关于用游戏教授高中英语语法的教学方法的探究 73页

学校代码：１０２８５：２０学号１１４３０４０１２ＳＯＯＣＨＯＷＵＮＩＶＥＲＳＩＴＹ■ｍｉｌｌＩＩＩ■ｆｍｎ＼ｉ——｜－‘＂’－｜＾＾’＇，‘…“１置；窃＇：＇：：％帯；；、．：；．；与—＾８＾＾＾＾＾＾＾＾＾＾＾＾｜ＢＩｌｆｆｌ＇－＇Ｖ：黃晋请是．：关于用游戏教授高中英语语法的教学方法的探究——＂―＾―＾―￣ＥｘｏｒａｉｏｎｉｎｏＧａｍｅ－ｂａｓｅｄＥ打ｌｉｓｈＧｒａｍｍａｒｐｌｔｔｇＴｅａｃｈｉｎｉｎＨｉｈＳｃｈｏｏｌｇｇ研究生姓名叶夕霞指导教师姓名顾卫星（教授）专业名称学科教学（英语）研究方向英语教学所在院部外国语学院论文提交日期２０化年１１月 ExplorationintoGame-basedEnglishGrammarTeachinginHighSchoolByYeXixiaUnderSupervisionofProfessorGuWeixingSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsFortheDegreeofMasterofEducationSchoolofForeignLanguagesSoochowUniversityOctober,2016 苏州大学学位论文独创性声明本人郑重声明：所提交的学位论文是本人在导师的指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的成果。除文中已经注明引用的内容外，本论文不含其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的研究成果，也不含为获得苏州大学或其它教育机构的学位证书而使用过的材料。对本文的研究作出重要贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本人承担本声明的法律责任。论文作者签名：日期： 苏州大学学位论文使用授权声明本人完全了解苏州大学关于收集、保存和使用学位论文的规定，即：学位论文著作权归属苏州大学。本学位论文电子文档的内容和纸质论文的内容相一致。苏州大学有权向国家图书馆、中国社科院文献信息情报中心、中国科学技术信息研究所（含万方数据电子出版社）、中国学术期刊（光盘版）电子杂志社送交本学位论文的复印件和电子文档，允许论文被查阅和借阅，可以采用影印、缩印或其他复制手段保存和汇编学位论文，可以将学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进行检索。涉密论文□本学位论文属在年月解密后适用本规定。非涉密论文□论文作者签名：日期：导师签名：日期： AcknowledgementsIamdeeplygratefultomanyindividualswhosupportedmewhilewritingthisthesis.Firstofall,IwouldliketoexpressmymostsincerethankstoProf.GuWeixing.Iamextremelygratefulforhissupervisionthroughouttheresearch.Hisguidanceinspiredmetopersevere,hispatientreadingofdraftsandhiscommentsweremostvaluableandhisunderstandingandpatienceencouragedmetoprogressthrougheachstageofmyresearch.Hewasalwaysavailableandreadytogiveadviceandassistancetomeandstoodbymeduringtheentireprocess.MyfriendandcolleagueGaoGuiqinhasgenerouslygiventimeandefforttothisproject.Ithankher,notonlyforherpatienceandkindnessinthefaceofmyincessantquestions,butalsoforherhundredsofhoursoflistening,senseofhumor,andfriendship.MythanksgototheeducationalauthoritiesinTaixingNo.2HighSchoolwhereIconductedthefieldstudy.Also,Ishouldnotforgettothankmycoworkersfortheirhelp.Next,Iwouldliketoexpressmydeepestthankstomyfamilyfortheirpatienceandunlimitedsupport.Lastbutnotleast,mywarmestandheartfeltthanksgotoallmystudentsfortheirwillingnesstoactasmyguineapigsandtotryoutnewthings.Withoutthesupport,assistanceandencouragementfromallthepeopleabove,thisthesiswouldnothavebeencompleted.X.Y. 关于用游戏教授高中英语语法的教学方法的探究中文摘要关于用游戏教授高中英语语法的教学方法的探究中文摘要本研究的目的在于探索用游戏来辅助高中英语语法教学是否有助于提高学生对语法的准确把握、正面影响学生学习英语的动机和改善教学和学习氛围。泰兴市第二高级中学高一年级两个班的90位学生参与了本实验性研究。两个班级分别被假设为实验班和控制班。实验班和控制班的教学内容相同，但实验班的教学使用了做游戏的教学方法，而控制班则用了传统的没有游戏帮助的教学方式。本次实验持续时长为3个月，实验中的12节语法课的内容皆来自《牛津高中英语》第3、4模块的6个单元的语法部分。研究采用测试(实验前与实验后)、问卷(实验前和实验后)、半结构化采访、教师课堂观察记录和现场笔记等方法收集整理数据，开展定量、定性研究分析。研究发现，游戏教学有助于提高学生对语法的准确把握，游戏教学对改善学习环境、提高学生英语学习动机等都起了积极的推动作用。国内先前相关研究的缺乏、本次实验时间的短促、参加实验的学生英语水平的普遍不高等因素都为本次研究制造了障碍，但是从整体来看，本次实验的正面结果会激励更多的英语教师在语法教学乃至整个英语教学中使用游戏来辅助教学。关键词：游戏教学英语语法效果作者：叶夕霞指导老师：顾卫星i 英文摘要关于用游戏教授高中英语语法的教学方法的探究ExplorationintoGame-basedEnglishGrammarTeachinginHighSchoolABSTRACTTheMainaimofthestudywastoinvestigateifusinggame-basedgrammarinstructiontoteachhighschoolstudentsEnglishgrammarwaslikelytoraisethegrammaticalaccuracylevelofthestudents.Thisthesisalsosoughthowtheteachingstrategyofusinggamesaffectedthestudents’motivationandclassroomatmosphere.Theinvestigationinvolved90studentsfromtwoSenior1ClassesinTaixingNo.2HighSchool,andtheauthorservingasateacher.Thetwoclasses,experimentalandcontrol,weretaughtthesamecontentsfromthesametextbook.Thedifferencebetweenthemwasthattheexperimentalclasswasinstructedwiththehelpofgamewhilethecontrolclasswastaughtinatraditionalwaywithoutusinggames.Theexperimentlastedthreemonths.Thestudentswhoparticipatedinthisexperimentwereexposedto12periodsofEnglishgrammarinstruction.Theteachingmaterialforthe12grammarlessonswerefromModule3&4ofthehighschoolEnglishtextbook,AdvancewithEnglish.Thestudyemployedamulti-methodresearchdesignbasedonacombinationofquantitativeandqualitativeresearchmethods.Theinstrumentsusedforcollectingthedataweretests(apre-testandapost-test),questionnaires(apre-questionnaireandapostquestionnaire),semi-structuredface-to-faceinterviews,aswellastheteacher’srecordsandfieldnotesafterclassroomobservation.Theresultsofthisstudybasedondatayieldedfromstudentsshowedthatgamesprovidedtheappropriategroundingandhelptoimprovegrammaticalaccuracy,increasestudentmotivationandimprovebothclassroomatmosphereandinteraction.Althoughtheresearchwaslimitedbythefollowingfactors:lackofrelateddomesticstudies,shortdurationofthisexperimentandstudents’averageEnglishlevelbeingrelativelylowinthisii 关于用游戏教授高中英语语法的教学方法的探究英文摘要school,thepositiveresultsofferanotableincentivetolanguageteacherstoincludegamesintheirteachingofgrammaticalfeaturesoreveninallEnglishteachingprocess.Keywords:Game-basedteaching,EnglishGrammar,effectWrittenby:XixiaYeSupervisedby:WeixingGuiii TableofContentsCHAPTERONE....................................................................................................................11.1BACKGROUNDOFTHESTUDY...................................................................................11.2OBJECTIVESOFTHESTUDY...........................................................................................21.3SIGNIFICANCEOFTHESTUDY........................................................................................31.4OUTLINEOFTHETHESIS................................................................................................5CHAPTERTWO...................................................................................................................62.1INTRODUCTIONTOTHEKEYTERMSINTHISSTUDY......................................................62.1.1GamesandEducationalGames.............................................................................62.1.2Grammar................................................................................................................92.2THEORETICALFOUNDATION:SOCIALINTERACTIONISTTHEORY.................................112.2.1Definition.............................................................................................................112.2.2SocialInteractionTeachingMethods...................................................................112.2.3TwoExamplesofSocialInteractiveTeachingMethods:STADandTGT.........122.3RELATEDSTUDIES.......................................................................................................132.3.1OverseasRelatedStudies.....................................................................................132.3.2DomesticRelatedStudies....................................................................................16CHAPTERTHREE.............................................................................................................183.1RESEARCHQUESTIONS................................................................................................183.2RESEARCHINSTRUMENTS............................................................................................193.3RESEARCHPROCESS....................................................................................................223.3.1PilotStudy............................................................................................................223.3.2Pre-testforBothGroups......................................................................................223.3.3Pre-questionnaireforBothGroups......................................................................233.3.4TeachingExperiment...........................................................................................233.3.5Post-questionnairefortheExperimentalGroup..................................................293.3.6InterviewsforEGStudents..................................................................................303.3.7Post-testforBothGroups.....................................................................................303.4DATAANALYSIS,RESULTSANDDISCUSSION..............................................................303.4.1ResultsfromQuantitativeData.............................................................................323.4.2ResultsfromQualitativeData..............................................................................39CHAPTERFOUR................................................................................................................43 4.1MAINFINDINGS...........................................................................................................434.2LIMITATIONS...............................................................................................................444.3IMPLICATIONS..............................................................................................................454.4SUGGESTIONSFORFUTURERESEARCHANDPRACTICE................................................464.5CLOSINGREMARKS.....................................................................................................47REFERENCES....................................................................................................................49APPENDIXA......................................................................................................................52APPENDIXB......................................................................................................................58APPENDIXC......................................................................................................................59 ListofTablesTable3.1Datacollectioninstruments……………………………………………….......20Table3.2Informationonstudentstakingpartintheexperiment………………..............24Table3.3Scheduleofthestudy…..…………………………………….…………….....25Table3.4Generalframeworkofthegrammar-teachingprograminthisstudy…............27Table3.5Observationsheet…………….……….……………………..……………......29Table3.6Datacollection…………………………….....………….....….………….......31Table3.7MeanscoreofEnglishfinalfromlastsemester…………………...…….........32Table3.8Meanscoreofpre-test……………………………………………………......33Table3.9MeanscoreofEnglishMid-term………...……………………………….......34Table3.10Meanscoreofpost-test……..……………...…….…………………..…......35Table3.11Resultsofpre-questionnaire……………………………………………......36Table3.12Resultsofpost-questionnaire.…………………….……..………………......37Table3.13GeneralideaoftheinterviewswiththeExperimentalGroup……..…...........41 ChapterOneINTRODUCTION1.1BackgroundoftheStudyThereformatthecoreofEnglishcoursesandteachingmaterialsbuildsagoodfoundationforall-sidedEnglisheducationsincethe90’s.Teachingmethodshavebeenmodernized,classroomequipmentsuchastaperecorders,projectors,multi-mediafiles,smartboardsandsoforthhavebeenviewedasincreasinglyimportant.Manyschoolshavelanguagelaboratories,someschoolshavesetupmulti-medialibraryandreadingrooms,andsomehavestartedteachingonline.GreateffortshavebeenmadetodevelopEnglishcurriculumandteachingmaterial.ChinahaswitnessedconsiderableprogressinthequalityofEnglisheducation.However,EnglisheducationinChinastillhasmanyproblems.SchoolsinChinaareevaluatedandfinancedbasedonthegradeandpersonalabilityofstudents,resultinginteachingstylesthataregearedtowardstheskillsbeingtested.Therefore,skillssuchaslearninggrammarrulesbecomemorefocusedonmemorizationinsteadofimplementation.Thisproblemisfurtherreinforcedthroughthecollegeentranceexamination,where80%ofthetestisthewritingcomponent,20%ofthetestislistening,andspeakingwasonlyrequiredfortheEnglishmajorstudents.Asaresult,mostteachersfocusmoreonGrammarrulesthaninotheraspectsinteachingasitisconsideredanimportantelementoflanguagelearning.Ur(1988)statesthatapersonwhoknowsgrammarisonewhocanexpresshimself/herselfinwhatwouldbeconsideredanacceptablelanguageformat.Infact,manypeoplefeelthatlearninggrammarisboringsincetheyhavetomemorizeunfamiliarthingswhichresemblemathformulas.Atthebeginningofmycareer,sixteenyearsago,ItaughtEnglishgrammarthewayIlearnedit:usingaudio-lingualandtranslationmethods.Asaresult,studentswouldusetheirhandstopropuptheirheadswhilelookingutterlyboredinclass.Onlyafewofthem1 