Most people assume that language learning is serious business; they're not wrong about that. But then, raising children is serious business - arguably far more serious than learning French. And yet, people still have fun along the way.
Effective French study doesn't mean your nose stuck in a book or writing reams of conjugation. In fact, that's the exact opposite of effective study. To master a language, you need to use it. How better to use the French you've learned than by playing a few of these games?
French Language Games
You've been to your French lesson and spent some time afterwards doing homework. You listened to a French podcast while you were out and about and you plan on reading French newspapers before wrapping up your day. It appears you take a multi-faceted approach to studying French but you still have room for one more dimension: a few games to improve your French vocabulary.
Memory or Matching Game (for beginners)
You likely already know this fun pastime, which consists of a grid of facedown cards that players flip over and try to match. This game gives you a playful way to use leftover cardstock from when you made your flashcards. Note that you will only write on one side of the card; you won't be able to use your flashcards for this game.
To create matching pairs, write French words on half the deck and their English translation on the other half. Aim for 18 of each; 36 cards in total. Shuffle your deck and lay the cards, face down, in a 6 x 6 grid. And then, it's a matter of flipping pairs of cards in search of matches.
The trick is to remember where all the cards are as they are uncovered, so you can quickly find a vocabulary pair match. You could play on your own but for a more lively time, invite your French classmates over. Don’t forget to have a dictionary handy in case someone contests a translation pair.
Hangman (Intermediate level)
This beloved children's game plays equally well with French words. However, because you're still learning the French language, you might have to limit your categories. You should also specify the type of word you're playing with: a conjugated verb, for instance, or an adjective whose grammatical gender is feminine.
Once those parameters are set, draw your diagram and count out the spaces for letters. Be sure to insist on using the French alphabet to call out the letters!
As when playing in English, if the stick man is finished before your opponent guesses the word, he is hanged and the player who chose the word gets the point. If the other player guesses the word correctly before the hanging is done, they win.
Games for Advanced French Speakers: Pictionary and Charades
You could play this advanced French language learning game with two or four people. One side gives the other words or phrases in French. The second team must choose who will explain and who will guess. The first team gives the explainer their phrase and a timer is set.
The explainer must either draw it or explain it using the word or phrase in question. If their guess is right, the point goes to them. If not, the point goes to the team that thought up the phrase. The first team to reach ten points wins, with bonus points given for correct pronunciation.
French Learning Games to Practise Grammar
Anyone learning a second language knows that grammar - not vocabulary, is the biggest challenge. You'll find that grammatical gender, verb conjugation and sentence structure in the Language of Molière are challenging as soon as you start to learn French. These grammar games can help you improve your knowledge of the French language.
Hot Potato Verbs (for beginners)
To play this game, you will need a ball (for example, a basketball) and some friends. One player chooses a verb and starts the game by yelling a tense and throwing the ball to someone. That person has to initiate the conjugation in the declared tense, passing the ball to the next person, who continues. If there are still people in the game at the end of the tense, a new tense is chosen.
If someone drops the ball, they are out. If someone holds the ball for longer than three seconds, they are out. If someone messes up a conjugation, they are out. The last player standing wins and gets to choose the next verb.
This is a good game for teachers with small classes; it works great as an icebreaker exercise. It works a charm to loosen students up ahead of a challenging lesson. You and your mates can try it too, especially if you're all in the same French lessons Melbourne.
Sentence Puzzle
This game is great for learning sentence structure and how to make nouns, verbs and adjectives agree. However, it requires a bit of preparation. You will need several word categories and enough index cards to build a satisfying deck, depending on the complexity. For a beginner group, subjects, adjectives and verbs are the best word categories.
You can add conjunctions and adverbial phrases to more advanced decks so you can build longer sentences. Photocopying pages from French books and magazines and then cutting words out speeds game preparation up. But to reap this activity's maximum benefit, it's best to think up and write the words yourself (besides, creating it is free but for the materials!).
This game is a bit of a mix between seven-card-stud poker and Uno. Each player gets seven cards; the remaining deck lies facedown and the top card is overturned. The first player tries to make a sentence based on that exposed card. If that's not possible, they draw one card from the deck and try again or forfeit their turn if no sentence is possible.
The sentences you cobble together must be grammatically correct. The player with the most complete sentences wins and the cards still in hand cost 1/4 of a point each. This game comes courtesy of my mate, who played it in their French classes Sydney.
Spin-a-Tale
“Tales” is like round robin. Someone starts a tale with one French sentence and each person in the group adds a sentence. Every new sentence has to be grammatically correct and it must fit in the story - a hare can’t suddenly become an elephant, for example.
You and your group may play this game in writing, too. One group member writes the first sentence and passes the page to the person next to them. In fact, you should record your game sessions if you opt for the oral method, just to keep a record of the stories you create. If you need a break from watching French films to improve your language learning skills, this game is a fun way to apply all your new vocabulary.
French Language Games Online
You won't always be around other French learners so you need ways to play French learning games on your own. You might play around with your Quizlet and Anki flashcard sets; those platforms have built-in games. Or you could explore other sites that offer language games to play online.
The French Games page tops the list with its 13 games designed for French vocabulary practice. You may pick the word category you wish to challenge yourself in, categories like 'The human body' and 'Professions'. And then, choose the game you want to play or play them all, changing categories as you go.
The FrenchGrammarGames site is still under construction but already has a few games ready to challenge your skills. As its name implies, this site's focus is on French grammar mastery, unlike TV5 Monde, which offers vocabulary-building games. You'll find these activities under their Langue française tab, alongside learning and discovery offerings.
French Learning Games to Order
Many French learners prefer the charm of 'analogue' games; physical objects with cards and pieces and boards. If that's you, KLOO is the brand to look for. This company makes a line of games for language learning with editions in several languages, including French. Their catalogue offers card games to learn vocabulary and build French sentences as well as a board game for more dynamic gameplay.
French Language Games
More and more video games now come with several language options to choose from. For instance, you can play World of Warcraft or Paper Mario, the Origami King in multiple languages, including French. Why not see if your favourite games come with a French language option? If so, you only need to click the French option when gaming, whether dialogue-based roleplaying, quiz games or strategy games.
Or see if there is a way to log into a French massive multi-player online roleplay game (MMORPG). You might also look for other online games for true language immersion as you interact with French players. Playing your favourite games in French lets you apply all that you learn in your French courses to the environment you're most comfortable in. You may even find French gamers happy to engage in language exchange with you.
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
