I played this game with my elementary school students in Korea and also with high school students who I taught for a short time. It worked really well in both cases. I'm about to try it out on my adult students in Australia.
The game was really popular. I was concerned for the health of my students at one point though. I had written a particularly long sentence and one student was huffing and puffing as he ran from my table back to his group, dictating the sentence. I could almost hear his heart beating and thought he was going to get so excited he would have a heart attack. Next time there will be no marathon sentences.
The students were running around screaming like kids. I did my favourite adaptation to the rules- moving around while they were intent upon the work, so when they come to find me to check the sentences they're not sure where I've gone. Two students thought I'd taken the lift to another floor at one point. It's difficult to keep an eye on everybody and make sure they're playing by the rules and do this stunt, but I like to disappear down the corridor or something in the middle of the game so my students have to chase after me to give me the answer and complete the game. I used to go down the corridor outside my classroom in Korea and reappear through the other door, which would frustrate my students there, although they loved it.
Whilst I have been a teacher of other subjects I am not a trained school teaching and I have never taught English as a second language. This game is great, it is working well with the High School students I have. After they have checked the sentence with me they go to the co-teacher who checks they fully understand what the sentence means and then the team can come and get a new sentence. It works really well.
I've use this game with high school students in Korea, both boys and girls. Everyone loves it, and it gets pretty competitive. It's great because it works on all English skills simultaneously - speaking, listening, reading, writing. You can also use this game to reinforce lessons on pronunciation, grammar points, vocabulary, etc.
VARIATION: I was teaching -ed/-ing adjectives, and created some paragraphs in which some of the adjectives were wrong. After copying down the passage, they had to correct it. The first team to copy and correct won. This variation is best for advanced students.
This game is great for middle school and adults because it integrates their skills. One variation is to have the leaders dictate questions. After a student correctly writes the answer, they can get a bonus point for answering the question correctly.
This game really got my students engaged in speaking, listening, and writing! Thank you!
Note: I changed the scoring. If I had five pairs, I would give the first team to finish correctly 5 points, the next team to finish correctly 4 points, etc.
I'm a little confused. Where exactly is the paper with the sentence supposed to be? If it's at the board then what are they trying to remember to write down. They have the paper at the board with them. Who holds the paper when they return to the group?
The teacher writes down a sentence on several pieces of paper.
One person from each team (the team leader) comes to the teacher and the teacher give each of them one piece of paper with a sentence on it. This person has to memorize the sentence, leave the paper on the teachers desk (or on the chalk tray of the board), then run back to their group and say the sentence to their team. The team then tries to write down the sentence on a piece of paper.
The team leader can go back to read the sentence on the piece of paper as many times as they want, but they can never bring it to their team and read from the paper.
It can be used for company employees in a low intermediate class. Just use something from their textbook or whatever they are studying. I always like to use easy and familiar sentences the first one or two times in order to teach them the rules.
As for examples, it really depends on what you are teaching them and what kind of English they need for their job.
"How many orders did we get last month?"
"The toilet in the bathroom on the 3rd floor is broken."
etc...
This is popular with Andrew Finch. He is a professor at Kyoungbuk University in Korea. He has a PHD from Cambridge Univesity. He has an online textbook on the TESL journal called"Tell Me More" His whole phylosophy evolves arounf autonomous learning.
I found a good way to 'spice' up the dictation (especially with youngsters, but even adults!) is to vary the actual 'running' itself. Before the task I ask students how many different ways there are for humans to move? Students suggest things like: hopping, jumping, walking backwards, moonwalking, etc. Now, allocate different methods of movement to each group and let the choas begin!
Comments
I played this game with my
Submitted by stron on
I played this game with my elementary school students in Korea and also with high school students who I taught for a short time. It worked really well in both cases. I'm about to try it out on my adult students in Australia.
Adult ESL Students
Submitted by I on
Let us know how it goes. Do adults also enjoy running around the classroom?
They sure do. The game
Submitted by stron on
They sure do.
The game was really popular. I was concerned for the health of my students at one point though. I had written a particularly long sentence and one student was huffing and puffing as he ran from my table back to his group, dictating the sentence. I could almost hear his heart beating and thought he was going to get so excited he would have a heart attack. Next time there will be no marathon sentences.
