Any English as a Second Language (ESL) class has a variety of topics to cover. While learning grammar, proper pronunciation, reading and listening skills can sometimes require drills and repetition, most ESL lessons can benefit from educational games that will engage students and lead to a more interactive classroom experience.

Slap
This game will get students racing to write grammatically correct sentences. On the board, write a "mixed-up" sentence, separating each word and punctuation with a slash (i.e. waiting/he/a/Is/bus/?/for). Keep the sentence hidden from the class until you are finished writing. When the sentence is revealed, let the students race to write the correct sentence (Is he waiting for a bus?) in their notebooks. The sentence must not only have the words in the correct order, but it also needs correct capitalization, punctuation and neat penmanship. When a student finishes writing, he slaps his hand on his desk. The first student to have a legible, correct sentence is the winner.

New Definition
The only materials required for this game are an English dictionary, pencils and paper. Look for a word in the dictionary that your students most likely don't know, but is within their proficiency level to understand. Students who know the words "hungry" and "thirsty," for example, should be able to understand the definition of "starving." Write the word on the board and tell students which part of speech it is. Use the word in a sentence as an example, and then ask students to quietly write their own definition for the word. Each student takes a turn reading his definition out loud, and then the students vote on who they think has the closest definition. Read the real definition aloud to decide the winner.

Topics
According to an article on the Teach ESL to Kids website, this game can be tailored to fit almost any topic and age level. Ask students to sit in a circle with their legs crossed; sit in the circle with them. Establish a rhythm by slapping your knees, clapping your hands and pausing: slap, clap, pause; slap, clap, pause. Decide on a topic, and then say the name of the topic during the pause (slap, clap, "food"). The child to your right must say a word within that topic in the next pause (slap, clap, "pizza"). Continue until every child in the circle has had a turn, and then change the topic. For a more competitive game, keep one topic and instruct each child who doesn't think of a word in their "pause" to sit out. The last student in the circle is the winner.