IMPROVING STUDENTS' SPEAKING PROFICIENCY USING GAMES

practical, like following instructions, drawing, persuading other players, etc.This means that players will concentrate on the task rather than on thelanguage, besides, students can see the results of their use of language at oncewhich will help to build students confidence.4. Code-control GamesThis type of game requires that students produce correct language: structures,spelling, pronunciation, etc. The production of correct language will make theplayers of the team win points.C. The Relationship between Games and Speaking ProficiencyBased on the previous underlying theory, the writer assumes that usinggames can improve junior high school students’ speaking proficiency. There areseveral reasons why games can improve students’ speaking proficiency. Firstly, aswe have seen games can be used to improve the learner’s command of particularitems of language: sound, vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical function.According to Byrne (1997:100) games, especially traditional languagegames are effective because the learners are so involved in playing game that theydo not realize that they are practicing language items or functions.Secondly, games are also kinds of activities that encourage learners tospeak. In monolingual classes, shyness and lack of wiliness to speak English infront of peers is a very common problem. One way to deal with this is to getxxxix