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?
New class, new faces, new names – a mess. This back to school activity has saved me multiple times. You can learn 30 new names in minutes, kids have fun and they painlessly learn new adjectives. Start by explaining how difficult it is for teachers to learn students’ names and that you need their help. At the end of the activity let them test you- they will be thrilled. Students need to introduce themselves by an adjective that starts with the same letter as their first name. You start by giving an example: My name is Al, so I am Artistic Al. The first student has to repeat your name after you – You are Artistic Al, and add their own – I am Hilarious Hannah. The second student repeats the previous names and adds their own, and so on. At the end of the round, ask the first student(who had the easiest task) to say all the names backward. Finally, say all their names quickly(with or without the adjectives). Congrats, you’ve learned your new students’ names!
2) Oh, really?
Put the students in pairs and tell them they will have a conversation. The first student has to start with a short sentence, like this:
Student 1: I play tennis.
The other student responds: Oh, really?, and adds extra information( aword or a phrase).
So it should be like this: Oh, really? I play tennis every day.
Student 1 continues: Oh, really? I play tennis every day with SerenaWilliams.
Student 2 responds: Oh, really?I play tennis every day with Serena Williams in Monaco.
Student 1 responds: Oh, really?I play tennis every day with Serena Williams in Monacowhile feeding dolphins.
And so on. Can they keep up?
The student who will form the longest grammatically correct (and at least a little bit coherent) answer wins.
3) Questionnaire
Have your students write a questionnaire. Chose a subject(summer holiday, school, hobbies, general personality questions) or let them decide. After that, students circulate the classroom and ask their questions. They should talk to 4-5 people. When they finish, ask them to share any interesting answers, it usually leads to lively discussions.
Unfinished sentences ESL speaking activity is great for revising grammar, as a warm-up or a conversation starter.
It can be used with groups of various sizes as well as in one to one classes.
4) Unfinished sentences
Unfinished sentences ESL speaking activity is great for revising grammar, as a warm-up or a conversation starter. It’s a perfect back to school activity.
It can be used with groups of various sizes as well as in one to one classes.
Finish the sentence. Tell your story.
1. I was very surprised when__________________________________________________.
2. What I value most about my friends is_____________________________________.
3. I really regret_______________________________________________________________.
4. One of my favourite childhood memories is_______________________________.
5. I could never_______________________________________________________________
5) Find someone who
You can easily find tons of these worksheets online or just put together a couple of ideas.
Find somebody
-who doesn’t like chocolate. -who is vegan. -who has a tattoo. -who speaks more than 2 languages. -who’s never flown before. -who wants to be famous. -who has a special talent.
6) Vocabulary race
This is probably more suitable for younger kids. Put them into two teams, divide the board into two sections, give them a topic and let them run a relay with the marker to write as many words on the topic they know.
7) Get physical- Gordian knot
This activity doesn’t involve any language practice but it is great for kids who don’t know each other, to break the ice and create a positive atmosphere. It also shows you how the students communicate, who is a natural leader and how they deal with problems, so it’s quite useful.
You need an even number of students for this. The students stand in a tight circle. Tell them to close their eyes. Then they put their left hand in front of them and try to grab any free hand they can find. Eyes still closed. Repeat the same with the right hand. Eyes open. They should be intertwined – hence the Gordian knot. Without letting any hand go, they should untangle the knot and form a circle. Sometimes there are two or three smaller circles when they grabbed a hand right next to them. That’s ok, they will work it out after a couple of attempts.
8) Conversation questions
This speaking activity contains 50 ESL conversation questions for teenagers and adult learners. (16+, B1+). It is best for small groups or as a pair-work.
This is a very simple, no-prep activity. In pairs, students give each other a topic to talk about and they have to talk uninterrupted for a minute. It is more difficult than it sounds, especially with dry topics such as door, socks, or air. If your students lack imagination, you can use these ideas: One Minute Talk Cards.
10) What do they have in common?
This is mostly an activity you can use with new students, but it can be also used in larger classes where the students don’t know each other that well. Put students who don’t know (or don’t know well) each other into pairs and tell them to find out 3-5 things they have in common and 1-2 things they don’t have in common. Let them talk to more people. After that, discuss with the whole class what surprising or interesting things they’ve found out about their classmates.
