`

101 ELT GAMES

FOR ALL AGES AND LEVELS
1. A - Z race A great vocabulary revision game. Divide the class into two teams each standing in line at the board.Give them a topic like food and drink sports countries etc !they must be very large le"ical

sets#. $he student at the front on each line runs to the board and must write a word in this le"ical set beginning with A on the board. %he then hands the chalk or pen to the ne"t person in the row !and runs to the back of the line# who adds a word beginning with & until they reach Z. 'f they cannot think of a word beginning with a particular letter they can leave a space but the team with most words at the end is the winner (. Abstract )icture Draw a big rectangle on the board. Draw in the rectangle a variety of s*uiggles !lines# doodles shapes !and colors if you have them#. Ask the class what they think the picture represents. Assure the students that there is no right or wrong answer and encourage them to use their imaginations. +. Ad,ectives and nouns %tudents suggest ad,ective-noun phrases for e"ample -a black cat- -an e"pert doctor-. .ontribute some yourself. As the phrases are suggested write the ad,ectives in a column down the left-hand side of the board and the nouns on the right-hand side. $hen they volunteer ideas for different combinations for e"ample -a black doctor- or -an e"pert cat-. %ee how many the class can make it. 'f someone suggests a strange combination he/she has to ,ustify it. +. Ambiguous )icture Draw a small part of a picture. Ask the students what it-s going to be. 0ncourage different opinions. Don-t confirm or re,ect theirideas. Add a little more to the drawing and ask the *uestion again. &uild the picture up in about four stages. 1. Ask answer and run 2and out strips of paper with directions like these3 2ow many students are wearing black shoes today4 2ow many chairs are there in the classroom4 2ow many students are holding pencils4 2ow many posters are there on the classroom walls4 %tudents wander around the classroom finding the answer to their *uestion. As soon as they have their answer they run to the board write the *uestion and answer and their name. 'f there are a lot of students and access to the board is confined students who have finished can sit down in their seats when they are finished and then read out their *uestions and answers in the order they finished at the end of the activity. 5. Associations %tart by suggesting an evocative word3 -storm- for e"ample. A student says what the word suggests to him or her. 't might be -dark-. $he ne"t student suggests an association with the word -dark- and so round on the class. 2ere are the other words you may start with3 sea fire tired holiday morning 0nglish home angry. 6r use an item of vocabulary the class has recently learnt. 7. &lackboard &ingo 8rite on the board 19 to 15 words which you-d like to review. $ell the students to choose any five of them and write them down. :ead out the words one by one and in any order. 'f the students have written down one of the words you call out they cross it off. 8hen they crossed off all their five words they tell you by shouting -&ingo-. ;eep a record of what you say in order to be able to check that the students really have heard all their words. <. &rainstorm round a word $ake a word the class has recently learnt and ask the students to suggest all the words they associate with it. 8rite each suggestionon the board with a line ,oining it to the original word in a

circle so that you can get a -sunray- effect. 'f the original was -clothes- for e"ample you might get3 dress scarf skirt coat shirt hat socks ,eans =. .hain story &egin telling a story. $his can be the first few lines of a story from your course book or improvised or you can invite a student to start. $hen going round the class each student has to add another brief -installment- to the story. >. .hange places? &y @o &udden $his is a great activity to get students moving about and practice some vocabulary or sentence structures. %tart with students in a closed circle with the teacher standing in the middle to begin the game. $here should always be one less chair than participants. Depending on what you want to revise the teacher says A.hange places if ??!0"ample# youBre wearing trainers.C All students who are wearing trainers must stand up and move to another chair and the teacher should sit on one of the recently vacated seats. $he person left without a seat stays in the middle and gives the ne"t command A.hange places if you ??!0"ample# have brown eyesC and so it goes on. Adapt for higher levels with commands such as A.hange places if ? you went to the cinema last weekendC or A.hange places if you ? would like to have less homework.C Doung learners can get very e"cited with this game so make it clear from the beginning that pushing other students out of chairs and similar behaviour is not going to be toleratedE &e careful to incorporate this activity in the class at an appropriate time. 't is a definitely a FwarmerB as opposed to a FcoolerB and may be better at the end of a class. 19. .hanging sentences .hoose a simple sentence pattern which can be based on a grammatical structure you-ve recently learnt. Gor e"ample if you have been studying indirect ob,ects take a sentence like3 -%he wrote a letter to her sister.- $hen the students invent variations either by changing one element at a time3 -%he wrote a letter to her husband11. .omparing things )resent the class with two different !preferably concrete# nouns such as3 an elephant and a pencilH the )rime Iinister and a flowerH a car and a person !preferably using vocabulary the class has recently learnt#. %tudents suggest ways of comparing them. Jsually it is best to define in what way you want them to compare for e"ample by using comparativesH -A pencil is thinner than an elephant-. 6r by finding differencesH -$he )rime Iinister is noisy and a flower is silent. 6r similaritiesH -&oth a car and a person need fuel to keep them going-. 1(. .onditional .hain $his game is good to revise and practise structures in the first conditional. $he teacher begins with a sentence for e"ample A'f ' go out tonight 'Bll go to the cinema.C $he ne"t person in the circle must use the end of the previous sentence to begin their own sentence. 0g A'f ' go to the cinema 'Bll watch .harlie and the .hocolate Gactory.C $he ne"t person could say A'f ' watch .harlie and the .hocolate Gactory 'Bll eat lots of chocolate.C $hen A'f ' eat lots of chocolate 'Bll put on weightC etc. etc. 1+. .orrecting mistakes 8rite up a few sentences on the board that have deliberate mistakes in them. 'f you wish tell the students in advance how many mistakes there are in each sentence. 2ere are some sample sentencesH -Desterday '-m very ill- -$he flowers was in the garden- -$hey will come isn-t it411. .utting down te"ts

