Renew warm up activity to motivate the 11th graders in english speaking lessons by applying some language games effectively

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HOÁ
TRƯỜNG THPT 4 THỌ XUÂN

EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE

RENEW WARM UP ACTIVITY TO MOTIVATE THE 11th GRADERS
IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS
BY APPLYING SOME LANGUAGE GAMES EFFECTIVELY

Người thực hiện: Đỗ Thị Sen
Chức vụ: Giáo viên
SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực (môn): Tiếng Anh

THANH HOÁ NĂM 2019


TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………..
1. Introduction……...…………………………………………………………
1.1. Reasons for choosing the research……………………………………….
1.2. Aims of the research……………………………………………………..
1.3. Object of the research……………………………………………………
1.4. Methods of the research………………………………………………….
2. Content…...……………………………………………………………………..
2.1. Theoretical background………………………………………………….
2.2. The reality of the problem…………………………………………...…...
2.3. Measure implementation…………………………………………………
2.3.1. Guessing games (10 Yes/No questions)………………………………..
2.3.2. Search games (Find someone who)……………………………………
2.3.3. Labeling games………………………………………………………...
2.3.4. Matching games……...………………………………………………...

2.3.5. Rearranging games….…………………………………………………
2.3.6. Word snake…………..…………………………………………………
2.3.7. General knowledge quiz (Who is millionaire?)………………………..
2.3.8. Word square……………………………………………………………
2.3.9. Guessing games (guess hidden picture)………………………………..
2.4. Result……………………………………………………………………..
3. Conclusion and Suggestions…………...…………………………………...
3.1. Conclusion……………………………………………………………….
3.2. Suggestions………………………………………………………………
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………..

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1. Introdution
1.1. Reasons for choosing the research
Nowadays, English assumes as a more and more important part as a means
of international communication than ever. It is also a "useful tool" and a "masterkey" to discover the world of science, technology, education, culture, business and
diplomacy. With such a trend of development, therefore, improving the quality of
education in general and quality of the subject English in particular is one of the
concerns leading the current educational policy. Specially, 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 in particular does not come
up to the study aims. In spite of 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 4 Tho Xuan high school, most students are not aware of the importance
of speaking skill. It has been proved that some students got into a habit of learning
“mute English” which obviously harmful to a language learner. Therefore, it is
necessary to find a supplementary technique used in teaching speaking.
Games can help teachers to create contexts in which the language is useful

and meaningful. Games bring a relaxed atmosphere and create more opportunities
for students to practice so they are highly motivating, competitive and fun. With
games, students will enjoy themselves, be stimulated and get involved in speaking.
As a result, they can learn new lexical items faster and remember better. With so
many advantages, games seem to be an effective way in teaching and learning
speaking a foreign language.
All the above – mentioned reasons and factors have inspired me to conduct
a research titled “Renew warm up activity to motivate the 11th graders in English
speaking lessons by applying some language games effectively.”
1.2. Aims of the research
The aims of the research are:
- To investigate the situation of teaching and learning speaking to the 11 th
graders in classroom.
- To investigate the effectiveness of using games in teaching speaking to
th
the 11 graders at 4 Tho Xuan high school.
- To provide some suggestions and implications for the improvement of
speaking teaching at 4 Tho Xuan high school by using games in addition to other
techniques.

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1.3. Object of the research
The research focuses specifically on using games in warm up activity in
teaching speaking to the 11th graders at 4 Tho Xuan high school, namely, 2 classes
11A1 and 11A4.
1.4. Methods of the research
In the process of carrying out this research, the survey questionnaire is used
to collect data. The survey questionnaire including pre-task and post-task survey

questionnaire is for 80 11th form students from 2 classes 11A1 and 11A4 at 4 Tho
Xuan high school.
2. Content
2.1. Theoretical background
Speaking
Speaking, as Bygate (1997) definites, involves not only the use of the right
sound in the patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also the choice of words and
inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning.
Common speaking activities
A variety of activities can be used to develop speaking skills. Below are
some common ones:
* Role play
* Information gap activity
* Problem – solving
* Other picture card activities
Warm up activities
A warm up activity is a short, fun game which a teacher or trainer can use
with students. The purpose of a warm up is to encourage the students and prepare
them to learn by stimulating their minds and/or their bodies.
Motivation
Motivation is generally defined as an abstract concept used to describe the
willingness of a person to expand to reach a particular goal. For language learners,
mastery of a language may be a goal. In linguistic, sociolinguistic and second
language acquisition, a number of language learner motivation models have been
postulated.
Oxford and Shearin (1996) points out: “Motivation is important because it
directly influences how often use L2 learning strategies, how much students
interact with native speakers, how much input they receive in the language being
learnt (the target language), how well they do on curriculum-related tests, how high
their general proficiency level becomes, and how long they preserve and maintain

L2 skills after language study is over…”.

