Activity 1

1. Write a phrase on the board. The students then have to take it in turns to add extra words to make it into a longer and longer sentence. The trick is that it must always remain a coherent sentence. No words can be removed although they can be moved around to change the order. This activity provides enjoyable practice in word order and sentence construction. Example: the old man I saw the old man. I saw the old man yesterday. I was in town when I saw the old man yesterday. I was working in town when I saw the old man yesterday. I was working in town when I saw the deaf old man yesterday. I was working in town when I saw the deaf old man in the shop yesterday. I was working in the town where my sister lives when I saw the deaf old man in the shop yesterday. ... and so on.

Activity 2
Write a long sentence on the board and the students have to remove words and phrases while ensuring that it always remains as a sentence. This activity also provides enjoyable practice in sentence construction. Example: The sad and lonely young Egyptian student who lived above my flat was always playing these long and beautiful Arabic songs on the wonderful wooden mandolin which he kept wrapped up in a sheepskin bag and hidden underneath the hard metal bed that he slept on.

Activity 3
Intermediate level students and above enjoy this activity as it can be fun as well as quite challenging. The aim of the activity is to help students to see that sentences can be made up of separate sections and that in order to understand them they need to be

'unpicked' so that the separate parts can be clearly seen. This is best done as a class at first but later it can be done in pairs. Example: The lecture, which I meant to make on Thursday, and was itself a postponement because of my illness earlier in the week, an illness that has plagued me on and off for 20 years and never seems to be totally understood with by the doctors, whatever they do or say, was delayed until the following Tuesday because, as we have so often seen in the past, the management of the university, once its strongest feature, but now arguably its weakest, failed to notice that the lecture theatre had been double booked. The students need to start by trying to pinpoint the central part of the sentence and then to pick out additional information bit by bit.

Activity 4
Many words in English are compound words and this game builds up the students' vocabulary knowledge in an interesting way. Provide them with words that can all make compound words or expressions by adding one additional word. Their task is to try to find the missing word that enables all of the words in the list to make new words (hyphenated or not) or regular collocations. The students who pinpoint the missing word should then be asked to define each of the new words. Example 1:odd; park; base; net; foot. Answer: ball. Example 2:tiger; clip; news; waste. Answer: paper. Example 3:paper; brick; Great; climbing. Answer: wall. Example 4:dream; centre; light; one; off. Answer: day. Example 5:in the water; wrong; weight; centre; cert. Answer: dead.

Activity 5

Give the students one core word and they need to make as many new words or expressions (compound, hyphenated or collocations) as they can from the first word. It's probably best with students from Intermediate level and above. Example 1: custom customs; customer; customary; customs house; custom-made; custom-built Example 2: dead deadly; deadweight; deadbeat; deadening; dead heat; dead-end; dead loss

Activity 6
Students often find difficulty with synonyms. This game enables them to share the synonyms that they know as well as the chance to learn how to distinguish between them. Divide the class into groups of four. Give each group the same word and ask them to think of as many words as they can that have the same or a very similar meaning. Ask the groups to tell you the words they have thought of. List them on the board. Encourage students to give you examples which make the meaning of the new words clear, or explain the meaning with your own examples. Distinguish subtle differences of meaning as clearly as possible. Example 1: cold Freezing; chilly; bitter; icy; frosty; arctic; snowy; wintry; frozen Example 2: thin Skinny; slim; slender, bony; lean; lanky; emaciated; size zero; anorexic; underweight

Activity 7
Examples of metaphor and idiom can make real problems for learners because they can be so difficult to decipher. In most cases the native speakers do not even realise that they are using a metaphor or idiom and so while they may think they are using simple English they may in fact be using quite complex language. Many people are confused about the difference between metaphor and idiom and so it might be useful to distinguish between the two. Cambridge defines idiom as: ...a group of words whose meaning considered as a unit is different from the meanings of each word considered separately. Example: to kick the bucket, meaning to die. It defines metaphor as:

...an expression that describes a person or object by referring to something that is considered to possess similar characteristics. Example: This is a thorny issue so it will take time to sort it out.

