Learning to read, write and speak with proper grammar is an important part of any English as a Second Language (ESL) class, no matter what the age or proficiency level. Include a few grammar focused games and activities in every ESL lesson to help engage students and encourage them to interact and apply their English skills.

The Hot Seat
Prepare a set of flashcards, each with a vocabulary word students have studied in class. Place a chair at the front of the room facing away from the class. One at a time, students take their turn sitting in the "hot seat." When a student is seated, show the rest of the class one of the flashcards. Each student must come up with a sentence to describe that word without actually using the word, then say that sentence to the student in the hot seat. For example, if the word is "bus," one student might say "I take this to school in the morning," and another might say "this is usually yellow." You can also tailor this game to focus on a particular grammar rule. For example, if the class has been studying adverbs, write verbs on the flashcards. Students must say adverbs that could describe the verb, such as "quickly" or "cheerfully" for "talk," and the hot seat student must guess the verb.

Preposition How-To
Write a list of prepositions students have been studying on the board, then divide the class into two teams. Call the first student from the first team to the front and give them a "How To" topic such as "How to Make a Sandwich." Choose one of the prepositions from the board, along with a number, such as "on" and "three." The student must describe the process, using "on" three times, such as "put the bread on a plate, spread the peanut butter on one piece, put the other piece of bread on top." If the student is successful, he wins a point for his team. Continue, alternating back and forth between teams, until all students have had a turn.

Moving Tenses
Create or find a doll in the shape of a person or animal. For example, color a picture of an elephant, paste it to a piece of cardboard, and cut it out. Draw a timeline on the board and mark it from left to right with points that specify "today," "yesterday," "tomorrow," "last year," or "next month." (You can change these throughout the activity.) Introduce students to Eddie the Elephant and write a verb, such as "make." Place Eddie (you can use tape on the back to affix the doll temporarily to the board) on "yesterday," and tell the class "Yesterday, Eddie made a cake." Move him to "today," or any other point on the timeline, and have students change the sentence depending on the time (i.e. "Eddie will make a cake, Eddie is making a cake"). Choose different verbs and sentences, and when students are comfortable with the activity, allow them to move Eddie on the timeline and create sentences.