a hard and tedious process. It is common

that pupils sometimes learn a series of new words but they do not know how to use
them in different contexts, moreover in English book 8 there are plenty of new words
in each lesson, that crates the pressure on the students.

At our school, in the classroom learners expect that teachers write new words on the
board, explain the meanings of new words in Vietnamese, asking the whole class to
read out, following the teacher and then to write these new words into their
notebooks. The task for pupils is to write the new words at home (it is common that
there should be 2 lines for one new word) and to learn them by heart. The students
are not interested in learning and writing new words, so they easily forget the new
words they have learnt. The revision of new words does not attract the students when
the teachers often give practice exercises such as: filling each blank; translating the
new’ words into Vietnamese: matching words with their meanings, so the students do
not remember new words easily. In their tests, they do not usually get good marks in
vocabulary exercises.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

How can the teachers at our school help the students have better attitudes to learning
new words and how to help them retain new words? This is the question that the
researcher wants to try to find the answers to in this study.

The process of learning vocabulary is included different stages: presentation,
practice and revision. It is clearly known that teaching vocabulary is not only
presenting new words to students. All the new words introduced must be reviewed;
otherwise, they will gradually disappear from the learner’s memory after a short time,
.'udd (1978) affirms that rarely native speakers incorporate new words into repertoire
of vocabulary on a single exposure; the foreign language learners should not be
expected to do so either. Therefore, “the more exposures given to words, the better the
chances for retention

are” (p.74). As

Koprowski (2006) states,

learning is

remembering. If we respect this axiom, the review and recycling of new language
iiems will be crucial if they stand a chance of becoming readily accessible. In fact,
s.udents do the majority of their forgetting shortly after the lesson and then the rate of
forgetting diminished.

In order to avoid this lexical vanishing act, learners should

review new words shortly after they are presented, and then at increasingly longer
intervals (cited by Dao Thi Thanh Mai).

.earners of English have to deal with unfamiliar vocabulary during their language
cquisition. In order to learn and retain new words, learners should participate in
afferent task-based activities in their classroom whether it is a guessing task, a
iescribing exercise or conversation making. Such activities also include vocabulary

;ames, which especially focus on helping learners develop and use words in different
ontexts by making the lessons enjoyable. If teachers want students to remember new
vocabulary, it needs to be learnt in context, practiced, and then revised to prevent
sudents from forgetting. Therefore, teachers should create opportunities for learners to
rview words through various activities.

Ii fact, there are too many new words that the students have to learn to remember in
etch lesson in the book English 8 (published by Ministry of Education and Training),
S' it is challenging for students to remember the number of new words after each
lisson. it puts too much pressure on the students, therefore they can easily get bored
wth learning new words.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

/ t Marie Curie School where the researcher is working, the teachers often apply the
tnditional way to present and revise new words in each lesson.

Ai the presentation stage of new words, the teachers often write them on the board, and
tnnslate their meanings into Vietnamese and ask the students to copy down into the
notebooks. During the lesson they do not actively get involved in the lesson because
thiy do not remember much the new words. Maybe, they get bored with repeated
activities for many years: such as multiple choice, gap fill-in, matching items,
tnnslation, etc). It is clear that these types of exercises have not helped the students
very much in remembering new words because they seem to be rather boring and too
faniliar. At the revision stage, the students are required to go to the board and write
new words in English or Vietnamese which the teachers read out in Vietnamese or in
Erglish. They seem to be afraid of being asked to go to the board to write new words.

Besides,

the teachers give a test

in which there are gap-filling, matching,

m slating...exercises. Most o f the students do not remember well new words they
iave learnt. As a result, they do not often get good results in their tests, especially in
he lexical part. The lack of vocabulary affects their ability in other skills such as
eading, speaking, writing and listening. It is time for teachers at Marie-Curie school
o change their method of teaching new words instead of applying traditional teaching
ur a long time.

