Looking for engaging tools to energize your ESL lessons? Here\u2019s a hand-picked collection of interactive ESL games, classroom tools, and online resources I use regularly. They\u2019re all free or freemium, and most work well for both in-person and online teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Short News Article Finder<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Looking for engaging tools to energize your ESL lessons? Here\u2019s a hand-picked collection of interactive ESL games, classroom tools, and online resources I use regularly. They\u2019re all free or freemium, and most work well for both in-person and online teaching. News and Reading Tools Short News Article FinderFind brief news articles under a specific word … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-64","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/64\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/learnhip.com\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Find brief news articles under a specific word count \u2014 great for reading comprehension, vocabulary, and discussion.
\u2192 Short News Article Finder<\/a>
\u2192 Short Blog Post Finder<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nGames and Warmers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
ESL Wordle<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Create your own Wordle-style games \u2014 perfect for vocabulary warm-ups.
\u2192 word.rodeo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nScattergories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Play the classic categories game online.
\u2192 eslgames.com version<\/a>
\u2192 scattergoriesonline.net<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSkribbl.io<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pictionary-style drawing game with custom word lists. Great as an end-of-term treat.
\u2192 Skribbl.io<\/a>
\u2192 Game Gal’s word lists<\/a>
\u2192 Funny word lists<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nCustom Hangman<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Create hangman games with your own vocab \u2014 a quick and fun filler.
\u2192 hangmanwords.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nRandom Street View<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Drop students in a random place on Earth and have them describe and guess where they are.
\u2192 randomstreetview.com<\/a>
\u2192 Geoguessr (advanced)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSporcle Quizzes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Online quiz heaven. These are fun and useful for class:
\u2192 Text & Chat Abbreviations<\/a>
\u2192 Top 100 English Words<\/a>
\u2192 UK vs US English<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nSemantris<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Word association games powered by Google AI. Great for vocab fluency.
\u2192 Semantris<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nTeaching Tools and Utilities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Quizlet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Create flashcards and games for vocabulary practice.
\u2192 quizlet.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nMindMeister<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Build simple online mind maps for brainstorming and vocab organisation.
\u2192 mindmeister.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nDisposable Chat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Create a simple, no-login chatroom for pair tasks like customer service simulations.
\u2192 disposablechat.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStorytelling and Creative Activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mad Libs (Mad Takes)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Gapped text games for grammar fun. Just send the link and let them play.
\u2192 Mad Takes<\/a>
\u2192 How to Wash your Face<\/a>
\u2192 Television Ad<\/a>
\u2192 Greetings, Earthlings<\/a>
\u2192 A Galaxy Apart<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nMicroMacro: Crime City<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A detective game where students solve crimes on a busy map. Great for directions, present continuous, sequencing, and storytelling.
\u2192 Play the demo<\/a>
\u2192 Where\u2019s Wally (style reference)<\/a>
\u2192 Wimmelbuchs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nESL Video-Based Activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
ESL Games Video Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Activities and ideas for using short video clips in class.
\u2192 eslgames.com\/teaching-with-video<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nPlayPhrase.me<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Enter a phrase and hear it spoken in movie\/TV clips. Great for intonation and natural speech.
\u2192 playphrase.me<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nWant to suggest a tool?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Have a favourite ESL site or resource that\u2019s missing here? Let us know<\/a> \u2014 I\u2019m always happy to expand this list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n