THANH HOA EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT DONG SON DISTRICT EDUCATION AND TRANING DEPARTMENT TEACHING EXPERIENCE USING LANGUAGE GAMES TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILL FOR THE STUDENTS IN CLASS 7A AT DONG TIEN SECONDARY SCHOOL Writer : Nguyen Thi Duc Position: Teacher School : Dong Tien Secondary School Subject : English THANH HÓA NĂM 2017 INDEX CONTENT A Introduction Page B Problem solving I Basis reality (Reality) II Basis of theory III Solution Challenging game Face to face game Gossip game Word – practicing game Continuing a story 10 Mind map 11 Car racing 12 IV The tested results 13 C Conclusions and recommendtions 14 D References 16 E A list of innovation initiatives has been rated by the evaluation committee of the education and training department, the education and training department and the higher level ranked c or higher 17 A INTRODUCTION I RATIONABLE OF THE STUDY Nowadays English has played an important part in our life It is an international language all over the world, it has become a compulsory subject in all secondary schools as well It is the key for anyone who wants to get success in life In fact, secondary students in particular and people learning English in general, despite many years of learning English, their ability to communicate is very limited They can not know how to express what they want to say They are shy and they are not confident enough to speak or communicate with the others in English even though they still understand vocabulary and the sentence structures Students are learning self-contained method They mainly focus on mastering grammar and forget speaking skill, the school speaking environment is little known even without The reason for this is partly due to their limited vocabulary On the other hand, because of the assessment requirements of the department, the students mostly have to take part in written test in favor of grammar rather than the oral test Therefore, the students often learn conception to pass the exams, not learn to communicate Besides, the students are often afraid of making mistakes when presenting dialogues or expressing their comments on the issues to be presented to the crowd But perhaps, the basic cause is that the students are lack of communication environment: the teachers of English are Vietnamese, the class is also Vietnamese students, so Vietnamese should be used when they can’t express something in English The majority of the teachers pay little attention, or rarely encourage the students to develop speaking skill, the students not have the habit of speaking English That is why, in the process of teaching, especially for English pilot program, I have been thinking about "How to improve the students’ speaking skill ?", "How to help students to be self confident enough to communicate with one another in English?" I have found out that the use of language games in teaching English is one of the most effective methods to get the students involved in speaking English Moreover, using language games makes the lessons more interesting and the students more active in learning English The speaking environment is promoted more and more For the above reasons, I have chosen the theme "Using language games to improve speaking skill for the students in class 7A at Dong Tien Secondary School" Please be shared to consult colleagues and additional comments II AIMS OF THE STUDY My study aims at, firstly, examining the impact of the using vocabularies, structures in speaking lesson of the 7th grade students at Dong Tien Secondary School, and secondly, determining effective techniques to teach speaking skill III SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study only focuses on the speaking skill to 7A class students at Dong Tien Secondary School IV RESEARCHING METHODS Reading reference books, discussing with other teachers, applying in teaching, observing and drawing out experiences B PROBLEM SOLVING I BASIS REALITY ( REALITY) Today the use of English in communication is essential and important English not only helps us to develop economic, society, but also helps us integrate with our friends throughout the world English is useful for many different reasons: We may use English when traveling or working abroad If we know English, we can find a good job easily, we can trade with other countries in English around the world to business, economic development Knowing English helps us understand the songs, read books, watch movies, watch TV programs in English But in fact, secondary students in particular and people learning English in general have not learned English boldly and confidently to communicate in practice In order to help the students use English to communicate in everyday life, the teachers need to innovate teaching methods, pay attention to promoting language environment at school However this is not an easy matter for both the teachers and the students It is important for the teachers to know how to select the specific language games in the appropriate classes of objects, the ability of the students to meet the efficiency The teachers should always encourage the students to participate in learning activities and practice communicating to make the lessons exciting, lively, and attractive They can form the habit of communicating in English II BASIS OF THEORY In fact, in teaching and learning a foreign language, the students will learn more effectively if they are learnt in an atmosphere of learning fun, relaxation and have more opportunities to communicate in the context