Interactive games for learning English

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Ministry of higher and secondary special education Republic of Uzbekistan

Center of secondary special and vocational education

Navoi regional department of SSVE

Zarafshan academic lyceum under the Navoi state mining institute

Project

Interactive games for learning English

Made by

Ibragimova Aruzhan

a 2^nd year student of foreign language philology

The supervisor

Radjabova G.T.

Zarafshan-2016



Contents

Introduction

1. What is Interactive Learning?

2. Components of Interactive Learning

3. Applying Interactive Learning

4. Differences Between Interactive and Passive Learning

5. Interactive Teaching Styles Used in the Classroom

6. The Benefits of Games in Education & Learning Activities

7. The use of games in learning grammar

Conclusion

References



Introduction

interactive learning game teaching

The theme of the course paper is “Interactive games for learning English”.

The research is vital because interactive English-learning methods and techniques help develop communication skills by engaging in discussion with other students, interacting with the instructor, or working with audio and visual teaching devices.

The final target of the research is to discover and explore the best methods for learning English easier, to analyze advantages of interactive games and ways for learning languages, to develop modern learning tools that can support effective English learning in the classroom.

The main idea of project work is considered to be based on teaching students through research activities and stimulating their personal interest.

The intermediate aims of the research are:

to reproduce English for the purpose of direct communication.

to accelerate the learning of grammar and vocabulary for students.

to facilitate the acquisition of communications skills.

to make students from passive participants to active thinkers and speakers that can express their points of view, discuss and exchange ideas, solve problems, prove the facts and so on.

The practical value of the research is accounted students and pupils. Students would improve their academic skills and knowledge about English grammar. Specific language tasks, activities, games and competitions between students help the students to develop their imagination and creativity.

The theoretical value of the research is accounted for teachers. Teachers would make better the education process with using different multimedia files. Project work is characterized as one of the most effective methods of teaching and learning a foreign language through research and communication.

The theoretical basis of the research are the works by Stronin M., Dzuina E. and Korotaeva E.

The problems of the given course paper are:

1) to consider concept - «independent creative activity in the course of teaching a foreign language»;

2) to analyze the notion “educational game” as means of formation and development of language abilities;

3) to consider practical application of methods and ways of development of independent creative activities at the English lessons;

4) to consider practical use of methods and the teaching forms that promote development of skills of independent activity of students in the course of studying.

The structure of our course paper consists of the introduction, six chapters, the conclusion, the list of the used literature.



1. What is Interactive learning?

Interactive Learning is a pedagogical approach that incorporates social networking and urban computing into intercourse design and delivery. Interactive Learning has evolved out of the hyper-growth in the use of digital technology and virtual communication, particularly by students. Beginning around 2000, students entering institutes of higher education have expected that interactive learning will be an integral part of their education. The use of interactive technology in learning for these students is as natural as using a pencil and paper were to past generations.

The Net Generation or Generation Y is the first generation to grow up in constant contact with digital media.[1] Also known as digital natives, their techno-social, community bonds to their naturalized use of technology in every aspect of learning, to their ability to learn in new ways outside the classroom, this generation of students is pushing the boundaries of education. The use of digital media in education has led to an increase in the use of and reliance on interactive learning, which in turn has led to a revolution in the fundamental process of education.

Increasingly, students and teachers rely on each other to access sources of knowledge and share their information, expanding the general scope of the educational process to include not just instruction, but the expansion of knowledge. The role change from keeper of knowledge to facilitator of learning presents a challenge and an opportunity for educators to dramatically change the way their students learn. The boundaries between teacher and student have less meaning with interactive learning.

The Internet makes many English language learning tools, communities and resources available to anyone with a computer and a connection. Interactive English, which uses audio-visual prompts to assist in learning and self-testing, is one such resource. Interactive English websites typically contain pages of visual aids that can be activated by the user with a mouse click to generate spoken or written vocabulary or to link to a quiz for self-testing. The term "interactive English" is also used by brick-and-mortar English schools to refer to a style of learning that involves discussion, role-play, and frequent interaction with the instructor.

In a typical language school setting, many learning methodologies rely on passive activities like listening and reading. While these activities are necessary for any student wishing to learn English grammar and vocabulary, they must be supplemented by others to facilitate the acquisition of communications skills. Interactive English-learning techniques help develop these communications skills by requiring a response from the student, whether it be by engaging in discussion with fellow students, interacting with the instructor, or working with audio-visual teaching devices. Interactive learning methodologies are based on the theory that reproducing language for the purpose of direct communication accelerates the assimilation of grammar and vocabulary.

