Engaging Fluency Activities for Language Learning

General Fluency Activities

A fun story to read This is a story about four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that nobody would do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when actually Nobody asked Anybody.

Short Games 1- Guess my word The Keyword Game : Make others guess your word by giving them a clue to your word (the opposite, an association, a synonym, etc.) that will make them think of your word. The objective is to give as few clues as possible. (see examples on next slide) This game can be played in pairs (competing with the same word and as few goes as possible)

The words to guess are: FLOORING, DENTIST, NAVAL, ORTHODONTICS, & PROSTHETICS Clue list 1 Teeth Decay Extraction Filling Root canal Crown +PROFESSION Clue list 2 Braces Hooks Elastic +SCIENCE Clue list 3 Artificial Limbs Joint Silicon +DOMAIN Clue list 4 Vinyl Wood Tongue and groove Marble +TYPE Clue list 5 Ship She Decks (floors) Hatch (door in the floor/deck) Forward Aft (back) Port (left) Starboard (right) + ADJECTIVE

Memory game: In this room, we have

Cut sentences swapping (beliefs) -> Everyone writes one sentence in two parts starting with The more /the less you.. -> Pass everyone s sentences around on until everyone has red them all -> Cut the two parts and distribute the first parts only -> Take turns to read a half sentence and anyone can guess the other half.

Napkin balls Game -> Everyone writes 3 nice words to describe someone else inside a napkin -> Scrunch up the napkin into a ball -> Have a snowball fight -> Everyone picks up one napkin ball, opens it, read it out and all guess who is described by the 3 words.

Longer activities Vocabulary cherry picking - From a newspaper article: a) Pick new words and expressions and collect them on the board. b) Look up their definitions in English c) All make each other guess their new words by describing each one in any way they want/can (explaining/giving examples/drawing/miming)

Animation without text - - - Pause Trouble in paradise (disturbed crab) Pingu introduced Aniboom clips: Dog and the butcher, Jonathan Holt Pigeon steals Money, Michael Stevenson The Piano, Aidan Gibbons 5- From a picture, create a caption, headline, or story.

Quiz (common beliefs) True or False Results are given three at a time (after no3, no6, no9 and no12) after the last three statements have been memorized and repeated. NAME total no 1 no2 no3 no4 no5 no6 no7 no8 no9 10 11 12

Quiz (common beliefs) - True/False statements 1- Polar Bears are left handed 2- Waking up a sleepwalker is dangerous for his/her health. 3- Women's hearts beat faster than men's. 4- One tiger killed 430 people. 5- There is a planet that is covered in burning ice. 6- There is a town named Mars in Pennsylvania. 7- Humans evolved from chimpanzees. 8- Tropical rain forests in the Amazon have their nutrients periodically replenished by the Sahara Desert. 9- Vomiting was a regular part of Roman dining customs. 10- Windmills always turn anticlockwise. 11- Sushi means raw fish. 12- Humans have five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, & hearing. 792Px-Polar Bear 2004-11-15

Quiz (common beliefs) answers 1- 3 1- False. In reality, scientists who have spent their working lives studying polar bears have found that they are actually ambidextrous (they use both hands equally well). It is possible that the myth was started when people observed the bears working well with their left hands, but they neglected to notice that they also worked well with their right. 2- False. Waking sleepwalkers does not harm them. While it is true that a person may be confused or disoriented for a short time after awakening, this does not cause them further harm. (In contrast, sleepwalkers may injure themselves if they trip over objects or lose their balance while sleepwalking. Such injuries are common among sleepwalkers). 3- True. And the smaller the child the faster his/her heart beats.

Quiz (common beliefs) answers 3-6 4- True. This is referring to the Champawat Tiger, in Nepal and the Kumaon area of India, in the 19th century. It was eventually shot in 1907 by legendary hunter Jim Corbett. (That tiger killed more people than 300 years of worldwide shark fatalities, and more people than snakes, bears, wolves, and spider fatalities combined in the last 100 years). 5- True. Not dry ice. Ice, but it's incredibly hot. It is called Gliese 436. Its surface is about 800 F (440 centigrade), but the ice remains as ice because the gravity of the planet is so incredibly powerful that it compresses all of the water vapour into a solid state. It is actually called ice-ten/ice X. 6- True.

Quiz (common beliefs) answers 7-9 7- False. The two modern species, common chimps and bonobos, are however, humans' closest living relatives. Humans and chimpanzees constitute the family of Hominidae, which has evolved from a common ancestor some 40 million years ago. 8- True. Wind blows dust particles all the way from the desert, across the ocean, to the tropics where the sand and its associated nutrients help the fertility of the rainforest. 9 False. In ancient Rome, the architectural feature called a vomitorium was the entranceway through which crowds entered and exited a stadium, not a special room used for purging food during meals.

