Robin Newton

The Place of Games in English Classes 1

Most children enjoy taking part in games and will willingly play games with friends or family members at home, at the park or in the school playground. As game playing is a familiar and enjoyable activity for children, it makes sense to incorporate games into language classes. This article discusses the use of games in English classes with young children. It is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 sets out a rationale for the use of games, Part 2 discusses how to present and organise games and Part 3 includes suggestions of some games to play with this age group. WHY PLAY GAMES? Motivation and interest On the whole, children enjoy playing games and can be motivated to use English in a game context. Games can add variety to classes and allow teachers to change pace and so maintain interest and motivation.

Language Learning Games offer a context for practising vocabulary, functional phrases (e.g. Its my turn) and pronunciation that is meaningful and fun for children. Games provide situations in which children can use the target language to interact with each other. Each game involves different elements and skills (memory, listening, movement, speaking, observation) and so games allow us to cater for and develop a range of learning styles.

Assessment Games can help us assess our students recall and use of the language, while avoiding more formal testing methods: On the class level, they can show us whether or not a class needs extra practice of the vocabulary related to a particular topic. On the individual level, they can help us form a picture of each childs use of the language in different contexts.

Social Development Fostering the childrens social development is a key aspect of all education with young children. At this age children are learning how to get along with others in a classroom setting. When they play games, children learn how to share things, wait for their turn and enjoy learning as part of a group. PLAYING GAMES IN CLASS When selecting and presenting games to play in class, it is important to consider some of the following issues: Co-operation/Competition Some games involve an element of competition and have clear winners and losers. In order to avoid creating a highly competitive classroom atmosphere that can be demoralising to children, try:

Laprenentatge de langls a leducaci infantil

Robin Newton

The Place of Games in English Classes

Praising children for playing well and taking part regardless of whether they won or not. Playing games that involve an amount of luck as well as skill so all children get to win sometimes. Allowing students who are out to return to the game again after a short time or to act as the teachers helper. Playing games in teams, where possible, so that they become less about competition between individuals.

Introducing New Games When teaching young children, there are times when some use of the mother tongue may be helpful. However, it can also be a good idea to get children used to listening to simple instructions given in English. When presenting new games: Try to demonstrate the game first with a few volunteers before playing as a whole class. If the game is simple then start to play the game and let the children pick up the idea and begin to join in as you go. Use gesture and facial expression as well as voice to guide children into the game. Give instructions in English first and then just use a key word or two in the mother tongue to ensure childrens understanding.

Timing There are no hard and fast rules about how long to play a game for or what point to do it in a class. However, it may be worth bearing the following points in mind: Avoid playing the same game for too long or childrens attention may wander. Children often enjoy playing familiar games but avoid playing the same game in the same way too often or children may become tired with it.

Language practice Always think about how much language practice each game involves. Some games are great fun but do not really require much practice or production of language. Use short phrases related to game-playing like Its my turn make a circle close/open your eyes well done, Nuria that the children can become familiar with and then encourage them to use the terms too. In this way, the language practice involved in games can be maximised. Use a playground or school hall (if there is one) for playing action games or circle games in. Often the children respond well to going somewhere different as its a treat for them. However, if your school playground is very large you may need to set limits on the space the children can use. For example, draw a chalk line that the children cannot go beyond. Rearrange the classroom and put the tables and chairs up against the walls to give you a big space in the middle.

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Robin Newton SUGGESTIONS OF GAMES TO PLAY

The Place of Games in English Classes

Here are some games you might like to try out with your classes. As young children need guidance and encouragement to work with others and use the target language most of the games included here are to be played as a whole class and need to be led by the teacher. Action Games Monkey, Monkey The class sits in a circle. One child walks round the outside of the circle, touching each child on the shoulder and saying a colour each time red green purple orangeetc. After a few colours, the child touches another student and says monkey! monkey! . That student stands up and chases the first child around the circle and has to try and tap her/him on the shoulder as they run round the circle. The first child tries to sit down in the students place before they are tapped on the shoulder.

[Any vocabulary category can be practised in this game: animals, food, clothes etc] Touch hands Play some music. Stop the tape and call out Find a friend, touch knees. Each child finds a partner and they join their knees. Continue with other body parts, for example: touch fingers, touch hands, touch heads, touch feet.

Stop! Say Run and indicate to the children to run around the room. Call out Stop! and indicate to the children to freeze and stand still. Anyone who moves is out of the game and sits down. Call out another action [jump, skip, run, hop, walk, crawl, walk backwards etc] and the children move again doing the action. Call out Stop! and the children freeze again. Once more, any child who moves is out of the game. Allow the children who were out on the first round back into the game, say another action and continue.

Yes or No Stick a line of tape to the floor and divide the room into 2 halves. One side of the tape is yes and the other is no. Hold up an object or flashcard and say a word (either the name of the object or another word from the same topic). If the students think youve said the right word, they jump on to the Yes side. If they think youve said the wrong word they jump on to the No side.

