Game To Learn English
Rewordable is a card game that helps you learn to recognize and spell English words. There are 120 cards in the deck that each contain a letter or letter combination. There are 120 cards in the deck that each contain a letter or letter combination.
Board games aren’t just for fun.
When you think of studying English, what do you imagine?
You probably see yourself sitting at a desk with your nose in a book.
But studying English doesn’t always have to be that way. Studying can be a social and fun activity.
Gather your friends, grab some board games and you will be learning in no time.
Some board games are created to be educational and teach the players.
Others are made to just be fun, but can also be used as a way to learn.
Learning by playing with others is a really great way to remember what you learn.
You have fun while you learn, and can use the new things you find out right away by practicing new words with your friends.
But which board game should you start with? There are a lot of board games that can be used to learn English. Keep in mind that they will all teach you very different skills—some are great for learning new vocabulary, while others are a good way to practice using the vocabulary you already know.
Choose the games that sound the most fun and which are best suited for your level of English.
Below is a list of 7 great board games to get you started. We have also included some similar games for your smartphone and computer.
1. Scrabble
No English learning game list can be complete without the classic Scrabble game!
To play Scrabble, you have to arrange letters into words on a playing board. Letters earn you points, and special tiles on the board give you extra points. The goal of the game is to beat your opponent(s) by writing the best words and putting them in the best place on the board.
You may be thinking that you probably need to know a lot of words before you can play the game, but here’s the best part: Scrabble games are often played with dictionaries close by.
You will start to get a great sense of how English words look and feel once you have played a few times, and you start to see the letters in a different way. You might see the letters L, E, E and R, and wonder if Leer is a word. Look it up in the dictionary and you will learn that it is a word, and that it means “to stare at someone in an unpleasant way.”
Scrabble is also great because you do not need to get a big group of people together to enjoy it: It is a perfect 2-player game.
Also try:Words With Friends. This is basically Scrabble online. You can play against any of your friends anytime, no matter where they are.
2. Taboo
Every card in Taboo shows one main word. Below the main word you will find a list of words that are similar to the main word, either synonyms (words which have the same meaning) or words which are closely associated with the main word. Your task is to describe the main word to someone without using any of the words underneath it.
For example, if your card’s main word is “elbow,” the words under it would be “joint,” “arm,” “bend,” “knee” and “macaroni.” In this case you cannot say “it’s like a knee on your arm,” or “it’s a kind of macaroni that bends.”
How would you describe an elbow without using any of those words?
As you can see, this game is much harder than it sounds at first. It makes you think in creative ways. Thanks to Taboo, you will discover that you know a lot more words than you think you do.
Also, if you play with a dictionary you will have a chance to learn not just one new word, but any word that is listed under it as well. Taboo can be played with any number of people, using teams or just going one-by-one. However you want to play, it is still fun and you will still learn something!
Also try: Just Say It!This is an iOS version (for iPhones) which has cards created by the online community, including some popular references (like “Gangnam Style”). You still need a group of people to play it, so save these games for the next time you have a party.
3. Apples to Apples
To play Apples to Apples, every player except one “judge” puts a card down face-down that is best described by a special card on the table. The judge turns the cards over and chooses the best card. Whoever placed that card down wins a point, and someone else gets to be the judge in the next turn.
It is a very fun game that is also very funny, since the card combinations can sometimes be ridiculous. A card like “Loveable” might end up with results like “Butterflies” or “My Bathroom.”
It is also a great game for learning English.
The words on the cards are all either nouns or adjectives. Best of all, you don’t even need to play this game with a dictionary—the definitions are listed right on the cards. Adjective cards like “frightening” have synonyms like “scary.” Nouns like “Octogenarian” have definitions that are sometimes funny, like “A person who is between 80 and 90 years old. They do not have eight legs.”
You do need a big group of people to play this game—4 people is fine but more than 5 is recommended. Also keep in mind that some nouns have famous peoples names or some popular culture items, so they might not be familiar to you.
Also try:Wordner. This is the closest online alternative to Apples to Apples. Wordner is a word association game that has you write creative sentences and play with other people online.
4. Once Upon a Time
Once upon a time…there lived a monster, or a king, or maybe a princess? You decide.
Once Upon a Time is a card game that lets you and your friends tell a story. Everyone gets some cards that have story elements and one card that has an ending.
One narrator (the person telling the story) gets to start telling the story, trying to use the cards in their hand and lead the story to the ending they have. Other players can interrupt by placing down their own cards and continue the story with different ideas instead.
It is a really fun game where no one really “wins”—the point is to tell an interesting story and entertain yourself and your friends. You can use the game as it is or make your own cards with words that you want to learn. Have fun trying to include as many vocabulary words in your story as you can.
Atlas Games, the makers of Once Upon a Time, has actually put the full instructions and list of cards for the game on their website! That way you can practice alone or create your own game to play with friends.
