Some suggestions for using language games effectively in teaching english to grade 10 students at high schools

PART A: INTRODUCTION I Reasons for choosing the topic As we know, in traditional classroom, the teacher controls the class with authority, there is no active role of students during teaching- learning process Therefore, the introduction of a new English textbook at high school in the last few years has created some difficulties for teacher This innovation demands a move in the direction of a more learner- centered approach to teaching The main objective of teaching English is to have communicative lesson However, in fact, the teacher- student interaction is very limited in the classroom Many teachers have troubles adapting their teaching and the new textbook to their own students’ learning needs These difficulties include the use of language games Throughout years’ time of teaching English in the period of general education renovation, I have myself thought that it is necessary to reform methods of organizing activities in teaching often to motivate students I have positively realized that only by language Games can we interest students in English lessons These new language Games can be considered to be new activities or techniques which are suitable for the students’ psychology The new language Games strongly delight either learners or teachers when they have skillfully used old games Besides, they can raise the teaching quality In these Games, we can unexpectedly happen to realize students’ talents because they are equal to students, easy to play, suitable for the whole class even weak students Furthermore, the students who hardly prepare the lessons might have high scores in the games because quick-wittedness and intelligence are much more important than understanding about everything The sense of equality, atmosphere of excitement, feeling of the games in students’ reach, spirit of solidarity, the factors of which help students to ignore their shyness which prevents them from speaking freely and actively This has a great influence on teaching results Moreover, they feel satisfied when they know they can as well as others All of the reasons are important factors to improve the teaching qualities and effects Additionally, English is a language and it is a foreign language so it is too difficult for students, especially rural students to learn although they have been learning for several years It would be too boring for teachers to teach and for students to learn English if teachers didn’t reform teaching methods to interest students I have been thinking of how to change the methods but whatever new methods teachers may use, weak students will become bored, passive and inactive if teachers don’t interest them effectively It is all the reasons above that led me to the choice of the study “Some suggestions for using language games effectively in teaching English to grade 10 students at high schools” with the hope of investigating into ways to organize games more effectively in English classes, which make lessons more interesting and stimulating Therefore, this study is intended to make a modest contribution to an increased understanding of using games in teaching English at high schools II Aims of the study With the reasons above in my mind, the specific aims of the study, accordingly are: - To understand the theoretical background of classroom activities: games, advantages of games in improving students’ English skills - To investigate the use of games in teaching English at high schools - To supply systematic knowledge of using an running games in classrooms - To provide lists of games that can be used in English in grade 10 English lessons in the most useful ways - To help English teachers, especially teachers of English at high schools to add implications for the teaching English through games, following a set of current textbooks: English 10 ( basic curriculum) III Objects of the study With the hope of improving the learning English through games, the study focuses on the following objects: - Grade 10 students at high schools - Teachers at between junior and senior high schools - Undergraduates - Advanced students IV Methods of the study To realize the aims of the study, a detailed study is used The theoretical background of the study comes from many published books written by different authors on language teaching The data collected for the study came from two sources: the students and the English teachers at upper secondary schools by making personal observations through attending classes and drawing out experiences PART B : DEVELOPMENT I Theoretical background Games 1.1 What are language games? Greenal (1984) defines language games as one kind of “activity which is used to consolidate language already taught or acquired And which occurs during the free stage of lesson or during occasions such as English club meeting…” Image 1: Language games in English classes In short, we can put it that language games are activities with the rules, goals, and element of fun carried out by the players/students’ cooperation or competition for the language practice 1.2 The relationship between games and language teaching Games can be used to give practice in all the skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking, in all the stages of the