What better way to learn a language than by playing games? Playing games is such an interactive and hands-on way to get your kiddos to speak the language and learn more! Take a look at our fantastic list of 42 amazing ESL games for kids that cover grammar, vocabulary, speaking practice, and much more. From competitive team games to fun fill-in-the-blanks, we’re sure you’ll find a few that you’ll want to try out with your class. Let’s take a look!
1. Fizz or Buzz With Numbers
This fast-paced game can be played at the beginning of the class and at the end of the class to revise numbers! The teacher starts out the round with a number and quickly, the children must say the next number except when they get to any number with a 3 or a 5 they replace it with a Fizz or Buzz. If you make a mistake sit down till the next round!
Learn More: Dr. Mike’s Math Games For Kids
2. Scavenger Hunt
Treasure and Scavenger hunts are so much fun! Let your kiddos work in small groups or pairs and get them running around looking for objects on a list. The great thing about this activity is that you can easily adapt it to fit whatever stage of learning English your kiddos are at!
Learn More: English Current
3. Taboo
Expand your little ones’ English vocabulary with this exciting game! They’ll need to describe their target word or phrase, but avoid using anything that’s on the list of words that they cannot say. Here’s a bunch of ESL learning Taboo game cards; all that’s left for you to do is print them off and get playing!
Learn More: ISL Collective
4. Pictionary
We all love drawing and playing games, so it figures that Pictionary is a fantastic game for vocabulary review! You can download the dictionary cards or make your own, then all you’ll need are some small pieces of paper and pens or a whiteboard! Divide your class into teams then let them have fun with this super activity!
Learn More: The Game Gal
5. Freeze Frame
Explain the basic rules of charades and have the children come up with a verb or concept to act out. Shopping, Swimming, Watching TV – something easy. Then in the middle of their turn, the teacher shouts Freeze! and other children take their places in the exact position and the class has to say what it looks like they could be doing. “They were watching TV but now they are fishing” and then they act it out for a moment. Everyone loves this fun improvisation game!
Learn More: The Teacher Toolkit
6. Last Man Standing
All you’ll need for this one is your learners and a ball. Get your kids to stand in a circle and give them a topic. They’ll then pass or toss the ball around saying words or short sentences that relate to the topic. Encourage them to keep it going, faster and faster; if someone hesitates they are eliminated!
Learn More: The Ideal Teacher
7. Twenty Questions
This is a classic game that you can use if you have a spare few minutes to kill. Your students will have 20 questions to guess the word you’re thinking of. They can ask any question and you can only give “yes” or “no” answers! This game is the perfect warm-up for a vocabulary lesson and encourages them to get more comfortable asking questions in English!
Learn More: YouTube
8. Stop the Bus
Let’s look at another classic game that’s been played in classrooms around the world for years! Give your kiddies a printout or let them draw a grid with some different categories in it. You’ll then call out a letter and your kiddies have a set amount of time to come up with something for each category starting with that letter. At the end, you can review everyone’s answers and dish out some points!
Learn More: Teaching English
9. Sentence Building
Get your kids to practice structuring some sentences! Prepare a long list of complete sentences and structures with the vocabulary you are learning and print them out in a big enough font that you can cut them out. Shuffle all the words and let your kiddies play in teams to build short or long sentences over and over again!
Learn More: Esl Expat
10. Call My Bluff
This one is particularly popular with tweens and teens. Your little ones will write down in their notebooks two facts that are true about them and one lie. Let the other students then ask a couple of questions to find out which one is the lie!
Learn More: Free English Lesson Plans
11. Hangman Games
Hangman can be played as a whole class or in pairs with mini-whiteboards. Let your students come up with their own words or they can have help from one of the lists. You could even have them define the word once it’s spelled out. This game is a super way to practice spelling skills!
Learn More: English Club
12. Move Your Body Dice
Use this free printable to get your ESL class up and moving! Roll the exercise die and some number dice too; let the students who rolled call out the exercise and the number. Everyone then has to do that number of the exercises shown before you can roll again!
Learn More: Twinkl
13. Backwards
Learning how to talk backward is a fantastic way to get children to really listen and pick up what you’re saying. You are old how? From you are where? They’ll think it is so silly but that’s what’ll keep them paying attention as they’ll be desperate to correct you! You can easily work this silly game into any lesson for your learners.
Learn More: YouTube
14. What Am I Game
Challenge your kiddies to guess what they are in this fun and low-prep game! You’ll assign each of them a noun (for example, a person, an object, or an animal), and without knowing what it is, they must ask their classmates questions to work out what they are! You can use post-it notes with small groups, or have your kids stand with their back to the board and put an answer up there.
