An Evaluation of using Games in Teaching English Grammar for First Year English-Majored Students at Dong Nai Technology University

Abstract

English is taught as a compulsory subject from primary schools to universities in Vietnam. When learning English, students need to learn grammar. Grammar, as an integral part of a language, plays a crucial role in the language learning process. Without some knowledge of grammar, it would be impossible to have language comprehension as well as language production. The lack of grammar knowledge affects all the four language skills. That’s why grammar learning is an important and indispensable part of any language learning process. Actually, there are a considerable number of studies examining how to use games in teaching grammar in many contexts. However, a few articles address how effective games are in grammar instruction. Therefore, the current paper aims to fill the gap by analyzing the application of games in teaching grammar for English majored freshmen at Dong Nai Technology University. A mixture of both quantitative and qualitative methods was applied in the paper. The finding indicates both advantages and disadvantages as teaching grammar through games for teachers and students. Therefore, game application is advised to be adopted by English teachers.  It also proves students’ attitude positively toward grammar lessons.