Activity 8
Divide the students into pairs or small groups and give them short passages (text, dialogue or whatever) and ask them to spot the examples of metaphor and idiom and then to try to re-write them in order to replace the metaphor and idiom with less colloquial expressions. Example: A: What did you think of that reception last night? B: It was fine once it got going but it took ages to break the ice and the atmosphere was very chilly at first. A: Yes, I know what you mean. I wanted to tackle Jones about that matter of the contract but it took a lifetime to get him switched on. In the end it was time wasted because he couldn't throw any light on the problems. B: I'm not surprised. He's in a dead end job and the high fliers he started with are long gone. He's quite bitter. You won't get any change out of him. A: You're right. Time wasted. Still, I did manage to have a chat to Jim. B: Jim? A: Yes, you've met him. He was the one who blew the whistle on that dubious deal last year. In the end they pulled the plug on it. B: Oh yes, Jim. I remember. He really had the inside track on that deal.

Activity 9
Ordinary, everyday objects can be used very effectively in class to provide plenty of practice. One very good activity is to bring a collection of objects into the classroom. Either give one each to the students or ask them to select one. Their task is then to think of any arguments that they can (however wild and bizarre!) to persuade other people to buy them. For example, a teacher could bring into class a stapler, a small glass bowl, a corkscrew, a hardback book, a mobile phone and so on. The students would then have to think about how to sell this to the other students. Having decided, they have to talk to the others and try to persuade them to buy the product.

Example: This corkscrew is made of silver. It was designed by Alphonso Le Guiado in 1745. This one was made in 1769. It was made for Lord Marlborough. It will be sold by auction next month unless someone buys it today. The price at auction could fetch 65,000. However, the owner is willing to sell it for 50,000 today. In other words, it's a bargain! This offer is only on the table today.

Activity 10
One game that students often enjoy is 'knocking' words backwards and forward to each other rather like table tennis. For example, the teacher could give the students a theme such as trees and ask them to keep on producing words alternately until one or the other runs out. The other player must then produce one more word or the result is a draw. If a word is repeated, the other student wins. The player who keeps going the longest wins a point. They can then be given another theme. Possible themes might include London, football, gardens, universities, clothes, children and so on. Example: The theme is cars A pair of students might produce these words alternatively until one runs out. Student A: wheel, engine, driver, road, petrol, Honda, Renault, Schumacher etc Student B: windscreen, windscreen wiper, boot, bumper, lamp, light, Fiat, Hamilton etc.

Activity 11
This is a guessing game; a student thinks of a verb and the other students (in the group or in the class) have to guess what verb this student is thinking of. The verb is replaced by a nonsense word such as gringle. The students then ask questions, like this: Is it fun to gringle? Are you gringling now? Can you gringle something else? Do you gringle at night or during the day? Can you gringle with someone else? If I saw you gringling, would I laugh or cry?

Activity 12

This activity can be done in class once adequate work on past tenses has been carried out. 1. Tell the class that they are going to make up a story together. 2. The teacher can decide whether or not to provide a title and/ or setting. 3. Place one picture of a person on the board and ask one student to start the story. (They may need some help with this the first time.) 4. At an appropriate time (this could be after two minutes, or an agreed number of sentences, or even irregularly as decided by the teacher) place another picture on the board. The pictures should be new to the students and should be picked out at random. 5. Another student then takes over and continues the same story. 6. This continues until either the pictures have been finished, the story has come to a convenient end or a certain time limit has been reached. 7. The story should be recorded and can then be played back. 8. The story could be typed out (including mistakes) by the teacher for a subsequent lesson. It could be handed out to the class and the students could then work in pairs to correct the language of the story. 9. The story could then be recorded again, either one copy for a class or one copy per pair, and then played back. 10. Any corrections needed could then be picked up by the teacher.