Learn More: ESL Active
15. Singing Grammar
Singing Grammar has been around for a long time and it is still loved by all my kids! Singing Grammar has downloadable worksheets, printable worksheets, and songs that teach all of the tenses in a pretty unique way! This resource is great for all your English learners to practice their listening skills.
Learn More: Hancock Mcdonald
16. Riddle Time and Jokes ESL
Riddles and jokes are things that can be fun and educational for your ESL learners. Inspire your learners to do some investigation and write their own to share with the class after exploring some popular English riddles and jokes. Good vocabulary practice, reading, and writing all in one lesson plan – what’s not to love?!
Learn More: English Post
17. Hidden Picture PowerPoint Game
With this activity, you can discover how to make your own hidden picture PowerPoint game. The children will see one revealed square and slowly they will start to ask questions to work out what the hidden photograph is. This one is perfect for a class warm-up!
Learn More: YouTube
18. Jeopardy ESL
Who doesn’t love a game of Jeopardy!? This online game resource is a super activity to play all together as a class or set up on devices for your kids to play in groups after they’ve finished their work. They’ll work in teams to answer as many questions correctly as they can and score the most points!
Learn More: Jeopardy Labs
19. Cup of Conversation
Never mind a cup of joe, how about a cup of conversation? Start by filling some plastic coffee mugs with a bunch of different topics written on small pieces of paper. Then, have your learners in groups or pairs, draw a piece of paper, and have a simple conversation about the topic. When they’re finished, have them swap their cup with another group and start again!
Learn More: ESL Cafe
20. Did You Say Drawing Dictation
Your kiddos will have a blast with this activity that’s the ideal mix between ESL and art! They’ll need to listen closely to the description given of a picture that they can’t see in order to draw it accurately for themselves. You can either select a picture and dictate to the whole class or let your kids work in pairs or small groups for this one. They’ll have a blast trying to draw the dictation!
Learn More: English Post
21. Tic Tac Talk
Put a talkative twist on this classic game! You can start by drawing a simple tic, tac, toe board and writing some prompts in it. Next, ask your students to take turns answering the questions and crossing out their box with an X or an O. Playing Tic Tac Talk is a super simple, yet effective way to get your ESL students conversing in English in no time at all.
Learn More: YouTube
22. Phonics Time
One of the best ways to learn English is to know your phonics. Kidz Phonics is a special website that has a bunch of printable worksheets and phonics games to really help your students get to grips with those all-important vowel sounds and consonant blends. By learning their phonics they’ll be building the foundations of some pretty awesome English reading skills!
Learn More: Kiz Phonics
23. Hungry Hamsters
The animal lovers in your class will adore this next activity! Let your kiddos watch this Hungry Hamsters video and hone their listening skills! They’ll need to be listening closely to answer the questions dotted throughout this cute interactive digital video! With these little rodents learning English will be like riding a bike. What a perfect way to start a beginner’s class!
Learn More: ISL Collective
24. Vowel Hopscotch
Vowel hopscotch combines vowel learning with a classic playground game. Draw out a hopscotch grid and encourage your kiddies to hop from square to square containing different vowels. When they land on a one they’ll need to say a word that contains that vowel. This activity is a super way to reinforce phonetic awareness, but can easily be adapted for more advanced vocabulary or grammatical concepts!
Learn More: Study
25. Word Dominos
In this activity, your children will be exposed to vocabulary as they match them up. As they play, they’ll link the dominos to any matching words or similar words or synonyms to build their language expertise. The game allows them to figure out the relationships between different words all while having fun!
Learn More: Twinkl
26. Alphabet Race
Ready, set, alphabet race! Ignite the competitive spirit in your classroom with this fun team game. Split your class into teams then have them race, one person at a time, to write out the alphabet from A to Z. What a super exciting challenge for your learners – they’ll love sharpening their skills in identifying and arranging letters as they build their teamwork!
Learn More: Kids Games
27. Story Builders
Talking and writing is always easier when there’s a purpose for it; story writing is a great purpose! This story-building game is engaging and fun-filled and will help your little ones master language and fan their curiosity! The character, plot, and setting cards will help them to get the bare bones, and they’ll use their English language skills to fill in the rest!
Learn More: TPT
28. Simon Says
A Simon Says challenge is an extremely fun way to get your kids practicing their vocabulary. Explain the instructions and make sure your kiddies understand only to follow your instruction if you say “Simon says”. This is a fantastic way to consolidate some target vocabulary while getting your kids moving!
