Gibberish Interpreter: The Made-Up Language
A visitor from an imaginary country speaks in a made-up language while an interpreter translates for the audience, relying only on the visitor's gestures, tone, and posture. It builds nonverbal communication, mutual listening, expressive gestures, and partner improv.
How to play
- Pair warm-up (3 min): a gibberish conversation, sounds with no real words, about your day, with big gestures.
- Place two chairs on stage, visitor and interpreter; everyone else plays reporters at a press conference.
- A reporter asks, the interpreter relays it in gibberish with gestures, the visitor answers in the made-up language, and the interpreter translates for the audience based on gestures and tone.
- Each pair answers three questions in 2 minutes. Rotate about five pairs (10 min).
- Wrap-up (4 min): all pairs play at once with roles switched, then discuss which gestures were clear without words.
Rules
- The visitor never uses real words from any language.
- The interpreter translates what the visitor shows, not what they'd like to say.
- Safety: keep space between the chairs, and big gestures stay away from the partner's face.
Variations
Easier
The visitor gets a card with a topic (a famous chef, an explorer) that the interpreter also knows.
Standard
Press conference with three questions and gesture-based translation.
Harder
The visitor can correct the interpreter with an annoyed gesture if they disagree, and the interpreter has to fix the translation.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: the game is naturally seated, and gestures can focus on face, arms, and hands.
- Hearing impairment: the student can play the visitor, focused on gestures, and translation is supported on the whiteboard or by lip-reading with the interpreter facing them.
- Shyness: the student can start as a reporter and move on to the pairs version with no audience.
Learning goals
- Communicate messages through gestures, tone, and posture without real words.
- Interpret a partner's nonverbal language.
- Improvise as a pair by listening to and supporting each other's ideas.
Equipment for a class of 25
- chairs: 2
Teacher tip
Encourage visitors to take their time with big gestures; if they talk fast without gesturing, the interpreter runs out of clues and the scene falls flat.
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