PUPILS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF A LANGUAGE BOARD GAME, CHALLENGE

Abstract

Psychological studies have shown that the act of play contributes to the physical, intellectual, social and emotional development of a child. School pupils have been observed to enjoy playing games. Games work as a stimulant and are able to captivate pupils‟ attention, and hence educators should channel the advantages of play into language learning. To explore the potentials of games in the learning of English mainly the speaking skill, a language board game called CHALLENGE was invented. The theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI) and the Social Learning Theory underpin CHALLENGE. This paper presents a study that examined the responses of some stakeholders towards CHALLENGE. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection and analysis. The responses were collected through two sets of survey questionnaires from primary school pupils who played the game and their teachers. These responses were further supported by interview sessions with ten players. The results showed that the two groups responded positively towards CHALLENGE, and pupils' various intelligences were activated as they interacted and played with their peers. The study will interest teachers and other academics in developing game-based materials for their language classrooms.