Liguistic games – Beat the teacher

One of the most popular activities among young students is “Beat the Teacher”. It is a very powerful tool for learning vocabulary and consolidating it.

The first thing we need to do is to present the vocabulary in a slide like this one:

It must have pictures and vocabulary. It is strongly advisable that it has both languages written (unless it is obvious, like in the example), so you can print it and hand it over after the game (always AFTER the game to avoid spoiling it).

We will work in this vocabulary by pointing at it and making the students repeat with us. We can start by following the order of the slide and then, we can increase the speed and choose random pictures. When the students are ready (because they know most of the vocabulary by now), mostly after 5 minutes, we can move on to the next slide.

As you can see, the second slide is a copy of the first one but without any words in it. This is when the game begins. The teacher is going to go over all the pictures making the students repeat, like we did in the first slide. However, the teacher is going to say the wrong word for one of the pictures and the students will have to notice. They will repeat after the teacher if they think the word is correct and they will stay silent if they think the word is incorrect for that picture. If they repeat after the teacher when the word is incorrect, even if it is only one person, the teacher will get a point. If they stay silent (it must be all of them), the class will get a point.

TIPS:

1. Increase the difficulty
   Once they have gotten the grips of the game, you can increase the speed and start choosing random pictures, just like in the first slide, to make it more difficult. The students like that because it gives them a feeling of competition and team work.
2. Play for the best of three or five
   Let them know in advance and keep the record on the board, so they can see it. Keep the record out loud, for example: if you are winning, make a quick calculation of how many points you need to win. If you tease them a little bit, they will respond with much more interest.
3. Play double or nothing
   When you feel you are winning and want to add a little bit of tension and interest to the game, you can tell them that the next point will be double or even win the game. Teenagers tend to take risks, so it will be very appealing for them.
4. Keep control
   Sometimes, they won’t be able to cope with the hype and the game can quickly become chaos. Don’t let them get away with it, it they can’t cope with the excitement, the game is over, just like that. You will probably have to do it once, but after that, they will remember, and you will be able to play in the future.