Stand up / sit down –

The teacher chooses six words from a chosen section of the text and
writes these on the board. Each student chooses three of these
Perform words and makes a note of these in their notebook. The teacher
1
actions reads the chosen section of the text aloud and students read along
in silence, but stand up and then quickly sit down again every time
they hear/read their
chosen words.

Perform the action –

The teacher chooses some important/common words from the
chosen section of the text. Students and the teacher decide on a
Perform
2 specific action to perform for each of the chosen words. The teacher
actions
reads the chosen section of the text aloud and the students listen
and read in silence, but perform the appropriate action whenever
they read/hear the corresponding word.

Click / clap –
The teacher reads the chosen section of the text aloud and students
Perform
3 read along in silence. Every time the teacher gets to a full
actions
stop/period the students clap their hands once. Every time the
teacher gets to a comma the students click their fingers once.

Follow with finger –

The teacher reads the chosen section of the text aloud and students
Perform
4 read along in silence and follow along with a finger. The teacher can
actions
check that every student is following the text by seeing where their
finger is on the page.

Fill in the blank –

The teacher chooses and circles several words in the chosen section
5 Underline of the text. The teacher read the chosen section of the text aloud,
but says ‘blank’ in place of those chosen words. Students listen and
follow the text at the same time and underline the words that were
substituted with the word ‘blank’. Students then compare with each
 other and check with the teacher.

Spot the missing words –

The teacher chooses and circles several words in the chosen section
of the text that can be omitted without the text sounding strange.
The teacher reads the chosen section of the text aloud but misses
6 Underline
out the circled words. The text needs to be read in a natural way so
that it flows and sounds normal. Students listen, follow the text and
underline the words that were omitted. Students then compare with
each other and check with the teacher.

Spot the mistakes –

The teacher chooses and changes several words in the chosen
section of the text. The teacher reads the chosen section of the text
7 Underline
aloud and the students read along in silence and underline the
words they think the teacher has changed. Students then compare
with each other and check with the teacher.

Secret message –
The teacher selects some words from the chosen section of the text
so that the first letter of each of these words spells out a secret
word or short phrase. The teacher reads the chosen section of the
8 Underline text aloud and students listen and read along in silence. However,
every time the teacher comes one of the previously selected words
the teacher substitutes the word with a funny noise. The students
need to underline each of these words. The students then need to
work out the secret message.

Finish off words –

The teacher reads a chosen section of the text aloud and the
Say parts students listen and read along in silence. However, every now and
9
of words then the teacher says only the first one or two syllables of a word
and then pauses. The students need to say the missing parts of the
word in chorus. The teacher continues reading once the students
 have completed each word.

Say only that part of the word –

The teacher chooses a feature of word morphology that is common
Underline in the chosen section of the text. This could be the plural ‘s’, ing-
and say endings, ed -endings, –tion, etc. The students go through the section
10
parts of of the text and underline all the examples of that feature of
word language. The teacher then reads aloud and the students need to
call out in chorus only that part of the word at the same time as the
teacher reads it.

Banana –
The teacher reads the chosen section of the text aloud and the
students listen and read along in silence. Every now and then the
Say
11 teacher substitutes a word in the text with the word ‘banana’. The
words
students need to call out the word from the text that was
substituted. Special thanks to Quyen Xuan Vuong for sharing this
activity.

Say only those words –

The teacher chooses and identifies about four or five words that
Say appear frequently in the chosen section of the text. The teacher
12
words writes these words on the board. The teacher reads the section of
text aloud and students listen and read in silence, but say only the
chosen words in chorus as the teacher reads them.

Every third word –

The teacher starts to read the chosen section of the text aloud and
students listen and read along in silence. However, the teacher
Say
13 reads only the first two words and the student need to say the third
words
word in chorus. The teacher then reads the next two words and then
the students say the sixth word in chorus. This continues until the
end of the chosen section of the text.
 What’s the next word? –
The teacher reads the chosen section of the text aloud and students
listen and read along in silence. However, every now and then the
teacher stops reading aloud and the students need to read the next
Say
14 word in the text in chorus. Once the students have said the word,
words
the teacher continues reading but stops every now and then and the
students need
to say the next word in chorus. This continues until the end of the
chosen section of the text.

One word at a time –

Say
15 Students take turns reading one word at a time around the group
words
until the end of the chosen section of the text.

Alphabet words –
The teacher assigns each member of the group different letters of
the alphabet; so that all the letters of the alphabet are assigned and
Underline
so that each student has several letters. Each student needs to look
16 and say
through the chosen section of the text and underline all the words
words
that start with their assigned letters. Then the group reads the
chosen section of the text aloud, but each student only says his/her
corresponding words.

Listen, read and repeat –

The teacher selects a short section of the text. The teacher read the
Say section aloud one short phrase at a time. After reading each phrase
17
phrases the whole class repeats in chorus. This continues until the end of the
chosen section
of the text.

Finish off the sentences –

Say The teacher reads the chosen section of the text aloud to the class.
18
phrases Before the end of some sentences the teacher stops and the whole
class has to read the rest of the sentence aloud in chorus.
 Sentence tennis –
The teacher chooses a section of a text with two paragraphs of
similar length. One student is assigned the first paragraph and the
other student is assigned the second paragraph. The first student
Say reads part of the first sentence aloud but stops part of the way
19
phrases through whenever they want. The other student has to listen and
read in silence, but read the rest of the sentence aloud from where
the first student stopped. This is repeated for the rest of the
paragraph. For the second paragraph the students swap so that the
second student starts reading each sentence.

Every third sentence –

The teacher divides the whole class into three groups. The groups
are called 1, 2 and 3. Group 1 reads the first sentence aloud in
Say
20 chorus, group 2 then does the same with the second sentence, and
sentences
group 3 does the same with the third. Group 1 then reads the fourth
sentence and this continues until the end of the chosen section of
the text.

Dice sentences –
The teacher divides the whole class into six groups and assigns the
numbers 1-6 to the groups so that each group has a different
Say number. The teacher roles the dice and all the students in the group
21
sentences with that number read out the first sentence in chorus. The teacher
roles the dice again and the corresponding group reads the second
sentence in chorus. This continues until the end of the chosen
section of the text.

Secret lines –
The teacher chooses a section of the text with enough lines of text
for every student to have one or two lines each. The teacher
Say lines assigned one or two lines to each student in a random order. The
22
of text could be by handing out numbers at random to each student or by
cutting up a photocopy of the text and giving out a line or two of
text to each student. Each student identifies their lines in the
original text. The whole text is read in the correct order by each
 student reading their line(s) of the text aloud.

Nominate next reader –

One student reads the first sentence aloud from the chosen section
of the text and the rest of the group listen and read along in silence.
Say When the student finishes the sentence, he/she nominates the next
23
sentences student to read aloud by saying the name of that student. That
student then reads the second sentences aloud and then nominates
the next reader. This continues until the end of the chosen section
of the text.

One sentence at a time –

Say
24 Students take it in turns to read one sentence at a time around the
sentences
group until the end of the chosen section of the text.

Fizz / buzz / bang –

The teacher selects three words which appear frequently in the
chosen section of the text. The teacher writes these three words on
Say
25 the board and next to the 1st word write ‘fizz’, next to the 2nd words
sentences
writes ‘buzz’, and next to the 3 rd word writes ‘bang’. Students then
take it in turns to read one sentences at a time and substitute the
selected words with ‘fizz’, ‘ buzz’ or ‘bang’ as indicted on the board.
Facts About Round Robin Reading

In RRR, students read orally from a common text, one child after another, while the rest of the
class follows along in their copies of the text. Several spinoffs of the technique offer negligible
advantages over RRR, if any. They simply differ in how the reading transition occurs:

 Popcorn Reading: A student reads orally for a time, and then calls out "popcorn"
before selecting another student in class to read.
 Combat Reading: A kid nominates a classmate to read in the attempt to catch a peer
off task, explains Gwynne Ash and Melanie Kuhn in their chapter of Fluency Instruction:
Research-Based Best Practices.
 Popsicle Stick Reading: Student names are written on Popsicle sticks and placed in a
can. The learner whose name is drawn reads next.
 Touch Go Reading: As described by Professor Cecile Somme, the instructor taps a
child when it's his or her turn to read.

Of the thirty-odd studies and articles I've consumed on the subject, only one graduate research
paper claimed a benefit to RRR or its variations, stating tepidly that perhaps RRR isn't as awful
as everyone says. Katherine Hilden and Jennifer Jones' criticism is unmitigated: “We know of no
research evidence that supports the claim that RRR actually contributes to students becoming
better readers, either in terms of their fluency or comprehension." (PDF)

Why all the harshitude? Because Round Robin Reading . . .

 Stigmatizes poor readers. Imagine the terror that English-language learners and
struggling readers face when made to read in front of an entire class.
 Weakens comprehension. Listening to a peer orally read too slowly, too fast, or too
haltingly weakens learners' comprehension -- a problem exacerbated by turn-taking
interruptions.
 Sabotages fluency and pronunciation. Struggling readers model poor fluency skills
and pronunciation. When instructors correct errors, fluency is further compromised.

To be clear, oral reading does improve fluency, comprehension and word recognition (though
silent/independent reading should occur far more frequently as students advance into the later
grades). Fortunately, other oral reading activities offer significant advantages over RRR and its
cousins. As you'll see in the list below, many of them share similar features.