29. Rhyme Time
The rhyme time activity helps your kiddies build their understanding of how words sound. Grouped in teams, your children will brainstorm rhyming words that match the examples on the free printable worksheet. This is the perfect way to help them grow their vocabulary and theIr phonetic expressions.
Learn More: All ESL
30. Puzzle Piece Matching
Puzzle activities are a fun way to help your learners grow their vocabulary! Let your kids take some time each day at this calming activity where they’ll work to match puzzle pieces with words and their respective images. Not only will this help them internalize and grasp new vocabulary, but they’ll also enhance their cognitive and motor skills at the same time!
Learn More: Kids Club English
31. Act It, Draw It, Sculpt It
Invite your children to become actors and artists for this lesson! Your learners can start by identifying a vocabulary word, and then they’ll act it out. Next, give them some paper or a whiteboard and let them draw a picture that depicts the word! Finally, let them get hands-on using some modeling clay to make a sculpture! This truly is a vocabulary lesson like no other!
Learn More: ESL Printables
32. Verb Charades
Charades is a super fun game but it’s also a fantastic way for your English students to learn verbs! They’ll love the chance to act out different verbs while their classmates try to guess the word correctly. As they act out the words through expressions and body movements, they’ll actually be memorizing the meanings of verbs as they go!
Learn More: All ESL
33. Magnetic Poetry Madness
Show your learners how fun language can be with an exciting poetry lesson! This printout is a list of common and challenging vocabulary that you can either use with magnets or simply laminate. As your kiddies arrange the words to build their poems, they’ll be learning how different words are related all while having the chance to express themselves poetically! Before you know it, they’ll be poets!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
34. English Language Tic-Tac-Toe
Tic-Tac-Toe is a versatile game that every kid knows the rules of! That’s what makes it the perfect game for practicing just about any skill. From vocabulary to grammar rules, and even spelling, there’s a whole bunch of ways you can get creative with this simple game to enhance your kiddos’ English learning!
Learn More: Aphro Granger
35. Spelling Bee Relay
Turn up the heat on the classic spelling bee by making it into an even more competitive challenge! In a spelling bee relay, your kids will need to pass a word along the line by spelling it out. Once the child at the front of the line has the spelling they’ll need to spell that word correctly to win the point! What a fun way to get your kids working together while growing their spelling skills!
Learn More: YouTube
36. Sentence Scramble
Sentence Scramble is a super online resource that your learners will just love. They’ll be given a bunch of words along with a picture and they’ll need to unscramble the words to create a sentence. Depending on their abilities you could have them complete this one individually or let them take time to arrange the sentences as teams.
Learn More: Tiny Tap
37. Rhyme and Roll
This rhyming game requires no prep; all you’ll need is some die! Get your kiddos to roll the dice, then encourage them to identify a word that rhymes with the number rolled. For example, if they roll the number three they could use the word “free”. Once they have their rhyming word it’s challenge time! Can they use their rhyming word in a sentence? They’ll surprise themselves as they play this simple game!
Learn More: Story Pod
38. Story Cubes Creation
Kids love creating stories, but sometimes they’re stumped on where to start. Using story cubes, your ESL learners can be inspired to tell a wonderful story as they use their English skills to connect the pictures they’ve rolled! This activity will help them to think on their feet and embrace the spontaneity of spoken language!
Learn More: ELT Planning
39. Sentence Surgery
We need some punctuation in this sentence, STAT! As the name of this exciting activity suggests, you’ll have your kiddies perform surgical operations on sentences to improve their grammar. The sentences have different errors, and your little sentence surgeons will work to fix them! Nurse, pass the pencil, please!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
40. Grammar Balloon Pop
Reward your kids for all their hard work with a fun online game. This one is a great choice as not only is it great fun, but your learners will still be practicing their English skills as they play. They’ll work to pop balloons that contain target words or phrases to drop them into the train. There are a bunch of different teacher-created versions of this game, or if you can’t find what you’re looking for you can sign up to create your own!
Learn More: Wordwall
41. Vocabulary Auction
Going once, going twice…Vocabulary Auction is a super entertaining activity that’ll bring out your learners’ competitive side while they build their vocabulary skills. With only a finite number of words on offer, they’ll work in groups to bid on the words they want, with the chance to win their money back if they can define the word and use it in a sentence. They’ll be sold on this fun way to consolidate their learning!
Learn More: ESL Speaking
42. Adjective Island
How would your learners survive on a deserted island? This fun ESL speaking lesson lasts for around 45 minutes and focuses on vocabulary and grammar. Your kiddos will discuss what items they’d take with them and even fill in the blanks on items that could be useful! Everything you’ll need can be downloaded in the PowerPoint included!
Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers
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