Why English Language Games are essential in a teacher's toolbox

Many people think using English language games in the ESL/TEFL classroom is a trivial time-filler, but teachers experienced in using the right types of games will tell you otherwise.  English games, when used correctly, take the stress out of learning a language and help pupils succeed by learning naturally.

Why People Do not Like Games

According to Lloyd Rieber, author of Seriously Considering Play: Designing Interactive Learning Environments Based on the Blending of Microworlds, Simulations and Games, 'it is somewhat surprising that one of the most fundamental and important concepts of human interaction has received so little attention.'  He goes on to explain how the misconceptions surrounding play foster this attitude.  For example, people view work as respectable and play as easy – even though many of the things we "play" are actually quite difficult (such as chess, sports and music).  This is why many people balk at the thought of pupils playing games in the classroom – it is not respectable or rigorous enough to be useful.

How Pupils Benefit From English Language Games

What people don't realize, however, is that many people have different learning styles.  Henry Gardner explains this through his theory of multiple intelligences.  Most people do not function well under the typical range of intelligence used in schools (including verbal/linguistic and logical/mathematical skills).  As reported in Learning through many kinds of intelligence, by Dee Dickenson, using games can help pupils tap into the different learning styles (or intelligences) such as visual/spatial, bodily/kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic and intrapersonal. When pupils have opportunities to learn using their preferred styles, they often become more successful at learning any subject.

Furthermore, as reported on FamilyEducation.com, 'Probably the most important developmental benefit is that games require children to interact and speak with each other. They have to negotiate rules, take turns and correct and challenge each other.'  This helps your pupils use and improve their thinking, problem solving, listening and speaking skills.

What Pupils Think

Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga, authors of Learning Vocabulary Through Games: The Effectiveness of Learning Through Games, conducted a study exploring just how successful games are in terms of helping pupils learn vocabulary.  During this study, they gathered pupil reactions to using games in the classroom and found that they were positively received for various reasons.  They 'like the relaxed atmosphere, the competitiveness and the motivation that games brought to the classroom'.  Pupils also reported that they like using their imagination and creativity and that they learned new vocabulary during that games 'but also were forced to recall existing knowledge and put it to use.'

What Types of Games are Best and Why

Sally Flood, in her article All Play and More Work explains how games are beneficial IF the right types of games are used.  She highlights four components of successful games: competitive elements to engaging content, reward and objective relevant content.  If the game is missing one of the first three elements, the pupils might not have the needed motivation to participate.  If you leave out the last element, the game doesn't serve the purpose of helping you promote the lesson at hand. 

When it is Most Effective to Use Games

For advanced pupils, games are great when you or pupils need a break from intense studying. They are also helpful to introduce a new topic or to recall or review a recent lesson.   With intermediate pupils you can games more often and with beginners you can use them most of the time.  It is possible to teach the year's curriculum exclusively using games backed up by one written exercise or activity sheet per lesson so that pupils over the age of 6 have a record of what they have learned and practise writing and spelling. It should hastily be added that instead of an exercise or activity sheet you can also use a writing game instead.

Games are a great component to include in your classroom repertoire of activities because they allow pupils to explore different learning styles and learn the proposed topics at the same time.

Using Technology in the ESL Classroom - even if you are teaching in a hill tribe or yak tent!

Engage them or enrage them is a quote from Mark Presnsky who believes that using technology in today's primary classrooms is essential in order to engage and motivate your pupils.  

This article contains some fantastic ideas about using the internet and technology in class and for homework.  I learned these ideas at a big TEFL conference where I was also speaking.  The lecture was called something like: Technology and the 21st century ESL classroom.  The speaker was from IATEFL Hungary.  

To carry out these ideas you need to be very well equipped with computers at school and possibly at home, and children need digital cameras.  However take heart, because if your school is not kitted out like the Star Trek Enterprise you can stay abreast of developments nonetheless! 

If you look at the activities that I will describe, you'll see they are about human beings communicating with each other, and we've been doing that for a long, long time, and you don't need a computer to do it! 

The use of websites and digital cameras is just the PACKAGING for the activity so that your pupils will think it is cool. You can use all these ideas just as well by adapting them. 

So here is the latest ESL BUZZ:

The buzz in teaching today is all about the "21st century" classroom and integrating technology and producing students who are ready to go into the work place. In order to close the gap between what employers are looking for and what is being taught in school teachers, in addition to English, should teach: 

• Professionalism
• Work ethic
• Critical thinking
• Team work
• Technology
• Leadership
• Creativity
• Cross-cultural understanding
• Self-direction.   

You are probably thinking; "oh boy and I was having trouble with the present tense."

So here are some of the ways to integrate technology into your classroom, which also allow for the development of other attributes on the above list:

1. Making a class blog. 

1. Set up a social network for the classroom.
2. Only the administrator can invite new members so that ensures that only your class is on the network.
3. The administrator can control content to ensure the site stays clean and on purpose.
4. There is a forum section where class members can post topic and comment on things - all in English of course.
5. You may post homework up there so if someone misses class they can log on from home.
6. Post class projects, stories, upload photos, videos, put birthdays up there and create a class blog.

It's straight forward to sign up and you may well be able to get help from your pupils setting this up - someone in your class might love to have that job.

One place where you may do all of the above is www.ning.com

2. Use a quiz site to make quizzes and play online word games and multiple choice. There are excellent vocabulary games on there and the children may work at their own pace.    One such site is www.quizlet.com - a search on the net will yield others.

3. Something we all love - Movies!

Find a site where children can make short video clips by uploading three pictures and choosing the music. These sequences can be about anything, such as my favorite movie, family life, my ideal holiday, my best friend, my favorite band, or whatever topic engages your pupils. If you don't know then ask them!

Such a site as this is: www.animoto.com but you have to pay for that site now.

These clips can be uploaded onto the class blog or social network and shared. You may set homework asking the children to decide which movie gets the oscar and why and so on. Let the children make up bizarre stories based on the clips. The kids may comment on the videos in the forum.

4. Set imaginative homework such as making a short film.

The example shown at the conference by IATEFL Hungary was a truly funny and inspiring video that had been made by a group of four children aged about ten as a project to explain hand symbols.  They had picked hand symbols used for scuba divers.  One filmed, one narrated and two acted out the symbols, fully equipped with diving masks, snorkels and standing behind an aquarium one of them had in their home!

Now that film clearly let the children use their creativity, work together as a team, learn something new and work independently of the teacher. What an ideal way to engage your class.

5. Use a "Wiki".

A wiki is an interactive space for you and your pupils where people can sign in, edit, add text and links and save their contribution. The wiki space is refreshed each time someone edits it so it is constantly changing. It's not like a blog which gets longer and longer, instead you only keep the latest update to your group project.