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Robin Newton Picture or Flashcard games Find the pictures

The Place of Games in English Classes

[Preparation: take some post-it notes and either colour them, write numbers on them or draw pictures of known words on them: animals, food etc] Stick the post-it notes out of sight all around the room before class starts (the underside of tables, behind furniture, under pencil pots etc). Divide the class into 2 or 3 teams. Show the children one of the hidden notes and ask them to stand up and look around the classroom to find the others. When all the post-its are found, the children sit down in their teams. The children win a point for their team for each post-it theyve found and a second point if their team can tell you the word.

Slow reveal Hide a flashcard or picture behind a book. Very slowly pull the picture out to reveal it bit by bit. Encourage the children to guess what the picture is by asking Is it a (lion)?

Mime and guess Hold a flashcard above your head. The children do a mime to help you guess the picture. For example, if its a bird, they flap their wings. Guess by asking Is it a ? Ask a volunteer to the front, hold a flashcard over her/his head and ask the class to do a mime to help the volunteer to guess what the picture is.

Run and touch a picture Stick several flashcards of known words up around the classroom. For example: flashcards of animals. Say Run and touch an animal and the children all run and touch one of the pictures while you look away. Say one of the words, for example: elephant. The children who are touching the picture of the elephant are out of the game for a round. Say Run and touch an animal again and the children all run and touch another animal picture and continue as before.

Noughts and Crosses1

1

Draw a 3 by 3 noughts and crosses grid on the board and write the numbers 1 to 9 in the 9 squares. Divide the class into 2 teams. Show the first team a picture and ask Whats this? If they tell you the right word then ask them to choose a number and draw a nought for them around the number. Then the second team have a turn to say what a picture is and can draw a cross in the square of their choice if they give you the correct answer.

[Tres en lnia]

Laprenentatge de langls a leducaci infantil

Robin Newton

The Place of Games in English Classes

Continue playing in this way. The winning team is the first one to make a horizontal, diagonal or vertical row of 3 noughts or 3 crosses.

Memory games The Ramblas game [For this game you need 3 plastic cups and some classroom objects] Ask the children to gather round a table or seat them in a circle on the floor. Take a classroom object the children know the name of (for example: a rubber, a sharpener, a crayon etc) and place an upside-down cup over it. Put the other cups on the table upside-down and move all three around quickly. Ask Wheres the rubber? and encourage the children to point to a cup and say Its under this cup.

Kims game [For this game, you need a tray and some objects] Put some objects on a tray (they could be coloured crayons if youre practising colours or toy animals if youre practising animals). Ask the children to look at them and name the objects they can see. Ask a child to cover her/his eyes and ask another child to remove an object from the tray and hide it. The first child opens her/his eyes and guesses the missing object asking Is it ? The rest of the class respond yes, it is or no, it isnt

[As the children become more familiar with the game, make it more challenging by removing 2 or 3 objects at a time] Have you got the sharpener? The children sit in a circle. Place a set of classroom objects in the middle and name them with the children. Ask a child to go to a corner and close her/his eyes. Ask a second child to choose one of the objects and hide it in her/his pocket. Ask the first child to open your eyes and come back to the circle. Point to the objects in the middle and ask Whats missing? The child names the missing object and then has 3 chances to try and guess who has it. He/she asks 3 other students Have you got the sharpener? They respond Yes, I have or No, I havent.

CONCLUSION In her discussion of childrens vocabulary learning, Lynne Cameron makes the point that: Early vocabulary learning may be ineffective if words are not consolidated and used regularly recycling previously met words in varied contexts and activities is essential to keep learnt words active [2001, page 95]

Laprenentatge de langls a leducaci infantil

Robin Newton

The Place of Games in English Classes

If we accept Camerons view that children need to regularly review and recycle language, then games can offer enjoyable opportunities for interaction and practice of vocabulary and short phrases. Like stories and songs, games provide us with contexts for language practice that are fun and meaningful for young children. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cameron, Lynne (2001) Teaching Languages to Young Learners, Cambridge University Press FURTHER READING The following books are recommended for teachers: Games for children (1999) by Gordon Lewis and Gunther Bedson, Oxford University Press [This book has language games for the 4 to 11 age range so its a useful resource if youre teaching older children too] Very Young Learners (1997) by Vanessa Reilly and Sheila M.Ward, Oxford University Press [This book is aimed at teachers of the 3 to 6 year olds. It is organised into topics and includes songs and rhymes, stories and art and craft activities as well as games] www.eslcafe.com This is a free website for English teachers. Under the heading Stuff for teachers click on Idea cookbook and then Kids and youll find a long list of games and activities. Some of the activities are aimed at older children but theres still a lot of useful suggestions for the 4 to 6 age group. www.eslkidstuff.com Another free website for English teachers. It has a long list of games. Theyre not all appropriate for the age group but there are some good ideas here.

Robin Newton robinnewton2004@yahoo.co.uk

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