Teachers Use Games for More Enjoyable Learning
Wordle has become one of the most popular online games in the United States since it came out last October.
Players get six chances to guess and learn a five-letter word for the day. Many are sharing their game results on social media, adding more interest in the game.
Gamifying the classroom
Creative teachers have long found games could make their classes more enjoyable for students. During the pandemic, many have looked for new ways or games to help their students learn. It is part of a learning theory called 'gamification' to keep students' interest.
Beyond Wordle, here are other games that help learners with different subjects.
Mathematics
British data scientist Richard Mann of London was talking with his daughter about the popularity of Wordle. He thought there should be a game for people who like mathematics and developed Nerdle. It is a daily game in which a player has six tries to guess a math solution.
Does it sound familiar? Math teachers note that a Nerdle player uses logic, a careful way of thinking about something, to solve a math problem. It is similar to how a Wordle player applies logic to guess a word.
Geography
Do not confuse Wordle with Worldle. There is an extra letter 'l' in Worldle. French video game developer Antoine Teuf said he invented Worldle in honor of that word game, Wordle.
Players guess a country based on its shape. They get six tries to guess a country based on information about the country. Teuf first shared the game on January 22. He said there are two million visits a day to the game's page a month later.
Other games, online services
Teachers of English see word games as a way for students to learn new words. Other word games include Blooket and Flippity.
Teachers create quizzes in Blooket similar to the kinds of games students play on mobile devices. They can look at results and see areas that students can improve.
In Flippity, teachers can create flash cards, rewards, spelling quizzes, memory games and word searches from a simple Google spreadsheet. It is also a good tool for students to create their own projects.
There are several online services that teachers could use to 'gamify' learning. They include Kahoot!, Quizlet, Quizziz and Nearpod. All of them 'gamify' learning by creating competition among learners while reviewing the content presented by teachers.
Teaching without a computer?
In many places, teachers and students do not have a computer. So, English language teacher Larry Ferlazzo asked them to share their language-learning games. Ferlazzo wrote about them in his blog. Here are two of the games that teachers suggested:
Danielle Horne teaches at Helena College in Glen Forrest, Western Australia. She said one of the games that her students love playing is 'hot or cold.'
In 'hot or cold,' students hide something in the classroom while a student, or searcher, is waiting outside. The students then say a word, phrase, or sentence. They get louder when the searcher gets nearer to the object and softer when the searcher is more distant. Horne said to be prepared for quite a bit of noise though!
Eva Pors is a Danish high school teacher. Her students play 'questions and answers' to learn new words or vocabulary.
Pors write words or phrases on small pieces of paper and divides students into groups of four. Within a group, student A picks a piece of paper with a word or phrase on it and asks questions that will make student B say the exact word or phrase on the paper.
For example, with the word 'milk,' Student A would ask, 'What do you put on your cereal in the morning?' Student B has one minute to try to answer as many words or phrases as possible. The other two students in the group will then take over for one minute. And the team with the most correct guesses wins the game.
I'm Jill Robbins.
Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for Learning English.
_________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
guess – v. to give an answer or opinion about something without having all the facts
gamification– n. the practice of making activities more like games in order to make them more interesting or enjoyable:
confuse – v.to mix up someone's mind or ideas, or to make something difficult to understand
reward – n. something given in exchange for good behavior or good work
quiz – n. a game or competition in which you answer questions
spreadsheet – n. a computer program that helps make calculations and store information
cereal – n. a food that is made from grain and eaten with milk, especially in the morning
What do you think of Wordle and other games like it? Do you play them? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Voice of America
20-03-2025
- Voice of America
Grammar Games at Home: Jeopardy
Hi, everyone! You might be reading or listening to this Everyday Grammar program from your living room or bedroom. In fact, you might be even wearing pajamas, no matter the time of day. If you are like us here in Washington, D.C. and many other places, health officials have asked you to stay at home for now. And with so many people at home for long periods, people are looking for activities to keep their minds occupied. Too much time on social media can be a problem. Even binge-watching movies and television shows loses its appeal after a while. With this in mind, we will be offering ideas for games that you can play with your family or housemates in the coming weeks to practice your English. What is Jeopardy? On today's program we will talk about Jeopardy, a favorite game of English learning classrooms. The idea comes from the American television game show in which players give their answers in the form of a question. You may have even seen the show in your country. In Jeopardy, players choose from categories and try to win money, like this: (Player) I'll take Countries for $100. (Host) This Asian country is famous for its high-quality motorcycles (Player) What is Japan? (Host) That is correct! Notice that the answer came in the form of a question: 'What is Japan?' You will also note the host read a fact in statement form. We will call those facts clues. Playing Jeopardy at home is a good way to get experience forming questions in English. It also can improve your speaking and listening skills, and help expand your vocabulary. Now, let's talk about how to play the game. You will need three or more English learners – one person to serve as host and the others to play.