Esl Activities

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Easter Activities for ESL Here are four fun Easter activities for ESL students.   Grab this printable ESL worksheet with four Easter-themed activities for your ESL students.   Are you interested in teaching English as a foreign language? ​Get your TEFL certificate with ITTT. Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Check out ITTT's Blog Posts  [Read more]

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Storytelling Activities in an ESL Setting When I started writing this essay I found loads of interesting material on this topic and I think later on I will look for many more articles and books to learn more about this fascinating world of storytelling. Table of Contents What are Stories for? Storytelling and School Subjects Resources Another activity was the Autobiography of Anything Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Olha K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. What are Stories for? If you think about storytelling, you notice that the passing down of stories from generation to...  [Read more]

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Helpful and Fun Outdoor ESL Activities What outdoor activities can help to teach English? I would like to say that there are plenty of outdoor activities that are effective to teach English. However, many teachers prefer indoor activities rather than outdoor, as they think that it might distract the students. Nonetheless, outdoor activities can increase their motivation for learning. Also, it helps to decrease their stress level, as they do not have to stay in the classroom as usual. Table of Contents Freewriting time Flashcard game 'Stand up if you've ever' game Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sarosh Z. Please note that this blog...  [Read more]

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Storytelling Activities for the ESL Classroom Storytelling can be useful to enhance students' imaginations as well as improve a wide variety of skills such as listening, comprehension, order, memory, and vocabulary. It is targeted for all ages, but best to start earliest possible to allow students to develop a liking towards reading. Storytelling can come with different forms of follow-up activities to further increase teaching efficiency as well as to check understanding of the students through elicitation. This essay will be focused on mainly storytelling activities for young learners in schools. Table of Contents Activities Experience Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written...  [Read more]

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 5 Amazing ESL Activities With Flashcards Learning English is often a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be boring or something to trudge through. By making English lessons fun and engaging, the students will be more motivated to learn the subject matter. Some ways that the teacher can make learning fun include playing games and turning activities into contests with positive reinforcements like prizes or additional game time. Table of Contents 1. Memory matching. 2. Charades 3. Slap it! 4. Telephone 5. Musical flashcards Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Matthew S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the...  [Read more]

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 11 Fun ESL Activities for Young Learners When teaching young learners, it's important not to spend too much time on any one activity as they can soon lose interest. It is also a good idea to have activities that give younger learners the chance to move about and use the boundless energy they have at that age. Below we present a list of short activities suitable for young and very young learners of English. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: What's the Time Mr. Wolf? Telephone Basketball Volleyball Bingo Can you …? I Spy Odd One Out Stand Up Please Mastermind Blindfold Obstacle Course Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! Listen to this...  [Read more]

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 5 Simple But Effective ESL Flashcard Activities If you teach English to Young learners, then you will know that flashcards are one of the best tools a teacher can take with them into the classroom. So here I want to share five activities with flashcards. I hope you like my flashcard activities in this essay. Table of Contents What are flashcards? The following are these five activities with flashcards: 1. TRAIN RIDE 2. MEMORY MASTER (How many flashcards can you remember?) 3. VOLCANO (Don't touch the lava!) 4. GO AWAY RAIN! 5. RINGS Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ma M. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent...  [Read more]

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Incorporating Storytelling Activities in the ESL Lesson I believe storytelling is one of the best methods for keeping students engaged while helping them to understand and remember a topic. Regardless of age, everyone enjoys a good story. There are many ways to integrate storytelling into the classroom. One way is to use a story to introduce a new topic. This could mean a funny or personal anecdote relating to the new subject. It could also mean reading aloud from a book or having students listen to an audio recording. Not only will the story grab the attention of the audience, but it will also be a good opportunity to speak somewhat casually with the students, using a variety of vocabulary you expect them to learn in context. An...  [Read more]

Mon, 17 May 2021 Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The Best Adaptable ESL Warm-Up Activities No matter how seasoned and confident a teacher is, there are occasions specifically before starting a new class that every teacher might wonder, "what if they don't like me?" This nightmarish query may cause even more distress when one is getting ready to start a job at a new school or a new country. Considering the fact that students don't basically walk into a class with a bias against the teacher, and they tend to take a liking to him/her based on the very first impression they get, can clarify the importance of the first session. In fact, you can work towards establishing a strong rapport by having various fun warm-up activities ready in hand in order to provide your...  [Read more]

