Nice ideas- if postings are to have the 'added value' desired by the OP let's specify who the activity is for and if possible what the skill/language focus is.
postings along the lines of : "Gee! this game's rilly neat"! deserve this:
Blitz - what is it? Don't tantalise....tell!
Blockbusters - agreed but I couldn't be bothered to tell them the rules (OK, I forgot!) so I used a TBL approach:
we brainstormed "what's in a (good) game"? to activate/teach vocab
e.g. players, instructions, rules, the aim/purpose etc. and to get them thinking about inclusivity, simplicity and fun.
THEN, I produced a blank blockbuster honeycomb grid on the board and gave groups the task of using the grid to create a game that uses English.
1st study period doing all the above.
2nd study period groups present and evaluate ideas.
you'll get as many different games as there are groups each with their own merits.
They'll play them 'coz they've invested in them, they'll understand the rules, and voila! you've got 'warmers' which you can road test over the next 4-5 weeks!!
14yr old low-ints could do this!!
Game: Just a minute (classic BBC radio4 quiz)
Level: motivated intermediates and up
best for adv. or those preparing for FCE/TOEFL
Main Skills: spontaneous speaking & listening
sub-skills: expressing opinions, making an arguement, utilising 'stalling' strategies, use of rhythm & pace
Aims of the game: talking for one minute, on a topic with no hesitation, deviation or repetition.
If the speaker is heard to do any of the above, opposing team(s) can challenge by yelling "just a minute"! The clock stops, and the challenger has to make their case.
If the adjudicator upholds their challenge, the topic passes over to the challenger who has to speak with the time remaining. The person (still) speaking after 60 seconds gets the 'points'.
1st study period can be spent introducing the game:
-give them some background to the game (easier for Brits)
-learning/teaching the rules through a grammar transformation & information exchange task
-Function of the phrase 'just a minute' with work on pronunciation/word stress used for interrupting.
-similar for key vocab: hesitation deviation repetition spontaneous esp. syllable stress
2nd study period: play the game & get/give feed back
If you've a class of 12 or less you're laughing.
I play it with 40 students 60% of whom 'can' have a reasonable stab at it.
It is beyond some of them but there's 15% of my class that I will never reach & you have to use the 80/20 rule in the real world.....
- I also introduced 'my' rules - no Cantonese, no rubbish English which can also form the basis of a challenge.
I've also conceded to allow members of the same team to 'butt in' if they feel the speaker is wavering or about to run out of steam which is only fair as some brave sod has kicked the thing off.
I've had better results from writing the topics up on the board at the start of class and allocating them at random- not 'truly' spontaneous but it cuts out thinking time once the clock starts.
Topics: if there is a degree of ambiguity, students can sometimes spot an opportunity to get creative
e.g. "What's under my bed" is asking for a list of clothing vocab
"under my bed....." you could get a list or you might get a nonsense monologue about what it's like under there.
stronger students have demonstrated some of the gamesmanship that makes the radio quiz such great entertainment, without any promting from me!
-challenging with 10 seconds or so remaining - a little cruel especially if the challenger is stronger and the weaker speaker has been fluffing all the way through but it's part the fun - I don't always uphold the challenge if I feel the speaker has been unfairly 'ambushed'.
-stalling, by repeating the question or topic, using fillers "in my opinion...." "this is an interesting topic,....." buys them time to organise their words AND it runs down the clock.
-S-l-o-w-i-n-g down their speech, using the pause (count 1-2) lenthening vowels does the same, makes them comprehensible and emulates dramatic effect used by native speakers.
took more than just a ferkin minute to write this, so something useful as a follow up would be appreciated.
