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We know that kids learn best when they’re having fun. When an activity is engaging and enjoyable, students become more focused and their brains absorb information effortlessly. In fact, games like Escape Room are not only motivating—they’re a great way to reward good behaviour and hard work. When students are having fun and working together as a team, they stay on track, behave well, and are excited to keep learning!

One of the ways I use ESL Escape Room is at the end of each unit, as a way to review what we’ve covered and give students something to look forward to. I tell my students, “The harder we work in the next unit, the faster we’ll solve the puzzles next month, and the better chance our team will have of winning!” It’s a great motivational tool that turns every lesson into an opportunity for students to level up!

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The summer holidays are winding down, and the first day of the new school year is just around the corner. If you’re anything like me, your teacher brain is already buzzing: “What am I going to do in the first class?”

Don’t worry—there’s no need to stress! Below, I’ve outlined some key considerations and tips to help you kick off the year on the right foot.

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Set the Rules

Start by clearly establishing the rules: Raise your hand to speak. Say please and thank you. Always listen to the teacher. Whatever your rules are, make them clear from day one.

Having them displayed somewhere visible (mine are framed by the whiteboard) gives you something to reference if students start to push boundaries. This simple step lays the groundwork for a well-managed classroom.

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Structure Is Key

A good class structure is essential for a productive learning environment. The first day is the perfect time to observe how students interact:

• Which students work well together, helping and complementing each other’s strengths?
• Which ones clash or trigger negative behaviors?

If needed, start thinking about a seating plan that promotes harmony and minimizes distractions. A well-organized classroom leads to smoother lessons and happier students.

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Welcome New Students

A new school year often means new faces in your classroom. For those students, it can be nerve-wracking. Make them feel at home by:

• Partnering them with welcoming classmates.
• Ensuring everyone learns each other’s names.
• Kicking off the year with fun, “get-to-know-you” activities.

This helps the new students feel included while practicing their English right from the start.

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Focus on Communication and Teamwork

Teamwork is a cornerstone of my teaching approach. When students work together to complete tasks or solve problems, their confidence in speaking and listening grows naturally.

I aim to give clear instructions and then step back, letting students collaborate with minimal input from me. This fosters autonomy and equips them with the skills to use English outside the classroom.

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Incorporate Reading, Listening, and Speaking

While writing is important, it can feel heavy for the first class back. Instead, focus on activities that integrate reading, listening, and speaking—skills that form the foundation of language learning.

Make these activities fun and engaging to capture their attention right from day one.

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Encourage Critical Thinking

Language learning isn’t just about memorization. Engage your students’ minds by asking thoughtful questions.

For example, instead of asking, “Did you have a good summer?” try, “What was the best part of your summer, and why?” This encourages deeper responses and keeps the conversation interesting.

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Make It Fun

No matter the age group, a little fun goes a long way. The more enjoyable the class, the more engaged your students will be.

It’s the first day back after a long break—cut them some slack and play games! Show them that learning can be enjoyable, and you might just find they look forward to coming to class.

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Get Them Moving

Keep energy levels high by incorporating movement into your lessons. Avoid having students sit passively for too long. Instead, get them up and moving around the classroom.

Physical activity stimulates the body and mind, helping students stay focused and engaged.

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Add a Touch of Competition

I’m a big fan of introducing friendly competition.

If I ask students to quietly complete an exercise, the enthusiasm is lukewarm at best. But if I turn the same task into a team challenge with points on the line, suddenly it’s a whole new ball game!

Competition energizes the classroom and motivates students to give their best effort.

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Review and Refresh

It’s safe to say most students haven’t been practicing their English over the summer. Why not kick things off with a review?

Revisit key vocabulary and grammar from the previous year with fun games like memory challenges or quizzes. This reactivates dormant knowledge and sets them up for success in the new term.

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One Simple Solution for All of This?

If this sounds like a lot to tackle, I’ve got good news: ESL Escape Room is here to help.

