Using Games in Teaching English to Young Learners Lin Hong zhangyllh [at] hotmail.com Guangdong Foreign Language Normal School (Guangdong, China)
I. How to Choose a Game Students may wish to play games purely for f or fun. Teachers, however, need more convincing reasons. 'Teachers need to consider which games to use, when to use them, how to link them up with the syllabus, textbook or programme and how, more specifically, different games will benefit students in i n different ways (Khan, J.1996).' The key to a successful language game is that the rules are clear, the ultimate goal is well defined and the game must be fun. Below are some questions which we might consider as we choose a game:
Which language does the game target? Which skills does it practice? The language skill focus could be any one of the major skills of listening, speaking, reading or writing. What type of game is it? What's the purpose for using it? Does it fit the students? How could I simplify or make it more complex if necessary? Many games require modification in use when the students' need are taken into consideration. How much interaction and participation is there? Maximum involvement is something we are pursuing. Do I like the game myself?
II. Hints and Suggestions
When giving instructions to beginners, a few words in the mother tongue would be the quickest way to make everything clear. More English exposure is needed at a later stage. Games are best set up by demonstration rather than by lengthy explanation. It is very important not to play pl ay a game for too long. Students will begin to lose interest. It is best to stop a game at its peak.
III. The "Magic Matchbox" Game This is a guessing game played by teams to practice numbers. Exponent: Exponent: How many? There are… Additional benefits: genuine communication; hidden drilling; teamwork Language needed: numbers 1 to 11 Time: 10 to 15 minutes Material: 1 matchbox; 11 toothpicks per person Preparation The teacher challenges the students to count the 11 toothpicks in his/her hand. To model the game, the teacher then puts some into the matchbox, shakes it and asks the students to guess how many are inside.
The teacher explains how to play the game in the students native language if necessary. The teacher divides the class into two teams, giving each team an English name, eg. the Roosters and the Monkeys. Then the teacher write the the team names on the board for scoring during the game. If the class has a large number of students, this is one way to get smaller teams. Choose 10 players from each team by chanting together a 'choosing rhyme' such as the following: One, two, three, four, O-U-T, OUT! (The student chosen is the one you are pointing at on the word OUT!) Each player secretly puts no more than 11 toothpicks into his/her matchbox. During the Game The first player from the Roosters stands up, shakes the matchbox in his/her hand. His/her team members shout together 'How many?.' m any?.' The Monkeys then give the answer by replying 'There are…'. If the guess is the correct number, the Monkeys wins a point. If not, the Roosters get the point. Then switch roles. This time the Monkeys ask and the Roosters guess. The game continues until all the players get a turn. The teacher keeps a record of the points on the board. The team with the most points wins.
Reference
Khan, J. 1996 'Using games in teaching English to young learners' in (eds)Brumfit, C, Teaching Teaching English to Children. From Practice to Principle England: Principle England: Longman The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 8, August 2002 http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Lin-UsingGames.html
http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Lin-UsingGames.html
Teaching Adult Adul t ESL Learners Le arners Yi Yang
[email protected] Massachusetts Department of Education (Massachusetts, USA) This is an article about the author's experience teaching a class of immigrants i mmigrants to the United States of America and a description of some of the techniques the author used.
Introduction
According to the U.S. Census data, of the 26.4 million immigrants in the U.S., almost 80 percent are adults (Starr, 2001). Consequently, English as a Second Language (ESL) has become the fastest growing segment in federally funded adult education programs (Pugsley, 1998). Many of the adult ESL learners do not have much schooling in their home country, and therefore, ther efore, lack appropriate study skills important for academic success. In addition, they tend to face tremendous financial distress and family responsibilities that oftentimes prevent p revent them from concentrating on their studies. Teaching them can be a significant challenge for the teacher and curriculum developer.
The Class All the students had immigrated into the U.S. as adults and their highest educational attainment was high school. All had completed basic and intermediate ESL courses at a government-sponsored program. This course aimed to teach job-related job -related skills as well as other essential everyday life skills. The following are some strategies that I found to be effective in teaching adult ESL learners.
Listen to Students' Needs Educators have long acknowledged the power of learners' voices in improving teaching and learning (Fullan and Stiegelbauer, 1991). Since I had never taught this type of students before, I deemed it necessary to learn about their needs and preferences. I designed a simple questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part was about course content, where I asked the specific skills students wished to learn, for example, talking to a doctor, getting along with colleagues & supervisors, filling out job applications, etc. The second part was concerned with teaching approaches, which explored students' opinions on some traditional Chinese as well as contemporary Western teaching methods such as reading aloud after the t he teacher, detailed grammar analysis, using some Chinese in the classroom, pair work and group work, etc. For both parts, I left ample spaces for students to add more of their opinions. During the first class, I administered the questionnaire to students and their answers provided good guideline for my plans for the course content and classroom pedagogy.
Set Higher Expectations with Individual Support These students all had families to support and were all holding blue-collar jobs such as waitress, cashier, and cook. Their previous teachers seldom assigned them any homework, due to the non-credit, voluntary nature of the course and the demanding lifestyle of the students. However, I believe that language acquisition for adults does not happen naturally and effortlessly. Although all the students had lived in the U.S.
for over seven years, I assessed their English proficiency to be still at the basic level based on our oral interactions and their written responses to my questionnaire. I decided it was time to give them some pressure and help them to achieve some breakthrough. I announced during the second class that while I understood their busy schedules, I considered it was likely that everyone could squeeze in 15 minutes a day to study. I assigned homework for every class, and checked it at the beginning of next class. I found most students were willing, or even happy, to be pushed to learn. They had great motivation to improve their English, as they yearned for a better life in the U.S. Of course, parallel to the higher expectations should be sufficient guidance and support. I arrived at school half an hour before every class to answer students' individual questions. I also encouraged them to approach me during the t he break or after class. When returning their homework assignments, I made sure to explain to the students in person about their individual problems and difficulties.
Teach Study Skills While these students were eager to learn, they complained of not knowing how to learn. For example, they said they tried to watch TV or listen to the radio, but found literally no improvements after some time. I think good study skills will help them to learn more effectively. Therefore, during the second class, I introduced to them some self-learning strategies, derived from my own experiences as an ESL learner, teacher, and researcher. These include:
First, read aloud from a text slowly, preferably repeating after a recording. Reading aloud slowly forces the learner to pronounce every sound clearly, and thus develops the flexibility of the speech organs. Reading after a recording helps the learner to imitate correct pronunciation. In my previous ESL research, many Chinese learners said reading a text aloud repeatedly until they could memorize the text enabled them to develop a sense about the natural flow of the language and made many language structures handy for use in speaking or writing. Second, find materials conforming to the students' English level. Language input far beyond the learner's level (e.g., original movies, TV and radio programs) will result in no comprehension, comprehension, and therefore, no persistence by the learner. Students should make good use of the textbooks used in their ESL courses, instead of throwing them away after finishing the course. In addition, they can find abundant ESL resources of various levels in the public library. Third, keep an English diary, which is i s a persistent, economical way of practicing in English. I told the students that I started to write English diaries after having taken English for just one semester in sixth grade in China. At that time, I had only learned some basic grammatical structures and had a very small vocabulary. In my diary, I had to use many Chinese expressions to substitute for the unknown English words, but I made a conscious effort to use words and structures newly learned in class. In a few years, I was able to write very long pieces exclusively in English. More important, I could think directly in English;
therefore, writing much faster and more naturally than my classmates who seldom wrote. Students seemed to be fascinated by these study strategies, which they said they would like to try tr y themselves and even introduce to their children.