2. Components of Interactive Learning

Social Media

The socialization of education is evolving in the form of personalized digital media sources. Web logs, or blogs, enable students to express thoughts and ideas individually, while at the same time sharing them with the larger community. The pervasiveness of social networks like MySpace and Facebook connect millions of learners to a virtual community where information is exchanged laterally between and among students and teachers alike. This explosion of community is contributing to an expanding learning economy, where participants have unparalleled access to knowledge, both from teachers and other students.

Urban Computing

This set of technologies includes the use of wireless networks, smart phones and PDAs, search engines, and location-based media. Urban computing allows enhanced interactivity between people and their environment through the use of these technologies. For Interactive Learning, this means that students are able to assimilate knowledge specific to their location.

Serious Games

The concept of serious games involves immersing students in virtual worlds by means of role-playing and community interactive games. For learning, this means that the cooperative, critical-thinking, and problem-solving practices encouraged in digital games make serious games a key form of pedagogy. Adapting gaming to a form of experiential learning brings real-world issues into education within the structure of a planned curriculum. Along with their intrinsically engaging properties, games have been touted for their ability to teach ill-defined problem-solving skills, elicit creativity, and develop leadership, collaboration, and other valuable interpersonal skills.

3. Applying Interactive Learning

In order to be effective, learning institutions must see computers and associated technology as an essential part of the student. In other words, technology must be seen as cognitive prosthetics.

The core concept of distance education is that the real world becomes the learning environment; in this environment, the purpose of the instructor is to help facilitate the absorption of knowledge through both real-world and virtual learning experiences.

Historically, one of the obstacles to distance education is the lack of face to face contact. The use of technology as and integral part of course design has attempted to compensate in both synchronous and asynchronous settings.

For delivery of synchronous content, technologies such as videoconferencing and web conferencing are typically used. An example of this is the growing use of Skype and GoToMeeting for virtual class discussions and lectures.

For asynchronous content delivery, course designers use a variety of software suites that include various types of interactive elements. Programs such as WebCT, Knowledge Forum, FirstClass, Raptivity and Blackboard Learning System attempt to ameliorate the lack of contact with online discussion forums and bulletin boards.

It is essential that a knowledge-building community be allowed to develop in order for the learning to succeed.

4. Differences Between Interactive and Passive Learning

Interactive learning is any sort of schoolwork or academic plan that uses computer technology in order to emphasize or teach specific material. Online classes and virtual classrooms are examples of extreme interactive learning, but almost any time a computer enters into the academic space -- as an educational game, for instance, or as a structured research tool -- the resulting lessons can be said to be interactive.

In some circles, any learning that is hands-on is considered interactive. While this application is valid, it is usually considered outdated. When modern academics talk about interactivity in the classroom, they are almost always talking about technology and usually mean the Internet.

Interactive learning is generally seen as the opposite of passive learning, which depends on observation. Students typically need a combination of passive and active learning in order to master concepts. If everything is interactive, students run the risk of being overstimulated, or losing track of the main goals. If teaching is entirely passive, however, students may find their interest and focus declining.

Teachers usually strive to strike a balance between passive learning techniques like lecturing and independent reading with more active assignments that integrate technology and force students to apply lessons in new and often unexpected settings. The two systems tend to work best when played against each other.



5. Interactive Teaching Styles Used in the Classroom

Teaching involves an opened-minded plan for helping students meet and exceed educational goals. Teaching styles may differ from teacher to teacher, class to class and school to school. Yet every teaching objective must include a structured but flexible process for student advancement.

Interactive teaching styles incorporate a multitude of goals beneath a single roof. Interactive classes are designed around a simple principle: Without practical application, students often fail to comprehend the depths of the study material. Interactive training styles provide four basic forms of feedback:

Measurable student accomplishments -- Teachers making use of interactive teaching styles are better equipped to access how well students master a given subject material.

Flexibility in teaching -- Applying training methods that involve two-way communications enable the teacher to make quick adjustments in processes and approaches.

Practice makes perfect -- Interactive instruction enhances the learning process.

Student motivation -- Two-way teaching dispels student passivity.

Applying interactive education

Whereas students often lose interest during lecture-style teaching, interactive teaching styles promote an atmosphere of attention and participation. Make it interesting. Make it exciting. Make it fun. Telling is not teaching and listening is not learning.

The ARMA International Center for Education offers the following guidelines to express the focus of interactive educational teaching styles:

Encourage student participation.