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Five Fun ESL Activities Every Teacher Should Know The following activities may be adapted for use as warmers, engage activities, structured practice or free practice style activities. They may also be adapted for level and age. Table of Contents Watch the video about this topic Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! Watch the video about this topic The first one is really simple but can be one of the best activities to improve grammar. Some students even at the higher levels are lacking automatic habits, which are really important for grammatical skill. Basically this activity is a grammar drill and it is supposed to...  [Read more]

5 Fun ESL Activities for Interactive Online Lessons   Online ESL Activities: Are you an online English teacher? Do you want your students to enjoy and have fun? Then, this live stream is for you! Our TEFL/TESOL expert, Liza, will share five interactive activities that you will be able to use at your next class. Great news that these games will suit any age group and level. Don't miss! #TEFL#BestTEFL #TeachEnglishOnline 00:00-00:48 Mic was off 00:48-01:00 Intro Are you ready to teach English abroad or online? Click here and get started today: https://bit.ly/37gs5vO What is TEFL Certification? Where is it valid: https://bit.ly/36ma2Fg Check out our wide range of TEFL Courses: https://bit.ly/3ltqt73 Teach English online from anywhere you want: https://bit.ly/3ltqEPL Register now &...  [Read more]

Wed, 13 Feb 2019 Laura Payne Teaching Ideas 5 Creative Writing Activities for the ESL Classroom Much of language learning comes through language experimentation; steering away from examples and formulas and attempting to arrange your own ideas into words. No matter what a student's goal may be in learning English, they will eventually have to do this by leaving the classroom and using English on their own. Activities like creative writing are one method to encourage the practice of experimentation and expression in ESL students. In this post, we're going to look at five different activities students can use to put their thoughts into writing. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: 1. (New Year's) Resolutions 2. Letters to the Future 3. Cultural Ambassadors 4. Travel Itinerary...  [Read more]

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 Francesca Marchi TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Top 10 ESL Activities for Older English Learners From my experience, when you deal with older ESL learners, you have to take into account the fact that they do not want to look bad while practicing their English skills. Actually, activities and exercises should make them feel at ease and confident in their learning, as well as satisfied with the goals achieved so far. It goes without saying that the teaching techniques that include a direct confrontation between an adult student and the teacher or a classmate as a judge of their performance should be avoided so as not to make them feel uncomfortable. Here are a few ideas for you to try. Table of Contents 1) Personal Questions and Answers 2)...  [Read more]

5 Fun ESL Activities for Interactive Online Lessons   Online ESL Activities: Are you an online English teacher? Do you want your students to enjoy and have fun? Then, this live stream is for you! Our TEFL/TESOL expert, Liza, will share five interactive activities that you will be able to use at your next class. Great news that these games will suit any age group and level. Don't miss! #TEFL#BestTEFL #TeachEnglishOnline 00:00-00:48 Mic was off 00:48-01:00 Intro Are you ready to teach English abroad or online? Click here and get started today: bit.ly/37gs5vO What is TEFL Certification? Where is it valid: bit.ly/36ma2Fg Check out our wide range of TEFL Courses: bit.ly/3ltqt73 Teach English online from anywhere you want: bit.ly/3ltqEPL Register now & get certified to teach...  [Read more]

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Go-To Activities For Your ESL Conversation Class Listen to this blog post: As an ESL teacher, getting your students talking can be one of the most difficult things to accomplish. English learners often lack the necessary confidence to speak openly and freely in English. The following activities are perfect for getting your students out of their shells! Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Here are 7 go-to activities for your ESL conversation class. 1. Dialogue 2. Role-Play Change-Up 3. Interviews 4. Tag Team Role Play 5. Mystery Partner 6. Problem Solved 7. Creative Improvisation Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! Here are...  [Read more]

