Nigel Richards from New Zealand won a big Scrabble tournament in Spanish, even though he doesn’t speak the language. The competition was in Granada, Spain. Nigel is really good at Scrabble and has won five world titles in English. He learned Spanish words by memorizing them for a year.

People were amazed by Nigel’s win because it was his first time playing Spanish Scrabble. The person who organized the contest was surprised by how well he did. The previous champion, Benjamín Olaizola from Argentina, came in second place. Nigel also won a French Scrabble title in 2015, even though he doesn’t speak French.

Nigel uses math strategies to play Scrabble, not just language skills. He started playing Scrabble when he was 28 years old. He quickly became famous by winning the New Zealand title. Nigel lives in Malaysia now and likes to keep his life private, not doing many interviews.

Original news source: A New Zealander studied for a year to win the Spanish world Scrabble title. He doesn’t speak Spanish (AP News)

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Students will act out words related to Scrabble (like “word,” “play,” “score,” etc.) without speaking, while their classmates guess what they are acting out. This will help them practice vocabulary in a fun, engaging way.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Students will discuss whether they think it’s important to learn the language of a game they want to play, like Scrabble. They will circulate around the room and ask their classmates for their opinions, then share their findings with the class.

– MIND MAP
Instructions: In small groups, students will create a mind map on a large sheet of paper about Scrabble, including words associated with the game, strategies, and related languages (like Spanish and French). They will present their mind map to the class.

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: One student will draw a word related to the article (like “tournament,” “champion,” or “strategy”) on the board while their classmates guess the word. This activity will help reinforce vocabulary learned from the article.

– FUTURE PREDICTIONS
Instructions: Students will think about and discuss what they believe will happen in the future of competitive Scrabble. They can consider questions like, “Will more people learn other languages to play Scrabble?” or “Will there be more international tournaments?” Students will share their predictions with the class.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Where did Nigel Richards win a Scrabble tournament?
2. How many world titles has Nigel won in English?
3. What did Nigel do to learn Spanish words for the tournament?
4. Who came in second place in the Scrabble competition?
5. In what year did Nigel win a French Scrabble title?
6. How old was Nigel when he started playing Scrabble?
7. Where does Nigel live now?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

(1)______ Richards from New (2)______ won a big Scrabble tournament in Spanish, even though he doesn’t speak the language. The competition was in Granada, (3)______. Nigel is really good at Scrabble and has won five world titles in English. He learned Spanish words by memorizing them for a year.

(4)______ were amazed by Nigel’s win because it was his first time playing Spanish Scrabble. The (5)______ who organized the (6)______ was surprised by how well he did. The previous champion, (7)______ Olaizola from Argentina, came in second place. Nigel also won a (8)______ Scrabble (9)______ in 2015, even though he doesn’t speak French.

Nigel uses math strategies to play Scrabble, not just language skills. He started playing Scrabble when he was 28 years old. He quickly became famous by (10)______ the New Zealand title. Nigel lives in Malaysia now and (11)______ to (12)______ his life private, not doing many interviews.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is your favorite board game?
2. How would you feel if you won a big competition?
3. Do you like learning new languages? Why or why not?
4. What is a skill you would like to be really good at?
5. Do you think it is important to practice a lot to be good at something? Why?
6. How would you feel if you had to learn a new language for a game?
7. Do you think playing games can help you learn? Why or why not?
8. What is your favorite word in your language?
9. How would you feel if you had to play a game in a language you don’t know?
10. Do you think it’s fun to memorize things? Why or why not?
11. What is a competition you would like to enter?
12. How would you feel if someone won a game without knowing the language?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. tournament
2. competition
3. amazed
4. organized
5. champion
6. strategies
7. private
8. interviews
9. memorizing
10. previous
11. surprised
12. titles

Meanings:
(A) Made something happen in a planned way
(B) Feeling very surprised and impressed
(C) Plans or methods to win a game
(D) A contest where people try to win
(E) Happening before something else
(F) Not sharing much about yourself with others
(G) A big event where people play games to see who is the best
(H) Feeling shocked because something unexpected happened
(I) Awards or honors for winning something
(J) Meetings where people ask and answer questions
(K) Remembering things by repeating them
(L) A person who wins first place
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Who won the big Scrabble tournament in Spanish?
(a) Benjamín Olaizola
(b) Nigel Richards
(c) A Spanish player
(d) A French player

