AGO QnA Blue

Blue is Level 1.5 in the AGO QnA series. It is designed for learners who understand basic beginner questions and are ready to practise a wider range of grammar, vocabulary and conversational responses.

Yes. AGO QnA works for two players as well as small groups, or even large groups of 36 or more, depending on what rules you apply. 
“AGO Last Card” is the go to game for many, and it’s rules will be familiar to anyone that has played UNO, but there are lots of other ways to use the cards, too. Check out our resources page for more info and ideas.

Each deck is a complete game and can be used independently. This allows teachers to select the most appropriate level for each group. But, you can also combine levels, or gradually mix in new cards, or remove easier cards over time as you play.

No. AGO QnA is used with children, teenagers, and adult English learners. The best level depends on the learner’s English ability rather than age alone.

AGO QnA and AGO Q&A refer to the same product range. New AGO QnA game releases and future editions will use QnA.

Getting more from every game

AGO QnA is ready to play straight from the box, but a few simple adjustments can help learners get even more useful speaking practice.

A few things to bear in mind:

Each question card is it’s own mini lesson, often with grammar point and vocab. 

There is about a years worth of content in a QnA deck. 

The cards are designed to be able to be understood intuitively – that is a player should be able to take a pretty good guess at what the card is about by looking at it. 

Encourage students to use English as much as possible (you can add a pick up penalty when kids are ready for it, but don’t be so strict as to ruin the fun (giving a yellow card warning is sometimes a good approach). Some classes that have been playing a while relish the challenge of using English only, and delight in policing the rule strictly. 

It’s ok (and pretty effective) to use the cards to pre-teach and introduce new grammar and vocab for the first time. Content doesn’t have to match your curriculum or vocab and grammar that students already know, but it is important to consider and manage overall difficulty. 

In general, the pace of a game will be slower when students are processing new information (and more teacher / parent support may be required), and faster when they are reviewing. 

Remember, content gets recycled and students typically go through various stages of understanding, from encountering unknowns, to solidifying a deep understanding. As students progress, you can introduce higher level cards, or additional rules to keep things challenging.

The first few times you play, choose a level students will be comfortable with. If there are still a lot of info gaps (i.e. with lower level students), try keeping a translation sheet on the table at the beginning, but aim to get students playing independent of it as soon as you can. The app can also help here (and has translation subtitles for a number of languages).

Encourage advanced players to expand their answers.

Lie and Why rules
Once players get really good, make them give imaginative and made up answers, and get the question asker to interrogate them. It is lots of fun!

Mix it Up!

Different game methods have different strengths and points of focus. A bit of variety also keeps things fresh (so try different ways of playing, but be strategic about it and consider student’s abilities).

Encourage students to ask the complete question before playing each card. At first, learners can rely on the words and picture clues. As their confidence grows, encourage longer answers, follow-up questions, or asking without reading directly from the card.

For parents and home learners

The main goal is to keep learners asking, answering, and enjoying the conversation. As a game, it’s supposed to be fun. You don’t need to be super strict.

Question cards can also be used independently for quick conversation practice, vocabulary review, or informal family discussion.