ESL Functional Language Activities, Worksheets & Games
Prepare students for real-world communication with practical activities, games and worksheets that bring everyday English into the classroom.
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Choose a topic below to explore activities, games and worksheets for your class.
Open a description to see the language focus, resource types and available levels.
Give students practice agreeing and disagreeing in English while keeping a conversation moving. They explain their opinions and choose expressions for agreeing fully, agreeing in part or offering a different view.
Language focus: Agreeing, partially agreeing and disagreeing, including responses with 'so', 'neither' and 'nor'.
Resource types: Worksheets, response games, ranking tasks, role-plays, discussions and group presentations.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Prepare learners for air travel with practical language for airports and flights. Students ask for flight details, learn airport vocabulary and practice exchanges for checking in or booking a ticket.
Language focus: Air travel vocabulary and collocations, flight information, airport check-in and in-flight safety instructions.
Resource types: Air travel worksheets, information gaps, a booking board game, dialogue tasks, crosswords and presentations.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students ask for permission politely in everyday situations. They choose suitable questions and practice giving clear responses when granting or refusing permission.
Language focus: Permission questions with 'can', 'could', 'may' and other polite expressions, with suitable replies.
Resource types: Worksheets, mingling activities, drawing and miming games, Connect Four and a permission board game.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help learners understand the language used at the dentist's and respond to questions during an appointment. Students learn dental vocabulary and practice exchanges between a patient, dentist and dental hygienist.
Language focus: Dental vocabulary, descriptions of a dental visit and patient responses during an appointment.
Resource types: A reading and vocabulary worksheet with comprehension questions, a crossword and gap-fills, plus a dialogue-ordering role-play.
Levels: Upper-intermediate (B2).
Build the language students need to explain symptoms and take part in a medical consultation. Learners practice describing health problems, asking questions and understanding advice through doctor-patient role-plays.
Language focus: Symptoms, medical conditions, healthcare vocabulary and language used in doctor-patient conversations.
Resource types: Worksheets, doctor-patient role-plays, matching games, information gaps and healthcare discussions.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to advanced (C1).
Show how a small change in wording can make a request or interruption more considerate. Students compare polite expressions and choose suitable ways to ask for help, interrupt and respond.
Language focus: Polite requests, common courteous expressions and language for making and responding to interruptions.
Resource types: Politeness worksheets, request games, miming, a board game, dictation activities and mini debates.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Introduce the classroom language learners need to take part in English lessons. Students practice following instructions, asking for help and using familiar expressions when working with others.
Language focus: Classroom instructions, objects, phrases for asking for help and classroom phrasal verbs.
Resource types: Classroom language worksheets, illustrated flashcards, matching and memory games, miming, crosswords and board games.
Levels: Beginner (A1) to intermediate (B1).
Help students give and respond to compliments in English. They choose suitable expressions for different situations and practice accepting positive comments naturally.
Language focus: Giving and responding to compliments, including expressions for complimenting someone on their appearance.
Resource types: Complimenting worksheets, a matching and memory game, a board game and class speaking activities.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Give learners language for explaining what has gone wrong and responding constructively. Students practice making complaints, softening their wording and offering apologies so they can handle difficult exchanges more clearly.
Language focus: Making and responding to complaints, apologising, making related requests and softening complaints.
Resource types: Worksheets, phrase handouts, complaint role-plays, matching games and pair discussions.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Use ESL critical thinking activities to help students explain their reasoning and compare possible solutions. Learners weigh alternatives, agree on priorities and support their choices while considering other people's ideas.
Language focus: Expressing and justifying opinions, negotiating, evaluating options and presenting solutions.
Resource types: Critical thinking activities, ranking games, survival scenarios, group discussions, presentations and writing tasks.
Levels: Upper-intermediate (B2) to advanced (C1).
Help students discuss problems and work towards a solution. Learners explain what is wrong, suggest possible responses and consider which option would work best.
Language focus: Identifying and clarifying problems, suggesting and evaluating solutions, and reaching agreement.
Resource types: A problems-and-solutions board game, a worksheet with gap-fills and matching, and guided pair discussions.
Levels: Upper-intermediate (B2).
Give learners more precise ways to describe what someone is like. Students connect personality adjectives with examples of behaviour and use those details to explain their impressions of people.
Language focus: Character and personality adjectives, their meanings and use in spoken and written descriptions.
Resource types: Personality worksheets, word searches, matching tasks, guessing games, class questionnaires and descriptive writing.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students describe a person clearly enough for someone else to recognise them. Learners select useful physical details, organise their descriptions and ask questions to distinguish between similar people.
Language focus: Appearance vocabulary and sentence patterns for describing and identifying people.
Resource types: Worksheets, illustrated lessons, drawing activities, information gaps, guessing games and an appearance board game.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students describe places clearly, from familiar towns and cities to holiday destinations and landmarks. Learners name key features and choose language that explains what makes each place distinctive.
Language focus: Vocabulary and descriptive language for places, including their features and characteristics.
