Teaching children to speak English correctly requires patience and persistence. Students may struggle to learn to speak English because of factors such as a speech impediment, a poor academic environment or because they are English as a Second Language Students. You can help facilitate the process of proper English acquisition by having students play fun games.

1

Use familiar concepts. One of the best ways to help students learn spoken English is to use games that utilize concepts that students know well. Think about the student population you are teaching. If students are from a specific area of the world, such as East Asia or the South Pacific. Create games that use concepts they already know. For example, students from China share a similar culture. Ask them to play a game based around common Chinese food items such as rice and noodles. One student can think of an item. The others must guess that item based on questions they ask the first student.

2

Draw on games that force all students to participate. A good game should allow all students in the room to have a turn playing. No student should be able to hide behind a teammate and not speak up as the game progresses. Have one student start telling a story. Let each student add at least two or three sentences to the first student's story. Each person's contribution must tie into the previous person's sentences.

3

Use music. Music can help students feel comfortable speaking out by giving them a familiar framework to work with. Ask one student to think of a musical instrument or composer and start to draw the thing or person on the blackboard. Other students can take turns guessing which instrument or composer the person is drawing.

4

Make sure students can hear the words being spoken. Any games that teach speaking skills must encourage all participants to speak up so they can hear each other. Have students sit in a close circle to facilitate this process. They should be able to hear you make any corrections in their speech as they play any games.

5

Offer prizes for students who do well. Provide motivations for students to play games. Use tongue twisters. See who can recite the tongue twisters the fastest. Offer a small prize such as piece of candy or brightly colored fan for the students who are able to recite the quickest and the most accurately.