Teacher resource

Twenty Questions

classroom speaking activity

Twenty questions is speaking activity that never gets old. An added bonus is that it can be used to review target vocabulary. It's great as a warm up.

Teacher view

At a glance

Good for
A warm-up or target vocabulary review
Class format
Teacher model, then pairs or groups
Example categories
Famous people or food

Before class

Preparation

Think of a category (famous people, food, etc.)

In class

Instructions

  1. Model it once for the students. Tell them you are thinking of something in a category. (example: “I’m thinking of a food.”)
  2. Students can then ask you twenty questions to try to find out what food you are thinking of.
  3. Put students into groups or pairs and have them think of a word in a category and their partner or group guesses.

Classroom guide

Twenty Questions

Preparation

Choose a category

Think of a category (famous people, food, etc.)

How to play

Twenty questions

  1. Model it once for the students. Tell them you are thinking of something in a category. (example: “I’m thinking of a food.”)
  2. Students can then ask you twenty questions to try to find out what food you are thinking of.
  3. Put students into groups or pairs and have them think of a word in a category and their partner or group guesses.