Odd One Out - ESL Classroom Activity

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ESL Classroom Activity - Fun English Games Odd One Out

Odd One Out is a fun ESL classroom activity played in a similar way to Rows and Columns, with the difference being that rather than answer standard questions, students must listen to 4 different English words and decide which is different from the others.

Ask the students to stand up at their desks and choose someone to go first (or alternatively ask for a volunteer).

They need to listen carefully to the words you say and decide which is the odd one out. If the student is correct then they can choose either their row or column to sit down with them, if the student is incorrect then nobody gets to sit down. Continue the game until everyone sits down.

If your students have good English, are finding it too easy or you just want to challenge them then you can make them give the reason behind their choice as well as the answer.

Here are a few examples of odd one out questions that you might like to use:

John, Steve, Matthew, Kate - Answer: Kate (because it's a girl's name)

Brother, Mother, Friend, Daughter - Answer: Friend (because they aren't family)

Summer, Winter, Spring, March - Answer: March (because it's a month, not a season)

Tokyo, Sydney, New York, Brazil - Answer: Brazil (because it's a country, not a city)

At times there can be more than one answer that you might not have thought of so feel free to accept different answers if the student has a good explanation.