Activity Book

Preface
1. Why the book?

2. Who is this book for?
3. About the author
1. Why the book?
This book covers various activities within an ELT context, focusing on those which
are effective, tried and successful within the classroom context. Attention is given to
activities which are, in most cases, adaptable by the teacher to be used according to the
learner’s age, level and cultural background. It is thus up to you, the teacher to decide
whether an activity is suitable and appropriate for your students.
100 + Activities Made Easy is handy reading for pre-service teachers enrolled for
courses at University, Teachers’ Training Colleges and ELT Institutions. It is also great
as a point of reference throughout your teaching career offering a simple yet easy to
follow overview of practical, usable activities which have been carefully chosen and
aimed at universal application.
Although many books have been written on classroom activities, these books are often
aimed at specific ages and levels of students. 100 + Activities Made Easy is aimed at
all ages and levels within the classroom context and written in an easy to follow and
simple style.
IV 2. Who is this book for?
This book is designed for:
• Pre-service teachers enrolled at Universities / Teacher Training Colleges

• School Managers and Administrators
• The Director of Studies
• Teacher Trainers
• English language Teachers
• Teachers who have recently commenced working in a School after an initial course
in English Language Teaching.
• In Service Training courses for Primary and Secondary School subject teachers
who want to learn more about teaching ESL students.
• Those who have recently moved into ESL teaching from other professions
• Teachers who have moved into English language teaching from other subjects
• Teachers enrolled in ELT training courses such as the Cambridge CELTA / Trinity
College Certificate / TESOL or TEFL Certificate.
• English Language teachers with no formal training
• Primary and Secondary School English teachers
3. About the author

I have enjoyed many and varied experiences teaching English as a Second Language.
I have taught ESL in Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, England, South Africa and Malaysia,
and conducted various ESL workshops and in-service education training programmes.
I have a Masters degree in Education with a specialisation in TESOL
Preface
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to the many teachers and colleagues whom I have had the pleasure of
working with in various countries around the world. I have learnt and continue to
learn so much from these people in our professional exchange of ideas and personal
friendships.
I have enjoyed an extremely rewarding and wonderful career in English Language

Teaching and hope that the English to the World Series will contribute to others in a
meaningful and helpful way.
Contents
Preface iii
• Why the book?
• Who is the book for?
• About the author
Acknowledgements v
Chapter 1: Teacher’s Survival Kit 1
Chapter 2: Reading Activities 11
Chapter 3: Listening Activities 19
Chapter 4: Writing Activities 25

Chapter 5: Speaking, Drama and Pronunciation 35
Activities

Chapter 6: Vocabulary Activities 51
Chapter 7: Computer Assisted Activities 59

Chapter 8: Grammar Activities 65 VII
Chapter 9: Business English Activities 73
References: 76
Index: 77
Contents
Chapter 1
Teacher’s Survival Kit
First Day
The first day of class can be an extremely daunting experience even for the most
experienced and “seasoned” teachers amongst us. So whether you are taking up a
teaching post for the very first time, taking up a position at a new school or simply
teaching a new group of students for the first time – these suggestions may assist you
in coping with what may seem to be potentially overwhelming day:
Prior to the First Day

• It is a good idea to visit your classroom prior to the first day of school so that you
can familiarise yourself with the layout of the classroom and the equipment at your
disposal.
• Make sure that you have curriculum / syllabus outlines photocopied and ready to
hand out to your students on the first day of class.
The First Day
The time on this day is usually taken up by administrative tasks and a fair deal of
paperwork. More importantly though, this is when the tone for the class is set.
It is therefore imperative to be on time and to be prepared. Here are a few simple
guidelines:
• Introduce yourself and tell your students a little about your professional background
and perhaps some interesting personal details (hobbies / interests).
• Distribute the curriculum / syllabus outlines and any other relevant documentation.
• Discuss the focus and content of the syllabus.
• Discuss your own expectations (grading, assignments, conduct etc.).
• Discuss required text books and if possible bring along a copy to show to your
students.
• Having completed all the administrative tasks, it may be a good idea to attempt to create
a sense of community within the class by: asking students about their expectations,
taking the attendance register, asking students to introduce themselves.
• Prior to dismissing the class discuss what you will be looking at during the next
class and perhaps giving them a short preparatory task to complete.
Icebreakers
• Colour, Car, Character

In this activity you ask each student to write his or her name on the piece of paper.
Under his or her name each student is to write a colour which he or she feels fits his
or her personality. Beneath the colour the student is to write the name of a car that
English to the World • 100 + Activities for ELT
he or she thinks is appropriate to his or her self-image. Finally, under the name of
the car, the student is to write the name of a fictional character with whom he or she
identifies.
Then, one at a time, the group members introduce themselves by stating their names,
colour, cars and fictional characters. In the introduction, each student is to provide a
brief rationale for each of his or her three choices.
The exercise continues until all of the students have introduced themselves by
colour, car and character.
• What’s Different, Partner?

Ask everyone to team up with a partner (someone they haven’t met or who has the
same colour eyes). Ask them to turn back-to-back and change 5 things about their
appearance, one of which is very silly. Partners turn around when ready and try to
guess the 5 things that have been changed.
This ice-breaker gets people to interact with one new person and helps everyone feel
comfortable. It also shows how observant we really are.
• 4 Facts
Each person writes down 4 facts about themselves, one of which is a lie. Each person
takes turns reading their list aloud and the rest of the team writes down the one they
think is a lie. When all are done reading the lists aloud, the first person reads their
list again and identifies the lie. The team sees how well they did.
This ice-breaker gets people to know one another very quickly and find things in
common. Some of the truths and lies are so outrageous! This icebreaker can show
how right or wrong our perceptions can be.
• Chinese Whispers
Divide the class into even rows.
The last member of each row (at the back of the class) is taken out of the classroom.
A “key” letter, word or sentence (depending on level) is given.
The students run back inside, and whisper the “key” to the next student in their row.
It is whispered down through the row until the last member writes it on the board.
The first student to write it on the board correctly wins the point for their team/
row.
• Birth Order
Put one of the following signs in each room corner: Only Child, Oldest Child,
Youngest Child, Middle Child. Have participants go to the appropriate corner of
the room based on their own birth order position.
When everyone is assembled, ask them to discuss what special characteristics their
birth order has and how it has affected their lives or how it is reflected in their Chapter 1: Teacher's Survival Kit
choice of job. Assign a recorder based on some criteria (i.e. person who was born the
farthest from the meeting site, person who has been with their company the longest/
shortest, person who is the tallest, etc.). Have groups report back.
This ice-breaker gets people moving and interacting with a larger group.
• The Mingle Game
Create a worksheet with space for 12-15 blanks. Ask participants to walk around
the room collecting signatures from people who meet the criteria. A person can only
sign the sheet once. If people finish early, have them help others finish their sheets.
Collect completed sheets. Select 3 to win prizes.
The criteria you list can be easily adapted to any group. Here are some ideas. “Find
someone who: is wearing contact lenses, wears brown socks, saw _____ movie, has
gone to Europe, plays a musical instrument, has an unusual hobby, etc.”
This ice-breaker also gets people moving and interacting with a larger group.
• Team Brainstorming
Ask teams to list: things that are round, things associated with a holiday, things that
are red, things you can make out of tires or coat hangers, excuses for speeding, etc.
No discussion, just list items! Assign a recorder. The team with the most wins.
This activity helps everyone feel equal and sets the stage for activities on the course
topics.
• Beach Ball Brainstorming

Announce a topic (things associated with a season, a holiday, the course content, the
company, etc.). Then pass around an inflatable beach ball. Have everyone stand and
pass the ball. When someone catches the ball, they shout out something related to
the topic and then toss the ball to someone else. If the group is small, they can pass
the ball in a circle chain.
This activity gets people up and moving, and is fun to do in the afternoon to break
up a long session. It’s guaranteed to wake everyone up!
Warmers and Fillers
1. Alter the pacing of your class. If you rush through your class at full speed, slow
things down and take time to ask your students personal questions based on the
materials you are using. If you tend to proceed at a snail’s pace, prepare some ad-
ditional activities and push yourself to accomplish more than you usually do.
2. Ask a student to demonstrate a dance, and assist the student in explaining the
movements in English.
3. Ask students to name as many objects in the classroom as they can while you write
them on the board.
4. Ask students to present to the class a gesture that is unique to their own culture.
5. Ask students to write one question they would feel comfortable answering (with-
out writing their names) on an index card. Collect all of the index cards, put them
in a bag, have students draw cards, and then ask another student the question on
that card.
6. Ask your students if there are any songs running through their heads today. If any-
one says yes, encourage the student to sing or hum a little bit, and ask the others if
they can identify it.
7. Assign students to take a conversation from their course book that they are familiar
with and reduce each line to only one word.
8. At the end of class, clean the board and challenge students to recall everything you
wrote on the board during the class period. Write the expressions on the board once
again as your students call them out.
9. Begin by telling your students about an internal struggle between two sides of your
personality (bold side vs. timid side OR hardworking side vs. lazy side), providing
a brief example of what each side says to you. After a few minutes of preparation
in pairs, have students present their struggles to the class.
10. Bring a cellular phone (real or toy) to class, and pretend to receive calls throughout
the class. As the students can only hear one side of the conversation, they must
guess who is calling you and why. Make the initial conversation very brief, and
gradually add clues with each conversation. The student who guesses correctly
wins a prize.
11. Bring a fork, knife, spoon, bowl, plate and chopsticks (if you have them) to class,
and mime eating some different dishes, letting students guess what they are. Then
let your students take a turn.
12. Bring an artifact from the student’s culture to class and ask them questions about
it.
13. Bring in some snacks that you think your students haven’t tried before, and invite
the students to sample them and give their comments.
14. Call on a student to draw his or her country’s flag on the board, then teach him or
her how to describe the flag to the class (It has three stripes...).
15. Choose one topic (food, sports) and elicit a list of examples (food - chicken, pud-
ding, rice). Then have your student come up with the most unusual combinations
of items from that list (chocolate-beef or wrestling-golf). Chapter 1: Teacher's Survival Kit
16. Collaborate with your students on a list of famous people, including movie stars,
politicians, athletes and artists. Have every student choose a famous person, and
put them in pairs to interview each other.
17. Come to class dressed differently than usual and have students comment on what’s
different.
18. Copy a page from a comic book, white out the dialogue, make copies for your
class, and have them supply utterances for the characters.
19. Copy pages from various ESL textbooks (at an appropriate level for your students),
put them on the walls, and have students wander around the classroom and learn a
new phrase. Then have them teach each other what they learned.
20. Copy some interesting pictures of people from magazine ads. Give a picture to
each student, have the student fold up the bottom of the picture about half an inch,
and write something the person might be thinking or saying. Put all the pictures up
on the board, and let everyone come up and take a look.
21. Describe something observable in the classroom (while looking down), and tell
students to look in the direction of what you described.
22. Draw a map of your country or another country that your students know well. By
drawing lines, show students where you went on a trip, and tell them about it. Then
call on several students to do the same. The trips can be truthful or fictional.
23. Draw a pancake-shape on the board, and announce that the school will soon be
moving to a desert island. Invite students one by one to go to the board and draw
one thing they would like to have on the island.
24. Draw a party scene on the board, and invite students to come up and draw someone
they would like to have at the party.
25. Empty a bag of coupons onto a table, and have students find a coupon for a product
that they have no need for.
Jokes and Riddles
• Jokes
1. Q: What starts with E, ends with E and only has one letter?
A: An envelope.
2. Q: If you drop a white hat into the Red Sea, what does it become?
A: Wet.
3. Q: What do you call a boomerang that won’t come back?

A: A stick.
4. Q: Where do you find giant snails?

A: On the ends of their fingers.
(Giants’ nails.)
5. Q: What travels around the world and stays in a corner?

