Learning English is vital for students who want to succeed in school, but it can be a challenge, particularly for those who don't speak English at home. Plan a variety of games and activities for your students so they can practice listening, speaking and writing in English. Perform some activities together as a class, and assign others to be done individually. In addition to the activities below, use traditional board games, such as Scrabble, Boggle or Taboo to build students' skills.

Verb/Adverb Guessing Game
Make two piles of words on index cards, one with actions and one with adverbs. Call on a student who then picks one card from each pile and must act out the verb/adverb while other students guess. Write words that are not too difficult to act out, such as "drive," "scratch" or "carry." For added difficulty, choose one student to act out the verb and another to act out the adverb simultaneously, without allowing them to see each other's card. Then have the audience guess both at once.

Pictionary
Students who are shy about charades can play a Pictionary-style game. Divide the class into teams and give each team a writing surface or use the white board. Prepare English words or phrases ahead of time. Show a word to the sketcher for one team and give him one minute to convey the meaning to his team. If they guess, his team receives a point; if not, the next team has a chance to guess the same word. You can also play a style where each team draws the same word at the same time. Use this game to teach idioms, adages and sayings as well as general vocabulary.

Word Association and Alliteration
For these games, students can either be in a circle or just at their desks. Prepare words ahead of time from units you have been studying in class. Begin by saying only one word and going around the class, giving each student a turn to say an associated word. You can ask students to repeat all of the words in unison for pronunciation practice. Similarly, choose one letter and start by saying a word that begins with the letter. Then proceed around the class, giving each student a turn to say a word that begins with the same letter.

Further Resources
Allowing students access to a classroom computer or computers in the library will open a wide variety of activities and games for learning English. For activities regarding pronunciation, listening and speaking, visit the Many Things website. Language Games' website offers word searches, crosswords and hangman games. Flashcards, worksheets, printouts and grammar games are all available from the English 4 Kids website.