谈游戏教学法在小学英语教学中的应用.doc

On Application of Game Teaching Method in Primary School English TeachingAbstract The New English Curriculum Standard describes that the aim of primary teaching is to foster students interest in learning English. The paper aims to expound that game-teaching approach in primary schools is not only practicable but also efficient. The paper introduces types of games, superiorities of games in English teaching and the history and present situations of primary school English teaching. d The paper also include the theoretical basis of game teaching and a Study of using games in primary school English teaching.Key word games, types, primary school English teaching, theoretical basis, research谈游戏教学法在小学英语教学中的应用摘要: 新的英语课程标准描述,主要教学的目的是培养学生学习英语的兴趣。本文旨在阐述游戏教学方法在小学不仅是可行的而且是行之有效的。本文介绍了游戏教学法的类型,游戏教学法在小学英语教学中的优越性以及它的历史和当前在小学英语教学的发展现状。这篇论文还阐述了游戏教学法的理论基础和相关的一个调查研究。关键词：游戏， 类型， 小学英语教学，理论基础， 研究 IntroductionSince the year 2001, English has become a required lesson in the primary school from Grade 3. Primary English Teaching Syllabus points out: “Interest is a good teacher for pupils to learn a foreign Language. And its an important task for primary school English teachers to arouse students interest at present.” How to arouse the interest is the key for language teaching. Playing games in English teaching is one of effective ways which are fit for the development of childrens physiological and psychological characteristics. Being interested in playing is childrens nature. For children, the game is to live, and the life is a game, Playing games can foster childrens abilities, such as their intelligence, perception and so on. Many scholars agree that games in the language classroom have been considered a better way to encourage children to work hard and cultivate their interest in learning English. Children enjoy playing games in their nature and this is a familiar experience for children to be introduced to study a foreign language.With the development of society and improvement of civilization, English teaching methods in primary schools are changing. Game teaching has been used from the ancient time. It makes teaching more effective. When teachers use games in English teaching, they must be known that what kind of games can be used. How to play English games? How to design games? This thesis aims to prove the advantages of game teaching in improving primary school students interest in English learning. 1. The history and present situations of game teachingGame teaching is one of teaching activities. Although the theory of game teaching took shape in modern times, but the practice and exposition of game teaching have existed from ancient times .1.1 Froebels game teaching German educator Friedrich Froebel is the father of childrens education in western countries. Froebel designed special educational materials and activities that formed the core of the kindergarten curriculum. These were called “gifts” “occupations” and “mother plays.” The gifts were a set of geometric shapes such as balls, cubes and cylinders and materials like cut paper and string. Children used these gifts to perform a sequence of highly structured activities called occupations, such as sewing designs with colored threads, folding paper, weaving mats. Using their gifts in the various occupations, children were learning geometric relationships and understanding fundamental principles of knowledge. The mother plays were a series of finger plays, games and songs designed to teach children about their bodies, senses and enabled children to practice self control, cooperation, and taking turns. Froebel is considered the first one who probed into game teaching systematically and he is also the first one who advocated that games should be integrated into learning. Froebels theory was firstly based on scientific knowledge of the childrens psychological and physiological development and laid a strong foundation of making game teaching ripen progressively. But from the point of present game teaching of view, Froebels game teaching was only called teaching practice.1.2 The theory and the practice of contemporary game teaching Contemporary game teaching not only became the main activity of Childerss education but also embodied different grades in primary schools. It became one of effective mechanisms of linking up kindergartens and primary schools. Education is the cradle of a talented person. Many countries paid much attention to education, especially elementary education. How to improve teaching quality in the primary school and how to solve the problem of childrens interest have become very urgent and important. Introducing learning games in the primary school has aroused general concern in many countries. In the 1940s, Japan started studying the relationship between kindergartens and primary schools. Some teachers used some useful games in primary schools. American educators also devoted much attention to this research. They used many games in primary schools. In the 1950s, in the Soviet Union the teachers in lower grades adapted games to reduce the degree of study and create good conditions for learning. From ancient times, Chinese people thought highly of childrens education. In Song Dynasty, private schools paid much attention to the childrens interests. Zhu Xi also stressed the importance of game teaching. Since 1949 Chinese education has changed greatly. Many educators who teach little children have achieved great success in game teaching . They have summed up a lot of games or activities such as teaching through childrens songs, teaching in situations, simulating teaching, P E. games