Word Formation Games

Word formation is probably the easiest part of Cambridge exams to gamify (from the root word GAME of course). Use any of these word formation games as a quick intro or filler for your classes. Most of them require little to no preparation so you can keep them in your bag of TEFL tricks for a rainy day. You can also use our word formation conversation questions to liven up a dull part of the exam.

Word Formation Flash Cards

Whenever I do a word formation activity in class or review a practice exam, I add cards to my Quizlet sets. These flash cards can be shared with your students or used in class for revision.

Here are the links to my Quizlet sets. Feel free to use them or copy them.

First (FCE) Word Formation Flash Cards – Quizlet

Advanced (CAE) Word Formation Flash Cards – Quizlet

Quizlet lets you print out the cards too and then you can use them for a variety of different word formation games. Here are a few that I recommend.

Taboo

Split your class into teams of 2-3 and have them sit in a circle. Students have 30 seconds to describe as many words with their affixes (e.g. happiness) as possible to their partner(s) . They are not allowed to use any of the forms of the word in their description. If they use any, the other teams can buzz them and their turn ends.

Climb the ladder

Students line up 5-10 cards in a vertical line on their desk. They have to name all the possible forms for the root word. If they are correct, they climb the ladder to the next card. If they are wrong they fall all the way down the ladder and have to start over from the first card. This forces students to see multiple forms over and over again which helps retention.

Pelmanism

Students lay out 12-20 cards in a square on their desks with the root word facing up. They turn over one card to see its affixes. They then have to choose another card which shares one of the same affixes.

If they are correct, they keep the cards as points. If they are wrong, they turn them back over in the same place and play passes to the next student. This can be good to use with words that your students might not know yet as it teaches them the affixes also.

Do you have any other games you like to play with flash cards to practise word formation? Let us know in the comments!

Word Formation Board Games

Word formation board games can be found all over the internet, including on this website. Here are the links to my word formation board games which include a make-your-own version.

First (FCE) Word Formation Board Game

Advanced (CAE) Word Formation Board Game

Word Formation Dice Race

This is a good one for those of you who like zero planning minimal materials activities. Put a 2×3 grid on the board with the numbers 1-6 in each box. Then add a root word to each box and at least 6 more outside the grid.

Students or pairs take turns to roll a dice and they have 30 seconds to think of as many words with that root as possible. They get one point for each correct word. Then the team with the most points in that round gets to replace the used root word with another one from outside the grid. Rinse and repeat.

It’s amazing how much students love rolling dice!

Word Formation Tennis

If anything is more fun than dice, it’s throwing a ball around the classroom.

For this word formation game, get your students into two teams and have them stand on opposite sides of the classroom. You give them either a root word or a suffix and they have to name a word and pass the ball to the other team.

No repeats, no invented words and a 3 second time limit to keep the game moving fast. Scoring goes like tennis, so 15-30-40-(Advantage)-Game.

Word Formation Board Race

A TEFL classic, the board race can be well adapted into a word formation game.

Split your class into two or three teams and get them to line up in single file in front of the board. Draw a line down the middle of the board and give each team a marker. For each round, put either a root word or affix at the top of the board and the students take turns to write as many words as possible in the form of a relay race. Give a time limit of 1 minute to increase the pressure.

Teams get a point for each word. Any misspelled or illegible words don’t count.

Word Formation Stop the Bus

Another adaptable TEFL classic. Stop the Bus require a pen and paper. Students work either individually or in pairs.

Normally Stop the Bus is played with categories, but for this version instead of writing categories in the columns at the top, write a suffix (prefixes won’t work here). Students then work as fast as they can to think of a word with that suffix that starts with the letter you provide. The first team to complete all the columns shouts STOP THE BUS and everyone stops.

Score 10 points for an original word and 5 points if its repeated by another team. No points for incorrect spelling!