Regardless of their teaching approach, language teachers often create or adapt group games for a variety of reasons, including motivating learning, providing practice, assessing student performance, and even adding an element of fun to an otherwise boring session.  Here are four principles for classroom games that can keep your students actively engaged with English:

1. Create total engagement
2. Maximize game time
3. Focus on language
4. Foster interactivity and creativity

Rule 1: Create Total Engagement

Do not eliminate anyone and do not single out students to play while others just watch.

Elimination games, where students sit down when they get an answer wrong, cause the weakest students to be eliminated early and, therefore, get the least practice, engagement, and enjoyment while the strongest students get the most of each benefit.

A different problem arises when one student or small groups participate in front of the class. In this situation, the onlookers can become disengaged while the participants can experience performance stress (see Kagan & Kagan, 2009). The obvious solution is to have learners play small group games.

Rule 2: Maximize Game Time

Form groups quickly and keep instructions short.

Make sure adequate time is spent playing the game and not in getting ready. In grouping students, elaborate systems (e.g., having large classes count off by fours without saying “4”) take much of the game time away.

So that learners are using English as they form groups, I like using vocabulary sets. For groups of four, one set could have seasons, another four days of the week, and so on. This grouping time doubles as vocabulary or content practice (e.g., each group having countries on the same continent). For repeated use throughout the course, have students write their names in English on Popsicle sticks that you keep. Each game, draw one name per group and give those students the number of sticks to form a group and to read the other names so that all groups are finding their group members simultaneously.

Writing instructions on the board or screen not only saves time but also helps students who prefer visual instruction.

Rule 3: Focus on Language

Reward using English.

In both grouping and playing, language interaction is central. Winners could be those who remember the most details about the story or create the longest sentence (and not the student who draws the best picture or adds the numbers fastest).

Rule 4: Foster Interactivity and Creativity

Include student-made elements.

Great games have the students interacting naturally and creatively with language. Groups can adapt and lead games or create novel games and teach the class to play. They can take your game and add categories with vocabulary from new units.

Games may or may not be competitive; they can be based around any content used at any level, from elementary students instructed to “find someone who likes ice cream” to graduate students who must “find someone who knows three Kagan cooperative learning strategies.”

Engaging the entire class in small group games, giving learners enough time to play, rewarding English use, and empowering student creativity may even provide you with more games you can use with future classes.

Reference

Kagan, S., & Kagan, M. (2009). Kagan cooperative learning. San Clemente, CA: Kagan.

Leslie Barratt is professor of Graduate School at Rajabhat Roi Et University and Professor Emerita of Linguistics at Indiana State University. Since her career began in the 1970s, she has taught English, ESL, EFL, TESL, TEFL, and linguistics, including 2 years as a Fulbright scholar in Budapest and Beijing, and has worked with students from primary through doctoral levels.

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