In each issue of English Now our resident VTTN Language Doctor will be here to help you with your English language problems. We want to hear from you.

Dear Language Doctor,

In this letter I would like to receive your opinion about a game mentioned in 'English 7' lines 12-13 , page 56 (2003). The book says: students playing Blind man's Bluff. I wonder whether it is is 'bluff' or 'buff' or whether both are correct.

Thanks very much for issue 10, thanks that, I can enrich my activities in teaching English Warmest regards,

Nguyen Van Thieu
Phu cat, Binh Dinh

Dear Thieu,

Thanks for your probing question. My initial thought was bluff, but it made me scratch my head a little, so I took the question directly to the teacher's room where opinion was divided, half saying bluff and the others claiming buff. Unsatisfied by this, I checked on the internet and according to www.wordreference.com both answers are correct.

blindman's bluff / buff

A     noun
       1    blindman's_bluff, blindman's_buff
                              a children's game in which a
                              blindfolded player tries to catch
                              and identify other players

Dear Language Doctor,

I've been an avid reader of English Now for many years and I've tried out a lot of the activities in my class. The problem is that my students make too much noise during speaking activities and the other teachers complain. What can I do?

Nguyen Tuan Anh
Hanoi

Thanks for your letter Tuan Anh,

This is a common problem and I hear it again and again. A certain amount of noise is inevitable in an English language classroom. The teacher's job is to make this noise productive by avoiding self-inflicted chaos through bad planning and preparation and unclear instructions. Noise control is really about getting students used to keeping their voices down when speaking together, and classes that have been predominantly full of whole class drilling have trained students to shout. You need to train your students to speak quietly. Remind them that only their partner needs to hear what they are saying. Talk to the other teachers in your school and let them know your lesson plan and at what time you expect a bit of noise. If your colleagues are warned in advance, I'm sure you'll find they are more co-operative and understanding. Good luck!

Dear Language Doctor,

I really enjoyed the last round of workshops on Promoting Classroom Communication. As a result, I now plan for at least two pairwork and/or groupwork activities per class to allow my students more time to talk and listen to each other, without teacher interference. However, I would still like to provide more for the students, Any tips?

Thanks in advance and keep up the great work!

Yours,
To Phong Thuy
HCMC

Mmm, yes thanks Thuy. This is an interesting question. Yes, I think I can help. During the workshops, I noticed that the teachers set up activities extremely well, providing context and motivation for an activity and giving clear instructions for the activity itself.

However, where we can all still improve, and give our students more time to communicate, is during the activity itself and in feedback afterwards.

Instead of finishing the activity after one closed pair, why not get students to simply swap partners and repeat the activity. The language will be similar (thus giving more intensive practice of the target structures), but the communication will be with a new person and so the information gathered and the dynamics will be fresh!

Furthermore, in feedback, keep it short and sweet, especially if the previous activity is practicing fluency. You don't need much time-consuming feedback. Don't always ask a pair to stand up and redo the whole activity in front of the class - this slows down the pace, the communication and also it is boring for the 40 other students who have to listen without purpose.

Hope this helps Thuy, and happy teaching!
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