VOCABULARY

GAMES
Spot the vocabulary
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 September, 2009 - 15:56

This is a visual activity which helps make the process of recalling vocabulary motivating and
memorable. My students enjoy the 'suspense' aspect at the start, which really gets them involved.
I find this short activity works well particularly with lower levels, for vocabulary that has been
studied thematically. It can be used at any point in a lesson, as a warmer, filler or lead-in.

Preparation
You will need a picture (this could be an illustration from a book, from the web, a photo, even
your own sketch!) that depicts 'things' on a particular theme which your students have recently
learnt (ex: furniture/ food/ in the classroom).
Prepare one copy per group of two or more students.
 

Sample flashcard photos (each zip file contains a collection of images)

 Pictures of rooms 680k zip

 Food flash cards 576k zip

© All images are copyright Chris Tribble, King's College, London University and used with his
kind permission.

Procedure

 I hold up the picture so that the students cannot see it, and start building up interest by
saying, 'Hey, this picture is interesting, isn't it?', 'Can't you see it?'.

 I then ask students if they want to see the picture, turning it round for them to see just for
a couple of seconds. I find my students are really eager to see more of it!

 I then 'accept' to let them see it for a bit longer, walking round the class for each person to
see the picture for a few seconds.
  After this first 'suspense' stage, I hand out a copy of the picture to students in pairs/small
groups. I tell them they have two minutes to identify and remember as many things as
they can see from the picture, without writing anything down!
(Of course you may find your students trying to 'cheat' by writing things down - which of
course is fine, as this is likely to help their learning, without their realising!)

 Once the time is up, I take back the pictures and ask students to write a list of everything
they can remember.

 I then pin up a few copies of the picture around the class for students to go up and check
their list.

 Whole-class feedback can then involve one of various possibilities, depending on the
students' mood by this stage and how much more exposure to the vocabulary items the
teacher feels they need:
o students call out the items and the teacher writes them up
o the group with the most items reads out their list for the others to check against
o each group contributes one item/ the item that forms the longest word on their list.
They can come up to the board to write this
o the teacher and/or students pick out any items that they found difficult to
remember/pronounce and try to improve their knowledge of these items.

 A variation of this adds a 'grammar' component to the listing of the vocabulary items.
Following a focus on 'There is/ There are', for example, students can write their list under
these two headings. Other grammar features that work well are headings for
singular/plural, countable/uncountable or adjectives.

 Marta Joyce Sabbadini, Teacher & Trainer Cameroon

Collocation pelmanism
Submitted by TE Editor on 3 October, 2006 - 13:00

This activity follows on from the Think article Lexical exploitation of texts. It is often necessary
to recycle new words several times in class before they become part of learners' active
vocabulary, and the same is true of collocations. Whether the collocations are introduced through
a text, as described in the article, or explicitly taught, the memory game pelmanism can provide a
useful review activity in a later lesson.

Preparation
Three example sets of collocations are included below, as well as a template for producing your
own. I have found that about twelve collocations (i.e. 24 cards to match in pairs) works well.

Procedure

 Give students, in groups of 3-4, a set of cut-up cards, and instruct them to place all the
cards face-down and spread them out on the table.
  The first student turns over two cards. If the two cards form a strong collocation, he
keeps the pair and has another go.

 If the cards do not collocate, he turns them over again, leaving them in the same position
on the table, and the next student has a turn.

 The winner is the person who has most pairs at the end.

 In order to collect pairs, learners need to remember the position of the cards as well as the
collocations, so it's important that they do not move the cards around too much. It's also a
good idea to demonstrate the game with a strong student the first time you use it in class.
If you later use the same activity again, you'll probably find that learners remember what
to do.

Downloads
Blank template 179k
Tip: When producing your own sets of cards, make sure there are not too many possible
collocations other than the ones you intend to practise. It can be very difficult to include only one
possible way of combining words, so tell students to look for common collocations, or
specifically those covered in the previous class.

Verb-noun collocations for routines (Elementary) 157k

L1 interference can often lead to incorrect verb-noun collocations such as 'take a cup of coffee'.
This set of cards practises common verb-noun collocations for routines.

