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Games in the ClassroomThe motivation and interest of students in english classes is very important to their learning experience. The use of games in the classroom can help boost their motivation and interest while having fun learning. It is important to play these games with a purpose and not just to play them for fun. The games should incorporate the objective of the lesson.
There are two types of games that can be used. The first type is competitive games in which the students are either in groups or alone and race to be the first to complete/reach a goal. The second type of game is co-operative games. These games are where the students will work together to reach a common goal. Both types of these games can also be divided into linguistic and communicative games.
You can find many different games to play in books but it is also possible to adapt traditional games into your lesson. An example of a competitive game is Bingo. Bingo can be used to help students remember spelling and understanding of words. A Bingo card can include the names of colors (each box having a different color name in it) and the students would be shown pictures of various colors in a PowerPoint presentation. As the teacher shows a picture of a color, the students would correctly identify the color name associated with the color and mark that box. The first student to get a certain amount in a row will win. This is an example of practicing the spelling and meaning of words while having fun playing a game. The teacher would not say the color name out loud in order to test the students’ knowledge of the words. This type of game would be done in the engage stage of a lesson.
An example of a co-operative game would be Hangman. The teacher could use the whiteboard in the classroom to set up the Hangman word for the class to figure out. The class would not be broken up into teams but rather they would be working together to figure out the word. The class would be encouraged to work together and help each other out. The teacher could use this game to practice spelling and they could also use it in a lesson about tenses. If the teacher taught the class about the past tenses of words in that day’s lesson, the teacher could tell the students to guess the past tense of a particular word. An example of this would be “Guess the past tense of what you do in a pool” and the students would have to guess swam, which is the past tense of swim.
A benefit that games have is that they are popular with all age groups. Children, teenagers and adults enjoy games and can be a great addition to any level of learners. They should be used regularly and not just as a one-time occasion. It is also useful when teaching students that are not as motivated to learn the language. These students may find it more interesting to learn english while having fun with a game. Students that are not having fun with their learning experience are not going to take as much away from the lesson. It is important to keep the students interested and motivated to learn and playing games in the classroom is a great way to do so.
