Learning new words can be a challenging task for many students, as we often truly remember and are able to use a particular word only after we come across it many, many times. Help your ESL/EFL students review new words with these three engaging (and sometimes nerve-racking) games!
1) Grab the word
To succeed in the first game, students need to listen carefully to someone describing a word and be super quick to be the first to grab the right card!
You need: vocabulary cards (one word per card, one set per group)
Setting: groups of 3-5 students seated around a desk
Process: Spread the vocabulary cards (text side up) over the desk and start describing one of the words. Begin with a general description and gradually move to more specific clues. Students need to identify the word you are describing, and their task is to be the first to grab it. After this first round, let students take turns describing words in a similar way within their groups. The person who grabs the most vocabulary cards is the winner!
2) Taboo
In this guessing game, students describe a word while avoiding certain words indicated on a vocabulary card. Students not only practice the target vocabulary, but they also need to come up with synonyms and creative ways to explain what they mean.
You need: vocabulary cards with the main word + three words students MUSTN’T use when describing the main word
Setting: groups of 2-4 students
Process: Prepare a set of vocabulary cards. Each card includes the main word (e.g., spaceship) and up to three forbidden words (e.g., universe, travel, Moon). Students take turns describing the main words on the cards, but they must never use the root of the main word or any of the forbidden words. Whoever guesses the word keeps the card and earns one point!
3) Coffeepot
If you’re ready for a lot of fun, here’s a game that will make everybody laugh. In this game, students make sentences with a given word, but instead of saying the word itself, they say COFFEEPOT!
You need: vocabulary cards (one word per card, one set per group)
Setting: groups of 2-4 students
Process: Place a deck of vocabulary cards (text side down) in the middle. Students take turns picking a card and making a sentence – or even a short story – using the given word. However, whenever the target word would appear in the sentence, the student must substitute it by saying coffeepot.
For example:
“I didn’t get any coffeepot at all last night. When I was coffeepotting, my neighbours were having a party, so I woke up. I couldn’t coffeepot the whole night.”
Whoever guesses the word (sleep in this example) first earns a point!
All of these games are great for practising almost any topic, and you can find many ready-made materials online. However, you can also save time by letting your students help prepare the vocabulary cards. Give each student three blank cards and let them know the topic (or perhaps a textbook unit) to review. You’ll have these activities ready in just a few minutes, and you can reuse them in your other classes too!