Business English collocations (Intermediate+) 184k

In the business world, there are a huge number of collocations which express specific ideas very
succinctly, for example, 'customer service','quality control'. If learners are not familiar with
these collocations, they will be forced to explain the concept, which is likely to lead to errors and
puts a strain on the listener. This set focuses on business-related noun-noun collocations, which
can be particularly problematic for learners.

Collocations with phrasal verbs (Higher / advanced) 150k

Advanced level learners may be aware of the meanings of many phrasal verbs, but are not
always able to use them appropriately. This is partly because phrasal verbs often have very
specific connotations and much narrower collocational fields than the 'synonyms' we use to help
learners understand their meaning. For example, if we tell learners that 'turn up' means 'arrive',
this can lead to inappropriate utterances like 'What time did you turn up?', implying criticism
where this may not be the intention. For this reason it's a good idea to introduce phrasal verbs in
context, e.g. through a text, with their common collocates. This set of cards gives an example of
how to revise such collocations in a subsequent lesson.

Catherine Morley, Teacher, Teacher trainer, Mexico

Quick revision games
Submitted by TE Editor on 17 May, 2006 - 13:00
Five things
Divide the class in two teams. Give each team a set of slips with five (or three or two, depending
on their level) things they have to name.
Examples:

 Name five things that move

 Name five drinks

 Name five things you would be doing if you weren't here

 Name five ways to get rich

 Name five animals

A member of the team reads the category of things they have to name and the whole team shouts
the words.

While team A is doing this, team B have to remain in silence. Then it's team B's turn.

Time each team. The faster team is the winner.

Category game
This activity can be used as a review. Students usually get very excited.

The teacher chooses a category (animals, colors, school objects, kitchen gadgets...) and each
student has to say a word that belongs to that category.

If a student doesn't know, he / she stands up. Then, the teacher chooses another category the
following student starts again. In the following round, the student who's standing will have
another chance. If he / she can say a word that belongs to the new category, he / she can sit
down.

It's a great game for revision and to get students tuned into the lesson topic. It may also be used
to elicit from the student what they already know about a certain topic.

Marcelo Elias, Teacher, Brasilia, Brazil

Word association recitation
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This is a good way of getting students to memorise words and practise their pronunciation. The
activity requires no preparation.

Procedure

 With a big class, write a word on the board, for example,'Sun'.

 Get the students to come up with a word that they would associate with that word, for
example, 'round'.

 Write that word beside the original word on the board. Now get the students to come up
with an association for the new word.

 Continue the word association game until you have a good number of words on the board
for the size of your class (for a class of 40 people, about 8 words will do).

 Now get each student to quietly choose a word from the words on the board (they don't
have to write it down, just memorise it).

 Confirm things by going through each word asking people to raise their hand if they have
chosen that word. You need to do this because if there is a word that nobody has chosen
then that word, when it comes time to recite the list, is replaced with a clap.

 Erase all the words from the board and just leave a circle in the place of each one.

 Then prompt the students to recite the list from memory by pointing to the circles on the
board and asking the students to say their chosen word when the time comes.

 The students are listening to what word comes before their word as a cue when to say
their word. When they get to any unchosen words, the class claps in unison. Go forwards
and backwards through the list at varying speeds.

 Lastly, get all the students to say all of the words together

Matthew Wilson, Japan

The revision box
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This activity can be used for both levels in teaching English as a second language. I use it mainly
for intermediate students and they find it interesting.

Preparation
The teacher uses a vocabulary box. This box must mainly comprise of words on pieces of paper
(either verbs, adjectives, adverbs etc.) all said by the learners themselves in previous lessons.
Importantly a lot of words are required for this activity.

Procedure

 The box with all the words is circulated around the class. Each learner is given a chance
to pick a word from which he / she will have to construct a short and grammatical
sentence.

 Each sentence said is written on the board just as the speaker said it. After 12 to 20
sentences the sentences are analysed to see if they are grammatically correct with the
emphasis placed mainly on the word from the vocabulary box.

 Correction of the sentences can then be done and learners, again depending on time
available, prompted to produce the correct sentences with the same word from the box.

