I Know English

This activity takes no preparation and is a good way to get students up, moving, and participating in an early class for the semester. Alternatively, the question can be changed slightly to provide practice during a course.

Preparation

This activity has no preparation and takes very few resources. It capitalizes on student participation.

Procedure

1. Start with a clean board or at least enough space on the board to make lists. 2. Set a time limit to challenge the students to race against the clock. 3. Give one of the students a piece of chalk or a marker to write on the board. 4. The student goes to the board and writes any word that s/he knows in English and then returns to give the marker to the next student. 5. When the time is up, count the words, erasing the ones that are repeated or wrong. 6. Show students that they already know a lot, but as a group they always know more. Make them talk about how they can learn from each other.

When to Use It

• To break the ice • To begin a discussion of English • To launch a class

Level

Look at Variations to mix it up

Skills

Practice

Materials

Board, marker or chalk

Preparation Time

None

Activity Time

5–15 minutes

Variations

1. For more advanced groups, you can ask them to write words whose first letter is the last letter from the last written word, or limit it to a category such as food, furniture, fads, etc. 2. For large groups, you can divide the board into two parts and the class into two teams. 3. Do this activity in the beginning and at the end of the semester to see if they have learned more and if they are more comfortable with group work.