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Adapting standard children’s games to become ESL grammar games can be quite easy. After all, most children’s games involve some form of speaking or listening anyways, so these are naturally adaptable to the ESL teaching environment. Even games that don’t require speaking or listening, such as Tic Tac Toe, can easily be transformed to teach ESL grammar. For example, instead of simply taking turns writing X’s and O’s in the squares, the teacher can stipulate that the students must complete a grammar chance in order to earn the privilege of writing the X or O in the square. The grammar task can be as simple as saying a past, present, or future tense sentence, or naming a noun or verb that begins with a pre-chosen letter. If the student is unable to perform this task, they have to skip their turn, which gives the other student a big advantage. This ESL grammar game is a good way to motivate students to learn grammar and give them a break from the normal class routing.

Perhaps the most crucial thing for teachers to remember is that ESL grammar exercises do not need to be exceedingly complex or time-consuming. Simple reviews and warmups can be a good way to reinforce grammar points and get students using them in relevant contexts. Moreover, if the teacher can inject a bit of fun and liveliness into the course of conductnig these grammar exercises, the students will quickly find themselves enjoying the process of learning. Indeed, they may even begin to mistake classroom learning activities for ESL grammar games. This is when teaching English grammar goes from something that seems tedious and impossible to something with a bright light shining at the end of the tunnel. The most important aspect of this process is a teacher who is willing to have fun and explain grammar with patience.