Sử dụng các trò chơi ngôn ngữ như những hoạt động bổ trợ để dạy từ vựng tiếng anh cho học sinh lớp 4 luận văn thạc sĩ giáo dục

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

---    ---

NGUYEN THI VAN

USING LANGUAGE GAMES AS SUPPLEMENTARY
ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY
TO THE FOURTH GRADERS
(SỬ DỤNG CÁC TRÒ CHƠI NGÔN NGỮ NHƯ NHỮNG HOẠT ĐỘNG
BỔ TRỢ ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 4)

FIELD:

THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE:

60.14.10

MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION

VINH - 2011


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
VINH UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

---    ---

NGUYEN THI VAN

USING LANGUAGE GAMES AS SUPPLEMENTARY
ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY
TO THE FOURTH GRADERS
FIELD:

THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH
LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE:

60.14.10

MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION
SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI VAN LAM (M.A.)

VINH - 2011


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
For the completion of the study, I have received valuable contributions from
many people.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Ms.
Nguyen Thi Van Lam (M.A.), whose useful instructions and advice, as well as detailed
critical comments and encouragements help me a great deal from the beginning to the
end of the thesis writing process. Without her help, the study would have never finished.

I also would like to thank all the teachers who have taught me during the course
and have given me useful advice and favourable conditions for the completion of the
thesis.
Additionally, I am grateful to all teachers of English and students at Hung Binh
Primary School, Nghi Lien Primary School, Vinh Tan Primary School, Ha Huy Tap II
Primary School and Quang TRung Primary School, who have helped me much to carry
out the survey for my thesis.
Finally, my thanks go to my family as well as my friends for their support and
encouragement.
Vinh, 2011
Nguyen Thi Van


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I declare that this dissertation represents my own work, and that it has not been
previously submitted to this University or to any other institutions for a degree, diploma
or other qualifications.

ABSTRACT


The success of learning a foreign language is much determined at the early stage
of learning that language. Thus, teaching English to primary school students needs to be
considered important for this is the stage children begin familiarizing with and learn this
language. For the communication purpose, one of the important things is to build up a
stock of vocabulary for children besides developing the four skills. With the aims to help
primary school teachers see the positive effects of games as well as encourage them to
use games as supplementary activities to teach vocabulary to their students, the
investigation was carried out with the support of 10 teachers and 200 fourth graders from
the five primary schools in Vinh city to find out the answers for the three main issues:

the attitudes of teachers and students towards the teaching and learning vocabulary, the
real situation of using games in teaching vocabulary, and the effects of using games
teaching this language element. Data were collected through one questionnaire for the
teachers and two questionnaires for the students, and some follow-up interviews. The
results reveal that first, although most teachers still too seriously value the role of
grammar above vocabulary for the purpose of communicative competence, and the
students meet difficulties in learning vocabulary, they are all aware of good effects of
mastering vocabulary. Secondly, games are used with low frequency and the ways of
organizing the games are not really effective in teaching vocabulary to students. Lastly,
games are proved to be very useful and effective in vocabulary learning and teaching to
the students through the experimental teaching. Hence, games are highly recommended
for teaching vocabulary to primary school students. Hopefully, with the results achieved
from the survey, the recommendations for using games and some samples to apply
games into some specific lesson, the dissertation will be a useful source of reference for
teachers of English in improving vocabulary learning and teaching.
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1: Teachers’ attitudes towards the textbooks and vocabulary items provided in


the books.........................................................................................................................49
Figure 3.2: Students’ attitudes towards English learning (Students’ questionnaire
number 1)........................................................................................................................50
Figure3.3: Students’ attitudes towards English vocabulary learning (Students’
questionnaire number 1)..................................................................................................51
Figure 3.4: Students’ ability of remembering new words after each lesson (Students’
questionnaire number 1)..................................................................................................52
Figure 3.5: Teachers’ attitudes towards the importance of vocabulary in comparison
with grammar for communication purpose.....................................................................54
Figure 3.6: Teachers’ priority focus on aspects of vocabulary......................................55
Figure 3.7: Teachers’ frequency of using games for teaching vocabulary....................56