wereparticipatingregularlyandthosesamefewweretheonlyoneswhoreallyknewwhattheyweredoing.EvennowmanystudentsinhighschoolstillmakesuchsimplegrammaticalerrorsasbasictensesinspeakingandwritingEnglishandsome,forinstance,cannotevendifferentiatebetweentheuseofthesimplepresenttenseandthesimplepasttensealthoughtheyhavelearnedthoseintheirprimaryeducation.FouryearsagoIgotachancetoteachChineseasaforeignlanguageinanAmericanhighschoolwhereIwasabletoobservemodernlanguageteachers’classes.Howtheyteachasecondlanguageisamazingandincredible,especiallyhowtheyteachgrammar.Istartedtocomparenotonlymyteachingwiththeirsbutalsotheclassroomsnowadayswiththoseinthepast.Mytechniqueorpassionwasnotanydifferent.AftermuchthoughtandreflectionIrealizedthattoday’shighschoolclassroomsarefilledwithteenagerswhohavetheworldattheirfingertipsduetoaffordable,portableandrapidlyfunctioningelectronicdeviceslikecomputers,cellphones,iPads,etc.StudentstodayhavetheWorldWideWebattheirbeckandcallforinformation,gamesandmusic,anditprovidesthemwithendlesshoursofentertainmentandinstantgratificationthatschoolscannotemulate,orkeepupwith.Also,theyareboredbythemonotonyoftheschoolday.Ifwecan’tarousetheirinterestinclass,teachinggrammarwillbeanightmareforbothstudentsandtheteacher.Howcanteachersstimulatestudentssothattheyaremoreengagedintheirschoolworkandlearningingeneral?WhenIaskedmyselfthisquestion,Iinstantlythoughtofplayingeducationalgames.1.2ObjectivesoftheStudyWhenweteachourtoddlershowtospeak,appropriatesocialinteractions,logicalthinkingskills,reasoningstrategiesandhowtofollowrulesandprocedures,wepatientlyandjoyfullyplayedmanygameswiththem.Ifgamescanteachourkidsthismuchintheearlystagesofchildhooddevelopment,thensurelygamescouldbeusedinourlanguageclassroomsforteenagerswhoarelearningtotalkinaforeignlanguage,justastheydofortoddlers.2 InthelastfewyearsIhavebeennurturingthewishtostudytherelationshipbetweenwhatIhavegainedfrommylearningandteachingexperienceandtheresultsofamoreformalinvestigationintothelearningandteachingofgrammaticalrules.Iaskedmyselfmanyquestionsasfollows.Howcouldgrammarbetaughtandstudiedmoreeffectively?WilltheintroductionoflanguagegamestoteachEnglishgrammarencourageamoreinterestingandenjoyableclassroomatmosphereinwhichopportunitiesforlanguagedevelopmentcouldbecreatedthroughinteraction?Whataretheadvantagesandlimitationsofusinggameswithregardtotheacquisitionofgrammaticalrulesandinrelationtotheriseofstudents’motivationandtheimprovementofclassroomatmosphere?Thispaperwillexploretherelevanceofgameuseinschools,theireducationalvalue,aswellashowtodevelopandusegamesinteachinggrammar.Theissueswhichareexaminedinthisstudyarelinkedtotheeffectsthattheuseofgameshasonclassroom-basedacquisitionofgrammar.TheseissuesarealsocloselylinkedtomyexperienceasasecondlanguageteacherofEnglishandChinese,aswellasalearnerofEnglish.Therefore,themainobjectiveistoexaminetheeffectsoftheuseofgamesonstudents’levelofgrammaticalaccuracy.Thesecondoneistoseewhethergame-basedgrammarteachingincreasesstudents’motivationtowardslanguagelearning.Itisalsohopedthatthroughtheuseofgrammargamesamoreconduciveenvironmentwillbecreatedtoenablebothteachersandstudentstoenjoythelessoninamoremeaningfulandmoreinterestingmanner.1.3SignificanceoftheStudyNowadaystheEnglishlanguageisthemostwidelyusedlanguageintheworldandisplayinganimportantroleinmanyaspectsofourlives.Englishhasbecomeanimportanttoolwhichconnectsthehumancivilizationthroughcommunication,andhavinggreatEnglishskillswillyieldnumerousadvantages.EnglishlanguagelearnersarerequiredtoknowtheperspectiveanddescriptiverulesoftheEnglishlanguageinordertobe3 competentandproficienttoperformlanguagetaskseffectively.InordertocommunicateeffectivelyinEnglish,studentsneedtohaveagoodfoundationingrammar(McKay,1987).Itisundeniablethatgrammarplaysanimportantroleinlearningalanguage.Havingagoodcommandofthelanguagemeansbeingabletonotonlymasterthefourlanguageskillsofreading,writing,listeningandspeaking,butalsotoachievegrammaticalcompetence.Asstudentsprogress,itisinevitableforthemtohaveaknowledgeofcertaingrammaticalterms,likewhatconstitutesasentence,subject-verbagreement,andothers,tomakethemcomprehendandabletodiscusswiththeteachertheerrorsthathavebeenmade,andtherulesneedtobeclarifiedforthemtobeabletousethemwell.Whenstudentsfaceproblemsinacquiringthelanguageteachershouldmakeanattempttomaketheirlessonsasinterestingaspossibleandnotresorttothetraditional‘chalkandtalk’methodwhichcanbedullandpredominantlyteacher-centered.However,GrammarhasalwaysbeenacomplicatedtaskforEnglishteachers.AsfarasIknow,ChineseEnglishteachers,beingL2speakersthemselves,areoftenuncertaintowhatdegreegrammarshouldbetaughtandhowtoincorporategrammarintolessonplans.Woodward(1997)saysthatteachersshouldknowthatexplanationsandexamplescanbeenlivenedbyvarietiesoflanguagegames.Languagegamesdeliverandstimulateanaddeddimensiontolanguagelearning.StudiesonusinglanguagetoteachEnglishhavebeencompletedbyquiteafewresearchersinsomecountries,especiallyinESLclasses,butIhaven’tfoundmuchinformationaboutEnglishteachinginChina.Evenlessaboutusinggamestoteachgrammarinhighschoolsbecausemostteachersfeelgrammarteachingistoodependentonrulesandmemorization.Evenmore,theybelievethatthepreciousteachingtimecouldbemadebetteruseofinotherareasinsteadofteachingmoregrammaticalknowledge.TheaimofthisinvestigationistoconvincemoreEnglishteachersthatusinggamesisusefulandnotawasteofclasstime.Thesignificanceofthisstudyliesinthehypothesizedpossibilitythattheuseofgamesinpracticinggrammaticalfeaturesmayimprovestudents’rateofaccuracy,createamorepositiveclassatmosphereandamorepositivelearningexperienceoverall.Theinformationanddatagatheredinthisstudy4 willproveusefulinprovidinginsighttoteacherswhousegrammargamesintheteachingofgrammaritems.Theinformationgatheredcouldalsoleadtomoreeffectiveandefficientteachingmethodsinthelanguageclassroom,particularlyinteachinggrammar.1.4OutlineoftheThesisThethesisiscomposedoffourchapters.ChapterOnepresentsageneralintroductiontothebackgroundandthecontext,theaimachievedbycarryingouttheresearch,theobjectives;namely,theparticularissuesthatIwilladdresstoachievetheaim,thesignificanceandtheoriginalityofthestudy,researchquestionsandtheoverallstructureofthethesis.ChapterTwo,whichisdividedintothreesections,containstheoverviewoftherelevantliteratureandstudies.Atfirstsomekeytermsarecovered.Inthesecondpart,theliteratureonthemajorissuesassociatedwithforeignlanguagegrammarteachingandlearningisreviewedinordertosetupatheoreticalframeworkforthestudy.Thethirdpartfocusesonsomepreviousrelatedstudycasesonteachinggrammarthroughgames.Finally,theresearchquestionsandhypothesesarepresented.ChapterThreeintroducesthemethodologyanddataanalysis.Adescriptionofresearchsetting,ofparticipants,ofdatagatheringinstruments,andthemethodsofdataanalysisareprovidedhere.What’smore,italsodescribestheexperimentalinstructionalprogram.Allquantitativedatafromtests,interviewsandquestionnairesarereportedanddiscussedwithreferencetotheresearchquestionsandhypotheses.Thelastpartdiscussestheresultsfromdataanalysis.ChapterFourdealswiththeoverallconclusions,includingmajorfindings,studylimitations,pedagogicalimplicationsandsomesuggestionsforfutureresearch.5 ChapterTwoLITERATUREREVIEWThischapterprovidesareviewoftherelevantliteraturetoprovideatheoreticalrationalefortheuseofgamestoteachEnglishgrammar.Itisdividedintothreesections.Sectiononecoversimportantterms.Sectiontwoisdevotedtotheoreticalfoundation,andsectionthreeoutlinesareviewofrelatedstudies,domesticandoverseas.2.1IntroductiontotheKeyTermsinThisStudy2.1.1GamesandEducationalGames2.1.1.1DefinitionofGamesTheuseofgameshasbecomeincreasinglycommonasateachingstrategyindifferentsubjectsofschoolcurriculums,suchasmathematics,socialsciences,medicineandnursing,biologyandsoon.Moreandmorelanguageclassroomshavebeenusingeducationalgames,too.Whatisthedefinitionofgame?Whatarethecharacteristicsofgames?IntheMacquarieDictionary(1997),agameisdefinedasan“amusementorpastime,diversion;contestwithrulesbeingdeterminedbyskill,strength,orchance”(P.871).AccordingtoHadfield(1999):“Agameisanactivitywithrules,agoalandanelementoffun…Gamesshouldberegardedasanintegralpartofthelanguagesyllabus,notasanamusingactivityforFridayafternoonorfortheendoftheterm.”Thisdefinitionhighlyevaluatestheimportanceofgamesinteaching.Itaddstoateacher’stechniquesinteachingthatgamesservenotonlyasan‘amusingactivity’butasatechniquetocarryouttasksbylearnersinanamusingwayaswell.Gamesarefunactivitiesthatpromoteinteraction,thinking,learning,andproblemsolvingstrategies.Often,gameshaveanaspectthatpermitstheplayerstoproduceinformationinashorttimeperiod.Somegamesrequiretheplayerstoengageinaphysicalactivityand/orcompleteamentalchallenge.2.1.1.2EducationalGames6 Thereisnosettleddefinitionofwhateducationalgamesare.Theperceptionofaneducationalgameisthatithasalotofaspectsincommonwithgamesingeneralbutalsohasitsspecifictraits.Forexample,Royle(2008P.12)suggeststhateducationalgames“aregamesdesignedwithspecificcurriculumobjectivesinmind.”Kiili(2005),likeRoyle,surmisesthatattemptstocreateengagingeducationalgameshavefailedbecauseeducationaloutcomeshavetakenprecedenceovergameplay.Prensky(2006and2011)definededucationalgamesasinteractiveplaythatteachusgoals,rules,adaptation,problemsolvingandinteraction,allrepresentedasastory.Theygiveusthefundamentalneedsoflearningbyprovidingenjoyment,passionateinvolvement,structure,motivation,egogratification,adrenaline,creativity,socialinteractionandemotion.2.1.1.3AdvantagesofLearningthroughGamesinLanguageClassroomsAlthoughit’struethattherearerisksassociatedwiththeuseofgame(suchasnoiseandlackofdiscipline)therearepositivereasonsforplayinggamesinthelanguageclassroom.Gamesareofeffectivehelptolearnersalthoughthishasn’tbeentestedalotbyempiricalstudies.Besidesincreasingtheinterestofthestudents,gamesaremuchmorefunforthestudentsaswellasfortheteacher,andtheycancreatearelaxedatmosphereforbothstudentsandteachers.Hadfield(2004:vii)saidthattheinclusionofgamesasanintegralpartofanylanguagesyllabusprovidedanopportunityforintensivelanguagepractice,offersacontextinwhichlanguageisusedmeaningfullyandasmeanstoanend,andactsasadiagnostictoolfortheteacherbyhighlightingareasofdifficulty.Agoestyowati(2007:xiii)saysthatusingofgamesinalearningenvironmentwillnotonlychangethedynamicoftheclass,butitwillalsorejuvenatestudentsandhelpthebraintolearnmoreeffectively.Ruben(1999)statesthatactiveparticipationisthechiefadvantageofgames.Games“accommodatedmorecomplexanddiverseapproachestothelearningprocessesandoutcomes;allowedforinteractivity;…perhapsmostimportant,fosteredactivelearning”(P.500).Gamesallowthestudentstohaveactivecontrolofthelearningprocessandalso7 promotepromptfeedbackfromtheirpeers.AydanErsoz,authorof“SixGamesfortheESL/EFLClassroom”alsoexplainsmorereasonswhygamesdoworkforteachinggrammar.Learningalanguagerequiresconstanteffortandthatcanbetiring.Ersozsaysgamescancounterthisbecausegamesthatareamusingandchallengingarehighlymotivatingandgamesallowmeaningfuluseofthelanguageincontext.Studentshavedifferentlearningstyles.Adaptableandvariablegamescanflexiblyappealtolearnerswithdiversestyles,aswascommentedbyAllery(2004)andJones,MungaiandWong(2002).Gamescanprovidelearnerswithanessentiallinkbetweentheirreallivesandschool,whichmakethemfeelmoresecureandconfidentaboutparticipatinginclassroomactivities.(Brewsteretal.2004)Allery(2004)alsostatesthatgames“ensureallparticipantsarewinnersinthatallhavetheopportunityforinvolvementandtoengagewithexperientiallearning…theroleoftheparticipantsasanactiveprocessorofinformation”(P.504).Gamesareobviouslytypesofselfmotivatingmaterial,whichhavestrongappealandofferachallengethatcancommonlybemetsuccessfully.Researchstudiesindicatethatthemostcrucialfactorsresponsibleforapositiveclassatmospherearetheteachers’rapportwiththestudentsandthestudents’relationshipwitheachother(Dörnyei,2001).Raffini(1993)statesthat“whiletherearetoofewrewardsinschoolteaching,oneofthemostsatisfyingistheprideofaccomplishmentthatcomesfromteachinginaclassroomthathasdevelopedalevelofcohesiveness”(P.95).Itseemsthatmyhypothesisthattheuseofgamesplaysanimportantroleincreatingapositiveclassroomatmospherebecauseithelpsmakeacohesiveclass.Onthebasisofthediscussionabove,perceivedadvantagesoflearningthroughgamesareasfollows:Gamescontributetoactivelearning;Grammargamesbringoutmeaningfulinteractioninaformallanguageclassroom;Diversegamescanadapttodifferentlearningstylesofstudents;Gamesarebeneficialtorenewstudents’motivationandlowertheiranxietyinclass,althoughhowtheyarerelatedhasn’tbeenpreciselyindicated;Gamescanhelpcreatea8 positiveatmosphereforlearnersandcanbetterarousetheirinterestinEnglishlearning.2.1.2Grammar2.1.2.1DefinitionofGrammar“Whatisgrammar?”isissuedbysomanylinguisticsandforeignlanguagelearners.Grammarisoftenunderstoodtraditionallyas“thefeatureofalanguage(sounds,words,formationandarrangementofwords,etc)consideredsystematicallyasawhole,especiallywithreferencetotheirmutualcontrastsandrelations”(MacquarieDictionary,1997,P.925),ordefinedas“therulesbywhichwordschangetheirformsandarecombinedintosentences”(LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,2003,P.705).Differentfromthoseviews,Ur(1991)definesgrammaras“thewaylanguagemanipulatesandcombineswords(orbitsofwords)inordertoformlongerunitsofmeaning.”