english cambridge university press games for grammar practice

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Grammar

Practice

Game s for

A re s ource book of

g rammar g ame s and

inte ractive activitie s

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P U BLIS H ED BY TH E P RES S SYN D IC ATE O F TH E U N IVERS ITY O F C AM BRID G E Th e Pitt Bu ild in g, Tru m p in gto n Stre e t, Cam b rid ge , Un ite d Kin gd o m

C AM BRID G E U N IVERS ITY P RES S

Th e Ed in b u rgh Bu ild in g, Cam b rid ge CB2 2 RU, UK

4 0 We st 2 0 th Stre e t, Ne w Yo rk, NY 1 0 0 1 1 – 4 2 1 1 , USA

1 0 Stam fo rd Ro ad , Oakle igh , VIC 3 1 6 6 , Au stralia

Ru iz d e Alarcó n 1 3 , 2 8 0 1 4 Mad rid , Sp ain

Do ck Ho u se , Th e Wate rfro n t, Cap e To wn 8 0 0 1 , So u th Africa

h ttp :/ / www.cam b rid ge .o rg

It is n o rm ally n e ce ssary fo r writte n p e rm issio n fo r co p yin g

to b e o b tain e d in ad van ce fro m a p u b lish e r. Th e wo rksh e e ts,

ro le p lay card s, te sts an d tap e scrip ts at th e b ack o f th is b o o k

are d e sign e d to b e co p ie d an d d istrib u te d in class. Th e n o rm al

re q u ire m e n ts are waive d h e re an d it is n o t n e ce ssary to

write to Cam b rid ge Un ive rsity Pre ss fo r p e rm issio n fo r an

in d ivid u al te ach e r to m ake co p ie s fo r u se with in h is o r h e r

o wn classro o m . On ly th o se p age s wh ich carry th e wo rd in g

‘© Cam b rid ge Un ive rsity Pre ss’ m ay b e co p ie d .

First p u b lish e d 2 0 0 1

Prin te d in th e Un ite d Kin gd o m at th e Un ive rsity Pre ss, Cam b rid ge

Typ e face Fo rm ata Ligh t 9 / 1 3 .5 p t. Syste m Qu arkXPre ss® [GECKO]

A catalo gu e fo r th is b o o k is availab le fro m th e British Lib rary

Lib rary o f Co n gre ss Catalo gu in g in Pu b licatio n d ata

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Introduction

Information gapIf e xchange of inform ation is one of the basic re asons why pe ople com m unicate in re al life , the n classroom

activitie s should also urge le arne rs to se e k and provide inform ation.

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Thanks and acknow le dg e me nts

Ou r sp e cial th an ks go to Maria Cristin a d e Arau jo Asp e rti, wh o co n trib u te d with in valu ab le su gge stio n s,

e n d le ss p atie n ce , e n co u rage m e n t an d frie n d sh ip , an d to Carlo s Barb isan fo r h is in te re st an d su p p o rt.

We also wan t to th an k all o u r stu d e n ts wh o h e lp e d to te st th e m ate rial in th is b o o k, an d th u s co n trib u te d

to its im p ro ve m e n t.

The autho rs and publis he rs w o uld like to thank the fo llow ing individuals fo r the ir he lp in co mme nting o n the mate rial, pilo ting it w ith the ir s tude nts and fo r the invaluable fe e dback w hich the y provide d:

Jan ia Barre ll, UK; Su e Bre m n e r, Sin gap o re ; Th e re se Ellio t, Fran ce ; An d re a Pau l, Jap an ; Wayn e Tro tm an ,

Tu rke y.

Illus tratio ns :Kath y Ba xe n d ale ( p p . 1 3 , 9 1 ) ; Be lin d a Evan s ( p p . 1 1 , 2 7, 5 3 , 1 1 3 ) ; Martin Fish ( p p . 1 7, 1 8 , 6 5 ) ; Ge cko Ltd ( p p . 9 , 3 1 , 4 4 , 4 5 , 4 6 , 5 1 , 6 7, 9 5 ) ; Me lan ie Hard y ( p . 6 5 ) ; Ph il He ale y ( p . 2 1 ) ;

Am an d a McPh ail ( p p . 1 5 , 2 3 , 8 8 , 1 1 0 ) ; Ian Mitch e ll ( p p . 6 4 , 1 0 7, 1 0 8 ) ; Rh ian n o n Po we ll ( p . 2 5 ) ;

Nick Sch o n ( p p . 3 9 , 6 3 , 1 0 5 ) ; Lisa Sm ith ( p p . 2 8 , 2 9 , 7 6 ) ; Sh au n William s ( p . 7 9 ) .