$ake a short te"t of up to about +9 words !it can be from your course book# and write it up on the board. %tudents suggest any section of one two or three words that can be cut out while still leaving a grammatically acceptable - though possibly ridiculous - te"t. %ections are eliminated for as long as it is possible to do so. Gor e"ample3 -$he princess was awakened by the kiss of a handsome prince-. -$he princess was awakened by the kiss of a prince-. -$he princess was awakened by a prince- . -$he princess was awakened-. -$he princess-. -)rincess15. Detectives 6ne volunteer is the detective and goes outside. Dou give a coin to one of the students in the class to hide on their person - he or she is the thief. $he detective returns and accuses any member of the class3 -Did you take the money4- $he accused whether guilty or innocent answers -Ko ' didn-t take the money L !names one of the others# took it-. $he detective then accuses L using the same formula as before and so on until one or fifteen people have been accused !it is up to the students to make sure that the real thief is named#. $he detective watches the accused people and has to try to detect by their behavior which one is lying. Give him or her three guesses. 17. Diaries Ask the students to keep a diary and allow five minutes once or twice a week for this to be done. $he diary can be about the students- e"perience of the lessons and what they feel they have achieved or it can be about other matters of concern to them. $he diary doesn-t need to follow the convention of a day-byday record. 't can be kept private or shared with another student or shared with you. 1<. Dictation and drawing Good activity to check on oral comprehensionE 6n a piece of paper your students have to draw what you tell them. 1=. Dictate numbers Dictate a random list of numbers in 0nglish. &oth you and the students write down the corresponding figures as you say them. $hen check by writing the answers on the board or asking them to reformulate their figures into words. 1>. Discussing lessons Give minutes before the end of a lesson ask the students how the lesson was divided and what basic activities were done. 8rite these on the board. 'ndicating one of the activities ask what the students feel they got from it. Dou might ask if they felt it could have been improved as an activity. Ask if the learning point needs more work in future lessons. 8hen a point has been made by one student check with the class as a whole to find if the view is shared. Dou might conclude by summariMing what you were trying to achieve and what you feel you-ve learned from their feedback. (9. Don-t say yes or no 6ne volunteer student stands in front of the class. $he rest fire *uestions at him or her with the aim of eliciting the answer -yes- or -no-. $he volunteer has to try to answer the *uestions truthfully without these words. $his will mostly be through the use of -tag- answers such as -' did- or -%he doesn-t-. 'f the volunteer says the forbidden words he or she is -out- and another is chosen. Give a time limit of one minuteH if within that time the volunteer hasn-t said -yes- or -no- he or she has won. (1. Draw and compare

Great to work on comparativesE ' usually ask to students to draw something on the board and then we compare the drawings with the classE 0" 3 Draw a dog/house/person on the blackboard. ((. Draw a word 8hisper to one student or write down on a slip of paper a word or phrase that the class has recently learnt. $he student draws a representation of it on the boardH this can be a drawing a symbol or a hint clarified through mime. $he rest of the class has to guess the item. (+. 0nglish words in our language 'n pairs or small groups the students think of as many words as they can in two minutes that they know were originally 0nglish but are commonly used in their own language. 8rite up all the words on the board. Alternatively do the activity as a competition and see which group has the most words. (1. 0rasing words 8rite on the board about ten words which are difficult to spell and give the class a minute to -photograph- them. )oint to one word then erase itH the students write it down from memory. And so on until all the words have been erased. .heck the spellings. (5. 0vidence $wo students stand with their backs to the board3 they are the -detectives-. Dou write up a brief situation. $he rest of the class are -witnesses- and suggest orally concrete evidence !sounds sights smells etc.# for the e"istence of the situation without mentioning the situation itselfH the -detectives- have to deduce it from the evidence. Gor e"ample if the situation is -$he school must be on fire- the -witnesses- might say3 -' can smell smoke 't-s getting hotter in here ' can hear the alarm bell )eople are ,umping out of the window-. (7. 0"panding headlines Grom an 0nglish-language newspaper pick out an abbreviated headline like -6il spill off the west coast- and write it on the board or ,ust read it out. $he students write out the information in full sentence form for e"ample3 -A *uantity of oil has been spilt into the sea off the west coast-. (<. 0"panding te"ts 8rite a single simple verb in the center of the board. 'nvite students to add one two or three words to it. Gor e"ample if the word was -go- they might suggest -' go- or -Go to bedE- $hey go on suggesting additions of a ma"imum of three consecutive words each time making a longer and longer te"t until you or they have had enough. $he rule is that they can only add at the beginning or end of what is already written N otherwise you will end up with a rather untidy !and hard to read# series of additions. Add or change punctuation each time as appropriate. Gor e"ample 3!GoE Go to bedE Go to bedE said my mother Go to bedE said my mother angrily Dou must go to bedE said my mother angrily# (=. 0"press your view Kear the beginning of term tell the students that you want each of them to be ready to talk e"actly four minutes on a sub,ect they care about. 0ach week select a name randomly !perhaps from names in hat#. $hat student must prepare his or her talk for the following week. At the end of the talk the other students can ask *uestions and e"press how they feel about the ideas e"pressed.

