THE EFFECTS OF GAMES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING FOR YOUNG LEARNERS

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In learning a foreign or second language, one of the most important things that a

learner must acquire is vocabulary. Vocabulary knowledge plays a major role in helping

language learners to gain competency in said language, this applies to English language as well.

Vocabulary is the one element that merges all the four language skills which are listening,

speaking, reading and writing together. Therefore, it is crucial for learner of English to know a

sufficient amount of words and how to use them. In fact, English teachers have found out that

the more vocabulary that the students know the better their performance in English will be. The

same goes to young learners as well. However, the learning styles used might be different from

one student to another. Teachers notice that the traditional way of teaching vocabulary by

listing the words and their meanings and asking the students to memorize them will not work

when it comes to young learners. For young learners, the amount of words being presented in a

lesson has to be limited too. The standard method of presenting up to 20 or more new

vocabulary words that students are expected to learn at a given time is not an effective way to

help the learners develop vocabulary (Gersten and Baker, 2000).

Their senses need to be stimulated for them to be able to learn effectively. Thus, many

researchers have mentioned that the use of language games will in so many ways help young

learners to master a language in this case, English. Hadfield (1997; Quoted in Deesri, 2002,

p.1) describes games as “an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun.” Language

games will help them focus and attract their interest and attention towards that particular

lesson. According to Nicolson and Williams (1975, p.1), games are a form of teaching which

may be used in situations where ordinary approaches are not effective or of much interest of the

students especially when attention is hard to get and harder to keep.

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Learning a language is not an easy task. It is very challenging indeed. This is even

more so when it comes to second language. It requires much effort from the learners even more

so for young ones. Young learners have a lot of energy and getting them to sit in one place for a

long period of time will cause them to lose their interest and stray their attention away from the

intended lesson. Games function as a way to direct these learners’ energy toward language

learning by providing them with meaningful contexts (Wright, Betteridge and Buckby, 1984)

thus, it is important for teachers to not view language games as something to fill up the free

time at the end of a lesson only.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Vocabulary

In learning any language, vocabulary plays a crucial role and a major contributor to

building up one’s proficiency in the target language. It is the foundation that supports the leaning

of languages especially second language(s). Vocabulary is the most important and largest part of

any language. The lack of knowledge in the vocabulary of the target language will affect one’s

mastery and hinder him or her from expressing oneself (McCarthy, 1990).

In fact, Thornburry (2002) even mentions that without the knowledge of grammar we can

convey very little of what we actually want to but without the presence of vocabulary, we will not

be able to convey anything at all. Most people would say that it is crucial to learn all the grammar

rules. However, in reality grammar and vocabulary have to learn hand in hand instead of in

separation. According to Allen (1983), students who learn only the grammar rules of the language

without learning the vocabulary of said language as well will not be able to use the language

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learned for communication purposes. Therefore, it shows that vocabulary is very important in

learning a second language.

Games

The word itself makes us think of fun ways of doing things where we can play at

the same time. Some previous researchers have come out with a more formal way of defining

games which encompasses language games as well. Fleta (2009) for example says that games are

simple structured activities which may contain little language components but are meaningful to

students and involve the whole self (cognitively and emotionally). It also provides the link

between the language itself and how it used in reality. If we look at it closely when a teacher uses

games in his or her lesson, there will be only a small number of words that they will be focusing

on. This is because it is not the amount of words being presented or taught but it is the ability of

the pupils to understand and use the word instead is the main of objective of using games in

English lessons in the first place.

Hadfield (1997; Quoted in Deesri, 2002, p.1) describes games as an “an activity

with rules, a goal and an element of fun.” Game is another way of teaching but rather than the

teacher talking all the time for the whole lesson, the pupils will be the ones doing the activities by

working as a team and competing in a healthy way to achieve the objectives. It is also a more fun

and interesting way of presenting any English lesson. According to Gibbs (1978; Quoted in Rixon,

1991, p.3), “games are activities carried out by cooperating or competing decision makers,

seeking to achieve, within a set of rules their objectives”.

