English Word Puzzles for Studying Vocabulary

There are some popular English language word games that can be really useful for a student to practice the vocabulary words they have already studied and also learn new words. Some of these word games are available in free publications and are also included in many newspapers and magazines. There are also a lot of word games available in digital formats, such as on Internet web pages and in the form of software applications. It is recommended for a student to only choose word games that contain vocabulary words appropriate for their range of English study, as it is not as much fun if the game is too challenging.

Word Search

Word search is a classic English language word finding game. It is basically a grid of evenly spaced letters that may first appear to be a random mix of meaningless letters and no words. When looking closer and searching carefully through the grid of letters, the goal is to find words that are hidden in the grid of letters. The words may be readable from left to right, from top to bottom, or even diagonally. Some word search grids may even include words that are spelled backwards! The word search game can be a fun way to practice remembering English vocabulary words you have already learned and also possibly even learn new vocabulary words as you go. A student completes a word search by circling all of the words the student finds. One tip is to look for
a vowel next to a consonant, since most English words contain both a vowel and a consonant.

Crossword Puzzles

A crossword puzzle is a grid of black and numbered white squares in which letters can be written. Included with the grid is a series of hints about a word that is supposed to fit into the numbered white boxes of the puzzle. A student writes one letter of a word into each white box. The student first reads the numbered hint and then guesses what word the hint is referring to. The challenge is that the word has to be a certain number of letters. For instance, let’s say the hint is: “A number that comes after two and before 5.” If there are only 4 white squares for the word, then the answer is “four”. This is because “three” would not fit in the amount of spaces. One nice thing about crossword puzzles is that the words connect to each other like in a word find. After a student has answered some of the words, then the student will have some letters of other words that have already been filled into the white boxes. Crossword puzzles are a good way for relatively advanced English language students to practice the vocabulary words they already know and also possibly learn new vocabulary words while completing a crossword puzzle. It is also a great way to practice English comprehension while a student is studying the hint.

These two popular games can be a fun way to increase a student’s English language vocabulary. Even native English speakers seem to enjoy them year after year.