Figure 3.8: The moments of using games of the teachers..............................................57
Figure 3.9: The ways of organizing class of the teachers when using games................58
Figure 3.10: Students’ involvement in the games .........................................................59
(Students’ questionnaire number 1)
Figure 3.11: Students’ attitudes towards the games used in the experimental vocabulary
teaching (Students’ questionnaire number 2)..................................................................63
Figure 3.12: Students’ involvement in the games .........................................................63
(Students’ questionnaire number 2)
Figure 3.13: Students’ attitudes towards learning English (Students’ questionnaire
number 2)........................................................................................................................64
Figure 3.14: Students’ attitudes towards English vocabulary learning (Students’
questionnaire number 2)..................................................................................................65
Figure 3.15: Students’ ability of remembering new words after each lesson (Students’
questionnaire number 2)..................................................................................................66


LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: The most difficult issue to students when learning vocabulary....................51
Table 3.2: Teachers’ attitudes towards the effects of mastering vocabulary..................53
Table 3.3: Teachers’ frequency of using some specific games .....................................60
in teaching vocabulary
Table 3.4: The level of the students’ familiarity with some specific games (Students’
questionnaire number 1)..................................................................................................61
Table 3.5: Students’ attitudes towards English vocabulary learning.............................66
Table 3.6: The effects of games in learning vocabulary to students..............................67
(Students’ questionnaire number 2)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
ABSTRACT
LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................1
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................5
1. Reasons for Choosing the Subject.................................................................................5
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study.................................................................................7
3. Scope of the Study.........................................................................................................7
4. Methods of the Study.....................................................................................................8
5. Format of the Study.......................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................10
2.1. Second Language Learning.......................................................................................10
2.1.1. First and Second Language Learning.....................................................................10
2.1.2. Factors Affecting Second Language Learning.......................................................13
2.2. Characteristics of Children as Learners ...................................................................16
2.2.1. Children in General................................................................................................16
2.2.2. Eight to Ten - Year - Old Children in Particular....................................................17
2.3. Motivation.................................................................................................................17
2.3.1. Definition...............................................................................................................17
2.3.2. Motivation in Classroom Setting...........................................................................18
2.4. English Vocabulary...................................................................................................19
2.4.1. Definition...............................................................................................................19
2.4.2. The Importance of Vocabulary..............................................................................19
2.4.3. Aspects of Vocabulary...........................................................................................20
2.4.3.1. Form: Pronunciation and Spelling......................................................................20
2.4.3.2. Grammar.............................................................................................................20

2.4.3.3. Collocation..........................................................................................................21
2.4.3.4. Aspects of Meaning............................................................................................21
2.4.3.4.1. Denotation, Connotation and Appropriateness................................................21
2.4.3.4.2. Meaning Relationships.....................................................................................22
2.4.3.5. Part of Speech.....................................................................................................23
2.4.3.6. Word Formation..................................................................................................24
2.4.3.7. Word Use............................................................................................................25
2.4.3.8. Active and Passive Vocabulary..........................................................................26
2.4.3.9. Concrete and Abstract Vocabulary.....................................................................27
2.4.4. Teaching Vocabulary in Communicative Language Teaching..............................27
2.4.4.1. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).......................................................27
2.4.4.2. Stages of Teaching Vocabulary in CLT..............................................................30
2.4.4.2.1. Presentation......................................................................................................30
2.4.4.2.2. Practice.............................................................................................................30
2.4.4.2.2.1. Controlled Practice........................................................................................30
2.4.4.2.2.2. Free Practice.................................................................................................30
2.4.4.2.3. Revision...........................................................................................................31
2.4.5. Factors Affecting the Decision in Choosing Vocabulary Items to Teach..............31
2.4.5.1. Type of Lesson....................................................................................................31
2.4.5.2. Purpose of Using Words.....................................................................................31
2.4.5.3. Lexical Syllabus..................................................................................................32
2.5. Games.......................................................................................................................32
2.5.1. Definition...............................................................................................................32
2.5.2. Types of Games.....................................................................................................33
2.5.3. The Roles of Games in Teaching Vocabulary to Primary School Students...........36
2.5.4. Principles in Using Games ....................................................................................39
2.5.5. Moments of Using Games.....................................................................................41

