There are some words you cannot live without in any language, and greetings certainly belong among those words and phrases. In this post I aim at introducing and teaching nine basic greetings for elementary students. To achieve this goal I there is a nice mind map and several games to practise these words.
Greetings – mind map
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The letters in the circles show how formal or informal the given expression is. If it is informal we use the greeting with people we know well and our friends. With other people we use the formal greetings.
Notice that HELLO is both formal and informal. This greeting is often used instead of GOOD MORNING etc. and no one thinks you are being impolite.
Greetings – games
The other two games are in Flash and therefore they will play just on your desktop. The first one is called Teacher invaders and you have to answer all the questions with the correct greeting and then shoot all the invaders. Good luck.
Greetings – Teacher InvadersThe second game is called half a minute and it is suitable for classes with an interactive whiteboard. When you start the game there will appear the jumbled greeting and students have to write it on their paper and then one of them can type it into the computer. However, you have to do this in 30 seconds. Have a good fun with it.
Greetings – Half a minute
The word “HOW” is one of the most productive words in English. It helps us create meaningful questions and sentences. The word “HOW” combines with many other words to create these questions. The way you can create questions with how.
In this post I try to introduce the basic phrases “How much”, “How many”, “How often”, “How well”, “How long”, “How far” and “How old”.
How in questions – mindmap
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How in questions – games
In the second game you should choose the correct answer and shoot only the BAD ducks. You can try to shoot one of the bottles too and get a bonus.
Shooting gameI hope that by now you know all the basic usages of the word HOW.
My friend keeps asking me whether there is a logical way to see if he should use DO or MAKE. I always told him that there is not and that he should learn the phrases by heart. However, when he asked me for the third time I sat down and created a logical division for him. It is not foolproof but it is better than nothing. So I hope you will find it useful too.
Make and do – mind map
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Make and do – games
As there is nothing more to explain, here are two games to practise the language.
Make and do – Hoop shoot
In this game it is your task to choose the correct verb and then stop the circles as close to the center as possible. Good luck.
The HOOP SHOOT GAMEThe game is in Flash
Make and do – Teacher invaders
In this game your task is to write the right word (MAKE or DO) to complete the phrases. And then … SHOOT THEM ALL.
The INVADERS GAMEThe game is in Flash
In my opinion Plants are one of the worst covered vocabulary topics in ELT. That is why, I have created the following post. There is a pictionary with all the words, a mind map, a video and four games to practise the vocabulary. I hope you will find these words useful.
Plants – vocabulary video
Here is a video with the words and their pronunciation.
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Plants – pictionary
Here are all the words in a pictionary. You can print this material out (as long as you do not try to profit financially from this.)
Plants pictionary by engames.eu
Plants – mind map
This mind map tries to divide the vocabulary into three categories: Deciduous trees (those that have leaves), coniferous trees and flowers. Some students find these divisions useful.
Watch and practise
Watch the pictures and say the words in English.
Plants – games
Here are four games to practise the vocabulary. Give them a try:
Flashcards
Click Here to play the gamePick a letter
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Matching
Click Here to play the gameCrosswords
Click Here to play the game
Many people think that the topic animals is suitable only for children. Thus the learners learn the names of twenty animals when they are young and they think it is enough. However, intermediate students need to know more animals than the twenty they learnt as children. That is why I have created the following post. Here the intermediate students can practise what they learnt a long time ago and add some more new words.
Animals – pictionary
Here is a beautiful pictionary with all the animals which will be dealt with in this post.
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Animals – video
Watch the video and repeat the names of the animals. Each word is pronounced twice.
Animals – mind map
For many people it is much easier to remember new vocabulary if it is organised. Here is a mind map which tries to do this.
Animals – games
There are three games here. The first one is a classical wordsearch. Find the word, click on the first letter and then on the last one. Your task is to find all the animals there.
Animals Penalty game
The second game is called Penalty. Read the definitions and choose the correct animal.
Teacher invaders game
The last game is called Teacher invaders. Your task is to shoot all the invaders and write the names of the animals.
