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Teach English in Zhaijia Zhen - Dezhou Shi

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Zhaijia Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Dezhou Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.

When a child plays house, the child is practicing the tasks involved in and embodying the identity of an adult. And when a child plays hide and seek, or builds a fort, the child is similarly practicing a function she may fulfill as an adult. These childhood preoccupations are games, involving rules which must be agreed upon and followed. And one need only turn on ESPN, an XBOX after a long day of work, or go on a date to see that adults also play games, similarly fun and governed by rules. The philosopher Wittgenstein observed that languages are games because of the rules they follow. And the acquisition of language similarly takes the form of a game. With that said, the intentional use of games during language learning can prove highly effective in helping students to learn. It bears repeating that languages, like games, follow rules, rules agreed upon by two or more parties. And when we practice games intentionally, we mimic the natural acquisition of these rules to great benefit. Part of the reason for this is that a student's identity may be centered away from herself. For example, a student who is pretending to be a police officer communicating with a robber may not feel the pressure of her identity as a student if she is having fun embodying the police officer. In colloquial terms, the use of games to de-center personal identity can "get rid of a lot of the baggage" language learners may experience. The existence of rules governing language implies that these rules can be broken. What is more interesting is that they can be bent. Truncation, mispronunciation, metaphor and the like can force a language to evolve. When the creative use of language is encouraged this natural, evolutionary pattern of language is mimicked. This helps students to gain confidence in their abilities with a language. The intentional use of games allows for the bending of language rules in a non-pressure setting. And with a good teacher in charge, the level to which rules are bent can be reined in to balance fluency and accuracy. Games are also social. As the old saying goes, it takes two to tango. One could play a game with one’s self, but the game would still be social in that one would consider oneself some other. Because we live in a world with others and use language alongside others, the benefit of games’ social involvement cannot be overlooked. Finally, games are fun. A great deal of words can be spilled theorizing, as above, about how games lessen pressure through adhering to and breaking rules and de-centering identities. But even if one did not accept these arguments, the fact that games are fun remains indisputable. The only proofs required are the laughter and smiles of children and adults alike as they play games, and everyone's continuous habit of coming together for the purpose of playing games. Indeed, language learning may be effective to the degree that this fact is born in mind. In conclusion, the intentional use of games in teaching language greatly enhances students learning. It teaches students about the rules of language and how they may be bent and broken. And it involves students in a way that is fun and social. The intentional use of games in the classroom is a juggernaut of a learning tool.


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