November 2016 – International House Porto

Talking about Games by Sandra Simões

We all know that games are very useful to teach a foreign language. As teachers we have already experienced that using games in the classroom makes students feel more motivated to learn as well as providing a non-threatening environment. Moreover, games are a tool to promote cooperation amongst learners allowing them to reinforce their knowledge and articulate their skills. That is to say that, playing a game makes students speak, listen, read and often write in English in a way that they do not associate to “learning in the classroom” so this will also allow the teacher to assess their strengths and weaknesses more effectively.

Therefore, if we are used to using games like Scrabble, Tic, Tac,Toe, crosswords, Hangman, and so on, why not use computer games? According to Dr. Patrick Felicia, lecturer and researcher from the Department of Computer Science, Waterford Institute of Technology, in Ireland, “digital games were associated with many stereotypes and alleged to have negative effects on gamers’ physical and mental health. However, later studies have shown (…), if good gaming habits are followed (eg. appropriate time, environment, moderation of online games, etc.) they can be considered a safe and fulfilling activity.” Computer games, can be therefore a very useful and powerful learning tool.

There are a lot of games that can be used in class and to start I usually use the ones that everybody knows in order to make it easy. In fact, to prepare a lesson based on a gaming activity may not be very simple at first because there is a lot to bear in mind and to research when you are not a gamer (which is my case!).

Here are some suggestions that I found very useful:

Start with something that you know or that you find easy to use for example “Snakes and Ladders which is a traditional and widely known game that you can adapt to almost every topic that you teach. If you don’t find a suitable version you can always make your own game or even better, you can plan a lesson for your students to make it. Go to La Vouivre and download the free software. After that you just have to fill it in with the questions you want and the possible answers for each question. If you decide to make your students participate in making the game, you can divide the class into groups and each group is responsible for a different topic. While they are asking and answering the questions, they are consolidating what they have learnt.

If you have the chance to use consoles, you can use some movement games like “Just dance” or “Wii sports resort” and once again you use groups to play in turns and the other groups have to watch and take notes of what is done during the game playing. After that you can deepen the topics of sports, music, healthy habits, food and drink, daily routines, etc.

If you don´t have consoles or computers available you can use the student’s smartphones and make them download applications like Duolingo, Fluent U, Bravolol or Mindsnacks.

If you can use a classroom computer, try to plan a lesson using Minecraft. Go to Minecraft Education (it is free now) and plan a lesson according to your students’ needs and level. You can always make a plan that makes your students follow your directions in order to build a village in the game.

If you are a fan of simulations you can use Slim city and make your students describe their world or use the game as motivation for a creative writing activity.

With young learners, Class dojo works very well and although it is not only a game, kids usually see it like that and like to use it. Class dojo also allows you to work with parents and share with them what is done in class.

Hope these suggestions make your teaching much more interesting not only for your students but for you, also! Don´t forget you must know the game before you use it so if you want to try it but you have never played it before, you must do so first.

To sum up, games are in fact very useful but you also have to be aware of their age and language suitability. Some might be appropriate for all ages but others might not, so if you are not sure about it go to pegi.info/en/ and search the game you want to use to check if it is the right one to use in your classroom.

Here are some links, in case you want to learn more:

http://www.europeanschoolnetacademy.eu/web/games-in-schools-3rd-round/reto

http://games.eun.org/2009/09/teachers_handbook_on_how_to_us_1.html#more

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/FUTL25/FUTL25_home.cfm

https://www.classdojo.com/pt-pt/?redirect=true

https://education.minecraft.net/

Happy playing, I mean, teaching!

Postcards from Students (even if they’re just here!) by Shawn Severson

Is the art of writing postcards dead? Not exactly.

However, when we want to consider motivating our students to write them and to motivate them in practising language that is typical of postcards, there are a few things to take into account.

appeal & reality of the postcard
the language needed (present continuous, simple past; friendly expressions like “hi, see you soon”; prepositions of place) –these should have been reviewed before considering the project, either in practising emails, notes, etc.
the content – will they have background knowledge of a city or will they be sufficiently motivated to find out more to say “what they have done” in the city you assign them.
will it have some meaning in the end?

With this in mind, it becomes clear that it’s impossible to just say “write a postcard to an imaginary friend about a trip”. Also, a postcard is a very short writing task, so writing one in various stages is not a bad idea.