teaching – learning sequence: presentation, repetition, recombination, and free use of language and for many types of communication, eg Encouraging, agreeing, guessing, explaining By playing games, it will be easier for students to learn something, such as new words, new structures… In addition, it would seem that what they have learned will be with them for a long time This proves that language games play a necessary part in students’acquisition in their learning Language games are stimulating activities to introduce new materials, to practice recently learnt language items, “to introduce or practice certain themes, or to relax or energize a class” (Lewis and Bedson, 1999) To sum up, the application of games in language teaching is an excellent idea of teachers and educational specialists because games are means of communication and they require the players to use their language correctly As what Carrier (1985) assumes: “Games provide quite extensive language practice of opportunities for both general and specific language skills and so they should be seen as an integral part of teaching program.” (Carrier, 1985:6) Advantages of using games in language teaching 2.1 Games create an enjoyable environment In many games, students have the chance to work together or be involved to score as many points as possible Most students have scoring points Furthermore, to win a game or to solve the problem, students have to share their knowledge, ideas that are contributed by each player The task of the teacher is to encourage all students to enjoy games fully That is to say, through games played in classroom, an enjoyable atmosphere has occurred without controlling 2.2 Games provide active learner – centered learning Learners will manage and discuss until they achieve their objectives through games By this way, learners have to speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information In addition, teachers no longer control what learners have to say He drops his role as director of games and becomes more of a monitor and language informant In other words, games are part of a general movement away from a teacher – dominated classroom and promote active learner – centered learning 2.3 Games are highly motivating In most of the games, an element of competition between individual learners or teams is a strongly motivating factor, which stimulates students to join the game It is the most important reason to explain why all students are immensely happy or absorbed in playing games Another point is that when learners are given a chance to play a game, they are encouraged to choose their partner This does not only create a friendly working atmosphere but also motivate them to help each other Consequently, all learners will feel happier and more motivated in taking part in games 2.4 Games promote co-operation and competition Games require students to interact in role- playing, arguing using language in a variety of contexts depending on the type of games used This clearly increases student – student communication, which is the purpose of TEFL ( Teaching English as a Foreign language) and promotes co-operation and competition, which are essential motivation in learning English To win either for himself or on behalf of his team, players will try his best to be the first person to find out the answer or to gain point for their team Therefore, being involved in the competition, players pay less attention to forms, structures and thus communicate in a more natural way To compete the task or requirement of games, players work together by sharing the information that each receives That is collaboration and cooperation between students in language games 2.5 Games stimulate students’ creativeness Being in a new foreign language situation, students will often happily play with friends, using gestures and new key words as a form of communication The game itself provides the main content and form of communication And through this communication, students can bring out reactive activities in the classroom, especially in the games like: drawing games, guessing games, creation with concepts (making a sentence with a concept) and so on 2.6 Games provide immediate feedback and informal testing Psychologically, whenever the teacher introduces a new idea, a new piece of language, she wants to know how much students have understood and how much they have missed The popular way she often uses is checking by paper tests or by oral However, this requires time With using games, the teacher can test the language points students have learnt informally, without doing a serious paper test and without having to ask students to go to blackboard to some drills or marking a load of exercise sheets, which are tiring and unrelaxing All of these checking forms can be performed by games This is especially effective and attractive to students II Practical background Background of the study - There is a tendency of teacher- dominated lesson and students usually get bored with teacher- centered presentation - Teachers at high schools are in the period of getting used to new English textbook Language games didn’t use to be organized in class, so a lot of us – teachers of English at high school – get stuck in organizing language games effectively - Some teachers haven’t been clearly aware of the roles