By Jono Ryan - Head of Materials Development
Have you got a favourite teaching game? For me, one clear and obvious candidate springs to mind and it's one that I've been using regularly for close to 20 years. I know it as ‘the Hear & Say pronunciation game’. I originally came across it somewhere on the Internet in the early 2000s, though I believe it’s been around a lot longer. If anyone has a link to the original version - or knows the original publication - please let me know!
Concept
The game is designed for a specific number of students (say, five). So the class is divided into groups of five, which each play their own game. Each student has a card with perhaps 6 words that they hear, and for each of these, a corresponding word that they should say. For instance:
Hear Say
cat ship
Pete Mack
… …
So, if Student A hears the word ‘cat’, they should say the word ‘ship’. On hearing ‘ship’, another student will pronounce the corresponding word on their card, and so on. In a set of cards, a particular word will only appear once each in the ‘Say’ and ‘Hear’ columns.
The immediate objective is for each student in the group to both (1) pronounce their words unambiguously enough for their partners to understand, and (2) clearly distinguish the words spoken by everyone else. The ultimate objective of the game is completing the correct sequence of turns (the ‘puzzle’), whereby everyone has heard and spoken each word on their paper. In practice, this usually takes many attempts, especially in classes with students of mixed first language backgrounds. If a group completes the sequence fairly quickly, shuffle the cards and get them to go again.
Resources
I have included one version of the game below (please feel free to use), but you can come up with your own template and make endless variations on it. Admittedly, that's the hard bit. It's very easy to lose track of things when you make your own, so you will need a system.
As can be seen on the provided version, one student in the group has the word ‘START’ in their ‘Hear’ column, indicating that when the teacher says ‘start’, they go first. A different member of the group will have the word ‘FINISH’. When they say ‘finish’, the group either agrees that every word has been spoken aloud, or they start again.
The example given above is from a version of the game that focuses on the vowel contrasts between ‘ship’ and ‘sheep’ and ‘cat’ and ‘cot’, while the downloadable one includes a much wider variety of phonetic contrasts. Where I teach, the students come from a wide variety of backgrounds – one of my first classes had 17 students from 14 different countries – so I tend to use versions of the game with multiple phonetic contrasts. If, however, I was working with students from a single language background, I might begin the semester with a version or two like this for diagnostic purposes, and then perhaps narrow the focus to the sounds that the students have most difficulty with.
Why it works
(1) ‘Focus’ is the optimal word here: the game is all about clearly articulating and differentiating single words in isolation. Though the top-down approach is crucial, so are bottom-up processes.
(2) It is learner centred: every student is focused and actively engaged.
(3) Students receive a combination of immediate feedback in the form of:
· the game progressing (indicating success),
· clarification requests (‘say it again’; ‘rock or rock?’)
· and from the delayed – but more pointed – feedback when the game goes awry due to errors and mishearing. In re-starting from the beginning, students are more alert to potential errors.
(4) At the conclusion of the game, there are often very productive discussions and learning opportunities, e.g., explaining and practicing the /l/ and /r/ contrast or tips around long and short vowel contrasts.
(5) Unlike many games, this one is entirely cooperative. There can be a certain amount of finger pointing though, so it is worthwhile ensuring there are no pre-existing animosities among group members.
Downloadable resource (game):
HEAR: SAY:
START! Thin
Peace Low
Thing Called
Rot Neck
Night Talk
HEAR: SAY:
Spot Thing
Neck Sport
Bin Night
Peas Load
Light Took
HEAR: SAY:
Thin Cold
Called Bin
Past Peace
Pray Rot
Low Play
HEAR: SAY:
Play Rock
Cold Bill
Leg Spot
Took Past
Parts Peas
HEAR: SAY:
Talk parts
Rock Leg
Load Pray
Bill light
Sport FINISH!