- English ESL Worksheets
- Speaking Practice
- Board game
Worksheet details
worksheet summary
A board game to review SLE beginner level vocabulary. The purpose of the game is to give the students motivation to learn how to say the words in order to progress on the board.
Language goals
Speaking practice
Other pedagogical goals
Level
The above lesson is a great teaching resource for:Beginner (pre-A1)
Student type
This resource is intended for:Elementary schoolers
Elementary schoolers
Solutions
Solutions not included
Quality check
Quality not yet verified by the community.
Sensitivity
This resource does not contain any images, words or ideas that would upset a reasonable person in any culture.
Copyright license
Published 01/07/2018
Hades75 is from/lives in Israel and has been a member of iSLCollective since 2018-03-15. Hades75 last logged in on 2023-01-03, and has shared 13 resources on iSLCollective so far.
Games aren’t only for fun and learning outside of the classroom. The right board game can be a great learning tool in your class this upcoming school year as well. This is true both in ESL (English as a Second Language) and traditional English-speaking classrooms.
These following games have all been used reliably by teachers to help English learners master new vocabulary and feel more confident in their speaking skills. You’ll find your students will benefit most if you modify the rules to fit the skills and needs of your classroom. They are also fun and a change of pace for your students, which can help keep the flame of learning interest burning bright. They don’t take much prep time by the teacher either – so it’s a win for everyone!
Top Board Games For ESL Students and Classrooms
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Bananagrams |
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Hedbanz Game Most Popular |
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Scrabble |
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Scattergories |
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Mad Gabs Picto-Gabs Lowest Price |
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1. Bananagrams
This fast-paced game is a ton of fun to play. Players are each given a set of letters and use them to build their own grid of words. When one of the players has used all her tiles, everyone must draw a tile and work it into their grid. Words are not permanent however; you may take your existing words, break them apart and use them to help make new words.
Kids will learn spelling structures and reinforce common word prefix and suffixes while playing this game. It also is a great outlet for creativity for more advanced learners.
2. Hedbanz Game
Hedbanz is a take on the classic “What Am I” game. Players each grab a card face-down, and never look at it. Instead, they affix the card to their “headband” so all the other players can see what is represented on the card. Players then take turns asking the other players questions to try to determine just who they are. Most cards are of normal household items, animals, foods, etc.
This game is a great way to help kids get used to asking questions about different topics than they might usually cover in class. The game comes with a helpful “question card” to get each player started on questions they normally should ask. It’s also fun (and sometimes agonizing) as a player gets so close to the right answer but can’t quite nail it down.
3. Scrabble
Scrabble is a classic word game enjoyed by generations of students. Players are given a selection of letters which they use to make words in a crossword pattern. Players build words off of the tiles that previous players have placed. Bonus points are given for covering special tiles on the board with letters.
ESL teachers have found that this game is often played with some changes to the normal rules. Allowing students to consult a dictionary, collaborate with friends and refrain from keeping score can help some students. It’s also a good chance to discuss the meanings of the words used in the game when appropriate.
4. Say the Word
Say The Word is a cooperative “silly story” game that can really break the ice for a group of students. Players are given a kooky character, some silly words to use and are challenged to create sentences that keep an ongoing story moving forward. Warning: your classroom will be filled with spontaneous outbursts of laughter as the stories continue to get goofier and goofier each turn.
This game is aimed at children 10 and up, though younger children may be able to keep up. It helps to develop listening skills, and promotes bonding and risk-taking. It’s hard to take yourself too seriously while playing this game, which provides the “safe zone” some students need to expand their vocabulary.
5. Photographic Memory Matching Game
The Stages Learning Photographic Memory game pack can help less-advanced English speakers expand their vocabulary while having fun. Cards contain both pictures and corresponding words. Players place cards face down on a table and pick two at random. If they match, great. If not, the player tries to remember what card is at what location so they can make a match later on.
This game can be used in a few ways. With students new to English, it’s best if the game is played by a group, all working together. As students become more advanced, they can begin to play as individuals. You’ll get more results if you can encourage discussion about the items and animals represented on the cards.
6. Scattergories
Scattergories is a great way for students to work on and practice the words they already know. Players are given a list of ten categories for that round. While they do come with the game, you can always make up your own categories to suit the needs of your particular classroom. The game is started when a 26-sided die is rolled to reveal a letter.
Players must then think of words that start with that letter for each of the ten categories. Usually, a timer is set and when time runs out the round is ended. Players read their words to the group. The kicker is, any word used by more than one player is knocked out and doesn’t count. This teaches students to try to expand their vocabulary beyond common words to avoid that fate.
Beginning learners might benefit from a smaller list of categories and having it tied into some other lesson you are working on in class.
7. Mad Gabs Picto-Gabs
This game is not a classic, but one that would likely work in more advanced classrooms. Players say the words they think go along with the pictures on the cards. The phrase that solves the puzzle will sound similar to the words said outloud, but not exactly. For example, one puzzle is the picture of a man’s head with an arrow pointing to his hair + the words “fours” and “won”. Did you guess the answer? (Air Force One)
As I said before, this is definitely for more advanced students but in the right classroom it can help with listening skills and word and phrase differentiation. It also sounds like a lot of fun. The risk is using it with students that aren’t able yet to grasp the nuances of English needed for the game.
Bryan Bigari is the current editor of Fractus Learning. As a father of three, Bryan has a passion for helping kids to both excel in school and have fun with friends and parents. He has worked on education issues at the state and federal level, and is looking forward to sharing his first hand education and toy knowledge with you.
A word association game is a game in which a word is given to a student and then that student must say an associated word or phrase. Word association games are a fantastic way to help students practice using their existing vocabulary and to learn new English words.
