Pronunciation Competition (vowels)

This was written up by my colleague, Doris. We joined both our classes for this game, and the students really enjoyed it. It takes a bit of preparation though.

Vowel Sound Pronunciation Bee/Games

Divide class into 4 groups. Each group has to choose as its name one of the vowel phonemes (e.g “We are the /I/ group”).

On OHP, put a Snakes & Ladders game board. Project on wall. Each group has a different colored post-it note that they move around the board (projected on the wall) as a playing piece. The first group to reach the finish point will win.

Having two teachers present (or else a teacher and an assistant) makes this flow better.
Have a dice on hand. Each number corresponds to a type of activity. Roll the dice to select the activity.

All teams play all the time for all the activities. The dice is also rolled by the two teams winning each activity to determine how many spaces on the game board they get to move.

Games/Activities

1. Many Words: The teacher assigns a vowel sound to each group (or uses the team name for the first round). The teams have 1 minute to write on the whiteboard as many words with that sound as they can think of. The 2 teams with the most correct words get to throw the dice and move on the board.

2. Sound Chain: Two teams line up facing each other. The teacher says a vowel sound. The first person on the A team has to say a word that contains that phoneme. Next, the first person on the B team also says a word with the same phoneme. The same word cannot be repeated. This continues, back and forth between the two teams, until one team makes a mistake, repeats a word that has already been said or can’t think of a word fast enough (5 second rule) and loses. The winning team gets to roll the dice to advance on the board. (With two teachers present, all four teams are playing at the same time, A against B, C against D).

3. Fake Words: (prepare a list of nonexistent words that follow the spelling rules/phonemes the class has been studying-ahead of time). The teacher writes a “fake” word on the board for each team (or a representative from each team) to pronounce following the patterns they have studied before. If they are correct, they get to roll the dice and advance.

4. Find it-Bring it: (prepare cards with minimal pairs before hand. Mix them up and put them in bags to be handed out to each team). The teacher calls out two or three words (ex. Cat , chicks). Students must rummage through their cards, select the ones the teacher said, and run to the teacher with the cards in hand. The first two teams to bring the correct cards get to roll the dice and advance. (In their sets, they would have had to make the decision between the “cat “or the “cut” card, or the “chick” or “cheek” card).

5. Rhyme it: Two teams line up facing each other. The first person on the A team has to say a word. Next, the opposing person on the B team has to say a word with the same vowel sound. The second person on the A team can choose to change the vowel sound and say a different word for which the second person on the B team must find a rhyming vowel sound word. The same word cannot be repeated. This continues, back and forth between the two teams, until one team makes a mistake, repeats a word that has already been said or can’t think of a word fast enough (5 second rule) and loses. The winning team gets to roll the dice to advance on the board. (With two teachers present, all four teams are playing at the same time, A against B, C against D).

6. Sound Sentence: The teacher assigns a vowel sound to each group (or uses the team name for the first round). The teams have 1 minute to write on the whiteboard a sentence which contains as many words with that sound as they can think of. The 2 teams with the most correct words get to throw the dice and move on the board.

What has he been doing?

This game helps to practice the meaning of present perfect continuous as "an activity which was in progress until very recently - we can still see the results"). You need to have explained this aspect of the present perfect continuous before you do this activity.

1. Divide the class into two groups.
2. A student from one group picks a card (see examples below) and tries to get his/her group to guess what's in the card by speaking and/or acting it out. They need to answer the question "What has he/she been doing?" For example, if the card says "You've been holding a cat", the student can say, "Oh! Look at all these hairs on my shirt!" and pretend to wipe them off. NOTE: The student must make clear what HAS JUST BEEN HAPPENING, not what IS happening, i.e., the CONSEQUENCE/RESULT of the action on the card. So, even if the group guesses what's on the card, don't give points if the student does not represent the result, because the meaning is not being conveyed properly.
3. Give a time limit to each card (no more than one minute). For each card, the team has up to three tries to get it right: if they get it right the first time, they win 10 points. If they get it right with a second try, it's 5 points. A third try is only 1 point.
4. After SS have guessed (or not) their card, a SS from the other team comes up and does the same.
5. Game ends when there are no more cards. The team with the most points wins.

SAMPLE CARDS:

• You've been talking to your boyfriend/girlfriend.
• You've been travelling for many hours.
• You've been watching videos/TV.
• You've been practicing in the language lab.
• You've been working under the hot sun.
• You've been playing video games.
• You've been carrying something heavy.
• You've been holding a cat.
• You've been travelling on a bad road.
• You've been playing with a small child.
• You've been washing dishes.
• You've been having a nightmare.
• You've been laughing.
• You've been swimming.
• You've been reading.
• You've been cooking.
• You've been hearing a dog barking for two hours.
• You've been singing.
• You've been running.
• You've been eating very spicy food.
• You've been crying.
• You've been painting your house.
• You've been doing exercise.
• You've been cleaning your room.
• You've been shopping.
• You've been working on the computer for many hours.
• You've been listening to very funny jokes.
• You've been standing in line for a long time.
• You've been studying grammar for three hours.

Created by Marlise, 2009

Bingo

Ok, so this is not a very original activity, but it works!

VERSION 1:

1. Make boards of 9 squares for every two students, and randomly write vocab items and/or grammatical items (for example, irregular past tense verbs). Make each board different.

2. Give each pair of SS pieces of coloured paper which can cover up each word.

3. T calls out a definition (if the focus is vocabulary) or an infinitive verb (if the topic is irregular past). SS cover up the word which corresponds to what the teacher said. (It's ok if the Ss call out the answer- it helps them and their classmates confirm whether they're right. It's also good revision).

