The Power of Games
Using games to teach English Language
David Kinder argues that games can be a powerful tool in the English classroom, and describes some
games for teaching grammar and other aspects of language, at A Level and GCSE
Ia his seminal book on te
ting practice, Teaching
Today, Geoff Pety has an imeresting chapter on using
‘games in the elasroom, ‘Games ean produce intense
involvement, he wits, ‘and a quality of concentration
hing method can match.” 1 know of many
teachers who would agiee wit this. Quiz them carefully
however, and you may Find Unt their enthusiasn for
ames has a
incidental learning, their priary puxpose sto provide a
bi oF fun, Whist 1 have no problem with the idea that
games can be fun, the purpose ofthis article isto argue
fora more radial faith in the power of games in the
no other
limitation: they may deliver a bit of
English clasoom to deliver actual learning, Used sll
vital learning tool for delivering bos
content and skills every day, not just as an end of term
mes can be
This article will focus in particular on A Level English
Language, but many of the stitegies can be used lower
down the sehool, Teaching English Language at this level
requites that students lear skills which are of
pantculary complex and alstret nature (clause analysis
for example) as well as taking on a large body of
challenging linguistic Wicory. The games that I have seen
‘working cover both these needs,
Cards and Boards - Grammar Games and the
fundamentals of the English Language
Students arvive at A Level knowing only small amounts of
grammar. Ofien their knowledge will consist of knosving
the difference between adjectives and nouns and some
basic understanding of pronouns. It is less likely that they
will know the difference berswen abstract and concrete
nouns and, once you move beyond word level to look at
sentoace types, most KSS teachers would, I think, agree
that they know nothing at all There is nothing wrong
‘wih this. tis conceptual, abstract thinking that best is
A Level stidy, and i is not necessary to be able to
analyse cluses to get an A* in GCSE English, At A Level
though, they have to know about grammar = and games
help students grapple with both the pans and the
processes of English geamimax
EnglshDrarlesla—_Jun9 2010
hatch
otaming Cogs.
Te begin at the beginning with word classes, wh
used to be called ‘pars of speech’, There are eight of
them, Four open ~ nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs = and
four closed — prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns ad
determiners although there is some disagreement about
hhow much the fat m0 overlap: is my" a possessive
pronoun of « possessive determiner). Students need to
know them if they are to see what writers are doing in
texts fr all sons of reasons. How, for example, can you
snipulation without being able to
spot a medal aunilany verb?
How, then, can games help the learning of word
leam the tue art oft
classes? Some inspirational teachers I have been hicky
enough to work with have introduced me to a wide
range of options here, many of them geat fun, There is,
for example, the old favourlte of doing, an aetion ‘inthe
manner of the word’ In grammar tems, this means
simply asking students to wete an intransitive dynamic
verb in its present panciple form (walking, running) on
one bit of card and an adverb of manner (sneakily
cunningly) on another and put each in a diferent hat
‘The hats are passed 10 a volunteer who takes one verb
and one adverb and has to do the action in the manner
OF the adverb. Another I have seen work very well
involves puting a ‘sion up on a Powerpoint slide along
the lines of once upon atime a
students took up English Language
the slide: you cough for a verb, laugh for a noun and so
fon. The whole class gathers up front and! as you read
the story they have to make the sound or do the aetion
that goes with the word class of every word in the tony.
Both these examples fit into the class of consolation
ames, te kind of thing you do atthe end ofa long,
lesson where students have been introduced to
_group of eager AS
There is code on2
definitions of panicular word classes. This pus them
more in the “ret” category than some of the games to be
liscussod here, but the fact that such games can be sed
as 20 minute activities to change the atmosphese in the
classeoom and cement learning is nevertheless very
nportant, They are sill there, ro he used, every week
There are games, however, which can actually teach
the frudamemtals of won classes, One strategy T have
developed myself with the help of colleagues in 180
diferent English departments in the last two years isto
tise word cards, It is e257 to make wp your own
(although relatively inexpensive commercial versions are
available) with the word on one side and its word class
fn the exer. These two games, which work wel,
itustate the point
Games for Teaching Word Classes 1
Students work in pairs. They find an abstract and a concrete
noun, They hold them up, round the class, so that the word class,
is being properly aired. They then put it back into a pack of cards
with a mixture of word classes init. n their pair, one student
holds up a word, reading the word class off the back of the card
and the other has to identify whether itis a noun and what kind
ff noun its. Students identify as many as they ean in a minute
and then swap roles and repeat.