Resource types: Describing places worksheets, clue-writing activities, guessing games, a board game, reading tasks and discussions.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to advanced (C1).
Give learners practical language for describing objects in English. Students select useful details and build descriptions that help someone else identify or picture an object.
Language focus: Object descriptions, descriptive vocabulary, definitions and language for presenting products.
Resource types: Worksheets, matching and guessing games, word association, crosswords, advertisement writing and paragraph tasks.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to advanced (C1).
Help students write emails with a clear purpose and an appropriate tone. Learners organise their messages, choose suitable openings and endings, and adapt their wording for requests, enquiries, complaints and apologies.
Language focus: Email structure, etiquette, greetings and closings, and formal and informal expressions for different purposes.
Resource types: Email writing worksheets, model emails, dialogue and text ordering, error correction and guided email tasks.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Explore etiquette and manners through discussions of behaviour in different situations. Students explain expectations, compare viewpoints and give reasons for their opinions.
Language focus: Manners, etiquette and language for discussing appropriate behaviour, expectations and obligations.
Resource types: Speaking activities, sentence-completion tasks, quizzes, a trivia board game and group discussions.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students explain which option they would choose and why. Learners compare alternatives, respond to hypothetical choices and use a range of expressions to explain their preferences.
Language focus: Preference expressions, including 'would rather', 'would prefer', 'both', 'either' and 'neither'.
Resource types: Worksheets for expressing preferences, question and guessing games, ranking activities, dialogues and board games.
Levels: Intermediate (B1) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Prepare learners to ask useful questions while travelling around a town or city. Students ask for transport information and practice conversations for travelling by taxi, train, bus and subway.
Language focus: Transport questions, fares and journeys, taxi language, and vocabulary for bus, train and car travel.
Resource types: Travel role-plays, information gaps, matching and memory games, question activities and a board game.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help a new class turn introductions into conversations with ESL getting-to-know-you activities. Students discover shared interests, ask follow-up questions and exchange information that helps them learn more about their classmates.
Language focus: Personal questions, interests, experiences and language for extending a first conversation.
Resource types: Getting-to-know-you activities, icebreakers, interviews, guessing games, board games and timed speaking tasks.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Give students practice asking for and giving advice in English. Learners consider a problem, suggest what someone could do and compare different responses.
Language focus: Advice structures, including 'should' and 'shouldn't', and language for stating problems and suggesting responses.
Resource types: Giving advice worksheets, matching and guessing games, board games, discussions and email-reply tasks.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students guide someone to a destination and follow a route themselves. Learners give information in a clear order, check their understanding and connect direction phrases with streets and landmarks on a map.
Language focus: Asking for, giving and following directions, including route descriptions and common direction phrases.
Resource types: Giving directions worksheets, map information gaps, drawing tasks, pair speaking activities and a directions game.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help learners make their views clear and support them with reasons. Students ask what others think, respond to different positions and develop their ideas through discussions, ranking tasks and debates.
Language focus: Asking for, expressing and justifying opinions, persuading others and responding to opposing views.
Resource types: Opinion worksheets, ranking activities, discussion games, timed speaking, debates and group presentations.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Practice the questions people use to ask for and give personal information. Students give clear answers, ask for missing details and extend an exchange with follow-up questions.
Language focus: Personal information questions and answers, introductions and follow-up questions.
Resource types: Personal information worksheets, interviews, information gaps, question games, networking activities and role-plays.
Levels: Beginner (A1) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students start conversations with suitable greetings and introductions. Learners choose formal or informal expressions, introduce themselves and others, and bring short exchanges to a polite close.
Language focus: Greetings, introducing yourself and others, introductory questions and saying goodbye.
Resource types: Greetings worksheets, role-plays, matching and memory games, dialogue ordering and dominoes.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students use English to organise a holiday and share their experiences. Learners ask for hotel information, discuss plans and preferences, and explain the details of a booking or itinerary.
Language focus: Holiday plans and experiences, hotel enquiries and requests, bookings and tour arrangements.
Resource types: Holiday worksheets, information gaps, role-plays, vocabulary games, email writing and itinerary presentations.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Make questions sound less direct while keeping their meaning clear. Students learn how introductory phrases change question structure and use them when asking politely for information in different situations.
Language focus: Indirect question openings, statement word order and contrasts between direct and indirect questions.
Resource types: Indirect questions worksheets, question-rewriting games, interviews, role-plays and a board game.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Give learners a wider choice of ways to express enjoyment, dislike and irritation. Students find out what classmates enjoy, compare reactions and explain their own preferences in conversation.
Language focus: Likes, dislikes, favourites and expressions of irritation, with suitable question and sentence patterns.
Resource types: Likes and dislikes worksheets, surveys, matching and guessing games, miming, dialogues and a speaking board game.
Levels: Beginner (A1) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students make arrangements and agree on plans with other people. Learners confirm details, find a suitable time and explain changes to appointments or reservations.
Language focus: Making, confirming, changing and cancelling arrangements, appointments and reservations.
