Job Discussion Forums

[JZer]

Can anyone suggest any games that students can be taught that will allow them to speak English?

I am not looking for a game to practice grammar or vocabulary.

Two games I often use are 20 questions and bullshit (in class the name is changed to liar).

These are two games that can be modeled and allow for students to use English in actually playing the game.

Anyone have any other games?

[Glenski]

Tons of such things.

Jeopardy.
Charades.
Pictionary.
Trivial Pursuit.
Giving directions to blindfolded person or partner with a map.
Running dictation.

[JZer]

[JZer]

[Ariadne]

I like 'Rumors' to practice listening and speaking. Divide the class into teams. Have several sentences ready that use vocabulary words from your lessons. Take one person from each team into the hall and say a sentence three times. The students return to their teams and repeat the sentence to the next person, then the next, etc. Say it only three times (or only once or twice), no going back, no questions. Teacher decides which team wins judging on speed and accuracy.

Another one that's quick and fun is the 'I went to the store...' I went to the store in Beijing. I bought a notebook. I went to the store in Beijing. I bought a notebook and a blue sweater. And so forth. Make sure the kids say 'went' not 'go' and 'bought' not 'buy'. You can go to the zoo and see animals or to school and take different classes.

I always have the students stand up so it gives them a bit of a change. Both games are very basic, I know, but the kids enjoy them and it gets them talking.

.

[Glenski]

[denise]

[JZer]

[naturegirl321]

Board games
Board games are especially useful for practising grammar or vocabulary. You can make your own or base it off a popular boardgame, such as Snakes and Ladders. Organise your boardgames so that you can reuse them. If you want them to stay in good condition, try laminating them, or putting them in a sheet protector.

If you're going to use boardgames, you're going to have to explain it to the class, then break them up into groups. Expect students to have questions, so walk around the room. Groups will finish at different times, so be sure to have some extra material they can work on.

● Scrabble is good for vocabulary.

Card games
These take more preparation and should be laminated. After all you'll be putting a lot of work into them. You could base them off popular games such as Go Fish or Memory. They take a bit of explaining and demonstrating for the kids to get the hang of it. But the good news is, once they understand how the game works, you can play the same game with different vocabulary or grammar.

Chalkboard games
Games like these can work in small classes, or you can use them for a short break. The problem with these games is that there are usually a handful of students who participate while the others don't. Popular games are Hangman and Tic-tac-toe.

Paper games
These are played in small groups. You can find some examples below.

● Erase speech bubbles. Get a comic, doesn't matter what language it's in. White out the words in the speech bubbles. Photocopy it and give it to students. Have them write dialogues in the bubbles. Share with the class.

● Concentration. This is the game where you have categories, such as cities, verbs, adjectives, parts of a house, clothes, adverbs, etc. There's a time limit and you can even have the students use specific letters.

Other games
● Chinese whispers. Have the students line up the chairs so that they can easily turn to the person next to them. Tell the first student a word or sentence. He turns to the next person and repeats it. This continues down the line. The last person has to write the word or sentence down.

● Trivia. General knowledge games can be fun for advanced classes. You could make a chart of the categories and points on the chalkboard and write the questions down on paper.

● Hot seat. One person sits with their back to the board. The teacher writes a word on the board. All the other students try to define the word and have the student say it.

● Taboo. Either buy the game or have students make the cards. On the top is the word that the student has to say. On the bottom are a couple of words that the person who describes the word can't say. For example, Top: tree. Bottom: green, brown, grass. So Student A describes a tree. "It's a plant. It's outside. It's big." Student B tries to guess within the time limit, usually one minute. If they guess, Student A describes another word while Student B guesses.

● Boggle. Can be great to practise vocabulary.

● Describe it. Student A has a picture from a newspaper or magazine. They describe it to Student B, who has to draw a picture of it. This is good for directions, such as left, right, top, bottom, etc.

● Word Association. Write words on the board and have students write the first word that comes to their mind when they think of that word.