Mini Plays

The teacher makes up a little discussion which she reads or gives to a couple of children to read. E.g.

Mum: Bye, now. Be careful!
John: Yes, Mom. I will.
Mum: Don´t forget to write.
John: No, Mom. I´ll write every day.
Mum: Call me when you get there.

And then, the teacher chooses one aspect to the plays that will be improvised based on this short discussion. E.g.

"Your plays must be about a situation where somebody is leaving away. What happens? What do you say? You have 5 minutes to practice a little play in groups of 2-5."

In five minutes the plays will be presented and some vocabulary can be marked, if you feel like it. The kids love making plays and they are pretty good in improvising incredible plays even in few minutes.

Story Telling & Memory Game

Ask the children (at least 5 to 6) to sit around in a circle. 

Ask one child to say a sentence in a story form e.g. "once there was a boy". 

The next child will have to repeat that sentence and add something more to it like "once there was a boy whose name was John". 

In this way the children keep building up a story as well as remembering what the previous sentences were. 

The child which forgets a line will go out of the game. 

This game not only improves a child's memory but also encourages him/her to be creative in storytelling.

Invitation to an Annual Dinner

Pre-activity: The teacher should have taught students about prepositions. 

Activity: In pairs, students are required to write a dialogue of about 12-15 exchanges based on an invitation card given by the teacher.
Sample invitation card:

INVITATION TO EXECS BUSINESS ANNUAL DINNER

DATE: 24 JUNE 2001
PLACE: PALOMA BALLROOM, DE PALMA HOTEL
TIME: 7.30 AM
ATTIRE: FORMAL

Allow about half an hour to prepare the text and about 3 minutes to present it in class. Ask students to be as creative as possible.

Students get to practice prepositions as well as Wh-questions. I find that my students enjoying themselves while pretending to invite their friends to the annual dinner.

Movie Review

This could be carried out in pairs or in groups of 3-4.

Pre-activity: The teacher should have taught students about adjectives and adverbs. 

Activity: Students can choose a favorite movie, cartoon or television series to review. They should talk about the main plot, actors and actresses, provide a synopsis and tell why they have chosen that particular movie. Once they have discussed and edited their movie review, they would have to present in front of the others, and hand over a copy of the edited text to the teacher to be corrected. May also include pictures to make their movie review more interesting.

The Game of Truth

It is a very simple but interactive game. As you know people always ask the same questions in chats over and over again. What do you do? How old are you? etc. She asked me if I wanted to play THE GAME OF TRUTH. I say yes of course! Here are the rules: (I made some changes for the English classroom)

1.Make a lot of small cards with interesting topics written on them, such as: LOVE, JEALOUSY, PIRACY, MONEY, SMOKING, SEX, DINKING, CLONING, BRIBING, FRIENDSHIP, DEATH PENALTY, PHYSICAL PUNISHMENT, FAMILY, etc, etc. Look for topics that make students speak. Sometimes even CONTROVERSIAL ones.

2.-Every student in the class will take turns in taking a card. He or she will talk a little about the topic in the card he or she selected. For example:

MONEY: for me money is very important, but is not the most important thing. It is only a way to reach things. Success is not measure by the money you can get, etc, etc.

3.-Allow student to express their feelings even if it is not their turn. Remember the main point of this game is to make students speak! However, don’t lose the control of the class.

P.D. If you select very interesting topics I guarantee everybody will try to answer the questions even when is not their own turn. This activity is excellent to "to break the ice" and to help you know each other in the classroom.

Saved by the Bell

I discovered this game while watching T.V. With some modifications the idea of the game is the same:

1.-Place a buzz or bell inside a waste basket (a clean one, of course).

2.-Get a light ball that fits into the basket.

3.-The student will make a shot with the ball. If the student scores the bell will ring (saved by the bell), if the student fails an indiscreet question will have to be answered by him/her.

4.-In advance, prepare as many cards with indiscreet questions as possible. 

For example:

Have you ever cheated in a final test? Have you ever stolen something? Have you ever had two or more boy/girlfriends at the same time? Have you ever gotten a ticket? If so why? Have you ever had a nickname? If so, which one? etc., etc.

The point of this game is to practise asking and answering in a fun way. However, you have to be very careful with the questions you write on the cards! (Some questions may be very offensive if you are not careful).

