COMBINATION GAME

The COMBINATION Game 

(This game measures the ability of the students to ask questions according to  the rules of English also called "the sentence logic")

PURPOSE OF THE GAME: English communication is all about making the right combinations ie., we need to combine the right verb with the key words to either ask a question or to talk about something.

HOW TO PLAY: 

The teacher first writes some verbs(which are used for making questions) and asks one member from one of the teams to write key words for combining with the verbs already given.  An example is given below:

Do(supporting verb written by the teacher) + book(a key word written by a team member)

Similarly:

Are + class

Is + friend

Will + food

Does + bus

Now the other team has to combine both the words ie., supporting verb and key word to make a question.  For eg.

Do you like this book?

In which class are you studying?

Who is you best friend?

Will you eat your food with me?

Does this bus go to city?

If a question has both the words(verb and key word) combined properly following the English rules then one mark can be given to the team whose member asked the right question.  Now let all members of that team ask questions using the remaining combination of "verb and key word" in the right way as given above. For every right question asked by the team members one mark can be given.

After one round the teacher can change the verbs with new ones like:

Have(supporting verb written by the teacher) + sky(a key word written by a team member) 

Was + teacher

Did + father

Were + mother

Has + brother

Now the other team has to combine both the words ie., supporting verb and key word to make a question.  For eg.

Have you a seen a clear sky this week?

Which chapter was the teacher taking?

Where did your father go yesterday?

Were you talking to your mother just now?

Has your brother got admission?

In the last round the teacher can give modal verbs to combine with the key words written by one of the team members:

May (supporting verb written by the teacher) + games(a key word written by a team member)

Would + tea

Shall + trees

Should + cycle

Can + bag

Now the other team has to combine both the words ie., supporting verb and key word to make a question.  For eg.

May I play games?

Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?

Shall we go near the trees?

Should I bring my cycle?

Can you hold this bag?

TO BE CONTINUED...

THINK IN ENGLISH - AN EYE OPENER

It was an eye opener for me that in a class of 30 students who had completed their Plus Two with very good marks and were studying for a Diploma course in Nursing, nobody, not even a single student could get all the yes/no questions correctly...for any of these sections below. 

The exercise which was an EYE-OPENER:

THE TASK GIVEN: Make "Yes/No" questions 

SECTION 1
Today is a Wednesday.
Yesterday was a Tuesday.
Tomorrow will be a holiday.
This week has been quite hectic. 
SECTION 2
India has ...states. (28)
India had .... states.
India will have .... states. 
SECTION 3
There are .... members in my family.
There were .... students in the class.
There will be .... people for the function.

SECTION 4

Lal acts in movies.
He likes travelling.
He is acting in a movie named "Drishyam".
He is shooting tomorrow.
He has acted in 300 movies.
He has been acting for 35 years.
He started acting when he was 20 years old.
He was acting in better movies in the past.
He will act in a Tamil movie.
He will be acting with Vijay, the Tamil superstar.

Practical knowledge and skills matter more than this....bag size/bag weight !!! 

This test will make you understand how much you know about the rules of EC and therefore your ability to speak/write/understand EC (practical knowledge) unlike school tests which test only "Text Knowledge".

THE COMBINATION EXERCISE
	SUPPORTING/MODAL VERBS	KEYWORDS
1	Do	TV
2	Does	Newspaper
3	Are	Internet
4	Is	Books
5	Have	Read
6	Has	Write
7	Was	Listen
8	Were	Speak
9	Did	Nice
10	Will	Good
11	May	Red
12	Shall	Beautiful

Can you make questions and answers using these supporting/modal verbs and the keywords?

 

(Let's try to help our students to acquire the basic communication skills in the primary classes itself so that by the time they reach higher classes they are able to speak and write English with a clear understanding of all basic rules. It is an OPEN SECRET that almost(99%) of the students come to UG,undergraduate and PG,postgraduate classes without knowing the basic rules of EC !!) 
 

THINK IN ENGLISH - HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN IN INDIA ?

In spite of our best efforts in teaching English at schools and colleges for the last 60 years since independence why is it that even now we have a VERY LARGE chunk of people in their 30s and 40s unable (and struggling helplessly) to make a simple sentence in English about something which they know very well for eg. their native place, their family, their house, their children etc. Isn't it a BIG FAILURE of our educational system?
Anybody who says that he/she is not aware of the feelings of frustration among our vast majority for not being able to use English in decisive life situations is just not in touch with the reality.
Now the question is why have we failed in making our people good at using English in practical situations that life throws at them? Why can't they communicate in English? Why can't they express their views, ideas and thoughts in English? Why don't they have a voice beyond their own "lingustic comfort zones"?
This problem of educated people in India to communicate in English leads us to a basic question ie., how do we teach English in our institutions? Using text books having stories and other articles. The sentences are already given to the students in their books. They just have to read, write and memorize these sentences. This is the method used in our classrooms starting from schools and then to colleges and universities. There is no time, no space and no NEED for creating your own sentences/expressions/style of communication. Anybody who undergoes such a system of learning English remains an underdeveloped user of English.
And also the way we teach English grammar is by using words like NOUNS, VERBS, PRONOUNS, ADJECTIVES etc. just like the native English people do in their countries. We do not teach grammar in terms of our way of thinking, our thought pattern. So the teaching of grammar remains in our students' minds just that - English Grammar. It simply doesn't become a part of their conscious thought process. And because of this the students are cut off from the world of English mentally and also physically.
Is it right on our part to continue doing this again and again? Don't we have a responsibility towards the citizens of our country? Why can't we really INDIANISE our education system? How many more years do we need to create an educational atmosphere which would be in line with our needs, our way of thinking, our culture, our situations, problems and realities? Isn't it high time to evolve our education so that it becomes a truly ENGAGING experience for the learner by updating it with the requirement of times we live in, thus helping us in getting gainful employment, empowerment and also spiritual enlightenment?

 TO BE CONTINUED...

VERB-FOOTBALL

In this game called Verb-Football, a student has to come to the front and they will be given a goal ie., a target to be achieved by asking a few questions to another student in the class and get the needed information. 

For  eg., let's say the goal is "favourite job". 

Here the questions can be:

Do you have a job that's your favourite ? 

Which is that? 

Can you tell me more about it if you don't mind? 

Similarly other goals can be : 

Best place to visit, 

A nice experience last week, 

An interesting story that you heard, 

An idea that changed things for many people etc.

TO BE CONTINUED...

VERB CRICKET

Ex. for Young Learners : VERB-CRICKET

In this game called Verb-Cricket, a student has to come to the front, mention their selected verb like read/play/write etc. and answer six yes/no questions(like an over in Cricket) from the audience/other students like:

1. Do you read books ?

2. Did you read a book yesterday ?

3. Have you read "The Malgudi Days" ?

4. Are/Were you reading a book today ?

5. Can you read Tamil ?

6. Will you read a book today?

TO BE CONTINUED...

CONVERSATIONAL EXERCISES

Topics for conversational exercises:

What makes a movie great?

Who is a good role model (as a leader/writer/speaker/manager etc.)?

A nice place to visit/travel.

A dream product.

A  rewarding job.

A great day.

A good friend.

TO BE CONTINUED...

"Do you know" QUESTIONS

We can start with "Do you know" to get information about "new" things.

Do you know who I am ? ---- In old movies, it was heard the most.

Do you know who my father is ? --- The villain's trademark dialogue.

Do you know what is the time now ? --- Mom to son who is coming home just before dawn.

Do you know why this has happened ?

Do you know which is the best place to visit in Kozhikode ?

TO BE CONTINUED...