The question that Dr Nelson raised last week, almost at the end of class, was whether we are doing the students justice. My sentiments exactly....
There was one line in Bennet and gang's article, "This is not to say that educational games might not be effective, but simply questions the assumption that their apparent popularity in everyday life makes them directly and unproblemetically applicable to education." (p. 779) One of the issues that I see in making lessons into games is the preparation, or the lack of preparation, for working in the industry if we do so. As teachers, we are all too familiar with the mundane administrative work that we have to do. This is the case for almost every job out there. Should students expect work to be like a game? Or should they expect their future employers to be sympathetic of their learning styles? I am quite confident that I know the answer to these questions...NO!
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According to my experience, the answer is "no" too. College students in China sometimes hate the foreign teachers because they always organize some activities which seem to be too naive. And students are not willing to take part in at all, let alone benefiting from the games. The problems lie on they don't know the students well. Yes, college students in China may belong to low English levels but they are still adults with well-developed intelligence. Students may find the games too simple or even stupid. I once asked my students:"What do you do and what could you learn from your oral class?" The answer was:"Playing games and learning nothing."
ReplyDeleteSo games are recommended provided they are well organized and beneficial.
Yes, both of you are right. Incorporating games into lessons is good but it needs to be appropriate for the pupils. For me, my pupils enjoy interactive games and I do incorporate it into my lessons. But the whole lesson is not a game. Only part of it and it needs to achieve the objective that I have set as well.
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