KÜRŞAT CESUR - Opening Many Locks with a Master Key - Six EFL Games Played with a Set of Cards

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Đào

A teaching-focused article presents six card games for young learners in EFL settings, emphasizing fun, motivation, and practical classroom variation. The games use one reproducible set of cards to support vocabulary across many topics, with clear guidance on preparation, use of Creative Commons images, and strategies to add linguistic complexity (sentences, questions, dialogues). It also explains when, with whom, and how to run games within typical class time, including group sizes and tournament formats for larger classes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Games for Young Learners

Why to Play

When to Play

With Whom to Play

Practical Tips for Larger Classes

KÜRŞAT CESUR Turkey Opening Many Locks with a Master Key: Six EFL Games Played with a Set of Cards B eing a lucky child, I played lots of games, as my parents were primary-school teachers, and playing games is a natural part of growing up and learning. More recently, I took the opportunity to create new games while teaching a course called “Teaching English to Young Learners” to preservice teachers of English. Among these games, there are more than 20 that can be played using only one set of cards, including those described online at TenTen 4 Kids (2018a); teachers and students can make these cards by using the example template in the Appendix. In this article, I describe six of these games that I have either adapted or created. Many games for children are played to teach or review one specific notion or function; for example, the “Directions Game” offers practice in giving instructions (Lewis and Bedson 1999, 91), and “Body Writing” helps learners review shapes, letters, and numbers (Phillips 1993, 97).The card games in this article can be used with vocabulary related to a variety of topics.What makes the games significant is that they are all played using only one set of cards that can be reproduced to create four pictures for each vocabulary item. After you have prepared the worksheet (see the Appendix) for your game cards, and by using Creative Commons–licensed images from websites such as Flickr or Google Images, you can play these games with that set of cards. There is no “best” in English language teaching, but often there is “better.” Here, I have included six of the most successful card games for teaching English.Three of the games are rousers, which are movement games; the other three are settlers , in which students listen to their friends carefully and play the games in groups at their seats (Lewis and Bedson 1999, 7) . CARD GAMES FOR YOUNG LEARNERS Games are essential tools for having fun, and “children have an enormous capacity for finding and making fun”(Halliwell 1992, 6) . Learning a language is not “the key motivational factor” for them (Lewis and Bedson 1999, 5).Young children typically do not come to the classroom to learn a language; rather, they want to play a game or have fun.The card games described here not only encourage children to learn a language, but also add variation to lessons. Why to Play Teachers can use the card games to help students practice recently learned vocabulary 1 ENGLISH TEACHING F ORUM 2 01 9 [americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum](americanenglish.state.gov/english-teaching-forum) (Lorenzutti 2016) or to introduce new words.The games provided here may seem to have little focus on the language, as at most students either say one word at a time (of an object, usually) or hear one word spoken by the teacher. However, the games can be made more linguistically complex if teachers ask students to form sentences, ask questions, or write dialogues for further practice using the vocabulary. Additionally, students learn from the situations described by the teacher while he or she is explaining the rules of the games or while they are playing.That is to say, students may “need and want to communicate in a meaningful and intense way in that they need to use language to have a turn at playing, to point out the rules, to challenge another player”(Korkmaz 2012, 307) . When to Play Teachers can integrate the games into their syllabus. If they have a flexible program, they can either supplement the core material or replace activities they dislike (Lewis and Bedson 1999).Teachers can fit the games into a 45-minute period to take a break from more-serious studies or use them to give students a reward for completing a particularly difficult task.They can also be used as warm-up activities or as follow-ups to a lesson. With Whom to Play The card games described here can be played with young learners. Language levels of the students playing the

FAQs

What is the main idea behind the six card games?

The article focuses on six EFL games that can all be played using only one set of reproducible cards, supporting vocabulary learning through varied, classroom-ready activities.

How can teachers make the games more language-focused?

Teachers can increase linguistic complexity by asking learners to form sentences, ask questions, or write dialogues using the target vocabulary, while learners also absorb language through rule explanations and gameplay.

When should teachers use these card games in a syllabus?

They can be integrated as supplements or replacements in a flexible program, fitted into a 45-minute period as a break or reward, or used as warm-ups and follow-ups to other lessons.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Đào