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Language practice activities

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In the previous step, you discussed the importance of providing practice activities in class. For the remainder of this week, we’re going to consider different types of practice activities that you could use. In this video, you’ll see learners doing two classroom activities. The first is a primary group of learners. The second is with secondary age learners. As you watch, identify the language focus in each case. Good morning, Teacher. Today, I want you to [INAUDIBLE] these pets. Have you got pets at home? Yes. OK. Let’s repeat some pets– a dog. A dog. A cat. A cat. A rabbit. A rabbit. A mouse. A mouse. A hamster. A hamster. A guinea pig. A guinea pig. A parrot. A parrot. A goldfish. A goldfish.
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A tortoise. A tortoise. A lizard. A lizard. A snake. A snake. Good. Have you got a dog? Yes, I have. Have you got a dog? Yes, I have. OK. Have you got a cat? Yes, I have. Have you got a lizard? No, I don’t. Have you got a snake? No, I haven’t. So, now we are going to play a game. I will give you two cards. You will play in a pair. But you have to sit back to back. And you shouldn’t show your card to anybody. It is secret card. And you have to ask each other– have you got a dog? And answer with, ‘yes, I have’, or ‘no, I haven’t’. If you guess, you get one point.
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Let’s play. Sit down, please. Good enough. Back to back. Pick one card, please. Don’t show it to anybody.
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OK. And you.
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Good. So, you have to ask, have you got– [NAME], start this? Have you got a lizard? No, I haven’t. Have you got a guinea pig? No, I haven’t. Have you got a snake? No, I haven’t. Have you got a tortoise? Yes, I have. Thank you. That’s one point. Thank you very much. Another pair .
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OK. And now, you can close everything. I have a little game for you. So, we’ve got here the prompts. So what have you done so far in your life? You’ll see that there is a prompt about the job, of course, you’ve never done that. Kristian, pay attention now. So, you will complete this circles with only one word or phrase. You will see – use five, because we don’t have enough time. And then, you will fold the paper like this, and give it to your partner. And then, if, for example, if you said, if you’ve written here, Marco, because it says here that this is the name of someone you’ve known for over 10 years.
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And then, for example, Dario will ask Kristian, OK, why did you write Marco? Who is Marco? And so on. You’ll see when I give you the papers. So, only complete the five circles. OK, I’ll rehearse with Sven, just for you to see how does this work. OK, why did you write ‘On Kortula?’ It’s the island where I go when I was little on holidays. And you go there every summer? Yes. OK. Why did you write Simon? He was my best friend in my primary school. He’s not anymore? No. OK. Now swap the papers. It doesn’t matter how many did you complete. Now swap the papers, and talk to each other. Ask questions. [CLASS TALKING] OK. Shhh. Stop talking now.
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Who wants to perform?
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Just one pair, just one pair.
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Come on. [INAUDIBLE] Lucy and Angela.
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Why did you write ‘Dalia’? It was my best friend in primary school. Why did you write ‘London’? It was the city I went to and liked. Why did you write [INAUDIBLE]? It was the movie I watched two weeks ago. Why did you write ‘mum’?
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Because I talked to her this morning.

Practice activities are essential to help learners try out new language, to aid retention and develop their communicative competence, or ability to communicate and be understood. Learners may not have the opportunity (or the motivation!) to practise outside the classroom, making it even more vital that you provide sufficient practice in class.

Watch the video of two classroom activities to practise language, one with primary and one with secondary learners.

As you watch, consider these questions:

  • What language points are the learners practising in each case?
  • Do you (or could you) use these activities with your learners?
  • What other practice activities would you suggest for this language?

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This content is taken from
British Council online course,

Learning and Learners

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You can download instructions and materials for the two activities from the video by clicking on the links below.

Want to keep learning?

This content is taken from British Council online course
Learning and Learners
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