Teaching English Online: Fun ESL Online Game and Activity Ideas

If you’re teaching English online and are looking for some activities, lesson plan ideas, and other resources, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for everything you need to know to teach English online and ESL lessons online!

ESL Activities and Ideas to Teach English Online

Let’s get into the top activities for teaching ESL online and English teaching ideas for teaching on the Internet. Or, you may also want to check this out: Tips for Online ESL Teaching.

#1: Picture Prompt ESL Warm-Up

A nice warmer activity for teaching English online is to choose a picture that lends itself well to the topic of the day. This can help students to activate their prior knowledge about a topic. Depending on the level, there are various things you can get students to do:

• Say words of things they see
• Make predictions about what will happen next
• Relate what they see to their own experiences
• Make sentences based on the picture
• Answer some simple questions
• Etc.

#2: Flashcard Sentences for Teaching English Online

I LOVE to use flashcards when teaching English online. There are just so many things you can do with them but the simplest thing is to use them as a vocabulary review. Or, take it one step further and get students to make a sentence with the word that they see.

Another option to show students two flashcards and have them make a sentence using a comparative adjective. Or, one card and then using a superlative. The possibilities are endless! Check this out: ESL Flashcard Sentences.

#3: Retell the Story Speaking Fluency Activity

If you ask your students what they want to improve, many of them will say that they want to speak fluently. This is a great goal. However, it can be difficult to get them to just “speak faster.”

This is one activity designed to work on fluency. The student has to tell a story of some kind for 1.5 minutes. Then, they have to tell it again with all the same information but it only 1 minute. Then, it gets reduced again to 30 seconds. Find out more here: ESL Speaking Fluency Activity.

#4: Breaking News English

If you’re an English teacher, whether online or in the classroom, then you’re going to need to know about Breaking News English! It’s some serious English teaching gold and one of the top options for listening passages or reading articles. They come in a variety of different levels too.

Not just that though. All of that material comes along with entire lesson plans that you can literally just print off and take to class. It really is that easy to have better online ESL classes if you check out this site.

#5: Role Plays and Teaching English Online

If your student has specific reasons for learning English such as traveling or talking with patients or customers in English, then you may want to consider doing some role-plays. For example, you could be the patient while the doctor interviews you, or a customer who is phoning to place on order.

Doing this with your student will give them some serious confidence to be able to go out into the real world and do the same thing. Find out more here: ESL Role-Plays.

#6: English Writing Fluency Practice

If your students want to improve their writing skills, it’s easy to focus on accuracy. However, fluency in writing is a little bit more difficult.

However, one exercise you can do this is this one, either for a few minutes in class or as a homework assignment:

How to Write More Quickly in English.

#7: Use an ESL Textbook

There are three schools of thought when it comes to teaching English online:

• Using materials provided by the platform you’re working on (sometimes mandatory)
• Piece together materials from various websites and books
• Follow an ESL textbook from start to finish

The third option certainly has some merit if the student’s goal is to improve their general English ability and not for some very specific purpose. This is because following through a textbook series will cover new grammar and vocabulary in an organized fashion and also provide lots of opportunities for practicing a variety of skills.

#8: Ideas for Food and Drink Vocabulary

#9: Film English

If your students are into movies, then you may want to check out Film English when planning your ESL online classes. There is a wealth of material here and it would be easy to plan an entire course based on this website!

Not only are the movie choices interesting and suitable for a variety of different levels but the lesson plans are robust and contain a variety of different exercises.

#10: What are you Cooking?

This is a fun activity that’s perfect if you’re talking about food. The way it works is that you give each other a list of ingredients and then you have to plan a 3-course meal with it. It’s a friendly competition to see who can produce the best menu!

Sounds fun? Try it out here: What are you Cooking ESL Activity.

#11: English for Specific Purposes (English Proficiency Tests)

In my experience, many of the students I’ve taught online have the goal of improving a score on a certain English proficiency test whether that’s TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS or something else. If this is the case, it can be useful to spend some time helping them with their general English abilities, but then also spend time working on the specific skills required for that exam.

