[Eric]

I can play this game at least once every 4 classes and the kids are always excited!

This is good for practicing new vocab and short sentences (ie. He has a ball.)

Materials
Flashcards (4 - unlimited)
Tables (arranged to form semi circle or 'U' shape

How To Play

• Divide the class into 2 teams
• Arrange the desks into a semi circle
• Line up each team at the end of each semi circle.
• Layout between 4 & 8 flashcards around the perimeter of the semi circle.
• When you say "Go" one student from each team slams each flashcard and says the language you intended to practice. The students keep slamming and speaking moving around the semi circle, toward the other team.
• When the 2 students who started finally "run into each other" they stopsaying the cards and they have a Rock Scissors Paper "Showdown".
• The winner continues slamming flashcards in an effort to reach the other team.
• The loser goes to the back of the line of their own team.
• A point is scored when a student slams all the cards and reaches the other team.

I usually play to 3-5 points, depending on the difficulty of the language. This game is great if you have a class that is quiet or you have students who don't speak a lot. Eventually the excitement of the game will make the quietest students scream the answers.

I hope this makes sense.

Have fun!

[little sage]

This game is also one of my favourites.

Oreamnos, in your instructions above, you sort of forgot to mention that when the loser of the RSP match goes to the back of his/her line, the next student on that team has to start making the rounds. I don't know if that point is obvious.

Anyway, just an anecdote: I once played with a group of beginners, all aged 8, and heard one boy raise his voice above a whisper for the first time ever! And I had been teaching him for 10 months!. It's very exciting, I wish we could play this in my Korean classes right now, but we are all supposedly adults .

I do wonder if the game's success in any way hinges on the fact that Korean students respect the laws of RSP as though it were an ancient Art of Decision Making. RSP sure does even out the playing field and allow even quieter students to make points in a speaking game. I just don't know if other cultures use it so much.

More thoughts: If the point of games (though it sounds better to call them "production activities") is to create a situation where students produce language spontaneously, this is a really nice fill in for the levels that are too low and at the same time too young to be able to think up sentences quickly on their own.

VARIATION: After the kids "get it", you can open up the target language by allowing kids to generate opinions. For example, you put all the fruit cards down: bananas, oranges, apples, grapes..., and the kids can either say "I like bananas" or "I don't like bananas", giving true information. Now that I put it here, this tip may seem stupidly obvious.

[Globe Runner]

Sounds interesting. I will have to try this one out. My fellow teacher friends and I are always in need of new, interesting games to help our students learn and have fun doing it.
Thanks

Nick

Quote Eric

I can play this game at least once every 4 classes and the kids are always excited!

This is good for practicing new vocab and short sentences (ie. He has a ball.)

Materials
Flashcards (4 - unlimited)
Tables (arranged to form semi circle or 'U' shape

How To Play

• Divide the class into 2 teams
• Arrange the desks into a semi circle
• Line up each team at the end of each semi circle.
• Layout between 4 & 8 flashcards around the perimeter of the semi circle.
• When you say "Go" one student from each team slams each flashcard and says the language you intended to practice. The students keep slamming and speaking moving around the semi circle, toward the other team.
• When the 2 students who started finally "run into each other" they stopsaying the cards and they have a Rock Scissors Paper "Showdown".
• The winner continues slamming flashcards in an effort to reach the other team.
• The loser goes to the back of the line of their own team.
• A point is scored when a student slams all the cards and reaches the other team.

I usually play to 3-5 points, depending on the difficulty of the language. This game is great if you have a class that is quiet or you have students who don't speak a lot. Eventually the excitement of the game will make the quietest students scream the answers.

I hope this makes sense.

Have fun!

Hi Eric

This game sounds like a lot of fun and an excellent way to get those introvert students to participate, however I have a question - sorry if it seems like a silly one.
If the winner wins at least twice in a row, don't the other members of his/her team get frustrated? I mean, only the loser moves to the back of the row, not the winner - know what I mean??

