Games For English Classes

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1
Matt Errey 2013

First published 2013 by teflgames.com
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Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 2

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Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part 1 Icebreakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The Circle Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Icebreaker Interviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Whats the Question? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Classroom Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Printable Resource: Classroom Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Language Learning Survey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Printable Resource: Language Learning Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Part 2 Fillers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Jumbled Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Teachers Resource: Jumbled Words Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Shiritori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
What happened to me recently... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Line Up, Line Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
A to Z Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Part 3 Classic Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Twenty Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Printable Resource: Twenty Questions Topic Cards . . . . . . . . . 32
Hot Seat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Coffee Pot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Printable Resource: Coffee Pot Sample Questions . . . . . . . . . . 36
Telephone or Chinese Whispers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Printable Resource: Telephone Instruction Slips . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Word-O-Bingo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Printable Resources: Word-O-Bingo Lists & Slips 1- 5 . . . . . . . 42
Part 4 Quiz Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
General Knowledge Quiz 1 ( Quiz Show) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Printable Resources: Quiz Show Question Sets 1-4 . . . . . . . . . 55
General Knowledge Quiz 2 (Team Quiz) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Printable Resources: Team Quiz Question Sets 1-8 . . . . . . . . . 60
Vocab Quiz 1 (Small Group Version) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Printable Resources: Vocab Quiz 1 Question Sets 1-10 . . . . . . 69
Vocab Quiz 2 (Worksheet Version) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Printable Resources: Vocab Quiz 2 Worksheets 1-10 . . . . . . . . 80
Phrasal Verbs Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Printable Resources: Phrasal Verbs Quiz Sets 1-5 . . . . . . . . . . 86
Answers to Phrasal Verbs Quiz Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Part 5 Spelling Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Spelling Quiz For Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Spelling Quiz For Individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Spelling Bee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Printable Resource: Graded Word List for Spelling Games . . . . . 99
Appendix 1: Printable Templates for Card Games . . . . . . . . . 100
Appendix 2: Selected Extracts on Using Games . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Appendix 3: Recommended Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Introduction
Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 is the first of two ebooks created to give
teachers quick and easy access to many of the best games and activities for
teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. This book includes
icebreakers, fillers, quiz games, spelling games and classic ESL games like 20
Questions and Hot Seat. Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 2 covers card
games, acting and miming games, vocabulary games and a section of games
and activities in which learners can practise their conversational skills. While
nearly all of these games and activities give students the opportunity to
practise and develop communicative skills of speaking and listening, each
game also has a particular focus, such as building vocabulary, improving
spelling ability, or developing awareness of idiomatic usage.
How the Games are Presented

Each games description includes a table showing the levels a game is
suitable for, the number of students it can accommodate, its duration, the
amount of preparation it requires, and the language forms and functions it
focuses on.
Level: Elem -> Int Class size: up to ~12 students Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Preparation: None
Focus: Breaking the ice, learning names, introducing people
Fig. 1. Tables like this make it easy to find the features and functions of each game.
Levels
The games are described as being suitable for a range of proficiency levels,
namely Elementary, Lower Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper Intermediate
and Advanced. Teachers should use these levels as a rough guide only when
choosing games, however, and always check the instructions, and any
supplementary materials, before deciding whether a particular game is
suitable or not. This is because these terms can mean very different things in
different parts of the world. A proficiency level termed elementary in an ESL
institute in Canada, for example, may well be termed intermediate in a
secondary school in Japan. Therefore a range of levels that each game could be
suitable for is usually given, rather than a single level. For example, the table
in Fig. 1 above gives the level as Elem -> Int, meaning from Elementary to
Intermediate. This means that the game could be suitable for Elementary,
Lower Intermediate, or Intermediate students, depending on how these
terms are used in a particular school or region. It does not, however, mean
that the game will definitely be suitable for all of the levels within the
indicated range.
Class size
The recommended class size is a general guideline only. If you think a game
would be suitable for your students, but the class is a little bigger, or a little
smaller, than the recommended size, you should still be able to use it.

