Content Introduction

Chapter II. Experimental approbation of the use of the game as a means of increasing the effectiveness of teaching a foreign language at the middle stage


2.1 Methods and forms of increasing motivation

Students without motivation to learn simply do not exist. Any cognitive activity of students, along with operational components (knowledge, skills and abilities), also includes motivational ones (motive, interest, attitude). Motivational components determine for students the significance of what they learn and assimilate. His attitude to educational activities, its content, methods of implementation and results of activities. Motivation is a source of activity and orientation of the individual to objects and phenomena of reality, as a result of which activity arises. To achieve the set goal, in addition to desire, “an object is needed that, in response to the need, would be the stimulus of activity, would give it a certain specific direction”, i.e. a motive is needed.

At present, the formation of cognitive motivation is necessary, as it gives the activities of students a special personal meaning, due to which the study of a subject acquires an independent value for it. At the heart of cognitive motivation is “a disinterested thirst for knowledge”, “an uncontrollable desire to know everything new and new”. With such motivation, the student copes with difficulties with great ease.
If there is no success, then the motivation fades away. The problem of motivation in learning arises in every school subject. However, the problem of motivation for learning foreign languages ​​in secondary school is particularly acute.
The motives of learning activity are formed in the course of the learning activity itself. The main factors influencing the formation of positive motivation for learning are:

1. 
   The content of the educational material.
   

In itself, the content (educational information) has no meaning for the child, and therefore does not encourage learning.
To avoid this, it is necessary to present educational material in such a form as to evoke an emotional response in students, to activate cognitive mental processes:

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  analytical nature of presentation: critical, problematic;
  

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  emphasizing the attractive aspects of the content: difficulty, complexity (simplicity, accessibility), novelty, discovery of the new in the long-known, historicism, modern achievements of science, interesting facts, paradoxes;
  

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  tasks with interesting content, entertaining questions;
  

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  showing the importance of knowledge and skills;
  

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  interdisciplinary connections.
  

2. 
   Communication style between teacher and students.
   

With regards to the style of relationships with students, the democratic style of the teacher contributes to intrinsic motivation. To develop your own style of communication with students, a style that will positively motivate them, you need to:

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  show a personal relationship to the student, to the class.
  

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  show their own personal qualities: erudition, culture, business qualities, do not hide their attitude to the subject, etc.;
  

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  show confidence in the strengths and abilities of students;
  

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  to organize friendly relations in the class with the help of mutual assistance, mutual checks, exchange of opinions.
  

3. 
   Use of non-traditional forms of assessment.
   

Why do kids love to learn but don't like school. With what pleasure and perseverance children master the bicycle, understand the device of the computer.
But after a few weeks of schooling, they do not want to study there. But one of the main reasons is, as it seems to us, the wrong approach to assessments. Nothing destroys children's creativity like bad grades. What exactly is being assessed? Result? Knowledge? Capabilities? Memory? Diligence? Apparently, the time has come to look for a new solution to this problem.
The specificity of the subject "foreign language" implies that students must master the target language as a means of communication, be able to use it in oral and written forms.
The productivity of educational activity is determined by motivation.
Evaluation is the measurement of a student's performance in many ways, diagnosing problems and progress made in a benevolent manner. The assessment process is an integral part of the entire learning process and has a significant educational impact.
Assessments are a procedure by which a teacher measures and determines a student's level of development in terms of their knowledge, skills, and areas of proximal development. Evaluation is a long, regular and variable process.
First of all, we highlight the main functions that school assessment is designed to perform:

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  Determining the degree of compliance with the goals set for the student and the results achieved in their dynamics.
  

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  Identification of the current difficulties of the student and the class as a whole for the organization of individual and group correctional work.
  

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  Determination of the quality of the teacher's work by the level of success of his students.
  

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  Creation of a psychologically comfortable educational environment to motivate the child to successful learning activities.
  

Thus, the mark, being, in fact, the only working tool of the teacher for assessing the educational work of the child, performs functions that are different in nature and therefore often contradicts itself. For example, a deliberately high mark for a test in order to maintain the student's interest in the subject and self-confidence will no longer reflect the real level of his success. In addition, the teacher thereby distorts for the better the assessment of the quality of his own activity.
The goals of assessment are:

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  create a positive impression of the assessment procedure and motivate for further successful learning;
  

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  evaluate the correct use of the language and determine what the student knows and can do;
  

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  create a positive motivation for learning the language in the future.
  

Non-traditional assessment is a system of observing and collecting data about what a student is like under normal learning conditions.
The purpose of non-traditional evaluation is to notice even small progress and try to enhance it with praise and support. This can be done in different ways:

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  do not skimp on verbal praise for good results;
  

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  give friendly written comments in workbooks;
  

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  give colored figurines with the words “Good!”, “Excellent!” and others;
  

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  give small gifts (calendars, stickers, sweets, etc.);
  

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  draw or stamp funny or sad faces;
  

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  create a portfolio.
  

