A First English Lesson for 

Beginners
This article offers a simple First Lesson for Beginners. It assumes that all instruction will be done
in English and the class knows no English at all, i.e. the class are all complete beginners.
Background
It is generally accepted that using English only in the classroom (known as full immersion) is one of the
more effective ways of teaching, however some teachers find this difficult in a very first lesson…

 
A First Private TEFL Lesson
You’ve been asked to give a private TEFL lesson to a new student. You know virtually nothing about them
but you know you’ll be sitting in a room with them, one on one, for an hour and half.

This article is all about how to prepare for a First Private Lesson.

What Interests Them?
First lessons with private students are often difficult since before going into the…

 
A Long List of Proverbs
This is A Long List of Proverbs. It can be used with activities such as proverb match (see below).

A cat may look at a king

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
A change is as good as a rest
A drowning man will clutch at a straw
A fish always rots from the head down
A fool and his money are soon…

 
Act an Adverb – adverb activity
Act an Adverb is a simple game which you can play with different levels and ages of class. It is based
around the meaning and use of different adverbs.
Preparation
Prepare a set of flashcards, each of which has an adverb on it, e.g.

happily
quietly
sadly
carefully
crazily

(You can also do this without flashcards by asking students to call…

 
Action Mazes in TEFL
In an Action Maze students are put in a difficult situation and they need to decide what to do next. Often
they’ll be given a few options to choose from.

As a result of their choice, the students are then faced with the next situation in the story and with other
sets of options to choose from. Working through this branching tree is like negotiating a maze…

 
Ad Break – project activity
Ad Break is a simple activity which gets students working together in a project-like way. It can be
completed in a longer lesson (say 2 hours).

The idea is that students will practice language they’ve been learning by putting it together to create a
television commercial. You can tailor the subject, setting or specific aspects of the dialogue to suit the
class.

The activity then allows…

 
Alias Words (or Don’t Say a Word)
Alias Words (also known as Don’t Say a Word!) is a flexible activity which can be used in many different
ways with speaking activities. The basic idea is that a Chosen Word cannot be used in the classroom and
must be exchanged for another, nonsense, Alias Word. For example, the Chosen Word might be
SCHOOL and when anyone needs to use this word, they must replace it with the Alias…

 
Alibi!
Alibi! is a longer TEFL game which can be played by an intermediate or above class. It involves a lot of
speaking and listening and can also be helpful with skills such as note taking. For the teacher there is little
preparation and once the students are familiar with the game then it can be used with the same class with
just slight variations. The game can last an entire lesson. Pre-Teaching…

 
All Tied Up
All Tied Up is a simple but fun activity to practice intense, careful listening.

The basic idea here is that you give instructions on how to tie a tie. The students must listen very
carefully!

To run this activity all you need is a tie and a set of instructions; make sure you have plenty of ties to go
round the class.
Pre-Teaching
First, demonstrate how to tie…

 
Alphabet Dictation
Alphabet Dictation is a simple way to have your students practice pronouncing the letters of the English
alphabet. This is ideal with a beginner level class as what they learn in this activity will help later when it
comes to you spelling out new words for them. Preparation Prepare two short texts of a suitable level and
content for your class. Above all make the text interesting: a good idea…

 
Anti-Word Association
Anti-Word Association is an ESL activity based on Word Association but taking the opposite approach
and rewarding non sequiturs. In Word Association the idea is to have the students give words which are
somehow related to the previous word. In this – much harder – version of the activity the idea is to give
out words which have NO association with the previous word. When it is turned into a game…

 
Backward Spelling
Backward Spelling is a simple filler activity you can play at the end of your class for a few minutes before
the lesson ends. It helps with concentrated listening, vocabulary and spelling. Simply choose a word
which the class will know and begin – slowly – to spell it backwards. Award a point to the first person who
can guess the word correctly. T: A… N…S1: Can?T: Sorry, no! A…

 
Badger vs Baboon – comparison activity
Badger vs Baboon is a fun game for young learners which can also be adapted for older learners as well!
It helps with basic vocabulary for animals and can encourage speaking. It also is very useful indeed for
practicing comparatives. Preparation Cut out and prepare a selection of flashcards with a picture of an
animal on each one. Later you can include other objects depending on how you want to…

 
Banana
Banana is a fun activity for young learners (and even above!) to help practice asking and answering
questions. It needs no preparation and is easy to run. Pre-Teaching With your class, go over how to ask
and answer questions. These can be as simple as you like but should be of the right level for the class:
What’s your name? How old are you? What color is your dog? The…

 
Big Sentence Scramble
Big Sentence Scramble is based on the British television game, Countdown. In the original version
contestants choose letters (consonants or vowels) and have to come up with the longest word they can.
Although that’s a possibility too, in this version contestants choose words and have to come up with the
longest sentence possible.

This activity encourages analytical thinking on the part of the students; they will also practice their…
 
Blind Artists
Blind Artists is a fun (and noisy) way to get the class talking. It’s good as a short activity at the end of a
lesson or as a longer activity. Props Two blindfolds; ideal are the masks from long-haul airplane journeys
but a scarf will do. Blackboard and 2 markers. Pre-Teaching Make sure the students are familiar with
giving instructions. go up, go right, go left further down, over to…

 
Brain Teasers in the TEFL Classroom
Brain Teasers are ideal classroom activities and can be used in loads of different ways. They’re easy to
adapt and you can tweak them to be just right for your TEFL class. Basically a brain teaser is a puzzle
where your students have to think to find the solution. There’s often an element of thinking laterally (or in
an unconventional way) so it isn’t always the case that the best…

 
Brief Reminders
Brief Reminders is an Ice Breaker activity ideal for a first class. It requires little or no preparation and can
be great fun. This is probably more suited to an intermediate and above level class. Demonstration On
the board simply draw a large bag shape. Ask the class what it is and invite discussion about it. Finally
write above the shape: MY MEMORIES and explain that the bag contains some significant…

 
Building Diagrams
Building Diagrams is an activity to help students with reading comprehension and speaking. It can be run
in a similar way to jigsaw reading in that groups of students come together to pool their knowledge to
build a diagram.

