Week 7-Critical Reflection

After reading Ms.Ng’s email stating that she is eagerly looking for a critically analysed reflection entry, I was thinking what and how to write. First of all, it is vivid that the purpose of adapting the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” game is to integrate language games with ICT in our classroom. Looking at this,  would reflect more on the theoretical part of what we have learn all the years. The aims that Mr.Gomez thought us in ESL Issues class also struck into my mind. He mentioned that to become a good teacher we should be the instructor but an educator with unique classroom procedures and that’s where games come in.

If anyone said teaching were as simple as using the one best way to teach everything, it would be considered more of a science. However, there isn’t just one best way to teach everything and that’s why teaching is an art. If teaching meant simply following a text book and using the ‘same size fits all’ approach, then anyone could teach, right? I feel that’s what makes teachers and especially special educators unique and special. Long ago, teachers knew that individual needs, strengths and weaknesses must drive instructional and assessment practice.

In that way, games is becoming a major  tool in delivering the right knowledge to kids. The need for meaningfulness in language learning has been accepted for some years. A useful interpretation of ‘meaningfulness’ is that the learners respond to the content in a definite way. If they are amused, angered, intrigued or surprised the content is clearly meaningful to them. Thus the meaning of the language they listen to, read, speak and write will be more vividly experienced and, therefore, better remembered. I also believe that if it is accepted that games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language, then they must be regarded as central to a teacher’s repertoire.

I have learn many things not only by adapting this game but also many other games that I have used in my Teaching Practice. Let me make a list of what I have learn(to make it simple and straight forward):

• A game can create discussion of all kinds
  This is greatly enhanced by the pairing technique described above, because the partners have to verbalise their ideas about the next move to each other and justify their opinions. This not only helps them, but can be very informative for a passing teacher who can eavesdrop and assess where they have got to in their thinking. Co-operative games can be very useful in creating discussion too.
• Games put pressure on players to work mentally
  This is obvious in many ways but it is easy to overlook the fact that geometry almost always requires drawing and/or written work for the pupils. The provision of shapes and properties on cards means that they can be worked on mentally rather than on paper. This must be a great relief to those whose drawing skills are limited!

• A game often can be played at more then one level. As a result of the previous property of games, it is possible for the players to play the game with more or less skill or perception depending on their own competence. They will often learn to develop their level of play by watching and listening to the other players.

• A game can allow the introduction of ideas that are difficult to develop in other ways. In particular within these games it is the skill of understanding a grammar  item and difficult vocabulary.

• Games are played in a context in which there is usually unthreatening help available. When a game is played by pairs then a pupil’s partner is always there to help make decisions about what to do or to explain something which her partner does not understand.

Therefore, games definitely lead to emphasizing on unique classroom procedures. I will always try to integrate games in my lesson and will try to make my lessons interesting. hope this video below, will give us more idea on using games in classroom.