For Teachers Archives - Wayfaring Humans

I am writing this because I keep seeing every article on the Internet telling people how to create a Jenga conversation game (either for language classrooms or for fun at a party) and they are ALL DOING IT WRONG! I don’t mean to yell, but seriously guys—writing questions out on every single Jenga piece?! That’s crazy! You are going to spend so much time doing that and then get super sick of those questions after playing it just 2 or 3 times! And what if you want to use them one day in class and the next day with your friends?! Different audience = different questions needed!! So, I am going to explain how to make a REUSABLE conversation Jenga! The kind where you don’t have to throw away all your Jenga pieces and buy a new Jenga set one month later. And it’s so simple, you will laugh (and cry over the Jenga set you just spent two hours writing questions on). In this post, I’ll explain: Why you should make oneHOW TO make itAnd give you lists of question ideas you can use (in this post directly if you want to copy and paste, and also in PDF format at the very bottom). Bonus piece of advice: I would also *highly* recommend picking up a deck of conversation playing cards (these ones are my favorite from Elevate) -- great for encouraging conversation (NOT SMALL TALK!) at parties, classrooms, special events, etc.! Why make a reusable Jenga conversation game? This game is sooooo awesome for language teachers or language tutors doing a lot of conversation lessons. Sometimes adding a tactile and “fun” element to otherwise normal conversation can make the experience that much better. It’s also awesome for parties. We had Phil’s 30th birthday party last year and just decided to put this Jenga game on the coffee table in case people hanging out in that spot wanted to use it/had nothing to talk about, and it was GREAT! Who doesn’t appreciate a low-key, no-stress conversation starter at a party? We called it “No Small Talk Jenga” and people who didn’t know each other were suddenly asking each other questions such as “Would you rather have to swim 100 meters through dead bodies or through human excrement?” … You know, important stuff! Also, it’s really easy to make and you can use it again and again with countless different questions—from “classroom” appropriate to raunchy, depending on your audience. How to Make a Reusable Jenga Conversation Game Here’s what you need: a Jenga game and a sharpie. That’s it! Go to a thrift store and pick up a cheap Jenga set or get one on Amazon. Grab a sharpie and put one number on every Jenga piece. It doesn’t matter where on the piece you write it. One number per piece. You should have 54 pieces in total, in a standard Jenga set. Now, to play, you just need to print a list (or look at a list on a device) of 54 questions! Each time someone pulls out a Jenga piece, they have to answer the question that corresponds with that number on the list! And… that’s the whole game. No need to write the entire question out on each individual Jenga piece. You can create and recreate question lists as you wish. Print out a new list for every occasion. Every class discussion. Every party! For our party, we taped the question list (which took up three sheets of paper) to our glass coffee table (from underneath). It was actually perfect because you could read the questions through the glass and it didn’t matter if the table got wet or anything—the paper was untouched. Maybe you can tape the questions to your wall in a party scenario too. Whatever works best for you! One more pro tip: You can wash beer-soaked Jenga pieces in your dishwasher, no problem! ;) List of Questions for Jenga Conversation Game As I mentioned before, you can create and print any list of 54 questions that you want, depending on your audience/class/party, etc. But here's a list of questions to get you started. These are somewhat neutral, featuring some "deep-ish" questions in the lower numbers, and increasingly bizarre and "Would you rather" type questions in the higher numbers. There is a PDF of this list available at the bottom of this post, if you'd prefer that! 1. What’s your biggest fear and why? 2. What are you most passionate about? 3. What was the highlight of your week? 4. What job did you want as a kid? 5. What’s your biggest regret? 6. If money were not an issue at all, how would you spend your days? 7. If you could choose anyone in the world alive or dead, who would you want as a dinner guest? 8. Would you like to be famous? In what way? 9. Before making a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you’re going to say? Why? 10. What would be a “perfect” day for you? 11. When was the last time you sang to yourself? To someone else? 12. What are the 3 most important things in a romantic partner? 13. For what are you most grateful for in life? 14. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? 15. Is there anything you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it? 16. What do you consider to be the greatest accomplishment in your life? Why? 17. What do you value most in a friendship? 18. If you knew that in one year, you would die suddenly, is there anything you would change about the way you are living now? Why? 19. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s? 20. How do you feel about the relationship with your parents? 21. Tell everyone around you something you like about them already. 22. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet? 23. Would you rather have a unicorn horn or a monkey tail for the rest of your life? 24. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why? 25. What is the most annoying habit someone can have? 26. What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen? 27. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? 28. What does success mean to you? 29. Has anyone ever saved your life? Have you ever saved someone’s life? 30. What was the best year of your life? Why? 31. What smell brings back good memories for you? 32. What makes you nervous? 33. Which TV show or movie would you like your life to be like? 34. If your life were a movie, what genre would it be? 35. Do you have a weird talent? 36. Would you rather be alone for the rest of your life or always be surrounded by annoying people? 37. Would you rather be the first person to explore a planet or be the inventor of a drug that cures a deadly disease? 38. Would you rather be locked in a room that is constantly dark for a week or a room that is constantly bright for a week? 39. Would you rather find your true love or a suitcase with five million dollars inside? 40. Would you rather be able to teleport anywhere or be able to read minds? 41. Would you rather have unlimited sushi for life or unlimited tacos for life? 42. Would you rather give up bathing for a month or give up the internet for a month? 43. Would you rather be fluent in all languages and never be able to travel or be able to travel anywhere for a year but never be able to learn a word of a different language? 44. Would you rather have an unlimited international first class ticket or never have to pay for food at restaurants? 45. Would you rather be able to fly or talk to animals? 46. Would you rather be a famous director or a famous actor? 47. Would you rather have to read aloud every word you read or sing everything you say out loud? 48. Would you rather be an amazing painter or a brilliant mathematician? 49. Would you rather Swim 300 meters through shit or dead bodies? 50. Would you rather be the funniest person in the room or the most intelligent? 51. Would you rather have no one to show up for your wedding or your funeral? 52. Would you rather know how you will die or when you will die? 53. Would you rather read minds or accurately predict the future? 54. Would you rather visit 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future? Click to get our PDF Version of these 54 Jenga Questions Enjoy! :)