Learning English as a second or additional language can be tedious and challenging, especially for kids. If the activities are fun, students will enjoy doing them and be more likely to remember the lesson, often without even realizing it. Incorporating games into your ESL classroom will make it more enjoyable for everyone.

Word Games
Start with simple word games to expand your class's English vocabulary. Games like Hangman are a good starting point. Make game cards for one child to pick and have the children lead the game themselves. They will learn English names for the letters and practice spelling new vocabulary. They can play in small groups, or you can have the whole class participate.

Another great word game is "I'm going on a picnic..." for expanding vocabulary of new learners. The point of the game is to go around the group alphabetically listing items one would bring to a picnic. The items can be silly or out of the ordinary, but the fun is in trying to remember the entire list of items when you reach the last person.

Total Physical Response
If your students are newly intermediate or an advanced beginner TPR (total physical response) is a good way to get them to learn imperative forms and have fun. TPR is an activity where you choose two or three participants in class and instruct them not to speak for the length of the activity. They all start in the same place and the instructor gives them simple commands in English that they must perform for the entire class.

For instance, the teacher could say, "Walk to the blackboard. Write your name. Write your favorite food. Dance. Walk to the door. Open the door. Close the door. Sit down. Raise your hand. Clap. Point to a person with blond hair. Raise your hand if you have blue eyes." The commands can increase in difficulty and vary with the materials you have at hand.

The idea of the activity is to not use the students' native language at all for an extended period of time where they understand the commands themselves, instead of translating the words.

Syntax Help
It is rare for anyone learning a foreign language to have a gift for perfect grammar. To help your students with English syntax (the order of words in a sentence), make a team game for them to practice together. This will help them correct each other and even self-correct to learn good speaking habits in English.

Create simple sentences and write each word or phrase on a note card. Include the capitals and punctuation so the students learn how these devices are used in English.

Divide the class into groups, keeping in mind the strength of each student--don't put all the very strong learners in the same group; mix them up. Scramble the deck of note cards for each sentence and give them to the groups. The object is for them as a group to put the cards in order to make the best sentence. This activity is a good wrap-up for lessons about question words, conjunctions or gerunds.