In general, these exams do measure English proficiency. However, if you’re not familiar with the test format, you won’t do that well, no matter how good at English you are! Here’s some advice for this specific exam: TOEIC Speaking Test Samples.

#12: Just a Minute Speaking Warm-Up

A nice warmer activity, if you teach ESL online, is Just a Minute. Consider doing this at the start of every class together! And of course, you can do it as well and your student can listen and ask some follow-up questions.

Want to know more about this activity that will help improve speaking fluency? Find out all the details: Just a Minute ESL Speaking Activity.

#13: Story Timeline ESL Reading Activity

One of my favorite things to do when teaching English online is to read a short story or novel together with my students. I generally assign a chapter or two for homework and then in class, we can discuss it together.

There are a number of post-reading activities to consider using in order to get the most value out of this. Here’s one of them that tests reading comprehension by getting students to put the events from the story in the correct order. Find out more here:

Story Timeline Reading Activity.

#14: British Council Learning English

You’ll definitely want to check out the British Council for some lesson planning resources. This section is designed for English learners and it is certainly possible for students to use this for independent study. However, there is lots of good stuff there to use in classes as well, covering all the skills and other things too like business English.

#15: Dialogue Substitution

#16: Current Events Presentation

If your student has to regularly make presentations as part of their job, then you may want to consider having them do a presentation project. In this case, students have to pick a topic that’s been in the news lately and then talk about various things related to that.

Sounds like something you want to try out? Find out how to do it here: ESL Current Events Presentation.

#17: Making some Predictions

People love to make predictions about the future! It’s been happening as long as humans have been on the Earth. I find this to be a very interesting topic for teaching English online as well, and of course, it lends itself very well to using future tense verbs.

Here are some of the best ideas for this: ESL Making Predictions Activities.

#18: Business English Vocabulary

If you teach businesswomen or men, then consider teaching them some business vocabulary, including phrases, expressions and idioms. Here are some dialogues that contain more than 300 of them in American English:

#19: More Ideas for Teaching English Online

Check out this podcast episode from Let’s Talk TEFL with Shannon Felt:

#20: Sentence Building Activities

In my experience teaching English, spending some time working on sentence structure has never been wasted time. This is often something that students struggle with, but mastering this important skill can make a huge difference in their writing and speaking.

There are lots of games and activities to help with this. Check them out here: ESL Sentence Building Activities.

#21: Speaking Fluency Activity

#22: Choose your Own Adventure Writing Activity

Choose your Own Adventure is a fun and engaging ESL writing activity to try out with your online students. It’s ideal for doing as homework, with groups of students or 1-1 with the teacher. I’ve used it successfully with children, teenagers, and adults.

Try it out today: Choose your Own Adventure English Writing Activity.

#23: Technology ESL Lesson Plan

If you want to have an interesting discussion with your online student about a topic that’s relevant to just about everyone, consider using this one about technology. It contains everything you need to talk about this topic for 1-1.5 hours or so and is engaging.

I think you’ll find it as interesting as your student does! Check it out here:

ESL Technology Lesson Plan.

If you’re looking to level up your use of tech in the classroom, be sure to have a look here:

Technology in ESL Classrooms.

#24: Five Senses ESL Vocabulary Activity

This is a very versatile vocabulary activity that can be done through either speaking or writing. Find a common object to show your students such as a carrot or chocolate bar. I generally prefer food so that students can also use the “taste” sense.

Then, students have to think of words that describe that object which falls under the five senses. It can be done through either speaking or writing. Find out more information about it here:

5 Senses.

#25: Conditionals ESL Activities

In English, conditionals are often used to express things like future possibilities or what might have happened in the past. They are a little bit tricky in terms of grammar which is why I like to focus on them for at least once class a semester, even with more advanced students. Plus, this grammatical point often leads to some interesting discussions. More details here:

Conditionals ESL Activities.

#26: English Idioms and Phrases

Check out this lesson plan, Best of Both Worlds if your student wants to improve their vocabulary, particularly idioms and phrases. If you like it, consider checking out the book where you can find 30 of this style of TEFL lesson plan.