Half a minute game
And here is a bonus game. As some people do not like Teacher invaders here are the same words with the same definitions in a much quiter game:
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Scientists claim that the center for rythm is located next to the long-term memory in our brain. Knowing this, we could exploit it to the students’ benefit and teach them vocabulary through rhymes or raps. So, I tried to create the following rap to teach the students the following words: beach, prefer, rhyme, crazy, bone, railway, clothes, lots, fun, sand and shower.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap -video
First listen to the following rap and answer the comprehension questions under the video.
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Now check your comprehension by playing the following game:
Crazy vocabulary rap – Hoop shoot
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – mind map
Now that you met the vocabulary it is time to introduce it. I love introducing new things using mind maps, so here is another one. Each word contains a definition and three examples.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Vocabulary games
Once you think you know all the words it is time to test your knowledge. There are three games to check whether you really know the words. In the first two your task is to complete each sentence with the best option. If you answer correctly you will get to play a game.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Hoopshoot game
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Fling the teacher game
The last game is a bit different. You will see a definition and then you have to write the word. Do not forget to shoot the invaders, though 🙂
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Teacher invaders game.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Lyrics
You might want to learn the whole text, so here you are:
I’m going somewhere on this train
I’m going somewhere fun
A place that has a beach and sand
Railway take me to that sun….
I prefer to go somewhere out west
But any beach will do
Before I go I need a shower
I have no water, what to do….
I need a beach where clothes aren’t needed
Cuz mine I do not have
They got destroyed by a beast
Doing something reasonably bad….
He was drinking lots of milk he was
This milk I wanted some
Cuz in my youth I want strong bones
To stay in shape and have some fun
This rhyme is really crazy
This I really know
Time for me to say bye bye
It’s time for me to go….
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The whole planet is following the Winter Olympic games in Sochi. And as this site has got the word “games” in its name I think it will be appropriate to make a post on winter olympic sports.
Winter Olympic sports – video
Here you should listen and repeat the words.
Winter Olympic sports – interactive mind map
This mind map contains all the sports and the less typical ones contain a link to a Youtube video where you can see the sport.
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Winter Olympic sports – Mind map
Here you can see the mind map with all the sports.
Winter Olympic sports – Games
There are two games to practise the winter olympic sports. The first one is called On target. Your task is to read the definition and then choose the best option. If you answer correctly you will get a chance to shoot the Evil ducks. Do not forget that you can get a Bottle Bonus if you shoot a bottle.
Winter Olympic sports – On target game
The second game is called Half a minute and your task is to put the letters in the correct order. However, you have only 30 seconds to do this.
Winter Olympic sports – Half a minute game
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Negative prefixes are very productive. It seems that if you learn these then you might be able to create countless English words. However, it is not enough to learn only the prefixes. As each word has its own prefix and there are just a few rules you have to learn the whole words.
Knowing this, I took 4,000 most frequent words in English and I looked for the words with negative prefixes among them. Once I found them I created the following mind map:
Negative prefixes – a mind map
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Go through the mind map above and use a dictionary if you do not know any of the words.
Negative prefixes – games
Once you think that you know the words with negative prefixes I believe it is time to test your knowledge in games. This time there are 4 games. The first two (En Garde and On Target) contain the same tasks in different games. Choose the one you like better and plaaaaaay!!!
Negative prefixes – En Garde
Negative prefixes – On target
In the game called Half a minute your task is to put the jumbled word into the correct order. It is not easy but if you know the words you should manage to do this.
Negative prefixes – Half a minute
The last game is called Teacher invaders. Your task is to shoot all the invaders and write the words with negative prefixes. I believe this is the most difficult game, so give it a try!!!
Negative prefixes – Teacher invaders
Negative prefixes – a blind mind map
Have you played all the games and they were a piece of cake? Let’s try something more challenging. Print the following mind map and complete it with the missing words:
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This material is a demonstration of the approach called CLIL. In CLIL You learn the content and thus you learn the language. However, experimenting a bit with the approach I like to do this a bit differently. First, I introduce the vocabulary through the mind map, then I present the text (this time in a video) and then we assess the understanding and play the games to practise the vocabulary.