Use questions that stimulate response, discussion and a hands-on experience.

Use teaching aids that press for answers, and capture and hold the student's attention.

Set up a work group environment.

Involve yourself as well as the student.

5 interactive teaching styles that make a difference

Now is the time to start bringing life into your teaching styles.

Brainstorming -- various techniques

Interactive brainstorming is typically performed in group sessions. The process is useful for generating creative thoughts and ideas. Brainstorming helps students learn to pull together. Types of interactive brainstorming include:

Structured and unstructured

Reverse or negative thinking

Nominal group relationships

Online interaction such as chat, forums and email

Team-idea mapping

Group passing

Individual brainstorming

Think, pair and share

Establish a problem or a question. Pair the students. Give each pair sufficient time to form a conclusion. Permit each participant to define the conclusion in his or her personal voice. You can also request that one student explain a concept while the other student evaluates what is being learned. Apply different variations of the process.

Buzz session

Participants come together in session groups that focus on a single topic. Within each group, every student contributes thoughts and ideas. Encourage discussion and collaboration among the students within each group. Everyone should learn from one another's input and experiences.

Incident process

This teaching style involves a case study format, but the process is not so rigid as a full case study training session. The focus is on learning how to solve real problems that involve real people. Small groups of participants are provided details from actual incidents and then asked to develop a workable solution.

Q&A sessions

On the heels of every topic introduction, but prior to formal lecturing, the teacher requires students to jot down questions pertaining to the subject matter on 3Ч5 index cards. The lecture begins after the cards are collected. Along the route, the teacher reads and answers the student-generated questions. Some tips for a good session are as follows:

Randomize -- Rather than following the order of collection or some alphabetical name list, establish some system that evokes student guesswork concerning the order of student involvement.

Keep it open-ended -- If necessary, rephrase student questions so that participants must analyze, evaluate and then justify the answers.

Hop it up -- Gradually increase the speed of the Q & A. At some point, you should limit the responses to a single answer, moving faster and faster from question to question.

6. The Benefits of Games in Education & Learning Activities

Classroom games provide students with the opportunity to learn while engaging in a competition. These games can take a host of forms and can be applied to nearly any subject. There are definite benefits to incorporating games into the classroom. By stepping away from the traditional lecture and teaching methods of decades past, educators can allow their students to benefit from high-interest, interactive games.

Engage Students

While lectures and individual activities have been used heavily in teaching for centuries, these tools are not the most effective tools for engaging students. Games are often significantly more effective in promoting student involvement in the lesson. Participants in games have an intrinsic motivation to win. This drive keeps them tuned in to the lesson and learning throughout the activity. Games also allow students to interact with the material in a hands-on fashion, instead of simply being presented with the information and asked to retain it.

Promote Teamwork

While some games are solitary pursuits, many require teamwork. Students will need teamwork once they leave school and enter the real world. Teamwork is helpful in a host of situations. By allowing students to engage in game play, teachers are providing them with the opportunity to practice working cooperatively. To work effectively as a team, students must be respectful of their teammates and work with these individuals to reach a conclusion or solve a problem. In the real world, we often have to work with people we don't like, just like in classroom games, where we are not always teamed with out best friends.

Build Good Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is the ability to respond with grace to situations of victory and defeat. Individuals who exhibit good sportsmanship do not pout at a loss or display any outward signs of anger with their defeat. They likely still feel displeasure at their loss, but they manage to channel that emotion into preparing for a future match. Likewise, winners do not become excessively boastful or arrogant. They may celebrate their victory but not at the expense of their opponent. As students engage in game play through their education, they develop the skills necessary to be a good sportsman. Handling victory or defeat in such a refined manner takes practice, and these academic games give the students the practice they require to acquire the ability to respond appropriately to either outcome.

Practice Problem-Solving Skills

Success in many classroom games requires problem solving. To win, students must figure out an answer or navigate a puzzle. When teachers have students participate in these games, they are providing them with the opportunity to practice and hone their problem-solving skills. The more students practice solving these complex problems, the better they will become at critical thinking.



7. The use of games in learning grammar

Grammar acquisition is increasingly viewed as crucial to language acquisition. However, there is much disagreement as to the effectiveness of different approaches for presenting vocabulary items. Moreover, learning grammar is often perceived as a tedious and laborious process. In this report I would like to examine some traditional techniques and compare them with the use of language games for grammar presentation and revision, in order to determine whether they are successful in presenting and revising grammar than other methods.

