Abstract In the context of educational innovation, language games are considered an effective teaching method that creates an engaging learning environment and encourages students to actively acquire knowledge. Research has shown that language games not only help students retain knowledge more quickly but also promote the flexible application of word categories in real-life situations. Therefore, this paper aims to clarify the role of language games in developing fourth-grade students' word usage competence and propose appropriate teaching methods to improve the quality of Vietnamese language instruction at the primary education level. Keywords: language games, word categories, competence, students, fourth grade, primary school