摘 要
随着经济的发展和社会的进步，英语已成为世界上使用最广泛的语言。作为英语教育的奠基石，小学英语教育成为关注的“热点”。 兴趣是最好的老师，因此激发学生的学习兴趣是小学英语教学的首要任务。将游戏教学法融入小学英语课堂能为学生创设一个轻松和谐的学习情境，增加英语学习的趣味性，能真正实现“在学中玩，在玩中学”的教学理念。但在当前小学英语教学中，教师主要还是采用传统的教学方法，部分采用游戏教学法的教师也难以将其真正融入课堂。
基于先前国内外的研究情况和相关理论，本文阐述了在小学英语教学中运用游戏教学法的必要性。并采用问卷法和观察法，以常熟花溪小学二（1）班和五（3）班 96 名学生为样本，进行较为详细的调查研究，分析问卷数据及听课情况，得出调查结果，并提出相应策略。以期帮助教师正确使用游戏教学法，激发学生的学习兴趣，提高英语课堂的整体教学效果。同时也有助于教师实现自我发展，提高教学质量。
关键词：游戏；游戏教学法；小学英语
On Application of Games in Primary School English Class
ABSTRACT
With economic development and social progress, English has become the mostwidely used language in the world. As the cornerstone of English teaching, primaryschool English education becomes the focus of public attention. As is known to all,interest is the best teacher, so stimulating students’ interest in English should be toppriority in primary school English teaching. Applying games in primary schoolEnglish classes can improve students’ learning efficiency and quality by creating arelaxing atmosphere and truly realize the concept “learning by playing, playing bylearning”. However, most teachers still adopt traditional teaching method at present.
And some teachers who use game teaching method have difficulty in integrating itinto classes successfully.
Based on the previous researches and theories both at home and abroad, thispaper elaborates on the importance of English game teaching in primary school. Asurvey was conducted in Changshu Huaxi primary school by means of questionnairesand observation. It used a sample of 96 students in Class 1, Grade 2 and Class3,Grade 5. By analyzing the data, conclusions are reached and suggestions are given.
The paper aims to help teachers use games correctly and inspire students’ learninginterest, therefore improving primary school English teaching quality. Meanwhile, itis beneficial to teachers’ self-development.
Key words: games; game teaching method; primary school English teaching
TABLE OF CONTENTS
摘要
ABSTRACT
Chapter One Introduction
Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Game teaching
2.1.1 Definition of game teaching
2.1.2 Theories of game teaching
2.2 Previous studies on English game teaching
2.2.1 Foreign studies on English game teaching
2.2.2 Domestic studies on English game teaching
2.3 Importance of English game teaching in primary school
2.3.1 Arousing learning interest and enthusiasm
2.3.2 Developing learners’ listening and speaking abilities
2.3.3. Improving teaching quality
2.3.4 Promoting teachers’ self-development
Chapter Three Present Situation of English Game Teaching in Primary School
3.1 A survey of English game teaching in primary school
3.1.1 Questionnaire
3.1.2 Classroom observations
3.2 Deficiencies of present English game teaching
3.2.1 Monotonous forms
3.2.2 Low level of participation
3.2.3 Unreasonable design of game contents
3.2.4 Unscientific assessment forms
3.2.5 Using games at inappropriate time
Chapter Four Suggestions to Improve English Game Teaching in Primary School
4.1 Basic principles of game teaching
4.1.1 Purposefulness
4.1.2 Enlightenment
4.1.3 Diversification
4.1.4 Flexibility
4.2 Encouraging participation of all students
4.3 Properly using multi-assessments
4.4 Using games at proper time
Chapter Five Conclusion
REFERENCES
Chapter One Introduction
English has become the only universal language in the world during the processof globalization. It permeates almost every facet of our lives, such as politics,economy and culture. Therefore, it is particularly important to learn English well inmodern society. Primary English teaching, as the foundation of English education, hasalways been the focus of attention. However, acquiring another language is a long andboring process. And to primary school students, it is not easy to learn withoutauthentic contexts. Therefore, how to let these new English-learners learn iteffectively in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere is a worthy topic to investigate. Theteaching method a teacher applies plays a crucial role. Among various teachingmethods, game teaching method is the one that can not only activate the learningatmosphere, but also arouse students’ interest.
English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education presents the task ofEnglish course in basic education stage: “to inspire and cultivate students’ interest inEnglish, help them build up their self-confidence, develop good learning habits, formeffective learning strategies and develop their self-learning ability and cooperativespirit” (2012). Game teaching method fully embodies this idea. According to thepsychological characteristics of children, games can arouse their interest and emotion.