(Page4)Clearly,itindicateshowtheacceptablemeaningwillbedevelopedbytheexistinggrammaticalrules.Also,syntaxandmorphologyareconsideredastwofundamentalingredientsinGrammar.Thesetwoingredientscanbecombinedtogetherastheydeterminehowwordscanbeorganizedtoformasentenceinagrammaticalway.AsimilaropinionisputforwardbySwan(2005).Hepointsoutthatmostdictionariesoftenpresentthedefinitionofgrammaras“therulesforcombiningwordsintosentences”(p.60).What’smore,hearguesthatthisstatementisincompleteasitdoesnotexplicitlyexplainthefunctionsoftherulesinsentencesandthereasonsforpeopletouseacertainruleinthelanguage.Therefore,heascertainsthat“grammarisessentiallyalimitedsetofdevicesforexpressingafewkindsofnecessarymeaningthatcannotbeconveyedbyreferentialvocabularyalone”(Swan,2005,P.61).Accordingly,itimpliesthemeaningofasentenceisrealizedbytheexistinggrammaticalrules,notmereinterpretationsofsinglewordsinasentence.Crystal(2004)says,“Grammaristhestructuralfoundationofourabilitytoexpressourselves.Themoreweareawareofhowitworks,themorewecanmonitorthemeaningandeffectivenessofthewayweandothersuselanguage.Itcanhelpfosterprecision,detectambiguity,andexploittherichnessofexpressionavailableinEnglish.Additionally,9 itcanhelpeveryone,notonlyteachersofEnglish,butteachersofanythingforallteachinggrammarisultimatelyamatterofgettingtogripswithmeaning.”Maugham(1938)adds,“Itisnecessarytoknowgrammar,anditisbettertowritegrammaticallythannot,butitiswelltorememberthatgrammariscommonspeechformulated.Usageistheonlytest.”Celce-Murica(1991)emphasizesthat“grammarshouldneverbetaughtasanendinitselfbutalwayswithreferencetomeaning,socialfactors,ordiscourse-oracombinationofthesefactors”(PP.466-467).Larsen-Freeman(1997,2001)supportstheseviewsandpointsoutthatitisnothelpfultoviewgrammaras“adiscretesetoffmeaningless,discontextualized,staticstructures”or“prescriptiverulesaboutlinguisticform”(Larsen-Freeman,2001,P.252).Theyboththinkgrammarteachingshouldbe“acommunicativeend”andconsistofthreeinterrelateddimensionsof“form,meaninganduse”.(P.4)Larsen-Freemanofferedapiechartaboutthethree-dimensionalgrammar:morphosyntax/form,semantics/meaningandappropriateness/use.Asitcanbeseenfromtheabovedefinitions,grammarisnotanunimportantsetofrulesthatcanbeignoredwithoutconsequences.Ithasarangeofflexibleframeswithswappablecomponentsusefulfordifferentpurposesorsituations.Itisaverycomplexphenomenonandeventhoughlearnersmayfinditadifficultthingtomaster,thetimedevotedtothatiscertainlynotwasted.Grammarisoneofthemostancientintellectualpursuits(Dykema,1961).2.1.2.2NatureofGrammarTherearedifferentpointsofviewonthenatureofgrammar.Inatraditionalview,grammarisoftenunderstoodasasetofrules,as“thefeaturesofalanguage(sounds,words,formationandarrangementofwords,etc)consideredsystematicallyasawhole,especiallywithreferencetotheirmutualcontrastsandrelations”(MacquarieDictionary,1997,P.925)ordefinedas“therulesbywhichwordschangetheirformsandarecombinedintosentences”(LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,2003,P.705).Movingawayfromthetraditionallyprescriptivegrammarofwrittensentences,Ur10 (1988)exploresthedimensionofmeaningfulnessofgrammaranddefinesgrammaras“awayalanguagemanipulatesandcombineswords(orbitsofwords)inordertoformlongerunitsofmeaning.”(P.4)AccordingtoCelce-MurciaandLarsen-Freeman(1999),grammarhasarangeofflexibleframeswithinterchangeablecomponentsthatcanbeorganizedandmanipulatedindifferentways.Bymanipulatinglinguisticcomponentswithinagrammaticalframe,speakersshouldbeabletoproduceawidevarietyofconstructionstoexpressthemselvesinwhatwouldbeconsideredanacceptablelanguageform.Inshort,itisnotappropriatetoviewthegrammarofalanguageasasetofabsoluterules.Rather,grammarcanbeseenashavingthethreedimensionsofform,meaningfulnessanduseasawhole.2.2TheoreticalFoundation:SocialInteractionistTheory2.2.1DefinitionSocialinteractionisttheoryisanexplanationoflanguagedevelopmentemphasizingtheroleofsocialinteractionbetweenthedevelopingchildandlinguisticallyknowledgeableadults.Thesocialinteractiontheory“assumesthatlanguageacquisitionisinfluencedbytheinteractionofanumberoffactors–physical,linguistic,cognitive,andsocial,”(Cooter&Reutzel,2004).Itisbasedlargelyonthesocio-culturaltheoriesofSovietpsychologist,LevVygotsky.AccordingtoVygotsky,socialinteractionplaysanimportantroleinthelearningprocessandproposedthezoneofproximaldevelopment(ZPD)wherelearnersconstructthenewlanguagethroughsociallymediatedinteraction.Vygotsky"ssocial-developmenttheorywasadoptedandmadeprominentintheWesternworldbyJeromeBrunerwholaidthefoundationsofamodeloflanguagedevelopmentinthecontextofadult-childinteraction.2.2.2SocialInteractionTeachingMethodsSocialinteractionteachingmethodsareinstructionalmethodsusedbyteachersintheclassroomtofacilitategroupwork.11 Itisastudent-centeredteachingapproachthatallowsstudentstointeractwitheachotherinastructured,ontaskmanner.Inthisstrategystudentstakeontheroleasafacilitatorofcontentbyhelpingtheirpeersconstructmeaning.Thestudentsareallowedtoquestion,reflect,reconsider,gethelpandsupport,andparticipateingroupdiscussion.Thethreemostcommonstrategiesincludegroupproject,groupdiscussion,andcooperativelearning.Theseinteractionsnormallyoccurface-to-facebutarenotlimitedtothistypeofinteractionwiththeassistanceofonlinetoolsandtechnologies.Thestagesofinstructionusingthesocialinteractionmodelsbeginwithanintroductionledbytheinstructor.Thelearnersthanbreakintogroups,andtheinstructorcontinuestomonitorandassessteamsandtheirwork.Finally,theteamsconcludewiththeirresults/findings(BurdenandByrd,2007).Thesocialinteractionistapproachrestsonthepremiseofasocial-cognitivemodel,emphasizingthechild"sconstructionofasocialworldwhichthenservesasthecontextoflanguagedevelopment.Itlevelsanoutlineofalanguageacquisitiontheoryincombiningofboththetraditionalbehavioralandlinguisticpositioninlanguageproduction;theessentialsofthistheory,whichdifferentiateitfromasemanticallybasedtheory,arethatthedeepestlevelofrepresentationspecifiesthecommunicativeintentfirstandsemanticcontentsecond.Thus,withinthistheorythelanguageacquisitioncaneasilyberealizedinadifferentwaybyemphasizingtheroleoftheenvironmentinproducingsuchdifferences,asismostoftenthecaseinchildlanguageandnotinfrequentlythesamecaseinadultlanguage.Socialinteractionistcommunicationenjoysarathercuriouspositionincontemporarytheoriesoflanguageacquisitionasadynamicsystemwheretypicallychildrencuetheirparentsorteachersintosupplyingtheappropriatelanguageexperiencethatchildrenrequireforlanguageadvancement.Inessence,itturnsintosupplyingofsupportivecommunicativestructurethatallowsefficientcommunicationdespiteitsprimitiveness.2.2.3TwoExamplesofSocialInteractiveTeachingMethods:STADandTGTStudentTeams-AchievementDivisions(STAD)isakindofmasterylearningwherea12 heterogeneousmixofstudentsaregroupedtogetherinteamsoffour.Afteralessontheygettogethertohelpeachotherbetterunderstandconceptsuponwhichtheyarethenseparatelyassessed.TeamsearnpointsonthebasisoftheirgradesandprogressandcancompetewithoneanotherinarelatedmethodcalledTeams-Games-Tournaments(TGT)(Slavin,2003).STADandTGThavebeenusedinawidevarietyofsubjects,frommathematicstolanguageartstosocialstudies,andhavebeenusedfromsecondgradethroughcollege.TheSTADmethodismostappropriateforteachingwell-definedobjectiveswithsinglerightanswers,suchaslanguageusageandmechanics.2.3RelatedStudies2.3.1OverseasRelatedStudiesOverdecades,languageeducatorsandappliedlinguistshavedebatedheatedlyontheroleofGrammarinEnglishacquisitionandhowtoteachitmoreeffectively.Someresearchersbelievethatformalgrammarinstructionisnecessaryandhelpsenhancestudents’learningwhilesomefeelthereisnotmuchpointindevotingpreciousclassroomtimetopracticingparticulargrammaticalpatterns.Forsomeresearchersmoderateacquisitionofgrammarisasimportantascomprehensibleinputandmeaningfuluseofatargetlanguage.AstheUniversalGrammartheoryraisedbyChomskysuggests,“learnersarelearningaspectsofgrammarthatwearenotteachingthem”,inaddition,“learnershaveunconsciousknowledgeofgrammarsystemswhichwe,asteachers,areoftenunawareof”(Shortall,1996,p.38).Clearly,thishypothesisshowsthatlearners’insighttoacquiregrammarthroughunderstandingthescopeoflanguageformsinanunconsciouswayratherthanexplicitlearningprocess.ThesimilarbeliefhasalsobeendiscussedbyRichards(2002).Hesayssomeresearchersclaimthatlanguagelearnershavethe“innateability”tounderstandtheframeworkof“grammaticalvariables”,suchasthegrammaticalstructure,thetense,thegender,etc(p.42).However,basedonthesestatements,hethenattemptstoshowhisownoppositeattitudeandstateshisownbeliefsaboutgrammar.Itcanbereportedthatlanguage13 learnersmighthavebetterunderstandingoftheforeignlanguagestructurewhentheyaretaughtwithgrammaticalformsinanexplicitway.Also,languagelearnershavetobeinstructedinhowtomastertheknowledgeofgrammaticalstructurewhentheyattempttoacquiretheformalforeignlanguage.Withregardtowhetherexplicitinstructioncanhelplearnersimproveacquisitionaccuracy,moststudiesattachimportancetoform-focusedapproach.(Larsen-Freeman,1995)Communicativelanguageteaching(CLT)hasbeenusedallacrosstheworld,includingChina.InChina,therehavebeenattemptstointroduceCLTintoEnglishlanguageteachingrecently.In1992,theStateEducationDevelopmentCommission(SEDC)ofChinareplacedthestructure-basednationalunifiedsyllabuswithanewonewhichsetscommunicationastheteachingaim.ManyteachersperceivetheimplementationofCLTasdifficultandbelieveitwillmakestudentsbeunabletodeveloplanguageknowledgewell.Macedonia(2005)arguedwhetherlearningaforeignlanguageisdeclarativeorprocedural.Sheconcludedthattheprocessoflearningaforeignlanguageisprocedural(i.e.proceduralisationisaproductofpracticing.)Oneofthemethodsusedislanguagegameswhichareemployedinatargetedwaytoproceduraliseforeignlanguage.Thelanguagegamesservethefunctionofredundantoralrepetitionofgrammarstructuresandvocabularyinaplayfulway.Moreovertheybringasenseoffunandpositiveattitudetowardslearningandfacilitatethelearningprocess.Astudycarriedoutby(Thomas,2005)wasbasedongamesandelectronicactivitiesdesignedforcollegestudentstoreinforcegrammarinthecollegewritingclassroom.Severaltypesofgameswereusedtohelpthestudentstomastergrammar.Theresearchersthinkthatthecombinationofgamesandgrammarteachingprovidesafriendlyandcooperativesurroundingamongthestudentsinmasteringthegrammaticalstructures.“Offeringstudentssuchoptionsencouragesthemtoembracegrammarmasteryandbuildfoundationalgrammarskills”(Thomas,2005).14 In2007,Margaretcarriedoutastudywhichwasbasedonasinglegamethatwascalled“SentenceSurvivor”toteachcollegestudentswritingskills.“Thisapproachhelpsstudentsdiscovertheirownsentencepatternsandstrengthentheirlinguisticmuscles”(Margaret,2007).Thisstudyshowsgoodgamescanbeusedtohelpstudentsimprovetheirgrammarcompetency.AnotherstudywascarriedoutbyMusilovain2010onusingagametoteachthgrammar.Thestudywasdesignedforthe5gradersofEnglishintheCzechRepublicbyusing“TheLostTreasure”game,whichwasfunandexposedthestudentstodifferentgrammaticalelementsinoneactivity.Theoutcomesofthestudyshowthatthestudentsfoundthegameinterestingandwerehighlymotivatedtosolvethegrammaticalexercises.Prensky(2011)supportedthetrendthatoveremphasizedtheroleofgamesasaformoffunwhichgiveslearnersenjoymentandpleasure.Besides,gamesareformofplayandthatrequiresintenseandpassionateinvolvementintheprocess.Headdedthatgameshaverulesandthatprovidesadditionalstructure.Schuna(2010)confirmedthatplayingeducationalgamesalsohelpslearnerswithfocus,selfesteem,andmemory.Educationalgamescanhelpchildrenfocusbecausetheyarebeingpatientwhilewaitingtogettothenextlevel.Playingthesegamesalsohelpstheirself-esteembecausesometimestheygetaquickerreactionfromthegamesystemandtheycanreallyseehowtheyhaveaccomplishedsomething.Inthegames,therearemilestonesthatthechildrenwillhavetoreachandattheendofeachstagetheyreceivesomethingthattheywillhavetohaveinthenextstage.Alotoflinguistspointoutthatmostofliteraturewhichdiscussesthevalueofusinggamesinlanguageclassroomshasnotbeenbasedonempiricalresearch.However,Loucks’assessmentonthevalueofgamesisstillaccuratetoday(Loucks,ascitedinCortez,1974):Littlehasbeenwritteninregardtothegameapproachtoteachingforeignlanguagetoelementaryschoolchildren.Tothebestoftheexperimenter’sknowledge,nopublishedresearchisavailableatthepresenttimeconcerningtheteachingofSpanishoranyother15 foreignlanguagethroughtheuseofamethodbasedongames.