Follow Me

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Social Media Worksheet preview for Pre-intermediate A2 showing vocabulary, posts, hashtags and communicative practice

ESL Social Media Worksheet - Speaking Activity: Discussion - Vocabulary, Reading and Writing Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Unscrambling, Writing Posts

In this comprehensive social media worksheet, students learn social media vocabulary and practice writing social media posts that include hashtags...

ESL Social Media Worksheet - Speaking Activity: Discussion, Communicative Practice - Vocabulary, Reading and Writing Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Unscrambling, Writing Posts In this comprehensive social media worksheet, students learn social media vocabulary and practice writing social media posts that include hashtags. Students begin by discussing two social media-related questions with a partner. Working alone, students then complete definitions with social media words from a box. Next, students complete sentences with the social media words in their correct form. After that, students reorder words to form social media posts. Students then move on to match hashtags to the posts. Following that, students write a social media post for each prompt, adding at least two hashtags to each post. Lastly, students share their posts and hashtags with the class.

Hashtag Dominoes

Pre-intermediate (A2) 20 minutes
ESL Social Media Game preview for Pre-intermediate A2 showing dominoes and matching posts to hashtags

ESL Social Media Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group Work

In this enjoyable social media game, students play dominoes by matching social media posts to hashtags. The first player puts a domino down either before or after the domino on the table, making sure the social media post matches...

ESL Social Media Game - Vocabulary: Matching - Group Work In this enjoyable social media game, students play dominoes by matching social media posts to hashtags. The first player puts a domino down either before or after the domino on the table, making sure the social media post matches with the hashtag. The other players then take turns matching their dominoes in the same way by putting them down at either end of the domino chain. If a player cannot put down one of their dominoes, they take a domino from the top of the pile and put it down if they can. If there are no dominoes left in the pile, play passes to the next student. The first player to get rid of all their dominoes wins the game.

Posts and Replies

Pre-intermediate (A2) 25 minutes
ESL Social Media Posts Activity preview for Pre-intermediate A2 showing posts, replies, adjectives, and group work

ESL Social Media Posts Activity - Vocabulary, Grammar and Writing: Unscrambling, Matching, Writing Short Replies - Group and Pair Work

In this productive social media posts activity, students practice forming and replying to short posts on social media. In two groups, students reorder words to...

ESL Social Media Posts Activity - Vocabulary, Grammar and Writing: Unscrambling, Matching, Writing Short Replies - Group and Pair Work In this productive social media posts activity, students practice forming and replying to short posts on social media. In two groups, students reorder words to form short social media posts. Students then unscramble letters to create adjectives. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group and take turns reading a post to their partner, who replies with a suitable adjective from their worksheet. If the student agrees it's appropriate, they write it in the last column. If not, their partner suggests another adjective. Finally, students use the adjectives to write short replies to the posts.

Find Someone Who...

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Social Media Activity preview for Intermediate B1 showing gap-fill, questions, and mingling

ESL Social Media Activity - Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice

In this free social media speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about social media. First, students complete 'Find someone who...' prompts with verbs related to social media in their...

ESL Social Media Activity - Speaking: Gap-fill, Asking and Answering Questions from Prompts, Controlled and Freer Practice In this free social media speaking activity, students ask and answer questions about social media. First, students complete 'Find someone who...' prompts with verbs related to social media in their correct form. Students then prepare the yes/no questions they need to ask to do the activity. Next, students go around the class, asking each other the questions, e.g. 'Have you accepted a friend request from someone this week?' When a student finds someone who answers 'yes' to a question, the student writes down their name and asks a follow-up question to gain more information, noting down the answer. Finally, students give feedback to the class on their findings.

Social Media Fan

Intermediate (B1) 25 minutes
ESL Social Media Activity preview for Intermediate B1 showing vocabulary, writing and giving clues, guessing, and group and pair work

ESL Social Media Activity - Vocabulary: Writing and Giving Clues, Guessing - Group and Pair Work

In this creative social media activity, students practice vocabulary related to social media culture by writing clues and guessing words to complete a collaborative crossword. First, in two groups, students create...