Ideas for projects could be things like: making a list of what you need to take on a group holiday, who will bring what and then deciding where to go. Discussing and deciding which film the class would choose to go to from a list of three, with links to the trailers. Books: kids with a favourite book or comic do a review of them with a view to convincing the rest of the class to read it too. Put up several reviews and vote on the best. Then see how many of the class actually read it!  Grammar work could go up there and the pupils could mark it.  www.wikispaces.com are offering a free K-12 and adult educational space at the moment if the space is public (i.e. anyone could view it), you pay for private.

6. And now my ideas on how  you can do all of the above from your yak tent or hill tribe village!

I fully realise that many teachers are in remote areas and do not have access to cameras, the internet and so on. So of course you cannot implement these ideas in this way, but you can adapt them. Never fear, we can actually survive and be creative without internet and without techie gadgets! And, (gasp of amazement), many of us made it through school without a mobile phone. 

• Make a big notice board instead of the blog. Kids stick up their comments and pictures on pieces of paper.
• Use the animoto.com idea using three pictures that the children draw or cut out from old magazines or TV magazines.
• Tell the children to prepare short plays to perform in front of the class instead of filming them and showing the class on a screen.

For those of you in countries where you do have access to the web then go ahead and give these ideas a go.  For those of you in tepees, take the spirit of these ideas and apply them creatively.

The true value in these ideas is that they lead pupils to be creative, to work in a team, to be responsible for their own learning, to work independently from the teacher, to express themselves and to feel part of the learning process by actively participating in it.

Teaching Children with ESL Grammar Games

ESL and TEFL teachers often wonder how you can teach grammar through games.  It's easy enough to see how you can teach vocabulary, but grammar seems a little trickier.  However that depends on how you see grammar.   If grammar means learning rules about how to string words together then using games might not be the best answer.  However if grammar means having a good command of English then ESL grammar games are ideal, at least they most certainly are for elementary pupils to lower intermediates.

If you don't want your class to glaze over with dictation, writing exercises and "Jimmy, would you please read paragraph 1," then take heart! You'll find you can teach everything you want with games, and the children remember it better to boot.

The best way to show this is to give an example of an ESL gramar game in action, such as the game below, All Change.

A few teachers have reported not being able to control their class using this language game, and All Change is best for smaller groups, PLUS you need floor space.  If you are teaching 40 children in a class lined with benches then this game is not going to help you AT ALL!  (Aside from the fact that in teaching we often move around and our circumstances change, so you never know when it might come in useful).  It should therefore be mentioned that there are dozens of esl games which are ideal for large classes with no room to move, and which CAN successfully be used to teach elementary grammar.

First, the game itself:

The players stand round in a circle with one player standing in the middle. Each player has a picture of an item, or a word flash card, except for the player in the middle. Call out two of the picture card items or words. The two players holding these cards have to change places without the person in the middle grabbing one of their spots. If the person in the middle manages to slip into the spot in the circle then the one left standing goes in the middle. The new person in the middle hands their flash card to the child taking their place in the circle.

If someone is stuck in the middle for two turns say, "All Change!" When the players hear this they must all change places, which gives the person in the middle a very good chance of joining the circle. Once everyone has had one go ask your class to pass their picture to the right, and take the one handed to them from the left. You can give them another go with the new picture.

Notice that only 2 children move at any one time (aside from when you say "All Change"), which makes it easy to keep control.

Secondly, how the above game can be applied to teaching English:

Firstly, you can use it to reinforce new vocabulary, secondly, for revision, thirdly to help spelling by playing the game with word flashcards instead of pictures, and fourthly, to learn or practise a grammatical structure.

Let us say you want to teach the conditional tense and you start with "I would like". Hand out pictures of food that your pupils already know. Call out "I would like bananas and pie". The pupil with the bananas tries to change places with the pupil holding the pie without the person in the middle taking one of the spots in the circle. Continue until everyone has had a go, repeating the target structure each time. With a class that learns quickly you can also introduce the rest of the declension (he and she would like, etc.). You are now ready to proceed to a speaking game where your pupils use the target structure, as they will have heard it repeatedly by now. You can follow the speaking game up with a writing game, and hey presto your children can understand, say, read and write the new target structure.

Your pupils will take that grammatical structure on board and be able to use it spontaneously because they have heard it so often, it has been so frequently repeated within the game, that they have learned it by heart. Now what better way is there to teach grammar than that? You are teaching grammar by absorption and repetition, which is the way we learn our native tongue, and for children it is by far the best way to go.

Fun ESL Classroom Games and Discipline - an Unhappy Marriage?

ESL and TEFL teachers often do not have the class management training that their primary school colleagues benefit from. Without preparation it can be somewhat of a shock to take on a classroom of energetic children.  This is further exacerbated when teachers start to use ESL classroom games, which can make the children quite excited.

Here are some tips and ideas to help you contain your pupils' enthusiasm to a manageable level.  You can use esl classroom games and keep your pupils under control, but you need a few tricks!
The tips are divided into:

1. Basic ground rules for the ESL classroom
2. Handy tips 
3. Instant attention getters.

1. Basic Ground Rules for the ESL classroom

Have your pupils define the classroom rules in the first lesson, and post them on the classroom wall for reference. Knowing WHY a rule is in place makes it easier to keep. You must establish the rules on day one and stick to them!

Be consistent in applying your rules. If you are arbitrary about how you dish out your rewards or 'consequences', or punishments you will undermine the rules themselves.

Praise good behavior to generate love and self-esteem. Whatever you do, avoid being like so many parents who spend their whole time telling their children, "don't do this", and "don't do that".By focusing on the positive in order to draw more attention to it you apply the universal law of "you attract what you focus on".

If you are working in a school know the law and rules of your institution before you go into the classroom.

2. Handy Tips

There is nothing so sweet as the sound of one's own name. So use an individual's name for praise and avoid using it when ticking someone off.

Create teams and use peer pressure to encourage good behavior. Deduct or reward behavior points to a team's score during a game.

Don't break your own rules by raising your voice to be heard. Instead talk quietly or stop and wait. Your pupils should know that for every minute you are kept waiting they will receive extra homework, or whatever consequence you have designated.

I would ask a naughty student, "Do you want me to speak to your Dad?" By asking them the question you give them the power to choose, whereas if you threaten them with "I'll call your Dad if you don't behave", you take the initiative away and seem tyrannical.

Prevention is better than cure, so try giving boisterous students an important task BEFORE they start to play up. They may respond well to the responsibility.

