All work and no play?
Video games are big business these days. Sales of the latest video games rival those of blockbuster Hollywood films, and we are all gaming more than ever through our computers, consoles and smartphones. So why have video games taken so long to come in to the language classroom? We talk to Kyle Mawer and Graham Stanley, authors of Digital Play, a new book on gaming and language teaching.
iT’s: How do you like your coffee?
Kyle Mawer: I'll have a biberón (Spanish for baby's bottle), which is a short black coffee with a layer of condensed milk on top.
Graham Stanley: Well, if Kyle's being fancy, I'll take a flat white, an Australian coffee made by pouring microfoam over a double shot of espresso.
iT’s: We’re here to talk about your blog and forthcoming book Digital Play, which is all about video games and language education. Many teachers have told me this is a book whose time has come. Why do you think so?
K.M.: Well, just have to look at the rise in popularity of video games.
G.S.: Yes, games have now leapt to the number one spot in free time activities for many people, ourselves included.
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| Graham Stanley |
K.M.: We started adapting online games for language learning more than five years ago now, and after it took off in our teaching centre, we decided to keep a record of what we were doing, hence the blog (http://digitalplay.info/blog).
G.S.: Kyle set up a wiki first, to take note of the games we started talking about at conferences and teacher workshops. The blog evolved out of this and then we realised there was an opportunity to write a book for teachers.
iT’s: What is your advice for teachers who have never played a video game and feel apprehensive about using them in class?
G.S.: The best way to start is to ask your students what video games they play. You may be surprised to find out they spend more time playing games than watching TV or films, for example. Once you start talking about this with your students, then you'll get a better idea of this world and how to take advantage of it in class.
K.M.: I'd like to add that the apprehension that a lot of teachers feel about video games comes from an outdated view of what they are. They aren't just shooting and blowing aliens up any more. Games such as Third World Farmer (www.3rdworldfarmer.com) and Against All Odds (www.playagainstallodds.com), to name just two, deal with important world issues.
G.S.: Yes, I agree. It's also important for teachers to set appropriate tasks when playing a video game, so the most is made from the potential to practise language.
K.M.: Absolutely. It should be treated in the same way as any other authentic material.
iT’s: Is it best to have students working with video games on individual computers or can you use them as a group or whole class?
K.M.: Yes!
G.S.: (laughs) As Kyle says, you can do both. If you have a connected classroom (i.e. one with a computer and Internet access), then there are lots of ways to use games to encourage discussion. A great game for this is Spent (http://playspent.org), which explores the difficulties of being unemployed in the form of a game – it's full of interesting moral dilemnas.
K.M.: It's like Graham said earlier – you set the appropriate task, so you might have a low level drilling directions in open class, using a game such as Orbox (http://www.mathsisfun.com/games/orbox-game.html) or a reading activity in the computer room or with a class set of laptops, using a game such as Stage 07 (http://www.stage07.com).
G.S.: I'd like to say now that we have lesson ideas and plans for all of these games on our Digital Play blog (www.digitalplay.info/blog)
iT’s: Aren’t video games really just for kids?
K.M.: No. Nowadays, the average age of a gamer is 32 years old.
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Kyle Mawer |
G.S.: It's not just boys playing with their digital toys either. 2 out of 5 gamers are female. The primary wii console players are 80% female and a life simulation game such as the hugely successful The Sims appealed to a dominantly female market.
iT’s: But the activities in your book are mostly aimed at young learners, right?
G.S.: Not at all. We have activities suitable for all ages.
K.M.: I've used games with adults quite a bit. They love them. Sure, some games like Moshi Monsters (www.moshimonsters.com), which Graham uses with young learners, is not for adults at all. Not only because the content is aimed at kids, but adult membership is simply not encouraged.
iT’s: Many teachers and parents worry that people spend too much time on video games, or that they are bad for a person’s mental health, or that they’re too violent. What do you say about the negative aspects of video games?
G.S.: The media make too much of it. All serious studies, such as the one published in book form, Grand Theft Childhood by Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson, come to the conclusion that the benefits far outweigh any negative aspects.
