English conversation games are useful additions to any ESL (English as a second language) curriculum. Along with providing valuable listening and speaking practice to students, conversation-based ESL games help build confidence and are effective tools for review. They benefit ESL students of all ages and abilities and are easily adjusted to suit a variety of lesson plans.

What Would You Do?
This game is a fun activity for beginning to intermediate ESL students. Prepare by coming up with a list of interesting scenarios, such as winning a million dollars or finding a stray dog. Write the scenarios on individual pieces of paper and give one to each student. Students play by meeting in pairs to discuss the scenarios. Conversations should begin with a question, such as "What would you do if you won a million dollars?" After everyone has met once, give each student the chance to explain his scenario and recount the most interesting response. Other versions of this game include choosing questions that fall under a certain theme or requiring that students ask and answer questions using lesson-specific grammar points.

Messages
This game is ideal for practicing listening and speaking skills. Divide the class into two groups, the callers and the receivers. Pair each caller with a receiver and have them stand back to back. This will encourage students to communicate using words rather than body language. Give each caller a specific reason for calling. For beginning ESL students, these scenarios should be relatively straightforward, such as calling to cancel a dentist appointment. For intermediate to advanced students, make the scenarios more complicated. Some ideas include calling to arrange a business meeting and giving a list of items to be picked up at the store. Give the students a set amount of time to carry on a mock phone conversation. The caller uses the scenario to explain why he is calling while the receiver takes down the message. When the time is up, shift the students so that each caller is paired with a different receiver. This time, the receivers convey the messages from round one to their new partners, who in turn give the messages to the rest of the class. It is fun for students to compare the content of the original scenario to the final message.

What's the Word?
This conversation game is suitable for most intermediate to advanced ESL students. It encourages speaking practice and is a fun way to review vocabulary. Write a list of vocabulary words on the board. Divide the students into two teams and have one member from each team stand at the front of the classroom. The students have one minute to carry on a natural-sounding conversation, using as many vocabulary words as possible. Points are awarded each time a word is used accurately. This game can be modified to suit numerous lesson plans. Instead of vocabulary words, use grammar points or a list of idioms or expressions. When teaching more advanced classes, increase the game's difficulty level by allowing students to challenge their opponents' word choices. For example, if a student uses a word incorrectly, his opponent has the chance to win the point by explaining why the usage was incorrect.