Best EFL ESL Games

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.

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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.

4. Word Jumble Race

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?

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.

10 Methods to Incorporate Drama in the ESL Classroom

What does drama have to do with ESL?

Drama is about dialogue, about language, and interacting
with others in specific “scenes” with appropriate language
--all activities we as teachers try to get our students to engage in.

Reasons for Incorporating Drama in the 

ESL Classroom

Drama can be a valuable teaching tool. It gets students up
and moving around and interacting with each other. It’s
particularly appealing to kinesthetic learners but can be used
 successfully for all learners. It also contextualizes language,
 making real and three-dimensional that which is on the printed page.

Students will improve the speaking and listening skills in performing
 scenes and also their writing skills through such activities as
 dialogue writing. Drama also teaches the “pragmatics” of
 language, how we appropriately use language to get something
 done, like make a request. Finally, drama promotes class
 bonding: in drama classes, there is usually a great deal of comradery.

Methods for Incorporating Drama in the ESL Class

1. 1
   Act out the Dialogue
   One of the easiest ways to incorporate drama in the classroom
    is to have students act out the dialogue from their textbooks.
    Simply pair them up, have them choose roles, then work
    together to act out the dialogue, figuring out for themselves
   the “blocking,” or stage movements. This is effective for a
    beginning activity of incorporating drama in the classroom.
2. 2
   Perform Reader’s Theater
   Another good beginning exercise is to do Reader’s Theater.
    Hand out copies of a short or one-act play, have students
    choose roles, and then read the play from their seats without
    acting it out. However, do encourage them to read dramatically,
    modeling as necessary.
3. 3
   Act out the Story
   If students are reading a short story such as “The Chaser,”
    about the man who buys a “love potion” for his unrequited
    love, have students act out the story or part of the story,
    working in groups and assigning roles and determining
   the blocking. This is particularly effective with
   “short-shorts”: brief, one-scene stories with limited characters.
4. 4
   Write the Dialogue for a Scene
   Watch a brief clip of a movie without the sound on. Have students
    write the dialogue for it and act it out.

More Advanced Activities

1. Once students have had some experience with the basics of character,
2.  dialogue, and stage movement, they can move on to some more
3.  advanced dramatics, involving more of students’ own creativity 
4. and critical thinking skills.
5. 1
   Act out and Put Words to an Emotion
   Give students an emotion, such as “anger” or “fear”. Have
    students, either singly or in groups, first act out that emotion
    then put words to the emotion.
6. 2
   Give “Voice” to an Inanimate Object
   What would a stapler say if it could talk? Or an apple? 
    Have students write monologues with inanimate 
   objects as the character. A monologue is a short scene
    with just one character talking, either addressing the
   audience, God, or himself or herself. Hamlet’s “To Be
    or Not to Be” soliloquy might also be termed a monologue,
   for example.
   After writing them, students can read the monologues aloud.
7. 3
   Create a Character
   Have students develop a character, writing a one-page
   profile on the character’s background, appearance, personality,
    etc. Have them introduce the character to the class,
   explaining what interests them about their character.
8. 4
   Write a Monologue
   Using the character they’ve already developed, have students
    write a monologue for that character then perform it.
9. 5
   Mime and Dubbing
   Have students act out short scenes without dialogue. The rest
    of the class then supplies the dialogue, developing the “script.”
10. 6
    Improvise
    Put students in groups of two or three, and assign the characters
     and the situation to the groups, perhaps using 3x5 index cards.
     Give a time limit of two to three minutes per scene. Students
    go from there, extemporaneously creating the dialogue and
    movement themselves.

Drama is an effective tool that can be used to promote interaction and language skills in the

ESL classroom as well as create a class 

bonding experience.

With careful planning, use of drama can enhance your English
 classroom curriculum.

ESL THANKSGIVING BY: TEACHER CAROL

Questions About Students' Background Knowledge

• Why do Americans celebrate Thanksgiving?
• What do you know about the origins of Thanksgiving?
• Who were the Pilgrims?
• How do Americans typically celebrate Thanksgiving?
• What kinds of foods are associated with Thanksgiving?
• When is Thanksgiving celebrated?
• What foods were served at the first Thanksgiving?
• What is 'Black Friday?'
• What do you know about the tradition of 'pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey?'
• What are some common Thanksgiving decorations?

