Learning colors is a necessity for students of English in order to build their vocabulary and assist them in speaking and reading. Learning a broad range of colors can help students describe people, clothes, landscapes, animals and buildings; colors allow students to talk about a nearly endless amount of things with accuracy. However, learning colors shouldn't feel like boring, rote memorization. Using color games in the ESL classroom can make the task of learning colors more enjoyable.

Singing Colors
Educators designed this game primarily for elementary school-aged children, but it could be useful for older kids as break from common classroom monotony. Take a large range of different colored sheets of construction paper and arrange them in a large circle. Children have to march or skip around the circle of colors to music. However, when you abruptly stop the music, each child has to sit next to a color. Then you walk around the circle singing to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" the following words: "Who's sitting next to the color (insert name of color)? Please stand up, if it is you." The child must stand up if he is sitting next to that color. You can make this game as easy or as complex as you want it to be. For example, if you want it to be easy, use basic colors like green, blue, red, orange and purple. For more difficulty, use colors like lavender, azure, sage or indigo. You will need to have colors of construction paper that accurately reflect these colors.

Colors in the Room
This game is similar to the game Tag in the sense that it features "safe" and "unsafe" areas. Tell all the kids in the classroom to gather around your desk and touch it. Call out the name of a color. The students all have five seconds to find something in the room that is that color and touch it. Thus, if they are touching the designated color they are "safe." If they are not touching this color they are out of the game. Keep playing until you have just a few players left. Encourage players to find new and exciting places in the room to touch and don't let all the kids cluster around one object.

Red as a Lobster ...
This activity is useful for all age groups that understand what idioms are and how to use them. Teach them idioms of color such as "red as a lobster" or "white as a ghost." Have the glass stand in a circle with you in the middle. Spin around and point at a student at random while calling out the name of a color. The student then has to make a new idiom using that color plus the word "as." For example, if you call out the color pink, the student could say "Pink as a pig." If you call out the color "green" the student could say "Green as hundred dollar bills." If a student hesitates he is out of the game. Encourage students to think of new and creative idioms.