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One of the biggest problems teachers have when teaching children a language is maintaining their students’ interest in the topic. According to a study performed by the National Institute of Health, 40% of preschool children around the age of four years old have problems paying attention. When teaching a class of children, you must maintain the children’s interest in the subject or risk letting their boredom cause disruptions. Utilizing games in the classroom provide teachers with a tool they can use to keep their younger students interest. Unlike a standard grammar lesson that many young students generally find boring, games can be used to engage students and keep their focus on the lesson at hand. Games can also be used for a tool to help students practice for exams without using the same over-used method of practice tests and quizzes. Having students participate in games as a group or alone will allow the teacher to see the problem areas that the class struggles with and explain new concepts to the class. Students participating in the games will also have increased motivation to learn due to the inherently competitive nature of the games. Using games in the classroom also aids in the development of social skills. Social skills are an essential area that can help children in the development of their language abilities currently and even as they grow older. If a child develops social skills early on, they are more likely to ask questions to other students and teachers. Social skills are important when teaching children because a teacher can use any method at their disposal to teach a class, but if the children are too afraid to speak out or do not feel comfortable with their classmates, they will most likely not learn from the lesson. Games also help students with the memorization of certain topics. The more interactive a game is, the more challenging it is to a child’s mind. The games will help them to advance to another level of language understanding. However, teachers need to make sure the game is age and ability appropriate; the teacher cannot give a complex game to a preschool class and expect them to pay attention or learn from the game. As a teacher, you need to cater the game to your class using appropriate vocabulary and topics for the class. An instructor would not use a game of “Scrabble” to teach preschoolers vocabulary because it is too difficult and the instructor would have trouble monitoring every student at the same time. However, a more age-appropriate and straightforward game of “hangman” would involve the entire class, and the teacher could more easily monitor the teaching of vocabulary and pronunciation. As a teacher, games are one of the most useful tools when teaching young students. However, a teacher should keep in mind the previously mentioned topics and why they are all critical for children’s language learning futures. Teachers should not focus on just one area of learning with games since they can be used to improve children’s learning experience as a whole.
