There are many reasons why you may plan a no-materials ESL lesson. You may have been called in to substitute for another teacher just 20 minutes before the lesson, you may need a change of pace to give your students a break from their textbooks once in a while, or the photocopier may simply have broken down. Whatever the reason for it, you can have a productive ESL lesson without materials.

Teach the Use of "I love...," "I like...," "I hate...":

Tell the students that you will be talking about likes and dislikes. Give examples and then have the students brainstorm for words to complete those sentences.

Write a list of their suggestions on the board. Add two or three useful words they don't know (lettuce or peas).

Have them re-write the list, using "I love...," "I like...," "I hate..." to indicate their favorite and least favorite vegetables.

Pair up the students and have them swap lists and discuss their likes and dislikes.

Teach Simple Third Person Question Forms:

Write the names of three or four people on the board. Under each name, write random information about that person. For example: "John likes cake." "Jane plays guitar."

Ask the student questions in the third person about the three people. For example: "Does Jane like Cake?"

Cross it out if they get it right. Continue in this way until you have gone through the entire list.

Have the students then make their own lists and play the game in pairs.

Telling Tales:

Write a group of random or related words on the blackboard, which your students can use to write a story. (A kangaroo, to slip, prettily, "Oh no!" and sneaky, for example, on the board)

Give the students 10 to 15 minutes to write a short story that uses all of the words.

Pair up the students and have them swap stories for written correction. Have a student from each pair read her partner's story out loud.

Silly Debates:

Have your students pick a topic to debate about. This can be anything from singing in the shower to chocolate on Valentine's Day.

Put the students into two groups to have a silly debate--one group will be "For" and the other will be "Against."

Get the students to create their arguments as a group.

Let each group pick one or more members to go one-on-one in a silly debate with members from the other group.