ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this research was to examine the teachers’ perspectives in Henry Cort Community College on the use of communicative language games for teaching and learning English. The participants for this study were eight English teachers in the college. A survey using an 18-item questionnaire was designed in order to analyse the participants’ views on the use of communicative language games in English lessons. Results showed that English teachers from Henry Cort Community College generally appreciated the benefits and value of communicative game activities in teaching English language. The findings also suggested that teachers should be aware to take learners’ individual variations into account and be more flexible in the use of communicative game when facing students with different backgrounds, learning styles, needs and expectations in order to maximise the educational effect.

INTRODUCTION
The ever growing need for good communication skills in English has created a huge demand for an appropriate teaching methodology. Language teaching has seem many changes in ideas about syllabus design and methodology in the last 50 years and communicative language teaching (CLT) prompted a rethinking of approaches to syllabus design and methodology. According to Nunam (1989), traditional approaches to language teaching gave priority to grammatical competence as the basis of language proficiency. They were based on the belief that grammar could be learned through direct instruction and through a methodology that made much use repetitive practice and drilling.
Most researchers seem to agree that the new communicative approach to teaching prompted a rethinking of a classroom teaching methodology. Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby (2005) stated that learners learn a language through the process of communicating in it, and that meaningful communication provides a better opportunity for learning than through a grammar based approach. On top of that, Langeveldt (n.d.) stresses that one of the major advantages of communicative language games is that a teacher can integrate all four the language skills into a curriculum, and even into one lesson, rather than relying solely on activities designed to develop speaking proficiency.
There are different perceptions or ideas in the use of communicative language games for teaching and learning English. Belchamber (2007) pointed out that communicative activities in the form of games do not just boost the motivation of the learners but can also be used as a method to teach new items and as revisions on previous lessons in order to enhance the learners’ pace of language development. On the other hand, Richards & Rodgers (2007), stated that the weakness of communicative language games is the large size of the classes and the levels of proficiency vary from intermediate to false beginner to non-existent. The intermediate students will lose interest when they are not ‘challenged’ while the lower level students will become demotivated when they are unable to participate in the communicative activity. Failure in creating meaningful activities that will hold the attention and interest all of the students will cause difficulties in controlling the class. Although much work has been done, more studies need to be conducted to ascertain the effectiveness of communicative language games in teaching and learning English.
The purpose of this study was to examine the use of communicative language games for teaching and learning English based on the teachers’ perspectives in Henry Cort Community College.
Therefore an 18-item questionnaire was carried out, and five research questions were proposed in order to guide this research.
1. To what extent do communicative language games motivate students to learn in English lessons?
2. How useful are communicative language games as learning activities in English lessons?
3. What are the attitudes of students and parents towards the use of communicative language games in English lessons?
4. Are there any students’ language problems which hinder the effectiveness of using communicative language games in English lessons?
5. What are the difficulties a teacher may encounter in using communicative language games in English lessons?

LITERATURE REVIEW
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) originated from the changes in the British Situational Language Teaching approach dating from the late 1960s (Richards & Rodgers, 2007). Stemming from the socio-cognitive perspective of the socio-linguistic theory, with an emphasis on meaning and communication, and a goal to develop learners’ “communicative competence”, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach evolves as a prominent language teaching method and gradually replaced the previous grammar-translation method and audio-lingual method (Warschauer & Kern, 2000). Communicative Language Teaching therefore opens up a wider perspective on language teaching and learning.
Freeman (2001) stated that unlike form-based approaches which focus on drilling particular language patterns, the ‘communicative activity’, the major feature of CLT, intends to immerse learners in making meaningful communication. More specifically, communicative activities in the form of games create a context where learners are engaged in the use of the target language to negotiate meanings, share information and interact with others within meaningful contexts. There are different types of communicative language games as for examples competition, songs, spelling/vocabulary games and picture games, discussion, miming, dramatization and computer games. The advantages of using communicative language games in English language teaching include: * Increasing students’ motivation
Language games are highly motivating as they add interest to what students might not find very interesting. Sustaining interest can mean sustaining effort (Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby, 2005). Adam (1973) shares a similar view as he indicates that language games are self-motivating that will stimulate learners’ interest and curiosity. * Providing opportunities to use language in authentic contexts
Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby (2005) stated that language games provide a context for meaningful communication. Even if the game involves discrete language items, such as a spelling game, meaningful communication takes place as students seek to understand how to play the game and as they communicate about the game: before, during, and after the game. * Creating supportive learning environment
Language games are student-centered as they are active in playing the games, and games can often be organized such that students have the leading roles, with teachers as facilitators. The variety and intensity that games offer may lower anxiety (Richard-Amato, 1988) and encourage shyer learners to take part (Uberman, 1998), especially when games are played in small groups.
Thus, it is evident that communicative activities in the form of games play a crucial role in language teaching and learning. Communicative games can increase learners’ interest in learning, expose them to meaningful contexts, involve them in the use of the target language, and eventually develop their communicative competence, the main goal of Communicative Language Teaching.

