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 this issue will receive a digital subscription
to Modern English Teacher.

football boots and shirt, and the children were eager to tell me what sports they play
THE MYSTERY BOX (and how smelly my shoes were!).
Luke McGlynn, Swansea, UK Other possibilities:
A ‘mystery box’ is a closed box ■■  nce the students understand the concept, they can be encouraged to bring their
O
containing an object or objects own items to class and put them in the mystery box.
which the students are asked to
■■  ou could use the mystery box to set up the context for the day’s lesson by putting
Y
speculate about. Sometimes, they
inside it items related to the target vocabulary.
are invited to put their hands through
a hole in the box so that they can ■■  ou could choose items related to a particular phonic such as an apple, a toy
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feel what is inside. I have started ambulance and a toy ant to make ‘phonic time’ more engaging. n
taking a mystery box to my young
learner classes, and I have been
amazed how excited the children are
when they see the box and how
much language production it
generates.
There are a number of things you
can do with a mystery box but, first,
you will need to make one. You can
find lots of inspiring ideas on the
internet, but all you really need is a
shoe box (or similar), some coloured
paper and a little imagination. I have
added crepe paper, cotton wool and
pipe cleaners inside my box to make
it more tactile. Mine also has a hole
so that the students can put their
hands into the box without seeing
the objects inside.
I use the mystery box at the end
of my closing routine after tidy-up
time and writing the homework on
the board. I gather all the students
into a big circle on a mat and play IT WORKS IN PRACTICE
my ‘mystery box song’. Then they
take turns to feel inside the box, Do you have ideas you’d like to share with colleagues
describe the item inside and guess around the world? Tips, techniques and activities; simple
what it is. Finally, I take the mystery or sophisticated; well-tried or innovative; something that
item out and show it to them, telling has worked well for you? All contributions win a prize!
them a little story about it and Write to us or email:
encouraging them to add information helena.gomm@pavpub.com
or ask any questions. For example,
last week, after a lesson on hobbies,
the objects in the box were my

32 Issue 117 • July 2018 www.etprofessional.com

 IT WORKS IN PRACTICE

THINKING OUTSIDE that the box has been magically transformed – and what they
are looking at now isn’t a box at all, but some other object.
(AND INSIDE) THE BOX Using the box as a prop, they then have to take turns to act
Tien Minh Mai, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam out a short scene to enable the others to guess what the box
The idea of using a box with my students occurred to me when has become for them, without using the name of the object.
I was given a small paper box at a professional development The pair or team of students who are the first to guess
event sponsored by Macmillan. The outside of the box was correctly then take their turn to act out their scene. Some of
printed with the publisher’s promotional materials. I saw that it my students at CEFR B1 level have performed scenes that
was a very well-designed box, and I wondered whether there depict the box as a cushion, cigarettes, a pair of boots or a
was something I could do with it in my classroom. paddle. Others have chosen very ordinary objects, such as a
lunch box, bottle of milk, mobile phone, hat, laptop, book,
Then I realised that creative language learning and
eraser, purse, pencil case, watch, motorbike, airplane, etc. It
teaching does not take much: it can be as simple as the
is a good idea to encourage divergent thinking and upgrade
teacher’s or students’ ownership of a box, which can be in
the students’ linguistic competence by creating a list of
any shape or form. The box could come from anywhere: I use
over-exploited objects and words and challenging the
the box that contains my USB-HDMI cable (see Figure 1), but
students to avoid them.
it could just as well be the box in which an online retailer has
delivered your shopping. Any box will do! Of course, you don’t have to use a box for this
improvisation activity, any other object would do. I often use a
Here are three ideas for activities that employ three
face mask, a popular object with Ho Chi Minh City-dwellers
principles of creativity – curiosity, improvisation and
who commute to work by motorbike.
randomness – and which can all be used with students of any
level or age. They have a dual aim: to help the students
practise language creatively, and to teach them about the 3 A dice box
principles of creativity. The random combination principle dictates that meaningful
learning can be created out of randomised construction. A dice
box can be used to inject the element of randomness into a
variety of activities. Basically, a dice box is a box with six faces,
all the same size, on which numbers, words or images can be
displayed. When the box is rolled (like dice), whatever is on the
face on top must be used by the students in an activity.
To create a dice box, you could use a template downloaded
from the Tools for Educators website (https://goo.gl/8pVggF).
Here, you will find a useful collection of dice templates with dots,
texts and pictures. It is a good idea to print the templates out on
strong paper, so that they last longer, and to dedicate about ten
minutes of class time for the students to cut them out and
construct them. Once each student owns a dice, they can work
in pairs or teams, taking turns or rolling their dice simultaneously
Figure 1 to do the following activities:
 ombine a pair/group of word or picture prompts to
C
1 A mysterious box ■■
produce a creative sentence. For example, Mum is
Many people agree on the importance of cultivating curiosity ironing clothes for our new baby snake (see Figure 2).
(the ability to question) in learning. As a lead-in or warm-up ■■ Combine a pair/group of prompts to create a story.
activity, the teacher first places a secret object inside the box
and gives a few hints as to what it might be. The students
■■ Review speaking topics before an exam. n
then take turns to ask questions about the object in the box
(between ten and 20 questions in total) before they have to
guess what it is. Useful language structures may be written
on the board, depending on the students’ level (ranging from
I think it’s a ..., for low-level students, to Well, it has to be ...,
for more advanced ones). The final ‘unboxing’ of the object
can be made more dramatic with some background music, or
even delayed until the end of the lesson, as a way to sustain
the students’ curiosity and interest.

2 A prop box
The aim of this activity is to encourage improvisation. The
students are put into pairs or teams and asked to imagine
Figure 2

www.etprofessional.com Issue 117 • July 2018 33