Questions About Students' Experiences

• Have you ever celebrated Thanksgiving?
• What is your favorite Thanksgiving holiday memory?
• Will you and you celebrate Thanksgiving this year? If so, how?
• Are there any unusual dishes served at your family dinner? If so, what are they?
• Does Brazil have any holidays that are similar to Thanksgiving?

QU I Z for Students to answer after video:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9NDuxL4WA4)

1.  How long was the first Thanksgiving celebration? 3 days

2. What was on the first Thanksgiving menu? 5 deer (Venison), maybe plain cranberries

3. Which president announced the first Thanksgiving national holiday? President George Washington

4. What year did he make the announcement? 1789

5. Which American writer waged a campaign to make Thanksgiving an annual holiday? Sara Josepha Hale

6. What recipes did she publish? Pumpkin pie, turkey, stuffing

7. Which President made Thanksgiving an annual national celebration? President Abraham Lincoln

8. What day did he set aside for the celebration? The final Thursday of November

9. Why did President Roosevelt move the holiday forward by a week?

To give retailers a longer pre-Christmas selling season

10. When is Thanksgiving celebrated now? The fourth Thursday of November

11. What unusual thing does the President do every Thanksgiving?

He pardons one or two turkey

10 Fun Activities For Adjectives Of Personality

Stimulating activities to teach and practise the difficult but fascinating topic of words that describe people’s character

Adjectives of personality can be incredibly difficult to teach and learn. For one thing, not many of them translate well, with an apparently similar word from another language turning out to be positive where the English word is negative, or to have a much wider or more restricted meaning that the translation would suggest. There are also so many personality words, meaning that any kind of freer practice turns up more and more words even if you’ve already given them a huge list.
Having said all that, there are some great activities for adjectives of personality that students love and learn a lot from. Given a really good activity that students can get involved in, they soon forget the difficulties and even become fascinated by the differences between languages. Good activities will also allow them to use the words over and over again and to think about them in more depth until they really are clear about the meaning and connotations. 15 such activities are listed below.

1. Ranking
One of the best ways of getting students to look at the same language many times so that they understand and remember it a bit better each time is to ask them to rank the personality adjectives in some way. Possibilities include putting the adjectives in order of importance for a lover, spouse, employee, boss, teacher or politician. They can then compare their ideas with another group.

2. Roleplays
Give students a roleplay card telling them what their personality is, and ask them to act that way until their partner guesses what adjective they were given. Situations in which they can do so include shopping, blind dates, job interviews and press/TV interviews.

3. Describe the people
One student uses personality adjectives to describe someone until their partners guess who they are talking about. This could be a family member, someone else that they know, someone famous, or their impressions of someone in a page of portraits that they have been given. It also works for animals, especially in a mixed-nationality class where the similarities and differences in the impressions of the personalities of foxes, elephants etc can be very interesting.

4. Questionnaires
Give students a questionnaire that is supposed to measure one or more aspect of their personality, but without its title. After they have answered the questions, they can work together to guess what they were being tested on (e.g. how generous they are), and to compare their answers with their partner(s). They can then write similar questionnaires for other personality words for other groups to answer the questions on and then guess which character traits are being tested. Creative and high level groups might also be able to improvise such questions without writing them down.

5. Your personality
Ask students to guess each other’s personality. The simplest way is for them to make statements such as “I think you are quite patient” for their partner to respond to with expressions like “Are you pulling my leg?” or “You could say that.” You could also ask them to guess facts that support that judgement, e.g. “I think that you are quite adventurous. I guess that you have been hiking on your own a few times.”

6. Guess the personality word
The simplest way of doing a guessing game with character adjectives is to ask someone to define one of the words or give examples until their partner guesses what it is, e.g. “A fox is said to be this way. It is like ‘clever’, but in a negative way” for “cunning”. You could also limit them to giving examples of actions that illustrate particular personality words, e.g. “He refused to change his mind about which pasta restaurant we went to” for “stubborn”. They could also make statements about who the word that they are describing is and isn’t particularly important for, e.g. “This is the worst thing for a nursery nurse but quite a good thing for a boxer” for “aggressive”.