A: A stamp.
6. Q: What is white when it’s dirty and black when it’s clean?
A: A blackboard.
7. Q: What goes Oh, Oh, Oh?

A: Santa Claus walking backwards.
8. Q: What do elephants have that no other animal has?
A: Baby elephants.
9. Q: What do you call a hippie’s wife?

A: Mississippi.
10. Q: What did the ocean say to the beach?

A: Nothing, it just waved!
• Riddles
1. Q: What has many keys but can’t open any doors?
A: A piano.
2. Q: What has 6 eyes but can’t see?

A: 3 blind mice.
3. Q: Who earns money driving their customers away?

A: A taxi driver.
4. Q: What is orange and sounds like parrot?

A: A carrot
5. Q: Can a kangaroo jump higher than the Empire State Building?

A: Yes, because the Empire State Building can’t jump!
6. Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes?

A: No idea. (No-eye deer)
A: No idea. (No-eye deer)

Games and Puzzles
• Hangman
Chapter 1: Teacher's Survival Kit
This is a popular word game which needs no explanation. This activity can be
incorporated into a lesson to review recent vocabulary that has been taught in the
classroom.
• Word Search
In this activity, students are given a letter grid, followed by a list of words. The
students have to find the words in the word search and either highlight them or
draw an outline around them. You can incorporate recent vocabulary from a topic/
topics covered. You can choose to design the word search on your own or visit www.
puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com which is a handy little programme which

creates the word search for you. An alternative activity would be to get the students
to create their own word searches on the computers. These can be printed and given
to other students to complete. Refer to the example below:
Find the Animal
C J S H I M Z A U X U J D S L
O R W G F O N D O N K E Y H L
R K O C P T X E V O P O N E U
C E O C E O L A F F U B J E B
E D E L O H D O G E C Q Q P Y
I E O D O D W Y N L R A X S S
T P F R X D I K Z E M Y T S E
E R S F Y S G L K P X E Y B Y
F E H T A G S K E H Z F A B Q
N N O I L R J V Y A G N L E F
W J P E N K I E T N S L L E A
J D I Z K O K G N T S O I A A
O D D M Z N U W M Q G C R M Y
H I P P O P O T A M U S O M Y
Find these animals:
ANTELOPE
BUFFALO
BULL
CAT
COW
CROCODILE
DEER
DOG
DONKEY
ELEPHANT
GIRAFFE
GORILLA
HIPPOPOTAMUS
HORSE
LION
MONKEY
RHINO
SHEEP
• Criss-Cross Puzzle
This activity is similar to a conventional cross-word puzzle. You can create a Criss-
Cross Puzzle by going to www.puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com or by designing
your own. Again, you could get the students to create their own Criss-Cross Puzzles.
Refer to the example below:
Transport
Across
1. this runs on rails Chapter 1: Teacher's Survival Kit
3. bigger than a car and used by the public
5. has two wheels and an engine
6. this has a meter
Down
2. we go to the airport to catch this
3. has two wheels and pedals
4. large ship that transports people
Chapter 2
Reading Activities
General Reading Activities
• Ordering the Text

Cut up the reading text with a pair of scissors and give a copy to each student or
pair of students. Ask them to put the sections into the correct order. Check their
answers.
• Picture Exploitation
Reading texts found in course books are often accompanied by a picture or
photograph. These give the students various clues as to what the text is about. These
pictures or photographs can also be useful for the teacher as an introduction to the
topic or as a warmer. The teacher can ask the students various questions about the
picture or photograph, eliciting their ideas and opinions. Once the text has been
read, the teacher can check to see if the students were correct in their assumptions.
12
Fig.1: Example of how a picture can be exploited.
Possible Questions:
• Who do you think these people are?
• Are they tourists or locals? Why?
• Where are they? What are they doing?
• What animals do you see? What are they doing?
• What season do you think it is? Why?

• Gap-fill
Take a reading text and delete certain words. Ask students to fill in the gaps with an
appropriate word in context.
• Create a Title
Give students a reading text. Delete the title/ heading. Ask students to read the text
and give it a title or heading of their own.
• Split Reading
Divide the students into pairs giving one student a short article or reading text.
Give the other student a different article or reading text. Ask students to read their
particular text quietly on their own. When they have finished, ask each student to tell 13
the other about their text from memory, trying not to look back at the original text.
They can then swap texts and read the other student’s text.
• Running Dictation
In this activity, you take a paragraph from a reading text that you are going to use.
Stick this paragraph on the wall outside the classroom or in a position furthest from
the students. Now divide the students into pairs. One student is the writer (with paper
and pen) and the other is the runner. This activity should be seen as a competition
between the various pairs. On your instruction the runners run to the paragraph stuck
on the wall and try and memorise as much as they can. They then run back to the
writers and dictate what they can remember. They continue this process (running
back and forth) until you say change. At this point, the writer and runner swap roles.
Once all the information has been transferred from the paragraph to the writer’s
paper, then that pair has completed the task. You can then give each pair a copy of
the paragraph to check their accuracy. This activity practises all four skills and is a
lot of fun!
• Generating Questions
Once the topic of a text has been discussed, get your students to write their own
questions about the text for other students.
• Speculation
Provide the students with a number of statements or opinions before they actually
read the text. They decide whether they agree or disagree with these opinions and
statements. They then read the text to see if they were correct or not.
• Pre-reading Activities
Before students even get a chance to open the book it is important to spark interest
in the story and in the whole process of reading. Let students know that you have Chapter 2: Reading Activities
chosen a book for them to read which you like yourself and you believe they will
enjoy too.
14
Activities for Use with Graded Readers
Pre-reading Activities
• Guess the story from the cover – Show the cover to the class and elicit as much
vocabulary as you can. Students then guess the story and write short summaries of
the imaginary plot. These could be kept until you have read the book to see which
one was closest to the real story.
• Jumbled chapter titles – Give strips of paper with the chapter titles written on them
to students in pairs or groups. They decide the best order for the chapters and think
about the possible story. Compare the answers with the other groups and then look
in the book to see who was closest.
• Photocopy the pictures – If the reader has pictures or photos, enlarge these and
use them to familiarise the students with the main characters. Students can read the
introduction page or the back of the book to guess who is who.
During Reading
These activities should be selected at appropriate stages throughout the book. Some
may be suitable after reading the first few chapters and others for the halfway mark. It
is important to read enough of the book in the first ‘go’ so as to get students hooked on
the story line.
• Comic strips – Choose a suitable chapter or chapters that can be broken down into
chunks to make a comic strip. Encourage students to be creative with the characters
and give them an example of the type of language to put in the speech bubbles.
• Radio plays – Divided into groups, students select part of the book to make into a
radio play. Students are assigned character roles and one is the narrator. Plays can
be recorded and listened back to for future pronunciation work. Encourage students
to really get into the roles of the character they are playing. For younger students
the tapes of all groups could be listened to and students could vote on the best radio
play.
• News articles – Students become journalists and report on part of the story. Choose
a piece of action and students write it up as if it were to be published in a national or
local paper. Focus on writing good headlines and prepare the articles in the format
of a newspaper story.
• Video parallels – If the reader you are using in class has a film version use this to
spot the differences in the plot between the book and the film. Always start with the
book so that students can create their own visual images of the characters. They can 15
compare their imagined characters with those in the film.
• Horoscopes – At an appropriate stage in the plot development, students write horo-

scopes for the characters, predicting their future. From what they know so far about
their personalities, which star sign do they think they are? At a later stage these can
be used to compare against the real events of the book. Did the horoscope prediction
come true?
• Character interviews / ‘Hot seating’ – Students role-play an interview with one of

the characters. Take a couple of the main characters ‘out’ of the book and bring them
into the classroom! Assign students the roles of the characters and the rest of the
class prepare questions they would like to ask them. The students playing the roles
of the characters must try to put themselves in the characters’ shoes and give suitable
answers. Time and support must be given by the teacher to both the interviewees and
the interviewers in order to make this successful. Depending on the book you could
imagine that the interviews are taking place in a police station, on a TV chat show
or wherever seems appropriate. With a little imagination it can be a lot of fun!
• Reading journals – Students complete a reading journal outlining the characters

and plot after each section or chapter in the book.
Post-reading Activities
When you have finished reading the book some of these activities could be tried.
• Book reviews – Students write reviews of the book giving it a star rating from one
to five. Before doing this it would help to look at the style and language of book
reviews.
• Quiz time – In teams students prepare questions about the book’s plot and charac-
ter’s. Questions would be used in an inter-team quiz to see which group is the most
knowledgeable. This may involve students re-reading parts of the book.
Chapter 2: Reading Activities
• Change the ending – In groups students re-write the ending of the book. If it was a
happy ending, make it sad and vice versa!
• Cinema posters – Tell students that the book is now going to be made into a Holly-
wood blockbuster and they are responsible for creating the poster and casting actors
to the roles of the characters.
16 • Step-by-Step reading
Choose a text appropriate to the students’ level. Cut it up into paragraphs and
number each paragraph on the back of the cards. Then prepare comprehension and
vocabulary questions for each paragraph and create numbered cards with these as
well. After 3 or 4 questions should suffice. In groups of 4 or 5, each team receives a
set of cards − an instruction card, the text cards, and the question cards. It is a good
idea to put them on different colored paper, say pink for the text and blue for the
questions. The students take turns reading each paragraph in their group and then
answering the questions about that paragraph. It’s a great way to let the students
help each other with difficult vocabulary and sentence structure. It also helps the
students understand a text bit-by-bit, and is less overwhelming than if they receive a
handout with the whole text on it. Groups work at their own pace, so faster learners
are not bored at times when the teacher is trying to explain things to the weaker
students. Assign one student to be the “secretary” who writes down the answers to
the questions. In this activity, there’s no real need for the teacher − your job is just to
float and answer various questions as needed. It’s entirely student-centered.
• Student Generated Questions
Here is a student centred activity for any reading text but the text needs to have
enough paragraphs so that every student can ask questions about those paragraphs.
Procedure:
1. Each student gets a slip of paper with a question number written on it.
2. Whatever number is written on the student’s slip, the student has to read that para-
graph and prepare a question about that paragraph. If you do it this way, then the
questions are in the same order as the information appears on the text. But if you
wish the students to ask questions about different paragraphs, then students can
draw numbers from a bag and work on that paragraph. This means that the number
on the slip of paper does not correspond with the paragraph number. This also means
that the questions are not in the same order as the information in the text.
3. After each student has written his or her question on the slip of paper, the teacher
checks whether the question is correct or not.
4. After the teacher has checked the question, the student puts his or her slip of paper
on the floor.
5. When all the questions are on the floor, each student takes a piece of paper and an-
swers each question one by one by standing up and getting the slip and answering
it and putting it back on to the floor so that other students can also answer it. The
students have to write the answers in their notebooks.
6. The teacher could also set a time limit. All the questions are checked afterwards.
• Newspaper Treasure Hunt 17
Bring in a pile of old newspapers.
Tell your students that they will hunt for the following treasures in a newspaper,
cut them out and glue them in the appropriate spaces. You provide them with a
worksheet. An example is provided below.
What they need: scissors, glue and good eyes!
Example worksheet (you can make little boxes for students to glue in each item.)
Find the following:
A common name:
A quality:
A flaw:
A caricature:
A classified ad for selling furniture:
A notice for a movie:
A country:
A movie actor:
A famous singer:
A political figure:
The name of an animal:
The name of a piece of clothing:
A meal:
The horoscope for people born on the 11th of July or 6th of March:
Weather forecast:
The name of a country:

The name of a city:
News about a sport:
World news: Chapter 2: Reading Activities
An advertisement:
Good news:
Bizarre, strange news:
A comic strip:
Sad news:
Your favourite news:
A means of transportation:
Students really get into this activity. It’s great for practicing their skimming and
scanning skills.
Chapter 3
Listening Activities
General Listening Activities
• Dictations – A good idea is to try and get a cassette / CD player with a number of
earphone jacks. You can then create your own tapes for example, letters of the al-
phabet (for non- literates), survival vocabulary (for low-level students), sentences
taken from previously –practiced dialogues and sound contrasts (i.e. “Are the fol-
lowing sounds / words the same or different?”)
• Commercial Tapes – Try and get the tapes which usually accompany the particular
text book that you are using.
• Short Stories – A great idea is to record short stories on tape. You can then assign a
number of different tasks depending on the particular level of your students. These
may include a set of comprehension questions or the text of the story with missing
words. Students are then required to fill in the missing words as they listen to the
tape.
20 • Making Tapes – Record a number of words or sentences that students have trouble
pronouncing. Leave sufficient space after each word or sentence for the student to
repeat / record these after they hear them.
Activities using Songs
• A song jumble
This is an excellent activity as a “warmer’ to introduce at the beginning of a lesson.

