To learn English is to Speak & Listen to English

Grammar, reading and writing are all well and good, however, if a student can’t speak or understand spoken

English they aren’t really learning. The following activities are to help students with speaking and

listening.

Tara Lockhart

Why speaking & listening skills are important to encourage?

If students are going to live or work in an English speaking country, it is important to know that we often give instructions and details verbally.I find most of my Asian students want to see everything written down instead of actively listening. In order to help them improve their speaking and listening as well as fluency (speed of speaking), Canadian teachers work hard at making the classroom as “active” as possible.

Task-based warm-up activities

These are great activities to get students to actively & naturally use vocab and grammar

they have already learned, or will learn. Believe it or not these activities are not just

for young learners! Older learners also need to “actively” use language.

1. Mingling1. Teacher types up different questions on a piece of paper (to

practice current vocab or grammar).2. Cut the papers ¾ of the way, so the questions can be torn and

handed out to students.3. Students stand up and walk around talking to different partners.4. Student A asks Student B their question and listens to the

answer. Student B asks their question. Then they switch question and find a new partner.

5. The teacher monitors and/or participates as well & gives out new questions when needed if a student receives the same question.

This works best with larger classes, and encourages students to get to know each other and talk to different people.

2. Jumbled SentencesGive students words in a sentence in a random order and ask them to put them in the correct order.

Option 1: Write a scrambled sentence on the board, & give students a minute or less to put the words in the correct order.Option 2: Type & print the sentences off, then cut up the papers. Pairs / teams work together to put the words in order.

2. Jumbled Sentences**Option 3: Cut up each sentence and put the pieces inside a deflated balloon. In class, blow up & tie the balloons. Put the students into teams. Each team can choose one person to get a balloon from the front of the room.> Tell the students they CANNOT use their hands OR their feet to break the balloon. Once the person breaks the balloon, they collect the papers and bring them back to their team.*Note: Make sure the balloons are far apart, or students don’t try to break their balloon too close to someone else – the papers will get mixed up.

2. Jumbled Sentences**Option 3: As soon as a team thinks they have their sentence is put together properly, the teacher checks it. If it is correct, they choose another person to go “get” another balloon / sentence.

*This can also be done with short stories. Put a sentence(s) from a story into a balloon. Each team has a different colour of balloon. They have to break all the balloons and put the sentences in the correct order.

3. Running Dictationword Definition of the word.

This works best with 7-10 new vocabulary words.Put students into pairs.Each team/pair of students are given a paper with the words on them, and blanks where thedefinitions go.Student A. stays at the desk/table while Student B “runs” to a word posted on a wall around the classroom as well as outside the classroom. Student B goes to a word, reads the definition and tries to remember it.Then goes back to their partner to dictate the definition.Student B can go back and forth to the definition as often as they need to.

I always make sure students know they can’t shout the definition from across the room totheir partner. I ask the students to put their hands on the table when they’re dictating to reinforce the “no shouting” rule. I have also had to confiscate cell phones to prevent students from taking pictures.

Once the definition is written down, partners switch places.

3. Running Dictationword Definition of the word.

This is not only a good listening and speaking (pronunciation) activity, but it’s also a good reading, writing and spelling activity. Even if a student doesn’t know how to say a word, theycan spell it to their partner.

Using a timer helps motivate students. You can either give them 10-15 minutes (or a littebit longer depending on your students), OR you can use a stop watch to time the speedof the teams. First place, second place, etc.

I also have a copy of the vocab & definitions to give to students when it’s done as I don’t alwayswant to wait for students to re-write their own copies of the vocabulary definitions.They can also check their spelling and any mistakes they made while doing the activity.

4. Broken TelephoneThis is a common activity, but I’ll include it anyway.It’s a good idea to demonstrate whispering and the importance of enunciation. Put students into teams. Teams make a line.Two people from each team leaves the classroom with the teacher. The teacher can either tell the students the sentence, or show them the sentence on a piece of paper. I always model the sentence for pronunciation.Said students then go in and whisper the sentence to the next person in line.That person whispers to the next person and so on.The last person in the line writes what they heard.Students rotate on their team, so that everyone gets the chance to be the first person to whisper and the person to write on the board.

4. Broken TelephoneTo circumvent cheating, I usually demonstrate before we start to play that body language is NOT ok. The use of L1 is NOT ok.If the person writing on the board makes a mistake, they have to go back to their team and the person who whispered to them, can whisper to them again.

The initial person can also hear or read the sentence again any time they need to.

