Teaching Inferences Through Games

Both lower- and higher-proficiency EFL Japanese students exhibit weaknesses in creating statements that express the results of ordinary and logical inferencing. Their prior educational experience includes adequate information regarding the structure of English, so their inability to produce such statements may be due to unavailing beliefs about the English structure. As the effect of direct instruction seems to be limited, implicit approaches may be more appropriate. Consequently, this study investigates the potential for using logic games in a task-based language teaching （TBLT） approach that introduces inferences through implicit learning modes. An individual case study was conducted to assess the likelihood of satisfying Skehan’s （1998） four criteria for TBLT activities. The results indicate that logic games may be a viable method of instruction in ordinary and formal logical inferencing.