Hi there,
Today I would like to share some ideas with you on how to get the most out of Memory Game in the English classroom.... For those who don't know this game, here's a quick outline...
How to Play Memory Game
Memory Game is easy to play and it doesn't require much preparation. It can be played by 2 or more people or 2 or more teams. (but if you want to, you can actually play it alone)
Step 1: Select 6, 8, 10 or more pairs of cards you want your students to learn/review.
Step 2: Put the cards on the table, face down.
Step 3: Player 1 turns over a card, uses the target language and turns over a second card.
Step 4: If the second card is a match, player 1 gets to keep both cards. If the second card is not a match, player 1 turns both cards over again (face down) and it becomes the next player's turn.
The game is over when all cards are gone. The player or team with the most cards wins... That's all there is to it.
Variation: If the second card is a match, the same player can continue until the second card doesn't match. Then it becomes the next player's turn... (you probably don't want to use this with very young children)
How can you use Memory Game effectively in an EFL / ESL classroom?
Well, think about it for a moment ....
Each player flips over at least two cards per turn, which lends itself to lots of possibilities:
✔ Learning/Reinforcing a single pattern (applying the same structure to two cards)
✔ Learning/Reinforcing Question and Answer patterns
✔ Learning/Reinforcing Statement and Response patterns
And if that's not enough.... You can change either the subject or the verb tense (or both) to teach your students what happens to a verb when the subject and/or verb tense changes....
On top of this... it's a fun game to play and by changing target language as your students improve, Memory Game never becomes boring...
Here are some versions of Memory Game which I successfully use with my students:
Basic
Just like the name says... "Basic". Both cards use the same pattern. What pattern is used, is decided by you, the teacher. Here are some samples using the "watch TV" card:
Card1: "Watching TV" Card2: "Watching TV" (match)
Card1: "Watching TV" Card2: "Reading books" (2nd card is not a match)
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I like watching TV (too)" (match)
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I like reading books" (not a match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom likes watching TV" (match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Mary likes watching TV (too)" (match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom likes reading books" (not a match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I watched TV yesterday (too)" (match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "Tom watched TV yesterday (too)" (match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I read a book yesterday" (not a match)
Statements
Game play is exactly the same as "Basic", but this time if the second card is not a match, the student has to make the first card negative. (regardless what topic the second card is)
Here are some samples:
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I like watching TV" (match)
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I don't like watching TV" (2nd card is not a match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom likes watching TV" (match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom doesn't like watching TV" (not a match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I watched TV yesterday" (match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I didn't watch TV yesterday" (not a match)
Statements Advanced
Game play is exactly the same as "Statements", but this time the students have to add some information. How much information is added, depends on the level of the students or on what you want them to practice ....
Card2 (match): "I like watching TV. (too) I watch TV every day. My favorite show is Itte Q."
Card2 (not a match): "I don't like watching TV. I never watch TV. I like reading books."
Questions & Answers
You probable guessed it already: The target language for the first card is a question and the second card an affirmative answer. If the second doesn't match, a negative answer....
Here are some samples:
Card1: "Do you like watching TV?" Card2: "Yes, I do." (match)
Card1: "Do you like watching TV?" Card2: "No, I don't." (not a match)
Card1: "Does Mary like watching TV" Card2: "Yes, she does." (match)
Card1: "Does Mary like watching TV" Card2: "No, she doesn't." (not a match)
Card1: "Did you watch TV yesterday" Card2: "Yes, I did." (match)
Card1: "Did you watch TV yesterday" Card2: "No, I didn't." (not a match)
Questions & Answers Advanced
Game play is exactly the same as "Questions & Answers", but this time the students have to add some information. Again, how much information is added, depends on the level of the students or on what you want them to practice ....
Card2: "Yes, I did. I watched Itte Q yesterday. I love watching Itte Q." (match)
Card2: "No, I didn't. I didn't watch TV yesterday. I watched a DVD yesterday." (not a match)
Adding Additional Information doesn't only make the game more interesting and challenging... It's also a good chance to check the students' grammar.
Personally I prefer it if the students use various forms of the same verb in their answers. I believe it helps them to get a better and deeper understanding of how and when a verb changes. But that's just me...
But wait.. there is more...
That's right... Because things really start to go to a new level when you make use of the Color Codes...
The Color Codes in "Let's Make Questions!" allow you to assign a function to a color. For example, names, Verb Tenses, different types of Questions or Statements (during a game) and so on...
A PICTURE TELLS A THOUSAND WORDS But a video even more...
In the video below all blue cards use Tom as the subject and all pink cards use Mary as the subject. We also use "yesterday" with each question, in order to practice the Past Tense....
This is just one of the many ways of how you can use the Color Codes in Memory Game.
Well, that's it for today... In a future post I will be discussing the Color Codes in more detail, but for now I hope that I have given you some new ideas or at least something to think about.
If you have any comments or ideas you would like to share, feel free to use the comment space below.
Thanks and see you next time!
Today I would like to share some ideas with you on how to get the most out of Memory Game in the English classroom.... For those who don't know this game, here's a quick outline...
