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A GROUP OF 10 YEAR-OLDS WITH LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH

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A GROUP OF 10 YEAR-OLDS WITH LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH

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A GROUP OF 17 YEAR-OLD TEENAGERS FASCINATED WITH TECHNOLOGY

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A GROUP OF 17 YEAR-OLD TEENAGERS FASCINATED WITH TECHNOLOGY

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BridgeUniverse - TEFL Blog, News, Tips & Resources

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ESL Games and Activities for Kids & Teens

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Incorporating ESL games into your lesson plans when teaching English to kids and teens is a great way to help young students review their knowledge in an interactive, fun, and memorable way.

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Boring ESL activities=bored students. Avoid this by mixing it up with these fun, interesting games and activities to do with your teens. Check out my top picks for ESL games for teens that can help to create a positive language learning environment.

Fun ESL Activities for Teenagers

If you're looking for some fresh, new ideas for your English classes, check out these top 10 ESL games for teens. They're guaranteed to be fun, engaging, and interesting. These fun ESL games for teenagers cover a wide range of skills, from speaking to writing to listening and reading, and many of them cover more than one skill at a time. Your students will love your classes!

Try out some of these activities and games for teenagers today. Oh yeah, and these ESL activities for teenagers will also work for any foreign language teaching.

#1 Team Games for Teenagers: Running Dictation, A 4-Skills ESL Activity

If you're looking for an active, 4-skills ESL activity that teenagers will love, look no further than running dictation! It's competitive, fast-paced and students always demand to play it again. Running dictation is the perfect ESL activity for a case of the Monday morning, or Friday afternoon blues. It's guaranteed to get a bit of energy and excitement back into your classes.

The basic way it works is that there are sentences (from a dialogue or story) around your class. You can make your own, or find some articles related to your topic in the textbook you're using or on the Internet.

One student has to read it, memorize as much as they can, and then come dictate it to their partner who writes it down. At the end, the team has to put the sentences in the correct order.

This is a very good activity for intermediate language learners, although can also work for high beginners or advanced. The main requirements are basic reading and writing skills.

Including all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) within a single activity is the kind of like the holy grail of language teaching. This one is one of the best for doing that well.

In addition, there aren't that many writing games for teens (or kids or adults too). They are just harder to design and make them fun. However, running dictation does have a serious writing element to it, which makes it a nice choice for a writing game.

#2 Communication Games for Teens: Board Games for ESL Students

Board games are one of my favourites for teenagers because they can be tailored to any grammar or vocabulary point that you're teaching. They're also extremely student-centred when played in small groups of 3-4 students. Make sure you bring in a little prize of some kind for the winner in each group to add a small element of competition.

The best part about board games is that they're very easy to design yourself. Once you have template down, it takes only about 10 minutes to produce a board game for just about any vocabulary set or grammar point. You can also find some materials for board games in a teacher's resource book for the textbook you're using.

Learn more about using these ESL board games in your English classes:

#3: Apples to Apples ESL Vocabulary Game

One of my favourite vocabulary games for ESL students is Apples to Apples. You can make your own decks of cards to suit any level or target vocabulary. Get the students to help you out-they'll have fun doing it, and will also enjoy playing it all the more! Kids love this this one too.

Or, you can check out Apples to Apples Junior on Amazon if you want to use it as a party game.

Have some fun with your students while they practice English vocabulary. You can teach new words, or students can have fun while working the language themselves. I know which one I'll choose every single time.

ESL for teens: Make it more fun with a game like this one. It's also one of my top picks for team games for teenagers.

#4 ESL Activities for Teenagers: Password

This is one of the best ESL vocabulary activities for teenagers because it's challenging. You can play password with the entire class, but it's best in smaller classes of 10 or fewer in order to increase student talking time.

Or course, if you have a large class, you can break it up into smaller groups to play this as well.

#5: Concentration ESL or EFL Memory Game

Concentration is one of my favourite ESL games for teenagers because it's an excellent way to calm a rowdy class. You won't believe how quiet your students will be when playing this one! A sign of a good activity is when the majority of the students are focusing deeply on it, and this one is one of the best.