Te xt de s ign:Ge cko Ltd .

Page make up:Ge cko Ltd .

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Game s for

Grammar Practice

KEY: B = BEGINNER; E = ELEMENTARY; P = PRE-INTERMEDIATE; I = INTERMEDIATE; U = UPPER-INTERMEDIATE; A = ADVANCED

UNIT 1

Pre s e nt

1.1Ballo o n to u rs Pre se n t sim p le o f be In fo rm atio n p o o l Co u n trie s B 1 0 – 1 5 8

1.2A d ay at h o m e Pre se n t co n tin u o u s Bo ard gam e Activitie s d o n e at h o m e E 1 0 – 2 0 1 0

1.3Lo o kin g fo r a flatm ate Pre se n t sim p le In te rvie w Hab its an d ro u tin e s E 2 0 1 2

1.4Le n d a h an d Pre se n t sim p le Pro b le m so lvin g Age , o ccu p atio n s P 2 0 1 4 3 rd p e rso n sin gu lar an d h o b b ie s

1.5Tim e an d again Ad ve rb ials o f fre q u e n cy Be ttin g gam e Activitie s an d E– P 2 0 – 3 0 1 6 e ve n ts

UNIT 2

Pas t

2.1Go tch a! Sim p le p ast Qu e stio n s an d Activitie s an d E 1 0 2 0 an swe rs e ve n ts

2.2Eve ryd ay h azard s Sim p le p ast/ p ast co n tin u o u s Sto ry te llin g Fu n n y accid e n ts I 2 0 2 2

2.3Swe e t m e m o rie s Used to Bo ard gam e Gro win g-u p m e m o rie s I– U 2 0 – 3 0 2 4

UNIT 3

Pre s e nt pe rfe ct and pas t pe rfe ct

3.1Aro u n d to wn Pre se n t p e rfe ct sim p le Bo ard gam e Re ce n t e xp e rie n ce s I– U 2 0 2 6 o r e ve n ts

3.2Sn o o p in g aro u n d Pre se n t p e rfe ct sim p le Tru th o r d are Life e xp e rie n ce s I– A 2 0 – 3 0 3 0

3.3Be fo re o r afte r? Past p e rfe ct sim p le Card gam e Cau se s an d I– U 1 5 – 2 0 3 5 co n se q u e n ce s

UNIT 4

Future

4.1Wh at o n e arth …? Going to Bo ard gam e In te n d e d actio n s P– I 2 0 3 8

4.2Make it sn ap p y Will Card gam e Un p lan n e d d e cisio n s P– I 1 0 4 0

UNIT 5

Mixe d te ns e s

5.1Easy rid e r Mixe d te n se s Bo ard gam e Trave llin g P 1 5 – 2 0 4 3

Activity Language focus Activity type Topic Level Time Page

(minutes)

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Map of the book

UNIT 6

Conditional and w is h cons tructions

6.1No th in g’s p e rfe ct! First co n d itio n al Sim u latio n Jo b s I 2 0 4 7

6.2Watch yo u r ste p ! Se co n d co n d itio n al Sn ake s an d lad d e rs Un u su al b e h avio u r I 2 0 5 0

6.3Pick m y go o d d e e d Th ird co n d itio n al Bo ard gam e Ju stifyin g actio n s U– A 1 5 – 2 0 5 2

6.4Th e wish race Wish co n stru ctio n s Grid gam e Re gre ts an d co m p lain ts I– U 1 5 – 2 0 5 5

UNIT 7

Re porte d s pe e ch

7.1Wh o ’s go t m y Re p o rte d sp e e ch Card gam e Te le p h o n e m e ssage s I 1 5 – 2 0 5 7 m e ssage ?

