TEFL Word Game: Fun With Famous Quotes

1. The powers of a man’s ____ are directly proportional to the amount of ____ he drinks.
– Sir James Mackintosh, Philosopher

2. ____ is balm to the ____ and spirit.
-Giuseppe Verdi, Composer

3. The secret of ____ is to make ____ believe they are the cause of it.
– Abraham Lincoln

4. An ____ in knowledge always ____ the best interest.
– Benjamin Franklin

5. No matter how ____ you become, how famous or powerful, when you die the size of your funeral will still pretty much depend on the ____.
– Michael Pritchard

6. In a perfect world there will come a day when ____ will have all the money they need and the Air Force will need to have a ____ to buy a bomber.
(Added by Rick Woelfel)

7. Driver carries no ____–he’s ____.

Mind Coffee Coffee Heart Happiness Others Pays Investment Rich Weather Bake sale Schools Cash Married

A fun way to use this, or to deal with a list of idioms or proverbs in a book, in a fun and interactive way:

Remove some words and have students try to fit them back in; if you do it well, there will be several “possible” combinations, but only one “correct” one. To do it quickly, just make a gap fill and give two students one worksheet to share (this way they are “forced” to talk and can’t just work independently/silently). To give it a twist and to engage both audio and kinaesthetic learners, give students slips of paper, dictate the words, have them write one per slip, and ask them to put the words in the correct order according to the handout. To engage more physical learners, make it a running dictation.

Quotes 1 and 2 come from Cappucino Xpress, 3-5 from Quotations Page, and 6 and 7 from Quote Geek.