One of the hardest aspects of being an Assistant Language Teacher, ALT, in Japan, is working with other teachers of varying levels of enthusiasm for English. This can be especially true if your own Japanese language skills are less than fluent—communication barrier and all that. The problem this creates is that the children sense their teacher’s hesitancy, and become less excited about learning English as well. I’d like to blame this lack of interest (teachers not the students) in English, on the years of un-enjoyable drilling they must undergo, starting from junior high school through college, but whatever the reason, it’s our job as ALT’s to make the best of the situation. One way to overcome this potential malaise in the classroom is through the use of language games.

“Language games?” you say, “Isn’t that just edutainment?”  Well, for the moment, let’s put away the labels and look at what we accomplish by playing games, instead of traditional drilling:

1. Obviously the point of any game, is to maximize the amount of fun a person can have doing any particular activity. This is achieved through the rules and the object of the game. Because of the rules and object, everyone is now focusing on the game instead of their own barriers to communication. In other words everyone can relax and the language becomes just another rule to achieving the object of the game.

2. Repetition is essential for language learning, hence the heavy importance placed on drills. But repeating the same thing over and over again is tedious and cruel, especially to spirited youngsters. With games however, everyone’s attention is focused on winning the game, not on the repetition.

3.  Drills also don’t address all of the ways children like to learn. Games on the other hand, can do that. For example, some people learn best kinesthetically or through movement, something that’s impossible with drills. Games can!

So, you can see that games have some big advantages over traditional rote drilling but that isn’t to say that your class has to be nothing but games, in fact, it’s better if there are other activities as well. In essence, your ESL classes should be like a “mini” variety show with lots of different segments, and with each segment supporting the other segments, as well as the overall theme of the show. As an aside, by other segments, I mean things like skits and songs and other activities.

But back to the games…

If I’ve got you convinced to use games in the classroom, I should warn you though, that some care should be taken to implement them into the class. Games, depending on the rules and the object, have varying degrees of difficulty and what this really means is varying amounts of autonomy for the students. For example, in a game like, Simon Says, students copy and repeat after their teacher. Here the students have little autonomy and since everyone is in unison, it’s easy to correct their English as problems arise. If you’ve got a large class, a game like the Hot Potato game, where students are broken into smaller groups, means that you can only spot check the English as you move from group to group.

Autonomy also has to be weighed against experience level. When you start a new theme, for many of the children, this will be their first exposure to the vocabulary that is being used. Therefore it’s best to use games that give the children little autonomy. As the children advance through the theme, more autonomy can be afforded to them.

Hopefully by now, you’re starting to see language games as more than just edutainment and that they can be a powerful learning tool. If you’ll remember though, what I was trying to offer was a strategy to get your bashful, Japanese partner-in-crime, to show a little more enthusiasm in the classroom. Admittedly, you’ll never get some of them to come around on other activities like skits or singing but I’ve yet to see a home-room teacher, NOT open up when games are being played. I think this is primarily because games work from the bottom up, meaning from the children to the teacher. With the right game, it’s impossible for the children to not have fun, and smile and giggle and laugh. This enthusiasm gets spread up to the teacher and before you know it, everyone loves English time.

Give it a go; I’m sure it’ll work for you.

Bill Ralens, is an ALT living in Kagoshima Japan. In addition to working in a Monbusho pilot elementary school, he is also the webmaster for Kids ESL, a website dedicated to providing fun and tested ESL activities for other ALT’s.

Image by clipart.com

Join Foreign Language House for our first annual Facebook Turkey Trot Down countdown to Thanksgiving Break.  Click this link to join our FB community. Beginning Monday, November 8, we’ll be “talkin’ turkey” with our foreign language teacher friends.  Each morning around 9:00 a.m. EST, we’ll post a discussion question.  When you leave a comment, you’ll be entered in a drawing for that day’s giveaway.  Winners will be determined by random.org and announced the following morning.  Join in the fun to win great prizes every weekday until Thanksgiving.  Free e-books, e-courses, downloads, and more!    Gobble Gobble!

Image from clipart.com

Today’s verse is the first half of Ephesians 4:32:  Be kind and loving to each other.  I made this short video for you and your kids.  Enjoy!

Here’s a short reading/writing activity you can do with your language learners.