It really gets learners talking while at the same time identifying their mistakes.

Bravoh Linosi, Namibia

The comparison game

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

In this activity, students compare the properties of different but similar words. It can take up to
90 minutes or be done quite quickly using fewer words and is designed for lower intermediate
students, though again this depends on the number and complexity of the words used.

Preparation
Prepare a collection of words which have a similar meaning or semantic field or which your
students often confuse.

Procedure

 Elicit the word 'similarity' and 'difference'. Write these two words next to each other at
the top of the board, and draw a vertical line between them - right down to the bottom of
the board.
  Elicit the difference between a 'pen' and a 'pencil' as an example and put the key words on
the board in the relevant sections. You can also elicit grammatically correct sentences
with these words (e.g. "You can write with both a pen and a pencil")

 Write your pairs of words on the board: e.g.

o café - restaurant
o newspaper - magazine
o kettle - teapot
o clock - watch
o house - flat

 Tell your students to copy them down - and ask them to leave spaces on the right under
the headings 'similarities' and 'differences'.

 Divide your class into groups of three and tell each group to work with one pair of words
(allocate them so that all the pairs of words are being worked on at the same time, but by
different groups).

 Ask the students to write down as many similarities and differences as possible in note
form.

 After two minutes say "Change!" - Instruct each group to work on the next pair of words.

 After each group has finished each pair of words, ask the students to regroup, so that each
new group is composed of students from different groups.

 Ask the new group to compare and edit their information - adding, deleting, and
modifying points.

 Get the whole class's attention and elicit the key similarity and difference for each pair of
words. Put these key words on the board.

 Create an example sentence using the keywords which includes a similarity and a
difference (e.g. "A kettle is similar to a teapot because you put water in both, but a kettle
is different from a teapot because you put cold water in a kettle and boiling water in a
teapot.")

 Split your class into pairs, and ask each pair to write a similar sentence, using their own
examples.

 Get the students to read out some of their sentences.

Why it works
Students use a variety of different faculties, for example brainstorming, short-term memory, and
an analysis of their perception of everyday things.
Follow-up
Ask your students to find out the difference between more confused words, e.g. 'university' and
'college'. Give each student different pairs of words to research. These pairs of words will
depend on their ability.

Paul Bress

Stop the bus

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This is a great game to revise vocabulary and you can use it with any age group and any level by
changing the category headings.

It really gets students focused and working on tasks as a team and can be a saviour to fill the last
ten minutes of a class when you have run out of ideas!

Procedure

 Put the students into teams of three or four.

 Draw on the board a table like the ones below and get each team to copy it onto a piece
of paper.

 Students simply have to think of one item to go in each category beginning with the set
letter.

 Give an example line of answers for the first time you play with a new group. The first
team to finish shouts “Stop the Bus!” .

 Check their answers and write them up on the board and if they are all okay that team
wins a point. If there are any mistakes in their words, let the game continue for another
few minutes.

 If it gets too difficult with certain letters (and you can’t think of one for each category)
reduce the amount of words they have to get. You can say. “Ok. For this round you can
Stop the Bus with 4 columns”.

Continue to next page  go down

Examples of stop the bus

Examples of stop the bus:

Adopt a word
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

At the start of the school year I ask my students to 'Adopt a word' and share it with the class.

Procedure

 I give my students templates with headings:

 The students choose a word that they would like to adopt and do some research on it
using the template above.
  Each student then gives a short presentation on his or her adopted word until all the class
has had a chance.

 The words are then stuck to a large paper chart on the wall.

 This activity carries on the entire year with students sharing more and more words.

 In between we have quizzes about the new words. The students greatly enjoy
contributing words, researching and presenting.

Sameena Rizavi, Pakistan

Lexical threads
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

These are two of the lexical threads that I use when dealing with the vast amounts of words that
come up within my own classroom teaching.

The main beauty of lexical threads is that they become familiar to the learners, they are easy to
plan and aid memory. After doing these activities, once the students don't need any further
explanation of what to do when they are repeated. This leaves the teacher important time to listen
to the students without worrying about how to manage the activity.

