Whether you teach large classes or small groups, revising vocabulary in a quick and simple way is always useful, especially when its all done by the students – all you have to do is to give them instructions, circle and monitor.
1. Put the students in groups of four ( I like to use Random Team Generator for this).
2. Give each group 40 (the amount depends on the level of the students, the time you have for this activity, etc.) small slips of paper ( 1 A4 page makes 16 slips of paper of the optimal size)
3. Each student will write an item of vocabulary that was covered in the previous lesson/lessons. The group has to cooperate so there is no duplicate vocabulary.
4. When they finish, groups swap the pile of cards they made so they get a different set of cards,
5. In their groups, they take turns and draw a card from the vocabulary pile and explain the word to the rest of the group. The person who first guessed the word keeps that card. The winner is the person with the most cards.
Other resources and activities:
Fun Vocabulary Posters For ESL/EFL Students
ESL Game Compound Nouns Dominoes: Town and Countryside
ESL Speaking Activity Worksheet: Business Plan
ESL Pair Work Activity: Teenager Issues