(>. Gact and fiction Ask all the students to write a statement which is either true or false. .hoose ten students at random to take it in turns to read out their sentences. $he rest of the class !including the nine students who are actually reading out their own sentences# note down their names listen carefully and make a tick or cross according to whether or not they think each student-s sentence is true or false. 8hen the ten students have finished compare responses and then ask the ten students to say whether their sentences were true or false. +9. Gavorite words 8rite on the board one of your favorite words. $ell the class it is one of your favorite words and e"plain why. 't can be a favorite for any reason you like3 it sounds nice to youH it looks niceH it-s so usefulH it reminds you of good friends occasions places etc. 'f you feel the students need more e"amples of words and reasons for liking them write one or two more on the board. $he students should now write down some of their favorite words and then give their reasons for choosing them to their neighbor. %ome students might volunteer to write their favorite words on the board and give their reasons for liking them to the class. +1. Geel the ob,ect .ollect various ob,ects from students and from around the room. Dou can do this by asking the students to bring them to you. )ut the ob,ects in a bag. 2old the bag and ask students to feel the ob,ects and to try to identify them. +(. Ginding the page 8rite up or dictate a series of words !possibly ones they have learnt recently#. $he students have to find each word in the dictionary and write down the number of the page where it appears. Dou of course have to do the sameE 2ow many of the words can they find the right pages for in three four or five minutes4 ++. Gind someone who $he students have one minute to walk around the room and find at least one person in the class who was born in the same month as they were3 they get one point for every person they find in the time. $hen they haveto find someone who was born on the same day of the month. Give further similar tasks for as much time as you have. !Gor e"ample3 Gind someone who has the same numbers of brothers/sisters as you Gind someone who has the favorite color as you# At the end see how many points each student has. +1. Give-minute writing storms $ell the students that they have e"actly five minutes to write about something. %et a sub,ect which you feel will focus the students- minds but encourage personal rather than generaliMed responses. $ell them that you will not mark any mistakes of language but will only be concerned with the ideas or e"periences they describe. !Dou can note down general errors and give a language focus activity on these forms at another time.#Gor the ne"t lesson prepare general comments and select te"ts written by the students to read out. +5. Glashing Dou can flash any of the following for a brief moment3 picture mounted on card or in a bookH a te"t on a strip of cardH a book coverH a newspaper headlineH an ob,ect. $he students then identify and/or describe what they saw. 0ncourage differences of opinion and don-t confirm or re,ect any ideas. Glash

several times to promote attempts at identification and discussion. 'n the end show the te"t picture or ob,ect.

