A selection of English ESL taboo game printables

I made these fun Halloween cards to use with my elementary and junior high school students. I initially made these cards from the idea of the game "Taboo," which is where the player who draws the card cannot say the actual card itself or the "taboo word" that is listed at the bottom of the card. To get my students speaking, I divide my class into groups and have one student go for one minute where they draw a card and try to describe their card without saying the "taboo" words. If their teammates can guess the word, that card is given to whoever guessed the word and the same student continues drawing and describing their card before their minute is up.



My students always get riled up playing with the cards this way but I've been able to use these cards in a variety of ways, apart from just the "Taboo" gameplay. With a little creativity, I'm sure you'll be able to find new and unique ways your students can enjoy these cards too!

Halloween Taboo Card Game

Cards for speaking practice. The goal of the game is to describe the word. Best to cut up the cards and give it students in groups of 3+ in a stack. You can make it competitive.

Pop Culture Cards for Taboo (Crocodile)

Tabbo 

A game that can be played with any vocabulary - I have given examples of some science words, but it can be modified to any subject or vocabulary being taught.

science taboo

This worksheet is perfect if you want to practice some vocabulary while exploring the topic "Nature disasters".



It is designed as a classic taboo game. Each student gets a card with the clue word that he has to explain to his classmates. There are also some words below, that are related to the clue word and cannot be used.

Nature disasters taboo

A classic game that we all know and love.

Students simply have to describe the word on the card without saying any of the words at the bottom of the card. This can be done in different ways:

Team game. Students describe to their team or partner and get one point for each correct guess their partner makes within a set time limit.

Individual game. Students work in groups but take it in turns to describe. Whoever is first to guess correctly, gets one point. The winner is the student with the most points when all cards have been used.

Students can also do this activity on their smartphones via QR, visit english-able.com for QR codes and lots more like this.

This is an official Englishable worksheet uploaded by the copyright holder.

We have a lot of Taboo Cards. Too many to upload here as one document. If you would like a copy of all of them, visit english-able.com/taboo to get the full set of over 500 in one PDF.

Travel Taboo Cards

A classic game that we all know and love.

Students simply have to describe the word on the card without saying any of the words at the bottom of the card. This can be done in different ways:

Team game. Students describe to their team or partner and get one point for each correct guess their partner makes within a set time limit.

Individual game. Students work in groups but take it in turns to describe. Whoever is first to guess correctly, gets one point. The winner is the student with the most points when all cards have been used.

Students can also do this activity on their smartphones via QR, visit english-able.com for QR codes and lots more like this.

This is an official Englishable worksheet uploaded by the copyright holder. 

We have a lot of Taboo Cards. Too many to upload here as one document. If you would like a copy of all of them, visit english-able.com/taboo to get the full set of over 500 in one PDF.

Phrasal Verb Taboo Cards

Movies and TV Taboo Cards

Food Taboo Cards

Use the following 32 Taboo cards on the topic of Art for a fun speaking game where students will have to describe the Main Word without using any of the keywords presented. 

Taboo Cards on Art

Different parts of the mountain and water cycle this is chart contains various content that can be adapted for pictionary, charades, taboo, and jeopardy games.  It is useful for reviewingthe different vocabulary associated with the water cycle.  

Mountains Parts

Animal Taboo Cards

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

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how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

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how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

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Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

130 Taboo game English ESL worksheets pdf & doc