The implementation of these simple recommendations helps the teacher to clearly assess the learning situation in the classroom. It takes a lot of time, but it's worth it.
Non-traditional assessment is hidden and therefore does not frighten children and helps to avoid the stress that is inevitable with grade assessment.
What exactly is assessed in foreign language lessons? Is the child's ability to communicate in a foreign language? Knowledge of the grammar of a foreign language? Knowledge of words on the topic? And it is clear that this is more difficult than learning the Russian language. The child speaks Russian from birth, then continues to study it at school. And even in this case, it is not immune from errors. At the lessons of a foreign language, it is necessary to know what to say, how to say, why it is so in this situation, and at the same time not to be mistaken. And the grading system is limited to five points, in both cases. Perhaps it is time to look for a new solution to this problem.
Defenders of the old grading system rely on the solid argument that grading "encourages learning." But the generally accepted "encouragement of learning" leads to nervous breakdowns and fear of teachers. According to statistics, more than 80% of schoolchildren constantly experience severe psychological discomfort. It is no coincidence that even official terms appeared in pedagogy: didactophobia (fear of learning) and didactoneurosis.
When approaching the assessment system, one cannot fail to mention the positive experience: studying without grades, works on school grades by Sh. Amonashvili, replacing the principle of grading.
But, as practice shows, the most effective means of developing motivation is the inclusion of intellectual activity of a competitive nature. These are role-playing games, and participation in various project activities, KVN, quizzes, game moments in foreign language lessons.
The game carries a big positive moment in the formation of communicative motivation, because the basis of any communication is the solution of a problem that is discussed in a life situation. The situation is the basis of communication, and the process of communication is a continuous, dynamic series of situations replacing each other. In order for the student to feel comfortable in real life, the teacher must simulate such situations of communication. In this case, it is advisable to use situational role-playing games in foreign language lessons.
What tasks can play activities help the teacher to realize? First of all, it is the establishment of contact with the child. Speaking about this method of establishing contact, teachers call it the contact of commonwealth, co-creation, the best way to enter into a trusting, friendly relationship with a child.
The game is also an excellent means of diagnosing both the individual and the group. In addition to the personal development of the child, the game allows you to establish what the child aspires to, what he needs, since in the game he seeks to play the desired role. With the help of the game, we can carry out evaluative activities, since the game is always a test for the teacher, allowing us to develop, diagnose and evaluate at the same time.
If the child does not want to do some work, if he is not interested in learning, then the game can come to the rescue, because it is a powerful stimulant.
Experience shows that the game introduced into the educational process, in the classroom in a foreign language, as one of the teaching methods, should be interesting, uncomplicated and lively, contribute to the accumulation of new language material and the consolidation of previously acquired knowledge.
The same game can be used at different stages of the lesson. However, it all depends on the specific conditions of the teacher's work. It should only be remembered that for all the attractiveness and effectiveness of the games, it is necessary to show a sense of proportion, otherwise they will tire the students and lose the freshness of the emotional impact.
Most games are not related to any particular topic, so naturally they contain some percentage of vocabulary unfamiliar to students. It is recommended to enter it in the process of explaining the conditions of the game. Methods for introducing vocabulary can be different. One of them is visual visibility, which includes not only picture or object visibility, but also movement, gesture, facial expressions, etc. And finally, in some cases, you can use a single transfer. In any case, the time spent explaining an unfamiliar word will definitely pay off, because once the game is introduced, the teacher will use it many times, and the new vocabulary that the children will learn during the game will become active.
The place of games in the lesson and the time allotted to the game depend on a number of factors:
preparation of students, the material being studied, the specific goals and conditions of the lesson, etc. so, let's say, if the game is used as a training exercise during the initial consolidation, then it can take 20-25 minutes of the lesson. In the future, the same game can be played for 3-5 minutes and serve as a kind of repetition of the material already covered, as well as relaxation in the lesson. A number of grammar games, for example, can be effective in introducing new material.
The success of using games depends, first of all, on the atmosphere that the teacher creates in the classroom.
At each stage of the lesson, the teacher has the opportunity to use the game.
1. Phonetic warm-up. The purpose of this stage is to perform exercises for articulatory gymnastics, further formation of pronunciation skills.
At this stage, you can use the game, for example "Wide and narrow vowels."
Purpose: the formation of phonetic hearing skills.
Game progress: the teacher calls the words. Students raise their hand if the sound is pronounced widely. If the vowel is pronounced narrowly, you cannot raise your hand. The team with the fewest mistakes wins.
2. Repetition of the material covered, both lexical and grammatical.

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  There are a large number of different games for repeating lexical material. For example, the game "Numbers".
  

Purpose: repetition of cardinal numbers.
Game progress: two teams are formed. On the right and left on the board, the same number of numbers is written randomly. The teacher calls the numbers one by one. Team representatives must quickly find and cross out the named number on their half of the board. The team that completes the task faster wins.

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  When checking the assimilation of the spelling of the studied material, you can use the game "Insert a letter"
  

Game progress: two teams are formed. The board is divided into two parts. For each command, words are written, each of which has a missing letter. Representatives of the teams alternately go to the board, insert the missing letter and read the word.

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  To check the grammatical material, you can take the game "Ball Game".
  

