Chain
Spelling (Shiri-tori)
Level: Easy to Medium
The
teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student
should say a word beginning with the last letter of the word given. The game
continues until someone makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word
incorrectly, misspell it or come up with a word that has been said already,
then he/she is out. The last one remaining in the game is the winner.
This
game can be made difficult by limiting the words to a certain category, e.g..
food, tools, or nouns, verbs, etc.
Bang
Bang
Level: Easy
Divide
the group into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved
in a duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend
to draw their pistols. Say "how do you say..." and a word in their
mother tongue. The first child to give the answer and then "bang
bang", pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He remains standing
and the other one sits down. I give 1 point for the right answer and 5 extra
points if they manage to "kill" 4 opponents in a row.
Editor's
Note: Instead of saying the word in the students' mother tongue, it would be
possible to use a picture or to say a definition ("What do you call the
large gray animal with a long nose?")
Describing
Appearances & Characteristics of People
Level: Easy to Medium (Low to low intermediate)
Each
student is then give one sheet of paper. One student sits at the front of
a room. He/she describes a person and the rest of the class draws the
person being described.
It is
more interesting if the person being described is known by everyone. Once the
student has finished describing that person then he/she reveals who it is and
each student shows his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious as the
impressions tend to make the character in question look funny.
It is
a good idea to encourage students to ask the interviewee student questions
about who they are describing.
Level: Any Level
A good
game for large classes and for reviewing vocabulary lessons.
1. Prepare
a list of review vocabulary words.
2. Write
each word on two small pieces of paper. That means writing the word twice, once
on each paper.
3. Organize
the pieces like bundles, 2 bundles, 2 sets of identical words.
4. Divide
the class into 2 teams. get them to make creative team names.
5. Distribute
each list of words to both teams. every student on each team should have a
paper. Both teams have the same words.
6. When
you call a word, 2 students should stand up, one from each team. The students
must then run to the blackboard and race to write a sentence using their word.
The winner is the one with a correct and clearly written
sentence.
This
is always a hit with kids. For more advanced students, use tougher words.
Board Race
Board Race is a fun game that is used for revising vocabulary,
whether it be words from the lesson you've just taught or words from a lesson
you taught last week. It can also be used at the start of the class to get
students active. It is a great way of testing what your students already know
about the subject you're about to teach.
- Why use it? Revising vocabulary; grammar
- Who it's best
for: Appropriate
for all levels and ages
How
to play:
This is best played with 6 students or more - the more, the
better. I've used it in classes ranging from 7-25 years of age and it's worked
well in all age groups. Here's a step by step explanation:
- Split
the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker.
- If
you have a very large class, it may be better to split the students into
teams of 3 or 4.
- Draw
a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at the top.
- The
students must then write as many words as you require related to the topic
in the form of a relay race.
- Each
team wins one point for each correct word. Any words that are unreadable
or misspelled are not counted.
Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie
Call My Bluff is a fun game which is perfect at the start of
term as a 'getting to know you' kind of game. It is also a brilliant ice
breaker between students if you teach classes who do not know one another --
and especially essential if you are teaching a small class size.
The game is excellent for practicing speaking skills, though
make sure you save a time for after the game to comment on any mistakes
students may have made during the game. (I generally like to reserve this for
after the game, so you don't disrupt their fluency by correcting them as they
speak).
With older groups you can have some real fun and you might be
surprised what you'll learn about some of your students when playing this
particular game.
- Why use it? Ice-breaker; Speaking skills
- Who it's best
for: Appropriate
for all levels and ages but best with older groups
How
to play:
- Write
3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which should be lies and
one which should be true.
- Allow
your students to ask you questions about each statement and then guess
which one is the truth. You might want to practice your poker face before
starting this game!
- If
they guess correctly then they win.
- Extension: Give students time to write their own
two truths and one lie.
- Pair
them up and have them play again, this time with their list, with their
new partner. If you want to really extend the game and give students even
more time to practice their speaking/listening skills, rotate partners
every five minutes.
- Bring
the whole class back together and have students announce one new thing
they learned about another student as a recap.
Simon Says
This is an excellent game for young learners. Whether you're waking them up on a
Monday morning or sending them home on a Friday afternoon, this one is bound to
get them excited and wanting more. The only danger I have found with this game
is that students never want to stop playing it.
- Why use it? Listening comprehension; Vocabulary;
Warming up/winding down class
- Who it's best
for: Young
learners
How
to Play:
- Stand
in front of the class (you are Simon for the duration of this game).
- Do
an action and say Simon Says [action]. The students must copy what you do.
- Repeat
this process choosing different actions - you can be as silly as you like
and the sillier you are the more the children will love you for it.
- Then
do an action but this time say only the action and omit 'Simon Says'.
Whoever does the action this time is out and must sit down.
- The
winner is the last student standing.
- To
make it harder, speed up the actions. Reward children for good behavior by
allowing them to play the part of Simon.
Take your students outside for
interactive games
Word Jumble Race
This is a great game to encourage team work and bring a sense of
competition to the classroom. No matter how old we are, we all love a good
competition and this game works wonders with all age groups. It is perfect for
practicing tenses, word order, reading & writing skills and grammar.
