On-the-Necessity-of-Game-Teaching--浅谈游戏教学在小学英语课堂的重要性.doc

毕 业 论 文

院 别 外国语学院
系 别 英语系
专 业 英语(教育)
年 级 2008
学生姓名
学 号
论文题目浅谈游戏教学在小学英语课堂的必要性
指导教师
完成时间 2012 年 5 月 2 日

肇庆学院教务处制

On the Necessity of Game Teaching
Used in Primary English Classroom

A Thesis
Submitted to the School of Foreign Languages of
···University
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts
By
···

Supervisor：···
May 2, 2012

Abstract
The new curriculum standards of primary English points out that stimulating students’ learning interest is the target in primary English teaching. How to stimulate students’ interest and change the traditional teaching model which dominated the classroom teaching progress for a long time? This thesis, after studying the situation in primary English classroom, based on the method of game teaching, combined with the related viewpoints in pedagogy, psychology, and linguistics, points out that game teaching is necessary in primary English teaching. Game teaching is proved scientific with theoretical basis after studying those theories’ backgrounds mentioned above.
Besides, some study methods are adopted in this thesis as the proofs by the writer. The statistical figures indicate that primary school students are interested in playing games in class. The interview survey declares good relationship between students and teacher benefits children’s learning. Writer’s personal experience shows game teaching can make great impact on students’ abilities and characters. So there are four advantages for students in English learning. Firstly, game teaching can stimulate students’ interest in learning English, because children never feel bored while playing games. Secondly, game teaching can establish equality between teachers and students, but not teacher-centre classroom model any more. Thirdly, game teaching is good for students to develop listening and speaking abilities, changing the situation of high scores and low abilities.
Lastly, it helps children build good characters, which make a contribution for the education for all-round development.
At the end of this thesis, the writer makes a conclusion that it is necessary to use
game teaching in primary English classroom. The study on the necessity of game teaching can make all teachers and students have a proper recognition of its importance advantages. Using game teaching in classroom can create relax and happy atmosphere for students to study, which can promote the development of curriculum and the quality of education.
Moreover, advice is further put forward for both students and teachers based upon the research results. While employing game teaching, games should be acknowledged as tools served for teaching plan, so games should not be totally adopted. In other words, the selection of games should be paid attention to.

Key Words: Game teaching; Primary classroom; English teaching

内容摘要
我国《小学生英语课程标准》中明确指出：激发学生的英语学习兴趣是小学阶段英语教学的首要目标。如何激发学生兴趣和转变传统枯燥的教学模式？本文根据小学英语课堂的现状，以游戏教学作为研究基础，结合心理学，教学法和二语习得中的相关观点指出游戏教学在小学英语教学中具有必要性。各种理论观点证明了游戏教学具有科学的理论基础，同时笔者通过采访调查，统计数字和亲身经历的具体事实论证得出游戏教学不仅有利于提高学生英语学习兴趣，建立平等的师生关系，还有利于学生听说能力的提高和良好性格的塑造。
最后，笔者得出结论认为在小学英语课堂中运用游戏教学是必要的。这一研究可以使广大师生对游戏教学的作用有一个正确的认识，尝试运用游戏教学，让学生在轻松愉快的氛围下参与课堂活动，促进课程的发展，提高教学质量。同时，笔者还对游戏的选择性提出了建议。

关键词：游戏教学；小学课堂；英语教学

Acknowledgements
On the completion of my thesis, I should like to express my deepest gratitude to all whose kindness and advice have made this work possible. I am greatly indebted to my supervisor,…….