Promote Whole Language Development In the questionnaire as well as our informal conversations, students expressed the strong desire to improve every aspect of English proficiency, including listening, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar. These needs conform to the growing movement toward whole language instruction in second language education, which refers to "the simultaneous, integrated teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing within a meaningful m eaningful context" (Acuna-Reyes, 1993, p. 25). I believe that developing the four language arts skills simultaneously is not only an ideal goal of ESL teaching, but also an effective means. Listening and reading are indispensable for inputting language information. But these are passive processes. If learners can actually use the language in their own speaking and/or writing, they will need to actively process the information and thus reinforce and activate the language input. The concurrent visual and auditory stimulations make retaining information more effective and efficient. The textbook we chose was excellent in incorporating academic and work skills with the four language arts skills. Each unit consists of an ice-breaking conservation that draws upon the students' prior experience, a dictation that summarizes the central topic and integrates the grammar focus of the unit, a passage taken from an authentic newspaper, vocabulary and grammar exercises, and a writing task. Of course, I did experience some resistance at the very beginning. First, these students seemed very shy, and despite my repeated encouragement, they did not actively talk to each other in class. Many language teachers have observed such passivity and shyness in their Asian students (Scovel, 1983; Yen, 1987). My solution was to "force" them to leave their seats and stand in the open space of the classroom. I then paired them up, myself being one of the participants. I found the classroom immediately became noisy, and students seemed very happy to stretch their legs and talk to each other face to face. Another problem I found at the beginning of the course was that almost every student brought with them an electronic dictionary. When W hen they read the articles in class, they liked to look up every word in the dictionary, thus reading very slowly. I was not annoyed by the beeping sounds from the little machines, but I concurred with some ESL researchers that such word-for-word reading r eading not only lowers learners' reading fluency, but also interferes with their t heir understanding of the main ideas (Fan, 1991). Asking them to put the dictionary away did not work, as they seemed to feel very insecure without knowing the meaning of every word. Therefore, I decided to assign them a time limit (15-20 minutes), followed fol lowed by a group discussion of the questions I raised on the chalkboard. I did not simply ask the main idea of each paragraph or the whole passage. Instead, I asked them to summarize the useful suggestions in the text as related to real-life skills (e.g., do's and don'ts for a
job interview, effective ways in making small talk) with simple bullet points. I required each group to list at least one point on the chalkboard. Students found these tips extremely concise and practical. As soon as they realized that they could make good use of the text without knowing every word, they relied less on the dictionary and achieved noticeable improvements in reading speed and summary skills.
Summary During the course, I found students not only improved their language proficiency, but also became more conscientious about their study. Most students could finish f inish homework on time; many of them arrived earlier before class to let me comment on their diaries; several developed the habit of rewriting to address their grammar problems. At the end of the course, most students said this was the most useful ESL course they had ever taken. This class was effective in addressing students' needs, setting higher expectations, providing individual support, introducing study skills, and promoting integrated language proficiency.
References
Acuna-Reyes, R. (1993). Communicative competence and whole language instruction in the foreign language secondary school classroom. In A. Carrasquillo & C. Hedley (Eds.), Whole W hole language and the bilingual learner (pp. 20-34). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Company. Fan, X. L. (1991). Using the process approach to reading in an EFL class. Journal of Reading, 34 (8), 624-627. Fullan, M. G. & Stiegelbauer, S. (1991). The new meaning of educational change. New York: Teachers College Press. Pugsley, R. S. (1998). Research agenda for adult ESL. Center for Applied Linguistics. Linguistics.http://www.cal.org/ncle/agenda/fore.html. Scovel, J. (1983). English teaching in China: A historical perspective. Language Learning and Communication, 2 (1), 105-109. Starr, L., (2001). ESL lessons for adult students. Education World. http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech074.shtml. Yen, R. T. (1987). Foreign language teaching in China: Problems and perspectives. Canadian and International Education, 16 (1), 48-61. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XI, No. 3, March 2005 http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Yang-AdultLearners.html
Using Games to Promote Communicative Skills in Language Learning
Chen, I-Jung ijchentw [at] ms74.hinet.net ms74.hinet.net Takming College, (Taipei, Taiwan) This article considers the reasons why games serve as excellent communicative activities. The use of games can be a powerful language learning tool. On the surface, the aim of all language games is for students to "use the language"; however, during game g ame play learners also use the target language l anguage to persuade and negotiate their way to desired results. This process involves the productive and receptive skills simultaneously. In this article the author also shares her experience of some interesting games and their application in the language classroom.
Introduction In recent years language researchers and practitioners have shifted their focus from developing individual linguistic skills to the use of language to achieve the speaker's objectives. This new area of focus, f ocus, known as communicative competence, competence, leads language teachers to seek task-oriented activities that engage their students in creative language use. Games, which are task-based and have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, serve as excellent communicative activities (Saricoban & Metin 2000). On the surface, the aim of all language games is for students to "use the language"; however, during game play learners also use the target language to persuade and negotiate their way to desired results. This process involves the productive and receptive skills simultaneously. Games offer students a fun-filled and relaxing learning atmosphere. atmosphere. After learning and practicing new vocabulary, vocabulary, students have the t he opportunity to use language in a non-stressful way (Uberman 1998). While playing games, the learners' attention is on the message, not on the language. Rather than pay attention to the correctness of linguistic forms, most participants will do all they can to win. This eases the fear of negative evaluation, the concern of being negatively judged in public, and which is one of the main factors inhibiting language learners from using the target language in front of other people (Horwitz, (Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope 1986). In a game-oriented context, anxiety is reduced and speech fluency is generated--thus communicative competence is achieved. Games are also motivating. Games introduce an element of competition into languagebuilding activities. This provides valuable impetus to a purposeful use of language (Prasad 2003). In other words, these t hese activities create a meaningful context for language use. The competitive ambiance also makes learners concentrate and think intensively during the learning process, which enhances unconscious acquisition of inputs. Most students who have experienced game-oriented activities activities hold positive attitudes towards them (Uberman ( Uberman 1998). An action research conducted by Huyen and Nga (2003), students said that they liked the relaxed atmosphere, the competitiveness, and the motivation that games brought to the classroom. On the effectiveness of games, teachers t eachers in Huyen & Nga's (2003)reported that action research reported that their students seem to learn more quickly and retain the learned materials better in a stress-free and comfortable environment. environment. The benefits of using games in language-learning can be summed up in nine points. Games....
are learner centered. promote communicative competence. create a meaningful context for language use. increase learning motivation. reduce learning anxiety. integrate various linguistic skills. encourage creative and spontaneous use of language. language. construct a cooperative learning environment. foster participatory attitudes of the students.
