ESL Activities

ESL Games, Activities, Lesson Plans, Jobs & More

ESL Writing Activities, Games, Worksheets & Lesson Plans

If you’re teaching writing and are looking for some of the best ESL writing activities, along with worksheets, lesson plans and more then you’re in the right place. Keep on reading for everything you need to know about teaching English writing.

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ESL writing exercises and games

Let’s check out the top ESOL writing exercises and activities to consider trying out with your students.

ESL Writing Activities and Games for All Ages

Are you ready to get into the ESL writing exercises? Then let’s get to the best English writing ideas. Also, check out some great writing prompts ideas to use in your writing lesson.

#1: 3 Things ESL Writing Activity

I’m ALL about simple and easy for writing activities in emergency situations when you don’t have a lot of time to prep. 3 Things is ideal because it requires nothing except a pen and paper and also requires no prep time.

The way it works is that students think of 3 random things. Then, they give those words to a partner who has to write a short story using them. It can be serious or silly and kind of depends on the words chosen.

Do you want to give it a try with your students? Check out all the details here: 3 Things English Writing Activity .

#2: Journaling for English Learners

When I teach ESL writing classes, I always have students keep a journal. It can either be with pen and paper or online. It’s a fun way for students to work on writing fluency and have some freedom to write about topics they want to write about, not just the ones that I assign.

If you want to see how I set up this ESL writing exercise, check out the following: Journaling for ESL Students . It makes a nice free write activity.

#3: Postcards ESOL Writing Exercise

If you’re looking for a simple, fun ESL writing activity, then you may want to consider having your students write some postcards. Ideally, you could get your hands of a stack of blank, unused postcards. But, if not, students can design their own and then trade with someone else who can fill in the back.

Learn more about this fun writing activity here: ESL Postcard Writing Activity .

#4: A to Z Alphabet Game

Remember that writing is more than a 5-paragraph essay. It’s any time a student is writing something, even one word. With that in mind, you may want to try out this ESL writing game for beginners.

The way it works is that you name a topic. Jobs or animals for example. Then, students have to think of one word for each letter. I give my students a certain amount of time and the team with the most words is the winner.

Do you want to give this writing activity for beginners a try? Check it out here: A-Z ESL Writing Activity .

#5: Conjunctions and Transitions

Words like but, so, and, however, etc. are key in English writing because they join ideas, sentences and paragraphs together. This makes writing easier to understand and helps it to flow better. Even beginners can learn about using things like and or but.

Here are some of the ideas for teaching these words: ESL Conjunction and Transition Activities .

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#6: Whiteboard Games for ESL Writing Practice 

I don’t know why, but students really love to write on the whiteboard. There are a ton of relay type ESL writing activities that you can do. Here are some of the best ones:

ESL Whiteboard Activities .

#7: Dictogloss ESOL Writing Exercise

If you want to challenge your students with some serious listening and writing, then consider this dictogloss ESL activity. The way it works is that you find a passage or write one at an appropriate level for your students.

Then, put the student into pairs and read out the passage at a slightly faster pace than normal. Students have to take notes and then attempt to recreate what they heard by writing. Read the passage again and students add to what they have. Finally, they can compare their version with the original one.

Do you want to give it a try? Read this first: Dictogloss ESL Writing and Listening Activity .

#8: How to Teach English Writing to Beginners

Back when I did the CELTA course, my tutor told me that writing doesn’t have to be a 5 paragraph essay. It can actually be any time the students are writing something in English. With this in mind, here are some of the best activities for absolute beginners to English writing:

Teaching ESL Writing to Beginners .

#9: Fill out an Application Form

One very practical writing activity that we can do with our students is getting them to fill out an application form. If they plan on living in an English speaking country, they’ll certainly have to do this. And, there’s often some very specific vocabulary and expected answers that you can help them with.

More details here: ESL Writing Application Form .

#10: Sentence Structure Activities

Try out these activities to give students some ESL writing practice opportunities.

In speaking, our students can sometimes get away without having great sentence structure. This is because people often speak in sentence fragments and rarely in full sentences.

However, in writing, sentence structure is key and vital to helping our students get their ideas across on paper. Here are some of the best activities to help our students practice this:

ESL Sentence Structure Games and Activities .

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ESL writing games and activities

#11: Is that Sentence Correct?

A simple reading and writing activity is this one that focuses on error correction. The way it works is that you make some sentences, some of which have errors and some that do not. Students have to decide which ones are incorrect and them correct them. It’s ideal for review at the end of class or the beginning of the next one.

Learn more about this writing activity here: ESL Error Correction Activity .

#12: Proof-Reading and Editing

A key part of writing well is proof-reading and editing. Everyone does it, even professional writers! Instead of the students relying on me to correct their errors for them, I like to teach them do to edit their own work. It’s a key skill in the writing process but often overlooked by many English teachers.

Check out this activity for helping students with this writing skill: ESL Proofreading and Editing .

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Spending some time working on self-editing skills, instead of relying on the teacher-editing model is a nice way to improve student autonomy in English writing classes.

#13: Focus on Fluency Activity

Many ESL writing textbooks (and teachers too) focus on accuracy in English writing at the expense of fluency. However, both are needed if students are to become proficient in English essay writing. After all, no employer is going to appreciate an employee who can write a simple, but perfect email in half a day! Most would expect it to happen in a few minutes. But, this nice free write activity helps students with writing more quickly.

Check out this ESOL writing exercise to help our students out with this: Fluency ESL Writing Activity .

#14: How to Teach ESL Writing on the Let’s Talk TEFL Podcast

#15: Word Association

I like to use this quick writing activity if I know that students have studied the topic of the day before. For example, jobs and weather are very common in almost all ESL textbooks and if students are at a high-beginner or intermediate level, I guarantee that they already know some of these vocabulary items.

You can find out how to do it right here: ESL Word Association Activity .

#16 : ESL Surveys

I love to use surveys in my classes. They are a super versatile activity that covers all 4 skills, including writing. It’s also easy to make a survey for just about any topic or grammar point. See why I love them so much?

If you want to know more, then you’ll want to check this out: TEFL Surveys.

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#17: Opinion Activities and Games

Opinion essays are a classic writing activity for both English learners and students in high school or university. That’s why I like to give my students some chances to practice writing and supporting their opinions in my classes. Do you want to try out some of the best ones? You can find out all the details right here:

ESL Opinion Activities .

#18: Parts of Speech Activities for ESL

English writing is ALL about parts of speech. After all, if you don’t know where the verb, subject, object, adjectives and adverbs go, how can you have any chance of making a coherent English sentence? It’s nearly impossible!

That’s why I like to do some worksheets and practice with my students related to this. If you want to try it out too, here are some of the best ideas:

ESL Parts of Speech Activities .

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Top 17 ESL writing games and activities

#19: Spelling Challenge Game

Spelling is an important, but often neglected part of writing. In my opinion, it’s worth spending some classroom time on and one way to do that is with this word challenge game. Because it’s done on the whiteboard, it’s ideal for smaller classes.

Want to find out what it’s all about? You can right here: ESL Spelling Challenge Activity.

#20: Dictation 

A nice TEFL writing activity that you might want to try out is dictation. It covers not only writing, but also listening, spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary in a big way. Is it obvious why I like it so much?

Try it out with your students today. Learn more here: ESL Dictation Writing Activity .

#21: Write an Interesting Story in English

It can be fun to get students to write their own stories in English. Check out these 6 simple steps to get started:

Writing and Interesting English Story .

#22: TEFL Writing Activities and Games

#23: Brainstorm Games and Activities

One of my favourite, simple ESL writing activities is to get students to brainstorm words or things related to a certain topic or category. It’s a nice way to get some creative juices flowing and can also be used for a quick warmer or review activity.

There are a number of engaging, student-centred activities to consider. Here are some of my favourites: Brain Storming Games.

#24: Freeze Writing Activity

Group writing activities for TEFL classes are few and far between. However, freeze is one of the best ones to consider. Students have to work collaboratively to make stories, line by line is a fun and engaging way.

Want to give it a try? Find out how: Freeze Activity .

#25: Five-Paragraph Essay Writing

For higher-level students, it can be a worthwhile activity to teach students how to write academic essays. Here’s an outline and some tips for how to do that:

Five-Paragraph Essay Template . 

#26: More Ideas for TEFL Writing

#27: fill in the blank sentences games.

A nice option for beginners in English writing is to use fill in the blanks. This adds a bit of structure to it and makes it much easier for students! Have a look at some of my favourite options:

Fill In The Blank Sentences Games .

#28: Round Robin Story

Try out this simple story writing activity that can be used for speaking & listening, or writing. Learn more:

Round Robin Story .

#29: Five Senses

Try out this simple activity that involves a lot of adjectives. It can be done with speaking or writing.

#30: Story Starters ESOL Writing Exercise

Provide students with a sentence or a short paragraph to serve as a story starter. Students then continue the story, adding their own ideas and developing the plot. This game encourages creativity, storytelling, and writing fluency. Try out one of my favourite ESOL writing exercises!

#31: Picture Prompts

Show students a captivating image or provide them with a set of pictures. Ask them to choose one or a combination of pictures and write a story, description, or dialogue based on the visuals. Pictures can stimulate imagination and inspire students to write.

#32: Sentence Relay

Divide the class into teams. Give each team a writing prompt or topic. The first student from each team writes a sentence based on the prompt, then passes the paper to the next student, who adds another sentence. The relay continues, and students build a coherent piece of writing. The team with the most creative and well-structured writing wins.

#33: ESL Writing Olympics

Create a series of writing challenges that test different writing skills, such as grammar, vocabulary, sentence structure, or creative writing. Set a time limit for each challenge, and award points to students based on their performance. Students can compete individually or in teams, making it a lively and competitive writing activity.

ESL Writing FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about teaching English writing. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is ESL Writing?

ESL technically refers to English as a Second Language but the more common usage is anyone who is a non-native speaker of English, whether or not it’s their second, third or fourth language. ESL writing focus specifically on writing skills.

How can ESL Students Improve Writing?

There are a number of ways that ESL students can improve their writing skills:

  • Practice, both in class and outside of class is key.
  • Give students a reason to write.
  • Use peer correction.
  • Offer self-editing checklists.
  • Give students some freedom to choose what to write about.
  • Use a variety of writing activities and games.
  • Give students a chance to revise their work based on feedback.
  • Strive to make English writing fun and engaging
  • Make it relevant to real-life.
  • Ensure that your ESL writing classes target the level of the students.

How Can ESL Beginners Learn to Write?

Remember that ESL beginners will not be able to write a 5-paragraph academic essay. Instead, you may want to focus on things like filling in the blanks on a worksheet or writing very simple sentences with a subject, verb, and object.

Why is Writing Difficult for ESL Students?

Writing can be a little bit difficult for ESL students because it not only involves vocabulary and grammar, but things like punctuation, capital letters as well as style and other writing conventions. What does make it easier is that it doesn’t happen in real time like with speaking.

What types of writing assignments are suitable for English learners?

Start with simple assignments like journal writing, personal narratives, and gradually progress to more complex assignments such as essays and reports.

How can I make writing more engaging for English learners?

Make it engaging by using interesting prompts, creative assignments, and real-life scenarios that connect to their experiences and interests.

Should I focus on grammar and vocabulary in writing instruction?

Yes, grammar and vocabulary are essential components of writing. Students should learn to use them correctly to convey their ideas effectively.

What’s the role of peer review in teaching writing to English learners?

Peer review helps students develop critical reading and editing skills, and it allows them to receive feedback from peers before finalizing their work.

How can I help English learners overcome writer’s block?

Encourage them to start with a simple outline, use writing prompts, and create a supportive, low-pressure writing environment in the classroom.

What strategies can I use to assess English learners’ writing effectively?

Use rubrics and clear criteria for assessing content, organization, grammar, and vocabulary. Offer specific feedback to help students understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Did you Like these ESOL Writing Exercises?

ESL Writing Activities, Games & Teaching Tips: Practical Ideas for the Classroom (ESL Activities for...

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Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book you can easily find on Amazon: ESL Writing Activities, Games & Teaching Tips . It’s the first and only ESL activity book dedicated exclusively to teaching writing and it’s a must-have if you’re teaching these kinds of classes.

You can easily get these ESL writing activities in both digital and print formats. Consider keeping a copy on the bookshelf in your office and using it as a handy reference guide. Or, bring the digital version with you on your phone or tablet to your favourite coffee shop for some serious lesson planning for your English writing classes.

It really is that easy to have ESL writing classes! Check out the book on Amazon, but only if you want to get yourself a serious dose of ESL teaching awesome in your life:

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Do you Have an ESL Writing Grading Rubric?

If you’re looking for a bit of guidance on how to evaluate your students’ writing, then you’re in the right place. We strongly recommend using a simple rubric that’ll save you a ton of time. Plus, students will understand why they got the grade that they did. All the details can be found here:

ESL Writing Grading Rubric .