11 Better Approaches

1. Choral Reading

The teacher and class read a passage aloud together, minimizing struggling readers' public
exposure. In a 2011 study of over a hundred sixth graders (PDF, 232KB), David Paige found that
16 minutes of whole-class choral reading per week enhanced decoding and fluency. In another
version, every time the instructor omits a word during her oral reading, students say the word all
together.
2. Partner Reading

Two-person student teams alternate reading aloud, switching each time there is a new paragraph.
Or they can read each section at the same time.

3. PALS

The Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) exercises pair strong and weak readers who take
turns reading, re-reading, and retelling.

4. Silent Reading

For added scaffolding, frontload silent individual reading with vocabulary instruction, a plot
overview, an anticipation guide, or KWL+ activity.

5. Teacher Read Aloud

This activity, says Julie Adams of Adams Educational Consulting, is "perhaps one of the most
effective methods for improving student fluency and comprehension, as the teacher is the expert
in reading the text and models how a skilled reader reads using appropriate pacing and prosody
(inflection)." Playing an audiobook achieves similar results.

6. Echo Reading

Students "echo" back what the teacher reads, mimicking her pacing and inflections.

7. Shared Reading/Modeling

By reading aloud while students follow along in their own books, the instructor models fluency,
pausing occasionally to demonstrate comprehension strategies. (PDF, 551KB)

8. The Crazy Professor Reading Game

Chris Biffle's Crazy Professor Reading Game video (start watching at 1:49) is more entertaining
than home movies of Blue Ivy. To bring the text to life, students . . .

 Read orally with hysterical enthusiasm

 Reread with dramatic hand gestures
 Partner up with a super-stoked question asker and answerer
 Play "crazy professor" and "eager student" in a hyped-up overview of the text.

9. Buddy Reading

Kids practice orally reading a text in preparation for reading to an assigned buddy in an earlier
grade.
10. Timed Repeat Readings

This activity can aid fluency, according to literacy professors Katherine Hilden and Jennifer
Jones (PDF, 271KB). After an instructor reads (with expression) a short text selection
appropriate to students' reading level (90-95 percent accuracy), learners read the passage silently,
then again loudly, quickly, and dynamically. Another kid graphs the times and errors so that
children can track their growth.

11. FORI

With Fluency-Oriented Reading Instruction (FORI), primary students read the same section of a
text many times over the course of a week (PDF, 54KB). Here are the steps:

1. The teacher reads aloud while students follow along in their books.
2. Students echo read.
3. Students choral read.
4. Students partner read.
5. The text is taken home if more practice is required, and extension activities can be
integrated during the week.

10 Best ESL Games for English Teachers Abroad

Emma Lander
Topic Expert

Emma is a freelance copy and content writer. She is a qualified EFL teacher and has taught in the
UK, Scandinavia and South Korea.

Read More...

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Published May 25, 2018

Photo credit: Marco, Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme Alum

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.

Want to jump right into the list? Here are the top 10 games we think your students will love:

1. Board Race
2. Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie
3. Simon Says
4. Word Jumble Race
5. Hangman
6. Pictionary
7. The Mime
8. Hot Seat
9. Where Shall I Go?
10. What’s My Problem?

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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.

 Why use it? Revising vocabulary; grammar

 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:

 Split the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker.
 If you have a very large class, it may be better to split the students into teams of 3 or 4.
 Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at the top.
  The students must then write as many words as you require related to the topic in the form of a
relay race.
 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.

 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:

 Write 3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which should be lies and one which
should be true.
 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!
 If they guess correctly then they win.
 Extension: Give students time to write their own two truths and one lie.
 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.
 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.

 Why use it? Listening comprehension; Vocabulary; Warming up/winding down class
 Who it's best for: Young learners
How to Play:

 Stand in front of the class (you are Simon for the duration of this game).
 Do an action and say Simon Says [action]. The students must copy what you do.
 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.
 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.
 The winner is the last student standing.
 To make it harder, speed up the actions. Reward children for good behavior by allowing them to
play the part of Simon.

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4. Word Jumble Race

Photo credit: Inne, African Impact volunteer in Zambia Alum
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.

 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.

 Write out a number of sentences, using different colors for each sentence. I suggest having 3-5
sentences for each team.
 Cut up the sentences so you have a handful of words.
 Put each sentence into hats, cups or any objects you can find, keeping each separate.
 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.
 Teams must now put their sentences in the correct order.
 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.

 Why use it? Warming up / winding down class

 Who it's best for: Young learners

How to play:

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

  Think of a word and write the number of letters on the board using dashes to show many letters
there are.
 Ask students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word, write it in all of the correct spaces. If
the letter does not appear in the word, write it off to the side and begin drawing the image of a
hanging man.
 Continue until the students guess the word correctly (they win) or you complete the diagram
(you win).

