Contents
=> “New Romance Guessing Cards” - speaking & describing game
=> “Love: the 7 Stages of Availability” - vocabulary
=> Cool Link: www.hello-online.ru
=> What’s Happening: Vladik Winter Methodology School this week!
=> In the Next Issue

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“New Romance Guessing Cards” - speaking & describing game
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Valetine’s Day is coming up, as is International Women’s Day on March 8th. This guessing game will provide good, fun speaking practice for English learners.

And, dear teachers, of course you will need almost no prep time.

Just quickly make little cards (on small squares of paper) of the items listed below. Each has is a topic or theme written on the top. The first, for instance. is “Romantic Gifts.” Listed under the topic will be examples of 5 romantic gifts.

One student takes a card and reads the topic. That’s important–read the TOPIC. He/she then describes the things listed below without saying them. Example: let’s say that the first romantic gift is a “champagne.” The describer says, “This is something you drink. It has bubbles, and the bottle is usually green. It makes a noise when you pop the cork…” Etc. When others in the group guess “champagne” the describer moves on to the next word, until the group guesses all five.

This works best in groups of 4 people or so. (There’s much more speaking than if the whole class plays together). The game should work for intermediate and advanced learners.

Long-time subscribers to “EtsinRussia” will remember Aaron Carlson’s popular ROMANCE CARDS. So if you want more Guessing Cards, check out
“ETsinRussia” #11.

ROMANTIC GIFTS
1. flowers
2. chocolate
3. a necklace
4. a ring
5. two airline tickets

UNROMANTIC GIFTS
1. Cash
2. An E-Card
3. a book
4. anything used (second-hand)
5. a pen

COUPLES FROM BOOKS AND HISTORY
1. Napoleon and Josephine
2. Nicholas and Alexandra
3. Mark Antony and Cleopatra
4. Sampson and Delilah
5. Romeo and Juliet

ROMANTIC PLACES TO GO ON A DATE
1. the beach
2. an expensive restaurant
3. a boat (cruise)
4. Italy
5. an island

UNROMANTIC PLACES TO GO ON A DATE
1. a hockey game
2. a funeral
3. a factory
4. a boxing match
5. to visit grandma

THINGS THAT ATTRACT SOMEONE TO SOMEONE ELSE
1. smile
2. looks (beauty)
3. sense of humor
4. personality
5. money

POSITIVE ADJECTIVES FOR A LOVER
1. generous
2. sweet
3. kind
4. sexy
5. intelligent

NEGATIVE ADJECTIVES FOR A LOVER
1. stupid
2. selfish
3. cheap/stingy (Russian: “skuPOY”)
4. married
5. boring

ROMANTIC CLOTHING
1. skirts
2. boots
3. underwear
4. jeans
5. tuxedo (Russian: “smoking”)

STAGES OF AVAILABILITY IN LOVE (for advanced learners)
1. single
2. divorced
3. married
4. hopeless
5. widowed

<>TEACHERS! Remember, you can CHANGE these guessing cards. Make your own. You can suit them to your own needs AND the needs and levels of your students.

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“Love: the 7 Stages of Availability” - vocabulary
According to I.M. Poosheesty (who’s not in a good mood)
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In life we pass through 7 different stages in relationships and love. A person can be . . .

1. married
2. single (synonyms: unmarried, available)
3. seeing someone (synonyms: dating, unavailable)
4. divorced
5. widowed (the spouse has died)
6. “on the rebound” (the person has recently broken up with a lover/spouse and is vulnerable to a new romantic attachment.)
7. hopeless (doesn’t have a chance of meeting somebody new.)

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Cool link: www.hello-online.ru
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This is THE coolest Russian-English site. Looks really good. Good cultural
discussions. Features editorials from Russian students. Unusual and interesting articles. Activities for teachers. Hello-online has everything.

And the site has real substance; it’s not just bubble gum. If you haven’t looked at hello-online for a while, do it. It keeps getting better and better. I just wish
new issues came out more often.

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What’s Happening
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<>The 5th annual Winter Methodology School in Vladivostok is this week, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, January 29. If you are in the region contact
us.

<>Happy Birthdays to Tigger in Samara and Lenochka in Moscow!

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In the Next Issue (around February 15th, 2004)
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The Wisdom of Homer Simpson.

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Copyright 2004 Kevin McCaughey & Bad Mood Poosheesty
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