* There are two ways to play the game: the traditional way (with answers in question form) and the easier way, which you can find on our website at How to play - traditional Here is how to play the traditional way. The first step is to decide who the host will be. His or her job is to gather clues for the game. The host also reads clues to the players, and keeps a record of points won. To play the game, you will need five separate categories. For example, you might choose: Countries, Animals, Foods, Sports and Actors. For each category, choose six clues, from easy ($100) to difficult ($600). The host will need to keep the clues on a computer screen or write or print them on a small piece of paper. To set up the game, you will need a board or large piece of paper. (If using paper, put it on a wall for all the players to see.) On the large paper or board, make a grid like the simple design shown on our website. Write the categories on the left of the grid and the money amounts across the top. For the full directions on how to play the game, to see how to make the grid, and for links to clues that are already prepared, go to our website. And join us again soon for more grammar games you can play at home. I'm Alice Bryant. Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. For Jeopardy game directions , click here. *If you are the only English speaker in your home, you can play the game in your native language. _____________________________________________________________ Jeopardy Clues Click the links below for Jeopardy clues that have already been prepared. The host can print them or write them on pieces of paper. Jeopardy Cards, Set 1 Jeopardy Cards, Set 2 Jeopardy Cards, Set 3 Jeopardy Cards, Set 4 Jeopardy Cards, Set 5 Jeopardy Cards, Idioms These card sets are borrowed from _____________________________________________________________ _ Words in This Story pajamas – n. clothing that people wear in bed or while relaxing at home binge-watching – n. watch multiple episodes of (a television program) in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming housemate – n. a person who lives in the same house with another person but is not a part of that person's family practice – v. to do something again and again in order to get better at it category – n. a group of things that are similar in some way host – n. a person who talks to players on a game show clue – n. something that helps a person find an answer to something vocabulary – n. all of the words known and used by a person board – n. a large, flat surface attached to a wall or supported on an easel and used for writing on with chalk or markers, especially by teachers in classrooms
Voice of America
13-03-2025
- Voice of America
Meta tests 'Community Notes' to replace fact-checkers
Social media giant Meta on Thursday announced it would begin testing its new "Community Notes" feature across its platforms on March 18, as it shifts away from third-party fact-checking toward a crowd-sourced approach to content moderation. Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the new system in January as he appeared to align himself with the incoming Trump administration, including naming a Republican as the company's head of public policy. The change of system came after years of criticism from supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump, among others, that conservative voices were being censored or stifled under the guise of fighting misinformation, a claim professional fact-checkers vehemently reject. Meta has also scaled back its diversity initiatives and relaxed content moderation rules on Facebook and Instagram, particularly regarding certain forms of hostile speech. The initiative, similar to the system already implemented by X (formerly Twitter), will allow users of Facebook, Instagram and Threads to write and rate contextual notes on various content. Meta said approximately 200,000 potential contributors in the United States have already signed up across the three platforms. The new approach requires contributors to be over 18 with accounts more than six months old that are in good standing. During the testing period, notes will not immediately appear on content and the company will gradually admit people from the waitlist and thoroughly test the system before public implementation. Meta emphasized that the notes will only be published when contributors with differing viewpoints agree on their helpfulness. "This isn't majority rules," the company said. Moreover, unlike fact-checked posts that often had reduced distribution, flagged content with Community Notes will not face distribution penalties. Notes will be limited to 500 characters, must include supporting links and will initially support six languages commonly used in the United States: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Portuguese. "Our intention is ultimately to roll out this new approach to our users all over the world, but we won't be doing that immediately," the company said. "Until Community Notes are launched in other countries, the third party fact checking program will remain in place for them," it added. Meta said that it would not be "reinventing the wheel" and will use X's open-source algorithm as the basis of its system. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month warned that the rollbacks to fact-checking and moderation safeguards were "reopening the floodgates" of hate and violence online.
