AcknowledgmentsFirst and foremost, I would like to show my deepest gratitude to my Supervisor, Ms. Feng Jing, a respectable, responsible and resourceful scholar, who has provided me with valuable guidance in every stage of the writing of this thesis. Without her enlightening instruction, impressive kindness and patience, I could not have completed my thesis.I shall extend my thanks to all my teachers who have helped me to develop the fundamental and essential academic study.Last b ut not least, I’d like to thank all my friends, especially my lovely roommates, for their encouragement and support.AbstractPlaying game in English is one of the effective ways in English study and it is suitable for the development of pupils’physiological characteristics. From the significance of games in children's English teaching, the thesis introduces the reliability any application of games teaching in English and its importance. The thesis uses research methods such as questionnaires and classroom observation to investigate the effectiveness of using games in the teaching process. This thesis holds game-teaching approach should be adopted in children's English teaching, and also probes into the reliability of using games in the process. From the result, almost all the students show great interest in English learning. Game teaching can arouse students’ interest in English learning.Key words:English game teaching; interest; effectivenss; primary school摘要游戏教学是一种有效的英语学习方法，它适合孩子身心发展的特点。

文章从游戏在儿童教学中的意义着手说明游戏的重要性，并探究了其可操作性。

笔者采用问卷调查和课堂观察法等语言学习研究方法，提出了在小学英语教学中采用游戏教学可以提高学生英语学习的兴趣。

从调查结果分析来看，游戏教学可以提高学生英语学习的兴趣。

关键词：英语游戏教学; 兴趣; 效果; 小学IntroductionSince the year 2001, English has become a required lesson in the primary school from Grade 3. Primary English Teaching Syllabus points out: “interest is a good teacher for pupils to learn a foreign Language. And it's an important task for primary school English teachers to arouse stud ents' interest at present.”How to arouse the interest is the key for language teaching. Playing games in English teaching is one of effective ways which are fit for the development of children’s physiological and psychological characteristics.The game is children's nature. For children, the game is to live, and the life is a game, Playing games can foster children's abilities, such as their intelligence, perception and so on. Many scholars agree that games in the language classroom have been considered a better way to encourage children to work hard and cultivate their interest in clearing English. Children enjoy playing games in their native and this is a familiar experience for children to be introduced to study a foreign language.With the development of society and improvement of civilization, English teaching methods in primary schools are changing. Game teaching has been used from the ancient time. It makes teaching more effective. When teachers use games in English teaching, they must be known that what kind of games can be used. How to play English games? How to design games? This thesis aims to prove the advantages of game teaching in improving primary school students’ interest in English learning.This thesis is divided into 3 parts. The first part is the history and presentsituations of game teaching .The second is theoretical ideas of this paper, and the advantages of game teaching. To build a cheerful and light-hearted environment, let the students in a relaxed and happy environment to learn English, they will be markedly improved. It begins with the definition of interest, the analysis of the relationship between interest and motivation. The kinds of games, the features of games, the advantages of the games and some advice on how to use games. The last is the experiment, which was carried out in Grade 4, You Huai Primary School.1. The history and present situations of game teachingGame teaching is one of teaching activities. Although the theory of game teaching came into being in modern times, from ancient times, practice and exposition on game teaching have existed.1.1Froebel’s game teachingGerman educator Friedrich Froebel is the father of children’s education in western countries. Froebel designed special educational materials and activities that formed the core of the kindergarten curriculum. These were called “gifts” “occupations” and “mother plays.”The gifts were a set of geometric shapes such as balls, cubes and cylinders and materials like cut paper and string. Children used these gifts to perform a sequence of highly structured activities called occupations, such as sewing designs with colored threads, folding paper, weaving mats. Using their gifts in the various occupations, children were learning geometric relationships and understanding fundamental principles of knowledge. The mother plays were a series of finger plays, games and songs designed to teach children about their bodies, senses and enabled children to practice self control, cooperation, and taking turns.Froebel is considered the first one who probed into game teaching systematically and he is also the first one who advocated that games should be integrated into learning. Froebel’s theory was firstly based on scientific knowledge of the childre n’s psychological and physiological development and laid a strongfoundation of making game teaching ripen progressively.But from the point of present game teaching of view, Froebel’s game teaching was only called teaching practice.1.2 