Basically the students are given a series of written statements which explain several relationships. They
come together as groups to try and reconstruct a diagram based on those relationships.
Preparation…

 
Busy People – past continuous activity
This is a simple way of Teaching and Practicing the Past Continuous. I’ve used it several times with my
(small) classes and it provides a method of practice where students can see the use of the past
continuous. Preparation Prepare a large sheet of paper; in the middle draw (or photocopy/paste) a picture
of a row of houses or an apartment block. Around the edge of the paper paste pictures…

 
Can You Do My Job? – modal verb activity
Can You Do My Job? is a simple game which allows your Business English students to
practice modal verb constructions. As with all activities, you should introduce this to your class in stages.
What do you do? Using simple declarative sentences, write on the board a few statements about what
you – as a teacher – do in your job. I mark homework every night. I prepare lessons. I give grammar…

 
Categories Word Search
Categories Word Search is a simple exercise which gives students practice in grouping and thinking
about either semantic fields or parts of speech (word classes) or both. Preparation You will need a
method of choosing a letter of the alphabet at random. This could be by using flashcards with one letter of
the alphabet on each. In this case these will need to be made. Alternatively you could use a Scrabble
bag…

 
Celebrity Chat
Celebrity Chat is a simple game you can play with classes of all ages and levels from beginners up to
advanced. It helps practice speaking and listening. Activity Preparation First prepare a set of flashcards
and on each one write the name of a famous celebrity along with a small photograph. Make sure that
these celebrities will be known to the class and they can include (depending on the age of…

 
Clap Slap – tefl activity
Clap Slap is a simple game which is great fun with younger children. It practices listening comprehension,
word groups and also helps them to let off a little steam!

Decide first on an appropriate word group. This will depend on your class and their level, but could be, for
example:

things (nouns in general)
fruit
action words (verbs)
colors …

 
Coloring Dictation
Coloring Dictation (or Colouring Dictation if you prefer British English spelling) is a simple activity which is
ideal for young learners. It’s fun and easy to set up.
Preparation
You need to find an outline drawing of a suitable subject for your class. It should have specific areas for
coloring such as the picture on this page and how complex the drawing is will depend on the age and…

 
Comics in the TEFL Classroom
Comics are an excellent way to introduce your TEFL students to current, everyday English, in a non
academic format.
Comics are ideal because

they are simple to understand (because they’re accompanied by pictures which often help explain)
they are hugely popular in many countries
they cover a wide range of subjects so you can find comics suitable for all ages and levels and…

 
Conditional Links – conditional activity
Conditional Links is a very simple activity with no preparation needed; it’s ideal to practice conditionals
and can be used as a quick filler to do just that.

Simply write up on the board the first clause of any conditional, e.g.

If I won the lottery…
Choose a student at random and ask them to finish the sentence:
If I won the lottery… I would buy a…

 
Conditional Mashups – conditional activity
Conditional Mashups is a simple activity to have your class practicing conditionals.

It also encourages your students to use their imaginations which is never a bad thing!
Preparation
For this you’ll need loads of slips of paper. Each slip should have a dividing line right down the middle.
Later a conditional sentence will divide them:

Later you will get your class to come up with unusual, weird…

 
Constantinople
Constantinople is a traditional word game that can be easily adapted for the ESL classroom. It works as
an ideal filler activity at the end of class and can also be used to tire out lively students! It
practices vocabulary but can also be adapted for semantic fields. Running the Game Divide the board into
two halves. At the top of each half write in capital letters, well spaced: C O…

 
Counting Cards
Counting Cards is an activity which lets you practice countable and non-countable nouns with your class.
Preparation You will need to prepare a set of flashcards, each with a picture of a countable or a non-
countable noun on them. You will need enough so that each student in the class can have at least 5. The
nouns you choose should also be of the right level so your class will…

 
Creative Writing Activity
Creative Writing is all about using imagination. Often, however, if you ask your students to write about
their holidays, or what they did at the weekend, they will spend too long trying to think about what to write
and decide there’s nothing to say so will produce a boring essay. Instead, here’s a simple activity which is
designed to inspire your students to come up with something original and interesting…

 
D’oh! And Another Mistake!
This is an interesting idea for a lesson which helps with checking reading comprehension. It also
introduces some good listening practice.

After you have worked on a text with your class you will want to make sure they understand it. Quite
simply you can read it back to them but making plenty of mistakes as you do so.

As you do this, your class listens carefully…

 
Debates and Discussions in the TEFL Class
Debates and Discussions in the TEFL class are great techniques to improve student participation. They
help to improve the students’ general communication skills and confidence. They encourage quick
thinking and improve rebuttal skills. In a more general way, they are ideal for practising listening and
speaking. This article looks at how you can organize and implement them in your TEFL class. The Topic
of Conversation The choice of topic is…

 
Detective Reading
Detective Reading is a simple reading exercise to give your students practice in intensive reading. The
students will check for details and clues in the text to answer several questions. Preparation Find a text
which is of suitable length and level for your class. It can be as long or short as you need, but the class
should be able to understand much of it and (if necessary) use dictionaries…

 
Discarding Adverbs – adverb activity
Discarding Adverbs is a game based on a simple set of cards which can be used to practice different
kinds of adverbs with your class. The game is also useful in helping to create and practicing questions. It
helps if the class know each other, but it can also be used to get to know other students in the class a
little better. Preparation Create a set of flashcards, each…

 
Distance Dictation
Distance Dictation (sometimes known as Energy Dictation) is great for a young class who need to work
off some energy. It involves all the skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing and with an added
element of competition it’s a good all round activity for the class.
Preparation
As with all dictations, find a text of suitable length and content for your class. This means it should be just
above…

 
Dragons Den
Introduction Dragon’s Den is a detailed and long-term activity ideal for a class studying Business English.
It is based on the popular television program where would-be entrepreneurs pitch their business idea to
potential investors to try and raise money to get their business off the ground. The activity can be run over
the course of several lessons. It can be broken down into shorter segments which can run anything…

 
Eccentric Traits
Eccentric Traits is a really fun way to practice close listening and speaking. It’s also very funny and can
be used for all learner levels although it’s probably most suited to more advanced classes. Basically
everyone in the class is given an eccentric trait. They then all mingle at a “party” and the object of the
exercise is to find out the traits of as many people as possible. The students will…

 
ESL Backup Plan
Almost any teacher experiences sooner or later a time in their teaching career when due to lack of
preparation, misjudgement of their students’ language ability, or simply laziness they ran out of material,
activities and even ideas before the end of their lesson. Not a nice place to be! If you listen to their stories
you’ll find that the common denominator is basically a poor or inexistent lesson plan. But…

 
ESL Bingo
This activity is to practice expressing likes and dislikes. The principle can be adapted, however, to
practice almost any language item. The game is best suited to medium to large groups of students. The
objective is for each student to fill in a row of their bingo card with the signatures of classmates who have
the same likes or dislikes as the pictures on the card. Once a student successfully…

 
Example Lesson Plan
This is an Example TEFL Lesson Plan which illustrates some of the ideas presented in the article on
TEFL Lesson Planning.

