The department of roman-german philology

Preparation stage. This step is the most time-consuming and responsible of all the stages of the game. At this stage the teacher primarily designing the game, according to each of the following circumstances:

1. 
   Defining the problem, theme, subject, content and learning objectives of the game.
   
2. 
   Identification of common features activities of students, which have to be modeled.
   
3. 
   Emphasizing of major stages of the game, the typical problem situations, the main factors determining the nature and dynamics of the game.
   
4. 
   Identification of the specific objectives of the game, role-playing structure, the functions of its members, the nature of their role interaction in compatible gaming activities.
   
5. 
   Preparation of the game plot.
   
6. 
   Determination of the rules of the game.
   
7. 
   Development of the system of criteria of assessment of the results of the game; referees, judges and players; the development of appropriate general and individual work for the participants of the game.
   

For students preparing for the game is the actual learning process: learning lexical units of a particular subject area, develop skills of dialogue and monologue speech, assignments and exercises, familiarization with additional information from the topic, etc.[20; p.179] lexical teaching vocabulary game
The game. At this stage, the implementation plot of the game take place. Participants imitating reality, perform tasks, interacting with each other.
Teacher monitors the progress of the game, controls it. In addition, in the case of deviations from the objectives of the game, he tactfully and gently intervenes in the play and restarts the "balance".
Rounding out the second stage the general discussion, during which the players express their first general impression. [14; p.35]
Debriefing. At this stage, the teacher (with the experts, judges, arbitrators) sums up the game, analyzes the quality of foreign language communicative activities, results of individual conflicts, etc. (i.e. there is an analysis and evaluation of work of the participants according to the rules and evaluation criteria).
Foreign-language behavior of each participant requires a separate analysis. Usually it is necessary to work on the bugs, the teacher offers to perform some remedial exercises in the next lesson. [14; p.36]
Also on the following classes students are encouraged to perform creative tasks related to the game. For example, they can be asked to write an article about the game, make a cluster etc.
Therefore, the preparation and conduction of a game is a long-term and complex process that requires the active participation and interest of students.
Here are some of the problems many preschool teachers have [22; p.31]:

• 
  Preschool children have a VERY short attention span.
  
• 
  Preschool children will forget things quickly.
  
• 
  Preschool children may not be fully confident in their own language.
  
• 
  Some of your preschool children may not be motivated to learn.
  
• 
  They may be fearful.
  
• 
  Pre-school children develop at very different rates so you are sure to have a mixed ability group.
  
• 
  You need a LOT of ideas to keep their attention.
  
• 
  You need real language learning techniques and not just time fillers to keep the children busy.
  
• 
  Preschoolers can be easily overwhelmed.
  

That is why here are given some tips for using games:

1. 
   Organization. The first thing you should do when start teaching a preschool or elementary school ESL class is to figure out how to organize your class. For the younger students you'll have to change your activities every five to ten minutes because they have shorter attention spans. If you don't change your activities, they'll soon start losing interest. The best way to gauge this is to pay attention to your class for the first few days to see what length of time works the best for them. Additionally, try to have everything ready to go before the students enter the classroom. That way you can go from activity to activity with minimal downtime. This is essential as you can lose control of the class if you do not keep them occupied. [21; p.17]
   
2. 
   Expectations. If you notice that your class is getting noisy or rambunctious, it's time to change activities. Kids of this age like to be active; in order to balance out the energy levels in the classroom, alternate between active activities and quiet activities. Be careful how you use activities that require fine motor skills - or more importantly pay attention to your expectations for activities that require fine motor skills. Children in preschool and early elementary are just learning to write in their own languages. This is not the best time to expect them to write in a foreign language as well. As they progress through elementary school, however, you can begin using games and activities that require them to write small amounts.
   
3. 
   Variation. You want to make sure your activities appeal to all sorts learning styles, so even when you are using games to teach grammar you'll want to vary the types of things you expect your students to do. For preschool and early elementary grades, stick to games that use talking, listening, looking and moving. [22; p.29]
   
4. 
   Respect. To make games work for you and your class, be sure to operate your class with the utmost respect - both to and from students. This includes teaching your students from the very start that you expect respect at all times. This includes giving encouragement and following the rules. When there is an environment of respect in the classroom, the students will feel safe enough to participate in the games so that they can get the most educational value out of them.
   
5. 
   Routine. Even if you only have your students for a short time every week, establishing a routine will help the class go smoothly. Children of this age (preschool through elementary school) thrive on routine and if they know what to expect next, they will be more able to participate in what's going on now. Set up a schedule for the type of activities you'll be doing at any given time throughout the class whether it is a game, story or song or whatever you want to do. Then, when you are planning your class, plug in the appropriate activities to each section of time. You should also leave a little time at the end of the class period to allow the students to clean up and gather their things as well as time for you to recap the class, praise the students and tell them good-bye. [22; p.30]
   
6. 
   Nurture. Perhaps the most important thing you can do with your students is to nurture them every day. For each child in your class, find something you like about him or her and be sure to tell him or her. Be encouraging, patient and kind while playing games and participating in activities and they'll like you as a teacher and a person which will in turn help them get excited about your class and what you have for them to do every day. [22; p. 31]
   

Based on all of the information above it seems clear that games can and should be used as a teaching method when teaching languages. One reason why games could work well as a teaching method is because of the change that has occurred in teaching, where students have been becoming much more active in the whole learning process. Besides giving students a chance to be more active, games usually place the teacher in a background role, and therefore allow the students to take on more responsibility.