Blind Man’s Bluff
Rock Scissors Paper
Rock Scissors Paper:
It’s quite a phenomena in Korea this game. You can throw it into so many situations. You can imagine you’re playing baseball and maybe you ask quiz questions, and maybe a “rock scissors paper” determines whether the student advances to another base. Perhaps the “pitch” is a study question. The “hit” is the right answer and rock scissors paper to see how far they go (at each base an opposing team-mate can “rock scissors paper” to see if they made it past that base or not).
Last Letter Word Game
Last Letter Word Game:
This is a simple ESL-Game you can play with students who are past their Phonics level and building up their English vocabulary.  It’s very easy.  You just start with a word, then the student must make a new word starting with the last letter of the word you chose, and so on. Give students three to five seconds to come up with a word, or they are out. Example: I say, “Cat”, next Continue reading “Last Letter Word Game”
Story Improv
How to Play Story Improv:
Story Improv can be a lot of fun again for more advanced students. The first student starts out with a random sentence or word of choice. For example: “One day I went fishing…” next student adds a new sentence or word, or however, you decide. This game is great to exercise new vocabulary and the creative spirit/imagination at the same time, which is an extremely important Continue reading “Story Improv”
Back Writing
Back Writing ESL Game
The Back Writing ESL Game is a great way to make students laugh and have fun while learning English. Have students make two, three or even row teams Continue reading “Back Writing”
Hangman
Hangman:
Everybody knows and loves hangman. The games are more fun when you give some stickers or candy prizes, etc. (Note: Honestly, I love teaching and playing games in huge classes, like public schools or summer camps. If you have the games prepared they will provide the enthusiasm in big numbers. The bigger the groups, the more likely you will be able to connect with “awesome students,” who will inspire your teaching. I never learned this until later in my career. I used to think small groups were better, but I realized small groups are more tedious and are more susceptible to “bad energy”. Another secret of mine is to bring in parents or Korean teachers to help keep the students in line and at the same time the adults can also connect with you in meaningful ways that some students can’t. Hopefully they are good Korean teachers. I really believe in the “co-teaching” system.)
Bingo
Bingo:
Bingo is such an obvious game I hardly think to mention it. But of course it can be loads of fun and used for teaching numbers or if you don’t have an official game set, simply cut up some paper, make the grid and have students write in “their choice” of the study vocabulary. I did it for my “Very Good Words” Lessons many times. Take note, I’m posting my entire ESL Music Video System for free right here! Doing times of a clock is a great idea too, like 3:15, or “quarter to four,” as they get more advanced.
The best way to do the Bingo with the students is to make the grid together on a sheet of paper and then have the students’ choose their favorite words from your word list. Teacher can include a few extra important words if he or she likes.
The Dictation Game
Dictation Game:
In particular, I’d say this is a great game for advanced students, if you happen to be lucky enough to be teaching a gifted group who are very competitive. Once again you can draw upon your study materials and just say a sentence out load and have students try and write the whole thing down. Students hold up their hands when they think they have it. The teacher goes over and checks possibly crosses out mistakes. You can then keep repeating the sentence until somebody gets it right. It’s really fun because you can choose to speak at high speeds to increase their ability to rapidly process speech, which is pretty similar to many situations in real life.
The Quiz Show Game
The Quiz Show Game:
This is a really simple and fast paced game. Just act like a game show host and make two teams. Then pull out the study materials your class is working on start firing questions at them about the material.  Write A team vs B team on Continue reading “The Quiz Show Game”