ESL Time Games

Teaching how to tell the time to English as a Second Language (ESL) students can be a tricky task, as telling time in a foreign language can have major differences from English. French, Italians and Greeks mention the hour before the minutes, while Germans use "half to" instead of "half past"; for example "halb sieben" (half seven) means 06:30. If your ESL students' first language makes the task difficult for them, a series of fun classroom games can help them practice and familiarize with telling time in English.
  1. Code Clock

    • Divide the class in two teams. Draw a clock on the board and assign a letter next to each number. For example, place "O" next to "1," "F" next to "2" and so on. Write down different times of the day using the letters, such as "O:F" and ask students to decrypt them. The first team to successfully decrypt the letters and also tell the time aloud correctly are the winners.

    Classroom Schedule

    • Ask children to pay attention to the classroom clock and note down the time when an activity starts and ends. For example, they must note when the lesson begins, when you start explaining the way to tell time, when you finish the lecture, when you start an exercise and so forth. Near the end of the lesson, start asking students about the classroom's schedule, when a certain activity started or if a task ended at 5:15 for example, expecting a yes or no answer. Students win or lose collectively: a single wrong answer -- or inability to express themselves -- can be the end of the game.

    Questionnaire

    • You -- the teacher -- must ask students one by one about their everyday routine tasks. Questions can include the time of waking up, leaving for school (or work), having dinner and going back to sleep. Each student must answer the questions aloud, so that everyone can hear him in the classroom. The other students must note down each of their classmates answers, as -- after finishing the questionnaire -- you ask them when, for example, "John gets up in the morning." Students who didn't pay attention are eliminated. This game allows you to test if students can express themselves regarding time and understand time without the help of a clock.

    Paper Clocks

    • Download, copy and distribute the "Telling time practice" worksheet of "English 4 Kids." Ask students to cut out the clock and the hands. Stand in front of the classroom and give a specific time for students to form. Each student must work individually and point the hands toward the corresponding numbers. The winner is the student with the least wrong answers after 10 rounds. If you have a tie, go to a sudden death round, where a single wrong answer means elimination.

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