Classroom English games and digital activities for teachers

The games that work best in English lessons are short (5–10 minutes), need no preparation, involve the whole class at once and serve one language goal: a set of words, a question pattern or a tense. When a game stays tied to the lesson's aim it becomes a warm-up, a review and speaking practice all at once. Below are eight games that need nothing but a board, and ways to bring digital activities into the classroom.

Four features of a good classroom game

1. It has one goal: at the end you can say which words or which structure the students used more. 2. Waiting time is short: a student waiting for a turn is still listening, writing or guessing. 3. The rules take a minute to explain, in the students' first language if needed. 4. Winning depends on using the language, not on luck or speed. A game without these four may be fun, but it eats into lesson time.

Eight no-prep games at a glance

Simon says and Odd one out: the youngest learners and word groups

In Simon says, when the teacher says “Simon says touch your nose!”, everyone does the action; if a command comes without “Simon says”, whoever moves is not out but gives the next command, so nobody sits out for long. In Odd one out, four words go on the board (apple, banana, carrot, cherry) and students choose the one that does not fit and say why in English: “Carrot, because it's a vegetable.” There can be more than one right answer; every answer with a sound reason counts, and the real speaking happens in that discussion.

Board race and Twenty questions: speed and question patterns

In Board race the class splits into two teams, the board is divided in two and a topic is called out (“kitchen”). One student from each team writes a word, then passes the pen on; when time is up, misspelled words do not count, which makes spelling part of the game. In Twenty questions, one student thinks of an animal, a job or an object; the class guesses with yes/no questions only: “Is it an animal?”, “Does it live in water?”, “Can you eat it?”. Writing the question patterns on the board first lets weaker students join in. For the steps of forming questions you can hand out do, does and wh- questions.

Find someone who and Hot seat: games where everyone speaks

In Find someone who, each student copies six items from the board (“…has a cat”, “…has been to Ankara”) and walks around asking “Do you have a cat?”, “Have you ever been to Ankara?”, writing down the name of anyone who says yes. Because everyone speaks at once, this is the game that adds the most speaking time in a large class. In Hot seat, one student sits with their back to the board, a word is written up and the class describes it without saying it: “It's a place. You go there when you are ill.” When the student guesses, the one who helped most with the description takes the seat.

Chain story and Two truths and a lie: past tenses and experience

In Chain story the teacher says the first sentence (“Last Saturday, I found a strange box in the park.”) and each student adds a sentence in the past tense. Linkers on the board (then, suddenly, but, because, in the end) make it easier to connect the sentences. In Two truths and a lie, each student writes three sentences about themselves, one of them false; the class asks questions to find the lie. The questions are more valuable speaking practice than the game itself.

Adapting the games to the level

The same game can be played at every level; what changes is the language load. At A1, play Twenty questions with “Is it…?” only; at B1, with questions like “Have you ever used it?” or “Would you find it in an office?”. Hot seat can use single words at A2 and idioms or set phrases at B2. Recycling a new word set through different games over several lessons stays longer than one long review; why new words don't stick explains why. For students who are reluctant to speak, an order that goes from team answers to pairs to speaking alone works well; tips you can share with them are in five steps to feel less anxious about speaking.

Using digital activities in class

The activities on the GrammarDots Activities page open in the browser without an account and work on phones, tablets and with a keyboard. They include multiple choice, true or false, matching, memory, gap fill, unscramble, sentence building, sorting into groups, word search, listen and choose, the speaking wheel and mystery boxes. Four ways to use them in a lesson: 1. Whole class on a projector: show the activity on the board and let teams answer in turn. 2. Warm-up: spin the speaking wheel or open the mystery boxes in the first five minutes. 3. Pair work: two students take turns on one phone with the same activity and check each other's answers. 4. Exit ticket: a short matching game or quiz in the last minutes checks that lesson's words.

A digital activity works best next to a classroom game rather than instead of one: the screen is for recognising words and quick review, the face-to-face game for speaking and interaction.

Frequently asked questions