LANGUAGE GAMES

(Dimitrije Ristić, Bogdan Stanković, Milan Stanojić, Dejan Pavlović)

Introduction

In their book ​Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics ​(2010), Jack C.
Richards and Richard Schmidt define games in terms of language teaching as:

[…] an ​organized​ activity that usually has the following properties:

a) a particular ​task​ or ​objective​;

b) a set of ​rules​;
c) competition​ between players;
d) communication​ between players by spoken or written language (2010:239).

Richards and Schmidt further go on to describe games as being ‘often used as a fluency activity
in communicative language teaching and humanistic methods’ (2010: 239). Jim Scrivener offers a similar
use for language games, namely as ‘fillers or integrated practice activities’ (2011: 358). Scrivener also
suggests that the rules should be adapted as to better suit each particular class. This is a good idea, as
different groups of students have different levels of proficiency in the target language, so the rules and
the level of difficulty should be adapted so as to maximize the productivity of games that are used,
without going into any of the extremes (if the game is too easy for the class, the students tend to
become bored, and if the game is too difficult, students tend to become discouraged and lose focus).

Based on the differences in their objectives, there are several different

Types of language games:

1. Structure games ​are used to practice certain syntactic patterns in communication. ​They can be
used to practice creating questions.

Example​: Someone in the class thinks of an item or person inside the room, and the others ask
questions by putting their hands up and waiting their turn: Is it a chair? Is it Marc, Is it the
marker​? Etc. The first one who guesses correctly, takes the place of the ‘thinker’.

2. Vocabulary games ​are used to learn or practice learned vocabulary items. They can be focused
on specific types of vocabulary items (travel, cooking, business, technology etc.)
Example​: Going Away - A student starts a sentence: I’m going to France and I’m bringing my bag​….
Another student continues the same sentence and adds another item: ​I’m going to France and
I’m bringing my bag, cell phone… ​The game continues until all necessary vocabulary items are
repeated.

3. Spelling games ​should focus on visually presenting the correct spelling form of words and
should avoid using incorrect spelling examples as they can cause confusion and are inefficient
ways of learning how to spell.

Example​: Spelling Bee - Each student is given about 30 seconds to correctly spell a given word. The ones
who misspell their given word are eliminated from the round until, eventually, there is a winner
who gets a prize.

4. Pronunciation games ​should be held regularly in the form of short games or contests and are
excellent ways of practicing pronouncing targeted vocabulary items which can be isolated or in a
sentence.

Example​: Pictures and Sounds - Teams should be formed and there should be pictures of different items
which have a similar pronunciation (rope-robe, hat-cat, sheep-ship, fairy-ferry etc.). The pictures
are numbered 1 and 2. The teacher asks: ​Which is the cat? Which is the hat? ​Hands go up and
answers are taken from several students on each team, and those who are correct score a point.

5. Number games ​help students get accustomed to the spoken forms of numbers, so that they are
not an obstacle in communication.

Example​: Guess How Many - Students work in pairs, each pair has a small number of beans, marbles,
coins or other items. Students take turns guessing how many of the chosen items their partner
has in their hand. Each time a student guesses correctly, they get a point.

6. Listen-and-do games ​are used to practice listening and comprehension skills.

Example​: Simon Says - A student in the class gives out commands which other students must listen to. If
the command is preceded by the words ‘Simon says’ they must carry out that command, if not -
they do nothing. If a student does not execute a given command, they are disqualified and if a
student carries out a command without the previously mentioned tag ‘Simon says’, they are also
disqualified. Commands can be: ​stand up, sit down, jump, raise your left arm ​etc​.

7. Read-and-do games ​are a way of developing sentence recognition and word recognition skills.
They can be implemented in the early and later stages of learning by using flashcards, treasure
map type exercises and more.

Example​: Treasure Hunt - Students are given a paper with instructions which they must be able to read
and understand. The paper gives them directions to clues hidden throughout the classroom or
 courtyard. If they successfully find all the clues, the clues will lead them to a treasure which is in
most cases candy.

8. Games and Writing ​are crucial in improving students’ reading and writing skills, as writing is
considered a type of reading as well. They should be used to encourage practicing meaningful
writing.

Example​: What Would You Do If… - There are two teams: Team A and Team B. Team A writes down
questions on pieces of paper: What would you do if…. ​You got home late, you fell into the pool,
your dog jumped on you etc. T​ eam B writes down answers on pieces of paper: ​I would put my
umbrella in the sink, eat cake, swing on the ceiling etc. All of the questions are put into one box,
while all the answers are put into another and selected randomly. The more questions and
answers there are, the more likely it is that the results will be funny.

