Game-playing in English Teaching
Abstract
Study is a serious thing for the pupils. But the study procedure can be relaxed and joyful. Game is a good way to raise the pupils’ interests. Besides
its entertainment function, it also has the function for study. Game-playing in English teaching is a kind of teaching ways that combine game with teaching, and it’s helpful for accomplishment of the teaching tasks, with its creativeness, knowledge and amusement, game-playing in English teaching should be significant. During the teaching, the teacher should foresee what will happen from the pupils’ real situations, encourage the pupils to take part in it, and give award to the winner, while encourage others to do better next time. In a word, game English teaching can arouse the pupils’ potentiality inside, make
the students come into a best study situation so that get the best study efficiency.
Key words: game, English teaching, study, pleasure
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摘 要
学习对小学生而言是件严肃的事？但学习过程可以是轻松？快乐的。游戏是能有效激发小学生兴趣的一种方法？它除了具有娱乐功能之外？还具有学习功能。游戏教学是围绕教学目标而将游戏融于教学之中的一种教学活动类型？它服务于教学目标？有利于教学任务的完成？融知识性、创新性和娱乐性于一体。另外？游戏教学是与生活有关？具有现实意义的。在游戏教学过程中？老师应从学生实际情况出发对可能发生的情况作好估计？多鼓励学生积极参与？对表现好者及时给予奖励？而对成绩平平者给予鼓励。总之？通过游戏教学法可以充分调动学生的内在潜力和积极性？使学生进入最佳学习状态？让学生的学习效果达到最好。
关键词，游戏！英语教学！ 学习！ 娱乐
Content
Abstract………………………………………………………………………i
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摘要…………………………………………………………………………ii Content………………………………………………………………………ii Introduction…………………………………………………………………1 1. Function of Game-playing in English Teaching………………………… 2. The Structure and Features of Games used in English Teaching… 3. The Design of Game-playing in English Teaching………………………
3.1 The Aims……………………………………………………………
3.2 The Characters………………………………………………………
3.3 The Application Scope………………………………………………
3.4 The Significance………………………………………………………
3.5 The Principles……………………………………………………… 4. Notice for Teacher…………………………………………………………
4.1 The Way to Run the Game…………………………………………
4.2 Some Suggestion for Teacher……………………………………… Conclusion…………………………………………………………………… Bibliography……………………………………………………………… Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………
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Introduction
To the pupils, study is a serious thing. How to arouse their interests so as to study English happily is an important but difficult thing. In this essay, I’ll introduce a good way to solve this problem. That is game-playing in English teaching. It is a teaching method that combine game with teaching. We’ll talk its function in part I, the features and structure in part II. The design of it should be an important part in this essay. We’ll discuss it specifically in
part III. Then the next part is some skills the teacher should get during the teaching procedure. At last that is the conclusion.
1. The Functions of Game-playing in English Teaching
At the beginning of 20th century. With the theory of “Activity” , Dway
emphasize that “learn from experience” in games. He thinks that such as
games, competitions are fit the child psychology. The children can find problems, analyze problems and solve them through the game so as to develop their intelligence well. According to his a large number of research on the children’s brain structure, Dway points out that the pupils can learn
[1]abstract symbol by some lively activities like games and stories.
Besides its amusement function, game is a special way for children to know and understand the world. It is said that the children can go to a best study situation just in funny study. Bringing the game into teaching does not mean the simple combination of the both, but find the integration so as to
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[2] unify them systemically.
2. The Structure and Features.
Game-playing in English teaching is a kind of teaching ways that combines game with teaching. Its features are: It is designed according to teaching aims and teaching tasks; It can arouse the children’s motivation by
the amusement itself. It is a procedure that both the teacher and students learn the content. So, Game-playing in English teaching is systemically composed by teaching content and game rules, which is different from other teaching style. It is made up of game task, game token, game behavior in teaching.
2.1 Game task is decided by teaching aims. For example, in the game “Beat a drum to pass the flower”. The sentences on the slip of paper should be related to the teaching content so that to drill the new sentences pattern in game.
2.2 Game token is something to express and pass information during game, it can be object, picture, audio-video product or body language etc, and it is the unity of material and consciousness. In the teaching “how to express
the date”, the game “free food in a week of Uncle KFC”. Use calendar, word
list, ornaments as token.
2.3 On the basis of game roles, the anticipants operate the game token to finish the game task, that is game behavior etc.
2.4 Game rule is the standard used to judge the game behavior and game result. It should be simple and easy to understand.
In a word, the teacher should adjust the structure when he organizes
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game-playing in English teaching so as to play its perfect effect. 3、The Design of Game-playing in English Teaching
3.1 The Aims
Every game should be serviced for the finishing of the teaching task, and help the student review the learnt knowledge and make the revision interesting. Take the game “East, South, West, North” for an example. Its aim
is to make the learners to master the four direction words and distinguish them; First the teacher sets four students in a group to sit face to face, with the word cards “East” “South” “west” “North” on the hands, then select one pupil
to be the leader through the finger-guessing game. The leader takes a stick made of paper in a hand, say a direction word such as “south” randomly, the
student who has this word should stand up at once and speak out the opposite word “North”. If he speaks it slowly or incorrectly, they’ll be beaten by the
“stick”, If he speaks it quickly and correctly, It’s his turn to be the leader, and
gives orders, In the game, the student composite in speed, and reaction,
Of course, there is some award for them, so that they can learn the words in competition and fun.