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching Conditionals in the ESL Classroom One of the great things about teaching conditionals is that once you discover some classroom activities that work well for one, they can be adapted to suit any of the conditional patterns that you may be asked to teach. Here are 7 fun activities for teaching conditionals for the ESL classroom that you can easily adapt to help your students understand the correct structures and usages. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: 1. Pass the Pig 2. Chain Conditionals 3. Pelmanism ("Concentration") 4. Mill Drill Questionnaire 5. Group Discussions 6. Board Game With Prompts 7. Using Songs Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say...  [Read more]

Wed, 19 Sep 2018 Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas 5 Activities for Using Movies in the ESL Classroom One of the first things you should learn during a TEFL certification course is that delivering interesting lessons goes a long way to keeping your students happy and motivated in the classroom. And, if your students are stimulated by your lessons they are likely to progress quicker, which also makes the teachers job that much more satisfying. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Silent Movie The Prediction Game Vocabulary Match Guess the Dialogue Guess My Movie Are you ready to take your students to the movies? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! So what exactly makes a TEFL lesson interesting? There are many things you can do to...  [Read more]

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas 5 Communicative ESL Speaking Activities Your Students Will Love Speaking activities are essential for English learning as they give a chance to learn new linguistic points, including grammar and real-life listening skills. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Speaking Cards Collaborative Discussion Interview Giving Directions Speaking Boardgame Are you ready to teach online or in-class? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! Unfortunately, teachers often omit communicative tasks in the classroom because they feel that it is difficult to manage them. There is also a lack of time to practice speaking; many course books provide ESL...  [Read more]

Wed, 15 Jul 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The 5 Most Exciting Flashcard Games I love flashcards. Honestly, I really do. For me, they are a never-ending source of games and activities. Nowadays I work as an ESL teacher in a training center and I teach mostly young learners (students from 3 to 8 years old) and I am strongly convinced that this age group may learn a foreign language only through games, entertaining activities and live communication. Therefore, I am trying to be creative and use plenty of teaching aids and props, such as IWB, OHP, whiteboard, course books, board games, balls, balloons, hoops, various arts and crafts, etc. However, I find that using flashcards is simple yet one of the most effective tools to increase my student's vocabulary. And here are some of...  [Read more]

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Fun Activities for Teaching Vocabulary in the ESL Classroom You will find the web full of ideas for teaching vocabulary and, although most of them are undoubtedly good activities, some are only suited to a particular level. Here are some tried and tested activities that can be adapted to suit any level of student and a variety of class sizes. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: 1. Hot seat 2. Beat the clock 3. Crosswords 4. Board games 5. Slow Pictionary 6. Vocabulary tennis 7. Pelmanism ("Concentration") Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! Listen to this blog post: 1. Hot seat This is a great activity that can be used as a warm-up at the...  [Read more]

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching Reported Speech in the ESL Classroom When teaching reported speech the potential for mistakes, errors, and the general difficulty is enormous due to the number of changes that are made with verb tenses, patterns, pronouns, questions, time expressions etc.. It's important to cover the subject slowly with lots of verbal practice at every opportunity. There are plenty of standard 'change the direct speech to reported speech' activities, but your students will soon tire of these if you overuse them. Here are some ideas which have worked well in the EFL classroom and will give your students a good amount of talk time in a variety of ways. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: The Go-Between Game The Lying Game...  [Read more]

Fri, 25 Jan 2019 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 4 Activities for Teaching Future Simple in the ESL Classroom There are a myriad of ways to talk about the future in English, so it's important to have a variety of activities for students to practice what you've taught them. Here we're going to focus on various usages for future simple and describe some fun teaching ideas that match them. Table of Contents 1. Spontaneous decisions 2. Predictions (no evidence) 3. Facts/certainties 4. Assumptions/deductions Listen to this blog post Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: 1. Spontaneous decisions One of the most common ways we use future simple in our day to day lives is to make spontaneous or unplanned decisions. For example, when choosing food from a menu, (I'll have...  [Read more]