2. Where did the Scrabble competition take place?
(a) New Zealand
(b) Granada, Spain
(c) Argentina
(d) Malaysia

3. How many world titles has Nigel won in English?
(a) Three
(b) Two
(c) Four
(d) Five

4. How did Nigel learn Spanish words?
(a) By taking classes
(b) By talking to friends
(c) By memorizing them for a year
(d) By reading books

5. Who came in second place in the tournament?
(a) Nigel Richards
(b) A player from New Zealand
(c) Benjamín Olaizola
(d) A player from France

6. What other language’s Scrabble title did Nigel win?
(a) French
(b) Italian
(c) German
(d) Portuguese

7. When did Nigel start playing Scrabble?
(a) At 28 years old
(b) At 18 years old
(c) At 30 years old
(d) At 25 years old

8. Where does Nigel live now?
(a) New Zealand
(b) Spain
(c) Argentina
(d) Malaysia

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Nigel does not speak Spanish.
2. Nigel Richards is from New Zealand.
3. He started playing Scrabble when he was 25 years old.
4. He learned Spanish words by practicing speaking for one year.
5. The previous runner-up was Benjamín Olaizola from Argentina.
6. Nigel also won a French Scrabble title in 2015.
7. Nigel has won five world titles in English Scrabble.
8. He lost a Scrabble tournament in Spain.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.
Check your writing now with the best free AI for English writing!

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.
Check your answers with our free English writing assistant!

1. Where did Nigel Richards win the Scrabble tournament?
2. How long did Nigel practice Spanish words before the tournament?
3. Who came in second place in the tournament?
4. What other language title did Nigel win in 2015?
5. How does Nigel play Scrabble, besides using language skills?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Where did Nigel Richards win a Scrabble tournament?
Nigel won a Scrabble tournament in Granada, Spain.

2. How many world titles has Nigel won in English?
Nigel has won five world titles in English.

3. What did Nigel do to learn Spanish words for the tournament?
Nigel memorized Spanish words for a year.

4. Who came in second place in the Scrabble competition?
Benjamín Olaizola from Argentina came in second place.

5. In what year did Nigel win a French Scrabble title?
Nigel won a French Scrabble title in 2015.

6. How old was Nigel when he started playing Scrabble?
Nigel was 28 years old when he started playing Scrabble.

7. Where does Nigel live now?
Nigel lives in Malaysia now.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Nigel
(2) Zealand
(3) Spain
(4) People
(5) person
(6) contest
(7) Benjamín
(8) French
(9) title
(10) winning
(11) likes
(12) keep
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. tournament
Answer: (G) A big event where people play games to see who is the best

2. competition
Answer: (D) A contest where people try to win

3. amazed
Answer: (B) Feeling very surprised and impressed

4. organized
Answer: (A) Made something happen in a planned way

5. champion
Answer: (L) A person who wins first place

6. strategies
Answer: (C) Plans or methods to win a game

7. private
Answer: (F) Not sharing much about yourself with others

8. interviews
Answer: (J) Meetings where people ask and answer questions

9. memorizing
Answer: (K) Remembering things by repeating them

10. previous
Answer: (E) Happening before something else

11. surprised
Answer: (H) Feeling shocked because something unexpected happened

12. titles
Answer: (I) Awards or honors for winning something
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Who won the big Scrabble tournament in Spanish?
Answer: (b) Nigel Richards

2. Where did the Scrabble competition take place?
Answer: (b) Granada, Spain

3. How many world titles has Nigel won in English?
Answer: (d) Five

4. How did Nigel learn Spanish words?
Answer: (c) By memorizing them for a year

5. Who came in second place in the tournament?
Answer: (c) Benjamín Olaizola

6. What other language’s Scrabble title did Nigel win?
Answer: (a) French

7. When did Nigel start playing Scrabble?
Answer: (a) At 28 years old

8. Where does Nigel live now?
Answer: (d) Malaysia
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Nigel does not speak Spanish. (Answer: True)
2. Nigel Richards is from New Zealand. (Answer: True)
3. He started playing Scrabble when he was 25 years old. (Answer: False)
4. He learned Spanish words by practicing speaking for one year. (Answer: False)
5. The previous runner-up was Benjamín Olaizola from Argentina. (Answer: False)
6. Nigel also won a French Scrabble title in 2015. (Answer: True)
7. Nigel has won five world titles in English Scrabble. (Answer: True)
8. He lost a Scrabble tournament in Spain. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