Games For Single Student Lessons - What I hear/listen to

In this game, the goal is to make as many sentences as possible using "hear" (or "listen to"). Depending on the teacher's options for lesson preparation, she may work from a list or make cards that the student chooses from in order to make sentences about what he hears or listens to in the given situation or place.

The situations and places for the game are as follows:

• your bedroom
• your office
• your living room
• your bathroom
• your kitchen
• beside an open window in your home
• a train
• a park
• a department store
• a restaurant
  

Give the student one point for each sound he says he hears in the given area or situation.

The student's goal should be a set number of points which the teacher may decide upon based on the student's level. For the higher level students, a loftier goal of 100 points may help motivate him to think hard about each area. For a harder challenge, the teacher may want to set a certain number of points per area given (such as 20 sounds you hear on the train). For a lower level student, the teacher can set the bar much lower either in terms of total points or the number of sounds per area.

Explaining the game to the student:

The teacher should begin by reviewing the difference between "hear" and "listen to". First ask the student if he already knows the difference. If he does not, explain that:

• "hear" is used for sounds we are not trying to catch or pay attention to (incidental noises)
• "listen" is used for sounds which we are paying close attention to or trying to catch carefully

Give some these examples:

• I heard my mother talking to my father in the kitchen. (I didn't pay attention to their words but I could hear the sounds of their voices.)
• I listened to my mother talking to my father about his job in the kitchen. (I was listening to their conversation and following what they said.)

Make sure the student understands that the type of sound is not related to which word you use. One can "hear" or "listen to" almost any sound. The choice of word is based on whether or not one is thinking about the sound or just experiencing it in the background.

Have the student make several practice sentences with both "hear" and "listen to" before playing the game.

Once the student clearly understands the difference between "listen" and "hear", explain that he will be given a place and he must tell you as many sounds as he can which are usually heard in that place. Explain that he will get one point for each sound and mention the total point goal he should reach. He must make a full sentence each time and say, "I hear ..."

If necessary, give an example by talking about all the sounds you can hear from inside the classroom:

• I hear the air conditioner blowing.
• I hear a car driving down the street.
• I hear a clock ticking.
  

Purpose of the game:

The purpose of this game is to help the student learn and remember when to use "hear" as opposed to "listen" since making this distinction is hard for many students.

Classroom use:

This game is a good way to reinforce a full lesson on the use of sense verbs or as a way of simply teaching "hear" and "listen".

Variation:

This game can be played to practice "listen to" instead of "hear" by having students make statements about what they listen to in each of the given places or situations. This variation can be done after doing "hear" or at a different time as further review. It's best not to do them both concurrently because it may prove too confusing and undermine attempts to solidify the meaning of one or the other with the student. It is advisable to set the total point goal lower when the goal is to use "listen to" since it is less common to "listen to" a variety of things in each area.