ESL Speaking

Games + Activities to Try Out Today!

  • Adult Activities
  • Kid Activities
  • Textbooks
    • ESL Textbooks for Adults
    • ESL Textbooks for Children
  • Teacher Resources
    • Resources
    • Online TEFL Course
  • Learn English
    • Learn English
    • Confusing English Words

in Activities for Kids

Telephone ESL Speaking Game for Kids

Are you looking for a simple ESL game that requires absolutely nothing in the way of preparation or materials? Then you’re in the right place. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about Telephone, a fun ESL speaking and listening game for kids.

telephone-esl-game-kids

Telephone speaking/listening game for children

Telephone ESL Speaking/Listening Activity

Skills: Listening/speaking
Time: 5-10 minutes
Level: Beginner-intermediate
Materials Required: None

Probably everyone has played telephone (also known as Chinese Whispers) before. Students line up in two or more rows (teams) starting from the front and going to the back. The student at the front of each team is given a sentence. You need to consider the level of the students carefully when choosing your sentence—make sure the first students on each team can all understand it easily.

It can work well to take something that you’ve been studying from the textbook and adjust it slightly. For example, fruit and vegetable vocabulary. They whisper the sentence one time to the next student. That student whispers it to the person in front of them, etc. The last person to hear the sentence must correctly state what they have heard.

The team with the closest phrase is the winner. You may need to explicitly forbid students from using their L1. This is usually obvious if the ending sentence has the same meaning as the original but uses synonyms.

One example sentence that you might want to use if you’re teaching about like/dislike is this following:

  • My mom likes pickles, ice cream and potato chips and my Dad doesn’t like pizza, carrots and apples.

Teaching Tips for ESL Telephone:

All teams can have the same sentence or you can give each a different one. I sometimes like to take the heads of each team into the hall, give each a different sentence and allow them the chance to have me model the pronunciation before we begin. Then, the students return together and the game begins.

Keep the teams to about 8-10 students or fewer in order to increase speaking time. Remember that students will only say one sentence each per round. Remind students that even if they didn’t hear the sentence clearly, they need to make their best guess and tell something to the next person instead of nothing.

Procedure for the Telephone Game:

  1. Divide students into teams, unless you have a very small class and can play with everyone together. Larger teams will make for funnier results.
  2. Have the teams stand in line, starting from the front to the back.
  3. Have the first students from each team join you in the hall. Give each a sentence to repeat and return together when each is satisfied they know what to say—and how to pronounce the words. Or, you can whisper the same sentence once to each person at the front of the line.
  4. The students whisper the sentence once to the next person, who whispers it to the next person and so on.
  5. The last student in each line says the sentence they heard.
  6. The group with the sentence closest to the original wins.

Did you Like the Telephone ESL Game for Kids?

101 ESL Activities: For Teachers of Kids (6-13) Who Want to Have Fun, Engaging and Interactive...
101 ESL Activities: For Teachers of Kids (6-13) Who Want to Have Fun, Engaging and Interactive...
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Smith, Jennifer Booker (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 133 Pages - 03/31/2016 (Publication Date)
Check Price on Amazon

Yes? Thought so. Then the book you’re going to love is this one over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Kids. The key to better English classes for children is a wide variety of interesting, engaging and student-centred activities and this book will help you do that in style. Seriously. There are enough ESL games and activities to help get you through an entire semester in style.

Keep a copy of the book on the shelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Or, consider taking a copy with you on your phone, tablet, or Laptop to your favourite coffee shop for some serious lesson planning on the go.

