Using games

The advantages of using games.

Many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value. W. R. Lee holds that most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the correct forms (1979:2). He also says that games should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching programme. A similar opinion is expressed by Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching. There are many advantages of using games. “Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely” (Richard-Amato 1988:147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings. They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Furthermore, to quote Richard-Amato, they, “add diversion to the regular classroom activities,” break the ice, “[but also] they are used to introduce new ideas” (1988:147). In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better. Many teachers are enthusiastic about using games as “a teaching device,” yet they often perceive games as mere time-fillers, “a break from the monotony of drilling” or frivolous activities. He also claims that many teachers often overlook the fact that in a relaxed atmosphere, real learning takes place, and students use the language they have been exposed to and have practised earlier. Games are good ways of practising language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in real life in the future.
Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. 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.

Choosing appropriate games.

There are many factors to consider while discussing games, one of which is appropriacy. Teachers should be very careful about choosing games if they want to make them profitable for the learning process. If games are to bring desired results, they must correspond to either the student’s level, or age, or to the material that is to be introduced or practised. Not all games are appropriate for all students irrespective of their age. Different age groups require various topics, materials, and modes of games. For example, children benefit most from games which require moving around, imitating a model, competing between groups and the like. Furthermore, structural games that practise or reinforce a certain grammatical aspect of language have to relate to students’ abilities and prior knowledge. Games become difficult when the task or the topic is unsuitable or outside the student’s experience.

Another factor influencing the choice of a game is its length and the time necessary for its completion. Many games have a time limit which make the teacher can either allocate more or less time depending on the students’ level, the number of people in a group, or the knowledge of the rules of a game etc.

When to use games.

Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee observes, a game “should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do” (1979:3). Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen. At different stages of the lesson, the teacher’s aims connected with a game may vary:

1. Presentation. Provide a good model making its meaning clear;
2. Controlled practise. Elicit good imitation of new language and appropriate responses;
3. Communicative prastice. Give students a chance to use the language (1981:70).

Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency. However, can they be more successful for presentation and revision than other techniques? The following part of this article is an attempt at finding the answer to this question.

References:

Lee, W. R. 1979. Language teaching games and contests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rixon, S. 1981. How to use games in language teaching. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Richard-Amato, P. A. 1988. Making it happen: Interaction in the Second Language classroom: From Theory to Practice. New York: Longman.