• Read this page about Zakumi.
• Print out this Zakumi worksheet in English, French, or Spanish.
• Draw a picture of Zakumi in the middle of the soccer ball.
• On each of the other five sections of the soccer ball, write one word in the target language that tells about Zakumi:  descriptive adjectives, what he likes, where he’s been, what he wants, etc.

For a more involved FIFA 2010 World Cup web quest for older or more advanced learners, check out this Spanish World Cup Web Quest and this French World Cup Web Quest.

You can make your very own Zakumi at Build-A-Bear!  Check it out:  Build-A-Bear Workshop Zakumi Plush Stuffed Animal.

• colors
• numbers
• preferences
• comparisons
• animals & objects galore
• how to negotiate a trade

So, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!  Ride the wave of the craze and use the excitement to motivate your kids to talk in French, Spanish, German, Mandarin, and more!

French teachers, CHECK THIS OUT!!  Doodle Bandz Original Ooh La La Paris Swirl Edition Rubber Bandz Band Wristband (24)

My kids are growing some vegetables on the deck this year.  Every single morning the four year-old runs outside to check on his pots.  Luckily, beans grow at a quick pace that is satisfying to a preschooler.  Check out our tomatoes, beans, and peppers:

We started to learn the names of our crops in French, and we’re going to add Spanish and German, too.  Our quickie garden signs are simply Sharpie-labeled plastic spoons.  Popsicle sticks would do the trick, too, but ours are still covered with popsicle!

A Gouin Series is a wonderful gardening activity since it describes a process.  As you plant, teach your child foreign language phrases such as:

I take a pot.

I put soil in the pot.

I dig a hole.

I put the seed in the hole.

I put dirt on the seed.

You might also like this kindergarten level gardening/growing content related lesson.

We’ve only got three different types of veggies growing at the moment, but we hope to expand.  Click here for a free pdf of some vegetables you can label in English, French, Spanish, and German in YOUR garden. Feel free to comment with more ideas and vocabulary.

In what language does your garden grow?

Sorting recycling in a foreign language is an excellent lesson for Earth Day on April 22.  You can count, sort, identify colors, and talk about materials (plastic, paper, etc.)  Try using the natural approach of a Gouin Series to present language in context.  A simple, novice-level ESL gouin might go something like this:

It’s recycling day!

I separate the paper, plastic, glass, and metal.

I put the newspaper in this bin.

I put the plastic bottes in this bin.

I put the aluminum cans in this bin.

I put the glass bottles in this bin.

I take the bins to the recyling center.

Each line of the Recycling Gouin Series, of course, is to be acted out with gestures and props.  Once learners can say and perform the whole series in the target language, they can see the written word and do a number of follow-up activities such as charades, sequencing, fill-in the blank, cartooning, and writing in a different person.

The following Recycling Gouin Series are available just in time for Earth Day!  They include directions, visuals, and printables.

Spanish Recycling GS

French Recycling GS

Happy Earth Day!

Image credit: clipart.com

I was just looking through my son’s Highlights magazine (www.Highlights.com) and I came across a fantastic game that can be effectively adapted to help kids practice numbers in Spanish, French, Chinese . . . any foreign language.  In the March 2010 issue there’s an activity on pg. 38 by Jennifer Coleman called “Make 11.”  Two players count to three and extend any number of fingers.  Count the total number of fingers between the two players in the target language.  See how many tries it takes to equal 11.

11 ELEVEN

onze (French)

once (Spanish)

elf (German)

undici (Italian)

ju-ichi (Japanese)

shí y? (Mandarin)

I’m going to play with an entire classroom of children this afternoon, but I’ll make it a wee bit competitive by seeing which set of players can be the first to make eleven.

Have fun playing!  Thank you, Highlights, for another fantastic idea.

Photo Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/935146

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics are finally here!  One way to engage your French or English language learners is by reading about the Vancouver mascots on the official website.   Just go to the French or English version of the site to meet Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi.  I prepared worksheets for your students to help them read and look for information about the mascots.  Click for your free download, complete with answer keys:

Olympic Mascot Worksheet in French

Olympic Mascot Worksheet in English

Hope you find these fun, effective, and useful.  By the way, who’s your favorite mascot?  Feel free to leave a comment.  (Mine is Miga!)

Enjoy the Olympics with your language students!