Hand things out quickly or use a system to have things handed out, such as giving the well-behaved students the task as a reward. Sing a song togetheror do some counting to occupy the class while materials are handed out. There are many other things you can do but there is not the space to list them all here.

Instant Attention Getters

Play a mystery game and, before you start your fun esl game say that during the activity you will be watching out for 3 well-behaved students who will be rewarded.

Start a song the children know and love – they will all join in with you and at the end you’ll have their attention.

Clap out a pattern which they must clap back, or start a rhyme they know with actions.

Use quiet cues such as heads down or lights off. Vary these with other fun quiet cues such as "Give me five".1--on your bottom, legs crossed; 2--hands folded in your lap; 3--face the speaker; 4--eyes and ears open; 5--mouths closed.

You teach this repeatedly in the first lessons and after a few weeks, you only have to say "Give me five:1,2,3,4,5", and they do.

You can also use the Magic 1 2 3 idea. When a child does not comply start counting 1, 2,…The child knows that if you get to 3 there will be some sort of consequence, such as missing out on the next game. If you use this and you reach 3, you must follow through with an appropriate consequence consistently.

To summarise, establish the rules and consequences for good and bad behavior, apply them consistently, set a good example, use peer pressure and points, and use attention grabbing cues such as favorite songs, rhymes with actions and countdowns. You can be firm and fun at the same time, and if you cannot manage your class, you should realize that, although it sounds harsh to say it, you are wasting their time.

5 Top Reasons to Teach Children English with Fun ESL Games

There are many ways to teach ESL/TEFL to children but one of the most exciting and rewarding ways to do it is by using games.  Fun ESL games not only engage the children, but also teach through play – and most of the time the children don’t even know they are learning until it comes time to show their knowled ge. It truly is possible (and almost necessary) to create a classroom where the students not only learn but also enjoy their time there.

Learning is quicker, retention is improved

According to Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Khuat Thi Thu Nga, authors of Learning Vocabulary Through Games: The Effectiveness of Learning Through Games, Interviewed teacher reported that their students seemed tolearn new vocabulary more quickly and retain it better when it was applied in a relaxed and comfortable environment such as while playing ESL games. Since building vocabulary is the basis of learning how to speak, understand and read a language this shows that incorporating esl games into the classroom can do many things to increase your students' success across the board.

Building Interest in Class

As teachers, we all know that some students just don't want to be in our class and even the best students can get bored or lose focus on occasion. Including games is a great way to get out of the rut of language drills, worksheets, boring repetition and individual study.  Fun ESL games are a great way to revive students' interest in the class and often also help them absorb and retain more information than if they are simply studying to pass a test or complete an assignment.

Karen DeBord, an Extension Specialist for Rural Child Care at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University-Blacksburg explains how competition can help students learn more. As long as no one is forced to participate, competition can be positive and encourage player discovery, examination and learning. Creating the right type of games can foster this healthy, beneficial competition in the classroom.

Putting Language in useful and meaningful Context

Let's face it: it is one thing to memorize a bunch of vocabulary words or be able to recite the mechanics of a certain grammar rule, but actually putting these lessons to use is another story.  Games solve for this because they allow you to engage the entire class in activities that require practical use – and they are fun which can translate to "meaningful" if you have the right types of esl games.  When children get this meaningful and contextual practice, the language becomes more vivid in their minds and they are better able to remember what they have learned and used. In addition, the confidence children gain with speaking skills means that they are far more likely to go out into the real world and actually use the language they have learned.  This is achieved through games using meaningful repetition, spontaneous use of the language, and having to think for themselves instead of being constantly spoon-fed.

Giving your pupils a break

Some children find it stressful learning a new language, so using esl games as a vehicle to teach grammar, vocabulary and the four skills can really help shy children come out of their shells and allow any tension to dissipate.  Using the right games allows the teacher a chance to give the students a break from tedium or endless sitting, while maximizing the learning opportunities in the available time.  The children will be so immersed in the activity that they will not even realize how much they are learning.

Creating a student/teacher bond

Finally, as a teacher I'm sure you want to build a bond with your students. Playing games does this in so many ways. You’ll be able to show yourself as a person, not just a teacher, as you cheer on and encourage your students to do well in the game.  Playing fun esl games also creates a positive learning environment that allows children to enjoy themselves and their classmates.  Furthermore, you can get to know your students on a more personal level when you play (or facilitate) a game with them.

Teaching Children One to One: Tips to Make your Lessons Fun

On the ESL forums one often sees teachers asking for ideas on how to make their one to one lessons more fun.  Many teachers are excellent in class but suffer when it comes to teaching children English individually, and that is a shame because teaching one on one can be very rewarding, as well as often being a good source of extra income.

This article is broadly divided into four parts as follows:

1. The importance of making your lessons fun
2. Tips for using one to one games
3. Ideas for short plays
4. Added value ideas to enhance your teaching and reputation

1. The Importance of Making your Lessons Fun

By far the best approach for children for successful and fun one to one teaching is to use games and songs.  In fact if you want to inspire your pupil and have him or her want to come to your lessons instead of being forced to come by mummy, you have to make the lessons fun. One of the tricks is to have a substantial library of games that work for one on one teaching. Another bonus is to have a strong sense of fun and be prepared to join in the games.

If you teach using games children will love your private classes, and their parents will love you for the results you achieve.  A bi-product of this already very successful combination is that by teaching children in a fun way, you establish an important link between enjoyment and learning, which can enhance the rest of that child’s whole life.

2. Tips for Using One to One Games

Here now are some ideas to use games successfully when teaching one to one.  Most games need more than one player, which means that you sometimes need to join in and play the game too.  You could say, "well then I'd just win all the time", and that can be true.  So if you are playing a game that is not just pure luck, and where normally you would win all the time, then you can do things like this:

- Give your pupil a head start of 10 to 30 seconds.

- Make your task harder.

- Double the task you must complete in the same time your pupil completes it once.

- Award your pupil three points to your one.

- Award your pupil 10 bonus points at the start of the game.

- Lose deliberately by being slow (but pretend to hurry), or 'accidentally' drop your pen.

Another way of adding an element of fun to a one to one lesson is to use a stopwatch or timer to add excitement.  This allows your pupils to race against themselves rather than always being in competition or playing against you.

Time your pupil each round of a game and see if they can beat their previous time.  You can also use the stopwatch to give a time limit to an activity, aiming to allow only just enough time so that your pupil is more stimulated than if he or she were simply working methodically through the exercise.

Oven timers that tick and have a bell that goes off after the given time is up are also good.  Your pupil must complete the task before the bell goes off. Substitutes for an over timer could be an alarm clock, a wind up musical box or an egg timer.