Thread 1 The verb dome

This is a favourite activity of my learners that originally started out as a warmer. One of my
students gave it its name and it just stuck. This is not linked to any themes or part of the course
but it enables students to see how much they know in a fun way.

Preparation
You only need the board and a pen and most importantly your students.

Procedure

 First split the students up into two groups. Have one student give you a letter from the
alphabet (make sure they don't say Z or X though).

 Then have each group call out a verb, in its infinitive form that begins with the letter
chosen. Each group calls out a new word and you record it on the board. The group who
can't think of anymore loses.

With this activity you will find you can write a lot of language on the board. It is highly
motivating when learners see how much they know. For this activity language emerges from the
knowledge of the students and teaching is kept to a minimum. I find that if someone shouts out a
word the others don't know, instead of having to teach the word, the students usually tell each
other what the word means as the games goes on. It helps them recall words they may have only
seen once or twice and aids memory.

Follow up
After a few classes you can choose another letter and do this again or ask for them to do this for
collocations of phrasal verbs. This time the students call out the verb and must complete it with
another word that collocates naturally with the other. For phrasal verbs have the learners call out
the phrasal verb with following noun or phrase that helps them show they understand its
meaning.

Thread 2 Pre-teaching slips

This activity is useful when I come across a new unit of language in the course book or start a
new theme or topic we are about to discuss.

Preparation
First preview the new language that you think will be useful or which your learners may need to
complete the task. As the heading says, this activity consists of slips of paper with L2
collocations or idioms on one side and their translation or definition on the other. You'll need to
prepare these before class.

Procedure

 With the learners seated show one phrase to the first student, have them pronounce the
phrase correctly. When they have done this give them the phrase. Next do the same with
the next student with a new phrase and do this with the rest of the group until all of the
phrases have been given out. Have the students stand up and 'teach' their information to
the others. They must make sure each person pronounces their information correctly
before showing it to the next one.

 When all of the learners have seen all of the phrases collect the slips and have learners sit
down.

 Now mix up the slips and approach each student individually and show the first slip of
paper and have them explain the definition or say the translation. If they get it right, show
the slip to everyone and put it away for the next phase.

 Go to the next learner and do the same. If one should get it wrong move round to the next
student until you receive the correct answer. Again put the slip away.

 When all this exercise has been successfully completed do it all over again, this time with
the translation or definition side being shown so the learners have to say the word.

 Pronunciation is an important requirement at this stage. When all of the slips have been
said correctly put them away.

 Now have the students write them all down in their notebooks (for teens I give them a
prize if they can note down correctly all of the vocabulary covered in the exercise).
Even if you do about 30 phrases, it is amazing how many students can remember even in the
next class and by writing them down they have something to look back to should they forget.

Since this is a pre-teaching task students will see these again and again through the next few
weeks of your teaching. This will give them a chance to notice their use in context and more
importantly have opportunities to use them.

This activity is an adaptation of an activity I once saw at a Braz-Tesol workshop. It helps

students to see, hear and feel the words and allows intonation and connected speech to be
emphasised. In the original you had the English word on one side of the paper and the translation
on the other. This way it either uses translation or with higher levels write a short definition
instead of the learners L1. I recommend that each side should be written in different colours so
you don't get mixed up as to which side is which, and also this should stimulate visual learners.

Shaun Dowling, Teacher trainer, Cultura Inglesa, Brasilia

The memory game

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This is an adaptation of the popular game we all played as children when we had to pick up
matching pictures, but in this activity we use the two parts of collocations.

Preparation
During regular classes, note down the word combinations that come up. Then put each part of
the collocation on 2 separates pieces of paper. Here is an example I had when we were talking
about the environment. The word combinations were:

ozone layer
Oil spills
environmentally friendly
cut down trees
Greenhouse effect
Animal poaching
Endangered species
Melting polar ice-caps
Recycle waste

The first part of each phrase should be written on one coloured sheet of paper or, if you haven't
got coloured paper, in a different coloured pen. Then with a different coloured pen, or paper,
write the second part of the phrase, for example, 'ozone' on the first and 'layer' on the second.

