Are you looking for a stimulating and entertaining method to increase your vocabulary and communication abilities in English? Take a look our ESL taboo card games below!
ESL Taboo is a frequently played game that’s designed for teams of two or more players. The goal is to get your teammates to guess a particular word or phrase without uttering a series of taboo words or phrases that are closely linked to the target word. For instance, if the target word is “banana,” the taboo words could be “fruit,” “yellow,” and “peel.”
Using ESL taboo cards in your classroom is an excellent method to stimulate your students’ minds and broaden their vocabulary range. It’s also an ideal opportunity to develop communication skills like expressing ideas with clarity, actively listening to others, and providing feedback.
To play, split your class into teams and give each group a pack of taboo cards. One member of each team draws a card and attempts to get their teammates to guess the target word without using any of the taboo words or phrases. If their teammates guess correctly, the team earns a point. If they use a taboo word or phrase, the other team earns a point.
ESL taboo cards can be used to practice various topics and themes, such as food, travel, hobbies, and more. You can also generate your own cards based on your class’s specific needs and interests.
So why not add a dash of spice to your ESL classes with a game of Taboo? It’s an amusing, effective, and engaging way to improve your students’ English language abilities while having fun in the process. And who knows, you might even learn a few new words and phrases yourself.
This is an excellent speaking activity for students when engaged in a conversation about travel, as well as for adult students in any program or one-on-one lessons. Travel words on the list include – journey, flights, destination, trip, license, accommodation, backpacking, international, leisure, and countries.
The free discussion worksheet for the topic of travel is anything but boring, and it’s guaranteed to pique your students’ curiosity. They may be inspired to go on vacation or organize group trips, especially when cheap flights are easily available on reputable websites such as sa.wego.com.
Students should be placed in groups or pairs, and they should take notes on what their partners say and answer.
Travel ESL Conversation Questions
Have you ever been abroad?
Where have you been?
Are you planning on going anywhere for your next vacation?
If so, where?
Who with?
How long will you stay?
Are you afraid of going abroad alone?
Do you have any tips to get cheap flights?
Could you live in another country for the rest of your life?
Describe the most interesting person you met on one of your travels.
What was your best trip.
What was your worst trip.
Did your class in high school go on a trip together?
If so, where did you go?
How long did you stay?
How did you get there?
Do you have a driver’s license?
Do you like to travel with children? Why or why not?
Do you like to travel with your mother? Why or why not?
Do you prefer summer vacations or winter vacations?
Do you prefer to travel alone or in a group? Why?
Do you prefer to travel by train, bus, plane or ship?
Do you prefer traveling by car or by plane?
Have you ever been in a difficult situation while traveling?
Have you ever been on an airplane?
How many times?
What airlines have you flown with?
Have you ever been to a foreign country?
Have you ever gotten lost while traveling? If so, tell about it.
Have you ever hitchhiked? If so, how many times?
Have you ever taken a package tour?
How do you spend your time when you are on holiday and the weather is bad?
How many countries have you been to? How many states?
How many times have you traveled abroad?
How much luggage do you usually carry?
If you traveled to South America, what countries would like to visit?
If you went to ___(Insert a country name)__, what kind of souvenirs would you buy?
If you were going on a camping trip for a week, what 10 things would you bring? Explain why.
What are some countries that you would never visit? Why would you not visit them?
What are some things that you always take with you on a trip?
What countries would you like to visit? Why?
What countries would you most like to visit?
What countries would you not like to visit? Why?
What country do you most want to visit?
Why?
Do you think you will ever go there?
What do you need before you can travel to another country?
What is the most interesting city to visit in your country?
What is the most interesting souvenir that you have ever bought on one of your holidays?
What languages can you speak?
What place do you want to visit someday?
What was the most interesting place you have ever visited?
What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to?
When was the last time your traveled?
When you are on a long car journey do you play games or sing songs to occupy your time?
What kind of games?
What songs?
Where are you going to go the next time you travel?
When are you going to go?
Who are you going to go with?
How long are you going to go for?
What are you going to do there?
What kind of things do you think you will buy?
Where did you go on your last vacation?
How did you go?
Who did you go with?
Where did you spend your last vacation? Your summer vacation? Your Christmas vacation?
Where will you go on your next vacation?
Would you like to take a cruise? Where to? With who?
Do you prefer traveling on a hovercraft or a ferry?
