4.

0 FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this action research is to determine the implication of the

UNOPOLY game on Year 5 pupils’ learning of the simple past tense. The
relationship between the findings with the research questions are shown and
exemplified in this section.

Question 1: Can the UNOPOLY game help to improve Year 5 pupils’

understanding of the simple past tense?

In accordance with the data gathered via the methods of reflective journals and
survey, I can distinguish that from the abundant data available, the research
participants gained deeper understanding in the concept of the simple past
tense after the implementation of the UNOPOLY game.

Findings from the survey indicate that prior to the implementation of the
designated intervention almost all research participants scored below the par
of mediocre performance. The calculation of ‘mean’ in the results of the pre-
intervention test expressed that the average score from the overall results of
the test is 4.3 which is five times lower than the maximum marks, a chidingly
poor score for a test with 25 questions. The ‘mode’ of the results is the same
value as the minimum score, which is 0. However, results from the post-
intervention test negate those poor performances when a ‘mean’ of 21 marks
out of 25 marks and a ‘mode’ of 22 and 23 marks is obtained by the research
participants, an evidence of a strikingly better performance after the
implementation of the designated intervention. This concludes the fact that
after a series of exposures to the turtle nesting simulation game, all of the
participants had prevailed by soaring above the average score and closer in
proximity with the maximum score with none touching the ‘average score line’
like they did prior to the implementation of the intervention.

From the percentages of increase in performance calculated in the analysis

section, the turtle nesting intervention boosted the overall research
participants’ performance by 66.8%. This percentage is sublimely abundant,
considering that it has boosted more than half of all of the research
participants’ performance before the intervention. The aforementioned
intervention had enhanced the participants’ performance on an average
percentage of 80%, with reference to the ‘mode’ of the percentages of increase
in performance which is also the same value as the highest percentage of
increase in the test. This denotes that the intervention is able to push more
research participants to perform 80% better than they did with a normal method
of learning prior to the implementation of the intervention. From the increase
of performance, one can denote that the intervention had indeed made the
participants understand the concept of present continuous tense better.

Finding from the observation checklists of ‘Intervention 1’, ‘Intervention 2’ and

‘Intervention 3’ showed that as the session progressed, the research
participants’ performance progressed too. Noting that during the first session
the participants are stuck in the first two items but in the second session the
complications with the items slowly diminished and in the third session the
majority of the participants no longer had major problems in fabricating a
sentence of present continuous tense using the technique of the intervention.
From the observation notes in the second and third session, the participants
had also gained more motivation and confidence in learning the grammar item
as opposed to the comments made in the remarks section in ‘Intervention 1’.
This denotes that the research participants had indeed gained more
comprehension pertaining to the concept of the present continuous tense and
it shows when they displayed confidence in learning the present continuous
tense at the final session of the intervention.

The researcher’s reflective journals noted that the intervention attracted the
participants’ interest to be more focused in grasping the concept of the
grammar item, which resulted in eagerness to participate in the intervention
even when they used supplementary tries due to lack of basic understanding
of the aforementioned grammar item prior to the intervention. As the second
session progressed, the participants are more prepared due to previous
exposure to the intervention and their performance in commencing each task
progressed too. The third session witnesses the research participants’ ability
to accomplish most of the items, signifying that eventually, they are able to
fabricate a wholly complete sentence using the present continuous tense. This
ability achieved by the research participants can be measured as one of the
evidence that the intervention indeed serves as a comprehensive medium for
them to understand the concept of present continuous tense. From the
abundant findings presented above, I could denote that the technique of turtle
nesting simulation game had partaken a significant role aiding the research
participants in understanding the present continuous tense.

Question 2: How does the UNOPOLY game help in teaching the simple
past tense among Year 5 pupils?

The data gathered from the reflective journals and semi-structured interview
will answer this research question. In the previous section, the findings from
the reflective journals and survey data analysis indicated that the UNOPOLY
game helped Year 5 pupils to improve their learning of the simple past tense.
In this section, the qualitative data will support the findings and provide some
insight into how does the UNOPOLY game help in teaching the simple past
tense among Year 5 pupils.

The use of the UNOPOLY game helped the pupils to participate actively with
their peers during the lesson. This is because the pupil-centred lesson is one
of the element that need to be applied by the teachers during teaching and
learning to inculcate the 21st century learning in the classroom. This can be
seen from the extract of RJ 2 where I have stated that “…the pupils
communicate well with their peers…” Moreover, the statement “…they can
help each other when some of them confused…” (RJ 1), this shows that the
pupils give full attention when playing the game and helped their peers that
are in need of help. Thus, the UNOPOLY game encourages the pupils’
participation which leads them to understand the rules of the simple past tense
better.

Findings from the reflective journal showed that the use of the UNOPOLY
game arouses the pupils’ interest in learning the simple past tense. From the
reflective journal, I wrote that “…they were smiling and talked a lot when they
played it” (RJ 1) and this can also be seen during the semi-structured interview
where the teacher said that “So I can see that some pupils that are not talking
much during class also enjoyed the game. I observe that some of the group
also asked you to play one more round right?” The words like ‘smiling’ and
‘excited’ indicate that the pupils really enjoyed the game. From this, I can
clearly see that the pupils love the game and it also help them to understand
and remember the rules of the simple past tense better, compared to the
traditional method.

Additionally, the finding above is in line with the statement by Andrea Bennet
(2011) where she stated that games played a major role in achieving
meaningful learning where most productive and motivating learning
experiences are taking place. It had been said that games can create a
meaningful learning that can motivates the pupils to learn better and stay focus
during the lesson. Thus the pupils will drive to learn when they are intrinsically
motivated. The enjoyment among pupils can enhance pupils’ motivation thus
improving their ability to learn the simple past tense.