Activate: Games for Learning American English
Guess What?
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Activate: Games for Learning American English
ABOUT GUESS WHAT?
Guess What? cards can be used for
a variety of games in the class-
room to provide an opportunity for
students to practice making de-
scriptions in English and to learn
English vocabulary. Guess What?
is a great form of fluency practice
because success depends not on
absolute accuracy, but rather on
getting a message across to eager
listeners. Guess What? also prompts
quick exchanges as players rapidly
make guesses and learn whether
or not their guesses are correct.
An example of a Guess What? card appears on the right. Each card con-
tains a topic, such as “At the zoo,” and below the topic is a list of six
related words.
Activate: Games for Learning American English comes with a set of 24 Guess What? cards. These cards con-
tain two levels of topics and vocabulary items: the side with + in the bottom right corner contains ba-
sic, common topics and vocabulary words, while the side with ++ contains more advanced topics and
vocabulary words. A lower-level course will benefit from playing with the basic set of cards, whereas
upper intermediate and advanced groups can enjoy playing with a mix of both sets.
As teachers and students become familiar with these sample cards, they will find that it is easy to cre-
ate more cards to highlight vocabulary as it is studied in class.
STUDENTS' ROLE
Guess What? should usually be played by small
groups of students so that each group member
gets a sufficient amount of speaking and listen-
ing practice during the game. The exact number
in each group is not important, but typically,
groups of 3–5 students work well.
In a game of Guess What? each player in the group
takes on the role of either the Describer or one
of the Guessers. The Describer is responsible for
describing a word on the card so that the other
members in the group can guess what it is. The
other members in the group are the Guessers.
The role of Describer rotates with each new card.
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Activate: Games for Learning American English
TEACHER'S ROLE
Before Play
Teachers should demonstrate the games—usually more than once—because demonstrations are of-
ten more effective than instructions. The teacher should begin by demonstrating one round of the
game with the entire class. It works best if the teacher starts as the Describer; the rest of the class will
be Guessers. The teacher first tells the class the topic and then describes the first word on the card
without using any of the other words on the card (including the title). When a student guesses that
word, the teacher moves on to the second word. One entire card can be completed this way to ensure
that students understand how to play.
A second demonstration using a student in the role of the Describer can really clarify how the game is
played. Two to four students can be invited to the front of the class to play one round. One student is
the Describer, and the others are Guessers. The students can complete an entire round (describe and
guess all of the words on one card). Not only do students see again how the game is played, but they
also see the group formation that they will use.
Guess What? should always be played in small groups (3–5 students per group). If the whole class plays
the game together, with one student (or the teacher) as Describer and the rest of the class as Guessers,
there is very little speaking practice. In small groups, more students have a chance to be the Describer,
and therefore, they have more practice making descriptions in English. In a small group, students tend
to be more engaged because it is possible for each player to speak and listen to each other. In addi-
tion, small groups allow students who are shy or nervous about talking in front of the whole class to
participate more comfortably in small groups.
To prepare the classroom to play Guess What?, the teacher should make sure that each group of stu-
dents has a place to sit where they can easily hear each other, but not be inter-
rupted by conversations in other groups. Have students sit in a circle so they are
all facing each other. Each group should be given a set of 5–10 Guess What? cards
so that they can move on to a new card quickly. (Guess What? is a faster-paced
game than Picture This.) If this is not possible, however, the teacher can provide
a basket, bag, box, or other container to hold the entire set of Guess What? cards
and place it in a central location in the room. Then the students can get up and
get a new card when they have finished with a card.
The teacher should select a set amount of time to use Guess What? cards in the
language classroom. Since students will be working in small groups and can ex-
change Guess What? cards once they have completed a card, each group can work
at its own pace. It is not necessary for all groups to finish a card at the same time. Instead, the teacher
should choose an amount of time to play Guess What?, and students can use as many cards as they need
during that time. Teachers should end the game after the specified amount of time has passed.
During Play
Teachers may need to emphasize that students should not show the contents of their card to others.
For many students, this will be the first time playing a game that requires them to keep information
secret, and they may be unaccustomed to the process. Teachers may also need to remind players that
they should not use the words on the card (including the title) in their descriptions.
While walking around the classroom and visiting each group, the teacher should remind the groups
to exchange their card for a new one when they finish a card so that another group can use that card.
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Activate: Games for Learning American English
After Play
When the game is finished, or after the specified amount of time, the teacher can review for a few
minutes. Teachers can focus on the grammatical patterns and their meanings in the sentences that
the students produce. The teacher should collect the materials and store them for their next use.
Depending on the level of the students, some teachers may wish to offer translations on the card. In a
classroom in which all students share a common language, the teacher can write translations of the
words on the card next to them. Students can be enlisted to do this as an activity as well. Without the
translations, Describers sometimes show the card to the Guessers when they do not recognize a word,
and that puts an end to the card’s usefulness.
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