It's adaptable for all levels and ages, including young children, up to high school and adults.

Concentration is played in groups of 3-4 students and doesn't require a lot of talking. I use it mostly for matching vocabulary words with definitions, but you can adapt it to suit lots of other stuff as well. The best part about this one is that you can adapt it for any age, or level of students.

For higher level students, you can match word to definition, opposites, or problem and advice. These are just a few examples so get creative!

Oh yeah, it's one of the best memory games I can think. Not only does it challenge the brain, but it helps our students remember English vocabulary as well. After all, students should be doing the hard work, not you!

And this simple activity is a favourite of many of my teenage students. It also lends itself well to holiday-themed classes. Check out this article for even more ideas: Christmas Activities for ESL Students.

Try out one of the best learning games for teenagers today.

#6: Surveys for ESL Students

If you ask your students what they want to get out of your class, they'll often say they want to speak English better. Surveys are an excellent way to help them do that.

With big classes of adults, surveys are one of my go-to ESL classroom activities because they're student-centred, engaging and cover all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). They are still an excellent ESL activity for teenagers, but you need to judge whether or not they're mature enough to do it.

Most classes are, but be sure to set the ground rules before you set your students loose to do the activity. I usually say the following:

Talking only 1-1 and not in groups of three or more.

The goal is not to finish first. The goal is to have lots of mini-conversations in English with a lot of different people.

Speak only in English. The goal is not to finish quickly! The goal is to practice speaking English.

Also write down notes about the answers in English only. Remember that the goal is language learning, not simply to get it done as quickly as possible.

Only take notes for the answers. You don't need to write detailed sentences.

The bottom line? ESL surveys are amazing and I hope that all teachers are using them in their classes!

One of the best things I love about surveys is that they help teach students how to ask questions. You can learn more about why this is so important in the short video below:

Try out surveys in your lesson today. You'll love them.

#7 ESL For Teenagers: Vocabulary Auction

Try out vocabulary auction if you're looking to introduce an element of competition into your classes. Your students will have so much fun that they'll forget that they're learning English at the same time! If you want to review new terms or words that students have been learning, this should be your go-to activity.

It can take a while to get this ESL vocabulary activity organized and it's certainly not one to prepare in the few minutes before class is starting. However, it's worth it, especially if you teach multiple sections of the same class because your students will love it!

Seriously, it's one of the most exciting classes of the whole year. It's a top pick for an ESL classroom game so try it out today with your students! But, it's best for 13 and up.

#8 Charades: One of the Best Interaction Games for Teenagers

If you're having a party day, charades makes an excellent ESL activity for teenagers. It's really fun and also a great way to review vocabulary. You can build your own words or phrases, or get the students to help you out with it.

The way I get students to help is to go in groups of 3-4, look through their textbooks (only what we've studied together) and choose 10 vocabulary words that were new to them. Then, collect the papers and compile your own master list to play with from there.

Then, put students into teams and have some fun with this ESL vocabulary game. The teams with the most points wins. It's one of my favourite classroom games for teens.

Alternatively, you could have students do the simple version of this with a partner for a quick lead-in or warm-up. For example, they have to describe a room in a house to a partner who guesses what it is.

For example, "This is where you cook food and eat."

Answer: Kitchen.

"This is where you stay at night time."

Answer: Bedroom.

#9 ESL for Teens: English Central Videos

Teenagers love videos, but it can be hard to find ones easy enough for your teenage English learners on YouTube. Check out English Central for help in finding ones that are the right level for you. It's one of the best online resources for your English classes.

You can do so many things in your ESL lesson when using videos! Discussion, comprehension question, a focus on the grammar or vocabulary, etc. Get creative because the sky is the limit. It's English teaching made easy!

There is a huge range of fun ESL topics covered as well. You can find videos about: friends, jobs, school life, movies, dates, family, trips, etc.

