Sunday 6 September 2009

Circle games

Circle games are a great way to encourage the whole class to work together. They also provide an often welcome change in working pattern. They are mostly used with young learners, but teenagers will play them and so will the right kind of adult class: one that doesn't take itself too seriously.



What are Circle Games?
Circle games are any games or activity that involve the whole class, sitting in a circle. Many of the games recycle vocabulary and involve an element of fun. I would like to outline a selection of my favourite circle games that can be used in young learner and adult classes. Some of the ideas were given to me by colleagues or they are classic children's party games which have been adapted to the English language classroom. I do not claim to have invented them all myself!


Why and When?
Nowadays, in the world of EFL, pair work and work in small groups is very much in fashion. The communicative approach encourages teachers to use a lot of pair work and therefore increase 'student talking time'. I believe that for a group to gel and for a good group dynamic to prevail there are times when the class should work together as a whole. Circle games are a good opportunity to bring the group together. I tend to use them to start or end a class. They can be used as warmers at the beginning of a class or as a 'filler' at the end.

Several of the activities, such as Chain Drawings and Consequences are great for when you have to do a last minute substitution class for a colleague. Very little material is required, they're suitable for all levels and a lot of language can be generated.


Managing circle games with young learners
Circle games can be incorporated into the regular routine of a young learner class.

If students are introduced to the idea of working in a whole group from the beginning of a course it is easier to establish the rules and acceptable behaviour for this type of activity.

They should be seen by the students as a normal part of the class and clear parameters should be set as to what is and isn't acceptable behaviour when participating in a circle game.

If you have never used any circle games and want to start, set up the class before the students arrive and begin the class with one of the simple activities. It may make a nice change and it also gives you an opportunity to greet each student on arrival and do the register.

Speak to young learners about the importance of listening to fellow students and respecting each others' talking time and turns. To calm lively students and focus them, try some basic TPR activities which demand their concentration. For example, "if you're ready to start the activity, touch your nose", "if you're ready to start the game, point to the door".

When students get to know the routine and the activities you can nominate one of them to start the game and lead it.

A few activities
There are more activities available at Try - Other try - Circle games

  • Chain drawings
    • Give each student a piece of paper and some coloured pencils.
    • Tell them that you are going to play some music and you want them to draw whatever comes into their heads.
    • As music is playing, all students should be drawing.
    • After 20 or 30 seconds, stop the music.
    • Students stop drawing and pass their picture to the person to the left of them in the circle.
    • Play the music again and they continue with the drawing the person next to them had started.
    • Stop the music again, pass pictures on and this continues until the end of the song.
    • When you have finished each student will have a picture that several students contributed to.
    • Then it's up to you what to do with the pictures.
      • They can be used to describe to the group, to write a story about, or to pretend they were a dream the student had last night.
      • The rest of the class can try to analyse the meaning of the dream.
    • Use different types of music to get different types of pictures. I've found that reggae and samba produce happy beach scenes and dance music gets futuristic city scenes!
    • If you want to 'force' the pictures towards a topic you are studying, ask some questions about the topic first and get students into thinking about the theme. Beware - with teenagers this activity can be quite an eye-opener as it tends to reveal what is going on in their minds!

  • One word stories
    For higher-level groups this can be really fun.
    • Each student adds a word to create a group story.
    • The teacher can begin by saying the first word and in a circle each student adds the next word, without repeating what has come beforehand.
    • Good starting words are "Suddenly" or "Yesterday" to force the story into the past tense.
    • It is great for highlighting word collocations and practising word order. The stories can develop in any number of ways. Some groups may need the teacher to provide punctuation and decide that the sentence should end and a new one should begin.
  • Change places if……
    This is a TPR activity with students in a closed circle, with the teacher in the middle to begin the game.
    • There should always be one less chair than participants.
    • Depending on what you want to revise the teacher says, "Change places if …… you're wearing trainers."
    • All students who are wearing trainers must stand up, and move to another chair and the teacher should sit on one of the recently vacated seats.
    • The person left without a seat stays in the middle and gives the next command, "Change places if you …… like pizza" and so it goes on.

      Young learners can get very excited, so be careful to incorporate this activity in the class at an appropriate time. It is a definitely a 'warmer' as opposed to a 'cooler' and may be better at the end of a class.

