ESL Valentine’s Day Activities and Games: Have a Fun Holiday Lesson

If you’re looking for some fun ESL Valentine’s day games, activities, lesson plans, vocabulary, worksheets and more, then you’re definitely in the right place. You’ll find everything you need to plan yourself an awesome Valentines lesson!

ESL Valentine Day Games and Activities for All Ages

Are you ready to get into the fun Valentine games for the classroom? Let’s get to it!

#1: Valentine’s Day Cards

I LOVE to have my students make cards for their family and friends, or other classmates. Bring in some paper and art supplies and let students get creative!

Of course, show them some examples of common phrases you could normally find on these sorts of cards and explain what they mean.

#2: Valentine’s Day Videos

I’m ALL about using videos in my ESL classroom, but there are a few things I do to get the most use out of them. In the case of Valentine’s day, there are a ton of good ones on YouTube, particularly related to the history of Valentine’s Day and related vocabulary.

To find out more about how to use videos effectively, you’ll want to check this out: ESL Videos and How to Use Them.

#3: Charades

This is a classic party game that’s ideal for game or activity days related to holidays. The way it works is similar to how you’ve probably played it, but you would just choose holiday themed vocabulary.

To find out more about how to use it in the ESL classroom, check this out: Charades for English Learners.

#4: A to Z Alphabet Game

If your students are already quite familiar with Valentine’s Day vocabulary, then you could use this activity as a quick warmer activity to activate their prior knowledge.

However, if you are teaching students about this popular holiday for the first time, you could consider using it as a vocabulary review activity at the end of class.

The way it works is that students have to think of as many words (one per letter) as possible related to a certain theme. In this case, it’d be Valentine’s Day. The team with the most words at the of the allotted time is the winner. You can find out more details about this ESL activity here: A to Z ESL Game.

#5: Task Based Activities

There are a million and one task based activities that students could do related to holiday-themed lessons. For example, they could do some research about the history of Valentine’s Day and then make a poster and do a presentation. Or, they could make cards for each other with some common phrases you might normally find on these types of cards.

Students could also conduct interviews to find out people’s thoughts on love and dating. Or, students could compare Valentine’s Day with a similar holiday in their own country.

Need more ideas for this kind of activity? Check this out: Task-Based Learning.

#6: I’m an Alien

It’s often the case that students already know a fair bit about this popular holiday before explicitly teaching them. If that’s the case, consider using this simple warm-up:

#7: Password Vocabulary Activity

This is a vocabulary review game that lends itself extremely well to Valentine’s Day. The way it works is that you divide the students up into two teams. The first team sends a member to the front and you show a secret word to the rest of the team who now have to describe it to the person who has to guess what it is.

It’s fun, challenging and makes a perfect activity for a party day activity that has a bit of educational value to it! Do you want to know more? Check it out for yourself right here:

Password ESL Vocabulary Review Game

#8: Picture Prompt

I love bringing interesting pictures into my classroom. In this case, you’d choose a Valentines one filled with lots of things students could talk about.

Beginners can simply say the words of things they see, while more advanced students could make guesses, or inferences about what’s happening. You can find out more about it here:

ESL Picture Prompt.

#9: Word Association

This vocabulary activity makes an ideal class warm-up to serve as an introduction to Valentine’s Day words. It’s basically making a mind map of words related to a certain theme. Do you want to know more about it? Find out all the details here:

ESL Word Association Activity.

#10: ESL Concentration Memory Game

Try out this fun memory game with your students. The way it works is that you can make sets of cards. For beginners, go with a picture and then the word, while more advanced students can have the word and then the definition. Cut them out and students, in groups of four place them face down in an organized fashion.

Then, it becomes a game where students have to find the matching pairs. Do you want to try it out? Here are the details about it:

ESL Concentration Memory Game.

#11: Valentine’s Day Board Game

I LOVE to play board games in real life and so try to bring them into the classroom as well. You can make one about just about any topic or grammar point, including holidays.

You can make it into a vocabulary game, or one where you have to give opinions on various love and dating things. Find out more details in this short video:

#12: Flyswatter ESL Game

If you want to have some fun with valentine words, then you’ll need to consider using flyswatter. The way it works is that you write a bunch of words randomly on the board. For example: cupid, love, chocolate, date, roses, etc.

Then, divide the class into two teams and one student from each team comes to the front of the class. Each of them take a flyswatter and then you can give hints about one of the words. The first student to slap that word gets a point for their team and the game continues on until everyone has had a chance to play. I usually erase the word and add a new one in its’ place.

You can learn more about it here: ESL Flyswatter Game.

#13: Just One Question

This is a quick survey activity that gets students talking about love and dating. The way it works is that in pairs, students have to think of one interesting question related to this theme that they’d like to ask their classmates about. Then, they survey at least 10 students, compile results and report what they learned to the class.