(PP.7-8)2.3.2DomesticRelatedStudiesDuringthecourseofmyinvestigationIwasabletouncoveronlyafewarticlesrelatedtomytopic,teachinggrammartohighschoolstudentsthroughtheuseofgames.Therehadbeennoauthenticresearchesonthistopic.ThearticlesIfoundwerearticlesonusinggamestoteachelementaryschoolstudents,orarticlesaboutusingcommunicativeteachingmethodtoteachEnglishmajors.ThemainhurdlethatIencounteredwhensearchingthroughexistingmaterialisthatIcouldnotfindanythingthatcontainedthecombinationoffactorsthatIfocusedon;namely,highschoolgrammargames.MostresearchthathasbeencompletedinChinathusfarseemstobeorientedonthemethodologyofteachinggrammarand,asexpected,thishasaheavyemphasisontheoldwaysthatstronglyfavorrotememorizationandrepetition.Whilethiswasundoubtedlyaneffectivewayofteaching(theauthorbeingjustonesuccessfuloutcome)itdoesnotincludethelevelofmentalstimulationthatisnecessaryforstudentsinthisdayandageand,therefore,couldbemodifiedtoimprovestudentengagementandsuccess.ThevastmajorityofthearticlesthatIdiscoveredwithChinesestudentswerefocusedontask-basedteachingandsituational-basedteachingstyleswhich,whencomparedtomygoal,aresubstantiallydifferent;however,Iwillincludethemasfollows.IfoundathesisbySongKun(2012,graduatedissertation)fromShanxiNormaluniversitytalkingabouttheapplicationoftask-basedapproachtoEnglishgrammarteachinginseniorhighschools.Hestressedtheimportanceofgrammarinhisarticle.Insteadofonlyusing3Ps(presentation-practice-production)toteachgrammar,teachersmayusetask-basedapproachtohelpstudentsimproveandgetmoreinterestedinEnglish.IalsofoundanotherdissertationonlineaboutteachinghighschoolEnglishgrammar.ChenXi(2006),thewriter,suggestedusingcommunicativeapproachtoteachgrammartohighschoolstudents.Itisashamethatnobodyhashadthesamethoughtasmine.Forhighschoolstudents,theapproachwhichfocusesongrammarformsisneededbuthowtomaketheseformsaccuratelyunderstoodbystudentsmakesthisapproachdifficult.Instructorsneedtodesign16 activitieslikegamesaroundaparticulargrammarstructure.GameswillmakethisapproachworkeffectivelybecausetheyhelpprovidecomprehensibleinputofgrammaticalformsandevenproduceauthenticcommunicationinEnglish.Althoughmuchhasbeenwrittenabouthowtointegrategrammarteachingwithmeaningfulinteractionlesshasbeenmentionedabouthowtofosterthisaiminclassroomteaching,especiallyinChinesehighschools,whichfocusmoreonpracticinggrammarmechanicallyforGaokao.Whatthisstudyhasfocusedoniswhethergame-usedgrammarteachingwillimprovetheaccuracyofgrammaracquisitionbecauseitgivesstudentschancestopracticeexplicitgrammarrulesrepeatedlyinafunway.Thisstudyalsoexploreswhethergame-basedgrammarteachingwillhelpcreateapositiveclassroomatmosphereandimprovelearners’motivationinEnglishlearning.17 ChapterThreeMETHODOLOGYThischapterprovidestheresearchquestions,researchsubjects,researchinstruments,researchprocess,andresearchdurationaswellasdataanalysis.Itbeginsbyreviewingresearchquestionswhichwerederivedbyananalysisoftherelevantliterature,guidedthestudyandneededtobeanswered.Followingthat,researchinstrumentswillbetalkedaboutwiththeexplanationoftherationaleforusingamulti-methodstrategyastheterm“methodology”doesn’tjustmeanmethodbutalsothegoverningphilosophybehindthemethodsemployed.Afterthat,researchprocedureswillbedescribedindetailsomyresearchchoicescanbejustifiedtothereaderwhocanarriveatthesamesolutiontotheproblemIhavepresented.Thenadescriptionofthedatagatheringinstrumentswillbeprovided,andthemethodusedfordataanalysiswillbespecified.3.1ResearchQuestionsAmonggrammartasksgamesseemtoholdaprivilegedpositionbecausetheyarecommonlyperceivedashavingarangeofconsiderableadvantagesandbenefitsinthesecondlanguagelearningprocess.Theyalsoreducethestressintheclassroomandimprovetheclassroomatmosphere.However,inspiteofwhatseemstobeawidelyspreadbeliefinthevalueoflanguagegames,theevidenceinsupportofsuchaclaimismainlyanecdotalasnotmuchresearchhasbeenconductedtomeasuretherealbenefitofgamesinsecondlanguagelearningandteaching.Moreover,thetheoreticalunderpinningsoftheusefulnessofgamesareprovidedbysomeresearchstudies,mainlyintermsofpositiveresultsonmotivationandclassroomatmosphere,butnotintermsofgrammaticalaccuracy,andalsobythefactthatgamesarealwaysoneofthetaskssuggestedaspartofthecommunicativeapproaches.Thisstudyismeanttoprovethepositiveroleofgamesinteachinggrammarbasedonempiricalevidence.Inotherwords,itattemptstofindouthowgame-basedgrammar18 teachingplaysapositiveroleinhelpingstudentslearnEnglishbyprovidingenhancedandmeaningfulinputthroughgames.Itspurposeistoinvestigatetheeffectsofgame-basedgrammarteachingontheaccuracylevelofselectedgrammaticalfeaturesbyseniorhighstudentsofEnglish,ontheirperceptionoflanguagegamesasalearningstrategyandontheirattitudetotheroleofgrammarinlanguagelearning.Theimpactoftheuseofgamesonthestudents’motivationtolearnandclassroomatmospherewillalsobelookedinto.Thestudyfocusesonthestudents’writtenproductionofHighschoollevelEnglish.Forthesepurposesdiscussedabove,ittriedtoseekevidencepertainingtoanswerthefollowingquestionsandtheconclusiontoallthehypothesesareYES.1.Dotheexperimentalstudentstaughtbythegame-basedgrammaticalpracticeperformbetteringrammaraccuracythanthoseinthecontrolgrouptaughtbythetraditionallyexercise-basedpractice?2.Doesgame-basedgrammaticalteachingincreasestudents’motivationandattitudetowardslearningEnglish?3.Doesgame-basedgrammaticalteachingcreateamorepositiveclassroomatmosphereduringlanguagelessons?3.2ResearchInstrumentsTherehavebeenseveralkindsofresearchdesignsthatareusedinlanguageresearch,suchascasestudies,experiments,surveys,archivalanalysisandmulti-methodresearch.Thisresearchusedthelastone:multi-method.Multi-methodresearchcanbedefinedasanapproachinwhichbothquantitativeandqualitativeelementsareinvolvedincollectingandanalyzingdatawithinasinglestudy(Creswell2003).Researchdesignconcerns“thelogicalplanforgettingheretothere”(Yin,2002,P.20).“Here”standsforthestartingpoint,whichistheformulationofresearchquestions,whereas“there”isdefinedastheanswerstothequestions.Betweenthe“here”and“there”aresearchprocessisnecessary,suchascollectinginformation,analyzingandinterpretingdata(Yin,2002).Tobridge“here”and“there”inthisresearchIusedamulti-methodstrategywheredatawasgatheredfromfourinstruments.19 Theinstrumentsusedtomeasurestudents’learningoutcomes,classroomatmosphere,responsetowardsgrammarinstructionandstudents’perceptionoftheroleofgrammarinthisresearchwerethesameineachgroup.Fourinstrumentswereusedtoconductthestudy:questionnaires,tests,interviewsandobservationnotes.Table3.1showswhatquestionstheinstrumentswereusedtoanswer.Table3.1:DatacollectioninstrumentsDatacollectionInstrumentsResearchquestions123Questionnaires√√√Tests√Interviews√√Observation√√Thereweretwosetsofquestionnairesbeforeandaftertheexperiment.Bothofthemweredistributedtotheexperimentalgroupandthecontrolgroup.Questionnaire1wasdistributedtocollectinformationregardingrespondents’basicinformation,attitudeandencouragementtowardsEnglishandtheirresponsetowardsteachingandlearningEnglishgrammar.Thesecondquestionnairewasdesignedtoaskaboutstudents’difficultyandimprovementingrammarlearning,theirunderstandingofinstruction,theiropinionaboutclassroomatmosphereandsoforth.Inadditiontoquestionnaires,8testsweregiventobothgroups.LightbownandSpada(1999)questionedthemeaningofasignificantdifferencebetweentwogroupsifsuchdifferenceisdeterminedonlybyonewrittengrammartest.Therefore,inthecourseofthisexperiment,avarietyoftestswereadministered.Thetextbookforthatsemestercovers6grammarfeatures.Allthetestsfocusedongrammaticalaccuracyandassessstudents’knowledgeofgrammaticalfeatures.Eighttestswereusedbefore,duringandafterthetreatmentwasgiventotheexperimentalgroup,fromwhichinformationcanbecollectedtohighlighttheeffectsofthetwotypesofgrammaticalteachingorpractice.Thepre-testcheckedwhatallthestudentshavepriorknowledgeon.Thepost-testcontainedquestions20 aboutthesixfeaturesthathadbeenlearnedduringtheexperiment.Theothersixtestsfocusedoneachgrammarfeaturefromeachunit.Grammartestsandquestionnaireswereusedintheformofmultiplechoices.AccordingtoNitko,(1983:212)theadvantagesofmultiplechoicesitemsinclude:a.versatilityinassessingavarietyofinstructionalobjectives,b.reductionofopportunitiesfortheexamineeto“bluff”or“dress-up”ananswer,c.focusonreadingandthinkingandtherebynotonwritingunderexaminationconditions,d.reducedchancesforanexamineetoobtainthecorrectanswerbyblindguessing.Manyresearchersrecognizedthevalueofstudents’perceptionoftheirforeignlanguageclassroomexperiencesbecauseoftheirtheoretical,pedagogicalandprogrammaticimplicationsandbecauseoftheirbearingonlinguisticoutcomes.Inordertogatheradeeperunderstandingofmystudents’responsetowardgrammarpractice,thefocusgroupwereinterviewedattheendoftheexperiment.Theinterviewsweresemi-structuredsotheresearchercouldhaveachanceofformingnewquestionsbasedontheparticipants’answerswhichIhadnotthoughtofinadvance.SimulatedrecallinterviewsweredonetwicewhereIusedarecordedlessontohelpstudentsrecalltheirthoughtsandcommentsonwhathappenedinthatlesson.Thistechniquewasfirstusedatauniversityin1953byBenjaminBloom,whofounditveryeffective.Theinterviewscenteredonthefollowingaspects:thestudents’perceptionsofthecourse,theirteacher,theteachingmaterials,andtheuseoflanguagegamesandsoon.Inordertogainadeeperperceptionandawarenessoftheteachingandlearningprocess,IobservedthechangesoftheEGtoexplorethenatureofclassroominteractionandhowitwasaffectedbygames.Oneadvantageofclassroomobservationisthatitmayhelpexploreunanticipatedandinterestinginformation(Bell,1999).AsaparticipantIcouldobservealltheactivitiesregularlysoIcouldgenerateenoughvolumesofdatanotonlyaboutstudents’performanceandbehaviorinclassbutalsotheirattitudes,opinionsandfeelings.Bell’sargumentin1999remindedmethatIshouldtrynottobesubjective,21 biasedandimpressionistic.Notjustwatchingandobservingmyclassrooms,Ijotteddownbrieffieldnotesafterclasstoprovidephysicaldescriptionsoftheclassrooms,thefocusofthelessons,andthetimeanddateoftheobservationsessionssoIcouldreflectonmyteachingandmystudents’learning.3.3ResearchProcessThisisaclassroom-basedresearchstudy,whichgavetheresearcheranopportunitytocollectdatainarealclassroominanintensiveEnglishprogramwhereparticipantswereexpectedtobemotivatedtolearnthetargetgrammaticalformsandfunctions.Datawerecollectedthrough8tests,2questionnaires,interviews,observationandfieldnotes.Alloftheseweresubsequentlyanalyzed.3.3.1PilotStudyThepreparationfortheexperimentwasmadeduringwinterbreakbeforethesecondsemesterbegan.Inordertotesttheeffectivenessofalltheinstruments,apilotstudywasconductedduringwinterbreaktofurtherthedevelopmentanddesignoftheinstruments.Everythingwasrevisedwiththehelpof6otherhighschoolEnglishteacherswhoweremycollegeclassmatessothereliabilityandvaliditycouldbeimproved.Wediscussedthesuitabilityanddifficultylevelofquestions,timespentonthequestions,surveyandinterviewprocessesandgamesthatwouldbeusedforteachingorpractice.TheyaskedsomeoftheirstudentswhowerealsoinSeniorOne(butatanotherschool)totakethepre-test.Owingtotheirhelp,everythingwasrefinedandinsuredthattesttakerscouldunderstandandcompleteallthequestionstobesufficientlyreliable.3.3.2Pre-testforBothGroupsTobeginthisstudy,studentsinbothgroupsweregivenapre-testatthebeginningofthesemesterbeforethetreatmentbeganontheexperimentalgroup.AllthestudentsweretestedontheirbasicgrammaticalknowledgetheyhadacquiredfromalltheirEnglish-learningexperience.IalsohadtheirgradesoftheirEnglishFinalexamfromlastsemester.22 3.3.3Pre-questionnaireforBothGroupsAttheverybeginning,inadditiontothequestionnaire,therewasapre-questionnaire(seeAppendixB)distributedtoall90studentsinordertocollectinformationregardingthefollowingaspects.Inthefirstsession,whichwasintheformofblank-filling,respondents’demographicinformationwasasked,includingstudents’number,gender,scoresofallsubjectsfromlastsemester’sfinalexams.Thesecondsession,intheformofmultiplechoice,coveredwhetherthestudentshadexperiencewithlanguagegames,theirattitudetowardsEnglishandtheirresponsetowardsteachingandlearningofEnglishgrammar.Besidesstudents’personaldetails,therewerealsoquestionsonstudents’motivationandclassroomatmosphere.Theywereaskedtorespondusinga5-pointscale:1=stronglydisagree,2=disagree,3=undecided,4=agree,5=stronglyagree.3.3.4TeachingExperimentThisstudyinvestigatestheeffectivenessofusinggamesinteachingEnglishgrammar.Inordertoexplorehowgame-basedteachingorpracticehaveaneffectongrammarlearning,thisexperimentinvestedstudents’motivationlevelandthelevelofclassroomatmospheretheygive.3.3.4.1ResearchSettingandDurationTheparticipantsofthestudywerethestudentsfromtwoclassesinSeniorOneofTaixingNo.2HighSchoolinJiangsuProvince.Thisschoolisa3-star(classifiedaccordingtotheminimumscorelimitforenrollment)publichighschool.Theteachingprogramwasentirelybasedonthematerialsfromthestudents’textbook,AdvancewithEnglish(Modules3&4).Eachmodulecontains3units,whichweretaughtintwotothreeweeks.Eachunitincludestwogrammarlessonswhicharegenerallyrelated.Therewereabout20weeksinthissemesterwith5Englishclasseseachweek.TheEnglishgrammarlessonsweregiventwiceeveryunitforbothgroups.Eachlessonwas45-minuteslong.Thisresearchwasconductedduringthespringtermof2015-2016schoolyear.Itndthlastedalmostthreemonths,startingonFebruary22,2016andendingonMay27,2016.23 