6 Ask learners to interpret the text more deeply. You could ask them to
think about reasons for actions, viewpoints of characters, attitudes of
characters or of the author, or the underlying message of the text. The goal
here is a more critical engagement with the text.
7 Use pair work for interpretative tasks. Some of the suggestions above are
difficult, even for intermediate or advanced level learners. You can set them
the task in pairs, asking them to support any point they make with an
example from the text. This gives them extra thinking time and the
opportunity to practise what they want to say.
8 Encourage learners to explore their personal response to the text.
Literary texts are after all intended to provoke a personal response, and some
learners will be very keen to express it. This is an opportunity for a short
writing activity—with lower level learners, such an activity could even be in
L1.
9 Consider language work. Literary texts are also rich resources for grammar
and vocabulary work. After learners have worked with the text as literature,
they may like to explore elements of its language in a focused way. See 22,
Exploiting authentic written texts.
10 Encourage wider reading of literature. Always tell learners where you got
a text from, because some of them may want to carry on reading from the
same book, magazine, etc. Be aware of local resources—ideally the school
library or self-access centre—which they can use. See 31, Supporting self-
access from the classroom.25 Games for language learning
Language games are useful in many ways. They can help learners to practise
pronunciation, develop vocabulary, extend their repertoire of communication
strategies and try to produce humour in the target language. For teachers and
learners alike, games can bring light relief and a change of pace to classes. The
following ideas may provide you with some starting points to help you to design
your own games for learners.
1 Explain why you are using games. Learners will get more out of language
games if they can see the point of using them. Avoid the possibility of
learners thinking that you are just wasting their time.
2 Be prepared for different attitudes from learners. Some learners will find
the idea of using games weird, at least until they can see for themselves the
benefits they are deriving from them. Some learners may be unduly
competitive, not wishing to lose face by getting things wrong. Help all
learners to see that one of the intentions is to have some fun, and that they
should not take mistakes or errors seriously, but use them as learning46 LANGUAGE WORK IN THE CLASSROOM