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English Club 1
English Club 1
Consider atmosphere
Wherever you hold your club, remember that it is a club, not a class. To change the atmosphere in a
classroom you might want to open windows or have background music. A pot of coffee or a bowl of popcorn
can also make the meeting feel more like a club than a class. Why not encourage members to take off their
shoes when they walk in the door, or sit on the floor instead of chairs. Remember, the purpose of the club is
to use English in a life-like situation. Do what feels natural and comfortable.
C. When and how often should you meet for your English Club?
About once a week every FRIDAY
Some English clubs fail because they expect too much of the members. Meeting once a week for about one
lesson is a good start. Some English Clubs also meet for an additional activities once a month. We have our
own web page/blog where you could all meet, identify a topic you would like to discuss and exchange ideas,
thoughts, feelings etc.
The best time of day
Choose a meeting time that is convenient for the group. The time that you choose will also depend on when
the room/space is available.
Stop and begin again
Start a new club session approximately every three months. This will keep the club alive! Another good time
to take a break is during holiday times, such as Mid-year and End-of Year Break. Some members will return
and others will move on to other things. Invite new people to join to fill the empty spots. Change
activities/themes that didn't work the first time. Keep adding new ideas, but try to maintain a club identity.
D. The start of an English Club
Post a sign-up sheet
You can start by putting up a sign-up sheet in your school entrance or on a bulletin board placed
prominently somewhere near where all students congregate like the tuck shop. Write your class at the top
so that people can contact you with any ideas they might have. Make sure they write down their class name
or email addresses so that you can contact them about the time and place of the club meetings.
Seek help
Don't try to do everything yourself. Each member should contribute to the club. You may even want to find a
fluent English speaker who will volunteer to come to your meetings.
Hold an introductory meeting
After you have enough people sign up (6-10 people is a good number) you will need to hold an introductory
meeting. At the first meeting, members can learn each other's names and you can talk about what kind of
club people are interested in. One way to organize the club is by putting one member in charge of being the
leader each week. You can organize the weeks in terms of themes (music/food/travel...), or skills
(reading/writing/listening...).
Rules and Routines
APPENDIX ONE
SIGN-UP SHEET
Name
Grade/
Year
level
Contact no.
Deadline:
APPENDIX TWO
English Club Warm-up Games, Activities and Improvisations
What should you do in your English Club?
20 Questions
One person thinks of an object (person, place, or thing). Everyone takes turns asking yes/no
questions until someone can guess correctly (or until 20 questions are asked). The difficult part is
that you cannot ask "wh" questions!
(Example: PINEAPPLE. Does it talk? No. Does it make life easier? No. Do you eat it? Yes. Is it
something you would eat for dinner? No. Etc...
If someone makes a mistake in forming the question, other club members can help turn it into a
proper question).
Can't Say Yes or No
In this game everyone is given a certain number of coins or squares of paper (about 10). Everyone
moves around the room starting conversations and asking each other questions. The only rule is
that you cannot say the words YES or NO. If you accidentally say one of these words, you have to
give a coin or square to the person who you said it to. Try to trick each other by asking questions
that you would almost always answer with a yes or no. Think of other ways to trick your friends.
Sometimes asking two quick questions in a row works well. (Especially tag questions: Are you new
here? This is your first time in the English Club, isn't it?). This game is a great way to practise using
small talk and to add variety to your vocabulary. It also makes everyone laugh.
Fact or Fiction
In this game, one person tells a short story about themselves or someone they know or heard
about. Usually it is something funny or crazy. It can be a true story, or something made up.
Chain Fairytale
This is a fun writing warm-up. Everyone has a piece of paper and writes the first sentence or two to
start a fairytale (not one that already exists).
(Example: Once upon a time there was a frog that had no legs. He wanted to get married, but
there were no female legless frogs in the land.
After one minute the leader will say "SWITCH". At this time the writers have to put down their pens
and pass the papers. They cannot finish their sentences. Then, the next writers will continue the
story. After about ten minutes you will have as many silly stories to read as you have club
members. The leader should warn the writers that they will soon have to wrap-up the story during
the last two minutes so that each story has a conclusion. Read all of the stories out loud for a good
laugh. You can extend this activity by trying to edit each other's writing and spelling errors).
It is also a good idea to have a range of differentiated games according to the level of the students. The
activities could be categorized as follows for the members to know their learning:
Beginner
Elementary
Lower Intermediate
Intermediate
Upper Intermediate
Advanced
Improvisations
Improvisations are an excellent medium for getting everyone involved as everyone has to speak.
The following ideas are not role-plays or simulations (although many of them can be adapted as such). The
objective here is total spontaneity and improvisation. Students have no time to prepare. Their roles and
situations are given to them on the spot and they have to react immediately. Generally it is better to provide
students with minimal details. This allows their own imaginations to construct situations and ensures richer
dynamics.
Teachers are sometimes afraid that students may not be able to cope with improvisation. In reality, it is
surprising just how imaginative students will be (subject to level, of course). They can usually be relied on to
give more than they are asked for.