Thetwogroupsweretaughtthesamegrammaticalknowledge.Bothgroupsreceivedanequalamountofinstructiontime,foratotalof12periods,eachofwhichlasted45minutes.3.3.4.2ResearchSubjectsThetotalsubjectswere90.Oneofthetwoclasseswastheexperimentalgroup(EG)consistingof45students,andtheotheronewasthecontrolgroup(CG),alsocomposedof45students.Tomaintainanonymity,thestudentsweregivennumbershereinsteadoftheirrealnames.Allthestudentswereabout15yearsoldandhadlearnedEnglishasasecondlanguageforatleast6years.Everyyearstudentsenrolledinthisschoolareusuallydividedintogroups45-50atthebeginningoftheschoolyeartomixstudentswithdifferentabilities,dependingonthetotalnumberofthemandtheclassrooms.Asaresult,bothgroups,EGandCG,hadasimilarfoundationandlearningability.What’smore,toenhancethecomparabilityofthetwogroups,apre-testwasadministeredatthebeginningofthisprogramtoexplorethestudents’Englishlevelpriortotheintervention.Asmentionedbefore,theywereallocatedtotheirclassesbasedonthegradesoftheirentranceexamination.Table3.2showsthebasicinformationofstudentswhotookpartintheexperiment.Table3.2:StudentstakingpartinthestudyClassTotalnumberMaleFemaleAverageageNativeLanguageGradeEG45261915Chinese10CG45212415Chinese10Thesameteacher,thewriterandresearcher,taughtbothclasses.AstheirregularEnglishteacherIhadmainlybeenusingthetraditionalgrammarapproach.However,fouryearsagoIwasluckyenoughtohaveobservedalotofforeignlanguageclassesinanAmericanhighschool.SincethenIhavebeenthinkingaboutimplementinglanguagegamesinmyclasses,especiallyinboringgrammarlessons.3.3.4.3TheTeachingProgramThetwogroupsweretaughtfollowingthesameteachingplan.AdetailedinstructionalplanappearsinTable3.3.Bothgroupsreceivedanequalamountof24 instructiontimeoverthethreemonths,foratotalof12periods.Thetwokindsofgroups,theexperimentalandthecontrolgroupweretaughtbyme,thestudents’regularEnglishteacherandtheresearcherandobserver.Theyweretaughtthesamematerialsbasedonthecurriculumandatthesametime.Bothofthemweretaughtthesamematerialsfromthetextbook,AdvancewithEnglish.SixunitsfromModules3and4ofthisbookweretaughtthatsemester.ThegrammarfeaturesItaughtwerebasedonthebookslistedinthetablebelow.Table3.3:ThescheduleofthestudyActivitiesDatePre-test&Questionnaire12/22TeachingcontentsModuleUnitGrammarfeatures31Introductiontonounclauses2/29Nounclausesbeginningwiththatorif/whether3/1Test13/22Nounclausesintroducedbyquestionwords3/15Preparatorysubjectit3/16Test23/173Objectcomplement3/30Subject-verbagreement4/1Test34/541Directspeechandreportedspeech4/22Reportedspeech:statements,questionsandimperative4/25sentencesTest44/262Modalverbs:generalintroduction5/13Modalverbs:comparisons5/16Test55/173Thepassivevoice5/23Modalverbsandthepassivevoice5/24Test65/25Post-test5/26Questionnaire25/27Differenttreatmentswereappliedtothetwogroups:theEGlearnedwithgame-based25 presentationandbydoinggame-basedtaskswhiletheCGweretaughtwithoutgameinteachingstructurebutinthetraditionalwaywithexplanationandgrammaticalexercises.Thefollowingisadescriptionofthemainprocessofselectinggames,preparinggamesandimplementinggames.3.3.4.3.1SelectingGamesAlthoughitisgenerallybelievedthatgamesareusefulinlanguagelearning,theyarechallengingintermsofselectionandapplication.Therefore,teachershavetohaveanideaofdifferenttypesoflanguagegames,thepurposeofusingthegamesandtheamountoftimetobeconsumedonthisgame.Iwas,Icouldsay,ratherfamiliarwiththeuseofgamestoteachbecausewhenItaughtChineseintheAmericanhighschool,Isearchedfor,learnedfromotherteachersandusedinmyclassesquiteafeweffectivelanguagegames.It’shardtofindacoursebookbasedsolelyongamesinChina.Therefore,“gamescaneithersupplementthecorematerialorreplaceactivitieswhichyoudislikeorfeeluncomfortablewith”(Bedson&Gordon1999,P.6).AccordingtoBedson&Gordon(1999,P.6),"languagegamescanbeusedinintroducingnewmaterial,practicerecentlylearntlanguageitems,orpracticecertainthemes".Inthisstudy,Itaughtallthe12grammarlessonsusingaspecialgame.Mostgameswereusedforintroducing,practicingorrevisingdifferentgrammarfeatures.Ispentalotoftimeinselectingappropriategames,askingmycolleaguesforadviceandevenaskedthemtotryintheirclassesfirst.Threeprincipleswereappliedtoselectinggames.First,suitabilityandengagingenoughforimplementation;Second,thecapacitytoservethelearningpurpose;Third,availabilityofmaterialsandtimeallowed.3.3.4.3.2PreparingtheGamesAfterselectingasuitablegame,Iwouldworkonhowtoachievetheaimsofthegame,materialsneededandspecificstepsforimplementation.Ialwaysgotallpreparationdoneadaybeforetheapplicationofthegame.TheroleoftheteacherwasclearlyjustahelperandsupporterbasedontheconceptofthezoneofproximaldevelopmentandscaffoldingasdefinedbyVygotskyandBruner.Thatis,providingstudentswiththenecessaryhelpand26 supportonlywhennecessaryorattherighttime.ItwasalsostressedthatallthestudentshadtouseEnglish,thetargetlanguage,asthemediumtotalk.3.3.4.3.3ImplementingtheGamesAswasmentionedearlier,thetwogroups,EGandCG,allusedthesamematerialissuedfromtheEducationDepartmentofJiangsuProvince.Teachersarerequiredtoadheretotheinstructionsincoveringcertainlanguageitemsoveraparticularperiodoftime.Asaresult,identicalcontentsfromthecoursebookweretaughtindifferentways.CGwastaughtinthetraditionalwaywithnogamesused.Thiswayusuallyhas5steps:Warmup/review,Lead-in,presentation,practiceandclasswork.Game-basedgrammarlessonsweretaughtinEG.Theteacherusedlanguagegamesinrevisinggrammarfeaturestaughtinpreviouslesson,introducingnewones,orpracticingwhathadbeentaughtinthislesson.ThefiveteachingstepswerethesameasthoseusedinCGbutwithgames.Table3.4showsageneralframeworkofgrammar-teachingprogramofthisstudy.Table3.4:Ageneralframeworkofgrammar-teachingprogramofthisstudyTeachingstepsWhethertousegamesCGEGStep1Warm-up/reviewQuestionsandanswers√Step2Lead-inXXStep3PresentationIntroductionandexplanation√Step4PracticeOral/writtenexercise√Step5ClassworkXXTwelvedifferentgameswereemployedinthegrammarlessons.ThegamesIusedareseeninAppendixA.ThefollowingisadetailedexampleofoneofthegamesIusedtoteachgrammarofUnit2,Module3inthisexperiment.Thegrammarfeaturethestudentsneededtolearnwasnounclausesintroducedbyquestionwords.Iused“Relay”gametohelpstudentscommitthemission:tounderstand27 andcreatenounclausesfromquestions.FirstItypedtenspecialquestions,printedthemoutonapieceofpaperandmade15copies.Thequestionsareasfollows:1.Whereisthegymteacherfrom?2.Howdoyoumakeapie?3.WherecanIfindsomegoodburgers?4.Whatisthegreatestgoalinyourlife?5.HowmanysistersdoesAaronhave?6.Whenisthebirthdayparty?7.Howmuchdoesthebikecost?8.Wheredoeshework?9.Whendidhebuildthehouse?10.Isshecomingtothegraduation?ThenIcutthesheetsintostrips.Idividedtheclassintogroupsof3andplayedsomemusic.Eachgroupgotasetofstrips.Ihadthefirststudentineachgroupcreatequestionsentencesusingthestarter”Doyouknow..?”Forexample,thefirstquestionabovewouldbe“Doyouknowwherethegymteacherisfrom?”Studentsproceededtobringuptheirstripofpaperwiththesentenceuntilitwascorrect.Iftheydidn’tgetitright,theyhadtobringitbacktotheirgroupandanotherpersonmustbringupthestripofpaper.Iftheycouldgetitright,theygotthesecondstripandsoon.Thefirstgrouptomakeitallthewaythroughallthestripswillwin.Whenstudentsfinished,thefullcopyofquestionsweredistributedasclassworktoensureallstudentsunderstand.Aftereachfeatureistaughttherewasatestonstudentsunderstandingandaccuracyforbothgroups.ThedatesaremarkedinTable3.3too.Inordertolookintoitwhethergame-basedgrammarteachingwouldbeeffectiveforstudents,attheendofthestudy,theresultsofallthe8testswerecomparedtofindoutthedifferencesbetweenEGandCG.Classroomobservationwasconductedtoexplorewhatwasactuallyhappeningintheclass,liketeacher-studentsinteractionandstudent-studentinteractionwhenpossible)soas28 toanswertheresearchquestions.ObservationsoccurredsimultaneouslyeverytimeItaughttheEGandwererecordedafterclasssoIcouldkeepawatchfuleyeonhowthegame-basedteachingmethodaffectedclassroomatmosphereandhopefullystudents’interestinEnglishstudy.Inordertoobtainadeeperunderstandingandawarenessoftheexperiment,Ireflectedonmyteachingandstudents’learningbytakingfieldnotesafterobservations.Murphy(2001)believesretrospectivefieldnotesasalessintrusivewaythanquestionnairesandfocusdiscussions,andvaluesthemasavaluablesourceforgatheringinformationabouttheteacher’sownunderstandingsandexplanationsofteaching.IwrotenoteswithobservationswhenthingswerefreshinmymindsoIcouldbetterinvestigatetheimpactoftheuseofgamesonmystudents’learning.Table3.5isthesamplesheetIusedtotakearecordofobservationandtowritefieldnotes.Table3.5：ObservationsheetLessonDateTeachingGameStudents’ClassroomNotesnumbercontentusedperformance&situationresponse3.3.5Post-questionnairefortheExperimentalGroupPostquestionnaireweredesignedtoaskaboutstudents’understandingofinstruction,theirchangeinmotivation,theiropinionaboutthedifferenceinclassroomatmospherewhentheylearngrammarusingthegame-basedmethodfromtheatmospherewheregrammarwastaughtintheconventionalway.Tocheckthestudents’perceptionsonthegame-basedteachingmethodandelicitingtheiropinionsabouttheexperiment,thequestionnaireconsistedof15questionsaboutthewaytheyhadlearnedgrammar,whetherthiswaywouldhelpthemimproveEnglish,andhowtheyunderstoodthevalueofgrammarinEnglishlearning.Twofactors,capabilityandeffortofstudents’motivationto29 learnwereassessedin10items.Forclassroomatmospherethreeaspectsofinteractionweremeasuredin15items:peersupport,levelofsatisfactionandclasscohesion.3.3.6InterviewsforEGStudentsBesidestests,thisstudycollectedstudents’opinionsaboutthegame-basedmethod,theirresponseontheirlevelofclassroomatmosphereandpossiblechangeintheirinterestinEnglishlearning.Thiswasdoneintheformofinterviews.Students’perceptionoftheirclassroomexperiencescanbederivedfromstudents’attitudesandbeliefs,whichcanhaveaprofoundimpactonstudents’affectivedisposition,thusaffectingtheiracquisitionoftheEnglishlanguage.Therefore,tounderstandmystudents’reactioninclassandtheirresponsetogrammarpracticeandtests,Iinterviewedtheexperimentalgroupduringthecourseofandattheendoftheprogram.Theinterviewsdiscussedthestudents’perceptionsofthecourse,theteacher,theteachingmethods,theuseofgames,andtheroleofgrammarlearning.Eachinterviewlastedabout30minutes.Toavoidanylanguagebarriersandtocollectmoredetailedinformation,theinterviewswereconductedinournativelanguage,Chinese.Oneinterviewusedextractedvideorecordingofalesson.Iaskedoneofmycolleaguestovideotapeitsoduringtheinterviewwecouldpausethevideoandrecallwhatwashappeningintheclassduringtheprocessofteaching.WhenwestoppedatcertaineventsIaskedforreasonsandclarifications.3.3.7Post-testforBothGroupsTherewereapost-testattheendoftreatmentforbothgroupsandtheresultsofthetwotestswerecomparedtofindthesignificantdifferencesbetweentheexperimentalgroupandthecontrolgroup.3.4DataAnalysis,ResultsandDiscussionSofar,thischapterhaspresentedtheresearchdesignforthisstudy.Ialsohaveexplainedtheparticipants’background,theteachingprogram,theteachingcontentsandtheprocedurestocollectdata.Whatwillcomenextarestatisticalanalysisandtranscriptionofinterviewsaswellasobservationrecordsandfieldnotes.Thisresearchemploysbothquantitativeandqualitativemethodstolookintotheimpactofgame-basedgrammar30 teachingonaccuracyofgrammaracquisition,students’motivationandclassroomatmosphere.Asaresult,datawasanalyzedbothquantitativelyandqualitatively.Dataforthefirstresearchquestionwasanalyzedquantitativelywhiledataoftheotherquestionswereanalyzedqualitatively.Aseachdata-collectingmethodwasdesignedtofindanswersforeachresearchquestion,itwasthusnecessarytomakeclearhoweachsourceofdatageneratedbydifferentinstrumentswasanalyzed.Table3.6showshowIusedinstrumentstocollectdata.Table3.6:DatacollectionQuantitativedataQualitativedataInstrumentsPre-questionnaireInterviewsPost-questionnaireClassroomobservationsandfieldnotesPre-testSuggestionsorcommentsmadeinstudents’questionnairesPro-testSixgrammartestsforeachunitThefollowingfigure(figure3.1)isthedesignofthetrueexperimentalresearch.ItwasadaptedfromafigureEvelynHatchandHosseinEarhadymadeintheirbook(1982),ResearchDesignandStatisticsforAppliedLinguistics.Itwelldescribedthedesignofthisexperiment.Figure3.1G1(random)T1XT2G2(random)T1T2ResearchDesignAdapted:EvelynHatchandHosseinEarhady,1982:22Note:T1:ThePre-testX:TheTreatmentT2:ThePost-test31 