Learning Through Play

Let's face it: video games are everywhere and are played by almost everyone. According to the Entertainment Software Association or the "ESA", in the U.S. alone 58% of all Americans play some sort of video game and 62% of that same group uses video games to interact, socially, with other gamers. Moreover, the Entertainment Software Rating Board—or better known as the "ESRB"—reports that children spend roughly 12-15 hours a week playing video games in their free time. It is safe to say that video game usage is on the rise and has no intentions of stopping.

Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA, takes an interesting stance on the global impact of video games: "No other sector has experienced the same explosive growth as the computer and video game industry. Our creative publishers and talented workforce continue to accelerate advancement and pioneer new products that push boundaries and unlock entertainment experiences. These innovations in turn drive enhanced player connectivity, fuel demand for products, and encourage the progression of an expanding and diversified consumer base."

However, a serious dilemma remains: because of the powerful appeal and popularity of video games, most adolescent students would rather play their Xbox or PS3 than complete their homework. One of my students, a junior in high school, blatantly tells me (on a daily basis) that he didn't complete his homework because he was too busy playing Zombies. And somehow, I'm fairly certain I am not the only teacher that experiences this phenomenon. So what's the solution? Integrate Gamification with L2 learning.

First, I have to admit that I had no clue what Gamification even meant. I am sad to admit this because I consider myself a seasoned gamer with at least 15 solid years of experience. Now that that's out of the way, according to Wikipedia, Gamification is the idea of, "...applying game-design thinking to non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging." In essence, Gamification intrinsically motivates the user, through competition and problem-solving, to use the application in a more enjoyable way, much like when users play a video or computer game.

I foresee many advantages to using Gamification when teaching a foreign language. Right off the bat, Gamification levels the playing field for all students. It is a more creative, engaging, authentic and personal form of differentiated instruction, especially when the game adapts to the user's skill level. Furthermore, Gamification offers immediate, interactive feedback and it is equally meaningful to male and female learners. Lastly, if students spend a large amount of time, energy and money playing video and computer games, why not have them use these interactions for educational purposes too? In my eyes, two birds, one stone.  

After much review and play, I decided to work with the Zombie survival game "I remain." I chose this game largely because I myself am a hard-core Zombie fan. I enjoy everything from "The Walking Dead" to "Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies." I played this online game for about thirty minutes, on three separate occasions—I liked the fact that you could start a game, save it and continue the game at a later date. I found this extremely practical for casual users. What's more: this game could easily be used in a foreign language classroom.

My main language-learning objective would be for students to tap into their imagination through the Spanish language; students will have to create the backstory, a walkthrough guide and/or re-write the ending for the main character in "I remain", entirely in Spanish. As suggested by Kyle Mawer, students will ultimately create a narrative of their choice using authentic, relevant language and vocabulary. Students will first play the game for roughly 30 minutes. During gameplay, students will take notes on the storyline, character descriptions and development, the setting (music/sound effects, detail, "realness" of gameplay) and any potential improvements to the game.  Furthermore, students will have to actively write down at least 5 items from each room and translate them into Spanish (this will aid students when writing their narrative). The teacher will facilitate this activity and review each narrative for completeness and accuracy. All narratives, once completed and reviewed, will be shared with the class. This portion of the activity will serve as the formal assessment and as an opportunity to see if the learning objective was met.

Still not convinced? I leave you with this quote: "You create these communities around the game that do an incredible amount of intellectual work, and when they’re done with the work, they will leave the game and go on to another game that’s more challenging. Can you imagine if we had that kind of environment in classrooms?" — Constance Steinkuehler Squire