FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE

SEMESTER SEPTEMBER / 2012

HBEL1103

INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

MATRICULATION NO IDENTITY CARD NO. TELEPHONE NO. E-MAIL LEARNING CENTRE

: : : : :

660312715544001 660312715544 016-8727315 jeafc5544@yahoo.com MIRI LEARNING CENTRE

TABLE

O F C O N T EN T S

PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

PLAY GAMES AS AN EFFECTIVE ACTIVITY Lesson Plan Flash Card Worksheet

6 6 10 11

STUDENTS FEEDBACK AND ANALYSIS

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CONCLUSION

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REFERENCES

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my lecturer, at Open University of Malaysia. Her wide knowledge and her logical way of thinking have been of great value for me. Her understanding, encouraging and personal guidance have provided a good basis for the present assignment. I wish to express my warm and sincere thanks to tutor of HBEL1103 whom gave me important guidance during my first steps into this study. Their ideals and concepts have had a remarkable influence on my entire career in the field of teaching. My warm thanks are due to my colleagues. Their kind support and guidance have been of great value in this study. During this work I have collaborated with many colleagues for whom I have great regard. I wish thanks to all my students especially Year 2 Cekal. Their cooperation and commitment to do the activity I carried out were successful. I owe my loving thanks to my husband, my daughter Cynthia, my sons Damien and Eldred. They have lost a lot due to my assignment. Without their encouragement and understanding it would have been impossible for me to finish this work. My special gratitude is due to my brother, my sisters and their families for their loving support.

INTRODUCTION In Agnieszka (1998)1 research, mentioned that many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value. W. R. Lee holds that most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the correct forms (1979:2). He also says that games should be treated as central not peripheral to the foreign language teaching programme. A similar opinion is expressed by Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching. There are many advantages of using games. "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely" (Richard-Amato 1988:147). They are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994:118). They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Furthermore, to quote Richard-Amato, they, "add diversion to the regular classroom activities," break the ice, "[but also] they are used to introduce new ideas" (1988:147). In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games, students remember things faster and better (Wierus and Wierus 1994:218). S. M. Silvers says many teachers are enthusiastic about using games as "a teaching device," yet they often perceive games as mere time-fillers, "a break from the monotony of drilling" or frivolous activities. He also claims that many teachers often overlook the fact that in a relaxed atmosphere, real learning takes place, and students use the language they have been exposed to and have practised earlier (1982:29). Further support comes from Zdybiewska, who believes games to be a good way of practising language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in real life in the future (1994:6). Games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems that at times seem overwhelming. Games are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee observes, a game "should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when
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Agnieszka Uberman, (1998).The Use of Games For Vocabulary Presentation and Revision. Forum Vol. 36 No 1, January - March 1998 Page 20. 4

the teacher and class have nothing better to do" (1979:3). Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen. Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency. Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways. First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words more easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested. These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved and participate actively in the learning activities. Third, vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom, and enhance students' use of English in a flexible, communicative way2. Therefore, the role of games in teaching and learning vocabulary cannot be denied. However, in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that suitable games are chosen. Whenever a game is to be conducted, the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings are factors that should be taken into account.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga, (2003).Learning Vocabulary through Games. Asian EFL Journal December 2003. 5

PLAY GAMES AS AN EFFECTIVE ACTIVITY In this task, I'll explain how I carry out the activity that can transform boring lessons into exciting educational experiences. I carry out playing games in my English language lesson. I need to make sure that I have several activities for each lesson. Don't expect students this age to want to spend lots of time on one thing. For this lesson, it is 60 minutes long; I need to plan for at least 3 changes in activity. I have a variety of tasks to do. Below shown my lesson plan for Year 2 Cekal students: Lesson Plan Title: Amazing Animals Animals are of great interest to all students. This is fascinating topic with multi-level classes of varying English-language ability. In many cultures animals are not studied in school until science or biology is introduced. English language students will be engrossed by the material and will acquire information that is both new and compelling. Lesson topic Animals Proficiency/Grade level Primary students Year 2-6 (aged 8 12). Content Concepts & Skills Animal vocabulary; animal sounds Vocabulary needed Names of the most common zoo and farm animals; jungle animals. Materials or Resources Pictures of a large number of animals; skin coverings using Microsoft PowerPoint Flash cards (page 10) Worksheet (page 11)
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Instructional Sequence (teaching and learning strategy): 1. Induction Set (5 minutes): Sing a song Old McDonald Had a Farm.

2.

First Step (20 minutes): Teach the vocabulary for animal names.

Say the name of each animal as you point to a picture (use Microsoft PowerPoint).

