Medical English. Explain it in your own words.
Use these three original warm-up prompts to practise describing familiar objects and places. They supplement the card game and are freely available. You can begin with two people, or take turns in a larger group.
Prepared by luujuu, publisher of asystole · Updated
Set up your practice
- Choose one person to describe the target word and one to guess. With a larger group, add a listener who checks the forbidden words.
- Only the person describing should look at the prompt. Print the page and fold or cover the other prompts if that helps.
- Describe the target without saying it, parts of it, or any of the five forbidden words.
- Begin without a time limit. Switch roles after each attempt.
These warm-ups use simple objects and places. The physical game includes specialist medical terms and is intended for people with medical knowledge.
Three original warm-up prompts
Prompt 1
Stethoscope
Forbidden words: heart, listen, chest, sound, doctor.
Try describing its parts, how someone holds it, or where it is kept.
Prompt 2
Waiting room
Forbidden words: patient, chair, appointment, clinic, sit.
Describe what someone does before entering the next room or what they might find there.
Prompt 3
Microscope
Forbidden words: small, lens, cells, see, laboratory.
Describe its shape, its controls, or how someone uses the equipment.
Reflect before the next round
- Which phrase made the meaning clear?
- Where did the speaker pause or need another word?
- Was anything ambiguous?
- Can the speaker give a second explanation using a different approach?
Write down one useful phrase each. Check uncertain meanings or pronunciation in a reliable dictionary, then try the same target again. Treat uncertain medical definitions as questions to verify with an appropriate source.
A 20-minute group session
Allow about three minutes to set up, six for the first attempts, five for feedback, four to try again and two to choose what to practise next. These timings are suggestions. Adapt them to the group’s confidence and the number of people.
This is a speaking activity with peer feedback. Progress will depend on how you use it and on the quality of that feedback. Preparation for a language examination or a clinical placement should follow the requirements of the relevant institution.
Continue with the physical card game
The English edition of asystole contains 200 cards with 800 medical terms. Four to eight players form two teams, describe terms and check the forbidden words. Each round lasts 90 seconds. Use the instructions included with the game for scoring and other rules.
The photographed card shows the physical edition. The three prompts on this page were created separately as introductory practice material. See the English edition and buying options, or open the free ECG round timer.
About this page
Prepared by luujuu, the publisher of asystole. The practice prompts are free to use for a personal study session. Use your browser’s print command to print this page; the layout keeps the prompts together and removes the site navigation.