IT WORKS IN PRACTICE More tested lessons, suggestions, tips and techniques which have all

worked for ETp readers. Try them out for yourself – and then send us
your own contribution.
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a free copy of The Magic Classroom by Jeremy Harmer, the first
cassette in our new series of Personal Presentations.

 Invisible Pictures
 Guess the word
This is a way of revising vocabulary and questions with young
I use this word-association game to review vocabulary with
my students. You will need a list of words – concrete items, learners which turns a potentially boring review into a fun
such as people, objects and places, work best. activity. I discovered it when I started to draw a circle on the
white board but found that the pen wasn’t working. As I was
Divide the class into two teams and ask two representatives
from the same team to sit facing each other at the front of shaking it, I accidentally hit the board as though I was
the class. One of them (the prompter) should be facing the putting a dot in the non-existent circle. One of the students
board; the other (the guesser) should have his or her back to sang out ‘Maru kaite chon’ and all the others laughed. (It is
the board. Japanese for ‘Draw a circle and a dot’, but the joke is lost in
Write a word on the board. The prompter gives a single one- the translation.) The students had obviously noticed what I
word clue to the guesser who has to try to guess what word had intended to draw, so instead of going to get a new pen,
is written on the board. If he or she guesses correctly after I started asking questions about the invisible circle. This went
the first prompt, the team receives 10 points; after the so well that I drew other invisible pictures and asked
second prompt, 7 points; the third prompt, 5 points, the
questions about them.
fourth prompt, 3 points. Establish a time limit of one minute
I kept the pen and have used invisible pictures in several
to guess the word.
classes since. The students have all loved it and we have
When the word has been guessed or the time limit is up,
moved on to more difficult pictures, such as invisible
participants from the other team have a turn. Alternate
aeroplanes (How many windows does it have? etc). My more
between teams and make sure to let all participants have a
go at being both guessers and prompters. advanced students draw the invisible pictures and ask the
Darci Flynn de Melchor questions themselves.
Mexico City, Mexico Mike Bradley
Koriyama, Japan

 Names In Action  Grouping Gambits

If my students have problems Nick McIver in ETp Issue Twenty suggested some ways of putting students into groups.
remembering each other’s names at the Here are three more ideas.
beginning of a new school year, I let
them form a circle and introduce 1 Give each student a fruit or coloured sweet and have them form groups based
themselves by saying their name and an on the same flavours.
activity they like, beginning with the
same letter as their name. They mime
2 Laminate photographs of colours, occupations, numbers, sportspeople or
the activity as they say the sentence. whatever your students are interested in. Hand out the cards and ask students to
For example, I’m Fred and I like fishing. get into groups with others who have similar cards. This may seem like a lot of
The next student then repeats the work, but you will get a lot of use out of the cards. I use them in workshops for
sentence and the action (You are Fred teachers, which models the technique for them and provides an element of fun.
and ...) and then adds their own name
and an activity they like. This is quite a 3 Photocopy handouts on different coloured paper (five copies on green, five on
challenging activity, but the students blue, etc). Distribute them and ask students to work in groups with those who
love it. have the same colour handout.
Johanna Hrubesch Patrice Palmer
Krummnussbaum, Austria Hong Kong

36 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue Twenty-one October 2001 •

 Vocabulary
Concentration  Vocabulary Patchwork
I have used this simple game many times
Students take turns to choose a word which has occurred in a recent lesson
when teaching vocabulary and have found it and explain the meaning to the class. The word can be one they would like to
works well in a range of situations. The remember or one they can’t use or spell with confidence. They then write their
game’s physical aspect rescued one badly words on pieces of coloured card and stick them on a ‘vocabulary patchwork’
floundering lesson in a middle school poster. As the patchwork gets bigger, we do activities to use the words in
classroom in Hong Kong, had one very different ways. For example, ‘find the opposites’, ‘spot all the adjectives’,
inhibited mixed-language group all speaking
‘find the words describing feelings’ and so on.
excitedly at once, and even caused some very
hardworking technology students to abandon The vocabulary patchwork provides good visual input and it is a different way
their electronic dictionaries, albeit of presenting, remembering and using new vocabulary.
momentarily! María José Boga
● The students sit in a circle. Assign one Buenos Aires, Argentina
vocabulary item from those you are currently
working on to each person, giving them both  Focused Listening
the word and an action or gesture which  Who’s Wearing
helps to explain it. Once you have assigned Whose? Next time exam practice listening
the vocabulary items, go around the circle This activity practises clothes vocabulary comes up, relinquish control of the
two or three times for review, with each and possessives. It is great fun and
person saying his or her word and doing the tape recorder and seat the students
ideal for children.
accompanying action. (If thinking up a
Students stand in a circle and put around it. When it comes to detailed
gesture to fit your particular vocabulary
some items of clothing, eg trainers,
items seems impossible, bear in mind that comprehension questions, select
jackets, sweatshirts, caps, etc in the
one of my technology classes managed to
centre. They walk around the circle as individual students at random and tell
come up with suitable actions for ductility,
you play music and as soon as the
combustibility and thermoplastic!) The action them to stop the tape at the precise
or gesture adds a Total Physical Response music stops, they must put on an item
element to the game, which helps students of clothing as quickly as possible. The moment the word or sentence that
take in and remember vocabulary items first person to put something on and
answers the question is uttered. No
quickly and easily. identify the owner correctly (‘I’m
wearing Patricio’s jacket’) wins a point more coasting at the back of the class,
● The game starts with one player calling out
or can call out someone else’s name
his word and doing the accompanying action, waiting for the teacher (or a peer) to
and ask what they are wearing (‘Pedro,
followed by the word and action of another.
what are you wearing?’ or ‘Pedro, whose provide the final answers and then
The person whose word has been called out
then responds by repeating her word and jacket are you wearing?’).
being left wondering how they were
action and then calling out another player’s Patricia Sacks
Puerto Madryn, Argentina extracted from the jumbled stream of
word and so on. Encourage play to proceed at
random, not simply going around the circle words. The performance pressure is on
in order, as the element of surprise keeps the  Footsteps (no one wants to miss the crucial bit
players concentrating. Two players are not
After presenting some new vocabulary,
allowed to volley back and forth with each and let the others down). Everyone is
other, and may not choose the same player in you can use this game to check it with
two consecutive turns. your students. motivated to listen (no one knows who
● After several practice rounds, players are The students line up at one side of
will be chosen next, and what follows
‘out’ if they leave undue pauses, stumble the classroom, facing the teacher. The
over words or confuse words and gestures. teacher says a word in their mother may be made more comprehensible by
The last person left in is the winner. tongue and they take turns to say the what went before). And it’s a real
This game is often hilarious as players English translation. If they are correct
opportunity for micro-listening –
struggle to combine oral practice of many they take a big step forward. If they make
new items with the relevant actions. After a mistake, they take a tiny step back. The combing the text for words, phrases
several rounds, students will find that they
first student to reach the teacher is the and sentences rather than letting them
have memorised as many vocabulary items
winner. To get the students even more
as there are people in the class, along with float by. I’ve found it has a remarkably
an action that helps them to remember involved, the teacher can allow them to
the meaning. take turns calling out the words. focusing effect on minds and ears!
Greg Tweedie Nguyên
~ Thi Ngoc Trâm
. . Gillian Twine
Singapore Cân Tho, Vietnam Stamford, UK

• Issue Twenty-one October 2001 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • 37