Time
The times given in the table should also be taken as a rough guide only. The
duration of a game usually depends on a number of variables. These could
include how long it takes the class to understand how the game works, how
often the game is stopped while the teacher answers questions or explains
points of grammar or usage, how quickly and effectively the students
communicate while playing, how familiar they are with classroom games
and typical game vocabulary, and so on. Nevertheless, the times given in the
table should give teachers a rough idea of how long it usually takes to
complete a game.
Preparation
Teachers can see at a glance what sort of preparation is required, if any, and
gauge how long it should take. In some cases, writing tables or word lists on
the board will be all thats needed, while in others supplementary materials
will have to be selected and printed. These materials could be worksheets,
quiz questions, card sets, instruction slips, word lists, name tags, and so on.
In most cases preparing the materials wont take too long, but in a few cases,
such as when preparing card sets, youll need to allow a fair bit of time for
preparation. In such cases you might even consider having students prepare
the materials themselves. (ideas on how this can be done can be found in
Book 2 in the section on Card Games).
Focus
This part of the table tells you what the students can learn or practise by
playing the game. It could be a basic function such as introducing people, or
it could be asking and answering yes or no questions, or maybe the
introduction or revision of lexical sets such as emotions or moods, or
simply testing and improving spelling ability, for example. One very
important function that is not mentioned, however - because it is common to
virtually all the games - is the basic one of providing students the
opportunity to use their English in an authentic social situation, and to gain
confidence in their ability to communicate face-to-face in real life.
How the Games are Categorized

The games in this book are arranged into five categories, each of which is
given its own section in the book. The categories are icebreakers, fillers,
classic ESL games, quiz games and spelling games. In Book 2, the categories
are card games, acting and miming games, vocabulary games and
conversation games.
Icebreakers
The first section contains games that help learners in a new class get to know
each other and feel relaxed with one another. Many involve information gaps
or information exchanges from which they can learn about each others
hobbies and pastimes, likes and dislikes, ambitions and goals for the future,
and so on. The games are also intended to create a fun, non-threatening
atmosphere that encourages students to feel comfortable in, and develop a
positive attitude towards, their new class.

Fillers
As the name suggests, these games can be used whenever you find yourself
unexpectedly faced with a few minutes to fill during a class. This could occur
when waiting for latecomers to arrive, when a lesson has to be put on hold
some reason, or when a lesson has been completed five or ten minutes before
the end of a class, for example. The games require no preparation, are easy to
explain and organize, and are flexible enough in terms of duration to keep
your students happily occupied for as long as necessary.
Classic ESL Games

The games in this section have been used in classrooms for so long that
theyre often referred to as classic ESL games, and many teachers would
consider their box of tricks incomplete without them. They include Hot
Seat, Coffee Pot, Telephone (or Chinese Whispers), Word-O Bingo, and the most
classic of them all, Twenty Questions.
Quiz Games
Most of us enjoy having our knowledge tested in quiz games, and classroom
quiz games are almost always a big hit with learners. In this section youll
find games in which general knowledge is tested, as well as games in which
various aspects of English are tested, such as vocabulary, phrasal verbs,
common idioms, and so on. Youll also find spelling games in which some of
the most commonly-misspelled words in English are tested.
Spelling Games
Spelling quizzes and spelling bees have long been a part of life for native
English-speaking students in schools throughout the English-speaking world,
and theyre now becoming part of the TOEFL world as well. The games in
this section include spelling quizzes for both teams and individuals, as well
as a game based on the traditional spelling bee.
Competitive and Co-operative Games

When reading about or discussing the use of games in the classroom, youve
probably heard particular games referred to as being either competitive
games or co-operative games. The tendency to label games with one or
other of these terms seems to have first become widespread in the 1960s and
1970s during debates among Western academics on teaching methods and
classroom practices. These debates occurred within a broader debate on how
Western social institutions such as the family, religious organizations, mass
media, schools and universities, etc., were contributing to the socialization of
the young. Social critics of the day, most notably Herbert Marcuse in One
Dimensional Man (first published in 1964), suggested that these institutions
conditioned the young so as to produce a population of docile citizens
willing and able to accept their role as diligent producers on the one hand,
and enthusiastic consumers on the other, in a modern capitalist society. Other
critics, such as Ivan Illich in his 1971 book Deschooling Society, began to
examine the role of the classroom, and particular classroom practices, in this
process of socialization. Critics argued that in the traditional classroom the