Some Fun Games Based on the advantages discussed above, English teachers in our school designed a school-wide English competition to help students experience the fun and usefulness of English. Here I would like to share with other teachers the games we played and some observations I have made. Our competition involved major five tasks. Students broke into teams of five members. m embers. The team that finished first was the champion. To further complicate the game, each task station was hidden in different locations all over campus. Participants only obtained directions to the next station after completing the present task. This not only offered students a chance to use their map-reading and problem-solving problem-solving skills, but it also added a dynamic atmosphere to the competition. The participants were college freshmen at lower-intermediate lower-intermediate language level (about 18 years old). The tasks are described as follow:
I. Mysterious Landmarks 1. Competitors assemble a 20-piece jigsaw puzzle of a world famous landmark (such as the Eiffel Tower, Mt. Fuji the Great Wall, W all, etc). 2. Then they describe describe puzzle puzzle image in five sentences sentences to complete complete the task. task. This game encourages students' productive skills and elicits their speech fluency. Crossculture concepts are also addressed. The number, the length, and the patterns of sentence can vary depending on the students' st udents' language ability ability and linguistic points the instructor would like to reinforce.
II. What's the Number? f our basic operations (addition, subtraction, division and 1. Participants use the four multiplication) to compute a simple mathematical equation provided orally by the instructor. 2. They call out the correct answer as soon as possible. This game addresses students' listening skills and tests their understanding of numbers, which is often an important part of language teaching materials.
III. Story Time 1. Participants pick and listen to a tape randomly selected from a provided stack of tapes (the recording contains a spoken excerpt of a well-known children's children's story, such as the Snow White, the Ginger Bread Man, etc). 2. After listening listening to the entire entire excerpt, competitors competitors correctly correctly identify the title of the story from a provided list. The recorded stories are all classical bedtime stories for young children and have been translated into most of the major languages worldwide. Students should be familiar with those stories. This game focuses on gist-listening skills. Students only need to catch the key terms to figure out what the story is.
IV. Art Master 1. The instructor describes a picture orally. 2. Competitors simultaneously simultaneously recreate the picture on a sheet of paper, paper, correctly including named objects in accurate positions. This game reinforces the use of prepositions, such as to the right of, to the t he left of, in the middle of, or under, etc. It also reinforces the vocabulary of concrete objects students have already learned before. The complexity of the picture will depend on the level of the t he students.
V. What's Cooking? 1. Participants read a recipe and make the dish. 2. The amount of of ingredients ingredients and assembly assembly process process must follow exactly the instructions laid out in the recipe. 3. The participants participants eat the dish they have have prepared, all all together and as as fast as possible, possible, because whoever finishes the five tasks first wins the entire competition. This game not only reinforces food vocabulary, vocabulary, but it also tests the ability of students to comprehend written instructions. This is also good for introducing introducing cross-culture topics. Recipes may vary depending on what food terms and cultures the teachers wishes to cover. Salads and sandwiches are easy-to-prepare recipes. recipes. The eating part adds an additional element of fun to the game. Although the whole competition is a combination of five games, each game is suitable for reinforcement of individual language skills and easily applied in the classroom. One feature of these games is that students with lower language ability in a team can still contribute if they are good at skills other than languages, such as putting together jigsaw puzzles, calculating numbers, drawing, or eating fast.
Observations Throughout the competition, I observed that students were more engaged in and committed to using English than they would be in the classroom. They were attentive to instructions, which they usually are not in regular class. In each of the games, students found their own ways to express themselves. Participants went all out with their English to win the t he game. The games also aroused cultural awareness. After the competition, students told me they
will now pay more attention to geographical names that they often ignored before simply because they had never been there. Thus, students expressed a motivation and desire to know more than just linguistic knowledge.
Conclusion Our experience creating a competition for our students taught us that games stimulate communicative skills. Competitors revealed that they felt less afraid of using their English during game play. I also observed that they were more willing to ask questions and think creatively about how to use English to achieve the goal. The competition gave students a natural opportunity to work together and communicate using English with each other. Furthermore, by integrating playing and learning, students practiced the learned linguistic knowledge in a vivid and meaningful context. Many came to understand that they could successfully use English to accomplish a variety of tasks. And finally, the competition stimulated their interest in foreign culture. As Uberman (1998, 87) writes, "Games encourage, entertain, entertain, teach, and promote fluency and communicative skills. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems that at times seem overwhelming."
References
Horwitz, E.K., Horwitz, M.B., and Cope, J.A. 1986. Foreign language classroom anxiety.The anxiety. The Modern Language Journal 70 Journal 70 (2): 125-132. Nuyen, N.T.T. & Nga, K.T.T. 2003. The effectiveness of learning vocabulary vocabulary through games. Asian EFL Journal 5. Journal 5. http://www.asian-efl journal.com/dec_03_sub.Vn.h journal.com/de c_03_sub.Vn.html tml((accessed September 25, 2004) Prasad, U. 2003. Achieving communicative competence in English. India's National Newspaper (29, Newspaper (29, July). July).http://www.hind http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/ed u.com/thehindu/edu/2003/07/2 u/2003/07/29/stories/20030729 9/stories/200307290001020 00010200.htm 0.htm((a ccessed September 25, 2004) Saricoban, A. and Metin, E. 2000. Songs, verse and games for teaching grammar. The Internet TESL Journal 6 Journal 6 (10). http://iteslj.org/Techniques/SaricobanSongs.html((accessed September 27, 2004) Songs.html Uberman, A. 1998. The use of games: for vocabulary presentation and revision. English Teaching Forum 36 Forum 36 (1): 20. http://exchanges http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vol .state.gov/forum/vols/vol36/no1/p2 s/vol36/no1/p20.htm 0.htm((accessed September 27, 2004) The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. XI, No. 2, February F ebruary 2005 http://iteslj.org/
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Chen-Games.html
Games in the ESL and EFL Class
Angkana Deesri a_deesri [at] yahoo.com Khon Kaen University, (Khon Kaen, Thailand) One useful strategy to encourage language acquisition is using language games. When using games in the classroom, it is beneficial for teachers to have a complete understanding of the definitions of games, which usually are defined as a form of play concerning rules, competition, and an element of fun. Teachers should also consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students' attention; lower students' stress; and give students the chance for real communication. Lastly teachers need to assess how to use games appropriately in the classroom. It is important to choose an appropriate time and integrate them into the regular syllabus and curriculum. However, because of the limitations of the syllabus, games often cannot be used, as much as they should be. Therefore, it may be challenging for teachers to try to add some games in class in order to develop students' English proficiency of the target language.
