Collection of games

Level: intermediate and advanced

Age: any (except young children)

Group size: whole class

This game can be adapted so that the ultimate focus of attention is a pronunciation point. Examples: X likes watches but he doesn’t like clocks; wheels but no bicycles or cars; windows but not doors; twilight but not dawn or dusk (i.e. he likes words containing /w/). Y likes veal but he doesn’t like meat; violets but not flowers; virtue but not goodness, volcanoes but not lava; lovers but not sweethearts (i.e. he likes words containing /v/.)

There is a semantic link between what is liked and what is disliked, and the listener’s attention first focused on the meaning, which is puzzling. For example, how is it possible that somebody can like wheels but not a bicycle?

This is the sort of game that cannot be played many times, perhaps only once within its field of reference (here pronunciation).

If the two sounds concerned are both included in the statement, the ‘solution’ will be found very quickly and the resulting ‘impact’ on the learner will be weaker. Examples: X likes wheels but he doesn’t like veal; watches but not violins. This is also more inconsequential, as the semantic link between the two items is not close.

In balanced activities approach, the teacher uses a variety of activities from these different categories of input and output. Learners at all proficiency levels, including beginners, benefit from this variety; it is more motivating, and it is also more likely to result in effective language learning.

Speaking/conversation games

Hotel Receptionist

Aims: Cooperation, team spirit, speaking skill, miming