十个英文课堂游戏

10 Best Games for ESL Teachers Abroad

Games and fun activities are a vital part of

teaching English as a

foreign language

. Whether you’re teaching adults or children, 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 when you’re

tackling a tough subject, or at the end of class when you have a few

minutes left to kill. There are literally hundreds, 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. Having these up your

sleeve before stepping into the classroom will ensure your lessons

run smoothly, and, should things get a little 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 used for revising

vocabulary, whether it be words from the lesson you’ve just taught or

words from a lesson you taught last week. It can also be used at the

start of the class to get students active. It is a great way of testing

what your students already know about the subject you’re about to

teach.

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Why use it?

Revising vocabulary; grammar

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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

:

This is best played with 6 students or more - the more, the better.

I’ve used it in classes ranging from 7

-

25 years of age and it’s worked

well in all age groups. Here's a step by step explanation:

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Split the class into two teams and give each team a colored

marker.

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If you have a very large class, it may be better to split the

students into teams of 3 or 4.

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Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at

the top.

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The students must then write as many words as you require

related to the topic in the form of a relay race.

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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 term as

a ‘getting to know you’ kind of game. It is also a brilliant ice breaker

between students if you teach classes who do not know one another

-- and especially essential if you are teaching a

small class size

.

The game is excellent for practicing speaking skills, though make

sure you save a time for after the game to comment on any mistakes

students may have made during the game. (I generally like to reserve

this for after the game, so you don't disrupt their fluency by correcting

them as they speak).

With older groups you can have some real fun and you might be

surprised what you’ll learn about some of your students when playing

this particular EFL game.

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Why use it?

Ice-breaker; Speaking skills

?

Who it's best for:

Appropriate for all levels and ages but best

with older groups

How to play:

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Write 3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which

should be lies and one which should be true.

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Allow your students to ask you questions about each statement

and then guess which one is the truth. You might want to practice

your poker face before starting this game!

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If they guess correctly then they win.

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Extension:

Give students time to write their own two truths and

one lie.

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Pair them up and have them play again, this time with their list,

with their new partner. If you want to really extend the game and give

students even more time to practice their speaking/listening skills,

rotate partners every five minutes.

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Bring the whole class back together and have students

announce one new thing they learned about another student 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 them home on a

Friday afternoon, this one is bound to get them excited and wanting

more. The only danger I have found with this game is that students

never want to stop playing it.

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Why use it?

Listening comprehension; Vocabulary; Warming

up/winding down class

?

Who it's best for:

Young learners

How to Play:

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Stand in front of the class (you are Simon for the duration of this

game).

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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 the children will love

you for it.

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Then do an action but this time say only the action and omit

‘Simon Says’.

Whoever does the action this time is out and must sit

down.

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The winner is the last student standing.

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To make it harder, speed up the actions. Reward children for

good behavior by allowing them to play the part of Simon.

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 we are, 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.

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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.

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Write out a number of sentences, using different colors for each

sentence. I suggest having 3-5 sentences for each team.

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Cut up the sentences so you have a handful of words.

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Put each sentence into hats, cups or any objects you can find,

keeping each separate.

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Split your class into teams of 2, 3, or 4. You can have as many

teams as you want but remember to have enough sentences to go

around.

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Teams must now put their sentences in the correct order.

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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 get boring

quite quickly. This game is best used for 5 minutes at the start to

warm the class up or 5 minutes at the end if you’ve got some time left

over. It works no matter how many students are in the class.

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Why use it?

Warming up / winding down class

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Who it's best for:

Young learners

How to play:

In case you've never played, here's a quick rundown.