USING GAMES TO HELP GRADE 10 STUDENTS ENGAGE, ACTIVATE AND STUDY IN LISTENING PERIODS PART I INTRODUCTION Reason for choosing the topic Teaching is said to be a hard job, especially the teacher of English In order to be satisfied and successful in teaching, teachers now need much more effort, practice and experience than ever before Along with the development of cience and technology, English is considered a must to enter the world today It is undeniable that teaching English has centerd upon helping students sharpening their reading and writing skills since these two skills are tested in the exam Now and then, speaking and listening are added to the exam, which makes both teachers and students confused As a result, teaching and learning language changes dramatically, for most students, they find English in general and listening in particular very important yet most difficult one So they want to have an active and effective atmostphere to practise the language This leads to the fact that teachers need to use modern methods and approaches and various equipment to make the education process modern, pleasant and as exciting as possible And we all know that if students are engaged in the subject, they feel more comfortable, learn better and can activate in an easier way However, teaching English and listening at many high schools is still a challenging job Typically, due to time limit in teaching and students’ low levels of proficiency in term of vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation skills, many teachers approach listening period very simple and uninteresting Teacher introduces the part of the unit, asks students to write some vocabularies and then the tasks passively while he plays the tape Therefore, students think that they not anything in listening periods but prepare the vocabulary and some even copy the key of the tasks before going to class This is a harmful habit since it can leads to a passive learning Moreover, we learn that those teaching and learning methods are ineffective because they cannot create an interesting atmosphere for students so most of them get bored and tired when they have listening lessons in spite of the fact that they know listening is necessary for them Considering all the above situations, in this writing, I mention the application of using games in teaching listening at Tri An high school And this is my reason for choosing "Using games to help grade 10 students engage, activate and study in listening periods” for my research I hope that the result of using games in teaching listening will bring back many practical benefits to both the teachers and the students Aims of the study The major aims of the study are: - To affirm the role of listening in teaching and learning English - To emphasize the importance of motivation in teaching and learning listening - To point out the application of games in teaching listening brings back many benefits to students in learning listening - To contribute a small part to the improvement of teaching and learning at Tri An high school Scope of the study The benefits of using games to help grade 10 students engage, acivate and study in listening periods create the effectiveness of students’ motivation in learning listening and the subjects under the study are the 10 th form students at Tri A high school (class 10A1) Research questions The study will help to find the answers to the following questions: What are the role of listening and the importance of motivation in learning listening? What benefits can listening games bring to teachers and students? What types of games should be used to help students engage, activate and study in listening? PART II RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH The role of listening in teaching and learning English While learning English, learners are faced with a large number of difficulties For example, they find it hard to comprehend recorded texts, direct speech, songs or even dialogues despite the fact that they have learnt English for many years This is due to many factors such as the accent, the speed of speech, the falling and rising intonation… of the native speakers This leads to other difficulties in language learning That is the reason why students are required to be familiar with it by listening Therefore, listening is considered to be a basic skill in learning English and is placed at the top of language skills According to Doff’s viewpoint (1988:198) listening has a great impact on developing speaking because we cannot develop speaking skills unless we develop listening skills If an English language learner enables to understand spoken English, it is easy for him to communicate with foreign visitors, listen to the radio or to study And it is known that listening to spoken English is a good way of acquiring the language, of picking up structures and vocabularies The importance of motivation in teaching and learning listening Motivation is the desire to study Strong motivation stimulates students to acquire, transform and use knowledge As Harmer (1998: 25) says: Most students can remember lessons at school which were uninvolving and where they were ‘switched off’ from what was being taught to them Frequently, this was because they were bored, because they were not emotionally engaged with what was going on Such lessons can be contrasted with lessons where they were amused, moved, stimulated or challenged It seems quite clear that those lessons involved not only more ‘fun’, but also better learning Motivation is a vital element and strongly related to success in language learning If a learner is motivated, she will probably decide to undertake a particular task with certain amount of energy and time needed for it When students are engaged and motivated, they learn better than they are partly or wholly disengaged Especially, in a listening lesson, as it is often considered as a boring subject, teacher needs to arouse students’ interest, thus involving their emotions The application of games in teaching listening Games are said to