Valentine’s Day at a language school is an easy way to boost student engagement, add variety to your lessons, and strengthen relationships with learners – all without big costs or complicated planning.
Combine the pleasant with the useful, an English lesson on Valentine’s Day will be the perfect way to do this! Inside we publish free printable materials, just like that, from the heart.
Summary
- Valentine’s Day can be a great excuse for light, communication-focused language lessons.
- The theme of love and relationships naturally encourages speaking, builds vocabulary, and works great for pair activities.
- A well-planned Valentine’s Day also helps position your school as modern and student-focused.
What will you find in this article?
- Valentine’s Day across languages and cultures – lesson inspiration
- Why is it worth celebrating Valentine’s Day at a language school?
- How can you use Valentine’s Day to spice up your language lessons?
- Summary: Valentine’s Day at a language school
How is Valentine’s Day celebrated in different languages and cultures?
Love is in the air, which means St. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. I am sure not many of you are aware that the day of lovers is not only about flowers and red hearts.
In England, the country from which the custom of sending Valentine’s Day cards originated, not a long time ago it was popular for children to disguise themselves as adults and sing romantic musical pieces while visiting each other in neighbouring homes.
But this is not the most original way to celebrate the feast. For example, in Malaysia a competition is held for couples with those in love being handcuffed together to prove mutual “attachment” They are being watched and the winning couple receives a pecuniary prize.
Why is it worth celebrating Valentine’s Day at a language school?
Valentine’s Day at school is an excellent opportunity to add a touch of creativity, emotion, and fun to language lessons.
Although this holiday is mainly associated with romantic declarations, it can be used as a pretext for engaging activities that enrich vocabulary, stimulate students’ imagination, and increase their motivation to learn. But that’s not all!
Here are a few reasons why you should organize, for example, an English lesson on Valentine’s Day at your school!
Increase student engagement
Themed lessons are more interesting and engaging than standard classes. Valentine’s Day evokes positive associations, and the use of games, quizzes, or creative tasks makes students more willing to participate in classes and learn actively.
Vocabulary development in a natural context
Love, relationships, emotions – these are topics that appear in everyday communication. A language lesson on Valentine’s Day allows you to introduce and reinforce practical vocabulary and expressions that may be useful in authentic language situations, such as conversations or correspondence.
Practicing communication skills
Tasks based on dialogues, „speed dating,” or storytelling help students break the language barrier and communicate more freely in a foreign language. Such activities teach asking questions, describing feelings, and formulating statements in a smooth and natural way.
Group integration and building a positive atmosphere
Valentine’s lessons encourage pair and group work, which strengthens relationships between students and builds a positive atmosphere in the classroom. Fun and humor help break the stress associated with learning a language, allowing students to feel more at ease.
Introducing cultural elements
Valentine’s Day is celebrated worldwide, but it takes different forms in different countries. It’s a great opportunity to talk about Valentine’s traditions in English-speaking, Spanish-speaking, or French-speaking countries, which broadens students’ horizons and develops their cultural knowledge.
Learning through music, literature and film
Valentine’s Day is a great moment to weave elements of pop culture into lessons – analyzing song lyrics or quotes from books. This not only diversifies the classes but also helps students better understand the language in its natural context.
Developing students’ creativity
Tasks such as writing love letters, creating stories, or designing Valentine’s cards are an excellent way to develop creativity and language skills simultaneously. Through these activities, students not only learn the language but also practice expressive freedom.
Valentine’s Day ideas for language schools: 5 creative games and activities
Valentine’s language lessons are more than just a “break” in the traditional curriculum. They are an effective method for language learning in an engaging and exciting way.
Here are some inspiring ideas for an English lesson on Valentine’s Day that will make learning a pleasure!
1. Valentine’s Bingo
Almost everyone has played bingo at least once in childhood. A game of observation and reflexes, it can also develop speaking and listening comprehension skills in a foreign language.
How do you play it?
- Cut out the bingo boards (to save paper, most of them have two boards on one sheet) and distribute them to students or let them draw one.
- Cut out the main cards (so-called calling cards) and put them into a bag/box.
- Ask a student to draw one card from the bag. The participant shows a card or, at higher levels, tells the group what’s on it and sets it aside.
- The other players check if they have such an image on their board. If so, they place a candy, stone, or mark it with a marker if the cards are laminated.
- An empty space usually marked „free” means you can mark any picture there.
- Previously, set the pattern that needs to be arranged with candies. It could be filling the entire card, a single line, a double line, four corners, or letter-shaped patterns.
- The person who first arranges the set pattern and shouts „Bingo” wins. Download the free printable Valentine’s bingo
Grab your free Valentine’s Day bingo, ready to print and play! Choose your favorite version below:
• 1st bingo
• 2nd bingo
• 3rd bingo
2. Match the symbols
The next game exercises concentration and short-term memory, but also supports vocabulary learning.
The basis of the fun is round cards with 6 symbols on each. The game is best conducted in pairs or in groups of three. What is it about?
- Shuffle the cards and place one face-down card in front of each student.
- Make a stack of the remaining cards and place it in the center of the table.
- At a given signal, all players turn over their cards.
- The task for the students is to quickly find the card with the common symbol.
- Whoever first says the name of the common item in the language they are learning wins the round and takes that card.
- The winning card is placed in front of the player, on top of the first card.
- The game continues until all the cards from the center of the table are gone. The winner is the student who collects the most cards.
Download 31 Valentine’s cards and an assembly box!
3. Musical chairs
A game you’ll love at school and with kids at home because there are no losers. Prepare one fewer chair than there are students in the group. Arrange the chairs in a circle so that the seats face outward (yes, you probably associate this game with weddings).
Choose one student who will not take a seat. The remaining students sit on the chairs. The player standing approaches a person of their choice and asks „Who do you love?/ Who do you like?”.
The task of the child is to answer the question in a foreign language, for example, I like people who have a cat. Then, all the players who have a cat or, for example, like the color blue, stand up and must find another free seat.
Note: the people who stood up must move at least two chairs away. The player asking the question also takes a free seat. The person who did not take a seat repeats the game.
Download 4 Valentine’s cards that you can distribute as prizes!
4. Find the words
A game of observation, through which students learn Valentine’s vocabulary.
The number of words and the size of the board reflect different levels of difficulty. Can you find all the hidden words?
Get your word search puzzles – board one and board two.
5. Vocabulary game
An idea for a game for beginner students who are learning vocabulary and pronunciation. You can also use the game for students at higher levels by creating your own game template with more challenging words.
The game involves a student rolling the dice and after moving to a given space, reading the given word.
Additionally, you can make the game more challenging by asking players to provide a sentence with the chosen word or a rhyme.
Download and print the game board and dice.
Summary – Valentine’s Day ideas in a language school
English lessons on Valentine’s Day are a great way to diversify language classes and engage students in learning through fun. Among the ideas are language games, quizzes, storytelling, and creative tasks.
Thanks to a variety of exercises, students not only expand their vocabulary but also develop communication skills in a natural and engaging way.
Regardless of the language level, each of these activities will help create an unforgettable atmosphere and encourage students to actively participate in the classes!
Find out how to organize language school events that will delight your students!