Teaching Tips

Fly swatter games for stress and intonation in the in-person classroom

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Abstract

This teaching tip describes a set of low-tech, high-engagement fly swatter games designed to build learners’ perception and production of English stress and intonation in the in-person classroom. Grounded in research on suprasegmental instruction, perceptual training, embodied cognition, and gamified learning, the activities integrate rapid listening, physical response, and immediate feedback in a socially interactive format. Using simple materials—fly swatters and visually distinct targets—students compete in teams to identify pronunciation features such as number of syllables, stressed syllable location, word stress patterns, and basic intonation contours. By focusing on one pronunciation feature per game, the activities minimize cognitive overload while promoting accuracy, speed, and auditory sensitivity. The games are adaptable across proficiency levels and learner populations and can be implemented as brief practice, review, or energizing interludes within larger lessons. Beyond improving perceptual acuity and intelligibility, the fly swatter format fosters motivation, camaraderie, and willingness to participate in what are often cognitively demanding and repetitive pronunciation tasks. The article provides materials lists, preparation guidelines, procedures, pedagogical tips, and links to classroom video examples.

Keywords: pronunciation teaching, stress, intonation, suprasegmentals, embodied cognition, gamification, perceptual training, ESL/EFL

How to Cite:

Chan, M. J. (2026). Fly swatter games for stress and intonation in the in-person classroom. In P. Trofimovich, A. Bodea, T.-N. N. Le, R. Suzuki, & C. Teló (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Conference (pp. 1–8). Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, October 2025. https://doi.org/10.31274/psllt.22265