Activities and games for English as a Second Language

Learning English as a second language can be a true adventure, brimming with discoveries and new opportunities. 

As we delve into learning a new language, we uncover unique cultural aspects and begin to see the world from a fresh perspective. 

But how do we ensure that the learning process doesn’t become mundane? The answer is: games and activities! 

As we know, these methods enhance the effective absorption of material and make lessons lively. 

In this article, we will discuss such creative approaches to learning. 

Ready to embark on this linguistic journey? Let’s begin!

Games for ESL students can significantly improve the language learning process. 

Here’s how they help:

Games certainly make lessons interesting! Remember how much you enjoyed playing games as a child? 

Learning can be just as captivating if it’s turned into a game. 

When students are engaged in the process, they forget about boredom and strive for success, absorbing new material without even realising it. 

Elements of competition and fun spur them to actively participate and achieve better results.

Fun activities for ESL learning aid in better retention of words and phrases through repeated use in various contexts. 

During games, students naturally absorb the material, often without realising they are learning. 

Through fun and interactive activities, they remember new words and expressions more quickly and for a longer period. 

In games, students create associations that reinforce knowledge and make it more readily accessible when needed.

Many EFL activities require interaction between participants, making them ideal for developing speaking and listening skills. 

Think of any team game: it’s important not only to act but also to communicate. 

Similarly, students learn to express their thoughts, ask questions, and respond to others' answers. 

This makes them more confident and prepared for real-world communication in English.

In a playful atmosphere, students feel less tense. 

Games alleviate the fear of making mistakes, allowing students to practise the language freely. 

This encourages them to be more daring and open to experimenting with new words and expressions, which is especially crucial in the early stages of learning.

EFL activities can be adapted to different levels and interests. 

Think of how varied your favourite childhood games were: from simple hide-and-seek to complex strategies. 

Similarly, there are numerous games — from simple card games to intricate role-playing scenarios. 

Every student will find something to their liking, whether it be quizzes, crosswords, or role-playing games. 

This allows teachers to approach the learning process flexibly and cater to the individual needs of each student.

ESL games have become an integral part of lessons for many important reasons. 

First and foremost, learning through games is fun! 

When learning turns into a game, students are much more willing to participate in lessons. 

In games, students actively interact with one another, which is especially important when learning a language. 

The main goal is to learn to communicate, and games for English as a second language learning help break down barriers, encouraging more speaking, listening, and understanding.

During games, students often do not even realise they are learning. 

They are immersed in the process and naturally absorb new words and phrases by repeating them in different contexts.

This is important because the fear of making mistakes can significantly hinder the learning process.

EFL activities offer an endless variety of formats and tasks that can be adapted to different levels and interests of students. 

This allows lessons to be more dynamic and interesting, taking into account the individual needs of each student.

To teach with more confidence and make your lessons unforgettable, you can explore our platform, Grade University. Here, you will find many courses you can take at your own pace and at any time.

In this section, we will explore how games for ESL students can be beneficial for practising every aspect of learning English: vocabulary, spelling, listening, speaking, grammar, and creative thinking.

ESL vocabulary and spelling games

"How’s Yours?" is a classic game that is both simple and endlessly entertaining. 

It's an excellent way to practise vocabulary, develop listening skills, and encourage students to ask questions. 

Moreover, it's a great way to "warm up" an audience in any setting!

How to play?

To begin, you'll need cards or sheets of paper with different nouns. 

You can use pictures of objects, food, animals, or professions — anything the students have already studied. 

Prepare cards with the names of objects but without descriptions. Give each student or group one card with a word on it.

The game starts when one student takes a card and begins describing the object without naming it. 

For example, if a student has a card with the word "apple," they might say, "It's a fruit that is usually red, green, or yellow. It can be eaten raw or used in baking." 

An important rule is to avoid directly mentioning the name of the object to prevent giving it away immediately.

The other participants begin asking questions to guess what the object is. 

For example, they might ask, "Does this fruit grow on a tree?". 

As soon as someone guesses the word, the describing student replies, "Yes, it's an apple!" and everyone moves on to the next student.

If the secret object is a bicycle, the student might say, "It is fast" and "It has two wheels." 

