The use of games in teaching vocabulary to young learners a case study at nguyen binh khiem primary school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THE USE OF GAMES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY
TO YOUNG LEARNERS: A CASE STUDY AT
NGUYEN BINH KHIEM PRIMARY SCHOOL

Supervisor: Ms. Cấn Thị Chang Duyên (M.A)
Student: Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên
Course: QH2012.F1.E2

Hanoi, 2016

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ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRỊ CHƠI TRONG DẠY TỪ VỰNG
CHO TRẺ EM: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP TẠI
TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC NGUYỄN BỈNH KHIÊM

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Thạc sĩ Cấn Thị Chang Duyên
Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên

Khóa: QH2014.F1.E2

Hà Nội, 2016

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ACCEPTANCE PAGE
I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên (QH2012.F1.E2), being a candidate for the
degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating
to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library
should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the
normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the
paper.
Signature

Date
May 5, 2016.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards Ms.
Cấn Thị Chang Duyên, my supervisor, for her continued support and encouragement
throughout this study. Without her careful supervision and guidance, the study could
not be completed.
My special thanks are also extended to two teachers of English at Nguyen Binh
Khiem primary school for their invaluable help in allowing me to conduct the

observations, attending the interviews and giving useful advice on my test preparation.
Besides, I would like to express my sincere thanks to 54 pupils of two classes 1A1 and
2A3 for their enthusiastic participation in doing the achievement tests, served as
empirical data for the research.
In addition, my thanks go to my dear friends in class 12E2 as well as my old
friends for their previous assistance, suggestions and encouragement during the time I
carried out the study.
Last but not least, I am eternally grateful to my parents who have been giving
me unconditional love and support to complete the research.

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ABSTRACT
No matter what language a child learns, it is words that serve as a stepping
stone to the acquisition of language elements and skills. Among a handful of
techniques in teaching and learning words, games are considered one of the best ones.
The present study, therefore, aimed at investigating the current situation of applying
games in teaching vocabulary to young learners by teachers of English at Nguyen Binh
Khiem primary school. Specifically, it explored ways of using games, their
effectiveness, practical issues and recommendations during the employment. Both
qualitative and quantitative approaches, along with three research instruments namely
observation, interview and testing, were adopted with the hope of giving in-depth
answer to the four reseach questions. In addition to six observed lessons in two classes,
two teachers of English were involved in the interview and 54 pupils were invited to
do achievement tests. The results indicated that various games were exploited in all of
three stages of vocabulary lessons, especially in practice and revision. Besides, with
positive attitudes from teachers and pupils as well as pupils‟ high scores in the tests,
games were proved effective in helping children learn vocabulary, especially in terms
of denotation and pronunciation. Challenges from pupils such as disruptive behaviors,

unenthusiastic involvement and intense competition and issues from teachers like
unclear instruction and neglect of scoring made it sometimes difficult for teachers to
manage classes during games. However, these issues were addressed with solutions
suggested by both teachers. Despite the researcher‟s efforts, there were certain
limitations such as the lack of pupils‟ opinions and oral test and limited number of
participants, which are hoped to be overcomed in future studies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................ i
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ ii
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS ............................................ vi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
1.

Statement of the problem and rationale for the study ......................................... 1

2.

Aims and objectives ............................................................................................ 2

3.

Significance of the research ................................................................................ 3

4.

Scope of the study ............................................................................................... 3

5.

Organization ........................................................................................................ 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 5
1. Young learners......................................................................................................... 5
1.1. Definition of young learners............................................................................. 5
1.2. Characteristics of young learners ..................................................................... 5
2. An overview of vocabulary learning ....................................................................... 7
3. An overview of vocabulary teaching....................................................................... 7
3.1. Principles of vocabulary teaching .................................................................... 7
3.2. Stages and activities in teaching vocabulary .................................................... 9
4. Teaching vocabulary to young learners through games ........................................ 12
4.1. Definition and characteristics of games ......................................................... 12
4.2. Advantages of using games ............................................................................ 13
4.3. Selection of games .......................................................................................... 14
4.4. Practical considerations of implementing games ........................................... 15
5. Related studies ....................................................................................................... 17
5.1. In the world..................................................................................................... 17
5.2. In Vietnam ...................................................................................................... 18
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................. 20
1. Quantitative and qualitative approach ................................................................... 20
1.1. Quantitative approach..................................................................................... 20
1.2. Qualitative approach: Case study ................................................................... 20
2. Research setting ..................................................................................................... 21

