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English can be quite challenging for many students. When it comes to English class, students often feel fearful and pressured. To improve that, to help their students become more enthusiastic in the learning process, are you looking for methods to create a dynamic English teaching and learning environment? Don't worry, integrating learning with entertainment will be the most effective method. Here are the Top 20 Best English Games that will help you achieve that.
1. Car Racing
Purpose: This game helps students learn while playing, making it an effective vocabulary review method to be conducted at the beginning or end of a lesson.
How to Play:
The teacher will draw two parallel racing tracks on the board and divide each track into equal rectangular squares. Divide the class into 2 teams, and each team will choose a team name in English (for example, Kite, Cat) and proceed to draw lots to determine the starting turn. The team going first will write a word starting with the last letter of their own team name (Example: Eat - Tea). In the second turn, each team will write a word starting with the last letter of the words from the previous turns (Example: Teach - And). The race will end when a team makes a 'flat tire,' meaning they write the wrong word or repeat a word from the previous turn. If a team cannot find the next word anymore, it will also be called out of gas and must stop playing. Based on that, the winner will be determined.
2. Board Race
Purpose: This game helps players review vocabulary from previous lessons, within each topic, and enhances players' reflexes.
How to Play:
The teacher divides the class into 2, 3, or 4 teams, depending on the class size and the number of students. Then, the teacher divides the board into columns, corresponding to the number of teams. The teams line up vertically, facing the board. Each team is given a chalk.
To start the game, the teacher writes a topic related to what has been learned on the board, which could be vocabulary from the previous lesson. For example, to review vocabulary from Unit 7, the teacher writes 'Unit 7' at the top of the board.
Once the teacher says 'start', the teams quickly run to the board to fulfill the task. Each player is allowed to write only one word at a time, then pass the chalk to the next player and stand at the end of the line. This continues until the task is completed or time runs out.
The teacher's task is to manage the timing. When the 5 to 7 minutes are up, the teacher will instruct the teams to stop and begin scoring.
For each correctly written word, the team earns one point. Incorrectly written or illegible words will not be counted. The winning team is the one with the highest score.
3. Bingo (Lotto)
Purpose: This game helps children reinforce the vocabulary they have learned.
How to play:
The teacher will prepare a set of vocabulary words learned, then ask each student to randomly choose about 9 words from them and write them in a notebook in a 3 x 3 square. In the case of more vocabulary words, students may be asked to choose more words to write in the notebook.
Then the teacher will read out the words on the board in random order. Students below will listen to the words the teacher reads. Check off the chosen words if they appear in the words read by the teacher. Any student who has all the words or some words in a straight line marked off will say 'Bingo' and be the winner.
4. Luck Number (Lucky Number)
Purpose: Enhance concentration skills, create a lively atmosphere in the classroom.
How to play:
Before playing, the teacher will prepare a board with 15 squares numbered arbitrarily. Among these 15 squares, 12 squares will contain questions for students to answer, and 3 squares will contain 3 lucky numbers. When encountering a lucky number, players do not have to answer any questions but still earn 10 points for their team.
The teacher will divide the class into 2 teams. Each team will vote for a team leader. The team leaders of both teams will stand up to play rock-paper-scissors to determine which team has the right to go first.
Players in each team will discuss together to choose any number on the board. If that square contains a question, the teacher will read the question, and the team members will discuss and provide an answer within 30 seconds to 1 minute. A correct answer earns the team 10 points. If incorrect, the next team gets the chance to answer.
In the second round, the remaining team will select a square and proceed similarly. Encountering a lucky square means no need to answer but still earns 10 points.
At the end of the game, the team with the higher score wins.
5. Face game
Purpose: Enhance memory retention and quick reflexes for English vocabulary across various topics.
How to play:
In this game, players stand in a circle facing inward. The teacher will provide a specific topic and players must give answers related to this topic. If a player fails to provide an answer when it's their turn, they will be eliminated from the game.
To increase excitement and reinforce players' vocabulary, the teacher can divide this game into multiple rounds. Each round eliminates a certain number of players and corresponds to a specific topic.
6. Slap Blackboard
Purpose: Enhance players' listening, reading skills, and improve reflexes.
How to play:
The teacher will write all the new words from the lesson on the board and explain the rules of the game.
The class is divided into 2 teams, each corresponding to a row of desks. Each team selects about 5 players (or more, depending on the number of words on the board). Players from both teams form two lines and stand a certain distance away from the board.
