Games for Language Learning Third Edition Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers This series, now with over 40 titles, offers practical ideas, techniques and activities for the teaching of English and other languages providing inspiration for both teachers and trainers Recent titles in this series: Learner Autonomy A guide to developing learner responsibility ágota scharle and anita szabó Extensive Reading Activities for Teaching Language edited by julian bamford and richard r day Personalizing Language Learning griff griffiths and kathryn keohane edited by Teaching Adult Second Language Learners heather mckay and abigail tom Teaching Business English sylvie donna Teaching English Spelling A practical guide ruth shemesh and sheila waller Using Folktales eric k taylor Learner English (Second Edition) A teacher’s guide to interference and other problems edited by michael swan and bernard smith Planning Lessons and Courses Designing sequences of work for the language classroom tessa woodward Teaching Large Multilevel Classes natalie hess Language Activities for Teenagers seth lindstromberg Pronunciation Practice Activities A resource book for teaching English pronunciation martin hewings Drama Techniques (Third Edition) A resource book of communication activities for language teachers alan maley and alan duff Five-Minute Activities for Business English paul emmerson and nick hamilton Dictionary Activities cindy leaney Dialogue Activities Exploring spoken interaction in the language class nick bilbrough Five-Minute Activities for Young Learners penny mckay and jenni guse Using the Board in the Language Classroom jeannine dobbs The Internet and the Language Classroom (Second Edition) A practical guide for teachers gavin dudeney Laughing Matters Humour in the language classroom péter medgyes Working with Images A resource book for the language classroom ben goldstein Stories Narrative activities in the language classroom ruth wajnryb Grammar Practice Activities (Second Edition) A practical guide for teachers penny ur Using Authentic Video in the Language Classroom jane sherman Games for Language Learning THIRD EDITION Andrew Wright David Betteridge Michael Buckby CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521618229 © Cambridge University Press 2006 This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press First published in print format 2006 ISBN-13 978-0-511-66714-5 ISBN-13 978-0-521-61822-9 OCeISBN Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate Contents Preface to the Third Edition Acknowledgements Introduction Icebreakers and warmers CARE AND SHARE 1.1 Learning names Variation Getting to know each other 1.2 Stand in a line 1.3 Pass on a sound 1.4 Questions and questionnaires Variation Questions about you Variation Predict your partner’s answers Variation Yes/No questions to the teacher Variation Questions to the teacher: what’s the truth? 1.5 Find someone who … Variation Things in common 1.6 Match the person to the information 1.7 Topics to talk about Variation Something nice which happened Variation A special object Variation A special number Variation A random word Variation A colour 1.8 All the words you know 1.9 Proverbs 1.10 Jog! Jog! 1.11 Visualisation 1.12 Lost in the fog Mainly speaking IDENTIFY: DISCRIMINATE, GUESS, SPECULATE 2.1 Slowly reveal a picture xii xiii 11 11 11 12 13 13 14 15 15 15 16 16 17 18 18 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 21 22 22 24 24 24 v Contents 2.2 Liar! Variation You’re pulling my leg! 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 25 25 DESCRIBE 26 Describe and draw 26 Variation Describe and draw in pairs 27 Describe and identify 29 Variation Describe and identify a picture 30 Variation Describe and identify a detail in a picture 30 Variation Describe and identify a conversation in a picture 30 Variation Describe and identify thoughts in a picture 31 CONNECT: COMPARE, MATCH, GROUP 31 Two pictures 31 Variation Three words 32 What’s the difference? 33 Variation Comparing pictures 35 Find a connection 35 REMEMBER 36 What can you remember? 36 Variation What were they wearing? 36 Variation What is my neighbour wearing? 37 Variation Can you remember the picture? 