#27: Business English Pod

If you teach business English online, then this should be your #1 stop! Business English Pod is heavy on the listening but covers all the other skills reasonably well and focuses on things that business students will find relevant. For example, telephone conversations, negotiations, business emails, etc.

There is a paid version of this site but in general, I’ve found that the free version is useful enough for my needs. However, if you teach online business English exclusively, then consider the upgrade.

#28: Prepositions of Place Memory Quiz

Try out this simple online game with your students:

#29: Teaching ESL With Movies

For ESL lessons online, I love to use some movie or TV clips. They are a nice lead-in to just about any kind of vocabulary or grammar lesson, as long as you choose the right clip! Most students really enjoy TV shows and movies, so why not bring them into the classroom too?

Find out more about having some fun with movies in an ESL lesson online:

Teaching English with Film.

#30: Dictogloss

#31: Talking about Controversial Questions

I love to talk about interesting things with my students! A nice activity, if you teach a class online, is to have students prepare for, and then have a small debate with their classmates. The key is choosing a controversial topic that’ll generate a lot of discussions. Here are some ideas:

Controversial Debate Topics.

Pointless Debate Topic Ideas.

#32: TEFL Warm-Up Activities

#33: ESL Short Stories

If students want to work on reading comprehension, one of my favourite ways to do that is to use some short stories. It can be a little bit difficult to find interesting stories at an appropriate level though. Not to worry! Here is one of my favourite resources for intermediate-level short stories for English learners:

ESL Short Stories.

#34: Odd One Out

#35: Scatter Sheets for English Learners

If you’re looking for a simple solution for your online classes, then you’ll definitely want to consider these vocab sheets for intermediate or advanced level students. The students can pick up the e-version of the book on Amazon for a couple of dollars and then you can discuss a lesson per class. Find out more here:

Scatter Sheets English Learners.

#36: Twenty Questions

#37: I’m Going on a Picnic

Try out this simple warmer or time-filler activity for all ages and levels:

I’m Going on a Picnic.

Teaching ESL Online FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about ESL lessons online. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

How can I teach ESL online?

There are a number of companies where you can teach ESL online. Some of the most popular ones include Vipkids, DaDa, Qkids, Gogokid, 51 Talk, and English Hunt.

How do I plan an English lesson online?

To plan an English lesson online, you’ll need to include the following:

• A clear objective of what students will be able to accomplish
• Key vocabulary or grammar
• A context to use these words or grammar
• Controlled practice
• Free practice
• Review or homework assignment

Is teaching English online a good job?

Teaching English online is a good job for people who want to fund travel or hate the 9-5 cubicle job. There are no health benefits in most cases, but you do have a large degree of flexibility over your own schedule and some companies pay quite well.

How can I make online lessons more fun?

Teaching online lessons can be quite challenging but they can certainly be fun. Some ideas to consider are asking the student what topics they’re interested in, using props, videos or other engaging things. Also, make sure to spend some time lesson planning and have a clear objective for each online lesson.

What is an online lesson?

An online lesson is a very popular and effective way to learn just about anything. The teacher and student(s) are connected through a video platform and can talk with each other. This is different from the pre-recorded lessons that don’t happen in real-time.

How can I teach English online with no experience?

Although it’s easier to get a job teaching English online with experience, there are some companies that only require a Bachelor’s degree. Some companies to consider include Cambly, Palfish, Lingoda, Open English, Verbling, and iTalki.

Did you like these Activities and Games for Teaching ESL Online? 

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book you can find over on Amazon: 101 Activities and Resources for Teaching English Online. The key to better classes that help you retain students is a variety of engaging and interesting activities and this book will help you do that in style with your online students via Skype, Zoom, or another platform.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. I recommend keeping a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide for planning lessons. Or, take the e-version with you on any device for some serious lesson planning on the go.

Either way, it’ll help improve your online teaching so be sure to pick up a copy on Amazon today:

Have your Say about Teaching English Online

Do you have any tips or tricks, activity recommendations, or resources to teach English online that you’d like to share with us? Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy online ESL teachers, like yourself, find this useful teaching resource.

 

Last update on 2022-10-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API