Vhich of the activities can help students remember word meaning better? According
D many researchers, educators and methodologists, the teachers can use language
;ames - active and interesting activities in helping students recycle lexical items. In
tieir opinions, games are highly motivating, competitive and fun. They can bring a lot
sudents learn new words effectively through games and how they learn them.
Tierefore, learners will enjoy themselves, be stimulated and get involved in
vjcabulary learning. As a result, they can learn things faster and remember them
btter.

Vith so many advantages, games are thought to be effective in teaching and learning
vocabulary but just in theory in general.

Can games completely replace traditional

e.ercises, which have been familiar to the students for many years? Can games bring
btter results for the students in remembering new words? Do games really make the

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

best effort in real practice and in a particular teaching and learning situation? Whether
tie students like games or not? Will the students get involved in the lessons through
gimes?

Oilv an experiment and a follow-up questionnaire survey can help find the answers to
thi question. W atcyn-Jones (1993) stated in his comparison of word games with using
traditional exercises: “I am sometimes asked why one should go to the trouble of
photocopying and cutting out words for activities when the same thing could probably
be done one a single sheet of paper. My answer is that although it is certainly more
work for the teacher, the result is well worth it” (cited by Dao Thi Thanh Mai).

In the experiment, games should be applied in a real practice of vocabulary so that the
effect of them can be measured and assessed in comparison to the traditional activity
and the students’ attitudes toward games and traditional exercises can be elicited.
Whether games are useful and suitable for the students at Marie-Curie school that
depends on the result achieved from the research.

1.2 The aim of the study

In order to help students learn English vocabulary more effectively the research aim«;
to exam the effectiveness of revision games in word retention while learning English,
to discover students’ attitudes toward language games in revising new words for pupils
at grade 8 at Marie- Curie school, and give some recommendations that could help
both teachers and students teach and learn vocabulary more effectively.

1. 3 Research questions
To reach the aim of the study, the following questions are focused on:
1. Do word revision games help students better in memorizing new words?
2. What are students’ attitudes towards revision games in learning new words?

1.4

The scope of the study

Learning a word means dealing with its various aspects such as its meaning, its
spelling, its pronunciation, its parts, related derived forms, its collocations, its
gram mar, or restrictions on it use, but due to the limit of time, in this study the

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

researcher focused on the word meaning aspect of word form

more rather than

vocabulary acquisition. The study was carried out in two grades 8 (M) and 8 (P) at
Varie-Curie School.

1.5 Significance of the study

It is hopeful that the findings of the study will be useful for the researcher herself and
tht other teachers at Marie Curie Sc hool in vocabulary teaching practice to improve the

stidents’ vocabulary retention in learning vocabulary.

1.5 The outline of the thesis

The thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter I Introduction, presents the background to the study and the statement of the
problems, the aims, the scope as well as the significance of the study. The outline of
the thesis is also stated in this chapter.

Chapter II Literature Review, deals with academic viewpoints on vocabulary teaching
and learning, and the advantages and use of games in language teaching, especially in
revising vocabulary. Some research works related to the current study are also
presented in this chapter.

Chapter III Methodology: In this chapter the methodology of the study, the subjects,
data collection instruments and procedures are focused on.

Chapter IV Data analysis and Discussion: This chapter analyzes and discusses the
results achieved from the study.

Chapter V: Recommendations and Conclusion. In this chapter, some recommendations
are shown in the application of word games and practice exercises to vocabulary
revision at Marie-Curie School, basing the major findings after the experiment. All the
issues presented and discussed in this chapter will be sum up to draw a conclusion
afterwards.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn

C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter II reviews literature related to vocabulary teaching and learning. More
specifically, some basic principles of teaching and learning vocabulary and major
findings in language games will be reviewed. Through this chapter, the viewpoints of
methodologists relating to vocabulary teaching and learning as well as word revision
games will also be reviewed.

