J-Word Play: January/February ’11

The goal of the Omiai Speed Dating Game is to give the students a fun, real-world context in which to practice the target grammar, in this case “X is as ~ as Y,” many times in rapid succession, until they are able to do it naturally and fluidly. This game has the added bonus of provoking non-stop giggling, because it asks the students to search among their classmates for a spouse.
Students write three opinion sentences using the target grammar. In this case I asked the students to make value judgments about school and free time, American food and Japanese food, and love and money.