Esl Class Activities

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 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! 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! Pair up your students and let them write a short dialogue. After all the pairs are done, they go in front of the class and...  [Read more]

In the world of English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching, the Advanced ESL class holds a special place. It is here that students who have already grasped the fundamentals of the English language come to hone their skills and deepen their understanding. The Advanced ESL class format is designed to challenge students with more complex linguistic tasks while providing opportunities for them to express themselves fluently and confidently in English. In this article, we will delve into the structure of an Advanced ESL class and explore some engaging activities that can be incorporated to enhance the learning experience. In an Advanced ESL class, the focus shifts from basic vocabulary and grammar to more nuanced aspects of the English language. Students are encouraged to engage in...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas Throughout this course, my favorite units have been the ones that teach us how to lead an effective lesson and have a fun classroom environment. I love all the suggestions and teaching ideas they give, and it excites me to think about using those for my future lessons. For that reason, I chose the topic of five activities with flashcards. This essay will be a perfect opportunity for me to delve further into my favorite part of this class and plan some fun things to do. When I move abroad I plan on teaching young children, mainly kindergarten-aged, so my five activities will be geared towards young learners. They need way more energy, fun, and excitement in their lessons than teenage or adult learners because their attention spans are so short, so I tried to...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here are four fun Easter activities for ESL students.   Grab this printable ESL worksheet with four Easter-themed activities for your ESL students.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 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. 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 course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification...  [Read more]

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. Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Schools are starting again and students and teachers flock back to the classroom. Check out these simple and powerful back-to-school ideas and your students will surely remember this first lesson of yours for a long time! Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 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! Here are 7 go-to activities for your ESL conversation...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 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. 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 post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The teacher...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 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. Activities Experience Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jin K. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 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. 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. If you think about storytelling, you notice that the passing down of stories from generation to generation from century to century taught us history, culture, skills, and knowledge. "Thinking of...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 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. 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! This is a good activity for practicing time with small classes. Clear a space in the center of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas 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. 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 the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. But before I share these activities, I want to write...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I adore books, and reading aloud to our young students is one of the highlights of my job as a Teaching Assistant. The Importance of Reading Classes Factors Influencing Students' Interest Classroom Routine Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: Most of our students are Turkish, whose ages range from four to eleven years old, who have had little or no exposure to the English language. The students come to our school to receive an English education and therefore use daily a language of which their parents have little knowledge. It can be overwhelming to suddenly be thrust into an environment where everything is taught or spoken to them in a foreign language. Consequently, reading aloud to this age group is an invaluable...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In everything we do in life there is a very important factor to ensure that we complete our tasks successfully. That factor is a simple yet crucial element to the recipe for success. The greatest tool at anyone's disposal for learning anything would be motivation. It is with the motivation that one can find the drive to accelerate their skills and learning capabilities. Methods of Positive Motivation Joy and Excitement Visual Clues of The Progress Understanding the Consequences Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jarred H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. A great sense of motivation and drive...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas 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. 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! 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 be used as a warmer or as an ice-breaker activity. The main objective is to help your students automate some grammatical...  [Read more]

  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 & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

1. Introduction to ESL Classroom Activities 2. Speaking and Listening Activities 3. Reading and Writing Activities 4. Vocabulary and Grammar Activities One of the most effective ways to improve English language skills is through speaking and listening activities. These activities help students practice their pronunciation, fluency, and comprehension. One popular activity is role-playing, where students act out scenarios to practice conversational English. Another useful activity is storytelling, where students take turns sharing a story or personal experience. Listening activities, such as watching videos or listening to podcasts, can also enhance students' listening skills and expose them to different accents and speech patterns. Reading and writing activities are essential for developing...  [Read more]

Laura Payne Teaching Ideas 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. Listen to this blog post: 1. (New Year's) Resolutions 2. Letters to the Future 3. Cultural Ambassadors 4. Travel Itinerary 5. Reactions Take a TEFL course and start teaching English around the world! Related...  [Read more]

1. Introduction to Teaching Vocabulary in ESL 2. Effective Vocabulary Teaching Strategies 3. Engaging Vocabulary Activities for ESL Students 4. Conclusion Teaching vocabulary is a crucial aspect of English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. A strong vocabulary is essential for effective communication and language proficiency. As an ESL teacher, it is important to employ a variety of strategies and activities to help students expand their word bank and use words accurately in context. There are several effective strategies that ESL teachers can use to teach vocabulary. One key approach is to introduce new words in context, such as through reading passages or listening activities. It is also important to teach word families and collocations to help students understand how words are used...  [Read more]

