Age: 7 to adult
Players: Small teams of 6-8 players
Time: 10-15 minutes
Skills: Vocabulary, Speaking and Listening
Play tennis with words – how long can you keep going?
In this word-association game, participants must keep thinking up words in a chosen category and ‘bat’ them to each other. If anyone repeats a word or can't think of a new one, somebody else takes their place.
The class is divided into teams of about 6-8 players. Each team forms a queue facing another team. You can have several pairs of teams facing each other in a large space or play off two teams at a time.
Announce the first category (see suggestions below). The two players at the head of each line ‘bat’ a word to each other then go to the back of the line. The next players take their place. Make sure the players mime batting the words to each other – it's more fun with actions. The teams keep playing until one of the players can't think of a word or repeats an earlier word. A point is then awarded to the opposing team.
Categories
- colours
- fruit
- vegetables
- sea creatures
- flavours of ice cream
- fairy tales
- pets
- jungle animals
- desserts
- celebrities
- sports
- hobbies
- capital cities
- adverbs
- adjectives
Director's tips
- Change the categories as often as you need to maintain interest (Students will soon come up with their own interesting suggestions for themes)
- If you want, each player can bat two words to their opponent before going to the back of the queue
- For language learners, display word lists around the space