A Study of the Effectiveness of Using Language Games in Teaching Vocabulary in Secondary School

Abstract

Teaching students to understand the English language vocabulary is important and can be quite challenging. Students are not eager to learn English vocabulary due to its complexity and would perceive vocabulary lessons as dull and unexciting. To inject the element of play and learning into a vocabulary class, this study investigated the effectiveness of using language games in teaching vocabulary in a secondary school in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. Language games were chosen as they could expose students to more fun and interactive way of learning vocabulary as the element of fun in a learning environment would be appealing to students regardless of their varying learning styles and language proficiency. This study was conducted in a government secondary school in Shah Alam, Malaysia involving 33 Form 1 ESL students from a mixed proficiency class where data was collected quantitatively using pre-/post-test questions, and open/close-ended questionnaires. Results from the pre- and post-tests significantly showed that language games in English lessons specifically focusing on vocabulary acquisition helped to increase the students’ motivation to learn vocabulary while improving their ability to memorize the new words learned. The findings highlighted the use of language games was effective during lessons as the games attracted them to the learning process and simultaneously heightened their interest to learn the target language.