Battle of Hastings – video
Watch the video and try to understand it.
Battle of Hastings – mind map
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Battle of Hastings – games
Once you have watched the video you should try the comprehension questions in the game. Your task is to shoot only the evil figures.
Battle of Hastings – On Target game
Vocabulary games: In the first game you should read the definition and guess the word. Then click the arrow and you will see the correct words
Now that you know the words it is time to see whether you know the words:
Fill in the blank – vocabulary
Battle of Hastings – For teachers
As many of the readers of this blog are teachers here is a brief section for them. When I teach this section I display the second slide of the Powerpoint presentation and I teach the vocabulary there. Then I play the video and play the comprehension game On Target with the students (divide the students into two teams to make the game more enjoyable.) Then I display the last slide and the students have to retell the story of Harold, Harald and William. Moreover, there is a pdf file with the mind map and a presentation which is easy to display on the IWB as it is in Powerpoint.
1066_Battle of Hastings
Battle_of_hastings
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The concept of uncountability is very difficult to understand and use correctly for learners of English. However, even the English sometimes need to count the things which are uncountable. To do this they count the containers the things are commonly packed in or they have a countable expression which is used with the given noun. Thus, they have one pair of trousers, two pieces of cake or a carton of milk. To master this you have to learn the containers by heart. To make it easier I have prepared a short video, a mind map and three games for you.
Containers – video
Watch the video and repeat the phrases with the native speaker.
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Containers – mind map
The following mind map visually maps the containers and their usage.
Once you have learnt the containers it is time to see whether you really know them. Play the following games and if you win you can be sure that you know the vocabulary.
Containers – games
The first game is the easiest one. You have to choose the correct container for the given phrase. If you succeed you will be given the chance to shoot a penalty. Can you score 10 times? No one ever has. BE THE FRIST ONE.
The second game is slightly more difficult. Your task is to choose the word which fits into the gap. You have to choose a noun which is commonly used with the given container. If you are successful then you can try to win the fencing duel.
The last game is the most difficult one. While in the previous games it was enough to choose a word, here you have to make it up. And in the meantime the invaders get more and more aggressive. Will you save the planet?
Containers – Teacher invaders game.
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Phrasal verbs are always difficult to learn. Even though they consist of two or three tiny words, which are easy to remember themselves, they can create so many different combinations that students quickly become totally confused. Moreover, the meaning of the phrasal verb cannot be deduced from its parts. Therefore the students do not know the verbs and refuse to use them.
I really like the programmes which BBC produced some time ago. They are called Face up to phrasals and they are several short, entertaining stories introducing 12 phrasal verbs each. However, they created nice stories and wonderful explanations and that was it. There were no activities to help you really learn the phrasal verbs. And here I stepped in and I created a mind map and several games to help your learn the 12 phrasal verbs.
Fred and Betty – the video
You can watch the video here
Phrasal verbs – mind map
Here you can see all 12 phrasal verbs in a mind map. Each verb contains a definition and examples of its usage.
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Phrasal verbs – games
I have prepared 3 games for you to practise the phrasal verbs. First of them is called hoop shoot and your task is to choose the correct phrasal verb which best fits into the gap.
Phrasal verbs – hoop shoot game.
The second game is slightly more difficult. You have to read the tasks carefully, as here you have to choose the wrong or correct option.
The last game is called invaders and it is the most difficult game. Your task is to shoot all the aliens and in the meantime complete each sentence with the correct preposition.
Phrasal verbs – invaders game.
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Clothes vocabulary is useful and quite easy to learn. Here you will find a video introducing the correct pronunciation (American English) of the words. Watch the video and repeat. In the second part of the video you should say the words yourself.
Then there is a mind map introducing the new words. You can add more to the mind map if you want to. Further you can find here several games to practise the clothes vocabulary.
