Learning another language can be difficult and frustrating, both for adults and children. English is a particularly complicated and contradictory language, so using games in the classroom can take the pressure off students of all age groups. Children learn best and stay more motivated when allowed to be active, but adults can also benefit from getting up out of their chairs. When playing games in the classroom, however, remember that the objects are learning and fun and not competition.

Running Dictation
Dictation can help improve listening skills in children of all ages in English as a second language (ESL) students. Reading a sentence slowly while students write what they hear, however, is boring. Running Dictation is game that needs little preparation and few materials, yet can engage the whole class and make listening fun. Before class, prepare two (or more, depending on the size of your class) lists of vocabulary words, phrases or sentences that you have been teaching your students. During class, split the students into small groups of about five or six. Each group should choose a scribe, who stays in the room with pen and paper. The others will be runners. Tape the lists around the room or in the hallway, away from one another. The runners must go to the lists, read them and then return and tell the scribe exactly what each sentence or word was. The group who completes their list first wins. You can also put a time limit on the game and reward the group that completes the longest or most accurate list within the time period. Fifteen minutes is a good time limit for one-hour classes, as it gives time for explanation beforehand and review and discussion after the game.

Charades
Charades is a good game for teaching vocabulary, especially verbs, but you can also adapt it to teach verb tenses, phrases and even complete sentences. Before class, write a number of vocabulary words or sentences on small pieces of paper. Put all the pieces into a bag or a hat--something the class can pick from randomly. During class time, split the students into groups. Each group takes turns sending one member to the front of the room, who then chooses a slip of paper. He has to act out what it says non-verbally, while his teammates try to answer. Games such as "What's Behind You?" or "Hot Seat" are variations of the charades game, in which you reverse roles. This time, you write a phrase on the board that the class can see but the student at the front of the room cannot. The class must act out the word non-verbally and the front student has to guess.

Alibi
Another active ESL game for teenagers and adults is Alibi, a mystery game that engages students, according to the Boggle's World website. Explain to your class that someone has committed a crime and they need to solve it. The most common crime to use is a bank robbery, but you can also use other things, including murders, depending on your students. Give a few very basic details, such as the approximate time of the crime and where it happened. Choose three or four students to be suspects. Split the rest of the class into small groups; they are police. The suspects go out of earshot and try to come up with an airtight alibi. The police compose questions. Each group gets to interrogate one suspect for five minutes; then the suspects rotate groups. If the suspects begin disagreeing on their alibi, they are "caught" and go to jail. If they stick to their story with no variations, they go free. Use this game to review and practice past tenses and interrogatives.