UNIT 8

Modals

8.1Crazy can s Canfo r ab ility Crazy e igh ts Ab ilitie s E 1 0 – 1 5 6 0

8.2Le t’s go to ge th e r Likev.would like Fin d so m e o n e wh o In vitatio n s E 1 0 – 2 0 6 2

8.3Sp in n in g id e as Mo d als ( sim p le ) Scatte rgo rie s Co n strain ts an d P 1 5 – 2 0 6 6 p o ssib ilitie s

8.4To u gh lu ck! Mo d als ( p e rfe ct) De b ate Sp e cu latio n s A – 6 8

UNIT 9

Pas s ive and caus ative

9.1So m e th in g in Sim p le p re se n t an d Trivia p u rsu it Wo rld kn o wle d ge E– I 1 5 – 2 0 7 1 co m m o n p ast p assive

9.2Gro wn -u p s! Passive + in fin itive Discu ssio n Gro win g-u p e xp e rie n ce s I– A 2 0 7 3

9.3Ro u n d th e clo ck Cau sative with have Ro le -p lay Erran d s an d se rvice s I– U 2 0 7 5

UNIT 10

Que s tions and auxiliarie s

10.1Makin g frie n d s Wh -q u e stio n s with Fin d so m e o n e wh o Pe rso n al in fo rm atio n B– E 1 0 – 2 0 7 8 p re se n t sim p le

10.2Wh at’s m y an swe r? Ye s/ n o q u e stio n s with Be ttin g gam e Op e n B– E 1 5 – 2 0 8 0 p re se n t sim p le

10.3All ab o u t u s Wh -q u e stio n s with Pe rso n al trivia Op e n / p e rso n al An y 2 0 – 3 0 8 2 m ixe d te n se s

10.4Un iq u e m e Au xiliarie s too, either, Sh arin g Op e n / p e rso n al E– I 1 0 – 1 5 8 4 so, neither

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Map of the book

UNIT 11

Article s

11.1Co m e o n e , co m e all a/anv.some Bo ard gam e Fo o d B– E 1 5 – 2 0 8 7

UNIT 12

The re and it

12.1Pack ‘n ’ go There bein p re se n t sim p le In fo rm atio n p o o l Ho te ls E 1 0 – 1 5 9 0

12.2Rain o r sh in e Itas su b je ct Tic-tac-to e We ath e r co n d itio n s I 1 0 – 1 5 9 2

UNIT 13

Ve rb forms

13.1Ve rb trap Tov.-ing Grid gam e Op e n I 1 5 – 2 0 9 4

UNIT 14

Pre pos itions

14.1Th e p re p o sitio n Pre p o sitio n s o f p lace Tic-tac-to e Op e n B 1 5 9 6 co n te st an d tim e

14.2Yo u an d I Ad je ctive + p re p o sitio n Sh arin g Pe rso n ality an d fe e lin gs I 1 5 – 3 0 9 8

14.3Pre p o sitio n ch e cke rs Ve rb + p re p o sitio n Ch in e se ch e cke rs Op e n U 2 0 1 0 0

UNIT 15

Comparis ons

15.1Ho w d o th e y Co m p arative fo rm s o f Do m in o e s Op e n I 2 0 1 0 4 co m p are ? ad je ctive s

15.2Th re e o f a kin d Co m p arative fo rm s o f Ru m m y Co m m o n n o u n s P 1 0 – 1 5 1 0 6 q u an tifie rs

UNIT 16

Pos s e s s ive s

16.1Fam ily alb u m Su b je ct p ro n o u n s an d Maze Fam ily B 1 5 1 0 9 p o sse ssive ad je ctive s

16.2Wh at a m e ss! Ge n itive -’s In fo rm atio n p o o l Pe rso n al b e lo n gin gs E 1 0 1 1 2

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UNIT 1

Present

1.1 Balloon tours

Vocabulary

Names of countries: France, Spain, Australia, USA, Belgium, Mexico

Wh-questions: where, what

Prepositions: from, in, at

Comments

This game provides contextualized practice with statements and wh-questions contrasting 3rd person singular and plural of be. Students are given a task which they can only accomplish by interacting orally with classmates, that is, by requesting and providing information, and then making decisions based on the information obtained.

1

Before class, take copies of the worksheet and cut them in half as indicated. In class, give out worksheet A to half of the class, and worksheet B to the other half. Pair off students with worksheets A and B.

2

Elicit the questions and answers in Language outputusing the worksheets. If you like, write a skeleton of the dialogue on the board.

3

Set the situation and the task by telling your students the following: You work for Prime Balloon Tours. The company has three balloons for tours over the city, and three tour guides: one speaks English, one speaks French, and the other speaks Spanish. Your task is to decide firstly which tourists should go in which balloon, and secondly how many hotels each guide needs to stop at to pick up tourists. Talk to your partners first to get the information you need to do the task.

4

Doing the activity:

◗

Without looking at each other’s worksheet, students ask and answer questions and complete their respective charts.

