Introduction - What is the game?

Lateral Thinking Puzzles - Can You Say Why? (Erwin Brecher, PhD) is a book of puzzles to be solved through discussion. There are more than 90 brainteasers, each of varying length. Each puzzle presents a case scenario using a variety of past tenses and a range of vocabulary. This game is suitable for students from Upper Intermediate (B2) upwards: it draws on the learners’ understanding not only of vocabulary but also complex situations that require discussion and lateral thinking to solve.

The game can also be played in the form of a card game. Here the solution is on the reverse side of the card as opposed to the back of the book.

Let’s start - How can Lateral Thinking Puzzles help in an ESOL classroom

This lateral thinking game can be used as a way both of developing learners’ thinking, problem-solving and connection-making, particularly in a second language, and as way of practising multiple language skills at the same time. The game’s challenge is that learners are stretched in different directions, which takes them to the edge of their linguistic capacities.

The game can be played to:

develop and test the players’ reading and comprehension skills - how well can they summarise and cohere complex information, make connections to information outside the text, read between the lines, make judgements based on evidence?
practise getting a point across, explaining ideas, negotiating with others, dealing with disagreement, finding compromises
work on pronunciation
extend vocabulary
develop listening skills
do all of the above at the same time

This game can also be situated within specific language work – such as the following areas of grammar: question formation, narrative tenses, conditionals 1, 2 and 3, modals of deduction, reported speech, relative clauses (defining, non-defining and reduced) and the English subjunctive (present and past).

Dive in - How to set up and use the game

Guidelines for the tutor in using the Lateral Thinking game:

Initial setting up – elicit and concept-check lateral thinking and object of the game

Pitfall! The concept of lateral thinking may be challenging to some people. It is recommended the teacher gives an example before playing and the student groups are chosen carefully so they support each other as they play the game. Students can select their groups, but make sure all learners are able to participate.

Students play the game in pairs, in groups of three or four
There are more than 90 puzzles so it is advisable that the teacher first select the puzzles that are appropriate to the level of the student.

TIP: once the range of puzzles has been decided, the students can themselves choose which puzzles they answer, or they can choose at random, particularly if playing the card version of this game.

In their groups, the student read the case scenario again and the discussion begins on explaining the ‘why?’ of the puzzle.

TIP: to encourage full learner participation, the teacher should try not to intervene at any stage. Instead, the teacher should monitor all groups for timing since some of the puzzles may take a shorter time to ‘solve’ than others. New puzzles can then be chosen. The tutor can also note down any language issues arising during the discussions.

When the students have exhausted all possible solutions, the teacher can offer the solution and encourage the learners to try another puzzle. If the card game is being played, the students turn their puzzle card over to find the answer.

TIP: timing is of the essence and that the game should be stopped when it is at a ‘high’ in order to ensure the game is enjoyed and not merely a learning resource!

Learners then all come together for group feedback to share what they have learned.

This section can take various forms:

Learners might dictate their puzzle to another group for them to solve or present one of the puzzles to the whole group

TIP: if there was one particular puzzle which provoked lots of discussion, or raised specific language points, focus on this.

Learners can work individually for homework or in groups to create their own lateral thinking puzzles and solutions, which are then shared with the group
More advanced students may enjoy evaluating the concept of lateral thinking puzzles and their value in learning language.

What our students playing The Lateral Thinking Game online during the Coronavirus lockdown

Watch our students creating their own Lateral Thinking Game online during the Coronavirus lockdown

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-ubfMUnxuw&list=PLelE-nA1XPYraI4T0gG3z0sNbGZfeppTM&index=9)

Wrap-up

This is large scope for language learning in Lateral Thinking Puzzles as well as for positioning its use within the learning experience. Use the game inductively to elicit a specific language focus such as modals, or as a mean of practising language already introduced.

In the first instance, students play the game in order to discover a language element. The teacher uses the playing to monitor how well students are already using the specific language. Post game students focus on form.

In the second instance, the puzzles can be used to ‘sandwich’ a linguistic point. Introduce the language element before the game, students practise it during the game, and then return to the language form afterwards using the context of the game.

Here is Alicia summing up the multfarious learning potentials of the game:

“When in class we played in Lateral Thinking Puzzles we had to concentrate on a short piece of text and discuss any possible outcomes to the story in it to solve the puzzle. Our card was called The Judgment, which consisted of about 500 words. When trying to solve the puzzle we had to employ many strategies, one of which included reading the text out loud. At first, we discussed the topic of the puzzle given to us, which was about finding out why the judge had reversed his decision to acquit the man for killing an indigenous species bird. Then we went through the meaning of each word we were not sure of. By doing this we engaged in the thinking process every member of the teams’ brain power. For instance, we figured out that a ‘long eared owl’ was a type of an owl that is very rare. Everyone in our team had an opportunity to work on the text on their own then share their knowledge and thoughts with others. The overall team play environment was light and stimulating. Although the answer we gave was not the correct one, we still had a feeling of satisfaction after the game. One of the reasons for this was that during the game the correct answer came up in the discussion. The other reason was that learning by playing games is more fun than being a solitary learner”