of language games in teaching and learning a foreign language - A few teachers reject the possibility of success of language games They give different reasons for their belief, some of the reasons are lack of resources, students use mother tongue during playing games, discipline problems due to noise generated during game activities and so on As a result, despite being an important part of collaborative teaching and learning, language games generally neglected in teaching English at high school Difficulties 2.1 Large classes This is a reality in Vietnamese schools Most of the classes at schools in Viet Nam are very large.There are always forty or even fifty students in a class with mixed abilities, motivation, and expectation of learning English While games are designed for the whole class of 20–30 students For this reason, teachers often find difficult in controlling, managing and deciding to provide games for such large classes During the process of making games work, large classes have great negative effect One of the main reasons a teacher frankly doubts the efficiency and quality of using games in her English lessons is the large number of students she has to deal with at one time She is afraid that she cannot successfully communicate with students, and therefore they are likely to make noise, to lose motivation and interest and not to take the English lessons seriously Last but not least, this influences the study of next-door classes as well 2.2 Money and time consuming Most games require the teacher to use game cards (picture or word or map cards); 50 – 60 cards for a class not cost a little sum of money Newspapers and magazines, especially foreign ones is rather expensive in Viet Nam Therefore, with her own rather “meager” salary, a teacher finds it difficult to spend some money for game materials In fact, the help from her school for this problem could not afford to pay for suitable materials Another problem is the time To set up a game, the teacher has to spend much time and effort 2.3 Limit of a severe syllabus The educational situation in Viet Nam can be considered “overloaded” for students In recent years, there are many educational conferences addressing reduction in the present educational syllabus, But up to now, although this problem has been commented much on newspapers and in public, nothing has been changed This means that teachers of English are forced to spend much time to teach English through games, which require more time than a traditional method What needs to be taken into account is that some managers at Schools have no knowledge of the difference between English and other subject For them, finishing the syllabus is the most important without thinking of the outcome of students’ study III Solutions and methods for implementation Solutions 1.1 Why to use games in language teaching Games have long been advocated for assisting language learning Here are some of the reasons why: - Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort After all, learning a language involves longterm effort - Games provide a context for meaningful communication Even if the game involves discrete language items, such as a spelling game, meaningful communication takes place as students seek to understand how to play the game and as they communicate about the game: before, during, and after the game - Games can involve all the basic language skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and a number of skills are often involved in the same game - Games are student-centered in that students are active in playing the games, and games can often be organized such that students have the leading roles, with teachers as facilitators - Many games can be played in small groups, thereby providing a venue for students to develop their skills in working with others, such as the skill of disagreeing politely and the skill of asking for help To achieve the above-mentioned benefits some thought needs to be given to when and how to use games and not to use games That is the focus of the next section of this paper 1.2 Some tips when to use games in the classroom On the other hand, there is number of situations, in which using a game or a fun activity may be of a great help in both developing good conditions for language acquisition itself, as well as helping to improve or create learning environment and overall positive atmosphere in the class Some of such situations are described hereby: - Vocabulary: it is usually difficult to learn and live the new words, which the on-going process of studying process requires It is then useful to introduce games as an opportunity to re-use the desired vocabulary During a game, repetition of the target words can be executed repeatedly The students get personally involved, therefore, in addition to avoiding boredom as it often happens when repeating words; it is also more likely the vocabulary will get internalized - Lack of interest: this is a common situation in teen-age classes, where the students are often not motivated enough to take the learning process seriously In such cases, it can help to employ games and fun activities, where they need the target language in order to succeed The games can be a springboard for the serious language work, or vice versa, the language work can become a precondition to a success