Bells that you find on hotel reception desks are also fun.  The students race to tap on the bell when they have their answer.  This is more effective when you have two or more students but is still an added fun element for the younger children even in one to one lessons.

And finally, always be sensitive: be careful that one person does not always lose and only use competition if you see that it enhances the mood rather than causes unnecessary tension or a loss of morale.   With children between the ages of 3 and 6 any form of competition is best avoided.  You can play the game or use the timer as usual, but make sure that you play until the end so everyone wins – not just the person who finishes first, and with the timer idea, it is essential that the child finishes before the time is up – even if you have to indefinitely extend that time.  If a young child does not finish in the required time it really upsets them and they will probably cry – and that is not the aim of the game.  Rather you want the child ALWAYS to succeed, so that he or she feels great about learning English.

3. Ideas for Short Plays

Teaching one to one is immensely rewarding, as progress can be fast.  In addition to games putting on short plays with your student in front of their parents or friends is also a winning activity.   Children absolutely love to be the centre of attention and show off what they have learned.  One can write simple repetitive scripts with basic English, but with a funny twist in them and this will give a great deal of pleasure to the child, who will be happy to rehearse and perform, and for the parents who will be so impressed with your results that they will be sure to keep sending their child to the lessons.

Ideas for short plays include things such as a client and a waiter in a restaurant.  The client calls the waiter, who fails to come to the table and the client has to call for him again and again becoming more and more exasperated.  Eventually the waiter arrives and asks for the order.  The client gives the order and the waiter repeats it back, but incorrectly.  The client gives the order again, and the waiter gets it wrong again, until eventually the waiter gets it right.  The waiter goes off with the order and returns with the food, but there is a bug in it, or a worm, or a giant bogey, urgh!  It's very immature I know, but kids love it!  You can give the child a plastic fly swat as a prop that they have hidden on their knee until this moment.  They then start swatting away on the table and ask for the bill (as they are not going to eat there).  When the waiter goes off with the bill the child sneaks off without paying and the waiter comes back in with the bill, looks for the client, looks under the table, and runs out after the client. 

The secret to making a short play like that work is that you use the same language, exactly, each time, with no variations.  That way you can wrap this play up with complete beginners in a few sessions, rehearsing for 10 minutes during each session.  You don't want to only learn the play but instead first introduce the language in the play using games, then gradually introduce the play, one section at a time.  Each time you see your child you run through the play a couple of times, adding a bit on each time.  Then at the end of each term you can perform it.   I recommend a bare minimum of props because if you use too many props the children will waste rather a lot of time preparing them, because they take all this quite seriously you see!  However if you can have at least a couple of props such as a tray and a tea towel for the waiter and a fly swat for the client that goes a long way in the child's imagination.   If you do not have a tray to hand use something else like an A4 flashcard or piece of stiff card, then on the day of the performance you can always bring in a real tray, or ask the parents to bring one.

4. Added Value Ideas to Enhance your Teaching and Reputation

If you really want to help your protégé as much as possible then lend or recommend films to watch for homework, such as Spiderman, Batman, King Kong, or Cinderella and Walt Disney movies - all in English with NO subtitles.  Your pupils will watch these many times over willingly and will absorb a huge amount of language subconsciously, even if initially they cannot understand the dialogues.

If you are thinking about the cost of buying videos then take heart.  You can find very cheap second hand videos and DVDs on the Internet.  Over time you can build up a library of these for your teaching purposes.  You would want to take a deposit on loan of your material to ensure its return.

You could also build a library of comic books to read for homework.  You would not expect your student to understand all that much initially but the subconscious will be absorbing the language all the time.

The combination of giving fun classes with games, getting results and offering extra services such as a video or comic library, will set you apart from your colleagues and you'll be sure to get lots of recommendations from parents to you for private classes.

In summary then an outstanding one to one teacher uses games to teach English and puts on a show each term for the parents to applaud their child, to see how well they are doing, and to give the child a chance to show off and feel proud.  Games, plays and songs are all things children love.  As an add on to your exceptional teaching skills you can also offer recommendations or the loan of English films or comics for even faster progress.

Motivating Children: Going beyond Bribery How to Motivate Children to Want to Learn English

I'm sure you've all been there.  You're standing in front of a class of glassy-eyed children, or, even worse, a class of students who are just plain ignoring you.  How can you motivate the children and get them back "into" your class?  One sure-fire way to get your students to be motivated is to offer then small prizes or treats to do the task at hand.  Oh yes!  You will have a class full of highly motivated, participating children.  They might even learn something from the activity.  However, by giving the children prizes and treats to motivate them you'll end up with an empty pocketbook and a class full of students who are only motivated for the material prize, not because they want to learn (which means they probably aren't getting much out of the activity in the first place).  There are many other ways to motivate your students and you won't have to keep a stash of "prizes" in your classroom to do it.

Be More Than Just a Teacher  

No matter what your class demographics are, there is one sure way to motivate your class into participating:  Get them interested in you as their teacher and the interest in your subject matter and class activities will soon follow.

You're not just a teacher, you're a person too.   Sometimes children tend to have the mentality that teachers are just teachers.  They exist in school and nowhere else.  However, if you let them see you as a person and not just a teacher, you might see a change in how they react to your class and class activities.  If they respect you, they will respect the class and be motivated to participate in whatever it is you have for them to do.  Of course, that is so much easier said than done.  Here are some things you should think about when trying to figure out how to show your human side:
  
Keep Yourself Motivated 
Think back to what classes you like best and why.  If the teacher was bored and didn’t make the subject interesting, then the children often didn't like the class either.  To keep yourself motivated, change your activities to things that you are excited about.  If you’re not excited and motivated about the activities you have planned for your students, it’s time to get some new ones.

Be an Individual
Don't be afraid to talk about your interests outside of school.  Look for commonalities between you and your students and capitalize on them.  For example, if you like the same types of music as a lot of your students, bring in some CD's and let them listen to music when they are working on projects.  Make sure the words are in English so that the children can take in some English language into their subconscious.

Have fun and be silly
Seriously.  Talk in a crazy voice or be daft and make them wonder what you'll be up to next.  Some teachers frown upon the idea of playing the clown and having fun because they think it is time-wasting and that it is not their role to be an entertainer.  If it is not in your personality to be a big kid, then you cannot fake it, and that is OK.  If you use fun games and ideas your classes will still be enjoyable.  However if you are a big kid at heart then you will find that joining in, playing with the children and generally acting up and being enthusiastic will come naturally to you and is all part of the fun of teaching.  It is not clowning around for the sake of it, it servers to keep a fun and happy learning environment, and this alone can motivate your students.  If your children can laugh with you, and if they LIKE you, they'll be interested in what you're doing up there in front of the class.

