1 Applying games in teaching the present perfect tense to the freshmen at Haiphong Medical University = Nghiên cứu việc áp dụng trò chơi trong việc dạy thời Hiện tại Hoàn thành cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất Đại học Y Hải Phòng. M.A. Thesis Linguistics: 60 14 10 / Đồ Thị Hồng Diệp ; Supervisor : M.A. Phùng Thị Kim Dung PART 1: I TRODUCTIO 1. Rationale Linguists define grammar as a set of components: phonetics (the production and perception of sounds), phonology (how sounds are combined), morphology (how elements are combined to create words), syntax (how words are strung together into sentences) and semantics or meaning. So, by definition, language does not exist without grammar. In learning a foreign language, grammar plays an important role. Many advantages of grammar study are to improve your writing, reading, thinking and speaking. Besides, it can enable you to express the knowledge that we have, in a correct and understandable format. In the English grammar system, learners still find it difficult to master the connection between Time Tense Aspect. Tense and aspect are grammatical categories of the verbs which have to do with forms. While tense links the situation represented by a sentence with the time at which it is uttered, aspect represents features of the temporal structure of the situation. Tense and aspect are obligatory because whenever we encode an event through a finite clause, we select one or another tense, one or another aspectual distinction. In fact, tense and aspect can combine in various ways, giving different types, such as: the Present Progressive tense, the Present Perfect tense, the Past Perfect Progressive tense Having taught at some colleges and universities for a few years, I realize that the Present Perfect tense that puzzles students most. Of all the English tenses,
2 PPT is undoubtedly the most difficult one for students to learn and, for that reason, the most difficult one to teach. The trouble does not come from teaching the form. Students do not have much trouble with how to form PPT. Instead, they have trouble understanding how to use PPT. Almost all elementary students know how to conjugate this verb tense correctly, but knowing when to use PPT (the functions of the tense) is often confusing. Mario Rinvolucri (1984:3) wrote that: Grammar is perhaps so serious and central in learning another language that all ways should be searched for which will focus students energy on the task of mastering and internalizing it. One way of focusing this energy is through the release offered by games. Grammar games are very useful in teaching and learning; grammar games not only encourage but also improve students ability in using English fluently. However, at my university, teaching grammar, including the PPT - a difficult item of English grammar is very boring and passive. Through my observation with two random classes Y1K32B and Y1K32H- (see Classroom Observation Sheet in Appendix 1), I find that in the lesson plan, teacher proposes many activities for students to learn and communicate; however in practice, teacher often uses PPP approach, and even Grammar Translation Method which make students inattentive to the lessons. In some classes, few teachers use activities, technology or games to create amusement and attractiveness, but they cannot guide students to attend. The reasons may be poor English skills or weak motivation of the students or teachers knowledge about activities applied in their classes or unsuitable activities to the content of the lesson, etc. Finally, teachers cannot gain the first goal and students cannot understand the lesson thoroughly and use grammar structures in oral communication. So, the teaching grammar in my university has neither developed ability, activeness and motivation of the students nor created many opportunities for them to communicate in English. Therefore, this study is necessary because using games in teaching grammar; specifically the PPT will bring many practical benefits to the students. In consideration of these problems, as an English teacher, I really want to study the situation of teaching and learning the PPT at HMU and make a small contribution to enhancing the effectiveness in teaching this tense through games. 2. Aims of the study to examine the effects of games on the teaching and learning of the Present
3 Perfect tense and to explore students' attitudes, expectations and progress in their process of learning the Present Perfect tense through games. to propose several recommendations on game adaptation to make them more enjoyable and productive to the students at HMU. In order to carry out the study in this way, the following questions are put forth. 1. What are students attitudes towards games in the Present Perfect lesson? 2. How does the use of games help students learn Present Perfect Tense more effectively? 3. What games should be used to teach The Present Perfect Tense more effectively for the freshmen at Hai Phong Medical University? 3. Scope of the study Given the rationale and the aims of the study, it is necessary to limit the study to the areas which are manageable. Benefits of application of games in teaching the PPT create the effectiveness of students learning which focuses on two factors: developing students motivation and understanding of the lesson. The study focuses on the first-year students at HMU, so the results of the study are not applied for all students of all universities. 4. Methodology This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative method helps to provide the quantified background data. The collected data and information lay the foundation for the study. Comments, remarks, assumptions and conclusions of the study are based on data analysis. Data collection for analysis in the study come from the lecturers and students in HMU by: - Class observation - Survey questionnaires - Interviews and discussion 5. Design of the study This minor thesis includes three parts. The first part Introduction provides the motivation for the research, identifies the aims, scope, methods and research questions.