Cut out the lyrics into separate lines. Having divided the students into small groups,
you can challenge them to see which group is able to place them into the correct
order the fastest. The students could then listen to the song and check their answer.
I can show you the world You last let your heart decide?
Tell me, princess, now when did Shining, shimmering splendid
Take you wonder by wonder I can open your eyes
• A gapped text
You could give the students a copy of the song lyrics with certain words blanked out
(as done in some course books). Students are then encouraged to guess the missing
words in the context of the song. Once they have done this, they listen to the song
and check their answers.
I can show you the _________

Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, _______, now when did
You last let your _______ decide?
I can open your __________

Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and _______
On a __________ carpet ride
• Matching pictures 21
You could give the students various pictures associated with the song and ask the
students to place them in the order in which they hear them in the song.
• Normal reading / listening
You could use the song as you would in any normal reading or listening lesson.
• Listening crossword puzzles
Many high school students really like crossword puzzles, so turn them into listening
practice instead of just reading. So, give them the blank crossword and verbally give
the clues to the puzzle. Use recent vocabulary words and turn it into a review. It also
gives students a way of defining words by using English instead of translating into
their native language. The really great thing about this is that it can be customised
to fit any level of English.
• Peer dictations
Have the students get into pairs and take out one sheet of paper per pair. They must
label a designated number of lines on the paper A, B, A, B... (about 6-10, depending
on level and time). Tell them they must decide which person in each pair will be A
and which will be B. Only A may write on lines A, and only B may write on lines
B. When B talks, A writes down what he/she says on line A. A then passes the paper
to B, and B writes down what A says. In this way they will create a continuous
dialogue, story, poem, letter... (many possibilities). At the end of the class, each
group reads aloud their creation to the class, or for maximum practice listening and
speaking, they pass their work to the group next to them and read that aloud to each
other, and continue passing until each group has read each paper.
Students tend to get very absorbed in this exercise and often get quite creative. You
could get students to come up with alternative endings to the Titanic movie, or have
them write dialogues on ordinary conversation topics. Chapter 3: Listening Activities
• Back and Forth Listening
Good for any level as you can make it as complicated or as simple as you like.
1. Ask students to come up with 10 questions to ask you.
2. When you answer the questions add a lot more detail than a simple yes or no.
3. Now using your answers test how well the students listened by making some
comprehension questions.
This really worked out well and is fun!!

22 • Picture Bingo – this / that
Maybe you’ve played picture bingo yourself in a foreign language class. This is
a good game for listening, speaking, and practising new or old vocabulary. Start
making your own picture bingo cards. Here’s how:
This works best if you choose a theme for the bingo pictures, such as clothes, things
in a school, etc. Search the Internet for clip-art for your theme. You can probably
print off big pictures for flash cards and cut and paste the small icons to a Word
document. You will use these for the bingo squares.
Make a 5*5 grid on your computer and write BINGO on the top. Fill the squares in
with pictures (either the small clipped art or pictures you drew yourself). Use tape
to put these pictures in the square so you can remove them. Make about 2 copies
of every bingo card, and then change the card around...moving around the taped
clipped art. (If the cards are all the same...your kids will all yell bingo at the same
time!)
Before playing bingo, ask your kids “What is this?” and have them respond with “That
is a pencil” (a pen, a computer, an eraser, an exacto knife, etc.) Then demonstrate
a sequence of “what is that?” giving the object to a student, so they will respond,
“This is a pencil, glue, white-out, an eraser, etc. Then have your students cut out
little paper chits to cover up the bingo cards. Tell them not to write on your copies
(even better if you can laminate them).
Play Bingo, first asking students to respond to your flashcards (WHAT IS THIS,
THAT IS pattern). Then, stop using pictures and have them play bingo just listening
to you say “This is a paper clip”, etc. (WITHOUT PICTURES!). The first students
to yell bingo and tell you correctly (in complete sentences) what is on their paper
will win. Give them a small prize when they win.
Note: You can mix things up as follows: one time have only DOWN win. Next, only
ACROSS. For the last few “speed games” everything wins (FOUR CORNERS,
DIAGONAL, DOWN, ACROSS). Remember there is a free space in the middle.
• Read My Lips
Materials: Everyone must have the same written material, be it a printout, textbook,
etc. (in English of course!)
Use this to teach your students the importance of body language; mostly looking
at someone when they are speaking. A lot of times, students will have their faces
buried in their textbooks when you read, and you want to emphasise the power of
reading lips.
Tell the students that you are going to read a passage from their textbook, but you’re 23
not going to say anything, you’re just going to move your lips. The idea is for them
to figure out what you read, just by watching you.
You may add other types of body language, for example nodding your head if you
say “no” etc. You will be surprised to find that even first year Junior High School
students are able to figure out what you are saying!
What will surprise you even more is how excited the students are when they realise
what you were saying. Students who don’t usually volunteer would have their hands
up, proud that they knew what you were saying.
Although it is very short, it is good as a warm-up and it gets everyone paying

attention and focused!
• Story Idea
Read the class a story appropriate to their level of English (To reduce teacher talking
time have a student read the story). After the story give them a copy of the story
(easy enough to photocopy a short story), have the story read again but this time
have the students highlight words they don’t know and underline sentences they
don’t understand. This is a great opportunity to pair up the students for a minute
or two and see how many words they can teach each other and then possibly pair
them up again with a new partner. Then have them look up the remainder of the
words for homework, and submit to the teacher anonymously the sentences they
don’t understand to be gone over the next class (students are much more likely
to admit they don’t understand something if it can be left anonymous.) For high
level English students (such as university students) you may choose a story with
something controversial or something being debated and then divide the class in two
or if it’s a small class make it a class wide discussion of the topic.
• Radio Stars
Most students love listening to music, so give them the chance to play the role of Chapter 3: Listening Activities
professional disc-jockeys at our very own “radio station” for a day.
Here’s what you can do, in case you want to try this out with your class:
Ask your students to write the following information on a card:
- The name of their favourite singer/band and the title of the latter’s best album
ever.
- The titles of two great songs from the chosen album.
Now the students should write a few sentences on the above (including a general
comment on the singer/s and the record, as well as a brief comment on each of the
songs.)
And now...get ready for the most exciting part! Choose an interesting name for your
24 “radio station” and have the students read their paragraphs out and aloud while
you record their performances on tape. You should have the songs in hand in order
to play them at the right time. Make sure your students give their speech the right
emphasis...or their “listeners” will fall asleep! If necessary, help with vocabulary (a
few colloquial expressions and a bit of slang might work here...up to you entirely!)
When you are done, play the tape for everybody to enjoy.
Activities Using Video
• Class Discussion
Students discuss a topic which is related to the subject material on the tape/ DVD.
• Prediction
You could stop the tape/ DVD at a particular point and enter into a class discussion
of what the students think happens next. Alternatively, the students could write a
continuation of the story.
• Specific Task
The students complete a worksheet while listening to the tape or DVD. You can then
check the students’ answers to check their understanding of the material.
• Role-play
The students can act out certain scenes from the tape/ DVD in small groups.
• Lip-synch
Advertisements work really well for this kind of activity. Firstly, switch off the
sound and get students to work in pairs to predict and write the script. Each pair then
comes up to the front of the classroom and sits on either side of the television. When
you play the tape/ DVD again, the students ‘lip-synch’ it. This is a fun activity!
Chapter 4
Writing Activities
General Writing Activities
• Re-writing a Story as a Script
Students in groups re-write a story as a script. The group size equals the number of
story characters + a narrator. Each group performs the play in the style of Reader’s
Theatre, then improvises the play without benefit of the script, and with free rein on
invention. Simple folk tales from different countries are ideal for this activity.
• Stories from Pictures
Collect lots of pictures while travelling. Mix up the pictures and hand about 30 to
each small group of students. These could be shots of people, places and activities.
The students are to make up stories by putting the pictures in order to create a work
of fiction with the photos. Tell them nothing about the pictures so they have to guess
and then make-up the entire thing then present the story to the class. It works and it
gives them time to think on their own.
26 • Personal Advertisements
This idea is good for all levels of ESOL students. It can certainly be tweaked
according to the class.
To practise writing descriptively, students can write PERSONAL ADS using

adjectives and/or adverbs! The lesson could focus on either adjectives or adverbs
according to the instructor’s preference.
Materials and prep time needed would be to create fictitious personal ads that could
be found in any local newspaper. Or you could be BOLD in using actual ads in a
newspaper.
First, ask the students to explain the differences between adjectives and/or adverbs
and how to use them. Then have your students write about what they like or
what others appreciate about them as individuals using adjectives and/or adverbs.
Examples include “I cook delicious dishes” or “I run swiftly in the morning.”
Extracting only the adjectives and/or adverbs, the students can construct their
own personal ads after reading the “fictitious” ads. Also, they can practise writing
concisely to communicate their meaning. As a final procedure, have a student or
yourself type them as a page in the newspaper.
• Dear Diary
Write up a bunch of situations on slips of paper like “scored the winning goal for my
soccer team”, “broke up with my girlfriend/boyfriend”, “had my bike stolen and I
saw the thief”, “my aunt gave me $400 and I spent it all today”. Have a slip ready for
every student, maybe repeat a couple of the situations if you like them. The students
choose a slip from your hand and have to write one page on the situation depicted.
They have to write as if they were writing in their diary that evening. They’ll have
to use their imaginations a bit to provide more of a story line and details, plus they
can add stuff like “dinner was also really good tonight”.
• Describing Fruit
This is a fun and simple exercise which encourages students to be more specific
and detailed in their descriptions, and forces them to reach beyond their typical
vocabulary. It can be adapted to any level and any type of class.
Bring in a variety of fruits and vegetables, one for each student. Ideally, you should
have several that look somewhat alike. For example, a green apple, a green pear, a
green pepper, etc: all items that could be described as round and green.
Warm up by having the students name and discuss the five senses. Tell them that you 27
are going to ask them to use four of their senses, instead of relying on sight as we
usually do. Place the fruits and vegetables in an opaque bag. Have all the students
close their eyes (or you may blindfold them) and take a piece of fruit from the bag.
Without looking at the fruit, the students should examine it carefully. Go around the
room and have students describe the scent, texture, taste, etc. in detail. When you
have finished, ask students to guess what kind of fruit they are holding. Then ask
the students to write detailed descriptions of the fruit, but without ever naming the
fruit. You may wish to provide them with some vocabulary like peel, rind, stem, pit,
etc. Tell them to imagine that they are sending someone to the store to buy the item
without knowing what it is called.
When the descriptions are finished, collect them. Collect the fruit and line it up on
a table where everyone can see it. Generally arrange it so that similar items are next
to each other. Distribute the descriptions, then have students come to the front of the
class, read the description aloud and select the correct fruit. Discuss each description
and how it did or didn’t accurately describe the fruit.
This is an excellent warm-up for writing a descriptive essay, or to help students learn
adjectives.
• Find the Lie
Here is a game that your students will love:

1. They have to come up with two statements of unusual things they have done in
the past.
2. They also have to come up with one statement of something that they did not do;
an outright LIE.
3. They write down these statements on a piece of paper and be careful to ask them
NOT to show this to anyone.
Then the fun begins...
4. The student comes up front and writes his/her statements on the board (in any
order), numbered 1-2-3. The student then reads them aloud and asks the other
Chapter 4: Writing Activities
students to find the lie.
The goal of the game is to try to be the best liar in the class so they have to answer
all questions truthfully (except questions related to the lie. The student then has
to come up with something believable to the other students.)
5. This goes on for approximately 3 minutes (or until no more questions are
asked).
28 6. The teacher then asks the other students to vote on which statement they think
is the lie. The teacher counts the number of raised hands for each statement and
finally the student reveals to all which statement was the lie.
The best liar will be the one with the lowest score beside his lie (keep a record of
this; make it into a contest!)
Enjoy !!!!!
Random Picture Stories
Firstly have all students draw either one or two pictures on the board. (Tell them
they can draw whatever they want)
Secondly run through the names of the objects on the board. (There are usually some
funny ones.)
Thirdly, pair or group your students depending on your class level or size.
Finally, ask your students to write a story including all of the objects on the board.
You will have a lot of success with this activity. It can be adopted in various ways
and used to teach different grammatical structures. The final stories can then be
either read out to the class, or posted on the wall.
• Writing Sentences
For the students who have limited English proficiency, this activity will get them
excited about writing.
Have three envelopes labelled: nouns, verbs, and descriptive words. In each envelope,
put in index cards with one word on each. The students then pull one word from each
envelope and using the three words, they create a sentence. They are allowed to add
other words and they may change the form of the word (e.g., sing to singing).
Depending on the words put in, the sentences can get really funny. Try to change the
words to keep up with holidays, current events, etc. You may even surprise them by
putting in cards with their names on them.
If you want to work on writing paragraphs, have the student write the first sentence
as directed above. They then choose to keep one of the words and select new ones
for the other two categories. (This allows them to connect one thought with the
next). They can go on like this until they have 4-5 sentences. Have them cut out these
sentences and lay them out on their desks. They may add connecters or transition
words in between. Before long, they’ve written a paragraph.(This activity even 29
works well with non-ESL students).
• Fast Write
Students are given three minutes to write on a given topic. They write non-stop.
Now divide the class into groups (with one note-taker to consolidate the ideas). On
the white board, write the ideas from the groups as a brainstorm. Each group then
chooses an idea from the white board and further develops it or expresses it in a
pictorial form. This idea can be expanded and modified.
• Jigsaw Writing
Divide a longer or more complex reading text amongst groups in the class. Each
group summarises the ideas. They then teach each other what they have come to
understand concerning their section of the reading. Students then write a summary
of the entire text, including the section that they have not read but heard about from
another student.
This is an extremely effective learning tool with regard to retention. Studies have
revealed that we retain approximately 60% of what we experience directly or
practice. More impressive however, is that we retain about 90% of what we teach
to others.
• Creating Various Print Media
- Students create their own holiday brochures

- Students create their own newspaper or magazine articles, with the help of
computers.
• Picture Stories
Students are given one picture in the sequence from a picture story. Each student
then writes a sentence about that picture. The students are then placed in groups and
have to incorporate the pictures and sentences into the correct order to create a story.
It is at this stage that changes can be effected to the sentences in order to ensure that
the story makes sense.

30
Fig.2: A picture story activity.
• Split Story Writing
Students are given the first paragraph of a story. They then have to add another
paragraph to the story in order to continue the storyline. The students then pass their
stories to the person next to them who in turn adds another paragraph. Alternatively,
this activity may be done in a computer laboratory with students adding to a
Word document. This can be a timed exercise with students changing computer
workstations when you tell them to. The stories can then be printed at the end of
the lesson and read out loud. This makes for some interesting stories and variations.
Many follow-up exercises can be initiated such as correcting the mistakes, etc.
• Story Starters
This activity is similar to the Split Story Writing activity above. The difference is
that students are given the opening paragraph of a story and have to complete the
story on their own. Here is an example:
Cabin in the woods 31
It was a dark and stormy night. The lightning burst through

the window as I sat down in front of the blazing fireplace. I
was finally alone in my cabin in the woods. I felt relaxed and
content. But, things were about to change…
• Real Letters

Students can write real letters to pen-friends, prisoners, government officials,
companies or newspapers. Get the students to mail the letters, get responses and
write back.
• Questionnaires and Surveys
Students could create their own questionnaires about any given topic e.g., what the
students think of the canteen food. Once they have devised suitable questionnaires,
they could run a real survey questioning other students and recording their responses.
These responses could then be tabled in the form of a report and the results conveyed
to the class.
• Long-term Projects
This is one good way of integrating writing work with other work. Students may
finish with a completed newspaper, magazine, book or play.
Activities for Poetry
• Cut-out Poem
Get your students to cut words out of newspapers and magazines. Unique words are
preferable. When they have a substantial collection of words, tell them to spread
them out on a blank piece of paper. They should have another piece of paper ready to
write the poem on. Now they should arrange the words on the blank piece of paper.
Remind students that they don’t have to use all of them, and that they can add their
own “connector” words to complete their ideas. When they have a draft of a poem,
students should write it on the other piece of paper. They shouldn’t worry if their
poem seems vague or confusing. It’s okay, that’s the beauty of poetry! It is often
the later drafts of this poem that are the best. This exercise is often more effective if
done with the help of a partner or a teacher (to cut out words for you).
32 • Number Poem
This exercise can be a lot of fun. Get your students to pick a phone number that has
significance to them and write it down. They should then use the number for their
title. Their poem will have as many lines as their phone number has numbers. Each
line will have the number of syllables as the number it corresponds to. For example,
if you use 426-3213, the first line will have four syllables, the second line will have
two, and the third will have six, and so on. The contents of the poem should relate to
the phone number your students chose.
• Story Poem
Get your students to write a poem that tells a story. Often it is easier if it is about
something that actually happened to them. It doesn’t have to be an epic poem (Epic
poems are very long poems that tell an entire story).
• Memory Poem
Tell students to take a piece of paper and write the words sight, smell, touch, hearing,
and taste on it, leaving plenty of space between each word. Then, they should pick
a memory to write about. It can be anything, as long as your students remember it
vividly and it has some importance to them. Now tell them to think of the memory.
What do you see? Write down words or phrases that describe what you are seeing
under “sight”. What do you smell? Write down words or phrases that describe what
you smell under “smell”. What did you touch? Write down words or phrases that
describe what you feel under “touch”. What do you hear? Write down words or
phrases that describe what you are hearing under “hearing”. Finally, what do you
taste? Write down words or phrases that describe what you taste under “taste”. Now,
on a separate piece of paper, get your students to combine the words and phrases
from the five senses list to create a poem about the memory.
• Simile Poem
Get your students to write a poem that contains three similes. It sounds easy, but
they will have to decide if all the similes will describe the same thing or three
different things. Sometimes it is difficult to describe one thing in three different
ways. However, if your students choose three different things, they must find a topic
under which to combine them.
• Made-Up Poem
First, read “Jabberwocky”, by Lewis Caroll. Then get your students to write a poem
using words that they have invented. Their invented words should convey some
meaning, either by the way they are used or the way they sound. One method of
creating words is to combine two words.
• Step by Step Poem 33
Get your students to follow the steps outlined in order to write their own poem:
Step One: To begin writing this poem you will need a collection of various items
to look at. You could either have a teacher or a partner gather items
for you, or you could use a more natural collection of items in your
bedroom, for example. Pick one item and write a stanza of poetry about
it.
Step Two: Next, choose a person, either one of your parents or a person who is
like a parent to you. Write a stanza about this person. Try to find
something specific about this person to write about. Use details.
Step Three: Then, write a stanza about yourself. (This is difficult for many people!)
Step Four: Find a title for your poem that somehow ties all three stanzas together.

Chapter 5
Speaking, Drama and
Pronunciation
Activities
General Speaking Activities
• “Find Someone Who…?”
This activity is very easily adapted to almost any scenario. Students are given a
handout which may be: Find someone who….
i. Is born in the same month as you.

ii. Who lives in your neighborhood.
iii. Has similar interests (sports/ hobbies…).
iv. Is of the same age as you.
This may then be followed up by a discussion in which students mention those

people who share similar attributes.
36 • “20 Questions”
This activity may be used to help students remember vocabulary related to a topic
recently covered in class e.g. media and media related occupations. In this situation,
each student pretends to have a job in the media. Students then ask questions in
order to reveal his/ her occupation. Example questions may be:
- Do you work in the print media?

- Do you work in the electronic media?
- Do you appear on television?
- Are you a sports reporter?
- Are you an entertainment reporter?
• Interview a Partner
This kind of activity is a useful way to break the ice at the beginning of a language
course and allows the students to get to know one another. Students are placed in
pairs and ask each other any questions they like. They may be given some time
beforehand to prepare some questions. They note down any interesting answers.
Students then introduce the student they interviewed to the rest of the class, telling
them a little about him/ her.
• Pyramid Discussion
In this activity, you may present any situation to the students. Here is an example:
You tell the students that they are a cruise ship which has encountered problems
while sailing in the Pacific. The ship is sinking and you have about 5 minutes to
abandon ship. Luckily, there is a small island within swimming distance. You have
five minutes to select 5 items to take with you before the ship disappears below the
surface. Remember that you have to swim to the island. The island has fresh water,
but is uninhabited by humans.
- Each student is then given a few minutes to write down the 5 items that they wish
to take along with them.
- Students are then placed in pairs and from their combined list of ten items, have
to discuss and select the best 5.
- Students are then placed in 4’s and have to select the best 5 items again.
- This process is repeated until there is only one group who have to discuss, argue
and select the 5 best items.
• Picture Comparison
In this activity the students work in pairs. One student is given picture A and the other
student is given picture B. The students then have to find the differences between
each picture without looking at the other picture. They have to describe the pictures 37
to each other while sitting back to back. The students mark the differences on their
individual pictures.
STUDENT A
STUDENT B
Chapter 5: Speaking, Drama and Pronunciation Activities

Fig.3: Pictures adapted from Pair Work Book 1, Penguin Books 2002.
Here is a selection of ideas to stimulate conversation and speaking.
• Speaking for One Minute
For small groups. You have a list of subjects to talk about. e.g., football, shopping,
holidays, cooking, etc. You choose one person to start talking about the subject. If
the person repeats a word, hesitates or makes a gramatical error, another person
in the group can take over by saying ‘error’, ‘hesitation’ or ‘repetition.’ It is the
38 teacher’s job to decide quickly if the interruption is valid. The person who interrupts
then must continue. The winner is the person talking at the end of the minute.
• Yes/No Game
Everyone must have played the game in which one person must avoid saying ‘yes’
or ‘no’ when asked many questions by the others in the group. The winner is the
person who can survive longest. Strangely it seems to be less difficult for a non-
native speaker to avoid saying ‘yes/no.’
• Call My Bluff
You need a big (bilingual) dictionary for this one. A student looks in the dictionary
and finds a word which seems very obscure. That student gives a definition of the
word to the others. The definition must be either 100% true or 100% false. When the
student has finished the others must decide if the definition was bluff or true. The
student receives a point for each person who is deceived.
• Ranking and Negotiating Games
If you look in almost any TEFL book you will find ranking games. A group of students
have to decide what to take from a series of objects for a particular situation, e.g.:
To get to the North Pole, or survive on a desert island. Each student has 2 objects
that they want to take. Each person must argue in favour of their own choices. The
student with the most inventive argument wins rather than the one with the most
sensible idea.
• Women’s Magazines
Do the questionnaires from women’s magazines. The ones that find out if you are
honest or not etc. Get the students to make their own questionnaires in groups and
then try them out on each other.
• Speak About Cards
Get some small cards and write a topic of conversation on each one. Give each group
a pile of them. When a student turns over a card he must talk about the given subject.
This often leads to spontaneous conversations with the students forgetting about
the game which in my opinion is excellent. Some ideas for topics are: The happiest
moment of my life, the pets I have had, what happened to me last weekend, my
ambitions, my ideal day etc. You should change the topics according to the class.
39
• Simon Says
Students should only obey the commands if you preface each one with “Simon
says.” If you omit the preface Simon says any student who obeys the command
can no longer participate in the game. The last student to remain in the game is the
winner. Simon says: “put your right hand / left hand / both hands on your right / left
knee.”
• What’s a boogsy?
Think of any object and write down a number of sentences which describe certain
aspects of the item. The word boogsy or any other nonsensical word is used to
replace the actual name of the item. Now give each student in the classroom one or
more of these sentences. The students then get together as a group and discuss the
clues that have been given. The students then send a representative up to the front
of the class to write on the white board what they think the object is. Here is an
example:
- A boogsy can be shared by two people.
- A boogsy is often taken to work by people.
- A boogsy often gets wet.
- A boogsy can be found in most countries.
- A golfer usually has a very large boogsy.
- A boogsy is not usually used indoors.