It will give you a good idea of how to approach the subject and lay out your plan. Obviously what we show
here will need to be tweaked and changed for a particular class, but it’s a good start and will give you a
good idea…

 
Family Tree – vocabulary activity
Family Tree is an ideal and fun activity for students to practice family relations and working within
that semantic field.

The basic idea is that you give your students a series of statements about a family such as, “Joe is Mary’s
brother” and, “Frank is Julie’s Grandfather” and so on and from these, the students need to construct a
family tree. It takes not only knowledge of English…

 
First TEFL Lesson Interview
 First TEFL Lesson Interview is a good activity for a 1-to-1 lesson to break the ice and get to know your
student. It can also be adapted for larger classes.

Quite simply, either before the lesson if you have the chance, or during the first few minutes of the lesson,
ask your student to write down 10 questions which they would like to ask you. Tell them the subject
matter…

 
Fortune Telling – verb forms activity
Fortune Telling is a fun way for your class to practice using future verb forms: will, be going to and
suchlike. It is probably best with intermediate or above although you can adjust the level as appropriate. It
is also a useful speaking activity. The basic idea is that the students will tell each others fortune. This can
be done in a number of ways but it is important to…

 
Giving Directions
Giving Directions is an activity to practice giving and receiving directions around town. It’s simple to set up
and involves practice in speaking and listening. Preparation You will need a town plan (or section of a
town) for the class. With beginner classes the plan can be very simple but with more advanced classes it
can be bigger and more complex. The plan should have major landmarks on it but…

 
Good News, Bad News
Good News, Bad News is a simple game you can play with almost any level of class. It’s useful to
practice both listening and speaking. Students need to listen carefully to what was said before and
prepare their own ideas as well. With your class, go through the concept of “good news, bad news” with
an example: The good news is that I won a million dollars.The bad news is…

 
Guess Who – ice breaker activity
Guess Who is a simple ice breaker which can be used on the first day of class. There’s little preparation
and it can easily develop into a chat or discussion with more advanced classes.
All you need to prepare this activity are small strips of paper; say two for each student. (Of course if you
want to add more to the activity you can instruct…

 
Guessing Game – passive voice activity
This is a simple activity to help students practice the passive voice in the present simple. You should use
it once you have gone through the basics of the passive voice and your students are familiar with the
rules of formation for the passive present simple tense.

The activity can be used with any student level or age group and it can easily be played with very…

 
Hangman – vocabulary activity
Hangman is a traditional, simple game which is useful as a five minute filler for practicing vocabulary.
Variations of the game and played in many different countries so one advantage is that some students will
already know the game in their own language (see below).
Playing the Game
Choose a word that the students need to practice. It should be the right level for the class. The…

 
Have You Ever? – present perfect simple activity
Have You Ever? is a simple game to practice the Present Perfect Simple verb form using the “have you
ever” question construction.

It’s very easy to set up and run and is ideal for reinforcing when we use and how we construct
the verb form.

To begin, write up on the board

Have you ever…
and then put up a couple of endings (which should be…

 
He Said She Said Circle – tefl activity
He Said She Said Circle is a simple activity for students to practice their reported speech (also known as
indirect speech).

Ideally you should run this activity after a lesson where students have been working on reported speech.
If not, you should quickly run over the rules and principles of turning direct speech into indirect speech.

The nice thing about this activity is that it takes no preparation time…

 
Heard It!
Heard It! is a simple game to play in class which practices intense listening. It’s also a good idea if you
want a few minutes peace and quiet! The game can be played successfully with young classes
from beginners upwards. Preparation Record a selection of spoken dialogs from the radio (or any other
source) and have them ready to play in class. They should be fairly short and – of…

 
Hidden Relations
Hidden Relations is a way to get your class into groups using a more extended vocabulary activity.
Preparation
Suppose you want to divide your class into 5 groups of 3 students each. You need to prepare 5 sets of
cards and each set will consist of 3 cards. On those cards write related words.

For example, for a low intermediate level class, you could prepare 5…

 
How To Use Competition to Motivate Your TEFL Students
Today we have a guest contribution from Victoria Hughes from TEFLicious, which is perhaps the best
name for a blog we have come across! Victoria has been a TEFL teacher for 5 years and has lived
in Poland, China and Turkey. She writes about job hunting, lesson planning and the joys and frustrations
of teaching. So if you enjoy this post, please check out her blog at TEFLicious.com.
Enter Victoria…

 
If I Were – conditional activity
If I were? is a simple activity to practice the second conditional and it can, with some adaptation, also be
used to practice other conditionals forms.
Preparation
Prepare a few flashcards on which you have the name of someone or something which would fit in
suitably to the conditional sentence:
If I were… I would…
For example:

President of the USA
rich
a…

 
In Common
In Common is a quick game which can be used as an ice breaker or warmer or perhaps at the end of a
lesson to fill 5 minutes. It’s easy to set up, requires little or no preparation and is suitable for all ages
and levels of class. The activity helps TEFL students practice questions and answers. You can leave it
wide open or restrict the kind of questions and information that…

 
Intonation in Practice – intonation activity
Intonation in Practice is a simple exercise which you can do with almost any class to help them
understand what intonation is and how it works in English. It’s easily adaptable to all learner levels and
abilities.

Explain that in English you have to give stress (or emphasis) to certain words to deliver certain meanings.
Go through a brain storming session to elicit some of the feelings we can convey through the appropriate
intonation: disappointment, excitement, anger…

 
Inventions Who & When?! – passive voice activity
Inventions Who & When?! is a simple activity to help your students practice using the passive voice. It is
very flexible and can be used with all ages and levels who are familiar with the passive voice.

There are a number of variations on the activity at the end of this article, plus it can be adapted and
developed in many different ways to suit your class. This means…

 
IPA Decode!
IPA Decode is a great game to play with the class which helps them understand and use the IPA or
International Phonetic Alphabet.

It can be used with a reasonably proficient class who are familiar with the IPA already and who would
benefit from a little more practice.
Preparation
Firstly take a text of an appropriate level to the class and transcribe it into the IPA.

If this sounds…

 
Irregular Threes
Irregular Threes is a quick game to practice and remember Irregular Verbs- it’s ideal for a younger class:
it’s noisy, chaotic, energetic and great fun, too! (There are some quieter versions of this game at the
bottom of the page, however!) Running the Game Firstly go over a few irregular verbs and make sure the
students understand the way in which they work and the three parts to each verb…

 
Jigsaw Reading in TEFL
Jigsaw Reading is a common reading technique. The name comes from the way in which jigsaw puzzles
are put together: several pieces slotted into the right place to build up the complete picture.

