Reading 5: Devising Language Games

(Wickham, 2013, pp.55-60)

Presented by:
Kok Jia Xuan
Irene Tiong
Phoebe Hon
Yap Sze Miin
Young Poh Ping

1. What are 3 important reasons for

using Language Games?
(i) Increase motivation
(ii) Make language learning authentic
(iii)Think in English

2. What 3 ways can you play board

games in the classroom?
(i) Play with a partner
(ii) Play in a group
(iii)Play as a class with the board drawn on the
whiteboard / blackboard

3. Explain how to make / find and use

board games in the classroom?
a. counters
Pupils can draw their own characters on paper or
card, or use buttons as their own counters.
b. traps and rewards
Teacher can provide the snakes in Snakes and
Ladders as traps because they need to move back
few steps if their counters touched the trap. Pupils
may move forward faster if the counters touch the

3. Explain how to make / find and use

board games in the classroom?
c. language tasks
Teacher can set and allocate the questions to the
pupils once they landed on a square. For example,
they have to say something and will be punished if
they cannot complete the task.
d. randomiser

Teacher can use a dice or coins to arrange the

sequence for the players randomly.

4. How can you use regular playing

cards in the classroom?
(i) Use it as a randomizer
(ii) Ask pupils to match the cards
(iii)Ask pupils to arrange the cards in a particular order
(iv)Find the correct card from a display
(v)Throw the card into a hoop or bin
(vi)Guess what is on the card

5. What are 2 games you can play with

Language Cards containing words or phrases?
(i) Snap
(ii) Happy Families

6. Name 5 ways (your own ideas or

from the text) that you could use
Flash Cards in the classroom?
(i) Match the flash cards
(ii) Put the flash cards in particular order
(iii)Find the correct card from a display or heap
(iv)Guess what is on the card
(v)Throw the flash cards into a hoop or a bin

7. How can you use a dice to teach

question words?
A teacher can use a dice to teach question words by
creating a largish dice out of card and write a
question word (who, what, why, where, when, how)
on each face. Students/ pairs/ groups/ teams have to
use the question word to make a sentence after
throwing the dice.

8. How could you use more than one

dice?
More than one dice can be used with a different
letter on each, or a noun on one and adjective on
another, or a word on one and instruction on
another.

9. Name 2 word-making games

that can be adapted in various way.
(i) Scrabble
(ii) Boggle

10. What is so good about circle

games?
Circle games can be relevant to both young and
older children. By conducting circle games, it is
easier to maintain control of the game, develops
cooperation

and

community

feel

among

the

participants. Circle game is flexible because the

game can be played in 2 or more smaller groups if
the class is too big or the space is not suitable.

11. Give 5 example (from your own

ideas or from the text) of circle games.
Examples of circle games:
Games that involve a song/chant which everyone joins in
and then each participant in turn has to sing/say
something.
Games that involve changing seat/position in response to
certain prompts.
Cumulative circle games where one person makes a
statement

mentioning

one

object

and

subsequent

11. Give 5 example (from your own

ideas or from the text) of circle games.
Games involve participants to say I like People
Who. Participants who fit the description have to
quickly change places.
Game involve participants to say What are you doing
where participants each mime the action from the
previous participant while naming a different action for
following participant to mime.

12. Name 4 possible community

places or events (from your own ideas
or from the text) that could become a
line-up
role-play.
Some possible community places that could become a
line-up role-play
Doctors rooms
Post office
Travel agent
Hotel lobby

13. What language would students

especially learn / practise with the
discussion game Alibi?
Students can practise listening and speaking skills.
Students take turns ask questions and give answer
in playing the game. Students act as polices will
question the suspects who rotate around the
groups, and see if their stories match.

14. What would the discussion game Two

texts help students to learn/ practice?
In the game, students carefully tell their partner
things they can remember about the text they
have read. This help them to practice their
listening

and

speaking

ability

in

reading text into verbal information.

transferring

15. What are the advantages of

Game Show type games?
Game Show type games provide competitive
atmosphere for students to learn the language by
involving large number of opportunity to practise
their listening and speaking skills. It is a whole-class
activity that involves all the pupils. Students work
together with their team and are motivated.

16. Give examples (from your own ideas or from the

text) of 3 Game Shows.
The first example from the text is Typhoon, where each
team has to answer a question and can then chooses a
box from the grid. The box may contain points, or an
opportunity to blow away someone elses points).

16. Give examples (from your own ideas or from the

text) of 3 Game Shows.
The second example is Wheel of Fortune. To play this
game, a class teacher can split her students into a few
teams.
A spinning wheel with dollar amounts or rewards has to
be prepared.
A list of expressions or phrases that have been taught
can be prepared.
Team works together to write the expressions on board.

16. Give examples (from your own ideas or from the

text) of 3 Game Shows.

The third game show is Password. It is a useful vocabulary

revision game that will break students out of rote definition
memorization. For this game, a teacher will need:
Two teams.
A vocabulary list. With beginner and intermediate classes.
(Words that you have already introduced).
Index cards
Timer
This game is similar to taboo. The students will have to
describe a words to one another without using the word itself.
Give one student a word on an index card and have them
attempt to describe the word. If the team guesses the word

17. What do drawing games give practice in?

It gives practice in describing a picture. For example, a
simple picture can be pinned to the back of the chair so
that a person at the white/black-board cannot see it but
the class can.

18. What is a well-known commercial version of a

drawing game?
Pictionary.
This game is where one student / pair / team is shown a
word / phrase / sentence and they have to draw
something until the other student / pair / team guesses
what it is.

19. What do players have to come up with in the

vocabulary game Scattergories?
Players have to come up with vocabulary words which
start with a particular letter.
First of all, select your categories (eg an animal, a fruit, a
vegetable, a form of transport, a country, a body part,
etc)

20. How do you prepare for a game of Taboo?

In the game, you need to prepare papers / cards with a
target word (or phrase) and a number (usually 3) of
taboo words.

21. What do the players have to do in a

game of Taboo?
The players need to prepare papers / cards with a target
word or phrase and number (usually 3) of taboo words.
The team / player has to explain the target words for
others to guess. However, it is not allowed to mention the
taboo words.

22. What game is an excellent way to

learn a body of vocabulary?
Bingo is an excellent way to learn a body of vocabulary.

23. Which is
cooperation?
Cooperation
competitions

is

better,

better

and

the

competition

because

not

students

must

all

games

endeavour

or
are
to

cooperate rather than compete. If the students are

working in pairs/groups, they are still learning cooperation
within their team.

24. Why is it good to have energetic

games sometimes?
It is good to have energetic games sometimes because
energetic games can become an educational games that
allow them to run off a little of energy, without doing
damage
property.

to

themselves,

other

students,

or

school

25. Give an example of a game to play

with a song?
During a listening and speaking activity, the students can
fill in the gaps in a song once they have learnt it. teacher
can conduct a group of students to sing the song and stop
at various students to carry on or fill in the words.

Reference
Wickham, R. (2013). Devising language games. TSL3111
Developing and Using Resources in the Primary ESL
Classroom: Students Notes. Kuala Lumpur, MY: Brighton
Education Group Sdn. Bhd.
Wickham, R. (2013). Developing and using resources in
the primary ESL classroom: Students Notes. Kuala
Lumpur, MY: Brighton Education Group Sdn. Bhd.