People are different when it comes to learning. Some remember the things they see (visual type), some remember things they hear (auditory type), and others remember things they move and touch, or when they, themselves, are in action (kinaesthetic type).
Lingopoly is suitable for everyone because it satisfies the learning needs of all three types of learners. The cards can also be used during all stages of learning—from simple memorisation of new vocabulary, to making sentences, combining words into stories, practising tenses, talking about our opinions and feelings . . . The possibilities are endless.
As a foreign language teacher, I always wondered why every single teaching aid I bought was missing something: sometimes flashcards only showed the pictures, with no words; other times the picture and the word were on the same side of the card, and I'd have to cover one or the other part with my hand to practice new vocabulary; sometimes the game was appropriate only for one language level and I could only use it in a few lessons before it became too easy; and sometimes the games were too limited to use in different situations.
I started making my own flashcards, which was both time consuming and expensive. Making durable materials requires quality printing and lamination, which doesn't come cheap. But Lingopoly contains everything a language teacher needs: a vast number of vocabulary cards that cover a wide range of topics (which is perfect because we can cover different topics at different levels and combine them to increase the challenge) and there are two cards for each new word or phrase—one picture card and one word card. Lingopoly also provides a handbook full of game ideas, and a playing board to use the cards in a board game (Lingopoly 1 Who are they? contains the board game On a Cruise Ship).
The illustrations are amusing and nice to look at for children and adults alike. The cards themselves are adjusted specifically for people with reading difficulties, like dyslexia, dysgraphia, and scotopic syndrome, by using a specific typeface and background colour.
The game is suitable for children as young as 4 years old. Despite it being a great, almost vital, tool for every language teacher because it helps make lessons more interactive, interesting, and dynamic. It's also very useful for self-learning, as well as playing with friends and family.
You won't regret buying Lingopoly with its 340 word and picture cards, covering 9 topics: family, occupations, adjectives for describing people, adjectives for describing clothes, clothes, colours, description of people and clothes, body and health, and the weather.
Enclosed is also a lengthy, well-organised handbook that, in addition to covering all the topics and listing all the individual cards, also includes additional material, like detailed descriptions of family members and a family tree. You'll also find instructions for numerous games and conversation cues. If you don't have time to read the games' instructions, you can use the QR code to watch all the tutorials.
Barbara Mikolič