  • Picture consequences
    • Each student needs a piece of paper and a pencil.
    • Make sure students have their paper in portrait (not landscape) and ask students to draw a hat at the top in the middle. When they have finished they should draw two short lines to show where the head begins and then fold over the paper leaving only the two short lines showing.
    • Students then pass the folded paper to their right and the teacher instructs them to draw a face and neck.
    • Students fold, leaving the two lines of the neck peeping out from the fold. Instruct students to draw the body, to the waist. Fold and pass as before.
    • Then they draw to the knees, then fold and pass, then to the feet.
      It's important to tell students not to cheat and peep at the folded part of the body. That will spoil the fun!
    • Students then unfold the paper and reveal the misfit type character they have created between them.
    • Use the pictures to practice describing people, revise clothes vocabulary or to create role plays.
  • Written consequences
    Similar to picture consequences in the way the activity is conducted but this one creates a story.
    • At each stage, before folding and passing to the student on the right, give these instructions.
    • 1) Write the name of a man. It can be a famous man or a man everyone in the class knows. (Depending on the group, allow them to put the names of class mates)
    • 2) Write the name of a woman. It can be a famous woman or a woman everyone in the class knows. (Depending on the group, allow them to put the names of class mates)
    • 3) Write the name of a place where the two people meet.
    • 4) When they meet, he says something to her. What does he say? Students write what he says to her.
    • 5) She replies to the man. What does she say?
    • 6) What's the consequence of this encounter? What happens?
    • 7) What's the opinion of the whole story. What does the world say as a comment?
    • The end result is a mixed up story that can often be amusing.
    • Read yours as an example of how you want the students to tell the story.
    • Then invite students one by one to unfold their stories and read them to the group.
    • Depending on the level you can encourage use of connectors, reported speech etc.

Assessing advanced students' progress

Assessing advanced students' progress

In this article, we'll be looking at how to measure the progress of advanced level students. We'll be faced with the dual problem of both teacher assessment of student abilities and student self-assessment. While all of us are well aware that we are constantly dealing with mixed ability classes, we are also occasionally faced with that mixed blessing, a class which at least looks, if not exactly is, a very level class. We'll try to offer some new insights into using the traditional four skills as a tool for measuring student progress, and to provide a few suggestions for future work.


Teacher assessment of student abilities
When you are faced with the fact that one of your classes produces very good grammar and reading tests, writes letters and essays with few mistakes, achieves outstanding results in listening comprehension, and has no problems communicating with a native speaker, you are in effect faced with the need to help your students realize how good they have become, under your expert guidance. As a teacher, you should also look for some tactful ways to let them see for themselves that one or two of their number are actually much better than all the others, even if it seems to them that they are all at the same level.


Student self-assessment
Surprisingly, many students tend to under-estimate themselves. Without your help, they cannot be sure how good, or how bad, they are. Even those who consistently get top marks in every task still need some reassurance and/or confirmation. Naturally, there are some weaker students who have a rather high opinion of themselves. With them, your tact is a must: you want to show them that there is still room for improvement, without decreasing their desire to improve whatever aspect it is they are slightly weaker at than their classmates.


Reading skills
Advanced Level presupposes the ability to cope with FCE (Cambridge First Certificate Examination in English) and post-FCE exams, or an equivalent. There are many types of reading tasks to choose from, to be found in any FCE textbook. I would suggest that for an assessment lesson, you choose a combined task, e.g. Fill in the Gaps and put the word(s) into the necessary form, e.g. change the tense of a verb, or form an adjective from a noun, etc.


Writing skills
If your students feel confident when writing an essay or a letter, suggest a more complicated writing task. A typical extract from a letter which requires a reply may have some hidden points, like a certain number of veiled questions and requests for information which have all to be mentioned in the reply. They may have to write the same number of sentences, or twice the number of sentences as there are in the letter, or just write a set number of words. Be sure to tell them that spelling mistakes will count as mistakes (sometimes, we disregard those when doing a grammar test).

Listening skills
Take any FCE tape and play the part with multiple choice questions. This task allows you to check their ability to scan a text, and to think logically in English, besides listening comprehension proper.


Speaking skills
Have cards ready, with the titles of the main topics you have had with your class. Explain the two basic rules,
1) One cannot refuse to talk on a topic, or ask to change it
2) The phrase, "I don't know", cannot be used.

Using the traditional four skills as a tool
Before you distribute the tasks, be sure to do the following:

  • Each task should have a set number of points, e.g. 20 gaps and 25 words in Reading ( 20 points), 25 points for Writing (5 hidden questions, and twenty points if there are no spelling mistakes… 19 if there is one… and so on). Listening Comprehension usually includes 8-10 dialogues. For Speaking, you may wish to use this simple Evaluation Chart:

    Grammar | Relevance to Topic | Fluency | Use of Link Words | Pronunciation
  • Explain to your students what they are going to do
  • Set a time limit for each task, and for all the tasks together, e.g. two periods of 45 minutes total
  • Trust your students: let them count the points themselves, then compare the results among the classmates.


A few suggestions for future work
My experience shows that if you do this type of lesson once, you will have to do it again. Those who considered themselves very good in Speaking may discover that they do, in fact, tend to panic and say, "I don't know!", when they have to produce an impromptu speech; those who write well may forget all about the hidden questions. It may be wise to start collecting the materials, and to change the format of each test lesson slightly, so that instead of, say, Gap Fill they get "that boring grammar again" in Reading, and instead of the standard Dialogues with A, B or C, they will have to fill some gaps. Offer your advanced students some really challenging tasks.
Remember: if you do not try, you do not succeed.