Activity 13
This is an excellent activity for the first day of a course because it gets the students relaxed and talking, and often laughing as well. After the normal preliminaries of the first day, this could be the first real activity. This works best with a small class of up to 10 maximum. 1. The teacher will already have written a few sentences about themselves on an overhead or Powerpoint slide or whiteboard. Let the students see these, and tell them to read them through. Then read each sentence aloud, adding a little more detail in each case. The sentences might look something like this: I was born in Tanzania. My father was a doctor there. I can speak Kiswahili, French and English. I know a little Chinese. I have four children. I love swimming. I can play the guitar and sing. I have taught English for 20 years. 2. Tell the students that some of these statements are true and some are not. Tell them to ask questions to try to find out what is true and what is not true (5-10 minutes). As they ask questions, they may guess which statements are true and which are untrue. 3. Let them tell you which statements they think are true (and why) and which are false. 4. Confess, and tell them which are true and which are not. Add a little more about yourself. 5. Tell the students to write down 4/5 short sentences/statements about themselves. Some statements will be true and some untrue. 6. Tell them to work in pairs and question each other about their statements. Their task is to try to find out what is true and what is false (10 minutes). 6

7. When they have finished, ask the pairs to report back. However, each student must report on each other. They should report what they believe to be true. 8. When a student has finished describing his/her partner, the other student can then make any factual corrections that are needed. I am not 36, I am really 26. 9. When everyone has finished the teacher can bounce questions around the class. Who lived in Zanzibar? Whose mother was a painter? 10. Tell the students to write a description of themselves.

Activity 14
Before using this activity, the teacher will to take account of the age of the students and their cultural backgrounds. Materials needed: Bring in a selection of personal ads from a newspaper by men and women seeking a partner. 1. Ask the class what they understand by the expression lonely hearts. Discuss. Explain. 2. Would they consider placing an ad? Why? Why not? 3. Give out a 'lonely hearts' ad and let the student's read it. Ask questions. Elicit comments. 4. Do the same with about 5/6 other ads. 5. Ask the students to agree on one that they find particularly interesting. 6. Under guidance from the students, let one student draw this person on the board following instructions from the other students. 7. Ask the students for more information about this person based on the advert and also based on their own imaginations. List these points on the board. 8. Hand out another 5/7 ads placed by women looking for partners. Ask questions. Elicit comments. 9. Ask the students to suggest which would be the most appropriate partner for the man. 10. When agreed, repeat the stage where a student draws this woman on the board following the instructions of the other students. 11. As before, ask the students for more information about this person based on the advert and also based on their own imaginations. List these points on the board. 12. Tell the women students to write an email to a friend about a meeting she had with the man the evening before. Where did they go? What did she like about him? What did she not like about him? The man can do the same, writing about the woman. 13. Ask the students to work in pairs and read and compare their emails. Ask some to read them aloud. 14. Give each student a picture and/or description of a person; tell them not to let others see it. Tell them to write a personal ad for this person. 15. Blue-tac them to a page (or two) and photocopy it so that everyone has a copy. 16. Ask the students to match people, based on the ads. Make sure all are matched, however unlikely! 17. Ask the students why they have matched them. 18. Bring together the pictures/descriptions with the ads. Did they make good choices? 7

Activity 15
Role play can be a particularly effective way of providing practice for the participants on a business English course, and it is invariably popular. The participants may well be familiar with this approach from the business training courses they have completed. It involves the participants in taking on a role in the same way that an actor might take on a role on the stage. The participants in role play will have a situation to work with and their role card will state who they are, what they want to do, and what their attitude is. If the card has been well prepared, the participants will be clear about how they should respond, although there may be some degree of choice. There are at least four reasons why you should include role play in all of your business English courses. 1. The change of activity is always welcomed by participants and will help to keep your sessions lively and interesting, as well as keeping the participants alert and active. 2. Role play gives the participants the opportunity to practise the new language that they have been working on in the course. 3. It helps to make them aware of gaps in their knowledge and the language that they need to practise and learn. 4. Role play can help you to assess the progress of your participants; as they are fully involved in their activity you can observe their actions and also keep a check on their language. You can address some of the points arising from your observations in the feedback session after the role play. What sort of role play activities would be appropriate in a business English class? Here are just a few possible examples. 1. Person A is the designer of a new style of cordless iron for the home and he is looking for a manufacturer; B is the managing director of a manufacturing company but is sceptical about this product. 2. A is the managing director of a small company; B is the advertising director and wants to advertise the products on television. The MD is keen on advertising in newspapers and is unconvinced about the value of television advertising (in terms of costs and returns) so B has to try to persuade the MD. 3. A sells clothes but doesn't like products made of fur. However, her company is losing money. B produces products such as short jackets, stoles, gloves and belts made of fur. B has to try to persuade A to sell his products. There are high profit margins in fur products.