3. Participants ............................................................................................................ 21
4. Research instruments ............................................................................................. 22
4.1. Observation..................................................................................................... 22
4.2. Interview ......................................................................................................... 23
4.3. Testing ............................................................................................................ 24
5. Data collection procedure ...................................................................................... 25
6. Data analysis method and procedure ..................................................................... 26
6.1. Content analysis method ................................................................................ 26
6.2. Statistical analysis method ............................................................................. 26
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .......................................................... 27
1. RQ1: In what ways are games exploited in teaching vocabulary to YLs?............ 27
1.1. Phases of teaching vocabulary in which games are used ............................... 27
1.2. Selection of games.......................................................................................... 29
2. RQ2: To what extent can the use of games help YLs learn vocabulary?.............. 32
2.1. YLs‟ response ................................................................................................. 32
2.2. Teachers‟ perceptions ..................................................................................... 33
2.3. Test results ...................................................................................................... 35
3. RQ3: What are practical challenges faced by teachers when they implement
games? ....................................................................................................................... 38
3.1. Pupil-related factors ....................................................................................... 38
3.2. Teacher-related factors ................................................................................... 39
4. RQ4: What are solutions to the challenges suggested by the teachers? ................ 40
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4.1. Pupil-related problems ................................................................................... 40
4.2. Teacher-related problems ............................................................................... 41
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 43
5.1. Summary of findings .......................................................................................... 43
5.2. Limitations .......................................................................................................... 44

5.3. Suggestion for further research .......................................................................... 44
LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 46
APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 50
APPENDIX 1: OBSERVATION CHECKLIST ........................................................... 50
APPENDIX 2: ACHIEVEMENT TEST (FOR GRADE 1) ......................................... 52
APPENDIX 3: ACHIVEMENT TEST (FOR GRADE 2) ............................................ 54
APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION - TEACHER A.............................. 56
APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION - TEACHER B .............................. 62

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LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Games used in class 1 and 2 .......................................................................30
Table 2: Statistics of grades of class 1 ....................................................................35
Table 3: Frequency of grades of class 1 ...................................................................35
Table 4: Statistics of grades of class 2 .....................................................................36
Table 5: Frequency of grades of class 2 ...................................................................37

LIST OF FIGURE
Figure 1: Stages of a vocabulary lesson………………………………………….. 29

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
YL

Young Learner

NBK

Nguyen Binh Khiem

TA

Teacher A

TB

Teacher B

RQ

Research question

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
This initial chapter presents the problem and the rationale of the study.
Research questions to achieve the research’s aims, significance of the research, scope
of the study and the organization are also clearly presented.
1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study
Despite some predictions that English will be dethroned, the number of
learners of English is still increasing dramatically all over the world. This trend may
be due to the growing need to work and communicate with people from other parts of
the world. However, how successfully people can achieve that goal lies in their
language competence in terms of both language skills and language elements.
“Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing
can be conveyed” (Wilkins, 1972, p.111-112). Thus, vocabulary plays a fundamental
role as it enables people to express their own ideas and exchange information with

others. Additionally, vocabulary acquisition can support learning process of other
skills (Nguyen & Khuat, 2008). Regardless of proficiency levels, vocabulary learning
is of great importance; therefore, appropriate and effective teaching methodology and
activities to help learners sharpen their vocabulary should be taken into consideration.
It is commonly known that game is one of the most useful techniques in
vocabulary teaching. Games provide learners with a wide range of learning situations,
maintain learners‟ motivation, and enhance interaction among learners (Carrier, 1980).
As for YLs, the fact that they want to play makes them “naturally and universally
engage” in games (Brumfit & Tongue, 1991).
The idea of using games in primary classrooms is not novel. Nevertheless, it is
not always as advantageous as mentioned above since it depends greatly on many
factors such as the objectives of learning activities, the types of games chosen and the

