Classroom Fun Teaching Activities

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas You will find the web full of ideas for teaching vocabulary and, although most of them are undoubtedly good activities, some are only suited to a particular level. Here are some tried and tested activities that can be adapted to suit any level of student and a variety of class sizes. Listen to this blog post: 1. Hot seat 2. Beat the clock 3. Crosswords 4. Board games 5. Slow Pictionary 6. Vocabulary tennis 7. Pelmanism ("Concentration") Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! This is a great activity that can be used as a warm-up at the beginning of a class, or as a game at the end of a lesson. It's suitable for any class size over 4 students and requires minimal...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When teaching young learners, it's important not to spend too much time on any one activity as they can soon lose interest. It is also a good idea to have activities that give younger learners the chance to move about and use the boundless energy they have at that age. Below we present a list of short activities suitable for young and very young learners of English. Listen to this blog post: What's the Time Mr. Wolf? Telephone Basketball Volleyball Bingo Can you …? I Spy Odd One Out Stand Up Please Mastermind Blindfold Obstacle Course Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! This is a good activity for practicing time with small classes. Clear a space in the center of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Flashcards can be great tools for eliciting vocabulary, but teachers should not overlook the numerous other uses for these great tools. Flashcard games can add excitement to young learners' classes. The following activities are aimed to drill the vocabulary in the second study phase of the lesson, after the elicitation of vocabulary. 1. Game for liars 2. Get on the other side of the bridge 3. Memory challenge 4. Keyword race 5. More for listening skills Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kiyomi Ann H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The liar game is a flashcard activity that can be used to...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas Throughout this course, my favorite units have been the ones that teach us how to lead an effective lesson and have a fun classroom environment. I love all the suggestions and teaching ideas they give, and it excites me to think about using those for my future lessons. For that reason, I chose the topic of five activities with flashcards. This essay will be a perfect opportunity for me to delve further into my favorite part of this class and plan some fun things to do. When I move abroad I plan on teaching young children, mainly kindergarten-aged, so my five activities will be geared towards young learners. They need way more energy, fun, and excitement in their lessons than teenage or adult learners because their attention spans are so short, so I tried to...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas What outdoor activities can help to teach English? I would like to say that there are plenty of outdoor activities that are effective to teach English. However, many teachers prefer indoor activities rather than outdoor, as they think that it might distract the students. Nonetheless, outdoor activities can increase their motivation for learning. Also, it helps to decrease their stress level, as they do not have to stay in the classroom as usual. Freewriting time Flashcard game 'Stand up if you've ever' game Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Sarosh Z. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The teacher...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas In a previous post, we looked at various teaching ideas for future simple and here we're going to describe some fun ideas for teaching three other future tenses. There are a wide variety of usages for future tenses and it's always important to make sure your activities focus on the usages that you've taught in your lesson. For example, future continuous can be used to talk about an ongoing action at a point in the future, a fixed future event, polite enquiries or to predict the future or the present. Predicting the present is one that students often have trouble conceptualizing, so we might as well start from there. Listen to this blog post: Predicting the present Ongoing action at a point in the future Expected achievements at a point in the future...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas The following activities may be adapted for use as warmers, engage activities, structured practice or free practice style activities. They may also be adapted for level and age. Watch the video about this topic Are you ready to teach English as a foreign language? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! The first one is really simple but can be one of the best activities to improve grammar. Some students even at the higher levels are lacking automatic habits, which are really important for grammatical skill. Basically this activity is a grammar drill and it is supposed to be used as a warmer or as an ice-breaker activity. The main objective is to help your students automate some grammatical...  [Read more]

