| ESL teachers can face many problems and one of | | | | the teacher and with each other. |
| them is trying to capture the students' attention. This | | | | 3. Kids don't realize they're learning. Most students don't |
| can be particularly troublesome in elementary school | | | | care about learning on a conscious level. They'd rather |
| situations, where students simply have no motivation to | | | | be having fun. In many cases, ESL students are taking |
| learn. The only reason they are there is that their | | | | their English lessons as part of an after school |
| parents make them go, or the government requires | | | | program. To them, you are cutting into their play time |
| them to take English lessons. | | | | and replacing it with something more boring. However, |
| This doesn't make for a very easy time for teachers. | | | | if you turn your lesson into play time, the students don't |
| However, when you frequently use elementary ESL | | | | realize that they are learning valuable skills. |
| games in your classroom, you'll find that your students | | | | 4. It's a great way to reinforce knowledge. It would be |
| are more engaged and have a more positive | | | | very difficult to sit for an hour with students and have |
| experience when learning. | | | | them repeat vocabulary after you. This is far from fun |
| Of course, the choice is up to you, but here are some | | | | and doesn't accurately demonstrate their knowledge. |
| great reasons for including elementary ESL games as | | | | ESL games present a great way to practice the |
| part of your curriculum: | | | | concepts that you just taught |
| | | | 5. It helps them practice fast recall. When students are |
| 1. It makes your lessons fun. Nobody wants to get a | | | | playing games, there is more at stake in quickly and |
| reputation as "the boring teacher". We all want to think | | | | accurately recalling information. This helps them to think |
| that students like us and enjoy coming to our classes. | | | | on their toes, which is important for dealing with real-life |
| A good selection of fun games makes you "the fun | | | | situations where they may speak English. |
| teacher". | | | | As an elementary school ESL teacher, it's hard to find |
| 2. It's a sharp contrast to their normal learning | | | | a balance between creating a fun, positive learning |
| environment. Many learning situations involve the | | | | environment and actually teaching students to speak |
| teacher lecturing the students. This does not make for | | | | English. Elementary ESL games will help put you on the |
| an interactive environment. Games, on the other hand, | | | | right track. |
| give students more of an opportunity to interact with | | | | |