What it is
Word Ball is a whole-class ELT vocabulary game played as a football match. Two teams share one pitch on the classroom screen, and correct answers are what move the ball: every pass, dribble and shot has to be earned with a vocabulary question.
The choice of move is the strategy. Easier options are safer but gain little ground, while harder ones cover more of the pitch and come with harder questions. A team that keeps playing safe rarely reaches the goal, and a team that overreaches loses the ball.
In setup, choose each team's kit colors, number of players, vocabulary level A1 to C1, and whether to use the timer. The player with the ball chooses an available pass, dribble, or shot. Mark the answer: a correct pass reaches the chosen teammate, a correct shot scores, a wrong pass is intercepted, and a wrong shot is saved or misses. Use the timer to maintain pace and Foul to switch possession. The first team to five goals wins, unless you set your own time limit.
Screenshots
Who it suits
Word Ball works for all ages and covers the full CEFR range from A1 to C1. The football framing gives it a natural appeal in classes where a straight vocabulary quiz would fall flat, and because the class splits into just two sides it scales comfortably from a small group to a full class.
The optional timer makes it easy to fit the game to the time left in a lesson: run it to five goals when there is room for a full match, or set a time limit and take the score at the whistle.
How classroom play works
The teacher opens Word Ball on a shared classroom screen (a projector, interactive whiteboard or classroom display), picks each team's kit colours, the number of outfield players, a vocabulary level and whether to use the timer. Teams then take turns choosing a move and answering, and the teacher marks each answer correct or wrong. No individual student devices are needed as the game runs from a single teacher screen projected onto the classroom board.
Skill focus
Word Ball is primarily a vocabulary game. Questions are grouped by level, so the words a team meets match what the class has been working on, and the riskier moves deliberately draw on harder items. Because possession changes hands on a wrong answer, both teams stay involved even when it is not their turn. See the CEFR guide for how levels are applied across Lingadoo games.