Esl Classroom Activities

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]

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]

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]

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, 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]

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]

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, 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]

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]

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching the Present Perfect for the ESL Classroom Teaching new tenses to students of a foreign language is often not as easy as you might anticipate, especially when the tense you are trying to teach them does not exist in their native language. The following 7 activities for teaching the present perfect for the ESL classroom will help your students pick up the tense in no time! Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: 1. Great Accomplishments 2. Have You Ever? 3. How Many Times Since? 4. Great Ambitions 5. Most Deprived 6. Bucket Lists 7. Since or For? 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. Great...  [Read more]

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching the Simple Past for the ESL Classroom The simple past is one of the most important tenses in the English language. As it describes past actions, it's quite an easy tense to teach using a variety of fun and interactive activities. Here are 7 activities for teaching the simple past for the ESL classroom. Table of Contents 1. Preparations 2. Good Days and Bad Days 3. Charades Series 4. Dear Diary 5. Get Out and About 6. Accurate Endings 7. Double Duty Review Listen to this blog post Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: For more activities check out: 10 Exciting Activities for the Past Simple 1. Preparations For this activity, the students think of significant accomplishments in their lives....  [Read more]

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching the Past Progressive for the ESL Classroom Teaching grammar patterns often involves a lot of classtime and the more activities you have up your sleeve as a teacher the better. The following 7 activities for teaching the past progressive for the ESL classroom will help your students pick up the tense in no time! Table of Contents 1. Memory Challenge 2. People Watching 3. The Luck of The Draw 4. What You Didn't Do 5. So Much in Common 6. Strange Explanations 7. My Alibi Listen to this blog post Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: 1. Memory Challenge Pull up an image with a lot of actions going on, for example, people engaging in different activities at a park or another public place. You can...  [Read more]

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 Simon ITTT Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching Modal Auxiliary Verbs in the ESL Classroom The number of combinations of modals and usages is enormous, so TEFL certified teachers often spend a lot of time trying to find an activity that suits their particular teaching point. Here, we give you some adaptable ideas which should save you time thinking or searching, assuming you already have good grammatical knowledge of the subject and a little bit of creativity. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: Language Tennis Mill-drill/Mingling Group Discussions or Debates Board Games Information Exchange Draw the Sentence Marked Up Dice Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! It's...  [Read more]

Fri, 20 Jul 2018 Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas 7 Activities for Teaching the Simple Present for the ESL Classroom ESL teachers often encounter difficulties when teaching grammar patterns to students abroad. The following 7 activities for teaching the simple present for the ESL classroom will help your students pick up the tense in an easy and efficient way. Table of Contents Listen to this blog post: 1. Daily Routine 2. Cultural Norms 3. Classmate Interviews 4. ESP (Extraordinary Sensory Perceptions) 5. Where am I? 6. Present Simple BINGO Mingle 7. Weekend Party 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. Daily Routine This is a very good activity for when you start...  [Read more]

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 Ahmed Taha Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas What criteria should be used to evaluate activities? Between school and spare time, the majority of kids participate in one or more extracurricular activities. Through these classes and programs, kids and teens can learn about extracurricular activities such as sports, the arts, special interest groups, and technology, to name just a few. Table of Contents School activities can help to: Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! If you and your family already have a packed schedule, you might be dubious about the benefit of extracurricular activities. The idea that extracurricular enrichment activities enhance students'...  [Read more]

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas The Best Games for Young English Learners Nowadays there is a wide variety of how to teach English. Every teacher uses his or her unique methodologies and techniques to make lessons more informative and entertaining. One of the approaches could be using educational games in the classroom. Table of Contents Children's Learning Ability Educational Games Benefits of Educational Games Reasons to Use Games in the Classroom Attention Span Furthermore, playing games motivate kids to study better and naturally use English. Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: Games in the classroom are a great tool for teachers as they can be adapted to different ages and levels. Within this essay, I would like to...  [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]

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 Amazing Back-to-School Ideas for Your ESL Class | ITTT | TEFL Blog 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! 7 Go-To Activities For Your ESL Conversation Class | ITTT | TEFL Blog 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...  [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 How to Motivate High School Students in the ESL Classroom | ITTT | TEFL Blog Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Are you teaching high schoolers and aren't seeing high participation rates? Here are some of the best ways how to motivate high school students in the ESL classroom. In-class and online TEFL/TESOL courses: What’s the Difference? | ITTT | TEFL Blog Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information There are three different ways to earn a TEFL/TESOL certificate. The benefits of each course depend on the needs of the trainee, but each option has something to...  [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]