Activity 16
Focus: Comparisons Skills: Speaking

Org: Pairs Level: Pre-intermediate to intermediate Give the students two words and ask them to think of as many ways in which they can be compared as possible. For example, you might write dog and feather on the board. The students can then make up as many sentences as they can, such as A dog is heavier than a feather. A dog is bigger than a feather. A feather is lighter than a dog. The pair with the largest number of comparisons can then read them out aloud; other students can add other comparisons. You then give the students another pair of words. A variation on this activity is to ask the students to think of ways in which these two objects are similar. Of course, it is important that the students have practised making comparisons before playing the game.

Activity 17
Focus: Ordering Skills: Reading Org: Groups Level: Elementary to pre-intermediate On small cards, write a large number of common words, as well as words that you want the students to practise using. Make sure that you have sufficient words in each grammatical class i.e. nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, adverbs, pronouns, articles and so on. Before you try this with the class, try using the cards yourself to ensure that you have sufficient types of words for each class. Place the cards in boxes marked with the name of the word class. Give each group a set of boxes with these cards. The groups then try to make as many sentences as they can, using the word cards in the boxes. When they have completed a correct sentence they leave it on the table. As the number of cards decreases, the students (in their different groups) can combine them in an attempt to make new sentences. Existing sentences can be broken up and recombined in order to try to use all of the words.

Activity 18
Focus: Vocabulary Skills: Spelling Org: Class Level: Elementary to Intermediate

This can be done in the classroom, but it is probably easier (and quieter!) to play it outside. Each student in each group has one or more letters, and each group has the same collection of letters. The students stand in their groups and you call out a word that can be made from the letters that they are holding. As soon as the students hear the word (listening skill!), the ones with the appropriate letters run to an agreed line if they are playing outside, or the front of the class if they are inside, and correctly form the word as quickly as possible, using their letters. The first group to make the word correctly, with none of the letters upside-down, wins a point. This is a very successful game! It is also an excellent way to revise words that have been practised recently in class. It will need some preparation, but it's worth it!

Activity 19
Focus: Word order Skills: Writing Org: Pairs / Groups Level: Elementary to Advanced Think of a sentence (depending on the level of the students) and then write it out so that each word is on a separate card. For example you might give this to an intermediate group: He was surprisingly strong and when he shook her hand she thought he would crush it. Give them the cards in jumbled order and ask them to try to make a sentence using all of the words. They might make the one above, but they could also make other sentences, and any grammatically correct sentence is fine. This is excellent word order practice. An alternative is to ask them to make as many different sentences as they can with the words that they have. Words can be used and reused.

Activity 20
Focus: Questions Skills: Speaking Org: Groups / Class Level: Elementary to Advanced This can be played as a team game with the class/group divided into two. Give a student a word and this student then attempts to draw something on the board that will help the other students in her team to guess the word. She can point to her ear to demonstrate sounds like and she can make other gestures although she cannot 'model' the object in the air. You may want to set a time limit of one or two minutes on the attempt by each student. If her team members guess the word, that team wins a

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point, and the student can have a second try. If the first team cannot guess the word but the other team can guess the word, they can win that point and then they can have their own turn.

Activity 21
Focus: Describing Skills: Speaking Org: Groups Level: Pre-intermediate to advanced A commercial version of this game is called Taboo. You prepare a set of common words together with three or four words that cannot be mentioned when this word is defined. A group of about 10 students can be divided into two teams. You then give a student one of the words. This student tries to define the word without mentioning the forbidden words. If one of the words is mentioned, the student loses their turn and sits down. If the members of her team can guess the word then this student has another turn. The student tries to define as many words as possible within two minutes and is awarded one point for each word guessed by her team. This is a very popular game with intermediate to more advanced students. You may have to act as umpire.

Activity 22
Focus: Word order Skills: Writing Org: Pairs / Groups / Class Level: Pre-intermediate to advanced Give the students a shortish sentence. Their task is to change one word at a time in that sentence whist still retaining a grammatically correct sentence. For example: I like swimming in summer. I like swimming in Greece. We like swimming in Greece. We hate swimming in Greece. We hate swimming in rivers. We hate living in rivers.

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We adore living in rivers. Good word order practice and good for stimulating crazy sentences!