K.M.: We're also using games in a way that is educationally beneficial, that aren't gratuitously violent and don't use inappropriate language or images. So I would say that so far as the negative aspects are concerned we're trying to turn the whole thing around.
iT’s: Aren’t video games mostly a solitary, silent kind of activity? Is there a lot of English that can emerge from them?
K.M.: Sorry, are we talking about reading books or playing video games here?
G.S.: (laughs) That's another stereotype, isn't it? In reality most people play video games with friends these days. It's a very social activity.
K.M.: As for English, not only does a lot of language emerge from playing them but there are reviews, walkthroughs, trailers, forums and fan sites which provide rich sources of language.
iT’s: We saw you both present seminars on video games in the classroom at IATEFL. One of the things you mentioned was the idea of gamifying the classroom. Can you explain that?
G.S.: Well, learning a language should be fun but often it's not. There are ways of turning the most mundane into something more fun. For example, I've used a site called chore wars (www.chorewars.com) to turn exam practice into an adventure game with a group of teenagers. This is what gamifying is all about.
iT’s: You recommend using existing authentic video games and not ones designed specifically for language education. Why is that?
K.M.: I think the reason for that is all tied up with the word 'authentic'. Language education games seem not to be authentic but are often disguised tests and have an overt agenda that doesn't fool most students. I think they are usually only fun with a small 'f'. Authentic games are fun with a big 'F' - designed to be engaging and, luckily for us, tend to have quite challenging language element too.
iT’s: Does incorporating an element of digital play into class mean you have to have a modern classroom full of computers or an IWB? What about teachers who don’t have those luxuries?
G.S.: Actually, in our book we have a whole section of activities about games which don't need computers. We wanted to take advantage of the time gamers spend playing compared to the time spent watching a film. People spend say 200 odd hours playing a console game but only two hours watching a film. This means a game world is a more vivid source of examples. And yet, few teachers ask students about the games they play.
K.M.: Also video gaming is one of those subjects that everyone has an opinion on. So there's always the opportunity to talk or write about the topic.
G.S.: You can also take advantage of the games on mobile phones that students bring to class.
K.M.: Or popular magazines and shop catalogues that have pictures and texts from video games.
iT’s: What are some of the best video games to use with learners? Can you give us a couple of examples?
K.M.: One of my favourite games is samorost2. In fact I loved it so much I created a wiki called '101 ways and more to use samorost' (http://101waysandmoretousesamorost.wetpaint.com) which includes that many language activities. What about you Graham?
G.S.: I'm a big fan of 'escape the room games'. They rely upon communication gaps and so can be easily exploited for language learning. One of my favourites is Motas (www.albartus.com/motas).
iT’s: Which types of games would you avoid using in class?
G.S.: Any game that doesn't have the potential to exploit language or most educational games that are really only disguised tests.
K.M.: I stay away from any that have content that is inappropriate for young learners. A game such as Bow street runners (http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/C/city-of-vice/game/bow-street-runner/game.html), a Channel 4 commisioned game, I have used with adults but some of the autopsy scenes make it a game that I would simply not use with young learners.
iT’s: Do you play video games as a hobby?
G.S. and K.M.: Oh, yes.
G.S.: I play some World of Warcraft and am hooked on a game called Minecraft, which is rather like a virtual Lego set, but with added zombies. I'm also a fan of console games such as Heavy Rain, an open-ended mystery story with lots of potential endings depending on the player's choices - the next game I want to play is similar – it's called L.A. Noire and it's a game so realistic it's close to cinema. The great thing about modern console games is their increasing sophistication not only with graphics but also with the story lines which are getting better all the time.
K.M.: I play a lot of online games. I have a shameful fondness for Farmville but I also play a few MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), such as Astro Empires, which are games that you link up with and play other gamers. What I like most about these is the online feel of a community and the banter.
iT’s: Well, good luck with the book.
G.S.: Yes, we're very excited about it. It'll be the first book of its kind, and we hope it'll really open things up and make the idea of using computer games with learners a much more viable option for teachers than it is now.
iT’s: Sounds like it could tempt a lot of teachers to start playing digital games.
K.M.: That's what we hope.
iT’s: Well, thank you to you both for your time.
G.S.: And thank you for the coffee
K.M.: Yes, thank you.
Follow this link to find out more about Digital Play, by Kyle Mawer and Graham Stanley.