Thu, 07 Feb 2019 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 4 Activities for Teaching Future Tenses in the ESL Classroom In a previous post, we looked at various teaching ideas for future simple and here we're going to describe some fun ideas for teaching three other future tenses. There are a wide variety of usages for future tenses and it's always important to make sure your activities focus on the usages that you've taught in your lesson. For example, future continuous can be used to talk about an ongoing action at a point in the future, a fixed future event, polite enquiries or to predict the future or the present. Predicting the present is one that students often have trouble conceptualizing, so we might as well start from there. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Predicting the...  [Read more]

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching Passive Voice in the ESL Classroom Passive voice is something native English speakers can use without much thought but it can be difficult for language learners to master because the switch from active to passive voice is quite an involved process – as many EFL teachers find when they first attempt to present it. Here are some fun activities that you can use in the classroom to help your students practice using this tricky language pattern. Do remember when you adapt these games that not every verb or tense in the English language can be used for the passive voice! Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Change the Room Quiz Describing a Process Relay Tennis Game Jenga Roleplay; Blame it on Your...  [Read more]

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching the Present Progressive for the ESL Classroom The present progressive is one of the most important tenses in the English language. As it describes actions currently happening, it's quite an easy tense to teach using a variety of fun and interactive activities. Here are 7 activities for teaching the present progressive for the ESL classroom. Table of Contents 1. Look Around 2. A Letter Home 3. A Picture's Worth 4. Charade Call Out 5. What are you doing? 6. Sorry, I Can't 7. Picture Perfect Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: 1. Look Around Have your class make observations about what's happening all around in the classroom and outside the windows. Make sure they students use the present...  [Read more]

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Why is it Valuable to Incorporate Music and Songs into Your Teaching? Enjoying music is an essential part of the human experience, so it follows that incorporating the use of songs in the classroom can be an enriching part of an English learner's journey. Songs and music can be used in a variety of EFL classrooms, across all cultures, levels of learning, and ages. The benefits of incorporating music in English language study vary from simple vocabulary learning to discover themes about cultures different than the student's own. Table of Contents For Younger Students For Older Groups Building Vocabulary and Learning Grammar Intuitively Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by...  [Read more]

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 41 Fun Activities with Flashcards The purpose of flashcards is rather simple and mundane; we use flashcards to introduce and review vocabulary or concepts. My first language teacher said, "The only way to learn a foreign language is repetition, repetition, repetition." Can't argue with that. Unfortunately, it can be really… repetitious and boring. But, if you watch children playing, they'll show you how to make it fun. Table of Contents Images Double-sided or single-sided cards? Multiple Sets 3 Types of Flash Card Activities Matching Ordering and Sorting Guessing Other Ideas I call these activities, as opposed to games, as they don't involve dice or rules of play. More Games Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL...  [Read more]

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Importance of Outdoor Activities for Child Development I choose this task because I'm a mother of two children and raising them in a modern world like ours is not easy. Playing is an important element in child development, but when I say play and don't mean to stay in the house with video games in their hands I mean playing outside with other kids, interacting and socializing with others. Table of Contents Physical Benefits Social Benefits Natural Curiosity New Era Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Anca A. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Physical Benefits Outdoor...  [Read more]

Tue, 26 May 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 5 Best Activities to Implement in the Classroom Flashcards are a proven way to learn new information. Their use however, does not need to be monotonous or boring. Make your own, play a game, show the card, and combine it with art, put them in sequence, or create and fill-in sentences. These ideas will stimulate both sides of the brain by combining thinking and doing. This will also keep the students attentive. Table of Contents 1. Make your own 2. Giant flashcard game 3. Show the world and draw 4. Sequence 5. Use in a sentence Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course today! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Corby K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore ITTT TEFL Linda is a passionate traveler, language learner and TEFL teacher. After spending some time teaching in China, she moved to Korea in 2015. She now calls South Korea her home. Read my articles 7 Activities for Teaching Conditionals in the ESL Classroom | ITTT | TEFL Blog Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Use these 7 activities for teaching conditionals in the ESL classroom to help your students understand the correct structure and usage of this complex grammar point. 5 Simple Ways to Motivate Your EFL Students | ITTT | TEFL Blog Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas As an EFL teacher, it is imperative that you know how to motivate your students. These 5 simple ways to motivate your EFL students will help you to achieve just that. 10+ Activities...  [Read more]