in the following game - Tiredness: it is a matter of fact that students not always come into the language class in their best condition They may have just had a demanding PE class, have just written an exhausting exam, have difficulties at home, or it is simply ‘one of the days’ In such cases, it is very difficult for anyone to perform their best, including language students The teacher should be aware of that Games may be used as a tool to overcome the crisis and yet bring an educational benefit, too - The students not co-operate: there may be classes where the students are not very close to each other, not feel comfortable when asked to co-operate on an activity A game has a great potential bringing the students together The reason is that such activity is not viewed as extremely serious; the students can relax and find a way to communicate better This skill is then also transferred to other activities too, and, needless to say, other subjects may also benefit from the newly learned communication skill, especially if the students are required to work on projects or otherwise as teams - Time left: short games or fun activities may serve as time fillers, for instance at the end of a lesson, when all planned work has been finished This way the time remaining is not ‘wasted’, it is used for the language practice too Regular use of short games at the end of lessons also motivates the students to work harder and have their work finished earlier, in order to save time for an enjoyable activity 1.3 When not to use games Although it was advised in this study many times to use games and fun activity as they are of a great help to the whole teaching/learning process, there may be also situations, where a game may not answer its purpose and the teacher’s educational aim Some of such situations are outlined hereby: - Students have not built the bases of vocabulary needed for the particular game - if the students lack the knowledge which the game requires It then becomes stressful even though the game would otherwise be an enjoyable activity - Too little time available - a game should be planned carefully time-wise as well as content-wise It is of help if the teacher dedicates more time to the game than seems to be necessary It creates anxious feeling if the game must be ended before finishing the tasks because the time runs out - Students are overexcited and misbehaving - they need to calm down, a kinetic game may not be the right answer - Students not co-operate with the teacher during the lesson - in such case, it is advised to stop using the enjoyable activities, as a restoration of discipline tool 1.4 How to set up games effectively To organize games effectively, teachers should follow some important principles as below: - Demonstrations of how the game is played The teacher can demonstrate with a group of students or a group can demonstrate for the class - A kind of script of what people said as they played or a list of useful phrases Similarly, key vocabulary and concepts may need to be explained - Clear directions Demonstrations can accompany directions, and directions can be given when needed, rather than explaining all the steps and rules in one go Also, some student-initiated modifications can be accepted - Games already known to students - Games used to revise and recycle previously studied content, rather than involving new content - Groups are heterogeneous in terms of current language proficiency, so that the more proficient members can help others - Resources, online or print, such as dictionaries and textbooks Methods for implementation 2.1 General suggestions Games and fun activities are a vital part of teaching English as a foreign language Whether you're teaching adults or children, games will liven up your lesson and ensure that your students will leave the classroom wanting more Therefore to use games effectively, teachers should pay attention to the following advice: - Games should be regarded as supplementary activities The whole syllabus should not be based on Games only - even for young learners - When choosing a Game, the teacher should be careful to find an appropriate one for the class in terms of language and type of participation - Once the Game has begun, the teacher should not interrupt to correct mistakes in language use - The teacher should not compel an individual to participate Some learners may not want to participate due to personal reasons Forcing students to participate usually does not have successful results - A Game which looks wonderful on the paper may not work in the actual classroom setting If it is tiring or boring, it should be stopped - Clear instructions should be given Unless the learners know what he is expected to and how to it, the aim cannot be achieved, and the Game cannot be played - When giving instructions to beginners, a few words in the mother tongue would be the quickest way to make everything clear More English exposure is needed at a later stage - Games are best set up by demonstration rather than by lengthy explanation - When using Games, teachers should be good at controlling the class and careful with chaos and noise - It is very important not to play a game for too long - Teacher should prepare the materials in sufficient quantities - Teacher should "check" answers at the end of an activity - Making sure everyone participates It is best to stop a game at its peak (5 – minutes) 2.2 Some games suggested in the lessons of the current syllabus of English 10 ( basic curriculum) In this section, I try to put forward some personal suggestions on games in the lessons of the current syllabus of English My choice of games in each lesson is based on these points below: - The aim of each lesson - The language contents of each lesson - The need of revision of what were learnt or what have just been learnt - Students’ level - Games suitable for the stages of the teaching process: presentation, practice and free practice (production) 2.2.1.Using Games in Warm-up stage to check, revise vocabulary or grammatical structures or lead students to the new lessons : Game: Number matching Unit 7: The mass media - Language focus - Exercise 3- page 81 -Aims: To lead students to the new lesson in pre-teaching Grammar stage: Uses of Phrases “Because of” and “ In spite of” -Time allowed: minutes -Material preparation: I prepare a table of phrases and clauses (exercise 3) in advance and stick it on the board -Steps: +I divide the class into teams: Team A and Team B and ask each team to choose couples (for sentences) +I ask couples in the teams to come to the board and stand on sides +I number each member of teams: Team A: 1-a,2-b,3-c,4-d,5-e Team B: 1-a,2-b,3-c,4-d,5e Students in Numbers Because of the cold weather In spite of the cold weather Because of his illness In spite of his illness Because of the large crowds In spite of the large crowds Because of the meat shortage In spite of the meat shortage Because of the bad condition of the house Students in Letters a We could not see what was going on b He had to cancel the appointment c We kept the fire burning all day d He managed to come to school e There were enough seats for everyone f We all wore shorts g They enjoyed living there h Everyone is living on beans i The council demolished it j We have managed to get some beef 10 In spite of the bad condition of the house +I show couples in the teams the pairs of phrases and clauses: +I ask couples to find and match each other in their own team +The couple who have the perfect match will score one point for their team +I translate the meaning of the words, phrases or clauses each couple matched +I correct the answers +I sum up: The team having more points will win the game  Students go with c + f, with b + d, with a + e, with h + j, with i + g  After students understand the meanings of the sentences above, we can ask them to give the form and uses of the phrases “Because of” and “In spite of” *Note: In English 10 (Basic curriculum), we can use this game in Exercise 1Unit 1-Language focus, page 19, 20; Exercise 3-Unit 2-Language focus, page 31 2.2.2 Using Games in Post reading or listening stage to summarize the ideas Game: Paper planes of numbers Unit 14: The World Cup - Reading (After you read) - page 142, 143 11 Image 2: The World Cup -Aims: To summarize the ideas of the text in Post reading stage -Time allowed: minutes -Material preparation: I ask students to prepare some papers and make planes of paper -Steps: ( After reading) +I divide the class into groups of +I ask students to copy the numbers (2002; 1904; 1930; 13; 17; 32) in the Reading to their paper planes and then draw the turns to fly ( throw) the planes +I ask the first group to fly (throw) their first plane to any other groups they like If the plane lands at any group, this group will open it to read the number in it This group will give a sentence in the Reading which includes this number For example, they receive the plane with the number 2002, they must give the sentence: “the final game of the 2002 World Cup tournament attracted more than one billion viewers” ( line 4, paragraph 1) If the group don’t answer or answer incorrectly, they will have no points and no chance to throw the plane to others If they answer correctly, they will have one point and fly their own plane to others If the plane lands at no groups, it will be thrown again +I ask students to take turn to throw their planes until there’s no numbers left +I correct the number students take out from the Reading 12 -I sum up: The group having more points will win the game  Group’s answers: 2002: the final game of the 2002 World Cup tournament attracted more than one billion viewers ( line 4, paragraph 1) 1904: 1904, FIFA, the governing body for football, was set up( line 1- para 2) 1930: it was not until 1930 that the first World Cup was held.( line 2, 3, para 2) 13: Only 13 teams took part in the first tournament.( line 3,4, para 2) 17: By 2002, the world had witnessed 17 World Cup tournaments (line para2) 32: National football teams must now compete in elimination games within their own regions before becoming one of the 32 finalists.