O’ZBEKISTON RESPUBLIKASI OLIY VA O’RTA MAHSUS TA’LIM
VAZIRLIGI ANDIJON VILOYAT HOKIMLIGI O’RTA MAXSUS, KASBHUNAR TA’LIM BOSHQARMASI JALAQUDUQ AGROSANOAT
KOLLEJI
O’quvchilarda Ingliz tiliga bo’lgan
qiziqishni orttirish maqsadida o’yinlardan
foydalanish
(Uslubiy qo’llanma)
Ushbu
qo’llanma
Jalaquduq
Agrosanoat kasb-hunar kolleji
pedagogik kengashida muhokama
etilgan va foydalanish uchun
tavsiya etilgan.
Andijon – 2011
Tuzuvchi: Jalakuduk Agrosanoat kasb-hunar kolleji ingliz tili fani o’qituvchisi
Turg’unova Dilnoza
Taqrizchilar: Andijon Davlat Universiteti dotsenti T.B.Umirzaqov.
Andijon Davlat Universiteti katta o’qituvchisi Sh.G’.Umirzaqova
Kirish
Ushbu uslubiy qo’llanma ingliz tilini o’rgatishda o’yinlardan foydalanish
usullarini yoritishga bag’ishlangan. Undan maktab, akademik litsey hamda
kasb-hunar kollejlari o’qituvchilari foydalanishlari mumkin. Ushbu
qo’llanmada ingliz tilidagi ko’pgina so’zlarni ishlatilishlari va ba’zi
grammatik iboralarni yoritishda ishlatiladigan 80 dan ortiq o’yinlar
keltirilgan. Ushbu uslubiy qo’llanmada keltirilgan o’yinlardan
mashg’ulotlarda foydalanish uchun sinf o’quvchilari avval bir necha
guruhlarga bo’linib, har bir guruh a’zolariga o’yin shartlari alohida beriladi.
Har bir o’yinda o’quvchilarning darajasi, o’yinning maqsadi, o’yinga bog’liq
grammatika, o’yinning vaqti, va kerakli materiallar ko’rsatilgan.
2
3Ws GAME
Level
Aims
Grammar
junior
high
school
first year
Give practice asking and
answering What/When/Where,
and using 'sometimes' and
'always' in a fun atmosphere
What/Where/When,
Sometimes/Always
Time
Materials
20
mins
Question and
answer sheets,
and name
cards
Discuss this activity here.
Distribute the worksheets and go through them with the students. Cover the names, the
questions, and a sample of the answers. For example, the JTE tells the students they will be
Farruh while the ALT chooses Dilshod (there are pairs of characters with all but 1 answer
corresponding; Farruh/Dilshod, Hurshid/Murad etc.). The ALT asks the questions which the
students answer in unison; the JTE helps if they have difficulty. Go through two characters like
this. Try to get more and more excited as the answers keep matching as this holds the children's
attention, helps them focus on what is happening, and encourages them to be excited too. Feign
great disappointment (momentarily) when the final answer doesn't match. If necessary, the ALT
can model read the answers for the students after they have practiced in the outlined manner.
Explain that you have a Western toilet to read in. Distribute the name cards to students, saying
that they are a secret, and not to be shown to others. The students must find their 3, 4, or 5 samenamed-partners by asking the target questions. Explain that only saying, "Farruh" is the wrong
way to play, watch closely for students using this shortcut. PLAY. First group to find itself wins.
To see this worksheet on its own and ready to print, go here.
Question What do you do
in your freetime?
Name
Do you like
HumptyDumpty?
When do Where do you Do you like
you study?
study?
English?
Farruh
read books
Yes
after dinner
always in the
toilet
No
Dilshod
watch TV
Yes
before
dinner
sometimes in
the bath
No
Murad
read books
No, Alice
after dinner
sometimes in
the toilet
No
Hurshid
play shogi
No, the rabbit
after dinner
always in the
toilet
Yes
Rustam
read books
No, Alice
after dinner
sometimes in
the toilet
Yes
Muhtar
play shogi
No, the rabbit
after dinner
always in the
No
3
toilet
Teaching Tip
Never let yourself get angry at your students; this will only make them afraid of you, and even
less likely to speak. BE PATIENT!! A good practice in difficult situations, with students or
teachers, is to wait twice as long as normal before forming a judgement of something or someone
and reacting. Language learning isn't accomplished overnight, so expect that there will be
misunderstandings and errors.
A Bird in the Hand
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school to Adult
To get S/s thinking in
and about English
any
40
mins
3 copies of a story cut into
strips; tape; 10 sheets of paper.
Discuss this activity here.
Divide the class into teams of four. At the beginning of the class, before you give any
explanation of what the class is about, stick the strips of the story to the walls and window
frames of the corridor and balcony. Make sure that students don't bother other classes by using
good judgement in your placement! Give each team a sheet of paper, and tell them they have 1
minute to choose a 'Scribe'. The Scribe will be the only one to write anything, and they will
remain seated AT ALL TIMES.
The other students will be the story 'Reporters'. Their job is to find the pieces of the story on the
strips of paper stuck around the room, memorise them, and then dictate them to their Scribe. It
might be advisable to tell the students just how many strips make up the story (in our example
there are 5, but this is arbitrary), depending on their ability. When all the sentences have been
reported, the students must work together to figure out their order.
This is a very successful activity, and the students actually speak English. Cater the
story/passage to the level of your students a passage out of their reader texts would be a good
place to start looking for something suitable. Use a passage they have yet to cover, and write it
out in more simplified language. Any of (sop's fables similarly adjusted would also be good fare.
Variations:
4
Omit the moral of the story and ask the students to figure it out for themselves. Or leave it in (in
simplified form, e.g. "Don't be greedy"), and ask them to put it into their own words and/or then
into Japanese.
Give the students questions about the story which they must answer instead of having to put
sentences in order. (See Discovery)
Teaching Tip
Take a candle into the classroom for 'R' and 'L' pronunciation practice, after the manner of
Professor Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady' (although he used it for 'H' practice). The candle will
flutter or go out when an 'R' is pronounced correctly, but will remain unmoved (or should) when
an 'L' is pronounced.
Animal ESP
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
second year
To have fun using comparatives
to describe animals
Comparatives
30-45
mins
Work
sheets
Discuss this activity here.
Basically, the worksheet speaks for itself; this activity is a consolidation or review of
comparative adjectives. Pass out the work sheets to the students, and have them work in pairs.
Students use 'jan-ken' to decide who will be A and who B. Before they begin, explain that this is
an experiment in ESP, and that they are to think of a picture of the animal, not the word.
After each guess by A, B must indicate either the correctness of A's guess, or how the animal
they are thinking of differs from the animal A guessed. When they have played six times, A and
B swap roles and play again. When they have finished, each student totals the number of guesses
they took and divides them by six to find their average. Find the four players with the lowest
average (the best ESP) and pair them off before having one of each pair think of a teacher in the
school, while the other guesses who that teacher is using the same procedure as before.
Teaching Tip
The main job of an ALT in the school is to encourage the use of spoken English; both inside and
outside the classroom. Refuse to yield to the urge to speak to your students (or teachers) in
Japanese, even if you know that they'd much prefer it if you did. Insisting that they communicate
with you in English forces them to practice, and furthers their command of the language. This is
important!! Remember, you are not employed to speak or teach Japanese; you are employed to
speak and teach English. Save your Japanese practice for your own time.
5
Ball and Bag Game
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school - junior
high school and above
extra
fun
Any
10
minutes
Question cards, ball (or other
item), music tape, tape recorder
Discuss this activity here.
Great for self-introduction lessons! Give one student the ball (or any object) and another student
a bag which has questions relating to your speech. Tell the students that you will play some
music and they must pass the bag and ball around the room until the music stops. When the
music stops, the student with the bag must pick a question card out of the bag and ask it to the
student holding the ball. Repeat until all the questions have been asked.
Baseball
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school, first year
extra fun
any
15-20 mins.
Four lists of questions
Discuss this activity here.
1. Divide students into two teams. Choose a manager for each team. Tell students to name their
teams. (They will often think of very strange names like "The Homo-Sapiens" or "Monkey
Dictionaries". I personally think the Utsunomiya Homo Sapiens is a better name for a team than
the Kintetsu Buffaloes but...)
2. Draw a baseball diamond on the blackboard.
3. Batter chooses question he/she wants. Single: very easy Double: easy Triple: harder Home
Run: hard
4. If student answers correctly, tell them to choose the next batter. If they answer wrong, give the
ball to the other team. Only one "out" so the other team does not sit too long. (To make sure the
other team is listening, you can ask the same question team 1 just answered incorrectly.)
6
5. Keep playing as long as you want, switching teams often to keep students busy and listening.
(Hints: Of course most students will choose the very easy questions. However, as they begin
scoring runs, they usually become very competitive and start choosing home runs. If one team is
answering many questions, ask a hard question to give control to the other team. This will keep
both sides active.)
Basketball
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school and
above
extra
fun
any
entire
period
question cards, a basketball goal
and ball.
Discuss this activity here.
Preparation:
1) Write about 20-30 questions on large notecards. I used this game at the end of the year, so I
tried to include grammar points from all lessons. And I wrote "two-pointer" questions, the latter
being slightly harder, to get some basketball vocab. into the game.
2) Before class, hang the goal on the blackboard with tape. I found a really cheap one (\1200) at
the Disney store in Utsunomiya. It came with a nice, soft ball - perfect for an indoor game. Put a
few pieces of tape on the floor in front of the goal so that the students know where to shoot from.
In my classes, the tape closer to the goal was a two-point shot, and the tape further away was a
three-point shot (but not very close to NCAA or NBA regulations).
Class Procedure:
1. Divide the class into six teams.
2. Each team, in turn, will choose either a two-point or a three-point question.
3. The students must answer in a complete sentence (and I mean complete.)
4.
5.
eg. (for third years):
Have you ever made a girl cry?
Good answer:
No, I have never made a girl cry.
Incomplete answer:
Yes, I have. (also a sign of a mean person).
6. If the students can answer in a complete sentence, one member of the team comes to the
front to take two shots.
7. The teams get points both for getting the question right and for making the shots. The
team with the most points, of course, wins.
This game was a great way to say goodbye to my third-years (in several third-year classes, I
brought in stuffed animals to act as mascots for each team; that was quite amusing). In general, it
is a good way to combine a lot of different grammar points, so I would recommend using it at the
end of a term or school year. It is also a really fun way to end before a break.
7
Battleships
Level
Aims
junior high
Consolidate words, phrases,
school to adult
sentences or questions
Grammar
Time
Materials
any (eg. to inf. +
time-frame)
10-50
mins
worksheets (and/ or
OHP sheet)
Discuss this activity here.
Battleships is
an adversarial activity requiring two opponents, either teams or individuals. Working
the same way as grid references on a map (which is what this is) one player asks or says a target
word/ phrase /sentence /question and their opponent responds with information regarding the
accuracy of their 'shot'. Tell the students that their questions are English 'cruise missiles', which
are aimed by targeting a point on the battle-grid and using the corresponding phrases to construct
a question. For example: "Are you going to play shogi tomorrow?". Students record their ships'
placement in the smaller grid, and their attempts at sinking their opponent's craft in the larger
one.
(See some examples and a blank grid for you to fill in.).
This is an incredibly versatile activity, and can be adapted to the teacher's needs. Teach colours,
numbers (words), difficult letters (l + r, d + b, q + p..), tense, or 'to' infinitive. Play can be oneon-one, team vs. team, teams vs. teams, or class vs. ALT and JTE, depending on ability; adapt,
adapt, adapt. I find this game works best with one-on-one for junior high school second- and
third- year. As Battleships can take up to an entire lesson to play, be sure that students have learnt
the target grammar before the lesson. Battleships is a much better consolidation tool than it is a
grammar point teacher.
After passing out the battle-grids, give a brief explanation of how to play the game in simple
English, and demonstrate on the board using the JTE as an opponent. Target words, phrases, and
responses are briefly practiced by the entire class in chorus. As students don't seem to have seen
Battleships before, you will need to explain each step carefully. Make sure they understand that a
1-dot ship represents one intersection of lines, a 2-dot ship is two intersections, etc. Play a game
with your JTE before the class commences.
Demonstrate how to play by rough drawing a battle-grid on the board. You'll need at least a five
by five grid, as you need to fill in all four ships to cater to the slower learners. Next, get the JTE
to commence to ask questions. For example, if your 2-dot vessel was on the grid provided, then
your attack demonstration could look something like this:
JTE: "Are you going to study English tomorrow?"
ALT: "No I'm not. Miss! Are you going ...?
JTE: "No I'm not. Miss! Are you going to play shogi tomorrow?"
8
ALT: "(Kuso) Yes I am. Hit! Are you going..."
JTE: "No I'm not. Miss! Are you going to eat sushi tomorrow?"
ALT: "(Oh my God!) Yes I am!! Hit and sunk!!!" :(
Permit students 1 minute in which to fill-out their grids. Keep to this time limit! Alternative
battle -grids can be found in the misc. section. See Rainforests for team vs. team instructions
Bingo! (s)
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school to junior high
school
grammar
review
any
20
mins
Bingo work
sheets
Discuss this activity here.
Tick-Tock Bingo! Pass out the sheets to the students, and then randomly ask nine different
students alternately, "What time is it?" and "What's the time?". Each student must respond with a
different time, and as they do the rest of the class must draw that time on the clock face of their
choice. Don't let them write the time numerically or the activity will loose a good deal of its
efficacy as a teaching tool. When all nine of the spaces are filled the Bingo! game can begin.
First, the entire class must stand up and ask either, "What time is it?" or "What's the time?" in
unison. Then the AET simply responds with one of the times previously given by the students.
When a student gets Bingo! they must say "TICK-TOCK" and sit down. The remaining students
(still standing) must ask again. Have the students alternate the two questions between turns. This
continues until all students are sitting. Since there are only nine clocks the game goes quite
quickly.
International Bingo! While this is a good introduction to the English names of some of the
world's countries, it is also a good activity for practicing some key grammar points. First, pass
out the sheets to the students, and have them write the names of the countries into the blank
boxes of their choice as you read them out (10 seconds per country). Slow learners can use
Katakana, as can the whole class if the time frame for this activity is short.
When all is ready, ask a student, "Where do you want to go?" or "Where do you live?" or "What
country did you visit last year/week/...?", or "Have you ever been to ...?". The student replies
with, "I want to go to ____", or "I live in ____", or "I visited ____" etc.. After they have
answered, the student must choose another student (have boys ask girls and vise versa) and ask
them the question. The next student answers and then asks someone else. Students circle each
answer as it is given and yell Bingo! at the appropriate time. If a student has 4 in a row ('reech')
and is asked the next question, s/he can give the answer which gives them Bingo!. This game can
be done in teams also. Everything is the same except that when a student gets Bingo!, that earns
that student's team a point.
Profession Bingo! Played in exactly the same way as International Bingo.
9
Complete-the-sentence Bingo! Give the students a blank Bingo! sheet and a list of words. The
students put the words into the blanks at random. Then you read a sentence leaving out a word
which they must fill in for themselves and mark off from the Bingo! card. E.g.: "I'm so thirsty! I
want to drink a glass of _____. (water)"; "Jane likes cats, but I think ____ are better pets." (dogs) ; "Mt. Fuji is
the most _____ mountain in Japan" (beautiful). Sentences can be easy or difficult, but ensure the words
in your list have a clear relationship to the sentences you read, and that word/sentence pairs are
different enough so any word matches only one sentence.
Board Games
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school to
senior high school
Practice test grammar in a timepressed situation, with stress
relievers.
any
35
mins
Game
sheet(s), dice
Discuss this activity here.
Use the blank game board to create a game to suit your needs. (You can see a very fine example
of this concept at work in Congo Bongo.) If you elect to do the former, fill in the blank spaces
using whatever material you wish the students to review. As with many board games, students
roll dice or spin a 'spinner' to see how far to move. Have the students use their erasers (Keshi
gomu) for markers, or some personal item such as a novelty pen top. If you elect to use the
completed board, be aware that it was designed as a review of the year's work for second year.
Provide tasks each step of the way, whether it be actions, answers to questions, creation of
sentences using task material, or whatever. Having some of the tasks require students getting out
of their seats and moving about relieves some of the tension created by the excitement of the
game. Excitement?!? Yes! It may only be a "stupid board game" to you, but it is a challenging
task, outside of their normal routine, to the students. Laughter, screams (of delight), and
animated discussion (in Japanese and English) are the norm.
Hints and cautions
+ If students cannot, or refuse to, answer or perform an activity, their marker returns to its last position.
* This is a good game for English club, since it is small and can be quite challenging. For classes, either use a board
p/c'ed onto an OHP cell and divide the class into groups (each with its own marker for the OHP) , or give each
group its own board, set of task cards, and spinner (or dice).
+ If one student or group has an obvious advantage over the others, put "Super Bonus Rules" on them; give them
1/2 the time to answer, or make them miss a turn occasionally.
* Get questions (or the patterns for them) from the text book. This gives the students a chance to understand what is
being asked, gives them valuable review practice, and lets the JTE hear pieces of the text being used in class.
* Have the student whose turn it was last (whether playing in teams, or between teams) read the question for the
student whose turn it is currently. This is good reading and listening practice, and helps keep everyone involved.
10
* Spinners are cheaper, more easily replaced, and harder to lose or throw around undetected than dice. They are also
very versatile. E.g., include one 'miss a turn', or a double-bonus section.
Can Quiz
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
grammar review
can, can't
15 mins
question list(s)
Discuss this activity here.
The first part of this is just a listening quiz, and the second is copied off some TV program or
other. I mostly use it as a warm-up or warm-down team game, but it would work well coupled
with Gambling. I have all the teams give their answers and give a point to every team that gets it
right. I got these answers from a bunch of random internet sites, so I can't guarantee their
veracity.
1. Can goldfish remember yesterday?
No, they forget everything after 5 seconds.
2. Can elephants jump?
No.
3. Can Eskimos make fire with ice?
Yes. They melt a block in their hands and make a lens to focus the sun's rays.
4. Can cows play golf?
No, stupid. They don't have opposable thumbs so they can't hold the clubs.
5. Can birds count to ten?
No, they can only count to five.
6. Can some frogs fly?
Yes, they can glide from trees with big webbed feet.
7. Can a student in this class make an origami crane (tsuru) in 20 seconds?
(A student from one of the teams that say yes has to try.)
8. Can a student in this class lose at janken (scissors-paper-stone)? (Try with a volunteer
from the "yes" team. The trick is to produce your scissors/ paper/ stone one second early,
so they have enough time to react subconsciously and win but not enough time to think
about it and lose. I saw this on Japanese telly and it seems to work with most students,
but maybe they're just humouring me...)
9. Can a student in this class open their eyes for 10 seconds?
10. Can a student in this class go around the room on their left leg?
11. Can a student in this class hit the clock with a ball of paper?
12. Can a anyone in this room juggle for one minute?
Celebrity Schedules
Level
11
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school second
year
To have students practice
the target phrase "...is
going to...".
"to"
infinitive
50
mins
'Schedule' worksheets,
envelope, character name
cards.
Discuss this activity here.
Divide the class into groups (lunch groups are more manageable) and give each group one of the
'Schedule' worksheets. Have at least a dozen cards with the names of Japanese singers, athletes,
movie stars and animation characters, which you have prepared before the lesson. If you don't
know any names, ask the students to supply them for you at the beginning of the lesson, and
write them on your cards as quickly and clearly as possible. Choose one student from each group
to draw one of the cards from the envelope (a large manila one is ideal). That group must then
write up a schedule for the celebrity (using 'is going to') whose name they drew. Encourage the
students to be creative, and not to limit themselves to "Amuro Namie is going to eat breakfast"
Set a time limit of 15-20 minutes for this part of the exercise, and wander among the groups
helping them wherever possible. Encourage the JTE to do likewise. At the end of the time have
each group ask group #1 a question (e.g., "What's Cutie Honey going to do at 9:10 a.m. ?").
When each group has asked group #1 a question, switch to group #2's celebrity. Continue until
each group has been quizzed about their celebrity or until the chimes sound, whichever comes
first. In order to ensure that everyone is listening to the questions and answers, name a group (on
a rotating basis) to translate the answer into Japanese. The worksheet provided was made
specifically to target the use of 'to' infinitives at the end of sentences. Adapt it to suit your needs.
Teaching Tip
Use song lyrics which have key words blanked out, or replaced with bogus ones, to help build
S/s listening skills. As S/s listen to the song, they fill in the missing words or circle the incorrect
ones. Alternatively, get the S/s to fill out bingo grids from a list of words in the song, then cross
them out as they hear them. Four words in any direction is a good size grid, and don't include a
'free' square.
Charades
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior
high
school
To practice ing form,
and "You told him/her
to..."
-ing form, "You
told him/ her to...
10
mins
Imagination, and maybe a
list of topics for the ALT.
Discuss this activity here.
Each row of students is a team. The first person in each row goes into the hallway with the ALT
where they are given their task: "Stand up!" or "Eat hot pizza" etc.. Then, ALT and students
return to the classroom where they mime the command. The first team to guess the command
gets a point. 1st years must say, "S/he is eating hot Pizza", whereas 2nd and 3rd years must
12
answer, "You told her to eat hot pizza". When the charade has been solved the next set of
students can retire to the corridor with the ALT for their instructions.
This activity lets even the slowest students participate, and can be extremely funny, not only
watching the students actions/mimes, but also when "Play table tennis" becomes, "You told her
to sing Puffy". This is an ideal activity for use as a warm up or as a time fill at the end of a class.
The commands can become increasingly more difficult: e.g., "Drink Pepsi Cola while playing
basketball". Amazingly, some students even got this one!
A longer variation of this is to have the rest of the class face the back of the room (standing). The
players from the corridor tap the first student on the shoulder signalling that they should turn
around. They then have 30 seconds (or 45 for more difficult targets) in which to perform their
charade. Time them (grab a stop-watch from the P.E. teacher), and call out "Time's up", or
"Change!", when the time expires. The 2nd student then taps the 3rd student on the shoulder and
performs what they think the mime is, and the process repeats down the row until the final
student. The final student has to run to the front of the class and whisper to the ALT what they
think the answer is. I.e., "You told him/her to...". If they are right their team gets 10 points, the
next correct team gets 8, and so on. These students remain at the front of the class for the next
turn, when all students move back one seat, and those students at the front retire to the corridor
to learn their task.
Teaching Tip
Rather than the class reading in unison, make dialogues a contest between rows, boys/girls, or
odd/even S/s. Have one group stand up to read, then quickly sit down until their next line.
Dialogues with only two characters and short lines work best with this. S/s are rising and sitting
so rapidly, they forget to be nervous (make sure they remember to read and not just jump up and
down).
