Tag Archives: games
Speaking challenge: focus on accuracy
My IGCSE students have been preparing for their mock Speaking exams recently – and the real thing is just after the holidays. We’ve spend time focusing on developing answers, on using a range of structures and on using vocabulary to show “shades of meaning” but the students needed to work on their grammatical accuracy. This […]
Surrealist definitions
This is a great “game” which can encourage students to access their creativity. It could be used as a quick warmer or a filler game at the end of class. Students can use any language they feel comfortable using, so it could be used with various levels. I think the game comes from a book of Surrealist […]
A low-prep, low-tech, effective game for revision
In this activity, pairs or small groups of students compete against other groups to answer written questions. It could be called a low tech version of a Socrative quiz. It’s most easily done with a whiteboard and projector but it could certainly be done with a blackboard instead. You just need a list of 8-12 […]
Fortune teller revision activity
This lesson idea can be used with kids* to revise 3 sets of vocabulary, spelling and grammatical structures. It’s a fun task, they get to make something and then play with it afterwards. Stealth learning! First,get the students to think about the vocabulary you want them to use. A board race is a good idea because then you […]
Spelling Bee: dictogloss and games
Whilst marking my students’ exams, I was thinking about how often they lose points not for lack of knowledge or comprehension, but due to misspelling the answer. Then I thought about how often we have spelling tests in class: never! So I came up with this lesson about spelling bees involving a dictogloss and spelling […]
Pas Cap (A spelling game)
I loved this game when I was learning French at school (probably because I was really good at it) and was delighted to be able to use it in class yesterday. I know it as Pas Cap (short for Pas Capable?), and I’m sure it has a name in English but I don’t know what […]
Wooden Spoon Speculations
I found this game on a party games website sometime a couple of years ago. It’s a guessing game that works well in a class of students who are fairly comfortable with each other and have a good sense of humour. Students can use it to practise speculative language. Equipment needed: 2 wooden spoons; one […]
Stop/try/remember to say “banana”
Verb patterns can often be confusing for students and some verbs like stop, try and remember are even more so, given that the meaning of the verb changes depending on whether it’s followed by the gerund or the infinitive. I developed this activity for my FCE students to practise using the different meanings after I […]
Pelmanism for paraphrasing
This activity combines paraphrasing skills with a children’s memory game and can help students practise Sentence Transformation exercises the likes of which appear in the Cambridge exams. It takes a bit of preparation but it’s worth it (and you can reuse it). It appears in my resources thanks to Louisa Cristo who shared it at […]
What’s in the stocking?
This is a Christmas activity which can be used to practise vocabulary (lower levels) and vocab and speculative language (higher levels). Put some items in a stocking, seal it, and give it to the students to pass round, have a good old feel and tell their partner what they think might be inside. “As far […]
A Hive of Activities 