Let Them Play - Board Games for Language Practice - English Teaching Forum 2024

Oct 15, 2026

Let Them Play: Board Games for Language Practice argues that tabletop board games provide engaging, student-centered practice for English learners while addressing misconceptions that games waste lesson time. Drawing on research and classroom feedback, it highlights speaking development, fun and relaxation, and easy, low-cost implementation. The article outlines how to use board games: understanding their purpose, managing sessions, monitoring teacher involvement, encouraging student-created games, and introducing new photocopiable board games.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time22 min

AccessFree to download

Student-centeredness

Part I: What Are Board Games, and Why Use Them?

How to Play

Name Your Favorite

KEVIN McCAUGHEY AND RICK ROSENBERG Uzbekistan and Indonesia Let Them Play: Board Games for Language Practice Today, any discussion of games in the classroom is probably about digital games. And digital games are powerfully engaging. Take just one: Minecraft. Gamers around the world have spent a total of 68 million years playing it (Barone 2021) . That needs to be repeated: 68 million years. Just think if English educators could harness even a fraction of the excitement and engagement inherent in such games. One way to do so is through traditional tabletop games, like board games and card games, which have been entertaining people much longer than video games. Backgammon has been played continuously for about 5,000 years. Chess is gearing up for a 2,000th birthday. And more than one billion people have played Monopoly since it debuted in 1935 (Johnson 2018) . The board-games market is soaring—predicted for rampant growth, hitting $30.93 billion by 2028 (SkyQuest Technology 2022) . Recently, more studies have emerged about games and language learning. A review by Wong andYunus (2021) gathered 18 published studies on board games and 35 articles examining these games’ impact on the development of speaking skills. The findings indicate that students perceive board games as not only “fun” and “relaxing”but also as enhancers of their learning experience. A poll on the American English Facebook page from January 2020 echoed those results. Of 785 participants, 88 percent felt games “give EFL practice,”while just 12 percent said,“Games are just for fun.” Despite the incontrovertible legacy and popularity of games, adults in an educational setting are often made to feel guilty and unproductive for enjoying games, even “sinful”(Brown and Vaughan 2009).What reaction would come from students, other teachers, principals, and parents if you played a game for the entirety of a lesson? Someone—perhaps even you—would think you were not doing your job effectively. But would it raise eyebrows if you spent an hour on gap-fill work, repeat-after-me drills, or grammar explanations? STUDENT-CENTEREDNESS One thing is certain: the very format of board games—with small groups and turntaking—insists that your lesson moves towards being student-centered. It’s not only that students have more time to speak, but they have more chances to express thoughts. The Activate games for learning American English described in this article are openended, eliciting knowledge, opinions, and experience from students (the games are available, for free, at [https://americanenglish](https://americanenglish). [state.gov/resources/activate-board-games](state.gov/resources/activate-board-games)). These traditional games have the advantage of familiarity, simplicity, and flexibility.You don’t 2 ENGLISH TEACHING F OR UM 2 02 4 [americanenglish.state.gov/forum](americanenglish.state.gov/forum) These traditional games have the advantage of familiarity, simplicity, and flexibility. You don’t need a computer ora cell phone, or even electricity. need a computer or a cell phone, or even electricity.The games can be implemented in classes small or large.They can elicit speaking at all levels, from children to Ph.D. candidates. And the materials needed are minimal. In these pages of English Teaching Forum , we offer four board games that you can photocopy. Other samples are freely downloadable [from americanenglish.state.gov](from americanenglish.state.gov). In the next pages, we will cover the following: Part I: What Are Board Games, and Why Use Them? …in which we attempt to persuade teachers that games are learning tools, not just timeeating tasks for special occasions. Part II: How to Class-Manage Board-Gaming …in which we show you how to set upa gaming session and manage time and resources. Part III: How to Monitor (and Not Monitor) Gameplay …in which we talk about the teacher’s role during gameplay. Part IV: How to En

FAQs

Why are board games considered effective for language practice in classrooms?

Board games use inherent turn-taking that gives all players chances to speak, increasing both speaking time and opportunities to express thoughts. They also support engaging, student-centered participation rather than passive drill-only activities.

What does the article say about implementing board games with minimal resources?

Board games can be used without computers, cell phones, or even electricity, and the materials needed are minimal. Many games can be photocopied or downloaded for free.

How should teachers manage gameplay and their role during a lesson?

The article proposes clear guidance on setting up a gaming session and managing time and resources (Part II). It also discusses monitoring and not over-monitoring gameplay by adjusting the teacher’s role during gameplay (Part III).

Oct 15, 2026

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