+7. Gruit and vegetables A fun activity to practise fruit and vegetable vocabulary and practice simple personal *uestions. 8hatBs your name4 2ow old are you4 Are you married4 2ow many children do you have4 8hatBs your ,ob4 Ask students to write down the following words on a scrap of paper keeping what they write secret form those around them. 1. the name of a fruit (. the name of a vegetable +. a number between 1 and (99 1. Ask them to write the answer to this *uestion N Do you like football4 5. 2ow many pencils and pens do you have4 7. 8hat is the first thing you do every morning4 Kow tell them that these things are actually3 1. their first name (. their family name +. their age 1. are they married4 5. how many children they have 7. their ,ob Kow they must get up and go around the class and ask the personal *uestions and share information about their new selves. 0ncourage them to shake hands !if appropriate# and make eye contact when meeting new people. 'f they donBt automatically use intonation appropriate for surprise etc why not model it before the activity. Gor e"ample3 2ow old are you4 A hundred and fifty seven. :eallyE4 !said with rising intonation and a long stretch of the word# $his game ensures that students really listen to the answers of their *uestions as it is an information gap N they wonBt know what the answers will be. +<. General knowledge Announce a general knowledge *uiM and then ask different kinds of *uestions. $he students can volunteer answers or you can ask them to write down what they think the answer might be. +=Guess the word !can be used for abstract nouns# .hoose five words relating to recent conversational themes. 8rite sets of clues to help students guess the words. )lay with whole class or teams. Jse one word per lesson over five lessons or use all words in one session as a longer game. 0"ample clues3 ' am a noun but ' am very important. ' begin with the letter FfB. )eople in prison have lost it and want it back. )eople demand it when it is taken away by dictators. 't is related to speech. !)uMMle word O Greedom# +>. Guessing .hoose an ob,ect animal or person and tell the students which of these categories it belongs to. $hey have to guess what it is. 0ncourage -narrowing-down- *uestions and give generous hints if the guessing slows down or seems not to be progressing towards the right answer. $he student who guesses the answer chooses the ne"t thing to be guessed. 19. 2earing mistakes $ell or read a story that is well known to the students !it can be one they have recently worked on in class# introducing deliberate mistakes as you do so. 8hen they hear a mistake students put their hands up call out the correction or note down the mistake. 11. 2ow do you feel4 $ell the students to close their eyesH they might like to place their heads on their arms. Ask them to think about how they feelH they might think about their day so far or about their previous lesson with

you and what they remember of it what they learnt and what their problems might have been. After a few minutes students who are willing to do so can say what their feelings are. 1(. 2ow many things can you think of that ...4 'n groups students try to think of and note down as many things as they can that fit a given definition and that they know in 0nglish. !Gor instance you might tell them to think of as many items as they can that are small enough to fit into a matchbo" or that work on electricity#. After two or three minutes pool all the ideas on the board or have a competition to see which group can think of the most items. 1+. 'f ' weren-t here $he students note down the answer to the *uestion3 -'f you weren-t here where would you be4- %hare ideas. $hen introduce a slight variation3 -'f you weren-t here where would you like to he4- 6ther similar *uestions3 -'f you weren-t yourself who would you like to be4- 6r3 -'f you weren-t living now when would you have liked to live411. 'maginary classroom $ell the students to imagine that the room is absolutely empty3 no furniture no people nothing. $hey have to create their ideal classroom by suggesting how to -refurnish- it. Gor e"ample3 $here is a thick soft wall-towall carpet on the floor. $here is a television in that corner with a video. 15. 'maginative descriptions 2old up two pictures chosen at random and ask the students to suggest a possible relationship between them. 0ncourage imaginative even ridiculous ideas. Gor e"ample a picture of a car and a picture of a packet of cigarettes3 -$hey are both dangerous to other people not only to the driver or the smoker. $hey both give a lot of ta"es to the government. ' don-t like it when people smoke in a car. 17. 'maginative identifications 2old up a pen and start a conversation. Dou3 8hat-s this4 %tudent3 A pen. Dou3 Ko it isn-tE !)retend to fly the pen around as if it were a plane.# 8hat is it4 %tudent3 't-s a plane. Give the pen to a student and ask him or her to pretend that it is something else. .ontinue around the class for as long as imaginative ideas are forthcoming. 1<. 'mportant people 'n small groups or pairs students tell their neighbors which person has been an important influence in their lives and why. 1=. 'nterrupting the story $ell the students that you are going to begin a story and that they should try to stop you saying more than a few words by asking *uestions. Gor e"ample3 Dou3 $he other day? %tudent A3 8hich day was it4 Dou3 't was $uesday. %tudent &3 8as it in the morning or afternoon4 Dou3 Afternoon. Anyway ' was? %tudent .3 8hat time was it4 1>. 'nterview an interesting personality 'magine that you are a person who is well known to the students3 a famous national figure a singer or actor a local personality or a character from the book. Dou are at a press conferenceH the students are the ,ournalists.

