Tag: game

Geen categorie, vocabulary

Vocabulary: Hot seat

Astrid van Houwelingen

In the past few weeks this site has featured a number of ideas on how to revise vocabulary. Here is one to add to that list: The Hot Seat. It is a game which students enjoy as it is the right mix of frustration and victory. It is a tightrope we are walking but the victory is that much greater when you succeed.

The Basics

Level: B1-C2 (Intermediate, Upper-intermediate, Advanced)
Focus: Revising vocabulary, listening, speaking
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials: Vocabulary list, a large screen or large sheets of paper, seat facing the classroom (teacher position)

Aim

Students revise their vocabulary. This can be done either before a test or after you have set some vocabulary revision homework.

The task

A Hot Seat is a situation in which you put a student in front of a class, where they perform an act or share their knowledge in one way or another. In this case however, the student in the Hot Seat is the one who needs to figure things out.

  1. Prepare a slideshow or a set of papers with one word of the vocabulary list on each slide.
  2. Put one volunteer in front of the room with their back towards the screen or the paper signs.
  3. Instruct the class that they will have to allow the Hot Seat student to guess the vocabulary item by using descriptions, synonyms, antonyms and any other ways they might think of. They are, however, not to use the word itself, nor are they allowed to use parts of it.
  4. If the student in the Hot Seat guesses correctly a point is awarded.
  5. Repeat with another vocabulary item for as long as you want.

Additional ideas

If you want to add an element of competition you could put two or even three students in front of the room and divide the class into two or three competitive groups. The group that has the first correct guess wins the point.

If you want the students to have their spelling on point you could give them a piece of paper to write their answers on. They will only get the point if their spelling is correct.

If you want to discourage using the native language you could subtract points for each word or instruction used in the native language.

If you want to sit back and relax you could ask one student to select and hold up the vocabulary item to the class and another to be the ‘referee’. 😉

Over to you: There are many other ways in which Hot Seat could work in a classroom. Have you made use of it in the past? If so, how?

Have fun teaching! ^_^

Love,

Astrid

Geen categorie, vocabulary

Vocabulary: Revision Bingo

Astrid van Houwelingen

Getting students to revise their vocabulary often enough so it sticks can be a tough one. Students find it tedious. They feel like they know it all after having read through the list a couple of times. Getting them to be active and work with the vocabulary can be a challenge. But there is no better way to get students’ interest than the words let’s play a game. In this case: BINGO!

The Basics

Level: A1-C2 (Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-intermediate, Advanced)
Focus: Revising vocabulary, listening
Time: 20-30 minutes
Materials: Vocabulary list, empty bingo cards (or let your students make a grid in their notebooks)

Aim

Students revise their vocabulary. This can be done either before a test or after you have set some vocabulary revision homework.

The task

So if you have never heard of BINGO, it is a fairly simple game in which you listen out for the information in your grid and cross it out once your number, or in this case word, has been called.

If you want to get started quickly you can make the cards yourself beforehand and skip to step 3 or even four. However, if you’re more like me, you make your students do the hard work.

  1. Explain the game to students that have never done the game before. You might want to model it the first time.
  2. Give your students an empty card or let them make a grid in their notebook (3×3 or 4×4 or 5×5). The larger the grid the longer the game will take.
  3. Instruct them to fill their grid with words from the vocabulary list you are going to call out from. You can let them write down the word in their native language or the word in the target language.
  4. Once students have their bingo cards ready you will tell them when they have bingo. Is it one vertical/diagonal/horizontal row or the whole card. Agree with students what the ‘penalty’ will be for a false bingo. My class opted for singing a song in front of the other students.
  5. One by one, call the translation or definition of the words. The students will have to mark off the word that has the same meaning. Keep tabs on which words you have called to be able to check for false bingo.
  6. When a student calls BINGO! they will have to show their card to you to verify they were correct. If so, congratulate them or give them a small prize. If not, let them perform the previously agreed on penalty.
  7. You can choose to give other students a chance at bingo or let them have a go at filling up their cards.

