Is Tetris useful to learn vocabulary? 🎮

 I think you know what Tetris is, right?

It is a puzzle game where a variety of geometric pieces fall from the top, and you have to move and rotate them so that they fit correctly in the playing area. It is a classic and very entertaining game for many people.

Now, I was thinking about how games influence the learning process and asked myself if Tetris could be used to learn words in any language. In English, for example, each geometric piece could contain a word, and you would have to match it with another similar word or something like that.

I searched the internet for some information, and I found that there is actually a game related to this idea. However, it looks like a beta version because I didn't know how to play it. The blocks fell, and some words were unfamiliar to me, although ocassionally a bomb block appeared and helped eliminate a word. Here is the link if you want to try: Language Tetris game

The idea is basically to fit the blocks with similar words or colors, and you can move them with the arrow keys from left to right and so on. If you discover how it works, tell me in the comments.

 The idea is really interesting, but could it work for learning languages?

As an English student, I understand that the use of games for learning is a useful tool for people from children to adults. However, as a future teacher, I need to know how it can be applied properly in the classroom and what the objectives are. For example, in the Irregular Verbs Tetris, you can observe the topics to learn: infinitive, simple past and past participle. Here you have to move the word to the correct basket, and it is evident what content we are working on. Maybe it is not exactly tetris, but it is inspired by it and follows a clear concept.

Tetris can be useful as long as the game has clear instructions and, as teachers, we have a specif purpose. Games are useful tools for motivating students to learn without pressure while they develop other skills. We must to take advantage of the influence that games have on learners, both inside and outside the classroom.

In the next video you can see how Tetris can help people learn Chinese characters: 

Is there a classic game that you think could be used for language learning? Let me know.