22 Engaging and Dynamic Activities for Teaching English as a Second Language That Will Keep Your Students Coming Back For More

by Peace Corps Volunteer Laura Layton, Chiriquí, Panama

 Four Corners: Cuatro Esquinas
Materials: 4 sheets of paper, tape, markers 
  • Tape a paper in each corner of the room: agree, strongly agree, disagree, strongly disagree.
  • Make a statement and have students walk to the corner to show their opinión about the statement.
  • The students can discuss their opinions with other students in their corner and later, students from each corner should share with the class.  
Quiz–Quiz–Trade: Preguntar-Preguntar-Intercambiar 
Materials: index cards and markers
  • Each student receives a card with one word in English and the same word translated in Spanish. (This activity may be done with phrases and questions as well).
  • Students must walk around the room while they are listening to music, and when the music stops, they need to find a partner quickly. 
  • In pairs, each student reads the word, phrase or question in English (or shows the image) on their card to their partner, and the partner has to say the word or phrase in Spanish or respond to the question in English. If he/she answers wrong, the partner can give the correct answer and he/she must repeat. 
  • After responding well, the partner does the same with their card. 
  • Afterward, the partners switch cards and look for another partner, and they repeat the process with a new word.

Find Your Match: Busca Tu Pareja
Materials: index cards and markers
  • The teacher gives each student a card with a word, phrase or image related to the lesson. 
  • Students should walk around the room and talk with classmates to find their partner.
  • Matches can be opposite words, questions and answers, images and words, etc. 
  • The teacher can collect all the cards and pass them again to repeat.
  • This is also a great way to make partners for dialogue practice 

Fly Swatter- Matamoscas
Materials: 2 flyswatters, markerboard or poster paper, and markers
  • The teacher writes vocabulary words or pastes pictures on the board. 
  • The teacher says a word that is on the board and the students touch the word quickly, using a fly swatter or their hand. 
  • Only 2-3 students may play at the same time.

Buzzer- Zumbador
Materials: 2 flat objects, 2 envelopes/bags, index cards
  • Divide the class into two groups. 
  • Each group has a desk with a workbook or any flat object. That object will be called "buzzer."
  • Each group has a bag of vocabulary cards or objects. 
  • Each group selects a student to go first. 
  • The teacher pronounces a word of vocabulary and the first student of each group must find it and place it in the "buzzer" of the desk. 
  • The first group to place the object on the "buzzer" gets a point. 
  • Continue until each student has had a chance or the words have been mastered.

BINGO 
Materials: paper and pens or markers

  • Students to create a bingo board on a piece of paper. 
  • Students can create their own bingo boards by placing vocabulary words anywhere they choose. 
  • Students shout Bingo when they hear 3 in a row. 
  • Teachers can make it more challenging by adding more rows and columns to the board. 
  • The teacher should write down words mentioned so that they have a record when checking Bingo boards. 

Kaboom!
Materials:  popsicle sticks or index cards with vocabulary words or images and  markers
  • Students sit in a circle. 
  • Students take turns selecting a card or popsicle stick. 
  • If the student says the correct word in English, they can keep the card/popsicle stick and select a new one. 
  • Students can continue until they find a word they do not know. In that case, the teacher says the word and the whole group repeats, and the next student has a turn.
  • If a student finds a card or popsicle stick that says "Kaboom!", They must return all of their previous cards/popsicle sticks and the next student has a turn. 

Telephone-Secreto
Materials: markerboard and markers
  • Students sit in a circle or stand in a line. 
  • The teacher whispers a vocabulary word to the student next to him or her. 
  • That student whispers what he/she heard to the next person, and so on. 
  • The last person to hear the word shares the word out loud or writes it on the board.
  • This can also be played in teams; the first team to write the word on the board correctly wins a point for their team. 

Simon Says- Simon Dice
Materials: Nothing
  • The teacher pre-teaches commands and action words. 
  • When the teacher says "Simon says" and gives an order, the students must do the action correctly. 
  • When the teacher does not say "Simon says" before the command or action word, students should not do the action. 
  • The teacher should allow students to be Simon; students can select from a stack of cards with commands and action words.

Charades
Materials: index cards and markers
  • A student selects a card with a command or action (words or images). 
  • That student must act out the word, phrase or image. 
  • In teams or the whole class has to guess what command or action the student is doing.

Memory Lane: Sendero de Memoria
Materials: index cards and markers 
  • One student at a time takes a card with an object and says the phrase "I'm going to school and I'm bringing my ___" and states the object. 
  • The next student chooses a card, says the same phrase but says the object that was just before and also his/her own. 
  • Continue until the last student is asked to say each object mentioned.

Hot Potato: Papa Caliente 
Materials: 5-8 sheets of paper and markers
  • Teacher writes questions on separate pieces of paper 
  • The teacher makes a paper ball and wraps each question around the last one to make a big ball of paper. 
  • Students pass the ball through the classroom and sing "Hot Potato" or "cold spaghetti" or "mashed bananas" 
  • When the teacher yells "stop!" or "freeze!" the student with the paper must open the first paper on the ball, read the question and answer it to the class. 
  • The game continues until the last paper has been opened and the question has been answered.

Think-Pair-Share: Pensar-Emparejar-Compartir 
Materials: Nothing
  • The teacher asks a question. 
  • The teacher gives the students time to think about their response (silently). Students can write notes of their thoughts. 
  • The teacher asks students to share their response with their partner and then partners share it with the class.

