Article: ‘Teaching of English to rural students through games’ by T. Bhaskar David by Tarun Patel

Vol. 5 Issue 11 – Article: ‘Teaching of English to rural students through games’ by T. Bhaskar David
by Tarun Patel

ELTWeekly Vol. 5 Issue#11 | March 25, 2013 | ISSN 0975-3036

Abstract

This paper focused on how one can help the the rural students to reinforce the language already learnt. Language games can improve their student’s fluency in speaking. With some well- planned language games the teacher can recapture the interest of the students rekindle their interest and recharge their imagination.

1. Introduction

Language is primarily a speech. All the ELT experts believe that speech is important for the practical use of English. Learning through speech is the natural way of learning a language. It is easier to handle for practicing the language learnt. Speech is a good introduction to the other language skills. Through speech the teacher can ensure more economical use of class time. This activity is also another individual or group type activity. The following speaking games would enable the students to understand more words.

2. Spelling game

Here the teacher would say a word, for example, “Book” and asks the class (divide into groups or individuals) to say a word beginning with “k”. If one group says “kite” the next group should say a word beginning with “e”. The next would “word” may be “elephant”. The group that gives a correct answer scores a point. One that gives wrong answer loses a point. At last wining group can be given any prize to give an encouragement and boost.

For example
Book
Kite
Elephant
Teacher
Rubber

3. Busy Bee

Here the teacher utters a say for example, “study” and asks class (divided into groups or individuals) to say words beginning with “s”. This busy bee games comes to end when a group fails to utter a word beginning with the word “s”. If one group says, “student” the next group should say a word beginning with “s”. The words should not be repeated. Each correct and answer brings credit to the group or individual.

For example
Study
Student
Sentence
Structure
Success

4. The ladder

In this third game the teacher utters the name of an institution or T.V, computer etc. For example, if the teacher says the word “hospital” and asks the class (divided into groups or individuals) to say words connected with a “hospital”. The group that says a word not relevant to a hospital loses a point.

For example: 1                                               Example: 2

“Hospital”                                                       “classroom”
Doctor                                                       1. Teacher
Nurse                                                         2. Students
Bed                                                              3. Bench
Medicines                                                4. Desk
Tablets                                                      5. Duster etc…

5. Pick and make

This fourth game is different from the above three games. Here the students are able to utter a full sentence after the instruction of the teacher. The teacher draw the picture glossary shop pointed out. For example, by using the blackboard containing the picture of glossary shop, the teacher can stimulate the speech. Firstly, the teacher utters the model sentence saying, “He wants to buy rice”. If the teacher points out to the coconut oil, students will have to say,” he wants to buy coconut oil and this continues …

For example :( model sentences)
He wants to buy some liril soaps.
She wants to buy some washing soaps.
They want to buy some Colgate paste.
I want to purchase some vegetables.
We want to purchase some fruits.

6. Ever and never

This activity will make students to involve actively in the dialogues. Allow them to speak actively with whatever English they have. Here the teacher should not ask them to read or memorize and recite such dialogues or conversations. The teacher would ask the following questions, one by one. They can answer without any hesitation in short sentences as indicated below. They can use the two words “often” or “never” in their answer.

For example

Teacher: Have you ever visited Kutralam falls?

Student: No, I’ve never visited kutralam falls.

Teacher: Have you ever been in Delhi?

Student:  Yes, I’ve often been in Delhi.

Teacher: Have you ever played cricket?

Student: No, I’ve never played cricket.

Teacher: Have you ever eaten beef?

Student: Yes, I’ve often eaten beef.

In the beginning, the teacher may ask one or two sentences using the words, “ever” “often”. Now the teacher can make the students to come out with their own examples. The teacher should give all ample opportunities to speak.

For example :( model sentences)
Have you ever seen a mongoose?
Have you ever killed a snake?
Have you ever acted in drama?
Have you ever undergone an operation?
Have you ever danced?

7. Ask and answer

Pair work and group work is mainly based upon the organizing capacity of the teacher. It is a process in language teaching. Pair work can be used for practice oral practice, helping the students practice vocabulary and sentence structures. The teacher has to prepare for pair work by establishing what the questions and answers to be if it is a question and answer drill. The teacher has to demonstrate by asking questions round the class or by asking one pair to do the activity in front of the class. Dividing the class into a number of pairs, the teacher should be more active to begin the activity. She should also check whether all the pairs are working at the same time. When the full activity is over, the teacher can ask the pairs to repeat their dialogue in front of the class.

For example:   What happens if …
You take too much honey?
You stand on the bus step?
You speak over the cell while driving?
You drive your car fast?
You study well?
Your drive your car fast?

When the teacher asks these kind of simple questions to the students, from their own day today experiences, they will naturally give one answer or more than answers like.

I have to go to hospital.

I will fall sick. I have to go to hospital.

I will fall down. I will get injury.

I may lose concentration. I may hit someone.

I cannot apply sudden break… I may collide with … other vehicle. I have to face accident.

I will get good marks. I don’t need any recommendation. I may get seat by merit.

8. Cross –word puzzles

In this activity, students must use their imaginative power to fit words across and down words into spaces in a square diagram. This exercise will stimulate the students to have more word power and creative thinking. It will also give them an aesthetic sense to form a diagram of the English letter “E”.

Downwords: 1. it is a wild animal that has long nose

Cross words: 1. this fruit is more famous in Kasmir.

