What it is
Word Duel is a whole-class ELT spelling and vocabulary game adapted for classroom teams. Every team works on its own secret five-letter word at the same time over alternating turns, so the whole class stays engaged rather than waiting on a single board.
The team that solves its word first wins, but the other teams can carry on to finish theirs, earning a winning animation if they do it in fewer rows.
A spelling and vocabulary race to guess a secret five-letter word. Choose one to four teams and level A1-A2, B1-B2, or C1. Each team has its own board and six attempts. On its turn, enter one valid five-letter word using either keyboard and submit it. Green means the letter and position are correct, yellow means the letter is elsewhere in the word, and gray means it is absent. Turns rotate automatically, but you can select a team panel or use the arrows to change teams. The first team to solve its word wins.
Screenshots
Who it suits
Word Duel works for all ages and spans the full CEFR range from A1 to C1. Word lists are grouped by CEFR level, so the vocabulary difficulty is appropriate for the students. It is effective as an end-of-class activity or vocabulary warm-up.
The mixed-levels option allows the teacher to set a different CEFR level for each team, making Word Duel suitable for mixed-level classes.
How classroom play works
The teacher opens Word Duel on a shared classroom screen (a projector, interactive whiteboard or classroom display) and selects a CEFR level. Each team's board is displayed side by side. Teams take turns telling the teacher their guesses, which the teacher inputs with their keyboard (or clicking letters with the mouse). With left-right arrow keys or the mouse, the teacher can jump between boards so teams can play out of turn. No individual student devices are needed as the game runs from a single teacher screen projected onto the classroom board.
Skill focus
Word Duel develops spelling awareness and vocabulary recognition. The constraint of letter-by-letter feedback pushes students to think carefully about word structure, letter positions, and the range of possible words at their level. It is more cognitively demanding than simple recall activities because teams must reason about spelling patterns under competitive pressure. See the CEFR guide for how levels are applied across Lingadoo games.