help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work Games are very exciting for students, applying games in teaching, teachers may enliven the class, change a little bit the monotonous classroom’s atmosphere for a pleasant and an enriched environment As a result, students will find it interesting and challenging when learning listening in contrast with no cooperation, no interaction in listening periods without games Applying games in class also helps teachers to generate situations and contexts in which the language is practical, useful, functional and meaningful Students wants to take part in the process because they want to participate and understand what others are saying or have written and they have to speak or write in order to express their own ideas or give information Therefore, games are very useful and effective It makes the learning process a good deal more interesting And it is teacher’s duty to set up a system of various and attractive games to get students’ curiosity, interest and participation Why use games in teaching and learning listening? Using games in teaching and learning listening brings many benefits Firstly, they are really good aids for teachers because with them, a tedious and boring class becomes a brilliant setting for students, where skills are developed while they are playing Secondly, games are highly motivating and entertaining With games, even reluctant and shy students want to participate in the activity to express their opinions and feelings Thirdly, when students learn the target language with games, they can learn it in the way they acquire their mother tounge without being aware about what they are studying So they are going to learn it without any pressure and stressful activities, which results in a better learning Students could desire to play games only for fun or enjoyment so teachers need to consider which games to use, when to use and how to link the games with the activities presented in the English textbook grade 10 One suggestion to accomplish an excellent language game should be to present unambiguos rules, define the ultimate objective clearly and have a satisfying focus not to promote tediousness Types of games used to teach grammar Competitive games: the aim of this type of games is to finish the game as soon as possible before others Communication games: They are used to exchange information Students get information and they must react on it Cooperative games: these games are very important They create the cooperation among students Code-control games: students must not make mistakes when playing these games because they are controlled If not, they will lose points PART III THE STUDY Tri An high school and current situation of teaching and learning English at the school Tri An high school was established 16 years ago In spite of being located in a rural area, it has many good students who gets high prize in the exam of Dong Nai province taken place every year The school is well-equipped with modern technology, which helps to create its success However, most of the students are good at natural subjects and like to learn those subjects so the school is trying to look for new methods which engage students in both natural and social subjects, especially English The 10th form students in class 10A1 The research was carried out at Trị An high school with the participation of students of class 10A1 To these students, English is a compulsory subject in the courses and it is included in the final exam All of the students have studied English for at least four years at lower secondary school, especially some of them have studied English for nine years Most of them can grammar exercises very well but they have difficulties in mastering four language skills Of the four skills, they find listening especially important yet challenging one That was the reason why most of the students feel bored and unmotivated in listening classes Analyzing results of class observation The researcher observes different lessons and carry out experimental lessons in class 10A1 ( 36 students), lessons with designing games and lessons without games * Using games UNIT 7- THE MASS MEDIA Activity 1: Warm- up Activity: JUMBLED WORD Aim: to warm- up and elicit the new lesson Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 7, part C- Listening- WARM UP Time: minutes Procedures: + Teacher asks students to work in groups + Ask students to rearrange the letters to make the right words + The group that has more correct words in a shorter time will be the winner Teacher’ letters VITELSEOI N GINEMAZA EWSNPERPA NITERET N KOBO OARDI Activity 2: While- listening Activity: TICK THE WORDS YOU HEAR Aim: to prepare students for the listening task (listen for the first time) Interaction: pair work When to use: When teaching Unit 7, part C- Listening - WHILE- LISTENING Time: minutes Procedures: + Teacher asks students to work in pairs and delivers each pair a handout + Ask students to listen to the two radio news and then tick the words they hear + The pair that finishes first and has more correct answers will be the winner Activity 3: Post- Listening Activity: PERFECT MATCH Aim: to help students activate in the listening period Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 7, part C- Listening - POST- LISTENING Time: minutes Procedures: + Teacher prepares pictures containing the theme of the two radio news and sentences describing the pictures + Ask students to work in groups , each group is delivered a set of sentences + Representatives from each group will take turn to choose the picture and describe the picture so that his member will recognise the sentence that best match the picture + With a perfect match they receive 10 marks + The group with more correct sentences will be the winner 10 * UNIT 3: PEOPLE’S BACKGROUND Activity 1: Post- listening Activity: NOUGHTS AND CROSSES Aim: To use some information to talk about Sally Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 3, part C- Listening- POSTLISTENING Time: minutes 27 Teacher’s poster 1995 Books Love story