(line 7, 8, para 2) After students finish playing the Game, it is they who summarize the Reading text without any boredom and reluctance * Note: In English 10 (Basic curriculum), we can the same in Unit 1Reading, page 12, 13; Unit 1- Listening, page 16, 17; Unit 3- Reading, page 32, 33; Unit 7- Reading, page 74, 75; Unit 10- Listening, page 107, 108; Unit 14Listening, page 147,148 2.2.3 Using Games in Pre-writing stage to present the suggestions for ideas or structures Game: Sentence Arranging (like : Jumbled sentence game ) Unit 13: Films and cinema – Writing- page 137, 138 Image 3: Tom and Jerry -Aims: To present the suggestions for ideas, grammar, structures…in Prewriting stage (before students the task 1) -Time allowed: minutes -Material preparation: I prepare pieces of paper in the large size -Steps: 13 +I prepare sentences I need to suggest for the Writing lesson about Education system in Vietnam and write each jumped word on the pieces of the paper and stick them on the board (as shown) “Tom and Jerry”/ is/ film/ The cartoon/ “Tom and Jerry”/ film/ is/ the about/ “Tom and Jerry”/ a/ is/ fight/ mouse/ between/ a/ cat/ the/ and made/“Tom and Jerry”/was/ Holly wood/ in is/“Tom and Jerry”/based/an/ on/ story/ untrue film/ characters/ the/ of/ the/ Tom/ are/ Jerry/ and mouse/ a/ Jerry/ Tom/ clever/ a/ is/ and/ silly/ is/ cat has/“Tom and Jerry”/ a/ ending/ happy +I divide the class into teams: Team A and Team B +I call students in each team to come to the board +I jump the words in each sentence And then give each student one jumped sentence +Within limited time ( for example, 45 seconds), these students finish putting the correct orders of the words in each sentence so that these sentences are perfect +I correct and sum up: The team having the fast and correct sentences will win the games Teams’ answers: The film is “Tom and Jerry” “Tom and Jerry” is the cartoon film “Tom and Jerry” is about the fight between a mouse and a cat “Tom and Jerry” was made in Holly Wood “Tom and Jerry” is based on an untrue story The characters of the film are Tom and Jerry Tom is a silly cat and Jerry is a clever mouse “Tom and Jerry” has a happy ending After students finish playing the Game, we can use these answers as the suggestions for ideas and grammatical structures to write a paragraph on the film they have seen * Note: In English 10 (Basic curriculum), We can the same in Unit 1Writing, page 17,18; Unit 2- Writing, page 27, 28; Unit 3- Writing, page 37, 38; Unit 4- Writing, page 50, 51; Unit 5- Writing, page 58, 59; Unit 6- Writing, page 69; Unit - Writing, page 100; Unit 11- Writing, page 117, 118; Unit 12Writing, page 129) 2.2.4.Using Games in Warm-up stage or in Language focus to practice or check vocabulary or grammatical structures Games: Relay 14 Unit 8: The story of my village - Language focus -Exercise 1- page 89 -Aims: To check and practice adjectives and adverbs in Reported speech in Production-stage (after students the exercise 1) in Language focus lessons -Time allowed: minutes -Material preparation: +I draw tables of words on the board Each table is divided into columns The table A, which includes 10 verbs is for team A; the table B, which includes 10 prepositions is for team B -Steps: +I divide the class into teams: Team A and Team B +I call the representatives of teams to come to the board These students are asked to stand in rows +I give the instructions that I will say a word or phrase in VietNamese , and in turn, each student in teams will write the words on the right column as required Team A Direct Indirect this these here now today yesterday last week ago tomorrow tonight Direct Team B Indirect there that night before that the week before those the next day then the day before that day + After finishing writing a word on the right column, this student quickly hands the chalk over to the next student in the team and, in turn, finishing all the words given One point for the correct answer -I correct and sum up: The team having more points will win the game  When I say: “này”: Team A should write: that; Team B should write: this “những này”: Team A should write: those; Team B should write: these “đây”: Team A should write: take there; Team B should write: here “bây giờ”: Team A should write: then ; Team B should write: now “hôm nay”: Team A should write: that day; Team B should write: today “hôm qua”: Team A should write: the day before; Team B should write: yesterday “tuần trước”: Team A should write: the week before; Team B should write: last week 15 “trước đây”: Team A should write: before; Team B should write: ago “ngày mai”:Team A should write: the next day; Team B should write: tomorrow “tối nay”: Team A should write: that night; Team B should write: tonight After students finish playing the Games, they can practice and revise the structures of some adjectives and adverbs in the reported speech they have learnt ( This game can be used in Warm-up stage or Grammar Presentation-stage in Language focus lessons to practice or revise the grammatical structures) * Note: In English 10 (Basic curriculum), We can the same in Unit 1Language focus, page 19, 20; Unit 2-Language focus, page 30, 31; Unit 3Language focus, page 39, 40 ; Unit 5-Language focus, page 60, 61; Unit 7Language focus, page 80, 81; Unit 10-Language focus, page 111; Unit 13Language focus, page 139, 140, 14 2.2.5.Using Games in Warm-up stage to present specific language functions or suggestions for ideas in Speaking lessons Question and Answer Game Unit 14 : The world cup - Speaking - page 145, 146 Image 4: The World Cup tournaments -Aims: To help some specific language functions or suggestions for ideas in Warm-up stage in speaking lessons -Time allowed: 10 minutes 16 -Material preparation: I prepare an extra-board then write down the list of questions on it (I prepared making my own questions, based on the example on the page 167, to help students) -Steps: +I divide the class into 10 groups of +I ask groups to make the pairs of questions to the information in the table about the world cup (page 167) in groups based on the example under the table, 1.