of the real world The use of language games in teaching a foreign language can increase motivation for the students, one of the decisive factors for the students to get success in their language learning At the same time, the teachers can help and encourage the students to learn and maintain their interest in learning In addition, language games also help the teachers create the context in which language practice is very useful and easy “Games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and a number of skills are often involved in the same game” (Lee, 1995) (5) The students would like to participate in the games, they have to understand what the others are saying, and they have to say these things to present their own opinions or to present information to the others understand So, in this theme, I want to mention some games organized to encourage, promote and improve speaking skill for the students in class 7A at Dong Tien secondary school III SOLUTION In every period of teaching process I often have the students play games such as Networks, Slap the board, Matching, Simon says, Lucky numbers, Lucky stars, Who is the millionaire?, Hang man, Car racing, Survey, Chain game… But in this theme, I would like to introduce some following language games I find most effectively in motivating the students in class 7A at Dong Tien secondary chool to practice speaking skill Challenging Game Purpose: Review the thematic vocabulary and practice speaking skill The teacher devides the class into two teams, then takes out the topic of vocabulary Two teams huddle within 30 seconds and turn to challenge your team Which team is more challenging than the number of words will have the right to speak first If any team says enough and the right amount of challenge wil be scored point If the team says one wrong word or says one word that does not belong to the topic or does not say enough times challenged, the team will lose the challenge and points The prize will belong to the other team.The game will be resumed with different themes The game will stop when the set time has expired or the teacher has checked all the required test scores Example Unit 2: Health – Lesson 2: A closer look (1) (7 English Pilot Curriculum) The teacher gives the topic “Health problems” and devides the class 7A into two groups Then the teacher asks the students to play “Challenging game” to warm up the class and lead in the new lesson (The students are really keen on this game because the students like challenging and they are afraid of leaving behind their friends They have expressed their quickness and liveliness in speaking English than ever before) Example Unit 3: Community service – Lesson 1: A closer look1 (7 English Pilot Curriculum) The teacher gives the topic “Problems in the society” such as “homeless people” Then the teacher devides the class 7A into four groups and asks the students to play “Challenging game” to consolidate the lesson (In this game, I really felt pleased because the students were excited to talk about the “Problems in the society” and the speaking environment is improved as well) Face to face game Purpose: Practice the students’ reflexes and agility skills in communication In this game, the students work in pairs, stand face to face with their partner, think about the topic of the lesson, the new words they have learned above To start the game, S1 says a new word and S2 says the first related word that comes to mind, keeps the words going back and forth as quickly as possible until the teacher says “stop” Example Unit 2: Health – Lesson 2: A closer look (7 English Pilot Curriculum) - The teacher asks the students to play a game “Face to face” to consolidate the lesson Whole class stand up In pairs, stand face to face One mentions to Health problem and the other mentions to Health tip The students take in turns (In this game, not only good students but also weak students are involved The whole class take part in the game and pairs by pairs complete their task So, this game makes the lessons interesting, exciting and makes the whole class enthusiastic They have to think of what to say how to respond their partner ) Example: S1: Obesity S2: Eat less junk food S3: Sunburn S4: Wear a hat when going out S5: Spots S6: Wash your face regularly S7: Stomachache S8: Be careful with what you eat and drink S9: Flu S10: Wash your hand more …………………… Example 2: Unit Community service – Lesson 1: Getting started (7 English Pilot Curriculum) - The teacher asks the students to play a game “Face to face” to consolidate the lesson Whole class stand up In pairs, stand face to face One mentions to a noun and the other mentions to a verb to make meaningful word phrases related to the topic “Community service” The students take in turns Example: S1: Blood S2: Donate S3: Homeless people S4: Help S5: Donate S6: Books S7: Poor children S8: Teach Gossip game - The teacher reads a statement that only the student who sits at the top of each group can hear but the others can not - The first Student repeats the teacher’s sentence to the other student, so on until the last student of the group hears and repeats the teacher’s sentence Which one reads the complete sentence aloud will win the game Example: “Non-renewable energy” means that it will run out if we use it (This game requires the students to say the whole sentences, so it helps them drill two skills: Listening and speaking Moreover, this game helps the students form the habit of speaking the long sentences in English and encourages them to be self-confident to communicate