One important aspect of foreign language learning is enjoyment. If you don’t enjoy it, it just won’t go in that head. Implementing games and activities at different points in the lesson can help to open that mind and ease learning.
Open the lesson with a smile and warm-up. You might like to take a handful of Taboo cards where the learner has to guess the word by describing it without using the words on the card which are associated with the key word. As an extension of this, the teacher can ask the student(s) to write their own key word, then think of words associated with it, thus making their own taboo card, which they can then explain to the teacher or hand to another student for them to explain to a group. Students can use their own vocabulary from their current unit or use online dictionaries to look up weird and wonderful words that the others might not know.
Another possibility is Tension. These cards have 10 items in a given category on each card, for example, Things found in a kitchen, or, Countries beginning with S, which the other student(s) have to try to name. One point per answer on the card, two points for any additional vocabulary.
Why not try vocabulary bingo? The teacher and the students collect about 20 words on the board/screen (a particularly good exercise to help children through their school vocabulary) and each person draws a 3x3 bingo box on a piece of paper. Students then select any 9 words from the list and write one in each box. The teacher then calls out words at random until someone has 3 in a row or until everyone’s boxes are full.
Even grammar can be taught through games and activities. Ever tried chain stories? Again, this can be done online or on paper. Depending on your focus, begin a story by writing/typing up the first sentence to set the scene. Then take it in turns to continue the story each writing a sentence for as long as you wish. Don’t forget – the secret of teaching is to stop just when they are having fun! Ensure you check the student’s contributions and offer any necessary explanations. This activity can also be done with conditional “if” sentences. Begin with a sentence in your specified context (i.e., type 1, 2 or 3) then the next person has to take the second half of the last if sentence, turn it into the correct grammatical form to begin the next sentence and finish it using their own idea. Continue for as long as you want – ideally for intermediate learners by moving through the three sentence types. Here is an example: If I had eaten more, I wouldn’t have been hungry. If I hadn’t been hungry, I would have gone home. If I had gone home, I ….
One of my favourites is the Brainbox series. You can play this with one student or a small group. Each of the beautifully made cards in the different boxes (bought separately) contains a picture on one side and 8 possible questions on the other. Use the egg timer to give the other student(s) a certain period of time to try to memorize their card. Then swap or pass round, roll the dice and ask the relevant person that number question on the back of their card.
All in all, games can be integrated for as long as you want. Sometimes, extending the game into the whole lesson by moving on to slight alternatives or picking up on what the learner enjoys and integrating new grammar or vocabulary can really encourage the student and surprise them with a lesson they didn’t expect!