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interest of pupils. Even when these factors are guaranteed, how much YLs can gain
from games is worth investigating into.
From the researcher‟s own experience, YLs sometimes get so excited in games
that they forget vocabulary items learnt right at the moment they walk out of the
classroom. It may be a reason for stating that games are time-wasting and helpless.
Besides, in the context of Vietnam, little empirical research has been performed to
consider the issue thoroughly. Although some researchers such as Vu (2002), Vu
(2001), Do (2007) made attempts to study the use of games to YLs, they only studied
either the use in teaching English in general or that in teaching language skills.
For all the reasons above, the researcher wants to address the issue of the
exploitation of games in teaching vocabulary to YLs in a particular context, NBK
primary school, in an attempt to identify the current situation of game employment in
that context, the impacts on learning of primary pupils, difficulties facing teachers and
solutions in implementation. Therefore, the researcher is driven to conduct a study

entitled “The use of games in teaching vocabulary to young learners: A case study at
Nguyen Binh Khiem primary school”.
2. Aims and objectives
First of all, the study aims at investigating the current situation of the
employment of games in NBK primary school. Secondly, it is to evaluate the
effectiveness of games in teaching vocabulary to YLs. Thirdly, the study is expected to
identify problems, if any, when games are used by teachers to teach vocabulary. Last
but not least, suggested solutions by the teachers are to be proposed promptly.
In brief, these aims could be summarized into the four following questions:
 In what ways are games exploited in teaching vocabulary to YLs?
 To what extent can the use of games help YLs learn vocabulary?
 What are practical challenges faced by teachers when they implement games?
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 What are solutions to the challenges suggested by the teachers?
3. Significance of the research
The study is considered to be significant for some reasons. Firstly, the research
hopefully helps to raise primary school teachers‟ awareness of advantages of games,
ways of utilizing this technique and practical problems and solutions when applying to
take full advantage of it. Secondly, the paper is expected to be used as a source of
reference for other researchers and those who have same interest in investigating the
related field.
4. Scope of the study
Although games can be used to teach various language skills as well as various
groups of learners, this study concentrates only on games used to teach vocabulary to
YLs. In addition, as a case study, the research paper only focuses on the issue at NBK
primary school. More specifically, two teachers of English and two classes are
participants of the research.
5. Organization

This research consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter aims at stating the research problems, rationale, aims, questions,
the significance and the scope of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature review
It provides the background of the study, including definitions of key concepts
as well as the review on related studies in the world in general and Vietnam in
particular.
Chapter 3: Methodology

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The research setting, participants, data collection method and data analysis
method are discussed in details throughout this chapter.
Chapter 4: Results and discussion
In this chapter, data collected are presented and analysed to answer the four
research questions.
Chapter 5: Conclusion
Summary of major findings, the limitation of the study and suggestion for
further research are presented in this chapter.
The References and Appendices include a list of references that the researcher
used in the research, observation checklists, achievement tests and interview
transcripts.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter sheds light on the literature of the study. More specifically, key

terms such as YL, vocabulary teaching and games are discussed extensively to set the
theoretical background for the whole research. Then, a brief review of previous
studies on related issues is presented to reveal the gap for this research to fill in.
1. Young learners
1.1. Definition of young learners
YLs, as often perceived to be kindergarten and primary school children, are
officially described in the book Young learners as “…children from the first year of
formal schooling (five or six years old) to eleven or twelve years of age.” (Phillips,
1993, p.5). Thornbury (2006) also proposes the same definition as he states that YLs
are “children of pre-primary and primary school age, although it is sometimes used to
include adolescents as well” (p.250). As the main interest of the research is primary
Vietnamese children, YLs here will include those from six to ten years old only.
1.2. Characteristics of young learners
According to Halliwell (1992) in her book Teaching English in the primary
classroom, there are six points that make this age group distinct from adult learners.
Firstly, YLs can understand what is said even if they do not know each
individual word. They make full use of this skill in language development as well as
other school work. This view is supported by Thornbury (2006) as he calls it one of
the “cognitive factors” when children are still developing concepts, language and
memory simultaneously (p.250). Hence, they prioritize understanding messages over
making sense of every word.
Secondly, it is the capacity to use language creatively from limited resources.
When they want to communicate but with little knowledge of language, they tend to
produce meaningful messages from all the words they know or invent new words. It is
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crucial in children‟s language development as they are “actively recombining and
constructing” language (p.4).
The next aptitude is their being good at indirect learning. It refers to the

