ee www wal “ae ee eee INTRODUCTION —OTIMITY Introduction This book hos been written for teachers of students in the 11-14 age range, especially ~ Is this hook for me? jet Rew to the profession of new to this particular age range. There is no such hing os, either, « typical teacher, ora ypical student, is, therefre, highly unlikely that every single one of the 55 activities included will be instantly appropriate for every leacher in every classroom setting, Instead, you will find a spread of activities ‘extending from the ried and trusted, more hracitional games (Noughts and Crosses and Dominoes, for example} to others which are more unusual; a spread which, itis hoped, will provide o mixture of reassuronce and challenge. z z f "The book is meant fo augment rather than supplant an existing coursebook. Your What is this coursebeok is probably providing your pedagogic ‘main meat’, whereas Activiy Boxis" hagk for? a useful supplier of 'trlers, ‘snacks’ ond “desserts K fore ‘The activities provide oppoctunities for students to work as individuals, pois, small What kinds of groups, teams and as a whole class. Any acy for his age range hos o ake group ‘iti 9 Gieurce arwelcepelogogiecononintocrcounOncefyox paneyamemign SUtivities are there? {vst os easily be 10 foster co-operation os to teach he present simple. The cetivities range in longth from ton minutes to projects spread over three or four How long are the lessons. There are clo some ongoing activities which take a Few minutes om every « lesson Some ofthe acute ore designed toforber skis work sone provide procice | Activities and what ina specific grammar point while others encourage fluency. All he cctvities develop are they for? ‘reas other than the purely linguistic. Some develop co-operation, olners competition. Some depend on memory or concentration, some are datigned to develop good learning skategies, while cthors provide the opportunity to have 0 good laugh. tis impertant lo remember that we are nat just eachers of English, we ore teachers of ‘young, impressionable people. Any activity we bring into the classroom will, inevitably, carry @ hidden agenda o¢ an odlditional benefit other than is linguistic content. This, additional benefits mentioned at he start oF every activity and highlighted in the map of the book on poges wil Whot all she activitios have in common is an elenient of fun, play or challenge. This may involve problem solving, physical activity, display or competition; all of which are ‘elements which can help fo held the intrest ofthis age range. ‘Almost ol he activites can be used wit large classes; suggestions on how toorgonise What kind of class portcularly large groups are given within the activities themselves. Some of the activities ‘wilbenet om Ll intodcions ends isindicted whenever appropriate. However, ais CN Tuse the book possible to use only English for explanations although it must be appreciated that with with? lower levels, such as beginner ond elementary classes, ths will slow down ihe actly. The book was writen with monelingual groups in mind, lrgely beccuse my own experiences have been primarily inthis environment. However, many ofthe activities have been used : with multilingual groups, too. You are advised to adjust he suggested timing if you ore working with a mutilingual groupe; edd a ile ime for explanat on ond introductions.INTRODUCTION Are the activities for special age groups? * How is the book divided? ‘None of the activities is tied to a specific age. This is because levels of maturity can differ 20 enormously beth frem culture to culture, and alzo within a single culture. Some young people will be happy to draw and colour until the age of 14, others will consider itn insult, Some 11-year-olds can handle the honesty required fo discuss heir feelings about ‘a piece of music, while some groups of I-yearolds will reat the whole idea as « joke. Wherever an acivity would suit a more, or less, sophisticated group, this has been indicated. Ulimotely only you, he class teccher, can decide whether the class has the oppropriate level of maturity o enjoy particular activi These are eight sections in the book SECTION 1: GETTING TO KNOW YOU : Includes activities which con be used as ice breakers and warmers a the stort ofa course. Nemelearning acivilies are, of course, included, but there are cso activities which can assist diognostic assessment, others which ore linked with learner taining ‘and others which are designed to develop rapport and understanding between the teacher and the class. ‘SECTION 2. LETTERS AND NUMBERS Deals wit the alphabet and basic numeracy and will probably be of greatest use fo teachers of students from countries where the Roman alphabet is nat standard. Some cctivites, such as Fraction dominees {2.3} ond Running ireasee hunt (2.7) can be adapied to other concepts, SECTION 3: SPELLING ANO PRONUNCIATION Includes activites which check or reinforce spelling, and which encourage shuderis to check their own progress and moke their own sound associations with words, Please note thal earlain pronunciation activities are based on UK received pronunciation, Teachers of Antipodean or North American varieties, in particular, may have to aller the materials slightly to fithe's own variely of English SECTION 4: VOCABULARY AND MEANING Deols primarily wih meaning although there is, inevitably, an overtop with the previous secon, Examples ore provided with most of he octvities, but you ore encouraged to adapt the basic idea to suit the level ofthe class. For example, Patdhworking (4.1) is illustrated with on examole pitched at on advanced level, but the activity itself can work well with elementary classes ifthe questions are simpliied and deol with kasic vocabulary rather than prefixes and suffixes, SECTION 5: WRITING ACTIVITIES. Provides opportunities for students to write both subjectively and objectively, for real and imegined readers. In some cases the aim ofthe activity is lvency, in others accuracy. Sometimes students write alone, sametimes they writa in teams. Note tha! sections 2,3 cond 8 also include writing activities; you should not fee! thet this section clone provides the only opportunity. a fa nm am Tm mm PMT PP Pee mm” &