Games as a way at breaking the routine of classroom drill
Language games can add fun and variety to conversation sessions if the participants are fond of games. I, myself, have always enjoyed games, and students (most of them adults) seem to share my enthusiasm. Games are especially refreshing after demanding conversational activities such as debates or speeches. Here, the change of pace from the serious to the lighthearted is particularly welcome, although language games can fit into any directed conversation program quite well.
Socio-drama is an activity which obliges students to attend to the verbal environment. First, it is relevant to the students' interests, utilizing both extrinsic motivation, which refers to the students' daily interests and cares, and intrinsic motivation, which refers to the students' internal feelings and attitudes. . . . Furthermore, socio-drama is a problem-solving activity which stimulates real life situations and requires active student involvement.
Some teachers feel that language games are more appropriate in the manipulative phase than in the communicative phase of language learning. Most teachers, however, find language games valuable in both phases. In the manipulative phase, a game is a wonderful way to break the routine of classroom drill by providing relaxation while' remaining within the framework of language learning. In the communicative phase, a game can be stimulating and entertaining, and when the participants have stopped playing the game you can use it as a stimulus for additional conversation. For instance, if the group has just finished the game in which players indicate whether a statement is true or false by running to chairs labeled “True” and “False,” you may then ask questions about what happened during the game. ("Who was the first player?", "Who knocked the chair over by accident?", "What was the first true statement in the game?", "How many points did Team II score?" etc.)
Of course, for maximum benefit from a language game in either phase, the teacher should select only the best from the hundreds of language games available. Most people would agree that a good language game
(1) requires little or no advance preparation,
(2)is easy to play and yet provides the student with an intellectual challenge,
(3;) is short enough to occupy a convenient space in the conversation program,
(4) entertains the students but does not cause the group to get out of control, and
(5) requires no time-consuming correction of written responses afterward.
These games are for teen-agers and adults but often enjoyed by children as well, are especially suitable for use in conversation sessions. Before you read the instructions, you may wish to consider the following suggestions—suggestions designed to insure the greatest success with any of the games you select:
1. Make thorough preparations for the game. Read the rules to yourself several times so that you have a good understanding of how it is played. Gather materials for the games that require special equipment. Plan how you will direct conversation during or following the game.
2. Before introducing a game to a class, ask the students if they think they would enjoy this kind of activity. Occasionally an adult class expresses in no uncertain terms its lack of interest in the prospect of playing a game. When this happens, it is best to abandon the idea-at least for the time being.
3. Choose a game that allows as many students as possible to participate. If the class is large, a number of students will sit as the audience during some games. But even there, members of the audience may keep score and in other ways take part in the game. In small classes, you should make sure that every student has an active role in every game.
4. Be sure that the game you select is within the range of your students’ ability. Remember that the students will be greatly challenged by the fact that they are playing the game in a language other than their own.
5. Do not play a game at the beginning of the conversation period. Save the game for use in the middle or toward the end of the session, when the students would welcome a change of pace.
6. Give the directions to the game very clearly; making sure that everyone understands exactly how to play. You may want to play a few "trial" games first, just to make sure that everyone knows his role.
7. Direct the game yourself. Always stand in front of the class, so that all students can see you while you act as the leader or referee.
8. Be sure to follow the rules of the game exactly. If you do not "stick to the rules" but permit even one student to break a rule, you will establish a precedent that may lead to hostility among the students. It is always best, therefore, to anticipate problems of this kind and to play strictly according to the rules.
9. Keep the game well under control. Even though you want your students to have a good time, you cannot allow class discipline to disintegrate. Establish a pleasant but firm tone, and the students will be able to enjoy the game and learn in the process.
10. Observe how the individual players react to the game. Students who make an error in a game may feel a bit sensitive, so you should soften any blows to pride. If you constantly encourage a good spirit of fun, you will reduce the chances of unhappiness during the game.
11. In team games, try to have in each team an equal number of more proficient students and less proficient students. This will balance the teams and prevent embarrassment on the part of the weaker students. It also makes the contest more exciting. Some methodologists recommend that you set up permanent teams so that you do not have to name new teams each time. This has its merits, but you may prefer to create new teams each time you play a game, thus lending variety and interest to every fresh contest.
