1.

Last Man Standing

This game is fast-paced, but allows students some time to think. It also encourages peer
learning, as students will pick up on words they hear others speaking. To play the game,
grab a ball and have all the students form a circle. Name a category or theme, such as
things found in a kitchen, food, professions, and so on.

Begin by tossing the ball at a student. That student will shout a word related to the
theme and throw the ball to another student. As each person catches the ball, they need
to come up with another word that fits the theme. If they repeat a word that has already
been said or can’t think of a new one within a few seconds, they are out and must sit on
the sidelines. Don’t worry, they’ll still be learning!

Take things up a notch with a different version of “Last Man Standing.” Instead of
naming a theme, each student gives the next student another theme. For example, you
might start off with “something red.” The first student to catch the ball could say
“strawberry” and then choose another topic and throw the ball to the next student. This
makes the game much more difficult, since students cannot think of a word until they
know what their theme is.

3. Charades

Charades is quite similar to Pictionary, but it uses actions to communicate the secret
word in place of photos. This is a great game for those days when your class is dragging
and people are falling asleep. Get them up and get them moving!

Write down words on slips of paper for students to choose. Verbs are likely to be the
easiest, but you can also use more complicated words, provided you are sure most of
the students know them.
Divide the class into two teams and have one person from each team choose a piece of
paper and act out the word. The teams must guess the correct word before three
minutes run out. For each correct word, that team receives a point. The team that hits
ten points first is the winning team.

4. Taboo Words
Taboo Words helps students practice with synonyms and descriptions. Separate the class in half and
have the two teams sit on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. Each team will choose a
person to sit in front of their team, facing them in the “hot seat.” You will stand behind the students
and hold up a piece of paper with a word on it. The students in the hot seats will not be able to see
these papers.

Teams have three minutes (or any amount of time you want to set) to get their hot seat member to
say the word on the paper.

The catch is, they can’t say the word under any circumstances.

Tips for playing in a large class. If you have more than 12 students in a class, things can get a little
chaotic with this game. In this case, it’s usually simpler to divide everyone into teams of 5-6 people
and have only one team go at a time.

1. Board Race
There isn’t an EFL teacher I know who doesn’t use this game in the
classroom. Board Race is a fun game that is used for revising vocabulary,
whether it be words from the lesson you’ve just taught or words from a
lesson you taught last week. It can also be used at the start of the class to
get students active. It is a great way of testing what your students already
know about the subject you’re about to teach.

 Why use it? Revising vocabulary; grammar

 Who it's best for: Appropriate for all levels and ages

How to play:

First, watch this helpful video of real teachers using this game in the
classroom by BridgeTEFL:

This is best played with 6 students or more - the more, the better. I’ve used
it in classes ranging from 7-25 years of age and it’s worked well in all age
groups. Here's a step by step explanation:

 Split the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker.
 If you have a very large class, it may be better to split the students into
teams of 3 or 4.
 Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at the top.
 The students must then write as many words as you require related to
the topic in the form of a relay race.
 Each team wins one point for each correct word. Any words that are
unreadable or misspelled are not counted.

2. Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie

Call My Bluff is a fun game which is perfect at the start of term as a ‘getting
to know you’ kind of game. It is also a brilliant ice breaker between students
if you teach classes who do not know one another -- and especially
essential if you are teaching a small class size.

The game is excellent for practicing speaking skills, though make sure you
save a time for after the game to comment on any mistakes students may
have made during the game. (I generally like to reserve this for after the
game, so you don't disrupt their fluency by correcting them as they speak).

With older groups you can have some real fun and you might be surprised
what you’ll learn about some of your students when playing this particular
EFL game.

 Why use it? Ice-breaker; Speaking skills

 Who it's best for: Appropriate for all levels and ages but best with older
groups

How to play:

 Write 3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which should be

lies and one which should be true.
 Allow your students to ask you questions about each statement and then
guess which one is the truth. You might want to practice your poker face
before starting this game!
 If they guess correctly then they win.
 Extension: Give students time to write their own two truths and one lie.
 Pair them up and have them play again, this time with their list, with their
new partner. If you want to really extend the game and give students
even more time to practice their speaking/listening skills, rotate partners
every five minutes.
 Bring the whole class back together and have students announce one
new thing they learned about another student as a recap.
3. Simon Says
This is an excellent game for young learners. Whether you’re waking them
up on a Monday morning or sending them home on a Friday afternoon, this
one is bound to get them excited and wanting more. The only danger I
have found with this game is that students never want to stop playing it.

 Why use it? Listening comprehension; Vocabulary; Warming up/winding

down class
 Who it's best for: Young learners

How to Play:

 Stand in front of the class (you are Simon for the duration of this game).
 Do an action and say Simon Says [action]. The students must copy what
you do.
 Repeat this process choosing different actions - you can be as silly as
you like and the sillier you are the more the children will love you for it.
 Then do an action but this time say only the action and omit ‘Simon
Says’. Whoever does the action this time is out and must sit down.
 The winner is the last student standing.
 To make it harder, speed up the actions. Reward children for good
behavior by allowing them to play the part of Simon.

4. Bingo (History)

A quick and simple game which never fails to motivate students in their
learning.

Resources: whiteboards and pen or paper and pen/pencils, plus a list of

subject-specific terms or concepts e.g. numbers, phonics, key vocabulary,
scientific formulae or historical figures.

Game:Ask students to draw a 6 x 6 grid on their whiteboards or pieces of

paper then select 6 words or images from the given list to draw/write in
their grid. You must then randomly select a word from the list to describe,
and students must guess the word in order to cross it off on their grid (if
present). Continue describing different words until one student successfully
completes their grid and shouts ‘bingo!’ (you can also award a prize to the
first student who gets 3 in a row).

Alternative: Students can insert their own subject-related answers into the
bingo grid, but this makes it more challenging for you due to extensive word
choice and ambiguity. Also, if you have more time, then you could create
your own bingo boards with specific vocabulary or concepts you are
covering in that lesson (reusable).

3. Scatter-gories (English)
This fun game will encourage your students to think ‘outside-the-box’
and draw on a range of subject knowledge.

Resources: pieces of paper, pens/pencils and a list of subject-specific

categories e.g. Earth and Space (topic): rocks, landforms, weather, and
solar system (categories).
Game: Split students into small groups and ask them to note down the
categories on their pieces of paper. Choose a letter (A-Z) at random
and give students 1-2 minutes (depending on how many categories) to
think of a word for each category, beginning with that letter. Once the
time is up, allocate points for unique answers, i.e. if two teams write
down the same word for a category then neither get any points. Repeat
the game with different letters.
Example: Letter M – Topic: Earth and Space
Rocks: Metamorphic
Landforms: Mountain
Weather: Mist
Solar System: Mars

Alternative: If you class only has a small number of students then they
could fill in the categories individually, rather than working in teams.

8. Pictionary
An old classic but also a great way for students to visualize their
understanding in a fun team game.
Resources: whiteboards and pens or pieces of paper and pencils/pens,
plus a list of subject-specific concepts.
Game: Students work in small groups. One student from each group is
chosen to start and they must draw the subject-related concept you
state, within a given time (30 seconds – 2 minutes). The rest of the
group must then guess what he/she is drawing. The first group to
correctly guess the word wins. The game repeats until every student
has had a turn/there are no more words on your list.
Alternative: Students could model concepts using playdough for their
peers to guess.

5. Misconception check (History and English)

(This could be used together with call my bluff)

Discover students' misconceptions. See if students can identify what is the

correct answer when given a false fact. It’s useful when going over a
previous lesson. It encourages students to think deeply and wager all the
possibilities.