teacher was regarded as the sole possessor of knowledge and authority,
while students were regarded as passive receptacles for the teachers
knowledge and approval. This classroom structure was widely criticized at
this time, as were many other aspects of the traditional educational system,
such as rote learning, exam-based assessment, and the rigid division of
knowledge into distinct and separate subjects.
Another aspect of traditional education that was widely criticized was the
use of competition in the classroom, either as a means of grading students, or
as a means of motivating them. It was seen as a reflection of the overly
competitive nature of life in modern capitalist societies, and also as a means
of preparing the young for life out there in the dog eat dog world that
awaited them. One often-cited example of the use of competition in the
classroom was the practice of having students compete against one another
for awards, scholarships, and access to further education. This practice of
pitting students against one another was widely criticized as it was seen as
encouraging students to regard a classmates failure to perform well as
boosting their own chances of success in the struggle for the rewards on offer.
These radical critiques of the role of competition within the education system
led to a tendency among certain academics and writers to regard anything
that could be labelled competitive as problematic, including games or
classroom activities that involved any form of competition. An example of
this tendency can be found in a book published in 1986 entitled No Contest:
The Case Against Competition by U.S. independent scholar Alfie Kohn in
which he argued that all competitive games are bad for children, and that a
teacher should never inflict the evils of competition upon his or her students.
This book was quite influential at the time of its publication, especially in the
U.S., and for several years thereafter the view it had put forward was widely-
held among progressive teachers, although the fact that children continued to
insist on playing competitive games in the playground, and on the sports
field, suggests that students themselves werent entirely convinced of the
merits of its anti-competitive stance.
In the succeeding decades, this view has gradually come to be seen by more
and more educators as being somewhat extreme, and many have shifted to a
more balanced viewpoint. One of the reasons for this shift is the fact that the
practice of labelling games as either competitive or co-operative has itself
been challenged. Classifying games in this way is seen by many as being
overly simplistic in that it obscures the fact that all games are, by nature,
highly co-operative activities, not only the so-called co-operative games.
For any so-called competitive game to work, players must co-operate in a
number of ways. They must all behave in ways that accord to the basic
premise of the game, they must all agree to obey the rules of the game, and
they must all accept the authority of an adjudicator, if there is one, even
when they are convinced that he or she has made a mistake. In addition, the
fact that many so-called competitive games, including many of those
described in this book, are team games means that players must closely co-
operate with their teammates while playing. As such, playing a competitive
game requires a great deal of co-operation, and this fact is only obscured by
the use of words like competitive and co-operative to distinguish
different types of games.

The development of a more balanced view in relation to the use of
competitive games in the classroom meant that both the benefits, on the one
hand, and the pitfalls, on the other hand, were acknowledged. The challenge
for educators then became one of determining how to enjoy the benefits of
competition while at the same time minimizing any potential pitfalls. What
educators were looking for has often been characterized as healthy
competition, as opposed to unhealthy competition.
Healthy and Unhealthy Competition

While most educators now agree that using competition in the classroom is
not necessarily problematic, most would agree that its important to
distinguish between healthy and unhealthy competition. For most, healthy
competition means placing the emphasis on having fun while learning with
ones classmates, rather than on winning at all costs. In order to ensure the
emphasis is on fun and learning, teachers shouldnt offer any special reward
to the winner of a game. It doesnt matter whether the reward is something
material like a prize or a medal, something symbolic like the title of class
champion, or even something more subtle like special affection or approval.
Offering any such reward is unhealthy as it can lead to an overemphasis on
winning, which in turn can lead to undesirable consequences such as
arguments about the rules, accusations of cheating, feelings of shame or
failure when losing, feelings of anger and frustration with teammates who
make mistakes, and so on. As long as teachers dont make winning the focus,
students can enjoy the fun, excitement and learning opportunities that
playing a competitive game can bring.
Another problem that is sometimes cited is the possibility that students

might feel that losing a game means theyve lost face, or that losing a game
could damage a students self-esteem, even when winning has not been
emphasized by the teacher. While theres very little evidence to support such
a concern, if you feel that its a valid consideration in the culture in which
youre teaching, you could consider only using team games rather than
games in which students compete as individuals. Doing so should mean that
responsibility for losing a game is shared among team members, and
individual players might be less likely to feel as if theyve lost face.
While some of the games and activities in this book could be labelled co-
operative or non-competitive, the majority involve some degree of
competition. This is because the book is, in part, a collection of some of most
popular and widely-used ESL games, and most of these are, to some degree,
competitive. It is also because many teachers nowadays believe that the
benefits of using competitive games outweigh any possible drawbacks,
especially when they are used in the spirit of healthy competition outlined
above.
References:
Kohn, A. No Contest: The Case Against Competition Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

Revised 1992.