4. The first group to get a row of three words covered is the winner.

5. For a new round, make groups change boards.

VERSION 2:

Instead of seeing who gets three covered words in a row, see who can cover the whole board first!

VERSION 3:

Instead of 9 squares, make it 16!

• You can also get a student to give the cue.

Time Line

This game can help SS understand the relationship and time frame between the different verb tenses.

1. For the T, make a list of sentences such as the following (use sentences that match the structures your class is learning- but I find this helps them be a little less confused with past perfect, present perfect, simple past and past continuous especially) (sorry, I was pressed with time and couldn't come up with more interesting sentences. Next time! If you do, please send them and I'll give you credit!)

1. She closed the window, but the insects had already come in.
2. The insects wanted to come in, but they couldn’t because she had closed the window.
3. When he arrived in class, the class had already started.
4. She knew because someone had already told her.
5. I told her something that she had never heard before.
6. I’m bored because I have already studied this topic.
7. I was bored because I had already studied this topic.
8. The window is closed, but the insects have already come in.
9. The insects can’t come in because I’ve closed the window.
10. I’ve been eating. That’s why I feel so full!
11. I was eating when the rain started.
12. It’s been raining for three hours! I wish it would stop.
13. It’s going to rain.
14. We’ve been studying verb tenses in grammar class.
15. While we were playing, someone did something funny.
16. While we were studying verb tenses, it started to rain.
17. While I was eating, an insect came in.
18. Before eating I had already closed the window.

1. Divide your students into groups of about 3.
2. Write only the infinitive verb forms of each clause, on half and a4-size paper. Make enough copies for each of your groups. (e.g. for sentence one, write "close the window" on one paper and "come in" on another). NOTE: there are many sentences which use "start to rain". For each group, make only one such card. They won't need more, as once they use it, they'll return it to the pile again.
3. Give each group a long strip of cardboard with an arrow on one end, to simulate a time line.
4. Spread all the "clause cards" in the center of the classroom, on the floor. Station the groups with their time lines around the clause cards.
5. T reads out the first sentence, and SS find the clauses and place them on the time line. The first group to do this correctly wins 1 point (or 10 000 points!).

VARIATION:

1. SS can then use the clauses to make their own sentence combinations and quiz their classmates.
2. SS can place the clauses randomly on the time line and see what sentences they come up with (this can be done by sticking them on the board).

Phrasal Verb Cards

These help to review SS' knowledge of phrasal verbs ("come out"), - or adjectives/verbs that take specific prepositions ("afraid of"/ "comply with").

ACTIVITY 1:

1. Make cards of about 7 x 10 cm. On each card, write (with thick marker) a verb particle or a preposition.
2. Divide SS into groups (of up to four people). Give each group a name or number.
3. Place cards in the middle of the room, and get SS to stand around (not too close!). They don't need to be standing close to a teammate.
4. T calls out a synonym for a given phrasal verb (e.g. "leave" for "go away"). SS have to find the preposition ONLY ("away"). The first group to show the preposition to the T wins a point (or 10 000 points - up to you!).
5. Tell you class beforehand how many round of this you'll have. At the end of it, count points.

ACTIVITY 2:

Same as activity 1, but instead of SS picking out the preposition, they pick out the verb particle.

ACTIVITY 3:

Another option is to have enough copies of the cards for each group, and in a far end of the room, to place a basket or hat for each group. The first group to put in both verb particle and preposition into their basket wins x points.

ACTIVITY 4:

SS put cards upside down, forming a neat square, and play memory - the SS who finds two cards which can form a phrasal verb studied in class, can keep them for points and have another turn.

ACTIVITY 5:

Give each SS one set of cards. In twos, SS play "snap":

1. Each Ss holds their cards in one hand in a pile, with cards facing downwards.

2. With the other hand they take hold of the first card in their pile, and together count "1, 2, 3"

3. On the count of three, both SS place their card, facing upwards, on the desk/floor, next to each other.

4. If the cards are not identical (i.e., if they show different words), SS simply count "1, 2, 3" again, and place the next card on top of the previous one.

5. If the cards are identical (i.e., if both have the same word), the first student to yell "snap!" and cover both piles with his/her hand wins all those cards.

6. The game ends when all the cards have found an "owner". The SS with the most cards wins

VARIATION:

These games can be played with any vocabulary item, one card being the actual word, and the other being a definition, a picture, phonetic script, or whatever the teacher's imagination can come up with.

Have you ever

This is one that a colleague taught me. It's great for bringing life back to a sagging class, and brings a lot of laughs. It's also good for making students focus on accurate language, while giving them a chance to be creative.

1. Students (SS) place their chairs in a circle (no desks!). The teacher (T) also joins the circle, but standing- no chair for the teacher.

2. T thinks of a phrase which starts with "have you ever..." (Have you ever lost the keys to your house?" "Have you ever ridden on an elephant?").

3. Anyone who has ever done that has to stand and find a new chair to sit on. Those who haven't done the action can just remain in their seats. Of course, there will always be one person without a chair, so that person has to come up with a "have you ever" phrase.

4. The game can be played until T sees that SS have revived and are ready for the next activity.

VARIATIONS:

1. Instead of "have you ever...", you can opt for "Are you going to...?" to talk about plans.

2. You could also use this game to practice constructions with gerunds and infinitives, although students find it harder to concentrate on getting all the gerunds, infinitives and auxiliaries in place, and this might make the activity drag ("do you like to cook?" "Are you tired of studying grammar?").