Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair

The maxim goes: you can fetch the horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink. In the ESL classroom, teachers can provide all the necessary circumstances and input, but learning will only materialize if learners are motivated to share the responsibility for the outcome. In other words, motivat...

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Main Authors:	Jothee Mathai, Emily, Suchithra, Nair
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Universiti Teknologi MARA, Pulau Pinang & and Pusat Penerbitan Universiti (UPENA) 2005
Subjects:	Language Malaysia
Online Access:	http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/14788/ http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/14788/1/AJ_EMILY%20JOTHEE%20MATHAI%20ESTEEM%2005.pdf

id	uitm-14788
recordtype	eprints
spelling	uitm-147882016-09-30T07:28:17Z http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/14788/ Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair Jothee Mathai, Emily Suchithra, Nair Language Malaysia The maxim goes: you can fetch the horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink. In the ESL classroom, teachers can provide all the necessary circumstances and input, but learning will only materialize if learners are motivated to share the responsibility for the outcome. In other words, motivation is the prerequisite for learning. The fuller appreciation of the importance of motivation in language learning gives rise to a number of questions concerning the way in which content should be presented for learning. Numerous explorations in ESL methodology have suggested that motivating students through games sustain interests and encourage meaningful practice of language (Hansen, 1994). Within this context, this action research project explored the possibility of teaching vocabulary through games in two classes comprising learners enrolled in the Preparatory English Course (PEC) in Mara University of Technology with the primary aim of developing vocabulary knowledge in the direction of increasing reading proficiency. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, unstructured interviews and a questionnaire were used. As a means of measuring proficiency, learners' performance in a vocabulary test was analysed. Overall, the informal talks with the students revealed learners' increased awareness of new vocabulary without being aware they were learning and the conscious employment of vocabulary strategies. Correspondingly, students showed a significant improvement in motivation to carry out vocabulary related tasks. Implications of the findings for vocabulary development and reading skills enhancement in a language classroom were considered. Universiti Teknologi MARA, Pulau Pinang & and Pusat Penerbitan Universiti (UPENA) 2005 Article PeerReviewed text en http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/14788/1/AJ_EMILY%20JOTHEE%20MATHAI%20ESTEEM%2005.pdf Jothee Mathai, Emily and Suchithra, Nair (2005) Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair. Esteem Academic Journal, 2. pp. 95-112. ISSN 1675-7939
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Teknologi MARA
building	UiTM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	Language Malaysia
spellingShingle	Language Malaysia Jothee Mathai, Emily Suchithra, Nair Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair
description	The maxim goes: you can fetch the horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink. In the ESL classroom, teachers can provide all the necessary circumstances and input, but learning will only materialize if learners are motivated to share the responsibility for the outcome. In other words, motivation is the prerequisite for learning. The fuller appreciation of the importance of motivation in language learning gives rise to a number of questions concerning the way in which content should be presented for learning. Numerous explorations in ESL methodology have suggested that motivating students through games sustain interests and encourage meaningful practice of language (Hansen, 1994). Within this context, this action research project explored the possibility of teaching vocabulary through games in two classes comprising learners enrolled in the Preparatory English Course (PEC) in Mara University of Technology with the primary aim of developing vocabulary knowledge in the direction of increasing reading proficiency. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, unstructured interviews and a questionnaire were used. As a means of measuring proficiency, learners' performance in a vocabulary test was analysed. Overall, the informal talks with the students revealed learners' increased awareness of new vocabulary without being aware they were learning and the conscious employment of vocabulary strategies. Correspondingly, students showed a significant improvement in motivation to carry out vocabulary related tasks. Implications of the findings for vocabulary development and reading skills enhancement in a language classroom were considered.
format	Article
author	Jothee Mathai, Emily Suchithra, Nair
author_facet	Jothee Mathai, Emily Suchithra, Nair
author_sort	Jothee Mathai, Emily
title	Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair
title_short	Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair
title_full	Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair
title_fullStr	Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair
title_full_unstemmed	Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair
title_sort	motivating esl students using vocabulary enrichment games / emily jothee mathai and suchithra nair
publisher	Universiti Teknologi MARA, Pulau Pinang & and Pusat Penerbitan Universiti (UPENA)
publishDate	2005
url	http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/14788/ http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/14788/1/AJ_EMILY%20JOTHEE%20MATHAI%20ESTEEM%2005.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T22:52:24Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T22:52:24Z
_version_	1777417631420121088

Motivating ESL students using vocabulary enrichment games / Emily Jothee Mathai and Suchithra Nair

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