ESL Writing Lesson Plans

If you’re looking for some ready-made writing lesson plans that can help your students improve their skills in a big way, you’ll want to check out our top recommendations:

One Stop English

ESL Library

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Writing practice for English learners

ESL Writing Worksheets

The good news for English teachers is that there are a ton of English writing worksheets to help you out with just about anything! Why reinvent the wheel if another English teacher has already done the hard work, right? Here are some of the best ESL writing worksheets:

Busy Teacher

ESL Writing Assignments

If you’re not sure about writing assignment options for your ESL/EFL students, here are some of the best ideas that you’ll want to check out:

Tips for Teaching Writing to English Learners

Teaching writing to ESL learners requires a combination of strategies to develop their skills and confidence. Here are some tips to enhance your ESL writing lessons:

Provide Clear Instructions

Begin each writing task by clearly explaining the objectives, requirements, and expectations to the students. Break down the task into smaller steps to make it more manageable.

Model Writing

Show students examples of well-written texts in the target genre or format. Analyze the structure, language features, and organization. Model the thought process and decision-making involved in writing.

Teach the Writing Process

Introduce students to the writing process, which includes prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Emphasize the importance of brainstorming, organizing ideas, and revising for clarity and coherence.

Develop Vocabulary and Language Skills

Help students expand their vocabulary and language skills by providing word banks, relevant phrases, and sentence starters. Teach them how to use transition words and cohesive devices to enhance the flow of their writing.

Focus on Grammar and Sentence Structure in TEFL Writing Games and Activities

Address common grammar errors and sentence structure issues that students may encounter. Incorporate targeted grammar exercises and provide feedback on their writing to improve accuracy.

Encourage Pre-writing Activities

Engage students in pre-writing activities, such as brainstorming, mind mapping, or outlining, to generate ideas and organize their thoughts before starting to write. This helps students structure their writing more effectively.

Provide Writing Prompts

Offer a variety of engaging and relevant writing prompts to spark students’ creativity and interest. Ensure the prompts are aligned with their language proficiency level and encourage critical thinking and personal expression. Here are some ideas:

Peer Feedback and Revision

Incorporate peer feedback sessions where students exchange their writing with classmates for constructive feedback. Encourage students to revise their work based on the suggestions provided, promoting collaboration and revision skills.

Offer Individualized Support

Provide one-on-one guidance and support to students who may require additional assistance. Offer personalized feedback and suggestions for improvement based on their individual writing challenges.

Celebrate Progress

Recognize and celebrate students’ progress in writing. Highlight their strengths and areas of improvement, and provide specific feedback on their achievements. Encourage a growth mindset and foster a positive writing environment.

Encourage Frequent Writing Practice

Assign regular writing assignments to give students ample opportunities to practice their writing skills. Provide a variety of writing tasks, such as descriptive essays, opinion pieces, narratives, or reflective journal entries.

Use Authentic Materials for ESL Writing Activities

Integrate authentic materials like newspaper articles, short stories, or blog posts to expose students to real-life writing and develop their understanding of different writing styles and genres.

Have your say about these ESL Writing Activities and Exercises

What do you think about these writing ESL activities? Did you try out one of them from this or have another that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think.  We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource for teaching English writing.

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About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

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14 ESL Writing Activities to Spice Up Your Next Class

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  • October 27, 2020
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Writing is one of the four basic English proficiencies next to reading, speaking, and listening. Developing a well-honed ability to write fluidly, naturally, and confidently — while using well-crafted grammatical structure and a wide array of vocabulary — carries several benefits for English learners.  

A developed writing ability is essential for scoring well on standardized tests that include essay sections and a well-chosen ESL writing activity can increase the ability to express increasingly complex ideas succinctly and fully, thus improving communication skills across all four proficiencies.

How to Use ESL Writing Activities

As an ESL teacher, part of your teaching scope likely includes improving the writing skills of your students. Fun, engaging activities can be effective tools for achieving the gains in their writing abilities that you hope to see in the classroom. 

When to Use ESL Writing Activities

Depending on the type of activity, writing activities can be used:

  • At the beginning of a lesson to pique students’ interest and generate excitement about the upcoming lesson.
  • Mid-lesson to assess students’ absorption and retention.
  • At the conclusion of a lesson to review previously learned vocabulary/grammar.

Setup for ESL Writing Activities

Some ESL writing activities featured here require virtually no setup. Others require a whiteboard and/or projector with computer access. A handful require some preparation before class and pre-printed materials for handout.

Here are a few of the premier ESL writing activities for students divided by age and skill level.

ESL Writing Activities For Young Learners

Flash card writing.

Young learners are often best engaged with visual cues, so ESL flashcards are great tools for the classroom at the primary level.

To conduct the flash card activity, do a warm-up session by going through each card and, together as a class, writing the correct spelling on the board letter by letter.

Then, heat things up by dividing students into teams and having one member of each team write the vocabulary term on the board as quickly as possible when you prompt them with the corresponding flashcard.

The first student to finish earns a point for his or her team. Incentivize the students, if necessary, with a prize for the team with the most points at the end.

What’s Happening?

Building on the theme of combining imagery with writing for younger ESL learners, consider showing students a picture (the more vibrant, colorful, and detailed, the better) and asking them to write what they see. Consider using images with recently learned phrases as a review method.

Write a Letter to Santa (or Spiderman, Harry Potter, or Whomever)

Letter writing is an essential aspect of a young student’s English. Make it fun by having them write to their favorite superhero, celebrity, or best friend.

If your students need extra guidance, prompt them by suggesting what to write about; if writing to Santa, for example, encourage them to discuss what they would like for Christmas.

Help them frame their letter logically by providing a structure guide and helpful suggestions as necessary.

Postcards to Pen Pals

Capture young learners’ imagination by introducing them to a fictitious young boy or girl (or one inspired by real life) who is their same age and who lives in an exotic far-off land.

If your students are interested in a particular region or city, such as San Francisco, adjust your character’s geographic location accordingly.

Have them write a short composition to their new faraway friend that will fit on a postcard about who they are, what they like doing, etc. You can even make your own DIY postcards in the office using colored cardboard or other material.

This is a great opportunity to teach basic introductions and conclusions in English writing, a foundational component of almost any form of writing.

ESL Writing Activities For Adults

Write a business email.

Many adult learners are businesspeople, office workers, or other teachers themselves, so chances are all or most of your students have to send emails at some point in a work-related capacity.

Learning how to use professional, natural-sounding business language is a practical, valuable skill that adult ESL learners will appreciate —  in fact, you may find that sounding “native” in both written and spoken word is a major goal of many English students, particularly adults.

Using a projector, create a relatable and entertaining work-related scenario and write an email to a boss or co-worker together about the situation.

Then, have your students craft their own email either in response to the example you provided or in a fresh scenario.

Illustrative Descriptions

Fluent English writers and speakers have the ability to translate visual experiences into the written word, an advanced skill set that can serve your students well in a variety of real-world English-speaking contexts.

Consider using a well-known piece of local imagery with important cultural meaning (such as a portrait of a well-known historical figure or leader) and help your students to write verbal descriptions of the visual cue.

Paraphrasing Activity

Paraphrasing is the ability to quickly recreate sentences with different grammatical structure and vocabulary while retaining the meaning and content of the original sentence.

The ability to paraphrase off the cuff is an important skill that can come in handy for adult learners who interact with other English speakers. Practicing paraphrasing encourages a greater understanding of the nuances of the language and developing alternative ways to construct sentences.

Offer your students a sentence, then ask them to capture the essence of what is communicated and reconstitute the critical elements into a new sentence structure.

Personal Ads for Dating Sites

Due to human nature, social conditioning, or a combination thereof, adult ESL learners’ ears tend to perk up when the topic of conversation moves to the birds and the bees.

If your adult students don’t use personal dating apps like Tinder, chances are they did at some point or their sons and daughters do.

Have your students write a personal ad – either about themselves or about one another in pairs – to be placed on a fictional dating app. Depending on the context of the learning environment, you can spice the activity up by encouraging uncouth language if/when you feel it is appropriate.

ESL Writing Activities for Beginners

Acrostic poem.

This simple writing activity encourages creativity in use of the English terminology as well as recall of vocabulary. To create an acrostic poem activity for your students, write a short series of letters such as BIRD on the board, one on top of the other. Each of the four letters is its own line of poetry like this:

Create an example first for your students, such as:

  • Barbara and
  • I went to the garden where
  • Red flowers grow
  • Down by the creek

Then encourage students to think of their own poems to create.

Fill in the Letters

Mastering the letters and their phonetic sounds is a foundational element of ESL writing for beginners.

Present your students with words containing missing letters. You can either use pre-constructed worksheets from other teachers, create your own, or write the words with missing letters on the whiteboard.

After your students complete the words, take the time to sound out the terms again to strengthen students’ phonetic grasp on common English sounds and their corresponding letters. This will build their capacity to conceptualize letters when constructing words and sentences.

Letter/Word Chains

Print a series of words with one giant letter on each page. For example, if the word is HOUSE, then print an H, O, U, S, and E, each on its own respective page.

Scramble the papers up, then call an equal number of students to pages to the front – in this example, five. Say the word they should spell (house) and then watch them scramble to organize themselves in the correct order – helping them when necessary.  

Although beginning ESL students don’t put pen to paper in this activity, it is nonetheless a writing activity in that it instills proper spelling and a basic grasp on phonetics that are critical at this stage of language development.

Students also enjoy and may benefit from the social, team-building aspect of this writing activity.

If single words are too easy, you can up the difficulty level by printing entire words on separate pages that form complete sentences.

ESL Writing Activities for Intermediate Students

Western ESL teachers might remember Mad Libs from their youth, a game in which a handful of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs are extracted from a prewritten story and left up to the participants to fill in.

Mad Libs and its variants like Mad Takes can be wildly entertaining for ESL learners.

Fantasy Dialogue Using Pop Culture

Most of your students, especially in the mid-secondary school age range with a typical skill level for that group, will find this writing activity engaging.

Create a fantasy meeting between two well-known pop culture figures – for example, in Thailand, this would be something like Lady Gaga meeting Harry Potter if selecting from Western celebrities.

You can make the activity more exciting by setting the dialogue against an unusual background – for example, backstage at a concert in Bangkok.  

Writing Descriptions of Visual Stimuli

Flash an image of a busy street corner in a major city in your student’s country, or of a well-known piece of historic architecture or famous landform – anything that your students are likely to know well.

Write the question words on the board:

Then ask your students to craft their own descriptions of the images you show for the question words. Some might not fit well – for example, the answer to who? may not appear obvious in an image of an island with no inhabitants. Encourage creative, “out of the box” answers in this regard and reward them with positive feedback.

The Directions Game

Giving and receiving directions is an intermediate English skill that ESL learners who want to travel will need to have. Additionally, this activity is useful to include at the outset of a lesson because the competitive nature captures students’ interest.

Draw a handmade map or grab one off of the internet. Divide the students into two teams. Then, have one student from each team come to the whiteboard with marker in hand.

Ask how to go from point A to point B on the map. Each student, with the help of his or her team, must quickly write coherent directions (turn left, turn right, go east, go west, etc.) from start to finish.

The first team to complete intelligible directions wins.

ESL Writing Activities for Advanced Students

What happens next.

This writing activity has the potential for several modifications to spice it up, but the essential idea is that the class, as a group, creates a story line by line.

The simplest version of Collective Story Time is to begin, as the teacher, with the introductory sentence on the whiteboard or projector: “Billy went to the skatepark.” The next sentence is completed by a student chosen at random, who then passes the baton to another student of his or her choice.

Depending on the age, maturity level, and preferences of students, you might put content limitations in place or interject with your own sentences from time to time to keep the story on a productive track.

Social Media Posts

Nearly everyone uses social media; they identify with it; they engage with it. Instead of fighting students to stay off of their phones in class, why not consider crafting your own Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram posts together as a class?

Use projection technology to supersize the browser or app and brainstorm a Tweet or post about a popular topic or the latest news in your learners’ home country.

Getting to the Point/Cutting Out the Fat

In English writing, more is not always better. The stage at which ESL students begin to develop advanced writing skills and become more confident is the right time to begin to introduce the concept of brevity and its benefits.

Start by offering your own writing sample that is chock full of redundancies, extraneous details, and non-sequiturs. Point some of them out yourself so that they know what to look for. Ask your students to shorten the story by half while keeping the original meaning and the critical details.

Transcription Practice (Dicto-Comp)

For some advanced ESL students who are either working already or will soon join the workforce, the ability to translate spoken English into written form quickly and accurately is an important skill.

Help them develop this skill set by selecting a text that is commensurate with their comprehension level. If you can’t find a suitable sample on the web, consider writing one yourself. The text should be about 500 words.

Students will listen and transcribe what they are hearing as quickly as possible. Emphasize the equal importance of accuracy and speed.

Read a few sentences at a time, pausing when you think appropriate.

Where to Start as an ESL Teacher

Devising effective ESL writing activities — and, equally importantly, adapting them to match the needs, interests, and social context of your students – requires a good bit of trial and error. Inspiration from other teachers’ examples and outside resources can help.To get started developing high-quality writing activities for your students, take a look at our list of free lesson plans . They are full of effective teaching strategies that are backed by years of practical success in ESL classrooms around the globe.

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ESL Writing Exercises: Activities, Worksheets, and Ideas!

