The Effects of Using Games on EFL Students’ Speaking Performances

Pham Vu Phi Ho,Nguyen Thi My An,Nguyen Ngoc Hoang Vy,Nguyen Minh Thien

doi:10.5539/ijel.v10n1p183

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of employing games on students&rsquo; speaking performances in the classroom. 74 non-English major students, 36 students from the Tourism and Travel Management and 38 from the Office Management major from Tra Vinh University, participated in the study. The control group was trained with the methods of P-P-P (presentation, practice, and production) while the experimental group was trained with the same process but using selective games in the learning processes. Data collection was from the pre- vs. post-tests, questionnaire and interviews for analysis. The findings revealed that using games in the speaking classrooms, the students were motivated in the learning process and their speaking skills improve remarkably. The current study suggested teachers in the research context to apply gaming activities as an effective method to improve students&rsquo; participation in the learning processes.

Highlights

Teaching and learning English have been becoming extremely popular in Vietnam today
The control group was trained with the methods of P-P-P while the experimental group was trained with the same process but using selective games in the learning processes
The findings revealed that using games in the speaking classrooms, the students were motivated in the learning process and their speaking skills improve remarkably

Summary

Introduction

Teaching and learning English have been becoming extremely popular in Vietnam today. learning how to improve the speaking performance of EFL students is a problem for many learners of English, especially for non-English majors. Some students were good at English grammar, but their speaking abilities were not as expected. They are often too shy to even attempt to strike up a conversation. According to Pham and Nguyen (2019), teaching and learning speaking skills have not been primarily concerned by the teachers in Vietnam. The teachers favored their grammatical teaching to help their students gain high scores at schools. There still exist many difficulties in learning English in general and at Tra Vinh University in particular These are some problems in teaching and learning speaking in classes.

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion