Education as Entertainment
I was sitting in the break room the other day between lessons and some teachers were discussing the value of games in the class. Being a big fan of games myself I joined the conversation. Here are a few approximate quotes from some other teachers:
“Nah man, I don’t use a lot of games in the classroom. I’m a straight up teacher; my students are here to learn not to have fun.”
“ I don’t mind playing games now and then. It can be fun for the students, but I don’t do a lot because I want to get back to real learning.”
“I consider myself a serious teacher. I might play a game or two, but I don’t want to waste a lot of time on them.”
“Maybe if I were teachings kids, but we’re teaching adults here. Games aren’t really appropriate.”
As is made clear from the comments above, many teachers in Turkey (at least where I worked) fail to see or understand the value in playing games. During this discussion I found that I was the only one that believed games were an important tool in the language classroom (although there were some would-be supporters absent). Not only games, but also entertainment in general is essential in the ESL classroom. Games engage the students, heighten emotional response, and often have the students up and moving. All of these are known to aid memory. If fun and interesting lessons actually increase motivation and aid our students’ memory, then it’s a crime not to utilize them in the classroom.
It’s long been known that a key component to learning is motivation. Motivation will often be the deciding factor for whether a student learns English or not. If your lessons are enjoyable and entertaining, students will be more likely to come to class, they will be more receptive, and they will actually be interested in English. Students who are enjoying the lesson are going to participate and use a lot of English. Isn’t this exactly what we want as teachers? How can we claim that an activity which makes our students want to be there and encourages them to use English is “a waste of time”?
I’m often boggled by this attitude that says games aren’t “real learning.” Let’s say we have two choices in our lesson on the present perfect today. We can either give the students a fill-in-the-blank worksheet where they have to put have/has and the correct past participle verb OR we can have the students play change chairs, a game that has students speaking the language, practices listening skills, reinforces question structures, and gets the students moving and participating. With a simple game we can practice all these things while the worksheet simply practices exam-style structure memorization, which, in my book, is the real waste of time. Not only from a teaching standpoint do we see the value of using games, but we can also put ourselves in our students’ shoes. Which activity would they prefer?
I think a serious point of contention with many teachers is that students somehow aren’t learning when you play games, but the exact opposite is true. Now a simple game like change chairs is basically going to focus on reinforcing the structure of a particular grammar point, but games can also be used to create context, which is one of the most important elements of the lesson we teachers are responsible for. Here is a game called Freeze that was pointed out to me by my fellow teacher Diana. This game is an outstanding example of the way in which games can intuitively teach students the context for a grammar structure. Another excellent example is Present Perfect Passive Detectives. This lesson can also be used for simple past with lower levels. Here is an activity I created a long time ago for practicing comparatives & superlatives called The Olympics.
Games are also a great way to do class revision. Activities like board races, spelling bees, jeopardy, and gambling quizzes are excellent ways to revise grammar points and vocabulary. These activities can serve both as revision and as a warmer the first 10 minutes of your class.
Are games just for kids? No way. I play games all the time with my adult students. Time and time again I’ve had adults running and pushing each other on the way to a board during a board race. Age and gender don’t matter and it usually results in hilarity. Your adult students will appreciate the chance to do something fun in the classroom. It’s important to remember that you should always participate in any game along with your students. Never ask your students to do something that you aren’t willing to do yourself. I’m always the first one to do any kind of activity in the class and always pop in and take a turn for the losing team or whatever to show the students that I’m just as willing as they are. A note of caution: while most Turkish students love games, some may hold convictions similar to the commentators above. As I discussed in Challenges Faced in the Teaching Classroom, you need to explain to your students your reasons for the games and signpost or highlight the goals of the activity.
Games aside, an attitude that seems to prevail in the comments at the beginning of this post reveal that many teachers are still very traditional in their thinking about teaching. It’s clear that many teachers still think that if the students are having fun, they must not be learning. We need to reverse this attitude. Our lessons need to engage our students. As has been said for a long time now, we as teachers must provide content that is relevant and meaningful to our students’ lives. This content should not be dry and boring with lots of the teacher droning on up front and writing on the board. Our students need to be encouraged and challenged. If our lessons are interesting and entertaining even the most reluctant student will usually come around. It’s always wonderful to hear your students say, “Wow, is the lesson finished already?” The students enjoy learning so much they didn’t even notice the time flying by and would actually be happy for the lesson to continue. If this is the case, then we have certainly done our jobs as educators.
Humor, interesting or funny topics, bringing in videos and music, off-the-wall antics in the classroom, practicing English in a variety of ways, and doing drama in the class are just some of the ways to get students attention and then hold it. The more entertaining the lesson is the more information the students will retain and the happier they will be about it. Make your class a place where students enjoy learning. Let’s not make our students hate our classes like we hated ours back in high school. Show your students English can be fun and keep ‘em coming back for more. A little fun never hurt no one 
What do you think? Do you use games in the classroom? What are two of your favorite games to play?
Links to a few ESL game sites:
http://www.eslcafe.com/idea/index.cgi?Games
http://www.eslhq.com/forums/esl-forums/esl-games-activities/
Tags: Edutainment, ELT Games
ELT Basics, Lesson Ideas, Teaching Strategies | turklis1 | 
September 29, 2009 7:34 pm
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By Diana, October 10, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
I’m so surprised that so many teachers don’t incorporate more games into their lessons. I find them to be essential because they make learning less serious(boring) and give the students a chance to really use the grammar in a fun, interactive way. I once had a class that was still confused about “past continuous tense” after a lecture on it, complete with time lines and cartoons on the white board. That’s when I said.. “Don’t worry class, after this game, you’ll understand.” And they did! The game created somewhat realistic, in-your-face scenarios in which the students could really use and understand the grammar.
I can’t imagine taking one of our intense 4 hr/day courses, 5 days per week without any games!! Ufff….. That’s just too much for me. My brain would shut down and refuse to take in more information. Learning a language, especially for adults, is quite a workout for one’s brain. My students are mentally exhausted by the 4th hour if we haven’t played a game. I think games are completely indispensable.
By turklis1, October 10, 2009 @ 8:08 pm
I totally I agree. I think you raise an great point there Diana about the students’ brains shutting down. Games also function as a way to keep energy up and make the slog through a 4 hour, or even 2 hour, class more bearable. In one of Ken Wilson’s workshops he mentioned the fact that people naturally get sleepy about halfway through a class. I think games, or any other activity that gets the students up and moving, has the added value of waking everyone up and giving the students a bit of a break. The value of an activity in keeping motivation up and attention focused can be just as important as its educational content. If you’re really trying to focus on a language point and your students are drifting off into la-la land, how much are they learning?