Txt Lingo

TXT LINGO GAME Target: intermediate teens By Natalia Guerreiro

Material needed

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Previously cut sets of the paper slips below (1 set for every 4 or 5 students, but at least 2 sets per class) An armless chair (Internet connection)

Procedures

1. Ask students if they chat online or SMS their friends. Elicit a couple of acronyms and abbreviations used in those contexts. If most of them chat with English-speaking people, ask them to pair up and list the shorthand forms they use.

2. Use these links to pre-teach a couple of acronyms. Translator: http://www.channelone.com/fun/2006/11/10/swf_txt_messages/ Quiz: http://www.channelone.com/life/school/2002/03/21/quiz_chat_icons/ 3. Divide your class in groups of 4 or 5. Give each group a set of abbreviations. You can give them some minutes to go over the slips and imagine what they mean.

4. Place an armless chair in the middle of the room. At each round, the groups will have a new representative, who will stand next to the other groups’ representatives before the chair. The game consists of these representatives trying to sit on the chair first and giving the right answer.

5. Read aloud what the acronym stands for (e.g. “before”). The groups have to find the corresponding abbreviation (“B4”), give it to the representative, who has to run and sit on the chair before the other groups can do it. With stronger groups, rather than giving the straightforward version of what it means, give a clue (e.g. “the opposite of after”; other suggestions in parentheses). With very small groups, have individuals compete against each other, perhaps shouting first as they wave the corresponding slip.

2morro – tomorrow (the day after today)

BTW – By the way

NVM/NV – never mind (when you give up explaining)

4ever – forever (the eternity)

CUL8R – see you later; TTYL – Talk to you later (ways of saying goodbye)

4u – for you (dedicating a gift)

Cya – SEE YA

OIC – Oh, I see (you finally get what the person meant)

Aka – also known as

EZ – easy (the opposite of difficult)

Omg – oh my god (expresses surprise)

ASL – age/sex/location (asking for basic information about the person)

FIY – for your information

PLZ – please (the magical word)

GR8 – great (the opposite of terrible)

Ppl – people

IMHO – in my humble opinion (before you start stating your opinion)

Prolly – probably

B4 – before (the opposite of after) BF – boyfriend (the man you are dating) BRB – be right back (used to excuse yourself from the computer temporarily)

LOL – Laughing Out Loud (when you find sth very funny) MYOB – mind your own business (person is interfering in your life)

Ruok – are you okay? (a way of saying how are you) Tks, thx – appreciation) xxx – kisses

thanks

(showing

ASL

B4

BRB

GR8

BF

Cya

CUL8R/ TTYL FIY

BTW IMHO/ IMO

Prolly

OIC

LOL

MYOB

NVM/NV

PLZ

XXXXX

EZ

RUOK?

4U

OMG!

2MORRO

ppl

Tks, thx

aka

4ever