Taboo Speaking Game – Weather Vocabulary ESL

Describe a weather-related target word to a teammate without using any of its five listed related words.

Use weather vocabulary (temperature terms, storm types, seasonal words) in spontaneous spoken descriptions under time pressure.

Guess a target weather word correctly from a teammate's verbal clues within a timed round.

Use the beginner variant — where students may use the taboo words instead of avoiding them — for classes that aren't yet ready to build full clue sentences under time pressure.

Form groups of four split into two teams of two, per the standard rules, so every student gets a turn as clue-giver.

Use the projectable slide deck version for a whole-class warm-up round before breaking into small groups with the printable cards.

Set a visible timer (one minute per turn is the file's suggested starting point) so the clue-giver's pace is clear to both teams.

Circumlocution and descriptive speaking — students describe a weather term aloud without using five closely related 'taboo' words printed on the same card (pages 3-10).

Weather vocabulary recall under time pressure — students draw on temperature, storm, and seasonal terms (e.g., 'a barometer,' 'a heat wave,' 'to freeze') while giving or interpreting clues (pages 6, 9).

Collaborative listening — teammates must interpret spoken clues quickly enough to guess the target word before time runs out, per the timed two-team format (page 42).