Charades 2
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school to
senior high school
Kinesthetic use of English for
better comprehension
any
25
mins
Task
cards
Discuss this activity here.
This activity encourages full participation, student involvement, and grammar review. Split the
class in half and have them turn their desks facing the center. Then have them 'scootch' (I don't
recognise this word, but I've included it in the hope that someone else will. Ed.) their desks and
chairs back so that the students of each team are closer together. This leaves a nice central aisle
for the students to perform in. The first student from team 'A' picks a card and then acts out the
action described thereon. Team 'A' tries to guess (in the given grammatical form) the answer, as
team 'B' passes around the card (yep, so B-team knows the answer). Points are given that
correspond to the number of attempts it took to guess the answer (just like the TV game). Then
13
team 'B' is up to bat, and so it continues. At the end the teachers tally the number of points,
which are then exchanged between the two teams.
This activity is a lot of fun for the students, and also fun to watch what gestures they come up
with. It's best to stick with one sentence or grammar pattern at a time, as this makes for good
practice and doesn't confuse the slower students (too much). First year students used this with
sentences like: "I am sleeping under a tree", and "I am making a cake"....
Teaching Tip
Offer to find Pen Pals for students. If your school doesn't have a sister-city relationship, contact
your hometown junior high school, or one of the international schools in Japan. Although not as
fast as e-mail, students can get a lot out of their new friendships. (See 'Pen Pals' in the 'Misc.'
section)
Circle Race Game
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school first year
extra fun
any
30 mins
pre-prepared list of questions
Discuss this activity here.
I call this the circle race game. Divide the class into two teams. The ALT has one team and the
JTE the other team. Next have the students arrange the desks into two large circles. The ALT
stands in the middle of his/her circle and the JTE stands in the middle of his/her circle. Have all
the students stand up. The idea is to ask every student one question. If the student can answer the
question they can sit down. If they can't they have to stay standing up and wait their turn to be
asked another question. The ALT/ JTE moves round their circles asking questions until everyone
is sat down. The idea is that the two teams race against each other. I usually give the winning
team a prize or a bag of sweets. We play three games of this which takes around 30 mins. (We
let each team win one game each so the final game is more exciting.) It can be adapted to any
level. I am at a low level high school so the kind of questions I ask are:
What did you eat for breakfast? or,
Where will you go on your next vacation?
Even these questions can be made harder by insisting on full sentences.
Be careful: Make sure that the ALT/ JTE are asking the same questions. I prepare the questions
before the class and give the JTE a copy. Also, agree before the class whether you will accept
one word answers or full sentences (as obviously one word answers are easier and quicker.)
Finally, check that both teams have an equal number of people. If one team has fewer people
then students may have to answer two questions before they can sit down.
14
Circle the Word Game
Level
Aims
junior high school
second year to third
year
Text review and listening
practice. Good warm up
game.
Grammar
Time
Materials
any
20-25
mins
Blackboard and
different coloured
chalk.
Discuss this activity here.
Kawaiso chugakusei! Not only must they learn grammar, grammar, and more grammar in the
often stale classroom environment, but often they are required to memorise the text as well. This
activity makes memorisation more fun. Each row is a team; words from the text are written on
the blackboard. Read the text aloud, occasionally saying 'Blank' in place of a word. One student
from each row races to the board and circles the word you 'Blanked'. First to do so scores their
team a point.
Before the class, go through the target text and circle important words. If you are covering one
page of text, circle one word in every sentence, but for more use every other sentence or you'll
spend too much time on this. When you write your words on the board, write as many copies of
the same words as there are groups so that slower students have to get out of their seats and
circle something. You might want to add a few red herring words to make the activity more
challenging for better students. Different tenses, wacky words, words with slight spelling
aberrations, all can add to the mayhem of learning and enjoying it.
Hints and cautions:
* Have the class conduct this activity with closed books, unless they are especially slow.
* Write your target words on one sheet of paper and your herrings on another. give one of the sheets to the JTE, so
that both of you can write the words on the board in a very random manner; upside down, if either of you can
manage it, is good too.
* Encourage the assistance of teammates by teammates. This prevents taunting of slower S/s, and permits the better
S/s to reinforce their knowledge and understanding by teaching.
+ Circling the correct word scores a point, but circling the wrong word is minus one point. This is a necessary
deterrent for those clowns who don't know the answer and circle anything.
+ It takes time to write all the words on the board, so either write the words there before the class, or write them
while the JTE is instructing the class in the grammar point or helping them review the text relevant to your selected
words.
* Use different coloured chalk for each team, if possible, or at least as many different colours, coupled with shapes
(blue circle and blue square), as possible.
Clapping rhymes: Patty Cake
15
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school
English with rhythm
none
5 minutes
none
Discuss this activity here.
Chant while clapping:
Patty cake
Patty cake
Baker's man
Bake me a cake
As fast as you can.
Roll it (pantomime rolling)
and
Pat it (patting)
and mark it with B (make a B in the air or on someone)
And put it in the oven for baby and me. (clapping))
Commands
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
second year
grammar review,
listening practice
imperatives
10
mins
A list of imperatives for the
ALT and JTE.
Discuss this activity here.
Divide the class into two teams. A student from each team comes to the front where the ALT
gives a simple command such as; "Stand on your left leg", or "Go outside", or if you really wish
to activate the class, "Put your finger up your nose". The student who performs the command
first receives a point for their team. After each command, the two students are replaced with
fresh 'volunteers' from their respective teams and the activity continues.
If the activity becomes lopsided, 'massage' the outcome of a few commands, or award bonus
points to the lagging team. The students never seem to mind a balancing interference, as this
adds an edge to the competition.
Alternatively, you can hand out the accompanying worksheet to all the students and either get
them to work through it in pairs, or have them change partners after each command, so that each
student interacts with twelve different others (one of whom is the ALT). The commands; 'dance',
'sing', and 'call' leave space for various additions such as "sing 'Kimi ga yo'" (Japan's National
Anthem), "dance the Lambada", or "call your boy/girlfriend".
16
Teaching Tip
Some of your teachers, especially the younger women, are teaching 20 + hours a week. That's
actual teaching time, not including Homeroom,Ѓ@contacting/visiting parents, planning lessons,
making tests, marking tests, entering grades onto spread sheets, counselling students, and the
myriad other things which teachers somehow get lumbered with. Not all teachers fall into this
category, but if any of your JTEs don't have more than 5 minutes before the lesson to go over
their lesson plan with you, it's worth your while considering just why that is. If your teachers are
this busy, the only time they have for lesson planning is after school has finished, i.e., after
you've gone home. In this case, try staying after school once or twice a week specifically to work
on team teaching plans with your teachers. Let them know in advance that this is what you
intend to do. Your lessons will benefit, your relationships with all your teachers will benefit, and
most importantly of all, your students will benefit from this extra effort on your part. After all,
were it not for the students, you wouldn't have a job.
Commercials
Level
Aims
senior
high
school
Jump-start the economy by
facilitating your students'
transition to hollow, soul-less
consumers.
Grammar
Time
Materials
none
40
minutes
TV, VCR, tape of
commercials, big pieces of
paper with product names,
slogans, et
Discuss this activity here.
This is a combination of two activities:
i) Do something with TV commercials
ii) The Wave Cards Around In The Air And Shout Game.
Make a tape of TV commercials from your home country. On large pieces of card, write
product names, types and slogans from the ads you've made. (Eg. One card would say "Nike".
Another would say, "training shoes". Another would say "Just do it".) Make teams. Give each
team half a dozen or so of your cards. Play the video. If a team sees or hears (or thinks they're
about to see or hear) their slogan, name or whatever, they have to wave the card in the air and
shout it out. If they're right, you take the card. The team with the least cards at the end wins. For
extra competitive pressure, make two of each card and spread them among different teams. Only
the first team to get each answer gets to get rid of their card.
Congo Bongo
Level
17
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
extra fun
Any
30 mins
game sheets and markers
Discuss this activity here.
Use the board supplied or make your own. (Also see Board Games and the accompanying
template). Students each need a marker. They play in lunch groups and compete against the other
lunch groups. Students take turns, no dice or spinner is involved. First they must decide on the
order of play (junban). The first student must say the "start" question - "My name is Takeshi". Or
something resembling that. Then the next student goes, then the next, until we are back to
Takeshi. He can move his marker on to the first island. You'll notice there is a "bikkuri"
(surprise) mark. That means they have to take a card. I call them "Danger Cards", because for
some reason just the word danger sparks all kinds of excitement. So, on the Danger Card is
written something that the student has to do. It can be anything. I supply some examples later on.
So once Takeshi has done his dangerous task, the next student gets a card and the game goes on
in this way. The group proceeds to the end of the chain of boxes and islands to the Super Danger
Card. The group performs the super card together. Needless to say, the Super Danger Card is
something that is really hard to do, or just plain impossible. I made the game last winter and used
it in the spring. When one group pulled the Super Card that said "bring a snowball", they were
kind of upset. However, being ingenious, they went to the fridge, crushed up some ice and made
a snowball. So anything can happen, and probably will.
You can give the winning team a prize if you want. The game is so exciting (usually) that when
the team finally wins they don't even care if there is a prize. The game can get out of control very
quickly. It's better this way. Students should be running around going crazy doing their crazy
tasks. One way to ensure organized mayhem is not to let the kids get new danger cards until they
show you what they are supposed to do. For example, Takeshi's first task was to do ten push-ups.
So he does them where you can count out of the corner of your eye while playing tic-tac-toe with
Midori.
Remember that you can and should change this stuff to suit your style, and that of the kids and
the school. This game can be played with any class; Just change the grammar and the questions.
Examples of Danger Cards:













Win janken with ALT.
win tac-tac-toe with ALT.
shout [insert whatever here] from the balcony.
draw kocho-sensei's face on the blackboard.
walk like a monkey.
bring a roll of toilet paper. (It's better to say a roll because they usually bring a new one.)
make a paper airplane.
make an origami crane. (Most students can do this.)
trade shoes with ALT, or just "Gimme your shoes" - you can choose when or if to return
them. I like to make them wait a while, they usually trade cards to get the "trade" back.
stand on your chair and be a monkey.
wear your jacket backwards.
wear a girl's skirt. (You should not make someone take their skirt off to do this.)
wear a boy's jacket.
Super Danger Cards
18






get kocho-sensei's hanko.
get a snowball.
get a branch from a tree.
win armwrestling against the ALT - after a few tries you can just let them win.
bring a manju from the teacher's room.
get a kiss from X-sensei. (When I do this I let the teacher know beforehand that this may
happen. They usually kiss a piece of paper.)
The worksheet (17 kB)
Crazy Animals
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
first year
To have students ask and
answer, "What's this?"
"What's
this?"
40
mins
OHP sheets and
markers.
Make flash cards of a dozen or so animals. It's preferable to draw the animals yourself, because
then the cards are in keeping with the rest of the activity. Doubtful pictures of a cat or such also
permit a natural progression from, "Yes, it is" to, "No, it isn't." The humour of such pictures is a
powerful influence on memory building as well. Go through the cards twice, each time asking,
"What's this?". Insist on full sentence replies ("It's a/an ___"). Let the students have a long look
at each picture the first time through, but reduce this to a 1/4 second look on the next. Encourage
the use of the phrase, "Once more/again, please". It is also a good idea to jumble the card order.
As each card is identified, fix it to the board for future reference.
When this ground work is finished, instruct the students to get into their lunch groups and to
clear their desks. Pass out one OHP cell which you have marked into 12 sections to each group,
along with two marker pens. Tell the students that they are going to have 5 seconds ('go byo') in
which to draw the animal you nominate in one of the squares on the cell. Give each group a
name, and mark it on the bottom of their cell as you distribute them. Each student gets to draw an
animal you nominate in one of the squares before passing the sheet to the next student. It is
important that you strictly adhere to the time limit; use a stopwatch and count down the last three
seconds. When the final square is filled (it's a good idea to have at least one more animal than
there are squares on the cell), collect the cells and ready the OHP. Choose one cell and announce
the group who created it. They have the job of asking the question, "What's this?", as well as
judging the correctness of the answer ("Yes.., No..."). Cover the entire cell before putting it on
the OHP, and then slowly reveal the picture of your choice after the team have asked their
question. The remaining students must raise their hands and try to identify the scribble drawing
on the screen. Sometimes they are obvious, but sometimes only a few lines and/or dots were
drawn. Start off with the more obvious pictures, and gradually select more and more weird
pictures. The students enjoy this activity immensely, partly because of the strangeness of the
animals they see, and partly because they can see their own artwork on the OHP for the first
time.
Criminal
19
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
speaking
wh' words
25 mins
worksheets
Discuss this activity here.
This article was given to me by Ms. Sakamoto of Wakakusa junior high school. She got it from
Craig Brierley, my predecessor here in Nasu. I'm not sure exactly how Criag used it, and it's
getting a bit out-of-date, but I think the idea could be really useful. Also see Evening News
Give the students a made-up newspaper article describing the murder of a well-known TV talent.
(In this case, Morita from V6). Here's Craig's original text: (scanned copy here)
V6 Star Killed!!!
Go Morita is Dead
It was cold and windy on Monday evening. Go Morita came home from a V6 concert. He said
"Goodbye" to his friends and then went to his room. Police found Mr. Morita on Sunday
morning. He was dead. A knife was in his back! Ken Miyake said, "Go was my friend. He was a
good singer." Police said, "Mr. Morita had many enemies. Many musicians and TV stars didn't
like him. But who killed him?"
Commercials:
Cowboy Tours - the world's cheapest tours! Holiday anywhere in the world for less than 10,000
yen. Just send us 10,000 yen and we'll tell you how! c/o Craig Brierley
Sports Centre - Tennis, swimming, soccer, volleyball, gym... Every day 8:00 am - 7:30 pm.
Shibuya, Tokyo
The kids' job is to find the killer. They have seven different suspects - six famous people and one
ALT. Somebody plays the role of each person, and they have information about where they were
on the night of the murder. Either the teachers could play all the roles or you could get some of
the kids to be some of the people and give them a copy of the worksheet with everything
blanked-out except their own column.
The kids have to question the suspects and write the answers on their worksheets. If they find
someone whose story doesn't add up, they must be the murderer.
Here's the kids' worksheet, with answers. (Obviously you would blank all or most of them out.):
Who are
you?
Ken
Miyake
[ALT]
Tomoya
Nagase
Mr.
Nagashima
Where were
I was at a I was at a I was at a I was at a
you on
V6
V6
V6
baseball
Monday
concert concert concert
ground
evening?
20
Ami
Suzuki
Takashi
Okamura
Anna
Umemiya
I was in
Hawaii
I was in
Alaska
I was at
my house
What time
were you
there?
from
6pm. to
8pm.
from
6pm. to
8pm.
from
6pm. to
8pm.
from
from 7pm. to
6am. to
9pm.
11pm.
What were I was
you doing? singing.
I was
singing.
I was
dancing
behind
V6.
I played the
I was
I was
baseball
sleeping. sleeping.
game.
Who were
you with?
I was
I was
with my
with V6.
friend.
How was
the
weather?
It was
It was
It was
cold and cold and cold and
windy.
windy.
windy.
I was with I was with
Tokio.
Giants.
It was
sunny.
a whole day
from 5am.
to 10pm.
I was
reading a
book.
I was
with my
staff.
I was with
my partner
Yabecchi.
I was
alone.
It was
hot.
It was
snowy.
It was cold
and windy.
Obviously these need to be updated to keep up with fickle teenage trends.
In this case the murderer is Mr. Nagashima. He can't have been at a baseball game on Monday
because there aren't any baseball games on Mondays.
Cube of Fortune
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school to Adult
Review grammar
patterns and new words.
any
30
mins
A Cube (the bigger and
brighter the better), and timer.
Discuss this activity here.
This is an adaptation of the TV game show 'Wheel of Fortune'. Make a large colourful cube
(template here) and write monetary amounts on four sides (e.g., $100, $150, $200, and $300),
two sides should read, "LOSE A TURN" and "BANKRUPT". On the blackboard draw a
scorecard for each team with spaces for current round and game total. Also draw boxes, or lines,
representing the letters of the word, or the words of the phrase/sentence, to be guessed. Giving
students a hint in English adds to the fun.
Students are divided into lunch groups, and the first team rolls the die. If they roll a monetary
amount they may guess a letter (consonants only). If the letter is in the word or phrase, they get
to keep the monetary amount multiplied by the number of times the letter is in the puzzle. If the
letter is not in the puzzle, they lose the money and it is the next team's turn. If the team rolls
'LOSE A TURN", then they must pass to the next team. If they roll "BANKRUPT", they lose all
their money from the current round AND lose their turn. To guess a vowel, teams must have at
least $50, as it costs $50 to buy an A, E, I, O, or U (no matter how many occur in the puzzle) A
bonus $ amount (equal to the highest amount on the die) is given to the team who solves the
puzzle. Students' $ balances carry over to each new round, and the team with the most money at
the end of the game is the winner. Reward as you see fit.
21
Variation:
Make two dice for each group of students. Have the students use the dice to make sentences.
This is good for relative pronouns, subject/verb work, or any other grammar, such as
"...likes/doesn't like...", "...like/don't like...". For example:
Die #1
I have a friend
She has a dog
I see a penguin
They have a pet
He has a girlfriend
We know a teacher
Relative pronouns
Die #2
very large
interesting
wonderful
very noisy
very beautiful
quite strange
(The students must figure out...)
"Which/who is"
Dialogue Puzzles
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school third
year to senior
high school
teach dialogues in a fun way,
make students think, use real
English, accomplish a task
without translating EVERY
word.
Interrogatives and
sundry other
forms.
10
mins
dialogues, cut
into strips,
paper-clipped
together
Discuss this activity here.
Have the students form groups of four, and give each group a muddled up dialogue which they
must put into correct order. Sample titles include: "At the train station / shoe shop / department
store / chemist (drugstore).", but you can easily alter these to cover situations at: the Post Office;
Customs; booking a hotel room / air plane ticket etc., etc.. While the students are occupied, you
and the JTE wander around helping where necessary. When the groups have arranged their
dialogue, they start to practice role-playing it. Give them a time limit in which to do this (about 5
minutes is generally enough) and them have each of the groups perform their dialogue/skit for
the rest of the class. When these activities have ended, you might set them to creating their own
dialogues, although you'll have to give them topics, or the rest of the lesson will be spent
deciding that.
Hints and cautions:
* Colour code each dialogue and note how many strips it consists of - make S/s check they have a complete set
BEFORE they start.
+ Use a guillotine and not scissors to cut the strips, or crafty S/s will have fun with jigsaw, not dialogue, puzzles!
* Less able S/s will need help from both you and the JTE. The main thing is that these S/s participate, don't worry if
they are comprehending the activity; other S/s are, and are also spurred on by the slower S/s successes and
22
enthusiastic involvement. However, if there are a lot of slower S/s you might like to reconsider using this activity.
Use your best judgement.
Dictionary of Japanese Culture
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school
grammar review
relative clause
25 mins
worksheets
Discuss this activity here.
This is another variation on the "explain Japanese culture to foreigners" theme (see also Japanese
Culture Show and Tell) particularly dear to old-fashioned Japanese teachers of English.
Explain that you are confused by all the Japanese words you keep hearing that aren't in the
dictionary. I mean, who's Suzuki Sonoko for a start? (Look through an encyclopedia and prove
that she's not in there.)
Demand that they make you a dictionary. Ask the kids to write definitions of Japanese culturally
things. I let them write about anything, but the emphasis was on popular culture.
I split up the Japanese alphabet and gave one class A I U E O, another Ka Ki Ku Ke Ko and so
on, but you could just let them do what they want, or not let them do things that have already
been taken.
They came up with many enlightening definitions, such as
Kiroro are two girl singers who look like pigs, but they sing nice songs.
Gateball is a sport that is played by old people. I do not play it, but if I was old I would play it.
Genkotsu is a special act of violence. If you get angry, you can use it on children.
I made a web-page out with this and put it on the school website (if you don't know html you can
use Word's "Save as html" feature), but you could just read through them and be enlightened, or
get them printed and bound and published throughout the English-speaking world.
Discovery
Level
junior high
school
23
Aims
To practice reading,
speaking, listening, and
writing.
Grammar
any
Time
entire
period
Materials
Four large copies of a
story - one on each wall.
10 sets of 4 'Task' cards
(class of 40).
Discuss this activity here.
Have the students form groups of 4, and give each group a set of 'Scribe', 'Reporter', 'Discoverer'
cards (each group member is to fill one of these functions), and a question sheet. The Scribe
reads the first question, whereupon the Discoverers go to a copy of the story on the wall and find
the answer. They memorize it, return to the Scribe and relate it to him/her, who then writes it
down. The Reporter memorizes this answer and comes and tells you. While s/he is doing this, the
Discoverers can continue in their function of finding answers to the Scribe's questions. To make
the activity more competitive, and thus more fun, keep a tally of each team's progress on the
blackboard.
Variation: (See A Bird In The Hand and Tell Me a Story)
Stick short sections of a short story at lots of different points around the room (or even outside it
in the corridor or on the balcony): the Scribe remains seated and there are 3 Discoverers. They
memorise the pieces of the story which are distributed at various localities, and report these back
to the Scribe who must write them down in the correct order. One student from the group then
comes to you and reads the story. Have the student read, then look up and speak; short phrases
are OK, but discourage students from using just single words.
Teaching Tip
Whenever possible include a space for the students name and class on work sheets. After
handing them out to the students, instruct them (in English unless they are 1st term first year) to,
"Please write your name in English". For some reason, JTEs (even the best ones) always seem to
forget this simple instruction, yet it ought not be ignored. After all, it is an English lesson. In
those first few minutes when S/s' heads are bowed over their work sheet, walk around the class
and check that they have in fact followed your instructions. Congratulate those who have, and
simply erase the kanji of those who haven't and ask them to do it again by saying, "In English
please". They'll soon get the idea.
Do Me A Favour
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
Club or
Adult
To practice asking, agreeing and
refusing, and household tasks
"Can/Could
you...?"
30
mins
Game cards, a list of
nouns and verbs
Discuss this activity here.
This activity is best suited to club or Eikaiwa (English conversation group) use, as it uses
material outside the province of the text books. Basically, it is a complex version of 'Go Fish!'.
Divide the class into groups of four and give each a set of cards and a worksheet. There are two
types of cards, request cards (indicated by a question mark), and reply cards (indicated by a
tick). The request cards show actions which need doing, and the task cards show the task done.
The object of the game is for the players to collect as many pairs of matching request and reply
cards as they can. The players should sit in their groups around a table and deal out ten cards to
24
each player. The remaining cards should be placed face down in a pile in the middle. The players
should look at their cards and sort out any pairs they may have and place these face up in front of
them. They can then take turns (rotating left) to make requests based on the cards they hold. The
request can be made to any member of their group. When players have a reply card which
corresponds to the request, they must surrender it to the player who asked, along with the
appropriate response. If they don't have the matching card they must refuse the request with the
appropriate response. The person whose request has been refused then takes a card from the
center, and the turn passes to the next player. The winner is the player who empties their hand
first.
