100 TESOL Activities for Teacher

🧰 Part 1: Core Activity Types (≈10 staple methods)

These foundational techniques form the spine of communicative teaching ThriftBooks+6Los Angeles Public Library+6Language Path+6:

1. Information-gap

2. Jigsaw tasks

3. Cloze passages

4. Diary or journal writing

5. Dictation with variation

6. Modified TPR (Total Physical Response)

7. Think‑Pair‑Share (or Square)

8. Talking Tokens (turn-taking strategy)

9. Read Aloud / Reading Circles

10. “Turn ANYTHING into an English activity”

🗣️ Speaking Activities (≈30)

• Role‑plays, interviews, opinion‑sharing, debates, scavenger hunts Los Angeles Public Library+1Reddit+1International Open Academy+2linguisticforum.com+2americantesol.com+2Reddit+5Wikipedia+5linguisticforum.com+5

• Two Truths and a Lie / Call My Bluff (gamified conversation) Reddit+4tesolinchina.com+4Reddit+4

• Write a dialogue, cut it up, swap, reorder and perform Reddit+1americantesol.com+1

• Jenga‑based ask/answer question game Reddit+1americantesol.com+1

• 1‑minute topic challenge: speak spontaneously on random prompts Reddit+2Reddit+2International Open Academy+2

• Best out of Three conversational competition in small groups Reddit+3Reddit+3Reddit+3

• Interview-based tasks, e.g., radio-show style with roles like host/genius Reddit

• Murder mystery scenarios, word‑target hidden conversations Reddit

• Describe vocabulary without using certain words (taboo style) Reddit

• Games like Codenames, Go Fish, Bananagrams to practice target vocabulary Reddit

📖 Listening & Reading (≈20)

• Classic listening and reading gap–fills and quizzes

• Scavenger‑hunt style listening: follow instructions to find information Wikipediaamericantesol.com

• Jazz Chants: rhythmic repeating of natural spoken English Wikipedia

• Interactive article summaries with a false fact to spot Reddit

• Reading circles, peer‑led group reading, and discussion groups

• Listening for details via dictation variants or fill‑in‑blanks

✍️ Writing & Vocabulary (≈20)

• Journals or learning diaries Wikipedia

• Vocabulary categorization and “odd one out” puzzles

• Cloze text rewriting, scrambled sentences, reordering dialogues

• Creative writing prompts (e.g., invent a radio script, travel complaint letter)

• Frayer models based on words used during games arXivReddit

• Opinion or persuasive paragraphs based on debate topics

• Email writing practice (formal vs informal) International Open Academy

🌳 Outdoor & Kinesthetic Activities (≈10)

• Chalk games (word hopscotch, spelling mazes) americantesol.com

• Outdoor scavenger hunts, describing finds in English

• Role‑play real‑life stations outdoors (market, café, travel agency) americantesol.com

• Board games combined with physical tasks (e.g., trivia + running) americantesol.com

• Storytelling in nature, turning environmental objects into props

• Outdoor debates with physical positioning (agree/disagree lines)

• Sports with language use (answer a question before scoring a goal)

• Nature walks with descriptive speaking practice

• Outdoor chess/checkers: explain plans in English americantesol.com

😊 Icebreakers & Warm-ups (≈10)

• Information‑gap introductions

• Spread‑out mingle interviews (Find someone who…) Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2linguisticforum.com+2

• Quick describe-and-guess from word lists Reddit

• 1‑minute speaking burst on random topic

• Card‑draw questions with suit meaning categories Reddit

• Board Race vocabulary competitions tesolinchina.com

✅ Summary Table

📚 Why Use This Framework?

• Based on Shane Dixon’s manual used widely in TESOL training globally Los Angeles Public Library+1OverDrive+1OverDrive+7DiscountMags.com+7Google Books+7

• Covers all four macro‑skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing) plus motivational warm‑ups and lesson planning models

• Includes adaptable, low‑prep activities suitable for young learners to adults and varied proficiency levels