Auditory Activities

Active answering
To review particular question patterns, have the students listen to a question, then run to designated areas in the classroom. For example, one wall can be the "yes" wall and the other the "no" wall. When the students reach the wall, they answer the question in a full sentence (as a group). To encourage all students to answer, the teacher can line everyone up and ask each student the question one by one. If it is not possible to move around the class, the students can stand up and sit down or hold up Yes or No cards.

Pronunciation game
Choose a list of words or phrases that contain sounds that you want to review. Draw 12 boxes on a piece of paper and write one of the words or phrases in each box. Photocopy the page. Put students in pairs and give each pair a copy of the page. Then have the students cut out the words and make flashcards. In pairs, students spread the cards on their desks. Call out a sound, e.g. M! Pairs race to find the word with that sound. The first pair in the class to pick up the correct card and say the word earns one point.

Listen and draw!
Have the students draw six boxes on a piece of paper. The teacher dictates a sentence, e.g. There is a pencil on the table. and the students draw a picture in Box 1 to match the sentence. The teacher circulates around the classroom to see how the students are doing. The teacher continues to dictate individual words or short sentences until the students fill in all of the boxes.

Listen carefully!
This activity is appropriate for the Do you know...? or Bonus pages. Choose an illustration with lots of things happening in it. Show the students the picture and point to various items in it and name them. The students repeat. The teacher then says Listen. Am I right or wrong? If the teacher is wrong, the students say the correct word. For example, the teacher points to a book and says It's a table. The students say No, it's a book. Students can then play this game in small groups, with one student in each group taking the teacher's role.

Mystery guest
Demonstrate this game with a group of students first. Ask for five volunteers to leave the classroom. Out of the students who are left, choose one student to be the "Mystery Guest". The teacher can teach this extra vocabulary. Hang up a large bed sheet and have the Mystery Guest sit behind the sheet so that the students cannot see him/ her. The teacher calls the five students back into the room and has them sit at the front of the classroom with their backs to the class so they can't see who is missing. The five students take turns asking the Mystery Guest questions, e.g. Do you like (English)? The Mystery Guest answers truthfully Yes, I do./ No, I don't. he/she tries to disguise his/her voice. After the five students ask one question each, they guess who the Mystery Guest is, based on the answers. Reveal the guest. Then play another round with a new group of students.

Seven up
Ask seven volunteers to stand at the front of the classroom. Go to six of the volunteers and whisper a word with the same sound, e.g. an initial b, a final t, etc. The teacher gives the seventh volunteer a word with a different sound. All the other students put their heads down on their desks so they can't see. Each of the volunteers quickly and quietly goes to one of the students and whispers his/ her word into that student's ear. Then the volunteers return to the front. The other students raise their heads. The students say what word they heard and guess who whispered it to them. If a student guesses correctly, he/she replaces the volunteer at the front. When all the words have been said, the teacher asks the class to identify the common sound and the word that doesn't belong. The teacher then whispers new words and sounds to the new students at the front and the activity continues.

Hear the difference!
Prepare various sentences, some with final g sounds and some with -ing sounds (see below). Have students listen carefully. The students raise their hands whenever they hear a g sound in the sentences. Some suggested sentences: I am standing on one leg./ I drink my coffee from a big mug in the morning./ I have a cat, but I don't have a dog./ My bag is heavy and my back hurts./ I like exercising in the evening.

Listening circle
This game helps students to review the past-tense form of regular verbs. The teacher and students sit in a circle. The teacher asks the class to listen carefully and has each student make a statement, e.g. I baked a cake (last Monday). After the students have finished making their statements, the teacher asks students questions, e.g. What did (Student 1's name) do (last Monday)? Students answer, e.g. (Student 1's name) baked a cake (last Monday). The teacher checks to see how well students remember what everyone said.

What's that sound?
To review a group of nouns, gather realia, e.g. a tube of toothpaste, a bag of chips, etc. Tell students Close your eyes and listen! Drop one of the items on the floor. Students raise their hands when they want to guess what the item is, e.g. It's a (bag of chips). Then a volunteer can take over the teacher's role. When students have heard each item drop once, a volunteer can try dropping two or three items at the same time for the rest of the class to guess.