Procedure

 Put all of the first parts of each phrase together, face down on the floor. Then mix up the
second group of words / phrases face down in a separate group to the first.
  In groups students work together to pick up one piece of paper from each group so as to
make a phrase from the previous class.

 As the students match them up incorrectly students start to recall the correct collocation
or phrase.

 The activity is fun which also aids efficient memorising of the target language. The more
opportunities we allow our students to see the words the more likely they are to actually
have them 'stuck in their heads' for easy access at a later stage.

Shaun Dowling, Teacher trainer, Cultura Inglesa, Brasilia

Making it up - Phrasal verb stories

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00
A persistent problem area for students is phrasal verbs. This story activity presents the verbs in a
context helping the students to work out the meaning. It is also memorable so it's easier for
students to remember them too.

Preparation
Have each of the phrasal verbs from the story written on a piece of card, large enough for all the
students to read. Have the verbs in their infinitive form e.g. to go out with / to turn up / to break
down etc. Also make sure the pronoun is in the correct place depending on whether the verb can
be separated from the particle or not e.g. to get on with something / to ask somebody in etc.

Sample story 45k

Procedure

 Read out the story to the class slowly using gestures and miming to help meaning. Place a
phrasal verb on the board each time you say one.

 After each paragraph invite students, with your help, to repeat the story with you.

 Once all the story has been presented put students in pairs and, using the cards on the
board as prompts, get students to tell each other the story. Monitor and after they have all
tried to say the story get them to tell you it themselves without you saying a word.

 Keeping the students in pairs hand out the cards (have copies ready if you have a large
class) so that each pair gets about 5 or 6 each. Working together the students have to
make up a very short story using the verbs. Use the same verbs from the story. They can
write the story down if they want.

 When they have finished students have a few minutes to remember their story so that
they can tell it to somebody without looking.
  When the students have finished swap partners and get them to take it in turns to tell their
story. The students should not be looking at their stories just remembering them. The
listener can listen out for which phrasal verbs are being used.

 For consolidation/revision you can make a matching verb and definition exercise with the
more difficult verbs:

ou can also provide a speaking activity that personalises the verbs:

 How long should you go out with somebody before getting married?
 Does you teacher sometimes pop out of the class? Why?

Jackie McAvoy, Teacher and materials writer, British Council, Tunisia

Word grid
Submitted by NikPeachey on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

I've commonly found that although students are able to remember words and what they mean,
they still have problems when they actually try to use the words in a sentence. This is an activity
which I found useful to highlight the problem and to move students' knowledge of the word on to
beyond what the word means.

Preparation
Collect together a list of words your students have learnt recently and some quick definitions of
the word. Draw a large grid on the board. The size will depend on the number of students you
have, but limit to a maximum of twenty as beyond this their concentration is likely to lapse.

Procedure

 Read out one of the definitions and see if the students can remember the word. As
students guess the words write them up on the board in one of the spaces on the grid. You
can make this stage more competitive by putting students into groups and awarding
points.

 Keep reading out definitions and getting the students to guess the words until the grid is
completely full of words. Then put the students into pairs or small groups and get each
group to choose two of the words from the grid. Try to make sure that each group has
different words and that as many of the words as possible from the grid are chosen.

 Once the groups have chosen their words, tell them that they must write a single sentence
that uses both words and that you will award points for the most interesting sentences. At
this point it's better to focus them on the creativity rather than accuracy of the sentences.
  Once all the groups have written their sentences you could either get a volunteer to write
each sentence on the board, or read the sentences out. At this point you should award
points for the sentences for their creativity and good use of the words.

 Try to involve the class in voting for the sentences that they like the most and awarding
points. You could even make this more fun by having number cards for you or the
students to hold up giving marks out of ten.

Follow up

 Once this is done you can then look at the sentences again to see how grammatically
accurate they are and how appropriately the students have used the words. Particular
things to look for are correct collocations and the appropriate degree of formality etc.

 Try to get the students to check each other's work and see if they can correct any errors.
You may like to award extra points if they can find and correct errors in their peers' work.

Another approach to correction that I've tried is taking the sentences in and looking at them
closely myself. Instead of correcting them though, I write up a list of collocations or grammar
'rules' that have been broken and then give them back the sentences along with the rules so that
the students can find the errors and try to apply the rules themselves.