METHODOLOGY
The research was designed to explore the teachers from Henry Cort Community College perspectives on using communicative language games in English language teaching. Five major areas were included in the exploration of this research including motivation of the students, practicality of communicative language games, language problems hindering the effectiveness of communicative language games, and difficulties encountered by teachers in using communicative language games. * Participants:
The participants in this research consisted of eight teachers from the English Department in Henry Cort Community College. * Materials:
18-items in a four point Likert scale (‘strongly agree (SA)’, ‘agree (A)’, ‘disagree (D)’, ‘strongly disagree (SD)’) were presented in the research questionnaire to survey the participants’ opinions on the use of communicative language games in English lessons. * Procedures:
The survey questionnaires were given to eight teachers from the English Department in Henry Cort Community College. Although it cannot be claimed that the results derived from this research absolutely reflect the perceptions of all English teachers, the research results, to some extent, reveal teachers’ classroom practice and their general attitudes towards the application of communicative language games in English Language Teaching.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The study was aimed to examine the use of communicative language games for teaching and learning English based on the teachers’ perspectives in Henry Cort Community College. The sample size was N=8. All of the participants are English language teachers in Henry Cort Community College.

Research Question 1 – To what extent do communicative language games motivate students to learn in English lessons?
Table 1: Learning motivation of the students Items: | SA | A | D | SD | 1. Games motivate students to learn in most lessons | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6. Games make lessons more interesting | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 |

Findings showed that almost all of the participants valued the benefits of game activities. The statement; ‘Games motivate students to learn in most lessons’ was consented by almost all of the participants, with 7 of them agreeing and only one disagreeing. All participants also believed that games are really important in making lessons more interesting, with 6 of the participants strongly agreeing with statement No. 6, and two agreeing.
This result may be explained by considering that teaching English through game-like activities can make the class more cheerful and language learning more enjoyable and easy to learn.
This is consistent with the earlier study by Wright, Betteridge, and Buckby (2005) stating that games motivate students to become effective communicators in the target language, and help them to use the language naturally and in a more spontaneous manner.

Research Question 2 – How useful are communicative language games as learning activities in English lessons?
TABLE 2: Practicality of game activities in English lessons Items: | SA | A | D | SD | 2. I mostly use games as time fillers. | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3. It is good for new items of learning to be presented using games. | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4. Practice is still needed to consolidate what has been learned in game sessions. | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5. Oral interchanges among students are stimulated when they play games. | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9. Games are not as effective as other verbal explanations and written exercises. | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10. It is difficult to evaluate the learning which is supposed to take place during games. | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 |

Table 2 shows the practicality of game activities in English lessons. Majority of the participants disagreed that they used games primarily just for filling in time, with unexpectedly two of the participants admitting this to be the case. Games were viewed as a useful way to present new learning items by most participants with six of the participants agreed with the statement No. 3, and another two strongly agreeing. Responses obtained from statement No. 4 showed that majority of the teachers (six participants) agreed that practice is still needed to consolidate what has been learned by the students from game activities. All of the participants came with an agreement that students’ oral interchanges could be stimulated while playing games. Majority strongly disagreed with the statement that ‘Games are not as effective as other verbal explanations and written exercises’. As for statement No. 10, three of the participants found that it is hard for them to evaluate students’ learning from games, while more than half of the participants disagreed with the statement. The results from Research Question 2 overall showed that the teachers appreciated the value of using games as language learning activities. It is evident that communicative game is significant in language acquisition and a vital component in CA lesson. Therefore communicative language games should be seen as a fundamental to a teacher’s classroom practice instead of being use as time fillers.

Research Question 3 – What are the attitudes of students and parents towards the use of communicative language games in English lessons?
TABLE 3: Students and parents attitude towards the use of communicative language games Items: | SA | A | D | SD | 12. Students dislike playing games in lessons. | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 13. Students are not aware of the purposes of playing games, and they feel they are playing but not learning. | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 18. Parents are not convinced that playing games has an educational effect to learning. | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 |