Encourage
When you're frustrated with your class because they don't seem interested in participating, it's quite easy to forget that even when they do something small, you need to keep encouraging and to stay positive. The number one way to demotivate children is to have a negative or neutral attitude.  If the children do not feel encouraged and good about learning then they will not feel motivated to learn.

Make your students Active Learners 
Think back to when you were in school.  Did you like to sit at a desk and listen to the teacher drone on and on.  This type of passive learning is BORING and demotivating.  Active learning doesn't mean the children need to by physically active throughout the class period – it just means that you design your class period around having them actively participate in the learning process.  There are lots of things you can do:

Play Games
Implement games that have the same outcome that you might have them reach by doing a worksheet.  For example, if you might normally give them a worksheet to write the correct verb next to the picture illustrating the action, have them instead practice their verbs by doing the action for the word you say or the word on a card that you hold up.  Likewise, you could do the action and have them write down the word.  You may access free samples of fun classroom games in the resource box below.

When you play games, you can use points and competition as a motivator, but not for kids under six who may find the competition too stressful.  For them, just playing the game is motivating enough.  You can also sometimes award extra credit, but use it sparingly so that it remains "extra" and a special reward.  Also if you use it too much, children can have so much extra credit that it sways the actual grades too much.

Get Them Moving
Movement is a vital component to motivating children.  The best way to prevent children from zoning out is to get them up out of their seats at least once each class period.  Even if you just require them to come up to you instead of you going to them for help, the movement can help get them out of the trance that they sometimes get from sitting in one spot too long.  Grouping the children for study projects and activities helps as well.  If you can, let them move the desks around or sit on the floor to change things up as well.  Many games involve movement without the children needing to leave their seats, such as miming, moving certain body parts and passing things around as part of a game or race.  Therefore even teachers with large classes and no space to move can use this technique, albeit to a more limited degree.

Get Their Hands "Dirty"
Well, not literally, but the more hands-on activities you can do the better they will learn and the more likely they will stay interested in the activity.  If you're talking about the words to describe fruit, have each student bring in a piece of fruit and use the fruits in games.  It is much more motivating and effective to be handling real objects, or learning with pictures than copying down lists of words from the board. If you are discussing how to put a sentence together, have them construct their own sentences (alone or with a partner) and write them on the chalkboard.  You can also intentionally make mistakes to encourage them to look for the "right" way.  If you do this you should warn the children so that they are on the look out for your deliberate errors, otherwise you could do more harm than good. 

Stick to a Schedule
Creating a schedule for your students help them know what to expect in the class and will help them stay organized as well which will lower the frustration level for children who sometimes struggle in school.  It is very difficult for frustrated children to stay motivated.  If they know that every Friday is a vocabulary quiz, then they won't have to wonder on Thursday if they were supposed to study last night.  If they have weekly assignments due on every Wednesday, then you don't have to spend the majority of the class time reminding them that the weekly assignment is due.  This schedule should be clearly explained to the children as well as posted in the classroom.

You can also have a mini-schedule that outlines how each class period will go.  For example, each class period you might do vocabulary exercises and games for 15 minutes and then move on to the main activity of the day.  It also helps children if you post a daily "plan" on the chalkboard so they know what will be expected of them each day when they walk into the classroom.

Variety is the Spice of Life!
With that all said, it's also important to change things up within the schedule.  For example, if you spend the first 10 or 15 minutes each day doing vocabulary activities, make sure you vary these activities so they don't get boring and stay motivated.  If you see that the children of one class don't respond to an activity, avoid it in the future and stick to the ones they like.  It's also important to realize that some groups of children will be motivated by certain activities that the next group of children will literally detest.  For example, one group might really like role playing activities while another group would rather have a tooth pulled. 

Another way to create variety is to keep changing the pace.  Play a game that wakes the children up and follow it with a calm game so that the students do not get too excited.  Then play a fast game so the children do not become so calm that they start to become restless and misbehave or drift off.

Give Them OptionsIf you spend long periods of time with your class, or if you have a mixed ability class and have to split your teaching time between groups, then the following ideas may help when the children have some free or unsupervised time in your class.  Having a collection of fun learning activities for them can motivate children that like to waste time and be a time-filler for children that like to make trouble.

Get a variety of activities for the children such as educational board games, crossword puzzles, sudoku puzzles, art projects… anything that they can learn something from that they would also find fun.  For older kids, you can make a competition to complete a packet of activities to get extra credit points or put them on a team to be the first to complete a series of tasks.
If you have a facility where you can send children to watch a film in English that would be most beneficial.  Otherwise have suitable English reading material such as comics, or teenage magazines about cars for the boys and dating and makeup for the girls!  If discipline is a problem then the children will have to work individually at their desks in silence, but at least they will be engaged in the activity.

One Last Idea…  This really motivates younger classes of children up to age 12, but it can work with all ages.  Plan an end of the term program so the children can show off what they've learned to their parents and anyone else who attends the program.  You can do it right in the classroom and have the children play games, recite poems, whatever you can come up with to have them showcase what they've learned to their parents.

Because this is such a successful strategy you can even put on two performances, one in the assembly hall in front of the whole school, and one in front of the parents, perhaps in the evening or immediately after school.  You should find that your head of school is very open to this as it gives him or her an opportunity to show off too!

So, there you have it.  There are lots of ways you can motivate your students to WANT to learn and to pay attention without bribing them with tangible gifts that become more important to them than learning the material.

Teaching Grammar with Games in the ESL Classroom

You may remember when you were in school the dreaded grammar lessons of sitting in a desk writing, correcting and rewriting sentences to learn proper grammar usage.  Well, while some people may still teach grammar in this method, there is a movement towards teaching grammar with games.  Just imagine your class when you announce that it's time for a grammar lesson and instead of moans and whining, you get smiles and excitement.  It is possible and believe it or not, teaching grammar with games will still be as effective, if not more effective, as just teaching them through repetitive writing and rewriting.

Research gives excellent reasons to teach grammar with games

Arif Saricoban and Esen Metin, authors of "Songs, Verse and Games for Teaching Grammar" explain how and why games work for teaching grammar in an ESL classroom.  They say, "Games and problem-solving activities...have apurpose beyond the production of correct speech, and are examples of the most preferable communicative activities."  They go on to explain that grammar games help children not only gain knowledge but be able to apply and use that learning.

Additionally, games have the advantage of allowing the students to "practice and internalize vocabulary, grammar and structures extensively."  They can do this through repeated exposure to the target grammar and because students are often more motivated to play games than they are to do deskwork.  Plus, during the game, the students are focused on the activity and end up absorbing the grammar subconsciously.

