There are many advantages when using educational games, this is becoming the best solution to motivate and engage students in class.
First of all, they are fun, and this factor makes students feel more comfortable to participate, even the atmosphere becomes harmoniuous and learners, as a result, like to go to English classes.
Hadfield (1990, p.6) affirms that, “games are usually fun, and students who are having fun are motivated”. Secondly, they help to build self-esteem, what is essencial for shy students, because they need to believe in themselves and feel secure to participate in class.
Another thing that is possible to work is teamwotk. Through interection students help each other to express their ideias in a clear way. Thirdly, as aforementioned, learners can practice real situations while playing, what is excellent, because, doing this they will be prepared to communicate in the future when they face real situations.
Certainly, these tools will fufill student’s necessities and teachers will do a good job.
Educational games stimulate interaction between the teacher and students and among students, undoubtedly this should happen more frequently in the classroom. Consequently, while interacting with another person students keep building up knowledge, change ideais and in some cases they learn better with their classmates.
But, to interaction takes place when the teacher makes an action, that is, when she asks a question for somebody, besides students answer they have to provoke another action and soo on, leading to a conversation. Teamwork promotes many opportunities for people interact with each other.
Teenagers and all individuals produce more output and They feel motivated to give their opinion when they do not agree with what the other said or just because they think their opinion is correct and the other one is not.
Even so, to remembre new words is hard, but through games learners have the opportunity to practice, for example new vocabulary, contents, matching pictures and their names.
After seeing and memorizing how to pronounce and write the words correct, as well as, fixing the meaning of them in their minds, the educator can apply a linguistic game, thus, students can use their creativity to build sentences and in diferent contexts for it to be better remembered.
Using games in the language classroom is an excelente tool, and the results after applying them in the class are the best ones. It is rewarding to notice that what we have planned is helping learners somehow. Students practice what they have already learned and at the same time they have fun and enjoy the time they are at school.
It is the moment both can relax and focus on communication instead of in sentences structure.
Por Vanessa Paim da Rosa
