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THE EFFECTIVE USE OF GAMES IN THE GERMAN AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (GFL) CLASSROOM Marion Ulrike Greiner A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS August 2010 Committee: Geoffrey C. Howes, Advisor Kristie Foell ii ABSTRACT Geoffrey C. Howes, Advisor This thesis considers the reasons why language learning games are a powerful and effective language teaching tool. It defines the term “language learning game” and examines its typical characteristics. The thesis also discusses the different types of language learning games. Language learning games are commonly understood to have motivational and enjoyable aspects. Despite cognitive and neurological evidence the instructional effectiveness of language learning games is still questioned by critics. This thesis strongly states that necessary research is missing to convince critics of games’ instructional value. Individual subchapters consider the implications of using language learning games in terms of the teacher’s role, the student’s role, productive error correction and cost-effectiveness. The thesis also discusses practical issues of how to make language learning games actually work in class. These include in-class organization, useful language for playing and organizing games, forms of classroom interaction and classroom setting. In addition to a presentation of decisive factors for the suitability of games, potential problems in the classroom are also discussed. In this thesis the author also presents a collection of accuracy-focused and fluency-focused language learning games that allow teachers to help students develop communicative competence in the foreign language. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to many individuals who supported me while writing this thesis. Above all, I thank my mother, Gerlinde Greiner, for her love, encouragement and emotional support while I have made teaching my profession. My friend and colleague Mary Beth Broadwater has generously given time and effort to this project. I thank her, not only for her patience and kindness in the face of my incessant linguistic questions, but also for her critical readings and helpful comments given over the months of writing this thesis. I also thank my roommate and friend Sophia Kottmayer for her hundreds of hours of listening, sense of humor, and friendship. She is not only a wonderfully supportive, persistent and patient listener but she has enriched my life in many different ways. Finally I would like to thank all my students for their willingness to act as my guinea pigs and to try out new things. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER I. WHAT IS A LANGUAGE LEARNING GAME? ........................................ 4 Definition and characteristics of language learning games ....................................... 4 Types of language learning games ............................................................................. 5 CHAPTER II. THE ROLE OF GAMES IN THE LANGUAGE LEARNING PROCESS 9 Why use games in language teaching? ...................................................................... 9 Declarative versus procedural knowledge ................................................................. 16 The role of emotion in learning with games .............................................................. 20 The teacher’s role in games ....................................................................................... 23 The student’s role in games ....................................................................................... 28 Productive error correction ........................................................................................ 29 When to use games .................................................................................................... 32 The cost-effectiveness of games ................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER III. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR MAKING GAMES WORK IN CLASS ………………………… .......................................................................................... 39 In-class organization .................................................................................................. 39 Useful language for playing and organizing games ................................................... 41 Forms of classroom interaction .................................................................................. 44 Classroom setting ....................................................................................................... 51 Competition and scoring ............................................................................................ 55 Potential problems in the classroom .......................................................................... 58 v The suitability of games ............................................................................................. 62 Creation and adaptation of games .............................................................................. 65 CHAPTER IV. GAMES ....................................................................................................... 67 Grammar games ......................................................................................................... 68 Vocabulary games ...................................................................................................... 88 Communication games............................................................................................... 103 Cultural games ........................................................................................................... 112 CONCLUSION…….. ............................................................................................................ 117 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......……………………............................................................................ 119 1 INTRODUCTION At the elementary school level and in the field of special education, games have long been advocated as an effective tool to assist learning. Teachers of elementary school students, for example, use language learning games to keep restless children motivated and interested in the language. There is also overwhelming consensus among secondary school and college educators that language learning games are fun and motivating while allowing variation from a monotonous classroom routine. However, many teachers are still hesitant about implementing language learning games as a central teaching tool in the classroom. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First, it is to show teachers that language learning games should be considered for their enjoyable aspects but first and foremost because they represent an effective instructional tool that allows teachers to help students acquire active spoken mastery of a foreign language. Second, this thesis presents a collection of games through which teachers can enable their learners to communicate in a foreign language in real time. Thus, the main focus of this thesis is the development of students’ oral proficiency rather than their written skills. In the first chapter of this thesis, the starting point is a definition of the term “language learning game” and a discussion of its typical characteristics. Chapter I is also concerned with the different types of language learning games and discusses the difficulty of coming up with a satisfactory categorization of games. The second chapter is mainly concerned with the question of why to use language learning games and will highlight their advantages. I will draw attention to the difference between declarative and procedural knowledge and discuss the findings in modern neuroscience research concerning the effectiveness of language learning games. Furthermore, Chapter II 2 shows how positive emotions brought forth by games stimulate our brain and therefore facilitate and promote the learning process. This chapter will shed light on the new roles of teacher and student in a game-based classroom. In the second chapter, I will also discuss the stages of language learning at which games can be used and how productive error correction can happen when using them. Finally, in Chapter II I will discuss the findings of empirical studies concerning the usefulness and effectiveness of language learning games. The third chapter moves the focus on games from “why to use” them to “how to use” them. An objective of this chapter is to illuminate important organizational steps that a teacher has to take to ensure smooth playing of games. This chapter also discusses different social forms of classroom interaction and seating arrangements required by language learning games. It will further raise the issue of problems typically associated with the use of language learning games (noise, time constraint, etc.). Moreover, Chapter III will endeavor to discuss decisive criteria for choosing a game, like the students’ age, their proficiency level, etc. Lastly, in Chapter III I will also show how easily a traditional language learning exercise can be converted into a language learning game. Finally, Chapter IV, the last chapter of this thesis, will provide a practical collection of language learning games (focusing on grammar, vocabulary, communication and culture) that I have successfully applied in class. The presented examples of games are designed for teaching German. However,

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