Application of Game Approach in English Teaching in Primary School.doc

游戏教学法在小学英语教学中的应用application of game approach in english teaching in primary schoolabstract: primary english teaching syllabus points out: “interest is a good teacher for pupils to learn a foreign language. and its an important task for primary school english teachers to arouse students interest at present.” as the importance of primary english teaching is greatly highlighted by the whole society in recent years, primary english, as a compulsory course, is making itself into primary schools. however, english teaching methods in primary school are still under exploration. a common phenomenon is that pupils interest in english is decreasing as time moves on. and pupils become more and more passive in english class. playing games in english teaching is one of the effective ways which are suitable for the development of childrens physiological and psychological characteristics and can generate their thirst for knowledge, and childrens enthusiasm will be aroused, classrooms atmosphere will be stimulated and teaching effectiveness will be improved. in the course of playing games, children take an active part in the games with great interest, enjoy the pleasure and happiness of learning and have a sense of achievement. key words: game approach；english teaching in primary school；english game teaching； interest摘要：小学英语纲要指出：兴趣是学好语言的老师。对小学英语教师来说，激发学生学习英语的兴趣是当前小学英语教学的一项重要任务。近年来，随着小学英语教学日益为国家和全社会所重视，英语在小学己经成为了一门必修课。但不容乐观的是目前小学英语教学领域里存在着种种问题，最令人担忧的是小学生对于英语学习兴趣不足，并且随着时间的推移有逐渐下降的趋势；在很大程度上，他们还是被动的接受者而不是主动的学习者。英语游戏教学是一种有效的方法，它适合孩子们身心发展的特点，能激发他们的求知欲, 调动他们的学习积极性，活跃课堂气氛，增强教学效果。在游戏教学活动中，孩子们乐于参与，领悟了学习的喜悦，获得了成功经验的满足。关键词：游戏教学法；小学英语教学；英语游戏教学；兴趣contents i. introduction.1ii. literature review.2a. the history and present situations of game teaching in foreign countries.2b. the history and present situations of game teaching in china.2iii. english game approaches.3a. definition of games.3b. functions and goals of games4c. advantages of games.5d. types of games6iv. application of game approach.7a. when to use games in language teaching.7b. how to use games in language teaching.8v. conclusion11works cited.12i. introduction with the development of society and frequency of international communication, english has become one of the basic skills of people in the 21st century. since the year of 2001, english has become a required lesson in primary school from grade 3 in china.some people say that the fundamental goal for introducing english to primary school children is to help them develop english language skills and knowledge so that they are able to use english to communicate with others. we will say that this is only partly true. what should not be neglected at the same time is childrens motivation and interests in learning in primary school. by offering a foreign language at school, we are aiming to educate “the whole child” rather than only teach them the language. therefore, the first priority to teaching english in primary school is to cultivate their interest in learning, motivate them to work hard, help them establish good learning habits and develop useful learning strategies so that they are ready to continue their learning when they move into secondary schools. therefore, motivation and interest in learning are fundamental to ensure success in learning a foreign language for children.how to make english lesson vivid and how to attract childrens interest in it? playing games in english teaching is one of the effective ways to motivate children to work hard and cultivate their interests in learning english. as we all know, children enjoy playing games in their native language and this is a familiar experience for children to be introduced to studies in a foreign language in primary school. games are motivating and fun and can help develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language and language learning, and create a desire to continue learning. with the recent development of english teaching, the roles of games in class have been discussed in different aspects. and more and more teachers use games in their teaching as they come to realize that playing games in english teaching is very important. however, some teachers still think that language games are a waste of time and prefer not to use them in classroom and games sometimes have been considered only for fun. in fact, games can provide more than that for younger learners. among several strategies used to improve students proficiency such as visual aids, call (computer assisted language learning), drama, role-play and so on, games are another useful strategy to promote students language proficiency (richard-amato 96).in game children smell, listen, see, sing, draw and dance, and so on. actively taking part in game makes them enjoy studying and succeeding. in game, childrens intelligence, cognition and communication are developed. ii. literature reviewa. the history and present situations of game teaching in foreign countriesin order to make children interested in learning english and be able to communicate with others, from ancient greek, western education, especially childrens education in western countries, has been full of the exposition of the relationship between games and teaching. one of them was plato who paid more attention to the role of games for childrens education. he thought games should not only be played but also combined with education in ethics.in the 17th century, czech comenius advised teachers to use childrens senses rather than memorization in instruction. at the same century, english philosopher and educator john locke (1632-1704) thought teaching should be suitable for childrens age in order to make learning interesting. in the 18th