CHAPTER

3:

USING

LANGUAGE

GAMES

TO

TEACH

ENGLISH

VOCABULARY TO THE FOURTH GRADERS...................................................42
3.1. Research Context......................................................................................................42
3.1.1. The Setting of the Survey......................................................................................42
3.1.2. Overview of the Textbook Let’s Learn English - Book 2......................................42
3.2. Research Methodology.............................................................................................43
3.2.1. Research Questions................................................................................................43
3.2.2. Subjects of the Study.............................................................................................44
3.2.2.1. The Teachers.......................................................................................................44
3.2.2.2. The Students.......................................................................................................44
3.2.3. Research Instruments ............................................................................................45
3.2.3.1. The Survey Questionnaire for the Teachers........................................................45
3.2.3.2. The Survey Questionnaires for the Students.......................................................46
3.2.3.2.1. Students’ Questionnaire Number 1 – Before the Experimental Teaching.......46
3.2.3.2.2. Students’ Questionnaire Number 2 – After the Experimental Teaching.........46

3.2.4. Data Collection Procedure.....................................................................................47
3.2.5. Data Analysis.........................................................................................................48
3.3. Findings and Discussion..........................................................................................48
3.3.1. The Attitudes of the Teachers and Students towards the Teaching and Learning of
English in General and English Vocabulary in Particular in Grade Four of the Primary
Schools48
3.3.2. The Real Situation of Using Games in Teaching Vocabulary to the Fourth Graders
55
3.3.3. The Effectiveness of Using Games in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary in Grade
Four of the Primary Schools............................................................................................62
CHAPTER 4: APPLICATION OF THE STUDY...................................................69
4.1. Some Recommendations for Using Games in Teaching Vocabulary.......................69
4.1.1. Deciding Which Game to Use...............................................................................69


4.1.2. Timing....................................................................................................................69
4.1.3. Preparation.............................................................................................................70
4.1.4. Giving Instructions...............................................................................................70
4.1.5. Class Organization.................................................................................................70
4.1.6. Class Management.................................................................................................71
4.1.7. Correction..............................................................................................................72
4.2. Some Suggested Games for the Teaching of Vocabulary to the Fourth Graders......72
4.2.1. Conversation Chain................................................................................................72
4.2.2. Simon Says............................................................................................................74
4.2.3. Chain Game...........................................................................................................75
4.2.4. Bingo......................................................................................................................76
4.2.5. Slap the Board........................................................................................................77
4.2.6. Pelmanism..............................................................................................................79
4.2.7. Whisper..................................................................................................................80
4.2.8. Word Square..........................................................................................................82

4.2.9. Kim’s Game...........................................................................................................83
4.2.10. Do as You Are Told.............................................................................................84
4.2.11. Crossword Puzzle................................................................................................86
4.2.12. Noughts and Crosses............................................................................................88
4.2.13. Hot Seats..............................................................................................................89
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION.................................................................................91
5.1. Recapitulation...........................................................................................................91
5.2. Suggestions for Further Researches..........................................................................92
REFERENCES........................................................................................................... 93
APENDICE

