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  • Hi! It's Lisa Scott with losemyaccent.com, where I help you speak English more clearly

  • and be understood more easily. One of the most common questions I get from people is

  • : What can I do to improve my English? And my easy answer, of course, is : practice!

  • But that's easier said than done, isn't it? You may not have that many opportunities to

  • speak English with others, and sometimes practice on your own can be a little,..well...boring,right?

  • We all know we need to practice to improve, but it would be so much easier if it were

  • just more fun, right?

  • So here is my suggestion for adding some fun into your American English practice: plan

  • a game night with your friends where the games must be played in English!

  • Any game that gets people talking and interacting will work, but there are a few that are particularly

  • good for building your English pronunciation and vocabulary skills. The harder you have

  • to think about what you are going to say, the harder it is to remember to use the correct

  • English pronunciation. That is what makes these games such great practice. And, theyre

  • lots of fun!

  • One of my personal favorites is Taboo. The object of the game is to get your teammates

  • to guess a word written on your card, but you can�t use the most common words to describe

  • it. You have to find another way to tell what it is so your teammates can guess. For example,

  • you may have the wordladder�, but you can�t use the wordsrungs, steps, paint,

  • or highto describe it. So you might sayan object you lean against your house when

  • you need to get on the roof.� Get the idea? Another great game is Balderdash. You are

  • given a card with a word on it and several definitions, but only one is the correct one.

  • You also make up a definition for the word and ask the other players which one they think

  • is correct. You get points for bluffing, or fooling, them when they choose your definition.

  • A third great game to build your vocabulary, descriptive skills, and knowledge of American

  • culture, is Apples to Apples. In this game, each person gets noun cards with a person,

  • place, or thing listed on them. An adjective card is placed in the middle and each person

  • selects the noun card that they think goes best with the adjective. Here�s the fun

  • part: each person has to explain why they think their card is the best, and the person

  • selected as the judge gets to decide whose is the best.

  • While these games are not too expensive and are readily available on amazon.com and elsewhere,

  • you could make up your own version of each of them with a good dictionary and some paper.

  • To make a game similar to Taboo, you can choose some common words and list the words used

  • in the definitions as thenot allowedwords.

  • A home version of Balderdash can be played with just a dictionary. You choose a word

  • from the dictionary, read its definition, a definition of another word on the same page,

  • and one you make up on your own.

  • For a comparison game like Apples to Apples, you need a stack of index cards and a list

  • of nouns and adjectives. Write one word on each card, keeping the nouns and adjectives

  • separate. Pass out five noun cards to each player, put an adjective card in the middle,

  • and youre ready to go.

  • Whether you choose the convenience of purchasing ready-made games or you decide to spend the

  • time to make them up yourself, language games are a fun way to enjoy time with friends and

  • to improve spoken English. I know that new games are coming out all the

  • time, so if you know of one that you think is great for improving your English, I'd love

  • for you to share it with me in the comments below! Thanks so much, and I'll see you next

  • time!

Hi! It's Lisa Scott with losemyaccent.com, where I help you speak English more clearly

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