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60. Is Your Conversation Style Feminine or Masculine?

Level: Medium

The following activity is loosely based on Conversation Analysis readings, so nothing is hard and fast doctrine. It seeks to be thought-provoking and there may be a grain of truth in some of the statements below. Remember also that men and women express themselves differently according to the make-up of the conversation group. That is, the group may be mixed gender, all male or all female, hence the type of exchanges will be different-the atmosphere too. Furthermore, the group may be friends, work-mates, academics, a meeting ....

If nothing else, it should generate chat.

Put yes (Y) or no (N) for the sentences below.

Generally speaking, when I converse with people I know:

I am a blunt person
I criticise people
I am a little sarcastic
I ask a lot of questions in a conversation, to find out about people, their thoughts, etc
I rarely admit I am wrong about something when I am in a conversation
I make eye-contact and use body language in conversations
I generalise
I get personal with people in conversations; I may even gossip about a mutual friend
I compliment people spontaneously
I use four-letter words, coarse language
I like to talk about myself
I am a good listener
I prefer to talk about non-personal topics, such as unemployment, the economy, current affairs ...
I usually talk about personal problems, people, their way of being, hopes, desires, my family ...
I get personal when I write a letter to someone, but not face to face in a conversation
I help to keep a conversation flowing, I am not provocative, controversial, confrontational ...
I like to get my say, get in a few comments, no matter what the topic
I don't assert something, but I might preface a comment with "I think, I suppose, perhaps"
I talk a lot
If I ask a question, it is generally a yes-no answer I am looking for
I don't mind talking about a situation where I was embarrassed,humiliated and so on

** Results ** (A personal view)
Men, it is said, are more assertive, sarcastic, long-winded, non-personal and so on, while women are collaborative, personal and happy to take a back seat in many chats-it is said. So, working on the previous assertions-and more-you can score the test the following way:
4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 21 would be more feminine traits-generally speaking The rest, male.

Once again, the activity should not give rise to aggressive exchanges.

Submitted by Gerard Counihan

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61. "Jeopardy"

Level: Medium to Difficult

Select 4 or 5 categories - either general (I normally use countries, sports, animals, food and drink and names) or areas from the textbook that is in use - and then divide the board into three - assigning each area with a point score (100, 200, 300 - etc...). Divide the class into teams, or get them to work individually and ask them to select a category and a score.


Countries Sports Animals F&D Names
____________________________________________

1
0
0

____________________________________________

2
0
0

____________________________________________

3
0
0

____________________________________________


During your preparation time, think about the easiest and hardest answers for each category and the level of the students and consider how many possible answers there are for each letter of the alphabet (in the case of sports: Archery, Basketball, Cricket, Diving, Equestrian, etc).

If a team or individual is unable to answer or gives a incorrect reply, then that letter remains in that point range until someone answers correctly. If a stalemate situation ever occurs - give correct answers and encourage the students to repeat them a few times, so as they will remember them.

This game is lots of fun, and my students always want to play.

For variation, you can draw a soccer park or basketball court on the board and assign areas in the same way.

Submitted by Stephen John Morrison

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62. Karaoke

Level: Difficult

-for larger classes

Preparation: choose songs that are easy to understand and somewhat enjoyable.

1. Divide the students up into groups of 4-5 people.

2. Give each group a different song. Have them figure out all the words to the song. Make sure that not just one person is doing the work, but that it is a group effort.

3. Give them the entire class (one hour) to work on it. Next class, have them return to their groups to practice one time.

4. You then have the group as a whole, stand up and sing along with the recording.

-this is fun for the students if they all participate and work together.
-choose both popular and silly songs to keep their attention and interest

Submitted by Melanie Dutton, University of Texas at El Paso

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63. Kim's Game on Video

Level: Any Level

The traditional "Kim's Game" uses a tray full of objects to stretch the memory and vocabulary of the players. This version uses moving pictures. Therefore, a larger range of vocabulary, word classes, and phrases can be elicited.

To Play
1. Select any sequence that scans over a large number of objects, people or includes many actions.

Examples:

The opening of "Masterpiece Theatre"
The opening of "Miami Vice"
The toy store in "Home Alone II"
A display of quiz game prizes
2. Allow players to view the segment once. They are not allowed to take notes.

3.Individually or in groups, form a list of as many of the objects, people or actions in the scene as can be remembered.

4. Play the scene again using still frames to check off the things on the list. Score one point for each correct item but minus one for any item on the list that is not in the scene.

Variation
Narrow the range of things allowable on the list.

Examples:
Things that start with (pick a letter of the alphabet).
Things that are (pick a color or quality).
Things made of (pick a material).
Things used for (pick an action).

