Teaching Techniques: Give or Take? Test Review in the ESL/EFL Classroom

“Give or Take?” is a fun game that teachers can use to review vocabulary in the English as a second language or foreign language (ESL/ EFL) classroom.This game is easy to prepare, and it is a fun and efficient way to review for quizzes or larger midterm or final exams.

It can be adapted to almost any grade level or ESL/EFL classroom as long as there are a sufficient number of vocabulary items to review. In my experience, adults love playing this game as much as children do.While this game is not intended for new English language learners (ELLs), it may be used with low- to advanced-level ELLs as long as they have a basic understanding of the vocabulary being used. As with any game of competition, some caution is advised for using this game with young learners or learners with low maturity levels.

The game takes about five minutes to prepare and can last for about 30 to 40 minutes.You will need a whiteboard and pens, a chalkboard and chalk, or a piece of paper big enough to be seen by all the players in the game and pens to write on it.You will also need one bell or noisemaker for each team, although when I have forgotten my noisemakers, I’ve substituted old dry-erase marker pens and instructed the students to tap them on the desks to make sounds. For environments with limited resources, recycled paper can be used, and students can raise their hands instead of making a sound.