Whatever the case, it’s some ESL teaching awesome that you’re not going to want to pass up. Find out all the details about the book over on Amazon:

shop-now-amazon

Have your Say about this ESL game for Children

What are your thoughts about this simple ESL game for kids? It is a winner or do you have another one that you’d to recommend? 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 English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

chinese-whispers-game

Chinese Whispers Game

 

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

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults and 1001 English Expressions and Phrases. She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at:
YouTube
Facebook
TikTok
Pinterest
Instagram

« Fortunately Unfortunately Speaking and Listening Activity
Post-Reading Activities for ESL Students | After Reading Ideas »

Comments

  1. Ioana says

    at

    Thanks it’s useful. Any more games please!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Great Debates for ESL/EFL: 39 Important Debating Topics for English Learners
Great Debates for ESL/EFL: 39 Important Debating Topics for English Learners
Check Price on Amazon
103 Fun ESL Games & Activities for the Classroom : Interactive, Minimal Prep TEFL Ideas for All Ages
103 Fun ESL Games & Activities for the Classroom : Interactive, Minimal Prep TEFL Ideas for All Ages
Check Price on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. What does this mean? I recommend products (only ones that I like) and if you purchase a product through that link, I earn some money.

Search this site

39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities: For English Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want...
39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities: For English Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want...
Check Price on Amazon
101 Activities and Resources for Teaching English Online: Practical Ideas, Games, Activities & Tips...
101 Activities and Resources for Teaching English Online: Practical Ideas, Games, Activities & Tips...
Check Price on Amazon
101 ESL Activities: Games, Activities, Practical ideas, & Teaching Tips For English Teachers of...
101 ESL Activities: Games, Activities, Practical ideas, & Teaching Tips For English Teachers of...
Check Price on Amazon

30 Fun Christmas Would You Rather Questions

10 Fun Road Trip Activities for All Ages

ESL Phrasal Verbs: Games, Activities, Lesson Plans & Worksheets

ESL Conversation Activities for Adults | ESOL Speaking Activities Adult

Adverbs of Frequency ESL Activities, Games, Worksheets, Lesson Plans

Online TEFL Courses

Get Certified Entirely Online

67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More: For English Teachers...
67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More: For English Teachers...
Check Price on Amazon
Scatter Sheets for Intermediate-Advanced Students to Improve Fluency: ESL Speaking & Vocabulary...
Scatter Sheets for Intermediate-Advanced Students to Improve Fluency: ESL Speaking & Vocabulary...
Check Price on Amazon
1001 English Expressions and Phrases: Common Sentences and Dialogues Used by Native English Speakers...
1001 English Expressions and Phrases: Common Sentences and Dialogues Used by Native English Speakers...
Check Price on Amazon
39 ESL Warm-Ups: For English Teachers of Kids (7+) Who Want to Get their TEFL Classes Started Off...
39 ESL Warm-Ups: For English Teachers of Kids (7+) Who Want to Get their TEFL Classes Started Off...
Check Price on Amazon
Jackie Bolen

Disclosure Statement

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Adult Activities
  • Kid Activities
  • Textbooks
  • Teacher Resources
  • Learn English

Our Top-Seller

Sale 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities: For Teenagers and Adults (Teaching ESL Conversation and...
39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities: For Teenagers and Adults (Teaching ESL Conversation and...
Check Price on Amazon

Search

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

More ESL Activities

manners would u rather questions for kids

20 Kids Would You Rather Questions About Manners

easy trivia questions

50 Easy Trivia Questions for Kids with Answers

present-perfect-for-and-since

Present Perfect For and Since Activities, Worksheets, Lesson Plans

ordering-food-esl-activities-roleplays

ESL Restaurant and Ordering Food Activities, Games, Worksheets

About, Contact, Privacy Policy

Jackie Bolen has been talking ESL speaking since 2014 and the goal is to bring you the best recommendations for English conversation games, activities, lesson plans and more. It’s your go-to source for everything TEFL!

About and Contact for ESL Speaking.

Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Email: [email protected]

Facebook

Pinterest

TikTok

YouTube

LinkedIn

Address: 2436 Kelly Ave, Port Coquitlam, Canada

Copyright © 2023 Jackie Bolen + ESL Speaking. All Rights Reserved.