While games are motivating for the students, probably the best reason, according to Saricoban and Metin, to use games is that "the use of such activities both increases the cooperation and competition in the classroom."  Indeed games can be used to add excitement through competition or to create bonding between the students, and between the students and teacher.

Aydan Ersoz, author of "Six Games for the ESL/EFL Classroom" also explains more reasons why games do work for teaching grammar.  Learning a language requires constant effort and that can be tiring, but Ersoz outlines two good reasons why games should be included in the classroom:

* Games that are amusing and challenging are highly motivating.
* Games allow meaningful use of the language in context.

The Value of Intrinsic Motivation

The theory of intrinsic motivation may also give some insight as to why teaching grammar through games actually works.  Intrinsic motivation refers to the internal factors that encourage us to do something.  Most young learners will not internally decide that they want to learn grammar.  They don't yet understand the concepts of why it's important to know proper grammar, so these external factors won't affect them much either.  Instead, intrinsic motivation can encourage them to play games.  If these games are good then they will be learning while they are playing. 

Joel Bacha, author of "Play and Affect in Language Learning", explains how this theory works.  Exposure to challenges and stimulation piques the children's natural curiosity and, in turn, promotes learning through the activity's required skills.  This is because activities that get the students to move around activate their mental capacities and stimulate neural networks, thus promoting learning and retention.  Bacha's article goes on to point out that some studies are even beginning to show that intrinsic motivation can promote long-term language retention.

What kinds of games work best?

When you are looking for games to use in your classroom, don't just pick something to be a "time filler" that does not have any linguistic purpose.  These games may entertain the students, but when you don't have much time with them each day as it is, you want your game to do double duty to get the most out of the time you spend playing games.

Lin Hong, author of "Using Games in Teaching English to Young Learners", explains that not all games are going to work to teach the students language skills.  If the game is simply for fun and not linked to educational goals it may not be the best use of your time.  It is possible to have a fun game that is educationally sound, however.  To find out if the game is educationally sound, think about these questions posed by Hong:

• Which skills do the games practice?
• What type of game is it and what is its purpose?
• Does the difficulty level of the game mesh with the students' ability level?
• Does the game require maximum involvement by the students?
• Do the students like it?  Do you like it?

To add to these questions also ask yourself:

• What specific vocabulary or grammar are you introducing or practising with this game?
• Can you keep control of your class and play this game?
• What materials do you need for the game and can you obtain these easily?
• What controls, if any are needed, will you have in place to ensure the children are on track?
• Competition is not always appropriate, and it is not appropriate at all for five year olds and under.  Can you play a game for the sake of the game and not in order to define winners and losers?  Here are some ways play down competition:  Do not keep score all the time, make sure the teams tie, play down any "winning", praise everyone, play until everyone has finished - the winners are those who finish, not those who finish first, and everyone finishes. Etc.
• Are the rules easy and clear?

You may sign up FREE for effective classroom games in the top left box of this page if you have not done so already.

Tips for Using Grammar Games in Class Successfully

Organization.  The first thing you should do when start teaching a preschool or elementary school ESL class is to figure out how to organize your class.  For the younger students you'll want to change your activities every five to ten minutes because they have shorter attention spans.  If you don't change your activities, they'll soon start losing interest.  As you get towards the higher elementary grades, you can expand the time you spend per activity.  The best way to gauge this is to pay attention to your class for the first few days to see what length of time works the best for them.  Additionally, try to have everything ready to go before the students enter the classroom.  That way you can go from activity to activity with minimal downtime.  This is essential as you can lose control of the class if you do not keep them occupied.

Expectations.  If you notice that your class is getting noisy or rambunctious, it's time to change activities.  Kids of this age like to be active; in order to balance out the energy levels in the classroom, alternate between active activities and quiet activities.

Be careful how you use activities that require fine motor skills - or more importantly pay attention to your expectations for activities that require fine motor skills.  Children in preschool and early elementary are just learning to write in their own languages.  This is not the best time to expect them to write in a foreign language as well.  As they progress through elementary school, however, you can begin using games and activities that require them to write small amounts.

Variation.  You want to make sure your activities appeal to all sorts learning styles, so even when you are using games to teach grammar you'll want to vary the types of things you expect your students to do.  For preschool and early elementary grades, stick to games that use talking, listening, looking and moving.  For middle and high elementary, you can continue to use games that use talking, listening, looking and moving and add in some games that use writing and reading.

Going along with this same idea, think about what children learn from the easiest.  Television commercials are short and catchy and the most memorable are the ones that are repeated often.  Keep these characteristics in mind when you are teaching grammar to your students - incorporate these characteristics into your daily activities.

Respect.  To make games work for you and your class, be sure to operate your class with the utmost respect - both to and from students.  This includes teaching your students from the very start that you expect respect at all times.  This includes giving encouragement and following the rules.

That said, you'll need to make sure the rules for all of the games are clear and manageable.  When possible, explain the rules in the students' native tongue so that they all know what is expected of them.  When there is an environment of respect in the classroom, the students will feel safe enough to participate in the games so that they can get the most educational value out of them.

Towards the end of elementary school, you can start introducing competitive games, but only if the class is respectful and it shouldn't be the main focus of the game.

Routine.  Even if you only have your students for a short time every week, establishing a routine will help the class go smoothly.  Children of this age (preschool through elementary school) thrive on routine and if they know what to expect next, they will be more able to participate in what's going on now.  Set up a schedule for the type of activities you'll be doing at any given time throughout the class whether it is a game, story or song or whatever you want to do.  Then, when you are planning your class, plug in the appropriate activities to each section of time.  You should also leave a little time at the end of the class period to allow the students to clean up and gather their things as well as time for you to recap the class, praise the students and tell them good-bye.

You can also designate a "sign" to use to signal to the students when it is time to change activities such as clapping or signing a specific song so that they know it's time to return to the circle, table or desks.

Nurture.  Perhaps the most important thing you can do with your students is to nurture them everyday.  For each child in your class, find something you like about him or her and be sure to tell him or her.  Be encouraging, patient and kind while playing games and participating in activities and they'll like you as a teacher and a person which will in turn help them get excited about your class and what you have for them to do everyday.

Using games to teach grammar can be both fun and rewarding for you and your students.  Just remember to keep them engaged and make sure that you're games are truly teaching the skill at hand and you'll soon have a class full of students who get excited about learning grammar!  If you need some ideas to help you get started, just visit the link in the box below this article for some free materials on how to use games in your classroom.