The students were running around screaming like kids. I did my favourite adaptation to the rules- moving around while they were intent upon the work, so when they come to find me to check the sentences they're not sure where I've gone. Two students thought I'd taken the lift to another floor at one point. It's difficult to keep an eye on everybody and make sure they're playing by the rules and do this stunt, but I like to disappear down the corridor or something in the middle of the game so my students have to chase after me to give me the answer and complete the game. I used to go down the corridor outside my classroom in Korea and reappear through the other door, which would frustrate my students there, although they loved it.
this game rocks
Submitted by Jaine on
Whilst I have been a teacher of other subjects I am not a trained school teaching and I have never taught English as a second language. This game is great, it is working well with the High School students I have. After they have checked the sentence with me they go to the co-teacher who checks they fully understand what the sentence means and then the team can come and get a new sentence. It works really well.
Thanks heaps!
English Game Comments
Submitted by I on
Thanks for your feeback Jaine!
Great game! Another variation:
Submitted by Jonny (not verified) on
I've use this game with high school students in Korea, both boys and girls. Everyone loves it, and it gets pretty competitive. It's great because it works on all English skills simultaneously - speaking, listening, reading, writing. You can also use this game to reinforce lessons on pronunciation, grammar points, vocabulary, etc.
VARIATION: I was teaching -ed/-ing adjectives, and created some paragraphs in which some of the adjectives were wrong. After copying down the passage, they had to correct it. The first team to copy and correct won. This variation is best for advanced students.
Great Variation
Submitted by I on
Thanks for your comments on the game Jonny, and for sharing your variation. What a great twist!
Cool
Submitted by Zac (not verified) on
This game is great for middle school and adults because it integrates their skills. One variation is to have the leaders dictate questions. After a student correctly writes the answer, they can get a bonus point for answering the question correctly.
If teaching adults or older
Submitted by Kim (not verified) on
If teaching adults or older teenagers, make the passage a riddle. This way, they must read and understand the passage to find out the answer.
Using riddles to teach English
Submitted by I on
That is a great idea!
This game really got my
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
This game really got my students engaged in speaking, listening, and writing! Thank you!
Note: I changed the scoring. If I had five pairs, I would give the first team to finish correctly 5 points, the next team to finish correctly 4 points, etc.
Running Dictation: I'm a
Submitted by Nicholas Accardi (not verified) on
Running Dictation:
I'm a little confused. Where exactly is the paper with the sentence supposed to be? If it's at the board then what are they trying to remember to write down. They have the paper at the board with them. Who holds the paper when they return to the group?
Thanks
Will it works with Company employees - Low Intermediate ???
Submitted by stephen (not verified) on
If you think this will work for adults... how about
Company employees in a Low Intermediate class
Can you provide and example of three sentence(s) for one adult group...
Multiple sentences sound great....
Appreciate the input...
Thanks
No. 28 / er shi ba
i, too am confused! Could you
Submitted by Sarah (not verified) on
i, too am confused! Could you please clarify the rules of this game? It has great feedback, but the rules aren`t clearly explained! Thanks!
Explanation of Running Dictation English Game
Submitted by I on
The teacher writes down a sentence on several pieces of paper.
One person from each team (the team leader) comes to the teacher and the teacher give each of them one piece of paper with a sentence on it. This person has to memorize the sentence, leave the paper on the teachers desk (or on the chalk tray of the board), then run back to their group and say the sentence to their team. The team then tries to write down the sentence on a piece of paper.
The team leader can go back to read the sentence on the piece of paper as many times as they want, but they can never bring it to their team and read from the paper.
Hope this clarifies the game!
It can be used for company
Submitted by I on
It can be used for company employees in a low intermediate class. Just use something from their textbook or whatever they are studying. I always like to use easy and familiar sentences the first one or two times in order to teach them the rules.
As for examples, it really depends on what you are teaching them and what kind of English they need for their job.
"How many orders did we get last month?"
"The toilet in the bathroom on the 3rd floor is broken."
etc...
it absolutely works
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
I used to play the game with my students. They were excited to play the game. It absolutely works and is fun.
This is popular with Andrew
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on
This is popular with Andrew Finch. He is a professor at Kyoungbuk University in Korea. He has a PHD from Cambridge Univesity. He has an online textbook on the TESL journal called"Tell Me More" His whole phylosophy evolves arounf autonomous learning.
Vary the 'running'
Submitted by Dave (not verified) on
I found a good way to 'spice' up the dictation (especially with youngsters, but even adults!) is to vary the actual 'running' itself. Before the task I ask students how many different ways there are for humans to move? Students suggest things like: hopping, jumping, walking backwards, moonwalking, etc. Now, allocate different methods of movement to each group and let the choas begin!
I bet this works really well!
Submitted by I on
I bet this works really well!
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