12. If a game does not seem to be going well, try a different game. Since some games appeal to one group of students but not to another, you should be flexible in your use of games.
13. Always stop playing a game before the students are ready to quit. In other words, never play a game so long that it begins to bore the participants. Similarly, do not play one game too often, since this will cause it to lose its novelty.
As you read the directions to the games that follow, do not be discouraged by the length of some of the directions. Long directions might make you think that the game is a complicated one, but all the games are easy for the student to learn if they are geared to his English proficiency level.
For this lively game you should set two chairs close to each otherin front of the class and label one chair "True" and the other chair "False." Then divide the students into two teams of equal size and have members stand one behind the other on opposite sides of the room, with everyone facing the two chairs.
Explain that you are going to make a statement which may or may not be true, such as "John is absent today" (when he actually is absent) or "It was cloudy this morning'" (when it was sunny) or "Mary is wearing a red dress"' (when she is wearing a blue one) or "There are ten girls in this room" (when there are only seven). You should say the statement fairly rapidly, and only once.
As soon as you have completed the statement, a member of Team I and a member of Team II standing at the head of their respective team lines should quickly decide if the statement is true or false and run to the appropriate chair. The first person who sits down squarely on the right chair scores a point for his team. Both contestants then go to the end of their team lines and you make another statement for the second set of contestants. The game continues in this fashion until everyone has had a chance to play or until the time limit, agreed upon in advance, has been reached. Because the statements can be short and easy, or long and difficult, the game is ideal for all language-learning levels.
Classroom twenty questions
This is an excellent guessing game in which one person chooses a visible object in the room and the other students try to guess what it is by asking questions.
Suppose that you, for instance, begin the game by mentally selecting a pink scarf that one of the girl students is wearing. Tell the students that you have chosen an object and that each student can ask one question about it. You will give a complete answer to the question.
After several questions have been asked, the person whose turn is next may think he knows what the object is, In this case, he can ask, "Is it a (the). . . ? If he has guessed correctly, he wins the game and becomes the person who chooses the object in the second game. You will need someone to keep count of the number of questions asked. If no one has guessed the object after twenty questions, the person who selected the object wins the game and can choose another object for the second game.
The game might go something like this:
Student A: Is it as large as the map on the wall?
Answer: No, it isn't as large as the map.
Student B: Is it made of metal оm cloth?
Answer: It's made of cloth.
Student C: Does it belong to a student?
Answer: Yes, it belongs to a student.
Student D: Is it in front of me or behind me?
Answer: It's in front of you.
Student E: Is it round?
Answer: No, it isn't round.
Student F: Is it very expensive?
Answer: No, it isn't very expensive.
Student G: What color is it?
Answer: It's pink.
Student H: Is it Anna’s scarf?
Answer: Yes, it is. You've won the game!
At this point, Student H comes to the front of the room and mentally selects a new visible object for the next game.
If your students are quite advanced, you may wish to play the original game of 'Twenty Questions." In this form of the game, only questions that take a Yes or No answer are permitted. Another variation of the game is to select a famous person, living or dead, to be guessed, instead of an object.
What would you do if…?
This is such an amusing game that your class will probably want to play it often.
Begin the game by dividing the class into two teams of equal number. Designate one as Team I and the other as Team II. Then, write the following on the blackboard:
Team I Team II
What would you do if. . .? I would. . .
Now give everyone on Team I a slip of paper and explain that each person on the team must write an imaginative question beginning with What would you do if, . . . For example, someone might write: "What would you do if you saw a tiger in the street?" Someone else might write: "What would you do if you won a car in a lottery?". Etc.
As Team I carries out these directions, give everyone on Team II a piece of paper. Explain that each member of this team must write an imaginative sentence beginning / would. , . , For instance, someone could write "I would dance for hours." Another person might write "I would buy a wig.” etc.
When everyone has finished writing his assigned sentences, collect all Team I's questions in one box and all Team II's answers in another. You can now draw and read first a question and then an answer. This game is sometimes called "Cross Questions and Crooked Answers"; the fun comes from the fact that the questions and answers are so utterly and ridiculously unrelated.
