Several sports are popular in many areas of the world, but American football is not one of them. Still, your ESL students don’t need to know a lot about American football to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday.
The 10 ESL Super Bowl activities on BusyTeacher.org will get your English learners thinking and talking about the big game, while helping build their listening and language skills. Here are four examples:
“Explain the Game”
Most, if not all, of your ESL students are probably unfamiliar with the game of American football. Bringing in a guest speaker is a good way to challenge your students’ listening skills, as well as give them information about the less-than-familiar game. Ask a local student who also plays football or a football coach from your school or a nearby school to come and explain the game to your class and then give students a chance to ask questions.
“Ride the Road”
Each year the NFL produces a documentary called The Road to the Super Bowl, which usually airs just before the Super Bowl. The documentary explains how each of the teams came through their seasons to reach the big game. Give students a treat by showing them the documentary. If they can’t watch it live, just show the program from a previous year. Then ask students to explain how a team makes it to the Super Bowl and how they progress through the football season.
“Play Some Paper Football”
You may not want to take your class out into the chilly weather with an oblong ball they may never have held before, but that doesn’t mean they can’t play football with their classmates. These instructions for playing paper football explains how to fold the ball and how to score points. After everyone has read the information and folded their balls, pairs of students can play the game on their desks.
“Cheer On the Team”
Students can show off their team spirit with these fun and easy American football chants. Play some of the cheers for the class so students can get a general feel for cheers and how they are performed. Then invite groups of students to write and perform their own cheers in front of the class. Students will have to focus on rhythm and rhyme, and the rest of the class is sure to get a kick out of each performance.
The near holiday status of Super Bowl Sunday in the United States affords many activities you can do with your ESL class, both for language development and for fun. Try these or some of the others on BusyTeacher.org. Then pick a team and cheer them on!