ESL Games - Slap ‘N’ Say

This is one of my all time favorites. It lends itself easily to the TPR method of teaching ESL and to ANY age group. Can also be played with as few as 2 or 3 people but is a lot more fun with a full class room.

This game can be used as a form of reinforcing vocabulary, phrase(s), or any other lesson just taught.

For ease of explaining, lets say that you are teaching a grade one class. You are teaching the words “elephant, tiger, monkey, snake and zebra” using picture cards.

After you have drilled the words associated with the picture you either stick the picture card on the board at a height that the students can reach. Placing the cards on the floor also works well for this one.

Divide the class into two or three teams.

Taking turns, one student from each team stands and waits for the teacher to say the name of one of the picture cards.

As soon as the teacher says the word, the students standing race to the picture cards and slaps the correct one with their hand and says the word.

They then race back to their team and the entire team repeats the word.

Points to the winners team.

There are MANY variations to this game.

One is that you use a blow up bat or the likes and the students use this to slap the picture card. But make sure that you lay down the ground rules of no hitting another student with the bat and no hitting the floor with extreme force or you will not have the bats for long. lol In China, I just went to the toy market and it was easy and inexpensive to purchase the blow up bats/hammers/etc…

The students NEVER tired of playing this game.

P.S. - The more props you have, the better. A new prop for this game means it is a new game to the students. Change it up frequently.