2.1 Vocabulary teaching and learning
2.1.1 What is involved in learning a word?

Linguistic studies by Carter and Carthy (1988), Nation (2001), Schmittt (2000)
ndicate that learning a word involves more than just knowing its meaning. Other
tnowledge is also crucial in learning a word such as its forms (spoken and written
forms); its other meanings; its structure (derivatives); its syntactical behaviors; its
collations (association with other items); and lexical relations (its synonyms, antonyms
or hyponyms) used to be thought as simply knowing how a word is spelled and
pronounced and

the meanings of it. But Grain & Redman (1986) stated that when

learning a word, learners have to know the w ords and their m eanin gs (con ccp tu al and
affective meanings, style, sense relation, collocation, idioms etc); words and their
forms (grammar, word building, pronunciation). But within the aim of the study, the
vord meaning and word form will be discussed further.
2.1.1.1 Word meaning

The lexical system has important facts that when learning and teaching vocabulary we
need to pay attention to the fact that one word can have very different meanings

depending on the linguistic and social context.

According to this point of view, Grain & Redman (1986) classified the meaning into 2
types: Conceptual meaning and affective meaning. The conceptual meaning indicates
or points out things, concepts etc. For example “Father, dad, daddy” denote the male
parent. “Rain” denotes a phenomena of nature. When the referent is a concept, an
abstract thing, we have significant denotation and when it is an individual object we
have demonstrative denotation
@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

The affective meaning shows us how things, concepts etc are indicated. It conveys the
speaker’s attitude, emotions and so on. “Father, dad, daddy” as mentioned above, have
ihe same denotative meaning but different connotative meaning. “Father” is called
normally, but “dad or daddy” is used to call with emotional feelings. The affective
meaning may consist of emotive charge (emotion), evaluation, intensity, and stylistic
coloring means that a word may be colloquial, bookish, slangy etc. It plays an
inportant role in such spheres of life as advertising, politics, literature.
I ./.7.2 Word form

Gaim & Redman (1986) emphasize that knowing word form is essential as knowing
vord meaning. Knowing word form includes word grammar, pronunciation (sound,
spelling, stress) as well word building (affixation, compounding and conversion).
‘Knowing a word’ is composed of learning what they mean, how they are used, how
their form can be changed to fit different grammatical context, how they spelt,
pronounced and stressed, and how they are built.

21.2 Stages in word learning

As stated by Waring (2002) there are two major stages in word learning. The first
stige is that the students are necessary to match the word spelling and pronunciation
(iis form) with its meaning. After

having known the word, the students ought to

discover deeper aspects of word knowledge: such as the connection of the word; the
restriction on its use; the written or the spoken form; the similarity to other words; the
shades of meaning; and the frequency of the word and so on.

Thus, while learning new words, there are various lexical areas such as word meaning,
word form, word grammar, or word use, etc. However depending on the item the
teacher are teaching and the level of the students the teachers choose what areas to
highlight.

But word meaning and word form are the two first main parts that the

students must acquire well to whatever word or what level the students are.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

2.1.3.1 Features o f input

2.1.3.1.1 Frequency

According to Hedge (2000) frequency is especially important to learners. It is quite

simple to understand that the more frequently the words occur, the more useful they
are for students to remember. It is more significant for the beginners who are taught a
large vocabulary of high frequency, so the teachers need to take a very different
approach to teaching high frequency vocabulary from low frequency vocabulary. If
learners encounter or use a word more than seven times, they will remember or know it
better than learners do once or twice.

It is important to help the learners have good control of the high frequency word of the
language.

2.1.3.1.2 Contextualization

Hedge (2000) shows that words presented in context help learners acquire and retain
better than in isolation. Isolated words give no point of support, no ‘cognitive hold’ in
learner’ memory. Moreover isolated words do not present a psychological reality,
because they do not carry a message. Meanwhile, the meaning of words are defined
partly by the context in most cases. That is why they can not evoke

emotion or

involvement in learners.