Submitted by Donna Tatsuki

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64. Learning Months of the Year

Level: Easy

To teach younger ESL students (K-3) the months of the year, take lamented pictures representing the months:

January-snowman
February-heart
March-shamrock
April-umbrella/bunny/Easter egg
May-flowers
June-sun/watermelom
July-flag
August-sailboat/?????
September-apple/schoolhouse
October-pumpkin
November-turkey
December-Christmas tree/Menorrah

Have the students tell you which picture goes with each month, or put the pictures in order by month

Submitted by Jeannie LaFlame

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65. Listening Exercise (Song Puzzle)

Level: Medium to Difficult

I really like this activity because it is easy and fun. Students will say English is music to my ears!

For this exercise you will need the lyrics of a song in English.You will need several copies, one for each student .Cut the lines of the song .The students will try to put the song in order.You will play the song as many times as necessary.The student who finishes first is the winner.

Submitted by Pablo Ortega Juez portegaj63$$$hotmail.com

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66. Lost in a Jungle

Level: Medium to Difficult

This is a game suitable for a class of pre-intermediate and up. The game can be done in groups of three to six students. It keeps everyone involved even the quietest students.

The Teacher prepares a list of say 20 items and writes the list on the board or gives copies to groups. This is a list of things that people may need if they're lost in the jungle and things that they may not need.

For example:

A pack of canned food
50 meters nylon rope
Knife
Torch
Tent
Cellular phone
6 gallons of water
Petrol
Alchohol
Blankets
Candles
Matches
...

Then, the students in groups decide on 5 itmes on the list which seem essential to all of them.
This usually takes a whole session since they all come up with different ideas. Sometimes a creative student chooses an item apparently irrelevant, but when he/she explains how to use it, everyone agrees!

Submitted by Nazanin Nikanjam

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67. Making Words from Letters in a Long Word

Level: Medium to Difficult

This game is a good activity for learning new words and for reviving some word knoweledge and for giving a teacher time to prepare other tasks for students.

The class is to be divided into 2-3- teams. Give each team a dictionary and write on the board a long word. Students should compose different words from the letters of this word. After some time, the teams give their words. the team that has the most correct words wins.

For example:

R E T R I B U T I O N

return tribute iron notion note tone rib tube bruit tent tribe bur button rent burin nob bite burr run route tire tore bent bet bonnet rub nib net nub bin nut bit rube ruin rob rot unit union unite tier tie tin tint tone toe brute burn brunt butt butter riot tot tenet tenure terrier retro bone boot born bout totter tote tour bore

Then you can ask them to learn these words.

Submitted by Shipulin Vladimir

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68. Martian

Level: Medium to Difficult

Tell your class you are a Martian and you are inhabiting a human body to study human ways. You then ask about virtually anything in the room, and ask follow up questions:

What is this?
It's a pen.
What's a "pen"?
You use it to write.
What is "write"?
You make words with it on paper.
What are "words"?

ETC...

You can make it as difficult as possible for your higher level students; at some point, though, you'll need to say "OK, I understand", and go to the next object. Even your best students will eventually get stuck on this one!

Submitted by Chris Mattson

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69. Memory Game (Long and Short Forms)

Level: Medium to Difficult

RULES: The same rules as the regular memory games(the only difference is they are going to match the long forms with the sort forms).

Foreign students sometimes do not realize there are many reductions in English. They feel frustrated when they are not able to understand spoken English. This is in part to because they are not aware of short forms. A way to help them is by showing same expressions in both short and long forms. Examples:

want to- wanna
going to-gonna
ought to-outta
because-'cause
a lot of- alotta
see you-seeya
got to-gotta
let me-lemmi
give me-gimmi
what have-wattav
etc.

I advise the teacher to read aloud the cards when the students pick them up in order to encourage them to repeat and learn them.

Submitted by Pablo Ortega Juez portegaj63$$$hotmail.com

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70. Mimes

Level: Easy to Medium

This game is very useful to practice present progressive structures. You have to give to each student a small card with an action (i.E. You are dancing). The student has to mime the action in front of the class and each student in turn will try to guess what he's doing posing a question like: "Are you dancing?". The student who mimes has to answer "Yes i am" or "No i'm not". This way pupils practice and have fun!

Good luck!!!

Gloria from Italy (glo75$$$hotmail.com)

Submitted by Gloria

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71. Mini Plays

Level: Medium to Difficult

The teacher makes up a little discussion which she reads or gives to a couple of children to read. E.g.

Mum: Bye, now. Be careful!
John: Yes, Mom. I will.
Mum: Don forget to write.
John: No, Mom. Il write every day.
Mum: Call me when you get there.

And then the teacher chooses one aspect to the plays that will be improvised based on this short discussion. E.g.

