Category: ESL Games

ESL games and activities can be incredibly beneficial for students of any age and level of English.

What are the advantages in using games in the classroom?

  • Games provide a break from the usual routine of lesson.
  • They are motivating and challenging and engaging.
  • Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. Games help
  • students to make and sustain the effort of learning.
  • Games provide language practice in the various skills – speaking,
  • writing, listening and reading.
  • They encourage students to interact and communicate.
  • They create a meaningful context for language use.

Also:

  • Games are learner-centered (the student is always in focus).
  • Games reduce learning anxiety.
  • Games encourage creativity and spontaneous usage of the language.
  • Games foster participatory attitudes of the students.

And more:

  • Games develop critical thinking, problem solving, and imagination.
  • Games are adaptable for different levels of knowledge.
  • Educational games are easy to understand and use.
  • Games may be used in the classroom as rewards for students.
  • Games increase motivation and desire for self-improvement.
  • Challenge and competition are key factors for any game and students pay more attention to completing the task.

ESL games are very versatile, they can be used to warm up the class before the lesson, during the lesson to give students a break and relax, or at the end of class when you have a few minutes left to kill.

ESL games are used to teach and practice vocabulary, practice conversation, negotiation, they promote teamwork and cooperation.

If you don’t use games in your lessons, or use them only sporadically, maybe it’s time to start enjoying all the benefits and fun they can bring into the classroom.

 

 

 

6 Fun Activities Exhausted ESL Teachers Will Appreciate At The End Of The Term

I have one more week of teaching ahead of me. Three more weeks of work. There is more paperwork now than actual teaching. The kids can smell the summer holidays in the air and it shows. The teachers can barely hide how exhausted they are.

And it’s hot. Scorching hot. No AC in the building and my brain is shutting off. All I can see is myself on the beach, sipping a gin&tonic. But the kids still need to be educated. Motivated. Engaged. Entertained.

The perfect time for some fun speaking activities. Group work. Games. Anything. It’s too hot to be creative. I am thankful for any useful activity I can find so I put together a couple of fun ESL activities that I’m using these days. The kids are happy. My head didn’t explode. Win-win.

1. Balderdash

This activity is based on a popular board game. It is a more fun variation of a dictionary game I sometimes play with my students. They get a couple of difficult words and have to invent fake definitions. This game is the most popular among my kids.

Vocabulary game

 

2. The holiday maze

You can make any topic into a maze activity. I like this holiday maze by TeachingEnglish. Makes everyone long for the summer break even more.

3. Murder mystery

This is a great activity even for larger groups(7-11). The victim is a cranky English teacher so the students will certainly enjoy it.

4. Taboo

This one is still popular. Revising vocabulary is always a good idea. There are plenty of different topics you can choose from.  You can try our free games on the topic of Media or Business. Other topics include Health and Food.

5. Scrabble

Whether it’s the online version or the actual board game, Scrabble is always a good choice.

6. Questionnaires and surveys

The best thing about these fun ESL activities is that the variations are endless. You can either find some or have your students create their own. It’s more fun and they also learn more. Just give them a topic, have them write 10 questions and after that, they circle the class and interview as many classmates as possible.  Finally, they inform the class about the results. Topics may include Environment, Hobbies, Books, Travel, Science, History, Media, Celebrities. 

 

You can also find some interesting ideas in this article from Lessons Plan Digger, which inspired me to write this list.

 

For even more communicative activities, click below.

 

ESL Game Compound Nouns Dominoes: Town and Countryside

Vocabulary activity game.

Download the game here: Compound nouns dominoes Places

Other vocabulary resources:

Travel/Holiday Vocabulary Cards

Useful Classroom Tip: Vocabulary Revision

Business English Vocabulary Card Game | Forbidden Words

Media/Entertainment Vocabulary Card Game Based on Taboo.

 

Business English Vocabulary Card Game | Forbidden Words

Forbidden Words is a game card activity based on Taboo. The aim of the game is to explain given words, but without those words that you would most likely use because those are taboo – that means, you can’t use them. The simplicity of this game allows for endless variations and you can use it to teach any vocabulary you wish. This is a Business English Vocabulary game for adults and teenagers.

