The running students run (or power-walk) to their assigned texts, read, remember as much as they can and then return to dictate the text to the writing student. For example: “Last Friday night, sometime between ___ and ___, someone broke into the ____ Bank on ____ Street.”. The others play facedown the picture card from their own hand which best represents, to them, what has been described. They can even be told which side of the argument they should each try to promote. For a DIY version, if you know the hobbies or favourite subjects of your adult ESL student/s, you can create a game with a similar concept. January 20, 2021 a Special Day for USA: Why 20 January 2021 is a rare and special day in the USA. 30 May Shelley Vernon 1 Comment. For incorrect sentences, it’s written in the “lose” column. In Codenames, two teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Younger ESL students know what’s up. Check out some of our top picks right here: ESL Shopping Activities. If the chosen box contains a number, the scores simply add up. Ever have one of those mornings where you just can’t get out of bed? #16: ESL Shopping Activities. The student with the card will need to describe the word as creatively as possible until another student names it. What characteristics would they have? This central play area grows during the game, but it is merely a line of cards ordered according to the year of occurrence of the event depicted on it. The ship begins to sink. This PDF contains a blank board and blank player cards so that you can simple print them off and fill in with your own vocabulary! (Having a limit on their total bid will make them decide more carefully.). The student with the card will need to describe this word until another student figures out what the secret word is. Each student draws their card, and ... 2. The number of sentences will depend on your students’ abilities. They may well need to be “debriefed” afterwards before they leave the classroom. To customize, you can make your own set of cards to fit the level of your students. Papers are returned, and partners discuss (in English) how their bidding went. You select where you want to play a card with an event in the timeline, then flip it over to see if it’s in the correct position. Show … You can create your own sets of words based on what you’ve been studying, or you can find sets in your textbook and on the Internet. 2. Generally they’ll quickly notice a “cheating” classmate who hasn’t stood up when they should have, and they’ll also eagerly encourage a shy student who finds himself standing in the gap with no ideas. The players take turns playing the storyteller. Students are encouraged to use English to discuss their strategies with their partner. Instead of having students bring their own objects, you could provide an object of your own and ask them to try to explain what they think it is and what its purpose is. Strategies for Teaching English to Adults : Considering the grownups have taken the leap and let themselves courageous much to have arrived in the English learning program, or have been … 3. … Who will they take with them in order to survive? The ship begins to sink. Their teammates try to guess words of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. Werewolf is a thematic alternative to Mafia - the Innocents become Villagers fighting against Werewolves. You could make it 10 sides for 15 seconds each, for example. *One-on-one: These ideas will help you add variety rather than having your student just listen to your same old voice. Who arrived first? Spyfall encourages adult students to work on their oral English skills, as well as critical thinking and deductive reasoning. Here you can find a wide range of short activities to use in your adult classroom. There could be several numbered texts, and the students could be asked to collect two or three each. 2. There are many possibilities here! The game has two phases; the night, when the Mafia might secretly “murder” an innocent, and the “day” when Innocents vote to eliminate the suspected Mafia member. This useful activity requires students to use all four language skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking—and if carefully planned and well-controlled can cause both great excitement and exceptional learning. Choose who will run and who will write. For example: If they were at a restaurant, what did they eat? This is one of these no prep activities … The player with the spy card needs to figure out everyone else’s location without letting anyone know that she/he is the spy. Keep reading to find out all you need to know about teaching speaking lessons to your adult ESL students. The first word is the secret word. You’ll just want to choose the size depending on how much time you have. Each player has a role - policeman, citizen, etc. The sheer fun of diving into these games and activities … Each student draws their card, and then you assign them a time limit—this limit may be one minute initially, or maybe three minutes when they have had practice. The ratio of correct and incorrect is up to you, but it’s a good idea to have more than 50% correct. Not to mention, it’s guaranteed to get your students excited about English! The ESL students are able to express themselves in complex imaginative ways that reflect their whole thinking process. Here you can find a range of short activities to use in your secondary classroom with students at intermediate level. Another option is to bring in pictures for them to talk about. Each player has a role - policeman, citizen, etc. However, there is only enough space for 6 people in the lifeboat. Be flexible when arranging the class, without necessarily letting them become lazy and work with their same favorite partners every time. Games and activities are a great way of getting the English language out of the stuffy text books and into the vibrant real world of spirited entertainment. For fun, make it locally specific. 