5. One word at a time Relay Race

This is similar to “broken telephone” except, the teacher reads the sentence out loud for the entire class to hear.Each team works together to write the sentence, however, each team member can only write one word at a time.

6. Reading: Speaking and ListeningStudents are put into pairs.Student A reads a very short story/reading. Student B also reads a very short story/ reading.

Then students tell each other what they read using their own words.

Students are encouraged to ask each other questions about what their partner read.

Then students have a chance to read their partner’s story/reading.

7. Police!This is a great game that I have recently started using. • Give students a list of questions. (Review if

necessary.)• Ask students B, C, E & F to stand up and face a

partner.• Students A and D are the POLICE.• Students will rotate when the teacher shouts

“Change!” AB FC E D

Change!! Change!!

FA EB D C

EF DA C B

7. Police!The police will listen to 2 students having a conversation. If they hear a mistake, they shout “STOP!” and the student who made the mistake must begin again.NOTE: The student asking the question, may look at their paper. Questions don’t have to be asked in order.The student listening to the question MAY NOT look at the paper; if they don’t understand, their partner will ask again and help them understand using English if necessary. Then they answer the question.

7. Police!Students on the right are asked questions that they have to answer. Students on the left ask questions and listen to the response.In a more advanced class, students can ask follow up questions that are not on their handout based on their partner’s answer.

As students rotate around, they’ll each take turns answering and asking questions.

As the teacher, you can monitor to make sure the “police” are doing their jobs, or if there is an odd number of students, you can take part in the activity.

8. Error Corrections

Type and cut up a bunch of papers like the below example.Each paper has an incorrect statement / question & the correct form.Students are put into pairs.Student A reads the incorrect statement to their partner. They should not show their partner their paper. They read the incorrect statement as many times as their partner wants ( at least 3-4 times). Student B tries to figure out what the mistake is.The corrected statement is on the bottom of the paper. Partner A tells their partner if theyare correct, or gives them hints, or if necessary tells / shows their partner what the correctsentence is.

8. Error Corrections

This activity requires some preparation. This can be done as a review after learning a grammar point, but it’s often good to use before learning a grammar point to see what students already know, but also to discover the grammar themselves or through peer teaching.

9. Taboo / Password• This activity has many different names, but it’s a great

way to teach students how to paraphrase , define and describe words. In reality this is a great communicative exercise, because if a student doesn’t know a word in real life, this exercise teaches them how to describe a word in order for the listener to understand.

• If you have access to the game “Taboo Junior” or “Taboo,” I highly recommend using it. If not, you can easily make your own vocab cards, write the word(s) on the board, or on the Smartboard.

9. Taboo / Password

On the smart board or white board:Ask a student to either sit or stand in front of the board with their back to it. Write / type the word on the board. The class as a whole, or you can do it in teams, tries to get that person to say the word. The only catch is that the students describing the word CANNOT say the word(s) on the board.

9. Taboo / PasswordI often type up or write out by hand playing cards that pairs or groups of students can use.And just like Taboo, students want their partner(s) to say the top word, but they cannot say any of the words on the card.Depending on the class level, I mightonly have one word on the card, or2 – 3 words beyond the top word that they can’t use.

10. Computer search relay race• Students are put into pairs.• Student A goes sit at a computer.• Student B is told the question they are to

answer by the teacher.• Student B then goes to their partner and tells

them what they have to look up. Student B writes down the information. Then switches with Student A.

• Student B then comes back to the teacher and gets the second question, and so on.

10. Computer search relay raceDon’t show the students the questions. If they don’t understand, simply repeat or paraphrase.

I usually have the questions written on a piece of paper with #’ed sticky notes over them to keep students from cheating and each pair starts with a different number.Ex: Team A starts with #1, Team B starts with #2…etc, so that each team is not searching for the same info at the same time.End the activity when the first team finishes or shortly after, and review the answers.

*Alternative: Students have to show you their answer; if it’s correct then give them the next question.

11. Trivia

Put students into teams.Each team has trivia questions (and answers).Teams take turns asking their trivia questions to the apposing team. Let students decide on the rules; i.e. if they’ll accept answers that are close, if they’ll give the apposing team 3 chances to guess or if they want to give multiple choice options.

11. Trivia

• I recently did this to practice the Passive Voice, thanks to a fellow staff member who taught me this activity:

Example: When was Canada founded? (1867)Students at this level were expected to give answers in full sentences. Example:“Canada was founded in 1867.”

12. Password & Taboo Active Alternative

THANK YOU!!

I work and have worked with some really great teachers over the years, and thankfully they share / have shared their games, activities and warm-ups with me. I am also thankful to the great teachers who have shared their activities on-line.