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Young learners

It is not easy to put the exact range of age for young learners but for this paper, young

learners are basically defined as children between the ages of 7 to 12 years old. In Malaysia, these

pupils are studying in primary school. There are several characteristics that can be used to describe

young learners that teachers should keep in mind when they are preparing English lessons for

them. For starters, young learners are developing thinkers which means that they are actively

thinking and love to explore new things around them. Secondly, young learners are also able to

learn from others be it from adults or from their peers. They can work as a team if given the

appropriate settings and opportunities. Last but not least, although it might seem unlikely but

believe it or not young learners are able to take on responsibilities and can be reliable for

classroom activities and routines. English teachers should these characteristics to their advantage.

According to Harmer (2007), young learners in general shows more enthusiasm in learning and

natural curiosity towards the world that they are in. if compared to older learners for instance

students in secondary school who are age between 13 to 17, young learners are more ardent and

excited to learn. This is probably because they do not yet have any inhibitions when it comes to

learning. Harmer also explains that young learners are also able to use their limited knowledge in a

creative and meaningful way. Furthermore, she also claims that young learners learn more

indirectly rather than directly. They absorb information from the world around them and from so

many different sources rather than on one single focus or topic that they are being taught. Their

learning does not occur merely by explanation. In truth, they also learn from what they see, hear,

touch and have the opportunity to interact with.

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Vocabulary is a foundation for language competency. However, acquiring a huge

amount of words from a totally different language from our mother tongue is quite challenging

especially for young learners. English teachers find it hard to get pupils to remember the

required words. More often than not, pupils are able to memorize the words taught during the

lesson but forget them all over again the next day. The traditional way of presenting the words

for instance, by listing them down or even by showing pictures on flash cards are not always

effective. So, English teachers are constantly thinking and searching for the most suitable way

to overcome this problem. Hence, the notion of using games in young learner language learning

classroom is put forward. This is due to the fact that children love games and by incorporating

those in the lesson might help them to remember the words better.
For so many years, EFL/ESL researchers have justified that the use of games in

language learning is very beneficial especially when it comes to motivating the learners to learn

and practice the language. Games are by nature more fun and enjoyable and mostly everyone

will agree that if learning can occur in such a way than, it will be more effective and that

everyone wants to learn (Celce-Murcia and Macintosh, 1979, p.54). Games encourage learners

to use the language by interacting with each other and it also brings the learners closer to the

real world which makes the learning more meaningful. Games also can encompass so many

aspect of English language learning such as grammar, vocabulary and communication skills all

of which are essential towards mastering the language. Games can teach and therefore should

not be ignored by language teachers. Language games such as crossword puzzle, BINGO, word

search, charades and the list goes on are able to aid in introducing new words, retention of

those words and how to use them. According to Aalen (1983, p. 10), if a game is chosen wisely

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it can help the pupils to acquire words correctly and make them realize that some words are

important and necessary in order to complete the games and reach the objectives.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to:
1. Identify the effectiveness of language games in young learners’ vocabulary

learning.

RESEARCH QUESTION

1. Is learning vocabulary through language games effective for young learners?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is important because of several reasons. First and foremost, the finding

will be able to provide English teachers with a better perception towards the use of a variety of

language games in their classroom. It is also so that teachers are more motivated to use

language games as a tool to improve their pupils’ linguistic abilities. The use of games in

learning English is beneficial not only for teachers but for the pupils as well. Games are able to

promote healthy competition among pupils in the classroom. It also helps in creating a non-

threatening learning environment. It also provides the opportunities for pupils to use and

practice the language in a useful and meaningful ways.

in the classroom as burdensome because of all the many stages of preparation needed before

they can be carried out effectively. It is so as to shine a light on the many benefits that the

teachers will get rather to focus on the extra effort they need to put in compared to their usual

lesson planning.

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LIMITATION

Time is the major limitation in this study. It will be challenging in managing it

especially when there is a limited time frame to conduct this research. First and foremost, time is

needed to get the pupils accustom to games in the classroom and for them to get used to working

in groups instead of the usual individual tasks. This is primarily because honestly, most English

teachers do not use games all the time in their classroom. They would probably just use them once

or twice a week. However, in order for this research to be able to observe pupils’ progress in

vocabulary learning through language games, games will be used every day for the period of 6

weeks. The beginning of this research would probably be very challenging and time consuming

and time management for each lesson is crucial.

