The Internet TESL
Journal
Doing Things with Sentences in the ESL Classroom
Simon Mumford
Izmir University of Economics, (Izmir, Turkey)
simumford [at] yahoo.com
http://semumf.tripod.com
We can have fun with sentences, mixing up words, taking them apart and
putting them back together, in similar ways to word games. What we do
with letters in word games we can do with words in sentences games.
However, because grammar is different from spelling, the demands on the
students are different, and I feel there are more possibilities
for 'sentence games' than word games because of the complexity of
grammar. This complexity means there are limited choices of which
word could fill which space, which in turn means students need to draw
on their knowledge of grammar to play the game, guess the missing word
and put the words in order, as they consider the possibilities. Here
are some ideas.
Hunt the Main Verb
Think of a sentence of about eight words, and draw a numbered
blank for each on the board. Now challenge the students to find the
main verb in four guesses. Ask one student to call out a number,
and fill this blank with the appropriate word. Assuming that the main
verb has not been found, ask for the next guess. Using the words
that have been revealed as a guide to the structure of the sentence,
they should have a better idea of where the main verb is likely to be.
Tell the class that if they find it in four guesses, they have won. If
not, the teacher is the winner.
Swapping Words Around
This uses a mixed-up sentence which students have to put in the correct
order. However there is a rule! Students are only allowed to swap the
places of two words each move. Write the words, in any order in a
straight line on the board. Give them a limited number of moves, say
six for a nine word sentence. In other words, they have to sort out a
nine word mixed-up sentence by moving two words each turn, in six
turns. In each turn, the chosen words must be put in the place of the
other. Make it easier by showing them the original sentence
first, if you feel this is too difficult.
All Those in Favour
Write the jumbled sentence on the board, and a numbered blank for each
word. Ask individual students to nominate words for blanks. After each
suggestion, take a vote. If more than half the class agrees, write the
word in. In subsequent turns students can move words already placed on
the board with the consent of the class. Continue like this, so that
the final correct sentence is reached by consensus.
Minefield
This is a jumbled sentence game for groups of four. One student is the
referee and has a piece of paper with the sentence in the correct
order, with one extra space included, representing the 'mine'. The
other players play with a piece of paper with numbered blanks and the
words mixed up. They take it in turns to nominate words for each
blank. Each word correctly placed scores a point for
that player and all players write that word in the
blank. However, if one player chooses the blank
designated as the 'mine', he is immediately blown out of the game!
Words That Go Together
Think of a sentence suitable for the level of class you are
teaching, e.g. for intermediate level:
'If it rains tomorrow, we will
definitely stay at home.'
Write the jumbled up sentence on the board as shown below:
'tomorrow definitely If stay home it
will at rains we'
Divide the class in two teams and ask them to find pairs of words that
could be found together in the sentence, for example 'to+the' could go
together because they could be found in that order, whereas 'the+to' is
grammatically incorrect, similarly, 'give+him' is OK, 'him+give' is
not. Ask each team in turn to give different pairs of words that go
together. The first team to give seven correct pairs gets a chance to
guess the whole sentence. If they are wrong, give the other team a
chance. The rationale is that students think about the possible
combinations of words before they guess the whole sentence.
Begin in the Middle
Write the middle word of the sentence on the board, and then give the
class the two words that go one either side of it in the sentence. The
students' task is to decide which goes in front and which goes behind.
If they choose correctly, write the words in their places on either
side, then give them the next pair, then another, and so on until the
sentence is complete. Thus, if the original sentence was 'Mary said she
wished she had a big new red Mercedes', start with 'had', the first
pair would be 'she' and 'a', and the second 'big' and 'wished'. To make
it competitive, they lose a life for each wrong decision. If they lose
three lives, they have lost the game.
Mind Reading Students
Tell the students you have thought of a sentence. Give them the number
of words in your sentence e.g. ten words, also the first word, e.g.
'I', and the tense to be used, e.g. present perfect. Ask for possible
answers. In fact, you have not thought of a sentence but work with the
students' answers until you get a correct sentence of the required
length. Encourage students to play around with sentences until they hit
the required word number, but you will probably need to help. For
example one student may say 'I have lived in Paris since 2000.' This
sentence is too short, so write it on the board but leave spaces, so
you can change it to 'I have lived in Paris since I moved in 2000', or
'I have lived in Paris since the beginning of 2000'. If the sentence is
too long, e.g. 'I and my wife have been married since the first of
October 2000', take away words, e.g. 'My wife and I have been married
since October 2000.' The point is to make students think they are
reading your mind, by finding the sentences so quickly, so pretend to
be surprised when they are successful.
Sentence Fan
Make the fan as follows: take two pieces of A4 paper and stick
them together lengthwise (i.e. landscape, not portrait). Fold the paper
so it has eight sections, i.e. fold it in half, then in half again,
then in half again. Using the folds as guides, make a fan, by folding
alternate creases in different directions. Now, choose an eight word
sentence, and write one word in each section. Write it so that when you
hold the top of the fan and let the bottom fall to the ground, the
sentence can be read vertically, i.e. from top to bottom. Show the
class the back of the fan (the blank side) and ask how many words are
in the sentence. Reveal words one or two at a time (not necessarily in
order) by folding and unfolding different sections. Ask students to try
to guess the whole sentence. Let the fan open completely but close it
again before the students get a good look. Again, ask them what the
sentence is. Students making their own fans and practising on each
other could be the next stage.
Threes
Choose a twelve word sentence e.g. 'My mother went to the shops but has
not come back yet.' Write the words alternately in three sections.
1 My to but
come
2 mother the has
back
3 went shops not yet
Next, mix the words up within the
sections and write them on the board.
1 to My come
but
2 back mother has
the
3 yet not went shops
Put students in groups of three, give each student a number, 1, 2, or 3
and
ask them to say one word from their box in turn. Explain that the
boxes are in order but the words are not. Encourage them to experiment
with different orders until they find one that sounds right. ( Note:
leaving the capital letter on 'My' will help them to start.)
Conclusion
Sentences are composed of words. The order of words in a sentence is a
pattern. If we can give students activities where they need to
use their knowledge of grammar to find these patterns
they will be activating their language, while game and
competitive elements mean they are having fun at the
same time.
The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. X, No. 10, October 2004
http://iteslj.org/
http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Mumford-Sentences.html