Describing appearance - ESL vocabulary guessing game for all levels

If you need a practice activity for describing how people look with high-quality images that can be described using a wide range of vocabulary, look no further. This guessing game will keep the whole class engaged and active.

The game can be used to practice appearance vocabulary (including facial features, build, hair color and styles, jewelry, accessories, clothes) at any level, as well as simple grammar (Present Simple and Present Continuous). The students can practice statements, questions, negatives and short answers.

Guessing (twenty questions) game instructions:

1. Ask for a volunteer

2. Show the first slide with the pictures

3. The volunteer chooses one of the pictures on the slide without telling other students which picture he/she chose

4. Students ask yes/no questions to figure out which picture the volunteer chose (e.g. Is it a man or a woman? Does he have a beard? Does he have a mustache? Is he wearing glasses? Is he wearing a blue T-shirt)

5. The student who correctly guesses the picture gets to be the one who chooses the next picture.

6. After a few rounds, change the slide and repeat the procedure with the next slide.

Students need to actively listen to each other to reach the aim of the game.

They practice listening and speaking skills, grammar and vocabulary, all at once!

It’s suitable for older children, teenagers and adults. It can be used with any level, and the level of complexity of vocabulary will depend on you and your students.

The game can be played as a whole class or in pairs or groups.

No prep needed!

The presentation includes more than 80 high-quality images of people from all around the world. The pictures have been carefully chosen to include people from different walks of life and different cultures. They can be used to promote inclusivity and diversity, and you can develop valuable discussions around identity and the dangers of stereotyping.

Some ideas for extension activities:

1. After several students have taken their turn picking out one of the photos from a slide, before moving onto the next slide, you could have a short discussion about the people in the photos. For example, you could ask students whose style they like the most, who they identify the most with, who they would like to meet, what kinds of obstacles (or perks) people in the photos encounter due to their appearance…

2. For homework, students can be asked to write descriptions of one person from each slide.

3. You can ask students to write a diary entry from the daily routine of a person in the photo or have them make a social media profile for the person based on the photo. You or the students can easily find the blank templates for fake (educational) social media accounts online. You can ask the students to present the profiles in the next class.

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