The limited time provided for each lesson also is a challenge. English lessons in

Malaysian primary schools will be 30 minutes the shortest and 1 and a half hour the longest.

However, when we use games in the classroom it is easier to get carried away and lose track of

time thus, teachers and pupils would not be able to finish the activities properly. A pre-lesson

planning and preparation is very important at this stage.

Lastly, at the same time of conducting this research, the researcher has to be able to

cover the required English syllabus according to the Yearly Scheme of Work. Therefore, games

should be constructed based on that in order for the teachers to stay on track.

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Learners of English will inevitably come across a number of new words or unfamiliar

vocabulary during each of their English lesson. For young learners this sometimes can be quite

overwhelming and cause them to lose their interest especially when they cannot understand the

lesson. That is why teachers need to use a friendlier approach which is fun and interesting and able

to help the pupils to retain the vocabulary learned at the same time. Researchers have suggested

that English teachers use task-based activities instead of the usual ‘chalk and talk’. One of the

task-based activities is language game. As stated earlier in this paper language games provide

young learners with the opportunities to learn new words in a more meaningful and practical

context but in an enjoyable and engaging way as well.

In their article “Learning Vocabulary through Games” Nguyen Thi Thaanh Huyen

& Khuat Thi Thu Nga (2003), the most common perception that the people have towards

vocabulary learning is that it means learning a list of words and their meaning without any real

context learning. Pupils will just have to pick up one of those bilingual dictionaries and find the

definition of the new words they come across. This learning technique has been proven ineffective

especially when it comes to young learners. This is due to the fact that most of the time these

young learners would not be able to remember all of the words that they have looked up for in the

dictionary.

Decarrico (2001), “words should not be learnt separately or by memorization

without understanding”. The usual phenomenon in schools these days is that pupils will go

straight to the teachers when they encounter new vocabulary and ask for their meaning and sample

sentences. As a result, pupils know how to use those words only in the exact similar situations.

This is what we call ‘rote mental memorization’. What is meant by that is that people learn

vocabulary solely by memorizing them without any actual understanding. This kind of learning is

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useful only to a certain extent. Decarrico (2001) also states that the vocabulary used in such

context is simple because grammatical and phonological aspects are emphasized but the lexical

aspect is neglected. In the end, pupils will not be able to use the words in different shades of

meaning in different types of situations found in real life communication. On the contrary, with the

use of games, the teacher can create various contexts in which students can use the language to

communicate, exchange information and express their own opinions (Wright, Betteridge and

Buckby, 1984).

RRESEARCH DESING AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

This research is basically a qualitative research. The focus is not on how many

pupils were able to improve their vocabulary knowledge but instead on whether or not language

games are able to help them improve their vocabulary effectively and in what respect such as

motivation, practice and so on. This research will be using interview and classroom observation as

a way of collecting data.

This research is also based on two theoretical frameworks. The first is the ‘Active

Learning Cycle’.

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This cycle suggests that language games stimulate brain connections by providing rich

and enjoyable activities for the learners. The repeated activities that encompass games enable the

learning to be hard-wired into the children’s brains thus, helping them to remember even better. In

the end they will be able to master the words taught and this give them a sense of competence

which will boost their confidence and make them feel secure rather than intimidated. When young

learners are confident and secure with themselves they will be braver to take risk and make

choices on their own. All of this will go round and round and make learning vocabulary more

effective and interesting.

According to this theory, the children or young learners are the ones responsible for

their own learning. The role of an adult is to provide them with such opportunities to do so. The

adult has a responsibility to provide rich environments where children are able to explore, touch,

manipulate and experiment with different materials (Smith, Cowie and Blades, 2005, p. 413). The

young learners are encouraged to ask questions, make hypotheses and form new concepts while

working as a team with their peers. They have to construct learning for themselves, with the focus

of learning on the reasoning processes rather than on the end products. Using games in the

classroom is a way to get the learners actively involved in their own learning. It is to encourage

pupils to no depend solely on their teachers to clarify things up for them. Instead, they are

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encouraged to investigate and explore for themselves. Teachers are there as facilitators to provide

guidance when necessary.

