"Switchit" is a new card game similar to the UNO type game "Switch", which is produced by the British company, Learning Development Aids. The main difference between the two games is that all the words in "Switchit" are phonically regular, strictly controlled and divided into levels, making it highly suitable for young learners in an EFL situation; ìSwitchî on the other hand, has many phonically irregular words and the difficulty level of the vocabulary is not controlled, making it unsuitable for young learners in Japan.

Here is a brief description of the game: Switchit is a five level card game, level 1 has a vocabulary of 234 words, 130 words are taken from "Coloring Worksheets" level 1, which includes all the vocabulary from the first 10 units of Finding Out book one, the other 104 words include 26 "monster" names. Level 1 game is split into four packs, based upon initial sounds, pack 1 has the initial sounds a b m h f and r, there are nine of each sound and each one is individually color-coded. All of the words can be read by students who have studied the single alphabet sounds and done some blending work. For example the "a" vocabulary is: ant, album, anthill, abacus, asparagus, anggon, anvil, Aztec and Africa. There are also five "switchit" cards in each pack which allow the player to change the sound or color of the card to be played. A backing card, a rules card and title cards have also been made.

PRINTING

The "switchit" cards are designed to be printed out on A4 card, laminated and then cut to a 5 cm by 9 cm size, though if you cut them to about 8.75 cm in height they fit nicely into containers, which can be bought from the hundred yen store. Use a guillotine or a rotary cutter to cut them. If you don't want your cards to be "see-through", then you will need to print the "backs" onto the backs of the pictures. Don't use the automatic double sided printing available on your printer because the cover and the picture will probably be out of vertical alignment.

Printing hint: print the backs î when your printer is low on ink and down to two colors, this saves on money and cuts out wastage.

Other levels and supplementary materials are available on CD-ROM, for more details please e-mail David Lisgo or visit the "Blending a Hand" website.