6. Pictionary
This is another game that works well with any age group; children love it because they can get
creative in the classroom, teenagers love it because it doesn’t feel like they’re learning, and
adults love it because it’s a break from the monotony of learning a new language - even though
they'll be learning as they play.

Pictionary can help students practice their vocabulary and it tests to see if they’re remembering
the words you’ve been teaching.

 Why use it? Vocabulary

 Who it's best for: All ages; best with young learners

How to play:

 Before the class starts, prepare a bunch of words and put them in a bag.
 Split the class into teams of 2 and draw a line down the middle of the board.
 Give one team member from each team a pen and ask them to choose a word from the bag.
 Tell the students to draw the word as a picture on the board and encourage their team to guess
the word.
 The first team to shout the correct answer gets a point.
 The student who has completed drawing should then nominate someone else to draw for their
team.
 Repeat this until all the words are gone - make sure you have enough words that each student
gets to draw at least once!

7. The Mime

Miming is an excellent way for students to practice their tenses and their verbs. It's also great for
teachers with minimal resources or planning time, or teachers who want to break up a longer
lesson with something more interactive. It's adaptable to almost any language point that you
might be focusing on.

This game works with any age group, although you will find that adults tire of this far quicker
than children. To keep them engaged, relate what they will be miming to your groups' personal
interests as best as possible.

 Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking

 Who it's best for: All ages; best with young learners

How to play:

 Before the class, write out some actions - like washing the dishes - and put them in a bag.
 Split the class into two teams.
 Bring one student from each team to the front of the class and one of them choose an action
from the bag.
 Have both students mime the action to their team.
 The first team to shout the correct answer wins a point.
 Repeat this until all students have mimed at least one action.
8. Hot Seat

This is one of my students’ favorite games and is always at the top of the list when I ask them
what they want to play. I have never used this while teaching ESL to adults, but I imagine it
would work well.
Hot Seat allows students to build their vocabulary and encourages competition in the classroom.
They are also able to practice their speaking and listening skills and it can be used for any level
of learner.

 Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking and Listening

 Who it's best for: All ages and levels

How to play:

 Split the class into 2 teams, or more if you have a large class.
 Elect one person from each team to sit in the Hot Seat, facing the classroom with the board
behind them.
 Write a word on the board. One of the team members of the student in the hot seat must help
the student guess the word by describing it. They have a limited amount of time and cannot say,
spell or draw the word.
 Continue until each team member has described a word to the student in the Hot Seat.

9. Where Shall I Go?

This game is used to test prepositions of movement and should be played after this subject has
been taught in the classroom. This game is so much fun but it can be a little bit dangerous since
you'll be having one student in each pair be blindfolded while the other directs them. So make
sure to keep your eyes open!

It is also excellent for the adult EFL classroom, or if you're teaching teenagers.

 Why use it? Prepositions; Speaking and Listening

 Who it's best for: All ages and levels

How to play:

 Before the students arrive, turn your classroom into a maze by rearranging it. It's great if you
can do this outside, but otherwise push tables and chairs together and move furniture to make
your maze.
 When your students arrive, put them in pairs outside the classroom. Blindfold one student from
each pair.
 Allow pairs to enter the classroom one at a time; the blindfolded student should be led through
the maze by their partner. The students must use directions such as step over, go under, go up,
and go down to lead their partner to the end of the maze.

10. What’s My Problem?

Photo credit: Caitlin, Volunteer in South Africa with African Impact Alum

This is a brilliant EFL game to practice giving advice. It should be played after the ‘giving
advice’ vocabulary lesson has taken place. It is a great way for students to see what they have
remembered and what needs reviewing. This game works well with any age group, just adapt it
to fit the age you’re working with.

 Why use it? Speaking and Listening; Giving Advice

 Who it's best for: All ages and levels
How to play:

 Write ailments or problems related to your most recent lesson on post-it notes and stick one
post-it note on each student’s back.
 The students must mingle and ask for advice from other students to solve their problem.
 Students should be able to guess their problem based on the advice they get from their peers.
 Use more complicated or obscure problems to make the game more interesting for older
students. For lower levels and younger students, announce a category or reference a recent
lesson, like "Health", to help them along.

These games will keep your students engaged and happy as they learn! Remember, these are just
ten on the hundreds of different EFL games that you can plat with your students. As you get
more confident in the classroom, you can start putting your own spin on games and eventually
make up your own.

Whatever the age of your students, they’re guaranteed to love playing EFL games in the
classroom. An EFL classroom should be fun, active and challenging and these games are sure to
get you heading in the right direction.

This article was originally published in October 2013; we redesigned and updated this article in
May 2018.

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