Language, Individual & Society, Volume 12, 2018

Abstract: This article debates the question of using games in the classes of foreign language word formation teaching at a university level for students learning a language for professional linguistic purposes. In the frame of the research, no games of such kind were found, still, the word formation is one of both essential and difficult topics (if a language has a developed morphological structure, like Russian). A huge boring theoretical material precedes practice, and the last one is the key to successful communication in a foreign language. Games in classes may help to avoid boredom, boost language creativity, and add motivation to learn the ways and rules of making words. This paper describes a game titled "Empty Phrase", which is an example of a method of foreign language teaching. It looks like a morpheme constructor, which means that each morpheme is a separate component – a playing card. "Empty Phrase" allows seeing and “touching" how morphemes participate in creating words, how words form phrases. Its goal is to create a complete phrase from disconnected morphemes. The game personify the mechanism of a new word and appearing to life, the formation of its meaning step by step – morpheme by morpheme. In this paper, on the example of the Russian language, a complete game plan is presented. The game may be adapted to any second or first language teaching, as far as a language has a developed morphology.