$ell the students who you are and invite them to ask you *uestionsH you of course have to improvise answers as convincingly as you can. After the first time a student can take over the role of the interviewee choosing his or her new identity. 59. 'n the $eacherBs %hoes &y @o &udden $his is great for the first class with a new group or when you come back to class after a holiday or even after a weekend. )ut students into ( teams. Ask the teams to write five *uestions theyBd like to ask you. $hen ask for a volunteer from each team to sit at the front of the class. $hey are going to imagine they are you and spend a few minutes Fin the teacherBs shoesBE $he teams ask their *uestions and the students at the front who are in your shoes must try to answer the *uestions as they think you would answer them. Dou decide whose response is closest to your own answer to the *uestion and award points accordingly. 5(. 'nvisible elephant $ell the students that you are going to draw a picture for them. Draw the outline of an elephant in the air with your finger. Ask them what you have drawn. 0ncourage different interpretations. 5+. 'tBs 'n the &ag %plit your group into teams of two or three. 2ave each team collect four random items !the more unusual the better# and place them into a grocery bag. Afterwards have the teams switch bags. 0ach group must come up with a play that involves an ordinary daily situation !going to a restaurant asking for directions taking the bus going to the post office going to the movies etc# involving the items in their bags. 6utcomes are usually hilarious. 51. 't was the way she said it $ake one word or a short sentence and ask the students to say it in as many different ways as possible. Dou might like to discuss with the students what difference the intonation makes to the meaning in each case in what circumstances this intonation might be used !0"3 ' love you 2ello Good morning 8ell .ome here )lease# 55. ' would like to be a giraffe 8rite down the following words on the board3 lake waterfall river and ocean. 0ach student decides which of these he or she would prefer to be and tells his or her neighbor. $hey ask each other followup *uestions for e"ample3 -'s it a very high waterfall4- -'s it a lake in the mountains or a lake in flat country4- -2ow do you think an ocean shows your personality and interests457. @umbled sentences )ick a sentence out of your course book and write it up on the board with the words in ,umbled order3 !0"3 early the ' week to during have to go sleep# $he students work out and write down the original sentence3 !' have to go to sleep early during the week#. 'f there is time give a series of similar sentences and the students do as much as they can in the time. Dou can use this activity to review a grammatical point taking the sentences from a grammar e"ercise. 5<. @umbled words 8rite on the board words the students have recently learnt or ones they have difficulty spelling with the letters in ,umbled order. 't is best to have the words all associated with one given theme otherwise the task of working them out can he too difficult and timeconsuming. Gor e"ample you

might give an elementary class a set of words like3 !gdo sumoe owc knymoe tca tnhpeeal ibdr# and tell them these are all animals. 'n the time given they work out as many as they can of the answers3 !dog mouse cow monkey cat elephant bird# 5=. ;im-s game %ay that you are interested in seeing how observant the students are and what sort of memories they have. .ollect about seven or eight ob,ects belonging to the students !with their agreementE#. Pet the class see each ob,ect before you put it into a bag. 'f there is sufficient time ask the students to write down from memory the names of all the ob,ects what they look like and who they belong to. 'f time is short ask the students to call out the names of the ob,ects their appearance and who they belong to. !Dou can check these by looking in the bag.Q Do not immediately confirm or re,ect descriptions. 0ncourage argumentE Ginally show the ob,ects and return them to their owners.

5>. Pistening :ace by Pucy Daniels $his is to practise personal descriptions and works on aural skills. $he competetive element makes the students a lot more eager to ,oin in and really listen. Dou need to prepare a selection of descriptions. %entences can include whatever they have been learning3 -Iy name is..- -'-m 19 years old- -'-ve got one brother and two sisters- etc. Iake two sets of all the descriptions you choose to use in the game and cut out the phrases separately. Don-t forget to take a record of the sentences you have cut upE $he aim of the game is for students to win points for their team by choosing the right sentence according to what the teacher reads out then be the first to place it on a table at the front of the class. %o seperate the children into two teams and get them to form two lines at the back of the classroom. )ut a set of the phrases on a table in front of each team - about halfway down the class - then read out the sentences and the children race to bring the correct phrase to the front. 8hoever is first wins a point. 'f you like children could take it in turns to be the teacher and read out the descriptions. 79. Pistening to sounds $he students close their eyes and rest their heads on their arms. $hey should then listen and try to recogniMe all the sounds they hear. 'f some students deliberately contribute to the noises to be identified that is useful but don-t let it get out of handE After two minutes they open their eyes and describe and discuss what they heard first with their neighbor and then with the class as a whole. &oth the simple past tense and continuous past tense are naturally conte"tualiMed by this activity. 0"ample3 $here was a carH it was going past. 't was accelerating. %omebody dropped something. ' think it was a lot of wood ... or some bricks. %omebody was whispering in the class. %omebody was laughing. %omebody closed a door. $here was a birdH it was singing. 71. Iagic &ag Good activity to revise there is/ there are R yes/no *uestions R ' think maybe !there must be#. )ut different ob,ects in a bag or a bo". %tudents have to ask you *uestions to find what is in your bag. 7(. Iartian Draw a picture of a Iartian on the board. )lace your two forefingers on either side of your head and tell the class that you-re a Iartian. )retend that you are unfamiliar with everyday ob,ects for e"ample cars coffee