Activity 23
Focus: Grouping words Skills: Speaking Org: Groups / Class Level: Elementary to pre-intermediate Write a word (e.g. an object or place) on the board and then ask them a question or give them a task related to this word. For example, you might give them the word wood and then ask them to think of as many things as they can in one minute that are made of wood. Another example: give them the word shoe and ask them how many different things they can think of that can fit in a shoe. Other examples: How many things can you think of starting with the letter 's'? How many things can you think of that have rubber wheels? How many things can you think of that you would love to eat now! How many animals can jump over a table? How many things can you think of that are square? After each word, you can ask the students to report back their lists, perhaps starting with the student with the longest list. Other students may try to challenge some of the suggestions and this would provide an excellent basis for genuine language use.

Activity 24
Focus: Expressing an intention to leave Skills: Speaking (in an appropriate register ) Org: Groups / Class Level: Intermediate to advanced Ask the students to think of as many ways as they can to indicate that they would like to leave someone else's house. For example, Look at the time! It's been lovely to see you again! Well, I've got to run. I must go. It's time I left. I'm off! I think I should go. Must be off now! Next, ask them to try to think of situations where these various expressions would be used. You will be able to think of other situations you can use in the same way. For example, when you want someone else to leave! An alternative is to give them the various forms directly, and ask them to think of the situations when they could be used.

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Activity 25
Focus: Vocabulary Skills: Spelling Org: Pairs Level: Elementary to advanced Give the class one word of at least 8 letters (preferably more) and tell them to work in pairs. Their task is to make as many new words as they can from this original word. They will use the same letters as they find in the word over and over again, but each new word must not include a letter more times than it appears in the original word. For example, if there are two e's in the word, the students can use two e's in a new word. If there is only one letter t they can only use it once in a new word. The pair with the most words can read them out, and then other students can add their own words. You might want to list them on the board. This activity can be done in class as well as in their free time. You could have a competition with a prize!

Activity 26
Focus: Describing comparing Skills: Speaking Org: Groups / Class Level: Pre-intermediate to Advanced Students love learning about proverbs. Give them a proverb in English and, through discussion, work out its meaning. Then ask them to think of proverbs in their own languages that have a similar meaning. This is always an enjoyable activity because the students always love comparing their languages, and the way ideas are expressed. Possible proverbs: Don't put the cart before the horse. Let sleeping dogs lie. Still waters run deep. A similar approach can be used with metaphors. He was caught red-handed. A stony silence. A rose amongst thorns. A babbling brook. The minutes crept by. Rooted to the spot.

Activity 27
Focus: Linking words Skills: Writing

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Org: Group / Class Level: Elementary to Intermediate Write a short sentence on the board. For example: The woman drove the car. The students' task now is to expand that sentence in whatever ways they can by adding not more than two words at any one time. Encourage them to give you suggestions and write them into the sentence. For example: The woman drove the car. The young woman drove the car. The young woman drove the old car. The young woman drove the old car quickly. The attractive, young woman drove the rusty old car quickly. Whenever a student makes a suggestion, write it into the sentence. If it is incorrect see if another student can spot this; if not, indicate with a gesture that there may be a mistake. See if someone can correct it. If they cannot correct it, do it yourself as a last resort. Try to speak as little as possible in order to encourage the students to speak and make suggestions and point out any errors. The aim of this activity is to practise word order and placing grammar items correctly in the sentence. Let the sentence build as long as possible. An alternative to this is giving the students a long sentence and asking them to reduce it in any ways that they can (maximum two consecutive words at a time) whilst still retaining a grammatically correct sentence. Also very popular!

Activity 28
Each student is given one sheet of paper. One student sits at the front of a room. He/she describes a person and the rest of the class draws the person being described. It is more interesting if the person being described is known by everyone. Once the student has finished describing that person then he/she reveals who it is and each student shows his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious as the impressions tend to make the character in question look funny. It is a good idea to encourage students to ask the interviewee student questions about who they are describing.

Activity 29
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This is an activity that will make your students speak in class and be creative.

Ask students to write a word on a piece of paper and tell them not to show anyone. This word should be a verb (or whatever you'd like to review). The teacher starts telling a story, then stops and chooses a student. That student will continue the story and must use his/her word. This student then chooses the next student to continue the story. The last student must end the story. After the story is over, the students then try to guess what words each student has written on his/her paper. The student who guesses the most words wins the game.