[Eric]

once the a student wins by making it to the 'other side', then you reward a point to the winning student's team and then the winning student goes to the back of his/her team's line.

but, given that the game comes down to rock scissors paper and not skill level, one student won't hog the show for too long.

eric

Quote Eric

once the a student wins by making it to the 'other side', then you reward a point to the winning student's team and then the winning student goes to the back of his/her team's line.

but, given that the game comes down to rock scissors paper and not skill level, one student won't hog the show for too long.

eric

Thanks Eric - you're great!! It sure makes sense to my little brain now.
I'm new to this website, and I just love it, so thanks again.

[redcopper]

This sounds like a great game to try. Definitely on my list of things now.
What happens to the winner of the RSP if he/she doesn't reach the other team? (i.e stop a flash card or so short)

[Eric]

Quote redcopper

This sounds like a great game to try. Definitely on my list of things now.
What happens to the winner of the RSP if he/she doesn't reach the other team? (i.e stop a flash card or so short)

welcome to eslHQ, redcopper!

well the RSP winner keeps going until they either lose RSP or reach the other team.

if they lose RSP, they go to the back of their line.

if they reach the other team, their team gets a point and that marks the end of that round.

does that make sense?

we also have a podcast about this game which you can find here if you want to listen to the instructions:
http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/0...the-week-slam/

later
eric

[redcopper]

Thanks Eric. Perfectly clear.

[lisahng]

do you have any example cards that i could use with verb tenses? Or sample copies for pre-intermediate classes?

[Eric]

Quote lisahng

do you have any example cards that i could use with verb tenses? Or sample copies for pre-intermediate classes?

Basically any cards will do. You'll want to use cards that are related to what you are studying. Here are some flashcards that you can print and play with.

[brianh]

This game works well with Japanese children. They play a similar game where instead of slapping flashcards they just run along a set course, sometimes with obstacles. The course usually winds back and forth. When I played it for shapes and colors with some fourth graders, one kid called it "hebi janken", which basically means "snake rock scissors paper". I'm not sure if that's the general name for it, but if you're having trouble explaining the game to the kids or teachers it might be worth it to try throwing that name out there.
I hadn't thought to use this game for more complex topics. Thanks for the tip.

[Tabby2004]

I tried this game last week in my middle school classes (all boys). We didn't have enough room to make the semi-circle so I just had them line up and placed all the flash cards (prepositions) on the desk at the front (it's a podium type thing the teachers stand behind and is large).

I put the cards face up on the the front desk. The students were not allowed to turn them over (some had tried that) to read the back and find out if they had the right card. I gave a point to the first one to slam the correct card. We did the rock paper scissors thing if they hit the correct card at the same time.

The boys really enjoyed this game - especially when their friends were trying to get them to hit the wrong card or get the person on the other team to hit the wrong card. I think I will be using this game again in the future with other topics!

[brianh]

Just posting to say that I confirmed that the game is called "hebi janken" in Japanese. I used it today with sixth graders and it went very well. This game is perfect for loosening up otherwise unenergetic students.

[Draggnknucks]

This is my first post, I am a student at a high school and help teach ESL students and would just like to thank you for this game and the advice you have provided in this thread.

[flexlovejoy]

Obviously I'm not qualified to teach English, because I can't figure out what you mean by "slamming." Each student "slams" a card. You mean they turn the card over and use the word in a sentence, maybe? Wouldn't that get very easy and repetitive when the next students have had time to prepare a sentence for each word going down the line? Or is that the point, that they do get to be somewhat prepared when it's their turn to slam. I'm just going to improvise for today, but I'd definitely appreciate more details about how you're using this game.

[mesmark]

slam - -> slap the card or touch the card

The point of the game is remembering the vocabulary and increasing fluency.

[Jaine]

would this game be suitable for middle school and high school students. Do you replace the flash cards during the game, sa y once all students have gone through once? It sounds like fun.

[Eric]

Quote Jaine

would this game be suitable for middle school and high school students. Do you replace the flash cards during the game, sa y once all students have gone through once? It sounds like fun.

I've played with middle school and high school students and they liked it. But if your students are 'too cool for school' it might not work.

I usually randomly swap out cards as they play. You want them to see the same cards a couple of times and then start swapping old cards with new cards as they play.

Eric

[Jaine]

thanks I will try it. I do have a couple of too cool students in most of my classes, but I still think I will try it. Swapping for new cards often as the play makes sense! (doh).

cheers