Tag Archives: ELT

Another Interactive Text Adventure : Spent

As Chris Roland showed us with Inanimate Alice (Part I & Part II), there is a lot of scope for language learning and teaching in Interactive fiction. Spent is a very different type of text adventure. It’s not interactive fiction – firstly, because it deals with a very serious subject : poverty. It is also [...]

Gamify your classroom with Chore Wars

Gamification One definition of gamification is the use of features usually found in games in areas of life which are usually game free. Only time will tell if this buzzword becomes the next big thing as some people are predicting, but meanwhile, sites such as Chore Wars can help you make a game of some [...]

Cabal, Cataclysm and Engaging Students

When I walked into my upper-intermediate class of teenagers yesterday, there were two students already there. One of them (A) spoke up about something that was on his mind and that he wanted to tell me (G) and then the other (D) soon joined in. The exchange more or less went like this: A: I [...]

Happy Christmas Escape

Level: Beginners Language: Prepositions of place Skills Focus: Listening/ speaking Location: Classroom room Game: Happy Christmas Escape Father Christmas wants to deliver his presents but he is locked in a house and he can’t get out.  Help him to find the keys that will help him escape. Preparation Familiarise yourself with the walkthrough to this [...]

I Remain – A Zombie story

An online game that is played while reading the story of the game as a narrative story is a great way to get your learners reading.  Playing the game becomes a comprehension check. Level: Upper intermediate+ Location: Computer room Activity: Reading Language: Narrative tenses & narrative devices. Game: I remain Pre-Play Do hangman for the [...]

Halloween – 10 activities for the computer room, connected classroom and classroom

Here’s a brief description of ten Halloween activities for your English Language Learners.  They require very little preparation and I’ve included some tips on how to use them.  All these games were chosen because they are free, easily accessible, engaging and fun for English Language Learners. 1  Dark wood Level Low Level Primary learners in a connected [...]

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

http://www.arcademaniacs.com/swf/whowantstobeamillionaire2.swf This is just a quick one – good for a filler or for telling students to do on their own at home. It’s an entertaining version of the popular TV show – the questions are, on the whole, relevant to English teaching, although some are US-culture specific Play Win A Million at Online Games [...]

10 Games That Use Extensive Audio

Here’s a brief description of ten games with strong audio elements that require very little preparation and some tips on how to use them.  All these games were chosen because they are free, easily accessible, engaging and fun for English Language Learners. 1  Decorate Do your learners know their furniture vocab?  Have your pre-intermedaite learners practice their [...]

Droppy – Present Perfect Playing

Level: Intermediate Language Focus: Present Perfect simple /passive Time: 30 – 40 minutes Game:Droppy Help Droppy to solve problems in 11 different situations and help him stay out of trouble. Preparations Download a single copy of the walkthrough for you to use in class and download a copy of the Droppy worksheet. Play the game [...]

Listening practice with BBC ‘Casualty’ game

Level:   Advanced + Skills Focus:   Listening Language Focus:   First Aid Game:   Casualty Challenge Help your learners practise their listening skills in the computer room with this BBC Skillswise words game based on the UK TV Programme “Casualty”. Preparation Make sure that there are enough computers and headphones for your learners and that the game is [...]