37 CREATE 37 Stories with ten pictures 37 Variation Adding to a story 38 Variation Silly news reports 38 Variation Tour and tell 38 Question stories 39 Variation Question stories based on pictures 40 Variation Question stories based on objects 40 Variation Question stories based on a single word or phrase 40 What can you with it? 41 What would you take? 42 A sound poem 42 Mainly listening DO: MOVE, MIME, DRAW, OBEY 3.1 Listen and draw 3.2 Act out a story vi 44 44 44 46 Contents IDENTIFY: DISCRIMINATE, GUESS, SPECULATE 3.3 Listen for the difference Variation What’s wrong? 3.4 Repeat it if it is true 3.5 Which picture is it? Variation Someone or something you know CONNECT: COMPARE, MATCH, GROUP 3.6 Bingo Variation Bingo definitions Variation Bingo rhyming words Variation Learner Bingo grid ORDER 3.7 Most important – least important 3.8 Put the story in order CREATE 3.9 Visualise and describe Mainly writing IDENTIFY: DISCRIMINATE, GUESS, SPECULATE 4.1 True and false essays Variation True and false sentences Variation True and false dictation Variation True and false definitions DESCRIBE 4.2 Draw the bank robbers Variation Describe from memory Variation Describe an object CREATE 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Bouncing dialogue Bouncing stories Bouncing letters Ambiguous picture story Rewrite a fairy story Story consequences Variation New Year’s resolutions 4.9 Five-line poem 4.10 What’s in his pocket? 4.11 Speaking to the world 47 47 48 49 50 50 50 50 52 52 53 53 53 54 55 55 58 58 58 59 59 59 60 60 61 61 62 62 64 64 66 68 68 70 70 71 72 vii Contents 4.12 Create an island 4.13 Create a soap opera 73 75 Mainly reading 80 DO: MOVE, MIME, DRAW, OBEY 5.1 What’s my mime? IDENTIFY: DISCRIMINATE, GUESS, SPECULATE 5.2 Telepathy (texts) Variation Guess the preferences of others 5.3 Flashing a text 5.4 Texts word by word CONNECT: COMPARE, MATCH, GROUP 5.5 Pelmanism (reading) ORDER 5.6 Jumbled texts Variation Stand in order 5.7 Proverbs REMEMBER 5.8 Running dictation 5.9 Memorise and draw 5.10 Pass the message Mainly vocabulary and spelling IDENTIFY: DISCRIMINATE, GUESS, SPECULATE 6.1 Feely game Variation Touch and describe Variation Identify an object and its owner Variation Identify by listening to a voice Variation Identify by listening to an object Variation Identify by smelling Variation Identify by tasting Variation Identify by looking Variation Building up a picture Variation Strip of a magazine picture 6.2 I spy 6.3 Silent speaking 6.4 Stories in ten words Variation Key words in a topic viii 80 80 81 81 83 83 84 85 85 87 87 88 88 90 90 91 93 94 94 94 95 96 96 96 97 97 98 98 99 100 101 101 102 Contents Variation Word webs 6.5 Mime and guess Variation Mime an adverb 6.6 Guess what I’m drawing CONNECT: COMPARE, MATCH, GROUP 6.7 Word associations Variation Personal lists 6.8 Odd-one-out Variation They’re all odd! Variation Somebody must go! 6.9 Vocabulary cards Variation Pelmanism or remembering pairs Variation Asking other learners ORDER 6.10 Hangman spelling Variation Words with letters in common REMEMBER 6.11 A long and growing list 6.12 Kim’s memory game Variation Numbers and plural forms Variation Adjectives and comparisons Variation Containers Variation Actions in the past Variation Describe and compare 6.13 Would you make a good witness? CREATE 6.14 Change the story Mainly grammar DO: MOVE, MIME, DRAW, OBEY 7.1 Simon says Variation Film director Variation Magicians, hypnotists and robots Variation Forfeits 7.2 Can you stand on one leg? 7.3 Miming Variation Present continuous and present simple Variation Present simple 102 103 104 105 105 105 106 106 107 108 108 110 110 111 111 112 113 113 114 115 116 116 116 117 117 118 118 120 120 120 121 122 123 123 124 125 125 ix Solo games 8.5 Word snakes To help you to remember sentences Copy the sentences, but don’t leave spaces between the words For example: He let the cat out of the bag (= He accidentally told someone a secret.) Do something else for ten minutes, for example, listen to some music Look at your ‘word snakes’ again and write them out, leaving the correct spaces between the words Say the sentences to yourself as you write them From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 179 Games for Language Learning 8.6 Odd-one-out To revise words you know or should know Write words in groups of four In each group, include an ‘odd-oneout’ – a word which is different from the others Look at the example: boots shoes sandals hat The odd-one-out is hat, because you wear it on your head, but you wear all the others on your feet