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10 Best Games for ESL Teachers AbroadPublished on 10/08/2013Last updated on 06/13/2014
These games are perfect for the ESL classroom
Games and fun activities are a vital part of teaching English as a foreign language. Whether you're teaching childrenor adults, games will liven up your lesson and ensure that your students will leave the classroom wanting more.
Games can be used to warm up the class before your lesson begins, during the lesson to give students a break whenyou're tackling a tough subject, or at the end of class when you have a few minutes left to kill. There are literallyhundreds, probably thousands, of games that you can play with your students. EFL games are used to test vocabulary,practice conversing, learn tenses the list is endless.
This list of ten classic ESL games every teacher should know will help get you started and feeling prepared. Havingthese up your sleeve before stepping into the classroom will ensure your lessons run smoothly, and, should things get alittle out of control, you'll be able to pull back the attention of the class in no time.
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1. Board Race
There isn't an EFL teacher I know who doesn't use this game in the classroom. Board Race is a fun game that is usedfor revising vocabulary, whether it be words from the lesson you've just taught or words from a lesson you taught lastweek. It can also be used at the start of the class to get students active. It is a great way of testing what your studentsalready know about the subject you're about to teach.
Why use it? Revising vocabulary; grammar
Who it's best for: Appropriate for all levels and ages
How to play: First, watch this helpful video of real teachers using this game in the classroom by BridgeTEFL:
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Emma LanderGO OVERSEAS WRITER
Emma Lander is a newlyqualified EFL teacher and so far hastaught English in the UK and Finland,and is now beginning a long termcontract for teaching in South Korea.Emma loves travel, reading, and writing,and is currently working on her first novelfor children. She also enjoys mountainclimbing and hiking and recentlycompleted a charity trek along the GreatWall of China. Follow Emma on Twitter@1littlewanderer, Google+ or on herwebsite Happy Little Wanderer.
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This is best played with 6 students or more the more, the better. I've used it in classes ranging from 725 years of ageand it's worked well in all age groups. Here's a step by step explanation:
Split the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker.
If you have a very large class, it may be better to split the students into teams of 3 or 4.Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at the top.The students must then write as many words as you require related to the topic in the form of a relay race.Each team wins one point for each correct word. Any words that are unreadable or misspelled are not counted.
2. Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie
Call My Bluff is a fun game which is perfect at the start of termas a 'getting to know you' kind of game. It is also a brilliant icebreaker between students if you teach classes who do notknow one another and especially essential if you are teachinga small class size. The game is excellent for practicingspeaking skills, though make sure you save a time for after thegame to comment on any mistakes students may have madeduring the game. (I generally like to reserve this for after thegame, so you don't disrupt their fluency by correcting them asthey speak).
With older groups you can have some real fun and you mightbe surprised what you'll learn about some of your studentswhen playing this particular EFL game.
Why use it? Icebreaker; Speaking skills
Who it's best for: Appropriate for all levels and ages but best with older groups
How to play:
Write 3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which should be lies and one which should be true.Allow your students to ask you questions about each statement and then guess which one is the truth. You mightwant to practice your poker face before starting this game!
If they guess correctly then they win.Extension: Give students time to write their own two truths and one lie.Pair them up and have them play again, this time with their list, with their new partner. If you want to really extendthe game and give students even more time to practice their speaking/listening skills, rotate partners every fiveminutes.Bring the whole class back together and have students announce one new thing they learned about anotherstudent as a recap.
3. Simon Says
This is an excellent game for young learners. Whether you're waking them up on a Monday morning or sending themhome on a Friday afternoon, this one is bound to get them excited and wanting more. The only danger I have foundwith this game is that students never want to stop playing it.
Why use it? Listening comprehension; Vocabulary; Warming up/winding down class
Who it's best for: Young learners
How to Play:
Stand in front of the class (you are Simon for the duration of this game).Do an action and say Simon Says [action]. The students must copy what you do.
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Repeat this process choosing different actions you can be as silly as you like and the sillier you are the more thechildren will love you for it.Then do an action but this time say only the action and omit 'Simon Says'. Whoever does the action this time isout and must sit down.The winner is the last student standing.To make it harder, speed up the actions. Reward children for good behavior by allowing them to play the part ofSimon.
Take your students outside for interactive games
4. Word Jumble Race
This is a great game to encourage team work and bring a sense of competition to the classroom. No matter how old weare, we all love a good competition and this game works wonders with all age groups. It is perfect for practicing tenses,word order, reading & writing skills and grammar.
Why use it? Grammar; Word Order; Spelling; Writing Skills
Who it's best for: Adaptable to all levels/ages
How to play:
This game requires some planning before the lesson.
