Syllable and word stress ESL card game

It’s not easy to find fun ESL games for teenagers and adults to teach syllable and word stress. But today we got your back with an interesting ESL card game that brings enthusiasm to teens and adults for learning Syllables and word stress.

Preparation: Create cards by writing words with two, three, four, and more syllables. Check out Syllablecount.com to make sure you’re counting them correctly. Create another set for word stress depends on what you teach. Choose proper words with the stress rule you’re teaching. For example, the cards can include the words that change meaning with stress (such as contrasting noun-verb words like PREsent and preSENT)

How to PLAY?

First, assign a movement for each word with a specific number of syllables. For example, after playing the two-syllable card, everyone to tap the table or the three-syllable card must be followed with a clap, and if the word has four or more then everybody places the fingertips on the card and says the number of syllables (feel free to choose other reactions as well).
Now shuffle the cards and toss them to students. Going clockwise, a student plays the first card and everyone reacts accordingly. Whoever does a wrong reaction or is the last one to do, take all the cards in the middle and adds to his or her hand. The game continues until someone is out of card and that’s the winner

For word stress, the concept is the same except they have to react differently if stress is on the first, second, third, or last syllable.

Class size

This is definitely fun when there are more ESL students. However, in large classes (over 12 students) you can print more cards and divide the class into groups. Also, don’t hesitate to play the ESL game in small classes too. It suits a class as small as one-on-one.

Students’ age

The game is good for older kids (above 8 years old), teenagers, and adults as they have faster reaction time as well as a better understanding of syllables and word stress

Thanks for visiting us. If you’re interested to know other games and activities, check out our ESL Game page and let us know about your favorite one.