The second theoretical framework that this research is based on is the theory of

‘cooperative learning’.

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Figure 2. Cooperative Learning

A brief definition of co-operative learning is that it exists when pupils work together

to accomplish shared learning goals (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). It is also known as collaborative

learning and collective learning. Basically, co-operative learning suggest that the pupils will work

in small groups in solving problems, completing tasks or games and many other classroom

activities. Language games and co-operative learning substantially goes hand in hand. During

these group activities, pupils are encouraged to practice the target language or target vocabulary

with their team members. It encourages the pupils to learn together as a group rather than

individually.

There are many advantages for using co-operative learning. First and foremost,

working in groups lessen pupils’ anxiety level by creating a less threatening learning environment

by giving them the chance to work with their friends instead of on his or her own. They will not

feel intimidated or scared especially when the task is something that they find very hard to

complete. This is because they are able to discuss with their friends and not struggling alone

instead. It also provides the opportunities for the learners to learn from each other.

Moreover, co-operative learning encourages young learners to take on

responsibilities, to co-operate with friends and it also helps them to practice their social skills.

Other than that, letting the learners to work in groups actually will increase their motivation as

well as participation levels. However, teachers still need to facilitate the activities so that the

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pupils stay on track and are actually practicing the target vocabulary. Teachers will also be the one

who give out the instructions and set the goals which the young learners have to achieve.

If we take a look at the framework of cooperative learning or CL shown in figure 2,

we could see the relationship between cooperative learning and context and how they help

students to learn and retain new English vocabulary through the use of meaningful tasks.

Meaningful tasks are basically the tasks that represent what they will encounter in their real-life

because that is what learning a second language is for. The best way to be good in language is to

use it as it is in real-life situation. Games are meaningful activities which can be based on real

situations outside of the classroom. Also, as mentioned they encourage students to interact with

one another thus, help their peers to learn as well as learning from their peers at the same time.

SAMPLING

There are about 570 pupils in the school that will be the setting of this research paper.

These pupils are from Year 1 to Year 6. However, for this research it is impossible to be using all

of the pupils as samples. The time provided is not sufficient enough. Therefore, the sample is

divided into two groups which are the lower primary and the upper primary pupils. For this

research around 38 pupils are selected as samples. From the 38 pupils researcher divides them into

the two groups mentioned earlier. So, each group will have around 19 pupils. The sample is

divided into said groups so that the researcher will be able to observe the use of games from two

different perspectives which from the point of view of 7 to 9 years old and 10 to 12 years old. This

will provide the researcher with a wider range of data.

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INSTRUMENTATION

There are a number of instruments used in this research. The first instrument is the Pre

Vocabulary Test answer sheets. The test scores will be recorded to be used in the analysis process.

The next instrument used interviews transcription of both English teachers in the school and three

chosen pupils from different abilities (advance, intermediate and weak). Next, pupils’ work such

as worksheets, puzzles, crossword, word search and so on after each lesson or game activity will

be collected to see their progress. During each lesson also learner performance and participation

level will be observed and observation notes will be used as instrumentation. Lastly, a second

vocabulary test will be used. It will be conducted at the end of the research allotted time.

PROCEDURES OF DATA COLLECTION

This research will be conducted in a number of steps. Before the research takes place, a

pre -vocabulary test will be carried out. This test is basically a simple test where the samples need

to match the words given with their definitions. It functions as way to collect information on how

much is the pupils’ existing vocabulary knowledge. The words used in the test are taken from the

word list found in the syllabus. After the test has taken place pupils’ answers will be collected.

Pupils’ scores also will be given and recorded. This pre test will in addition gives some

information for the researcher as to what the language games will be focusing on.

Only after the first test is conducted and scores have been recorded will the research

start. However, researcher will first inform the pupils about the research and explains its objective.

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The pupils will be shown a few examples of some of the language games that will be used. Then,

for the period of 6 weeks language games will be used in every English lesson. During the

activities, pupils will put into groups of 6 to 7 pupils which vary in their English competency

level. Pupils will have to work in their assigned group for each English lesson. At the end of every

game pupils’ works will be collected. These works will be observed throughout the research to see

the pupils’ progress and to see whether there is an improvement in their performance.