Show your groups of words to a partner Ask your partner to tell you the odd-one-out in each group and to explain why Do you agree? Later try to show that each word in a group can be the odd-oneout For example: sandals, might be the odd-one-out because you can only wear them in hot weather From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 180 Solo games 8.7 Different groups of words To revise words from different topics Example of words from different topics shopping cinema wool maths job magazine exam cotton sweater friends basket chicken trousers language dinner money Organise the words into at least four groups It is not necessary for each group to have the same number of words Words can go in more than one group Write your groups of words Later, it may be interesting to compare your grouping of words with a partner’s grouping Can you understand the logic of your partner’s groups? Can you explain the logic of your groups? Example of different groups FOOD shopping dinner chicken basket money STUDY AND WORK language maths exam job money CLOTHES sweater trousers wool cotton money FREE TIME cinema magazine friends money Note If you write the words on cards, it makes it easier to move them around into different groups From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 181 Games for Language Learning 8.8 Mind map To revise sets of words or phrases relating to a topic In mind maps the ideas spread all over the page You can connect ideas and group them You can colour them and make the lines thick or thin and the bubbles big or small depending on how important the ideas are to you and what you feel about them Examples of sets of words or grammatical points for mind maps Story: ideas, words and phrases you need for your story Person: describing a person in different ways Debate: different ways of looking at a topic Exams: the information you must learn Pronunciation: spelling and sound (Example: ‘ough’ words (enough/rough) (cough) (through) (thought/bought/caught) (bough/bow/cow) (though/sew) From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 182 Solo games 8.9 Word Sun To learn or revise a set of words or phrases relating to a topic Draw a circle and write the topic word in capital letters in the middle, for example: FRUIT Then write other related words around your circle to make a Word Sun Use pictures and colour to help you remember For example, draw little pictures of each fruit and write the words on the fruit Use a colour or the thickness of your line to show how often you eat each fruit or how much you like the fruit Give yourself three seconds to ‘photograph’ this in your mind Cover your Word Sun and try to make an exact copy of it Compare your copy with the original If they are not identical, try again until you write a perfect copy From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 183 Games for Language Learning 8.10 Steps To revise words which are related Arrange the words like stairs or a ladder, showing gradual changes of meaning, step by step Other examples of revising words with steps absolutely impossible, impossible, very difficult, difficult, fairly difficult, not difficult, easy, very easy none, a few, several, quite a few, quite a lot, a lot, many, hundreds/thousands, countless tiny, small, average-sized, big, large, enormous, gigantic From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 184 Solo games 8.11 Add a word To revise a set of words on a topic (for example, shopping, food, home life) Write any word, then add a word which this first word makes you think of Join the two words with a line Continue adding words as you think of them, making a chain of meaning Later show your connections to a partner Try to guess why your partner has made his or her connections From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 8.12 Add a sentence To practise writing about a topic (for example, home life, holidays, shopping, advertising) Choose a topic and write a sentence connected with the topic Then add a sentence which is in some way connected to the first sentence Continue the ‘chain’ of sentences for as long as possible Example I like my room It’s small My name is on the door There are lots of posters on the wall I’ve got a computer From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 185 Games for Language Learning 8.13 Favourites To revise a set of words (for example, words