Local school Reading Free time Manchester Sport teacher Procedures: - Teacher divides the students into team A and team B Put a noughts and crosses grid (9 squares) on the board like this one - Teacher explains the rules of the game: 28 + Someone from team A chooses the word or phrase and makes a sentence about Sally using that information If it is correct, teacher puts a cross in that square + Team B plays in the same way - The team that has the first row of noughts or crosses in any direction is the winner * UNIT 6: AN EXCURSION Activity 1: Activity: GUESSING WORD Aim: To engage students in the new lesson before listening Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 6, part C- Listening- WARM-UP Time: minutes 29 Procedures: + Teacher write on the board the word containing letters a picture relating to that word + Teacher asks students to work individually and tell them that they are going to guess the word base on the given picture + The first student with the correct guess will be the winner Teacher’s picture Students’ guess * UNIT 11: NATIONAL PARKS Activity: TRUEFALSE SENTENCES Activity 1: Postlistening Aim: To help students activate in the new lesson after listening Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 11, part C- Listening- POST30 LISTENING Time: minutes Procedures: + Teacher divides the class into groups + Teacher reads sentences about Cuc Phuong National Park, each sentence teacher reads times then stops Student from each group chooses the True or False card to tick on the board + The group with more correct answers will be the winner Teacher’ sentences The first national park in Vietnam is Cuc Phuong It was in 1962 that Cuc Phuong National Park was put into operation It covers Ninh Binh and Hoa Binh provinces Only scientists come there to their research on nature There are no measures or plans to protect wildlife in this park The number of species of flora is 450 and fauna is 2,000 Quen Voi is the name of a cave relating to a historical event The Muong ethnic minority living in Cuc Phuong earn their living by bee keeping and farming 31 Activity 2: Post- listening Activity: PICTURE GAME Aim: To help students activate in the new lesson after listening Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 11, part C- Listening- POSTLISTENING Time: minutes Procedures: + Teacher asks students to work in pairs + Tell them that they are going to replace the picture by a word in the handout given by teacher + The first pair to finish will be the winner Teacher’ s handout 32 * UNIT 13: FILMS AND CINEMA Activity 2: Warm- up Activity: CROSSWORD PUZZLE Aim: To help students engage in the new lesson Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 13, part C- Listening- WARM- UP Time: minutes 33 Procedures: + Teacher prepares a crossword puzzle with sentences, + Teacher asks students to work in groups and the crossword puzzle by choosing the sentence and complete it with one word + Each group takes turns to finish the puzzle + With each correct answer, they will receive 10 marks and with the correct guess about the theme ( the vertical letter), they will have 20 marks + The group with the highest mark will be the winner Teacher’s crossword When you want to see movies, you go to _ You love English I _ you study English very well (Your word begins with letter “S”) We will have an English test _ Friday Do you want to go _ with us in the park, Susan? (Your word begins with letter “P”) 34 The English teacher said: “If you don’t know meaning of that word, you can _ it (Your word begins with letter “G”) Suggested answer: 35 PART VI CONCLUSION Teaching listening to students in grade 10 is a really hard job They not have vocabulary large nor sufficient enough to grasp the structures of English from the text they are listening to Besides, listening techniques and strategies that they have experienced not meet the demand Therefore, they may ignore or feel bored during the listening lessons In order to show students that listening periods could be funny and interesting, there are many approaches carried out including using games The result of this study is that the use of games in teaching and learning listening brings many benefits to both teachers and students Students now are the centre of the studying process They are learning the way to use the language in the manner they could understand easily and they can begin their learning without feeling frustrated or discouraged for not being able to understand what is being said It is also my wish to have effective and interesting method in engaging students in the topic, in helping them activate the information they get from the listening stage in real life situations In fact, I have applied using games to help students engage, activate and study in listening periods and get good results so I write this report to help teachers and students at Tri An high school develop their ability in teaching and learning English I hope that using games to help students engage, activate and study in listening periods will really be used in practice since it is definitely a good way of making listening lessons more pleasant and accessible for students 36 PART VII RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Recommendations In order to achieve effective results in using games in teaching and learning English in general and listening in particular, teachers should be self- equipped with new and interesting ways of teaching Besides, they need to study materials, discuss and learn from colleagues’ experience Although the preparation of games for listening periods is a little bit timeconsuming and it needs much thinking and creative approach for the teacher, it is definitely worthy so teachers should devote their time to choosing materials that are suitable for time, level and content of the lesson When using games in helping students engage or activate in the listening periods, teachers need to give clear and easy rule to students to understand Considering all the above recommendations, teachers can help students in general and shy