Shindler, J. (2009). Examining the Use of Competition in the Classroom. In
Transformative Classroom Management. Pub. by Jossey Bass Wiley 2009
Zan, B and Hildebrandt, C (2005). Cooperative and Competitive Games in

Constructivist Classrooms. In The Constructivist Fall 2005 Vol. 16, No. 1
Additional Notes and Key to Abbreviations
On adapting the games

Sometimes teachers come up with their own variations on traditional
classroom games, and we encourage you to take the same approach to any of
the games included here. If you come up with a variation that works well,
and youd like to share it with other teachers, please let us know and well
consider including it, along with an acknowledgement, in any future
editions.
On the printable materials

Many of the games and activities in this collection come with printable
materials such as worksheets, word-lists, card sets, instruction slips, and sets
of quiz questions. While these materials are protected by copyright, and
cannot be reproduced in any form for sale or further distribution in any form
without written permission from their creator, Matt Errey, anyone who buys
the book is free to print, photocopy, and use any of these materials for their
intended purpose.
How to contact the author

If youd like to get in touch with the author in order to make any comments
or suggestions, or to request permission to use copyrighted materials, please
feel free to contact Matt Errey at matt@teflgames.com
Hed love to hear from you!
Key to Abbreviations
Elem Elementary
Lwr Int Lower intermediate
Int Intermediate
Upr Int Upper intermediate
Adv Advanced

Part 1 : Icebreakers
The first time a new class meets many students will feel a little nervous and
shy, and one of our first jobs is to help them to relax and feel comfortable.
The games and activities in this section have been designed with this in
mind. They should help students to break the ice by providing a fun, non-
threatening atmosphere in which they can get to know one another and begin
to feel relaxed.
Most of the games and activities involve some sort of information gap or
information exchange that should help your students to learn about one
another. Theyll find out about each others hobbies and pastimes, likes and
dislikes, ambitions and goals, and so on, and by doing so theyll get to know
one another better and feel more comfortable in the class.
One of the main reasons we use games and fun activities is to create a
relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere, and this is especially important the
first few times a new class meets. The sooner students get to know one
another and feel comfortable together, the sooner they feel relaxed enough to
really concentrate on the material and the tasks at hand. And the sooner they
begin to really concentrate, the sooner they begin to learn.

The Circle Game
Level: All Class size: up to 12 (more if Time: 15 - 20 minutes

groups are formed)
Preparation: None
Focus: Breaking the ice, remembering names, introducing people.
This is a great game to play with a new class. It gives everyone the chance to
memorize the names of their new classmates by repeating them over and
over again. The instructions below are for a small class, but if you have a
large class you can model the activity first with a group of around ten
students, and then have the rest of the class form their own groups once they
understand how it works.
How it Works
Sit in a circle with your students, either in chairs, on cushions, or around a
table.
Part 1: First round

Start by saying your name: Hi, Im Pete.
Then tell the student to your left to do the same: Hi, Im Maria.
and so on around the circle.
Part 2: Second round

Say your name again, and then introduce the student to your right:
Hi, Im Pete, and this is Kim.
Then tell the student to your left to do the same:
Hi, Im Maria, and this is Pete.
and so on around the circle.
Part 3: Third round

Say your name again, then introduce the student to your right, then the next
student to his or her right, and so on around the circle:
Hi, Im Pete, and this is Kim, and this is Tony, and this is Sarah, and this is....
(Stop after three or four names, and say you cant remember any more)
Then tell the student on your left to do the same:
Hi, Im Maria, and this is Pete, and this is Kim, and this is Tony, and this is Louise,
and this...
When Maria cant remember someones name, her turn is over and the next
student to her left has a turn, and so on.
The game continues until someone manages to remember all of the names.
Once someone has done so, keep the activity going until one or two more
students have managed to remember all of the names as well, and then stop.
Note: Whatever you do, do not force a particular student to try over and over again
until he or she can remember all of the names. Pressuring particular students is one
of the worst things you can do in a new class, especially if they are shy or nervous.
***********

Icebreaker Interviews
Level: Lwr Int => Adv Class size: Up to 20 students Time: 30 - 60 minutes
Preparation: None
Focus: Breaking the ice, asking/answering questions, note-taking, learning about
new classmates, public speaking.
This is an excellent icebreaker activity, especially if you have students who

are feeling a little shy in their new class. It starts with a group discussion in
which students can begin interacting if they feel ready. No-one has to speak
at this stage if they dont want to. Then theres a pair activity in which
students have to speak, but with just one other person, and within a highly-
structured format. Then, in the final part, students are encouraged to speak in
front of the whole class. The activity is designed to help shy or nervous
students to gradually overcome their fears and begin to feel more relaxed. It
is also useful in that it allows students to start getting to know one another by
asking each other questions in English.
How it Works
Have your students form a semi-circle facing the board so that everyone can
see everyone else without having to turn around.
Part 1: Class brainstorming

Begin the brainstorming activity by asking What sort of things would you
like to know about your new classmates? If no-one offers any ideas, suggest
some yourself to get the ball rolling. If its the first class, and students dont
yet know each others names, you could say, How about names? Dont you
want to know everyones name? Then elicit more questions, and write them
on the board as you go. Continue until you have a list of 8 to 10 questions,
something like this:
Whats your name?

