ESL Games – An Exciting Way to Learn English

Study and games hardly go hand in hand. They are in fact, in many cases, considered rivals. What people fail to realize is that both are complimentary to one another. This is especially true if the object of study is learning a new language.

 Learning a new language, especially if it is a language other than one’s mother tongue, is a difficult task. And if one doesn’t find it interesting, then it becomes all the more difficult. And being the lingua franca, the English language deserves a special mention here, when we are talking about learning a second language.

However, learning a language solely depends on one’s interest in learning that language. So, the question that arises is, “How to make the task of learning English interesting?”

Well, there are a variety of methods, but what I would like to highlight today is the effectiveness of ESL (English as a second language) games as a means to learn the English language.

So, what are ESL games?

ESL word games or simply ESL games are vocabulary building games that help non-English people learn English. Many English teaching institutes incorporate this method to teach English to the non-English speaking population. These games use images, photographs, and activities like charades to teach people new words and by using practical methods, help them frame sentences using those words.

How are ESL games helpful?

For some, learning English seems to be an intimidating task and conventional teaching methods may make them quickly lose interest. ESL games add the “fun” quotient to the learning process and make it interesting. Besides, ESL games also involve group activities that make the learning process an enjoyable and exhilarating experience. Also, it has been found that people learn faster when the learning process involves group activity.

Are these games only meant for children?

While the brains of children are more receptive to new information and this helps them learn a language easily, it becomes increasingly difficult to grasp a new language as one ages. Most of the times, the level of excitement shown by adults in the process of learning is lower as compared to children. So besides children, ESL games are beneficial for adults as well and many institutes which provide English learning courses for adults find these games highly useful.

Nowadays, our mobile phones and computers have also become tools for entertainment and learning. So if one does not have the time or the resources to attend an institute for learning English, he has the additional option of using the internet and mobile phones as tools for learning. There are many ESL gamesavailable as mobile applications and people can also use them as a means to learn English.

Learning English has become absolutely essential in today’s world and because of their effectiveness, ESL games are being widely adopted as a means to teach English.