◗

When they have finished, they answer questions 1 and 2 on their worksheets, together.

◗

Check their answers or decisions with the whole class.

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Balloon tours

1.1 B

1 In which balloon should the tourists go? Write the names of the

tourists under the appropriate balloon.

2 How many hotels does each guide need to stop at to pick up tourists?

TOURISTS

COUNTRY

HOTEL

John Smith

USA

The Queen’s Plaza

Mr and Mrs Dupont

Julio Banderas

Marie Delon

Belgium

The Royal Inn

Jose and Pepe Garcia

Mexico

The Palace

Kathy and Fred Brown

Prime Balloon Tours

A

1 In which balloon should the tourists go? Write the names of the

tourists under the appropriate balloon.

2 How many hotels does each guide need to stop at to pick up tourists?

TOURISTS

COUNTRY

HOTEL

John Smith

Mr and Mrs Dupont

France

The Royal Inn

Julio Banderas

Spain

The Palace

Marie Delon

Jose and Pepe Garcia

Kathy and Fred Brown

Australia

The Bridge House

Prime Balloon Tours

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UNIT 1

Present

1.2 A day at home

Vocabulary

Parts of the house: bathroom, bedroom, backyard, dining room, garden, basement, kitchen, attic,

living room

Verbs: referring to activities associated with the various parts of the house

Comments

Adapted from Achi, an African game which resembles tic-tac-toe but also incorporates movement, this game is designed for intensive practice with the present continuous in wh-questions and statements to describe ongoing activities. Because it provides a unified context, learners can integrate grammar and vocabulary practice. Winning the game requires language accuracy, creativity and strategic skill.

Language output

A: What are you doing in the kitchen/backyard? B: I’m doing the dishes/washing the dog.

Procedures

1

Pair off students, and give out the material. Note:If you don’t have enough counters, cut out the black and white squares below the board, and use them instead.

2

Go over the parts of the house shown on the board, and elicit activities that might be done in each part. If you wish, write the vocabulary on the blackboard. Model the target language shown in

Language output, and demonstrate the game a couple of times.

3

Playing the game:

◗

Objective of the game: align one’s counters in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row of three.

◗

The game begins with student B choosing the spot where he or she wants to place a counter. Then student A asks an appropriate question, as shown in Language output. If student B gives an appropriate and correct answer, he or she may place the counter in the chosen spot. Otherwise, no counter goes on the board.

◗

Players take turns doing this until one of them forms a row of three with his or her counters, or until all the counters have been placed on the board.

◗

If no one has formed a row of three and all the counters have been placed on the board, players can once more attempt to form such a row by moving their counters along the lines into the empty spots, one at a time, and interacting as shown above. Note:They are not allowed to repeat an answer that has already been given.

◗

The game ends when either one manages to form a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row with his or her counters. As this game depends a lot on the players’ strategic skills, it may last anything from two to five minutes. Let them play several times for further practice.

Variations

1

To practise vocabulary related to other activities, replace the parts of the house on the board with other places, e.g. bank, school, petrol station, post office, etc.

2

For practice with the various persons and subject-verb agreement, use the spare counters and write on them: Your mother / You / Your sisters / Your grandpaetc. The language output will then change to, e.g. What’s your mother doing in the kitchen? She’s feeding the cats.

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UNIT 1

Present

In this activity, students will have intensive controlled practice with the simple present in statements and questions involving the 2nd person singular, plus statements in the 3rd person singular. This is an excellent opportunity for elementary students to get to know one another and talk about themselves while interacting to accomplish the task proposed.

Language output

Phase I A: Do you have a pet? B: Yes, I do. I have a turtle. A: What time do you get up? B: I usually get up at 7:00.

Phase II T: Who do you prefer as a flatmate? St: I prefer (name).

T: Why?

St: Because he / she cooks / doesn’t have a pet.

Procedures

Phase I

1

Introduce the topic of sharing rooms or flats. Elicit problems that people might have, and what it is important to check before choosing a flatmate.

2

Set the context and the task by telling students: You are looking for a flatmate. You are going to interview two friends to decide who will be your flatmate.

3

Hand out the worksheets, and elicit the questions associated with the cues given. Emphasize the correct use of the auxiliary do. Encourage students to come up with other questions that are important to them and allow them to omit any questions they do not consider important.

4

Doing the activity:

◗

Individually, students complete the first column of the chart with information about themselves.

◗

In pairs, students ask and answer questions to complete the second column.