Where were you born?
How old are you?
Whats your favourite hobby?
What sports do you play?
Whos your favourite singer?
Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?
and so on...
Part 2: Pair-based interviews

After your class has come up with a list of questions, and theyre written on
the board, have your students form pairs. Then tell them to use these
questions to interview each other, and to jot down each others answers.
Continue until all the pairs have finished interviewing each other. Tell any
pairs who finish sooner than the others to think of some more questions to
ask each other.
Note: If theres an uneven number of students in the class, form one group of three
students.

Part 3: Introducing partners
Invite a pair of students to stand together in front of the class and take turns
introducing each other to their classmates. Tell them they can check their
notes for details if they need to, but they shouldnt just read the notes. They
should tell everyone their partners name, their place of birth, their age, their
hobbies, and so on. When the first pair has finished, ask them to return to
their seats and invite another pair to come forward, and so on. Continue until
everyone has had a chance to introduce their partner, or until time runs out.
Note: For a lower-intermediate class, you might like to model this activity by
introducing one of the students yourself. Ask one of your students for their notes and
introduce their partner to the class.
***********

Classroom Questionnaire
Questions Student 1 Student 2 Student 3
1. Whats your name?
2. Whens your birthday?
3. Where were you born?
4. How many brothers and sisters

do you have?
5. What languages can you
speak?
6. Do you live alone or with your
family, a partner or friends?
7. Do you exercise or play sport?
If so, what do you do?
8. Can you play a musical
instrument? If so, what?
9. What do you like doing in
your free time?
10. What is an important goal
you have for the future?
Name: Name: Name:
Additional Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
(Printable resource for activity on page 16)

Coffee Pot Sample Questions
Do you coffee pot every day?
Have you coffee potted today?
Do you coffee pot with your friends?
Did you coffee pot when you were young?
Will you coffee pot when you are old?
Do you ever coffee pot by yourself?
Is coffee potting free?
Is coffee potting fun?
Is coffee potting good for your health?
Would you coffee pot more often if you could?
Do you need special equipment or clothes to coffee pot?
Do most of your friends coffee pot?
Does coffee potting feel good?
Do you sometimes coffee pot too much?
Do you coffee pot at home?
Do you coffee pot outside?
Do you coffee pot at night?
Sample verbs and phrases

Verbs: work / exercise / cook / eat / sing / dance / shop / study /
shower / drive / run / swim / meditate / travel
Phrases: ride a bicycle / go to a restaurant / clean my teeth / read
books / watch movies / watch TV / play computer games / wash
clothes / do housework

Word-O-Bingo List 1: Mixed Level: Elementary
Words Clues
teacher a person who works in a school
hospital a place for sick people
bedroom a room for sleeping
station a place where trains are caught
kitten a very young cat
umbrella a thing you carry when its raining
violin a musical instrument
cinema a place where movies are shown
doctor a person who treats sick people
rose a type of flower
refrigerator a place for keeping food cold
laundry a place for washing clothes
kangaroo an Australian animal
tea a hot drink
pilot a person who flies a plane
banana a yellow fruit
bank a place for saving money
dentist a person who fixes teeth
clock a thing we look at to tell the time
kitchen a room for cooking food


Word-O-Bingo Slip 1: Mixed
kitten laundry cinema rose violin
banana pilot clock teacher kitchen
doctor hospital refrigerator bank dentist
station tea umbrella kangaroo bedroom







General Knowledge Quiz Show (Printable resource for activity on page 53)
Question Set 1 (Lower Intermediate)

