Speaking/listening

For centuries board games have been used for entertainment, propaganda, and education. Monopoly was based on the Landlord Game, which was designed by followers of Henry George to education people about Land Rent and the single tax. Coopoly is designed to teach the challenges of running a worker cooperative. Some Japanese sugoroku games present bildungsromans or cautionary tales.

Excellent guide to instructions for games:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gv1WqLwVWeagmJiWVuvOeXHbTA4MEpXGV2yV...

Work & Education, Past and Future Sugoroku Process Notes

Standing in a circle, a group of five to ten people. The joker hands the first player an index card with a word on it (or an object or picture). Player 1 has to ask Player 2 a question based on that word. Player two answers, then does the same for Player 3, etc.

Idea for an activity: in trios, one player is the couch potato, the other two are actors in a TV show. The actors improvise a dialogue. At any time, the couch potato can say, "mute!" as if hitting the mute button on a remote control. When s/he does that, the players continue their dialogue without any sound.

The players have to pay attention so that when the couch potato turns off the mute, they have something to say.

In pairs, person one greets person two. Person two has trouble understanding everything that person one says and asks for clarification twice or three times. Example:

1: Hi Yolanda! How are you?
2: I'm sorry, what did you say?
1: I said, "How are you?"
2: I'm sorry I don't understand.
1: How are you feeling?
2: Oh, fine. Thank you. How are you?
1: Fine.
2: What?
1: I said I am fine.
2: I'm sorry, I don't understand...

Do for a short time, two minutes or so, then switch roles.

Based on the activity "Puro Cuento" in Técnicas Participativas Para la Educación Popular Vol. 1.

Joker gives pairs of participants 5 minutes to choose a short text -- about one-half to one page long. (The text needs to be available to all. A passage from a textbook, a handout prepared ahead of time, a webpage everyone can find on their phones...)

Joker calls on people.
Go round.
Me --> You
Random distribution of playing cards, then go high to low, by suit...

One fun idea, use playing cards and have people with black suits (Spades, Clubs) tell the truth and people with Red suits tell a lie.

I learned this from a student at Meiji University.

One person sits in the middle of the room surrounded by the other participants. S/he asks the group to think of one thing -- for example, their favorite musician. On the count of three, everyone calls out their answer at the same time. The person in the middle, who can ask the group to repeat their answers if necessary (again, all at the same time), listens carefully and then names all the musicians s/her heard, checking who said it. If s/he correctly hears all the items, s/he can choose the next person to sit in the middle.

An idea for an activity based on the game Um, what is...?. I got this idea from Yurie Kumakura.

In pairs, one person tells a story, or makes an argument. The listener stops her from time to time to confirm his understanding. "Okay, so you mean....?" If the listener is correct, the speaker confirms this and moves on. If not, she repeats or clarifies. This can be done in a serious way -- confirming the other person's argument -- or in a silly way, confirming (or misconstruing) the most obvious details.

Idea for an activity...

In pairs or trios, have one person perform/write/speak/etc.

Others have to observe carefully and identify what is going right.

The idea is to listen/read supportively and to place feedback on a positive foundation. Also, to practice saying yes twice to a text. (Derrida)

On index cards, one each, write tasks, roles, resources, decision-making, access to information that go with each position in the organization. E.g., the production worker in the coop, the manager in the coop, the union steward, etc.

Draw one card for each position: steward, president, member, etc.

Line up the roles, resources, etc that belong to each position.

Then, re-distribute the roles, etc. in teams -- what is the best way to distribute roles, responsibilities, why? Are new positions needed? Are some existing positions superfluous?