Listening Games

Listening Games

 

Activity Title: Picture Dictation

Level: Any

Skill Focus: Listening/Speaking

Materials: paper, board, chalk

Procedures:

1.      Teacher will describe a scene or person, giving the students time to draw whey the teacher is saying.

2.      Students will compare pictures with each other after the teacher has finished giving directions.

3.      Students will depict the picture back to the teacher while the teacher draws it on the board.

*Variation: Students dictate a drawing to teacher and each student contributes a different detail. Students can also work in pairs, dictating to each other.*

Activity Title: Listening Sentence Race

Level: Any

Skill Focus: Listening

Materials: board, chalk

Procedures:

1.      Teacher divides class up into two teams. The first student in each line is given a piece of chalk.

2.      Teacher will read a sentence aloud slowly while the students listen. (For younger students or longer sentences, the teacher may need to read it aloud multiple times.)

3.      The first student in line will be responsible for writing the first word in the sentence. They will then hand off the chalk to the second student in line, who will write the second word in the sentence.

4.      The team who correctly finishes writing the sentence wins.

Activity Title: The Agreement Corners

Level: Secondary and Post-Secondary

Skill Focus: Listening/Writing/Speaking

Materials: paper, container

Procedures:

1.      Teacher posts signs in four corners of the room: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree.

2.      Students are asked to write opinions down on pieces of paper. These are then folded and placed in a container.

3.      One student will be asked to pick an opinion and read it aloud to the class.

4.      Students then have to go to the corner that they agree with regarding the opinion that was read. (For follow up, teacher can ask a student from each agreement group why they feel the way they do.)

Activity Title: Arrange in Order
Level: Primary, Secondary

Materials: Pictures of parts of a story or cards with keywords
Procedure: T divides the sts into pairs or small groups and reads a story or text or an article and the sts arrange the pictures/cards in order. Good for helping students make sense of the first listen.

Variation: Give students full sentences to put in order while they listen. This is better for the second or third listen.

Activity Title: English Grab n’ Go
Level: Primary, Secondary

Materials: Pictures or word cards.
Procedure: T divides sts into groups of 5-6 and gives each group the same set of cards. In their groups, the sts spread the cards out so that everyone can see them. T calls out a word and the sts must grab the correct card.

Variation: For Primary sts, T should include both the word and the picture. More Advanced sts should have just the picture.
Variation: Call out a letter and the sts must take all the cards that begin with that letter.

Activity Title: Simon Says
Level: Primary

Procedure: T or st is Simon and stands in front of the class and gives commands. Sts do the commands, but only if the command is preceded by “Simon says...”

Variation: Instead of “Simon says..” change the key word to be “Please” or “Teacher says” or “Can/could you...”

Activity Title: True/False Chairs
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Chairs
Procedure: T puts two chairs at the front of the room, facing the sts. One chair is labeled “true,” the other “false.” T divides the sts into two teams and they make two lines, each facing a chair and positioned a short distance from them. T then reads a statement and the two sts at the front of the line have to race to sit in the correct chair. Whoever sits in the correct chair first gets a point for their team and the next two sts go.

Activity Title: Telephone

Level: All

Procedure: Ss stand in line(s). T (or a st) whispers a sentence into the first st in the line’s ear. S/he must repeat what was heard to the next st and so on until it goes around the class and the last st says it out loud. The fist st then confirms if the sentence is correct. If using teams, points go to the most accurate.

Activity Title: Retell in Your Own Words
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Sts listen to T tell a story or read a text and then write a summary of it in their own words.

Variation: Sts retell the text from the perspective of another character.
Variation: T gives sts a list of vocabulary words that they must use in their retelling.

DICTATION 1 – Word-for-Word Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary

Procedure: T reads a text 3 times and the students try to write the text exactly as the teacher says it. The first time T reads slowly and the sts listen. The 2nd time T reads very slowly and the sts write. The 3rd time T reads a bit faster and the sts check their work.

DICTATION 2 - Reconstruct the Text
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: T reads the text very quickly and the sts write down what they can. Then in pairs they must come up with the whole text.

DICTATION 3 - Find the Mistakes
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: T reads a text that the sts already know pretty well...but the version s/he reads contains mistakes (either grammatical or contextual). Sts must write the correct version or at least note the mistakes.