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION


1. Reasons for Choosing the Subject
Living in the era of globalization and information technology, knowing a foreign
language is very important and necessary. English has been used in all fields of society
and become such an international language that there are now more and more people
learning English, and it has more second-language speakers than any other languages.
Accordingly, learning English in Vietnam is popular. Especially, since Vietnam
became the 150th official member of World Trade Organization, English has been more
important than ever. Teaching and learning English has received the serious attention of
Vietnam’s education. In recent years, not only English has been taught in secondary
schools and higher levels but also in primary schools.
Primary school is a very important period for learning English because this is
considered the first stage of one’s approach with a new language. Learning English at
primary schools helps students form and develop the capacity to communicate in English
through listening, speaking, reading and writing; or in other words, the English
instruction in primary school is intended to endorse the mastery and development of the
four basic abilities and skills. The relationship between the four skills and vocabulary is

mutual: The four basic skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening - reflect the use of
language, vocabulary items are introduced and mastered through teaching the skills, and
the master of vocabulary helps children develop the four skills better. As in Gower et al.
(2005), vocabulary is considered to be important to students, and more important than
grammar for communication purposes, particularly in the early stages when students are
motivated to learn the basic words they need to get by in the language. Hence, in
learning a foreign language, vocabulary plays an important role. It is vocabulary that
links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together. 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. The need to use various
instructional media will be able to help students to increase their English vocabulary.


With the goal of communicative competence, the Communicative Approach,
which is student-centered, has been applied to the teaching of English and thus students
become active in their learning. However, since the innovation of English teaching
methods in primary schools, teachers has been faced many difficulties in teaching
children the skills in general and vocabulary in particular . As a matter of fact, the
teaching and learning of foreign languages in general and English in particular still exists
a common phenomenon is that students cannot use language to communicate, partly
because students cannot master, remember and apply vocabulary they have learned. This
is due to a combination of many causes. Among the causes are teaching methods of
teachers and psychological characteristics of children.
For students at primary schools, teaching and learning English should come from
their interests, concerns and personal experiences. Primary school students have not been
able to grasp a language systematically and analyze a language consciously, and one of
their common characteristics is curiosity. The way of teaching with nothing new and
active will make students get bored; therefore, the teacher needs something different to
make students interested, and something interesting which can motivate them. Thus, to
motivate them, the teacher needs something new that can stimulate their curiosity and

one of the best methods to teach English to students at this age is through activities.
Games as interactive activities can meet these requirements. Games, as a matter of fact,
can help and encourage many students to sustain their interest and work. It will be easy
to understand and practice of English while children enjoy their learning through playing
games.
From the above-mentioned reality and reasons, the author has decided to conduct
the study entitled “Using Language Games as Supplementary Activities to Teach English
Vocabulary to the Fourth Graders” with the hope that the study could make some
contributions to the teaching and learning English at primary schools.


2. Aims and Objectives of the Study
The main purposes of the author when conducting the study are:
- To investigate real situation of vocabulary teaching and learning and the use of
games in the fourth grade of the primary schools.
- To indicate the effectiveness of using games in teaching vocabulary to the fourth
graders.
- To give some suggestions for the improvement of teaching vocabulary to the
fourth graders by using games.
To fully achieve these aims, the study is to answer the following research
questions:
- What are the attitudes of the teachers and students towards the teaching and
learning of English in general and English vocabulary in particular in grade four of the
primary schools?
- What is the real situation of using games in teaching vocabulary to the fourth
graders?
- To what extent do games work in vocabulary learning and teaching in grade four
of the primary schools?
3. Scope of the Study
The study mainly deals with a small part in using language games to teach

English vocabulary to students. However, it is too broad to carry out the thesis discussing
all levels of students and unable to carry out the research at all primary schools. Thus,
the thesis only focuses on students in the fourth form at five primary schools, namely
Hung Binh Primary School, Quang Trung Primary School, Vinh Tan Primary School, Ha
Huy Tap 2 Primary School, and Nghi Lien Primary School, with the textbook “Let’s
learn English 2”.