Quiz (common beliefs) answers 10-12 10- False. It depends on the direction of the wind and for old fashion windmills, on the design of that country or region. On power generating turbines, there is an automatic pitch control mechanism that senses the wind direction. 11- False, and not all sushi includes raw fish. The name sushi means "sour rice", and refers to vinegar-ed rice. 12- False. On top of the commonly cited five human senses, (identified by Aristotle), we have: balance and acceleration (equilibrioception), pain (nociception), body and limb position (proprioception or kinaesthetic sense), relative temperature (thermoception) + the sense of time, itching, pressure, hunger, thirst, fullness of the stomach, need to urinate, need to defecate, and I also believe we have a sense for the physical activity, rest or sleep, or type of food we need. What about you?

How to paint a vibrant picture with your words.

What is a metaphor? Feeling under the weather Life is box of chocolates

A tree is metaphor for

You are my sunshine

Metaphorical stories Everyone is given a different story: a) Read it + collect vocabulary on the board a) Report it a) Interpret it a) Illustrate your message by giving a real life example -> At the same time, write new words on the board (which we will use later)

Vocabulary Building game a) Divide the group in two teams: In turns, each team member describes a new word to make others guess it, count a point for the team for each guessed word by one of its member. b) In pairs, write a story with all the words on the board. c) Read stories.

Ten slide activity on: PROVERBS Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me , I understand. Chinese proverb

Match the beginning to the corresponding end of these proverbs: A house is * the heart is There s no place like * is not a home Home is where * home A problem shared * out of mind A poor workman * makes the heart grow fonder Out of sight * is a problem halved Absence * always blames his tools A chain A rolling stone All good things A stitch in time * gathers no moss * saves nine * is as strong as its weakest link * come to those who wait

A picture Action After a storm April showers All good things All publicity Bad news All roads When in Rome, All that glitters Attack Beggars Better late Better safe Better the devil Count your * speaks louder than words * paints a thousand words * bring forth May flowers * is good publicity * comes a calm * must come to an end * do as the Romans do * travels fast * lead to Rome * can t be choosers * than never * is the best form of defence * is not gold * blessings * than sorry * you know

Birds of a feather Cold hands Do as I say, Do as you would be Don t bite the hand * not as I do Don t burn Don t cross the bridge Don t count Don t put the cart Don t put all your eggs Don t cut off your nose Don t rock Don t teach your grandma Don t teach an old dog You are never too old * warm heart * flock together * done by * that feeds you * your chickens (before they re * your bridges (behind you) * until you come to it * the boat * to spite your face * before the horse * in the same basket * new tricks * to learn * to suck eggs hatched)

Easy come Enough is Every cloud Every little Every stick Faith will move Fortune God helps those A job worth doing If at first you don t succeed, * you must go to the If the mountains doesn t mountains come to you, The early bird First come, The squeaky wheel * has two ends * helps * easy go * enough * has a silver lining * who help themselves * is worth doing well * favors the brave * mountains * try, try and try again * gets the oil * catches the worm * first served

If its not broken He who laughs last Great minds He who rides the tiger Ignorance is Knowledge is A little knowledge is In the kingdom of the blind There s none so blind There s none so deaf Love is Imitation is the best form of * blind It goes without It is best to be on the safe It takes all sort It takes two * think alike * is afraid to dismount * don t fix it * laughs longest * power * dangerous * bliss * as those who will not hear * the one eyed man is king * as those who will not see * flattery * side * saying * to tango * to make a world

themselves * too late * split milk * is a penny earned * everything * on trees * the root of all evil * want not * back * more * the pounds will look after It s never It s no use crying over A penny saved Look after your pennies Money does not grow Money is Money isn t Less is Waste not Like father like Like water off a duck s * son Many hands Too many cooks Two heads Two is company but * spoil the broth * make light work * are better than one * three is a crowd

Practice Practise Walk Revenge is a dish Silence Slowly Strike while the iron Talk of the devil The apple never falls The best things in life The bottom line is Bread always falls Know which side your bread The cobbler always wears The shoemaker s son always goes * what you preach * makes perfect * but surely * is hot * your talk * is golden * best served cold * are free * the bottom line * and he s bound to appear * far form the tree * is buttered * buttered side down * barefoot * the worse shoes

The way to a mans heart is There s a time and a place There s always more fish There s more than one way There s nowt so queer/strange The customer is The devil finds work The exception that proves The grass is always greener The more There s no smoke There s no time There s safety Third time Time Time will * in the sea * to skin a cat * for everything * through his stomach * for idle hands * as folk * the rule * always right * the merrier * on the other side of the fence * flies * tell * without fire * like the present * in numbers * lucky

Tomorrow is another Tomorrow never To err is human, Two wrongs Walls have What does not kill you What can t be cured What goes up When the cat s away Curiosity There s not enough room When there s a will While there s life Worrying never did anyone *day *to forgive is divine *don t make a right *the mice will play *makes you stronger *comes *there s a way *must be endured *there s hope *must come down *any good *to swing a cat *killed the cat *ears

You are You can have too much of You can lead a horse to water You can t have your cake You can t make an omelet You can t tell a book Youth is wasted * a good thing * what you eat * by its cover * on the young * and eat it * without breaking eggs *but you can t make it drink

Now, do you feel a little more ?

Do things you enjoy, in English