Category Archives: Activities and Games

Language Puzzles to help Students Understand Verb Tenses

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verb_tensesThis activity presents a made up language. Students look at examples of how verbs show tense and must decipher what words puts a verb in the past, present, or future. This is a great exercise to help students understand the abstract concept of verb tenses. By using an artificial language students will be able to create phrases in the past, present, and future without resorting to grammar rules. You will find yourself referring back to exercise throughout the year as students struggle with understanding verb tense. This great for a language arts class or any foreign language class.   You can download a full versions of this activity here.

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Posted in Activities and Games, Grammar and Structures

Foreign Language Speaking Activity with Reflexive Verbs

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This is a great activity that I use to get students moving around the classroom and speaking to each other in the target language using reflexive verbs along with reflexive pronouns.  Student ask each other when they do certain activities (wake up, go to bed, wash up, etc) and record answers. I provide students with a question sheet as well as an answer sheet ( which includes times to use in response to questions). All information is presented with pictures to avoid translation. A follow-up activity requires students to ask about another person so that a different reflexive pronoun is also used.  Students have a lot of fun with this communicative activity.

You can create these activities in WORD or you can download complete activities that are ready to use here:

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Posted in Activities and Games, Grammar and Structures, Listening, Speaking

Very Effective Online Vocabulary Activities for Foreign Language Class

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The activities on the links below are great for students to individually practice many vocabulary topics in a very interactive way.  Some of the activities include sound and students can practice their listening comprehension as well as their ability to recognize words when they see them in print.  These are also effective for the smartboard as well. The activities work just as well on an individual computer screen.

Digital Dialects-Great tool for the Foreign (World) Language Classroom(French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.com

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Posted in Activities and Games, Online Activities, Technology

Foreign Language Class Group Speaking Project for a Food Unit

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Foreign (World) Language Food and Restuarant Project (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.com

You can download full versions of this project here:

We have the food unit that comes up in our foreign language classes almost every year and every text book has at least one chapter devoted to it.  I  created this group project that has students incorporate everything that they learn during a food and restaurant unit.  Students work in groups to create a sales pitch. They have 5 minutes to present their concept for a restaurant to a group of judges (I use other teachers in the school who can understand this level of the language).  Sometimes I record the presentations and email the videos to faculty members to vote on.  Presentations include ideas for the style and decor, the place setting, uniforms, a menu, a chef, and one prepared specialty of the house for the judges to test.

Foreign (World) Language Food and Restuarant Project (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.com Foreign (World) Language Food and Restuarant Project (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.comTo keep it completely proficiency-based, they have visuals to represent decor, menu, restaurant style, uniforms, etc. but they speak in the moment with no notes. The idea is to have them speak completely at their proficiency level without any memorized, prepared language. This is a great way to have them use everything that they learn throughout a food unit, and it’s an effective alternative to skits. I always give students an a a sheet with useful phrases and vocabulary to use during the presentation as well as an in-depth rubric that the judges also use. This is lots of fun and all about proficiency and showing the students what they can do with the language, and the project-based learning aspects are very effective as well.

You can download full versions of this project here:

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Posted in Activities and Games, Cultural Exploration, Speaking

Using the Gouin Series in the Foreign Language Classroom

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The Gouin Series is an activity that helps to move students from listening to speaking.  It was developed by Francois Gouin in the 19th century.

The teacher presents a series of six to eight relatively short statements that describe a logical sequence of actions that takes place in a specific context—buying a gift, cooking a meal, making a cake, making a phone call, writing and sending an email. The statements include concrete action verbs and use the same tense and the same person.  The teacher first presents the statements to the class orally, accompanying them with pantomime of the actions involved.  Props are useful. The class responds first by doing the actions, and then responds by saying the words while still performing the actions. The class speaks first as a group and then as individuals.

Elements of a Gouin Series:

  • An introduction to  set the scene
  • Concrete action verbs
  • One specificcontext
  • One tense
  • One person
  • 7-10 -syllables
  •  6-8 statements
  •  Props or visuals
  • Logical sequence

How to Teach a Gouin (Action) Series:

  1. Teacher presents orally, with pantomime and props
  2. Teacher repeats orally, class pantomimes with teacher
  3.  Teacher repeats orally without pantomime, class pantomimes,
  4. Teacher repeats orally, individuals pantomime
  5. Class repeats orally and pantomimes
  6. Individuals lead the series
  7. Possible reading, writing activities

Example of a Gouin Series:

Going to Class

  • I put my book in my bag.
  • I walk to class.
  • I enter the classroom.
  • I sit down.
  • I take out my book.
  • I put my book on the table.
  • I open book.