for jobs, food, clothes, sports) It helps you to learn words if you write them out in a way which is important for you Write lists of things, starting with the one you like most and ending with the one you like least Write the words you like most in big letters and the words you like least in very small letters Examples of sets of words you can put in a list colours sports jobs food musical instruments Later, work with a partner Write the words in the order you think your partner has written them Compare your lists and see how well you know each other! From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 186 Solo games 8.14 Lose the vowels To revise the spelling of a list of words Write the words, omitting all the vowels (the letters a, e, i, o and u), for example: teacher → tchr word → wrd learn → lrn Look at your list of words without vowels and try to write out all the words in full Say each word to yourself a few times as you write it Compare your new list with the original to make sure that all your words are correct You can time yourself Do it again and see if you can it faster Later, look at the list of words without vowels and see if you can still remember the complete words Later, show your list of words without vowels to a friend and see if he or she can work out what the words are Variation Remember the vowels Write the words, putting a dash instead of the vowels (the letters a, e, i, o and u), for example: geography → g _ _ gr_ phy English → _ ngl_ sh history → h_ st_ ry music → m_ s_ c From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 187 Games for Language Learning 8.15 Write a crazy story To help you to revise and remember words Put all the words you must remember into a story … make it a crazy story and then you will remember the story and the words For example: Where are my teeth? The lion said, ‘Where are my teeth?’ He looked in the hippo’s mouth ‘Are they in the hippo’s mouth?’ He looked behind the dinosaur ‘Are they behind the dinosaur?’ He looked under the alligator ‘Are they under the alligator?’ He looked behind the hippo ‘Are they behind the hippo?’ He found them in his pocket! ‘No! They are in my pocket!’ Later, tell your story to other learners From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 188 Solo games 8.16 Write a dramatic dialogue To remember grammar Write a mini dialogue including the grammatical point you want to remember, for example, is so that Make it funny or dramatic! A: My father is so strong he can lift a lawnmower with one hand B: Huh, that’s nothing! My father is so strong he can lift two lawnmowers with one hand A: Huh, that’s nothing! My father is so strong he can lift a garden shed above his head B: Huh, that’s nothing! My father is so strong he can throw a garden shed a hundred metres Later, act out your dialogue for other learners From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 8.17 Be dramatic To remember words and phrases Try saying ordinary words and phrases in a dramatic way For example, you are in the desert and you have no food You are thinking of all the food you know You say each word for food, dramatically, desperately … ‘Sandwiches, tomato sauce, bread, …’ Later, act this out for other learners From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 189 8.18 Make a crossword To learn or revise a list of words, for example, music, theatre, football, swimming, tennis, play, like, concert, listen, disco, chess, hockey, hate If you use a dictionary you can learn the meanings of new words as well as revise old ones Write the words in a crossword grid Write clues for your crossword, for example: Across You go to a concert to listen to Down I go in the river Later, exchange your crossword and clues with a partner and see if you can each other’s crossword From Games for Language Learning © Cambridge University Press 2006 PHOTOCOPIABLE1 190 Index a and an 113–14 adjectival phrases 113–14 adjectives 26–9, 113–14, 116, 140–1 for people 103–4 adverbs 103, 104 agreeing and disagreeing 159–60 answering questions 14–17, 25, 117–18 asking for reasons 105–8 asking questions 14–17, 25, 94–100, 117–18, 131–3, 137–9, 142–4, 149–52, 165–6, 167–8 Because 105–6, 105–8 Bingo 50–3, 157–9 brainstorming 41–2 can 41–2 Can you ? 