Thus, in the project I am describing there are four stages:

Warmer stage. Show pictures of the 12 cities included in the Postcard sheets included in this blog entry. A simple Google search can bring up some great images. The images in the Postcard sheets are all copyright free and open for printing and sharing. Students guess what cities and try to share what there is in each of the cities. Some are more difficult than others so it’s also important to share an idea for each one.
Rough draft stage. Students draw the city names (1 city per student, although you may have to repeat cities depending on your class size). Have all students’ names written on slips of paper for a drawing. Don’t let them pick their own name or their neighbor’s name! Distribute just the back side of the Postcards (1 per student). Explain that when they finish the project they will get the other side, before giving to their classmate. Students then write a postcard to the classmate they have chosen from the city they have chosen. Teacher should circulate to help with ideas and also note the names of the students and cities.
Exchange stage. Once students have written their postcards, then they should exchange with their neighbor. Then, as a class, discuss the type of language used. Did they start off saying Hi _______? I am in _______ and am doing X. Also find out if each student has done at least one activity since arriving. As homework, the neighbor should add one new task and make suggestions for changes on a Post-It and attach to their colleague’s postcard.
Final postcard stage. Next class, students return the postcards to the original owner. Distribute the final postcard printed in color, front and back and on thick paper (papel cavalinho). At the completion teacher collects the postcards, which will then be handed out in the next class.

I have tried this project several times now and students find it interesting to write a postcard, provided they know the smallest thing about the place and the picture is sufficiently catchy to inspire curiosity. Perhaps this won’t be a task they will do in their lives, but the language ties in with their social media interests, while at the same time is a project they will value, as it creates a good final product and also is something where one student shares with another. The collaboration process, while not intensive, is also useful to promote interaction and also raise students’ awareness about these world cities. So even if they’re just here, they’ll have a bit of a trip and will learn something “old school” and have a bit of fun at the same time.

Because we don’t just teach English….

Here’s the IH Modern Languages Newsletter.

http://createsend.com/t/i-E859D9D402C22EF4

Games in the Classroom – the “oldies” by sandra luna

‘Language learning is hard work… Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period of time. Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work.’

in A Faraway Land, Michael Berman, UK

Children learn about the world through play. They learn while having fun and this should be taken into the classroom. Games offer an escape from the routine, the illusion of a break from the learning process, they motivate and boost learners’ confidence. Games allow students to interact, to give meaning and purpose to the language. If a game doesn’t rely solely on knowledge, if luck can play a role, then even those students who shy away from such activities might feel tempted to participate. Now, if you’re ready, let’s play.

There are a number of traditional games that can be used for ESL. I’ve mentioned Checkers before http://blog.ihporto.org/lets-play-checkers-by-sandra-luna/ but here are a few other you can use.

Noughts and Crosses

This game does not require anything apart from paper and pens or pencils. However, if you want to make it a bit different you could create the cards, the noughts and crosses and laminate them. This way you can personalise it bit, as well as making it last for a long time.

In the picture you could see the set of cards the students were using to play the game. In this case I meant to revise the difference between simple past and present perfect, so I had different cards related to the language. In some the students would have to fill in the gaps, in other conjugate the verb, another possibility would be to choose between two given options. Student A would read the card to Student B. Student B then gave their answer within a certain time limit (usually 30 seconds). If student B got the right answer, they would be allowed to play, otherwise they would lose their turn. Student B now reads another card to student A and so on. If you have trios, you can have Student C acting as a moderator and reading each player their cards. Once one match finishes. One of the players becomes the moderator, so that Student C can then play.

One minute talk

Quite good to use as a warmer with adults and with exam classes. Write topics on small pieces of paper and roll them. Students take turns to take the papers. They need to speak about the topic for one minute. Alternatively you can get them to write instead of speaking.

4 corners

This is a very easy game to plan and students (both teenagers and adults) enjoy it. On 4 different cards write the following: agree, strongly agree, disagree, strongly disagree. I usually use cards of different colours to make the different opinions more visible. Place each card in a different corner in your room. Get students in the middle of the class and read out a statement. (Here are a few I’ve used before: Celebrities earn too much money, The death penalty is acceptable in some cases, War is not an option for solving international disputes, etc.) Students then need to move to the corner which best shows their opinion. After that encourage debate, allowing students to share their opinions and their reasons. I also allow them to move to a different corner if they change their mind somewhere along the line. It means someone else had strong arguments.

Board Games

The internet is full of free resources where you can find board games for most topics, age range and levels. A favourite of mine is http://busyteacher.org/. Leave a comment and tell us about yours.