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Games in the classroomOnce upon a time games were never considered by teachers when making lessons plans and setting up curriculums for the year. But as teaching has progressed so have different methods and techniques. One area that has progressed tremendously in the last half century is the use of games as a teaching tool. This is especially true when discussing teaching english as a second language. There are many schools of thought on how much games should be used. But one thing that has become clear is that most institutions believe that games are one of the best ways to get students interested in learning and willingly participating in activities. In the last 20 years there has been an explosion in publications, conferences, teaching and training materials for the use of games as a teaching tool. Games are not just for rainy days and end of the term treats. If properly used, they are one of the central tools in a teacher?s repertoire. But just like any other tool, moderation is very important. Just playing games all the time is just as bad as never playing them. Similarly, a great game soon becomes dull and boring if repeated too often. At first games became popular with teachers that were teaching young learners. But as time progressed, many teachers soon learned the value of using different games with different types of students. A good teacher can come up with many variations to the same game to use with different styles of students. A good teacher will also be able to adapt different kinds of games to teach the same things. In the ESL classroom games have taken an important role. They can be used at any stage of a lesson and usually just the mention of it usually perks the interest of the students. However they are usually used in the engage or activate stages. Sometimes they are very short quick games, like rock paper scissors, and sometimes they can take quite a bit of lesson time. It is important for the teacher to be careful when planning longer games. Make sure they are challenging and fun till the end, and be prepared for different student reactions. One of the controversial areas of games in the classroom is whether or not having winners and losers is good or bad. One school of thought is that having students that lose the game will be more harmful than helpful. They will leave class with low self esteem and sometimes that can build up in a student and cause them to dislike the subject. On the flip side of this argument is that competition is good. Taking away the aspect of ?winning? takes the fun out of the game. There is also the thought that people are naturally competitive, so one of the reasons games are so good for the classroom is because they build on people?s naturally aspects. One of the ways that teachers have tried to solve this problem is to teach the students that they didn?t ?lose? but that they should look forward to the next time and try again. ?Losing means ?one more time!? Whatever a teacher decides to do, it is important for them to be consistent. Games in the classroom have blossomed quickly and one thing for sure is that they are here to stay. Noah Anthony Faulkner