"Your plays must ne about a situation where somebody is leaving away. What happens? What do you say? You have 5 minutes to practise a little play in groups of 2-5."

In five minutes the plays will be presented and some vocabulary can be marked, if you feel like it. The kids love making plays and they are pretty good in improvising incredible plays even in few minutes.

Submitted by Virpi, Finland

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72. Movie Review

Level: Any Level

This could be carried out in pairs or in groups of 3-4.

Pre-activity: The tearcher should have taught students about adjectives and adverbs.

Activity:

students can choose a favourite movie, cartoon or television series to review. They should talk about the main plot, actors and actresses, provide a synopsis and tell why they have chosen that particular movie. Once they have discussed and edited their movie review, they would have to present in front of the others, and hand over a copy of the edited text to the teacher to be correceted.They may also include pictures to make their movie review more interesting.

Submitted by Kaarthiyainy Supramaniam

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73. My Town

Level: Any Level

Activity A

Do you like the town/city you live in? Why? Why not?

Activity B

Teacher makes a list of the positive points mentioned by the pupils. Discuss common and original comments.

Activity C

Teacher makes a list of negative comments about towns/cities mentioned

Activity D

THE PERFECT TOWN/CITY:

The class now makes a list of the characteristics of a perfect town/city. For example, these could include:

Bicycle paths
No smoke
No cars
Sports facilities
No violence
Beautiful buildings
Culture

Activity E

Compare your town/city with another one you know, and make a list of the comments. Some examples:

My town is noisier than X, because ...
My city is more boring than Y, because ...

You can go on to mention aspects such as
Pollution
Poverty/Wealth
Green areas
Amenities
Transport
Health
Crowding
Cost of living
Selfishness ...

Activity F

The best town/city you have ever been to/seen?

Submitted by Gerard Counihan

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74. Mystery Object

Level: Any Level

I am teaching my Level 1 writing students how to describe things by means of process (First second then), extended definition (for instance/compare-contrast), and directions (N.S.E.W./right, left, etc). We have done these things one at a time but my students are continually making learning leaps beyond the simple assignments and I want to reward them for their abilities while making sure they have the basics down. Also, we will soon be studying the correct form for personal letters and I think they are ready to move on. We did these two fun assignments:

Imagine a terrible disaster has befallen our class here at the University (Monsoon, earthquake, rainstorm, snowstorm, tornado, flood, etc.) Write me a letter in which you describe this event and tell me exactly how you responded (I ran out the door and turned left! I ran straight ahead to the end of the hall and looked right and left. etc.).

We had such fun with this assignment! Everyone got into the drama! Exciting assignments like this really test the basic understanding of sentence construction as well as show them how all these forms work together in a paragraph. It was clear when they began to put all of the various forms together that some of them had not completely understood directions when they were not directly connected with the book example of street directions (North, South, and Right, Left). After this adventure in creative writing, however, they all felt that every sort of description was easy. So, we went on to another adventure that was even more fun!

Assignment 2: Write me a letter in which you tell me a wild story or an outrageous lie about yourself! (Everyone looks up outrageous in their dictionary). I provided them with stamped envelopes and these letters were actually mailed to me -- so I had the additional fun of getting personal letters in the mail. These letters were the best writing they had done so far and were, in addition, hysterically funny (one of my Turkish students warned me that he was a space alien and that the information he was about to tell me was "specific and secret!"). The following week, I helped each student with grammer mistakes and then read the corrected letters aloud in class. Everyone enjoyed this (particularly the public praise and appreciative applause) and they also saw that there were many ways to tell a story and still use correct English writing style. Two of my students had difficulty with sentence construction when they let their imaginations run in this way so they were provided with a topic sentence/supporting sentence review tool and they then wrote me a third letter while constantly referring to their topic/supporting sentence diagram. The improvement in their writing was astonishing.

I always encourage imaginations running wild; the greatest portion of my student's training tends to be incredibly focused and detail-oriented and an occasional stretch is important. Also, my father, who was an orchestra conductor, told me that when you are about to begin a new piece with the orchestra you do not start by practicing each section and then, when the sections are perfect, putting them together. You start by playing the entire piece through! You tell everyone not to be concerned about their mistakes, but just to try and keep up. Naturally this first "stagger through" sounds terrible! But the psychological result is that when you are done every musician says to himself, "I can do this!" Obviously, they do not want to look bad in the group, so they will self-discipline themselves to improve.

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75. Name Six

Level: Any Level

This game is fun and challenging at the same time. It can be adapted for virtually any subject and any grade level. It allows the students to review material they've learned, without having to get out a pencil and paper and answer questions from the text.