7. Personality Yuppies
Yuppies is a game in one of the Communication Games books in which they take turns boasting about how “My house is more expensive than your car” and “My servant is more intelligent than your house”. Something similar can be done with personality words by asking them to compare boyfriends, bosses, teachers etc with sentences, e.g: “My boyfriend is more generous than your boyfriend. Yesterday he bought me one diamond in the morning and another in the afternoon” and “Okay, that’s pretty impressive. My boyfriend is more intelligent than yours, though. He speaks 100 languages.”

8. Personality and gender
Ask one student to describe the character of a famous person or someone that they know, and the other person to guess as soon as they are certain of the gender of that person. They are only allowed one guess, and lose five points if they are wrong.

9. Personality and gender discussion
Students could also discuss if certain personality words (e.g. “stubborn” or “vague”) are connected more to one gender than the other, or are more desirable or unacceptable in one gender than in the other.

10. Find the personality word
While they are watching a video, students shout out every time that they think they see a personality word illustrated by what is on the screen and the class discuss whether their statement (e.g. “Mr Bean is cunning. He is fooling the little kid”) is really represented by the video. These sentences can be from a list of personality words or just whatever the students can think of.
Positive Personality Adjectives List
Negative Personality Adjectives List

15 games for the language of describing people

1. Blind date quiz show One person asks questions of 3 to 4 students, who should answer about the person on the photo they have. The person who asked the questions should then decide who would make the best date, and after being shown the photos of the one they rejected will finally be shown […]

1. Blind date quiz show
One person asks questions of 3 to 4 students, who should answer about the person on the photo they have. The person who asked the questions should then decide who would make the best date, and after being shown the photos of the one they rejected will finally be shown the photo of the one they chose. This works well with photos of famous people.

2. Internet dating chain letters
Another fun variation on the dating theme is for students to write one line about the person wanting a date (from their imaginations), fold over the paper so what they wrote can not be seen, pass the piece of paper to the next person to continue the description etc. When each piece of paper has been passed around at least 6 people, the next person can unfold it and decide if the letter makes sense and/or sounds like a good date.

3. Describing people 20 questions
Students ask yes/no questions about the people whose photos or written descriptions they have (“Is it a woman?” “Does she have long hair?” “Does she have a high pressure job’”) until they guess which person their partner was thinking of.

4. Describing people memory games
For example, students test each other on what people in class look like and are wearing while the person answering the questions has their eyes closed.

5. Guess my description
Students write 10 sentences about themselves and then pass the piece of paper to someone else. The person who received the paper reads the sentences out, starting with the most difficult clues to guess from, until everyone guesses who it refers to.

6. Ranking traits
For example, rank personality words by how important they are for a particular job. Other groups then guess what the job is from the ranking and then say if they agree or disagree.

7. Brainstorm sentence endings board race
Teams race to write as many correct ending to a sentence stem as they can, e.g. “He has blue…”, “He has a big…” or just “He is…”

8. Picture dictation
One person explains a picture of a person to their partner, and their partner tries to draw what they hear. This can be done with the person explaining being allowed to see it being drawn or (more difficult) not being able to see and just having to ask and answer questions to make sure they have got it right. It can also be done with the original picture being a line drawing or a photo, with the former obviously being much simpler.

9. Alibi game
Each pair of students is told that they are a suspect for a murder last night and that person’s alibi, and must construct a story about what they were wearing, what the people around them looked like etc when they were at the pub rather than at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder. The two people are then questioned separately on all the details, and the pair in the class with most inconsistencies between their stories are the guilty ones.

10. Project/research
Students are set a task to find out as many things about a famous person as they can. They get points either for the number of details they found, or for every detail they found that no one else did.

11. Dominoes/jigsaws
Students are given different parts of a cut up picture or pictures showing many different people, and have to match the pictures up without showing them to each other.

12. Magazine search
Students challenge each other to find people of a certain kind in the magazines or textbooks that they have (e.g. “Look for someone wearing a blue hat/with a six pack”), and then race to be the first to find that thing. This works with different people having both the same and different books, but if they have different publications you might want to allow them to swap occasionally.