This is a variation on an activity that I first saw in a book called 'A way with words' By Stuart
Redman and Robert Ellis.

Nik Peachey, teacher, trainer and materials writer, British Council

Poetic introductions / A picture game

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

One way to introduce vocabulary could be having your students write poems.

 It sounds difficult, but you can make one yourself, such as "I am a teacher, I work hard, I
love my students, and they love me too."

 Tell them that you want to be the first to have the poem they write before it is published

 Give them the words you want them to use

 Perhaps elicit some rhyming words for this vocabulary set

 Students may work in pairs or individually

  You can display the poems around the wall for the students to walk around - in pairs -
and give some kind of mark or comment of appreciation

Another way is to use the words in a picture game.

 Have each student write a card with the written word and one with a drawing or a
magazine (or similar) cut-out.

 Put 20 of them in line face down (one line for words and one for pictures).

 Each student lifts one picture and a word. If they match, s/he gets one point.

 If not, s/he puts them back.

 The others probably will take notice where the answer is.

 You have to have a place where they will not disturb other classes, because it gets noisy.

Martha Valenzuela, Honduras

Snake-word
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

To check how rich my students' vocabulary is, I have them play the snake-word game.

Each row or team sends a representative to the blackboard. He/she chooses a coloured piece of
chalk and they stand in a line. I write a letter and the first student must write a word beginning
with that letter; the following student writes a word beginning with the last letter of the previous
word:

For example: D Data Amount Tomato On Narrow What........

They should write the words so that they make a snake…

Datamountomatonarrowhat….

Time is limited, depending on the level of the class. After the time devoted has passed, and you
haven't written a word, you pass your turn. If you pass your turn 3 times, you are replaced by
another pupil in your row/team. Only two replacements are allowed. After that, the row/team is
eliminated.

Bernard Ouedraog, Burkina Faso

The fly swatter game
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

Here is a lively and distinctive activity to practise vocabulary.

When we have a new list of 15 or 20 words from a chapter, I play the fly swatter game. I write
the words (without the article for nouns) in large print in rows across the board. Then I divide the
class into two teams. The first time around with the fly swatters, I explain how the game works.
After that, it's not necessary.

(A fly swatter is an instrument used to kill flies. It consists of a small square piece of material or
mesh which is on the end of a short flexible stick. it makes a great thwacking noise when hit onto
a wall or similar surface).

For those not familiar with the fly swatter game, one student from each team comes to the front
of the room facing the class, with their back to the board. Each has a fly swatter. When I say a
word, they have to turn around, look over the words on the board and touch the word I've said
with the fly swatter. The first one to touch the word gets a point for their team. There are some
other basic rules: 1) You may not hit another student with the fly swatter. 2) You may not throw
the fly swatter at anyone. 3) You may not "block" another player with your arm or your body to
prevent them from getting at a word.

 For the first round, I tell the class we're going to start with something easy. I say the word
in English and the two at the front have to find it. The one who touches it first with the
fly swatter gets the point. I do this until every person on each team has been at the board
once.

 Then we do round two, with the same words on the board. I pair the students up
differently so that they are competing against a different person from the opposite team.
This time I say the word in the student's native language and they have to find the
English. (Obviously, this round is for monolingual classes)

 For the third round, I give clues such as:

 Find something you can sit on (chair, couch, bed, carpet when we did items in a room, for
instance). If they touch a word that's plausible, they get the point.

 Find something that you can wear on your feet (when we did clothing)

 Find a male family member (when we did family words)

 Find something you usually do indoors (when we had activity verbs - play cards, go
hiking, play the piano, go horse riding).

 For each round, I make sure every student has a chance at the board. I find this repetition
helps, plus we have lots of laughs as we do it and I think that aids retention, too.

Happy swatting!

Carol Haring, USA

Definitions - Get rid of it
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This game can be adapted for matching definitions to words or matching opposites.

You need two sets of cards. White cards for the words and another colour (yellow?) for the
questions. Put all questions in a bag or hat at the start of the game.

Give each student at least three word cards, placed in front of them on their desks.

