Language games (I)

Just a simple idea: games are fun and can be educative. 
Not because our students are playing games are necessarily learning. There are some controversial opinions out there about this educational approach.
I, personally, prefer "real" games, like "old" games as word-games, or some sort of game that involves hands-on, logic... because we can work through more angles and bring different skills to our class.

Also, timing is crucial for implementing games in our classes. The person that knows better your class is you. So, make some time to think about when this activity fits better within your class time. 
A few tips to take into consideration:
- games are great to be used as "transitions" if they are quick and students understand clearly the directions [you might want to spend some time practicing with your students before letting them rule the game]
- games work just beautiful at the end of class
- a good idea can be to give your students a grade [extra-points can be considered for this] for the game. This always motivates some students.

Today I want to share with you this simple but very effective language game. 

El padre de Ana tiene cinco hijas, que son: Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono. 

¿Cómo se llama la quinta hija? 

Through this simple sentence we are lighting up our students imagination, their capacity to develop critical thinking, logical thinking, curiosity...
We are encouraging them to think about the language itself (metacognition) and taking ownership of their discoveries. In the end, they have fun doing these easy brainteasers. To develop their prediction capacity, their guessing ability will help them a lot in their future real life situations.

Another classic language game is make students say or write a word starting for the same letter than the previous one ends. 
You organize your students in a circle, the first student says a word in the target language and the next has to come up with a word beginning with the last letter of the previous word.
Example: estudiar-risa-árbol-leer-ratón-nadar-...

Want more games? Check this fabulous website with 47 language games for learning a foreign language.

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.

George Washington Carver

Sources:

Squire, K.D. (2002). Rethinking the role of games in Education. Game Studies, 2(1)

Squire, K. (2003). Video games in education. International Journal of Intelligent Simulations and Gaming (2) 1.

Do Your Players Know Their Role? - What Games Are, August, 2011

Lunaprofe 11/06/2014  No comment

"Useful" verbs list

There are thousands of "useful verbs lists" online. A good first question could be: Are they really useful? YES! Of course, but that depends more on how you use those lists.
One of the first things to consider can be what to do with these kinds of lists.
I like to begin with activities that involve several skills. For instance, have your students choose 4 or 6 verbs and sketch the meaning of it. No translations, just pictures. This allow our students understand the power of visuals. It is really easier for them to understand things with an image than a translation.

I assume verb conjugations are not fun, and if you are not determined to memorize them some students can get to think it's boring. So I always consider "games" to practice conjugations in my class. For example Battleship:

Sequence

• Students each receive two papers with 20 x 20 grids.
• The rows and columns on the grid are labeled with letters for the rows and numbers for the columns.
• On one of the grids, each places five ships – one that covers five spaces, one four, two three, and one two. This grid shows the placement of their own ships and should remain hidden from the other player.
• Once both players have placed their ships, play begins.
• The first player guesses a grid location (ex. B-5).
• If the other player has that square colored in, he/she says “Tocado” (and the guesser colors in the block on the second grid page). If the square is blank, he/she says “Agua” (and the guesser puts an X in the square). If a player has guessed all of the squares for a ship, the other player says “Tocado y hundido” because that ship has been sunk.
• The other player then takes a turn guessing a location.
• The first player to sink all five of the other player’s ships wins.

Tip: Diversify your verbs as much as you can and pleaseeeee, avoid overusing: hacer, tener, pensar, querer.

- A – Abrir – to open Acercarse – to approach Aceptar – to accept Acompañar a – to accompany Acordarse de – to remember Adquirir – to acquire Aguantar – to put up with Aislar – to isolate Alcanzar – to reach Alejarse – to move away from Apetecer – to feel like Apoyar – to support Aprender – to learn Aprovechar – to make the most of Atender – to serve Asegurar – to ensure Asistir a – to attend Asustar – to shock, frighten Averiguar – to find out	- B – Bailar – to dance Beber – to drink	- C – Caber – to fit Cambiar – to change Cancelar – to cancel Cerrar – to close Comer – to eat Comprar – to buy Comenzar – to start Comprender – to comprehend Conducir – to drive Conocer – to know Conseguir – to achieve Contar – to count Continuar – to continue Correr – to run Crear – to create Creer – to believe Cumplir – to fulfill
- D – Dañar – to hurt Dar – to give Darse cuenta de – to realize Decir – to say Desaparecer – to disappear Destacar – to highlight Despertar – to wake up Desviar – to deviate Dibujar – to draw Dirigirse a – to address someone Dormir – to sleep Dudar – to doubt	- E – Empezar – to start Enfatizar – to emphasize Encontrar – to find Entender – to understand Enterarse de – to hear about something Entregar – to give in Enviar – to send Equivocarse – to be mistaken Escuchar – to listen Escribir – to write Esperar – to wait Estudiar – to study Evitar – to avoid Exigir – to demand Explicar – to explain	- F – Firmar – to sign Fomentar – to foment, to foster
- G – Gastar – to spend Gozar – to heartily enjoy	- H – Hablar – to speak Hacer – to make/do Hallar – to find somewhere Herir – to hurt	- I – Ignorar – to not know Impedir – to prevent Intentar – to try Interrumpir – to interrupt Ir – to go
- J – Jugar – to play	- K -	- L – Leer – to read Levantarse – to stand up Limpiar – to clean Lograr – to achieve
- LL – Llover – to rain	- M – Manejar – to drive Mirar – to look	- N – Nadar – to swim Necesitar – to need
- Ñ -	- O – Ocurrir – to occur, to happen Oir – to hear Olvidar – to forget Organizar – to organize	- P – Pagar – to pay Parecer – to seem Pensar – to think Perder – to lose Permanecer – to remain Permitir – to permit, to allow Poder – to can, be able Poner – to put Ponerse de pie – to stand up Preguntar – to ask Preocuparse por – to worry about Pretender – to hope to achieve Prestar – to borrow Prevenir – to warn Probar – to try out Proporcionar – to provide
- Q – Quejarse – to complain Querer – to want	- R – Reparar – to fix Responder – to reply Romper – to break	- S – Saber – to know Sentarse – to sit Señalar – to point out Sonreír – to smile Soportar – to put up with Subrayar – to underline
- T – Tener – to have Tener éxito – to succeed Terminar – to finish Tocar (un instrumento) – to play (an instrument) Tomar – to take Traducir – to translate Traer – to bring Tratar – to attempt, to try	- U – Utilizar – to utilize Usar – to use	- V – Valer – to be worth Ver – to see Vender – to sell Viajar – to travel Vivir – to live Volar – to fly
- W –	- X -	- Y -
- Z –

Interesting activities you might want to consider for your verbs classes:

• Verbs and tenses [by SJ]

Lunaprofe 9/15/2014  No comment