Projects
Projects involving hobbies, crafts, physical exercise, sports, and civic services are extremely fruitful for English conversation groups, provided that only English is spoken during a given activity. All you need to do is to find a common denominator in your group's interests and your abilities to supervise plus adequate time, space, and equipment to create projects successful in their own right as well as in conversation practice. While possibilities for projects are almost limitless, here are a few that you may wish to consider for teen-age and adult groups:
1. Playing card games such as bridge, or board games like chess or Scrabble.
2. Engaging in carpentry.
3. Doing metal or leather work.
4. Making jewelry.
5. Exchanging recipes and demonstrating the preparation of certain dishes.
6. Sewing.
7. Telephoning English-speaking convalescents or shut-ins to brighten their day and to practice English over the telephone.
8. Participating in projects to improve the environment such as clearing a stream of rubbish.
9. Drawing or painting pictures to be used as decorations in the classroom or clubhouse.
10. Taking care of a bulletin board by bringing in and posting appropriate items for display.
11. Playing team sports such as volleyball or basketball.
12. Learning songs and dances that are popular in English-speaking countries.
13. Giving talent shows, plays, or concerts.
14. Participating in various audio-motor units. An audio-motor unit is a language teaching device developed by Robert Elkins, Theodore Kalivoda, and Genelle Morain in which the teacher records a sequence of ten to twenty commands around a common theme on tape. When the teacher plays the tape, he pantomimes responses to the commands while the students watch. Next, the students join the teacher in pantomiming responses to the tape. Eventually, the teacher can read off commands in a scrambled fashion with the students performing the correct physical response to each command. For example, if the teacher has recorded a series of commands about unwrapping a birthday present, the following audio-motor unit might result:
(1) Pick up the package.
(2) Shake it gently to see if it rattles.
(3) Put the box down.
(4) Remove the card.
(5) Read the card.
(6) Put the card down.
(7) Untie the ribbon.
(8) Remove the paper.
(9) Open the box.
(10) Look surprised as you see a sweater inside the box.
(11) Take the sweater out of the box.
(12) Try the sweater on.
(13) Look at yourself in the mirror.
(14) Take the sweater off.
(15) Lay the sweater on the table.
(16) Fold the paper up neatly.
(17) Put the paper and ribbon in a drawer.
(18) Hang the sweater in the closet.
Since this sequence represents a typical birthday ritual in an English-speaking country, it contains elements that may contrast with birthday customs in the students' country. After the group has completed the pantomime, the teacher might want to lead a discussion on such matters as birthday cards, gift wrapping, and birthday celebrations in general.
A project that provides abundant material for conversation is an imaginary trip to a real town in an English-speaking country. You can select from a map of the United States, for instance, a medium-sized town in a section of the country that interests your class. Your students may then write a letter to the Chamber of Commerce in the town, explaining their interest in the community and asking for pertinent information. This might include brochures describing the town, postcards, a street map, telephone book, parking ticket, restaurant menus, local newspapers, and the like. If the Chamber of Commerce cannot answer the request directly, they may put your students in touch with local schools or service clubs that might be willing to send these items. When the material is received, you and your students can inspect and discuss the various items at length.
A lasting relationship between citizens of the two towns may sometimes result from such a project. In an article entitled "Teaching the Telephone Book," Clifford Harrington describes his Japanese students' experience with a "city-to-city" project: "One unexpected benefit was brought about by an article concerning our class that appeared in an issue of the local newspaper we were studying. A young American who was planning to vacation in Japan and whose family had lived in our' town since 1885 learned about us through this article. His visit to our class when he arrived in Tokyo was one of the highlights of the course. Perhaps the most rewarding result was the fact that one young Japanese woman who was planning to take a trip to the United States after completing her studies decided to visit the community we had studied. She now knew so much about it that she wanted to see with her own eyes the places she had visited in her imagination."
Content-based instruction (CBI)
In recent years, increasing numbers of language educators have turned to content-based instruction and project work to promote meaningful student engagement with language and content learning. Through content-based instruction, learners develop language skills while simultaneously becoming more knowledgeable citizens of the world. By integrating project work into content-based classrooms, educators create vibrant learning environments that require active student involvement, stimulate higher level thinking skills, and give students responsibility for their own learning. When incorporating project work into content-based classrooms, instructors distance themselves from teacher-dominated instruction and move towards creating a student community of inquiry involving authentic communication, cooperative learning, collaboration, and problem-solving.