I think it’s so cool to use fun to practise any material at any level. Better not make it too complicated, though – substance over form.
Coaching
I am in love with coaching, so I use coaching games in English for language training. My main choices:
Points of You® – POY, Faces
Sto MAP do Celu (with English version) by Coach&Couch
Why? To boost communication, help clients open, encourage them to use their imagination, …
Tailored Games
Incorporating games and various activities into language practice is very effective. They involve fun, changing perspective, movement, visual stimulation and what not.
Much as it is convenient and time-saving to use ready made games and worksheets, the Clients / Students will benefit most from customised activities. Whenever possible, use the current language input in the activities – practice exercises, games, puzzles. Thus, it can be taken in and internalised.
Compile the list of key words and phrases. Make up interesting questions based on the current material. Put them in a suitable frame:
– Wordwall game
– Learning apps application
– individual cards
– noughts and crosses
– dice boards
– playing cards boards
– printable board game
etc.
… and enjoy practising or revising them with Students / Clients. Here are some examples and templates to use for constructively lazy people:
Wordwall games
Even the simplest exercise in Professional English will be more engaging if you give it a bit of pizazz with Wordwall templates …
Learning apps
… or lapps applications.
Individual cards to cut up
Dicebreakers and dice boards
Practical for warm ups, conversations and revisions.
Playing cards boards
The Talking Cards idea is by far the coolest template that I have used for structures practice. I got it from an excellent Szczecin educationist Asia Łucka of authentic-teaching.com. And the inspiration was the “Talking Cards” by Michael J. Brown (The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. IV, No. 8, August 1998; http: //iteslj.org/Lessons/Brown-TalkingCards.html).
Let me share some examples:
playing_cards_fortunetelling_a1
Board games
Some extra board games squares:
| MOVE ONE SQUARE FORWARD | MOVE ONE SPACE FORWARD | MOVE ONE SQUARE BACKWARD |
| MOVE ONE SPACE BACKWARD | GO BACK TO ‘START’ | MISS A TURN |
| SKIP ONE TURN | HAVE ANOTHER GO | THROW AGAIN |
| board_comb | board_squares_table1 |
| board_comb_vert | board_squares_table2 |
| board_squares_col | board_squares_table3 |
Taboo Topics
Prepare a set of tasks or questions with an extra challenge – taboo issues. It’s a mix of conversation practice and assertiveness training 😊 😊 If the Students / Clients don’t fancy answering a specific question, they can use assertive language:
I’d rather not answer that.
I’d rather not talk about that.
I’d rather not do this.
pres_perf_taboo_questions_b1bus
Sources:
authentic-teaching.com – the wonderful girls from Authentic Teaching have plenty of tips how to make trainings cool and effective.