Would you prefer to stay at a hotel/motel or camp while on vacation?
Would you rather visit another country or travel within your own country?
Would you rather go to a place where there are a lot of people or to a place where there are few people?
Do you find more fulfillment from your leisure activities including vacations than from your job?
Do you think the type of vacation one takes reflects one’s social status?
What are popular tourist destinations in your country?
Have you been to any of them?
Which would you recommend if you could only recommend one? Why?
Do you prefer active or relaxing holidays? Why?
Which is better, package tour or a tour you organize and book yourself?
Why do you travel?
Why do people travel?
Would you like to go back to the same place?
Did you find anything of particular interest? / Did you get attracted to anything special?
What are some benefits of travel?
Why do people travel?
What is your favorite mode of travel?
Have you travelled in business class?
When you were a child did your family take a vacation every year?
Do you prefer a budget or first class hotel? Why?
Do you travel with a lot of baggage or do you like to travel light?
What is your favorite method of travel at your destination? Train? Bus? Boat? Bicycle? Backpacking?
What is the best kind of holiday for different ages of people? Children? Teenagers? Adults? Elderly people?
Do you think it is a good idea to travel with friends, or alone? How about with your family?
If you had $100,000, where would you go on holiday? How about if you had $10,000? What about $1,000?
Which countries have you travelled to?
Do you prefer hot countries or cool countries when you go on holiday
Who makes the decisions when your family decides to go on holiday
If you could choose one place to go this weekend, where would it be?
How do you browse for the best deals on flight tickets?
Has the airline ever lost your luggage? What happened?
On long flights do you usually walk around the plane to avoid health problems?
Have you ever read an interesting question in an in-flight magazine? What was it?
Is there any difference between young tourists and adult tourists?
It’s almost here! Our students’ favorite holiday! Halloween!
Ok, not everyone loves Halloween, but it’s a perfect opportunity to have a little fun in the classroom. There are plenty of various activities online and for those who don’t like crafts and are not particularly artsy (as myself) I’ve put together this cute Halloween vocabulary activity based on even cuter video by TedEd, which is by the way one of my favorite sources for educational videos.
Despite the animated video, the topic and vocabulary are perhaps not suitable for younger students (younger than 12). Watch the video beforehand to make sure it’s appropriate for your class.
Halloween activity based on video from TedEd.
WARM UP
1. What is your favorite holiday/festival?
2. Do you celebrate Halloween?
3. What traditions do you celebrate in your country on Halloween?
4. Do you like scary stories?
5. What costume would you like to wear for Halloween?
VOCABULARY
1. Match the halves of the expressions
1) spindly a) grounds
2) rusted b) gardens
3) crumbling c) tops
4) solitary d) trees
5) blooming e) catacombs
6) burial f) grounds
7) head g) gate
8) crowds h) stone
9) mountain i) yard
10) subterranean j) water
11) church k) mourner
12) ground l) of people
VIDEO
1. Watch the video and check your answers.
2. Complete the sentences with the expressions from Ex. 1
1. The ________________________are very extensive and hold numerous galleries and graves of different types.
2. Adding a ___________________ to a gravesite or memorial is one of the most common ways to commemorate a loved one once they are gone
3. The old ____________________ is bent and battered, but it holds a lot of memories for our family.
4. Large parts of the northern _______________________ were destroyed in order to make space for the basements of the new building
5. There are fears that _____________________ might become contaminated
6. The fate of endemic birds of eastern Brazilian _________________ in the face of climate change.
7. __________________________ watched the fireworks.
8. Americans had always buried their dead, but did so in churchyards, town commons, or municipal __________________
9. Seven years before our story begins Scrooge is seen, as a _________________, at the funeral of his business partner Jacob Marley.
10. Making sure that no one was looking, I touched the ___________________. Sand grains accumulated in my hand.
11. The island’s west side slopes into terraces and cultivated __________________.
12. Some tall, _____________________need to be cut at the top in order to produce new twig or branch growth.
DISCUSSION
What information from the video surprised you the most?
Would you be scared if you were in a graveyard at night? Why?
How did people bury their dead in the past?
How do you think people will bury their dead in the future? Why?
ESL personality questions based on reading activity and 20 conversation questions with personality adjectives.
1 Warm up. Watch the video and do the personality test. Do you agree with the result?
2 Read the text and answer the questions below.
Personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. It is believed that personality arises from within the individual and remains consistent throughout life.
