Anyone who is learning Spanish can benefit from introducing play into their routine. Games are a great way to play in your new language whether you are studying alone, with a tutor, or in a group setting.
When you break up some of the monotony of regular study sessions to have fun, you’ll keep coming back for more practice.
Plus, games can be more helpful than you think. Consider the following ways that games might help you learn Spanish and build different language skills:
- Improve attention span, concentration, and memory
- Get ‘hidden’ practice of language patterns, vocabulary, and grammar without having to deliberately study dry material
- Built-in motivation with features like levels, goals, achievements, and rewards
- Learn how Spanish gets used in meaningful, everyday contexts
- Study in bite-sized segments and on-the-go
If you’ve ever used Duolingo, you realize how many of these principles are incorporated into their masterful, gamified language learning app.
In this article, we did a round up of three games to learn Spanish with which are completely free to play! Check them out below:
Type of practice: vocabulary
Level: beginner
Available: in-browser
This is a very simple but fun and colorful vocabulary game for beginners. You can use it to learn new vocabulary or revise the topics you already know.
When you begin playing, you get a card with a word in Spanish and you need to toss a dart at the balloon with the correct English translation. You can also choose the opposite options: the words on the cards will be in English and the balloons will carry Spanish translations.
The topics you can practice include animals, objects around the house, clothing, colors, days of the week, food, months of the year, numbers, people, sports, and travel. You can practice one topic at a time, choose them all, or just a few.
Each time you make a mistake, you get a strike. Three strikes and you have to start the game from the very beginning! And if you complete the round, you get a prize.
The game was created for children, but don’t let that deter you! The instructions are simple, the interface is colorful, the vocabulary is useful. This game may look a bit silly, but it is a fun, easy, and quick way to learn or brush up on some Spanish vocabulary.
The only disadvantage of the game is that it is so short. There are a limited number of topics, each featuring a couple dozen or so words. After a few rounds, the words will be repeated. Repetition is, of course, essential for learning, but you will learn all the words in the game pretty quickly, and it will be time to move on to another game – maybe another one from this article.
Type of practice: grammar, listening and reading
Level: intermediate-advanced
Available: in-browser
Communication is one of the main reasons we learn languages. It is also one of the best ways to practice a new language. The Dialogue Game offers you the next best thing to actively having a conversation with a native Spanish speaker.
The Dialogue Game is a Flash game that will help you practice communication skills and revise quite a lot of grammar and different vocabulary topics.
When you begin the game, you can choose how the dialogues will be displayed: they can be grouped either by the grammar practiced in them or by the topic, such as ‘food’, ‘music’, ‘love’, and many others. Most topics have at least a couple of different dialogues.
When you choose a dialogue, you have the option of previewing the dialogue. If you choose it, you can read and listen to the whole dialogue and familiarize yourself with the situation. You can even hit pause and look up some words in the dictionary if need be. Listen to the dialogue as many times as necessary – that’s already good practice.
Then you can hit ‘Start Playing’, and when you do, the new page loads and the game begins. You will see and hear the first line of the dialogue from one of the participants. Your task is to choose the correct reply from the other participant. There are four options, and only one of them is correct!
When you choose the reply, you’ll see the next line, and you’ll need to choose the right response to it, and so on – until you finish the whole dialogue. At the end of the game, you will see how much time it took you to complete the dialogue and how many of your responses were correct.
Although the design is a little basic, you’ll get quite a few very good dialogues on a variety of topics that will allow you to have a bit of listening and conversation practice.
Type of practice: vocabulary
Level: beginner-intermediate
Available: as a mobile app
When you learn Spanish with games, you can’t always avoid Spanish to English translation. Sometimes it can be helpful, but it can also slow down your progress. Infinite Spanish is a vocabulary game that is based on visual learning only – you won’t be using any English when playing it.
When you enter the game, you see a beautiful night sky filled with stars. Suddenly, there are meteorites falling! Each meteorite is a small task. First, you just learn a couple of new words, how they are written and pronounced. Then the game gets a bit harder, as you need to match the pronunciation or spelling to the correct image.
Your time is limited: you need to complete the task before the meteorite falls to the ground. Some meteorites fall faster than the others. This adds a little bit of pressure and excitement to the game, but don’t worry, you’ll have quite enough time to learn the words.
The game starts with simple topics, like ‘numbers’ and ‘colors’ and moves on to topics like ‘jobs’ or ‘transportation’. Topics are unlocked one by one: you need to practice the simpler ones and collect some points (‘stars’) to unlock further levels.
The game is free to play, but there are some extra options that you can pay for, such as harder difficulty or customized review.
The gameplay is user-friendly and intuitive, the design is simple but very nice, and the game is quite addictive – you won’t notice how you expand your vocabulary in practically no time. It’s a great vocabulary building app that will add some variety and fun to your Spanish learning process.
Final Thoughts on Spanish Games for Language Learners
If you want to learn Spanish through games, there are a lot of options out there. This article offers just a tiny selection of good Spanish learning games that will help you on your language learning journey. Try them out for yourself – they are a great way to do some learning and have some fun at the same time.