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Posted in Activities and Games, Classroom Procedures, Listening, Teaching Methodology and Research

Up and Down: Foreign Language Vocabulary and Verb Form Activities

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Up and Down: Foreign (World) Language Vocabulary and Verb Form Activity (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.comThis is an effective activity for students to practice language forms and vocabulary.  It is adaptable to many different structures.

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The three activities offer students an opportunity to work collaboratively.  Here is my favorite one because it is most interactive:

Students cut up the squares and line them up in order in one long strip placing the response under the prompt. There are two variations

–Start with principio/début and go to fin

–Start with fin and go to principio/début

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You can also find 20 versions of this activity on a number of French and Spanish vocabulary and grammar topics on the links below:

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Posted in Activities and Games, Grammar and Structures, Listening, Speaking

Enrichment Activities in the Foreign Language Classroom (aka games)

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Enrichment activities (aka games) are a terrific teaching and learning tool. In addition to providing students with opportunities to practice speaking and understanding the target language in class, it is also a great way to motivate students. When the focus is not on verb forms or noun gender students tend to have less anxiety about speaking the language and the context and repetitive nature of games help to improve listening comprehension.

In addition, games are useful:
• for providing a relaxed context for risk-taking.
• for building community in the classroom.
• for language interaction in an authentic situation.
• as a way of practicing and reviewing structures and idiomatic expressions

When developing a game, consider the following:
• Does the game provide for oral interaction among students?
• Are all students involved?
• Can the game be played in small groups to increase student participation?
• Is there a task to be completed that is independent of grammar (Focus on Form, not Forms)?

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Posted in Activities and Games, Classroom Procedures

Guess Who Speaking Activity for the Entire Class

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This is a great activity to get the entire class involved in saying and listening to the vocabulary in the target language. The teacher begins by cutting the strips of paper on the dotted line and giving five students a slip with two pictures on it. These students go to the front of the class without revealing their pictures to the rest of the class.

The other students in the class each receive the first sheet and begin by writing down the names of the five students in the front of the room.

One at a time members of the class take turns trying to guess who has which picture  on their sheet. All students record the answers as they are given.

An order of students should be established by the teacher and this order will be repeated until a student has correctly identified all the people/pictures on his/her turn. If the answers are not correct the questions continue.

Students should be informed that each person has only two pictures and that no two people have the same picture.

You can also download several version of this activity here:

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Posted in Activities and Games, Listening, Speaking

Foreign Language Sentence Writing Activity Focusing on Verb Forms (Powerpoint)

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This is a great activity to get students writing sentences with correct verb forms that move them towards more complex sentences.  In addition, students need to demonstrate that they know what the verbs mean as well as the correct form of the verb in order to complete each activity.

Begin each activity with click e that will reveal the verbs (infinitives) and one or two question words.  At this point students see six subjects and six infinitives, each numbered 1 through 6. A second click reveals three number combinations. The first number is the subject and the second number is the verb.

Students then have one minute (the triangle disappears to show time passing) to write three sentences that include the subject, the correct form of the verb and the additional information based on the question word(s).  When one minute has passed the verbs are covered.

The next screen shows the three sentences that students should have written so that they can check their work.  The second half of the sentence is an example as students will have different endings.

This activity can be created for any language in Powerpoint format by using the animation tools.  Download a template HERE.

You can also download full activities here:

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Posted in Activities and Games, Writing

Speaking Activity to Practice Pronouns in a Foreign Language

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This is a fun and engaging way to gets students speaking while using direct and indirect objects with confidence. Students complete this activity in pairs. There are sheet for Student A and one  for Student B. The goal is to find the three rows (diagonal, horizontal and vertical) that do not have a “dommage” or “Lastima”  in them.

Speaking Activity to Practice Pronouns in a Foreign (World) Language. (French, Spanish) wlteacher.wordpress.comPlayer A begins by choosing a number on the grid and saying the number to Player B in the target language. Player B then says the sentences on the top of the square to Player A, who then must repeat the sentence back with all of the direct and indirect objects replaced by pronouns. Player B has the correct response on his sheet and can verify if it is correct in the target language.  If it is not correct, the correct answer is not given because the player can try it again on another turn.

If the response is correct, Player A marks it off on the grid on the bottom of the page.  If Player A chooses a box with a “dommage” or “Lastima” in it Player B says “dommage” or “Lastima” (or the word that means “shame” or “pity” in the target language) and Player A marks it off on his grid on the bottom of the page. This indicates that the row and column where there is a “dommage” is not one of the three rows that he needs to find.

Play continues with Player B choosing a number and Player A saying the sentence on the grid to Player B. Turns continue back and forth between Player A and Player B until one of them has determined the three rows without a “dommage”  or “lastima” and he is declared the winner.

You can download these below:

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Posted in Activities and Games, Grammar and Structures, Speaking