with the others in English) Word – practicing game The teacher gives any English words, using their letters to create meaningful words In this game, the students have the opportunity to "scour all of the words" in their heads, avoid forgetting, and they will be able to enlarge vocabulary from the game which their partners have created The teacher can ask the students to make up sentences, using the words created if there is enough time (In this game, I am very surprised because the students are so intelligent that they can create too many words from the letters of any words given Therefore, this game helps the students become quick-minded, consolidate vocabulary and develop speaking skill, These are some examples to show the students’ result) Example 1: Unit 10 Sources of Energy - Lesson 1: Getting started (7 English Pilot Curriculum) - The teacher asks the students to create meaningful words from the word “Resource” S1: Use S2: Reuse S3: Source S4: Sour S5: See S6: Our S7: Seer S8: Course …… - The teacher asks the students to make up sentences, using above new words Example 2: Revision Lesson (7 English Pilot Curriculum) - Ask students to create meaningful words from the word “Celebration” (It is incredible that the students can create too many meaningful words from the letters of the word “Celebration”) Can On Rat Tire Tear Bear Rate Been None Ear Tie Race Ban Bee Ice It Tea Lie Lent Rent Rice 10 Rain Learn Table Boat Bat Bar Cat Car Beat Beer Bore Bet Center Nice Role Note Ten Teen Enter Cable Air Clean Clear Able Continuing a story The Teacher will give out a topic for the story and the beginning sentence (which can take even the theme of the lesson that day) In turns, the students will add a sentence to the story and they have to ensure the logic as well as sticking to the theme of the story (In this game, I require good stusents make up new sentences and weak students repeat the sentences So the students don’t find this game too difficult at all and this game helps the students improve their speaking skill considerably) Example 1: Topic: Traffic (Unit 7: Traffic – Lesson 4: Communication) (7 English Pilot Curriculum) Nowadays, there are many kinds of means of transport S1: It is very convenient for us to travel S2: But too many means of transport mean too much pollution S3: There are often traffic jams during rush hour as well S4: The more vehicles there are, the more polluted it is S5: We should use public transport instead of our own private ones S6: We should go to school on foot or by bike Example Topic: Saving energy (Unit 10: Sources of energy – Lesson 4: Communicatio) (7 English Program Pilot) There are two types of energy S1: They are renewbale and non-renewable sources S2: Renewable sources of energy are wind, hydro, solar or biogas S3: Non- renewable sources of energy are coal, oil, natural gas S4: Renewable sources of energy are plentiful and unlimited S5: But non- renewable sources of energy are limited S6: We are using up non- renewable sources of energy S7: It is necessary that we should save non- renewable sources of energy S8: We can save non- renewable sources of energy by using alternative sources 11 S9: We can use Solar energy instead S10: Solar energy doesn’t cause pollution S11: Solar energy can be cheap, clean and effective Mind map Mind mapping is a highly effective way of getting information in and out of your brain Mind mapping is a creative and logical means of note- taking and note- making that literally “map out” your idea Example : Topic: Health (Unit 2: Health– Lesson 5: Skills 1) (7 English Pilot Curriculum) 12 Car racing (This is a great game to help the students learn and play as well It is an effective method to help the students review vocabulary The teachers can apply when starting or ending or reinforcing the lessons Playing time is from - minutes) Make three lines to create two parallel tracks and the tracks are divided into equal rectangular areas (The students can perform on rough paper) to play a long time, depending on who makes it possible to add multiple lines different race Initially two "riders" (Ex rider writes "car", rider "train") then draw ballot to choose the team go ahead The students have to write the word whose first letter is the last letter of the enemy’s words The race will end when a rider is "flat tire" that means he/ she gives the wrong words or the word already given before or can not find the word any more In this game teachers can act as an arbitrator, give the points and divide the class into two teams together or two individuals together Example: Racer I Donate phone draw teach photo rise nail eagle nose Racer II help end eat wrap hear origin enlarge learn enrich 13 IV THE TESTED RESULTS In this school year, I have been teaching English in class 7A In every period of teaching, I always use language games to improve speaking skill for the students I found that these language games have provided the students with the comfortable and effective way of learning English not only in the classroom but also in anywhere The students feel excited and they are eager to wait for English classes They can understand the lessons more deeply and more naturally They have become better and better at speaking skill and more self confident in communicating in English with each other They either speak English in the class or outside the school confidently They not only take part in language games organized by the teacher but also by themselves They even take use of their recess to communicate in English by playing language games