The title of this research is “Effectiveness of snake and ladder game in learning simple past”. The English Language plays a vital role in the lives of many Malaysians. Malaysian government stresses on the use of English in schools to prepare our students to communicate and write well in English. In order to communicate and write effectively in English students need to have good foundation in grammar. Unfortunately, many students still make grammatical errors when they speak or write in English.This is because they did not give importance to grammar because they find it complicated and confusing. Usually, most of the English teachers approach grammar teaching very seriously, making the lesson dull and uninteresting.
So, the students easily felt bored during the grammar lesson. Students are lack of interest, confidence and motivation when the teachers use traditional method. One way to reinforce the interest of students in learning grammar is through the use of games. Oxford English Dictionary defines game as “an activity with rules in which people or teams compete against each other”.Students will get excited and when there is a competition among them.
They are challenging and highly motivating for the students. Games will make students to learn and understand the rules easily without making them confuse and complicated. Besides that, games can also remove the boredom of grammar. There are many games that we can apply during the grammar lesson. One of it is ‘snake and ladder’. Snake and ladder game is not only eagerly played by children.
Adults too captivated with the game. This game can be also used to teach grammar especially simple past.Most of the students are still not conscious about the structure and usage of the simple past. As a result, they tend to make errors in their sentences. Therefore, this study is aimed to investigate whether snake and ladder game is effective for students in learning simple past.
Research Questions This study will try to answer the following questions: 1. How effective is the use of snake and ladder game in enhancing students’ in learning simple past? 2. Does the use of snake and ladder game make the students to respond actively during the lesson? Research HypothesisThe research offers two hypotheses 1.
The use of snake and ladder game helps the students to learn simple past. 2. The use of snake and ladder game makes the students to respond actively during the lesson. Significance of the study This intended research aims to get the effectiveness of snake and ladder game in learning simple past. The outcome of this research will benefit the pupils who are learning grammar particularly in the use of simple past.
This is because many researchers claimed that games offer opportunities for interaction and increases cooperation and competition in the classroom.Pupils also engaged in problem solving and decision making. This study will also suggest some implications for teaching simple past through this game where the teachers can apply them in the teaching-learning process.
Thus, the researcher would like to say that teachers also benefit from this research. Literature Review According to Palmer and Rodgers (1999) games are competitive, they are rule- governed; they have definite goals; they have a definite point at which they finish and they engage and challenge the students.According to Haldfield (2002) “A game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun. Games should be regarded as an integral part of the language syllabus, not as an amusing activity for Friday afternoon or for the end of the term. ” “Games can be used at all stages of the progression from controlled to free practice, serving at one end of the range as a memory aid and repetition drill, at the other as a chance to used the language freely and as a means to an end rather than an end in itself.
They can also serve as a diagnostic tool for teacher, who can note areas of difficulty and take appropriate remedial action. ” Hansen (1999: 118) states, “Games are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy learners more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings. ” Arif Saricoban and Esen Metin (2000) said that “Games and problem-solving activities, which are task-based and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, are the examples of the most preferable communicative activities.
They go on to explain that grammar games help pupils not only to gain knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning. They also said that “the use of such activities increases both the cooperation and competition in the classroom. ” One can use games to add excitement through competition or games which create bonding among students and teacher.
Aydan Ersoz in his book entitled ‘Six games for the ESL/EFL Classroom’ outlined two good reasons why games should be included in the classroom. Those are: 1. Games that are amusing and challenging are highly motivating. 2.
Games allow meaningful use of the language in context. According to the website (www. teachingenglisggames. com), Games have the advantage of allowing the students to “practice and internalize vocabulary, grammar and structures extensively. ” They can do this through repeated exposure to the target grammar and because students are often more motivated to play games than they are to do deskwork. Plus, during the game, the students are focused on the activity and end up absorbing the grammar subconsciously.
Methodology The researcher plans to carry out the research at SMK Taman Desa.The purpose of carrying out this research at this school is for personal convenience. The researcher will begin the experiment on the 17th of January onwards.
Research Design Teacher will conduct pre-test and post test to determine the effectiveness of snake and ladder game in learning simple past. Then, questionnaires will be distributed to the targeted pupils at the end of the experiment to check the students’ reaction to the learning activities that they have experienced during this research. Instrument Pre- test and Post-test Firstly, a pre-test and post-test will be conducted.Two classes with the same proficiency and motivation level will be chosen. One class will be using the game and the other class will not be using the game during the lesson. The pre-test will be conducted before the students are exposed to the games while the post-test will be conducted after the games. These tests are to determine the effectiveness of snake and ladder game in learning simple past.
The teacher will compare the marks that the students gain in both classes in both tests in order to determine the effectiveness of this game.If the percentage of students who passes the test increases from the class that has used the game, this game will be considered as an effective approach. Questionnaires Another instrument involve in this research is questionnaire. The questions are related to this research. Students are asked to answer the questions after being exposed to learning grammar through snake and ladder game in the classroom.Bibliography Chitravelu, N. et.
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An Collection of Games and Activities for Low to Mid-Intermediate students of English. Intermediate Communication Games. Hong Kong: Thomus and Nelson and Nelson and Sons Ltd. Using games and Problem-Solving Activities.
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