Do you want to try it out with your students? You can learn more about this activity here: https://eslspeaking.org/esl-warm-up-questions/

#14: Odd One Out

If you’re talking about different holidays like Valentine’s, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween, then you’ll want to try out this quick activity. The way it works is that you write sets of words on the board and students have to choose the one that doesn’t match. For example:

• Cupid, tree, heart, chocolate

There are a number of possible answers, but one obvious one is tree because it’s related to Christmas and not Valentines. I take any answer as long as students are able to tell me why. Find out more about it here: ESL Odd One Out.

#15: Valentine’s Day Songs

If you teach kids, then you’ll certainly want to try some songs and singing in your classroom. They’re a fun way for students to remember and practice new words that they learned related to this holiday. Have a look on YouTube and you’ll be able to easily find one that will work for your students.

#16: Write a Love Poem

Roses are red. Violets are blue…

A fun activity you can try out for your Valentine’s day lesson is to get students to write a simple love poem, even if they don’t have a partner. It can be fun or silly—it’s up to the students!

#17: Word Challenge

A fun time-filler that you can use in your classes is this spelling game. Of course, it’s not just a time-filler because spelling is an important skill for our students to work on.

The way it works is that students have to race to write a correctly spelled word on the whiteboard. In this case, you’d want to use Valentine’s Day themed vocabulary. Find out more here:

Word Challenge Activity.

#18: Dialogue Substitution

#19: Chain Spelling

A fun, quick review for ESL vocab for Valentine’s Day is this chain spelling one. The way it works is that all the students stand up. Then, you say a vocabulary word. Students take turns spelling out the word, letter by letter. If they miss, they sit down and are out of that round. Continue until only 1-2 people are left standing.

#20: Dictogloss Valentine Day Activity

A challenging activity for more advanced learners that can be used for just about any topic, grammar point or vocabulary set is Dictogloss. In this case, find a passage or write your own that talks about someone’s experience with Valentine’s Day or traditions in various countries. Those are just two examples but it could be anything related to this holiday.

Then, read it out a faster than normal pace for the level of students you are teaching. The students can take some brief notes and then with a partner, compare what they have and try to recreate what they heard. Read it out again and students do the same. Finally, they can compare what they have with the original version. Check it out:

ESL Dictogloss Activity.

ESL Valentine’s Day Worksheets

Do you want some Valentine’s worksheets that you can just print and go? They’ll make your life easy, so be sure to check out some of our top picks right here:

ISL Collective

Boggles World

ESL Made Easy

Valentine’s Day ESL Vocabulary

If you’re looking for vocabulary list for ESL valentine’s day, here’s a simple one that hits the highlights:

• card
• date
• flowers
• February 14th
• chocolate
• Cupid
• poem
• love
• heart
• candy
• teddy bear
• pink
• date
• present/gift
• roses
• sweetheart

ESL Valentine Day Lesson Plans

Are you looking for some Valentine’s Day ESL lesson plans? Then you’re certainly in the right place! Here are some of our top recommendations that’ll make your life easier. You can just print and go!

British Council

One Stop English 

ESL Holiday Lessons

Did you Like these Valentine’s Day Ideas for the Classroom?

Yes? Thought so! Then the book you’re going to love is this one over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Kids. There are dozens of fun, engaging ESL activities that’ll help you get through the entire semester in style. The key to happy students who are having fun learning English is a variety of games and this book will help you do just that.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Take the digital copy with you to your favourite coffee shop on your phone or tablet for some serious lesson planning on the go. Or, keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide.

It really is that easy to have better English lessons. Pick up a copy of the book for yourself, but only if you want a serious dose of ESL teaching awesome in your life:

Valentine’s Day ESL FAQs

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

What is the real story of Valentine’s Day?

The real story of Valentine’s Day is hard to identify as there are three different Saint Valentines recognized by the Catholic Church. However, it’s thought that it might be based on the Saint Valentine of Terni, executed by Roman emperor Claudius the Second on Feb. 14, 278 A.D.

What are the seven days before Valentine’s Day?

The seven days before Valentine’s Day, starting on Feb. 7th are:

• Rose day.
• Propose day.
• Chocolate day.
• Promise day.
• Hug day.
• Kiss day.
• Valentine’s day.

Was St. Valentine a killer?

St. Valentine was not a killer. He in fact was executed by the Roman emperor Claudius the Second for refusing to deny Jesus Christ.

What does the Bible say about Valentine’s Day?

The Bible doesn’t explicitly say anything about Valentine’s Day. However, there are numerous exhortations in the Bible to love one another as God has loved us.

Have your say about these ESL Valentine’s Day Games and Activities

What are your thoughts about these ESL valentine’s day activities? Did you try some of them out? What did you think? Or, please let us know your top recommendation for a lesson plan, worksheet or activity that you like to do on this special holiday. Leave a comment below and 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 teachers, like yourself who are planning their Valentine’s Day lesson plan find this useful teaching resource.

Last update on 2022-06-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API