G1:TheExperimentalGroupG2:TheControlGroupThelastpartofcurrentchapterfocusesondataanalysis,resultsobtainedfromdataanddiscussionontheresultsfromtwoaspects:quantitativedataandqualitativedatatoaddresstheresearchquestionsorhypotheses,whichhavebeenoutlinedattheendofChapter2.3.4.1ResultsfromQuantitativeDataToanswerthefirstresearchquestionorhypothesisonwhetherornotstudents’accuracyorgrammaracquisitionwillbeimprovedthroughgame-basedteachingmethod,quantitativedatawasneeded.Asindicatedfromthetableabove,quantitativedatacamefromalltheeighttestsandthetwoquestionnaires.3.4.1.1TestsTherewerepreandposttestsbeforeandaftertheexperiment.Duringtheexperiment,Igaveatestforeachunit.Thatmeanstherewasonetestaftertwogrammarclasses.Besideseighttestscoresfromthisexperiment,thereisanotherstudents’gradeIcollectedandanalyzed:thestudents’EnglishgradesofFinalExamfromlastsemester.Datafromalltestswillbediscussedbelow.3.4.1.1.1Pre-experimentDuringpilotstudyperiodIcollectedandcomparedtheFinalEnglishexamscoresofstudentsfrombothclasses.TheresultsinTable3.7showthatthetwogroupshadverynearlythesamemeantotalscore.Comparedtothecontrolgroup,theexperimentalgrouphadlowermeanscoreby1.7%andlowerexcellencerateby2.22%.CGdidalittlebitbetterthanEGintheexam.However,thetestforEnglishfinaloflastsemesterincludedallEnglishskills.Itwasmadeupofthefollowing:20pointsforlistening,65pointsforreadingand35pointsforwriting.Itwashardtotellhowmanypointsstudentslostbecauseofweakgrammaticalknowledgebutthedatahelpedtotellthestudents’EnglishlevelofEGmightbeworsethanthatofCG.32 Table3.7:MeanscoreofEnglishFinalfromlastsemesterGroupNumberofMeanscore(outofExcellencerateFailureratestudents120)(Passing110/120)(lowerthan72)EG4572.46.67%55.6%CG4574.18.89%54.3%Beforeanytreatmentwasdonetotheexperimentalgroup,allthestudentsinthisstudytookapre-testongrammarfeaturestheyhadlearnedrangingfromwhattheylearnedinelementaryschooltowhatwastaughtlastsemester.Seetheresultsofthepre-testinTable3.8.Table3.8:MeanscoreofPre-testGroupNumberofMeanscore(outofExcellencerateFailureratestudents100)(Passing90/100)(lowerthan60)EG4565.38.89%46.7%CG4565.711.1%48.9%Thefiguresshowthatthestudents’basicabilityinEnglishwassimilarandstudentsbelongingtothesamelevelinbothgroupshadsimilarperformance.Themeanscoreswerealmostthesame.Althoughtheexcellencerate(11.1%)ofCGishigherthanthatofEG(8.89%),thefailurerateofEG,46.7%,islowerthanthatofCG,48.9%.Theresultsinthistableindicatethatthetwogroupsobtainedcomparablescoresinthistest.TherewasnostatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenthetwogroupswithregardtobasicEnglishgrammarknowledge.Henceitcanbereferredthatdifferencesinstudents’performanceduringthisexperimentcanbeattributedtothedifferenttreatments.3.4.1.1.2During-experimentDuringthestudy,thestudentsweretaughtgrammarindifferentways.Bothclasseshad5Englishlessonseveryweekbutonlythelessonsforgrammarteachingweredifferent.Thereweretwolessonsgivenforgrammarfeatureseachunit,whichneedsabouttwoweekstocomplete.Agrammartestwasgivenforeachunittocheckstudents’understandingofthegrammarfeatureswhichhadbeenjusttaught.ThebarchartinFigure33 3.2showstheresultsofallthetestsgivenduringtheexperiment.Figure3.2:Resultsofallthetests9080706050EG40CG30201001sttest2ndtest3rdtest4thtest5thtest6thtestItisindicatedfromthechartabovethatinthefirsttwoteststhemeanscoresofCGrdwerehigherthanthoseofEG.Thetwoclassesgotveryclosemeanscoresinthe3test,thbothabout78.Fromthefourthteston,EGdidslightlybetterthanCG.The6testshowsgreaterdifferencebetweenthetwogroups.ThemeanscoreofEGwas75.1whilethemeanscoreofCGwas71.8.Theresultsrevealthattherewasadifferenceingrammarscoresbetweenexperimentalandcontrolgroupswhengrammarwastaughtusingeducationalgames.ThemeanscoresoftheexperimentalGroupwerealwayslowerthanthoseofthecontrolgroupbeforethethirdgrammartest,inwhichthescoresofthetwoclasseswerealmostthesame.Afterthethirdtest,EGgotbettermeanscoresinallthetests.Theresultsfromthetablebelow(Table3.8)alsoshowedthatEGhadbecometodobetterinteststhanCG.Table3.9:MeanscoreofEnglishMid-termGroupNumberofMeanscore(outofExcellencerateFailureratestudents120)(Passing110/120)(lowerthan72)EG4578.912.38%34.7%CG4576.39.91%43.2%TheEnglishmid-termtookplaceafterthethirdtest.Thecomponentsarethesameasthefinalexamfromlastsemester:20pointsforlistening,65pointsforreadingand3534 pointsforwriting.NotableimprovementcouldbeseenfromTable3.9.TheexcellencerateofEGwashigherandthefailurerateofitwaslower.Themeanscorewasalittlebithighertoo.3.4.1.1.3Post-experimentAfterthetreatmentwasover,theexperimentalgroupandthecontrolgroupwerebothadministeredatest,whichcoveredallthegrammarfeaturestaughtduringtheexperiment.Asshowninthetable(Table3.10)below,themeanscoreofEGis3.7higherthanthatofCG.WhatisalsoindicatedisthatnotonlytheexcellenceratebutalsothepassingrateofEGwashigherthanthoseofCG.Table3.10:MeanscoreofPost-testGroupNumberofMeanscore(outofExcellencerateFailureratestudents100)(Passing90/100)(lowerthan60)EG4577.937.7%15.6%CG4574.233.3%17.8%Tosumup,thenumbersfrompost-testongrammaraccuracyshowanoverallhigherperformanceoftheexperimentalgroupoverthecontrolgroup.ItisalsonotedthatthenumbersofstudentsinthehigherlevelandmiddlelevelarebiggerthanthoseinCG.BasedonallthetableswehaveseenuptonowitissafetosaythatstudentsinEGhavegotimprovementingrammaraccuracy,whichalsohadhelpedthemimprovetheirreadingandwriting.Astheirteacherandtheobserverofthisexperiment,Icouldfeelthattheirskillsoflisteningandspeakinggotimprovementtoo.3.4.1.2QuestionnairesInordertoknowmoreaboutthestudents’basicinformationonthemselvesandtheirEnglishaswellastheirattitudetowardsEnglishlearningandgrammarlearning,allthestudentsinvolvedinthisstudyweregivenapre-questionnaire,whichwascomposedofsomeblank-fillingquestionsaboutstudents’demographicinformation,suchasage,genderandsoon,and10multiple-choicequestions.Aftertheexperiment,studentsinEGweregivenanotherquestionnaireontheirfeelingsaboutgame-basedgrammarteaching,their35 opinionaboutthechangesofclassroomatmosphereandmotivationinlearningEnglish.Theywereaskedtofillintheoptionwhichbestshowedtheiropinions.Thequestionnaireincludedafive-pointLikerttypescalewithfiveoptions,namely,‘stronglydisagree’,‘disagree’,‘undecided’,‘agree’and‘stronglyagree’.Aftertheadministrationofthequestionnaires,theresultsobtainedfromtheparticipantswereanalyzedwiththehelpofaspreadsheetapplication.Thedataweretabulatedandthefrequenciesandpercentagesforeachquestionwerepresentedintables.Tables10&11presentthestatisticalresultsofalltheitemsofthequestionnairesonthetwotypesofgrammaticalteaching.Table3.11:Resultsofpre-questionnaire1stronglyItem2disagree3notdecided4agree5stronglyagreedisagree144.4%24.4%13.3%12.3%5.6%234.4%18.9%25.6%14.4%6.7%342.2%15.6%21.3%16.7%4.2%431.4%34.6%19.7%10.8%2.9%512.2%16.7%37.8%23.3%10.0%615.613.3%48.9%14.4%7.8%727.8%18.9%45.6%8.4%10.0%821.1%25.6%22.2%18.9%12.2%98.9%14.4%24.4%43.3%8.9%107.8%18.9%15.6%25.6%32.2%Table3.11istheresultfromthepre-questionnairewhichwasgiventoall90students.Thepercentagesshowthatalotofstudentsdidn’tlikeEnglishclass,especiallygrammarclass.Theydidn’tfeelgrammarisimportant,either.MostofthemhadlostinterestinEnglishclass.36 Table3.12:Resultsofpost-questionnaire1strongly4Item2disagree3notdecided5stronglyagreedisagreeagree14.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%22.2%4.4%8.9%40%44.5%32.2%4.4%13.3%42.2%37.8%402.2%4.4%42.2%51.1%56.7%11.1%22.2%40.0%20.0%64.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%72.2%4.4%13.3%42.2%37.8%840.0%44.4%4.4%4.4%6.7%92.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%104.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%112.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%12004.4%88.9%6.7%132.2%4.4%13.3%42.2%37.8%142.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%152.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%166.7%33.3%22.2%44.4%15.6%174.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%18004.4%88.9%6.7%194.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%202.2%4.4%13.3%42.2%37.8%212.2%4.4%13.3%42.2%37.8%2202.2%4.4%42.2%51.1%236.7%11.1%22.2%40.0%20.0%2402.2%4.4%42.2%51.1%254.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%26004.4%88.9%6.7%272.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%282.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%292.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%302.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%314.4%15.6%20.0%37.8%22.2%326.7%8.9%22.2%44.4%40.0%Tobecontinued37 Continued332.2%4.4%2.2%44.4%46.7%3402.2%4.4%64.4%28.9%356.7%4.4%11.1%57.8%20.0%366.7%4.4%11.1%46.7%26.7%3702.2%4.4%64.4%28.9%386.7%4.4%11.1%46.7%26.7%394.4%4.4%22.2%40.0%24.4%4002.2%4.4%64.4%28.9%Table3.12showedadifferentstory.Studentswhodidthepost-questionnairewerefromtheEG.Thingswereverydifferentaftertheexperiment.Percentagesfornegativestatementsweremuchsmallerwhilethoseforpositiveoneswerebigger.Thediscrepancybetweenbeforethetestandafterthetestisstatisticallysignificant.Althoughafewstudentsstilldidn’tbelievebettergrammaracquisitionhelpedimprovetheirlistening,speaking,reading,especiallywriting,morestudentsbecamemoreinterestedinthisclassandtheEnglishlanguage.Generally,itcouldbeconcludedthatthestudentsfromtheExperimentalGroupweremoresuccessfulthantheircounterpartsfromtraditionallytaughtlessonsinincreasingtheirawarenessingrammaticalimportance.Grammarplaysanimportantroleinlanguageacquisitionprocess,whichhasbeencommonlyperceivedbystudentsinEG.ItseemedthattheuseoflanguagegamesledtomoreinteractioninEnglishamongstudentsintheExperimentalGroupandthecohesionalsogotimprovedtoo.Furthermore,thecompetitionthatwasgeneratedbygameshadenhancedstudents’motivation.Gamesalsoreducedthestressintheclassroomandimprovedclassroomatmosphere.Inall,theanswertothefirstresearchquestionisconfirmedbytheresultsofthetestsandquestionnaires.Thedataprovidedevidenceofastronglypositiveresponsethatgame-basedgrammarinstructionhelpsimprovegrammaraccuracy.Thisfeedbackindicatesthatcurriculumdesignersshouldkeepconsideringthevalidityofbasingdesignoncommunicativegrammarteachingapproach.38 3.4.2ResultsfromQualitativeDataTheanalysisofthequalitativedataisbasedoninterviewsandobservationnotes.Thesedataofferextraconfirmationandsupporttotheresultsshownbyquantitativedata.ThedataIgatheredwastranscribedandcategorizedaccordingtothethemeswhichemergedduringcontentanalysistofindouttheanswerstothetwoquestions.Toanswerthesecondandthirdquestions,thisexperimenthaslookedintotheeffectsofteachingEnglishgrammarusinggamesonthestudents’levelsofmotivationandtheirperceptionofclassroomatmospheresoIinterviewedExperimentalgrouptoexplorethelearners’perceptionoftheirexperienceingrammarclasses.Manyresearchersthinkthatstudents’responsestotheirlanguageclassroomexperienceareimportantbecauseoftheimplicationsinatheoreticalandpedagogicalway.Intheinterviews,Iinvestigatedthestudents’attitudetowardstheroleofgrammar,theiropinionsaboutteacher-studentandstudent-studentinteraction,theirviewsonthegamesIusedtoteachgrammarandthelevelofsatisfactionwithclassenvironment.Thequestionswere:1.HowareyoudoinginlearningEnglish?2.Whatdoyouthinkofgrammar’sroleinEnglishlearning?3.Whichgamesandactivitiestheteacheruseddoyouthinkworkedwell?4.Whataretheadvantagesoftheteacher’snewinstructionalstyle?5.Howaboutthedisadvantagesofit?6.WhatwereyourpreferredgamesoractivitieswhenyouwerelearningEnglishgrammarinclass?7.Howdoyoufeelaboutthechangeofstudent-studentinteractionandstudent-teacherinteraction?8.InwhatwaysdoyouthinkEnglishclasscanbeimproved?FromtheanalysesofdatacollectedfrominterviewsIfoundthatthenumberofstudentswhoseattitudetowardsgrammar’sroleinEnglishlearninghadchangedinagoodwaywasbiggercomparedtothenumberofstudentswhohaddisagreedwithitthatgrammarwasimportanttolearnEnglishwellinthepre-questionnaire.Alotofstudents39 expressedthatimprovementingrammaracquisitionhadbeenhelpinglearnEnglishbetterinthefourskillsofreading,speaking,writingandlistening.Thefollowingcomment(recordedandtranslatedbythewriter)wastypical:Tolearngrammarisveryimportantinmyopinion.Onlyifyouaregoodatgrammar,canyoulearntheEnglishlanguagewell.I,myselfisaperfectexample.Lastsemester,Igraduallylostinterestinthisclass,especiallywhentheteachertaughtgrammarbecauseitwassoboring,sittingthereandlisteningtotheteacherallthetimealthoughIknewshewasaniceteacherandsheworkedhard.Thissemesterthingshavebeentotallydifferent.IlikehavingEnglishclassesandhaveimprovedmyEnglishinlistening,speaking,readingandwritingthankstotheteacher’snewteachingstyle.ThecommentabovealsoshowedthatstudentsaremoreinterestedinEnglishbecausetheyaremorewillingtolearnit.Thefollowingcomment(recordedandtranslatedbythewriter)furtherprovedthattheirmotivationhasbeenimprovedtoo:IhaveobviouslyfeltthatmyinterestinEnglishisbecomingstrongerandstrongerbecauseIammoreconfidentinmyEnglishnow.IhavetoowethistothenewwaythatourEnglishteacherteachesgrammar.ItissofuntolearnEnglishnow.Iseemoreofmyclassmatescanjoiningrammarfeaturedrills.Wearehappierinclassnow.Thecommentbelowindicatessomestudents’complaintandconcern:Idolikeplayinggamestopracticegrammarbutsometimestheclassisoutofcontrol.Myclassmatesmadealotofnoisewhentheygotveryexcitedorwhentheygotachancetomovearoundtheclassroom.Ithinktheteacherneedtomanagetheclassroombetter.Weshouldlearntocontrolourselvestoo.Table3.13:GeneralideaoftheinterviewswiththeExperimentalGroupIssuesAttitudeSatisfactionwiththeteacher+Effortsmadeingrammarclasses+Self-evaluatedabilityinEnglish+Tobecontinued40 