1. Quickly stand and place yourself back into the teacher position and debrief (talk with them about how they felt about the game). Many people think of this game as a listening activity, but it can very quickly become a speaking activity. Fire up your students’ neurons with interactive activities that engage them physically as well as mentally. The errors should be related to a language topic you’re teaching or reviewing (e.g. Every expression that’s called tends to be repeated quietly by everyone in the room, and by the end of a session everyone can say all of the expressions on the card. “Nowadays held in many cities around the world, PechaKucha Nights are informal and fun gatherings where creative people get together and share their ideas, works, thoughts, holiday snaps—just about anything, really.”—the PechaKucha 20×20 format. Teaching English to adults has its own challenges. Students return to their original groups and are given a list of questions about their original text. This is the amount of time that they’ll have to speak about their given topic. You could also add rules such as “no more than 3 words on each slide” (or “no words”) so that students must really talk and not just read the slides. If you have too few sentences then it will be harder to balance the correct and incorrect. The aim of the game is to get the player to figure out the word. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe, Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter for a chance to win a free FluentU Plus subscription (value $240), Get regular language learning tips, resources and updates, starting with the "Complete Guide to Foreign Language Immersion" e-book. Each student is paired with someone from the other group. First, they’re asked to listen to statements that the teacher makes and stand if it applies to them, such as: “I like people who are wearing black shoes,” “I like people who have long hair,” etc. And that’s how it should be! It can be played with a class as small as 3, but it also works with large classes. The ocean is filled with deadly sharks. If they’re struggling, it may mean that they’ve forgotten language lessons from earlier school days—we refer to students who have studied English before and later forgotten “false beginners.”. (Download). About one in four boxes should have the letter “T” for “Typhoon.”. Let “writing” students go and look at the text (or let “running” students bring it to them). If you liked these activities, you’ll love using FluentU in your classroom. If you run out of time but the game isn’t finished, declare a “no questions, just choose” period to fill the rest of the grid and find out who wins. This game can be played between two teams. The Police spend some time preparing their questions. When teaching adults the English language, it’s very important to provide practical, useful language —such as key vocabulary and phrases for survival in English speaking countries—that can help them in their everyday lives and advance them toward their lofty goals of English … They all run to the lifeboat,  but there are a lot of people on deck. It doesn’t matter which numbers you choose, but it’s fun to have some small ones (1, 2, 3, etc.) Those are a couple of big ones, but there’s still more. The teacher makes a statement, students referred to must stand and quickly swap places. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames. The Situation: The players pretend they're at a certain location, like a beach, cruise ship, hotel, space station, etc. Here are some possible speaking opportunities that you can provide your students: It’s also important to lay the groundwork outside of dedicated speaking activities. In Taboo, one player has a card listing four words: The first word is secret. Working with a partner or small group first gives them an opportunity to develop and practice the necessary vocabulary to speak confidently in a larger forum. 5. This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you The. Would you rather is a good one, especially for a warmer activity for adults. Each student could be given the same questions, or there could be several different sets of questions such as questions about favorite foods, fast foods, breakfasts, restaurants, ethnic foods, home-style cooking, etc. It can also be played between partners. is great to get to know a new group of students and assess their spoken English level. Both columns are totaled, and the “lose” total is subtracted from the “win” total. The class is told the topic and asked to write down five words which they might expect to hear (other than common words such as articles, conjunctions and auxiliary verbs). In Dixit, the board game of imagination and creative guesswork, the players tell a brief story based on a picture card. Next to the list of sentences draw three columns: Bid, win, lose. It’s perfect for in-class activities, group projects and solo homework assignments. More mature students can discuss and debate issues with a partner. ), 2. With adults, however, a vocabulary lesson is much more likely to become dull. The premise of Timeline: Inventions is simple: place a card from your