It is known that the best motivation for successful learning is interest. It is especially important to maintain interest in the subject among modern students who, with the advent of the Internet, have unlimited access to entertainment resources. In addition to the monotonous tasks in grammar, reading texts and performing standard exercises, the process of teaching a foreign language must necessarily include game elements that can arouse students' interest in the subject. Interesting tasks in the English language help students to focus, tune in to learn a foreign language and better remember new material.
Assignment for grade 1 (6-7 years). Hand puppet
The level of socialization of first graders may vary. Some of them attended preschool institutions, while others prepared for school at home with their mother or grandmother. At first, communication with the teacher may be difficult, the child is shy and afraid to make a mistake.
Interesting English exercises for children help you quickly adapt to your school environment. The puppet, which the teacher puts on his hand and communicates with the students, is also an excellent psychological technique. Shy children are more likely to make contact with a hand puppet than with a teacher. The puppet can be purchased at the toy store or sewn by yourself. For example, it might be Mr. Snowman's snowman. Work with a puppet can be built according to the following scenario:
- At the beginning of the lesson, Mr. Snowman sleeps in his bag. To wake him, each student must shout into the bag: “Wake up, Mr. Snowman! ";
- The puppet wakes up, greets each student personally and begins to ask questions (what are their names, how are they today, how is the weather, etc.);
- Then Mr. Snowman and the students sing a song;
- Mr. Snowman says goodbye to each student and goes to sleep back in the bag.
In most cases, learning English at school begins in the second grade. Therefore, the methodological materials offer numerous interesting tasks in the English language for the 2nd grade.
Assignment for grade 2 (7-8 years). Stand up, children, stand in a circle!
This exercise will help you quickly learn the score from 1 to 50. All students, together with the teacher, become in a circle holding hands. The teacher begins to count - 1 (one), the student standing next to him continues - 2 (two) and so on. Pupils who incorrectly call or cannot remember the next number are in the middle of the circle. The winners are those who successfully reach the final number - 50. Winners get extra points and stickers.
Interesting English assignments for Grade 2 should include repeated repetition, encouragement, and praise.
Assignment for 3 classes (8-9 years). Guess how?
Interesting tasks in the English language for grade 3 should be mobile, team, with many elements. You can use a variation of the game "Crocodile", the purpose of which is to consolidate or repeat adverbs. The game is suitable for older students, 8-9 years old, who have already managed to familiarize themselves with the basic vocabulary related to the topic "Daily Routine".
The teacher writes a phrase on the board indicating an action, for example, eat your breakfast. Then he calls one student and shows him a card on which an adverb is written, for example, slowly. The student must show the action, and the rest of the students will guess what dialect was written on the card. The one who first correctly calls the dialect gets a point and goes to the board to show the next action.
Interesting tasks in the English language for grade 3 help children gradually and organically expand their vocabulary.
Assignment for 4 classes (9-10 years). Cross the river
The teacher asks the students to line up at the blackboard and explains that a magical invisible river flows in front of them. To return to the desk, you need to go through this river along the "pebbles". Each “pebble” is a sheet of paper with a task written on it (recall the meaning of the word, days of the week, counting to 10, etc.).
The teacher divides the class into two teams, and one participant is selected from each team. If the student performs the task correctly, he can step on a pebble and continue moving on. Interesting tasks in the English language for the 4th grade combine elements of the game and more complex lexical and grammatical content.
Tasks for grade 5 (10-11 years). Grammar Marathon
A win-win outdoor game for children, who at this age can be so difficult to distract from the Internet and social networks. The main goal of the game is to repeat vocabulary. It can be used when studying the table of irregular verbs.
The class is divided into two teams, each gets its own half board. Players of each team are assigned their own serial number. For example, team A (1-12) and team B (1-12). The teacher calls one irregular verb in Present Simple and the player number. The task of the players with the corresponding number is to run out to the board and write the form of the verb called by the teacher in the past tense. Interesting tasks of this kind in the English language help teenagers feel part of a team and learn responsibility for a common cause.
Tasks for grade 6 (11-12 years). Rhythmic reading
The task is suitable for students who already have the ability to read texts in English. With its help, students improve diction, increase reading speed and gain confidence.
For this task, the teacher prepares a text (the first half may be easier, the second half more difficult) and begins to tap the rhythm with a pencil or pen on the table. You can also search the Internet and download different types of musical rhythms to your smartphone. One of the students begins to read the first sentence, adhering to the rhythm set by the teacher. At the same time, he must follow the pronunciation and not make mistakes. As soon as the sentence ends, the next student immediately continues, trying to get into the rhythm. A person who makes a mistake loses a point or is eliminated from the game. Those who drop out are given the task of monitoring bugs or helping to tap the rhythm.
Interesting English assignments for Grade 6 may include both elements of competition and interaction.
Tasks for grade 8 (13-14 years). Snake oil
The name of this game comes from a real-time drug of dubious quality that supposedly helped against all diseases. Later snake oil salesman became a household name. They began to call charlatans trying to sell low-quality goods. The game Snake Oil is built on the same principle.
First, the teacher divides the class into buyers and sellers, appointing every third buyer. Then, buyers receive cards with the name of their professions or hobbies. The remaining students are divided into two competing teams. Each team gets several cards on which one noun is written. The task of the team - using only two cards, come up with the name of the product and advertise it as best as possible. The buyer makes his choice and gives the card to the team whose product is more like it. The team that gets the most cards wins.
Conclusion
Depending on the level of language preparation of the class, the proposed tasks can be changed and adapted. Perhaps a teenager with a low level of knowledge of the language, but with a developed imagination and sense of humor himself will show a desire to voice a manual puppet. There is no doubt that interesting tasks in the English language increase motivation, contribute to a better assimilation of the material, and are also remembered for a long time by students. Teachers who teach in ordinary secondary schools as well as in gymnasiums should use interesting tasks in the English language in the lessons.