Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mrgisa]

Hi Everyone,


Seeing as my students, coteachers and even my supervisor react positively to activities (hopefully of an educational nature) I am trying to incorporate more of them into my weekly lessons.

I've tried bingo, memory and a vocabulary game (students are in groups: one student goes up to the front, faces the group and away from the blackboard. I write down a vocabulary word that has been studied and the group has to get the student to say the word) which have all worked faily well (I teach at a public HS). I have heard that scrabble works very well too. That being said, I would like to hear of some additional activites that can work well in a classroom that have an educational nature to them that have been tried and tested (nothing worse than making an activity that completely bombs...).

With the winter camp coming up and the mountain of work I have ahead of me, activities would help to make the camp more interesting and fun. Further, it would help me make the lesson plans faster.



Gisa ^^

[English Matt]

Jeopardy is a good activity for reviewing past lessons - vocabulary and facts. I use the Game Show Presenter to create my quizzes; you can download it for free from,

http://www.almorale.com/training-games.html

The Timesaver textbook series has some great activities; one that I'm going to use in my supplementary lessons over the winter break involves getting two students to come to the front of the class to debate a very simple 'which one is better?'. For instance, 2 students come to the front of the class and randomly select a piece of paper from me - say they get 'cats or dogs'. One student has to argue why dogs are better than cats, then the other argues why cats are better than dogs. The rest of the students then vote for the winner, the winning student's team / table then gets a point.

It could end up really bombing - I think you'd have to take the time to adjust the topics to your student's level and interests but it could be good if handled in the right way.

Anyhow, you can find a whole bunch of the Timesaver textbooks on Scribd...although I should imagine they'll get taken down for breach of copyright soon enough, so I'd move fast,

http://www.scribd.com/tag/TIMESAVER

[mrgisa]

Hi Matt,


Thanks for the response! I was thinking of doing jeopardy as it is a fun game and good way to review vocabulary and what not. This program you recommended sounds interesting and time saving, but it seems like a trial version which is gonna really suck. I guess it'll come in handy for the winter camp though!

Thanks for the link to the scribd stuff, looks like plenty of material with useful ideas to use.

I'd buy you a beer if I could, but for now please accept this as a token of my appreciation.

http://img381.imageshack.us/my.php?image=beerryq0.jpg

Thanks again for the suggestions! If anyone has any more to add, please let us know!



Gisa ^^

[mrgisa]

Hi Again,


I tried out the game show presenter and it seemed a bit complex. I found something much easier for a jeopardy style game.

http://www.coderedsupport.com/jeopardy/download.php

It's completely freeware and has a tutorial (not that it is really necessary, it's quite intuitive).

Enjoy!



Gisa ^^

[ddeubel]

mrgisa,

Thanks for the flash jeopardy but it doesn't seem to support pics. EFL really needs to use pictures as a support. Why not try many of the Jeopardy templates I've designed and others...here's an example for Christmas Lots more on loads of grammar/vocab/interest categories....

I love BAAM , a game I made and which many teachers use and modify to their specific classroom needs.

Regarding activities -- stay away from all that "let's play with words" stuff. It isn't an effective use of class time. Look at some of the hundreds of ready made activities and handouts in our Activities and Games folder on mediafire.

DD
http://eflclassroom.com

[English Matt]

[Ya-ta Boy]

One of the easiest to prepare and use is Sentence Scramble. I use sentences based on the grammar point we've been working with. My students find it challenging and fun. Most of the time I capitalize the first word so they get started in the right place. Word order is always a problem for Korean students and this activity gives them practice. The biggest stumbling block are the articles--my most advanced students always struggle with those words.

I use different forms of it so it doesn't get boring. Sometimes I use single scrambled sentences. Sometimes I make a dialog with several scrambled sentences (kept separate). I've done Bingo with scrambled sentences. From time to time, I complicate things by including one key vocabulary word with the letters scrambled.

[mrgisa]

Argh, my second time posting this. I'm getting fed up with microshaft's hotcrap.

I agree that using words is a good thing sometimes: obviously depends on the classes level. We only grow when we are challenged right?

Thank you all for your opinions and ideas. I will definitely incorporate them into my future lessons/the winter camp.



Gisa ^^

[Sland]

Here's a game I made up from a few sources on the internet.
http://havediplomawilltravel.wordpress.com/2008/12/08/soccerhockey-game-esl-game/
It worked pretty well for my kids (middle school). I used it with a group of 15 students.
I hope it works for you! Reducing the workload is what it's all about!

[ddeubel]

[Allen]

www.esltower.com

[crescent]

1. Categories:
- T chooses a letter of the alphabet and writes it on board.
- T designs pre-designs questions that elicit words in a category.
(Example: Letter 'S'' : Things you find in a classroom.)
- S try to write as many 's' words as possible for each category/question



2. Don't Say What I Say:
- T passes out scrap paper to Ss
- T tells students to write one word for a certain topic.
(the topic should have a similar number of possible answers as there are people in class- 10 students, therefore about 10 possible answers)
- T writes their own answer for each topic
- if S and T write the same answer for a question, the student gets no point for that question. S only gets a point for a different answer
Example:
Teacher: says,"Write the name of a type of transportation."
Student: (writes, "bus")
Teacher: (writes, "bike")
Student gets 1 point.
(Then have student design a question)


3. 20 questions.
(self explanatory)

[Fishead soup]