century, the french philosopher rousseau stated that children should be free to express their energies in order to develop their individual talents, echoing an ancient concept by plato (428-347b.c.). german educator friedrich froebel is the father of childrens education in western countries. he started the first kindergarten in 1837. he wanted his school to be a garden where children unfolded as naturally as flowers.in the early period of the 20th century, progressive education continued to emphasize the needs and potentials of the children, rather than the needs of society or principles of religion. among the influential reform educators of this century were maria montessori of italy, john dewey of the united states and piaget of swiss. b. the history and present situations of game teaching in chinafrom ancient times, chinese people thought highly of childrens education. in song dynasty, private schools paid much attention to the childrens interests. zhu xi also stressed the importance of happy teaching.since 1949 chinese education has changed greatly. many childrens educators have achieved great success. they have summed up a lot of games or activities such as teaching through childrens songs, teaching in situations, simulating teaching, p .e. games and so on.in the contemporary, mr. chen heqin was one of the greatest educators who made the outstanding contribution to chinese childrens education and set up the first research center of childrens education-kindergarten in gulou. many games there were full of creation. he expounded that games were activities that were beneficial to childrens psychological and physiological development. only games could make children lively and teachers should make good use of all kinds of game materials and give them enough changes to practice according to their age.hu shuyi, another educator who encouraged children to play games more than seventy years ago. from modern age to the contemporary, game teaching theory has been improved step by step. many educators, philosophers or thinkers encouraged children to play games, such as hong zirui, hui youlian and li shengping et al. they presented games should be integrated with learning. now, more and more people abroad and at home come to realize the importance and the urgency of game teaching in the primary school. as we all know, game teaching is a very useful way to improve effectiveness of english teaching in primary school.iii. english game approachesa. definition of gamesspodek bernard & saracho olivia demonstrated that: games are a different kind of play activities (spodek and saracho 271). they are highly structured and include specific rules to be followed. similarly, jill hadfield (1984) defined games as “an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun.” from above, we can understand games are structured play activities organized around specific rules.according to longman dictionary of language teaching & applied linguistics “game” in language teaching can be defined 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 (richards and j. c . 91).byme (1995) gave the definition to games as a form of play governed by rules. they should be enjoyed and fun. they are not just a diversion, a break from routine activities, but a way of getting the learner to use the language in the course of the game (deesri 22).b. functions and goals of gamesthe basic functions of game teaching can be described like these: exciting students learning interest effectively; promoting the development of student intelligence; and training students innovation ability (ding haidong 89).in english learning and teaching the following functions of game teaching are more obvious than the others:1. help students to find interest in learning a foreign language.as we know, interest is an important and crucial factor to influence motivation in foreign language acquisition. game teaching in english in primary school does not only make the students joyful, but also make them full of wit and humor. it can excite the students curiosity for the knowledge so that they will show interest in learning in class; in return interest leads to academic success; the success arouses greater interest again. the greater interest is, the greater success will be made. finally, interest and success become the great driving force for the students to learn english. interest is the best teacher of children, once children lose their interest in motivation in learning english or they couldnt lay a good foundation in basic knowledge, they cannot learn english well in the future.interest is subdivided into two phases of direct and indirect interests, which is a crucial means to arouse intrinsic motivation. direct interest results from direct learning process itself and the contents being learned. it attracts students attention, but it lasts for a short time. consequently it is necessary and important to cultivate students indirect learning purpose and task (zhang zhengdong 99).the students need to be involved in something active, so almost everything for them will depend on the creative attitude and behavior of the teacher who must be technically adept at ways of getting the students motivated.the intrinsic motivation to learn something is enhanced by the use of interesting materials, as well as by varieties in mode of presentation. games add variation to a lesson and increase motivation by providing a plausible incentive to use the target language. for many children between four and twelve years old, especially the youngest, language learning will not be the key motivational factor. games can provide this stimulus. games automatically stimulate students interest; therefore, a properly introduced game can be one of the highest motivating