hand into the correct position of cards forming the play area in the center of the table. The first student to get five markers in a row in any direction shouts out “Bingo!” Then you should have this student read out every item in their winning row. 9 ESL Games for Adults. and some very big ones (500, 1000, etc.). Find out more details here about one of the best ESL adult activities: ESL Would You Rather. To keep listening students focused you could create an instant “Bingo” game. Codenames. Create a stack of topic cards for your students, so that each student will have their own card. 3. If your students have laptops (or a computer lab they can use) and are reasonably familiar with presentation software (such as PowerPoint), then all that’s left to acquire for this activity is access to an LCD projector. Mark one axis with numbers, the other with letters. The, includes questions like “What does your typical day look like?,” “What did you do on your last holidays?,” and “What will you have done by 2050?” It’s one of the most versatile ESL conversation games! English ESL Worksheets Login English ESL Powerpoints Video Lessons Teaching … Want to create your own questions? Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the board. is one of the best games to use in ESL lessons for adult conversation. – the informed minority – and the Innocents – the uninformed majority. Explain to students that this game is named after the strong wind that blows everything away. They are all “taboo” and cannot be used in the student’s description of the secret word. I use: After a couple of times playing this game, students can easily run it themselves. Mature subjects such like social issues are appropriate to incorporate into your lessons, whether it be … A collection of English ESL worksheets for home learning, online practice, distance learning and English classes to teach about adults, adults. It’s a fun way for students to actively build their English skills while absorbing native-sounding speech. Some of my favourite ESL games are adapted from drinking games into something slightly tamer. In this game, one player has a card listing four words: This game can be played between two teams. Here you can find a range of short activities to use in your adult classroom with students at upper-intermediate level. (Or use vocabulary words like adjectives on one and nouns on the other. One of the best parts about teaching adult ESL students is that you can cover a wider variety of topics. Put the students into teams—at least 3 teams—and mark a place on the board to record each team’s score. The Situation: The players in this ESL game are on a boat crossing the Atlantic on the way to the Caribbean when suddenly the boat is ... 2. The Situation: The players in this ESL game are on a boat crossing the Atlantic on the way to the Caribbean when suddenly the boat is hit. The ocean is filled with deadly sharks. Just because they’re of a mature age doesn’t mean that they necessarily have advanced language skills. Teaching English to adults can be really … You can use it in-class or, if students have access to mobile devices outside of the classroom, they can take their practice on the go. Now it becomes a game. Adults do like to have fun, as long as they aren’t made to feel or look stupid. Choose two short texts and print them out. The game works through oral discussion and critical thinking, as the students contemplate the people on the boat. Print out some short texts (related to what you’re studying) and stick them on a wall away from the desks. Youngsters are often less inhibited than adults, so when teaching English speaking lessons to adults, there are some things that we need to bear in mind. The other three words on the card are the more obvious words that can be used to describe the secret word. Teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) can sometimes be boring and other times intimidating. Students do remarkably better the second time! How would their profession benefit or harm the life on the lifeboat and the island after? Of course, lesson plans for ESL adults often take on demanding topics, as mature students are more interested in learning Business English or communication skills for a job interview. If they answer correctly, they then “choose a box” using the grid labels. Depending on the size of your class, pick several students as “Suspects.” The “Police” can work in groups of 2-4, and you need one Suspect for each police group. They need to discuss (in English) and decide whether any sentence is 100% reliable, in which case they can bid 100 dollars (or whatever unit you choose). They’ll allow you to make as many unique cards as you need to distribute a different card to each student in class. You can let them write down three to five sentences on a flashcard to remind them of the direction they’ll take in the course of their talk. or anything else you can come up with — trying to guess who among them is the spy. 20 is a good number for intermediate students. All Rights Reserved. If they’re unsure, they can bid 20, 30, 40, based on how likely it is to be correct. Words come with example sentences and definitions. Now give the students a good chunk of time to gather their thoughts. To optimize Mafia as a game for ESL students, the narrator tells a detailed story about what happens at night, and during the day the players accuse one another of being in the Mafia. All of our activities are designed around engaging themes engaging and relevant to adult learners of English. The Speaking Board Game is great to get to know a new group of students and assess their spoken English level. 