(Concept and game cards are from Jill Hadfield's Elementary Communication Games by Nelson Press.)
Teaching Tip
Clarify the difference between 'teens' and multiples of 10 using the numbers 13 and 30 for a
model. Most teachers say the difference between the two is a lengthening of the last syllable;
teen as opposed to the short ty ending of thirty (or...). Something they may not recognise,
however, is how important stresses are in differentiating between multiples of 10 and their
corresponding teen. A teen accent stresses the second syllable (thirTEEN, fourTEEN...),
whereas the stress for a 10 multiple is on the first syllable (THIRty, FIFty, NINEty). Practice
this difference first by having the students repeat after you, and then in rhythm with you clapping
out a four count. Practice THIRty with the THIR sounding on the 1st and 3rd beats. Next
practice thirTEEN with the thir starting on the '&' of the 2nd and 4th beats. Have the JTE take
1/2 the class with THIRty, while you lead the rest with thirTEEN.
Doctor
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school
dialogue
practice
health and visiting the
doctor
20
mins
Pre-taught vocab
worksheet
Discuss this activity here.
Begin with a skit between you and the JTE. One of you is the doctor, the other a patient. The
doctor must diagnose what is wrong with the patient by asking the patient questions about how
they feel. Then, the doctor can give advice such as "take this medicine three times a day" or "get
plenty of rest and drink lots of water" etc.
Prepare a grid similar to the one shown (the more illnesses the better) and give one to each
student. It can be adapted for any level using vocab from the relevant textbook lesson. Make sure
the students understand which question goes with which symptom.
Students work in pairs. Explain to the students that one person (selected by jan-ken) is the patient
and one person is the doctor. The patient picks an illness and so they have all the symptoms
associated with that illness. The doctor must diagnose the patient's illness by asking them
25
questions on how they feel. A great acting opportunity! If the students' level is high enough, the
doctor can give some advice to the patient after the diagnosis has been made.
Are you...? Do you have a/ any...? Do you feel...?
hungry fever
Influenza (flu)
no
stressed
no
chicken pox
hayfever
no
yes
very tired
pain
yes
headache
yes
headache sometimes
yes
yes
a little
yes
sneezing dizzy rash
yes
yes
yes
yes
English Challenge
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school third year to
senior high school
extra
fun
any
entire
period
Clue sheets distributed
about the school.
Discuss this activity here.
Basically, this a rigorous 'Treasure hunt' type activity in which groups of students solve clues
that take them all over the school looking for the final place. Begin by dividing the class up into
groups of 4-6 members, and assigning them group names (Sakura, Samurai, Nampa, Baka etc.).
Students are told that there are 'English Challenge' clues hidden all over the school. They should
not follow other groups or bother other classes (violators lose their right to play, but that's never
happened).
Each group is given its own, different initial clue. Each following clue practices a different
grammar point. Solving each clue directs the team to where to find the next clue. The first clue
shouldn't be too tough, or else it might discourage some teams. For five groups you will need to
have prepared 5 sets of clues in 4 different places (i.e., 20 clue sites plus the initial clue handouts
in the classroom).
The JTE and ALT give hints to slow teams, and work to slow down the fast teams. They also
make sure that no-one is playing hooky. Have at least one clue outside (weather permitting), and
a total of about 5 clues. Warn the other teachers in the morning meeting that students from
that/those particular class(es) will be running amok, and not to worry.
The kids love this, even the most surly third year, because it's competitive, its all over the school
(they can't get over being able to go outside), and it's pretty freewheeling. Even at the toughest
schools there have been few problems. Give prizes to the first 2 teams who complete the
exercise.
Teaching Tip
26
When making photocopies that need to be guillotined, mark out your master sheet in a grid of
equal sized rectangles/squares before pasting the pictures, words, phrases, or sentences to it.
Your masters need only be on thin, near white paper, and it's desirable that your grid lines be
seen in the copied sheets as this makes it simple to guillotine the sheets (several at a time) into
same sized individual cards. When making cards for 'Karuta' don't be afraid to make them
LARGE.
Family Feud
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school to Adult
To review and build
vocabulary.
none
10
mins
Blackboard and chalk, card with
large red spot on it.
Discuss this activity here.
This activity only practices words, not phrases or sentences, so it is best suited as a warm-up
activity, or as something with which to fill those odd 7 minutes at the end of a lesson.
Divide the class into two teams, or 'families', and assign them family names like Hamada and
Matsumoto (the names of two TV comedians with whom the students are very familiar). Write
these names on the board to keep score. One student from each team comes to the front of the
class, and the teacher calls out a category. The following list is of categories which work well,
but the possibilities are endless.










colours
teachers' names
fruits
beverages
body parts
things that are red or green or ...
sports
things in a students desk
school subjects
farm animals
When the students think of an answer, they slap the red button. The first to do so can then
answer. If correct they sit down and the next 9 students in their family have to come up with 9
more answers in the same category. Thus, be careful to choose categories in which the students
ought to be able to think of ten or more things easily.
Instruct the other team to think of an answer while the first team is trying to complete their task,
because if the 1st team fails to come up with 9 more things, the 2nd team has a chance to answer
and steal the points. Thus, the points go to the 1st team if they successfully answer 9 times in the
same category, or else the 2nd team only has to give one answer to score (not as easy as it
sounds). Reward the winning team as you see most apt.
27
Evening News
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
second- to thirdyear
Consolidation of passive
voice through speaking &
writing.
passive
voice
10
mins
Copies of 5 variations
of the w/sheet,
pictures.
Discuss this activity here.
This is an 'Information Gap' activity. Each student has a piece of information which other
students need. Students must find others who have the information they lack and obtain it from
them via a series of questions in English. Prepare in the following manner. Make 4 copies of the
worksheet and 'white-out' three of the four answers on each, leaving a single, different answer.
This provides you with 4 different worksheets, of which you can make sufficient copies to give
one to each student in the class. Thus, in a class of 40 students, you'll need to copy each of the 4
worksheets 10 times.
Tell the students that they are reporters for the 'Evening News' newspaper, and their editor has
given them a murder to cover for the next edition. They are going to make a 'Front Page', so
they'll have to find witnesses (conveniently each other) and ask them questions about the crime.
As they gather information, they can fill in the blanks on their worksheet. They will have to
'make up' some information by conjugating the verbs in brackets to the passive voice. When they
have filled in all the blanks, there is still one final task they must perform to complete their 'Front
Page'; They need to obtain a picture of the victim (one is provided below, but use any you like
and alter the worksheet accordingly) by asking the ALT (IN ENGLISH). Don't tell them this
requirement, it's written on their worksheet.
See Criminal for a similar idea with worksheets.
Teaching Tip
Your school probably has a video which accompanies the textbook. Turn the sound off, and have
the S/s dub the dialogue. In a similar vein, being taped can prove very motivating for S/s doing
dialogues/skits based on the text (create altered, zany dialogues for them to use), especially for
senior high school. Your school may also have a video club, the members of which would
probably love to make several 2 minute movies featuring your students. Don't be afraid of asking
to use these tools.
Fan Game
Level
28
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school to
adult
Consolidate or review learned material.
Get students relaxed, & comfortable
asking and answering questions. Good
warm-up game.
any
10-15
mins
cassette of loud,
exciting music; two
fans; questions
written on cards
(optional); and a
large
Affix the words 'Question' and 'Answer' to 2 fans. Alternatively, you can use 2 soft toys (e.g.,
'Anpanman' and 'Bikinman'). Distribute these to either side of the class. Explain that while the
music is playing the dolls/fans can be passed from student to student, but not thrown. When the
music stops, the students with the dolls/fans have to stand up and ask/answer a question.
Introduce your favourite, loud, exciting, band to the students. It doesn't matter whether it's Rock,
Jazz, R & B, or Japanese Taiko Drums, only that it have a insistent, toe-tapping beat that will
involve the students in spite of themselves. Students can pass the fans in any direction (up, back,
across, or diagonally), but NO THROWING!
If you are teaching junior high school, use questions written on cards in an envelope from which
the students can select a card at random. Let them read the question through once, before you
retrieve the card and have them ask the other student. However, if you work in a senior high
school, task your students by requiring them not only to answer the question, but to think of and
ask one as well. Questions should be asked in a loud, clear voice while making eye-contact with
the person being spoken to. NO Japanese!!
Teaching Tip
Take a soft toy into class with you (or two or three if you like), and use it to select students to ask
questions of in those first 5 minutes of morning greetings. Selection is carried out by lobbing the
toy at a random student who, after they have caught it, hands it to the student on their right (or
left...). Explain this clearly to the class while demonstrating. This has the effect of having
students leap out of their chairs in order to catch the object, so make sure your object is robust (I
use a hand-towel with a knot in it). It also adds a bit of levity, which nicely sets the tone for the
lesson. This can even be used as a covert teaching activity if the 'catcher' must wait for your
instructions on to whom to pass the object. E.g., "The student: on your right/left, next to
you,...".The student who answers the question gets to throw the object next, and the activity
continues. Use the phrases: "Please throw the *****." and "Please catch the *****" while
demonstrating. Repeat the phrase, "Please throw the *****" to each student before they throw,
along with an appropriate gesture.
Fan Game
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school and above
extra fun
any
20 minutes
two fans
Discuss this activity here.
29
Frequently in the textbook, there are two or three contrasting sounds presented in a phonics box.
In the new New Horizon textbook for next year there is a pair of difficult-to-distinguish sounds
presented on each page.
A good warm-up to teach these sounds is the Phonics Fan Game.
1. Students are divided into three teams (two rows = 1 team).
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
xx
2. The two (or three or four) sounds we are interested in are written on the board.
b
v
p
f
3. The first student on each team stands up and takes a fan.
4. The teacher (AET) says a sound or a word with the sound (ban, pan, van, fan) and the students
have to hit the sound they hear with the fan. The new books have sample words for each sound
you are to teach.
5. The fan on the bottom is the winner. (unless they cheated.)
Variations on the fan game:
1) Write two kanji on the board. Say the words in English and have the students hit the one they
hear. For example, students have a lot of trouble with "y" and "e". On the blackboard I write the
kanji for year and for ear. I say "year" and "ear" and the students have to hit the correct kanji.
2) Write two words on the board in English and have students hit the word you say, for example,
light and right, dog and duck.
NB. You can also play these variations in karuta format, like normal karuta (see Minefields, page
9) but with only two cards.
Fast Food Cashier
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school 1st/
2nd year
dialogue
practice
money
terms
15 mins (more
with dialogue
practice)
Real money from your own country
if you have it, calculator for the math
impaired, copies of the menu for
everyone
30
The class is divided into two teams. ALT/JTE are working as cashiers. Two members from
'Team A" come to the restaurant counter. U.S. currency (or whatever currency your country
uses) is on the counter for the members to use. They may order from the menu anything they
wish. The other members of their team also have a menu handout with prices (see below). After
the students order, a member from their team that is sitting down must tell the cashier (ALT/JTE)
the price. If they are correct they get a point. If they get it wrong "Team B" has a chance to say
the price. If they are correct they get the point. The "Team A" members at the counter then give
the cashier the money. We then announce how much they gave us and another member from
'Team A" must tell us how much change they get. If they are correct they get a point. If they are
incorrect "Team B" has a chance to answer and get the point. The team with the most points at
the end of the game wins.
MENU
SuperBurger $2.79 (quarter-pound beef with pickle/lettuce/tomato)
DoubleBurger $3.25 (two beef patties with pickle/lettuce/tomato)
KirbyDog $1.99 (12-inch hot dog on fresh bun with chili and relish)
cheese $ .20
FrenchFries
Small $ .89
Large $1.39
Supersize $1.75
Soft Drinks (Coke, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Root Beer)
Small $.89
Medium $.99
Large $1.29
Supersize $1.59
Dessert
Apple Pie $1.49
Ice Cream $.99
TIPS: Make a banner menu if you can. Make a hat as a prop for yourself. Get into character.
Take on some strange manurism and change your voice, students love this. When they order,
scream the order behind you as if asking the cook to make it. I had real U.S. money but if you
don't then make some funny money. Bring a calculator. Write a quick fast food dialogue for
students to practice before playing this game.
Feelings
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school to adult
To create or reinforce
memories of different
feelings.
"How are
you"
20
mins
As many copies of the
game cards as necessary.
31
Discuss this activity here.
The cards can be used in a variety of ways, depending on the level of students you are teaching.
Why not add some of your own as well? The object of these exercises is to demonstrate that the
question, "How are you?" is not the same as the Japanese, "Genki desu ka". It is more similar to,
"Kibun wa d( desu ka".
i) Make enough copies of the cards so that there is one for each student. Deal the cards out at
random, and then have the students find those students whose cards match theirs by walking
around the class and asking everyone they meet, "How are you?". When they have found all their
partners, they must come to the front of the class and demonstrate their group feeling, with vocal
stress and gestures, in response to your question.
ii) Divide the class into groups of four. Make two copies of the cards for each group (i.e., 24
cards per group). Play the same as for 'Memory' or 'Concentration', except each player must say
how they feel as they pick up a pair. If they are unable to describe that feeling, the first player to
do so may take the pair instead.
iii) Feeling 'Karuta'. Divide the class into groups of four. Have two sets of feelings for each team
(24 cards per team). The JTE and ALT take turns calling out a feeling, and the students must
touch the corresponding cards first to score that card. Only one card can be scored per student,
per turn.
iv) Make enlarged copies of each of the feelings (one feeling per A4 sheet of cardboard) and
make masks of these using rubber bands, card paper and staples. If you use thickish cardboard
the masks can be used again and again. Colour the faces appropriately, and you might want to
use elastic instead of rubber bands to make the band that holds the masks to a head. Pass the
masks out at random. Have the students put them on and then stand up and answer the class's
chorused question of, "How are you?" with their mask-feeling using appropriate vocal stress and
gestures. It will require a little drama on your part demonstrating this, but be positive and
encourage the students to participate as though in a mini play. This works well if the mask
covers the face; the students aren't so self conscious. Don't forget to cut eye holes.
v) Make up your own activity using these pictures or others you prefer. Be inventive, outrageous,
and try to have lots of fun.
The illustrations have been appropriated from the book Basic Communication Games by Jill
Hadfield. She lists them as depicting; sad, happy, tired, angry, worried, surprised, sick, bored,
puzzled, scared, hot, and cold.
Find Your Partner
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior
high
school
To have every student actively
communicating in English, while
practicing ‚”ext-book grammar.
Interrogatives
or any
20
mins
20 pairs of
information
cards
32
Discuss this activity here.
This is a consolidation activity for questions such as: "What sport do you play?"; "Where do you
play ___?"; "When do you play ___?". Give each student a card with a sport, place, and time on
it. E.g.
The students must ask the target questions in order to find their match. They then go to either the
JTE or the ALT and perform their dialogue again. This activity has proven surprisingly popular
with students
Football
in the park
after school
Hints and cautions:
* Give the students some listening practice by performing the dialogue with the JTE before having them commence
it. Follow this up with a comprehension check (the JTEs province), and then chorused drilling of the questions.
* Make the exercise more interesting, challenging, and enjoyable by requiring the students to find groups of four,
each having the same sport, place, and time. This assists the slower learners, who feel more comfortable if they can
recite in unison with others.
Fortune Telling
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school second
year
To provide fun practice of
'will', reading aloud, and
listening.
future
tense
40
mins
40 worksheets, 20
dice or spinners.
Discuss this activity here.
Have the students form pairs. First one student, then the other will make use of the worksheets to
predict their partner's 'future'. To do this the student looks at box *, which corresponds to space *
in the crystal ball, and rolls their die (or spins the spinner: If s/he rolls a 3 the student writes
'week' in space * in the crystal ball. Space numbers correspond to box numbers. When they have
completed the worksheet, the students swap roles and repeat the process. When this has been
accomplished, the first student reads the future of their partner out loud to that student, who then
performs the same favour in return. While the students are busy performing this task, take a stroll
around the classroom, helping where necessary, and looking to see which students have achieved
unusual futures. When all students have finished this task, select students, either at random or
those who you've seen have amusing futures, to read their partner's future to the class. Have the
student read one sentence at a time, and ask a different student to then translate this sentence into
Japanese.
33
Make sure you demonstrate this task to the class with your JTE first. Fiddle the numbers and
make up a bizarre future, which the JTE can translate if the students don't understand. Prime
your JTE that their translation skills will be needed for this lesson, as they might want to check
some of the words in a dictionary before the class.
Teaching Tip
Always give activities where the students have to do something creative (e.g. deciding a group
name, creating a question) a time limit. If you don't, the students will follow the example of the
Japanese 'Diet' and sit down for some exhaustive discussion of the task at hand, and nothing will
get done.
Fruit Basket
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school
To review known nouns, and
consolidate new ones.
none
15
mins
Flash cards and
miniature copies
Discuss this activity here.
Using large flash-cards (28cm x 40cm is a good size), check that students know the target nouns
and teach unknown ones if necessary. Go through the cards one at a time, but do not fix them to
the board yet. Go through a second time, but this time reveal and conceal the card as quickly as
possible; some blank cardboard is useful for this, or simply flip the cards over. Once the students
are fairly confident of the names, put all the cards on the board in plan sight for a ready
reference.
If it hasn't already been done, remove the tables to the side/back of the room and arrange the
chairs in a circle or semi-circle. There needs to be one less chair than there are students, unless
you are going to compete as well. If you do, take care not to tread on someone! Deal the
miniature cards out to the students, telling them not to show the card to anyone as it's a secret.
Reinforce this with gestures such as clutching the card to your chest with both hands to help get
the idea across. Try asking what 'secret' is in Japanese ("Secret wa, Nihongo de nan desu ka" (it's
'himitsu')). Then, either choose a student to begin the activity, or begin it yourself by calling out
the name of one the fruits shown on the board. The students with these cards must jump to their
feet and race to change seats, as must the 'caller' from the center. The student left without a seat
becomes the 'caller', and the game continues. If the 'caller' calls out, "Fruit basket", everyone
must change seats. Changing with the person next to you is forbidden (zen, zen, dame!). This
activity can be used to teach the names of fruit, vegetables, kitchen objects, insects, etc., etc..
With the latter two, the 'all-in' cry could be changed to "Kitchen", and "Insect Nest" respectively.
Teaching Tip
When visiting elementary schools, wear easily washable, stretch resistant clothing. You may
well be required to sit on the floor or ride a unicycle, and clothes are often pulled and tugged at
in a bid to get your attention. Take your sports wear. You might be wise to ask to change into it
34
after performing your self-intro. and greeting.
Future Bubbles
(not known)
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
grammar review
future tense
30 mins
cards, worksheets...
Discuss this activity here.
Make a worksheet entitled "What will your future look like?". On it draw bubbles for things like
"homes", "careers", "places", "people" and "favorite things".
1.
2.
3.
4.
Students draw their futures.
Papers are collected and redistributed to different people.
The students look up the English words for the pictures and label them.
Presentations: "This person will work as ..."
This activity is fun because some pictures give wierd impressions. Also some pictures aren't
finished in the assigned time. Students will forget windows on houses or hair on people.
Results: "This person will live in a house with no windows. This person will be married to four
bald men..."
Gambling
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school
extra
fun
comparatives (but
adaptable)
entire
period
worksheets, lotsa counterfeit
money
Discuss this activity here.
This is a very useful game that works in many situations. I use it for my self-introduction, but
I've also used it to teach comparitives and differences between Japanese and American high
schools. It's basically a real flashy way to present a multiple choice / true-false quiz.
The kids get into their lunch groups and get 200 dollars. This is group money and they must all
decide together how much to bet because the group with the most money at the end of the game
is the winner. The rest of the money is up at the front with the ALT and JTE. They pick one
person who will come up and give or receive money after each question. If they want, they can
take turns doing this.
35
Read the first question and let them discuss in their groups how much they wanna bet and what
the answer should be. Allow them to bet from one dollar to half their current money so they don't
blow their wad in their first question. (However, I let them bet all their money on the last
question.) This usually takes about four or five minutes per question. After all the groups are
done, take a "survey" to see which groups answered what. Next, the ALT tells them the answer.
In this case of the example I include, I write the answers on the board. This gives the game a
very game-show feel and the kids really dig it. (Especially number 7, which is very suspensful
when written slowly.) Right or not, they write their new total in the box that says "Total."
Finally, the student in charge of the money brings up their cash (if they were wrong) or comes to
receive their money (if they were right). Either way, that student should also bring up their print
so that the ALT/ JTE can double-check it (some groups will try to get away with betting more
than half.) After every three questions or so, write everyone's current total on the board. Once
again, the group with the most money at the end is the winner.
Worksheet: (to see it on its own and ready to print click here.)
Ѓ@
Bet
Total
1. Which is bigger, Tokyo or Washington
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
2. Which is bigger, Mt. Fuji or K2?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
3. Which is taller, Landmark Tower or the Eiffel
Tower?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
4. Which is smaller, Shikoku or Hawaii?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
5. Which is older, Heike Monogatari or
Tsurezuregusa?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
6. Which is older, Tanabata or Christmas?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
7. Who is younger, Basho or Newton?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
8. Which is newer, the car or the motorcycle?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
9. Which is faster, a human or an elephant?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
10. Which is faster, a pig or a chicken?
Ѓ@
Ѓ@
Answers:
1) Tokyo 2186km2 Washington 156km2
2) Fuji 3776m K2 8613 m.
3) Landmark Tower 296m. Eiffel Tower 300 m.
4) Shikoku 18045 km2 Hawaii 16443 km2
5) Heiki Monogatari 1283 Tsurezuregusa 1331
6) Tanabata 710 Christmas 3BC
7) Basho 1644 Newton 1642
8) Car 1889 Motorcycle 1885
9) Human 44.6km/h elephant 40km
10) pig 17.6kph chicken 14.4kpg
36
For a variation on this activity designed to give the students more autonomy and get them using
more English, check out csdrive's comments in our discussion forums.
Getting To Know Canada
Level
Aims
junior high
school to senior
high school
To introduce your country (not
necessarily Canada) and review the
English the students have already
learned.
Grammar
Time
Materials
any
45
mins
Large map of
the target
country
Discuss this activity here.
Begin by affixing a large map of the target country to the blackboard; it should be at least 3 x 4
feet (1 x 1.3 meters). Divide the class into two teams. Basically this is not necessary, but turning
an exercise into a competition keeps the students involved and interested.