  Online ESL Activities: Are you an online English teacher? Do you want your students to enjoy and have fun? Then, this live stream is for you! Our TEFL/TESOL expert, Liza, will share five interactive activities that you will be able to use at your next class. Great news that these games will suit any age group and level. Don't miss! #TEFL#BestTEFL #TeachEnglishOnline 00:00-00:48 Mic was off 00:48-01:00 Intro Are you ready to teach English abroad or online? Click here and get started today: bit.ly/37gs5vO What is TEFL Certification? Where is it valid: bit.ly/36ma2Fg Check out our wide range of TEFL Courses: bit.ly/3ltqt73 Teach English online from anywhere you want: bit.ly/3ltqEPL Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas When teaching reported speech the potential for mistakes, errors, and the general difficulty is enormous due to the number of changes that are made with verb tenses, patterns, pronouns, questions, time expressions etc.. It's important to cover the subject slowly with lots of verbal practice at every opportunity. There are plenty of standard 'change the direct speech to reported speech' activities, but your students will soon tire of these if you overuse them. Here are some ideas which have worked well in the EFL classroom and will give your students a good amount of talk time in a variety of ways. Listen to this blog post: The Go-Between Game The Lying Game Pelmanism ("Concentration") Guess Who Reported Speech "Tennis" Who Asked What? Find Someone...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here are 9 fun ways to greet your students in the classroom that are social distancing approved and safe - plus, they are super fun and your students will love them.   This greeting has already become a classic and kids of all ages love it. Simply bumb your students' elbow as you say "hello" in the morning!   Similar to the first option, the foot bumb is even better if you want to avoid any sort of touch of the hands and arms.   Simple but effective. You can do this as a whole class or wave at each student individually as they enter the classroom in the morning.   Similar to "jazz hands," spirit fingers area a dance movement of the fingers with palms out and fingers moving quickly back and forth. Look it...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Outdoor games and activities can be motivating and fun for English language learners. According to my research, there are many different activities that teachers can use to practice and develop students' English language skills. Outdoor learning has many benefits: Students can be highly motivated and energized by being outside. When a class has become boring or the students disinterested, going outside can help students return to the classroom refreshed and more focused than before. Furthermore, being in the new surroundings opens up unique, memorable ways to teach English in the great outdoors. ESL Community Experience Choice of Activities Game Ideas Scientific Research Do you want to teach English abroad? Take a TEFL course! Related Articles: This...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Having to organize and hold a winter camp is a daunting task, especially for new teachers who haven't done it before. For these kinds of English camps, teachers typically create up to 10 lesson plans for the duration of the camp. Winter camps can last anywhere between one week to a month or even longer. The main goal of an English camp is to have a fun and memorable time with the students while practicing their English. Listen to this blog post: It's all About Fun… and Props! Making Sock Snowmen! Making Christmas or New Year's Cards Have Handouts Ready Powerpoint/Computer Games Board Games When Your School Doesn't Have a Budget or Supplies Are you ready to teach English abroad? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here are four fun Easter activities for ESL students.   Grab this printable ESL worksheet with four Easter-themed activities for your ESL students.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Teaching Ideas Learning vocabulary words is a big part of any EFL classroom. Sometimes, it can be challenging for students to learn and remember new words - this is where the following activities come in handy! Here are 7 fun ways to introduce new EFL vocabulary! Listen to this blog post: 1. Get Physical 2. Sing it Loud 3. Keep It Real 4. The Root of the Issue 5. Introduce Couples 6. Tell it like It Is 7. Picture It Which is your favorite teaching activity? Related Articles: Check out what our course grads say in our many video testimonials! This activity works well for a lot of vocabulary words. It is based around the total physical response method, which links physical movement with learning. Illustrate new vocabulary by acting out the words as you introduce them to...  [Read more]

  Throughout section on the teaching of productive skills and the teaching of receptive skills our activate activities will usually involve some form of game and our final consideration here will be the use of games in the classroom. We can start with a definition of what we actually mean by a game and it basically has three components. A game is an activity that has rules it should have for its purpose in the classroom a teaching point and by nature to the fact that it's a game it should also include an element of fun. So that will be our working definition for a game that we're going to use in the classroom. There are many different types of games and they range between the competitive and those will require cooperation and there are all sorts of games that involve both of these...  [Read more]

Home / Location / Tokyo / Gallery Tokyo / Gallery Teaching English is Fun! Teaching English as a foreign language is one of the most rewarding professions in the world. Join our in-class course in Tokyo and you will learn all the skills you need to succeed in EFL classrooms in Japan and worldwide. The training is led by professional trainers who have worked overseas for years and have taught hundreds of EFL students during their career. They are there for your from start to finish and want to make you a professional English language teacher ready to take on any EFL classroom in the world.  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! This is a fun silly sentence worksheet for English fun in your ESL classroom.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Get ready for the holiday season in your ESL classroom with this fun "If I Were an Elf" ESL worksheet.   Simply print out the worksheet and hand it out to your students. Have your students come up with a name for their elf, a job for their elf, the favorite part of their elf and draw what their elf looks like.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