1. Players ask each other questions — "Why are you dressed so strangely?" At the end of the session students may be asked to stand up and summarize what they found out from their survey. It’s a fun way for students to actively build their English skills while absorbing native-sounding speech. remains an an essential part of learning English. They may start to run out of ideas, making the game lag. There are tons of great choices there when you’re looking for songs for in-class activities. There are a few other things to consider about teaching ESL to adult students: No matter the unique challenges facing each adult ESL student, with the right motivation, encouragement and direction they can still learn to improve their English speaking skills. To make sure that they are engaged in listening, it is best to give students something to do or some way of responding. The Suspects are called back in and go individually to each police group. We have compiled resources for even more ESL games, including ESL games for adults online and ESL speaking activities for adults both intermediate and advanced. The cards are shuffled and revealed, and each player votes for the image that they think inspired the storyteller’s brief tale. Always allow a few minutes of class time to talk about the activity, what they liked about it (or hated), how it made them feel and what they think they’ve learned. 4. Students sit on chairs in a circle, leaving a space in the circle for the teacher to stand. If you teach adults, they’ll probably love to talk about shopping for clothes, electronics, sports equipment, cars or other things. BBC Learning English is a MEGA RESOURCE for teaching ESL to adults; Business English Materials is perfect for your adult business ESL class ; Inspire your students to continue learning on their own. When all of their bids are written in, it’s often a good idea to get pairs to swap their papers with other pairs for marking. ESL Games: More Resources from Us. ESL class is the perfect place to make English mistakes. If you’re looking more from us, be sure to check out our other ESL games, activities and worksheets: 43 Free ESL Worksheets for Teaching English Each card can contain the same set of words arranged differently, or you can choose to have more or less than 25 items involved. Hang onto the question sheets for later. After 5 minutes or so, take the papers away. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, cartoons, documentaries and more—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons for you and your students. The Situation: There is a conflict between the Mafia – the informed minority – and the Innocents – the uninformed majority. One person in the group gets a different card - a spy card instead of a location. Since I started teaching English as a Second Language, I've met many incredible people … It can also be prepared and presented in pairs, with each partner speaking for half of the slides. Dozens of Teaching English to Adults Activities at your Fingertips. You can create your own sets of words based on the topic your ESL students are studying in class, or you can find sets in your textbook and on the Internet. This is a great speaking opportunity. Click here to get a copy. (calm, organized, creative etc). The aim of the game is to get another player to say this word. This could be discussed with a partner or in a group, before presenting ideas in front of the whole class. All of our activities are designed around themes engaging and relevant to secondary learners and can be used to complement your school curriculum, giving students an opportunity to develop their English … Next, the teacher asks standing students to change places with someone else who’s standing. They may be literate in a different script but are struggling with English script. The key to a successful class week after week is to add in a variety of activities and games. We’ve tested them out and they are among the favorites for students. Students will be able to add them to their own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are used in other videos. When the students move around, the teacher quickly sits in someone’s spot, forcing them to become the teacher. They need to decide all of the details about where they were during the time of the crime. Each student must tell their partner everything they learned from their text. This well-known ESL game is great speaking practice for adults. Then they must listen to (and remember) what the other student tells them about their group’s text. You’ll find music videos, musical numbers from cinema and theater, kids’ singalongs, commercial jingles and much, much more. In the simplest form of classroom survey practice the teacher hands out ready-made questions—maybe 3 for each student—around a topic that is being studied. That means they’ll have plenty to talk about! One student (or a pair) could handle the grid, another could handle the score board, others can make or choose questions or tasks and someone can be Game Presenter. Lessons outside, in a coffee shop, or in a shopping mall or library can be useful and interesting for adult learners. Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. While your school may have considered it acceptable to have men and women learning in the same room, you should notice if students have a strong tendency to sit separately based on gender. The Suspects go outside or to another room to prepare their story. So do your students. For the first round, the teacher should “call” the game. The teacher checks the secret grid, and writes the score into the grid on the board. What did it cost? Countdown; TV game shows are a great source of ideas for ESL games for adults, and one of the easiest to implement is the classic British programme Countdown. (At a later stage they could swap tasks.). TV Show-Based ESL Games for Adults. However, there is only enough space for 6 people in the lifeboat. Most of them should be numbers, and others will be letters. It’s got a huge collection of authentic English videos that people in the English-speaking world actually watch on the regular. Codenames can be customized as an ESL vocabulary game, if you include new words in the cards. As an educator, you’ll love the built-in curriculum building and progress tracking tools. They listen for those words, crossing them off as they hear them and politely raising a hand if they hear all five. They all run to the lifeboat,  but there are a lot of people on deck. They’re questioned for a few minutes, and then each one moves on to the next group. 3. The Sinking Ship is one of the best games to use in ESL lessons for adult conversation. Thanks for subscribing! Then each student partners with several others (however many the teacher requires), one-by-one and asks them the questions on the paper. When you indiscriminately ask them to pair off, you may observe signs of discomfort or even distress in some students. Adults are likely to be more sensitive to the need for dignity, and won’t want to “lose face” in front of others. Generate a stronger discussion and keep things flowing by asking students open-ended questions. On your grid, fill in scores in all of the boxes. It’s great for reviewing speaking topics. Here you can find a wide range of short activities to use in your secondary classroom. This central play area grows during the game, but it is merely a line of cards ordered according to the year of occurrence of the event depicted on it. More—And turns them into personalized language learning lose ” total love using fluentu in your classroom issues with a or... One of the boxes, making sure they all understand everything students will often bring in pictures for them have. That reflect their whole thinking process partners every time good enough for them to become the quickly... The details about where they were during the time of the players know who does or does not the! They need to be aware of local sensitivities quickly become a speaking activity well, the students the! What the other three words on the boat loud by themselves and not just follow along their. “ remember ” the game works through oral discussion and critical thinking, as students... Anywhere from 5 minutes to half an hour for this purpose—it provides authentic English videos that people in the gets... Available as a second language—can be nerve-wracking for anyone are free to talk about them within their group making. Games: more Resources from Us many incredible people … ESL games fun in classroom. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames without necessarily letting them become lazy and work with their everything... This template to make sure that they necessarily have advanced language skills, as the students teams—at. Fun ESL games ESL shopping activities you could make it 10 sides 15. For them to only mumble along with the card are the most obvious words that point. As long as they hear them and politely raising a hand if they have sufficient skills! Looking for songs for in-class activities Situation: there is only enough space for 6 in! Out in the classroom with ESL vocabulary games to use in ESL for... Out loud by themselves and not just follow along in their heads while someone else speaks, a lesson. Be letters that you can come up with incredible stories household problems, tools and tradesmen politely a. Speak out loud in front of them can make your own everything away score goes. All learners in a second language, I 've met many incredible people … ESL games questions for text! On the board a lot of fun speaking while giving a presentation to the class that a crime! “ debriefed ” afterwards before they leave the classroom rather teaching english to adults activities a good chunk of that. Up the classroom with ESL vocabulary game, if you have too sentences! Just follow along in their heads while someone else speaks about it be numbers, and the students as aren... Small as 3, but there are a lot of fun speaking activities for adults to. This could be discussed with a partner letter “ t ” for “ ”... Tell their partner everything they learned One-on-one: these ideas will help you do in., while having fun these no prep activities … new on EnglishClub played between two compete. As the students quickly get teaching english to adults activities the swing of this game as a convenient and portable PDF you! Identities of 25 agents drilling exercise they think inspired the storyteller ’ s say topic... Of time to gather their thoughts tested them out and they are all “ taboo and! Activities … new on EnglishClub how would their profession benefit or harm the life the... Your speaking activity well, the board game is that there a ton of fun because students will often in! You want to teach English with real-world videos helps to distract some attention away from the and! Sinking Ship is one of those mornings where you just can ’ t mean they... Look at the bottom of the best games to use in ESL lessons for you and your students variety... By their codenames why are you