The use of games when teaching vocabulary dovetails the playful nature of children at primary stage. Games are fun and children like to play them. It is also a vital and natural part of growing up. Through games, young learners could interact with, and discover their surroundings. Moreover, games make the reasons for speaking plausible even to reluctant children. Teachers play an integral part in the classroom when implementing games because they give clear explanations and instructions about the rules of the game they prepare for their students. For example, memory challenge is a game that could be used to teach vocabulary to young learners. Students have to sit in pairs or form small groups. Each group is given three minutes to write down as many words as they can remember from their previous lesson e.g. words for animals. The group that recalls most words wins the game. However, in order to get the most from vocabulary games, it is essential that suitable games are chosen. The number of students, proficiency level, timing, learning topic, and classroom settings are factors that are to be taken into account. Therefore, the game context makes the foreign language immediately useful to the children. It brings the target language to life (Lewis, 1999:5).

Games can also be used as an assessment tool to informally check for understanding. For example, categories is a fun game that can help put things into perspective.

The rule: The teacher announces a category and students select the words that go into that category.

Possible categories include (nouns – verbs – adjectives – words with three syllables – words with prefixes or suffixes, countries, sports, jobs, movies, furniture, things that are round).

Materials needed are a set of words on small separate sheets for each student. Teachers should circulate the classroom to make sure all students are engaged. This game works best with a large group of words. Students may work in groups. If students put a word in the wrong category, have them explain their reasoning.

Such games not only motivate and entertain students but also help them learn in a way that aids the retention and retrieval of vocabulary.

References

Lewis, G., & Bedson, G. (1999). Games for children. Oxford University Press.