As
anyone who’s ever watched – or been – a kid playing a video game could tell
you, games are engrossing. Gamification is the process of applying the theories and ideas of game design to other activities -- in this case, academic ones -- in order to make those activities more engaging, perhaps even entertaining. Games tap into our intrinsic motivation, which is why understanding how they work and how we can apply game-based learning to language learning is important. As Stephan J. Franciosi explains in his article A Comparison of Computer Game and Language Learning, “[digital game-based
learning] is not a revolution in the understanding of how people learn, or what
content should be taught, but it does offer a fresh perspective on, and
powerful tools for dealing with an important, but perhaps somewhat neglected,
aspect of foreign language education—intrinsic motivation.”
Using an escape the room game, such as Polleke’s Blue Room, with language learners would provide a fun, game-based way to practice some
basic vocabulary and reinforce location prepositions. The simple phrases and
questions about the rooms and objects are great for reading comprehension.
Depending on the ages and language levels of the students, I think that rather
than using a walkthrough to help the students solve the game, I would give them
several questions or hints to guide them.
In terms of assessment, the students would then use the information they
gathered to write a walkthrough (or fill in the blanks on one, depending on
language level) – or we could all write one together as a class after the
students worked through the game in pairs or small groups, depending on access
to computers. A game like this one would be particularly fun with ipads or
anything with a touch screen rather than a desktop computer.
Tackling more complicated issues
using a game-based approach gives students a chance to problem-solve and
explore topics that might not typically seem relevant to them at first. The Garbage Dreams game, for example, provides some perspective on class and environmental issues while
requiring the use of math skills and strategic problem solving in relation to
economics and investments. Having to pay a fee for trash that can’t be recycled
and having penalties for incorrect sorting of goods can also promote
consciousness about recycling and bigger picture environmental concerns in ways
that are tangible to students, perhaps causing them to think twice in real life
before tossing a plastic bottle in the trash instead of the recycling. I played
this game several times, trying different strategies each time – and I was
hooked.
Garbage Dreams is not specifically
geared towards language learners, but I could definitely see using it in a
foreign language classroom to meet ACTFL’s Connections and Culture objectives.
Using a game that links to environmental issues and economic/business topics
would reinforce what students learn about in other disciplines, and talking
about ways that different countries and cultures approach trash/recycling and
environmental issues is also important. Possible activities related to the game
that would specifically involve language could be having the students track
their families’ trash/recycling related habits for a week and blogging or
journaling about them; having the students create a template for what this game
would look like if it were set in Buffalo – breaking it up into neighborhoods,
figuring out what areas would have which kinds of recyclables, using current
pricing to come up with figures for what it costs to recycle glass, plastic,
how much it would cost to buy a truck to haul things, etc.; creating a website
(or writing a paper) explaining what can be recycled in our area and how or
where, why certain things (like paper contaminated with organic matter) cannot
be recycled, how composting works and where people can take organic matter to
be composted or how to do it at home, etc.