4. Methods of the Study
With the aim to develop the teaching and learning of English vocabulary at
primary school through the use of language games as supplementary activities, during
the writing of the thesis, the author has used a combination of both the quantitative and
qualitative approaches with the following procedure:
- Reviewing theories and collecting information associated with teaching and
learning vocabulary and games from different sources: references, books, and Internet.
- Conducting a survey on the real situation at primary schools by using
questionnaires and making interviews for both the teachers and students.
- Investigating and analyzing the results gained from the survey about the current
situation of teaching and learning vocabulary and using games in teaching this element at
primary schools
- Synthesizing the survey results to suggest suitable games for vocabulary
teaching and learning.

5. Format of the Study
The thesis consists of five main chapters:
Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter provides the information about the reasons for choosing the study,
the aims and objectives, the scope, the methods and the format of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
In this chapter, the author provides the concepts which related to the study,

including theoretical background about vocabulary learning and teaching, games and
others.
Chapter 3: Using Language Games to Teach English Vocabulary to the
Fourth Graders


This chapter consists of three sections. The first section is Research Context
which denotes the setting of the survey and an overview of the textbook applied to teach
the fourth form students. The second one is Research Methodology in which research
questions, subjects of the study, research instruments, and the procedure of collecting
and analyzing data are presented. The final section in this chapter - Findings and
Discussion - revolves around the three research questions of the study.
Chapter 4: Application of the Study to the Teaching of English Vocabulary
to the Fourth Graders
Some recommendations for using games in teaching and learning vocabulary are
provided in chapter 4. Also, the author suggests some games as specific examples for
some concrete lessons in Let’s learn English – Book 2 for the fourth graders.
Chapter 5: Conclusion
Main points and contents of the study will be summarized based on the results of
the study. The recommendations for further research will be also presented.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
.
This chapter in turn presents the concepts needed for the background of the study,


namely second language learning, characteristics of children as learners, motivation,
vocabulary and games.
2.1. Second Language Learning
2.1.1. First and Second Language Learning

First language is the language that an individual learns first. First language is also
called native language or mother tongue.
Second language is defined as any language other than the first language learned
in a broader sense. In a narrower sense, it is a language learned after the first language in
a context where the language is used widely in the speech community. For example,
Vietnamese people in England have their first language Vietnamese and their second
language English.
In order to explain for how language is learned. Linguists and psychologists
proposed several theories, namely behaviorism, innatism, and interactionist position.
● Behaviorism:
Behaviorism is considered as the earliest psychological theory in explaining first
language learning. Behaviorism accounts for second language acquisition (SLA) with the
same theory as for first language acquisition (FLA). Behaviorists believe that language
learning is the result of imitation, practice, feedback on success and habit formation.
They claim that all learning take place and imply to the same underlying process, in spite
of their form verbal and non-verbal. The role of the speakers is to provide learners with
the input so that they can form so-called “associations or relations” between words,
objects or events. By forming these associations, learners can practice. While
experiences are repeated, the associations become stronger.
Behaviorism in explaining SLA was often associated with Contrastive Analysis
Hypothesis (CAH). The CAH predicts that where there are similarities between the first
language and the target language, the learners will acquire target-langauge structures
easily, and vice versa. Also, CAH denotes that first language is the main sources of
errors in second language (Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007).


● Innatism
According to Chomsky (1959, cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh
Phuong, 2007), children are biologically programmed for language and language
develops in children in just the same way that other biological functions develop. The

