ESL Games & Activities for Kids

Children's high energy can be channeled for learning.

Teaching English as a second language to children can be exciting. They have a lot of energy and can learn the basics of a language quickly. However, children have shorter attention spans than adults do and need to have their energy channeled into constructive activities before it results in discipline problems. They learn best when they're involved in hands-on activities rather than passive listening. Using games and activities to learn English is fun and engaging for them and leads to fewer frustrations for the teacher.

Bang!

Bang! is a simple game for children that needs few materials. The game reinforces vocabulary and pronunciation and works better in small classes, although you will need more than one student to play it properly. Before class, get a small box, such as a shoebox or cereal box. Write vocabulary words or phrases the students are learning on slips of paper and drop them into the box. Include several slips that read, "Bang!" In class, pass the box around; without looking, each student pulls out a piece of paper and must say the word correctly. If he doesn't, he puts the slip back. If he is successful, he can keep the paper. However, if a student pulls out a "Bang!" paper, he loses his turn and must return all his slips to the box. Whoever has the most slips of paper at the end wins.

Bombs Away

Bombs Away is a Concentration-type game with a twist. If you are lucky enough to be able to show Powerpoint or Keynote in your classroom, it's adaptable for teaching and reviewing many kinds of material, especially sentences, vocabulary and verb tenses. If you don't have that technology, you can still play the game, but you'll have to make game boards and it will be more suited to smaller classes.

The game board is a 5-by-5 or 6-by-6 grid. Place pictures, sentences or vocabulary words in each square except for three or four. To those, place a bomb or a stick of dynamite. Cover each square with a point value so that the picture is hidden. When it's time to play, split your class into two teams. Each team chooses a point value. If they can accomplish the task you give them, they win the points. If they get a bomb, they lose all their points. If they get the dynamite, the other team loses all their points.

Create Your Own Book

An excellent way to help kids tie everything together is to create their own books. At the end of a unit or theme, ask the children to make their own reading books. Provide paper to write on and illustrate and stiffer paper or cardboard to create the covers. Children get confused and distracted when topics are too broad, so narrow them down. For example, rather than say the book has to be about Christmas, assign them to write "How My Family Celebrates Christmas" or a story about Santa Claus. Kids usually like to draw their own pictures, although they can cut photos from magazines and newspapers if there is not enough time or if they are self-conscious about their drawing ability.

References

• George Stocker: Teaching ESL to Children

Resources

• Teach Children ESL