Introduction Some teachers think that language games are a waste of time and prefer not to use them in classroom since games sometimes have been considered only for its it s one element, that is fun. In fact, games can provide EFL and ESL students more than that. Among several strategies used to improve i mprove students' proficiency such as visual aids, CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning), drama, role-play, and so on, games are another useful strategy to promote students' language proficiency (Richard - Amato, 1996). This paper aims to give a clear understanding of what games are and why and how games are used in the classroom.
What are Games? Language games are not activities mainly aimed to break the ice between students or to kill time. Byrne (1995) gave the definition to games as a form of play governed by rules. They should be enjoyed and fun. They T hey are not just a diversion, a break from routine activities, but a way of getting the learner to use the langauge in the course of the game. Similarly, Jill Hadfield (1990) defined games as "an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun." Therefore, games involve many factors: rules, competition, relaxation, and learning, in particular. The main focus of using game game in class is to help students learn and have fun. However, to use games in classrooms, it is equally important that before playing the rules of the games are clearly explained and well understood by the students. There should be only a few, well-explained rules. Demonstrations also can be very helpful because it can help students understand the game and help them follow the rules. Otherwise, they will misunderstand the purpose of the game and they may not get the benefits they should from the game. For example, if students do not understand the rules of the games called "Dictation Game" Game" [1] and just write without following the instructions, then it is just an exercise in copying, and it doesn't help students with accuracy, pronunciation, or spelling at all. In playing games, competition is very important because it can stimulate and encourage students to participate in the activity since naturally they t hey want to beat the other teams. As it happens, in the dictation game students run as fast as possible, remember as much as they can and speak as loudly and clearly as they can. They run quickly back and forth, trying to memorize the content as much m uch as possible. While playing, students have fun, relax, exercise, and tease their friends. Apart from having fun, students learn at the t he same time. They acquire new vocabulary along with
its spelling and pronunciation. Students begin to realize that they have to speak or pronounce the words clearly if they want others to understand what they are saying. say ing.
Deciding Which Game to Use There are a great number of language games. So teachers have a variety of choices. However, in deciding which game to use in a particular class and which games will be most appropriate and most successful with their students, teachers must take many factors into account. According to Carrier (1990) teachers should first consider t he level of the game to fit their students' language level. They should choose the game that fits f its the purposes of that class or the content. Moreover, teachers should consider students' chracteristics: whether they are old or young, serious-minded or light-hearted, and highly motivated to learn or not. They should also consider when the game should be used because there is a big difference between using the game in the morning or in the afternoon, on Monday or Friday. In addition to the factors mention ed, teachers should also be able to play and overact sometimes to help students feel comfortable and want to join the activity. This means teachers should thoroughly understand the game and its nature and be able to lead the game. It is quite difficult to find f ind a game that meets all of the teachers' requirements. Some games must be adapted in order to fit students' language level, natures, and characteristics. The most important factor is that games should be used when they can give students both fun and educational meaning otherwise they will be a waste of time.
The Advantages of Games According to Richard-Amato (1996), even though g ames are often associated with fun, we should not lose sight of their pedagogical values, particularly in second language teaching. Games are effective because they provide motivation, lower students' stress, and give them the opportunity for real communication. The main reason why games are considered effective learning aids is that "they spur motivation and students get very absorbed in the competitive aspects of the games; moreover, they try harder at games than in other courses" (Avedon, 1971). Naturally when playing games, students are trying to win or to beat other teams for themselves or on the behalf of their team. They are so competitive while playing because they want to have a turn to play, to score points and to win. In the class, students will definitely participate in the activities. Therefore, it is possible for a teacher to introduce students to new ideas, grammar, knowledge and so on. As in the dictation game, students are so competitive that they want to finish first and win. It can be clearly seen th at games can capture students' attention and participation. They can motivate students to want to learn more. Moreover, they can transform a boring class into a challenging one.
Another reason why games are often used in language classes is that they lower students' stress in the classroom. In conventional classrooms, there is a lot of stress put on students trying to master the target language. Schultz (1988) said that "...Stress "...Stress is a major hindrance in language learning process. This process [Learning language in traditionalway ] ] is by its nature time consuming and stress provoking...... provoking... ... raise the stress level to a point at which it interferes with student attention and efficiency and undermines motivation. ..... one method has been developed to make students forget that they are in class ....relax ....relax students by engaging them in stress- reducing task (games )." )."
There is a high level of stress in the classroom because students have to face unfamiliar or unknown grammatical structures, words, texts and so forth. Therefore, students often feel uncomfortable and insecure in class, which inevitably affects their t heir ability to learn. As a result, games can help lower their anxiety, make them feel comfortable, and want to learn more. It is believed that when students play games, they relax and have fun. Since students know that they are playing games and want to communicate efficiently t hey do not worry about making mistakes and do not try to correct themselves in every single sentence. When students students are free from worry worr y and stress, they can improve their fluency f luency and natural speaking styles. Next, students learn without realizing that they are learning (Schultz, 1988.) For instance, when playing a game called "What Would W ould You Do If?" students will have to pick one hypothetical question from those that they have written in a box. They might get a question like "What would you do if a lion came into this classroom?" Next they have to pick one answer that they have written before. The answer they get may be "I would be a fly." Usually the question and the answer they get do not match each other, so students have to use their own imaginations to explain their bizarre answer, and everyone has fun listening to it. The explanation might be "If a lion came into this classroom, I would be a fly because I am a good person, so an angel would come and rescue me by turning me into a fly." While trying to explain, students do not worry too much about grammar mistakes because they want to communicate and to explain why it can happen. Apart from having fun, students do not worry about errors and punishment; moreover, they will learn a grammatical rule and have a chance to use it. Thus, they learn unconsciously-learn without realizing they are learning. Students stop thinking about language and begin using it in a spontaneous and natural manner within the classroom (Schutz, 1988.) Another advantage is increasing students' proficiency. Playing games in the classroom can enormously increase students' ability in using language because students have a chance to use language with a purpose in the situations provided. Hadfield (1990) confirms that " games provide as much concentrated practice as a traditional drill and more importantly, they provide an opportunity for real communication, albeit within artificially defined limits, and thus constitute a bridge between classroom and the real word. " Like in a traditional classroom, students have an opportunity to drill and practice using grammatical rules and other functions. For example, look at the "Find Someone Who" game in which students have to ask classmate s the questions implied by the chart such as: "Can you swim?" "Do you have a pet?" etc. Find Someone Who... Likes rock music.
Loves watching
Likes to cook.
Has a pet.
Can sew. Has a big family. Watches TV every day.
movies. Cannot swim. Likes green. Is having a good time.
Is reading a novel. Hates durians. : Has visited three Countries.
Loves chocolate. Loves English. Can speak two languages.