9. Discussion games ​are meant to encourage the use of language and to illicit a conversation
between students.

Example​: Everyone is given a list of people to find, for example: Find someone who…. will sing a song
for you, is born in December, has an older brother, plays chess ​etc. Everyone goes around the
room asking questions and looking for their assigned person. However, they must not
immediately ask the question, but must politely lead the conversation in the direction they
need. (​Excuse me, may I ask a personal question? Do you happen to live in London? Do you
possibly h​ ave an older brother named John?​)

Setting Up the Classroom

According to ​W.B. Lee (1979)​ , in many cases, success of a game depends on good class
organization. The solution offered by Lee is that the teacher should not waste time dividing the students
into groups afresh each time, but rather preserve time by dividing them into groups at the very
beginning, and maintain the teams throughout the entire year. Alongside this being a major waste of
time, Lee has noticed that constant and arbitrary movement from one team to another disturbs the
child’s sense of belonging, and consequently undermines its performance in the classroom.

Furthermore, additional attention has to be paid to the naming of the aforementioned groups.
As Lee puts it, a universally appropriate name does not exist, and it is the teacher’s job to ​find a suitable
name for each of the teams, based on the groups’ interests, and their age​. For example, a classroom
full of elementary school children might prefer being named after certain birds, such as ​Skylarks and
Robins,​ but a group of more mature high schoolers might prefer being named after ​numbers or letters
(​Team A, Team B, etc.)

Additionally, the teacher has to take the class size and the sitting arrangement into
consideration when forming the groups. Ideally, each group should have no more than 5 members. As it
is usually the case, the teacher is allowed to freely move the classroom furniture so as to allow the
matched students to sit together, and successfully participate in the games. In cases where the
classroom is too crowded, the teacher may, if the weather (or other circumstances) allows it, take the
class outside; however, if that not be the case, many language games can be adjusted to pair work,
which provides the same amount of communicative practice as group work. Furthermore, if there is to
be a competition, the teacher has to take into consideration the distribution of more advanced and
more backward learners, as well as how the teams are seated in the classroom, so as to give everyone
an equal chance.

Scoring

Psychologically speaking, it is better to give points for success, than to take them away for
failure, even if this procedure keeps the scorers very busy (Lee, 1979: 7). Additionally, visual
representation is proved to be a useful means of keeping score, especially if the score is to remain low. A
popular method is, for example, to draw a ladder, and move human or animal shapes upwards as the
score progresses ​(Exhibit A). Additionally, something similar can be done in a horizontal line – miniature
symbols are added next to each other as the score changes ​(Exhibit B).

Nevertheless, the score can be registered non-visually as well. A popular method is to add
stones or marbles into a sack, or tie sticks into bundles as the score piles up. This way, even though the
score is visually presented to the students, it is not until the very end that the score can be actually
counted, and the winner declared.

Learner Participation
 As with other language learning activities, involving everyone in the game on equal terms is
often a problem that teachers have to face. Lee (1979: 10), however, finds a couple of things that can be
done to solve this. To start with, a few minutes of silent preparation, or putting reminder words and
phrases on the blackboard can help students perform better and in larger numbers in many games,
especially oral games. Additionally, the teacher can increase participation by having the students take
turns in leading the game, as well as asking for “​hands up”​ so as to stimulate competitiveness among the
students; the teacher should, however, distribute their attention equally over the whole class, and not
call upon the same students over and over again. Finally, the teacher should encourage mutual help
within the class or teams, as well as to check whether a game can be conducted in pairs, so as to
stimulate participation with those less eager to join the activity.

Implications for Teaching

The great educational value of language games lies in the fact that it provides the learners with
an opportunity to use the language, rather than just listen about correct forms. They involve the
students in the process of learning, and as Lee puts it, they are enjoyable, and their essence lies in the
visible and stimulating goal which is to improve one’s performance. Lee adds that it is hard to distinguish
between ​“work” ​and “play”, ​as games are conducted in a pleasant atmosphere, favorable for language
learning.

Furthermore, games provide “​a feeling of pleasurable tension​”. Well organized as they are, they
provide a challenging task to the students, and engage the students beyond only listening to the
teacher’s words. As Scrivener (2011) puts it, the students are in need of exposure to the language as
well as of an opportunity to use it – all of which is provided to them through the games. Additionally,
language games allow the students to help each other, spot and correct mistakes, and practice all four of
the communication skills - listening, reading, speaking and writing.

REFERENCES

1) Scrivener, J. - ​Learning Teaching

2) Harmer, J. - ​The Practice of English Language Teaching
3) Richards, J. & Schmidt, R. - ​Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics
4) Lee, W - ​Language Teaching Games and Contests
5) Nikolić, M - ​Using Games in Teaching English Language to Elementary and High School Students (MA
thesis)