Give a speech about your chosen country using a series of prepared statements, each with a
corresponding picture card. For example, "Canada has tall mountains. They are called the Rocky
Mountains." As you say this, hold up a picture of the mountains. Next, put the picture down, pick
up a small coloured magnet and say, "They are here", while placing the magnet (not the picture)
on the appropriate spot on the map. This continues until all the statements about your country
have been made. If, for example, there are two teams of twenty students in the class, then twenty
statements should be made.
After the twenty pictures have been shown, and twenty magnets are spread across the map, pass
out small 2 x 3 inch (5 x 7.5 cm) copies of the pictures that were shown. 1 picture to each person
on the team. You can now begin to ask questions related to the statements you previously gave:
"Where are the Rocky Mountains?", or "Where is the capital of Canada?" The two opposing
team members who have the corresponding picture must race to the board and place the picture
under the appropriate magnet. At this point you can ask either student to give a statement about
their particular picture.
This activity takes a bit of preparation, but the results are worth it. Obviously it can be geared to
any level. A printout with the prepared statements and a breakdown of the map by province,
prefecture, or state which is distributed to the students allows them to read along and enhances
comprehension. Remember to tailor the statements and questions to the students level. This is a
'revision of learned material' exercise.
Teaching Tip
Give stamps from off your letters from home as prizes. It costs you nothing, and the students get
more excited than you would think.
37
Go Fish!
Level
Aims
Grammar
elementary
school junior
high school first
year
To familiarize S/s
with: this game,
vocabulary, asking
simple questions.
"Do you
have ___
?"
Time
Materials
45
mins
Picture, letter or number
cards (about 30 matching
pairs) for every 4 students;
master sheet showing all
items in game
Discuss this activity here.
Divide the class into groups of four. Have them push their desks together to form a large playing
area. They should deal out 4 cards to each student, and place the rest in the middle. While this is
happening, attach the master sheet to the board with magnets. This is for the students to use as a
reference, but it should only contain pictures of the items, not their names. Instruct the students
to 'Jan-ken' to decide who will start. The first student (let's call him Hiro) asks any one of the
other three students, "Kazuko, do you have a star?" If Kazuko has a star she says, "Yes, I do",
and hands it to Hiro who then places his pair on the table. Hiro is then able to ask another student
a question.
If Kazuko doesn't have a star, she replies, "No I don't. I don't have a star. Go fish, Hiro", and
Hiro can take a card from the pile in the middle. It is then the turn of the student on Hiro's left to
ask another student in the group for a card. The students continue to ask questions and find cards
(in English) until all the pairs are found. The student with the most pairs wins.
To see a variation on this activity, take a look at Go Fish 2.
Hints and cautions:
* This activity needs a few sessions practicing question forms and answers to set up. However, once the S/s have
the basic vocabulary down they set to with a will.
+ This activity will not work without preparation, both for the students and the teachers.
+ Students enjoy using the phrase, "Go fish", perhaps because it's so off-the-wall. More probably, however, they are
interpreting it to mean the Japanese equivalent of, "Get stuffed!" or some similar imperative. Make sure you explain
the meaing, or get the JTE to do so.
Go Fish!(2)
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
To have students actively
"to"
20
Game cards you
38
second year
practice using 'to' infinitives.
infinitive
mins
have made.
Discuss this activity here.
This activity is a variant of the card game Go fish!, which most of you have played at some time
or other, but it omits the directive, "Go fish" as it could confuse the students. If you wish to
include such a directive try, "Go fishing!" instead. Find pictures of 10 - 12 different occupations.
Make copies onto cardboard, and cut out enough cards so that each student in the class will have
three different occupations in their hand (it's easiest to have them sorted before class).
To play: students find a partner and use 'Jan-ken'; the winner is Student 'A', the other is student
'B'.
'A': "I want to be a farmer." (They must choose from one of their cards), "Do you want to be a
farmer?"
'B': "Yes, I do. I want to be a farmer, too." ('B' surrenders their card to 'A').
or
"No, I don't. I don't want to be a farmer." (No card is lost or won)
Hints and cautions:
+ Students may play twice, but must then find another partner.
* The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.
+ If a student collects several cards of the same occupation, they must all be forfeited when the
corresponding question is asked.
Gokiburi (Cockroach)
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school
Minimal pair
revision.
none
10
mins
List of minimal pairs (e.g., rice/lice,
light/right etc.).
Discuss this activity here.
This is a great way to review minimal pairs and keep students awake and aware on hot days, or
to warm them up on cold ones. Assign each corner of the room a minimal pair word, include the
walls as well if it's a big room. Thus, playing with corners only uses 2 minimal pairs, while
incorporating the walls uses 4. Assign groups of students to each wall/corner initially, although
where they proceed to from there is their own choice. You'll also need to label each corner/wall
with an appropriate card.
39
When you call a word (e.g., face), all students from the corresponding wall or corner have to
move (They look like cockroaches scurrying from the light; hence the name). While they are on
the move they can be tagged 'it' and either have to join you in the middle of the room, or they
replace you as 'it' and continue the procedure. Change the minimal pairs every two minutes.
How Does She Look?
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
second year to
third year
To practice, "How does
s/he/it look?" "S/he/it
looks ___".
Adverbs
10
mins
Lots of clippings of people
from magazines from your
country.
Discuss this activity here.
Each row / lunch group is a team. Have all the students stand. You simply ask the question,
"How does s/he/it look?" and show them a picture. The first student to raise their hand may
answer the question. If they answer correctly they may sit down. If not, the next student to raise
their hand may try. If students are reticent in raising their hands select them via the use of
'Volunteer Cards' (numbers 1 - 40 on individual cards), or by throwing a soft object for them to
catch (the student on their right/left/etc.). Continue in this vein, showing a different picture each
time, until one entire team is sitting. These students are your winners.
To make this activity more challenging (harder), write each adverb on the board as it is used, and
forbid the use of it again. Another variation is to let the student who answered the question,
choose the next picture and ask, "How...?"
Teaching Tip
Don't be afraid to make your own lesson plans if your JTEs don't seem to have a spare moment.
Such behaviour shows willingness, and even if they aren't keen on your ideas, they'll often try
and accommodate some of them next time. You will also begin to understand the layout or
structure of a lesson better, and thus be better prepared to teach one.
A word of warning. Some JTEs view ALTs as relief teachers, and will doze off at the back of the
class if you let them. Whether you feel happy with this arrangement or not, your role is to
ASSIST in a team teaching effort with the JTE, and this means joint planning of lessons as well
as joint teaching. Don't allow yourself to be assigned the job of planning and teaching all team
teaching lessons alone; whether you prefer it that way or not!
How Many?
Level
40
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school and
junior high school first
year
To practice counting, and
asking "How many___ are
there?"
"How
many...?"
20
mins
Pairs of work
sheets
Discuss this activity here.
Divide the class into pairs and distribute the pictures so that one student of each pair has sheet
'A', and the other sheet 'B'. The object of the game is to find out who has the most things in the
kitchen. To do this A and B will have to ask each other how many teapots, pans, forks, knives,
spoons, cups, saucers, glasses, bowls, and plates there are, and then add up the total. When they
have done this, they can find out who has the most spiders!!
This activity and the accompanying worksheets have been taken from Jill Hadfield's excellent activity book
Elementary Communication Games printed by Nelson Press.
Teaching Tip
Plato once said that music, "... is a more potent instrument than any other for education." Modern
day Psychologists concur. Two groups of preschoolers where observed; one group took piano
lessons and sang in chorus daily, the other group didn't. After eight months the musical 3-yearolds scored 80% higher than the non-musical group in spatial intelligence tests. Incorporate
music into your lessons as often as possible. Use songs for 'Warm-up'; songs with key words
missing or incorrect (i.e., misspelt or different words) for listening skills enhancement; snatches
of song to emphasize phrases (e.g., "Have you ever been to ..." sung to the melody of "I've never
been to Spain" by 3 Dog Night, or nationality pronunciation practice to the tune of each
countries' National Anthem or simply at various pitches); background music to set the mood for
any activity. Students will join in (and enjoy it) if you lead the way and are positive about this.
DON'T be embarrassed, have FUN!!!
Inane Third Year Quiz
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
grammar review
relative clause
20 - 25 mins
question list(s)
Discuss this activity here.
In my notebook where I write down class lessons plus comments about them (I highly
recommend this by the way), I referred to this activity with the above name and it sorta stuck. It's
more along the lines of a warm-up activity, though.
This is nothing revolutionary or anything like that. It's just a listening quiz. It's not even
disguised as anything different. But the kids like it - probably due to the intellectual subjectmatter I describe. What happens is that I describe something using the relative clause and the
kids write down what they think I'm describing.
41
I've provided questions along with the answers in parentheses. Of the eight I've listed here, I
usually only do about five or six in a given class.
1. This is a bird that can swim. It is black and white. What is it? (penguin)
2. This is a special day that has trees with presents under them. What is it? (Christmas)
3. This is a TV talent. He is a man who looks like a monkey. Who is he? (Okamura from the
comedy duo 99)
4. They are old animation characters. They are a science ninja team that look like birds.
Who are they? (Gatchaman)
5. This is a man who wrote books. His face is on one thousand yen. Who is he? (Natsume
Soseki)
6. He is a TV talent. He is a man who eats dog food. His hair is very big and he wears
nothing. Who is he? (Nasubi)
7. This is a Japanese ghost. She is a woman who has no face. Who is she? (Nopperabo)
8. This is a food that is in ramen. It is pink and white. What is it? (naruto)
Internet Challenge
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school
information searching,
play on the internet
none
35
mins +
Computers hooked up to the
internet, worksheets.
Discuss this activity here.
Prepare some questions. Mine were:




What is the name of Bill Clinton's cat?
What are the Spice Girls' names?
Fill in the spaces: "God save our gracious Queen, Long live *** ***** *****, God save
the Queen."
What is the name of the actor who plays Mr. Bean?
Teach students how to use a search engine. I broke the habit of a lifetime and used Japanese for
this, but it could be done with a well-designed worksheet or an up-to-date JTE. And away you
go.
Japanese-Style Show and Tell
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school first year
culture
what, where, when...
Eternity
worksheet
Discuss this activity here.
42
What you are now holding is the first in a long series of speech-writing exercises... the Genesis
of Speech, if you will.
While you can limit this suggestion to a one-day affair, you will be robbing yourself of the easy
transition between today's and next year's speech contest winners. This exercise has a clearly
defined nucleus of importance that is so easily wafted by your students, getting them to do the
work will be as easy as "How are you?", thus regurgitating the oh-so expected, "Fine.
Thankyou."
It is important to focus on the simplicity of a speech. As far, as I know, in all of the Western
world, it is recognized that you must answer five questions. So remember this as the transitional
part of your exercise, connecting all that shall follow. Today we begin with who/what? While the
difficulty of first explaining this may be out of your grasp, just refer to the nice neat Show and
Tell sheet. Section one answers who and what, for you and the students. If your students don't
understand after completing this section and maybe a few mind-numbing examples on your
behalf, then choose a different exercise, you're holding us back.
Following you who/what, slowly explain the next set of questions, where/when. Where can I buy
this thing? When can I see this thing? Use Japanesey things, like cherry blossoms or tatami, for
an example. Cherry blossoms can be seen in the spring, on trees. I have tatami in my house, you
can see it when you come over.
The oh-so important why? Why is it important? Why do I have to know about it? This one is a
bit difficult, but stretch the answers as far as possible. Tatami is warmer in the winter than wood
floors, as told to me by my students. (I, myself, would prefer carpet. Yeah, too humid, I heard
it... but it's humid in Florida too, and they have carpet.) You may have to resort to, "It is Japanese
tradition," for some of my other examples.
Last, and most difficult is, opinion? What do you think? Do you like it? If you can get this
answer, I commend you on celebrating creativity in your classroom. Good luck, and try for
something a little more expressive than, "I like it." Settling possibly for, "I like it because it
tastes good."
So now pass out one little card on the list of Japanesey things to each person and have your
students go at it, concentrating not so much time on drawing the picture, but actually writing.
Five sentences is all that is necessary to check their comprehension. In order to make this work
as a speech, they should also present it, hence the title, "Show and Tell. Make them hold up the
picture and then speak. If this is a one day affair, pick a select few to speak today.
If you would like to ride this one out, then have most, if not all, speak next week. Expand next
week's assignment to ten sentences and begin explaining paragraphs. After paragraphs comes the
more difficult, rules of a speech. Slow, clear, loud and plenty of eye contact. I have spread out
this series of assignments so as to include dramatic acting and it will eventually culminate into
original oratorical dialogue... conversation, it you will. So if you need help or want the
previously mentioned continuing lesson plans, give me a call. While it is easy for us to be tape
recorders and mind-dumbing assistants with our one-day itineraries, I suggest for your own
sanity and a heightened experience as a teacher, expand the plans and focus on the You should
be able to justify your every exercise and how it will help the students move towards your longterm goals. Or you can just slide through, wasting the potential that got you here, your choice.
To view this worksheet on a separate page, click here
43
Show and Tell
Japanese Style
1) Describing Japanese Things.
I don't know the answers. Please help me. Match the things on the left with the descriptions on
the right.
A. Manekineko
A thing many people carry during festivals. It is very beautiful.
B. Mikoshi
This is a traditioal Japanese musical instrument. It is made of cat skin.
C. Seijin no hi
It is a thing you sleep on, a kind of cushion.
D. Geta
It is an electric machine used to cook rice.
E. Yobiko
A place where students study to get into university.
F. Futon
A holiday when Japanese become adults at age 20.
G. Suihanki
A cat usually made of ceramic. It brings good luck.
H. Shamisen
A kind of traditional shoe, usually made of wood.
2) In the box, draw the item you chose to show and tell.
3) Tell me about your picture. Write necessary kanji and hiragana, but explain in English.
44
Jeopardy
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school to
senior high school
extra
fun
any
30
mins
Category- and degree-of-difficultycards; questions
Discuss this activity here.
This is a categories game where students select the type of question they feel most confident
answering. The five categories can be interrogative questions (who, what, which, when, where,
why, or how), or things and places the students are interested in (e.g., countries, food, sport,
mountains, music...). Each category has 5 degrees of difficulty (D/d) cards, ranging in value
from 100 to 500 points; the more points, the more difficult the question. (See sample questions
by Rob Jones).
Arrange the cards on the board (glue strip magnets to their backs), and draw a team scoreboard
next to them, while the JTE is describing how to play the game. Alternatively, let the JTE
arrange the cards on the board while you explain what to do in simple English. Use gestures and
the cards themselves to help in this. Have the class arrange themselves into their lunch groups.
One person per team is nominated as the team's 'mouthpiece'; the team's nomination and
response goes through them. Note that the 'mouthpiece' need not answer by themselves (although
they can); this is a team game. When playing, a 15-30 second time limit keeps things moving.
Start with 30 seconds until they get the hang of the game, when you can decrease the time to 15
seconds. This keeps things exciting!
Randomly select the first team to compete, and have them select a category and D/d. Remove the
card from the board and read the question. If they are able to answer correctly, they receive the
points and can play again. However, if they are unable to answer, or answer incorrectly, the
chance to answer goes to the first 'mouthpiece' to raise his/her hand. If they can answer their
team receives the points, but the next turn goes to the next team in order.
45
Once a team's 'mouthpiece' has responded (correctly or incorrectly), they must relinquish their
place to the next team member, even if they have answered a forfeited question. Continue until
all cards are removed from the board. The highest scoring team is declared the winner, and
rewarded appropriately.
Teaching Tip
If a lesson ends earlier than planned, or you want to teach numbers to your students, try 'Buzz
and Fizz'. All numbers that contain 4 or 7, and are divisible by 4 or 7, must not be spoken, but
are replaced with 'buzz' (4) and 'fizz' (7). Have the entire class stand, and sit as they make a
mistake. The last person/ 5 people standing are the winners.
Jeopardy Questions
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school and above
teach Western stuff
various
entire period
this question list
It's not always easy to come up with challenging topics and questions that fit the Jeopardy Game.
That's why I'm giving y'all a bunch of questions that I've used (and some I haven't used yet) so
that you can play at a moment's notice. For some categories, I've included multiple questions for
the same point value so that you can use that topic multiple games.
Because the grammar and spelling categories can be used multiple times, there are enough
questions here for two complete games. This also gives you a rough idea of how tough or easy to
make your own questions. Unfortunately, some questions that are supposed to be difficult are
real easy if they just studied it in a another class. In that case, substitute with your own questions.
America (I)
Questions
Answers
100
What building does the President live in?
White House
200
Name three presidents.
300
How many stripes are there on the flag?
13
400
What is the largest state?
Alaska
500
When is America's birthday?
July 4
America (II)
Questions
Answers
100
What is the capital (shuto)
Washington
200
What is the longest river in America?
Mississippi
300
Where does the name America come from?
Amerigo Vespucci
400
What country is north of America?
Canada
500
What does USA stand for?
United States of America
Japan Questions
Answers
100
Kimigayo
46
What is Japan's country's song?
200
What is the biggest lake in Japan? Lake Biwa / Biwa-ko
300
Who is on 5000 yen?
Nitobe Inazo (up to 2004) / Ichiyo Higuchi (from late
2004)
400
When did the Kamakura Bakufu
start?
1192
500
What is Japan's country's bird?
kiji - on 10,000 yen bill
Sports
Questions
Answers
100
How many members are on a soccer team?
11
200
What is Hideo Nomo's uniform number?
16
300
In tennis, what is the name of 0 points?
love
400
Name 4 sports that don't use balls.
500
Where were the 1984 Olympics?
Los Angeles
Nazo Nazo (I) (this means "puzzle" - they
Questions
must guess what the ? is.)
Answers
100
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, ? 32 - doubles
200
Z, Y, X, W, ? V - the alphabet backwards
300
S, M, T, ?, T,
F, S
400
O, T, T, F, F, ? S - One, Two,Three, etc.
500
H - Japanese historical periods
J, Y, K, A, N,
(Jomon, Yayoi, Kofun, Asuka, Nara,
?, K
Heian, Kamakura)
W - days of the week
Nazo Nazo
(II)
Questions
Answers
100
11, 22, 33, 44, 55, ?
66 - multiples of 11
200
A, C, E, G, ?
I - every other letter
5
300
*
*
*
*
*
*__
* |
*
*
?
*
*
13 - Pythagorean Theorem
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
12
400
ON, DJ, FM, AM, ?
JJ - months of the year
500
12, 7, 18, 10, 5, ?, 9, 1, 12, 6
14 - first and last numbers add up to 19
counting in
Music Questions
Answers
100
Who are the members of Globe?
Keiko, Komuro Tetsuya, Marc
Panther
200
Who sings [current top-10 song]? eg. "Be With
You"
(Glay)
47
300
Who sings [old Japanese song]? eg. "Young Man" (Saijo Hideki)
400
How many keys are on a piano?
88
500
What does SMAP stand for?
Sport Music Assemble People
Manga
Questions
Answers
100
What manga is Onizuka-sensei from?
G.T.O.
200
In Meitantei Conan, what is Conan's real name?
Kudo Shinichi
300
What was Doraemon's original color?
yellow
400
Who made Sazae-san?
Hasegawa Machiko
500
What is Tetsuwan Atomu's sister's name?
Uran-chan
Spelling
Grammar
For this section, pick 5 words, easy to hard, and they gotta spell 'em.
Pick 5 sentences that you read in English and that they have to translate into
Japanese.
Jigsaw Conversations
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school
general
Any
30
mins
dialogue scripts cut up line-by-line and
jumbled
Discuss this activity here.
1. Write five topics of conversation on the board accompanied by pictures. 1st Year could
be about playing sports, 2nd Year about what you did at the weekend and 3rd Year
describing something or someone.
2. With you JTE act out a conversation that corresponds to each in turn of the five pictures.
It's probably best done twice.
3. When you've finished all five, distribute scrips of the conversations to the students cut up
line by line and jumbled up, all 5 mixed together. Have the students in groups and give
each group a set.
4. Groups then put the dialogue back together from what they remember you saying, being
prompted by the picture, and, importantly, asking you.
5. First group to complete the dialogues wins.
Example: (for 2nd year)
What did you do on Sunday?
I played tennis.
Who did you play tennis with?
I went with Ken.
48
Did you enjoy it?
Yes, very much.
Job For You
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
dialogue practice
want to..., enjoy ...ing, jobs
30 mins
worksheets
Discuss this activity here.
This is a pretty standard pair-work interview game, but the kids seem to enjoy it. I used it with
"enjoy ...ing" and "want to ...", but it's very adaptable.
It's very easy to play but a bit hard to explain, so I recommend demonstrating with your JTE
using a big (double-A3) copy of the worksheet on the blackboard. (Cheat so the JTE doesn't
come out as "sumo wrestler", or they won't want to play next lesson.)
The worksheet has a bunch of questions along the top (eg. "Do you like helping people?"), and
jobs down the side.
In the middle are the appropriate answers. For example, doctors, teachers, stewardesses etc all
help people as an everyday part of their jobs, so those spaces are marked "Yes". Models, singers,
farmers etc. don't, so they're marked with "no". (OK, you could quibble with some of these, eg.
farmers help us by making food so we don't die, but the kids don't seem to be bothered.)
Here's how to play:
Ask your partner the first question. Then look down the column for that question and circle all
the answers that match. If your partner says "yes", circle all the "yes"'s in the column. If they say
"no", circle all the "no"s.
Do the same with each question in turn. Once you've asked all the questions, look along the rows
and count the number of circled answers for each job. Write the totals under "score". The highest
score is the job for you.
Note: The kids won't know all the jobs I use. "Stewardess" is the same in Japanese, although the
textbooks say you should say "Flight attendant". They definitely won't know "burglar", unless
they make the MacDonalds Hamburglar connection. I prefer not to tell them until the end.
To view the worksheet on a separate page ready for printing, click here.
Do you like...
Ѓ@
helping
people
Ѓ@
Doctor
49
yes
helping
animals
Ѓ@
travelling
Ѓ@
no
being
outside
Ѓ@
no
going to
bed late
Ѓ@
no
yes
being
pretty
Ѓ@
having
money
Ѓ@
no
yes
meeting
people
Ѓ@
yes
S
Ѓ
Ѓ
Teacher
yes
no (?)
no
no
no
no
no
yes
Ѓ
Model
no
no
yes
no
no
yes
yes
yes
Ѓ
Singer
no
no
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
yes
Ѓ
Stewardess
yes
no
yes
no
yes
yes
no
yes
Ѓ
Police Officer
yes
no
no
yes
yes
no
no
yes
Ѓ
Taxi Driver
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
no
yes
Ѓ
Farmer
no
yes
no
yes
no
no
no
no
Ѓ
Sumo Wrestler
no
no
yes
no
no
no
yes
yes
Ѓ
7-11 Worker
yes
no
no
no
yes
no
no
yes
Ѓ
Burglar
no
no
yes
yes
yes
no
yes
no
Ѓ
Jump Rope Chant
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school, first year
English with rhythm
none
10 min
a jump-rope
Discuss this activity here.