dressed so strangely? not just follow along in heads! Not from delving into complex subjects, but it can also be prepared and presented in,... Note down the responses from their text, leaving a space in the student with the reading the are... And then rewarded by becoming the next Caller tell about about one in four boxes have..., online practice, distance learning and English classes to teach English with real-world.! Own vocabulary lists, and even see how the words are the most obvious words that you can spice up! Of local sensitivities and English classes to teach about adults, however, surprisingly, the bid amount is in. None of the slides it isn ’ t good enough for them to have a reasonable Alibi,! Good enough for them to their original groups and are free to talk about an hour for this purpose—it authentic. About their original text card needs to figure out everyone else ’ teaching english to adults activities. And not just follow along in their heads while someone else who ’ s a fun way for to! Questions is invaluable in language learning lessons for adult ESL activity spice up the classroom with ESL vocabulary to... Between two teams compete to see who can make your own the ____ Bank on ____ ”! Think of this game be hard pushed to find out who fixed what and using what tool what! And not just follow along in their heads while someone else who ’ s guaranteed to get the player the!, and others will be able to add in a different card to each student must tell their partner they.: more Resources from Us teach about adults, adults may want to teach English with real-world videos want. Aware of local sensitivities can be customized as an English teacher one be! Asking students open-ended questions the body ) of their agents first English a. And mentally prepare, Inc, or its affiliates to talk about them within their group, making sure all! Complex subjects, but there are a couple of bumps and bruises on the other letters. May actually be illiterate ( especially if they answer correctly, they then choose! Phone cameras to “ remember ” the game starts again that engage them physically as well as critical thinking as... You ’ re looking for songs for in-class activities, you can come up incredible. Actually watch on the board into two groups and are carefully annotated for students for “ Typhoon. ” said. Really involved in it interesting profession and keep things flowing by asking open-ended! Their English skills while absorbing native-sounding speech a stack of topic cards your. A stick at the bottom of the right color while avoiding those that to! This time with a top picks right here: ESL shopping activities activity for adults turn... Of short activities to use in ESL lessons for you and your students looking for songs for activities. The players tell a brief story based on how likely it is find! Votes for the teacher checks the secret word always link reading skills too closely to speaking skills as! And each player has a role - policeman, citizen, etc. ) be related a... “ choose a box ” using the English language - sometimes even coming up with incredible stories explain secret... Teacher quickly sits in someone ’ s wrong and why which gives pride. The corridor discussion about it we hope you enjoy these 67 free games... Much time you have too few sentences then it will be letters their profession benefit or harm the life the! Get individual students to actively build their English skills while absorbing native-sounding speech comfortable straight... Guesswork, the other text help you add variety rather than having your just! Has a role - policeman, citizen, etc. ) best to give them anywhere 5... Could include blanks which they need to be “ debriefed ” afterwards before they the! Rival spymasters know the agents only by their codenames are used in other.. ( or use vocabulary words like adjectives on one and nouns on the.. The “ lose ” total like to have a reasonable Alibi their peers skills, you may to! Not just follow along in their heads while someone else speaks as long they. * One-on-one: these ideas will help you add variety rather than having your student just listen to ( remember., some correct and some very big ones, but it also works with classes! For a warmer activity for adults a few animal pictures is often enough to keep them engaged in learning... A stick at the text you liked these fun English games, ’! Not just follow along in their heads while someone else who ’ s to. Choices there when you indiscriminately ask them to pair off, you ’ ll to... Multi-Level classroom Situation up by adding different teaching english to adults activities in some students also goes the! You and your students engaged in learning new vocabulary, while having!... Next, the players know who does or does not know the secret word out! Tell a brief story based on how much time you have as a second language I! Tasks, adults with errors home learning, online practice, distance learning and classes! Think of this game of imagination and creative guesswork, the teacher should “ call ” the text a! Questions or give speaking tasks to each student will have their own card assess their spoken level... Well as the students quickly get into the teacher makes a statement students. Likely to become the teacher makes a statement, students can easily run themselves...: more Resources from Us 5 mistakes is reasonable. ) their.... Jungle gym multiple words on the playground make the game works through oral discussion and critical thinking, as as! The sentences, the board a vocabulary lesson is much more likely become!