I've been asked to teach two corporate groups. One group are Thai bank branch managers & the other are Thai tourist board officials. What methods are employed with corporates to make things interesting? I mean, we can't play games like board hangman or scrabble, can we.

[Eric]

i would say hangman and scrabble are out but there are other games & activities that are very appropriate for professionals.

When i teach adults i try not to focus on the points too much but a little competition can spice up your class.

One activity I play a lot in my large university classes is... well... i dont have a name for it but i'll explain it anyway. this is an activity to be used as a kind of review & practice of stuff you have already presented.

1. break the class into groups of 3-5
2. give each group (you could call them teams as well) 1 piece of paper and 1 pencil
3. have each team write their team name on the paper. (sounds juvenile but it creates a more fun atmosphere)
4. then ask the entire class questions. each group will work together to write the answer.
5. when a group is finished, they tell you and you check their work. if its correct, give them a point.
6. repeat steps 4 & 5.

variations:
- only allow the groups to speak in english while discussing the answers
- instead of asking questions, say answers and have them write the questions
- if a group's first answer is wrong give half points if they can find the mistake

activities like this wont seem childish, are a lot of fun and allows you to find the areas where the class is struggling.

eric

[livinginkorea]

I say get a pairwork book with loads of business situations. Penguin have a great Business pair work book but it's very hard to get and costs a fortune! Try the other pair work books from Penguin. The wife teaches mostly company classes and she said that anything with pairwork they really enjoy it. She plays scrabble with them once a month, class after she gives a test.

For corporate classes be careful about having too many games. They make and pay a lot of money for learning English so try and find interesting articles, pair work situations, business meetings on the phone etc which will make them just as interested as games to elementary kids

Don't dis scrabble! Once they put a little money on it, they are crazy about it!!

[jenniferp]

I taught a company class for a year, it depended on the day as to how many I had per class. Obviously it depends on the personalities you get attending, but the guys I taught loved to have discussion games to break up the monotony of going over grammar and structure. As LivinginKorea says there are a lot of good activity based books for business students and also a lot of resource on the internet. I used a lot of stuff from iteslj.org for conversation based lessons, also www.breakingnewsenglish.com is good as each lesson gives you an idea of how to incorporate grammar exercises as well as some free thinking group/pair work.

Here's a good exercise that the instructor on my training course made us do and would be good for practising opinions & debating. You need a good group of between 10-20. Give the class a subject -eg Things to take on holiday and in pairs they they have to come up with 6 essential items that they would take with them. Once they have done this then regroup everyone, divide them into groups of 3 and get them to discuss the lists they have made already and whittle the number of items down to 4. (you can jig around with the numbers as it suits). Once this is done you then regroup them in 4's and the number on their list has to come down to 3 items.
You can go on as long as necessary but the idea is to move the students into different discussion groups and get them to defend and argue for their choices to be included on the list.
(Hope that made sense as it is a very good activity that involves hardly any teacher talking and gets them debating) It's interesting to compare the lists at the end and to see how similar, or not, they are.

xx

[livinginkorea]

I totally forgot about iteslj.org That is a great site for discussion. I am looking forward to finishing my current job and teaching companies next. It's very interesting.

Many thanks for the above comments. I'll incorporate some of those ideas!

[livinginkorea]

Quote Unregistered

Many thanks for the above comments. I'll incorporate some of those ideas!

Your welcome I am going back to teaching companies in September so let us know how you get on with your classes so that I can try with mine

[HarryPalmer]

^ Sure. I have my first class of Tourist Board office workers in two days.

Bogglesworld has some decent material that can be used as is or adapted for corporates.

[emile]

Okay, let me put it like this... you CAN play games and stuff with corporate groups, sure why not, when it fits into the learning objectives and is done in a mature way.

However, a lot of teachers have the idea that the only way to stimulate learners is by playing games. Maybe with kids this is true, but adult learners will often be more stimulated if your material is rich and rewarding to them. If the Thai tourist guys are enabled to present and promote their country fluently and confidently through presentation practice and roleplays, it could be better than any games.

