Games are effective language learning tools that motivate students and reduce stress. They allow students to practice language skills in a low-pressure environment where they are focused on the game rather than grammar mistakes. Some benefits of games include increasing student participation, improving fluency as students communicate without stressing about errors, and providing opportunities for real-world language practice. The document provides examples of vocabulary, grammar, and other games that integrate language skills like speaking, reading, and listening in a fun, engaging way for students.

1. Programme:Dip TEFL
Course Code: 5662
Student Name: Iqra Afzal
Tutor Name: Sir Naeem Raza
Use of Dramatization, songs and games in ESL classroom
Abstract:
The researcher has researched on the use of games in EFL classroom
and find that games are much more important and there are many
advantages of games. Games create a comfortable and friendly
atmosphere in the classroom and discard shyness of the students.
Literature review:
Armstrong (2000) suggests board games as a teaching strategy that
might suit students with interpersonal intelligence because they provide
an excellent setting for interaction between students.
Shelley Vernon has inspired thousands of ESL teachers with her games
Arif Saricoban and Esen Metin, authors of "Songs, Verse and Games for
Teaching Grammar" explain how and why games work for teaching
grammar in an ESL classroom. They say, "Games and problem-solving
activities...have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, and
are examples of the most preferable communicative activities." They go
on to explain that grammar games help children not only gain
knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning.
Learners of English have to deal with unfamiliar vocabulary during their
language acquisition. In order to learn and retain new words, learners
should participate in different task-based activities in their classroom
whether it is a guessing task, a describing exercise or conversation
making. Such activities also include vocabulary games which especially
focus on helping learners develop and use words in different contexts by
making the lessons enjoyable. Therefore, it is necessary to explore
whether students learn vocabulary effectively through games and how
they learn it.
Traditionally, vocabulary has not been a particular subject for students to
learn, but has been taught within lessons of speaking, listening, reading
and writing. During the lesson, students use their own vocabulary and

2. are introduced to new words provided by the teacher and classmates
which they apply to classroom activities.
In summary, games are useful and effective tools that should be applied
in vocabulary classes. The use of games is a way to make the lessons
more interesting, enjoyable and effective.
What is Dramatization:
In dramatization students play themselves in an imaginary situation or
Play an imaginary person in an imaginary situation.
What is game:
A game is an activity carried out by cooperating or competing decision
makers, seeking to achieve within a set of rules, their objectives.(Gibbs
G 1,Spon 1978)
Game may be defined as a form of play governed by certain rules or
conventions. They are meant to be enjoyed-wherever they are played.
(Donn Byrne)
Characteristics of games:
Games have four major characteristics:
They are played according to certain agreed rules.
They have an element of competition.
They have a proper purpose or objectives.
They are enjoyable.
The Advantages of Games:
According to Richard-Amato (1996), even though g games are often
associated with fun, we should not lose sight of their pedagogical values,
particularly in second language teaching. Games are effective because
they provide motivation, lower students' stress, and give them the
opportunity for real communication.
The main reason why games are considered effective learning aids is
that "they spur motivation and students get very absorbed in the
competitive aspects of the games; moreover, they try harder at games
than in other courses" (Avedon, 1971). Naturally when playing games,
students are trying to win or to beat other teams for themselves or on the

3. behalf of their team. They are so competitive while playing because they
want to have a turn to play, to score points and to win. In the class,
students will definitely participate in the activities. Therefore, it is
possible for a teacher to introduce students to new ideas, grammar,
knowledge and so on. As in the dictation game, students are so
competitive that they want to finish first and win. It can be clearly seen
the at games can capture students' attention and participation. They can
motivate students to want to learn more. Moreover, they can transform a
boring class into a challenging one.
Another reason why games are often used in language classes is that
they lower students' stress in the classroom. In conventional classrooms,
there is a lot of stress put on students trying to master the target
language. Schultz (1988) said that
"...Stress is a major hindrance in language learning process. This
process [Learning language in traditional way ] is by its nature time
consuming and stress provoking... ... raise the stress level to a point at
which it interferes with student attention and efficiency and undermines
motivation. ..... one method has been developed to make students forget
that they are in class ....relax students by engaging them in stress-
reducing task (games)."
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 t hey 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.

