Need some French vocabulary review activities to add a little variety to your French lessons? You’re in the right place!

If you teach French, you know that students need plenty of practice to remember new vocabulary. But after introducing a new set of words, it can be tempting to reach for another worksheet to help students review.

Worksheets certainly have their place, but they aren’t the only way for students to practice vocabulary. Sometimes, a quick game, a partner activity, or a little friendly competition is all you need to get students recalling words and using French more confidently.

The best part? Many of these French vocabulary review activities require very little preparation, and you can adapt them to almost any vocabulary unit. Whether you’re reviewing food, clothing, school supplies, travel vocabulary, or everyday expressions, these ideas can help you keep vocabulary practice fresh and engaging.

Vocabulary review is most meaningful when students have opportunities to use the words they learn to communicate. The ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages emphasize communication in real-world situations, which is a useful principle to keep in mind when planning vocabulary practice.

Here are 12 French vocabulary review activities you can do without handing out another worksheet.

1. Vocabulary Brain Dump

Give students one or two minutes to write down as many words as they can remember from a particular unit. You might ask them to list everything they remember about la nourriture, les vêtements, or l’école.

When time is up, have students compare their lists with a partner. They can add any words they missed in a different colour.

Make it more challenging: Ask students to organize their words into categories or use as many words as possible in complete sentences.

2. Guess the Word

One student describes a French vocabulary word without saying the word itself. Their partner tries to guess it.

For example, if the word is un parapluie, the student might say, “C’est quelque chose qu’on utilise quand il pleut.”

This activity encourages students to think about meaning rather than simply memorizing translations.

Make it easier: Allow students to give clues in English at first, then gradually encourage them to describe the words in French.

3. Vocabulary Categories

Give students a category and challenge them to name as many related French words as possible before time runs out.

For example:

• Les fruits
• Les vêtements
• Les matières scolaires
• Les loisirs
• Les aliments qu’on mange au petit-déjeuner

Students can work individually, in pairs, or in small teams.

Make it more challenging: Require students to use each word in a sentence or explain why a word belongs in a particular category.

4. Partner Quiz

Have students work in pairs to quiz each other on recently learned vocabulary. One student gives a word in English, and the other supplies the French equivalent. Then they switch roles.

To encourage active recall, ask students to set aside the words they know easily and revisit the more difficult ones at the end.

You can also reverse the process: give students the French word and ask them to explain its meaning or use it in a sentence.

5. Four Corners Vocabulary

Label four corners of the classroom with different categories, such as food, clothing, school, and hobbies.

Call out a French word, and students move to the corner that matches its category. Once students reach their corner, ask a few of them to explain their choices or name another word in that category.

This works particularly well as a quick movement break during a longer lesson.

Here are 7 more super-quick partner and small group activities you can do anytime you have a few extra minutes:

6. Vocabulary Drawing game

Draw a word while classmates guess in French.

7. Last One Standing 

Students take turns naming words in a category until they can’t think of another. Once a student can’t name another, they are out, and their partner is the last one standing.

8. Find Someone Who…

Students ask classmates yes/now questions using vocabulary from the unit, having each student

9. Describe and Draw 

One student describes an object or scene in French while a partner draws it.

10. Vocabulary Relay 

Teams take turns writing words that fit a category on the board.

11. What’s Missing? 

Display a selection of vocabulary images, hide one, and have students identify what disappeared.

12. Vocabulary Challenge 

Students choose several words and use them in a short conversation or story.

Whether you have new students every year or you teach the same students several years in a row, it’s great to mix things up when you can. I hope this gives you some new French vocabulary review activities you can use in your classroom!

Keep reading: Fun Ways to Practice French Verbs