Introduction
Language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be
frustrating and demotivating. It is clear that a constant effort is required to
understand, produce and manipulate the target language. Teaching English as a
language in the 4th form in Senegal is sometimes a hard job to
perform because of the number of impediments the teacher may encounter. The
difficulties that teachers meet are most of the time the lack of motivation for
the students to learn English since they are not exposed to hear and practise
English everywhere and all the time.
To take up this challenge, teachers must permanently have
recourse to songs and games to enhance the learners' desire to learn the
language. It is obvious that a student is always a student no matter how old he
/ she is. Students learn better when they have the feeling that they are making
progress. This happens when the atmosphere in the classroom facilitates it.
There is a variety of activities that create this kind of atmosphere - games
are only one of them. Playing a game is a great opportunity to repeat the
material in a way which is encouraging and not intimidating. If the teacher
adds the element of challenge and competition into it and caters to the needs
of a larger range of students and learning techniques which suit them; the
outcome will be great achievements.
We must discard the misconception which is that all
learning should be serious and solemn in nature and that if one is having fun
and there is hilarity and fun it is not learning. This assertion is entirely
faulty simply because it is possible to learn a language as well as enjoy
oneself at the same time. It appears then that one of the best ways of doing it
is through performing songs and games.
One has to notice that many experienced textbook and
methodology manuals writers have argued that songs and games are not just
fruitless and time-filling activities; they are rather activities endowed with
great educational values. This is why a great number of writers are today
inclined to believe that songs and games should be treated as central not
peripheral to the Foreign Language Teaching. A similar opinion is expressed by
Richard Amato who believes games to be a fun but warns against overlooking
their pedagogical value; particularly in Foreign Language Learning.
Games are easy ways of learning without being bored. And
learning should not really become boring. Games therefore are relevant for
adult classes too, provided they are adapted to the learners' level. Students
in the 4th form need to have fun in language learning.
It is a good idea to develop or find games that inspire adults
to learn the language. These are simply different games to those teachers use
for young learners mainly students in the 4th form.
In the
Senegalese context many teachers often use songs and games as short warm up
activities or when there is some time left at the end of the lesson. This
misuse of songs and games will not be beneficial to the learners because they
are not performed in the right way.
As we see, songs and games should not be regarded as
activities filling odd moments when the teacher and the students have nothing
better to do. We can acknowledge that no one today can deny the efficiency and
the effectiveness of songs and games in teaching English as a foreign language.
We have to add that songs and games lend themselves well to revision exercises
helping students remember material in an entertaining and pleasant way.
There are today so many writers and authors who assert that
even though songs and games resulted only in noisy disturbances and entertained
learners, they are worth paying attention to, and implementing in the
4th form classroom since they significantly motivate learners,
promote greatly communicative competences and skills and generate adequately
fluency.
Games have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness in
learning vocabulary in various ways. First of all every one knows that games
bring relaxation and fun for students. This can be simply accounted for by the
fact that they help learners learn and retain new words and structure more
easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep
learners interested.
It is not a fallacy in this sense to assert and maintain that
these activities create the motivation for the learners of English to get
involved and participate actively in the learning activities.
In the same line it is possible to say that the vocabulary
games bring real world context and real life situations and enhance then
students' use of the English language in a flexible and communicative way.
There is one aspect that teachers should not overlook.
Whenever a game is to be conducted, the number of students, the proficiency
level, the cultural context, the timing, the learning topic and the classroom
settings are factors that should really be taken into account.
In an effort to supplement a lesson plan in the English
language teaching classroom in the 4th form, teachers often turns to
songs and games. This justification for using songs and games in the classroom
has been well demonstrated as benefiting students in a variety of ways.
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