The jumper must think while jumping, speaking in rhythm.
Example:
A: My name is A...(name starting with an "A")
A: I come from A...(place starting with an "A")
A: and I like A...(food beginning with an "A")
B: My name is B...(name starting with a "B")
B: I come from B...(name starting with a "B")
etc.
Karuta
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school
To improve the students'
any
15
About 8 - 10 packs of
50
to junior high
school first year
listening abilities, and
reinforce vocabulary.
mins
picture cards, or 4 copies
of 30cm x 30cm picture
cards.
Discuss this activity here.
Have students form groups of 4, with one or two desks joined together in the middle of each
group. Have S/s stand around these desks, and distribute 1 pack of cards to each group. Tell
them to spread the cards over their desks face up. Tell the students to put their hands on their
heads before you begin the game. Repeat this preliminary attitude requirement before each turn.
Play is simply a matter of the ALT calling out the name of the target card. This can be done in a
sentence, or simply call out the noun, depending on the students' level. E.g., for 1st yrs.
practicing continuous tense (i.e., -ing) use a sentence like, "Ichiro is running fast" or "Namie
Amuro is swimming". Occasionally toss in a bogus sentence like, "Kanda Uno is playing ...... the
violin", where no picture of a violin exists. This makes it more difficult, and thus more
interesting for the students. It also helps increase their skill listening to sentences, rather than just
listening for key words.
When playing with elementary school students, use large (30cm x 30cm), colourful if possible,
pictures of animals, fruit, and objects. Place them face-up in the center of the room on the floor
(you'll need to move all the furniture to the edges of the room, or play in the gym), and divide the
class into groups which are located at equidistant points around the cards. When the ALT says
the noun, one student from each team must run and pick up a card from the set. Having several
copies of each card makes for less clashes of heads, but always have fewer than there are groups.
Totally airborne students are not unusual in this activity.
Teaching Tip
Discourage immediate translation of your questions by JTEs. They have learnt the skill, but their
students never will if they aren't permitted to try! JTEs often indulge in this activity, because
they think that the student's performance reflects on them. Try having a quiet word that you are
not there to judge, but to help teach. Point out that translation of the question by another student
is a valid learning exercise and that the JTE ought to encourage this when slower students are
struggling.
Kathy's Game
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school second
year
grammar
review
There are structure, those
place preposition thingies
20
mins
strips of paper with
instructions for each
group
Discuss this activity here.
51
As my name is not Kathy, you're probably wondering where the name of this game comes from.
Well, Kathy used to be the ALT of Haga machi in '96-'97, but she's gone to a better place (ie.
anywhere but Tochigi).
In this game, each column is a group. They clear their desks and everyone but the first row
moves their desks to the back of the room. Ahead of time, you prepare slips of paper with
instructions like these:
There are seven pencils under the desk.
There are two dictionaries beside the desk.
There are five seito techos in front of the desks.
There are eight slippers behind the desk.
There are three students on the desk.
Before you play, review those location particles, like on, under, behind, etc. so that the slips of
paper won't be like cuneform to them. Back to the game. OK, so you have one student sitting at
each desk up at front, while their teammates are sitting all scrunched up in the back. Put a slip of
paper face down on the desk of the front people (all with the same instructions).
When you say, "Go!" the students must flip over the paper and read it. Since chances are that that
front desk won't have the necessary supplies, the student must run back to their team and get the
necessary things to complete the task. The first student who puts the proper number of things in
the correct location gets a point for their team. After each round, the student who was sitting at
front goes to the back, all the students move up a desk, and a new person sits at front.
This game can get a little hairball at times, especially with the slippers one. They need to get the
slippers to the front desk, so many of the students believe that the best way to accomplish this is
by taking off their slippers and throwing them at the desk like there's no tomorrow. If you or the
JTE are unfortunate to get caught at the front while this happens, we'll be sure to start a fund to
send home to your next of kin.
Kokon Tozai
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school
To 'brainstorm' vocabulary review.
none
( 10 mins
none
Discuss this activity here.
This is a good warm-up activity for English clubs and conversation classes, but doing it with an
entire class could prove a little awkward. First think of a category (animals, colours, names,
nouns, verbs, etc.), then clap your hands four times while saying "kokontoezai" (Your JTE
should remember this game and can show you the proper way to clap. If not, the P.E. teachers
will definitely know.), and then say the category. The person to the left (i.e., clockwise) gives the
name of something which fits the category. E.g., player #1 begins with, "Animal"; player #2
responds, "Lion"; player #3 says, "Dog"; player #4 hazards, "Cat"; player #5 confides, "Mouse";
player #6 stammers, "T-t-t-tiger"; player #7 asserts, "Bear"; player #8 gasps, "Ehh?! Ore?!?". At
this point all players respond with, "Penalty", which may be nominated by any of the group
52
members if you wish. (This also makes for an interesting drinking game, but you probably had
already thought of that, hadn't you?)
Ladders
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school
To consolidate listening memory
for any group of nouns.
none
20
mins
A large, clean area
(school gym).
Discuss this activity here.
Have the students remove their shoes to prevent bloodshed, then have them line up with their
partner. The children then sit down so that the soles of their feet touch their partner's, forming the
ladder. Stress that their legs must be firmly together and straight, otherwise you'll have more
tears than the game is worth. Number (or letter, or name) off each pair of students, for example,
from one to ten when you are playing with a group of 20 students. Then give a team name to
each side of the ladder, such as the BANANAS and the MONSTERS. When you call out a
random number (or name or...)the two students must stand up and race up the 'rungs' of the
ladder as quickly as they can, run down the outside of the ladder, and then back up to their place
and sit down. The first to reach their spot wins a point for their team. Have 2 or 3 numbers racing
at the same time. If you are playing with a small group, don't use partners, but instead have the
students lay down.
Teaching Tip
At lunch time, don't underestimate the shyness of the students, nor the difficulty they find using a
second language. Ask them millions of questions, and really give them the opportunity to speak.
You may think that you've had a dire lunch with monosyllabic answers, but things may be
different from the S/s' viewpoint. Occasionally you'll get surprising feedback from your
neighbours' friends who know little Yoshiro-in-1‚М6's parents; and Yoshiro said you were really
nice and friendly, and lunch was great, and he wants to talk to you again.
Letters to penpals
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school first year and
above
letter
exchange
any
10 mins per
lesson?
none
Discuss this activity here.
In each lesson, have students write a sentence (/some sentences) about themselves. Make sure it's
neat! Keep handing their papers back to them, so their composition gets longer and longer. At
the end of the school year, hand the papers back to the students and tell them to copy what they
53
like into the form of a letter. (Let's Write 3). Mail these letters to students in your sister city, or
try to find penpals from your home country.
Keeping the objective secret until the last lesson makes for a nice surprise. Students will feel
good about their accomplishment!
eg.
[Lesson
[Lesson
[Lesson
[Lesson
1]
2]
3]
4]
Hello. My name is ______________.
My hometown is ______________.
I am a ____________ fan.
Is ____________ popular in your country?
Lies
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
speaking
any
25 mins
none
I have always found Gambling to be the English-teaching-world's finest sure-fire winner, so the
obvious next step is to investigate the development of other kinds of vice in the classroom. This
activity probably doesn't break any laws, and helps consolidate the students' lying skills, thus
furthering their future integration into contemporary Japanese society.
Here's the basic concept:
1. Make teams.
2. Have a volunteer from one of the teams come to the front of the class and make a
statement.
("Yesterday I went to 7-11" or whatever; If you want you can restrict this to a sentence
with one particular grammar point.)
It's up to them whether they say something true or something false, but it's better to get
them to tell you (secretly) at this point which it is, as this avoids cheating later.
(It helps if the ALT and JTE are the volunteers for the one or two rounds, just until the
kids get the hang of it.)
3. The other teams (and the ALT and JTE) can then cross-examine the volunteer to try to
figure out whether or not they're lying. Ask questions like, "What time did you go?" and
"What did you buy"?
(I let them use Japanese for the first few questions until they got the hang of it, but that's
up to you.)
If the volunteer is lying, they have to make up answers on the spot. If they're telling the
truth, they can try to make it look like they're making up answers on the spot.
4. When they've run out of questions, go around the class and ask each team in turn if they
think the volunteer is telling the truth or not.
(In my case we were practicing "Yes s/he did!" and "No s/he didn't", so I'd ask each team,
"Did [volunteer's name] go to 7-11?", but this would depend on your grammar point.)
Write their answers on the blackboard.
5. Finally, get the volunteer to reveal the real answer.
(I had them do this by flipping around a big flash-card, which they could do very slowly
to help build up the suspense.)
54
Give one point to every team that got the answer right. And for every team that got the
answer wrong, give a point to the volunteer's team. On average two or three teams will
get the answer wrong, so having someone volunteer usually nets the team two or three
points, giving the team an incentive to volunteer one of their members.
Machigae Alphabet
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school to
junior high school
first year
Review alphabet, teach,
"Thank you", and "You're
welcome".
ABCs; "Thanks",
"You're
welcome"
20
mins
Chalk and
Blackboard
Discuss this activity here.
First, explain "Thank you" and "You're welcome", and have the students practice in chorus
("Thank you" = "Arigato", "You're welcome" = Doitashimashite"). Then write the alphabet on
the board, making lots of mistakes (e.g., 30 - 40 % of letters written backwards). Before you
finish writing, the students will be trying to tell you that something is wrong. Explain the
question, "Is this OK?" (Kore wa ii desu ka?) and have them answer, "Yes, OK, or No" in
response. Select individual students to fix one letter, and afterwards shake their hand while you
say, "Thank you". They must respond with, "You are welcome!".
Use either upper or lower case letters, but not both. In most cases (check with the JTE) use upper
case letters, or you will confuse the students. Try and keep your writing as close as possible to
the style they have learnt, otherwise they will perceive a letter you wrote correctly as incorrect.
While minor deviations or flourishes do nothing to the meaning of a symbol in 'Romaji', they can
in Kanji and the students are quite aware of this.
Write the alphabet at the top of the board where it is most clearly visible, and draw a large square
at the bottom of the board for the students to write the corrected letter in. Then, following their
template, erase your error and write the correct form in its place among the other letters. Having
written it, ask the class again, "Is this OK?", and have them respond before moving on to the
next letter. Keeping the pace lively ensures the students get maximum enjoyment and instruction
from this activity.
Teaching Tip
Use gestures at every conceivable opportunity, especially those for: "Hello" (wave if far away
("Toi"), handshake if close ("Chikai"), "Good work/job/try/question/answer/..." (1 thumb up),
"OK" (circled thumb and index finger), and "Great" (2 thumbs up). When you greet your
students at the beginning of each class, wave (using both arms if you feel confident enough) and
say (sing?) "Good morning/afternoon". Insist that they respond in kind.
Mad Libs
55
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school third
year to senior high
school
To review material from the year's
work in a relaxed environment.
any
20-25
mins
Mad Lib
sheets
Discuss this activity here.
This is based on a game popular with American children and juveniles. For our purposes, this
activity can be played either with partners or in groups. In the case of partners, give each partner
a separate Mad Lib sheet and have them quiz each other. If you are doing this with groups, one
sheet per group is OK. In any group, one person is the 'reader', which means that they are the
ones who have the sheet and ask the other members (the 'writers' - although they don't write
anything) to produce one word for each blank. The 'reader' then fills in the blanks with the
supplied words. If the blank calls for a noun, the 'reader' asks one of the 'writers' for a noun, etc..
In the Mad Libs supplied, there are enough blanks so that each writer in a group of 4 can supply
4 responses. After everyone is finished, each group can read their story aloud. It is very easy to
make your own Mad Lib sheets, and they can be used for many different lessons. Of the two
sheets provided here, only one should be used per class.
Teaching Tip
Take every opportunity to congratulate your S/s. Shake their hand and say, "Good work", "Well
done!", "Congratulations!" (follow up 'congrats' with the Japanese equivalent, "Omedeto!". The
S/s' text books don't cover this word until late in 3rd year, but there's no reason why you
shouldn't teach it earlier!). Just like you, S/s like being told that they're doing well and achieving
something. The same goes for JTEs. Positive reinforcement is a powerful inducement for
continued or increased working and learning.
Magical Tsuno Power
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school
to junior high
school
To consolidate and
increase students'
vocabularies.
any
10
mins
Large, colourful flashcards (use pictures for
elementary S/s).
Discuss this activity here.
This activity is used as an extension of flash cards. After practicing the new words with the cards
(usually groups of words such as insects, fruit, occupations, gerunds, etc.), have the teams take
turns trying to guess the object of which you are thinking. When working with junior high school
students, turning the class rows into teams is easiest, while elementary classes seem to respond
best to a class divided into 1/2 or 1/4s. junior high school students should be encouraged to ask
complete sentences, such as "Are you swimming?" or "Are you playing the piano?", which
contain the target word or phrase. While elementary students are certainly capable of this, one
56
needs to be selective of the class in which it is used so as to cater for slower learners, or kids who
don't spend their freetime in Juku (cram school).
With each incorrect guess the turn reverts to the next (or other) team. The turn of asking the
question also rotates within the teams, so that the same student isn't doing all the work. The turn
continues until the correct guess is made, and points are awarded to the team that made it.
Keeping a running score on the blackboard helps maintain a competitive edge. The next round
commences with a new (or not) target.
The level of student involvement in this game depends largely on how you sell it. Act out the
part of sending 'ESP' thought waves to the students; they all know the TV game show of the
same name, so they quickly get the idea. Scores can be 'massaged' by announcing a double bonus
point, or by giving hints to struggling students. Usually this will be unnecessary, as their friends
will give them the answers, but be flexible and bend the rules whenever the need arises. Try and
manipulate a drawn result, or one with extremely close scores. Remember, the aim of this
activity is to encourage the kids to enjoy recalling the target material and building their language
memory.
Teaching Tip
After one time through 'flash-cards', make the students READ them. On the next pass, cover the
cards with a blank (turn one back to front) and 'flash' them briefly at the students (1/4 of a second
or less). Classes that could barely repeat after the AET will suddenly be shouting the words at
1/2 second intervals.
Map Game
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school,
first year
speaking
place prepositions (in, on,
near...)
20
mins.
a big map of your home
country
Discuss this activity here.
Put up a big map of your home country on the blackboard. Make teams according to
whatever method you use to make teams according to. Show the students a big arrow with the
name of a place on it (eg. Liverpool). They have to try to put the arrow in the right place on
the map. Each team gets to ask one question about where the place is [eg. "Is Liverpool in
Scotland?"], then has twenty seconds to find it on the map. If they can't find the place, pass the
arrow on to the next team, who also get one question and twenty seconds. Simple really. - Once
they've got the hang of it, have one of the kids/ teams pick a place on the map. Then they have to
answer the questions from the other teams, and you can take a well-earned rest.
NB: To introduce the kind of questions they can ask, ("Is it in the north or south?", "Is it near the
sea?", "Is it a big city?" etc.) demonstrate first on a map of Japan or Tochigi-k
57
Minefields
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school to
junior high school
second year
To teach asking for,
and giving,
directions.
Giving
directions
20
mins
A blindfold, and misc.
books, cushions, and/or
chairs.
To begin, gather the students at one end of a cleared area and establish a goal at the other end.
Then strew the books, cushions, and/or chairs between the students and the goal. Each obstacle
represents a land mine that will explode if touched by a student. The teacher then blindfolds a
student and spins him/her around about 10 times. The other students must then verbally guide the
blindfolded student through the minefield to the goal with appropriate commands. E.g.: Turn
right/left, walk 2 (or...) steps, STOP, walk back 1 step, go straight etc..
This can be made into a contest between two teams if the instructor so desires. The time required
will vary with the size of the class. This activity is particularly suited to elementary students.
A variant of the above activity is 'MAZE'. For this the students move to two sides of the room,
while the teacher(s) arrange the desks into a maze which snakes across it. Be imaginative and
include a cross-roads, or a least an alternative route or two. A student is selected and blindfolded.
The other students, selected randomly, give directions. The object of the game is to navigate the
blindfolded student across the top of the maze without mishap. As many school desks are
unstable, it is a good idea to have one teacher walk beside the blindfolded student and lend a
supporting hand if their balance is threatened. If your JTE is confident, have a boy (directed by
boys) and a girl (directed by girls) walk the maze from opposing sides.
Students enjoy this game, because they get the chance to walk on their desks. The direction
givers also enjoy giving commands (occasionally one will command "Jump!", but the
blindfolded students rarely do). The ALT should be prepared to take a turn blindfolded as a
demonstration. If you get on well with your students there should be no problem here, otherwise
maybe the JTE should call directions for you.
Teaching Tip
Use lower case letters when writing on the board (or on students worksheets etc.), unless a
capital is always used. That is, for proper nouns, I, and the first word of a sentence. Writing in
block capitals only makes things more confusing for students, who already aren't sure of when
capitals should be used. Likewise, always write 'an apple', 'an orange', rather than just the noun.
This helps lock into visual as well as cognitive memory what is, to students, a trivial rule.
Mr. Wolf
58
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school
To teach how to ask
the time, and basic
replies.
"What's the
time", telling the
time
20-30
mins
A large area in which to
run around; maybe a large
toy clock.
First, introduce the students to the question, "What's the time Mr. Wolf?", by having them
practice, shouting in chorus with and without you. Next, demonstrate the hours of the day, either
with your arms, or with an easily visible toy clock. Practice, "It's 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock..." etc., as
well as 'Lunch-time' and 'Dinner-time'.
To play, the students ask the question, "What's the time Mr. Wolf?" and the 'Wolf' (initially the
ALT) replies with either a real time (i.e., 1 o'clock) or an eating time, "It's lunch time!" If the
'Wolf' replies, "It's 5 o'clock", s/he must turn their back and count to that number as fast as they
can. The students begin from 'Home', which is at least 20 meters away from the 'Wolf', and
during the 'Free' time when the 'Wolf' is counting, move nearer to the 'Wolf' and try to tag
him/her. When the count finishes, the 'Wolf' turns around and tries to catch sight of any students
who are moving. Students seen moving must return to 'Home' and start again.
If any of the students should succeed in tagging the 'Wolf', all the students must run as fast as
they can to 'Home', while the 'Wolf' must try to catch as many of them as possible. Simply
tagging students is sufficient. If they are caught, they become 'Wolves' also, and join the ALT.
The ordinary students ask their question, and the 'Wolves' debate their answer in a tight circle
before turning and answering as one. Obviously, larger numbers (e.g., 10 o'clock) are preferable
at the start of a round, and smaller ones as the students get closer and closer.
If the 'Wolves' decide it's 'Dinner/Lunch-time', they must reply, "It's LUNCH time!!" or "It's
DINNER time!!", before chasing the ordinary students and trying to catch them. The game
continues until all the students have been turned into wolves, at which time it's definitely 'Breaktime'!
Hints and cautions:
* If students have trouble pronouncing 'Wolf', change the name to 'Mountain Gorilla'
* Most elementary schools have a large toy clock handy, which they use to teach the time in Japanese. It can, of
course, be equally handy in teaching the time in English, so ask for it.
+ It is much easier, and eminently quicker, to explain this game by demonstrating it with a few students and
teachers. Most teachers have a rudimentary level of English, certainly enough to enable them to participate in this
activity.
+ Indicate that tagging a student is sufficient to render them caught by a wolf. If you engage in literally catching the
students, some of your young wolves will execute flying tackles, such as would make a rugby player proud, and
tears will follow. The students get very involved in these activities, so it's often necessary to protect them from
themselves.
Mystery Interview
59
Level
Senior
High
School 1st
Year
Aims
pair-work
follow-up
Grammar
must
Time
Materials
35
mins.
Pair-work interview worksheets, Pre-prepared
funny possible answers to the questions on the
worksheet (just in your head is OK), Big cards
with "A", "B" or "C" written on (optional).
Discuss this activity here.
This isn't really very mysterious, but it can be a useful fun follow-up to pair-work interview-type
activities. It's more fun than it sounds. Trust me.
Prepare a worksheet with a bunch of interview questions for whatever it is you're studying.
Example:
Q. What must you do every morning?
A. Every morning he/she must _________________.
Collect the completed pair-work interview worksheets, and have the kids make teams and choose
names for them. While they're busy doing this, quickly scan through the completed worksheets
and pick out some interesting/ funny answers. Pick out a student who gave a good answer. Give
his team a point automatically, and tell him and the person who interviewed him to keep a pokerface throughout. Read the question. The other teams must guess his/her answer from three
possible options, two of which you've made up.
Example:
We asked Ueno-kun: "What must you do every morning?". He said:
a) He must brush his teeth [made-up answer].
b) He must kiss his mother [real answer].
c) He must milk his cow [made-up answer].
Teams give their answers by waving the "A", "B" or "C" cards in the air. Correct teams get a
point.
Pick another question and another student and repeat until the bell rings.
Tip: Every class has a few kids who are allergic to original thinking and won't answer the
questions during the pair-work interview unless they have ready-made answers written on the
page in front of them. So that they don't stay completely silent, I like to put some possible
answers ("brush my teeth" or whatever) around the edges of the worksheet, in small, faint type.
Nobody ever reads small print in a foreign language, with the possible exception of the driving
clause in the JET contract. In any case, everyone assumes it's just there for decoration. But then
when you walk around the class and see that a particular kid isn't doing the activity, you can just
point to the small print, and he or she can use the ready-made, spoon-fed answers.
N.E.W.S.
60
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school
To teach the directions;
North, South, East,
West.
Directions (north,
south, east, west)
10
mins
Four large cards with N,
E, W, and S on them,
and tape.
Discuss this activity here.
First go through the four basic directions with the students, explaining what each one is in
Japanese & English (North = Kita, South = Minami, East = Higashi, West = Nishi). Have four
students tape one card to each side of the room; preferably those corresponding to the relevant
directions. The school gym is the best place to play this game. The rules are simple. You call out
a direction, and the students all run to that wall. The last one to touch the wall is out, and comes
to join you in calling out the next wall. After a few turns, remove the cards from the walls. Try
calling out a corner, like 'South-East', or 'North-West' etc., occasionally to keep things
interesting. Be careful of injuries!
Teaching Tip
Have the S/s make groups of four, and give a list of 30 - 40 words from the text to each group.
Tell each group a different target word, and give them a couple of minutes to write as many
sentences as possible, using only words from the list, including the target word. Next have one
student at a time from each group write a sentence on the board. Give one point for each correct
sentence (bonus points for sentences of more than five words), and make sure that the groups
send a different student each time.
Negotiation
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school - adult
Use English to express a desire
and to negotiate a situation
none
15 - 20
mins.
Pre-prepared
situation cards
Discuss this activity here.
