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This game reviews grammar required for completion of Level 2 (as defined by AZQQ). It includes questions on topics such as talking about: What you're going to eat tonight? What you usually have for breakfast? About a good film you've recently seen? About something you bought last week? About something you are going to buy in the future? What you're going to wear tomorrow? About your mother, etc.
This student can demonstrate an understanding of some classroom directions and attempts to do simple assignments but with great hesitancy and misunderstanding. 
Vocabulary is still greatly limited to commonly-used words. He/she reads and writes with great difficulty, usually below the assigned grade level. This student may be unable torespond to some activities which involve independent decision making, due to differences in the American classroom or teacher style. This student responds very positively to extra attention from the instructor or other students. If you are a member, you can download the playing card printables here. If not, why not consider joining AZQQ?
One of my colleagues once asked "How many activities can you make for the present perfect?" Since the present perfect is used to talk about experiences, the possibility for activities is as endless as that of experiences that human beings can have! Have you ever... board games are good for restricted personalised practice, too. Group the questions around a particular theme, if you like. The attached game board comprises a number of these different questions. Feel free to change them up and add your own. Download here.  Cinema experiences - Have you ever met a movie star? Have you cried in a cinema? Have you left the cinema before the movie ended? etc.
- Computer experiences
- Have you ever been in a video conference? Have you ever had a computer virus? Have you ever used an Internet chat? etc.
Health experiences - Have you ever spent a night in hospital? Have you ever broken a bone? Have you ever had an operation? etc.
School experiences - Have you ever cheated on an exam? Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Have you ever played truant? Have you ever copied homework from someone else? etc.
The attached game board comprises a number of these different questions. Feel free to change them up and add your own. Download here.
Saw this on Dave's ESL Cafe Idea Cookbook: I have found a great way to solve the cell phone problem. I explain to my students that although some of their teachers will take their cell phones for a week, month, semester, etc. I will only take their cell phones for 5 minutes. At first they are very happy about this, but then I explain that I will use it to call my brother back in Canada. No 001 (in Korea), no use of a calling card, just a straight forward direct call. Then I tell them they will have to answer questions about what I said while on the phone. Nobody has ever used a phone in my class.
Great idea. Kudos to that guy! I've never been able to 100% successfully solve the cellphone problem. It's texting that drives me mad!
When I taught it, Level 2 was a non-credit course that was intended to provide students with a sound basis in English conversational skills. The course involved individual, paired and group work with the main emphasis being on speaking, but also included some listening, reading, and writing work. Classroom activities used group work to encourage student interaction and were designed to build fluency and conversational skills. This was one of those activities, which blended some of the goals of Level Two, which can be found here. You will need to photocopy the game board here. In each of the boxes leading up to the "finish"is a topic/opinon/question. For game pieces I usually use money, and you will need a die to determine how many spaces to move. I usually encourage 3 sentences per topic/question. 
Example questions/topics (for you to change/adapt) are: Who is your favorite person, What are you scared of, What makes you angry/happy, What is your greatest accomplishment, Tell me about your best friend/family, What would you do if you were prime minister. Also include "free" spaces-they are usually very excited to not have a speaking turn. Download the Level Two General Conversation Game here.
Some fresh Tuesday content for all our members! I played this game with my class in Korea to learn the vocabulary at the begining of each unit and they loved it - I've included here my handout from our ‘Entertainment Unit'. It's simply the same kind of thing as the TV game show ‘Family Feud'. So, I call it ‘TV Feud'! Pick a category for example ‘TOP 5 THINGS YOU WOULD FIND IN THE KITCHEN', then on the pieces of paper individually write words like ‘REFRIDGERATOR', ‘STOVE', ‘FOOD', ‘MICROWAVE' and ‘DISHES' (make sure you use paper the students CAN'T see through). Then on the board, at the top write the category, then stick the pieces of paper one under the other on the board so the students cant see them. On each side of the board let the students pick a team name and write the team name with three big empty boxes under each team (these are for the strike outs). 
There are two teams. Line the teams up so they are all beside each other. You start by flipping a coin or something similar to decide which team goes first. Out loud to the class you announce the first category: ‘TOP 5 THINGS YOU WILL FIND IN A KITCHEN!' You go to the first student on the first team and repeat the category. He/she then has to guess a word. Once the student says a word you say: ‘SURVEY SAYS ...' (its fun to play-up being the host of the show so I always say it loud and with lots of enthusiasm). If student says ‘FOOD!', the team gets one point, you flip the word over so all the students can see it and you continue with the next person on the same team. If the student says a word that is NOT in the category, the team gets an ‘X' in one of the boxes on their side and you go to the first person on the opposing team. The game continues until all the words in the category are revealed OR one team gets three ‘X's. Once you are finished with that category, all you have to do is stick up on the board five more words in a different category and erase the ‘X's to start a new round. (It's even a good idea to switch around the team players so everyone feels like a winner). When I played this game with my kids they liked it so much I'm pretty sure they forgot they were learning. Members can download the handout here.
