Games-in-Oral-English-Teaching

精品文档Games in Oral English TeachingIntroductionSince 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. The game 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 clearing English. Children enjoy playing games in their native 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. In orderThis thesis is divided into 3 parts. The first part is the history and present situations of game teaching .The second is theoretical ideas of this paper, and the advantages of game teaching. To build a cheerful and light-hearted environment, let the students in a relaxed and happy environment to learn English, they will be markedly improved. It begins with the definition of interest, the analysis of the relationship between interest and motivation. They are the kinds of games, the features of games, the advantages of the games and some advice on how to use games. The last is the experiment, which was carried out in Grade 4, You Huai Primary School. 1. The history and present situations of game teachingGame teaching is one of teaching activities. Although the theory of game teaching came into being in modern times, from ancient times, practice and exposition on game teaching have existed.1.1 Froebels game teachingGerman 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 so 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 happy teaching. Since 1949 Chinese education has changed greatly. Many childrens educators 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 rich and varied games according to teaching aims, teaching contents and teaching aids, which provided the abundant sensitive faculty materials for us to tally up the game teaching mode. 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 creating. He expounded that games were activities that were beneficial to childrens psychological and physiological development. Only games could make children lively and teachers should make good use of all kinds of game materials and give them enough chances to practice according to their age. 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 more and more people abroad and 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 teachingFrom above domestic and foreign game theory, we have discovered that, at present the domestic and foreign game theory had the very big development, in the teaching tested also accumulated many precious experiences, these theories inspected in the education today regarding us the game factor still has the extremely important inspiration significance. But only has such discussion is by far insufficient. These theories looked like in today, still had the deficiency, mainly manifested in following several aspects: First although recent years, game teaching however has been widely applied in the teaching activity, but these games all is aims at the pre-school education and the elementary school lower grade various discipline. The game designs also all are aim lower grade elementary school students. Also lacks the enough research to each kind of age section discipline game teaching. Secondly, its one-sidedness is inevitable. These neglects easily affect the development of game teaching to cause one-sidedness.2. Theoretical basis Creating a joyful and active classroom is a big and complex issue. Of all the topics of activating students interest, games and their influence on pupils interest is particularly concerned. 2.1The definition of gamesWhat 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.” Language games are not activities mainly aimed to break the ice between students or to kill time. 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, in particular. The main focus of using game in class is to help students learn and have fun. However, to use games in classrooms, it is equally important that 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 from the game. In playing games, competition is very important because it can stimulate and encourage students to participate in the activity since naturally they want to beat the other teams. As it happens, 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, relax, 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 The advantages of using games in language teachingAs we know, language learning is not easy work. Games can help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest. They play an important role in language teaching. 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. They are motivating and challenging.c. Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. 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. They encourage students to interact and communicate.f. They create a meaningful context for language use.As for ESL teachers, they should consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students attention; lower students stress; and give students the chance for real communication.2.3 How to choose gamesWhen choosing a game, the teacher should be careful to find an appropriate one for the class in terms of language and type of participation. There are a great number of language games. So teachers have a variety of choices. However, in deciding which game to use in a particular class and which games will be most appropriate and most successful with their students, teachers must take many factors into account. According to Carrier(1990) teachers should first consider the level of the game to fit their students language level. They should choose the game that fits the purposes of that class or the content. Moreover, teachers should consider students characteristics: whether they are old or young, serious-minded or light-hearted, and highly motivated to learn or not. They should also consider when the game should be used because there is a big difference between using the game in the morning or in the afternoon, on Monday or Friday. In addition to the factors mentioned, teachers should also be able to play and overact sometimes to help students feel comfortable and want to join the activity. This means teachers should thoroughly understand the game and its nature and be able to lead the game.It is quite difficult to find a game that meets all of the teachers requirements. Some games must be adapted in order to fit students language level, natures and characteristics. The most important factor is that games should be used when they can give students both fun and educational meaning otherwise they will be a waste of time.2.4 When to use gamesGames are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee (1988:3) 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”. Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon Q981:46) 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 aims connected with a game may vary:Presentation. Provide a good model making its meaning clear.Controlled practice. Elicit good imitation of new language and appropriate responses.Communicative practice. Give students a chance to use the language. 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.3. A Study of using games in primary school English teachingStudents greatly welcome games. They can create a cheerful light-hearted environment and arouse students interest in English. Games are considered one of the most effective ways to improve efficiency in language learning.3.1 Subjects The experiment started in two classes of Grade 4 in You Huai primary school from September to October. The subjects participated in this research were 100 primary school pupils randomly selected from You Huai Primary School. Not conducted before the experiment, the experimental class (class1) and control class (class2) interest learning English almost no difference. Over a period of one month many English games were applied in Class one which was determined as the experimental class to learn from learners reactions whether they liked games or not and if games could help improve their English knowledge. For control class (class 2) the teacher mainly used their traditional way of teaching.3.2 Research instrument The major instrument used in the paper was class observation and questionnaire. In order to know to what extent the game works in language teaching, the following questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was composed of 5 questions each of which contains four alternatives marked A, B, C. The questionnaire is as follows:1. Do you think English is important for your future?A. Yes B. I dont know C. No 2. Do you think English is difficult to learn?A. Yes B. I dont know C. No 3. Do you think learning English fun?A. Yes B. I dont know C. No4. Do you like English?A. Yes B. I dont know C. No5 If your parents or teacher does not require you to learn English, you will learn it or not?A. Yes B. I dont know C. No3.3 Data of the questionnaireQuestionclassYes I dont knowNo 1146(92%)2(4 %)2(4%)244(88%)4(6%)2(4%)2114(28%)4(8%)32(64%)220(40 %)12(24 %)18(36 %)3138(76%)6(12 %)6(12%)222(44 %)8(16 %)20(40%)4140(80 %)4(8%)6(12 %)226(52 %)024(48%)5132(64%)4(8%)14(28 %)220(40 %)8(16 %)22(44 %) After one month of English learning, most pupils know the importance of English learning for their future (92% of them in the experimental class 1 and 88% in control class 2).More pupils in the class 2(40%) feel English learning is hard for them, while in the experimental class 1 the rate is much lower (28%). A predominant number of pupils (76%) in the experimental class (class1) think English learning is interesting, however in the class 2 only less than half (44%) still keep their original interest. We can also obtain that an overwhelming majority of pupils (80%) in the experimental class like learning English whereas in the control class the number is just about half (52%). Finally we know more than half of the pupils (64%) in the experimental class still will come to learn English even without the pressure from their teacher, while in the class 2 much less of them (44%) are willing to. To sum up, even primary school pupils are already aware of the importance of English learning, which serves as their underlying long-term motivation. However, pupils taught in a joyful environment have more positive attitude towards English learning than those only taught by the traditional way. At the same time, English learning to the experimental class is much easier since they have developed interest in it. In summary, games are useful and effective tools that should be applied in English. The use of games is a way to make the lessons more interesting, enjoyable and effective.ConclusionRecently