Games and Simulations in the Foreign Language Classroom. Language in Education, No. 13

This paper presents some of the materials available for games and simulation activities in the foreign language classroom and organizes the materials in terms of their usefulness for reaching specific instructional objectives. The list of games and simulations represents a wide variety of activities that can be used in the development of various skills in any second language. Sample games are provided in French, German, Russian, Spanish, Chinese and Italian. Each game has been analyzed to determine its particular objective in language skills development and has been integrated into a simplified taxonomic structure of language-learning tasks. These tasks progress from simple to complex. The first half of the compilation includes games that are designed to strengthen students' command of discrete linguistic features of the second language; the second half includes games that require more complex communicative operations. Games in the first section, "Knowledge of Specifics," focus on mastery of language forms; those in the section entitled "Development of Communication Skills," focus on the meaning of the message communicated. The description of each game includes the purpose, level, directions for play, materials needed, and the source. (Author/AMH)