Speaking activities – Our English Corner's Blog

Games are an essential part of teaching English as a foreing language. They can be used to warm up the class before our lesson begins, during the lesson to give students a break or to reinforce one subject, or even at the end of class when we have a few minutes left. The list of EFL games is endless and they can be used to test vocabulary, practice conversing, learn tense,…

Here you have some games we use for revising vocabulary related to books and films genres. They are also perfect for practicing grammar(likes and dislikes), tenses and speaking and listening.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

This is a previuos activity used to engage and motivate before starting each lesson as an element of our gamification. Students have to answer or ask their teacher a question in order to get “checkpoints” on their passport.

It is a great way of testing what your students learnt about the subject worked on previous lessons. It allows them to learn from their classmates as well as they have to stay focusing on the activity in order to achieve the best results.

When use it? Before the lesson

Why use it? Grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, students’ attention, learn to learn

GUESS WHAT

This is a pair work activity which students have to complete the missing information by asking a series of yes/no questions and giving information about people’s interest.

In this pair work activity students will complete the missing information by asking about people’s interest.

When use it? during the lesson/end of the lesson

Why use it? Grammar, vocabulary, oral skills, listening comprehension, speaking

BOARD GAME

This is a really fun way to end a lesson. In this speaking work game, students play a board game where they will practice and review what they have learnt in this unit. Divide the class into pairs and give each group a copy of the game board( better A3), a dice and counters. They then take it in turns to roll the dice and move their counter along the board. When one student lands on a square, he/she has to ask his/her classmate a question. If the student can’t answer the question, he/she misses a turn.

When use it? end of the lesson/unit

Why use it? Grammar, vocabulary, oral skills

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

GUESS WHAT/BOARD GAME

Writing in English is relatively difficult for students because English spelling is not predectible or consistent. On the other hand, in the first levels of primary, as students are still learning how to read and write in their mother tongue, developing this skill is a hard work. So, we usually focus all our attention on the oral skills and sometimes the writing skills are pushed into the background.

But I think its is necessary to develop the four skills in an integrated way from the earlier grades, so we can start working these skills with some easy activities such as copy list of words, create pictures dictionaries, build words with magnetic letters, match flashcards and word cards, trace or complete words, label pictures, complete short simple sentences,.. in the lower levels of primary.

Moreover, we have to bear in mind the importance of creating a supportive and safe ambiance where students feel comfortable. because the activity itself shouldn’t the aim of our work, but to achive communication.

We are taking our first steps in this process and here you have our school objects portfolio.

Escribir en inglés é relativamente difícil para os rapaces, sobre todo nos primeiros cursos de primaria. Por un banda, aínda están a aprender a ler e escribir na súa propia lingua materna e, por outra banda, a lingua inglesa non é unha lingua silábica como a nosa e non ten regras ortográficas tan regladas. É por iso polo que normalmente centramos os nosos esforzos en traballar primeiramente as habilidades orais e deixamos relegadas a un segundo plano as habilidades escritas.

Creo que é necesario traballar as catro habilidades de xeito integrado dende os primeiros cursos así que actividades como crear lista de palabras, completar diccionarios ilustrados, construir palabras con letras magnéticas, completar frases, repasar ou completar palabras, xogar con tarxetas ilustradas e con tarxetas de palabras,.. poen ser empregadas.

Ademais, crear un ambiente en que os nenos se atopen seguros e cómodos é fundamental polo que a actividade en si non debe ser o obxectivo do noso traballo senón conseguir comunicarnos