Write out a number of sentences, using different colors for each sentence. I suggest having 35 sentences for eachteam.Cut up the sentences so you have a handful of words.Put each sentence into hats, cups or any objects you can find, keeping each separate.Split your class into teams of 2, 3, or 4. You can have as many teams as you want but remember to have enoughsentences to go around.Teams must now put their sentences in the correct order.
The winning team is the first team to have all sentences correctly ordered.
5. Hangman
This classic game is a favorite for all students but it can getboring quite quickly. This game is best used for 5 minutes atthe start to warm the class up or 5 minutes at the end if you'vegot some time left over. It works no matter how many studentsare in the class.
Why use it? Warming up / winding down class
Who it's best for: Young learners
How to play:
In case you've never played, here's a quick rundown.
Think of a word and write the number of letters on theboard using dashes to show many letters there are.Ask students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word,write it in all of the correct spaces. If the letter does notappear in the word, write it off to the side and begindrawing the image of a hanging man.Continue until the students guess the word correctly (theywin) or you complete the diagram (you win).
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6. Pictionary
This is another game that works well with any age group; children love it because they can get creative in the classroom,teenagers love it because it doesn't feel like they're learning and adults love it because it's a break from the monotony oflearning a new language even though they'll be learning as they play. Pictionary can help students practice theirvocabulary and it tests to see if they're remembering the words you've been teaching.
Why use it? Vocabulary
Who it's best for: All ages; best with young learners
How to play:
Before the class starts, prepare a bunch of words and put them in a bag.Split the class into teams of 2 and draw a line down the middle of the board.Give one team member from each team a pen and ask them to choose a word from the bag.Tell the students to draw the word as a picture on the board and encourage their team to guess the word.The first team to shout the correct answer gets a point.The student who has completed drawing should then nominate someone else to draw for their team.
Repeat this until all the words are gone make sure you have enough words that each student gets to draw atleast once!
7. The Mime
Miming is an excellent way for students to practice their tenses and their verbs. It's also great for teachers with minimalresources or planning time, or teachers who want to break up a longer lesson with something more interactive since it'sadaptable to almost any language point that you might be focusing on. This game works with any age group, althoughyou will find that adults tire of this far quicker than children. To keep them engaged, relate what they will be miming toyour groups' personal interests as best as possible.
Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking
Who it's best for: All ages; best with young learners
How to play:
Before the class, write out some actions like washing the dishes and put them in a bag.Split the class into two teams.Bring one student from each team to the front of the class and one of them choose an action from the bag.
Have both students mime the action to their team.The first team to shout the correct answer wins a point.Repeat this until all students have mimed at least one action.
Don't be afraid to be a little goofy
8. Hot Seat
This is one of my students' favorite games and is always at the top of the list when I ask them what they want to play. Ihave never used this in an adult EFL classroom, but I imagine it would work well.
Hot Seat allows students to build their vocabulary and encourages competition in the classroom. They are also able topractice their speaking and listening skills and it can be used for any level of learner.
Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking and Listening
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Who it's best for: All ages and levels
How to play:
Split the class into 2 teams, or more if you have a large class.
Elect one person from each team to sit in the Hot Seat, facing the classroom with the board behind them.Write a word on the board. One of the team members of the student in the hot seat must help the student guessthe word by describing it. They have a limited amount of time and cannot say, spell or draw the word.Continue until each team member has described a word to the student in the Hot Seat.
9. Where Shall I Go?
This game is used to test prepositions of movement and should be played after this subject has been taught in theclassroom. This game is so much fun but it can be a little bit dangerous since you'll be having one student in each pairbe blindfolded while the other directs them. So make sure to keep your eyes open! It is also excellent for the adult EFLclassroom, and teenagers love this game too.
Why use it? Prepositions; Speaking and Listening
Who it's best for: All ages and levels
How to play:
Before the students arrive, turn your classroom into a maze by rearranging it. It's great if you can do this outside,but otherwise push tables and chairs together and move furniture to make your maze.
When your students arrive, put them in pairs outside the classroom. Blindfold one student from each pair.Allow pairs to enter the classroom one at a time; the blindfolded student should be led through the maze by theirpartner. The students must use directions such as step over, go under, go up, and go down to lead their partner tothe end of the maze.
10. What's My Problem?
Why use it? This is a brilliant EFL game to practice giving advice. It should be played after the 'giving advice'vocabulary lesson has taken place. It is a great way for students to see what they have remembered and what needsreviewing. This game works well with any age group, just adapt it to fit the age you're working with.
