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ESL Games: Running Dictation

15-30 minutes Pairs or small groups Remember words and phrases and dictate them to your partner Use pictures for children who can’t spell and have them draw the picture instead of writing the words Use multiple sentences for more advanced…

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Sentence Jumble

30-45 minutes Any Review sentence structures and verb tenses Use easy sentences for less advanced students Use more complex sentences for more advanced students Preparation: Make a series of sentences, three more than the number of teams in your class…

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Shiritori

10-15 minutes 2 groups of at least 2 students Make word lists by using the last letter of the previous word Have several 4 to 5-minute game “rounds” In the first round, all team members participate In the second round,…

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Spell from a Bag

5-20 minutes Small groups of 2 or more Review vocabulary words and practice spelling Use letter blocks instead of having students write their letters on paper Use sentences with some similar words for more advanced students Divide the class into…

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Spin the Coin

10-15 minutes Groups of 3-5 Practice grammar structures and vocabulary words with flashcards Use pictures for less advanced students Have special flashcards such as ‘place your marker on any available card’ or ‘remove 1 marker from a card’ Only allow…

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Team Spelling

No more than one minute per word A maximum equal to the number of letters in the target words (less students is fine though) To correctly identify vocabulary from images and spell the word As preparing a lot of words…

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The Hot Seat

45 minutes Any Communicate words without saying them Use simple words like animals or days of the week for weaker students Use the word ‘pass’ as one of the words on the board to challenge strong students Break class into…

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Fly Swatter

20 minutes 41789 Students use fly swatters to hit vocab words on the board Use pictures for young students who haven’t learned the alphabet Write vocabulary words scattered across the board Place two chairs in front of the board with…

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Guess Who aka Guess What

10-20 minutes Any Form questions and identify a person or thing This game can be played as ‘Guess What’, in which case students are playing to identify an object, animal, etc It is often good to start with an object…

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Bowling

20-40 minutes Any Answer questions and try to knock down bottles with a ball Keep score as in real bowling Use more bottles Use other activities such as tossing coins in a hat, etc. Divide class into teams Set up…