Using Board Games in the Language Classroom
TESOL 2008
Shelley Chang & Jenny Cogswell
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Workstation A: Candy Land
Example Target Language: Nouns, Adjectives
Example Content: Colors
Ideal Number of Players: 4
Original Version:
Object: Move piece to the space as shown on the card.
Gameplay: The game requires a knowledge of basic colors to play. The youngest player goes
first. The play then passes to the left. On your turn, draw one card from the deck and then move
your Gingerbread Character pawn as directed by the card. When you draw a card with one color
block, move your pawn forward toward the Candy Castle to the first matching color space on the
path. When you draw a card with two color blocks, you go to the second matching color space.
When you draw a Picture card, move your pawn forward or backward on the path to the pink
space with the Picture on it.
Adapted Versions:
(1) Have students say the color before moving onto the matching color space.
(2) Have students name something with the color in the room before moving.
(3) Have students rhyme with the color before moving.
Workstation B: Scrabble
Example Target Language: Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, etc.
Example Content: varied vocabulary
Ideal Number of Players: 2-4
Original Version:
Object: Each player competes for high score by taking advantage of letter tiles and premium squares on
the board.
Gameplay: The first player combines two or more letters to form a word, places the word on the board
either across or down with one letter on the center square. The player draws as many tiles as played. The
play passes to the left. The next player adds onto the words already laid out on the board and then draws
as many tiles as played. Points are tallied up as the game is played. The game ends when all letters have
been drawn and all possible plays have been made.
Adapted Versions:
(1) Speed Scrabble: Split tiles among students and have them come up with as many words as they can
with the tiles they have.
(2) Go Fish Scrabble: Have students ask each other for letters to create words.
(3) Poetry Scrabble: Place tiles open-faced on the table. Have students come up with their own poetry
using the tiles.*
(4) Sentence Scrabble: Place tiles open-faced on the table. Have students come up with their own
sentences using the tiles.*
* Can be played with teams.
Using Board Games in the Language Classroom
TESOL 2008
Shelley Chang & Jenny Cogswell
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Workstation C: Last Word
Example Target Language: Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs, etc.
Example Content: varied
Ideal Number of Players: 2+
Original Version:
Object: To be the first player to advance to the Finish square by creatively connecting Subjects
and Letters while racing a Random-Interval Timer and other Players.
Gameplay: Each Player draws on Subject Card from the top of the deck, looks at it in his/her
hand, hidden from other Players. Any Player turns over the top Letter Card, reads it aloud and
places it face-up on the space provided, and the race is on. All Players try to come up with a
word that starts with that letter and also fits the category of the Subject Card.
Adapted Versions:
(1) Play this game using just the Subject Cards.
(2) Play this game using just the Letter Cards.
(3) If working on a specific content area, filter out the categories that are relevant to the theme or
make up new categories. Then have students play the game.
(4) Make specific categories for forms/functions. I.e.,verb tenses, parts of speech, modals, etc.
Workstation D: Apples to Apples
Example Target Language: Adjectives and Nouns
Example Content: Collocations
Ideal Number of Players: 4+
Original Version:
Object: Obtain the most number of green apple cards.
Gameplay:
(1) The judge. First pick one of the players to be the judge. The judge then passes 7 red apple cards to
the remaining players (these are cards with nouns written on them). He then picks a green apple card (an
adjective card) the word aloud and places it face up on the table.
(2) Players pick one of their words (red apples) and place it face down on the table. The judge then
shuffles the red apples, flips them over, and chooses the best noun for the adjective. The person who has
the best noun “wins” the green apple. Do not draw a new red apple. After 7 words, the judge position
shifts left. And the new judge deals seven new cards.
Adapted Versions:
(1) Reverse the apples! Instead of choosing to use an adjective card for matching, use the noun card. See
which student has the most “creative” noun for the adjective.
(2) If working on determiners and articles, create separate cards for additional play.
(3) You can use the cards independently from the game. Have one student describe things in the
classroom using the adjective cards, and have the other students guess using yes/no questions. Or, lay out
all the red apples (nouns), and have other students guess which one you are thinking of by asking yes/no
questions. Or have students describe the one noun using the adjective cards.
Using Board Games in the Language Classroom
TESOL 2008
Shelley Chang & Jenny Cogswell
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Workstation E: Catch Phrase
Example Target Language: catch phrases
Example Content: varied categories
Ideal Number of Players: 4+
Original Version:
Object: To try not to get caught while holding the game unit when the buzzer sounds.
Gameplay: Create two teams. Press the Start button. The first player can choose the category to
play, then when ready, presses Start. This player has to rattle off clues to help his/her team name
the phrase that is in question. Once a teammate has called out the catch phrase, the player can
toss the game unit to the opposing team, leaving them with the possible chance of getting
buzzed! You may skip to other words if it is too hard.
Adapted Versions:
(1) Have the teams go head to head with trying to guess as many phrases as they can before they
get buzzed. Tally up the number of phrases at the end to determine the winner.
(2) Rather than allowing students to skip, have them play out each item that shows up.
