Some Suggestions for Teachers on Applying Games

Abstract：

Game teaching is a kind of effective teaching methods in children’s English teaching and it can promote successful language learning. Teachers play a very important role in making games more effective in teaching. Here are some suggestions for teachers on applying games.

Key words： game teaching teacher’s role suggestions

In primary schools， it is clear that pupils depend their English learning on teachers. If teachers can guide well， pupils can learn well. Teachers should be familiar with basic requirements for primary English course and make sure of the teaching aim and task. Teachers should study more：

I. Preparing the materials in sufficient quantities.

The teacher may wish to develop appropriate lesson materials to elaborate the topic in the context of the game. There are some essential materials that the teacher needs. It is a good idea to build up a stock of cards showing people’ food， common classroom and household objects， animals， etc. To collect pictures from magazines or newspapers and stick them to card. It is very useful to list and prepare the materials before each class. Meanwhile， there is a variety of media can be used for collecting materials. Consider such media as music， videotapes， posters， newspaper or magazine articles， models， Internet materials or Web pages， and in-class demonstrations.

II. Giving clear instructions.

The teacher should explain clearly what is to be done. For each game the teacher should present an introductory overview and then describe the game’s purpose and objective and its logistics： the number of players， the approximate time of play， and the supplies required. Then we lay out， step by step， how to play and score the game. Unless the learners know what the teacher is expected to do and how to do it， the aim cannot be achieved， and the game cannot be played. When giving instructions to beginners， a few words in the mother tongue would be the quickest way to make everything clear. More English exposure is needed at a later stage. Games are best set up by demonstration rather than by lengthy explanation.

III. Making sure everyone participates.

The teacher should pay attention to students’ participation and experience in games teaching. In class of games teaching， every student has different chances to participate in games. In the teaching period， the teacher should pay more attention to some students who always sit quietly in the corner of the classroom. Encourage them to participate in the activities and when they give the correct answers ， the teacher rewards them in time.

IV. Controlling the time of each game.

Children’s attention spans vary. So remember not to keep an activity so long in case the children lose interest. It is best to stop a game at its peak. The teacher may design different activities that are related to the theme. Then watch the students’ reaction and change activities at least 3-5 minutes to keep their attention or the pace of class quick. If the teacher keeps an activity soon， the children will want to go back to it soon， because they like to do interesting things over and over again. Feel free to repeat the activities as long as the children are still interested. Thus the target task can be well done.

V. “Checking” answers at the end of an activity.

At the end of the activity， the teacher should judge the results of the games correctly， deciding which group has played best. Children should be encouraged in the class. Many teachers have found it useful to give students stars or stickers， “smiles ” or other rewards when the students participate in the games. These small rewards make the teachers’ praise concrete and visible， and also let the students behave well in the class.

VI. Operating “new” games frequently

There lays a fact that those teaching games must changeable and variety. The teacher should find “new” games through different channels including newspaper， radios and television programs. It is a wise precaution to collect and file games for use whenever we happen to come across them. Nowadays we also can surf the net to get more information including the new games. The games we discussed above refer to the games in classroom. After class we can encourage the children to use the games on the Internet if the condition permits. Thus， the language level is determined by the type of use， not just by the structures and vocabulary items.

In a word， as teachers， we should improve various methods to arouse the students’ interesting and make them learn the knowledge as lively as possible.