During the English lesson as well the researcher will conduct an informal classroom

observation. Researcher will look at the pupils’ level of participation. It is to see if the pupils are

more encouraged to get involved in classroom activities or not. It is also to see are the pupils more

motivated to learn when language games are used in the classroom and whether or not they enjoy

them. Daily notes will be taken to record the observation process.

The next step is interviews. Interviews will be carried out during the third week of the

research. The other English teachers in the school will be interviewed. Structured interview will be

used. A set of questions will be prepared beforehand. The teachers answer will be recorded and

then transcription will be written based on those recordings. The interview aims to find out what

the teacher thinks of language games and do they find using games is in fact very effective in

learning vocabulary based on their pupils’ performance during their English lessons. Interviews

also will be conducted with the pupils. However, it is impossible to interview the whole sample.

So, three pupils will be chosen. These pupils are from different abilities pupils who range from

advance, intermediate and weak. It will also be recorded and transcribed into written form.

Structured interview will be used as well. The interview is to find out what the three pupils think

of learning vocabulary using language games and do they find them interesting and motivating.

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The last step is the final vocabulary test. This test will be carried out on the last week of

the research. The scores will also be recorded so that they can be compared to the first vocabulary

test which is conducted before the research starts. Basically the test consists of the same words as

the previous test and a number of new words that the pupils should know based on the English

syllabus. The difference between the two tests will be the basis for the research analysis.

ANALYSIS

The data collected using the two tests, interviews and classroom observation notes are

analyzed separately. The two vocabulary tests scores which are recorded are compared to see any

difference between the pre and the post test. If the scores show some kind of progress in the

pupils’ performance or higher scores in the second test compared to the first test then that will

prove that language games are in fact effective in helping young learners learn vocabulary better.

The next data is the ones gathered from the interviews. Both the English teachers in

the school and three pupils from different English language competency will be interviewed. The

questions used are structured and specifically designed in order to find out how effective language

games in the English classroom are. Teachers’ positive response toward the questions asked in

relation to the use of games in teaching vocabulary to young learners will indicate that games

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really do have positive impact in learning English vocabulary especially when it comes to young

learners. The same conclusion will be made out of the data collected from the interviews done

with the pupils as well. The questions used are also structured and particularly navigate towards

finding out the pupils’ opinion about the use of games in their English lessons. Pupils’ positive

response about language games such as how fun and interesting they find the activities are, their

increasing desire to learn English and participate in the classroom and their preference to working

in groups will show the effectiveness of language games in helping them to improve their English

vocabulary knowledge.

The next analysis will be done by looking at the pupils’ end work. These are the works

that they have completed or created during the language games activities carried out during the

English lessons. Researcher will go through them and come up with a conclusion whether or not

there is any improvement in the pupils’ performances. These pupils are from the researcher own

English classroom so the researcher has some general idea on the pupils’ performance. So, based

on the researcher existing knowledge of the pupils’ level of competency and the scores of the pre

vocabulary test done before the research, the researcher will try to find out any improvement in

their vocabulary level and their work quality. If the pupils’ show some positive changes in their

performance and their work quality is somehow better than when using the traditional vocabulary

teaching technique then, the conclusion that games are effective can be made from them.

The last analysis will be done on the classroom observation notes. Basically, the

researcher will observe the progression of the lesson and pupils’ participation and motivation

while the lesson is taking place and jot down some notes based on that. Language games in the

teaching of vocabulary to young learners will be proven effective when the pupils show better

interest in the lesson and increased motivation or desire to learn or take part in the activities

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conducted. Pupils interactions and they work in teams will also be observed. It is to find out how

much they like working in groups in contrast to working individually. Also, researcher will look at

their level of vocabulary knowledge while the pupils are working and communicating with their

team members. If they are using more English words compared to before the research is conducted

than that also shows that language games are effective in improving the learning of vocabulary

involving young learners. From all of the conclusion that are made separately by analyzing all the

data collected using the different instruments, a general conclusion will be made of how effective

language games are in teaching young learner vocabulary.

