Innovating Language Learning in Schools
We have launched a project called “Adventures in Language Learning” in order to try out innovative ways of language learning. The project idea is to motivate young people to improve their literacy skills, in particular reading and writing. In order to do this we want to write gamebooks with them.
In these kinds of stories the reader is able to make decisions at key points in the story (for example “Follow the path into the woods, or take the path along the river”) with each decision leading to different story paths. Usually, these sorts of books are traditional paperbacks, but the advent of mobile technology has inspired new and interesting ways of using this format of storytelling.
We intend to introduce the creation of gamebooks to our students with the intention of motivating them to create their own story-based games. The advantage of gamebooks is that the story is broken into small sections, sometimes only a paragraph or two. This makes it easier for students to focus on small sections while at the same time requiring a solid structure in which these sections are connected in an interactive way which lets the reader make relevant choices.
For many young people learning or studying another language is hard or boring. By making something fun and interesting, learners are more likely to study, or rather read the books as part of leisure time, as a form of stealth learning. But more importantly, neuroscience tells us that simply studying intensely for hours does not result in retention, but testing, or in other words having to use the information one has studied, does. The nature of the books is that comprehension is quickly and often tested, but in a non-stressful way (you don’t get a ‘grade’ on the book, if you fail your mission, you just get to try it out again until you succeed). This is especially helpful with young people who suffer from testing and grade anxiety.
Not only do we create gamebooks with our students, we also share them publicly in order to give other people the opportunity to take advantage of the language learning opportunities as players of these books. For this we have developed an app which is freely available on Google Play and on Apple AppStore. The app takes readers through the interactive books.
The project is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission.
Disclaimer: The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.