Using Games to Develop English Vocabulary: A Case Study of the Intermediate School Students in Najran
Introduction
Over the past centuries, there have been criticisms on the use of games to teach, and this was greatly based on the proposition that the nature of learning was very consequential. However, the importance of adopting the use of games in teaching was recognized in the seventeenth century.
Agreeably, as an appropriate tool in the teaching and learning process, the use of games in learning languages has aroused interest among learners. Adopting the rhythm and sounds of foreign languages requires teachers to deploy effective use of games as they teach, specifically to beginners.
This quantitative study examines the differences between using games and traditional activities in English language vocabulary acquisition in the third grade of intermediate school students.
Literature Review
Various scholars have defined the word “game” in different ways depending on the context of the discussion. According to Ibrahim (2017), a game refers to any competitive activity played with the objective of winning by observing the principles that govern it. From this definition, competition and rules are some of the main factors that form the composition of language games.
Notably, for the rules to be appropriate with regard to learners’ backgrounds, they must be precise, well defined, and modeled in a manner that will motivate the learners to achieve positive results. It is important to note that the confidence of learning any foreign language is more developed when games are adopted to teach and learn the language.
Moreover, in the process of learning a foreign language, the learners always embrace the spirit of completion as a key element of a game.
The learning environment, language classroom, and related contexts beyond provide a range of incentives for effective knowledge acquisition to occur. Games and traditional teaching activities are the two major approaches to teaching a second language to learners (Eskildsen and Theodórsdóttir,(2017)).
Games are interactive activities, based on social learning theories to improve the quality of learning and teaching outcomes. Through games, learners engage in activities that allow them to use the second language practically.
Conversely, traditional teaching activities are passive and involve the novel setting of the classroom with teachers as the source of information and learners as the receipts (Eskildsen and Theodórsdóttir,(2017)).
The main purpose of competition among the learners is to make the learning process more interesting and entertaining. Arguably, keeping learners’ attention to be active for a longer time when learning a foreign language has always been a challenge (Hashemi(2021)).
This is because they need to recall the new expressions and words they are interacting with for the first time. Furthermore, to create a better relationship with the foreign language to be learned, the teacher needs to incorporate the language game in the teaching process.
This will enable the learners to repeatedly practice the part of the game desirable for them, thus, reinforcing the new vocabularies that are already learned. Similarly, teachers normally use games to teach a new language for various reasons.
According to Yaccob, Nur and Melor (2019), teachers incorporate the use of games in teaching other languages for two main reasons: the creation of a supportive learning environment and interaction among the learners.
Also, the use of games in learning languages has helped develop linguistic and communication skills and improve learning motivation as learning anxiety decreases (Shukurova (2021)).
However, little research is available to verify the effectiveness of the two methods of activities in vocabulary skills. The current study will help English language teachers to find out a better method in teaching English vocabulary and seeks to bridge the knowledge gap by examining and comparing the outcome of the two approaches on learners.
Research Questions
Does the use of language games in vocabulary acquisition have positive impacts on teaching English as a foreign language?
Do L2 learners show more interest in the use of games as learning activities than traditional activities?