Games for ESL

Alphabet Shout OutRandomly choose an
alphabet flashcard and award a point to the first student who
shouts out a word beginning with that letter.

Alphabet Writing RelayDivide and
line up the students into two teams. Divide the board into two
halves and have one student from each team run to the board,
write 'A', then run to the back of the line. The next student
writes 'B', etc. The first team to finish wins.

Alphabet Erase relayAs 'Alphabet
Writing Relay', but this time, write the alphabet on each half of
the board and have each team race to erase the letters in
order.

Alphabet SculpturesDivide the
students into teams and call out a letter of the alphabet. Award
a point to the first team that can form the letter with their
bodies.

Alphabet SoupGive each student an
alphabet flashcard and have them skip around the room to the 'ABC
Song'. Stop the tape at random and have the students rush to line
up in order, e.g. A-K. Alphabet Touch Call out letters and
have the students find and touch them in the classroom, on
posters, etc.

Alphabet WaveGive each student a few
ordered alphabet flashcards and play the 'ABC Song'. Have the
students hold up the cards that correspond to the letters they
hear in the song. Animal CrackersTake a big dice and
assign an animal to each number. Have the students roll the dice
and act like the animal!

The BallThrow the ball to a student
and ask that student a question. The student answers and throws
the ball to another student asking the same question. E.g. "Can
you…?", "Yes, I can. / No, I can't." "Do you like…?", "Yes, I
do. / No, I don't."

Balloon TossHave the students stand
in a circle. Toss a balloon to one student and elicit vocabulary
or a structure from that student. They must be able to tap the
balloon in the air without missing the vocabulary or structure
E.g. S1: "My name's Miki. What's your name?" (tap) "My name's
Hiro. What's your name?" (tap).

Basic Flashcard FunThe teacher
simply holds up a flash card and elicits the answer from the
students. This can be done in teams with points awarded for
correct answers.

Beat The ClockTime the students as
they race to put alphabet, days of the week, or month flashcards
in order. Have them try again to see if they can beat their
fastest time.

BingoBingo can be used with any
topic. Blank Bingo sheets can be used, and students can write of
draw randomly in the boxes. The winner is the first student to
cross out all the numbers/letters etc. on the sheet.

Blindfold ConversationArrange the
class in a circle and choose one student to stand in the circle
with a blindfold on. Spin the student and tell him/her to point.
Tell the student to guess the name of the student he/she is
pointing at by talking to him/her. E.g. "Hello. How are you? Do
you like…?"

BluffThe object of the game is to be
the first student to get rid of all his/her cards. Divide the
students into small group and deal flashcards to each student.
Player 1 chooses a card from his/her hand and throws it face down
on the table saying, for example, "I have (a cat)". Player 1 may
be telling the truth or bluffing. If player 2 has a 'cat' in
his/her hand then there's a good chance player 1 is bluffing.
Player 2 should say "No, you don't". If player 1 was bluffing,
player 2 gives player 1 a penalty card from his/her hand. If
player 1 was telling the truth then he/she gives player 2 a
penalty card from his/her hand. Continue until one student is out
of cards.

The BombPass a ball, object or a
flash card around a circle of students. When the timer rings, the
student holding the ball must answer a question, make a sentence
or say a word.

Car RaceArrange the flash cards in a
long line with starting and finishing points. Give each student a
counter. The first student throws the dice and moves. The student
must say the word on the flashcard he/she lands on. If the
student makes a mistake, he/she goes back to his/her original
place. Add colored paper between cards to represent 'Take Another
Turn', and assign a crash number e.g. #4 on the dice which means
the student must return to the beginning.

Catch The FruitToss a piece of
plastic fruit to a student and ask, "What is it?" Elicit and
prompt the correct vocabulary. Gesture the student to throw it
back to you and repeat with different fruit and students. For a
variation see 'The Ball'.

CharadesDivide and line up the class
into two teams. The first student from each team comes to the
front. The teacher whispers a word or shows a flashcard to the
two students and they act it out. The first team to call out the
correct word gets a point. E.g. sleeping, eating, playing
soccer…

ClustersPlay any music and have the
students walk, skip, jump, hop, etc around the room randomly.
Stop the music and call out a number between 1-8. The students
must quickly get together in a group or groups of that number,
and the odd students must sit out until the next
round.

CommandoThe teacher is the commando
and gives commands to the class and/or individual students. This
is a great energy burner as well as review of actions colors,
numbers or anything else you can throw in. E.g. "Jump 10 times",
"Touch your (body part)", "Touch (classroom object", "Turn
around", "Stand up / Sit down".