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Do your students struggle with actually speaking English? They understand you, can read and write, but when it comes to orally producing language, they clam up. This is a very normal, very common,(and totally understandable) situation with language learners. However, there are ways to troubleshoot! With a little creativity, you can get your ESL students speaking with confidence. Read on!
Games are a GREAT way to help English Langauge Learners (ELLs) start to produce spoken language and lower their affective filter (basically their nervousness) around speaking and pronunciation. Games work for ALL ages--you just need to select the game that best fits the age and needs of your students. Here are some that you might find useful in your ESL classroom! : )
Go Fish! 🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟 This game is super easy to understand, so students don't have to worry about confusing instructions. You can make or buy your own Go Fish! cards with certain vocabulary sets. The idea here is to use the vocab words/objects in place of the numbers. Look at the pictures below to see what this looks like.
This game also helps develop ask-and-respond language. Students need to ask each other "Do you have any...?" "Yes, I do" or "No, I don't. Go fish!" This game is great for later elementary school all the way up through high shool. Kids of all ages love a little competition. You could incentivize with a small prize (or an extra credit point for older students). While it is of course possible to make your own decks of Go Fish!, I do recommend buying them just because it's a huge time saver. (See below if you're looking to buy). I've made my own decks and it takes a long time to format everything correctly. I also recommend laminating the cards if you have younger students. In my experience, the kids really get into the game....sometimes at the expense of the cards!!
I Have...Who Has? ❓🙋 ❓🙋 ❓🙋 ❓🙋
The "I have...Who has...?" game is an excellent way for ESL students to lead the learning by working together to complete a kind of spoken puzzle. Each student gets at least one card (they can get as many as the deck allows). I give my ELLs who need more of a challenge 3-4 cards and my struggling students 1-2. Easy differentiation! Anyway, after each student has a card, you start off with the "start" card. Whoever has the item announced on the first card must listen and answer "I have X!" Then the student reads the bottom half of the card which says "Who has Y?" (or whatever the object/word is).
You can do this game with practically any topic--the alphabet; colors; shapes; months and days; clothing; school supplies; numbers. This list goes on. I have several I have, Who has decks in my room in little task card boxes. I sometimes start class with the game as a listening and speaking warm up, or, if I have a few extra minutes at the end of class, I'll finish with the game. It's also a short, simple game if you need to give students a brain break.
What I like most about it is that the whole class works together to complete the spoken "loop" of cards. Additionally, students really need to listen closely as they will only hear the word on their card, not see it. This really builds close listening skills and keeps them focused and paying attention. Finally, the question and repsonse language is a low stress way to develop speaking skills. Even though they are short little phrases, they are great for beginner ELLs.
The Toilet Paper Game: Hilarity + Speaking Development 🧻🧻🧻🧻
This is a game I invented (or at least I didn't knowingly take it from someone else) and kids LOVE IT. All kids of all ages. I imagine even adults would like it if you got them to bring out their silly sides.
It's very simple but does require a little (easy) prep on your part. First, you take a roll of toilet paper and break off about 40 squares. Each square will become a question, so you can do more or less depending on your class size. Next, you measure out a little index card (you may need to cut it to fit the TP square) and tape it to the TP square. Each TP square needs a card. Lastly, you write questions on the index cards/TP squares. If you don't feel like doing this prep, you can purchase mine, where you just need to cut the cards and tape onto the TP.
Next, you have your students sit in a circle. You hand each student at least one square of TP with a question (ideally 2-3 each). Give yourself one or two cards as well. Before students begin asking the questions on their TP cards, you take a second roll of TP, or what's left of roll #1, and wrap it all around the students, linking them in a circle. This is where the real hilarity comes in. It takes away all the nervousness about speaking and pronunciation. I really go heavy on the TP wrapping and cover the kids with it. They are always cracking up with giggles by this point.
Finally, sit down in the circle yourself (don't forget some TP decor for you, too!) and start the game. Each student will read the question on their card aloud, and then pick a classmate to answer. You keep going until everyone's TP question cards have been asked. 10/10 recommend this game. I've used it for kids who have a lot of trauma and need some fun, for observations with admin, for a Friday Fun Day, and more. It's always fun, and you always get kids speaking, simply because they are having too much fun to be nervous. Give it a try! : ) 🧻🧻🧻🧻🧻
Puzzle Matchup 🧩 🧩 🧩 🧩 🧩 🧩 🧩
For this game, you can do it in a variety of ways. You could print multiple sets of the puzzle and have students work independently or in partners, or, you can do what I do and make it a whole-class race. I use a little stopwatch and the students love trying to beat their own time!
This game is a simple puzzle, but it has three parts. Let's say you are teaching clothing vocabulary. In this case, each puzzle match would have part 1) the word in English part 2) a picture of the word and part 3) the word in the students' native language(s). Look at the picture below to see an example.
Again, you can make this--it's just annoying and time consuming to do so. I recommend purchasing. However, either way, you do need to cut out all the puzzle pieces. Once they are cut out, you scatter them around the room. Students need to work together to find the pieces to each 3-part puzzle section. To get them speaking while doing this, I pre-teach (and then leave up on the board) game language. Some examples could include "Where is the picture for shoes?" "Do you have raincoat?" "I have...." "Hurry!" "Here, give me the card." "Is this correct?" "I need...."
I do recommend practicing the spoken language before you start the game. In my experience, this works best as a whole-class game, but like I said, it's also versatile and can be used in pairs or alone. If you'd like to purchase instead of making, I have one available for clothing vocabulary at the moment. I will soon be adding weather as well!
Bingo: Not Just for Listening Skills
Bingo is a tried and true classic for all ages. With super simple rules, it's easy to play, yet it yields real results in language learning. Most people probably think of Bingo as solely a listening game, but it can easily be turned into a speaking game as well for language learners! Read on to find out how!
You can use Bingo for practically any vocabulary topic. I routinely use it for numbers, which are notorioulsy difficult in any language, and for seasonal vocabulary so that my ESL students can begin to describe what they see around them (ex. Christmas decor or Halloween items). First, I used flashcards (digital or physical, doesn't matter) to pre-teach the selected Bingo vocabulary. See below for an example. Students must listen to the word and then repeat it so that we practice the pronunciation. I might even ask my ESL students, to make a simple sentence using one of the new words ("I like football."). Only once we've reviewed the words are we allowed to play.
Next, I hand out the Bingo cards to everyone (I highly recommend putting them in plastic slipcovers or the communicator sheets so that you don't have to print a million copies). I give students a moment to analyze their boards. (The boards do NOT have the words on them, just the pictures). Lastly, before we begin, we practice "Game Language." See below for an example of this.
As we play, I keep encouraging students to regularly use the game language. And they do!! You can see their confidence start to blossom even with these simple little phrases. Because it's a game, they somewhat forget that they are actually speaking English. Therefore, they speak more and more!
Finally, when a student wins the round of Bingo, they must say back to me all the pictures in their Bingo line. I help them if they don't remember, but they must say the words aloud. This is another easy, low stress way to get them producing new language. Bingo it self if very simple to play, but making the cards can be a bit of a pain. If you'd like to buy them instead, I have a few decks below (right now I have Valentine's Bingo, St. Patrick's Day, Christmas/Winter, and Thanksgiving). Eack game also comes with writing activities for the new vocabulary, so you'll be working all 4 language domains with one product! Yay!
Looking for an all-inclusive BUNDLE of ESL Games for Beginners? Click below!