Concrete contexts give learners linguistic and psychological reality that help learners
retain the words more effectively.
2.1.3.2 Depth o f processing

Hedge (2000) states that during teaching new words, teachers are necessary to
introduce and use techniques which encourage learners to work with words. The more
impressive meaning words have, the more easily (e.g crazy) they seem to stick to the
memory of students.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

Cook (1991) wants to give a proof that how well people remember something depends
on how deeply they process it. ’’Repeating words as strings of sounds is low-level
processing and badly remembered; working out how words fit in the grammatical
structure of the sentence is deeper and leads to better memory; using the meanings of
words together within the meaning of the sentence is the deepest level of processing
and ensure the best memory”. So the level of processing of the words used is more
significant than the frequency of the words.
A ‘deep experience’ with the words will bring better retention.
2.1.3.3 Memorization
2.1.3.3.1 Types o f memory

According to Cook (1991) there are two types of memory: short term memory and
long term memory.

Short term memory acts as a scratch-pad for temporary recall of the information under
process. Short term memory decays rapidly and also has a limited capacity.
Information stored in short-term memory is often brief and it is usually forgotten then,
e sp e c ia lly w h en it is interrupted. Interference often cau ses disturbance in short term

memory retention. This is why constant repetition is often demanded to hold
information.

Long term memory can store information for a long time. Unlike short term memory
long term memory decays little and it has no limit in capacity. It can accommodate any

amount of new information. Information from short term memory is stored in long
term memory by revision. The repeated exposure to a stimulus or the rehearsal of a
piece of information transfers it into long term memory. It is clearly that it is really
necessary to create long term memory. There may be many ways to carry out including
retention. Gaim and Redman (1986) suggested learners may find repetition a very
effective way of transferring information into long term memory. A famous
psychologist and researcher, Ebbinghaus, has reported that each additional recitation
(after you really know the material) engraves the mental trace deeper and deeper, thus
establishing a base for long term retention. Figures in Table below show how
important retention is in studying.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

After this number
of days

The
amount
remembered
by
students who did no
review was

The amount remembered
by students who reviewed
was

7

33%

83%

63

14%

70%

Table 2.1 : The importance o f retention in studying

(cited in Memory and related learning principles- http: // www.Web-us.com/memorvand-related-learninfi-prin.htm)

To sum up, while teaching teachers have to create various ways to help students
improve their memory. The more interested in what students have learnt, the better
they can remember. Students stick their long term memory to what they are interested
in or what relates to their own lives. Therefore, teachers need to select materials of
instruction carefully, make material interesting, offer role-playing, games etc to help
students learn vocabulary.

2.1.3.3.2 Forgetting

It is common that we sometimes can not remember what we have summed up in long
term memory although our ‘mental lexical’ is highly organized and efficient. Why
does this matter happen? There are two theories of forgetting: decay theory and cuedependent forgetting (Gairn & Redman, 1986).

Decay theory suggests that unless we use information in fact stored regularly, it will

slowly disappeared from our memory. The second theory suggests that information in
fact stays in our memory but we are unable to reach it.

There is one more thing that is necessary to mention while discussing ‘forgetting’ is
that the rate at which we forget. Many studies show that the process of forgetting is so
fast: most human beings forget 80% of new information in 24 hours. The less
interested a person is in something, the faster the process of forgetting is. This rate

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

indicates that revision is essential in the process of vocabulary acquisition (Gairns
& Redman. 1986).
2.1.3.4 Learning styles

Learning styles are general approaches that learners use in learning a new language (or
in learning any other subject). A number of models have been developed to describe
learning style dimension. Among them are visual versus auditory, kinesthetic versus
tactile learning preference, extroverted versus introverted learners, judging versus
perceiving preference. These are likely to be most strongly associated with vocabulary
learning. According to Reid (1998), learning style is overviewed such as: learning
through the eyes (seeing)

is the visual style; learning through the ear (hearing) is

auditory style; learning through complete body experience is kinesthetic style; learning
through touch (hands-on) is tactile style;

learning through concrete experience,

contacts and relationship with others is extroverted style; learning in individual,
independent learning situations is introverted style; learning by reflection, deduction
analysis is judging style and

learning

through negotiation, feeling, induction is

perceiving one.

