The Showdown: New Year, New You — concurso de inglés para adultos (B1-B2)
Concurso de speaking para adultos, nivel B1-B2. Tema: el año nuevo. Dos equipos, un tablero con seis categorías y cuatro casillas en cada una. Eligen casilla, alguien del equipo tiene que hablar, y se suman puntos. Con comodines, robos y una ronda final a todo o nada.
Todas las casillas van de enero: propósitos que nadie cumple, las rebajas, el gimnasio, la fiesta de Nochevieja del vecino. Cada casilla dice exactamente qué hace falta para ganarla. Para la primera clase después de vacaciones. Gratis.
Ajusta el juego a tu grupo
Dime cuántos alumnos vas a tener y te recalculo el montaje: cuántos grupos, qué quitar, cuánto dura y qué tienes que imprimir exactamente, con las copias de cada cosa.
The Showdown — New Year, New You
Two teams. Six categories. Twenty-four squares. Every square is a speaking task, and every task is worth points. The team with more points at the end wins.
The rules
| RULE | WHAT IT MEANS |
|---|---|
| Two teams | The class makes two teams. Each team chooses a name. |
| The board | Six categories, four squares in each: 100, 200, 300 and 400. The higher the number, the harder the task. |
| Choosing | Teams take turns. The team says the category and the points: “Would You Rather for 300, please.” |
| One speaker | Each turn, a different person plays for the team, in order. Nobody plays twice until everybody has played. |
| Help | Once per turn, the speaker can ask the team for help. If they win, the square is worth half. |
| Steal | If your team fails, the other team can try the same task. If they win, they get half the points. |
| English only | A word in Spanish during your turn: minus 50 points. Asking “How do you say…?” in English is OK — once per turn. |
| The judge | The teacher decides. You can complain — in English. |
Jokers — one of each per team
| JOKER | WHAT IT DOES |
|---|---|
| DOUBLE | This square is worth double. Say it before the teacher reads the task. If you fail, you lose nothing — but the joker is gone. |
| SWAP | You don’t like the task? Give it to the other team. If they fail, your team wins half the points. |
The board
Copy it on the whiteboard or project it. Cross out each square when it has been played.
| DESCRIBE IT | NON-STOP | FIX IT | WOULD YOU RATHER | ODD ONE OUT | ROLE-PLAY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 | 300 |
| 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 | 400 |
The tasks — for the teacher only
Read the task aloud when a team chooses a square. The last column says what the team needs to do to win the points. If you hesitate, it’s half the points.
Describe It
The speaker describes the word or expression. The team guesses. 45 seconds. Don’t say the word or part of it. No gestures!
| POINTS | TASK | TO WIN |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | FIREWORKS | The team says it in 45 seconds. |
| 200 | RESOLUTION | The team says it in 45 seconds. |
| 300 | THE JANUARY SALES | The team says it in 45 seconds. |
| 400 | GYM MEMBERSHIP | The team says it in 45 seconds. |
Non-Stop
The speaker talks about the topic without stopping. The teacher counts the time.
| POINTS | TASK | TO WIN |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 30 seconds: How you celebrated New Year’s Eve. | No stop longer than 3 seconds. Verbs in the past. |
| 200 | 40 seconds: The best and the worst thing about January. | No stop longer than 3 seconds. Both parts. |
| 300 | 50 seconds: A habit you started and then gave up. | No stop longer than 3 seconds. Say why you gave it up. |
| 400 | 60 seconds: Where you’d like to be this time next year. | No stop longer than 3 seconds. Future forms, correct. |
Fix It
The teacher reads the sentence twice. It has one mistake. The speaker says the correct sentence.
| POINTS | TASK | TO WIN |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | This year I’m going to quit to smoke. | This year I’m going to quit smoking. |
| 200 | I’ve decided to start going at the gym. | I’ve decided to start going to the gym. |
| 300 | If I would have more time, I’d learn Italian. | If I had more time, I’d learn Italian. |
| 400 | I wish I can keep my resolutions this year. | I wish I could keep my resolutions this year. (Also OK: I hope I can keep…) |
Would You Rather
The speaker chooses and defends the choice for 30 seconds, with two reasons. Then the other team asks one difficult question, and the speaker answers it.
| POINTS | TASK | TO WIN |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | …give up coffee or social media for the whole of January? | Two clear reasons and a real answer to the question. |
| 200 | …spend New Year’s Eve at a huge party or at home with three friends? | Two clear reasons and a real answer to the question. |
| 300 | …run a half marathon or learn a new language this year? | Two clear reasons and a real answer to the question. |
| 400 | …keep all your resolutions but tell everybody about them, or keep them secret and fail half of them? | Two clear reasons and a real answer to the question. |
Odd One Out
Which word is different? There is more than one good answer. Say which one and why, in a complete sentence.
| POINTS | TASK | TO WIN |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | gym · diet · budget · fireworks | A true reason. (e.g. Fireworks, because it isn’t something you’d make a resolution about.) |
| 200 | January · February · June · December | A true reason. (e.g. June, because in Spain it isn’t a winter month.) |
| 300 | quit · give up · stop · take up | A true reason. (e.g. Take up, because it means starting something new.) |
| 400 | will · going to · used to · be about to | A true reason. (e.g. Used to, because it talks about the past.) |
Role-Play
The speaker and the teacher act out the situation for about one minute. The teacher makes it difficult.
