In the last decades, teaching software tools have been implemented in everyday practice, applying them as a supporting tool to improve learning in different subjects, including foreign languages. The use of a virtual space and the application of dedicated software packages have long been studied (Ghislandi 2014; Miller 2014; Hampel and Stickler 2015). Gamification, a recently new coined term defining the use of principles of gaming in teaching, has emerged as a new trend in teaching methodologies. Although the use of games in teaching and, especially, in foreign language teaching is not a novelty in itself, this new application through online environment has shown new potentialities along with a few disadvantages, in case of its misuse (Figueroa Flores 2015; Boyinbode 2018). Nevertheless, there are several online and off-line software tools created for specific and general subjects, including the use of role-games as Classcraft. This is a virtual space, inspired by D&D role game, where students are led through a series of quests, set up by the teacher, aiming at acquiring skills and competences of a certain subject. Previous studies were focused on Classcraft and different perspectives were considered: its motivational push, facilitating learning conditions and students’ behaviour (Haris & Sugito 2015), the students’ experience (Sanchez et al. 2016) and students’ general performance and their engagement (Papadakis & Stamatios 2017). Off the beaten path, implementing a virtual classroom where time and space boundaries are erased and where students assume new fantastical identities promises to be an effective tool towards English language acquisition. Can such a software be really useful in teaching a foreign language, namely English? Can gamification and role games be effective tools to improve students’ abilities and competence in a foreign language and raise their interest and motivation? Thus, this paper intends exploring the potentialities of Classcraft in teaching English as a foreign language, by theoretically approaching the development of the four skills related to foreign language learning: a quest (lesson) for an ideal A2 group will be elaborated and implemented, in order to provide a first (provisional) assessment on its adequacy and feasibility in the English class according to EFL and teacher lesson plan principles.

Overcoming the boundaries of the classroom walls through the use of online role-gaming: a theoretical approach in the use and implementation of Classcraft in English language teaching

Salvatore Ciancitto
2019-01-01

Abstract

In the last decades, teaching software tools have been implemented in everyday practice, applying them as a supporting tool to improve learning in different subjects, including foreign languages. The use of a virtual space and the application of dedicated software packages have long been studied (Ghislandi 2014; Miller 2014; Hampel and Stickler 2015). Gamification, a recently new coined term defining the use of principles of gaming in teaching, has emerged as a new trend in teaching methodologies. Although the use of games in teaching and, especially, in foreign language teaching is not a novelty in itself, this new application through online environment has shown new potentialities along with a few disadvantages, in case of its misuse (Figueroa Flores 2015; Boyinbode 2018). Nevertheless, there are several online and off-line software tools created for specific and general subjects, including the use of role-games as Classcraft. This is a virtual space, inspired by D&D role game, where students are led through a series of quests, set up by the teacher, aiming at acquiring skills and competences of a certain subject. Previous studies were focused on Classcraft and different perspectives were considered: its motivational push, facilitating learning conditions and students’ behaviour (Haris & Sugito 2015), the students’ experience (Sanchez et al. 2016) and students’ general performance and their engagement (Papadakis & Stamatios 2017). Off the beaten path, implementing a virtual classroom where time and space boundaries are erased and where students assume new fantastical identities promises to be an effective tool towards English language acquisition. Can such a software be really useful in teaching a foreign language, namely English? Can gamification and role games be effective tools to improve students’ abilities and competence in a foreign language and raise their interest and motivation? Thus, this paper intends exploring the potentialities of Classcraft in teaching English as a foreign language, by theoretically approaching the development of the four skills related to foreign language learning: a quest (lesson) for an ideal A2 group will be elaborated and implemented, in order to provide a first (provisional) assessment on its adequacy and feasibility in the English class according to EFL and teacher lesson plan principles.
2019
Applied Linguistics, Gamification, Task Based Approach, Classcraft, TEFL
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11769/521027
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