20 Questions ESL Game

Whenever I’m looking for new games to play in class, I always go back to my childhood to see if there are any good ideas there. An easy, effortless game that’s really fun to play in class is 20 questions. It simple, fun, and works so well for ESL classes!

 

The game is simple: One person thinks of a person, place, or thing. Everyone else tries to guess what he is thinking of by asking only 20 questions. Each of the questions can only be answered with “Yes” or “No.” If the object is guessed within 20 questions, the guessers win.

 

So why do I like this game?

It works great for a variety of English levels, it’s the perfect filler activity (if you need just a little something else to fill up your class time), it helps students practice basic vocabulary, and helps students practice their critical thinking skills and questioning.

 

How could you play the game?

You could play the game in a variety of ways as well. Depending on the size of your class, you could have all the students guess an object you are thinking of, you could divide students into groups, or you could also have students pair up. My advice is to divide the students into groups. Playing 20 questions one-on-one gives students fewer opportunities to communicate and discuss with each other.

 

How could you spice up the game?

If you’ve played 20 questions already in the semester, don’t be afraid to repeat it! Adding on different challenges can still make the game feel fun and fresh. Give students a time limit, limit them to only 10 or 15 questions, or create different categories they must use. For example, maybe one week, the object must be related to food, and the next week, the category is movies. (Bonus points if you connect the category to your lesson topic.)

Category/Object Ideas:

  •          Household items                           

  •          Food

  •          Animals

  •          Movies

  •          Famous People

  •          Places

 

Example questions

         If students aren’t familiar with the game, I like to give them a few example questions, so they know what type of questions they should be asking. And even if students understand how to play, giving a few example questions could help lower-level students who aren’t sure of how to arrange the sentence or who aren’t sure of the vocabulary they should use.

  •          Is it food?

  •          Is it alive?

  •          Could it fit in my hand?

  •          Is it under $10?

  •          Does it weigh under 5 pounds?

  •          Is it located in the kitchen?

  •          Do you use it every day?        

 

So next time you need a quick, fun activity for your ESL class, pull out 20 Questions!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

GamesMegan HutchinsonESL Games, EFL, ESL Teacher, ESL Review Games, ESL, Teaching ESL, Review Games, Teach in China, Teach Overseas, Teach Abroad, Vocabulary GamesComment