THE USE OF GAMING MOMENTS IN TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Резюме
В статье раскрыты значимость, эффективность и преимущество использования
инровых моментов на уроках иностранного языка.
Ключевые слова: выбор подходящих игр
Түйіндеме
Бұл мақалада балаларға шетел тілін оқытуда ойындарды қолданудың маңыздылығы,
артықшылықтары, тиімділігі жайлы айтылған.
Кілттік сөз: тиісті ойындарды таңдау
The consideration of game technologies as means of raising motivation. The
contribution of drilling lies in the concentration on a language form and its
frequent use during a limited period of time. Many games provide this repeated use
of a language form. By making the language convey information and opinion,
games provide the key feature of drill with the opportunity to sense the working of
language as living communication[1].
Games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful
and meaningful. The learners want to take part and in order to do so must
understand what others are saying or have written, and the speak or write in order
to express their own point of view or give information.
Many games cause as much as density of practice as more conventional drill
exercises; some do not. Want matters, however, is the quality of practice.
The aim. To raise an interest for vocabulary through games, to analyze
theoretical material on the problem under discussion, to reveal game technologies
as means of raising motivation, to find the advantages of game technologies as
means of raising motivation[2].
The subject of research - game technologies as means of raising motivation.
The articles from methodological journals, educational and methodological
literature and internet resources were also used during writing of the work.
Now let us consider the first part of my research work.I have chosen this
theme because games are often used in teaching process. Because of it lessons can
be more interesting and effective. In my opinion, language learning is hard work.
One should make an effort to understand, to repeat accurately, to manipulate newly
acquired language and to use the whole range of known language in conversation
or written composition. Effort is required at every moment and must maintained
over a long period of time[3]. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain
their interest and work.
Teaching vocabulary is considered in the first chapter. What teachers really
mean is that students are not motivated to behave in the way teachers would like
them to behave. Game technologies as a way and raising of motivation in teaching
foreign languages are given in the second chapter. I take into account different
opinions and methods of scholars about using games in teaching process, how they
can improve and develop skills and motivation of student during educational
process.
The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for
some years.
Vocabulary acquisition is increasingly viewed as crucial to language
acquisition. However, there is much disagreement as to the effectiveness of
different approaches for presenting vocabulary items. Moreover, learning
vocabulary is often perceived as a tedious and laborious process. In this article I
would like to examine some traditional techniques and compare them with the use
of language games for vocabulary presentation and revision, in order to determine
whether they are more successful in presenting and revising vocabulary than other
methods.
From my teaching experience I have noticed how enthusiastic students are
about practicing language by means of games. I believe games are not only fun but
help students learn without a conscious analysis or understanding of the learning
process while they acquire communicative competence as second language users.
Vocabulary teaching techniques
There are numerous techniques concerned with vocabulary presentation.
However, they are few things that have to be remembered irrespective of the way
lexical items are presented. If teachers want students to remember new vocabulary,
it needs to be learnt in context, practiced and then revised to prevent students from
forgetting. We can tell the same about grammar. Teachers must make sure students
have understood the new words, which will be remembered better if introduced in
a "memorable way"[3]. Bearing all this in mind, teachers have to remember to
employ a variety of techniques for new vocabulary presentation and revision.
There are the following types of vocabulary presentation techniques:
1. Visual techniques. These pertain to visual memory, which is considered
especially helpful with vocabulary retention. Learners remember better the
material that ha been presented by means of visual aids. Visual techniques lend
themselves well to presenting concrete items of vocabulary-nouns; may are also
helpful in conveying meaning of verbs and adjectives[4]. They help students
associate presented material in a meaningful way and incorporate it into their
system of language values.
2. Verbal explanation. This pertains to the use of illustrative situations,
synonymy, opposites, scales, definition and categories.
3. Use of dictionaries. Using a dictionary is another technique of finding out
meanings of unfamiliar words and expressions. Students can make use of a variety
of dictionaries: bilingual, monolingual, pictorial, thesauri and the like. As French
Allen perceives them dictionaries are "passports to independence,' and using them
is one of the student-centered learning activities
The advantages of using games. Many experienced textbook and
methodology manuals writers have argued that the games are not just time-feeling
activities but have a great educational value. W. R. Lee holds that most language
games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the
correct forms. He also says that games should be treated as central not peripheral to
the foreign language teaching programme. A similar opinion in expressed by
Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their
pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching. There are many
advantages of using games. "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition
of input more likely" (Richard-Amato). They are highly motivating and
entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their
opinions and feelings they also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a
foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson.
