I have a small metal bell. It was given to me my first year of teaching by our then-county foreign language coordinator, and it's one of my favorite classroom tools. Here are some things you can do with a bell:
1. Put students in pairs. Each student has a different job (ex: one signs and one says what the other is signing; one reads and one translates; one describes and one draws; one reads a text with errors in and the other points out the lies). Ding your bell. Students switch seats and switch jobs.
2. Speed dating. Students talk to each other on a topic, and when the bell rings, they find a new partner.
3. Bell races. Students are in groups around the perimeter of the room, and the bell is in the center. The groups are asked to consider something together, and when the group has an answer, a runner is sent to ding the bell, at which point everyone else in the room quiets down and listens to that person.
An example of that one can be found at number 1 at the link here.
4. Play Bombus. You can find the rules for this one here.
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