Changes in my students & My strategies
For instance, “tongue twister” game is to enhance students’ pronunciation; “idiom” is good for expanding students’ English knowledge and enriching their language; “categorization of content” helps to improve their reading skills. “English songs” are incredibly great to attract students’ attention and I focus on the meaning of the lyrics, not just for enlarging their vocabulary but also for stimulating their critical thinking. My experience is that the pupils generally love these games and whenever they feel high-spirited and interested, I start to teach grammar, reading or writing immediately, those relatively boring lessons. And their performance is satisfying because when they’re interested, they can focus more and better, thus, learning faster. So games and songs can be used at any stage. We should be flexible about using games meaningfully and accordingly based on students’ proficiency level. My students now feel excited to have English classes because they never feel bored or feel like wasting time and the majority of them participate actively in the class.
Thank you for sharing Wendy. Fabulous ideas you have found from your experience in the classroom! Well done!
ReplyDeleteWendy, it's so nice to hear that your students are developing themselves through your teaching and lessons. You must be feeling overjoyed! I think that as a teacher, it is not only academic improvement that we look for but personal development and character development too. It's always heartwarming to hear how a teacher/educator managed to shape his/her students to be better persons. You are inspiring in that way and students are lucky to have you and your enthusiasm in education for them!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I have to say that language games are the ultimate way to make students enjoy and focus in their lesson!
The one thing that teachers have to be concerned about when carrying out these games is that we have to pay attention to the students' proficiency and design games which are suitable. Games that are deemed fun by lower proficiency students may be boring to high proficiency students because it is too easy for them. And challenging games for high proficiency students too, may bore lower proficiency students as it is too difficult and will cause them to lose interest in playing.
I played charades with my classes after their exams and the responses are overwhelming! I almost cannot believe it because at first, I am worried that they might find it too lame or childish, given that they are high profi students who sometimes think that they are too good for anything! However, at the end of the day, I am a happy teacher because having these games in the class also allows the teacher to loosen up and show his/her friendly side to students. I also feel that these games serve as an opportunity for teacher and students to know each other better and to build stronger bonds with each other. If you find it difficult to design language games yourself, there are tons of ideas out there for you to copy from. Just hit Google.com and start your journey! Examples: http://www.languagegames.org/ & http://www.tedpower.co.uk/games.htm where you can pick a game and match the proficiency level of the students with the level of difficulty. See, it's not that hard, you just need to put in some extra effort =)