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Language games
Language games mean games related to language. Hadfield (1987)
classifies language games into may categories as follow:
+ Sorting, ordering, or arranging games.
+ Information gap games.
+ Guessing games.
+ Search games.
+ Matching games.
+ Labeling games.
+ Exchanging games.
+ Board games.
+ Role play games.
2.2. The reality of the problem
The research was carried out at 4 Tho Xuan high school with the
participation of 80 the 11th form students. All of the surveyed students have learned
English for 6 years. However, most of them have difficulties in mastering four
language skills. Of the four skills, as many of them revealed, they find speaking
especially important yet challenging one. That was the reason why most of the
students feel bored and unmotivated in speaking classes.
English 11 textbook consists of 16 units for two terms. Speaking lessons are
under the tendency theme-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. However, there are some speaking topics that
are far unfamiliar with the students’ background knowledge such as nature in
danger (unit 10), sources of energy (unit 11), space conquest (unit 15), the wonders

of the world (unit 16),…
The survey questionnaire used for 80 students from 2 classes 11A1 and
11A4 at 4 Tho Xuan high school.
Table 1: Students’ attitudes and perspectives towards speaking lessons
Options
Questions
Question 1:
How is speaking skill important to you?
A. Very important
B. Important
C. Normal
D. Not important at all

A
(%)

B
(%)

C
(%)

D
(%)

8

17

25

50

5


Question 2:
How do you find speaking topics introduced in 10
English 11 textbook?
A. Very interesting
B. Interesting
C. Normal
D. Boring
Question 3:
How do you find speaking activities introduced 62
in English 11 textbook?
A. Very difficult
B. Difficult
C. Normal
D. Easy
Question 4:
Are you willing to speak in speaking classes?
A. Yes, I like speaking very much
B. Yes, sometimes
C. No, I’m never willing to speak

1

21

23

46

27

11

0

28

71

As can be seen clearly from the table 1, a lot of the surveyed students think
that speaking is the most difficult skill meanwhile there are only 8 % consider
speaking very important. More specifically, 46 % find speaking topics introduced
in English 11 textbook boring and 62% find speaking activities introduced in
English 11 textbook very difficult. Moreover, there are so many students who are
never willing to speak in speaking classes (71%). In summary, the students are
losing their interest during the lesson. Therefore, an effective technique should be
exploited to motivate students in these speaking lessons.
2.3. Measure implementation
To stimulate the students’ minds before studying a new lesson, a short and
fun game should be used for warm up activity. The following are some sample
games for each unit in English 11 textbook.
2.3.1. Guessing games (10 Yes/No questions)
Classroom management: Whole class
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:

The teacher calls one student to go and stand in front of the class. The student
thinks of a friend in the class and other students can ask 10 Yes/No questions to
find clues in order to guess who the student is thinking of. The person finds the
correct name will be the winner.

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Example:
Unit 1: FRIENDSHIP
Student A: (stand in front of the class)
Student B: Is he/she tall?
Student A: Yes.
Student C: Does he/she have short hair?
Student A: No.
Student C: Is that Lan?
Student A: No.
Student D: Is he/she thin?
Student A: No.
Student E: Is that Nga?
Student A: Yes. That’s correct.
(Student E is the winner)
Unit 16:

THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD

Student A: Is it in China?
Teacher: No.
Student B: Is it in Asia?
Teacher: No.

Student C: Is it in Africa?
Teacher: Yes.
Student D: Is it believed to have been built over a 20-year period?
Teacher: Yes.
Student E: Did it consist approximately 2 millions blocks of stone?
Teacher: Yes.
Student E: Is it the Great Pyramid?
Teacher: Yes. That’s correct.
(Student E is the winner)
2.3.2. Search games
Classroom management: Group work
Material: Grids
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:
Students are given a grid. The task is to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name
of a classmate who fits that cell. Students ask and answer questions to complete
their own grid and help classmates complete theirs.
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Example:
Unit 2:
Games: Find someone who
Grid:

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
Name

1. being late for school
2. being punished by the teacher

3. failing an exam
4. speaking English to a native English speaker
5. being seriously ill
6. traveling to other parts of the country
7. talking to a famous pop star
2.3.3. Labeling games
Classroom management: Whole class
Material: Pictures
Time: 3 minutes
Example:
Unit 3:
A PARTY
Procedure:
The teacher prepares a set of pictures of parties such as: birthday party, Christmas
party, wedding party and thanksgiving party. The teacher asks students to label the
names of the parties. And then let them tell about the party.
Using some questions:
What do you often do at the party?
What kind of presents do you often bring to the party?
What kind of clothes do you often wear at the party?
Pictures:

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Unit 10:

NATURE IN DANGER

Procedure:

The teacher prepares a set of pictures of animals such as: tiger, panda, cheetah,
elephant, tortoise and rhinoceros. The teacher asks students to label the names of
the animals.
Pictures:

2.3.4. Matching games
Classroom management: Group work
Material: Pictures and cards
Time: 3 minutes
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Procedure:
The teacher divides the class into groups of four or five students. The teacher gives
each group a set of pictures of activities and cards containing the names of the
volunteer works. Students work in group and quickly match each picture with their
names. Which group finishes first and has the correct answers will be the winner.
Example:
Unit 4:
VOLUNTEER WORK
Pictures:

A

B

C

D

E

F
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Cards:
1. Visiting the old people
2. Teaching the poor children
3. Taking care of the disadvantaged children
Unit 6:

4. Collecting the rubbish
5. Taking part in a directing the traffic
6. Building the road

COMPETITIONS

Pictures:

A

B

C

D

E
Cards:

1. General Knowledge Quiz
2. English Competition
3. Art Competition

F
4. Poetry Reading Competition
5. Singing Contest
6. Athletics Meeting
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Unit 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY
Pictures:

B

A

C

E
Cards:
1. Solar power
2. Biogas plant
3. Water power

D

F
4. Wind power

5. Nuclear power
6. Geothermal heat
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2.3.5. Rearranging games
Example:
Unit 7:
WORLD POPULATION
Classroom management: Whole class
Material: Extra-board or power point
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:
The teacher hangs an extra-board or shows power point which has jumble words.
The teacher asks students to rearrange these letters into the correct words and write
them on the board.
Extra-board
1. SOUCESRE->
2. BOLEUD->
3. LYMIFA NAPLIGN->
4. GEURIF->
5. CERSEANI->
6. RAESDEC->
7. LWORD HITRD->
8. RILDENCH->
9. IMLTI->
10. LORTONC ->
Unit 9:

Suggested answer

Resources
Double
Family Planning
Figure
Increase
Decrease
Third World
Children
Limit
Control
THE POST OFFICE

Type of games: Rearranging games
Classroom management: Pair work
Material: Extra-board or power point
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:
The teacher hangs an extra-board or shows power point containing the sentences of
a letter. The teacher asks students to work in pairs in order to rearrange the clues to
complete the letter. Which pair finishes first and has the correct answer will be the
winner.
1. Perhaps due to their stressing work, sometimes they seem a bit cold and not very
helpful.
2. The last point I would like to comment on is the attitude of some of your staff.

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3. Secondly, although the parking area is large, it has no security guards and I
sometimes fell insecure leaving my motorbike there.

4. Firstly, the lobby inside the post office is too cramped and the seats are not
enough.
5. Furthermore, I think it would be much better if the post office is open until 11:00
p.m. so that customers can have more access to your services.
6. Our customers often have to stand while waiting for our transactions, causing an
unpleasant scene of disorder.
Suggested answer:
4–6–3–5–2–1
2.3.6. Word snake
Classroom management: Whole class
Material: Extra-board or power point
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:
The teacher divides the class into 4 groups and asks them to split the letters to have
verb phrases by putting a line between the phrases in the word snake. Which group
finishes first and has the correct answers will be the winner.
Example:
Unit 8:
CELEBRATIONS
Word snake

Suggested answers:
1. grow cash crops
2. build a medical centre
3. build a village ground
4. widen the school
5. resurface the roads
2.3.7. General knowledge quiz
Example:
Unit 12:

THE ASIAN GAMES
Game: Who is millionaire?
Classroom management: Individually
Material: Power point
Time: 3 minutes
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Procedure:
The teacher calls 4 representatives of 4 groups to stand in front of the class and
gives each of them 4 cards containing letter A, B, C, and D. The teacher shows the
questions on power point and asks 4 students to give their answers by raising the
cards. The student with the quickest and correct answer will get 10 points. Which
student has the highest score will be the winner.