availability of people who speak to the child acts as a basic contribution of the
environment and the child’s biological endowment will do the rest. In Chomsky (1959,
cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007), children’s minds language
acquisition device was often described as an imaginary “black box” which was believed
to contain all and only the principles universal to all human languages. Another term in
Chomsky’s writing is Universal Grammar that is thought to consist of a set of principles
that are common to all languages.
The biologist Eric Lenneberg argued that the language acquisition device works
successfully only when it is stimulated at the right time called the “Critical Period”. The
Critical Period Hypothesis refers to the notion that there is a specific and limited time
period for the acquisition of language.
Additionally, Krashen (1982, cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh
Phuong, 2007) presented five “hypothesis” which constitute what he originally called the
“Monitor Model”, namely the Acquisition-Learing Hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis,
the Natural Order Hypothesis, the Input Hypothesis, and the Affective Filter Hypothesis.
The Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis claims that there are two distinctive ways of
developing competence in a second or foreign language: “acquisition” and “learning”.
Acquisition is the “natural” way, paralleling first language development in children.
Acquisition refers to an unconscious process that involves the naturalistic development
of language proficiency through understanding language and through using language for
meaningful communication. We acquire as we are exposed to samples of the second
language which we understand. This happens in much the same way that children pick
up their first language-with no conscious attention to the form. Learning, by contrast,
refers to a conscious process of study and attention to form and rule learning. The result


of learning is the explicit knowledge about the form of a language and the ability to
verbalize this knowledge. For Krashen, acquisition is by far the more important process,
and learning cannot turn into acquisition. The “affective filter” is an imaginary barrier
functioning to prevent learners form acquiring language from the available input. The

“affect” refers to such things as motives, needs, attitudes, and emotional states. The filter
is up when a learner who is stressed, upset, or even unmotivated (a high affective filter),
which prevents acquisition from taking place. The filter is down when the learner is
relaxed and motivated (a low affective filter). Therefore, it is desirable to acquire
language with a low affective filter.
● Interactionist Position
According to interactionist position, the complex and intricate interplay between
the uniquely human characteristics of the child and the environment in which the child
develops brings about the development of first language. Jean Piaget (cited in Nguyen
Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007) viewed that children’s cognitive
development partly determines their use of language. Besides, Lev Vygotsky had the
sociocultural theory of human mental processing which assumes that language develops
entirely from social interaction, and referred to the child’s zone of proximal
development.
Some interactionists have developed their ideas mainly in SLA research itself
(Hatch, 1992; Pica, 1994; Long, 1983; cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh
Phuong, 2007). Interactionists view SLA as the process taking place through
conversational interaction and concern with the necessity of comprehensible input for
language acquisition. Long (1983, cited in cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh
Phuong, 2007) agrees with Krashen that comprehensible input is necessary for language
acquisition. However, he is more concerned with the question of how input is made
comprehensible. He sees modified interaction as the necessary mechanism for this to
take place. Long infers that modified interaction must be necessary for language
acquisition. This relationship has been summarized as follows: Interactional modification


makes input comprehensible; comprehensible input promotes acquisition. Therefore,
interactional modification promotes acquisition.
Hence, from the above views of the linguists, it seems that researchers and
educators who are hoping for language acquisition theories which give them insight into

language teaching practice are often frustrated by the lack of agreement among the
“experts”. Research which has theory development as its goal has very important longterm significance for language teaching and learning, but agreement on a “complete”
theory of language acquisition is probably, at best, a long way off.
2.1.2. Factors Affecting Second Language Learning
Many beliefs based on anecdotal evidence assumed that second language learners
must have some characteristics that foster their success in language learning. In this part,
Lightbow and Spada (1999, cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007)
see whether anecdotal evidence is supported by research findings. The five main
categories of learner characteristics listed include intelligence, aptitude, personality,
learners’ preferences and motivation.
Firstly, intelligence is considered affecting second language learning (SLL). In
the past, linguistics tended to use the term intelligence referring to the performance o
certain kinds of tests that are linked to the success of learners at school. Many years
passed by, the new way of testing the relation between intelligence and second language
learners’ success called IQ (intelligence quotient) came into being. However, some
recent findings express the view that intelligence can relatively bias to certain kinds of
language abilities more strongly than to others and that intelligence measured by verbal
IQ test has a correlation with metalinguistic ability in second language, not with oral
competence.
Secondly, it is aptitude that impacts the learning process of second language
learners. Aptitude is considered to be a special ability to learn a foreign language
quickly. It consists of different types of abilities such as the ability to identify and
memorize new sounds; to understand the function of particular words in sentences, how