The theory and the practice of contemporary game teachingContemporary game teaching not only became the main activity of Childers’s education but also embodied different grades in primary schools. It became one of effective mechanisms of linking up kindergartens and primary schools.Education is the cradle of a talented person. Many countries paid much attention to education, especially elementary education. How to improve teaching quality in the primary school and how to solve the problem of children’s interest have become very urgent and important?Introducing learning games in the primary school has aroused general concern in many countries. In the 1940s, Japan started studying the relationship between kindergartens and primary schools. Some teachers used some useful games in primary schools. American educators also devoted much attention to this research. They used so many games in primary schools. In the 1950s, in the Soviet Union the teachers in lower grades adapted games to reduce the degree of study and create good conditions for learning.From ancient times, Chinese people thought highly of children's education. In Song Dynasty, private schools paid much attention to the children's interests. Zhu Xi also stressed the importance of happy teaching.Since 1949 Chinese education has changed greatly. Many children’s educatorshave achieved great success in game teaching . They have summed up a lot of games or activities such as teaching through children's songs, teaching in situations, simulating teaching, P E. games and so on.Generally speaking, teachers should design and use rich and varied games according to teaching aims, teaching contents and teaching aids, which provided the abundant sensitive faculty materials for us to tally up the game teaching mode.In the contemporary, Mr. Chen Heqin was one of the greatest educators who made the outstanding contribution to Chinese children’s education and set up the first research center of children’s education-Kindergarten in Gulou. Many games there were full of creating. He expounded that games were activities that were beneficial to children's psychological and physiological development. Only games could make children lively and teachers should make good use of all kinds of game materials and give them enough chances to practice according to their age.From modern age to the contemporary, game teaching theory has been improved step by step. Many educators, philosophers or thinkers encouraged children to play games. They presented games should be integrated with learning, Now more and more people abroad and at home come to realize the importance and the urgency of game teaching in the primary school. As we all know, game teaching is a very useful way to improve primary school English teaching effectiveness.1.3 The problems of game teachingFrom above domestic and foreign game theory, we have discovered that, at present the domestic and foreign game theory had the very big development, in theteaching tested also accumulated many precious experiences, these theories inspected in the education today regarding us the game factor still has the extremely important inspiration significance. But only has such discussion is by far insufficient. These theories looked like in today, still had the deficiency, mainly manifested in following several aspects:First although recent years, game teaching however has been widely applied in the teaching activity, but these games all is aims at the pre-school education and the elementary school lower grade various discipline. The game designs also all are aim lower grade elementary school students. Also lacks the enough research to each kind of age section discipline game teaching. Secondly, its one-sidedness is inevitable. These neglects easily affect the development of game teaching to cause one-sidedness.2. Theoretical basisCreating a joyful and active classroom is a big and complex issue. Of all the topics of activating students’ interest, games and their influence on pupils’ interest is particularly concerned.2.1The definition of gamesWhat are games in an EFL/ESL environment? The answer given by the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (Richards, Plat, 1995) is: A game (in language teaching) is an organized activity that usually has the following properties:“a. a particular task or objectives;b. a set of rules;c. competition between playersd. communication between players by spoken or written language.”Language games are not activities mainly aimed to break the ice between students or to kill time. Byrne (1995) gave the definition to games as a form of play governed by rules. They should be enjoyed and fun. They are not just a diversion, a break from routine activities, but a way of getting the learner to use the language in the course of the game. Similarly, Jill Hadfield (1990) defined games as “an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun.”Therefore, games involve many factors: rules, competition, relaxation, and learning, in particular. The main focus of using game in class is to help students learn and have fun. However, to use games in classrooms, it is equally important that before playing the rules of the games are clearly explained and well understood by the students. There should be only a few, well-explained rules. Demonstrations can be very helpful, too, because it can help students understand the game and help them follow the rules. Otherwise, they