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Learning a new language or a new skill in general can be a very time-consuming and at times difficult endeavor, especially for those that either lose their motivation rather quickly or are unable to concentrate for long periods of time. Think, for instance, of children and their short attention span or their ability to get easily distracted. It would have an unattainable achievement for teachers to manage a class of let's say 20 6year-olds, if they hadnt come up with several teaching techniques to both entertain and teach them. Songs, the use of arts and principally games are nowadays considered integral instructional tools within a class (of mainly younger learners). Games are distinguished for their capacity to combine movement, and gestures (the kinaesthetic component) with language (the linguistic component), something that as many theorists like James Asher suggested can increase learning, provided that both sides of the brain are simultaneously stimulated. Let us look at games into more detail. What are some of the most evident advantages of games? To begin with, it is known that practice makes perfect, but for practice to be worthwhile, it needs to take place in an engaging and fun environment. Worksheets and coursebook exercises cannot even be compared to lively games like hangman or pictionary. Instead of sitting motionless in a desk with a paper in front of them, children get to move, act out, talk with each other, exchange ideas, etc. Such a process can eventually assist them in internalizing new vocabulary, structures, and grammar rules probably without even consciously realizing that. Moreover,games held the potential to focus students' attention and they end up being fully immersed. Even though things can get a bit noisy if students get too engaged: yet, even this proves that concentration can indeed be attained. For example, after drilling, the completion of written exercises or the attendance of long lectures on grammatical rules, children do get jumpy and find it hard to settle down, given that they had to be disciplined and mentally "busy" for a long period of time. Playing a game, therefore can act as a "tranquilizer" that potentially relaxes and bring them back to the learning environment. Another very significant benefit of games is the new skills students get to develop. Working closely with other people for a common profit (in cases where a class is divided into groups and each group has to eliminate each other in order for one winner to emerge),and creativity (e.g. in games where students have to act out different actions or in roleplays) can be two skills students could make use of later in life. Apart from them, however, and given the fact that games are mainly activities with clearcut rules, children also get to learn how to discipline themselves as well as how to behave under certain standards and regulations. Yet, despite their many benefits, a teacher should not overuse games in a class. He should have the ability to recognize the necessity to use one, only when students tend to drift away.