Science
1. How many legs does a spider have? eight
2. What is H20? water
3. Which travels faster, light or sound? light
4. Which planet is called the red planet? Mars
5. What force makes things fall down to the ground? gravity
6. Which is lighter in weight, gold or silver? silver
7. What instrument do scientists use to look at the stars? telescope
8. Which large organ is inside your head? brain
9. What happens if water is heated for a long time? (it) boils
10. Which part of a tree is under the ground? (the) roots
Geography
1. What is the capital city of Peru? Lima
2. What country is off the southern coast of India? Sri Lanka
3. What type of natural disaster can make buildings shake? earthquake
4. Which mountain is the tallest in the world? Everest
5. On which continent is the Nile River? Africa
6. Which ocean is the worlds largest? Pacific
7. Is the Arctic Circle around the North Pole or the South Pole? the North Pole
8. How many square miles is an area 10 miles by 10 miles? 100 sq. miles
9. What do most rivers flow into? sea/ocean
10. Which is the largest country in North America? Canada
Sports
1. In which country were the Olympic Games first held? Greece
2. What do football or soccer players try to score? goal/goals
3. What do tennis players hold while theyre playing? racquet/racket
4. How many holes are played in a round of professional golf? eighteen
5. What sport did Michael Jordan play? basketball
6. What sport is played in the FIFA World Cup? soccer/football
7. What do cricket players hit the ball with? bat
8. What do boxers wear on their hands? gloves
9. In which country is the Liverpool Football Club located? England / U.K.
10. In which country did judo originate? Japan
Music
1. Which country did The Beatles come from? England / U.K.
2. What was Beethovens first name? Ludwig
3. How many strings does a lead guitar usually have? six
4. In which year did Michael Jackson die? 2009
5. What nationality is Lady Gaga? American
6. Is the trumpet a wind instrument or a brass instrument? brass
7. Which instrument in a rock band is played with sticks? drums
8. How many strings does a violin have? four
9. On a piano, which hand usually plays the lower bass notes? left hand
10. What does a singer on a stage sing into? microphone

General Knowledge Team Quiz
Question Set 7 (Advanced)
Science
1. Which physicist wrote a paper on special relativity in 1905?
2. What hormone is released when we feel afraid or stressed?
3. What type of mammals are wallabies and kangaroos?
4. Which of the planets in the solar system is the largest?
5. What is the common name for ascorbic acid?
Geography
1. Which African country has the largest total land area?
2. Which large island is to the south of mainland Australia?
3. What layer of the earth is between the crust and the core?
4. Which of the worlds oceans is the deepest?
5. Whats the capital city of Laos?
Sports
1. In which sport can you hit a six or bowl a leg break?
2. How long is each half of a football or soccer match?
3. What are you doing if you score with an upper cut or a jab?
4. What sport did Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus play?
5. In which sport do players slide stones across a sheet of ice?
Music
1. What nationality was the composer Frdric Chopin?
2. What type of music did Miles Davis play?
3. What does an orchestra's conductor wave to keep time?
4. Which country does the 13-stringed koto come from?
5. Whats a traditional Indonesian orchestra called?


Vocab Quiz Question Set 4 (Lower Intermediate)
1. What do we chew food with? t
2. In which sport can we serve an ace or hit a backhand? t
3. A flying animal, but not a bird. b
4. What is poker played with? c
5. What is food baked or roasted in? o
6. What do you call the son of your uncle or aunt? c
7. Which planet has rings? S
8. Frozen water. i
9. What are car tyres made of? r
10. What do we call someone who rides racehorses? j
11. What is soup served in? b
12. What do you click when youre using a desktop computer? m
Answers:
1 teeth 2 golf
3 bat 4 cards
5 oven 6 cousin
7 Saturn 8 ice
9 rubber 10 jockey
11 bowl 12 mouse

Name: __________________
Phrasal Verb Quiz Question Set 4 A Upper Intermediate
Write the missing word in the space in each sentence.
1. Did you ever _ _ _ away from home when you were a kid? 3 letters
2. She shops _ _ _ _ _ _ to find the best price and save money. 6 letters
3. The teacher told me _ _ _ because I was late. 3 letters
4. Could you _ _ _ _ _ up a bit, please? I cant hear you. 5 letters
5. Weve _ _ _ out of milk, so Im going to get some. 3 letters
6. Can you _ _ _ _ _ of the missing word? 5 letters
7. Governments try to play _ _ _ _ bad economic news. 4 letters
8. Lets _ _ _ _ the day off work and go to the beach. 4 letters
9. The company will _ _ _ _ off some assets to pay its debts. 4 letters
10. Soldiers have to _ _ _ _ _ out their commanders orders. 5 letters
Phrasal Verb Quiz Question Set 4 B Upper Intermediate

