Languages goes old school!

By Elaine Kelly | Posted: Monday August 1, 2022

Year 9 German have now completed their first two weeks of a ten-week block and have so far learned to greet people, say how they are feeling, say their name, what their personality is like, their age and birthday as well as the numbers up to 31, the date and some weather phrases.

So, on Monday, in class we used an old school game to encourage boys to use spoken German to practice some of our language skills. The game is a form of origami used in children's games. It goes by different names, depending on where you are in the world! Sometimes known as fortune teller it is also called chatterbox, salt cellar, whirlybird or in Japanese, paku-paku, which means to flap your mouth. 

Parts of the fortune teller are labelled with numbers that serve as options for a player to choose from, and on the inside are eight flaps, each concealing a phrase to be translated into German or a question to answer. The person operating the fortune teller manipulates the device based on the choices made by the player, and finally, one of the hidden phrases or questions is revealed. The other player must translate or answer. 

A great competitive way to engage boys in speaking the language!

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