Lesson 5. Computer games in education

I. Read the title of the text, which gives you an idea of what it is about. Before you read the text, think of some ways in which computer games might have educational benefits for children. Make a list of at least three of them.

II. Read the text to see if you agree with the experts.

Computer games have come a long way since Pong, a high tech version of table tennis, became the first to hit the screen in 1972. The vast majority of children now regularly play games on the computer. One research has suggested that a fifteen-year-old teenager devotes 30 hours a week to them, though the majority are moderate consumers.

What does it do to young minds?

For years concern has been expressed by parents and teachers about the effect of computer games on the moral and mental make-up of the next generation. Some have warned that a relentless diet of whiz-bang “shoot-‘em-ups” fosters antisocial behaviour, even playground violence. Others believe that the age of the zombie is upon us.

But expert opinion is shifting radically. Psychologists in America and Britain now suggest that while computer games hold some dangers for children, they also provide opportunities their parents never enjoyed to amplify powers of concentration and memory. Researchers have also highlighted the positive response of children to the way computer games reward success, thereby spurring them on to look for greater challenges if the same attitude is applied to school work. A leading academic at the University of Washington has never claimed that children think differently when they play computer games, learning to deal with problems in parallel rather than in sequence. In effect, children are being trained to tackle problems in a fashion which is not only more rapid but also more effective. In the long term, the facility that game players develop with computer graphics could help much in future career. It could, for example, be of particular benefit to children who go on to become engineers or scientists.

Games are also now being developed for pre-school children to encourage reading and writing skills. At Lanterns, a private nursery in east London, computer games make up part of the syllabus. Each week its sixteen pupils — the youngest aged two — are treated to a whirlwind tour of cyberspace. Every day the pupils attend a special class, such as dance or drama, on Tuesdays they have a computer work-shop where they spend an hour playing games. All the children love it. There is no technophobe among them.

III. Look back at the text and complete the phrases below.

1. increase children’s power of ___;

2. potentially have a positive effect on children’s ___by encouraging ___look for greater challenges when they complete tasks;

3. game players think ___and learn to deal with problems more ___;

4. familiarity with ___could be useful for ___;

5. can help ___to learn ___.

IV. In a paragraph of 70-90 words summarise the educational benefits of computer games, according to the author.