Just be aware that in many of these instances players use gestures as well, which should be outlawed in this classroom game (for an gestures-based guessing game see Reverse Charades below). You may well have seen the ‘Heads Up!’ app or the related segments on the TV show ‘Ellen’ – check out the clip below for a (clearly very excited) Harrison Ford playing. Normally each word guessed correctly is worth one point for the team, but you could also play non-competitively if you think your students would prefer it. This can suit students who aren’t comfortable describing alone in front of the class. While in Articulate students come to the front and describe for their team, in Heads Up the team describes for one student who can’t see the words (‘reverse Articulate’). Why not try playing as a warm-up activity, either to see if students remember what was learned in the last session, or to refresh knowledge relevant to today’s class? It might sound simple, but it’s great fun, and a really effective way to review vocabulary. In these games students describe words to their teammates against the clock. We’ve included some helpful tips on their implementation, but for full instructions, just click on the title of a game below (instructions open in a new tab).

They’re fun and engaging, but are chosen to match the needs and sensibilities of older students. To help you do just that, we’ve produced this list of the best ESL games for adults. Not all games are created equal either – we have to make sure we choose the right ones for our audience and classroom set-up. While in a kids class almost any game will go down well at any point, ESL games for adults should be carefully planned, related to current class work, and have a clear language goal in mind. The trick is learning how to employ them. Not only are English games a fantastic way to review recently learned topics, they’re the perfect warm-up activity, a great refresher after a period of more intense work, and even a reward once your students get to know and love them! The problem with that is you’re missing out on an extremely valuable learning tool. We as teachers are sensitive to that, so it’s very tempting to just play it safe and stick to more formal language exercises. Although some students are happy to play at any time, many either don’t want to make a fool of themselves in front of others, or in their view waste class time. Including games in an English class with adult learners can be a difficult one.

Adults games for pc free download