Their speaking skill has improved so quickly Based on the results of the students’ learning, I have the results of classification ability of speaking and communicating of the students in class 7A at Dong Tien secondary school in this school year as the followings: Ability Excellent Good Average Bad Early year Number Percentage Late year Number Percentage 2,3 18,2 13,6 26 59,1 11 25 10 22,7 23 59,1 0 14 C CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDTIONS Learning a language is a process that requires students’ continuous efforts and language games create fun learning environment, enhance relaxation and maintain their interest in learning At the same time, they increase the motivation, encourage the students to be active to participate in learning activities Language games are useful for the students to enrich vocabulary and develop the language elements such as pronunciation, spelling, reading, listening, speaking These factors are very important to them before practicing communication skills The language games provide the students with the opportunities to communicate in the context of real communication to improve their speaking skill One of the difficulties that most of the teachers of foreign languages in general, and the teachers of English in particular have experienced while using the games, It is the time taken Usually the games held in the classroom does not take much time, which only takes minutes to minutes, or minutes Featuring that, classes in Vietnam are often very crowded, whether using language games in groups or in pairs is suitable and effective for all the students in the class to practice the language is a problem This shows that the selection of appropriate language games is very important, which helps the students overcome the difficulty in speaking English In short, using the language games brings efficiency in teaching and learning English The teachers should use the games as an indispensable part of the teaching process, constantly organize language games for the students to participate in class, create the atmosphere of English learning fun, relaxation, enthusiasm and enjoyment In addition, the teachers should focus on the selection of suitable language games for the studentss levels The language games will become more difficult if the request, or the subject of the game is not appropriate or beyond the students’ ability Obviously, the language games like these are not beneficial for both teachers and learners In oder to get success in using language games in teaching English, these are important things to both teachers and students For the teachers: - Must have a deep understanding about the lessons - Must refer many kinds of books, documents - Must be responsible, enthusiastic for the students - Must prepare the means and appliances of teaching carefully 15 For the students - Must prepare the lesson carefully before class - Must meet all kinds of books for class service - Must obey the instructions and guidance of the teacher For the leaders The current means and teaching aids for the English subject are not still supplied enough So the leaders should equip adequate equipments such as radios, tapes, pictures, projector and especially functional rooms in order to suceesfully carry out the objective of teaching and learning English in this stage The above is my own experience in using language games in teaching English to improve speaking skill for the students in class 7A at Dong Tien secondary school But the language games that I would definitely present can’t help avoiding limitations I look forward to all the colleagues’ constructive feedback in order to improve the efficiency of class time, contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning English I sincerely thank you! Thanh Hoa, March th, 2017 CONFIRMATION OF THE I assure this is my own initiative experience I not HEADMASTER copy the other people's content (Name and full name) Nguyen Thi Duc 16 REFERENCES Students’ and teacher’s English Program Pilot books Brown, H.D (1994) Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall Byrne, D (1978) Teaching Oral English Longman, London Lee, W.R (1979) Language Teaching Games and Contexts 21 Oxford Press Rixon, S (1981) How to use games in language teaching Macmillan Education.\ 17 E A LIST OF INNOVATION INITIATIVES HAS BEEN RATED BY THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE OF THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT, THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEPARTMENT AND THE HIGHER LEVEL RANKED C OR HIGHER Teacher’s name: Nguyen Thi Duc School: Dong Tien secondary school TT Tên dề tài SKKN Bồi dưỡng khả tự học tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối trường THCS Đông Tiến Kinh nghiệm tổ chức cho học sinh hoạt động theo cặp, nhóm việc dạy học tiếng Anh có hiệu Cấp đánh giá Kết đánh xếp loại giá xếp loại Năm học đánh giá xếp loại Cấp huyện B 2015-2016 Cấp huyện C 2012-2013 18 ... in teaching English to improve speaking skill for the students in class 7A at Dong Tien secondary school But the language games that I would definitely present can’t help avoiding limitations... active in learning English The speaking environment is promoted more and more For the above reasons, I have chosen the theme "Using language games to improve speaking skill for the students in class. .. opportunities to communicate in the context of the real world The use of language games in teaching a foreign language can increase motivation for the students, one of the decisive factors for the students