The following games can be played throughout the school year but are also very useful as a round up at the end of term.

Author
Clare Lavery

First play with the whole class and then try in groups (good for mixed ability groups).

Guess the word

  • This game is good for more abstract words.
  • Choose five words relating to recent conversational themes.
  • Write sets of clues to help students guess the words.
  • Example clues (word = freedom):
    • I am a noun but I am very important.
    • I begin with the letter 'f'.
    • People in prison have lost it and want it back.
    • People demand it when it is taken away by dictators.
    • It can be related to speech.

Coffee pot

  • This game is good for practising and reviewing action verbs and adverbs.
  • Ask one student to leave the room.
  • The rest of the class chooses a verb, e.g. type, ski, fly.
  • The student returns to the room and asks questions to guess the verb.
  • The missing verb can be substituted with 'coffee pot'.
  • Example questions:
    • Why do you coffee pot?
    • Where do you coffee pot?
    • Do you coffee pot by yourself?
    • Do you need any special equipment for coffee potting?

These activities first appeared on the British Council Language Assistant website.

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