WARM UPS

1) You could write an entire sentence/a small paragraph in running handwriting

without any breaks or full stops. The students then have to decipher what you
have written.for example, in one particular class I write
youarefreetodowhatyouwant (You are free to do what you want!)
Alternately, you can give them a running dictation of a sentence that you have,
but only three letters at a time. This way, you can introduce the Target Language
too. for example: Iam rea lly hap pyt oda y. ( I am really happy today.)

2) Taboo
This game works best when you are revising previously taught vocabulary. In this
game, students are divided into 2 teams and a student from each team is given a
word card that he/she has to describe to his/her team. The twist is that the
student can't use certain words (mentioned on the card) vital for the description
(the teacher can decide which 3 words). I found that this helps a lot as students
are forced to use antonyms and synonyms.

3) bingos- I write the lexical items we have used on board or have them printed
on a leaf of paper , I display them around the classroom- students read and mime
them or copy or draw six of them. Then we play bingo.

4) You ask students to name (ten) things that (can fly). Other suitable categories
are things you can fit in your pocket, things that can fit in to a circle (that you
draw on the board), things you take on holiday, etc. As with the alphabet activity,
make sure you set it up so that everyone contributes. Think of categories
beforehand; perhaps put onto cards.

5) I spy. Put I can see something beginning with () on the board and, after you
have demonstrated with a couple of letters, have the student that guessed
correctly choose something. This doesnt need to be limited to things in the
classroom. Clothes and body parts are also ideal. Starters often get a little
confused to start with if you play this, as they tend to say I can see something
beginning with chair instead of the letter C. You need to make it clear to them
that it is simply the first letter that they must say when they choose something.

6) Memory games are suitable for class sizes up to about 8 students. Above that
they can get a bit too lengthy, and individual student talk time can become quite
low. Something as simple as I went shopping and I bought () on the board as
a prompt is ideal, but you may need to write the first few things students say to
highlight that they must remember the previous items. You can simply then relay
around the room asking each student to repeat each item and add one, or be
unpredictable in the sequence of students you nominate to maintain attention.
For example, the first student to speak often doesnt contribute further, so ask
the student again part way round the room. Vary it, e.g. I went for a walk and I
saw ()

7) Word linking can be fun. Students have to say one word and then the next
student has to say a word starting with the last letter of the previous word. You
could set this up as a team relay using the board. E.g. baGGiraffEEgG GreY
YachTT.... If you set up a team relay, make a rule that the longest word wins
each time. At the end you can count each letter as a point and calculate the total
for each team as a class.

8) Have students introduce themselves using the first letter of their name as a
prompt for a piece of information. For example My names Simon and Im from
Singapore It doesnt have to be a true bit of information. You can use this with
adjectives, things you like, jobs etc.. Even My names () and Im a (object/
animal + mime at same time)

9) Anagrams are always easy and fun for a time-fill. Set up teams of 2-4 students
and make it competitive in some way. Get students to make anagrams if they are
capable. E.g LADTHNIA >>>>>> Thailand. Think of words challenging to
pronounce and be strict. Perhaps pretend not to hear if they dont say the word
correctly!

10) Prepare a worksheet with categories, such as:

country

thing

fruit

name

color

animal

Students work in pairs or threes and you give a letter. Students have (one
minute) to think of one thing in each category beginning with that
letter. Award
points, and repeat as time allows. Make sure students speak have one person in
each group as the scribe, and change each time you repeat the game. The
longest word wins each time.

11) USING A SONG THEY WORK IN GROUPS AND RECEIVE THE SONG LYRIC IN
DISORDER SO THEY HAVE TO PUT IN THE CORRECT ORDER .THIS ACTIVITY IS
WITH A TIME LIMIT.

12) LISTEN TO THE ANSWER AND THEY HAVE TO WRITE THE CORRESPONDING
QUESTION , FOR EXAMPLE, I SAY "MY NAME'S SUSAN" SO THEY HAVE TO WRITE
THE QUESTION "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" AND SO ON.

13) The box game is quite fun. Think of, but not give, a vocabulary rule (such as
words with double letters, things that end with an e, etc). Say I can put a book
in the box but I cant put a newspaper. Students can ask Can I put a () in the
box? and keep going until they get the rule. Maybe set up teams. Once theyve
got the idea, students can think up their own rule.

14) Consequences. Each student is given an A4 sheet of paper with some fields
to fill in. They only fill in ONE field in order (from the top to the bottom) and fold
the sheet over to the next continuous line to hide what they have written. They
then pass the paper on to the next student who fills in the next field and fold the
paper over to the next line before handing the sheet to the third student. This
continues until all the fields are hidden. The paper is then passed on once again.
Each paper will contain an amusing story (sequence of events). This is read aloud
by the student.

Name of a man famous or one in your class _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________________________________________________
met
Name of a woman famous or one in your class _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
______________________________________________________________
at / in / on
Name of a Place _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
______________________________________________________________
He said to her _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ ______________________________________________________________
She said to him _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ ______________________________________________________________
Consequence _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
__________________________________________

15) Show students a picture from a newspaper or magazine without any text. Ask
the students to come up with some ideas to say what is happening in the picture,
along with what happened before and after, etc.

16) Relay race / Spelling on board - to review vocabulary: Divide the class into
two teams, they form lines facing the board. Dictate a word, the first student
from each line writes the first letter on the board, the second one writes the
second letter and so on.

17) Ball game - to review alphabet or numbers - In a circle, students throw a ball
to each other repeating the letters or numbers.

18) Describe the words / sentences - This can be a pair work or a whole class
activity. A student in the class (or one student in each pair) stands with their back
to the board. The teacher writes a word or a sentence on the board and the other
students describe/explain it to the student who can't see the word and needs to
guess it.
19) Another game is the the jumbled sentence. Write a sentence on various
pieces of paper (a word on each one), jumble the letters in each word. Stick the
jumbled words on the walls of your classroom or hallway and the students have
to spell the jumbled words back to a fellow student/member of their team, when
they have spelt all the jumbled words the team or pair work together to de-code
and put the sentence in order. Writing different sentences on different coloured
paper means that you can have two or more teams/pairs working at the same
time. A very lively and fun way to start the class!

20) It is similar to the traditional chain game Chinese Whispers, also known as
Telephone in sime countries, where the students stand in a line and whisper a
sentence to the next person.
This game is actually a written version of the above game. You write a sentence
on a slip of paper or card, and show this to the first student for about 5 seconds.
The student then has to remember and write down the same sentence on his/her
slip of paper, and so on down the chain until you get to the last student. Then,
you write the student's version on the board along with your own version.

21) I'd prepared a few sentences, with a new and difficult word each, and I tried
to make the sentences giving the contextual meaning of the words. My students
were trying really hard to remember the sentences, especially the new words.

22) Text lingo

Hows your English text lingo? Match the text message on the left with its
translation in real English on the right.

1) C U L8R M8
2) B4
3) AFAIK
4) W8 4 ME, IM L8, SOZ

a) As far as I know.
b) Love you with all my heart
c) Boring
d) Text me back

5) KIT

e) Have a nice day

6) RUOK?

f) See you later mate

7) LUWAMH

g) Keep in touch

8) HAND

h) Easy

9) Zzzzzzzzz

i) Are you okay?

10) KOTL

j) Wait for me, Im late, sorry

11) TMB

k) See you tonight or tomorrow

12) 0 ME
13) EZ
14) BTW

l) By the way
m) Before
n) Ring me

15) C U 2NITE O 2MORO o) Kiss on the lip

Answers: 1 f, 2 m, 3 a, 4 j, 5 g, 6 i, 7 b, 8 e, 9-c, 10 o, 11 d, 12
n. 13 h, 14 l, 15 - k