This version contains 27 cards, each with 5 words, which gives you together 105 words you can use for teaching or revision with your students.

Each card contains one keyword (the word you have to explain) and 4 forbidden words which may not be used when explaining the keyword. If it is too difficult to explain the keyword without using forbidden words, you can allow your students to use one or more of the forbidden words.

Download  >>>> Business Vocabulary Card Game I Forbidden Words

Download Travel card game >>>>Travel&Holidays

Download Media card game >>>>Media Card Game

Make Game Quizzes For ESL Lessons

My younger students are very competitive and playful, and I love that about them. It is great to see that they are engaged and immersed in the activity, that they are having fun; and that they don’t even realise they are learning.

I am always in need of new resources, games, flash cards, you name it! Sometimes, I make my own, you can download them here: Media Card Game, Restaurant Menu Pair Work,  Travel&Holidays Card Game, Role plays- Travel. Another time, I happily turn to many online resources an ESL teacher can use. The one I recently used to revise reported speech, is Jeopardy Labs. It is an online template builder which allows you to build customised jeopardy (or a basic quiz game) template. It has a very simple, intuitive editor and when you have no time to build your own, you can browse games created by other people.  I got tons of results when I searched for reported speech and there are plenty of quizzes on other subjects, too!

I haven’t written the best part yet; you can create up to 12 teams, you can download the game and play it later directly from your web browser (so no internet needed for playing the game), it counts the points automatically (you just click the green plus button, or red minus button). Each game has 5 categories and from 100 to 500 points which you can assign according to the question difficulty. It has a clean, simple design, it is absolutely easy to use and I love it. Try it too and let me know what you think!

Media/Entertainment Vocabulary Card Game Based on Taboo.

 

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts 3 Board Games You Can Use In The Classroom, I love using games with my students and Taboo style cards are one of my favourite ways of revising vocabulary.

The last downloadable pdf worksheet covered Travel&Holidays for Intermediate and Upper Intermediate students. This time I needed some media and movie vocabulary cards to use with my younger students as part of a pre-test revision. I created a downloadable, easy to use PDFworksheet. Just download, print, cut and you are ready to go!

Every word has 3 forbidden words and if it is too difficult to explain the word without using those, you can allow your students to use one or more of the forbidden words. Download the PDF version of the game for free here:

Media Card Game

 

3 Board Games You Can Use In The Classroom.

I love playing games. My students love playing games. You can learn a lot by playing games and it is so much fun. It is a total win-win and what is best, it doesn’t require any preparation. You just grab the game and off you go, revising vocabulary, improving communication skills, fostering team spirit and mostly, enjoying it. What’s not to like?

Here are some board games I use with my students and I also included a PDF worksheet of my own game that my students love to play. You will find it at the end of this article and you can download it for free. You’re welcome!

1. Scrabble

The classic which never fails. Best played in groups of four, kids, teenagers, adults love this game. Simple rules, competitiveness and lots of words! You can also find Scrabble app on the App Store or  Google Play.

2. OrganATTACK

This is a new medical-themed card game which was created by Nick Seluk, the author of my favourite The Awkward Yeti webcomic. I liked the game so much that I even backed it on Kickstarter! It looks great, the organ cards are super cute and hilarious, the game itself is fun and easy to learn. Your aim is to remove your opponent’s organ before they remove yours. It is perfect for learning and revising medical-related vocabulary.

3. Taboo

Taboo is an excellent card game to learn and revise vocabulary, to practise speaking, train your brain to think fast and to be creative. The aim of the game is to explain given words, but without those words that you would most likely use because those are taboo – that means, you can’t use them. The simplicity of this game allows for endless variations and you can use it to teach any vocabulary you wish.

My version of the game covers Travel/Holidays, for Intermediate and Upper Intermediate students. Every word has 4 or 5 forbidden words and if it is too difficult to explain the word without using those, you can allow your students to use one or more of the forbidden words. Download the PDF version of the game for free here: Forbidden Words! Game. You can also try other topics such as:

Media/Entertainment Vocabulary Card Game Based on Taboo.

Business English Vocabulary Card Game | Forbidden Words

ESL Vocabulary Activity Based on Taboo: Food

ESL Vocabulary Activity. Forbidden Words: Health

Have fun!

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