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Word Auction

Core language: Any parts of speech, word groups referring to a definite topic etc.

Level: Beginners-advanced

Number of students: Any

Stuff needed: A toy wooden hammer for operating the process. Another good idea is to use a toy rubber hammer producing a funny squeaking noise. But if you do not have a hammer, simply use a pencil or a pen.

Time: 7 minutes

People/characters involved:

– “An auctioneer” – the person conducting the “auction”. The job is usually done by the teacher. It may also be performed by a student if the game has already been played in the class before.

– “Bidders” or “participants” of the “auction” – all the students.

Procedure: The auctioneer announces the topic of the auction. The participants call out words on the topic given. Every word is followed by a number (one, two, three) and certain «fillers» uttered by the auctioneer in that special rhythmic- repetition- auction -chant manner and a blow of his/her hammer. The bidder who says the last item wins the game.

Example:

The auctioneer: Ladies and gentlemen! The topic of today’s auction is «Jobs». You are to call out as many names of jobs, professions and occupations as possible while I am counting from one to three. The auction ends the moment I say «Three!» The participant who says the final word is the winner. So, the subject is «Jobs». Right, here we go!

Student A: Doctor!

The auctioneer: Doctor one!…

Student B: Pilot!

The auctioneer: Pilot one!…

Student C: Teacher!

The auctioneer: Teacher one! … Teacher two!…

Student D: Builder!

….

Student N: Conductor!

The auctioneer: Conductor one! … Conductor two! … Conductor three! … Done! The winner of the auction is Student N!

Variations: The range of topics for Word Auction game is immense. Here are just a few suggestions below:

• Goods and services: “Clothes”, “Food and drinks”, “Hotels”, “Restaurants and cafes”, “Real estate”

• Art: “Literature”, “Music”, “Fine arts”

• Education: “Classroom activities”, “School subjects”

• Health and Medicine

• Climate and weather

• Sports

• Leisure activities

• Hobbies and interests

• The mass media

• Language issues: “Adjectives beginning with “s”, “Irregular verbs” etc.

Some helpful ideas: It seems to be a nice idea to present the winners with little prizes such as sweets, candies or chocolates.

Word Categories

Core language: Word groups referring to definite topics

Level: Beginners-advanced

Number of students: Any

Stuff needed: A white/blackboard

Time: 7 minutes

People/characters involved:

– A presenter – the teacher or one of the students.

– Participants – all the students.

Procedure: The presenter writes/types a list of category headings on the board. The participants choose a letter of the English alphabet. Now they should name at least two words for each category beginning with this letter.

Example:

Categories

Animals

Clothes

Food & Drinks

Geography

Weather & Climate

Classroom

Hobbies and Interests

Art

The letter chosen: T

Students:

Animals: tiger, tapir

Clothes: trousers, T-shirt

…

Variation: The presenter writes/types a list of category headings on the board. The participants should think of five words fitting into each category.

Example:

Categories

Animals

Clothes

Food & Drinks

Classroom

Hobbies and interests

Geography

Climate and weather

Art

…

Students:

Animals: cat, dog, elephant, wolf, mouse

Clothes: dress, shirt, jeans, trousers, T-shirt

…

Some helpful ideas: The list of categories can certainly be extended. You could find the following tips useful: «Sports», «Health and Medicine», «Music», «Literature», «Fine arts», «Film industry», «Transport».

You may also introduce or add your own items to the category list.

An adverb poem contest

Core language: Formation of adverbs with -ly

Level: Pre-intermediate – advanced

Number of students: Any

Stuff needed: A white/blackboard

Time: 10 minutes

People/characters involved:

– The teacher acts as a presenter and possibly as a participant

– All the students are the contestants

Procedure: The teacher writes/types adverbs ending in -ly and a sample poem on the board and explains the rules of the contest to the students. The students have seven minutes to write a poem (one or two verses) using adverbs from the list and any others. Then they read their poems out. Finally, the class decides whose poem is the best.

Example:

Adverbs

Slowly, quietly, tragically, angrily, carefully, carelessly, nervously, urgently, lovingly, suddenly, lazily, peacefully, heavily, really, immediately, nearly, finally, incredibly, loudly, eventually, hysterically, desperately, fortunately, unfortunately, warmly, happily, fondly, luckily etc.

Sample poem

Some helpful ideas: It seems to be a nice idea to award a little prize to the best poet of the group.

Definitions

Core language: The class vocabulary

Level: Intermediate – advanced

Number of students: Any

Stuff needed: A white/blackboard

Time: 10 minutes

People/characters involved:

– The teacher acts as a presenter and possibly as a participant

– All the students are participants

Procedure: The teacher writes/types a list of words and phrases that need revising on the board. One of the students thinks of an item from the list and, without saying it, gives a definition of that item. The rest of the group guesses which word/ phrase has been chosen. The participants take it in turns to define the vocabulary items. At the end, the students may vote for the best definition justifying their decision with reasons and comments.

Example: (from a text about roller coasters, intermediate level)

An amusement park

exhilarating

anticipation

a pendulum ride

suspended

weightlessness

motion

a roller coaster

gravity

glimpse

Student A: A railway track at a fairground with lots of steep slopes and sharp bends where people ride in fast trains.

Student B: A roller coaster!

Student A: That’s right. It’s a roller coaster.

Student C: It is an adjective which means making someone feel very excited or elated.

Student D: Exhilarating!

Student C: Yes, that’s correct. The word I mean is «exhilarating».

…

Variations: Apart from definitions, the students can also explain the chosen item in some other way. For instance, they may use phrases like «It is something that…”, «It is a place where…» or «It is a person who…»

Forfeits

Core language: Depends on the specific task as the game covers a wide range of language material

Level: Beginners – advanced

Number of students: Any

Stuff needed: A white/blackboard, the task cards from Appendix 1: Forfeits

Time: 20 minutes

People/characters involved:

– The teacher acts as the presenter/game host

– All the others are participants

Procedure: The game can be played as kind of «punishment» for mistakes made by the students in a particular exercise or can just be held for fun and pleasure. The teacher lays out the task cards face down on the teacher’s table. Then he/she walks around the classroom with a bag. Each student puts into the bag one of their personal belongings. Next, the teacher pulls the students’ things out of the bag one at a time. The owner of the item approaches the teacher’s desk, picks one of the cards, reads the task aloud and performs the task to get his/her thing back.

Forfeit tasks (see also Appendix 1):

•Describe the photo in your passport.

•Choose one of your classmates and tell us when and where you met.

•Draw a new road sign and explain what it is for.

•Read the poem (the story…) as if it was an episode from a horror film.

•Make an origami from a piece of paper. Explain what it is.

•Tell us about one of your classmates without giving his/her name. The other students guess who it is. Start your sentences with the words This person…

•Tell your desk mate why he/ she should fly to Mars.

•Tell us what you would do if you were a talking biscuit…

•Answer the questions with complete sentences:

– What’s your name?

– How old are you?

– Where do you live?

– Which school do you go to?

– What’s the date today?

•Arrange the following words in alphabetical order:

tea, teacher, tree, talk, tiger

•What are the opposites of the following adjectives: big, dry, hot, rich, old, happy, low, wrong, fat, clean?

•Form compound nouns from the following words:

– alarm, cross, life, ear, time

– table, guard, ring, word, clock

•Put the words next to the correct heading (five words for each heading):

potato, plum, apple, carrot, onion, lemon, garlic, orange, banana, peas