Playing Charades to Improve Students’ Vocabularies
One night, just a few days after my sister got back from Japan for her study, she got an idea to play a game called Charades. She asked me to use English in the entire game because she felt like her English was downgrading. I agreed to do so. After downloading the game on her phone, we started playing it. My sister gave me the clues, I was the one who had to guess, and since we both love watching TV series, it was a theme that we picked. There were some titles that my sister was not familiar with, so she had to be very creative to make the clues. We had so much fun, we did not guess a lot, but we surely laughed a lot.
There was one thing I noticed about the game. My sister was actually trying to use words in a language she had not used in the past year or so. Even though English is widely spoken and it can be referred as a global language (Graddol, 1997), the Japanese see English as a useful language for a selection of modern function, but it is not useful for domestic and local ones (Benson, 1991). That is why when she was away, she always spoke in Japanese because none of her friends really understood English and they preferred to use their local language. By using English through the entire game, it was her chance to be able to speak in the global language again. I realized that what she did was improving her English skill and she wanted to improve it in an informal way. So, I thought, if my sister could learn English through this game, others might be able to do the same, especially in a classroom. Sometimes, the students can be bored in class because the material was not interesting or the material was not relevant for them and activities in which they learn with and from peers are the most exciting and engaging (Yazzie-Mintz, 2007).
Playing charades can be a new way for the students to learn vocabularies, speaking, listening, and teamwork. Also, according to DeVries & Edwards (1973), “using a game might create greater student peer tutoring, less perceived difficulty, and greater satisfaction with the class” (p. 307). Teachers should use this game in class so the students can improve their English and teamwork skills in a fun way.
Vocabularies are very important in every language. Even when someone is travelling to new places, that person will bring a vocabulary book, not a grammar book. There is a myth that says that vocabulary is not as important as grammar especially in learning a foreign language. This myth was refuted by Folse (2004) who believes that “without vocabulary, comprehensible input is neither comprehensible nor input” (p. 2). Folse is not the only one who has such point of view. Alqahtani (2016) also sees it as a critical instrument for second language because when we have a limitation in vocabularies, a hurdle in communication will be faced.
The main goal of studying vocabulary is so the learners can communicate in the target language better since it is quite crucial in a foreign language environment and also because it can improve the capacity to learn more on other aspects (Leinonen, 2013). A study found that “word frequency is still an important criterion of vocabulary selection for language teaching” (Honeyfield, 1977, p. 35). Someone’s ability in vocabulary may differ on one towards another, it may also be an unpredictable specialized development, but it is still the best index to estimate the result in almost all of the other language skills (Schmitt, 2000). Hyso and Tabaku (2011) highlight that “the effectiveness in vocabulary learning depends on the strategies students use” (p. 61). Schmitt (2000) also indicates that:
Language contain huge numbers of words. Learning process is not an all-or-nothing process in which a word is suddenly and completely available for use. Knowledge of individual words grows over time, both in our ability to use them receptively and productively and in the different kinds of words knowledge we come to master. (p. 6)
Teachers can avoid a conventional and boring lesson by using games. Games can stimulate the students to learn more by making them competitive and by turning a boring class into an amusing one (Deesri, 2002).
By inviting intrinsic motivation, suspending one's social reality, reducing stress, and creating a state of relaxed alertness, fun can be seen as a powerful tool to enhance a motivating and safe learning environment (Bisson & Luckner, 1996, p. 111).
Furthermore, Sigurðardóttir (2010) writes that in teaching languages, games should be used as a method because students can become more energetic in the entire course. Games that involve activities which set goals, have clear rules, and bring fun can be important in English classroom even though there are still teachers who are not aware of them as a learning approach (Gozcu & Caganaga, 2016).
Even though games are meant to be exciting and relaxed, teachers still need to pay attention to certain stuff like making sure that every student has fun when they play the game, realising that not all games are suitable for certain students and/or the location (classroom), choosing a game that is not too difficult and/or too easy, and making sure that the details of the rules have been explained very well to the students (Sigurðardóttir, 2010). According to Bakhsh (2016) there are two things that should be considered in using games to teach vocabulary, “the first is grouping the students and the second is giving explanation and instruction about the game” (p. 123). Mubaslat (2012) states that unambiguous instructions and well-defined aims of the games are important, keep in mind that the game must be amusing as well. By using games in classroom, benefits may be received by both the students and the teacher who may also get the educational outcomes.
Hainey et al. (2013) claim that “playing a game becomes meaningful and supports learning when the relationships between actions and outcomes in a game are both discernible and integrated into the larger context of the game” (p. 476). A study done by Dewi et al. (2016) shows “that using communicative game as means of instruction improved the students’ achievement and results of speaking skill” (p. 69).
Bisson & Luckner (1996) declares that “when we are fully engaged in an experience, and having fun, we momentarily lose our social inhibitions” (p. 110). Five out of six studies that Randel et al. (1992) have done shows that “games can teach language arts effectively, particularly when specific objectives are targeted” (p. 269) and twelve out of fifteen studies shows that “simulations or games show greater retention over time than conventional classroom instruction” (p. 269)”
Games are very encouraging because they are entertaining and stimulating at the same time and it is essential in choosing what games must be used in the classroom so that they can match with what the students need and the learning style itself (Ersoz, 2011). Bisson & Luckner (1996) also believe that learners can turn a negativity into a positivity when they experience a fun moment.
In order to answer the questions of how often teachers use games in their classrooms, what kind of games they use, and how students react and learn vocabulary through charades, I will use a qualitative data by observing and doing interviews to teachers and students. Two teachers and three students will be the participants in this research.
For this research, I will gain the data from a private Catholic junior high school that is located in a Special Region of Yogyakarta, Panji Budi (henceforth PB) Junior High School. There are about 259 students in each level and 3 English teachers in the school. One of the teachers has been teaching there for more than thirteen years and the others just recently work there.
The data will be collected from two English teachers and three eighth grader students. One English teacher that will be picked will be the one who has a lot of experience in teaching and another will be a teacher that still has little experience in it. The students whom I will pick will be those whose English grades are high, average, and low. The reason why I select such participants is because I believe that each of them will be a representative to each of their level
A qualitative data will be used in this paper. Observations in class and interviews from all the participants will be conducted to gather the data. The teachers will be questioned on how often the use games in their classes and what kind of games they use and the students will be questioned on how they react and learn vocabulary through this game.
Below is the information of my seven-week plan for my research project. I need one week to prepare all the important things before I can start to conduct my research. I will spend four weeks in PB Junior High School to conduct the research and two weeks to collect all the data. The following table is the time plan and the actions I will do.
Table 1: Research Phases and Time Plan
b. Risks and Contingency Plan
In this research, I am sure there will be some problems that might occur. Those problems can be caused by the participants or any other people who are involved in this research. Table 2 below contains the risks that might happen later in the process of doing this research.
Table 2: Research Risks and Provision for Alternatives
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