Guess my Job

Mohammed Arroub, Jordan

Mohammed Arroub is an ESL teacher and teacher trainer. He taught in Syria and is teaching now in Jordan. He holds an MA in ELT from the University of Warwick, UK. E-mail: arroub2camford@hotmail.com

Level: intermediate

Goal: The aim of this speaking game is to practise the modal verbs (functional verbs) of obligation and necessity, 'must & have to'.

Time: 20 minutes

Preparation: before class, prepare 6 names of jobs on 6 slips of paper, 3 names of jobs for each student.

Procedures:

Explain to students that they are going to guess different jobs from clues, and for each correct guess, the guesser gets 1 point and the clue giver gets 2 points. Write this on the board: guesser 1 point - clue giver 2 points.

Write the game rules – dos & don'ts- on the board or print them out on a piece of paper/card, and give a copy of the rules to each student. Start the rules with the don'ts first:

Don'ts

• Don't use the job name or any part of it. For example, if the job name is 'a football player', don't use football, ball, play or player;
• Don't use body language;
• Don't mention your job tasks;
• Don't mention where you work.

Dos

You can mention:

• The body parts you have to use to do your job;
• The things you have to have (skills or characteristics) to be able to do your job;
• The laws/regulations/rules you must abide by or follow;
• And anything else, such as synonyms for any part of the job name, tools of the job, etc.

Demonstrate the game to the whole class:

I must wear a uniform;
There must be a helper next to me/ a helper must be always next to me,
I don't have to be afraid of heights;
I must be on time for my passengers/flight;
In emergencies, I must call the control tower.

Tell the students that the clue giver mustn't give more than 5 clues, and the guesser has only 2 guessing chances. So, when the student feels that he/she has somehow enough clues, she/she should make a guess.

Students have to do this game in pairs. They take it in turns to give clues about their jobs. The winner is the student with the most points.

Give students a few minutes to prepare their clues before the activity starts, and tell them to ask you about any words they do not know in the meanwhile.

Suggested names of jobs: a journalist, a bus driver, a hairdresser, an actor, an athlete, a firefighter.

Please check the Methodology & Language for Secondary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.