Game To Learn English Alphabet
Also try:Writing Challenge app for Android or iOS. This app is a great place to start if you like the idea of practicing storytelling and creative writing.
5. Scattegories
This is a game that makes you “think outside the box”—or in other words, think creatively.
You are given categories—like “color” or “things that are cold”—and you have to think of words that fit those categories. Before each round, you roll a die to choose a letter. Then the timer starts and everyone races to be more creative than the others by thinking of words that begin with that letter and fit the categories.
You score more points for writing things that no one else wrote. So if your letter is “I” and your category is “things that are cold,” instead of writing “ice cream” you might write “igloo.”
This is a fantastic game for anyone who’s just starting out with English and wants to practice vocabulary words. It pushes you to think of more uncommon words and their definitions. It is even better if you play with a native so you can learn new words from them.
Scattegories is actually pretty easy to play without needing to buy anything. Choose your own categories, set a timer on your phone and—there you have it! You are ready to play. You can even challenge yourself by playing it alone.
6. Dabble
Here’s another great vocabulary game!
Can you arrange all your letters into words? Make words that are 2-6 letters long with the tiles that you are given. Dabble is similar to Scrabble but gives you freedom to create whatever words you want, without needing to connect them to anything on a board.
Dabble will make you think hard about how to use your letters to make the most words. It uses anagrams, which are words that have rearranged (mixed up) letters.
To learn the most from Dabble, try playing with an anagram solver like this one: just put in the letters that you have left and you will see what words you can create with them. Look up any words you don’t know, and you will be learning new vocabulary.
Also try: There are many anagram games for mobile. If you liked Dabble, try Anagram Twist for Android or iOS. This game uses categories to make things a little easier for you.
7. Funglish
A bunch of vocabulary words right at your fingertips! In Funglish you have to get others to guess words by using tiles with descriptive words on them.
Each card you get has six words on it. You have three minutes to get everyone else to guess as many of these words as they can. You describe what the words definitely are, might be and are definitely not.
For example, if you wanted to describe the word “cat,” you might say it isdefinitely “furry,” it might be “fat” and it is definitely not “scaly.”
Before you even start playing, it is a good idea to look through all the words and look up the ones you don’t know. One way to learn well from this game is to eliminate the time limit and look up words in the dictionary as you play. Repeated usage of vocabulary words helps you remember them, so playing Funglish will teach you more than a few new words.
Also try: Word search apps like Word Search can introduce you to new words while playing. The key is to look up any new words you don’t know!
Thanks to these great board games you will not even realize that you are learning English.
You will just be playing around with your friends—or your smartphone.
And why not?
Learning should be fun!
And One More Thing…
If you like learning English through games, you’ll love FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials, as you can see here:
If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.
The FluentU app makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples.
FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.
For example, when you tap on the word “brought,” you see this:
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.
FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.
The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It recommends you examples and videos based on the words you’ve already learned. You have a truly personalized experience.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes store or Google Play store.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn English with real-world videos.
Want to know a secret?
Games aren’t just for kids.
Want to know another secret?
Games are actually an effective learning tool that adult English learners can play to improve their fluency.
And there are so many out there!
From board games to computer games, there’s something for every kid-at-heart.
So, are you ready to learn English with games and get fluent the fun way?
Let’s go!
Can You Really Learn English from Games?
Having fun while learning English is a tried and true method that works. Here’s why:
- Like we said above, games aren’t just for kids. Research shows that adults are actually more likely to remember information that they learned through an entertaining process.
- Games teach you a range of language skills. As you’ll see below, you can use games to practice writing, speaking and listening to English.
- Games let you learn outside of a traditional classroom setting. Learning isn’t restricted to the classroom. If you can’t sign up for a formal English class, try using games to improve your fluency at home.
Even if you’re already taking an English class, games are a fun, effective supplement to your lessons.
- Team games encourage conversations and boost confidence. If you can, try playing team games (we’ll give you several ideas below). This will give you the chance to practice your English conversation skills in a fun and low-stress environment.
- You can play English games anywhere. Language-learning games can be played online, at home, at coffee shops or at a party. The opportunities for English learning are endless.
Now you know that games can help improve your English fluency. But where should you start? We’ve gathered a list of our 10 favorite English-leaning games.
So, are you ready to play?
Computer Games to Learn English
Computer games are a great way to practice listening to and writing English. The best part is that these games can be played from the comfort of your home.
There are countless online English learning games. You can find a game for any skill level online.
ABC Countdown
ABC Countdown is the perfect place to start. The premise of this game is simple: click on each letter of the English alphabet, in order, before the timer runs out.
But as the fast-paced music plays in the background and the seconds go by, you might realize this is more challenging than it initially sounded.
This game will help you remember the English alphabet. After a few rounds of this game, you’ll start to learn the English alphabet’s order from A to Z. Soon, you’ll master this game and feel ready to move on to something more challenging.
