Using Games In a foreign Language Classroom

CHAPTER 4 CONCLUSION

Writing this thesis has made me realize several things about my teaching and learning style, the environment which I hope to create, and the way I encourage student learning and production. I believe that learning takes place in a community with my students learning from each other and of course from me. I also believe that I learn from them. Games provide students, especially teenagers, a situation to learn without barriers created by social norms, and mundane routines or performances. Games encourage language production and social interaction in a playful, nonthreatening way.

For years, I felt alone in the usage of games in a classroom, and was embarrassed to admit that I was writing my master’s thesis on something so trivial. However, by doing this research, I have found a plethora of resources that speak volumes on the educational value of games and contain extensive examples of games to play in a classroom. Initially, I felt that writing this thesis should be something of new, monumental learning for me, and should not be based on something that I already do, or am familiar. Conversely, I now feel that exploring this topic has increased my ability to validate the educational soundness of what occurs in my classroom. Now, when I answer the question, “What are we doing today?” with, “We are playing a game,” I know that it is not only to make my students have fun, but also to increase their learning.