techniques.2. help students to find pleasure from learning english.various kinds of language teaching games can be employed to make a lively and enlightening classroom. games can make learning interesting and exciting, can arouse the learning enthusiasm of the students, and can promote students participation. during the game teaching, all the students can be offered opportunities for academic success. games can make english classes more interesting and easier so that english learning will become a pleasure and english classroom will become a pleasant place. confucius holds happy learning not only makes one delight in learning but also never makes one sick of learning.3. help teachers to meet childrens needs.during students growing they have some needs, and the games can create a suitable situation to meet childrens needs: security, love, respect and self-fulfillment so that students can find pleasure and self-confidence in such circumstances, it can not only help to grasp the language points, and to light up the classroom, but also improve learners interest in the long run.4. help teachers to create a stress-free learning environment for students.a stress-free learning environment is vital for children to learn english. games can help teachers enlighten their students to think actively, and encourage them to use their heads, eyes, mouths, hands more often, and can guide students to study voluntarily and can arouse students desire of using foreign language to express their ideals and feelings. thus their comprehension and expression abilities in foreign language can be well developed.c. advantages of gamesas we know, language learning is hard work. games can help and encourage many learners to sustain their interests. they play an important role in language teaching. here are many valid reasons for using games in language teaching, including affective reasons, cognitive reasons, and linguistic reasons. these reasons provide insights into the advantages of games in language teaching.penny ur (1996) commented that games are using both visual and aural channels as well as activating language production and something physical movement.game-based teaching has had numerous advocates. john dewey claimed games were integral to schooling since they provided active and positive learning experiences. george herbert mead, a colleague of deweys, acknowledged their importance for the healthy socialization of children. through games, children learn to imitate and assume diverse social roles. certainty, jean piaget stressed the importance of game-playing in cognitive development (campell linda and dickson dee 82).lee su kim suggested that: 1. games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class. 2. they are motivating and challenging. 3. learning a language requires a great deal of effort. games help students to make and sustain the effort of teaming. 4. games provide language practice in the various skills: speaking, writing, listening and reading. 5. they encourage students to interact and communicate. 6. they create a meaningful context for language use.games are fun and children like to play them. through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment. the game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. it brings the target language to life. the game makes the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant children. through playing games, students can learn english the way children learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus without stress, they can learn a lot. even shy students can participate positively.d. types of gamesclassifying games into categories can be difficult, because categories often overlap. hadfield (1999) explains two ways of classifying language games. first, she divides language games into two types: linguistic games and communicative games. linguistic games focus on accuracy, such as supplying the correct antonym. on the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information and ideas, such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one another but not exactly alike. correct language usage, though still important, is secondary to achieving the communicative goal.the second taxonomy that hadfield used to classify language games has many more categories. as with the classification of games as linguistic games or communicative games, some games will contain elements of more than one type.1. sorting, ordering, or arranging games. for example, students have a set of cards with different items on them, and they sort the cards into items found at a grocery store and items found at a department store.2. information gap games. information gap games can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game just described, or a two-way information gap, in which each person has unique information, such as in a spot-the-difference task, where each person has slightly different pictures, and the task is to identify the differences. for instance, one person might have a drawing and their partner needs to create a similar drawing by listening to the information given by the person with the drawing. 3. guessing games and searching games. these games are variations from information gap games. one of the best known examples of a guessing game is 20 questions, in which one person thinks of a famous person, place, or thing, the other participants can ask 20 yes/no questions to find clues in order to guess who or what the person is thinking of. another example of searching game is that students are given a grid. the task is to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name of a classmate who fits that cell, e.g., someone who is a vegetarian. students circulate, asking and answering questions to complete their