Here are some no-prep English classroom games that I’ve had to do on the spot when the schedule has changed up on me or there’s some extra time leftover or something unexpected happens.

These are all beginner level, easy games for elementary school EFL students! If you want to see a list of advanced games, you can read my other post No-prep Advanced English Games.

As a teacher it’s always good to have a few ideas on hand just in case. There are a few classics here that you probably already know, but there are also a few less common ones that have worked for me.

I’ve sorted this list into Lesson-specific (as in can be adapted for your specific lesson that day) vs General, then into 5 minute vs 10 minute games.

★ I marked my favorites/best hits with a star.

Lesson Specific

These games can easily be adapted for any lesson.

5-10 minute games

Sentence Telepathy ★

This is for simple review. Secretly choose a random word or sentence from the key vocabulary and expressions of the day. Tell the students to choose a random word or sentence from the lesson and write it down in their notebook. If the one they chose matches yours, they get one point. It sounds simple, but students love trying to guess what the teacher is thinking and telling you how many points they got at the end!

What’s Missing?

This game is played with PPT slides usually, but if you really had no time to prep, all you need is a whiteboard. Write 10 words on the board. Have students close their eyes and count down from 3. While they count, erase one word. On 1, students open their eyes and say the missing word(s). Good as a vocabulary drill and time filler.

Pass the Ball

You’ll need a ball or object to pass around. There are 2 versions I play. In version 1, all students stand while passing the ball. Each student who receives the ball says the next word in a set series of words or sentence. For example, students could say days of the week in order, or months of the year, or you can make up a list of words or give them a sentence. The student who says the last word in the list or sentence is out. This version is good as a warm up or in an actual emergency if you have nothing prepped.

In version 2, play it like musical chairs. Students pass the ball around while you play a song. When the music stops, whoever is holding the ball must make an English sentence. answer a question, or complete any task of your choice. This version requires more prep because you have to have questions/tasks for them to do.

Hangman ★

I play this if my lesson ends a bit early and we have 5 minutes left of class. I will choose a word from the lesson (or try to pick a more obscure word because the students will look at their books and guess correctly almost immediately), then play one round. If there’s time, the student who guessed the word or a volunteer can take over and lead the game. I have the student quietly write the word on a piece of paper for me first so I can check their spelling and help them run the game.

10-20 minute games

Minority Game ★

I play this game with a slide presentation sometimes but it can easily be played just using the whiteboard. Give the students two choices (two words or two sentences from the lesson). They must choose one silently and write it in their notebooks. Then we count how many students chose each option. The students who are in the minority earn one point each round! So if the choices are “apple” and “orange,” and fewer students chose “orange,” then those are the students who win the point. This is sometimes also referred to as Nunchi (눈치) Game in Korea.

Telephone / Whisper

I grew up playing Telephone a lot! In Korea, it is more commonly known as Whisper. The students form a line (or several depending on class size). Whisper a secret word or phrase to the first person in the line. That student will whisper the word to the next student in line and so one until it is passed along to the last person in line. Remind students that the word is secret and so they need to whisper! Ask the last person in line to repeat what they heard out loud and see if it is the same as the original word or phrase! You can repeat with students taking turns being last in line or have a student choose the secret word.

Charades or Pictionary

More childhood classic games. You can choose word directly from the book to play with the students. Lessons teaching action verbs work better with Charades and lessons with more nouns in the target vocabulary list work better with Pictionary.

General English

These are general English no-prep time filler games. I don’t find these as useful because I’m usually teaching a very specific lesson, but they can come in handy.

5-10 minute games

Categories

Super classic. Write a category such as Food, Animals, Jobs, Countries, etc on the board. Students take turns naming something that fits the categories. Anyone who repeats or passes is out.

10-20 minute games

Alphabet Game Variation ★

There are many “alphabet games” out there. Here’s a variation I play that is a little easier for beginner level students.

I write the alphabet out A through Z twice on the board in two different colors (for example Blue and Red). I split the class into 2 teams.

Students take turns naming a word, any word. If a student from Team Blue says a word that starts with “A,” I erase the blue letter A. Then a student from Team Red will have a turn. If they say a word starting with “C,” then I erase the red letter C. No words should be repeated. If a student cannot think of a word, the turn will pass to the other team. The game will get harder and harder as letters disappear. The goal is to be the first team to erase all the letters.

You can also play this game as an entire class, and lengthen the game by writing the entire alphabet out 3 or 4 times. Playing with teams tends make the students get very loud and competitive, so depending on the personality of the class and time we have, I may not play with teams.

There are lots of lists like this out there, but these are the games that have worked best for me personally while teaching elementary students in Korea.

A lot of variations of these games are played with themed and animated PPT slides in the classroom in Korea to make them more exciting, but with absolutely no prep in an emergency situation, they still all work! They are even fun for adults as ice breaker / team bonding games. Hope one of these ideas is useful.

Love,

B.