Why use it? Speaking and Listening; Giving Advice
Who it's best for: All ages and levels
How to play:
Write ailments or problems related to your most recent lesson on postit notes and stick one postit note on eachstudent's back.The students must mingle and ask for advice from other students to solve their problem.
Students should be able to guess their problem based on the advice they get from their peers.Use more complicated or obscure problems to make the game more interesting for older students. For lower levelsand younger students, announce a category or reference a recent lesson, like "Health", to help them along.
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These games will keep your students engaged and happy as they learn! Remember, these are just ten on the hundredsof different EFL games that you can plat with your students. As you get more confident in the classroom, you can startputting your own spin on games and eventually make up your own.
Whatever the age of your students, they're guaranteed to love playing EFL games in the classroom. An EFL classroomshould be fun, active and challenging and these games are sure to get you heading in the right direction.
What games do you love to play with your ESL students? Let us know in the comments!
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Add a comment 16 comments
Azfar Uddin · · Dupage · 180 followers
Will use these games to teach Arabic!Reply · Like · · Follow Post · August 14, 2014 at 3:14am
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Karen Franke · Teacher at Maxwell Heights Secondary SchoolThanks for the ideas. I teach secondary ESL and love to use games in the class.Reply · Like · · Follow Post · July 29, 2014 at 2:01am3
Jane LaneI really like your board race!
However, doing an onthespot grammar correction for such things as articles, "a BMW, the USA" seemsinappropriate and embarrassing. You can see how self conscious they get. Save it for an end of the classdelayed error correction where you write it on the board and ask students to correct the error.
I have great success using two truths in a lie in class but to get the blood flowing and keep it interesting I havestarted marking areas of the room 1 2 3 and after each student reads their 3 statements I ask "Which is a lie?"and students go to the area they think is a lie. I also make them ask "Can you repeat it?" if they can't hear itclearly.Reply · Like · · Follow Post · Edited · July 27, 2014 at 7:00pm2
Jessie Beck · Top Commenter · Teach & Content Director at Go Overseas
Hi Jane I totally agree. I always made notes of errors students made during class and thencorrected them at the end. Usually they were so general no one knew who made what error.
Good advice on the two truths and a lie game. Any chance you'd like to upload some of your bestplans / games on our new teacher resources page (http://www.gooverseas.com/esllessonplans)? Others can comment on plans and give advice just like how you did just now.Reply · Like · July 27, 2014 at 7:57pm
JuJu Nashamaaaazing thanks!Reply · Like · · Follow Post · August 12, 2014 at 9:50pm1
Semino Ekvwow nice gamesReply · Like · · Follow Post · April 19, 2014 at 10:17am2
Gerel Altansukh · · Darkhan, DarhanUul, Mongolia
xo oloo yuReply · Like · April 19, 2014 at 10:25am
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Alistair McMillan · University of KwaZuluNatalOne of the better games pages, thank you!Reply · Like · Follow Post · April 8, 2014 at 4:18am
Sean Anderson · Chigasaki, KanagawaHere's one i invented because my students we're really into card games. http://www.questionquest.comIt's not free, but it's close.Reply · Like · Follow Post · February 19, 2014 at 8:46am
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Dublin Celts · Top Commenter
Don't you mean 'were'... and you teach English ?Reply · Like · · July 3, 2014 at 3:36am13
Mike HughesDublin Celts Ouch!Reply · Like · · November 27, 2014 at 11:30am1
Sean Anderson · Chigasaki, KanagawaDublin Celts So sorry about the spelling errors. I typed too fast. My bad. I'll pay more attention inthe future. Thanks for your comment and reminding me that I should know better. :)Reply · Like · November 28, 2014 at 4:57am
Tiffany Hendrix · Works at Bridge Linguatec
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Tiffany Hendrix · Works at Bridge Linguatec
What about THE BLOB? I learned this during a PD in Clark County School District. Call a line of 6 or 7students to the front of the room and ask them a question related to the content. Students are not allowed totalk to each other. Each student says only one word at a time, then it's the next student's turn. After the groupsucceeds in getting the right answer, the next group comes up. Students in the audience are engagedthinking about what they would say.Reply · Like · · Follow Post · December 5, 2013 at 12:19am2
Megan Lee · · Top Commenter · Overseas Educator at Carpe Diem Education
Duck duck goose! You can switch out the terms for anything. I remember playing "Milk milk water" and "Meatmeat veggies" while teaching Chinese to kids. It's a classic. ( Meredith miss our teaching days!)Reply · Like · · Follow Post · October 11, 2013 at 12:45am
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Stephanie Gordiola · University of the RepublicVery useful! thank you!!!Reply · Like · · Follow Post · May 29, 2014 at 5:07pm1
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