Essentially you divide the text into small parts. Each part is given to a different student who must read and
understand it. Then the students come together and talk about what they have just read and…
 
Just a Minute – speaking activity
Just a Minute is a very popular British radio quiz game which is ideal for the TEFL classroom and great
for practicing speaking skills.

It’s very simple to prepare and great fun to play. Best for small groups but it can be played with larger
groups if you prepare it well. It works best, perhaps, with Intermediate and above level students.
Background
The principle of the game…

 
Just the Facts
Just the Facts is a simple game where students practice speaking and listening. It’s fun, too, and can be
used as a warm up activity to introduce a particular topic in the lesson. If done in this way, it will also help
introduce students to a new area of study and also allow the teacher to understand what their students
know already about the area of study. The activity is very…

 
Karaoke in the TEFL Classroom
The word Karaoke means empty orchestra from the Japanese Kara = empty and Oke (short for
Okesutora) = orchestra.

Karaoke tracks are without lead vocals. The lead vocals are provided by the performer singing the
Karaoke song through a microphone.

The song is played in the background and the words displayed on a television screen.

Singing Karaoke songs is a stimulating and fun activity that can be…

 
Kim’s Game – tefl activity
Kim’s Game is a simple (and classic) game which can be played to help memorize a group of objects. As
such it’s a good game to help students learn vocabulary, especially objects within a certain semantic field.

Note that in general this works better with concrete nouns.

Preparation
First off, collect together a group of items in the same semantic field, for example kitchen utensils, office…

 
Lawyer Talking
Lawyer Talking is a simple activity which allows students to practice making questions and then using the
third person. With a small adaptation it can also be used to practice reported speech. In Class
Preparation Get the class into pairs and have them write up 3 or 4 questions on slips of paper. These
must be questions that can be asked about other members of the class: How old are…

 
Laying Down the Law
Laying Down the Law is an activity which lets your class practice modal verbs used for permission.
Running the Activity Firstly break your class into small groups of 3 or so. Then have each group
brainstorm everything that is wrong with their town. Make them write down all the niggles and problems
they can find, e.g. There aren’t enough buses at night. People smoke too much. It’s very noisy in…

 
Lesson Preparation Tip – Delegating Tasks
Here’s a quick tip which serves two purposes: less work for you, more English practice for the students.

Here we’re talking about TEFL lesson preparation, but the same idea applies during the lesson itself for
many tasks. It’s well worth adopting this general approach to your teaching as we’re sure you’ll find it a
win-win situation all round!
A Simple Example
Suppose you need to prepare…

 
Letter Hunt
Letter Hunt is a great TEFL game which helps with spelling, vocabulary and – of course – the alphabet. It
needs no preparation and can be played in a variety of ways. Running the Game The first time you play
this, it’s better to demonstrate to the whole class. Later they can play the game in small groups. Firstly
draw a line down the middle of the board. On one…

 
Lexical Chunks
A Lexical Chunk is a unit of language which is made up of two or more words.

Here are a few examples of lexical chunks:

Good morning.
Nice to see you!
What’s the time?
Other lexical chunks can include phrasal verbs, idioms, collocations and so on.

Lexical chunks are the common coinage of English. They’re the bread and butter, the everyday and the
mundane. They’re the…

 
Lineups
Lineups is a simple concept which can be used in many different ways. They are useful as an icebreaker
activity so the class can get to know each other, but also to help practice certain language items. Finally,
they are useful for a quick 5-minute activity at the end of the lesson. Concept The basic idea is that all the
students have to line up in a certain order. At…

 
Lining Up
Lining Up in Alphabetical Order is a great ice breaker for a brand new class who don’t know each other
yet. It’s best with younger classes, post-beginner level and, as a side-effect, it can also help you in
remembering student names. Five minutes into the first lesson, simply ask your students to stand up and
come to the front of the class. Then tell them to get into alphabetical order…

 
Lip Reading
Lip Reading is a fun activity which can be used with all ages and class levels. On the one hand it teaches
the “speaker” to carefully pronounce words and on the other it helps the “listener” in predicting what is
going to be said. Both these skills are useful when it comes to listening and speaking in English, of
course, in everyday situations. Introducing the Activity First off, you’ll want…

 
Living Sentences
Living Sentences is a fun exercise for younger children to give them practice in the way sentences are put
together. Preparation On A4 sheets of paper write single words which will go to make up sentences which
are an appropriate level for your class. THE – DOG – CHASED – THE – CAT. I – WENT – TO – THE –
CINEMA – ON – SUNDAY. And so on. It’s…

 
Lyric Lineup – listening activity
Lyric Lineup is a fun game for young learners. It’s useful to practice listening in TEFL.
Preparation
First choose a song suitable for the class. This means it needs to be the correct level in terms
of vocabulary and grammar and also suitable subject matter. For younger learners you can use simple
nursery rhymes even.

Print out the lyrics in a large font and then cut…

 
Lyric Swap
Lyric Swap is a fun activity for intensive listening. Depending on the song you choose, you can also use it
to practice certain semantic fields or grammatical constructions. Preparation Firstly, select a song you
think your class will like; as mentioned above, if you want to look at a particular grammatical construction
or semantic field, the song you choose should contain plenty of good examples of those. One thing to…
 
Mad Libs – parts of speech activity
Mad Libs is a quick and amusing game which is ideal for teaching parts of speech (word
classes) and semantic fields. It’s ideal as a warmer or 5-minute end-of-lesson activity. Basically the game
involves completing blank spaces in a template with various parts of speech and the results can often be
very amusing. For example, the template could be: Yesterday a large [animal] was found [preposition +
place] eating my [noun]. Leading…

 
Market Traders – business English
Market Traders is a useful game to help practice: semantic fields counting negotiating skills Once you
have prepared the game, it can be adapted for a great number of classroom
situations, levels and vocabulary areas. As you will see, it can also be adapted for Business English and
used to practice negotiation amongst business learners. Overview Essentially students are divided into
two groups: buyers and sellers. Each seller is given a…

 
Memory Pictures
Memory Pictures is a simple game which involves the students listening carefully. The level can be
changed to match the level of the class and also the subject can match their ages and interests.
Preparation
Select some interesting cartoons or pictures from magazines, etc, and make them into flashcards. The
pictures should be suited to the class, fairly simple in content and slightly unusual (so students cannot…

 
Messy Desk – there is/there are activity
This activity is ideal for teaching there is / there are to young children and then practicing it with them. In
English to say that something “exists” or is in a certain location we use the phrase there is or there are
according to whether we are talking about one or more items (i.e. whether it’s singular or plural). To help
young students learn and use these correctly you can…