- A boogsy can be opened or closed.
- A boogsy can be carried.
- A boogsy is very difficult to use when it is windy.
- A boogsy is not usually expensive to buy.
- Black is a popular colour for a boogsy.
- A boogsy is very useful when it is raining.
- A boogsy appears smaller when you are not using it.
Answer: A boogsy is an umbrella!
• Fun with Fake Money
Using play money.
Level: Any
40
Class size: Any
Divide the class into proportionate groups. In each group there will be a “Banker”
who controls the money and reads from a list of questions.
The questions correspond to the different denominations of money.

($1, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100) $1.00 questions are the easiest and $100.00
questions are the hardest. You can make up your own questions appropriate for the
students’ level (5 or 6 questions for each denomination is enough). Type out this list
and give a copy to each banker.
The banker will go around the group asking each person, “How much would you
like to take out today sir/ma’am?”
The student chooses $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, or $100 and the banker reads a question
from the category the student chose. If the banker thinks the answer is satisfactory,
he/she gives the money to that student. If the banker is not satisfied with the answer,
he/she will say, “I’m sorry, you don’t have enough in your account”. The banker
continues going around to the members in the group until the teacher says, “SWITCH
BANKERS!”
The students in the group write down the amount they have and give all their money
to the new banker, who continues asking the questions. Try to switch bankers often
enough so everyone has a chance to be the banker. Students can keep track and see
who has the most money at the end of the game.
This will get your students to speak!

• Find Your Partner
Give each student an index card with four statements. Two say something in the first
person, and two say something about “My partner,” using vocabulary your students
are working on. So, one card for my class says:
I have a bad memory.

I am sick of English.
My partner is totally confused.
My partner is a big coffee drinker.
Another student would have an index card that is the opposite, saying “I am totally
confused,” and “My partner is sick of English,” etc.
Give the students a couple of minutes to memorise their card, and then collect them.
Then, tell the students to go find their partner.
41
It may take your class about three or four minutes to do this. Make the cards so that
they have to remember all four statements in order to find their correct partner. For
example, more than one person had “a bad memory.”
Finally, once they found their partner, have conversation topics for them to work on,
so they can ask about each other’s daily schedule, plans for the weekend, academic
interests, etc. When they are finished with the conversation topics, they may go back
to their seats, and then ask them questions, such as “What time does your partner
wake up in the morning.”
That’s about it. It should take about twenty-five minutes for a lower intermediate
class of twelve.
• Conversational Tic-Tac-Toe
Draw a tic-tac-toe grid on the chalk board. Write the numbers 1 through 9 on the
grid. Each square has one number in it. Then on a piece of paper write nine easy
conversation questions such as -What’s your hobby?, What time is it?, How old are
you? etc. Number the questions one through nine. Each question corresponds to one
square on the tic tac toe grid.
Divide the class into two teams, team x and team o. The students choose which
square on the tic- tac-toe grid they want to try to get. When they choose a number
then ask them the corresponding question. They get the x or o on that square if they
answer the question WITH NO MISTAKES. The pickier you are with this one the

more fun it is.
• Can You Come to My Party?
This is an easy activity with no preparation time.
Each student needs a pen and a piece of paper. Ask them to write down all the seven
weekdays.
Tell them that each student will throw a party and has to invite as many class mates
as possible. But before the activity starts each student has to choose:
- the day of the party
- another day where he/she must go to bed early and cannot go out
- a third day where he/she goes to the gym and therefore cannot go to any party.
Now all the students walk around in class and try to invite each other.
Dialogues should go like this:
“Can you come to my party on Wednesday?”
“Sorry, I cannot. On Wednesday I must go to bed early/ to the gym/ to another
party.”
42 or “Yes, of course!”
Each students writes down the names of the class-mates who will come to his/her
party. The one who can throw the biggest party wins! It gets very loud in the class-
room but most of the kids really like it.
• He’ll be Bald in Ten Years
It can help the students to revise the future tense. Be careful to only use it with a
group you get on well with and are not easily offended.
First of all, ask the students how old they are, then ask them how old they will be in
ten years. They must imagine what the other students will be like in ten years.
Then give an example on the blackboard using one of the less offended students:
In ten years, David will be married to a very ugly woman. She will be short and fat
and they will have ten children; nine boys and one girl. In the future, David will be
a farmer and his wife will look after the children and the animals. David will be bald
in ten years and will become very ugly and fat. They will live in a very dirty barn in
the middle of nowhere and will be very lonely. So, in ten years’ time David will be
very unhappy.
Then ask the students to secretly choose another student in the class to write about,
but it mustn’t be a student sitting next to them. Give them about 10-15 minutes to
write down their ideas then each one in turn will present their idea. You can also ask
the other students to guess who they are talking about.
Groups come up with all sorts of imaginative ideas.
Drama Activities: Role-play

Here is an interesting example:
• Customer and Manager
Tell the students that they are going to do a role play. Then tell them that they will
either take on the role of a customer or a manager at a hotel. The customer has a
complaint and approaches the manager. Read the role cards, which will help you to
think about what you are going to say, how you are going to behave and feel.
43
Imagine you are the customer: Role-Card 1
Loud music has kept you awake all night

The tap in your bathroom drips continuously
You got food poisoning from the hotel food
The linen on your bed is dirty
- How has this ruined your holiday?
- How do you feel about this problem?
- What do you want the manager to do about this problem?
Imagine you are the Manager: Role-Card 2
Loud music has kept the customer awake all night

The tap in the customer’s bathroom drips continuously
The customer got food poisoning from the hotel food
The linen on the customer’s bed is dirty
- What are you going to say to the customer about their problem?
- Is this problem the fault of the holiday company?
- What solutions can you offer?

Various Drama Activities
Here are a few ideas that you could try in the classroom:
• Questioning in Role or Hot Seating
Questioning in role/hot seating involves one of the learners sitting on a chair at the
front of the classroom. This student takes on the role of a well-known or famous
individual. The other students in the class then have an opportunity to ask this
“famous” person any questions about motives, character and attitude.
• Telephone Conversations
The class is divided into groups of two learners. The learners sit with their backs
to each other so that they can only hear their telephone conversation partner. The
learners in each group are to imagine that they are two different characters. They
have a telephone conversation. You could ask them to discuss a certain occurrence,
have an argument about a particularly nasty situation or make a holiday enquiry. The
options are endless!
44
• Toxic Emotions
List some toxic emotions with the group e.g. apathy, angst, jealousy, anger, hate,
envy, helplessness, etc. Write the emotions on pieces of paper. Ask the group to
choose a line from a play they have been in or a line from a play they remember. As
the leader, choose one of the emotion papers and pass it to someone while saying
the line and using the emotion - ‘as if’ you were jealous, angry, apathetic, etc. The
recipient of the paper can say their line using that same emotion or pick up another
piece of paper and use the emotion listed.
• Shrinks
Before the class begins, write down different disorders (serious or absurd) or
problems that someone might go to a psychologist for on little pieces of paper.
Have students draw slips of paper. Split the class in half. For the first round, group
A will be the shrinks and group B will be patients. For the second round, roles will
be reversed. The shrinks can ask the patients any questions, except What is your
disorder? in order to guess what the person is suffering from. If one of the shrinks
guesses a patient’s disorder, the patient can join the shrinks and begin questioning
the other patients. Sample disorders: claustrophobia, fear of bugs, nervous tics,
uses a colour in every answer, etc.
• Bus Stop
Split the class into two groups for simultaneous group improvisations, or have one
group be the audience and then switch with the other group. Students improvise that
they are at a bus stop waiting for the bus to arrive. As each new passenger boards the
bus, everyone on the bus adopts the attitude, personality, accent, movements, etc. of
the new arrival until the bus is full. Then begin to randomly letting passengers off
the bus remembering to adopt the mannerisms of the passenger who boarded before
the exiting individual.
• 360 Degree Awareness
Begin by stretching your arms up and then flop forward. Become aware of your
surroundings. Look forward but adopt a 360 degree awareness. Begin walking
slowly. Be aware of everyone around you and take care of each other. When the
leader claps, make a 90 degree or a 180 degree turn and resume walking. The leader
will change speed by calling out numbers beginning with one and continuing up
to ten. The leader may choose to freeze students at any particular time and have
them comment on their surroundings while maintaining the same stance with eyes
forward. 45
• Movement Warm-up
Play music during this warm-up. Stand in a circle with enough space to move
around. Begin moving your arm, then your leg, your other leg, your other arm,
your shoulders, ribs, hips, knees. Start over - arm, leg, leg, arm, shoulders, ribs,
hips, knees. Repeat 3-4 times going faster each time. Now ask students to put
all their weight in their feet and walk around. How does it feel to move? Interact
with each other. Now shift your weight to your hips. Does it change the way you
walk or interact? Now shift weight to your chest and interact. Finally, find your
own center of gravity. Walk around, interact, and pay attention to how others carry
themselves.
• Physicalisation
In this activity, you decide either on an object or a scene. You shout out the object or
scene and the students have to create the picture or object using their bodies. This is
a great deal of fun and the students really get involved. It may be a good idea to time
the students and change the scenes relatively quickly. You could get them to create
an aeroplane or the scene of a car accident.
Improvised Drama Activities

Here are some examples of improvisation scenarios:
• Pair Playing
Each pair will become “roommates,” who both want the remote control for the
television. One has it; one does not. The only tactic that is not allowed is the use of
physical force to take the remote.
• Small Groups (3-5)
This improvisation would be for 3 players. The improvisation would involve two
parents and a child. The subject would be about the child (junior high or high
school) wishing to extend the curfew. The mother wants to protect her child, but she
doesn’t want to smother him/her. The mother and child have gotten along well in the
past. The father doesn’t want the child to stay past curfew because he believes it is
dangerous. To top it all off, the child’s “new friends” aren’t the best of influences,
and the father caught his child smoking while with them.
• Individual Roles
46 Have the class create a “town.” Divide them into groups of three or four and assign
them to different social groups in the town. For example one group is the governing
body, another may be some local merchants. Each student must create a specific role
in the group that they are assigned. Once that is established.. tell them someone is
going to be murdered (leader will choose murderer and murdered)... and they must
figure out who did it. In order to figure out, who did the murder the students must
interact with each other and develop their own relationship to the other townspeople
as well as create their own characters.
• Ensemble
Make sure you have plenty of space. Create a horizontal barrier in the off center (i.e.
closer to one end of the room than the other) of the classroom (or whatever space
you are using) with chairs, desks, etc. On the side that has the greater distance from
the barrier gather the players. Inform them there has just been a war going on, and
the only shelter is on the other side of the room. The people who are able MUST
help the people who are not to get to the shelter. Assign some injuries to most of the
players (such as blindness, broken limbs, etc.).
Pronunciation Activities
• Incorporation
Encourage accurate and correct pronunciation in the classroom. Try and incorporate
phonemic work into your grammar and vocabulary lessons. Here is an example of
how to practise the pronunciation of a new lexical item:
- Firstly, model or say the word yourself in a normal way. Then get the students to
repeat it after you, all together like in a chorus until they get it nearly right.
- Now, go ahead and model the word again, asking individual students to repeat the
word after you.
• Observation of Mechanics
Get the students to watch how your mouth moves and the position of your tongue in
the forming of various sounds.

