Teaching a Second Language with Games

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Learning a second language is enhanced when lessons are designed to use games and activities because they require students to interact with one another. And when written materials are used, students of all ages are more attracted to a page with colourful images rather than with plain text. The addition of colour and graphics makes the text less overwhelming and helps with comprehension. Effective language teaching materials are not only informative but fun and relevant, helping to create a positive learning experience.

Picture cards pertaining to verbs, weather, emotions, adjectives, nouns, numbers, etc. are one of the most effective resources for teaching a second language. The picture cards, which need not be any larger than 3x4 inches in size, may be used for numerous games and activities such as Concentration, Go Fish, Charades, Salads (a vocabulary building game) and are easily incorporated into lesson plans.

For example, if students are studying the present tense of regular verbs in French, “Go Fish” (“Allez à la pêche) is an effective game to demonstrate comprehension and conversational skills. The game may be played individually or in flexible groupings. The goal is to find matches to the verb cards possessed by each individual or group. The player or group must ask an opponent for one of the verb cards by formulating a question with the verb. Example: The player has and is looking for the verb card “parler.” To find out if the opponent has the card the player might ask, “Parlez-vous français?” If the opponent has the card, he/she will respond, “Oui, je parle français.” If the opponent does not have the card, the response will be, “Non, je ne parle pas français.” and he/she will then proceed to tell the player asking for the card to “Go fish” or “Allez à la pêche” which allows him or her to draw a card from the remaining deck. What makes this game so effective is that it may be used to practice verbs in any tense and it also reviews the interrogative, the negative, the affirmative and the imperative.

Activities which are visually fun to look at such as matching pictures to the correct vocabulary words, pictures used for description, giving directions on how to move about on a street map, etc. are also very effective for learning a language. For example, an activity involving a street map is excellent for learning how to give and understand directions. A student will pick a departure spot on the map and a destination without revealing what his/her destination is to the others. He/she will then try to direct the rest of the class as to where to go in order to get to that destination by using the provided vocabulary.

Activities and games such as these provide teachers with a means to measure student comprehension in a fun and relaxed manner. The more stress-free the environment, the easier the acquisition of the language which will leave both the student and the teacher with a positive, productive learning and teaching experience.

Lisa Haughom has produced a series of French and Spanish language resource books entitled Language for Kids.