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Video
Watch the video and repeat the words. Then say the words for the clothes you see.
Clothes vocabulary mind map
Here is a mind map of the clothes vocabulary. You can (and you should) print this mind map out and add more words you want to learn.
Clothes vocabulary games
Once you went through all the words and you think you know them, it is time to practise them in the following games. First one is fill in the blank. Your task is to write the word you see in the picture. You will get 10 words to practise.
The second game is a matching activity. Your task is to click on the word that you see in the picture.
The last activity to practise clothes vocabulary is a crossword. Click into the crossword and you will see the clue. Write the words.
The last game is called Click the word. Read the sentence above the pictures and then click on the correct picture and on the button submit.
I hope that by now you know all the new words pretty well.
Other games to learn English
The Kiss is a classical story by the American author Kate Chopin. You can read and listen to the simplified story and then try several comprehension games at http://www.aj3000.org/TheKisspage/the_kiss_story.html .
Christmas is nearly over, but when the holiday ends I would like my students to tell me about their Christmas. To be able to do this properly they will need a lot of Christmas vocabulary. Here is a mind map introducing all the key words and concepts connected with Christmas in Great Britain and the USA. Go through all the words and content and then play the game to practise the Christmas vocabulary.
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Christmas Vocabulary game
Once you know the vocabulary it is time to practise it. Here is a simple quiz where you should fill in the names of the things you see in the pictures. If you get more than 80% of all the answers correct you can play a game called Indiara. Good luck.
Christmas Traditions – listening
I come from the Czech Republic and I have prepared a short text describing the unusual traditions connected with Christmas here. You can listen to the recording and then play a comprehension game. To make the listening easier for you, you can listen and read the text at the same time. This kind of listening is very good for your pronunciation too, as you can read along.
Listen and read
Comprehension game – Hoopshoot.
If you feel that you need more listening practice, try the following dictation exercises. Listen to the recording and then fill in the missing words. You can stop the recording whenever you like and play different parts again. In this way your listening comprehension will improve.
Czech Christmas Customs Dictation – elementary
Czech Christmas Customs Dictation – pre-intermediate
Czech Christmas Customs Dictation – intermediate
I hope you will find all these resources useful.
Merry Christmas.
More Games to learn English
If you like these exercises there are many more games to learn English at this site. We recommend the following ones:
Past tense of the irregular verbs – this post contains a mind map and several highly addictive games to learn the English irregular verbs in the past tense.
And what about present perfect tense? Is it still a mystery for you? Try the following post on Present perfect tense.
Furniture vocabulary is one of the easy areas for learners of English. However, I think that it never hurts if the students experience some success.
In this post, there is a video with all the words, an infographic and three games to practise the vocabulary.
Furniture vocabulary – video
Play the video at least twice in the lesson. Your students will remember the words better.
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Furniture vocabulary – infographic
Furniture – games
The second game is basketball. If you choose a correct answer you will get a chance to throw the ball into the basket. Good luck 🙂 To play this game, you need to download the game and then open it in Adobe Reader. Then click on the game and it will work.
The third games is called Matching. Your task is to find the picture and the correct word. Will you manage it in fewer then 40 turns? This game is in HTML5 and it will play on all mobile devices and desktop computers.
Furniture vocabulary – matching game
Students often find the vocabulary for personal qualities really difficult to learn and understand. Here I try to present the vocabulary in a slightly different way and give the students a chance to practise the personal qualities in games.
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Personal qualities vocabulary – video
Personal qualities vocabulary – infographic
Personal qualities vocabulary – interactive quiz
To play the En Garde game, download the file and open it in Adobe Reader. Then click the picture and the game will start. Your task is to choose the correct answer and then stop the target as close to the centre as possible. Hopefully, you will be faster and more accurate then your opponent. The game is in Flash and will play only on desktops:
Personal qualities Wordsearch.
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Food, glorious food … Food is one of the most important vocabulary areas to teach. You can teach about 30 different vocabulary items connected with food in this post. There are several activities to use: an infographic, a video and an online quiz.
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