Other participants might ask questions like, "Does this means of transport have an engine?" or "Can it be used on various types of surfaces?" 

Once someone guesses the word, the describing student answers, "Yes, it's a bicycle!"

"How’s Yours?" helps students improve their vocabulary as they learn and use new words in context. 

Have you noticed how this game also develops communication skills? It allows students to practise forming questions and descriptions.

The game “Hangman” is a classic and entertaining game that helps ESL students develop spelling skills, expand their vocabulary, and improve their word recognition abilities.

How to play?

Choose a word or phrase for the students to guess. It can be any word suitable for their level of knowledge. 

Write the word on a sheet of paper or on the board, replacing each letter with an underscore to show the number of letters in the word. 

For example, for the word "banana," write as many underscores as there are letters in the word.

Divide the students into teams or play individually. 

Explain the rules of the game: students take turns suggesting letters. If the letter is in the word, it is written in the correct place. 

If the letter is not present, a part of the hangman is added (usually the head, arms, legs, etc.). 

The game continues until the word is completely guessed or until the drawing of the hangman is finished. 

To make it easier, you can give the students a theme or category to which the word belongs. 

For example, if the word is "banana," you can say that it is a fruit. 

If the students guess the word before the hangman is fully drawn, they win. 

If the hangman is fully drawn before the word is guessed, the game ends.

The game "Sparkle" is a fun and engaging way to practise spelling for ESL students. 

It helps improve spelling skills, develop listening abilities, and strengthen team spirit.

How to play?

Divide the students into several teams. Explain to the students that they will take turns saying the letters of a given word. 

The teacher provides a word to the first team. 

The first student in the team says the first letter of the word. The second student says the second letter. 

This continues until all the letters of the word have been spoken. 

Once the word is completed, the next student must repeat it in full to confirm the spelling is correct. 

For each correctly spelled word, the team earns one point. 

The game continues in turns with each team, repeating the same actions.

ESL listening games

"Audio Quest" is an engaging and interactive game that helps ESL students improve their listening skills through active listening and task completion.

How to play?

Choose an audio recording or video in English. This could be a short story, an interview, a podcast, a news report, or even a film excerpt. 

Create a list of questions or tasks whose answers can be found in the selected recording. Divide the students into small groups or pairs. 

You may play the audio twice, and students are allowed to take notes while listening. 

After listening, students work in their groups to answer the questions or complete the tasks based on what they have heard. 

Once the tasks are completed, groups share their answers with the class. 

You correct any errors and provide the right answers if necessary.

Examples of questions:

We've all played the game "Telephone" as children, where passing a simple message around the circle inevitably turned into a hilarious jumble of words. 

Why not revisit the rules of this game and adapt it for learning English?

How to play?

Students sit in a circle. The teacher comes up with a short sentence. 

This message should be challenging enough to make it interesting to pass on but not so long that it confuses the students. 

The teacher quietly whispers the message into the ear of the first student. This student then whispers what they've heard to the next student. 

The process continues around the circle until the message reaches the last student in the group. The last student then says aloud what they heard.

The teacher compares this with the original message. 

There are usually many funny and unexpected distortions, making the game particularly entertaining.

Example messages:

ESL games for communication and teamwork

"Question volley" is an active and engaging exercise for ESL students that not only develops communication skills but also adds an element of physical activity to the learning process.

How to play?

You'll need a ball for the game. Decide on a question topic suitable for the students' level and the lesson's objectives. 

The teacher starts the game by asking the first question and throwing the ball to the first student. 

The student who catches the ball must answer the question and then ask a new question to the next student, throwing the ball to them. 

The game continues until all the students in the group have asked and answered questions.

Example questions:

"Reporter" is also one of the engaging and fun activities for ESL students that develops communication, interviewing, and public speaking skills. 

In this game, participants take on the roles of reporters and interviewees, allowing them to practise language in realistic situations.

How to play?

Divide the students into pairs. In each pair, one student will be the reporter, and the other will be the interviewee. 

Prepare a list of topics or questions for the interviews. Topics can range from personal interests to current news events. 