#10: Presentations

Group presentations in English can be a fun task-based learning project for teenage students and it's a nice break for you! They're ideal for language learning because they offer some serious speaking and listening practice.

Okay, so they're not really in the category of "fun activities." However, they can be quite a useful exercise and it's for this reason that I like to include at least once per semester for most of my classes. Although you might get some initial groans when first telling your students about this, they usually don't mind in the end so push through the initial resistance!

You'll get the best results if you give students plenty of support and instruction on how to give an effective presentation. The key to this one is allowing lots of preparation time in class, as well as giving detailed feedback throughout the process.

Also be sure to make your expectations clear so that you get the best results. For example, are students...

Allowed to read from a paper?

Able to have a wall of text on the PowerPoint?

Allowed to have one person in the group do all the talking?

As you can see, it's worth it to think through your instructions clearly before getting started with this.

Oh yeah, you can turn this into more of an interaction activity if you require the people listening to do something. Perhaps you can put the students into groups of 4 and each group has to ask 1 follow-up question. Or, you may want to consider peer grading. It's not exactly a presentation game for class...but it's kind of fun!

#11 Learning Activities for Teenagers: Conversation Starters

I know I promised to give you 10 of the best ESL games for teens, but here's an extra one! These conversation starters work well for teenagers or adults, but you should only use them with high intermediate or advanced students. Beginners usually don't have the English grammar or vocabulary necessary to talk about one of these questions for more than 10 or 20 seconds.

You can check them out here: https://eslspeaking.org/conversation-starters-adults/

For a more extended activity related to this, have students work in pairs to plan a day walking around their city. For example, would they go to a park or museum? What food would they recommend eating? Then, each group can do a quick presentation to the class and the rest of you can follow along with them!

Another good one is what students see when they walk to school. Encourage them to dig a little big deeper below the surface. Are there any ways that they go where they can see something a bit out of the ordinary? Do they walk with friends or alone?

#12: Interactive Games for Teenagers

I'm ALL about interaction in my classes. I mean between myself and the students if fewer than 5 people in the class. Or, between students if it's a bigger class.

It's through interacting that people get better at languages. It's for this reason that I carefully design my games and activities so that they facilitate this.

Check out some of my top ideas for fun activities for teenagers here: Interactive ESL Games and Activities.

#13 Fun Activities for Teens: Drawing a Picture, ESL Speaking Style

Another fun English activity for teenagers is drawing a picture, but with a twist. The way it works is that one student is looking at a picture of something (something like an alien usually works well). Then, they have to describe it to their partner, in English but the one who is drawing can't see the picture.

They may have to say things like:

The alien has a very big, square head.

It has 7 arms, coming out from all around the body.

There are 4, small eyes at the top of the head.

At the end, you can compare pictures with the class and the results are usually hilarious.

Quick tip: Choose something silly, and not a real person in the class. If you do this, someone will almost always end up feeling insulted!

More details about this warm up activity for teenagers here: Drawing a Picture, ESL Speaking Style.

More Ideas for Games and Activities for Teenagers and Adults

Did you like these ideas for teaching English to teens? Do you want even more fun activities for teens? Then you'll need to check out this book: 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults, available on Amazon. It'll help spice up your lessons and it includes activities for all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Check out these ESL Games for Teens

One of the best ways to spice things up in your ESL classes for teenagers is to use a wide variety of games and activities. Instead of spending a ton of time creating your own, or searching around on the Internet for something that'll work, just get this book.

There are enough games and activities to help you get through an entire semester, and then some in style. ESL for teenagers doesn't have to be super difficult.

Available in a Variety of Formats

The good news is that the book is available in both print and digital formats. You can keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as as a handy reference. Or, get a copy for your phone for lesson planning in your favourite coffee shop. It really is that easy.

Shop Now

You can check out the book for yourself on Amazon, but only if you want to make ESL for teenagers easier:
->101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults<-
Tips for Teaching Teens

When you teach English to middle school or high school students, it can be quite challenging. However, here are a few tips to make sure your classes go as smoothly as possible.

