Games in the classroom

The use of games is not merely a way of passing the time. Gaming in the classroom can be really useful if we know how to use it and when to use it. As an EFL teacher I consider playing an essential part of my class. I generally use games in the beginning as a warm up or revision of previous lessons and at the end so as to round up what we worked that day in class.

Why games can be so beneficial? 

Motivation:  learners love playing games, and that is because they resonate with them on an emotional level. When students are playing they link that feeling of excitment and joy to the piece of language they are learning or revising. As a result, they remember content more easily and quickly.
As gaming is an activity that ususally involves interacting with others  we can also say that playing can enhance team bonding and connecting with peers.
Games provide one way of helping the learners to experience language rather than studying it.They have to make use of the language in a meaningful way in order to interact with others.
What's more, games allow students to share, do, move, experience, visualize,  and create so they address to all types of intelligences. By playing games we are incorporating all students in our class. I once read in a book that the teacher in the classroom is like a gardener who has to take care of different plants, some plants need lots of water, others need some sunshine and others shade and pruning. If we as teachers, take care of them in the same way, most of them will die sooner or later.

Discipline

It is essential to be strict about the rules of each game so as to avoid a chaotic class with crazy students shouting and yelling. Explain them that though playing a game is fun, they are inside the classroom and so they are expected to follow rules. If you need to stop a class do it by raising your hand instead of shouting. The shouting will raise a lot of tension and it will spoil the game.

Here I mention some of the games that I use in my class. I hope you will find them useful.

• Pass the bomb Game: students sit in a circle and  pass a "bomb" (the bomb could be a ball) while some music is playing in the background. When the music stops, the person who has the ball has to answer a question. It could be a grammar rule, vocabulary, or anything you want to revise or practise.
• The jumping game: pair students with their backs one against the other. They have to jump. When the teacher says stop they have to stick out one of their legs. If  the partners show different legs they have to mention, for instance, as many animals as possible. The student who cannot mention any animal loses and the other gets a point.
• Lost in the fog: this game is great for folloing instructions. Place a number of small objects representing hazardous rocks in an imaginary sea. Students are divided into teams or pairs. One of them is the ship's pilot and the other is the coastguard. The ship pilot must be blindfolded and the coastguard must guide him or her to reach the front of the class which will be "the harbour".
• Listen and draw: the teacher describes a picture and students have to draw what they listen to. First read the description slowly so your students get an idea of what the picture is about. Then,
  read the description again, this time students should start drawing. Read the description as many times as possible. Finally, students compare their pictures with their partners' and with the one the teacher has. Display all the pictures drawn by the learners and display an enlarged copy of the text you have used to describe your picture.
• Listen and act out: the teacher reads a story in which action is involved. While students listen to the story they have to act out.
• Bingo definitions: write a set of words you want to revise on the board. Learners shoud choose four of the words written on the board. Call out definitions of the words in random order. Learners cross out the items they have on their own list.
• Spot the change: a student leaves the classroom. The rest of the class changes something, for instance, they put the bin under the teacher's desk. When the student returns he/she has to guess what has changed. 

I will post more games soon. Do you use games in your class? Which ones? Share your ideas!