The following ideas are just that - ideas. They can be modified, adapted, changed, rethought, distorted,
simplified, made more difficult etc.
In general, begin classes with pairs to warm up and finish with groups.
Pair Improvisations
The Small Advertisement: For sale/To rent/Friendship. Student A has seen a classified ad in the
paper. Student A decides for herself the subject of the ad. She then chooses any other student
(Student B, who has placed the ad) and calls her about it. "I'm calling about your ad for a live-in
nanny..."
The Hypochondriac: Student A is a hypochondriac determined to have as many pills as possible.
He consults Student B who is a doctor strongly averse to giving out pills willy-nilly.
The Loan: Asking to borrow. Then asking for repayment.
The Career Counselor: Student A has lost her job. She consults a career counselor about a
suitable new profession. Lots of questions and advice (modals).
Parent(s) and Child: Child returns home late/doesn't want to go to bed/doesn't want to get up etc.
The Journalist and the Famous Actress: 1. Journalist tries to get interview. 2. Interview. 3.
Actress is not at all happy with what is printed and complains (to journalist or editor etc).
Directions: A young girl stops passers-by in the street and asks for help/directions in finding an
address.
Telephone Chain: Student A calls any student (Student B) about anything. When conversation
finished, Student B calls any student (Student C) about anything. Keep the chain going. Must be
fast. Good for warm-up. The answering student must make the next call (to maintain the dynamic).
The Tourist: Student A goes to another country (or planet) and calls home to tell Student B all
about it.
The Chance Meeting: Two people who have not met for 5 years meet in a caf/at a cocktail party
etc. Ex-student, ex-boss etc.
The Answering Machine: Student A calls B and gets answering machine (B's voice). Leaves
message.
Group Improvisations
The Fire: Detective or journalist interviews witnesses (one of whom may be a suspect) about what
they saw/heard/did. (The Fire can be changed to a Bizarre Noise, Disappearance, Murder, Theft
etc). Lots of questions and past simple.
The Hold-up: Group of gangsters planning a hold-up. "Stop. Now it's two days after the hold-up
and you're all in prison. Now discuss what actually happened, whose fault etc."
Television Interview: Film star, politician, sportsperson etc.
Television Program: Presenter interviews different action groups like members of ESO
(Environment Society Oman, OWA (Omani Womens Association etc).
Press Conference: Group of journalists interview a sportsperson, film star etc.
The Amnesiac: Student A is in bed in hospital, having lost his memory. The other students are
medical staff, police officers, visitors (family, friends etc) who try to bring memory back. They must
be careful. A shock could be fatal.
The Neighbour: A neighbour who needs to sleep or revise etc knocks on door and complains
about the noise from a party.
Teachers' Meeting: Teachers discuss imaginary situations. One teacher is the "chairman" and has
a list of topics ("Now we'll discuss school cleanliness...").
Activity
Introductory Meeting
Getting-to-know you
Sign-up for leadership tasks/ CLUB OFFICERS ELECTION
Warm-up: Tutorial/ Remedial Assistance
Theme: Music/Other
Warm-up: 20 Questions
Theme: Poetry/Other__________
Warm-up: Story Telling
Theme: Current Events/Other__________
Club Seminar Workshop in Campus Journalism:
(@ UP-Diliman)
Coordinator:__________
Warm-up: Book Parade
Theme: Sharing/Other__________
Warm-up: Book Fare
Theme: Movies/Other__________
Warm-up: Campus Journalism
Theme: Family/Other__________
Warm-up: Campus Journalism (Feature Writing)
Theme: Sport/Other__________
Leader
Club Advisor
Officers
Officers
Officers
Club Advisor/
Coordinator
__________
__________
__________
__________
Competition:
(________________)
Coordinator:__________
Warm-up: Film Review
Theme: Celebrities/Other__________
Warm-up: Book Activities Compilation
Theme: The Future/Other__________
Warm-up: English Extra Challenge
Theme: Fashion/Other__________
Warm-up: YES/NO game
Theme: Travel/Other__________
Club Evaluation:
(Place TBA)
Coordinator:__________
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
__________
__________
__________
__________
Items
( a) Organization :
Students' participation : No. of members:
9
10
11
12
13
7
8
Remarks
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
APPENDIX 5 (i):
Criteria Sheet to Evaluate Junior English Society
(The overall performance of the English Club could be rated using the following scale:
5 = Outstanding, 4 = Good, 3 = Acceptable, 2 = Needs improvement, 1 = Needs urgent support)
No
Items
1 2 3 4 5 Remarks
(a) Design of the English Club:
1
Purpose of the design
2
Educational objectives
3
Marketing of the English Club within the school
4
English Club Environment / Setting
(b) Implementation of the English Club Activity Plans and Programmes:
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
APPENDIX 5 (ii):
Sample Question Sheet for Students to Evaluate the Junior English Club
(The overall performance of the English Club could be rated using the following scale:
5 = Outstanding, 4 = Good, 3 = Acceptable, 2 = Needs improvement, 1 = Needs urgent support)
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Items
Remarks
Arranged by: