Using U-NO-ME card game to enhance primary one pupils’ vocabulary

Abstract

It has been taxing for most English teachers to conduct proper English lessons since their pupils know minimal English vocabulary. Experiencing meaningful learning to understand the lesson content is more challenging when there is a limited chance to fully integrate ICT into English lessons, especially in rural schools in Sarawak. Therefore, this study aimed to unveil the U-NO-ME card game's potential as an educational game in enhancing Primary One pupils' vocabulary acquisition. The research design employed in this study is quasi-experimental. The two types of data collection instruments used were pre- and post-test and a Likert-scale questionnaire. A total of fifty-two (52) Primary One pupils from four different schools of four different districts in Sarawak were selected through purposive sampling. The vocabulary adopted into the card game was aligned with the current CEFR-based curriculum as designed in the Supermind textbook of Primary One and Primary Two's pupils in Malaysia. There is a significant improvement in pupils' vocabulary acquisition based on the scores between the pre- and post-test. Results from the questionnaire implied that pupils had positive perceptions of U-NO-ME card game as it enhanced pupils' memory retention and encouraged their learning motivation. Moreover, this study provides an insight for English teachers to discover the use of educational games in creating more interesting, useful, and meaningful teaching and learning vocabulary lessons.