Use General Feedback

Teens usually don't like it when you point out their behaviour, either good or bad in front of the whole class. Praise, or scold a group or the entire class rather than an individual.

Don't Put Students on the Spot

This can often end in disaster! Instead, you can:

Ask for volunteers to give an answer (if works best if you give some incentive for doing so)

Require that each group give an answer instead of an individual

Tell a student during the practice time that you're going to call on them during them to answer the question in front of the class so they have a bit of time to prepare something

Small Group Interactions

Be sensitive about partners and small groups and who ends up working with who. It's best not to make random partners, but it's fine to do with groups of 4 or 5 for example.

Also be on the lookout for mean spirited behaviour and clamp down on it hard so that everyone can have an enjoyable class experience.

Use Routines

Most people like it when they know what they can expect so have some routines. For example:

Attendance

Check or hand in homework

Warm-up activity

Work on 2-3 pages from the book in partners

Small group activity or class game

Assigning of homework

You can also make routines for things like handing out worksheets, collecting papers, making groups, marking homework, etc. so you don't have to reinvent the wheel every single time.

Start your class off on the right foot by setting up routines so that students know exactly what they can expect.

Get Feedback from your Students

I'll sometimes put these questions (as a bonus point) on a quiz or test a few weeks into the semester:

"What do you like best about the class so far?"

"Is there an activity in this class that you don't like doing?"

You'll often get some illuminating answers. Take the feedback seriously, especially if you see the same thing over and over again. Maybe the students hate doing dictation, or they LOVE your board games. You won't really know until you ask them.

Give Teens Choices

If you're giving homework like a written essay for example, let them choose from a list of topics. Or, if they're doing a speech, allow them to choose just about anything as long as they check with you first before starting.

For a group project, give them guidelines and recommendations but don't micromanage how they get it done. As long as the final result is what you're looking for, it doesn't matter how your students get there. Their process may be different from yours, but that's okay.

Be Sensitive About Groups and Pairs

With university students or adults, you can put students into pairs without really thinking too much about it. Usually, they're reasonably happy to work with just about anyone.

However, with kids, it's usually more complicated, especially in middle school. Usually the boys won't want to work with the girls and vice-versa.

Although I generally like to mix things up with partners or groups to keep things fresh, with teens? I'll usually let them sit with who they want. Or, I'll assign groups of 3-4 students at the beginning of the course and they'll stay with that group until the end.

Only 1 Person Talking During Group Activities for Teenagers

If there's one rule that I'm very serious about in my classroom, it's this one. There is only ONE person talking at a time. That applies to me, or if a student is giving a presentation or answering a question. Or, if we're doing a game or activity that requires listening.

I often find that I have to come down very hard on this at the beginning of the semester, but that it gets much easier as the course goes on when the students know I'm very serious about this.

ESL Activities for Teenagers: Use a Variety of Them

I'm sure you know this already, but the key to interesting, engaging classes for middle or high school students is a variety of things to do. Use different games and activities each class.

As a general rule, I try not to repeat them more than once a month to keep things fresh.

Where Can I Find ESL Lesson Plans for Teenagers?

Are you looking for some lesson plans for your teenage students? Then you'll want to check out some of our favourite recommendations right here that will work with teens around the world:
Lesson Plans for Intermediate/Advanced Students The Ultimate ESL Lesson Planning Guide How to Plan an ESL Reading Lesson
Like these Fun ESL Activities for Teenagers?

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Have your Say about the best ESL Games for Teens!

Do you have any go-to activities for teenagers who are English learners? Do you have any ideas for making your lessons for teenanagers more interesting? Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about teaching English.

Also be sure to share this on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. This will help other teaching, like yourself find this useful teaching resource guide.

Last update on 2019-11-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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ESL Activities for Teenagers: The Top 13 | Fun ESL Games

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Boring ESL activities=bored students. Avoid this by mixing it up with these fun, interesting games and activities to do with your teens. Check out my top picks for ESL games for teens that can help to create a positive language learning environment.