Outline
Thesis Statement: Game teaching is necessary to be adopted in primary English classroom for its scientific theoretical basis and great benefits to students themselves.
1. Introduction
2. Review of the Literature
2.1 Characteristics of Game
2.2 Defining Game Teaching
3. Theories Background in Game Teaching
3.1 Pedagogical Background
3.2 Psychological Background
3.3 Linguistic Background
4. Advantages of Game Teaching
4.1 Stimulate Students’ Learning Interest and Motivation
4.2 Establish Equality between Teachers and Students
4.3 Develop Students’ Listening and Speaking Abilities
4.4 Build Good Characters
5. The Selection of Games
6. Conclusion

Table of Contents
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………1
2. Review of the Literature …………………………………………………………….2
2.1 Characteristics of Games …………………………………………………..…...2
2.2 Defining Game Teaching…………….. ………………………………………...4
3. Theories Background in Game Teaching …………………………………………....7
3.1 Pedagogical Background ……...………….…………………………….………7
3.2 Psychological Background………………………………………………………
3.2.1 Psychology of Schoolchildren…………………………………………….
3.2.2 Involuntary Attention……………………………..……………………….8
3.3 Linguistic Background………………………………………………………
4. Advantages of Game Teaching………………………………………………………
4.1 Stimulate Students’ Learning Interest and Motivation…………………………….
4.2 Establish Equality between Teachers and Students…………………………….
4.3 Develop Students’ Listening and Speaking Abilities…………………………..
4.4 Build Good Characters…………………………………………………………
5. The Selection of Games…………………………………………………………….
6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………

1. Introduction
English has been paid more and more attention in China for its necessity in the social activities and the international association. It’s essential for children in primary schools to accept English education. The traditional teaching method is proved not suit for the students’ English learning. On the contrary, students feel bored in classroom and have little interest in English. The new primary English curriculum standards points out that stimulating students’ interest is the target in primary stage. How to stimulate students’ interest? How to change the boring traditional teaching model? I think game teaching method can help us.
Game teaching is necessary in primary English teaching. Since children are hard to concentrate themselves on the whole class, we need to employ games to serve for teachers’ teaching plans in the classroom. As we all know, children like playing games. Because of their physical and psychological characteristics, they are always passionate in playing games. So game teaching surely can achieve the goal to arouse primary school students’ interest in learning English. What’s more, game teaching has other advantages. Using game teaching in classroom not only can establish equality between teachers and students, but also can develop students’ listening and speaking abilities; besides, it is good for shaping children's characters. Nowadays, many researches have proved that the method of game teaching has positive impact on primary students’ learning, and it can promote the development of curriculum and the quality of education.

2. Review of the Literature
2. 1 Characteristics of Games
What is a game? “A game is an activity providing entertainment or amusement; it is a competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules.” 1 “Games are reflecting children’s real life and they represent children’s basic survival state.” 2 Games are the best friends of a child. We are familiar with games because we had our childhoods which are full of fun of games. Why games are so attractive to children? It is because games have some special characteristics.
Fist of all, games can create a relax atmosphere and bring players good mood. Byrne (1995) suggested that games should be enjoyed and fun. That is the most basic characteristic of a game. People can have an effective learning while in happy, so do children.
Secondly, games are more valued in their process than their results. Children seldom care about the result in a game, but weather they can take part in the game and have fun during the process of this game.
Games are essential activities of human beings, as well as children’s stage to show their lives and energy. As a kind of non-utilitarian activity, playing game plays a special role in children’s study learning. Applying games in school teaching, especially in primary school, is more concerned by many English teaching nowadays.

2.2 Defining Game Teaching

2.2.1 What Is Game Teaching
Game teaching method is a vivid and interesting teaching method adopting games in classroom process, in order to change those lifeless language phenomena into living learning activities.
2.2.2 Characteristics of Game Teaching
First, the process of games is controllable designed by the teacher according to teaching aims and content of courses. Second, the interest in game teaching can stimulate children’s motivation in learning. Third, there will be a situation set up based on teaching content. Last but not the least; games are served for teaching aims.
Applying games into primary classroom suitably is good for English teaching, which also correspond with the “interest study” principle. Students can acquire English knowledge while playing games. The quintessence of game teaching method is learning happily.

