ESL Games & Resources
ESL Games & Resources
ESL teachers need patience, a good attitude, and a genuine passion for teaching English, especially during online teaching.
However, it’s also essential to have a collection of resources and ESL games to aid in your lesson planning; after all, who doesn’t love playing games?
Games continually make English classes more enjoyable and engaging, whether you use them to practice ESL vocabulary or merely break the ice with your students.
Teacher Resource Websites
<<<LanternFish (BogglesWorldESL)>>>
LanternFish is a valuable site for learners of all ages. With hundreds of worksheets and lesson plans, it’s a helpful resource with many great ideas to engage your students better.
ESL Printables is a fantastic website for teachers who have already made many worksheets, as you must submit contributions before you can download them.
BusyTeacher is an excellent site for ESL teachers. It has a vast library of worksheets and activities available immediately for free download: no signing up, no membership, and no fees. However, you can purchase their entire library for a small cost.
ESL Games to Play While Teaching Online
Memory Game
Students may be able to memorize spelling words or math facts, but shifting that recognition and awareness to everyday life may be more challenging for them. This game allows them to practice just that.
HOW TO PLAY:
Present a picture comprising various objects on the screen for students to view.
Set a timer for two to three minutes and encourage them to remember what is in front of them – they cannot write anything down.
Then, take away the photo and ask them to write down as many objects as they can remember.
Go through the list together, discussing the objects and using adjectives to describe them.
The Bragging Game
This activity not only helps your students develop their vocabulary and practice using comparative and superlative adjective forms but also helps them to be more imaginative.
How to play:
Start by saying a simple sentence. For example, you could say, “I live in a house.” Then, the student must “brag” by saying something more exaggerated than your sentence but still within the same topic, such as, “Really? I live in a bigger house with a pool.”
Continue this bragging game by going back and forth, trying to top each other’s claim-for example, you could counter with, “Well, I live in a mansion with a pool and a tennis court!”. The circle ends when a student cannot think of anything to top the last example.
Word Chain
This simple but fun online game for teaching English is excellent for developing vocabulary and checking pronunciation.
How to play:
Provide a category. Then, the first student has to say any word in that category. The next player needs to say another word in the same category, but the word must begin with the last letter of the previous word. For the food category, if Student A says “tomato,” Student B could say “orange.”
If students take too long thinking of a word, they must forfeit and take a challenge. For instance, they must sing a song, talk about a topic, allocate a points system, etc...
Tell Me 5
This game is suitable for practising speaking skills and vocabulary.
How to play:
List categories such as colours, food, transportation, zoo animals, etc.
Then, ask the student to choose a category.
If the student selects the food category, the teacher can ask, “Tell me five vegetables” or “Tell me five desserts.” The student must think of five items in less than one minute.
Tell Me 5 Variations:
You can also write five letters that the items in the category should start with. For example, “Tell me five vegetables that start with T, L, C, E, and K.”
Find Something
This ESL game for teaching kids online is excellent for practising students’ listening and thinking skills and reviewing vocabulary.
How to play:
Ask students to look around their room/house and find something of a particular colour. For example, you can ask the student to find something red. Give the student a minute or two to look around the room for an object that’s red such as a pen.
Alternatively, you can ask the student to look for something that begins with a specific letter. For instance, they can find an object that starts with the letter P, like a pillow or a pen.
ESL Games Conclusion
These are just a small sample of hundreds of games and websites. Take the time to research and make your lesson plans more engaging and fun for your students and yourself!
Relevant
Go to kidsenglishthailand.org/teacher-training-program-thailand to read about Meaningful Work and Travel Teaching Positions starting in May 2023 with teacher training in April 2023.
Go to kidsenglishthailand.org/blog/the-thai-school-calendar to read about the school year in Thailand and how it is different from most other countries.
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