Gamifying the Language Classroom Graham Stanley blogefl@gmail.com http://blog-efl.blogspot.com 7th Virtual Round Table, April 27th 2014 http://bit.ly/1mMHshB

https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelhall

https://www.zombiesrungame.com/ Run for points or run for your life?

http://www.rexbox.co.uk/epicwin/

http://foursquare.com/

What is Gamification the application of typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity gamification usually encourages behaviour with instant, positive feedback https://www.flickr.com/photos/lalie_mslee

Gamification in language teaching is not new https://www.flickr.com/photos/benchun/

So, what is new? http://www.theoryoffun.com/ http://artofgamedesign.com/

What Gamification can you do in the Language Classroom? Instead of bookwork, homework and tasks set missions, quests and challenges...instead of grades give points and badges Shelly Terrell (2014) http://www.slideshare.net/ShellTerrell/gamifying-learning By the changing of what may seem a dull learning exercise into something which seems fun instead because it can be played" and provide students with the "illusion of game play...by adding game elements, dynamics and mechanics to the learning activity.Karenne Sylvester (2014) http://blog-efl.blogspot.com/2014/04/iatefl-harrogate-online-karenne.html Introduce levels to your classroom and use achievements for classroom management situations, such as everyone completing homework assignments on time or full class attendance for a lesson. Successfully earning an achievement results in gaining a level and repeating the same achievement will mean levelling up. Dave Dodgeson (2012) http://www.davedodgson.com/2012/09/taking-classroom-management-to-next.html Introduce experience points (XP)...in place of...a grading system James York (2012) http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/2012/02/24/gaming-the-efl-classroom/

Gamification & adaptive learning http://adaptivelearninginelt.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/part-3-gamification/ https://www.duolingo.com/

http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/2011/03/28/gamify-your-classroom-with-chore-wars/ http://www.chorewars.com/ 2011 My Experience

http://gamingtheclassroom.wordpress.com/ http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/2012/04/20/unlocked-achievements/ 2012Unlocked achievements

http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/2011/11/04/reward-or-punishment-gamification-with-class-dojo/ http://www.classdojo.com/ 2012

https://game.classcraft.com/ http://worldofclasscraft.com/ http://3dgamelab.com/ since then...

2013

Results Few of the learners (12-13 years-old) liked reading books (Q4) or writing extended texts (Q7). Speaking for an extended time (Q11 & Q12) was also disliked by most of the class. The learners also perceived reading books (Q4), producing long pieces of written work (Q7) and speaking for an extended time (Q11 & Q12) as being very difficult to do.

2013 http://pencilkids.com/droppygame.html http://demandhighelt.wordpress.com/ http://www.slideshare.net/bcgstanley/droppy-promoting-speaking-with-an-online-game

Leaderboards It's common for participants at lower levels in a leaderboard to become demotivated this happened and can be seen left. 5 out of the 13 learners started to feel that writing a lot didn't really matter and that they could not catch up to the others. I tried to help counter this by making more than one way of 'winning' the game. To some extent, adding 'Achievement' badges helped do this and those learners who had lost interest started to participate with enthusiasm again. Towards the end of term though, the same learners, and one more (Marina) has started to lose interest again, so I did not continue the speed-writing in the second term.

Results: Writing

Results: Speaking

Using the IWB to support gamification in order to enhance writing fluency in the second language classroom 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/centralasian/8218050435/in/photostream http://www.bogost.com/blog/gamification_is_bullshit.shtml The Case Against Gamification is marketing bullshit, invented by consultants as a means to capture the wild, coveted beast that is videogames and to domesticate it for use in the grey, hopeless wasteland of big business, where bullshit already reigns anyway. Game developers and players have critiqued gamification on the grounds that it gets games wrong, mistaking incidental properties like points and levels for primary features like interactions with behavioral complexity. Ian Bogost (2011) With most gamified systems and processes the feedback is provided in the form of a simple, superficial layer of points, badges and other rewards that are not contextually integral to the activity itself.. Over the short term this approach may lead to measurable outcomes as students make an effort to perform better in order to achieve better results, or more attendance points. The unintended consequence of this is that it frames learning as being an action of accumulation...the age-old carrot and stick metaphor in which learners are conditioned to act and behave in certain ways...which externalizes motivation through the promise of extrinsic reward. Paul Driver (2012) http://digitaldebris.info/2011/12/31/the-irony-of-gamification-written-for-ied-magazine.html

Motivation & teenagers In the classroom, when an activity is not intrinsically motivating as a video game is, other strategies are necessary. In an ideal world, inborn curiosity would be enough to make all learners eager to learn (Dornyei, 2001) and the classroom would be a constant source of intrinsic pleasure. However, this is usually far from the reality a teacher, in particular a teacher of teenagers, finds in the classroom.