We have several free ESL writing lessons on this page, including sample essays, sentence patterns, writing assignments, and more! If you like these lessons, consider buying our ESL writing textbooks to get even more content just like this!

Beginner Writing Lessons

The four units below are all taken from our book Write Right: 9 Beginner ESL Writing Lessons , available for instant download!

Sample Essay: “My Hobby” – Introductory sample essay that students can reference later when writing their own essays

Sentence Pattern: Start/stop verb+ing – Practice adding “ing” to verbs after “start/stop/quit/begin”

Grammar: Past Tense – Simple introduction to past tense verbs

Error Correction Worksheet – Correct the errors in this sample “My Hobby” essay

Assignment: “My Hobby” – Use the grammar and sentence patterns from Unit 1 to write an essay titled “My Hobby”

Sample Essay: “A Funny Story” – Introductory sample essay that students can reference later when writing their own essays

Past Tense Error Correction Worksheet – Review of past tense; rewrite the paragraph and correct the past tense errors

Indention and Quotations – Teaches students to indent new paragraphs and use quotation marks correctly

Indentions and Quotations: Error Correction Worksheet – Identify and correct the mistakes in the paragraph

Writing Assignment: “A Funny Story” – Students use the grammar and sentence patterns from Unit 2 to write an essay titled “A Funny Story”

Sample Essay: “My Favorite Place” – Introductory sample essay that students can reference later when writing their own essays

Sentence Pattern: Although / Even though – Introduction to “although” and “even though”, with sample sentences and practice exercises

Sentence Pattern: not…at all – Introduction to the sentence pattern “(not)…at all”, with sample sentences and practice exercises

Error Correction Worksheet – Identify and correct the mistakes in the paragraph

Writing Assignment: “My Favorite Place” – Students use the grammar and sentence patterns from Unit 3 to write an essay titled “My Favorite Place”

creative writing exercises esl

NEW! UNIT 4: “Letter to a Relative”

Sample Essay: “Letter to a Relative” – Introductory sample letter that students can reference later when writing their own essays

Writing Lesson: The Elements of a Letter – Introduction to the elements of a letter (greeting, body, conclusion)

Writing Lesson: Conjunctions – Introduction to the conjunctions and/but/or/so, with an explanation of how to punctuate them correctly

Error Correction: Conjunctions – Identify and correct the mistakes in the letter

Writing Assignment: “Letter to a Relative” – Students use the grammar and sentence patterns from Unit 4 to write an letter to one of their relatives

Intermediate/Advanced Writing Lessons

The writing lessons and worksheets below are taken from our book Write Right: Transitions , available for instant download!

Writing a Formal Paragraph

Topic Sentences (Introduction) – Introduction to topic sentences and their function in a formal paragraph

Introduction to Similes and Metaphors – Using similes and metaphors to write interesting topic sentences

Similes and Metaphors Review – Practice describing people and things using similes and metaphors

Topic Sentences (Review) – Practice writing topic sentences

The Body of a Paragraph (Introduction) – Introduction to the body of a paragraph and the information that should be contained therein

The Body of a Paragraph (Review) – Practice thinking of information to use in the body of a paragraph

Concluding Sentences (Introduction) – Introduction to concluding sentences and their function in a paragraph

Concluding Sentences (Review) – Practice writing concluding sentences

Punctuation and Conjunctions

Sentence Fragments and Complete Sentences – Introduction to sentence fragments and a review exercise to practice identifying them

Run-on Sentences – Worksheet to practice correcting run-on sentences

Comma Splices and Conjunctions – Worksheet to practice using conjunctions correctly to fix comma splices

Commas and Conjunctions (“and”) – Explanation of how to correctly use commas with the conjunction “and”

Semi-colons – Introduction to this often baffling piece of punctuation, with a review exercise

Transitions and Connectors

Listing Things in Order – Practice listing items or events in order using words like “First”, “Next”, “After that”, “Finally”, etc.

In addition / Additionally / Moreover / Furthermore / Plus / …as well – Introduction to these commonly used transitions, with several sample sentences

In addition / Additionally / Moreover / Furthermore / Plus / …as well – Review worksheet to practice writing sentences with these transitions

However / Nevertheless / Still / Despite that / Nonetheless / Even so – Introduction to these commonly used transitions, with several sample sentences

However / Nevertheless / Still / Despite that / Nonetheless / Even so – Review worksheet to practice writing sentences with these transitions

Therefore / Consequently / As a result / Thus / For this Reason – Introduction to these commonly used transitions, with several sample sentences

Therefore / Consequently / As a result / Thus / For this Reason – Review worksheet to practice writing sentences with these transitions

Review of these Transitions and Connectors – Review worksheet to practice using all of the transition words above

More Transitions and Connectors

Although / Even though – Introduction to these commonly used transitions, with several sample sentences and review exercises

Though – Introduction to “though” and it’s various uses in a sentence

Despite / In spite of – Introduction to these commonly used transitions, with sample sentences

Despite / In spite of – Review worksheet to practice writing sentences with these words

Despite vs. Although – Explanation of how to use these similar transition words, with several sample sentences

Despite vs. Although – Review worksheet to practice using “despite” and “although” correctly

Because vs. Because of – Explanation of how to use these similar transition words correctly, with several sample sentences

Because vs. Although – Explanation of the difference between these two words, with several examples and a review exercise

Because of vs. Despite – Worksheet to practice using these transitions, which have nearly opposite meanings

Regardless of – Introduction to this commonly used transition, with several sample sentences

Regardless of / No matter – Review worksheet to practice using these transitions correctly, including an explanation of “embedded questions”.

Review of Transitions and Connectors

Transitions and Punctuation – Explanation of how to correctly punctuate transitions using commas, periods, and semi-colons. Also includes a review worksheet.

Transitions and Punctuation (2) – Students rewrite a short essay, adding punctuation around transition words as needed.

Review of Above Transitions and Connectors – Fill in the blanks with an appropriate transition word to complete the essay

Additional Review of Transitions and Connectors – Review of several transition words/phrases (For this reason / Despite the fact that / No matter / Due to / Consequently / As a result / In spite of / Regardless of / Owing to)

Additional FREE ESL/EFL Writing Worksheets, Activities, and Ideas:

Useful phrases and sentence patterns.

Instead of / Rather than – Handout explaining how to use these phrases, with sample sentences

Instead of / Rather than – Review – Worksheet to practice using “instead of” and “rather than” correctly

Instead – Worksheet reviewing different ways to use the word “instead” in a sentence

Would rather – Handout explaining how to use “would rather”, with sample sentences

Would rather – Review – Worksheet to practice using “would rather” correctly

Prefer – Worksheet to practice using “prefer” correctly

Regardless / Regardless of / No matter – Examples and practice sentences

Gradually / Eventually / Sooner or later / At some point / In the end / …end up… – Examples and practice sentences

More sentence patterns and phrases (in no particular order):

vary / varies from __ to __

that which / those who

Just because [A] doesn’t mean that [B]

If it weren’t for [A], then I never would have [B]

If I hadn’t [A] then I wouldn’t have [B]

I wish I had / I should have

Found myself

(Currently) in the process of

Writing Activities

Putting pen to paper doesn’t always have to be boring. Here are some activities and game-like things to make writing a bit more enjoyable.

Interactive Stories – Students collaborate to write each others’ stories.

The Lying Game – Guess which statements are true and which statements are lies!

Idiom Worksheets – Give advice using idioms. Less a “game” than an “assignment,” though the idioms tend to make things a little more interesting.

Explain the Idiom – Try to guess what the idioms mean, and use them in a dialogue.

Writing Scenarios

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6 Creative Writing Activities for the ESL Classroom

03 June 2021 • Guest posts , Tips

creative writing exercises esl

The ESL classroom is a place where students learn, develop their language skills, and use their creativity and imagination. Learning a language is a process that requires different types of activities to be involved, for the student to truly progress. That’s why ESL students deal with speaking, reading, listening, and writing activities interchangeably. And, it’s the teacher’s job to make these activities as engaging and useful as possible.

When it comes to creative writing, teachers should look for creative activities that will keep the students interested and present. To help you give your students the best possible learning experience, we've put together a list of 6 creative writing activities for the ESL classroom. Check them out below.

1. Group Story Writing

If you have a classroom of reluctant writers, you might want to kick things off with a group exercise. Divide students into groups so that they can work together and help each other out.

Group story writing is a fun exercise that your students will love. All you need is an interesting picture showing something amusing and inspiring for each group. Once you give them the picture, ask them to:

  • - name the characters from the picture
  • - decide on their relationship
  • - come up with a story about the things happening in the picture e.g. why are they there, what are they talking about, how are they feeling…

Ask the students to take turns pitching ideas, and have one student in the group take notes. Once they define all the details, ask them to write a story based on the ideas they've previously shared.

Group work can be a challenge, but if you instruct it properly, your students will enjoy working together.

2. Five-Sentence Stories

To have your students engage in a writing task, you don't need to have them write a two-page essay. Exercises that seem simple can actually help them work harder and truly activate their language skills.

A five-sentence story is an exercise that requires the following:

  • - the students work individually
  • - they have 10 minutes to come up with a story
  • - the story needs to have an introduction, a climax, and an ending
  • - the story needs to be exactly five sentences long

The teacher can either provide a topic or let it be completely up to the students.

The students will struggle to summarize their entire idea into five sentences and will have to use all the language skills and knowledge they have. Plus, they'll enjoy listening to each other's fun short stories and seeing how everyone did.

3. Finish The Story

The following exercise is great for pair work since it can engage language-speaking separately from written assignments. Finish the story is quite simple:

  • - provide each pair of students with a beginning of a story
  • - it can be a newspaper article, a fairy tale, a letter, an email, or anything the students find interesting
  • - ask them to read it
  • - ask them to write the rest of the story and finish it the way they think it should finish

The students will be provided with a writing style sample that they'll need to follow and respect. They'll need to be imaginative and creative to finish the story with a bang and amuse the rest of the classroom.

4. Simplify the Text

This idea comes from HubSpot’s article “How to Train Your Brain to Write More Concisely” and their exercise Rewrite Wikipedia Paragraphs. While you don’t have to use Wikipedia as the source of exercise materials, you can use the same principles since it’s engaging and fun for the students.

Here's what you need to do:

  • - give your students a piece of content
  • - try choosing something they’re interested in and will enjoy reading
  • - ask them to read the whole text
  • - ask them to reduce it by 50%

So, if you gave them a 1200-word article about sustainability, ask them to reduce it to a 600-word article, without losing any important information.

This will teach them to write concisely and avoid redundancy, which is a key skill they'll need for business writing, college papers, case studies, or motivational letters. You can order case study writing online and use it as another writing resource for your EFL students, teaching them about research, investigation, and organizing information.

5. Chain Writing

Another great way to engage students in a group writing activity is to have them write a chain story together. Chain stories will have students enjoy their time spent in the ESL classroom, collaborating with their peers and working on a fun project together.

The principle is simple:

  • - the teacher takes a blank piece of paper and writes a writing prompt on it
  • - it can be anything that will get the story going, e.g. “It was dark and Jack was scared.” or “The sun was setting behind the hills.”
  • - The teacher passes the paper to the next student in line and asks them to add a sentence.
  • - Once they finish, they pass the paper on.

This can go on in circles until the story is finished and ready to be presented. Ask one of the students from the group to read the story and show the rest of the class the result of their group work.

6. Monologue Writing

Your EFL classroom must use diverse writing activities that allow students to constantly grow. Writing a monologue is a unique chance for them to exercise first-person writing and use their wittiness and creativity.

The teacher should first provide monologue examples for students to explore. Then, they’ll assign a character to each student. It could be:

  • - a famous person
  • - a former president
  • - a made-up person
  • - a member of the student’s family

The student needs to write a brief monologue and give this person a chance to speak up. They'll need to take care of the perspective and think of the exact words this person would use.

Final Thoughts

Creative writing is important for your students’ overall ESL skills, and you find the activities that will help them improve. The 6 creative exercises listed above will help you focus on the area of creative writing your students need help with the most.

Use this list as guidance or inspiration to make every ESL lesson successful.

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.

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10 Creative ESL Writing Activities For Young Students

By VIPKid  |  February 7, 2018

Ready to start teaching English online?

ESL Writing Activities

If you are an ESL teacher on VIPKID then you must consider the following things before selecting ESL Writing Activities for your students;

  • You must choose the activities that can easily be done online because communication between you and your students will be done using VIPKID’s online video chatting software. Therefore, games that require outdoor activities may not work that well.
  • You must avoid picking group activities because each of your online classes will consist of one student only. If you pick games that require more than one student, it is quite possible that you may end up confusing your students instead of helping them develop their writing skills.
  • VIPKID provides the teachers with its own teaching material; therefore, the games you pick for your students must be relevant to the material you are given otherwise you may not be able to achieve any progress.
  • The ESL Writing Activities you pick must be age-appropriate, which means you should pick games according to the age of your students. For your younger students, you need to choose easier to understand activities that teach English writing at the most basic level. Older students who understand English a bit may benefit from slightly more complex games.
  • You must include ESL Writing Activities both in-class lessons and your students’ homework. This will allow them to practice more, which will help them develop and improve their writing skills.