ContinuedPerceptionofmotivation+Teacher-studentinteraction+Students-studentinteractionOSatisfactionwiththeteacher’steachingstyleofEnglishgrammar+ImportanceofgrammarintheEnglishlanguage+Notes:+=positiveperceptionO=ambivalentperceptionTable3.13showsclearlythattheexperimentalgroupstudentshaveexperiencedenjoyment,feltmoreconfidentinEnglishskillsandmoreactivelyinvolvedinclass.Notonlytheimprovementinmotivationbutalsotheimprovementinstudents’perceptionofclassroomatmosphereisshowedfromtheresultsoftheinterviews.Ialsorecordedmyobservationsandwrotefieldnotes,commentingonthestudents’responsesandperceptionsandontheteachingandlearningprocess.Inmyfieldnotes,IwrotethecommentbelowonMarch24,2016:ThestudentsseemedtoenjoyinglearningthroughdiverselanguagegamescateredtotheirlearningstylebecausethegamesandactivitieshelpedthemremainontaskinclassandhelpedthemperceiveEnglishgrammarlearningmorepositively.Thechangesinfluencedtheirmotivation,whichmademeencouragedandrelaxedtoteachthisclass.Almostallofthestudentswereontaskandengaged.Icouldseldomseestudentsdozeofforabsent-minded…InotedinmyobservationrecordsandfilednotesthatthestudentswerebecomingmoreandmoremotivatedandkeenonEnglishlearning.TheyaskedtogoonplayinggameswheneverIannouncedthatitwastimetofinishoff.Ilovedseeingtheirsmilesandhearingtheirlaughter.Thesehelpedexplaintheimprovementinmotivationandinpositiveclassroomatmospherethatindicatedfromthequestionnaires.Eachstudenthadtheirownlearningexperienceandattitudestowardthisprogramso41 it’ssomewhathardtodrawconclusionsabouttheseopinions.However,generally,allthecommentsfromtheinterviewshaveshownthatexperimentalstudentshaveexperiencedmoreenjoyment,mademoreefforts,feltmoreconfidentinEnglishandmoreactivelyinvolvedinclass.Withregardtostudents’motivationandimprovementinclassroomatmosphere,analysesofqualitativedatahaveconfirmedthehypothesestothesecondandthirdresearchquestions.Theevidencethattheresultsoftheexperimenthaveprovidedhasconfirmedthepositiveeffectofabetterrateofstudents’involvement,ahigherlevelofstudent-studentandstudent-teacherinteraction,averypositiveperceptionthatgamesimprovethestudents’macroskills,andtheroleofgamesasamotivatortolearnEnglishandEnglishgrammar.Basedontheresultsfromthedataanalysis,quantitativelyandqualitatively,andthediscussionabove,allmyresearchhypotheseswererealized.Thischaptercontainsenoughpositiveresultsinalltheaspectsofthelearningandteachingprocessmonitoredduringthisexperimenttomakethestudyworthwhile.Itispossibletosayeducationalgamesmeettheneedofhighschoolstudents.Alltheimprovementsandpositiveresponsesdidn’toccureasilybutonlyduringthelatterhalftimeoftheexperiment.ThisstudywillremindhighschoolEnglishteachersofitthattheexpectationofobtainingquickandlargeresultsfromanyshort-timechangeoradjustmentofteachingorlearninghabitsisunrealisticandstudents’acceptanceofanewteachingstyleneedsmoretimeandefforts.42 ChapterFourCONCLUSION,LIMITATION,IMPLICATIONANDRECCOMENDATIONAfteranalyzingtheresultfromseveralsourcesofthedata,suchasquestionnaires,tests,researcherobservationalrecordsandfieldnotes,thischaptersummarizestheoverallconclusionsdrawnfromtheexperiment.Thisstudyshedslightontheroleofgrammarknowledgeenhancementthroughusinggamesinprovidinggrammarinstructionbydrawinglearners’attentiontonoticecertainstructures.Additionally,thecontributionandlimitationofthestudy,thepedagogicalimplicationsandrecommendationsforfurtherresearchareconsideredasaresultoftheuseofgameswiththeexperimentalstudents.Atlast,finalremarksendsthisthesis.4.1MainFindingsThemainpurposeofthisstudyistoseektheeffectofusinggamesasateachingstrategyofgrammarinstructiontoraisethegrammaticalaccuracylevelofhighschoolstudentsinChina.Thisthesisalsoexplorestheeffectofgame-basedgrammarinstructiononstudents’motivationandclassroomatmosphere.Theparticipantsinthisstudyweredividedintotwogroups,thecontrolandexperimentalgroups,andreceived12periodsofgrammarinstructionbythesameteacheroverthreemonths.Theteachingcontentswerethesameforbothgroups.Thedifferenceconsistsintheuseofgamesfortheexperimentalgroup.Theresultsofthisstudyarebasedondatayieldedfromstudentswhowereexposedto12periodsofEnglishgrammarinstruction.Datawascollectedusingtheinstrumentsasfollows:Grammartests,questionnaires,interviews,observationrecordsandfieldnotes.Whilethemainresultdoesn’tprovethatstudentshadgotsignificantimprovementingrammaticalaccuracytheoverallimprovedperformanceisaworthwhileachievement,especiallyinstudents’motivationandclassroominteraction.Thedifferencebetweenthe43 pre-testandthepost-test,betweenexperimentalclassandcontrolclassreflectsthatthestudentsareverydifferentfrombeforetoafterthetreatment.Thetableswithfiguresandpercentagescanhelpmeconcludethatgame-basedteachingmethoddoeshelpimprovegrammaraccuracyalthoughnostatisticallysignificantimprovementinaccuracywasrecorded.Thepositiveoutcomesofotheraspectscanwarranttheconclusionthatiftheuseofgamescanbeprotractedanimprovementingrammaticalaccuracywillshowup.Enhancinggrammarlearningwiththehelpofeducationalgamesdrewthestudents’attentionalmostalltheclasstime.Moreover,thestudyshowedthattheuseofgamescouldmotivatethestudentsandhelpthemimprovethefourskillsofEnglish,especiallyspeaking.Theimprovementofspeakingfluencyhelpedthembuilduptheirconfidence.Gamesincreasedthestudents’motivationandenthusiasm.Besidestheimprovementabove,theatmosphereoftheclassroomalsoimproved.Gamesalsoaskedthestudentstofocusonthetaskwhichchallengedthemtocompetewithothergroups.Competitionmadethementhusiasticandmoreabletofollowtheteachingprocess.Duringtheprocess,theywerechallengedtobeactive,creativeandconfident.Thecompetitiveenvironmentfromthegamesalsocreatedacooperativeclimate.Theimplementationofgroupworkingameshelpedthemtosharetheirknowledgewiththeirfriendsinalimitedtime.Allinall,usinggamesprovidestheappropriategroundingforaccuracytoimproveeventually:bettermotivation,improvedclassroomatmosphereandinteraction.ThesepositiveresultsofthisexperimenthaveofferedanoticeableincentivetoChinesehighschoolEnglishteacherstousegamesintheirgrammarteaching4.2LimitationsTherearevariouslimitationstothisstudythatshouldbetakenintoconsiderationininterpretingtheresultsandplanningfutureresearch.Thisexperimentfocusedona3-month-longprogram.Theshortdurationofthetreatmentmightnothavegiventhelearnersenoughtimetogetusedtothenewlearningstyle.Aslanguageacquisitionoccursovertime,thebrevityoftimelimitedthestudy.Inadditiontothetimeconstraint,thenumberofparticipantswasrelativelysmall44 whichmayunderminetherepresentativenessofthesampleandthegeneralisabilityofthefindingsandresultinlargestandarddeviations.Also,students’averageEnglishlevelisrelativelylowcomparedtostudentsin4-starand5-starschoolsandstudentsinbiggercitiesbecauseofregionalreason.Anotherpossiblelimitationofthisstudyisthereweren’tenoughmeanstoisolatetheeffectoftheotherfactorsofthestudy.Theanswerofwhethergrammaticalaccuracycanbegreatlyimprovedcannotbedirectlyrelatedtotheuseofgamesalonebutalsoothervariousfactorsintheexperiment,suchasteacher’spatience,preparationforlessonsandstudents’cooperation,etc.Lastbutnottheleast,althoughtherehadbeenrelatedstudiesincollegesorelementaryschools,therehadbeenveryfewauthenticandrealstudiesdonefromthesameangleinChinaandthusveryfewerlessonstoavoidmistakesordeviationIcouldhadlearnedbeforeIdidmyexperiment.Highschoolstudentsareverydifferentfromprimarypupilsorcollegestudents.4.3ImplicationsHowcantheInteractionistTheorybeusedinhighschoolEnglishclassrooms?WhenfacedwithlearningEnglishasasecondlanguage,studentsareessentiallyinfants.Theycannotcommunicatewiththeteacherexceptthroughnon-verbalcommunication.Therefore,itisuptotheteachertoactastheadultintheinfant-adultrelationship.Heorsheisresponsibleforleadingallinteractionatfirst,andasthestudentbecomesmorefamiliarwiththeEnglishlanguageandabletocommunicate,thecontroloftheinteractioncanberelinquishedabitandthestudentscantakemorecontroloftheirownlanguagelearning.Inlanguageteachingandlearningitisnecessarytoimplementanappropriatemethodandtechnique.Accordingtothefindingsofthisstudy,tomaketheteachingandlearningprocesssuccessfultheteachershouldactasnotonlythesourceofknowledgeanddominatethelearningprocess,butalsoshouldcreateasituationwherestudentsareinvolvedinexperiencelearning.Theoveralleffectsofteachinggrammarusingeducational45 gameswhichemergedfromthisstudyhavesignificantimplicationsforESLteachers,curriculumdesigners,textbookwritersoreditors,especiallythoseinChina.Firstly,languageteachers,especiallythosewhocommonlydealwithstudents’apathy,disinterest,passivityandboredomwhenteaching,oughttoseriouslyregardusinggamestoteachasaregularstrategy.Iftheyintegrategamestofindapartialsolution,bothstudents’grammaticalaccuracyandtheirfourskillsoftheEnglishlanguagecanbeimprovedandsocantheirconfidenceandmotivationbecausemotivatedlearnersareengagedlearnersandengagedlearnersaremoresuccessfullearners.Forcurriculumdesigners,itshouldbeconsideredtointegratemoreactivities,includinggames,intotheregularsyllabusandcurriculuminanappropriatewayduetotheoverallpositiveeffectsoftheuseofgames.Someoftheteachersarenotregardingthemasanintegralpartofthelanguagesyllabus.Theinclusionofgameswillthusallowtheuseofauthenticlanguageandtheintegrationofformalandcommunicativeelementscaneffectivelymotivatelearners.Anotherimportantpedagogicalimplicationtouchesontheneedtorevisethecontentandapproachoflanguagetextbooks.Thetextbookweareusing,AdvancewithEnglish,doeshavesomeactivitiesbutmanyofthemarenotveryinterestingornotveryhelpful.Textbookwriterswouldbeadvisedtoconsiderthetwopedagogicalimplicationsandtoincludeasubstantialandpersuasiveintegrationoflanguagegamesintoeachchapter,andnotasporadicpresenceofafewgamesinthetextbookstheywrite.Thereforethestudentscanbeledtonoticelinguisticformsandusethetargetlanguageinameaning-orientedway.Besideswhatarementionedabove,gamesthatareofinteresttolearnersmayholdpotentialnotjustforgrammarlearningasthisstudyhasinvestigatedbutmayalsobeusedforvocabularylearning.4.4SuggestionsforFutureResearchandPracticeFuturestudiesshouldusemorerobustmeasures.Futureresearchersarealsoencouragedtocarryoutstudieswithlongertreatmentdurationinordertoinvestigatehow46 greatlyeducationalgameshelpteachinggrammaroveralongerperiodoftime.Also,theprocessoffindingasuitablegamewillnotbeeasy.Itwasdifficultfindingapotentiallyinterestinggamethatwouldgraspstudents’attentionwhileatthesametimehelplearnorpracticegrammarfeatures.What’smore,studentteachersofESL,inordertoenhancebothaccuracyandcommunicativeabilityinanengaging,positiveandsupportiveatmosphere,needtobetrainedexplicitlyonhowtousegame-basedstrategies,especiallyinanon-immersioncontext.Finally,researchersneedtotakeallthefactorsintoconsiderationwhentheywanttolookintotheeffectsofgamesongrammarteaching,likehowandtowhatextent,andexplaintheinconclusiveadvantageofgameusinginraisingthelevelofgrammaticalaccuracy.Thelimitationsneedtobeadjustedorsupplementedbyfurtherresearchonthissubjectbecausethisexperimentcanonlyindicatesomefuturedirectionsforitslikelyconfirmation.4.5ClosingRemarksThisstudywasacasestudycarriedouttoinvestigatetheeffectsofusinggamestoenhancestudents’acquisitionofEnglishgrammar.What’smore,thestudyalsoexaminedtheeffectsofgamesonstudents’motivationlevel.Italsolookedintostudents’interactionwiththeteacherandotherlearnerstoseeifithelpsimprovetheclassroomatmosphere.Atotalof90SeniorOnestudentsofTaixingNo.2HighSchooltookpartinitastherespondentsofthisstudy,ofwhich45studentsconstitutedtheexperimentalgroupwhiletheremainingrepresentedthecontrolgroup.Twelvegrammargameswereplayedasaformoftreatmentoverdurationofthreemonths.Datawascollectedthroughthemeansofapreandpostquestionnaire,apreandposttest,aswellasfromclassroomobservationsandinterviews.Thedatawasanalyzedusingboththequalitativeandquantitativemethods.Grammarisconsideredasanimportantelementforsuccessfullanguagelearning.Game-basedteachingisausefulmethodtobeusedingrammarlessonastherearemanypositiveoutcomesthatcanbeseenafterseveralactivitieshavebeencarriedoutinthe47 classroom.Byusinggamestohelpstudentslearn,practiceandreviewgrammarfeatures,thestudentsaremotivatedtolearngrammarastheybelievethatthisstyleoflearningisaninterestingandusefulmethodbecausegameshelpthemremembergrammarrules,makegooduseofgrammarfeaturesandthusimprovegrammar.Teachersshouldpondereffectivestrategiesandmediatoimprovestudents’grammaracquisition.BasedonthereviewofstudyontheuseofgamesinteachingEnglishorEnglishgrammar,somekindsofgamescanbeconsideredaseffectivetechniquesormediatopromotestudents’motivation,grammaraccuracyandapositiveatmosphere.Inshort,althoughthisstudydidn’trevealhowmuchexactlygame-basedgrammarteachingisbetterthantraditionalgrammarteaching,thesuperiorityofteachinggrammarbymeansofusinggameshasbeenproved.Overall,despitethelimitationsdiscussedearlier,thisstudyattemptstoprovideanexampleofstudiesonpositiveeffectsoftheuseofgamesingrammarteaching.Althoughthisstudyisasmallscalestudy,itcanbeconsideredasanimportantstepinidentifyingthepractitioners’viewsonanimportanttopic,thatis,teachingChinesehighschoolstudentsEnglishgrammarbyusinggames.48 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ElectronicActivitiestoReinforceGrammarintheCollegeWritingClassroom.http://www.ncte.org/journals/tetyc/issues/v33-1TeachingEnglishintheTwo-yearCollege,Vol.33,No.1,September,2005.Ur,P.1988.Grammarpracticeactivities:Apracticalguideforteachers.Cambridge,UK:CambridgeUniversityPressVygotsky,Lev.1930.TheSocialistalterationofMan.https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky陈熙.2006.