Lindsay Clandfield has kindly agreed to speak to English Central on the subject of fun and games in the classroom. Here follows our interview with him.
What is the value of games and fun activities in the classroom?
First of all, I guess I should define what I understand by a game. A game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun. And they are a really important in language classes. It’s no surprise that, at teacher workshops or conferences, the sessions about using games are very popular. I think there are at least four important pedagogical reasons for including games and fun activities in the language classroom:
1) Playing a game can help reduce inhibition about speaking in a foreign language; the element of play can help take learners out of themselves. At the risk of getting too technical, I would argue that games help reduce what Stephen Krashen calls the affective filter in language acquisition.
2) Many language games can provide an intensive amount of language practice. There may be repeated use of different forms. In this way, some games have drill-like aspects, but are more meaningful.
3) A game also creates a context where the language is useful and meaningful. The language produced in a game is often a means to an end and can also help the teacher pinpoint areas that learners may have difficulty.
4) Finally, games can be very motivating. They sustain interest and hard work with the language, and can be very enjoyable for both the learners and the teacher
Earlier this week I had a class of 10 adult learners. They all have practically zero English, and we were learning numbers 0 to 10 and saying phone numbers. This is the kind of area where little games really come in handy to extend the practice they need in learning and saying them.
In more goal-specific classes, like exam preparation and EAP, do games still have a place?
I’m going to quote from a classic book on language learning games. It was written 35 years ago, but I think still holds true today.
If it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher’s repertoire. They are thus not for use solely on wet days and at the end of term! (Wright, Betteridge and Buckby 1979)
I’d go further and say that for exam classes, games are a very good fit. Exams have (usually) a fixed set of tasks. Incorporating games adds variety to what could otherwise become very dull repetition of task types.
What should teachers do to make sure that students are aware of the value of time spent on games and game-like activities?
The fact that we began our interview with a question about the value of games in the language classroom is a good indication that not everyone thinks this is the best way to spend one’s time in class! This is true of learners, especially adult learners too. To help ensure buy-in from your class here are three tips I’ve learned over the years using games in the class.
First, when setting up a game, make sure to state the linguistic or skills aims of the activity. If you think you’re dealing with people who are going to be resistant to games altogether, don’t call it a game. Say ‘today we’re going to try a different kind of activity to give you lots of practice in (insert grammar, vocabulary or skill area here)’.
Second, at the end of the game make sure to recap the language practiced or the goal achieved. Don’t finish by merely saying who won (if there was a winner), but make it clear that they spent twenty minutes working on their intonation (or present perfect, or sentence transformation activities or whatever it was).
Finally, don’t overuse games. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. An enjoyable language game may be like a healthy dessert, but you wouldn’t want to have a diet of only desserts!
Lindsay Clandfield is an award-winning writer, teacher, teacher trainer and international speaker in the field of English language teaching. He has written more than ten coursebooks for language learners including Global and Skillful, which are both published by Macmillan and distributed by English Central. He is also the co-author of various methodology books for teachers and the co-editor of the Delta Teacher Development Series. You can find out more about him at his website www.lindsayclandfield.com