Games & Activities for the ESL/EFL Classroom

A Project of The Internet TESL Journal

This is a place were English teachers can share games and activities that they have found useful in the classroom. If you know a game or an activity that works well with ESL/EFL students and it is not yet listed here, please su mit it.
!ome " #rticles " Lessons " Techni$ues " %uestions " &ames " 'okes " Things for Teachers " Links " #ctivities for ESL Students

(ou may view the games in two different ways. Each Game on Its O n Pa!e " #an$ Games Per Pa!e%This Section& )um er of Su missions* +,The newest addition is at the top of the page.

'a( Fruit) A Sho**ers+ ,i!htmare

Level) Easy to .edium This is an oral communication activity appropriate for EFL learners in elementary/primary school. /It0s optimal for grades ,123. This game is designed for practicing 4shopping4 dialogues and voca ulary. #aterials) 4produce4 and play money. O-ject of Game) To accumulate as many products as possi le. Students are divided into clerks and shoppers. The clerks set up 4stands4 to allow easy access for all shoppers /e.g. around the outsides of the room with their acks to the wall3. The shoppers are given a set amount of money5 /e.g. dollars, euros, pounds, etc.3 and egin at a stand where there is an open space. Students shop, trying to accumulate as many items as possi le /each item is + unit of currency3. 6eriodically, the instructor will say 4stop4 /a ell or other device may e needed to attract attention in some cultural and classroom conte7ts3 and call out a name of one of the products. Students with that product must then put #LL their products in a asket at the front of the room. The remaining students continue shopping. Students who had to dump their products must egin again from scratch /with fewer units of currency3.

The student with the most products at the end wins. Students then switch roles. 5It is recommended giving students as much money as possi le since students who run out can no longer participate. Alternative *la$ for more a(vance( stu(ents) 8lerks set the price of items. Shoppers have the option of negotiating the price. There are two winners in this version* The shopper who accumulates the most products and the clerk who makes the most money.
Su mitted y* .ike (ough

.hat+s the /uestion0

Level) #ny Level T$*e of Activit$) listening and speaking Pur*ose) review $uestion forms previously studied in class Proce(ure) Form two teams /three will work, ut two seems to add 9ust the right amount of competitive tension3. E7plain the game, with a few e7amples of answers in search of $uestions. #sk, 0:hat0s the $uestion;0, and get students to correctly say the corresponding $uestions for your answer. !ave two players11one from each team11come to the front. Style it like a game show if you like, with the students standing side1 y1side. If you have access to ells or u<<ers, it0s even more fun. )e7t, read an answer to a $uestion and say, 0:hat0s the $uestion;0 The fastest player to respond wins a point for her/his team. )ew contestants come to the front for a new round. 1ationale) This game forces the students to think ackwards a little, so they must provide a grammatically perfect $uestion. #ll too often, they are used to answering rather than asking $uestions, so this is challenging and useful as review.
Su mitted y* Tim

Toilet Pa*er Ice-rea2er

Level) #ny Level

This activity is used as a 4getting to know you4, ice reaker on the first day of class. +. Teacher takes the toilet paper roll and takes several s$uares of toilet paper, then hands the roll of toilet paper to a student. The teacher tells the student to take some, more than three. -. #fter every ody in the class has some paper, we count the s$uares we have, then we have to tell that many things a out ourselves, in English. This activity works well with su stitute teachers also. The toilet paper is such an attention getter.
Su mitted y* Linda Le=lanc

Chain S*ellin! %Shiri-tori&

Level) Easy to .edium The teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student should say a word eginning with the last letter of the word given. The game continues until someone makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word incorrectly, misspell it or come up with a word that has een said already, then he/she is out. The last one remaining in the game is the winner. This game can e made difficult y limiting the words to a certain category, e.g.. food, tools, or nouns, ver s, etc.
Su mitted y* !uang Shufang

'an! 'an!
Level) Easy >ivide the group into two teams. E7plain that they are cow oys and they are involved in a duel. ?ne student from each team comes to the front. &et them to pretend to draw their pistols. Say 4how do you say...4 and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to give the answer and then 4 ang ang4, pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. !e remains standing and the other one sits down. I give + point for the right answer and @ e7tra points if they manage to 4kill4 A opponents in a row. Editor0s )ote* Instead of saying the word in the students0 mother tongue, it would e possi le to use a picture or to say a definition /4:hat do you call the large gray animal with a long nose;43
Su mitted y* Li<

'attle Shi*s 3 A 4oca-ular$ Game

Level) Easy to .edium Pre*aration) >ivide the students in to groups of four or five. Then ask the student to make the name for their ships for e7ample with the names of animals, cities, movie stars or let them find their own favourite names. #sk them to choose the 8aptain and the Shooter. The captain0s duty is to memori<e his ship0s name, so he can reply if some ody call his ship0s name. The shooter0s duty is to memori<e the names of the ships of 0their enemies0, so he can shoot them y calling their ship0s name. Activit$) #rrange all the captains in a circle, the ships0 crews must line up ehind their captains. The shooter is the last crew mem er in line. The teacher must decide a le7ical area of voca ulary, this voca ulary will e used to defend their ships from the attacks. Every students /e7cept the shooters3 must find their own words. The le7ical area for e7ample, 4Four Legged #nimals4. &ive the students +1- minutes to find as many possi le words as they can and memori<e them. Start the game y calling a ship0s name, for e7ample the ship name is 4T!E 8#LIF?B)I#)4. The captain of T!E 8#LIF?B)I#) must reply with a word from the le7ical area given, for e7ample he says 4TI&EB4 followed y his crews ehind him one y one, 48?:4C 4S!EE64 until it is the shooter turns and he calls out the name of another ship and the captain of the ship called must reply and his crews must do the same thing. )o word can e repeated. If the captain is late to reply /more than - seconds3 or his crew can not say the words or a word repeated or the shooter shoots the wrong ship /his own ship or the ship that has already een sunk3 the ship is sunk, and the crew mem ers can 9oin the crew of another ship. The teacher can change the le7ical area for the ne7t round. In the last round there will e two ig groups attling to e the winner.
Su mitted y* #gung Listyawan

5escri-in! A**earances & Characteristics of Peo*le

Level) Easy to .edium /Low to low intermediate3 Each student is then give one sheet of paper. ?ne student sits at the front of a room. !e/she descri es a person and the rest of the class draws the person eing descri ed.

It is more interesting if the person eing descri ed is known y everyone. ?nce the student has finished descri ing that person then he/she reveals who it is and each student shows his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious as the impressions tend to make the character in $uestion look funny. It is a good idea to encourage students to ask the interviewee student $uestions a out who they are descri ing.
Su mitted y* >arrell

Sentence 1ace
Level) #ny Level # good game for large classes and for reviewing voca ulary lessons. +. 6repare a list of review voca ulary words. -. :rite each word on two small pieces of paper. That means writing the word twice, once on each paper. ,. ?rgani<e the pieces like undles, - undles, - sets of identical words. A. >ivide the class into - teams. get them to make creative team names. @. >istri ute each list of words to oth teams. every student on each team should have a paper. =oth teams have the same words. 2. :hen you call a word, - students should stand up, one from each team. The students must then run to the lack oard and race to write a sentence using their word. The winner is the one with a correct and clearly written sentence. This is always a hit with kids. For more advanced students, use tougher words.
Su mitted y* Thomas >. '1=

Pa*er Air*lane Game

Level) #ny Level >raw a target /with points 1 like a dart oard3 on the white oard or use a card oard o7 in the middle of the room. Then, students make paper airplanes and launch them after they answer your $uestion in the form of a sentence. I don0t e7cept my eginners/low intermediate students to form complete sentence so I help them to form correct sentences. To my surprise they will repeat the sentence several times /while I0m helping them3 9ust so they can throw their airplane. For eginner and low intermediate classes, I recommend formulating $uestions that lead to + or -

types of answers. This allows for etter memori<ation. For e7ample, use 8#)/:ILL $uestions and write the eginning part of the answer on the oard 4I can/will...4. I recommend giving a pri<e to make the target points mean something, thus peaking their interest.
Su mitted y* Ell Saunders

Pictionar$ %Game 6& 3 revam* 3 Chara(es %Game 7&

Level) #ny Level :rite out series of categories like professions /doctor, us driver, etc.3, animals, foods, actions /fishing, haircut, etc.3 then divide the class into groups of -. ?ne student draws and the other guesses. )e7t turn, the guesser draws and drawer guesses. This game works est with the ar itrary stop watch /,D seconds3. This is designed for one lesson. Then for another day take the same categories /or create new ones3 and play the same game e7cept students, this time, act it out /no speaking or noises3.
Su mitted y* Ell Saunders

S*ellin! Contest
Level) #ny Level First, if you have a large class you have to divide it in - teams. then the teacher says a word or a sentence depending on the level for the students to spell. Students should spell these correctly with not even one mistake. The team that has more points is the winner
Su mitted y* Bevolle Soyer

.hat+s the #eanin!0

Level) .edium to >ifficult (ou, the teacher, may need a dictionary do this activity.

8hoose a word which is long, difficult, and unknown to the students, a good word to egin with is* warmonger. :ithout using a dictionary, your students write down a definition. /They can work out the definition in groups of three3. #llow them a few minutes to think and write. 8ollect the definitions and read them aloud.

:hen you have finished reading, they will have to vote which of those is the correct one. /It doesn0t matter if none of them is the correct one3 #fter they have voted and none of the groups guessed the meaning you read the correct one aloud.

The idea of this game is to let students e creative and practice writing skills. Then you can have the students to discuss their writings.
Su mitted y* )atalia Iglesias from #rgentina

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