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Using games to learn vocabulary in Arabic as a foreign language classroom: A study of teacher and student beliefs
Vocabulary has been always neglected in most of foreign language classrooms. Many strategies, techniques and activities were suggested to make vocabulary acquisition easier and sustained. Games are one of these tools offered to help in learning and teaching vocabulary. Since beliefs are the core of...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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AUC Knowledge Fountain
2015
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| Summary: | Vocabulary has been always neglected in most of foreign language classrooms. Many strategies, techniques and activities were suggested to make vocabulary acquisition easier and sustained. Games are one of these tools offered to help in learning and teaching vocabulary. Since beliefs are the core of every discipline that deals with learning and behavior. It is important to understand what teachers and students think of games, in other words what are their beliefs towards games. This study explored student and teacher beliefs about using games in learning vocabulary in the Arabic as a Foreign Language classroom. The study aimed to answer three research questions. The first investigated students’ beliefs towards the use of games in learning vocabulary in the AFL classroom. The second explored teachers’ beliefs towards the use of games in teaching vocabulary in the AFL classroom. And the third aimed at detecting any variations between students’ and teachers’ beliefs. The study adopted a mixed-methods applied design. The research involved 97 participants; 88 students from different disciplines learning Arabic and 9 teachers teaching Arabic in the 2015 spring semester at University of California, Berkeley. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through their responses to a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, close-ended questions, and open-ended questions. Results of this study showed that students and teachers share many general beliefs about using games in learning vocabulary. However, student and teacher beliefs also differed at times. The study discusses the importance of addressing the mismatch of student and teacher beliefs about this pedagogical practice. The research also suggests that there may be a gap between beliefs and actual practice. Findings and pedagogical implications are discussed. |
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