Furthermore, to quote Richard-Amati, they, "add diversion to the regular
classroom activities," break the ice, "but also they are used to introduce new
ideas". In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students
remember things faster and better. Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who
believes games to be a good way of practicing language, for they provide a model
of what learners will use the language for in real life in the future.
Games encourage, entertain, teach and promote fluency. If not any of these
reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign
language and not just problems[5].
Another factor influencing the choice of a game is its length and the time
necessary for its completion. Many games have a time limit, but according to Siek-
Piscozub, the teacher can either allocate more or less time depending on the
students' level, the number of people in a group, or the knowledge of the rules of a
game etc.
When to use games. Games are often used as short warm-up activities or
when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee observes, a game
"should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the
teacher and class have nothing better to do". Games ought to be at the heart of
teaching foreign languages. Rixon suggests that games be used at all stages of the
lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen. At different stages of
the lesson, the teacher's aims connected with a game may vary:
1. Presentation. Provide a good model making its meaning clear;
2. Controlled practice. Elicit good imitation of new language and appropriate
responses;
3. Communicative practice. Give students a chance to use the language.
Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall
material in a pleasant, entertaining way. all authors referred to in this article agree
that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still
worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate
learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency. However, can
they be more successful for presentation and revision than other techniques? The
following part of this article is an attempt at finding the answers to this question.
Vocabulary presentation. After the teacher chooses what items to teach Hay
craft suggests following certain guidelines. These include teaching the vocabulary
"in spoken form first" to prevent students from pronouncing the words in the form
they are written, placing the new items in context, and revising them. I shall now
proceed to present practical examples of games I have used for vocabulary
introduction and revision.
Description of the groups. For the purpose of vocabulary presentation, I
chose two groups of eleven form pupils. With one of them I used a presentation
game and with the other translation and context guessing. In both of groups,
students' abilities varied-ranging from those whose command of English was very
good, able to communicate easily using a wide range of vocabulary and
grammatical structures, and those who found it difficult to communicate.
After covering the first conditional and time clauses in the textbook, I
decided to present students with a set of idioms relating to bodily parts-mainly
those connected with the head the choice of these expressions was determined by
students' requests to learn colloquial expressions to describe people's moods,
behavior, etc. moreover, in one of the exercises the authors of the textbook called
for examples of expressions which contain parts of the body. For the purpose of
the lesson I adapted Gear and Gear's "Vocabulary Picture-Puzzle". Students were
to work out the meanings of sixteen idiomatic expressions. All of them Polish
equivalents, which made it easier for students to remember them.
The game objectives. To work out the puzzle, students had to match idioms
with their definitions. The objective of the game was for each pair to cooperate the
activity successfully in order to expand their vocabulary with, in this case,
colloquial expressions.
Students also had to find the appropriate matches in the shortest time possible
to beat other participating groups. The element of competition among the groups
made them concentrate and think intensively.
Translation activity. The other group of students had to work out the
meanings of the idioms by means of translation. Unlike the previously described
group, they did not know the definitions. The expressions were listed on the board,
and students tried to guess their proper meanings giving different options. My role
was direct them to those that were appropriate. Students translated the idioms into
Polish and endeavored to find similar or corresponding expressions in their mother
tongue. Unlike the game used for the purpose of idiom introduction, this activity
did not require the preparation of any aids. Fewer learners participated actively or
enthusiastically in this lesson and most did not show great interest in the activity.
References
1. Abbott, G., D. McKeating, J. Greenwood, and P. Wingard. (1981). The teaching of English as
an international language. A practical guide. London: Collins.
2. Berer, Marge and Frank, Christine and Rinvolucri, Mario. Challenge to think. Oxford
University Press, (1982).
3. Dornyei, Zoltan. Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press (2001).
4. Dornyei, Zoltan. New Themes and Approaches in Second Language Motivation Research.
Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. (2001).
5. Dornyei, Zoltan. Teaching and Researching Motivation. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
(2001).
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