From my teaching experience I have noticed how enthusiastic students are about practicing language by means of games. I believe that the grammar games are not only fun but they help students learn without a conscious analysis or understanding of the learning process while they acquire communicative competence as second language users.

There are numerous techniques concerned with grammar presentation. However, there are a few things that have to be remembered irrespective of the way new lexical items are presented. If teachers want students to remember new grammar it needs to be learnt in the context, practiced and then revised to prevent students from forgetting. Teachers must take sure of that students have understood the new words, which will be remembered better if introduced in a “memorable way”. Bearing all this in mind, teachers have to remember to employ a variety of techniques for new grammatical presentation and revision.

We suggest the following types of grammar presentation techniques:

1. Visual techniques. These pertain to visual memory, which is considered especially helpful with the grammar retention. Learners remember better the material that has been presented by means of the visual aids. The visual techniques lend themselves well to presenting concrete items of grammar. They help students to associate the presented material in a meaningful way and incorporate it into their system of the language units.

2. Verbal explanation. This pertains to the use of illustrative situations connected with the grammar material studied.

The advantages of using games.

A lot of experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities but they have a great educational value. We hold that most grammar games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the correct forms. The grammar games should be treated as central, not peripherical to the foreign language teaching programme. Games, as Richard Amato thinks, are to be fun, but he warns against overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching programmes. There are many advantages of using games in grammar.

1. Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely.

2. Games are highly motivating and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunities to express their opinions and feelings.

3. They also enable learners to acquire new experience within the foreign language that are not always possible during a typical lesson.

4. Games add diversion to the regular classroom activities, break the ice and introduce the new ideas.

5. In the easy, relaxed atmosphere which is created by using games the students remember things faster and better.

6. Grammar games are a good way of practicing the language, for they provide a model of what learners will use the language for in real life in future.

7. Grammar games encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency.

If not for any of these reasons they should be used just because they help students to see beauty in a foreign language and not just problems, and this is the main reason to use games when studying English grammar.

Choosing appropriate games

There are many factors to consider while discussing games, one of which is appropriacy. Teachers should be very careful about choosing games if they want to make them profitable for the learning process. If games are to bring desired results, they must correspond to either the students' level, or age, or the materials that are to be introduced or practiced. Not all of the games are appropriate for all students irrespective of their age. Different age groups require various topics, materials and modes of games. For example, children benefit most from games which require moving around, imitating a model, competing between groups, and the like. Furthermore, structural games that practice or reinforce a certain grammatical aspects of language have to relate to students' ability and prior knowledge. Games become difficult when the task or the topic is unsuitable or outside the students' experience.

Another factor influencing the choice of a game is its length and the time necessary for its completion. Many games have time limits but according to Siek Piscozub, the teacher can either allocate more or less time depending of the students' levels, the number of people in a group, or the knowledge of the rules of a game, etc.



Conclusion

English is one of the means of a dialogue and knowledge around the world. It takes a special place in the system of modern education in our country. That's why we should know and improve our knowledge of English by using various methods and ways. In the given project work author made an analysis of benefits of using interactive games in studying process.

Process of studying a foreign language promotes the formation of creative independence as there is a possibility of using creative tasks and exercises within the limits. Games draw the students' attention. As the result, between students and teacher the friendly atmosphere will be created.

Success depends on the use of games at first from the atmosphere. Verbal communication, active discussions, energetic activities, creative games make better the classroom setting. Of course, foreign language lesson - it is not just a game. The credibility and ease of communication between a teacher and his pupils encountered by the general atmosphere of the game and the actual games, people may have serious conversations, discussion of any real-world situations. The use of role play makes language learning more student centered and interactive. It creates a more spontaneous and realistic learning environment that prepares the students for social interaction through the medium of a foreign language.

English is an important tool for the learners for career increase and social advancement, that's why it should be taught as a functional language.

To conclude, project work is interesting, entertaining, effective and should be used at the lessons.



References

1. Harmer Jeremy. The Practise of English Language teaching, Longman, 1993.

2. Перкас С.В. Ролевые игры на уроках английского языка. Иностранные языки в школе. № 4, 1999.

3. Стронин М.Ф. Обучающие игры на уроке английского языка. М., Просвещение, 1984.

4. Дзюина Е.В. Игровые уроки и внеклассные мероприятия на английском языке. М., Вако, 2007.

5. WorldBookEncyclopedia. Chicago, 1993 .

6. wikipedia.org - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

7. Collins English Dictionary for Advanced learners, third edition, 2001.

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