 
Miming in Class
Miming in Class is a simple activity which can be used with almost any level to learn and practice
vocabulary. Of course miming is acting out a story or word with the body only and without using any
language. This has advantages in the classroom (especially with beginners) because it does not require
students to come up with possibly difficult language in order to express themselves. In other words,
they…

 
Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping is a powerful technique that allows you to make the best use of your brain power by using
a combination of words, pictures, icons or symbols, sounds, colors and any other imagery you see fit into
structuring and organizing your ideas together. Mind maps can be used to help your students think and
learn more quickly because they help organize information more efficiently. The first mind maps were…

 
Mind the Gap
Mind the Gap is a simple, useful game which can be adapted for any age or class level. It helps with word
recognition, word boundaries, and reading in general. One aspect of the game is that it can be used in
any situation and with any class and takes very little preparation. Basic Idea The basic idea behind the
activity is to take a text and remove the gaps to…

 
Mini Debates for the TEFL/TESOL Classroom
Before engaging your students in a full blown classroom debate you may want to get them accustomed to
discussing ideas and exchanging opinions and of course it’s great for listening and speaking practice.
Here are a few ideas for mini debates. They are easy to hold and enjoyable for the class. Once the class
is familiar with these kind of lightweight debates you have the option to move them onto…

 
Movie Trailers in Class
This is a good idea; basically you use a movie trailer in your class to provoke discussion amongst your
students.

The trailer you choose must be suitable for the level of the class but it can be exploited in many different
ways.

For more on using videos in class – how to introduce and exploit them – see the main article, Video in
the TEFL Classroom…

 
Music in the TEFL/TESOL Classroom
Songs and Music are great tools to use in the TEFL classroom. Everyone likes listening to music and the
right song can not only be fun for the students (and the teacher) but also be used in an effective way to
teach.

Popular song lyrics are often very simple and mostly in the first person. They use rhyme which can help in
remembering and the language is often…

 
My Grandmother Went to Market – vocabulary activity
My Grandmother went to Market is a quick and simple traditional game which can be used in
the TEFL classroom to practice various semantic fields. It is useful at the end of the class for a five minute
filler to practice vocabulary learned earlier.

Once the class are familiar with it you can extend it and vary the gameplay to make it more complex and
more engaging…

 
Name That Title
Name That Title is a simple game which can be used with intermediate levels and above (although with a
little careful tweaking it can be used with all levels and abilities). It practices speaking and listening and is
an ideal way to spend 10 minutes or so at the end of a lesson. Preparation Prepare a dozen or more slips
of paper. On each one write the title of a…

 
Non Threatening Debates in TEFL
Non-Threatening Debates are ideal TEFL debates which can be held in class and then voted on.

The idea is simple. If you get your class to debate a hot topic (e.g. anything political or religious) then
students can get very emotional and carried away. Because they are often emotionally involved in the
subject they can struggle to find the right language because they are wrapped up in…

 
Old Fashioned Teachers & Music
Most teachers are old in comparison to their students. And because most teachers choose materials for
their class, this often means that the materials they use are old. And by old, I mean stuck in the past and
out of date.

When a TEFL teacher decides to use music in the classroom it inevitably means dredging up music from
the past – the Beatles in particular seem…

 
One Word Speeches – skills activity
One Word Speeches is a very simple activity which needs very little preparation but which is highly
effective in giving your students practice in all four skills, especially listening and speaking.

It is very flexible and in different forms it works for both beginners right up to highly advanced students, for
writing as well as speaking.
Explaining the Activity
The first time you run…

 
Opposites Attract
Opposites Attract is an activity you can use to practice opposites (or antonyms) in class. Preparation
Prepare a set of flashcards, each of which forms half of a pair of words. big – small always – never cheap
– expensive and so on. The words you use should be of the right level for your class of course! Running
the Activity In the classroom go over a few common antonyms…

 
Pictionary
Pictionary is a classic game which you can use in the classroom to practice vocabulary. The basic
premise is simple: draw a picture to represent a word. This can be very easy to do with basic concrete
nouns where students can draw a picture of, for example: a cat a computer a tree and so on. But things
get more difficult when it comes to more abstract nouns such as: love…

 
Picture Word Match
Picture Word Match is a very simple activity ideal for young learners. It helps reinforce vocabulary and
spelling. Preparation Cut out and prepare a load of flashcards. These should be in pairs. On one put a
picture of an item and on the other, the written name of the item. The level should be fairly basic so it can
be used with beginner classes (i.e. dealing with concrete nouns only)…

 
Plays in the TEFL Classroom
If you have the right class, using a play in the classroom is a great way to build enthusiasm for English as
well as practice English amongst the students. Along with this there’s a great feeling of satisfaction for the
students in creating and putting on their own production, which your school may also present to parents
and other classes as well.

Fame beckons!
Scope and…

 
PoS Swap – parts of speech activity
PoS Swap is an activity to practice different parts of speech. For TEFL teachers it’s well worth using as it
requires little or no preparation and can be used any time there’s a slight uncertainty amongst the
students over a particular PoS. Running the Activity Write up on the board a sentence structure which
includes the PoS you want to practice. For example, suppose you wanted to practice adjectives and…

 
Process Writing in English
Writing is not just a matter of putting pen to paper. It requires some thought and a certain level
of language skills.
We talk about good writing when the written work – be it an essay or an email, a poem or a business
letter – expresses a clear point, has substance, is tightly structured, is grammatically and syntactically
correct, and last but not least, is interesting…

 
Pronunciation Snake – tefl activity
Pronunciation Snake is a simple game you can use to have your students practice particular
pronunciations. It’s especially good for those problems that a particular class might have in similar
sounds. It can be used with both words and single sounds.

For example, some students find it difficult to distinguish between the /b/ or /p/ sounds. This activity will
help give them practice with this.

