How to Teach
English With Fun Learning Games
By Deborah
Jones, eHow Contributor
Fun games
make learning English easier for adults as well as children.
Teaching
English can bring the teacher face-to-face with a multitude of obstacles that
students need to overcome. Many of the students learning English will bring
with them insecurities and a lack of confidence in their abilities to learn a
new language. According to Adam Chee, writing in "The International
Teaching English to Young Learners Journal," bringing humor into the
classroom "creates a positive classroom atmosphere for the smooth
acquisition of the language." Simple games that inject life and laughter
into the lesson are quickly adapted to suit the needs of the class, and help to
motivate and build confidence while minimizing student anxieties.
Instructions
1. Game Choice
o 1
Work on one or two skill areas at a time, such as
speaking and listening, or writing and reading. Tailor vocabulary games such as
Hangman or Wordsearch to specific areas of study, for instance numbers or
animals. Active games, like a spelling relay, teach spelling skills, and
Chinese Whispers helps with listening and pronunciation.
o 2
Adapt games to suit the age group of the students.
Adult learners will probably prefer to stay in their seats, whereas younger
students may enjoy games that allow them to move around the classroom.
o 3
Motivate students with your own passion and enjoyment
of the game. Enthusiasm is infectious and students will pick up on a teacher's
disinterest or boredom.
2. Explain the Rules
o 4
Explain the rules, using simple language, and keep the
explanation as brief as possible. Hand out any papers needed for the game after
the explanation. Students will look at the paper and stop listening if given
too soon.
o 5
Adapt your language to the language abilities of the
learners, and use the native language of the students, if possible, to explain
the game. More advanced learners will appreciate instruction in English but
beginners will struggle with complex instructions.
o 6
Demonstrate the learning game to help students
understand the rules more quickly. Run through a few examples on the board if
playing word or number games, or play an example round of speaking and
listening games with one of the students while the rest of the class watches.
3. Starting and Finishing the Games
o 7
Divide the class into groups for team learning games
by mixing and matching English abilities. Put students with a firm grasp of the
language into groups with students who need a little help. Avoid unequal group
abilities, especially with games of a competitive nature.
o 8
Monitor the progress of the game rather than leaving
students to themselves. Move around the classroom and listen in for group
speaking and listening games. Encourage all students to take part during
whole-class learning games.
o 9
End the game before the students lose interest or
become bored.
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