You can also introduce animal names through flash cards. Ask students to point to the correct pictures as you name the animals. For those students who seem ready, indicate an item and ask, "What is this?" Provide students with a second set of animal pictures or cards. Have them use the cards to make flash cards and play concentration games.

For next lesson, encourage students to colour the pictures using a picture dictionary or encyclopaedia to find realistic colours. You may wish to have students keep these pages in their folder so that they are readily available when they are completing the other animal activities in this unit.

Review the words walk, run, swim, fly, crawl, hop, and climb.

3.

Second Step (15 minutes): Play a games 1 How They Move?:

If students are ready, provide a model question and answer conversation starter. In a group of 5 6 students. Begin with "Can a horse fly?" Beginning students may respond with "No." When they are ready, have newcomers respond to embedded questions such as "Does a horse run or fly." Play Games 2 What They Say?

In groups of three, students offer hints about a selected animal:

It's dangerous, and its noisy. The other students try to guess the animal. To do so, they have to ask the question: Does it say Cock-a-doodle-doo? If correct, the student receives four points. If not, a second hint is given such as: It has a long tail. The other students try a second guess. For example: Does it say Whinny, Whinny?

The process continues until the students have identified the selected animal by its cry. Underneath all the silliness, there is a real English lesson at work. Students practice simple present tense verbs; giving hints using: It is..., It has..., It eats..., and It lives... to describe various animals. This is a really noisy lesson and guaranteed to be fun!

4.

Third Step (15 minutes): Do wonderful task / worksheet (refer page 11).

5.

Final Step (5 minutes): Sing a song Old McDonald Had a Farm.

OR (activity for Year 4 6 students): 6. Give students a variety of experiences with animals by reading books to them on different animals. JoAnne Nelson's Hatched From An Egg, Backyard Bugs and Home in a Tree are good starting books for Year 4 6. As you read each book, discuss what different animals eat. Use the term meat-eater, plant-eater, omnivore, herbivore, carnivore appropriate to the age and language level of your students.

7.

Once students have learned the names of various animals, students categorize animals in the following ways:

according to how they move: fly, swim, hop/jump or run/walk/crawl (students can do this using pictures to sort animals in various categories).

zoo or farm animals according to habitat

according to their covering: fur/feathers/skin according to what they eat: plants, other animals, both For Year 4-6 students, I like the Wright Group's Song Box materials. They are lots of fun and students really learn. Some of these titles are: Busy Bees, Frog on a Log, Munch. Munch. Munch, Bear Facts and The Predator (see

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http://www.everythingesl.net/resources/cd-roms.php).Each book has a wealth of ideas for lesson activities. Have students learn the life cycle of a frog with Frog on a Log. As a follow-up activity, help students to write an accordion book about the life cycle of a frog. For Year 4 6 students, teach the food chain by cutting out five strips of construction paper for each student in your class. Have students illustrate and write four steps in the food chain: The sun makes plants grow; a rabbit eats the plant; a snake eats the rabbit; a hawk eats the snake. Write a title on one of the strips. Put the strips together like a paper chain. Have students practice saying each step of the chain.

9.

10.

Use Venn diagrams or other types of charts to have students compare animals in different ways. Even beginning students can put a picture of a kangaroo under the word or picture "Hop" on a chart.

One thing I have found really important in teaching is to have the students aware of what it is you want them to learn. Start the lesson with your learning intention. As an example, "This lesson we are going to learn about.... By the end of the lesson you will know....." That way they are involved in their learning. Take time at the end of the lesson to recap what they have learned. You can begin the next lesson with a short quiz on some of the previous lesson's content. This keeps them thinking about the learning.

Flash cards

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Worksheet Instruction: Fill in the blanks with appropriate vowels.

y
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STUDENTS FEEDBACK AND ANALYSIS 35 out of 40 of the Year 2 Cekal students enjoy them immensely. The games are such great fun and adaptable. Some admitted that they have learning difficulties and since teacher used games and change style of teaching, they have gained in confidence and had improved in English subjects. Here is how these ideas for teaching English games make lesson more interesting, which are games make learning fun, students are willing participants and pay more attention because they are enjoying themselves, so they do better, they feel better about themselves and do even better. As they playing a game, it has a purpose to it, an outcome, and in order to play students have to say things. They have a reason to communicate rather than just repeat things back mindlessly. Therefore, they want to know and learn more. Playing games stimulate and motivate students to new level. If they do not pay attention during the presentation of new language, and make a mental effort to memorise it, they will not able to play the games well and they will let their team and themselves down, so they make more effort to join in and learn as much as possible. While playing the games, students get to use the language all the time. They involve a lot of repetition, and repetition is the mother of skill, it can be boring but thanks to this game it is fun. The game lends themselves perfectly to quick bursts of revision. Using some of the games you can revise a massive amount of vocabulary and grammar in a few minutes. The physical movements also involved in this games, so it helps keep everyone stimulated and focused. Students naturally have a lot of energy and are not good sitting for long periods so if throw in a game with movement from time to time it will prevent them from getting restless and bored. As we know children have a short attention span even more so these days with the style and pace of the media, and computer games. Therefore injecting lively varied games into class to practise the language will keep children alert and enjoying themselves. With these ideas for teaching English games you can transform your classes and achieve all this because the communication games are designed to allow everyone plenty of opportunity to practise speaking, without neglecting spelling, reading and writing. In fact