Voice of America
09-03-2025
- Voice of America
Wild ancient version of football is still being played today
This ancient form of football has a rule forbidding players from murdering each other. Every year, thousands of people descend on a small town in the English countryside to watch a two-day game of mass street football that, to the casual observer, could easily be mistaken for a riot. This is Royal Shrovetide — a centuries-old ball game played in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, that, frankly, looks nothing like the world's most popular sport. Or any other game for that matter. "It's like tug of war without the rope," says Natalie Wakefield, 43, who lives locally and has marshaled the event in the past. "It's mad in the best possible way." Hundreds of players Played between two teams of hundreds of players, the aim is to "goal" at either end of a 5-kilometer sector that could take the match through rivers, hedgerows, high streets and just about anything or anywhere except for churchyards, cemeteries and places of worship. The ball is thrown into a crowd that moves like a giant herd, as each team tries to carry it toward their desired goal. Rules are limited but "no murder" was an early stipulation for the game that dates back to at least the 1600s. Good players need to be "hard, aggressive and authoritative," says Mark Harrison, who "goaled" in 1986 and is one of multiple generations of scorers in his family. "You can't practice," the 62-year-old Harrison adds. He stopped competing seven years ago and now serves up burgers to throngs of spectators from a street food truck. "You've just got to get in there and be rough. I am a rugby player ... I'm also an ex-boxer so that helps." Royal approval Harrison had the honor of carrying the then-Prince Charles on his shoulder when in 2003 the now-King of England opened that year's game. "He loved it!" Harrison says. Played over Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday each year, the event is a source of immense pride for the people of Ashbourne in Derbyshire's Peak District. Yet, such a unifying tradition is actually based upon splitting the town into two halves between the "Up'ards" and the "Down'ards," determined by whether players are born on the north or south of the River Henmore. Don't park there On any other days, Ashbourne, around a three-hour drive from London, is quiet and picturesque with a high street lined by antique shops, cafes and traditional pubs. Visitors include hikers, cyclists and campers. For two days that all changes. Large timber boardings are nailed up to protect shop fronts. Doorways are barricaded. "Play Zone" signs are strapped to lampposts, warning motorists not to park there for fear of damage to vehicles, which can be shoved out of the way by the force of the hoards of players trying to move the ball. In contrast, colorful bunting is strewn high above from building to building and revelers congregate, eating and drinking as if it is a street party. Parents with babies in strollers watch on from a safe distance. School holidays in the area have long since been moved to coincide with the festival. "There are people who come and they have a drink and they're just like, 'This is a bit of a crazy thing and it's a spectacle, and now I've seen it, box ticked off,'" says Wakefield, who also used to report on Royal Shrovetide for the local newspaper. "And there are people who are absolutely enthralled by it all, and they get the beauty and complexity of the game and those people follow it year on year." Where's the ball? Play begins with an opening ceremony in a car park, no less, in the center of town. The national anthem and Auld Lang Syne are sung. Competitors are reminded, "You play the game at your own risk." A leather ball, the size of a large pumpkin, filled with cork and ornately painted, is thrown into what is called a "hug" of players. And they're off. As a spectator sport, it can be confusing. There can be little to see for long periods during the eight hours of play each day from 2 p.m. local time. Players wear their own clothes — such as random football or rugby jerseys — rather than matching uniforms. On Tuesday, it took more than 45 minutes to move the ball out of the car park. Onlookers stand on bins, walls and park benches, craning their necks to look down alleyways to try to get a better view. "Can you see the ball?" someone will ask. The answer is often "No." One person thinks it might be in line with a tree over to the right of the car park, but can't be sure. Later that day there had been no sight of the ball for almost two hours until rumors started to circulate that the Down'ards scored what turned out to be the only goal over the two days of play for a 1-0 victory. Deception and cunning With so many players, the hug can be difficult to maneuver but gathers pace quickly, prompting crowds of spectators who'd previously been trying to get a closer look to suddenly run away from the action. The ball can be handled and kicked. Play can be frantic, with players racing after a loose ball wherever it may take them, diving into the river and up and out the other side. While strength is needed in the hug, speed is required from runners if the ball breaks free. Royal Shrovetide, however, can be as much about deception and cunning as speed and strength, it seems. "There's a bit of strategy involved in that somebody's pretending they've still got the ball in the middle of the hug," Wakefield says. "And they're quietly passing it back out to the edge to get it to a runner who has to sneak away in a kind of, I imagine, very nonchalant manner and then leg it down an alleyway." A famous goal in 2019 came as a result of the hug not realizing it didn't have the ball until it was too late. Hidden by two schoolboys standing meters away, the ball was passed to a player who ran, largely unimpeded, for 2 1/2 kilometers before scoring. A ball is goaled when it is hit three times against one of the millstones at either end of the town in Clifton or Sturston. The beautiful game Scorers have likened the achievement to winning Olympic gold. They are carried on shoulders, paraded through the town and celebrated like heroes. "If you can imagine playing for Manchester United in their heyday and they're at Wembley in a cup final. You score the winner. You're there," Harrison says. Scorers also get to keep the balls, which are repainted and become treasured family possessions. It is the game, however, that is treasured most of all. "I just live and breathe it," says Janet Richardson, 75, from Ashbourne, who has been going to Royal Shrovetide since she was a 1-year-old. "I can't sleep because I'm excited. It's so lovely to think that all these people still want to come here and watch this beautiful game that we've got in our town."