Reporters should ask the interviewees open-ended questions that encourage detailed responses. 

They should also take notes on key points from the answers. 

Interviewees should try to answer in-depth, adding interesting details and examples. 

After the interview, the reporter briefly presents the interview results to the class, highlighting the most interesting aspects. 

Then the roles are swapped.

Example interview questions:

ESL speaking games

The familiar childhood game "Who am I?" helps develop skills in description, deduction, and critical thinking. 

In this game, students must guess a person, object, or concept.

How to play?

Prepare cards with the names of famous people, characters, animals, objects, or concepts. 

One student takes a card and sticks it to their forehead so that he cannot see what is written on it, but others can. 

The student with the card asks yes-or-no questions (for example, "Am I a person?", "Am I a famous actor?"). 

The student continues asking yes-or-no questions until they correctly guess who or what they are. 

The game continues until all students have had a chance to guess their card.

The game "Word warm-ups" is designed to develop vocabulary, spelling, and quick-thinking skills. 

This game serves as an excellent way to warm up before the start of a lesson or as a break between main activities.

How to play?

Prepare a list of words that students must use to complete the tasks. 

The words can be chosen according to the current lesson topic or language proficiency level. Divide the students into pairs. 

Then, show a card with a written word and pronounce it. 

Students work in their groups or pairs, trying to complete the task as quickly and accurately as possible. 

The tasks can vary:

After a set amount of time (e.g., 1-2 minutes), the teacher checks the results and discusses them with the class. 

The game continues with a new word and task.

ESL games for creative thinking

It is a game where students have to guess a false statement from a participant.

How to play?

Each student comes up with three statements about themselves: two true and one false. 

Give the students a few minutes to prepare their statements. Students take turns reading their three statements aloud to the group. 

The other students discuss and ask the person questions to try and determine which statement is the lie. 

After the discussion, the group votes on the statement they believe is false. 

The author then reveals the correct answer. 

The turn moves to the next student, and the game continues until everyone has shared their statements.

Example statements for students:

This game helps develop associative thinking skills and improve English language proficiency, as students must find connections between different, seemingly unrelated objects.

How to play?

Create cards with images or words that can be used in the game. 

These could be pictures of objects, actions, or any words. Split the students into groups or pairs, depending on the class size. 

Each group or pair receives a set of cards (usually between 10 and 20). 

Students draw two cards and must come up with a story or explanation linking the two objects. 

The story should be logical but can also showcase creativity and imagination. 

The group presents their story to the rest of the class. 

For example, if the cards "Cat" and "Space" are drawn, a student might create a story about an astronaut cat travelling through space. 

After the story is told, the next group draws cards and begins crafting their story. The game continues until all cards have been used.

ESL grammar games

This is an engaging and interactive game for ESL students, designed to develop speaking skills and improve grammar. 

How to play?

Create a list of "Would you rather...?" questions (e.g., "Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?"). Each student takes turns answering a question. 

The student must choose one of the two options and explain their choice. 

The game continues until each student has answered several questions.

Sample questions:

Example answer:

This is not only a classic game of logic and strategy but also an excellent way for ESL students to improve their grammar skills. 

To play, divide the students into two teams (for example, "X" and "O"). 

Draw a 3x3 grid on the board or print out several grids. 

Prepare a set of grammar tasks related to the current lesson topic, such as verb tenses, prepositions, articles, etc. 

Each cell on the Tic Tac Toe board will contain a grammar task. 

Teams take turns selecting a cell they want to occupy and complete the task in that cell. 

If a team completes the task correctly, they place their symbol ("X" or "O") in that cell. 

The objective is to occupy three cells in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), just like in a standard game of Tic Tac Toe.

Examples of grammar tasks include: 

Ultimately, using games in ESL classroom is a way to create a motivating and supportive environment where students can learn and enjoy the process while building confidence in their language skills. 

From vocabulary and spelling games to listening and speaking activities, each type of exercise helps students absorb the language more naturally and effectively.

Engagement in the learning process, teamwork, and interactive elements contribute to a better understanding and retention of the material. 

Games help students develop their abilities on different levels: they learn to argue their answers, create associations, work as a team, and demonstrate creativity.