These conversation questions are more suitable for more advanced students as the questions are hypothetical, so it requires a knowledge of conditionals and a certain level of creativity. These can be also used for online classes.
A timer, fifteen questions and a lot of fun. A classroom appropriate variation of speed dating. Arrange the desks so that two students sit at one desk facing each other. Give each a set of “speed dating” questions. You can download a set here. Set a timer for a couple of minutes, and when the time’s up one student moves and another sits in their place.
15) Mini presentations
ESL conversation topics for intermediate and upper intermediate students. You can use the slideshow and share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Just click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow.
This speaking activity contains 30 ESL conversation questions for ES lessons. Great for teens and adult learners. (16+, B1+). It is best for small groups or as a pair-work.
The slideshow can be used as a resource for online teaching, just share your screen on Zoom or another app when teaching online. You can use it for a group discussion or if you want to use the activity in smaller groups, assign your students into breakout rooms and send them the PDF with the conversation questions before your lesson. During the lesson, pop into the breakout rooms to listen in and observe.
You can use the video below – How to Never Run out of Things to Say – Keep a Conversation Flowing! as a warm-up.
Conversation Questions for ESL Lessons
Describe your worst travel experience.
What was the most important chance meeting you’ve experienced?
How would you describe a good life?
How did going to school shape you as a person?
How important do you think self-improvement is?
What will the future of transportation look like?
What strategies do you use to make big decisions?
What are some of your plans for the future?
How would you explain the idea of love to an alien?
What policies could the government implement to improve people’s health?
What was the scariest dream you’ve had?
What life hacks have you found to be particularly effective?
If you could design a reality TV show, what would it be like?
What combinations of flavors do you like, and why do they taste so good?
How have standards of beauty changed in your lifetime?
What is your best school story?
Why do some words sound funny to us?
What are the best and worst things about your favorite restaurant?
How would your country change if children were allowed to vote?
What experiments would you like to run if time and money weren’t an issue?
Here is an extensive list of my favorite English games to play with my students.
Board games
Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition
Yes, you read that right. Cards Against Humanity. But! This is a family edition, so it’s clean. You can download if for free and print, but, make sure you feel comfortable using it, there are some cards that may still be perceived as inappropriate for school.
Free print and play games
I’ve only recently found a website where you can find free board games. My favorite is Dixit which is great for imagination and creativity.
Dominoes
This is a very versatil game that can be used to practice vocabulary (phrasal verbs, prepositional phrases, compound nouns and adjectives, etc.) and grammar (conditionals, participle clauses, etc.) You can create your own or try these and these vocabulary dominoes or this great resource.
Scrabble
Every classroom should have at least a couple of boxes of this amazing game. This game is a must. That’s all I’m going to say.
OrganAttack
This is a medical-themed card game which was created by Nick Seluk, the author of my favorite The Awkward Yeti comic. 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.
ESL board games
These are simple, usually one sheet board games used to practice isolated grammar structures or vocabulary. You can also create board games with different conversation questions. You can try this one with a vide range of questions.
Taboo
One of the most popular English games. Revising vocabulary is always a good idea. There are plenty of different topics you can choose from. You can try our free games on the topic of Media or Business. Other topics include Health and Food.
Online games/apps
Oatmeal’s free word game
In this game you unscramble words and use them to destroy your opponent. You can get the free game here.
Baamboozle
I use this site mostly with my younger learners as it doesn’t have many higher level grammar or vocabulary quizzes. My tip: put your students in teams (max number of teams is 4), choose a quiz and let them play the Classic mode with the power up, it’s much more fun!
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster is a dictionary but they also have free games and quizzes that are great for learning vocabulary.
The Game Gal
Here you can find plenty of simple, family-friendly English games. I mostly use the Word Generator for charades, pictionary and other games. The great thing is I only need my laptop and I project the words on the whiteboard, so the students don’t need computers.
No-prep games
Vocabulary revision
This activity does not require absolutely any prep from the teacher, everything is done by the students. You only need to give them a couple of sheets of paper and they will cut it or you can give them already cut into small pieces. Detailed instructions can be found here.
Alphabet game
Students write the letters of the alphabet in a column. Give them a time limit and a topic(e.g. food, classroom items, animals, etc) and tell them to write one word for every letter in the alphabet. When they’re done, put them in groups so they can compare their words.