Negotiation is a part of every-day conversational English. This activity allows students to use the
vocabulary they know in a meaningful activity. They will surprise themselves (and you!) at how
long a conversation they can hold and how they can express their wishes in English.
The negotiation situations may be held between pairs. Each student has a sheet telling them their
side of the situation and the stance which they must argue from. Explain any vocab necessary
beforehand and tell the students that they have a problem. they must first explain their problem
to their partner, then listen to their partner's side of the story and then have a conversation to
work out a compromise. It is important to emphasise to them that the conversation is more
important than the eventual compromise. Otherwise you'll find they chat in Japanese about a
possible solution. It is also a good idea to forbid them looking at each other's sheets.
61
Some examples of negotiation situations are included here. It is best to team up with a JTE to
think of situations that suit your students' needs and interests best. The best situations are those
in which you eliminate all apparent routes to compromise, so the students' conversations are kept
going longer. They are very inventive!! Allow 15 - 20 minutes per situation.
Examples:
Situation 1
A
You have just arrived in London from Tokyo. You are alone. It is late and there is only one bus
that will take you to your hotel tonight. You realise that you don't have any pounds to pay for the
bus fare. The exchange counters have already closed and the ATM cash machine won't accept
your bank cards. You are very tired and worried that you can't get to the hotel. You need 20
pounds. If anyone would give you the money, you would send it back to them tomorrow after
you have exchanged your money. You see a man and decide to ask him.
B
You are a man living in London. You have just returned from a trip abroad. A girl comes to you
and asks for some money. She says she will return it, but where you come from, you don't trust
anybody. There is no reason to trust anybody in an airport. Your girlfriend thinks you should
give the girl some money, but you don't agree at all. She can't be trusted and you don't want your
girlfriend to give her anything either.
Situation 2
A
You are a third-year high school student and will be taking entrance examinations this year. You
have always wanted to live alone in Tokyo. The university you desperately want to go to is
luckily in Tokyo, but it is a private university. You can't study what you want to in public
universities. Your parents don't like your idea but you want to live your own life. You have to
persuade your parents.
B
You are the parent of a third year high school students. Your son/ daughter insists on going to a
university in Tokyo and renting an apartment to live alone. You and your husband/ wife are
completely against the idea because you have heard of many dangerous cases of university
students (especially girls) who live alone. You can't afford to pay for a private university. You
have taken it for granted that your daughter should go to Utsunomiya University.
Nervous Breakdown
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
first year to second
year
To consolidate the
'ing' form of verbs
Present
continuous (ing)
40
mins
Two sets of paired
picture cards.
Discuss this activity here.
62
This activity is a variant of the 'Concentration' card game where picture cards are placed face
down, and players aim to collect pairs by using their memory of the positions of formerly
exposed cards.
Make four copies of a set of activity pictures. (There are some, which also accompany the
Feelings activity, here. This gives you two pair of each pictured activity, and thus two sets of
cards. If you have a class of 40 students, you will need 4 copies of 10 different activities, which
is 2 sets of 10 pairs. Divide the class in half, and have them move their desks to opposite sides of
the room leaving an aisle down the centre. Distribute each set (at random) to each team (JTE
deals to one, ALT the other). Instead of revealing the picture they hold, each student must reply
to the question, "Are you ing?", either by answering, "Yes, I am.", or, "No, I'm not. I'm ing".
Naturally this reveals the player's activity, but it is up to the opposing team to remember who is
doing what. Thus, it's important not to permit the students to keep a written record, the object of
the exercise is to consolidate words and phrases in their memories.
To make it a little easier for them (lack of confidence inspires non-participation), write or hang a
list of the present continuous (progressive) forms you wish to practice on the board. Or, in a
simpler version of this activity (for elementary students), use only nouns. This is a consolidation
exercise, which helps students form memories of new words, forms or phrases by encouraging
them to compete. Students really like this activity, but may need a little encouragement and help
to begin with.
As each pair is discovered, retrieve the cards and score a point for that team. The team with the
most points at the end of the game, or when your time has elapsed, are the winners. Reward in
the fashion you most prefer.
Teaching Tip
Try and plan your activity explanations (or any others) with the JTE before the lesson. Explain
any activities as simply and as quickly as possible. Use gestures and actions to help your
explanation, and discourage (politely) long explanations in any language by the JTE.
Demonstrations (for S/s and JTE) are always better than verbal explanations. The best way to
learn a game is to play it.
Newspaper Information Search
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
High School/
Adult Class
Familiarize students with an English
newspaper format and how to search
for information.
none
20
min
Old copies of "The
Daily Yomiuri"
newspape
Discuss this activity here.


63
Review key words such as: lead story, index, column, exhange rate,etc...
Help the students as needed with the completion of the sheet.
Worksheet:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What it the name of the newspaper?
What is the date on your newspaper?
What is the price of the newspaper?
What is the lead story in the newspaper?
What is the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar ($) in your newspaper?
\______/ U.S. $______
6. What is the weather forecast for:
Tokyo________
Osaka _______
7. What is the weather forecast for:
Bangkok Low _____ High _____
New York Low _____ High _____
8. What page is the crossword puzzle on
9. What time does the "Bilingual" news come on at on NHK 1?
10. Find an NHL Hockey score. What were the team names?
_______________ vs. ______________
11. What was the final score of the games? _______ to _______.
12. What page is the "Stock Exchange" found on?
13. Find a price for a flight to
Bangkok \______
Honolulu \______
14. What is the address for the offices of "The Daily Yomiuri"?
15. What is the homepage address for "The Daily Yomiuri"?
16. Does your newspaper have articles from another newspaper?
17. What is the name of that newspaper?
18. What city is that newspaper from?
Object Hop
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
easy senior high
school
Warm-up and review
activity.
none
15
mins
10-20 objects (or name
cards).
Discuss this activity here.
You will need objects which relate to new vocabulary, or which review older vocabulary. If you
can't scavenge the necessary objects, use cards with the objects drawn, or with the words written,
on them (e.g., favourite is a difficult word to find an object for, or even to draw). This activity is
simple to adapt for a variety of levels (e.g., fruit, months, season and weather words)
Before starting, review the names of the objects with the class in chorus. Then clear a space
about 3 meters x 3 meters. Split the class into teams (how many depends on the time available),
and assign a team scribe and team gatherer to each. The members of each team have to work
together to alphabetise the items you have scattered on the floor and inform the scribe, who in
turn must instruct the gatherer in which order the objects have to be picked up. Choose gatherers
64
who are fairly robust, as they have to hop on one leg for thirty seconds to a minute while picking
up an object. If the team functions well, there will be little time for the gatherer to rest between
items.
Give points for any items picked up in sequence, and if you include a time limit, the competition
can become intense.
Paperbag Drama
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school
use English creatively
none
two periods
various props in a bag
Setting:
In a high school classroom
Characters:
ALT(1), JTE (1), Students (6-9)
Instructions:
Make a drama about team teaching. Use all the props inside the bag. You must also use these
words at least once: flower, horse, party, and shoe.
Hints:
What happens at the beginning of class?
What are they teaching?
How do the students act? Happy? Bored? Crazy?
What does the ALT say to the JTE?
What does the JTE say to the ALT?
What is the English lesson?
How does the class end?
Performance:
Your drama should last 3-5 minutes, include all the items in the bag, use the four words given in
the instructions, and be creative. The best drama group wins a prize!
Notes: Feel free to change the props, words, setting, etc.
Partial Pictures
65
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
first year
To consolidate asking and
answering "What is this?"
"What is
this?"
15
mins
Large flash
cards
Discuss this activity here.
Enlarge the partial pictures, via your school's photocopier, onto cardboard sheets. After the JTE
has introduced and explained the grammar point of "What...?", stand at the front of the class and
quickly 'flash' the cards to the students. This can be accomplished by a variety of techniques,
such as: begin with the card facing you, and as you ask the question, "What is this?", slowly turn
the card through 360 degrees; place a blank card over the target card revealing only a small part
of the picture and ask the question. If no-one can answer, reveal a little more and ask again.
Continue until the entire picture is revealed or someone answers; stand facing the board with the
card facing away from you and turn through 360 degrees while asking the question; cover the
target card with a blank, and flash the entire picture for about 1/4 of a second. Use a combination
of all these with a few of your own thrown in. Variety is the spice of life, so don't leave it outside
the classroom!
After the first three cards have been identified, pass the next picture card to the student who
solved the last picture, and get them to ask the question. Hopefully, you'll end the activity with
students not only asking and answering the target question, but enjoying themselves as well.
Left to right, top to bottom, the pictures on the worksheet are: Tennis racket, pen, guitar, rabbit,
note book, pencil, piano, stamp, table, banana, book, ruler, trumpet, basketball (NOT pants), cup.
Enlarge x5 onto paper before using cardboard.
Teaching Tip
Ѓ@When you are explaining a new activity to a JTE and they say that, "Maybe the S/s won't
understand" or "This might be too difficult for the S/s", they are often describing their own
plight. Understanding directions in your second language is not always easy, nor clear. Try going
over the activity again, using ultra simple English, and ask what parts could be altered for the S/s'
better comprehension. Acting out the activity with the JTE taking part will help improve
communication too. However, don't push too hard. Change or acceptance of new ideas can take
time. Often an idea which has been dismissed as 'too difficult' will be accepted a few weeks
(months) later, especially if you can report success with its use in Mr.(s) X's classes.
Party Crawl
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
second year to
Adult
To consolidate or review
direction giving and
understanding.
directions
15
mins
Work sheets, an
OHP sheet master
map.
66
Discuss this activity here.
Prepare worksheets showing a town with a number of intersecting streets. Make eight different
copies, each with a house marked in a different place.
Divide the class into groups of four (a few groups of 5 is OK, but groups of 4 seem to function
better), and give each group a different map. If there are more than 8 groups (there usually are)
give two groups the same map, but don't tell them. Tell the class that they are going to have a
special dinner, and that each course is at a different group's house. Have the students in each
group take turns giving the rest of the class directions to their house. To make it more interesting,
you can take the first turn and point the students in the wrong direction. For example, you might
begin team-A by stating, "From the station, turn right and take the first left". The first student in
team-A must then decide how to deal with your misdirection. They might say, "Walk straight
until you come to the first corner on your left", or they might make it more challenging for the
next student by saying, "Go straight on for three blocks ..."
Each group must tell the other groups how to get to their house from the last group's house.
Group 'A' should start, and give directions to their house from the station. Group 'B' follows with
instructions from 'A's' house to theirs. Etc., etc.. The object of the game is for students to listen to
the instructions and draw in the route on their maps. Have the students finish by writing down
the directions from group-H's house back to the station.
Have a master copy of the map on an OHP sheet, without any of the houses labelled. Have the
groups give you the directions to their houses again, while you draw in the routes given (and
label the houses). If they give incorrect instructions, say nothing. Let them correct themselves.
As each group completes its directions the others can see how well they understood and, by
following your route, see the (hopefully) correct directions to follow.
Finally, get each group in turn to give you one direction for the route back to the station, while
you mark the way on the OHP sheet. Again, let the students be the ones to correct themselves.
The basic concept was appropriated from Jill Hadfield's excellent activity guide book Basic Communication Games,
by Nelson Press.
People Bingo
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school to
senior high school
To 'brainstorm' students'
use of English.
any
10
mins
None, or whatever you
decide to prepare
Discuss this activity here.
This is a game for a class that's sleepy, that there was nothing prepared for, or just to fill that
unexpected extra time at the lesson's end. Try to make the rows in the class even by moving a
few students around.
67
Have all the students stand up. Ask them, "How are you?" and when they invariably reply, "Fine
(thanks, and you?)", write it on the Blackboard. Explain that no-one can use this word again.
When the question, "How are you?" is asked again, the first student to raise their hand (or be
otherwise selected) must answer with an original response (happy, bored, sleepy...). Write their
response on the board. If they answer any word not on the board in 5 seconds they can sit down.
Cheating (use of friends or the textbook) is at your discretion; some ALTs find it moves the
game along better. The first line of five or six students sitting down in any direction are the
winners. While this game starts slow, as the answers get sillier ("I'm beautiful", "I'm crazy"), the
students get involved. It brings out vocabulary, and puts an end to the repetitive and annoying
"I'm fine" response.
The same format can be used for other grammar points, such as ordinal numbers and months.
Prepare a handout with 2 4 calendar months on it. Using the same procedure outlined above, ask
the students, "What day is November/September/August/June/... the 3rd/5th/...?" ("It's
Friday/Wednesday..."). Again, give the students a count of five in which to answer.
Occassionally no student will volunteer to answer, especially if they are used to a teacher who
prefers to lecture instead of question, and/or it's a humid summer's day. Counter this by using
'Volunteer cards' (numered 1 - 40) and randomly selecting a number from the pack. The student
whose number is drawn must answer.
Another adaptation is to have the students stand in lunch groups and answer questions in much
the same format as above. Whoever answers a question may sit. The first group sitting wins. If
you have a class with 5 groups of 6 and 1 of 7 students, the groups of 6 must each nominate one
of their members to answer two questions.
Teaching Tip
Take a microphone into class for use when asking S/s questions. S/s become much more relaxed
and vocal, even extroverted, when they have a mike in their hands. It need not be a working
mike; simply the shell or a cardboard cutout will do. See if the broadcasting club has a spare one
you can use.
Plane Crash !!!
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school
to Adult
to get students creating their
own English
none
30
mins
Item lists for each
group.
Discuss this activity here.
Set the scene of the activity by telling the class a short story. Embellishment is fine, but basically
they are on a flight between Tokyo and Toronto (or Belfast, or Spain, Moscow,...). Somewhere
over Siberia (The North Pole, Alaska,...) the plane begins to loose altitude. An engine stops... .
Suddenly the plane crashes IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (a most terrible place). T he pilot
is dead, but there are 10 survivors. You have no idea where you are, or how long it will be before
68
you are rescued. You and the other survivors must decide what to do in order to stay alive.
Remember it is freeeeezing cold, and you don't have much food.
Divide the class into groups, and hand out the list of items to each group. Tell them that these are
lists of things they will need to survive. The groups must decide what 7 things will be of the
most help. Everyone in the group must agree. The list of things from which they must choose is:
1. Flares
2. Can Opener
3. First-aid Kit
4. Mirror
5. Flashlight
6. Tins of Food
7. Parachute
8. Sumo Magazine
9. Blankets
10. Compass
11. Russian Dictionary
12. CD Player
13. Gun
14. Matches
15. Salt
Hints and cautions:
* With a little drama, the plane crash story is easily understood.
+ This idea is only effective if you tell the groups that they must say WHY they chose each item.
Price is Right
Level
Aims
senior high
school first
year
prices and money (good for
an intro to a shopping
lesson).
Grammar
Time
Materials
numbers
15
mins.
three or four common
objects, money, paper and
markers.
Discuss this activity here.
1. Introduce foreign money and credit cards to students. Passing around real money and credit
cards is best. many of them have never touched foreign money and students don't have credit
cards. (Word from the wise guy: Some students will think your Visa card is omiyage. Others will
think a dollar smells good. No-one leaves the classroom until you get everything back.)
2. Game show time!
69
3. JTE selects five (or six) students to come to the front of the room and sit facting the class. Best
if said in a loud game-show-like voice ("Taaaroouu Murakaamiiiii! Come on down!!") Give each
of the students a big piece of paper and a marker.
4. Show the students a common object (a CD, a pair of tennis shoes, a can of Coke...) Tell the
selected students to write down the price of the object in the ALT's home country in that
country's currency.
5. Have each student hold up their guess and have all students read the prices. The closest guess
under the actual price wins. Reward the winner by letting them go back to their seat.
6. Choose a new student to come to the front to fill the gap left by the winner. Show them
another object and tell them to guess the price. Not only do students practice saying prices in
English, they also learn about the price differences between the ALT's country and Japan.
Q. and A. Scraps
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior
high
school
To have as many students
speaking as much English
as possible.
Q. and A.
forms
20
mins
80 scraps of paper; 2 per
student. (Finally, a good use
has been found for all
Discuss this activity here.
This is an excellent review game, perhaps at its most effective at the end of the year. Have every
student write an interesting question on one scrap of paper. They are permitted to use their text
books as a reference or for ideas. Allow 3-4 minutes for this. Next, demonstrate the activity with
the JTE. Ask your JTE a question such as, "What is your telephone number?" (this is especially
interesting to students if the JTE is of the opposite gender to yourself). The JTE answers, then
asks you a different question. You answer, then both of you exchange your question slips and
sign each others' 2nd scrap of paper. After this, the students must move on to a new partner and
the cycle continues. Make sure the students understand that they must exchange questions, as
this enables them to practice many different forms. When the time frame for this activity is
filled, ask the students how many people they spoke to. Award a prize to the person who spoke
to the most people (used stamp, sticker, etc.).
Hints and cautions:
* Tell the S/s that they shouldn't look at each others' question scraps they should listen to what they are being asked.
+ Make sure the S/s make eye contact with each other. If they must refer to their question scrap permit this, but have
them try to 'Read, Look up and Speak'
Teaching Tip
Ask your office or school to procure some transparent OHP (OverHead Projector) sheets suitable
for use with a photocopier (p/c). These are labelled 'OHP ѓtѓBѓ‹ѓЂ' (OHP film) on the box or
70
envelope they come in. Use these to photocopy pictures of your family, country, native animals,
games, or anything you want. All schools have at least one OHP, and most have several,
however, few teachers bother to make use of them. Try to change this. OHPs are a very effective
teaching tool. They focus the S/s' attention much like a video does, and they make your pictures
easily visible to everyone in the class. DON'T use normal OHP cells in the p/c, as they will melt
and cover the hot roller. This will make you unpopular.
Rainforests
Level
Aims
junior
high
school
first year
To have students consolidate specific
words, phrases, sentences, or questions
between themselves. Examples target
colours + nouns, past progressive, can,
and has/have to.
Grammar
Time
Materials
any
10 to
50
mins
Game-grid
worksheets, (OHP
master-grid also
possible)
Discuss this activity here.
Rainforests is a variant of Battleships. One player asks or says a target sentence/question, and
their opponents respond with information regarding the accuracy of their 'shot'. The difference is
the response, and the fact that pictures of life forms are used instead of warships. This is a most
versatile activity, which can be adapted to your needs at will. Teach: numbers (in word form);
difficult letters (l + r, d + b, p + q...), tense, even 'to' infinitive. As in Battleships, be sure that the
students have learnt the grammar point(s) you are targeting before the lesson. Rainforests, too, is
best used as a consolidation and/or review tool.
To begin, give a brief explanation of how to play the game in simple English. Next, demonstrate
how to play using the JTE as an opponent. Briefly practice the target words, phrases, and
responses with the entire class in chorus. Have the class form groups of four, and assign names
to each team. Distribute one game-grid to each group, and give them a time limit (say, 5 mins) in
which the group members must fill in the squares of their grid with the list of life forms: 1 Earth,
10 Trees, 5 People, and 5 Animals. This means that they fill in 21 of their 36 squares.
Each group begins the game with 250 points. The first group begins by targeting an empty
square on their grid and vocalising the sentence/question which corresponds to that square.
Teams which have a picture in that square must subtract the value of that life form from their
total (a blank square loses zero points). After 20 seconds, teams which have lost a life form must
make the sound of that life form dying. E.g.: Animal = dog howling, Tree = 'Timber' shouted as
loud as possible, A Person = scream or dying noise (Aaahhhh!), The Earth = Atomic bomb
explosion. Rotate round the class, giving one shot to each group whether they score hits or not.
After a couple of laps compare scores to decide your winners.
Teaching Tip
Whenever you have team activities, assign names. This gives each group a sense of identity, and
can set the tone of the lesson. I use Japanese names of insects and food, as it saves time
71
explaining what things are, but in elementary school why not take the time to teach the English
equivalent. My favorites are: Gokiburi = Cockroach; Kamakiri = Praying Mantis; Semi =
Cicarda; Tororo = sticky white vegetable pulp; Natto = 'you know'; Shimotsukare = you'll find
out; Onara = Fart.
Red Rover, All Over!
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school
To practice colour word
recognition in a TPR
environment.
Colours
15
mins
Students, a gymnasium
(taikukan) or playing area.
Discuss this activity here.
Maybe you're familiar with this game from your own elementary school days, but if you aren't,
don't worry. It is exceedingly simple to play, as are the majority of good activities for this level,
and requires only a brief review of the colours you wish to use before commencing.
Divide your class into as many groups as there are colours you wish to target, or as many as
numbers reasonably permit. I like to have between 4 - 8 students in each team, but this might not
always be feasible. Assign each team a different colour, and check their understanding of it by
asking for the Japanese translation. Kids like to be able to teach too, and as teaching in itself is a
more than useful way of learning, why not encourage them to teach you? Even if you already
know the answer?
Having named and checked all the teams, explain (by mime if necessary) that when you call a
team's colour, that team must run from one side of the room to the other. If you tag any of them,
they have to remain in the middle of the room with you to help you 'catch' the players of the next
round. Have a huddle in the center with your helpers, and discuss which colour will be called
next. If you decide to call, "Red Rover, all over!" all teams must dash from one side to the other.
Naturally, this prevents you from having a 'Red' team, but this isn't a problem as 'red' is still
targeted.
Eventually, most of the students are in the centre, and only a few remain untagged. These are
your winners. They can remain in the center with you as 'catchers', while the other students form
teams, if you wish to continue the activity.
Teaching Tip
Japanese students (and often teachers) are painfully shy. When talking to students who hang their
heads, have difficulty answering, or giggle/laugh uncertainly, try crouching beside their desk so
that your head is level with theirs. This makes you far less intimidating, and also has the effect of
cutting out the rest of the class and making the conversation more private. This shyness will be
particularly apparent for new ALTs; especially at lunchtime. Take heart, be patient, it gets better
with time. However, such shyness is rarely applicable to elementary school students!
72
Rows & Columns
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school to senior high school
speaking
any
10 mins
none
Discuss this activity here.
Japanese students are thoughtfully arranged into a grid pattern in their seating. This provides us
with a convenient vehicle for asking questions. The rows they sit in are the 'rows' of the pattern
(the y-axis as it were), and the lines across the room (the x-axis) are the columns.
To begin, select a student at random (e.g., add the numbers in the day's date together), and have
the row that student is sitting in stand up. Explain that the first student to raise their hand can try
to answer your question, and if they are correct they may sit down. Proceed with your questions,
occasionally throwing in an easy one like, "When is your birthday?" or "What's your name?" to
assist the slower students. When one student is left, have the corresponding column stand, and
continue the exercise.
At around about this time it will dawn on the class that if the student in their row or column is
left standing, then they will have to stand also. This will inject a considerable amount of
enthusiasm into participation in the activity, and students from each row or column will begin
shouting advice to the unhappy soul standing. Some teachers prefer to prevent this, but others
actively encourage it as it assists the listening skills of the standing students, and reinforces the
memories of those doing the 'teaching'.