2. It is a small electronic device the removes darkness.

3. It is a principle of beliefs.E L P P A
L
E
P
H C R O T
A
N
T E N E T











9. Conversation game

One of the accepted ways of teaching speaking skill is to hold a conversation activity. Activities that can be carried out interestingly in a class allowing the students get into conversation. To begin with, it could be a dialogue between first pairs. The teacher can give a specimen and afterwards ask them to follow the method.

For example: (Grammar class)

Teacher: Bhaskar, stand up, what am I teaching now?

Bhaskar: sir, you are teaching grammar.

Teacher: Bhaskar, look at the blackboard, watch “grammar”, Is the spelling correct?

Sundar: yes, sir, the spelling is correct.

Teacher: I am now going to teach you about nouns. What is a noun?

David:  A noun is the name of a person place of thing.

Teacher: Good. (Write on the blackboard)

“calutta is a big city” can anyone of you read this?

Bhaskar: yes, I can sir, “Calcutta is a big city”.

Teacher: How many nouns are there in this sentence?

David: only one I think sir.

Teacher: No, There is more than one noun in that sentence.

Sundar: I think there are two nouns there.

Teacher: you are correct my dear. What are they?

Sundar: “Calcutta” and “city” sir.

Teacher: very good.

Bhaskar: what kind of nouns are they sir?

Teacher: ‘Calcutta is a proper noun and ‘city” is a common noun.

The teacher then encourages the class students to get into pairs and try out similar dialogue. This conversation activity is communicative. Here one person trying to ask the other for some information, or both need to exchange some information. Thus, a conversation activity improves the speaking skills of students and boosts up their confidence. The teacher can give some more examples like.
A dialogue between a doctor and patient.
A dialogue between a husband and wife.
A dialogue between a boy and love.
A dialogue between a shopkeeper and customer.

10 .Drama

Dramatization is also like role play which can be used in larger classes where there are many students. It could be used choosing the topics based on social evils like air pollution, noise pollution, child labor, drug addiction etc. when the teacher selects topics such like this students will be more interested to enact. It gives them chance to speak in English fluently. The teacher can give the interesting topic like Deepawali- Festival of light can be dramatized to bring out not only social awareness like no child labour, no pollution, no plastic etc but it can also improve vocabulary and structures of sentences.

For example

A man goes to Sivakasi to purchase crackers for Deepavali, the festival of light in Tamil Nadu. He sees his own eyes an explosion in the crackers factory in which a child labour gets killed. On seeing this a grand finale he was totally upset. In order to satisfy his children and not disappoint them, he purchases a few crackers with double mind and returns home. On his way back, his wife and children welcome him with more cheerfulness. But looking at his sad face they ask what happened and the experienced father started narrating the pathetic story to the family. The children at once made up their mind not to buy or burst any crackers. They realize how much of air and noise pollution contaminate the whole atmosphere because of crackers. They took a vow to carry the message to the society campaigning, “ no child labour” ,  “ no pollution”,  “ no plastic”

The teacher now can ask for volunteers to opt for role to dramatize the above narration. The teacher need not select any students for others may be disappointed. Five characters and two groups are needed.

Scene: 1 (at the factory)

The student who has taken the role of a child labour acts unconscious in front of the students in the class. The older labourers are seen carrying the injured child on their shoulders. But the child dies and the child labourers are panic –stricken.

Father  asks one worker) what happened to that child)

Worker  in the factory)  A boy is killed in the cracker explosion.

Scene: 2 (at home)

Children are longing to welcome their father who went to Sivakasi to purchase crackers for Deepawali. Father looks sad and pale.

Mother, son and daughter: father, what happened? Why are you looking so sad or anything happened to you?

Father: oh, there was a little boy who was killed in cracker explosion in factory. I saw him dying with my own eyes. He was a child labour there. Whose child is he?

Mother: poor boy,

Son: Father how old is he?

Father: must be your sister’s age?

Daughters: I feel so sad, Father I don’t want to burst crackers anymore.

Son: yes, father, I too don’t want. Moreover, there is a lot of air and noise pollution because of crackers.

Daughter: father, we will teach our friends and classmates in the school not to burst crackers and there should be “no child labour” and “ no more pollution”.

Mother:  A good decision.

Father:I am very proud of you both.

This dramatization not only brings out the message of awareness but also the structures learnt like the question- answer patterns, the use of sentence connectors, adverbs like because of vocabulary items and a narration. Any committed English teacher can give more examples like child dying of dengue, child dying of road accident mis-use of mobile phone, why students commit suicide  etc. when these lessons are enacted and dramatized in this way it will make the classes more interesting. Activities of this sort provide a lot of opportunity to develop speaking skills. It breaks the monotony of teachers talk all the time and makes the teaching student –centred approach.

11. Conclusion

According to Thomson and Wyatt (1935) “Speaking, like walking and running, is not learnt entirely by rule. It is learnt more by situations so that students feel the necessity of speaking English. The class must be made as interesting and playful as possible and the students must find it a pleasure to speak English”. The primary and preliminary functions of a language are for interaction and communication. Language is created to communicate with others. Man is born to speak the language without which he or she can survive but cannot express his or her feelings and needs.

Reference

Ellis, R. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: OUP, 1994.

Oxford, R. 1990.Language learning strategies: what every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House.

Nuan, D. 1989. Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridg, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Thomson and Wyatt, 1935. The essentials of English Grammar: London: Allen and Unwin.

Harbord, 1992. The use of The Mother Tongue in the classroom. ELT Journal (October) pp.350-355.