Don't Say It! Fun Twist on the Taboo ESL Review Game

Although we usually do our best to get students to speak more, sometimes it can be fun to limit words. Cue Taboo. This is a popular board/party game, but I’ve adapted it for ESL classrooms. Here’s how to play:

A student will be given a word, and they must get others to guess the word. The only catch? They’re also given a list of words they can’t say. For example, if the word is “duck,” perhaps the words they can’t say are, “Birds,” “yellow,” “chicken,” or “food.”

Students will then describe the chosen word while avoiding the taboo words. If they accidentally say a taboo word, they’re out.

This could be played one-on-one, but I would suggest playing it where one student stands at the front of the room, similarly to how charades is played. To increase competition, still divide the class into teams. Have the team’s players come up one at a time or have them compete against each other to see which team can guess first.

In the past, I’ve come up with my own clue words and taboo words, just because I know my students’ English level, and I can choose ones suitable for them. I’ve also slipped in vocabulary words as well!

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Snowflake

• Cold

• Winter

• Snow

• Fall

Hungry

• Feeling

• Eat

• Food

• Dinner

Car

• Drive

• Wheel

• Ride

• Transportation

Cake

• Sweet

• Birthday

• Dessert

• Bake

Pillow

• Head

• Sleep

• Soft

• Bed

This ESL game is a fun twist on vocabulary, and one thing I love about it is how easy it is to adapt it to different levels. You can even use this as a review game and swap out the ideas I’ve given for your own vocabulary words!