Wordle in Portuguese: Making Portuguese accessible for foreign language learners [Wordle em Português: torna o português acessível para estudantes de língua estrangeira]

Abstract

Foreign language learners are primarily concerned with grammar, unaware that a rich vocabulary is indispensable to refine one's listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Teaching assesses. This paper examines how Wordle in Portuguese can be a learning resource in the Portuguese foreign language classroom. Existing research shows word games to be an enjoyable, engaging way to practice vocabulary, improve word recall, learn new words and reinforce understanding of their meaning. Among the many free language-learning apps and games available to build language vocabulary, Wordle is user-friendly and freely available online. The students of the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese courses played Wordle in Portuguese, then looked up the Wordle of the day in an online dictionary to find related content: pronunciation, part of speech, the definition in interdisciplinary contexts, synonyms, antonyms and everyday use. The word was inserted in a sample sentence to indicate its contextual meaning. The A2 level students with higher language competencies performed creative writing exercises with the Wordle of the day. Introducing the students to Wordle exhibited positive results. Playing Wordle not only aided students in recollecting words learned and spelling them correctly but also raised learning enthusiasm among peers taking them on a voyage of vocabulary discovery in the dictionary, a less harnessed learning resource. Wordle can be more than just a fun game if seen with the right mindset, with the potential to become an unparalleled language-learning resource.