Gardner (1983) postulated that everyone possesses various intelligences in varying degree, and these

intelligences collaborate in a coordinated manner. There are nine intelligences according to Howard Gardner.
These intelligences encompass verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, visual-spatial, bodilykinaesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist (Campbell, Campbell & Dickinson, 1996; Lazear, 2004;
Baum, Viens & Slatin, 2005), and after much analysis and argument, Gardner (2000) pronounced the ninth
which is the existential intelligence. The MI theory is also a theory which could be used in pre-school education
(Stancuna & Craciun, 2011; Delgoshaei & Delavari, 2012) up to tertiary level (Vincent, Ross & Williams,
2002).
The relationship between multiple intelligences and language learning is an intricate one.
Several studies regarding the MI theory were carried out to examine the relationship of
foreign or second language learning and multiple intelligences.

intro
Psychological studies have shown that the act of play contributes to the physical,
intellectual, social and emotional development of a child. School pupils have been
observed to enjoy playing games. Games work as a stimulant and are able to captivate
pupils attention, and hence educators should channel the advantages of play into
language learning.
Scholars have long realised the importance of play amongst children to help in their
physical, intellectual, social and emotional development as well as language learning.
Many studies have been carried out regarding the importance of games in early
childhood which undoubtedly contribute to the cognitive development in a child in the
later years. These include studies on play in the elementary school for young learners
(Elkind, 2007; Ginsburg, 2007; Rizi, Yarmohamadiyan & Gholami, 2011; Runcan,
Petracovschi & Borca, 2012).
Games work as a stimulant and are able to catch and captivate a students attention.
It is important to keep exploring the use of language games in the Malaysian English
language learning context as it is a tool to capture the attention of young learners in the
primary school.
has been designed to further help ELT teachers in Malaysia to deliver learning in a fun
way. Moreover, it provides an enjoyable and educational environment for students to
learn. It also cultivates team work, collaboration and strategic thinking among students.
Additionally, students get to learn and practice the English language frequently.
The Social Learning Theory claims that children learn through social interaction. Social
learning promotes cognitive growth. This learning zone is named Zone of Proximal
Development which Vygotsky (1978, p.86) has described as the difference between a
child's actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and
the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult
guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.
Vygotsky claims that learning takes place in this zone whereby learners learn through the
help of the more knowledgeable other and not alone. The more knowledgeable other
here refers to a person who has a better understanding of a task, process or concept
compared to the learner himself. The person can be a teacher, coach, or even a peer.
Thus, interaction and collaboration among peers are very essential to create a learning
community (McLeod, 2007; Riddle, n.d).
also encourages social interaction and social learning through teamwork and
collaboration. This will help the more knowledgeable learner to facilitate the weaker
learner and construct meaningful learning (while playing and acquiring knowledge) and
be active learners. Learners thus actively internalize the current problem solving practice

and develop their cognitive level as the transfer of knowledge takes place through the
interaction between the expert and novice (Kutnick & Manson, 2000).
will be able to gain new knowledge and discoveries together with as well as from their
peers. Such an environment decreases passive learning and absorbing everything from
the teacher without critically constructing ones knowledge. According to Schneider and
Watkins (1996), Vygotskys social learning theory does not only apply to cognitive
development, but also linguistic functioning in learners. Based on this conception, it is
also noted that CHALLENGE promotes language learning as learners playing and moving
on the board would interact with many parties as well as asking and answering questions
using English to score points for their team. Thus, the language is being used and
practiced by the learners.
There are very few classroom games invented in Malaysia which integrate games in the
learning of English. It is important to amalgamate fun in the learning of English especially
in the Malaysian primary school setting to garner pupils' interest and eagerness to learn
English.
cultivates student-centred learning which is seldom practiced in the Malaysian English
Language classroom as pointed out in a study by Mustaffa, Aman, Seong, and Noor
(2011) that the teaching and learning of English in Malaysia is still heavily teachercentered.
Lit review

