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Language Games

Note :               Students should use English because they need to communicate.  Language learning then becomes much more effective.  The effectiveness is increased if the situation is enjoyable, or at least interesting.  Language teaching games can often provide this kind of situation.

The following is a selection of language teaching games which many teachers have found effective, particularly with younger children.  Teachers can use them whenever convenient, for reinforcement or revision of vocabulary or language structures.  These games can also be played when there are a few spare minutes at the end of a lesson.

Interest can often be increased by making the game a contest between teams.  This requires a little organization at first.  For example, the class will be divided into groups.  Each group can be given a name, but this need only be done once, and the effort will produce pleasant results.

                 Guessing objects in a bag.  The pupils can be allowed to feel the object, or the teacher can put in her hand and  

                 say : What am I touching ?

                 Guessing an object while blindfolded.  Pupils like this but it tends to be a little slow since changing the

                 blindfold from one pupil to another takes time.

                  Guessing an object behind one’s back.  This is quick and easily organized.  A pupil stands with his / her back      to the class.  The teacher, or another pupil, puts an object into his hand behind his back.  He has to guess what it       is.  Everyone enjoys the game and all the pupils watching learn as much as the child doing the guessing.

                 Guessing a wrapped object.  This has to be prepared by the teacher before the lesson.

                 Guessing an object hidden on the teacher’s desk.  This is useful in the early stages.  The teacher has some 

                 objects in her desk and she puts one on her desk, hidden behind something, perhaps a large book.  The pupils                  have to guess which one.  This is pure guessing because there are no clues.  Children like the game and it involves                  continual repetition of vocabulary and structures ranging in difficulty from It’s a __________ to I’m not sure but it  

                 might be a ______.

                 Draw and guess.  The teacher or a pupil draws an object step by step.  At any point a pupil can guess what the

                 object is.  If he is right, he takes over and draws something else.  If he is wrong, the first pupil continues drawing. 

                 This involves a conversation between two people which could be quite simple :

Is it a ______?  No.

Is it a ______? Yes.

                        or more complex :

                                    Well, what do you think I’m drawing ?

                                    I’m not sure but I think it’s going to be a _________.

                                    I’m afraid you’re wrong.  It’s not a ______.  It’s a _______.

                  Draw and guess with circles, straight lines etc.  This is similar to the last game but the person doing the          drawing has certain restrictions.  He may be asked to use circles only, or straight lines, or to start with a circle and add the rest of the drawing.  This often adds interest to the game and in fact helps those who are not good at drawing.

                Team drawing.  This is a very popular game but it needs a certain amount of space and may not be possible in some classrooms.  The pupils are divided into two or more groups.  One child from each group goes to the teacher who whispers the name of an object.  The child returns to his group and, without speaking, begins to draw the object while the group watches and tries to guess.  The person doing the drawing can only say Yes or No.  When someone has guessed correctly, that pupil goes to the teacher for the name of the next object.

                I Spy.  This is an old favourite.  The teacher or a pupil chooses an object and says, I spy something beginning with (a letter or sound) or, more simply, I can see a B.  Either a letter or a sound can be used.  The pupils have to guess the object.  Is it a ______?  Yes, it is.  No, it isn’t.

                   Think of something.  One pupil goes outside and the class decides on an object.  It 

             may be something in the classroom or it may be any kind of word already taught, for 

             example, something we wear, what we do in the holidays, a food, a means of transport, 

             etc.  The pupil outside returns and tries to guess what the class has chosen.  Clues

             may be given.  Several different forms of dialogue may be used.

                   Memory games.  The aim is to remember as many things as possible that have been drawn on the board and then cleaned off, or covered by cloth after being seen for a short time, or moved from one position to another.  The language used can range from simply naming the object to conversations like:

What was on the desk ?  There was a _____ and two _____s.

The book was on the table.  Now it’s on the floor.