The…

 
Pronunciation Whispers – pronunciation activity
Pronunciation Whispers is a quick and effective variation on the Chinese Whispers/Telephone game
where students pass a message along a line to practice pronunciation.
Pre-Teaching
First, identify a pronunciation issue with your class. This will depend on their background and level, but for
example the class may have difficulties with the various vowel sounds so you might write up this list on
the board:

SHEEP…

 
Proverb Match
Proverb Match is a nice, simple way of practicing proverbs. It also allows for plenty of speaking practice.
Preparation You will need to prepare a list of proverbs; each one needs to be written on two cards.  Too
many cooks   spoil the broth. A stitch in time      saves nine. A fool and his money     are soon parted. The
bigger they are      the harder…

 
Q & A Ice Breaker
Q & A Ice Breaker is an activity designed for a new class so that the students get to know each other and
you, the teacher, can begin to understand the level and interests of your students. There are a number of
different ways you can use this activity. Essentially thought it begins with you preparing a series of
flashcards on which you have a lot of random questions. These…

 
Question the News
Question the News is a simple but effective way of exploiting news stories in your TEFL class and giving
your students plenty of practice in reading comprehension and speaking and also making questions. It’s
very adaptable and can be used for many different kinds of classes and students. In this example below
we’re running the activity for a Business English class but as long as you choose the right…

 
Quick Spell
Quick Spell is an ideal activity if you find your class has problems spelling a particular word. If you notice
that the same spelling mistake crops up again and again it’s time to play this game! The idea behind the
activity is making the spelling of this word so natural that students don’t even have to think about it. First
write the word up on the board and check with…

 
QVC – the Shopping Channel Activity
QVC is a tv shopping channel which is famous for showing short segments where presenters talk about a
product for several minutes, describing it in detail and explaining everything one could possibly want to
know about it. The concept can be transferred to the English Language Teaching classroom. Here
students either individually or in small groups can do the same to practice fluency and presentation skills;
ideally this should be…

 
Random Stories
Random Stories is a good activity for letting your students use their imagination and exercising all the
skills. Preparation Cut out a large selection of random, unrelated objects from magazines. It’s a good idea
to make flashcards out of these so you can build up a collection and use them again. Make sure you have
enough so that each group in your class (of, say, 3 students) can have 5…

 
Ransom Notes
Ransom Notes is a fun way to practice sentence building, especially with younger children. Preparation
For homework, simply ask your students to cut out 5 words, at random, from an English language
newspaper headline. Tell them they can choose any word they want but ideally they should try to vary the
words (i.e. get a noun, verb, preposition, etc). Some of the students may well either forget the words or…

 
Read My Mind
Read My Mind is a simple game which you can play at the end of a lesson. It is ideal for groups of 3 or 4
and practices vocabulary and speaking. If this is the first time you have played the game with the class,
begin by demonstrating it to everyone and making sure everyone understands how to play it. Playing the
Game Once the class know how to play…

 
Role Playing in the TEFL Classroom
Role Plays or Simulations are an extremely valuable method for learning and practicing the English in
your TEFL/TESOL classroom.

Essentially the students are placed in a certain fictitious situation where they must use English. It allows
creativity on the part of the student and offers a freer practice than written tests. The role play situation is
easily chosen but should be related to the current language level…

 
Secret Words
Secret Words is a simple game you can use in the classroom. It can be adapted to many
different levels. The game can also be used as a filler activity to take up a few minutes at the end of a
class. Beforehand, prepare a list of words to be used. These should be fairly common and well known by
your class. Write each word on a separate slip of…

 
Semantic Fields Game
This is a simple game you can play with semantic fields. Preparation Prepare a set of flashcards. On each
one write the name of a semantic field. For example, kitchen itemsthings in my bedroomoffice
equipmentfruit When you choose the semantic fields, make sure they are relevant to your class. If you
teach Business English to a group of beginners who are all furniture sales staff, you could have cards
with…

 
Sentence Completion – sentence activity
Sentence Completion is a TEFL activity which can be used to practice different forms of sentences. It
works well with different verb forms, conditionals and so on.
Preparation
Write out a series of sentences which are examples of the kind of sentence/verb structure you want to
practice, and put them onto flashcards (so you can use them later with other classes).

For example these are for…

 
Sentence Mix
Sentence Mix is a simple game you can use to help your students practice sentence construction and
revise parts of speech. With no preparation it’s ideal as a five minute end-of-lesson activity or you can
build it into something longer and more involved. Simply write up on the board a long sentence suitable
for the level of your class: The old man worked hard during the afternoon on Friday. Now…

 
Sherlock Holmes – tefl activity
Sherlock Holmes is a fun ice breaker, ideal with a new class on the first day of school, ideally a class who
do not know each other.

The idea is that the class guesses the answers their partner will give to certain questions; from this the
class can get to know a little about each other. With a little thought it can work well with all ages from
young…

 
Silly Sentences – sentence practice
Silly Sentences is an easy game which is ideal as a 5 minute filler activity at the end of the lesson. It
practices sentence structure and vocabulary. Method of Play As the teacher, you write on the board a few
random letters (or draw them from a bag of Scrabble letters), e.g. b a d w The students then have 3
minutes to write down as many sentences as they…

 
Simon Says in the TEFL Classroom
Simon Says is a very simple, very effective activity you can use in your TEFL class. It often works best
with younger learners and has been adapted from the traditional English game.
How it Works
The game is simple. You, as teacher, give commands to your class using “Simon says” to introduce the
commands. You say and the students follow:

Simon says stand up! – the students…

 
Speak as if…
Speak as if… is a great speaking activity which gets the students talking and repeating without realizing it.
It is a great as a five minute filler activity or to use anytime you want to practice a certain few phrases with
the class. It works with almost any class and is great fun with younger, more outgoing classes who are
ready to enjoy themselves. Of course, if the class is…

 
Spelling Mix – spelling activity
Spelling Mix is a simple TEFL activity for students to practice the spelling of words in a semantic field.

It’s suitable for any age and level as long as the words the students are looking for are of the right level.
Preparation
Select a group of words of a suitable level and in the same semantic field. For this example we can use
the semantic field WEATHER but…

 
Split Personalities
Split Personalities is a fun TEFL activity which helps students practice their speaking skills, specifically in
describing how people look, their clothes and so on (although it can also be adapted and used for other
descriptions). It is ideal for lower level classes but again can be adapted for higher levels, too. Preparation
First you need to find a pile of pictures from magazines. Ideally these are clear shots showing a…

 
Story Chain
A Story Chain is a simple method of passing a story around the class, giving each student plenty of
practice in storytelling. Prepare a Story There are many different ways to do this. The stories should be
short and able to be told in a minute or so. Most importantly they should be told in the first person.
brainstorm ideas with the class by writing up keywords and have them…

 
Storytelling in your TEFL Class
Storytelling is an ancient art that developed alongside the development of language and it is one of the
earliest forms of folkart.

The story can be of a real event or it can be made up. Storytelling has been used over the millennia not
only as a means of entertainment but also of education.

Storytelling techniques can be used to get TEFL students to practice listening…

 
Student Generated Tests
Student Generated Tests are a good way to prepare quick tests or quizzes for the class but with little
effort from the teacher. Ten minutes before the end of the lesson ask each student to individually write
down 2 or 3 questions based on the material they have learned over the past week or so (note that this
will depend on how often you teach the class, but the questions…

 
Superheroes – speaking activity
Superheroes is a good speaking activity for the TEFL class.