The key to using writing activities as a teaching tool for your ESL students is to know which activities will help achieve your lesson’s learning objectives. If you use activities that are all fun and games, then your students may not learn anything useful from them.  

ESL writing activities are important because they teach students to express their thoughts and use arguments so they can support their points of view in English. Therefore, it is important to do ESL writing exercises not only as homework   but also as a classroom activity . In this article, we will outline some interesting ESL writing activities that are suitable for interactive work in a classroom or while teaching ESL online.

These are some of the best 10 ESL writing activities

Writing tweets.

esl writing

Most of your students should be familiar with Twitter and tweets, so it can be a good starting point for an ESL writing exercise. Encourage students to write short tweets on the given ESL writing topic . You can even create a Twitter account for your class where the learners can share their thoughts. By the way, recently Twitter has exceeded the number of characters per post from 140 to 280, but still you can stick to the old 140-character format and maintain the conciseness.

Writing Emails

Emails are the main source of communication between people around the world, and that’s why email writing is a key to effective communication . Explain to your students the difference between formal and informal emails , outline the structure and vocabulary, and encourage the students to write their own emails. They can write emails to each other based on a specified topic, such as organizing a surprise party for a friend’s birthday.

Writing Ads and TV Commercials

Advertisements and commercials are a great example of creative writing , so they can be used as writing activities for ESL students . Give your learners some sample ads as well as typical expressions that are used in advertising, and then ask the learners to create their own ads. You can bring some familiar objects to the classroom and tell the learners to advertise them. The students can work solo, in pairs, or in groups. For even greater creativity, encourage them to support their ads with images . For example, they can cut out those images out of newspapers or magazines, or print them from the web. Bonus points go to teachers who have their students present them as pitches for an extra speaking activity .

Error Correction

esl writing activities

This ESOL writing exercise focuses on the ability to detect and correct mistakes in an already written text. One of example is to give the students a letter from an “imaginary friend” who does not speak English very well and has asked you to correct his or her letter. Each line of the letter should contain at least one mistake, which the students should identify and correct.

Collaborative ESL Writing Activity

Ask your students to write a story together. Each student should write a sentence and pass on the sheet to another student, who should continue the story. In the end, someone can read the story aloud. Such activity can both train the writing skills and spice up your ESL writing lessons, making them more fun and exciting. If you’re Teaching English as a Second Language online, you can go back and forth with the student and drive the story toward the vocabulary you’re focusing on.

Don’t forget to check our article about Teaching English as A Second Language.

Association game

Play an association game with your students: tell them a word and ask them to create an association chain for it, i.e. to name the association with each next word. For example, airport – travel – holidays – fun – party – night – moon – space, and so on. When the association chain is ready, ask the students to write a story by using all of these words.

Structural Writing

During this ESL writing game, you should write an essay together with your students, but in a slow-paced manner, sentence by sentence . When writing, you will teach them the typical essay structure, such as introductory, supporting, and concluding sentences. As a result, your students will not be afraid of long essays, as they can easily break down the essay structure into smaller chunks.

Image-Based Story Writing

creative writing exercises esl

For this ESOL writing practice, you should mix up cards with various images in a bag or basket, and then ask each student to take three random images. Then the most interesting part starts: the students should write stories that involve each of the three depicted objects .

How-To Instructions Writing

During this ESL writing exercise, you should ask your students to describe how something works in the form of a step-by-step procedure . Of course, they should describe the functioning of simple objects from daily life, for example, a toaster. Another option is to write a recipe for a simple dish, such as scrambled eggs or cornflakes with milk.

Shortening The Texts

Give your students a bulky text overloaded with long expressions and ask them to shorten the text and remove everything that seems odd, thus making the text clear and concise. You can shorten one of the texts together with the students and then have them work in groups or pairs.

We hope that our examples of writing exercises for ESL students will help you liven up the writing activities and turn them into an exciting adventure. Good luck with the next lesson plan !

ESL Writing

Benefits of ESL Writing

Here are some of the benefits of ESL writing activities:

They help to improve writing skills – Yes, this is an obvious benefit. Writing is an important part of learning English as a Second Language, especially if you are teaching adults who are looking for job opportunities or applying to universities for higher studies in native-English speaking countries. You will have to make sure that they know the basic knowledge of how to compose emails, take notes, prepare assignments and communicate with their peers and colleagues.

They help you build your vocabulary – ESL write up activities are a great way to build your students’ vocabulary. Not only do they learn new words, but they will also know how to use them in different sentences.

They help students understand the English language better – When you write a sentence you learn new words, you learn how to use them and how to build content around them. This can be a great way to improve your students’ comprehension, which can help them with their fluency in the language and play a role in developing their communication skills.

Remember, in order to make sure that your students benefit from writing, you should select exercises that are age-appropriate, related to your lesson, and easy to understand.

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Creative writing is a form of writing that expresses feelings and emotions or thoughts and ideas, in an imaginative way rather than just as a means of conveying information.

Learning English as a foreign language can be a frustrating experience for many students. It can also be a dry and boring experience if the only writing that is done consists of lists of conjugated verbs or pages of vocabulary.

By introducing an element of creativity into written lessons when learning English, students can not only have more fun learning a language, but also speed up their learning process and boost their confidence. Creative writing exercises can help to dispel some of a student’s frustration by helping them to realize how much they already know. After just a couple of lessons student’s know enough to begin writing simple, yet imaginative stories.

In the early stages of language learning, one of the first lessons taught is often learning how to greet other people, using characteristic words to describe what they look like. These early lessons can incorporate some creative writing by having students write a short paragraph, or poem about a friend. Creative writing at this stage does not have to be grammatically correct. The aim is to use and experiment with the vocabulary and to have fun grouping the words together to describe something or someone who exists. Descriptions don’t even need to be truthful as students can have fun being cheeky and using their creative license.

As students progress with their language learning, so the creative exercises can become more challenging. Students can use aspects of story telling, for instance, by writing a piece that recalls a childhood memory in order to practice spelling and grammar use. They can also improve vocabulary by focusing on one concept, for instance beauty or sadness, and then writing down every word that means the same thing. Using those collected words to then write a poem or a narrative paragraph that incorporates some or all of the words is beneficial as well in advancing the learning process.

Students often know more than they realize. By exploring creative writing exercises they can be encouraged to write what they know, and realize how many different sentences they can form, or ideas they can express, using this technique. Self esteem along with confidence in the language, grows as students are encouraged to break out of the text-book style of learning by repetition.

Students who practice their new language skills creatively can be further encouraged by reading texts similar to those being written. For instance, students who are practicing poetry can be introduced to similar poems styles, such as a Haiku, either in printed books or those written by other ESL students. Creative reading opens up the language to more than just learning new words and how they fit together. Creative reading, whether it’s reading newspapers and magazines or stories, novels and poems, helps the student to experience the language being used as part of everyday communication, and thus grounds the language in the wider world, outside of the classroom and the textbook. Getting the student to connect with the language emotionally by understanding and relating to written creative texts, brings the new language to life in a way that conventional language learning, without elements of creative writing, cannot manage.

Three Creative Writing Exercises

For students of English as a second language, creative writing is a way to learn to play with words and experiment with expressing thoughts and feelings. Creative, or imaginative writing, allows students to practice communicating using everyday language as well as rehearsing the vocabulary used in specific situations, such as when shopping or asking directions. Using creative writing as part of a teaching plan allows ESL teachers to gauge the progress of each student and make sure a student’s foreign language writing abilities are keeping pace with their speaking skills. Here are three specific exercises a student can practice to enhance their creative writing ability:

Keep a Journal

Each student keeps a diary or journal in which they record everyday events and activities. The exercise can be adjusted to allow for different levels of language ability. For instance, ask beginner students to record just one or two words each day to describe the weather, or an item of clothing they are wearing that day. Have more advanced students write in complete sentences, detailing one or more of their daily activities.

Practice Punctuation

Make up two characters to write about and have them discuss a film that the student has recently watched. Have one character love the film and the other character hate it. Write the dialogue between them as they discuss what they thought of the film. Use the correct punctuation for dialogue throughout. Make the exercise more challenging by using two characters who are complete opposites, such as an old lady and a little boy. Adapt the exercise for beginner students by asking them to simply describe characters or actors within a film they have seen.

Past and Future Tense Poems

Writing short poetry verses is a good way to learn how to use the different tenses in the English language. Write a short poem in the past tense that describes what you did yesterday, then write a short poem in the future tense that describes what you have planned for tomorrow. In the past tense you will use phrases such as I went , I saw , I was , and We were and for the future tense you will use phrases such as I will , I am going , and We shall .

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Storytelling 101: 6 Engaging Writing Activities for ESL Students

Once upon a time, I was teaching an ESL class full of teenagers in a quiet, northern Thai town.

They were ready to write , I was sure. They, however, were not so convinced.

No matter how I implored, cajoled, inspired, encouraged—not a word was written in our first free writing session. Needless to say, this was a long way from the “Dead Poets’ Society”-esque afternoon I had planned.

As any of us with writing aspirations know, the tyranny of the blank page is a  true terror to behold .

And, of course, this is true even more so for the ESL student.   So why even bother?

Well, writing in English (or any language foreign to you) is scary because it really puts your language skills and knowledge to the test .

To process  all the English information loaded into their brains  during class time, your students will need to overcome their fear of writing  and  put pen to paper with confidence.

Luckily, we’ve got the perfect strategy for you and your students to reach this level. The ESL activities we’ve provided for you here are focused entirely on not just writing any old thing, but story writing.

There are several key reasons why story writing is an important skill to develop in our students.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

Why ESL Writing Activities Are Important

They get students on the road to advanced fluency

If a student is going to progress to the advanced fluency stage, developing their writing skills is essential. We consider comprehensive language fluency to be based on the 4 distinct abilities of reading, writing, speaking and listening.

While listening and reading can be classed as receptive skills, speaking and writing are productive. Writing short stories is an excellent way to develop the student’s productive skills in particular.

They increase students’ vocabulary

The process of writing will place great demands on the student’s active vocabulary. It will soon become apparent to the student which words they overuse. This makes for a great opportunity to increase your student’s active vocabulary.

Encourage them to use a thesaurus to add to their vocabulary. Words that the students seek out themselves and use in their writing are much more likely to stick in their memory.

They go straight to the well of the mother tongue

Your students may well already have been introduced to figurative uses of language such as metaphor, simile and idiom. In their striving for freshness in their writing, their native language can prove to be a great source of inspiration. Cross-pollination with their mother tongue can inspire some truly fresh turns of phrase and original images.

Once Upon a Time in a Classroom Far, Far Away…

“Blank Page, How I Quake Before Thy Pristine Barrenness.”

So there’s still one big issue facing us teachers: Writing can be intimidating for students. That blank page can be terrifying. How to start? Which words to choose? Which grammar patterns fit the tone, style and meaning of the content?

The real problem behind all these worries? Their confidence.  The single biggest hurdle before you when getting your shiny new intermediate level students to put quill to vellum is their ability to believe in themselves. So what can we gnarly old wordsmiths do to help? Thankfully, plenty. And much of it involves imparting an understanding of how the structure of the short story works.

The bones of it…

Knowing the heart of the problem is structure, there is much we can do to support our students in their first attempts at writing short stories in English. The tried and tested scaffolds of writing frames can be particularly useful at this stage. But what elements should our writing frames be built around? Well firstly, we’re unlikely to be dealing with a James Joyce or Raymond Carver just yet, but there are some basics to consider when planning for a short story.

Telling Tales in Class: 6 Writing Activities for the ESL Classroom

Your ESL students may not be overly familiar with English language stories yet , but they will be familiar with a wide variety of stories in their native language. Mine this fact! Especially if you’re working abroad and teaching students of a single (or majority) linguistic/cultural background.

Do a little research. Can you give them examples of the titles of different stories from their country in a variety of genres?

This is an excellent way to make explicit the importance of setting in story writing. Have them list some likely settings for a variety of genre, e.g. for the genre of horror they might come up with settings such as a haunted house, a cabin in the forest or an abandoned asylum.

More confident students can subvert this. Perhaps they would like to tell their horror story with a more unlikely backdrop. Have fun with it. When your students have chosen their settings, brainstorm some useful vocabulary as a class and record it in a word bank on the board. It can help launch the story ship from the safe confines of their imaginative harbor.

My favorite exercise for helping students develop their narrative skills in relation to setting involves giving each student a piece of paper with a setting written on it. No one else is to see it. The complexity of the settings can be differentiated according to the students’ abilities. Provide them with simple settings such as on a ship at sea, in a desert or at a hotel, or target more specific vocabulary with settings like ER rooms or subway stations.

The aim of the exercise is to write a paragraph with as much detail as possible describing the setting. The student is not to reveal the location by naming it, but rather by the provision of detail. They share it with the class. Can the student’s peers recognize the scene? Where is this set? This exercise is useful in encouraging students to “show” a setting with descriptive language rather than “tell” what it is directly.

2. Character

The next ingredient to consider is that of the people in the story. Show your students how the genre they are writing about may inform the characters they use. Have your class, in groups, suggest suitable characters for various genres.

