Memory!

"Memory" (also called "Concentration") is a vocabulary review game that will work for any introductory-level language class - even for those tricky Category IV languages. Some of you might have played this game as children, but for those of you who've never heard of Memory before, the game essentially works like this...

1. Create a deck of cards from a lesson's vocabulary list in which each word is represented by two cards - one card with the written word on it, the other with a picture of the noun it represents. For example, if the students are learning the Spanish word for cat, one card will say "el gato" and another will have a picture of a cat on it. Each card should have the word or picture only visible on one side, the other side should be blank with nothing to distinguish it from any other card.

2. In class, shuffle the cards well and place them face-down on the table so that none of the words or pictures are visible without flipping the card. You might make six rows of six cards each, for example.

3. Students then take turns flipping over two cards from the grid and saying the word each card represents. For example, if the first student turns over one card with a picture of a house on it and another card with the word LA MANZANA on it, the student will say "la casa" and "la manzana."

4. If a student flips two cards that represent different concepts, like the house and apple cards in the example above, they simply turn the cards back over so the words/pictures are hidden again and the next student flips two cards.

5. If a student turns over two cards that both represent the same word - the picture of a cat and the written text "el gato," for example, she'll get to keep those two cards. For a language class, it is also a good idea to have the student from a sentence with the word on the cards - "Me gustan los gatos," for example.

6. The student with the most cards at the end of the game (when all the matches have been discovered and collected) wins the game.

For a simple demonstration of how a basic Memory game works, you can play a memory game involving matching similar shapes. For languages though, the goal will be for the students to be able to match the word with its written character, so one card with have the character and the other will have a picture of what that character represents.

Enjoy the weekend!

UPDATE: Beginning Mandarin students can play Memory by matching the pinyin with the corresponding character.