Play with English! Games, games, games! :)
My all time favourite is the running dictation:
1. Get a text on the grammar/vocabulary topic that you are covering this week/month. Break them into teams of 3 or into pairs. One is the Scrib, the other one is the Messenger. The Scrib has to write the text, while it is the Messenger �s job to run to the wall where the text is stuck, remember as much as he/she can and run back to the Scrib. Competetion should arise naturally, between teams or pairs. The Messenger should only transfer in such a way half of the text, the other half is for the Scrib when they change places. Now the Messenger becomes the scrib and continues writing on the same pice of paper. When they are finished they come up to the wall and compare what they have to the original and correct the mistakes.
2. Break the group into two teams. Ask/nominate for one representative from each team. Put two chairs in front of the classroom, the two students facing the class but not seeing the board. Write a word on the board (from the vocabulary that you want them to revise, of course) and get the teams to explain the word to the relevant representative. Rules: no translating, no mentioning the word, not too much showing with hands/fingers. They need to explain in English. Again, competition should arise naturally. This is how they learn to explain the vocabulary from the syllabus without even knowing it.
3. Get one student in front of the class to explain a word to the group. Or two students to explain the word to their relevant teams.
4. For more fun ask students to show the object/person. Fun guaranteed, although not much educational purpose. Leave for 10 minutes at the end of the class.
5. Change your class routine. Me and my students do this: they are morning group, and when they come I don �t get them straight into the class, but give them time to stream in smoothly, we read a free local newspaper that has a new issue every morning. They wake up, read thye news, learn what �s happened in the world over the night while they slept and get more ideas to talk about. The newspaper is in English, of course.
6. Also, I play music during the class quite often, I find that it takes some pressure off and makes the class more enjoyable/relaxing/less of a class/but more of a language acquisition session. I play Frank Sinatra quietly in the background. Or radio. Or whatever.
7. Change the routine which you have to a snappier, more unexpected, getting out of their seats one. If you normally do reading-talking-writing, why not try listening-writing-talking.
If you and them are used to reading the grammar rules from the book, why not try to read the text and deduct the grammar from it and then check. Why not tray some translation during the classroom? Text or oral translation. Why not have fun with texts with grammar/spelling mistakes.
Write PM if something is not clear, best luck to you and your students.
ENGLISH IS FUN!