Fig.4: Formation of sounds
47
• Dictionary work
This is a useful way of practising pronunciation and of demonstrating to the learners

the benefits of knowing the phonemic script! Ask the students to look up words
which are almost impossible to know how to pronounce such as ‘thorough.’ With
the help of the phonemic script offered in the dictionary and the key to the phonemic
script, students work out the correct pronunciation.
• Using Mirrors
In order to help learners with pronunciation try using a mirror. If you have an entire
class, you may suggest that they each have an individual hand mirror. When working
with one student, hold the mirror so the student can see just your lips and his or her
lips. Students will feel less self conscious if they don’t see your eyes. Have the
student shape his or her mouth the same as you do to pronounce whatever is giving
them difficulty. It may take several tries in a session or many tries over a longer

period for the student to be able to form the words correctly, but over time the
student will make progress.
• Transliteration
Write a letter to your students in the phonemic script and get them to use their
knowledge of the phonemic chart to translate it
dɪə stuːdənt
haɪ haʊ ɑː juː? aɪ həʊp juː ɑː wel.
ðɪs ɪz ʤəstə kwɪk nəʊt tuː seɪ aɪ həʊp juː
ɑː ɪnʤɔɪjɪŋ ðə kɔːs ænd ðæt juː
ɑː hæpiː.
ɪf juː hæv eniː prɒbləmz raɪt tuː miː ɪn

48 fəniːmɪk skrɪpt !
aɪ lʊk fɔːwəd tuː hɪərɪŋ frɒm juː.
ɔːl ðə best,
ʤeɪsən/
Fig.5: Letter to your students.
Dear Student
Hi how are you? I hope you are well.
This is just a quick note to say I hope you

are enjoying the course and that you
are happy.
If you have any problems write to me in

phonemic script!
I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Jason
Fig. 6: Translation of Previous Figure

• Phonemic Puzzles
Produce your own crosswords which have to be completed using the phonemic
script. Refer to the example below.
Across
1. Something you use to connect to the Internet 49
Down
1. One does this when one is sad
2. Transport for the air
3. Someone who teaches
k ɒ m p j u: t ə
r l i:
aɪ eɪ ʧ
n ə
Answer:
Across
1. computer
Down
1. cry
2. plane

3. teacher
• Minimal Pairs
You may choose two words with a very slight difference in sound (minimal pair).
e.g.
1. /kΛp/ cup 2. /kæp/ cap

You say the word and the students say the corresponding number according to the
pronunciation. e.g. Teacher: cup
Students: 1
Teacher: cap
Students: 2
• Tongue Twisters
These are an excellent way of getting students to actively listen and find the contrasts
between different sounds. Tongue Twisters can be a lot of fun and you can encourage
Chapter 6
Vocabulary Activities
There are many and varied vocabulary activities and exercises which are designed
around the following common ideas:
• Memory Games
In this activity you may divide the students into two groups. Give each group a
copy of the same picture. Tell them to look at it but do not tell them that they are
expected to memorise the items in the picture. Give them a minute or two. Then take
the pictures away from the groups. Each group nominates a spokesperson for their
group. Now ask closed (Yes/ No) or open (How many people are in the picture?)
questions about the picture. After each group has discussed the question their
spokesperson relays their answer to you. Points are awarded for correct answers.
52
Fig.7: Picture for Memory Game
• Gap fill exercises
e.g. Fill in the space with one word only.
People have been diving without mechanical aids………….ancient times.
Answer: since
• Matching Words to Pictures

e.g. Write the correct word under each picture.
bus taxi motorcycle aeroplane ship
• Matching Words to Definitions
e.g. Match each word in the box with a suitable definition.

site on-line IT
• Information technology, the communication of information using computers 53
• Place on the World Wide Web where you get information from specific
computers
• Connected to the Internet
• Matching Words to Other Words (synonyms/ antonyms)
e.g. Match the word on the left to the word with the opposite meaning (draw a line
to join them as shown in the example).
ugly old
fat tall
young beautiful
dangerous thin
short fast
slow safe
With this activity type, the student must link items from the first column to items in
the second.
• Error Correction
e.g. Find the mistakes in the sentence and correct them.
Manchester United was the more better team on the night.
Errors must be found and corrected in a sentence or passage. It could be an

extra word, mistakes with verb forms, words missed etc.
• Crossword and Word Puzzles

Chapter 6: Vocabulary Activities
Produce your own crosswords and word puzzles. Refer to the example below.
54 Across
1. Something you use to connect to the Internet [computer]

Down
1. One does this when one is sad [cry]
2. What you feel when cutting yourself [pain]
3. Fish which look like snakes [eels]
• Placing Items into Lists
e.g. Look at the words in the box and put them under two headings: jobs and
subjects.
accountant actor arithmetic banker biology chemistry

dancer doctor economics engineer geography history
journalist languages maths nurse physics physical
education politician secretary
• Hangman
This activity requires no further explanation!
• Word Story
Choose a list of new words that the students have recently learnt. Divide the learners
into two groups (Group A / Group B). Dictate the words to the students who then
copy them down. The groups must now create a story using the words in the same
order and form as dictated to them. The groups then read out their completed stories
to the class.
• Back to the Board
Divide the learners into two groups (Group A / Group B). Group A sends one of its
members up to the front of the class. This student sits on a chair with his/her back
to the whiteboard and facing their group. The teacher then writes a word on the
whiteboard. The learners in Group A then have 45 seconds to describe the word to
the student sitting at the front of the class (without saying the actual word). If the
student at the front of the class guesses the correct word on the white board behind
them within the allocated time, then Group A is awarded a point. It is now Group B’s
turn to send a student up to the front of the class.
• Kim’s Game 55
Prepare a shopping bag with an assortment of different objects. Divide the learners
into two groups (Group A / Group B). Show the contents of the bag to each group
very briefly before placing them back in the bag and out of sight. Each group must
know create a list of the contents in the shopping bag. The group with the most
correct is the winner. This game may be alternatively be played using a list of objects
displayed on the whiteboard and then erased.
• Miming an Action
Create two piles of cards. One pile should consist of cards with an adverb written
on them and the other pile with verbs written on them. Divide the learners into two
groups (Group A / Group B). Group A sends one of its members up to the front of
the class. This student selects one card from each pile on the teacher’s desk which
are face down. The student may choose the following cards for example:
WALK QUICKLY
The student must then mime the action to Group A who then have 45 seconds to
guess the action correctly (Walk Quickly). If the students in Group A guess the
correct action within the allocated time, then Group A is awarded a point. It is now
Group B’s turn to send a student up to the front of the class. This can be great fun
especially when students choose strange actions such as sleep clumsily.
• Word Dictation
Choose a list of new words that the students have recently learnt. Divide the learners
into two groups (Group A / Group B). Dictate these words to the students who then
write them down attempting to spell them correctly. They may discuss each item
amongst themselves. Each group then selects a member of their group to write their Chapter 6: Vocabulary Activities
list of words on the whiteboard. A point is awarded for each correct word.
• The Same Letter
Here is an activity you can use many times. It focuses both on grammar and
vocabulary, as you will see.
56 Tell your students they are going to write sentences, but need to take the following
rules into account:
1. Each sentence must have at least 5 words.

2. Each word in the sentence must begin with the same letter given by the teacher.
3. You may use a proper name, but only once in a sentence.
4. The winner is the one (or the ones) who can manage to write a correct sentence
(it does not matter if it is a little bit crazy)
Then you can get sentences like these:

Every evening eleven elephants escape.
All afternoon animals ate angry avocados.
My mother makes marvelous meatballs.
The tiny tailor took the Tunisian tourists to Tasmania.
And so forth. You will have to correct some errors like word order, subject verb
agreement, and the like.
The good thing about this activity is that students make NO USE of their mother
tongue, because it is useless! They need to look for an adjective or verb that begins
with an “s,” for example, so there will be a lot of thinking in English.
• Categories
This game involves giving vocabulary words starting with the same letter for the
following categories:
1. clothing
2. something cold
3. girls’ names
4. boys’ names
5. a country
6. food
7. drink
8. a game/sport
9. an animal
10. a classroom item
Note: this game can be played by all levels. If you have really beginning learners,
just give them a few easy categories.
• Have You Seen My Friend?
For teachers with a few drawing skills. Count how many pairs of students are in your
class. If there are, for example 12 pairs, take 12 index cards and draw a cartoon of
a person (or glue one on) to each card. Make sure to have variety in age, sex, size,
clothing, accessories, style and color of hair etc. Next print up a vocabulary sheet 57
with words used to describe each category (For example hair: long, curly, spiked
etc). Prepare one sheet for each student in class.
Separate students into pairs. One student in each pair gets the picture (index card)
and doesn’t show it to his partner. Both students get a copy of the helpful vocabulary
sheet. The other student listens as his partner (one with picture) describes the picture
to him (using vocabulary sheet if needed) and must draw what he thinks the person
on card looks like.
When finished, students compare both drawings. Each pair then changes cards with
another pair and the one who described now gets to draw.
This activity will get students to practise vocabulary associated with physical
appearance.
• Throwing Words Around
Here’s a fun way to get students to remember words. Write the words you want your
students to learn/remember in large letters on A4 paper, say 6 to 8 words. Hold up
the words and drill them. Then crush all the pieces of paper into balls. Point to each
ball in turn and ask students to say the word.
Then take three balls and put them at the front of the table. Ask students to tell you
which words they are. Then tell them to watch very carefully, as you quickly move
them around, as in a three card trick. Ask them again which is which.
Finally, throw one of the balls to a student, saying the word it represents. Ask him to
throw the ball in the same way to someone else, and say the word. The catcher then
throws it to someone else and so on. Once the students understand what they should
do, throw all the other balls to the class and stand well back!
• Vocabulary Sponge
Chapter 6: Vocabulary Activities
This is a simple way of revising key vocabulary from a text. To start, dictate a list
of words taken from the text. Then, in pairs or small groups, students try to predict
what the text is about. If they struggle, giving half or all of the title is a good prompt.
And don’t worry, if this sounds dry for your teen classes, wait and see what wacky
ideas they come up with. Also, you can do pronunciation work by having students
dictate the words back to you. You will need them on the board for later.
Next, students scan text and underline words, also comparing predictions with
content. Comprehension questions, either mine or those from the book, focus
students on the second read. Students work in pairs to work out meanings of dictated
58 words in context. With the words on the board in a grid, students get 30 seconds or a
minute to memorise. Words are quickly erased, or “sponged” up by the whiteboard
eraser. In pairs or teams, students then “wring out” the words, getting points for
spelling, pronunciation, and meaning.
This is great because it integrates all four skills and can make a somewhat dry text
fun. The grid + sponge works well with collocations, too.
• Vocabulary Cards
To encourage your students to keep their own vocabulary records, to help them
“learn” the words you cover in class, and to provide them with a sense of progress
regarding the amount of words they learn, try keeping a class set of vocabulary
cards. You can use index cards or just slips of paper. On one side the students write
the word, and on the other the meaning (translation, English definition, part of
speech, picture, pronunciation points etc... - at the beginning of the course discuss
what constitutes a helpful record of new words). These cards are then kept in a box/
envelope by the teacher, or ideally in the classroom for students to access. At various
points during the course, use the cards in various revision activities, perhaps at the
beginning or end of lessons. Students can test each other, play vocabulary games,
use (e.g. five) of the words each in a story; the options are many. If you stick with
it, students will certainly start to remember the new words and hopefully how to use
them, and they can see how many words they’ve actually learnt.
• Sticky Vocabulary
This works well with all levels.

