Index Card Games for ESL

Book excerpt: 7 games, easy to prepare and play using photocopies and 3 x 5 index cards. Three of the games are new with the 3rd edition and the rest are up-dated and revised. Student-centered activities provide practice in: vocabulary building sentence/paragraph structure pronunciation & spelling questioning conversation The explanation of each game includes a brief description of the game and a statement of its purpose, instructions for playing the game both for the teacher and for the students (in the target language), variations, and a list of grammar, vocabulary, and conversation situations which can be practiced with the game. A "starter kit" of sample games at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels is given for each game. Once the target language samples are put on index cards and the class has fun using the game, the same techniques can be used to practice whatever language or cultural information the students need to work on. The possibilities are endless. Language games are useful pace breakers. But more than that, they build a spirit of cooperation and of shared learning. The games were developed by teachers at the School for International Training.