Fun EFL Activities for Kids

Play entertaining English language games and reward the winners with sweets and treats.

The best way for children to learn is often through doing, and language learning is no exception. Create classroom games and activities that will inspire children to pick up new English words without feeling like they are studying. You'll know you're on to a winner when the kids look forward to class and never want to leave. Pick fun and physical games that will put a smile on everybody's face.

Glee Club

Inject a musical splash of Glee Club fun into language learning and teach English songs that children can memorize and mime. Pick individual students to sing solos so that they are active in their learning of the lyrics and aren't relying on classmates to back them up if they forget the words. Incorporating mime into the song will further help children to memorize the meanings of the words. Celebrate their new found language -- and singing -- skills with a concert for parents and other students.

Charades

Pick a student to come to the front of the class and show her a card with an activity like "jog on the spot" or "play the violin." The child will mime the action in front of the class while the other students guess in English what she is doing. The first child to guess the action wins a piece of candy. Add depth to the game by giving the child an adjective to incorporate into the action, like "fast," "big" or "beautiful."

Bingo

Use shop-bought bingo cards or make some of your own. Ask students to help make the bingo balls as a fun number-learning activity. Paint numbers onto small polystyrene balls and put the finished balls into a hat. Ask one student to come to the front of the class to play the part of the bingo caller. The child will pick a number and call it out in English as the other students mark the numbers off on their cards. The first child to get a full house calls out "bingo" and wins a treat.

Hangman

The teacher thinks of an English word and marks a line for each letter on the board. The kids must then suggest letters in English that may or may not be part of the word. If they guess correctly, the teacher writes the letter above the designated line, but if they call out a letter that isn't in the word, the teacher must begin to draw part of the hangman stick-image. Children can guess the word at any stage of the game. The game is over when the correct word is guessed or the hangman image is complete.

Command Game

Ask students to follow your English commands. Call out commands like "march," "sit," "clap your hands," "swim," "scratch your head" or "walk in a circle." You can start the game by joining in with the children but as they become more confident with the meanings of the commands they will be able to play without assistance.

Blindfold Directions Game

Select a willing student and place a blindfold over his eyes. The object of the game is for the child to walk from one end of the classroom to the other. Spin the child in a circle and then ask the other students to call out directions in English, like "go straight," "turn right" and "step over."

References

• ESL Kids Stuff: Classroom Games
• English 4 Kids: Games
• Tong Chang: Lesson Plans
• Marks English School: Lesson Plans