'Rows and Columns' sometimes goes by the name of 'Criss-Cross'; knowing one is to know the
other. Although this is a 10-15 minute review/warm-up activity, it can be played in a continuous
form from lesson to lesson. The column or row of the last student standing commences at the
beginning of the next lesson, and so on. Some teachers employ this continuous technique
throughout the year, merely changing the questions every week.
Hints and cautions:
* The last student standing is often a slower or very shy student. Despite best efforts of class- mates, these S/s will
continue to be the last S/s standing unless you 'massage' the results with a bit of cheating. Ignore the flurry of hands
and ask your question to this particular student. Give them the opportunity to compete by leaving this tactic to about
halfway through the row/column. If they need help answering, give it; the other S/s won't mind.
Sentence Building
73
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school second year-
grammar
any
a whole
various
third year
review
period
props
Discuss this activity here.
1) The ALT makes up three paragraphs of six sentences using the grammar the students have
recently studied.
2) The ALT divides the sentences into words or phrases and writes the words or phrases on
separate cards of construction paper.
3) The classes will do one paragraph at a time. Each paragraph should be more difficult than the
one preceding it. One way to make the second and third paragraphs more difficult is to make the
sentences longer and/ or more broken apart.
4) The ALT should draw a picture that corresponds to each sentence (so a total of 18). This does
not require great artistic skill -- trust me, if I can do it, it requires no skill. Stick people are fine;
just make it good enough to convey the meaning of the sentence. (The trick is to write about
things that you can draw.)
5) It helps to make prize cards to give to the teams once they make the sentences. I made 1st,
2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place cards. The first team to finish got 10 points, 2nd got 8, 3rd got 4,
5th got 2 and 6th place got 1 point.
Class Procedure:
Before class, put the six pictures corresponding to Paragraph 1 on the board vertically.
1) Divide the class into six teams.
2) Hand out the cards of words and phrases face-down -- one sentence per team.
3) When all the cards are handed out, the students may turn them over and try to make the
sentences, with help from the ALT and JTE.
4) When a team thinks they have the right answer, the ALT will check it. If the sentence is
grammatically correct, then the ALT will ask the students which picture it corresponds to on the
blackboard (this checks their understanding of the meaning of the sentence). If they can answer,
they get the card corresponding to first place or second place, etc.
5) Have the students attach their sentence to the board with magnets, next to the corresponding
picture.
6) When all the sentences are on the board, the ALT will read the paragraph. Then the ALT and
JTE will explainthe meaning of any difficult parts.
7) After going through the game three times (doing all three paragraphs), add up the points
collected by each team. The team with the most points is the winner (of course).
8) I then had joke prizes -- six of them, one for each team. The winner got to choose first, the
second place team chose second, and so on.
74
Examples of prizes:
1) 15 boxes of Corn Flakes
2) a new sports car
3) just applause
4) 10 books in English
5) a big carrot cake
6) free trip to Miss Tara's house
You'd be surprised what sometimes gets picked first!
Sentence Deconstruction
Level
Aims
junior high
school to
Adult
To have students discover
grammar rules for
themselves.
Grammar
any
Time
Materials
unlimited
A sentence, and white or
black board for ALT use
only.
Discuss this activity here.
This is a competition either for the entire school at once, or for just one grade. Construct a
sentence for the students to deconstruct a few words at a time. Ask for a white or blackboard for
your exclusive use, or pick up a portable white board from 'Kanseki', or similar 'Homecentre'.
Instruct your JTEs that they are needed to inform the students of both the competition, and the
rules, but are not to help the students play. For example, consider the following sentence:
Mary walked down the stairs and across the yard when suddenly she looked up and saw
her tiny son in his blue jeans crawling along the kitchen window- ledge; she was just in
time to catch him when he fell.
Have the teachers explain to the students that they are going to reduce this sentence to one word.
In any one turn they may remove 1-3 consecutive words. They may not add words, and they may
not change the order of words or their endings. Have the students (singly or in small groups)
come to you and suggest which words may be removed without rendering the sentence faulty.
For each correct suggestion, reward them with some small token; a lottery ticket or a few stamps.
The success of this exercise relies on the teacher making no judgment about the correctness of a
deletion before the students have had a chance to check their own language feeling of the
amended sentence. Obey the students' suggestions, no matter how wrong they might be. If, after
reading the alteration, they fail to realise what is wrong, simply write the deleted part back into
the sentence. When the sentence is finally reduced, I hold a small lottery just for those students
who have worked at the deconstruction with 3 or 4 Aussie stick-pins as prizes. Then we start the
process again with a new sentence. The final word must be a noun, but of course you knew that.
(Concept sourced from Mario Rinvolueri's Grammar Games, Cambridge Uni Press, 1984)
75
Teaching Tip
Every student in every class has been given a number. Many ALTs deplore the practice of
numbering S/s as dehumanising, but it is unlikely to be changed. Therefore, make use of these
numbers when you want to ask S/s questions, or when you need some S/s to perform a dialogue.
Make 'Volunteer ' cards with the numbers 1 - 40 on them and select one at random as needed.
This is good listening practice for students, who don't often get the chance to listen to numbers.
Sentence Shiritori
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school
To have students create grammatically
correct sentences.
any
10 - ?
mins
Chalk and
blackboard.
Discuss this activity here.
This activity is similar to regular Shiritori in that one person at a time from each team comes to the
board, but it differs in that each team must write a sentence (or story). I.e., the words chosen
must connect grammatically and make sense. It's best to assign a grammar point, such as only
using ing verbs, before beginning the activity.
Minefields
Shiritori
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school first
year & second
year
To build students' confidence in their
writing skills, and develop their vocab
through a 'brainstorm'-type activity.
Speaking skills can also be targeted.
none
10
mins
Chalk, a
blackboard, and
students.
Discuss this activity here.
This game needs little explanation, as most students already know its Japanese form.
Surprisingly few teachers ever think of using it, so its suggestion as a time filler at the end of a
lesson may come as a pleasant, even welcome, surprise to them. The rules are simple: start by
writing any English word on the board. The next student must then write a new word using the
last letter of the previous word. Each new contestant must write a new word beginning with the
last letter of the previous word until the umpire (YOU) calls "time".
There are many ways to play the game, but the best way may be for each row to work as a team
and have the teams compete in relay fashion. The baton is a piece of chalk, which is passed from
one student to the next after each has written their word. Divide the board into 5, 6 or 7
(depending on classroom layout and student attendance) sections, and write the name of each
team at the top of each. The students must run to their section (one from each team at a time),
76
write an appropriate word, and then run back and pass the chalk to the next person in the row.
This continues, with the last person passing the chalk to the first person and the 1st to the 2nd
etc., until the referee calls "time over", and then scores each team. Award 1 point for every three
letters of a word, e.g., 'grandfathers' scores 4 points. Incorrect spelling or abbreviations (USA is
not a word) score zero. The team with the most points wins. Play two rounds and merge scores.
Students can use their texts or dictionaries for reference, but may not take them to the board with
them. Team members calling directions in English is not just permitted, but should be
encouraged, as it's good listening and speaking practice.
See also Sentence Shiritori
Teaching Tip
Hold a lottery at each school you visit, or once every two months if you attend a base school.
While we couldn't advocate photocopying your country's money and covering the serial numbers
with tags saying things like 'one lottery ticket', 'Name' and 'Class', this is what some ALTs have
actually done! Hearsay suggests that they even covered the featured faces with a picture of their
own. However you make your tickets, hand them out to students who have done a good job,
made a special effort, or won a competition (or relay). Have a lottery box on your desk where
students can place their tickets. Give small prizes like stick-pins, key rings, and have a 'Grand
prize' such as a T-shirt from your country. This is a marvelous motivation device.
Snakes and Ladders
Level
Aims
junior high
school to
Adult
grammar
review
Grammar
Time
Materials
any
10 - 50
mins
4-6 die (preferably with word numbers on see template), place markers, question cards,
OHP copy of game
Discuss this activity here.
Split the class into 4-6 groups and assign team names and place markers. Try to have place
markers of the same shape as the teams' names. Designate a team captain for each group, order
of turn for each team-member is to the captains' left. The first team begins by rolling the dice and
having the JTE move their marker the corresponding distance on the board. If they land on a
CHALLENGE square ((tick)), they must answer a question to stay on that square. If they cannot
answer the question in 10 seconds, their marker is moved back whence it came. If they land on a
BONUS square, they must answer a question to move forward the same distance again. If they
cannot answer they stay where they are. If they land on the bottom of a ladder they must be able
to answer the question, "Where are you?" with "We're at the bottom of a ladder" before they can
climb the ladder. If they land on the head of a snake, they must be able to answer the question,
"Where are you?" with, "We're at the top of a snake" or else slide down the snake. Of course,
other questions can be substituted for these.
Alternatively, if a team/player lands on the bottom of a ladder they can climb to the top, but
once there they must answer a question to remain. If they fail they must go back down. Landing
77
on a snake's head, they must answer a question to remain there else they must slide down to the
tail. Tell the students to listen carefully as they will have to answer the same questions as others.
First team to finish, wins.
Hints and cautions:
+ Keep the pace moving. Tell the S/s they have a 5 - 10 second time limit in which to answer, and strictly adhere to
it.
* Do not permit discussion between team members, except for slow learners. This is a review activity, and the S/s
ought to know the material you're presenting. Such a restriction provides a powerful incentive to both perform well
(for the team), and to listen to other S/s' answers.
+ Make the game more challenging by asking, "Where are you?" and having the S/s reply, "I'm at the top/bottom of
a snake/ladder", or "I'm on a Challenge/Bonus square". If they can't answer, they must return to their prior position.
Spelling Bees
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
first year
Vocabulary consolidation and
listening practice.
none
10
mins
Letter
cards
Discuss this activity here.
To play, simply speak the target word, after which it's the students' task to select the letters
which spell the word, and then align themselves (holding a card or cards) in correct order. When
they think they have the spelling right they must call out to the ALT, "___ sensei, we are ready."
If the word is misspelt, they have the chance to try again. When they have the spelling right, give
them an ordinal number (1st team, 2nd team...), and have them sit or crouch down. As well as
being a useful teaching device, this makes it easier to see the other teams, and also to score after
the turn is complete. I.e., simply ask, "Who was the 1st team?" etc., and award points to that
group. If there are 6 teams, 6 points are awarded to the 1st team, 5 to the 2nd, 4 to the 3rd, etc..
At the end of your time, tally the points on your scoreboard and reward the winning team.
Teaching Tip
Don't wait for your JTEs to ask you for an activity, look at the next day's classes (e.g., 3-2, 3-1,
& 1-4) and then spend some of your free time during the day making templates of activities that
practice those lessons' grammar points. Be prepared. If you don't use the activities on that day,
put them in your files where they'll be ready when you do need them. The worse thing you can
do is to sit doing nothing or reading a book or the paper. Such activities will merely isolate you
from your fellow teachers. When inspiration fails, try making English labels for various rooms
such as the Principle's Office, the Printing Room, Stairs, Hallway, Infirmary, Library etc., etc..
Showing such an interest in their school will do much for your standing with the other teachers,
as well as the students.
78
Spot the Difference
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school to
Adult
To demonstrate the difference between
sounds Japanese S/s always have difficulty
with. E.g., 'th', 'r', 'l', 'sh'.....
none
15
mins
'Word-tree'
work sheets
Discuss this activity here.
This is something which even brilliant JTEs find impossible to teach well, which is probably
why they often welcome this activity in their classroom. It makes an excellent warm-up activity,
because it focuses the students' attention on you and on the lesson. Copy enough worksheets for
every student, and distribute them. Run through the words you are using, and take the time to
explain (briefly) their meanings. If, for example you elect to use the word pair vowel/bowel, the
activity becomes more real for the students when they perceive the importance of understanding
the difference (i.e., "I'm having trouble with my vowels!").
Pronounce one word of each pair for each level, keeping track of which route you take. Students
have 10 seconds, after you have pronounced the target word twice, to decide which word you
said and mark their sheet appropriately. After you have completed the fifth level ask students
which number they have arrived at. It will invariably be different from where they should be.
Next, try running through the exercise again, using the 'Teaching Tip' outlined below. Teachers,
students, and even you will be amazed at the difference.
As you can see, one word tree has been completed, while the other has been left empty for you to
copy and fill in as you wish. You could use alternative word pairs, or you might like to use
'teens' and their corresponding 10 multiple (e.g., 1330, 1880 etc.. See the 'Teaching Tip' on page
109).
Teaching Tip
After reaching a certain age (most scientists say around 10), it becomes almost impossible for an
individual to distinguish between very similar sounds not contained in their mother tongue. In
English, 'r' and 'l' (among others) are letters which, although there is a world of difference
between them to native speakers, actually sound the same to the Japanese (among others)! After
practicing the difference between light and right etc. a few times, tell the students NOT to listen,
but rather to watch your mouth. If you combine this activity with a game of rows and columns,
where there was (maybe) a few tentatively raised hands, there will now be a forest. It will be
difficult deciding who was first. Judging by the looks on the students' faces, they never believed
there was a difference before encountering this technique.
Squeaky Hammer Sentence Halves
79
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
low-level senior high
school
extra
fun
any
25
mins
Two squeaky hammers, genki
students
Discuss this activity here.
Write half of a simple sentence on the blackboard.
eg. The car is...
Then on the other half of the blackboard write several possible endings to the sentence.
eg. blue, old, new.
Then get two students to stand at the front. Shout a sentence, eg. "The car is new". The first
student to hit the correct ending with the squeaky hammer is the winner. (See also Fan Game)
Students seem to like it as it is quite easy and fun, and it can also be used in a variety of ways.
Simply change the sentence.
I use this game at my visit school (which is an agricultural school). The students are genki but
the English level is very low. The game would probably also work at a junior high school but it
won't work if the students are not genki!
Strip Simon Says
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
extra fun
commands
10 mins
list of simple commands
Discuss this activity here.
This is a lot like normal Simon Says, but...
Tell students that if they lose they must remove something. So, before the game tell the students
to put on as many clothes as possible. Putting things (pens, pencils, etc) in pockets can also be
allowed.
Of course, students will not strip completely. But, do not tell the students that...
If, before the game, some joker takes off clothes instead of putting them on, and he loses, have
the students vote whether he should take off the rest. Usually they will say "Kimochi warui!
Yada!!!" But if they say "yes", reply, "chotto..." and have a penalty - for example, make him
Simon.
80
Taboo
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high
school
just
speaking
none
20
mins
Cards with words to explain and words you
mustn't use in the process.
Discuss this activity here.
Make teams for a team-game or pairs for pairwork. Use death threats to prevent the use of
Japanese.
Students must are given a word. Eg. Spaghetti. They have to explain it so that their partner/ team
can guess it. They mustn't say the "don't say" words, eg. Italian, food, pasta. Simple, really.
Telephone
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
to Adult
To emphasise (ize)
spoken English.
any
45
mins
Toy/real phones (x2),
work sheets.
Discuss this activity here.
Begin the lesson by handing out worksheets and having the S/s write their names (in English)
and their real 'phone numbers in the spaces provided at the top. Then have them tear or cut along
the dotted line, and collect these strips in a box, hat, or similar item for later use. Next, tell the
students that you are going to present a skit. The props are arranged, and basic scene-setting is
given by each character. E.g., "I'm Mike. I'm at my house. This is my telephone". If you don't
have access to toy or real phones make use of pencil cases or the classroom TV remote control as
'cell-phones'.
The following skit (using any names you like) is presented 2 or 3 times:
A: (calls B)
B: Hello?
A: Hello. May I speak to Ann please?
B: I'm sorry, she's not here right now. Who's calling please?
A: This is Takamitsu speaking. I'll call again later. Good bye.
81
B: 'Bye.
Encourage the S/s to listen to each phrase used, and record its number in the brackets at the
bottom of part A:. After three readings, check their answers. Finish this section by having the S/s
draw a line between the English phase and its Japanese equivalent. Call on students to provide
the translation.
Part B: of the sheet is model read by the ALT, with the students practicing after the example.
Once they are faily versed in the English, explain that you are going to phone one of the
students. Select an opposite gender name from the hat, and, announcing the number only,
conduct the skit with that student. Students must listen carefully to hear if it's their number being
'dialed'. If the demo student was a girl, select a boy's name for her to phone, and continue the skit
having girl phone boy and visa versa for as long as desired.
Next, the model dialogue is expanded using parts C: & D: of the handout. This is followed by
more telephone conversations with randomly chosen students. The teacher who is not involved
in the conversation helps the student when necessary. Part D: can be omitted for less advanced
students.
Part E: is for the students to construct their own dialogues so that, finally, you can have the
students choose numbers and call each other. This is often very amusing (as well as highly
educational), so please make sure you allow enough time (15 mins) for this segment.
Tell Me A Story
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
third year
grammar
review
Relative
pronoun 'that'
40 to 50
mins
Sentence strips (x2), copies
of the worksheet
Discuss this activity here.
This is one of three activities in this guide that follow the format of Discovery. Begin the lesson,
during the warm-up period if possible, with the ALT walking around the room sticking strips of
the story below to the walls and window frames of the corridor and balcony; if the JTE is
adventurous. At this point say nothing concerning your actions. When you are ready to start,
divide the class into teams of four and tell them they have 1 minute to choose a 'Scribe', who
must remain seated AT ALL TIMES.
The other students are 'Reporters'. They must find the pieces of the story, memorise them, then
teach them to their 'Scribe' who writes them down. It's a good idea to tell the students just how
many strips make up the story. When all the sentences have been reported, the students must
work together to figure out their order. The worksheet has pictures next to four of the writing
spaces, and the students' task is to decide which sentence corresponds to which picture. They
then must draw a picture that corresponds to the remaining sentence, before one of the
'Reporters' comes to you and reads the finished story. If they make a mistake stop them and send
them back to the group to correct it. Spelling counts too, so look over the reading student's
shoulder to check this as well as punctuation.
82
Story :
Once upon a time an old woman told her husband to go to the mountains and catch a rabbit for dinner.
#............................................................................................................................ .......
It was hot, and the old man became very thirsty. He found a beautiful river and drank from it.
#............................................................................................................................ .......
The old man became very tired, so he lay down next to the river and went to sleep.
#............................................................................................................................ .......
When he returned home, his wife was shocked. "You are young again!", she said, "Tell me everything you did
today".
#............................................................................................................................ .......
The old woman ran into the mountains looking for the beautiful river. When she found it she drank and drank and
drank the water.
#..................................................................................................................................
The old man went to look for her. He looked and Looked until finally he found her. "Oba-chan you drank too much.
You are not a young woman, you are a baby!!!"
Naturally, you can adapt any story to this format to target any grammar point, and don't forget
that this game works well with second year too.
Test Your Knowledge
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
third year to senior
high school first year
To have students ask
and answer clues
using 'which'.
relative
clause
40
mins
Pictures (calendar size
are great) and sets of
clues for each.
Divide the class into groups (lunch groups are fine for this), and hand each group a list of clues.
Each clue describes one aspect of the creature or thing in one of your pictures. Do not show the
pictures to the class, or the activity will dissolve into a simple guessing game rather than the
effective listening/thinking exercise which it can be. Assign each group a name, and write these
on the board. Have the first member of group one stand and read the first clue to the rest of the
class. Group one members are not permitted to participate at this time, as they will have seen all
the clues on their sheet, which would give them an unfair advantage. The other groups have to
identify what animal/thing group one is describing. Limit the number of attempts at
identification to two per team per clue. If no-one can identify the picture, the next team player
stands and reads out clue #2. This continues until the picture is identified, at which time you can
reveal it and fix it to the board, or until all the points have been read. If a picture is identified
before all its clues have been read out, have the team read out the remaining clues anyway.
83
Scoring is done by awarding 5 points to any team that identifies the object from the first clue, 4
points for the second clue, 3 points for the third clue, 2 points for the fourth clue, and 1 point for
the fifth clue. If no group can identify the object when all of the clues have been read out, the
team reading the clues receives 5 points. As the activity progresses, start awarding double bonus
points to help lagging teams to catch up. This helps keep everybody interested and participating.
The opposite page contains lists of clues used with pictures of Australian animals. Top to
bottom, left to right they are: Koala, Wombat, Tasmanian Devil, Seal, Fruit Bat, Kangaroo, Frog,
and Whale. DON'T feel obliged to use them, nor to limit the use of this activity to the designated
junior high school third year & senior high school first year target group. The basic concept
works equally well with, "This animal/thing can _____." for junior high school first year, or
other grammar points with other ability levels. One variation is to provide the groups with a
picture and have them construct the clues themselves. Then get the students to interact as
described above.
The Hunt
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school
To have students use English as a
communicative activity.
any
10
mins
Work
sheets.
Discuss this activity here.
Copy enough work sheets for the class (if the class is odd numbered the ALT or JTE may have to
join in). Remember that a class of 34 students requires 17 sheets. Before cutting the sheets in
half, put a circle in one of the five squares along each row, making sure that the patterns for the
top and bottom sheets match. 'A' and 'B' were left off each sheet to make it more of a challenge
for the students; no simply saying, "I'm 'B'"! Tell the class that the sheets are a secret, and must
not be shown to other students
Pass out the sheets to the class, and then practice the activity names and question patterns in
chorus before playing the game. Not only does this help reinforce the target questions, but it also
gives the less able (not only the slower) students a chance to prepare for, and participate fully in,
the activity. Writing the sentences on the board (only ever in English) will help too.
Students should ask each other questions about the contents of each other's sheet (insist on no
Japanese). The only answers they can give are, "Yes, I can/did/have" or "No, I...". They can use
'Jan-ken' to find who asks the questions first. Once the pairs find each other, they write their
names on the sheets (in English), and hand them to the ALT or JTE then sit at their desks. Award
small prizes to the first three pairs if you like, but be aware that this encourages the use of
Japanese.
Teaching Tip
Reading is just as important a part of learning English (or any language), as speaking, listening,
and writing, and there is no reason why reading drills should be boring. Use your voice.
84
Exaggerate inflection, rrrrrrroll your R's, break long sentences into manageable phrases
(especially common ones like, "Are you going to go...", or What do you do...") and have the
students repeat them 2 or 3 times. Change endings to demonstrate the commonality of a phrase
("Are you going to go to Tokyo?" ( "Are you going to go to the toilet?") Having the entire class
act out what is being read is fun as well as being reinforcing. Try having them slowly raise from
a squat to their toes with questions, or vice-versa. Give them reasons to understand and
remember what they read!
There's a Zoo in The Loo
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school junior high school
first year
to provide number listening practice,
and help understand and practice
"What is it", and answer, "It's a ___".
"What is
it?"
