Mirna Radišić University of Osijek Games for young learners of English: A textbook analysis The process of teaching English to young learners is strongly supported by appropriate teaching materials, predominantly by the textbook. In every book, there is a range of various activities, games being just one of them. This article is about four different textbooks and games suggested by their authors for language classroom use. The games are described according to their types and forms of classroom interaction. Key words: young learners, textbook, teaching techniques, games, game-like activities, classroom organization. 1. Introduction Today, “young learners are in” (Nikolov & Curtain 2000: 5). Research projects have been conducted in order to learn more about the potential achievements of children of lower primary school age, such as the Project of Early Foreign Language Learning started in Croatia in 1991 (Vilke 1995: 2). Every day, language teachers around the world face the challenge of making language learning a positive and stimulating experience. They employ a variety of teaching techniques, one of them being games. Over the years, the attitudes of language experts towards the use of games in language classrooms have drastically changed. Although at first introduced only towards the end of a lesson as a “dessert” after the main course (McCallum 1980: ix), games in classrooms today are given a more significant role and a more serious character. Many language teachers recognize the value of games in foreign language teaching. Wright, Betteridge and Bucky (1984) see the language learning as a hard work, but also as a process which can be made more encouraging and less stressful if teachers use low-anxiety techniques, such as games. “Games should be an integral part of a lesson, providing the possibility of intensive practice while at the same time immensely enjoyable for both students and teachers.” (Uberman 1998: 27) 1.1. Identification of a game The usefulness and an increase in motivation games bring to classroom work are not questioned anymore. Many conventional games can be adapted to