Activity type: : this is a mingling activity in which students mix and mingle making the sound of various phonemes to the other students.
Level: : Pre-intermediate and above (actually this will depend on what you have covered in class in terms of phonemes.)
Teacher's notes:
- Write out phonemes on small strips of paper. Make sure the sounds are ones that the students have problems with. Ensure that you write out enough for each student in class, repeat phonemes so that each student has one.
- Give out a phoneme to each student. Do not let the students show each other the sounds that they have.
- Tell them to look at the phoneme and to make sure that they know which sound it is. Monitor and help any students who are having difficulties. They can look both in their dictionaries and possibly in their course books to identify the sound.
- Once they have done this, tell them that they are going to make the sound when another student asks them to. When they make the sound the students who requested the sound should say a word which contains that sound. For example, if I had the phoneme /i: /, I would say tea.
- Check that the students know what to do and then ask them to stand and mingle with each other. They should ask each other to make their sounds and then say words.
- At the end of the activity, ask the students to make their sounds one after each other; the rest of the class should say words, out loud, which contain that sound.
Note that for younger learners you could ask them to touch each other on the arm to request the sound to be made or even on the nose. Demonstrate so that they understand what you mean.
