In this article, I give you some tips for using board games effectively in French lessons!
We often hear that games, especially board games, are super useful for learning a language. And it's true!
But then, in reality, we sometimes find ourselves faced with several problems: which games should I choose? Which games will be suitable for my level/the level of my students? What if my adult students find it infantilizing? How can I play in individual lessons?
Why play board games in French class?
Many studies show that doing fun activities helps learning a lot. Board games are a great way for several reasons:
- It's fun, and there are so many games that you're sure to find something you like!
- It's cultural! In France, people play a lot of board games. According to a survey of 2021, 85% of French people regularly play board games. The brilliant FLE Fairies have also created a Very nice quiz on “the French and the game”. Personally, I have always played a lot with my family, on weekends for example, and I know a lot of people for whom this is also the case. Playing board games therefore allows you to practice French but also to do an activity that is culturally important for the French.
Sometimes we think, “My students are adults, they may not want to play or do “childish” things.” That’s a mistake!
Of course, everyone is different and there are adults who don't like games. But overall, adults respond really well to games, especially for learning! In fact, we sometimes forget that adults are serious all the time, have lots of problems, are stressed, etc. – and so, having the opportunity to unwind, relax, and reconnect with their inner child, well, that often makes them really happy!
I have been teaching for four and a half years, and so far I have never had a student who did not want to play a game or who did not enjoy it. A few years ago, I was doing an internship in a social center, with alpha adults. The team memory game we did remained THE highlight for them, they talked about it for weeks!
Which games to choose?
Now, you're going to tell me "ok making games is cool, but you have to find games adapted to the level and type of course!". In reality, it will depend on several factors, but here are some ideas:
- For beginners, you need simple games. I use a lot of basic board games, like “games of the goose” that I personalize with questions seen in class, like “what is your favorite color”, “what time do you get up in the morning” etc. It works really well, it allows them to review vocabulary and structures but without going through sentences and gaps and other exercises that scare them a little. For a few years now, I have been working exclusively online, so I share the screen to play the game. There are great models on Genially that can be reused and personalized. Card games (in person for example) are also great! We can work with the 7 families games, work on numbers, etc.
- For intermediate and advanced levels, I love games that allow you to discuss! We have Dixit, Codenames (there are 2-player versions for individual lessons), and other games of this type that stimulate creativity and allow you to discuss! We can also quite easily transform them into online games since there is little material. Digital games like escape games are also great for these levels, and directly ready for online lessons, so that's great. I admit that, as much as I know how to create "paper" board games, I suck at creating online games. But there are plenty of great teachers who do it. There are some on the FLE fairies, there are also plenty on Genially, The secret codes of FLE, and many others!
Obviously, if there are several students, it's easier to play games. But you can also play in individual lessons, or even alone at home with escape games and online games for one person! In my individual lessons, we play a lot of games even if there are two of us (the student and me): we play board games like snakes and ladders, escape games, game books too, and 'conversation' games like dixit, qui est-ce, guess a character chosen by the other, etc!
Finally, a creative activity that can be super cool for learners is to create their own board game in French! It allows you to be creative, to think in French, to write the rules of the game, and then to have a real object that you can be proud of and use at home!! Obviously, this activity takes time, but for creative and playful people, it's a great activity.
If you want even more tips to practice French in a creative and fun way, join my newsletter "L'épopée du Français"! Every Thursday, I talk to you about linguistics, nerd culture, I give you advice to make your learning of French original and fun!
Great article! For beginners but not only, Dobble is a must for me. Students learn vocabulary very very quickly because they absolutely want to win. They ask me for it very often in fact!
Oh yes, I had forgotten about Dobble, it's true that it's great for vocabulary!! Thanks for pointing it out 🙂