Memory Card Game (Pelmanism, Concentration)

(TESOL Ideas--Any Grammar Point, Any Vocabulary Set)

I grew up calling this game "memory", but I've met people who refer to it as concentration, and I believe it is known as Pelmanism in Britain.  The standard rules for the game are on Wikipedia here.  

I've mentioned this game before in Activities That Can Be Used for Any Grammar Point workshop and my Language Practice Activities document, so I'll just start this post out by repeating what I said there:

This works best in cases where there are two complementary sentences (e.g active/passive, reported speech/direct speech, past simple/present simple).  It can also possibly work with sentences that can be divided into two halves (e.g. if clause and result clause).  Sentence or sentence halves are put onto cards.  The cards are put face down and, just like the classic game of memory, students have to turn over the cards to try to find a match.  

For a purely receptive game, the students just turn over the cards.  This game can also be turned into a scaffolded production game if students must predict what the matching card will be before turning it over.  (e.g. for active/passive game, if they turn over a card in the active voice, they must say the passive equivalent correctly in order to get a chance to find the card).

Examples of where I've used this game before in the past for grammar points are below:
* 1st and 2nd Conditional Memory Game

* Reported Speech Memory Game

* Irregular Simple Past Tense Memory Game

* Past Form Verb Names: Memory Game

As mentioned above, despite my including this game in my list of  Activities That Can Be Used for Any Grammar Point, it works best only with select grammar points.
It can, however, be easily adapted for any vocabulary set.  Simply put the term on one card, and the definition on another card.  (Or for lower levels, use a picture instead of a definition.)

This game can also be played on the computer, and I've mentioned a couple of websites in the past for creating online memory games:
* Pelmanism (Memory Game) in Google Slides : How to make and play it online

* Matching Game at flippity.net

I'll add a couple more notes/observations below:

* Like a lot of classroom games, this can be hit or miss depending on the group of students.  I've had classes where the students got super into this game, and super competitive with each other, and we had a lot of fun with it.  And I've had classes where the students are not focused on the game at all.
Because this game only words if the students are concentrating on the game, and remembering where the cards are, it can turn into a disaster if the students are not concentrating on the game.

In my experience, this is particularly a problem when teaching online.  

I remember particularly during the Covid shutdown period trying to play online memory games, and it was very obvious none of the students were paying attention when it wasn't their turn, and the game just dragged on and on.  

But whether teaching online or offline, the lesson is that if the students aren't paying attention, don't be afraid to end the game early, and move on to the next activity.

* When playing this game in the classroom, I usually just print out the cards on normal paper, and then cut them up.  Sometimes, depending on the thickness of the paper or the brightness of the room, the students can cheat by seeing through the paper.  This could probably be fixed by using thicker paper, but I've actually never been too bothered by it.  The point of the game is to practice the language, not the memory skills.  Even if they can see through the paper, they still have to make the correct matches.

* I've discovered that local rules for this game vary from country to country, and often from household to household.  For example, when I lived in Japan they usually played it that when you were down to the last few pairs, you would mix up the cards again.  (I thought this was unfair, since it I thought the whole point of the game was to reward players who could memorize the card positions.  But that's how they played it there.)

Another alternate rule is that some people play that if you are able to make a match, you get to go again.  This is how I grew up playing the game, so I'm partial to this rule.  But in the classroom, you do need to be a bit careful as it can allow a smart player to dominate the game.  And you want to make sure that all the players get equal practice with the language.  So sometimes it is good to just give each player only one chance, regardless of whether or not they can get a match