Students have to mingle around the classroom to find whoever these statements apply to and then write their names in the appropriate places. Whoever can fill their page first will be the winner. While playing, students practice asking and answering questions. They may have to repeat the same sam e question several times until they get to the right person. This provides the opportunity to drill and repeat as in a conventional classroom, but with playing games it is more communicative and meaningful. Moreover, it will link students to the real world because they can actually speak like this outside the classroom. Therefore, playing games in classroom does not only give students a chance to use English, but it can also connect them to the real usage of language outside the class. Editor's note: You can print out http://iteslj.org/Handouts/Kelly-Classmates.html and duplicate it for your students.
When to Use Games It is necessary for those who want to use games as a learning aid to be concerned about how to use them. Hadfield (1990) suggested that "games should be regarded an integral part of the language syllabus, not an amusing activity for Friday afternoon af ternoon of for the end of the term." Games can contribute to students' skills if they are incorporated into the classroom, particularly if they are used to reinforce or introduce a grammatical rule or structure. structure. For example in the games called "What Would You Do If?" and "Find Someone Who..." students do not only have fun in class but they learn about some grammatical rules; they also have a chance to practice and use it with purpose. In "What Would You Do If?" students learn about the conditionals. In "Find Someone Who," students learn how to form for m questions and answers. Therefore, as we have seen before, before, it is quite a good idea to incorporate incorporate games in daily classes. For example, if teachers are going to introduce present tenses or conditionals, instead of teaching them in a traditional way, (by simply telling them the rules, have them do some written exercises, drilling and answering questions), teachers may help students understand these forms of grammar by playing games, which can also meet all the requirements of the traditional tr aditional classes involving learning rules, drilling and repeating. Moreover, M oreover, students can take this opportunity to use them in real communication. However, even though games sometimes do not work since student have different diff erent learning styles and preferences, and some other factors such as being used in an inappropriate time, the nature of games themselves, and even the nature of teachers, it is still worth trying to us e them in class because they offer several good advantages to students. Language games used in the classroom are very effective and supportive activities in contributing to students' language skills and proficiency. Unfortunately, because of limitations of time and curriculum, teachers normally have to cover all the content and materials, which students will be tested on, and it is not always easy to incorporate games into the t he class.
Nevertheless, it can be seen that games are very useful and can be used to t o develop students' language learning and also provide the students an opportunity to practice communication. Therefore, it is recommended that teachers try some so me games that may be useful to their t heir students in order to enhance students' proficiency and help them meet their goals, and at least to try new things in teaching.
References
SeriousGames . New York: ABT, C.C. 1972. Improving Education with Games. SeriousGames . The Viking Press, Inc: pp 15-34. Avedon, M.E. and B.S.Brian. 1971. Learning Through Games. The Study of Games . Games . New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc: pp 315-321. English . Harlow: Longman Group UK Byrne, D. 1995. Games. Teaching Oral English . Limited: pp 101-103. Carlson, E. 1971. Games in the Classroom. The Study of Games. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc: pp 331-339. Carrier, M. 1990. Take 5: Games and Activities for the Language Learner, UK: np. Pp 6-11. Hadfield, J. 1990. An Collection of Games and Activities for Low to MidGames . Hong Intermediate students of English. Intermediate Communication Games . Kong: Thomus and Nelson and Nelson and Sons Ltd. Fun . New York: Happer & Row, Mulac, E.M. 1971. Educational Games for Fun . Publishers, Inc. happen . New York: Addison-Wesley Richard-Amato, P., A. 1996. Making It happen . Publishing Group. Pp 192-199. Schultz, M. and A. Fisher. 1988. Interacting in the Language Classroom. Games for All Reasons . Reasons . Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. McDaniel, Tim. Language Games . Dept. of Foreign Languages, Fa c. of Humanities and Social Sciences, KKU. (unpublished).
Footnote [1] Dictation game: students work in pairs. One has to run and read the article posted and tell his partner who has to write down what his partner tells him. The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 9, September 2002 http://iteslj.org/ http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Deesri-Games.html
Two ESL Listening & Speaking Games Kimberly Davison-Fujioka kim+kazu [at] mail.raidway.ne.jp mail.raidway.ne.jp Saitama University, Urawa City, Japan Commited to a learner-centered pedagogical style, I have come up with a number of teaching methods and games over the 16 years that I have taught, that focus on getting the students to listen more deeply.
Currently, I teach at a university in Japan, but I have taught high school students and younger. These are two games I use when I want to get the students outside.
Name That Thought! Thoughts are important, we all know that. We know it so well that often we do not really realize that we are thinking; it just comes automatically. This English exercise is based on that awareness. Go outside to a stream or creek. Sit down on the bank and watch the leaves or sticks st icks floating by. Ask them: Did you just notice what you were thinking? The students will probably be surprised because they are not used to being asked to recall their thoughts. The teacher can say again: Just now, what were you thinking? I don't know, is the usual response. The teacher can say: Have you you ever just sat a little litt le while and noticed your thoughts? I have. Let's just sit a little while and relax first. Look at the leaves and stuff that's moving down the stream, on the water. Our thoughts are like this, aren't they. I mean: our thoughts come and go, then they pass. We are always thinking. Let's stop one of those thoughts and look at it. At this point, I usually say "O-o-ops!" I just had a thought. Do you wanna know what I was just thinking? I just thought '"Did I lock the car door?" Then I share another thought. At this time, the teacher can ask them to share a thought. Or can explain further, giving more examples appropriate to the student's age and English level. Then I have the students use their thei r imagination. Imagine that, as you see each leaf or stick floating by, it is your thought. And give it a name. For example, if I'm thinking "I have to study for my math test", just as I see a small stick float past me, going down the stream, I can name that thought, t hought, "The math test". Then I will have another thought, probably in a few seconds, for example, about my puppy at home. "Is he in his bed or in my room, on my bed?" I can name that thought, "The puppy's bed." I ask the students to watch the leaves and sticks pass by them, floating down stream, and name them, with the thoughts they are having at the moment. Then I ask them to write their thoughts down on paper. I ask them to name about 4 or 5 thought names. Then they share them with the class, saying... "I had a thought. It was about my.... I named it ... "Students of all ages like this game because it helps them to 1.) recognize their thoughts 2.) use English in a sharing way. And they can get out-of-doors too! With children, you can have them watch leaves flowing down a stream, and have them play a similar game. But draw a line in the dirt beside the stream and as the leaf passes the line, have them name it, "I see a leaf." Then the next child can say, "I see a leaf and I see a ...." (Whatever he or she sees, perhaps a tree.. ) Use your own intuition as to how to apply this to your class.
