Super Fun “Fortune Teller” Game For ESL for Future Practice

Main ideas / lessons

• The video presents a classroom-friendly ESL game called “Fortune Teller” (also described as essentially a future-prediction activity).
• Students practice:
  • Constructing sentences in the “will” future (e.g., “will be dancing…”).
  • Building coherent sentences by combining random word parts.
  • Creativity and engagement, since the outcomes become intentionally silly.
• Best fit:
  • Intermediate students (grammar is simple).
  • Can work with confident beginners.
  • Mentioned as potentially useful for discussion with advanced learners, though the grammar practice itself is too basic for advanced levels.
• Classroom management:
  • The game works by letting one student be active per round.
  • For large classes, it’s recommended to split into smaller groups so everyone gets turns.

How the game works (detailed instructions)

Materials

• In-person version: a few sheets of paper, a pen, and scissors.
• Online version: a randomizer approach (spinning wheel randomizers online).

Setup (paper version)

1. Cut paper into small strips large enough to write a couple of words on.
2. Divide strips into four piles (kept separate).
3. Aim for:
   • At least 10 strips in each pile
   • Ideally around 20 per pile

4. Fill piles by sentence part:

   • Pile 1: Time expression in the future Examples: “next year,” “in 10 minutes”

   • Pile 2: Subject Examples: a person/character/animal

   • Pile 3: Action verb Examples: “dance,” “work,” “think”

   • Pile 4: Object Examples: any object (something the action affects)

5. Fold each strip (the subtitle suggests folding in half twice).

Setup (online version)

1. Use four random wheels (one wheel per sentence part).
2. Open four tabs (one for each wheel).
3. Each wheel corresponds to:
   • Time (future)
   • Subject
   • Verb
   • Object
4. Share screen and spin wheels to randomize word parts.

Gameplay (per round)

1. Choose a student to go first.
2. Student takes/open strips corresponding to the four piles (paper version), one from each pile.
   • (Online version: random wheels supply the four word parts.)
3. Student must create a “will” future sentence using:
   • Time + subject + verb + object
4. Students are allowed to add extra words if needed to improve meaning.
5. Round length: about one minute per round.
6. Ensure each student gets at least one round (more rounds for small groups).

Example prediction (from subtitles)

• Time: “in 10 minutes”
• Subject: “King Charles III”
• Verb: “dance”
• Object: “a tomato”

“In 10 minutes King Charles III will be dancing with a tomato.”

Best practices / variations

Two ways to prepare content

1. Prepare beforehand

   • Saves class time.
   • Lets the teacher control the exact vocabulary on the strips.
   • Useful to include targeted language for a specific topic/unit.

2. Prepare in class with students

   • Students actively recall vocabulary and generate ideas.
   • Boosts engagement because their own words appear in the predictions.
   • Can encourage recently studied language.
   • Downsides: requires additional class time (~10–20 minutes, possibly longer with slow students) and may lead to repeated words.

Fun framing/theme option

• Present the class as a witch/seer making wild predictions.
• Students write predictions in a “book” (or Tome):
  • Option A: One shared prediction book
  • Option B: All students write their own sentences
  • Option C: Multiple rounds accumulate many predictions into a large collection

If the goal is more writing practice

• The video recommends another related activity: “game folding stories.” (Mentioned as the go-to for writing practice.)

Speakers / sources featured

• Will (host/creator) — from Enchanted ESL