The Role of Games in Teaching English Numbers to Iranian EFL Learners at the Elementary Level

Abstract

English vocabulary, especially at the elementary stage of language learning process, is easily forgotten. Language games seem to be a good strategy for learning a foreign language. This study aimed to find a way to help elementary EFL learners fix the new English numbers in their minds. First, the general test of English numbers as a pretest was administered to 60 participants. They were required to write equivalents of the target numbers in the blank spaces. After giving the pre-test, the researcher divided the learners into the experimental group and the control group. Students in experimental group were taught new English numbers through games including: One to TEN, Slap that, Number of chairs, How many plastic apples?, Count in jumps, Cooperative numbers Circling math challenge, Answer me, Buzz fizz, Circling math challenge, Choose your score now. In the control group, the new numbers were presented through traditional methods such as repetition or translation. The study was conducted at Poyandegan language Institute in Neyriz. Thirty students as an experimental group and 30 students as a control group aged between 9-12 participated in this study. The collected data were analyzed using paired and independent samples <em>T- test</em>. The study indicated that there were statistically significant differences in mean scores of vocabulary tests in favor of the experimental group in the post test. It is hoped that due to the findings of this study teachers will reconsider the role of games and appreciate its value.