I'm always wary of having games for the sake of it after being through so many 'teambuilding' courses where they have you play silly games to 'motivate' you. The junior employees seemed to enjoy it, but anyone over the age of 25 felt like a tard running around blindfolded and stuff.

But something like scrabble and wordgames are always cool. Physical activity is healthy for learning, but I stress it must be done in a mature way.

[ruthwickham]

For a start, stop calling them "Games"! Interactive Learning activities are essential. Every corporate class I teach starts with the request : "We want opportunities to speak". They don't want to be lectured, and they don't want to work their way through grammar activities in a book. So you need lots of pair-work, and group-work. I often find, though, getting them to move around - and I don't mean run around blindfold, just move to a different seat, or change groups - is often hard work.

[jenniferp]

I agree RuthW. When I hear of someone (on this forum or another) talking about games for class, I am assuming that they are talking about a learning activity. I know of teachers that play Hangman far too much due to bad lesson planning, but even for adults Interactive learning activities are an important tool for practice. The kind of teambuilding activities that involve running around blindfolded seem to me to be from a completely different kind of training course (and as such not suitable to adapt to the English learners classroom) so I'm not sure of any teachers that would seriously expect their adult learners to do this anyway.

[mesmark]

Quote ruthwickham

For a start, stop calling them "Games"! Interactive Learning activities are essential.

Aren't we just arguing semantics at this point.

but, I like the term 'game' or 'language game' better. It sounds more enjoyable and correctly labeled than Interactive Learning Activity. While I hope most language games are well planned and I like to think mine are, I know some aren't. I think you're over emphasizing the obvious. And, it doesn't sound like a game. When I hear the term Interactive Learning Activity, I think role play or survey.

[esltrainer@gmail.com]

I also find the title "Games" destructive to an ESL course for Chinese adults. I have found that my Chinese adult students will throw themselves into a "Challenge" or a "Group Discussion" or a "Team Effort". But call it a "Game" and I run the real risk of the complaint that, "We only play games". Parents of 16-24 year olds also often object to "games" during lessons - not being at all familiar with the actual content or aim of the lesson, just hearing that their offspring was "playing games" during their expensive lesson. In China with its one-child policy, people are regarded as kids until they are about 23. Likewise, the HR Managers of companies can prick up their ears when their employees are "playing games" during their ESL lessons.

I have similarly found that the judicious use of DVD movies and documentaries (a whole new subject) sits a lot better with clients when I present it as it really is - "Now for a listening exercise". Perhaps being stung in the past by unscrupulous ESL teachers who do in fact throw on a movie as a time filler, or pull out yet another unrelated game to compensate for lack of preparation, the clients are on their guard against "games" and "DVDs".

[emile]

In China with its one-child policy, people are regarded as kids until they are about 23. Likewise, the HR Managers of companies can prick up their ears when their employees are "playing games" during their ESL lessons.

...in other words, don't forget the PR when you're in the PRC.

For a start, stop calling them "Games"!

lol! From PR to PC!

[mesmark]

Quote esltrainer@gmail.com

I also find the title "Games" destructive to an ESL course for Chinese adults. I have found that my Chinese adult students will throw themselves into a "Challenge" or a "Group Discussion" or a "Team Effort". But call it a "Game" and I run the real risk of the complaint that, "We only play games". Parents of 16-24 year olds also often object to "games" during lessons - not being at all familiar with the actual content or aim of the lesson, just hearing that their offspring was "playing games" during their expensive lesson. In China with its one-child policy, people are regarded as kids until they are about 23. Likewise, the HR Managers of companies can prick up their ears when their employees are "playing games" during their ESL lessons.

I would agree that you need to do what gets you through the day. Calling your games 'language driven task competions' won't make what you do any different. But who really needs to be re-educated on this? the teachers?

Why should we stop calling them games?