For a very reasonable price, you’ll have access to a customizable game that ticks nearly every box mentioned above:

• Minimal prep time: Be ready in minutes.
• Flexible duration: Adapt the game to last 10 minutes or 2 hours.
• Tailored content: Choose from a wide variety of vocabulary and grammar topics.
• Versatile for any group size: From 1 student to 100, this game works beautifully.

The best part? Your students will love it. It’s engaging, educational, and, most importantly, fun. Whether you’re teaching elementary or intermediate levels, this game is a true classroom game-changer.

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Start the new school year with confidence, creativity, and a little help from ESL Escape Room. Check out the ESL Escape Room tab above for more details.

Thanks for reading, and here’s to an amazing year ahead!

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This post is a glimpse into the journey that led to the creation of ESL Escape Room and a little about the person behind it.

The story likely begins in my childhood. Like most kids, my world revolved around games—whether with family or friends, I was always playing. Board games, card games, fantasy role-playing (where we’d run around pretending to shoot each other), hide and seek, kerbsy (a classic for my fellow Brits), and of course, the PlayStation—specifically, the iconic PS1.

One of my most memorable games was Worms Armageddon. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a quirky 2D game where you control a team of heavily armed worms (yes, actual earthworms). Your mission? Wipe out your opponents before they destroy you. Sure, the over-the-top violence was fun, but what truly captivated me was the strategic puzzle-solving. Yeh, you could fire rockets or unleash explosive sheep willy-nilly. But you could also dig tunnels, build bunkers, and craft clever strategies to outsmart your enemies. That problem-solving aspect fascinated me—and if I’d applied as much focus to my schoolwork as I did to perfecting my Worms tactics, I might’ve scored a few more high grades in GCSE!

Despite my virtual escapades, I managed decent relatively grades, earned my A-levels, and eventually graduated from university. That’s when my teaching journey began. A friend convinced me (though “convince” makes it sound harder than it was!) to move to Xi’an in China and teach English as a Second Language.

Thrown in at the deep end doesn’t even begin to cover it. With no experience, I was handed a book, dropped into a classroom of 25 children, and told to “crack on.” It was trial by fire, but that first year taught me more about classroom management, engagement, and creativity than any course ever could. They say the best way to learn to swim is to dive into the deep end. If you don’t drown, you’ll emerge swimming like a champ!

After two amazing years in Xi’an, I ventured further—teaching in Myanmar, Cambodia, Spain, and eventually landing in the Basque Country, where I still live today.

Over the years, I’ve worked with students of all ages and levels, in classrooms ranging from cramped spaces barely bigger than a bathroom to sprawling conference halls and even town squares. Each setting brought its challenges—tight resources, packed schedules, and, of course, the universal question: How do I make this class fun, engaging, and effective for everyone?

The answer, for me, was always games. If it’s fun and gets students involved willingly, they’ll learn. That simple truth became the inspiration behind ESL Escape Room.

And so I set out to create a game that would:

• Give teachers a ready-to-go lesson plan with less than two minutes of prep.
• Cover essential vocabulary and grammar key to building confidence, and enthusiasm that carries students from the foundational stages through to advanced fluency.
• Adapt to any curriculum so teachers can focus on the topics their students need most.
• Strike the perfect balance of familiarity and novelty—enough consistency for students to develop strategies, but enough variation to keep it exciting.

After countless hours of development (many of them during the first COVID lockdown), ESL Escape Room was born.

Today, I run my own English Language School in a beautiful coastal town where I use the Escape Room game at the end of each trimester with my older students and monthly with younger ones. Their excitement when they see the timer projected on the whiteboard is priceless.

If you’re looking for an activity that engages your students and keeps them begging to learn more, I invite you to give ESL Escape Room a try. Seeing my students enjoy it is the greatest reward, but your support helps me create expansion packs and games for other levels.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy exploring the site!