在中等职业学校用交际法教英语语法.上海:上海师范大学硕士论文.宋坤.2012.任务型教学法在高中英语语法教学中的应用.西安:陕西师范大学硕士论文.51 AppendixAThegamesusedinthestudyGamesDescriptionofthegameGrammarInwhichfeaturesteachingstepTruthorLieHavestudentsplayitinsmallgroupsusingIntroductiontoPracticenounclauses.Haveeachstudentcreatethreenounclausesorfoursentencesabouttheirpastexperiencesorpreferencesforthegame.Maketwoofthesentencestrueandonealie.Forexample,“Ilovetextingmyfriends,”“Ilovebroccoli”and“Ilovemydog.”Theotherstudentscanaskformoreinformationusingnounclauses,suchas“Isittruethatyoulovebroccoli”or“Ifyouhaveadog,whatisitsname?”Studentslearntousenounclauses,learnmoreabouteachotherandenjoytheactivity.LightningPlacestudentsinsmallgroupsandconductaNounclausesReviewRoundquizbyaskingthemtorecognizethebeginningwithcomponentpartsofanounclause--boththethatorif/whetherfiniteverbandthenounorsubject.Whenthegroupiscalledupontoanswerthequestioncontainingthenounclausephraseorsentence,thoseinthegroupmustcorrectlyrecognizeboththeverbandthenouninashortamountoftime,perhapsfivesecondsorless.NounClauseNounclausesPractice‘RELAY’GameSeeFulldescriptionfollowingthetable.introducedbyquestionwordsDiceGameTheclassisdividedintogroupsofthreeorfourPreparatoryPracticeplayers.Eachgroupreceivesastackofcards,subjectiteachwithasentenceandanounclause,ainfinitiveorav-ingformnounonit.Thestudentsplacethecardsinfrontoftheminthemiddleofthetableface-down.Onestudentpicksacard,rollstheDicewiththefunctionsofpreparativesubject/objectitoneachsideandhastoconjugatethesentenceusingthefunctionaccordingly.Ifthestudentconjugates52 thenewsentencecorrectlyhegetsapoint.Hethenputsthecardbackunderthestackandit’sthenextstudent’sturn.Thestudentstaketurnsinclockwiseorder.Thestudentwhohasmostpointsattheendofthegameisthewinner.BluffDividetheclassintotwoteams.TheteacherObjectPresentationasksoneteamtomakeasentencewithacomplementcertaintypeofobjectcomplements.Anystudentinthisteamwhocandoitstandsup.Astudentontheopposingteamselectsoneofthestudentsstandingtodoit.Ifthestudent’ssentenceisright,thenonepointforeachpersonstandingisawarded.Ifnot,onepointdeducted.Alloweachstudentaturnatchoosingamemberoftheopposingteam.Astudentcan’tgotworounds.Thereisalimitsetforpoints,thefirstteamto50wins.RedRoverTheclasssplitsintotwoteamsonoppositeSubject-verbPracticesidesoftheroom.Astudentfromonesideofagreementtheroomgoestotheotherteamandchoosesanindividualstudent.Thefirststudentstatesasentencebutleavesouttheverb.Thestudentfromthesecondteamhastoprovideaverbthatagreeswiththesubject,orthefirststudenttakeshimtotheotherteam.Ifthestudentfromthesecondteamgivesacorrectanswer,bothstudentsstaywiththesecondteam.Theteamstaketurnsdoingthisuntiltimerunsout.Theteamwiththemoststudentswins.Storytelling:StudentswillreadthisshortextractaboutaDirectspeechPresentationGuessWhoIfunnyincidentintheparkandanswertheandreportedBumpedInto?readingcomprehensionquestionstocompletespeechthereportedspeechactivity.Timwanderedalongthepaththinkingaloud,“ifIcontinuethisdietIshouldlosetwentypoundsbytheendof...”whenBOOM!Hebumpedintoanothercitydwelleroutforaday"swalkinthepark."I"mterriblysorry",heapologized."IwassocaughtupinmythoughtsIdidn"tseeyou!"he53 managedtostammer.Smiling,Sheilaresponded,"It"sOK.Nothing"sbroken...Noreally,Iwasn"twatchingmystepeither."Suddenlytheybothstoppedmakingexcusesandstaredateachother."Don"tIknowyoufromsomewhere?"inquiredTimwhileSheilaexclaimed,"You"reTim,Jack"sbrother,aren"tyou?!"TheybothbegantolaughastheyhadmeteachothertheweekbeforeatapartythatJackhadgiven.Stilllaughing,Timsuggested,"Whydon"twehaveacupacoffeeanddonut?"towhichSheilareplied,"Ithoughtyouwantedtocontinueyourdiet!"TheybothwerestilllaughingbythetimetheyreachedtheSwimmingDonutcafe.LaterthatdaySheilareportedthestorytoherfriendMike.Fillintheblankswithreported(indirect)speechusingthetextabove.Checkyouranswersonthefollowingpage.AshewaswalkingdownthepathTimsaidifhe________diethe____losetwentypounds.Webumpedintoeachother.Heapologizedsayinghe____terriblysorry.Itoldhimit____OK,thatnothing____broken.Timsaidhe____socaughtupin____thoughtsthathe________.Heseemedembarrassed,soIaddedthatI____mystepeither.Atthatmomentwerecognizedeachother!Heaskedmeifhe________fromsomewhere.IthenrememberedthathewasJack"sbrother.Webothhadagoodlaughandthenheinvitedmetohaveacupofcoffeeandadonut.Wehadagreattimetogether.GossipAskyourpartnerthefollowingquestionsReportedspeech:Practiceaboundsmakingsuretotakegoodnotes.Afteryoustatements,havefinishedthequestions,findanewpartnerquestionsandandreportwhatyouhavelearntaboutyourimperativefirstpartnerusingreportedspeech.sentences•Whatisyourfavoritesportandhowlonghaveyoubeenplaying/doingit?•Whatareyourplansforyournextvacation?•Howlonghaveyouknownyourbestfriend?54 Canyougivemeadescriptionofhim/her?•Whatkindofmusicdoyoulike?Haveyoualwayslistenedtothatkindofmusic?•Whatdidyouusetodowhenyouwereyoungerthatyoudon"tdoanymore?•Doyouhaveanypredictionsaboutthefuture?•CanyoutellmewhatyoudoonatypicalSaturdayafternoon?•Whatwereyoudoingyesterdayatthistime?•WhichtwopromiseswillyoumakeconcerninglearningEnglish?ThePerfectInthisactivity,onepersonasksadviceofhisModalverbs:PracticeMatchclassmatesuntilhegetstheanswerthatheisgenerallookingfor.Startbypresentingascenariotointroductiontheclass.Astudentislookingforadviceonwhetherornotheshoulddosomething,forexample,dropaclass,goonadate,changehismajor,etc.Chooseonepersontobethestudentaskingforadvice,andsendhimoutoftheroomwhileyoudiscusspossibleresponseswiththerestofyourclass.Whilethatstudentisoutoftheroom,assigneachremainingstudentamodalverb(could,might,can,oughtto,must).Trytogivethesamenumberofstudentseachmodal.Onlyonestudentshoulduse“should”toanswerhisclassmate’squestion.Whentheotherstudentasksforadvice,thatonepersontellsthestudentthatheshoulddothethingheisaskingabout.(Forexample,ifthestudentasks,“ShouldIdropthisclass?”onlyonestudentshouldsay,“Youshoulddroptheclass.”)Therestofyourclassshouldusetheirassignedmodaltogiveanotheranswertotheaskingstudent.(“Youcouldjuststopgoingtoclass.Youmightwanttochangetopass/fail.”)Whenthestudentreturnstotheroom,heasksvariousstudentshisquestion(ShouldIdropthisclass?)untilhefindstheonepersonwhosaysheshoulddojustthat.Oncehefindsthatperson,theroundisover.Forthenextround,sendsomeoneelseintothehallwaytoplaythestudentwhonow55 hasadifferentproblemandassigndifferentmodalstotheremainingstudentsandplayasbefore.TheTeen’sThisisarole-playgame.OnepersonisaModalverbs:PracticeWeekendteenagerwhowantstogoawaywithhiscomparisonsfriendsfortheweekend.Oneortwootherpeoplearehisparentswhowanthimtospendtheweekendwiththemathisgrandmother’shouseinthemiddleofnowhere.Bothpartiesnegotiatewitheachotherusingasmanymodalsaspossibleuntiltheycometoanagreementabouttheweekend.PhysicalCallthreestudentstothefrontoftheThepassivevoicePracticeVignetteclassroom.Presenteachonewithaslipofpaper.Forexample,onestudentgetsaslipthatsays"Thenewoutfielder."Thenextstudentgetsonewiththeword"hit."Anotherstudent"spapersays"theball."Theymustinteractwitheachothertomakeasentencebyplacingthemselvesincorrectorder.Thisobviouslyisanactivesentencewiththesubjectontheright.Callthreemorestudentstothefrontandfollowthesameprocedure,butthistimeuse"Theball"forone,"washit"foranotherand"bythenewoutfielder."Asktheclasswhatthedifferenceisinthepositionsofthesubject,verbanddirectobjectinactiveandpassivesentences.Allowothergroupsofstudentstomakeuptheirownsentencesandtolinethemselvesupaccordingly.CompanyTellstudentstheymustwriteacompanyModalverbsandPracticeMemomemoinwhichtheymustremindemployeesofthepassivevoicecertainaspectsofcompanypolicy,likedresscodeorbasicofficerules.Theymusttrytousemodalsinthepassive.ASample：ChangesincompanypolicyThisisafriendlyreminderregardingcertainofficerules.Thedresscodeformostdaysis“businesscasual”;jeansmaybewornonlyon“casualFridays”.Andpleasehelpkeeptheofficekitchencleanandtidy.Cupsmustbewashedandputaway.Foodmustnotbe56 leftonthecounter;itmaybekeptinthefridge,butpleasebemindfulofexpirationdates.Finally,I’dliketoremindyouthatallfooditemsthatarenotmeanttobesharedshouldbeclearlylabeledwithyournameandkeptinthekitchen.Foodmustnotbestoredindeskdrawers.57 AppendixBPre-questionnaireI.DemographicInformation1.Yourstudentsnumber:____________2.Gender:1.Male2.Female3.Yourgradeoffinalexamfromlastsemester:__________4.HowlonghaveyoubeenlearningEnglish?____________5.Didyourteachersinelementaryschoolandmiddleschoolusegamestoteachgrammar?II.Choosetheonewhichbestdescribesyouropinion.5strongly4321stronglyagreeagreeunsuredisagreedisagree1.IlikelearningEnglishgrammar.2.IlearnEnglishmorediligentlythanothersubjects.3.IamabletouseEnglishgrammar.4.NomatterwhatatestresultisIcanstillstudyEnglishhard.5.IwanttolearnmoreEnglishanditsgrammar.6.IfeelthatthematerialsusedinEnglishclassesareinteresting.7.WhenstudyingEnglish,Ioftenfeelthattimepassesquickly.8.LearninggrammarhelpsmetounderstandEnglish.9.LearninggrammarwellisessentialtoeventualmasteryofEnglish.10.LearninggrammarmakesmelessinterestedinlearningEnglish.58 AppendixCPost-QuestionnaireI.Choosetheonewhichbestdescribesyouropinion.5strongly4321stronglyagreeagreeunsuredisagreedisagree1.Thegrammaticalteachingusedbytheteacherhelpsmeunderstandtheteachingcontent.2.LearninggrammarcanhelpmespeakEnglishwell.3.LearninggrammarcanhelpmereadEnglishwell.4.LearninggrammarcanhelpmewriteEnglishwell.5.LearninggrammarcanhelpmelistentoEnglishwell.6.LearninggrammarhelpsmetoachievehighscoresinEnglishtests.7.GrammarimpedesmyEnglish.8.LearninggrammarmakesmelessinterestedinlearningEnglish.9.Theteacherneedstogivemoregrammarlessons.10.SystematicteachingcanhelpmelearnEnglishwell.11.It’snecessarytoteachgrammar.12.Ipreferusinggamestolearngrammar.13.IwilllearngrammartoimprovemyEnglish.14.Thissemestermademelikegrammarmore.15.ThissemestermademelikeEnglishmore.59 16.Englishismyfavoritesubject.17.IstudyEnglishmorediligentlythananyothersubjects.18.IaskmyclassmatesorteacherforadvicewhenIhaveproblemswithEnglish.19.IamhappywithmeperformanceinEnglishgrammarclass.20.IhopetolearnmoreEnglishandEnglishgrammar.21.IwouldliketospendmoretimeinlearningEnglish.22.Iwouldliketheteachertokeepusingthecurrentwaytoteachgrammar.23.IthinkthematerialsusedinEnglishclassareeasyandinteresting.24.WheninEnglishclass,Ialwaysfeeltimepassesfast.25.IwilltrymybesttofinishEnglishhomework.26.WehelpeachotherduringEnglishactivities.27.Wecareabouteachother’sprogressinEnglishwhenwestudytogether.28.MyclassmatesgivemeencouragementwhenIcan’tdowellinEnglishactivities.29.MyclassmatespraisemewhenmyperformanceinEnglishisgood.30.Thegamesusedinlearninggrammarmakeusmorefamiliarwitheachother.31.WeencourageeachothertostudyEnglishharder.32.IhaveachievedalotthissemesterinEnglish.33.WegetalongbetterwhenstudyingEnglishtogether.60 34.TheteacherpraisesusintimewheneverwetrytoperformwellinEnglishclass.35.WewishallthesubjectscouldbetaughtinthesamewayasinEnglishclass.36.TheteacherishelpsustolearnEnglishmoreefficiently.37.TheteachervaluesourfeelingandopinionswhenwelearnEnglish.38.PlayingEnglishgamestogetherenablesustogetalongbetter.39.WewouldliketofollowtherulesforEnglishclassdecidedtogether.40.Ifoneofourclassmateshasn’tparticipatedinaactivity,wehelphim/hertocatchup.61 ｍｍｍ就ｔｌ大学ｍＢ硕壬学位论文巧业学位）ＨＩＩ＾■