Gamification: Escape the Room Games

Educators are continuously trying to explore and implement new innovative ways of learning through technology. One specific example is, Gamification. According to a recent journal article I have read, Seven Things You Should Know About Gamification, "Many instructors implement gamification because they believe the rewards or the spirit of competition will spur students’ concentration and interest and lead to more effective learning"(Educase, 2011).  This new approach to learning can truly benefit the learner in their language learning skills including, listening, reading, and writing. Specifically in a L2 classroom, educators can easily incorporate gamification into their curriculum, and also modify the gamification process to meet the needs of their own levels of students. 

Gamification is a term which, I am sure, many educators will decide to look away from. However, after watching Tom Chatfield's video 7 Ways Games Reward the Brain, he emphasizes the notion of immediate feedback and the power it has on truly feeling and learning a lesson. To be able to rationalize gamification in the classroom may seem puzzling and distracting to many educators, but the way I see it, it gives students the opportunity for continuous rewards, immediate feedback, and keeps the students interested and engaged for the next level of learning.  According to Tom Chatfield, "It's very hard to learn, to feel a lesson. But if you can model things for people, if you can give things to people that they can manipulate and play with and where the feedback comes, then they can learn a lesson, they can see,they can move on, they can understand" (TedGlobal, 2010). 

A type of game that I recently explored was posted on a blog site written by Larry Ferlazzo, The Best "Fun" On-line Video Games for English Language Development.  The type of game is considered an escape room game titled, Phantasy Quest.  This type of game allows for the student to explore an island using strategic 'point and click' skills to help navigate an adventure. To complete the game, the student must be able to use their reading skills to unlock puzzles, and eventually, reach an end goal.  A great modification an educator may use for this type of game is called a Walkthrough, which often times is readily available on the website.  A walkthrough gives step-by-step instructions on how to complete the game.  Therefore, the teacher can read these instructions to the students to develop higher level listening skills or have the students read them independently or with pairs to further enhance their reading skills, too.

Personally, over the past week, I have tried to play and 'beat' Phantasy Quest more than five times.  By no means can I say that I am at all experienced with video games, so I struggled.  Once I realized that I could not navigate this adventure any further, I printed the walkthrough instructions and completed the game.  Boy did it feel good!  So I then thought about my future students and how much they would enjoy playing this game, or would they get frustrated too fast and give up? First, I took into consideration the language level of my students in an ESL classroom.  I felt that my students would have to be placed in at least an intermediate level to truly gain a meaningful language learning experience playing this game. 

Language learning objectives that can be actively involved in this game would be the use of vocabulary, listening skills, and reading skills.  By searching other escape the room games it seemed clear to me that modification of the game(s) can easily be achieved.  An educator can incorporate any vocabulary he or she chooses to adapt to the students' levels.  Another language learning objective could be listening for instruction. The student would have to listen for the next strategy step in completing the game.  Reading is the last language objective.  If the student is working interdependently, they must use the language clues that pop up on the screen each time they click.  

How can I assess my students while they are activity engaged in this game?  As the students are working independently, I would walk around the room to check for comprehension when giving them the next strategy step.  By utilizing the walkthrough in my hand, I am able to check to see if students are using their listening skills from my clues and if they are reading/comprehending the clues written on the screen. In a later activity, I would provide visuals/images of new vocabulary they learned throughout this game to better assess their level of understanding.