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas 6 Reasons to Take Your ESL Students Outdoor The main question here is that could outdoor activities impact English learners?. Table of Contents 1. Better grade 2. Learning outdoor is fun 3. Learning outdoor healthy 4. Learning outdoor support child development 5. Improved memory 6. Increase motivation Are you ready to teach English abroad or online? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! As learning is a dynamic action, everywhere could be a place for learning, such as classroom, garden, yard, bus, and subway. In other words, we do not have any limitation for learning as long as it is willing or interest in that. Historically, most of the classes were...  [Read more]

Simon ITTT Read my articles 7 Activities for Teaching Modal Auxiliary Verbs in the ESL Classroom | ITTT | TEFL Blog Simon ITTT Teaching Ideas Check out these 7 activities for teaching modal auxiliary verbs in the ESL classroom that will make your lessons more interesting and help your students learn English in no time! 9 Hobbies Every EFL Teacher Needs To Try When Teaching English Abroad | ITTT | TEFL Blog Simon ITTT TEFL Information Moving abroad to teach English is a great opportunity to pick up new hobbies! Check out these 9 hobbies every EFL teacher needs to try when teaching English abroad!  [Read more]

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas ESL Games as The Best Tool to Stimulate English Learning Process As teachers, one of our biggest goals while teaching English to a class or individual is to keep them engaged and motivated during the lesson while also making them feel comfortable and confident as they learn. There are three critical ways in which playing games in the classroom can help effectively promote speaking English. By playing "warming" games, students can become more comfortable around teachers and students, making them more likely to participate during lessons. They can also keep students motivated and play a significant role during the "Engage" and "Activate" phase of the ESA approach. Table of Contents Engagement Stage...  [Read more]

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Top-5 Kid's Favorite Flashcard Activities This paper will answer the question, "What are five flashcard activities for teaching English to young learners?" Young learners are defined as students attending elementary school, aged between six and twelve. Table of Contents 1. Pass the card 2. What's missing? 3. Freeze 4. Slap 5. Rock-Paper-Scissors team battle Are you ready to teach English abroad or online? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tristan K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. 1. Pass the card This activity is a great...  [Read more]

Shirin Sophy Shirin Sophy is an ESL teacher and a recent ITTT graduate with more than ten years of experience teaching to students of differing ages and ability levels alongside some professional teams and experienced teachers. Although Shirin enjoys working with various types of learners, she specializes in teaching English to young learners. She can use her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage her students to work hard and succeed. Shirin lives in Iran and is inspired daily by her husband and lovely son. In her free time, Shirin likes to read, bike, and play with her son. Read my articles Five Fun and Adaptable Games for ESL Classes | ITTT | TEFL Blog Shirin Sophy Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Here are five fun and adaptable games for ESL classes that work in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Liza is a translator, freelancer and ESL teacher from Russia. She had been teaching in a Chinese bilingual school for more than two years and recently moved to Thiland to run her blog about teaching and freelance job. Read my articles The Need in a Structured Course to Progress in ESL Teaching | ITTT | TEFL Blog Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate shares their thoughts on the importance of creating a course syllabus for effective ESL teaching. Learning Techniques and Educational Assessment | ITTT | TEFL Blog Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate shares their thoughts on learning types and assessment techniques. Top-5 Fun Flashcard Activities | ITTT | TEFL Blog Elizaveta...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Liza is a translator, freelancer and ESL teacher from Russia. She had been teaching in a Chinese bilingual school for more than two years and recently moved to Thiland to run her blog about teaching and freelance job. Read my articles 5 Fun and Engaging Flashcard Activities | ITTT | TEFL Blog Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In this blog post, our recent TEFL graduate shares their ideas of flashcard activities for children of different ages. Teacher as a Key Person in the Classroom Environment | ITTT | TEFL Blog Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences This article was written by a TEFL graduate who explains what roles may teachers have within a classroom. How Teaching ESL Differs from Teaching EFL | ITTT | TEFL Blog Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences ...  [Read more]