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TEFL Huludao

Check out Tesolcourse.com about TEFL Huludao and apply today to be certified to teach English abroad.

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This is how our TEFL graduates feel they have gained from their course, and how they plan to put into action what they learned:

R.S. - Luxembourg said:
“If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher’s repertoire” (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 1983, pI). Ask anyone learning a language other than their native tongue and they will tell you that it’s hard work. Even the authors of many language texts will make reference to it requiring effort (Wright et al., 1983) or being frustrating (Ersoz, 2000). This is where games come in. They provide a highly motivating and entertaining way of incorporating language learning into a lesson so that students, young and old, are engaged and developing their language skills while having fun and interacting positively with their peers. Games can be adapted where necessary to match the interests and needs of a variety of learners and contexts. They can help teachers create meaningful and useful language experiences in real contexts where the learners are motivated to take part so that they can understand and communicate with their peers (Wright et al., 1983), as well as providing practice in all of the skills, which include reading, writing, listening and speaking, and for many types of communication (Wright et al., 1983). When you make a games content and language relevant to the students you are working with, they will be more likely to enjoy and value that game (Wright et al., 1983). As a teacher it is essential to be aware of the level, needs and interests of each class to ensure the games you use will be successful in both enjoyment and for providing meaningful learning experiences. The games used in the classroom can be as involved or as easy as the teacher deems appropriate, the main objective is to provide authentic opportunities for the focus language to be learned. If language games are challenging, rather than fiercely competitive, it can prevent the weaker students feeling the need to withdraw, and the stronger students developing an excessive sense of ability. Many game resources have been developed to provide activities that promote co-operation, problem solving, and searching for solutions (Wright et al, 1983), and can be easily accessed by teachers through language schools, shops and the internet. When games take place in a relaxed atmosphere, students may feel more comfortable using the language they have been exposed to and have practised in a previous, or current, lesson. Games are not only capable of providing students with a valuable way of practising the language, but through participating in role plays, producing materials, discussion, debate - the possibilities are endless - students also see how the language can be used later in real life. Games needn’t be limited to only one part of the lesson. Jeremy Harmer’s Engage, Study, and Activate phases (ITTT, 2001) all provide opportunities for the use of games. During the engage phase, where the teacher wants to get the students excited about the lesson, suitable games would include discussion and prompting based around videos, authentic objects or pictures (ITTT, 2001). During the Study phase where the focus is more on the language and how it’s constructed suitable games could include Hangman, word searches, and tongue twisters (ITTT, 2001). For the Activate phase students are encouraged to use all of the language they know as communicatively as possible (ITTT, 2001). Role playing is a popular game for the Activate phase, and other types could include communication games or story writing. In conclusion, provided the games used are appropriate and relevant to the level of the learners, they are a valuable method of providing meaningful and enjoyable language experiences to a variety of students. And as Wright et al. states (1983), “[Games] are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term!” (p.I). Reference List Ersoz, A. The Internet Tesl Journal, Vol. VI, No. 6, June 2000. Six games for the efl/esl classroom. http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Ersoz-Games.html . (11 July 2012). ITTT. (2001). Unit 3 - Theories, methods and techniques [PDF]. Wright, A., Betteridge, D. & Buckby, M. (1983). Games for language learning. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.


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