Yesterday my students worked exceptionally well, so when they asked to play a game, I let them choose. To my surprise, they picked the 1–20 numbers bingo—designed for beginners aged 4 to 8. They’re 10 going on 11, comfortably at B1.
That said, games like that are good fun and helpful in beginner-level classes of 11 and 12 year olds: start easy, troubleshoot the difference between –teen and –ty ending, and review some basic vocabulary. Or, on a school trip, in any language.
But this class? I agreed, and we played three games before moving to more complex ones.
Three fast games, great speaking, winning strategies
- We played three times, fast. Just like you would at home or with friends, with no language barrier. Fluently.
- They spoke beautifully. Error-free number pronunciation (seventeen vs seventy). They named images easily, every word flowing naturally as they vied for the win. They fully understood every bit of the game and what was said.
- Finally, they put a lot of energy into winning and acknowledging fair play because this version of Bingo leaves room for strategy.
Freeing up mental space
This lovely hour towards the end of the day reminded me of three teaching essentials:
- If children suddenly want to play an easier game or do easier work, let them. The experience will surely teach you (and them) something.
- Cognitively-speaking, when something is easy, it leaves room for something else. More specifically, their recall was immediate, they spoke quickly, naturally and were easy to understand.
- Collaborative peer-led learning has many advantages, especially when everything works together: The teacher “disappears” or is integrated into the game, like any other player. Time management runs smoothly; in this case, they were happy to stop while the going was good and move on to a more challenging game.
Start off easy
Textbooks tend to start off easy as well, the first activities establishing context and a vocabulary bank, progressively moving to more complex tasks.
Games are more flexible and less linear. They also come with age recommendations.
Recently, I was also reminded by a stellar elementary school teacher that even the big kids, the ones who are outgrowing elementary school before the big leap into middle school, may not quite be averse to the “easy stuff”. On the one hand, they don’t want anything childlike, but in a safe space, they will spontaneously and joyfully practice other skills:
- confidence
- review & recall
- pronunciation
- team play
- enjoyment
- and more
Strategies for adjusting to the right group and age
I like making Bingo more interactive, especially as the players become more familiar and learn the numbers and vocabulary.
The first strategy is to skip call-out cards. In small groups, players can call out the numbers. The older they get, there is no need to remind them that they can call a number on their bingo board. This leads to everyone looking at each other’s card(s), or hiding them: who is going to benefit if I call out [X] number? How close are they to winning? The extra pictures add unknowns. They are also a fantastic way to make sure your opponents will not cover any squares this turn.
This is what happened yesterday. Their minds were so freed-up that they were able to think ahead and strategize. Language became a way to “slay” or “acknowledge” everyone’s wins (I have it!) and losses (I don’t have the bunny slippers!) in a low-stake, fun competition.
Download the game here
The 1 – 20 numbers bingo they played is a free download – find it, along with other themed versions, at the Languages and more store.
It also contains word lists in French, German, and Italian. Has two versions, one in Swiss cursive, the other in print.