FINDING AND CONCLUSION

After collecting the data through the pre-test the post-test, observations and

interviews as well as looking at the pupils’ end work by the end of the English lessons, the

researcher has come to a finding which will definitely be useful for teaching and learning

vocabulary of the English language.

Figure 3 and 4, we can see that both show that there is a significant change in young

learner’s test scores between the pre-test and the post –test. This shows that through the use of

games in the classroom teacher does help learners to learn the vocabulary better and retain them.

When asked some teachers said that after using a number of educational games in their English

lessons, they could see that students are more interested to learn the language or specifically the

words presented. Teachers also mentioned that the level of learner’s participation also increased.

In comparison to the traditional method of teaching vocabulary which was basically drilling the

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learners to memorize a certain number of words, the use of games which is more fun and

interesting get the learners to get involved even more in the learning process Learner’s

participation is also a key to effective learning. By getting involved themselves they take the

responsibility of their own learning. Also, by putting themselves out there with their friends or

classmates, they get to learn from one another which even better than just learner learning form

the teacher solely.

From the researcher’s observation, young learners show positive attitudes and are

very keen to start the English lesson and see what they are going to learn that day and also what

kind of games the teacher will do in the classroom. They came in with positive anticipation and by

the end of the lesson, when the teacher did a review of the day’s lesson in order to check their

understanding, there was an increase of the amount of learners who raised their hands to answer

and mostly they answered correctly. When asked, the teachers also noticed this as well and they

also confirmed that before, only the really good ones which are normally only 1 or 2 students

would answer anything in class. This is a positive change in the teaching and learning process

because it shows how comfortable the learner is in the classroom. This is because when the lesson

is more fun and enjoyable and not too rigid, learner’s lose their anxiety and start to feel at ease

being in the classroom with their friends and learning English.

Furthermore, the finding also shows that when learners get hands on experience and

are assigned meaningful context or tasks they displayed the willingness to practice using the

language. This is because they could see through the objective of the games that there is a purpose

for why they are learning the vocabulary chosen. Also, when young learner’s senses are stimulated

this helps them to retain and recall the target vocabulary taught. This is especially true when the

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words are accompanied by some kind of actions not just pictures. The actions allow them to ‘see’

what the word means thus, help them to understand better.

However, the teachers admitted to having difficulties when they first started out with

using games in their classroom. This is because the learners are not used to it yet and they were

over-excited and their curiosity gets the best of them. The teachers were having difficulties in

managing the classroom and controlling the learners thus, the games were not held accordingly as

planned. Even so, after a few trials, the learners started to understand what the games are for and

what they should do. Other than that, the explanation of rules before starting the game also helped

in managing the classroom. After a few lessons, the learners were easier to handle and the

activities were able to be conducted smoothly.

To put it briefly, games bear more positive effects on the teaching and learning

process especially when it comes to young learners. It helps tremendously in teaching a second

language including English. It provides learners with a fun and interesting way of learning a

language in specific its vocabulary. Moreover, it also motivates the learners to learn and get

involved in the English classroom. Motivation, as suggested by so many scholars is a crucial

factor to an effective learning. In addition, through the use games teachers are able to take

advantage of all the characteristics of young learners and put them into good use which will result

in better mastery of the English language. Although, as mentioned previously, in the beginning

teachers might find it hard to conduct language games in the classroom but teachers should not

give up on the first trial. Learners, who have not been exposed to learning through games, might

find it difficult to understand and follow but after a while they will be able to follow the rules and

complete the objectives of the game. The traditional way of teaching new words by memorizing

them is not applicable to young learners. They would easily lose their attention and interest in

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learning those words. Games are in general very interesting and attract learners’ attention better

than just explaining new words to them. English teachers should start to use games in their

classroom to make it livelier and to help encourage the learning process of young learners. Games

are not merely a tool to fill up free time but they can be very beneficial and contribute to second

language learning in the classroom.

REFERENCES

Alemi, M. (2010). Educational Games as a Vehicle to Teaching Vocabulary, Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Allen, V. F. (1983). How to Teach Vocabulary. England: Longman.

Decarrico, J. S. Vocabulary learning and teaching. In: Celce-Murcia, M. Teaching as a second

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