ESL Social Media Activity - Vocabulary: Writing and Giving Clues, Guessing - Group and Pair Work In this creative social media activity, students practice vocabulary related to social media culture by writing clues and guessing words to complete a collaborative crossword. First, in two groups, students create and write down clues for the social media words shown on their crossword. The clues must not use the target word and should give a definition, example, or synonym. Next, students pair up with someone from the other group. Students then take turns asking their partner for a clue to one of their missing words, e.g. 'What's the clue for number two?’ Their partner reads out the clue for that social media word, and the other student tries to guess what it is. If the student guesses the word successfully, they write it on their crossword. If not, their partner continues to give more clues until the student is able to guess the word. When all the words have been correctly guessed, the grey column running down the completed crossword will spell out the title: Social Media Fan.

Social Media Vocabulary

Intermediate (B1) 30 minutes
ESL Social Media Worksheet preview for Intermediate B1 showing vocabulary, listing, matching, gap-fill, and pair work

ESL Social Media Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Binary Choice, Matching, Gap-fill - Speaking Activities: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work

Here is an insightful social media vocabulary worksheet to help students practice words associated with social media. To begin, students list all the social...

ESL Social Media Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Listing, Binary Choice, Matching, Gap-fill - Speaking Activities: Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work Here is an insightful social media vocabulary worksheet to help students practice words associated with social media. To begin, students list all the social media platforms they can think of with a partner. Pairs then discuss two social media questions. Next, students underline the correct social media words to complete statements. After that, students match common online actions associated with social media with their correct definitions. Students then move on to complete sentences with verbs related to social media from a box. Lastly, students use social media words to complete conversation questions and then ask and answer the questions with a partner.

What Is Social Media Vocabulary?

Social media, as a functional language topic, covers the words, actions, and short interaction patterns learners need to discuss online platforms and create posts, replies, and hashtags. When learners misuse social media vocabulary, their posts or comments can sound unclear, unnatural, or too informal for the audience.

This page covers social media across A2 and B1 levels, with six resources ranging from worksheets and speaking activities to vocabulary games, including one free download.

Social media vocabulary helps learners choose short, audience-aware phrases for posting, replying, reacting, and asking questions online.

SituationSpeakerExample Phrase
Sharing an update User 'I finally finished my project!'
Commenting on a post Friend or follower 'That looks amazing!'
Asking about a post Friend or follower 'Where did you take this photo?'
Reacting to news Friend or follower 'Congratulations, that's great news!'
Adding context with hashtags User '#firstday #newjob'
Inviting opinions User 'What do you think about this app?'

How to Use Social Media Vocabulary

Match tone to audience: Choose more neutral wording for public or mixed-audience posts, as in 'Thanks for sharing this update.'

React with the right strength: Use short reactions that fit the size of the news, as in 'That's great news!'

Make posts easy to understand: Add enough context so readers know what the post refers to, as in 'First day at my new job today!'

3-Step Framework for Teaching Social Media Vocabulary

1. Build the Platform Vocabulary: Start with social media words in context, then move learners toward creating short posts and adding at least two hashtags to each post so they link meaning, wording, and audience.

2. Practice Short Public Replies: Have students form posts, choose suitable adjectives for replies, and check whether each response fits before they write their own short replies.

3. Turn Vocabulary into Interaction: Push students from prompts into real questions, such as 'Have you accepted a friend request from someone this week?', then add follow-up questions so the exchange does not stop at yes or no.

Common Mistakes with Social Media Vocabulary

Wrong Verb for Online Actions: Students often use general verbs like make or do when English needs a specific social media verb. Wrong: 'I made a photo on Instagram.' Correct: 'I posted a photo on Instagram.'

Mixing Up Posts and Comments: Students often use post when they mean comment or reply, so the listener cannot tell whether they created new content or responded to someone else. Wrong: 'I posted on Anna's photo, "Great picture!"' Correct: 'I commented on Anna's photo, "Great picture!"'

Common Questions About Teaching Social Media Vocabulary

What is a fun game for practicing social media vocabulary?

The game Hashtag Dominoes has students race to match social media posts to their correct hashtags in a domino format. Players take turns placing dominoes at either end of the chain and draw from the pile if they cannot go. The first player to get rid of all their dominoes wins.

What is a good speaking activity for teaching social media vocabulary?

The activity Social Media Fan builds spoken interaction around vocabulary. Students write clues for social media words using a definition, example, or synonym, then pair up with someone who has the other half of a collaborative crossword. They take turns asking for clues and guessing missing words until the crossword is complete.

What is a useful worksheet for teaching social media vocabulary?

Staged practice is what makes the worksheet Social Media Vocabulary work well for vocabulary building. Students move from underlining correct words and matching online actions to their definitions, through gap-fill sentences, and finally to conversation questions they ask each other using the target vocabulary.

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