situations when YLs remember other things better than what they are supposed to
learn. It seems bad but helpful for children to “internalize” the languages, in addition
to the help of conscious direct learning, since they are actually learning languages
through continuous exposure and use (p.5).
Halliwell (1992) further mentions children‟s instinct for play and fun. “They
bring a spark of individuality and of drama” into things they do unexpectedly and
somehow interestingly (p.5). By doing so, they are internalising language. In other
words, they themselves make great contributions to their own learning process.
The next characteristic, imagination and fantasy, seems to have a close link
with their sense of fun and play. As they are making sense of the world around them,
they vividly imagine about new things, test them in the real world and visualize how
they might be different. That is the nature of children as they take great pleasure in
imagination and fantasy.
The author lastly affirms that instinct for interaction and talk is the most
obvious feature and also the most important one when it comes to teaching languages
to YLs. The ultimate goal of learning a language is to use it and to communicate with
others. YLs have a natural desire to talk to others; thus, it is advantageous for their
learning a second language as they will get motivated when working with other friends
or being given opportunity to speak.
Thornbury (2006) adds one more point that is children‟s short attention spans.
On one hand, energetic as they may seem, they are likely to get tired and bored,
especially with something they are not interested in. On the other hand, they are
impressionable when they are easily distracted by their peers as well as other things.

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Since characteristics of YLs are of great importance with respect to teaching
them languages, these characteristics and instincts will lay a strong base for the
discussion of how to teach vocabulary in later parts.

2. An overview of vocabulary learning
Before exploring the issue of teaching vocabulary to children, how vocabulary
is learned is worth mentioning. Hatch and Brown (1995, as cited in Cameron, 2001)
suggest that there are five key steps in the process of vocabulary acquisition, which is
also called “the dynamic nature of learning vocabulary” (p.64):
(1) Having sources for encountering new words
(2) Getting a clear image, visual or auditory or both, for the forms of new words
(3) Learning the meaning
(4) Making a strong memory connection between the forms and the meanings
(5) Using the words
Cameron (2001) then notes that learning vocabulary does not just start at (1)
and end at (5); nevertheless, it is a cyclical process of meeting learnt words again and
again as well as creating a link between learnt and new words.
3. An overview of vocabulary teaching
3.1. Principles of vocabulary teaching
After two books entitled Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners by Linse and
Nunan (2005) and Teaching languages to young learners by Cameron (2001) are
investigated in detail, a number of principles of vocabulary teaching to YLs can be
explained as follows:
It is problematic when course books for YLs often put an emphasis on nouns
due to the easiness of presentation as well as children‟s lack of literacy skills.
However, according to Ur (1996),
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Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign
language. However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single
word: for example, post office and mother-in-law, which are made up of
two or three words but express a single idea. There are also multi-word
idioms such as call it a day, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be

