Practising and memorizing vocabulary through games in teaching English to Young Learners

Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.

Plato (BC 427-347) Greek philosopher

PRACTISING AND MEMORIZING VOCABULARY THROUGH GAMES IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS

Nowadays, English is one of the most popular languages in the world, used everywhere, on all continents. It gives people the opportunity to communicate with one another, and that is why it is really important to master it. It has already gained the status of the global language, and many methodologists (and psychologists) have developed various methods of teaching English.
There is a tendency today to start teaching English at an earlier and earlier age so children can begin to speak it as soon as possible. This is important because it helps to prolong contact with foreign language and creates the opportunity to learn it more successfully. Moreover, it allows students to familiarize themselves with the new tongue, which will be really helpful in their future education.
The age group I have chosen as an example is made up of 11-year-old children. It is well known that working with such a group of young learners is not an easy job but, at the same time, it is really satisfying and rewarding. Wendy Scott describes pupils at this age as relatively mature children with an adult side and a childish side as well (1990:3). The most important reason why I opted for teaching learners of this age is that they are able to make some decisions about their own learning and have definite views about what they like and do not like doing. Moreover, they have longer attention and concentration spans, have knowledge of the world around them and take learning more seriously than younger children. However, they still need fun and pleasure, and grammatical rules and explanations are usually lost on them but they develop well when given plenty of examples and patterns to follow.
They are eager and very enthusiastic about learning a language in order to play a game, and their involvement and zeal may increase motivation for the use of language. Children also have a great capacity to enjoy themselves. When they are enjoying themselves, they are usually absorbed by the activity and want to continue with it. They ...