Playing, Having Fun
"Absolutely English" is a parlour game for German learners of English for improving their language skills.
The learners really enjoy this game, so we have already played it quite often.
Read more and find the rules of the game:
The game consists of
Each question card has 5 level of questions, 1. basic, 2. lower intermediate, 3. intermediate, 4. upper intermediate and + advanced
Here’s an example of each of the question cards.
Grammer (yellow):
Make the sentence negative!
1. I saw my teacher.
2. I gave him a birthday party.
3. He ran away quickly.
4.The pupils took the chalk away.
+ They chose the best players for the team.
Vocabulary (blue):
Correct or incorrect?
1. I got a good mark in my English test.
2. He's in the bathtube.
3. Your doctor gives you a recipe for medicine.
4. He's a so-named expert in the computer industry.
+ Their house is well isolated.
Phrases (green):
How do you feel, (A) or (B)?
1. I'm over the moon. (A) very happy / (B) very tired
2. I'm down in the dumps. (A) happy / (B) sad
3. I'm cheesed off. (A) annoyed ( (B) sad
4. I'm hard up. (A) rich / (B) poor
+ I'm hot under the collar. (A) annoyed / (B) sweaty
General Knowledge (pink):
1. Name 2 English speaking countries which are members of the EU.
2. Does New Zealand belong to Australia?
3. South Africa has 3 capital cities. True or false?
4. "To be or not to be" is a famous quote from which Shakespearean play?
a) Othello b) Macbeth c) Hamlet
+ What date is this for an American? 08/03/2014
This & That (red):
Text message English - What does this acronym stand for?
1. LOL
2. ASAP
3. BFN
4. FYI
+ HAND
Challenge Cards:
Each Challenge Card has a different set of goals for each player: Each player has to collect 5 question cards, the Challenge Card gives the number of each category you have to collect in order to qualify for the GRAND FINALE.
Here’s an example for a Challenge Card:
Collect 3 (blue) Vocabulary cards, 0 (yellow) Grammar cards, 1 (green) Phrases card, 0 (red) This & That card and 1 (pink) General Knowledge card.
Preparing to play:
Place the coloured question cards face down in the middle of the table.
Decide on which level of questions best suits each player.
Then, each player has to draw a “Challenge Card”. No one but the player him- or herself should see the card.
How to play:
Take the dice, the first player whose die lands on the star starts and throws the die again.
If your die lands on the star, you can choose the category you want to answer. If the die lands on green, for example, the player on your left takes a green card from the pack and reads the question according to your chosen level aloud. If the answer is correct, you can keep the question card; if not the card will be returned to the bottom of the pack.
Now it’s the next player’s turn.
Each pack of cards contains 9 pot-luck cards and 1 Open Trading Floor cards.
The pot-luck cards are either bearers of good or bad luck. It might say that you can take a card of your choice from the player to your left, but it might also say that the player to your right can take whatever card he or she wants from you.
If someone picks an Open Trading Floor card, the trading floor is declared open for 1 minute. In this minute, every player can swap any cards they don’t need with any other player.
End of the game:
When you have achieved your Challenge Card goal, you have qualified for the Grand Finale. Then the other players can choose a question card from a category of their choice to read to you. If the question cannot be answered correctly, you have to wait until the next round. The game ends when somebody was able to answer a Grand Finale question correctly.
And also very important:
We usually bring some snacks and drinks to share. Providing refreshments really adds to a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere :-).