3. Theories Background in Game Teaching
3.1 Pedagogical Background
3.1.1 Student-centeredness
In the field of pedagogy, there are two opposite viewpoints: teacher-centeredness and student-centeredness, which has caused heated discussion for years. By the proposal of the New Curricular Standard, which suggests teachers should pay more attention to students’ subjectivity, we can find the shadow of student-centeredness. Student-centeredness is more cared about children’s feeling and initiative, while teacher- centeredness is believed that teacher is the authority in the classroom. Chen zhili, the minister of the ministry of education pointed out: "the development of times, is changing the way to educate from the traditional impart knowledge to cultivate students' creation, from teacher orientation to students' initiative development as the center." 3
Since games require students as the main players in the classroom, game teaching method is the typical classroom activity cooperating with students-centeredness principle. Students are the masters of study, but not the teacher.
3.1.2 Learning Must Be Fun
British linguists Ickx considered that "interesting" is always the top priority in English teaching, and it is the premise to make English teaching easier. 4 A foreign language is always difficult and strange to students. When they feel English is too difficult to learn, they feel frustrate and study it without passion. Playing games is a good way to avoid such issue. It can create an ease and happy atmosphere for children where they can enjoy themselves, so that children will accept English learning easily.
3.2 Psychological Background
3.2.1 Psychological Characteristics of Children
Children in primary school stage are curious, active, and they are performance and imitation favorers. They prefer to catch others attention and are brave enough to make a mistake. They have a good memory and good at thinking in images, but lack of logical thinking. Usually children’s attention span is short. However, the normal class time in a primary school is 40 minutes, which is difficult to keep them quite and conscientious in the whole class. To design some games in an English class is coincident with students’ psychological characteristics, and it can make teaching and learning more effective.
3.2.2 The Utilization of Involuntary Attention
Attention is the psychological activities of orientation and concentration on a certain object. Attention can be divided into: involuntary attention, voluntary attention, and post voluntary attention. In primary school age, children’s attention is instable. It was found that 7 to 10 years old children’s attention span is about 20minutes, 10 to 12 is about 25 minutes, more than 12 is about 30. 5 So primary school teaching should avoid those boring classroom activities. Games teaching method is a good way to make use of involuntary attention. By applying games in teaching, students can learn and play, which is considered as an effective method to learn English.

3.3 Linguistic Background
The American linguist Stephen Krashen’s input hypothesis firstly makes a distinction between "acquisition" and "learning". In the process of second language acquisition, English should be learnt naturally and unconsciously just like native language acquisition. What’s more, Stephen Krashen put forward the concept: comprehensible input, which also called “i+1” theory. For example, if a learner is at a stage “i”, then acquisition takes place when the learner understands language containing “i + 1”, where “understand” means that the acquirer is focused on the meaning but not the form of the message. 6 In other words, the input language knowledge cannot be too difficult, and it should be a bit higher than a learner’s original knowledge level in order to ensure the comprehensibility for the learner. In that way, the foreign language acquisition of a learner would be easily triggered, which can boost his or her language learning gradually.
What’s more, there is a critical period hypothesis in linguistic area. During the critical period hypothesis in second language acquisition, language learning will become easier and more effective, which is believed it that can be close to the native speaker’s level. There is no a specify verdict which ages would be the critical period, however, most linguists believe the optimum period is no more than 15 years old.
It is important for children to learn English during studying in primary schools, since the nine-year compulsory education put into effect, which means that 6 or 7 years old must go to school. That is to say, school-age children have the critical period to acquire foreign language. According to Stephen Krashen’s input hypothesis, we can make a conclusion that game-teaching method is available in English teaching for the follow reasons:
1. The natural learning environment
The natural learning environment is beneficial to English acquisition. Game teaching provides a free, natural, and happy study environment for children to study. In other words, children can master English unconsciously in such an unstructured but productive way.
2. Comprehensibility of language input
Comprehensible input is the premise to study. Games are easily accepted by children. So according to “i+1” principle, when the teacher adds new knowledge into a game, students can be easily comprehensive and understanding to the new knowledge.
4. Advantages of Game Teaching
Through the theories above we know that many psychologists and linguists suggest English teachers should obey the natural laws either in human’s psychological nee