Manuel José AGUILAR RUIZ
Rev. EntreLinguas, Araraquara, v. 9, n. 00, e023031, 2023. e-ISSN: 2447-3529
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29051/el.v9i00.15903 3
Introduction
The interest that games currently arouse as a didactic resource in teaching Spanish as
L2-LE has been recognized both by the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (MCERL, 2002) as well as by several very recent studies (BARROS GONZÁLEZ,
2016; GUO, 2020; MONTAÑEZ MESAS, 2017, 2022; etc.). Linguistic hobbies such as
crosswords, word searches, encrypted messages, the game known as “The Hanged Man” etc.,
are recreational activities frequently used in the Spanish classroom, due to their high didactic
potential (MCERL, 2002, p. 59; COHEN; FRATES, 2010; MORENO GARCÍA, 2017, p. 487-
491; DEMYDA PEYRÁS et al., 2018; MATEU MARTÍNEZ, 2022). They are used as
motivational activities or as reinforcement and extension, aimed at developing competence
lexico-semantics (see MORENO GARCÍA, 2017, p. 455-509).
However, a major problem that this type of playful activity usually presents is precisely
of a linguistic nature, which is the definitions offered of hidden words to solve the activity. The
big disadvantage that is generally observed in them is that they are usually taken from one of
the editions of the academic dictionary (DRAE22 or DLE, for example), from some other
dictionary whose plan is essentially based on it, or which presents a definition that normally It
is very complex for E/LE students. However, our teaching practice in the E/LE classroom has
shown that the use of these definitions taken literally from dictionaries presents a considerable
level of linguistic complexity for intelligibility by non-native (and even native) students, due to
the stagnant language, interdependent definitions, “vicious circles”, “missed clues” and other
irregularities and defects that are generally attributed to definitions in academic dictionaries
(see BAJO PÉREZ, 2000, p. 44-45; MEDINA GUERRA, 2003, p. 144-146; PORTO
DAPENA, 2014, p. 265-295) and, in short, lexicographic compilations in general, although we
are aware of the relevance of lexicographic resources in the Spanish classroom (see PÉREZ
CAÑIZARES; SCHNITZER, 2019). Furthermore, the lexicographic discourse of this
microstructural apparatus is generally not adequately contextualized, nor does it provide
sufficient motivation to students, basic characteristics for the elaboration or selection of
activities in teaching Spanish (MORENO GARCÍA, 2017, p. 81-106).
To solve this problem regarding the definitions that are part of hobbies in the E/LE
classroom, we can choose, as teachers, the way to offer them, depending on the level of our
students. In our teaching practice, we present them in three different ways, through illustrations,
definitions (especially communicative ones), or phraseological units, as we will explain in