Fachbereich 2
Kulturwissenschaften
IFA Department
Course:
Lecturer:
Students:
Topic:
Date:
Children’s Literature/Area Studies (Winterterm 07/08)
Dr. Isabel Martin
Martin Hannes, Jochen Lohmann, Stefanie Rieser
Language Games
8th February 2008

Reasons for using games in Primary School:
- games are fun and children like to play them
- playing games is a vital and natural part of growing up and learning
- through games children experiment, discover and interact with their environment, which
helps to understand the world
- children are able to test individual concepts and strategies while they are playing
- games increase motivation and a positive atmosphere in class because of adding
variation to lessons
- language games make the foreign language living
- the context of the game gives children a plausible reason to use the language, which is
very important for shy children who do not like to speak
- teachers can observe the language competence of the pupils in true communicative
situations

Teacher´s rules / children´s rules:
- game has to be explained clearly and the goal as to be well-defined
- English as class language
- general communicational rules have to be made clear, resp. the children have to be
reminded of these rules
- the game´s goal has to be something more than just fun for the pupils
- the phrases children should use have to be made clear before the game starts
- teacher has to be aware of the game´s details and what can happen when it is played
with children, therefore it is useful that the game ist test-played before
- teacher has to be very sure that the game is suitable for the children´s age and
knowledge
- children who are out of the game need to have something to do
- teacher has to make sure he or she has every material which is needed for the game

What is a language game?
- task based  English is a tool to reach a goal
- visible set of rules which guides children’s actions
- children need strategy to reach a goal (sometimes together with a group)
- have to apply language successfully
- key to a successful language game  rules are clear and ultimate goal is well defined

Different game types:
- play different games/ not over- use a game because then it is difficult to motivate
children to try it another way
1) Movement games (e.g. Twister)
- children are physically active
- “rousers” = make them awake and work
- need to be closely monitored
2) Card games (e.g. Memory)
- children collect, give away, exchange, sort and count cards
- many possibilities to communicate
3) Drawing games (e.g. “Montagsmaler”)
- connects key functions of the brain
- creativity and sensibility towards the world
- must be able to understand instructions/ describe their art
4) Other games:
- guessing games
- role- play games
- singing games
- team games
- board and dice games

