COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Teaching ESL to adults

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MaureenQC
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COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by MaureenQC »

I've found an excellent game on the 'Net to practice collocations. There are verb cards and a board with nouns. Ss have to find a matching verb card in their hand to the noun on their spot on the board.

I would be using this with 2 or more groups of ± 4 mature adult Ss, each group with their own board and cards.

I won't be able to oversee every move of the game with this number of groups. So how do I ensure that they make the correct match? I was thinking of a master list for them to check but then they would see all the answers from the start. Also, I can't print the answers on the back of the verb cards because they would be in their hands or on the table and the answers would be visible to everyone.

Any ideas on how to handle this? I would very much like to use this game with them.

Thanks.
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Susan
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by Susan »

YOu can allow everybody in the group to be a judge of whether answers are correct. You can walk around spending a few minutes with each group: ask them about previous pairings and if they have any queries. You don't say what the game is but it sounds to me that if one pairing is wrong, other pairs will also be wrong. It should stand out easily whether answers are correct or not.

You could also ask students to write down the pairs they make. Advantages are twofold: you can check answers with the whole class when the game is finished, discussing differences and students have a written record to take away with them.
MaureenQC
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by MaureenQC »

The game is COLLOCATIONS, trying to find a VERB card in a student’s hand to match the NOUN on the spot he/she lands on on the game board. For instance, if he/she lands on “a joke”, does he/she have the verb card “tell” in his hand. If so, he/she must make a sentence using this collocation. If not, he/she keeps all his/her cards until his turn comes up again. If he/she lands on an “X” on the board, he/she can try to find a match with any noun on the board to a verb in his/her hand.

In my opinion this game cannot be played with large groups because those who are not playing would be bored waiting for their turn. My classes average 8-12 MATURE ADULT students. I would like to have a separate game for each group of 4-6 students (I have the necessary material).

I have explained what collocations are to them but the students need a lot of practice to grasp the principle. So close supervision is needed to ensure they have the right answer—if they are not corrected, they will go away with incorrect ways of expressing themselves.

There is no problem if I have a small (4-6) group because I can supervise closely. But if I have two or more groups, how do I double-check their answers without impeding the flow of the game?
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Susan
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by Susan »

When you take a communicative approach to teaching; eg allowing students to speak or work in groups, you have to hand over a certain amount of autonomy and responsibility to them. It is impossible to control every word they say. It sounds as if this group is ideal for this type of independent work, they are responsible adults. For students to play with the language and learn through trial and error, it's better not to have everything teacher controlled. I've given two solutions in my post above; those will allow you check answers without impeding the game.
MaureenQC
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by MaureenQC »

To Susan:

I appreciate receiving input from a professional teacher. I myself lucked into this after retirement from the business sector and don’t have any teacher training. But I am learning and growing. And to judge from my students’ reactions and the number of students who have come back each session, I’m not doing too badly. Obviously, what I am lacking in is technique.

Your second response made your first much clearer. I’ll have to give up on the mother-hen approach and let my chicks fly some on their own.

Thanks for taking the time to help me.
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Susan
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by Susan »

you're welcome. Sounds like you're doing a good job.
denial712
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by denial712 »

Hi there, Can anyone suggest me for best family game. I got many board games at boardgammer and now very curious to know any new family game. thanks in advance.
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odyssey
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Re: COLLOCATION BOARD GAME

Unread post by odyssey »

denial712 wrote: 28 Nov 2019, 02:06 Hi there, Can anyone suggest me for best family game. I got many board games at boardgammer and now very curious to know any new family game. thanks in advance.
WORD UP board game
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