While playing word association games, students are likely to encounter words that they have not heard before. These words are associated with the vocabulary they already know, and so it is very easy for students to guess the meanings of these new words. This makes word association games fantastic for learning new words.
Let’s look at some different ways in which you can play word association games with your students.
Simple Word Association
The simplest way to play word association games in class is to simply give one student a word and ask that student to say the first thing that comes to mind. For example, if you say the word “drink” a student might say the word “juice”. Then, the next student should say the first word which comes to their mind, for example, “orange”.
If you’re playing this game with kids, then to make it even more fun you could get them to pass a ball as they play. When a student has the ball it is their turn, and once they have said their word they should pass the ball to the next player.
However, if you are playing word association games while social distancing in the classroom, then it is probably best not to pass a ball around. Instead, you could ask your students to stand up from their desks when it is their turn.
Word Association Topics
Another fun way to play word association games in class is to choose a particular topic and ask students to say words associated with that topic. Usually, when playing word association games, students would start at one word, and after a few turns, the words might become completely unrelated to the original topic.
But when playing a word association game with a particular topic, all words must be related to the main topic. For example, if you choose the topic ‘food’ then every word must be a kind of food. If a student says ‘milk’ for example, then that student would be out as it is a drink and not a food.
Here are some topics you could use for your next word association game:
- Types Of Food
- Types Of Drinks
- Countries
- Hobbies
- Sports
- Superheroes
- Colors
- Furniture in a house
- School Subjects
- Types Of Weather
Guess The Secret Word
A really fun way to get your students thinking while playing a word association game is to have them try and guess a secret word. Rather than have students say any associated word that comes to mind, instead think of a secret word and tell them some words associated with that.
Then students should try to guess what the secret word is. To make it more fun you could even ask students to guess other words which might be associated to the secret word.
For example, if the secret word was ‘yellow’ you could say the word “banana” to your students. Then they might guess something like “apple” and you can tell them it is not related. But when they say something like “lemon” you can tell them that it is associated with it.
After some time students will be able to guess the secret word. This way of playing a word association game is a fantastic way to get students to practice their thinking skills while learning new vocabulary.
Ryhming Words
This way of playing word association games can lead to some hilarious answers. Simply give students a word and ask them to come up with a word which rhymes. In this game, the words don’t necessarily have to be related. They just need to rhyme.
For example, you might say the word “cold” and students might say “old”, “mold”, “bold”, “told”, etc. The first student who can’t come up with a rhyming word is out.
Chain Game
This last word association style game is one you have probably played at some point in your life. In this game a student would say one word and then the next student must say a word which starts with the last letter of the previous word.
For example, if the word was ‘pizza’ then the next student must say a word beginning with ‘a’. Then, the next student might say “apple” and so the next student must say a word beginning with ‘e’. And so, on. The first student who cannot say a word is out.
Thanks for reading. I hope you found some inspiration for your next word association game.
Before you go, don’t forget to check out our free lesson materials, including ESL Games, PowerPoint Games, ESL Worksheets, ESL PowerPoints, and ESL Printables.
Teaching vocabulary to preschoolers is not just about giving the definitions and some examples, but about creativity and fun techniques to practice the words with them. One of the best and practical ways to teach them vocabulary is using games. Here are some of them.
Categories
This game helps children to categorize the words in the columns, to get their meanings and to find a relationship between these words. For each category, you can use flashcards (fruit, vegetables, clothes, sports, etc) and give a list of different words to your kids (banana, skirt, apple, tomato, tennis, baseball, shirt, shorts, kiwi, etc.).
out the odd word
This game is a bit similar to the previous one because it is again related to categorizing. Here the teacher gives a list of words, asking kids to cross out one odd word from each line. For example:
- November, July, September, October
- Cold, snow, January, summer
- Monkey, banana, apple, kiwi
- Run, tennis, baseball, football
- Taxi, car, bus, house
How many?
Here all you need is to show a picture of different things (animals, fruit, vegetables) and to ask your younger learners to count how many things there are in the picture.
2-litre jar
This is a fun game to play with your kids. You show them a 2-litre jar and ask to come up with words that can be placed in this jar. For example, they can say coffee, candle, but they cannot say happiness or animal, because they cannot be placed in this jar.
I spy
One might call this game an old one, but my younger learners adore it. To begin the game choose an object and give some hints to your kids, such as: “I spy something that is big and blue”. The pupil that guesses the word takes a turn to spy something and let other kids guess.
Apple Pass
Get your kids to sit in a circle. You can use a real apple or a fake one. While you pass the apple to the next student, you must say one English word. The student then throws to another student and says a different English word. The student who fails to catch the apple or to say a word is out. And the game continues until you have one winner. It can be played with different categories, such as fruit, vegetables, animals, etc.
Touch
This game is all about giving some instructions. The teacher says: “Touch the board”, “Touch the chair”, “Touch something black”, etc. And young learners go around the classroom to find the appropriate objects and to touch them.
Basketball
Make a paper ball and prepare a box where your kids can throw an imaginary ball. Show a flashcard to the first student. If they say the right word and throw the ball into the box, they get two points. But if they fail to do one of these things, they get just one point. The person who gets the most points is the winner.
Pictionary
This is a nice activity for recycling vocabulary. You can play this game in groups. Tell one of the students a word and ask him/her to draw a picture of it on the board. The first student to guess, what the picture is, gets a point and takes a turn to come up to the board and to draw the next picture.
Line True or False
Put a line of tape on the floor and make appropriate signs for «True» and «False». Show a flashcard and say its word (you can say a wrong word). If students think that you have said the correct word they jump on to the True side, if not they jump on to the False side. The student who gives the wrong answer is out.
What games do you play with your preschoolers?