This is all about the students inventing a new superhero and testing them out in various scenarios to find
out who has the most successful.
Preparation
You will need to prepare beforehand a number of threatening scenarios in which a superhero can help.
Try and make these as unusual as possible and, to make it more…

 
Superlative Millionaire
Superlative Millionaire is a game you can play with your class to practice superlatives. Everyone knows
the Who Wants to be a Millionaire game; this is a variation on that idea; it requires very little preparation
on your part as the students themselves will be putting together the questions. Preparation in Class Firstly
go over comparatives and superlatives with your class. Make sure they understand the basic principles
and can…

 
Take a Letter – business dictation
Take a Letter is a simple dictation practice which allows your business English students to practice
the form and style of business letters. Business letters are often formulaic, using set words and phrases
and layouts. This exercise gives your students practice with these and familiarizes them with the usual
content and form of these letters. As a bonus, the students get practice in speaking and listening as well.
Preparation You…

 
Talking Dictionaries
Talking Dictionaries or Describing Words is a simple word game which teaches students how to describe
words. It’s a useful skill which lets students talk about something they do not necessarily know the correct
word for. Preparation Either on slips of paper or flashcards, have a number of nouns ready which are of
suitable level for your class. They can be almost any word but obviously concrete nouns are easier…

 
Talking Pictures
Talking Pictures is an activity for your TEFL class which involves the students from the outset and is
guaranteed to interest them as they provide the impetus for the class. This is important. Often students
can feel left out of the class; in this activity they are the ones who supply the essentials for the activity and
the ones who make sure it works. Preparation Since these days virtually everyone…

 
Teaching Irregular Adverbs
When teaching beginners you should always work on the principle that any detailed grammar explanation
will be too complicated for them. In TEFL it is always wise to keep things as simple as possible. This
means that when you need to explain a new grammar item like irregular adverbs, for example, start from
what your students already know. Start by putting on the whiteboard a couple of examples of regular…

 
TEFL Battleships
TEFL Battleships is a game played by two players. In the original version of Battleships (a game dating
from World War I) a grid of squares contains some “ships” and the players must try to guess their location
and then sink them (see here for more on this game). However, this game can be adapted for use in
the EFL classroom and used with words rather than ships. It is good…

 
TEFL Lesson Planning
A Lesson Plan is the outline of what will be taught in a single lesson. It is, if you like, a road map for the
hour or 90 minutes or so you will spend with the class.

Creating a good lesson plan is vitally important for a successful lesson and good teachers invariably
prepare good lesson plans. In fact, one of the easiest mistakes a new teacher…

 
Telephone – Chinese Whispers
Telephone (US name) or Chinese Whispers (as the game is known in the UK) is a simple game which
can be used to fill a few minutes as a filler activity at the end of the lesson.
Playing the Game
Write down a phrase on a piece of paper. Depending on the level of the class make this as simple or as
complex as they can manage…

 
The Alphabet Game
The Alphabet Game is a very useful 5 minute end-of-lesson vocabulary game or warmer. Simply get each
student (or group) to write a letter of the alphabet on each line of a blank sheet of paper. If you play this
game often with the class and they’re already familiar with the letters of the alphabet you can have these
sheets already photocopied. Now decide on a subject or semantic field…

 
The Counting Game for TEFL
The Counting Game is a simple but effective counting game ideal for young beginner level students in
your TEFL classroom so they can practice numbers. It also helps keep a class quiet for a few minutes
which is a nice side-effect! Running the Game Have the class stand in a circle. Tell them they must count
out loud from 1 to 10 (or any other number you decide). However, there…

 
The ESL Art Activity
The ESL Art Activity is a simple classroom game for practicing prepositions, vocabulary, and speaking at
all different levels and for all different classes.

Essentially what you are doing is describing a picture to your class and having them reproduce it. The key
here is choosing the right picture for the class.

Let’s assume your class is beginners who have learned colors and basic preposition use. For them…

 
The Goodies’ Bag
This is a “show and tell” activity for the TEFL teacher who wants to encourage young learners to produce
language in a natural way and create a more spontaneous response than the traditional “repeat after me”
approach. How it works Take a large cloth bag (a black bin liner will also do – the important thing is that it
is not transparent). Place different items related to the topic of…

 
The Grammar Wheel of Fortune
Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of
speech: verb, noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. Each part of
speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In fact, the same word can be a noun in
one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next. The “Grammar” Wheel of Fortune is a game to get
students revise parts of speech…

 
The Price is Right – tefl activity
The Price is Right is a popular television game which can be adapted for the EFL classroom. It’s ideal for
a class who are learning numbers and simple objects.
Preparation
Get some flashcards and on each one have an everyday object; on the reverse put the price in local
currency. A good source for pictures/prices like this are local brochures and advertising papers sent out
by many supermarkets…

 
The Story Telling Stick
The Story Telling Stick is a simple activity which you can use in your TEFL class to develop a story and
get the whole class talking and listening. It’s ideal for lower-intermediate level and upwards and can be
used with both smaller and larger classes. Background Traditionally some Native American tribes
(especially of the Northwest coast) would use a ceremonially decorated talking stick at council meetings.
Whoever was holding the…

 
The Warm Up Game
The Warm Up Game can be used to literally warm up the class and is ideal for teaching
new vocabulary, especially to younger students. An added bonus is that it gets the children going first
thing in the morning and wears them out a little! How to Play It’s a simple game and perfect for a few
minutes at the start of each class. The game is based on TPR…

 
The Welcome Code to your TEFL Classroom
The Welcome Code is a TEFL game adapted from an old drinking game – but without the drinking! It can
be used to practice vocabulary and spelling and semantic fields amongst other things and so it’s very
flexible. Once your class is familiar with the game you can adjust it and use it time and time again with
small variations. Although you can use it specifically to practice a language…

 
Trading Places
Trading Places is a great ice breaker activity and a lot of fun. It’s also ideal for practicing questions. It’s
simple to run this activity and no preparation is needed which means it’s great to know for those
emergency situations in class! Pre-Teaching With the class as a whole brainstorm some questions you
can ask about each other. You should come up with a list something like this: Where do…

 
Truth and Lies
Truth and Lies is a simple game which gives students practice making basic statements and also in
speaking. It is good for beginner level students.
Step 1
Each student begins by working on their own. They simply write down 3 statements about themself: one
is false and two are true. When you explain this to your students try to get them to think of 3 similar
sentences with…

 
Truth or Lie – question making activity
Truth or Lie is an activity which is used to practice the Present Perfect Simple and also giving students
practicing making questions.
Preparation
Prepare a number of flashcards on which you have written a present perfect simple question, have you
ever…

Have you ever met someone famous?