◗

Students switch pairs, and repeat this last procedure to fill out the third column.

◗

Give students a few minutes to decide who they prefer as a flatmate and why. Phase II

1

With the whole class, elicit some of your students’ choices and reasons. Use this opportunity to introduce the 3rd person singular -sending in statements.

2

Have students report their choices and reasons to the class.

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1.3 Looking for a flatmate

Facts

You

Student A

Student B

have a pet

have a car

have any hobbies

cook

Daily routine

You

Student A

Student B

get up

take a shower

go to work

get back home

have dinner

evening activities

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UNIT 1

Present

1.4 Lend a hand

Vocabulary

Professions: reporter, cook, farmer, teacher

Activities: cook the meals, wash the dishes, clean the bathrooms, take care of the little kids, entertain the teenagers, give swimming lessons, look after the horses, take care of the garden

Hobbies: (go) swimming, (do) gardening, (go) horseback riding, (do) handicraft

Comments

This contextualized and task-oriented information gap activity asks learners to collect information and make decisions while providing them with an opportunity to practise asking and answering questions involving the present simple 3rd person singular. It can also be used to introduce or review

collocations such as go swimming, and some phrasal verbs, e.g. look after.

Language output

A: What does she do in her free time? B: She goes swimming.

Procedures

Phase I

1

Before class, take copies of the worksheet and cut them in half as indicated. In class, hand out worksheet A to half of the class, and worksheet B to the other half.

2

Set the context and the task by telling the class: You are organizers of a summer camp for homeless children. You have a list of volunteers. Your task is to decide what you are going to do and what the volunteers are each going to do.

3

Individually, students read the list of chores and write their names next to the two chores they want to do.

4

Pair off students with worksheets A and B to find out what their partners want to do. Write What do you want to do? I want to …on the board if necessary. In case of conflicting interests, let them sort it out with whatever language they can use.

Phase II

1

Using the worksheets, elicit the questions and answers in Language outputabove.

2

In pairs, students get from their partners the missing information on the volunteers.

3

Students then decide, in pairs and together, what the best chores are for each volunteer.

4

If you wish, regroup students so they can report on and discuss their decisions with other peers.

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UNIT 1

Present

1.5 Time and again

Vocabulary

Activities: Any activity students can think of for a given picture, e.g. picture 1 may generate: go swimming, swim in the sea/a lake/a river, swim across the English Channel, etc.

Adverbials of frequency: every day, more than once a day, quite often, almost every day, about once a week, sometimes, a couple of times a month, once or twice a year, not very often, hardly ever,

seldom, never

Comments

This game gives learners an opportunity to practise asking questions with how often, and answering them with adverbials of frequency, while using a lot of vocabulary related to general activities and events. It is quite challenging and fun in that players must be able to anticipate their opponents’ answers in order to lay down their cards and win the game. That means knowing their classmates well and being able to use their picture prompts creatively.

Language output

A: How often do you do your homework? B: I seldom do my homework.

Procedures

1

Before class, cut out one set of picture cards and one set of frequency cards for each group.

2

Elicit and model the language in Language outputseveral times to make sure students are able to formulate the questions and use the adverbials of frequency.

3

Divide the class into groups and hand out the material.

4

Demonstrate being student A, using different adverbials. Show them how they can use the picture prompts creatively to generate the adverbials they want, e.g. How often do you go to the beach in the summer? About once a week. How often does your grandmother wear a bikini on the beach? Never. Note that some of the adverbial cards are quite specific, e.g. once or twice a year, while others are underspecified, e.g. often. This will encourage discussion and help learners understand that the meaning of some adverbials of frequency may vary according to the activity they refer to, e.g. oftenin I often catch a cold(perhaps several times a year) and I often have a holiday in the Bahamas(perhaps once every two years).

5

Playing the game:

◗

Players shuffle the picture cards and place them face down in the middle. Then, they shuffle the frequency cards and deal them out evenly.

◗

The first player turns up a picture card from the pile and decides (a) which one of his or her frequency cards to use, and (b) who the ‘How often …?’question will be directed to. The question must involve the picture on the picture card that the player has just picked from the pile, and the purpose is to get an answer containing the adverbial on the selected adverbial card.

◗

The player then formulates the question. If the respondent uses the adverbial on the selected frequency card or some other adverbial that the group accepts as being equivalent, then the first player may discard it. Otherwise, he or she keeps the card without showing it to the group.