Games for Teaching Word Classes 2
Students play a simple rummy-type card game, where they have
to collect words of a particular word class by picking up and
discarding in-turn from the pack in front of them. When they
have three ofa kind they put the set down on the table. ‘Runs!
can also be made, but instead of sequences of ascending numbers
‘they must create little sentences. Once you have got all your
cards out you call Rummy and the game stops.
These two games are about building failarey with
won! classes, ina tactile way. There is scope forthe
teacher to work round the class 26 the students are
happily and relevanly occupied and discuss the effect of
won! classes in particular contexts, perhaps testing
students on how they recognised a word's word class
during 2 game
There are g
‘The game femtured below has been proven to work by a
number of colleagues, with GCSE studenis as well as A
Level stents, ancl allows great flexibility forthe teicher
to draw out the learning without spoiling the fun
+, however, that do more than this
Games for Teaching Word Classes 3
‘Students work in pais or small groups. You get hold of
some Ad card, cut into thick strips lengthways, in 8 colours.
You write down a word on a strip of each colour following
this colour scheme: verb = green; noun = pink; adjective =
orange; adverb = blue; preposition = brown; determiner
yellow; red = pronoun; purple = conjunction. You stick these
Up at the front of the class and explain briefly what they al
are and what they do.
You then give each group strips of card in the colours that
relate to word clases you are working on in that lesson, So
if you want to teach nouns, adjectives and determiners you
give them pink, orange and yellow card. You draw attention
‘to the example words stuck on the board at the front and,
pethaps give some basic definitions of them (they will know
‘them if they have played the games above). You then ask:
‘them to write their own examples on the cards
3, You work round, checking what they are planning te write
before they commit to paper.
Enginorirameia ine 20104, Given that you are focusing on nouns, adjectives and determiners
you might, at this stage, pause and talk about noun phrases,
‘asking them to hold up the phrases they have made for others to
see and discuss what noun phrases are.
5. When you are ready to play the game, the students bring up their
words and place them in ples, according to colour, at the front. If
‘they ate only providing three word clases you need to have
written out words belonging to the other word clases yourself so
‘that you have 7 or 8 piles of coloured card, face down, at the front
of the class (7 because it soften a good idea to miss out
subordinating conjunctions until you are tackling complex
sentences)
6. You then cal a group up and you give them 1 minute to select a
word of each word dass from the piles and make a sentence on.
‘he board (blobs of pre-rolled blu-tac are useful here). There is
‘then feverish activity and much cursing and laughter. At the end
lf the minute you shout ‘stop’ and the students step back from
What they have created. They get a point for every word included
ina grammatical sentence, Any words left over are put to one side
and count against them
7. There is then a brief and vital moment when you can ride the
wave of enthusiasm that comes from the game playing to draw
attention to the words on the board. Why, for example, in the
sentence below (3 points scored), is there no way to include the
preposition, the pronoun and the conjunction in the sentence?
What word classes would be needed to include them? You can ask
‘them to add more word cards to make 3 grammatical sentence and
have a bref discussion about why certain word classes are needed
to make a sentence work.
1s eee
This spell of actual teaching ean last as long
complex gr
nae, This will alost certainly mean
students have stamina fori. The minute the teacher feels
tht Wie interest is Nagging they can call up another
group to play their raund, Thus @ simictre can b
‘maintained and waching and learning of grammatical
concepis ean also be achieved, all sustained by the
competitive instine,
Games for Higher Level Grammar
Games have a habit of growing organically, I find. The
more you pay them, the more you want to exeate therm,
and when « concept i diffi
It to.convey, a game seems
to emerge t0 help solve the problem. Higher level
_grammar fits inv this category.
AAs stuclents move through an A Level English Language
course, most specifications require them to take on more
EnglihoramsMadla ne 2010
needing to know concepts such as how the passive voice
fs formed. IL will no doubt mean being able to spot the
difference between a simple, compound and complex
sentence as well as an abiliy to identify and use
sentences with different ‘branches’ ~ where the comple.
sentence comes before or after the main clause, for
effect. may mean that they have 10 identity types of
dependent clause. There are mes whieh can handle all
these things
‘One amazingly versatile resource which every English
department in the fand should have is set of mini
whiteboards. They are the Key to wrning a rather state
toand.
sgmes which will ensure high levels of involvement and
‘even a ceritin degree of (on-task) screaming and
shouting, A game that typifies the approach you cin take
o of grammatical questions and answers into