Examples of personality can be found in how we describe other people’s characteristics. For instance, “She is generous, caring, and a bit of a perfectionist,” or “They are loyal and protective of their friends.”
The word “personality” comes from the Latin word persona, which refers to a theatrical mask worn by performers in order to either take on different roles or disguise their identities.
Personality Types
One theory suggests there are four types of personality. They are:
Type A: Perfectionist, impatient, competitive, work-obsessed, achievement-oriented, aggressive, stressed
Type B: Low stress, even-tempered, flexible, creative, adaptable to change, patient, tendency to procrastinate
Type C: Highly conscientious, perfectionist, struggles to reveal emotions (positive and negative)
Type D: Worrying, sad, irritable, pessimistic, negative self-talk, avoidance of social situations, lack of self-confidence, fear of rejection, appears gloomy, hopeless
Research on personality can provide us with fascinating insights into how personality develops and changes over the course of a lifetime. This research can also have important practical applications in the real world.
For example, people can use a personality assessment (also called a personality test or personality quiz) to learn more about themselves and their unique strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Some assessments might look at how people rank on specific traits, such as whether they are high in extroversion, conscientiousness, or openness.
Other assessments might measure how specific aspects of personality change over time. Some assessments give people insight into how their personality affects many areas of their lives, including career, relationships, personal growth, and more.
Personality type can also have an impact on your health, including how often you visit the doctor and how you cope with stress. Researchers have found that certain personality characteristics may be linked to illness and health behaviors.
I’ve decided that you deserve a little treat. Read on and find all about it. It’s almost Christmas after all and you’ve been working hard.
We love stories. We have always loved them.
When our ancestors sat by the fire they told stories of mighty warriors, immortal gods, or wicked witches.
Stories are fascinating. And they are a powerful teaching tool.
This storytelling activity will save you tons of prepping time!
Storytelling Cards can be used as a fun and imaginative speaking activity for groups or for creative writing assignments.
There are thousands of possible variations and no two stories will be the same. The recommended level of English is A2-B1 and it is suitable for students aged 12+.
With Storytelling Cards they will be able to create hundreds of wonderful stories.
The aim of the game is to tell(or write) a story using the prompts on the cards. There are five types of cards:
12 Character cards
12 Activity cards
12 Object cards
12 Place cards
12 Problem cards
I’ve mentioned a treat before, haven’t I? Well, you deserve one. So here you go. You can get the Storytelling Cards with a 25% discount.
Click below to reveal the discount code. The code is valid until December 24th.
If you don’t live in a cave you know what’s happening in Afghanistan right now. If you don’t know, you can find out here.
No matter what your political preferences are, or what do you believe in, I’m sure you agree that education is important. What is happening in Afghanistan right now will have tremendous negative consequences on the education of Afghan girls. Watch the Ted Talk. Discuss it with your students. You can also help here, or here.
This Ted Talk education ESL video lesson is based on a talk by Shabana Basij-Rasikh. She is an educator from Afghanistan, humanitarian, and women’s rights champion. She grew up under the rule of the Taliban, which banned education for women so she had to dress as a boy to attend a secret school.
This is her story.
Level: Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate
Time: 45min.(video 10min.)
Skills: speaking, listening, reading
Topic: education, human rights
Taliban Take over Afghanistan | Ted Talk Education Lesson Plan | Dare to Educate Afghan Girls | Shabana Basij-Rasikh
WARM-UP
Discuss the questions
1. Do you think education should be free? Why? Use arguments to justify your opinion.
2. What was your parents position on your education? How do you think it has influenced your life? What is your position on your education?
3. Can you imagine being denied higher education based on your gender or religion? How would it influence your life?
I sometimes watch, or more accurately, watched (because Covid) Netflix with friends. We always use English subtitles, as my friends want to improve their English. Sometimes they ask me to translate a word or a phrase, sometimes I don’t mind and sometimes it bothers me. But my lack of patience with my friends is not the point.
The point is, I’ve noticed one thing all my friends had in common. They often didn’t understand the meaning of a certain phrasal verbs.
In this food and travel ESL lesson students will discuss their travel experience and plans. They will watch a ten-minute video and learn about different etiquette rules.
We can’t travel anywhere(even if we can, it’s still very limited) because of the current Covid-19 pandemic, however, there are plenty of activities we can do – we can go for a walk, do sports, read books, watch Netflix. Wondering what to recommend to your students?