- Why use it? Grammar; Word Order; Spelling;
Writing Skills
- Who it's best
for: Adaptable to
all levels/ages
How
to play:
This game requires some planning before the lesson.
- Write
out a number of sentences, using different colors for each sentence. I
suggest having 3-5 sentences for each team.
- Cut
up the sentences so you have a handful of words.
- Put
each sentence into hats, cups or any objects you can find, keeping each
separate.
- Split
your class into teams of 2, 3, or 4. You can have as many teams as you
want but remember to have enough sentences to go around.
- Teams
must now put their sentences in the correct order.
- The
winning team is the first team to have all sentences correctly ordered.
Hangman
This classic game is a favorite for all students but it can get
boring quite quickly. This game is best used for 5 minutes at the start to warm
the class up or 5 minutes at the end if you've got some time left over. It
works no matter how many students are in the class.
- Why use it? Warming up / winding down class
- Who it's best
for: Young
learners
How
to play:
In case you've never played, here's a quick rundown.
- Think
of a word and write the number of letters on the board using dashes to
show many letters there are.
- Ask
students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word, write it in all
of the correct spaces. If the letter does not appear in the word, write it
off to the side and begin drawing the image of a hanging man.
- Continue
until the students guess the word correctly (they win) or you complete the
diagram (you win).
Pictionary
This is another game that works well with any age group;
children love it because they can get creative in the classroom, teenagers love
it because it doesn't feel like they're learning, and adults love it because
it's a break from the monotony of learning a new language - even though they'll
be learning as they play.
Pictionary can help students practice their vocabulary and it
tests to see if they're remembering the words you've been teaching.
- Why use
it? Vocabulary
- Who it's best
for: All ages;
best with young learners
How
to play:
- Before
the class starts, prepare a bunch of words and put them in a bag.
- Split
the class into teams of 2 and draw a line down the middle of the board.
- Give
one team member from each team a pen and ask them to choose a word from
the bag.
- Tell
the students to draw the word as a picture on the board and encourage their
team to guess the word.
- The
first team to shout the correct answer gets a point.
- The
student who has completed drawing should then nominate someone else to
draw for their team.
- Repeat
this until all the words are gone - make sure you have enough words that
each student gets to draw at least once!
The Mime
Miming is an excellent way for students to practice their tenses
and their verbs. It's also great for teachers with minimal resources or planning time, or teachers who want
to break up a longer lesson with something more interactive. It's adaptable to
almost any language point that you might be focusing on.
This game works with any age group, although you will find that
adults tire of this far quicker than children. To keep them engaged, relate
what they will be miming to your groups' personal interests as best as
possible.
- Why use
it? Vocabulary;
Speaking
- Who it's best
for: All ages;
best with young learners
How
to play:
- Before
the class, write out some actions - like washing the dishes - and put them
in a bag.
- Split
the class into two teams.
- Bring
one student from each team to the front of the class and one of them
choose an action from the bag.
- Have
both students mime the action to their team.
- The
first team to shout the correct answer wins a point.
- Repeat
this until all students have mimed at least one action.
Don't be afraid to be a little goofy
Hot Seat
This is one of my students' favorite games and is always at the
top of the list when I ask them what they want to play. Hot Seat allows
students to build their vocabulary and encourages competition in the classroom.
They are also able to practice their speaking and listening skills and it can
be used for any level of learner.
- Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking and Listening
- Who it's best
for: All ages and
levels
How
to play:
- Split
the class into 2 teams, or more if you have a large class.
- Elect
one person from each team to sit in the Hot Seat, facing the classroom
with the board behind them.
- Write
a word on the board. One of the team members of the student in the hot
seat must help the student guess the word by describing it. They have a
limited amount of time and cannot say, spell or draw the word.
- Continue
until each team member has described a word to the student in the Hot Seat.
Where Shall I Go?
This game is used to test prepositions of movement and should be
played after this subject has been taught in the classroom. This game is so
much fun but it can be a little bit dangerous since you'll be having one
student in each pair be blindfolded while the other directs them. So make sure
to keep your eyes open!
Why use it? Prepositions; Speaking and Listening
- Who it's best
for: All ages and
levels
How
to play:
- Before
the students arrive, turn your classroom into a maze by rearranging it.
It's great if you can do this outside, but otherwise push tables and
chairs together and move furniture to make your maze.
- When
your students arrive, put them in pairs outside the classroom. Blindfold
one student from each pair.
- Allow
pairs to enter the classroom one at a time; the blindfolded student should
be led through the maze by their partner. The students must use directions
such as step over, go under, go up, and go down to lead their partner to
the end of the maze.
What's My Problem?
It should be played after the 'giving advice' vocabulary lesson
has taken place. It is a great way for students to see what they have
remembered and what needs reviewing. This game works well with any age group,
just adapt it to fit the age you're working with.
- Why use it? Speaking and Listening; Giving Advice
- Who it's best
for: All ages and
levels
How
to play:
- Write
ailments or problems related to your most recent lesson on post-it notes
and stick one post-it note on each student's back.
- The
students must mingle and ask for advice from other students to solve their
problem.
- Students
should be able to guess their problem based on the advice they get from
their peers.
- Use
more complicated or obscure problems to make the game more interesting for
older students. For lower levels and younger students, announce a category
or reference a recent lesson, like "Health", to help them along.
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