and so on. Generally speaking, teachers should design and use colorful and varied games according to teaching aims, teaching contents and teaching aids, which provided the abundant sensitive faculty materials. In the contemporary, Mr. Chen Heqin was one of the greatest educators who made the outstanding contribution to Chinese childrens education and set up the first research center of childrens education-Kindergarten in Gulou. Many games there were full of creativities. He expounded that games were activities that were beneficial to childrens psychological and physiological development. Only games could make children lively, so teachers should make good use of all kinds of game materials and give them enough chances to practice according to their ages. From modern age to the contemporary, game teaching theory has been improved step by step. Many educators, philosophers or thinkers encouraged children to play games. They presented games should be integrated with learning, Now both people abroad and people at home come to realize the importance and the urgency of game teaching in the primary school. As we all know, game teaching is a very useful way to improve primary school English teaching effectiveness.1.3 The problems of game teaching From above domestic and foreign game theories, we have discovered that, at present the domestic and foreign game theory had developed a lot. And the teaching testes also accumulated many precious experiences, these theories today regarding us the game factor still has the extremely important inspiration significance. But only has such discussion is by far insufficient. In recent years, game teaching has been widely applied in the teaching activity, but these games are all aim at the pre-school education and the elementary school lower grade various discipline. These games also fit for lower grade elementary school students. Whats more, its one-sidedness is inevitable. These neglects easily affect the development of game teaching to cause one-sidedness.2. The definition of games2.1 The definitionWhat are games in an EFL/ESL environment? The answer given by the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (Richards, Plat, 1995) is: A game (in language teaching) is an organized activity that usually has the following properties: “a. a particular task or objectives; b. a set of rules; c. competition between players d. communication between players by spoken or written language.”Byrne (1995) gave the definition to games as a form of play governed by rules. They should be enjoyed and fun. They are not just a diversion, a break from routine activities, but a way of getting the learner to use the language 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. The main focus of using game in class is to help students learn and have fun. However, to use games in classrooms is equally important. 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 can be very helpful, too, 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 have from the game. In playing games, competition is very important because it can stimulate and encourage students to participate in the activity. Enjoy beating others is a kind of nature. For example, 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 as possible. While playing, students have fun, exercise, and tease their friends. Apart from having fun, students learn at the 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.2.2 Types of language games in the primary school classroom Classifying games into categories can be difficult, because categories often overlap. Hadfield (1999) explains two ways of classifying language games. First, she divides language games into two types: linguistic games and communicative games. Linguistic games focus on accuracy. On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information and ideas, such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one another but not exactly alike. Correct language usage, though still important, is secondary to achieving the communicative goal. The second taxonomy that Hadfield uses to classify language games has many more categories. As with the classification of games as linguistic games or communicative games, some games will contain elements of more than one type.a. Sorting, ordering, or arranging games. For example, students have a set of cards with different products on them, and they sort the cards into products found at a grocery store and products found at a department store.b. Information gap games. In such games, one or more people have information that other people need to complete a task. For instance, one person might have a drawing and their partner needs to create a similar drawing by listening to the information given by the person with the drawing. Information gap games can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game just described, or a two-way information gap, in which each person has unique information, such as in a Spot-the-Difference task, where each person has a slightly different picture, and the task is to identify the differences.c. Guessing games. These are a variation on information gap games. One of the best known examples of a guessing game is 20 Questions, in which one person thinks of a famous person, place, or thing. The other participants can ask 20 Yes/No questions to find clues in order to guess who or what the person is thinking of.d. Searching games. These games are yet another variant on two-way information gap games, with everyone giving and seeking information. Find Someone Who is a well known example. Students are given a grid. The task is