Teaching American Games Happily, the learning process was not one-way. As a Peace Corps volunteer, a large part of my work was sharing American culture with the people of Uzbekistan. Although Uzbek culture is invested deeply in its own traditions and usually looks askance at anything new, I found some young people interested in learning the games Americans play. To younger children I taught Crazy Eights and Old Maid. Students in my high school English classes learned Hearts.
Any teacher knows that games are useful tools of learning.
This is especially true of word games in language instruction. Surprisingly, the group that fared the worst was a collection of Uzbekistani English teachers my wife, Kate, was training. These teachers were not obtuse, even though they failed at one of our easiest children's games. Games, I was learning, could reflect the values held by a society as well as anything else. In Uzbekistan, games provided the context for the important function of social interaction.