How to blast through roadblocks to using games with adults: Walking into a classroom full of adult English language learners can be far more intimidating than facing a class of children. Yet, you are there to teach a subject that may affect your students’ careers, hopes for the future, and even their ability to survive in a new country.

You may not feel that playing games will help your teaching or their learning, but in fact, you couldn’t be more wrong. English language games can help you overcome numerous roadblocks that stand between your students and their mastery of English.

Hestitancy

As a teacher who might want to use language games in the classroom, the main roadblock you may face is your hesitance about using this approach with adult learners. However, there is no difference between young and adult learners because we all like to have fun. Classes for adults that contain games are refreshing and allow ample opportunity to communicate.

Anxiety

According to research, many adults feel anxious when learning a foreign or second language. Games can help them forget that they are learning and instead enjoy the experience while enhancing their knowledge. The positive emotions make them relax and feel more confident. Adults can learn just as much as children through games in English language teaching. They learn from known to unknown. As a Chinese proverb says, “I hear I forget. I see I understand, and I do I remember.”

The gender question

Without entering into an LGTB debate, gender can affect behaviour in some cultures. All people learn differently, and there are many factors involved as to why there is so much variation. For some cultures, gender is still an essential factor to consider. In some cultures, women may be shy to speak if men are present. Making a woman a team leader in a game might vex a macho male from a nation where women are mothers and servants, not leaders. I’m not saying ‘don’t do it;’ I’m just saying ‘be sensitive to possible friction.’

How does this impact your English language teaching?

Games provide a safe, fun outlet for competitive urges and help keep the class from becoming too ‘exam-centered.’ They also create a changeable situation that encourages flexible thinking in all students. Role-play games, re-enactments, and ‘murder mysteries’ where students have to improvise and play parts outside their everyday life are good examples of this. Students who worry about tests can improve their fluency via games because the focus is on playing the game, not the score. For example, to find out ‘who did it’ or bargain with other groups for items they need to complete their game-objective.

Most language games combine verbal and analytical elements. Word puzzles, such as Hangman and Rivet, and quiz games like Jeopardy, mix language skills with strategic thinking in fun ways for everyone. 

Competition

It is not unusual to have teenage boys remain silent all through class because they feel too cool for school. However, when games come out, their attitude can transform. Suddenly, it’s all about winning, so they don’t mind speaking in English. But, of course, the girls want to show off as well, and pretty soon, you can’t keep them quiet! (Gender stereo-types may be relevant in some cultures, if not in the UK.)

Learning styles

Games provide a way of linking language and activity so that people with different learning styles can learn effectively in your class. The most obvious example of this would be Charades, but Simon Says and Hand Sign Stories also accomplish this. Some students are  kinaesthetic learners, who take in information best through touch and physical activity. Others are auditory learners.

Before including a lot of English language games, it is helpful to consider the cultural background of the students you are working with and the cultural setting of your class.

Multi-cultural classes

When you start teaching multi-cultural classes, start with ‘get to know you’ games, perhaps finding out about special days and traditions in each culture. Then, run riddle contests where students try to stump each other. Or set the class a riddle to solve, which is appropriate at the intermediate level since riddles inherently require players to look at ordinary things from a different point of view. In addition, it makes for an interesting cultural lesson if the students translate riddles from their own countries. Finally, it can be a good ice-breaker if students solve their puzzles in teams in their first lesson together.

Mono-cultural classes

Students in mono-cultural classes in their home country will bring a lot of their own cultural expectations into class. Get to know just what these expectations are regarding adults playing games. If you are new to the country, read up on the culture before going. Appreciating cultural differences can help prevent misunderstandings. Once there, ask for tips from teachers who have been there for a while. Even if you do all that, be sure to get a rundown on individual students from your school administrators or secretaries whenever possible.

Adult Japanese students will enjoy all kinds of language games from the beginning, partly because organized party games are a big part of their normal after-work socializing. On the other hand, suppose you are teaching in Germany, you may initially run into resistance since adult game playing tends to be less rambunctious. At first, students may frown upon games because language study is seen as an earnest endeavour.

How to play games while still treating your students as adults.

One helpful theory for working with adult learners is Malcolm Knowles’ (1975, 1984, 1984) Andragogy theory. In this theory, he makes four basic assumptions that have definite relevance to how we use games in the classroom:

1)  Adults need to know why they need to learn something. So don’t assume students will be interested just because the teacher is telling them to do something. Make sure to explain how the game will help their English.

2)  Adults need to learn experientially, and language games provide a far greater variety of experience than any textbook exercise through the simple process of human interaction.

3)  Adults approach learning as problem-solving. Children learn instinctively through trial and error, but adults bring a lifetime of strategies into the classroom. Many games are inherently problem-solving situations and allow students to apply new and different methods for language learning in a non-stressful environment.

4)  Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value. ‘Immediate value’ is a misleading term. We all have different things that we value. As you get to know your students, you will be able to select language games that enforce the current teaching point and broader goals, such as making friends, socializing, and gaining knowledge of another country. Find out what your students want, and select activities that will directly help them on the path to attaining these goals.

Ultimately, if you respect your students and get to know their learning goals, you will be able to use games to enrich their learning experience and improve their English skills. It’s fun and easy, and all it takes is a little planning.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shelley Vernon promotes learning through English language games and activities.  Go to: Book of Games and Activities

This book is also on Amazon if you prefer a paperback. You’ll find it under “Shelley Ann Vernon,” Title: ESL Classroom Activities for Teens and Adults.