Vocabulary Games for ESL Students | ESL Vocabulary Activity

Do you need to mix things up a little bit in your ESL or EFL classes with regards to teaching vocabulary? Then you are most certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for our top picks for ESL vocabulary games and activities.

ESL Vocabulary Games: Do you Need Some More for your Classes?

Teaching English vocabulary is traditionally quite boring for the students as well as the teacher. I remember back to when I taught in a Korean university and I signed up to work at a winter camp. I was assigned “vocabulary” to teach each group of students for two hours a day for two weeks.

It was certainly less interesting than something like conversation, or even writing, but I made it work! I just used lots of activities to make it as fun as possible for the students.

Vocabulary doesn’t have to be tedious if you use some games with your students. They’re guaranteed to get your students talking, thinking and most important of all: remembering and knowing how to use those words they’ve been studying.

Keep on reading for the ell vocabulary games you might want to use in your classes.

#1 TEFL Vocabulary Games: Error Correction Relay Race

Correcting errors is a very important skill for language learners but it’s often quite boring and students usually don’t like to do it. However, you can make the old new again with this exciting relay race that the students will enjoy.

It’s the ultimate way to review grammar from a previous lesson, as well as throw in some recycled vocab.

Learn more about it here: Error Correction Relay Race.

#2: Concentration Memory Game

This game helps out your students by getting them to grasp words and definitions. It’s perfect as a kind of test right after you introduce a new set of words that they need to know. It doesn’t deal with context (when you should actually use that word), but that can come later. Students need to know basic definitions first.

You can use this for beginners with a picture and the corresponding word. For advanced students, you might want to use the word and then a synonym. Or, the target word and the definition.

Some topics that work particularly well for this are simple nouns and include things like animals, weather, sports, food or jobs. Or, you might want to use opposite adjectives.

Find out more here: Concentration Memory Game for ESL Students.

#3: Use Flash Cards

I’m ALL about using flashcards for helping students remember new vocabulary using pictures. Check out how one teacher uses them in his classes here:

#4: Disappearing Text

If you’re looking for a quick warm-up or filler, this is your activity! The only requirement is that students are able to read a sentence with reasonable ease.

It’s a perfect time-filler for those last couple of minutes of dead time at the end of a class that you need to fill. Check it out here:

Disappearing Text ESL Activity.

#5: Dialogue Substitution

Textbooks always have dialogues in them but their effectiveness is reduced because students often just glaze over them without really learning what they’re supposed to learn from them. However, by using this vocabulary activity for ESL students, you can help them out.

Find out how to use this in your classes here: Dialogue Substitution.

#6 ESL Vocabulary Games: Apples to Apples

This is the ultimate vocabulary game for ESL students because it deals with meanings and contexts. You can make the cards yourself, or get the students to help you out. Or, if your students are more advanced, you can use the ready made Apples to Apples game.

I recommend laminating them if you make your own because you’ll likely be playing this game all semester. If you play only one game for English language learners, this is the one it should be!

Don’t forget to bring a little prize for the winner of course!

Find out more here: Apples to Apples for ESL Students.

Quick Fire: An ESL Vocabulary Activity

Another idea for you. Check out this short video below for something you can do in your classes:

#7: Charades for English Learners

If your classes have been heavy on the vocabulary, then you may want to consider doing this quick review game. It’s like you’ve probably played it at parties where the person has to act out something and the rest of their team has to guess what it is. In this case, you’d want to use words that have been recently covered in class.

Find out more about it right here: ESL Charades.

#8 Teaching ESL Vocabulary Game: Vocabulary Auction

If you want to have a really fun class, then you’ll need to check this game out. It does require a decent amount of prep work, but the results are usually so worth it! However, I’ll generally not go to the trouble to do it unless I’ll be using this activity for at least a few of my classes.

It works just as well for kids, teens or adults. However, it’s not ideal for total beginners because they usually don’t know enough English words to define the ones they do know with other ones!

The way it works is that you auction of words. Then, as the end, students try to win back their money by correctly defining the words that they’ve chosen. Does it sound like a fun way to review English vocabulary? You can find out more about it right here:

ESL Vocabulary Auction

#9 Vocab for ESL Students: Word Association

This is a quick vocabulary activity that can be used to help students activate prior knowledge about a topic. Depending on a a number of factors (age, amount of time, level of students, class size, etc.), I’ll have students do this together in small groups, or we’ll do it together as a class.

Basically, students have to make a mind map of words related to whatever the topic of the day is in your classes. It’s quick, simple and requires nothing in the way of preparation or materials. We love having a few of these kinds of activities in our back pocket!

You can find out more about it right here: Word Association.

#10: Flip-Chart TEFL Vocabulary Game

If you want to review some new English words in a fun, engaging way, then you’ll definitely want to check this activity out. The way it works is that you divide students up into two teams (it works best for classes of fewer than 10), and the first team sends a captain to the board.

You show the rest of her team the first word from the flip-chart held behind the captain so that she can’t see it. The rest of the team has to describe the word in English and the captain has to guess what it is. They try to get as many points as possible within the allotted amount of time.

It’s a fun vocabulary game for ESL students that you’ll want to check out: Vocab Flip-Chart Review Activity.

Shouldn’t Students Learn Vocabulary At Home?

That’s an excellent question and I’m happy that you asked. New words are one of those things that kind of lends itself very easily to rote memorization. It’s often the ONLY way for vocabulary to be 100% solid inside the brain.

However, the teacher does still have a role. You can introduce new words along with a context so that students know when, and how to use it.

You can also use activities or vocab games ESL like these to help students become familiar with hearing and seeing them. When they study on their own, if they’re already seen the word at least a few times in your classes, it’ll be all that much easier for them to remember it.

Sure, rote memorization certainly plays a role, but you can meet your students half-way with this kind of thing. And of course, have regular vocabulary quizzes so that students will be motivated to do the home study thing too!

Do you Like these vocabulary activities?

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to need to check out this book over on Amazon: 39 ESL Vocabulary Activities for Teenager and Adults. It’s lesson planning made easy, guaranteed.

The key to happy, engaged students who are having fun while learning English is a variety of interesting activities. If you teach vocabulary, this is the book that’ll help you do just that.

The key to learning new words is repetition. Sure, your students can study at home but this is sometimes not that realistic. You can really help your students out by doing some of this in class.

The book is available in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office as a handy reference guide. Or, take a copy with you for lesson planning on the go in your favourite coffee shop.

Check it out for yourself here, but only if you want some more ESL awesome in your life, okay?

—>39 ESL Vocabulary Activities: For Teenagers and Adults<—

Are there Any ESL Vocabulary Games Online?

There are a ton of resources out there for your students to improve their English vocabulary online. Here are a few of our favourite websites that you can point them to:

Vocabulary.co

PBS Kids

Fun Brain

Many Things

Have your say about Teaching Vocabulary to ESL/EFL Students 

What is your favourite game or activity to help your students with English vocabulary? Did you try out one of the activities from this list? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2019-11-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API