What Is That Sound? This game will help them to listen more closely, and describe what they heard, using verbs. In this game, the students sit outside in a circle on the grass. They should have a pencil and paper with them. I ask them to close their eyes and just listen. I do
not speak for awhile. Then I ask them: Did you hear anything? Listen again. What W hat did you hear? Then I ask them to write down what they heard. Then after writing, they can use English by saying "I hear a car engine."; "I hear a woman talking" etc. The more advanced ones can say what their neighbor heard, the student sitting next to them, then say whether they did or did not hear the same thing. Then they can introduce what they heard. For example, "Susan heard a man talking but I didn't. I heard children playing" Or They can say, "I heard a man talking first. Then I heard a dog barking; and then I heard a bird. Just before I opened my eyes, I heard the t he teacher's voice." "Finally, I heard another student talking." This allows them to practice using first, second and finally or lastly. With children you can play "What "W hat do you hear?" Have them sit in a circle, and cover their eyes. The teacher goes first by covering her eyes. She says: "I cannot see but I can hear." Then the teacher addresses the children. When you cover your eyes you cannot see. (Please ( Please put your hands over your eyes.) When all the children have covered their eyes, break a stick. Then say "open your eyes" Ask them, "Did " Did you hear something when your eyes were covered? " (Please cover your eyes again. And this time, please listen.) Did you hear anything? What did you hear?" Then show them what they heard, a breaking stick. Then say: "I hear a stick, breaking." Then do something else when their eyes are covered. And ask them if they heard anything. Then show them. Then ask them to name it: "I heard a finger snapping." or "I hear two hands clapping." etc. If they need help, I use big cards, written in crayon; and prop them against a tree or lay them in the grass, with the simple sentence structure, "I hear a ----, -----." Of course this game can be adapted to playing inside too. But I find that children like to go outdoors, if they can, in the nice weather. Me too!
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 8, August 1998 http://iteslj.org/
Bad Fruit: A Shoppers' Nightmare
Level: Easy to Medium
This is an oral communication activity appropriate for EFL learners in elementary/primary school. (It's optimal for grades 3-6). This game is designed for practicing "shopping" dialogues and vocabulary. Materials: "produce" and play money. Object of Game: To accumulate as many products as possible. Students are divided into clerks and shoppers.
The clerks set up "stands" to allow easy access for all shoppers (e.g. around the outsides of the room with their backs to the wall). The shoppers are given a set amount of money* (e.g. dollars, euros, pounds, etc.) and begin at a stand where there is an open space. Students shop, trying to accumulate as many items as possible (each item is 1 unit of currency). Periodically, the instructor will say "stop" (a bell or other device may be needed to attract attention in some cultural and classroom contexts) and call out a name of one of the products. Students with that product must then put ALL their products in a basket at the front of the room. The remaining students continue shopping. Students who had to dump their products must begin again from scratch (with fewer units of currency). The student with the most products at the end wins. Students then switch roles.
*It is recommended giving students as much money as possible since students who run out can no longer participate. Alternative play for more advanced students: Clerks set the price of items. Shoppers have the option of negotiating the price. There are two winners in this version: The shopper who accumulates the most products and the clerk who makes the most money. Submitted by: Mike Yough
What's the Question?
Level: Any Level Type of Activity: listening and speaking Purpose: review question forms previously studied in class Procedure:
Form two teams (three will work, but two seems to add just the right amount of competitive tension).
Explain the game, with a few examples of answers in search of questions. Ask, 'What's the question?', and get students to correctly say the corresponding questions for your answer. Have two players--one from each team--come to the front. Style it like a game show if you like, with the students standing side-by-side. If you have access to bells or buzzers, it's even more fun. Next, read an answer to a question and say, 'What's the question?' The fastest player to respond wins a point for her/his team. New contestants come to the front for a new round. Rationale: This game forces the students to think backwards a little, so they must provide a grammatically perfect question. All too often, they are used to answering rather than asking questions, so this is challenging and useful as review. Submitted by: Tim
Toilet Paper Icebreaker
Level: Any Level
This activity is used as a "getting to know you", icebreaker on the first day of class. 1. Teacher takes the toilet paper roll and takes several squares of toilet paper, then hands the roll of toilet paper to a student. The teacher tells the student to take some, more than three. 2. After everybody in the class has some paper, we count the squares we have, then we have to tell that many things about ourselves, in English.
This activity works well with substitute teachers also. The toilet paper is such an attention getter. Submitted by: Linda LeBlanc
Chain Spelling ( Shiri-tori )
Level: Easy to Medium
The teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student should say a word beginning with the last letter of the word given. The game continues until someone makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word incorrectly, misspell it or come up with a word that has been said already, then he/she is out. The last one remaining in the game is the winner. This game can be made difficult by limiting the words to a certain category, e.g.. food, tools, or nouns, verbs, etc. Submitted by: Huang Shufang
Bang Bang
Level: Easy
Divide the group into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved in a duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend to draw their pistols. Say "how do you say..." and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to give the answer and then "bang bang", pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He remains standing and the other one sits down. I give 1 point for the right answer and 5 extra points if they manage to "kill" 4 opponents in a row. Editor's Note: Instead of saying the word in the students' mother tongue, it would be possible to use a picture or to say a definition ("What do you call the large gray animal with a long nose?") Submitted by: Liz
Battle Ships - A Vocabulary Game
Level: Easy to Medium
Preparation: Divide the students in to groups of four or five. Then ask the student to make the name for their ships for example with the names of animals, cities, movie stars or let them find their own favourite names.
Ask them to choose the Captain and the Shooter. The captain's duty is to memorize his ship's name, so he can reply if somebody call his ship's name. The shooter's duty is to memorize the names of the ships of 'their enemies', so he can shoot them by calling their ship's name.
Activity: Arrange all the captains in a circle, the ships' crews must line up behind their captains. The shooter is the last crew member in line.
The teacher must decide a lexical area of vocabulary, this vocabulary will be used to defend their ships from the attacks. Every students (except the shooters) must find their own words. The lexical area for example, "Four Legged Animals". Give the students 1-2 minutes to find as many possible words as they can and memorize them. Start the game by calling a ship's name, for example the ship name is "THE CALIFORNIAN". The captain of THE CALIFORNIAN must reply with a word from the lexical area given, for example he says "TIGER" followed by his crews behind him one by one, "COW"; "SHEEP" until it is the shooter turns and he calls out the name of another ship and the captain of the ship called must reply and his crews must do the same thing. No word can be repeated. If the captain is late to reply (more than 2 seconds) or his crew can not say the words or a word repeated or the shooter shoots the wrong ship (his own ship or the ship that has already been sunk) the ship is sunk, and the crew members can join the crew of another ship. The teacher can change the lexical area for the next round. In the last round there will be two big groups battling to be the winner. Submitted by: Agung Listyawan
Describing Appearances & Characteristics of People
Level: Easy to Medium (Low to low intermediate)
Each student is then give one sheet of paper. One student sits at the front front of a room. He/she describes a person and the rest of the class draws the person being described. It is more interesting if the person being described is known by everyone. Once the student has finished describing that person then he/she reveals who it is and each student shows his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious as the impressions tend to make the character in question look funny. It is a good idea to encourage students to ask the interviewee student questions about who they are describing. Submitted by: Darrell
Sentence Race
Level: Any Level
A good game for large classes and for reviewing vocabulary lessons. 1. Prepare a list of review vocabulary words. 2. Write each word on two small pieces of paper. That means writing the word twice, once on each paper. 3. Organize the pieces like bundles, 2 bundles, 2 sets of identical words. 4. Divide the class into 2 teams. get them to make creative team names. 5. Distribute each list of words to both teams. every student on each team should have a paper. Both teams have the same words. 6. When you call a word, 2 students should stand up, one from each team. The students must then run to the blackboard and race to write a sentence using their word. The winner is the one with a correct and clearly written sentence.