4 The second part Development consists of three chapters. Chapter 1- Literature review - gives an overview of theories of the study. Chapter 2 Contents of the study investigates the current situation of learning and teaching the PPT at HMU through class observation, interviews and questionnaires, then carries out data analysis, comparison, findings and discussion. Chapter 3 Suggestions provides or suggestions to overcome difficulties when using Present Perfect games in class and examples of games to teach the Present Perfect tense in Headway textbook (elementary). The last part of the study is the conclusion which gives a summary of the study and recommendations for further study. PART 2: DEVELOPME T Chapter 1: Literature Review 1.1. Grammar and its role in English teaching and learning 1.1.1. Definitions of grammar 1.1.2. The role of grammar in English teaching and learning 1.1.3. Grammar: What need to be taught? 1.2. The Present Perfect tense and its meaning 1.2.1. Present Perfect expresses indefinite past actions 1.2.2. Present Perfect expresses state up to the present 1.2.3. Present Perfect expresses finished events connected to the present 1.2.4. Present Perfect for repeated or habitual actions 1.3. The application of games in teaching Present Perfect Tense 1.3.1. The importance of students motivation in learning language 1.3.2. Definitions of game 1.3.3. Classifications of games 1.3.4. Advantages of teaching Present Perfect tense with games 1.3.5. Application of games 1.3.5.1. Which games to apply? 1.3.5.2. When apply games? 1.4. Summary
5 Chapter 2: The study This study includes a justification for the approach the author used in conducting the research. It also provide a thorough description of how the author collected the necessary data as well as the analytical procedure to draw conclusions based on the collected information. 2.1. Background to the study 2.1.1. An overview of English learning and teaching at HaiPhong Medical University 2.1.2. Aims and syllabus of Present Perfect teaching at HaiPhong Medical University 2.1.2.1. Aims 2.1.2.2. Syllabus 2.1.3. Situation of teaching and learning grammar, including the Present Perfect tense at Hai Phong Medical University 2.2. Lesson plan and application of games in teaching the Present Perfect tense 2.3. Data analysis 2.3.1. Analyzing result of the questionnaire 2.2.1.1. Questionnaire for teachers 2.2.1.2. Questionnaire for students 2.2.1.3. The feedback of the freshmen in experimental lesson 2.3.2. Class observation 2.3.3. Result of interview 2.4. Findings and discussion 2.4.1. Research question 1:What are students attitudes towards Present Perfect games? With data analysis above, we find that during the game, most students feel interested, ready to cooperate to take part in the game. When playing the games, students express their motivation. Most of lessons using games have interaction and competing atmosphere although the class is noisy but very lively and actively. Moreover, students can revise old structures and learn new ones without being nervous or tired because most of students are eager to contribute their ideas to the lesson and discover the PPT structure quickly and remember longer, so the ability of students understanding of the lesson is also better. 2.4.2. Research question 2: How does the use of games help students learn Present
6 Perfect Tense more effectively? Through the analysis of the data above, it has been found out that games bring numerous benefits to the learners; specifically - Games encourage students active and creative spirit, develop their communicative skills and motivation. - Games help students consolidate, revise and broaden their knowledge,concentrate on communicative function of PPT. - Games create lively atmosphere in class by learner-centered method, teachers only take a role of guider, helper and build a united class, stimulate students healthy competition. - Games help teachers combine 4 skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing during giving the games and form the habit to play them. Therefore, teachers can make class atmosphere lively and effectiveness of learning high because both teachers and students are familiar to the way to play games. 2.4.3. Research question 3: Which games should be used to teach The Present Perfect Tense more effectively for the freshmen at Hai Phong Medical University? Although benefits and effectiveness of PPT games are proved, games sometimes cause difficulties to teachers and students. Most of the teachers (77.8%) find that designing new games very difficultly while resources of games are limited and they have difficulties in controlling the students not to use mother tongue in the process of games. Besides, games cannot be successful if the teacher does not explain the rules of the games clearly or gives the instructions at inappropriate time. Using games sometimes fails if there is lack of cooperation among members of the groups. However, in every class there always remain some students who are really serious-minded and introverted so they are not interested in active activities. These students do not like games because games are not their interest or not suitable to their learning styles. In addition, because of our culture, some students feel shy and embarrassed when they have to talk or present in front of the class, or simply too lazy to move their seats when it is their turn. They often let their group-mates do all the tasks. Thus, others would work more than them and obviously, these students did not have chance to practice. Moreover, the number of the students in each class is worth regarding. The common number of students in a high school class ranges nearly fifty students. This is also a
7 challenge to the teacher if he/she wants to carry out a game in the class. Finally, most of students (71.2%) find that they lack necessary vocabulary to join in the games confidently. With the above-mentioned difficulties, teachers should select games based on the following criteria: - A game must be more than just fun. - A game should involve friendly competition. - A game should keep all of students involved and interested. - A game should encourage student to focus on the use of PPT rather than on PPT itself. - A game should give students a chance to learn, practice and communicate. - A game must be suitable to students and specific context. Using games to teach PPT can be both fun and rewarding for teachers and the students. Just remember to keep them engaged and make sure that you re games are truly teaching the skill at hand and you ll soon have a class full of students who get excited about learning PPT! Chapter 3: Suggestions With respect to giving instructions, teachers should give the directions clearly and simply to make sure that everyone understands exactly how to play. Instructors also need to create something that could help the students to understand what they are supposed to do. In fact, it has been proven that the use of poster-sized paper with instructions stuck on boards or instruction slips provided to each group was very useful. In the worst situation when you suddenly discover that the students are all doing completely different things, do not try and explain to each individual student, stop the whole class and give your instructions again. Another issue of concern is how to group students in a game, for example, nearly fifty students as the situation in the study. A point of note is that grouping dependent on students' preferences could be very motivating but also problematic as the groups are not always of equal numbers. The teacher, at this point, needs to subdivide large groups or combine two small ones. Regarding the students' participation, the recommendation focuses on the students
