`

1. A - Z race
101 ELT GAMES
FOR ALL AGES AND
LEVELS
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.- $hen the students invent variations
either by changing one element at a time3 -%he wrote a letter to her husband-
11. .omparing things
)resent the class with two different !preferably concrete# nouns such as3 an elephant
and a pencilH the )rime Iinister and a flowerH a car and a person !preferably using
vocabulary the class has recently learnt#. %tudents suggest ways of comparing them.
Jsually it is best to define in what way you want them to compare for e"ample by using
comparativesH -A pencil is thinner than an elephant-. 6r by finding differencesH -$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 it4-
11. .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-. -)rincess-
15. 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-by-day 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 live4-
11. '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 follow-up *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 interests4-
57. @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 upE-
or -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.
=(. %eeing 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
=+. %elling freeMers to 0skimos
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 -8hat4- and 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 it4- Gollow 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.