Games are a great way to learn a language. Having fun while they learn is especially important for young children because it encourages creativity, problem-solving and other life skills.
Games can help your children learn English in many ways because they’re social and interactive. Your children learn to follow instructions in English, match English vocabulary with actions and develop confidence in speaking and listening in English.
Keep sessions to ten minutes, so as not to overload children. Primary school students learn best in short, quick bursts. This helps them understand and remember what they’ve experienced.
Always remember to give feedback and praise immediately and celebrate everyone for taking part in the games.
Here are some of our tried-and-tested games that your children will enjoy playing, and learn English along the way.
Card games in the English language
Card games help your child remember the English words they learn. Plus, card games are visual, so they help your kids identify patterns in the English language. This helps them go on to learn even more words, independently.
Here are a few card games that can help your child learn English. We also recommend printing the free English flashcards offered by our website LearnEnglish Kids.
Snap!
Objective:
You play to collect the most cards. You collect cards by being the first to say ‘Snap!’ when a matched pair of cards appears
Materials:
Standard playing cards or special 'Snap!' cards
How to play:
- Take a standard deck of cards and deal them evenly between players (minimum two people, no maximum number of people).
- Players can’t look at their cards. Each person takes it in turns to place one card, face up, in front of everyone.
- When a card is placed on top of a matching card (for example you see two Queen cards), the first player to shout ‘Snap!’ wins all the cards that have been put down so far.
- The game continues until only one player has cards. The winner is the person with the most cards.
Top tip:
This game helps your children learn the English word ‘Snap!’, but you can expand their vocabulary by also asking them to say the card number and suit in English, when there is a match. In English, the card suits are spades, clubs, hearts, diamonds.
Memory game
Objective:
To remember where pairs of cards are. Collect as many cards as possible
Materials:
‘Memory game’ cards usually have images of animals, people or objects on them. If you don’t have these special cards available, you can also use playing cards with numbers. Be sure to have an even number of cards, so each card can make a pair.
How to play:
- This matching game is more thoughtful and less chaotic than ‘Snap!’. Place all the cards face dow on a table. Spread them out so they don’t touch each other.
- Players take it in turns to turn over two cards – if they find a matching pair they win that pair - and get another turn.
- The winner is the player who wins the most pairs of cards at the end of the game.
Top tip:
To win a pair of cards, players can specify the order of the cards that match. For example ‘The second card from the left and the third card from the right are a match.’
Pen and paper games
Pen and paper games help primary children improve their reading and writing skills in English.
Stop the bus
Objective:
Write down as many original words as you can think of
Materials:
A pen and a piece of paper for each player
How to play:
In English classes, we find this is one of the most popular English learning activities for primary school students – and it is great for increasing English vocabulary words:
- First, choose five categories, for example 1. Feelings 2. Sports 3. Adjectives, 4. Vegetables 5. Fruits.
- Choose an alphabet letter at random by drawing from a bag or using an online random picker.
- Ask players to write down as many words in English as possible in each category, beginning with the chosen letter. For example, if the letter is 'T', students could write
1. Tired. 2. Tennis 3..Trusting, 4 Turnip 5.Tangerine.
Once everyone has written a word for every category, someone shouts ‘Stop the bus!’ and players read their words aloud. Players only score points for words that nobody else has written – you win points for knowing original and unique words. The first person to reach ten points is the winner.
Who am I? Name the famous person
Objective:
To ask and answer questions so you can guess the name of a famous person
Materials:
A pad of paper or sticky notes
How to play:
- This game is usually played using the names of famous people, but it can be adapted for any category, including books, animals, movies, cartoon characters, and countries.
- Each player writes a famous person’s name on a sticky note and sticks it on the forehead of the person to their right. Do not let them see the name!
- Players take turns to ask everyone else one yes/no question at a time. The questions should help them find out the name of the famous person written on the sticky note on their forehead. For example; “is this person a woman?” or “is this person a star in action movies?”
- The winner is the first person to correctly guess the name on their sticky note on their forehead.
Top tip:
You don’t have to stick to famous people. Use the names of cartoon characters or people all the players are likely to know.
Games to fill the time when you are waiting
Stuck on a long car journey or in a queue at the supermarket? Here are some games you can play to fill in the time. You do not need any equipment.
The teacher’s cat
Objective:
To think of as many adjectives as you can
Materials:
None
How to play:
- This game has been played for hundreds of years. It’s fun and a good way for your children to practice adjectives and speaking in English.
- All players clap a 1, 2, 3, 4 rhythm, in time with one another.
- The first player says, in rhythm with the claps, ‘The teacher’s cat is a (fat) cat’, adding whichever adjective they want.
- The second player thinks of an adjective beginning with the last letter of the previous adjective, e.g. ‘The teacher’s cat is a (terrible) cat.’
- The game continues until someone can’t think of an adjective in time with the claps.
Top tip:
Personalise the game using your child’s name, e.g. ‘Jaime’s cat is…’.
I spy, with my little eye
Objective:
You try to guess the name of an object another player can see. This game is good for improving your child’s English spelling and pronunciation
Materials:
None
How to play:
- In this game, one person is the spy, and everyone else guesses what they’ve spotted.
- The game starts with the phrase ‘I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with the letter …’, followed by the first letter of the mystery object. So if you are looking at a table, you would say ‘I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with the letter T…’,
- If you want your children to practise yes/no questions, you can play the version where players can ask up to ten questions, for example asking things like ‘Is it outside the car?’, ‘Is it bigger than a football?’
Top tip:
Another variation of the game is to say the colour of the object, instead of the first letter.
I went shopping and I got…
Objective:
You try to remember as many objects on a shopping list as possible. It’s a great way to help your child increase their English vocabulary
Materials:
None
How to play:
- In this memory game, players take it in turns to add items to an imaginary shopping basket. The first player could say ‘I went shopping and I got a pineapple.’
- The second player might add ‘I went shopping and I got a pineapple and some tea.’
- The game continues with the list getting bigger and bigger. When a player forgets an item or hesitates too long, they are out of the game. The game continues until one player is left.
Top tip:
Some people have a rule that the items bought must run in alphabetical order, for instance ‘apples, bread, carrots’, and so on. This version helps your child practise their English alphabet ordering.
Simon says
Objective:
To pay attention to instructions carefully, and not make a mistake. This game develop English listening skills in children.
Materials:
None
How to play:
- In this game, one player is called ‘Simon’. They perform actions and tell other players to copy them.
- They always start their instructions with ‘Simon says…’' For example, “Simon says… touch your nose with a finger” or “Simon says… wave your arm”
- But players should only do the tasks when they hear the words ‘Simon says’. If they do the actions when Simon hasn’t said anything or when the person says something different - for example, ‘Touch your toes, please’ - they are out of the game.