Moreover, games can help them master the language better by providing a realsituation to facilitate understanding.
In present primary school English teaching, traditional teaching method still playsa dominant role. Some teachers who use games in their classes fail to integrate theminto classes successfully. Improper teaching method is useless in improving students’
English proficiency, and it even kills their learning interest to some degree. Therefore,the proper usage of game teaching in primary school English classes is of greatimportance. The study aims to provide some useful suggestions to help teachers teachin a more efficient way by investigating the present situation and analyzing thedeficiencies of present English game teaching. It is beneficial not only to the teachingquality, but also to teachers’ self-development.
This paper consists of five chapters. This chapter serves as an introduction,presenting the background, the significance and the overall structure of the paper.
Chapter Two is literature review, which introduces the definition, relevant theoriesand previous studies about it. In addition, it narrates the importance of games inprimary school English teaching. The next chapter, Chapter Three, is about thepresent situation of game teaching in primary school. In this part, a survey isconducted by means of questionnaires and classroom observation. Meanwhile,deficiencies are analyzed in accordance with the survey. The fourth chapter presentssome suggestions to improve game teaching in primary school. The last chapter,Chapter Five, is the conclusion which includes the research findings and limitations ofthe study.
Chapter Two Literature Review
Game teaching method is a helpful assistant in primary school English class. Theintroduction to it is presented from the following perspectives: the definition, relatedtheories, previous studies and the importance of applying it.
2.1 Game teaching
2.1.1 Definition of game teaching
Dictionary of Education defines games as “the basic activities of children, whichis suitable for their age characteristics. It is a purposeful and conscious special socialactivity that reflects surrounding life by means of imitation and imagination” (Gu,1990). Bernard Spodek and Olivia N. Saracho demonstrated that “games are differentkinds of activities. They are highly structured and involve specific rules to befollowed” (1994:271).
English Game teaching is a teaching method used by teachers in English classesfor the purpose of stimulating students’ interest and improving teaching efficiency. Itturns boring teaching material into vivid and interesting games that students arewilling to accept. Moreover, it creates abundant real language situations to makestudents learn while playing.
2.1.2 Theories of game teaching
Howard Garner put forth a theory of multiple intelligences in his book Frames ofMind. He put forward that a person possesses at least nine intelligence modalities,including musical-rhythmic intelligence, visual-spatial intelligence, verbal-linguisticintelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence,interpersonal intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence, naturalistic intelligence andexistential intelligence (Garner:2004). Using games to teach in primary schoolEnglish classes is beneficial to the development of these intelligences. For example,students can develop their interpersonal intelligence through cooperation duringgames and develop their musical-rhythmic intelligence by participating games in theform of singing.
Stephen D. Krashen believed that “new learners of language are apt to be anxiousand lose confidence, which may lead to a learning disorder” (cited in Ma Pei,2010:14). Therefore, creating a language environment is of great significance.
“English teachers, especially primary school English teachers should place students inthe situation of using the target language, and let them get involved in thecommunication directly. Using games can reduce the barriers stemming from theprocess of learning via creating a relaxing atmosphere” (Ma, 2010:14).
2.2 Previous studies on English game teaching
2.2.1 Foreign studies on English game teaching
The study of game teaching in foreign countries starts quite early. Plato,an ancient Greek philosopher, first proposed the idea of learning in the games. In hisopinion, games are full of educational values. The ancient Roman educator Quintilianpointed out that appreciating games is the symbol of lively nature. Fredrich Froebelthought loving games is the characteristics of children. He even designed the gameteaching aids-- Froebel Gifts personally. American educator John Dewey presentedthat children’s fun-loving nature should be in full use in order to make them acquireknowledge indirectly based on activities (Ma, 2010:9-11).
2.2.2 Domestic studies on English game teaching
From ancient times, our country has attached particular importance to education.
Cheng Yi, an educator in earlier Song Dynasty said if learners couldn’t have fun, theywill unwilling to learn. In addition, Zhu Xi and Wang Shouren advocated games aswell. In recent years, domestic scholars have done some researches on game teachingmethod. Chen Heqin, the founder of children pedagogy in China, presented thatgames are mentors in terms of education. Children can train their thoughts and learnabout life through games. His ideas laid foundation for further researches about gameteaching (Ma, 2010). Along with the deepening of the research, a growing number ofessays have been published, including some about other school subjects. Dai Jihongclassified games into letter games, vocabulary games and sentence pattern games(2003). Wang Xiupeng and Li Yurong pointed out that “games match children’s traitsand course features. Competition and role play can be used to improve teachingeffectiveness” (2008:168).