20
mins
Pairs of
work sheets
Have the students form pairs, and distribute the work sheets. If there is an odd number of
students in the class, the ALT can make up the shortfall. Before giving out the sheets, explain
that they are a secret, and not to be shown to the student's partners or friends.
Students take turns asking questions like, "Is there a penguin/monkey on the bed?", and replying,
"No, there isn't. There isn't a penguin on the bed, there is a snake/monkey", or simply, "Yes,
there is. There's a monkey on the bed". This questioning continues until the students have located
all ten animals. At that time they can come to you, verbally present their findings, and receive an
appropriate reward.
Teaching Tip
When you ask questions, address them to the class as a whole before homing in on particular S/s
for an answer. If a question is directed towards an individual initially, the others have no reason
to listen or form their own responses. It usually takes a while for S/s to answer a question, so be
patient and give them time, If they appear to be in difficulty, repeat the question and give them a
hint. E.g., "How old are you?" ..... "How old are you? I'm 518 years old. How old are YOU?" If
all else fails, turn to their nearest neighbour and ask them to teach the answer to the S/s having
difficulty by saying, "Please teach them." Try to avoid using the Japanese equivalent of "Oshiete
kudasai".
Thief
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school first
To consolidate the grammar 'Whose'
and 'It's', and to reinforce the
whose, his,
hers, mine...
15
mins
a big, opaque
bag or box
85
year
distinction between her/his.
Discuss this activity here.
Instruct the students, or have the JTE instruct them, to close their eyes and put their heads onto
their desks; most of them will be so happy to oblige that you may have trouble getting them erect
again later. While your class is 'sleeping', walk around the room appropriating various objects
from random sleepers. Snatch things like pens, pen cases, shoes, hair clips (good for a few
muffled squeals from the girls which adds interest) erasers, bags, etc., but try to limit yourself to
articles which the students know by name, and aren't too personal. After 'liberating' about 10
objects, wake your students and briefly practice the question and answer forms before selecting
one of the objects and asking, "Whose is this?" Add some extra interest and humour to the
activity at this point by climbing partway into the bag/box in search of an item. Such occasional
deviations from the norm help to focus the students' attention.
The first student to raise their hand/stand up can answer, "That's my " or "It's her/his " while
pointing at the owner. A correct answer ought to receive a reward of some kind; I use lottery
tickets, others have a point tally system with a reward for reaching a nominated goal, others use
candy, which is very popular with the students, but which raises some interesting psychological
problems. After returning 2 or 3 items, have the identifier come to the front to select the next
item, and to ask the question "Whose ..?". At this point the JTE and ALT can take a well earned
break and stand back and let the students perform the activity by themselves.
Teaching Tip
Make masks for any dialogue you might be asked to read. Photocopy (using enlarge) the
picture(s) you want onto thin, sturdy cardboard (ask your JTE) using the 'thick sheet' function on
the school's photocopier. Add some colour to the face, and also to your lessons. Use a band of
rubber-bands and folded paper to affix the mask to your, or a student's head. Cut eye holes, or
simply wear the mask on your forehead. Make sure your JTE has one too. After reading the
dialogue (e.g., 'Alice meets Humpty', New Crown) have the S/s take over the roles. Have S/s
interview you as if you were the person/thing on your mask, e.g., 'Interview with a Dodo'.
Thumper
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school and above
English with rhythm
none
10 - 30 mins.
none
Discuss this activity here.
Make groups. (6 to a team is fun.) Everyone picks an animal name. The group gets a basic
rhythm, everyone tapping the desk twice, then clapping twice, then tapping and clapping. Slowly
at first. The leader starts by calling out, while tapping, first their own name, then another player's
name, selected randomly. (This can be used to practice any vocabulary - colors, numbers,
anything. )
86
Example: The leader is a pig...
Pig:
tap
Pig,
tap
pig
clap
cow,
clap
cow
(then Cow becomes speaker...)
Cow:
tap
Cow,
tap
cow
clap
dog,
clap
dog
(then Dog becomes speaker...)
Dog:
tap
Dog,
tap
dog
clap
cat,
clap
cat
(then Cat becomes speaker...)
Play until someone messes up, then they have to drink a beer. Oops! I mean, they have to sing
the alphabet or tap their head while rubbing their tummy or whatever. Start playing again until it
gets boring...
Time & Place
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
third year to Adult
Consolidation or warmup activity.
"Have you ever
been...?"
20
mins
"Time and
place" cards
Make map cards of Japan ( or your own country). write a city and time period on each card.
Every card should have one matching card. Mix up the cards and pass them out, one to each
student (and teachers). Students must use the following dialogue to find their partner:
A: "Have you ever been to .....................?"
B: "Yes, I have." / "No, I haven't. I have never been there."
(If the answer is "Yes")
A: "How long were you there?"
B: "For.........weeks/months/years."
When they find their partner they either report to the ALT or sit down, depending on your
feelings and requirements . NO LOOKING at other people's cards, and NO JAPANESE !!!
Hints and cautions:
* Make some cards with the same city, but different time periods. This makes the activity more challenging.
* In a class with an odd number of students, include the JTE to even the numbers. The winners are the first three
pairs of students to find each other. Avoid having losers.
* Change the dialogue as required.
87
Twister
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary
school
To teach/review colours, shapes, and
body parts.
none
20
mins
Ground
sheet.
Find an old sheet (a plastic one is ideal; any light colour will do) and clean it, or spend a few
hundred yen at your local 'Home-centre' and buy a new one. Draw outlines of 15cm circles
and/or squares in equidistant columns, 10 cms. apart, across the sheet. Paint these the colours
you wish to teach/review. You will also need a large spinner, divided into quadrants denoting
right and left legs, and right and left hands. Within these quadrants, paint circles/squares in the
colours you have on the sheet. Draw the limbs under their written names; this is a learning
activity, not a test.
Split your class into four groups (more than four players at a time is a little unmanageable), and
have one player from each group step to the edge of the sheet. The JTE spins first (you next, and
then onto the groups), and the first players have to place their corresponding body parts on the
indicated part, colour, and shape. Repeat through the order, until one player falls over, makes an
error, or cannot comply. That player is then replaced with a new member from his/her team. If
many players fall, they are all replaced. Keep the teams' interest high by rotating the spinner
around the groups, and having one member from each spin up the next direction. The entire
group must then call out the shape, colour, and body part in unison. E.g., "Green, Left Hand
Square". When all the players from one team have taken part, that team is 'out'. Play continues
until only one group remains. They are declared the 'Champions', and rewarded as befitting.
Only one limb may occupy a square or circle at one time, and once placed there, must stay there
until directed by the spinning team to be moved. Lifting a limb constitutes an error, and the
player is 'out' and must be replaced. If any part of a player's body other than their hands and feet
touch the sheet, that player is 'out'. Players must move their hands or feet to a new shape even
though they are currently occupying one of the designated colour. If all six shapes of one colour
are occupied, the spinning group must spin again until a new shape/colour is indicated.
Hints and cautions:
* If you tell your elementary school English teachers (if you have them) about this game, they will probably buy the
sheet and have the children draw and colour the shapes as part of the learning exercise. This will also give them time
to teach the students what the game is about (by playing it). Don't worry it loses none of its appeal, even after
they've played it 100 times.
+ As this becomes a full contact game, it is probably best (and safest) if the ALT doesn't join the students on the
mat. Save self participation for groups of trusted, intimate friends.
Ultimate Communication Game
88
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior
high
school to
Adult
Students will learn; that English is a means
of communication just like Japanese, that a
language can be understood by native
speakers despite minor mistakes, how to
manipulate some of the words and patterns
they have studied.
None (or
all)
entire
period
Situation
sheets in
JAPANESE
(!!!).
Divide the class into groups of four and give each group a situation sheet. The students are given
10 -15 minutes to study their situation and prepare a skit. Of course, during this time they are
allowed to use dictionaries, textbooks, and the JTE or ALT. After this period each group has to
act out their situation. Depending on the group, sometimes they will all come up, sometimes just
one or two. The students act as 'customers' (this is not always a literal title), and the ALT is
always the 'employee' or native speaker. The students are told to use what English they know,
not to worry about mistakes, and if there is something they can't say, to use gestures or draw
pictures. Japanese is FORBIDDEN, both by the students and the teachers. Therefore, English
mistakes are not corrected, as communication is the goal.
The ALT, acting as an employee, can make the situation more difficult depending on the level of
the students. For example, in a 'buying-a-train-ticket' situation ask if they prefer an express or a
local train. Remember, in a deadlock pictures are fine. While most won't understand 'airmail' or
'sea mail', they will understand a quick, crude sketch of a ship or plane.
Hints and cautions:
+ This game will only work with JTEs who are enthusiastic and have some confidence in their students' abilities.
Ones that start to translate before the ALT has finished a sentence weren't meant for this.
+ Make sure the students come to the front empty handed for their acting roles. If they bring materials, it becomes a
recitation exercise and loses all its effectiveness.
* Be creative in thinking up situations. Use countries the students have expressed interest in. Be humorous; make
the baseball team members ask the beautiful blonde they meet for a date., etc..
* Compliment all students no matter how little they are able to accomplish. Then they'll know its meant to be fun
and not a punishment. Leave correcting their English for another lesson.
* FINALLY, point out to the JTEs and students that ALTs live this kind of life everyday - using what Japanese we
know and gesturing etc. - for real and not a game.
Valentine's Day Cards
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high
school and
above
cultural exchange, an excuse for
you to write raunchy things to your
JTE
various
entire
period
lots of A4 paper,
color markers
89
If you've been reading through my activities, you may have come to the conclusion that many of
them involved the kids running around, while the ALT and JTE do nothing. You might come
upon the further conclusion that Rob is just a lazy mofo. Lies, I tell you. All lies!
This is just another activity in the Lazy Gaijin series. The kids write VD (Valentine's Day, not
Veneral Disease) cards to each other, all the while believing that you're actually teaching them
something! Pretty cool, ne?
Here's what you do. You get a copy of that class roll sheet (in Japanese: shusseki meibo ЏoђИ–
ј•л) before class and cut the names into strips, keeping a separate girls pile and boys pile. Once
you get into class, you ramble on about how you used to do this as a kid every year and how
much fun it was. Then, you grap the boys pile while the JTE grabs the other, and you guys let
each student draw a name. The ALT lets girls grab from the boys pile, while the JTE lets boys
pick from the girls pile. (I do it this way 'cause I like my girls better than my boys). This is their
"secret boy/girlfriend" that they must write a hot and steamy (this is up to you) VD card to.
Next, you get them to work on their cards. Let them work in whatever groups they want to. Each
student gets an A4 paper, but bring extras in case some kids mess up. They take their A4 paper
and fold in in half (top to bottom), and then fold it again (left to right). This makes a little twoply card that is the size of one-fourth an A4 sheet. This paper-folding step is extremely difficult
for kids to do (despite Japan having invented origami) as some students will, without fail, botch
it up. It doesn't matter if you demonstrate it or not.
Write some messages on the board that they might want to include in their cards (Happy
Valentine's Day, Be Mine, I dream about you every night, Meet me in the bike lot today at 4PM,
etc.). I generally let them make it how they want to, but I tell them that they should have at least
two messages and two pictures they draw on the card. Finally, a few minutes before the chime,
they hand it to their secret person and say, "Please be my Valentine" (or something equally
hokey).
Wakaranai (Sentence Writing)
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school first year
grammar review
any
10 mins.
question list(s)
Discuss this activity here.
Make each row a team. The first person from the first team comes to the board and writes a
sentence that the ALT/JTE says. The student has thirty seconds to write the sentence correctly. If
there are mistakes, the first person from the next team has thirty seconds to correct or finish the
sentence. Continue until the sentence is correct. Then give another sentence to the next team and
continue with the second, third, fourth... students.
Wear My Clothes
90
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
extra fun
any
15 mins
dress shirts
Discuss this activity here.
I'm not saying this to brag, but I wear jeans and t-shirts to school. Hence, I have a gaggle of dress
shirts lying around.
The kids make groups and each group gets one of my shirts. I ask a question, and if any of the
students know the answer, they must put on my shirt and button it to the top. The first person to
do so has the right to answer.
This can be used in conjunction with other games where you have to call on students
Weather Interview Task
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior
high
school
To have S/s ask and answer questions concerning
the weather. To practice more than one reply to
the question. To have S/s begin using English as
more than just a rote-learned sound.
weather,
days of the
week
20
mins
Work
sheets
Two dilemmas are met when teaching the weather in Japan; i) it isn't introduced by the text book
until 2nd year junior high school, and ii) once taught it is only referred to for 20 seconds in each
following lesson (at best). So, instead of beginning the morning warm-up with only one asking
of "How's the weather?" and only one possible reply (even in Japan's climate extremes it's
unlikely to be stormy, windy, rainy, cloudy, sunny, and snowy during the course of one lesson),
introduce this interview activity as a warm-up or consolidation activity! Add a bit of spice to the
activity by teaching, "It's raining cats and dogs!". Draw in a few felines and inu, or add your own
weather art; your students' reactions will reward you.
Why not be really adventurous and try this with elementary school students. Have the class
practice the question and answers in chorus, then divide the class in half and get 2 or 3 students
from group A to ask the B group students the question. They then have much fun drawing the
answer into the corresponding blank. This activity assumes a passing familiarity with the days of
the week, so a lesson spent learning these might be helpful, but never underestimate elementary
school students. Some of mine told me that it was windy and rainy, because the girl on sheet -Ais carrying an umbrella! junior high school students should interview each other on a one to one
level, and write the adjective on their worksheet.
Teaching Tip
When speaking to the class always use a loud, clear voice; don't mumble. Look up so that
91
students can also watch your mouth to see how the words are formed. When using the
blackboard remember to turn around before you speak, don't talk into the board. It will never
understand you, but there's an outside chance your students might!
What are you?
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
senior high school
time-filler
none
10-15 mins.
none
Discuss this activity here.
This is an "up the sleeves" game for when you have too much time left after a lesson or you are
asked to produce a game on the spur of the moment.
Tell the students to write down the name of an animal they would like for a pet.
Write down 3 adjectives to describe this pet.
Eg. Cute, beautiful, smart, etc.
Then get them to write down the name of an animal in the zoo.
Write down 3 adjectives to describe this animal.
Try to encourage the students to use creative adjectives by using the dictionary instead of
sticking with the commonly-used adjectives like cute or small since it gets boring after you hear
the answers from 3 students.
After all the students are done, you tell them that it is a psychology game. It is better to tell this
to students after they wrote down everything. If you tell them ahead of time, they might try too
hard and the answers might not be what they really think.
Meaning:
The pet that they have chosen along with the adjectives describing this pet is what they really
think of themselves.
The animal in the zoo and its description is what they think other people think of them.
Get the students to read out the two animals and adjectives. Some answers can be quite funny or
strange depending on your taste.
What's The Time ?
92
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
to Adult
Asking and answering the time; time
zone awareness.
time
15
mins
40 Work
sheets
Discuss this activity here.
Many texts teach, "What time is it?", so students don't recognise the more often used question,
"What's the time?" This exercise exposes them to the concept that there are different time zones
around the world, as well as getting them speaking a more common form of English.
Distribute one sheet to each student. If using sheet i), make six copies and mark one different
time on each. I.e., sheet 1 has London time, sheet 2 has a different London time, sheet 3 has
Tokyo time, sheet 4 has Paris time etc.. With this worksheet, it isn't necessary to give exact time
differences; any time you wish to practice is fine. This is useful as a warm-up activity, or for use
with a lower ability class. Sheet i) is also readily adapted to a 'Hunt for your partner' game (see p.
51). Fill in the times on all the watches, but have 2, 3, or 4 sheets with corresponding times for
each city. Students must ask each person they meet up to 5 questions to find their partners.
Sheet ii) is more involved, and requires slightly more preparation and playing time. At the top
left of this worksheet, fill in the name of a city and its corresponding time. Depending on class
size, you will probably need 3-4 worksheets per city. Shuffle the worksheets. Hand out the sheets
and tell the students to take note of where they are. Tell them NOT to compare worksheets (a
common and necessary instruction)! Perform the model dialogue in the lower left hand corner
with the JTE, using London as your example, as all the students have this time on their sheets.
For the first example answer, "Yes, ...". Then do a second using "No,..." and another city. The
students should now have the time in three different cities. Before playing the game, ensure you
explain that the students may only give the time for their assigned city!
Have the students walk around the classroom using the dialogue and finding the time for the
different cities. As you have a master map, encourage students to ask you the time as well. Have
the students sit down as they finish. When all are done, or your time frame has lapsed, check the
answers by choosing a city and asking the students who were in that city to stand. Ask if any
students need the time for that city. If so, have him/her ask one of the standing students. If not,
ask one yourself. Continue this through all the cities
What Number is That?
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
elementary school
junior high school
first year
To provide number listening
practice, and to help understand
and practice the question, "What is
it?", and answer, "It's a ______!"
numbers, 'What'
+ interrogative
20
mins
Worksheets
Discuss this activity here.
93
The Japanese Education Board is becoming more serious about teaching English in elementary
schools, so this activity might be less ambitious than you think. However, currently (circa 1998)
there is a disturbing number of first year students who are lost when it comes to English numbers
greater than 10. Thus this activity will be a useful review and reinforcement for one of the most
basic building blocks of any language. Using the provided number grid (or make some of your
own) decide what type of picture you wish the students to identify and map it out; this will be
your Master sheet. E.g., you can use a tulip, tree, fish, house, car, bowl, baseball bat, etc., etc.. It
doesn't matter if the finished article looks pretty primitive, just so long as it's recognisable.
Your job is to call out the numbers which the students then join together with a continuous line.
This is where your preparation will pay off, as you will need to have the number order right and
the picture ought to be able to be drawn without lifting the pencil from the page; unless you feel
like explaining to your students where to lift off their pencils and put them down again. When
the picture is finished, the students must identify it in English. After you have asked the question
("What is this?") a few times, try getting the students to ask as well as answer it.
Teaching Tip
Introduce the S/s to "How many ____?" from the beginning of 1st year by, whenever handing
out work sheets etc., asking the student at the front of each row, "How many S/s are there?" . If
there is incomprehension, as there often will be at first, ask in Japanese, "Nan nin desu ka". Insist
they answer in English: simply the number is sufficient for first year; number and noun for
second year; a complete "There are ___ S/s." from third year. Supplement this activity by giving
less than the required number of sheets, and having S/s (any) ask for more with the sentence,
"Excuse me, ___ more please". Make sure to reward those S/s who comply. When the S/s get the
hang of this activity, vary it by asking, "How many monkeys/ boys and girls/ Chinese/ Japanese
(etc.) are there? Encourage the rely, "There are no monkeys, there are __ students." Of course the
answer, "There are 5 Japanese" is perfectly permissible.
Where are my Glasses?
Level
Aims
Grammar
Time
Materials
junior high school
second year to Adult
To practice prepositions of place:
under/on/next to/opposite etc.
place
prepositions
30
mins
Work
sheets
Divide the class into groups of four (or three, but not five or six). For a group of three leave out
Jenny's sheet. Give each group one set of sheets. Tell the students, or have the JTE tell them, that
they belong to a very untidy family, and are always losing things. The large picture on their card
shows their family living room. The small pictures underneath show the things they have lost.
The object of this activity is for each player to find out from the others where their missing items
are, and to draw them in that place on their main picture.
After deciding who starts (Jan-ken), the first player asks "Where is/are my _____?". The
response, "Your _____ is/are next to/on/in/behind/in front of (etc.) the _____" is given. At the
end of the game everyone can compare their artwork.
94
Students will need to know the following words: radio, pipe, glasses, cushion, newspaper,
umbrella, record, book, glass, socks, football, comb, handbag, bag, pen, cigarettes, gloves,
brush, hat, teapot, knitting, cup, basket, slippers, purse; TV, carpet, fireplace, mantelpiece, sofa,
armchair, table, chair, rubbish bin, wall, bookcase, lamp; in, on, under, on top of, near, next to,
in front of, behind, to the right/left of.
The activity and worksheets come from Jill Hadfield's excellent book, Elementary Communication Games by
Nelson Press.
Hints and cautions:
+ Make sure everyone knows the names of the items in the picture. It might be a good idea to make flash cards with
pictures of the various items and their places (i.e., the nouns) which the students will have to know, and spend 5
minutes running through these before beginning.
* Players can take turns to answer the questioner (after 3 questions the turn rotates to the next player to the left etc.),
or it can be made more competitive by giving the right to ask the question to the player who is first to successfully
answer. Thus, the player who answers the most questions gets to ask the most questions, and finishes their sheet
first.
+ Tell the students they are not to look at each other's sheets, they are secret. This activity must be conducted
vocally to be effective
Whisper Down The Alley
Level
Aims
junior high
school to
senior high
school
To promote memory acquisition of
target phrases and sentences, and to
encourage information exchange in
English.
Grammar
Time
Materials
any
20-25
mins
Students, a text
book, and a
timer.
Discuss this activity here.
This game is also known as 'Chinese Whispers'. Divide the blackboard into 5 - 7 sections
(depending on class size), and tell each row they are a team. Give names to the teams, but write
these on the board before speaking them. This encourages reading practice, and is also a useful
experiment to see whether or not your students actually read anything you write. Have the JTE
explain that they are going to pass a sentence in English down each row from student to student
until the last student receives it and runs to the front and writes it on the board. Tell the students
that they have a 2 minute time limit in which to either teach or learn the phrase/sentence.
Have the first student from each team come into the corridor with you while the JTE remains in
the room with the class and ensures that they understand the procedure. Have the students repeat
the target after you, assisting acquisition by splitting sentences into phrases, and by accentuating
the natural rhythm. E.g.:
"When I say good vegetables, I mean fresh vegetables" or,
95
"I came to school by bike." "I always walk to school".
When two minutes is up, stop teaching, hurry the students back into the classroom (It is
generally a good idea to stand a little way away from the classroom so that students near the door
can't eavesdrop and get an advantage), and when they have all regained their positions call out
"Start!". At the end of two minutes, call out "Change!", and repeat this process until the message
(or part thereof) has been passed through all the students.
The winning team is the first to write the target on the board correctly and in full. Reward this
team in the fashion of your choice (lottery tickets, stamps, stickers...), then begin the procedure
again, only have the students all move back one seat, with the rear most student coming to the
front (actually out into the corridor with you). JTEs like this game because they can hear the
students speaking phrases from the 'TEXT BOOK' (let us pray), while students enjoy it because
it's competitive, and it gets them out of their seats, even out of the classroom.
96
Foydalanilgan adabiyotlar:
1. Marlene Caroselli, 2006. “Creative Classroom Techniques for
Teachers and Trainers”.
2. David Seymour & Maria Popova, 2003. “Classroom Activities”.
3. Matt Purland, 2005. “Big Activity Book”.
4. www.edochan.com/teaching
97