Swap-Shop: Teaching the Imperative: A Proficiency-Based Game

Abstract

Native English speakers have difficulty determining which form of direct address is appropriate in German. Students also need practice in giving commands to one another. This article describes an easily organized drill covering both areas, which the students perceive both as fun and challenging. One of the problems in any proficiency-based classroom is in developing strategies for practicing grammatical constructions which are not only successful but also fun. The German imperative is not a problem in itself; the students can learn the individual endings quite easily. The difficulty for many high school students is in determining which form is required. I have tried to devise a game in which the imperatives are randomly used, each student uses and responds to the constructions an equal number of times, and a prize is given when the student has been successful. Each student is given three index cards. The student then signs his or her name to each card, but with a slight difference every time. The first card will carry only the student's first name, the second the student's last name with either the title Herr or the title Frau. The third card will include not only the student's first name, but also the first name of the person directly behind the student or, if the student sits at the end of the row, the first name of the person in the first seat of that row. If the students are seated in a circle, they could use the name of the person seated to the right. At that point the teacher will collect and shuffle the cards. The teacher should then review the rules for the imperative on the overhead or on the board: the form used with a single first name, the form used with two first names, the form used with titles. This information will be in front of the students for consultation at any time. The first time the game is played, the verbs should be fairly easy; the forms for irregular verbs should be pointed out. A number of cards, each with a familiar verb listed in its infinitive form, should be prepared ahead of time. The students will come to the front of he room one by one, choose a verb card and a name card, and give the appropriate command. If the command is correctly given and correctly obeyed, both students get a point. If the command is incorrectfly given, the person whose name is on the card should say, Das mache ich nicht. Only the second student will receive a point. If the command is correctly given but not obeyed, only the person giving the command will receive the point, and finally, if the command is incorrectly given and the other student obeys it anyway, no one gets points. If two names are on the card, each student listed will have a chance to respond. Students who receive a certain number of points will receive a German lemon drop or something similar. The prize need not be big. The length of time needed to complete the exercise varies. Since each student has several turns both to give commands and to respond, the teacher may have to spread the game out over several days, especially if the class consists of more than twenty students. A review of the rules before each session can become more and more studentbased, with the students volunteering to write the chart on the board. Review sessions when the