123–4 CARE AND SHARE 4, 11–23 certainty 24–5, 71–2 challenges 123–4 classroom 11 comparatives 26–9, 33–5, 116, 146–9, 164–5 comparing 33–5 conditionals 42 conditions 42 conjecture 146–9 CONNECT 5, 31–2, 105–6 COMPARE 33–5, 146–9 GROUP 106–8 MATCH 50–3, 85–7, 108–10, 152–9 could 41–2 CREATE 5–6, 37–43, 55–7, 62–79, 118–19, 165–70 cultural awareness 20–1, 70 DESCRIBE 5, 26–31, 60–2, 149–52 describing 25, 26–31, 33–5, 44–6, 50, 61–2, 117, 118–19, 140–1, 144–5 people 36–7, 44–6, 50, 60–1, 161–4 determiners 157–9 dictation 53–5, 90–1 dictionaries 58–9, 190 discipline 10 DO 5, 44 DRAW 44–6 MIME 80–1, 121–2, 124–30 MOVE 46–7 OBEY 120–4 exclamations 139–40 explaining 31–2, 42, 139–40 fantasy islands 73–5 games challenge and competition 1–2, practicalities 8–10 reasons for using 2, success and failure 1–2, timing 10 types of game 4–6 getting to know you 11–18 giving reasons 42, 105–8 grammar 120–70, 175–6, 189 group work 3, humour 25–6, 68 icebreakers 11–23 IDENTIFY 5, 50, 130–49 DISCRIMINATE 25–6, 47–50, 58–9, 101 GUESS 81–3, 94–105 SPECULATE 24–5, 84, 94–100, 134, 146–9 imperatives 21–3, 26–9, 120–3, 135–6 instructions 21–3, 26–9 intonation 159–60 introductions 11–12 Kim’s game 114–17, 164–5 knowledge quiz 156 learning styles 6–8, 171–3 Let’s 142–3 letters 64–6 191 Index listening 13–14, 18, 44–57 to description 50 for detail 24, 44–6, 55–7 for differences 47–8 evaluating accuracy 49 for gist 55–7 for phonetic combinations 52–3 and reacting 139–40 responding through action 46–7 sequence of events 135–7 for vocabulary 50–3 making connections 31–2, 35 making suggestions 142–3, 159–60 mistakes 3, 8–9, 24 names 11–12, 18 nouns 33–5, 113–14, 118–19 numbers 114–15 ORDER 5, 53–5, 87–90, 111–12, 159–61 organisation of games 8–10 pair work 3, 9, 171 parts of speech 70–1, 157–9 passive form 142–3 Pelmanism 85–7, 110, 152–3 phonetic combinations 50, 52–3 phrasal verbs 155–6 phrases 161, 182–3, 189 pitch 42–3 plural forms 114–15 poetry 42–3, 70–1, 168–70 possession (have/has got) 113–14 possessives 140–1 predicting 88–90, 144–5 prepositions 26–9, 142–3, 164 pronunciation 101 proverbs 20–1, 88–90 questions 14–17, 25, 117–18, 137–44, 149–52 Are you + preposition + place? 142–3 Have you got a ? 140–1 Is it + preposition + place? 142–3 passive form 142–3 past simple 165–6 present perfect 142–3 present simple 149–52 various tenses 167–8 192 What? 94–100, 137–9 Who? 137–9 Why? 105–8 reading 18, 80–93 predicting 83 reading aloud 159–61 and reporting 93 scanning 80–1, 87–8, 91–3 skimming for gist 80–3, 85–8, 91–3 speculating 84 REMEMBER 5, 36–7, 90–3, 113–18, 161–5 reporting 71–2, 93 rhyming words 50, 53 rhythm 42–3, 159–60 riddles 149–52 sentences 175–7, 179 construction 161, 185 sequencing 53–5, 87–90 text reduction 159–60 soap operas 75–9 solo games 171–90 somebody 130–1 speaking 13–14, 18–19, 24–43 dialogue 29, 30–1 mistakes 24 narrating past events 165–6 storytelling 166–7 speculating 24–5, 66–8, 84, 94–100, 124–30, 134, 146–9 speeches 72 statements, positive and negative 118–19 storytelling 25–6, 37–41, 55–7, 64, 68, 101–2, 118–19, 166–8 stress 42–3, 159–60 superlatives 146–9 syntax 159–61 tall tales 25–6 teacher’s role 3–4 tenor 42–3 tenses 33–5, 80–1 future (going to) 124, 129, 131–3, 135–6, 137, 144–5 future (will) 137–9 future in the past 125, 129–30 past continuous 113–14, 124, 127, 130, 131, 134, 135–6, 137, 144–5, 161–4, 166–7 Index past simple 113–14, 124, 126–7, 129–30, 134, 135–6, 137, 161–4, 165–7 past tenses 37–41, 114–15, 116 present continuous 124, 125, 130–3, 134, 135–6, 144–5, 157–9, 168–70 present perfect 124, 128, 131–3, 135–6, 137, 142–3, 164–5 present perfect continuous 124, 128–9 present simple 124, 125–6, 135–6, 149–52, 168–70 present tense 39–41 timing 10 Twenty Questions 143–4 uncertainty 24–5, 66–8, 94–100, 130–3, 134 verbs 80–1 visualisation 22–3, 55–7 vocabulary 24–5, 29–31, 50–2, 80–1, 94–119, 174–8, 180–5, 186–90 animals 113–14 character 75–9 clothing 36–7, 161–4 colours 33–5 containers 114–15, 116 definitions 52, 58–9 familiar words 20 food 42–3, 157–9 objects 94–101, 113–16, 117, 140–1 shapes 26–9 spelling 111–12, 178, 187 story/topic 101–3, 181–5 warming up 11, 18–23 word order 83, 87–8 would 42 writing 58–79 answers 55–7 definitions 58–9 descriptions 60–2, 117, 118–19 dialogue 62–3, 189 dictation 53–5, 90–1 explanations 139–40 fairy stories 68 letters 64–6 poetry 70–1, 168–70 reports 71–2, 93 riddles 149–52 soap operas 75–9 speeches 72 stories 66–8, 118–19 story collaboration 64 story consequences 68–70 topics 185 travel journal 73–5 193