AZQQ provides these descriptions of ESL levels to help you think about how to apply the learning materials on this side to the lessons that you teach your students.
Level 1: Beginning
This student is often a new arrival with little previous English training and --this is the key -- a very limited vocabulary. This student is lost in the classroom and has nothing on which to base his ability to function, comprehend, and respond. The student has no knowledge of English beyond answers to simple questions like "What's your name?" He/she may respond with "yes" or "no," but not always consistently or correctly. He/she may not be able to write in Western script. He/she lacks sufficient vocabulary and oral comprehension to be able to follow directions or do simple classroom assignments. This student may have no knowledge of the American classroom and its participatory style. He/she is not able to work at grade level, even if he/she is placed in first or second grade. Level 2: High Beginning
This student can understand some classroom directions and attempts to do simple assignments but with great hesitancy and misunderstanding. Vocabulary is still greatly limited to commonly-used words. He/she reads and writes with great difficulty, usually below the assigned grade level. This student may be unable torespond to some activities which involve independent decision making, due to differences in the American classroom or teacher style. This student responds very positively to extra attention from the instructor or other students. Level 3: Intermediate
This sudent participates in most classroom activities and follows directions adequately, though with frequent misunderstandings. Vocabulary is limited but rapidly improving. He/she may feel comfortable enough in the classroom to respond orally, despite frequent errors and incorrect word selection. This student may be able to do academic work close to grade level but needs frequent writing and vocabulary support. He/she exhibits growing confidence in his/her ability to comprehend and respond in English. Level 4: High Intermediate
This student easily participates in classroom and social activities, constantly adding to his/her knowledge of vocabulary, American culture, and teacher expectations. His/her speech still exhibits a considerable accent, but grammar and vocabulary errors should be receding. This student's English is changing rapidly at this point, and his/her confidence level should be increasing at the same rate. Level 5: Advanced
This student is able to participate and excel in all classroom and social activities, requiring less frequent teacher intervention with vocabulary and directional assistance. He/she should be able to read at near-grade level with the help of a dictionary, but writing skills may require more teacher support. A noticeable accent may still be present, depending on the age the student was when he/she arrived in the US. This student can function adequately at grade level and often does extremely well because of a high motivation level.
Additional Information on ESL/ELL Levels
The national TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of other languages) standards will give you more specific descriptions of levels. Click here.
I teach in Korea—I start my days working with kindergarten and elementary students, then rush home for private tutors with ages up to 90! As well as weekly adult conversation classes! I often find that the Koreans are shy to speak so I need new and exciting ways to hear their voices! This is a simple to make/do game that works great with lower levels in small group settings, especially one on one tutoring! Included is a game board with a start and finish. In each of the boxes leading up to the "finish" you write a topic/opinon/question. For game pieces I usually use money, and you will need a die to determine how many spaces to move. I usually encourage 3 sentences per topic/question. Example questions/topics are: Who is your favorite person, What are you scared of, What makes you angry/happy, What is your greatest accomplishment, Tell me about your best friend/family, What would you do if you were prime minister. Also include "free" spaces-they are usually very excited to not have a speaking turn. The file included for download is easily changed, as we've included the WORD file for easy changes! 
I was really surprised how much my students enjoyed this game, and I was told the students don`t often get asked of their opinons so they enjoyed the challenge-even in English! Variations can be made to review past lessons, have fun with it. Download the file here. Remember — to download, you need to become a member!
Activities such as ESL classroom games are very important. Although, there are different daily school timetables from country to country, it is common for children from five to nine, to have a playtime breaks during their lessons. The class time after the morning break is an excellent time to learn, that's why more difficult parts of the program are assimilated better in this period. However, the last hour before lunch is a tired, a low energy period, when ESL classroom games can help. 
The school day has about three low energy times, and it doesn't matter if you are teaching the same children all day or if you are seeing them for a short period of time. These low energy times are the most interesting for teachers and students. ESL classroom games can help them learn through these times. So, here's a good classroom game to help those students through low energy times. And what's more — we're providing this download free to non-members in both WORD and PDF. Members can download from the links above, or head on over to the archive.
A ‘find someone who' activity is a speaking activity which involves learners trying to find someone in the group who matches a description. Example The group are practising using the present perfect for experiences. Amongst the group there are learners who have to: find someone who has been abroad find someone who has eaten something really strange find someone who has done a bungee jump
In the classroom This is a very versatile activity, which can be adapted to almost any language aim. For example, learners can practice multi-word verbs (‘Find someone who has fallen out with their partner') or character vocabulary (‘Find someone who is a lone wolf'). I like to mix it up with some 'Find Someone Who... Bingo'. Members can download it here.
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