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Some people might ask “Why play games in the classroom?”. Personally, I’ve loved playing games since childhood. I’ve incorporated this into my teaching philosophy. I believe learning a foreign language shouldn’t be a serious thing and it is mostly a teacher’s responsibility to make a lesson more fun and enjoyable for students. There exists a wealth of games: from digital to board games, each of them beneficial in their own way. A teacher should be cognisant that students' engagement is increased through the use of high quality games that relate specifically to a theme. Given my two years of experience being an ESL teacher, I have discovered a number of reasons why playing games might be a powerful tool; for teachers and students alike. Firstly, games grab the attention of students and actively encourage them to participate in a lesson. I’ve witnessed students’ engagement fall when presenting new material takes some time. Students appear less focused, often tired of sitting and full of energy when material is not constantly being refreshed. This observation is most prevalent when it comes to young learners who have limited attention spans. Therefore, in this instance, energetic games requiring lots of movement definitely help the teacher to retain students’ attention. From experience, students really enjoy playing games; henceforth why it’s effective to use them for classroom based learning in-order to focus students’ attention whilst immersing them in a new language. There is a famous quote: “Practice makes perfect”. Mastering a new language is a laborious task and requires a lot of dedication. Sometimes, if a lesson is not constructed correctly, students could find tasks repetitive and uninteresting. There exists a huge range of English games available that can help create interesting and dynamic lessons to create fulfilling lessons. Student’s that are more engaged are more productive in reviewing previous topics and curious to learn and memorise new vocabulary and structures. ESL games are also designed to stretch and test students’ knowledge. When I create my own games, I always try to add some challenge for students to allow them to reach a new level of performance and understanding of a foreign language. Another benefit of lesson based games is that through playing, students develop a range of important life skills. There are many skills that students can learn whilst playing games, i.e. teamwork, creativity and critical thinking. My lessons aim to build confidence in my students through the use of games with flashcards. When I teach in a class, I often use group-based games by dividing a class into 2-3 small groups and make them compete against each other. The classroom atmosphere becomes more exciting and children tend to perform better as they don’t want to let their team down. In summary, ESL games in the classroom are a vital tool for a successful lesson and serve a valid purpose in enhancing a student’s learning experience. Considering how beneficial games are for both teacher and students, they are very valuable and should be used during lessons.