Learning stvle refers to the fact that students p referentially take in and process
information in different ways: by seeing and hearing, reflecting and acting, reasoning
logically and intuitively, analyzing and visualizing, steadily and it fits and starts.
Therefore teachers must have various methods of teaching to match different learning
styles of most students in class or the students may get easily bored and inattentive in
class, do poorly on tests, get discouraged about the courses.

A version copyrighted by Miller (2000) shows that there are four learning styles as
follows:

The visual/verbal learning style

The students who are interested in this kind of learning style learns best when
information is presented in visually and in a written language format. In classroom
activities, the students get benefits from the teachers who write the essential points of a
lecture on the blackboard or show him how to follow the lecture with an outline along

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn

C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

with. The students can see information through their mind eyes when they try to
remember something.

The visual!Nonverbal learning style

The students who are

interested in this kind of learning style learn best

information is presented visually and

when

in apicture or design format. In classroom he

benefits from instructors who use visual aids such as films, videos, maps, and charts.
When trying to remember thing they often visualize a picture of it in his mind.

The tactile!Kinesthetic learning style

The students who are

interested in this kind of learning style learn best

physically enjoying in

a ‘hands on’ activity. In the classroom a

when

lab setting is an

effective environment for them to discover new information from various materials.
They learn best when they can enjoy physically in the learning environment. The
instructors attract them by encouraging in-class demonstration.

The AuditoryfVerbal learning style

The students learn best when information is presented auditory in an oral language
format. In a classroom they are interested in listening to the lecture and participating in
group discussion. They get information from audio tapes. It is easy for them to
remember what is said out loudly. They learn best when interacting with others in a
listening/speaking exchange.

Learning styles vary from learners to learners.

Learning styles can make the same

teaching method wonderful for some and terrible for others (Oxford, 2001). In order to
help these kinds o f students focus on teachers should strive for a balance of
instructional methods. If the balance is achieved, all students will be taught partly in a
manner they prefer, which leads to an increased comfort level and willingness to learn.

In other words, a match between learning style is significant in enhancing learner’s
language acquisition.

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

Regarding the factors that affect language learning outcomes, motivation emerges as a
significant one. MacIntyre and Noels (1996) reported that substantially motivated
learners tended to adopt greater range of appropriate strategies and use them more
frequently when compared to less motivated learners.

The teacher, who organizes activities, takes control of the method in the classroom, is
certainly an essential factor affecting intrinsic motivation. If students believe in the
teacher’s qualities, they will probably be interested in the language learning; otherwise
they may have negative feelings about the language learning.

Often these have a positive impact in raising the motivation of the pupils. According
to Norris (2001), the teacher can motivate students by creating enjoyable lessons in
which the student’s attention is gained. This can be achieved through the use of
interesting texts and encouraging students to become more active participants in the
lessons. The teacher can make the students feel that they can somewhat contribute to a
classroom task, make the learning context less stressful and give encouragement to the
class through games during the lesson, especially in revising vocabulary.
2.1.3.6 Awareness

Oxford (1990) demonstrated that learners who are more aware of their language
learning seem to use appropriate and effective strategies. Awareness is generally
defined as a state of mind which is influenced by belief, attitude and previous learning
experience.

MacIntyre and Noels (1996), supplied evidence that learner’s belief and attitude about

language can influence their language learning. Learners with positive beliefs and
attitudes towards English learning use more effort, utilize more learning strategies.

In language teaching and learning, students’ attitudes can be found in their feelings
and beliefs about language learning, about the classroom, the teacher, course books,
teaching styles, etc. Attitudes play an important part as they influence learning.
Depending on the learners’ attitudes, learning language can be a source of enrichment
or a source o f resentment (Lightbrown & Spada, 1999). According to Brown (1994),

13
@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

language learners benefit from positive attitudes while negative attitudes may lead to
decreased motivation and thus to unsuccessful attainment of proficiency.