3.2 The Characters
In a revision lesson, to review the communicative sentences, the teacher design a game “magic turntable”, in which the teacher acts as Father
Christmas, makes a turntable with some pieces of paper on it. The paper should be written something such as “How are you?” “What’s this?” “May I
have a look?” “May I speak to …” etc. Then ask one student to push the
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turntable until it stops by itself. The student should read the question the pointer points to. Others answer it. If he can answer correctly, he can get a gift given by Father Christmas. This game can help the students review the whole content of all the term. At the same time they play very happily in the game. Therefore the forms of game should be changeable. So that the student won’t
be tired of it. So the creativeness is the same important as the amusement. The teacher should try his best to design and change his way of playing to get the students’ interest.
3.3 The Application Scope
The game should be fit for the anticipants’ age, knowledge. If the game
is complicated, they will feel dull and abstruse. If the game is fit for them, they just need do a little thing. To reach the aim, they will feel proud of themselves. Take “word together with one heart” for example. It’s to
remember the new words with the content. In this game, teacher uses drawing to set the students to imagine so as to study the words. First the teacher divides them into two groups, then hands out a piece of paper with many different words on it to each group, and ask them to remember a word in a minute (window, cup, bed, ball, table, chair, map, book, light, lamp, wall, picture) then the teacher take back the paper, ask the students to draw a thing in limit time according to their memories, so that those objects make up a picture of a room, the same demand for the other groups, then both the teacher and students judge their words, and “the most correct group” or “the best
painter” is winner. At last all the students recite the text with the memory. The
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teacher can sum up some ways to recite text with the help of “picture
imagine”. In this way, the students will feel very joyful when they recite text. And reciting text is not a difficult thing for them any more. Because they have obtained the skill to recite the text quickly and easily.
3.4 The Significance
The game should be significant, related to real life, such as “shopping
game” it is a game that use the learnt knowledge for communication, to review the fruit name, cloth and stationary, and cultivate their team spirit. Some shopping sentences also are used in the game, such as “Can I help
you?” “I want to buy a…” “OK, I’ll take it”. “No, No,5 Yuan”. “Here is the
money” “Here is the change. Bye”. First the teacher divides the students into
3 groups, prepares three places for them: cloth store, fruit store, stationary store, some students act as purchasing agent, some as shop assistants. The teacher gives ten pieces of paper, a pencil to each part, sets the three groups to draw what they sells and write the English names and give the price below the names. Five minutes later, the teacher collects the pictures and mixes them, hands out to the students randomly with some “money”. At this time, each
team member should display their products, the purchasing agent will go out to buy what they should sell, while the assistants stay at the shop to do dead with others, for example, the assistants of fruit store should buy other fruit from another two stores in English. They can really begin their business until they buy all the fruit and give an English name to the shop. At last, the teacher should give some award to the good group . The award is clapping. During
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the procedure, English is used in every step, which satisfied the students need to use knowledge for practice, During the game the practice of English can help the student to eager more knowledge. Games help the students learn from each other and experience the pleasure of co-operation, so that they form
[3] the team & competition spirit.
3.5 The Principles
The game rules should be simple, easy to understand, not complicated. To review the sentence patterns “Which food dies he like?” “He likes…” The
teacher shows some pictures of food to review the food word first, then asks students to say one by one : S: I like milk. S: I like milk and pie. S: I like 123
milk pie and bread. S: I like milk, pie, bread and cake… then all the students 4
ask the last student of this group to check his memory which food does S 4
“like?” The student answered “ He likes milk, pie, bread and cake.” Time is
limited in a class, It’s impossible for the teacher to explain the rules little by
[4]little. So the rules should be easy to understand to leave more time for the students to practice by themselves.
Game should concern all students. If the game just involves several students, the game affect will be little. Because most students have nothing to do but watch, they will lose interest for it. In that case how dose the teacher obtain the teaching goal? Take “Free food in a week of uncle KFC” for
example, the goal of this game is to drill the sentences “what day is today?”
“It’s…” “Would you like something to eat ?” “I like…” First, decorates the
classroom a dinning room of “KFC” sets the students to sit down around the
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desks in four groups. The teacher list the free food from Monday to Sunday on the blackboard in English, Each group select one pupil as waiter who hold a dish with some “free food” on it. Anyone who can answer the questions
correctly given by the waiter, he can get a piece of free food. The waiter can ask them “what day is today?” “Can I help you sir?” “Would you like
something to eat?” etc. At last, teacher counts whose food is the most and gives award to winner. All the students know KFC and most of them like to go there. Teacher designs this game according to the children psychology, makes the student join the game with pleasure. At the same time, English is widely used in this game which obtains the teaching goal.
So when the teacher designs a game, he should combine the advanced teacher way with correct education theory, give the study initiative back to the student, assign some activities to them to let them learn and improve themselves with pleasure in games.
4. Notice for teacher
4.1 The Way to Run the Game
Generally, there are three ways to run the game. The first one is traditional direction style, that is teacher explain the rules first then begin to play the game.
The second is train style in which there are several examples to let the others understand the game, the third is anticipant style. That means the teacher join the game with the students together. Usually the game should be
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