PowerPoint about how to develop dynamic and accurate games in class.

1. THE USE OF GAMES TO
DEVELOP TEACHING
MATERIALS
Samuel Llovell 8-884-2297
Itamar Góndola 3-744-1805
Priscila Pérez 8-724-2319
Tirza Medianero 4-769-1289

2. CONTENT
Introduction
I. Using games in the classroom
II. The Competitiveness
III. Prizes and Rewards
IV. How to apply simple games to teaching English
Conclusion

3. INTRODUCTION
Playing is part of our lives. Everybody enjoys playing, no matter the age or the simplicity
or complexity of the game. Playing brings us joy, entertainment, adrenaline, positiveness,
and engagement.

4. USING GAMES IN THE CLASSROOM
Using games in the classroom should be considered as meaningful activities that provide
meaningful experiences to students. Teachers shouldn’t fall on the misconception that
playing games during the English language class is just a waste of time or a marginal
task that should be left when there is nothing better to do.

5. THE LANGUAGE GAMES CAN BE DIVIDED
ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT PRINCIPLES
• Linguistic (these focus mainly on accuracy).
• Communicative (these are based on successful exchange of information).

6. CLASSIFICATION BY CATEGORIES
• Sorting, ordering, or arranging games.
• Information gap games.
• Guessing games.
• Search games.
• Matching games.
• Labelling games.
• Exchanging games.
• Board games.
• Role play games/dramas.

7. THE COMPETITIVENESS
Competition is an intrinsic characteristic of games. Some of us had positive experiences
when playing competitive games while others didn’t enjoy the experience at all.

8. HOW SHOULD TEACHERS MANAGE
COMPETITIVENESS AND TO WHAT EXTENT IS
COMPETITION A HEALTHY ELEMENT IN A CLASS?
• The primary goal is fun.
• The competition has a short duration and is characterized by high energy.
• There is no long-term effect from the episode.
• All individuals or groups see a reasonable chance of winning.

9. PRIZES AND REWARDS
Teachers know that strategically using rewards in the English language classroom can
keep students’ motivation and can result in positive outcomes for each student at an
individual level, and for the whole class as a group. If teachers decide to introduce a
reward system in their class, here are some points to consider:
• firstly, they need to create a learning environment in which achievements are
recognized.
• Secondly, they need to explain to their students what the system is about and how it
works in order to avoid misunderstandings and frustrations.
• Thirdly, a prize or reward should be selected in a way that eventually every student can
get as long as they make the effort and progress.

10. REWARDS ARE NOT A BAD STRATEGY TO
IMPLEMENT IN CLASS, BUT THERE ARE SOME
ATTITUDES THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
• Overestimating rewards.
• Comparing those students who achieve a goal with those that cannot achieve it.
• Offering rewards for everything.
• The whole point of offering a reward is to encourage a positive behavior in the class,
emphasizing good attitudes, and not criticizing the bad ones.

11. EXAMPLES OF SOME REWARDS SYSTEMS THAT
COULD BE USED IN AN ENGLISH CLASS
• Scoring points
One of the most popular, and the easiest to implement is a points system where students, or
teams of students, are given points for winning games, correctly answering questions, or
some other way they can "win". You can make this point scoring simple (you award X points
for every correct answer) or more elaborate (students throw a dice to see how many points
they win, for example).
• Little teacher
Another popular reward system is based around giving students responsibility. In a given
class, make one or more of the students your "little teacher" or “assistant”. This is the student
who helps hand out worksheets, collect student books, or otherwise helps the teacher. It's a
surprisingly effective method and even the most disruptive students can respond positively to
it. The best way to implement it is to let students take turns.

12. BEHAVIOR
No matter the rewards system that you adopt, you should always remember that simple
rewards are really appreciated by students. For example, “Give me five”, “Amazing job,
Karen!”, “You are doing so much better than yesterday!”, “I’m so proud of you!”, “You
finally did it, John!”, or simply making eye contact and a big smile is enough for some
students.

13. REWARDS COULD BE ACHIEVED AS A
GROUP.
This could be a movie activity, an outdoor game that students love, a song activity, a
story, or even the teacher could bake a cake for them. The idea of students working
together, pursuing a goal improves cooperation among them and the difference
between slower learners and stronger students vanishes while students are committed
towards fulfilling their goal as a group.

14. SIMPLE GAMES ARE THE EASIEST TO
APPLY IN AN ENGLISH CLASS.

15. EXAMPLES OF CLASSROOM GAMES
• Board games
• True or false
• Simon says
• Vocabulary games
• Guess who and many more.

16. IN A VIRTUAL CLASS WE CAN USE
ANOTHER TYPE OF GAMES LIKE

17. CONCLUSION
Thinking about the fact that communication occurs while playing, English language
teachers should think of games as a strategic ally to introduce, reinforce or drill language
content.