Choose one card from the hat and read the question. Students study their word cards. Whoever
has the corresponding word can get rid of it. The winner gets rid of all his cards first.

Example questions on cards:

 What type of animal has kittens?

 What’s the opposite of the verb ‘to borrow’?
 What do you call a person who cuts hair?
 Where can you buy medicine?

This activity first appeared on the British Council Language Assistant website.

Clare Lavery, Teacher trainer and materials writer, British Council

Word guessing games

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

The following games can be played throughout the school year but are also very useful as a
round up at the end of term. You can play them a few times. First play with the whole class and
then try in groups (good for mixed ability groups).

Guess the word (can be used for abstract nouns)

Choose five words relating to recent conversational themes. Write sets of clues to help students
guess the words. Play with whole class or teams. Use one word per lesson over five lessons or
use all words in one session as a longer game.

Example clues:

I am a noun but I am very important.

I begin with the letter ‘f’.
People in prison have lost it and want it back.
People demand it when it is taken away by dictators.
It is related to speech.
(Puzzle word = Freedom)

Coffee Pot game (a very popular game in EFL)

This game is good for practising and reviewing action verbs and adverbs.

Ask one student to leave the room then the rest of the class choose a verb e.g. type, ski, fly.

The student returns to the room and asks questions to guess the verb.
The missing verb can be substituted with 'coffee pot'.
Example questions:

Why do you coffee pot?

Where do you coffee pot?
Do you coffee pot by yourself?
Do you need any special equipment for coffee potting?

These activities first appeared on the British Council Language Assistant web site

Clare Lavery, Teacher trainer and materials writer, British Council

'Wall dictionary'
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This is a good way to help kids learn and review their vocabulary. It really helps them with the
alphabet and spelling.

Procedure

 Prepare a colourful piece of paper which can be used as a background for the wall
dictionary.

 Sew 26 pockets on it (or use glue/sticky tape) and label each pocket with a letter of the
alphabet.

 Ask the children to prepare sets of letter cards by writing the 26 letters on some small
pieces of paper. They put their letters into the pockets as soon as they can.

 We can use this wall dictionary at any time to practise spelling.

 For example, divide the class into three or four groups. They listen to words and then
choose letters from the pockets to spell the words.

Of course, you can make several wall dictionaries so that students can play at the same time
without fighting.
Nonia Gao, China

Same, opposite or different dictation

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This is an activity for advanced or, at least, upper intermediate students.

Dictate to the students pairs of words (e.g. hold/embrace, high/tall) and ask them to classify the
pairs as Same, Opposite or Different. Once you have finished dictating the pairs of words, the
students should compare their choices with their partner and explain their reasons, especially the
pairs classified as different (why are they different?) or same (are they always synonyms? Are
there slight differences in meaning and connotation? Are there differences in collocation). If you
wanted, students could use dictionaries to check ideas.

After the students have discussed the words, elicit the pairs to the board and deal with spelling,
pronunciation and meaning.

This activity can be done to introduce vocabulary that will be found in a text, listening activity or
song lyrics, but also for reviews. So, you find words in the text, and think of partners for them
for the S.O.D. dictation.

The activity is demanding but it is an excellent way to explore vocabulary and shades of
meaning.

Ana Paola Reginatto, Italy

Vocabulary box
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00
A small box, such as a shoe box, is a very useful tool in the classroom - it can become a
vocabulary box. You also need some small blank cards or pieces of paper.

 At the end of each vocabulary lesson - for example 'Houses and Homes' - either you or
the students should write words from the lesson on different cards. So, you may end up
with ten words on ten cards - bedroom, kitchen, roof, window…- and these cards are then
placed in the vocabulary box. If you have time, and with better classes, you, or the
students, may write a definition of the word on the reverse of each card.

 This vocabulary box can then be used at any time to review the vocabulary studied over
the weeks.

