Conjunctions might seem dull and lifeless--they're not action words, and they don't describe interesting people, places or things. Still, they're necessary for getting a point across. You don't have to resort to boring drill work to teach conjunctions. Rather, conjunction exercises can revolve around interesting topics, creating interactive challenges and games for ESL learners.

Fill in the Blank
Fill-in-the-blank exercises are a classic way of practicing conjunctions. You could give students worksheets with sentences that they must complete using the correct conjunction, like those found on EnglishPage.com. If they're just learning these conjunctions, you might include a word bank. If they're a bit more advanced, let them refer to their textbook if need be. They could work in pairs or small groups to increase interaction, and discuss their answers as a class afterward.

Games
A game can turn a boring exercise into a great time for everyone. You could group students into two teams, having them line up beside each other in rows. Then, read a sentence that's missing a conjunction, pausing and saying "blank" where the conjunction belongs. Alternatively, you could say a conjunction and have them use it in a sentence. The two students in front of the lines each try to say the answer first. Whomever says the correct answer first gets a point. Then, those students go to the back of the line and two other students take their turn.

Find the Conjunction
Give students a passage of writing with conjunctions they've been learning, and ask them to find all conjunctions in it. Make this a timed activity to increase the challenge. Have them circle all the conjunctions they find. When they're finished, prompt students to use the conjunctions in a sentence of their own.

Write a Story
Give students a list of conjunctions, and ask them to use them in writing a story. They could work in pairs for this exercise, or by themselves. You could give them a few prompts to choose from if you like, such as a setting and character, and a problem the character faces. Prompts make generating ideas easier, so they can get started right away. Have them share their stories with each other after they're done. You could also assign this exercise for homework.

Matching Game
For correlative conjunctions, you could give students a matching game, telling them to draw a line between each pair of words that forms a conjunction. "Both/and," "either/or," and "neither/nor" are examples. Have them work in pairs, writing a sentence for each pair of words they match. Then, go over the answers as a group, prompting students to read their sentences.