Purpose: automation of the use of verb forms in oral speech. Game progress: two teams are formed. The representative of the first team comes up with a sentence with the studied verb. He throws the ball to a partner from the second team and calls the sentence, skipping the verb. The one who catches the ball repeats the sentence, inserting the correct form of the verb, throws the ball to the partner from the first team and calls his sentence, omitting the verb, etc. A penalty point is awarded for each mistake. The team with the fewest penalty points wins.

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  Or Action Image. Purpose: automation of the use of verbs in oral speech.
  

Game progress: players form pairs. One player depicts an action (mimic or pantomime), the other must comment on it using the studied verbs.
3. Introduction of new material.

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  To introduce new material, you can use the game "Fruits".
  

Target:Introduce students to the names of fruits, vegetables and berries.
Description: children are givencards with the image of fruits, vegetables and berries. (one, two or three) depending on the number of words and children being studied. Then the game goes on in a chain. The teacher holds a card with a picture of, for example, an apricot and says:
Teacher: I am an apricot, who likes an apricot?
Student: I like it. (Takes his card) And I'm apples, who likes apples?
This game, as a rule, is very productive, as it contains a lot of lexical material that students often encounter in everyday life. That is why the teacher, at the request of the students, can expand the amount of vocabulary studied on this topic, thereby developing the active vocabulary of children.

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  "Letters crumbled."
  

Purpose: the formation of the skills of combining letters in a word.
Game progress: the teacher writes words in large letters on a piece of paper and, without showing it, cuts it into letters, saying: “I had a word. It broke into letters. Then he shows the letters and scatters them on the table: “Who will guess what word it was faster?” The first person to spell the word correctly wins. The winner comes up with his own word, informs the teacher or writes and cuts it himself and shows everyone the scattered letters. The action is repeated.

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  "Official letter".
  

Purpose: the formation of the skill of understanding the place of a letter in a word.
Game progress: Students are given cards, and they are asked to write as many words as possible in which the indicated letter is in a certain place. For example, the teacher says: “Today we have the letter “o” on duty, it comes first. Who will write more words in which the letter "o" is in the first place? The time for completing the task is regulated (3-5 minutes).

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  "Out of two, the third."
  

Purpose: the formation of word-formation and spelling skills.
Game progress: this game is very close to guessing charades. Therefore, the words given in its description can also be used to play charades.
Compound nouns are selected, which can be divided into two parts, and each of them can be an independent word. Parts of the word are written on pieces of paper and distributed to the participants in the game.
Everyone must find a partner for whom the second part of the word is written on a piece of paper. The pair that does it faster than the others wins.

4. 
   When checking the material covered, you can use the following games:
   

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  "Insert a letter."
  

Purpose: checking the assimilation of spelling within the studied lexical material.
Game progress: two teams are formed. The board is divided into two parts. For each command, words are written, each of which has a missing letter. Representatives of the teams alternately go to the board, insert the missing letter and read the word.

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  "Picture".
  

Purpose: checking the assimilation of the spelling of the studied lexical material.
Game progress: each participant receives a picture depicting objects, animals, etc. Representatives of the teams go to the board, divided into two parts, and write down the words corresponding to the objects shown in the picture. After the student has written the word, he must read it and show his picture. The team that writes down all the words faster and with fewer errors wins.
The same game can be used at different stages of the lesson. It all depends on the specific working conditions of the students.
The purpose of preparatory games is the formation of speech skills:
- grammar games contribute to the use by students of speech patterns containing certain grammatical difficulties, create a situation for the use of this speech pattern, develop speech activity and independence of students.
- Lexical games train students to use vocabulary in situations close to the natural environment, activate the speech-cogitative activity of students, develop a speech reaction, and acquaint students with word compatibility.
- phonetic games train students in the pronunciation of foreign sounds, teach students to read poems loudly, clearly, learn them in order to play them by roles.
- Spelling games are aimed at exercises in writing French words.
The purpose of creative games is the development of speech skills:
- auditive games - can help achieve the following goals of listening:
a) to teach students to understand the meaning of a single statement;
b) teach students to highlight the main thing in the flow of information;
c) teach students to recognize individual speech patterns and combinations of words in the flow of speech;
d) develop the auditory memory of students;
e) develop an auditory reaction.
A number of auditory games should be carried out using a tape recorder. It is important that the tape recording and the teacher's speech sound at a natural pace and are presented once. Otherwise, they will lose their meaning.
Speech games have the following tasks:
a) to teach students the ability to express thoughts in their logical sequence;
b) to teach students how to practically and creatively acquire and apply the acquired speech skills, to teach students the speech reaction in the process of communication.
The place of games in the lesson and the time allotted to the game depend on a number of factors: the preparation of students, the material being studied, the specific goals and conditions of the lesson, etc. So, let's say, if the game is used as a training exercise during the initial consolidation, then it can take 20-25 minutes of the lesson. In the future, the same game can be played for 3-5 minutes and serves as a kind of repetition of the material already covered, as well as relaxation in the lesson.
The game contributes to the development of cognitive activity of students in the study of a foreign language. It carries a considerable moral principle, because it makes mastering a foreign language joyful, creative and collective.