The best thing about these fun ESL activities is that the variations are endless. You can either find some or have your students create their own. It’s more fun and they also learn more. Just give them a topic, have them write 10 questions and after that, they circle the class and interview as many classmates as possible. Finally, they inform the class about the results. Topics may include Environment, Hobbies, Books, Travel, Science, History, Media, Celebrities.
One minute talk
This is a very simple, no-prep game. In pairs, students give each other a topic to talk about and they have to talk uninterrupted for a minute. It is more difficult than it sounds, especially with topics such as egg yolks, armpit hair o or shoe laces. If your students lack imagination, you can use these ideas: One Minute Talk Cards.
ESL presentation topics for intermediate and upper intermediate students. Great as a warm-up or a speaking lesson.
You can use the slideshow and share your screen on Zoom or other app when teaching online. Just click on the full screen option in the top right corner of the slideshow.
I used it with my students during our online lesson and we didn’t even have time to discuss all the topics, because they couldn’t stop talking. I was quite impressed how much they knew and also how well they could express their opinions.
One of the reasons why I love conversation activities is that I learn so much about my students. I think that we often underestimate our students and see them as the stereotypical lazy teenagers. Activities like these can show us that they are much more than that.
You can also download the PDF for easy printing below.
Balderdash is a word bluffing game in which you write definitions for weird words. The definitions may or may not be correct.
The ESL variation of the game is played very similarly. The PDF which you can download below, contains words that are balderdash, or nonsense. At least they seem to be. They are actually real words that sound silly. Each word has a real definition, the students will have to come up with two more definitions and the bluffing will begin.
If you like the game and would like to play the original, there are plenty of the game versions on Amazon. This one is the originalGame. Or you can try this One.
How I played the game with my students:
Put the students in groups of three or four.
Give them the words that you cut into cards.
Each student draws a card.
They will read the true definition of the word and make up two more definitions which are not true.
They read three definitions of the word and the other students guess which definition is correct.
The student who guesses the correct definition gets a point.
ESL
Game: Balderdash
Argle-bargle
— (adj) copious but meaningless talk or writing
Bibble
— (v) to drink often; to eat and/or drink noisily
Yarborough
— (n) hand of cards containing no card above a nine
Ratoon
— (n) a small shoot growing from the root of a plant
Ulotrichous
— (adj) having wooly or crispy hair
Bumfuzzle
— (adj) confused, perplexed
Cabotage
— (n) coastal navigation; the exclusive right of a country to
control the air traffic within its borders
Widdershins
— (adj) a left-handed or contrary direction; counterclockwise
Poppycock
— (n) nonsense
Discombobulate
— (v) to disconcert of confuse
Salopettes
— (n) high-waisted skiing pants with shoulder straps
Blatherskite
— (n) a person who talks at great length without making much
sense
I have one more week of teaching ahead of me. Three more weeks of work. There is more paperwork now than actual teaching. The kids can smell the summer holidays in the air and it shows. The teachers can barely hide how exhausted they are.
And it’s hot. Scorching hot. No AC in the building and my brain is shutting off. All I can see is myself on the beach, sipping a gin&tonic. But the kids still need to be educated. Motivated. Engaged. Entertained.
The perfect time for some fun speaking activities. Group work. Games. Anything. It’s too hot to be creative. I am thankful for any useful activity I can find so I put together a couple of fun ESL activities that I’m using these days. The kids are happy. My head didn’t explode. Win-win.
This activity is based on a popular board game. It is a more fun variation of a dictionary game I sometimes play with my students. They get a couple of difficult words and have to invent fake definitions. This game is the most popular among my kids.
This one is still popular. Revising vocabulary is always a good idea. There are plenty of different topics you can choose from. You can try our free games on the topic of Media or Business. Other topics include Health and Food.
The best thing about these fun ESL activities is that the variations are endless. You can either find some or have your students create their own. It’s more fun and they also learn more. Just give them a topic, have them write 10 questions and after that, they circle the class and interview as many classmates as possible. Finally, they inform the class about the results. Topics may include Environment, Hobbies, Books, Travel, Science, History, Media, Celebrities.
You can also find some interesting ideas in this article from Lessons Plan Digger, which inspired me to write this list.
For even more communicative activities, click below.
