this is the list of our 10 suggested games to use in teaching English in your classes, thanks to Mr.Hashemi for his help.

1. 10 games to use in ESL or EFL classes
Games can be used to warm up the class before your lesson begins, during the lesson to give
students a break when you’re tackling a tough subject, or at the end of class when you have a
few minutes left to kill. Many adult students, in fact, retain more information that is processed
during an energy-intensive game than information presented during lectures, writing, or small
group activities.
This is the list of our suggested 10 games to play in the classrooms for better learning.
1. Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie
2. Simon Says
3. Hangman
4. The Mime
5. Where Shall I Go?
6. Last man standing
7. Telephone (Chinese Whispers)
8. I spy
9. Tongue twisters
10. Word scramble

2. 1)Call My Bluff / Two Truths and A Lie
Call My Bluff is a fun game which is perfect at the start of term as a ‘getting to know you’ kind
of game. It is also a brilliant ice breaker between students if you teach classes who do not know
one another and especially essential if you are teaching a small class size. The game is excellent
for practicing speaking skills, though make sure you save a time for after the game to comment
on any mistake students may have made during the game. (don't disrupt the students’ fluency
by correcting them as they speak). With older groups you can have some real fun and you might
be surprised what you’ll learn about some of your students when playing this particular EFL
game.
Why to use it? It is used as an Ice-breaker and also it is used for improving Speaking skills.
How to play it? Write 3 statements about yourself on the board, two of which should be truths
and one should be lie. Allow your students to ask you questions about each statement and then
guess which one is the truth. You might want to practice your poker face before starting this
game! If they guess correctly then they win.
As an extension you can give students time to write their own two truths and one lie. Pair them
up and have them play again, this time with their list, with their new partner. If you want to
really extend the game and give students even more time to practice their speaking/listening
skills, rotate partners every five minutes. Bring the whole class back together and have students
announce one new thing they learned about another student as a recap.

3. 2)Simon Says
This is an excellent game for young learners. The only danger you may find with this game is
that students never want to stop playing it.
Why to use it? You can use it for improving listening comprehension, Vocabulary, warming up
or winding down the class.
How to Play? Stand in front of the class (you are Simon for the duration of this game). Do an
action and say Simon Says [the action]. The students must copy what you do and mustn’t copy
your action if you don’t say Simon says. Repeat this process choosing different actions - you can
be as silly as you like and the sillier you are the more the children will love you for it. Then do an
action but this time say only the action and omit ‘Simon Says’. Whoever does the action this
time is out and must sit down. The winner is the last student standing. To make it harder, speed
up the actions. Reward children for good behavior by allowing them to play the part of Simon.

4. 3)Hangman
This classic game is a favorite for all students but it can get boring quite quickly. This game is
best used for 5 minutes at the start to warm the class up or 5 minutes at the end if you’ve got
some time left over. It works no matter how many students are in the class.
Why to use it? Warming up or winding down the class and learning new vocabularies.
How to play? Think of a word and write the number of letters on the board using dashes to
show how many letters there are. Ask students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word,
write it in all of the correct spaces. If the letter does not appear in the word, write it off to the
side and begin drawing the image of a hanging man. Continue until the students guess the word
correctly (they win) or you complete the diagram (you win).

5. 4)The Mime
Miming is an excellent way for students to practice their tenses and their verbs. It's also great
for teachers with minimal resources or planning time, or teachers who want to break up a longer
lesson with something more interactive. It's adaptable to almost any language point that you
might be focusing on. This game works with any age group, although you will find that adults
tire of this far quicker than children. To keep them engaged, relate what they will be miming to
your groups' personal interests as best as possible.
Why to use it? It is used for vocabulary and speaking practice.
How to play? Before the class, write out some actions - like washing the dishes - and put them
in a bag. Split the class into two teams. Bring one student from each team to the front of the
class and one of them choose an action from the bag. both students should mime the action to
their team. The first team to shout the correct answer wins a point. Repeat this until all
students have mimed at least one action.

6. 5) Where Shall I Go?
This game is used to test prepositions of movement and should be played after this subject has
been taught in the classroom. This game is so much fun but it can be a little bit dangerous since
you'll be having one student in each pair be blindfolded while the other directs them. So, make
sure to keep your eyes open! It is also excellent for the adult EFL classroom, or if you're
teaching teenagers.
Why to use it? It is used to practice Prepositions, Speaking and Listening skills.
How to play? Before the students arrive, turn your classroom into a maze by rearranging it. It's
great if you can do this outside of the classroom, but otherwise push tables and chairs together
and move furniture to make your maze. When your students arrive, put them in pairs outside
the classroom. Blindfold one student from each pair. Allow pairs to enter the classroom one at a
time; the blindfolded student should be led through the maze by their partner. The students
must use directions such as step over, go under, go up, and go down to lead their partner to the
end of the maze.

