Teaching English as a second language (ESL) to adults does not mean that games and fun activities won't benefit the classroom. Lectures and drills can easily become tedious no matter what the age of the student. Ideally, you should tailor adult ESL games to focus on a specific skill adults will use in everyday life conversations, writing and reading.

Start the Story
Have each student choose a book from the shelf, or provide each student with a book. The books can be fiction or nonfiction and can be slightly above the students' general reading level. Each student will present his book to the class, reading the title and the blurb on the back or on the dust jacket aloud. The other students write what they think the first line of the book should be on a piece of paper, while the first student writes the actual first line. Collect all of the papers, and read each one aloud, including the true first sentence. Have students guess which one was the real first sentence and debate on why theirs might have been better.

Balderdash
Read and spell a word aloud from the dictionary, and tell students whether it is a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. Have students write down their own definition of the word, as well as a sample sentence using the word. When they are finished, have students read theirs aloud, and then tell them the true definition and have them create a sentence using the word.

Celebrity Guess
Assign each student a secret celebrity identity. One by one, students tell the class their initials (or to make it more difficult, the first letter of their surname). Students take turns interviewing the "celebrity" with specific yes or no questions like "Do you play guitar" or "Have you won an Academy Award" until the other students guess the celebrity.

You're Hired; You're Fired!
Choose three to five students to be a committee heading up a specific type of company. The other students will each take turns presenting the panel with a product they wish to sell to the company. For example, if the company sells kitchen products, a student could offer plans for a new type of microwave. Give the presenting students time to make notes on their product before presenting. After explaining the product, the committee asks questions about it and then decides whether or not to hire the presenter. You can tailor this game to fit the needs of your students; for example, if this is a business English class, students can design product ideas based on the industry they work in.