When the teacher reads a word, players from both teams quickly rush to the board and slap the word that the teacher just read. The player from which team slaps correctly and fastest earns a point. Then this player runs back to the end of the line.
When the teacher reads the next word, the next two players from both teams quickly run up and slap the board. This continues until all the words on the board are finished.
At the end of the game, the team that reads the most words correctly and fastest will be the winning team.
7. Pastimes
Purpose: To create a lively atmosphere before starting the lesson while allowing the teacher to assess students' vocabulary.
How to play:
The teacher will divide the class into two teams, placing a chalk at each team's desk. Divide the board into two sections corresponding to the two teams. When the start signal is given, students in each team will quickly run to the board and write any word they learned in the previous lesson. Then they run back to pass the chalk to the next person. However, only one word can be written at a time, and they can go up multiple times. The game will last for 3 - 5 minutes. At the end of the game, the team that writes more words correctly spelled wins. Duplicate words will count as one word.
8. Hangman
Purpose: To help students easily review knowledge and test their vocabulary.
How to play:
The teacher will divide the class into 2 teams, each team corresponding to a row of seats.
The teacher will write on the board dashes corresponding to the number of letters in the word. The task of the two teams will be to take turns guessing the letters in the word. If guessed incorrectly, each time a dash will be drawn as shown. If a team guesses wrong 8 times first, that team will lose, and the teacher will reveal the word.
However, to increase excitement and intense competition between the two teams, the teacher can prepare 2 different sets of words for the two teams. The team with more correct answers will be the winning team.
Additionally, the teacher can also provide a theme and ask students to find words related to that theme, specifying the number of letters. For example, a theme about school, with 5 letters. Players from both teams will quickly run up to write down the words they can think of.
In this way, players must find the correct number of letters in the word. For requests to write each word clearly, players need to spell correctly. If a team makes a mistake, a line will be drawn on the hangman. The team that makes 8 mistakes will be the losing team.
9. Remembering Pictures
Purpose: To enhance students' memory and quick reflexes.
How to play:
Divide the class members into groups to compete with each other.
The teacher will sequentially present prepared pictures related to the vocabulary learned. Each group will have a chance to view the picture for about 5 - 10 seconds.
After viewing the pictures, the teacher will give the signal to start. Members of each team will take turns running to the board to write down these vocabulary words. Each person is only allowed to write one vocabulary word.
At the end, the team with the most accurate answers and completes the task earliest will be the winning team.
10. Electric Transmission
Purpose: Create a fun atmosphere in the classroom while reinforcing knowledge.
How to play:
Once the class is settled, the teacher will call on any student to stand up and loudly say an English verb. Then quickly point to another student and shout 'Electric Transmission.'
The designated student will promptly stand up and continue by saying another verb and point to another student, shouting 'Electric Transmission.' This way, players in the class will take turns standing up and transmitting. During the game, whoever makes a mistake will be penalized and must do jumping jacks around the classroom.
Additionally, the teacher can also introduce any topic, and the players will provide related vocabulary words and 'transmit' them to the next players.
11. Simon Says - Follow the Orders
Purpose: Develop listening skills, foster attention, engage students in new lessons.
How to Play:
In this game, students must follow the teacher's orders. The teacher simply says 'Simon says' followed by an action that describes the statement. Once students know the commands, the teacher will speak quickly to force students to pay attention and react quickly. Additionally, the teacher may perform a different action than what they say. Students who make mistakes compared to the commands the teacher says will be eliminated. Those eliminated may face a small penalty such as doing jumping jacks.
Example:
Teacher: 'Simon says, put away your books'
- Student: Students will collectively put away their books.
Teacher: 'Simon says, clap your hands'
- Student: The whole class will clap their hands.
In cases where the teacher gives a command without saying 'Simon says,' students will not perform the action; anyone who does is considered out.
12. Democracy Flower Picking
Purpose: This game helps to improve listening skills as well as the ability to answer simple questions in English.
How to play:
The teacher will need to prepare a pot of plants, with paper flowers containing English questions inside attached above.
Then, call students from the bottom of the class, either on a voluntary or random basis, to come and pick a flower. Whoever picks a flower will read the question aloud to the class and answer it. Students who answer correctly will receive a small gift, while incorrect answers may result in some fun penalties to enhance the atmosphere.
13. Bee Finding Words
Purpose: Spark interest and reinforce students' knowledge and ability to apply sentence patterns.
