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1、 How to Use Games in English TeachingAs English becomes more and more accepted as an international language, interest in the English teaching to younger learners has been steadily growing in recent years. Accompanied with the carrying out of the new English Curriculum Standard by the Ministry of Edu
2、cation of Chinese government, there are a lot of new problems arising from the field of English teaching in the primary schools. This thesis holds the hypothesis that game-teaching approach should be adopted in childrens English teaching, and also probes into the reliability and pros and cons of usi
3、ng games in the teaching process. Games are a different kind of play activity. They are highly structured and include specific rules to be followed (Spodek Bernard and Saracho Olivia, 1994, p.132). Specially, teaching game is one of the kinds of the games. Byrne (1995) gave the definition to games a
4、s a form of play governed by rules. He suggested:“Games should be enjoyed and fun. They are not just a diversion, a break from routine activities, but a way of getting the learner to use the language in the course of the game.” (Byrne, 1995, p. 32).From the above, we can safely drawn a conclusion th
5、at “game” in language teaching (teaching game) can be defined as an organized activity that usually has the following properties: A. a particular task or objective; B. a set of rules; C. competition between players; D. communication between players by spoken or written language.There is a widely-hel
6、d lay belief that younger second language learners generally do better than older learners. Children exercise a good deal of both cognitive and affective effort in order to internalize both native and second languages. Moreover, one of most essential thing that teachers teaching childrens English sh
7、ould make all means to motivate their spirit and sustain their interest in learning English. Therefore, most of those teachers chose the method by using games in the teaching process, because games using is closely related to characteristics of children for their age and their features of psychology
8、. However, just as we know, language learning is not easy work. In a word, games can help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and they play an important role in language teaching:It has been found that one appropriate strategy to encourage language acquisition is using language gam
9、es. Children have a greater need to be motivated by the teacher or the material, and they are easier to be motivated. Many scholars agree that games in the language classroom have been considered a better way to arouse the interest of children, John Dewey claimed games were integral to schooling sin
10、ce they provided active and position learning experience. Games are also listed in the language skills for the learning stage of primary school in the New English Curriculum Standard. When using games in the classroom, it is beneficial for teachers to have a complete understanding of the definitions
11、 of games: a form of play concerning rules, competition, and an element of fun. Teachers should also consider the advantages of games: the ability to capture students attention; lower students stress; and give students the chance for real communication. (Campell Linda, Campell Bruce and Dickson dee,
12、 1999).For adults and children, difference between the age group in learning styles, abilities and motivation entail corresponding differences in selection of materials and methodology and in lesson plan. Children have a greater immediate need to be motivated by the teacher or the material in order
13、to learn effectively. Teacher can raise childrens motivation and enthusiasm by selecting interesting activities. They are always curious about the interesting things. Games are one excellent means to maintain the curiosity in the English course. When the teachers ask the children to play games, they
14、 are prepared to enjoy. All this mean that it is easy to maintain a high degree of motivation and to make the English class into an enjoyable and stimulating experience for the children.To successfully teach children English requires specific skills and intuitions that differ from those that a teach
15、er would use for adult teaching. Brown (1994) suggested five categories help the teacher to give some practical approaches to teaching children as follows:The first one is intellectual development. Since children (up to the age of about eleven) are still in an intellectual stage of what Piaget calle
16、d “concrete operations,” we should remember their limitations. Rules, explanations, and other even slightly abstract talk about language must be approached with extreme caution. Play (game) is a way of manipulating the outside world so that it serves a vital function in the childs developing intellect and remains.The second one is attention span. One of the most salient differences between adults and children is attention span. Children have short attention spans. The short attention span