Like the exercise on setting above, this too can be subverted. Stronger students may wish to inhabit their world with unlikely characters. This is a great way to freshen up the often clichéd world of genre writing.

At this juncture, genre writing often provides a sense of the familiar that will help the students make their first nervous scribblings in this new world of creative writing in English.

A good exercise to help your student writer develop their knowledge of their character is assign students to pairs. Have them prepare questions for each other before carrying out an interview of each other’s characters. This role-playing activity allows the student to gain a sense of empathy for their protagonist and helps them develop a sense of the character’s backstory and personality. This will assist greatly when it comes to making their character live and breathe in the story they’ll write.

3. Conflict

Just as there’s no song without a melody, there’s no story without a problem. It’s the hook that pulls us into the alternate reality. It’s what involves us in the lives of fictional characters and makes us care about what happens to them. No conflict, no story.

In this age of Hollywood dominance of the movie world , your students will likely be familiar with many English language movies. Straw poll them and find out which movies they are familiar with and which were their favorites. Can they identify the conflicts in those movies? What was the engine that drove the action? Was it a forbidden love that brought ruin? A thirst for revenge that destroyed all? Or a hero who overcomes his disadvantage to save the world? Find a good conflict and you have found a story.

Joe Bunting argues that good conflict involves a clash of values . He suggests the following exercise to help in developing this aspect of the student’s story: have the student, at the planning stage, spend 15-20 minutes writing a short scene that displays on of the character’s values. Find a way to test that value and you have found your conflict.

This is the part of the story where the story will come to a dramatic high point. In “Cinderella” it is when the Prince tentatively places the shoe on the bride-to-be’s waiting foot. Or when we find out Andy has escaped in “The Shawshank Redemption.”

This is where all the conflict will come to a head and the action peaks. In the short story format the climax will often take the form of a twist. If things have been going well for the main character, her fortunes may take a turn for the worse. Likewise, our hero may overcome the many obstacles in front of her in this part of the story.

After your student has finished the conflict exercise in the section above, have them explore possible outcomes of the clash of values. Does the protagonist win through, or will the outcome be a negative one? Sketching out alternative outcomes is a good way for the student to see which direction they would like to take their story in.

5. Resolution

The resolution is the tying up of loose ends. It’s often the calm after the storm, where any unanswered questions may be resolved. It may be useful to use the model of the fairy tale or a folk tale, which transcends language boundaries.

Often these tales are morally instructive parables passed from generation to generation encompassing the morality of a people. Though they do tend to be didactic and formulaic, these characteristics do make them very useful for illustrating the structure of a short story.

If your student is struggling to find an ending to their story, have them go back to the beginning of their story. Often the opening to the story will suggest its final resolution.

6. How to Illustrate the Structure of a Great Story

To illustrate this overall structure visually for your students, I find the following exercise useful:

1. Draw a graph quadrant on the board.

2. Label the x-axis “Time” and the y-axis “Action” or “Excitement.”

3. Underneath the x-axis, from left to right, write the words: introduction, conflict, climax, resolution.

4. Plot a point above introduction, but quite low on the y-axis. This represents the exposition of setting and character. Not too much is happening yet. The reader is getting oriented to this fictional landscape.

5. Plot a point halfway up the y-axis above the word conflict. This represents the introduction of the conflict. We are now at the point in our story where the real point of the story is developing.

6. Plot a point high up on the y-axis above the word climax. In heart rate terms we should be operating at high BPM. This is the CrossFit session in our story.

7. For the resolution, the action dips and so does your point that you’ll plot on the y-axis.

Join the points. Now your students can see the shape of a short story. Often this visual can serve as a great aid to refer to in the writing process.

Traditionally, a positive ending would be considered a comedy and a sad ending a tragedy. These formulas can be a useful crutch for the intermediate student. And with that, let’s end this comedy of ours here with the traditional resolution of European fairy tales.

And they all wrote happily ever after.

Or something like that…

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Fun ESL Writing Activities ( See Activities )

Fun ESL Writing Activities

There are many kinds of ESL Writing tasks, such as free writing, creative writing, and guided writing (i.e., an essay).

Jump to ESL Writing Activities

I like to get my students started with free writing at the beginning of each class to encourage creativity and relieve pressure of making mistakes.

Steps to Free writing

  • Suggest the topic for Free writing.
  • Suggest the time limit (e.g., start with five minutes for higher level students and three minutes for lower level students). Try to increase the time each week.
  • Get Ready, Get Set, START WRITING !

Four Rules of Free writing

1. keep writing don’t stop .

Write as much as possible! Aim for quantity over quality. If you can’t think of anything, then simply write, “I can’t think of anything to write.”

2. No dictionaries! 

Looking words up in the dictionary takes a lot of time. If you don’t know a word, they write the word in your language, try to explain it in a different way, or skip it and move on.

3. Don’t worry about mistakes! 

The goal is to write as much as possible without worrying about grammar mistakes or vocabulary. Don’t worry about spelling, word usage, etc. Just write!

4. No talking! 

Free writing is a time for you to write. Don't talk until the Free speaking time is finished.    

Ideas for Free writing

  • Tell each student to write one word on the board. Then, tell the students to create a story using the words. It’s not necessary to use all the words.
  • Students write about their weekend to practice using past tense verbs.
  • Give students a topic each week similar to Free Speaking  (e.g., Hometown, Food & Restaurants, etc.).

Try Our Fun ESL Writing Activities

Icebreakers.

About The Teacher

About The Teacher

Inside My Wallet

Inside My Wallet

Secret Information

Secret Information

Warmers & fillers.

Correct The Errors

Correct The Errors

ESL Boggle Game

ESL Boggle Game

ESL Spelling Bee

ESL Spelling Bee

Four Squares Incorrect Sentences

Four Squares Incorrect Sentences

Give A Reason Because

Give A Reason Because

Rhyming Words Activity

Rhyming Words Activity

Running Dictation

Running Dictation

Telling Jokes With Homonyms

Telling Jokes With Homonyms

Top English Words

Top English Words

Translation Game

Translation Game

True Definition

True Definition

What's The Question?

What's The Question?

Matching Opposites

Matching Opposites

Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe

Activities by topic.

Brainstorming ESL Essay Writing  Topics

Brainstorming ESL Essay Writing Topics

Brainstorming ESL Writing  Topics

Brainstorming ESL Writing Topics

ESL Creative Writing Activity

ESL Creative Writing Activity

ESL Essay Writing Worksheets

ESL Essay Writing Worksheets

ESL Persuasive Speech Topics

ESL Persuasive Speech Topics

Using Mind Maps For ESL Writing

Using Mind Maps For ESL Writing

Teacher submitted activities.

A Lesson On Shopping And Money

A Lesson On Shopping And Money

Paragraph Writing: The Marvelous Toy

Paragraph Writing: The Marvelous Toy

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Making English Fun

Making English Fun

  • The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

ESL teacher are always looking for innovative ways to enhance your students’ writing skills?

Our comprehensive guide introduces 17 dynamic writing games, each designed to spark creativity, improve language proficiency, and make writing an enjoyable experience for ESL learners. From crafting Acrostic Poems to participating in a Collaborative Writing Blog, these activities cater to a range of interests and skill levels.

Whether you’re teaching young beginners or advanced adult learners, these writing games are perfect for adding a fun twist to your ESL curriculum.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

Just before we jump into these 17 ESL Writing Games and Activities we have the four skills covered on the site. Speaking, Reading, Writing and Listening.

You can access the pages from the links below or click on the image to download them all in one PDF file for $2.99 or the price of a coffee ( a good one we admit! )

The Best ESL Games and Activities – 4 Booklets in 1
  • The Best ESL Listening Games and Activities.
  • The Best ESL Speaking Games and Activities.
  • The Best ESL Reading Games and Activities.

Get ready to explore these engaging games that promise to transform your writing lessons into captivating educational adventures!

17 of the Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

We have given full breakdown for these writing games and activities in each section including resources, numbers and time to play to help you speed up and make sure if these games suit your class and students.

1. Story Starters

Overview : Story Starters spark creativity by providing students with the first sentence of a story, which they then continue to develop into a complete narrative.

  • Setup : Prepare a list of engaging opening sentences for stories.
  • Time to Play : 20-30 minutes.
  • Number of Players : Individual activity.
  • Resources Needed : List of story starters, paper, and pens.

Description of Story Starters ESL Writing Game :

Distribute different story starters to each student.

Students use the given sentence to start their story and continue writing, developing their own plot and characters.

This game helps students practice narrative writing and encourages them to use their imagination.

2. Group Story Writing

Overview : Group Story Writing fosters collaboration and creativity. Each student contributes a sentence to a communal story, passing it around the classroom.

  • Setup : Start with a blank sheet of paper for each group or pair.
  • Time to Play : 15-25 minutes.
  • Number of Players : Works best in small groups or pairs.
  • Resources Needed : Paper and pens.

Description of Group Story Writing ESL Writing Game :

Begin with one student writing a sentence to start the story.

The paper is then passed to the next student, who adds their own sentence.

The process continues, with each student adding to the story.

This game enhances creative thinking and helps students learn how to write cohesively in a group context.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

3. Writing Prompts Jar

Overview : The Writing Prompts Jar is an engaging way to inspire writing. Students pick a prompt from a jar and write a short piece based on it.

  • Setup : Prepare a jar filled with a variety of writing prompts on small pieces of paper.
  • Number of Players : Individual activity, but can be shared in groups after writing.
  • Resources Needed : A jar, writing prompts on paper strips, paper, and pens.

Description of Writing Prompts Jar ESL Writing Game :

Each student picks a prompt from the jar.

They then write a short story , poem, or descriptive piece based on the prompt.

After writing, students can share their pieces with the class or in small groups.

This game encourages individual creativity and can cater to a wide range of writing styles and interests.

4. Picture-Inspired Writing

Overview : Picture-Inspired Writing uses visual stimuli to spark creativity. Students write a story or description based on an image.

  • Setup : Select a variety of interesting and thought-provoking images.
  • Number of Players : Individual activity, but can involve group discussion afterward.
  • Resources Needed : Images (photographs, paintings, illustrations), paper, and pens.

Description of Picture-Inspired Writing ESL Writing Game :

Distribute different images to students or display them in the classroom.

Students write a narrative, poem, or descriptive piece inspired by their image.

This activity helps students practice descriptive writing and storytelling, encouraging them to interpret visual information creatively.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

5. Dialogue Development

Overview : Dialogue Development challenges students to write a dialogue for a given scenario, focusing on conversational language and character interaction.

  • Setup : Prepare a list of scenarios or situations for dialogues.
  • Time to Play : 15-20 minutes.
  • Number of Players : Can be done individually or in pairs.
  • Resources Needed : Scenarios for dialogues, paper, and pens.

Description of Dialogue Development ESL Writing Game :

Provide each student or pair with a scenario.

Students write a dialogue that could take place in that scenario, paying attention to how people might speak in that context.

This game enhances understanding of conversational language and the nuances of spoken communication.

6. Postcard Writing

Overview : Postcard Writing is a creative and personal writing activity. Students write a postcard to a friend or family member describing a recent experience or a fictional trip.

  • Setup : Have postcard templates or blank cards available.
  • Resources Needed : Postcard templates or blank cards, pens.

Description of Postcard Writing ESL Writing Game :

Students choose a real or imaginary destination they’ve ‘visited.’

They write a postcard to someone describing their experiences, sights, and feelings.

This exercise is excellent for practicing descriptive language, informal writing, and past tense narratives.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

7. Word Limit Stories

Overview : Word Limit Stories challenge students to create a story using exactly a set number of words, such as 50 or 100. This game enhances precision in language use and creativity within constraints.

  • Setup : Decide on a word limit for the stories.

Description of Word Limit Stories ESL Writing Game :

Inform students of the word limit for their stories.

Students write a short story that precisely meets the word count requirement.

This activity encourages students to think carefully about word choice and sentence structure , fostering conciseness and clarity in writing.

8. Haiku and Poetry Creation

Overview : Haiku and Poetry Creation encourages students to express themselves through poetry, focusing on simplicity and imagery. Haikus, with their specific structure, are an excellent way to introduce poetry writing.

  • Setup : Explain the structure of a haiku (three lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern) or other simple poetry forms.
  • Number of Players : Individual or small groups.

Description of Haiku and Poetry Creation ESL Writing Game :

Students write their own haikus or simple poems on given themes or topics.

Encourage them to focus on imagery, emotion, and brevity.

This game is great for practicing syllable counting and creative expression in a structured format.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

9. Two Perspectives Writing

Overview : Two Perspectives Writing involves writing about the same event from two different viewpoints. It helps students explore perspective in narrative and develop empathy and understanding for different characters.

  • Setup : Provide a basic scenario or event for students to write about.
  • Time to Play : 25-35 minutes.
  • Number of Players : Individual activity, but can involve group sharing afterward.
  • Resources Needed : Scenarios for writing, paper, and pens.

Description of Two Perspectives Writing ESL Writing Game :

Students write about a given event from the perspective of two different characters or observers.

This encourages them to consider how different characters might perceive the same situation differently.

It’s an excellent exercise for exploring narrative voice, character development, and the subjectivity of experience.