Here we are talking about how to make the boring gap-fill exercise more appealing to
students. Simply copy the gap-fill text onto a piece of paper (a coloured one is nicer)
and copy the words onto adhesive paper in colour. You may wish to have different
colours for different parts of speech (adjectives., verbs, nouns, etc.). Students stick
the appropriate words in the gaps.
It may look like a lot of work for the teacher (copying and cutting the adhesive tape
words) but it’s all right to do from time to time. Students really appreciate it.
Chapter 7
Computer Assisted
Activities
• Sites
The use of the Internet in the classroom is growing -- keeping education on the
cutting edge of technology. Below are 40 helpful teacher resource sites to help you
with new activities and ideas for the classroom:
1. Dave’s Idea Cookbook www.eslcafe.com/ideas/index.html

2. Dave’s ESL Cafe www.eslcafe.com
3. TESL Articles www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/links/TESL/Articles/
4. EFL Computer Site www.calico.org
5. Edunet.com www.edunet.com
6. CALL Resources www.writing.berkeley.edu/chorus/call/cuttingedge.html
7. The English Page www.englishpage.com
8. Aardvark Column www.english-forum.com
9. English to Go www. English-to-go.com/
10. Ohio ESL www.ohiou.edu/esl.index.html
11. Learning Page www.sitesforteachers.com
60 12. Web quest Resources www.davidson.k12mi.us/academic/hewitt14.htm
13. Teacher Library Resources www.teacherslibrary.org.uk
14. Teacher to Teacher www. teachertoteacher.com/
15. On-line Resource Net www.otrnet.com.au
16. WWW teacher resources www.public.asu.edu/~dsalce/sed403/403.htm
17. Teacher Universe www.teacheruniverse.com/home/html
18. PBS Teacher Resource www.pbs.org/teachersource/
19. NOAA Education www.education.noaa.gov/
20. Teacher’s Net www.teachers.net
21. The Lesson Plans Page www.lesoonplanspage.com/
22. Integrating the Net www.indirect.com/www.dhixson
23. Internet Tools for Teachers http://tdi.uregina.ca/~itt/
24. Eisenhower Clearinghouse www.enc.org/resources/search/
25. Encarta Schoolhouse http://encarta.msn.com/schoolhouse/
26. Lesson Planning Ideas www.lessonplanz.com
27. Smithsonian Lesson Plans www.educate.si.edu
28. BBC On Line www.bbc.co.uk
29. Email Accounts www.hotmail.com, www.yahoo.com, www.email.msn.com
30. Questions Related to Education Topics www.askjeeves.com
31. General Data Bases of Teacher Resources http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?
p=teach+resources
32. Hot Potatoes www.halfbakedsoftware.com
33. ERIC Clearinghouse www.askeric.com
34. ELT Newsletter www.eltnewsletter.com
35. Blackboard Inc Create Software www.blackboard.com
36. GUMBO www.geocities.com/SOHO/workshop/8405
37. AZ Teacher Stuff (ESOL) www.atozteacherstuff.com
38. English Teacher Assistant www.ETAnewsletter.com
39. NCTE: Writing Ideas www.ncte.org/teach/write.shtml

40. 50 Plus Ideas www.teacherideas.com
• Half-Baked Software
http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/
Half-Baked Software From the University of Victoria Language Centre offers several
excellent programs for teachers to use in the creation of quizzes and exercises. The
programs are free to teachers, so check it out today!
• CALL Lab Ideas 61
Computer Assisted Language Labs offer teachers and students new ranges of
possibilities for interaction with the computer. Below are some simple and practical
ideas for the classroom practitioner:
1. Instead of students working at individual computers, why not use a collaborative

learning technique? One of my favorite activities in a CALL Lab revolves around
peer editing. Ask students to write an essay using Word 6.0 or a similar program.
Next, ask students to save their work on a back up disc or to print an original
copy. Students are required to switch seats when they finish. Ask the students to
change the colour of the print text. Once this is done, ask students to peer edit the
essay on the screen. After ten minutes or so, ask students to go to a new computer
and repeat the process. Finally, invite students back to their original screens. Ask
students to look at the corrections, to agree or disagree with the peer edits, and to
make any changes before submitting the paper. A follow-up exercise is devoting
the first or last ten minutes of a CALL lab to an electronic diary which the student
keeps in a private file or disc.
2. Broadcast a series of questions to all of the students’ screens. In small groups ask
them to answer the questions. Review the answers as a class or with individual
students by capturing their screens.
3. Ask students to teach an English Language point by creating a PowerPoint

presentation, visual basic presentation, or an interactive HyperCard presentation.
Allow students to hook up their presentations to an LCD in order to teach the
class a particular point in the curriculum being learned.
4. Why not exploit the Computer by accessing REAL VIDEO and playing it through
Quick time or a similar program. Students can listen and interact with news
events. Similarly, teachers can purchase or create their own programs with CD
Chapter 7: Computer Assisted Activities

ROMS that allow for interaction and interactive learning between a video and a
computer screen to aid in reading, writing, and/or listening.
5. Use the Internet. Allow students to practise writing by going to classifieds in

Yahoo, sending Email through free hotmail accounts, writing electronic greeting
cards at bluemountain.com, or by researching topics related to what they are
studying in your curriculum and then creating an Internet portfolio from the
experience.
62 • Free Crosswords
Check out
http://greeneclipse.com/eclipsecrossword/index.html for a great crossword maker
for Windows.
It’s absolutely free, and makes wonderful puzzles (and supports many languages).
• Google Earth
If you can find a computer with both Internet and a display for the class (such as a
language lab), Google Earth can be a great way to both introduce places and widen
the world for people. Not to mention, looking at the Eiffel Tower while in China it’s
nice to know.
A visitor to Huwazzitt
An integrated skills activity requiring users to solve a variety of puzzles. Solving

the puzzles will yield clues to the identity of the mystery visitor to the village of
Huwazzit!
http://www.baboonfez.com
• Making Puzzles
This is a great activity for vocabulary revision. Students visit www.puzzlemaker.

com where they are able to design and print their own professional looking word
searches, crosswords and cryptograms. Get students to find words that have recently
been learned in class and make puzzles using these words. Students print their
puzzles and swap with someone in the class. The students must now attempt to
complete another student’s puzzle!
• Penpal Exchange
Organising an email penpal exchange with other students in another country can be
an extremely rewarding and motivating experience for students. This also provides
a ‘real’ reason for students to practise their writing skills.
• Holiday Activities
Get students to research information on the Internet about a country that they have
not but would like to visit. Students could then design and write their own postcards,
prepare holiday brochures, leaflets, letters and posters. They could even do a role-
play based in a travel / tourist office.
• Monitoring the Weather 63
To prepare learners, review weather expressions (e. g., hot, cloudy, rainy). Teach or
review the formula for converting Fahrenheit and Centigrade temperatures. Choose
the cities that the class will monitor and locate them on the map. Decide whether
to monitor the weather daily, weekly, or monthly. Ask learners to suggest some
Web sources for weather or brainstorm some keywords for finding weather sites
through a search engine. Decide what information will be tracked (e.g., temperature,
precipitation, or other conditions). Record the information on a chart in the classroom;
groups may choose to keep individual charts for different cities.
• Web Quests
Web quests can be found on the Web, or teachers can create their own for students.
A Web Quest, as defined by the creator, is an inquiry-oriented activity in which the
students get information from resources on the Internet.
Below are some web quests that you may find interesting:
► Florida Jigsaw. This web quest explores Florida through six areas of social studies
– history, geography, economics, ecology, geography, and government.
http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/01324-050909174319/index.htm
► Reading the World with Information Trade Books. This web quest involves
teachers in an in-depth evaluation of information trade books suitable for
classroom use. It will culminate in the development of a list of ‘The Fabulous
Five Information Trade Books” at each grade level.
http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/00317-050622152835/
► The Nutrition Resort

http://webquest.org/questgarden/lessons/01249-050908184535/
Chapter 7: Computer Assisted Activities

► Mission: UN. This web quest is designed to help students to understand language
in its current form by way of researching its past and extrapolating forward to
predict its future.

► Zoo Keeper for a day. This web quest allows students to explore different zoo
animals. They will also choose what animals they would like to have in their
zoo.
64
Fig.8: A screen capture of the Web Quest: Zoo Keeper for a day.
Chapter 8
Grammar Activities
Here are a few grammar activities and techniques for use in the language
classroom:
• Troublesome Grammar
For practice with troublesome grammatical structures, have an assortment of dittoed

multiple choice and filling-the-blank exercises on the following areas:
• Verb tenses
• Prepositions
• Question formation
• Adjective placement
• Modals
Prepare an answer key for self checking.

66 • Sentence Structuring
On index cards write a sentence or question, with each word on a separate card. On
the back number each word card in sequence. The students must put the cards in the
correct word order. They can check themselves by looking at the numbers on the
back. Keep each set of cards tied in a rubber band or in an envelope.
• Memory Games
In this activity you may divide the students into two groups. Give each group a copy
of the same picture. Tell them to look at it but do not tell them that they are expected to
memorise the items in the picture. Give them a minute or two. Then take the pictures
away from the groups. Each group nominates a spokesperson for their group. In this
activity, the material is utilised to work on the present continuous tense (is / am/ are
+ ing). The teacher reads out some true /false statements about the picture, using the
present continuous tense (e.g. The man is…; The boys are…). After each group has
discussed the statement, their spokesperson relays their answer
to you. Points are awarded for correct answers.