Additional ideas

If you do not work with translations in your wordlist but words and definitions then this would work just as well. Let the students fill in the word and you read out the definitions. You could do it the other way around but that would take up some time when creating the bingo card. Nice homework task though!

If you do not have a vocabulary list per se but you do want to expand your students’ vocabulary you could let them play bingo with synonyms or even antonyms. You would need to agree on a set of words that are part of the game. A selection of words from a reading text could work well here.

Over to you: Do you have any other ways in which a game like BINGO could be used in the classroom?

Have fun teaching! ^_^

Love,

Astrid

vocabulary

Linking words: Who am I?

Astrid van Houwelingen

Students are often asked to study new words from vocabulary lists. If they are lucky, these words have been presented to them in a reading or listening task. More often than not, these words are studied in isolation and are produced only in translation or gap-fill activities. Yet, we want students to be able to reproduce them in their own speaking and writing.

This activity invites students to consider when and how words are used. It also invites them to create new contexts in which they can incorporate these newly learnt vocabulary items.

The Basics

Level: A2-C2 (Elementary – Advanced)
Focus: Learning new linking words, using linking words, speaking, writing
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Post-its, overview of linking words, white board, several markers

Aim

Adding to student’s knowledge of linking words. Knowing a variety of linking words will allow students to become more proficient readers, writers, speakers and listeners. It will become easier for them to make and follow an argument.

The Task

1. Before starting on the assignment, ask students what they already know about linking words. Let your students complete a mindmap, focussing on what linking words are and why the students should become more familiar with them. This should give both you and your students a chance to reflect on what they know and why the upcoming assignment is important.

When everyone is up to speed on the what and why, it is time to dive a little deeper into the material.

2. Provide students with an overview of the linking words you would like them to become more familiar with. This can be taken from the course book or an online list of words such as this one.

3. Hand out sticky notes and invite students to choose a linking word from the list. They should keep this word secret and stick it on their fellow student’s back or forehead.

4. Now the fun starts. Students walk around and ask their fellow students questions such as: ‘Can you use my linking word when you want to connect ideas?’ or ‘Would you use my linking word if you want to give a reason for your argument?’ The fellow student can only answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.

Note: Because you would like students to be confronted with as many linking words as possible, you should stimulate your students to ask only one question to one student. This requires them to think about the function of multiple linking words. It also allows them to move around, which energizes them and lets them blow off some steam (if necessary). Feel free to explain the reason for this rule with students who are hesitant to move around.

5. Once a student knows their category, they can start to find out which specific linking word they have on their sticky note. Students should request a gapped sentence from their classmates: ‘Could you create a sencence where my linking word could be used?’ This forces both students to consider the function of the linking word in context. Struggling students could enlist the help of a dictionary to find an example sentence.

6. Once a student knows which linking word they have, invite them to the whiteboard and let them create a sentence with the linking word underlined. Ask them to go back to their seats when finished.

7. When everyone has written down their sentences, review the most remarkable or difficult ones with the class. Does the class feel the linking word has been used correctly? If not, how can the sentence be improved?

Note: With larger classes you could ask students to share their sentences in small groups and give each other feedback on them. The students could provide you with their most remarkable sentence or a sentence they were unsure about. These could be discussed with the whole class.

8. If present, you could ask students to do the assignments from the coursebook to check their understanding. Alternatively, let them write a paragraph including some of the linking words that they have learnt that lesson.

Additional ideas

Who am I? works well with linking words but could also be applied to reviewing vocabulary. Students pick a word from the words they studied previously and go about asking ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions as well as gapped sentences to figure out which word is on their sticky note. Asking them to create their own sentence with the word allows them to consider when and how a word could be used.

Over to you: Do you have fun ways of teaching linking words or other cohesive devices? I’m always up for a great new idea to try out with my students.

Have fun teaching! ^_^

Love,

Astrid