deduced from an analysis of the component words. A useful convention is
to cover all such cases by talking „items‟ rather than „words‟ (p.60)
It follows that vocabulary is not all about nouns but a vast of aspects such as verbs,
phrases, idioms can also be called vocabulary as well. Hence, all aspects of vocabulary
should be treated equally in the teaching process.
Variety is essential; however, an emphasis on “useful words”, high frequency
words, should be put (Linse & Nunan, 2005, p.120). According to Cameron (2001),
words normally have three levels: superordinate, basic level and subordinate, among
which basic level concepts are common ones. For example, animal is superordinate
word; dog and spaniel are basic level and subordinate respectively. YLs cannot and
does not have to acquire all the words taught because they are still developing; hence,
children are more likely to learn basic level items rather than the other two. With a
focused way of teaching, teachers can help them gain vocabulary that they will
encounter on a daily basis.
As the “dynamic nature” of learning vocabulary is to repeatedly meet, learn
new words and build network of related words, teaching vocabulary in primary classes
should also offer various activities, various situations where YLs can get exposed to
vocabulary items in rich contexts again and again (Linse & Nunan, 2005). That is
when children build up knowledge of words in terms of meaning, form and usage.
Vocabulary learning, therefore, is a recurrent process (Cameron, 2001).
Deep processing is another important component of teaching vocabulary to
YLs. It means “working with the information at a high cognitive and personal
level” (Linse & Nunan, 2005, p.22). Rather than asking them to remember a long list
of words with their meanings, it is better to personalize the vocabulary lesson.
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YLs learn another language with a continuously developing first language.
Hence, first language plays a central role in their learning. Accordingly, first language
background should be taken into consideration for teachers to know what will work

and what may be too difficult for children (Cameron, 2001).
Meaning seems to be the most relevant part to YLs as they always try to
understand the meaning rather than the form. The more learners think about a word
and its meaning, the more likely they are to remember it (Cameron, 2001). Thus, it is
really imperative when teachers give children a certain amount of time to work out the
meaning on their own. It will be beneficial for their long-term memory.
With regard to teaching word forms, how a word is pronounced and written,
Cameron (2001) advises teachers of primary classes to let them hear a new word in
isolation for several times to grasp the sounds, the stress pattern and the syllables that
makes up the word. Then listening to the word in a discourse context can be offered so
that they get more and more familiar with pronunciation of the word. Although YLs
are developing their literacy skills, written form of a word should also be paid
attention to in terms of its shape, initial and final letters, letter clusters and to its
spelling.
As can be seen, children‟s characteristics as well as the nature of vocabulary
learning which are both carefully addressed in previous parts can be reflected in
fundamental principles of teaching vocabulary to YLs above. In the later part, how a
vocabulary lesson is designed and taught will be revealed.
3.2. Stages and activities in teaching vocabulary
In the book How to teach vocabulary, Thornbury (2002) presents three stages in
teaching vocabulary, namely presentation, practice and production. What each stage is
about and what techniques can specifically be exploited is going to be demonstrated.
3.2.1. Presentation
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At this stage, new vocabulary items are introduced in terms of meaning and
form. And there are various techniques can be of great help for teachers to facilitate
the very first stage.
a. For written form

 Concrete objects (realia), pictures or mimes :
Pictures can take many forms: ready-made, home-made ones or board
drawings. Concrete words are easily illustrated by this mean of presentation
Realia can also be anything appropriate for the word teachers tend to introduce:
objects in the classroom, items prepared beforehand such as clothing, toys, food.
Mime is the way of using actions, gestures, facial expressions to show the
meaning of words.
 Translation:
It is preferred by teachers due to the quickness and directness. It is especially
suitable for words which “crop up in the lesson”; yet, if this mean is overused, learners
will find it difficult to develop “an independent L2 lexicon” as well as remember it for
a long term (Thornbury, 2002, p.77). Thus, it is often more helpful if there is a
combination of various techniques.
 Definitions:
Basically it involves the use of words to explain vocabulary items. Verbal
means include giving example situation; example sentences; synonyms, antonyms or
superordinate terms; full definitions. Although it may take longer than other
techniques, one good point is that learners can get “extra „free‟ listening practice, and
… may be more cognitively engaged” (Thornbury, 2002, p.81). Also, it should be used
only when used words are known to learners.
b. For spoken form
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 Listening drills: it is the repetition of a short chunk of language by teachers to
let learners get used to phonological features of the word.
 Oral drills: To know the spoken form, the most effective way is for learners to
say it out loud. It can be by means of choral or individual repetition.
 Boardwork: It is helpful in highlighting the stress pattern as well as
pronunciation (phonemic transcription)