13. Guess the nationality
People describe one person or make generalizations about someone from a particular country, and the others try to guess the nationality. You can do the same thing with regions of their country. This can lead onto language of generalization such as “Most people think that…” or “People in this country tend to…”, which is good for speaking exams such as IELTS, or discussion of the truth and acceptability of stereotypes.

14. Sentence expansion
Give students a very short description of someone, e.g. “He has hair”. They then take turns to make that sentence longer and longer, until someone makes a mistake or gives up.

15. Generalization vary the sentence
This is similar to Sentence Expansion above. Start with a sentence that is an over-generalization, e.g. “Spanish people are short”, then take turns expanding or changing the sentence to make it more generally true.

ESL Describing Games

Describe it

Age/Level: Elementary and above     Time: 15 minutes     Players: Pairs     Preparation: None

Aim: To describe and define groups of words

You can use this describing game to help students practice or revise categories of words such as adjectives, jobs, animals, sports, etc. You can also use it to revise any vocabulary you have been teaching your students.

Procedure

Divide the students into pairs (A and B).

Each student will need a pen and a piece of paper.

Have all the A students move their chairs so they can’t see the board.

All B students should sit so they can see the board.

Write five to ten words on the board that you want the students to practice or revise. For example, if you wanted to revise sports you might write tennis, football, cycling, badminton, volleyball, etc.

Student B describes the first word on the board to Student A without saying the word, and speaking only in English, e.g. People play this sport on a court. They use a racket and ball to play. This sport is usually played between two people, etc.

Student A listens and then writes down the word he/she thinks it is and shows it to Student B.

Student A is not allowed to speak during the game. He/she can only write down the words on the paper.

If the word is correct, Student B moves onto describe the second word on the board and so on.

If it’s wrong, Student B must try to give a clearer definition or clue to help their partner guess the word.

When they have finished, the students swap roles and a new set of words is written on the board.

Describe it.PDF

Details

Age/Level: Elementary and above     Time: 25 minutes     Players: Small teams     Preparation: 5-10 minute video clip

Aim: To write descriptions of what you see in a video

This describing game is a wonderful way to incorporate media into your lesson. You will need access to a VCD/DVD player or the Internet for this game. Choose a 5 to 10 minute clip from a movie, TV programme or music video. The clip should contain numerous things and have a diverse backdrop.

Procedure

Divide the students into small teams.

Give each team a piece of paper and a pen.

Tell the students that they are going to watch a video. Explain that they have to write down as many descriptions as they can from what they see in the video.

Tell the students they will receive one point for every adjective + noun combination.

However, if the students write down a complete sentence describing part of the video, they will get five points.

Example:

Red car = 1 point

The bright red sports car is travelling at highspeed. = 5 points

At the end of the video, go through each team's answers and total up the points.

The team with the highest number of points wins.

This game also can be used to practice verbs, nouns, etc.

Details.PDF

Describing Dodgeball

Age/Level: Any     Time: 20 minutes      Players: Individual      Preparation: A soft ball

Aim: To listen and match descriptions of people

Here is a fun ball game that can be used to help students practice describing physical appearance, clothing or personality. This describing game is a variation of dodgeball. It works particularly well in large classrooms where there is room to run around.

Before you begin the game, you will need a soft ball.

Procedure

Clear a space so there is room to run from one side of the classroom to the other.

Have all the students stand at one end of the room.

Choose one student to be the ball thrower and have that student stand to the side with the ball.

You start describing one student, e.g. This student is wearing white trainers. This student has short brown hair and blue eyes. This student is hard-working, etc. Alternatively, you could choose a student to do the describing.

Depending on the language focus, the teacher/student describes physical appearance, clothing, personality, etc.

The students at the end of the classroom listen to the description. When they figure out who is being described, that student runs to the other side of the room.

The ball thrower then tries to hit the student as he/she runs.

If the student is hit, he/she becomes the new ball thrower.

You could also use this game to describe other things, such as furniture, food, famous people, etc, by giving each student a picture to hold up.

