Using flashcards with young learners

Why use flashcards?

Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory reminds teachers that there are many types of learners within any one class. Gardner's research indicates that teachers should aim to appeal to all the different learner preferences at some point during the course. It's important to use activities that appeal to different learners and their learning preferences. Using flashcards is visual and many of these activities include movement which can appeal to a range of learners.

For children at reading age, flashcards can be used in conjunction with word cards. These are simply cards that display the written word. Word cards should be introduced after the picture cards so as not to interfere with correct pronunciation.

Flashcards are a really handy resource to have and can be useful at every stage of the class. They are a great way to present, practise and recycle vocabulary and when learnersbecome familiar with the activities used in class, they can be given out to early-finishers to use in small groups. I sometimes get the learners to make their own sets of mini flashcards that can be taken home for them to play with, with parents and siblings.

Where to get flashcards?

• Buy them. Some course books provide a supplementary pack of flashcards or they can be bought in sets.
• Make them yourself. If you don't have access to professionally produced flashcards, don't worry, it's really easy to make your own even if you're not very artistic. You can use pictures from magazines, draw simple pictures or copy from the internet or clip art. The most important thing is to make sure they are all of the same size, on card (different colours for different sets) so you can't see through them. If possible you can laminate the sets as you make them and they will last for years. The advantage of making your own, apart from the fact that they're cheap and yours to keep, is that you can make sets for your specific needs. You may like to make a set to use with a story book or graded reader, or even to accompany project work.
• Learners make them. I have recently begun to incorporate the production of flashcards into the classroom. After introducing a new lexical set, using realia or the course book, ask learners to produce the flashcards for you. Give each one an item to draw. They can be mounted on card to make the set.

Activities for using flashcards

I have divided the activities into the following categories: Memory, drilling, identification and TPR activities.

Memory activities

Memory tester

• Place a selection of flashcards on the floor in a circle.
• Learners have one minute to memorise the cards.
• In groups, they have two minutes to write as many of the names as they can remember.

Drilling activities

Invisible Flashcards

• Stick nine flashcards on the board and draw a grid around them.
• Use a pen or a pointer to drill the nine words. Always point to the flashcard you are drilling.
• Gradually remove the flashcards but continue to drill and point to the grid where the flashcard was.
• When the first card is removed and you point to the blank space, nod your head to encourage children to say the word of the removed flashcard.
• Learners should remember and continue as if the flashcards were still there. They seem to be amazed that they can remember the pictures.
• Depending on the age group I then put the flashcards back in the right place on the grid, asking the children where they go, or I ask learners to come up and write the word in the correct place on the grid.

This activity highlights the impact of visual aids. It really proves that the images 'stick' in learners' minds.
 

Identification activities

Reveal the word

• Cover the flashcard or word card with a piece of card and slowly reveal it.
• Learners guess which one it is.
• Once the card is shown, chorally drill the word with the group using different intonation and silly voices to keep it fun. Vary the volume too, whisper and shout the words. Children will automatically copy your voice.
• Alternatively, flip the card over very quickly so the children just get a quick glimpse.
• Repeat until they have guessed the word.

TPR activities

Point or race to the flashcards

• Stick flashcards around the class.
• Say one of them and learners point or race to it.
• Learners can then give the instructions to classmates.
• You can extend this by saying 'hop to the cat' or even 'if you have blonde hair, swim to the fish' etc.
• You can also incorporate flashcards into a game of Simon Says: 'Simon says, jump to the T-shirt' etc.

Find more examples for each type of activity in Using flashcards.