  The dynamics of classroom interaction is often dictated by the arrangement of the classroom itself and the way in which the classroom is arranged could depend upon a number of factors and they might include things such as the age of the students, so for example we're unlikely to have the same arrangement for adult learners as we would have for young learners. It could also depend upon the actual physical space available. The physical space may determine how we have to arrange our classroom to maximize the opportunity for interaction and so forth. It will also depend on what material is available and by material in this case we're talking about the actual desks and chairs and so on and so forth. Perhaps the final thing we might put here is that it could also depend upon the...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Ring in the new year in your classroom with this fun New Year's word search!   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Technologies are constantly evolving and improving. There are literally dozens of new technologies that can be applied to the modern classroom in 2019 that have not yet made their way into mainstream usage. New tech changes the way subjects are taught, how students learn and the way teachers and students communicate with each other. Everything from new types of interactive whiteboards, classroom response systems, use of social media, tablet computers and classroom websites to the more exotic and potentially cost-prohibitive techs such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality(VR) or even holographic projectors are commercially available for use in the classroom. Blackboard PC Soft and Apps AR and VR Are you ready to implement new technologies in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Who was your favorite teacher in elementary school? Mine was my 5th-grade Teacher, Mr. Powers. Not because he was super cool, or cute, or wildly entertaining. It was because he was an amazing teacher. He was a retired Air Force pilot, yet was never very hard on us and I can't think of a single time that he got upset with us. I believe this is completely due to his amazing classroom management skills. I try my best to model my own teaching skills after Mr. Powers while teaching here in Istanbul, Turkey. Cultural and economic differences are actually the least of my problems while working with these amazing children. The most challenging aspects happen to be making the most of classroom space, ensuring the students are participating in in-class...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Teaching skills can be summarized in four key concepts: communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. What do English teachers teach? Role of the teacher Teaching methods Accuracy and Fluency Students abilities The 4 Basic Concepts of Teaching Skills Professional development Are you ready to implement your teaching skills in an ESL classroom? Related Articles: Listen to this blog post: Of course, when describing these skills we aren't just talking about teaching English but these skills can be used to prepare students in order to be able to express and communicate themselves independently and with groups in a globalized world as well as being capable to be adaptive, flexible and think creatively. This post was written by our TEFL...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Here is a fun word search to drill Halloween vocabulary in your ESL classroom.   Halloween is a fun holiday to introduce to your ESL classroom. A great way to do this is by using word searches just like this one! Print it out and hand it to your students for some Halloween fun.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Check out this fun printable worksheet for your lessons on Thanksgiving in the ESL classroom.   Have your students write something they are thankful for for every letter of the alphabet. Simply print out the ESL worksheet and have your students write down different things they are thankful for this Thanksgiving season.   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Addressing disruptive behavior in an TEFL classroom can be challenging, but it is important to know how to manage it to ensure smooth classroom operations. While teaching adult learners might result in fewer concerns aside from minor punctuality issues, young learner classrooms usually come with a greater potential for disruption. To prevent small issues from becoming significant problems, teachers need to acquire skills and experiences to confidently manage classroom behavior. Different types of bad behavior Dealing with bad behavior Rewarding good behavior Managing behavior Different teachers might have varying perceptions of what constitutes disruptive behavior. However, there are universal issues that cause noticeable disruption in the classroom and should be addressed for optimal...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas English is one of the most common languages in the world. Knowing English can help people communicate with others from different countries and seek opportunities to have a better job or life. English can bring benefits to everyone, no matter how old they are. Therefore, English is becoming essential in many areas and more people, from kids to adults, are learning it as a second language. To help people learn English effectively, teachers play a significant role in their learning progress. There are many types of students and depending on their needs, ages, and personalities, teachers must learn how to adjust their teaching styles accordingly. Different Reasons For Learning English Different Age Groups - Children Different Age Groups -...  [Read more]

The activities provided in this graphic allow students to use English in ways that areinteresting, fun and relevant to their needs as business English learners. In ‘Negotiations’ students get to role-play a negotiation between two sides, earning points for each success they have in negotiating with the other side. Telephone role-plays are a great way to practice speaking to another person without the non-verbal clues that usually assist face-to-face communication. Comparison information gap activities are good for getting students to use English to find out particular information they need from another person, an important communicative skill needed by many business English learners. Arranging meetings is a good activity for practicing phone skills...  [Read more]

Register now & get certified to teach english abroad! Introduce the changing of the seasons to your classroom with this fun printable fall word search for ESL students.   This fun printable printable fall word search is ideal for any ESL and EFL classroom. The students can work on this worksheet either at home or in the classroom. You can have them work on it individually or do it as a fun activity for the whole class!   Register now & get certified to teach english abroad!  [Read more]

Having a variety of interesting and fun activities to draw on is an important part of keepingyour lessons fresh and your students engaged in learning, especially when it comes to teaching grammar points. In this graphic we look at 10 different activities for the past simple. The aim of these activities is to provide high student talking time using the target language. They should also encourage the students to produce the language themselves with varying amounts of creativity. Matching Pairs’ is a great activity for recognising irregular past simple verb forms. The activity helps students remember the different forms and encourages them to produce their own sentences. The ‘Diary’ activity encourages students to use the past simple with...  [Read more]