Using Board Games as a Medium for Communicative Language Teaching (Clt)

There are many different types of pedagogic methods that are currently used in ESL and EFL contexts.Several of these contexts still use traditional methods which are heavily teacher centered, such as the audiolingual method.Fortunately, many institutes have started to transition from more traditional methods of teaching to communicative language teaching (CLT) and task--based learning (TBL), both of which focus more on student centered learning.One process in which to foster student--centered learning is using materials in the class that provide students a task they must complete through active communication with each other.Thus, the research laid out in this paper used the collaborative board game Forbidden Island as a task--based learning tool.The participants played the game, in which communication was the key to winning.After playing, they filled out a questionnaire eliciting their perception on whether this game had any impact on their English language skills.Results from the data found that the students believed Forbidden Island was a useful tool in improving listening, reading, and especially speaking skills.In addition, the participants also stated that they perceive board games to be beneficial for increasing their English skills and would like to see more materials like this in the classroom