ships music. )retend also that you don-t have a wide vocabulary in 0nglish. $he students should try to help you understand what each ob,ect or idea is but you must continually ask *uestions as if you don-t understand. Gor e"ample3 !Iartian3 8hat-s a car4 %tudent A3 )eople travel in cars Iartian3 8hat-s travel in4 %tudent &3 $ravel means you go from one place to another place Iartian3 &ut what does a car look like4 %tudent .3 't-s like a bo" on the wheels Iartian3 8hat-s a bo"4# 7+. Iatch the ad,ectives 8rite three ad,ectives on the board. Gor e"ample3 important dangerous heavy. Ask the students to suggest things which could be described by all three ad,ectives. Gor e"ample 3!%tudent A3 A car %tudent &3 A plane %tudent .3 An army# 71. Iiming 8rite a list of vocabulary on the board which you feel should be reviewed. %tudents take it in turns to mime one of the words so that the class can identify the word that he or she has chosen. 75. Iiming adverbs 6ne student goes outside and the others choose a manner adverb !for e"ample3 *uickly or angrily#. $he student returns and orders one of the members of the class to do an action by saying for e"ample -%tand upEor -8rite your name on the board- or -6pen the doorE $he person addressed has to carry out the command according to the manner adverb chosen3 to stand up *uickly or write their name angrily for e"ample. $he student has to guess what the manner adverb was. 77. Iistakes in reading %elect a te"t in the students- course book. %ay that you-re going to read the te"t aloud and they should follow in their own book. Add that you feel tired or you haven-t got your glasses and might make a mistake3 they must tell if you do. :ead to the class but substitute add or omit words. $he students should tell you immediately. $hank them correct yourself and carry on making more mistakes. 7<. Iusical writing )lay music you like and you think your students will like. As you play the music ask the students to write what the music inspires in them. 7=. Iy neighbor-s cat 'ntroduce it as your neighbor-s cat. %ay -Iy neighbors car is an awful catE- 8rite the word -awful- on the board. 8rite all the letters of the alphabet under the a of awful. %ay -8hat can you say about your neighbor-s cat4- $ell the students that they can offer ideas in any order they like. As the ideas are suggested write in the ad,ectives ne"t to the appropriate letters. !0"3 Dou3 Iy neighbor-s cat is an awful cat. %tudent A3 Iy neighbor-s cat is a wonderful cat. %tudent &3 Iy neighbor-s cat is a *uiet cat. %tudent .3 Iy neighbor-s cat is a beautiful cat. etc.# 7>. Kumbers and letters in my life 0ach student thinks of a number and letters which are important in his or her life - a date a telephone or house number an age name city or whatever. A volunteer writes his or her numbers and letters on the board and the others try to guess what it is and why it is important. <9. 6dd one out

8rite si" words on the board from one broad le"ical set. Gor e"ample3 .hair table windows and cupboard. Ask the students which word does not -belong- to the others. .hallenge the students to argue why this word is the -odd one out-. Gor e"ample a window is outside and inside a building and the other ob,ects are all inside. 0ncourage students to argue that another word is the odd one out. 6ne might say that chair is the odd one out because it is the only one that you normally sit on. <1. 6pposites 8rite on the board or dictate a series of si" to ten words which have fairly clear opposites. 'n pairs or groups the students help each other to think of and note down the opposites. .heck and supply any words the students did not know. 'n some cases words may have two or more possible opposites for e"ample -light-3 -heavy- or -dark-. Also you should be open to original imaginative suggestions from the students provided these are accompanied by reasonable ,ustificationE <(. 6ral cloMe :ead a story or prose passage which can be from your course book. %top occasionally before a key word and get the students to guess what it is going to be3 they can either volunteer the word orally or write it down. 'f the passage is one they have worked on recently this can function as a review e"ercise of key vocabulary.

<+. )icture dictation Describe a scene or person giving the students time to draw what you say. Pet them compare pictures with each other. 'f there is time they can then dictate the picture back to you while you draw it on the board. <1. )iling up a sentence %tart by telling the students something you like for e"ample3 ' like pop music. $hen ask a student to recall what you like and add a -like- of his or her own3 !$he teacher# likes pop music ' like watching television. Another student adds a further item3 !$he teacher# likes pop music @aime likes watching television ' like ice cream. . . . And so on with each student adding something until the chain becomes too long to remember. <5. )roverbs 8rite a well-known 0nglish proverb on the board !0"3 Don-t cry over spilt milk#. Discuss its meaning and compare it with similar or contrasting proverbs from the students- own culture. <7. SuiM *uestion challenge A *uiM game based on recent vocabulary and topics covered can form the basis of this game with a twist. 't has been played successfully with beginnersE :ead aloud the answers from your *uiM cards . 'n teams students must guess what the *uestion isE Allow conferring between team members. Award two points for getting the *uestion e"actly right and one point for providing a *uestion which makes sense and gets the answer e.g. if the answer is -(1- the *uestions could be -2ow many students are there in this class4 !two points# and -2ow old is the assistant4- !one point# <<. :easons for wanting an ob,ect