2.1.4 Some implications for vocabulary teaching
2.1.4.1 Which words to teach?

W aring (2001) stated teachers should concentrate on the most frequent and useful
words as they carry the most meaning senses. He also advises teachers to pay special
attention to words which are difficult to learn. But before doing that they should
introduce words that are relatively easy to learn in order to ‘build a start-up vocabulary
base’.

Learning vocabulary should not stop at the surface level of form and meaning.
Learners should know word use and word grammar as well. According to Waring
(2002), word learning can be divided up into two major stages. The first stage is

matching the w ord’s spelling and pronunciation with its meaning. When this is known,
the learners should then work on deeper aspects of word knowledge: which words it
goes with, the restriction on its use, its similarity or oppositeness to other words,
whether it is formal or informal, how it is built, and so on.
W aring (2001) emphasizes that before teaching new vocabulary teachers need to
identify what a word is as well as its relationship. In his point of view, words are
almost never found in isolation, they nearly always have patterns that together form
meaning in certain restricted ways. In order to speak and write well teachers need to
introduce lots of word relationships on their own (Waring, 2001).

What vocabulary is taught for learners depends much on how teachers teach them.
2.1.4.2 How to teach?

The way to teach lexical items is as significant as the decision on the content in
vocabulary teaching. When the teachers choose what to teach, they need to pay
attention how they can teach them effectively. There are three major points to notice:

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

First, the ways teachers should apply to present vocabulary meaning are suitable and
memorable. The presentation of words in isolation of this type often makes learners
forget quickly. Therefore, lexical items presentation had better be done with some
contextual support, and as interesting as possible such as: flashcards, photographs and
pictures, wall charts, blackboard drawings, word pictures, mime, and gesture... The
students use this technique to create a visual memory for the words, especially for
concrete ones. Waring (2001) stated that teacher should not try to just present the
meaning of a word to learners but let the learners work it out for themselves with

guidance where necessary. According to him, this way will make the learners
understand and memorize the word longer.

Second, in order to retain the word presented in the learners’ long term memory, it is
necessary to get learners interact with words for learners. Morgan & Rinvolucri (1986)
introduce exercises that involve the drawing and labeling pictures, diagrams, plans,
maps, etc. They also introduce tasks that encourage learners to explore personal
responses to words, for example, ask learners to introduce himself/herself by giving
him or her true name and one item from the chosen area of vocabulary (e.g with
containers).
Tliiiii, teachers should give the students opportunities to revise vocabulary in the
classroom so they will be able to help students remember it because we can remember
the new words if students encounter a few times more. According to Uberman (1998)
games are useful for revising any types of words or aspects of word in a more amusing
way than most of the other techniques. Playing a game is a great opportunity to repeat
the material in a way which is encouraging and not intimidating. Obviously, games are
highly enjoyable and relaxing, thus motivating learners to vocabulary learning. So, in
what follows games will be discussed more.

2.2 Games for vocabulary teaching
2.2.1 Games for language teaching

As mentioned above, language games are recently recommended as an effective
technique for language teaching in general and vocabulary teaching in particular. This
following part aims to give a clear understanding of what games are, why and how
games are used in the classroom and an emphasis on vocabulary games.
15
@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn

C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

A game, firstly, consists of plays governed by rules. Each game has its own rules.
They can not use the rules of game for another.

Secondly, a game is a play of cooperation and competition. A game always has
competitive elements but there are many games in which cooperation is the main thing.

Thirdly, a game has its own objectives. There are games used for relaxing or both
relaxing and studying. There are also games used for developing skills, vocabulary, or
grammar, etc.

All of these are summed up in Gibb’s definition (1978, p60) of a game: “A game is an
activity carried out by cooperating and competing decision-makers, seeking to achieve,
within a set of rules, their objectives”.