Extrinsic Motivation Early research indicates that extrinsic rewards were to be avoided because they undermine intrinsic interest This overly simplistic view has now been modified with researchers believing that extrinsic motives which have been 'sufficiently internalised' are now seen being complimentary to intrinsic interest. What does seem important to avoid is rewarding learners to simply participating in an activity rather than for achieving specific goals. (Dorneyei, 2001)

Extrinsic Motivation Early research indicates that extrinsic rewards were to be avoided because they undermine intrinsic interest This overly simplistic view has now been modified with researchers believing that extrinsic motives which have been 'sufficiently internalised' are now seen being complimentary to intrinsic interest. What does seem important to avoid is rewarding learners to simply participating in an activity rather than for achieving specific goals. (Dorneyei, 2001)

Motivation and games Games are primarily motivating when players experience large degrees of autonomy, competence and relatedness when playing. Ryan, Rigby & Przybylski (2006) Final words Gamification has much to offer the teacher when it comes to using extrinsic motivators, especially when used to make something that usually isn't fun into something that is fun.

Further Reading: Gamification & ELT Gamifying ELT http://gamifyingelt.wordpress.com/ Digital Play blog (Gamification) http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/?s=gamification Gamification in TESOL (Facebook group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/Gamification.in.TESOL/ 'Gamification and language learning', ELTJam: http://www.eltjam.com/its-in-the-game-gamification-and-language-learning-pt-1-of-2 Driver (2012) 'The Irony of Gamification' http://digitaldebris.info/2011/12/31/the-irony-of-gamification-written-for-ied-magazine.html Stanley (Bloomsbury Academic, 2014) 'Using the IWB to support gamification in order to enhance writing in the secondary language class ' in Cutrim Schmidt & Whyte Teaching Languages with Technology: Communicative Approaches to Interactive Whiteboard Use York (2012) 'English Quest' Modern English Teacher, Vol.21 No.4

Further Reading: Gamification & ELT Gamifying ELT http://gamifyingelt.wordpress.com/ Digital Play blog (Gamification) http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/?s=gamification Gamification in TESOL (Facebook group) https://www.facebook.com/groups/Gamification.in.TESOL/ 'Gamification and language learning', ELTJam: http://www.eltjam.com/its-in-the-game-gamification-and-language-learning-pt-1-of-2 Driver (2012) 'The Irony of Gamification' http://digitaldebris.info/2011/12/31/the-irony-of-gamification-written-for-ied-magazine.html Mozuku (blog) Gamification & ELT http://mozuku.edublogs.org/category/gamification/ Stanley (Bloomsbury Academic, 2014) 'Using the IWB to support gamification in order to enhance writing in the secondary language class ' in Cutrim Schmidt & Whyte Teaching Languages with Technology: Communicative Approaches to Interactive Whiteboard Use York (2012) 'English Quest' Modern English Teacher, Vol.21 No.4

Further Reading: Gamification Kapp (2012) The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education Marczewski (2012) Gamification: A Simple Introduction & A Bit More Sheldon (Cengage, 2012) The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing coursework as a Game Werbach & Hunter (Wharton Digital Press, 2012) For the win Zichermann & Cunningham (O'Reilly, 2011) Gamification by Design

Further Reading: Game-Based Language Learning Mawer & Stanley (2011) Digital Play http://www.deltapublishing.co.uk/titles/methodology/digital-play Reinders (ed.) (Palgrave, 2012) Digital Games in Language Learning and Teaching Sykes & Reinhardt (Pearson, 2013) Language at Play: Digital Games in Second and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Further Reading: Game-Based Learning Bartle (New Riders, 2004) Designing Virtual Worlds Gee (Palgrave, 2003) What Digital Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy Gee (Routledge, 2004) Situated Language and Learning: A critique of traditional schooling Gee (Peter Lang, 2007) Good Video Games + Good Learning: Collected Essays Gee (Common Ground, 2005) Why video games are good for your soul Prensky (Paragon House, 2001) Digital game-based learning Prensky (Paragon House, 2006) Don't Bother Me Mom I'm Learning!

Further Reading: Game-Based Learning Bartle (New Riders, 2004) Designing Virtual Worlds Gee (Palgrave, 2003) What Digital Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy Gee (Routledge, 2004) Situated Language and Learning: A critique of traditional schooling Gee (Peter Lang, 2007) Good Video Games + Good Learning: Collected Essays Gee (Common Ground, 2005) Why video games are good for your soul Prensky (Paragon House, 2001) Digital game-based learning Prensky (Paragon House, 2006) Don't Bother Me Mom I'm Learning!

Further Reading: Motivation Deci & Ryan (Plenum, 1985) Intrinsic motivation and self determination in human behavior Drnyei, Z. (CUP, 2001) Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom Drnyei, Z. (Longman, 2001) Teaching and Researching Motivation Rigby & Ryan (Praeger, 2011) Glued to games: how video games draw us in and hold us spellbound Ryan, Rigby & Przybylski (2006) 'The motivational pull of video games: A self- determination theory approach' Motivation and Emotion, 30, 347-364