Play is fundamental for the growth of children, the activity through which they know the world around them, which brings them closer to their own feelings and those of others, with which they experiment, discover, and learn.
Play is the simplest way to teach English to children of all ages, even as young as 7. English becomes a means to solve and complete the game, an integral part, and protagonist of the activity. The game is a continuous exploration, a way to get closer and closer, to know and grow, and it is precisely through the game that we learn the concepts best and always find new stimuli.
A dimension, the playful one, which evolves over time, which changes during growth, but which persists in all of us even in adulthood, albeit with different times, activities and methods. Fundamental in the first years of life, the activity of play is strongly linked to the assimilation of new sensory, emotional, social, educational experiences, and it is precisely through play that many teachings can “pass” in the most effective way.
Hence, even as regards the teaching of a second language, play is undoubtedly a great way for children to be stimulated to improve, to memorize, to learn a certain vocabulary, and become more and more familiar with a language.
This article will reveal some fun activities to offer to your children.
Group games to consolidate the learning of the English language.
Any activity that wants to effectively stimulate learning should be offered to children in a playful way. In fact, the game makes every teaching pleasant and less burdensome and, consequently, fixes each new knowledge more stable in the memory, thus making it more easily usable.
When preparing to organize games aimed at consolidating a second language, it is first of all important to adapt the type of game to the age of the child. Simplicity, first of all, so as not to overload the child with rules, notions, structures that in a short time could bore rather than entice them to continue the game. And also certain attention to proposing games that meet the interests of children, which intrigue them, entertain them.
To start, what better than taking group games that children already know by transposing them into dictation words?
- And here is that the classic “Witch commands color,” useful for helping children learn the names of colors, can be transformed into “ Witch commands color and says ”; or, to learn the numbers in English, you can play Flag.
- Another activity that children like to do and that can help especially to memorize verbs is the “Mime game,” the classic mime game.
- Another useful game is “Last Man Standing,” with which the ball is thrown at each other by “calling” a category; whoever catches the ball will have to answer with a term related to the category called (for example, if the category “color” is called, whoever catches the ball will have to answer ” red ” or ” blue, “without repeating words already said previously, under penalty of elimination).
- A classic game in English for learning 1st grade spelling words is ” Simon says, “for which it is necessary to repeat each time (under penalty of elimination) the expression ” Simon says ” before indicating an action that a partner must perform (for example ” Simon says clap your hands “;” Simon says touch your head “and so on, in turn).
- Another fun game in every language, ideal if there are a good number of players, is called “Wireless telephone”; in this case, obviously, a word or a short sentence in English is passed from one to the other.
- Another very useful playful activity is dramatization (role play), during which individual children or small groups are asked to recite short skits in English, preferably with an indication (always in English) of which elements should appear. Dramatization is also useful as a side activity after listening to reading in English or watching a film in the original language to reinforce the assimilation of specific terms.
Conclusion: Online platforms such as spellquiz.com also introduce children to English spelling words in a fun, simple, and exciting way.
