Do you like to play games or sports?
Do you like to win?
Did you have fun learning to play?
Game Strategies, Hints, and Tips
The purpose of learning a language is to communicate. Good communication should be your goal, and it should be fascinating when you are successful. Grammar exercises can be tedious but focus on your goal of communication.
We are motivated to learn how to succeed in playing sports and games. When we play games, we focus our attention on the goal of the game. The more you play, the better your skills and the more familiar the game becomes. As we improve, the excitement grows.
Think about learning English as a game. The game's objective is to be fluent in English. Like all games, it requires different tasks and skills to increase performance.
Have fun and feel good about learning English. Think of it as a game that requires practice and motivation. Athletes will tell you it takes training and inspiration to play sports well.
Focus on improving your English game. The more you practice, the better your performance. Increasing your skills will make the game more fun. You will soon see positive results. The excitement will grow as you get closer to being great at the English game.
Improving your skills will give you good results. The English game becomes more exciting as you become a great player.
IMPORTANT: Relax and have fun learning English. It is easier to be motivated when having fun when doing something.
Game Strategies, Hints, and Tips
- Focus on every individual skill and the best way to improve it.
Most sports or games involve different skills to win. When using these skills together determines overall success. Learning English is the same. It is best to focus on reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Study your weak skills and improve in these areas.
- Expect to make mistakes playing the sport.
Laugh at mistakes and continue having fun. Native speakers make mistakes. Learn from your mistakes and continue to improve your skills—practice, practice, approach.
- Develop a game plan and a strategy.
Like any game or sport, success requires strategy. Develop a plan and design for your English game. How can I improve my English skills?
- If you want to improve your English speaking, you must practise.
This is the only way to reach your goals. If you don't practice, you won't improve. Learning a sport, video game, or board game needs practice. The English language is the same, and training is also required.
- Watch, learn and practice with better players.
We learn and get motivated by playing better opponents. We can learn new skills from them. Use the better players as a guide to your overall goal. We prefer to speak our native language to friends. However, your friends may also need to practise their English speaking. English is more complex than your native language, but you must practice. When possible, talk with native speakers. However, other ESL speakers are also suitable for practice.
- Be proud and celebrate your game's improvement.
Enjoy the minor victories while improving toward your goal. Fluency in English is usually the student's goal. Some steps for improvement may be tedious, and some may be exciting. Your plan should require all actions since every step improves your project.
- Be confident that you will "WIN".
Winners are confident. Be confident that you will reach your English goal. Your brain will continue to work towards your goal if you're sure.
- Continue to Practice!
Even professional athletes must continue to practice. Have fun, and continue to practice your English. Find creative ways and methods to make your practice more exciting.
- Fight the FRUSTRATION!
You will get frustrated sometimes. It is natural to want to be fluent immediately. It would be best if you remembered that your native language requires years of study. If you want to be excellent at playing a game, you must be motivated to practice and fight the frustration of learning.
- Accept the Challenge.
If games were easy for everybody, then excitement would not exist. Accept the challenge of the English game and feel the excitement.
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I have failed many times in my life. And that is why I succeed."
– Michael Jordan
ACTIVITY 1
Think about … Why do you want to improve your English? What are your goals and objectives for the English Learning Game? What areas are you weak in and need more practice? Get motivated to learn English!
“41% of the students thought that motivation to speak could influence their speaking performance. 80% of the teachers viewed motivation to speak as an important factor.”- (Asian Journal of Educational Research)
Differences between Writing and Speaking
Both speaking and writing are essential in any language. Knowing the differences between these skills is necessary for improvement.
Check this out Best 10 tips to Practice English Writing
Do you always speak your native language?
Though language scholars would like to hear “Yes”, we often speak more informally than we write. Using many idioms, slang, poor grammar, and informal English can result in many broken language rules. Listening to native speakers is normally much more difficult than reading.
The communication methods of speaking and writing are different.
“Teaching Strategies Data collected through observation showed that teachers focus on teaching grammar points and vocabulary items rather than speaking. Even when there is an opportunity to involve students in speaking, teachers miss it and move on to doing other tasks like reading and writing. Teachers attributed this to the shortage of time and their willingness to finish the lesson steps that do not include speaking as they claimed. The interview had shown another reason besides the time worries: the lack of speaking teaching strategies.”
- (International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature, June 2014)
Natural Experience vs Formal Education – Speaking and writing come naturally from formal education. We learn to talk naturally as a child without any for- mal education and start learning our native language by listening and repeating. This is the natural method by which people learn a language. Grammar is not learned until after we begin school. People have learned to speak without formal education for thousands of years. Writing requires an education often in school to learn the structure of words, punctuation, and grammar rules.
Informal vs Formal - Most people speak much more than they write. For communication, speaking is more relaxed, faster, and often informal. The grammar rules, vocabulary, and sentence structure are organised more formally when writing. There are informal speaking and formal writing situations, which are important to communication.
Pronunciation vs Spelling- The sound of words is essential when speaking, and the spelling of words is essential when writing. When speaking, the audience is listening, and the sounds and pronunciation of words are essential to communication. However, when writing, the audience is not listening. Instead, they are reading and must understand by reading the words. Spelling is critical. When speaking, communication is heard. When writing, communication is seen.
Natural and Unedited vs Organized and Planned- Speaking is often natural, unedited, and without planning. Writing allows time for careful planning and organized thoughts. The additional time to prepare can be beneficial.
Poor Grammar vs Proper Grammar- Think about a conversation with a friend and If it was written exactly the same as it was spoken. Usually, people do not speak with perfect grammar. Slang, idioms, and informal phrases are used. When writing, proper grammar is expected, and informal English isn’t normally accepted.
Intonation Stress vs Punctuation Stress- Using intonation and word stress are enormous benefits of speaking. The volume, rhythm, tempo, and tone are effective verbal tools when speaking. When writing, stress is shown through punctuation and grammar. It is more difficult and sometimes confusing to show stress when writing. With informal writing (SMS, text messages, chats, and some emails), emoticons and slang abbreviations have become popular. However, this is not recommended in formal writing.
Instant Feedback vs Delayed Feedback- Speaking is instant “live” communication. Writing is recorded. When speaking, you can immediately explain any confusion. However, writing is usually not instant communication. It will often be read at an unknown time in the future and without immediate feedback. It is common, when writing, to add more information for possible questions. The timing of the feedback can affect communication.
Immediate Comprehension vs Future Study- When we speak, it is intended to be immediately heard and understood. When we write, it needs to be read and understood in the future. The reader can study and analyze written information, unlike spoken information.
Body Language vs No Body Language- According to communication theories, body language is 55% of oral communication and is the most important. The body, gestures, and facial expressions communicate emotions, words, meanings, and non-verbal communication. Body language is an outstanding benefit when speaking in person.
Living a Short Life vs Living a Long Life – Spoken words last only a few seconds. The words can be repeated, but the exact communication will be different. If you ask someone to repeat something, their tone, body language, words or other elements will differ. Spoken words have a short life; however, written words can live for many years.
IMPORTANT: Spoken and written English have differences, and each is effective for various situations. Both can be highly effective when used together as in a presentation. It is important to remember that communication requires both speaking and writing.
Check this out Top 10 tips to Practice English Reading in 2023
ACTIVITY 2
Talk to your friends in your native language. Listen for the grammar, vocabulary, and informal phrases. How often does your friend use perfect grammar? How often does your friend speak informally?
ACTIVITY: Record your voice. You must record 3-5 minutes of your current English speaking. Relax and speak English for 3-5 minutes. This is very important and helpful. SAVE IT!
You can speak about any topic. A suggestion is to speak about why you want to learn English and your plans for the future. The objective is to record your current speaking skills:
- Choose any topic.
- Do not write down what you will say.
- Be honest. This is required to see your improvement.
- The goal is to record your current speaking level.
- Recording should be 3-5 minutes.
- Video is not necessary.
- This recording can be private.
- Record your voice on your cell phone or computer.
- Do it now! Later, you will understand why.
- Do not delete this recording! Save it!
In summary, learning Business English can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be boring. Incorporating games into your language learning routine can make the process more enjoyable and engaging. Whether playing online quizzes, word games, or conversation simulations, these activities can help you improve your vocabulary, grammar, and communication skills while having fun. So why not try it and spice up your English learning journey with exciting games? You may discover a new passion for language learning and improve your language skills faster than you ever thought possible.
Experience the excellence of ESOL's language courses by booking a demo session. Discover our interactive teaching methods and personalized approach to learning, and take the first step towards language proficiency. Start your language learning journey with ESOL today!