English is fun

English is fun by using games

by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge and Michael Buckby

Cambridge University Press, 1984.

'Learning about English language is hard work ... Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period of time. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work.'

'Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The learners want to take part and in order to do so must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information.'

'The need for meaningfulness in English language has been accepted for some years. A useful interpretation of 'meaningfulness' is that the learners respond to the content in a definite way. If they are amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus the meaning of the language they listen to, read, speak and write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better remembered.

If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher's repertoire. They are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term!' (from Introduction, p. 1)

Why Use Games in Teaching English Language?

by Yin Yong Mei and Jang Yu-jing
Daejin University ELT Research Paper. Fall, 2000.

§  Games are fun and children like to play them. Through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment. (Lewis, 1999)

§  Games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language. For many children between four and twelve years old, especially the youngest, language learning will not be the key motivational factor. Games can provide this stimulus. (Lewis, 1999)

§  The game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the target language to life. (Lewis, 1999)

§  The game makes the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant children. (Lewis, 1999)

§  Through playing games, students can learn English the way children learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot.

§  Even shy students can participate positively.

How to Choose Games (Tyson, 2000)

v A game must be more than just fun.

v A game should involve "friendly" competition.

v A game should keep all of the students involved and interested.

v A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the language itself.

v A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material.