words function grammatically in sentences; to figure out grammatical rules from
language samples and memory for new words. It should be noted that in a formal setting,
intelligence and aptitude are dominantly important in learning; meanwhile they exert a
weaker effect in an informal setting.
Thirdly, personality also affects SLL. There are a vast number of personality

characteristics such as extroversion and introversion, inhibition and risk-taking, selfesteem, anxiety, empathy, and so on. However, there are some misty problems over the
association between personality characteristics and success in SLL. For example, some
people think that learners with high-leveled extroversion (assertiveness and
adventurousness) have fruitful results in language learning. On the contrary, others find
that many successful language learners do not get high score on measures of
extroversion. In contrast to intelligence, personality plays an important part in the
acquisition of conversational skills, not in the acquisition of literacy skills.
The fourth factor affecting SLL is the learners’ preferences. Learning style is an
individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred way of absorbing, processing, and retaining
new information and skills. Two main types of learning styles related to SLL are
perceptual learning style and cognitive learning style. Also, all learners exert a strong
belief about how their language instruction should be delivered. Their beliefs are counted
on the previous learning experiences and the assumption that how the instruction is
delivered to them. The learners’ preferences for learning decide the kinds of strategies
that the learners choose for learning new material.
In addition, motivation and positive attitudes have effects on success of SLL.
Motivation in SLL is defined in terms of learners’ communicative needs (the wants or
needs to speak the second language in a wide environment full of social situations or to
fulfill professional ambitions) and the learners’ attitudes towards the second language
community (favorable attitudes towards the speakers of the language and the learners
will develop their desire for more contact with them). Also, it is noted that an
individual’s identity has a close-knit relation with the way he speaks. Their identity and


attitudes towards the second language community can be either positive or negative. If it
is a positive attitude, learning a second language will be a source of enrichment in which
the learners take delight in learning language and improve their knowledge. In contrast,
if it is a negative attitude, the language-learning process will become a source of
resentment. In this case, learners will find language learning a kind of burden due to their
absorption of no knowledge from the language. Moreover, the social dynamic and power

relationship between languages is one factor that affects motivation. In other words, a
minority group member learning the language of a majority group expresses different
attitudes and motivation form the one who comes from a majority group and studies a
minority language.
In conclusion, Lightbow and Spada have looked at the ways in which intelligence,
aptitude, personality, learners’ preferences and motivation have been found to influence
SLL. They have learned that the study of individual learner variables is not easy ad that
the results of research are not entirely satisfactory. This is partly because of the lack of
clear definitions and methods for measuring the individual characteristics. It is also doe
to the fact that these learner characteristics are not independent of one another: Learner
variables interact in complex ways. So far, researchers know very little about the nature
of these complex interactions. Thus, it remains difficult to make precise predictions
about how a particular individual’s characteristics influence his or her success as a
language learner. Nevertheless, in a classroom, a sensitive teacher can create a learning
environment in which virtually all learners can be successful in learning a second
language.
2.2. Characteristics of Children as Learners
2.2.1. Children in General
For children in general, Slattery and Willis (2001) state prominent characteristics
of them as learners as follows:
- They are developing quickly as individuals; it means that they have difference in


language acquisition.
- They learn in a variety of ways, for example; by watching, listening, imitating and
doing things. It means children learn their knowledge through what they see, hear in their
surrounding and then imitate it (children learn by doing)
- They are not able to understand grammatical rules and explanations about
language. They only imitate what they are seeing and hearing.
- They try to make sense of situations by making use of non-verbal clues. Children

