EL Game Series (09): “Visual Eyes”

[Welcome to the EL game series. These posts are all short introductions to games you can play in the EL. Because learning to play games in English can take a long time, some posts will explain how to play simple versions of games. Other posts tell you why you should use games to practice English. You can also use the tags to find other posts you might be interested in.]

ELゲーム連載へようこそ。このコラムはELで遊べるボードゲームやカードゲームを紹介します。本来のやり方通りにやってしまうと、遊ぶまでの時間が大変かかるかもしれないので、ある投稿では簡単な遊びの工夫が紹介されます。ほかの投稿ではなぜゲームで英語を勉強するのがよいかが説明されます。投稿のタグを使ってほかに興味ありそうなポストを見つけられます。)

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This game is all about being creative with English. The box is full of dice with strange pictures on each side. It’s your job to use the pictures to make words.

The basics: Roll all of the dice (or shake the box with them inside). Then, each player or team must write down all of the “words” or phrases that they see. For example, if you see a picture of “fire” and of a “dog,” you could write “hot dog.” Each word is worth a point.

For English Learners:

  • Don’t play with the timer. This game is hard enough for native speakers.
  • Think about the pictures like emoji. How do you use emoji when you text? That may help you be creative.
  • Before you start playing, look at the pictures and talk about what they are. Can the picture of an “x” mean “no” or “not” or “bad”? Can the picture of the ocean mean “sea,” and therefore also mean “see”? Can the “pencil and paper” mean “write,” “draw,” or “letter”? I think so. It can be interesting even just to talk about the different pictures.
  • After you roll the dice, look for a word or phrase. Instead of writing it down, put the dice together and show the group. If someone can guess the word, you both get a point.

Final Thoughts: Like “Password,” I think this is a better activity than a game. Don’t worry about points. Just try to make words and guess with your group.