WHISPER RELAY. Games and Activities to Energise the Language Classroom for Junior High School
WHISPER RELAY
Energising Language Classroom Activities for Junior High School: A Teacher’s Guide
Junior high school students often find language classes challenging, but as a language teacher, you have the power to transform these challenges into engaging learning experiences. Classroom activities are the key to achieving this transformation. These activities not only make learning enjoyable but also foster a deeper understanding of the language, leading to improved fluency and proficiency. In this blog post, we will explore a diverse range of innovative and interactive language classroom activities designed specifically for junior high school students. Whether you’re looking to enhance vocabulary retention, boost conversational skills, or make grammar lessons more enjoyable, this guide will provide you with a rich array of strategies to create a dynamic and effective learning environment for your students. Let’s embark on this journey to energize your language classroom and inspire your students to become passionate language learners.
WHISPER RELAY
Target Group: All grades
Difficulty Level: Basic Conversation
Activity Objective: To practice three sides of communication (speaking, understanding, writing) in a fun and competitive way
WHISPER RELAY – Procedure
- Sentences are written on slips of paper and placed face down on a desk/table at the back of the room.
- Students are divided into small groups and stand in a line.
- The student at the back of the line runs to grab a random slip of paper, reads the sentence, hands the slip to a teacher, and then whispers it to the student in front of them.
- The next student in line continues the process by whispering the sentence to the following student, and so on.
- The last student in line must write the sentence on the board to the best of their ability.
- The teacher checks the written sentence and awards a point if it’s correct.
- The last student then moves to the end of the line.
- The game continues until all students have rotated and everyone has written on the board, when there are no more slips, or after a preset time limit.
Materials and Preparation
A blackboard and chalk/marker, slips of paper with sentences written on them
Suggestions and Advice
This game is a good “warm up” activity for one-shots, because it can be created on the fly with limited materials, and can be fit to any level. It uses four skills– reading, when the student takes a slip of paper; listening, when they hear the sentence; speaking, when they must communicate the sentence; and writing, when they write it on the blackboard. When correcting the sentence, you can judge on a class-by-class basis.
Energising Language Classroom Activities for Junior High School
In the world of language teaching, fostering a love for learning and effective communication is our ultimate goal. By implementing these engaging classroom activities for junior high school students, you are not only enhancing their language skills but also creating an environment where curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm thrive. As we wrap up our exploration of these energizing language activities, remember that your role as a teacher is invaluable, and your dedication to making language learning exciting and impactful is what sets the stage for your students’ future success.
So, continue to innovate, adapt, and personalize these activities to suit the unique needs and interests of your students. Watch as their confidence soars, their vocabulary expands, and their ability to communicate fluently grows. With your guidance and these engaging activities in your teaching toolbox, you are well on your way to inspiring a new generation of confident and capable language learners. The journey to language proficiency may be challenging, but with your passion and these activities, it is always an exciting one.
Happy teaching!
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