$ell the students you have an item to give away as a gift and the person who can give the most convincing reason why he or she wants it will get it. $he item can be something that is really desirable !a new car or a winter coat for e"ample#H or something that is not !a baby crocodile or a stone# so that students really have to use their imaginations to devise reasons why it might be needed. <=. :ecalling words 8rite on the board between 15 and (9 words the students have recently learnt or that you think they know. Iake sure all the words are understood. Give a minute for everyone to look at them then erase or conceal them. 'ndividually or in pairs or groups the students try to recall as many as they can and write them down. Gind out who remembered the most !and spelt them correctly#. <>. :emember when? $ell your participants that you are going to be taking a trip back in time. $ype out random dates on the computer and cut them out. )lace the dates into a hat or bowl and have each person draw one. 0ach person has to write a short blurb about something that happened to him or her in that particular year. Afterwards everyone shares his/her story from the time period drawn. 'nclude yourself in the activityas it makes the participants feel more comfortable. Ginding a flashing light to set off and pretending itBs from the Atime machineC before you arrive at each year will always get some laughs. =9. %ay things about a picture Do a drawing on the board or simply select a picture from their course book or a magaMine picture or poster of your own. $he students look at the picture and say things about itH you can give directions that these must be in the form of complete grammatical sentences or simply acceptable shorter utterances. Gor each acceptable contribution write a tick on the board. 2ow many can the class think of in two minutes4 6r can they find at least (9 or +9 sentences4 =1. %earch through the book $ell the students this is an e"ercise in *uick scanning a useful study skill. 6pen your course book at random read out to the students a name caption or sentence that is prominent on the open page3 can they find the place and tell you the page number4 Dou may need to limit the scope !-$his is between pages +9 and 59- -$his is somewhere in chapter 5-#. Give a little time after you have seen that the *uickest student has found it in order to give the others a chance - then ask for the answer. 82. Seeing pictures in your mind Ask the students to close their eyes and to sit in as rela"ed a way as possible. %ay that you are going to describe a picture for them to see in their minds. Describe the picture slowly for e"ample3 $here are broad fields and in the distance there is a low hill. $here are trees on the hill. Above is a great sky filled with clouds. 2ave a look at the picture for a few moments. Ask the students to open their eyes and to describe their landscape to their neighbour. Almost certainly they will discover that each saw the landscape differently. )rompt discussion by asking *uestions for e"ample3 8hat could you see in the fields4 8as it grass4 8as it corn4 8ere there any animals4 2ow did you feel about the picture4 83. Selling freezers to Eskimos Give the picture of an ob,ect to a student. .hallenge him or her to -sell- it to the class by arguing why they really need it. $his activity can be done seriously or humorously. Gor e"ample3 !%tudent3 !holding up a picture of a home knitting machine# 8e are all tired at the end of the day. 8e can watch television or we can go to the pub with our friends. &ut if we go to the pub every night it costs a lot of money. ;nitting is the answerE ;nitting is rela"ing. 8e can give the ,erseys etc. to our friends or we can sell them. %o we can rela" e"press ourselves and make moneyE 8ho wants one4 # $he students then decide whether the sales talk was persuasive or not.

=1. %imon says Give the students a series of simple commands to perform3 !%tand upE 6pen your booksE )ut your hands on your headE# $hen tell them that only commands prefi"ed by the words -%imon says- are to be carried out - anyone who makes a mistake and obeys other commands loses a -life-. After three or four minutes how many students have still lost no lives4 6r only one4 =5. %low reveal Dou will need a picture large enough for the class to see. )ut the picture behind a piece of paper or in a large envelope. :eveal the picture in stages. At each stage ask the class to identify what they can see and what the whole picture might be. 0ncourage differences of opinion and promote discussion. =7. $he disappearing te"t 'f you have written a te"t on the board and no longer need it erase a small part of it not more than one or two lines. Ask a student to read out the te"t on the board to the rest of the class and to include the missing words from memory. 0rase one or two more words. Ask another student to read the te"t on the board and to include the missing words. .ontinue in this way until the whole te"t has been erased and remembered. =<. $he most Give or ask students to suggest a group of si" or seven items linked to a common sub,ect area for e"ample names of animals. $he students try to define each as -the most.. .- or -the -est- of the group. 'f the items were horse elephant spider cobra parrot dog they might say3 !$he horse is the fastest. $he dog is the friendliest. $he cobra is the most dangerous etc.# 6ther possible sub,ect areas3 food clothes famous people furniture household items. ==. $he other you $ell the students that you will ask some *uestions and that you want them to answer by pretending to be the sort of person they would like to be. Give the students a minute to imagine the kind of person they would like to be. $hey can do this seriously or humorously. Dou then ask the *uestions but students should give their answers to their neighbor. !0"3 Are you a man or a woman4 8hat ,ob do you do4 8hat makes you happy4# =>. $ongue twisters 8rite a tongue twister on the board and read it with the students slowly at first then faster. Iake sure the students- pronunciation is acceptable. $hen individual volunteers try to say it *uickly three times. 2ere are some e"amples of tongue twisters. !%he sells sea shells on the sea shore. )eter )iper picked a peck of pickled pepper. 2ow much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood4# >9. Jnusual view Draw a familiar ob,ect from an unusual point of view for e"ample a rectangle representing the top of a table. Ask the students to identify it. 0ncourage different opinions. >1. Jse the dictionary Give a set of si" to ten 0nglish words the students probably don-t know yet. $hey find out the meanings of as many as they can from the dictionary within a given time3 three minutes for e"ample.

