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.
It Works in Practice in this issue of ETp was written by Julie Blake,
inspired by Teachitworld contributors whose activities and
resources can be downloaded for free from www.teachitworld.com.

 Songs  Games
Singalonga Morrissey? Games are always useful in the classroom. They come in all
Working with songs and their lyrics is a tried and tested crowd- shapes and sizes, are very popular with students, and reach
pleaser. It serves all sorts of purposes: adding intrinsic interest parts of the brain other activities struggle to reach. You
by bringing popular culture into the classroom; giving rein to could try adapting a popular TV quiz show format or board
different learning styles; and facilitating exploration of more game, or a traditional card or word game, but for something
diverse kinds of language, including the non-standard, the already prepared, try some of the games available on the
figurative and the playful. You can work with the raw material www.teachitworld.com site. Here are two that your students
in all kinds of ways, according to the age or stage of your might enjoy.
students: singing along, interpreting meaning, getting
students to write their own songs, exploring metaphor, You say aubergine ... I say eggplant
discussing different musical styles and tastes, and so on. Make sets of domino cards, each with a British term at one end
Songs by The Beatles have a long-established place in this and an American one (not the American equivalent of the word
tradition, but other songs which can be used very productively already on the card) at the other end. Put the students into
in class include: small groups and give them a set each. The students’ task is to
match the British and American equivalents in a domino-style
● ‘Everybody Hurts’ by REM. This has a sensitive topic which chain. Sticking your dominoes onto stiff card or getting them
needs to be handled carefully, but the lyric is lexically laminated will give you a resource that you can use again and
simple and it is a theme teenagers can discuss with great again.
integrity and interest.
You can download Helen Magner’s domino cards for free from
● ‘Ironic’ by Alanis Morissette doesn’t give a good definition www.teachitworld.com/attachments/9298.pdf.
of irony, but it consists of a series of lovely vignettes that
can be discussed – Has anything like this ever happened to Divine definitions
you? – and offers potential for development into longer
Whether this idea is based on the long-running old BBC TV
narratives or anecdotes.
programme Call My Bluff, or a commercially-produced family
● ‘A Little Time’ by The Beautiful South is relatively simple, card game called Chicanery, or whether both were adapted
quite humorous and great for focusing on tag questions! from a longer-running classroom activity (or older parlour
game), who knows? It is certainly a classroom classic and in
Mostly, the more teenagers are appalled by your choice of this version it is played to develop understanding of common
music, the more likely they are to bring in their own favourite media buzzwords such as think-tank and catch-22 situation.
songs written in English, which will keep you in lesson material
for months! Divide the class into four teams and give each team dictionary
definitions of six media buzzwords. Their task is to invent two
One song which often appeals to moody teenagers because it inaccurate definitions. The teams then take turns to read all
is quite dark is the Morrissey song, ‘The First of the Gang to three definitions out and the other teams have to guess which
Die’. You can download a fantastic, free resource (submitted by is the correct one.
Simon Green), based on this song from www.teachitworld.com/
Lots of good vocabulary learning is to be had with this game,
attachments/10150.pdf. This gets maximum value from the
and if your students enjoy it, you can adapt it to work with any
song and lyrics, with activities to explore sound patterns in the
set of words you like.
lexis; close listening; dictionary work; discussion about gangs,
love, crime and young people, through exploring the song’s Go to www.teachitworld.com/attachments/9750.pdf to
meaning and interpretation – and it offers the opportunity to download Lucy Palmer’s worksheets and materials for this
sing along. activity.

42 • Issue 60 January 2009 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

 Discussions
Working with material where there are important decisions to Vote for us!
be made can spice up a lesson nicely, especially if the content Divide the class into two political parties, the Right to Freedom
is carefully selected to match student interest. At higher party and the Law and Order party. Give each group a worksheet
levels, having to justify one’s own ideas or opinions can help to discuss and complete, outlining their (invented) policies on
to encourage more developed spoken contributions, supported taxation and spending, industry and employment, crime,
by sentence prompts where appropriate. Working with immigration, health, education, environment and anything else.
contentious material can also encourage students to develop a Having established their policies, the class is re-divided, this
commitment to a particular position, which is helpful in time into pairs formed of one person from each party. Each has
engaging them in careful listening and in encouraging to explain and justify his or her party’s policies.
thoughtful responses.
Go to www.teachitworld.com/attachments/9749.pdf and you can
At lower levels, you can keep it simple by limiting the cut and download for free Lucy Palmer’s worksheets for each of the
thrust of spontaneous debate, with students preparing and parties to complete. There are also further teacher’s notes for
presenting specific position statements or decisions, and then this activity.
being given an opportunity to vote for the best.
Save my dog!
Where would you live? And now for something rather less serious. Give each of your
Put on the board the question If you had to live in another students one of ten role cards (you can add more for larger
country, where would you choose? Then give the students a list of classes, or get the students to work in pairs or small groups)
factors that might help them decide. For example: which outline information about a dog and its owner. Here is an
● climate example:
● cost of living
● crime rate Owner
● education Natasha Kendrick – Natasha is 13 next week. She
● economy loves her dog. Two years ago she was out with the dog
● military service when she fell, broke her ankle and couldn’t move.
● political system Maisie ran to raise the alarm.
● religion
Dog
● standard of living
Maisie – Maisie is 11
● environment
and she’s a Jack Russell.
●

© iStockphoto.com / Eric Isselée

treatment of all citizens
She has been the family
● food and drink
pet since Natasha was
You could invite them to add to this list of factors. small. She loves the family.
She is intelligent, friendly
Ask the students (working first individually and then in groups)
and loyal.
to rank the factors in order of importance. This will generate
discussion about the relative importance of the various points.
The only problem is that all of the dogs have become infected
At www.teachitworld.com/attachments/9438.pdf you will find a
with a rare virus and there is only enough serum to cure two of
resource submitted by Paul Bress, which you can download for
the ten dogs. Get the students to discuss which of the dogs
free and use to do this activity. It first uses a series of images to
should be saved.
help students focus on the factors that might influence their
decision on where to live, and gives associated vocabulary. There Ten role cards for this activity, teacher’s notes and other
are then worksheets for students to use to complete the ranking materials, submitted by Mike Ellwood, can be downloaded for free
exercise and suggestions for further related tasks. from www.teachitworld.com/attachments/9238.pdf.

 IT WORKS IN PRACTICE Do you have ideas you’d like to share with colleagues around the world? Tips, techniques and activities;
simple or sophisticated; well-tried or innovative; something that has worked well for you? All published
contributions receive a prize! Write to us or email: iwip@etprofessional.com .

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 60 January 2009 • 43