Whether you're teaching an entire classroom of students or one child at home to ensure success in school, there are activities, games and exercises available to assist your efforts. These activities can help students feel comfortable in taking direction from you, and encourage them to share with their peers.

What's the Truth?
What's the Truth? is a fun activity that encourages students get to know their classmates at any level of ESL learning. To begin this game, the teacher introduces herself to the class and speaks for a few minutes about any topic. Next, she writes five statements on the board about herself --- two are false and three are true. She then reads each statement and asks the class to vote on whether each is true. Then the students write out five statements of their own and pair up with a classmate. After the partners have revealed their truths to one another, each student takes a turn standing up to introduce his or her partner and sharing one fact.

The Rejoinders & Replies Activity
The Rejoinders & Replies Activity helps students answer questions more quickly. To begin this activity, describe a setting, like a quiet cafeteria. One person is reading a newspaper, another people-watching, another day-dreaming. Suddenly one member of the group blurts out something random off the top of his head. The teacher then calls on students for a response. The responses need not make sense, the goal is to practice responding quickly without much deliberation. For example, the statement, "I don't want to go to church" could elicit the response "Strawberries are awful" and the exercise is successful as long as the reply was genuine and fast. Place a limit on the response time.

Remembering Classmates Names
Help your students learn and remember their classmates' names the first week of school to build self-confidence. The first player says his first name and attaches an adjective to it. For example, "Crazy Chris." The second player repeats the first person's adjective and name, then states his or her own. As you go down the line or around the circle, each student must repeat all the adjective-name combinations already stated. After the tenth student, go back to the first person and ask him or her to state all of the names.