Teaching English through Entertainment Prepared By Mr Shaban Abdul-Salam Inventing new games can often produce materials that motivate students to talk and practice language And if we don’t include an element of fun and entertainment in the class , we are not going to hold the average students ‘ attention for very long 1 – Ask Ss to name as many as many objects in the classroom as they can , while you write them on the board 2 – Before the end of the class , erase the board and challenge Ss to recall everything you wrote on the board during the class period Write the expressions on the board once again as Ss call them out – Instead of saying “ very good” all the time , vary the ways you praise Ss as much as possible  4On the board ,write some words your Ss have encountered in previous classes and get them to make some sentences out of the words  – draw a map of your country or another country that your Ss know well By drawing lines ,show Ss where you went on a trip and tell them about it Then call on several Ss to the same The trips can be real or fictional   Q: What are two things people never eat before breakfast?  A: Lunch and supper  Q: What has two hands and a face, but no arms and legs?  A: A clock  Q: How many people are buried in that cemetery?  A: All of them   Q: What can't be used until it's broken? A: An egg  Q: Why is number six afraid ?  A: Because seven eight nine (seven ate nine)  Q: What letter can the work in one day that you can in two days?  A: W (Double u- Double you)  Q: "What letter of the alphabet has got lots of water?"  A: "The C"  Q: What begins with T, ends with T and has T in it?  A: A teapot  Q: What are the two strongest days of the week?  A: They are Saturday and Sunday All the others are weak (week) days  Print this out and give it to your students  I never go to bed after am  I study English more than hours a week  I had a great time at secondary school-I loved it  My ambition in life is to get a permanent job  My parents started giving me pocket money when I was five I don't mind wet days, there are still plenty of things to  I really believe that motorbikes are dangerous  Parents spoil their children nowadays  The beach is for relaxing and doing nothing  I am an adventurous person  I never run for a bus-I can catch the following one  In the end, most people are very nice  I absolutely hate Mondays  I have never stolen anythingnever  People who smoke are crazy  Tall men/women are more interesting than small ones  People who watch more than hours of TV a day are wasting time  Spending 4,000 pesetas on a permanent is immoral  Keeping animals at home is cruel  I am intelligent  To teach younger ESL students (K-3) the months of the year, take lamented pictures representing the months:  January-snowman February-heart March-shamrock April-umbrella/bunny/Easter egg May-flowers June-sun/wate rmelom July-flag August-sailboat/????? September-apple/schoolhouse October-pumpkin November-turkey   December-Christmas tree/Menorrah  Have the students tell you which picture goes with each month, or put the pictures in order by month  This game is very useful to practice present progressive structures You have to give to each student a small card with an action (i.e You are dancing) The student has to mime the action in front of the class and each student in turn will try to guess what he's doing posing a question like: "Are you dancing?" The student who mimes has to answer "Yes I am" or "No I'm not" This way pupils practice and have fun! An activity whose aim is to complete sentences and also take advantage of the contributions in order to generate debate and interaction  How: Just hand out the following sheet with the heading  PEOPLE WHO  and tell the students they have to complete the sentences with realism-not just adding on a grammatically correct ending  PARK THEIR CARS ON THE FOOTPATH  WHO DON'T PAY TAX  WHO THROW LITTER ON THE GROUND  WHO GIVE MONEY TO CHARITIES  This activity will make students review spelling in a funny way You can create similar spellings as the following ones:  I.1.2.C.U = I want to see you R.U.O.K? = Are you O.k.? I´s T = Iced tea I.C.Q = I seek you I.O.U = I owe you E.Z = Easy B.Z = Busy I.1.T = I want tea I.8 = I ate U.2 = You two/ you too Y? = Why? C.U.$$$.9 = See you at nine 2E.Z.4U = Too easy for you R.U.D.Z? = Are you dizzy?   Ask the children {at least to 6} to sit around in a circle Ask one child to say a sentence in a story form e.g "once there was a boy" The next child will have to repeat that sentence and add something more to it like "once there was a boy whose name was John "In this way the children keep building up a story as well as remembering what the previous sentences were The child which forgets a line will go out of the game This game not only improves a child's memory but also encourages him/her to be creative in story telling  This game is used to practice alphabet and check their vocabulary Do as a competition Divide Students into groups of five ( it depends on the number of students you have) and ask them to stand in line give to the students of the front a marker to write on the whiteboard Then draw with your finger an imaginary letter of the alphabet on the back of the students at the end of the line They must the same with the student in front of him/her and so on the students with the marker are supposed to run to the board and write any word that begins with that letter Students love it!  