-When was the first world cup then I correct by giving students my own questions held? 2.-Where was the first world cup held? 3.-Which teams played in the final +I ask groups to prepare the answer and draw the turns +I give the instructions that the first group can ask any pairs of questions in the list to any groups they like The answers must be made within a specified amount of time (I decide the time according to the class level) If the answers are correct and given within the time period (for example, footsteps), the answering group receives a point and this group can take turn to ask any other groups 1.- (The first world cup was held) in 1930 2.- (The first world cup was held) in Uruguay 3.- Uruguay and Argentina 4.- Uruguay? 5.- 4-2 (four to two)? If the answers are incorrect or not found within the time period, this group gets no point and the next group can take turn to answer this pair of questions In turns, groups use up the questions in the list +I correct and sum up: The group having the most points will win the game After finishing playing the Game, students finish the task So we can ask students to the task easily * Note: In English 10 (Basic curriculum), We can the same in Unit 1Speaking, page 14, 15; Unit 3-Speaking, page 34, 35; Unit 4-Speaking, page 47, 48;Unit 5-Speaking, page 56 ; Unit 7-Speaking, page 76; Unit 10- Speaking, page 106, 107; Unit 12-Speaking, page 126, 127; Unit 13- Speaking, page 134, 135; Unit 15- Speaking, page 159, 160 Suggestions for using games in classroom Some suggestions might be offered to English teachers to help overcome the main dificulties of using language games in classroom 3.1 Ways of using language games to save time for teachers in classroom Language game is an implementing way to motivate learners, promote communicative competence and generate fluency in classroom Games could be used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a 17 lesson In this case, game should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages On the other hand, games could be used at all stages of the lesson However, teacher ought to be sure that games provided are suitable and carefully chosen by the teachers Before playing a game, teacher should pay attention to the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic and the classroom settings 3.2 Ways for teachers to get more source of language games The shortage of language game source is one of the main dificulties for English teachers at high schools Five kinds of language games have been suggested to help English teachers overome this problem Basing on these kinds of games, teachers can create a plenty of suitable games for their students Besides, the head of English teaching staff should hold a corner of exchanging experience of using games for all English teachers At this corner, teachers might share and exchange their kinds of games together Moreover, some contests of creating language games should be celebrated every school year These ways could help English teachers get a large reference of games Besides, the managers should invest more facilities for English language teaching For example, some modern computers and books of English games should be well-equipped at the library Thanks to the computers and the books, English teachers could get more kinds of games from the Internet and book sources Additionally, Some kinds of books and websites should be offered to supply some sources of games for teachers They might give English teachers a hand to solve the problem of shortage games at high schools IV Result after applying the study in teaching By applying these personal experiences in teaching English, I myself get excellent results First of all, these experiences are suitable with the new syllabus of English at high schools Students become more and more motivated, active and creative to broaden their understanding and develop language skills Students also have a chance to show themselves They not have to be worried, nervous before class The number of students who can speak English in class increase, especially some bad students can understand some of the teacher’s imperative structures and can use some common sentences By playing these games, students in my class become more confident in learning English Once I give a task and ask them to it by playing a game they can understand and it successfully During the practice, students can help each other to correct their mistakes in pronunciation, intonation or grammar After a year applying language game activities in teaching English at Lam Kinh high school, I have got some satisfactory results Most of my students 18 have become more interested in learning English and of course their ability to use English in communication has been improved step by step Moreover, their learning results in English subject has got better (as detailed in the following tables) - At the beginning of the school year 2020-2021: Number Excellent Good Clas of s students SL % SL % Average Weak Really weak SL % SL % SL % 10A2 43 6,9 11 25,6 21 48,8 19,7 0 10A3 