Questions:
1. Which sport is aquatic?
A. skiing
B. swimming
C. wrestling
D. A and B
2. The first Asian Games were held in:
A. Manila, Philippine B. Tokyo, Japan
C. New Delhi, India D. Busan, Korea
3. The 14th Asian Games attracted 9,919 participants from……countries:
A. 32
B. 11
C. 44
D. 45
4. The 3rd Asian Games were held in:

A. Manila, Philippine
B. Tokyo, Japan
C. New Delhi, India
D. Bangkok, Thailand
5. What is the sport?
A. Wrestling
B. Skiing
C. Squash
D. Rugby

2.3.8. Word square

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Example:
Unit 13:

HOBBIES

Classroom management: Group work
Material: paper
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:
The teacher divides the class into groups of four or five students. The teacher gives
each group a paper containing a word square and asks them to find the names of
hobbies in the square. The words may go across, down, up, backwards or at an
angle. Which group finishes first and has the correct answers will be the winner.
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

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2.3.9. Guessing games (guess hidden picture)
Classroom management: Whole class
Material: Power point
Time: 3 minutes
Procedure:
The picture is hidden with 4 pieces of paper numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4. To open a
piece of paper, students have to answer a question correctly. The first student can
guess what the picture is will be the winner.
Example:
Unit 15:

SPACE CONQUEST

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Hidden picture:

1
3

2
4

Questions:
1. What is the missing word in this sentence?
It only takes me about 1 hour to………from Hue to Ho Chi Minh city.
A. go
B. fly
C. flew
2. What is the missing word in this sentence?
Gagarin was a well-known……………..
A. boy
B. people
C. cosmonaut
3. What is the missing word in this sentence?
Gagarin became the first person to eat and drink in zero……………
A. gravity
B. weightless
C. weightlessness

4. What is the missing word in this sentence?
Spacemen travel into space at great………
A. speed
B. space
C. success
Keys:

1. B

2. C

3. A

4. C

SPACECRAFT
2.4. Results
After applying the above language games in warm up activities in speaking
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classes for the 11th graders, I realized that there have been some considerable
changes such as:
+ The atmosphere of the class became more ebullient; the students were
eager to practicing speaking and active to contribute their ideas to the lesson.
+ The students were more confident and less afraid of making mistakes.
The progress of the students can be seen through the following tables
comparing the data collected from the survey questionnaire before and after
applying this experience initiative:
Table 2:

Questions
Question 1:
How is speaking skill important to you?
A. Very important
B. Important
C. Normal
D. Not important at all

Options A
(%)

B
(%)

C
(%)

D
(%)

Before

8

17

25

50

After

53

29

11

7

10

21

23

46

21

45

26

8

62

27

11

0

24

19

45

12

1

28

71

13

62

25

Question 2:
How do you find speaking topics Before
introduced in English 11 textbook?
A. Very interesting
B. Interesting
After

C. Normal
D. Boring
Question 3:
Before
How do you find speaking activities
introduced in English 11 textbook?
A. Very difficult
B. Difficult
After
C. Normal
D. Easy
Question 4:
Are you willing to speak in speaking Before
classes?
A. Yes, I like speaking very much
B. Yes, sometimes
After
C. No, I’m never willing to speak
3. Conclusion and Suggestions
3.1. Conclusion

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This research is done with the purpose of seeking one effective teaching
technique to improve students’ speaking skill. And as there are many teaching
techniques exploited by the teachers to teach speaking, the study limits itself to use
language games to motivate students to speak. The literature review has been made
in the hope of demonstrating the scope of the research theoretically in terms of
speaking skill and language games. The findings from the data analysis show that

many students have low motivation towards speaking classes. They find speaking
activities either challenging or boring. Thus they show their unwillingness to raise
their voice. Language games are used for warm up activities to motivate students in
speaking classes and are applicable as a motivator in speaking lessons.
It is hoped that the research will prove worthwhile to those who want to motivate
students in speaking classes and who are concerned about the problem.
3.2. Suggestions
Although the research has accomplished the objectives set at the beginning,
it can not avoid some limitations.
Due to the time is short; limit of knowledge and the scope of the research, the
research can not cover all the uses of language games in four 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.
Xác nhận của hiệu trưởng

Thọ Xuân, ngày 20 tháng 05 năm 2019
Tôi xin cam đoan đây là SKKN của mình viết,
không sao chép nội dung của người khác.
Người viết SKKN

Đỗ Thị Sen

REFERENCES

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1. Hoàng Văn Vân (2007), Tiếng Anh 11, NXB Giáo dục.
2. Nguyễn Thủy Minh – Lương Quỳnh Trang (2009), Thiết kế bài giảng tiếng
Anh 11, Tập 1 và Tập 2, NXB Hà Nội.
3. Lưu Qúy Khương (2006), A practical course for teaching English as a
foreign language.
4. Bygate (1997), Speaking, Oxford University Press.
5. Wright, A; Betteridge, D&Buckly, M. (1983), Games for language learning,
Cambridge University Press.
6. Rixon, S.(1981), How to use games in language teaching, London,
Macmillan Publishers.
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