Card games to get kids to talk

Aleda Krause
email: aleda3137@gmail.com
Why use games?
Everyone likes to play games. They're fun, they're interactive, they're challenging. Kids play games
every day and enjoy them tremendously. But, why, how, and when should we play games in the
EFL classroom?
In the first place, games play a key role in the learning process of human beings. A lot of what we
have learned about the world, we have learned through games. Through their play experiences,
children improve their abilities to relate to and bond with others. They also refine their abilities to
reason and think strategically (Northern Illinois University, 2007).
In children's classes, games are also an important source of motivation. When children are having
fun, learning can happen almost without anyone noticing. "When we enjoy learning, we learn
better," said Rose and Nicholl (p. 63.) And the role of fun in motivation is twofold. First, if
something is fun, children are motivated to want to do it again. And second, fun can motivate
learners to engage in activities with which they have little or no previous experience (Bisson &
Lucker, 1996).
Furthermore, games are a source of new language, and they provide a context for use of language
already learned. They employ meaningful and useful language in real contexts (Ersoz, Aydan. Six
games for the EFL/ESL classroom. The Internet TESL Journal, VI, No. 6, June 2000.) Silvers tell us
that teachers sometimes overlook the fact that in a relaxed atmosphere, real learning takes place,
and students use the language they have been exposed to and have practiced earlier (Silvers, 1982).
However, in the monolingual EFL class, playing games can be problematic. A game is often a signal
to switch back into L1 mode for communicationor even to use no language at all. Games must be
well designed to encourage children to communicate in Englishnot just name vocabulary items or
turn over matching cards. And some popular games, such as Memory or Shin-kei-sui-jaku, require
no language at all! Games that require special boards, dice, or other equipment are also sometimes
difficult to implement. Large boards are difficult to carry around from classroom to classroom or
school to school; dice and other markers can be hard to find and are easily lost; storage space may
be limited.
And when should we use those games in our classes? Teachers often use games as short warm-up
activities or when there is some time left at the end of a lesson. Yet, as Lee observes, a game
"should not be regarded as a marginal activity, filling in odd moments when the teacher and class
have nothing better to do" (1979, pg. 3). Games deserve to be at the heart of every EFL class for
children. Rixon (1981) suggests that games should be used at all stages of the lesson, provided that
they are suitable and carefully chosen.
My solution? Card games. They are simple to make, easy to carry around, and take little room to
store. The same cards, once made, can be used in many lessons and at many levels of difficulty. All
it takes is a bit of ingenuity on the part of the teacher to think up ways to use them.
In this demonstration, everyone had a chance to play three card games I have developed for
maximum use of English: Crazy Matches, No way, and Challenge. All are patterned on games I
have played since childhood and may be already familiar to many children. However, rather than
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using a regular deck of cards, they use teacher-created cards. The games are easy to learn and can
be adapted for use at many different levels and in many different content areas.
Crazy Matches (Holiday Cards can be found here)
This game is played similar to Uno or Crazy Eights. Children play in groups of three to six.
Step 1. Shuffle the cards.
Step 2. Deal out six cards to each player. Each player now has a "hand" of six cards.
Step 3. Place the rest of the cards in a pile, face down in the center of the players.
Step 4. Turn over the top card.
Step 5. Players take turns placing a card from their hand on top of the face up card on the table. The
card played must match the top card on the tableeither in color or picture. As the card
is played, the target language* must be said.
Step 6. If a player cannot match the top card, she must draw a new card from the face down pile. If
that card matches, it may be played.
Step 7. After a player plays a card or draws a card, it is the next player's turn.
Step 8. When a player has only one card left in his hand, he MUST say, "One card left," or "Uno." If
he does not say that, he may not go out on his next turn. Instead, he must draw three
cards.
Step 9. COLORS must match to play special cards:
Reverse changes the direction of play: clockwise changes to counter-clockwise and vice
versa.
Skip means the next player must lose or "skip" a turn.
Draw 2 makes the next player take two cards from the face down pile. She may not play
a card that turn. IF the next player has a Draw 2 card, however, she may play it on top
of the first Draw 2 card, forcing the next player to draw 4.
Super Card! lets a player change the color to any color he wants.
Step 10. The first player to correctly say "One card left" or "Uno," then play his last card in his
next turn, is the winner.
*The target language should be what students are learning. For example, with the Holiday Cards,
players say the holiday and the month as they play the card: "New Year's Day is in January" or
"Tanabata is in July." More advanced students might say the date: "Children's Day is May fifth" or
"Doll Festival is March third."
No Way! (Object No Way Cards can be found here)
This game is played in small groups. Uneven numbers of players work best.
The cards should be 4 or more copies of cards in some kind of sequence, e.g. days of the week,
months of the year, 1-10 objects.
Step 1. Shuffle the cards.
Step 2. Deal out all the cards.
Step 3. The first player puts down one or more cards, face down, and says the first item in the
series, e.g. "January."
Step 4. Players take turns putting down cards face down and saying the next item in order. Players
may put down 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards.
Step 5. Players may lie and put down any cardsbut someone else can say "No way!" if they feel the
player who put down the cards was not telling the truth.
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Step 6. If someone says, "No way!" the player who put down the last cards must show what they
are.
Step 7. If the player lied, he must pick up the top 10 cards on the pile.
Step 8. If the player didn't lie, the player who said, "No way!" must pick up the top 10 cards.
Step 9. The first player to have no cards left is the winner.
Challenge (Animal Challenge cards can be found here) (World Cup Country Challenge cards
can be found here)
Play in pairs. Each student gets a sheet of cards and cuts them out. Have students write their initials
on each card so they can get them back after they play.
Step 1. Students shuffle their own deck of cards and place them in a pile, facedown, on the table.
Step 2. Player 1 turns over his top card, chooses a category to challenge
(taller/longer/shorter/faster/slower, etc.), and says, "I think the ___ is ____-er."
Step 3. Player 2 turns over her own top card and they compare the cards.
Step 4. The winner takes both cards and then it's Player 2's turn.
Step 5. The player with the most cards at the end is the winner.
The game can also be played in groups of three or more. Player 1 chooses a category and says, "I
think ___ is ___-est." All other players then turn over their top cards and compare. Players take
turns.
Making your own cards
Cards are available for playing each of the games. Just click on the links.
The cards are easiest to print and cut out if you use meishi paper stock. I use A-One Multi-Card,
micro-machine cut type (). I print them on both
sides, with a design on the backs so they can't be seen through. Then I laminate them using 50x95
mm. laminating film. This size fits the cards exactly and the cards have rounded corners.
References
Bisson, C., & Luckner, J. 1996. Fun in learning: The pedagogical role of fun in adventure
education. The Journal of Experiential Education, 19(2), 108-112.
Lee, W. R. 1979. Language teaching games and contests. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Northern Illinois University, Division of Student Affairs. 2007. How children learn through play.
Retrieved May 31, 2007, from www.niu.edu/ccc/curriculum/learn_play.shtml
Rixon, S. 1981. How to use games in language teaching. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Rose, C. & Nicholl, M. J. 1998. Accelerated learning for the 21st century. New York: Delacorte
Press.
Silvers, S. M. 1982. Games for the classroom and the English-speaking club. English Teaching
Forum, 20(2), 29-33.
Uberman, A. The use of games for vocabulary presentation and revision. Forum, 36(1), 1998 pg.
20.

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