A Case Study of Using Educational Games in Class to Raise English Learning Motivation in Secondary School

• Main Authors: Hsiao-Ting Yang, 楊曉婷
• Other Authors: Ru-Ling Shih
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/98266203487432702641

碩士 === 淡江大學 === 教育科技學系碩士在職專班 === 95 === This paper presents a case study about the design and implementation of “in-class educational games for English teaching” in secondary school. The goal of the research is to use creative and exciting educational in-class games, such as group discussion, role-play, word lottery, song teaching, sentence making, and so forth, with rewards to enhance students’ motivation. Classroom participant observation, interviews, and questionnaires are conducted during the period of three months of experimental teaching to one class in Taipei County Er-Chong Junior High School. They are eighth-grade students majoring in physical education, most of who are often invited to various competitions. Eighteen educational in-class games are used in this study. Reflections are made during the teaching-research period that notes of observation, daily record of students’ learning behaviors in class, teacher’s gains, interviews memos, and notes to associated documents are taken. These help to investigate children’s ideas, impressions, changes of learning behavior, and thereafter provide design motification information to the teacher. The reserch shows that these students often particiate in games without thinking about learning, therefore, while we use the ideas of the in-class games designs, we shall consider: 1.Students’ readiness. Unless students have forced a habit of reviewing after class, teachers should let them fully practice new knowledge before having games. 2. Heterogeneous grouping. Students can learn more effectively from those in higher achievements when they are in the same group. 3. Appropriate rewards. Prevent students from keeping their focus on the rewards than on the learning. 4. Supervise process. Avoid letting the students lose the way during the excitements of the games. 5. Fair competition. Keep the competitions just like encouragements instead of dispute. 6. Scheduling and timing. Give guidance to the games and lay out the rules clearly. Use students’ expectancy to games to lure them into serious learning by conducting activities evey other class.. We believe that “educational in-class games” brings more positive attitude English-learning attitude out of the students. They are more willing to practice pronounctions, and more familiar with vocabularies and sentence pattern. The more the stuedents involve in physical movements games, the more they improve their learning attitudes. This research describes in-depth the process and effectiveness of vaious in-class games used for English learning. Hoping the experience of teaching process and strategies as well as students’ responses to the teaching can be a reference for future practices of “educational in-class games instruction.”