Try these shows, they are educational, suitable for school but still fun to watch. You can share opinions, start a discussian, revise vocabulary.
So, even if we can’t travel, we can plan our future travels. Traveling and food are very popular topics for students of any age. Your students will enjoy this food and travel ESL lesson and the video – 12 Unexpected Etiquette Rules from Around the World.
Warm-up
Which interesting places have you visited so far?
Which three dream destinations would you put on your bucket list?
When you travel, do you like to taste local food? Why?
What are the etiquette rules associated with food in your country?
Watch the video
Etiquette Rules Around the World – True and False Quiz
I put together a list of free digital and online teaching resources, or resources that now offer premium features for free, that might be useful now when many teachers are overwhelmed by the sudden shift to online teaching, for which many of us aren’t prepared due to the consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Zoom is video-conferencing tool. The users can collaborate on projects, record sessions and share screens. The Basic plan is free and it offers unlimited number of meetings, however it limits the time of the meetings with three or more participants to 40 minutes.
Classdojo is a free communication app and website for building school community. You can share photos, videos, files, use portfolios, messaging and more.
This free service by Google simplifies creating, distributing and grading assignments. It helps teachers get classes organized, and communicate efficiently with students.
Padlet has a free version and a premium version for schools. It is a virtual board similar to Pinterest, but it offers a better way how to organize your notes, or whatever you want.
This website is great for practicing writing! Students register for free and submit their word and get instant feedback and tips on how to improve their writing. There are many writing assignments, W&I workbooks: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and extra category “Just for fun.”
There is also a test zone for IELTS Academic, General training and B2 First Certificate.
This is great for assigning homework. There are lessons based on the videos, students just need to register for free. I then assign videos, they watch it at home, do the Dig deeper and Discuss sections. You can also customize the lessons.
This lovely website is great when students have to study at home. They can practice grammar and vocabulary and I particularly like the Skills section that has online exercises so students get instant feedback.
Free courses. Who needs more? But seriously, this is a great resource for older students. There are plenty of free courses on different subjects(Science, History, Languages, Nature, etc.)
The Smithsonian offer a lot of online activities not only for the younger kids. On their website you will find the Learning Lab with thousands of resources and Science Game Center with fun games and apps.
Bonus
Future Learn is another platform that offers free courses. There is one that might be particularly interesting for some teachers, it’s called Teaching English Online. Why not give it a go if you have the time. And let us know what you think!
Video lessons are an engaging and fun way to teach vocabulary, grammar, listening and culture to various age groups and levels.
However, sometimes you just want to use an interesting video as a filler or a discussion material without any preparation. Sometimes there is no time for printing the lessons plans. No time for searching for an appropriate video. Just hit the play button and catch a breath. Trust me, I understand.
Here is a list of 10 ESL Netflix shows to watch with your students. These are appropriate for the classroom, educational and suitable for discussion about the usual topics as food, travel, health, etc.
You can find more TV shows on Netflix featuring David Chan, but I chose Ugly Delicious because it cover s lot of different cuisines and foods and therefore a more diverse vocabulary.
The episodes in the first season of this show are named after various terrain. Mountain. Forest. Coast. Underground. The second season focuses on countries including Portugal, Switzerland, Spain, Norway so the views are spectacular and the vocabulary interesting and useful.
Even if you don’t teach history, you should understand the importance of documentaries about WWII. Especially now, when young people lack critical thinking, spread fake news and believe in alternate history.
This show cover a wide range of topics from music to animal intelligence. Be careful though, there are a couple of episodes in the first season that are probably not appropriate for school( Orgasm, Weed) so have a look at the episodes and make sure you choose a topic that is appropriate for your students.
The show has six episodes: Memory, Dreams, Anxiety, Mindfulness, Psychedelics. Each twenty-minute episode explains the mysteries of our brains in an engaging, fun way, with plenty of real-life examples, graphics, and experts. You can even download a worksheet for one of the episodes – Anxiety, here.
My students really like this show. It is interactive and the students make decisions in order to help Bear Grylls survive. They love making Bear eat bugs or raw eggs and jump from cliffs. Highly entertaining.
Great for teaching clothes&fashion vocabulary, this reality show competition has 10 episodes in which eighteen designers compete in rounds to create unforgettable designs.