| POINTS | TASK | TO WIN |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | You want to cancel your gym membership. The receptionist (teacher) really doesn’t want you to leave. | The speaker cancels it — politely but firmly. |
| 200 | You want to exchange a Christmas present you don’t like. The shop only offers a voucher. | The speaker explains the situation and gets a better solution. |
| 300 | Persuade a friend (teacher) to do a 30-day running challenge with you in January. | The friend agrees — with at least one condition. |
| 400 | It’s 1 January. Your neighbour’s party finished at 6 a.m. Talk to them. | The speaker complains, stays friendly, and agrees on something for next year. |
Final round — all or nothing
When the board is empty, both teams play the last task at the same time.
| STEP | WHAT HAPPENS |
|---|---|
| 1. Bet | Each team writes a number on a piece of paper: from 0 to all its points. Nobody sees it. |
| 2. Play | Resolution ping-pong. The teams take turns. Each team says a New Year’s resolution with going to: I’m going to drink more water… I’m going to go to bed earlier… Any person in the team can say it, but only 5 seconds per turn. Stop, repeat an idea or get the grammar wrong: you lose. |
| 3. Count | The winner adds its bet. The loser subtracts its bet. The team with more points wins the Showdown. |
Scoreboard
| TEAM | POINTS (write them as you go) | DOUBLE used | SWAP used | FINAL BET | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A: | ☐ | ☐ | |||
| Team B: | ☐ | ☐ |
Joker cards — cut them out
| DOUBLE This square is worth double. Practive English · The Showdown | SWAP Give this task to the other team. Practive English · The Showdown |
| DOUBLE This square is worth double. Practive English · The Showdown | SWAP Give this task to the other team. Practive English · The Showdown |
B1-B2 language support
| FUNCTION | USEFUL LANGUAGE |
|---|---|
| Resolutions | This year I’m going to… · I’ve decided to… · I’m determined to… · I’ll try to… |
| Starting and stopping | take up running · give up sugar · cut down on coffee · stick to a plan · quit smoking |
| Hopes and wishes | I hope I can… · I wish I could… · If I had more time, I’d… |
| Giving reasons | Personally, I’d rather… because… · The main reason is that… · On top of that… |
| Being polite but firm | I’m afraid I’ve made up my mind. · I understand, but… · Would it be possible to…? |
| Contesting the judge | I’m not sure that’s right, actually. · Surely that deserves half the points? |
Para el profe
Cómo montarlo
Dos equipos, mezclando a los que más hablan con los que menos, para que no gane siempre el mismo. Copia el tablero en la pizarra (o proyéctalo) y tacha cada casilla cuando se juegue. Las tareas solo las tienes tú: los alumnos no las ven hasta que eligen. Cada equipo recibe sus dos comodines recortados y cada alumno su language support.
El tablero entero son 24 casillas: entre 50 y 60 minutos con la ronda final. Si tienes media hora, juega solo las filas de 100 y 200 y la final.
Cómo puntuar sin discusiones
La columna To win dice qué hace falta para ganar cada casilla. Si dudas, la mitad de los puntos: es la regla que más discusiones ahorra. La regla del español, léela en voz alta antes de empezar y aplícala desde la primera vez; si la perdonas una vez, ya no hay manera de recuperarla.
Con un solo alumno
Juega contra «la casa». Si acierta, se lleva los puntos; si falla, se los lleva la casa. No hay robo: en su lugar, las casillas falladas se pueden repetir al final por la mitad. Tiene los mismos dos comodines (el SWAP le pasa la tarea a la casa, y la haces tú). Gana si al acabar tiene más puntos que la casa. En las tareas de describir y adivinar, adivinas tú.
Con dos alumnos
Uno contra uno. Todas las tareas de su equipo son suyas, así que cada uno habla el doble que en grupo. La ayuda del equipo no existe: en su lugar, una vez por partida pueden pedirte una pista a ti.
Variantes
Que lo escriban ellos. En la segunda partida, cada equipo inventa una casilla nueva por categoría para el otro equipo, y tú decides si vale. Escribir una buena tarea cuesta tanto como hacerla.
Casillas de oro. Antes de empezar, marca en secreto dos casillas en tu hoja. Valen el triple, pero nadie lo sabe hasta que las eligen.
Para volver a jugar. Cambia las palabras de las categorías de describir y las frases de corregir por los errores reales de tus alumnos. El formato aguanta muchas partidas; lo que se gasta son las respuestas.
Qué evaluar
Durante el juego no corrijas: apunta. Al final, saca los cinco errores que más se han repetido y conviértelos en las casillas de corregir de la próxima partida. Con este tema los adultos hablan solos: todos tienen un propósito que no cumplieron. Deja que las casillas de Would You Rather se alarguen si la conversación va bien, y anota los errores con going to, will y wish: son los de la próxima casilla de Fix It. Si tu grupo es A2, usa el tablero de The Showdown B1 como referencia y quita las casillas de 400.
Más juegos para enero: todos los juegos de invierno y año nuevo, por edades. Y el mismo concurso, sin tema, en The Showdown B1.