Battletoads Zits

Battletoads is a video came franchise that first relased in 1991. The first game titled “Battletoads”, was a 2D Smash ‘em up style video game from Rare Ltd. At it’s release it was one of the most advanced video games to ever be released graphically. Such a success that the game was even turned into an arcade machine in 1994 in association with Electronic Arts.

The original story behind Battletoads, is of two teenaged, mutant toads (Not Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), who are both named after skin disorders, Rash and Zits. They are required to save their brother, who is also named after a skin disorder, Pimple, and the Princess Angelica. Princess Angelica is being kept captive by the Evil Dark Queen, who is the ruler of the Planet Ragnarok. They are assisted along the way by Professor T. Bird, who is equipped with a funky space ship.

The main characters in the game are:

Rash – The most popular Battletoad. Green in Color and weards black sunglasses. Real Name Dave Shar, he is the craziest and fastest of the Battletoads.

Zitz – The leader of the Battletoads. Intelligent and cunning, brown in color, his real name is morgan Ziegler

Pimple – Not the smartest toad, but he is powerful with brute force. Pimple is a tank, and not to be reckoned with. Often times seen using heavy objects in attack situations. Real name George Pie.

Professor T. Bird – The mentor and guider of the Toads throughout their mission. Often times seen mocking the toads when they fail, as he dislikes failure.

The Dark Queen – An Evil Queen, with a goal of destroying the battletoads in her ultimate mission in ruling the universe with her axis of allies. Noted that she looks strikingly similar to Elvira.

Teaching ESL Preschool Ideas and Tips for Successful Classes

Are you looking for ideas for your ESL preschool class?  Anyone who has taught preschoolers will tell you that it is a challenge.  While they are cute, funny and often eager to learn, preschoolers are also energetic, active and often difficult to keep on any particular task for more than a few minutes at a time.  That is why it takes a special kind of teacher and special ideas for your ESL preschool class to work.  Games, stories and songs are the perfect answer to the challenge of teaching preschool ESL classes.

Background: Why Games and Stories Work  

Research is beginning to show that preschoolers (and other young learners) actually do learn better through games.  There are many reasons for this, including the theory of intrinsic motivation.


Intrinsic motivation is the idea that people are motivated to do things because of internal factors.  Preschool children are not going to understand the advantages that knowing a second language will give them.  They are probably also not thinking that they want to go to school to learn a second language - especially because they are still trying to grasp their first language.

That is why it is important to motivate them to want to do the class activities and children will be more likely to join in and enjoy themselves when given the option to participate in activities that incorporate play and physical movements.

Other research includes the theory of activity-based learning or total physical response.  This theory states that movement stimulates neural networks and activates mental capacities, which are not activated when sitting at a desk.   Children are more likely to be curious when presented with music, games and total physical response activities, and therefore are more likely to learn and retain knowledge.

An example of a total physical response activity would be making the shapes of the alphabet with your body, or using your body and props to imitate different types of weather, or using your voice, body, a prop or make believe to represent vocabulary or meaning.  For example a dull vocabulary idea is to ask children to pick up pictures off the floor and name them.  To turn this into a total physical response activity and fun game tell your children they are pirates who have lost their treasure overboard and they must dive down and retrieve it.  Demonstrate by taking in a big breath, hold your breath and dive down and pick up one of the cards, then come up for air and ask the children to name the card, or you name it, depending on whether you are doing a speaking or listening activity.  Then tell the children which pictures to dive down and collect.  You could make it even more dramatic by dimming the lights when the children dive down and turning them up when they surface.

There are other theories that explain why play works in the preschool ESL classroom.  When you use games, songs and stories to teach ESL to your preschool students, you are relying on absorption by repetition.  The more they hear and experience the vocabulary that you are teaching them, the more likely they will learn it.  But who wants to sit in a class simply repeating words and what they mean?  Certainly not three to five year olds.  You will soon have a classroom of unruly children who are not learning a thing.  If you engage them in a game or song or story that uses the language you are teaching, however, they will understand and use the language simply from the exposure.

By using games, play, movement and song, all things that most preschoolers enjoy, learning language will be a fun and positive experience.  The environment of play and games is a relaxed environment (as long as you do not use competition at this age) and allows the students to learn without the stress or fear of possible failure.

A final thought on learning through games stems from Dr. Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences.  In this theory, Gardner has defined several different areas of learning and also has explained that not everyone learns in the same ways.  The intelligences include the following:

1. Linguistic intelligence: Learning and using spoken and written language
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence: Logically analyzing problems, detecting patterns, reasoning.
3. Musical intelligence: Performing, composing, and appreciating musical patterns.
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: Using the whole body or parts of the body to solve problems.
5. Spatial intelligence: Recognizing patterns of wide space and confined areas.
6. Interpersonal intelligence: Effectively working with others.
7. Intrapersonal intelligence: Understanding self and feelings.

Using ideas for games in your ESL preschool classroom to teach vocabulary will allow you to reach students in whatever way they best learn.  Traditional ESL preschool classrooms will focus on linguistic-type lessons, but with a little creativity and variety in the types of games used in the classroom, teachers can begin to appeal to all students by tapping into their different learning styles.

If you are still not convinced that games, stories and music are the best way to teach language to preschool ESL students, then spend some time observing children of this age.  They can learn numbers when building a block tower and counting to see how high they can build it.  They can learn colors when using crayons to color a picture.  They can learn vocabulary (in their own language) by playing make-believe with other children or adults.  Their minds are like sponges that absorb so much when they are engaged in activities they enjoy.Tips for Teaching Young ESL Students 

If you don't have a lot of experience or ideas for teaching ESL preschool, here are some tips and tricks to help you enjoy your students more.  The more smoothly you can make the class period go, the more likely you will be successful in teaching vocabulary and language to your ESL preschool students.