Pronunciation Bingo

THIS BINGO IS FOR NOUN - VERB STRESS

I came out with this idea while I was teaching pronunciation in Mexico. The idea is to make a bingo game contrasting the pronunciation of nouns and verbs with the same spelling. (Use a stress mark (´) to show the students that nouns are stressed in the first syllable and verbs on the second). Examples:

prógress - progréss
présent - presént
prótest - protést
cóntract - contráct
désert - desért
rébel - rebél
súspect - suspéct
cónsole - consóle
cónflict - conflíct
récord - recórd
cónvict - convíct
ínsert - insért
pérmit - permít
etc.

When you name the cards let the students listen to the words but not look at them. This way they will be able to distinguish the difference.

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - 

MINIMAL PAIRS BINGO

The same can be done to teach minimal pairs. Examples:

sit - seat
but - bat
bought - boat
saw - so
base - vase
etc.

P.D.MAKE THIS GAME INTERESTING BY GIVING SMALL PRIZES TO THE WINNERS

Spelling Review

This activity will make students review spelling in a funny way. You can create similar spellings as the following ones:

I.1.2.C.U = I want to see you

R.U.O.K? = Are you Ok?

I´s T = Iced tea

I.C.Q = I seek you

I.O.U. = I owe you

E.Z. = Easy

B.Z. = Busy

I.1.T = I want tea

I.8 = I ate

U.2 = You two/ you too.

Y? = Why?

C.U. $$$.9 = See you at nine

2E.Z.4U = Too easy for you

R.U.D.Z? = Are you dizzy?

Memory Game (Long and Short Forms)

RULES: The same rules as the regular memory games(the only difference is they are going to match the long forms with the sort forms).

Foreign students sometimes do not realize there are many reductions in English. They feel frustrated when they are not able to understand spoken English. This is in part to because they are not aware of short forms. A way to help them is by showing same expressions in both short and long forms. Examples:

want to- wanna
going to-gonna
ought to-outta
because-'cause
a lot of- alotta
see you-seeya
got to-gotta
let me-lemmi
give me-gimmi
what have-wattav
etc.

I advise the teacher to read aloud the cards when the students pick them up in order to encourage them to repeat and learn them.

Four-Letter Words

This game has nothing to do with offensive words.I play it just for fun and the students like it a lot. You will be amazed to see how many different words can be generated from a single word!
1.-The teacher writes a four-letter word (not a bad word but word made up four letters) on the board.
For example:
The teacher writes on the board: TIME
2.-Students will take turns generating words from the first one.The idea is to change only one letter but generate a miningful word.
TEACHER.-TIME
STUDENT1.-DIME
3.-Any letter can be change.Only one at a time, but not on the same place consecutively.Example:
TEACHER.- TIME
STUDENT1.- DIME
STUDENT2.- LIME (Wrong you should change any other letter but not on the same place consecutively).
TEACHER.- TIME
STUDENT1.- DIME
STUDENT2.- DOME
STUDENT3.- COME
STUDENT4.- CAME
STUDENT5.- CANE
Etc.
Etc.
The teacher has to limit the time the students take to write the words (may be 20 seconds). The students score a point for each meaningful word they write. If a student takes too much time he loses his turn. Finally the student who makes more points is the winner.

Listening Exercise (Song Puzzle)

I really like this activity because it is easy and fun. Students will say English is music to my ears!

For this exercise you will need the lyrics of a song in English.You will need several copies, one for each student. Cut the lines of the song. The students will try to put the song in order. You will play the song as many times as necessary. The student who finishes first is the winner.

Tell Me Why

The point of this game is to try to answer questions. We often take for granted many things but if we consider them carefully sometimes they are not necessarily logical.These questions are intended to make students speak. In most of the cases there are no "right" or "wrong" answers. Here are some examples:

If you're so WISE can you tell me WHY:

Some birds have wings but never FLY.

not all the monkeys have a tail BEHIND.

Leopards have spots and TIGERS STRIPES.

Grooms dress in black and BRIDES in WHITE.

People wave their hands when they say good BYE.

The ocean´s blue and so is the SKY.

Our EYES shed tears when we CRY.

We must WRITE letters from left to RIGHT.

Roosters crow in the mornings at six or FIVE.

People trhow RICE to the groom and BRIDE.

We strech and yawn when we feel so TIRED.

As you can see I repeated the /ai/sound to create a special sensation to the ears.These questions can also help you to teach pronunciation and intonation if you read them with the proper rhythm.

Traffic Light Questions

This games works especially with adult students who are reluctant to speak about personal issues. 

