Editorial
For more activities from Pilgrims read Creating Calm in the Classroom”: Pilgrims Training Session by Dave Read by the same author.

Alphabet Games: a Pilgrims Training Session by Hania Kryszewska

Peter Clements, UK

Peter Clements teaches ESOL in the Adult Lifelong Learning sector in and around Canterbury, Kent in the UK. He works with a variety of students from inside the European Union as well as long- term UK residents from numerous other countries including members of the large Nepalese community who live in south east England. He started out teaching ESOL in 2007. E-mail: peter.clements@talktalk.net

These activities were short-burst games ideal for starters, fillers, warmers or finishers. I soon realised the possibilities for some classes I would be taking on in the new term. For beginners, the alphabet chants would be ideal. Starting in groups of threes, we tried out a simple alphabet chant rotating around each individual:

1.A-2.B-3.C-1.D-2.E-3.F ….etc

To be able to say and recall the 26 letters is a basic but important referencing skill. Taking it a stage further, every fourth letter was to be omitted with a single handclap so,

1..A - 2.B - 3.C - 1.clap - 2.E - 3.F -1.G - 2.clap - 3.I…. and so on.

This had the effect of being more demanding in a cognitive sense (having to think ahead of the handclap which acted as a substitution) as well as the benefit of a good degree of psychomotor skill. Similarly, this was applied to number counting:

1,2,3,clap,5,6,7,clap,9,10,11,clap and so on.

For the next section Hania included a number of sequencing activities - the days of the week, normally recited and then in reverse, and then the same with the months of the year (slightly more difficult!). The one that made everyone really slow down and think carefully however, was being asked to recite the alphabet backwards. There was a genuine buzz of enthusiasm among the teachers trying out these activities. It was a great feeling being part of this lively activity.

Alphabet body shapes / stretching

With the recent 2012 Olympics in mind, visualise the widely known of Olympic runner Mo Farah, arms bent upwards forming two arcs above his head forming a very visible letter ‘M’ and you will have already guessed the technique involved in the next series of activities.

This can be seen to have immediate appeal to teachers of children (a great example of a class project can be found at: www.xtec.cat) but what a wonderful way of adding life and movement in spelling and alphabetical activities to teenage or adult classes! If the general buzz and happy atmosphere this generated in the classroom at Hilltop was anything to go by, this is certainly a great thing to use in classes of all ages to get students moving and interacting. Typical activities:

• Learners form the first letter of their names for class to guess in a ‘getting to know you’ activity. Learners could also form a line or circle in the alphabetical order of their names.
  
• In groups of three, learners choose a three letter word to form for the class to guess.
  
• In groups of six, learners form a five letter word; two learners combine to form one of the more complex letter forms. The rest of the class guess the word.
  

This really was fun, very physical and would have great appeal to those who enjoy kinaesthetic learning activities.

(Note: the font used above suggests that you would have to be a contortionist to form some of the shapes. In reality, some of us had to lie on the floor form less complicated versions to achieve what we wanted - unlike Farah and Bolt, none of us were Olympic athletes!)

Alliterative lists

A focus on vocabulary and even grammar can be achieved using alphabetical lists. Introducing the subject by way of a short story, such as, ‘It was a really busy day in the jungle because all the animals were organising a party. Each one had to bring something to eat or drink. The lion, king of the jungle, told each one what to bring. For example, the lion said, “Apes, bring apples.” Now you continue to tell all the other animals what to bring’ So the students go through the alphabet in pairs seeing how many animals and alliterative foods they are able to think of (brand names and unlikely foods allowed!)

Here’s another list of names and past simple verbs:

Agnieska added some words to the list.
Bogdan believed he could do it.
Carlos caught a cold
Darja decided to drink some water.
Ewelina ended up enjoying it.
Federica finished her homework.
Gisela got the hang of it straight away.
Hania, held the workshop.

The benefit of such activities, was summed up by Hania, ‘Tell a class they are going to write up to 26 past simple sentences and you will probably hear yawns and see the learners lose interest before your eyes.’ However, working in pairs this way, it is possible for a class to produce the sentences in a fun way before they have realized it - ‘A way of fooling the bored brain, ’ as Hania aptly put it. .

The same technique can be used to provide a means of eliciting adjectives and adverbs:

Introducing the subject of a choir by means of a short story,
Angela sings angelically.
Bob sings beautifully…..etc

The activity can also provide opportunities to practice pronunciation, for example repetition of the unvoiced /th/:

Andris thinks about apples.
Bogdan thinks about bananas…etc

The same method can be used for any set of vocabulary. Means of transport, furniture, food (even lists of specialist vocabulary such as business or medical) - anything in fact where a broad enough range of lexis can be recalled or accessed by the learners.

There are so many ways of using the alphabet in class, and not just with elementary students. The activities can be sufficiently challenging for higher level students too depending on the speed with which they participate and the way in which the competitive element can be introduced which will increase the pace.

Returning to work this week with the first two lessons since my stroke, I have used a couple of the activities described above with some beginner adults who work in a large supermarket distribution warehouse. It was a great way of rounding off the lesson leaving the students in an upbeat mood. It had the same effect on the teacher.

Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology and Language for Primary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology and Language for Secondary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.