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Games as the way of intensification of learning English language in primary school

Games are the stuff in the primary classroom. They provide stimulation, variety, interest and motivation; they help to promote positive attitudes towards learning English. They also encourage active participation, and boost children’s confidence and self-esteem.

Young children have a natural tendency to express themselves and find out about their world trough play and this can provide positive foundations for learning a foreign language too.

The games don’t develop only language skills, they help to develop young children’s social skills, (such as showing willingness to cooperate and take turns, listening to others and learning to follow and respect the rules of a game). Games which involve actions or movement also help to develop physical coordination and psychomotor skills. In addition to this, games have an important role in developing young children’s concentration and memory skills, as well as their ability to associate language and meaning with actions, pictures, objects and sounds. 

The use of simple such as, for example, picture card games, guessing games or board games provides frameworks which encourage children to practice interacting and taking turns in ways which are purposeful and also involve other cognitive skills, such as strategic thinking, visual observation, memorization and logical deduction). The regular use of such games also helps children to build up and transfer the interactive skills they are developing to everyday communication in the classroom.

As for children, they must understand the language learning value of games and recognize that these are ‘real work’. The teacher must say: We’re going to play a guessing game in order to practice asking and answering questions about food. If children are aware of the reasons for playing games, they are much more likely to make an effort to use English when working independently in pairs and groups and to recognize the learning benefits of this.

There are many different types of games: name games, mime and drama games, feely bag games, playground games, games for getting into pairs or groups, musical games, spelling games, word games, team games, revision games, dice games and drawing games, guessing games.

Tips for Playing Games

When setting up games in class, you may use the general tips for playing games with children:

• Go for simplicity! It’s often the simplest games that ‘work’ the best, especially in large classes.
• Make sure that all the children are involved all the time (even if not directly).
• Make sure you know how the game works yourself before getting the children to play it!
• Give clearly staged instructions and demonstrate or model playing the game. Play with the whole class first.
• Teach children interactive language for playing the game, for example, eg It’s my/your turn and encourage them to use it.
• Be fair and firm about enforcing rules (children expect and want this)
• If children are playing the game independently, circulate and monitor. At the same time, however, give children space to experiment and to show that they can play the game responsibly on their own.
• Stop the game while the children are still ‘on task’ and before they begin to lose interest.