will imitate which means learning by doing.
- They talk in their mother tongue about what they understand and this helps them
learn. It means they use their mother tongue to understand everything.
- They can generally imitate the sounds they hear quite accurately and copy the way
adults speak. It means they do imitation, memorization, practice and over learning what
other people speak.
- They are naturally curious. They have strong willingness to know what they see
and hear in their surrounding.
- They love to play and use their imagination. It means they are learning while
playing.
- They are comfortable with routines and enjoy repetition. It means they need to
have the habit of learning.
- They have quite a short attention span and need variety. Because they are learning
while playing, it is necessary that the teacher creates variety in teaching activities to
make them understand what the teacher means.
2.2.2. Eight to Ten – Year - Old Children in Particular
For children at the age from eight to ten years olds, Scott and Ytreberg (2004) state
the following general characteristics:
- Their basic concepts are formed. They have their views of the world.
- They can tell the difference between fact and fiction.
- They ask questions all the time.


- They rely on the spoken words as well as the physical world to convey and
understand meaning.
- They are able to make some decisions about their own learning.
- They have definite views about what they like and do not like.
- They have a developed sense of fairness about what happens.
- They are able to work with others and learn from others.
2.3. Motivation

2.3.1. Definition
Motivation in second language learning is quite a broad term that there are many
concepts of learner motivation. In general, student motivation “refers to a student’s
willingness, need, desire and compulsion to participate in, and be successful in, the
learning processes” (Bomia et al, 1997:1, cited in Wilder 2004).
Another concept by Pintrich and Schunk (2002) is that the term motivation refers
to “the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained”.
Moreover, Gardner (1994) states that a specific second language learning
motivation is “the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the
language”. Thus, a motivation individual shows “favorable attitudes toward learning the
language” (Gardner, 1994).
What is more, motivation can be defined specifically in term of two factors:
learners’ communicative needs and learners’ attitudes (Gardner and Lambert, 1972,
Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007). Learners’ communicative needs
means learners’ desire to fulfill professional ambitions or need to speak the second
language in a wide range of social situations. They will perceive the communicative
value of the second language and therefore they will be motivated to acquire proficiency
in it. Learners’ attitude means learners have favorable attitudes towards the second
language community; they will desire more contact with them.
Some linguists develop the definition of motivation further to motivated and


unmotivated language learners. According to Skinner and Belmont (1991:3, cited in
Brewster and Fager, 2000), students who are motivated to engage in school “select tasks
at the border of their competencies, initiate action when given the opportunity, and exert
intense effort and concentration in the implementation of learning tasks, they show
generally positive emotions during ongoing action, including enthusiasm, optimism,
curiosity and interest”. On the other hand, less motivated or disengaged students “are
passive, do not try hard, and give up easily in the face of challenges” (Skinner and
Belmont, 1991:3, cited in Brewster and Fager, 2000)

2.3.2. Motivation in Classroom Setting
Motivated students are every teacher’s dream, thus they are willing to work hard,
add their own goals to those of the classroom, focus their attention on the tasks at hand,
and persevere through challenges to promote students’ motivation. Motivation is very
important factor affecting the success in second language learning. Dornyei (1998) states
that motivation can be influenced not only by the learner, but also by the environment
and all it entails (e.g. classroom, peers, textbook, teacher, and so on). Hence, it is
important to make interesting, non-threatening classrooms which are relevant to
students’ age and level of ability.
There is a study carried out to find several ways to increase levels of motivation
for students in classroom. Dornyei (2001) laid out thirty-five motivational strategies
divided into the pre-action, action, and post-action phases that teachers can employ to
generate, sustain and promote learners’ motivation. According to Crookes and Schmidt
(1991, cited in Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007), the teacher should
use forthcoming activities, interesting text, various tasks and materials, co-operative
goals to increase the levels of motivation for students.
The teacher always plays an important role in increasing the students’ motivation.
And clearly, cultural and age differences will determine the most appropriate way for
teachers to motivate students.