I love playing games. My students love playing games. You can learn a lot by playing games and it is so much fun. It is a total win-win and what is best, it doesn’t require any preparation. You just grab the game and off you go, revising vocabulary, improving communication skills, fostering team spirit and mostly, enjoying it. What’s not to like?
Here are some board games I use with my students and I also included a PDF worksheet of my own game that my students love to play. You will find it at the end of this article and you can download it for free. You’re welcome!
1. Scrabble
The classic which never fails. Best played in groups of four, kids, teenagers, adults love this game. Simple rules, competitiveness and lots of words! You can also find Scrabble app on the App Store or Google Play.
2. OrganATTACK
This is a new medical-themed card game which was created by Nick Seluk, the author of my favourite The Awkward Yeti webcomic. I liked the game so much that I even backed it on Kickstarter! It looks great, the organ cards are super cute and hilarious, the game itself is fun and easy to learn. Your aim is to remove your opponent’s organ before they remove yours. It is perfect for learning and revising medical-related vocabulary.
3. Taboo
Taboo is an excellent card game to learn and revise vocabulary, to practise speaking, train your brain to think fast and to be creative. The aim of the game is to explain given words, but without those words that you would most likely use because those are taboo – that means, you can’t use them. The simplicity of this game allows for endless variations and you can use it to teach any vocabulary you wish.
My version of the game covers Travel/Holidays, for Intermediate and Upper Intermediate students. Every word has 4 or 5 forbidden words and if it is too difficult to explain the word without using those, you can allow your students to use one or more of the forbidden words. Download the PDF version of the game for free here: Forbidden Words! Game. You can also try other topics such as:
Media/Entertainment Vocabulary Card Game Based on Taboo.
Business English Vocabulary Card Game | Forbidden Words
ESL Vocabulary Activity Based on Taboo: Food
ESL Vocabulary Activity. Forbidden Words: Health
Have fun!
Reblogged this on So, You Think You Can Teach ESL? and commented:
I always love using games to teach vocabulary words. It’s fun and engaging!
Much appreciated. Games are great!
Taboo is a great game for learning. It not only taxes the students’ vocabulary, but also grammatical structures, as often one has to call upon certain structures to get around restrictions, and one can teach these structures as they are encountered. Tie it to a theme, and it can fit in with functional lesson plans!
Plus of course, it’s great fun. The students love it, and I’ve had multiple classes where the students didn’t want to leave (even though class was over) because they were having such fun playing this game.
I’m glad you share my passion for Taboo! Thanks!
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