USING LANGUAGE GAMES TO INCREASE MOTIVATION IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASS FOR GRADE 8 STUDENTS AT NGUYEN BINH KHIEM BOARDING SCHOOL

Abstract

The article presents findings of a recent study which investigated language games to increase motivation in English speaking class for grade 8 students at Nguyen Binh Khiem Boarding School. Language games were applied for 12 weeks during the English lessons of grade 8 class with 40 students. The survey questionnaires, class observation and interview were used to collect data for analysis. Results of the study showed that students’ motivation for learning speaking was much improved with the employment of frequent language games in the teaching and learning process. Most students found language games make speaking lessons more enjoyable and more fun. Especially, language games can help to create more chances and more talking time for students; thus, they felt more relaxed and enjoyable in learning speaking. Moreover, while their level of anxiety was lowered, their confidence was enhanced when language games were integrated in their class sessions.