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.
All the contributors to It Works in Practice in this issue of ETp will
receive a free copy of Nick Owen’s The Magic of Metaphor, published
by Crown House Publishing, which is reviewed on page 53.

 Spelling code game

 Comparatively simple This is a way of adding fun and a bit of healthy competition to
In part as a result of teaching large classes, I am always
looking for activities that are communicative, simple to a spelling test or single word dictation, eg for testing double
organise, fun to do and require minimum preparation and letters in -ing forms. It also gives the mathematically minded a
materials. Here is one I use to practise comparatives and chance to shine in the language classroom.
numbers 1 to 100 in classes of elementary level and above.
Prepare by writing out the alphabet and placing the numbers 1
1 Prepare some sticky labels, each with a different number
from 2 to 99. You will need one for each class member plus to 26 at random next to the letters. Dictate this list in number
a few spares. order to the class, eg ‘One = Q; two = E, three = X’, etc. Allow
2 Get the students to count with you from 1 to 10 and then students to compare lists in pairs and then repeat it (in letter
from 10 to 100 in tens. order) for them to check.
3 Focus on the pronunciation of 13/30, 14/40, 15/50, etc. Now, call out the words you wish them to practise. The students
Have the students listen and repeat.
must add up the equivalent numbers and call back the total.
4 Write a selection of random numbers on the board and ask
For example:
students to say them as a class and then individually.
Teacher: Late
5 Choose any number between 2 and 99, let’s say 42. Write it
(The students search their code for L = 12, A = 6, T = 17, E= 3,
on the board and ask questions such as ‘Is it bigger than
45? Is it smaller than 45?’ Hand gestures can accompany do the maths (12+6+17+3= 38), and call out the total.)
the questions and head movements to help elicit the Students: Thirty-eight!
answers (No, it isn’t / Yes, it is), depending on level. Repeat
this several times and get the students to practise the The first person (or team) to shout out the correct number is
structures. the winner.
Alex Case
6 Demonstrate the activity by giving one sticky label to a London, UK
student and asking him or her to write a number between 2
and 99 on it. Make it clear that you aren’t looking so you
don’t know what the number is. Get the student to stick it  Zunk
on your back. Turn so that the class can see and begin This game is designed to enliven classwork and homework
asking the questions previously practised to discover what correction.
your number is.
Take an envelope and put in it four cards with ‘5’ written
7 Conduct the activity. Put a numbered sticker on each
on them, four cards with ‘10’, four cards with ‘20’, four
student’s back. Then ask them to find out what their
numbers are. Depending on the level of the group, you can with ‘30’ and four with ‘Zunk’.
keep it simple by having them work in pairs and take turns During the correction session, a student who volunteers a
asking questions, or, for better groups that can deal with correct answer for an exercise item is allowed to take a
more instructions, you can introduce additional rules such
card from the envelope. If the card has a number, this
as for each question that gets a ‘Yes’ answer, they can ask
another until they get a ‘No’. At this point, either their number is added to the student’s score. If it is a ‘Zunk’
partner takes a turn or they find a new partner. card, the student loses all points already scored. The
scores can be calculated individually or on a group basis.
8 Then ask the students to say the numbers on their backs.
You could also ask them to arrange themselves into a line This technique can also be used with quizzes and my
or lines in either ascending or descending order. younger students always ask for more!
Steve Hampshire Janete Aguirre
Fukuyama, Japan Belo Horizonte, Brazil

36 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 25 October 2002 •

  Hot potatoes
 What’s in my bag?
I try this activity whenever I have to deal with short stories
Prepare a number of pieces of paper with a different verb on
where character description is more important than merely each. Place these in an envelope and ask your students to sit in
retelling events. I take an assortment of different objects out a circle. While they pass the envelope around the circle, play
of my bag and ask my students to suggest adjectives that may
describe my personality, inspired by both the objects some music. As soon as you stop the music, the student who is
displayed and the impression I make on them. I then ask them holding the envelope (the hot potato) at the time has to take a
to make suggestions as to what other objects I could have piece of paper out and make a sentence using the verb on it.
brought along, given what they know about me: my
profession, family details, etc. (You can also ask them to write their sentences on the board.)
Then, they are asked to draw a spidergram with adjectives that If they are learning a particular tense or structure, you can
can be used to describe the different characters in the short insist that this be used in the sentence. Play the music again
story we are reading, and imagine the objects that might be and make sure that next time you stop it a different student is
found in the different characters’ bags, wallets or pockets,
were they asked to empty them. In turn, each choice is holding the hot potato.
justified through the use of more adjectives, thus taking them Fernanda Terruggi
back to the main objective of the lesson. São Carlos, Brazil
It is advisable to devote time to revising personality adjectives
and to teaching some new ones that may come in handy when  Colourful lions
working with the story. This is a Greek game, which I use to practise or revise
Marisa Perazzo
Buenos Aires, Argentina colours. It’s great fun and young learners love it.
Student A stands at the front of the class and says,
for example, ‘The lion’s colour is ... red.’ The rest of the
 What’s your reaction? students have to run and touch a red object before
This is a quick pre-reading or pre-listening activity that I often Student A catches them. The first student to be caught
use with my teenage or adult students. It works very well with a has to take Student A’s place and choose the next
variety of topics. All your students need is a piece of paper and colour. This can be a lot of fun as long as you have a
a pencil. classroom big enough for the students to move around.
Georgia Nikolopoulou
Ask the students to write down three open-ended questions Peta, Greece
about habits, eg eating, sleeping, sport, reading,
entertainment, etc. (Choose the topic according to what the
students are going to read about or listen to.) When they’ve  FROF (Fast Reading of Flashcards)
finished writing their questions, divide the class into two and This is a fun activity for young learners that can be used to
ask them to exchange their papers with someone from the other review vocabulary or quickly remind them of schema-related
vocabulary before starting on a particular activity.
group and to write their answers on the sheet. They then give
the paper back to the owner, who writes a comment for the Some years ago, when I was using flashcards for a quick review,
answers such as ‘I totally agree with you on that’ or ‘I do exactly I noticed myself flicking the flashcards very quickly back so that
I could see what each card was. It dawned on me that if I could
the same’ or ‘I don’t think that is such a good way of doing it’
see what the card was by glancing at it, then the students may
and so on. They give the sheets back to one another again and be able to do the same.
write a reaction to the comments, such as ‘But the reason why I
It requires absolutely no preparation other than selecting the
do that is ...’ or ‘I get your point, but what if ...?’ They swap
flashcards you wish to review. You simply hold them upside-
these for the last time and read each other’s ideas. If you have down and facing you. Then rotate the cards 360 degrees very
time, if you think it is necessary and if students are enjoying quickly and without stopping (obviously at 180 degrees the
themselves, this might be repeated one more time. flashcard is facing the students the correct way round). The
students then have to tell you what the card is. If they are
In between the phases of the activity, I walk around and decide correct, you move on to the next card. If they do not know, you
an average period of time for their writing process. I then tell rotate the same card again. If they can only tell you what the
them when to stop and exchange papers. card is in their mother tongue, remind them of the English and
put the card back in the middle of the pack to be checked again.
In addition to preparing the students mentally for the topic, the
It is so easy to do and really livens up the review. I now rotate
activity enables them to use or remember some related
the cards as fast as my hands will let me and the kids still
vocabulary. It also helps to develop closer relationships between manage to see what each one is.
class members. Mike Bradley
Sibel Korkmaz Koriyama, Japan
Ankara, Turkey

• Issue 25 October 2002 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • 37