10. Email Exchange

Overview : Email Exchange is a practical writing activity where students write emails to each other, practicing formal or informal language based on different scenarios.

  • Setup : Prepare a list of scenarios for which students might write an email (e.g., writing to a friend, a teacher, or for a job application).
  • Number of Players : Pairs or individual activity with teacher feedback.
  • Resources Needed : Scenarios for email writing, paper, or computers if available.

Description of Email Exchange ESL Writing Game :

Assign each student or pair a specific scenario for their email.

Students write an email appropriate for the scenario, focusing on tone, structure, and relevant language.

This activity is great for teaching the nuances of written communication and the differences between formal and informal language.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

11. Diary Entry

Overview : Diary Entry encourages students to write a diary entry from the perspective of a character from a book or a historical figure, enhancing creativity and empathy.

  • Setup : Choose characters or historical figures that the students are familiar with or have studied.
  • Time to Play : 20-25 minutes.

Description of Diary Entry ESL Writing Game :

Students select or are assigned a character or historical figure.

They write a diary entry from that person’s perspective, reflecting on a day or a significant event in their life.

This exercise helps students explore different perspectives and practice writing in the first person.

12. Descriptive Writing Challenge

Overview : Descriptive Writing Challenge tasks students with describing an object, place, or person in detail without naming it, focusing on sensory details and adjectives.

  • Setup : Select a range of objects, places, or people for students to describe, or let them choose their own.

Description of Descriptive Writing Challenge ESL Writing Game :

Students write a detailed description of their chosen subject, using sensory details and vivid language.

The challenge is to convey the essence of the subject without directly naming it.

Other students can guess what is being described, adding an interactive element to the exercise.

This game enhances descriptive writing skills and encourages careful observation and creative expression.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

13. Instructional Writing

Overview : Instructional Writing is a practical exercise where students write clear and concise instructions on how to do something, such as making a sandwich or tying shoelaces.

  • Setup : Choose simple, everyday tasks that students can write instructions for.

Description of Instructional Writing ESL Writing Game :

Students select or are assigned a task.

They write step-by-step instructions on how to complete this task.

Emphasis is on clarity, sequence, and the use of imperative sentences.

This exercise helps students practice a practical aspect of writing and understand the importance of clear communication.

14. Sequencing Writing Game

Overview : In the Sequencing Writing Game, students put pictures or sentence strips in order and then write a story or description based on the sequence. This game enhances narrative skills and logical thinking.

  • Setup : Prepare a series of pictures or sentence strips that can be arranged to tell a story or describe a process.
  • Number of Players : Can be done individually or in small groups.
  • Resources Needed : Pictures or sentence strips, paper, and pens.

Description of Sequencing Writing Game ESL Writing Game :

Distribute the pictures or sentence strips to students.

They arrange them in a logical order and then write a story or description that follows this sequence.

This game encourages students to think about story structure, cause and effect, and chronological order in writing.

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

15. Role Play Writing

Overview : Role Play Writing assigns different roles to students, who then write from their assigned character’s perspective. This game fosters creativity and empathy, allowing students to explore diverse viewpoints.

  • Setup : Create a list of characters or roles for students to write from, which can be related to a theme, book, or historical event.
  • Number of Players : Individual or pair activity.
  • Resources Needed : Character descriptions or role profiles, paper, and pens.

Description of Role Play Writing ESL Writing Game :

Assign each student or pair a character or role.

Students write a narrative, letter, diary entry, or dialogue from the perspective of their assigned character.

Emphasis is on understanding and conveying the character’s viewpoint, emotions, and experiences.

This game enhances creative writing skills and the ability to write from different perspectives.

16. Acrostic Poems

Overview : Acrostic Poems are a fun and creative writing activity where the first letter of each line spells out a word related to a topic. This game encourages creativity and helps students focus on vocabulary related to specific themes.

  • Setup : Choose words or topics for the acrostic poems.
  • Number of Players : Individual activity, but can be shared in groups afterward.

Description of Acrostic Poems ESL Writing Game :

Assign each student a word or let them choose one related to a current theme or topic.

Students write an acrostic poem where each line starts with a letter from the word.

This game is excellent for exploring vocabulary and encouraging creative expression through poetry.

17. Collaborative Writing Blog

Overview : Starting a class blog where students contribute posts on various topics is an excellent way for them to practice writing in a real-world context. It enhances their ability to express ideas clearly and coherently.

  • Setup : Set up a blog platform that all students can access and contribute to.
  • Time to Play : Ongoing, with specific time allocated for writing and posting.
  • Number of Players : Whole class.
  • Resources Needed : Computer and internet access, a blog platform.

Description of Collaborative Writing Blog ESL Writing Game :

Each student or group of students contributes a blog post on a designated topic.

Topics can range from personal experiences to opinions on current events.

Students practice writing in various styles, from informal to persuasive, depending on the post.

This activity also allows for peer feedback and collaborative editing.

Don’t Forget you can access the pages for all our ESL games and activities from the links below or click on the image to download them all in one PDF file for $2.99 or the price of a coffee ( a good coffee we admit! )

The Best ESL Writing Games and Activities.

These 17 ESL writing games provide an range of creative and effective methods to enhance writing skills in the ESL classroom.

By incorporating activities like Letter Writing Exchange and Collaborative Writing Blogs, teachers can offer students diverse and practical writing experiences.

These games not only promote language development but also encourage students to express themselves with confidence and creativity.

Further Writing Games and Activities

  • https://www.eflsensei.com/?category=28
  • https://eslauthority.com/blog/esl-writing-activities/
  • https://blog.vipkid.com/10-creative-esl-writing-activities/
  • https://enchantedesl.com/9-exciting-efl-esl-activities-for-writing-spelling/

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creative writing exercises esl

I have been a teacher of English for over 15 years, in that time i made hundreds and thousands of resources and learnt so much i think its worth sharing. Hopefully to help teachers and parents around the world.

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Use Your Creativity: 10 Ways to Bring Creative Writing into the ESL Classroom

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105 Creative Writing Exercises To Get You Writing Again

You know that feeling when you just don’t feel like writing? Sometimes you can’t even get a word down on paper. It’s the most frustrating thing ever to a writer, especially when you’re working towards a deadline. The good news is that we have a list of 105 creative writing exercises to help you get motivated and start writing again!

What are creative writing exercises?

Creative writing exercises are short writing activities (normally around 10 minutes) designed to get you writing. The goal of these exercises is to give you the motivation to put words onto a blank paper. These words don’t need to be logical or meaningful, neither do they need to be grammatically correct or spelt correctly. The whole idea is to just get you writing something, anything. The end result of these quick creative writing exercises is normally a series of notes, bullet points or ramblings that you can, later on, use as inspiration for a bigger piece of writing such as a story or a poem. 

Good creative writing exercises are short, quick and easy to complete. You shouldn’t need to think too much about your style of writing or how imaginative your notes are. Just write anything that comes to mind, and you’ll be on the road to improving your creative writing skills and beating writer’s block . 

Use the generator below to get a random creative writing exercise idea:

List of 105+ Creative Writing Exercises

Here are over 105 creative writing exercises to give your brain a workout and help those creative juices flow again:

  • Set a timer for 60 seconds. Now write down as many words or phrases that come to mind at that moment.
  • Pick any colour you like. Now start your sentence with this colour. For example, Orange, the colour of my favourite top. 
  • Open a book or dictionary on a random page. Pick a random word. You can close your eyes and slowly move your finger across the page. Now, write a paragraph with this random word in it. You can even use an online dictionary to get random words:

dictionary-random-word-imagine-forest

  • Create your own alphabet picture book or list. It can be A to Z of animals, food, monsters or anything else you like!
  • Using only the sense of smell, describe where you are right now.
  • Take a snack break. While eating your snack write down the exact taste of that food. The goal of this creative writing exercise is to make your readers savour this food as well.
  • Pick a random object in your room and write a short paragraph from its point of view. For example, how does your pencil feel? What if your lamp had feelings?
  • Describe your dream house. Where would you live one day? Is it huge or tiny? 
  • Pick two different TV shows, movies or books that you like. Now swap the main character. What if Supergirl was in Twilight? What if SpongeBob SquarePants was in The Flash? Write a short scene using this character swap as inspiration.
  • What’s your favourite video game? Write at least 10 tips for playing this game.
  • Pick your favourite hobby or sport. Now pretend an alien has just landed on Earth and you need to teach it this hobby or sport. Write at least ten tips on how you would teach this alien.
  • Use a random image generator and write a paragraph about the first picture you see.