From Table 3, majority of the participants did not think that students dislike playing games during lessons. More than half of the participants disagreed with statement No. 13 whereas the remaining two participants thought that students did not see games as serious learning tasks. As for the parents’ attitudes towards the usefulness of games to children’s English learning, most of the teachers thought that parents were convinced of the educational value of playing language games as learning activities in English lessons. Almost all of the teachers in this study believed that students like to play communicative games in English lessons. It is overt that games can change the atmosphere of the class enliven and make lessons more interesting. The enjoyment, variety and flexibility of games are the key factors in motivating students in learning particularly in language lessons. Furthermore, some games that involve a certain degree of challenge and competition will stimulate the students to play with the language. Language games give children chances to do something with the language in an enjoyable and stimulating way. While playing games, children informally prepare themselves for involvement in games as well as unconsciously internalize those language points that the games are intended to practice. Adam (1973) pointed out that children learn without even being aware of it through playing. This is similar with the study by Carrier (1980) stating that games can offer ‘hidden’ practice of specific language items without the awareness of students. Hence, it is clear that games do not just have the fun element but they also provide benefits in learning. Almost all of the participants, from their practical experiences, indicated that majority of the parents were convinced of the educational effect of playing communicative games in English lessons, and viewed games as part of the formal learning.

Research Question 4 – Are there any language problems that hinder the effectiveness of using communicative language games in English lessons?
TABLE 4: Language problems of the students deterring the effectiveness of communicative language games Items: | SA | A | D | SD | 14. English competency of the students prevents them from playing language games. | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 15. Students usually feel anxious or too shy to take part in game sessions. | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 |

According to Table 4, almost all of the participants did not regard their students’ competency in English as a problem deterring them from playing language games. Responses given for statement No. 15 showed that, most of the teachers did not find that students felt too shy or anxious to participate in the games. Majority of the teachers did not consider the English competence of the students as a hindrance which prohibited them from playing most games. This is most probably because English is their first language. The teachers thought that most students could immerse in playing games, provided that the game chosen was right for the students based on their level of cognition, emotion and language development. The results showed that most of the teachers did not think that students felt anxious or too embarrass to speak in class. Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, (2000) stated that the cheerful and supportive classroom atmosphere during the game sessions reduces students’ anxiety of speaking in class. Richard-Amato (1988) and Uberman (1998) share a similar view as they both agreed that the variety and intensity that games offer may lower anxiety and encourage shyer learners to take part.
Research Question 5 – What are the difficulties a teacher may encounter in using communicative language games in English lessons?
TABLE 5: Difficulties encounter by the participants in using communicative language games. Items: | SA | A | D | SD | 7. It takes much time for preparation of games. | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8. Playing games causes discipline problems. | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11. There is a lack of materials for good language games in textbooks. | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16. There are too many students per class to play games. | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17. The physical environment of classroom is not suitable for playing games. | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 |

Table 5 shows the responses of the participants on some of the difficulties encounter while using communicative language games in the lessons. More than half of the teachers claimed the physical classroom setting and the time required for preparation as difficulties. On the other hand, the discipline problem is not a hindrance for the teachers to conduct games during English classes as majority of them showed disagreement that playing games led to chaos in the classroom. Six of the participants considered that the class size is not a problem while the other 2 claimed it is difficult to play games during English lessons with too many students in the class. Teachers might find it difficult to pay attention to each student in a larger class. Therefore, working in small groups or pair work in a larger class is essential in order to provide students with more opportunities for intensive listening and speaking practice, and to enhance teacher-student and student-student interaction. The levels of proficiency of the students also vary in a large class. As been stated by, Richards & Rodgers (2007), students with higher level of proficiency might feel less interested with the lessons while lower level students will become demotivated when they are unable to participate in the communicative activity. Hence, teachers ought to take learners’ individual variations into account and be more flexible in the use of communicative games.
It can be seen from the table that some of the participants claimed that physical environment of the classroom, the time required to prepare the games and lack in resources for games as problems deterring them from using language games. Nevertheless, the responses given for Research Question 5 as a whole showed that, the English teachers in Henry Cort Community College did not oppose great complications while using the communicative language games as learning activities in classes.

CONCLUSION

This paper has investigated the perspectives of teachers in Henry Cort Community College on the application of communicative language games in learning and teaching English. The purpose of the current research was to show how communicative language games affect the students and the learning process itself.
The significant results of this experiment were as expected. English teachers from Henry Cort Community College generally gave positive responses towards the use of communicative language games and appreciated their benefits and value in teaching English language. As language teachers, we are concerned in developing the students’ ability to make communication using the target language meaningful. Through creative game activities, students will be able to experience language use and create meaningful communication. Learning through natural exposure and meaningful use of the target language while conducting communicative activities motivates students to become more interested in language learning and enhance their language development. One of the limitations for this study is the teacher experience. This weakens the significance of the results as a teacher who had been teaching for more than 5 years might have different views from the new teachers on the use communicative language games in teaching and learning English. Moreover, this study has been done in small-scale with the sample size of eight subjects which is relatively small. Therefore, the results are not representative and cannot reflect a comprehensive picture of the teachers’ perspectives on communicative language games as a whole. Further research would need to be conducted before any generalisation could be decided.

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