2.3 Importance of English game teaching in primaryschool
2.3.1 Arousing learning interest and enthusiasm
Primary school students are curious about new things, so when they are juststarting to learn English, they will be interested and enthusiastic. But over time, someof them may lose interest since it is not an easy job to possess another language. As isknown to all, primary school English learning is a cornerstone of further Englishacquisition. During this phase, the primary mission is to arouse and maintain students’
interest. Games are loved by children and can be a good assistant to make the classesinteresting and attractive.
Furthermore, “primary school students’ learning is mainly based onunintentional attention which is greatly influenced by interests. Therefore, on thebasis of children’s psychological features and knowledge characteristics, teachersshould concentrate on games to help them learn” (Jing, 1997:30).
2.3.2 Developing learners’ listening and speaking abilities
Games are not designed for one single student; they are for the whole class.
Students must be able to understand others’ expressions in the process of games. Also,they must convey their own opinions in English. Meng Fan also presents the principle“speak English as much as possible” (2004:177). During the process, both students’
listening and speaking abilities can be improved.
Communicative competence training is the main task in primary school Englishclasses. As a new learner, students are often afraid to speak for lack of understandingand confidence. However, every child is fond of games. With the help of games,students can take part in uninteresting language training. Taking role play as anexample, students will imitate characters’ pronunciation and intonation to reflect theirreal feelings during the process. Furthermore, they will adjust what they speakaccording to what they hear. Through repeated practice, they will make great progressin terms of listening and speaking.
2.3.3. Improving teaching quality
“In primary school English teaching, game is an effective supplementary means.
Pronunciation, vocabulary, sentence patterns, etc. can be learned and practiced ingames. However, it is not simple mechanical teaching that traditional teachingemploys. Instead, combining what students are interested in can make the teachingmore effective. In order to play games, children need to use language. In other words,games create meaningful situations for children to use language” (Zhuang, 2013:92).
During the game, students will use the target language repeatedly and thereforeremember it subconsciously.
Generally, games are well combined with teaching content. Target knowledge isconsolidated and understanding is deepened in particular language content created bygames. Continuous practice can exert a subtle influence on students. They will bear inmind the knowledge and use them as a kind of conditioned response later.
2.3.4 Promoting teachers’ self-development
To make the function of games into full play, every game should be well-designed. Teachers need to perfect games on the basis of actual situation and students’
characteristics. “Apart from close connection to teaching content, games shouldembody the important and difficult points of every lesson. In short, teachers’
inpidual abilities should be improved to efficiently use the games” (Cao, 2014:194-195).
In addition, game teaching changes the role of the teachers. They are no longer incommanding position; instead, they are equal to the students. Interaction and guidanceare required in games. They should lead students to learn and promote their overalldevelopment. The role transition presents higher requirements to teachers. Therefore,teachers’ self-development will be achieved gradually.
Chapter Three Present Situation of English Game Teaching in Primary School
In order to know more about the present situation, a survey was conducted in thispart in forms of questionnaires and classroom observation. And some deficiencies areanalyzed based on the survey.
3.1 A survey of English game teaching in primary school
A survey was conducted in Changshu Huaxi primary school in order to gain adeep insight into the present situation of game teaching in primary school. Thesubjects of the survey were 96 primary school students in Class 1, Grade 2 and Class3,Grade 5. Questionnaires and classroom observations are applied as the researchmethods.
3.1.1 Questionnaire
A questionnaire (Appendix 1) is designed in Chinese for students in Grade2 andGrade5 to get specific information. 96 students, including 46 in Grade 2 and 50 inGrade 5, answered the questionnaire. The primary goal is to understand students’
opinions towards games in English classes. To make the result clearer, the questionsand answers are put in the following tables.
Table 3.1: The result of the questionnaire
By contrasting the data, some conclusions can be drawn distinctly. Primaryschool students’ interest both in English learning and games tend to decline with age.
The time used for games is reduced as well. But using games is still considered as aneffective way to learn. Further, students’ requirements for teachers and the assessmentforms are increasingly higher along with grade increasing. However, the kind ofgames is still too less which fails to meet the requirements of majority of students.
3.1.2 Classroom observations
Classroom observation is a method to be aware of what occurs in classrooms. Theresearcher makes an attempt to observe and keep records of classroom events in asystematic way. Based on the observation of the English lessons in Grade2 and Grade5 for three months, some findings have been summarized.