3.2.2. Practice
At the second stage, teachers help learners practice newly acquired words.
Thornbury (2002) groups various tasks to support this step into the following types:
 Identifying: this task is set for learners to find out things in pictures or words in
texts like listening for particular words. Other tasks may be unscrambling anagrams or
word search.
 Selecting: this task requires the recognition and selection of words among given
choices. A widely used one is Odd one out.
 Matching: this kind of activity involve first identifying words and then pairing
them with demonstrations or words (definition, antonym, synonym, collocation…).
 Sorting: this task asks learners to classify words into different groups which are
given in advance or guessed by learners, for example, putting adjectives into two
groups – positive and negative.
 Ranking and sequencing: this requires learners to put words in order. It can
involve sequencing expressions about daily activities or raking things according to
preference.
3.2.3. Production

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The last stage is when learners become owners of their knowledge by producing
language on the basis of what have been learnt and relating it to their personal
knowledge. Activities can be categorized into two main types:
 Completion (gap-fills): it is often a writing task in the form of either closed gapfills (filling in with given words) or open ones (drawing on learners‟ mental lexicon).
Multiple choice tasks also belong to this group.
 Creation: learners are asked to create contexts for given words; hence, tasks of
this type are normally speaking tasks and they involve many processes such as
rehearsal, repetition and explanation which are helpful for long-term memory.
4. Teaching vocabulary to young learners through games

4.1. Definition and characteristics of games
There has been much effort made to give an adequate explanation about games,
especially games in language teaching and learning. One of these is by Hadfield
(1998), as game is defined as an activity with specific rules, a goal, and an element of
fun. Khan (as cited in Brumfit, Moon & Tongue, 1991) also makes attempts in this
field as he states that games involve one or more players to compete or cooperate and
are rule-governed, goal-defined and fun. Khan (1991)‟s definition is different from the
former one with factors of participants and competition among players which are
significant features of games. However, the word “compete” does not necessarily
mean taking action to win over someone, especially in primary classrooms, it is the
engagement of all players in one activity to achieve something or simply have fun. In
addition, for games used in language classrooms, “[g]ames is an agreeable way of
getting class to use its initiative in English (Haycraft, 1978, p.94).
In a nutshell, basic characteristics of games that can be concluded from these
definitions are as follows:
 It is a particular language task or activity
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 It has objectives, rules, players
 It is fun and rewarding
4.2. Advantages of using games
The impact of games in the field of teaching English has been exhaustively
examined in numerous studies over the years. More specifically, it is obvious that
games have a profound impact on both teaching and learning English.
Games create “an enjoyable and stimulating experience for children” (Phillips,
1993, p.7). This viewpoint is largely agreed by Uberman (1998) as he contends that
games reduce anxiety, maintain motivation and build up self-confidence because there
is no punishment or criticism if they are wrong. It is the chance for them to experiment
and freely practice the language.

Games make language learning meaningful by providing learners meaningful
contexts (Wright et al., 1984). It enables unconscious learning since students are not
aware of language-orientedness of the games. Moreover, in Hadfield (1998)‟s view,
games actually “bridge between the classroom and the real world” since real
communication is enhanced and useful language is promoted (p.127)
To be short, Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985, p.6) summarize the
advantages of using games as follows:
 Games add variety to range of learning situations
 Games can maintain motivation.
 Games can refresh learners during formal learning
 Games can give hidden practice of specific language points
 Games can encourage an interest of those who feel intimidated by formal
classroom situations.
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 Games give an opportunity for student-student communication
 Games can act as a testing mechanism, in the sense that they will expose areas
of weakness.
4.3. Selection of games
According to Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985), games are not
restricted to be used in any specific lesson or any phase of the lesson. It means that
games can be used at any time as long as teachers feel appropriate. However, in order
to make full use of games, certain factors should be taken into consideration before
teachers choose any game in any lesson.
Khan (as cited in Brumfit et al., 1991) develops an analytical framework for
teachers to base on to choose the most appropriate games for primary classes. To begin
with, it is the pedagogical focus of games. In language classes, games are designed on
the basis of specific language items such as words or language structures; therefore, it
is advisable for teachers to depend on the language focus of the task to justify games

