Teaching english with games online

Share this image with the student, along with a list of ten objects which they have to find. When the student finds an object, you can either enable remote mouse control so he or she can circle the object or ask the student to describe the location of the item.

You can do a person hunt and ask students to look for specific people instead. Choose an object in the room that is not visible to the student.

Then, draw this on the virtual whiteboard. As you draw, the student must guess what it is, just like in the popular game Pictionary. To make the game more challenging, you can set a timer for one minute. The teacher and student can also switch roles so the student draws the pictures and the teacher guesses the objects.

Another way to play this game is to act out the target word instead of drawing it. This game, featured in the Bridge Micro-credential course in Games and Activities for the Online Classroom Very Young Learners , is great for teaching and reviewing vocabulary with students and only requires using realia from around your home or office.

You can see a demonstration of how to play in the following video:. Gather a handful of objects around five or six is good and set them up on a tray so your students can see them all.

You can also discuss the objects in greater detail describe their appearance, ask about their function, etc. With the tray out of view of the camera, remove one object. Show students the tray and see if they can figure out which object is missing. Once they guess correctly, put the object back on the tray, and secretly remove a different one.

Play as many rounds as you want! Instead of a tray with realia, you can also use pictures of objects that you tape up to a whiteboard. This catchy ESL game helps your young students recall vocabulary and practice their listening skills and also keeps them concentrated! Call out a list of five objects, with all but one having something in common. For example, call out banana, apple, orange, peach, carrot. There are many ways to play guessing games with flashcards.

Then, ask them to guess what it is. You can even introduce points to make it more fun. If there are 8 flashcards, then if the student guesses correctly with just one guess then they get 8 points. If it takes them 2 guesses, then they get 7 points. And so on.

Choose a card without looking and hold it up to the webcam so the student can see what it is. Then start guessing what it is. Simple guessing games with flashcards like this are very effective with young learners when teaching English online.

Flashcards can also be used for many types of memory games when teaching English online. For example, print out 2 sets of the same flashcards and attach them to a board with the picture hidden. Then ask students to choose 2 flashcards.

If the flashcards match, the student gets a point. Of course, you may not have a board to attach the flashcards to while teaching online from home. In that case, there are other memory games you can try. For example, you could show students the flashcards in a particular order and ask them to remember the order in which you showed them.

Then ask them to recite the flashcards in the same order. If they can do it easily, introduce more flashcards. Memory games like these are simple online teaching games which kids really enjoy. Find printable English quizzes that cover important topics such as verbs, adjectives, nouns, synonyms and antonyms as well as general quizzes that are great for ESL classes.

Learn online with instructional English videos , take time out to enjoy the lighter side of the English language with funny videos or enjoy a range of educational songs that are perfect for younger children.

Using online English games for adults can be a great way to break the ice and get your ESL students warmed up. Starting the lesson with a game is an easy way to help your students relax and to show them that language learning can be fun, and is more than just memorizing vocabulary or cramming grammar points. Students tend to perform better when they feel at ease and games are one way to create a comfortable atmosphere. Knowing this about your students, and taking some time to make the lesson interesting can really go a long way toward helping your students enjoy the English learning process.

Your students are choosing to spend their precious free time in your class so make it something that they will look forward to. However, testing is an important way to gauge understanding and see how your students are progressing.