How different approaches to learning can help us discover what children are really capable of
Imagine a child sitting in a foreign-language classroom, struggling to remember new vocabulary. They are slower than their classmates when completing an exercise, make mistakes when reading aloud, and rarely volunteer an answer. After a while, it can become easy to think that this child simply finds languages difficult.
But what happens when we change the activity? Instead of completing a worksheet, the children are asked to play a game. They have to listen carefully, remember information, make decisions and work out a solution. The same child who was struggling with the vocabulary exercise suddenly becomes involved. They notice a pattern that others have missed. They remember something important. They suggest a solution and explain their thinking to the group. This way, the child’s difficulty has not necessarily disappeared. But has become a visible strength.
This raises an important question for education: How many children’s abilities remain hidden because we are not always giving them the right opportunities to show what they can do?
What does it really mean to be “good” at a language?
When we think about foreign-language learning, we often focus on the skills that are easiest to measure: vocabulary, grammar, spelling, reading, writing and comprehension. These are, of course, important parts of learning a language.
However, learning a language also involves many other skills. Children need to remember information, recognise sounds and patterns, make decisions, solve problems, think critically, communicate with others and sometimes take risks and experiment with unfamiliar words and ideas.
Not every child will demonstrate these abilities in the same way. One child may have an excellent memory for sounds but struggle with written exercises. Another may find it difficult to remember vocabulary but be an excellent problem solver. A child who rarely speaks during a whole-class activity may become highly engaged when working with two or three classmates. Another may struggle with traditional tasks but show remarkable creativity when given the opportunity to tell a story, work visually or solve a challenge.
Difficulty in one area does not mean an absence of ability.
This is particularly important when we are working with children who experience learning difficulties. If we focus only on what a child cannot yet do, we can easily overlook the skills and abilities they already possess. Sometimes we need to change the way we look before we can see what was there all along.
Giving children different ways into learning
This is one of the ideas at the heart of the FOCUS project. Rather than expecting every child to engage with learning in exactly the same way, we can provide different opportunities for children to practise skills, participate and demonstrate their understanding.
The FOCUS Digital Educational Games Platform was developed as an online collection of educational games for children aged 6–12 who may need additional learning support. The games provide structured, progressive activities in areas including phonological skills, vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension and basic language awareness.
But the learning involved in the games goes beyond language itself. Activities also support skills such as memory, critical thinking, decision-making, abstract thinking and orientation. This matters because a child who is practising vocabulary, for example, may also be remembering information, making choices, recognising patterns and developing a strategy for completing a task. The game therefore becomes more than an exercise with a right or wrong answer. It becomes an opportunity to observe how a child thinks and learns.
Learning through play — and through mistakes
One of the strengths of game-based learning is that it can make repetition feel different. Children often need to repeat activities in order to consolidate new skills. Yet repetition can become frustrating when every mistake feels like a failure. Digital games can provide a different environment in which children can try, make a mistake, try again and gradually improve.
A wrong answer does not have to be the end of the activity. It can be part of the process. Children can test an idea, discover that it does not work, change their strategy and try again. In this way, mistakes become useful information rather than something to be avoided.
The FOCUS games are designed around this principle of safe repetition. They provide progressive levels and accessible activities that allow children to practise skills gradually and without unnecessary pressure. This can be particularly valuable for children who may have experienced frustration or a lack of confidence in more traditional learning environments.
The teacher still matters most
It is important to remember that the games are not intended to replace teaching, professional intervention or the role of the teacher. They are a resource that can complement existing educational and support practices.
In fact, the teacher’s role can become even more interesting when games are used effectively. Rather than simply controlling the activity or providing the answers, the teacher can act as a facilitator. They can ask questions, encourage children to explain their choices and give them time to think.
In a small-group setting, this can reveal a great deal. Who notices the pattern first? Who remembers something from an earlier activity? Who is willing to try a different strategy? Who explains their thinking to the others? Who encourages a classmate who is struggling? Who becomes more confident when given the freedom to make a choice? These observations can tell us things about children that a traditional exercise or test may not reveal.
The power of learning together
Although the games can be used individually, they can also be particularly effective when used with small groups. When children play and learn together, the activity becomes a social experience. They discuss their choices, explain their reasoning, disagree, negotiate and support one another. They have opportunities to verbalise their thinking and to learn from the strategies of their peers.
This can also create opportunities for children with different strengths to contribute in different ways. One child may remember the information. Another may identify the pattern. Another may suggest the solution. Another may be particularly good at explaining the answer to the group. The learning is no longer simply about who gets the correct answer first. It becomes about how children approach the problem together. And sometimes, this is where hidden talents become visible.
Looking at strengths as well as difficulties
The FOCUS Digital Educational Games Platform is not a diagnostic tool, and it cannot identify or assess learning difficulties. Nor is it a replacement for teaching, therapy or professional support. Its purpose is to provide structured digital activities that enrich existing educational practices and give children additional opportunities to practise essential skills in an engaging and inclusive environment.
Ultimately, however, the value of such resources may extend beyond the particular skill being practised. When children are given different ways to participate, we may discover abilities that were not obvious before. We may see greater confidence, stronger communication, creative thinking, persistence, cooperation or problem-solving.
And perhaps that is one of the most important things we can offer children in the classroom: not simply more ways to learn, but more opportunities to show us who they are as learners. Because sometimes the child who appears to be struggling is also the child with something remarkable to contribute. We just need to create the opportunity for that ability to become visible.