Mirror Words: Palabras en Espejo
Materials: Nothing
  • This is a great way to teach vocabulary for the first time. 
  • The teacher can create actions for each word or students can create actions for vocabulary words together. 
  • The teacher says "Mirror Words" and raises his hands. 
  • Students repeat and raise their hands. (The teacher has to explain that they are going to be his mirrors) 
  • The teacher says the word and acts and the students repeat it and act it out as well. 
  • After the last new vocabulary word has been learned, the teacher will say "Mirrors Off" and the students will lower their hands and sit down.

Mystery Cups: Vasos de Misterio
Materials: plastic cups (not clear), index cards with images of vocabulary words (one word per cup), a coin or small object.
  • Place cups face-down on the table
  • Tape vocabulary word images to the bottom of each cup
  • Ask students to close their eyes or face the back of the room
  • Place one object under a cup at random
  • Students turn around and open their eyes and one student at a time guesses under which cup is the object. 
  • In order to guess, the student must name the vocabulary word on that cup before lifting the cup to see if the object is there.
  • Students continue to take turns to guess until they find the object.
  • Secretly replace the object under a different cup and play again.

Memory: Memoria
Materials: index cards with images of vocabulary words. There must be duplicates  of each image to make a match
  • Place index cards of vocabulary word images face down on the table
  • One student at a time must flip a card, say the vocabulary word, then flip another card and say the vocabulary word. 
  • If the two cards match, the student removes the cards and receives a point. 
  • If the cards do not a match, the student flips the cards over again and replaces the cards exactly as they were.
  • Students continue to play one at a time until all cards have been matched.
  • It is important that students practice saying the vocabulary word each time that they flip a card. 

Thumper 
Materials: index cards with vocabulary words and/or images (one per student) 
  • Together, students must come up with actions for each of the vocabulary words (great for animals, adjectives, and verbs)
  • In a circle, give students an index card with one vocabulary word or image on it. 
  • Students must share their word and action to the whole group.
  • To start, one student must clap (or smack thighs) twice and do their action and say the word, then clap (or smack thighs) twice again and do the action of another student and say that word. For example CLAP CLAP donkey CLAP CLAP rooster.
  • That student must repeat (clap twice, say their word and do their action, clap twice, say a new word and do that action to select another student).  For example CLAP CLAP rooster CLAP CLAP horse. 
  • As the game progresses and students are familiar with the vocabulary, try to go more quickly and have students clap together. 

Board Rotation: Rotación de Tabla
Materials: Posters, markers 
  • This activity is great for brainstorming before teaching a topic or to check students’ understanding of a topic at the end of a unit.
  • Break students up into groups per topic/theme (one poster per theme). 
  • Posters must be labeled by the theme (for example: if students learned about animals the posters could be labeled mammals, reptiles, birds, etc).
  • Once students are in groups with their posters, give them 1-2 minutes to think of all of the vocabulary words that go with that theme.
  • After the time is up, give students 5-10 minutes to work in their group and draw and write as many vocabulary words as they can for the theme. 
  • Have students switch posters and repeat so that all students have added items to each theme/topic. 
 
Who Am I?: ¿Quien Soy Yo?
Materials: index cards with vocabulary words and images.
  • This is for advanced students
  • Tape an index card to each students forehead so that they cannot see the image but others can
  • Students must ask yes or no questions to their classmates to find out which card they have. Classmates must respond accurately. 
  • Questions may include categories, colors, sizes, etc.  Students must have the preliminary vocabulary to play this game. 

Beach Ball of Questions: Pelota de Preguntas
Materials: Beach ball, permanent marker 
  • Blow up the beach ball and write numbers 1-20 randomly all over the ball (this can be reused)
  • Write 20 questions on the board (or 10 questions that are associated with two numbers each: for example, 1 and 10)
  • Students stand in a circle and the ball is tossed around. 
  • The student that catches the ball must look at where their right thumb lands (pre-teach right, left, hand, and thumb on the board). That number is the question they must answer.
  • Continue until each student has answered a question or until students have become proficient in answering all/most questions. 

Ball Toss: Lanzamiento de Pelota
Materials: small ball 
  • Great for self- introductions
  • Students stand in a circle
  • For self-introductions, write on the board “My name is _____.” “ His name  is _____” and “Her name is _____” with images to show a boy next to “His” and a girl next to “Her”
  • Each student must say their name, and the name of the person before using complete sentences. 
  • After introducing themselves they must throw the ball to a new student.
  • Repeat until all students have introduced themselves. 
  • This game can be played using any type of question that may have different personal answers, for example: How old are you? What do you want to be when you grow up. 
Back to Back: Espalda a Espalda
Materials: nothing 

  • After teaching a dialogue or posing a question, play music and ask students to walk around the room.
  • When the music stops, students must be back to back with another student. This way it will be clear to see which students have a partner and which do not. 
  • The students must complete the dialogue or answer a question on the board with their partner.
  • Once students have both spoken, they must go back-to-back again. 
  • Once all the students are back to back again, play music again and allow students to walk around the room. 
  • Repeat until students have completed the dialogue with multiple partners. 


Did you like the content of this blog post? Do you have any suggestions or advice? Shoot me a comment! How do you teach English as a Second Language? 

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