FluentU
FluentU puts a totally unique twist on English learning games. That’s because FluentU creates language learning games from authentic, entertaining English videos, like movie trailers, music videos, inspiring speeches and more.
After you watch any video on FluentU, you’ll get to play word games like hangman, fill-in-the-blank, etc. to teach you the vocabulary from the video. You’ll also get flashcards with memorable pictures to make sure you understand the vocabulary.
You’ll get points for each question you answer correctly and you’ll earn coins for every day in a row that you practice on FluentU.
Better yet, FluentU even makes sure to teach you while you watch the video. There are interactive subtitles—click any word you don’t recognize, and FluentU will automatically pause the video to show you an in-context definition.
The videos are organized by genre and learning level, so you can easily find the ones that work for you. To personalize the experience, FluentU will also suggest new videos based on what you’ve already watched. It’s a great way to practice English while hearing how native speakers really use the language—without even feeling like you’re studying!
Word Whomp
Word Whomp lets you practice your English writing and spelling skills. In this game, you’re given six letters and you need to determine how many words can be spelled with those letters.
You have two and a half minutes to come up with every word. But, if you guess too many incorrect words, the game will end.
This game might be challenging for new language learners. But, with some practice, this can be a fun way to improve your English vocabulary. You’ll practice quickly thinking of English vocabulary words—a skill that’ll be very useful in real-life English conversations.
Greek to Me
Greek to Me offers you the chance to learn more about English roots (the words or word elements, usually from Greek or Latin, that English words were created from). You’ll compete in Olympics-type games while answering multiple choice questions.
For each question, you’ll be shown a root word as well as an English word with that root. You’ll need to guess the meaning of the English word.
After playing this game, you’ll start to recognize common root words. This is very helpful because you won’t just learn the words from the game, but will also start to understand other words with the same root—even if you haven’t specifically studied them.
Board Games
Board games give you the chance to play with other English learners. This can make learning more motivating and also lets you practice your English conversation skills.
Boggle
Boggle is a fun game to play alone or with a group of friends. The goal is to create words by connecting letters on the Boggle board.
First, shake the board and display the mixed up letters. Set the timer and then start writing down all of the English words you can create from the letters on the board.
In the traditional game, words can only be formed by connecting letters that are next to one another. But, to practice even further, you could bend the rules and use any letters on the board to make your English words.
This game is a unique way to practice recognizing and writing English words.
Bananagrams
Similar to a crossword puzzle, Bananagrams is another game that lets you practice spelling English words.
This game is played with multiple people. Each player takes a certain number of letter tiles. Start using these letters to build connecting words. Once you use all of your letters, shout “peel!” Every player must now take another tile from the pile.
This game lets you practice reading, spelling and writing English words. It’s easy to play at cafes or restaurants.
To learn a specific type of vocabulary, you could set parameters (limits, restrictions) on your game. For example, consider setting a theme, such as food or animals, and only building words that fit in that theme.
Rewordable
Rewordable is a card game that helps you learn to recognize and spell English words. There are 120 cards in the deck that each contain a letter or letter combination. You use the cards in your hand to spell words.
During the game, you can steal or build off of other players’ words.
This game might seem challenging, but after playing a few rounds you’ll start to understand how to play. This can be a fast-paced way to improve your fluency and expand your English vocabulary.
In-Person Games
In-person games are another opportunity to play with other people, which gives you the chance to improve your English conversation skills.
20 Questions
This is a classic game for any skill level.
To play this game, one player thinks of a word. Then, the other players take turns asking “yes” or “no” questions to determine what word they’re thinking about.
To make this simpler, you can limit the words to specific categories, such as colors or countries.
This is a fun party game that helps you practice English vocabulary as well as forming questions in English.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl is another perfect party game. This game lets you practice your writing, reading and spoken English skills. You need a large group to play this game.
To start, everyone writes down three simple English words. Next, throw each word in a bowl.
The game consists of three rounds. During the first round, players take turns pulling a word out of the bowl and describing the word to their teammates, who must guess the word. After one minute, the round ends. Count how many words your team guessed correctly.
For the next round, use charades (silent gestures) to get your teammates to guess the words.
For the final round, you can use just one word to help your teammates guess the word.
This is an entertaining game that almost makes you forget you’re also practicing a new language.
Telephone
To play telephone, gather a group of eager language learners. Everyone sits quietly in a line. The first person thinks of an English phrase and whispers it to the person sitting next to them.
Then, that person whispers the phrase to the next person. This continues until the phrase reaches the last person.
The last person repeats the phrase and everyone determines how much it changed from the front of the line.
This game lets you practice listening and speaking in English. It’s another fun game to play at a language learning party.
So, are you ready to play your way to fluency? Turn on your computer or host a language-learning party. There are so many different games you can use to improve your fluency. Have fun!
Stephanie Brown is a New York City-based freelance writer. You can find her at The Adventuring Millennial.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn English with real-world videos.