Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chest rockwell]

Got some good time fillers/activities for older students/adults? Post them up. Lets share the wealth!

I'll start:

Here's a good riddle that I use with my upper intermediate uni students/adult classes:

What is:

Greater than God?
More evil than the devil?
Rich people want for it.
Poor people have it.
And if you eat it, you die.

Nothing.

[buster brown]

I keep several sets of "Find the Differences" pictures on hand. They can fill anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes of productive communication time. They are really useful in reinforcing vocabulary.

[Ya-ta Boy]

I keep lists of discussion questions on hand for each unit topic. If I need to fill 5 minutes, I whip one out and off they go.

I also keep some of the rhyme activities from bogglesworld on hand. Nothing like students racing to the board to write the answers.

Math questions are also good for listening practice.

Scrambled sentences work well for fillers. Just write up a long scrambled sentence using the latest grammar point. My students love these.

[chest rockwell]

Excellent work! Keep them coming.

Here's another that I ended up with from somewhere. You can make this last from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how much they get into it:

A plane has crashed into the ocean. Luckily for all on board, the skill of the pilot meant that everyone survived, but the plane is sinking, and fast! There is an inflatable life raft, but it only has room for three people:

1. The pilot - unhappy, has a problem with alcohol. Former military but is injured badly
2. Co-pilot - has a little sailing experience. A trained first-aider
3. Pastor Cho from Yeoido full gospel church
4. SNU female student - wheelchair bound
5. Ex-convict - misunderstood. Has survival skills
6. Old man - injured. Recently figured out a cure for AIDS, but it's mainly in his head.

If you cannot decide who will stay and who will go in the time allotted, then everyone perishes.

This is good for intermediate level students. Every class that I've done this activity with really get into it.

[chest rockwell]

[chest rockwell]

Here's a good little activity that takes about 1/2 an hour. Good introductory class as well:

Word association:

Ask them for adjectives to describe the following words:

Dog, Cat, Rat, Ocean.

Then get them to explain why they chose that particular adjective.

For example, with dog I chose loyal. Because an owner could beat it's dog half to death, but nine times out of ten the dog will remain loyal to its owner.

Then when you've gone around the class, explain to them that in fact, each word has a specific meaning:

dog=you, cat=your bf/gf/lover/wife/husband, rat=your enemy, ocean=your outlook on life.

Excellent little activity this one which usually gets a really positive response from the class.

[chest rockwell]

Well this thread is a roaring success with many people willing to contribute and share their ideas, to add to the knowledge pool from which we all can draw.

Come on all yee out thar!! This could be an awesome resource if we let it.

Anyways, have another little end time game that's excellent for adults: One frog.

Goes like this:

1st person - "One frog"
2nd person - "Fell in"
3rd person - "The pond"
4th person - "Plop"

It continues on like this but the next person then says, "Two frogs"

Person after that, "Two frogs
Person after that, "Fell in"
Person after that, "Fell in"
Person after that, "The pond"
Person after that, "The pond"
Person after that, "Plop"
Person after that, "Plop"

Person after that, "Three frogs"

You get the picture. A highly entertaining game.

[Easter Clark]

I'm in public school. We don't have time fillers. We just finish early.

Actually, I can't remember the last time I needed a time-killer. I tend to pace my classes to the point that they will end on time or go a little over when it comes to sticking to the clock (in a private or hagwon situation).

The way I accomplish that: for lower levels, more review, change partners and do it again, report the activity to the class, pair dictation, spelling test, etc. For upper levels, let the conversation go where it may and try to see how "skillfully" I can re-direct it back on topic. Or try to get them to brainstorm other situations in which the target language would be used...then if there's still too much time have them create their own role play or (if they're less-than-creative)give them one off the top of my head. But having too much time is rarely a problem, luckily!

[drkalbi]

This can be done the first day of class. I use it when the students know each other well. I ask them 7 questions;

1. What is the first name of your favorite actor?
2. Your favorite fruit?
3. Pick a number from 1 to 5.
4. The number your chose in 3, write that many vegetables.
5. Your dream job.
6. The worst job you can think of.
7. Not including Korea, a country you would want to live in.

I use their answers to make their profile for the class.
1. First name
2. Family name
3. Number of children
4. Children's names
5. Their job
6. Spouse's job
7. Where they live

I have them memorize their new profile and have them go around the class introducing themselves.

[chest rockwell]

[chest rockwell]

[chest rockwell]

And another riddle:

A man walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a gun and aims it at the man. He says "thank you" and walks out. Why?


He had the hiccups. So the bartender pulled out the gun to scare him instead.

[KoreanAmbition]

Break the class up into groups of 2's or 3's, depending on overall class size.

Objective: Each group acts as professional tour guides who have the job of entertaining a foreigner that is coming to visit South Korea. The foreigner wants to experience the history/culture and see the best sights that South Korea has to offer. The foreigner has not been to South Korea before, and wants to go home and tell his friends how amazing SK is. Tell the students it is their responsibility to show the country's most amazing characteristics. This usually really gets them excited because they are proud of their country.

You, as the teacher, decide if you want to give the foreigner 1 or 2 days for a visit. The job of the students is to plan the most fun "tour schedule" in the 24 or 48 hours. You can either give them a budget, or let them try to set one.

Give them about 30 to 40 minutes to come up with a full itinerary. Then each group gets exactly 2 minutes to present their plans. (give them 3 minutes if they have to plan for a full 2 day schedule).

The presentations are the most fun since everyone usually has really neat ideas. Also, time them exactly by the clock and don't let them go even 1 second over the limit. It really teaches them to speak faster, and you'll be surprised at how well they do in a short time.

I highly recommend this class exercise. They also have to speak really fast in their small groups to accomplish their objective of creating the most original schedule. One of the most original ideas I heard for a 24 hour visit included flying the person to Jeju Island for an afternoon.

[chest rockwell]

Cheers for that one Have tried out something similar from the SLE series of books. You're right about them getting excited about being able to present the best facets of Korea.

[Burndog]

I've got some new teacher's training to do (beginners level), and love the ideas in this thread!!! We should keep them coming...and make this thread so good...that it will become a sticky!!!