The effectiveness of using games as
supplementary activities in teaching grammar
for junior high school students at Wellspring
International Bilingual School: Action research

Nguyễn Hồng Nhung Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ
Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English Language Teaching Methodology
Mã số: 60 14 10
Người hướng dẫn: Dr. Ngo Huu Hoang
Năm bảo vệ: 2013 Keywords: Tiếng Anh; Phương pháp giảng dạy; Ngữ pháp; Trò chơi

Content
INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale:
In studying languages in general and studying English in particular, it can be said that
grammar is seemed to be difficult and boring for students. It is thought by students that English
grammar contains complex, difficult, and different rules. Besides, traditionally, many teachers
approach grammar teaching very seriously, making the lesson dull and uninteresting. Therefore,
students usually feel tired and boring in grammar lessons and then they are not motivated to
study. However, as one of language components, grammar is very necessary and nobody can
refuse the importance of learning this skill. According to William Somerset Maugham (The
Summing Up, 1938), “It is necessary to know grammar, and it is better to write grammatically
than not, but it is well to remember that grammar is common speech formulated.” “Grammar is
the structural foundation of our ability to express ourselves. The more we are aware of how it
works, the more we can monitor the meaning and effectiveness of the way we and others use

In conclusion, with all of the reasons stated above, the researcher would like to devote
her time and effort researching to her thesis: “The effectiveness of using games as supplementary
activities in teaching grammar for junior high school students at Wellspring International
Bilingual School – Action research”. From this, she expects to help her students motivate as well
as make progress in studying grammar.
2. Aims of the study:
The purpose of this research is to enhance junior high school students at Wellspring International
Bilingual School to study grammar, and then balance grammar learning with other skills learning
(Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing). The paper aims to recognize if using games as
supplementary activities increase the students’ motivation in studying grammar.
3. Research questions:
This paper is designed to find out the answers to the following questions:
RQ1: How much does the use of games improve junior high school students’ motivation in
grammar learning at Wellspring International Bilingual School?
RQ2: If so, by what ways does this new teaching method enhance their motivation in grammar
learning?
4. Scope of the study:
As being shown in these research questions above, this study was conducted at
Wellspring International Bilingual School located in Hanoi. This was implemented on fifteen
students of class 789A3. Before the treatment of this action research, they did not have
motivation in grammar lessons and their results also were not good. With the application of
games as supplementary activities in teaching grammar, the teacher – the researcher hoped to
create attractive and effective learning environment for her students so that they could feel
motivated and improve themselves.
5. Practical significance of the study:
This current action research tends to be institutional because it was carried out with a
small group of students in a specific context (only fifteen students in the class 789A3 at
Wellspring International Bilingual School). Thus, the researcher is aware that the results cannot
be easily generalized. She hoped that through the results of this action research, she could help
her own students increase their motivation in studying grammar to improve their learning. And

and analyses all the data to find out the answers to the two research questions, and then
gives out the summary from the findings.
Conclusion: summarizes all the major points in the study, reveals the limitations of the study
and proposes some suggestions for further studies.

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