Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello there everybody,
I have recently been given two little piles of very intriguing cards- one called 'Puzzling Proverbs', the other called 'Quizzical Quotes.' I made a copy of them all- 48 cards in each pile. The teacher here in Hong KOng who gave them to me has no further information except that it's a board game, and it had 'other piles' of cards. He got it about 15 years ago.
Here's a 'Puzzling Proverb' from one card:
"Do not remove a fly from your friend's head with a hatchet." (a Chinese proverb, it says) and....
a Quizzical Quote from one Groucho Marx: "There's one way to find out if a man is honest: ask him. If he says 'yes', you know he is crooked."
All very amusing- many of the quotes are also extremely thought-provoking.
Has anyone got any idea how these cards were used in the game, or could anyone think of a way they could be used, aside from what may at first seem ( to me anyway) too facile: get kids in groups to read them out to the class, other groups then write down what they think it means- they don't work on the cards they have in their groups- that would miss the point of an oral lesson, getting them to practise speaking. Then get groups to read out their -at least three- explanations, group with closest explanation to what it 'may mean' (teachers better have an idea of that, probably...?) gets 10 points...... So we have to select the cards which second language users may be able to cope with in a 1 hour lesson.....

That's it. I can't think of another way- and I can see plenty of problems already with that idea!
Anyone who can help with this would be much appreciated....... especially if you have worked with quotes or proverbs in the past, what was it that worked? I've got some pretty astute senior students that I want to 'keep lively', instead of half-dead with 'text tedium.'

Ok, All the Best, PackUpYerTroubles (in yer old kit bag....)

I'm assuming your working with a large class (20-30) and that their English ability is rather advanced.

Make the quotes/proverbs into a nice board game. Draw say 25 squares on the board and put up a marker for each team. Have one team read out a card. Then ask a question somewhat related to actual words.

"Do not remove a fly from your friend's head with a hatchet."

Then ask the students, "Why wouldn't you remove a fly from someone's head with a hatchet?" Hopefully, you'll get answers from each group like:

It would hurt.
It would kill him.
You'd be rather unlikely to hit the fly with a hatchet.
You should use a frying pan instead.
Let the fly live and remove the man with a beer and a discussion board.

For each agreeably good answer the team moves one square ahead. I would instill a time limit for responses. If a team doesn't come up with anything within the time limit then they would move one square backwards. Or just pass and other teams have the chance to move ahead if they can come up with something. Then reward winners appropriately or have the losers sing a song for the winners (Japanese style - shame the losers.)

Once finished have students pick a proverb they thought was interesting and then let them discuss it in groups for substance.

I'm not sure of your audience or the actual content of your proverbs so I'm not sure if they would all work as well as the fly-hatchet example, but I hope this helps or inspires.

Mark
www.mes-english.com

It might be fun to get them to remember some proverbs from their culture and compare and the same with quotes.
There was a game produced in 1990 called "Amnesia" where you chose a card without looking at it and put the card in a headband on your forehead. You had to guess what celebrity you were with questions to the others. It featured people like Ronald Regan and Tarzan. It is outdated now but you could produce more cards.

Many thanks for taking the time to reply. I am on to this game now and have some better ideas after reading your poting and the previous- Mike.
Thanks a lot Sally!
Cheers, Packupyertrubls.

I'll try that again! Too many things on my plate right now, sorry Mark, I meant you when I said Mike. Suffice to say the class I'm thinking of working with is a Form 6 here in Hong Kong- AS Level English. I had thought also about weeding out the more difficult cards, and so making the task of studying or looking at them much easier.
Anyway, Mark, you have definitely hit the nail on the head- or the fly on the head with a hatchet.... sorrry couldn't resist that one. Besides everything else, these students - 3 or 4 of them- over the last few months have requested, through their diaries which they write every week for me, to learn 'more proverbs.' You bet there's a dearth of (and there's long been a death of....) literature, and everything that entails, in Hong Kong, for a long time..... Oops, webmasters will be on to me!
Cheers for all your help, and as I'm Scots, here's a quickie from Scotland: 'If ye sup wie the deil, sup wie lang spoon!' i.e. watch out for mixing company with wrongdoers..... !