Arrange 6 chairs in a circle and choose one person, the teacher or another student, to stand outside the circle.
Give someone in the circle a stuffed animal, the funnier the animal the better!
The person outside the circle states what the person holding the animal has to name six of.
The person then starts moving the animal around the circle and the other players pass it around.
The player must name six of the objects before the animal gets back to him or her.
For example, let's say that you have just finished a vocabulary unit on animals. The person standing outside the group may say something like,"Name six animals that have fur." The person sitting in the circle begins namimg six animals and at the same time, the stuffed animal is being passed around the circle. If the player cannot name 6 animals with fur by the time the stuffed animal reaches him, he has lost and it's his turn to stand outside the group and stunt the other students.

My students absolutely love this game and so do I because it requires no prep time!! It may take the students a few times before they become successful at the game, but eventually I'm sure it will become one of their favorites. I hope you have as much success with Name Six as I have had.

Submitted by Sammie Leyder

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76. Name the Place

Level: Any Level

First prepare a list of places about 20 on seperate pieces of paper and then divide the students into groups of 4-6. One member of the group chooses a piece of paper and between the group they prepare a dialogue or mini-theatre based on their place. When all the groups have prepared their work they take it in turns to read or play them out and the other students have to guess the name of the place it is taking place. A time limit can be based on the level of the students. I find this works very well with student who do not have enough confidence to just speak without preperation, but after the exercise they gain a lot of confidence by trying to speak by not looking.

Submitted by Gina Tuncer( practical teacher in Turkey)

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77. Paper Airplane Game

Level: Any Level

Draw a target (with points - like a dart board) on the white board or use a cardboard box in the middle of the room. Then, students make paper airplanes and launch them after they answer your question in the form of a sentence. I don't except my beginners/low intermediate students to form complete sentence so I help them to form correct sentences. To my surprise they will repeat the sentence several times (while I'm helping them) just so they can throw their airplane. For beginner and low intermediate classes, I recommend formulating questions that lead to 1 or 2 types of answers. This allows for better memorization. For example, use CAN/WILL questions and write the beginning part of the answer on the board "I can/will...". I recommend giving a prize to make the target points mean something, thus peaking their interest.

Submitted by: Ell Saunders

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78. People Who ...

Level: Any Level

An activity whose aim is to complete sentences and also take advantage of the contributions in order to generate debate and interaction.

How: Just hand out the following sheet with the heading

PEOPLE WHO ...

and tell the students they have to complete the sentences with realism-not just adding on a grammatically correct ending.

PARK THEIR CARS ON THE FOOTPATH ...

WHO DON'T PAY TAX ...

WHO THROW LITTER ON THE GROUND ...

WHO GIVE MONEY TO CHARITIES ...

EAT CRISPS AT THE CINEMA ARE ...

WHO DRINK AND DRIVE ...

WHO TRAVEL A LOT ...

WHO SAVE LOTS OF MONEY ...

WATCH TV ALL DAY ...

GO TO THE OPERA ...

EAT FROG'S LEGS ...

CLIMB EVEREST ...

HUNT WHALES ...

EAT TOO MUCH ...

DRIVE TOO FAST ...

JUMP QUEUES ...

WHISTLE AT GIRLS ...

SMOKE IN PUBLIC SPACES ...

EARN A LOT OF MONEY ...

THROW THEIR OLD COOKER INTO A FIELD ...

SNORE ...

Etc .......... (Add more!)

NB: The idea is to get personal, individual endings. For example, for

"eople who eat crisps in the cinema ...",

I got:
annoy me
should eat them before the show
make a lot of noise
have a right to do so (!)

As you can see, everybody has a different answer-and opinion. The latter is what generates talk.

So you kill two birds with one stone: You practise grammar and you get students talking.

Submitted by Gerard Counihan ermo Flores Grajales

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79. Personal Survey

Level: Easy to Medium

Here is a light-hearted idea to get pupils talking in conversation class. I have adapted an idea I found in a gossip magazine.

TEACHER TIP

Get your students to fill out this mini survey. You can ask them questions at the end of the exercise or go through the answers as they are made. Obviously, you don't dwell on the "childhood" question too much-it's meant to be a bit of fun. But you should get some mileage from the "white lies" one.

PERSONAL SURVEY

Did you have a happy childhood?

When do you tell white lies? Tell us one.

The most capable person in your country?

Favourite novelist?

Proudest moment?

Worst moment? (last week if necessary)

Most hated song/music at the moment?

The last piece of music you bought?

Were you good at school?

The greatest influence on you? (parents, friends ...)

Current bedside reading material?

Where will you go when you die?

What do you admire most about yourself?

One of your main faults?

A small crime you once committed? (anything at all)

Music you would like played at your funeral?

Submitted by Gerard Counihan