Write a synonym for the phrasal verb that begins with the given letter.
1. Do you think these shoes and this bag go together? m___________
2. I hate it when my cat throws up on the carpet. v___________
3. Dont give up. Keep on trying until you can do it! q___________
4. School kids often pick on boys who look feminine. b___________
5. My salary is too low, so Im going to ask for a pay rise. r___________
6. Can you help me blow up these party balloons? i___________
7. Well have to put the wedding off until early next year. p___________
8. Liz came into a lot of money when her rich husband died. i___________
9. You should bring that issue up at the meeting. r___________
10. The government should cut back on defence spending. r___________

(Printable resource for activity on page 85 - answers on page 91)

Answers to Phrasal Verb Question Sets
Set 1A Set 1B Set 2A Set 2B Set 3A Set 3B

1. get enter try/put return blow visit
2. up visit back recover/recuperate out discover
3. out/off return out exercise throw/chuck removed
4. put start in lift up cancel
5. in watch get invent/imagine pick keep
6. take arrive out met like drop/decline
7. out repay/return look rise in raised
8. turn test up begins away/back escaped
9. up remove off choose pay return
10. work follows come died off queue
Set 4A Set 4B Set 5A Set 5B

1. run match fell happening
2. around vomits catch established
3. off quit on demolish
4. speak bully rely suppress
5. run request set confused
6. think inflate up extinguish
7. down postpone sit interrupt
8. take inherited together occur
9. sell raise tell eradicate
10. carry reduce get renovate
The instructions for Phrasal Verbs Quiz are on page 86

The Phrasal Verbs Quiz Question Sets can be found on the following pages:
Sets 1A and 1B page 87


Graded Word Lists for Spelling Quizzes
Elementary to Lower Intermediate
solution, because, address, science, bicycle, million, cough, valley, company, island,
January, complete, several, weight, measure, Wednesday, country, December, restaurant,
Saturday, desert, dessert, vegetable, difficult, eighteen, quiet, elephant, chocolate,
wonderful, yesterday, exciting, system, temperature, mountain, thought, exercise,
picture, expensive, famous, special, forty, answer, friendly, caught, fruit, listen, machine,
August, balloon, microphone, triangle, should, trouble, twentieth, understand, nurse,
pair, minute, soldier, electricity, square, night, tomorrow, pear, stomach, peace, guess,
hospital, suddenly, information, beautiful, instrument, adjective, fifteen, alphabet,
dictionary, excellent, different, amazing, interesting, knew, language, piece, weather,
possible, enough, president, delicious, quickly, remember, sentence, breakfast, medium,
building, opposite, captain, young, circle, shoulder, through, impossible
Intermediate to Upper Intermediate

separate, minimum, synthesizer/synthesiser, affect, postpone, autumn, society, business,
grammar, calendar, pronunciation, cancel, immediately, comfortable, weird, referred,
commission, unusual, experience, committee, reference, community, relevant,
concentration, principal, copyright, accident, definitely, successful, description, succeed,
equator, February, social, foreign, government, transferred, guilty, headache, whether,
height, twelfth, intelligent, laughter, cauliflower, lawyer, signature, library, sincerely,
refrigerator, manufacture, therefore, miniature, advise, misspell, occasionally, cemetery,
occupation, achieve, occur, typical, oxygen, symbolism, paragraph, century, parallel,
communicate, pastime, advice, precede, elevator, principle, embarrassed, psychology,
queue, receive, European, receipt, broccoli, recommend, column, responsibility,
independent, saxophone, innocent, summary, effect, tongue, uniform, vowel, explanation
Advanced
pneumatic, xylophone, fascinating, temporarily, governor, psychiatrist, camouflage,
physique, entrepreneur, questionnaire, reciprocal, aisle, rhyme, memento, conscientious,
millennium, accomplishment, nanotechnology, discipline, occurrence, abbreviation,
accent, proceed, cyanide, accidentally, miscellaneous, rhythm, schedule, maintenance,
sincerely, consciousness, supersede, gymnasium, hierarchy, personnel, humorous,
syllabus, technique, counterfeit, thermodynamics, infrastructure, paradigm, genuine,
consonant, permanent, bureaucracy, photosynthesis, grotesque, rhinoceros, privilege,
amateur, processed, sympathetic, syllable, Buddhism, cappuccino, guarantee, liaison
chromosome, tyrannically, vaccinate, mortgage, accommodation, cynical, achievement,
illegible, indispensable, consensus, perseverance, curriculum, psychic, descent,
sacrilegious, exhilarated, vacuum, leisure, mischievous, conscience, procedure,
minuscule, irresistible, occurrence, ecstasy, inoculate, chlorophyll, Fahrenheit, souvenir
(Special resource for Spelling Games on pages 93 to 97)