will misunderstand the purpose of the game and they may not get the benefits they should from the game.In playing games, competition is very important because it can stimulate and encourage students to participate in the activity since naturally they want to beat the other teams. As it happens, in the dictation game students run as fast as possible, remember as much as they can and speak as loudly and clearly as they can. They run quickly back and forth, trying to memorize the content as much as possible. Whileplaying, students have fun, relax, exercise, and tease their friends. Apart from having fun, students learn at the same time. They acquire new vocabulary along with its spelling and pronunciation. Students begin to realize that they have to speak or pronounce the words clearly if they want others to understand what they are saying. 2.2 The importance of interestInterest is a kind of power what can drive people to learn actively and happily. And interest makes learning more effective and efficient. There is a saying says “interest is the best teacher”. It also means that you will learn better if you are interested in it. So, how to arouse students' interest to study is a very important and critical problem for a teacher to consider and solve.In learning English, it is very important to motivate and develop the students’interest. Interest is not with the baby when it was born. It grows with each passing day. For those preparatory students who have just entered primary school, how to arouse the interest of the students’ is a new subject before teachers. Most of them are afraid of learning English, especially reciting texts, remembering lots of new words and expression. This will make resistance for them to study English. We can’t make it a condition that students can recite how many new words and texts to measure the standard of learning English. We should develop the students’interest of studying English. As interest is a source, interest is a motive power of study; it can make students sustain a long time to study English. So interest is one of the key elements. Teachers have to create a healthy balance between preparing students for the standardized exams and for life-long language skills. One solution is to develop acontinuous program, which includes an integrated in-class, and out-of-class language activities that help to nurture student language skill. In our primary school students are usually lacking in atmosphere of learning English. But they are lively, and they have wide interests. They are eager to show themselves. To take the advantage of educational method of physiology and psychology, we should make use of the characteristic of the primary school students.2.2.1MotivationMotivation can be classified into two types: integrative and instrumental. Integrative motivation is indicated when learners wish to integrate themselves into the culture of the second language group. If the learners believe that acquiring a second language is instrumental in furthering their educational or career goals, their motivation is referred to as instrumental.For primary school students, it seems that neither instrumental nor integrative motivation is a factor in enhancing their foreign language learning. The motivation for learning a foreign language for kindergarten children may be very different from that of older learners, because young children do not usually ask to learn a foreign language. Where does their motivation come from? Initially, their motivation comes from their parents who enroll them in the kindergarten English course. Therefore, during the learning of a second language, parental support and encouragement are also important. The expectations and attitudes of parents in a society regarding the foreign language can also influence the results of children's learning. If society and parents have a positive attitude toward the foreign language, it gives childrenmotivation to learn that language. On the contrary, if society and parents have a negative attitude toward the foreign language, it will decrease the interest in learning that language.Second, the English learning results of a young beginner are to a large extent dependent on the teacher. The teacher can give children encouragement and praise to motivate them. The personality of the English teacher and the teacher’s treatment of students also have an influence on young children’s ability to learn a second language. Children often seek their teacher's approval. They want the teacher to notice them and appreciate what they are doing (Harmer, 1998: 7). Whether or not the student likes the teacher may also affect their motivation. A teacher’s positive attitude and behavior can motivate children's interest in learning English.Thirdly, “if the teaching is appropriate, children will discover that learning another language is within their capacity and this knowledge will strengthen their motivation.” (Wil liam R, 1988:26). Children’s motivation comes from the enjoyment and pleasure experienced in the learning situation. If the class is boring, children will become unmotivated. A crucial aspect of language teaching is to raise students’motivation with enjoyable teaching methods. Children have the ability to learn language through games and activities that they find joyful. How can a learning situation be joyful? This joyfulness can be found in English classes full of play.2.3 The advantages of using games in language teachingAs we know, language learning is not easy work. Games can help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest. They play an important role inlanguage teaching. Here are many valid reasons for using games in language teaching, including affective reasons, cognitive reasons, and linguistic reasons. They provide insights into the benefits of games in the classroom.Many scholars point out the advantage of games in language teaching, just like Lee Su Kim suggested:a. Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class.b. They are motivating and challenging.c. Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. Games help students to make and sustain the effort of leaning.d. Games provide language practice in the various skills-speaking, writing, listening and reading.e. They encourage students to interact and communicate.f. They create a meaningful context for language use.As for ESL teachers, they should consider the advantages of games: the ability to c apture students’ attention; lower students' stress; and give students the chance for real communication.2.3.1 Types of language games in the primary school classroomClassifying games into categories can be difficult, because categories often overlap. Hadfield (1999) explains two ways of classifying language games. First, she divides language games into two types: linguistic games and communicative games. Linguistic games focus on accuracy. On the other hand, communicative games focus on successful exchange of information and ideas, such as two people identifying the differences between their two pictures which are similar to one another but not exactlyalike. Correct language usage, though still important, is secondary to achieving the communicative goal.The second taxonomy that Hadfield uses to classify language games has many more categories. As with the classification of games as linguistic games or communicative games, some games will contain elements of more than one type.a. Sorting, ordering, or arranging games. For example, students have a set of cards with different products on them, and they sort the cards into products found at a grocery store and products found at a department store.b. Information gap games. In such games, one or more people have information that other people need to complete a task. For instance, one person might have a drawing and their partner needs to create a similar drawing by listening to the information given by the person with the drawing. Information gap games can involve a one-way information gap, such as the drawing game just described, or a two-way information gap, in which each person has unique information, such as in a Spot-the-Difference task, where each person has a slightly different picture, and the task is to identify the differences.c. Guessing games. These are a variation on information gap games. One of the best known examples of a guessing game is 20 Questions, in which one person thinks of a famous person, place, or thing. The other participants can ask 20 Yes/No questions to find clues in order to guess who or what the person is thinking of.d. Searching games. These games are yet another variant on two-way information gap games, with everyone giving and seeking information. Find Someone Who is a wellknown example. Students are given a grid. The task is to fill in all the cells in the grid with the name of a classmate who fits that cell, e.g., someone who is a vegetarian. Students circulate, asking and answering questions to complete their own grid and help classmates complete theirs.e. Matching games. As the name implies, participants need to find a match for a word, picture, or card. For example, students place 30 word cards; composed of 15 pairs, face down in random order. Each person turns over two cards at a time, with the goal of turning over a matching pair, by using their memory. This is also known as the Pelmanism principle, after Christopher Louis Pelman, a British psychologist of the first half of the 20’ century.f. Labeling games. These are a form of matching, in that participants match labels band pictures.g. Exchanging games. In these games, students barter cards, other objects, or ideas. Similar are exchanging and collecting games. Many card games fall into this category.h. Board games. Scrabble is one of the most popular board games that specifically highlight language.i. Role plays games. The terms role play, drama, and simulation are sometimes.Role play can involve students playing roles that they do not play in real life, such as dentist, while simulations can involve students performing roles that they already play in real life or might be likely to play, such as customer at a restaurant. Dramas are normally scripted performances, whereas in role plays and simulations, students come up with their own words, although preparation is often useful.Another distinction among games is that between competitive games and cooperative ones (Jacobs, in preparation). Research suggests that learning, as well as affective variables are enhanced by a cooperative environment (Johnson, Johnson, Stanne; Slavin1995). Millis (2005) outlines a number of advantages of cooperative games such as appropriate anxiety levels and more constructive feedback.2.4 How to choose gamesWhen choosing a game, the teacher should be careful to find an appropriate one for the class in terms of language and type of participation. There are a great number of language games. So teachers have a variety of choices. However, in deciding which game to use in a particular class and which games will be most appropriate and most successful with their students, teachers must take many factors into account.According to Carrier(1990) teachers should first consider the level of the game to fit their students’ language level. T hey should choose the game that fits the purposes of that class or the content. Moreover, teachers should consider students’ characteristics: whether they are old or young, serious-minded or light-hearted, and highly motivated to learn or not. They should also consider when the game should be used because there is a big difference between using the game in the morning or in the afternoon, on Monday or Friday.In addition to the factors mentioned, teachers should also be able to play and overact sometimes to help students feel comfortable and want to join the activity. This means teachers should thoroughly understand the game and its nature and be able to lead the game.It is quite difficult to find a game that meets all of the teachers’requirements. Some g ames must be adapted in order to fit students’language level, natures and characteristics. The most important factor is that games should be used when they can give students both fun and educational meaning otherwise they will be a waste of time.2.4.1 When to use gamesGames are often used as short warm-up activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee (1988:3) observes, a game “should not be regarded as a marginal activity filling in odd moments when the teacher and class have nothing better to do”. Games ought to be at the heart of teaching foreign languages. Rixon Q981:46) suggests that games be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen. At different stages of the lesson, the teacher’ aims connected with a game may vary:Presentation. Provide a good model making its meaning clear.Controlled practice. Elicit good imitation of new language and appropriate responses. Communicative practice. Give students a chance to use the language.Games also lend themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate fluency.2.4.2 Clear rules and time limitationUnless the learners know what they are wanted to do and how to do it, the aim cannot be achieved and the game cannot be played, so the teachers should give clear rules as many as possible.However, rules are always difficult to negotiate. That is why most teachers carefully plan the rules for the games they wish to play. But although rules are carefully planned it seems to be universal that students love breaking some of them while playing. This breaking of the rules can also turn out to be extremely dangerous and/or harmful to the environment in the class for it may cause quarrels. Students must be very aware of the importance of the rules of the games they are playing and there must be a kind of honor code or ground rules that participants must follow while playing. The understanding of rules makes 70% of a successful activity.Time limitation is important. What makes the game interesting or boring depends on time. If a student spends a lot of time answering a question then the other students become bored and lose their interests. And when they become bored, as the old saying goes, “The devil finds work for idle hands.” There are no stable and fast rules to set time limits. They depend on the ability of the student and the difficulty of what the teacher is trying to teach.3. A Study of using games in primary school English teachingStudents greatly welcome games. They can create a cheerful light-hearted environment and arouse students’ interest in English. Games are considered one of the most effective ways to improve efficiency in language learning.3.1SubjectsThe experiment started in two classes of Grade 4 in You Huai primary school from September to October. The subjects participated in this research were 100 primary school pupils randomly selected from You Huai Primary School.Not conducted before the experiment, the experimental class (class1) and control class (class2) interest learning English almost no difference.Over a period of one month many English games were applied in Class one which was determined as the experimental class to learn from learners' reactions whether they liked games or not and if games could help improve their English knowledge. For control class (class 2) the teacher mainly used their traditional way of teaching.3.2 Research instrumentThe major instrument used in the paper was class observation and questionnaire. In order to know to what extent the game works in language teaching, the following questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was composed of 5 questions each of which contains four alternatives marked A, B, C. The questionnaire is as follows:1. Do you think English is important for your future?A. YesB. I don't knowC. No2. Do you think English is difficult to learn?A. YesB. I don't knowC. No3. Do you think learning English fun?A. YesB. I don't knowC. No4. Do you like English?A. YesB. I don't knowC. No5 If your parents or teacher does not require you to learn English, you will learn it or not?A. YesB. I don't knowC. No3.2.1. Data of the questionnaireAfter one month of English learning, most pupils know the importance of English learning for their future (92% of them in the experimental class 1 and 88% in。