This is a game based on the classic board game ‘Memory’.

Two students go out of the room (Student A and Student B). These students will compete for points when they return. The rest of the class gets together in pairs for a short prep time.

(If you have an uneven number of students, allow one group of three.)

Each pair chooses a word according to the learning objective.

Example: If your students are learning about food, then each pair will mutually agree on a meal or a food they both like. When the two competing students come back into the classroom the pair will both represent the food that they agreed upon.

Before the two competing students return, the pairs disperse and randomly place themselves back in their seats around the room.

The competing students return. They are basically playing a game of ‘Memory’, in which they try to identify matching pairs, but they are doing it with their fellow students instead of cards or objects.

Student A starts off and asks any student in the class “What do you like to eat?” and that student answers “I like to eat…”, and then Student A asks another student what they like to eat. Make sure that they speak in complete sentences.

If the second student likes the same thing, then Student A has found a match and gets one point. Any time a match is made, that student gets another guess. If Student A doesn’t make a match, Student B takes a turn and tries to find a matching pair based on the food they mutually chose together.

This is a fun game that allows students to practice vocabulary and simple phrases.

You can make the game more interactive by having the students include gestures and movements demonstrating their type of food. For example, they might gesture peeling a banana if the food they chose is ‘banana’.

The game can, of course, be played with different questions:

  • What is your favorite subject in school?
  • What do you like doing in your free time?
  • What is your favorite animal?
  • What time is it?