Teach English in Yanhe Zhen - Yancheng Shi

There are many instances within teaching ESL for which flashcards can be used, and their use is often preferable, especially with regard to young learners who are more likely to respond to images than descriptions. Below are five activities that can used within an ESL context, and all can be used in classes with a large number of students. The first activity is a game called 'Freeze' and is best utilized once students are able to say most of the vocabulary on the flashcards. In this game, each student gets a flashcard and walks around the classroom asking and answering the given pattern, for example, “What can you do? I can (verb). Students ask and answer questions according to their mini-flashcard and then exchange cards with their partner, before finding a new partner to practice with. When the teacher calls, “freeze!”, all students ask the pattern question to the teacher, who then gives an answer and rewards students holding the corresponding flashcard. Another activity for students is giving a group of students a deck of cards (with pictures and spelling words), who then draw a card and ask the others how to spell the word on their flashcard. If a student spells it correctly, they then get to keep the card. If not, they are shown the spelling and then have a chance to win the card later, which can help motivate students to remember their spelling words. Once all cards have been drawn, students count their cards to determine who the winner is. The next flashcard activity is called fast finders and has the objective of practicing a pattern, for example, What do you have? I have a _____. Two or three students then go and wait outside the classroom door, while I hand out flashcards to students and tell the remaining students which student has the 'magic word' and what word it is. The students outside also know what the magic word is but they don't know who has it, and can only find out by asking their classmates the prescribed pattern once they are allowed to re-enter the classroom. The benefits of this activity are it is exciting as the students race to find the magic word, each student gets to practice speaking, and students who are waiting remain focused as they are keen to see which of their peers will find the magic word first. At the end of each round new students get to be the fast finders, whilst the students inside the classroom exchange cards with a partner so as to answer the pattern with a different vocabulary word. Another flashcard activity is called 'bomb', and is aimed at kindergarten and elementary school kids. A set of vocabulary flashcards is taught to the students before the game starts. Once familiar with the words, the cards are turned one after the other with students saying the word that they can see. After a short while, a bomb flashcard is placed in the deck however students aren't aware of its position in the deck. If the bomb card gets turned, students proceed to yell 'boom' before sitting down and placing their hands over their heads so as to escape the bomb. The students who sit down first are then rewarded. The advantages of this activity are it retains the whole class's attention as they don't want to be the last person standing. The final game to be discussed is 'fruit salad'. Each student is give a vocabulary card, and then sit down at their table, holding the card up high for all to see. The teacher then calls out two different words, and students with these words have to stand up and (without running) quickly exchange seats with their friend before calling out the flashcard word. As before, this retains the whole class's attention as they have to be aware of when their called is called in order to be first.