to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name of a classmate who fits that cell, e.g., someone who is a vegetarian. Students circulate, asking and answering questions to complete their own grid and help classmates complete theirs.e. Matching games. As the name implies, participants need to find a match for a word, picture, or card. For example, students place 30 word cards; composed of 15 pairs, face down in random order. Each person turns over two cards at a time, with the goal of turning over a matching pair, by using their memory. This is also known as the Pelmanism principle, after Christopher Louis Pelman, a British psychologist of the first half of the 20 century.f. Exchanging games. In these games, students barter cards, other objects, or ideas. Similar are exchanging and collecting games. Many card games fall into this category.g. Board games. Scrabble is one of the most popular board games that specifically highlight language.h. Role plays games. Role play can involve students playing roles that they do not play in real life, such as dentist, while simulations can involve students performing roles that they already play in real life or might be likely to play, such as customer at a restaurant. Dramas are normally scripted performances, whereas in role plays and simulations, students come up with their own words, although preparation is often useful. Another distinction among games is that between competitive games and cooperative ones (Jacobs, in preparation). Research suggests that learning, as well as affective variables are enhanced by a cooperative environment (Johnson, Johnson, Stanne; Slavin1995). Millis (2005) outlines a number of advantages of cooperative games such as appropriate anxiety levels and more constructive feedback.3. The superiorities of using games in language teachingAs we know, language learning is not a easy job. Games can help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest. They play an important role in language teaching.3.1 The advantages of game teaching Games can help students to find interest in learning a foreign language. Games can not only make the students joyful, but also make them full of wit and humor. It can excite the students curiosity for the knowledge for the knowledge. Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language.And games can aslo help teachers to create a stress-free learning environment for students. Games can help teachers enlighten their students to think actively. It can encourage them to use their heads, eyes, mouths and hands more often. Games can aslo guide students to study voluntarily. Whats more, games can arouse students desire of using foreign language to express their ideals and feelings. Here are many valid reasons for using games in language teaching, including affective reasons, cognitive reasons, and linguistic reasons. They provide insights into the benefits of games in the classroom. Many scholars point out the advantage of games in language teaching, just like Lee Su Kim suggested:a. Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class.b. Games are motivating and challenging.c. Games help students to make and sustain the effort of leaning.d. Games provide language practice in the various skills-speaking, writing, listening and reading.e. Games encourage students to interact and communicate.f. Games create a meaningful context for language use.As for ESL teachers, they should consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students attention; relieve students stress; and give students the chance for real communication.3.2 The importance of interest In learning English, it is very important to motivate and develop the students interest.Interest is a kind of power what can drive people to learn actively and happily. And interest makes learning more effective and efficient. 3.2.1 InterestThere is a saying says “interest is the best teacher”. It also means that you will learn better if you are interested in it. So, how to arouse students interest to study is a very important and critical problem for a teacher to consider and solve. Interest is not innate. It grows in the late. For those preparatory students who have just entered primary school, how to arouse the interest of the students is a new subject. Most of them are afraid of learning English, especially reciting texts, remembering lots of new words and expression. This will make resistance for them to study English. We cant make it a condition that students can recite how many new words and texts to measure the standard of learning English. We should develop the studentsinterest of studying English. As interest is a source and a motive power of study, it can make students sustain a long time to study English. So interest is one of the key elements. Teachers have to create a healthy balance between preparing students for the standardized exams and for life-long language skills. In our primary school students are usually lacking in atmosphere of learning English. But they are lively, and they have wide interests and they are eager to show themselves. To take the advantage of educational method of physiology and psychology, we should make full use of the characteristic of the primary school students.I once taught in a childrens training school for two months. I finally had a deep understanding of game teaching. The students in this school are all from 3 to 15 years old. And most of them are forced to go to this school by their parents. So they dont have much interest in English. As a childrens English teacher, we should mobilize the enthusiasm to study English of the children through the games,