Prepare three cards (a green, a yellow, and a red one) with six questions each. The questions on the green card are easy and not personal, and the ones on the red card are more difficult and personal. Each student throws a dice twice.

The first time is to decide upon the color of the card (1 or 2 = green card; 3 or 4 = yellow card; 5 or 6 = red card) and the second time is to choose the question.

Spot the Difference

Divide the group in pairs. For this activity you get two apparently iqual pictures. You can get this pictures in puzzle books or internet. 
Give one of the pictures to a student an the counter-picture to his/her partner. Make the students sit far from his/her partner in order to describe the picture without looking at the counterpicture. The point of the game is to detect the differences without using body language or looking at the partner's counter-picture. The team that finds all the differences first is the winner.

This activity is specially good for those students who are reluctant to speak.

Extreme Situations

The point of this activity is to make difficult questions involving choosing a course of action in extreme situations. Usually this situations will involve feelings, prejudices, ethics,,etc.

Examples 1:
You are on a deserted island. There is a motor boat and you are the only one who knows how to drive it. It is up to you to decide which people of the following people you are going to take with you in the boat. There is space for only you and 3 more people.
Here they are:

• a prostitute
• a drug addict
• a dying old man
• a doctor convicted of malpractice
• a child pornographer
• a convicted criminal
• (Note: You should adjust the list to suit the students in your class. Delete some if you find them offensive. Add others that you think would generate good discussion.)

Example 2:
You find a wallet with $50,000 and the ID of its owner. That money is exactly the amount of money you need to cover the expenses of a delicate operation for your daughter. She needs that operation to survive. What would you do with the money?

And you can create new extreme questions to challenge students to speak.

Getting To Know You

- For larger classes.

1. Give each student an idex card

2. Have the students pair up and write the name of their partner on their card. Give them five or six questions that they must ask each other such as:
-Where were you born?
-What is your favorite color and why?
-What did you dream last night?

3. Make sure that they write down the answers to these questions on their card. When they are done, have them each choose a new partner.

4. They will then tell their new partner about their old partner based on the questions answered. Each person will record this information on the other side on the index card (the index card is only to help them remember everything).

5. Once they have finished, they each stand up in front of the class and tell everyone what they learned about one of their classmates.

This helps them to develop their communication skills and helps them get comfortable with speaking and interacting with all the students in the class.

Karaoke

- For larger classes

Preparation: choose songs that are easy to understand and somewhat enjoyable.

1. Divide the students up into groups of 4-5 people.
2. Give each group a different song. Have them figure out all the words to the song. Make sure that not just one person is doing the work, but that it is a group effort.
3. Give them the entire class (one hour) to work on it. Next class, have them return to their groups to practice one time.
4. You then have the group as a whole, stand up and sing along with the recording.

- This is fun for the students if they all participate and work together.
- Choose both popular and silly songs to keep their attention and interest

Syllable Game

Write a difficult word on the board for example 
ACCOMMODATION. 

Then clap your hands while saying the word. Repeat as necessary. 

Then ask them to count the claps in ACCOMMODATION. There are 5 handclaps. Get students to clap and say ACCOMMODATION. 

Tell students these handclaps are called SYLLABLES and that every word breaks down into one or more syllables. Briefly practice saying "syllables." 

On the board underneath ACCOMMODATION draw 5 medium sized boxes. Put the correct number underneath each box. 

Clap and say the first syallable of ACCOMMODATION and ask your students which letters should go in box 1. They should say AC (some might say ACC.)Repeat this process until all of the letters are in the correct boxes. So now you should have 

Box1 AC Box2 COM box3 MO Box4 DA Box5 TION 

Then choral drill the letters like this. 

Teacher: Which letters are in Box1? 

Students: AC 

Teacher: and in Box2? 

Students: COM 

Continue this until all 5 boxes (syllables) have been covered. 

Then ask a student to give you the contents of BOX1 and 2. Then ask another to give you the contents of box 2 and 3. Then 3 and 4. then 4 and 5. 

This gradual building of the word helps them not only to understand the rhythm and concept of syllables, but also helps them to fix the spelling in their minds. 

Once they grasp the concept of syllables, Write some 3,2, single syllable words on the board and get the students to work out how many syllables the word has, and then get them to put the letters into the correct boxes 

Truth or Lie?

It can be used at any level from pre-int. up. It can be used just for speaking practice but it's particularly useful if you're doing present perfect for past experiences. It works soooo well! The students just love it! Lots of question and past tense practice. Even the quiet ones will talk! 

