Games in English
Games to learn English allow children to practice the language while having fun. However, the offer is very large and not all games offer the same quality, which is why many parents look for the best options so that the little ones in the house are bilingual from the first years of life.
English is the most widely used language in the world, so it is a fundamental tool for children’s future, especially if they later choose a profession that requires traveling to other countries. In this sense, online games for children have become an interesting alternative to traditional English learning at school.
Although the Hexagone language consultancy has mentioned Spain as the European country with the highest growth in the level of English in recent years, it seems that it has not been enough. Recent studies by Education First and Eurostat reveal that young Spanish people are in 25th place in a list of 33 countries analyzed, falling below Greece, Italy and Portugal.
Why is the English language not so popular in Spain?
We can mention several reasons why English is not widely spoken in Spain; We should begin by saying that it is a large country with a modest GDP per capita compared to Switzerland or Norway, but the first reason that is obvious is precisely the strength of Spanish as the fourth most important language on a global level.
While children from other countries have to watch content in a foreign language and this somehow forces them to practice English, in the case of young Spaniards the vast majority of the time they receive movies, video games and cartoons directly dubbed into Spanish., therefore, there is very little contact with English.
The reason for this is the large industry that exists around Spanish, which generates resources from the translation of books and the dubbing of audiovisual content. This creates a kind of very robust bubble that other languages cannot penetrate. In other words, Spain is a country where it seems sufficient to speak the mother tongue, so there are plenty of reasons to encourage children to learn English.
Alternatives to learn English from childhood
When looking for toys for children ages 3 and up, it may be a good idea to buy one that has interactive English exercises. In fact, children can have contact with English from the first months of life, toys with children’s songs are very useful for this, since they allow the sounds of the language to be familiar from an early age. Of course, if the parents speak English they already have a great advantage, but it is not entirely necessary. Let’s see some games that we can find on the internet.
1) Duolingo
This is one of the most popular interactive games for children, since it is used to learn many languages, but above all it is used to learn English. It is a free North American web platform that uses images, sounds and texts to learn without making a great effort. In addition, it is suitable for adults of all ages and offers an option to obtain an official English level certificate by simply taking a virtual test that lasts 1 hour, obtaining the result 2 days after taking it.
2) Vocabulary.co.il
If the idea is to learn English vocabulary of B1, B2, C1, C2 or any other level, this option may be interesting, since it covers both the initial and advanced levels. This is a good option for a child who already knows the language but needs to learn more words. It is based on a series of games where vocabulary will be learned by categories.
3) Grammar Ninja
This is one of the English games for 3-5 year olds that can actually be played by the whole family. It consists of throwing ninja stars at the words that appear on the screen to organize sentences. If the child throws a star at the wrong word, a fun explosion occurs.
4) Academy Island
It is one of the interactive games for elementary or any academic level. It is about an alien who comes to earth and must learn English to be able to communicate with human beings. There are several levels of difficulty, so learning is progressive. With this game, children can learn without realizing it.
5) AlphaBear English Word Games
If your child knows scrabble online, he will be able to use this game very skillfully. The objective is to create words in English while some bears try to prevent it. It is available for Android, so the child can play from the mobile phone and even using a tablet like the Huawei MediaPad T5, with very positive opinions.
6) ESL Fun Games Online
It is a website that brings together a large number of games for all tastes and ages, in this way, it is possible to learn grammar, spelling and vocabulary of the English language.
7) Hangman
It is the hangman game in English, so it is recommended for children who have a certain command of the language. In this case, it is played by categories to place the letters and build words and phrases.
8) Funbrain Words
This website is designed especially for children, but in a way that parents and teachers can actively participate in the learning, including vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.
9) Word dimensions
Using a three-dimensional cube, children get points depending on the speed of writing the words and also according to the number of letters each one has. Longer words have higher value.
10) Language Challenge
We cannot fail to mention this competition game. Lingu Challenge is for children and adults who have prior knowledge of the language. It is about challenging friends in English vocabulary, grammar and phonetics tests to learn together. In addition, the program saves and analyzes the data to take into account the errors made.
