The effect of Game-based learning in teaching

vocabulary for primary ESL students in Bahrain

Research Question
What do teachers think about the impact of using games
on the vocabulary learning of primary ESLs in Bahrain

Hypothesis Objective
Primary teachers in Bahrain are aware of Our goal is to show to what extent using
the positive effect of using games on games in teaching vocabulary is
students' vocabulary learning. effective in the Bahraini context

key concepts
Game-based Learning

Retention Vocabulary
“The borrowing of certain
It is the student’s ability
gaming principles and All the words in a
to recall or remember
applying them to real-life particular language.
newly learned words
settings to engage users.”
(Trybus 2015, as cited in
Pho and Dinscore, 2015)
after some time.

Themes
Effectiveness of games Retention
Motivation
Four studies investigated the effect Three studies conducted in
A total of four studies
of using games on students’ different countries around the
concluded that using
vocabulary learning
games highly motivates world clearly mentioned that
(Tunchalearnpanih, 2012; Tuan,
students to learn using games in vocabulary
2012; Taheri, 2014; Aslanabadi &
Rasouli, 2013; and Dolati & Mikaili,
vocabulary learning enhances the
2011). All of the former studies (Tunchalearnpanih, 2012; students’ words retention
reached a conclusion that games Bakhsh, 2016; Aslanabadi abilities (Tunchalearnpanih,
positively impact students’ & Rasouli, 2013; and Dolati 2012; Tuan, 2012; and Taheri,
vocabulary learning. &Mikaili, 2011)
2014).

Research method Methodology

Why did we use it?
Instrument
Quantitative less time-consuming
collecting data is easier
Questionnaire
 The results

• The majority of the teachers rated their vocabulary teaching experience as difficult.

The most challenging English language vocabulary skill to teach to primary school students in Bahrain
is understanding the common words in context, and the easiest skill is is the pronunciation of new words.

Twenty-nine teachers strongly agreed that using games to teach vocabulary motivates the students
to learn. Only three agree, and the rest do not.

The majority strongly agreed that using games to teach vocabulary helps them remember the
words, whereas eight teachers agreed upon that, and only two teachers disagreed.

There is no difference There is a difference

Cycle one students need:

- More time and effort.

- Simplified games.

When teaching vocabulary for primary students, most English teachers mostly use online games to teach
teachers stated that there is a difference in the vocabulary to primary school students in Bahrain.

challenges between teaching cycles one and two students.

Discussion
Our research aims to find an answer for the following question: “What do teachers think about the
impact of using games on the vocabulary learning of primary ESLs in Bahrain?” We found out that the
majority of teachers believe that there is an evident positive effect of using games while teaching
vocabulary, for it contributes to increasing students’ motivation and developing words retention. We
reached an answer to our question through the data gained from the teacher’s questionnaires we created.

the results' categories

nd

co
Se
The The different
complexity of challenges in Recommended
vocabulary cycle one and games
cycle two
skills
students

The implication of the study

Any English teacher who reads this research will benefit from it to understand the positive impact of games in teaching
vocabulary and will be encouraged to use this trend. Also, teachers will get ideas of effective games mentioned by
experienced teachers for teaching Arabic-speaking students. Teachers can implement the recommended games in their
classrooms and modify them based on their students’ needs; it is all about adoption and adaptation.

Conclusion Recommendations
Based on the studies we investigated and the 1- Meet every three months with teachers
questionnaire we have conducted, our from different schools to share experiences
hypothesis was confirmed. The findings we and the latest games you have used.

obtained revealed that teachers are fully 2-Stay informed about the latest games and
aware of the benefits of using games to articles in the field by constantly reading
motivate students and enhance their and searching online.
vocabulary retention.

Future directions
1- Use 3-4 specific games and observe their efficiency in teaching vocabulary to
different students.
2- Conduct an experiment with two groups of students. Teach vocabulary by using
games for the first group and not using games for the second group. Compare the
performances of the two groups.
3- Determine whether traditional and online games differ in their impact on students'
performance when teaching vocabulary.

Maryam Hasan, Walaa hamza , Sumaya A.Aziz, fatima abbas, Amani mahmood
section 6