random image generator

  • Write a letter to your favourite celebrity or character. What inspires you most about them? Can you think of a memorable moment where this person’s life affected yours? We have this helpful guide on writing a letter to your best friend for extra inspiration.
  • Write down at least 10 benefits of writing. This can help motivate you and beat writer’s block.
  • Complete this sentence in 10 different ways: Patrick waited for the school bus and…
  • Pick up a random book from your bookshelf and go to page 9. Find the ninth sentence on that page. Use this sentence as a story starter.
  • Create a character profile based on all the traits that you hate. It might help to list down all the traits first and then work on describing the character.
  • What is the scariest or most dangerous situation you have ever been in? Why was this situation scary? How did you cope at that moment?
  • Pretend that you’re a chat show host and you’re interviewing your favourite celebrity. Write down the script for this conversation.
  • Using extreme detail, write down what you have been doing for the past one hour today. Think about your thoughts, feelings and actions during this time.
  • Make a list of potential character names for your next story. You can use a fantasy name generator to help you.
  • Describe a futuristic setting. What do you think the world would look like in 100 years time?
  • Think about a recent argument you had with someone. Would you change anything about it? How would you resolve an argument in the future?
  • Describe a fantasy world. What kind of creatures live in this world? What is the climate like? What everyday challenges would a typical citizen of this world face? You can use this fantasy world name generator for inspiration.
  • At the flip of a switch, you turn into a dragon. What kind of dragon would you be? Describe your appearance, special abilities, likes and dislikes. You can use a dragon name generator to give yourself a cool dragon name.
  • Pick your favourite book or a famous story. Now change the point of view. For example, you could rewrite the fairytale , Cinderella. This time around, Prince Charming could be the main character. What do you think Prince Charming was doing, while Cinderella was cleaning the floors and getting ready for the ball?
  • Pick a random writing prompt and use it to write a short story. Check out this collection of over 300 writing prompts for kids to inspire you. 
  • Write a shopping list for a famous character in history. Imagine if you were Albert Einstein’s assistant, what kind of things would he shop for on a weekly basis?
  • Create a fake advertisement poster for a random object that is near you right now. Your goal is to convince the reader to buy this object from you.
  • What is the worst (or most annoying) sound that you can imagine? Describe this sound in great detail, so your reader can understand the pain you feel when hearing this sound.
  • What is your favourite song at the moment? Pick one line from this song and describe a moment in your life that relates to this line.
  •  You’re hosting an imaginary dinner party at your house. Create a list of people you would invite, and some party invites. Think about the theme of the dinner party, the food you will serve and entertainment for the evening. 
  • You are waiting to see your dentist in the waiting room. Write down every thought you are having at this moment in time. 
  • Make a list of your greatest fears. Try to think of at least three fears. Now write a short story about a character who is forced to confront one of these fears. 
  • Create a ‘Wanted’ poster for a famous villain of your choice. Think about the crimes they have committed, and the reward you will give for having them caught. 
  • Imagine you are a journalist for the ‘Imagine Forest Times’ newspaper. Your task is to get an exclusive interview with the most famous villain of all time. Pick a villain of your choice and interview them for your newspaper article. What questions would you ask them, and what would their responses be?
  •  In a school playground, you see the school bully hurting a new kid. Write three short stories, one from each perspective in this scenario (The bully, the witness and the kid getting bullied).
  • You just won $10 million dollars. What would you spend this money on?
  • Pick a random animal, and research at least five interesting facts about this animal. Write a short story centred around one of these interesting facts. 
  • Pick a global issue that you are passionate about. This could be climate change, black lives matters, women’s rights etc. Now create a campaign poster for this global issue. 
  • Write an acrostic poem about an object near you right now (or even your own name). You could use a poetry idea generator to inspire you.
  • Imagine you are the head chef of a 5-star restaurant. Recently the business has slowed down. Your task is to come up with a brand-new menu to excite customers. Watch this video prompt on YouTube to inspire you.
  • What is your favourite food of all time? Imagine if this piece of food was alive, what would it say to you?
  • If life was one big musical, what would you be singing about right now? Write the lyrics of your song. 
  • Create and describe the most ultimate villain of all time. What would their traits be? What would their past look like? Will they have any positive traits?
  • Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: Every time I look out of the window, I…
  • You have just made it into the local newspaper, but what for? Write down at least five potential newspaper headlines . Here’s an example, Local Boy Survives a Deadly Illness.
  • If you were a witch or a wizard, what would your specialist area be and why? You might want to use a Harry Potter name generator or a witch name generator for inspiration.
  • What is your favourite thing to do on a Saturday night? Write a short story centred around this activity. 
  • Your main character has just received the following items: A highlighter, a red cap, a teddy bear and a fork. What would your character do with these items? Can you write a story using these items? 
  • Create a timeline of your own life, from birth to this current moment. Think about the key events in your life, such as birthdays, graduations, weddings and so on. After you have done this, you can pick one key event from your life to write a story about. 
  • Think of a famous book or movie you like. Rewrite a scene from this book or movie, where the main character is an outsider. They watch the key events play out, but have no role in the story. What would their actions be? How would they react?
  • Three very different characters have just won the lottery. Write a script for each character, as they reveal the big news to their best friend.  
  • Write a day in the life story of three different characters. How does each character start their day? What do they do throughout the day? And how does their day end?
  •  Write about the worst experience in your life so far. Think about a time when you were most upset or angry and describe it. 
  • Imagine you’ve found a time machine in your house. What year would you travel to and why?
  • Describe your own superhero. Think about their appearance, special abilities and their superhero name. Will they have a secret identity? Who is their number one enemy?
  • What is your favourite country in the world? Research five fun facts about this country and use one to write a short story. 
  • Set yourself at least three writing goals. This could be a good way to motivate yourself to write every day. For example, one goal might be to write at least 150 words a day. 
  • Create a character description based on the one fact, three fiction rule. Think about one fact or truth about yourself. And then add in three fictional or fantasy elements. For example, your character could be the same age as you in real life, this is your one fact. And the three fictional elements could be they have the ability to fly, talk in over 100 different languages and have green skin. 
  • Describe the perfect person. What traits would they have? Think about their appearance, their interests and their dislikes. 
  • Keep a daily journal or diary. This is a great way to keep writing every day. There are lots of things you can write about in your journal, such as you can write about the ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of your day. Think about anything that inspired you or anything that upset you, or just write anything that comes to mind at the moment. 
  • Write a book review or a movie review. If you’re lost for inspiration, just watch a random movie or read any book that you can find. Then write a critical review on it. Think about the best parts of the book/movie and the worst parts. How would you improve the book or movie?
  • Write down a conversation between yourself. You can imagine talking to your younger self or future self (i.e. in 10 years’ time). What would you tell them? Are there any lessons you learned or warnings you need to give? Maybe you could talk about what your life is like now and compare it to their life?
  • Try writing some quick flash fiction stories . Flash fiction is normally around 500 words long, so try to stay within this limit.
  • Write a six-word story about something that happened to you today or yesterday. A six-word story is basically an entire story told in just six words. Take for example: “Another football game ruined by me.” or “A dog’s painting sold for millions.” – Six-word stories are similar to writing newspaper headlines. The goal is to summarise your story in just six words. 
  • The most common monsters or creatures used in stories include vampires, werewolves , dragons, the bigfoot, sirens and the loch-ness monster. In a battle of intelligence, who do you think will win and why?
  • Think about an important event in your life that has happened so far, such as a birthday or the birth of a new sibling. Now using the 5 W’s and 1 H technique describe this event in great detail. The 5 W’s include: What, Who, Where, Why, When and the 1 H is: How. Ask yourself questions about the event, such as what exactly happened on that day? Who was there? Why was this event important? When and where did it happen? And finally, how did it make you feel?
  • Pretend to be someone else. Think about someone important in your life. Now put yourself into their shoes, and write a day in the life story about being them. What do you think they do on a daily basis? What situations would they encounter? How would they feel?
  • Complete this sentence in at least 10 different ways: I remember…
  • Write about your dream holiday. Where would you go? Who would you go with? And what kind of activities would you do?
  • Which one item in your house do you use the most? Is it the television, computer, mobile phone, the sofa or the microwave? Now write a story of how this item was invented. You might want to do some research online and use these ideas to build up your story. 
  • In exactly 100 words, describe your bedroom. Try not to go over or under this word limit.
  • Make a top ten list of your favourite animals. Based on this list create your own animal fact file, where you provide fun facts about each animal in your list.
  • What is your favourite scene from a book or a movie? Write down this scene. Now rewrite the scene in a different genre, such as horror, comedy, drama etc.
  •  Change the main character of a story you recently read into a villain. For example, you could take a popular fairytale such as Jack and the Beanstalk, but this time re-write the story to make Jack the villain of the tale.
  • Complete the following sentence in at least 10 different ways: Do you ever wonder…
  • What does your name mean? Research the meaning of your own name, or a name that interests you. Then use this as inspiration for your next story. For example, the name ‘Marty’ means “Servant Of Mars, God Of War”. This could make a good concept for a sci-fi story.
  • Make a list of three different types of heroes (or main characters) for potential future stories.
  • If someone gave you $10 dollars, what would you spend it on and why?
  • Describe the world’s most boring character in at least 100 words. 
  • What is the biggest problem in the world today, and how can you help fix this issue?
  • Create your own travel brochure for your hometown. Think about why tourists might want to visit your hometown. What is your town’s history? What kind of activities can you do? You could even research some interesting facts. 
  • Make a list of all your favourite moments or memories in your life. Now pick one to write a short story about.
  • Describe the scariest and ugliest monster you can imagine. You could even draw a picture of this monster with your description.
  • Write seven haikus, one for each colour of the rainbow. That’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. 
  • Imagine you are at the supermarket. Write down at least three funny scenarios that could happen to you at the supermarket. Use one for your next short story. 
  • Imagine your main character is at home staring at a photograph. Write the saddest scene possible. Your goal is to make your reader cry when reading this scene. 
  • What is happiness? In at least 150 words describe the feeling of happiness. You could use examples from your own life of when you felt happy.
  • Think of a recent nightmare you had and write down everything you can remember. Use this nightmare as inspiration for your next story.
  • Keep a dream journal. Every time you wake up in the middle of the night or early in the morning you can quickly jot down things that you remember from your dreams. These notes can then be used as inspiration for a short story. 
  • Your main character is having a really bad day. Describe this bad day and the series of events they experience. What’s the worst thing that could happen to your character?
  • You find a box on your doorstep. You open this box and see the most amazing thing ever. Describe this amazing thing to your readers.
  • Make a list of at least five possible settings or locations for future stories. Remember to describe each setting in detail.
  • Think of something new you recently learned. Write this down. Now write a short story where your main character also learns the same thing.
  • Describe the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life. Your goal is to amaze your readers with its beauty. 
  • Make a list of things that make you happy or cheer you up. Try to think of at least five ideas. Now imagine living in a world where all these things were banned or against the law. Use this as inspiration for your next story.
  • Would you rather be rich and alone or poor and very popular? Write a story based on the lives of these two characters. 
  • Imagine your main character is a Librarian. Write down at least three dark secrets they might have. Remember, the best secrets are always unexpected.
  • There’s a history behind everything. Describe the history of your house. How and when was your house built? Think about the land it was built on and the people that may have lived here long before you.
  • Imagine that you are the king or queen of a beautiful kingdom. Describe your kingdom in great detail. What kind of rules would you have? Would you be a kind ruler or an evil ruler of the kingdom?
  • Make a wish list of at least three objects you wish you owned right now. Now use these three items in your next story. At least one of them must be the main prop in the story.
  • Using nothing but the sense of taste, describe a nice Sunday afternoon at your house. Remember you can’t use your other senses (i.e see, hear, smell or touch) in this description. 
  • What’s the worst pain you felt in your life? Describe this pain in great detail, so your readers can also feel it.
  • If you were lost on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, what three must-have things would you pack and why?
  • Particpate in online writing challenges or contests. Here at Imagine Forest, we offer daily writing challenges with a new prompt added every day to inspire you. Check out our challenges section in the menu.

Do you have any more fun creative writing exercises to share? Let us know in the comments below!

creative writing exercises

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Creative Writing Activity Ideas For The Teen & Adult Classroom

A pencil with a lightbulb on the end writing the words Creative Writing Activity Ideas

It’s World Creative Writing month, so why not try some creative writing activities with your students? Creative writing allows students to use their imaginations and creativity, and practise essential writing skills. It’s a way to keep students engaged, encourage collaborative learning and allow test-taking students to use their written English skills in a different way from a typical test task type.

Here are four creative writing exercises to use in class with your teen and adult students.

Creative writing activity ideas 

1. group stories.

This creative writing activity encourages learners to work together and use their imaginations to come up with unique and creative stories. 

  • Put students into small groups of 4 or 5 and have them arrange themselves into a circle. They each need a pen and a piece of paper. 
  • Have students write a famous person at the top of their page, then fold it over so the name can’t be seen. They then pass the piece of paper to the person to their right. 
  • Next, they write the name of someone in the class. They fold the paper and pass to the right. 
  • Repeat the steps, using different topics for each stage of the game. For example, a place, an action, what they said, what they responded, and what they did after that. 
  • Once students have passed the piece of paper for the final time, they open it up to reveal the outline of a story. 
  • Have students come up with creative stories for the information on their piece of paper, by working together or individually for homework. They then share their stories with the class. 

2. Tweet me 

This engaging activity shows that creative writing for English language learners doesn’t have to be long! Creative written language can be short, yet a lot can be expressed. 

  • Show students an image of a tweet you’ve found online before the class. It should be something that provokes discussion, asks for an opinion or allows for the conversation to be developed. 
  • Put students into small groups of 3 or 4. Tell them they are going to write a creative response to the tweet. They can be as funny or as unique as they like. 
  • Once they have finished, they pass their tweet on to the next group, who continue the Twitter discussion. 
  • Repeat the steps, until you have a ‘thread’ of tweets. Then, choose groups to read out the threads and choose the best or funniest one. 

This activity also works well in online classes, where students work in breakout rooms to come up with their tweets and share them as a whole class. 

3. Finish my story 

This creative writing lesson idea encourages students to share ideas and learn from each other. It works well in both face-to-face and online classrooms. 

  • Write a short introduction to a story before the lesson. It can be in any genre, e.g. scary, mysterious or funny.  
  • Read the paragraph aloud to the class, and elicit ideas about where they think the story might be going. You can skip this step if you feel your students are already good at using their creativity and imagination. 
  • Put students into pairs and give them a copy of the opening paragraph. Have them write the middle and the ending of the story. 
  • You could help them develop the story by telling them certain things they need to include, e.g. specific objects, people or places. 
  • Have a storytelling lesson where students share their stories. You could also stick them on the wall and have a ‘story exhibition’ where students walk around and choose their favourite stories. 

4. A letter for the future 

This creative writing activity allows students to put different grammatical structures into practice. It also allows the opportunity for reflection on their learning and themselves. 

There are a variety of ways you could do this activity with your students. 

  • Have them work individually to write a letter to their future selves about what they’d like to achieve or do professionally and personally. 
  • Students could write letters to their future selves about something that happened in the past or present time that they don’t want to forget. 
  • Have students work individually or in pairs to write a letter to people in the future, about what life is like in the present. Encourage them to talk about fashion, pop culture, and what’s happening in their lives and in the world. 
  • If you’re going to teach your students for an extended period of time, e.g. a year, you could do a ‘time capsule’ where they put pictures or notes about the present into a box, which you’ll open with them a year later. This provides a good opportunity for students to set goals and reflect on their achievements next year. 

Do you do creative writing activities with your English language learners?

What activities have worked well?

Share your ideas below! 

If you want to read more about creative writing activities in the classroom, you can read this blog. 

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Listening activity ideas for adult learners, 6 alternative halloween activities for the classroom, 5 simple ways to use coursebook images in mixed ability classes.

Thanks a million! I’ll definitely try ‘finish my story” IMO they’re all engaging, motivating and encouraging)

I have a question please. Which strategy is preferable to focus on, free or guided writing to help our students achieve improve their writing skill?

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A class forum

A class forum

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A professional profile

A professional profile

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A report on a student meeting

A report on a student meeting

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A restaurant review

A restaurant review

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A thank-you message

A thank-you message

Learn how to write a thank-you message to a colleague.

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An email giving holiday advice

An email giving holiday advice

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An email to explain an accommodation problem

An email to explain an accommodation problem

Learn how to write an email to explain a problem with your accommodation.

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An email to invite someone to a job interview

An email to invite someone to a job interview

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Describing a bar chart

Describing a bar chart

Learn how to write about trends in a bar chart.

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Describing charts

Describing charts

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New Year's resolutions

New Year's resolutions

Learn how to write about your New Year's resolutions.

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Reflective writing

Reflective writing

Learn how to write a reflective text about a learning experience.

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ESL Writing Lesson: Creative Writing

A short time ago, an ESL student asked me an interesting question. She asked, “How can I get creative ideas?”

This writing lesson is one answer to that question. This ESL writing activity helps English students learn a process to produce creative ideas.

ESL Creative Writing Activity

This is a three-part writing exercise. By the end of this writing activity, you should have one or two well written paragraphs. You will also have learned a way to be creative when good ideas don’t seem to be coming into your brain.

Part 1. Choose a topic. Here are a few topics.

  • watching TV
  • the library
  • computer games
  • one morning
  • being nervous

Part 2. Brainstorming

Spend ten minutes writing down words or phrases. These are the words that come to your mind easily. Don’t edit your ideas. Make a long list of words that come to mind.

Using a mind map might help you think of words and ideas more quickly.

Once you have finished your list, look at the words and make changes. Use a dictionary to find better words, like synonyms.

Part 3. Write the first draft.

