CriticalEvaluationonGamesasaClassroomActivityinEFLLearningContext

ZHOUXin

【Abstract】Game is a double-edged sword.Though games can definitely arouse studentsinterests of learning and make students active and enthusiastic in EFL classroom， it is challenging for teachers to manage the games and achieve expected teaching objectives.

【Keywords】games， EFL classroom activities， communicative competence， English language proficiency

I.Description

Game is a useful teaching technique in the language learning classroom.It can be used as the warm-up activity at the beginning of the lesson， a break or “marginal” activity during the lesson， or an essential activity for practicing learnt language at all stages of the lesson （Uberman， 1998）.Games for language learning include picture games， psychology games， caring and sharing games， sound games， story games， memory games， miscellaneous games， etc.（Wright， Betteridge， and Buckby， 1984）.In spite of the different forms of various games， they have common features： 1） they are fun， motivating students to learn language； 2） they are communicative， improving studentscommunicative competence and spontaneous use of language； 3） they can integrate or utilize four skills of listening， speaking， reading and writing； 4） they are student-centered activity and teachers play a role of facilitator during activity （Lengeling， and Malarcher， 1997， Wright， Betteridge， and Buckby， 1984）.

II.Strengths and weaknesses

Using games in language classroom can be beneficial in the following aspects： 1） it can help teachers contextualize the target language in a meaningful and interesting situation， as well as help teachers evaluate students learning results and make compensations or improvement in time； 2） it encourages students to interact and communicate by using the target language in a motivating and entertaining way， which helps students to learn the language faster and better （Uberman， 1998）， especially for the shy students， who may become active to participant in the game to express their ideas and practice the language； 3） for different purposes of learning the target language， games have different functions： a） for the purpose of reviewing learnt language items， games can be designed to waken the short-term working memory of students for reinforcement of the target language and transform it into long-term working memory.This can be used in vocabulary acquisition.b） For the purpose of warm-up or lead-in before teaching the target language， games can be designed to make students become interested in learning or activate students schema knowledge， which can be applied into the teaching of reading.c） For the purpose of practicing one particular language item， repetitive and drill-oriented style of games can be used for students to practice and remember the new language item.d） For the purpose of extending or exploring students potential ability of using or creating language based on their actual English knowledge level， games can be involved at the end of the lesson as to stimulate students to produce the language.（Wright， Betteridge， and Buckby， 1984， Lengeling， and Malarcher， 1997）.

Game is a double-edged sword.Due to its nature of fun and amusement， it is challenging for teachers to control and manage the activities as not to be away from teaching the target language.If the students are over-motivated， the game may not be well-organized； therefore， the expected goal of the game can not be achieved or the game may be more emphasized than the target language， resulting in students acquisition of only the game， not the language.Besides， the results of the games do not satisfy teachers expectations， or to say， a game which is thought to be perfect on the paper may be impossible to implement in the actual classroom setting （Ersoz， 2000）， therefore， teachers should have enough experiences to design and carry out the games.In addition， because of individual differences of learning， some students may not have the willing to participant in the game； therefore， teachers should also take that variation into consideration to design the game.

References：

[1]Ersoz， A.Six Games for the EFL/ESL Classroom.The Internet TESL Journal， 6 （6）， Retrieved October 15， 2006， from http：//iteslj.org/Lessons/Ersoz-Games.html， 2000.

[2]Lengeling， M.M.， and Malarcher， C.Index cards： a natural resource for teachers.Forum， 35 （4）， 42.Retrieved October 15， 2006， from http：//www.teflgames.com/why.html， 1997.

[3]Uberman， A.The use of games for vocabulary presentation and revision.Forum， 36 （1）， 20.Retrieved October 15， 2006， from http：//www.teflgames.com/why.html， 1998.

[4]Wright， A.， Betteridge， D.， and Buckby， M.Games for language learning.Cambridge： Cambridge University Press， 1984.