7 Outstanding Game Ideas for Your English Lessons
We all know that exciting lessons make you learn things easier and faster. So how do we bring some life into the boring lesson? There are a lot of ways. Some teachers use songs and cartoons, which are great for kids. The others find class discussions and debates helpful. They are a good choice for older students. But what do all of us love? Of course, games! Both children and grown-ups enjoy playing games. They bring fun into the studying process and can be productive. Games can be used at every stage of the ESA lesson.
This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Oleh K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Games for the Engage Stage
Here are some games to engage students in the studying process:
The Last Man is Standing
This game is swift. It’s good for revising the topics. It can be used with students of different ages and levels. For this game, you will only need a ball. Put the students into a circle. They may be sitting. Name the topic and ask them to say a word related to the theme and throw the ball to another student. Every person has to come up with another word that fits the theme. If they repeat a term that has already been said or can’t think of a new one within a few seconds, they are out. The one that is left wins the game.
Hot and Cold
This could be a fun lead-in to your lesson. Make your students look for the object that represents the topic in the class. You will help them by saying hot when they are coming closer or cold when going in the wrong direction.
Twenty Questions
One person thinks of an object in the class, and the others have to guess it by asking yes or no questions. What am I thinking of? It’s similar to the last time. But this time, you divide students into pairs. Each of them thinks of one object and describes it on the piece of paper in 5-8 sentences. Then students swap papers and try to guess the thing.
Games for the Study Phase
After the Engage stage goes the Study phase, it’s usually less fun for the students, bringing some energy and changing the pace from slow to fast or vice versa. So here some games suitable for the study phase.
Board race
An excellent game to check the spelling of the words that have recently been learned. Split the students into two teams. Divide the board into two. Make two students from each team write a comment you say on the board. Then come the following two people from each group. The team that makes fewer errors wins.
Bingo
Everyone knows this game. It’s perfect for beginners and elementary students of different ages.
The Memory Game
It’s a good game for learning the new vocabulary. You will need two flashcards for each word. Lay them on the table and mix. Let students pick up two cards and find the matching ones. The one who gets the most matching flashcards wins.
Never have I ever
This game will help your students learn the new grammatical forms and something new about each other.
Games for the Activate Stage
Here you can use such games as “find someone who,” “what am I doing?”, “taboo,” “chain fairytales.”
Are you ready to teach English abroad or online?
As you can see, there are a lot of options for every stage of the lesson. Each game can be transformed and adjusted for the needs of your particular class. All you have to do is to use a little imagination. Your students will appreciate it.
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