Now you are going to write a story. Try to be as specific as possible when choosing a topic. For example, don’t write about why playing the piano is fun. Instead, write about one special piano concert that you remember. Use your memory to write about the special details, the sounds, the sights, the feelings, and so on.

If you don’t know what to write, look at your word list. The words will give you ideas.

After writing one or two paragraphs, take a look at your opening sentence. If you are like most writers, that sentence can be improved.

Now make changes and edit.

2 thoughts on “ESL Writing Lesson: Creative Writing”

An ESL writing exercise that teaches students how to think creatively http://t.co/lEHmAWwX via @eslwriter

I’ve started having students do brainstorming projects every week. Mind maps, lists, free writing. Sometimes in pairs. So we brainstorm more than just when there’s an assignment.

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Descriptive Paragraphs

Example: New York City

New York City is in the United States. New York City is located in New York State. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded in 1625 as “New Amsterdam”. It was first settled by the Dutch. It is important for commerce. Wall Street is located in New York City. It has many national and international banks. It has many important skyscrapers. The World Trade Center is located in New York City. The Empire State Building is in New York City. New York City is an important city for immigration. Ellis Island used to be the entry point for many immigrants at the turn of the century. There is an interesting immigration museum on Ellis Island. 

New York, New York is located on the Atlantic Coast of the United States of America. It was first settled as “New Amsterdam” in 1625 by the Dutch. Today, New York City is an important commercial and banking center which includes Wall Street. Among its many important skyscrapers are the World Trade Center and The Empire State Building. One of the most interesting museums is on Ellis Island which served as the entry point for many immigrants who passed through New York City.

Exercise 1: Elvis Presley

Arrange the sentences about Elvis Presley into idea groups. 

Write a paragraph about Elvis Presley using the idea groups to create concise sentences. 

Elvis Presley was an American. He was a singer and actor. He was famous for rock-and-roll. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was born on January 8, 1935 He started singing in church. He taught himself to play the guitar. He first became popular on the local touring circuit for country-and-western music. He sang romantic songs. He danced erotically. Teens loved him for his new style. He had many hits. He sang “Love Me Tender”, “All Shook Up”, and “Don’t Be Cruel”. He died on August 16, 1977. He died in Memphis, Tennessee. He might have died of drug and alcohol abuse.

Exercise 2: Creative Writing

Choose a famous place or person. 

Write several important facts about that place or person. 

Arrange the sentences into idea groups. 

Write a paragraph using the idea groups to create concise sentences. 

Download this worksheet in Word doc format.

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6 Creative Writing Exercises Perfect for English Learners

Lori Wade is a content writer and a career specialist for college students. She shares experience on writing, education, and self-development in her publications, such as this article about creative writing exercises . You can contact Lori on Twitter , Facebook , and Google+ .

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Even if we aren’t professional writers, we still write every day. Answering emails, chatting with our friends online, keeping a journal – all this is based on writing. This doesn’t mean all our writing is good though. Writing skills can improve with practice – but only when you focus your attention on what needs to be improved. For example, you’ll be able to formulate your thoughts better if you pay attention to how you’re doing it now and try to improve this in the process of writing.

Moreover, when it comes to mastering a foreign language, simply paying attention to how you write might not be enough. Sure, you can check every grammar rule to polish your message before you hit «send» but it will hardly be exciting.

However, there is a way to strengthen your language skills and have fun in the process. You can do so by doing various writing exercises. Each one of them is designed to help you improve a certain area of your writing as well as your English skills.

1. Idiom Soup.

While knowledge of idioms isn’t crucial for all learners (especially beginners), it does help you communicate more easily with others. However, remembering idioms isn’t easy – to some of us, they might sound completely irrelevant and therefore hard to memorize.

Moreover, there are cliches too – they are idioms that have been used too many times and as a result have lost their special meaning. Cliches can make your writing look much worse – however, you should still memorize them in order to avoid them.

The Idiom Soup exercise can help you do so. All you need to do is write a story, either long or short (it’s totally up to you), using as many cliches and idioms as you can. While this might sound simple, you should still find enough idioms and cliches to make your story complete. Moreover, this way it’ll be easier for you to memorize them, building your vocabulary and making it much easier to communicate with native speakers.

2. Frankenstein Character.

For this exercise, you’ll need to go outside – take a walk, sit in a cafe, etc. Pay attention to the people around you and try to memorize some of their features and attributes – how they look, the way they talk, their gestures, etc. Write them down if this makes it easier for you.

Then try to create a character that will have features and habits of some of these people. Think about how this character would look and behave, then write a story about them – or a monologue they could say.

Doing so will help you to create more realistic and stronger characters . At the same time, it could develop your vocabulary a lot, as you’ll have to write about things you have observed.

3. Devil’s Advocate.

It’s one of the most challenging exercises for many as it requires you to choose one strong belief and try to write a text advocating the opposite point of view. For example, if you believe that college education isn’t necessary for everyone, you should write about why it is absolutely crucial for everyone to graduate from a college.

Of course, most likely, it won’t be easy as it will require you not only to demonstrate your writing and English skills but also write about something you are strongly opposed to. However, it will help you express a point of view better and could make you more empathetic as well. And who knows, maybe you’ll develop a more tolerant point of view after that?

4. Emotion Map.

Not all of us find it easy to express our emotions both in communication and in writing. However, learning how to do so is very important even if you don’t intend to write a novel. This will help you understand yourself better and communicate better with the others.

The Emotion Map exercise is all about describing your emotions. The tricky part is that you need to do so without using obvious language, repeating the most basic phrases used for this purpose, or using cliches.

To make it easier for you, create a map or a list of emotions you want to describe – and then move on to writing. Describe your psychological and physical sensations and try using as many adjectives as you can.

5. Vocabulary Story.

Mastering a foreign language usually means adding a lot of words to your active vocabulary , which definitely isn’t easy. This exercise, however, can change that, making sure that you not only remember the words but also practice using them.

Make a list of 10-20 words you need to remember as soon as possible. Make sure you know what they mean – or find out their meanings and write down the explanation for every word. Then try writing a story that includes all these words. Ensure that your story does make sense too.

This will help you practice using these words in context, which eases the memorization process a lot. Also, the whole writing them down thing helps to activate different parts of your brain, therefore, making you remember the words better.

6. Break The Rules.

There are plenty of rules and laws in our society that have existed for so long that we already take them for granted. Why don’t you pick one of these rules and try writing a short story about a reality where there is no such rule?

Besides the fact that this exercise improves your writing and English skills, it also helps develop creative thinking. If you have ever considered becoming a fiction writer (or any kind of creative writer), this will be especially useful for you.

Though each one of these exercises is useful, we still do not recommend doing them all at once. Try doing one at a time but don’t forget to be consistent in this. Finding some time for these exercises every week will benefit you much more than doing all of them in one go and then never returning to them.

This might take some time and struggle but once you get used to practicing these exercises, you will have fewer troubles with writing in English. Soon you’ll be able to handle writing anything, from a persuasive essay to an article.

Maybe you also know some exercises or tips that can help you improve your English as well as your writing skills? If you do, please share them with us in the comment section below, or don’t hesitate to contact us here ! Thank you.

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A Guide on Creative ESL Writing Activities

Table of Contents

If you want to learn about some of the best tips about ESL writing activities , you might find this article helpful.

What is ESL?

ESL means English as a Second Language . Foreigners who don’t speak English study this level of language. Individuals whose society’s speak English as a main or second language practice this.

The program intends to support learners of English. The focus of ESL teachers is to develop conversational and job-related communication skills for their students. Students enroll in such programs to learn the language at work, school, or in another country.

In all countries, students study English as a Second Language, from Japan to Spain. English-speaking teachers in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia travel abroad to teach English. Many ESL teachers visit countries such as Vietnam, Spain, China, South Korea, Japan, and the UAE.

It’s taught as a subject in many schools with students who have a different native language. ESL teachers will help students with speaking, reading, writing and listening.

These teachers can be native speakers, who move abroad to teach English, or local teachers who are fluent in English. In many countries, ESL is a public school subject. It’s taught in private schools, international schools, graduate schools, by private tutors, and through online learning platforms.

ESL education can take place in a variety of settings in reality. Some students learn English talking to friends, playing video games, or even on the radio.

However, in most cases, ESL is taught in a formal setting, normally taken at a school, a college, university or a library.

What are ESL Writing Activities?

ESL Activities are ways to enhance and practice students’ writing skills, interest, and ability to connect with one another. Students typically have difficulties in developing and/or completing simple writing projects such as writing a book review or speaking essay. ESL Writing Activities are designed to challenge students to improve themselves, their experiences, and their ideas through writing.

Language learning is very common in the world of education, such as ESL or English as a Second Language. It is used to enhance language learning when a user uses a foreign language. ESL includes tutorials, information on topics, and grammar lessons.

Basically, a writing activity is like a mini lesson on grammar, composition, spelling and punctuation. More often than not, it is a little bit more challenging as it’s much more in-depth than a traditional grammar session. The best part is, they’re suitable for many learning levels and ages, too. Writing activities offer a helpful way to gauge whether your student is plateauing or just not interested in language-learning.

ESL refers to English as a Second Language, and it is the use of English by someone who is not a native speaker. This includes second or third generation natives or the children of immigrants. They are interested in improving their language skills and general education by means of college and professional courses in an English-speaking country.

One of the most important facets of blending in with the mainstream population is to learn the language.

For this reason, the following activities are a great way for beginning ESL students to incorporate their language goals into the curriculum. These activities are designed to push the students toward their language goals.

Also, it gives them something to look forward to as they practice their English.

How to Make the Best Writing Activities?

Three things.

You won’t have a lot of time to prepare for an emergency situation if you just have to do something quick and easy. The three things series is perfect since it requires nothing but a pen and paper and does not require prep time.

Students think of three random things in this way. They then give those words to a partner, who then writes a short story using them.

You can make it serious or silly, it all depends on what words you select.

Instruct Students to Keep a Journal

Try to ask your students to keep a journal during writing classes.

Students can improve their writing fluency and have some freedom to write about topics they want to write, not just the ones assigned.

Write Postcards

If you’re looking for a simple, fun ESL writing activity, you may want to get your students to write some postcards. If you had a stack of blank, unused postcards, you might want to get your hands on one.

Students can design their own, but if not, trade with someone else to fill the back.

Remember that writing is more than just a 5-paragraph essay. Typically, students write anything, even if they only provide one word.

Then you might want to try this English writing game for beginners.

Basically, you name a topic. For example, “animal jobs are popular”.

Students must then think of a word for every letter. Provide the students a certain amount of time, the team with the most words wins.

“Dictogloss”

Have a great time trying out this Dictogloss ESL activity if you want to challenge your students with serious listening and writing. To do this, you need to find a passage or write one that is appropriate for your students.

Next, put the student in pairs and read out the passage at a slightly faster pace than usual. Students are expected to take notes and then recreate what they heard by writing.

Students add to what they are learning when reading the passage again. Lastly, they can compare their version to the original.

Things to Remember when Choosing Writing Activities

Avoid group activities.

It is important to avoid group activities, since all of your online classes will consist of one student only. You may be able to confuse your students rather than help them develop their writing skills. This happens if you design games that require more than one student.

Select Age-Appropriate Activities

ESL Writing Activities you choose must be age-appropriate, which means you should pick games according to the age of your students. There are easier to understand activities that teach English writing at the highest level.

Students who understand English a bit may benefit from slightly more complex games.

Include Writing Activities Both on Lessons and Homework

ESL writing activities must be included in all in-class lessons and your students’ homework. It will allow them to improve their writing skills through practice, which will help them to develop and improve their skills.

Students who want to use writing activities as a teaching tool should know which activities will help them meet their learning goals. Using activities that are all fun and games may not help your students learn anything useful from them.

ESL writing activities are important because they encourage students to express their thoughts and use arguments to support their points of view in English. Therefore, it is important to do ESL writing exercises not only as homework, but also as a classroom activity.

Teach Students About Modern-day Communication

Many of your students should be familiar with Twitter and tweets, so this can be an excellent starting point for a teaching exercise. Teachers should write short tweets about the given topic of ESL.

In general, most students should be familiar with Twitter and Twitter hashtags. This can serve as a good starting point for an ESL assignment. Give students the opportunity to write short tweets on the given ESL topic.

You can also create a Twitter account that lets learners share their thoughts with your class. By the way, Twitter recently increased its commenting limit from 140 to 280, but it still retains its 140-character format.

Bring Familiar Objects

The learners can advertise some familiar objects in the classroom. The students are allowed to work independently, in pairs, or in groups.

Encourage them to support their lessons with images for even greater creativity. Print those images from newspapers, magazines, or newspapers can be used.

Teachers who use their students to present them with extra speech activities receive bonus points.

As educators, we have the responsibility in creating engaging learning environments for our students. To achieve this goal, we need to learn how to utilize a variety of ESL activities to develop creativity and ingenuity in our students.

These activities can be incorporated into ESL lessons and homework assignments to create opportunities for students. When we learn how to use these activities, students are more likely to stick with their learning while acquiring independence in their learning success.

A Guide on Creative ESL Writing Activities

Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.

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