8 who usually refused to take part in games. To these subjects, teachers should pay more attention to them in order to find the reasons whether it is their learning style, interest, or other things. Since it is impossible to force them to change their interest or learning style, convincing is recommended. It is better to make clear that games are not just entertainment activity but have high educational value. These styles of the students should understand that they are playing games but learning. In case that it is hard to change these students' mind, teachers should at least reach some kind of compromise with the students. Besides, students always have to do their homework and prepare the new lesson before going to class. They should learn vocabulary and practice the communicative skills frequently. When teachers explain how to play the games, students should listen attentively and join in contributing their ideas, shouldn t be shy. Moreover, students should have the activities out of class which are both learning and relaxing so that they are more active, confident and creative. 1. Summary of major findings Part 3: CO CLUSIO The findings of this study showed that most of the students had quite positive attitude towards the use of games in learning PPT. They all believed that the new method was more interesting and more motivating them to learn than the period before the trial. This fact is affirmed by the result of the questionnaire and the classroom observation. As can be seen from the observation in the class Y1K32B, because of no new changes in teaching, students learned PPT through the development of language skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing in the conventional way. In other words, it looked as if the teaching was rigid and adhered to the guidance in the textbook. As a result, the students soon felt bored and seemed to have lessened their motivation. Failure to remember grammatical items is likely to entail. However, when games were introduced in the three classes, the students agreed that there was a new learning atmosphere and they really liked the relaxing and exciting atmosphere, the competitiveness and the motivation that games brought to the classroom. This is because games seemed to be "a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class", "motivating and challenging" "effort of learning, and "language practice in the various skills" (Lee, 1995, cited in Khuat and Nguyen, 2003). This study provides further evidence that both the teacher's careful lesson plan and students' well-behaved participation play an important role in the success of the new
9 method. In terms of the teacher's teaching, games cannot be successful if the teacher does not prepare the lesson plan carefully. A carefully prepared lesson helps the teacher know clearly what to do in every stage of the lesson, especially with stages in conducting games, and anticipate what might happen during the teaching process. Game activities and materials which engage students include: games appropriate to students' ages and levels, suitable tasks and topics, and adequate time for games completion. Game materials stimulating students' involvement can be pictures, maps, flashcards or real objects. Using suitable materials not only saved the time for explaining but also helped with easy memorizing of new knowledge as well as motivating students' learning because this helped students produce the language in a more interesting way 2. Limitation and suggestions for further research In this thesis, the results of the experiment might be tentative due to some following factors: Firstly, the research was carried out in a comparatively short period of time. Actually, the study was conducted in only 11 weeks because it was feared that if the study had taken longer, it might have affected the syllabus. Secondly, the number of the participants was not randomly assigned because the number of students in a class was fixed at the beginning of the school year. Therefore, the results found from the research cannot be highly generalized. Moreover, there may be some other factors influencing the subjects of the study which is out of my control such as the students mood, learning habit, physical setting, large class size, etc. Despite these limitations, I strongly believe that my research is successful to some extent. The present research can offer pedagogical applications for teachers, educationalists and researchers of related fields. First of all, teachers can have a better view on using PPT games. In this way, they would utilize this efficient technique to improve students linguistic abilities. Secondly, educationalists will also receive substantial benefits from this study. They can base on what was found in this study to construct a framework about how to use this technique that can make the fullest use of PPT games. Moreover, they can, for instance, write a book, implement a research about the use of PPT game, which is never an old topic. In the end, for related studies, this one can be regarded as a reliable
10 foundation. Other researchers can base on its strengths and the weaknesses to better their own. In conclusion, the study helped the researcher confirm the facts that the students were weak at remembering PPT, which led to the bad results in the test. The causes of this problem were in the way the teacher presented and practiced PPT as well as the way the students were involved in learning. Then, the solution - using games in teaching PPT - was implemented. This solution helped students improve their learning in many ways. This study has attained some mentioned-above noticeable results. However, limitations are inevitable. Firstly, the research has been done with a rather small number of games. Secondly, the researcher was unable to control some variables, such as the absence of some students. Thirdly, the number of participants only limited in one class, which may keep the results of the research from being highly generalized. Finally, the study would have been more reliable and objective if it had been possible to invite more observers to the classroom. For all these, the researcher highly appreciates any comments and suggestions to make the use of games in her lessons more effective and motivating.
11