Resource types: Worksheets, scheduling role-plays, dialogue ordering, running dictation and sentence-matching games.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Practice making decisions in English and explaining the reasons behind them. Students respond to everyday situations, make spontaneous choices and use suitable expressions to say what they have decided.
Language focus: Spontaneous decisions with 'will' and expressions for stating and explaining choices.
Resource types: Decision-making games, matching tasks, gap-fills, question activities and a board game.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help learners make excuses and explain why they cannot do something or why something went wrong. Students choose responses that fit requests, invitations and other situations, adding an apology where appropriate.
Language focus: Making excuses, apologising and responding to requests, invitations and accusations.
Resource types: An excuses worksheet, matching and sentence-completion games, pair exchanges and writing tasks.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Give students language for offering help and making a commitment. Learners distinguish an offer from a promise and choose expressions that fit what another person needs or what they intend to do.
Language focus: Offers and promises with 'will', 'won't', 'shall' and 'would you like'.
Resource types: Matching games, missing-word guessing, response races and pair speaking activities.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to intermediate (B1).
Give students practice making, accepting and declining invitations. Learners explain their plans, respond politely and agree on details such as where and when to meet.
Language focus: Making, accepting and declining invitations, related arrangements and written invitation language.
Resource types: Invitation worksheets, role-plays, mingling activities, response games, a board game and email writing.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students make requests politely in English. Learners vary the level of politeness and practice accepting or declining requests with responses that suit the situation.
Language focus: Making, accepting and declining requests, including 'could you' and 'would you mind' patterns.
Resource types: Worksheets for making requests, drawing and guessing games, role-plays, mingling activities and a board game.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students make suggestions when deciding what to do together. Learners propose ideas, explain their preferences and practice accepting or rejecting suggestions politely.
Language focus: Making, accepting and rejecting suggestions, with expressions for everyday plans and situations.
Resource types: Suggestion worksheets, role-plays, sentence-building games, dialogue writing and pair and group discussions.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Prepare learners to communicate clearly in familiar online situations. Students interpret short messages, exchange information and choose language for forms, profiles, video calls and online transactions.
Language focus: Online communication vocabulary, chat abbreviations, video-call expressions and language for forms, shopping and advertising.
Resource types: Online communication worksheets, running dictations, vocabulary games, dialogue practice and guided writing activities.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students practice ordering food and drink in English through restaurant role-plays. Learners ask for menu items, respond to questions and practice ordering in restaurants, coffee shops and sandwich shops.
Language focus: Ordering food and drink, customer and server expressions, menus and restaurant vocabulary.
Resource types: Restaurant role-plays, coffee-shop dialogues, ordering games, vocabulary worksheets and conversation-completion tasks.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to intermediate (B1).
Give learners language for finding what they need and completing a purchase. Students ask about items and prices, explain their choices and practice exchanges between shoppers and shop assistants, including bargaining.
Language focus: Shopping questions, prices, buying and selling, clothes shopping, bargaining and shopping phrasal verbs.
Resource types: Shopping role-plays, worksheets, board games, quizzes, crosswords and dialogue tasks.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Use small talk activities to help students start and maintain short social conversations. Learners choose suitable topics, ask follow-up questions, show interest in an answer and recognise ways to end an exchange politely.
Language focus: Conversation starters, appropriate small-talk topics, responses, follow-up questions and closing expressions.
Resource types: Small talk worksheets, role-plays, response games, information gaps and dialogue-writing activities.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Explore social media vocabulary through familiar posts and online exchanges. Students interpret messages, write short replies and discuss their social media habits.
Language focus: Social media vocabulary, posts, hashtags, short replies and questions about social media habits.
Resource types: Social media worksheets, matching games, clue-giving activities, class surveys and post-writing tasks.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to intermediate (B1).
Help learners manage a phone conversation when they cannot rely on gestures or facial expressions. Students clarify details, confirm information and use polite phrases to organise bookings, deliveries and appointments.
Language focus: Telephone expressions, clarifying and confirming, ending calls, arrangements and telephone phrasal verbs.
Resource types: Telephoning worksheets, role-plays, dialogue-ordering tasks, matching games and memory games.
Levels: Pre-intermediate (A2) to upper-intermediate (B2).
Help students understand and communicate times and dates accurately. Students connect spoken and written forms with clocks, calendars and timetables, then ask for the information they need to complete a task.
Language focus: Telling the time, saying dates, calendar language and timetable questions and answers.
Resource types: Time and date worksheets, calendar activities, information gaps, matching games, bingo and timetable games.
Levels: Beginner (A1) to pre-intermediate (A2).
Practice useful travel English for organising a journey and exchanging information. Learners ask travel questions, discuss routines and plans, and take part in hotel reservation conversations.
Language focus: Travel questions, journey times, travel routines, hotel reservations and common travel collocations.
Resource types: Travel role-plays, conversation activities, information exchanges, dialogue tasks and collocation games.
Levels: Elementary (A1/A2) to intermediate (B1).
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