Lecture Games in teaching grammar for the young learners

Which Game to Use
Teachers should be careful about choosing games if they want to make them advantageous. First of all, the teacher should decide on the purpose of a game. A game may seem appropriate and useful.
Considering the level of the game is equally important while choosing games. Teachers must decide whether the level of the game fits students’ language level because a game may become difficult when it is beyond the learners’ level or it may become boring when learners find it too easy to carry on. When a game’s value in grammar teaching is considered, teachers tend to use them for practice or to reinforce a specific grammatical aspect of language only if a game is suitable for learners’ level.
The fact that games enable social interaction and participation is also important. Learners, especially the young ones, learn better when they interact with their peers. Some games may include both cooperation and competition together. While students cooperate within a team, they, at the same time, compete against another team (Rixon, 1991, p. 5).
Hence, what teachers should consider while choosing a game is the fact that children learn best with games which require physical action, interaction, competition and participation. In addition to all these, there are many other factors such as the size and the physical properties of the classroom, the equipment, materials and the time available for a game (McCallum, 1980, p. xii).
In conclusion, teachers should take all these factors into account while choosing a game because a

When to Use the Games
Games are mostly used when there is some time left at the end of the lesson to keep students quiet. However, Lee (1979, p. 3) proposes that “games should not be regarded as a marginal activity, filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do.” With this in mind, games should be put into the center of classroom teaching and they should not be treated as a merely warm-up activity. Rinvolucri (1990) clarifies that a game can be used in any of these three stages while using them as a part of grammar instruction:
a) before presenting a given structure, especially to find out diagnostically how much
knowledge is already known by the learners;
b) after a grammar presentation to see how much the group have grasped;
c) as a revision of a grammar area.
Teachers should be well aware of their roles while using games in their classes. Since it is rather difficult to find a game that meets all the needs of the learners, careful preparation of the teacher is necessary.
Before explaining the rules to the class, the teacher should first understand how the game is played. Especially when working with children, the teacher should always be prepared to adapt the game to the givens of the class.
After choosing the game, the teacher should explain its rules to the learners in a direct and non-complicated way. Especially for young learners, it may be necessary to use the mother tongue because if these learners cannot understand how to play the game, there is no educational purpose in playing it Therefore, demonstrations may be beneficial because they can help young learners understand the rules clearly and easily. Moreover, the teacher is not recommended to interrupt a game to correct the mistakes of young learners as sudden interruptions may distract learners’ attention, it is better to wait until the game is over to discuss and correct the mistakes of the learners.
Many games require the class to be divided into groups or pairs. This gives the teacher a chance to monitor the activity of the learners while they are playing the game. Learners should be in the same team during the year because it both saves the teacher’s time and helps learners develop team spirit that promotes exchange of ideas
among themselves.
Pair work is also beneficial as it develops learners’ communication skills. In short, dividing class into pairs and groups enables learners to improve their language and communication skills while promoting competition among the teams or pairs. Games increase learners’ proficiency in practicing grammar communicatively. With the help of grammar games, students can develop their ability in using language as they are given a chance to use language in the situations which have a purpose.