ASSIGNMENT N°3 FROM DIANA MURILLO

ASSIGNMENT N°3: READ THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BASED ON THE RESEARCH.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED529467

The Effect of Using Educational Games on the Students' Achievement in English Language for the Primary Stage

 

This study aims to know the effect of using educational games on learning a foreign language. The study will answer the following questions:

 

1. Is it useful to use games in teaching English Language?

 

Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages, games should be used at all the 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 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 and may have a significant role in improving a second language acquisition.

 

There is a high level of stress in the classroom because students have to face unfamiliar or unknown grammatical structures, words, texts and so forth. Therefore, students often feel uncomfortable and insecure in class, which inevitably affects their ability to learn. As a result, games can help lower their anxiety, make them feel comfortable, and want to learn more. It is believed that when students play games, they relax and have fun. Since students know that they are playing games and want to communicate efficiently they do not worry about making mistakes and do not try to correct themselves in every single sentence. When students are free from worry and stress, they can improve their fluency and natural speaking styles. 

 

 

2. Do games create an interactive environment in the classroom?

 

 

  When using games in the classroom, it is beneficial for teachers to have a complete understanding of the definitions of games, which usually are defined as a form of play concerning rules, competition, and an element of fun.

Teachers should also consider the advantages of games:

the ability to capture students' attention; lower students' stress; and give students the chance for real communication. Therefore, it may be challenging for teachers to try to add some games in class in order to develop students' English proficiency of the target language.

 

 

 

3. Do games facilitate learning a foreign language?

 

Language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating. Constant effort is required to understand, produce and manipulate the target Language. Well Chosen games are invaluable as they give students a break and at the same time allow students to practice language skills.

 

Games are highly motivating since they are amusing and at the same time challenging. Furthermore, they employ meaningful and useful language in real contexts. They also encourage and increase cooperation. "Games are highly motivating because they are amusing and interesting. They can be used to give practice in all language skills and be used to practice many types of communication.

 

   There are a great number of language games. So, teachers have a variety of choices. However, in deciding which game to use in a particular class and which games will be most appropriate and most successful with their students, teachers must take many factors into account. 

 

 

4. Is there a relation between learning theories (Behaviorism learning theory, Cognitivism learning theory and constructivism learning theory – and Games)?

 

Learning theories describe how students absorb, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.

Behaviorists look at learning as an aspect of conditioning and advocate a system of rewards and targets in education. Educators who embrace cognitive theory believe that the definition of learning as a change in behavior is too narrow, and study the learner rather than their environment—and in particular the complexities of human memory. Those who advocate constructivism believe that a learner's ability to learn relies largely on what they already know and understand, and the acquisition of knowledge should be an individually tailored process of construction.

Transformative learning theory focuses on the often-necessary change required in a learner's preconceptions and world view. Geographical learning theory focuses on the ways that contexts and environments shape the learning process.

Outside the realm of educational psychology, techniques to directly observe the functioning of the brain during the learning process, such as event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging, are used in educational neuroscience.

The theory of multiple intelligences, where learning is seen as the interaction between dozens of different functional areas in the brain each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses in any particular human learner, has also been proposed, but empirical research has found the theory to be unsupported by evidence.

 

 

5. Do games belong to a specific learning theory?

 

Game-based learning is built upon a constructivist type of learning. What does this mean? Constructivism posits the need to provide students with the necessary tools so they can build their own procedures in order to solve a problem.

This implies a participatory process by students, who interact with their environment to solve the situation that is being set out to them.

 

6. Do games encourage students to solve unstructured problems, communicate, navigate, and evaluate and use the second language effectively?

 

Another advantage is increasing students' proficiency. Playing games in the classroom can enormously increase students' ability in using language because students have a chance to use language with a purpose in the situations provided. Hadfield (1990) confirms that "games provide as much concentrated practice as a traditional drill and more importantly, they provide an opportunity for real communication, albeit within artificially defined limits, and thus constitute a bridge between classroom and the real word." Like in a traditional classroom, students have an opportunity to drill and practice using grammatical rules and other functions.

 

 

7. Do games encourage students to learn independently as well as work collaboratively?

 

In a research paper done by Mei and Yu-jing they said that Games are fun and children like them. Through games children experiment, discover, and interact with their environment. Through playing games, students can learn English the way children learn their mother tongue without being aware they are studying; thus, without stress, they can learn a lot even shy students can participate positively. They point how to choose a game.

 

 

 

8. Does the use of educational games enhance creativity; improve design skills and the ability to present information using the second language?

 

Games increase students' involvement, motivation, and interest in the material and allow the instructor to be creative and original when presenting topics. (Odenweller, 1998). Games also challenge students to apply the information, thus allowing them to evaluate their critical thinking skills. They create a challenging constructively competitive atmosphere that facilitates interaction among students in a friendly and fun environment. (Patil, 1993

 

 

9. What effect does educational games use have on students' motivation?

 

·        A game must be more than just a fun.

• A game should involve "friendly" competition.

• A game should keep all of the students involved and interested.

• A game should encourage students to focus on the use of language rather than on the language itself.

• A game should give students a chance to learn, practice, or review specific language material.

 

 

10. Do games influence students' achievement?
   

The use of innovative educational games in the classroom can increase enthusiasm and reinforce previously presented didactic information. It is also a positive, interactive alternative method of teaching and information sharing. In addition, team learning and active peer-to-peer instruction are strongly reinforced by educational games. (Bailey, 1999))