An Introduction to using Visualisation

An Introduction to using Visualisation

Visualisation has been widely used in sports psychology over the last 30 years to enhance all aspects of performance. In this article I will be looking at some of the ways that it can be applied to language learning.


What is Visualisation?
Visualisation involves the creation of real or unreal images in the mind's eye. I will use it to refer to visual images, images of sound, movement, touch, taste and smell


Introducing Visualisation to Students
The following script is one way of introducing visualisation to students who have no experience of it. If you would like to experience it yourself, record the script onto a cassette. Then listen to it following the instructions.

  • Script

    1.Sit with your back straight. Take a few deep breaths (Wait 20 seconds). Now close your eyes and breathe normally. If you don't want to close your eyes, that's fine. Listen to the sound of your breath coming in and going out.
    (Wait 20 - 30 seconds).

    2. Imagine you have a TV set in front of your eyes. When you switch on the TV I'd like you to see a white screen. Switch on your TV now and see the white screen. (Wait 20 seconds)

    3. Now write your name on the screen in black using your left or right hand. (Wait 20 - 30 seconds)

    4. Now change the colour of the screen and your name. Choose your favourite colours. Make the colours as bright as possible. (Wait 20 -30 seconds)

    5. You are now going to turn up the volume. When you turn up the volume you will hear your favourite music or song. Turn up the music so you can hear it clearly. (Wait 20 - 30 seconds)

    6. Now let the music and the screen disappear and switch off your TV.

    7. When you're ready open your eyes again.
  • Follow up task
    • If you wanted to add the senses of taste and smell, how would you do it?
    • If you were using this script with a class, what language would you pre-teach, or would you translate it into L1?


Guidelines for Using Visualisation in Class

  • If you're using visualisation for the first time, don't be too adventurous. Play safe until you are confident it works for you.
  • Some students may feel that they can't produce images that are 'good enough'. Stress that it's not necessary to produce vivid images like in a dream. If they can describe the image that's fine.
  • Have a clear aim for the visualisation.
  • Use a script. When writing a script include clear open questions to help students produce different images. Use specific verbs, for example, 'see', 'feel', 'hear', 'taste', 'smell'. It is important to include different senses as your class will be made up of students who are predominantly visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learners.
  • Include suggestions in your script to help those students that don't automatically produce images. For example:
    'You're reading a magazine. What kind of magazine is it? It could be a sports magazine or…..'
  • Mark the points where you need to pause to give students time to create images. Practise reading it aloud.
  • In class pre-teach any key vocabulary in the script.
  • Explain what visualisation is and why you are going to use it.
  • Lead students into the visualisation gently. Allow them to relax. If they don't want to close their eyes, that's fine. I use the image of a TV in front of their eyes, but it's only one way. If you have included questions in your script, tell students that they shouldn't answer them aloud.
  • Present your script repeating key elements. Don't rush it.
  • Bring students out of the visualisation gently.
  • After the visualisation, set up the communication / writing etc. task.


Practical Applications of Visualisation

  • Visualisations can be used for speaking practice as they create a natural information gap.
    • For descriptions. For example, a visualisation of a student's relative, focusing on personality and physical appearance, can be followed by students describing the relative to a partner. Write the questions from the visualisation on the board as prompts, for example, 'What's he/she like? What does he /she look like?'
    • To stimulate speaking. For example, after a visualisation of an airport departure lounge where students hear the conversations of a variety of different people (for example, two strangers who have just met etc), they act out the conversations.
    • For narrating. For example, after a visualisation of a memorable event, students ask each other about the event using the questions from the visualisation. Change the present forms into the past. So 'What's the weather like?' becomes 'What was the weather like?'
  • They can be used for revising vocabulary. Students write sentences with new words on their TV screens and then hear the sentences and the pronunciation.
  • They can be used to focus on the layout and content of letters. Students write a letter on their TV screens based on question prompts in the script, for example. 'Who are you writing to?' 'Where are you writing the letter?'
  • They can be used to develop students' self-confidence. For example, a visualisation of a successful learning event.
  • Students can also write their own scripts, for example, a virtual tour of their country, their house etc.


Continue the Script
If you would like to practise writing scripts, try this task...

In class you are working on the topic of travel and want to revise narrative forms. The aim of your visualisation is to help students recreate a journey they have taken so that they can describe it to a partner. To enable students to really relive the experience write the script as if it's happening in the present. However, after the visualisation write the key questions on the board in the past. Here is the beginning of the script for the visualisation. Continue the script.

1. When you switch on your TV I'd like you to see yourself on a journey you have taken. It could be a car journey, or a train journey, or a flight or maybe on foot or on a bicycle.
2. How are you travelling? Where are you going?


Why Use Visualisation?

  • It can bring classroom activities to life and make them more memorable
  • It creates a natural information gap
  • It combines left- and right-brain functions (language and imagination)
  • It can help students to develop their ability to create different sensory images
  • It can add variety to your teaching
  • It can help students to learn to relax making them more receptive