Workstation F: Bohnanza
Example Target Language: negotiation skills, varied
Example Content: varied
Ideal Number of Players: 2-7
Original Version:
Object: Earn the most gold planting, harvesting, and selling beans.
Gameplay*: Every player is a bean farmer with three open fields to plant beans and five bean cards. There
are different bean varieties with different numbers of cards in the entire game, which are both shown on
the bean cards. At the bottom is a beanometer which shows how many bean cards it takes to earn one gold
coin, two gold coins, and so on. The first player, looking at her/his cards, must plant the first card in the
hand and has the option of planting the second card. When planting, only the same type of bean may be
planted in one field. Then, s/he must draw two cards from the deck and leave them open faced for all
players to see. S/he can choose to plant those open-faced cards or trade them to other players. When the
cards in the open-faced pile have been planted or traded, the player may also trade the cards out of her/his
hand. When s/he is done trading, s/he must draw three cards (in order!) from the deck and keep them in
her/his hand. The next player does the same thing: starts by planting, and then drawing, trading, and
drawing again. When a player is ready, s/he may harvest at any time and collect gold coins, but at least
two beans must be in a field in order to be harvested, unless there is one bean in each field.
Adapted Versions:
(1) When trading, have students use specific target language forms when applicable. I.e., If you have a red
bean, I will trade you a blue bean for your red bean; Do you have a red bean; Give me your red beans!**
(2) As a simplified version, take out some of the beans in the deck, or limit trading to the cards that are
open-faced.
(3) Go Fish Version: Have students ask each other for beans to earn gold coins.
* Based on three players.
** Note: The key idea here is to build on learners’ previous knowledge.
Using Board Games in the Language Classroom
TESOL 2008
Shelley Chang & Jenny Cogswell
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Workstation G: Taboo
Example Target Language: Nouns, Adjectives, etc.
Example Content: varied categories
Ideal Number of Players: 4+
Original Version:
Object: The object of the game is for a player to have their partner(s) guess the word on their
card without using the word itself or five additional words listed on the card.
Gameplay: One player tries to get his or her teammates to guess words using gestures and verbal
cues. The opposing team must watch to make sure the player does not go over the time limit and
use the additional words listed on the card. If s/he does, the opposing team hits the buzzer and
the turn is over. If the team gets the word, they can take the card. The winning team has the most
cards.
Adapted Versions:
(1) As an easier version, have students try to guess by reading the words on the card.
(2) As a harder version, have students try to guess the other words on the card (without a timer)
in order to get the card.
(3) As another harder version, have students only use verbal cues, no gestures, to give clues to
the words.
Workstation H: Build-a-Board Game
Can’t find a Board Game that fits what you’re looking for? Try this fast and easy gamebuilding technique:
Post-It Adventure
Example Target Language: Past Tense
Ideal Number of Players: 3+
Object: to build classroom community. There is only one token.
Gameplay: Give each player 5 post-its of the same color (ideally, all players would each have
their own unique color). On each of the post-its players write something that they did in the past
and the year in which this event happened. Take the post-its and create a game board with them.
Use a die to move a token around a board. When the token lands on a post-it, the author of that
post-it provides additional information about the event listed on the post-it. The two people who
authored the post-its on either side of the post-it where the token landed each need to ask one
question. The author needs to answer the questions. The author then rolls the die and the token
moves again. Repeat the procedure.
Using Board Games in the Language Classroom
TESOL 2008
Shelley Chang & Jenny Cogswell
Monterey Institute of International Studies
Workstation I: Cranium Turbo Edition**
Example Target Language: Nouns
Example Content: varied
# of participants: 4+
Original Version:
Object: Move piece to the end space, once there, continue playing until all four color cards have
been acquired.
Gameplay: On your teams turn, you must first
(1) Determine your activity.
Press and hold turbo timer for 5 seconds. When you release the button, the character
lights indicate which card holder to draw from. The team to the right draws a main deck card and
reads it to you.
(2) Try to complete the activity before time runs out.
Have the team to your right quickly press the red button to start the Turbo timer. You
now have 60 seconds to attempt the activity described on the card.
(3)Move if you’re successful (Don’t move if you’re not)
Move the number of spaces indicated by the red lights on the Turbo timer. (you must stop
on every Purple Planet Cranium, even if your turn would normally take you past it. Your turn is
now over and play passes to the left. On your next turn, you play Turbo Rally.
Complicating Features: Each of the four decks of cards features a certain skill. (e.g. Humdingers
require musical talent, creative cat uses artistic abilities) within each deck of cards, there are
multiple types of activities, (e.g. guessing what items are from up close, sculpting things out of
clay).
Adaptations:
(1) Pre-select cards that focus on eliciting your target language (e.g. nouns)
(2) Simplify the game by playing with only one of the decks.
(3) Create your own cards that focus on the language you are studying in class.
(4) Create your own game board with a colored path to identify the deck you pick from
instead of using the buzzer**
*Note: this is a team activity
**we recommend studying the style of the cards before creating your own.