The concern over low literacy attainment in English language among

Malaysian learners
has been investigated quite extensively. The main focus of these studies is
to examine
why Malaysian students do not seem to be able to attain reasonable
English literacy even
after going through 11 years of learning English in school (Naginder, 2006;
Nor
Hashimah Jalaludin, Norsimah Mat Awal & Kesumawati Abu Bakar, 2008).
Mohd Sofi Ali (2008) however reports that teachers
in his case study primarily use Bahasa Malaysia to teach English because
of the pressure
to get good grades in examinations.
Nambiar, Noraini Ibrahim and Pramela (2008) examine the use of
language learning strategies among Form Two students in the state of
Johor. The results
of the study show that language learning strategies are still underutilized
and
underdeveloped among the participants and this poor use of learning
strategies could
account for the students weaknesses in reading English text. This study
also reports that
learners tend to use strategies that do not require them to be analytical
and critical. In
fact, 68.2 % of her participants reported that they rarely or never use
contextual or the

background knowledge to guess the contents in a reading passage and

that they are
highly dependent on Bahasa Malaysia to help them comprehend an
English text.
classroom
teaching is highly characterized by teacher-centred approaches and chalkand-talk drill
method (Ministry of Education, 2003).
Learners
tend to refer to their first language system when writing in English, use
direct translation
and depend on dictionary meanings to comprehend English text
(Ambigapathy, 2002;
Nambiar 2007).
Additionally, learners at tertiary education are found to have limited
vocabulary
knowledge and weak at understanding long sentences or sentences with
difficult words
(Ahmad Mazli Muhammad, 2007; Nambiar, 2007; Zaira Abu Hasan, 2008).
As
vocabulary play an important role in academic reading comprehension,
the insufficient
vocabulary knowledge inevitably affects the learners performance in the
content subject
areas (Rosemala Ismail, 2008).
a number of studies also reveal that language anxiety
experienced by the learners originates from the learners themselves,
school instructional
practices and social and cultural influence putting them linguistically and
psychologically
isolated from English language use (Rosemala Ismail, 2008; Noor
Hashimah Abdul Aziz,
2007).
If language structure makes up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides
the vital organs and flesh, (Hammer, 1991, p. 153). Language ability of learners will be
improved overall by vocabulary improvement (Linse, 2006). So it is strongly supported that
learning the exact vocabulary can be considered more important than learning part of
grammar as the basic need for learning a language.
Vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of
English in a flexible, communicative way (Huyen and Nga, 2003).
McCallum (1980, p. ix) emphasizes this point by saying that games automatically stimulate
student interest, a properly introduced game can be one of the highest motivating techniques.
Games are advantageous at this point because they reduce

anxiety, increase positive feelings and improve self-confidence because learners are not afraid
of punishment or criticism while practicing the target language freely (Crookal, 1990, p.112).
According to Bradley (2010, p. 3), games have some characteristics that are advantageous to
language learners as follows:
First, games engage all students in the learning process. When students play games in pairs
or groups, they have the opportunity to recognize and appreciate the contributions of others
and use team-building skills. Some classroom games focus on individuals working to win
against all other peers in the class. This type of game works well with students who are highly
motivated and competitive.
Second, games provide an opportunity for collaboration and/or cooperation. Classroom games
provide an opportunity for students to collaborate and cooperate with each other, while
working towards a common goal - winning. In some games, students are paired or grouped,
which may lead to peer tutoring and the use of cooperative skills in order to win. They may
not realize that they are actually learning, but they are working together towards a common
goal.
Third, games provide an enjoyable learning experience. Creating a fun and enjoyable learning
environment is a large first step toward motivating students. Research indicates that
classroom games are effective strategies that facilitate learning.
Finally, games help engage all students, provide an opportunity for collaboration and/or
cooperation, and provide an enjoyable learning experience.
Learning takes place unconsciously, as Freeman (2000,
p78) suggests learning is facilitated in a cheerful environment. And games create such an
environment in which children are engaged in a playful activity that makes language learning
a fun.
Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely (Richard-Amato,
1988). Hornby (1995) believes that game is an activity that you do to have some fun. Games
can make students focus on the game and learn the language unconsciously. They are highly
motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their
opinion and feelings (Hansen, 1994).

advocated for assisting language learning. Here are some of the reasons:
Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting. Sustaining
interest can mean sustaining effort (Thiagarajan, 1999; Wright, Betteridge, &
Buckby, 2005).
The emotions aroused when playing games add variety to the sometimes dry, serious
process of language instruction ((Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000).
The variety and intensity that games offer may lower anxiety (Richard-Amato, 1988).
Games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and
writing, and a number of skills are often involved in the same game (Lee, 1995).
Many games can be played in small groups, thereby providing a venue for students to
develop their skills in working with others, such as the skill of disagreeing politely
and the skill of asking for help (Jacobs & Kline Liu, 1996).
The team aspect of many games can encourage cooperation and build team spirit
(Ersoz, 2000).
Although many games involve competition, this is not necessarily the case (Orlick,
2006).
As many games can be played outside of class, they provide a means for students to
use the language outside of class time (Ellis, 2005).

