Get more advanced students to do the describing instead of you.If they’re real beginners, you may want to skip the description and just say the word. With lower-level students, say the descriptions slowly with lots of pauses.This means the students have to listen well. Each part of the description gives an extra clue and narrows it down.

“It’s an animal with four legs…”, “it lives in the jungle”, “and it’s orange and black”. It’s best to play with related vocabulary that has multiple options, e.g.

Don’t remove flashcards even if they’ve already been swatted.

After each round, change the representative.

If you have a class with more than 5 students, split them into two teams and have each team send a representative to compete against the other.

Pushing, blocking, or any other physical contact is illegal and should result in instant elimination.

If they swat an incorrect flashcard, they are eliminated and the other student can take their time to swat the correct one. Students have to “swat” the correct flashcard first to win a point. Yes, all of it for free!Īrrange approximately 20 flashcards so they’re all separate and visible. When you sign up to the Enchanted ESL Newsletter, you get the ebook for free, plus monthly updates with new games, role-play scenarios and lesson plans. I’ve got so many more for you, including 20 games in a free ebook that you can get right now. The games in this list are just the tip of the iceberg. Without further ado, let’s get to the list! This saves buying expensive flashcard packs and lets you customise what words your students learn (especially useful for more advanced groups). If you want to make your own flashcards, I recommend printing off appropriate images and words and putting them inside plastic wallets, then taping over the top. To learn about how I teach vocabulary effectively, read my big article: Best Method to Improve EFL/ESL Students’ Vocabulary: 9 Steps. However, some only work with a certain type, so check you have the right ones before starting.įlashcards are best used for memorising vocabulary, phonics, letters and numbers. One side is blank, while the other side has either an image, a word, or both.įor most games, it doesn’t matter which you use. On one side is an image, on the other is the corresponding word in English. However, you can still use them with older and advanced students, and some entries in this list have variations for a more challenging experience.īefore we get started, it’s worth defining the two types of flashcard we’ll be using. Flashcards are generally used with younger learners and beginners.

Flash 21 card game