The English language can be daunting for those learning it as a foreign language, and teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) continually seek methods to help their students master the language. Fortunately, research has now proven that using games to teach and review grammar skills in the ESL classroom is an incredibly effective pedagogical tool. Not only do students find the games fun and engaging, but they also help students better recall and apply the grammar rules they learn in a playful, interactive way. In this article, you will learn how and why this is the case, best practices for successfully incorporating games into your ESL classroom, and resources for finding the best grammar games to use.
If you think back to primary, kindergarten or even nursery school what was it about these classes that you loved? Was it your teacher? For sure I think this is what most of us remember first about our early years in education. Was it the topics or themes that you studied? Well, it could be but only for specific lessons or was it our freedom to play and learn through doing activities and playing games that taught us the rules of life? I know for me it was the latter. I loved preschool and primary up to year/grade 3 because most of the time we did our investigating and learning through playing games and doing fun active hands-on activities. After that my education became more academic and concentrated more on textbooks, essays and exams and don’t you think that is a shame? Why as teens or adults can’t we continue learning with games? And fun activities?
“ You teach me, I forget. You show me, I remember. You involve me, I understand”- Benjamin Franklin
This topic has been studied by various individuals and organisations for years and the benefits of play have been astounding. Some of the benefits include better mental and physical health, including better motor control, strength, endurance, empathy and social interaction. Higher IQ’s due to faster, quicker thinking brains. Increased brain size which enhances social and emotional stability and also better communication and language skills. (A great benefit for ESL students) So how can we play more with our students?
Check out some game ideas here -
In the ESL classroom we can use games and role plays in our teaching and I have personally found my students are overall more confident due to this. They learn and comprehend in a faster way and they are happier to come to class. All of which is a bonus for me of course! And so I say ‘Let them play’.
Now, when I say play, I mean really play. With everyone, all ages and all levels. With teens and adults I use ‘playing’ to get them using the English language without realising they are actually practising. I have them use grammar board games for both speaking and writing skills and they love these games and ask to play again and again. I have created many of these games specifically for the grammar or vocabulary then need to pass their exams or units. All of my games are easy to set up (print and laminate and you’re good to go) , reusable, fun and of course I highly recommend them! So much so I’m giving you a grammar game here to play with your students. They are great to play at the start of class to warm up, or for fast finishers, who need something to do while the other students finish their work.
If you wish to browse more of my specialised ESL games, you can do so here.
What about my young learners? I hear you ask. Well I’m not forgetting them. I love incorporating play with these students too. Anything can be a game and anything can be used to play and create as well. I have my young ESL’s doing all sorts of fun activities from role plays, to board games, to hands-on activities such as sport, arts and crafts or science experiments. Our young ESL’s have such good imaginations. I also like them to create games and role plays themselves in groups or pairs. This encourages creativity and teamwork within the class. It improves communication, which for learning a language is fantastic and their fluency gets better too. These are all difficult skills to teach from a book or with writing. So, this is yet another reason we should be playing with our students.
I have written my top ideas for play based learning with young ESL’s, but also a lot of my blog will contain ideas and games to play with your students so do make sure you sign up for the newsletter. That way you will never miss a post! You can also see my classroom and what we get up to on Instagram too.
AND don’t forget, Your students love to play with/against you too. So get involved, get competitive and give them a challenge. I let my students have extra turns or points if they can spot when I make an error! (on purpose of course, wink, wink) or even if they win, which does happen sometimes making both them and me very happy!
To conclude, it is clear that grammar games are an invaluable teaching tool in the ESL classroom. Not only do they help to make English classes more fun and engaging, they also help improve students’ English more effectively than traditional methods. With grammar games, students of all ages and levels can benefit from an improved ability to think analytically as well as a better command of the English language. With so much to gain, it has never been more essential for teachers to take advantage of this powerful teaching tool. As the saying goes, “A game is worth a thousand four-hour classes” – and with grammar games, ESL teachers have an opportunity to make this idea a reality.
So what’s the takeaway? Don’t let the educational benefits of grammar games pass you by – make them an integral part of your ESL classroom today!
Do you have any favourite games in your classroom?
Let me know your ideas in the comments section.
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Love this and can’t wait to send to my sister who is a teacher!
Fantastic post, I learned so much! Thank you for taking the time to write this.