.heck the meanings. $his activity can be used to prepare the vocabulary they are going to meet in their ne"t reading passage. >(. 8e both . . . 'n pairs students ask each other *uestions in order to find as many things as they can that they have in common. $hey are not allowed to use ideas that are immediately apparent through looking at each other for e"ample -8e are both tall.- $hey must discover them through talking. After two or three minutes invite pairs to tell the class some of their results. %entences will tend to be of the form3 -8e both ...T or -Keither of us . . .>+. 8hat did they say4 $owards the end of the lesson challenge students to recall things that have been said by the teacher or students during the course of the lesson-but they must report them in indirect speech. Gor e"ample3 Andreas said he was sorry he was late. Dou asked us if we had found the homework difficult. >1. 8hat has ,ust happened4 8rite a series of e"clamations on the board - not more than about ten. 'n pairs or groups students choose an e"clamation think of an event which might have caused someone to say it and write down a brief description of the event using the present perfect. Gor e"ample they might choose -8hat4and write3 %omeone hasn-t heard clearly what was ,ust said. $hen they choose another and do the same again. After two minutes invite students to read out their sentences without identifying the e"clamations that gave rise to themH the rest of the class guess what the e"clamations were. 2ere are some e"clamations3 !'-m sorry Kever mind Goodbye .ongratulations Great $hank goodnessE# >5. 8hat might you do with it4 6ne or two students stand with their backs to the boardH they are the guessers. Dou write on the board the name of a well- known household ob,ect3 for e"ample a pencil a cup or a bo" of matches. $he rest of the class help the guessers to find out what the ob,ect is by suggesting things they might !or could# do with it. $hey should use their imaginations and not give away the answer by suggesting the obvious use - at least not immediatelyE Gor e"ample if the ob,ect is a pencil they could say things like3 ' could pick it up. ' might throw it to someone. ' might point at something with it. ' could scratch my head with it. Kote that in this case might and could are used interchangeably. >7. 8hat-s the story behind it4 %how the students an ob,ect which belongs to you for n e"ample a penknife a bracelet your ,acket. $ell the class about the ob,ect and encourage the students to ask you *uestions. Ask individual students if they would mind telling you the story behind an ob,ect of their own. ><. 8here did it come from4 8rite the name of an artefact in the middle of the board. Ask the students to say what it is made of or other *uestions designed to establish what the ob,ect or material was like in its previous state. 0ach time they suggest something write it on the board and then repeat the *uestion. Gor e"ample starting with the word -shoe-3 !Dou3 %hoe. 8hat-s it made of4 %tudent3 Peather. Dou3 :ight?where does leather come from4 %tudent3 Grom a cow. Dou3 And what does a cow live on4 etc. 8ho where

and what4 Describe an ob,ect in the classroom and at the end of the description ask -8hat is it4Gollow this with a description of a person who is known to the students. $hey must try to identify what or who you have described. !Dou3 't-s got two doors it-s green and ' keep books in it. %tudent3 $he cupboard. Dou3 %he-s wearing a mauve ,ersey and she-s sitting in the middle of the room. %tudent3 8endy.# 6nce the activity has become understood individual students describe people places or ob,ects for the rest of the class to identify. >=. 8hy have you got a monkey in your bag4 0mpty a bag -yours or one of the students-. Go up to one of the students give him or her the bag and ask3 8hy have you got a monkeymonkey in your bag4 $he student has to think of a convincing or original reason why there is a monkey in his or her bag. After giving the reason and answering any *uestions from the rest of the class he or she then takes the bag and goes up to another student with the same *uestion only this time using another ob,ect for e"ample3 8hy have you got an a"e in your bag4 And so on. $his is a good activity for lighthearted rela"ation3 after e"ams for e"ample or at the end of term. >>. 8ords beginning with Give a letter and ask the students to write down as many words as they can that begin with it in two minutes. $hey can do this individually or in pairs or small groups. $hen they tell you what their words are and you write them up on the board. 0ncourage students to ask for e"planations of words that any of them did not know. 199. 8ords out of? 8rite up a selection of about ten disconnected letters scattered on the board and ask students to use them to make words. 0ach letter may be used only once in each word. Iake sure there are two or three vowels among themE Gor e"ample3 r a n s e , ' b d w y g. %tudents might suggest words like3 grain beg angry yes begin. $hey can suggest the words directly to you to be written up immediately or spend two or three minutes thinking of suggestions !individually or in pairs or small groups# before pooling. 191. Dou write ne"t 0ach student has a sheet of paper at the top which he or she writes a sentence3 it can be a simple statement of fact or opinion or a *uestion. Gor e"ample3 't-s very cold today. $his is passed to a neighbor who adds an answer comment or further *uestion and passes it on someone else. $he activity can of course be done in pairs rather than by passing around the group.