This is a simple game which requires little preparation Divide your students into groups of people(there may be two groups or more) Give each group a sentence that includes grammar and/ or vocabulary already practised, and underline the words that should be guessed exactly One of the students in the group has to mime the sentence and the other has to guess Of course the other groups will also be allowed to guess, which will create competition  Student to teacher," Are 'pants' singular or plural?" Teacher, "They're singular on top and plural on the bottom."  A student, who is studying English as a foreign language, was confused when he saw the words "open here" on a box of laundry soap, so he asks the clerk, "Can't I wait until I get home to open it?"  Teacher: Tell me a sentence that starts with an "I" Student: I is the Teacher: Stop! Never put 'is' after an "I" Always put 'am' after an "I"  Student: OK I am the ninth letter of the alphabet  An elementary school teacher sends this note to all parents on the first day of school "If you promise not to believe everything your child says happens at school, I will promise not to believe everything your child says happens at home  Are you allowed to eat in the classrooms?  Are you allowed to smoke in the classrooms?  Did you belong to any clubs in high school?  Did you go to a public high school or a private one?  Did you have to wear a uniform in high school? How about elementary school?  Did you study art in high school?  Did your high school have a band? If so, did you play in it?  Did your high school have a band? If so, did you play in it?  Do most of your teachers take attendance?  Do some of your teachers let class out early?  Do you carry a dictionary to your English classes? How about your other classes?  Do you enjoy studying English? ( math, science, )  Do you ever skip class?  Do you have any evening classes?  Do you play on any of the school's sports teams?  Dear teachers , your job as English teachers is not as straightforward as many people might think , but we reckon that you realize the importance of the responsibility you bear and the need to some sacrifice to achieve what you and your pupils seek  The object of the course is to teach the pupils , not to finish the book as long as you work actively  Nothing is more certain to guarantee a disastrous lesson than an unprepared teacher  The more the teacher talks , the less opportunity the pupils have the chance to speak , but it’s the pupils who need the practice  Every teacher knows that what works one day with one class , doesn’t necessary work with a different class , or even on a different day with the same class  Some teachers have taught the same lesson in the same way for years Different situations call for different materials , different activities and different methods [...]... Do some of your teachers let class out early?  Do you carry a dictionary to your English classes? How about your other classes?  Do you enjoy studying English? ( math, science, )  Do you ever skip class?  Do you have any evening classes?  Do you play on any of the school's sports teams?  Dear teachers , your job as English teachers is not as straightforward as many people might think , but we reckon... the words to a certain category, e.g food, tools, or nouns, verbs, etc The teacher prepares cutout pictures that are pasted or taped to index cards One student selects a card and must describe it in English until another student can guess the object This is very much like "20 Questions" but instead of the challenge being to ask questions, the bonus is on the cardholder to verbalize the description... also be allowed to guess, which will create competition  Student to teacher," Are 'pants' singular or plural?" Teacher, "They're singular on top and plural on the bottom."  A student, who is studying English as a foreign language, was confused when he saw the words "open here" on a box of laundry soap, so he asks the clerk, "Can't I wait until I get home to open it?"  Teacher: Tell me a sentence that... cards, mixed up It is better if it is not a complete alphabet, and there are some duplicate cards  Deal all the cards out to the players  Students take it in turns to play cards face down They must go through the alphabet, starting from 'A', playing one card face down and saying the letters in Alphabetical order  Even if not have the card to be played for that turn, they must play any card and pretend