How to Play Memory Game
Memory Game is easy to play and it doesn't require much preparation. It can be played by 2 or more people or 2 or more teams. (but if you want to, you can actually play it alone)
Step 1: Select 6, 8, 10 or more pairs of cards you want your students to learn/review.
Step 2: Put the cards on the table, face down.
Step 3: Player 1 turns over a card, uses the target language and turns over a second card.
Step 4: If the second card is a match, player 1 gets to keep both cards. If the second card is not a match, player 1 turns both cards over again (face down) and it becomes the next player's turn.
The game is over when all cards are gone. The player or team with the most cards wins... That's all there is to it.
Variation: If the second card is a match, the same player can continue until the second card doesn't match. Then it becomes the next player's turn... (you probably don't want to use this with very young children)
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| "Let's Make Questions" Memory Game |
How can you use Memory Game effectively in an EFL / ESL classroom?
Well, think about it for a moment ....
Each player flips over at least two cards per turn, which lends itself to lots of possibilities:
✔ Learning/Reinforcing a single pattern (applying the same structure to two cards)
✔ Learning/Reinforcing Question and Answer patterns
✔ Learning/Reinforcing Statement and Response patterns
And if that's not enough.... You can change either the subject or the verb tense (or both) to teach your students what happens to a verb when the subject and/or verb tense changes....
On top of this... it's a fun game to play and by changing target language as your students improve, Memory Game never becomes boring...
Here are some versions of Memory Game which I successfully use with my students:
Basic
Just like the name says... "Basic". Both cards use the same pattern. What pattern is used, is decided by you, the teacher. Here are some samples using the "watch TV" card:
Card1: "Watching TV" Card2: "Watching TV" (match)
Card1: "Watching TV" Card2: "Reading books" (2nd card is not a match)
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I like watching TV (too)" (match)
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I like reading books" (not a match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom likes watching TV" (match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Mary likes watching TV (too)" (match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom likes reading books" (not a match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I watched TV yesterday (too)" (match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "Tom watched TV yesterday (too)" (match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I read a book yesterday" (not a match)
Statements
Game play is exactly the same as "Basic", but this time if the second card is not a match, the student has to make the first card negative. (regardless what topic the second card is)
Here are some samples:
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I like watching TV" (match)
Card1: "I like watching TV" Card2: "I don't like watching TV" (2nd card is not a match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom likes watching TV" (match)
Card1: "Tom likes watching TV" Card2: "Tom doesn't like watching TV" (not a match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I watched TV yesterday" (match)
Card1: "I watched TV yesterday" Card2: "I didn't watch TV yesterday" (not a match)
Statements Advanced
Game play is exactly the same as "Statements", but this time the students have to add some information. How much information is added, depends on the level of the students or on what you want them to practice ....
Card2 (match): "I like watching TV. (too) I watch TV every day. My favorite show is Itte Q."
Card2 (not a match): "I don't like watching TV. I never watch TV. I like reading books."
Questions & Answers
You probable guessed it already: The target language for the first card is a question and the second card an affirmative answer. If the second doesn't match, a negative answer....
Here are some samples:
Card1: "Do you like watching TV?" Card2: "Yes, I do." (match)
Card1: "Do you like watching TV?" Card2: "No, I don't." (not a match)
Card1: "Does Mary like watching TV" Card2: "Yes, she does." (match)
Card1: "Does Mary like watching TV" Card2: "No, she doesn't." (not a match)
Card1: "Did you watch TV yesterday" Card2: "Yes, I did." (match)
Card1: "Did you watch TV yesterday" Card2: "No, I didn't." (not a match)
Questions & Answers Advanced
Game play is exactly the same as "Questions & Answers", but this time the students have to add some information. Again, how much information is added, depends on the level of the students or on what you want them to practice ....
Card2: "Yes, I did. I watched Itte Q yesterday. I love watching Itte Q." (match)
Card2: "No, I didn't. I didn't watch TV yesterday. I watched a DVD yesterday." (not a match)
Adding Additional Information doesn't only make the game more interesting and challenging... It's also a good chance to check the students' grammar.
Personally I prefer it if the students use various forms of the same verb in their answers. I believe it helps them to get a better and deeper understanding of how and when a verb changes. But that's just me...
But wait.. there is more...
That's right... Because things really start to go to a new level when you make use of the Color Codes...
The Color Codes in "Let's Make Questions!" allow you to assign a function to a color. For example, names, Verb Tenses, different types of Questions or Statements (during a game) and so on...
A PICTURE TELLS A THOUSAND WORDS But a video even more...
In the video below all blue cards use Tom as the subject and all pink cards use Mary as the subject. We also use "yesterday" with each question, in order to practice the Past Tense....
This is just one of the many ways of how you can use the Color Codes in Memory Game.
Well, that's it for today... In a future post I will be discussing the Color Codes in more detail, but for now I hope that I have given you some new ideas or at least something to think about.
If you have any comments or ideas you would like to share, feel free to use the comment space below.
Thanks and see you next time!
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