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Teach English in Bamiao Zhen - Hanzhong Shi

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Games are defined as fun evoking activities with set rules and an objective. Conventional and unconventional games may be used as an effective tool for teaching purposes and may also be adapted for educational purposes. Depending on the age group, a game’s academic level may be adapted for the suited age to ensure the appropriate educational challenge is implemented. This ensures that certain age groups are able to effectively learn English while also engaging in a fun classroom activity. There are two types of games, namely competitive games where individual players or teams compete for the first place position in reaching the games intended goal, then there are co-operative games where players work together in reaching the intended goal of the game. Furthermore, academically games may be categorized between communicative and linguistic games. Communicative games being tasks with no linguistic intention. While there are many books available as resources for creative communicative games, the games played by children or the popular games played by adults may also be adapted for classroom controlled practice or even free general practice. From an early age, children with varying backgrounds are accustomed to various games, traditional and/or other types. Games are especially popular among young learners as long as the game is properly explained, demonstrated and it is simple enough for young learners to find fun and exciting. On the other hand, older learners may react differently to games depending on the age group. This is why it is not wise to spend long durations of time on a set game as students may get bored which will then lead to a disruptive class. This does not mean that older learners should be expected to be serious in a class all day, a good dose of fun will always be appreciated by any age group. As an example of how games are adapted, the focus will be on the Engage-Study-Activate (ESA) lesson plan as it is typically the most effective and logical of the methodologies. Games may be incorporated into any of the ESA learning phases, as long as they are adapted to the criteria of that phase. In the introduction phase, games may be used to introduce everyone in the classroom, this sets a light tone to the class so that all students are comfortable enough to express themselves. Another example may be seen in the engage phase, where depending on the age, games such as fizz-buzz, alphabet relay, and sevens are popular. Typically, any game may be adapted for a phase as long as the phases intended purpose is reached. Engage phases generally include eliciting responses from the students, having discussions and also prompting responses through various teaching aids. Using the various teaching aids, a game may be incorporated into the phase. To add another example, in the activate phase, when teaching young learners (5 - 13 years), one may incorporate story building and role-play. These activities are not generally seen as games but they may be adapted in a way that can evoke fun and excitement from learners while also fulfilling an educational purpose. It is important to note that care should also be taken in ensuring a balance between teaching and fun so that a teacher doesn’t find themselves overwhelming the students with games and less teaching material. Adapting games in the classroom is not an easy task, a mistake many teachers make is to think of a game first before adopting the teaching point to the game. This is not advised, rather one should start with a teaching point and once this is clear then only should one think about what game can be used to deal with the teaching point. When creating a board game, it is advised that one uses an A4 size which is (210 x 297 cm). This will make it easier to use an exact measurement and not have to make many boards. Instead, one can save time by photocopying the original onto paper and taping them together. One should also remember that games are known to create a lively environment, sometimes even noisy as the students are filled with excitement, this is why measures and cooling down activities should not be forgotten when needing to adjust the tone of the class for the next activity or task.


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