In lower grades, games account for a higher proportion of English classes. InGrade2, games are used in high frequency, accounting for half of the whole lesson ingeneral. While in Grade5 games are rarely used.
As to students’ attitudes towards games, most students in Grade2 are willing tojoin and try their best to be winners. They especially like group competitions in whichthey are quite active. However, in Grade5, students’ interest in games is in a lowerlevel and most of them are unwilling to join. Therefore, the expected effects canhardly be achieved.
3.2 Deficiencies of present English game teaching
3.2.1 Monotonous forms
Entertaining games are used in primary school English classes to encouragestudents take an active part in the language-oriented activities. Games ought toconform to students’ age characteristics and psychological demand. Although thesame game can cause different effects when used in different grades, some teachersstill prefer to use fixed game forms, such as magic eyes and good memory, which canachieve better effect when used in lower grades than being used in higher grades.
Besides, some teachers tend to use same games for a long time without any changeespecially those they think are interesting and helpful. However, children like freshthings and their attention can’t be focused on the same thing for a long time. Thus, itis hard to achieve expected teaching results.
3.2.2 Low level of participation
Students’ uneven competence level in the same class makes it hard to meet allstudents’ demand in a game. This directly leads to a low level of participation.
Through classroom observation, it is found that game participators are mainlyreceptive students. This phenomenon is particularly common in higher grades. Themajority of students act as bystanders during the games. They seldom participate ingroup work. Gradually, these students consider that games are irrelevant to them andwill not even take part in those within their ability.
3.2.3 Unreasonable design of game contents
Some teachers use games in classes just for a lively class atmosphere, thusignoring students’ cognition and teaching content. Take Oxford primary schoolEnglish Book, 5A, Unit3 Our animal friends as a sample. The objective of this lessonis that students can describe the physical features of animals. Some puzzles are usedas teaching aids. The teacher asks students to guess what animal she is describingwhile showing the corresponding puzzles. Those animals can be easily recognizedbecause the patterns are quite obvious. Therefore, only a few students actually careabout what the teacher is saying. Without doubt, the design of the game content in thisclass is unreasonable. There are also some other games which are used frequently, butthe contents are far from reasonable.
3.2.4 Unscientific assessment forms
Monotonous assessment form is a common problem in primary school Englishclasses. Teachers always say “good” or “well done” to praise students’ performancewhich generally depends on the results of the games instead of students’ performanceor progress during the process of the games.
Apart from verbal assessment, monotonous material rewards are applied as well.
For example, teachers will give a card to those who do well in the games. Whenaccumulated enough, these cards can be used to exchange trophy. At first, this methodis quite inspiring and incentive. However, as time goes by, it also bores most studentsbecause the rewards always belong to the competent students.
3.2.5 Using games at inappropriate time
Games are often used at the beginning of the class to activate classroomatmosphere and draw attention. Then, teachers start to teach targeted new words orsentence patterns. The teaching process still gives priority to traditional teachingmethod, so games are rarely used in the process. Moreover, when there is some timeleft at the end of the class, teachers also choose games to spend the rest time. In aword, games are always used at the beginning or at the end of the classes, rather thanwhen games are actually needed.
Chapter Four Suggestions on Improving English Game Teaching in Primary School
On the basis of the foregoing, the author puts forward some suggestions on thesolutions to the problems mentioned above. The basic principles and some additionalsuggestions are discussed in this chapter.
4.1 Basic principles of game teaching
4.1.1 Purposefulness
Games in primary school English classes are designed to serve for Englishteaching. “Teaching difficult and important points, teaching aims and other teachingrequirements must be given sufficient consideration” (Song, 2010:5). Games are notused only for mobilizing the enthusiasm of students. The games deviating fromteaching requirements don’t make any sense. Therefore, purposefulness ought to bethe first principle. Take Unit5 At the market, Oxford primary school English Book,2A, as an example. When teaching the new words in part B, a quick-answer game canbe applied combining the sentence patterns “What are these? They are…” in part A.
Therefore, both new words and sentence patterns can be drilled in the game.
4.1.2 Enlightenment
Teachers should lay emphasis on the development of intelligence andimprovement of ability when designing games. High quality games should be able toinspire students to think on their own initiative. During the process of these games,students actively learn by observing, perceiving, thinking and judging by themselves.
For instance, when teaching the new word “panda”, the riddle—“what animalwears big black glasses on its face?” can be used instead of direct teaching. Inaddition, word chain is also a common enlightening game form. For example, theteacher use the word “card” to start the game, then students will continue to say thewords like “dog, green, nose, eat, taxi, ice…” Successful games not only allowstudents to review previous knowledge, but also allow them to think independently.
