Video games and the ESL classroom! Ay Caramba!
Imagine this setting: You are teaching english in western Michigan, it is your first day. You walk into a classroom of ESL students, each in front of their laptop. You sit down at your desk, unfold your own laptop, and uplink into a virtual world where all the rest of the students already are located. Each has their own avatar, completely designed by them and created to represent everything that they are. You all group together, ready for another day’s quest to seek out language in the world you all have created. Each student gains points for correctly identifying structures, shapes, and objects within the world correctly in english, thereby breaking down the language barrier digitally and with confidence. Honestly, HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE? I would be totally geeked to be able to do this with a room full of ESL students. You could even recreate cities within the game world, and while the students were in the classroom they would be able to get a job, build a house, everything, and get an immersion lesson EVERY day instead of just rote memorization of grammar and vocab. I must admit, I stole this idea from:
ESL
But still, I think this would be not only a huge gap jump for ESL learners, but also a viable tool to (dun dun dun bridging the RSS gap here) detrack schools in catching the ESL learners up to the normal students as far as understanding the language.
I think that’s an amazing idea, and not just for ESL student. It could also be a great help to students learning any language. I am going to be a German teacher and would definately like to use a program like that in my classroom. It would be a great way to help students learn vocab that they will actually use. Rather than just giving them a vocab list for food words, you could have them go shopping in the game. There are a ton of great ways to utilize a program like this. I think that languages is one area where it is easy to incorporate learning into video games.
I wouldn’t say you stole the idea, but that you developed it further. The article talks about single player RPGs, while you talk about MMOs, user-created content, and interactivity with peers within a virtual landscape that I am only now – a full year after your post – starting to explore and play around with.
Caramba produktlinie, do it yourself und profi line. Vom Rostlöser zum Reiniger und Pflegemittel bis zur hightech Betriebsmittelchemie.