Job Discussion Forums

[LongShiKong]

Here's a few suggestions:
I googled and printed Snakes & Ladders boards[/i] (also known as Chutes & Slides) I use with the caveat that students must first correctly answer a question read to them from a card. It's a fun way to do a cumulative review and it frees you up to walk around and monitor. Just type questions in Excel, print and cut up. I'm planning to adapt Monopoly for the same purpose.
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Based on the game A Question of Scruples
Students in groups complete multiple choice questions regarding a classmate. They then ask a third party (or the class as a whole) before asking the student in question. Examples:
What would Student X do if s/he saw a beggar steal food in a grocery store? Would s/he:
a) report it to a shop assistant;
b) give the beggar money to buy the food;
c) ______________________________

What if someone, with a reputation for not returning money, asked Student X to lend them money for an important thing? Would s/he:
a) foolishly believe them and lend them money;
b) demand something in return;
c) ________________________
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Perpetual Notion
This is a commercial card game of adjective (phrases) you could make from a search for such lists*. Players start with 20 cards taking turns putting down a card which can all modify the same noun. Example:
The starter card is BOUNCES. You add, ROUND. (You're thinking of a basketball). P2 adds, EASY TO USE. But P3 puts down, FOLDS. Can he really come up with something that fits those 4 descriptions or is he bluffing and hoping he won't be challenged? You decide to challenge him. He was thinking of .... A TRAMPOLINE! Players agree his answer is good so he'll collect points for each card played.
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TABOO! / (Also known as Password)
Players generate sentence clues to the 'taboo' word. They can think up clues or you can custom prepare cards from collocates, synonyms and antonyms lists*.
Example:
NOTE: (the 'taboo' word to be guessed)
LETTER, WRITE, THANK-YOU, MUSICAL, BOOK (clues).
P1: "It's shorter than a LETTER. I hadn't seen the one my secretary had WRITTEN me.
P2: "Is it a memo?"
P1: "No, it isn't. She sent them a THANK-YOU one for their lovely gift."
P3: "Is it a 'NOTE'"?
P1: "Yes.".
To avoid simplistic sentence clues, you can add a dice and a cup: Roll a 1: provide a Past T. clue; 2: a Perf. T. clue; 3; a Comp/Super. clue; etc.
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Video clips / Drama / Role Plays:
You may also consider using video segments and /or role plays. Check out the topic: 'Promoting Change in China's English Classrooms?' I've submitted my own suggestion for Using Sitcoms on pg 41 of that topic. For advice, websites, etc, send 'InTime' (formerly 'China Movie Magic') a PM--that's his baby.
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Cryptar (commercially known as Mastermind) Like card games, this one may not have much language value but might prove effective in engaging even the weakest students.
Player 2 uses deductive reasoning to figure out the characters and the order of P1's 4-character code in 8(?) guesses. Codes are produced from a set of 6 characters (or colors, numbers, fruit, etc.). After each guess, the codemaker tells the code cracker how many characters are correct and how many are in the correct position. In Mastermind, this is recorded by colored pegs--white: a correct character but in the wrong position; black: a correct character in the correct position. It's up to P1 to figure out in subsequent guesses which characters the white and black pegs refer to.
Example:
3 6 2 4 (the code to be cracked)
1 2 3 4 (the code-cracker's 1st guess: scored by the code-maker as 1 black and 2 white pegs)
1 3 2 5 (2nd guess: 1 black; 1 white)
1 4 6 2 (3 white)
4 6 2 5 (2 black; 1 white)
6 2 3 4 (1 black; 3 white)
3 6 2 4 (4 black--code cracked!)
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Un-Scrabble
No tiles or board req'd--just (grid) paper. Again, not much language value but a good filler activity. Two players take turns adding letters to a Scrabble-like array of 'words-in-progress' but must:
a) NOT complete a word;
b) be prepared, if challenged, to demonstrate that each hor. or vert. sequence of 2 or more letters can form a word of 3 or more letters leaving no meaningless sequences.
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*You can generally find such files easier using peer-to-peer software such as Bitstream, Emule or Shareaza or PM me and I'll send you what I've got. I'd suggest using 金山词霸 (Kingsoft) to translate vocab students won't be familiar with. Just copy and paste.

[james s]

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[phis]

This is such a good thread. Why don't you ask the Mods to make it a sticky, so it will stay at the top of the board and people can continue to add their ideas without having to search through all the topics first?