This is always a hit with kids. For more advanced students, use tougher words. Submitted by: Thomas D. J-B
Paper Airplane Game
Level: Any Level
Draw a target (with points - like a dart board) on the white board or use a cardboard box in the middle of the room. Then, students make paper airplanes and launch them after they answer your question in the form of a sentence. I don't except my beginners/low intermediate students to form complete sentence so I help them to form correct sentences. To my surprise they will repeat the sentence several times (while I'm helping them) just so they can throw their airplane. For beginner and low intermediate classes, I recommend formulating questions that lead to 1 or 2 types of answers. This allows for better memorization. For example, use CAN/WILL questions and write the beginning part of the answer on the board "I can/will...". I recommend giving a prize to make the target points mean something, thus peaking their interest. Submitted by: Ell Saunders
Pictionary (Game 1) - revamp - Charades (Game 2)
Level: Any Level
Write out series of categories like professions (doctor, bus driver, etc.), animals, foods, actions (fishing, haircut, etc.) then divide the class into groups of 2. One student draws and the other guesses. Next turn, the guesser draws and drawer guesses. This game works best with the arbitrary stop watch (30 seconds). This is designed for one lesson. Then for another day take the same categories (or create new ones) and play the same game except students, this time, act it out (no speaking or noises). Submitted by: Ell Saunders
Spelling Contest
Level: Any Level
First, if you have a large class you have to divide it in 2 teams. then the teacher says a word or a sentence depending on the the level for the students to spell. Students should spell these correctly with not even one mistake. The team that has more points is the winner Submitted by: Revolle Soyer
What's the Meaning?
Level: Medium to Difficult
You, the teacher, may need a dictionary do this activity.
Choose a word which is long, difficult, and unknown to the students, a good word to begin with is: warmonger . Without using a dictionary, your students write down a definition. (They can work out the definition in groups of three). Allow them a few minutes to think and write. Collect the definitions and read them aloud. When you have finished reading, they will have to vote which of those is the correct one. (It doesn't matter if none of them is the correct one) After they have voted and none of the groups guessed the meaning you read the correct one aloud.
The idea of this game is to let students be creative and practice writing skills.
Then you can have the students to discuss their writings. Submitted by: Natalia Iglesias from Argentina
Using Games in EFL Classes for Children Yin Yong Mei ("Lotus")
Jang Yu-jung ("Jessy")
What Is a Game?
"A game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun. There are two kinds of games: Competitive games, in which players or teams race to be the first to reach the goal, and co-operative games, in which players or teams work together towards a common goal. The emphasis in the games is on successful communication rather than on correctness of language." (Toth, 1995)
Why Use Games in Class Time?
Games are fun and children like to play them. Through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment. (Lewis, 1999) Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language. For many children between four and twelve years old, especially the youngest, language learning will not be the key motivational factor. Games can provide this stimulus. (Lewis, 1999) The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the target language to life. (Lewis, 1999) The game makes the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant children. (Lewis, 1999) Through playing games, students can learn English the way children learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot. Even shy students can participate positively.
How to Choose Games (Tyson, 2000)
A game must be more than just fun.
A game should involve "friendly" competition. A game should keep all of the students involved and interested. A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the language itself. A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material.
How to Organize Your Class
Think ahead. If you mix up the rules or get confused, the children will rebel. The class can fail over blame. Rehearse games yourself or with friends before class. (Lewis, 1999) Distinguish noise from chaos. To prevent noise, make students sit near the teacher and explain clearly what they are going to do.
The Role of the Teacher
Preparing the materials in sufficient quantities. Explaining clearly what is to be done. "Checking" answers at the end of an activity. Making sure everyone participates. Controling the time of each game.
Some Practical Activities 1. Vocabulary game: Broken sentences (Lewis & Bedson, 1999)
In this activity, students have to put together sentences which have been broken up into two halves. Method:
1. Copy and cut up some sentences as below, so there is one sentence for each pair of students in the class. (If there is an odd number, the teacher can take part.) 2. Students walk around the room trying to find their "pair." Once they have, they sit down. 3. Check by getting each pair to read out their sentence. o o o
I am going to the zoo..... .....to see the wild animals. Let's go to the travel agent..... .....to book our summer holiday. I need some soap..... .....to wash my hands.
o o o
You'll need a saucepan..... .....to boil those potatoes. You'd better take a torch..... .....to see in the dark. I need a ruler..... ......to draw straight lines.
Variation: In this activity, we can also break up the sentences into three parts. o o o o
I won't get..... .....married until I'm..... .....at least 25. I'd change my..... .....name if I weren't..... .....happy with it. I won't be able to..... .....arrive before..... .....Friday, I'm afraid. I'd get a..... .....dog, only my son..... .....is afraid of them.
2. The homophone game (intermediate/advanced) (intermediate/advanced) (Lewis & Bedson, 1999)
This activity is for pairs or groups. Before starting, explain what homophones are, namely words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings, I , eye. e.g., I 1. Before starting, tell each pair/group to write the numbers 1-20 in a column on a separate piece of paper. 2. Read out the words one at a time. After you have read out each word, allow the pairs/groups 20-30 seconds to try to write down two possible words. 3. Continue in this manner until all 20 words have been read out. 4. Check orally. If you wish, get one person from each pair/group to write their answer on the board. Try to get them to explain the different meanings.
3. Drawing a picture: (no reference)
1. Divide the students into pairs or groups. 2. One or two students come to the blackboard and get ready to draw the picture 3. Give one picture to each group to see except the student who is ready to draw. 4. Other students describe the objects in the picture, and the student who didn't see the picture draws it according his classmates' description. 5. The group who finish drawing in the shortest time, and whose picture is most similar to the original is the winner.
Five-minute Activities Activities (Ur & Wright, 1996)
When teachers prepare their lesson, like teaching a new grammar point or reading of a text, they will need some extra ingredients to make it into a smooth, integrated unit.
The need for short activities:
1. A quick warm-up for the beginning to get your students into the right mood for learning. 2. An idea for a brief vocabulary review before starting a new text. 3. A light filler to provide relief after a period of intense effort and concentration. 4. A brief orientation activity to prepare a change of mood or topic.
