Teachers and researchers have moved away from the separation of linguistic skills as the best and only way to instruct students learning other languages. Today, more emphasis is being placed on purposeful games in the classroom which create a more carefree and fun environment for its learners. This method, when carefully chosen, produces confidence, creates competition and teammanship, and promotes a desire to win the prize...which is fluency of a 'once' strange language. In the end, everyone wins, since the goal is fluency of a foreign language with a teacher who becomes the hero, because she makes her lessons meaningful and entertaining at the same time.

Games can be wonderful communicative device in the classroom setting and should be a central part of educating individuals wanting to learn another language. Most individuals will relinquish their inhibitions and speak openly when they are not bogged down with the formalities of a language. Games offer an almost stress free environment that is fun and active and the best possible learning environment...an adventure.

Games in the classroom are motivating, since they present competitiveness in a safe environment. Because it is such a valuable and necessary element in most things we want to accomplish in life, incorporating it in building language activities only makes sense. The learner is unconsciously forced to concentrate on the game and is in deep thought...which is the intention! Bravo, learning occurs!

Research contends that students who have been exposed to game-oriented activities hold positive attitudes (Uberman 1998), and liked the relaxed atmosphere, the competitiveness, and the motivation that games brought to the classroom (Huyen and Nga, 2003). These findings present a positive light on game oriented learning and should give teachers an enlightened focus which, in turn, will make them a more successful educator.

Using games as warm-ups during the 'engage stage' or as fillers at the end of a lesson are acceptable times to exercise this type of activity. Often teachers use games when they have run out of things to do and have a few moments left in the period. Yet, do games lend themselves beneficial during 'study' or activation stages of a lesson? Are they noteworthy enough to be a central part of a teacher's more formalized lesson? According to Rixon, “Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages” (Forum). His article and observations propose that games should be written into daily lesson plans and used in all phases of activities as long as they are carefully conceived and written into a teacher's plans. They can enhance the engage, study, and activation stages of lessons and be advantageous during review and revision; since they help students recall material easily.

In conclusion, I am encouraged that games can promote deep and purposeful learning activities in any classroom setting. Games have been used for years in teaching foreign languages, and the articles I have read associate them with pure and simple success. Students' needs are being met in relaxed atmospheres where purposeful games are being used. Not only do they challenge students to learn languages in a more competitive, fun filled way, well chosen ones produce meaningful context and encourage cooperation. Subsequently, motivation is aroused and success tends to follow, which is why I plan to use games in my ESL program.

References:

Cambridge University Press, 1984; Why Use Games for Teaching English as a Second Language By Andrew Wright, David Betterige and Michael Buckby

Takming College, Taipei, Taiwan; Using Games to Promote Communicative Skills in Language Learning, By Chen, I-Jung

Forum; The Use of Games by Rixon

Elizabeth Till