Activity 30
This is a game-like activity to teach continuous tense. One student simply acts out some activity (e.g. cooking) and the other students guess what that student is doing. The student who guesses correctly acts out another activity...

Activity 31
This is an old favourite. Give each student a sheet of blank paper. Write the following words on the board in a vertical line: WHO, WHAT, HOW, WHERE, WHEN, WHY. Explain that everyone will be writing a sentence story. Write an example on the board, explain, asking for suggestions. 1. Tell them to write someone's name at the top of their paper, i.e., their own, a classmate's, the teacher's, a famous person that everyone knows; fold the paper over once so no one can see it, then pass the paper to the person on their right. 2. Write on the received paper what the subject did (suggest funny or outrageous actions), fold it over and pass it on to the right. 3. Continue to write one line, how they did it (adverbs), fold and pass; where-pass; when-pass; and last of all, why (because...) and pass it one more time. 4. Have the students unfold their stories, and read them silently. Help anyone who cannot read what the others wrote, or doesn't understand. 5. Ask one student at a time to read "their" story aloud, or turn the stories in for the teacher to read. Funny!

Activity 32

Ask one student to be in front of the class. Give him/her a word that can not be seen by other students. He/she will draw (on the blackboard) a picture expressing the concept of the word. The rest of the class has to guess the word. If you are keeping score, the one who drew the picture gets the point if the class can guess the word.

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Activity 33
The teacher gives every student a piece of paper on which they write a sentence about their personal life. This sentence can be about school, family, music, friends, the last vacation, etc. For example "I went to the beach last vacation" or "I always study for my exams" or "I have two brothers" etc. When they finish writing their sentences they fold the paper and give it to the teacher. It is very important to tell students before writing the sentence that the information they are going to write is "a secret" and not to show it to their classmates. If they have a question about something, they should ask it to you instead of a classmate. Tell students to write their names on the papers. After collecting all the papers, ask the students to write the numbers from one to 10 (or 20, depending on the number of students you have in that moment in the classroom) in their notebooks. After that, the teacher reads the sentences in random order (without saying the name of the student), and the students write the names of the people they think wrote sentences. After reading all the sentences, say the question number and read the sentence again for each piece of paper and ask the students to name who they thought wrote it. Then tell the students the name from the student who wrote that sentence. Students should write (C) for correct guesses and (I) for incorrect guesses. This is one way for students to start knowing a little more about their classmates.

Activity 34
This isn't really new. I got the idea from a book and have expanded on it a bit. It can be used at any level from pre-int. up. It can be used just for speaking practice but it's particularly useful if you're doing present perfect for past experiences. It works soooo well! The students just love it! Lots of question and past tense practice. Even the quiet ones will talk! Based on a group of three (it can be done in pairs, or fours if you write some more questions), each student has a piece of paper with five questions on it (see below) and takes it in turns to ask the person on their left one of their questions. The student answering the question must answer 'Yes I have.' regardless of the truth. The student who asked the question can then ask as many further questions as he likes in order to help him decide whether the truth is being told or not. Obviously, sometimes they'll be telling the truth. The third student can also join in with questions, thereby 'ganging up' on student B. Listen how students fabricate stories in an attempt to avoid questions! When the first student feels he's heard enough he says 'No further questions' and writes 'True' or 'False' next to the question. The game then carries on (student B asks a question to student C and so on) When all the questions have been asked the papers are passed to the left for marking i.e. the truth is revealed. The highest score out of five wins.

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This game will really open your eyes to people's ability to LIE. Here are the questions. You can use different ones, obviously. Have you ever spoken to a famous person? danced on a table in a public place? been trapped in a lift? taken an illegal drug? sung karaoke? Have you ever appeared on television? left a bar or restaurant without paying? written graffiti on a wall? appeared in a photograph in a newspaper? chased a criminal? Have you ever done a very dangerous sport? won a medal or trophy? missed a flight? stayed in a five-star hotel? swum naked in the sea? A typical exchange might be something like:

Have you ever swum naked in the sea? Yes I have. Where did you do it? Erm. On holiday in Majorca. Who were you with? Some friends. What were their names? Erm...etc.

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