Using
games in learning process facilitates the learning and it can help children to focus more on
learning because they do not feel that they are forced to learn "Games can lower anxiety, thus
making the acquisition of input more likely"(Richard-Amato 1988:147). ).
Games are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more
opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994:118). ). In the easy, relaxed
atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better
(Wierus and Wierus 1994:218).
Zdybiewska (1994:6) supports the idea of using games for teaching languages and says that
they are a good way of practicing language, for they provide a model of what learners will use
the language for in real life in the future (1994:6).
Educational games can facilitate learning experience, and the use of games in
the classroom is very beneficial for students (Barab, Gresalif, & Arici, 2009).
Students may give up easily when they experience failures but they react
differently when playing games.
Lee & Hammer (2011) pointed out in their study that educational games are able
to meet three types of learners intellectual needs (namely, cognitive, emotional
and social needs), thus creating positive emotional experiences.
Gamification has been shown to engage and motivate learners when used
properly in the classrooms (Hammer & Lee, 2011; Muntean, 2011). Gamification
is the application of game elements in non-gaming situations, that is, to convert
useful activities into games (Deterding et al., 2001). Its aim is to combine
extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to raise the engagement of users by using
game-like techniques such as scoreboards and personalized fast feedback, and
thus to motivate or influence their behaviour (Flatla et al., 2011).
The use of games increases students motivation because when faced with a
challenging task, they will become fully engaged. Therefore, in order to enhance
motivation, teachers can incorporate game elements into work activities
(Shneiderman, 2004).
In order to make learning more engaging, a game should have the following
characteristics (Jones 1998, as cited in Kirriemuir & McFarlane, 2004): (i) It is
something learners can complete; (ii) it is something learners can concentrate
on; (iii) it has clear goals; (iv) it provides immediate feedback; (v) it encourages
deep but effortless involvement; (vi) it helps learners exercise a sense of control
over their actions; (vii) concern for self disappears during flow, but sense of self
is stronger after flow activity; and (viii) sense of duration of time is altered.
Kingham (2003) claims that there are three basic
theories offered to clarify reading comprehension difficulties. The first theory is that comprehension problems
are rooted in word recognition problems. Students with good comprehension have stronger word recognition
skills than poor comprehenders. Slow decoding causes a block in the working memory of the reader. Since
students with poor comprehension do not use their working memory efficiently, this gives them a lower
functioning capacity for comprehension purposes (Perfetti & Lesgold, 1979). The second theory claims that
readers have difficulties in syntactic and semantic analysis of texts, and are incapable of making use of the
structural limit of language. Students with poor comprehension are presumed to pay no attention to the syntactic
clues in texts and read word by word instead of processing texts in appropriate units (Cromer, 1970). The third
theory hypothesizes that readers have difficulty making inferences from texts, and combining the ideas with
them. Poor comprehenders are argued to have enough word recognition and syntactic skills but experience
difficulty at inference and integration levels and fall short to monitor their comprehension (Kamhi, 1997;

Kingham, 2003; Yuill & Oakhill, 1991). The other major sources of comprehension difficulties that influence a
students ability to comprehend are
readers' processing capacities, a lack of interest in reading, negative attitudes to reading, and motivation (Rapp et
al., 2007). Most struggling readers are particularly uninterested. Struggling readers may perhaps have low
selfconfidence
in their reading skills and they believe they cannot comprehend.
The content and format of texts also influence struggling readers' comprehension. The characteristics of text a
student is reading, the difficulty of the text, and type of text can also limit his or her ability to comprehend
(Alexandar & Jetton, 2000 Kingham, 2003). Struggling readers often have little knowledge of text structures.
Using charts, graphs, and diagrams to provide visual aids are helpful for understanding text. For example, if a
student is given a full page of text with no illustration, probably the student is overwhelmed by it. When the
student is given the same material spread over more pages, with less text on each page and with some
illustrations; the student could read the words and comprehend the text (Cooper et al., 2006, p. 121).
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Difficulties. Unpublished masters thesis. Curtin University of Technology. Retrieved on January 23,
2009, from http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adtWCU20030904.135502/unrestricted/03chapter2.pdf
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reading instruction. In L. B. Resnick & P. Weaver (Eds.), Theory and practice of early reading. Hillsdale,
NJ: Erlbaum.

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