Games for Language Teaching

Nakal When I looked on the syllabus for this class and realized we were supposed to discuss simulations, I knew I needed to create a simulation so that the students would have the experience of participating in one. Hopefully, the experience will inspire them to create one of their own. Nakal is an Indonesian word for "naughty" but not quite as negative in its connotation. This purpose of this simulation is to help teacher trainees think about undesirable student behaviors and how they will deal with them. Preliminaries Number of players: 8 to 50 Age/ Proficiency Level: university/ C1 and C2 Preparation Time: 10 -20 minutes (in class) Play Time: 60 minutes Preparation Line up game designers to present their game in class. Before conducting the simulation, ask the participants what types of behaviors student engage in that disrupts their learning environment (ask them to interview teachers that they know to find out how they deal with these behaviors) . Write each misbehavio...

I wanted to find a way to check students' vocabulary in a way that doesn't feel too stressful and boring to them. With this game, they can practice words in a competitive and fun way.  Preliminaries   Number of players: min. 4 Age/  Proficiency Level: any  Preparation Time: 1 minute  Play Time: depends on the number of words & the enthusiasm of the participants (~10-20 min.)  Preparation   I clear the board and take a student's vocabulary book.  Object of the game  To guess as many words as possible, and to explain words to your teammates in a way they can easily guess it.  Roles All players take both roles during the game: a student has to guess the words, and once their round is over, they have to explain them to a teammate.  Rules of Play I divide the class into two teams. Team A delegates a person who will stand in front of the board, facing the class. I write a word on the board, and team A has to explain it to the student...

  The Countdown My main motivation was to create a game that makes students excited and creates a comfortable atmosphere in the classroom. Preliminaries Number of players: Minimum 10 players Age/ Proficiency Level: A2+ Preparation Time: 1-2 minutes Play Time: 5-10 minutes Preparation Before the game starts, the students will need to stand up and the teacher will explain the rules of the game. Object of the game The goal of the game is to allow students to stand up and move around the classroom so they can get out of their comfort zones. Furthermore, students can learn new words and expressions while they play the game. Roles Players play the game on their own, although it's not prohibited to help one another during the game. Rules of Play The teacher tells the students how many seconds they have to find something or do something in class and if they can do it within the given amount of time, they can move to the next round. Firstly, the teacher gives the students 10 seconds (e.g. ...

  DobbEnglish There is an existing board game called Dobble . I wanted to adapt the framework of the game and use it for learning/practicing words.   Preliminaries Number of players: 2~15 Age/ Proficiency Level: B1-C1 (depends on the words selected for the game) Preparation Time: ~60+10 minutes Play Time: 10-15 minutes   Preparation Preparation at home: ·        Decide on the topic. I chose London. ·        Select pictures from free icon websites, for example: https://www.flaticon.com/   https://findicons.com/ ·        Create cards with an online cardmaker. ·        Print the cards out or create a webpage for generating random cards from the deck. This website will generate random cards from the deck for students. This website is only an idea, I could not create it yet. This website could do it:  https://imagepick...

  https://thecountdowngamebymilan.blogspot.com/2022/02/the-countdown.html

  Guess the proverb I was inspired by the television game show Get the message. I used proverbs because I think they are perfect in length for this game. Also, because they are challenging but not unsolvable.   Preliminaries Number of players: at least 6 Age/ Proficiency Level: B1+ Preparation Time: 10 minutes Play Time: 30 minutes   Preparation I create cards with English proverbs on them. I also bring some small papers that players can write on. We divide the class into groups of 3 and the groups will compete with each other.   Object of the game The goal of the game is to get points by guessing the proverbs on the cards.   Roles One player will be the ‘guesser’ who has to guess the proverb. The others will be the ‘helpers’.     Rules of Play Helpers have to look at the card containing the proverb and write one word on their piece of paper that they think will help the guesser guess the proverb. It can ...

Name of Game : Wheel of Knowledge What inspired you in the creation of this game? The TV show Wheel of Fortune inspired me to create this game. The spinning wheel of this show is the basis of my game, but I altered the original rules and created a completely different game from it.  Preliminaries Number of players: Groups of two or three (the number of groups depends on the number of students + a host Age/ Proficiency Level: B1-C1 (but the game can be adjusted to lower levels, as well) Preparation Time : 5 minutes Play Time: 10-15 minutes Preparation: Customize the two Spinning Wheels (wheel 1: topic names, wheel 2: parts of speech). Link to an editable wheel: https://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/ Object of the game Students will be able to recall vocabulary from the topic covered. The game is appropriate for later stages of a vocabulary learning process after they have already learned and practiced these. It can be used as a revision tool for students. Roles:  ho...

  WORD CLASSES Created by: Natalie Honti and Regina Gyapjas Word classes is a fun game for students of all ages! A letter selected before starting the game and then players have to write words of the four different categories that starts with that letter. The player that gets most correct words wins! It is a nice activity for improving the vocabulary of our students! Game stats: Number of players: adjustable (at least 2) Age and proficiency level: any level Preparation time: 5-10 minutes Play time during: depending on the number of players, at least 10 minutes   Preparation: Write or print the letters of the alphabet and then cut them out. Put in into a hat/ envelope/box. Prepare a chart that has 4 columns (verb, noun, adjective, adverb) and several lines for the solutions.   Objective of the game: This game aims to help students remember the largest number of vocabulary words. They become able to identify different word classes, enrich the learn...

  What inspired you in the creation of this game? This idea was inspired by Guinness records. There are various human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Competition is part of humankind. These unbelievable records and talented people irresistibly attract the interest of younger generations. People like when they can create something new and unique or being able to do something that is extraordinary. In this game students can share what they got.   Preliminaries Number of players: any Age/ Proficiency Level: any (pupils who have already learnt comparatives and superlatives) Preparation Time: 2 minutes Play Time:15-20 minutes   Preparation  Separate students into groups of three or four   Object of the game The goal of this game to earn as many points as you can. The group with the highest score will win.   Roles The group works together and creates records that no one can beat in this class.   Rules of Play The teacher separates th...