Importance of Games in Learning English as a Foreign Language

Games are usually defined as a fun tool which is used for encouraging both teachers and students to break the ice at a time of getting bored or at the beginning of a lesson. According to Byrne (1995), games are some kind of playing which have rules to control them, they are not just a method for making a nice atmosphere in the classroom yet they are a fun that everyone enjoys and at the same time they could be a strategy that involves students in the learning process and into language using through the game. As to Jill Hadfield (1990), he gave a definition for games to be a ruled activity which has goals and fun elements. Gibbs(1974) defined games as an activity that involves co-operation and competition among decision makers who desire reaching some goals through following some rules. There are many factors within games as goals, rules, relaxing competition and learning as a specific point and getting into educational issues. They could be tools for helping students to learn and teachers to make the educational process much more enjoyable and easier. Any classroom game has rules which needs to be explained before beginning the game. Using games in EFL classes needs to be well explained so as to be understood by students and not being puzzling for them. Rules should be simply explained and they shouldn't be too many. When presenting games in EFL classes, it is good to use demonstrations so as to allow students to follow the games rules accurately and not to find it hard or puzzling. If they do not understand the game and its rules, they may feel bored with it and have no benefits at last. The best game to be presented for students must be a competitive one and has encouraging elements so competition is highly needed so that students can share in the game eagerly and with success motivations so as to solve problems or beat teams and get higher scores. Fun is a good factor for pleasing the students involved in the game or even watching it but learning is the main focus in fact as learning through games allows students to learn new vocabulary, pronunciation, letters and grammatical points that they do not easily forget. So we can at last define games as a group of elements of learning provided to students in a relaxing form of a game which is enjoying and beneficial at the same time. 

Teachers are lucky with this matter as there are a good number of language games with a variety of types to choose from. EFL classes has special nature as most teachers and students of EFL classes see games as a tool for warming up, a reward , a wrap up at the end of the lesson or a filling items in extra time periods. The teachers of EFL classes employ them as a fun aid but not for real work. Schools in which English is presented as a foreign language do not believe in including games as a teaching method. This perspective reduces the effectiveness of game using in EFL classes which makes deciding the proper type of game a dilemma that teachers find challenges when they do it (Rodilla 2012) Each class has its nature and characteristics as well as each lesson or grammatical point so teachers should concentrate when choosing the proper game for a specific class or a specific language point as there are factors they have to consider while choosing the game. The first factor is the level of the game and the language level of students, games should be selected carefully according to the class level, its purposes and the curriculum contents. Student characters also must be taken into consideration as they may be very serious students, old, young, open- minded or not, funny and mastering the language according to their level or not. Choosing the time is another factor as it is important to know when to use and what game to choose at this specific time. Another important factor is the motivation of teachers themselves to play and get into the game and having the ability of leadership in a game or to assign a student to master the game instead. In EFL classes, games sometimes may be difficult for students so teachers have to modify them to be suitable for the students' level. In EFL classes games must be well used so as not to be a waste of time and students think it is time for making troubles in class or for joking.   

To conclude, it is important to mention that games are very important as they could be defined as tools for engaging student in the learning process and letting them acquire language experiences easily and in a funny way. Deciding the proper game is a process which requires effort from teachers as there are factors for this process. The next chapter will discuss the advantages of using games in EFL classes and reasons for using them.