APPENDIX 1: Printable Card Set Templates
Card Set Template 1 (print and then write your own words or phrases)

APPENDIX 3
Recommended Books
Games for Language Learning
by Andrew Wright, David Betteridge, Michael Buckby
Cambridge University Press, First published 1984
One of the earliest widely-available collections of games for learning

languages. It arranges the games according format or type rather than
language skills or structures, though it does include summaries intended to
make it easy to find games that focus on particular structures such as tenses,
determiners, etc. or functions such as stating facts, asking questions, etc.
Chapters include Picture games, Psychology games, Magic Tricks, Caring
and sharing games, Card and board games, Sound games, Story games,
Word games, True/false games, Memory games, Question and answer
games, Guessing and speculating games and Miscellaneous games.
Grammar Games : Cognitive, Affective and Drama Activities for EFL

Students
by Mario Rinvolucri
Cambridge University Press, 1985
This collection is limited to games that can be used to help learners come to
terms with English grammar, with each game focussing on one or more
grammatical points. A summary is provided for each, including its level,
materials needed, grammar points practised and time needed. The collection
contains fifty-six games and activities in five sections; competitive games,
collaborative games, awareness activities, grammar through drama, and
miscellany.
More Grammar Games : Cognitive, Affective and Movement Activities for

EFL Students
by Mario Rinvolucri, Paul Davis
A follow-up work by the same author, together with Paul Davis, with more
games and activities intended to help learners understand English grammar.
Once again each game is introduced with a summary specifying the area of
grammar to be practiced, the level aimed at, and the time and materials
needed.
Five-Minute Activities: A Resource Book of Short Activities

by Penny Ur and Andrew Wright
A collection of around 130 activites, most of which require little or no

preparation. While many of the activities actually take more than 5 minutes
to use effectively, and many will already be familiar to a lot of ESL teachers,
many teachers find this collection quite useful.

Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching
by Friederike Klippel
Contains over one hundred fluency-building activities, with each activitys

structural or functional focus being clearly defined. They are categorized
according to language level, skills practiced, and preparation and time
required. The instructions are clear and most activities are fairly east to
organise in the classroom. Many teachers have found this a very useful
resource for a wide range of levels and class sizes.


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Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1

Matt Errey 2013

Available online in electronic book format at

Also by Matt Errey

1000 Phrasal Verbs in Context ebook is available for immediate download

My students and I really enjoyed Word Up, and I

I highly recommend Word Up as a unique language-

'Word Up has always been the board game of choice

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 2

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 3

How the Games are Presented

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 4

How the Games are Categorized

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 5

Classic ESL Games

Competitive and Co-operative Games

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 6

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 7

Healthy and Unhealthy Competition

Another problem that is sometimes cited is the possibility that students

Kohn, A. No Contest: The Case Against Competition Houghton Mifflin, 1986.

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 8

Zan, B and Hildebrandt, C (2005). Cooperative and Competitive Games in

Additional Notes and Key to Abbreviations

On adapting the games

On the printable materials

How to contact the author

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 9

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 10

Level: All Class size: up to 12 (more if Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Part 1: First round

Part 2: Second round

Part 3: Third round

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 11

This is an excellent icebreaker activity, especially if you have students who

Part 1: Class brainstorming

Whats your name?

Part 2: Pair-based interviews

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 12

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 13

Questions Student 1 Student 2 Student 3

1. Whats your name?

2. Whens your birthday?

3. Where were you born?

4. How many brothers and sisters

(Printable resource for activity on page 16)

Matts ESL Games and Quizzes: Book 1 Matt Errey 2013 14

Have you coffee potted today?

Do you coffee pot with your friends?

Did you coffee pot when you were young?

Will you coffee pot when you are old?

Do you ever coffee pot by yourself?

Is coffee potting free?

Is coffee potting fun?

Is coffee potting good for your health?

Would you coffee pot more often if you could?

Do you need special equipment or clothes to coffee pot?

Do most of your friends coffee pot?

Does coffee potting feel good?

Do you sometimes coffee pot too much?

Do you coffee pot at home?

Do you coffee pot outside?

Do you coffee pot at night?