References Elementary communication communication games. Longman: Addison Wesley Hadfield, J (1996). Elementary Longman Ltd. games. Seoul: The People Publisher. Lee, J. M. (1996). English games.
Lee, S. C. (1980). 101 games & activities for primary English. Seoul: Moonjin Media. teaching games and and contests. contests. Oxford: Oxford Lee, W. R. (1979). Language teaching University Press.
Lewis, G., & Bedson, G. (1999). Games for children. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rinvolucri, M. (1984). Grammar games. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Toth, M. (1995). Children's games. Oxford: Heinemann Publishers. Tyson, R. E. (2000). "Serious" fun: Using games, jokes, and stories in the language classroom. classroom . Class handout. Ur, P., & Wright, A. (1992). Five-minute activities . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
"Serious" Fun: Using Games, Jokes, and Stories in the Language Classroom
Rodney E. Tyson Daejin University, Summer Workshop for Elementary School Teachers, August 1998.
A successful language game should:
be fun.
involve "friendly" competition.
keep all of the students involved and interested.
require students to use language that is challenging, but not too difficult.
give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material.
encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than the language itself.
A language game should not:
be used just to fill time. (Every activity should have a "learning" purpose.)
continue for too long. (End the game while it is still fun.)
be degrading or discouraging for the "losers."
be too easy or too difficult for the students' age and proficiency level.
allow only a few students to participate for a long time while the others just watch.
be "graded" in any way. (Language errors are usually not corr ected, because the emphasis should be on language use.)
Blackboard Relay How to Prepare: Make a list of 10-20 "cues." Each cue should include a sentence subject and a verb phrase (e.g., "she/eat in the cafeteria" or "they/take the bus to school"). Students should only hear the cues, not see them. Also, prepare 2 or 3 "model sentences" that contain grammar points recently taught in class. For example, to practice/review irregular past tense verbs and p ast participles, you might use the following sentences as models: (1) She eats in the cafeteria every day. (2) She ate in the cafeteria yesterday. (3) She has eaten in the cafeteria before. Write the model sentences at the top of the blackboard before the game begins so that the students can imitate them. How to Play: Divide the class into 2 or more teams (depending on how much blackboard space you have). One member from each team, goes to the blackboard. When the teacher reads a cue, the students start writing t hree new sentences imitating the models and containing the corr ect grammatical forms of the words in the cue. Other students may give advice and suggest corrections to their teammates, but only the designated students may write on the board. The student that finishes writing three perfect sentences first gets one point for his or her team.
Students take turns writing on the board.
Pass It On
How to Prepare: Choose or write 3 or more paragraphs of about 6-8 short sentences based on language your students have studied recently. Type each paragraph on two separate pieces of paper. On one paper, type the complete sentences, numbered in order. O n the other paper, type the same sentences numbered in the same order, but with one or more blanks in each sentence. You will need one copy of each paper for each "team." How to Play: Divide the class into teams of about 5 or 6 students each. Have each team sit in straight rows, one student behind another. Give the paper with the complete sentences to the first student on each team. Give the paper with the sentences that contain blanks to the last student on each team. When the teacher says "Go," the first student on each team read s one sentence at a time to the second student, who remembers the sentence and tells it to the third student, who tells the fourth student, etc. T he last student listens to the sentence and fills in the blanks with the correct words. The team that finishes first gets 3 points, the second team 2 points, the third team 1 point, and other teams 0 points. Note: There must be an equal number of students in each row. If the class does not divide evenly, have the last two students on the larger teams sit side by side at the end of the row and give each of them a paper so that both can listen and write. For example, if there are 26 students in the class, you might have four teams of 5 and one team of 6. Have the last two students on the team of 6 sit side by side and give each of them a paper that
contains sentences with blanks.
Jeopardy How to Prepare: Choose 5 or 6 appropriate categories (e.g., spelling, colors, opposites, locations, etc.). Prepare 5 questions for each category and write each question on the "back" of a small piece of paper. On the "front" of each paper in each category, write the numbers 100, 200, 300, 400, or 500. (100 "points" or "dollars" should be the easiest question in the category; 500 should be the most difficult question.). Tape the papers on the blackboard with each category in a separate column from 100 at the top to 500 at the bottom, and write the name of the categories above the columns. How to Play: Divide the class into 4-6 teams. One team chooses a card (e.g., "Spelling for 300 dollars"). The teacher reads the question. If a team answers correctly, they get the number of dollars on the card. If they answer incorrectly, they lose that many dollars. The team with the most money at the end of the game is the winner. Note: This game is based on a popular American TV quiz show that you can see on AFKN-TV (Channel 34) at
5:00 pm, Monday-Friday.
English Jokes and Stories as Listening Practice
Jokes, riddles, and interesting stories can be excellent listening practice. They are particulary useful as "warmup" activities at the beginning of a class. They are also a great way to introduce or review new vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Understanding an English joke or story, no matter how simple it is, can increase students' confidence in their listening ability. Your telling a joke or story completely in English also serves as a good example for your students to follow. Here are some suggestions for telling English jokes and stories to Korean students: Choose jokes or stories that are appropriate for the age and level of your students. (There are many very simple jokes appropriate for children, and even some rather complicated ones can be simplified. Students are also always interested in real stories abo ut their teacher.)
Try to use mostly vocabulary and sentence structures that your students know. Explain new vocabulary as you speak, writing on the b oard if necessary. (But don't write everything!)
Repeat important parts several times and check the students' comprehension often to be sure they understand. Don't say the "punchline" of a joke until you are sure they understand the rest.
Speak only in English. Remember, the point is to practice listening, not just to tell an interesting joke or story.
Here are two jokes that I've told to students of all levels:
A woman went to a doctor and said, "Doctor, I'm very sick! Please help me! When I got up this morning, I touched my head with my finger and 'Ouch!' Then I touched my shoulder and 'Ouch!' Please help me!" The doctor examined the woman and left the room for a few minutes. When he returned, the woman said, "Doctor, please tell me what's wrong with me. Am I going to die?" The doctor said, "No, don't worry. It's nothing serious. You just have a broken finger." A company advertised for a new secretary. One o f the applicants was a dog. Of course, the manager of the company was very surprised, but he decided to give the dog a chance anyway. He said, "If you want the job, you must be able to do three things. First, you have to be able to type." T he dog walked to the typewriter and started typing in perfect English. T he boss was surprised. He said, "Second, you have to be able to take dictation." The dog picked up a notebook and pencil and starting writing down all of the words the boss was saying with no problem. The boss was amazed. He said, "Finally, if you want to work here, you have to be able to do one more thing. You have to speak a foreign language. The dog smiled and said, "Meow."
Here are some common riddles that American children enjoy:
Q: What kind of dog has no tail? A: A hot dog. Q: What is black and white and red [read] all over. A: A newspaper. Q: What has four wheels and flies? A: A garbage truck.
http://english.daejin.ac.kr/~rtyson/cv/games.html
