By Mario Rinvolucri and Paul Davies
Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom
First Published 1995
English Printing 2002
More Grammar Games by Mario Rinvolucri and Paul Davies is yet another rich resource in the hands of the teachers – and teacher trainers – in the language teaching context, taking further the approach to teaching grammar presented in Grammar Games.
The insights derived from various approaches to EFL/ESL learning inform the activities which are formatted as games in the book. Through the activities the learners are guided to
reflect on their learning
work out the patterns of usage
activate their passive knowledge of words
rework and reformulate their internal grammar of the target language
grow in language awareness.
The activities illustrate that learning to mean is what grammar is all about and that there is nothing dry or intimidating about grammar.
The book is divided in nine sections, with a range of activities suitable for different levels and for a variety of learning styles. The book map provided in the beginning presents the user with a quick tour through the games, the specific grammar items focused on, the level and the time needed. There are over 80 different games with easy-to-follow instructions needing little preparation on the part of teachers, containing many photocopiable worksheets, cards, games and answer sheets.
The book works at a more advanced level than Grammar Games .The assumptions made here are that the learners are familiar with basic grammatical forms and categories, different tense forms, active and passive voice, phrasal verbs, etc. Hence, the games create meaningful contexts for the learners to use their knowledge of the internalized grammar. Teachers can select an activity from a particular section to reinforce or practice a certain concept or construction. The activities can be adapted and modified by the teachers of English to suit various learner levels and to handle different areas of grammar.
Both Grammar Games and More Grammar Games are a valuable resource for the language classrooms , capable of transforming the nature of grammar teaching from a dreary exercise to an enriching experience.