Describing Dodgeball.PDF

Felix the Cat

Age/Level: Young learners     Time: 20 minutes     Players: Individual     Preparation: None

Aim: To think of adjectives beginning with a certain letter

Here is a very simple game for adjectives of appearance and personality.

Procedure

Draw or copy a picture of a cat on the board. 

Above the picture, write 'Felix the Cat'.

Then write on the board: Felix the cat is an awesome cat.

Next, write the letters of the alphabet (b, c, d, e, f, etc.) down the board.

Tell the students that they will take it in turns to think of a new adjective to describe Felix using the letters on the board.

Students then take it in turns to come up with a new sentence to describe Felix.

Examples:

Student A: Felix the cat is a bad cat.

Student B: Felix the cat is a crazy cat.

As each student says a new adjective, you write it on the board. You could also have the students write the sentences.

Felix the Cat.PDF

Hot Seats

Age/Level: Elementary and above     Time: 20 minutes     Players: 2 teams     Preparation: A list of revision words

Aim: To describe words to a classmate

This is one of the most popular describing games for teachers to play with their students. It is an excellent game for teaching or revising any vocabulary.

Procedure

Begin by separating the class into two teams (A and B).

Place two chairs facing away from the board at the front of the class.

Get one player from each team to come and sit on one of the chairs, facing their team and having their back to the board.

These chairs are the 'Hot Seats'.

Write a revision word from your list clearly on the board.

The team members describe the word to their player in the hot seat, using definitions, synonyms, adjectives, etc.

The two players listen to their teammates and try to guess the word.

The first player to say the word wins a point for their team and gets to change places with someone else from their team. Then, the game begins again.

The other team has to keep the same player in the hot seat until he/she is first to answer correctly.

Hot Seats.PDF

Swat

Age/Level: Any     Time: 20 minutes     Players: 2 teams     Preparation: 2 fly swatters and a list of revision words

Aim: To listen to a description and match it with a word

This is an active describing game for ESL students.

Before you begin, you will need two fly swatters (or similar objects) and a list of words you wish to review.

Procedure

Write all the words from your list randomly on the board.

Then, move any chairs or desks away from the board, so the students can run up to the board easily.

Separate the class into two teams (A and B) and give each team member a number.

Call out a number. The two students with that number come up to play first.

Give the two students a fly swatter each.

Then, give a description of one of the words on the board, e.g. It's something you sit on, what is it?

The two students run to the board to find the word 'chair'.

The first student to swat the correct word wins a point for their team.

Then, another number is called out and so on.

Swat.PDF

Teammates

Age/Level: Elementary and above     Time: 25 minutes     Players: Teams of 4 to 5     Preparation: None

Aim: To write a description of a classmate's appearance and personality

In this ESL describing game, students use adjectives to describe their teammates to the class.

Give each team a piece of paper and pen.

Tell the students to secretly choose a student from their team to describe. Ask them to describe their chosen teammate by writing down adjectives on their paper.

Explain that they should start by describing the student's physical appearance and then they write about the student's personality.

When everyone has finished, ask the teams to come to the front of the class one by one.

The teams read out their descriptions and the other teams try to guess who they are describing.

Teams win points for correct guesses.

When all the teams have described their teammate, put the students into new teams and play another round.

You can also ask them to write about other information, e.g. likes and dislikes, favourite colours, etc.

Teammates.PDF

Ten Words

Age/Level: Elementary and above     Time: 30 minutes     Players: 2 teams     Preparation: Small slips of paper

Aim: To describe recently studied words

This ESL describing game motivates students to use vocabulary they have learnt in class.

Procedure

Give each student ten small slips of paper.

Ask the students to write down one word on each slip of paper. Tell the students that the words must be vocabulary they have learnt recently in class.

When they have finished writing, collect the word slips and put all the slips into a bag or box.

Divide the students into two teams.

One student from each team comes up to the front.

You pick a word and show it to the two students.

The two students then race to describe the word to their teammates.

They can use any means to explain the word, e.g. synonyms, adjectives, actions, drawings, etc.

The first team to correctly guess the word wins a point.

Then, the next two students come up and so on.

Ten Words.PDF