Francesca Marchi TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas 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. 1) Personal Questions and Answers 2) Dictation with Self-Correction 3) Find the Mistakes 4) Listening at a Slower Pace 5) Asking for...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Teaching speaking skills is an important part of an ESL class. Sometimes, entire conversation classes are established that focus solely on speaking. Here are 7 great games for your ESL conversation class. 1. Mystery Party Guest 2. Choose Your Victim 3. Ice-breaker Jenga 4. 20 Questions 5. Apples to Apples 6. Get to Know You Bingo 7. Create A Game Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Write down the names and key points about five celebrities and assign them to the same amount of students in your classroom. One by one, a student enters a "party" with another student playing the host. The host must then find out the identity of each guest by having a conversation with everyone. Have your students stand in a circle. Choose a specific...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Every English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher desires to successfully teach their students how to proficiently speak, understand, and use the English language. English is a very complex language, and teaching it presents many challenges. Because of this, an ESL teacher must be willing and able to take on various roles throughout the teaching of a lesson. During a typical ESL lesson, a teacher will have some, or all, of the following roles: a manager or controller, an organizer, an observer, an assessor, a prompter, a participant, and a resource or facilitator. Management Observation Assessment Prompt Participation Facilitation Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Interactive whiteboards have been around since the turn of the millennium. They have been implemented and studied in multiple ESL classrooms, primary schools, and language centers in order to find the best practices. The American Council of the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) acknowledges the importance of using technology, such as the interactive whiteboard, to support and enhance classroom-based instructions (Segni & Davidson, 2019). In order for the interactive whiteboard to be used effectively to take advantage of learning opportunities and support children's learning, it is important to use it skillfully in education. Listen to this blog post: What is an Interactive White Board? How to adjust to teaching How to Use Benefits 1. Involving...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Before a student is going to succeed, they have to want to succeed. Students have to find their reason why. As an English teacher, it is important to be able to help someone discover what motivates them, and help them use it as a driving force. Students from all around the world will have different reasons for wanting to learn English. It is not a teacher's job to give students a reason, it is their job to remind them of that reason and support them throughout their English learning journey. One way to show support for students is by being genuinely interested in their lives. Showing personal interest is also a way to learn what motivates a student. Another way to keep students prospering is by having a good attitude. Building confidence is another...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Although I have spent many years as an English tutor and teacher of children, I always relied on my own innate skill and have never been formally trained. Within my circle, I was the resident expert on the English language, as I was one of the few native speakers. From my own efforts and studies, I developed my own program for my students. I often felt unsure if I was applying the right methods and longed for some formal training. Now I can say that I have learned a great deal from studying the ESA method, and have a better understanding of what good lesson planning and classroom management involves. From my own intuition and experience, I learned to apply some of the techniques and methods presented in this course; however, the examples and explanations...  [Read more]

  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 english abroad!  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 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. 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 in our many video testimonials! Tell your students to stand up and form in two lines (teams) and...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Teaching Ideas 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. 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 make your lessons stand out, but one of the main ways to pique the interest of your...  [Read more]

Enhance your ESL teaching skills with a wide range of engaging and effective classroom activities provided by ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training). From interactive games to creative projects, our activities are designed to make learning English fun and impactful for students of all ages and proficiency levels. Discover new ways to keep your students motivated and engaged while helping them improve their language skills through dynamic and interactive lessons. 1. Engaging ESL Classroom Activities 2. Benefits of Using ESL Activities 3. How to Implement ESL Activities in Your Classroom 4. Resources for ESL Classroom Activities One of the most crucial aspects of teaching English as a second language is keeping students actively involved and interested in the learning process. ITTT...  [Read more]

1. Importance of Speaking Activities in ESL Teaching 2. Types of Speaking Activities for Fluency 3. Tips for Implementing Speaking Activities in ESL Classes 4. Resources for ESL Speaking Activities In ESL teaching, speaking activities play a crucial role in developing students' fluency and confidence in using the English language. Engaging in conversations, discussions, role-plays, and other interactive speaking tasks helps learners improve their pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and overall communication skills. By providing ample opportunities for students to practice speaking in a supportive environment, teachers can enhance their linguistic abilities and prepare them for real-life communication situations. There are various types of speaking activities that can be used to promote...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Games are one of the most important components in the classroom. They include activities that have goals and rules at the same fun time. There are lots of benefits to playing games in the classroom. Students can practice important skills by playing an educational game in a small group or with a partner. Whole class games are great means to review skills for a test or at the end of the unit. When students need a brain break or during an inside recess, action games work perfectly. Games can be given for homework to provide fun, engaging and differentiated practice. Games can be played in all subjects and at all grade levels. Games are fun as well as beneficial. Here are important benefits that we should use games in the classroom: 1. Games are motivating...  [Read more]