Speaking games

SPEAKING  – GAMES

 

 

Pre-gaming activities and tasks can generate a lot of speaking amongst students. Here are some ideas:

• Presenting the title of the game and brainstorming game vocabulary and grammar generated from students predictions. This helps orientate the learners towards understanding the rules and requirements of a game.
• Have the instructions of the game on say a data projector for the learners to read. When they have finished reading the instructions you switch off the data projector and in pairs the learners explain how the game is played. You could then ask the learners to explain it to you in order for you to play it. That is you play the game under their guidance.
• Learners describe personal reactions to these types of games expressing personal preferrences and opinions.
• Possibly there are learners who have experiences of these types of class and they could tell the others about them.

During activities and tasks means that while the learners are playing a game a degree of language production in the form of speaking is encouraged. Here are some ideas:

• At some time a particular learner may progress through a game at a much faster speed than the group. I like to sit this learner in a central location within the class and encourage them to help the others reach his/ her level. This can generate a lot of interesting language. “Where are you (in the game)?”, “How do I get . . . ?”, “If you use the key on the car, the box will open and . . . “.
• A relay reading is another nice activity. Students play in pairs and take it in turns to relay information from a walkthrough that you have stuck on say the classroom door.
• Another pair work activity is to have learners sit back to back, one playing the game and the other providing guidance with a copy of a walkthrough. After a stage in the game is completed, a life is lost or a time period has elapsed the learners could change rles.

Post-gaming activities and tasks take place with the learner away from or out of the game. Here are some ideas:

• If you have a data projector or a single computer in the class you could play the game and the learners tell you how to play. This can help to identify useful language items and areas of language that the learners may not have acquired and subsequently had difficulty expressing themselves.
• A discussion on game strategy to use within the game. Did they find a particular area of the game difficult and is their anyone in the class that can provide help through advice or instruction.
• Expressing their opinions of the game and discussing any experiences thay have of similar games.
• Discussing similarities / differences between games.