Games:
 First to say ...
- Game type: Language game in general
- Aims:
Language: Numbers or the alphabet
- Materials: A small soft ball
- Procedure:
The children sit in a circle and the first child holds the ball. He starts the first round by
saying minimum one and maximum three numbers beginning with 1. Then he passes
the ball to the next child having to continue the row with the same rules. A round ends,
when a child reaches the pre-arranged number and gets a point. The game continues
until a child has won a certain number of rounds.
 Goal!
-
Game type: Board game, team game, dice game
Aims:
Language: Revising numbers, I’ve got… comparatives
Materials: Game board, coin, one counter, three dice, shaker, cards
Procedure:
The whole group has to be devided into two teams. The counters of each group are
placed in the middle of the game board. The team starting to roll the dice is determined
by throwing a coin. Then a player of this team rolls the dice and says I’ve got X. He
comes to the board and moves his team’s counter into the direction of the other team’s
goal. While doing so his team mates have to count each step. Afterwards it is the other
team’s turn. If a team’s counter crosses the other tems goalline they score a point. The
game continues until a team has scored pre-arranged number of goals.
 Higher or lower?
- Game type:
- Aims:
-
Dice game, team game
Language: Revising numbers, I’ve got..., You’ve got…, …is higher/
lower than… comparatives
Other: Simple additions, understanding probabilities
Three dice, shaker
Materials:
Procedure:
The whole group has to be devided into smaller teams (e.g. 3 teams). Each team lines up
behind a table. The first children in the rows play against each other. The teacher rolls
the dice and says: I’ve got X. Then the first child of team 1 gets the shaker and has to
guess whether he will roll a higher or lower number. Afterwards he rolls the dice and
say I’ve got Y. If he guessed correctly he now has to say Y is higher/ lower than X and
scores a point. If he guessed incorrectly the first children of the other teams have to
react quickly and say Y is lower/ higher than X. The faster one scores a point. Now the
first child of team 2 gets the shaker and has to guess whether he will roll a higher or
lower number thay Y and so on. The teams rotate when all first children rolled the dice
and the game ends, when every child rolled.
 I went to the village...
- Game type: Language game, memory game
- Aims:
Practise listening comprehensions, structures of “a”, “an”, “some”...
- Materials: Flashcards
- Procedure:
The children sit in a circle and the first child gets a flashcard. After the child has defined
the shown article it says: “I went to the village and bought e.g. some eggs. After that the
next child has to take a flashcard, define what is on the card and then connect this new
artcle with the one shown from the child before by saying: “I went to the village and
bought e.g. some eggs and a banana.” This goes round the circle.
 Town planning
- Game type: Board game, team game
- Aims:
Language: prepositions, directions Other: team decisions
- Materials: City map with different places, tokens, flashcards
- Procedure:
The whole group has to be devided into groups with two or three pupils each. Every
Group gets a token and has now to find a way through the city e.g. the teacher could ask
“Please show me the way from school to the the railway station. So every group has to
find its way and tell the others about directions and words like “next to”, “opposite
from”, “along the Ring Road”, “turn left into Park Street” etc.
 Fruit and preposition relay
- Game Type: Movement and team game
- Aims:
Prepositions (in, on, under)
Imperative (Put the lemon under the table.)
- Materials: Two identical sets of familiar fruits (for example apples, oranges, pears…)
- Procedure:
Clear a space in the classroom and divide the children into two teams. They stand in
lines at one end of the room. At the other end of the room set up two tables facing the
two teams. Place the fruit on the table.
Stand between the first two children and say, for example “Put the banana under the
chair”. Clap your hands to start. The children run to the other end oft the room, carry out
your instructions, and run back to their lines. The first child to get back to the line earns
a point for his or her team. If a child chooses the wrong fruit or puts it in the wrong
place, the team gets no points. Play one or two rounds and add up the points.
[If you have uneven numbers, the child who is left could call out the commands.]
 Grammar ballgame
- Game Type: Language game
- Aims:
Productive speech, Question and answer, grammar
- Materials:
a ball or a shawl
- Procedure:
Organize the group into a circle. The first child throws/rolls the ball to another child in
the circle and asks a question, for example “Do you like strawberries?”. The second
child answers the question, for example with “Yes, I do (but I don’t like bananas)” or
“No, I don’t (but I like cherries)”. He or she throws/rolls the ball to the next child and
asks a new question, for example “Do you like lemons?”. The game is over, when
everyone had his/her term.
 Memory
- Game Type:
Card game
- Aims:
This is… These are… (singular and plural forms)
- Materials:
Memory game (set of picture cards)
- Procedure:
Introduce the vocabulary on the cards before playing the game. Shuffle the cards and
place them face down in a grid form. (For example: five cards across and four cards
down. Child one turns two cards face up and says, for example, “This is a lemon and
these are strawberries.” If the cards do not match, the child puts the cards face down
again and the next child turns over two cards. The child who collects the most pairs
wins.
 Search for the singular and plural form of the cards (This is a lemon. These are
lemons.)
Sources:
-
Chamberlin, A./ Stenberg, K. (1976): Play and practise! Graded games for English Language Teaching. Ernst
Klett (ISBN 3129218408)
-
Klippel, F. (2000): Englisch in der Grundschule. Reihe: Lehrerbücherei Grundschule. Berlin: Scriptor. (ISBN
9783589050574)
-
Lewis, G./ Bedson, G. (1999): Games for children. Oxford 1999 (ISBN 0194372243)
-
Petillon, H./ Valtin, M. (1999): Spielen in der Grundschule. Frankfurt: Grundschulverband – Arbeitskreis
Grundschule. (ISBN 3930024721)
-
Polzin, M. (1996): Bewegung, Spiel und Sport in der Grundschule. Frankfurt: Grundschulverband –
Arbeitskreis Grundschule, 2. Auflage. (ISBN 3930024292)
-
Schöning, F. (2001): The kids' English club im Studienkreis. Teacher's guide 1. Bochum: Studienkreis Verlag
für Pädagogik und Didaktik. (ISBN 3935723288)
Reflection – Did you like the language games?
Station
1. Numbers
2. Fruits
3. Village / Town
Game
a) First to say...
b) Goal!
c) Higher or lower?
d) Fruit and preposition relay
e) Grammar ballgame
f) Memory
g) I went to the village
h) Town planning
Notes: Positive / negative aspects according to the games and how they were put to practise (media, L2-input,…).
Could you imagine to play the game in class? Reasons!
a)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
b)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
c)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
d)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
e)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
f)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
g)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
h)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________