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most of the games can also be played to specifically enhance these skills. There are also spelling games, writing games and English composition games. As part of the fun I would put a show on every term for the parents. The kids loved it and the parents could also see the results their children were getting. Now for parents to pay out and for children to exchange their play time for lessons voluntarily, you have got to be: a) making your classes fun so that the children, want to come and b) deliver results so that the parents keep paying! And that is the real test, which all these games have passed with flying colours. And not only do these games allow you to get great academic results, but you can positively affect the lives of the children you teach by associating fun and encouragement to learning.

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CONCLUSION Adequate preparation time is essential for teachers. When planning how to teach the material in the curriculum, they must think about the needs of the students and how those needs can best be met. For example, when teaching students, the material should reflect usage in real life situations. Instead of using repetition drills and echoing as a teaching method, have the students role play common situations, like ordering a meal in a restaurant or asking for directions. Teachers set the tone for the room, so exercises that are light and funny will help the students to feel less self conscious. Seeing as well as hearing words will help student to learn English. Teachers should incorporate flash cards and picture dictionaries into their English lessons because it allows the student to associate a visual image with a word. Have students make vocabulary school books that they can refer to again and again. Cut pictures out of magazines and group the images according to type such as animals, food and clothing. This is a fantastic way to keep your students interested in the work that they are doing. Reading out loud to students is critical in order for them to gain language proficiency. This is how they will master pronunciation. English language teaching teachers should read out loud in a clear voice and speak slowly. For particularly difficult words, over enunciate until it becomes clear to the students. Watching television with the closed captioning turned on is also as excellent exercise. Have the students listen closely to how the words are said. English can be tricky because there are so many silent letters. Hearing the words being said while seeing them spelled out will help students to make the link between the two. One of the biggest challenges that educators face is keeping students interested in the work. The solution to this is to make the lessons more interesting and applicable to those who are learning. This can be difficult when dealing with students who are new to English lessons. However, there are simple yet effective ways to teach children to enjoy learning the language. A child who gets poor grades all the time, and who is always way down the list in class, will tend to stay there as their self-esteem drops lower and lower.

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I'll never forget a grateful parent thanking me at the end of two terms and telling me how her daughter, who had learning difficulties, had gained so much in confidence since coming to my classes that she had improved in all subjects at school . Teaching is a wonderful profession, and one thing we all know for sure is that we never forget our teachers, and we vividly remember the few incredible teachers we had who challenged us and made us think, rather than spoon fed us so we could be successfully processed through the exams. Your pupils are going to remember you for the rest of their lives, and with that in mind, dont you want them to remember you as one of the best? As a language teacher I believe the greatest gift you can give is the skill and confidence to speak the language and actually use it. What use is a language qualification to someone if he or she cannot actually speak it? In conclusion, learning vocabulary through games is one effective and interesting way that can be applied in any classrooms. The results of this research suggest that games are used not only for mere fun, but more importantly, for the useful practice and review of language lessons, thus leading toward the goal of improving students communicative competence. Ive shown that the games are great value, they are proven to work, and that they will motivate students and make classes fun. They will also help students learn to speak English twice as fast, and remember what they learn will have great results as their teacher. As well as saving on preparation time, youll earn love and respect from the students, parents and schools alike. This concludes my observations on how a student begins to learn his foreign language. To end this report, I will make one comment and ask one question. First the comment: God has certainly endowed the young child with the magic of a rich environment in which to learn his language and the magic of a wonderful ability to acquire that language from his surroundings. Now the question: Is this magic limited to childhood, or does some of it remain long after childhood has ended, waiting to be used again, this time to help tame a foreign language?

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REFERENCES Agnieszka Uberman, (1998).The Use of Games For Vocabulary Presentation and Revision.

Forum Vol. 36 No 1, January - March 1998 Page 20.

Daniel Kies,(1991). Language Development in Children. In http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/grammar/lgdev.htm

Larry M. Lynch, (2005). Using Games to Make Language Learning Interesting, Innovative, and Fun. In http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_M._Lynch

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga, (2003).Learning Vocabulary through Games. Asian EFL Journal December 2003.

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