Based on a group of three (it can be done in pairs, or fours if you write some more questions), each student has a piece of paper with five questions on it (see below) and takes it in turns to ask the person on their left one of their questions. The student answering the question must answer 'Yes I have.' regardless of the truth. The student who asked the question can then ask as many further questions as he likes in order to help him decide whether the truth is being told or not. Obviously, sometimes they'll be telling the truth. The third student can also join in with questions, thereby 'ganging up' on student B. Listen how students fabricate stories in an attempt to avoid questions! When the first student feels he's heard enough he says 'No further questions' and writes 'True' or 'False' next to the question. The game then carries on (student B asks a question to student C and so on) When all the questions have been asked the papers are passed to the left for marking i.e. the truth is revealed. The highest score out of five wins. 
This game will really open your eyes to people's ability to LIE. 
Here are the questions. You can use different ones, obviously. 

Have you ever… 
spoken to a famous person? 
danced on a table in a public place?
been trapped in a lift?
taken an illegal drug? 
sung karaoke?

Have you ever… 
appeared on television?
left a bar or restaurant without paying? 
written graffiti on a wall? 
appeared in a photograph in a newspaper? 
chased a criminal? 

Have you ever… 
done a very dangerous sport? 
won a medal or trophy?
missed a flight? 
stayed in a five-star hotel?
swum naked in the sea? 

A typical exchange might be something like: 
- Have you ever swum naked in the sea? 
- Yes I have. 
- Where did you do it? 
- Erm. On holiday in Majorca. 
- Who were you with? 
- Some friends. 
- What were their names? 
- Erm...etc. 

Comic Strip Challenge

Materials: Comic Strip printouts
This is a fun warmup that is great for those students who are a little bit introverted because it doesn't involve speaking but instead focuses on writing. Print out a simple blank comic strip and have the students fill it in individually or in pairs. It's best if you can find one that matches the topic for that day, such as emotions, hobbies, dating, etc. Then you can have students compare with a partner or another pair and finally you can elicit some volunteers to share their ideas with the class.
Procedure:
1. Print out a blank comic strip paper (one per student or one per pair).
2. Have students fill in the comic strip.
3. Students compare with a partner or another pair.
4. Elicit some volunteers to share their comic strips with the class.

Comic Strip
Comic Strip2
Comic Strip3

Boggle

Materials: “Boggle” grid on PowerPoint, whiteboard or paper
You've probably played the word game Boggle before. You have to shake up the letters and then you have a certain amount of time to make some words with connecting letters. You can also play it with your students but you don't need the actual Boggle game. Simply make up a grid on the whiteboard, PowerPoint or on a piece of paper. I make a 6x6 one and put some obvious words in like colors or animals. Then, students go in pairs and have to make as many words as possible that are 4+ letters.

You can give a bonus for longer words if you like. At the end, students count up how many points they have, you can doublecheck for any errors and then award a small prize to the winning team.
Procedure:
1. Prepare a “Boggle” grid.
2. Students go in pairs and try to make as many words as possible with 4+ letters. You cannot use the same letter in a single square twice within a single word.
3. Students add up points. The teacher checks answers of the top 2 or 3 teams and declares a winner.

Some possible words from this board:
green, pink, rake, back, fire, fires, fast, road, rose

Now... it's your turn!

Intonation Fun

Use this activity to underline the importance of intonation when your students, as they often do, talk like robots. Basically, get them to say the words in quotation marks in the contexts that follow.

'Hello' 
to a friend
to a friend you haven't seen for 3 years
to a neighbour that you don't like
to a 6 month old baby
to someone you have just found doing something they shouldn't
to someone on the phone when you're not sure if they are still on the other end

'Goodbye'
to a member of your family as they are going through the boarding gate at the airport
to someone who has been annoying you
to a child starting his very first day at school

'How are you?'
to someone you haven't seen for 20 years
to someone who has recently lost a member of the family
to someone who didn't sleep in their own bed last night

'I never go to pubs'
by a person that totally disapproves of drinking alcohol to someone who often goes to pubs
as a response to someone who has told you they sometimes go to pubs
said before: '…but I quite like discos.'

'What have you done?'
to someone who claims to have fixed your television only that now it's worse than before
to someone who is scolding you for not doing anything when you suspect the same about them.
to someone who has just done something very bad and which has serious consequences