whether they are for presenting, consolidating or practicing.
The next factor is patterns of organization. How to group learners to play
should be given some thoughts in advance as it will affect classroom management. For
example, physical line-up, where each pupil having a card with one word from the
whole sentence to stand in a line, seems infeasible in a small class with four rows of
tables and over fifty pupils.
Another factor determining teachers‟ choice of games is materials and
equipment. Each game has to go with a certain number of supplementary materials so
as to create a great game. Thus, availability and expense should be considered
beforehand to ensure the effective and efficient use of games.
Last but not least, “„ludic‟ principles” are important elements of exploiting
games (Khan, as cited in Brumfit et al., 1991, p.148). The first principle is chance and
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skill. YLs are immersed in games with luck, which means they have a high chance of
winning not totally by being knowledgeable but by guessing. Such games will be
much more fun and enjoyed by almost all pupils, not only the able ones. The second
principle relates to cooperation and competition. Teachers have to make decisions on
whether or not children will work together to gain something or they will play in teams
to be the winner. By doing so, fierce competition or overexcitement is avoided. The
third one deals with uncertainty which means the involvement of memory in games.
As children sometimes may fail to remember prior knowledge, they get motivated by
recalling the information or simply guessing the answer.
4.4. Practical considerations of implementing games
Even though games are chosen carefully and appropriately, they may fail to be
effective if timing, language use and the like are ignored. Wright et al. (1984) regard
these problems as “five practical points” in using games (p.6), some of which have
been referred to in the previous part.
First of all, games should be used slowly from simple to more complicated

games so that children can understand the rules and fully enjoy the games. Some
certain patterns of games should also be repeated for YLs to get familiarized.
Secondly, language use in games is vital as it should be clear, simple and brief
enough for the very young to get the rules of the games. When to use English or the
mother tongue is crucial as well. Hence, Wright et al. (1984) suggests that if teachers
cannot give clear instructions in English, they should use mother tongue instead.
Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985) share the same view as it is stated that
clear instructions will prevent students with language difficulties from confusion.
Additionally, demonstration or modelling is more preferable than lengthy explanations
for students to have a clear image in their mind what they are expected to do (Carrier
& Centre for British Teachers, 1985; Hadfield, 1998).

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Thirdly, students should be grouped with mixed abilities. Games are fun and
exciting only when students cooperate to reach the goals. Hence, if they are grouped in
accordance with their levels, the results may be repeatedly the same regardless of what
types of games are exploited. It is against the nature of games as games offer
“challenge” not competition (Carrier & Centre for British Teachers, 1985, p.8).
Although Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1985) agree with Wright et al.
(1984)‟s idea of grouping on a mixed ability basis, they contend that group
composition can also be based on students‟ ability as it will not make able students
feel “overshadowed” or “held back” by others (p. 8). They are reasonable as there are
many cases that able children get demotivated when they have to play with weak
students; consequently, games are not fun to them at all. Besides, they say that pair
work and individual work can also be forms of grouping. They conclude that decision
on types of group formation relies on aims of activities and specific situations of each
class.
Fourthly, as aforementioned in the part Characteristics of YLs, children easily

tire; therefore, teachers should pay attention to timing to stop before they are
exhausted. This point is also similar to what Carrier and Centre for British Teachers
(1985) state in their book that there are three points teachers should bear in mind in
terms of timing, namely minimum amount of time needed to play the game, available
time for re-playing, maximum amount of available time.
In another aspect, teachers should not interrupt to correct mistakes. It will
dampen children‟s enthusiasm in playing games as well as make them afraid of
making mistakes in the future. It is advisable for teachers to jot down common
mistakes and mention them in next lessons (Carrier & Centre for British Teachers,
1985).
Preparation is fundamental when it comes to the implementation of games in
classroom settings. Hence, Carrier and Centre for British Teachers (1995) assert that
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