DICTATION 4 – Read and Run Relay!
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: Divide the class into teams. Choose a writer from each team. Have all other students stand in a line. Place copies of the sample text at the other side of the room. When the game starts, one student from each team goes to the text and memorizes as much as s/he can. Then they go to the writer and tell them what they have read. The writer writes what they say. Students cannot go back to the text. Then other students in line repeat this one-by-one until all texts are complete. Teams then switch texts and check for mistakes using the original texts as keys. The team with smallest number of mistakes wins.

Draw a Picture
Level: Primary, Secondary

Skill Practiced: Vocabulary
Materials: paper, pen
Procedure: T describes a picture of a person or thing and the sts must draw it. The catch is that the person has some strange features, i.e. 10 legs or purple hair.

Variation: T puts sts in pairs, one st has a picture and must describe it to the other st who draws it.

Follow Instructions
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Procedure: T gives oral directions from the classroom to a well-known place in town go straight, turn left at the shop, etc.). Ss must listen to the directions and guess where the end point is. The next time, a st can give directions to the others.

Variation: One st is blindfolded and he other sts give him/her directions on how to get around the classroom. Set up some crazy obstacles for them to avoid!

Activity Title: Hold Up Cards

Level: All

Materials: Cards with “Agree” or “Disagree”
Procedure: T gives out cards with “Agree” or “Disagree” to each student. T reads statements and Ss must hold up cards that best fit their feeling about that statement.

Variation: Cards say “Yes/No” or “True/False,” T asks different kinds of questions.

Activity Title: Cloze Activity
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Sheets with a text with words missing
Procedure: T hands out sheets that contain a text with words missing. These words might be specific vocabulary words or just every 5th word removed. T reads the text and the sts fill in the missing words.

Variation: Do this with song lyrics of a song the Ss like. Listen to the song a few times so they can fill in the words.

Activity Title: Guess the Accent/Idiom by Nation
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: CD/MP3 with various English accents, Stereo, or written phrases, Blackboard
Procedure: Divide the class into teams. Have them listen to or read sayings or phrases that are particular to various English-speaking nations, and guess which nation it is from. Specific scoring rules may vary.

Activity Title: Idiom Quiz Game
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Materials: Prepared list of idiom Q’s, blackboard, chalk
Procedure: In teams, S’s will guess the missing word from an English idiom after hearing a description of the situation in which the idiom is used (i.e. Tim forgot to study and failed his math test. He really screwed ___: a. over, b. up, c. around, d. down). Bonus points can be awarded if S’s can identify the situations where other idiom choices (i.e. over) are used.

Activity Title: Foot Game
Level: Primary, Secondary

Procedure: T will monitor S’s standing in a tight circle shoulder-to-shoulder as the game goes on. S’s should follow the honor system. In a circle, S’s must find someone’s shoes (not to their immediate left or right) to look at once the teacher says “One. Two. Three. Look down!” S’s cannot change whose shoes they’re looking at. Once the T has counted off, S’s must look at the person whose shoes they were looking at. If two S’s are both looking at each other they are out. They cannot switch eyes or look up to the ceiling. Last 2 people standing win.

Activity Title: Practicing Prominence
Level: Secondary, Post-Secondary
Material: slips of paper with Q’s, responses on index cards (one per word)
Procedure: After instruction on prominence... Divide S’s into groups ___ (however many words in response sentences). Give each group one Q and response (adjacency pair) exhibiting prominence.

Ex: Is this your pen? (show emphasis)
No, it’s Katie’s. (each word on separate note card – don’t indicate emphasis)

Have each group figure out where the prominence in the response should lie. When they report have them stand and hold a word to indicate where the emphasis is, and sit with the words that do  not have emphasis.

NO IT’S

KATIES

After each group presents, have the rest of the class back form the question. Have each group then share their question, and explain its illocutionary meaning (as well as that of the response).
Ex: Is this your pen? (and not someone else’s)

No, it’s Katie’s. (and not mine)

Activity Title: Crazy House
Level: Intermediate

Materials: Paper
Procedure: Instruct Ss to draw what you say. Describe your house using vocabulary and prepositions. Put objects in wrong places (I have a bed in my bathroom). When finished, ask Ss which objects were in which rooms and where. Follow up by asking where each object should be.

Activity Title: Listen and Draw

Level: All

Materials: paper, markers
Procedure: Divide Ss in groups of 2 or 3. Read a story and the groups have to illustrate the story as you read it; comic book style. Try to have the illustrator rotate after each sequence of the story. After the story is finished, have each group present their comic strip and retell the story to the class.