• Remember that preschool students have small attention spans.  You'll want to change up your activities every five to ten minutes or so because if they go longer than that, the children can become restless and you will spend more time trying to keep their attention than actually doing the activity.
• Teach a small amount of language in any given session.  For this age group, try to introduce three words at a time and then add to the list as you see they understand the meaning of the words you've already introduced.
• Engage your students on multiple levels.  This includes using fine and large motor movement, singing, talking, listening and looking.  For example, you could have a game where the students need to move around the room to stand next to a picture or object of the word they heard you say in engage them through listening, looking and moving.
• Preschool students can get very excitable.  Vary excitable games with quiet ones to balance out the energy level in the classroom.
• Competition in the preschool classroom causes undo stress on the students.  Avoid playing games or doing activities that have winners and losers.  Either have the class work together to "win" as a group or do not distinguish between winning and losing.  On the same note, be sure to be supportive and encouraging to all of the learners in your class.
• Preschoolers are very visual.  Bring in real objects whenever possible.  When it is not possible, find colorful and vivid pictures to use in place of the actual object.
• Preschool students usually are not yet reading and writing (at least not to a large extent) in their own language, so don't expect them to do it in a second language.  At this age, you can expect them to listen and understand first.  After a while, they will begin speaking individual words and short phrases.
• Themes work well in the preschool classroom.  Focus your vocabulary learning on groups of similar types of words such as foods, colours, numbers, animals, families and body parts.  You can work in short phrases that are relevant to your theme.
• Because the activities are short and you don't want to give preschool students too much "down time" between activities, make sure you have all of your supplies and activities ready to go before the children enter the classroom.  On the same note, plan more than you think you'll use.  Sometimes an activity will not go over well and other times they will go faster than you had planned.
• If you have a particularly naughty or rough student in the class, keep him or her close to you.  Ask him or her to be your special helper and be sure to give a lot of praise when you see him or her behaving appropriately.
• Repeat, review and revise.  You need to periodically review the vocabulary that you have previously taught or the children will quickly forget it.
• Don't use the same game over and over again, or let a game go on too long.  You'll get bored and so will the students!  That said, don't be afraid to have a few "star" games that are favorites of the students that you know will always be a hit.  The best ones are the ones that are easily adaptable to whatever topic or theme you're currently covering.
• If you use a game and it doesn't go over well, examine what went wrong, put it away for a while and then give it another try.
• Don't expect preschool children to actually speak the words right away.  It will take a while.  Just keep going and keep playing the games so that they at least understand the words you're teaching.  The speaking will come.

Remember above all to have fun with your preschoolers.  If you and the children are enjoying yourselves while engaged in English games and stories, then the chances are the children will be learning. 

Teaching English with Stories in the Preschool ESL Classroom

Do you want to start using stories in the preschool ESL classroom but don't know where to start?  There are many super preschool activities for ESL classrooms, including games and songs, but it is also very important to not discount the power of stories.  

Children are captivated by stories and can internalise vocabulary and the structure of language while listening to them.  Whether you're reading a classic book, making up a story as you go along or designing a story specifically for a particular lesson, you'll want to be sure to include stories in the preschool ESL class every day.

One of the reasons why stories work so well in the ESL preschool classroom has to do with intrinsic motivation.  Intrinsic motivation is the theory that people are motivated by internal factors.  

Children of preschool age do not understand the external factors that might motivate an adult to decide to learn a second language, so as a teacher it's up to you to create a classroom that internally motivates them to participate in the activities and, ultimately, learn the language you are teaching.   Simply put this means that preschool children must enjoy your classes or they will not be motivated to participate and learn.

As children already love stories listening to stories, you are half way there to intrinsically motivating them.  The rest depends on how good the story is, how interesting and colourful the illustrations are, and how you tell it.  

There are so many ways to use stories in the classroom that the possibilities are practically endless.  Here are some ideas and tips to help you effectively use stories in your preschool ESL classroom:

Teach Vocabulary  

Before you use a story in the ESL preschool classroom, it is beneficial to teach the students the key vocabulary words to help them follow the story.  The story can therefore serve as a basis for learning vocabulary words.  It goes deeper than that, however.  The students will not just "learn" the words, they will immediately see how the words are used and hear them in context of the language.  This is so much more beneficial to the students than simply memorizing a list of words.Be Creative  

Whenever you tell a story allow your creativity to show through.  Have fun with it and go with the flow. Make animal sounds, change your voice, sing little songs and, most of all, use gestures.  Have the children join in with you when it comes to animal sounds, songs and gestures, or give them props to touch during the story telling.  This is known as total physical response or TPR, which engages the children fully and allows them to feel or relate more deeply to the words, so they are more likely to remember them.Add Variety
Stories create variety and can be the focal point of a lesson.  As preschoolers have short attention spans spending five minutes on a story is a way to add variety.  A story is also calming after a more boisterous physical activity so you can use it to allow everyone enough time to settle down before moving onto something else.   You can tailor your lesson using a story as the theme.  Pre-teach or revise vocabulary using games that will be used in the story, read the story and then play games and activities that relate to the story.  

Choose Suitable Stories

The language should be super simple with few words and repetitive language patterns.  The illustrations should depict the events in the story clearly and colourfully to help the children understand and to engage them visually.   Please see www.teachingenglishgames.com/3-5.htm for a free story ideal for preschoolers learning English.

Introduce Other Activities

Stories are a great jumping board for other activities.  You can create activities and games based on the theme and vocabulary in the story to give the children more opportunity to practise the language.
 Here is just a sampling of activities you could do following a story:

1. Give each student a picture that depicts the events of the story and have them line up in order of the events.
2. Have the students come up with a title for the story.  Allow as many titles as the students come up with.
3. Repeat quotes from the story and ask the students "Who said it?"
4. Leave off the ending of the story and have the students predict what they think will happen.  Then, read the ending of the story.
5. Encourage the children to look for patterns in the story.  Have them guess, for example, what the character will say if there is a pattern in what the character says.
6. Teach them a song that goes along with the theme of the story, or make up a chant or song yourself.  Chant different sentences from the story using rhythm and clapping.  Keep the chants simple and repeat them often in different voices, and encourage the children to join in.  If the children only join in with the clapping at first that is a good start.
7. Teach them actions to go along with the songs.
8. Let them act out parts of the story.
9. Set up stations that allow them to dress up like characters in the story and do things the characters in the story did.  So, if the characters in the story decorated cookies, give them some time to decorate cookies provided you have plenty of time.
10. Tell a story to introduce a new unit.
11. Give the students three events in the story and ask them what came first.
12. Have the students draw a picture about their favourite part of the story and then explain it to the class, simply in English or more fully in the child's L1.
13. Let the students tell about a similar experience they might have had.

What if you do not speak the children's L?

If you are teaching in China and you do not speak Chinese for example, everything in this article still applies to you.  Remember to reassure the children by smiling at them and look happy and confident.  If you look like you know what you are doing the children will believe you.  

Use simple words and short sentences to explain basic actions that you will need the children to understand such as "sit on the floor" or "make a circle".  Use chanting, singing, clapping while you repeat the command over and over.  Use demonstration so the children know what you mean.  

Stick to those words and phrases over time and build on them.  Use games with simple rules that you can demonstrate, pre-teach single vocabulary words that occur in the story and make sure all children can clearly see the illustrations when you tell the story to help them understand.

There are so many things you can do with stories in the ESL classroom.  Just let your imagination go and soon so will the imaginations of your students!  If you would like ideal games and ready made illustrated stories please visit the link in the about the author box here below.