                    Number games.  Game 11 can also be used to practise numbers :  How many _______s were there on the desk / board ?  Other number games are :

a)     Desk tapping or hand clapping – How many did you hear ?

b)     Guessing the number of small objects such as coins, beans etc., which are then counted to see who is nearest.

c)     Guessing someone’s height, or the measurements of an object, which is then measured to see who is nearest.

d)     Team arithmetic, in which a member of one team supplies a calculation, for example, four and two, five sevens, or a hundred take away seventy-five, and then calls upon a member of the other team, by name, to give the answer.  The first pupil then says whether the answer is correct or not and points are awarded.

e)     Find a number.  Various numbers are written on the board and when called upon pupils have to go to the board and draw a circle around a chosen number.  This can also be a team contest.

f)       Finger counting.  Two pupils raise any number of fingers at the same time guessing the total number of fingers for both children.  When one is correct, he wins a point.  This can be played for numbers 1 – 10, 1 – 20 or 10 – 20.

                        Remembering lists.  This is a different kind of memory game, very good for   

                        consolidating new vocabulary.  Each                    pupil repeats what the previous pupil 

                        has said, and adds one more word.

Examples :  This is my head.  This is my head and this is my face.  This is my head and this is my face and this is my nose.  This is my…..   Yesterday I bought some apples.  Yesterday I bought some apples and an orange.  Yesterday I bought some apples, an orange and some bread.  Yesterday I bought some ……

                   Miming  (acting without speaking).  This can be used to practise such vocabulary as occupations, animals, some objects, for example, bus, train, plane, taxi, and actions.  The teacher whispers the word, or the pupil chooses it for himself, and the pupil mimes it until someone guesses the word.  This can be played as a team contest as in Game 8.

This kind of activity is useful for practising the present continuous tense :

Is he swimming ?  No, he’s flying.   Also adverbs : How is he crossing the room?  He’s crossing the room slowly / quickly / carefully / careless/y / clumsily / sadly / happily etc.

                    Simon says.  This is another old favourite useful for practising commands and requests.  Various structures may be used.  The teacher, or a pupil, gives orders : Simon says, ‘Stand up’.  Sit down.  The class must obey only those orders that begin with Simon says . . . .   Anyone who obeys another order is out of the game.  The last one in is the winner.

A variation is for the children to obey only those orders that begin with, or contain, the word please

   Blind greetings.  This is a very good way of practising exchanges like these:  

Good morning, ______.

Good morning, ______.  How are you ?

Fine, thanks.  How are you ?

I’m very well, thank you.

Pupils take it in turn to stand in front of the class.  They may be blindfolded or they may stand with their backs to the class, which is much quicker.  Members of the class greet them, as above.  The child in front has to guess the name of the child who spoke and use the name, for example, Good morning, Sam.  If correct, the pupil who spoke comes to the front and takes over.     

    What’s the time Mr. Wolf?  This is really a playground game.  One pupil is the wolf.  He walks away, the others following, asking What’s the time,                 Mr. Wolf?  He replies with various times : Four o’clock.  Half past three.  A quarter to six, until he decides to say : Time to eat you up ! He then turns and chases the children who run away.  The first one caught becomes the wolf.

                    Whose is this ?  Objects belonging to the children are collected and placed in a bag or basket.  The children have to identify them.  They might be asked to say to whom the article belongs or they might have to identify their own objects in order to get them back.  This activity can be used to practise the names of objects and such structures as : Whose is this ?  Is this your _____?  Is it yours / his / hers ?  That’s mine / his / hers.  May I have that one, please? It’s mine.  It isn’t yours.  It’s John’s, etc.

                    Colours.  This is another memory game, used for practising the use of colours.  A pupil is blindfolded or stands with his back to the class.  He is then asked questions about the colour of classroom objects.  What is the colour of the door / window / fan / teacher’s dress / coat / John’s tie, etc.

                    Who’s got it ?  A row of children in front of the class are given various objects, or pictures of things.  They hold them up for the class to see briefly and then put them behind their backs.  The class has to try to remember who has what : Who’s got the car ?  John has a fish.  I think Mary is holding the apple.

                   This can become a guessing game if the pupils in the row exchange the objects 

                   among each other without letting the class see.

H M Patel Institute of English Training & Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120, Gujarat, India

Phone : 091-2692-230193, 091-2692-230079