Fig.9: Picture for memory game
• Miming an Action
Create two piles of cards. One pile should consist of cards with an adverb written
on them and the other pile with verbs written on them. Divide the learners into two
groups (Group A / Group B). Group A sends one of its members up to the front of
the class. This student selects one card from each pile on the teacher’s desk which
are face down. The student must then mime the action to Group A who then have 45
seconds to guess the action correctly (You’re walking quickly – present continuous).
This can be used to practise a variety of tenses. If the students in Group A guess the 67
correct action within the allocated time, then Group A is awarded a point. It is now
Group B’s turn to send a student up to the front of the class.
• Creating Time Lines
A useful activity may be to encourage students to create their own time lines when
dealing with new tenses. Write a sentence on the board and ask the students to either
come up to the board and create a timeline on the board or ask them to complete a
time line in their books.
Example: Write the following sentence (Past Continuous) on the board and ask
students to create their own time lines – I was taking a shower when the phone
started to ring.
Answer:
PAST CONTINUOUS
PAST NOW FUTURE

Taking a shower
Phone started to ring
I was taking a shower when the phoned started to ring.
Fig.10: An example of a time line
• Split sentences
In this activity, you may wish to use the first conditional for example or a variety of
tenses. Once you have written a number of sentences on a piece of paper, proceed to Chapter 8: Grammar Activities
cut each sentence in two. Distribute these various pieces to the students in the class.
The students must then read their half of the sentence to the class and attempt to find
the missing half of their sentence.
68 Example: (first conditional)

If you don’t look you’ll be hit by a car.
If you don’t wash the apple you’ll get sick.
If you play with the cat it’ll scratch you.
If you buy it now you’ll save yourself a lot of money.
If you study hard you’ll pass the test.
If you don’t practise you’ll not be selected for the team.
• Grammar Quiz
You could initiate a grammar quiz for two teams. Write a verb infinitive on the board
and the first team to write the correct past participle on the board is awarded a point.
You could create a number of variations of your own - for example − ask each team
to prepare their own questions to present to the other team.
• Growing Stories
Growing story activities are excellent practice for work on the past simple tense.
Students are given the first sentence of a story. They then have to add another sentence
to the story in order to continue the storyline. The students then pass their stories
to the person next to them who in turn adds another sentence. Alternatively, this
activity may be done in a computer laboratory with students adding their sentences
to a Word document. This can be a timed exercise with students changing computer
workstations when you tell them to. The stories can then be printed at the end of
the lesson and read. This makes for some interesting stories and variations. Many
follow-up exercises can be initiated such as correcting the mistakes etc.
Example: (first sentence)
I had just climbed into bed when there was a flash of bright light outside.
• Questionnaires
Ask the students to write a questionnaire by utilising recent grammar items which
have been covered in class. Alternatively, you could assist the students by presenting
them with basic structures in order to assist them (e.g. What/do/tonight?). Once the
questionnaires have been completed, ask the students to survey one another.
• Objects and Things 69
By bringing certain objects and things (e.g., wallet, handbag, money, glasses)
into your classroom, one adds a hands-on feel to one’s teaching. In order to teach
beginning level students the use of the possessive form, one could encourage the
students to bring a few items to class. Ask the students to place the items on the
desk in front of them. Gather the objects and place them on different desks around
the classroom. Students then work in pairs. They then walk around the classroom
and talk about the objects by using the target language (placed on the board) and
the embedded politeness forms (‘Excuse me’) and discourse ellipsis rules (‘No it’s
Justine’s’, rather than ‘No, it’s Justine’s purse’).
Example: (target language)
Student A: Excuse me. Is this your purse?
Student B: No, it’s Justine’s. / Yes, it is. Thank you.
Student A: Excuse me. Are these your glasses?
Student B: No, they’re Ron’s. / Yes, they are. Thank you.
• Maps and Drawings
Maps are practical and simple visual aids for the classroom and can serve to illustrate
certain grammatical structures such as the use of:
• Prepositional phrases (down the street, across the road, etc.)

• Question forms (where is, how do I find, is this, etc.)
• Imperatives (go, walk, turn, keep an eye out for, etc.)
• Appropriate discourse when asking for directions, attracting someone’s attention,
clarifying information and ending the conversation.
Chapter 8: Grammar Activities
Fig.11: A simple road map

70 Drawings are an excellent way for providing practice in stating locations and giving
directions (with the use of prepositional phrases). You may wish to begin by using
the simple drawing which follows. After introducing the relevant terms (next to,
in the bottom left-hand corner, in the centre, below etc.) divide the students into
pairs. Give one student a copy of the picture and the student a piece of paper and a
pencil. The student with the picture describes what is in the picture and where these
things are (without showing the other student) whilst the other student draws what
is described on their piece of paper.
Fig.12: An example drawing for this activity
• Charts and Graphs

Charts and graphs are extremely useful when practising various patterns and clarifying
certain grammatical relationships. In the graph which follows, the average number
of four types of crime are described over a period of four years. This kind of exercise
will offer students some simple practice in understanding and interpreting graphical
information. Students are also introduced to the idea of trends. Alternatively, you
could ask students to locate a statistical chart in a local newspaper and bring it in
to share with the class, perhaps building up a poster exhibiting various ways of
displaying graphical information.
71
Fig. 13: Violent crime bar chart
Chapter 8: Grammar Activities

Chapter 9
Business English
Activities
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
• Index Cards
To give a new twist to Business English, do the following activity:
1. Bring index cards, coloured pencils, stickers, etc.

2. Tell students to create a business: bakery, music store, etc.
3. Choose a special occasion: Christmas, summer vacation
4. Write message
5. Decorate card
This activity is greatly enjoyed by all students and breaks the routine of just writing
letters.
74 • Marketing Madness
This is an easy but fun way to get students of any age to speak up enthusiastically
in front of the class. Get them in groups of three and tell them that today they are
all marketing executives. Give them each a product to invent (shoes, car, soft-drink,
medicine, etc.) and tell them that they have to come up with a way to market it and
then present their idea to the class. They have to design an advertisement for either
a billboard, television commercial or magazine. Divide the presentation into three
parts: 1) Description of the product. 2) Description of the advertising method they
have used. 3) Explanation as to WHY they chose certain things in their advertisement
(e.g., a beautiful landscape that makes you think of the peaceful way that you feel
when you drink this soothing drink). This is a good way to make everybody speak,
make full use of every flowery adjective they can find and also a fun exercise in
creativity/marketing strategies. This activity is also a good wrap-up of or segway
into a discussion on the good, the bad, and the ugly of advertising techniques.
• Transforming Letters
Letter Writing Activity: Transforming a personal letter about business affairs into a
formal business letter.
Distribute to the class a personal letter about business affairs and have them work in
groups of two or three to transform the information in the letter into a formal business
letter. You should give them an example or two of a formal letter as a guide.
Having learners convert texts from one genre to another will focus students’
attention on the relationship between reader and writer, the purpose of writing, and
the difference between various vehicles of language.
There are several advantages of this type of activity: learners read authentic texts and
they become aware of differences in genres. Instead of a topic where each student
has the freedom to choose content, these subjects are controlled by the original text.
Also, the whole class can work on the same text, albeit differently, and their finished
products will provide various ways of expressing the same issues.
• Exploring Messages
Before beginning a new unit in Business English, give your students an activity to
explore their reaction towards a situation similar to the ones they will be studying.
Try the following with your groups:
1. Direct Request: Writing a letter to a genie asking for three wishes

2. Good-news: Writing to inform that the reader has won $25,000
3. Bad-news: Telling a friend that the car borrowed was stolen
4. Persuasive: Asking Mr. Scrooge (of A CHRISTMAS CAROL) for a loan to start
a new business
These exploration activities help to break the ice before discussing in detail the 75
theory and the different organisational patterns used to write effective messages.
• Business Letter Writing
For this activity you will need a book of model business letters in English. These are
often available on the Internet. Make one copy of 10 different letters (depending on
the number of students in your class). Make enough so that each pair has one. You
may wish to concentrate on a specific type of letter, such as cover letters or letters of
complaint, or else mix the different types of letters.
One student can look at the letter, the other cannot. The student with the letter reads
it to the other student, who takes dictation. The “reading” student should not look
at the “writing” student’s written work. At the end, have the student compare his or
her written work to the original, looking for mistakes and correcting them. This can
be a good lead-in to writing business letters, and is a nice way of including dictation
without them always doing dictation from the teacher or a tape.
• Crazy Resume
For this activity bring a resume to class, and discuss resumes for a few minutes. Ask
the students what goes into a resume. Next, have all students quickly (10 minutes)
write a resume in English. Encourage exaggeration. Next, have them work with
partners taking turns interviewing each other for jobs. Choose the jobs: possible
(fun) choices are McDonalds, KFC, Gas station attendant, NASA Astronaut, CIA
spy, Military General, Model etc. Review frequently asked interview questions
beforehand (the students will know the questions in their native language for the
most part). After everyone has been interviewed and been the interviewer, query the
class on their success: Did the applicant get the job? How did they do?
• Telephone Phrases
Chapter 9: Business English Activities

There are many phrases and idioms used when talking on the telephone. Print a
number of these on blank business cards, such as: “Please hold and I will ring
Mr. Bizet’s office”, and “I’m sorry, but Ms. Albina is not in her office right now.
Would you like to leave a message?” The students are then grouped into pairs. Each
student gets about five cards depending on the size of the class and the number of
cards printed. In turn, they turn over the top card and have to initiate a telephone
conversation with their partner, somehow and somewhere working in the idiom /
phrase on their card. The partner does not see the phrase. This means they have to
think of a situation, and steer the conversation in such a way as to be able to slip in
the idiom / phrase. The first team to use up all their cards is the winner. You will have
already introduced telephone idioms and they will have done some conversation
practice before playing the game.
76 • The Replacement
Ask your students to imagine they have to interview a candidate who will do their
job while they are away on extended leave. They have to come up with a list of
questions related to their job. Divide the class into two groups, the interviewers and
the candidates. Each interviewer now asks his or her questions to all the candidates
and has to choose which one would be able to do his or her job best. Then the
interviewers become the candidates.
• Forming a Company
For this activity, divide the students into groups of five to six. Now ask them to open
their own company. They have to decide on what kind of goods or services they
are going to produce or provide. The students also have to decide on the company
structure and what departments are needed to run the company. Furthermore, they
should outline the different duties of each department in product manufacturing and
sales. After the discussion, group representatives do a presentation in class. This
activity can be developed to include written work such as reports and business plans.
This may well become an extended project!
References:
Geyser, J. (2006). English to the world: teaching methodology made easy. Kuala
Lumpur: August Publishing.
Geyser, J. (2006). English to the world: teaching reading made easy. Kuala Lumpur:
August Publishing.
Geyser.J. (2007). English to the world: teaching writing made easy. Kuala Lumpur:
August Publishing.
Geyser.J. (2007). English to the world: teaching listening made easy. Kuala Lumpur:
August Publishing.
Geyser, J. (2007). English to the world: teaching speaking made easy. Kuala Lumpur:
August Publishing.
Geyser, J. (2007). English to the world: teaching grammar made easy. Kuala Lumpur:
August Publishing.

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Preface

1. Why the book?

This book is designed for:

• Pre-service teachers enrolled at Universities / Teacher Training Colleges

3. About the author

I have enjoyed an extremely rewarding and wonderful career in English Language

Chapter 1: Teacher’s Survival Kit 1

Chapter 2: Reading Activities 11

Chapter 3: Listening Activities 19

Chapter 4: Writing Activities 25

Chapter 7: Computer Assisted Activities 59

Chapter 9: Business English Activities 73

Prior to the First Day

• Colour, Car, Character

• What’s Different, Partner?

• Beach Ball Brainstorming

the ball in a circle chain.

Warmers and Fillers

Jokes and Riddles

3. Q: What do you call a boomerang that won’t come back?

4. Q: Where do you find giant snails?

5. Q: What travels around the world and stays in a corner?

7. Q: What goes Oh, Oh, Oh?

9. Q: What do you call a hippie’s wife?

10. Q: What did the ocean say to the beach?

2. Q: What has 6 eyes but can’t see?

3. Q: Who earns money driving their customers away?

4. Q: What is orange and sounds like parrot?

5. Q: Can a kangaroo jump higher than the Empire State Building?

6. Q: What do you call a deer with no eyes?

A: No idea. (No-eye deer)

Find the Animal

Find these animals:

General Reading Activities

• Ordering the Text

Fig.1: Example of how a picture can be exploited.

• Who do you think these people are?

• Are they tourists or locals? Why?

• Where are they? What are they doing?

• What animals do you see? What are they doing?

• What season do you think it is? Why?

• Horoscopes – At an appropriate stage in the plot development, students write horo-

• Character interviews / ‘Hot seating’ – Students role-play an interview with one of

• Reading journals – Students complete a reading journal outlining the characters

• Student Generated Questions

Bring in a pile of old newspapers.

What they need: scissors, glue and good eyes!

Find the following:

The name of a country:

General Listening Activities

Activities using Songs

This is an excellent activity as a “warmer’ to introduce at the beginning of a lesson.

Tell me, princess, now when did Shining, shimmering splendid

Take you wonder by wonder I can open your eyes

I can show you the _________

I can open your __________

• Normal reading / listening

• Listening crossword puzzles

• Back and Forth Listening

This really worked out well and is fun!!

Although it is very short, it is good as a warm-up and it gets everyone paying

Activities Using Video

General Writing Activities