ones in particular to enjoy the lessons and develop their listening skills gradually 37 Suggestions for further research For further research on using games to help students engage, activate and study in listening periods, more games, actual activities and techniques should be conducted on different types of learners at different levels, such as using games in teaching listening in textbooks of English grade 11 and 12 PART VIII REFERENCE Doff, Adrian ( 1988) Teach English, Cambridge University Press Harmer, J (1998) How to teach English, Longman, and London 38 NGƯỜI THỰC HIỆN Nguyễn Thị Thanh Thúy 39 USING GAMES TO HELP GRADE 10 STUDENTS ENGAGE, ACTIVATE AND STUDY IN LISTENING PERIODS PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Reason for choosing the topic Aims of the study Scope of the study Research questions PART II RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH The role of listening in teaching and learning English .3 The importance of motivation in teaching and learning listening The application of games in teaching listening Why use games in teaching and learning listening? .5 Types of games used to teach grammar PART III THE STUDY .6 Tri An high school and current situation of teaching and learning English at the school The 10th form students in class 10A1 Analyzing results of class observation PART IV EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GAMES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING LISTENING 21 Real situation of teaching and learning listening at Tri An high school 21 Benefits gained through using games in teaching and learning listening 22 PART V GAMES DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS ENGAGE, ACTIVATE AND STUDY IN LISTENING PERIODS USING TEXTBOOK OF ENGLISH GRADE 10 24 PART VI CONCLUSION 36 PART VII RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 37 40 Recommendations 37 Suggestions for further research 38 PART VIII REFERENCE 38 41 [...]... activate and study in listening periods and get good results so I write this report to help teachers and students at Tri An high school develop their ability in teaching and learning English I hope that using games to help students engage, activate and study in listening periods will really be used in practice since it is definitely a good way of making listening lessons more pleasant and accessible for students. .. understand easily and they can begin their learning without feeling frustrated or discouraged for not being able to understand what is being said It is also my wish to have effective and interesting method in engaging students in the topic, in helping them activate the information they get from the listening stage in real life situations In fact, I have applied using games to help students engage, activate. .. the listening lessons In order to show students that listening periods could be funny and interesting, there are many approaches carried out including using games The result of this study is that the use of games in teaching and learning listening brings many benefits to both teachers and students Students now are the centre of the studying process They are learning the way to use the language in the... Comparison of students motivation through lessons 22 23 PART V GAMES DESIGNED TO HELP STUDENTS ENGAGE, ACTIVATE AND STUDY IN LISTENING PERIODS USING TEXTBOOK OF ENGLISH GRADE 10 The listening activities in textbook of English grade 10 are after each unit The theme of the unit is also the topic of the listening activity So students are familiar with the vocabulary related to the topic The examples of games. .. very important for today’s education 21 2 Benefits gained through using games in teaching and learning listening The researcher finds that in listening lessons that games were used, most of the students use English to discuss, to communicate so they can develop their 4 skills gradually Besides, when using games in teaching listening, the teacher can create the active, lively and meaningful environment... 450 and fauna is 2,000 7 Quen Voi is the name of a cave relating to a historical event 8 The Muong ethnic minority living in Cuc Phuong earn their living by bee keeping and farming 31 Activity 2: Post- listening Activity: PICTURE GAME Aim: To help students activate in the new lesson after listening Interaction: the whole class When to use: When teaching Unit 11, part C- Listening- POSTLISTENING... are chosen to engage and activate students, therefore helps them study better in the textbook of English grade 10 by the researcher * UNIT 1: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF … Activity 1: Pre- Listening Activity: JUMBLED WORDS AND WHO IS HE? Aim: to warm- up and engage students in the new lesson Interaction: group work When to use: When teaching Unit 1, part C- Listening- PRELISTENING Time: 3 minutes 24 Procedures:... high motivation for students to practise and use the target language So using games in teaching and learning grammar is a method that brings not only the effectiveness but also the attractiveness In summary, the motivation of students in the lessons with games is higher that of the lessons without games Motivation Students English speaking time Class atmosphere Using games Not using games 60-70% 20-... trouble in developing listening skills through listening periods in spite of the fact that they have practised listening in class for many years The problem is that in a typical listening lesson, students either listen just to the taped script of a reading texbook or after listening to some materials, they answer some questions based on the content of the listening materials They consider listening period... class * Not using games Like an ordinary day of teaching, teacher introduces the new lesson and asks students to answer some questions in the book, then students are asked to do the listening activities This process is like a listening test Most of the time, students 18 just listen and write down in their notebook When the listening tapescript is finished, teacher calls on some students to write down