LANGUAGE GAMES: English for teaching Speaking- relationship between games and speaking skills

LANGUAGE GAMES

ENGLISH FOR TEACHING SPEAKING

Lecturer :

Hidya Maulida, M.Pd.

By:

Anna Rahayu Eka Putri Rusadi (3061612094)

Class :

C/21 (Barabai)

PROGRAM STUDI PENDIDIKAN BAHASA INGGRIS

SEKOLAH TINGGI KEGURUAN DAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN

PERSATUAN GURU REPUBLIK INDONESIA

(STKIP-PGRI) BANJARMASIN 2018

A.    Definition about Games and Speaking

1.      Games

Game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. According to Bredemeier & Greenbalt, (1991) games are considered to help and encourage the student to make the effort to win because they will be give a lot of oppurtonities to practice their language more freely. In addition, Jill Hadfield (1996:4) say games are an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun.

Key components of games are goals, rules, challenge, and interaction. Games generally involve mental or physical stimulation, and often both. Many games help develop practical skills, serve as a form of exercise, or otherwise perform an educational, simulational, or psychological role.

2.      Speaking

Speaking is one of the four languages skills that is taught in the teaching of English. Speaking is perhaps the most demanding skill for the teacher to teach (Scott and Ytreberg, 2004:125). In addition, Harmer (2001) say adds that speaking happens when two people are engaged in talking to each other.

According to the theories, speaking is ability to express something through a spoken medium; speaking is concerning putting the ideas into words about someone’s perception, feelings, and intentions to make other people grasp the massage that is conveyed. People speak to other people to make communication run well. They have to speak to express their ideas about something. If they want something they have to say it, it makes other people know what they want.

B.     The Relationship Between Games and Speking Skill

In teaching and learning activities, there are many activities to develop speaking skill. One of them is games. Everyone knows that most people like playing games because it’s an interesting activity for people, both children and adult. According to Brewster and Ellis (2002:27), games are not only motivating and fun but also provide excellent practice for improving vocabullary, pronunciation, grammar, and the four language skills. It’s easy to do in classroom.

Games is one of the techniques that can be applied in teaching speaking because game is one of potential activity that gives to student feelings of freedom to express themselves. Games have a purpose beyond the production of correct speech, serves as a good communicative activity.. Games give student chances to use English orally, it means that students can practice and develop their ability to speak English.

Games introduces of computition into language-building activities. In other words games create a meaningful contex for language use. The competitive atmosphere also make learners concentrate and think intensively during the learning process.

Games are also kinds of activities that encourage learners to speak. Games also can be used to provide the learners with opportunities to use language rather than simply practice it. This game concern in fluency. Using games, the learners have the opportunity to express their ideas, feelings, and thought orally. By using games, it encourage student to interacts and communicate.

C.    5 Fun Speaking Games for Languages Learner

1.      Taboo Variations

Purpose                : to improve student’s speaking skill, to train students’ listening             skill.

Participant          : 5-20 students

Tools                  : laptop

                           Procedure:

a.       Create a Power Point presentation with each slide containing a noun.

b.      Have one student come to the front of the room and sit with his/her back to the PowerPoint.

c.       The students in the class should take turns describing the words for the student in the front of the room to guess.

2.      A Creative Story

Purpose                   : to improve student’s speaking skill, to train students’ listening skill.

Participant             : 5-20 students

Procedure:

a.       Prepare a marker as a determinant of a student turn.

b.      Tella popular story such as Cinderella or Pinochio, but only the beginning part of the story.

c.       Give the marker to one of student and give him instructions to continue passing thr marker to their friend while you are counting.

d.      At the count of the fifth, the student who getting the marker should continue the story according to his imagination.

e.       The story of course not to much, this is only one long sentence only.

f.       Remember! You must let him telling a story. You can’t force him to telling the right story. Just let him telling what he want to tell.

g.      After the student complete the story, continue to count and the student who get the markers on the count of five, instruct to continue the story.

h.      Student who are unable to continue the story, then he must be punished for singing or doing other positive things.

3.      Police Artist

Participant             : 4-10 students

Tools                     : picture of someone (print out of images or laptop)

Procedure:

a.       Provide student with the vocabulary used to describe the characteristics of people. Examples: curly hair, brown eye, tall, thin lips, etc.

b.      Make student face to face. If there are 8 people, then facing 4 vs 4. Or if odd, for example 7 people, the made 4vs 3. One group as a police artist and the other group as eyewitness of perpetrator of crime.

c.       Give each witness as image of a famous person. If not possible, just 1 image in the middle of the group with the image position facing the witnesses.

d.      Keep the police artist back to the picture so they don’t know who will be described.

e.       Student who are eyewitnesses take turns describing the face in the picture. 1 student 1 description. Example: he has long hair. The police artist should draw as described.

f.       If it’s done change the role. Student who served as a police artist before, now a witness. And who served as a witness before, now as a police artist.

g.      If all student have finished drawing, swap images already made with friends. Ask students to ratea friend’s drawing and give some comment.

4.      The Mime

Why use it? Speaking; vocabulary

Who it’s best for: all ages; best with younger learners

      Procedure:

a.    Before the class, write out some actions – like washing the dishes – and put them in a bag.

b.    Split the class into two teams.

c.    Bring one student from each team to the front of the class and one of them choosen an action from the bag.

d.   Have both students mime the action to their team.

e.    The first team to shout the correct answer wins a point.

f.     Repeat this until all students have mimed at least one action.

5.      Travel Agency Role Play

Participants           : 2 students

Procedure:

a.    Ask for volunteers or select from the class.

b.    One student will act as an agent in a travel agency.

c.    The other student will act as a customer.

d.   The customer wants to take a trip to Japan for three weeks and asks for help from the agent about the travel route, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, places of interest, etc.

e.    The student should try to keep the conversation lively.

f.     Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: peak season, airlines, double room, single room, economy, first class one way ticket, and roundtrip.