Ganchimeg Tsedenbal teaches in the Foreign Language Department of Khovd State University. In 2006, she attended an advanced English course and a teacher training course in the UK.
First activity: “I spy”
I spy is a very popular game with younger students. One student says, “I spy with my eyes something beginning with "T”. The object must be in the room. For example: Table. The other students have to guess what the word is. In order to find out the word students can ask questions like these: "What is it used for?", "What color is it?", "What is it made of?", etc. The student who guesses the right answer has the next turn. I have also used this activity in my adult classes and they have loved it even more than the kids.
Second activity: “Teapot”
One student thinks of a verb or an activity. The other students in the group try to guess what the verb is by using the word “teapot” instead of a verb in their questions. Questions could be: Are you “teapoting” now? Do you “teapot” everyday? Did you “teapot” this morning? Do you “teapot” in the kitchen? The student who is thinking of the word may only answer the group’s questions with yes or no.
Third activity: “Can you move in the manner of the word?”
One student goes to the front of the room and thinks of a word. In order to guess the student’s word, the other students ask “Can you move in the manner of the word?”. The student who thinks of a word can move in the manner of the word. Then other students guess the word. For example, the student might think of the word “climb”, then when the other students ask her to move in the manner of the word, she might pretend to climb a tree, a mountain, or a cliff. Verbs and adverbs are most suitable for this activity.
Forth activity: "Energy Ball"
Another way to attract students’ interest to their lesson is by using a ball. The ball can be used in lessons to increase the energy of students. For example, the teacher can ask a question such as, “What day is it today?” and throw the ball to a student. The student must answer the question, ask a new question, and throw the ball to another student.
I’m sure that the above mentioned activities and ideas can help your class to progress, and especially can increase your students’ speaking skill and their vocabulary.
- Hicks, Diana and Andrew Littlejohn. Cambridge English Worldwide Series. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Ur, Penny and Andrew Wright. Five-Minute Activities: A Resource Book of Short Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Cambridge Academy of English http://www.cambridgeacademy.co.uk/