To sum up, through those definitions, a common element- that is a game has three
main characteristics: (1) a goal or objective, (2) a sets of rules which govern a game,
(3) games involve a contest either between players and the goal. In addition, games
should lead to having fun. G am es are for p layin g, and this elem en t o f play is ciu cia l.

2.2.1.2 Types o f language games

According to Rixon (1981) there are two types of language games: code-control games
and communicative games.

2.2.1.2.1 Code-control/linguistic games

Code-control/ linguistic games require players to produce correct language or
demonstrate that they have had a correct interpretation of a certain piece of language:

sound, spelling, vocabulary or structure.

Rixon (1981) stated that the length of utterance used in games of this kind is usually
limited-often one word only and seldom longer than a sentence or two. He also added
that correct repetition of a limited range of language is the important thing in these
games.
@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

Rixon (1981) states that the language employed by the players to solve the problems in
these games can be much freer or more varied than that used in code-control games. It
may not be perfect, yet, if the message is understood, the objective can still be
achieved.

However, it should be noted that these two games do not conflict. Each has its own
role in a teaching program and reciprocates each other. The use of correct language
improved in code-control games can be promoted in a more flexible and effective way
encouraged by communicative games.
2.2.1.3 The advantages o f using games in language teaching

Games are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value. They are
highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to
express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994: 118) ( cited Agieszka Uberman).
Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these
reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign
language and not just problems that at tim es seem o v erw h elm in g” ( cited by A gieszk a
Uberman).

Games creates an enjoyable environment

To illustrate one of the advantages of games, Lee (1979, p i) reports: “language games
could banish boredom, make for willing learners who look forward to language. At the
same time, language games create an enjoyable atmosphere”.

The writer also indicates games are enjoyable and the essence of many games lies in
out stripping, in friendly fashion, some else’s performance or in bettering oneself, as in
the word of sport (Lee, 1979). In many games, the activities of pair work, group work
and the whole class work aim to give learners the chance to work together or be
involved to score as many points as possible. Most learners love scoring points. At the
same time, they are naturally motivated to revise or to acquire previous or new
knowledge with pleasure. In the relaxing atmosphere which is created by using games,

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn


C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4..22.Tai lieu. Luan 66.55.77.99. van. Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an.Tai lieu. Luan van. Luan an. Do an

students remember things faster and better (W ierus and Wierus, quoted by Uberman,
1998).

Games provide active learner- centered learning

Games are learner-centered and personal, which is important because learners learn in
individual ways. Rixon (1981) explains that teachers should be there as “ a source of
information”- perhaps on vocabulary or on new structure or with a suggestion about
what they could rephrase something to make it clear to other players. In other words,
games are part of a general movement away from a teacher- dominated classroom and
promote active learner- centered learning.

Games are highly motivating

Games are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more
opportunity to express their opinions and feelings ( Hansen, quoted by Uberman,
1998). A game is a source o f motivation, interest and a game often considered to be
the first step to draw students’ attention to an English Foreign language environment.
“Motivation and interest in play have a key role in maintaining a natural mutually
rcspcctcd c o d c en jo y m en t o f d isc ip lin e o f e o n lio l" (Vale, 1 9 9 5 , p 2 2 3 ). Discussing this,

David and Hollowell (1989, p3) also claim: “Because games demand and promote a
high degree of student participation, they motivate to a greater extent than for
conventional textbooks or worksheets ”.

In most of the games, an element of competition between individual learners or teams
is a strongly motivating factor, which stimulates students to join the game. It is the
most important reason to explain why students are interested in playing games.

Using language game is one of the best ways to create relaxing and interesting lesson
in order to maintain students’ motivation. W hen learners are given a chance to play a
game, they are encouraged to choose their partner. This does not only create a friendly
working atmosphere but also motivate them to help each other. Consequently, all
learners will feel happy and more motivated in taking part in games.

Games promote cooperation and competition

@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn