Teachers' Role When Using Games in the ESL Classroom for Sri Lankan Young Adults: A Case Study on Perceptions and Practices of Teachers.

Abstract

Catering to students with various learning styles in a language classroom is a challenging task for teachers. Therefore, according to Gardner's Multiple Intelligence theory (1983) teachers should consider selecting techniques which cater to different intelligences and using games is one such technique. As explained by Vygotsky (1978) scaffolding and interaction of a knowledgeable teacher are also important for individual learning. However, most studies related to games are based on youngsters and their teachers because 'playing' is a term frequently related to them. Moreover, most of them are mainly quantitative studies, and in-depth studies on teachers' role when using games to teach young adults have not been conducted in Sri Lanka. Having discovered these research gaps, this study is designed as a qualitative explanatory case study incorporating a single-embedded case design. The objective is to investigate teacher roles via perceptions of teachers and their reflections of the classroom practice through interviews. Triangulation of these data was performed via seven-hour observations of their classroom practice and via informal discussions with their students. The study was conducted in a private institution in the western province with a purposive sample of 3 female teachers (age 25-36), who are conducting the Diploma in English. This nine-month course covers the band A1 to B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and the young adults enrolled are aged between 18-25 years. The study reveals that all teachers believed that they should switch roles or play multiple roles depending on the nature of the game and the students' needs. The terms revealed by the teachers are: organizer, participant, demonstrator, resource, facilitator, observer, and assessor. However, these terms were interpreted differently by each of them. It was also observed that the teachers demonstrated more teacher roles in their actual practice than what they revealed at the interview. Furthermore, it is evident that the more experienced teacher demonstrated more flexibility when changing roles in actual practice and the reflection of her own practice was also more nuanced when compared to other two teachers. Finally, it can be concluded that rules and regulations of the institution affect the roles of the teachers.