4. Next, students learn without realizing that they are learning (Schultz,
1988.) For instance, when playing a game called "What Would You Do
If?" students will have to pick one hypothetical question from those that
they have written in a box. They might get a question like "What would
you do if a lion came into this classroom?" Next they have to pick one
answer that they have written before. The answer they get may be "I
would be a fly." Usually the question and the answer they get do not
match each other, so students have to use their own imaginations to
explain their bizarre answer, and everyone has fun listening to it. The
explanation might be "If a lion came into this classroom, I would be a
fly because I am a good person, so an angel would come and rescue me
by turning me into a fly." While trying to explain, students do not worry
too much about grammar mistakes because they want to communicate
and to explain why it can happen. Apart from having fun, students do
not worry about errors and punishment; moreover, they will learn a
grammatical rule and have a chance to use it. Thus, they learn
unconsciously-learn without realizing they are learning. Students stop
thinking about language and begin using it in a spontaneous and natural
manner within the classroom (Schutz, 1988.)
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. For example, look at the "Find Someone Who" game in
which students have to ask classmate s the questions implied by the
chart such as: "Can you swim?" "Do you have a pet?" etc.
Find Someone Who...
Likes rock Loves watching Likes to cook. Has a pet.

5. music. movies.
Can sew. Cannot swim. Is reading a
novel.
Loves
chocolate.
Has a big
family.
Likes green. Hates durians. : Loves English.
Watches TV
every day.
Is having a good
time.
Has visited three
Countries.
Can speak two
languages.
Students have to mingle around the classroom to find whoever these
statements apply to and then write their names in the appropriate places.
Whoever can fill their page first will be the winner. While playing,
students practice asking and answering questions. They may have to
repeat the same question several times until they get to the right person.
This provides the opportunity to drill and repeat as in a conventional
classroom, but with playing games it is more communicative and
meaningful. Moreover, it will link students to the real world because
they can actually speak like this outside the classroom. Therefore,
playing games in classroom does not only give students a chance to use
English, but it can also connect them to the real usage of language
outside the class.
Why Use Games:
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.
Some Advice:
• Games should be regarded as supplementary activities. The whole
syllabus should not be based on games only -- even for young
learners.

6. • When choosing a game, the teacher should be careful to find an
appropriate one for the class in terms of language and type of
participation.
• Once the game has begun, the teacher should not interrupt to
correct mistakes in language use.
• The teacher should not compel an individual to participate. Some
learners may not want to participate due to personal reasons. Forcing
students to participate usually does not have successful results.
• A game which looks wonderful on the paper may not work in the
actual classroom setting. If it is tiring or boring, it should be stopped.
• Give clear instructions. Unless the learners know what he is
expected to do and how to do it, the aim cannot be achieved, and the
game cannot be played.
In order to demonstrate how to use games in the classroom, some
examples are provided below.
Game 1: Whisper Circles:
• Aim: Speaking (using a whisper), pronunciation, listening,
grammar (it takes ...to do ...)
• Notes:
• Divide the students into groups of 7 to 10.
• Choose one leader from each group. Give the leaders the
card which has the sentence "It takes about six seconds for
something you drink to reach your stomach." Ask him to
memorize the sentence, go back to his group and whisper what
he has read on the card to the person on his right. Each person
will whisper the sentence to the next person and the sentence
can be said only once. The last person will say the sentence out
loud. If the sentence is the same with the one written on the
card, that group wins.
Game 2: Match and Catch the Riddle:

7. • Aim: Reading silently, reading aloud, pronouncing segmental and
suprasegmental features correctly, listening selectively, grammar
(simple present tense), linguistic and nonlinguistic reasoning.
• Notes:
• Divide the class into two groups: The QUESTION group
and the ANSWER group.
• Give the questions to the first group and the answers to the
other group.
• Each student in the first group is supposed to read the
question he has allowed and whoever has the answer in the
other group reads the answer aloud.
• If the question and the answer match, put the students in
pairs. If they don't, continue till the right answer is found. Each
student can read his part only twice. When all questions and
answers are matched ask the pairs to read the riddle they have
just for fun.
Some Suggested Riddles
QUESTIONS ANSWERS
What animal is gray and has a trunk? A mouse going on vacation
What animal eats and drinks with its tail?
All do. No animal takes off
its tail when eating or
drinking.
Why do mother kangaroos hate rainy days?
Because then the children
have to play inside.
How can you tell the difference between a
can of chicken soup and a can of tomato
soup?
Read the label.
Why is an eye doctor like a teacher? They both test the pupils.

8. Why did the cross-eyed teacher lose his
job?
Because he could not control
his pupils.
Why is mayonnaise never ready?
Because it is always
dressing.
Do you know the story about the skunk? Never mind, it stinks.
If a papa bull eats three bales of hay and a
baby bull eats one bale, how much hay will
a mama bull eat?
Nothing. There is no such
thing as a mama bull.
What does an envelope say when you lick
it?
Nothing. It just shuts up.
Why do cows wear bells?
Because their horns don't
work.
Why shouldn't you believe a person in
bed?
Because he is lying.
What is the best way to prevent milk from
turning sour?
Leave it in the cow.
Why does a dog wag his tail?
Because no one else will
wag it for him.
Game 3: Crazy Story:
• Aim: Writing, reading aloud, listening, grammar (simple past
tense, reported speech)
• Notes:
• Prepare sheets of paper with six columns which bear the
following titles at the top
• WHO?
(a man's name)
• WHOM?

9. (a woman's name)
• WHERE?
• WHAT DID HE SAY?
• WHAT DID SHE SAY?
• WHAT DID THEY DO?
• Divide the class into groups of 6. Give each group one
sheet of paper. Ask the first student to write under the first part
and fold the paper so as to cover what he has written. Tell the
student to pass the paper onto the next person. As each person
writes, he should only look at his fold. When all students finish,
one student from each group will be asked to read their story in
the following format. You can write the format on the
blackboard.
• ............. met ............... in/at ..............
• He said ..............................................
• She said .............................................
• And so they ..........................................
Game 4: Missing Headlines:
• Aim: Reading silently, reading for specific information, speaking
(discussing in pairs).
• Notes:
• Cut out news items and their headlines from a newspaper.
Paste the news and headlines on separate sheets of paper.
Photocopy them.
• Ask students to work in pairs. Give each pair the
photocopies of the news and headlines.
• Ask them to match the headlines with the news items.
Game 5: Find the Differences:
• Aim: Speaking (describing people and actions), listening, grammar
(there is/are....., s/he has ......., s/he is .......ing, s/he is + adjective)
• Notes:

10. • Find or draw two pictures which are the same except for
seven features. Photocopy them on separate sheets of paper.
• Ask students to work in pairs. Give one copy of each
picture to the pairs. The pairs are not supposed to show their
copies to each other. Partner A's will describe their copy and
Partner B's will listen carefully and examine their own copy to
find the differences. They can ask questions if they require
more detailed information or need any clarification. The pair
that finishes first wins the game.
Game 6: The Secret Code:
• Aim: Spelling, guessing by using linguistic clues, reading.
• Notes:
• Ask students to work individually. Give each student a
sheet of paper which has the secret code on it. Tell them to
translate it into English.
• Clue: the first word is 'the'; the most frequently used word
in English.
• When they finish, ask them to write a secret message of
their own to their friend. They can use the same symbols. If
they need new symbols, they can create their own.
Æ#· ƶ¢·ÉÓ #OÉÄ ÉÄ*=·Æ#¶?¢ ¶?
#¶ÉÄ #O?ܧ ÉÄ. Å?#OÆ ¶ÉÄ ¶Æ?
Conclusion:
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. The aim of this paper was to
demonstrate some sample games. This essay focuses on the use of
games inside the classroom and it argues that games can be a good
teaching method when teaching foreign languages.