4.1.3 Diversification
Continuous renewal of game forms is indispensable. No matter how interesting agame is, it can not attract students any more when used for a long period of time. It ishard for primary school students to concentrate for a long time, especially for thestudents in lower grades which is decided by their psychological characteristics.
However, most teachers tend to use single from. For example, role play is oftenapplied to practice the sentence patterns in Part A in lower grades. At first, studentsfeel fresh and are willing to participate. But as time goes by, it becomes increasinglydifficult to make them remain lively in such games.
However, the same game can be designed with different contents to attractstudents’ attention. For example, “bingo”, a kind of crossword puzzles game, is apopular game in primary school English classes. In lower grades, letters can be filledin grids while in higher grades, words and sentences can be filled in to improve thedegree of difficulty.
4.1.4 Flexibility
Flexibility means teachers need to notice the proportion of games in the wholeEnglish class and apply games in the right amount and at the right time. In addition, “the mutual relationship and natural link between teaching material and games shouldbe paid attention to” (Xiang & Niu, 2013:131).
Teachers are incapable of foreseeing all the situations in classes and every studentis and every class is unique. So they need to adjust the forms and rules of the gamesin accordance with the real teaching situation and students’ performance. Besides,games must consist with class atmosphere and pace which are different in everylesson. Therefore, flexible use of games in classes is required.
4.2 Encouraging participation of all students
“It is impossible for teachers to provide every student with an opportunity to takepart in the game in every teaching link. However, teachers must always pay closeattention to whether the games can promote all students to think” (Song, 2010:6).
Open questions meet the requirement well for various kinds of reasonable answers areallowed. Such questions can stimulate students’ enthusiasm to learn and train theirpergent thinking.
What’s more，on the basis of students’ actual English proficiency, games can bedesigned with difficulty gradient to improve the participation degree.
4.3 Properly using multi-assessments
Praise and encouragement are welcomed among primary school students. Theycan not only cultivate students’ self-confidence, but also make them become morecommitted to English learning. “Students’ biggest barrier in English learning is notdaring to speak and answer questions in class. They are afraid of making mistakes andbeing criticized or even punished by teachers” (Liu, 2013:33). Praise andencouragement can help them feel at ease and relaxed. Therefore, students’
performance ought not to be assessed only based on results. The angles of assessmentcan be various. For example, their attitudes, progress, efforts and many other elementsshown in the process of games should all be evaluated. The evaluation method shouldbe perse as well. Both material reward and moral encouragement are needed.
4.4 Using games at proper time
Games are often used at the beginning or at the end of a lesson. Yet, Rixonsuggests that “games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitableand carefully chosen” (1981:46). “Even if using games in the middle of the class mayresult in chaos，games are still worth paying attention to and implementing in theclassroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, andachieve fluency” (Zhuang, 2005:29). The most important element of using games isthat they should be used when they can offer students both pleasure and educationalmeaning.
For example, when teaching a new sentence pattern during the teachingprocedure, students’ attention will be shifted easily. At this time, a suitable gamerelated to the sentence pattern can be applied both to keep students’ interest and assistteaching.
Chapter Five Conclusion
Liking games is children’s nature. Applying games in primary school Englishclasses is an innovation of both English teaching and learning method. Games notonly enliven the English classes’ atmosphere, but also change students’ learning stylefrom passive learning to active learning which fully reflects the dominating role ofstudents in learning. Teaching through games has gradually become a popularteaching technique adopted by plenty of primary school English teachers.
This paper demonstrates the value of teaching through games in primary schoolEnglish classes and put forward specific suggestions by analyzing deficiencies ofpresent application status shown in a survey. The aim of the paper is to assist primaryschool English teachers in using the game teaching method scientifically to avoidstudents’ lack of interest in English learning.
However, there are still varieties of limitations that can’t be overlooked in thispaper. First of all, the scope of the subjects is confined to 96 students in a school,which is relatively small. Therefore, the results may not be universal. Secondly, thetime the survey took is only three months, while English learning is a time-consumingprocess. The effects of a teaching method can not be apparent in a short time. Theresults would be more persuasive with more time. Thirdly, data collection in thesurvey only relies on classroom observation and questionnaire. With more methodsand angles, the survey would be more precise. Fourthly, data analysis is not scientificenough owing to the author’s limitations. If analyzed in more aspects, the surveywould be better.
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