 You could simply pick words from the box at random, give the definition and ask for the
word. This can be done as a simple team game.
  Or you may try something more active. For example, when you've had this vocabulary
box for a month or two months and there are quite a lot of cards in there, you might say
to the students 'OK, collectively I want all these cards divided into nouns, adjectives and
verbs … Go! You have three minutes'. Or, you might say 'OK I want all these cards
divided into lexical sets … Go!'. Or, you might say 'Each corner of the room is a different
lexical set - that one's furniture, that one's medicine, that one is food and that one is sport.
Put the cards in the right corner, you have one minute to do this…Go!'. Then they're all
running around trying to get their words in the right corner. This could also be done in
teams, giving each team a handful of words to sort.

This box just becomes so flexible in how you can use it. It could be at the end of the lesson. For
example 'You can't leave the classroom until you've defined two words that are in the box'.
Vocabulary boxes are fantastic and they take so little time but provide so many activities.

Gillie Cunningham

Hot seat
Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

This is a good activity for getting your students going in the morning. It is also excellent for
revising vocabulary.

 First, split your class into different teams (two is best, but if you have a large class, any
number could be used).

 Sit the students facing the board.

 Then take an empty chair - one for each team - and put it at the front of the class, facing
the team members. These chairs are the 'hot seats'

 Then get one member from each team to come up and sit in that chair, so they are facing
their team-mates and have their back to the board.

 As the teacher, have a list of vocabulary items that you want to use in this game.

 Take the first word from that list and write it clearly on the board.

 The aim of the game is for the students in the teams to describe that word, using
synonyms, antonyms, definitions etc. to their team-mate who is in the hot seat - that
person can't see the word!

 The student in the hot seat listens to their team-mates and tries to guess the word.

 The first hot seat student to say the word wins a point for their team.
  Then change the students over, with a new member of each team taking their place in
their team's hot seat.

 Then write the next word…

This is a very lively activity and can be adapted to different class sizes. If you have many teams,
perhaps some teams wait to play. Or if the team sizes are large, you can restrict how many team
members do the describing. Have fun!

Callum Robertson

Vocabulary phonemic revision activity

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00

I am a great believer in teaching phonetic script with new words, alongside their spelling, stress
patterns and L1 equivalents. Being able to work out the correct pronunciation of a word from the
dictionary all on their own helps the learner to become autonomous and independent of any
'helpers' in real life situations.

So one of my revision exercises goes like this:

 I draw up a list of the new words recently encountered in class, but I do so exclusively in
phonetic script.

 The class is divided into groups A and B. I hand out one list to each group. In their
groups, students work out the 'real' form of their words. The teacher goes round checking
for correctness.

 Then group A gets a separate copy of group B's word list (phonetic). Group B students
take turns dictating their words to group A, making up sentences with each respective
word. Group A write down the words next to the already provided phonemic script. The
same procedure is used by group A testing their words on group B.

 We then make transparency copies of both lists, put them on the OHP, and in plenum
check for correct spelling. Also in plenum, words are translated into their L1 equivalents.

Elisabeth Boeck

Vocabulary self-study activities

Submitted by TE Editor on 2 February, 2003 - 13:00
Here are some tips you can give your students to help them with their vocabulary acquisition and
self study.

 Make your own word box

o Use one card per word, with the English on one side and a translation on the
other.
o Test yourself with the cards, sort them into categories, play games with them.

 Find a good basic vocabulary word list, say of about 1 - 2000 words which are sorted
according to subject areas.
o Revise 8 words per day regularly. In your mind, try to lock the particular word
onto the image of an object (e.g. 'influenza' - think of a person sneezing).
o To practise, randomly pick a number of words and make up a simple, but
probably crazy, story using the words. You can do the same with the words in
your vocabulary box.

 Have a good general attitude towards words

o Note down all new words.
o 'Fish for language' by going through life with an open eye and attentive ear.
o 'Soliloquize', i.e. translate along in your mind silently
 as you are doing things (as if you were speaking to an imaginary friend by
your side)
 as you are listening to the news
 as you watch people doing something
 as you see any object around

 Read aloud to yourself from printed text.

o Increase your exposure to words
o Television
o BBC Radio (shortwave world receiver)
o Books
o Magazines Newspapers (from UK/USA)
o English-language films on video
o Pop songs (wonderful for vocabulary and grammar!)
o Correspondence with an English native speaker pen-friend

Elisabeth Boeck