Preparation: To organize the game, the teacher will prepare 2 paper flowers with 5 petals each, each flower will have a different color, numbers will be written on each petal, and magnets will be attached to the back. Additionally, prepare 10 bee figures also with magnets attached to the back, and each bee will have English letters written on it.
How to play:
The teacher will divide the class into 2 teams, each team will choose 5 players, and they will line up vertically. Then, divide the board into two, each side will have a flower and 5 bees placed randomly without order. The players' task is to move the bees to the appropriate numbered cell. When they hear the command 'start', the first person from each team will quickly run to the board to move the bees to the appropriate numbered cell. Once the first person finishes, the second person will take over, and so on until everyone completes their turn. The team that completes the task quickly and accurately will be the winning team.
14. Word Challenge
Purpose: Review vocabulary based on specific topics while practicing speaking skills.
How to play:
The teacher will also divide the class into two teams, then introduce a topic. The two teams will confer for about 1 minute and take turns challenging each other. The team that successfully issues more words will have the right to speak first. If they say the correct number of words they challenged, they will score 1 point. However, if they say one word wrong, say a word unrelated to the topic, or fail to say the correct number of challenged words, it will be counted as a loss. The point will go to the opposing team. This process repeats with different topics. The game ends when all prepared topics have been exhausted. The team with more points will be the winning team and will be praised by the whole class.
15. Guessing Game
Purpose: Enhance players' ability to guess their teammates' intentions and reinforce knowledge.
How to play:
The teacher will divide the class into teams, which can be 3 or 4 teams. Each team will select one member to sit on the 'hot seat' placed above the podium and face downwards. The teacher will write vocabulary words on the board. The task of the team members sitting below is to describe the words so that their teammate above can quickly guess the word. The players below are not allowed to speak, spell out, or use gestures. If they violate the rules, the word will not count. Team members will take turns sitting in the hot seat. Within the specified time, the team that correctly guesses the most words will win.
16. Sentence Shuffle Challenge
Purpose: Help students review vocabulary and writing skills.
How to play:
Before playing, the teacher will prepare several passages, each consisting of 3-5 sentences. Each sentence should be written on a separate line as you will later need to cut each sentence into individual pieces of paper. Divide the class into teams, then give each team a passage that has been cut into separate sentences. Players have the task of rearranging the sentences to form a complete passage. The team that correctly arranges all the sentences first will be the winning team.
17. Memory Challenge
Purpose: Help players memorize recently learned words while testing their ability to recall quickly.
How to play:
After writing down the new words along with their meanings on the board, the teacher will have students read them several times to memorize. Gradually erase the English words, prompting students to look at the Vietnamese words to read the erased words again. When all the English words are erased, students can be asked to rewrite them.
18. Word Matching
Purpose: Reviewing vocabulary learned in the previous lesson or helping students reinforce knowledge of new words learned in today's class.
How to play:
The teacher will write down the new English words in the left column. In the right column, the meanings of the English words will be written in Vietnamese in a different order than the left column. Students are required to match the corresponding words in both columns.
Furthermore, the teacher can write questions in the left column and answers in the right column, scrambled. The players' task will be to match the correct pairs between the two columns.
19. Clockwise Challenge
Purpose: Reinforce listening skills while helping students grasp reading the time in English. This game is suitable for lessons about time, relating to clock reading.
How to play:
Before playing, the teacher needs to prepare several model clocks corresponding to the number of teams. The teacher will sequentially divide the class into teams, with each team receiving a clock. The players' task will be to move the clock hands according to the teacher's instructions. When the teacher loudly reads out a specific time, students will listen carefully and immediately adjust the clock hands accordingly. Anyone who turns incorrectly or is the slowest will be eliminated. Players from each team will take turns to play. At the end, the team with the fewest eliminations wins.
20. Taboo (Language Practice Game)
Purpose: Reviewing vocabulary
How to play:
Before starting, the teacher will prepare a set of vocabulary, usually 10-20 words, that have been previously taught. Write these words on pieces of paper and place them in a box. Divide the class into two teams, with each team selecting one member to draw a word from the box. The person drawing the word should not let other team members see the written word on the paper. They will then explain the word to the remaining team members who must guess the word without using the written words or any prohibited terms.
The team that guesses correctly within 30 seconds earns one point, while guesses made after the time limit or breaking the rules will not score points. After one team's turn, it's the other team's turn. In the next round, different players from each team will draw cards so that all players have the opportunity to explain words during the game. Actions are allowed to accompany the explanations.
Above are the Top 20 English games. Wishing teachers and students enjoyable and effective English learning moments.