Have you ever stayed awake all night?
Have you ever played poker?

The questions should…

 
Twenty Questions – speaking & listening activity
Twenty Questions is a simple game which can be played in class with minimal preparation. It is ideal for
practicing both vocabulary (notably semantic fields) as well as making questions.
Preparation
Collect a group of pictures or photographs with different objects on them. (You can laminate these to
make them longer lasting of course.)

The objects you choose should be of the right level and subject…

 
Unique People – present perfect simple activity
Unique People is a game to practice the present perfect simple verb form. Firstly you’ll need to make sure
your class are familiar with the Present Perfect Simple verb form, both formation and usage. Ideally the
game can be played after teaching the it and can be used to practice it. Explanation Explain to your class
that you believe that are unique. Tell them something really unique you have done…

 
Verifying Tags – question tag activity
Verifying Tags is an activity which gets your TEFL class practising using question tags. Question Tags
are often used to verify information of which we are not 100% certain. For example we might be
discussing holidays and ask someone, “You went to the Seychelles a few years back, didn’t you?” It’s not
a direct question but we are looking for confirmation for what we believe to be true. This activity…

 
Video in the TEFL Classroom
This article is on how to use Videos in the Classroom (or of course, movies or films in the classroom). It
describes the basic technique so that you – and your students – make the most of this valuable resource.
(Note that this also applies to DVDs, online clips, etc).
Choosing the right Video
This is important. Obviously it must fulfill the usual criteria for material given to…

 
Vocabulary Poker – vocabulary activity
Vocabulary Poker is a great game for practicing vocabulary and semantic fields. It’s easy to play and
great fun for the students.

Although it can be played by beginners, it’s probably best for intermediate and advanced students.

NB in some countries it may be culturally inappropriate to use a term like “poker” with its gambling
connotations. If this is the case simply rename it to Vocabulary…

 
Warmers or Lesson Starters
Warmers or Lesson Starters are quick activities used at the beginning of a lesson to get students
warmed-up and ready to learn. They are useful to help students relax and feel comfortable in the
classroom; they help promote a fun learning environment and can be a good way to help new students
familiarize themselves with one another. By allowing everyone to take part in a relaxed atmosphere
warmers promote a…

 
What I Did at the Weekend
What I Did at the Weekend is a common activity used in TEFL classrooms. At the beginning of the lesson
as a kind of warm up the teacher will typically ask a few students what they did last weekend, or
yesterday, or during the holidays, etc. This can be a useful activity, but it is often little more than excuse
for one or two students to speak and the rest…
 
What If – third conditional activity
What If is an activity to practice the third conditional looking at impossible outcomes.
Preparation
Firstly select a famous historical event and prepare a summary of it in about 200 words (you can often
find good summaries online in Wikipedia for example).

Make sure the story is relevant to your students’ interests and age group, and the language you use in
your summary matches their level. This…

 
What’s Missing?
What’s Missing? is a very simple extra activity you can play with any set of flashcards you use. Quite
simply, whenever you use flashcards in class, save this for a quick 5 minute activity at the end just go
over the vocabulary you’ve been practicing. It requires no preparation and the side-effect of the game is
that the students unconsciously practice the vocabulary on the cards as they try to…

 
Who Am I?
Who Am I? is a fun warmup or icebreaker game which can be used to practice simple questions and
answers. Preparation Using small cards, write on each one the name of a famous person known to the
class, for example: Barack Obama Lady Gaga David Beckham John Lennon Einstein Harry Potter Queen
Elizabeth Shuffle the cards and have them face down. One at a time, each student comes to the…

 
Who’s Lying Now?
Who’s Lying Now? is a gameshow type of activity which encourages question and answers from students.
It is based on similar television shows and require little or no preparation. The activity can be used
for intermediate and above classes, from teenage to adult. Running the Activity Tell the class about some
aspect of your life that is unknown to them. This can be almost anything (though keep it away from
being…

 
Who-What-Where-When-Why-How
Who-What-Where-When-Why-How is a TEFL game based on the popular boardgame, Cluedo. The game
is ideal for practising speaking and listening. It is particularly good for formulating and practising questions
and, above all, it can be adapted very easily for different themes and cultures making it very flexible and
suitable for different classes. For the purposes of this article, the original Cluedo game will be used as a
basis for the…

 
Wipeout
 Wipeout is a simple end-of-class activity which is good for practicing pronunciation and speaking. It is a
good activity for low level classes and can be used from beginners up. It’s better with smaller classes but
with a little variation can be used for large classes as well. Start by writing up a sentence on the board.
This should be of the right level and content for the class. They should be…

 
Word Association
Word Association is a simple 5 minute activity for the end of a lesson. It gets students talking and thinking
about vocabulary. Explain to your students what word association is: when you hear a word, you say
another related word that pops into your head. The difference with this game is that you might be asked to
explain the association between the two words so your students have to think…

 
Word Bag – activity
Word Bag is a fun game which helps with semantic fields and vocabulary in general. It’s quick to set up
and ideal to keep the class occupied for 10 minutes at the end of a lesson and it is very good for all ages
and levels of students.
Running the Game
To start, divide the class into teams. Make sure that you have evenly balanced teams and…

 
Word Ladder
Word Ladder is a simple game invented by Lewis Carroll (author of the Alice books). It’s perfect as a
quick 5-minute activity at the end of the lesson and is ideal for practicing and playing with vocabulary. A
slight variation has it great for dictionary practice as well. The activity is perhaps best used with students
in pairs. Preparation Make up a list of word pairs. To begin with, each…

 
Writing Prompts – writing activity
Writing Prompts is a simple idea to help your TEFL students develop their writing skills and stimulate
ideas and discussions. It can work with almost any age or level of class and is very flexible. Pictures as
Prompts There are many variations of the method, but a simple one is to use pictures as prompts. First
collect together enough interesting photographs for the class – 1 per student (with a few…

 
Yes/No
Yes/No is a simple game that helps get your class asking and answering questions and doing plenty of
speaking and listening. The beauty of it is that it can be extended! Gameplay Write up on the board YES
and NO in bold letters. Now tell your students that these words are illegal for the next few minutes and
cannot be used. There are different ways to play the game, but…

 TEFAL
 Grammar & Language
 Language Functions
 Parts Of Speech
 Sentence Structure
 Vocabulary & Spelling
 Varieties Of English
 Use Of English
 Linguistics
 Foreign Languages vs English

   
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