42 4,8 10 23,8 20 47,6 10 23,8 0 10A5 40 2,5 17,5 17 42,5 15 37,5 0 - At the end of the school year 2020-2021 Really weak Number Excellent Class of students SL % SL % SL % SL % SL % 10A2 43 18,6 17 39,5 15 34,9 0 10A3 42 11,9 19 45,2 13 31 11,9 0 10A5 40 7,5 15 37,5 16 40 15 0 Good Average Weak As shown from the table of statistics above, we can see that the qualities of the subject have changed dramatically in all skills They are much higher and better than those at the beginning of the school year Up to now, there’s been enough evidence to affirm that language Games have resulted in much effect in teaching English From my point of view, if we use these new language Games widely in other classes or grades, I have strong belief that we will also be successful 19 PART C: CONCLUSION 1.Summary of the study Teachers of English may find this study useful because it gives a recommendation on types of suitable language games, which are on the accuracy of language and Communicative Language Teaching Games, which help students communicate effectively or gain the general fluency This classification may help with choosing easily games suitable for each stage of learning It is convenient to every teachers Beside this, a way to conduct games in teaching English is suggested to help teachers and users have a systematical knowledge about this problem A detailed personal recommendation is focused on the current published materials – Tieng Anh 10 The varieties of games may help the teachers who are teaching the current English program solve partly one of the difficulties they are meeting: Choice of sources With these in her hand, a flexible teacher can create or exchange forms of games according to her students’ needs or levels, to their teaching situation in order to aim at improving the language skills of English for students The aim of the study is testing the effectiveness of using language games at high schools with which teachers may be able to get a better understanding of how students work in pairs and groups, which can be made available to them In fact, all teachers know how to control the kinds of communicative activities and the ways to group the students, the appropriate amount of time for them and the purposes of the activities They have adapted or expanded the exercises in the textbook to make them suitable for the students and they have made use of the materials in other books in their language classes However, their way to organize language games is not effective Nevertheless, if the teachers notice these kinds of games, they could organize them better and more effectively Over the past few years, the application of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method related to using language games has been widely adopted Applying language games is one of the most effective techniques of classroom organization Playing language games brings the students more chances to speak English in the classroom Students take part in 20 the lesson more actively because they are involved in talking to their classmates exchanging their opinions, practicing new structures Children also need the space and opportunity to be who they are Therefore, playing language games in groups gives them the “psychological space” to this Suggestions for further study Because there is an obvious limitation of time, the study is limited in organizing language games among many techniques used in teaching English at high schools Some further studies should be taken as followed: - A study on the ways to use materials provided by the textbook effectively in organizing language games - A study on the tips and techniques, which helps to organize language games successfully To sum up, there are many methodologies of teaching English, and each teacher has her/his own methodology of teaching but the characteristics of teaching through language Games are the same in any languages The final purpose of every English teacher is to help students to be good listeners, speakers, readers, and writers in any languages This methodology is about how to stimulate students to learn Grade 10 English lessons actively, positively and effectively through new language Games Surely, this study can not avoid having limitations and making mistakes Therefore, I would like teachers to contribute your sincere ideas so that we will have perfect and suitable methods of teaching English for high school students I hope it will be helpful for teaching English at high school and suitable for communicative teaching approach , Thanks for reading my study! Writer Thanh Hóa, ngày 20- 05 - 2021 Xác nhận BGH trường Tôi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, khơng chép nội dung người 21 khác Nguyễn Thị Hà 22 ... To investigate the use of games in teaching English at high schools - To supply systematic knowledge of using an running games in classrooms - To provide lists of games that can be used in English. .. learning Here are some of the reasons why: - Games add interest to what students might not find very interesting Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort After all, learning a language involves... English in grade 10 English lessons in the most useful ways - To help English teachers, especially teachers of English at high schools to add implications for the teaching English through games,