Speaking in Worlds of Adventure: Tabletop Roleplaying Games within the EFL Classroom
Main Article Content
Abstract
Fostering spoken communication in a foreign language classroom is not an easy task. With that in mind, this paper explores a proposal to motivate students’ L2 oral communication through the practice of narrative games called tabletop roleplaying games adapted as task-based activities. It implied an action research process in which the teacher-researcher with his students reflected and intervened on the identified problematic situation: Lack of oral communication in L2. In that sense, it started with a diagnostic test that showed the current state of verbal communication in L2 in a Colombian rural public school. Next, the teacher-researcher chose to appeal to the gamification of the classroom along with the adoption of a task-based framework to activity design aiming to improve students’ motivation to take the risk of communicating in L2. The teacher-researcher applied sets of activities that progressed from traditional role-play to a tabletop roleplaying game. In accordance, video recordings, narratives, artifacts collections, and semi-structured interviews were essential to collect data. Afterward, the teacher-researcher analyzed the data with an emic approach to identify patterns in the information that uncovered the categories and subcategories of information. Consequently, the teacher-researcher concluded that the students feel better motivated using L2 if the learning environment offers opportunities for social interaction, collaborative work, and scaffolding in task-based exercises embedded in a fictional world game.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors of the manuscripts accepted for publication in HOW journal are required to sign a nonexclusive license agreement allowing ASOCOPI to reproduce the full text on the Internet or in any other available source. Authors retain copyright of their manuscripts with the following restrictions: first publication is granted to ASOCOPI; nonexclusive agreements with third parties can be established as long as the original publication in the HOW journal is properly acknowledged.
References
ALTE CEFR Special Interest Group (SIG). (2016, July 3rd). ALTE Association of language testers in Europe. ALTE Association of language testers in Europe: www.alte.org
Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.
Burns, A. (2009). Doing action research in English language teaching. Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group. https://doi.org/f74t
Cassie, J. (2016). Level up your classroom: The quest to gamify your lesson and engage your students. ASCD Learn, Teach, Lead.
Christiansen, T. (2015). The rise of English as the global lingua franca. Is the world heading towards greater monolingualism or new forms of plurilingualism? Lingue e Linguaggi 15(2015), 129-154. https://doi:10.1285/i22390359v15p129
Colegio Alkor. (2016, October 25). English at Colegio Alkor. www.englishinalkorschool.blogspot.com.co
Córdoba, E. (2016). Implementing task-based language teaching to integrate language skills in an EFL program at a Colombian university. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 18(2), 13-27. https://doi.org/g2xg
Coşkun, A. (2016). Causes of the 'I can understand English but I can’t speak' Syndrome in Turkey. i-manager’s Journal on English Language Teaching, 6(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/f74v
Crocco, F. (2016). The RPG Classroom; Reporpusing game mechanics for the gamification of education. In A. Byers & F. Crocco, The role-playing society; Essays on the cultural influence of RPGs (pp. 278-294). McFarland & Company. https://doi.org/f9cn
Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 55-85. https://doi.org/bpvwks
Ellis, R. (2018). Reflections on task-based language teaching. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/f8r2
Ferreira, M. A., & Carvalho, H. F. (2013). Learning through role-playing games: An approach for active learning and teaching. Revista Brasileira de Educação Médica, 37(1), 80-88. https://doi.org/ggwwdh
Garcia, A. (2016). Teachers as Dungeon master; connected learning, democratic classrooms, and rolling for inititive. In A. Byers & F. Crocco, The role-playing society (pp. 164-183). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. https://doi.org/f9cn
Gilakjani, A. P. (2012). Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic learning styles and their impacts on English language teaching. Macrothink institute: Journal of Studies in Education. 2(1), 104-113. https://doi.org/f74w
Gower, R., Phillips, D., & Walters, S. (2005). Teaching practice; A hand book for teachers in training. Macmillan Education.
Grouling, J. (2010). The creation of narrative in tabletop roleplaying games. McFarland & Company, Inc.
Juneja, P. (2019, Abril 18). Oral communication. ManagementStudyGuide.com. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/oral-communication.htm
Mackay, D. (2001). The fantasy role-playing game: A new performing art. McFarland & Company, Inc.
Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2005). Second language research; methodology and design. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.
Martin-Rubió, X. (2018). Contextualising English as a Lingua Franca: From data to insights. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Ministerio de Educación Nacional (2016). Pedagogical principles and guidelines; suggested English curriculum. Ministerio De Educacion Nacional de Colombia.
Monsalve, S., & Correal, A. (2006). Children’s oral communication in English class activities: An exploratory study. Profile: Issues in Teachers` Professional Development, 7, 131-146. https://bit.ly/3eq5VL1
Montoya, C., & Uribe, D. (2016). Jugar para aprender no es aprender jugando: ludificación de procesos pedagógicos. Perspectiva Empresarial, 3(2), 15-25. https://doi.org/g2xj
Nunan, D. (1992). Research methods in language learning. Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based language teaching. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/dvmvgb
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. Hodder Education.
Perdomo, I., & Rojas, A. (2019). La Ludificación Como Herramienta Pedagógica: Algunas Reflexiones Desde la Psicología. Revista de Estudios y Experiencias en Educación 18(36), 161-175. https://doi.org/g2xk
Poovey, C. C. (2014). Ted Gellar-Goad and the secret of the sphinx. Wake Forest Magazine 62(1), 19-27. https://bit.ly/3t1CKmJ
Reinhold, R. (2018). The postmodern joy of roleplaying games; agency, ritual and meaning in the medium. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/c6vtds
Rivera, J. D. (2010). Authentic oral interaction in the EFL class: What it means, what it does not. Profile: Issues in Teachers´ Professional Development 12(1), 47-61. https://bit.ly/3dJNAcU
Rocha, F. Q. (2018). Roll a D6: A role-playing game based approach to the EFL classroom. Brazilian English Language Teaching Journal, 9(2), 535-546. https://doi.org/f74x
Rodríguez, J., & Rodríguez, M. (2010). Task-based language learning: Old approach, new style. A new lesson to learn. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development 12(2), 165-178. http://ref.scielo.org/z8jxzp
Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning teaching. Macmillan Education.
Swarthout, D. (2019, April 18). Oral communication: definition, types & advantages. Study.com. https://bit.ly/3eosSy3
Vaca, A. M., & Gómez, L. F. (2017). Increasing EFL learners' oral production at a public school through project-based learning. Profile: Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 19(2), 57-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/profile.v19n2.59889
Vansteenkiste, M., Lens, W., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Intrinsic versus extrinsic goal contents in self-determination theory: Another look at the quality of academic motivation. Educational Psychologist, 41(1), 19–31. https://doi.org/ccqkfv
Vargas, G. (2015). Three communication difficulties of EFL students. Revista de Lenguas Modernas, 23, 221-233. https://doi.org/f74z
Woods, T. (2016). Raiding the last frontier; Overcomming the language barrier in the ESL classroom. In A. B. Crocco, The role-playing society: Essays on the cultural influence of RPG (págs. 98 - 121). McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers. https://doi.org/f9cn