7. 6) Last Man Standing
This is a game which gives students the time to think and encourage peer learning. As they hear
other students speaking, they will pick up on some words. Have all the students form a circle
and stand at the center with a ball. All you have to do is name a category (food, places, hobbies,
etc.) and pass the ball to one student. Let them toss it to another student as they name a word
related to the theme. If they repeat a word or can’t say any more words, they need to sit down.
The last man/student standing wins the game. This game is fast-paced, but allows students
some time to think. It also encourages peer learning, as students will pick up on words, they
hear others speaking.
Why to use it? it improves thinking, peer learning, listening and speaking skills.
How to play? To play the game, grab a ball and have all the students form a circle. Name a
category or theme, such as things found in a kitchen, food, professions, and so on. Begin by
tossing the ball at a student. That student will shout a word related to the theme and throw the
ball to another student. As each person catches the ball, they need to come up with another
word that fits the theme. If they repeat a word that has already been said or can’t think of a new
one within a few seconds, they are out and must sit on the sidelines. Don’t worry, they’ll still be
learning!

8. 7)Telephone (Chinese Whispers)
Proper pronunciation is a key to English success. The “telephone” game is a great way to
practice. Assembly line-style, the teacher whispers a vocabulary term into a student’s ear, who
then whispers it into the next student’s ear, and so on until the term has been relayed
throughout the whole class. The last student then announces the term. When conducting this
icebreaker, you may be surprised how often the terms are “lost in translation.”
Why to use it? This game is best for practicing vocabulary and pronunciation.
How to play? Chinese Whispers is essentially a telephone relay game where players sit in a
row/circle and whisper a phrase into each other’s ears. As the phrase gets passed along, it’ll
change due to mispronunciation or memory problems. At the end, the student announces what
phrase they heard, which often has changed, and everyone laughs. The teacher then should
correct the mistake and have all the students repeat the correct version.

9. 8)I spy
I spy is a fun game for practicing English vocabulary. Here are tips for playing I spy at
classrooms. I spy encourages your students to speak English. Choose an object that you can see,
for example a Book. Say 'I spy with my little eye something beginning with B'. Your students
then have to guess the word beginning with that letter. This is a great game to play with the
whole class! They can play I spy at home, in the car, in the park – anywhere else!
why to use it? It encourages speaking skill and also improves vocabulary learning.
How to Play? The class is divided into one person who is “it,” while everyone else is a player.
The person who is “it” chooses an object in plain view and then says “I spy with my little eye,
something that is [a color]. The players take turns guessing which object the person who is “it”
chose. They should use the sentence “Is it the [object]?” The answer should then be either “Yes,
it is.” or “No, it isn’t.” The player who successfully guesses the chosen object wins and becomes
“it” in the next round. If no one can guess the object, have the person who is “it” identify it and
end their turn. At this point, the teacher can then either choose the next student to be “it” or
become “it.”

10. 9) Tongue twisters
Tongue twisters are great for lightening the mood, as an ice-breaker, or way to begin each class.
Search for more difficult phrases for advanced classes – you’ll see that it’s a rare student who
doesn’t crack a smile! For example, the tongue twister: She sells sea shells by the seashore.
Why to use it? This game can be used as an ice breaker and also fluency and pronunciation
practice.
Tongue twisters are a great way to practice and improve pronunciation and fluency. They can
also help to improve accents by using alliteration, which is the repetition of one sound. They’re
not just for kids, but are also used by actors, politicians, and public speakers who want to sound
clear when speaking. Below, you will find some of the most popular English tongue twisters.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
If a dog chews shoes, whose shoes does he choose?
We surely shall see the sunshine soon

11. 10) Word Scramble
In the game, the letters that can make a meaningful word are scrambled or mixed up together in
a random fashion. Students have to rearrange the letters to make a meaningful word. Students
need to arrange the vowels and consonants to make a word which has a meaning. for example,
"LEPAES" turns out to be "PLEASE" when you unjumble the letters and rearrange them.
Why to use it? It is used for vocabulary learning, it improves word recall & memory and also
spelling (means that you learn how words are correctly spelled).
How to play? Prepare a range of scrambled words (something related to what you've been
teaching in your class) that can be put into easy (1 point), medium (2 points) and hard (3
points) categories. Split the class into groups and have a student from the first group choose a
category. Once you have written the scrambled word on the whiteboard/blackboard the team of
students have around 1 minute to come up with the answer (while the rest of the class stay
silent). Continue the process with the other teams while keeping track of the scores.

12. Sources:
https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/10-best-games-esl-teachers
https://www.opportunity-china.com/blog/10-classroom-games-esl/
https://eslauthority.com/resources/esl-icebreakers/
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/top-tips/play-i-spy
https://www.ef.com/ca/blog/teacherzone/11-classic-games-use-class/
https://word.tips/word-scramble/
Mohsen Hashemi
Meysam Gholami